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SELECT WORKS
OF
ROBERT ROLLOOK.
•
THE WODROW SOCIETY,
INSTITUTED MAY, 1841,
FOR THE PUBLICATION OF THE WORKS OF THE FATHERS AND EARLY
WRITERS OF THE REFORMED CHURCH OF SCOTLAND.
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The EDITOR tenders his humble apologies to the Members of the
WOLRow SoCIETY, for the delay which has taken place in the pre-
paration of this Volume. Anarious as he was to do justice both to it
and to them, he was repeatedly interrupted by other duties, and em-
barrassed by obstructions which it is here unnecessary to state. The
Council are in no respect to blame for the delay. On the contrary, their
anariety for the appearance of the volume was repeatedly and strongly
urged upon the Editor; who makes this statement with the greater ear-
nestness, because, to his deep regret, he has learned that the Council
have been, in this matter, subjected to reproaches, which are merited by
him alone.
11th August 1849.
SELECT WORKS
OF
ROBERT ROLLOCK,
PRINCIPAL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH.
REPRINTED FROM THE ORIGINAL EDITIONS.
EDITED BY
WILLIAM M. GUNN, Esq.
VOLUME FIRST.
EDINBURGH :
PRINTED FOR THE WODIROW SOCIETY.
M.DCCC. XLIX.
ALEx. WALKER, PRINTER, 6, JAMES's COURT, EDINBURGH.
PR E FA C E.
THE name of Rob ERT ROLLOCK is identified with the infancy
of the University of Edinburgh. That noble institution was truly
fortunate in the choice of her first Rector. His education, dis-
position and habits, admirably fitted him to be the fashioner of
her discipline, and to give shape and direction to her methods and
her aims. *
The Editor of these volumes had made some progress in col-
lecting materials for an extended biography of this inestimable
man; but various causes have induced him to abandon, or, at
least, to postpone this intention. Among others may be mention-
ed one, the force of which will be universally recognised. The
learned divine who now holds that place which Rollock once
held, it is understood, has long contemplated giving to the world
an account of the life of his distinguished predecessor. To no
one could this duty fall more suitably or gracefully—by no one
could it be more efficiently discharged. Should, however, this
hope be disappointed, and should it be deemed expedient to con-
tinue the publication of the Select Works of Rollock, under other
auspices than those of the Wodrow Society, the Editor will do
his best to exhibit Rollock, in that most useful career, in which he
not only founded the Scottish fame of the Metropolitan Univer-
sity, and instructed our citizens in the lessons of divine truth, but
by his voluminous labours, made our theological learning and our
orthodoxy to be known and respected in foreign lands.

vi PREFACE.
Yet it is not right that these volumes should pass into the hands
of the readers of this generation, without some knowledge of the
amiable man by whose labours they are about to profit. In the
din of that eventful era, in which it was his lot to spend his short
but useful life, his voice was seldom heard. While others, of like
mind with himself, but whose temperament fitted them for more
bustling scenes, are familiar to us, as if we had personally witness-
ed their contendings for the truth, the name of Rollock is almost
lost in the quiet of that academic life which he loved so well; and,
particularly fitted as he was for the part which Providence had
assigned him in advancing the education of his country, the very
qualities which imparted that fitness prevented him from attain-
ing to success in matters where there were required a ready ap-
prehension of danger, shrewdness in the detection of ulterior pur-
poses covered by specious pretexts, and bold opposition to wily
Schemes of political circumvention."
Rollock died on the 8th of February 1593. In the course of
the year 1599, there was published in Edinburgh, a memorial
of the departed Principal, with the following title:–Vitae et
Mortis D. Robert Rolloci Scoti Narratio, scripta per Georgium
Robertsonum : adjectis in eundem quorundam Epitaphiis. Edin-
burgi, apud Henricum Charteris. 1599.” 8vo, sig. C. To the nar-
rative are appended, in the usual fashion of the time, thirty eulo-
gistic Latin poems, and one in Greek, the latter by Henry Char-
teris, who also contributed two of the Latin elegies.” The whole
1 “I mention,” writes Dr M'Crie of another distinguished promoter of Scottish
education, “this trait in Melville's character, the rather because there is nothing
which men, bred in colleges and devoted to literary pursuits, are more deficient in
than the knowledge of character; in consequence of which, they are ordinarily dis-
qualified for the management of public business, and apt to become the dupes of de-
ceitful friends or artful opponents.” –Life of Melville, vol. i., p. 76.
2 Dr M'Crie, in his life of Andrew Melville, (vol. ii. p. 68,) quoting this title-page,
gives 1589 as imprinted, and corrects the date to 1598; the correction should have
been 1599. The copy before us is correct in the date, 1599. In the first sentence of
Robertson's Narrative, the error does occur, the date of Rollock's death being given
1589, properly corrected by Dr M'Crie to 1598—but this was according to the old style.
* It is in reference to these that Mr Tytler says, (Account of the Life and Writings
of Sir Thomas Craig of Riccarton, p. 150,) “Engaged in these severer labours, the
I?IREFACE. vii
concludes with a list of works by Rollock, either published or to
be published. This laudatory memorial, by George Robertson,
then one of the ministers of Edinburgh, of whom a few particu-
lars will be found hereafter, is the source from which all subse-
quent notices of Rollock, by Spotswood, Melchior Adam, Clark,'
and others have been drawn.
Rollock's successor, Henry Charteris, seems to have made it
his delight to revise, correct, and amplify this Life by Ro-
bertson. There is in the library of the University of Edinburgh
a MS. bearing the title, Vitae et Obitus D. Roberti Rolloci, Scoti,
Narratio, ab Henrico Charterisio conscripta. In the year 1826, both
Narratives were printed for the use of the members of the Ban-
natyne Club—the latter for the first time. At the end of the
volume are added, not only the elegies which Robertson had ap-
pended to his Life, but seventeen others, which had probably been
written after the publication of that Biography;” and the whole
muses seem for a time to have been neglected, as, with the exception of a short poem
on the death of the celebrated Robert Rollock, upon whose monument every poet in
the nation seems to have thought it his duty to hang up his ‘tumeful sorrows, Craig
appears to have written nothing since the publication of the Genethliacon.”
1 Spotswood's History of the Church of Scotland, p. 454. Spotswood's notice is
brief, but in it he contrives to give the narrative a turn favourable to his own views,
as will be noticed hereafter. Melchior Adam, Vitae Eruditorum, cum Germanorum
tum eacterorum. Ed. Tertia, 1706, vol. i. pp. 90-95. This is a reprint of Robertson's
Narratio, with verbal alterations, and a few unimportant omissions. Clark's Marrow
of Ecclesiastical History, London, 1675, p. 401. This is a mere translation of Ro-
bertson's Narrative, and the translator is puzzled with our Scottish proper names.
Thus he translates Synodus Taodunensis, the General Assembly held at Dundee, as
“the Synod of Taodun.” Dempster, in his Historia Ecclesiastica, Edinburgi, 1829,
vol. ii. p. 565, charitably supposes that the Genevese may have corrupted Rollock's
Commentaries on the Psalms, and Smells heresy in his other works. But he adds em-
couragingly, he was believed, during his life-time, to be not far removed from the
Catholic faith. “Ipse same credebatur, dum viveret, non longe a fide Catholica
alienus.” The notice of Rollock, in David Buchaman, De Scriptoribus Scotis; Edin-
burgi, 1839, 4to, p. 121, abounds in gross errors, and seems to confound Hercules
with Robert. The Article in the Scots Worthies, bearing the Principal's name, is
loose and inaccurate in its details.
2 Four of these, the fifth, thirty-ninth, fortieth, and forty-second, with four others
not contained in the Bannatyne edition, form part of the prefatory matter to the Edi-
tion of Rollock's Commentary on the Colossians, mentioned p. v. of the Preface to
the Second Volume. The fifth is by John Johnston, mentioned in the note to p. 7
of this volume. The thirty-ninth, fortieth, and forty-second as well as the forty-first
viii PREFACE.
closes with the three Scottish Sonnets by James Melville, which
the reader will find in their proper place, in p. 297 of this volume.
In order to enable him to form some acquaintance with the life
of the amiable divine, a portion of whose works is now laid
before him, the Editor has selected the Life by Charteris, as
the fuller and the more accurate. He has translated it for more
general edification, and added, in the shape of notes, such par-
ticulars connected with the events of Rollock's life, or the persons
with whom he came into contact, as seemed to be interesting or
elucidatory. To many the Biography, in its original shape, will
be interesting; and for their sake the Latin is reprinted.
In comparing the two Lives, that by Robertson and that by
Charteris, the following conclusions seem to be plausible. Ro-
bertson was probably a man of eloquence—one who possessed in-
seem to be by Andrew Melville. The thirty-ninth bears a striking resemblance to a
letter written in 1609, quoted in Dr M'Crie's Life of Melville, vol. ii., p. 222. The
most distinguished men of the time wrote the greater part of the remaining elegies.
Among these are Robert Pont; Adrian Dammian; Sir Thomas Craig; Robert Boyd
of Trochrig; Principal Adamson; Alexander Hume, probably the grammarian; and
Hercules Rollock. Besides these, men of less note contribute their portion,-most of
them old pupils, as, John Ray, Professor of Humanity, afterwards Rector of the
High School; William Craig, then a Regent in the University; William Arthur,
minister of St Cuthbert's, co-editor with Charteris of several of Rollock's writings;
George Grier, second minister of Haddington; George Thomson, afterwards minis-
ter of the reformed church of Chataigneraye, in Poitou, and the fierce antagonist of
Lipsius; Adam Abermethy, afterwards a member of the university of Montpellier, and
the eulogist of Crichton.—See Encyclopædia Britannica, vol. xiii., p. 373, s. v. Lipsius,
by Dr Irving; and the same author's Lives of Scottish Writers, vol. i., p. 272. These
elegies are, as was usual in such compositions, in general, mere vague, and often in-
flated elogia. Andrew Melville's alone bear any traces of an attempt to delineate
the characteristics of the man. A brief specimen is given of one, in vol. ii. p. xiii.
We shall content ourselves with quoting the lines by the unhappy Master of Ruthven,
then employed in the Court of King James, and who, as well as his brother John,
Earl of Gowrie, had been placed by the King under Rollock's care:
De me, deque meo meruit tua fratre voluntas,
De to verum index ut moriente loquar.
Nobiscum hunc orbem donec, Rolloce, tenebas,
Mortales inter Numinis instar eras.
Morte—quod optabas, idem nunc additus astris,
Implebis merita laude superstes humum.–M. A. RUTHVENUS.
Y This was written about eighteen months before the Master fell in the Gowrie
Conspiracy.
PREFACE. ix
nately a power of description, and of giving expression to the
feelings within him; Charteris, whose whole university education
had been conducted by Rollock, from his experience of Rollock's
teaching, and his more intimate familiarity with their common
friend, was much better qualified to give to the world the impress
of his form and virtues than Robertson, who had received only his
theological training from the Principal. But Charteris was a truly
modest as well as learned man. Robertson's early settlement in a
ity charge had given great offence to many, and had even brought
reproach on Rollock himself. It seemed not unfitting, then, and
it certainly was quite consistent with all that we know of the
character of Charteris, that he should yield what seemed his na-
tural privilege to Robertson, who might thus come recommended
to the public under shelter of so popular a name as that of Rol-
lock. These two circumstances seem to account for the appear-
ance of Robertson as Rollock's biographer—Charteris's considerate
modesty, and Robertson's rhetorical fitness. But Charteris could
not refrain from returning with a reverential hand to the memorial
of his departed friend. He added many important particulars;
he gave a fuller account of Rollock's conduct towards his pupils;
and he imparted precision to vague statements. But his taste does
not seem so delicate, nor his perception of the emotional so acute.
His Latinity is, perhaps, more classical, but not so graphic.
Of all this we may give a few illustrations. Robertson notices
that Rollock is descended from the Livingstones; Charteris adds,
that it is by his mother he is so descended. Robertson simply
states, that the friendship of Rollock and Thomas Buchanan in-
creased with their years; Charteris gives specific instances of this
friendly feeling. Robertson mentions Rollock’s admission at
St Salvator's College; Charteris adds the name of the Regent
under whom he studied. The preliminary steps taken by the
Town Council of Edinburgh for the removal of Rollock from St
Andrews to Edinburgh are more amply and accurately detailed
by Charteris. The whole of the noble address by Rollock to the
students on the eve of the first graduation is peculiar to Charteris,
X PREFACE.
and is all the more striking, as he was an ear-witness, being one
of the forty-eight who then took their degree. Indeed, not
needlessly to multiply details, the whole of the first part of the
life, and, in some respects the most valuable, (that to the words
Omnibus enim Summis juaſta, &c.,) is almost entirely new, and the
changes and additions are of the greatest importance. There-
after the narrative proceeds in much the same way in both, save
that Charteris quietly corrects the slips of his co-biographer.
Thus, writing of Rollock's last illness at the close of 1598, Ro-
bertson says, that Rollock anxiously commends to the care of his
friends his wife, who was with child after a barrenness of more
than ten years; post decennii ultra sterilitatem. This agrees with
the statement of Crawford, (History of the University of Edin-
burgh, p. 50,) who speaks doubtfully, in the same passage, of the
date of Rollock's marriage—“About the year 1589 he took to
wife Helen Baron.” We learn from Charteris that this is a
mistake. Rollock's first class graduated 1587, (Crawford, ibid.
p. 31,) and immediately after this solemnity, before entering
on the duties of Professor of Divinity,' that is, between August
and November 1587, he married. Consequently he had been
married more than eleven years at the close of 1588, and hence
Charteris gives the correct time; “post sterilitatem undecim anno-
rum.” Similarly he quietly corrects grammatical errors. Writing
of Charteris himself, Robertson states, that on his deathbed Rol-
lock recommends him as his successor, saying that he had been
educated under him, and that for ten years he has discharged
the office of Regent of Philosophy with distinguished commenda-
tion; “professorisque philosophici munus decennio egregia cum
* We infer that Rollock did not commence to teach theology till November, from
the following minute of the Town Council of Edinburgh. “November 1587. The
samyn day Requeistet and desyret William Littill, auld Pºvest, Michaell Gilbert, and
Patk. Sandelands to entreatt and qfer wt M. Robert Rollok, maister of the Townis Col-
ledge, toucheing ye stipend to be givin him for serving in ye said Colledge as Maister
and Principallyairoff, and for ye class of theologie to be tayne up be him jºinto, as alswa
for his teaching ilk Sunday in ye Eist Kirk in the mornings, and y’m to report again.”
—(Council Records, vol. viii. fol. 118.)
PREFACE. xi
laude perfunctus est.” Charteris alters this to, “et professoris
philosophiae munere plus decennio egregia cum laude perfunctus
est.”
On this point the insertion of plus is also observable. It is im-
possible that Charteris can have been ignorant of the time of his
own professorial services. But if Crawford (ibid. p. 34,) be cor-
rect, Charteris is wrong. Crawford states that Charteris took the
place of Mr Alexander Scrimger, removed for malversation, in
1589. In that case he could have only acted as Regent of Philo-
sophy for nine years and a few months. We can have little hesita-
tion in trusting to Charteris, and placing Charteris's appointment
in the room of Scrimger in the year 1588.
Yet Robertson has a finer taste for the picturesque. Contrast
Robertson's expresssion: “Ad Sabbathi auroram usque illi altum
silentium, quod tandem hoc sermone abrumpit, “Veni Domine,
ne morare”’—with Charteris's more classical but less graphic La-
tinity: “Cum aliquandiu mane quievisset, silentium tandem
hoc sermone abrumpit, “Veni Domine, ne morare.” In the
same spirit Robertson mentions, that at the funeral of Rollock
there was tempestuous weather—probably such a deluge of rain
as often, in early spring, still sweeps our streets : “Funus majori
quam unquam Edinburgi celebritate, quamvis prohibente tem-
pestate, decoratur. Turmatim enim tam sublimis quam plebeiae
sortis homines ad illud ornandum confluxerant.” Contrast with this
the close of the narrative by Charteris; “Ejus decessus,” &c.
The only passage in Robertson not noticed in the narrative of
Charteris is a statement regarding Robertson himself, to which
the reader's attention will be directed in the notes.
On the whole, while the latter and more affecting part of the
narrative seems to have been mainly adopted, and only slightly
altered from Robertson by Charteris, the earlier and more impor-
tant part is wholly written by Charteris himself, and its fulness and
accuracy have prompted us to prefer it for our present purpose.
This seems to be the proper place to notice the portrait pre-
* Functus est ? Melchior Adam reads, obivit.
xii PREE'A.C.E.
/
fixed to this volume. Three portraits of Rollock are known
to be extant. One, which has been engraved by Mr R. C.
Bell for the Bannatyne Club, is the property of Lord Rollo,
whose house is connected with the family of Rollock. It is a
small painting on pannel, and has evidently been retouched in
the upper part of the head; but the original traces are quite dis-
tinct, and have been restored in the engraving. The lettering on
the top of this portrait (M : R : R : aetatis suae 43 morit: 1599)
must have been added some years after Rollock's death, as in the
old style he died in 1598, and the new style was not adopted in
Scotland till 1600. The second, which belongs to the University
of Edinburgh, and from which the engraving, also by Mr R. C.
Bell, has been taken for the Wodrow Society, is more highly
finished, and is of life-size on canvass. A duplicate of the latter
is in the possession of Hugh James Rollo, Esq., who traces
his descent to the same common stock as the Principal. In
the opinion of the intelligent engraver, the last was probably
painted about the end of the 17th century. There is nothing in
the style of these portraits to indicate the artists by whom they
were executed.
It is now the Editor's duty to say something of the works se-
lected for publication in this volume. -
It seemed desirable to represent Rollock in his three capacities,
as a Professor of Divinity, as a Preacher of the Gospel in detached
sermons, and as an Expositor of the Scriptures in a continuous
series of Discourses. The last object is attained in the second
volume; the first two are accomplished in this.
From the Summary of Theology, (pp. 22-28), we acquire a
knowledge of the learned Principal's System of Divinity. It
would be presumptuous in the Editor to pronounce an opinion
on its merits; but it seems to him to be both logical and Com-
“ He was descended of the ancient Barons of Duncrub, now dignified with the
title of Lord Rollo.”—(Crawford, ibid. p. 43.) Of relationship between Robert and
Hercules Rollock, I have been unable to discover any evidence.
PREFACE. xiii
plete. If it be compared with the Confession of Faith by the
Westminster Divines, it will be found to follow very nearly
the same order, the principal difference being, that in the Con-
fession of Faith the subject of Effectual Calling precedes Jus-
tification, whereas Rollock first discusses the latter; unless, in-
deed, as we are inclined to suspect, one of the heads—that on
Justification—has inadvertently been dropped out. The intel-
ligent reader will easily see the ground of the suspicion by
glancing over the ninth and three following heads. We learn from
Crawford that portions of his course—and “Effectual Calling”
was one of them—were delivered not to the students of theology
merely, but in presence of the whole members of the University.
His words (p. 51) are: “He wrote the treatises, De Foedere et
Sacramentis, De Vocatione Efficaci, De Providentia Dei, De Justi-
ficatione, De Evcommunicatione. These, for the most part, he
taught in the Magistrand Hall, upon the Sundays, after the last
sermon, till such time as the too great frequencie of auditors made
him to chuse another time.” We may infer from this, that in
certain portions of the course he taught without writing; that
others he elaborated more carefully, and not only read them for
the benefit of the students generally, but published them for
behoof of the Christian world. Accordingly, this Tractatus de
Vocatione Efficaci, of the title page of which a fac-simile is given,
was published in 1597. It does not seem to have been reprint-
ed. It is in Octavo, 332 pages, to the end of the Treatise on
Effectual Calling. Thereafter the pagination ceases, and with
the Catechism a new title commences: De Modis quibus Deus ab
initio Faedus suum utrumque humano generi revelavit. The head-
ing to the end of the Catechism, which extends to 25 additional
pages, is Modi Revel. Foed. ; but this heading it will be seen the
translator has not followed. The whole concludes with an Index.
Capitum of two pages, which forms mainly the source of the
Table of Contents mentioned in the note to page 23.
The Translation," of which also the original title page is given
1 We find in Dr Watt's Bibliotheca Britannica, the following works attributed to
Xl V PREFACE.
in fac-simile, is in 4to, extending to 253 pages. With the ex-
ception of the spelling it has been faithfully followed. The only
other alterations are the additions pp. 7, 130, and 23–28, the last of
which is of great value. For IIolland's Table of Contents above
alluded to, the Editor has substituted one of his own.
The English style of the translation hardly corresponds in clear-
ness with the perspicuity of the original. The translator says,
(p. 15): “Lastly, for the translation, albeit I have not followed
the author's words, yet have I endeavoured faithfully to deliver
his meaning in the plainest form, and in words most in use among
the people.” From his Address to the Reader, (p. 21), it will be
seen that he was somewhat doubtful of the accuracy of the work.
He had reason to be so. He has occasionally given only a hurried
glance at his original, and missed his meaning; now and then he
has altogether omitted important passages. But, on the whole, the
translation is faithful, and the Editor has, by a careful comparison
with the original, rectified the occasional mistranslations and omis-
sions; as may be seen in pp. 116, 256.
The marginal notes are of two kinds. The one set proceeds from
IHolland himself—there being no such notes in the original—and is
intended to form a summary of the arguments, or to point to a cor-
roborative passage of Scripture, as at pp. 65, 72. These notes, in a
few instances, lead to inaccuracy. See p. 121. The references to
other than Scripture authoritics, and the Greek quotations, which
are found in the margin, are Rollock's own, and have been trans-
ferred from the text by Holland. See pp. 120, 124.
In the original, the Latin translations of the Old Testament
IIenry Holland, who is not to be confounded with another of the same name, son of the
famous translator, Philemon Holland. A Treatise against Witchcraſt; Cambridge,
1590. Spiritual Persuasions against the Pestilence, chiefly selected out of the 91st
I’salm; London, Richard Field, 1593. Aphorisms of Christiam Religion; A Compen-
dious Abridgment of Calvin’s Institutions. Translated from l’iscator. London,
Richard Field, 1596. Christian Exercise of Fasting; London, 1596. The Works of
Mr Richard Greenham, minister, revised, corrected and published by II. II. ; Lon-
don, 1599. See, besides, in the list of Principal Rollock's works, the Lectures upon
the Epistle of Paul to the Colossians. To Francis Marbury, who writes an Epistle to
the Reader, (p. 19), all that is assigned by Watt is, A Sermon on Easter Tuesday;
Ilondon, 1604.
PREFA CE. XV
are chiefly from the translation of Tremellius and Junius, as is
noticed p. 105. There are slight variations, however, either
owing to Rollock's quotations being made memoriter, or to his
choice of different vocables. Sometimes, also, he uses the Vulgate
translation. Thus in the beginning of the 10th Chapter, (p. 81 of
the original Latin), he prefers the Vulgate rendering of Psalm xix.
9, “Praeceptum Domini lucidum et illuminans oculos.”—to that of
Tremellius and Junius: “Pracceptum Jehovae purum, illustrans
oculos.” He adopts, (ibid.) “Mandatum lucerna, et lex lux,” (Prov.
vi. 23,) from the Vulgate, where Tremellius and Junius have : “Nam
lucerna pracceptum est, et doctrina lux.” In the New Testament
he only occasionally differs from Beza's translation." Thus in the
3d Chapter, (p. 22 of the original Latin), Rollock's translation of
2 Thess. i. 6, 7, is ; “Tamen justum est apud Deum retribuere iis
vicissim, qui affligunt vos, afflictionem ; vobis vero qui affligimini,
relaxationem nobiscum.” Compare this with Beza: “Si quidem
justum est apud Deum vicissim reddere iis, qui affligunt vos, afflic-
tionem ; vobis vero qui aftligimini, relaxationem nobiscum.” The
original of tamen and si quidem is 372g. But Rollock has pro-
bably omitted si merely because it was unnecessary in the con-
nexion. Sometimes his variations are not happy. Thus he trans-
lates (ibid.) Ephesians vi. 8; (sióðreg örl 6 &V ri śzzozog Toiſon
&yo,000, roºro 2001āroa 7&63 rot Kveiov') “scientes quod quis-
que fecerit boni, hoc reportabit a Domino”—which is manifestly
ungrammatical. Holland's translation of Scripture texts is founded
on the Geneva version, though he occasionally translates literally
from Rollock's Latin. His references are simply copied from the
original. It may be as well to mention here, that the Editor has
verified and corrected the references, and filled up those which
were wanting or imperfect. *
A word as to the foot notes. The Editor at first contented
l His opinion on this work he gives in his Commentary on Paul's Epistle to the
Romans, in these words : “Secuti sumus versionem D. Bezae Latinam, ut quae longe
optima sit.”
xvi PREFACTE,
himself with a few brief remarks, pointing out wherein Holland
had mistaken the original. But when he had reached the six-
teenth Chapter, he found himself, for his own satisfaction, busied
in turning up the authorities within his reach, to trace the refer-
ences made by Rollock. He did not think it fair to Rollock's
readers to put them to the same trouble, and he has briefly noted
the result of his enquiries. Moreover, Rollock has taken up many
controversial points with the Roman Catholics, which are, in our
own time, both interesting and important. The great authority
then, was Bellarmin, who had recently culminated on the Roman
horizon. And he is the great authority still. It seemed not un-
suitable to save the reader the trouble, even where he had the
means, of turning up, in the ample folios of Bellarmin, the pas-
sages which Rollock refutes. Besides Bellarmin, Rollock attacks
the views of the Rhemish translators of the New Testament.
Though this is not so difficult of access, the Editor deemed it ex-
pedient to add such extracts from that work as serve to elucidate
Rollock’s views.
He was the more induced to do this for another reason. Dr.
M'Crie, while treating of the progress of clerical learning in
Scotland, towards the close of the eighteenth century, takes
occasion to mention the writings of Rollock and Bruce. Of
Rollock he says:–“The former published Commentaries on most
of the books of the New Testament, and on some parts of the
Old, which were speedily reprinted on the continent, with warm
recommendations by foreign divines. Though they contain occa-
sional remarks on the original, Rollock's commentaries are not
distinguished for critical learning, nor do they discover deep re-
search; but they are perspicuous, succinct, and judicious. His
treatise on Effectual Calling is a compendious system of divinity,
and affords a favourable specimen of the manner in which he exe-
cuted this part of his academical lectures.” (Life of Melville, vol.
ii. p. 421.) While on the one hand this treatise can hardly be
called a compendious system of divinity—it is but a small por-
tion cut out of the system taught by Rollock—on the other, the
PREFA CE. xvii
readers of this passage are liable to form the idea, (though the
sagacious biographer of Melville makes no such assertion,) that
from none of Rollock's works do we gather that he was a man of
deep research. The Editor is anxious to remove any impression so
erroneous. His own labours in following Rollock have taught
him the reverse. Rollock not only had read on the controverted
doctrines, but he had read deeply and had searched for himself.
In this part of his works, both his learning, his research, and his
dialectic skill, are triumphantly established. Were he to rise from
his grave now, and take his part with living men, he would, for
all the laborious strifes that have taken place since he flourished,
with the mastery which he had acquired over the points of debate,
be able, in respect to learning and logic, to uphold the fame of
the University, over whose infancy he presided. Not the less
acceptable, it is hoped, will this work be, at the present momentous
time.
Still further to enable the reader to judge of Rollock as a
teacher of theology, there has been added to the close of this
volume, a Tractate, entitled, De aeterma Mentis Divinae approba-
tione et improbatione, the original of which, a broadside, is in the
Advocates Library. ' This it has not been deemed expedient
to translate partly on account of its scholastic terminology, which
hardly admits of successful translation, and, partly, because
those only who are acquainted with the original Latin, are likely
to take much interest in the Tractate. It must be remembered,
that though the Reformers had made great progress in theological
knowledge, they had not wholly freed themselves from the fetters
of the various stiff and pedantic schools of logic, in which it was
then, and long afterwards, the fashion to train the mind. The
most momentous themes were played with as mere abstractions.
Having concocted from certain premises the intermediate conclu-
sions to which their rules led them, they treated these deductions
1 The Editol gladly avails himself of this opportunity of recording his grateful sense
of the dignified courtesy, combined with rare and profound learning, with which Dr
Irving so long graced this National Institution.
b
xviii l?RElPACE.
as algebraists use their symbols. They reasoned them out, with-
out remembering the darkness and doubt which overhang all the
steps of moral reasoning, the moment that we pass the limits of our
own consciousness, and that wherever revealed truth deals with the
unknown, to enquire beyond what is written is foolish and dan-
gerous. This often gives a dryness and repulsiveness to the spe-
culations of our early divines. They appeal too little to the mind
as it is ; they fashion phantoms similar to the idola theatri of
Bacon, and from these draw their conclusions, which are utterly
valueless. For, change or doubt one part of the definition, or
add one other element, and the whole structure falls to the
ground. Protestantism is extricating herself from this, though
the process of extrication seems slow, and not yet complete. The
constant references to Scripture, the proclamation of the gospel as
bearing directly in its effects upon the Soul, the appeals to con-
sciousness, and the freedom from dogmatic authority, which, in
order to create any thing like unity, must be regulated by a com-
mon standard, framed by minds deferring to mutual, felt, reflected
truth, all tend to break in picces the idols of a vain and fantastic
philosophy. The reader will find several instructive examples of
the struggle between Rollock's feeling of the practical, and his
habits as a dialectician, in the “Treatise of God’s Iºffectual Call-
ing,” while in the Tractate at the end of the volume he revels in
almost pure dialectics—a shrewd exercise for training subtle minds,
but dangerous withal, when the Bible and eternal truths are used
as the instruments of fence. &
From this evil or error, in all forms and appliances, the Scrimons
are wholly free. Of them Dr M'Crie (Life of Melville, ibid.)
has well remarked: “Ilis sermons, which were published from notes
taken by some of his hearers, exhibit him in a very amiable light,
as condescending to men of low estate, and keeping sacredly
in view the proper end of preaching, the instruction and Salvation
of the people, and not the display of the learning, ingenuity, or
eloquence of the preacher.” But we shall first show what has
I?I&EIFACE. xix
been done in this volume, regarding the sermons, before we at-
tempt to point out their peculiarities.
Not long after Rollock's death, in 1599, eleven of his sermons,
concocted from notes taken by his students, were published at
Edinburgh. Dr M'Crie (ibid.) conjectures, that the Epistle to
the Christian Reader was written by Melville. Whether this
was the case or not, it is probable, from a passage in the republi-
cation of 1616, (p. 454 of this edition,) that the collectors and
editors were IIenry Charteris and William Arthur. From the
same passage, where we learn that in 1616 there were no copies
of the sermons extant, we may form some notion of the great
popularity of this publication. For, in the inventory of books
forming the stock of the printer, Henry Charteris, who died 29th
August 1599, we find, “Item, ane thousand Rollocke's Sermons,
at vis. the pece, summe cocf.” This was a large sale for that
time.
The original sermons were printed in the Scottish dialect.
The volume is one of 282 pages 8vo, and contains, after the
Epistle to the Reider, the three sonnets by James Melville.
Charteris and Arthur were induced to republish these eleven
sermons, with seven more, in 1616, as we judge from the date
of the Dedicatory Epistle to Sir William Scott of Elie, (see p.
455.) We have not seen any copy bearing this date on the
title-page; but we are told that there is at least one copy with
that date in Glasgow.” Those that we have seen have the date
1634, and are evidently the same edition with a new title-page,
which may have been occasioned by the death of the printer;
for the book was printed in 1616 by Andrew IIart, and he died in
1621." The republication alters the pluraseology and the spelling
! Bammalyne Miscellany, vol. ii. p. 224; pointed out by T)avid Laing, Esq., Keepov
of the Signet Library, who has taken much interest in this publication, and to whom
the Wodrow Society, as well as all interested in the early literature of Scotland, are,
in many respects, deeply indebted.
* We owe this information to Mr Rowand, Librarian of New College, Edinburgh,
whose stores of information aro open to all who are investigatiug unatters like these.
” Bannatyne Miscellamy, vol. ii. p. 241.
/ 2
XX PREFACE. ^.
of the Sermons originally published, from the Scottish to the Eng-
lish dialect and form, so far as the provincial skill of the editors
allowed them. In now reprinting these sermons, it seemed a mat-
ter of interest to give the reader an opportunity of comparing the
Scottish with the English version. Accordingly, the eleven ser-
mons of the first publication of 1599 are copied verbatim et literatim
from that edition. At the foot of the pages are given, as lectiones
variantes, the changes in the words and phrases introduced by the
original editors in the edition of 1616. Where the change made
is merely one of spelling, or grammatical correction, no notice is
taken, as that would have been to reprint both. The seven Ser-
mons that are peculiar to the Anglicized edition of 1616, are, of
course, given in their English dress, with no other change than
in the spelling, which is modernized. Not a word or a phrase
is altered ; even what we should now deem grammatical errors,
are retained and sanctioned. If any one is inclined to censure
the alteration in the spelling, we would shelter ourselves under
the authority of Southey, whom no one will accuse of under-
valuing old usage. He says, (The Doctor, p. 383, ed. 1848):
“There is no good reason why the capricious spelling of the early
editions should be scrupulously and pedantically observed in
Shakespeare, Milton, or any author of their respective times;–
no reason why words which retain the same acceptation, and are
still pronouced in the same manner, should not now be spelt ac-
cording to the received orthography.” - -
Principal Lee—in his elaborate “Memorial for the Bible Socie-
ties of Scotland,” p. 24—says of these Sermons, that “they have
all the quotations from the Scriptures according to the Geneva
version.” This is nearly correct. The only variations which we
have noticed are the following. In the text to the Fifth Sermon,
(p. 353), 2 Cor. v. 17, the Geneva translation (we refer to Bassan-
dyne's reprint of 1576, from the Geneva translation of 1560),
gives: “Therefore, if any man be in Christ, [let him be] a new
creature.” The brackets intimate a supplement of the translator's,
the words in the original being, &ore ºf 716 & Xºlorø, ºwn ºrious.
PREFACE. xxi
The reader will find that Rollock fills up the supplement as in our
version, and in the Geneva translation of 1557, “he is a new crea-
ture.” In the text to the Sixth Sermon, 1 Cor. ii. 9, the follow-
ing extraordinary sentence is from the Geneva translation: “The
things which eye hath not seen, neither ear hath heard, neither
came into man's heart, are which God hath prepared for them
that love him.” The reader will find, on turning to p. 364, that
the text prefixed to the sermons exhibits a translation almost ver-
batim the same as that of Tyndale, Cranmer, and our own autho-
rised version.
Let us, in imagination, transport ourselves to the New Church
of old Edinburgh, on some Sabbath morning, in the year 1596.
Let us enter with the citizens, worthy burgesses, their devout
dames and daughters, the thronging students, full of the pride of
young scholarship, but grave withal, and not a little checked by
the presence of those over whose spiritual interests they may be
called to preside. Besides, there is Master Charteris, and there
are his rolleagues, and many eyes are on those who are hereafter
to preach the gospel to an earnest age. Early as the hour is, not
a few of the barons are there, and the judges of the land. The
Court is at Holyrood—the King has marked Rollock with his
confidential friendship—and, though the devout man has no
scruple in denouncing sin in high places, he has never been known
to become personally minatory. It is known that his fame is in
other lands besides his own. And he is at the head of the Uni-
versity, by which much good has been done, and more is expected,
for Edinburgh and for Scotland. -
One or two old men are there, who, when mere boys, saw the
fires lighted at the Rood of Greenside, and the intrepid Straiton
expiate with his life the crime of adhering to Scripture truth.
Many changes have they seen, regencies, reigns, riots, foreign
troops beleaguering their city, murder rampant in the very palace,
one sovereign treacherously slain, another deposed, a prisoner, and
a victim—but never has that fearful sight left their eyes or their
xxii PREFACE.
heart; and, under its influence they have assisted like men to
overthrow a crazy superstition, the foundation of which was already
destroyed by the death-blaze of many a funeral pile. There are
some younger, but still old men, who.date their reformed creed
from the barbarous death of Walter Milne, that devout man of
“decrepit age.” The smoke of his execution had been wafted
to the furthest parts of Scotland. And not many months after his
death, when the Queen Regent was dining in Alexander Carpen-
ter's house, betwixt the bows, these very men had helped to “dad
the head of St Giles to the causey,” and had shouted, “Fy on thee,
young St Giles, thy father would not have been so wud.” Years
and greater knowledge have cooled their blood, but confirmed their
faith. Most of them have heard the trumpet tones of Knox, that
son of thunder; nay, some of them formed part of the deputation,
which, when his intrepid spirit refused to yield before the hostile
Hamiltons and their murderous designs, besought him, for their
sakes, to leave the town, and seek safety elsewhere. Fierce
enough times they had all seen, and fierce times they lived in, as
we would deem them, but they were calm when compared with
the storms that had nursed the hardy plant of the Scottish Kirk.
The Popish Lords are a subject of constant dread: and, familiarly
known as King James is to them all, sooth to tell, a little con-
tempt for his want of firmness, and strong doubts of his sincerity,
temper their confidence in his oft expressed zeal for the Church
that has neither Pasch nor Yule. Some of the sterner spirits too,
look on Rollock as too yielding. But even they attribute this to
his love of peace, and his scholarly habits. And they deny nei-
ther the holiness of his life, the purity of his doctrine, nor the
genuine worth of his preaching. It is remembered by them that
he has often spoken out boldly enough against the encourage-
ment given by the King to the enemies of the true faith, and that
on one occasion lately, howbeit otherwise a mild and meek man,
* See vol. ii. p. 109, for this passage; and for an account of the impression made by
it, see Calderwood, vol. v. p. 359. Calderwood enables us to fix the date of the Lec-
ture on John's gospel here referred to. It was delivered on the 5th of January 1595.
It appears that the allusion made in the lecture is not to the Papal Indulgences, as
IPREFACE. xxiii
while lecturing upon the release of Barabbas, he prayed God to
give the King a remission for all the remissions he had given
to murderers. It is likewise known, that whatever be the inten-
tion of the Court regarding the institution of Episcopacy, he has
published to the world in his worthy commentary upon the
Epistle to the Ephesians, a work highly commended by the most
famous theologians among them, that the office of bishops, as they
are lords over their brethren, is to be condemned, where, also, he
proves pastors and bishops to be both one." And, so in their love
of the man, the more ardent spirits are willing to forgive what they
deem a too easy spirit of compliance.
Let us now attend not to the hearers, but to the preacher.
He is now only in his forty-second year, but is evidently worn out
with labour. He looks on his audience with kindliest affection, and
with gentle voice gives out as his text, John iii. 6.” “That which
is born of the flesh is flesh; and that that is born of the Spirit is
spirit.” With great simplicity and clearness he shews the occa-
sion on which these words were uttered, and discriminates be-
tween the manner of the new birth, and its nature, the latter
being the subject of the discourse. He then examines, point by
point, the flesh and the generation thereof; the Spirit and re-
generation. On the first, he explains the nature of original sin,
and how it has corrupted body and soul, the understanding, the
will, the affections, and the natural powers and faculties; and this
corruption is common to all. “The root and seed of all mischief
under the sun is compacted in every man and woman.” Even
stated in the note to the passage, but to the corruption of the Court, which led to such
remissions. The courteous reader will also forgive and correct an anachromism which
occurs in the note to p. 133 of the second volume. The allusion is plainly to the
death of Henry III. of France, 6th August 1580, by the hands of Jacques Clement,
and not to the murder of Henry IV. To return to the chronology of the Lectures on
John, in vol. ii. p. 469, notice is taken of a dearth, which probably occurred in the
course of 1595, or the beginning of 1595,-(See Calderwood, vol. v. p. 410,) and was
the precursor of the greater dearth of 1596. Again, in vol. ii. p. 267, notice is taken
of the proposed division of Edinburgh into parishes—a proposal which, we may safely
conclude, was first made somewhere in the end of the year 1595.
1 Row's History of the Kirk of Scotland, p. 419.
2 Sce the Sixteenth Sermon.
xxiv. PREFACE.
when lurking in the soul, it is to be feared; though men think
they have not the pest, present an occasion and it bursts out into
actual sin. “Even, as we see sometimes, that fire will be so hid-
den and covered under the ashes, that it will not appear, and men
will think that there is no fire there; but as soon as there is any
meet and apt matter, as wood, powder, or brimstone applied,
then it will manifest itself, and burst forth into a flame.” Yet it
is more dangerous when it bursts out, giving pleasure and cause
of boasting to wicked men. He uses a homely similitude to de-
clare this matter. “A man will have a worm in his finger, or
tooth. It will keep itself quiet, and cease from gnawing for a sea-
son, and he will think he is whole enough; but take a little vinegar,
or some such like piercing and sharp water, then she will begin to
gnaw, and then the silly man will complain that he was beguiled,
when he thought he was well enough. Even so it is with the con-
science of man; for it lieth in the soul of man lurking, as a worm
lieth in the flesh, and sometimes it gnaweth, and sometimes it lieth
still, and letteth the murderer, the adulterer, the oppressor, go for-
ward in murder, adultery, oppression, and other most abominable
sins, without any accusation, grief, remorse, or fear of the law of God,
and threatening of the curses thereof. I shall tell you more than
that. Sometimes the conscience of a miserable malefactor will be
so senseless, that it will nowise be moved by the preaching. A
murderer will be sitting before the minister; a vile, filthy adul-
terer will be sitting there, devising how to accomplish their abo-
minable lusts, in the meantime that the minister will be threatening
judgment against their wickedness. They will not be moved by
the threatenings, but will disdain and scorn them in their hearts,
and will say, ‘This fellow doeth nothing but prate and rail what
he pleaseth ; and, after preaching, will go out merrily to his din-
1 What was the notion of our ancestors on this subject 2 The reader can hardly
fail to call to mind a similar allusion in Shakespeare;
Not half so big as a round little worm,
Prick'd from the lazy finger of a maid.
See pp. 372, 373, for other suggestive questions on the science of Rollock's time.
PREFACE. XXV
ner, and there curse, and swear, and blaspheme God's name, and
thereafter go to his bed as a beast, or a senseless sow.” This
corruption descends to a man's children, and if we take no care
of that corruption, that sore pest shall be laid to our charge in
that great day. He next turns to regeneration, and to Christ, not
only our elder brother, but our spiritual father. The generation of
his Spirit is called regeneration, which is an alteration and chang-
ing of the whole nature of man, accomplished and performed by
the powerful operation of the Holy Spirit. The mind and reason,
the will and the affections are all changed. This is not an easy
work. “Yea, thou mayest see that it is a thing altogether im-
possible, except that almighty Spirit of God be present, and work
it effectually in the soul. All the kings of the earth, with all the
weapons and engines of war, cannot be able to do it. No, all the
angels in heaven are not able to accomplish this work.” The
Spirit of God alone can do it, and, let great men, let worldly men
esteem of it as they please, God hath ordained this ministry, to
minister this wonderful power whereby the souls of men shall be
regenerated. Nor is the work of regeneration' perfected in an
instant. It continues all the days of a man’s life. Faith is the
means of our change. Beholding Christ with the eyes of faith,
we are changed according to our faith. When we shall see him
face to face, and behold him as he is, then shall we be like him in
glory; the change shall be perfect. His presence shall be effec-
tual to change our vile body, and to fashion it like unto his own
glorious body. When we behold his glory, we shall be changed
into the same glory. But not for ourselves alone should this
doctrine be pondered by us. “Brethren,” says the warm-hearted
preacher, in conclusion, “this is mine exhortation to all, both to
1. It will be seen that Rollock uses the word regeneration, in one aspect of it, as
equivalent to sanctification. It is important to notice the same use of the word in the
Treatise on Effectual Calling. Sometimes also he calls it glorification, (see chapter
xxxviii,) which he uses in the active sense, not of being glorified, but of glorifying God.
Regeneration is with him the cause or process, and glorification the effect or result.
It is necessary to attend to this in order to understand the twelfth division of his
Theological Course. (See p. 25.)
xxvi PREFACE.
great and small, (I except none, from the king to the beggar,)
strive, as ye are instruments of generation, so to be instruments
of regeneration, that your children may be taken out of nature
and planted in grace, and so be made members of the mystical
body of Jesus Christ. Strive to bring them up in the knowledge
of Christ, that so ye may be free of that heavy judgment which
remaineth for all such as neglect this duty towards their children;
and that ye may see God’s blessing upon your children here, and
may have hope of that eternal life and glory hereafter, which the
Lord hath promised to his own in Christ Jesus.”
With manly, sound, practical, and stirring teaching like this,
were our fathers edified some two centuries and a half ago.
In the Additions to the Coronis appended to Row's Historie
of the Kirk of Scotland, (p. 469,) we find a pleasing account of
Rollock's manner of dealing with his pupils. We are there
told that Mr Rollock took John Row, in 1590, “to waite
upon himselfe and to studie with him. Mr Rollock wes verie
kind to him and made much of him for his father's sake, he
also having been regent to his tuo elder brethren in the Old
Colledge of St Andrews. He used him rather as a friend, nor
as a servant, and wes most communicative with him. He used
ordinarlie on the Saturday afternoone to walk out to the feilds,
choosing him to carie a booke or two with him, that he might read
and meditate in the feilds. His ordinarie custom wes to tell him
what wes his text he wes to preach upon to-morrow, and what
wes his reasons and doctrines raised from the text, saying, ‘Mr
John, does that doctrine rise clearlie from my text P’ ‘Is this
use suitable to the doctrine, and pertinent for our people P’ All
this, and the lyke passages, as it argued much humilitie and con-
descending self-denyall in the learned, pious and prudent man,
famous Mr Rollock, so it sheuverie much kyndeness in him and
care of his servant, using him rather as ane comerad and intimate
friend then a servant.” A fine picture this of the godly man and
his youthful attendant, musing at even-tide, in our fields, on the
truths which were, on the morrow, to be addressed to our own
PREFACE. xxvii
forefathers. But we notice it here, to bring out the characteris-
tics of Rollock's method of treating his subject. His anxiety
to make the doctrine rise clearly from the text, exactly cor-
responds with his own language, (see p. 318,) “Learne the
wordis, for all the doctrine rysis of the wordis.” His habit is
carefully to examine the occasion which gave rise to the words
that furnish the subject for his comments; he then investigates
the train of thought pursued, in the passage. This he does
without any shew of learning, or any critical analysis of the ori-
ginal. There is no parade of scholastic erudition, and his exami-
nation is simple and clear. It is evident that he understood
perfectly the difference between a promiscuous audience met to
hear the truths of the gospel, and a class of pupils in their course
of training for pursuing truth in all the various processes, and for
acquiring those habits of investigation which should lead them
authoritatively and successfully to teach others. Of this, the reader
will be convinced, if he compares the 25th chapter of the “Treatise
on God's Effectual Calling,” which treats on original sin, with the
16th sermon, where the same subject is handled. The one is a
learned and scholarlike dissertation on the subject, enquiring into
opinions and refuting opponents—too often, it must be admitted,
degenerating into the varied and useless subtleties peculiar to his
time. The latter is a popular, forcible and practical exposition of
the truths to which Scripture and reason pointed, and has the ful-
ness, without any of the pedantry of scholarship. This is the more
to be admired, because the attentive reader will mark an under-
current of scholarlike thought running through the whole of these
discourses. He tacitly gives the result of his study, but the
unlearned hearer would never notice the process. Thus, in the
text to the Fourth Sermon, (2 Cor. v. 14,) there occur the words,
‘H Yèg &Y&rn rod Xgorod avyża hugg—where the genitive may
be either subjective or objective. Thus, Bloomfield remarks, “it
may mean either the love we bear to Christ, as John xv. 9 and 10,
or rather, as in Eph. iii. 14, the love which Christ bears to us.”
See how, (p. 348,) Rollock brings out this point with a strong
xxviii PREFACE.
practical tendency, ““For the lufe of God constraynis us. As
gif he wald say, I am constrained to this fulischnes; and ane
charge is laid on mee to doe Sa. I am bund and obleist sa to
do: that is, to be ane wod man for the glorie of my God. And
quhairfra cummis this necessitie? It is the love of God (sayis
he) that constraynis me: this band that bindis mee is the love
of Christ—not the love quhilk I beir to him, that is over waik,
bot the lové quhilk he beiris to mee, it bindis all my sensis,
and careis mee to honour my God with my haill bodie.” In the
same way, in the Eleventh Sermon, (p. 435,) he has a tacit re-
ference to the original. The word translated in the prefixed text,
deceived, is, in the original, (Titus iii. 3.) 7xxvápavoi-the literal
force of which he expounds in the expressions; “He callis our
warkis tavering, going out of the way. Can ane wod man keip
the hie gait?” &c. And, similarly, immediately afterwards,
where the apostle uses the term 00VX800Vrag, and the translation
has “ serving the lustis,” he brings out the full force of the
original, in the words: “He descryvis this wavering, and he callis
it serving; it standis in slaverie,” &c. And on the idea of slavery,
thus suggested, he dwells with great force. Sometimes, though
rarely, he alludes to the Greek; as in p. 331, where he gives the
force of the original, pikorp,000802, (2 Cor. v. 9,) “‘We covet,”
sayis he, thair is the first word; and in the first language this word
importis not onlie ane common desire, botane ambitioun,” &c. So
in the Tenth Sermon, (p. 422,) he thus explains the word &rozcº-
godozitzy, “The word importis sic ane hope, as quhen ane man hes
his heid raisit up, his eies oppin and bent, awayting for ony thing
attentivelie,” &c. This is an accurate account of the word, and
indicates a minute attention to the original; yet the force of the
expression is brought out unobtrusively and without pedantry.
After Rollock has thus displayed the plain meaning of each
1 Compare with this the account given in the best of our modern Lexicons of the
New Testament—Robinson’s. “’Azozzé23ozíz, from the verb &rox242}ozáo (223, *éez,
head, 222sſa, to look,) i. g. rà ºff orgoéxfºrew. Etym. Mag. i. e. “to look away to-
wards any thing with the head bent forward,” and hence to await, to expect ear-
nestly,” &c.
PREFACE. xxix
portion of his text, he applies it doctrinally and practically to his
hearers. In this part of his teaching, he uses much simplicity,
earnestness, and plainness, applying himself to the consciousness
and the consciences of his hearers, speaking strongly, but withal
affectionately. Error he generally puts down by preaching the
truth. The Papistical doctrines he does combat, but briefly.
Here, too, there is a marked difference between his sermons and
his academical prelections. In the latter he is learned, argumen-
! tative, and scholastic; in the latter he uses the authority of his
office, and announces the truth without controversy. There is
considerable skill in his mode of passing from his application of
each portion of the text, to the resumption of the analysis of the
next portion. He generally comes back, at the close of his appli-
cation, to the words of the text, and is thus enabled to proceed
without effort or break, to the part immediately succeeding.
The Twelfth and Thirteenth Sermons may be adduced as excel-
lent specimens of our author's manner, exhausting his subject,
and intimating much Christian experience, blended with practi-
cal wisdom. The plainness of his manner sometimes approaches
to familiarity, which, in the Scottish service, is pleasing from
its quaintness. Thus, in the Sixth Sermon, (p. 371,) “Thou
leis, suppois thou wer the Paip; I speik it to the glorie of God,
this Gospell that is preiched in Scotland, was fra all eternitie.”
And a little further on, in the same Sermon, (p. 374,) “I say mair
to zow, the mair ane man hes of naturall wit and judgement, the
mair he pride him in his wit, and clap his awin heid, and thinke
he hes ane wise pow, the mair he count of his awin wisdome, the
mair sall this wisdome of the Gospell be fulischnes to him: and
ever the wysest of the warld countis the Gospell the greatest
fulischnes. I had rather tak in hand to teiche ane idiote the Gos-
pell, and cause him to conceive it, gif God wald give me grace,
nor to tak ane heich-heided chylde, that is puffed up with the
pride of nature, to ding in him ane word of it.” But every ser-
mon abounds with instances.
There is strong internal evidence that the sermons have been
XXX PREEACE.
faithfully reported, and are accurate representations of Rollock's
manner. They agree, besides, with the various accounts which
we have of his affectionate, plain, and practical style of preaching.
The skilful teacher is evident throughout. The brief sentences,
—the attention kept up by questions skilfully interponed—the
variety of manner in the blending of comment, application, re-
monstrance, denunciation, and consolation—and, here and there,
unconscious dashes from the Professor's chair, seem characteristic
of the man. To the latter may be referred the attack on the Aris-
totelian school of Christians, in the Seventh Sermon, (p. 388,) cha-
racteristic of Rollock as a follower of Ramus, and such technical
terms as occur in the Fifteenth Sermon, (p. 502,) “But to consi-
der more narrowly, first, the ground of the proposition; then the
assumption; last, that joyful conclusion.” A careful reader, atten-
tive to the peculiarities of spoken addresses written down on the
spot, will be most convinced by the parenthetical clauses that are
constantly thrown in, awkwardly enough for a written discourse,
but most natural in the full flow of thought. A practised
speaker, in whose mind there arises a stray thought connected
with, but not part of his main idea, dashes it off in a word or
two, and resumes the principal topic, neither losing the happy
suggestion, on the one hand, nor, by dwelling too long on it,
drawing away attention from the main subject of the discourse.
This, indeed, constitutes one of the great charms of ready elo-
quence; and most of us must recognise in it that which has given
us pleasure, from imparting the idea of intimate converse with the
speaker. He seems for the moment not to be addressing us,
but merely thinking aloud. There is much of this in these ser-
mons. Take but one specimen. In the Sixth Sermon, (p. 366,)
he says, while speaking of the wisdom of God, (1 Cor. ii. 6) “The
Apostle beginnis his commendatioun at the Authour: and first
he lets zow se quha is not the Authour : then he lets Zow se in
verie deid quha is the Authour of this wisdom. (All this is spoken
of the Gospell quhilke we preiche to you, and thairfoir note everie
circumstance, mark the excellencie of this Gospell, quhilk the
PREFA CE. xxxi
Apostle to the Philip. iii. 8, callis, The eminencie of the knaw-
ledge of Jesus Christ quhilk mountis above al knawledge in this
warld.) Then quhome sayis he not to be the Authour of it *
The allusions too, contained in the sermons, to the times and
circumstances, stamp them with authenticity. The Eleventh
Sermon is a preparation for the communion (p. 431.) There are
throughout allusions to the condition of the ministry in Scotland;
the opposition of the Court is not obscurely hinted at ; and pas-
sing events are made the subjects of comment. Hence we are
able to fix somewhat precisely the date at which some, probably
the greater part, of these sermons were preached. It was in
1587 that Rollock commenced his morning discourses," and it was
only in the last year of his life that he began to undertake a regular
city cure. The sermons ought probably to be referred to the
former duty, and in all likelihood followed the Lectures on John :
—“Thair hes bene lang heiring and teiching amang us in this
Toun, bot the ischue of thingis testifies that thair hes bene
ane evill dispositioun in the hartis of the multitude; the present
trouble of this Toun tellis quhat hes been the dispositioun of
manie. For quhatever be the wark of men heirin, zit na questioun
the Lord hes his wark in it, to spuilzie thee for thy ingratitude
and evill dispositioun of thy hart of the libertie of his glorious
Gospell ; and gif this Gospell gang away, then Schame and con-
fusion sal licht not onlie upon this Toun, bot also on the haill
land and everie estait thairof.” (Sixth Sermon, p. 365.) There
were certainly about this time troubles enough in Edinburgh to
set at defiance all chronology founded on them : but taken into
connection with the fear of the loss of a gospel ministry, there is
small risk of error in fixing the date of this sermon to the close of
the year 1596, when the ministers of Edinburgh had to leave the
town on account of the absurdly magnified affair of the 17th De-
cember. Rollock seems to refer with as much censure as his
gentle nature will admit to the conduct of the citizens, in first
bringing their ministers into trouble, and then pusillanimously
1 See his [,ife, post ; and p. x., moto 1.
xxxii IPREFACE.
abandoning them. With this date also agrees the allusion in
these words:—“Now, I hear there is great poverty and famine in
this land; and wo unto them that are the instruments of hunger.
Let us be so far from this, to be the causes thereof, that, on the
contrary, we may pinch ourselves, that we may spare upon the
needy; for I see the Lord will try our liberality. Therefore, let
us spare upon the poor in this land, that we may hear of the Lord
in that great day, ‘Come ye blessed of my Father, for ye gave
me meat and ye gave me drink in this world.’” (Fifteenth Ser-
mon, p. 507.) This dearth is mentioned both by James Melville
(Autobiography, p. 367,) and Calderwood (vol. v. p. 437.) It
occurred in the same year 1596.
The attentive reader will not fail, not only to be edified by the
sound doctrine and simple eloquence of these sermons, but to dis-
cern in them instructive marks of the times in which they were
delivered. Violence, bloodshed, practical atheism, sensuality, the
corruption of the courts of law, excite the preacher's indignation,
and call forth his rebuke. There appears in his sermons, only in
a more chastened form, the same undaunted fearlessness of the
royal displeasure which marked his brethren. Look at the whole
passage in the Eighth Sermon (p. 401), beginning—“Ane man
quhom the Lord will send, he wil denunce damnation to an
obstinate and rebellious people; and he will be bauld to tak thee,
as it wer be the lug, suppois thou wer ane king, and leid thee to
that tribunall to heir the sentence of damnation pronounced against
thee. . . . Thair is na Lord, but the Lord Jesus, quha will tramp
down all the Lordis in the eirth, and tred upon thair craigis at his
pleisure.” By a brief sentence he gives a lively view of the good
old times in Edinburgh, when we had a king in the midst of us, and
neither he nor his people were sparing of intercourse, familiar enough,
with one another. “Thou wilt run out and in, hither and thither
to get a word of the king. And why not, if so thy necessity require?
But strive to get a word out of the mouth of Jesus.” (Fifteenth Ser-
mon, p. 509.) Rollock's notion of the ministerial office was high,
as will be seen in many places. We may point out one characte-
T’REFACE. xxxiii
ristic passage in the seventeenth sermon, (p. 532.) “And last,
this serveth to reprove the vain thoughts and ungodly speeches of
the common multitude; for they think this ministry to be but a
base and contemptible calling, and say, who should be placed into
it? Who but such fools and unworthy bodies as cannot be meet
for another calling? Who but kinless bodies? But if a gentle-
man, an esquire's son, a lord’s brother, take on this calling, he is
disgraced and abased therewith. But O, unworthy wretch no
emperor, no monarch, nor no flesh whatsoever, is worthy of so
great a calling; no, the angels in heaven honour not so much the
commission as the commission honoureth them.”
We hope that our readers will not deem that too much time has
been devoted to this imperfect account of these sermons. It is too
often the fate of such productions to be glanced at cursorily for a
few brief minutes and then laid on the shelf, an unheeded orna-
ment or incumbrance. The gentle, learned, and pious Rollock
merits kindlier treatment. To secure this, it seemed both suffi-
cient and necessary to show the reader, that he has before him the
living manner of the man whom all his contemporaries delighted
to honour as an unrivalled teacher of ministers, and who himself
was a persuasive and successful herald of the Cross, endowed with
all the unction of a gracious spirit.
HIGH SCHOOL OF EDINBURGH,
26th May 1849,
CONTENTS
OF
T H E FIRST V O L U M E.
Tage
Vitae et Obitus D. Roberti Rolloci, Scoti, Narratio ab Henrico
Charterisio Conscripta, . e © e & e . xxxix
Life of Principal Rollock by Principal Charteris, (translated, with
Notes, by the Editor, with list of Rollock’s Writings,) º lvii
Original Title Pages of Rollock's Tractatus de Vocatione Efficaci, and of
Holland's Translation, e e e º * tº & 1.
The Author's Epistle to King James VI., (translated by Holland,) 5
The Printer, Robert Waldegrave, to the Reader, (translated by
the Editor,) o o te e º º tº º * 7
Beza's Letter to John Johnston, (translated by Holland,). * 9
Holland's Epistle Dedicatory to Sir William Scott of Elie, e 13
Marbury to the Reader, © & e e e & e 19
Holland to the Reader, º º © © * & o 21
Rollock's Summary of Theology, (translated by the Editor,) . 23
Rollock's Summary, in the original Latin, e º te º 26
A TREATISE OF OUR EFFECTUAL CALLING: (translated by Holland:).
CHAPTER I. Outline of the Treatise, . e e e tº 29
II. Of the Word of God; especially of the Cove-
nant of Works, • • e e e 33
III. Of the Covenant of Grace, & sº 38
IV. Who are comprehended in God's Covenant, . 51
xxxvi CONTENTS.
A Treatise of our Effectual Calling:—
CHAPTER V. The Protestant and the Popish judgment of
these Covenants, . . .
*mºsºmºsºs VI. Of the written Covenant of God, .
— VII. Outline of the various Controversies on this Sub-
ject. Is the Scripture the Word of God?
VIII. Evidence that the Scripture is the Word of God,
Characteristics of the Scripture with relative Controversies:–
CHAPTER IX. First Characteristic of the Scripture — its
Antiquity, -
Ǻmºsºmºsºmsº X. Second Characteristic—its Perspicuity,
tºmºsºmºsºsºmºrºssº XI. Third Characteristic—its Simplicity,
— XII. Fourth Characteristic—its ever-living Efficacy,
— XIII. Fifth Characteristic—its Indispensability,”
—— XIV. Sixth Characteristic—its Perfection,
— XV. Seventh Characteristic—its Authority as a
* Judge of Controversies, º e ©
— XVI. Eighth Characteristic— its Authority as a
Ground of Faith, . e ſº
— XVII. What are the Books of the Scripture,
—— XVIII. The Authentic Edition of the Scripture—the
Old Testament, . * © e ſe
— XIX. The Authentic Edition of the Scripture—the
- New Testament, .. dº gº e
— XX. The Translations of the Old Testament,
— XXI. The Syriac Translation of the New Testa-
| ment, e ‘ º " • • e *
— XXII. The Latin Translations of both Testaments,
— XXIII. The Translation of the Scripture into the
s Mother Tongue,
— XXIV. Sin in general,
— XXV. Original Sin, .
51
61
63
68
75
78
94.
97
99
110
119
127
135
136
140
160
166
* The Editor finds that he has neglected to notice, in its place, an oversight of
Holland's, who has given, (p. 88) as the heading of the 13th Chapter, “Of the Fifth
Property of the Church,” &c., instead of Scripture. The original has Scripturæ Sacrae.
CONTENTS.
xxxvii
A Treatise of our Effectual Calling :-
CHAPTER XXVI.
XXVII.
— XXVIII.
— XXIX.
ſº-ººººººº- XXX.
-*- XXXI.
— XXXII.
— XXXIII.
YXXIV.
— XXXV.
Concupiscence, *
Actual Sin, º e e
The Sin against the Holy Ghost,
Justifying Faith,
Improper Significations of Faith,
Popish Doctrine of Faith,
Hope, © o
Charity or Love,
Repentance,
The Repentance of the Reprobate,
. Popish Doctrine of Repentance,
. Freewill,
YXXVIII.
Free Grace,
Catechetical Exposition of Modes of Revelation,
SERMONS:-
Page
178
180
188
194
203
212
223
234.
238
246
248
252
265
274.
Original Title Page to Edition of 1599, containing Eleven Sermons
in the Scottish dialect,
Address to the Christian Reader, © º e
Three Sonnets by James Melville on Rollock's Death,
SERMON I. 2. Cor. v. 1-4,
II. 2. Cor. v. 1-8,
— III. 2. Cor. v. 9-11,
—— IV. 2. Cor. v. 12-15,
— W. 2. Cor. v. 16-18, .
— VI. 1. Cor ii. 6-9,
— VII. 1. Cor. ii. 10-12, .
— VIII. 2. Cor. iv. 3-5. . Q &
— IX. 2. Cor. x. 1-5. *--
X. Philip. i. 18-26.
XI. Tit. iii. 3-7. o e e e
Original Title-page to Editions of 1616 and 1634, containing
Eighteen Sermons in the English dialect,
Epistle Dedicatory, to Sir William Scott of Elie,
The Seven additional Sermons:
SERMON XII. Psalm cºxx. 1-4. . . e o
289
291
297
299
315
329
342
353
364
378
391
403
4.17
431
451
453
457
xxxviii CONTENTS.
* Page
Sermon XIII. Psalm czxx. 5-8. . © & ſe º 470
XIV. Matth. xv. 21-28. . e © e º 482
m=º-º; XV. Luke vii. 37-50. º c o e e 495
— XVI. John iii. 6. e * • • e e 512
XVII. 1 Tim. i. 12-14. º º o e * 529
XVIII. 1 Tim. i. 14-16. w e e e o 546
DE AETERNA MENTIs DIVINAE APPROBATIONEET REPROBATIONE, 561.
^.
Nº. ,”
& 1 /
VITAE ET OBITUS
D. ROBERTI ROLLOCI, SC0TI,
NARRATIO AB
HENRICO CHARTE RISIO CONSCRIPTA
NARRATIO VITAE ET OBITUS SANCTIS-
SIMI DOCTISSIMIQUE VIRI D. ROBERTI ROLLOCI, SCOTI,
MINISTRI EVANGELII ET RECTORIS ACADEMIAE
EDINBURGENSIS.
JAM olim inolevit mos virorum illustrium et virtute aliis praecellen-
tium vitam obitumque describendi et ad posteritatis memoriam conse-
erandi. Laudabilis sane consuetudo, et qua vix alia observatione dignior.
Ejus enim maximus publice usus ad homines ad virtutem, pietatem, bo-
nosque mores excitandos. Mirum, quantum exempla rudiores moveant.
Nam quod præceptis, etiam ex ipso vivo sacrarum literarum fonte traditis,
tota vita discere non possunt, proborum virorum exemplo et imitatione
facile assequuntur: præsertim si noti sint, si eorum facta et mores oculis
obversentur, si palam fiat eorum tota conversatio. Quo magis moveor ut
piae memoriae Roberti Rolloci vitam moresque paucis describam, cujus
non doctrinam tantum, sed et sanctimoniam vitaeque integritatem ipsi
etiam qui supersunt et una cum eo vixerunt veritatis hostes inficiari non
possunt; ut et plerique qui adhuc vivunt meminerint quae bona ex eo di-
dicerint, et posteri exemplar habeant sibi propositum quod imitentur.
ROBERTUS ROLLOCUs matus, anno 1555, patre Davide Rolloco Puissae,
quae villa non longe Sterlino abest, comarcho, matre Maria Levingstonia
ex illustri Levingstoniorum familia oriunda. Singulari patris cura et
studio liberaliter educatus, etiam im ipsa pueritia cum prima elementa ad-
disceret, non obscurum magni ingenii specimem dedit; quo motus pater eum
Sterlinum ad humaniora studia capessenda amandavit. Hic praecep-
torem habuit Thomam Buchananum, magni illius Buchanani poetarum
sui saeculi facile principis ex fratre nepotem, spectatae tum probitatis tum
eruditionis virum, et egregium juventutis erudiendae magistrum, sub cujus
ferula ita in humanioribus literis profecit ut Buchananus eum impense
xlii NARRATIO VITAE ET OBITUS
dilexerit ; et Rollocus vicissim praeceptoris amorem ita compensavit ut
multis post annis, cum Academiae Edinburgenæ praefectura fungeretur,
nunquam eum Edinburgum pro re nata venientem passus sit extra do-
mum suam hospitari, eique insignem illum Commentarium in priorem ad
Thessalonicenses Epistolam in testimonium gratitudinis dicarit. Ubi in
studiis humanioribus satis maturuisset, misit eum pater Andreapolim ad
sublimiora illa philosophiae studia ineunda ; ubi Collegium quod Salva-
torianum vocant ingressus, eos progressus, Regente Joanne Caro viro
eruditissimo, in philosophiae studiis fecit, ut ex condiscipulis pauci eum
assecuti sint, nemo anteierit. Exacto hoc curriculo, etsi omnibus propter
egregias quae in eo enitebant dotes esset carissimus, vicaria tamen opera
aliquamdiu in docenda philosophia functus est, donec vacante loco in mu-
merum professorum philosophiae allectus est ; in qua professione ita cum
philosophiae studiis pietatem animis adolescentium instillavit, ut magnam
inde laudem adeptus sit, et coeperit ipsius nomen latius propagari.
Accidit interea ut Senatus Edinburgensis de erigenda Edinburgi Aca-
demia cogitare coeperit, idque praecipue instigatione Jacobi Lausonii
pastoris fidelissimi, cujus eximia eruditio et pietas digna est quae omnibus
saeculis celebretur, et Gulielmi Litilli viri integerrimi, et propter specta-
tam prudentiam ac fortitudinem civibus suis carissimi. Cogitatio haec
hinc orta, quod regni metropolis esset, et animadverteret Senatus cives
suos, non tantum gravi molestia, sed magno etiam impendio, liberos
Andreapolin aut ad alias Academias erudiendos ablegare, et quod intel-
ligeret complures tenuioris fortunae sic angustia rei familiaris premi, ut
extra domum suam sumptus educandis liberis tolerare nequirent, eoque
coactos plerumque sublimia ingenia mechanicis artibus addicere. Ubi
hoc semel Senatui propositum, nihil omittit quod ad opus promovendum
spectaret, aedificia tanto operi idonea comparat, quae deerant a fudamen-
tis extruit, prudenter etiam cavet ut omnia in promptu sint ante ineuntem
Octobrem, quo tempore philosophiae candidati se ad Academias conferre
solent ; omnibus abunde provisis, consultare demum coepit de Rectore
qui Academiae praesset. »
Innotuerat jam multorum relatione Jacobo Lausonio Rollocus noster,
qui et ad eum literas miserat humanitatis plenas, quibus eum ad hanc
provinciam suscipiendam hortatus erat: his comiter et amice respondit
Rollocus, et, ut erat homo vere aliis instituendis natus, promptum se pa-
ratumque ostendit si honesta accederet vocato. Adit itaque Senatum
ROBERTI ROLLOCI. xliii
¢ ® ®
Lausonius, cujus summa apud eum erat auctoritas, edocet nullum magis
idoneum cui Academiae praefectura committatur quam Rollocum, de
cujus doctrina et vitae sanctimonia abunde sibi constaret. Decernitur
continuo accersendum Rollocum, et electi in eam rem duo cives primarii,
qui Andreapolin contendant. Ii Rollocum adeunt, rem omnem ei aperi-
unt, hortantur serio me in tam sancto negotio senatui desit, et facile quod
volunt persuadent, Veniens Edinburgum Rollocus Senatum alloquitur ;
facillime inter eos convenit ; praefecturam Academiae suscipit—quam ita
gessit quamdiu vixit ut nihil unquam majori, aut Ecclesiae emolumento,
aut Reipublicae ornamento cesserit.
Calendis Octobris anni 1583, in publico Academiae auditorio luculen-
tam habuit orationem, confluente copiosa, cujusque ordinis multitudine,
qua egregiam sui in animis hominum admirationem concitavit. Postri-
die, qui dies indictus erat adolescentibus qui philosophicum cursum statu-
erant inire ad conveniendum, magna sese offerentium multitudo affuit.
Nam ad famam apertae Edinburgi Academiae, multi mom ex ipsa tantum
urbe, sed ex vicina etiam regione, confluxerunt adolescentes; quos omnes
Rollocus in Latini sermonis puritate addiscenda usque ad diem examini
constitutum diligentissime exercuit. Habito examine, plerique qui com-
perti sunt ad capessendum cursum philosophicum minus idonei, curae
Duncani Narnii, viri morum elegantia et doctrina singulari, ut eos exac-
tius in literis humanioribus in sequentem annum institueret, commissi
sunt. In ipso autem limine cum institutione disciplinam conjunxit, et
plerosque, laxiori trivialium scholarum disciplina effraenes, adhibita seve-
ritate compescuit ; severitatem tamen insita quadam sibi clementia pru-
denter temperavit, et utramque religionis elementis sic miscuit, ut gutta-
tim tenellis adolescentium animis pietatem instillaret. Inque eam rem
singulis diebus Saturni, cum discipulos a mane ad meridiem usque dispu-
tationibus exercuisset, a meridie praelegit Quaestiones Bezae, in quas etiam
brevem analysim ad discipulorum memoriam juvandam edidit; in iis,
etiam diebus Dominicis ab hora septima matutina ad sesquioctavam qua
adeunda erat concio eos continuo exercuit, et a meridie, ex quo a po-
meridiana concione reditum est, post repetitas quas in templo audierant
comciones, rationem exigebat. Deinde Catechesin Palatinatus eorum
memtibus diligenter inculcavit, et textus Scripturae selectos perspicue im-
terpretatus est, adhibita etiam accurata analysi, qua facillime mentem
Spiritus Sancti assequi possent, nihilque omisit corum quae ad Dei cog-
xliv NARRATIO VITAE ET OBITUTS
mitionem et timorem adolescentium animis imprimendum facere possint ;
quibus ipsius laboribus felici successu abunde benedixit Deus.
Neque tamen haec tanta in studiis pietatis sedulitas quicquam remorata
est ordinaria humanitatis aut philosophiae studia. Nam toto quadriennii
curriculo, postquam in Graeci linguae cognitione probe eos instituisset,
summa cura et solicitudine Aristotelis contextum singulis hebdomadae
diebus discipulis praelegit. Exorsus ab Organo Logico Ethica Nicoma-
cheia et Physica percurrit, quibus adjecit etiam arithmeticae principia,
doctrinam de anatomia corporis humani, de sphaera, accurate exposito
textu Joannis de Sacro Bosco, de geographia; ut mirum videri possit, aut
potuisse eum tam multa docere, aut discipulos discere. Qui tamem, Deo
ipsius laboribus benedicente, ita in singulis hisce profecerunt, ut non minus
parati essent de unoquoque rationem reddere quam si ei soli, neglectis
reliquis, incubuissent. Sed in tanta alacritate ac animorum promptitudine
quanta tum in adolescentibus fuit, quid non posset labor improbus?
Exacto curriculi philosophici quadriennio, post accuratam singulorum
examinationem, laurea, quam magistralem vocant, eos donavit, sed prius
summa gravitate admonitos officii sui. Monuit eos quanta diligentia et
solicitudine eorum bono invigilasset, quam serio semper eorum animos
praeparasset ad alteram illam vitam ac immortalem, ad quam hortatus
erat ut vitae hujus praesentis ac periturae omnes cogitationes, omnia studia
etiam humaniora, omnes actiones dirigerent ; quam serio dederit operam
ut ejus vitae sensu aliquo magis magisque indies afficerentur, ut eo quasi
gustu futurae laetitiae ac gloriae allecti desiderarent illam plenitudinem
gaudiorum, et suspirantes expectarent adoptionem et redemptionem cor-
poris sui. Commendabat quidem iis artes, scientias, exercitationes quas-
cunque quae sunt etiam hujus vitae, postulabatque ut quam primum in-
grederentur certum aliquod vitae genus honestum ac laudabile, in quo vel
ecclesiae vel reipublicae usibus inservirent ; sed ita semper ut memi-
nerint admonitionis Paulinae, ** ut quia tempus contractum est, in poste-
rum uterentur hoc mundo ut non abutentes;” qua permisit quidem Paulus
procurationem istorum omnium quae ad praesentem vitam pertinent, sed
ita tamen ut interea, dum his exercerentur, πολέtevua suum haberent in
coelis—hoc est, dum corpora versantur circa ea, animi interea in coelis sint,
intuentes Deum, ejus voluntatem et gloriam, et expectantes inde venturum
Dominum et servatorem Jesum Christum, qui transformet corpus nostrum
humile ut conforme fiat corpori suo glorioso. Protestatus est detestabile
ROBERTI 1ROLLOCI. xlv
se semper censuisse profanum illud hominum genus et atheos illos qui se
potius quam Deum spectarent, quibus omnia hujus vitae bona tandem in
exitium sint cessura. Postremo sermonem suum conclusit cum seria
exhortatione ad pietatem, Sanctimoniam vitae, perseverantiam in ea ve-
ritate et religionis puritate quam accepissent, et in qua educati essent.
IPost emissam primam hanc classem, contracto cum IIelena Baronia
lectissima foemina connubio, valedixit philosophiae, et totum se sacrarum
literarum studio, ad quod ab ineunte aetate semper animam appulerat,
tradidit; et suffecto Philippo Hislopo, adolescente probo et erudito, qui
succedentem classem susciperet, Academiae praefectura contentus fuit, in
qua nihil omisit eorum quae ad ipsius commodum spectarent. Quis hic
non impensam ipsius industriam admiretur ? Consuevit enim frequenter
singulas classes adire, cujusque sedulitatem et progressum in studiis ex-
plorare, si quae contentiones, si quae turbae incidissent, egregia celeritate
ac prudentia componere, universos ad perstandum in officio erigere, quo-
tidie omnibus in auditorium convocatis preces ipse celebrare. Unaquaque
hebdomada unius diei delectum fecit, quo discipulis suis omnibus in unum
coëuntibus textum aliquem scripturae interpretatus est, unde admonitiones,
hortationes, comminationes salutares eruit, non sermonis fuco obductas,
verum sententiarum pondere ac gravitate efficaces ad adolescentium ani-
mos emolliendos, instituendos, et ad sanctimoniam efformamdos. Hujus
praelectionis tanta fuit efficacia, ut ea adolescentium animi arctius quam
asperiori aliqua disciplina in officio continerentur. Absoluta praelectione,
scrutari deinde coepit ex censoribus quos ad delicta singulorum in suis
classibus observanda, nominarat, quos ea hebdomada notassent delin-
quentes. Delatos summa dexteritate increpuit, iram Dei ante oculos pro-
posuit, dedecoris metu attonitos reddidit—quibus plus ad poenitentiam et
vitae emendationem apud eos profecit quam si mille plagas inflixisset.
Quibus enim aliorum nec verba, nec verbera dolorem afferre, lacrymas
excutere quivissent, coelestem iram intonando, blandis promissis mulcendo,
sic eos terruit, concussit, prostravit, ut suspiria, singultus, interdum etiam
fletus uberrimos expromeret. Illud in eo autem fuit insigne, quod sive
promissiones evangelicas proponeret, sive severe judicia minitaretur, ita
se interdum etiam nequissimi animo adversus quem vehementissime ex-
canduisset insinuavit, ut profusum ejus in se amorem derivaret, neque
tam metu quam amore ad ultroneum obsequium traduceret. Consuevit
etiam singulis hebdomadis, vel ut occasio ferebat, Regentes convocare, ut
xlvi NARRATIO VITAE ET OBITUS
inter se conferendo consultarent et dispicerent si quid reformatione opus
haberet, aut in melius mutari posset ; quo factum ut Academiae disciplina
purior, exactior et magis integra permaneret.
Postquam emissa classe et sepositis studiis philosophicis se ad theolo-
giam contulisset, dici vix potestquanta sedulitate, quanta vigilantia, quantis
laboribus conatus sit eos ipsos adolescentes, quotquot ad rerum divinarum
studia animos applicassent, in theologia instituere, interdum quidem ana-
lysin logicam in Epistolas Paulinas aut alios sacra Scripturae libros dic-
titans, interdum locos communes tractans, interdum controversa cum pon-
tificiis religionis capita examinans; in quibus studiis ita assidue versatus
est, ut nullam diei horam vacuam praeterire permitteret. Hanc tam as-
siduam operam condiebat crebris hortationibus, quibus adolescentes ad
sanctimoniam et fidelitatem in munere pastorali, ad quod eos praeparabat,
incitabat. Postulabat imprimis ne crudos se ac immaturos ad munus
illud protruderent. Zelum quidem serio iis commendabat, sed prudentia
conditum ; in nulla re magis quam in zelo errari, quem alii praecipiti suo
affectu, alii, ut tum ferebant tempora, inconsulto vesanae plebis judicio
metirentur ; fovendum quidem in Ecclesia zelum genuinum ; esse eum
ignem coelitus descendentem, quem ali in domo Dei operae pretium sit ;
explodendum tamen zelum adulterinum, quod ignis sit peregrinus. Ob-
nixe autem serioque suadebat me res suas privatas praetextu religionis
quaererent, neque famam sinceritatis alios suggillando, criminando, tax-
ando aucuparentur ; hortatus etiam ut nihil opinionis, omnia conscientiae
gratia agerent. Huic tam indefesso studio et immensis laboribus ita bene-
dixit Deus ut plurimos paucis annis ad munus pastorale propulerit, in
quibus sanctimoniae et eruditionis suae viva effigies eluceret.
Ad hos labores tanta industria exantlatos accedebat et alius, quod cum
videret in templo, quod Novum vocatur, ingentem summo mane convenire
multitudinem populi, nollet eum, ut solebat, otiosum sedere ; sed—tanta
hominem alios in via Domini instituendi incessit cupido—singulis diebus
Dominicis hora septima matutina, quod antehac Edinburgi nunquam fac-
titatum, palam concionari coepit, tanta spiritus et potentiae demonstra-
tione, tanto sententiarum pondere, tanta verborum gravitate ut plerorum-
que mentes coelesti luce perfunderet, affectus permoveret, omnes in sui
admirationem raperet. Neque enim vulgus tantum movit, sed et erudi-
tum hominum genus sic affecit ut novam lucem in mentibus suis accendi,
movos affectus in cordibus formari non obscure sentirent ac profiterentur.
a.
POBERTI ROILI.OCI. xlvii
Postquam sie concionando absolvisset Apostoli Pauli Epistolam ad
Ephesios, scripsit in eam Commentarium, qui typis excusus est anno 1590.
Eodem fere tempore, in Academia discipulis suis publice diebus Lunae
praelegit Epistolam ejusdem Apostoli ad Romanos, inque eam edidit ana-
lysin logicam, interjecto etiam, occasione aureae illius catenae beneficio-
rum Dei quae cap. viii., vers. 30 habetur, tractatu insigni de nonnullis
Christianae doctrinae capitibus. Duo haec scripta cum forte in manus
celeberrimi illius theologi D. Theodori Bezae incidissent, tanto gaudio
ejus animum perfuderunt, ut in epistola ad Joannem Johnstonum Theo-
logiae in Academia Andreana professorem non potuerit se continere
quin in ejus laudes erumperet. Visum cst aliqua ipsius verba attexere.
** Hoc ipso tempore,” inquit, “ mihi contigit thesaurum nancisci, qui nescio
quo sinistro fato, quamvis hic in omnium aliorum conspectu versaretur,
me tamen adhuc subterfugerat : thesaurum enim cur non appellem, et
quidem pretiosissimum, illos honorandi summe fratris, D. Rolloci, tum in
Epistolam ad Romanos, tum in Epistolam ad Ephesios, utramque inter
Apostolicas omnes celebratissimam, commentarios ? Sic enim ego qui-
dem de iis apud me statuo (quod absque ulla specie adulationis dictum
velim) nihil adhuc legisse me in hoc interpretationis genere brevius simul,
et tum elegantius, tum judiciosius scriptum ; ut ipse me iis inspectis con-
tinere nequiverim, nec, etiam opinor, debuerim, quin et Deo de hoc
utilissimo procul dubio quamplurimis futuro labore gratias magnas
agerem, et tantum hoc vobis bonum, vel toti potius Ecclesiae gratularer,
Deum precatus ut hunc hominem novis subinde donis auctum feliciter
conservet, hoc praesertim tempore, in quo propter tantam operariorum in
excolenda Dei nostri vinea raritatem, et paucissimos ex veteranis illis
exercitatissimis superstites, triumphare jam sibi de oppressa veritate Satan
cum suis videbatur.” Haec Beza.
Edidit postea commentarios complures, ut in Psalmos aliquot selectos,
im Danielem Prophetam, in Joannem Evangelistam, in nonnullas Epis-
tolas Paulinas, Tractatum praeterea egregium de Efficaci Vocatione,
et libellum utilissimum de Foedere Dei et de Sacramentis; qui omnes,
non modo in Scotia, sed et apud exteras regiones, non minori Ecclesiae
emolumento, quam nominis sui ormamento multorum manibus teruntur.
Rolloco his tot tantisque negotiis, quae hominem totum vel vigilantis-
simum distinere, et Occupatissimum reddere possent, incumbente, impo-
sita est praeterea necessitas capessendi ministerii urbani hac occasione.
xlviii NARRATIO VITAE ET OBITUS
Erat jam civitas tota, communi tam Ecclesiastici quam urbani Senatus
consensu, suadente etiam Rolloco, in octo quasi parochias divisa ; singulis
parochiis praeficiendus erat suus pastor, qui ipsius curam haberet. Erant
tum in urbe pastores, viri quidem magni nominis et in officio suo vigi-
lantissimi ac fidelissimi, sed non eo numero qui tot parochiis sufficeret.
Itaque in Rollocum omnium oculi conjecti ; eum sibi pastorem expetunt;
cum eo serio agunt vellet ipse, ad tam sanctum ac prope necessarium
opus divisionis parochiarum promovendum, ministerium suscipere ac
parochiae unius curam gerere ; omnibus enim summis juxta ac infimis
erat gratissimus carissimusque. Gratum carumque reddidit candor
quidam in rebus gerendis genuinus, insignisque humilitas quae reliqua
dona, quae in eo erant eximia, mirifice exornavit ; quamvis enim ille
praeclaris dotibus aliis fere omnibus praeluceret, sese tamen suo sensu
infra omnes demisit.
Pixo quidem animi proposito constituerat apud sese latere, utque stu-
diis liberius vacaret intra Academiae pomoeria sese abdere, me curis pub-
licis implicaretur ; praeter votum tamen ad publica negotia pleraque ex-
tractus est, quae quidem ille singulari et sanctissima pariter prudentia
expediebat. Praecipiti plebis zelo turbata maturo ejus consilio in ordi-
nem reducta sunt. Rara zeli socia prudentia, nec assiduus prudentiae comes
zelus; utriusque tamen insignem temperiem Rolloco indideratis qui munera
tacito dispertit arbitrio—quam cum ecclesia, tum Respublica Scoticana
magno suo bono et commodo bono sensit sibi salutarem. Novissimo vitae
piennio sic curis publicis praegravabatur ut valetudo alioqui satis infirma
labasceret—assiduis enim calculi cruciatibus angebatur, et stomachi in-
firmitate languescebat—et tamen visum est Deo, hoc ipso summe perplexo
tempore, ipsius opera ecclesiae pessum eunti subvenire. Nam, quantum
humano judicio consequi valemus, nisi periclitanti Ecclesiae celerem
opem tulisset, in miseriarum oceanum incidisset. Inconsulto enim armatae
plebis concursu Regis ac primatum, qui jam Edinburgo Limnuchum seces-
serant, ira vehementissime exarserat, quo factum ut ecclesia et respublica .
in magnum et anceps periculum devolverentur. Squalida tum ac lugu-
bris rerum conditio trucem lacrymabilemque faciem spectantibus prae-
buerat. Cum in turbis hisce componendis complures operam ac oleum
perdidissent, eluxit tandem tanquam sidus salutare sanctissima Rolloci pru-
dentia, pietate, modestia, humilitate condita ; quae tantum regii pectoris
possedit, ut ejus animum in Edinburgenses asperiorem ac multorum ju-
ROBERTI ROLLOCI. xlix
dicio implacabilem lenierit, ecclesiam ex incendio, rempublicam ex con-
flagratione cruerit. Sed quamvis Rolloco exinde creverit existimatio quod
turbulenta hac tempestate Ecclesiae lugubria detraxerit, et turbata ad pri-
stinum statum reduxerit, restamen sigillatim ab eo gestas praetereo, ne
cogar longiorem illius temporis historiam praetexere, et ab instituto Supra
quam par esset digredi.
Res Rolloci assiduis vigiliis ac indefessis laboribus compositas in-
secuta est Synodus Taodunensis, quam visum regi sua praesentia ornare.
Synodo praeses omnium suffragio Rollocus deligitur. Ibi, quae Synodo
Perthi non multo ante habita severius in speciem decreta videbantur,
benigniorem interpretationem sortita Sunt. Flagitat Rex vellet Synodus
nonnullos designare qui excubias pro Ecclesia agerent, ne quid ea.
detrimenti caperet. Confestim pedibus itur in hanc sententiam, pietate
ac prudentia eminentiores quosdam deligendos quibus provincia haec de-
mandaretur. Ex his Rollocus unus. Horum munus temporis Spatio et
administrationis modo ac ratione circumscriptum est, decretumque ut de-
functi muneris rationem proximae insequenti Synodo redderent. Hi Ec-
clesiam tumultu, de quo dictum est, misere quassatam, maturis consiliis et
perpete industria reficere sensinque restaurare admituntur.
Anno 1598, praecipiti hieme, vehementius solito morbo ingravescente,
domise concluserat. Gulielmus Scotus, summa necessitudine ei conjunc-
tissimus, consulit in domum suam transiret, ačrem sereniorem ac liberiorem
carperet, ut hac ratione, sifieri posset, valetudinem recuperaret. Ille con-
silio obsequitur transitgue. Initio quidem post migrationem coepit meli-
uscule Valere, verum confestim geminata morbi vis lecto eam affixit. Ille
cum Spiritus linquentes, Seseque in confinio mortis sensit, coelestigaudio
perfusus mellitis et plane divinis sermonibus omnium qui inviserant
animosingenti laetitia affecit; verum laetitiam interpellabant obortae om-
nibus lacrymae, cum pensitarent tantum virum nondum matura aetate prae-
ripiendum, adimendum Ecclesiae parentem, reipublicae salutare columen,
neminem Superesse qui turbas in Ecclesia componat, offenso principi cives
reconciliet, Ecclesiam in gratiam cum eo reducat. Ille solita prudentia res
domesticas digerit; deinde uxorem post sterilitatem undecim annorum
uterum ferentem curae amicorum, imprimis Gulielmi Scoti, cujus fidem
et benevolentiam erga se eximiam multis jam experimentis didicerat,
Serio commendat. Ingressis ad eum Patricio Gallovidio et Davide Lyn-
desio, amorem in principem qui semper ejus animo medullitus insedisset
d
l NARRATIO VITAE ET OBITUS
testatus in coque se vita excessurum professus, flagitat ipsius nomine re-
gem adeant, hortenturque ut religionis tramitem, quem inoffenso cursu
hue usque pressisset, gradu non vacillante ad ultimum vitae spiritum cal-
caret, neque Spe ulla amplificandi regni aut veteratorum subdolis technis
se ab eo divelli pateretur, de Ecclesiae pastoribus qua par esset reveren-
tia sentiret et loqueretur: “Illud enim Christi ministerium, quantumvis
humano calculo abjectum et humile, apud Deum tamen esse gloriosum ;
pastores licet testacea sint vascula, omnium sordes et purgamenta mundi,
illustri tandem gloria ſulsuros.” Ingressi deinceps pastores Edinburgeni,
quibus assidentibus sic infit: “Aegritudinis mole lassus, vitae hujus exitum
anhelans spiro ac spero. Non sic Christum didici aut docui, quin in eo
earum aerumnarum levanentum sentiam. Academiae cura, fratres, altis-
sime Semper animo meo insedit; quanta ego eam ſide ac industria admini-
strarim testis est Deus, ego milli probe conscius sum—quantum cx ea in
Ecclesiam et rempublicam emolumentum redundarit, vos testes. Rumpen-
dum mox vitae meae filum, trajiciendumque milli in patriam diu multum-
que Cupitam ; me, quaeso, me vivis exempto, nimis amare orbitatem suam
defleat Academia. Vos, vos, inquam, non novercae, Sed genuini parentis
vices obite, eam vestro sinu alite, fovete. T’astorale munus non ita pridem
milli incubuit, quod quamobrem in me susceperim non vos praeterit. In
eo egregium quid pracStitisse me affirmare non audeo, voluisse tamen au-
debo. Memoriae vestrae non excidit Synodo Taodunensi delectum me cum
aliis quibusdam qui pro ecclesia excubarem, in quo cum Dei gloriam et
Ecclesiae incolumitatem repentino tumulto misere quassatam milliob Oculos.
habuerim, nullius admissae culpae pocnitentia discruciari me profiteor.
Susurravit quidam nuperrime in aurem mean disseminatum rumorem,
inquietari animum meum ob inique et perperam gesta in ista provincia.
Deum arcanorum omnium arbitrum ac testem, ad cujus tribunal ego mox
sistendus, appello, cum in omni hoc negotio ad Scopulm legitimum collima-
rim, nihil esse quod me cruciet aut angat. Non eo quidem inficias, cum
Ecclesiam ac rempublicam nexu amabili ac fraterno colligarit prudens,
mundi Opiſex, in hoc ramis ac velis incubuisse me, ut se mutuis juvarent
officiis, ne reipublicac gladius in Ecclesiae permicicm stringeretur, aut Ec-
clesia in principem aut rempublicam acerbius inveheretur, bellumque non
necessarium excitarctur. Neque tamen aut ita me pacis amor fascinavit
ut genuinam ab adulterina non secreverin), aut affectus in principem ita
abripuit ut in cus gratiam labeculan, ullam conscientiac fuerim inducturus;
ROBER'i'I ROLL()CI. li
verum mcorum factorum candor etiam me extincto clarescet. Ceterum
vos unanimi consensuad opus Domini coalescite. Quid magis incongruum
quam pacis praecomes litigio ac discordia dilacerari ? Hac tempestate qua
in insidiis hostes sunt, non dissidiis dissipandae vires, verum pace combi-
nandae sunt, petendum hostium latus, non mutua jugula. Principi vestro
debitum obsequium pracstate. Rara temporum felicitas vobis obtigit;
principem nacti estis qui cum lacte religionem hausit, quae ejus visceribus
recondita cum co coaluit. Religionem disciplina circumvallavit, circum-
vallatam suo praesidio texit, Ecclesiacque patrocinium sic in Se suscepit
ut, quamdiu cum vita non deserit, illud non deserturum so innumeris do-
cumentis palam fecerit. Quod itaque blande mulcendo ci elicore potestis,
ne invito extorquere frustra admitimini. Serio cavendum ne ex hoc feli-
citatis fastigio pessum se det Ecclesia. Potcrat Paulus Onesimum fugiti-
vum apud se retinere, noluit tamen absolue Philemonis sententia, ne ipsius
beneficium ex necessitate esse videretur. Pauli vestigiis censco insisten-
dum vobis in tanti ponderis negotio. Deus pater Iesu Christi vos omni
benedictione spirituali locupletet, et invicto robore muniat ad ministerium
illud strenue obcundum.” Vesperascente codem die properare mors vide-
batur, qualm ille olfaciens sermonem occipit, non humano cerebro eſtic-
tum, Scd coclitus a Dei Spiritu stillantem, qui cunctis adstantibus admira-
tionem incussit. Aderant medici qui medicamentis suis vim morbi le-
nire, quod vigor naturalis deſiccret, renuerunt. Ad Deum itaque verso
Sermone, “Tu,” inquit, “Deus, medeberis milli.” Dein preces zelo inten-
tissimo fundit, orans primo vellet Deus sibi suisque peccatis propter unicum
Christi sacrificium propitius esse, prædicans omnia, quantumvis apprime
Speciosa, propter crucis Christi eminentiam pro stercoribus se ducere.
Precatus deinde vellet vitae suae exitum faustum ac felicem indulgere, ut
misericordiae alis opertus in Christi sinu excederet frucreturque Dei vul-
tu, quem crebro anhelitu intueri sitiit. “Ego te,” inquit, “subobscure in
verbi speculo vidi—largire mihi diu multumque optativultus tui sempiter-
nam fruitionem.” De resurrectione et vita aeterna verba proſert immor-
talitatis sensum spirantia. Singulis qui adstabant dextra prehensis summa
Verborum comitate ac gravitate benedicit, benedictionem hortationibus
pro cujusque indole ac nuncre prudenter miscet. Ea nocte praeter spen
paulum requievit.
Die qui eum insecutus est, urbani magistratus, complures etiam ex
ordine senatorio eum invisunt : quos juxta lectum accumbentes sic af.
d 2
lii NAIRRATIO VITAE ET OBITUS
fatur: “ Quantum praesagiis ullis assequi valeo, absolvendum mihi vitae
pensum, deponendum corruptibile hoc corporis indumentum, transeun-
dum in patriam ; neque hoc mihi acerbum, novissimum enim hujus vitae
diem crebra siti concupivi. Academia semper anxium me maxime habuit.
Ego eam jam deserturus, si celarem quem meo calculo sufficiendum mihi
Academiaeque praeficiendum censeam, incuriae maculam non effugerem.
Quid attinet exteras regiones pervagari, peregrinum adsciscere qui huic
provinciae praesit, quem interim doctrina disciplinaque hujus Academiae
lateat ? Domi virum locupletatum donis ac ad munus hoc instructum
habetis, Henricum Charterisium, qui eruditionem me praeceptore uberrime
hausit, et professoris philosophiae munere plus decennio egregia cum laude
perfunctus est. Hunc vos in Academiae puppi sistite, ejusque clavo ap-
ponite. Deum illi propitium, ejusque laboribus benedicentem conspicietis.
Vos decet ex officio Academiae Maecenates ac patronos esse. Altior,
quaeso, ejus solicitudo animos vestros subeat. De domesticis quid dicam?
Uxorem desero uterum ferentem. Unum a vobis summopere contendo,
sentiat illa amorem quo semper me amplexi estis extincto me non exar-
uisse. Nunquam mihi dies aut nox aegritudinis expers: illa me tot mor-
borum difficultatibus quassatum suaviter semper fovit ac refocillavit. In-
genue profiteor ex omnibus stipendiis meis non coacervasse me obolos
duos ; numquam enim mihi cordi aut curae mundama haec. Quid multa
verba perderem ? Ne, quaeso, affectus vester in me claudicet in eam.”
Magistratus senatoresque solenni promisso fidem dant facturos se omnia ex
animi ipsius sententia. Professores deinde philosophiae ad perstandum in
officio debitumque successori suo obsequium hortatur. His peractis, verba
insigni sanctimonia condita profundit. “Deo meo,” inquit, “gratia! memo-
ria, visus, auditus, reliquique sensus mei tam vivaces, tam vegeti quam alias
unquam ; ast ab hoc mundo alienatum cor meum. Et quorsum Domine
Iesu, corde meo non fruereris cui soli in illud jus? In hoc per totam vitam
incubui ut illud tibi dicarem ac consecrarem ; illud, quaeso, assume ut
tecum commoretur.” Haec locutum invadit lenis quidam somnus, ex quo
exporrectus summo affectu flagrat dissolvi et esse cum Domino. “Veni,
inquit, “ Domine Iesu, fragilis hujus vitae filum abrumpe, matura Domine,
ne tarda. Iesus me redemit, non ut caducam hanc, verum aeternam vitam
indulgeret. Veni, Iesu, largire vitam propter quam redemisti me.” Ad-
stantes flebili planctu vicem suam in ejus obitu defent. At ille : “ Omnes
hujus vitae gradus emensus sum ; ad novissimum perveni—cur retrogre-
ROBERTI ROLLOCI. liii
e © ©*
derer? Hunc gradum, Domine Iesu, tuo favore feliciter emetiar. De-
duc me in eam gloriam, quam per speculum tantum vidi ; utinam apud
te diversarer.” Qui adstabant significant diem posterum Sabbathum esse,
unde in haec verba erumpit ; ** Tuum Sabbathum, Domine, aeternum
meum Sabbathum inchoet ; auspicia sumat aeternum Sabbathum meum
a Sabbatho tuo.”
In mediam fere noctem modicam nactus est quietem, quam confestim
morbi vis interrupit, supremamque horam adesse ratus D. Walterum Bal-
canquellum accersit; quem ingressum sic alloquitur : “ Quod diutissime
munus pastorale Edinburgi obieris, quodque non recens nostra amicitia,
accersendum te curavi, ut reverentiam, qua semper a cunis Christi
ministerium prosequutus sum, testatam facerem. Ego quidem pro mo-
dulo domi preces in sinum Dei fudi; tu, quaeso, pro me precum sacra pera-
gito; ego corde et affectu sequar ; interim me protrahi vitam hanc flagita.”
Provolutis omnibus qui aderant in genua, preces celebrat Balcanquellus.
Inter reliqua flagitat vellet Deus tanti viri diuturniorem usuram indul-
gere, cum Ecclesiae et reipublicae salus tantopere eam poscat. Rollocus
sic orantem interpellat: “ Satius,” inquit, “ mihi hujus vitae ; unice in votis
habeo vitam coelestem cum Deo in Christo reconditam.” Consummatis
precibus in verbi praedicati emcomia erumpit: “ Verbum,” inquit, “ Dei
potentia ad salutem, Dei sapientia, vita ; nec ulla ulli absque verbo salus.
Non est, credite mihi, exigui momenti negotium verbum praedicare ;
perinde non est ac Platonis Aristotelisque textum interpretari, aut ora-
tionem pigmentis ac lenocinio sermonis oblitam recitare ; in sanctimonia,
humilitate, efficaci Spiritus demonstratione situm est verbi praeconium ;
quanti illud semper fecerim novit Deus.” Dein ad preces revertitur :
“ Veni,” inquit, ** Domine Iesu, horum oculorum nervos abrumpe, alios
mihi largire ; cupio dissolvi ac tecum esse ; matura venire, Domine Iesu,
ne ultra differ. Egredere pusilla vita, ut ingrediatur melior illa vita Dei :
insere, Domine Iesu, huic corpori manum tuam, arripe tibi animam istam.”
Cum aliquandiu mane quievisset, silentium tandem hoc sermone
abrumpit: “ Veni, Domine, ne morare ; diei noctisque fastidio lassus
sum. Veni, Domine Iesu, ut ad te veniam. O dulce, faustum ac felix
vitae hujus divortium ! Veni, Domine, dulcedo mea, emancipato animam
hanc ut te marito firuatur.” Tum ex adstantibus unus: “ Ne esto anxius,
accelerat Dominus tuus;” cui ille, ** Gratum mihi,” inquit, “istud nuntium
—utinam die crastino exequias meas duceretis.” Tum alter : “ Beata
liv IN ARRATIO VITAE ET OBITUS
anima tam Domino vicina quam tua !” ille vero : « In me nihil est
quod non ducam pro stercoribus, ut Christum lucrifaciam ; Christus unica
solatii materia ; omnis justitia mea pannus menstruatus.” Interrogatus
numquid pastoris ullius alloquium flagitaret? respondet non creaturum se
iis molestiam quod ad concionandum se accingerent. “Sinite,” inquit, “ me
psittaci instar cum Domino meo balbutire.” Certior factus inchoatam con-
cionem ; ' “ Da mihi,” inquit, “ Domine, ea videre quae in praesentia alii
audiunt.” Sabbathi meridie sic eum affatur quidam : ** Per omnem vitam
tuam indefessa opera sedulisque laboribus Dei gloriam promovisti.” Tum
ille: “ Mihi unica gloriandi materia misericordia Dei in Christo Iesu ; alia
omnia damna duco.” Dein sopor quidam mollis eum invadit qui in ves-
peram Occupat; quo discusso ingressus ad eum supremi senatus praeses,
cui Edinburgi eo anno praefectura obvenerat. Eum sic alloquitur : “ Aca-
demiam curae magistratuum quibus tu, Domine, praeesserio commendavi ;
tu etiam eandem in patrocinium tuum suscipe : experiatur, quaeso, te
parentem ac Maecenatem. Cum pro excelsa dignitate qua in republica
praecellis et amplissimo munere quo te honoravit Deus, Ecclesiae opem
ferre possis, ne, quaeso, eam subtrahe ; in ejus praesidium artus ac vires
tuas intende, summo conatu in id incumbe. Et salutem consequaris in
Christo Iesu—mundana haec omnia fluxa sunt moxque flaccessent.
Deus te, tuam conjugem, universam familiam benedictionis suae thesauro
cumulet.” Eadem illa nocte has voces emisit: “ Tranquilla mihi mens in
corpore aegro : mortis, peccati et Satanae metu non angor—nullum illis
in me imperium ; sic tamen morbi pondere premor ut, longe praeter spem
in hanc horam supersim. Dominus quasi in mortario pistillo aegritudinis
me tundit, ut ad regnum suum formet.”
Octavo Idus Februarii, ** Mirum,'
acerbe morbo discrucier, tam diu protrahi vitam meam ; verum per patien-
' inquit, “ videri potest, cum tam
tiam Domini beneplacitum praestolabor ; commivebo, connivebo ; agat ille
mecum pro libito ; non disseram cum eo. Quid est homo ut cum Deo
disceptare audeat ? Imo si in orcum detruderet, parendum, non respon-
sandum. Gratiam fac mihi, Domine, propter Christum Iesum. Non
erubesco confiteri nunquam me tam sublime notitiae Dei fastigium atti-
gisse quam hoc morbo. O quam horrendum in manus Domini incidere !
Sed reposita est mihi misericordia in Christo. Quid contristaris, anima
mea ? Quid te dejicis in me ? Obveniet tibi mox aspectus et congressus
amoenissimus.” Cum advesperasceret ; “ Experior,” inquit, “ sexti
ROPERTI ROLIOCI. ly
Psalmi veritatem,” atque aliqua ejus verba recitat—“Gratiam fac mihi,
Jehova, quia languore pressus sum : cura me, Jehova, quia conturbata
sunt ossa mea,” etc. Interjecta modica pausa sermonem iterat: “Christus
portabit jugum meum, et ego ejus gratia fultus sequar.” Cum morbi
acerbitate torqueri eum animadverterent adstantes, lácrymas, planctus
ac singultus cient, quos ille increpat; “Ne mean vicem,” inquit, “sed
peccata vestra deflete: cum nemo a peccato immunis, nemini fletus ma-
teria subtracta est. Quod ad me, ego omnium complementum ac Con-
summationem mox videbo.” Vespere ex cognatis unus ad eum ingressus
sermone impio bilem ei movit. Abeo flagitat, “vellet in coelos receptus
mediari prose reliquisque amicis I’’ Hoc audito ira fervens repente corpus
imbecillum ac fere exanime erigit: “Fgo,” inquit, “munus illud abnuo;
Christus unicus Mediator.” Non multo post invisit eum frater natu major.
“Tu,” inquit, “cognatum nostram increpa, mone alium capessat vitae
tramitem ; alioqui nulla ei Salus, certissimum exitium.”
Ab hoc tempore oblatum alimentum respuit; “Non,” inquit, “edam aut
bibam usque dum in regnum coelorum tranferar.” Funeris curam Gu-
lielmo Litillo et Gulielmo Scoto amicis integerrimis, quorum amicitiam non
vacillantem frequenti elogio ornavit, commendat. “Cur non,” inquit,
“mihi esset hujus corporis cura, illud siquidem glorificandum, et confor-
mandum tandem glorioso Christi corpori ?” Et manus intuens; “Istae
etiam manus,” inquit, “illustri gloria fulgebunt.” Exinde sermo ei sub-
missior et contraction ; verba tamen fortia ac efficacia, gaudium coeleste
spirantia ac redolentia, quae placidus somnus excepit, qui cum aliquandiu
eum occupavisset, placide ac Suaviter Creatori ac Redemptori suo animam
commendat; et quamvis extinctus, notas tamen oris pallor non confunde-
bat, verum temperato quodam rubore perfundebatur. Obiit sexto Idus
Februarii 1598, veteri calculo, quitum in usu, expleto jam aetatis suae
anno 43. -
Erat statura mediocri, colore rubido cui candor quidam admistus, coma
subrufa, Vultu ad comitatem gravitatemque pariter facto, valetudine parum
firma, quam mirum erat ad tantos labores sufficere potuisse, singulari
Pietate, sanctimonia, vitae innocentia, quam vel inviti admirabantur et
laudabant insi veritatis hostes. In vocatione sua fidelissimus et vigilan-
tissimus, assiduus in studiis et meditationibus, ab otio Supra quam facile
Credas abhorrens: fidem tamen facere possunt tot tam paucis annis, etiam
corpore morbis et aegritudinibus debilitato, editi ab eo docti et elegantes
lvi NARRATIO VITAE ET OBITUs, &c.
Commentarii. Pacis amantissimus, injuriarum patientissimus, ad condon-
andum facillimus. In ferenda de aliorum vita, dictis, factisve sententia
perquam aequus ac moderatus; Secus ab aliis prolata praestitave semper,
quoad fieri potuit, in meliorem partem interpretatus est. In communi
consuetudine et amicorum consortio apprime humanus ac jucundus, in
consiliis fidus, in colloquio affabilis et comis. In rebus seriis gravis ac
prudens, quod in publicis Ecclesiae negotiis procurandis omnibus fecit
manifestum ; in consilio aliis impertiendo promptissimus. Has vero ex-
imias virtutes ornabat admirabilis humilitas, qua, quamvis plurimis praes-
tantissimis dotibus alios fere omnes anteirot, tamen ne infimum quidem
fastidiose despexit, quin potius Sese omnibus submisit. Ad humilitatem
accessit incredibilis modestia et animi moderatio, ut quamvis multorum
conviciis ac calumniis publice ipso audiente immerito impeteretur, nunquam
auditus sit convicia regerere, aut calumniatores recriminari, aut vocem ali-
quam contra detractores emittere, Sed bonae conscientiae testimonio fretus
tacitum Sese continuit. Semel tantum pro concione apologia usus est,
tanta moderatione ut nemincm vellicaret, nullius famae detraheret, nemi-
nem insimularet, nemini crimen impingeret, Sed sinceritatem tantum Suam
coram Deo et ipsius Ecclesia testatus sit. Studia sua cum familiaribus
communicabat, eamque discendi viam saepe utilem Sibi ac fructuosam
testatus est. Sed cesso de eo plura, quae Satis multa dici poterant, et
fortasse debuerant: sed omnibus in propatulo Sunt ejus virtutes, et tam
modesto genio Sobrium laudis decus competit.
Ljus decessus fama quantas lacrymas, quae Suspiria, quos singultus
per universam urbem ac regionem concitarit, relatu fere incredibile.
Senatus, Academia, civitas, plebes, singuli tanquam in domestico luctu
moerebant. Funus majore quam alias consuetum Iºdinburgi celebritate
decoratur; turmatim enim omnes, tam Supremae, quam infimae Sortis
homines, et quidem omnis sexus, omnis aetatis, ad illud ornandum con-
fluxerunt.
NARRATIVE OF THE LIFE AND DEATH
OF
MR ROBERT ROLLOCK OF SCOTL AND,
WRITTEN BY
HENRY CHARTER IS.
NARRATIVE OF THE LIFE AND DEATH
OF THAT MOST PIOUS AND LEARNED GENTLEMAN,
MR ROBERT ROLLOCK, OF SCOTLAND, MINISTER
OF THE GOSPEL AND PRINCIPAL OF THE COLLEGE
OF EDINBURGH.
IT is now an old-established custom to depict the life and death of men
who have rendered themselves illustrious, and excelled others in virtue,
and to embalm them in the memory of posterity—a custom highly to be
commended, and hardly exceeded by any other in a title to popular ob-
servance. For, as far as public utility is concerned, its efficacy is great
indeed in exciting men to virtue, piety and morality. Surprising is the
power with which examples influence the minds of those who are slow to
receive instruction. For what they cannot learn during a whole lifetime
from mere precepts, even though derived from the living spring of the
Sacred writings, they easily attain by imitating the example of good men,
especially of such as are conspicuously known, whose actions and habits
are brought prominently before general observation, and whose whole
conversation and life are full in public view. Hence I am the more
strongly impelled to delineate briefly the life and manners of Robert
Rollock of pious memory—a man, whose learning and whose sanctity
and uprightness of life cannot be impugned by such surviving enemies of
the truth as were his contemporaries—that the greater part of this gene-
ration may bear in remembrance what excellent lessons they have learned
of him, and that posterity may have before them his example for their
imitation.
Robert Rollock! was born in the year 1555. His father was David
* So we have given the Principal's name in conformity with modern usage, and with
Row, Spottiswood and Calderwood. James Melville, with the capricious orthography
of his time, gives Rollok, and Rolloc, but prefers the latter. In the records of the col-
lege of St Salvator's, St Andrews, he is styled Rollok; and so he signs himself in his
contract with the town-council of Edinburgh. This is confirmed by the document
quoted in the next mote.—See also Stevens's History of the IHigh School, p. 15.
lx NARRATIVE OF THE LIFE AND DEATH
Rollock," Laird of Powis, an estate not far from Stirling; his mother
was Mary Livingstone, of the distinguished family of that name. His
father manifesting a singular anxiety and zeal to bestow on him a libe-
ral education, he gave evident proofs of high talents, even in his boy-
hood, while acquiring the first rudiments of learning, which induced
his father to send him from his home to Stirling for the purpose of en-
tering on the study of the classics. He enjoyed the instructions of Tho-
mas Buchanan, the nephew by the brother's side of that great Buchanan,”
who was beyond all controversy the first poet of his time. Thomas
Buchanan was a man distinguished both for worth and learning, and was
celebrated as a successful teacher. Under his instructions” he made such
* David Rollock died on the 14th March 1578, as we learn from the following docu-
ment:—“Ultimo Decembris 1579. The testament-dative and inventor of the gudes,
geir, sommes of money and dettis perteining to umquhill ane honourable man, Maister
David Rollok of Powis, the tyme of his deceis, wha deceisit upon the xiiij. day of
March 1578 yeirs: faithfullie maid and given up by Mr Robert, Thomas, Elizabeth,
Margaret, Christiana and Barbara Rollokis, lauchfull barnes by the wife to the
defunct.
Sum of the Inventor, 395.42 10 0
7) , Dettis, 128 0 ()
t-s-s
3:670 10 0
Dettis awind be the deid, 276 6 8
- *m-sa
Free Geir, 36.394 3 4
Testament confirmed be the said Mr Rot., Thomas, &c., executors-dative to the said
umquhil Mr David their father.”—The Principal's elder brother, of whom mention is
made at the end of the narrative, was named David, as we learn from a MS. in the
possession of H. J. Rollo, Esq. We presume that it is from his succeeding to the
heritable property that his name does not appear in connection with the moveables.
2 Thomas Buchanan, nephew of George Buchanan, as we learn not only from this
passage, but from the dedication to Rollock's Commentary on the First Epistle to the
Thessalonians, was first a Regent in the College of St Salvator's, St Andrew's. In
1568 he was appointed to the High School of Edinburgh. In 1571 he became Master
of the Grammar School of Stirling, where his uncle was residing. (M'Crie's Life of
Melville, vol. ii., p. 367.) In 1578 he was appointed Provost of the Collegiate Church
of Kirkheugh, and minister of Ceres, in the neighbourhood of St Andrews. He died,
according to Dr M'Crie, on the 12th April 1599, “ of a bruise which he received of a
fall from his horse. (Melville, vol. ii., p. 67.) Spottiswood, (p. 454), and James Mel-
ville (Diary, p. 438), date his death in 1598. See also Dr Stevens's High School, pp.
11-12. Thomas Buchanan was a man of great learning, and of high reputation as a
teacher, but seems to have been of a wayward temper.
* We learn from Keith’s History, p. 531, that Mr Thomas “Duncanson was school-
master and reidar in Striveling in 1568.” It is probable that at some time between
this and the appointment of Thomas Buchanan in 1571, Thomas Jack, afterwards
master of the Grammar School of Glasgow, was teacher in Stirling, or he may have
OF ROBERT ROLLOCK. lxi
progress in the classics that Buchanan had the strongest affection for him.
And Rollock so reciprocated his teacher's fondness, that many years after-
wards, when he filled the station of Principal of the University of Edin-
burgh, he never allowed him, when coming to Edinburgh on business, to
live in any house but his, and in token of his gratitude, he dedicated to
him his excellent Commentary on the first Epistle to the Thessalonians.*
Whem he had made sufficient progress in the Classics, his father sent him
to St Andrews to commence the more elevated studies of philosophy.
He entered there the college called St Salvator's, under John Carr* as
Regent, a mam of the greatest learning, and he advanced so rapidly in
the study of philosophy, that he was equalled by few and surpassed by
none of his fellow students. When this course of study was completed,
though his singular and conspicuous endowments had made him univer-
been am assistant teacher there. Rollock, in laudatory verses to Jack's Onomasticon
Poeticum, published im 1592, says
—dedit praeceptor ille olim mctus
Jacchaeus.
ITor am account of Jack, see M* Crie's Melville, vol. ii., pp. 365, 478.
1 This dedication is as follows : Eximiae Pietatis et Doctrimae viro, Thomae
Euchanano Siresensis Ecclesiae Pastori, Robertus Rollocus, S. & G. per Christum.
Si quae in me sit rerum aliquarum cognitio, quae quam tenuis sit et exigua, ipse
mihi probe sum conscius, profecto eam tibi imprimis, ut debeo, acceptam fero, qui
primus ejus im me jecisti semem : et ita * quidem jecisti, ut ego adolescens, cum
in schola tua educarer, quam tum Sterlini magno reipublicae nostrae bono aperuisti,
non sine auspiciis Georgii Buchamami Patrui tui, viri, ommium quos tulit haec matio,
1iteratissimi, non tantum te vulgarem habuerim informatorem, sed patrem potius,
mei studiosum adeo et, amantem, ut ex eo tempore im hodiernum usque diem
sensus ille benevolentiae in me tuae, cujus recordatio semper mihi suavissima fuit,
ex animo meo elabi mumquam potuerit : idque eo magis quod tu eundem illum
in animo meo sensum assidue sic foveris et foveas, nom modo cumulata subinde tua
illa in me solita bénevolentia, sed etiam collocata perpetuo in commune Ecclesiae
Christi commodum opera tua, ut si patiar me tui unquam oblivisci, profecto inter
ingratissimos homines, quos passim, ut munc sumt tempora, quamplurimos invenias,
merito queam recenseri. Quod si autem cuiquam doctrimae et cognitionis fructus ali-
quis debeatur, profecto ei imprimis deberi eum memo sanae memtis mon fatebitur, a
quo primum in animis nostris semem ejus jactum est, et cujus ductu, mon modo huma-
niorum literarum, sed etiam verae solidaeque pietatis stadium sumus ingressi. Quam-
obrem, ego, licet serius quam oportuit, fructum humc aliquem laborum meorum, atque
etiam tuorum tibi offero, et Commentarium humc meum in Pauli Apostoli ad Thessa-
lonicences Epistolam priorem, im tuo nomime exire volo, idque eo fine, ut si quid ex
meis scriptis boni ad quosvis pervemiat, ii bona ex parte abs te agnoscant illud emam-
asse. Vale. Edinburgi. 1598. 14 Calend. Augusti.
* The name of John Carr occurs in 1574, as one of the Procuratores Nationum for
the election of Rector in St Salvator's. m.
lxii N ARRATIVE OF THE LIFE AND DEATH
sally esteemed, yet, till a vacancy occurred, he only taught philosophy for
some time as substitute for another. When elected Professor he so in-
stilled into the minds of the youth piety in conjunction with instructions
in philosophy, that he acquired great praise, and his reputation began to
be extended." -
It so happened, meanwhile, that the Town Council of Edinburgh be-
gan to entertain thoughts of erecting a College in Edinburgh, and that
especially at the instigation of James Lawson*—a minister distinguished
for his faithful discharge of duty, and whose remarkable learning and piety
are matters of unperishing record—and of William Little,” a gentleman
of the highest integrity, and exceedingly beloved by his townsmen for his
tried prudence and courage. This scheme originated in the following con-
siderations. Not only was Edinburgh the metropolis of the kingdom, but
1 Among the Nomina Incorporatorum in Collegio Salvatoriano, in 1574, appears Ro-
bortus Jºol/o/, and also Thomas /ēollok, probably his younger brother. The future
IPrincipal must have been in his nineteenth or twentieth year, a ripe age, especially
at that time. In 1580 he was appointed an Examiner in the JFaculty of Arts for St
Leonard's College, so that he must have been a Regent at that time. In the same year
he was appointed Quaestor to the Faculty of Arts. (Communicated by Professor
I?yper of St Andrews.) “Then,” (1580,) says James Melville, “I had the honour,
of IIim to whom all honour apporteins, to be the teatcher of Mr Robert Rolloc, of
most worthic memorie, the Ilebrew foung, wha resorted ordinarlie to my lessone and
chalmer to that effect.”—(Diſtry, p. 86.)
2 James I,awson was a fellow-student at St Andrews with Andrew Melville in 1559,
having been educated gratuitously by Andrew Simpson, the celebrated master of the
school of Perth. The Countess of Crawford appointed him tutor to her son, with
whom he travelled on the continent. In 1568, on his return, he obtained an appoint-
mont to teach IIcbrew in the New College of St Andrews. In 1569 he was presented
to the office of sub-principal of the University of Aberdeen.—(M'Crie's Mclville, vol.
i., pp. 23, 235, 422.) In 1572 he succeeded John Knox as minister of Edinburgh.
He was Moderator of the Assembly which met at Dundee in 1580. In May 1584
he was obliged to flee to England for his opposition to the Black Acts. IIe died in
London on the 12th October of the same year.—(Calderwood, vol. iii., p. 223; Vol. iv.
pp. 65, 201; Melville's Diary, pp. 80, 167, 219.) He was a strenuous supporter both
of the High School and the University of Edinburgh.-(Crawford's IIistory of the
University, pp. 19, 20; see also M'Crie's Knox, pp. 214, 442, 4th ed.)
& William Little, one of the Littles of Craigmillar, was one of the Bailies of Edin-
burgh in 1583, (Council Records,) and twice Provost in 1586 and 1591.-(Maitland’s
Iſistory of Edinburgh, p. 226. See also Wilson's Memorials of Jºdinburgh, pp. 169, &c.)
It was his brother, Mr Clement Little, who, in 1580, with a view to the institution of
the University of Iºdinburgh, founded the Library—“he dedicated all his books for
the beginning of ane library.”—(Crauſord, pp. 20, 26, 110.) Rollock, in 1596, dedi-
cates to William Little, especially for the behoof of his son William, his work, entitled
ſeesponsiones aliquot de l'oedere, &c.
OF ROBERT ROLLOCK. lxiii
the Council observed that their townsmen were in the habit of sending
their sons for their education to St Andrews, or other universities, not only
with great inconvenience, but at great expense; and they Knew that many
in humble circumstances were prevented by the narrowness of their means
from educating their children away from home, being thus, in very many
cases, constrained to give up to mechanical pursuits talents of a high
order. When the proposal was once made to the Council, they omitted
nothing that could contribute to advance the work; they procured the
buildings necessary for so large a scheme; what were wanting they built
from the foundations, and with prudent foresight they arranged that all
might be in readiness before the beginning of October, at which time
candidates for the studies of philosophy are in the habit of repairing to our
Universities.
Abundant provision being made in all points, they began to deliberate
on the choice of a Principal who should preside over the University.
Rollock, the subject of our narrative, had already, from the conversation
of many, been made known to James Lawson, who also had sent to him
a most courteous letter, entreating him to undertake the duty. To this
Rollock replied with friendly affability, and, as he was a man in truth
born to instruct others, he declared himself willing and ready, if he should
receive an invitation befitting the importance of the occasion. Lawson,
accordingly, went to the Council, where his influence was very great, and
informed them that there was no person better qualified for the charge of
the University than Rollock, of whose learning and piety he was assured
from the most abundant evidence. The Council passed a resolution to
send immediately for Rollock, and two of the principal inhabitants were
chosen for that purpose. They visit St Andrews, and calling upon Rol-
lock, after explaining to him the whole circumstances of the case, and ear-
nestly entreating him not to fail the Council in so sacred a cause, they
easily persuade him to accede to their wishes. On the arrival of Rollock
in Edinburgh, at an interview with the Council, matters were arranged
between them without the least difficulty; he undertook the management
of the University, which he conducted so long as he lived in such a way
that nothing ever contributed more to the advantage both of the Church
and of the State."
l The following is a copy of the contract between Rollock and the Magistrates of
Edinburgh. “At Edinburgh, the fourtene day of September, the zeir of God Im.
lxiv NARRATIVE OF THE LIFE AND DEATH
On the 1st of October 1583, in the public hall of the University, in the
presence of a crowded audience of men of all ranks, he delivered a bril-
V*. fourscoir thrie yeires. It is appointit, aggreit, and finallie contractit, betwixt the
provost, baillies, and counsall of the burgh Edinburgh, upon that ane pt and Mr Rot.
Rollock, for the present ane of the regentis of Sanct Salvatoris Colledge, situate within
the citie of Sanct Androis, upon that uyr pt in manr, forme, and effect as after fol-
lowes : That is to say, the said Maister Robert sall entre to the Colledge newly
foundit win the said burgh for instructioun of the youth, and professing of guid leirn-
ing, as the erectioun and foundation beirs, the fourtene day of October next to cum,
but furder delay, and sall exerce the office of the regent of the said Colledge, in in-
structioun, governament, and correctioun of ye youth and persones quhilk sall be
committed to his chairge, dureing the Spaice of ame yeir immediatelie following his
said etrie, and furder, sa lang as the said Mr Rot. uses himselff faithfullie yrinto, ac-
cording to the ruills and injunctiouns qlk sall be given unto him be the provost,
baillies, and counsall of the said burgh, quhilkes are now pnt, or sall happen to be
for the time, to the observing and keipeing of the quhilkcis injunctiouns in all the
pairtis yroſ, the said Mr Robert, be yir pºntis, bindis and obleis him ; for the qlkeis
causes, the said provost, baillies, and counsill, bindis and oblesis yame and yr succes-
Sores thankfullie to content and pay to ye said Mr Rot, the soume of fortie pundis
usual money of yis realme, at twa termis in the yeir, Candlemes and Lambes, be twa
equall portiounes, and sall susteine him and ane servand in yr ordinar expenses,
honestlie as effeirs. Attour the said Mr Rt. sall repare and haif for his laboures to be
takin in instructing everie bairne repairing to the said Colledge yeirlie, as followes :
To witt, fra ye bairnes inhabitants of the said burgh, fortie schillings, and fra ye
bairnes of uyeris, nocht inhabitants yairin, three pundis or mair, as ye bairnes parentis
please to bestow of yr liberalitie; and furder, in cais, at the end and expiring of ye
said zeir, ye said Mr Robert find himself not sufficientlie satisfeit be his said yeirlie
fie and casualities, that he, upon his awin guid discretioun, declair that he has rea-
sonable cause to meane and compleane upon that behalf, the mater being propomit be
the said Mr Robert to Master James Lowsone, minister, Jon Prestoum, ane of the
Commisseriss, and Jon Schairp, advocate, the said provost, baillies, and counsall,
and yair successores, sall follow yr determinatioun and advyse to be given yairin,
quhat sall be augmentit for ye said Mr Rotis stipend the zeir foirsaid; providing al-
wayes yat ye said augmentatioun exceed not the sum of fortie merkes; and further,
the said provost, baillies, and counsall obleiss yame and yr successores, yat as it sall
happen yr said Colledge in policie and leirning to encreis, that the said Mr Rot., upon
his guid merite, sall be advancit to the maist honorable roumeyat sall be vaikyairin,
or to the ylk ony new Regent sall be providit, he being als qualifiet as omy uyr ther-
ſoir; and hereto baith the saidis pairties faythfullie binds and obleisiss yamselffes to
myris, and, for ye mair securitie, they are content, and consentis that thir pntis be
actit and registrat in the buikis of the Commissers of Edinburgh, and decernit to have
ye strenth of yair decreit and executorialles of horning and poinding, the ame but pre-
judice of the uyr, at the pleasure of the pairtie pas yairupon, and to yat effect baith
the said pairties makes, constitutes, and ordaines, &c. &
and ilk ane of yame yr prors, conjunctlie and severallie, in uberiori constitutionis forma,
promittendo de rato. In witness heirof both the said pairties hes subscrivit yis pnt con-
tract with yair handis, day, Zeir, and place foresaids, before thir witnessis, &c. Et sic
subscribitur, Maister RoPERT Rollok, ane of the Regentis of Sanct Salvatoris Colledge
for the pnt.”
OF ROBERT ROLLOCIX. a lxv
Jiant address, which gained him universal admiration." Next day, which
was that appointed for the assembling of the students who had determined
to commence the philosophical course, a great multitude presented them-
selves. For, on the news that a University had been opened at Edin-
burgh, many young men flocked not only from the city itself, but also
from the neighbouring country; all of whom Rollock trained with the
greatest assiduity in acquiring a pure Latin style, up till the day appointed
for the entrance examination. The most of those who were found on ex-
amination unfit to enter on a course of philosophy, were entrusted to the
care of Duncan Nairn,” a man of great learning and elegance of manners,
that he might train them to a more accurate knowledge of the classics for
the following year. But Rollock, at the very threshold of their studies,
combined discipline and instruction; and as the greater part of the stu-
dents had been rendered disorderly by the loose discipline of the ordinary
schools,” he restrained them by the application of severity—which was tem-
pered, however, by his innate mildness of temper; and he so blended with
severity and mildness the first principles of religion, that their young and
tender minds imbibed imperceptibly at his hands the enlivening dews of
piety. For this purpose, on each Saturday, after having exercised his
students till noon in disputations, in the afternoon he read aloud Beza's
Quaestiones, of which, besides, he published a short analysis" to assist the
memory of the students. And on Sundays, from seven in the morning till
half-past eight, when they went to hear sermon, he exercised them regular-
ly in this work; and when they had returned from the afternoon discourse,
1 Rollok began to teach in the town hall of the great lodging—the mansion of the
Earl of Arran, which, after the forfeiture of the Hamiltons, had fallen into the hands
of the magistrates of Edinburgh.-(Crawford, p. 21.)
* Duncan Nairn was a pupil of Andrew Melville's, when Principal of the Univer-
sity of Glasgow. He took his degree in 1580–(M'Crie's Melville, vol. i. p. 7 1.) He
Was appointed to assist Rollok on the 8th November 1583. He died in the beginning
of 1586, and was succeeded by Mr Charles Lumsden, afterwards minister of Dudding-
stone, who translated Rollock's Commentary on Certain Select Psalms. (Crawford,
p. 30.)
3 For a graphic picture of the unruly condition which the High School of Edinburgh
exhibited about this time, the first chapter of Dr Stevens's History of the IIigh School
may be consulted. The death of a magistrate at the hands of one of the boys in a
“barring out,” gives a striking proof of their insubordination. See also Pitcairn's
Criminal Trials, vol. i. p. 349.
4 This must be Rollock's Prolegomena in primum librum (Quaestionum Theodori
Bezae, which occurs first in the list of his works appended to Robertson's Life. But I
have not succeeded in procuring or Seeing a copy.
€
lxvi NARRATIVE OF THE LIFE AND DEATH
4.
after they had repeated the sermons which they had heard in church, he
demanded the proofs. Then he diligently trained them in the Catechism
of the Palatinate,1 and explained with great clearness selected texts of
Scripture, adding an accurate analysis, in order that they might with the
utmost ease attain to a knowledge of the meaning of the Holy Spirit.
In short, he omitted nothing which could impress the youthful mind with
the knowledge and the fear of God. These labours of his were crowned
by God with abundant success.
The attention thus assiduously devoted to the pursuits of religion, in
no degree obstructed the study of literature or of philosophy. For
during the whole four years of the course, after he had carefully in-
structed them in the knowledge of Greek, he read aloud to his pupils, on
each day of the week, with the utmost minuteness and care, the text of
Aristotle, beginning with the Organum Logicum, and going through the
Ethica Nicomacheia and the Physica. To these he added also the heads of
Arithmetic, instruction in the Anatomy of the human body, on the globe,
—giving a careful exposition of the text of John of Holywood?—and in
Geography; so that the extent of his instructions, and the attainments of
his pupils, were both equally surprising. Yet such was the blessing with
which God accompanied his labours, that their progress in their various
branches of study enabled them to give as intelligent an account in each
department, as if they had neglected every thing else to attend to it
alone. But what was there that could not be accomplished by unwearied
labour in the state of eager earnestness which then possessed the minds
of the students!
When the four years of the philosophical curriculum were expired, after
a careful examination of the students individually, he bestowed on them the
degree of Master of Arts;” but first he exhorted them, with the greatest so-
1 This Catechism was compiled at the desire of Prince Otho Frederic, by Ursin, the
friend of Melancthon, and Professor of Divinity at Heidelberg, where he was the col-
league of Tremellius. It was originally published in 1563–(Clarke's Marrow of Ec-
clesiastical History, p. 367; Melchioris Adami Vitae, &c., vol. i. p. 255.) We find it
keeping its place in the Universities of Scotland for a long period.
2 Joannes de Sacrobosco, vulgo, John Holybush, or Holywood, or Halifax, is of dis-
puted birth-place. Dempster, as is his wont, claims him as a Scotchman, from the
Holywood Monastery in Nithsdale; Leland and Camden represent him to have been
a native of England, from Halifax. He studied in Paris, and died about the middle
of the thirteenth century. His work, De Sphaera Mundi, had Ramus in the number
of its annotators. -
3 This took place in 1587. Forty-eight students took the degree of Master of Arts,
OF ROBERT ROLLOCK. lxvii
lemnity, regarding the duties that devolved on them. He reminded them
with how much diligence and solicitude he had watched over their wel-
fare, with what seriousness he had always prepared their minds for that
other life which is immortal,—that life to which he had brought them to
direct all the thoughts of this present fleeting existence, all their studies,
even those of polite literature, all their actions; how seriously he had
endeavoured that each day they should more and more be possessed of
some feeling of that life, in order that, allured by the foretaste of future
bliss and glory, they might sighing await the fulness of joy, even the adop-
tion and redemption of their body. He commended to them, at the same
time, the arts, the sciences, and the employments appertaining to this world,
and demanded of them that they should immediately enter on some fixed
line of life, which should be praiseworthy and honourable, and in which
they might advance the interests of either the Church or the State. But
So that they should always remember the advice of Paul, and because the
time to come is short, that they should use this world as not abusing it;
in which, he told them, that Paul has permitted attention to all things
appertaining to this life, but only in such a manner, that while they are
engaged in them, they should have their citizenship in the heavens; in other
words, that while their bodies were exercised about earthly things their affec-
tions should be above, earnestly beholding God, his will and glory, and look-
ing for the coming thence of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, who shall
transform our vile bodies to be like unto his own glorious body. He pro-
tested that he had always regarded as worthy of abhorrence that profane
and godless race which looked to themselves rather than to God—a race
to whose destruction all the blessings of this life will turn. And lastly,
he concluded his discourse with a serious exhortation to piety and holi-
mess of life, and to Perseverance in that true and pure religion, the truths
of which they had learned, and in which they had been brought up from
their childhood. -
“Among these were many able Wits, namely, Mr Charles Ferme, Mr Philip Hislop,
Mr Henry Charteris, and Mr Patrick Sands, who were thereafter Regents; and the
ºa.StA. to be principals of the College.” Ferme was elected Regent in January
159s. F.". his º Was J. ohn Earl of Gowrie, who took his degree in 1593. In
—( Cº.d Y. ed to the ministry at Frazerburgh, where he died not long after.
ten by Fermº, at 㺠* 83, 37, 42.) There are three copies of Latin verses, writ-
manos, Edinbur; ºf *ginning of Rollock's Analysis Logica in Pauli Epistolam ad Ro-
" *urgi, 1594, which are not in the Geneva editions. -
e 2
lxviii NARRATIVE OF THE LIFE AND DEATH
After the dismissal of this first class, having married Helen Baron," a
lady of choice worth, he renounced Philosophy, and devoted himself en-
tirely to the study of the sacred writings, to which he had ever turned
his attention from his earliest years: and Philip Hislop,” a young man of
probity and learning being appointed to take charge of the next class
in his stead, he confined himself to the control of the whole University,”
1 Helen Baron was “daughter to the Laird of Kinnarde, in Fife.”—Crawford, ibid.
p. 50. Her sister Martha was the first wife of Mr Patrick Simson, minister of Stir-
ling.—See Row's Historie of the Kirk of Scotland, Coronis, p. 436, Wodrow Edit.
2 Philip Hislop, the son of a sword-dresser, a burgess of Edinburgh, was ap-
pointed Regent in 1587, after a competition with Ferme, Charteris, and Sands. In
1589 he departed to travel in Germany, and was succeeded by Sands. He returned
in 1591, and was reappointed one of the Regents. In 1593 he was called to the mi-
mistry at Inveresk, where he died a few years afterwards. He was an excellent ma-
thematician.-(Crawford, ibid. pp. 32, 34, 37, 38.) He was succeeded in his Regent-
ship by George Robertson, the biographer of Rollock.
3 As Rollock was appointed to the office of Principal in 1595, this appears to
mean, that whereas before he had executed double duty, as Regent and as Principal,
he exercised the latter function exclusively during the interval between the opening
of the classes of philosophy, in October 1587, and his entering on his theological
course, which, we have already seen, (p. x. note 1) did not take place till after No-
vember. This time he apparently devoted to the preparation of the regular course
of instruction in divinity. We append Rollock's commission as Principal:—“Let-
ter granted to Mr Robert Rollok, maister of the town's college, 1585. Be it kend
till all men be thir pnt. lettres, We William Littill, provost of the burgh of Edr.,
Andro Sclatter, Williame Naper, William Fairlie, Johne Weilkyne, baillies of the said
burgh; Nicoll Uddert, dene of the gild; James Inglis, theasaurer, with the counsall and
dekynes of craftes of the samyn ; forasmeikle as be contract and appointment maid be-
twixt the provost, baillies, counsall and dekynes of craftis of the said burgh for the
tyme, on the ame pairt, and Mr Robert Rollock, now regent of the colledge founded
be the guid toune at the Kirk of Field, on the uther pairt, it was promitted unto him,
yat as the said colledge sould increis in policie and learning upoun his guid merit, to
avance him to the maist honourable plaice yairof, as in the said contract, of the dait,
the fourtene day of September, the year of God, Im. Vc. fourscoir thrie yearis, at mair
length is contenit; and now we hevin sufficient proof and experience of the said
Mr Roberte's lyfe and conversatioun, and of his qualificatioun and learning, as alsua,
considdering yt he hes withdrawn from the plaice quhairto he wes sufficientlic providit,
we ar movit to performe the said promeiss and to Schaw ourselffes beneficiall unto him ;
Thairfoir, and for dyvers uthers guide causes and consideratiounes moving us, tending
to the weill of the said college, to haif maid, creat and constitute, lykas We be thir pnts,
makis, creattis and constituttis the said Mr Robert first and principall maister of the
said colledge, gevand, grantand, and dispomand unto him the said office and place yair-
of, for all the dayes of his lyfetime, wt all fies, profeittes, dewties and casualties yt
pntlie apperteins or hearaftir sall or may belang and pertine yairto, wt specill power,
commission and authoritie, the schollars and studentis qlk ar or sall be committit to
his chairgh, to bring up and instruct in guid vertew and lettres, as Sal be fund be us
and our successoures maist expedient for zair weill, and for the honor and proffeitt of
OF ROBERT ROLLOCK. lxix
in which he neglected nothing that might tend to its advantage. His
devoted industry in the discharge of this duty calls for universal ad-
miration. For it was his habit frequently to visit each class, to
examine into the industry of each individual, and his progress in his
studies; if any disputes or disturbances had arisen, quickly and pru-
dently to settle them, to rouse all to a persevering discharge of duty,
and daily to assemble the whole University in the Hall, and in person to
conduct the public devotions. Each week he selected a day, on which
this burgh, and of the heall realme; and alswa, the regentes placet or to be placet in the
said colledge, wt yair classis, studentis and heal body of the samyn colledge, to com-
mand and governe acurding to the lawes, statutes and foundation yairof, and to take
compt of yair doctrin and conversatioun at all tymes requisite, the offendouris to pumeis
in yair bodies or guides, or be deprivation or putting furth of yair societie, everie ane
according to the qualitie of yair trespass; the plaisin and depryving of the maisters and
regentis of ye said colledge remaining in the power of us and our successours as pa-
trouns of the samyne; and generallie, all and Sundrie uther things to do, use and ex-
erce yat to the said office is knawin to appertene, or yat ony uyr principall or first Mr
of ony colledge wtin the universities of this realme, hes or may do wtin the samyne,
to be frillie and peaceblie brukit, wysit and usit be the said Mr Robert, but ony impe-
diment, revocatioune, or again calling; Provideing always yat ye Sā Mr Robert Sal be
subject unto us and our successours as undoubted patrones of the said colledge, to
be comptrollit for randring of compt upoun the administratioun of the said office,
and to obey and fulfill the comand, resolves, and injunctiounes to be given unto him,
be us and our successours for the weill of the said colledge, siklyk, yat it sall not be
lesum to him to depart fra the said colledge, leif or renunce his office wtout the speciall
guidwill, awyse and consent of us or our said successours had and obtenit yairto; Attour
we will, grantes and consentis yat thir pnts ar or sall be nawayes prejudiciall to the
remanent heidis contenit in ye sd contract speciallie in yat pairt concerning the sus-
tentatioun of him and his servand, and of his stipend and augmentatioun yairof, at the
sicht of the persones namit yairin, or so mony of yame as ar or sal be in lyfe for the
tyme. In witness of the qlk thing to thir pntis subscryvit be us the said provost
and baillies, and be Mr Alex. Guthrie, comoun clerk of the said burgh, the seill of
cause yairof is appendit at Edinburgh, the day of
the yeir of God Im. Vc. fourscoir fyve years.”
We may also add the following minute of Council extracted from the Council Re-
cords, vol. viii. fol. 104, as exhibiting the steps taken to procure for Rollock from the
Church, authority to act as Professor of Theology. 27th August 1587 : “The qlk
day, the foresaid provost, bailzies and counsall, wt ye minstrs and ame nu bir of the
elders and deykinis of ye Kirk beamd q’ienet, and having q’sederit yat M. Rt. Rollock,
Principall of the Town’s Colledge, hes now q pleitt ane courss of philosophie in ye
said Colledge, and in respect of his lang travell and servyce yrinte of befor, and that
he is thocht to be qualifiet for ye p fession of theologie : Thairfor, and for uſyr causes
moving yame, they fand it expedit yat the said M. Rot. sal begyn and teach theologie
in ye said College; and ordaines ye same to be p pomet to ye Presbítery, yt yr q con-
Sulā'un and 3’vyse micht be had heirimto, and q timewis ye fril order to be tayim in yis
mater till this day viij. dayes.
lxx NARRATIVE OF THE LIFE AND DEATH
to the whole assembled students, he explained some text of Scripture,
whence he drew forth salutary advices, entreaties, and threatenings,
not darkened with a cloud of words, but from the weight and serious im-
portance of the sentiments, efficacious in softening the minds of the young,
and training them to the attainment of perfect holiness. Such was the
efficacy of these prelections that they kept the students to their duty more
successfully than any severer discipline would have done. When the
lecture was over, he next began to ascertain from the censors ap-
pointed to mark down the faults of individuals in their classes, those
whom they had noted as delinquents during that week. The students
so reported he rebuked with the greatest tact; he placed before their
eyes the anger of God, and struck terror into their souls from the fear of
disgrace; and by these means he succeeded in bringing them to repent-
ance and amendment of life better than if he had inflicted a thousand
stripes. For, in many cases, where neither the words of others, nor blows
could have occasioned grief or weeping, the youths were so daunted,
shaken, and overwhelmed by the thunders of the divine wrath with which
he plied them, and with the gentle promises of the gospel with which he
soothed them, that sighs and sobs, and sometimes even floods of tears burst
from them. He had this distinguishing characteristic, that whether he
placed before them the promises of the gospel, or sternly threatened them
with the judgments of God, he so insinuated himself into the minds of
even the most profligate youth—and such he had sometimes under his
care—even although his indignation had glowed most fiercely against him,
that he roused warm feelings of affection, and led him voluntarily from
error to the path of duty, not so much from fear as from love. It was
also his habit each week, or as occasion offered, to assemble the Regents,
that at their meetings they might consult and consider, whether any refor-
mation or amendment of the system could be effected. Hence the Uni-
versity acquired a settled state, increasing in purity of discipline, in
attention to study, and in completeness of system. -
After he had dismissed his class of Philosophy and given himself up
wholly to Theology, I can scarcely describe the assiduity, the watchful-
ness, the laboriousness with which he set about training in Divinity such
of his former pupils as had applied their minds to the study of the Sacred
writings. Sometimes he dictated a logical analysis of the epistles of Paul,
or the other books of the sacred Scriptures; Sometimes he handled com-
OF ROBERT ROLLOCK. w lxxi
monplaces; sometimes he examined into the points of the controversy
with Popery; and in these pursuits he suffered no part of the day to pass
unemployed. He varied his industrious labours with frequent exhorta-
tions, in which he stirred up the students to holiness and faithfulness in
the discharge of those ministerial labours for which he was preparing
them. First of all, he demanded of them not to obtrude themselves on
that work while their knowledge was crude and undigested. He ear-
nestly commended zeal, but zeal tempered with prudence; urging that
men are nowhere more liable to error than in the matter of zeal, which
some measured by their own headlong passions, others, following the
temper of the times, by the thoughtless opinions of a fanatical rabble;
that, indeed, genuine zeal is to be fostered in the Church, as the fire sent
down from heaven, which it is most important ever to keep alive in God’s
house, but that they should reject adulterated zeal, as fire derived from a
source other than heavenly. Again he entreated them, with gravest per-
tinacity, not to seek their own private ends under the pretext of religion,
and not to hunt after a character for candour, by blaming and cavilling
at others; he besought them to do nothing with a view to secure the
good opinion of men, but all things to secure the approbation of their own
conscience. God blessed these unwearied efforts and these boundless
labours to such a degree, that in a few years he sent forth to the office of
the ministry very many in whom the living image of his own holiness
and learning shone forth conspicuous.
To these labours pursued so industriously he added another. Seeing
great crowds of people assembling early in the morning in the New I
Church, and being unwilling that they should sit unemployed, as they
were in the habit of doing, such was his anxiety to lead men to tread in
the ways of the Lord, that on the Sabbath mornings at seven o’clock—a
thing which had never been done in Edinburgh before—he began to preach,”
1 This is that portion of the edifice now called the High Church, which originally
formed the choir, and in which, to use the language of Maitland, “is the King's seat,
and those of the Magistrates and Lords of Session.”—History of Edinburgh, p. 183.
2 The following extract from the Minutes of the Presbytery of Edinburgh, shows
that Rollock began to preach before he entered on his theological course. 5th Sept.
1587: “Anent the desyre of the ministric of Edinburgh, craving, that be ressoum of
the leirning and qualificatioun of Mr Rot. Rollock and the good lyking that the congre-
gation of the said toum hes of him, that a commandment be geiven to him to teich everie
Sounday in the morning, in the New Kirk; qlk desyre being considerit, It is conclu-
lxxii NARRATIVE OF THE LIFE AND DEATH
and that with such demonstration of the Spirit and of power, with such
mighty force of sentiment, and such grave impressiveness of style, that the
minds of the greater part of his hearers were illuminated with a heavenly
light, their affections were stirred up, and they were irresistibly impelled
to admire the preacher. For he not only excited the ordinary class of
hearers, but he affected men of learning to such a degree, that they dis-
tinctly felt and acknowledged that new light was thereby shed upon their
minds, and that new affections were forming in their hearts. -
After he had gone over, in this course of preaching, the Epistle of Paul
to the Ephesians, he wrote his Commentary, which was printed in the
year 1590. About the same time, in the University, he publicly prelected
to his students each Monday, on the Epistle to the Romans, of which he
published a logical analysis, introducing in the course of it a treatise of
great excellence on some heads of Christian doctrine, derived from
that golden chain of God's blessings, which occurs in the thirtieth
2
verse of the eighth chapter.” These two writings having accidentally
fallen into the hands of Beza, the celebrated divine, gave him so much
delight, that, in a letter to John Johnston,” professor of divinity in St
Andrews, he could not refrain from breaking out into praises of the
author. It seems proper to give here some of his remarks. “At this
very time,” says he, “it was my good fortune to fall in with a treasure,
which, by some unhappy fate, though in the hands of every one else in this
place, had till then escaped my notice. A treasure, and that most pre-
dit, and be the haill pºbrie consetit, that the said M. Rot. Sall teach everie Sounday in
the morning in the New Kirk as said is.”
I With regard to the writings of Rollock, here mentioned, the reader is referred to
the List of his Works which follows this Life.
2. When Rollock reaches, in his Analytical Commentary, the 30th verse, he thus pro-
ceeds:–Quia locus hjc insignis est, continetque auream quasi catenam beneficiorum
Dei omnium breviter comprehensorum, certoque ordine enumeratorum, Sumpto initio a
primo, et facto deinceps per media progressu ad ultimum ; Ideo ad brevem illam an-
alysin statui adjicere singulorum beneficiorum explicationem paullo fusiorem, simulque
capitum nonnullorum doctrinae quae sparsim occurrunt in hac epistola, quaeque ad
unum aliquod beneficiorum hic comprehensorum referri possunt. De his itaque
dicemus. Then at considerable length he treats of the following subjects:–De Prae-
scientia et Praedestinatione Dei; Praedestinatio ad mortem, quomodo decretum vocetur;
De Vocatione; De Peccato; De Libero Arbitrio ; De Foedere Dei; De Fide; De
Spe; De Resipiscentia; De Sacramento; De Ecclesia; De Justificatione et Glorifica-
tione; De bonis operibus. And after this extensive flight, he quietly resumes the an-
alysis of the thirty-first verse.
3 See pp. 7-12 of this volume.
OF ROBERT ROLLOCK. lxxiii
cious, I may well term those remarkable Commentaries of Rollock, a brother
worthy of the highest honour, on the Epistle to the Romans, and on that
to the Ephesians, both the most celebrated among all the apostolical
epistles. For this is my settled opinion of them in my own mind, and I
would wish to say it without any appearance of flattery, that I have never
read in this kind of interpretation any thing exceeding them in elegance
and sound judgment united with brevity; so that after I had perused
them, I felt myself compelled by a sense of duty, to render hearty thanks
to God, and to congratulate you, or rather the whole Church, on the pos-
session of so great a blessing. I pray God that He may bestow on this
man many new gifts from time to time, and happily preserve him, espe-
cially at this crisis, when, on account of the fewness of labourers to cul-
tivate fully the vineyard of our God, and the very small number of sur-
vivors among the well trained veterans of a former day, Satan and his
hosts were already triumphing in their victory over truth.” Such are
Beza's sentiments.
He afterwards published several Commentaries—for instance, one on
certain selected Psalms; on the prophet Daniel; on the gospel of John ;
on some of the Epistles of Paul, besides an admirable Treatise on Effec-
tual Calling, and a useful Tractate on God's Covenant and the Sacra-
ments, all which are diligently perused by many not only in Scotland,
but also in other countries, being no less advantageous to the Church,
than honourable to their author.
While Rollock devoted his attention to these important matters, which
might fully occupy and give abundant employment to a man of the utmost
activity, there was imposed on him the additional necessity of undertaking
a charge in the city ministry, on the following occasion. The whole city,
by the common consent of the Presbytery and the Council, as well as by
the advice of Rollock, had been divided into eight districts, resembling
parishes;" over each parish there required to be placed a minister to take
1 The four ministers of Edinburgh, at the time, were Walter Balcanguhall, Robert
Bruce, James Balfour, and William Watson. The expression qualifying the word
“parishes,” (quasi parochias,) is necessary, as only in the sense of the superintendence of
the ministers, which must have been a matter of mutual arrangement, as sometimes
happens in collegiate charges at the present time, could they be so named. There
was but one session for the whole, and, properly speaking, Edinburgh then constituted
but one parish. Though four ministers were added at this time, any formal division
into distinct parishes did not take place till 1625, when the change made in Rollock's
lxxiv. NARRATIVE OF THE LIFE AND DEATH
charge of it. The ministers of the city at that time were men of a great
reputation indeed, and most watchful and faithful in the discharge of their
duty, but they were not numerous enough to supply so many parishes. The
eyes of all, accordingly, were turned to Rollock, and he was besought to un-
dertake the pastoral office; they earnestly plead with him to consent himself
to undertake the office of the ministry, and the charge of one of the parishes,
in order to promote a work so sacred and so necessary as the parochial
division ; for he was held in the highest esteem and affection by all, both
high and low. This esteem and affection were secured by his unfeigned
candour in all his transactions, and his remarkable humility, which added
a singular grace to his other gifts; for, although he stood almost alone
in high endowments, yet, in his own opinion, he was inferior to all.
He had, indeed, formed the fixed resolution of remaining in retirement,
and of confining himself to the walls of the University, free from all public
employments, in order that he might have the greater freedom to attend
exclusively to its interests; yet, contrary to his purpose, he was dragged
out to take a share in most public matters, in which he conducted himself
with rare and sanctified wisdom. Matters, which from the headlong zeal
of the people had been thrown into great confusion, were, by his well-timed
and prudent management, reduced into order. It is rare to find prudence
accompanying zeal, nor is zeal always the attendant of prudence; yet He
who distributes His gifts at his sovereign pleasure had bestowed on Rollock
both singularly combined, the salutary effects of which were experienced
both by the Church and the State of Scotland.
During the last two years of his life, he was so weighed down with
public cares, that his constitution, otherwise by no means strong, began
to give way, for he was excruciatingly pained with stone, and he was
enfeebled by the weakness of his stomach; and yet it was the will of God
day was regularly authorised, the parishes retaining the names and churches then
allotted to the divisions temporarily made-(City Records, vol. Cix, p. 51.) An ac-
count of the difficulties attendant upon the settlement of the four newly appointed
ministers, Robert Rollock, John Hall, Peter Hewat, and George Robertson, will be
found in Calderwood, vol. v. pp. 674, or Spottiswood, pp. 450, 451. Principal Rol-
lock's colleague was Hewat, formerly a pupil; they had for their charge the south-west
quarter, and preached in the Upper Tolbooth. George Robertson, the biographer of
Rollock, had also been a pupil. He was the son of a burgess of Edinburgh, and, as
already mentioned, succeeded Philip Hislop as Regent in 1593. Ho WàS the first
that published the Theses in print.” He did not live long to exercise his functions as
a minister of Edinburgh.-Crawfurd, ibid. pp. 37, 38, 42.
OF HO BEIRT ROLLOCK. lxxv
that during this very time, which was one of the greatest perplexity in
public matters, he should succour the State while on the brink of ruin.
As far as we can conjecture by human reason, had he not brought
speedy help to the Church in its hour of need, it would have been en-
gulfed in a sea of miseries; for, in consequence of an inconsiderate ris-
ing of the common people in arms, the rage of the King and the nobles,
who had by this time left Edinburgh and gone to Linlithgow, I had risen
to the greatest fury, and, in consequence, both Church and State were
exposed to a great and twofold danger. The dismal and mournful state
of things at that time presented a melancholy and fearful aspect. After
many had in vain exerted their utmost efforts to settle these tumults, at
last there shone forth like a star of tranquil safety, the holy prudence of
Rollock, Seasoned with piety, modesty, humility; which seized such hold
on the royal breast, that the royal resolves against the people of Edinburgh,
previously bent on harsh measures, and that, in the belief of many, beyond
the reach of reconciliation, were mitigated, and Church and State were
rescued from the flames of destruction. But although Rollock's reputation
increased in consequence of delivering the Church from its then melancho-
ly condition, I pass over the particulars of these proceedings, lest I should
be led into writing a lengthened history of that time, and should make a
longer digression than accords with my more immediate object.
Immediately after the public affairs had been quietly settled by Rollock's
constantwatchfulness and unwearied labours, there followed the General As-
sembly at Dundee,” which the King thought fit to honour with his presence.
Rollock was unanimously chosen Moderator of the Assembly. In it, the
acts which had been passed at the Assembly of Perthº held immediately
1. It is unnecessary to multiply references to the various accounts of the well known
tumult of the 17th of December 1596, here alluded to. Crawfurd (ibid., p. 47) thus
mentions the interference of Rollock: “The ministers of Edinburgh were banished ;
the most eminent ministers fined and confined, and the session removed to Leith, a
plot being cunningly contrived, and narrowly missing the performance, for ransacking
the town by the border thieves, who were secretly brought into the Links of Leith.
None other willing or daring to appear in this breach, grave and wise Henry Nisbet,
provost, and godly Mr Rollock, so prevailed with the Kin g, that at length he was re-
conciled to the town of Edinburgh, and suffered those ministers to return.
* For an account of this Assembly, “haldin on the 10th day of May, 1597, in the
Little Kirk, Dundee,” see Booke of the Universall Kirke of Scotland, pp. 450, &c., Ed.
1889; Calderwood, vol. v., pp. 628; Spottiswood, pp. 443-445; Row, pp. 18.1, &c. 5
James Melville's Dairy, pp. 414, &c.
* The Perth Assembly was held on the 1st of March 1597.
lxxvi NARRATIVE OF THE LIFE AND DEATH
before, and which appeared to be rather harsh, received a milder inter-
pretation." The King demands that the Assembly should appoint some indi-
viduals to watch on behalf of the Church, that she should receive no injury.
A vote is immediately passed to this effect, that there should be named
men distinguished for piety and prudence, to whom this duty should be
committed. Of these Rollock was one. Their duties were limited, both
with regard to time, and to the manner and the principle of their discharg-
ing them ; and it was resolved that they should render to the subsequent
Assembly an account of the manner in which they had discharged their
functions.” This commission strenuously exert themselves, by well con-
sidered measures, and patient industry, to repair, and gradually to restore
the Church, miserably shattered by the tumult already mentioned.
In the end of the winter of 1598, he had been prevented by the increas-
ing severity of his disease from stirring out of doors. William Scott,
bound to him by the dearest ties of friendship, invites him to remove to
his house, that, if possible, by the enjoyment of a more temperate and a
purer atmosphere, he might recover his health—an invitation of which
he availed himself. At first he was a little better, in consequence of the
change of air; but immediately thereafter, the disease recurring with
redoubled violence confined him to his bed. When he perceived his
breath failing him, and that he was drawing near the gates of death, expe-
riencing a heavenly delight, he imparted intense pleasure to the minds of
all who visited him by his sweet conversation, which bore evident marks
of its divine source. But this joy was interrupted by universal bursts
of Jamentation, when they thought of a man of his great usefulness
being cut off before he had reached the flower of his life
when they
considered that the Church was about to be deprived of a father, and the
1 For a succinct and animated account of the Acts passed at the Perth Assembly,
as well as the modifications which they received in the Dundee Assembly, see M'Crie's
Melville, vol. ii. pp. 8, &c.
2 For the powers and proceedings of this Commission—“the verie needle which
drew in the thread of bishops,”—see uti supra. The Commission itself may be con-
sulted in the Booke of the Universall Kirk, p. 460. The first Commissioners were
“ Mrs. Alexr. Dowglas, James Nicolsom, George Gladstone, Thomas Buchanan, Ro-
bert Pont, Robert Rollock, David Lyndsay, Patrick Galloway, John Duncanson, Pa-
trick Scharpe, John Porterfield, James Melville, William Couper, and John Clapper-
toune, or any seven of them.” The number and some of the members were changed
at the next Assembly. The account here given of the limited powers of the Commis-
sion is not borne out by the terms of its appointment. But the subject is too import-
ant and intricate to be discussed in a footnote.
OF ROBERT ROLLOCK. lxxvii
State of the pillar of its safety, and that no one would be left to quiet the
tumults in the Church, to reconcile to an offended prince his subjects, or
restore the Church to his favour. He arranges his private affairs with
his wonted prudence; then he earnestly commends to the care of his
friends, particularly to William Scott," of whose remarkable trustworthi-
mess and affection he had already had many proofs, his wife, then with
child for the first time, after their marriage had subsisted for eleven years
without offspring. Patrick Galloway and David Lindsay” having come to
see him, he solemnly declared his affection to his prince, which had ever
been deep-seated in his heart, and declared that he would die in the same
sentiments. He then demands of them to go to the King, and to exhort
him to tread till his last breath, with unwavering steps, the path of religion,
which he had hitherto pursued with unfaltering course, never to be led
astray from it, either by any hope of extending the regal power, or by the
crafty artifices of designing men, and to feel and speak of the ministers of
the gospel with that reverence which was their due. “For that the ministry
* This is Sir William Scot of Elie, Director of the Chancery, to whom by his will he
directed his posthumous works to be dedicated, see vol. ii. p. 11. This incident in Nol-
lock's history is thus mentioned by Crawford, (ibid., p. 48.) “Sir William Scot of
Elie, one of the Clerks of Session, an entire friend to Mr Rollock, persuaded him to
remove to his lodgings over against the long plain-stanes, now belonging to Hopetoum,
for the benefit of free air.” For Scot's anxiety regarding the publication of the works
of Rollock, see M'Crie's Melville, vol. ii. p. 422.
* Both of these were named in the first commission, along with Rollock. The first
had been minister of Perth, (Calderwood, vol. iv. p. 111), and afterwards became one
of the ministers in the royal household.—Calderwood, vol. v. p. 521; vi. pp. 60, 77,
&c., et saepe; Tytler's History of Scotland, vol. ix. p. 360. He died in the year
1624. By his wife Mary, daughter of James Lawson, Knox's successor, he left a son,
Sir James Galloway, who was conjunct Secretary of State with the Earl of Stirling,
and in 1645 was created a peer by the title of Lord Dunkeld.—(Wood's Peerage of
Scotland, vol. i. p. 482.) David Lindsay, when minister of Leith, had accompanied
James VI. to Norway, where he solemnized the royal nuptials.-(Calderwood, vol. v.
p. 68.) In 1600 he was nominated Bishop of Ross. We find him taking a part in the
history of the Reformed Church of Scotland from its commencement. He was one of
the members of the first General Assembly in 1560, was repeatedly moderator of sub-
sequent Assemblies, and possessed great influence both with the Court and his breth-
ren. In the discussion in the Assembly of 1575, on the question of the scriptural law-
fulness of bishops, he was appointed to take the affirmative. The worst that could be
said of him in the lampoon on the bishops in 1610, preserved both by Calderwood and
Row, is Ros coetus amat. He was father-in-law to Archbishop Spottiswood, who is in
these verses much more severely described; cum vino Glasgua amores.—(Calderwood,
vi. p. 96; James Melville's Diary, p. 489; Row's History of the Kirk of Scotland, saepe.)
For another David Lindsay, then minister of Dundee, afterwards successively bishop
of Brechim and Edinburgh, see Irving's Lives of Scottish Writers, vol. i. p. 318.
lxxviii NARRATIVE OF THE LIFE AND DEATEI
of Christ, however humble and mean in human estimation, was glorious in
the sight of God; that although ministers were the filth and offscourings of
the world, yet thereafter they would shine forth with transcendent glory.”
Then the ministers of Edinburgh came to visit him, to whom, when seated,
he thus addresses himself; “Wearied with the overwhelming weight of my
trouble—gasping—I breathe only with the hope of dismissal from this life.
Yet I have not so learned, nor have Iso taught Christ, as to find no solace
for these ills. The cares of the University, my brethren, have, at all times,
been most deeply seated in my breast. God is my witness, and my own
conscience honestly testifies, how faithfully and assiduously I have
managed that trust; you are witnesses what profit has accrued from it to
the Church and the State. Soon must the thread of my life be broken,
soon must I pass to my Father's house, after which I have so long and so
earnestly panted ; do not, I beseech you, after I have been removed from
among the living, leave the College to grieve too bitterly over its bereave-
ments. Do you—you, I repeat, act the part of a real, not of a stepfather,
cherish, and nourish her in your bosom. As to the office of the ministry,
it is not long since it was laid upon me, and why I undertook it at all is well
known to you. That I have done any thing worthy of approbation in it, I
venture not to affirm ; yet I will venture So far as to assert that it was
my earnest wish to do so. It cannot have escaped your memory, that at
the Assembly of Dundee I was chosen with some others to watch over the
Church ; in which office, as I had before my eyes the glory of God and the
safety of the Church miserably shaken by a sudden tumult, I declare that
I have no consciousness of blame-worthiness in the discharge of my duty
to torment me with the pain of remorse. A whisper has lately reached
my ear that a report has gone abroad that my mind is uneasy on account
of improper and unjust proceedings in that office." I appeal to God, the
* The complaints made against Rollock and the Commission generally will be found
in M'Crie's Melville. One objection against him which it did not come within Dr
M'Crie's plan to notice, was the planting of ministers in Edinburgh. Rollock's allil-
sion to it is omitted by Charteris, but I transcribe Robertson's words bearing upon the
subject. The passage occurs between the sentences Memoriae vestrae......... SMSC(7°7°Cº-
vit guidem, p. 6 of Charteris’ Narratio. In pastorum Edinburgenorum numero gemi-
nando, duobus praesertim illis qui studiorum tyrocinium sub mea ferula exercuerunt
ad munus illud invehendis, cum in is dona muneri congrua Deumque eorum labori-
bus propitium perspexcrim, tantum abest illius facti me poemiteat, ut in hanc usque
horam summo potius perfundar gaudio. P. 21, ed. 1599; p. 16, ed. 1826. “As to the
doubling of the number of the ministers of Edinburgh, and especially introducing to
OF ROBERT ROLLOCK. lxxix
arbiter and the witness of all secret things, before whose tribunal I must
soon be summoned, that I have no reason to grieve or vex myself, as in
the whole of that business I have confined myself to the lawful object of
my appointment. I do not indeed deny, that seeing that the wise Creator
of the world has united the Church and the State with a loving and fra-
ternal bond, I have laboured heart and soul that they should mutually
assist each other—that the sword of the State should not be drawn to
destroy the Church, nor the Church too bitterly inveigh against the King
or the State, and that no unnecessary war should be kindled. I have
not, however, on the other hand, been so beguiled by a love of peace
as not to make a difference between that which is genuine and that which
is impure, nor have I been so carried away by my affection for my prince
as to incur a single stain on my conscience, even the smallest, to gratify
him ; but the integrity of my conduct will become more manifest even
after I am no more. As for you, unite with one mind to carry on the
work of the Lord. What is more inconsistent than for the heralds of
peace to be torn asunder by quarrelling and discord At such a con-
juncture as this, when the enemy is lying in wait for our halting, we
ought not to dissipate our strength, but peaceably to concentrate it; we
ought to aim our weapons at the bosom of the enemy, and not at each
other's throats. Discharge the duty which you owe to your prince.
Times of rare happiness have fallen to your lot; you have had the
good fortune of being ruled over by a prince who has imbibed from his
earliest years a feeling of religion," which has grown with his growth.
He has walled round religion with sound discipline, he has protected it
by his person, and undertaken the patronage of the Church in such a
way, as to shew by a thousand proofs that he will not forsake it till life
shall forsake him. What, then, you can obtain from him by gentleness,
do not vainly attempt to extort against his will. You must Seriously be-
ware against hurling the Church from its present pinnacle of prosperity
that office the two who were trained under my own care, seeing that I had every op-
portunity of thoroughly ascertaining that their qualifications fitted them for the duties
of the ministry, and that God smiled upon their labours, I am so far from reponting of
my conduct in this mater, that to this very hour it affords me the most lively satisfac-
tion.” To the matter here alluded to, reference has already been made in the notes.
'In the original Principem macti estis qui cum lacte religionem hausit. Who was
James's nurse? But I have not ventured to represent James as sucking in religion
with his mother’s milk.
lxxx NARRATIVE OF THE LIFE AND DIEATII
into ruin. Paul might have retained about his person the runaway
Onesimus, yet he would not do so without the consent of Philemon, lest
his kindness should appear to spring from necessity. It is my deliberate
opinion that you should tread in the footsteps of Paul in a matter of so
much moment." May God, the Father of Jesus Christ, encircle you with
all spiritual blessings, and supply you with resistless might to strengthen
you in the active discharge of your important ministry " .
On the evening of the same day, death seemed to be rapidly approach-
ing. When he descried its oncoming, he began a discourse which was
not the elaborate work of the human brain, but an emanation from the
Spirit of God, and inspired all who stood by with wonder and admiration.
The physicians came to his bedside, but declined” any attempt to mitigate
the force of the disease by medical means, as he had not sufficient natural
force to bear them. Accordingly, turning his discourse to God, he says,
“Thou, O God, wilt heal me.” IIe went on to pour forth supplications
with the devoutest earnestness, praying first that God would be propitiated
for his sins by the sacrifice of Christ alone, declaring that he reckoned
every thing else, however fair in human eyes, as dung compared with the
surpassing excellence of Christ's cross. Then he prayed that God would
favour him with a gentle and happy departure from life, that, covered
with the wings of mercy, he might leave it in Christ's bosom, and enjoy
God's countenance, which he panted to behold and thirsted after. “I,”
says he, “ have seen thee dimly in the glass of the word, bestow on me
spottiswood's version (p. 454) of this is, “In his sickness being visited by his bre-
thren of the ministry, amongst other pious exhortations, he did carnestly beseech them
to carry themselves more dutifully towards the Ainſ, lamenting he should be so ill used by
some of their number; and gave them a most comfortable farewell.” It is needless to
point out the ingenuity with which Spottiswood gives this turn to Rollock's words.
The reader will observe the discrimination with which Rollock addresses the various
parties that visit him. Galloway and Lindsay, too prone to Court measures, he indi-
rectly exhorts to faithfulness; the ministers, zealous supporters of the IKirk, he coun-
sels to calmness; and to the President of the Court of Session, inclined, or suspected
of an inclination to Popcry, he recommends the use of his influence and power in the
behalf of true religion. * * *
* In the original, renuerunt; and so in Robertson—giving a striking proof of the weak-
ness to which Rollock was reduced, when his strength was unable to stand the ordinary
medical means for alleviating his pain. This is evident also from, “ad Deum ilaque,” which
follows—as the physicians could do nothing for him, he turned to God. Melchior
Adam, overlooking this, substitutes tentabant for remuerunt; which the learned editor
of the Bannatyne Iºdition seems to favour by printing it within brackets, as a prefer-
able reading.
OF ROBERT ROLLOCK. lxxxi
now the enjoyment of thy face—oh how long and earnestly desired.” On
the resurrection and eternal life, he uttered words breathing of immor-
tality. He took the bystanders individually by the hand and blessed them
with the utmost kindliness and seriousness, while he mingled his blessing
with advice wisely adapted to each one's disposition and duties. During
that night he rested better than had been hoped. On the following day
the magistrates of the city and several of the Judges visit him. When
they were seated near his bed he thus addressed them. “As far as I am
able to judge, I am about to finish the task of life, to lay aside this cor-
ruptible garment of the body, to pass hence to my Father's house. Nor
is this a bitter thought to me; for I have often thirsted for the last day of
my life. The University has always been my greatest source of anxiety;
now that I am about to leave it, if I were to conceal who in my opinion
should succeed me and preside over it, I should incur the reproach of care-
less indifference. Why need you traverse other countries, and assume
to this charge a foreigner, who must in the meantime be ignorant of the
system of instruction and discipline pursued in our University ? You
have at home one endowed with high gifts and already trained for this of.
fice, Henry Charteris," who, under my instruction, has drunk deep of learn-
ing, and has for more than ten years discharged the office of Professor of
Philosophy with high distinction. Place him at the helm of the University;
you will see God Smiling on him and blessing his labours. From your
official situation you are bound to be the Maecenases and patrons of the
University; I beseech you, let a deeper care for it than ever possess your
minds. What shall I say to you of my domestic concerns 2 I leave be-
hind my wife in a state of pregnancy. One thing Ientreat of you beyond all
others; let her feel that the love with which you ever cherished me while
I was alive has not been dried up by my death. Never have I been free
from bad health, day or night; and while I was shaken by the disquiet-
ments of so much distress, she has ever cherished and nursed me with a
* Henry Charteris, son of a worthy citizen and magistrate of Edinburgh, a printer of
no small usefulness and celebrity in his day, was, as we have secn, cducated under
Rollock. IIe was appointed Regent in 1589, and, on the death of Rollock, Principal,
on the 14th Feb. 1599. In 1620 he resigned, and accepted a call to the ministry in
North Leith. In 1627 he was appointed Professor of Divinity, an office which, on his
resignation, had been disjoined from the Principalship. He died in 1629.-(Crawford,
ibid.) His character seems to have been that of an amiable but weak man, studious
and learned, but without much vigour of intellect.
f
lxxxii NARRATIVE OF THE LIFE AND DEATEI
gentle hand. I declare frankly, that from all that I have received for my
labours, I have not accumulated a single penny; for these earthly mat-
ters never gave me either pleasure or anxiety. I need not, however,
waste more words on this subject; I entreat you let not your affection to
me halt towards her.” The magistrates and the judges solemnly promised
that they would act as he desired. He next exhorted the Professors of
Philosophy” to persevere in their duty, and pay due respect to his suc-
cessor. This being dome, he exclaims in a tone of singular piety: “Thanks
be to God! memory, sight, hearing, and all my other senses, are as lively and
vigorous as ever they were; but my heart is away from this world—and,
wherefore, Lord Jesus, shouldest thou not alone enjoy my heart, since thou
alone hast a right to it? During my whole life I have striven for this end,
to dedicate and consecrate it to thee; I pray thee, take it to thyself, that it
may dwell with thee.” After he had spoken thus, a gentle sleep steals over
him, and when awakened from it, he burns with an intense desire to depart
and be with the Lord. “Come,” he says, “Lord Jesus, break the cord of
this frail life; hasten, Lord, and do not tarry. Jesus has redeemed me, not
to indulge me with this fading life, but with that which shall never
end. Come, Jesus, bestow on me the life for which thou hast ransomed
me.” His friends standing around lament, with tears and wailing, the
bereavement which they should suffer from his death; but he addressed
them thus: “I have gone through all the stages of this life: I have
reached the last; why should I go back 3 I shall finish this stage hap-
pily, through thy favour, Lord Jesus. Conduct me to that glory, which
I have only seen as through a glass darkly ; my prayer is, that I may
take up my abode with thee.” When the bystanders told him that the next
1 The emoluments of Rollock's office were by no means great; but the city did not
neglect his wife and his posthumous daughter Jean. To the widow, in 1600, they
allowed a pension of 100 merks for five years. The family probably fell into difficul-
ties after this; for we find the Town Council allowing, in 1611, the sum of 100 merks
for her education and maintenance, to be paid yearly till her marriage, to which
they added the sum of 1000 merks as her portion. She was subsequently married to
Mr Robert Balcanguhall, (son of Walter Balcanguhall, and brother to the Dean of
Rochester, whom we find minister of Tranent in 1622–(Crawford, ibid.)
2 The Professors at the time were Henry Charteris; William Craig, (son of John
Craig, one of the King's ministers,) afterwards Professor of Divinity at Saumur; John
Adamson, afterwards minister at North Berwick; James Knox, afterwards minister
at Kelso. And John Ray was Professor of Humanity, an office which he resigned in
1606 for the rectorship of the High School.-(Crawford, ibid.; Stevens's History of
the High School, p. 47.)
OF ROBERT ROLLOCK. lxxxiii
day was the Sabbath, he broke out into these words; “May this Sab-
bath, Lord, begin my eternal Sabbath ! may my eternal Sabbath receive
its hallowed commencement from thy Sabbath !”
He enjoyed a period of tolerable repose till about midnight, which was
then broken by a paroxysm of his disease, and thinking that his last hour
was come, he sent for Mr Walter Balcanduall. When he came in he
thus accosts him ; “As you have longest discharged the pastoral office
in Edinburgh," and as our friendship is not of yesterday, I have caused
you to be sent for, that I might testify the reverence with which,
from the cradle, I have regarded the ministry of Christ. For my own
part, I have, so far as I have been enabled by my humble gifts, poured
forth my supplications into God’s bosom; do you now engage in prayer on
my behalf; I shall follow you with the desires of my heart; only do not
pray for a prolongation of my life.” All present fell upon their knees, and
Balcanguall engaged in prayer. Among other petitions, he prayed that
God would grant the longer services of so distinguished a man, since he
was so much required for the welfare both of the Church and of the State.
While he is thus praying, he is interrupted by Rollock,” who says; “I have
had more than enough of this life—one thing I alone desire, the heavenly
life that is now hidden with God in Christ.” When the prayer was done,
he broke forth into praises of the preached word. “The word,” says he,
“is the power of God to salvation—the wisdom, the life of God; nor has
any one Salvation without the word. Believe me, it is not a thing of
small importance to preach the word; it is not the same thing as to ex-
pound the text of Plato or Aristotle, or to set forth a harangue, bedaubed
with the colours and allurements of rhetoric. The preaching of the word
depends on holiness, humility, and the efficacious demonstration of the Spirit.
God knows how highly I have ever esteemed it.” Then he returns to
prayer. “Come,” says he, “Lord Jesus, break the nerves of these eyes,
give me others; I desire to be freed, and to be with thee; hasten to
come, Lord Jesus, do not tarry. Depart from me, thou paltry life; let
that better life, even God’s, enter in thy stead. Lord Jesus introduce
thy hand into this body, and take my soul to thyself.”
* Mr Walter Balcanduhall had all along been a warm promoter of the University.
As early as 1574, James Melville (Diary, p. 52) finds him “ane honest, upright-
harted young man, latlie enterit to that ministerie of Edinbruche.”
*The reader will call to remembrance a similar incident in the death-scene of Luther.
f2
lxxxiv. NARRA TiVi5 OF THE LIFE AND DEATH
He remained quiet for a considerable time in the morning, but at length
he broke silence with these words; “Come, Lord J esus, tarry not; I am
Wearied with my loathing of day and night; come, Lord Jesus, that I may
come to thee. O Sweet, blessed, happy divorce from this life I Come,
Lord, my sweet delight, free this soul, that it may enjoy its union unto
thee.” Then one of the bystanders says; “Be not anxious, thy Lord
makes haste.” “That is glad tidings,” he replied; “I would that ye were
to bury me to-morrow.” Then says another, “Happy is the soul that is
So near to the Lord as yours is.” Dut he answered : “In me there is
nothing which I would not count as dung that I may win Christ: Christ
is the sole ground of my comfort: all my righteousness is as filthy rags.”
Having been asked if he wished to converse with a minister, he replied,
that he would not give them the trouble, as they were preparing for
preaching. “Permit me,” says he, “parrot-like to babble incoherent words
to my Lord.” Being told that divine service had begun, “Give me,”
he says, “O Lord, to see those things which others are now hearing of.”
At Sabbath-morn one thus addresses him ; “During your whole life,
you have advanced the glory of God with unwearied labour and cease-
less industry:” to which he says; “My only ground for glorying is in
the mercy of God—all other things I reckon as loss.” Then a gentle
slumber steals on him, and lasts till the evening. When he awoke,
to the President of the Court of Session,1 who was the Lord Provost
of Edinburgh for that year, and who then paid him a visit, he says:—“I
have anxiously commended the University to the care of the magistrates,
over whom you, Sir, preside; do you also take it under your patronage.
Let it find, I beseech you, in you a father and a patron. Do not, I en-
treat you, withhold from the Church the assistance which you can render
her, from the high rank which you have in the State, and the distinguished
position with which God has honoured you ; exert all your powers and
strength to establish her; strive with your utmost endeavours to obtain
* This was Alexander Seton, born about the same year as Rollock. He studied
abroad, and, in 1588, was appointed an Ordinary Lord of Session, under the name of
Lord Urquhart. In 1593, he was mominated Lord President. He was successively
created a peer by the title of Lord Fyvie, Chancellor, and Earl of Dunfermline. He
died in 1622. Though one of the detested Octavians, and strongly suspected of Pop-
ish loanings, he was Lord Provost of Edinburgh for ten successive years, from 1598
to 1607.-(Maitland's I/istory of Edinburgh, p. 224; Brunton and Haig's Iſistorical
Account of the Senators of the College of Justice, pp. 198, &c.)
OF ROBERT ROLLOCIC. lxxxv.
safety in Christ Jesus. All earthly things are fleeting, and will soon
fade away; may God heap on you, your wiſe, and all your family,
the riches of his own blessing !” That same night he dropped the follow-
ing expressions:—“In a sick body I have a calm mind. Death, sin,
and Satan terrify me not; they have no dominion over me; yet the
burden of disease so weighs me down, that my surviving so long is far be-
yond all expectation. The Lord is crushing me as in the mortar of
affliction, that he may form me for his own kingdom.”
On the 7th of February he says; “It may appear astonishing, seeing that
I am racked so cruelly with disease, that my life is protracted so long ;
but I shall patiently wait the good pleasure of the Lord. I will not repine;
let him do with me as he pleases, I will not argue with him. What is
man, that he should dare to dispute with God? Nay, should he thrust me
into hell, obedience, not remonstrance, is my duty. Have mercy on me,
O Lord, for Christ Jesus' sake. I am not ashamed to confess that I
never attained so high a point in the knowledge of God as by means of
this illness. O how dreadful to fall into the hands of the Lord | But
mercy is laid up for me in Christ. Why art thou sad, O my soul? Why
art thou cast down in me? Thou shalt soon see His face, and enjoy ravish-
ing communion with Him.” When it was drawing towards evening he
says; “I experience the truth of the sixth Psalm ;” quoting some words
from it; “Have mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am weak; O Lord heal
me, for my bones are vexed.” After a short interval, he again be-
gins; “Christ will carry my yoke, and I shall follow, supported by his
grace.” When the bystanders, on perceiving him writhing under the
agonies of his trouble, were weeping and lamenting, he rebuked them.
“Weep not for me,” he says, “but for your own sins; as no one is
free from sin, so no one but has cause to weep. As for me, I shall
soon behold the fulfilment and consummation of all things.” In the
evening one of his relations visited him, and excited his indignation
by his impious remarks, importuning him when received into heaven to
mediate for him and his other friends. When he heard this, burning with
Wrath, he suddenly raises his body, weak and almost breathless though
he was: “I,” says he, “renounce that office; Christ is the only mediator.”
A short time after, his elder brother came to see him. “Do you,” he said,
“rebuke our relation; warn him to betake himself to another mode of
life, otherwise there is no safety for him, but sure destruction.”
lxxxvi NARRATIVE OF THE LIFE AND DEATH
From this time he refused all the nourishment that was offered to
him. “I shall not eat nor drink,” says he, “till I shall be removed to
the kingdom of heaven.” He committed the charge of his funeral to
William Little and William Scott, his most stedfast friends, whose un-
wavering affection he extolled with frequent praises. “Why,” says
he, “should I not care for this body, since it is to be glorified, and made
like unto Christ's glorious body ?” Looking on his hands he exclaimed,
“these very hands shall glow with resplendent glory.” After this he
spoke in lower tones and in shorter sentences, yet his expressions were
forcible and lively, sweetly savouring of the joys of heaven. He then fell
into a gentle slumber, during which, after some time, he tranquilly and
pleasantly gave up his soul to his Creator and Redeemer. The expression
of his countenance was not effaced by death, and his colour remained in a
considerable degree.
He died on the ninth day of February, old style, as was then in use,"
having just completed the forty-third year of his age. He was of mode-
rate height, of ruddy complexion mixed with a certain degree of white-
ness, of reddish hair, of features equally formed to express kindliness and
seriousness. His health was not strong, so that it is astonishing that
he could have borne up under a life so laborious as his. He was of
singular piety, bioliness and integrity of life, which commanded the un-
willing admiration and praises even of the enemies of the truth. In
his calling he was most faithful and watchful, unceasing in his studies
and meditations, shrinking from rest more than is easily credible. Yet
the fact is attested by the number of learned and choice Annotations
published by him in so few years, and that while his body was weakened
by disease and sickness. He was an ardent lover of peace, most patient
under wrongs, and ready to forgive. In estimating the sayings or doings
of others, he was in the highest degree just and moderate, and, differently
from other men, he was always inclined, so far as he possibly could, to
give a favourable interpretation to what others said or did. In ordinary so-
ciety and in the intercourse of his friends, he was particularly courteous and
pleasant, faithful in his counsels, affable and gentle in his conversation. In
1 The change to the new style took place in the very next year, 1600, which it was
publickly cnacted should commence with the 1st of January, instead of the 25th of
March, as had been the practice previously. England did not adopt this mode of
computing time till 1752. >
OF ROBERT ROLLOCIC. lxxxvii
matters of serious business he was grave and prudent—as he made clear
to all in his management of the public offices of the Church—most ready
in giving advice to others. And these distinguished excellencies were
adorned by a wonderful humility, through which, though he excelled
almost all men in many surpassing qualities, yet he did not disdain even
the lowest, but rather placed himself below all. To this humility were add-
ed an incredible moderation and command of temper, so that, although in
his own hearing he was publicly and undeservedly attacked by the slan-
derous calumnies of many, he was never heard to reproach them in turn,
or to retaliate, or say a single word against his slanderers; but, trusting
in the testimony of a good conscience, he remained silent. Only once did
he defend himself in a public address," and that with such moderation, that
he upbraided none, took from no man's reputation, made no insinuations,
accused no one, but only maintained his own integrity in the presence of
God and the Church. He pursued his studies in common with his inti-
mate friends, and he affirmed that this mode of acquiring learning had
often been productive of good results to him. But on this theme I shall
dilate no more, though much more might and perhaps ought to have been
said; were it not that his virtues are conspicuously known, and that praise
in moderate measure suits best the modest genius of the man.
I should hardly be believed if I were to tell the lamentations and the
profound grief which the report of his death occasioned through the
whole of this city and the country. The Town-Council, the Univer-
sity, the burgesses, the lower orders, mourned as if each had suffered a
family bereavement, and his funeral was attended with a greater throng
than Edinburgh had been wont to see on similar occasions. For the
whole population, of the highest and of the lowest ranks, of all ages and
sexes, flocked in crowds to pay due honour to his memory.
* This, probably, alludes to Rollock's opening address, or exhortation, at the opening
of the General Assembly held at Dundee on the 7th of March 1598.-(Booke of the
Universall Kirk, p. 464.)
LIST OF W O R KS BY P R IN CIP AL R O L L 0 C K.
At the end of Robertson's Narratio is appended the following
CATALOGUS OPERUM ROBERTI ROLLOCI, quorum aliqua excusa, alia
mox excudenda.
ExCUSA.
IProlegomena in primum librum Quaestionum Theodori Bezae.'
Commentarius in Pauli Epist. ad Ephes.
Commentarius in Danielem Prophetam.
Analysis Logica in Pauli Epist. ad Rom.
Tractatus de foedere Dei, et de Sacramentis.
Tractatus brevis de Providentia Dei.2
Tractatus de efficaci Vocatione.
Commentarius in utramqu ; Pauli Epist. ad Thessalonicenses, et ad
E'hilemonem.
Commentarius in quindecim selectos Psalmos.
Commentarius in Evangelium secundum Joannem.
Conciones aliquot sermone vernaculo editae.8
MOx ExCUDENDA.
Cóment. in Epist. ad Colossenses.
Analysis Logica in Epist. ad Galatas.
Analysis Logica in Epist. ad Hebraeos.*
* See p. lxv. mote 4.
2 Can this be the Tractate De Aeterna Mentis Divinae, &c., primted at the end of
this volume ?
* The Sermons, them, reprinted in this volume, were published before Robertson's
life of Rollock.
* This volume contains the Tractatus de Justìficatione mentioned below, and which
it was probably intended at first to publish separately.
XC LIST OF WORKS BY PRINCIPAL ROLLOCK.
Comment. in duo capita prioris Epist. Petri.1
Tractatus de Justificatione.
Tractatus de Excommunicatione.”
I append a fuller account of such Editions of Rollock's works as I have
had an opportunity of examining.
1. In Epistolam Pauli Apostoli ad Ephesios Roberti Rolloci Scoti, Mi-
nistri Iesu Christi in Ecclesia Edinburgensi, Commentarius. Edinburgi.
Excudebat Robertus Walde-grave. Anno Dom. 1590.
4to. With a Dedication to James VI. dated 1st October 1590. This
Edition contains a brief Argument and an Index. It is printed in italics
throughout, and is a favourable specimen of typography. 290 pp. exclu-
sive of Index.
2. In Epistolam Pauli Apostoli ad Ephesios Roberti Rolloci Scoti,
Ministri Iesu Christi Ecclesiae Edinburgensis Ministri, Commentarius.
Altera Editio, cui accesserunt NOTAE, quae Epistolae et Commentarii
methodum per brevem quandam Synopsin Ostendunt. Genevae. Apud
Franciscum le Preux. 1593.
8vo. The Index of this Edition is different from that of Edinburgh,
and it has marginal notes pointing out the substance of the text. 421 pp.
exclusive of Index.
II.
In Librum Danielis Prophetae Roberti Rolloci Scoti, Ministri Iesu
1 This is said by Watt in his Bibliotheca Britannica to have been published in Lon-
don in 1603, 8vo.
* The same authority attributes to this, “London, 1604.” I have seen neither, nor
have I seen Commentarius in Epistolas ad Corinthios, said to be published at Herborn
of Nassau, in 1600. It is difficult to imagine how such a work could have reached a
place so distant in so short a time after Rollock's death. It need not be said that a
work entitled “Episcopal Government instituted by Christ, and confirmed by Scrip-
ture and Reason,” London, 1641, 4to, assigned by Dr Watt to our Rollock, is not by
him. Is it by the Bishop of Dunkeld f
LIST OF WORKS BY PRINCIPAL ROLLOCK. xci
Christi in Ecclesia Edinburgensi Commentarius, Edinburgi. Excudebat
Robertus Walde-grave Typographus Regiae Majestatis: 1591. Cum
Privilegio Regali.
4to. The Dedication to King James and Queen Ann is dated 1st
October 1591. It has an Argument and Index. 480 pp. exclusive of
Index. I have noted, but cannot retrace my authority, that it was re-
printed at St Andrews in 1594. “Dr M'Crie, who appeared to have
studied Rollock with deep interest and profit, gave to his Exposition on
Daniel the palm of his expository works.”—(Letter from Reverend Charles
Bridges to the Editor.)
III.
1. Analysis Dialectica Roberti Rolloci, Scoti, ministri Iesu Christi in
Pcclesia Edinburgensi, in Pauli Apostoli Epistolam ad Romanos. Re-
spersa est Analysis Doctrinae Theologicae quorundum capitum, quae in
ea Epistola sparsim reperiuntur, explicatione quadam brevi ac dilucida.
Edinburgi. Excudebat Robertus Walde-grave Typographus Regius.
1594. Cum Privilegio Regali.
8vo. 316 pp. At the end are appended four explanatory rules (quasi
regulae) on the subject of Free Will, which, in the subsequent editions,
are incorporated in the body of the work itself. The Dedication of the
work—Juvenibus optimae spei, nobilitate generis et morum probitate,
cum primis conspicuis, Joanni Ruthveniae, Comiti Gaureae, Domino
Ruthvenio, &c. et Colino Campbello, Domino Glenurqhuae, discipulis
suis carissimis—is dated Id. November 1593. This Edition has three
copies of verses by Ferme (see p. lxvi, note 3,) one to Rollock, another
to the reader, and the third “ad Joannem Ruthvenum et Colinum Camp-
bellum.” All the Editions have an Argument—that of 1608, a copious
Index. -
2. In Epistolam S. Pauli ad Romanos Roberti Rolloci Scoti, Edinbur-
gensis Ecclesiae Ministri, Commentarius Analytica methodo conscriptus.
Genevae. 1596.
3. In Epistolam . . . . conscriptus. Altera Editio emendatior et indice
auctior. Apud Jacobum Stoer, 1608.
8vo. 467 pp.
xcii LIST OF WORKS BY PRINCIPAL ROLLOCK.
IV.
Quaestiones et Responsiones aliquot de Foederi Dei, deque Sacra-
mento quod foederis Dei Sigillum est. In gratiam rudiorum, collectae
per Robertum Rollocum Scotum. Edinburgi. Excudebat Henricus
Charteris. 1596. Cum Privilegio Regali.
8vo. Sig. D. 3. Dedicated to William Little. See p. lxii, note 3.
In the inventory of the stock of the printer, Henry Charteris, (see p. lxxxi.
note 1,) who died in the same year as Rollock, 1599, we find :—Item,
four hundreth xxxiij Rollocus de Federe at js vid. the pece, Summa
xxxxij. f. ix. S. vi. d.—(Bannatyne Miscellany, vol. ii. p. 241.)
V.
Tractatus de Efficaci Vocatione. 1597.
VI.
1. In Epistolam Pauli Apostoli ad Thessalonicenses priorem Commen-
tarius Roberti Rolloci, Scoti, ministri Iesu Christi in Ecclesia Edinburg-
ensi. Edinburgi. Excudebat Robertus Walde-grave, Typographus Re-
gius. Anno Dom. 1598. Cum Privilegio Regio.”
1 Holland's Translation, 1603.
Of each of the works reprinted in this edition, sufficient information is given in its
proper place.
* A translation of this was published at Edinburgh in 1606, by Robert Charteris,
printer to the King, with the following title. Lectures upon the First and Second
Epistles of Paul to the Thessalonians. Preached by that Faithful Servant of God,
M. Robert Rollock, sometyme Minister of the Evangell of Jesus Christ, and Rector of
the Colledge of Edinburgh.
4to. First Epistle, 246 pp.; Second, 173 pp. It wants Rollock's Dedications to
Buchanan and Scot, and is dedicated to Scot of Elie by H. C. and W. A., whose
names occur so often in connection with the posthumous works of our author. H. C.
is, beyond doubt, Henry Charteris, of whom notice has been already taken. There
is little doubt that W. A. represents William Arthur, a pupil of Rollock's who was
settled as one of the ministers of St Cuthberts, in 1607. He died, 1654.—(Sine's
History of the Church and Parish of St Cuthberts, pp. 41, 64.)
LIST OF WORKS BY PRINCIPAL ROLLOCK. xciii
8vo. For the Dedication, see p. lxi. note 1. In the same volume
occurs the Commentary on the Second Epistle, with the same title, save
that for priorem, we have posteriorem. . . . . Adjecta est ejusdem
Authoris in Epistolam Pauli Apostoli ad Philemonem Analysis Logica
The Dedication, which is to Scot of Elie, bears the same date as that to
Buchanan. A general argument is prefixed, as well as a special Argu-
ment to each chapter. 374 pp.
2. Roberti Rolloci Scoti in utramg. Epistolam Pauli Apostoli ad
Thessalonicenses Commentarius; Necnon ejusdem Authoris Analysis
Epistolae Pauli ad Philemonem. Additae sunt necessariae quaedam
Notae per Joannem Piscatorem, Professorem sacr. literarum in illustri
schola Nassovica-Herbornensi. Herbornae Nassoviorum. Ex officina
Christophori Corvini. CIO.IOCI.
8vo. 426 pp. The avowed object of the Notes is to correct errors in
doctrine. With some useful remarks, principally verbal, Piscator incul-
cates his own peculiar tenets on the imputation of Christ's righteousness,
and the nature of justification.
VII.
In Selectos aliquot Psalmos Davidis, Roberti Rolloci Scoti, Ecclesiae
Edinburgensis Ministri, Commentarius, Nunc primum in lucem Editus.
Genevae apud Franciscum le Preux. 1599.1
8vo. There is no Preface, but from a Notice from the printer we infer
1 Translated, with the following title. An Exposition upon some Sclect Psalmes of
David, conteining great Store of most Excellent and Comfortable Doctrine and In-
struction for all those that (under the burthen of Sinne) thirst for Communion in
Christ Jesus. Written by that Faithful Servant of God, M. Robert Rollock, sometime
Pastour in the Church of Edinburgh, and Translated out of Latine into English by C.
L., Minister of the Gospell of Christ at Duddingstoun. The number of the Psalmes
are set down in the Page following. Edinburgh, printed by Robert Waldegrave,
Printer to the King's Majestie. 1600. Cum Privilegio Regio.
8vo. The translation is dedicated to “The Right Honorable Grave and Godlie
Matrone, Lilias Gilbert, Spouse of M. John Preston of Fentom Barnes, one of the
Senators of the College of Justice, and Collector-General of Scotland.” 503 pp.
“This work exhibits admirable specimens of translations of fifteen Psalms, probably
from the original, (for Lumisden, who was son-in-law to the famous Robert Pont, was
a superior scholar); but when other parts of the Scripture are quoted, the transla-
tor generally adheres to the Geneva Bible.”—(Principal Lee's Memorial, p. 25.)
xciv LIST OF WORKS BY PRINCIPAL ROLLOCK.
that the MS. had been forwarded to Geneva for publication. A letter pre-
fixed to Rollock's Commentary on the Epistle to the Colossians, renders
it probable that Simon Goulart was the Editor. (See vol. ii. p. vi.)
Remarks from some of the Fathers are prefixed by the printer. The
Psalms commented on are, the 3, 6, 16, 23, 32, 39, 42, 49, 51, 62, 65,
84, 116, 130, 137. The work contains brief arguments and marginal
notes indicative of the contents. 365 pp.
VIII.
In Evangelium Secundum Ioannem Commentarius. 1599.1
IX.
Certaine Sermones, &c. 1599.” Reprinted in this volume.
X.
Certaine Sermons, &c. 1634. Reprinted in this volume.
XI.
Commentarius D. Roberti Rolloci, ministri Ecclesiae et Rectoris Aca-
demiae Edinburgensis, in Epistolam Pauli ad Colossenses. Cum indice
rerum, sententiarum et observationum dignissimarum copioso. Edin-
burgi, excudebat Robertus Walde-grave, Typographus Regius. Ann.
Dom. 1600. Cum Privilegio Regio.3
1 Lectures upon the History, &c. 1616. See vol. ii.
Five-and Twentie Lectures, &c. 1619. See vol. ii. p. xv.
* This and all that follow are posthumous. kº
* Lectwris vpon the Epistle of Paul to the Colossians. Preached by that faithfyll
seruant of God, Maister Robert Rollok, sometime Rector of the Vniuersitie of Eden-
burgh. At London. Imprinted by Felix Kyngston, dwelling in Pater-Noster Row,
ouer against the sign of the Checken. 1603.
4to, 442 pp.
LIST OF WORKS BY PRINCIPAL ROLLOCK. XCV
8vo. Dedicated to Scot of Elie, and edited by Henry Charteris. The
volume contains eight elegiac poems on Rollock's death, and the letter
from Goulart, mentioned in the Preface to our second volume, pp. V., &c.
381 pp.
2. Reprinted at Geneva in 1602.
XII.
1. Analysis Logica in Epistolam Pauli Apostoli ad Galatas, Authore D.
Roberto Rolloco, Scoto, Ministro Iesu Christi et Rectore Academiae Edin-
burgensis. Excudebat Felix Kyngstonus, impensis Edmundi Weaver.
1602. --
8vo. Edited by Charteris, and dedicated to Scot of Elie. Dedication
dated, Idibus Julii, CIOIOCII. 119 pp.
2. Reprinted at Geneva. Excudebat Jacobus Stoer. MDCIII.
8vo. 179 pp.
XIII.
Analysis Logica in Epistolam ad Hebraeos, Authore D. Roberto Rol-
loco, Scoto, Ministro Iesu Christi, et Rectore Academiae Edinburgensis.
Accessit brevis et utilis Tractatus de J ustificatione, eodem authore. Edin-
burgi, excudebat Robertus Charteris, Typographus Regis. An. Dom.
MDCV. Cum Privilegio Regio.
8vo, 253 pp. Rollock had gone on to the sixth verse of the eleventh
chapter, when he requested Charteris to finish the work; which he did.
It is edited by Charteris, and dedicated to Scot of Elie. It has prefixed
two copies of verses; one by John Ray, see p. lxxxii. note 2.
TRACTA TVS
IDE VOCATI-
ONE EFFICACI, QVAE
inter locos Theologiæ eommunif-
fimos recenfetur, deq; locis fpecialiorí-
bus, qui fub vocatione com-
prehenduntur.
]VT ID O CTR IVA DE VOCA TIO-
neilluftriorevaderet, adjeétæ funt que-
ftiones aliquot de modis íllís, quibus Deo vi-
fum eftjam inde à prineipio, homini verbum vtriufq;
foederis fui, revelare.
Authore RoBERTO RoLLoco Scoto.
IEIDINIB VIR, GI
PE XCVIDEB A T R O BE R TVS
Walde-graue Typographus Regius.
ANNO 1597.
Cum privilegio Regio.


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A.
TRE AT IS E O F
GODS EFFECTVAL
CALLING:
WRITTEN FIRST IN THE LATINE
tongue, by the reuerend and faithfull ſeruant of
Chriſt, Maiſter Ro BERT Ro LLock,
Preacher of Gods word in
Edenburgh.
AND NOW FAITHF WILLY TRANS LATED
for the benefite of the vnlearned,into the Engliſh
tongue, by Henry Holland, Preacher
ºn London.
2. P. E. T. 1.10.
Głue diligent heede to make your calling and election
ſure.
A T L O WDO AV
Imprinted by FE LIx Ky Ngs to N.
16 0 3.


53-22
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THE
AUTHOR'S EPISTLE
THE MOST HIGH AND MIGHTY PRINCE,
JAMES THE SIXTH,
Now BY GOD’s FREE MERCY, KING OF ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, FRANCE,
AND IRELAND, DEFENDER OF THE FAITH, &C.,
GRACE AND PEACE BY JESUS CHRIST.
AFTER some advising with myself, in whose name I should publish
this little Work, your Majesty, my most dread Sovereign, above
all others, came first into my mind, for that you may justly chal-
lenge as your own right the first-fruits of my labours, of what
kind soever they be. Having then, heretofore, consecrated the
first-fruits of the first kind of my writings unto your Highness, I
thought it meet also, that this second kind of Meditations in the
common-places of divinity should be presented to the same, your
Majesty. From this purpose although many things feared me,
among which your Princely Majesty, to speak as the truth is,
adorned with rare knowledge of divine things, did most occupy my
mind—your Majesty, I say, the greatness whereof, my own mean-
ness, and the slenderness of this Work, were not able to endure;
yet when I recounted with myself how great your courtesy and


6 TIII AUTHOR's EPISTLE DEDICATORY.
gentleness was always accustomed to be toward all men, but espe-
cially towards myself, I determined rather to incur some suspicion
of overmuch boldness, than not to give testimony of my duty, and
of my most humble devotion towards your Majesty, even by the
dedication of this small Work of mine, how mean soever it be.
Respect, therefore, most noble Ring, not so much this small
Work, as the testimony of a mind most dutifully affected towards
your Majesty in the Lord, and as my duty requireth, most ready,
according to my small ability, with all lowliness, to do your Majesty
most humble service in any thing that I can during life. But
what is there wherein I can do your Majesty better service than in
striving with my God, with continual and earnest prayers, that
through his grace and singular goodness, you may for ever main-
tain, continue, and make good that excellent opinion which
you have, not undeservedly, already gotten in foreign nations
amongst such men as are most eminent in this our age, both for
learning and godliness? That so you may have a happy reign in
this present life, and in that other life may be a fellow-heir of that
heavenly kingdom, in comparison of the glory of which kingdom,
—that I may speak this by the way—I myself, a good while since,
have heard you despise all these earthly kingdoms, at such time as
amongst other matters, in a certain familiar conference, where there
were but a few present, you discoursed of many things learnedly,
—I speak the truth to the glory of God, without any flattery, and
godlily, and delightfully, concerning Christ, and of praying to Him
only, and not to Angels, or Saints departed out of this life;—you
may, I say, be a fellow-heir together with your Head, even that
Most High King, Lord and Heir of all things, Jesus Christ, whose
grace, mercy, and power defend and protect you, both in body and
soul, from all your enemies, bodily and ghostly, for evermore.
Your Majesty's most dutiful Servant,
ROBERT ROLLOCK.
[Dated in the original Latin: Edinburgi: 5. Id. Jany. 1597.]
THE PRINTER TO THE READER."
WHILE engaged in printing this Treatise of Mr Robert Rollock
on “Effectual Calling,” I chanced to fall in with a letter from
Mr Theodore Beza, sent to Scotland to Mr John Johnston,” con-
taining a recommendation of certain works published by the same
author, and printed by me—I mean his “Commentaries on the
Epistle to the Ephesians,” and his “Analysis of the Epistle to the
Romans.” Accordingly, I have deemed it right to prefix the letter
of Beza to this work, in order that, kind reader, you might learn
what opinion is entertained of this author's writings, by a man
most versant in the whole science of Theology, and who has deserved
so well of the Church: and in order that from this opinion you
might form an estimate of his other labours, either already finished
or hereafter to be finished, for the Church's good. I join with
Beza in praying God to preserve happily this man, and to adorn
him with a succession of new gifts, and in His own good time to
send other workmen like him into His vineyard. Farewell.
* After the Epistle Dedicatory, there follows, in the Latin Treatise of Rollock,
a notice from the Printer, a translation of which is here inserted. Holland
omits it.
* Mr John Johnston is mentioned in Goulart’s letter to Rollock, which will
be found inserted in the Preface to the Second Volume of this work. He was
a native of Aberdeenshire, had studied for eight years in the Universities of
IIelmstädt, Rostock, and Geneva, (in which last place he had become acquainted
with Beza,) and in 1593, was appointed one of the Professors of the New
College, St Andrews. He was a divine of much learning, and he attained con-
siderable eminence as a writer of Latin Poetry. IIc was an intimate friend of
the Melvilles. IIe died in 1616, deeply regretted by both. (M'Crie's Life of
Melville, vol. i. p. 381; vol. ii. pp. 284, 288, 441. James Melvill's Diary,
p. 314. Irving's Lives of Scotish Writers, vol. ii. p. 40.)
TO THE RIGHT GODLY, LEARNED,
AND HIS REV. GOOD FRIEND,
MAISTER JOHN J O HNSTON,
I MAY seem slow in answering your letters, good Maister John-
ston, for that they were long in coming to my hands. I under-
stood by them, to my great joy, that you are safely arrived in your
own country, and have found your churches there in a blessed and
peaceable state, wherein I desire in heart they may long continue.
And why may I not confidently hope that this my desire shall be
fulfilled? Specially seeing they were from the beginning so hap-The lºsing
of God on the
pily, soundly, and excellently founded by those faithful and worthy gº. "
servants of God, those skilful master-builders which begun the Scotland.
work; and they who seconded them brought no stubble or hay,
but silver, gold, and precious stones to the building. Nay, which
is more, the Lord himself having so clearly and apparently favoured
and furthered their holy labours, that whosoever have stumbled at
this building, have not only missed and failed of their purpose, but
have been (as it were) by the strong and powerful hand of God,
scattered and thrown out into utter darkness. To these we may
add that singular and most precious gift of God, which the same
good God hath bestowed on you—I mean your worthy King, Hºuse.
whom he hath likewise miraculously preserved from many and .
great perils, who hath joined to his singular and admirable careº.
e º º jesty in the
and watchfulness, in defending the Gospel, and preserving theiº.
.. e © e Wernment of
purity and unspotted sincerity of this Church, so great and exact º
O COUlal) (i.
knowledge of Christian religion from the very grounds and prin-oºrºº
10 MAISTER BEZA's EPISTLE, &c.
jºin ciples thereof, that the Lord, it seems, hath made his Majesty both
tell - a won. * o -
... a prince and preacher to his people: so that your realm of Scotland
Solomon, who :
K.". is now become, of all others, most happy, and may justly hope for
treacher, increase of tranquillity and felicity, if only (as we are persuaded
she will) she can discern and thankfully acknowledge the great
blessing she enjoyeth, and, as she hath begun, so continue to direct
them all, to the right scope and end, which is to His glory, who is
the father and fountain of all goodness.
And I assure you, I rejoice from my heart, that occasion was
given me to congratulate, by these my letters, your happy condi-
tion with the rest of my reverend brethren, both by your country-
man, Maister David Droman, a man both godly and well learned,
whose presence, though but for a few days, was most acceptable to
us here, who is now upon his return to you with these letters; as,
likewise, in that I chanced of late to meet with a great treasure,
which I know not by what mishap, being frequent in other men's
hands, hath hitherto missed my fingers. For why should not I
csteem as a treasure, and that most precious, the Commentaries of
Maister Reza my honourable brother, Maister Rollocke, upon the Epistle to the
Commendeth
Maister Romans and Ephesians, both of them being of special note among
Rollockc's e , º º © - c
Works. the writings apostolical? for so I judge of them. And, I pray you,
take it to be spoken without all flattery or partiality, that I never
read or met with any thing in this kind of interpretation more
pithily, elegantly, and judiciously written: so as I could not con-
tain myself, but must needs give thanks, as I ought, unto God, for
this so necessary and so profitable a work, and rejoice that both
you and the whole Church enjoy so great a benefit; desiring the
Lord to increase with new gifts, and preserve in Safety, this excel-
lent instrument, especially in these times, wherein, through the
scarcity of skilful workmen, which labour in the Lord's vineyard,
and by the decease of those well exercised and experienced soldiers
and worthy Christians, Sathan and his companions begin again to
triumph over the truth.
Concerning the estate of our Church and school, we yet con-
tinue and proceed in our course, by the mighty hand of our God
MAISTER BEZA's EPISTLE, &C. 1 1
and Saviour protecting us, which is admirable to our very enemies,
being delivered from the jaw of death. But in truth, for ought we
see, it is like to last but one year, our estate depending on those
acts which shall be concluded in the * diet of Roan, between the “ or meeting
at IRoan.
French King and our neighbour Duke, either concerning peace orº.
Prince our
war, wherein we hope to be comprehended upon equal condition. *
In this frail and uncertain estate, that is our principal consolation,
that we are sure this slender and twined thread, whereupon we
rest, is sustained by the hand of our good God, who will not suffer
that to be falsified which we have learned of the Apostle, that all Rom. viii.
things work together for the good of those that love him. In the
meanwhile, I beseech you, brethren, continue your remembrance of
us in your daily prayers. I, for my part, for some months, though
I be not much pained with any fever, gout, stone, or any of those
sharp diseases which be the usual companions of old age, yet I feel
myself so enfeebled and weakened, that I am constrained, in a
manner, to give over both my public duties, to keep house and
home, looking every day for that joyful and happy dissolution
whereunto age itself calleth me, being now seventy-eight years old.
And herein I desire your prayer, with the rest of my brethren; by
name, of my reverend brother, Maister Melvin," and Maister Peter
Junius,” whom (unless memory fail me) Maister Scringer,” of blessed
* Andrew Melville, who reached Geneva in 1569, and for five years filled the
chair of humanity in the University of that place. “Melville, who had only
attained the age of twenty-five, and who was not less eager to learn than will-
ing to teach, became a student under this able and venerable Professor, [Beza.]
Notwithstanding the disparity of their years, they formed a cordial friendship
for each other.” (Irving's Lives of Scotish Writers, vol. i. p. 17 5.)
* The Latinized name of Young. Peter (afterwards Sir Peter) Young was
conjoined With George Buchanan in conducting the education of James VI.
He was for some time on the Continent, with his uncle, Henry Scrimger, and
attended the University of Lausanne. (M'Crie's Life of Melville, vol. i.
p. 255.) He was of respectable attainments, but paid too much deference to
the wishes of the young Monarch—by which, however, he acquired honours
and gifts for himself and his family.
* In the original Latin Scrimgerus. IIenry Scrimger, (Written by James
Melville, Scrymgour, oftener Scrymgeour.) was uncle to Peter Young, and also
to James Melville—his sister Margaret being the mother of the former, and his
12 MAISTER BEZA's EPISTLE, &c.
memory, was wont to call his cousin. Unto whom, remembering
withal my hearty commendations, I desire you to communicate
this my letter, desiring the Lord, my dear and loving brother, to
preserve your whole Church there with his mighty and blessed
hand, against all, both foreign and domestical dangers. Fare ye
well. From Geneva, the Calends of Novemb, after our old com-
putation, CIO.I.O.xCVI.
Yours wholly,
THEODORE BEZ.A.
sister Isobel of the latter. He was a distinguished graduate of St Andrews in
1534. After studying and holding several distinguished appointments abroad,
he attended in Geneva, where he was clected professor, first of Philosophy, then
of Civil Law. IIc was a man of great learning and consideration. IIe had
laboured in the collection of ancient manuscripts, and assisted Henry Stephens
in his valuable editions of the classics. From his notes Casaubon is said to have
derived valuable assistance in his Editions of Strabo and Polybius. IIis prin-
cipal work is an edition of the Novella Constitutiones of Justinian in Greek,
published by II. Stephens, in 1558. (M'Crie's Life of Melville, vol. i. pp. 38,
425. James Melvill's Diary, p. 30.)
HOLLAND’S EPISTLE DEDICATORY.
TO THE RIGHT WORSHIPFUL
AND IIIS VERY CHRISTIAN LOVING FRIEND,
MAISTER WILLIAM SCOT OF ELY,
Q RACE AND PEACE BY JESUS CIIRIST'.
WHEN I had finished my last summer's work of revising and cor-
recting Master Rollocke’s “Readings on the Colossians,” I was
inwardly much affected with the holy spirit of the man, which I
found as in that, so in the rest of his works. Then my heart
desired that as foreign Churches greatly rejoice in him, and bless
God for him, so the Churches of England and Scotland might, to
their great joy, hear him speak yet more unto them in their own
native language.
This is the cause, Right Worshipful, that moved me the winter
past to gain some hours from mine ordinary labours, to give this
little book a new coat, that it might be known also in all this island
where it was first conceived and born.
It hath the protection of our most mighty King, for safety and
free passage into other parts of the world, where it hath been
entertained with kind acceptation ; and so now, no doubt, it shall
be no less in both these kingdoms, when as all true-hearted sub-
jects shall see with what Christian affection our most noble King
affected this faithful servant of Jesus Christ, and his holy works.
Now, blessed be God, for being thus mindful of us; and for anoint-
ing his sacred breast with such a measure of the spirit of judgment,
14 HOLLAND’S EPISTLE DEDICATORY.
jº as an angel of God, to discern the things that differ, and so respect
**** the meek ones of the earth, to the unspeakable joy of the good,
and terror of the wicked.
Behold, now praise the Lord with us, and let us magnify his
name together, for the Lord hath done great things for us: the
Lord hath so set the wheels of his admirable providence, and so
carried his blessed hand this year past in all his proceedings round
*** * * about us, and so touched the hearts of all this kingdom, as having
a purpose to accomplish a great work in the building of his Church,
and in his good time to lift up such strokes as shall destroy, for
Psal. lxxiv. 3, ever, every enemy that doth evil to the sanctuary.
º sº. The Lord's compassions fail not: O Lord, withdraw thine anger,
Lam. v. 21. and turn back the fierceness of thy wrath: Turn us, O God of our
salvation, turn thou us unto thee, that we may be turned, and cause thy
face to shine upon us, that we may be saved. Cease not to pray for
us, that we may not return to our old security and unthankfulness
any more, but that we may attend what the Lord saith, for now
he begins to speak peace unto his people, and unto his saints, cry-
Fºx's ing in their doors, even as it were in the open streets, that they
return not again to folly.
Now we see that the counsel of the Lord shall stand for ever,
and that the thoughts of his heart shall continue throughout all
ages: for he hath broken the counsels of the wicked, who have
ever sought to be possessed of God's habitations: but the Lord
shall make them as stubble before the wind, the Lord will persecute
them with his tempest, and make them afraid with his storm. O
Psal. ixxxiii. Lord, fill their faces with shame, that they may seek thy name.
º Finally, the Lord hath made our corners full, and abounding with
divers sorts of blessings: he hath made the bars of our gates strong,
and hath settled peace in our borders: he hath stablished his Gospel
and Holy Covenant with us: he hath taught us to observe his
judgments, and his wonderful administrations both of his justice
Psal. cxlvii. and mercy : he hath not dealt so with any nation round about us.
Wherefore, O praise the Lord with us: let England and Scotland
now, with one heart, as with one mouth, praise God in all the
HOLLAND’S EPISTLE DEDICATORY. 15
assemblies: Opraise the Lord, ye that are of the fountain of Israel, Psalixviii.26.
praise ye the Lord.
To return to our purpose. As touching this sweet treatise in hand,
I say no more but this, (I trust the reader shall find my words
true,) that so many common-places of divinity as be here briefly
couched, as branches appertaining to this one head, the religious
and wise, I hope, shall find them as judicially, comfortably, and
compendiously set down and knit together as any one thing of this
kind as yet extant in the English tongue.
Next, as for the argument of this book, our effectual calling is
one principal link of the golden chain of the causes of our salva-
tion. And it is the very first in the execution of God’s eternal
decree of our election which manifesteth the everlasting love of
God in Jesus Christ unto the heart of every believer—that Almighty
God should love him, being his enemy, seek him, and find him,
when he wandered in the maze and vanity of his own mind, quicken
him when he lay dead in sin, loose him when he lay fast bound in
the bonds of death, enlighten him when he sat in extreme dark-
ness, giving him the spirit of grace, and of faith by the Gospel, to
attend his holy calling, and in time to rejoice with an exceeding Rom. v. 2,3.
joy therein.
Lastly, for the translation, albeit I have not followed the author's
words, yet have I endeavoured faithfully to deliver his meaning Horat art.
e e e e Non Verbum
in the plainest form, and in words most in use among the people.º.o.º.
The Lord give it a blessing, wheresoever it shall rest, among God’sº"
elect of both these kingdoms.
Now, right worshipful Maister Scot, I come unto yourself. Your
most Christian and holy love in these cold and evil times, as unto
all the saints, so specially to this good servant of Christ, like as it
comforted him greatly in his latter days, so assuredly it shall much
refresh your own heart, not only all your life, but also much more,
I doubt not, in the very hour of death.
There be three infallible notes knit together in one Scripture to
justify our precious faith unto our own hearts, that we may be truly
persuaded we are possessed of that faith which shall justify us before
16 HOLLAND’S EPISTLE DEDICATORY.
1, 2. God:—Love to the brethren, hospitality of love, and Christian
sympathy to the Saints in their afflictions. Love to the holy mem-
bers of Christ is often commanded and commended in Joseph, in
Moses, in Nehemias, in Daniel, in David, who, being advanced to
great dignities, yet esteemed they nothing more than the good of
the Church, and to become serviceable, as it were, by all means to
Fºl. the saints. To love the servants of Christ, and to be beloved of them,
it is, as Saint John saith, an infallible argument that God hath taken
1 John iii. 8. us by the hand, loosened our bands, and translated us from death
*** * to life, and from darkness into the glorious light of God. All that
talk of charity do not love the saints, that is, the living members
of Christ on earth. We may discern our love to be sound by these
notes. First, it is a flame which comes down from God into our
Hºº hearts, kindling, as it were, within us, and giving us no rest, till
we perform duties to the saints. And this is that which the
Heb. x. 24. Apostle meaneth, when he willeth us to stir up one another unto
a paroxysm of love. Secondly, hence it comes to pass, that love to
the saints being never cold, is never idle in well-doing, and there-
Heb. vi. 10 fore proceeds the second note which the same Apostle calls labour
... : of love, for that this love travails by all means possible to do good
... to the members of Christ. Thirdly, next this, love is sincere,
l. XVI. tº . º.
º: 9 void of all dissimulation. Fourthly, and lastly, it is constant,
Rom. xii. 9.
*º consuming, as a fire, all offences, and cannot be quenched.
*::::: The second mark, in the same Scripture, of our most holy faith,
He sui.a. is hospitality of love, (as the Syriac translation hath it,) not of
rom a lucre. The Lord gave often charge by his Apostles concerning
tºº. this, foreseeing the necessity and afflictions of the saints in the
łº ten bloody persecutions which even then began and were to follow.
Hilariter ex-The practice of this we see commended in all ages—in Abraham
; *: and Lot receiving angels; they receive them cheerfully, they en-
ju..” tertain and use them courteously, they dismiss them lovingly. So
did Bethuel Eleazar, so did Jethro Moses, so did Manoah the angel
of God, so did the good old man of Gibeah the Levite and his
wife, so did Obadiah the prophets, so did the widow of Zarephath
Elias, so did the Sunamite Elisha, so did Mary often receive
HOLLAND’S EPISTLE DEDICATORY. 17
Christ, so did the tanner and Cornelius Peter, Lydia and the jailor
the Apostles, Aquila and Priscilla Paul; Phebe and Stephanus
many, and Gaius the whole church at Corinth. All these are
chronicled in the Book of God as most memorable precedents for
all ages.
The third note of the precious faith of God’s elect, in the same
place annexed, is Christian sympathy to the servants of Christ in
all their afflictions. This grace is found, when love hath set on
fire our very bowels, as the Holy Ghost speaketh, that in all ºth ix.
their passions, it fills us with a feeling and a tender compassion.º.º.º.
This stirs up men to visit the members of Christ in all their vols.
Matth. XXV.
miseries, to consider wisely of their afflictions, to mourn when tº all
they mourn, to distribute to their wants, and so to proceed on ::::::
to the duties of instruction, admonition, consolation, instant and
fervent in prayer, and to add confession of sins with fasting, if ºv. 19.
the state and heaviness of the affliction so require.
These things I write unto you, Right Worshipful, first, not so
much for your instruction, as for the edification and confirmation
of others in this frozen age, wherein carnal and self-love and all
iniquity increaseth, and love to the saints decreaseth and waxeth
cold, as Christ hath forewarned us: a manifest sign that saving ºth ***.
faith faileth, in most places, even where it is professed most.
Secondly, I write this unto you, for that you have been taught of
God, as I hear, to practise these things, and to observe the canons
of Christ in his Gospel concerning love to the saints. This holy
servant of Christ, Maister Rollocke, if he were living, could and
would testify of your sincere love, when you entertained him into
your own family, respecting his wants with all compassion and ten-
derness of heart.
The most provident Ruler of heaven and earth, which hath shed,
by the working of his Holy Spirit, this precious love into your
heart, will fully repay and recompense this your love with mani-
fold comforts of his Spirit, even then specially, when the comforts
and props of this present life shall most be wanting. Now the God
of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may
WOL. I. T
18 HOLLAND’S EPISTLE DEDICATORY.
abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost, that so
ye may persevere in this your holy faith in Christ, and love to
the Saints, unto the end. Amen.
Yours to use in the Lord Christ Jesus,
HENRIE HOLLAND.
MARBURY TO THE READER.
ALTHOUGH the greater part both of authors and translators of
books may be taxed of officiousness, and not a few of ungodliness,
yet are there some whose merits in this kind do outweigh the
demerits of the other. These are either those worthy lights them-
selves, or else those second candlesticks to translate the light into,
which God, specially in these latter years, hath bestowed as gifts
(to use St Paul's word) upon his Church, to the edification of it.
It is true, indeed, in one sense, that both the one and the other
are but candlesticks, for the light is God’s : but otherwise, com-
paratively, the author is the light, and the translator is, as it were,
another candlestick to translate the light into, and that for those
which, through ignorance of the tongue, could not attain to the
light when it shone out of the author's own lamp. Now, although
there seem no great gifts to be required in a translator, yet the truth
is, that if he be not of good discretion, to choose the fittest works, of
good speech to express the author's sentence with fittest words,
and of so great apprehension and former store, that by that which
he seeth in the author, he hath attained to more than peradventure
the author himself saw or minded, his defections will bring him
in danger of showing what gifts are required in a translator: for
a good translator is neither a paraphrast nor a periphrast, which
is committed by needless changing or adding words. He so
behaveth himself, that the comparing of the original will commend
his fidelity, and that they, which know of no original, would take the
translator for the author himself. He must naturalize his transla-
20 MARBURY TO THE READER.
tion for the reader, without injuring the gift of the author in the
native work. But these seem critic rules to the irregular, which
offend against their authors, to please themselves; for as there are
many translations of unworthy works, so are there many transpor-
tations of worthy works, which, like plants ill taken up, rejoice not
to grow in the soil into which they are translated. And yet, never-
theless, it cannot without injury be denied, that this age hath
afforded many excellent translations of excellent and learned
authors to the benefit of our people: amongst whom Maister Rol-
locke, the reverend author of this work, deserveth an eminent place;
as also this work itself is very acceptable, together with the trans-
lator's godly labour in this and other things commodious to the
Church of Christ. This inclined me the rather to commend it to
thee in these few lines, not as taking upon me anything, but as
a poor man, where he is better known, is sometimes engaged for a
rich. This labour is become ours, not only because it is thus well
Englished, but also because the author is a Scottishman, which is
now to the wise-hearted a synonymy of an Englishman. And it
shall be to the praise of both the nations to receive both mutual
and common benefits, without that emulation which was betwixt
Israel and Judah. It is a comely thing (to speak in the words of
that king that was so miraculously restored) to declare the signs
and wonders of the high God, which we see this day, even this
unanimity in receiving the king, wrought (no doubt) by divine
instinct, rather than grace in some, which otherwise, mendaciter
dedunt se, as David saith. Let us, on the other side, go out in our
sincerity and meet the King of kings with Hosanna. And I
beseech you by the wonder of our neighbours, which is our inno-
cent aggregation to this sceptre, let the solution of an objection
by King Henry the Seventh, of noble memory, and of so renowned
wisdom, be our satisfaction, that the sovereignty is devolved where
it is, not only by the providence, but also by the ordinance of
God, to the comfortable uniting of that nation, rather than nations,
which at the first upon the matter was indeed but one, though for
some years past it were divided by conceit. Let us take up the
MARBURY TO THE READER. 21
argument of Abraham : We are brethren, &c. And as this is a
work of vocation, so let us hold the coming of our King to be the
work of revocation, to call us back to unity. And so, gentle
reader, I commit thee to the God of peace and unity.
Thine in Christ,
FRANCIS MARBURY.
TO THE READER.
CHRISTIAN reader, I pray thee pardon all faults in this first impres-
sion: I could not well be present with the workmen for their
direction. Some school points and phrases of schoolmen do not
so well relish in the English tongue, nor could be rendered to my
content. Whatsoever is wanting, in word or matter, in this edition,
I will amend in the next, if the Lord permit. Farewell.
Thine in Christ Jesus,
HENRY HOLLAND.
ROLLOCKS SUMMARY OF THEOLOGY.'
THAT the reader may understand the place in the science of
Theology, belonging to the following Treatise on Effectual Calling,
it has been deemed right to delineate the following rude and ele-
mentary outlines of a Theological system.
I. Of Theological science the two capital and most general
heads are—
1. Of God.
2. Of the works of God.
II. To the first most general head regarding God, there belong
subdivisions,
1. Of the nature of God, and his essential attributes, as
they are called; such as his Mercy, Justice, Power, Wisdom,
&c.
2. Of the Trinity, or three persons in one divine essence.
III. The second most general head, of the works of God, has,
as more special subjects,
1. Of that work of God which is from eternity—as his
general Providence, and his general Decree regarding all
creatures, originating in eternity.
* Holland gives, in this place, a Table of Contents drawn from Rollock's head-
ings of the chapters. But he omits the summary of Theology given in the
Original work, which is now presented, both translated and in the original Latin.
It appears to be of importance that the reader should be put in possession of
What was, doubtless, the system of Theology taught by our Author.
24 ROLLOCK's SUMMARY.
2. Of the work of God which is in time, and which is per-
ceived in the execution of the aforesaid eternal decree and
divine Providence.
IV. Under the subject of the execution of the decree, there are
contained other special subjects,
1. On the creation of all things.
2. On the government of all things when created.
V. Under the general subject of the creation are contained some
special points concerning the particular kinds of creatures, but par-
ticularly the subject of the rational creatures,
1. Of the angels.
2. Of man.
VI. To the division on man belong other subdivisions,
1. Of his state of innocence.
2. Of his fall and first sin.
3. Of his restoration.
VII. To the subject of the restoration belongs this subject,
Of Christ the Mediator, in whom the restoration has been
accomplished.
VIII. To the subject of Christ the Mediator belong other sub-
divisions,
1. Of his nature.
2. Of the personal union of his two natures.
3. Of his threefold office.
4. Of the benefits conferred by him, or the spiritual bless-
ings wherewith God the Father blesses us in his Son Jesus
Christ.
IX. To the subject of his benefits, or the blessings of God in
Christ Jesus, belong subdivisions regarding particular benefits,
ROLLOCR's SUMMAIRY. 25
1. Of the predestination of man to life, or his election in
Christ, which was before the world began.
2. Of God’s calling man in Christ, which is in time.
3. Of the justification of man by God in Christ.
4. Of God’s glorifying man in Christ.
X. To the subject of predestination of man to life belongs the
subject,
Of the predestination of man to death, or of reprobation.
XI. To the subject of the Calling of man belong several sub-
divisions,"
1. Of the Word of God, or of God’s two Covenants, both
that of works and that of grace.
2. Of the Sacred Scripture.
Of Sin.
Of Faith.
Of Hope.
Of Love.
Of Repentance.
Of Free Will, or of the Nature of Man.
Of the Grace of God.
i
XII. To the subject of glorification belong the subjects,
1. Of Regeneration.
2. Of Good Works.
3. Of the Merit of Works.
XIII. To all these subjects of the blessings of God in Christ
the following subjects are supplementary,
1. Of the Sacraments, as the seals of all the blessings now
mentioned.
* This eleventh division comprises the Subject of the ensuing Treatise, and
it will be found that our Author follows this arrangement, which he, probably,
observed in his academical instructions.
26 ROLLOCK's SUMMARY.
2. Of the Church of God, which arises out of the blessings
before specified along with their peculiar Sacraments, and to
Vwhich all these blessings belong.'
XIV. To the subject of the Church belongs the subject,
Of the Discipline of the Church.
UT INTELLIGAT LECTOR QUEM LOCUM EIABEAT SEQUENS TRAC-
TATUS ** DE VOCATIONE EFFICACI* IN DOCTRINA THEOLOGICA,
IPLACUIT METHODI LOCORUM TEIEOLOGIÆ EIÆC QUASI PRIMA
IET RUDIA QUÆDAM LINEAMENTA DUCERE.
I. Doctrinæ Theologicæ summa et generalissima capita duo sunt,
1. De Deo.
2. De operibus Dei.
II. Capiti primo generalissimo de Deo subalterni sunt loci,
1. De natura Dei et ejus attributis, quæ vocantur, essen-
tialibus, ut Misericordia, Justitia, Potentia, Sapientia, &c.
2. De Trinitate, sive tribus in unica Deitatis essentia per-
SOÌ)lS.
III. Caput secundum generalissimum, quod est de operibus Dei,
habet sub se locos specialiores,
1. De opere Dei quod ab æterno est,—cujusmodi est gene-
ralis providentia et decretum Dei generale de omnibus crea-
turis, quod inde ab æterno est.
2. De opere Dei quod in tempore est, quodque cernitur in
exequutione æterni illius Decreti et Providentiæ divinæ.
IV. Sub locq de exequutione decreti continentur speciales alii,
1. De creatione rerum omnium.
2. De administratione rerum omnium creatarum.
ROLLOCK's SUMMARY. 27
V. Sub loco generali de creatione continentur speciales alii de
particularibus creaturarum speciebus, nominatim vero loci de ratio-
malibus creaturis.
1. De angelo.
2. IDe homine.
VI. Ad locum de homine pertinent inferiores alii,
1. De innocentia.
2. De lapsu et peccato primo.
3. De reparatione ipsius.
VII. Ad locum de reparatione pertinet locus,
De Christo Mediatore, in quo facta est reparatio.
VIII. Ad locum de Christo Mediatore pertinent loci subalterni
alii,
1. De natura ejus.
2. De personali unione duarum naturarum.
3. De officio ipsius triplici.
4. De beneficiis ipsius, sive benedictionibus spiritualibus,
quibus nos benedicit Deus Pater in Filio suo Jesu Christo.
IX. Ad locum de beneficiis sive benedictionibus Dei in Christo
Jesu pertinent inferiores loci de particularibus beneficiis,
1. De prædestinatione hominis ad vitam, sive electione in
Christo quæ fuit ante tempora secularia.
2. De electione Dei in Christo, quæ est in tempore.
3. De justificatione Dei in Christo.
4. De Dei in Christo nostri glorificatione.
X. Ad locum de Prædestinatione hominis ad vitam pertinet
locus,
De prædestinatione hominis ad mortem, sive de reprobatione.
28 ROLLOCK's sUMMARY.
XI. Ad locum de Vocatione pertinent plures subalterni alii,
1. De Verbo Dei, sive de foedere Dei utroque, tam operum
quam gratiæ.
2. De Scriptura Sacra.
. De Peccato.
De Fide.
. De Spe.
. De Caritate.
. De Resipisceratia.
De Libero Arbitrio, sive de natura hominis.
De Gratia Dei.
i
XII. Ad locum de glorificatione pertinent loci,
1. De Regeneratione.
2. De Bonis Operibus.
3. De Merito Operum.
XIII. His omnibus locis de benedictionibus Dei in Christo Jesu
subjecti sunt loci, ve •
1. De Sacramentis, quasi superiorum omnium sigillis.
2. De Ecclesia Dei, quæ ex superioribus benedictionibus una
cum Sacramentis suis consurgit, et ad quam eæ omnes perti-
nent.
XIV. Ad locum de Ecclesia spectat locus,
De Disciplina Ecclesiastica.
A T REAT IS E
OF OUR
EFFECTUAL CALLING,
AND OF
CERTAIN COMMON-PLACES OF THEOLOGY CONTAINED UNDER IT.
CHAPTER I.
OF OUR EFFECTUAL CALLING,
his word
darkness into his admirable light, from the power of Satan unto Pº"
God, in Christ Jesus, those whom he knew from eternity, and
predestinated unto life, of his mere favour, by the promulgation
of the covenant of grace, or preaching of the gospel.
Such, also, as be called by the same grace of God, answer, and tºº.
believe in him through Jesus Christ. This answer is of faith,”
which is in very truth the condition of the promise which is in the
covenant of grace. Wherefore our Effectual Calling doth consist
of the promise of the covenant, (which is under condition of faith,)
and in faith also, which is nothing else but the fulfilling of the con-
dition.
GoD's Effectual Calling is that whereby God calleth out of § God calls
Therefore there be two parts of our Effectual Calling; the first Two #.
tº º tº g Oul' effectlla.
is, the outward calling of such as are predestinate unto life, from calling.
darkness unto light, and that of God's mere grace; and that, I
say, by the publication of the covenant of grace, or preaching of
Q
30 A TREATISE OF
Instrument
Of Our voca-
tion.
the gospel. The latter part is their inward faith, wrought in them
by the same grace and Spirit of God, whereby they are converted
from Satan unto God; for I cannot see how this second part of
our Effectual Calling can differ from faith itself.
In the first part of our Effectual Calling, first, we are to consider
the persons, calling and called. The person which calleth us,
properly to speak, is God himself; for he only promiseth in his
Covenant, calling those things which be not as though they were.
(Rom. iv. 17.) The persons called are they whom God knew
before, and hath predestinated unto life, for whom he hath predesti-
nated, them he hath called. (Rom. viii. 30.) Secondly, in the first part
of our Effectual Calling—the cause which moved God hereunto is .
his own special grace; for the cause of all God's blessings upon us
is in himself. For as he did predestinate us in himself, according
to the good pleasure of his own will, (Eph. i. 5,) so hath he called
and justified us in himself, and shall glorify us in himself, to the
praise of the glory of his grace; that all glory may be wholly
ascribed unto him. Thirdly, we be to observe the instrument of
our vocation, which is the covenant published, or the gospel preached.
Fourthly, in this former part of our Effectual Calling, we be to con-
sider the estate from which, and the estate whereunto, we be called.
The condition from which we be called is darkness, the power of
Satan, and that miserable plight, which is without Christ in sin and
death. The state whereunto we be called is light, God himself, and
that blessed condition of man in Christ. Hence it is evident that
these common-places of divinity, of God’s Word, and of Sin, and the
Misery of Mankind, must be referred to this argument of our
Effectual Calling, as to a most general head in religion.
In the second part of our Effectual Calling, these branches must
be noted. First, that the cause wherefore we answer God's calling,
or believe in God, is God’s own grace, which worketh in us this
faith by the Holy Ghost, which is given us with his word; for, like
as God of his mere grace calleth us outwardly unto himself, so the
same—his grace and free love in Jesus Christ—kindleth this faith
in us, whereby we answer his heavenly calling.
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 31
And in this second part of our Calling, (which we say doth con-
Second part
of our calling,
sist in faith,) if we desire yet more deeply to search it, there is a “*
double grace or working of God in our hearts. The first is, when
he enlighteneth us by his Holy Spirit, pouring a new and a heavenly
light into our mind, before so blind, as that it neither saw, nor could
see, the things which do belong to the Spirit of God. (1 Cor. ii.
14.) The natural man perceiveth not the things of the Spirit of
God, for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them. In
the will, which is altogether froward and quite fallen from God, he
worketh an uprightness, and in all the affections a new holiness.
Hence proceeds the new creature, and that new man which is created
after God in righteousness and true holiness, (Eph. iv. 24.)
The Papists' call this first grace in the faith and work of the
Holy Ghost, not the creation of any new creature which was not
before, but the stirring up of some goodness and sanctity, which,
as they say, was left in nature, after the first fall of man, which Free-will.
they call also free-will, which, they say, was not quite lost in the
fall, but lessened and weakened. But this free-will whereof they
speak is in very truth nothing else but that holiness of nature and
life of God, and the spiritual light of man in his first creation and
innocency. But of this more in place convenient. This they say
then, that after the fall, man retained not only the faculties of his
soul, but also the holy qualities of those powers, only hurt and
weakened. And this is that free-will which they say is quickened
by God’s preventing grace, which they define to be an external
motion, standing as it were without, and beating at the door of the
heart.
In this first grace of God, which we call a new creation of divine
qualities in the soul, man standeth mere passively before God, and
as the material cause of God's work. For in this first renewing of
the soul of man, what divine virtues hath man to work with God's
Spirit, or to help the work of grace? Yet we say not that man in
this new birth is no more than a trunk or dead tree: for that there
* Rollock here uses the term Papista. He generally employs adversarii,
translated by Holland, “the adversaries,” to denote the same thing.
32 A TREATISE OF
is in man (that so I may speak) a passive power to receive that
divine grace and life of God, as also the use of reason, which dead
trees have not. The adversaries say, that in quickening of free-
will, there is a liberty or strength in it to reject or to receive that
grace which they call preventing grace. Therefore they give a
fellow-working unto grace, and a fellow-working unto free-will.'
The action of The second grace, or the second work of God's Spirit in the
faith.
auvéºyot.
second part of our Effectual Calling, or in faith, is the very act of
faith, or an action proceeding from this new creature—the action of
the mind, enlightened in knowing God in Christ—of the will
sanctified, in embracing and apprehending God in Christ. And
here the principal agent is that very Spirit of Christ, who, after the
first grace and creation, abideth and dwelleth in us, not idle, but
ever working some good in us and by us. The second agent work-
ing with God’s Holy Spirit is the very soul of man, or rather the
new man, or the new creature in the soul and all the faculties
thereof. By this the Holy Ghost, that so I may speak, knoweth
God; or otherwise to speak the same—to know God, the Holy
Ghost useth the new creature in man, and by this the Holy Ghost
doth embrace and apprehend God in Christ. Thus speaks the
Apostle, Rom. viii. 26. The Holy Ghost, saith he, maketh intercession
for us with sighs which cannot be eagressed. Observe here how he
ascribeth this action of sending forth sighs unto the Spirit, as to the
principal agent.
In this second grace, which is the action or work of faith, we
stand not as mere passively; but being moved by the Holy Ghost,
we work ourselves; as being stirred up to believe, we believe ; and,
in a word, we work with God's Spirit working in us.
The adversaries say, this second grace in faith is an action of
free-will, when as we by our own free-will dispose and prepare
ourselves to a justifying grace, in believing, in hoping, in repenting.
In this action, they say, not the Holy Ghost is the principal agent,
1 This is not the meaning of our Author, whose words are: “Ergo opera-
tionem tribuunt gratiae, cooperationem vero libero arbitrio,” p. 5. “Therefore
they assign the work to grace, but a fellow-working to free-will.”
GOD'S EFFECTUAL CALLING. 33
or any motion, to use their own word, of the Spirit, but free-will
itself, which, as they say, goes before, when as that motion of God
working together with their free-will must follow after. They
speak not a word here of God's Spirit, either in the first or second
grace, who works effectually in both, as is aforesaid: but instead of
the Holy Ghost, they talk of, I know not what motion standing
without and knocking at the door. They say this motion stirs up
free-will; they say it worketh with free-will when it worketh, and
prepareth us unto the grace of justice or justification. This their
doctrine is strange; it savoureth not the holy Scripture of God,
nor the phrase of Scripture. Thus far of God’s grace in faith, or
of the second part of our Calling, and of the two special branches
of it.
Next, in it we are to consider of the points or conditions before
noted, which are the very same with those in our Calling afore-going.
To this second part of our Effectual Calling, refer the Doctrine of
Faith, which in very truth is the same with it. Hope, Love, and
Repentance, follow Faith; and Free-will is a common-place in
divinity subaltern, or to be referred unto that of Repentance.
CHAPTER II.
OF THE WORD OF GOD, OR OF THE COVENANT IN GENERAL, AND OF
THE COVENANT OF WORKS IN SPECIAL.
THE common-place in religion which is concerning God's Word The common-
places of re-
or Covenant, is to be referred unto this of our Effectual Calling, asſº"
to a most general head. Next follow these points of Sin, and of".
the Misery of Mankind: thirdly, that of Faith; then follow Hope,
Love, and Repentance.
Now, therefore, we are to speak of the Word, or of the Covenant
of God, having first set down this ground, that all the word of
God appertains to some covenant; for God speaks nothing to man
Without the covenant. For which cause all the Scripture, both old
VOL. I. C
34 A TREATISE OF
and new, wherein all God's word is contained, bears the name of
God’s covenant or testament.
§."* The covenant of God generally is a promise under some one
certain condition. And it is twofold; the first is the covenant of
Works; the second is the covenant of grace. Paul (Gal. iv. 24)
expressly sets down two covenants, which in the Old Testament
were shadowed by two women, as by types, to wit, Hagar, the
handmaid, and Sarah, the free woman; for, saith he, these be those
two covenants. Let us then speak something of these two covenants;
$º and first of the covenant of works. The covenant of works, which
#" may also be called a legal or natural covenant, is founded in nature,
which by creation was pure and holy, and in the law of God, which
in the first creation was engraven in man's heart. For after that
God had created man after his own image, pure and holy, and had
written his law in his mind, he made a covenant with man, wherein
he promised him eternal life, under the condition of holy and good
works, which should be answerable to the holiness and goodness of
their creation, and conformable to his law. And that nature thus
beautified with holiness and righteousness and the light of God’s
law, is the foundation of the covenant of works, it is very evident;
for that it could not well stand with the justice of God to make a
covenant under condition of good works and perfect obedience
to his law, except he had first created man pure and holy, and had
engraven his law in his heart, whence those good works might pro-
ceed. For this cause, when he was to repeat that covenant of
works to the people of Israel, he first gave the law written in tables
of stone; then he made a covenant with his people, saying, Do
Note. these things, and ye shall live. Therefore the ground of the cove-
nant of works was not Christ, nor the grace of God in Christ, but
the nature of man in the first creation holy and perfect, endued
also with the knowledge of the law. For, as touching the covenant
of works, there was no mediator in the beginning between God and
man, that God should in him, as in and by a mediator, make his
covenant with man. And the cause that there was no need of a
mediator was this, that albeit there were two parties entering into
a covenant, yet there was no such breach or variance betwixt them
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 35
that they had need of any mediator to make reconciliation between
them; for, as for the covenant of works, God made this covenant Note.
with man, as one friend doth with another. For in the creation we
were God's friends, and not his enemies. Thus far of the ground
of the covenant of works.
The thing promised in the covenant of works is life eternal first,
not righteousness: for that man, in his creation, was even then just
and perfect, by that original justice, as they call it;-unless you will
say that the righteousness of works was promised in that covenant,
for which righteousness' sake, after that man had wrought it, God
would pronounce and declare him to be just. For we are to under-
stand, that in this covenant there is a double righteousness; the
first is that original justice which is nothing else but the integrity
of nature in that first state of man. This justice, out of all doubt,
is not promised in the covenant of works, for it is the ground of it.
The second justice is that which was to follow the good works of
nature in that integrity, and might be called the justice of works;
for after that man had lived godly and justly, according to God’s
law in that integrity, then he might be said to be just again, and to
be declared of God to be just by his good works well pleasing unto
God, and so eternal life might be said to be given unto him, as
justified by his works. For Paul to the Romans teacheth, that
there may be some imputation of righteousness by good works, if
so be that works be perfectly good. Hence come these manner of
speeches, Abraham was not justified by his works : by works no flesh Rom. iv. 2.
shall be justified. Thus far of the promise of the covenant of works,
or of the things promised in the covenant of works.
Now to come unto the condition. The condition of the covenant The cond-
of works is the condition of good works; of good works, I say, º:
not which proceed from Christ, or from his grace, but from nature
only in the integrity thereof, and being informed with the know-
ledge of the law, and perfectly good, as it was in the first creation,
proceeding, I say, from that ground of the covenant of works.
Therefore works mere naturally good only are required as the con-
dition of the covenant of works. So, then, by this condition, do
you exclude hence faith in Christ? I do so. And do ye except
36 A TREATISE OF
Note.
here from the condition of the covenant of works, all the works of
grace and regeneration ? I do except these also. But the covenant
of works is often propounded in the gospel to such as be in grace
and in Christ Jesus. For how often is the reward of eternal life
promised to such as do well? Wherefore it may seem that the
works of regeneration appertain also to the covenant of works, for
that such works be required of them which be under grace. I
answer, the antecedent is false; for if at any time we hear or read
in the gospel of grace, that good works be required of them which
be in Christ and justified by him, to that end that they may obtain
eternal life, we may not think that God speaks unto them after the
form of the covenant of works; for, in the gospel, good works are
required of them which bein Christ, not such as proceed from their
own nature, or such as they can yield of their own strength, but
only such as proceed from the grace of regeneration. For we never
find in the New Testament, that they which are in Christ be com-
manded to do the works aforesaid of the covenant of works, which be
naturally good; or that the covenant of works is set before them,
that by it, and the works thereof acted by the strength of nature,
they may receive eternal life. For thou shalt never find it said to
them which are in Christ, Do this of your own strength, that so ye may
live, which is the very sum of the covenant of works.
As for that place (Matth. xix. 17) where Christ said to a certain
young man, which called upon him, saying, Master, what good shall
I do that I may have eternal life 2—the Lord answered, and said,
If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments; I grant that here
he understandeth the covenant of works, and that the Lord pro-
poundeth to the young man the form of the covenant of works.
But observe that the Lord so answereth to one that sought his life
and salvation by the law, and which did before cleave unto the
covenant of works, and trusted to works as meritorious. For so
the covenant of works, and the rule of the law of works, must be
set before every one which is without Christ, seeking righteousness
by the law, and the works of the law, to this end, if it may be, that
by the sense of sin, and the feeling of his own misery, he may be
prepared to embrace the covenant of grace in Christ. For to
GOD’S EFFECTUAL CALLING. 37
return unto his words, that young man said to the Lord, What good
shall I do? Therefore he sought salvation by works, and not by
faith in Christ. So then the Lord answered fitly to his question,
Do this, and thou shalt live : which manner of speaking is never
wonted to be propounded in the gospel to them which have once
embraced and professed Christ. For those good works of nature
be never required of them, according to the form of the covenant
of works, neither be the promises made unto them under condition
of any such works.
I confess good works be required of them which be in Christ, and
justified by him; but all such works belong to grace and regenera-
tion;–to grace, I say, only ;-and they be not the works of free-will
nor of nature. Know this then, that to such as be in Christ, the
covenant of works to them is abolished, and of none effect so far
forth as by it justification and salvation is obtained. I grant the
law abideth which is the rule of those works, which properly and Hºº
specially did first appertain to the covenant of works; but now it.”
hath another special use; for it serveth for our direction in the
works of grace and sanctification. So then the law hath ceased,
as it was the rule of the works of nature required in the covenant
of works; but it is still in use to them which are in Christ, as it is
the rule of the works of grace. For the same justice of God is
unchangeable, and the law of God is the very image of divine
justice ; wherefore the law of God must abide for ever, albeit it
have not ever the same use, nor be not always the rule of the same
works. But of this we shall speak more at large hereafter. It is
a question here, whether, in the first creation, good works in the
covenant of works were required of man, as meritorious for the
promised life? I answer, not so. But they were due in the crea-
tion, as pledges of thankfulness in man to his Creator, for that excel-
lent work of his creation, and to glorify God his Creator. But it may
be objected, that Paul to the Romans, disputing against the works
of nature, (for in that epistle he [is] disputing principally against
this kind of works,) he reasoneth against them as seeming meritorious,
and not as duties and testimonies of man's thankfulness unto God,
38 A TREATISE OF
wherefore it may seem they were commanded unto man in his
creation as meritorious. I answer; true it is, Paul disputes there
of them as of merits, not for that this was his judgment of them,
but because the Jews had that conceit of them, which were so far
blinded, that they thought the good works of nature were not only
good and just, but also might merit justification and life. But of
this blindness of the Jews we shall speak more at large hereafter.
Thus far of the condition of the covenant of works, and” of this kind
of covenant accordingly, and as we purposed in this present treatise.
CHAPTER III.
OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE.
lº. IN the free Covenant of Grace, or of the gospel, the first ground
*is our Mediator Jesus Christ, crucified also, and dead; or, which
is the same in effect, the blood of the Mediator, the virtue whereof
is twofold. The first serves to satisfy the justice and wrath of God
for our sins, for the breach of that covenant of works. The second
is, to purchase and merit a new grace and mercy of God for us.
And this grace or mercy of God, obtained by the blood of the
2d ground. Mediator, is the second ground of the Covenant of Grace, whereby
we stand reconciled unto God, and in grace with him. Wherefore
the first immediate ground of the Covenant of Grace is God's free
favour or mercy, (whereby man’s misery is presupposed,) and not
nature, or any good thing in it, for that all our natural good-
ness, after the breach of that covenant of works, is quite vanished;
that is to say, nature, as touching holiness, justice, and wisdom, is
utterly lost. For we are not to approve their judgment which
say, that the freedom of will, that is, the goodness and holiness of
nature, is much worn and weakened, as they speak, in this corrupt
nature.
1 Rather, “And this is all we have to say of the Covenant of Works, as far as
it accords with our purpose in this treatise."
GOD’S EFFECTUAL CALLING. 39
And thus far of the ground of the Covenant of Grace. Upon this
ground, I say, first of the blood of Christ, next of God's free mercy
in Christ, the covenant of grace (usually so called) is founded.
The first and principal grace promised in this covenant is
righteousness; which must necessarily here have the first place, for
after the breach of the covenant of works, that one first original
justice, as they call it, was quite lost, and injustice did succeed
into the place thereof. And this justice, which is here promised in
the Covenant of Grace, is no inherent righteousness, as that original
justice was, but is the righteousness of our Mediator Jesus Christ,
which is ours by faith, and by the imputation of God. For which
cause the Apostle calls it the righteousness of God; for without this Rom. iii. 21.
imputative justice we cannot possibly stand before the tribunal of
God, and by the imputation of this righteousness are we said to be
justified before God. Next after this kind of righteousness, which
is by imputation, there is another kind of inherent justice promised
in the Covenant of Grace, even such a sanctity and goodness of
nature as was lost in the fall of man, and this is but begun in this
life, but perfected in another. And this inherent justice is nothing
else but life eternal in us, begun, I say, in earth, and perfected in
heaven. And this heavenly and spiritual life doth proceed from that
righteousness of Christ, which is imputed unto us by faith. For
that righteousness of Christ is effectual in us unto eternal life by
the Spirit of Christ, who sanctifieth and quickeneth us. And thus
far of the promise, which is in the Covenant of Grace.
Now it followeth that we see what the condition is of this
covenant. The very name of the Covenant of Grace might seem º
to require no condition, for it is called a free covenant, because God **
freely, and, as it might seem, without all condition, doth promise
herein both righteousness and life; for he which promiseth to give
any thing freely, he bindeth not to any condition. But we are to
understand that grace here, or the particle freely, doth not exclude
all condition, but that only which is in the covenant of works, which
is the condition of the strength of nature, and of works naturally
just and good, as we may call them, which can in no wise stand
with God's free grace in Christ Jesus. For neither that freedom
4() A TREATISE OF
Rom. vi. 23.
The condi-
tion of tho
Covenant of
(trace.
of will, which doth import some purity and holiness in nature, nor
the works of free-will, as they call them, can agree with the grace
of God in Christ Jesus. What is the condition then which this
Word grace, or freely, will admit in this Covenant of Grace? I
answer, assuredly none other than that which may stand with
Christ, and with God's free grace; and that is Faith only, which is
also by grace, (for it is God's free gift, Phil. i. 29, It is given unto
*/ow, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for his sake,) having
Christ first the object thereof, and next God's free mercy in Christ,
for faith embraces God's mercy in Christ, and makes Christ effectual
in us unto righteousness and life. For this cause Paul (Rom. iv. 16)
saith, our inheritance is by faith, that it might come by grace; (Eph.
ii. 8) Ye are saved by grace, by faith, and that not of yourselves, that
is, as he after expoundeth it, not of works. So he concludeth, that
Salvation, because it is of God's free grace by faith, is the free gift
of God. Wherefore we see faith stands best with the grace and
mercy of God, as, without which, Christ and God's mercy in him
cannot be effectual unto righteousness and life. For if we receive
not Christ by faith, and God’s mercy in Christ, Christ and the
mercy of God can profit us nothing unto justification and life.
IIowbeit we be here to remember, that whereas God offereth
righteousness and life under condition of faith, yet doth he not
so respect faith in us, which is also his own gift, as he doth the
object of faith, which is Christ, and his own free mercy in Christ,
which must be apprehended by faith; for it is not so much our
faith apprehending, as Christ himself, and God's mercy apprehended
in him, that is the cause wherefore God performeth the promise of
his covenant unto us, to our justification and salvation. Wherefore
the condition of the Covenant of Grace is not faith only, nor the
object of faith only, which is Christ, but faith with Christ, that is,
the faith that shall apprehend Christ, or Christ with faith, that is,
Christ which is to be apprehended by faith. Note then briefly
this, how these three are one in substance, the ground of the Cove-
nant of Grace, the condition of it, and the cause wherefore God
performeth the condition. Yet in reason they differ something.
For Jesus Christ is the ground, being absolutely considered, without
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 41
any respect of application unto us. But Christ is the condition of the
covenant, as he is to be applied untous, and must be embraced by faith,
for every condition is of a future thing to be done. And the cause
also of the performance of the covenant is Jesus Christ already
embraced, and applied unto us by faith. Whereas Paul then saith,
that we are justified by faith, his meaning is, that we are justified
by Christ applied unto us by faith already in our effectual calling ;
which, by order of nature, goeth ever before the benefit of justifi-
cation.
It may be here demanded, whether the works of grace and
regeneration (as they are called) have not some place in the con-
dition of the Covenant of Grace; for all the good works of nature
are hence excluded. I answer, that the very works of regeneration
are not contained in the condition of the Covenant of Grace. First,
for that the Covenant of Grace is made with the unjust and unre-
generate : now, how can their works be just and good P. Next, in
the Covenant of Grace both regeneration itself, and all the holy
fruits thereof, are promised, for in it all the benefits of Christ be
promised the believers. Now them, the promise of the covenant
must necessarily differ from the condition of the covenant. But objection.
this you will say: It is evident, and that in many places of the New
Testament, that life eternal, or, as they say, the reward of eternal
life, is often promised under the condition of good works, that is,
the works of regeneration, as, (1 Tim. iv. 8,) Godliness is profitable
unto all things, having the promises both of this life, and of the life
to come. (Luke xiv. 14,) It shall be repaid thee in the day of the
resurrection of the just. (Matth. v. 12,) Your reward is great in
heaven. (Matth. xix. 29,) He shall not lose his reward. (Gal. vi. 19,)
Let us not be weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap, if
we faint not. (Eph. vi. 8,) Knowing this, that what good soever
every man doth, that he shall receive of the Lord. (Heb. vi. 10,)
The Lord is not unjust to forget your work, and the love which ye
ministered unto the saints. (2 Thess. i. 6,) Notwithstanding it is a
righteous thing with God to render affliction in like manner to them
which afflict you, and unto $/ow which are afflicted rest with us. To
these I answer: In my judgment, there are three distinct kinds Answer.
42 A TREATISE OF
Three kinds
of promises
in the gospel.
First differ-
€Il Ce.
Second dif-
ference,
Third differ-
CIl Ce,
Eph. ii 1.
of promises in the gospel. The first is the promise of the cove-
nant of works, wherein eternal life is promised under condition of
works done by the strength of nature. The second is the promise
of the Covenant of Grace, which is propounded under condition of
faith. The third kind of promises are those particular and special
promises which are to be referred to the Covenant of Grace, found
every where in the gospel, and made under condition of the works
of grace and regeneration.
These three kinds of promises differ first in condition; next in
propriety; thirdly, in subject; fourthly, in end and use. First,
then, they differ in condition; for the promise in the covenant of
works is under condition of the works of nature, and the strength
thereof. In the Covenant of Grace, the promise is under condition of
faith in Christ. In the promises which I call particular or special pro-
mises, there is a condition of works indeed, but of the works of grace
and regeneration, and not of the works of nature, or any natural
faculty. Secondly, these promises differ in propriety; for the promise
in the covenant of works is merely legal, and requires the condition
of works done only by the strength of nature, commanded in the law,
and to be done according to the strict rule of God’s law; and the works
of nature, or wrought by natural strength, are properly called the
works of the law, (Rom. ix. 32.) And the promise in the Covenant
of Grace is not legal, but merely evangelical; for the condition here
is not of any work moral and natural, but of faith in Christ, and of
Christ himself to be apprehended by faith. Lastly, those particular
promises, they are partly evangelical, partly legal; for the condition
is of works which proceed from grace and regeneration, and, there-
fore, of such works as, in regard of their original, may truly be
called evangelical works, but because the law moral is the rule of
them, in this respect they may also be called legal works. Thirdly,
these promises differin subject, because the promise in the covenant
of works is propounded to them, which now, after the breach of
that first covenant of works, lie dead in sins and offences, having,
notwithstanding, for the time no sense of sin nor death. The
promise in the Covenant of Grace is given to them which are also
dead in sins and transgressions, but having some feeling of sin, of
GOD’S EFFECTUAL CALLING. 43
death, and of their own misery, wrought in them by the law and
legal covenant; and, as for those particular promises, they are pro-
posed to them which are already justified and renewed by faith in
Christ. Lastly, these promises differ in use and end; for the end º
of the covenant of works is, that wretched sinners, which are void
of sense of their sin and misery, may be awakened to feel and
acknowledge their own sin and misery, that is, (as the Apostle
speaketh, Rom. vii. 9, 10,) that sin may revive in them, and that
they may die, that is, they may feel that they be dead in sins and
offences. Of this use of the law, see Rom. iii. 19, 20; xi. 32 :
Gal. iii. 22; and v. 23. This is the use then of the covenant of
works, to work in us the sense of sin and misery, and to prepare
men to receive grace. Therefore the doctrine of the gospel begins
with the legal doctrine of works and of the law moral; for the
gospel should preach and promise in vain righteousness and life to
the believers, if they were not first prepared by feeling their own
corruption and miserable condition, to hear and receive grace by
the gospel. For this cause Christ himself first (Matth. v. 17, and
after) freeth and restoreth the law as pure from the leaven of the
Pharisees, expounding the perfection and exact severity thereof, for 2×6180^{-
this very cause, that men by this light of the covenant of works”
and law moral, might acknowledge how miserable they be by nature,
and so might hereby be prepared to embrace the Covenant of Grace.
So did Christ prepare that rich young man (which came unto him
to be schooled, as he made show) to entertain the Covenant of Grace.
Wilt thou (saith he) enter into life 2 Keep the commandments. Paul
begins his doctrine in the Epistle to the Romans, from the law and
covenant of works, and spends near his three first chapters of his
Epistle in this doctrine, to this end, that he might conclude all
under sin and condemnation, and so might prepare men to the
doctrine of grace, which begins, Rom. iii. 21. So (Gal. iv. 21) he
teacheth the Galatians that would be under the law, (as he speaketh,)
their miserable servitude, which be in that condition, and how at
the last they are cast out of God’s kingdom, for this very cause,
that the Galatians, renouncing all confidence in that righteousness
44 A TREATISE OF
which is by the law and covenant of works, might lay hold on that
righteousness which is by faith and grace. This might appear by
many arguments which now I willingly pass over. The end and
use of the promise in the Covenant of Grace is, that men cast down
and humbled in the sight of their own sin and misery by the legal
Covenant, might be raised up and comforted by hearing and receiv-
ing that righteousness and life, which is freely promised and offered
to the believers in the gospel. Of this use, read Rom. v. 1, There-
jore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God. This is the
proper end of the evangelical doctrine. Therefore, the second and
principal part of the gospel doth consist in the doctrine of the
Covenant of Grace, which is properly and principally to bear this
title of an evangelical doctrine; teaching us what Christ our Media-
tor is ; what his humiliation first, next his glorification; and then
what benefits, life, and righteousness, we get by him ; and these be
the special branches of the gospel, and of that joyful message of
our salvation. Last of all, the use of those particular promises is, that
God’s elect, justified, renewed, comforted, and quieted in their con-
Sciences, may testify their thankfulness by their holy obedience and
good works. The Apostle noteth this end, (Titus ii. 11, 12,)
For that grace of God which bringeth salvation unto all men hath shined;
teaching us, that renouncing ungodliness and worldly lusts, we live
soberly, justly, and godly, in this present world. And, for that this
is the end of these promises, they have also their place in the third
part of the doctrine of the gospel, which concerns the life and
Christian conversation of the saints; for which cause ye have these
promises often in the gospel, annexed to exhortations, admonitions,
and instructions concerning manners, as (Gal. vi.) after that (ver. 6)
he had given in charge, that he which is catechised in the word, should
minister unto him which teacheth him of all his goods ; he forthwith
addeth (vers. 7 and 8) a promise and a threatening. Again, (ver. 9,)
having warned them not to wax weary in well-doing, he addeth this
promise, We shall reap in due time, if we faint not. So, (Eph. vi.,) after
that his charge given to servants to serve their masters in all up-
rightness, (ver. 5, 6, 7,) he addeth a promise, (ver, 8,) Whatsoever
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 45
good thing every man doth, that shall he receive of the Lord. The
like testimonies are everywhere, in which ye may find admonitions,
exhortations, and instructions, confirmed with promises and threat
enings. Of this kind, then, are all those promises before mentioned,
which must be carefully discerned, first, from the covenant of works;
next, from the Covenant of Grace, wheresoever we find them in
reading the New Testament.
And, finally, concerning the aforesaid promises, we are to observe,
first, that the condition of the works of regeneration and grace is
required of believers, not as merits, but as duties only, and testi-
monies of their thankfulness to God their Redeemer; like as the
condition in the covenant of works is not of merits, but of duties
only, and of testimonies of their thankfulness to God their Creator.
I grant that the works of regeneration are necessary unto eternal
life promised in the gospel, but not as merits or meritorious causes,
but as the means and way wherein we are to proceed on from justi-
fication and regeneration unto glory and life eternal. They may
also be said to be causes, after a sort, for they please God in Christ,
and in some respects move him, but not as merits, but as effects of
the only merit of Jesus Christ, whereof they testify. But of this
we shall speak in place more convenient. Secondly, note in this third
kind of promises, that the condition therein is of the works of
regeneration, which are also most perfect in their kind, for the
great justice of God cannot bear the least defect. The rule also
of all works is the justice of God, whereof ye have a certain express
image in the moral law. Wherefore the condition here is of works
most absolute, but not in themselves, but in Christ, and in the per-
fection of his satisfaction and merit. If ye object, doth not the
law require that perfection of works which is in works themselves?
I answer ; it doth so of them which are under the covenant of
works, under the law, and without Christ; but as for such as be in
the Covenant of Grace and in Christ, it doth not require a perfec-
tion in the works of regeneration, but is content with the good
beginnings which the believers have, the perfection of whose
obedience is supplied, and to be found, in Christ Jesus. For like
as he justified us of his mere grace in Christ, and by his merit,
46 A TREATISE OF
Note.
being his enemies, so now much more will he accept us, being
justified and regenerate; I say, much more will he accept us being
his friends, and our obedience in Christ even for his merit sake.
For so the Apostle concludeth, (Rom. v. 9,) Being justified therefore
by his blood, we shall now much more be preserved from wrath by him.
And thus far of these three kinds of promises which are distinctly
set down in the New Testament.
And here this might also be demanded, whether these three kinds
of promises be not as distinctly to be found in the Old Testament 2
I answer, they may so be found, yet not without some difference;
for that the Old Testament did serve specially to prepare men to
receive Christ, which in his appointed time was to come. For the
law was a schoolmaster unto Christ,” (Gal. iii. 24.) Therefore the
greatest part of the Old Testament is spent in propounding, repeat-
ing, and expounding the covenant of works. And because Christ
was not as yet manifested in the flesh, therefore the doctrine of the
Covenant of Grace is more sparingly and darkly set forth in it.
Finally, as touching the faithful in the Old Testament, which em-
braced Christ the Mediator of the Covenant of Grace, howsoever
then but shadowed before their eyes in types and figures—to them,
I say, being justified in him which was to come, and regenerate by his
grace, the promises of eternal life were made under condition of the
works of regeneration, as this promise made to Abraham, (Gen.
xvii. 1,) Walk thou before me, and be thou upright, and I will make
my covenant with thee. This promise was made to Abraham, being
before justified by faith and renewed by grace. The like promises
are often in the Old Testament annexed to moral precepts, as in
the books of the Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. And thus far of the
Covenant of Grace, the ground thereof, the promise thereof, and
the condition thereof.
Now it remaineth that we answer a question or two concerning
this covenant. The first, whether the covenant of works be abolished,
and of none effect to such as be under the Covenant of Grace P I
answer, the covenant of works hath two ends and uses. The first
Rom. v. 9, 10,
11, 12.
Rom. iv.
First use of
the covenant
of works, or
of the moral
law.
1 Original—Paedagogus ad Christum ducens.
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 47
and proper end and use of the covenant of works is, that men by
it may be justified and saved, or otherwise condemned. The cove-
mant of works had this use in Adam before his fall, that Adam by
it might be justified and live. After the fall it hath the same use
in the unregenerate, elect and reprobate, to wit, to justify and save
them, or to condemn them. And forasmuch as it cannot justify
them because of their corruption, (Rom. viii. 3,) it followeth that
it must necessarily condemn them. And the very unbelieving and
unregenerate do otherwise feel this condemnation in themselves.
Of this use, read Rom. iii. 19 ; where he saith, that by the law,
JEvery mouth is stopped, and made obnowibus to the condemnation of
God. And of the experience of this condemnation, read Rom.
vii. 10; I, saith he, when the commandment came, was dead, that is,
condemned in my conscience, so that I felt in myself present con-
demnation and death. And albeit this first use of the covenant of
works be common to all unregenerate, elect and reprobate, yet
this wants not some difference; for, in the elect, the acknowledg-
ment of sin and condemnation which they have by the covenant of
works, is unto them a preparative to embrace the Covenant of Grace;
but in the reprobate it is the way to extreme desperation. Thus far
of the first use.
The second end of the covenant of works is this, it serves to :*::::::
drive on, and to stir up all believers to march on forwards in all of works
faith and godliness. This use it hath, I say, in the regenerate, who,
in the legal covenant or moral law, do desire principally to behold, The to
as in a glass, evermore, first, the holiness, majesty, and justice, of: lº.
God. (Rom. vii. 12,) Therefore the law is holy, and the command. *
ment is holy, just, and good. Next, they see here that which they 2.
call the original holiness and justice of man, to wit, the same which
was in the creation, which is defined to consist of justice, holiness,
and wisdom. Thirdly, they behold here that life eternal which was 3.
to follow that first original justice. Fourthly, they see that corrup- 4.
tion and unrighteousness which is now in nature after man's fall.
But this they see by consequent; as we say, one contrary is discerned
and known by another. For, while we consider first, that infinite
48 - A TRIEATISE OF
justice of God, next, our original justice,—which are properly dis-
cerned by that glass of God’s law and covenant of works,—by the
light and brightness of these, I say, we may take a view of the gross
darkness, filthiness, and deformity of our corrupt nature. For this
cause it is said, (Rom. iii. 20,) By the law cometh the knowledge of
sin. Fifthly, they see herein God's wrath kindled against that
deformity of nature, so contrary both to God's justice and to man's
original justice. For this cause it is said, (Rom. i. 18,) The wrath of
God is revealed from heaven against all the ungodliness and unrighte-
ousness of men ; and, (Rom. iv. 15,) The law causeth wrath. Sixthly,
and lastly, they behold how present death followeth that wrath of
God, (Rom. i. 32,) Which men, though they knew the law of God,
how that they which commit such things are worthy of death, yet not
only do the same, but also favour them that do them; and, (chap.
vii. 9, 10,) When the commandment came, I died.
The regenerate, when they consider these things in the law and
covenant of works, they are forthwith terrified with that heavy
spectacle, 1. Of their sin; 2. Of the wrath of God against sin; 3.
Of eternal death which followeth God’s wrath. And then do they
more and more relinquish and renounce, 1. That legal righteous-
ness required in the covenant of works; 2. That original justice
and all opinion of free-will; 3. That life and safety which followeth
that legal righteousness of works. And having renounced all con-
fidence in these things, with like endeavour they follow hard after
Christ by conversion and faith, to this end, that they may find in
him, first, that mercy of God in Christ, contrary to that justice of
God; secondly, they seek for that imputative justice, as they call it,
so contrary to their own righteousness, and to that original justice of
the law, or of works. Thirdly, they labour for that sanctification
and regeneration, that so they may bring forth the fruits of the
Spirit. Fourthly, they wait for to attain that life eternal, which is
given us of God's free grace, in and by that imputed righteousness
of Christ.
A perfect If we were possessed in this life of a perfect faith in Christ, and
º, weave so of perfect holiness, then I grant the believers should not need
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 49
this terrible glass of the law, and of the covenant of works. But
because unbelief still resteth in this our nature, and the relics of
that inherent contagion still abide in us, and for that so long as We
live here, neither our faith nor holiness can be perfected; there-
fore, to weaken more and more our unbelief and inherent sin in us,
and more and more to increase faith and holiness, we have ever need
of this terrible glass, as a continual severe schoolmaster, which, ever
casting many fears before us, may drive us to the faith of Christ,
and to sanctimony of life.
Now, then, seeing it is evident that there is a double use of the
covenant of works, the answer to the question aforegoing is easy.
For this we avouch, that, as touching the former use, the covenant
of works is abolished to them which are under grace. To this the
Apostle pointeth when he saith, (Rom. vi. 15,) Ye are not under the
law, but under grace. (Gal. iv. 5,) That he might redeem them which were
wnder the law. (Rom. vii. 6,) Being dead to the law, we are now free
from the law. (2 Cor. iii. 11,) For if that which should be abolished
was glorious. But as for this second use, it is not abolished. This
distinction is commonly received, that the law and legal covenant
is abolished, as it is a condemning tyrant, and not to be abolished
as it is a schoolmaster to chasten us, and with terrors to drive us
unto Christ. For this second use we have an example in Paul after
his regeneration, (Rom. vii. 14, &c.) For when he considers in the
glass of God’s law the spirituality, (that so I may speak,) the holi-
ness and goodness of the law, first; next, his own carnality (to
use that word) and rebellion; and, lastly, death itself; first he
breaks forth into these words, Miserable man that I am! who shall
deliver me from the body of this death 2 Next, he flieth to the mercy
of God in Christ Jesus, saying, I give God thanks in Christ Jesus. And,
(2 Cor. v. 11,) Paul saith of himself, he was enforced and moved
forwards to do duties in his calling, because of the terrors of the Lord
set down and offered unto him in and by his law : Knowing, there-
fore, the terror of the Lord, we bring men to the faith. The same
Apostle, (Gal. iv. 21,) when he saw that the Galatians which began
to believe in Christ, notwithstanding not to cleave unto him only
WOL. I. D
50 A TRICATISE OF
by faith, but to make a mixture of the law with Christ, he sets
before them this glass of God's law, or of the covenant of works,
wherein he layeth open, first, the miserable bondage of such as are
under the law; next, their final rejection, to this end and purpose,
that they might be moved by this fearful speculation to stick to
Christ only, and to the Covenant of Grace.
Hereunto refer those comminations which we find partly an-
nexed to the Covenant of Grace in the second part of the evange-
lical doctrine : partly put to the particular promises, instructions,
exhortations, in the third part of the doctrine of the gospel. For
this is the duty of the moral law and of the covenant of works, to
contain the believers with threatenings and terrors within the
bounds of the grace of Christ, and of his gospel. John iii. 18, we
.*a, have a commination of the law, or of the covenant of works, added
|..." to the Covenant of Grace; He that believeth in him is not condemned;
this is the Covenant of Grace. He that believeth not is condemned
already ; this commination doth properly appertain to the law or
covenant of works. Rom. viii. 13, he conjoineth a threaten-
ing of the law or covenant of works with a particular promise,
wherein life is promised unto Sanctimony; If ye live according to
the flesh, ye shall die : but if ye mortify the deeds of the body by the
Spirit, ye shall live. See Gal. vi. 8. And thus far of the first question.
The Bccond The second question is this: Whether the moral law, which we
question,
Nº call the Decalogue, be abolished to them which be under the Cove-
jº. nant of Grace? I answer by way of distinction: The moral law,
as it commandeth works done by the strength of nature, and as it
is the rule of all works of this kind, to wit, of such works as be
required in the covenant of works, that is, in respect of the first
and proper use thercof-for it concerns properly the works of
nature, which make the condition in the covenant of works—in this
respect, I say, the moral law itself also is abolished to them which
are in Christ, even in like manner as the covenant of works is can-
celled, and of none effect against them. For which cause Paul useth
these phrases, We be not under the law, we are dead to the law, we are
freed from the law, to wit, either as touching justification or con-
GoD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 51
demnation. And look how far the covenant of works serveth for
their use which be in grace, so far the law of works is in use for
them. And what use the believers have of the covenant of works,
we have already showed. Again, look how far forth the same moral
law serves to give rules for the works of grace, and attendeth not
on the covenant of works, but of grace and of the gospel, so far it
resteth in use for the servants of Christ. For there is but one rule
and law of all good works whatsoever, whether they proceed from
nature or from grace; like as there is but one and the same justice
of God, ever like itself, whereof the law of God is a very express
image, or a lively representation. Thus, then, the law moral
abideth for such as be under the gospel, yet in some respect—that
is, in use—changed : for like as all things are become new in Christ
Jesus, so also the law itself after a sort is renewed. And that the
law serveth and is in use for them which be under the Covenant
of Grace, it is very clear by many scriptures. This may appear by
those very testimonics which are before produced for the covenant
of works, and other scriptures many, where the works of the law
are commended. (Rom. xiii. 8,) Love one another; for he that loveth
another hath fulfilled the law. (Gal. v. 13, 14,) By love serve one
another; for all the law is fulfilled in one word, which is this, Thou
shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. See James ii. 8, &c. And thus
far, as we purposed, have we spoken of the Covenant of Grace.
CHAPTER IV.
OF SUCH AS BE COMPREHENDED IN, OR MAY TRULY BE SAID TO
BE UNDER, THE COVENANT OF GOD.
Now it followeth that we speak briefly of such as be under the
Covenant of God, or, if I may so speak, confederates with God.
Every reasonable creature must of necessity be liable to one of
both covenants, either that of works, or this of grace. For the
Very angels are under the covenant of works: but because the
52 A TREATISE OF
Scripture speaks so sparingly of them, therefore we say this only
in a word, that they also be under the covenant of works. Again,
man must be under some one covenant. Adam, in the state
of his innocency, was under the covenant of works. Man,
after the fall, abideth under the covenant of works; and to this
day, life is promised him under condition of works done by strength
of nature. But if he will not do well, death and the everlasting
curse of God is denounced against him, so long as he is without
Gº peºple Christ, and without the gospel. And being freed from the cove-
in grace be
H. nant of works, he is not become a libertine, or not subject to any
libertines.
covenant, or as it were lawless, but forthwith he is admitted to the
Covenant of Grace, and thenceforth liveth under it. Therefore,
concerning angels and men, it is evident that they are under some
One COVenant.
It is a doubt indeed concerning Christ, whether he were then
under any covenant, when he dwelt among men, and did converse
on earth P I answer, there be two natures in Christ, a divine and
human. Christ, as he is God and the Son of God, is not under
the covenant of works or of grace; for that he is no creature, but
the blessed Creator, to whom, to whose covenant and law, every
creature is and must be subject. But as he is man, he is under the
ghºst nº covenant of works; and that in two respects. First, in respect of
the covenant
... himself, because he is a creature, because he is a servant, and made
What respect.
man, and was in the loins of Adam when that covenant of works was
first made with him. But we be to speak sparingly of that state
of the man Christ, which is in respect of Christ himself, whether
that his human nature, as touching itself, were under the covenant
of works? whether this nature did purchase for itself life eternal
ºr ºil, by observation of the covenant of works? Next I say, the
the Mediator
...; human nature of Christ is under the covenant of works in re-
łºśspect of us; for being united to that divine nature, it is become
** a mediator for us, to make intercession and peace between
God offended and man offending. For Christ our Mediator,
albeit he be God and man in that personal union, yet was
he made subject to the covenant of works, and to the curse
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 53
of the law for us, properly in respect of his human nature,
that, as the Apostle speaketh, he might redeem us from the
law, and the curse of the law. See Gal. iv. 4 and 5. After that the
fulness of time was come, God sent his Son, made of a woman, made sub-
ject to the law, to redeem them which were under the law. And Gal.
iii. 13, But Christ (saith he) hath redeemed us from the curse, while he
was made a curse for us. Christ, therefore, our Mediator, subjected
himself unto the covenant of works, and unto the law for our sake,
and did both fulfil the condition of the covenant of works in his
holy and good life, even in the highest degree of perfection, as
being God and man—even that most Holy One of God—in one per-
son: and also he did undergo that curse which was denounced
against man in that covenant of works, if that condition of good
and holy works were not kept ;-for in the covenant of works ye
have, together with the promise of life to him who doth well, a
commination of everlasting death to him who doth not well. For
this cause Christ our Mediator both did well according to the pro-
mise, and died also according to the curse denounced. Wherefore
we see Christ in two respects, to wit, in doing and suffering, sub-
ject to the covenant of works, and to have most perfectly fulfilled
it, and that for our sake whose Mediator he is become.
It may be demanded, Had it not been sufficient for our good,
and to the end he might redeem us, if he had only lived well and
holily, and not also so to have suffered death for us? I answer, it
had not sufficed. For all his most holy and righteous works had
not satisfied the justice and wrath of God for our sins, nor merited
the mercy of God, reconciliation, righteousness, and life eternal
for us. The reason is, for that the justice of God did require for
our breach of God's covenant, that we should be punished with
death eternal, according to the condition denounced and annexed
to the promise of that covenant. Therefore, no good works of our
own, or of any mediator for us, after the breach of that covenant
of works, could have satisfied the justice of God, which of necessity
after a sort required the punishment and death of the offender, or
certainly of some mediator in his stead. If, then, all the good and
holy works of the Mediator could not Satisfy that wrath and justice
54 A TREATISE OF
of God for sin, it is clear they could not merit any new grace or
mercy of God for us.
But you will say, that the good and holy works of Christ our
Mediator have wrought some part at least of that satisfaction,
whereby God’s justice was appeased for us, and some part of that
merit whereby God's favour was purchased for us? I answer, these
works did serve properly for no part of satisfaction or merit for us:
for that, to speak properly, the death of Christ and his passion
only did satisfy God’s justice, and merited his mercy for us.
If any will yet farther demand, May we not divide the satisfac-
tion and merit of Christ into his doings and sufferings, that we may
speak on this manner, Christ by his death and passion hath satis-
fied God’s justice, and by his good and holy works he hath merited
God’s mercy for us, that so satisfaction may be ascribed to his
death, and merit to his works; that the righteousness wherewith
we are justified before God may be partly the satisfaction which
Christ performed by his death for us, partly the merits which he
He ºwe obtained by his works for us? I answer; to speak properly, the
are justified
ºil satisfaction and merit which is by the only passion of Christ, both
§: "" was and is our righteousness, or the satisfactory and meritorious
death of Christ,' or the satisfaction which was by Christ's death, or
the merit of his death, or the obedience of Christ, as being obedient
to his Father unto the death, the death also of the cross, [or] to be
short, that justice of Christ which he obtained when in his passion
he satisfied his Father's wrath—this is our righteousness. For we
may say, that either the death of Christ, or his satisfaction, or his
merit, or his obedience, or his righteousness, is imputed unto us for
righteousness. For all these are taken for one and the same thing.
But here it may be replied, If the works of Christ cannot pro-
perly procure for us any satisfaction nor merit, nor any part of
º, satisfaction or merit, then it may be demanded, What hath been,
Obedience O
Christ, or the and what is the use of Christ's works, or of his active obedience,
1 This is not quite correct. It ought to be rendered thus:–“I answer, that
to speak properly, both the satisfaction and the merit belonged to Christ's
passion exclusively, and that our righteousness is constituted by either Christ's
satisfactory and meritorious death, or,” &c.
GOD’S EFFECTUAL CALLING. 55
or of the obedience of his life? I answer, that the holiness of the rightº;
ness and ho-
person of Christ, and of his natures, divine and human, and of his º:
º * º º life, how it i
works, is the very ground or foundation of the satisfaction and;....”
º © © º º © Of the Satis-
merit which we have in the passion of Christ. That is, the excellency cººd
meritorious
and worthiness of that person and of his works did cause that his Fºº
passion was both satisfactory and meritorious : for if this person
which suffered had not been so holy and excellent, as also his life
so pure and godly, it is most certain that his passion could neither
have satisfied God’s wrath nor merited mercy for us. For which
cause the Apostle, (Heb. vii. 26,) speaking of this ground of this
meritorious passion of Christ, saith, that such an high priest it be-
came us to have, which is holy, blameless, undefiled, separate from
sinners, and made higher than the heavens. And thus far of Christ,
and how he may be said to be under the covenant of works.
And that he was not under the Covenant of Grace, the matter is
so clear, that it needs no disputation. For the Covenant of Grace
was made in him, and established in his blood, and the promise in
the Covenant of Grace is made to them which were unjust and dead
in sin, because of the breach of that covenant of works; and, lastly, ºf
the condition in the Covenant of Grace is faith in Christ the Me-ºntº
diator. Wherefore, if ye respect either the ground or condition
or promise of the free covenant, Christ cannot be said to be under
it. And thus far of both covenants, and of them which are under
the Covenant of God, either of Works or of Grace.
CHAPTER V.
A COMPARISON OF OUR JUDGMENT AND OF THE ADVERSARIES
CONCERNING BOTH THESE COVENANTS.
Now we be to compare a little our assertion with the adversaries',
and to consider which of both sides is of soundest judgment, touching
both these Govenants of works and of grace. A rule to try the
opinion of the adversaries and ours by, can none better be found
56 A TREATISE OF
Paul's dispu-
tation.
Rom. i. ii. iii.
chap.
than the doctrine of Paul, specially that in the Epistle to the Ro-
mans, and namely, in that disputation which he hath of justifica-
tion in the three first chapters, against the Jews of that time. If,
after conference, we shall find that our assertion doth consent with
Paul's mind and doctrine, and that the adversaries are of the same
mind and judgment with the Jews which lived in Paul's time,
then it shall plainly appear, that our judgment is better than the
adversaries concerning the covenant of God.
Wherefore, in this disputation of Paul, we are to consider, first, the
mind and purpose of the Apostle; next, by Paul's doctrine, we
shall gather what the opinion was of those Jews against whom he
disputed : this done, we will apply both his and their assertion to
ourselves which live in this age, and to the doctrine and conclusions
which we maintain concerning both these covenants. By this means,
if it shall appear that our doctrine is agreeable to Paul's mind, and
that our adversaries follow the Jews, themselves being witnesses,
it shall, I say, be manifest, that our judgment is better than theirs
in this argument.
To come then to the point: Paul in that place to the Romans
disputeth against those Jews which were obstinate and perverse,
defending, first, Christ and his merit, which is the first ground of
the Covenant of Grace. Next, he disputeth for grace or the mercy
of God, which is the second ground of the free covenant. Thirdly,
he avoucheth against those adversaries that the Covenant of Grace
was founded in Christ, and in the grace of God. Fourthly, he
proveth the justification of man, and so, consequently, the salvation,
which is according to the Covenant of Grace. He disputeth, Isay, for
these things, first, against nature, which is the ground of the covenant
of works; next, against the very covenant of works itself founded
on nature; thirdly, against the justification of man, and salvation
which is by it, arising of the just and good works of nature, ac-
cording to that covenant of works. I grant he doth expressly fight
against that justification and salvation, which is by the works of
nature required in the covenant of works, and for the justification
of faith, which is required in the Covenant of Grace; but by one
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 57
and the self-same disputation he concludes both against nature and
the covenant of works, and for Christ and for God’s grace in him—
that is, for the Covenant of Grace. For the doctrine of antecedents
must necessarily be included in the doctrine of the consequent.
By this purpose of Paul we may see what was the drift of those
adversary Jews, and what was their judgment against whom he
disputeth in the Epistle to the Romans. Those Jews, they on the
contrary part did strive for nature, as being the ground of the co-
venant of works, as also for the very covenant of works or of
nature, for justification and salvation by works, and according to
the form of the covenant of works. They did, I say, contend for
these things, against Christ, against the grace of God in Christ,
and against the Covenant of Grace, and against justification and
salvation of men, which is according to the Covenant of Grace. I
grant, that, as is aforesaid, the question was of this last point,
which is justification: but this question includes all the former
branches, as is before showed. Wherefore, let us consider again
that old controversy, and the very ground thereof.
In this controversy, by the way, note how great the blindness The state and
blindness of
was of the Jews of those times: first, they did not understandº
that man's nature after the fall was lost, as touching goodness:
they saw not their own corruption, neither were they touched with
any sense of sin or of their own misery. Next, they knew not
Christ the Mediator, and the mercies of God in him. Thirdly,
being so blind in the premises, they could not conceive also how
that covenant of works was abolished in Christ. Fourthly, they
understood not that there was any Covenant of Grace made with
man in Christ Jesus. Fifthly, they did not consider that those
works of nature, whereby they would be justified, according to the
prescript form of the covenant of works, they did not consider, I
say, that they were but duties only, and testimonies of thankful-
ness, according to the first institution of that covenant; but they
did ascribe some meritorious virtue unto them : for which cause
the Apostle disputeth against the works of nature, as against
merits, because of this blind conceit of the Jews. And that they
58 A TREATISE OF
were of judgment that these works were meritorious, may appear
by their glorying in works, against which the Apostle speaketh
often : Where is then the glorying or rejoicing 2 it is excluded, (Rom.
iii. 27.) If Abraham were justified by works, he hath wherein to glory,
(Rom. iv. 2.) Not by works, lest any should glory, (Eph. ii. 9.) For
he which glorieth doth not deem that he hath received that of God
for which he glorieth ; and, therefore, he judgeth it to be meri-
torious. What hast thou that thou hast not received 2 And if thou hast
received it, wherefore boastest thou as if thou hadst not received it?
(1 Cor. iv. 7.)
Thus far of the question in controversy, which was between Paul
and the old Jews of his time, concerning the covenant of God.
How like to this is that which at this day is controversed between
º us and the Papists 2 We in this age conclude wholly for the only
º:* merit of Christ, for the sole and mere grace and mercy of God in
Christ, for the Covenant of Grace, for justification and salvation by
Christ only, by grace only, by faith only, (for all these phrases
serve to one effect;) we dispute, I say, for these things against the
strength of nature, the liberty of free-will—that is, the goodness and
holiness of nature—against the covenant of works, against justifica-
tion by works, even that which is according to the rule of the
covenant of works. The Romanists of this age defend that nature
is holy in itself, yet hurt, impoverished and weakened, for this
is their freedom of will; they defend, I say, the covenant of works,
Free will and the works which proceed from free-will, justification by works
of free-will, meritorious also according to the covenant of works;
for they say, the ground of every merit, whether it be of congruity
or condignity—to use their own terms—is free-will. These things,
I say, they strive to defend, against Christ only, and his merit,
against the only grace of God and mercy in Christ, against the
only Covenant of Grace, against justification which is by Christ
only, by the grace of God only, by faith only; for all these have
one respect and purpose.
Popish blind. Observe then here, by the way, what the palpable blindness of
T1CSS, the Papists is, in this clear light of the gospel. First, they see not
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 59
how nature is plainly lost, as touching sanctity. Secondly, they
Know not the sole grace and mercy of God, neither do they under-
stand what the excellency is of Christ's merit. Thirdly, they per-
ceive not how that covenant of works is abolished to them which
are in Christ, as touching justification. Fourthly, they conceive
not that the only Covenant of Grace is made with mankind after the
fall, specially now after the incarnation of Christ in the gospel, and
that unto justification and life eternal. Fifthly, they see not that
the works of free-will, as they call them, if there were any such,
to be duties only and testimonies of thankfulness, according to the
first institution of the covenant of works, which be done by the
strength of nature, but ascribe some special meritorious virtue unto
them. Wherefore, we conclude concerning these men, that albeit
they be not just of one mind with those old Jews, against whom
the Apostle disputed in the Epistle to the Romans; yet they
hold much on their side, striving to defend that nature is in part
good and holy, so contending against the pure and only grace #ºn.
of God, and to divide justification and man’s salvation between
Christ and God's free grace and the virtues and works of nature:
whereas, notwithstanding, these two, nature and grace, can never
stand together in the work of our salvation. For whosoever shall
conjoin or make a mixture of grace and nature in this matter, shall
quite overthrow and extinguish grace, which either is alone or not
at all, as Rom. xi. 6, If it be of grace, it is no more of works ; for,
otherwise, grace were no more grace. And in the Epistle to the Ga-
latians, he doth purposely dispute against those Jews which did
couple together, in the matter of justification, the gifts and works
of nature with Christ, with the grace of God and with the gospel.
And these Jews (as I judge) the Papists seem most to resemble—
I mean those Jews against whom he wrote in the Epistle to the
Galatians. For in that other Epistle to the Romans, he disputeth
against such Jews as did openly deny Christ and reject him : but
to the Galatians, his disputation is against such Jews as were not
content with Christ only, but would have Christ and the law
joined together. Thus far of the comparison between Paul and us
on the one side, the old Jews and the Papists on the other.
60 A TREATISE OF
Now, because it will be demanded, what Paul thought of the
Works of regeneration, and what we, and what the adversaries
think also ; therefore, I will touch this question in few words.
Here, then, some one will say, Did Paul, then, in that disputation to
the Romans and to the Galatians, oppugn the works of grace and
regeneration ? I answer, Paul's chief purpose in that disputa-
tion is against the works of nature, which the Jews thought to be
holy and just, and also meritorious : he did not reject the works of
regeneration, as they be duties and testimonies of thankfulness
unto God, but in that respect commends them, Rom. vi. vii. viii.
chapters, and in other places. But, as touching the cause of justi-
fication, he would not have these works, as we call them, of
regeneration, coupled with the grace of God, or with Christ, or with
faith, as any cause, or as part of any meritorious cause of salvation.
To this purpose, he saith, Rom. iv., that Abraham himself, being
regenerate, was not justified before God by any works of his
regeneration. And, Rom. vi., having commended the works of
sanctification, in the end, verse 23, where he attributeth death to
the merit of sin, he doth not there, notwithstanding, ascribe life
eternal to the merit of the works or fruits of sanctification; but when
he had said, that “the wages of sin is death,” he doth clearly
avouch it, that eternal life is the free gift of God in Christ Jesus.
In which place, if the Apostle had been of this judgment, that the
works of regeneration be in any respect meritorious, assuredly he
would not so pass over the commendation of the works of regenera-
tion, specially for that this here is principally intended. Where-
fore, the Apostle to the Romans, so rejecting the works of nature,
which the covenant of works requireth, yet he understandeth also
all kinds of works, moral and natural, going before grace and faith ;
as also, all ceremonial works, and the very fruits of regeneration
which follow grace and faith; that faith only, Christ only, grace
only, may herein be all in all. Thus far of St Paul's judgment.
We at this day are of one and the same mind with the Apostle
concerning works of regeneration. Our adversaries, granting
there be such works, ascribe too much unto them; for they will not
GOD'S EFFECTUAL CALLING. 61
have them to be duties and testimonies only of thankfulness unto
God, but also that they be meritorious causes of that justification
which they call the second justification.
Again, we are to remember, that the adversaries' judgment con-
cerning works of regeneration is, that they proceed not only from
infused grace and first justice, as they speak, but also from
nature and free-will, which works together with that justice, in
respect whereof also they account good works meritorious, as
was before showed; so ascribing their good works in part to that
their first grace, and in part to free-will. And thus far of this
comparison ; whereby it appears, whether we or our adversaries
have the better or the more sound judgment concerning both
covenants, of the grounds of both, nature, grace and Christ; as
also of the effect of both, which we call man's justification. And,
lastly, for that this is the most fundamental point of true religion,
we may hereby discern also whether we or the adversaries have
the religion and worship of God the more purely and soundly estab-
lished amongst us.
CHAPTER VI.
OF THE WRITTEN WORD, OR OF THE WRITTEN COVENANT OF GOD.
THE Word in both covenants was for a long time in the world,
even from Adam's time till Moses, unwritten, delivered as from
hand to hand, and continued by a lively voice. For I pass over such
matters as Joseph records to be engraven in columns before the
flood, as also the Apocryphals of Henoch.
And when as in continuance of time corruptions grew by these
traditions, and the purity of the doctrine of the covenant could not
thus be preserved, and that God would no longer follow the former
course only, he began in Moses' time to ordain and to publish
another form, to wit this, to preserve and to continue the purity of
62 A TREATISE OF
2 Tim. iii. 16.
the celestial doctrine in written books, approved and sealed by
divine authority and testimony; and the more to commend his
Written Word unto men in all succeeding ages, God himself with
his own hand did first write in tables of stone the words of the Deca-
logue. Next, after this, he gave it in charge unto Moses, that he
should afterwards write and record all things which he received at
God's own mouth; and that the people of God might be assured
that the books of Moses came not by man's will, but were given
by divine inspiration, the Lord sealed and testified these writings
to be his heavenly oracles, by many great wonders, before they
were written, when they were written, and after they were
written. And Moses wrote the word of both covenants; of both,
I say, legal and evangelical : but whereas he gave but, as it were,
the first lineaments of the evangelical covenant, he set forth the
legal covenant clearly and in full measure. For the legal covenant
in the books of Moses is clearly recommended and urged, but the
evangelical more darkly set before us. For which cause all the
doctrine of Moses is said to be legal: “The law came by Moses,”
(John i. 17.)
After Moses, God stirred up his prophets, whose writings also he
confirmed with his great miracles, and gave them great authority.
Yet were they not to set forth anything diverse or contrary to
the doctrine of Moses and the Patriarchs, nor to publish anything
but what was grounded in the books of Moses; but by divine revela-
tion they did add more clear interpretations, as the morning star
of the New Testament did more nearly approach. These holy men
wrote the sum and chief heads of their doctrine, even so much as
God himself thought meet to be reserved for posterity. And these
records, being written, were laid up with the holy books of Moses,
which were kept in the side of the ark. (Josh. xxiv. 26.)
Finally, after the incarnation of Christ, the evangelical doctrine
or the gospel, first began for certain years to be delivered by voice
and to be preached by Christ himself; and then after by his
apostles; and, lastly, the same was written by the apostles. The
works of God’s law and nature are commanded in the books of the
GOD'S EFFECTUAL CALLING. 63
New Testament, and the very moral law is expounded by Christ
himself, and freed from the leaven and corruption of the Pharisees;
but the works of the law and nature are not recommended, to
the end that by them men might be justified and saved; but they
be commended, either to prepare men to entertain grace offered,
or to quicken them to proceed and grow in grace received, as is
before showed. Again, the works of regeneration be commanded,
not for justification, but as testimonies of that justification which is
by faith, and of thankfulness unto God: for which cause, so soon
as the Apostle hath taught the doctrine of faith, he descends to
the works of the law, teaching men that their life and conversation
must be worthy that high calling, whereunto we are called in
Christ Jesus, (see Eph. iv. 1; 1 Thess. ii. 12.) But faith in Christ
is that which is principally required in all the books of the New
Testament. And thus far generally of the Written Word of the
COVenant.
CHAPTER VII.
TEIE NUMBER OF TEIE CONTROVERSIES WHICH ARE CONCERNING THE
WRITTEN worD : AND OF THE FIRST CONTROVERSY, WHETHER
THE SCRIPTURE BE THE WORD OF GOD.
THERE be two kinds of controversies concerning the holy Scrip-
ture. The first kind is of such controversies as be more essential,
that is, which concern the very essence (if I may so speak) or
being of the Scripture. The second kind is of those controversies
which be more accidental, and do not so nearly concern the essence of
the Scripture. Of the first kind there are ten controversies or ques-
tions. The first is, “Whether the Scripture, prophetical and apos-
tolical, be the word of God?” The second is, “How it may appear
that this Scripture is God’s word * The third is, “Of the antiquity
of it.” The fourth is, “Of the perspicuity or clearness of it.”
64 A TREATISE OF
God's written
Word.
The fifth is, “Of the simplicity or plainness of it.” The sixth is,
“Of the vivacity, quickening power, or life of it.” The seventh
is, “Of the simple and evident necessity of it.” The eighth is,
“Of the perfection and sufficiency thereof, that it is sufficient and
perfect in itself, without all unwritten verities or traditions what-
soever.” The ninth is, “Whether the Scripture may be the judge
to determine all controversies?” The tenth is, “Whether the
Scriptures, prophetical and apostolical, must have the chief place
of excellency, and be in authority above the Church’
As for those eight controversies which follow the two first, they
are touching the properties of the holy Scripture; and these, when
we shall have proved that the Scripture is God’s word, will appear
evidently, for they are necessary consequents of that theorem.
For grant we this, that the Scripture is God’s word, then these
things must follow necessarily ; first, that it is most ancient ;
secondly, most clear; thirdly, most simple or pure ; fourthly, most
powerful; fifthly, most necessary; sixthly, most perfect; seventhly,
the greatest and best judge of all controversies without exception;
eighthly, most excellent. But for as much as the adversaries deny
these eight properties, therefore (as is aforesaid) there is of every
one of them a special controversy.
We are then to handle these controversies in order. And, first,
of that which by due right and naturally is to have the first place,
whether the Scripture be the word of God? The adversaries grant,
generally, that the holy Scripture is the word of God; but, when
they are brought from the general to a special, they break from us.
To speak more plainly, the word of God at this day is twofold in
the Church of God, 1. immediate, 2. mediate. I call that the im-
mediate word of God which doth proceed immediately out of God’s
own mouth ; and that I call mediate which the Lord speaks by his
preacher or minister. We hold, then, and avouch, that the holy
Scripture is that immediate and primary word of God, and to be unto
us instead of that first immediate and lively voice of God himself;
yea, that it serves us in place not only of that lively voice of God,
but also of the secret and unsearchable mind of God, and of God's
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 65
unspeakable mysteries. Our arguments are these : 1. For that this
is the very will of God. They have Moses (saith he) and the Pro-
phets; that is, the books of Moses and the Prophets. (Luke xvi. 29.)
2. If we had nothing to supply the defect of the lively voice of God,
then doubtless our state were worse than that of the old Church of the
Jews, which had the oracles of God; but it is against all light of reason Rom iii. 1, 2.
so to affirm. 3. Our third reason is this ; the first ground of our
faith must be either the lively voice of God, or the very mind and
counsel of God, or something to supply the want of God’s lively
voice, and of the secret mind of God, which must also be unto us
no less certain and firm than if we heard God himself speak, or did
behold and read the very mind of God, yea, the very divine oracles
written in God's own breast. But now we have not the lively voice
of God; now we see not the secret mind of God. Therefore it
must follow that we have something to supply the want of the
lively voice of God, even means to reveal unto us the secret mind
of God; and nothing can do this but the sacred Scripture. There-
fore, God's holy written word is, and must be, unto us as the very
voice, and as the very mind or will of God himself manifested unto us.
The fourth reason : The Scripture contains all those things which
God hath spoken in elder ages, and what God himself hath decreed
in his secret counsel, so far as is meet for us to know, concerning
our life and salvation: Ergo, &c. Thus far of the immediate word
of God. The mediate voice of God, we call the voice of the holy
and true Church of God; for albeit men speak, yet the word
spoken is the word of God himself.
Here the adversaries rise up and contend, that the voice of the
Church must have the priority of excellency, and that it supplieth
the want of God's lively voice, and the manifestation of his mind,
rather, or better than the Scripture: “For,” say they, “the voice of Popish ob-
jection con-
the Church is a Scripture written, not with the pen of any scribe, ºne
testimony
but by God's own finger in the heart of the Church; therefore, theº."
º º - t] Ch
voice or testimony of the Church ought to be accounted the ..."
• Q º tº a tº & e g Scripture.
principal voice of God. For it is a lively voice, proceeding from pture
the living heart of the Church, wherein God hath engraven all
WOL. I. F.
66 A TREATISE OF
truth with the finger of his own Spirit; whereas the Scriptures of
the Prophets and Apostles, albeit they were delivered and spoken
by God himself, yet they were not written by God's own hand,
but by the Prophets and Apostles, which were the penmen. Again,
they were not written in the living hearts of men, but in papers
and books, or tables. Hence, therefore, it followeth that this
Scripture, which is found in the heart of the Church, is the princi-
pal Scripture of God, and that the voice of the holy Church is that
most excellent voice of God, and ought to be unto us as the imme-
diate voice of God, and instead of the secret counsel of God.”
I answer, true it is, the testimony of the Church is a lively
voice, proceeding from a living heart, sanctified by the Holy Ghost,
for we speak of the true Church. But first, I say, that the only'
Scripture, prophetical and apostolical, is to be accounted that
Scripture which was written by God's own finger, and that imme-
diate word of God. Next, I say, that the heart of the Church is
taught and sanctified by the spirit of the Scripture; and that the
Scripture, which is in the heart of the Church, is nothing else but
a certain transcript, that so I may speak, or a copy, which the Holy
Ghost hath written in our hearts, according to that ancient and
authentical copy, which is the holy Scripture. For the Holy Ghost
teacheth the Church nothing now but that which is written, and doth,
by the Scripture, after a sort, beget the Church; and the Scripture
is the mother, the Church the daughter; the Scripture is the
mistress, the Church is the scholar. Thirdly, I add, that the know-
ledge of the truth which is in the heart of the Church by means of
the Scripture, is not so perfect nor so absolute as is the Holy
Scripture. And, lastly, I say, that the Church being enlightened
and renewed but in part, may err from the truth, even in the
greatest matter of weight, and that it doth err, so often as it
forsakes the canon and rule of the sacred Scripture.
Their former assertion being thus cast down, it is evident that
the voice of the Church,--I understand here the true Church only,
not that whorish Church of Rome, the voice of the Church, Isay,
| i. e., The Scripture alone. Scripturam solam.
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 67
is not that primary and most excellent word of God, nor ought to
be unto us instead of the lively and immediate voice of God, nor
to be reputed for God's mind and counsel; but this prerogative is
due only to the sacred Scripture. I add, further, that if thou doest
first not so much respect the truth itself, which the Church speak-
eth, as the instruments of the speech uttered, which are men ;
next, if ye compare the voice of the Church speaking with the
sacred Scripture itself, it doth not deserve at all to be called by the
name of God’s word, but may more properly be called the
word and testimony of man. For Christ himself calls that testi-
mony which John the Baptist gave of him, the testimony of man.
“I receive not,” (saith he,) “or desire not, the testimony of man,”
(John v. 34.) Be it so, that the testimony of the Church be true,
and agreeable to the holy Scripture, notwithstanding, it is truly
called a human testimony, whether ye respect the men which speak,
or compare their testimony with that which doth proceed from the
mouth of God and Christ himself.
But it may be replied, that the very Apostles and Prophets
which wrote and spake all these things which we have in the
Scriptures were men in like manner; and, therefore, all the Scrip-
tures are but a human testimony. I answer, that I deny not all is
objected, if we were to esteem the words or writings of an Apostle
or Prophet as they are instruments and ministers, or if this were
to be compared with the very lively voice of God and Christ himself.
For in respect of the instruments, if we compare the words or
writings of these men with the words and writings of God himself,
theirs, I say, must come after and give place unto this, and must
bear the name of a human testimony; for so the testimony of John
Baptist himself, as being an instrument in comparison of Christ the
Lord of life, was called the record of man. Wherefore, when we
avouch that the prophetical and apostolical Scripture is the imme-
diate testimony of God himself, we make no comparison with the
lively voice of God himself, neither do we so much respect what
organs the Holy Ghost used to set forth the Scriptures; but we
consider the matter itself, and the divine oracles which be written,
and we ponder in what estimation God himself will have us to
68 A TREATISE OF
accept the sacred Scripture, not as the writings and sayings of
men, but as the writings and words of God himself. And we con-
sider this also, as in a comparison made with the Church. For, to
use that comparison again, the voice of the Scripture is God's own
voice; but the voice of the Church of Christ is called a human testi-
mony, as the word or writing of a Prophet or an Apostle, compared
with the lively voice of God, is called the record of man, as Christ
himself testifieth, (John v. 34.) And thus far of the first controversy.
CHAPTER VIII.
HOW IT MAY APPEAR THAT THE SCRIPTURE IS THE WORD OF GOD.
THE second controversy is, By what argument may it appear that
the Scripture is the Word of God? Like as then the first
Question was this, Whether the Scripture be God’s word 2 so
the question in hand is this, How and by what evidence this
may appear, that the Scripture is God’s word P. To this I an-
swer on this manner: That we have no need simply of any other
light, or of any one special evidence to demonstrate this matter,
but that very light which is in the Scripture. For the Scripture
(being the first and immediate word of God) is of authority suffi-
cient in itself, and so likewise of itself most clear and evident,
scriptura est and the only cause of all that light which is in the Church and in
oëvrázrua-
TO.g.
S. l
the hearts of men. For like as the light of the sun is not per-
ceived nor to be seen by means of any other light, for that it so
far exceeds all other bodily and external light, so, that spiritual
light of the Scripture hath no need in itself of any other light to
set forth the same, for that of all spiritual lights to enlighten the
mind withal, it is the most bright and most beautiful in the world.
But whereas evidences and demonstrations be here demanded for
the proof of this matter, to confirm the Scripture to be God's word,
* By this letter, I presume, Holland means to point out the Simile in the
text.
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 69
that is, to be the very light, the cause of this doubtfulness is in
ourselves, for that we be so blear-eyed and so blind by nature.
Wherefore, the arguments which are brought for this purpose add
no light to the light of the Scripture, which is of its own nature so
clear, and cannot be made to shine more bright by any addition,
but all serve to this end, to make that thing manifest unto us
which is most evident in itself, and that our eyes may be opened
to see that most full and most glorious light of the sacred Scrip-
ture: that is, to behold the divine majesty of God shining bright,
and speaking unto us in the holy Scripture. Like as if a man were S.
to prove to a blind man that the sun did shine, he would not pro-
duce arguments to commend the excellency of the light of the sun,
but rather provide such things as whereby, if it were possible, he
might open the eyes of the blind, that with his own eyes he might
look on the glorious light of the sun. Wherefore, in a word, what-
soever arguments men ask of us to demonstrate the light of the
Scripture, they ought not to be demanded because of any defect in
the Scripture, but in respect of us, because we be so blind, having
need of all arguments and helps every way to open our eyes, that
our sight may be quickened to behold this glorious light.
The arguments and helps whereby our eyes may be opened to
behold the light of the Scripture, or God speaking and shining in
the Scripture—these arguments, I say, which the godly and learned
use for this purpose, be not of one sort, but many in number. But
if the Holy Ghost, speaking in the Scripture, do not first of all Eph.1.16, 17.
inspire our minds, and open the eyes of our understanding, for he
alone can do it, assuredly it is but lost labour to speak of any
other argument or help; if we be not taught of God, and by his Isaiah.
Holy Spirit, all other means shall profit us nothing at all. Where-
fore, the first and most principal cause to effect this, that we may
behold the light of the Scripture, so bright in itself, must be the
Holy Ghost teaching us inwardly in our hearts, and opening our
understanding, that we may behold that light of the Scripture, and
may acknowledge the voice of God, and of Christ himself, speaking
in the Scripture. And the Holy Ghost also himself in this work
70 A TREATISE OF
gives no new light to the Scripture, which is clear and glorious in
itself, as is aforesaid, but enlightens our minds, to this end, that we
may see the great light of the sacred Scripture. Again, the Holy
Ghost, in this great work of our illumination, effecteth it by cer-
tain means and instruments, whereby it pleaseth him to work in our
hearts and minds.
The means which the Holy Ghost useth for this work are of
two kinds. The first is internal; the second is external. The in-
ward mean is in the very Scripture itself; the outward is without
the Scripture. The internal mean is the principal organ or instru-
ment of God's Spirit in this work, and it is that very light which
Hºw the ... shineth in the Scripture. The Holy Ghost, then, doth first of all
Iloly Ghost
*...* open the eyes of our understanding, by the light of the Scripture,
!.” to discern that light of the Scripture, so bright in itself, and so
unknown unto us. And he cleareth our understanding, to see the
light of the Scripture, by the very Scripture itself and by the
º,... light of the Scripture, many ways. For partly he effecteth this
flºº" by producing certain testimonies of Scripture which plainly testify
he Scrip-
flººri of this great light of the Scripture, and of God speaking in the
1. Scripture, as that place, All Scripture is given by divine inspiration ;
2. (2 Tim. iii. 16;) partly by suggesting into us, that we observe
3. the spiritual matters which are therein described; partly by ad-
monishing that we note the spiritual words whereby the same
4. spiritual matters are expressed and set before us; partly by warn-
ing us to observe the truth of the divine oracles by the complement
of the prophecies. Again, he sets before us the beautiful harmony
of the Scripture in the Old and New Testament, the one sweetly
a testifying of the other. And here he omitteth not the miracles
which he recordeth therein, whereby the celestial doctrine had in
5
the beginning a confirmation. He putteth us also in mind of the
martyrs which sealed the same truth with their blood, as we read
in the same Scripture. By these means, and such like, the Spirit
teacheth us out of the very Scripture, that the sacred Scripture is
God's word, by clear evidence manifesting that great and excellent
light which is in the Scripture. Add also unto the aforesaid means,
GOD'S EFFECTUAL CALLING. 71
the worth and holiness of those men which wrote the Scriptures,
as the same is testified and recorded in the Scriptures. And this
is the internal and principal mean and instrument of the Holy
Ghost, whereby he teacheth us and breedeth faith in our hearts,
whereby we be certainly persuaded that this Scripture is the very
word of God.
There are also other means without the Scripture, whereby the ºn.
means to
Spirit proveth the same thing; as the constancy of the martyrs, g. to
which daily seal with their blood the truth of this heavenly doc- ºts
trine; and the persecution raised by the enemies of the Church
against it, and the enmity of Satan against it, and the preservation
of the divine oracles of God unto our times; and, to be short, the
testimony of the true Church of God for it. All these are without
or beside the Scripture, and give us a secondary kind of demon-
stration, whereby the Holy Ghost worketh also, as it pleaseth him,
and openeth the eyes of our understanding, enlightening us to see
and hear God himself speaking and shining in the Scripture.
But here we be to observe, that the Holy Ghost doth not beget ºr
faith in our hearts, properly and principally, by this second kind of...,
e * * the Church
external means,—for the proper and principal instrument of God to .
Sation of the
breed faith is the very word of God himself, for it must be, ne- º:
paretn us to
cessarily, either the lively voice of God or the sacred Scripture, º
which serveth us instead of the lively voice of God himself, but.
either prepares our hearts only to receive faith afterwards by the *****
word of God, or to confirm the same in some sort, being already
engendered in our hearts by God's word. For this cause, this
second kind of means sometimes is sent before the voice of God in
the Scripture, whereby the Holy Ghost otherwhiles makes men's
minds ready to entertain faith and grace offered. This we read of
Augustine, for he speaks it of himself, I would not have believed
the gospel, but that the authority of the Catholic Church moved
me thereunto ; by which words he meaneth, that when he was a
Manichee, he was prepared by the authority and testimony of the
Church to believe the gospel. Afterwards, notwithstanding, the
same Holy Spirit which thus prepared him by the testimony of the
7
2
A TREATISE OF
Church,-Isay, the same Spirit did beget faith in Augustine's heart
by the very Scripture of the gospel, whereby he did believe that
the gospel was the very word of God. For this cause he speaks
ºnes elsewhere of himself. And let us follow them (saith he) which do
invite us first to believe that which we cannot behold as yet, that
being strengthened by faith itself, we may be worthy to understand
...” what we believe, not by the relation of men, but by the grace of
God himself inwardly confirming and enlightening our minds. So
the woman of Samaria, (John iv. 39,) as a member of the Church,
did, by her kind of preaching, prepare the Samaritans to the faith
of Christ, and they having heard Christ himself, said to the
Jºhn IV,42, woman, We believe no longer because of thy sayings, for we have heard
1 Pet. iii. 1, 2, , . tº gº º º &
Win then him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of
with your
conversation,
tºº" the world. By which words they plainly testified, that they were
.."" prepared only by the woman's testimony to embrace the faith, and
that faith was engendered in their hearts by the powerful voice of
Christ himself. Wherefore, it is clear that sometimes this kind of
mean and argument, as is aforesaid, goes before faith, is begotten
in the heart to prepare us. And sometimes this follows faith for con-
firmation. And sometimes, also, this kind of argument [both] goes
before faith, and follows after it: it goes before, Isay, for preparation ;
it follows after for confirmation. For the Spirit teacheth us many
ºn ways, applying himself to divers men in divers manners, as it
seemeth good unto himself, and as men's infirmities do require.
And here we be to observe, that there is no absolute necessity
of this secondary kind of argument, which is external and less
principal, to beget faith in us; for it ought to suffice us, if the
Spirit teach us only by God’s word. But to help our weakness the
same Spirit addeth the other secondary kind of argument, as
Christ plainly teacheth us, (John v.,) where he saith, the testi-
mony of John Baptist concerning him was not simply necessary,
but that God so provided to help their weakness and unbelief;
(verse 33,) John gave testimony to the truth, but I desire not the tes-
timony of man. Nevertheless, these things I speak, that ye may be
saved. And that John's testimony was but a secondary argu-
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 73
ment only, and that Christ's own record of himself was the first,
he showeth plainly in the words following; (verse 36,) But I have
a greater witness than the witness of John ; for the works which the
Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness
of me that the Father sent me. And this is our judgment con-
cerning this argument, whereby we prove the Scripture to be the
word of God, and our answer to the question, wherefore it is so as
we avouch it.
What the Papists think in this matter, it is easily seen by their ſºlº
Papists prove
words and writings. Their judgment briefly is this : The mean ..."
and principal argument, and, in a manner, the only way with them “
to demonstrate the Scripture to be God’s word, is the testimony of
the Church, not only the Catholic, as they speak, but also those of
their church which have preserved the faith, as they speak, by con-
tinual successions from the Apostles unto our times; and here they
understand principally the Popes, who, as they say, succeeded
Peter and his chair. These men will have the Church the judge
and interpreter of all Scriptures, from whose judgment it may not
be lawful for any man to depart for an appeal to any other judge.
And they ascribe this dignity and prerogative to the testimony of
the Church, because they will have the Scripture, which is written
in the heart of the Church, to be the principal Scripture, and that
we account and esteem of the voice of the Church as the very
lively voice of God himself; as if God now spake first principally
in his Church, and by the voice of his Church. If they will have
it so, that the voice of the Church be the primary voice of God
and the primary Scripture of God, it is evident that they deem
the greatest light we have is to be found in the voice of the Church,
and the same to be most clear and demonstrative, not only to us,
but also in and by itself; and, therefore, that this light enlightens
the sacred Scripture, not in respect of us only, but in respect of
themselves' also. For which cause one of them hath said, that theºlº
}\hey of
Scripture is of no more validity, without the authority of the Church,”
* Incorrect. It should be: In respect of its own nature also. The original
is: Sed etiam ratione sui. P. 74.
74 A TREATISE OF
than AEsop's Fables. For the voice of the Church being unto them
the primary voice of God in all respects, forasmuch as it is lively
and vocal, and for this cause both by nature and to us most mani-
fest; it followeth, according to their judgment, that it yields light
unto the Scripture, not only in respect of us, but also in respect of
the Scripture itself; and yet is it in verity but a certain secondary
Scripture, and a certain secondary voice." For, as they avouch it,
the voice of the Church is as God's own voice sounding from
heaven, serving to confirm the voice of the Scripture, which now
is but man's voice only, and to ratify and make authentical the very
Scripture, as being written but by certain scribes, and published only
by the hands of men. This must be the consequent of their prin-
ciples, or conclusion of their premises, albeit other men be of
another judgment.
As for ourselves, like as we deny the conclusion which they infer
upon the former principles, so we reject also their very principles.
For we deny and refuse their first ground, to wit, that the voice of
the Church is to be accounted the lively voice of God himself, and
that the Scripture, written in the heart of the Church, is to be
accounted for that Scripture which was written by the very finger
of God. And we affirm, that the only prophetical and apostolical
Scripture is to be esteemed as the lively voice of God; we avouch
it, I say, that this prophetical and apostolical Scripture only serveth
us instead of that Scripture which was written by God's own finger.
We add, also, that the sacred Scripture is unto us a book of revela-
tion of those divine mysteries which were hidden in God’s own
breast from eternity; for this is the very will of God, that we attend
on him speaking in the Scripture as it were in his own lively voice.
They have (saith he) Moses and the Prophets, (Luke xvi. ver. 29;)
that is, the books of Moses and the Prophets. And God will [not]
have this Scripture in no less account than that Scripture which he
wrote in times past with his own finger in tables of stone. The
voice of the Church—I mean the true Church, not the lying
1 Incorrect. The last clause should be : Which is a certain secondary writ-
ing, and a certain Secondary voice.
GOD’s EFFECTUAL CALLING. 75
papistical synagogue—is but as the voice of the handmaid or as the
voice of a crier, which is to publish and to proclaim that voice of
God, full of excellency, speaking in the Scripture. But the Scrip-
ture in the heart of the Church, that is, the maxims of God's
truth written in the hearts of the faithful, they be nothing else but
a certain secondary Scripture, taken out by the Holy Ghost out of
that primary and most sacred Scripture, and engraven in the minds
of men. For how much, think you, of that full measure of the
prophetical and apostolical Scripture is there taken forth and
engraven in our minds 2 I say, that if all men's hearts were bound
together, yet all they could not comprehend all those things fully
and perfectly, which be recorded in the prophetical and apostolical
Scriptures. For the Catholic Church, so long as it is conversant
on the earth, is not capable of all that light which shineth in the
sacred Scriptures of the Apostles and the Prophets. Let their first
principle be thus beaten down, and their corollary or second con-
clusion, to wit, that the voice of the Church is most manifest both
in itself and unto us, will fall to the ground of its own accord; and
so both principles being shaken, their conclusion, which they infer,
is of no strength to stand, but must fall away.
CHAPTER IX.
OF THE FIRST PROPRIETY | OF THE SACRED SCRIPTURE.
WE are now to proceed, and to make it manifest that the holy
Scripture is of greatest antiquity; and this is the first propriety
before ascribed to the Scripture. Here, first, we be to find out the
divers acceptations of this word Scripture. This word Scripture may
The first pro-
priety of the
Scripture,
mostancient.
Acceptation
of the \vol (l
be taken either for the matter only, and the very substance which scripture.
is contained in the words and letters; or not only for the matter
and substance, but also for the very writing itself, or the form
* Proprietas is Rollock's word, i.e., peculiar characteristic ; in which sense IIol-
land uses Propriety, interchangeably, as will be seen, with Property.
76 w A TREATISE OF
wherein that substance is expressed and set before us. Now, if by
this word Scripture ye understand the very substance itself, it is
without all controversy that the Scripture is most ancient, because
it is the substance of those divine oracles which not only patriarchs
and prophets have spoken, but also God himself uttered; which
things also were hidden in God's mind from eternity. But if ye
understand by this word, not only the substance, but the very
writing, and in this respect also, the Scripture may be said to be
most ancient. For, as touching the prophetical and apostolical
Scriptures, in respect also of the writing and manner of revealing
of them, as we said often before, it is God's will that we so esteem
them, not only as the lively voice of the Prophets and Apostles,
nor only as the lively voice of God himself, or as a book written
with his own hand, as the Decalogue was set down with his own
finger in tables of stone, but also that we so accept them as the
very mysteries, and, if I may so speak, as the very divine notions
which were engraven in God's own mind from eternity.
To clear this point a little. The verity kept secret in God’s mind
from eternity was in time manifested many ways, or in divers
forms; for it was revealed partly by the lively voice of God him-
self, partly by the voice of the Patriarchs, Prophets and Apostles,
to pass by Angels in silence, and partly also by the Scripture
which was written by the Prophets and Apostles. The lively and
immediate voice of God did cease long since; neither have we that
now to es: copy which God himself wrote. The Patriarchs also, and the Pro-
teem of the
written Word
of God.
phets, and the Apostles, have ceased to speak; the writings only
of the Prophets and Apostles remain to this day. Wherefore this
we hold as necessary unto faith, that we accept these writings or
books, first, instead of the lively voice of the Prophets and Apostles.
Next, in place of the lively voice of God himself. Thirdly, of the
Scripture written with God's own finger. Fourthly, and lastly, as
that holy verity and divine mysteries which are recorded in God's
own breast; which oracles being simply, without comparison, of
greatest antiquity, it is very manifest that the prophetical and
apostolical Scripture is after a sort most ancient. For what may
GOD'S EFFECTUAL CALLING. 77
be avouched of the lively voice of God himself, or of the oracles of
his mind, the same in some respect may be said of the Scripture
supplying untous their defect. For if I may truly say, in some sort iº.
the Scripture is the lively voice of God himself, do I not as trulyºnº
speak also in like manner, the Scripture is most ancient, forasmuch
as the voice of God is most ancient P But it shall suffice us to com-
mend the antiquity of Scripture, to consider the substance only of
the Scripture, which, without all controversy, is most ancient. But
the very Scripture and writing itself hath his excellency also, for
that the Scripture, in respect of the very writing, is said to be given
us also by divine inspiration. For there is not a jot or prick in the scripturaest
* , º © & º * - e. Seázvsva-
very writing which is not by the inspiration of God. T0g.
Here the adversaries take exception, and, as elsewhere often, so
here they prefer their Church before the Scripture, and they affirm
the Church is more ancient than the Scripture. For they say there A Popish ob-
was a Church two thousand full years before Moses, the first writer”
of the Scripture; and, since Christ's coming, the Church for many
years wanted the Scriptures. But that which hath been already
written, and is aforesaid, can easily solve this objection. For if we
understand by this word Scripture, not only the characters and
books, but also that substance and matter contained in them, for
we have the Prophets and Apostles speaking in the Scriptures, and
we have their lively voice, we have, I say, the lively voice of God
himself, and the very express mind of God contained in them ;—if,
I say, we understand by this word that substance, it cannot then
be denied but the Scripture is more ancient than the Church,
which was born not of mortal seed, but of immortal, even by the word
of God, who liveth and endureth for ever. (1 Pet. i. 23.) I say, the
premises well considered, it shall appear the Scripture is not only
more ancient than the Church, but to be of greatest antiquity, and
to have been with God from everlasting. But if by this word ye
understand both the matter and writing, in this respect also it shall
be no disparagement to avouch it to be of greater antiquity than
the Church, yea, to be most ancient, as we have at large before
showed. And thus far of the first property of the sacred Scripture,
and of the third controversy.
78 A TREATISE OF
All the Scrip-
ture clear
and cusy to
the Weakest
believer.
CHAPTER X.
OF THE SECOND PROPERTY OF THE SACRED scripTURE, wherE
IBEGINS THE FOURTH CONTROVERSY.
THE second property of the sacred Scripture is opened suffi-
ciently, in a manner, already, in the second controversy beforehandled.
This property is this, that the Scripture is most clear in itself, and
most easy to be understood: for, it being the very word of God, which
word every man must necessarily grant to be in itself most clear,
most manifest, and most perspicuous, whether you respect the
words or the matter contained in the words, if men will not offer
extreme injury to God’s Holy Spirit, assuredly it must follow, I
say, that the Holy Scripture is in itself and of itself, most clear
and evident in every part and in every respect. Of this great per-
spicuity of the Scripture, the Holy Ghost testifieth often. (Psalm
cxix. 105,) The word of the Lord is a lantern to my feet. (Psalm xix.9,)
The precept of the Lord (saith the Psalmist) is clear, and enlighteneth
the eyes. (Prov. vi. 23,) The commandment is a lantern, and the law is a
light. The Lord by the Prophet Isaiah (chap. xlv. 19) saith, I
have not spoken in secret: and, (2 Peter i. 19,) he saith, We have a
most sure word of the prophets, to the which ye do well that ye take
heed, as to a light that shineth in a dark place. Wherefore the whole
Scripture, and all places of the Scripture, are by themselves, and
in themselves, most manifest, most clear, and applied also to the
capacity of the vulgar sort, and of the most unlettered among the
people. For it is certain that the Lord in the Scriptures doth, as
it were, lisp with us. (John iii. 12,) If I have spoken to you of
earthly things, and you believe not; that is, I have spoken unto
you after an earthly and plain manner, and I have applied myself
to your capacity.
I have avouched that the sacred Scripture is in itself clear and
easy. True it is, if ye respect men as they are men, that is,
natural and carnal, the holy Scripture unto such is altogether
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 79
obscure and strange ; for the natural man doth not conceive the I Cor. II. 14.
things which appertain to the Spirit of God. But if ye consider the
spiritual man and such as be taught of God, I grant to such it is
partly obscure, because they be as yet in part carnal. And for this
cause the godly put up continually supplications unto God, as
feeling the reliques of their natural blindness and corruption, and
making requests, that the eyes of their understanding might be
opened; that they may behold the bright shining light of the
Scriptures and of every place and portion of the Scripture, being
otherwise most evident in itself. All the religious and godly in
their prayers are so far from laying any imputation of hardness and
obscurity on God’s word, that they do ever accuse and condemn
themselves and their own blindness and dulness.
And, albeit this be true that all the Scripture and all places of Note.
the Scripture be simply and in themselves most clear and easy, and
only dark and hard by reason of our corruption and blindness, yet
this cannot be denied, but that some places of Scripture be more
clear in themselves than others, more easy and more evident—as
those Scriptures concerning faith and manners, which be so neces-
sary unto Salvation. They be, I say, so clearly set down, so often
repeated and in so many places expounded, that we need not many
rules for interpretation or to find out the knowledge of them. But
these places also require the grace of God's Holy Spirit; for,
without him, spiritual things, which be most perspicuous and evi-
dent, cannot be understood of any man on earth. Wherefore he
that is ignorant of the most clear Scriptures, which do so much con-
cern his salvation, is altogether blind, and lieth as yet in the
woeful state of perdition, for so the Apostle speaketh, If that the
gospel be hid, it is hidden to them that are lost. (2 Cor. iv. 3, 4.)
As for other Scriptures which are more hard in appearance, for
that they do not so much concern the necessary articles of faith,
and rules of life and conversation, we may be ignorant of them
without danger of faith and salvation; albeit the knowledge of such
places might bring some light for the better understanding of the now to in-
Scriptures, which of necessity must be known concerning faith and *
hand Scrip-
manners. And we may attain some tolerable interpretation ofture,
80 A TREATISE OF
these Scriptures, analogical unto faith, if we observe those rules of
knowledge and interpretation which are commonly recommended
by the learned, ever making God's Holy Spirit our first and princi-
Rules, pal guide for our inward illumination and instruction. The rules
which follow this are but the means which the Holy Ghost useth,
and they are borrowed partly out of the Holy Scripture, as by con-
1, 2, ferer.ce of places of the Scripture, either the very same, or the like
3. in sense and phrase; partly from elsewhere, as of the common-places
4. a. of divinity, of the testimony of the Church, of the grammar itself,
G. especially the Hebrew and Greek; and good rules and helps are
had from rhetoric and logic, which teacheth us to consider not only
of simple arguments set apart, but also of the disposition and con-
nection of arguments, bound and knit together in axioms or pro-
positions, in syllogism and method. For logic teacheth us the
coherence of antecedents and consequents, which serveth not a
little for the unfolding and opening of hard places. And to pass
7 over other things, some little insight in ethics and physics, &c.,
may give some help hereunto. But, above all things, we must
remember to put up unto God continual and fervent prayers, to
open and to enlighten our minds by his Holy Spirit. If men
observe these means for the interpretation and understanding of
the Scriptures, and hard places of the Scripture, we shall not lightly
err from the truth of God.
The art of Here fume the adversaries, and endeavour to prove by many
º arguments, that the Scriptures in themselves and of themselves are
be ºbscure obscure, even in those places which are necessary, and appertain
to salvation, to this end and purpose, forsooth, to withdraw men's
minds from reading the Scriptures, that they may attend and trust
to their dreams, and that they may obtrude their glosses on the
Church, even what please them, and what for the most part they
prefer before the text itself; writhing, as it were, and drawing
rather the text of Scripture to be their gloss, than giving any light
of interpretation by or from the text itself." And here they contend
1 Obscure. It should be : Rather distorting the text of the Scriptures to
agree with their gloss, than drawing the interpretation from the text of the Scrip-
tlil'CŞ.
GOD’s EFFECTUAL CALLING. 81
against us with testimony, first, of the Scriptures themselves; next,
of the doctors and fathers of the Church; and, lastly, with argu-
ments of their own; all which may easily be answered, if we ob-
serve well the grounds before set down. It shall suffice us now to
hear only one or two of their arguments refuted.
They demand, whether for these Scriptures now extant of the
Old and New Testament, we have no need of commentaries, which
are now in the world very many, written by many men P I answer,
That the divine Scriptures of themselves have no need of the com-
ments and interpretations of men; for the Scriptures we account
them to be the lively voice of God himself: and what is there that
can make this voice more clear and evident in itself? Can either
man or angel speak any thing more clearly than God himself? or
doth God purposely affect obscurity ? both which to avouch is
very blasphemous. As for the commentaries or expositions of the £ºmen.
godly learned, which have spent some good time in the Scriptures
of God, we grant they help the ignorant and the common sort
very much, and that they serve well to dispel the clouds of our
natural corruption.
But this may seem a greater question and more doubtful, touch-
ing the preaching of God’s word, and the expounding of the Scrip-
tures, by pastors and preachers in the public assemblies: whether
preaching be not necessary—I mean the lively preaching of pastors
and teachers ? I answer, The Scriptures of God, which we account
as the lively voice of God, have no need of this means in them-
selves; I say, that God and his word in themselves need neither
this preaching nor interpretation of the Scriptures; but the neces-
sity of the ministry and of preaching is only in respect of us, and
of our blindness and ignorance, which be but as children, yea, as in-
fants in a manner, all the days we live on earth, Eph. iv. 20; 1 Cor.
xiii. 11. And when, as we shall become men in the world to COme,
then shall we have need of no such ministry : for we shall rest con- º
tented, being filled with that only light of God and of Christ, heaven. l]]
without any further instruction of men and angels. And thus far of
the second property of the Scripture, and of the fourth controversy.
VOL. I. F
82 A TREATISE OF
CHAPTER XI.
OF THE THIRD PROPERTY OF THE SACRED scripTURE, wherEOF
ARISETH THE FIFTH CONTROVERSY.
THE third property of the sacred Scripture is this: It is most
iºd- plain and pure, whether ye respect words or phrase; neither hath
it any ambiguity or doubtfulness in it. This property differs from
the former herein, for whereas perspicuity extends itself, and con-
cerns words and matter; this simplicity or plainness, as I may so
speak, is of words only. This we avouch, then, that the sacred
Scripture is of itself most single and plain, void of all ambiguity
ºn- and amphibology, or that it containeth nothing doubtful in one
speech, place which is not expressed in another, if there be any obscurity
in it. For the word of the Lord and his Spirit be ever single and
sincere; neither doth God at any time speak to catch men with
ambiguous and doubtful speeches, as do devils and sophisters; but
to teach men his holy truth. For the Spirit of truth leadeth us into
all truth, John xvi. 13. And the Scripture is given of God by
inspiration, and is the very word of God, as is before showed.
Wherefore, if we will not offer God extreme injury, we must neces-
If the Sºº-sarily grant that the Scripture in itself is most plain and simple in
tures SCCII)
doubtful, con- º e © e e º e o;
.." sense and signification. I say, the Scripture in itself is plain, as
3..." touching the sense: for if there be any ambiguity in any words of
Scripture, that diversity or darkness may not be imputed to the
Scripture, but to the blindness or ignorance of men, even of such
also, which do not of any evil purpose of heart pervert the Scrip-
ture. For there be many which impiously wrest the same to the
one side and the other, when as they know right well, notwithstand-
ing, the sense of the same Scripture is only one, plain and evident.
To approve this plainness and simplicity of the Scriptures, first the
Son of God himself, in his disputations against Satan and all his
adversaries, borroweth hence his weapons, by his own example
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 83
*.
recommending the sacred Scriptures to all men. Next after him
the Apostles and their successors, and the Fathers themselves have
drawn their arguments from the sacred Scriptures against heretics,
both for confirmation of truth and confutation of error.
The adversaries here contend against this property of the sacred
Scripture, and they hold that that is doubtful, ambiguous, and
blasphemously report that it hath a nose of wax, and may be turned Alutº instar.
here and there : For which cause they affirm it is the book of
heretics, and that of it spring heresies, and that all men seek to
maintain their errors by it. But these blasphemies are easily
answered by that which is before showed. For this ambiguity and
flexibleness is not to be imputed to the Scripture, which is given
of God by divine inspiration, and serveth us instead of God’s own
voice; but must be ascribed either to the ignorance or malice, or
malapertness of men, who either cannot apprehend the simple and
true sense of Scripture, or maliciously pervert and turn the same
into a strange sense.
Here they object, that the Scripture is full of tropes, allegories, ob.
parables, words of divers significations, amphibological sentences,
visions, all which have their ambiguity. I answer, That this matter A.
may the better be cleared, we are to look a little more soundly into
it. The ambiguity which is contrary unto simplicity, being in the
words and not in the matter—for the words are ambiguous, and
not the matter—let us reduce all ambiguity which is in the words
into five principal heads. For, first, there be simple or common Five princi-
words of divers acceptations: secondly, there be tropical or figu-" heads
rative words: thirdly, there be whole speeches or sentences which
carry a doubtful signification : fourthly, there be allegorical
speeches consisting of the continuation of tropes: fifthly, there be
also typical words and sentences, concerning types and figures.
Of all these, this I say generally, that in all such places the
Holy Ghost hath but one only simple sense and meaning. For as
touching words of divers significations, if any such words be found
in Scripture in the originals, Hebrew and Greek, (as that cannot be
otherwise, but there must be such in the Scriptures,) first, I say,
84 A TREATISE OF
that such words have but one signification only in such places, and
that the Holy Ghost purposeth and intendeth but one thing by
them. For the Holy Ghost desireth not to use any fallacion or
How to un- Sophistication. Next, I answer, That we may deprehend that one
derstand a tº e e te © e
º, signification, and that one plain meaning of the word, we desire
jºid find, either by the drift of the Holy Ghost in that place or text,
where any such word is, or by conference of other places of Scrip-
ture where the like word is to be found; or by other Scriptures,
expressing the same sense and matter in other words; or by obser-
vation of grammatical accidence, accents, points, or pricks, and
such like. And where we find tropes and words borrowed and
drawn from their proper and native signification in any text of
Scripture, I say that these such words are used by the Holy
Ghost purposely, to express in a more significant and lively manner
but one sense and meaning. As where it is said, “This is my body,”
by the metonymy, which is the word “body,” the Spirit speaketh
more significantly than if he had said, “This is a sign of my body :”
for by that metonymical phrase, the Holy Ghost plainly avoucheth
the sacramental union which is of the sign and of the thing signi-
fied. Next, I say, if the trope seem somewhat obscure and strange,
that ye may find the signification of the same trope by a word of
proper signification, either in the same Scripture, or in some other
Scripture where the like trope may be found.
A sentence. If ye meet in Scripture with a sentence seeming ambiguous, first
in Scripture
º:* be well assured that God's Spirit doth not purposely speak doubt-
fully, as sophisters do, but hath ever one single and plain meaning;
but men do both give and receive an evil construction of the con-
text, either ignorantly or maliciously. Next, I say, that other
places of Scripture do more clearly set forth the self-same matter.
Finally, if you find allegories in Scripture, of them this I affirm,
that first they serve for illustration: next, that they have but one
signification or sense; and the same is either manifest, and needeth
no further exposition ; or if it be obscure, it is more clearly
A typical expressed somewhere else in the Scripture. And as for Scripture
speech in sº
Saintuit, concerning types, I say of them also, first, that they have but one
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING." 85
signification, and signify types only, and not also the matter signi-
fied by them: next, that one very sense of the types is applied to
signify another thing, that is, the body itself; for the types them-
selves carry in them the significations of the things signified, and
shadowed by the types, and not the words themselves which are
used to set forth the types. For in that history recorded, Gal. iv.,
this name Sarah signifieth Abraham's wife, that is, the type only :
next, the type signifieth the covenant, that is, the thing shadowed,
figured, and signified by the type. And thus far of the third pro-
perty and fifth controversy.
CHAPTER XII.
OF THE FOURTH PROPERTY, AND SIXTH CONTROVERsy.
THIS we say also concerning the sacred Scripture, that it is
most effectual, most lively, and most vocal, sounding to every man
an answer of all things necessary unto salvation. The life, which
here I understand is not any fleshly or carnal life, as the life of
man, but that spiritual life, as the life of God: and by a lively
voice I mean a spiritual voice, speaking not so much to the ear as
to the mind of man. For, first, if ye respect the substance of this
divine revelation, this, which I avouch, is without all controversy.
For the Scripture contains in it the word of God, which is lively
and powerful, &c., (Heb. iv. 12.) Next, in the form of the revela-
tion thereof, that is, the very writing of God, this is evident
in like manner. For it was given and written by divine inspiration ;
and whatsoever is of this kind must necessarily be in itself both
lively and spiritual. Again, this Scripture is unto us, if not the
lively voice of God, yet certainly instead thereof. For we have
none other lively voice of God but this: for, as for the voice of
the Church, pastors and teachers in the Church, the same may
err; neither may it properly be called the voice of God. The
86 A TREATISE OF
voice of God we must avouch of it, that it is a lively voice: Ergo,
&c. Thirdly, the very Scripture speaks of itself as having a lively
voice, as we may read, Rom. ix, 17, The Scripture saith, &c. Again,
Isaiah's Scripture is said to cry concerning Israel, (Rom. ix. 27.)
Fourthly, so many as propound questions of any matter necessary
to Salvation, be sent to it: Isa. viii. 19, 20, Should not a people inquire
at their God: from the living to the dead? Turn rather to the law
and to the testimony: If they speak not according to this word, there is
no morning light in them. Again, the Son of God himself, so often
as any propounded questions unto him of the law, of divorcement,
of the Sabbath, of the Messiah, of regeneration, and of the resurrec-
tion, or how to attain eternal life, he always gave them answer out
of the sacred Scripture, and ever he sends such as move any such
doubts unto the Scripture. “How readest thou?” saith he and
“Have ye not read 2 Have ye never read? How is it written?”
Again, the Apostles of Christ, for all their assertions, bring proofs
and testimonies out of the Old Testament. Apollos was a man mighty
wn Scriptures. He strongly confuted publicly the Jews with great vehe-
mency, showing by the Scriptures that Jesus was that Christ, (Acts
xviii. 24, 28.) The men of Berea received the word with all readiness,
and searched the Scriptures daily, whether these things were so, (Acts
xvii. 11.) Thus the primitive Church and the Fathers refuted
heresies by the Scriptures. To conclude this point, most memor-
able is that worthy fact of Constantinus the Great, who, pro-
pounding the Bible to the Fathers, assembled in the Nicene Coun-
cil, spake on this manner:-‘‘Here I set before you the writings
Evangelical, of the Apostles, and the sanctions of the ancient Pro-
phets, which can inform us concerning the sacred law of God.
To beat back, therefore, the dint of the sword of the adversary, let
us learn how to answer all objections of the adversary, out of the
words which are given us of God by divine inspiration.” Lastly,
this I have said, that the Scripture is in itself lively and vocal ; for,
as concerning deaf and dead men, that is, the natural never taught
of God, unto such, I say, it is but as dead and mute.
Here the adversaries blaspheme and reply, saying, that the
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 87
sacred Scripture is but as a dead letter, mute, and not able to give
answer to any man, not able to decide questions and controversies
in religion : and, contrarily, they glory that the voice of the Church,
which proceeds from the Scripture, (as they speak,) which is en-
graven by God’s own Spirit in the hearts of men; they boast, I say,
that this is vocal, and able to answer the demanders of all questions
appertaining to salvation, and that this cannot be wrested nor per-
verted, but ever abides the same in all respects. The answer
to this calumniation and blasphemy is clear, of that which is before
showed; for we made it clear and manifest, that the sacred Scrip-
ture is most lively and vocal in itself. And whereas controversies
are not so soon decided by the Scriptures, the cause is not in God’s
word, but in men, which be either so naturally blind and dull, that
they cannot hear and understand the Scripture, speaking and an-
swering, yea, crying in their ears: or they be so malicious and obsti-
nate, that they will not hear and understand; yea, that they will
full often, against their own conscience, wrest the voice of the
Scripture into another sense, and that to their own perdition. I Pet. iii. 16.
Wherefore we conclude this point, that the Scripture is in itself,
and by itself, most lively and vocal.
And, further, we be to remember, that to the end it may speak
as a lively voice unto us, and to the end we may understand it
concerning all controversies in religion, we must use the means
before mentioned, and our very grammar is one special instrument
for this purpose. For our eyes and ears are opened by such means Means to be
to understand the Scripture, and to attend unto God’s voice, º:
speaking in the Scripture, if it shall seem good to the Holy Ghost º:
to work effectually by them in our hearts and minds. If so be
that the Spirit work effectually by the aforesaid means, then the
Scripture shall answer to all controversies concerning faith and
religion, with a more clear, lively, intelligible, and distinct voice,
than all the men in the whole Church shall answer, who can avouch
nothing sound and certain, unless, first, they have received it from
the mouth of the Scripture, and answer in the very words of the
Scripture. For whereas these men say, the voice of the Church
88 A TREATISE OF
Fifth pro-
perty, Scrip-
ture is most
necessary.
is lively and vocal, heard of all men, and cannot be perverted and
Wrested : to this I answer, first, That the voice of the Church (as
is aforesaid) doth depend on the voice of the Scripture. Next,
that the voice of the Church is subject to errors and change, so
that they may this day answer one thing, and to-morrow another;
and this serves no better, in a manner, than a Lesbian rule to
decide controversies concerning faith and religion. As for the
Church of Rome, they have so long and so corruptly answered
concerning faith and religion, that they have carried the world
from the truth to lies, and errors, and infinite heresies; that there
is now no cause wherefore these men may so put forth to sale, the
voice and sound of their Church, which is become so corrupt and
adulterous.
CHAPTER XIII.
OF THE FIFTH PROPERTY OF THE CHURCH, AND OF THE SEVENTH
CONTROWERSY.
Now it resteth that we prove that the sacred Scripture is simply
most necessary. Here, then, I say, that if by Scripture ye under-
stand the substance and the very matter contained in the words
written, it cannot be denied that the Scripture is so necessary that
without it there can be no Church in earth, for the Church is born
and bred, not of mortal, but of immortal seed, which is the word of
God, 1 Pet. i. 23. But if ye understand by the Scripture the
very writing and form of revelation, I say, that in this respect also
it is so necessary, that without this there cannot be a Church.
Eor the lively voice of God is simply necessary. The Scripture,
after a sort, is the lively voice of God: Therefore, simply neces-
sary. &
I grant it, that when as the lively voice of God did sound, and
was heard in the Church, this writing, and this form of revelation,
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 89
was not then so necessary; but when as God did cease to speak,
and that the Scripture came in place of God's own voice, then the
Scripture was no less necessary than the lively voice of God. For
the voice of God must ever be in the Church, that the Church
may have her being, and may continue on the earth; yea, this
voice must be heard by the Church, either by itself or by that
which may best supply the want of the lively voice of God. Before
Moses' time this voice itself was heard. After his time this voice
sounded and spake in and by the voice and writings of Moses and
the Prophets. When Christ has come, his own lively voice was
heard. After Christ's ascension, for a time the preaching of theº.
Apostles, and the books of the Old Testament, were received for
the lively voice of God himself, and of his Son Jesus Christ. Then
followed the Apostolical Scripture, which, together with the Holy
Scripture of the Old Testament, continue in the Church, to supply
not only the lively voice of the Apostles, but also of God, and of
Christ himself. By the premises it is evident, that it is simply
necessary at all times that the lively voice of God sound ever in
the Church of God, either by itself or by this supply, which we
now avouch to be only the sacred Scriptures of the Old and New
Testament. Wherefore, we plainly conclude, the Scripture is
most necessary.
The adversaries oppose themselves against this assertion, as
against the former, and they deny that the Scripture is simply
necessary : it is necessary, (say they,) that is, it is profitable or
commodious for the well-being of a Church; but it is not so neces-
sary for the being, nor no such thing, as without which the Church
can have no being. And for this cause do these men deny the
necessity of the Scripture, that they may open the door to their
authority and traditions, that is, to their own dreams, which they
say be simply necessary, and prefer them before the Scripture.
They are easily answered by the rules before set down. For if by
Scripture they understand the substance of the Scripture, it can-
not be denied that the Scripture is simply necessary. But if they
understand not the substance only, but also the very Writing, in
90 A TREATISE OF
this respect also, we have showed it by clear demonstration that
the Scripture is simply necessary; for that it is unto us in place
of the lively voice of God himself. Wherefore, their assertion is
false, howsoever they take this word Scripture either in this sense
or the other.
But they say, the Church wanted the Scripture near two thou-
sand years, all which time religion was preserved by tradition only.
Therefore, the Scripture is not simply necessary. I answer, If you
understand by Scripture the very substance of the Covenant, then
your argument followeth not : for the substance of the Scripture
was in those very traditions, whereby the Church was edified and
kept. But if by this word ye understand the very writing, then I
grant the Scripture was not extant so many years; and I say, that
it was not then necessary, for that then the lively voice of God
itself was heard. If they conclude that because it was not then
necessary, therefore it is not now necessary, or that it was not
necessary, after that God had commanded it, and after that it
began to be extant; surely the consequence is very evil: for as
ages and times have changed, so divers forms of revelation were
necessary.
Or we may more briefly set down this Controversy in this form.
The Scripture is necessary not only for the well-being (as Popish
schoolmen speak) but also for the being of the Church: Et hactenus
The Word
written not
necessary in
all ages.
Heb. i. 1, 2.
est simplew necessitas. And this necessity is in respect of time only :
for there was not a necessity of the Scripture in all ages. I under-
stand by the word Scripture, not only the substance of the written
word, but also the manner or form of revelation; but this simple
necessity must be avouched of the substance and form of revela-
tion in divers respects. For the Scripture, as touching the sub-
stance of it, was necessary to the Church in all ages, but in respect
of the manner of revealing the same, it was necessary for a certain
time only, to wit, until it seemed good unto Almighty God to
teach his Church by the Scripture. ARG. 1. For the Lord God
had not given his Church the Scripture, if he had not thought it
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 9 |
necessary even for the being of his Church. ARG. 2. The lively .
voice of God was necessary in the time appointed for it : Ergo, the
Scripture also is necessary in the time the Lord hath decreed for
it : for there is but one and the same reason of both. ARG. 3. It
is necessary that God’s will be revealed and communicated to the
Church at all times, in one form or other, either by God's own
lively voice, or by writing, or by both ; but now the lively voice
of God hath ceased : therefore now the word written is necessary.
The adversaries deny this absolute necessity, moved hereunto
with these arguments following:—First, From Adam to Moses
there was no Scripture: Ergo. I answer, The Lord God thought it
not necessary for all that time. But when as the Lord himself
began to write, and that the holy men of God were acted andžº' is
moved by the Holy Ghost, first Prophets, then Apostles; then the
Scripture began to be necessary, and even simply necessary.
ARG. 2. From Moses unto Christ, Job and his friends both
believed and were saved without the Scripture. I answer, It is
most like these also read the Scriptures, as may appear by the
eunuch's story, Acts viii. Next, I answer, That so many as were
called without the visible Church, God dealt with them in an
extraordinary manner. ARG. 3. They did more attend the tradi-
tions of the Fathers than the written word, even in the second age.
I answer, This is false. ARG. 4. In the third age there was no
Scripture of the New Testament extant for a long season: Ergo. I
answer, The Apostolical Scripture began not long after Christ.
Next, all that time I grant it was not necessary; but when the
Apostles were dead, and when their lively voice ceased, then began
it to be necessary.
92 A TREATISE OF
CHAPTER XIV.
OF THE SIXTH PROPERTY OF THE SCRIPTURE, AND THE EIGHTH
CONTROVERSY.
THE Scripture is perfect, containing in it all things necessary
for faith and manners, not only sufficiently, but also abundantly :
for this is the perfection which here we do avouch. The sense,
then, of the proposition is this: This kind of revelation contains all
things, &c. The proof is this. ARGUMENT 1. The lively voice
of God contained all articles or instructions concerning faith or
manners: Ergo, So doth the Scripture. The reason of the argu-
ment is evident; for that nothing in respect of substance was
spoken by that lively voice which is not recorded in the Scripture.
ARG. 2. If the Scripture contained not all things necessary per-
fectly, then evil were the condition of our Church, and of our
time, which heareth not the lively voice of any man speaking by
divine inspiration, nor of any prophet or apostle. ARG. 3. The
religious, and such as be taught of God, have a holy experience of
the sufficiency of the Scriptures, and of the fulness of it. Add to
these arguments these divine testimonies: Deut. iv. 2, Ye shall not
add to the word that I speak, &c. Rev. xxii. 18, If any man shall add
to these things, God shall add unto him the plagues which are written
in this book. Albeit these sayings are to be understood properly of
particular books, yet the same reason serves for all books of the
canonical Scripture; and surely the reason binds more strongly :
for if we may not add to particular books, how much less is it
lawful to add to the whole canon P Prov. xxx. 6, Thou shalt add
nothing to his words. This seems to be understood of the whole
Scripture: Matt. xxviii. 20, Teaching to observe all things which I
commanded you; Gal. i. 8, If we, or an angel from heaven, shall preach
unto you another gospel, or otherwise than that which we have preached
unto you, let him be accursed; John XX. 31, These things are written
that ye may believe, &c.
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 93
And as for the judgment of the adversaries in this matter, which
affirm that the Scripture is lame and maimed, chiefly note Bellar-
min and his arguments for this purpose. They teach the Scrip-
tures to be defective and weak, that we might give place to their
traditions and forgeries. Wherefore, let us a little consider this
matter of tradition. The word Tradition is general, and signifieth of Traditions.
any doctrine written or unwritten ; and so this word is used in the
sacred Scriptures, and in the ancient writers: albeit the Papists
affirm that the Fathers use this word only to signify a doctrine not
written. Testimonies of Scripture which clear the general accep-
tation of the word are these : Acts vi. 14, And shall change the ord-flºº
nances which Moses gave us, or, which we had from Moses by tradition. ºn.
2 Thess. ii. 15, Keep the tradition or doctrine delivered unto you, zey #2iy.
which ye were taught, either by word, or by our Epistle. ãº,
The word tradition in Scripture is given other whiles to things 2.Éir.
~2; 7262-
necessary and continuing ; and sometimes to things not necessary 360 gig
and temporary. The testimony which is 2 Thess. ii. 15, is of
necessary doctrine. The place which is cited out of the Acts,
xvi. 14, is of ceremonies: for here the Spirit speaketh of a decree
of the council holden at Jerusalem, concerning blood, and things
offered to idols, and that which is strangled : of which, Acts xv. 29.
As touching traditions which concern necessary points of faith and
manners, they were first delivered by the lively voice of Christ
and his Apostles; and then the short sum of them recorded in
books, as may appear by that speech of the Apostle concerning
the Lord's Supper, 1 Cor. xi. 23. And, again, 1 Thess. iv. 2, zzezwye-
where he giveth rules of an honest conversation. And, again,”
2 Thess. ii. 15. And as touching traditions which be not neces-
sary, but ceremonial, they were either recorded, as of ecclesiastical,
1 Cor. xi. 14, or not recorded, 1 Cor. xi. 34. Other things will I
set in order when I come. He promiseth here to set in order but of core.
monies.
ceremonies, and namely, such as did concern the Lord's Supper...ºn.
Of ceremonies only this I will say, they did no way exceed; neither l.
were they unprofitable; neither were they delivered with any opi- , ,
nion of necessity to bind men's consciences; neither were they 4.
94. - A TREATISE OF
contrary to those things which were written. Yea, this I avouch,
that there was nothing delivered by way of tradition, or touching
ceremonies by the Apostles, which have not good ground and
warrant in God’s word, that is, in the books of the Prophets,
and in the doctrine of Christ, which not long after was written by
ºut the Evangelists and Apostles. And as for Popish traditions and
*remonies ceremonies, there is no end of them; they are unprofitable, they
are like old wives' fables; all for the most part delivered with an
opinion of necessity; and most of them most repugnant to the
apostolical doctrine. And thus do we distinguish traditions.
The adversaries understand by Tradition their unwritten verity;
not that which is no where found written, but that which is not
written by the first author thereof, that is, by him which delivered
the same by his own lively voice. This, then, the Papists do here
profess, that they cannot find their traditions in the Scriptures, nor
prove them by the Scriptures.
CHAPTER XV.
OF THE SEVENTH PROPERTY, AND NINTH CONTROVERSY.
THE sacred Scripture is the judge of all controversies : I mean
such controversies as are concerning religion. Now there be two
principal controversies concerning religion : the first is of the
The ſudge of Scripture itself, who shall be judge here, or how it may be tried,
lººp- that the Scripture is the word of God. The second is of the sense
and interpretation of the Scripture, who shall judge of that, or
how it may appear that this or that is the very natural sense of
the Scripture. I mean by judgment here a definitive sentence
pronounced and given with such authority, as that all men must
therein rest. By the word Scripture, I mean not only the sub-
stance thereof, but also the form of revelation, which is also by
divine inspiration. Again, this manner of speaking is improper,
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 95
when we say of the Scripture that it is the judge of controver-
sies. For to speak properly, the Holy Ghost is the judge; for the
judge must be a person, and the Holy Ghost, he is the third person
in Trinity. The Scripture, therefore, is not properly said to be a
judge; but it is the voice and sentence which the judge hath
given, the principal instrument or mean whereby the Spirit sets
forth his judgment, and whereby he teacheth us, and worketh
faith in our hearts. And the Spirit here judgeth freely in and by
whom he pleaseth, being not tied to any one kind of men, as pas-
tors and doctors, but in and by whom it seemeth good to him.
Here then three things must be considered of us. First, Whether iº,
the Holy Ghost be a judge? Secondly, Whether the Scripture be º
his principal voice, whereby he giveth sentence, or determineth
any question? Thirdly, Whether he judge in and by any man
without difference or respect of persons, or be bound to one certain
kind or sort of men 2 For the first question, I answer: The Holy
Ghost is a judge; First, for that he was promised of Christ unto his º:
Church, at his last departure from the Apostles, and is given, and, ... sº, is,
as it were, deputed Christ's vicar on earth, both to teach and to
judge, &c. Secondly, For that among other offices of the Holy John xvi. 8.
Ghost, this is one, to judge. But because the adversaries do not
much gainsay this assertion concerning God's Spirit, that by him
all things are to be judged and tried, and that by him the Scriptures
are to be interpreted, therefore we will be brief on this point.
Now for the second point: that the Holy Scripture is the primary secondly,
e © e & & © • That the H oly
voice of this judge, judiciary, and proper to him, whereby he begets 㺺l
faith in our hearts, may appear by these reasons following. First,...."
The Scripture is the word of God. Secondly, It is most ancient.
Thirdly, It is most clear or evident. To these I add the testi-
mony of the Scripture itself. John xiv. 26, He shall teach you all
things, and bring all things to remembrance which I have told you, Suggeret.
And hereunto may be added the common experience of the saints.
There are other means to prove this, but less principal, among
which the testimony of the Church is one. The adversaries with-
stand this conclusion, and infringe it with these arguments. First,
The Scripture is not written in men's hearts with the finger of
96 - A TREATISE OF
What is
meant by
judging in
the Holy
Ghost.
God, neither is it the primary voice of God. Secondly, The
Scripture is of no antiquity. Thirdly, It is obscure. Fourthly,
Ambiguous, &c. Bellarmin adds more to these, of which ye may
read in him. They conclude that the voice of the Church is the
principal and proper voice of the Holy Ghost, as he is the judge of
controversies. Their proof is this: The Scripture is written in the
heart of the Church with God's own finger, and this is the primary
voice of God. And whatsoever excellency we do ascribe to the
Scripture, that they attribute to their own Church, which is
nothing else but a den of thieves.
And that the Spirit being this great judge, is not bound to one
sort of men as those of the ecclesiastical function, the Pope and
councils, (as they speak,) but doth perform this office without all
respect of persons, in whom and by whom soever it seemeth good
unto himself; this is manifest: First, For if the Holy Ghost be not
the judge" both of the very context of the Scripture, whether it
be God’s word, and of the interpretation of Scripture; if he be
not (I Say) in man himself, assuredly there can be no faith. For
the Spirit only begetteth faith in man's heart. Secondly, The
Holy Ghost executeth his other offices freely in and by any man ;
therefore, so may he this function of judging. For I demand,
what else is to judge, but to enlighten, and to teach that the
Scripture is given of God by inspiration, and that this is the
natural sense of this Scripture? Thirdly, The same we be taught
by our experience: for we find it true by experience that he doth
freely judge in and by whom it pleaseth him. Testimonies of
Scripture prove also this assertion. 1 Cor. xii. 11, And all things
worketh, even the self-same Spirit, distributing to every man severally
as he will. And Isaiah liv. 13, All thy children shall be taught of God.
Jer. xxxi. 33, I will write my laws in their hearts. The adversaries
impugn this truth of God with some argument of their own, of which
ye may read in Bellarmin. And these men bind the Holy Ghost
to the Pope, and to councils confirmed by him ; which point our
men impugn also, and refute with many arguments, of which this
! Incorrect. It should be, For if the Holy Ghost, judging both, &c.
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 97
is one : that of their conclusion, this must be the consequent, that
the Pope and his Councils must be above the Scriptures, which
thing is absurd to be granted. See more arguments of this sub-
ject in their disputations.
CHAPTER XVI.
of THE EIGHTH PROPERTY, AND THE TENTH CONTROVERSY.
LASTLY, We avouch that the sacred Scripture is of highest *
authority, excellency, and dignity, on the earth. Here, again, by
this word Scripture, we understand both the substance of it and
the writing. And here we mean it hath such excellency as makes
it most worthy of credit, and whereby also it gains authority and
estimation to the Church. For which cause the Church is called
the pillar and ground of truth, 1 Tim. iii. 15. And it hath many
other titles, which are given to it often in the Scriptures. This is
proved by the former demonstrations as these :-The Scripture is
the word of God; it is most perspicuous; it is most pure and simple,
&c. : Ergo. -
The adversaries vary in judgment touching this authority of
Scripture. For some of them detract from this sovereign autho-
rity of it, affirming that of itself it is not authentical, but takes
authority and estimation from the Church. Of this mind are
these : – Eckius' in Enchiridio, Pighius” in his book De Hierarchia,
' Eckius, John, Professor of Theology at Ingolstadt, a well known opponent
of Luther. The work referred to is Enchiridion Controversiarum. He died in
1545, leaving several other works.—(Pallavicino, Istoria del Concillo di Trento,
lib. i. c. 6; Ladvocat's Dictionnaire Hist., &c. Paris, 1760, s. v.)
* Pighius, Albert, was celebrated as a furious opponent of Luther and the
early reformers. He died at Utrecht, where he had an ecclesiastical charge, in
1542. The Work referred to is entitled Assertio Hierarchiæ Ecclesiasticae. His
doctrines are censured by the Roman Catholics themselves as too ultra-mon-
tane—(Ladvocat, uti supra, s. v.)
VOL. I. G
98 A TREATISE OF
and one Hermannus,' an impudent Papist; he with a black mouth
avoucheth it, that the Scripture is of no more validity, without
the testimony of the Church, than AEsop's Fables, &c. Others,
more late writers and more subtile, say, that the Scripture hath
authority in and by itself, and is authentical, but not to us, be-
fore the Church approve it, and ascertain it to be so.” Of this
judgment be these: Bellarmin,” Coclaus," Canus,” Stapleton,"
1 There are two writers of this name, the works of both of whom were pub-
lished before our author's time. Hermannus Contractus, (the paralytic,) a Sua-
bian, died A.D. 1054. He wrote a work called Chronicon de sea. Mundi AEta-
tibus, which has been repeatedly reprinted,—(Cave's Script. Eccles. Hist, Lit.,
p. 552, ed. Genev. 1720.) Hermannus de Petra, a Belgian, and a Carthusian
monk. He died in 1428, having written fifty sermons on the Lord's Prayer,
which have been printed.—(Cave, ibid. p. 73, A.)
* Si interdum Catholici aliqui dicunt, Scripturam pendere ab Ecclesia, sive
a Concilio, non intelligunt quoad auctoritatem, et Secundum Se, Sed quoad expli-
cationem, et quoad nos.-(Bellarmini Opera, vol. ii. p. 86, c. ed. Paris. 1620.)
“If it is occasionally said by some Catholics, that the Scriptures depend on the
Church or its Council, they do not mean with regard to their authority and in
their own nature, but as to the exposition of their meaning, and as far as they
affect us.”
8 Bellarmin was born at Montepulciano in 1542. He was nephew to Pope
Marcellus II., and entered the Order of the Jesuits in 1560. In 1599, after
discharging various confidential offices under the Pope, he was made Cardinal
by Clement VIII., and Archbishop of Capua in 1601. He died at Rome in
1621. He is the most able and plausible of the Roman Catholic controver-
sialists. He wrote a Hebrew Grammar, a Commentary on the Psalms, a brief
IIistory De Scriptoribus Ecclesiasticis. But his principal work is one embracing
all the points of discussion between the Reformers and the Roman Catholic
Church. It is entitled, Disputationum Roberti Bellarmini Politiani S. R. E.
Cardinalis, de Controversiis Christiana fidei, adversus hujus temporis Haereticos.
4 vols. folio.—(Bellarmin, uti supra; Moreri, Dictionnaire Historique, s. v.)
4 Cochleus, a native of Nuremberg, and actively engaged, both personally
and by his writings, in controversies with Luther and his adherents. He was
Canon of Breslaw, and died there in 1552, aged seventy-three years.-(Lad-
vocat, ibid. s. v.)
5 Melchior Camus, a Spanish theologian, member of the Council of Trent,
Professor of Divinity at Salamanca, and, ultimately, Provincial of Castille.
IIe belonged to the Dominican Order, and died at Toledo in 1560. He wrote
in Latin some theological Works much esteemed by the Roman Catholics.
—(Ladvocat, ibid. s. v.; Pallavicino, Istoria del Concilio di Trento, lib. xii.
c. 2.)
6 Thomas Stapleton, an Englishman of high connections, who acquired a dis-
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 99
Canisius,' &c. They which speak thus, that the written word of God
is not authentical to us before the judgment of the Church be mani-
fested, these men (I say) have this meaning, that we be not bound
to believe that the Scriptures be authentical before the judgment
of the Church be past of it, and that we sin not at all if we believe
them not, before the definitive sentence of the Church. But we hold
this to be false also, to say that the Scripture is not to us authen-
tical without the authority of the Church : for it is the Holy
Ghost that teacheth every man to know and believe that the Scrip-
ture is authentical, and hath sovereign authority in itself. And
this he teacheth, not by any external mean first, but by the very How the
tº l e º e Holy Ghost
sacred Scripture, by which alone he properly breeds faith in our tº:
hearts to believe and apprehend this truth of God. And so we, º
resting on this illumination of the Holy Ghost, teaching us by the"
Scripture, that this is the excellency and authority of the Scrip-
ture, do believe this to be so, albeit the whole world did oppose
itself against us. And thus far of the more essential questions
concerning Scripture.
CHAPTER XVII.
QUESTIONS, MORE ACCIDENTAL, CONCERNING THE HOLY SCRIP-
TURE : AND FIRST OF THE BOOKS WHEREIN TEIE SAME IS CON-
TAINED.
THE first question is concerning the books of the Holy Scrip-
tinguished reputation as a Roman Catholic controversialist. He was born at
Henfield in Sussex, and was a canon of Chichester. The severity of the mea-
Sures taken by Queen Elizabeth against the Roman Catholics drove him abroad.
He first taught at Douay, and, after the influence of Elizabeth had reached that
semimary, he became Royal Professor of Divinity at Louvain, where he died in
1598. His collected works were published at Paris in 4 vols. folio.—(Ladvocat,
ibid. s. v.)
' Peter Canisius, a native of Nimeguen, provincial of the Jesuits, and a dis-
tinguished member of the Council of Trent. He died in 1597, aged Seventy-
Seven years. His principal work is entitled, Summa Doctrinae Christianae.—
(Ladvocat, ibid, s. v.; Pallavicino, ibid. lib. x. c. 2; lib. xx. c. 4, &c.)
100 A TREATISE OF
ture. These books are commonly called (for the excellency of
them.) The Bible. The Bible, as it is commonly received and car-
ried in hands, contains in it two sorts of books. The first is of
books Canonical, and the second is Apocryphal. Regular or
canonical books, are such as give rule or direction touching faith
and manners. The books of Moses are the first Canon or prece-
dent sent from God, which may not be judged or tried by any
other external canon whatsoever. For there was no book extant
before the books of Moses. The authority of the writer so holy,
and the evidence of the Spirit so powerful, and the holiness of
these books (to pass by other arguments) so great, hath gained
these books this high estimation and authority in the Church.
The books of the Prophets make up the second Canon: which be
adjudged canonical by that external canon of the Mosaical books,
by which they were examined. Next they were, and are discerned
of such as be taught of God inwardly by the Holy Ghost, by the
great evidence of God's Spirit, which is manifested in them both
in words and matter. The third Canon are the apostolical books
of the New Testament, which are adjudged and approved as
canonical, partly by the canonical books of Moses, partly by the
books of the Prophets, partly by the spiritual evidence they carry
in themselves, which the sons of God, instructed by his Holy
Spirit, can easily discern. The canonical books of the Bible are
either of the Old or of the New Testament. The canonical books
of the Old Testament are these :-
First Canon.
Second
Canon.
Third
Canon.
1. The five Books of Moses. 9. Nehemiah, one Book.
2. Joshua, one Book. 10. Esther, one Book.
3. The Book of Judges, one. 11. Job, one Book.
4. Ruth, one Book. 12. Psalms.
5. The Books of Samuel, two. 13. Proverbs. .
6. The Books of Kings, two. 14. Ecclesiastes.
7. The Books of Chronicles, 15. The Book of Canticles.
tWO. 16. Isaiah.
8. Ezra, one Book. 17. Jeremiah.
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING.
101
18. Ezekiel.
19.
Daniel.
20. The
Twelve Small Pro-
phets.
THE CANONICAL BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT ARE THESE
WHICH ARE COMMONLY RECEIVED.
10.
Matthew."
. The Gospel according to St
Mark.
. The Gospel according to St
Luke.
The Gospel according to St
John.
. The Acts of the Apostles.
. St Paul’s Epistle to the
Romans.
. St Paul’s Epistles to the
Corinthians, two.
. The Epistle to the Gala-
tians.
. The Epistle to the Ephe-
sians.
The Epistle to the Philip-
pians.
. The Gospel according to St 11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
The Epistle to the Colos-
sians. -
The Epistles to the Thessa-
lonians, two.
The Epistles to Timothy,
tWO.
The Epistle to Titus.
The Epistle to Philemon.
The Epistle to the Hebrews.
The Epistle of St James.
The Epistles of St Peter,
tWO.
The Epistles of St John,
three.
The Epistle of St Jude.
The Book of the Revelation
of St John.
And whereas some have doubted for a time of some of these
books, as of the Epistle to the Hebrews, the Epistle of St James,
the last of St Peter, the second and third of St John, the Epistle
of Jude, and the Apocalypse, yet they were never utterly rejected,
but for a time only doubted of, whether they might be accepted as
" In the original, simply, Evangelium secundum Matthaeum; and so in all
the other names of the writers of the New Testament Scriptures.
102 A TREATISE OF
canonical. These canonical books of the Old Testament were
written by holy men, as they were moved by the Holy Ghost,
2 Pet. i. 21. And of these some are called the Prophets, which
wrote the books of the Old Testament, so called, because they
were governed by the spirit of prophecy; some be called Apostles,
so called because of their function, and these wrote the books of
the New Testament. The books of the Old and New Testament
some have their writers' names expressly set down, or noted by
special characters or signs. Some have no names at all annexed,
whereby the Holy Ghost would signify unto us that these men
were but instruments only, and not the very authors of such
books. Wherefore, we be not so much to respect their names,
nor so busily to inquire after them, if they be not expressed. Thus
far of the canonical books.
Now, as concerning the apocryphal books: they be so called
because the Church would have them kept hid, and not to be read
or taught publicly in the Churches; the private reading of them
was only' permitted. The apocryphal are such as were found only
annexed to the Old Testament, and they be eleven in number:—
Apocryphal 1. Judith. 8. Additions to Daniel.”
Dooks. 2. Tobit. 9. The Prayer of Manasses.
3. Esdras, third and fourth 10. The Two Books of Macca-
- Books. bees.
... rudy, 4. The Wisdom of Solomon." 11. The Supplement of Esther,
called. 5. Ecclesiasticus from the third verse of
6. Daruch. the tenth chapter.
7. The Epistle of Jeremiah.
Among these, some there are which the very adversaries account
to be apocryphal. First, the Prayer of Manasses. Secondly, the
third and fourth books of Esdras. Thirdly, the third and fourth
books of Maccabees, whereof Athanasius maketh mention in his
1. i. e. Only the private reading of them was permitted.
2 This includes the Song of the Three Children, Susanna, and Bel and the Dragon.
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 103
Synopsis.' But we are to prove that all these before named be
apocryphal. The first argument is from the writers: All the
canonical books of the Old Testament were written by the pro-
phets; but these were not written by the prophets. Therefore,
they be not canonical but apocryphal. I prove the proposition.
Luke xvi. 29, They have Moses and the Prophets; that is, the books
of Moses and the Prophets. Luke xxiv. 27, Of Christ it is written,
that he began at Moses, and at all the Prophets, and interpreted
unto them, in all the Scriptures, the things which were written of
him. Therefore Moses and the Prophets were the writers of the
Old Testament. To the Romans, (xvi. 20,) he calls the Scriptures
of the Old Testament the Prophetical Scriptures. And, 2 Pet. i. Aózov
19, The most sure word of the Prophets. And for the assumption— zºne
“But these were not written by the Prophets”—I prove it: Malachi
was the last of the Prophets; and between Malachi and John the
Baptist there arose no prophet. But these books were written
after Malachi's time, and this cannot be denied of some, as of
Ecclesiasticus, and the books of the Maccabees: Ergo. SECOND
ARG. This is from the language wherein all the canonical Scrip-
tures were written. They were written (I say) in the language of
Canaan, in the Hebrew tongue, which was the speech of the pro-
phets, wherein they wrote their prophecies. But these books be
not written in the Hebrew tongue, but all for the most part in
Greek: Therefore our proposition or assertion is manifest. The
assumption is evident, that I shall not need to cite either the tes-
timony of the Fathers, or the adversaries' own confession. ARG. 3
is from the testimony of the old Church of the Jews. If these
books were canonical, the old Hebrews had heard something of
* “By Some it [this Synopsis] has been reckoned genuine; but, for the most
part, it is supposed by learned men to be falsely ascribed to him,” [Athanasius.]
“After which Athanasius adds:—“There are also divers other books, both of the
Old and the New Testament, some contradicted, and some apocryphal. The
contradicted books of the Old Testament, spoken of before, are the Wisdom of
Solomon, the Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach, and Esther, and Judith, and
Tobit ; with which also are reckoned four books of the Maccabees, &c.”—Lard-
ner's Works, vol. iv. pp. 161, 163, ed. 1829. -
104. A TREATISE OF
them ; but they never heard of them : Therefore they be not
canonical. The proposition is clear: I prove the assumption. In
Ezra's time, all the canonical books were gathered into one volume,
and the Jews' care was such of them, that they numbered all the
letters which were found in the prophets, and set down the sum of
them. How much more would they have had care of these whole
books if they had heard of them 2 The fourth ARG. is from the
testimony of the late Church of the Jews, which was in Christ's
time. If these books were canonical, then the later Rabbins or
Jewish writers would have accepted them ; but they did not
receive them, but reject them : Therefore they be not canonical.
I prove the proposition: For out of all question, if they had not
received the canonical books, Christ would have taxed them for it,
for that he so reprehends them for their sinister and false represen-
tations of the canonical Scriptures. The adversaries grant the
assumption. The fifth ARG. is from the testimony of Christ and
his Apostles. If these before-named books were canonical, then
Christ and his Apostles would have cited them somewhere for con-
firmation of their doctrines; but that can never be found they did,
no, not in all the New Testament: Therefore they be not canonical.
The proposition is manifest: The matter itself will make sure the
assumption. The sixth ARG. : These apocryphal books contain
some things differing from the canonical Scriptures, some things
contrary, some things false, some things fabulous, and some things
impious: Therefore these books be not canonical. I prove the
antecedent: Tobit iii. 8 ; and iii. 17; v. 12; and xi. 11. Judith .
viii. 6; and ix. 2.; and ix. 10; and xvi. 7. Baruch vi. 3. The
additions of Daniel, xiii. 1, [The History of Susanna; and xiv. 32,
[Bel and the Dragon, verse 33.] The additions to Esther,
xv. 1. [?] 2 Macc. ii. 1, 7, 8, 27; and xii. 43; and xiv. 37; and
xv. 38. The seventh ARG. : These books contain contrarieties,
and points repugning one another. Confer 1 Macc. vi. 8, with
2 Macc. i. 16; and 2 Macc. ix. 5. Confer 1 Macc. ix. 3, and
2 Macc. x. 1. [?] Confer 1 Macc. iv. 36, and 2 Macc. x. 1. Confer
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 105
1 Macc. vi. 17, and 2 Macc. x. 11.' The eighth ARG. is taken
from a human testimony: first, of Councils; secondly, of Fathers—
the ancient first; next, the later writers. The councils which give
canons touching the canonical books, and the apocryphal, are
these for the most part: The Laodicean Council, which was held in
the year after Christ's incarnation 300;” the third Council of Car-
thage in the year 400;” the Trullan in the year 600;" the Florentine
in the year 1150;” the Tridentine in our age." By these we may
* The references are here given according to the authorised translation, Our
author having followed the version of Tremellius and Junius. Some of the
passages seem to be incorrectly referred to, nor is it easy, in these cases, to
recover the original allusion. It will be better, however, to give the references
as in the original. “ Tobit. 3.8. et 3.25. et 5. 15. et 11. 12. Judith. 8. 6. et 9. 2.
et 9. 13, et 16.8. Baruch. 6. 2. Adjectiones ad Danielem. 13. 1. et 14. 32. Adjec-
tiones ad Hester. 15. 1. 2. Machab. 2. 1. et 7.8. 27. et 12. 43. et 14. 37. et 15.
39. Argumentum. 7. Hi continent cavaq)&vo et pugnantia inter se: Ergo. Pro-
batur antecedens. Confer. 1. Machab. 6.8. et 2. Machab. 1. 16. et 2. Machab.
9. 5. Confer. 1. Machab. 9. 3. et 2. Machab. 10. 1. Confer. 1. Machab. 4. 36. et
2. Machab. 10. 1. Confer. 1. Machab. 6. 17. et 2. Machab. 10. 11.”—P. 117.
* For the proceedings of the Laodicean Council regarding the Canon—that
Council omitting, for the Old Testament, the books of Baruch, Judith, Tobit,
Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, the Maccabees, and, probably, Esdras; and, for the
New, the Revelation—see Lardner, vol. iv. p. 182, &c. He thinks that it met
in A. D. 363; Cave, (ibid. p. 231,) A. D. 367. But the date is admittedly
uncertain.
* This is sometimes called the sixth Council of Carthage. It met A. D. 397.
(Cave, p. 235.) It included in the Canon five books of Solomon, Tobit, Judith,
and the two books of the Maccabees. For this Council, so far as the Canon is
concerned, see Lardner, vol. iv. p. 486, &c.
4 There were two Constantinopolitan Councils of this name, (Cave, ibid. p.
399,) which is derived from the fact that the palace, or room in the palace, in
which they met, was covered with a dome, (Trulla.-Moreri, s. v. Trullane.)
The Council referred to by our author is the second of these, the seventh CEcu-
menical Council (called also the fourth) held at Constantinople in A. D. 691.
It is also called the Concilium Quinisextum. (Cave, l.c.) There seems to have
been nothing in its proceedings directly affecting the canonica Ibooks of Scripture.
* Held 1U55. (Cave, p. 548.) Another, 1105. (Cave, p. 604.) Another,
1439. (Bellarmin, vol. ii. p. 9, d.) There seems nothing in the acts of any of
them touching the canonical books.
6 On the 8th of April 1546, all who were present at the fourth session of the
Council of Trent adopted the Canon of Augustine, and it was declared, “He is also
to be anathema, who does not receive these entire books, with all their parts, as
106 A TREATISE OF
reason thus: The Laodicean Council (the most ancient here num-
bered) rejects these books as apocryphal. See the fifty-ninth
canon of that Council: Ergo. But the adversaries object here,
that at this time, before the third Council of Carthage, the canon-
ical books were not distinctly known. I answer, first, that this
Council was not held till four hundred years after Christ; but it
is absurd to say that there was no canon known, or that the canon-
ical books were not discerned till this time : Ergo. Secondly, I
answer, that Council was not general, but provincial. But a pro-
vincial Council may not prescribe any canon for the Catholic
Church : Ergo. But, they say, this Council was confirmed by
that of Trullan. I answer, that the Laodicean Council also was
approved by this; and that the Trullan Council is rejected by the
Papists themselves in many things."
Thus far of Councils: now for the ancient Fathers; they also
did reject these books as Apocryphal, Ergo. I prove this by an in-
duction. 1. Athanasius in his Synopsis.” 2. Cyril of Jerusalem.”
3. Hilary, Bishop of Pictavia.” 4. Melito, Bishop of Sardinia.”
they have been accustomed to be read in the Catholic Church, and are found in
the ancient editions of the Latin Vulgate, as Sacred and canonical, and who
knowingly and wilfully despises the aforesaid traditions.”—(Kitto's Cyclopedia,
vol. i. p. 556.) The Canon of Augustine, here referred to, will be found in Lard-
ner, vol. iv. p. 493, &c. It includes the Apocryphal books. For the interest-
ing discussion on the canonical books, which took place in the Council of Trent,
see Paolo Sarpi's History of the Council, lib. ii. c. 43, &c. The Decree itself
is prefixed to the editions of the Vulgate published since the Council of Trent.
1 For the objections made by the Roman Catholics against this Council,
which is placed in the list of those partim confirmata, partim reprobata, see
Bellarmin, vol. i. p. 660, c. &c.; and for its defence as a legitimate Council,
See Cave, ibid. p. 399.
* See before, page 103, note 1.
3 Bishop A. D. 350. Our author's reference may be verified by turning to
“ Cat. iv. m. 33-36, ed. Bened., n. 20-22, edit, Milles.”—(Lardner's Works, Vol.
iv. p. 172.)
4 Hilary of Poictiers flourished about A. D. 354. “Prol. in libr. Psalm.,
p. 9, Paris, 1693.”—(Lardner's Works, vol. iv. p. 178.)
5 This should be of Sardis. Original, Sardensis. Bishop A. D. 177. “Ap.
Euseb. H. E., 1. iv. c. 36.”—(Lardner's Works, vol. iv. p. 429.)
GOD’S EFFECTUAL CALLING. 107
5. Nazianzen in his poem. 6. Hierom in his Prologo Galeato, which
is prefixed before the book of Kings.” 7. Gregory the Great.” 8.
Joseph against Appion.* 9. Ruffin in the exposition of the Symbol
Apostolical.” 10. Augustine." The adversaries here except, saying,
But these men have spoken of the canon of the Old Testament of
the Hebrews (say they) and not of Christians. I answer, first,
as if the Hebrews had one canon and the Christians another.
Secondly, they did approve that very canon of the Hebrews. But
it may be (say they) that then peradventure there was no canon
known or determined of by the Church. I answer, and I demand
then : When was this decreed 2 and in what council P was this done
in the Council of Trent P but this is too late, for this council was
even in our age. Was it decreed in the Florentine Council P that
is but little elder. Was this canon agreed upon in the third Coun-
cil of Carthage? But that council, 1. was but provincial; 2. and
this is rejected of the very Papists themselves in some things, as
in the canon of the High Priest, which in number is the twenty-
sixth." They will say, this council was confirmed by the Trullan
* Gregory Nazianzen flourished about the year 370. “Carm. 33, T. ii. p. 98.”
—(Lardner's Works, vol. iv. p. 286.)
* Should be Prologus Galeatus. St Jerome (Hieronymus) died A. D. 420.
His Prologus Galeatus may be seen prefixed to most editions of the Vulgate.
* Pope Gregory I. of Rome A. D. 590. See Lardner's Works, vol. v. p. 126.
4 Original, contra Appionem. Our author is not singular in this method of
spelling the name, which, however, should be Apionem. (See Vossius, De Hist.
Graec. p. 234, ed. Westerman.) See the work of Josephus referred to, book i.
C. 8.
5 Presbyter of Aquilia, flourished about A. D. 890. “Expositio in Symbol-
lum Apostolorum, apud S. Cyprian. Opp. in Append. ad S. Hieron. Opp. T. v.
p. 127-146.”—(Lardner's Works, vol. iv. p. 483.)
6 Bishop of Hippo Regius A. D. 895. “De Doctr. Christ. l. i. i. cap. 8, n. 12,
13, 14, tom. iii. P. i. Bened.”—(Lardner's Works, vol. iv. p. 494, &c.) His
opinions were substantially as stated by our author, but he was not always
consistent, or, at least, not guarded enough in his expressions. See p. 105, note 6.
7 Our author Seems here to have confounded the Trullan Council with that
of Carthage. I can find no Roman Catholic authority objecting to the Council
of Carthage. Nor was there any Canon there enacted de summo sacerdote. On
the other hand, at the Trullan Council, the 36th (not the 26th, as stated by our
author) Canon makes the Patriarch of Constantinople equal to the Pope. See
Bellarmin, Vol. i. p. 660, c. &c.; Cave, p. 399, &c.; and Concil, in annis suis.
108 A TREATISE OF
Council. I answer, 1. So was the Laodicean. 2. So the canon
was concluded or established later, to wit, in the year of Christ
400. 3. The Trullan Council is rejected in many things of the
very Papists. 4. After the Trullan Council, there were Fathers
which would not receive the Apocryphal books. And so now let
us come to the second class of Fathers, that is, to the later writers.
Here, then, I reason thus, The late writers do not reckon these
books among the canonical, Ergo. This I prove by an induction,
Isidore,” John Damascene,” Nicephorus," Leontius,” Rabanus Mau-
rus,” Radulphus,' Lyranus,” Carthusianus,” Abulensis,” Antoninus,”
Hugo Cardinalis,” Erasmus” in some of his writings, Cardinal
Cajetanus.* All these were after the Trullan Council; yea, some
Lib. de Offl-
ciis.
* Should be, too late. Original, serius.
* Bishop of Seville A. D. 596. See Lardner, vol. v. p. 135, &c. The work
referred to is, De Divinis sive Ecclesiasticis Officiis, libris ii.
* John of Damascus, a monk and presbyter, flourished about A. D. 730.
“De Fide Orthodoxa, l. iv. c. 17, in tom. i. p. 282, B.”—Lardner, vol. v. p. 146.
* Patriarch of Constantinople in the beginning of the ninth century. See
Lardner, vol. v. p. 86, &c.
* Leontius of Constantinople, according to Cave, (p. 352,) flourished A. D.
590. See Lardner, vol. V. p. 141.
6 Abbot of Fulda A. D. 822,-(Cave, p. 456.)
7 There are various writers of this name. It is probable the reference is to
Radulphus Ardens, chaplain to William fourth Duke of Aquitaine, A.D. 1101,–
(Cave, p. 538.)
8 Nicolaus de Lyra, (from Lire, in Normandy, his native place,) of the order
of St Francis, flourished about A. D. 1320.-(Cave, p. 15, Appendix.)
9 The reference is probably to Bruno, who founded the order of Carthusians,
1086.—(Cave, p. 539.)
10 I have been unable to trace this writer.
11 Archbishop of Florence in 1446. He wrote, among other works, Summa
Theologica, in four parts, and Summa Historica, in three.—CMoreri, s. v.)
12 A French divine, born in Dauphiné, of the Dominican Order, made Car-
dinal by Pope Innocent IV. in 1245. He died in 1260, after having compiled
the first Concordance,—that to the Vulgate. It was he also that first divided
the Bible into chapters.-(Cave, p. 631; Moreri, s. v.; Horne's Introduction,
vol. ii. Part i. p. 70, Part ii. p. 338.) -
13 The celebrated Desiderius Erasmus, born 1467, died 1536.
14 Thomas de Vio, surnamed Cajetanus from his birth place. He belonged to
the Dominican Order, and was made Cardinal in 1517. His opposition to Luther
has principally rendered him notorious. He died in 1534, having left several
Commentaries on the Scriptures, as well as other Writings, theological and philoso-
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 109
of them were reputed for sons by the Church of Rome after the
Florentine Council.
By these testimonies, first, of Councils, next, of Fathers, it is
evident that none of these books was accepted for canonical in any
lawful judgment; for if there had been any such matter, so many
ancient and late writers would no doubt have so acknowledged.
Wherefore these books are apocryphal, and so to be accounted.
The adversaries for their defence allege also human testimonies,
and this in a manner is all they can say. They cite the councils
before named as the third of Carthage, the Trullan, Florentine, and
the Council of Trent. But we reject the two latter as tyrannical,
and congregate purposely to oppress the truth and light of God.
And touching the Trullan and the third Council of Carthage, we
have set down our judgment. And as for Fathers, they bring
forth for this matter principally the popes themselves, as Pope In-
nocentius," and Gelasius,” and Augustine in some place.” But I
answer, that they cannot bring so many as we can, nor so ancient
for themselves. Secondly, when these Fathers, which they name,
call these books canonical which we reject as apocryphal, they take
phical.—(Moreri, s. v. Vio.) Paolo Sarpi tells us, that in the discussion, on the
Canon, which took place in the third session of the Council of Trent, in support
of the opinion, that a distinction should be made between the books univer-
sally acknowledged and the antilegomena; “Louis of Catania, a Dominican,
said that this distinction had been made by St Jerome, and that the Church
had received it as a rule in the adjustment of the Canon ; and he quoted Car-
dinal Cajetanus, who, following the example of Jerome, had made the same dis-
tinction, and had given it as an infallible rule of the Church, in the letter which
he addressed to Pope Clement VII., at the head of his Commentary on the His-
torical Books of the Old Testament.”—(Lib. ii. c. 47.)
* Pope Innocent I. Succeeded Anastasius, A. D. 402. The reference here is
to a letter from him to Exuperius, Bishop of Tholouse, where he includes in the
Canon of the Old Testament five books of Solomon, Tobit, and two books of
Maccabees.—(Cave, p. 242; Lardner, Vol. iv. p. 586; Kitto's Cyclopaedia,
vol. i. p. 178.)
* There were two popes of this name. It is to Gelasius I. our author alludes.
He succeeded Felix III., A. D. 492.-(Cave, p. 298.) For the decree ascribed
to him, see Lardner, vol. v. p. 75.
* The passage referred to is that mentioned p. 107, note 6. For which, with
some judicious remarks, sce Lardner in the place there noticed.
110 A TREATISE OF
the name of canonical books more largely than we, to wit, for
books which have some such sanctity, as in profane writers cannot
be found; and they call them so, not for that they mean that they
are of like authority with the canonical books of Scripture. And
we deny not but that in many of these such holiness may appear
as cannot be found in the books of profane authors." And thus
far of the apocryphal books.
CHAPTER XVIII.
OF THE AUTHENTICAL EDITION OF THE BIBLE.
WHEREAs there be extant many editions of the Bible in divers
languages, as the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, and other proper”
tongues, it is a question which of these must be reputed for au-
thentical? I answer, the Hebrew edition of the Old, and the
Greek of the New Testament, is authentical; and so must be
accounted: so that all things are to be determined by these, and
all other editions must be approved so far as they agree with these.
We will therefore first speak of the Hebrew edition of the Old Tes-
tament. We avouch, then, that the Hebrew edition of the Old
Testament is authentical. This proposition shall have his confirma-
tion, after we have given a short preface touching the Hebrew
tongue, and the writing of the Old Testament in that language,
and the preservation of these books of the Old Testament, written
in the Hebrew tongue to this day.
The Hebrew The Hebrew tongue was the first and the only language on
tongue only
Hºº earth to the flood, and to the building of the tower of Babel, Gen.
xi. 1. xi. 1–9, “The whole carth was of one language, and of one speech,”
Etverba or “had the same words.” At the building of Babel began the
“confusion of languages, and from the Hebrew, as from the mother
1 “ In other profane writings.”. Original, In allis Scriptis profanis.
2 Original, vernaculis.
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 111
of all the rest, all other tongues had their first beginning; for all
other languages are nothing else in a manner but as dialects of the ..."
tongue mo–
Hebrew tongue, of which some resemble their mother more than ...”
others, some be more estranged from her. In that confusion of
tongues, the Hebrew was preserved as the womb or mother (as
Jerome speaketh) of all the rest; this was preserved (I Say) in º.º."
e ly kept the
the family of Heber, who was the fourth from Noah, and lived .
tongue.
that very time that the tower of Babel was built, and when the
confusion of languages began. The Hebrew tongue then was so
called first of Heber, and from him it came to his posterity, not to
all, but to them only of whom came Abraham ; and from him con-
tinued to the very last of all the prophets; for Haggai, Zacharias,
and Malachi, wrote their prophecies in this very language. Thus
far of the Hebrew tongue.
The Old Testament was written first in this Hebrew and holy .
tongue. The first writer was Moses; the prophets followed him, ... *
of whom some wrote before the captivity, some in the captivity,
some after the captivity; and they writ all in Hebrew, except
Daniel and Ezra, which wrote some things in the Chaldee tongue.
And this letteth not but that we may say, that all the Old Testa-
ment was written in the Hebrew tongue, for that the Chaldee and
Hebrew have no great diversity.
Now to speak of the preservation of these books of the Old Tes-
tament; the books of Moses and the Prophets, that is, the Old
Testament written in Hebrew, was kept by the admirable provi-The admir-
able Provi-
dence of Almighty God unto this day. They were preserved, I say, lººd
e e sº e o º 1I] the preser-
in most perilous and hard times, as in the burning of the city and . * *
of the temple of Jerusalem, in the captivity, and in that most griev-
ous persecution of Antiochus Epiphanes; for he raged also against
these very books;' and in the great persecutions which were after
Christ, under the Roman Emperors.
But here it is demanded, whether the same very books which
were written by Moses and the Prophets before the captivity be
* “Even against books themselves.” Original, et in ipsos libros.
112 A TREATISE OF
come into our hands 2 I answer, for this matter diverse men have
thought diversely. For there were that thought, that those
books which Moses and the Prophets left were lost when the temple
and the city were, destroyed with fire, and that these which we
have were repaired and written over again by Ezra the scribe, in-
spired by God, and called extraordinarily for this purpose. Of
this judgment are these, Basil, Irenaeus,” Tertullian,” Clemens Alex-
andrinus,” Isidorus, Rabanus Maurus, Leontius.” It may be they
were thus minded, because of that story or fable rather, which we
may read, Esdras xiv. 14." But that book is apocryphal, and re-
Epist. ad
Chilonem.
Lib. de Offl-
ciis.
* Basil, surnamed the Great, a native of Caesarea in Cappadocia, was born in
329. Having studied at Constantinople and Athens, he practised law for some
time, but afterwards gave himself up to a life of poverty and seclusion. In 370
he was chosen Bishop of Caesarea, and died in 379, leaving several writings;
the most complete edition of which is that of Garnier, 3 vols. folio, Paris, 1721-
30.-(Smith's Diction. of Greek and Rom. Biog. &c., s. v.)
2 Irenaeus was a native of Asia Minor, but settled in Gaul, where he became
Bishop of Lyons. He probably flourished towards the end of the second cen-
tury. His principal work, and the only one now extant, is one written against
the Gnostics, to a passage from which (Adversus Hares. iii. 25) our author here
refers. The best edition is that of Grabe, Oxon. 1702, fol.-(Smith's Diction-
ary, &c., s. v.; Lardner's Works, vol. ii. p. 165, &c.)
8 Tertullian was a native of Carthage, and flourished about the beginning of the
third century. He was a man of morose temperament, but of immense learning.
He lapsed into Montanism, and was excommunicated by the Church of Rome,
but afterwards renounced that heresy. He is considered the most ancient Latin
father whose works exist. Among the best editions of his works is that of
Rigault, Paris, 1634-5, 2 vols. folio.—(Cave's Apostolici, p. 138, &c.) The re-
ference in the text is to De Habit. Mulier., c. i. p. 3, § 25.
4 Clemens Alexandrinus was probably a native of Athens, who settled in Alex-
andria. He was fond of philosophic pursuits, and travelled much. He presided
in the Alexandrian School of Divinity in 211, and died in 220. His works are
characterised by philosophical speculation, a Want of comprehensiveness, and a
tendency to allegorize. The best edition is that of Potter, Oxford, 1715, 2 vols.
folio.—(Smith's Dictionary, &c., s. v.) The reference in the text is to Strom. c.
l. 329, 330, 342.
5 For these see p. 108, notes. The passage from Leontius, referred to by
our author, will be found in Lardner, Vol. v. p. 143.
6 In the original, Esdra 4. iv. What in our translation is called the first
and second Books, bears clºcwhere the name of the third and fourth Books of
Esdras; Ezra and Nehemiah being the first two books. In the Septuagint the
first Book of Esdras is placed before Ezra and Nehemiah, which form together
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 113
jected not only of our Church, but also of the Church of Rome.
The point may be thus refuted. If Ezra had written over these
books again, then assuredly it is most like that he would have
written them, not in the Hebrew, but in the Chaldee tongue, or
in a mixed language of Hebrew and Chaldee together; for that
Ezra did write two books in that mixed manner, even those two
books of Esdras." Secondly, Nehem. viii.1, &c., Ezra is said to have
brought forth, and to have read, not his own books, or books which
he had written, but the books of the law of Moses. Thirdly, it is
not like, but some godly man, or prophet, or some other, was left,
which in that time of the fire preserved these sacred books, or
kept some copy of them; and the rather, for that then out of all
doubt Ezekiel and Daniel the prophets lived. 4. The very name
which Daniel gives to the Chaldee monarchy, (calling it the Golden
Empire,) doth argue that this did not rage so against the sacred books
of God; for if this monarchy had laid such violent hands on God’s
books, assuredly the Holy Ghost would not have given it a name
of such excellency. Therefore that assertion is false, and the con-
trary is true, to wit, that the books of Moses and the old Prophets
were preserved from danger, when the temple and the city were
consumed with fire, as also in the captivity, and so be reserved
by divine providence, and delivered by God's own hand at last
into our possession. Neither yet do we gainsay what the godly
have recorded, that is, that Ezra, after the captivity, did revise
the books of Moses and the Prophets, digested them into one vo-
lume, and set them down in this certain order. Thus far of this
question.
, but one Book. See an excellent article, s. v. Esdras, by the Reverend William
Wright, in Kitto's Cyclopaedia.
1 The original is—Nam Esdras sic ipse Scripsit lingua illa mixta duos libros
Esdra. “For so Ezra himself wrote in that mixed language the two books of
Ezra.” Rollock had apparently adopted the notion entertained by some learned
men, that both the books, known by the name of Ezra and Nehemiah, called
sometimes, as in the Vulgate, First and Second Ezra, were written by Ezra.
And hence he mentions that mixed dialect as a general feature, whereas no por-
tion of Nehemiah is written in the Chaldaic.
WOL. I. H
114 A TREATISE OF
Now it resteth after the premises, that we prove the Hebrew
edition of the Old Testament to be only authentical. That edition
which was written in the first language that ever was, and first in
the primary language, and hath been preserved in that tongue purely
and fully, even unto our times;–I say, that edition of the Old Tes-
tament is authentical. But such is the Hebrew edition: Ergo.
The adversaries cannot deny but that it was written in the
first language and mother tongue, and also that it was first written
in it; and they cannot deny but that it was preserved in some
purity, even unto this day; but they will not grant or allow it this
excellency of sincerity and purity which we avouch. Bellarmin
hath observed out of all the Old Testament five places only where-
by he would prove that the Hebrew fountain hath lost some of
this purity. The first place is Isaiah ix. 6, And he shall call his name
(to wit, the Lord) Wonderful. “But the vulgar Latin readeth, and
/e shall be called, which reading Calvin approveth. And, therefore,
by Calvin's confession here, the Hebrew fountain itself is not clear.”
Vajikra
Schemo
l’elc."
l These, and the other words from the Hebrew, are, in the original, printed
in Roman capitals, and form part of the text. In the translation, they are
placed on the margin, as in this edition.
2 In the passage referred to, Bellarmin is examining into the question,
whether the Hebrew ought to be regarded as fons purissimus, which opinion he
maintains to be false. His words are, “Quæ Sententia apertissime falsa est.
Nam imprimis Calvinus Institutionum capite Sexto, § 11, contendit esse legen-
dum Isaia, nono, et vocabitur admirabilis, &c., modo non habet vocabitur, id
est, Nºp", sed vocabit sºp", [it would seem that he was unable to represent the
difference from want of pointed letters, neque ignoravit Calvinus, meliorem hoc
loco vulgatam editionem esse, quam Hebraicam. Sic enim ait: Neque est quod
oblatrent Judaei, et sic lectionem invertant; hoc est momen quod vocabit eum Deus
jortis, pater futuri saculi, ac demum hoc unum ſilio reliquum faciant, ut sit prin-
ceps pacis; quorsum enim tot epitheta in Deum hoc loco congesta forent? Igitur
confessione Calvini turbidus alicubi fluit ille fons, quem ipse idem ubique purum
videri volebat.”—(Bellarmin. Disput, vol. i. p. 69, d. e.) The passage from
Calvin, animadverted on and misquoted by Bellarmin, will be found in his In-
stitut., lib. i. c. 13, § 9. It is as follows:–Hoc est, inquit [IeSaias,J nomen quo
vocabunt eum, [not vocabitur, as Bellarmin attributes to him, that he may ap-
pear to have preferred the Vulgate rendering as more accurate than the original
Hebrew,) Deus fortis, Pater futuri seculi, &c. Oblatrant hic quoque Judaei, et
sic lectionem invertunt, Hoc est momen quo vocabit eum Deus fortis, Pater fu-
turi, &c., ut hoc duntaxat Filio reliquum faciant, Principem vocari pacis. Sed
quorsum tot epitheta in Deum patrom hoc loco congesta forent 2
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 115
I answer, first, the sense is the same, whether ye read shall call or
shall be called. Secondly, the letters are the same in both words vajikra.
in the Hebrew, shall call, and shall be called, the points being divers
do not make the body of the word to be of divers significations.
Thirdly, the Hebrew doctors, as Vatablus,' say often, that with the
Hebrews a verb personal of the third person is taken for an imper-
sonal, as here shall call for shall be called. Fourthly, Tremellius and
Junius retain the Hebrew reading, and say thus, and he doth call
his name, &c.”
The second place” is Jer. xxiii. 6, And this his name, wherewith Yºº-
O asher jilt—
he shall call him, the Lord our righteousness. “But the vulgar Latin ..."
edition saith, that they shall call him, the Lord our righteousness, and
this translation also Calvin approveth. Therefore by Calvin’s testi-
mony, the very Hebrew text is here corrupted.” I answer, the sense
shall not be greatly unfitting, if ye read whereby he shall call him,
to wit, the Lord our righteousness. The name going before is the
name of a people of security, of a people that dwell safely, as Tre-
mellius and Junius understand and read the place. Thirdly, Jeremy
* François Watable, the parent of Hebrew literature in France, died in 1547,
having acquired the admiration of the Jews themselves for his oriental erudition.
Bertin, one of his pupils, he was Professor of Hebrew in the College Royal of
Paris, collected some of his lectures and his expository notes on the Old Testa-
ment, which were first published in 1545.-(Moreri, s. v.)
* Sed quum puer natus fuerit nobis, filius datus nobis, cujus humero adit prin-
cipatus ipse ; cujus nomen vocat Jehovah, admirabilem, &c., Tremel. et Jun. in
loco. It may be proper to remark, that when the translator uses the term, the
vulgar translation, he means the Vulgate, in the original, Vulgata.
* Bellarmin's words (l.c.) are, “Pari ratione Hierem. 23 vult ibidem Calvinus
csse legendum, et hoc est momen quod vocabunt eum, Dominus justitia nostra.
At fons Hebraicus constanter habet isºp vocabit eum non insºp vocabunt
eum.” Calvin refers (l.c.) to two passages in Jeremiah xxiii. 6, and xxxiii. 16,
in the first of which he renders isp'', vocabitur. The second passage he ren-
ders, Hoc est nomen quo vocabunt eam (J erusalem,) Jehovah justitia nostra.
In both cases, the Vulgate rendering is, Hoc est nomen quod vocabunt eum,
Dominus justus noster. The translation of Tremellius and Junius is, in the first
passage: atque hoc nomen ejus est quo vocabit eum (Jisrael,) O Jehova justitia
nostra. In the Second : is autem qui vocabit eam, (erit) Jehova justitia nostra.
The Septuagint in the first passage has x2Aéost, in the second, xxxâqovaty, (c. xl.
16.)
116 A TREATISE OF
leaves it to our free choice. Fourthly, the Hebrew doctors Wat-
ablus, Pagnine, Arias Montanus,” read vocabit, he shall call; and yet
turn the word vocabunt, they shall call.
The third place is in the 22d Psalm, 17th verse, They pierced my
hands and my feet. “In the Latin edition it is, foderunt, they digged
or pierced, and so read all Christians; but the Hebrew is, sicut leo,
as a lion. Wherefore in this place the Hebrew text is corrupted.”
I answer, the Masorites testify that they have read in some He-
brew copies caru, which signifieth to dig into or to pierce. They
also which have the word Caari in their books, say it is not to be
taken here in the proper and common signification. The Chaldee
Paraphrast doth knit both particles together, As a lion smites
with his teeth, so have these pierced, &c. But these were before
Jerome, I mean the Masorites, and the Chaldee Paraphrast; there-
fore it is false that this place was corrupted by the Jews after
Jerome's time. Jerome in his Psalter keeps this reading Caari,
and yet he translates the word foderunt, they digged or pierced.
Caari Jaddai
Veraglai.
Caari.
1 This whole passage is mangled in the translation, and a whole passage
omitted. It will be better, perhaps, to retranslate it, without noting the inaccu-
racies. “Therefore, in this place, the Hebrew spring has been rendered muddy,
even in the opinion of Calvin himself. I answer, 1. We have a sense not inap-
propriate, if we read, the name wherewith it shall call him, viz., the name of Je-
hovah our righteousness; but the antecedent moun is that of a people dwelling in
security, as Tremellius and Junius understand and translate the passage. 2.
The Septuagint [original, through inadvertence, Sea aginta] translates it x2Aérez.
3. Jerome makes it a matter of indifference,” p. 127.
2 Sanctes Pagninus, a Dominican monk of great learning, especially as an
orientalist. He was a native of Lucca, born in 1470, and died at Lyons in 1541.
—(Moreri, s. v.) For his translation of the Bible, the first by a modern from the
original language, see Horne's Introduction, vol. ii. part ii. p. 59, seventh edi-
tion. He also wrote a Hebrew Lexicon. His translation was revised by
Arias Montanus.—(Horne, uti supra.) The latter distinguished himself at the
Council of Trent, and acquired the highest reputation for the mode in which he
executed a new edition of the Polyglot Bible for Philip II. of Spain. He died
at Seville, his native city, in 1598.-(Moreri, s. v.) -
8 Bellarmin’s words (vol. i. p. 70, a. b.) are, Praeterea, Psalm xxi., [our
22d is the 21st psalm in the Vulgate, in consequence of their joining our 9th
and 10th, nemo Christianorum est qui non legat: Foderunt manus meas, et
pedes meos, textus vero Hebraici legunt, sicut leo ºns: non foderunt quod dicitur
YYY.
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 117
Lastly, a certain Popish writer, one Augustine Justinianus,' who
set forth the Book of Psalms collected of many languages, doth
plainly avouch it, this place is not corrupted, but that there is a
defect of a word which the Chaldee Paraphrast hath supplied.
The fourth place is Psalm xix. 5,” Their line is gone forth throughºsts
all the earth. “Here not only the vulgar, but the Septuagint also,”
whom the Apostle to the Romans, x. 18, followeth, do read, their p3ázzog.
sound is gone, &c., therefore this place is corrupted.” Let Gena-
brard" alone answer this in his observations on the Psalms, who
saith, the Septuagint and Paul did rather express the sense of the
word than the proper and natural signification thereof.
The fifth place is Exodus ii.” “After the 22d verse, in the vulgar
1 “In 1516 there was printed at Genoa, by Peter Paul Porrus, (in aedibus
Nicolai Justiniani Pauli,) the Pentaglott Psalter of Augustin Justiniani, Bishop
of Nebo. It was in Hebrew, Arabic, Chaldee, and Greek, with the Latin ver-
Sion, glosses, and scholia.”—(Horne's Introduction, vol. ii. part ii. p. 32.)
Justinian was a native of Genoa, born in 1470, Bishop of Nebbio (in Corsica)
in 1514, and a member of the fifth Lateran Council. He was drowned in 1536,
while Sailing from Genoa to his diocese.—(Ladvocat, s. v.)
* Four of our authorised translation. In the translation into Latin of Tre-
mellius and Junius, the title of the psalm is mumbered as a verse.
* “Item Psalm xviii. [xix. with us] Hebraici codices legumt; in omnem
terram exivit plp, id est, linea sive perpendiculum eorum : cum tamen LXX.
verterint et p36). Yog &vröv : eteorum versionem approbaverit B. Paulus Roman.
10, ubi hunc Psalmum citat. Quid quod Hieronymus ad literam reddidit ex
Hebræo, evivit sonus eorum ? ut omnimo necesse sit, aut Paulum et Hieronymum
reprehendere, aut certe fateri, fontem hoc loco non esse purum ; verisimile autem
est legi debere bºp : una enim litera tantum addita ex plp fit pºp.”—(Bellar-
min, uti supra, p. 70, a. b.) GeSemius' explication is simple enough, “ Musical
chord, hence sound, Ps. xix. 5.”—(Lewicon, Leo's Translation, 1825.)
* Genebrard, a learned French theologian, was professor of Hebrew in the
Royal College of Paris. Irritated at obstructions having been thrown in his
way to a bishopric, he joined the party of the League. He was made Arch-
bishop of Aix in 1591; but became involved in much trouble, from his having
Written against the right of the king to nominate bishops. In addition to other
works he wrote a translation of the Psalms, with a commentary. He died at
Semur in 1597.-(Moreri, s. v.)
* “Adde quod interdum desunt integra sententiae in Hebræo, cum non desint
mec in versione l’OK. nec in Hieronymi translatione. Exemplum habemus
Exod. 2, ubi deest totum illud. Alium quoque genuit, et vocavit momen ejus Eli-
ezer, dicens, Deus Patris mei auxiliatus mihi, et liberavit me de manu Pharaonis.”
(Bellarm., uti supra, p. 70, b.) There is no such addition in the Septuagint. It
118 A TREATISE OF
Latin edition, all this place is read of a second son of Moses; And
she bare a second, whose name he called Eliezer, saying, the God of
ºny father is my helper, and hath delivered me from Pharaoh’s hand.
But all this place is not to be found in the Hebrew text: Ergo.”
To this I answer, the very Louvain editions' have here their mar-
ginal note, to put us in mind that this place hath crept into the
text, and the better sort of the Papists are of this judgment, that
this place is not the natural or very text of God’s word; as Caie-
tanus, who writes of this place in this manner, All this clause of a
second son is superfluous. Wherefore Bellarmin cannot conclude
by these places that the Hebrew edition is corrupt, and therefore
is not authentical.
I shall conclude contrarily with this one argument, that the He-
The Jews tº ... O tº © . e. -0
... brew edition is not corrupt. If the Jews corrupted it, it was be
did not cor—
i.”. fore Christ or after. But not before Christ; which point, to pass
lorew : Christ
is witnes," by all testimonies of ancients, I make evident with this one reason:
and so the
Apostle. If the Jews had corrupted the Hebrew text, Christ would have
Rom. iii. 1.
taxed them for so horrible an offence. But we never find that
Christ so chargeth them for any such cause ; but contrarily, we
read that he sends them to that very Hebrew edition which they
had in their hands, Search the Scriptures, saith he, John v. 39.
The Scripture was not corrupted after Christ's time; which asser-
tion I prove, to pass by the authority of ancients, with this one
argument: The Jews could not corrupt all the Hebrew copies,
is not easy to see on what principle Bellarmin quotes. The words of the Vul-
gate are, Alterum vero peperit, quem vocavit Eliezer, dicens: Deus enim patris
mei, adjutor meus, eripuit me de manu Pharaonis. Is it uncharitable to suppose
that he misquoted purposely, as if to show that both the Vulgate and he had
translated from one common source, there being in reality no foundation for the
passage but the Vulgate? It is observable, that our author quotes correctly
(with the exception of a slight misprint, the insertion of an et) from the Vulgate.
The clause is given in the Douay translation. -
l Jacques le Fevre d’Estaples, who was strongly suspected of a leaning to
Protestantism, was, notwithstanding, for his learning appointed tutor to the
third son of Francis I. He died in 1537, having executed a translation of the
Scriptures into French, which was first printed at Antwerp in 1530. A revision
of this by the divines of Louvain appeared in 1550, and has since been repeatedly
printed.—(Ladvocat, s. v. Fevre; Horne's Introduction, vol. ii. part ii. p. 92.)
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 119
albeit they were never so willing to effect it, for that they were
now for the most part come to the hands of Christians. Hence it
followeth, that if the Hebrew text was not corrupted neither before
Christ's time nor after his coming, then was it not corrupted at all.
But happily they will say, that the Jews corrupted it after Augus-ºº:
could not
tin and Jerome's time 2 I answer, In what places 2 For as touch-É.;
Hebrew after
ing Bellarmin’s five places, we have already showed, that both in ...”
Jerome's time and before, these places were thus read as we read
them this day. Wherefore we conclude, the Hebrew edition is
most pure, and, consequently, in the Old Testament this edition
only is authentical.
CHAPTER XIX.
OF THE GREEK EDITION OF THE NEW TESTAMENT.
WHEREAs there be many editions of the New Testament, we say
the Greek only is authentical, which first I demonstrate on this
manner: First, in Christ's time and the Apostles', the Greek
tongue among the Gentiles was of greatest excellency. Secondly,
and as it was accounted of best note, so was it most famous and
most common in the world. For albeit, as then the Roman empire cicer, in
was most large and great, yet the Latin tongue was not so common, ºis
as is testified by a good writer of that age. Thirdly, the idolatry”
and superstition of the Gentiles, and all the philosophy of the
Greeks, was written in the Greek tongue. The Lord having these
and such like respects, no doubt at what time it pleased him to
carry his gospel from the narrow bounds of Jewry, into the great
and spacious field of all the world; it was the Lord's will and
* Nam si quis minorem gloria fructum putat ex Graecis versibus percipi Quann
ex Latinis, vehementer errat; propterea quod Graeca leguntur in omnibus fore
gentibus, Latina Suis finibus, exiguis Sane, continentur. c. 23.
120 A TREATISE OF
pleasure, I say, at that time, that the gospel should be written
principally" in the Greek tongue. -
The writers they were, some of them, Apostles—some Evan-
*...*gelists; all which first wrote in Greek, except Matthew,” and the
* In synopsi.author to the Hebrews. For, first, concerning Matthew,” Athanasius
f Lib. 3. Saith, he first wrote in Hebrew ;” the same saith f Irenaeus,” and
#ºf Nazienzen,” and § Jerome,” who saith that in his time Matthew's
#.º.º., Hebrew copy was reserved in the library of Cesarea, which Pam-
Catalog. in
lº" philus the martyr built.' Athanasius saith, that Saint Matthew's
1 “In preference to all others.” Original, potissimum.
2 “Except perhaps Matthew.” Original, Si forte Matthaeum excipias.
* “It is there [in the Synopsis ascribed to Athanasius] said “that Matthew
wrote his gospel in Hebrew, and published it at Jerusalem ; and that it was
translated [into Greek] by James, the Lord's brother according to the flesh, who
was ordained by the holy apostles the first Bishop of Jerusalem.”—(Lardner,
vol. iv. p. 165.)
* “Matthew then, among the Jews, wrote a gospel in their own language.”—
Adv. Haeres. lib. iii. c. i. apud Lardner, vol. ii. p. 170.
* It is very doubtful whether Gregory Nazienzen intended to characterise the
Gospel of Matthew as originally Hebrew. His words are, (Carm. 33, vol. ii.
p. 98, apud Lardner, vol. iv. p. 287,)
f
Mørgålog Azèv #yeo, bev Egeocious $20/22 ro, Xeſarov,
J J
Mºexog o'Iroxiº, Aoûzog Axxiºu.
The expression £exios, as compared with that Iroxio, seems to mean only
“for the Hebrews.” See Lardner, l.c.
° De novo nunc loguor Testamento, quod Graecum esse non dubium est,
excepto Apostolo Matthaeo, qui primus in Judaea. Evangelium Christi Hebraicis
literis edidit.—(Hieron. ad Damas. Praefat.)
7 Matthaeus, quiet Levi, ex publicano apostolus, primus in Judaea, propter eos
qui ex circumcisione crediderant, evangelium Christi Hebraicis literis verbisque
composuit. Quod qui postea in Graecum transtulerit, non satis certum est.
Porro, ipsum Hebraicum habetur usque hodie in Caesariensi bibliotheca, quam
Pamphilus martyr studiosissime confecit. Mihi quoque a Nazaraeis qui in
Beraca, urbe Syriae, hoc volumine utuntur, describendi facultas fuit.—(Hieron.
Cat. de Viri Illustribus, c. 3, apud Lardner, vol. iv. p. 441.) Pamphilus was a
native of Beyrout in Phoenicia, who flourished at Caesarea about A. D. 294.
He there formed a library, magnificent for the time, and busied himself in pre-
paring for gratuitous circulation copies of the Scripture. With Eusebius, who
took his name, he edited, from the autograph revision of Origen, the Greek
translation of the Septuagint. He was martyred, after an imprisonment of two
years, in 309.—(Cave, uti supra, p. 97.)
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 121
Hebrew edition was translated to Greek by James the Apostle;’
others say, by Saint John the Apostle;” others by Matthew
himself.” Thus write the fathers, but their assertion hath no
strong grounds. For when Christ lived with his Apostles, all
the Jews spake Syriac, that is, a language mixed of Hebrew and
Chaldaic. Therefore, if Matthew had purposed to write in any
other language but the Greek, he would no doubt have written
specially in the Syriac tongue, and some Papists of this age are
of the very same judgment.” Wherefore it is uncertain whether
Matthew first wrote in Hebrew, Syriac, or Greek; yet it is
more probable that he did first write in Greek, both for that this
tongue was not unknown to the Jews, and other apostles first
wrote in it, not only to Jews and Gentiles indifferently, but also As St James
particularly to the very Jews. Well, howsoever it is, the Greek rººter
edition which we have in the Church at this day is authentical ; : ..."
for that it was both written and approved while the Apostles were
yet living. For as touching the Hebrew edition, if there were any,
1 See previous page, note 3.
* “Matthew first wrote a gospel in the Hebrew language, for the sake of the
Hebrew believers, eight years after Christ's ascension; and John, as is said,
translated it out of Hebrew into Greek.”—(Theophylact. apud Lardner, vol. v.
p. 158.)
* “This opinion, we believe, was first intimated by Sixtus Senensis, from
whom it was adopted by Drs Whitby, Benson, Hey, and Townson, Bishops
Cleaver and Gleig, and some other modern divines.”—(Horne's Introduction,
Vol. iv. p. 265.) Sixtus of Sienna was a converted Jew, who died at Genoa
in 1569.-(Ladvocat, s. v.) His principal work is Bibliotheca Sancta, to which,
lib. vii. p. 582, Horne gives a reference. On the question regarding the
language in which Matthew wrote his gospel, see Horne's Introduction,
Vol. iv. p. 262, &c.; Lardner, vol. v. p. 308, &c.; Fabricii Bib. Graec. vol. iv.
p. 758, ed. Harless.
* “De Testamento Novo major est dubitatio; et quidem valde probabile est
Evangelium S. Matthaei, et Epistolam S. Pauli ad Hebræos, Syriaca lingua
Scriptos esse : idenim efficacissimis argumentis probat Albertus Uvimestadius
Ferdinandi Imperatoris Cancellarius, quiprimus in Europa Testamentum Novum
Syriacum imprimi curavit: et Guido Fabricius, cujus est Latina interpretatio
Novi Testamenti Syriaci in regiis Bibliis.”—(Bellarmin, vol. i. p. 76, c. p. 77, a.)
* This marginal note is the translator’s. “Matthew in Hebrew,” seems to
be a misprint.
122 A TREATISE OF
I doubt now it can no where be found. And as for this Hebrew
copy, which is in many hands, it is not the true copy."
In Catalog. As concerning the Epistle to the Hebrews, Jerome saith, that first
In Paul. tº º º o o
it was written in Hebrew ; next turned into Greek, either by Bar-
nabas, or Luke, or Clement.” But it is uncertain, and it is more like
to be true that this Epistle also was first written in Greek. How-
soever it be, this Greek edition of this Epistle which we have at
this day is authentical.
Now the New Testament, written in Greek by the Apostles and
Iºvangelists, hath been so preserved by the admirable providence
of God, even in the midst of persecutions and heresies, unto this
age, and in all former ages so freed and kept by godly and ortho-
doxical writers from the corruption of heretics; the Lord God, I
say, hath so provided, that it is come into our hands most pure
and perfect. Thus, then, I reason. That edition of the New Tes-
tament which was written in the best language, and first and
originally written in it, to wit, the Greek, I say the same must be
accepted as authentical of all men. But such is the Greek edition
of the New Testament: Ergo.
The adversaries except only against the purity of this edition.
For albeit some of them, the latter, and the better learned, as
1 “ Hebraice vero quae exstant Matth. editiones recens a Judaeis vel Chris-
tianis elaboratae sunt, et absurdissime pro Matthaeo authentico habentur; sive
Munsteriana illa Basil, 1537, fol. Henrico VIII. Angliae regi inscripta, et ver-
sione atque commentario adversus Judaeos instructa, sive Tiliana, quam ex Italia
attulit Joh. Tilius, [Jean de Tilet] et Joh. Mercerus Latine transtulit, Paris, 1555,
12.”—(Fabric. Bib. Graec. vol. iv. p. 759, note 1.)
2 Our author's account of Jerome's language, regarding the Epistle to the
Hebrews, is not quite accurate. Jerome's words are:—Epistola autem, quas
fertur ad Hebræos, non ejus creditur, propter styli sermonisque differentiam ; sed
vel Barnabae, juxta Tertullianum; vel Luca evangelistae, Secundum quosdam; vel
Clementis, Romanae postea ecclesiæ episcopi, quem aiunt ipsiadjunctum senten-
tias Pauli proprio ordinasse et ornasse sermone. Vel certe quia Paulus scribebat
ad Hebræos, et propter invidiam Sui apud eos nominis titulum in principio salu-
tationis amputaverat, Scripserat, ut Hebraeis Hebraice, id est, suo eloquio, diser-
tissime, ut ea quae eloquenter Scripta fuerant in Hebræ0, eloquentius verterentur
in Graecum ; et hanc esse causam, quod a caeteris Pauli epistolis discrepare
videatur.—(Catalog. de Vir, Ill. c. 5, apud Lardner, vol. iv. p. 451, note.)
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 123
Bellarmin, do not say that the Greek edition of the New Testa-
ment is altogether corrupt, as some of them have blasphemed ; yet
they say it is not so pure, that they can grant it to be authentical,
because in some places it is corrupt." Bellarmin brings forth
seven places, whereby he endeavours to prove this assertion, that
the Greek edition is corrupt, and, therefore, cannot be authentical.
The first place is 1 Cor. xv. 47, The first man is of the earth, 6 reºro;
earthly; the second man is the Lord from heaven. “But in thefºº,
£20 Yºg, X,0t-
vulgar Latin edition it is, the second is from heaven, heavenly ; 26g. 6 jew-
and this reading is approved : therefore the Greek edition is?...
corrupt and not authentical.” I answer, first, albeit we read as K%tos éé
the Greek is, yet the sense is good and orthodoxal, and the same ovgovvo.
with that which is of the vulgar reading, differing in word only,
and not in matter. Secondly, the Arabic and Syriac translation
so read the place. Thirdly, the Fathers, Chrysostom * and Theo-
! “Jam vero quod attinet ad auctoritatem, dubium esse non potest, quin editio
Apostolica Summa sit auctoritatis, nisi forte constet eam esse corruptam. De
quare ita Sentiendum censeo, ut Supra de Hebraicis diximus, videlicet non esse
Graecos codices corruptos generaliter; mec tamen esse fontes purissimos, ut ne-
cessario quidquid ab eis dissentit corrigendum sit, ut falso existimant Calvinus,
Major, Kemnitius, ceterique hujus temporis haretici.”—(Bellarmin, vol. i. p.
85.)
* “Quod autem non Sint ubique incorrupti, sed aliqui interdum errores irrep-
Serint, Saltem negligentia librariorum, et non sit tutum Semper Latina ad
Græca corrigere, aliquot exemplis planum fiet. Certe i. Corinth. 15, legendum
est; Primus homo de terra terrenus, secundus homo de colo, coelestis, ut non solum
nostra. Latina versio habet, sed etiam Calvinus probat. c. 7, Inst. § 12. At
Græci constanter legunt Secundus homo Dominus de coelo, 3 Östrego; Avgearo.
Kūgºog #3 oveºvov. Quam depravationem mansisse vitio scriptorum ex Corrup-
tionibus Marcionis, patet ex Tertulliano lib. 5, in Marcionem.” (Bellarmin, Ibid.
p. 85.) Calvin refers to the passage, (lib. ii. c. 7, § 12,) but without any such
approval, or opinion of any kind as to the true reading.
* John Chrysostom (or the Golden-mouthed, so named from his eloquence)
was born at Antioch, probably A.D. 347, of parents of high rank. He was or.
dained deacon, 381, and presbyter, 384. On the death of Nectarius, Archbishop
and first Patriarch of Constantinople, in 397, he was appointed to succeed him ;
but his fidelity, and plainness of living as well as of speech, rendered him obnox-
ious to the Empress Eudoxia and sundry of the bishops. Through their joint
efforts he was deposed and banished, first to Cucusus, then to Pontus, where he
died from the fatigues of his journey, A.D. 407. His works are most voluminous,
124 A TREATISE OF
ºn. phylact,' so read. Fourthly, Epiphanius,” citing all the places
º which Marcion corrupted, yet remembers not this place. “But,”
saith * he, “Tertullian saith that Marcion hath corrupted this
place.” I answer, that Tertullian, in that book and place, reads
these words in the very same manner as we do, The Lord from heaven.
d 63 yo:- The second place is 1 Cor. vii. 33, He that is married careth for
* the things of the world, how he may please his wife. The wife and
£ 4. e e e
.*.* the virgin are distinctly set down, so reads the Greek.” “But the
º* vulgar thus, He that is joined to a wife careth for the things of the
rāyvyazi, world, how he may please his wife, and he is divided; but the woman
*:::::: that is unmarried, and the virgin, bethinketh of the things which please
***6%uos, the Lord, both in body and spirit. Wherefore the Greek edition is
ſº here corrupted, and so cannot be authentical.” I answer, first, that
&c.
and his merits, as an expositor of Scripture, very great. The Editio Optima of
his works is that of Bernard de Montfaucon, 13 vols. fol. Paris, 1718-38.—
(Smith's Dictionary, s. v.; Lardner, vol. iv. pp. 534, &c.; Cave, S. E. H. L.
pp. 195, &c.)
1 Theophylact was Archbishop of Achridia, in Bulgaria, A.D. 1077. He
wrote or compiled, from Chrysostom and others, commentaries on most of the
books of the New Testament, and on Some of the minor prophets. His works
were published at Venice, in 4 vols. 1754-1763.−(Cave, S. E. H. L. p. 536;
Fabric. Bib. Graec. vol. vii. p. 586, &c.)
2 Epiphanius, Bishop of Constantia, in Cyprus, died an old man, A.D. 402.
He was violent and bigoted, but a man of great learning. His works were
published at Leipzig, in 1682, in 2 vols. folio.—(Smith's Dictionary, &c. vol. ii.
p. 40.) For his account of Marcion, and the Marcion heresy, generally, see
Lardner, (vol. viii. pp. 452, &c.)
8 Original, testatur. It is necessary to notice this, to defend our author's
good faith; for Bellarmin's remark (see note) is only inferential from the lan-
guage of Tertullian.
4 The translator here has mistaken his author. The words of the original,
which seem to give Rollock's own translation of the passage from the Corin-
thians, are: Qui uxorem durit curat qua sunt hujus mundi, quomodo placeat
wori. Discretae sunt uror et virgo: Innupta curat, &c. Hac lectio est Graeca.
“He who has married a wife cares for the things of this world, how he may
please his wife. The wife and the virgin are distinguished from each other.
She that is unmarried cares for,’ &c. Such is the Greek reading.”
5 “Praeterea, 1 Cor. 7, ubinos habemus: Qui cum uatore est, solicitus est, quae
sunt mundi, quomodo placeat urori, et divisus est, muller innupta et virgo cogitat
qua Domini sunt, &c. Graeci codices longe aliter habent, nam illud divisus est,
conjungunt cum sequentibus, sic ºzºgioral à Yvº zoºl # 7.26%vos, divisa est
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 125
the sense which is by the Greek is not only sound, but also more
fitting in this place than that which is by the vulgar translation.
Secondly, the Syriac translation so read these words. Thirdly,
Theophylact, the Greek Scholies," and Basil, so read the words.
But he saith that Jerome avoucheth it, that this Greek reading is..."
Ovinian.
not apostolical. I answer, the same Jerome, in another place, tººl-
reads these words as we do. Wherefore, seeing he changeth his *
mind, he is not fit to judge for this Scripture.
The third place is Rom. xii. 11, Serving the time. “But the oldº “ſº
tº e wº 25 o Ov7A2 voy-
Latin is, serving the Lord: Ergo.” I answer, first, albeit ye read so re. Tº kv-
the place, yet the sense is good and sound. Secondly, the reading?”
varies in many Greek copies, as witnesseth Origen's interpreter,”
who reads the word Kugiº, and he noteth it, that in many books
he found zoºgó, the time. The same saith Ambrose," who reads
uxor et virgo. Quam lectionem B. Hieronym. in lib. i. contra Jovin. affirmat
non esse Apostolicæ veritatis.”—(Bellarmin, vol. i. pp. 85, 86.)
* Original, Graeca Scholia. The Scholia were brief, explanatory, and gram-
matical notes, partaking of the nature of commentary and criticism.—See Horne's
Introduction, vol. ii. part i. pp. 390, &c.
* “Rom. 12, ubinos legimus, Domino servientes: Graeci non habent zveto sed
×2104 dovaedovreg, id est tempori Servientes; et tamen nostram lectionem esse
verissimam patet tum ex Hieronymo in epistola ad Marcellam, quae incipit,
Post pejorem epistolam ; ubi dicit, in emendatis Graecis codicibus haberi non
×2186, Sed zveig , tum ex Origene, Chrysostomo, Theophylacto, et aliis Graecis
Patribus, qui sic legerunt et explicuerunt in suis commentariis.”—(Bellarmin.
Ibid.)
8 Origen, one of the most estimable, laborious, and eminent of the early
Christian Fathers, was born at Alexandria about A.D. 186, and died about A.D.
254, after a life of much usefulness, during thirty-eight years of which he was a
presbyter of the Church. He was a most voluminous writer. Of his two edi-
tions of the Old Testament, called Tetrapla and Hewapla, the most complete
edition is that of Montfaucon, 2 vols. folio, Paris, 1714. Of his other writings,
the most complete edition is that of Delarue, 4 vols. folio, Paris, 1733-1759.-
(Smith's Dictionary, &c. vol. III. pp. 46, &c.) The interpreter is Rufinus, (see
p. 107, note 5,) to whom we are indebted for a Latin version of many of his
Works; among others, of his Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, con-
tained in the 4th volume of Delarue's edition.—(Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. vii.
pp. 208, 233.)
* Ambrose was Bishop of Milan' from 374 to 397. He was a man of great
influence, which he exerted successfully against the Arians. His works are not
126 A TREATISE OF
… zoºigſ, serving the time; “yet,” saith he, “in some books we find Kugiº,
2^ the Lord.” Thirdly, the Syriac, Chrysostom, Theophylact, and Basil,
read Kugiº, the Lord; which reading we best like. For which cause
our Beza translates the word Domino, the Lord.
The fourth place is John viii., where, in the beginning of that
chapter, many of the Greek copies want the story of the adulterous
woman, which the common translation in Latin hath, and the
Church approves it as canonical." I answer, first, that our Greek
books, which we have and hold for authentical, have this history
also, and our Church receives it. Secondly, yet we deny not that
this hath been gainsaid by some, and the Syriac translation hath
it not.
The fifth place is Mark xvi., where in many Greek copies that
whole chapter is wanting,” which notwithstanding the Latin edition
retaineth : Ergo. I answer, first, that all our Greek books which
we account authentical have also this chapter, and our churches
receive the same as canonical. Secondly, Jerome somewhere *
moves some doubt touching it, but to no purpose.
The sixth place is 1 John v., where the seventh verse, which
contains a worthy testimony of the Trinity, in many Greek copies
is missing, but in the vulgar it is retained: Ergo. I answer, first,
our Greek books, which we hold for authentical, have this verse,
and our Church receives it. Secondly, we deny not but some have
gainsaid it.
or goš The seventh place is Matth. vi. 13, For thine is the kingdom, power,
£0.74 y M
..., and glory, Amen. “But this place is not in the vulgar translation :
&C.
highly esteemed. The best edition is that of the Benedictines, 2 vols. folio,
Paris, 1686-90.-(Smith's Dictionary, &c. vol. i. p. 140.)
! “Denique constat in plurimis Graeciscodicibus deesse multas vera Scripturæ
partes, ut historiam adulterae, Ioan. 8. Ultimum caput Marci; testimonium
pulcherrimum Trinitatis, I. Ioan. et alia de quibus supra disseruimus.”—(Bel-
larmin, Ibid.) -
* Both Bellarmin and our author have overstated the objection regarding the
last chapter of Mark, which extends only to the last twelve verses.
* Hieronymi Opp. vol. iii. p. 96. Quaest. 3.
GOD’S EFFECTUAL CALLING. 127
Ergo.” L. Walla” answereth, this place is not added to the Greek,
but detracted from the Latin; and I pray you, what heretical or
unsound matter hath this place?
Thus we see then the adversaries cannot prove by these places
that the Greek edition of the New Testament is corrupted, and so
not authentical. Wherefore it resteth that the Hebrew edition of
the Old Testament and the Greek of the New Testament is only
authentical.
CHAPTER XX.
OF THE TRANSLATIONS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT.
Now it resteth that we speak of the translations of the Old and
New Testament. And, first, of the translations of the Old Testa-
ment. The Old Testament was first written in Hebrew, and after-
wards translated into divers languages, specially the Chaldee and
Greek. First, concerning the Chaldaic translation, next, of the
Greek. And for the Chaldaic, we be to consider first what manner
of translation it is ; secondly, by whom this was done; thirdly,
what authority this hath. For the first, the Chaldaic translation Authors of
º tº the Chaldee
is rather a paraphrase than a translation word for word. The Paraphrase.
1 “Constatetiam quaedam in Omnibus Graecis Codicibus inveniri, qua non sunt
partes divinae Scripturæ, ut Matth. 6, orationi Dominicae additur: Quia tuum
est regnum, et potentia, et gloria, in sacula: quae verba non esse de textu, sed
addita a Graecisex duobus intelligi potest. Primo ex eo, quod Tertul., Cyprian.,
Ambrosius, Hieronymus, Augustimus, Orationem Dominicam exponunt, et ta-
men nullam horum verborum mentiomem faciunt, cum omnes isti Graece bene
noverint. Secundo ex eo quod Graeci in Sua liturgia recitant quidem hac verba,
sed non continuant cum Oratione Dominica.”—(Bellarmin. Ibid.) Bellarmin is
wrong in his statement, omnibus codicibus.-See Kuinoel, ad locum.
* Laurentius Walla (L. is not in the original Latin of our author) was one of
the most learned men of the fifteenth century, and contributed essentially to the
revival of letters. His annotations on the New Testament have been repeat-
edly published.—See Horne's Introduction, &c. vol. ii. part ii. p. 276.
128 A TREATISE OF
Rabbins call this paraphrase the Targum." For the second point,
Fivebooks ofby whom this paraphrase was set forth. Rabbi Aquila translated
the Pentateuch, and this they call Onkelos;” the rest of the books
of the Old Testament were translated, partly by Rabbi Jonathan,
partly by Rabbi Joseph Caecus;* they lived not long before Christ,
or about Christ's time. For the third point. The Chaldee para-
phrase with the ancients was ever of great note and authority,
specially that part of the Pentateuch; for as for the rest of this
paraphrase, one Ximenius” a cardinal avoucheth it to be full of
Jewish fables, and of the vain conceits of the Thalmudists. And
thus far briefly of the Chaldee paraphrase.
Now touching the Greek translation of the Old Testament, there
were divers translations of it into the Greek tongue. Some num-
ber nine translations. Of these the first and principal is that of
the Septuagint," which these seventy-two ancients did at the ap-
pointment of Ptolemaeus Philadelphus ; for whereas Clemens
Alexandrinus writeth, that the Scripture was translated long before
into Greek, and that Plato had read the same, it is not like to be
1 With regard to the Targum, generally, see Prideaux’ Connection, part ii.
B. 8, vol. iii. pp. 531-555, edit. 1718; also Horne's Introduction, vol. ii. pp.
198, &c.; Kitto's Cyclopaedia, s. v., and the authorities there quoted. It may
be noticed, generally, that Rollock's account is very imperfect, and is nearly a
mere abridgment of Bellarmin, (Ibid. p. 75,) whose account also is very unsa-
tisfactory.
2 Original: Quod ad secundum, Pentateuchon vertit R. Aquila, qui Onkelos
dictus est ab iis. “As to the second point, the Pentateuch was translated by
Rabbi Aquila, who was also named Onkelos by them.” The source of this con-
fusion between Onkelos, the real translator of the Pentateuch, and Aquila of
Sinope, a Jewish proselyte, and translator of the Scriptures, afterwards men-
tioned by our author, is shown by Prideaux, l.c.
8 For a brief account of the splendid Polyglot Bible, executed at the expense
of Cardinal Ximenes, containing, among other translations, the Targum of
Onkelos, published 1514-1517, in 6 vols. folio, at Complutum, (Alcala de
Henares,) hence called Complutensia, see Horne, Ibid. Vol. ii. part ii. p. 32.
Ximenes was Archbishop of Toledo, and possessed Supreme influence in Spain
for twenty-two years before his death, in 1517, in his eighty-second year.
4 For the discussion of this question, for the references made by our author,
and on the history of the Septuagint, see Prideaux, Ibid. Vol. ii. pp. 27-48;
and for an excellent account of its merits, Kitto's Cyclopædia, s. v.
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 129
true; for neither Plato nor any of Pythagoras' sect ever saw the
Sacred Scriptures. To speak then of the interpretation of the
seventy interpreters, and to bind ourselves to certain questions, six
in number. The first may be this, whether there was ever any
Greek translation set forth by the seventy-two interpreters ? Se-
condly, if there were any, when it was done? Thirdly, of what
books? Fourthly, how this was done P Fifthly, what authority this
translation is of ? Sixthly, whether this be the true translation of
the seventy-two interpreters which we have at this day ?"
For the first question, the answer is easy; for there is no doubt
but that there was a Greek translation by the seventy-two inter-
preters, for that all antiquity accords to this. This is testified by
Epiphanius,” Eusebius,f Justin Martyr, f with many others. And as: Lib. de
menSuris et
for the second question, the answer also to it is easy; for all men *
e e e º e praepa-
do agree that this translation was done in the reign and at the ap-ºº:
85 Sº, £ In dialog.
pointment of Ptolemaeus Philadelphus. This write and avouch theseº-
men, Joseph, Philo, Athanasius, ŠEpiphanius, Tertullian, Aristaeus, i;
Il DISTOT13,
and many others.” And for the third question, What books were º
translated by them 2 the answer is not so easy; for some think they
* It is worthy of notice, that the whole statement regarding the Septuagint,
and the Greek translations generally, is, in many respects, identical with the
account given by Bellarmin, (Ibid. Vol. i. pp. 77, &c.) who also mentions nine
translations, as stated above by our Author. Thus, Bellarmin gives five Ques-
tions regarding the Pentateuch, identical with the last five of Our Author. It
may be interesting to compare them.
Bellarmini. De interpretatione Septuaginta Seniorum, quae inter omnes
Graecas editiones merito primum locum Semper obtinuit, quaestiones quinque
exsistunt. Prima, quo tempore facta sit. Secunda, quorum librorum sit. Tertia,
quomodo facta. Quarta, quantae sit auctoritatis. Quinta, num hoc tempore
germanam interpretationem Septuaginta seniorum habeamus.-Ibid. p. 79.
Rolloci. De versione itaque ista Septuaginta interpretum dicemus : qua,
autem dicemus revocabimus doctrinae gratia ad certas aliquot quaestiones, nempe
sex numero: Prima est, an fuerit versio Graeca facta a Septuaginta duo-
bus interpretibus. 2. Si fuerit, quando facta. 3. Quorum librorum fuerit. 4.
Quomodo facta. 5. Quanta ejus authoritas. 6. An haic sit germana versio
Septuaginta duorum interpretum quam nos habemus in manibus. P. 139.
* It must be Confessed, that the account given by Bellarmin is fuller and more
accurate than this.
WOL. I. I
130 A TREATISE OF
translated but the five books of Moses only. Of this mind is
Joseph, and Jerome seems to incline this way. Others say, they
translated all the Scripture; and this is likest to be true. For,
first, it is not likely that King Ptolemy could have contented him-
self with the Pentateuch only. Secondly, the Apostles of Christ
used the Greek translation in citing testimonies out of the prophets,
but in the Apostles' time there was none other translation but that
of the Septuagint's. Thirdly, there had been no matter of admira-
tion, in that this work was done with such expedition, if the Pen-
tateuch only had been translated and finished in the space of
seventy-two days; for they say, this translation was miraculous.”
Fourthly, Chrysostom and Theodoret, among the Fathers, are of
this judgment. Wherefore it is best we hold this as most pro-
bable, that all the Old Testament was translated by them.
[As to the question regarding the manner in which the transla-
tion was executed, the following narration is given. Seventy-two
elders from the tribes of Israel, the most skilled in both the
Hebrew and the Greek, by the orders of Ptolemy Philadelphus,
finished the translation at the island Pharos, in AEgypt, with mira-
culous quickness, namely, in seventy-two days, and with extra-
ordinary harmony. Some relate that, in the execution of this
translation, they were shut up, each in a separate apartment;
others, that they were in pairs; and others, that they wrought in a
body, sitting in one place, and comparing their labours. They
make, then, the execution of the translation miraculous; but these
miracles, narrated for the purpose of magnifying the authority of
this translation, no one can believe.”
In prooemio
Antiq.
* The meaning of our Author is not well brought out here. He does not mean
to say that it was actually a miraculous translation, but that, in the opinion of
those who were acquainted with it in its early history, it was deemed miracu-
lous, which would not have been the case if it had consisted of a translation of
the Pentateuch only. &
* This passage has been omitted by Holland. I subjoin the original.
Quod ad quaestionem de modo versionis, hunc fuisse modum narrant: Septua-
ginta duo senes ex tribubus Israel utriusque linguæ Hebraica et Graeca peri-
tissimi, jussu Ptolemaei Philadelphi, miraculosa celeritate, nempe 72 dierum.
GOD’s EFFECTUAL CALLING. 131
And as for the fifth question, What authority this translation had
Hereunto men answer diversely. For some ascribe too much to it,
as Epiphanius, who saith, they were not interpreters only, but *e
in a manner prophets. Augustin is too much in the commenda-P".
tion of it; he saith, it was done by a special dispensation of God,
and thinks it to be set forth by divine inspiration. Others ascribe
not so much to it; Jerome saith against Epiphanius, they were noºt
prophets.” And often in his commentaries, he teacheth it not only *
as corrupted, but as very faulty in itself, which thing he would never
have done, if he had thought this work had been done by divine in-
spiration. What authority soever this translation is of, assuredly
it can have no more than what may, by good right, be given to an
interpretation; for we may not avouch it to be given by the in-
spiration of God, nor make it of equal authority with the Scrip-
ture.
As touching the sixth question, some think that the old trans-ºs-
lation of the Septuagint is as yet extant, but to be so corrupt, that Pº-
it is no wisdom to correct either the Hebrew or Latin copies by it.
Bellarmin is of this mind.” Others affirm, that the ancient trans-
lation of the seventy-two interpreters is lost, and that this which
we have is mixed, and very corrupt. This also they prove by in-
duction of certain places corrupted. First, the Greek Bible num-
bers from the creation of the world unto the Flood, 2242 years,
spatio, admirabili consensione, ad Phadum [sic; lege Pharum] AEgypti, versio-
nem hanc absolverunt. Alii singulos Seorsim sedibus disclusos; alii binos; alii
omnes confertim considentes uno loco, et operas conferentes, versionem hanc
confecisse tradunt. Miraculosam igitur fuisse versionem narrant, sed miracula
haec quae dicunt fuisse, ad amplificandam hujus versionis authoritatem, fidem non
habent. P. 141.
" It is important to notice, in forming an estimate of our Author's acquaint-
ance with his subject, that Jerome, in the passage here referred to, does not
name Epiphanius, while he throws discredit on the story told by him regarding
the cells in which the translators were shut up.
* De postrema quastione licet [non] ignorem nonnullos in ea sententia esse,
ut existiment interpretationem Septuaginta seniorum penitus interiisse ; multo
probabilius censeo, illam adhuc superesse, sed adeo corruptam et Vitiatam, ut
omnino alia esse Videatur. Bellarmin.—Ibid. vol. i. p. 82.
132 A TREATISE OF
Mothusa-
lenn's life and
douth.
Chap. iii. 4.
T}o Civitato
Del, llb. xviii.
as we may see in Augustin, Eusebius, and Nicephorus in his
chronology; but the Hebrew verity saith, the number of years be
1656. Therefore the Greek number exceeds the Hebrew in years
586. Secondly, from the Flood to Abraham, the seventy-two in-
terpreters reckon of years 1082; but according to the Hebrew text
of God’s word, there be no more years but 292, so the Greek ex-
ceeds the Hebrew verity 790 years. Thirdly, in the Greek copy,
Adam is said to have lived 230 years, and in some books 330,
when he begat Sheth: but the Hebrew Bible saith, Adam begat
Sheth when he was 130 years old. Fourthly, according to the
Greck copy, Mcthusalem lived fourteen years after the Flood,
which is very ridiculous; for where lived he or how was he kept
from the waters ? In the ark? That cannot be, for but eight souls
only entered into the ark, among whom Methusalem is not reck-
oned. The IIebrew Bible speaks far otherwise of Methusalem's
years and age ; for by it we gather, that he died that very year
the deluge came on the whole earth, to wit, the year of the world
1656. Fifthly, in Jonas, the Greek copy denounceth destruction
to the Ninevites after the third day, As yet three days, and Nineveh
shall be destroyed; but in the IIebrew text we read, Yet forty days,
and Nineveh shall be destroyed. Iły these places we sce there is
great difference between the Greeks and the Hebrews in their
numbering; but all agree that the Hebrew numbers are true.
Augustin feigns I know not what mystery in this diversity of
numbers, to defend the authority of the seventy-two interpreters,
which notwithstanding he could not maintain in the place concern-
ing Methusalem. Jerome deals more plainly and faithfully, saying,
that the Septuagint have erred in their number. By these before
cited places, and many such like corrupted, we conclude, that this
Greek translation, which is now extant, is not that which the
seventy-two ancient Jews wrote, or if it be the same, that it is
corrupted, as we may reckon it to be of very small authority.
Thus far of the Greck edition of the seventy-two interpreters.
Now we are to consider of other Greek translations, which were
written after the Gospel was published far and near among the
GOD’s EFFECTUAL CALLING. 133
Gentiles, and there be eight several translations numbered. The
first was Aquila's, written in Adrian the Emperor's time, as testi-
ficth Epiphanius.' This Aquila was first a Pagan, and after turned *::
Christian, and was baptized; after this, being admonished for his.
studies in judicial astrology, and at last cast out of the Church for
his obstinacy, he fell away to the Jewish religion, and conversing
with the Jews, he learned the Hebrew tongue, and then and there
translated the Old Testament out of the Hebrew into Greek, but
with a perverse and a froward mind, as saith Theodoret, purposely
intending to obscure the doctrine of Christ, and to colour his apos-
tacy.
After this translation of Aquila followed Theodotion's, in the
reign of Commodus the Emperor, as Epiphanius also writeth.
This man was of Pontus, and of the scot of Marcion the heretic.
After a time, renouncing his sect, and abjuring all Christian religion,
he fell to Judaism ; and having learned the Hebrew tongue, he
translated in like manner the Old Testament into Greek, but with
a malicious heart, and unfaithfully, as Theodoret speaketh, intend-
ing the confutation of his own sect.
After this translation of Theodotion followed that of Symmachus, symmachus
in the reign of Severus Augustus. This man was a Samaritan by translation.
birth and country, and for that he could not attain some superior-
ity he desired in his own country, he fell in like manner into
Judaism, and was circumcised the second time. And how this
was done, Epiphanius noteth it out of 1 Cor. vii. 18, to wit, by
gathering his uncircumcision after his first circumcision, that so
there might be matter for a second circumcision. This man trans-
lates the Old Testament out of Hebrew into Greek, but unfaith-
fully, as Theodoret Saith, intending most the confutation of the
Samaritans, of whom he had his first beginning.
After this translation of Symmachus, there were two others,
whose names be not known. The one was found in Jericho, laid
up in great vessels for the preservation of it, in the reign of Cara-
* De ponder. et mensur., c. 14.
134 A TREATISE OF
* Nº calla the Emperor. The other was found at the north Nicopolis,
polim Aqui-
lonarem, be—
... in the time of Alexander the Emperor, the son of Mammaeas.
...” This is testified by Epiphanius, Theodoret, and others.
After all these followed Origen, who lived in the year of Christ
261, in the days of Valerian and Gallienus the Emperors. Origen
laboured exceedingly in the conference of such translations as he
found extant before his time; for he gathered into one volume
four translations, to wit, first, Aquila's ; secondly, Symmachus’;
thirdly, the Septuagint; fourthly, Theodotion's ; and set them
Origen's down in four distinct columns, and this was Origen’s Tetrapla.
Tétéo,772. This done, he added to these four columns two more of the He-
brew text, the one set down in Hebrew, the other in Greek
#é47.2, characters; and this was Origen's Hexapla. Lastly, to the six
former columns he annexed the two editions before noted to
Öztáraz. be of unknown authors, and this was called Origen's Octapla,
a work of great labour and excellency, the loss whereof hath
been, no doubt, no small damage to the Church of God. Origen,
in these his works, had his marginal stars to observe what he
liked, his long strokes to put out what he disliked, his little
labels for addition, and his second labels for a second addition,'
according to the variety and diversity of his copies. A certain
godly man, complaining for the loss of these works, said, “Well we
may deplore the loss of these works, but restore the same we can-
not.”
Tucianus. After Origen, there was one Lucianus' translation, about Dio-
cletian's time. This man was a minister of the Church of Antioch,
and a martyr. A copy of this edition, as I have read, was found
written with this martyr's own hand, and kept in a marble chest
at Nicomedia. Jerome also writeth, that in his time there were
copies which were called by Lucian's name.
Hesychius. Finally, after Lucian's translation followed another edition, set
forth by one Hesychius, which corrected the interpretation set
1 As some of the marks used by Origen have been the Subject of much dis-
cussion among the learned, it is proper to notice, that the description of these
here given is the translator's own. Rollock merely names them.
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 135
gº
forth by the Septuagints, and gave it to the churches of Egypt."
And thus far of the eight great translations which were after
Christ; all which be lost, howbeit the Papists sell for good
canonical Scripture certain remnants, as they say, of Theodotion's
translation, Dan. xiii. and xiv. chapters, a fragment which that
foul heretic and apostate left in their safe keeping.” For as con-
cerning this Greek edition of the Old Testament which is now ex-
tant, howsoever it comes to us, we have none pure, but mixed and
corrupted, as we have before observed. And thus far of the trans-
lations of the Old Testament; first, the Chaldee paraphrase, next,
the sundry Greek copies of all ages.
CHAPTER XXI.
OF THE SYRIAC TRANSLATION OF TEIE NEW TESTAMENT.
Now let us come unto the translation of the New Testament.
The New Testament being first written in Greek, was translated
into the Syriac tongue, which in the days of Christ and his Apos-
tles, was the proper and natural language of the Jews, by reason
of their long captivity in Babylon, and for that the Assyrians were
transported to the possession of Jewry. It is uncertain who
was the author of this translation, as also at what time it was done.
Tremellius thinks it most like to be true, that this was done in the
primitive Church, in the very beginning, and that by the Apostles
* Lucianus, Antiochenus presbyter, et Eusebius, Pamphilusque atque Hesy-
chius, Alexandrinus, non adornarunt novas Graecas versiones; sed editionem
zouvåv LXX. interpretum vel recensuerunt, ut Lucianus et Hesychius, vel Ori-
genis labores cum ecclesia communicarunt, ut Eusebius et Pamphilus. Fabric.
Bib. Graec., vol. iii. p. 715.
* The correct translation of the original is; “Except that the Papists retain
certain parts of Theodotion's translation, Daniel xiii. and xiv., and to this hour
ostentatiously produce as a portion of the canonical Scripture the fragment of
the impious Theodotion, first heretic, then apostate.”
136 A TREATISE OF
Syriac trans–
lation, an–
cient.
De Doctrina,
Christ, lib. ii.
cap. 11.
In prooemio
themselves or their disciples. He proves also the reverend anti-
quity thereof: First, by the elegancy of the tongue. Secondly, by
the defects and loss of certain books and places of the New Testa-
ment, which are to be found in the Syriac translation; as the
Second Epistle of St Peter, the Second and Third of St John,
the Epistle of James and of Jude, the Apocalypse, and the story of
the woman taken in adultery, which is found in the beginning of
the eighth chapter of the Gospel according to St John. By this
defect he gathereth, that seeing the Syriac translation was extant
before the Church accepted these books as canonical, the Syriac
translation must be very ancient. Again, he saith he found a
singular faithfulness in the Syriac translation, by conferring it with
the Greek and original; which experience any shall find if they
shall please to confer both languages together. Of the premises,
the conclusion is this, that the Syriac translation both was in elder
ages, and is now at this day, in great authority in the Church.
Thus far of the Chaldaic and divers Greek translations of the Old
Testament, and of the Syriac translation of the New.
CHAPTER XXII.
OF TEIE LATIN TRANSLATIONS OF BOTH TESTAMENTS.
WE be now to speak of the Latin translations of the New Tes-
tament and of the Old. The Latin translations of the Bible were
very many. This say Augustin and Jerome, who complaineth
much of the variety and diversity of Latin translations. Of all
in lib, Josue, the Latin translations, the first was an Italian;' Augustin prefers
1 Original: Ex versionibus Latinis, prima fuit Itala quædam. This transla-
tion, the first used by the Western Church, and which is said to have been
made from Greek, both in the Old and New Testaments, is called by Jerome
Communis and Vulgata, by Augustin, Itala, by Pope Gregory I., Vetus. It is
generally known now by the name Old Italic, to distinguish it from Jerome's
translation.
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 137
this before all the rest, as keeping most strictly to the words of the jº.
tº e e º tº . 15.
original, and being more perspicuous than others in sentences.”
This was not that translation of Jerome, for it is evident this was
far more ancient than that translation of Jerome. And who should
be the author of this is uncertain.
After this Italian translation, Jerome's followed next ; who is
said to have left a double translation in Latin of the Old Testa-
ment. In the first he followed the seventy-two interpreters," in the
latter, the Hebrew original text. For as touching the New Testa-
ment, Jerome is said not to have translated it into Latin, but to
have corrected the old Latin translation, as himself affirmeth in
many places.” This edition of Jerome, when it came forth first, itº
2 * * * 10, ad Hier-
began forthwith to be accepted and read publicly in the churches,"
but with no contempt of that old Italian copy. For as Gregory "
saith, these two translations, that elder Italian and the latter of
Jerome, were of greatest note in the Latin churches, and most used.
At length, all those old Latin translations, together with that
Italian, were not respected; and Jerome's translation alone re-
mained, if we may truly avouch this to be Jerome's translation
which at this day is used, and is carried about in his name; for the
* This is a mistake. Jerome only published a revision of the Old Italic ver-
sion, comparing it with the Septuagint, of the Psalms, Job, Chronicles, Proverbs,
Ecclesiastes, and Solomon's Song, the rest having been lost through fraud or
Carelessness. Of these there are only extant, the translation of the Psalms
and Job, and the prologues to the others.
* “The history of the Vulgate, therefore, as it now exists, is briefly this:—
1. The Old Testament is a translation made directly from the Hebrew original
by Jerome. 2. The New Testament is a translation formed out of the old trans-
lations, carefully compared and corrected from the original Greek of [by] Jerome.
3. The Apocrypha consists of old translations, with the exception of Tobit and
Judith, freely translated also from the original Chaldean by Jerome.”—(Pro-
fessor Ramsay in Smith's Dictionary, vol. ii. p. 466.)
* Gregory I. or the Great, Pope 590, died 604. (Ladvocat, s. v.) His sanc-
tion first gave authority to Jerome's translation. The reference is probably
taken from Bellarmin, (vol. i. p. 87,) who says; Quod apertius intelligitur ex
B. Gregorio in epist. ante praefat. in libro Moral. cap. 5, ubi dicit suo tempore
Romanam ecclesiam utraque editione uti consuesse, id est, antiqua versa ex
Graeco, et nova Hieronymi versa ex Hebræo.
138 A TREATISE OF
learned greatly doubt of this matter. Here, therefore, we be to
consider of this point, and two questions principally are to be an-
swered; first, who was the author of this; the second, what author-
ity it may have in the Church.
As touching the author of this Latin translation, divers men
speak diversely; some think it was Jerome, and that it is pure
without any mixture; so think all Papists for the most part, espe-
cially the Jesuits. Others think it not to be Jerome's, as Sanctes
iº. Pagninus,” and Paulus * a bishop, f to pass by Erasmus, Munster,”
*...* and other Popish writers. Others deem it to be Jerome's, but not to
j want corruption; of this judgment are these men, Joannes Driedo,
Sixtus Senensis;* and Bellarmin seems to incline this way, as may
easily be gathered by his propositions and reasons touching this
Not his in matter.” We say, it is neither Jerome's, nor yet pure, nor mixed;
whole nor yet
in part.
I See p. 116, note.2. The reference is given by Bellarmin; Praefat. interpre-
tationis Bibliorum ad Clementum VII. Pontificem Maximum.
2 Thus given by Bellarmin : Paulus Foro Sempronii Episcopus, lib. ii. c. 1, de
die passionis Domini. -
* Sebastian Munster was a laborious and celebrated writer of the 16th cen-
tury. He was born at Ingelheim in 1489, and joined the order of the Cordeliers.
He afterwards followed the opinions of Luther, quitted the order, and retired
to Heidelberg, and then to Basle, where he taught with high reputation, and
where he died in 1552. Among other works he published a latin translation of
the Old Testament, with the Hebrew text, which is much esteemed. He also
published a Hebrew Grammar and T)ictionary.—(Ladvocat, s. v.) It is proper
to notice, that Rollock does not call him a Popish Writer: he says, Aliis etiam
pontificiis hominibus; “other writers, even those who are Popish.” Bellarmin
takes no notice of Erasmus or Munster.
4 Jean Driedo, a native of Brabant, was Professor of Divinity at Louvain.
He died in 1535. His works occupy 4 vols. folio. For Sixtus Semensis, see
p. 121, note 3. Bellarmin (vol. i. p. 87) supplies us with the references; his
words are; At mixtam esse ex vetere et nova docent Joannes Driedo, lib. ii.
c. 1, de Eccles. dogmat. et Scripturis, et Sixtus Senensis, lib. 8. Bibliothecae
sanctæ extremo. From this it appears, that they held not that the text was
corrupt, but that it was not Jerome's pure translation, being partly his and
partly the Old Italic. Our Author, accordingly, does not say, vitiosam, but:
Alii Hieronymi quidem esse putarunt, Sed mon puram.
5 Bellarmin (ibid.) has four propositions, which agree with the account given
page 137, note 2, except that Bellarmin maintains that the Vulgate translation
of the Psalms is not from the Hebrew, but is a translation (amended by Jerome)
of the Greek version as corrected by Origen and Lucian.
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 139
and this we prove on this manner." Jerome translated the Old
Testament out of the Hebrew into the Latin accurately or exactly;
but this vulgar edition is not exact; therefore it is not Jerome's.
The proposition is evident; for Jerome himself testifieth in many
places of his works that he had laboured and done this translation
very exactly; as in his preface before the five books of Moses, in
his preface before the book of the Kings, in his preface on the
Psalter, in all which places he saith he changed nothing, but fol-
lowed faithfully the Hebrew text, and he appealeth to the Jews to
testify of the faithfulness of his translation. And Augustinº affirm-Bºº,
eth it, that the very Jews did confess his translation was sound **
and true. Isidore” prefers Jerome's translation before all men’s, for º
keeping himself more strictly to the words of the Hebrew text, and molog cap *
for his perspicuity of phrase. Wherefore, if we may believe these men,
Jerome's translation was exactly done. So far the proposition. The
assumption followeth : But the vulgar Latin edition is not accurate;
neither doth it agree with the original, the Hebrew text; yea,
it so far dissenteth from it, that necessarily one of these two
assertions must be true, either that this Latin edition is most cor-
rupt, or that the Hebrew fountain is most troubled and disordered.
And this last point Bellarmin himself dare not avouch, but taxeth
such as do so affirm, and that worthily.”
It resteth therefore that we prove this great disagreement between
the Latin edition and the Hebrew text. And this can no other-
* The meaning of our Author is clearly this. Some affirmed that it is a pure
transcript of Jerome's version, others, partially an edition of it. Our Author
maintains that it is neither the One nor the other—it is not Jerome's at all.
* Non defuit temporibus nostris presbyter Hieronymus homo doctissimus, et
trium linguarum peritissimus, qui ex Hebræo in Latinum divinas Scripturas
Convertit, cujus tantum literarum laborem Hebraei fatentur esse veracem.
* See p. 108, note 2. Isidore's words are ; De Hebræo in Latinum elo-
quium tantummodo Hieronymus presbyter sacras Scripturas convertit, cujus
editione generaliter omnes ecclesiae usquequaque utuntur, eo Quod Veraciorest
in sententiis, et clarior in verbis—(De Offic. Divin, lib. i. c. 12.) And again, in
the passage referred to in the margin : Ejus interpretatio merito ceteris ante-
ponitur.
* In the second chapter of the second book, De Verbo Dei, vol. i. p. 70, &c.
140 A TREATISE OF
wise be done but by conference the one with the other. Let the
comparison begin at the book of Genesis, and compare not all
places which dissent, for that were infinite, but some special places,
whereby ye may soon conceive of the rest, and judge what they be.
And by this conference of places you shall discern that the defaults
are not of one kind, but of divers, as for changing of words and
sentences, for defect and superfluity; for so many ways the Latin
edition is faulty. In my judgment, this comparison cannot better
be found by any man or means" than by that vulgar Latin which was
corrected by John Benedict, a divine of Paris, whom, that I may
pass over this point briefly, I recommend unto thee, gentle reader.
By this conference” that shall appear, both that this is not Jerome's
translation, and that this vulgar Latin edition is not authentical,
so as we shall not need to spend any time in handling the other
Question.
CHAPTER XXIII.
OF THE TRANSLATION OF THE BIBLE INTO THE MOTHER TONGUE.
IT remaineth now that we speak of such editions and translations
as be in the usual mother tongue. I understand that translation
to be in the mother tongue, which is done in that language which
is vulgar and common among the people of that country, whose
1 Original: Meo judicio non aliunde melius discetur haec comparatio quam ev,
&c. In my judgment, this comparison will be learned from no other source
better than from, &c.
2 “In conclusion, we may remark, that the Vulgate in its present form is by no
means the same as when it issued from the hands of its great editor. Numerous
alterations and corruptions crept in during the middle ages, which have ren-
dered the text uncertain. A striking proof of this has been adduced by Bishop
Marsh, who states, that two editions published within two years of each other,
in 1590 and 1592, both printed at Rome, both under Papal authority, and both
formally pronounced authentic, differ materially from each other in sense as well
as in words.”—(Professor Ramsay, thid.)
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 141
language it is; as the Dutch, Italian, French, English, Scottish,
and Spanish translations, &c. We may move three questions of
these translations. First, whether it be lawful to translate the
Sacred Scripture into every mother tongue. Secondly, whether
the liturgy or common prayers of the Church ought to be in the
mother tongue. Thirdly, whether it shall be lawful for the common
people to read the Scriptures translated into their own language or
mother tongue.
To the first question we answer, that it is lawful, yea, also, that
it is expedient it should be so, and this we prove by some few ar-
guments. First, the Sacred Scriptures must be read publicly be- º,
fore all the people; therefore must they be translated into theirºus
own known language, for otherwise it were in vain to read them.º.º.
The antecedent is proved, Deut. xxxi., verses 11, 12. The Lord”
commandeth that the books of Moses be read to all indifferently
when they were assembled, men, women, and children, with the
strangers. Jer. xxxvi. 6, chargeth Baruch the scribe that he should
read before all the people the book which he had written from his
mouth. But some will here object, that this precept was to en-
dure but for a time. I answer, the end shows it must be perpetual,
Deut. xxxi. 13; the end being this, that this people may hear, learn,
and fear the Lord. This end is perpetual; therefore, so is the law in
like manner, specially seeing that the reading of the Scripture is
the ordinary and necessary means whereby we be to come to this
appointed end. So the antecedent being thus cleared, it followeth
necessarily that the Scripture must be translated into our known
mother tongue.
Argument 2. The people are permitted to read the Scriptures; second ar-
therefore they are to be translated into the vulgar tongue, pºt
otherwise the common people could never read them. The ante-
cedent I prove thus: The Sacred Scriptures do furnish us with
weapons against the devil, as we be taught by Christ's example,
Matth. iv., who gave Satan the repulse, using none other weapons
against him but testimonies of Scripture. John, chapter v. 39,
Christ commanded the multitude to search the Scriptures. Acts,
142 A TREATISE OF
chap. xvii. 11, the Christians of Berea are commended for searching
the Scriptures, whether the points were sound and good, and
agreeable to the Scriptures, which were taught by the Apostles.
But see more of this antecedent in the handling of the third ques-
tion.
Argument 3. The very Papists grant the Scriptures may be
read before the people, but they say it must be done in an unknown
tongue. Wherefore, Ireason thus: If the Scriptures must be read
before the multitude in an unknown tongue, that shall be fruitless,
and without all edification; therefore they must be translated into
their known language. The antecedent is proved by 1 Cor. xiv.
6, If I shall come unto you speaking in tongues, what shall I profit you ?
q. d.," nothing. And after, in the same chapter, verse 19, I had
rather speak five words with my understanding, that I might also in-
struct others, than ten thousand words in a strange tongue. But of
this point more hereafter.
The fourth argument. God requires in his people wisdom, know-
ledge, and instruction. Therefore the Scriptures must be read,
and therefore translated into the vulgar tongues. The antecedent
I prove thus. Deut. iv., God will have his people to be wise and of
understanding, that the nations round about hearing of this might
be smitten with an admiration, and say, verse 6, Only this people is
wise, and of understanding, and a great nation. The Apostle, Col.
iii. 16, will have God’s word to dwell in them richly or plenteously.
Paul in his Epistles every where requires the Churches to whom
he writes to be filled with all knowledge. The adversaries contend
and dispute much against this knowledge which God requires in
the common people.
The fifth argument. Christ, while he lived among the Jews,
spake and preached unto them in their own mother tongue. The
Apostles of Christ in like manner did preach the Gospel in their
vulgar tongue, as in the day of Pentecost and after; and for this
very cause, that they might speak to every nation in their own
Third argu-
ment.
Fourth argu-
ment.
Fifth argu-
ment.
1 Original: Quasi divisset;-“as if he had said.”
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 143
known language, that gift of tongue was given them. Thus then
I reason: If to preach the Gospel in the vulgar known languages
was no profanation of the Gospel, then so in like manner, to write
the Gospel in the vulgar known languages is no profanation of the
same ; for there is like reason of both.
The sixth argument is from the perpetual use and practice of alliºn argu-
the ancient Church. For in the primitive Church, the sacred
Scripture was translated near hand into all languages, as the Chal-
daic, the Syriac, the Arabian, the Armenian, the Egyptian, the
Ethiopian, the Indian, the Persian, Scythian, the Sarmatian
tongue. There are not a few do avouch this, Chrysostom,” Theo-t Homil. 1 in
ſe Joannem.
doret,f Augustin, f with others. And at this day there be extant De º
• º e • . Graecor
the Chaldaic, the Syriac, the Arabic, the Egyptian, and the Ethio-º"
pian translations; all which the learned say were done in the tºº,
Apostles' time. Chrysostom turned the sacred Scripture into * *
the Armenian tongue, as Sixtus Senensis reporteth. Jerome
translated the Scripture into the Dalmatic tongue, as these men do Lingua Dal.
Imatica.
testify, Alphonsus a Castro," Eckius, Hosius,” Erasmus. Methodius.”
translated it into the Sclavonian tongue, as saith Aventin * in his
Chronicle. Ulphilas, Bishop of the Goths, translated the same into
* Alfonso de Castro, a Spanish divine, of the order of St Francis, followed to
England Philip II., when he married Queen Mary. He died at Brussels in
1558, aged sixty-three years. His works, which are mainly controversial,
were published at Paris, in 1578. –Ladvocat, s. v.
* Stanislaus Hosius, a native of Cracovia, was educated in Italy, and on his
return to Poland, became ultimately Bishop of Warmia. For his services with
the Emperor Ferdinand, to whom the Pope appointed him resident nuncio, he
was made Cardinal in 1561, and was one of the three legates that Opened
the Council of Trent in that year. He returned to Germany, but soon after
was recalled to Rome, where he died in 1579, aged seventy-five years.
His works are numerous, and highly esteemed by the Roman Catholics.—Lad-
vocat, s. v. Pallavacino, ibid. lib. xiv. c. 13. lib. xv. 6, 6. c. &c.
* Two brothers, Cyril and Methodius, Sons of Leo, a noble Greek of Thessalo-
nica, are said to have first preached the Gospel to the Sclavonians, in the end
of the ninth century; and to Cyril is ascribed the invention of the Sclavonic
Letters.—Horne's Introduction, vol. ii. part i. p. 245.
* John Aventin of Abensperg, born in 1466, died in 1534. He wrote Annales
Bavaria, to which there is here a reference. The best edition is that of 1580.
—Ladvocat, s. v.
144 A TREATISE OF
Socrates, tri-the Goths' language. Augustin writeth that the Old Testament
partita his-
toria."
De Civitato
was translated into Syriac. Harding against Juel,” and Eckius, write
that the Muscovites and the people of Russia had the Scripture in
their own mother tongue. The History of England, written by
Beda, affirmeth, that the Scriptures were translated into the
English tongue before his time. Beda saith, he translated part of
the New Testament himself.” Thus far the practice of the Old
Dei, lib. xv.
1 The ecclesiastical histories of Socrates, Sozomenus, and Theodoritus, (which
are generally joined with those of Eusebius, Theodorus, and Evagrius,) were first
translated, or paraphrased in Latin by Epiphanius Scholasticus in the beginning
of the sixth century, and were repeatedly printed prior to our Author's time,
especially at Basle. From the three authors thus translated, Epiphanius called
the work Tripartita Historia, which he divided into twelve books, (Fabricii, Bib.
Graec., vol. vii. p. 425.) But Sozomenus, not Socrates, makes the statement
referred to by our Author.—Sozom. IIist. Ecclesiast. lib. vii. c. 37. For an ac-
count of the Gothic translation, made towards the close of the fourth century,
see IIorne's Introduction, vol. ii. part i. p. 240.
* This is the celebrated Bishop Jewel, who flourished in the time of Henry
VIII., Mary, and Elizabeth. His Apology for the National Church was attacked
by Harding, a Roman Catholic divine. The original is adversus Jovellum.
* The original has no counterpart to the words, “written by Beda.” It has
simply Anglicana IIistoria, though it is highly probable that it is to the Historia
Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum of Bede that our Author refers. The only words
there bearing on this subject, that I can find, are, (lib. i. c. 1,) “Haºc [insula] in
praesenti, juxta numerum librorum quibus lex divina scripta est, quinque gentium
linguis unam eandemgue summa veritatis et veræ sublimatis scientiam Scrutatur
et confitetur, Anglorum videlicet, Britonum, Scotorum, Pictorum, et Latinorum,
quae, meditatione Scripturarum ceteris omnibus est facta communis.” This, it
must be admitted, is ambiguous. If it means that there was a translation of
the Scriptures in the Anglo-Saxon before Bede's time, it must also mean that
there was a Welsh, Scottish, and Pictish translation, All that it seems to
indicate is, that there were preaching and creeds in the several languages, and
that for the study of the Scriptures the Latin was the common medium. Fulke,
in his edition of the Rhemish Testament, is of our Author's opinion. “He
meaneth that learned men of all the four nations studied the Scriptures by
help of the Latin tongue, and such commentaries and treatises of the elder
fathers as were written therein. But he saith expressly, that the knowledge of
the highest truth, which is not to be found but in the Holy Scriptures, and
according thereunto, Was both scarched out and confessed in the mother tongue
of the other four nations, by which he meaneth the Christians unlearned in the
Latin tongue.”—(Preface, p. 3, ed. 1601.) I have been unable to discover in
Pede any notice of his translation of part of the New Testament. It is said
that his translation of the Gospel of St John is the first portion of the New
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 145
Church, whereby, as by the rest of the argument aforegoing, it
followeth, that the sacred Scripture is to be translated into every
country's vulgar language.
Now it resteth to see what the Papists answer to this question
we have in hand. Some few years past they utterly denied that
the sacred Scripture might be translated into any mother tongue.
1 × sº e e * Do horis
Petrus Asoto,"* Censura Coloniensis, and Harding, before named, ...
these write that some are of this judgment, the Scriptures are
not to be translated into the vulgar languages. And for this cause,
such as translated Scriptures, they were banished” and condemned
by the Pope, and their books were prohibited and burnt. And
when they saw this to be odious to all men, these grave fathers
changed their minds, and now forsooth they avouch the Scriptures
may be translated into the vulgar languages, yet by the Pope's
permission. And this albeit it seems to be something diverse
from the former assertion, yet in effect it is the very same.
For the Pope will permit no man to do this, but to such a one
as shall turn all the corruptions which are to be found in the
old Latin edition into the vulgar tongue, and so recommend
the same to posterity. This is Bellarmin’s” judgment and the
Testament translated into the language of this island of which we have any
account.—(Historical Introduction to the English Hexapla, p. 2.) Horne (Intro-
duction, &c., vol. ii. p. 246) says: “Not many years after this, the learned
and venorable Bede (who died A. D. 735) translated the entire Bible into
that language.”—See also, on this subject, Archbishop Usher's Historia Dog-
matica Controversia, &c., p. 107.
* This, both in the original and translation, should be Petrus a Soto. He
was a distinguished Dominican of Cordova, Confessor to the Emperor Charles
W. He afterwards taught in Dettingen till 1553, when he was summoned to
England to assist in re-establishing the Papal faith in the Universities of Oxford
and Cambridge. On the death of Queen Mary in 1558, he returned to
Dettingen, and thence went to the Council of Trent, where he died in 1563.
His works are held in high estimation by those of his own persuasion.—Ladvo-
Cat, s. v. Pallavacino, ibid. lib. 20. CC. 13, 17, &c.
* As in the case of Luther, Wicliff, Tindal, &c.—See Archbishop Usher, ibid
pp. 179, &c. “Banished.” Original: proscriptis. “Excommunicated” seems
a preferable translation.
* Bellarmin treats more of readers than of translators. But his allusion to
the Celebrated Index of Pius IV. in the following passage, together with his
VOL. I. R.
146 A TREATISE OF
Rhemists.' But we avouch the contrary, to wit, that every godly
learned man, skilful in the tongues, may translate the Scripture
without the Pope's permission; yea, albeit he prohibits the same;
and that it shall be lawful for the Church of Christ to accept of the
same translation after examination, albeit the Pope give none
authority nor approbation hereunto. For in the ancient Church,
when the authority or tyrannical jurisdiction of the Pope was un-
wholesale approbation of the Vulgate throughout, makes his opinion abundantly
clear. At Catholica Christi Ecclesia non quidem prohibet omnino vulgares
translationes, ut Kemnitius impudenter mentitur, nam in indice librorum prohi-
bitorum a Pio IV., edito Reg. IV. videmus concedi lectionem ejusmodi
librorum iis qui utiliter et cum fructu ea uti possunt, id est, iis qui facultatem
ab ordinario obtinuerint ; prohibet tamen me passim Omnibus sine discrimine
concedatur ejusmodilectio, et me in publico, et communi usu Ecclesiae, Scripturæ
legantur vel canantur vulgaribus linguis, ut in Concilio Trident. Sess. 22, cap.
8, et can. 9,-(Ibid. p. 112.) Bellarmin’s mode of stating the controversy is
instructive. Controversia ost inter Catholicos et ha-reticos, an oporteat, vel
certe eaſoediat, divinarum Scripturarum uSum communem esse in lingua vulgari,
ct propria uniuscujusque regionis.
* “Now, since Luther's revolt also, divers learned Catholics, for the more
speedily abolishing of a number of false and impious translations put forth by
sundry sects, and for the better preservation or reclaim of many good souls
endangered thereby, have published the Bible in the Several languages of
almost all the principal provinces of the Latin Church: no other book in the
world being so pernicious as heretical translations of the Scriptures, poisoning
the people under colour of Divine authority, and not many other remedies being
sovereign against the same (if it be used in order, discretion, and humility) than
the true, faithful, and sincere interpretation opposed thereunto. Which causeth
the Holy Church not to forbid utterly any Catholic translation, though she
allow not the publishing or reading of any, without exception or limitation;
knowing by her divine and most sincere wisdom, how, where, when, and to
whom these, her Master's and Spouse's gifts, are to be bestowed to the most
good of the faithful; and, therefore, neither generally permitteth that which
must needs do hurt to the unworthy, nor absolutely condemneth that which may
do much good to the worthy. Whereupon, the order which many a wise man
wished for before, was taken by the deputies of the late famous Council of Trent
in their behalf, and confirmed by supreme authority, (Ind. li. prohibit. regula 4,)
that the Holy Scriptures, though truly and Catholicly translated into vulgar
tongues, yet may not be indifferently read of all men, nor of any other than
such as have express license thereunto of their lawful ordinaries, with good tes-
timony from their curates or confessors, that they be humble, discreet persons,
and like to take much good and no harm thereby.”—(Preface to the Rhemish
Translation of the New Testament.)
GOD’S EFFECTUAL CALLING. 147
known, the translations before specified were both done and re-
ceived of the Churches without the Pope. And thus far of the
first question.
It followeth, in the second place, whether the Liturgy or common
prayers of the Church are to be celebrated in a known tongue? I
mean the public service or worship of God in ecclesiastical assem-
blies, as the public prayers, the reading of the Scriptures, the ad-
ministration of the Sacraments, singing of psalms, &c. These be
called by the name of divine service. To the question we answer : :
affirmatively, that this public service of God is to be done in the
vulgar tongue. Our first argument we take from the 1 Cor. xiv.,
where, from the sixth verse to the twenty-first, the Apostle teach-
eth that nothing is to be done in the Church in an unknown and
strange language. But Bellarmin excepteth, saying, that in that
chapter the Apostle understandeth principally, a collation and exhort-
ation, which in the old Church followed after the public prayers;” and
to this end he showeth out of Justin Martyr, the custom of the old sº
Church. “The Christians assembled on the Lord's days, and first, ...
the Scriptures were read; then after this the chief minister of the: "“”
place preached; after this the sacraments were administered; lastly,
they did use conference of divine arguments or of godly questions.”
I answer, the Apostle here entreateth generally of all ecclesiastical
duties, and that in this order; first, ye have a general doctrine
from the sixth verse to the fourteenth. Next, there followeth a
special instruction how prayers must be conceived, how to sing
psalms, not in an unknown tongue, but in a known or common lan-
guage, to the nineteenth verse. After this he returns to his
general doctrine again.
* Respondeo, imprimis certum esse, in magna parte hujus capites non agi de
lectione Scripturarum, nec officiis divinis, sed de exhortatione spiritualisive
collatione. Ut enim olim monasti inter se conveniebant, et conferebant de rebus
Spiritualibus, unde existunt collationes Patrum apud Cassianum, ita etiam in
prima Ecclesia, vindicat beatus Justimus in fine Apolog. 2.—(Bellarmin, ibid.
p. 218.) The following account of Martyr's statement is verbatim from Bcl-
larmin. The marginal, “Note the order,” &c., is the translator's.
* Divine Service. Original: sacrorum.
148 A TREATISE OF
Bellarmin" excepteth again, that Paul here speaketh of songs
which in that meeting they sung, which were endued with some
extraordinary gift of the Holy Ghost. I answer, the Apostle dis-
tinctly nameth prayers and songs. Again, he speaketh of those
prayers and thanksgivings, whereunto the people did answer, Amen;
now the people did not answer Amen but to the public prayers;
wherefore he meaneth here public prayers conceived in the divine
administrations, in the public assemblies.
º, Bellarmin’ again objecteth: “The public prayers in Corinth were
in the Greek tongue, a speech well known to the people, and
that the Apostle knew, and therefore there was no need to prescribe
any such rules for their divine service.” I answer, albeit it be
granted that the common prayers,” &c., at Corinth were done in
the known mother tongue, yet it followeth not but that the Apos-
tle's doctrine is general of all ecclesiastical offices to be done in
the public assemblies. Next, it is most like, that there were at
Corinth some which had the gift of tongues, which abused it to
vain ostentation, even in the public administration, and that is it
which the Apostle taxeth in that chapter. And thus far of the
first argument.
Argument 2. The second is of the same Apostle in the same chapter, verse 6;
If I shall come unto you, speaking with tongues, that is, unknown
tongues, what shall I profit Ayou ? Hence I conclude, the public
worship of God must be not in an unknown but a known language.
Bellarmin answereth, that he which administereth the public prayers*
in an unknown tongue shall profit others, for it is sufficient that
1 Vera igitur sententia est, Apostolum hoc loco non agere de divinis officiis
mec de publicaScripturarum lectione, sed de canticis Spiritualibus, qua Christiani
componebant, ad laudandum Deum, et gratias ei agendas, et simul ad Suam et
aliorum consolationem et acdificationem. This opinion Bellarmin claborately
defends at greater length than it seems necessary to quote.—(Ibid. p. 120.)
2 Non loqui Apostolum de Scripturis vel officiis divinis CX co probatur, quod
Scripturæ sine dubio legebantur Grace, et divina officia fiebant Grace in Graccia,
ut otiam ha-retici admittunt.—(Bellarmin, ibid. p. 120.) The marginal note,
“If,” &c., is the translator's.
3 The usual public divine service. Original: solita sacra publica.
4 The public divine service. Original: Sacra publica.
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 149
God understands him, and this he goeth about to clear by a simili-
tude.” “Like as,” saith he, “if a man speak for a rustic or rude man,
ignorant in the Latin tongue, in Latin to the king, this shall suffice
if the king understand him, to confer any benefit by the king upon
the same ignorant person.” I answer, what is this else but to say, tº opera-
that the public administration doth profit the people by virtue or
merit of the work done,” albeit in the meantime the people be without
faith and knowledge of the true God;” but of this in place apper-
taining.
The third argument is of the same Apostle in the same chapter, º, Argº-
ver. 11; He that speaketh unto me in a strange tongue, shall be as a
Barbarian ; therefore the public administration of the word and
Sacraments, and of all God’s worship and service, must be in the
vulgar and known tongue. Bellarmin “answereth, that he which
speaketh Hebrew, Greek, or Latin, albeit he be not understood,
yet is he not to be reputed as a Barbarian, because these tongues
be not barbarous; but if he speak in any other language, he is to
be accounted barbarous. I answer, If the speaker who speaketh
in these tongues be not understood, he shall be to him who under-
standeth him not, as barbarous. For so the very poet avoucheth it
of himself; When, saith he, he was in exile in Pontus, he com-
plaineth,” that albeit he spake Latin, yet he was accounted of those
strangers as barbarous;
* Imprimis falsum est, ex publica oratione Ecclesiæ nullum fructum a populo
percipi, nisi ea oratio a populo intelligatur ; nam oratio Ecclesiae non fit populo,
sed Deo pro populo. Itaque non est opus, ut populus intelligat, ut ei prosit, sed
Satis est si intelliget Deus. Quemadmodum si quis apud Regem Latine oraret
pro aliquo rustico, Certe rusticus fructum inde percipere poterit, etiamsi non
intelligat orationem advocati Sui.-(Bellarmin, ibid, p. 121.) It may be in-
teresting to compare Rollock's own account of this similitude. Ut, inquit, si
quis Latine pro aliquo rustico et Latinae linguæ imperito agat cum Rege, hic
satis est si Rex intelligat, ad hoc ut beneficium perveniatadrusticum.—(P. 161.)
2 Original: Virtute operis operati.
* “Of the true God.” Not in the original.
* I have not been able to find this passage in the edition of Bellarmin's works
Of 1620.
* More correctly,–For when Ovid was in exile in Pontus, he complained, &c.
150 A TREATISE OF
“Barbarus hic ego sum, quia non intelligor ulli.” "
And when it was objected to Anacharsis,” the philosopher, at
Athens, that he was barbarous, he answered, “The Athenians are
barbarous unto me.”
The fourth argument is of the same Apostle in the same chapter,
ver. 16; When thou blessest with the Spirit, to wit, speaking in an
unknown tongue, how shall he, that occupieth the room of the un-
learned, say Amen at thy thanksgiving, seeing he knoweth not what
thou sayest? Whence it followeth necessarily, that all public prayers
and services of God must be done in the known vulgar tongue.
Bellarmin “answereth, that it sufficeth, if some of the people under-
Fourth Ar-
gllment.
1 Trist. V. 10. 37. -
2 A Scythian prince who visited Athens in the time of Solon, and became
noted for the terse wisdom of his sayings.-Herodot. iv. 76, 77. Lucian, Scytha.
3 This is not a correct account of Bellarmin’s answer. He gives two answers
that have been made to the Protestant objection, both of which he rejects. The
first is, that Paul is still speaking of exhortation and friendly conference, as
distinct from and carried on after divine service. This answer Bellarmin holds
to be totally at variance with the plain meaning of the words. The Second is,
that the passage does refer to the stated divine service, but that there was a per-
son who, in behalf of the unlearned, or as one of the unlearned, (whom Rollock
calls a clerk, a term not used by Bellarmin at all,) replied, Amen. This, too,
Bellarmin rejects, on the ground that all ancient authorities agree that there
was no such office in the early Church. He gives it as his own opinion, that
the Apostle refers to prayers and praises offered to God in the course of those
exhortatory conferences which followed, but formed no part of the stated service.
JBellarmin’s actual reply to the objection here stated by our Author, which he
saw might be proposed in this shape—granted that the Apostle does so refer,
the same principle holds good in the case of the stated Services—is illogical,
contradictory, and in its admissions, fatal to his argument. I give the whole
of the concluding passage in his own words. At objicies. Sicut Apostolus volebat
ista Cantica fieri lingua vulgari, ut populus subjiceret, Amen, ita etiam debuit
velle, ut divina officia celebrarentur lingua vulgari, ut populus respondere posset,
Amen. Respondeo, negando consequentiam, quia divina officia fichant lingua
Graeca, quam multi de populo intelligebant, etsi non omnes, et hoc satiserat,
non enim volebat Apostolus, ut omnes possent respondere. . Praeterea, tunc quia
Christiani erant pauci, omnes simul psallebant in Ecclesia et respondebant in
divinis officiis ; at postea crescente populo divisa Sunt magis officia, et solis
Cleris relictum est, ut communes preces et laudes in Ecclesia peragant. Deni-
que finis praecipuus illorum canticorum erat instructio et consolatio populi:
fiebant enim in collationibus loco exhortationis, et ideo aequum erat ut a pluri-
misintelligerentur, et nisi lingua nota facta fuissent, vel mox sequuta fuisset
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 151
stand and answer, Amen; yea, it sufficeth, if he whom they call
the clerk, say Amen for the people. I answer, This was not the
custom of that old ancient Church which never knew what a clerk
meant.
My fifth argument is of the same Apostle in the same chapter, ...”
verse 40; Let all things in the Church be done decently, and in order.
But if the minister shall pray in an/..nknown tongue, and the
people shall conceive other prayers differing from the minister's,
then shall the minister in the public congregation have his prayers,
and every one of the people his own prayers also, and not the
same with the minister. What good decency can be in this, when
the people are so divided in prayer, which, in the public assembly,
should offer up with one mind, and with one mouth, one and the
same prayer unto God?
The sixth argument is from a point which Bellarmin himself.”
yieldeth." He granteth that the public administration of prayers,
&c., at Corinth, were done in the known Greek tongue; wherefore
then may not all other Churches in the like manner have their
Liturgy in the vulgar known language 2 What can he answer
here, but this haply, that the public administration at Corinth
was done in the mother tongue, not for that it was the vulgar
tongue, but because it was Greek 2 for Papists give the Greek
tongue, when they please, some prerogative.
The seventh argument is from another point which Bellarmin seventh
granteth.” The collations, as himself speaketh, and the exhortations, Argument.
ought to be done in the mother tongue; wherefore, in like manner,
may not the public administration of God’s worship be done in the
mother tongue best known to the people? He answereth, that
the reason is not the same of the collation and service. “For,” saith
he, “the collations tend to the instruction and consolation of the
interpretatio, perisset praecipuus fructus ipsorum, at divinorum officiorum nec
est finis praecipuus instructio vel consolatio populi, Sed cultus Dei, et quae
populum Scire oportet, ex divinis officiis a pastoribus explicantur.—(Ibid.
p. 121.)
'* See the quotation from Bellarmin in the last note,
152 A TREATISE OF
people; but the public service principally concerns God’s worship.”
I answer; Doth not all the people worship God in the public ad-
ministration or service of God, and therefore ought they not to
worship God in a known language, if they will worship their God
in faith ? -
The eighth argument is from the practice of the old and best
Church. In elder ages, so many translations were done, principally
to this end, to celebrate the public service of God, and that herein
the Scriptures might be read to every man in his known mother
tongue. AEneas Sylvius writeth, that to Cyril and Methodius it
was permitted, that the people of Moravia should have their com-
mon prayers' in the mother tongue. And at this day the people
of Armenia, AFthiopia, AEgypt, and the Muscovites, have their com-
mon prayers” in their known tongue. Here Bellarmin answereth;
“All these are heretics.” ” I say they be no more heretics than
Papists. Assuredly, as touching public prayers, I had rather be in
this heresy with them than with the Papists, as they think to
mean well." And thus for our judgment in this matter.
The adversaries say, that the public prayers” may not be in a
known tongue, but in Hebrew or Greek, as in the East and Greek
Lib. de
Origine
Bohemo–
Tll II).
1 2 5 Public divine service. Original : publica sacra.
8 Bellarmin makes a distinction between the Moravians and the other
nations here mentioned. The latter he calls heretics, or Schismatics. As to
the Moravians, he says:–Ad illud de Moravis respondeo, fuisse causam justam,
cur ideo tempore fieri deberet, quia nimirum, (ut refert AEneas Sylvius libro de
origine Bohemorum, c. 13,) totum regnum simul convertebatur, et non poterant
inveniri ministri, qui Latine celebrarent, visum est Summo Pontifici melius per-
mittere, ut Sclavonice id fieret, quam nullo modo. Tamen postea ubi crevit
eruditio et ministri idonei inveniebantur, qui possent Latine idem praestare,
melius fuit omittere usum linguæ Sclavonicæ, et Communem totius ecclesiae con-
suetudinem sequi, ut hoc tempore Moravi Catholici faciunt.—(Ibid. p. 126.)
It deserves notice, in reference to our Author's research, that as Bellarmin
makes no mention of the parties among the Moravians to whom the permission
was given, Rollock must have verified for himself the passage from AEneas Syl-
vius, otherwise Pius II. Pope, 1458–1464. His Historia Bohemorum, with
other writings, were republished in Helmstad, in one volume fol. 1700.
4 Incorrect; it should be, I had rather be in this heresy with them, than
think with the Papists orthodoxly, as they suppose. Original: Malim in hac
ha-resi esse cum iis, quam cum Papistis, ut psi putant, recte sentire.
GOD’S EFFECTUAL CALLING. 153
Churches; or in the Latin tongue, as in the Latin and West
Churches. The arguments they produce for this purpose be, first,
from the prerogative of tongues. The first is this; “Christ in the
title of his cross gave honour to these three languages; therefore
public prayers' ought to be done in these.” ” I answer; Albeit we
grant the antecedent, the consequent will not follow; yea, rather,
we may infer the contrary. The Lord would have the cause of
Christ's death to be manifested to all people in those languages
which then were best known, which cannot be denied of the Greek
and Latin; therefore public prayers* ought to be done in the vulgar
tongues, and known to the people.
The second argument.—“These three tongues, Hebrew,Greek, and
Latin, are of greatest excellency, antiquity, and authority; there-
fore the common prayers and service of God “ought to be done only
in these tongues.”” I answer; Grant the antecedent be true, yet the
sequel is not good. For that very gift of tongues which was given
the Apostles in the feast of Pentecost, plainly proveth that every
tongue, be it never so base, is sanctified of God for holy uses, and Noto.
for the execution of public and ecclesiastical offices, and service
unto God.
The third argument.—“The Scriptures were originally written in The Papists
say, Saint
these three tongues;" therefore the public prayers' ought to be doneº,
in these only.” I answer; First, the antecedent is false; for neither.””
the whole Scripture, nor any part thereof, was written first in the
Latin tongue. For whereas they say Saint Mark's Gospel was
first written in Latin,” it is false; but of this point elsewhere.”
1 * * 7 Original: sacra publica.
** 6 Contenti Sumus illis tribus linguis quas Dominus titulo crucis suae hono-
ravit, Joan. 19. et qua omnium consensu, antiquitate, amplitudine, et gravitate
Omnibus aliis praestant; ac demum quibus ipsi libri divini ab auctoribus suis
initio Scripti fuerunt hoc est Hebræa, Graeca, et Latina.-(Bellarmin, ibid.
p. 112.)
* Sunt enim qui existiment, Marci evangelium, ut etiam supra monuimus,
Latine scriptum Roma ab ipso Marco; et postea ab eodem in Graecam linguam
translatum.—(Bellarmin, ibid. p. 113.)
* He, probably, refers here to his general account “of the Greek edition of the
New Testament,” in his 19th chapter.
154 A TREATISE OF
Next, I answer, that it will not follow of that antecedent, that
public prayers should be said in unknown tongues, but rather the
contrary followeth ; for that whereas the Scripture was first written
in these two tongues, Hebrew and Greek, for this very cause, for
that even then, and in those times, these two languages were most
common, and best known to the people; hence it follows rather, I
say, that the public prayers* ought to be in the most common and
best known tongues.
Thus far we have heard of arguments drawn from the preroga-
tive of tongues; now follow arguments from the practice and use
of the Church. The first here is this : “From Ezra until Christ the
Scripture was wont to be read in the church of the Jews in the
Hebrew tongue, that is, an unknown tongue; ergo, public prayers
may be said” in an unknown tongue.” ” I answer; I grant the Scrip-
tures were read in the Hebrew tongue, but I deny that this was
an unknown tongue. For, Nehemiah viii., it is very clear that the
sacred Scripture which Ezra read in Hebrew was understood by
the people which were present and heard it." Whereupon the
contrary consequent must follow. The Scripture was read in the
church of the Jews in older ages in a known tongue; therefore it
must be read at this day in popular and known tongues.
1 Original: Publica sacra,
2 This should be, The public divine service Ought to be celebrated. Original:
Ergo celebranda sacra publica.
3 Principio igitur Ecclesiæ Catholicæ consuetudinem comprobare possumus
ox usu Ecclesiae Veteris Testamenti, qui fuit a tempore Esdras, usque ad Chris-
tum. Nam a temporibus Esdra, desiit in populo Dei lingua Hebraica esse
vulgaris; siquidem in illis Septuaginta annis quibus Hebræi fuerunt inter
Chaldeos in Babylone, obliti sunt linguam propriam, et Chaldaicam didicerunt,
et deinceps Chaldaica, seu Syriaca fuit illis materna, quocirca lib. Esd. 2, [Nehe-
miah with us, cap. 8. habemus, quod cum legeretur liber legis Domini universo
populo, Nehemias, et Esdras, et Levitae interpretabantur, quia alioqui populus
nihil intelligebat. Itaque propterea, ut ibidem dicitur, facta est lactitia magna
in populo, quia intellexerant verba legis, Esdrainterpretante.-(Bellarmin, ibid.
p. 112.) -
4 The opinion of most learned men, as well as of our Author himself in
other places, (pp. 113, 135,) is decidedly in favour of Bellarmin's statement,
that the Hebrew, in its pure form, was not understood by the Jews on
their return from Babylon. But the circumstance mentioned by Bellarmin,
GOD’s EFFECTUAL CALLING. 155
The second argument is from the practice of the Jewish syna-
gogue in these times. “To this day,” saith he, “the Scripture is
read in the synagogue of the Jews in the Hebrew tongue; therefore
public prayers must be celebrated' in an unknown tongue.”” I
answer; The argument follows not from the evil example of the
synagogue of the Jews; for that this reading of the Old Testa-
ment in an unknown tongue is the cause wherefore so many of
them hold back, and will not be converted to the faith of Christ.
The third argument is from the practice of the primitive Church.
“In the primitive Church the prayers” were said in one of these
three tongues; therefore the conclusion followeth.” “I answer; The
antecedent is false, for that, as hath been before showed, in the
time of the old Church, yea, in the very days of the Apostles, the
Scriptures were translated in a manner into all languages.
The fourth argument is from the continual practice of the
Catholic Church; “for in it the public prayers” were ever either in
the Greek or Latin tongue.”" I answer; If by Catholic Church they
Nehemias, et Esdras, et Levitae interpretabantur, is evidently fatal to his own
argument. The words of another eminent Roman Catholic authority may be here
quoted on this subject. “The mode of conducting religious instruction and
worship, at the present day in Christian churches, is derived for the most part
from the practices which anciently prevailed in Synagogues. And still there
were no regular teachers in them, who were officially qualified to pronounce
discourses before the people, although there were interpreters, |py F, pinnip,
who rendered into the vernacular language—viz., the Hebrew, Aramaean—the
sections which had been publicly read in Hebrew.”—(Jahn's Biblical Antiquities,
§ 372. Upham's Translation.)
1 This should be, The public divine service ought to be celebrated. Original:
Ergo celebranda sacra publica.
* Denique usque ad hanc diem in Synagogis Judaei Scripturas Hebraice
legunt, cum tamen nulli nationi hoc tempore lingua Hebraica sit vulgaris.—
(Bellarmin, ibid. p. 112.)
** Original: Publica sacra.
4 Probatur Secundo ex usu Apostolorum : nam Apostoli per totum orbem
terrarum Evangelium praedicarunt, et Ecclesias constituerunt, ut patet ex Paulo
ad Rom. 10, et ad Coloss. 1, . . . . et tamen non scripserant Evangelia
aut Epistolas linguis earum gentium, quibus praedicabant, sed tantum Hebraice,
aut Graece, et ut quidam volunt, Latine.—(Bellarmin, ibid. p. 113.)
9 Probatur tertio ex usu universalis Ecclesiae; nam ut Augustinus docet,
epistola 118, contra id quod universa Ecclesia facit disputare, insolentissimae
156 A TREATISE OF
mean the Church of Rome, then I weigh not the example and
practice thereof. But if by this word they mean the true Catholic
Church, then it is clear already by that which is before delivered,
that the antecedent is false. And thus far of these arguments taken
from the practice and use of the Church.
To the former arguments, they add more from a final cause."
“The public administration of God's service and worship being per-
formed of all or most Churches in one tongue, to wit, the Latin,
this might serve well for the preservation of the unity of faith.” ” To
this I answer; This serves notably for the continuance and increase
of unbelief and ignorance. Again, our very experience teacheth, by
God’s good blessing in these times, that, notwithstanding the great
variety of tongues in the Reformed Churches, yet they agree well,
to God be the praise! in the unity of faith.
Next, they reason from the little good which hence ensueth,” as
they imagine. “It profits the people nothing at all that the Scrip-
tures be read in the vulgar tongues; for they understand not any
sentence of Scripture, albeit they know the words.” “ To this I
answer; Every one of the unlearned, if they come to hear the Scrip-
tures with God’s fear and reverence, they shall reap and receive
some profit by it.
Again, from another danger which may happen,” they reason
insaniae est. Universa porro Ecclesia Semper his tantum linguis, Hebræa,
Graeca, et Latina, usu est in communi et publico usu Scripturarum, cum tamen
jamdudum desierint esse vulgares.—(Bellarmin, ibid. p. 112.)
1 Original: Ab usu et fine utili.
2 Sed accedat argumentum ab ipsa ratione petitum. Nam convenit omnino
ad Ecclesiæ unitatem conservandam, ut publicus usus Scripturarum sit in aliqua
lingua communissima : nisi enim sit Scripturarum publicus usus in lingua com-
muni, tolletur imprimis communicatio Ecclesiarum.—(Bellarmin, ibid. p. 116.)
8 Original: Ab inutili.
4 Quinto si ulla ratio esset, cur Scripturæ lingua vulgari in Coetu fidelium legi
deberent, ea certe esset potissima ut omnes intelligerent. At Certe populus non
intelligeret Prophetas, et Psalmos, et alia quæ in Ecclesiis legantur, etiamsi
lingua materna legerentur. Nos enim qui Latine Scimus, non propterea continuo
intelligimus Scripturas, nisi expositores legamus vel audiamus. Quomodo ergo
intelligerent homines imperiti? praesertim cum Scripturæ eo sint obscuriores,
quo magis in peregrinas linguas transferuntur—(Bellarmin, ibid. p. 117.)
* Original: Rursus ab inutili.
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 157
thus: “The reading of the Scriptures in a known tongue may more
hurt than profit the people; for devotion hath rather decreased
than increased, since public prayers or service of God hath been
celebrated in popular tongues.” I answer; The consequent is not
good—the sacred Scripture read in the mother tongue hurts many,
therefore it is not so to be read at all; because accidentally, and
through the default and corruption of the people, it hurts and
profits not. So—the preaching of the Gospel is the savour of death
unto many; therefore the Gospel is not to be preached Further-
more, be it known that this is no religion, nor true piety, which is
so coupled with ignorance, but a damnable superstition, when as
the sacred Scriptures are read, and prayers administered in a
strange and unknown tongue. Thus far these three arguments
from the final causes and effects.
Again, they reason from an inconvenience.” First, on this wise: “If
the Scriptures must be read in the vulgar tongue, then translations
must be renewed in every age; for ancient words wear out of use;
and this is inconvenient.”* I answer; What loss is it, if translations
be revised and renewed in every age 2 for the whole translation
needs no renewing, but some words which haply are become obso-
lete and out of use.”
| Quid, quod populus mon Solum non caperet fructum ex Scripturis, sed etiam
caperet detrimentum ; acciperet enim facillime occasionem errandi, tum in
doctrina fidei, tum in praeceptis vitae ac morum. . . . Audivi ab homime
fide digno, cum in Anglia a ministro Calvinista in templo legeretur lingua vul-
gari capitulum 25. Ecclesiastici, ubi multa dicuntur de malitia mulierum,
surrexisse foeminam quandam atque dixisse: Istudne est verbum Dei? Imo potius
verbum diaboli est.—(Bellarmin, ibid. p. 117.)
2 Original: Ab absurdo.
* Sexto, si oporteret lingua Vulgari Scripturas Sacras publice legere, oporteret
etiam singulis astatibus mutare translationes. Nam lingua vulgares singulis
sacculis magna ex parte mutantur, ut Horatius in Arte Poetica, et experientia
ipsa docet. Tot vero translationum mutationes, non sine gravissimo periculo,
et incommodo fierent. Nam non Semper inveniuntur idonei interpretes, atque
ita multi errores Committerentur; quinon possent postea facile tolli; cum neque
Pontifices, neque Concilia de tot linguis judicare possint.—(Bellarmin, ib. 117.)
* Two centuries and a half furnish another argument which our Author could
not then urge. The translation of the Scriptures into modern languages fixes
and Saves, from violent changes, these languages themselves. Thus, of our own
158 A TREATISE OF
Again, another evil which might follow this conclusion is this;"
“The Pope understandeth not all vulgar tongues; but the public
prayers” must be celebrated in a language which the Pope knoweth :
Ergo.” I answer; It is not necessary that prayers” be in that tongue
... which the Pope knoweth. This they prove" because he is the
'..." universal Bishop. And this I deny also. Wherefore there is no
damage shall follow, if public prayers” be contained in a language
which the Pope knoweth not. And thus far the second question.
The third question followeth, Whether it is lawful for the lay
people, as they call them, or the vulgar sort, to read the Holy
Scriptures? [I shall observe greater brevity in the discussion of
this question."] We avouch that it is lawful for every one, even of
the basest of the people, to read the Holy Scriptures. For this
point, see Deut. chaps. vi., xi, and xvii.; Josh. i. ; and John v. 39.
Search the Scriptures, saith the Lord Christ. Acts xvii. 11, The
men of Berea searched the Scriptures, and for this cause are com-
mended by the Holy Ghost. Matth. iv., The example of Christ,
who resisted the devil with no other weapons but of the Scripture,
teacheth us that the Scripture ministereth unto us such a furniture,
as every man must be provided of to withstand Satan in his
assaults against us. Lastly, this is proved by the practice of the
Church; for wherefore were the Scriptures in the old Church
translated into so many popular languages, but that they might be
read and understood of the people? And this is our judgment in
few words.
vide censu- What say the adversaries? Some years past they taught it
m Coloni—
ºwn was not lawful at all for any of the common and lay people,
translation, it is well said by Dr Adam Clarke, (Preface to Commentary, vol. i.
p. 21.) “our translators have not only made a standard translation, but they
have made their translation the standard of our language.”
1 Original: Rursus ab incommodo argumentantur.
2 & 5 Original: Sacra publica. &
4 This marginal note is the translator's. I presume he means that the one
error of admitting a universal bishop leads to Countless others.
6 Omitted in the translation.
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 159
as they usually term them, to read the Holy Scriptures. After-
wards, when they saw how odious this was, they changed their
mind; and now forsooth they say, it is lawful to read the Scrip-
tures, but with condition, if it be permitted. Permitted I say, of
whom 2 They answer; “By the Pope, his Bishops, or inquisitors.”
I demand, What! of these only ” They answer; “Not of these only,
but of them, with the advertisement of the parish priest or con-
fessor.” Well, I understand who be to permit the reading of the
Holy Scripture. Now I ask, To whom is this permitted 2 They
answer; “Not to all indifferently, but only to such as the parish
priest,” whom they call the curate, “shall well discern, both by their
confession, and by their whole carriage of their life, to be a true
Catholic, that is, a stubborn or stiff-necked Papist.” I see then to
whom they yield thus far the reading of the Scriptures. I demand,
in the next place, what translations be allowed them P They
answer, they will not have them to read all translations indifferently,
but such only as some Catholics have published, such as at this
day, the English Rhemish translation of the New Testament.
Thus far briefly of that permission, which hath so decreed the
condition of this liberty of reading the Scriptures. And this is their
meaning according to the decree of Pius Quartus, the Pope, which
decree is confirmed also by the Council of Trent," and commended
I It is not quite correct to say that the decree of Pius IV. was confirmed
by the Council of Trent. The converse was the case. The Rules of the Coun-
cil of Trent were confirmed by the Pope. The following is the fourth of the
Rules, prefixed by that Council to their Index librorum prohibitorum, and con-
firmed by a constitution of Pius IV. in 1564. The title is, De Libris Prohibitis
Regulae X. per Patres a Tridentina Synodo delectos concinnatae, et a Pio P. P.
IV. comprobatae superiore constitutione, qua incipit Dominici, die xxiv. Martii,
anno MDLXIV. :—Cum experimento manifestum sit, si sacra Biblia vulgari lin-
gua passim sine discrimine permittamtur, plus inde, ob hominum temeritatem,
detrimenti quam utilitatis oriri: hac in parte judicio Episcopi aut Inquisitoris
stetur, ut cum consilio Parochi vel Confessarii, Bibliorum a Catholicis auctori-
bus VerSorum lectionem in Vulgari lingua eis concedere possint, quos intellex-
erint ex hujusmodi lectione non damnum, Sed fidei atque pietatis argumentum
Capere posse ; quam facultatem in Scriptis habeant. Quin autem abs(ue tali
facultate ea legere seu habere, præsumpserint; nisi prius Bibliis ordinario red-
ditis, peccatorum absolutionem percipere non possint. Bibliopola, Vero, qui
160 A TREATISE OF
What Our
calling is.
by the Rhemists' in the preface of their English translation. And
this is Bellarmin’s judgment, who differeth in words only a little
from the former Popish assertion, but in matter and purpose is the
same in effect; for what difference is there, if there be no permis-
sion at all, and to be thus far permitted with such a condition as
is afore moved? -
And thus of the third question, and as touching the controver-
sies which are moved at this day concerning Holy Scripture. I
remember not any that we have left untouched. We have there-
fore spoken of the word of God, which is the word of both cove-
nants, as also of the Sacred Scripture, which is a certain mean
whereby it pleased God to manifest his word and will unto men.
It resteth now that we speak of sin, and of man’s misery.
CHAPTER XXIV.
OF SIN IN GENERAL.”
THE common-place of sin, as also the former before handled, is
subaltern to the place or general head of our calling. For calling
is the transferring of a man out of the state of sin and misery, into
the state of righteousness and happiness. Therefore we shall speak
pracdictam facultatem non habenti Biblia idiomate vulgari conscripta vendiderint
vel aliis quovis modo concesserint, librorum pretium in usus pios ab Episcopo
convertendum amittant, aliisque poemis pro delicti qualitate ejusdem Episcopi
arbitrio subjaceant. Regulares vero nonnisi facultate a Prelatis Suis habita ea
legere aut emere possint.—(Harduini, Acta Concillorum, vol. xi. p. 206.)
1 For the Rhemists and Bellarmin, see p. 145, note 3; p. 146, note 1.
2 It may be proper here to remind the reader, that our Author, in treating of
Effectual Calling, proposed to treat, 1. Of the instrument of God's call, or his
covenants, especially his Word; 2. Of the condition from which man is called,
or Sīn; and that into which he is called, or Faith, with its accessories. In the
chapters, ii.-v., the covenants were treated of generally : in the chapters,
vi.-xxiii., God's written covenant, or Word; which led to the long discussion
on the Canon. And now he resumes the more direct subject.
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 161
!
mess, that is, the want of conformity with the will and law of God,
of sin first in general; after, we shall come into his kinds or parts.
The name of sin signifies a certain thing compounded of his own
matter and form. The matter of sin, to speak thereof in the first
place, is a certain being, or thing that is, and that being is not a What sin is.
substance, but an accident; and that is either a quality or action;
and this quality or action belongs not to every creature, but only
to the reasonable creature, angel or man, for God gave his law to
these only. Of this being, which we say is the matter of sin, God
himself is the author or principal efficient ; for it is he alone that
calleth those things which are not as if they were, and that
createth all things, both substances and accidents. But the crea-
ture neither is, nor is called the principal efficient of any being.
Therefore that being, which is the matter of sin, seeing God is the
principal efficient thereof, necessarily in and by itself is good; for
that whatsoever God createth or maketh hath an ingrafted form of
goodness in it; Gen. i. 31; “When God,” saith he, “saw whatsoever
he had made, behold, it was very good.” This form of goodness is
so natural and essential to being, whether quality or action, which
God made, that therefrom it can never be separated. But now I
grant that this same being hath put on another form, to wit, ºvoaia.
Lawlessness, the cause whereof is an evil instrument, as we shall
show hereafter; for this lawlessness is from another cause, neither the cause of
doth it destroy that essential form of the goodness of the being"
itself, which proceedeth from God, the creator and maker thereof.
For, as for the being which God maketh, nothing can be put to it,
or taken from it, that in itself it may be better or worse. So much
concerning the matter of sin.
Now, as touching the form. The form of sin is called Lawless-the form of
SII).
1 John iii. 4. Sin by his form is thus defined: Sin is the trans-4 gaze.
gression of the law. This lawlessness or transgression, which we call fº.
the form and manner of sin, is not a being, or a thing positive, but "
a thing merely privative, to wit, a privation and want of confor-
mity with the law of God. This transgression happeneth through
the cause and fault of an evil instrument which God useth in that
VOL. I. L
2”
162 A TREATISE OF
Causes of
Sin.
- Causes of
Sin.
being, or in doing his own work; and this instrument is either the
devil, or an evil man, and unbeliever. For when the devil or an
evil man concurreth with God to bring forth his work, he is not
the principal efficient of the being itself, or of the work done, but
only an instrumental or ministerial cause: but the devil or man is
the principal efficient cause of the transgression, or of the deformity
or sin of that action. And this transgression, the efficient whereof
is an evil instrument, is evil either for that the action itself or
work is contrary to the law of God—as when a man committeth
murder, the action of murder is expressly condemned by the law,
Thou shalt not murder—or for that the fountain or beginning of the
action or work is against the law of God, although the action itself
be conformable to that law. For as the law of God commandeth
the action or work itself, so hath it regard of the fountain and begin-
ning of the action, commanding that the whole work which is com-
manded by the law, proceed from a pure, holy, and believing heart,
of that instrument which God useth in doing his work. An
example of this kind of transgression may be this : When any man
giveth alms, which work is indeed commanded of God, and yet
not done of charity, it is rejected; see 1 Cor. xiii. 3. Or, lastly, it
falleth out to be a sin, for that the end which the evil instrument,
in doing or working together with God, proposeth to itself, is
against the law of God. For as the law of God commandeth the
work itself, and the fountain and beginning of the work, even so
it commandeth, as the chief and principal, the end to wit, the glory
of God himself; Whether ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all
to the glory of God, 1 Cor. x. 31. And in this respect a man sinneth,
when he doth ought, not for God, nor for his glory, but for him-
self, his own profit, and only for his own glory.
Here it is to be noted, that whosoever sinneth, as touching the
fountain and original of the action, the same man always sins
touching the end, and so contrarily. Wherefore these two last
ways of transgression are always joined together. Again, it is to
be noted, that he who sinneth, touching the original and the end,
doth not always sin in the action itself; for the action or work of }
GOD'S EFFECTUAL CALLING. 163
any instrument, how evil soever in itself, may be good and con- -
* e The perSOn
formable to the law. Wherefore the first way of transgression, and jº,
the two last, are not always' conjoined. Now then this transgres-. §."
sion, which we call the manner and form of sin, coming, or put toº."
that being, the author whereof is God, and which in itself is good,
whether it be a quality or an action, maketh up that which we call
sin, and which is so called of the form thereof, and not of the
matter, seeing all things have their denominations from their
forms.
These things thus declared, it shall be easy to gather some defi-
nition of sin—that sin is a quality or action of a reasonable crea-
ture, lawless, or contrary to the law of God. The general propriety
of sin, or the consequent thereof, is guiltiness, and guiltiness is that
which meriteth or deserveth punishment; as therefore guiltiness
followeth after sin, so after guilt followeth punishment, both tem-
poral and eternal.
Let this suffice concerning sin in general, which being known, it
is easy to answer those questions which are wont to be made touch-ºº-
ing sin, and, namely, to this which they ask: If sin be of God? or, ...”
if God be the author of sin Ans. In sin there are two things—a"
being” and a transgression. God is the author and principal efficient
of that being, but of that transgression God is not the author, but
the evil instrument is. Again, it is asked, whether this transgres-
sion be any way from God? Ans. It is from God, not effecting,
but permitting it, for he suffers it to be done by an evil instrument.
Thirdly, it is demanded, if God permit sin, inasmuch as it is° trans-
gression of his law Ans. Not so, which even by this one reason
may be showed: He permitteth it unto his glory; and all the
means of God's glory, so far as they have such respect, are good;
* Necessarily. Original: Necessario.
* That is, a being or ens, in the Sense of our Author when defining the matter
of sin, (p. 161.)
* In its quality of being a transgression. Original: Qua &vokziz est. This is
uniformly the Sense wherever similar expressions occur, to the end of this
chapter.
164 A TIREATISE OF
and darkness itself, as it is permitted of God, unto the glory of his
name, becometh light.
Again, if here it be asked, If, therefore, the transgression of
God's law, in so far as a transgression, be not permitted of God,
. A doth it not of necessity follow, that sin in respect, or as it is a
. . *...*. transgression, is done against God’s will ? Ans. It followeth not ;
"“” for that which is done against God’s will is said properly to be
done against God’s decree, and not against his revealed will or
express law ; but sin, as it is a transgression of the law, is not done
against any decree ; therefore sin, as it is a transgression of the law,
is not done against God's will. The assumption is shown, because
God decreed not from everlasting, that sin, as it is a transgression
of his law, should not be done of an evil instrument. Therefore
thou sayest, he decreed that it should be done P Ans. It followeth
not. For both these are true concerning God: God hath neither
decreed that transgression, as it is transgression, should not be
done; neither hath he decreed that transgression, in so far as it is
transgression, should be done. For there is no decree of God
extant, either in this or that respect, touching sin, as it is a trans-
gression or breach of the law of God.
But thou mayest ask, Is not sin effected, as it is transgression,
some way by the permission of God? Ans. A thing is said to be
dome two ways by God's permission: either by itself, or by acci-
dent. That which by God’s permission cometh to pass by itself,
must of necessity respect and put on the nature of good, seeing
God proposeth and directeth the same unto a good end. But that
which by accident is done, God permitting it, or forsaking the
creature, nothing hindereth, but that as it is such, it is evil; for
God leaving the creature an evil instrument to itself, the creature
doth that which is evil, as it is evil; neither can it otherwise do,
being left of him who is the Author of all good. But now, in respect
of God permitting and leaving, that evil as it is evil, is done by
accident, not by itself, because God, in forsaking, purposed not
evil, as it is evil, but, on the contrary, so far forth as it respecteth
good, and is a mean of his glory, of that especially which is the
GOD'S EFFECTUAL CALLING. 165
consequent of his mercy. For all means, whether wrought by God
himself, or suffered to be done of evil instruments, in the first
place, are both ordained of God himself, and directed to the glory
of his mercy, arising from the salvation of the creature; God hath
shut up all under sin,” that he might have mercy on all. And, in the
second place, for the hardness of man, and because of the heart
that cannot repent, sins and evils which are done by an evil instru-
ment, serve to that glory which God getteth unto himself, by his
justice and just punishments.
If, on the contrary, thou object, “God suffereth sin that he may ...'.
punish the same; but he punisheth sin in that it is sin or trans-º
suffer—
I anSwer untO Cth not sin to
punish it—
tº © * • I • for that I
the assumption ; Sin, as punishment follows thereupon, which in .
sº e ſº * g not—but for
itself is good, and turns to the glory of God; in this, sin, I say, that he main
a purpose to
hath not respect unto cvil, but unto good, producing a good effect; ºniº this
own glory in
fe e G - G & & e the punish–
for an evil cause, as it is evil, cannot bring forth a good effect; but ...,
if that cause, which in itself is evil, be also considered as the cause
of a good effect, it must needs, in some sort, take unto it the
gression; therefore he permitteth sin as it is sin :”
nature of good. I confess, indeed, that sin, as it is sin, is the
cause of punishment; and the punishment, as it is the effect of an Punishment
evil cause, must needs itself be evil. And, indeed, punishmentº"
which is inflicted is considered two ways: First, as a thing in itself º:
evil; for there is some transgression in every punishment, and ſº
every punishment, after a sort, is also a sin: Again, it is consi-
dered as a thing that is good, to wit, as a mean of God's glory.
This I say, in a word, that all means, which in and by themselves
are evil, in respect of God propounding, and of the end, which is
the glory of God, in some sort are good. And that whole chain of
means, which is between God propounding, as the head and be-
* Rom. xi. 32. Our Author's translation is; Conclusit Deus omnes in contu-
macia, ut omnium misereretur. Beza, giving effect to the article rol): 7&vroeg,
which occurs in both the clauses, translates; Conclusit enim Deus omnes illos in
imobedientiam, ut omnium illorum misereretur. Our translation, it will be ob.
served, gives effect to the article in the first, but not in the second clause.
* This is the translator's own solution of the difficulty.
166 A TREATHSE OF
ginning, and the glory of God as the end, is the order of things,
which either by themselves are good, or at the least, in some sort,
may be so accounted. For these two extremes change all dark-
ness after a sort into light.
CHAPTER XXV.
OF ORIGINAL SIN.
THUS far of sin in general. The first division of sin is into ori-
ginal and actual. To speak of original sin first, we be first to
§. observe the reason why it is so named. It is called original,
cd.
because it is in us, and with us, from our first being, conception,
and nativity: for it comes by propagation, and is derived from
parents to children, as a hereditary disease, as [the itch, a leprosy,"
the stone, or any such like malady of the body. .*
And that there is such a kind of sin it is most manifest; for there
is none so sottish, and so void of all sense, that he feeleth not this
hereditary sickness in himself, as the infection and corruption of
his nature. But the Holy Ghost, who best knoweth what is in
man, doth clearly avouch this in many Scriptures.” Gen. v. 3,
When as Adam, saith he, begat a son, according to his own image.
Note here the propagation of that corrupt image, which was in
Adam, into his son Seth. Job xiv. 5,” Who can bring forth a clean
thing of an unclean 3 not one. Behold here the propagation of un-
cleanness. Psalm li. 7," Behold, I was formed in iniquity, and in sin
Tremel.
fovit: Kept
me warm in
her bed.
* In the translation, leprie. The itch, scabies, is omitted.
* This should be, That this corruption is one of descent. Original: Malum
esse hoc originis. -
3 This, in the Septuagint, Vulgate, and our translation, is v. 4. Tremellius
and Junius assume the last verse of the 13th chapter as the first of the 14th.
4 W. 5 of our translation. Our Author has adopted the version of Tremellius,
of which the translator gives, in the margin, a singular interpretation, which he
did not venture to insert in the text. The original Hebrew is ºnomy, which
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. •) 167
did my mother cherish me. Behold the sin which we have from our
mother's womb. John iii. 6, What is born of the flesh, is flesh.
I3ehold the propagation of flesh, that is, of our corrupt nature.
Rom. v. 12, Like as by one man sin entered into the world, and by sin
death, &c. Observe here the propagation of sin. Eph. ii. 3, We
were by nature the children of wrath. Note here our corrupt nature,
and therefore how subject it is to the wrath of God. And thus
far we see that there is a sin which we call original.
Now let us consider what the subject thereof is. The subject of
original sin is the whole man, body and soul, which thing is taught soul infected
us clearly by that one name which is given it, Rom. vi. 6, as else- * original
where, that old man ; whereby nothing else is signified but the
whole man corrupted, or the corruption of the whole man. That
the mind is infected with this sin, first we be taught it by very
sense itself; next, by many testimonies of Scripture. Gen. vi. 5,
When the Lord saw all the imaginations, that is, all the thoughts of his
heart, were only evil continually. Gen. viii. 21, Albeit the imagination
of man's heart be evil from his youth. Eph. ii. 3, Fulfil the will of the
flesh, and of the mind.
And that the body is infected with this poison, see Rom. vi. 12, Thebody and
e e e all the mem—
Let not sin reign in your mortal body. And that every one of the pers poison-
© e & tº e ed with ori-
members is infected and poisoned with the same sin is showed, ginal sin.
ver. 13, Neither give your members as instruments of unrighteousness
wnto sºn.
Again, the very names of this sin show the subject thereof, or
where it resteth : as when it is called flesh, concupiscence, the law
of the members, the body of sin, the body of death. And thus far
of the subject of original sin.
Now we be to come to the parts of it; and because it is a com-The material
pound thing, we are to consider, first, what the matter thereof is; ***
next, what the form. The matter of original sin is threefold. Thºm.
first part of the matter thereof is that apostacy wherein we fell all
the Septuagint, the Vulgate, and Gesenius, interpret in the same way as our
translation; the primary meaning of the word, at the same time, being to grow
QU(17%)?.
168 A TREATISE OF
away from God in the loins of Adam. This we receive from our
mother's womb : for we are all born apostates, and backsliders from
God. For that the first apostacy was not Adam's only, but did
appertain to us all—first, reason itself may sufficiently convince it:
for we were all as then in his loins, and as parcels of the substance
and nature of the first man; and so we all fell in him, and with him,
from the living God. For this very cause, Heb. vii. 9, 10, Levi
is said, before he was born, to pay tithes to Melchizedec, because
he was then in the loins of Abraham. Abraham's fact" was there-
fore Levi's fact also, and of all his posterity, which then were in
his loins. Next, this is testified by Scripture, as by name in that
place which is, Rom. v. 12, In whom,” to wit, Adam, all men have
sinned.
The first apostacy, I grant, is past, and vanished away, as every
action passeth away; yet, after a sort, it is said to continue still:
º, for albeit the fact be past, yet the guilt thereof remaineth still; for
#.m. every man is born guilty by nature of that first apostacy. The
same is to be said of every other sin; murder, adultery, theft, &c.
For whatsoever it is, it may be truly said to remain still, so long
as the guilt remaineth, which is consequent thereunto. Wherefore,
every man is guilty of that first defection and falling from God,
until this guilt be taken away by the blood of a mediator. And
that we be such apostates by nature, the Scripture testifieth, Rom.
v. 15, By the offence of one, many be dead. Wherefore, many must
be guilty of that one offence. Rom. v. 16, The fault” came of one
offence unto condemnation. And thus far of the first part of original
sin, that is, of the first backsliding, and our falling away, which we
bring forth with us from our mother's womb into the world.
jº The second part followeth of original sin—which is a certain defect,
Sin. or a certain want of original justice, that is, of that righteousness
or integrity wherein man was created, according to the image and
1. i. e., Deed.
2 Original: In quo omnes peccavimus. The Greek is 3¢ &. This has been
variously interpreted.—See Hill's Lectures on Divinity, vol. ii. p. 22, ed. 1837.
8 Criminality in guilt. Original: Reatus, which is Beza's translation. The
Greek is x&iºx.
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 169
example of the righteousness which is in God, the Creator. For
he created man after his own image, wise, just, holy. For the
Apostle to the Ephesians' and Colossians” saith, that in these
respects man was like to God himself in his creation. This want,
I speak of original justice, is the first effect of that apostacy before
showed. For that apostacy whereof we are all by nature guilty,
depriveth us in our first birth, even in our very conception, of that
original justice and image of God. This part of the matter of ori-
ginal sin very sense showeth, and many Scriptures testify of it; I
mean such as speak of sin negatively or privatively. For all such ºr
want of ori-
ginal justice
places show plainly what defect is in us, and what want of original ...".
justice. Rom. iii. 23, All have sinned, and are deprived” of the glory tº *"
of God. Rom. vii. 18, I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwell-
eth no good thing. And a little after, I find no means to perform that
which is good. Rom. viii. 7, The wisdom * of the flesh is not subject to
the law of God, neither indeed can be. 1 Cor. ii. 14, The natural man
perceiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, neither can he know
them. 2 Cor. iii. 5, Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any
thing of ourselves. Eph. iv. 18, Having their cogitations darkened,
and being strangers from the life of God. And thus far of the second
part of original sin, to wit, the want of original justice.
The third part followeth ; and this, we say, is an inclination or The third
tº tº wº & e g © part of the
quality contrary to that original justice and integrity before men-ºfori-
tioned, succeeding even in place thereof. This is that which they ginal sin.
call our natural corruption, and it is the second effect of the apos-
tacy of Adam in Paradise. For that rebellion of our first parents,
first depriveth us of original justice, and of the image of God;
next, in place thereof, by God's just judgment, it infecteth us with
a quality clean contrary to that righteousness, whereby we are
made prone and apt to all evil. This contrary quality or inclina-
tion unto sin to be in us, very sense proves it, with many testi-
monies of the Holy Scripture, all which speak of sin affirmatively;
* Eph. iv. 24. 2 Col. iii. 10.
* Original: Deficiuntur—Beza's translation of Jorgeoſyrz.
* Original: Intelligentia. The Greek is poévºzz.
170 A TREATISE OF
A special
note.
A twofold
guilt of the
mind.
1. Want of
natural light.
2, Want of
spiritual
light.
3. Want of
holiness in
the mind.
or, that I may so speak, positively. Rom. vii. 7, I had not known
concupiscence, but that the law sayeth, Thou shalt not covet. Rom. vii.
23, I see another law in my members, rebelling against the law of my
mind. Eph. ii. 3, Fulfilling the lusts of the flesh and of the mind.
Add to these the places before cited, Gen. vi. 5, and viii. 2. And
thus far of the third part of the matter of original sin.
And here, as touching the want of justice, and inclination unto
sin, which were two parts of the matter of original sin, ye must be
advertised that there is no faculty of the soul of man which is not
infected with both these evils together, We reckon as principal
powers of the soul, the mind or understanding, the will and the
affections. These two last the Scripture often understandeth them
in the word heart; because the will and affections be seated in the
heart. The first defect then is in the mind, and this is the want
of light and knowledge; here is also the want of holiness, that is,
of a quality, wherewith our very knowledge and light must be
affected, and assuredly was affected with, in the first creation.
The light of the mind or knowledge is twofold, natural or spirit-
ual. In the mind there is a defect of light or of natural knowledge,
not in whole, but in part ; for there do remain, even in the unre-
generate, certain general notions of good and evil things, which
are commanded and condemned in the law ; but they be such as
serve only to make men inexcusable, for that they are but lame
and corrupt, Rom. i. 19. The mind also wants spiritual light, not
in part, but in whole; for it is utterly void of this light; for as
concerning those things which appertain to the kingdom of heaven,
the understanding is so darkened, that it doth not only not per-
ceive them, but also hath no power to conceive them, 1 Cor. ii. 14.
To be short, the mind wants holiness; for the things it under-
standeth, it neither conceiveth them rightly and holily, but im-
piously and profanely all things, even the things which in and by
themselves are good. For the faculty of understanding, albeit it
be not utterly lost, yet that holiness of this faculty, wherein it was
created after the image of God, was utterly lost in the fall of man.
This want of this natural light the Apostle showeth, Rom. i. 21,
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 171
Because when they knew God, they glorified him not as God. These
latter words plainly show that the natural light of the mind is but
a dim light, and soon vanisheth away. The want of the spiritual
light the Apostle showeth, 1 Cor. ii. 14, The natural man perceiveth
not the things of the Spirit of God. The want of sanctity in the
understanding the Apostle showeth, Rom. viii. 7, The wisdom of the
flesh is enmity against God; even then when it understandeth those
things which otherwise be in themselves true and good. 2 Cor.
iii. 8, Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing, to wit,
well and holily. Eph. iv. 18, Having their cogitation darkened, and
being estranged from the life of God. And there, ver, 23, And be ye
renewed in the spirit of your mind. And thus far of the want or
defect which is in the mind.
There is also a quality in the mind which hath succeeded or
stept in place of that light and holiness, which was lost in the fall
of man. For darkness hath taken possession in the very seat of
light. Eph. v. 8, Ye were in times past darkness, but now ye are
light in the Lord. In place of sanctity and integrity have crept in
impurity, and a certain maliciousness of nature, which evidently
appeareth, when it is said, Rom. viii. 5, For they that are after the
flesh, savour the things of the flesh. This wisdom is of some evil
quality. 1 Cor. i. 18, The preaching of the cross is to them that
perish foolishness. And 1 Cor. ii. 14, For they are foolishness unto
him. This word foolishness argueth the perverse judgment of the
mind.
Thus far of the want of the mind, and the contrary quality crept the win cor-
thereinto. Both these, in like manner, are to be seen in the will, ruptcd.
and in every affection. The want of integrity and uprightness in
the will the Apostle testifieth, saying, I find no means to perform that
which is good, Rom. vii. 18; and Philip. ii. 13, It is he which worketh
in you, both the will and the deed. The corruption and frowardness
of the will, and of the motions thereof, is testified by many Scrip-
tures; as Gen. vi. 5, The conceit of a man's heart is only evil. Eph.
ii. 3, Doing the will of the flesh and of the mind.
Finally, this I say, that man's will is more poisoned by this ori-
172 A TREATISE OF
ginal corruption than the mind is, for which cause the very hea-
then could say: “I see and approve (by the light of reason) the
better things; but (through the corruption of my will) I incline to
the worser.” And this the Apostle saith, Eph. iv. 18, Affirming that
the ignorance which is in men, is by reason of the hardness of their
hearts; and Rom. i. 28, They regarded not to know God, therefore
God delivered them unto a reprobate mind. Note, how the obstinate
will resisteth the light of the mind, and causeth the mind to be
overclouded.
And thus far of the threefold matter of original sin.” These parts
of the material cause of original sin, because they are so many
beings, and are of God, every one of them must retain in them
some goodness, as we say, in respect of their being. For that very
apostacy and falling away was good in itself; as so the want of
original justice, because it is a thing in nature, and a consequent
of that apostacy, this want, I say, as it is of God, is good in itself;
and to conclude, that positive quality, which succeedeth in place of
that holiness and image of God, for the being thereof is of God
as principal efficient, and is good in itself.
The form of original sin followeth. And this is a very special
repugnance against the law of God, causing a very special kind of
sin.” And like as the material cause of original sin is threefold, so
Video meli.
Ora proboque
deteriora se-
Quol'.
The Will
WOrse than
the mind.
Entia.
The fol'm Of
original sin.
2 z
otvo/atoz.
! Video meliora probogue,
Deteriora Sequor. Ovid. Met. Vii. 24.
2 I subjoin the original of the passage:—Atque hac hactenus de peccati
originalis materia triplici. Hae partes materia peccati originalis, cum totidem
entia sint, et ab auctore Deo Sint, insitam Sibi qualitatem bonitatis habent
singula. Nam apostasia sive defectio in se ac per se bona est. Item carentia
originalis justitiae, cum entis cujusdam rationem habeat, et res quadam sit facta
motu illo defectionis; carentia, inquam, a Deo est, et in Se bona est; denique
qualitas illa positiva, quae succedit in locum sanctitatis et imaginis Dei, a Deo
ost tanquam principali efficiente, et per se bona est. Prout igitur triplex est
entitas, ita triplex est bonitas. (P. 190.) -
It must be remembered, that, according to his view in the 24th chap., these
entia are necessarily good, as coming from the hand of God, as the Sole efficient
cause of all entia; but that they assume an evil form of ºvokziz, of which the
instrumentality of man is the cause.
3 This should be, “Now this is a lawlessness, a rebellion against God's law;
GOD’S EFFECTUAL CALLING. 173
there is in it a threefold repugnance against God and his law : for
every part of the material cause hath a repugnance against the law
in it, and so a form which is from another, in respect whereof it is
sin. The first apostacy hath in it a repugnance against God; and
so the want of original justice, and the positive quality also, which gº."
succeeded in place thereof. This threefold iniquity is not of God
as efficient, but from the evil instruments, the devil first, next
Adam, and, lastly, every man, which is of Adam’s progeny. For
we also, which are sick of this hereditary evil, are the very causes
of our sickness. And thus far of the form of original sin.
Now we be to define original sin from the matter and form thereof, ºr sin
on this wise. Original sin is an apostacy from God, a want of ori-
ginal justice, and a certain positive quality, repugning against the law
of God. The threefold material cause stands for the genus of it;
and for the form, the threefold breach of God’s law. And like as §."...Y
guilt in general is the consequent of sin in general, so a special”
guilt is consequent to original sin; and this is threefold also, as the
matter and form of this sin is threefold. For the apostacy hath
his special guiltiness following it, so also the want of original jus-
tice, and that positive quality. And every guiltiness merits death
and eternal damnation.
It resteth now, that seeing we see this sin original is derived by
propagation from the parents to the children, that we search out
the manner thereof; and this may be expressed on this wise. The
propagation of sin must be by one of these three ways; for it is
derived either by the soul, or by the body of the parents, or through
their default. It cannot be said that the propagation of this sin
is by the soul, for the soul of the father or mother is not derived
by propagation to the children, in whole or in part, as is very evi-
dent; wherefore this sin comes not by the soul of the parents.
and that special, inasmuch as it forms a peculiar species of sin.” Original: Est
autem ea cºvokzio, sive pugnantia cum lege Dei, eague specialis, utpote quae cor.
tam peccati speciem constituit. (P. 190.)
* “If We Say with some sects of Christians, animam esse ea traduce, that the
Soul is generated, like the body, by the act of the parents, we seem to approach
174 A TREATISE OF
How sin is
derived from
parents to
their clild-
I'CI1,
FIOW Sin in-
fecteth the
Very Soul.
Question.
Answer.
But it may not unfitly be said, that there is some derivation of
this sin by the body of the parents to the body and soul of the
child begotten by them. This propagation of sin by the body of
him which begetteth into the body of him which is begotten is
easily discovered ; for the seed of the parents being in the child,
is corrupted and infected with sin; whence it followeth necessarily,
that the body which is begotten of such corrupt and unclean seed
must also be corrupt and unclean in like manner.
The propagation of sin by the body of him which begetteth into
the soul of him which is begotten is more hardly expressed, yet I
deliver what seems most probable unto me on this manner. After
that by the body of him which begetteth, sin is derived into the
body of him which is begotten, now the body begotten being cor-
rupt and infected with sin, this body, I say, infecteth and poisoneth
the soul, created even then of God before, and infused into it that
very moment of time wherein it was created. Here you demand,
whether the soul were pure and clean the time it was created, and
so infused into the body, and then afterwards so defiled by the
contagion of the body ? I answer; It is not like to be so, for that the
soul is created, infused, and corrupted in the very self-same moment
of time. This corruption of the soul is partly by reason of the
desertion of God, partly by reason of the contagion of the body
whereinto it is infused. For God, the very same moment of time
wherein he createth and infuseth the soul, in his just judgment for-
sakes it, and gives it over to the body to be so defiled with sin.
Wherefore this I avouch, that the soul is created, infused, forsaken
of God, and defiled by the very same moment of time.
The manner of the propagation of this sin, which is said to be
through the default of the parents, followeth; and this I express
on this wise. Adam by that his first offence did derive, as by a
certain conduit, whatsoever corruption was in him to his posterity;
to materialism. If we say, as the Calvinists generally do, that Souls are suc-
cessively made by the Creator, and joined by his act to those bodies which they
are to animate, we seem to form a rational hypothesis.”—Hill, ibidem, Vol. ii.
p. 18.
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 175
for this cause the Apostle, Rom. v. 12, saith, By one man, to wit,
sinning, sin entered into the world.
Here it may be demanded, whence proceeds this efficacy or
power of that first sin, to engender, as it were, and to derive sin
into all and every one of Adam's progeny ? I answer; This efficacy
of that sin is by reason of that word and covenant which God
made with Adam in his creation, as it were in these words: “If...".
man will stand and persist in that his innocency which he had by *
creation, he shall stand for his own good and for his progeny; but
if he do not stand, but fall away, his fall shall turn as to his own
damage, so to the hurt of his posterity; and whatsoever evil shall
betide him, the same shall ensue to all his offspring after him.”
And this last way of the propagation of original sin pleaseth me
best, and ought to content all sober wits, for that this is grounded
on the authority and words of the Apostle.' And thus far our
judgment concerning original sin. º
Now let us briefly see what the old heretics and late adversaries The opinion
of God’s truth say concerning this sin. First, here we be to meet tº.
with the heresy of Pelagius” the monk, and Coelestius” his disciple, ºf original
which said there was no original sin, that Adam by his fall did
hurt himself only and not his posterity, excepting only by his ex-
ample. They said his posterity sinned, not by propagation of his
sin, but by imitation of their father Adam's prevarication.
* See Calvini Institut. ii. 1, 7.
* Pelagius is generally supposed to have been a British monk. He lived
about the beginning of the fifth century. We find him in Rome in the year 410,
then in Africa, and subsequently in Palestine. His peculiar doctrines regarding
human corruption, and the whole Scheme of man’s regeneration, were vehemently
opposed by Jerome, who had at first warmly received him, and he was anathe-
matized, A.D. 417, by Pope Innocentius. His ultimate fate is uncertain.
* Coelestius, a monk, was a younger man than Pelagius, whom he accompanied
to Africa, where he remained, when Pelagius went to Palestine. He adopted
and emergetically promulgated the tenets of Pelagius. Excommunicated by the
Council of Carthage, he was afterwards reinstated by Pope Zosimus. But he
and Pelagius were subsequently banished successively from Rome and Constan-
tinople. The last mention of him is A.D. 430. We have some of the
treatises of Pelagius, and a few fragments of those of Coelestius. (Smith's Dic-
tionary, vol. i. p. 812; vol. iii. p. 175, &c.) An account of the doctrines im-
puted to Pelagius on this subject will be found in Hill, ibid. Vol. ii. p. 9, &c.
176 A TREATISE OF
*º- When it was objected against them that young infants died,
jº" which could not be, but that they are infected with original sin,
they answered, that Adam himself also had died by the law of
nature, albeit he had not sinned; and this was the Pelagians' prin-
cipal argument against original sin. If sin be by propagation, then
it must needs be derived to the posterity by the soul or by the
body, but not by the soul, for that it is not by traduction," and it
is not by the body, because it is void of reason, neither can sin be
said to be first and properly seated in it; and not by both united,
because it is not by the parts; therefore there is no original sin
** at all. The answer is easy from that which hath been before set
down in this chapter touching the form or manner of the propaga-
tion of this sin. First, their proposition doth not number all the
forms and means of the propagation of this sin; for there is besides
those means a derivation of sin, which is through the default of the
parents. Next, the assumption is false, for albeit there be no pro-
pagation of sin by the soul, yet it may well be by the body, as is
afore showed. And thus far of Pelagius’ and Coelestius' heresy.
iº Next, the Schoolmen had divers opinions of original sin; for
original sin, some said, that original sin consisted only in the guilt of Adam's
apostacy, others said it was but the want of original justice. But
Peter Lombard,” rejecting these opinions, avoucheth it to be also a
positive evil quality, contrary to that first original justice.* Al-
bertus Pighius' and Ambrosius Catharinus” said, that it was nothing
1 Original: quia non est tradua anima.
2 Peter of Lombardy, called also the Magister Sententiarum, was Bishop of
Paris, about 1159. His principal work is his Sententia, in four books, which is
regarded as the foundation of the Scholastic Theology of the Latin Church.
(Ladvocat, s. v.)
8 Peccatum originis nihil aliud esse volunt, nisi concupiscentiam, hoc est,
morbidam qualitatem, prava desideria perpetuo excitantem. Ita docet Petrus
Lombardus, in 2 lib. sent. dist. 31, § 2 et 3. (Bellarmin, ibid. Vol. iv. p. 336.)
IIe held, however, that this concupiscentia was merely sensual; (Calvin, Institut.
ii. 1, 9,) and that it was removed by baptism.–(Bellarmin, ibid.)
4 See p. 97, note 2.
5 An Italian of the Dominican order, Archbishop of Conza in 1551.—(Lad-
vocat, s. v.) IIe was a distinguished member of the Council of Trent, and held
peculiar views on many points of Theology.-(Pallavacino, ibid, lib. xiii. 8, 8.)
GOD’S EFFECTUAL CALLING. 177
else but that first transgression of Adam." And out of this con-ºº:
opinions of
clusion they drew forth three other opinions; the first was this, -ś:
ginal sin.”
Original sin is one and the self-same only in all men. Secondly,
This sin in Adam was real and actually his, but it is ours only by
imputation. The third, that infants in verity have nothing in them
that hath any appearance of sin, for they said that guiltiness, want
of justice, and the spots of nature, and such like things, seem rather
to be punishments than faults, if ye speak not happily improperly,
as when ye apply the name of the cause to the effect.
Bellarmin following all these, first blames Lombard's conclusion Bellarmin's
objections
* > Ç * , º º © g 2 ... against
concerning his positive quality, and next, condemns Pighius' asser-.
tion as heretical. One of his principal arguments against Lombard
is this: God is either the cause of that positive quality or not the
cause; if the cause, then he is the cause of sin; if he be not
the cause of it, then is he not the author of all things. Therefore
there is no such positive quality at all.” We answer to the assump-
tion: In that evil positive quality two things must be respected; Answer.
first, the quality itself, or the being of it; next, the evilness, or
irregularity, or deformity thereof: God is the author and principal
efficient of the first, but the devil and the evil instrument is the
author and cause of the second."
His reasonings on the subject of original sin in that Council may be seen in
Paolo Sarpi's History of the Council. (Book ii. pp. 17, 65, 177, of the French
Translation. London, 1736.)
* Restat ultimus error confutandus, quiest Alberti Pighii in prima controversia
de peccato originis, et Ambrosii Catharini in opusculo de lapsu hominis, et pec-
Cato originali, c. 6, et Videtur etiam fuisse quorundam veterum, ut refert Petrus
Lombardus in 2 lib. sent. d. 50. Haec igitur sententia docet, &c. (then follows
a passage, which Rollock has adopted almost verbatim.—Bellarmin, ibid. vol. iv.
p. 342.)
* The translator's note. These were not the opinions of the Papists, but of
a few of them.
* Tertio; vell)eus est auctor positiva illius qualitatis, vel non. Siest, igitur
est auctor peccati, totam enim concupiscentiam adversarii peccatum esse conten-
dunt. Simon est, igitur Deus non est auctor omnium rerum, neque verum erit
quod in Evangelio legimus Joan. 1. Omnia per ipsum facta sunt, et sine ipso
factum est nihil.—(Bellarmin, ibid, vol. iv. p. 340.)
* While reading the scholastic discussion both of our Author and Bellarmin,
WOL, I. M
178 A TREATISE OF
* This done, at last the Jesuit sets down his own judgment, avouch-
jº ing that original sin consisteth in two things; first, in the first
Slll.
transgression of Adam, not as he was a certain private person, but
as bearing then the person of all mankind; next, he saith, it is also
a want of that gift of original justice.' And thus far he speaks well,
affirming that there are two parts of original sin; but herein he
erreth, for that he omitteth that evil positive quality before men-
tioned. And thus far of the judgment of the adversaries concern-
ing original sin.
CHAPTER XXVI.
OF CONCUPISCENCE.
BUT because there is some controversy touching concupiscence,
which is the third part of original sin; therefore we be to speak
something of it apart. The word concupiscence doth first and
properly signify that coveting or lusting which is said to be in the
baser faculty of the soul, to wit, in the sensible and the natural
power thereof; and tropically it signifieth our natural corruption,
and that evil positive quality which resteth not only in the concu-
piscible faculty of the soul, but in all the powers thereof also, even
in reason itself. For the word Concupiscence in Scripture is as
general as the old man or the flesh ; for Paul useth these words in-
regarding the origin of evil, how irresistibly is one reminded of Milton's judg-
ment of such futilities
“And found no end, in wandering mazes lost.”
1 See Bellarmin, ibid. Vol. iv. pp. 344-354, in which there is much that is
excellent. The following words are those which our Author seems to have
founded his statement upon:—Peccatum originale est prima Adami inobedientia
in ipso Adamo commissa non uterat singularis persona, Sed ut personam totius
generis humani referebat. . . . . . Peccatum Originale est carentia doni
justitia originalis, sive habitualis aversio et obliquitas Voluntatis, quae et macula,
mentem Deo invisam reddens, appellari potest. (P. 345.)
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. I79
differently for one and the same matter, “the old man,” “the flesh,”
“concupiscence,” and “the law of the members,” to wit, for the third
part of original sin, which is that evil positive quality. And that
concupiscence is properly and truly a sin appears plainly out of the
Epistle to the Romans, chap. vii. 7, I had not known lust, except the
law had said, Thou shalt not lust." And this briefly is our judgment
touching concupiscence.
Pelagius reckoneth concupiscence in the number of the good
things or benefits of nature, for he denies original sin. Our adver-
saries the Papists by concupiscence understand nothing else but
that concupiscible faculty of the soul which is in itself good, or at
least indifferent, but evil accidentally, and in some respect; to wit,
for that now the bridle of original justice is let loose whereby con-
cupiscence ought to have been curbed; so then this curb being
lost, it inclines, say they, to sin.” This is the judgment of the The judg:
ment of the
º ino' e © Papists con-
Council of Trent concerning concupiscence, that it may not be cerning con–
said truly and properly that it is a sin, but that it is so called be-
cause it proceeds from sin, and inclines to sin.” But that concupis-
cupiscence.
1 The translator omits the very point of the proof, which lies in the illustra-
tion of a general proposition, “I had not known sin but by the law,” from a
particular illustration—concupiscence. The original is complete, being Rollock's
own translation of the Greek, “Peccatum non movi nisi per legem : Concupis-
centiam non cognovissem nisi dixisset lex: Non concupisces.”
* Dicinus sensualitatem esse pronam ad concupiscendum etiam contra ordinem
rationis: non ex aliqua insita qualitate eam inclinante, sed ex carentia justi-
tiae originalis, quae eam perfecte rationi Subjiciebat. Quemadmodum si equus
incitetur ad currendum, non quia admoventur ei calcaria, sed quia sublatum est
frenum.—(Bellarmin, ibid. Vol. iv. p. 338.) In the previous page, Bellarmin
gives a threefold definition of concupiscentia as used in Scripture. The first is a
good affection ; the second good or indifferent ; the third, vitium, quo promisunt
homines ad appetenda bona sensibilia, contra ordinem rationis. But even in
this sense it is not sin. Concupiscentia quamvis non sit proprie peccatum, tamen
est corruptio quaedam incitans ad malum, &c., ibid. p. 309, et sic sapissime. On
this subject see Hill, ibid, vol. ii. p. 16.
* Hanc concupiscentiam, quam aliquando Apostolus peccatum appellat,
Sancta Synodus declarat ecclesiam Catholicam nunquam intellexisse peccatum
appellari, quod vere et proprie in renatis peccatum sit, sed quia ex peccato est,
et ad peccatum inclinat. Si quis autem contrarium senserit, anathema sit.
Decret. Concil. Tridenten. de Peccat. Original, § 5.—(Harduin, Acta Concil., vol.
xi. p. 29.)
180 A TREATISE OF
Actual sin.
Sin of omis-
sion, What.
A sin of
commission
Or affections
cence is sin is more manifest by Paul's doctrine, than that it needs
any proof at all; nay, that it is a sin not only in the unregenerate,
but also in the regenerate. And thus far of concupiscence and of
original sin.
CHAPTER XXVII.
ACTUAL SIN.
ACTUAL sin is the fruit and effect, and the punishment also, of
original sin. The first and principal division of actual sin is into
internal and external. The internal I call the sins of the soul and
of the faculties thereof. Internal sin is partly of omission, and
partly of commission. A sin of omission in the mind is the want
of a holy and good motion, and the root of this is the want of original
justice. And like as that defect of original justice is in all the
powers of the soul, so this internal sin of omission is of all the
powers of the soul. Of the sin of omission the Apostle speaketh,
1 Cor. ii. 14, when he saith, that the natural man cannot conceive the
things of the Spirit of God. So here the want of a holy motion in
man's nature, the fundamental cause whereof he addeth in the
next words, saying, neither can he perceive them ; in which words
ye have the want of that power and faculty whence a holy motion
doth spring.
The internal sin of commission followeth ; and this is a perverse
and evil motion of the mind. And this proceeds from the third
part of original sin, to wit, that evil positive quality or natural cor-
ruption. And like as that positive quality is of all the faculties of
the mind, so that internal sin of commission is of all the power of
the soul in like manner. Of this sin the Scripture speaks every-
where, Rom. vii. 5, When we were in the flesh, the motions of sin,
which were by the law, had force in our members, to bring forth fruit
unto death. Where three things are to be observed; first, the flesh,
GOD’S EFFECTUAL CALLING. 181
which is original sin; secondly, affections or motions, whereby we three
understand the internal sin of commission; thirdly, the fruit ofº Rom.
those motions or affections, whereby he means every external actual ****
sin. Again, ye have the same three things knit together, Eph. ii.”
3, Fulfilling the will of the flesh and of the mind. 1. The flesh, that
is, original sin. 2. Next, the thought or lust of the flesh, which is the
internal commission of sin. 3. To fulfil the same, and this is exter-
nal sin. The same things ye have, James i. 15, When concupis-
cence hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin. Concupiscence is original
sin; conception is actual internal sin; the birth thereof is an external
sin. And thus far of actual internal sin.
The external actual sin followeth, which is a sin of the body and External
of the members thereof; and this sin also is partly of omission, actual sin.
partly of commission. The external sin of omission is when things
to be done are omitted, and this proceeds from the internal sin of
omission. And here also, like as the internal sin of omission is of
all faculties of the mind, so the external sin of omission is of all
the members of the body. Of this sin the Apostle speaketh,
Romans vii. 19, I do not the good which I would do. The external sin
of commission followeth. This is when that is done which oughtesternal in
not to be done; and it proceeds from the internal sin of commis-i."
sion. This is also of all the parts of the body, like as the internal
sin of commission is of all the powers of the soul. The testimonies
of Scripture before cited prove this, Rom. vii. 19, The evil which I
would not, that do I.
The external sin of commission is twofold, partly of error and
ignorance, partly of knowledge. It is of ignorance when a man
ignorantly committeth any thing. This was Paul's sin, 1 Tim. i.
13, For I did it ignorantly through unbelief. This ignorance is either
of the law or of the fact. The ignorance of the law is to be
ignorant of God's will. Of this sin speaketh Christ, Luke xii. 48,
He that hath not known his master's will, and hath done things worthy
of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. This was also Paul's ignor-
ance, when he blasphemed and persecuted the Church of Christ, i. ºrignor-
1 Tim. i. 13. The ignorance of the fact is when a man knows not
182 A TREATISE OF
what he doth ; and a man may be said not to know what he doth,
or to err in the fact, either when he doth a thing negligently, or
when a thing is done by him, as we say, by fortune or chance, or
rather by the inevitable providence of God. An example of sin of
negligence may be this, as when a ship is lost by the negligence of
the governor or master thereof. An example of a sin by fortune
or God’s providence may be, as when one casteth a stone, killeth a
man passing by, of whom he never thought ; for this sin in the
old Church, the cities of refuge were appointed, Numb. xxxv. 23.
Thus far of the external sin of commission, which proceeds of error
or ignorance.
The external sin of commission followeth, which is committed in
knowledge, or, as we say, wittingly; and this is when a man knoweth
when he doth evil. Hereof speaks Christ, Luke xii. 47, That ser–
vant who knoweth his master's will, and doth it not, shall be beaten with
many stripes.
*: This sin is either of infirmity or of contumacy. An example of
sº." a sin of infirmity is in Peter, who three times denied his Lord and
Master for fear of death and persecution. An example of a sin of
contumacy we have in Judas the traitor. Again, a sin of contu-
macy is either done in hypocrisy, as when a man is not openly re-
bellious, but hides his sin under the cloak of hypocrisy. This the
Apostle taxeth, Rom. ii. 5, Thou, saith he, after thy hardness and
heart that cannot repent, dost treasure up wrath against the day of
wrath. Again, it is an open rebellion or pride, when a man joins
to his contumacy pride against God himself; for which cause he
Heresy is said to sin with an high hand, Numb. xv. 30. This manifest re-
bellion and pride is either against the second table of the law, as
open murder, known adultery, and this is the lesser contumacy;
open rebel- but if it be a proud rebellion against the first table, the sin is intol-
lion. erable. And of this latter kind is heresy first, when as a man, in
a proud obstinacy, will defend any opinion against the manifest
truth of God’s word. -
Of all the sins before specified, this is one property, that a man
may repent of them or for them all; whereupon follows another
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 183
property, that they are all pardonable. But if ye add to know-
ledge, pride, frowardness, a malicious heart, striving against the
Holy Ghost, enlightening a man, and teaching inwardly ; then the jºy"
great sin ariseth, which they call the sin against the Holy Ghost, Ghost.
the property whereof is this, that he which so sinneth cannot repent
him of his sin; whereupon it followeth that this sin is unpardonable.
And this sin is called irremissible, not for that the greatness of it
exceeds the greatness of God’s mercy and grace in Christ, but be- wherefore
cause final impenitence is the reward and punishment which by ºrdon-
God’s just judgment is inflicted upon this sin. Read of this point
Matth. xii. 31; Heb. vi. 4, 5, and chapter x. 26; 1 John v. 16.
And thus far of actual sin.
Now it remaineth to see what the adversaries say of actual sin.
Here the greatest controversy is of the division of actual sin into
mortal and venial. We avouch that every sin by nature is mortal,
that is, that the guilt of eternal death follows it; and that if any simmortal
sin be venial, that is, may find pardon of God, this cometh to pass, º"
not for that it is so by nature, but of God’s mere mercy in Jesus
Christ. Many Scriptures approve our assertion, Rom. vi. 23, The
wages of sin is death. He speaks here of sin in general, and of
eternal death. Matth. v. 19, Whosoever shall break one of the least
of these commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the
least in the kingdom of God; that is, he shall have be of [no] reckoning
in heaven. Observe then here how for the least sin a man deserves
to be shut forth out of heaven. Deut. xxvii. 26, Cursed be he that
abideth not in all things which are written in the book of the law.
Therefore there is no sin which deserveth not the curse or male-
diction of God. For in that the law denounceth an execration
against every sin, there is no exception we see of any, even the
least sin. James ii. 10, Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet
fail in one point, he is guilty of all. Therefore if ye rest in any one
sin against the law, ye sin against the whole law, and stand guilty
of all sins which are committed any way against the law. So
there is no cause why we should measure our guilt by any one
184 A TREATISE OF
sin, even the very least. For even the very least sin we live" and
lie in, without faith and repentance, carries with it the guilt even
of the greatest sin, as may clearly appear by that place of James.
Matth. v. 26, Thou shalt not depart hence till thou hast paid the ut-
most farthing. Therefore God in his accounts respecteth even the
least parts of sin, and the smallest sins that are. The tenth law
condemns even the least motions of concupiscence. Matth. xxii.
37, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, with all
thy soul, and with all thy mind. Therefore the Lord requires an
exact or perfect obedience. Wherefore he that offendeth even in
the least point is a transgressor of the law, and that everlasting
curse followeth the breach of the law, if redemption be not pur-
chased by Jesus Christ. Matth. v. 18, Till heaven and earth
perish, one iota or one tittle of the law shall not escape till all things be
fulfilled. Note here, there shall not pass away one iota or one
tittle, that is, the least branch of the breach of the law, which shall
escape without satisfaction either by ourselves or a mediator. And
thus far touching our judgment of this matter.
The adversaries for actual sin, respecting it either according to
the greatness thereof, or for the punishment it deserveth, they
divide it into mortal and venial. They call that mortal sin which
doth extinguish charity or justice, making us enemies unto God,
and therefore guilty of eternal death. They call that venial sin
which doth not quench charity and justice, nor doth not cause an
enmity betwixt us and God, but doth a little stain justice, which
they place in charity, and they say it spots it a little;” “wherefore
The least
sin merits
hell.
Mortal sin
defined of
Papists.
A Popish
Venial sin.
1 “We live . . . . repentance.” Not in the original.
* Quinta partitio nascitur ex gravitate culparum, sive ex reatu poenae, qui
peccantes consequitur. Dicuntur enim peccata, quaedam lethalia, alia venialia.
LETHALIA sunt quae hominem plane avertunt a Deo, et quibus poena debetur
acterna. VENIALIA quae nonnihil impediunt Cursum ad Deum, non tamen abeo
avertunt et facili negotio expiantur. Priora dicuntur Crimina, posteriora pec-
cata, ut S. Augustinus monet in Enchirid. cap. 64, ubi scribit, sine Crimine justos
homines vivere, sine peccato non vivere. Denique simile est mortale peccatum
vulneri lethifero, quod Subito vitam extinguit, Venialia autem plaga legi [levil
quae sine vitae periculo suscipitur, et facile curatur. Illud enim cum charitate,
GOD'S EFFECTUAL CALLING. 185
this sin,” say they, ** is soon pardoned, and expiate with a light
punishment—as in this life, with the repetition ofthe Lord's Prayer,
the smiting of the breast, satisfaction or penance imposed by the
priest, or which men do of themselves voluntarily undergo.* After
this life all venial sins be expiate in purgatory, if they be not par-
doned in this life by the means before expressed.*
They say ; « Venial sin is twofold ; the first venial sin is so called, Xgiat sin
because it is so by nature, and for the substance of it, as an idle
word, or immoderate laugh.* The next venial sim,” they say, ** is
that which is not so by nature, but for some imperfection, for that
sin by nature is mortal ; but because it is imperfect for the measure
or quantity of the evil, therefore it is venial.* This imperfection,”
say they, ** is twofold, for this imperfection is either by reason of
quæ vita est animæ pugnat, hoc non tam contra, tam præter charitatem est.—
(Bellarmin, ibid. vol. iv. p. 60.)
1 Tertia propositio: Potest ecclesia instituere novas cæremonias non quidem ad
justíficandum impium, sed ad alios effectus spirituales. Nota pro explicatione
cæremonias ab ecclesia, institutas tribus modis posse esse utiles *®» e
Secundo, ad morbos curandos, et demones pellendos et peccata venialia purganda,
et alia id genus, itaque per mOdum impetrationis, ut cum Ecclesia, benedicit;
candelas, palmas, agros, &c.—(Bellarmim, îbid. vol. iii. p. 196.) Confitendum
est igitur, Christi mortem, quæ per se ad omnia peccata absolvenda sufficeret,
nemini prodesse nisi per fidem et sacramenta, ceteraque instrumenta, divinitus
instituta, singulis applicetur. Unum autem ex instrumentis divinitus institutis
ad pœnam temporalem peccatorum expiandam, satisfactionem esse, nos dicimus,
nec solum dicimus, sed ex Scripturis, et omnium Patrum testimoniis compro-
bamus, ut ex iis quæ antea scripsimus, paruit.—(Bellarmin, ibid. vol. iii. p. 1131;
see also vol. ii. p. 602, C. D. et sæpissime.)
* Quædam peccata sunt venialia, solaque temporali poena digna. At fieri
potest, ut cum Solis talibus homo decedat ex hac vita ; igitur necesse est in a]ia
vita posse purgari.—(Bellarmim, ibid. vol. ii. p. 598.)
* Peccata venialia ex natura et ratiome pec€ati dicuntur ea quæ non sunt
contraria charitati Dei et proximi, quæque proprie et absolute mortalibus Opp0-
nuntur . . . . Venialia ex genere suo dicuntur ea quæ habent pro objectorem
malam et inordinatam, sed quæ charitati Dei, vel proximi non repugnet, quale
est verbum otiosum, risus nimius, et alia, id genus.—(Belfarmim, ibid. vol. iv.
p. 61.)
* Incorrect. It should be:—“ In the next place, they say a sin is venial,
because it is so, mot from its own nature, but its incompleteness; as where a
sin is, in its oWm nature, a mortal sin, but in Consequence of being incomplete
in respect t0 the quantity of evil, is om that ground venial.”
186 A TREATISE OF
the will, as when there is not a full consent of the will into a secret
motion of concupiscence.” In this kind of venial sin they reckon all
Secret evil motions which stir in the affection, before the mind can
think of them, and which get not any full consent of the will, as
the motions of lust, of anger, of envy, &c.” “Or again, there is an
imperfection in respect of the matter of the sin, to wit, when the
matter is so small and light that it makes the sin venial; as, for
example, if a man steal a halfpenny,” or some such trifle, whereby
the neighbour is little or nothing touched, and charity is not
violate.” ”
And they go about to prove their opinion, concerning venial sin,
ºu- by divers kinds of arguments." First, by testimonies of the Scrip-
venial sins, ture and of the Church, next, by reasons of their own ; in refuta-
tion of which arguments, my meaning is not to insist. For venial
sin they cite Matth. xii. 32, Whosoever shall speak against the Holy
Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world nor in the
world to come. “Therefore,” say they, “there is a kind of sin which
shall be pardoned after this life, and the same is venial sin, which
is purged with the fire of purgatory.” But let Mark, chap. iii. 29,
be the interpreter of this phrase which Matthew hath in this place;
Whosoever, saith he, shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost shall
never have forgiveness, but is culpable or guilty of eternal damnation.
Therefore, where Matthew saith, neither in this life nor in the
1 Rursus peccata venialia ex imperfectione operis in duo membra secarisolent.
Alia enim dicuntur venialia ex subreptione, alia ex parvitate materiae. Ex
suprePTIONE dicuntur ea, quae non Sunt perfecte Voluntaria, quales Sunt Subiti
motus cupiditatis, irae, invidentiae, et alii similes, qui prius in animo existunt,
quam ratio plane deliberare potuerit, essent necne admittendi: qui quidem et
peccata sunt, cum praeveniri, aut continuo repelli potuissent, si ratio vigilasset:
et tamen venialia sunt, cum pleno voluntatis assensu caruerint. Ex MATERLE
PARVITATE dicuntur ea quae in re parva ac levi Committuntur, quale esset fur-
tum unius oboli qtfod neque proximum notabiliter ladit, neque ejusmodi est,
ut apud aequos homines amicitiam tollere queat.—(Bellarmin, ibid, vol. iv.
p. 61.)
2 Original: obolum.
8 See last sentence of note 1.
4 For these arguments, see Bellarmin, ibid. Vol. iv. pp. 62–100.
GOD’s EFFECTUAL CALLING. 187
life to come, it is the same as if he had said, It shall never be for-
given him.
They bring also the place which is Matth. v. 22, Whosoever is
angry with his brother unadvisedly, shall be culpable of judgment; and
whosoever saith unto his brother, Raca, shall be worthy to be punished
by the council; and whosoever shall say, Fool, shall be worthy to be
punished with hell fire. “There are here three kinds of sins,” say
they, “ of which he adjudgeth one kind only worthy of hell fire;
wherefore the two former are to be expiate with some light punish-
ment; and therefore be venial sins.” I answer; This place teacheth
us that there is an inequality, first, of sins, next, of punishments;
and those also spiritual and infernal, which Christ expresseth here
by an allusion to civil and politic penalties which were unequal.
They reason also on this wise: “No man,” say they, “will deny Popish
that one sin is lesser than another by nature. Therefore is not the ::::::
lesser sin venial by nature ?” I answer; It followeth not ; for that
the least sin by nature meriteth eternal death and eternal punish-
ment, albeit not the greatest punishment. For we deny not the
inequality of the pains of the damned.
Next say they: “Is not one sin less than another in quantity?
and therefore is it not venial in respect of the imperfection thereof.”
I answer; It followeth not; for every sin, howsoever imperfect,
meriteth eternal death ; or if it be venial, it is not for the imper-
fection of it, but for Christ's sake, and his satisfaction for it.
Thirdly, they say: “Is not that sin venial which doth not destroy
or overthrow justice, charity, or inherent grace? But there are
some sins which do not overthrow or extinguish justice: Ergo,
there be some venial sins. The assumption is proved. The just
man falls seven times in the day, and riseth again." Behold here one
* Prov. xxiv. 16. This is a favourite verse with Bellarmin. I give one of
the passages in which it occurs in the use referred to by our Author. Intelli-
gibile non est, quomodo verbum otiosum ex natura sua dignum sit eterno odio
Dei, et Sempiternis flammis; hic enim in terris stultissimus haberetur, qui ob
levissimam offensionem amici, nec malo animo factam, nollet amplius essé ami-
Cus, imo usque ad mortem persequeretur eum, quem amicum paulo ante habue-
rat. Maneat igitur, quadam esse peccata venialia ac sola poena temporali
188 A TREATISE OF
sinneth, and yet ceaseth not to be just.” I answer; The proposition
is false, for that every sin which not extinguishes the grace of
Christ and inherent holiness, that very sin, by its own nature, is
mortal; and in that it is pardonable, and doth not abolish holiness,
that is not to be imputed to the sin itself, but to the free mercy of
God in Jesus Christ.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
THE CONTROVERSY CONCERNING THE SIN AGAINST THE
HOLY GHOST.
THE adversaries say there be six kinds of this sin;" the first sin is
presumption, when a man presumeth overmuch of the grace of God
and of faith, in the meanwhile denying his faith by his works.
This is the man whom James taxeth in his Epistle, chap. ii., verse
The Papists
say there
be six kinds
of the sin
against the
Holy Ghost.
digna. Quod autem cum ejusmodi peccatis aliqui interdum de hac vita migrent,
ac proinde in alia vita purgatione temporali egeant, probatur hoc modo. Po-
test quis, dum moritur, habere voluntatem permanendi in peccato veniali:
igitur tale peccatum deleri in morte non potest. Praeterea cum Septies in die
cadat justus, ut dicitur Prover. 24, et multi moriantur repente, quomodo credi-
bile est non mori aliquos cum peccato veniali—(Bellarmin, ibid, vol. ii. p. 599.)
* The Rhemists (on Matt. xii. 31) recognise the reckoning of six sins against
the Holy Ghost. Bellarmin, in an instructive passage, (vol. iii. pp. 10, 11, &c.)
states that there were four opinions on this subject, but in reality, he gives five.
The first is that held by Origenes, (on Matt. xii.) and Novatian, that all sins
committed against God after baptism are the sins against the Holy Ghost.
Another is that of Augustin, (de Sermone Domini in Monte, c. 43,) who makes it
consist in envying or repining “at the grace of God in our brethren,”—our
Author's fourth. A third, held afterwards by Augustin, (in Enchiridio, c. 83,)
is “final impenitence,”—our Author's sixth. A fourth, stated by Thomas, the
Angelic Doctor, (2.2. q. 14,) and Peter Lombard, the Magister Sententiarum, (2.
dist. 43,) is, that it is a sin of wilful maliciousness, not ignorance or infirmity,+
our Author's fifth. A fifth is that held by Bellarmin himself. Estigitur quarta
sententia, quam veram esse non dubitamus, peccatum in Spiritum Sanctum pro-
prie nihil aliud esse quam veritatem cognitam, et manifestam, ex malitia impro-
bare, et tamguam daemoniacam, et detestabilem Calumniari.
GOD’S EFFECTUAL CALLING. 189
14, and after. The second is desperation, contrary to presumption;
this was Cain and Judas sin. The third is to impugn the known
truth; hereto belongs the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost; this
was the sin of the Pharisees, Matth. xii. 24-32. The fourth is to envy
or to repine at the graces of God in our brethren; this was the sin of
the Jews, which did repine and grieve at the grace of God given
the Gentiles. The fifth is obstinacy, when as a man shall persist
in a known sin with an obstinate mind; this was Pharaoh's sin
and the obstinate Jews. The sixth is final impenitency, when as
any shall die in contempt of the sacrament of penance, and of any
satisfaction imposed upon him by ecclesiastical order. Of this they
understand that place, 1 John v. 16, There is a sin unto death; I do
not say that ye should pray for him. They say, a man sins against
the Holy Ghost all these ways, and that all these sins be inexpiable,
and that these sins are called irremissible, because they be seldom
and hardly forgiven, as men seldom and hardly repent them of
these sins. But the last, which is final impenitency, they think
that only is properly said to be unpardonable, because it is neither
1 There were, as we learn from Bellarmin, (l.c.) various opinions on this sub-
ject. Theophylact (on Matt. xii.) thought that sins against the Son—sins of
ignorance—were pardonable without penitence, (poenitentia;) not so sins against
the Holy Ghost. Another opinion was, that sins against the Holy Ghost were
said to be unpardonable, because, without penitence, the sentence of etermal
condemnation followed, with penitence, the temporal punishment was fully ex-
acted. A third is that held by Chrysostom, (On Matt. xii.) Ambrosius, (de
Paenitentia, ii. 4,) and Bellarmin himself, and condemned by Our Author. Dicen-
dum igitur, Scripturas et Patres dicere, peccatum in Spiritum Sanctum non
remitti, quia ordinarie et ut plurimum, non curatur: Sicut de aliis peccatis
Dominus ait: Omnia peccata et blasphemiae remittuntur, non quia semper et
omnibus remittantur, Sed quia ut plurimum, et Ordinarie remittuntur. A fourth
opinion is that of Athanasius, Hilarius, Jerome, and Anselm, (on Matt. xii.)
which is also that of our Author: Alia igitur Solutio est illorum, peccatum in
Spiritum Sanctum irremissibile dici, quia etiamsi remitti posset, si poenitentia
adsit, tamen qui ita peccant, ad Veram poenitentiam non perveniunt, quod justo
judicio Deus eos deseruerit, et in reprobum sensum traditisunt. The Rhemists’
note is: (l.c.) “Otherwise among all the sins against the Holy Ghost, which
are commonly reckoned six, one only shall never beforgiven, that is, dying with-
out repentance, wilfully called final impenitence. Which sin he committeth
that dieth with contempt of the sacrament of penance, obstinately refusing abso-
lution by the church’s ministry.”
190 A TREATISE OF
forgiven in this life nor after this life. And this is their judgment
of the sin against the Holy Ghost.
But we avouch that the Scripture doth teach us there is but one
sin only against the Holy Ghost, (Matth. xii. 32; Mark iii. 29;
Luke xii. 10,) called the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost. Ye
have a description of this sin, Heb. vi. 4, and x. 26, 27, the Apos-
tle calling it an apostacy, or backsliding from God. It is also
described, 2 Pet. ii. 20, and 1 John v. 16. It is called a sin unto
death. As for the other kinds of this sin before specified, some of
them are consequently of this sin, which we call a blasphemy, and
appertain unto it; for desperation and final impenitency are the
punishments of this sin. Obstinacy is in the very nature of this
sin, for it carries with it an obstinate maliciousness. And as for
the other kinds, I cannot see how they may be called sins against
Presumption, the Holy Ghost; for as for presumption, what is it else but hypo-
crisy 2 To repine at the graces of God in our brethren, is a sin
against our neighbour, and against the second table of the law.
Therefore let this rest, that there is but one sin against the Holy
Ghost, so called—to wit, the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost,
or an apostacy from the grace of the Spirit once received; for these
are one and the same, to blaspheme against the Holy Ghost, and
to fall from grace received. Notwithstanding, I deny not, but that
this sin, which is but one in substance, may have his increase or
growth; for then it is come to a height, when as it fighteth against
all the known truth which is according to godliness. Next we
say, that this one sin is impardonable, not for that it is seldom and
hardly pardoned; but for that it is never pardoned, because such
a one can never repent him of his sin that he hath committed. For
this man's heart groweth to such a hardness, and that by God's
just judgment, as can never after be mollified.
And that this sin is simply impardonable, is manifest by the
very words of the Lord in the Gospel before cited; for when it is
said in Matthew, It shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world,
nor in the world to come ; and in Mark, This sin is never forgiven, but
is culpable of eternal damnation, do not these words cut off all hope
GOD’S EFFECTUAL CALLING. 191
of pardon 2 So as I cannot but wonder at the Rhemists, so impu- *::::::.
dently to extenuate the force of the words of the Lord." To the
Hebrews vi. 4-6, he saith, It is impossible that he which so sinneth ****
should be renewed by repentance; then he addeth a weighty cause
and most necessary, for, saith he, This man crucifieth again to him-
self the Son of God, that is, as much as in him lieth.
Which point the better to conceive it, we must know there is a
difference between all other sins, and this sin against the Holy
Ghost, as touching the remission and expiation of them. For to
expiate all other sins, the sacrifice of Christ once offered is suffi-
1 “Impossible. How hard the Holy Scriptures be, and how dangerous they
be read of the unlearned, or of the proud, be they never So well learned, this one
place might teach us. . . . . And let the good readers beware here also of
the Protestants’ exposition, for they are herein worse than Novatians, especially
such as precisely follow Calvin : holding impiously that it is impossible for one
that forsaketh entirely his faith, that is, becometh an apostate or an heretic, to
be received to penance or God’s mercy. To establish which false and damnable
sense, these fellows make nothing of S. Ambrose's, (de Poenit. ii. 2, et in Ep. ad
Heb.,) S. Chrysostom's, (Hom. 9, in c. 6, ad Hebr.,) and the other fathers'
exposition, which is the holy Church's sense; that the Apostle meaneth of
that penance which is done before and in baptism. Which is no more to say,
but that it is impossible to be baptized again, and thereby to be renovated and
illuminated, to die, be buried, and rise again the second time in Christ, in so easy
and perfect penance, and cleansing of sins, as that first sacrament of generation
[regeneration?] did yield; which applieth Christ's death in such ample manner
to the receivers, that it taketh away all pains due for sins before committed.
And therefore requireth no further penance afterward, for the sins before com-
mitted, all being washed away by the force of that sacrament duly taken. S.
Augustin calleth the remission in baptism, Magnam indulgentiam, a great par-
don, Enchirid. i. 64.
“The Apostle, therefore, warneth them, that if they fall from their faith, and
from Christ's grace and law, which they once received in their baptism, they
may not look to have any more that first great and large remedy applied unto
them, nor no man else that sinneth after baptism. Though the other penance,
which is called (Hieron. ep. 8, ad Demetriad, 6, 6) the second table after ship-
Wreck, which is a more painful medicine for sin than baptism, requiring much
fasting, praying, and other afflictions corporal, is open not only to other sinners,
but to all once baptized, heretics, or oppugners of the truth, maliciously, and of
purpose, or what way soever, during this life. See S. Cyprian, ep. 52, s.
Ambrose upon this place. S. Augustin cont. ep. Parm. lib. 2, c. 13, and €0.
50, S. Damascene, li. 4, 6, 10.”—Rhemish Testament. Note on Hebrews
vi. 4.
192 A TREATISE OF
cient for them all, and the virtue thereof extendeth itself to purge
all sins for ever. But when a man hath once sinned against the
Holy Ghost, and profaned that precious blood, the virtue thereof
will never after be effectual for the expiation of his sin. Where-
fore he stands in need of some new sacrifice to purge his sin, which
thing shall never be granted him. For if this were granted, then
must Christ be crucified again, or some other sacrifice must be
offered; but neither can Christ be crucified again, neither can any
other sacrifice be offered for him, as it is written, Heb. x. 26, For
there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins. Therefore this sin can
never be expiate, because a new sacrifice can never be given for
it : and this is the cause of the impossibility of the pardon of this
sin.
The adversaries, namely, the Rhemists, in their observations on
this place, do thus interpret this impossibility. They say, there is
a double repentance, or renewing, or purging of sin: they say,
the first is easy and light, in and by baptism ; where, say they,
all the sins before baptism are purged by that light washing of
º: baptism. The second they call penance, or the purging of sins, as
Ilò IlC6, they say, by the sacrament of penance; and in this sacrament, as
they speak, such sins are purged which are committed after bap-
tism; and this is hard and painful, as consisting of fastings,
prayers, satisfactions, and other corporal afflictions. If you grant
them this distinction, then they say, this impossibility of being re-
newed is in respect of that repentance, renewing, and purging of
sin which is in baptism : for, they say, it is impossible that a sin.
committed after baptism, some baptism being iterated, should be
purged; for we may not be rebaptized. As for the latter, penance
and renewing, they say, there is a possibility in it; for the greatest
sin after baptism may be expiate by it. Therefore they affirm,
the Apostle speaks covertly to such as sin after baptism, sending
them to the sacrament of penance, that by virtue of that Sacra-
1 This should be : Should be purged by any iteration of baptism. Original :
Impossibile enim esse dicunt ut peccatum commissum post baptismum iterato
aliquo baptismo expurgatur.
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 193
ment, their sin may be expiate, and that they may be renewed.'
But by this their interpretation, they pervert the Holy Scripture? Pet. iii.1%
to their own destruction. For this is certain, that the Apostle here
takes away all possibility of being renewed, as the reason annexed
manifestly proveth.
Finally, it is evident by that place of John before cited, that this
sin is impardonable, and that this is proper to that sin, that it can
by no means be pardoned. For John saith, we may not pray for
that sin. If we may not pray for it, there is no hope of repent-
ance, or pardon for it. I know what the Rhemists here would say,”
to wit, that by this sin unto death we must understand final im-
penitency; “final impenitency is not remitted, because here wants
repentance, and therefore we may not pray for such a one after his
death; for he died in impenitency, contemning the sacrament of
* “If we sin willingly. As the Calvinists abuse other like places against the
holy sacrifice of the Mass, so they abuse this, as the Novatians did before
them, to prove that a heretic apostata, or any that wilfully forsaketh the truth,
can never be forgiven. Which (as is before declared in the 6th chap.) is most
wicked blasphemy: the meaning hereof being, as is there said, only to terrify
the Hebrews, that, falling from Christ, they cannot so easily have the host of
Christ's death applied unto them, because they cannot be baptized any more,
but must pass by sacramental penance and satisfaction, and other hard reme-
dies which Christ hath prescribed after baptism in the Church's discipline.
Therefore, S. Cyril saith, lib. 5, in Joan. Cap. 17, Penance is not excluded by
these words of Paul, but the renewing by the laver of regeneration. He doth not
here take away the second or third remission of sins, (for he is not such an enemy
to our salvation,) but the host, which is Christ, he denieth that it is to be offered
again upon the cross. So Saith this holy doctor. And by this place and the like,
you see how perilous a thing it is for heretics and ignorant persons to read the
Scriptures. Which, by following their own fantasy, (2 Peter iii.,) they pervert
to their damnation.”—(Rhemish Testament. Note on Hebrews x. 26.)
* This should be:—I am not ignorant of the answer here made by the
Rhemists. Original: Non ignoro quid hic respondeant Rhemenses. The note
of the Rhemists, on 1 John v. 16, is, “A sin to death.” A sin to death is another
thing than a mortal sin, for it is that mortal sin only, whereof a man is never
penitent before his death, or in which he continueth till death, and dieth in it.
I affirm, (saith S. Augustin, de Correp. et Gratia, c. 12,) that a sin to death is to
leave faith working by charity even till death. So likewise in the words before, a
sin not to death, is not that which we call a venial sin, but any that a man com-
mitteth, and continueth not therein till death.
WOL. I. N
194 A TREATISE OF
OT form of
TeaSOIl,
penance.” But they affirm it to be lawful to pray for other sins
after death.
This again is to pervert Scripture, for the Apostle speaketh not
of prayer to be or not to be after his death which hath so sinned,
but that prayer must not be conceived for him whilst he liveth,
after that it hath manifestly appeared unto the Church, by infallible
arguments, that such a one hath sinned unto death; as for Julian
the Apostate; for whom the Church prayed not while he lived, yea,
it prayed against him in his lifetime, after it was clearly discerned
that he had sinned unto death, that is, had blasphemed against the
Holy Ghost. I pass over that place of Peter before cited, where
the Apostle speaks of no difficulty, but of a mere impossibility of
being renewed, of repentance, and of remission of sins, where it is
said, Their latter state is worse than the first; and as it followeth,
But it hath happened unto him, (as it is in the true proverb,) the dog hath
returned to his own vomit, and the sow to her wallowing in the mire. And
thus far of this second controversy, and so much shall suffice con-
cerning sin.
CHAPTER XXIX.
OF JUSTIFYING FAITH.
OUR effectual calling is effected, first by the Law, then by the
Gospel. The whole doctrine of the Law may be reduced to this
syllogism; Cursed is he that continueth not in all things which are
written in the book of this law, to do them; but I have not con-
tinued in them; therefore I am accursed. The proposition of this
reason is the voice of the Law, and that commination which is
added to the Covenant of Works; which is thus conceived, Do
this, and thou shalt live, but if thou do it not, thou shalt die. The as-
sumption of this reason is the act of every one's conscience that
applieth to itself the transgression of the Law. The conclusion
GOD’S EFFECTUAL CALLING. 195
likewise is the act of each one's conscience, applying to itself the
just punishment and curse of God for sin. This form of reasoning
belongs not so much to the calling itself, as to our preparation to 3. *
that effectual calling which is properly effected by the doctrine of
the Gospel. For by the doctrine of the Law which is comprehend-
ed in this argument, we are amazed and affected with the feeling
of our misery, which feeling is the first degree unto salvation.
Now the doctrine of the Gospel may be comprehended in this
form : Whosoever believeth shall be justified and live; But I be–An evangeli-
lieve; therefore I shall be justified and live. The proposition i.alsº
the voice of the Gospel, or of God himself calling. For therein is
contained the first part of an effectual calling, which is nothing
else but a proclaiming of the free covenant, the form whereof is
contained in this proposition. The assumption is not indeed the
act of the natural conscience, but of every one's supernatural faith
applying to himself Christ Jesus the Mediator of the Covenant,
and him first crucified, and next glorified. The conclusion also is
the act of faith, applying to every one the benefits of Christ his
righteousness, and salvation by him. This reason doth properly
belong to calling; and the proposition of it is the first part of call-
ing; and the assumption and conclusion is the second part. And
seeing the assumption and conclusion are the acts of our faith,
effectual
calling.
whereby we do, as it were, make answer unto God that calleth,
surely we shall not without cause say, that the second part of ef.
fectual calling is nothing else but faith. Wherefore the common-
place of faith must be comprised under this of our effectual calling.
It followeth, therefore, that we speak of faith, yea, of that faith
which is properly and simply so called, that is, of faith which they #ºing
call “Justifying faith.” For as touching the other kinds of faith,
which are commonly numbered,” as “a dead faith,” &c., they are so
termed, not simply, but in some respect, and with an addition, dead
faith, temporary faith, &c.
* Syllogism. Original: syllogismus.
* Enumerated. Original: enumerantur.
196 A TREATISE OF
º Now, in the declaration" of faith, the first thing that offereth it-
self to be considered is the object thereof. The object is generally
whatsoever is contained in the Word of God, that is, the whole
truth of God. But specially and properly, the object of it is Jesus
Christ with all his benefits.
There is a twofold consideration of Christ and his benefits; for
first, Christ with his benefits is considered as he is offered in the
Word and Sacraments; that is, as he is offered unto us, as in a
looking-glass; and yet not so much Christ himself, as a certain
image or picture of him. Of this looking-glass of the Word and
Sacraments ye read, 1 Cor. xiii. 12, We see now as it were in a glass,
and by a dark speaking.” And 2 Cor. iii. 18, But we” with open face
The glass beholding the glory of the Lord as in a glass, are transformed into the
Wherein We o tº e e
may ºn and same image from glory to glory. Now Christ so considered, is nothing
º else but Christ preached in the Word, and represented in the Sa-
craments. We, saith he, preach Christ crucified, 1 Cor. i. 23. For
the Gospel preached doth set Christ in a manner before our eyes.
Gal. iii. 1, To whom Jesus Christ was before pictured before your
eyes, and among you crucified. Next, we be to consider Christ
without" this glass of the Word and Sacraments, as he is in himself.
Of Christ so considered the Apostle speaketh, 1 Cor. xiii. 12, But
then we shall see him face to face; and 1 John iii. 2, But we know
that it shall come to pass, that when he shall appear, we shall *
him, because we shall see him as he is.
As there is a twofold consideration of Christ, so the knowledge
à. and apprehension of him is twofold. The first is called Faith,
nowledge
º; the latter Sight. Of both these ye read, 2 Cor. v. 7, For we wash
S10Il Of 18, itſl.
by Faith, not by Sight. These two ways of knowing and apprehend-
ing do agree one with another in nature and essence; for both of
them are the knowledge and apprehension of Christ; but they dif-
1 Exposition. Original: explicatione.
2 Original: per anigma, Beza's translation.
8 We all. Original: nos omnes.
4 Original : extra.


GOD'S EFFECTUAL CALLING. 197
fer in quantity, and as they use to speak, more or less;' for the
knowledge of faith is the lesser, as also is the apprehension ;
whereupon, 1 Cor. xiii. 9, it is said, that we know in part. But
the knowledge and apprehension by sight is the greater, and
So perfect knowledge and apprehension; and this shall have place
in the next world.” Of this perfect knowledge is spoken in the
same chap. ver. 10, But after that which is perfect is come; and ver.
12, Then shall I know even as I shall be taught.
These things thus laid down and known, it is easily perceived
what the special and first object of faith is; namely, Jesus Christ
with all his benefits, and even so, as he offereth himself in the Word
and Sacraments. Or the object of faith is the Word itself, or the
promises which are made of Christ, which is all one. Hence it lº
followeth, that whensoever the preaching of the Word and admin-preached.
istration of the Sacraments shall cease, this faith also, whereby we
now walk, must also cease. See 1 Cor. xiii. 10, Then shall that
which is in part be done away.
To conclude, it is to be noted of this object of faith, that it is
special, that is, offered to me, to thee, and to every man specially
and distinctly. For albeit the words be generally conceived, yet
they are specially to be taken as spoken to me, to thee, or of me,
and of thee. Thus much touching the object of faith.
Now we are to speak of the subject thereof; namely, wherein it the subject
is, and from which it proceedeth.” The subject of faith is the soul of faith.
of man, and in the soul of man the reasonable and principal facul-
ties; those I term, first the mind, then the will. For as touching
the other inferior faculties and affections of the soul, faith is not
so much said to be resident in them as to sanctify them, and to stir
them up unto good, and, as a body, to govern them. Whereupon it
* Original: secundum majus et minus.
* This should be: But the knowledge and apprehension of sight is the
greater, and is perfect, inasmuch as it is to take place in the life to come. Original:
Aspectus vero cognitio et apprehensio major est adeoque perfecta, ut qua futura sit
an altero Saºculo.
* This should be: in what it is, and from what it proceedeth. Original:
in quo est, et a quo procedit.
198 A TREATISE OF
is said, after that by faith he had purified their hearts.' Now, that
faith belongs to the mind, it is apparent by those titles which are
given to faith everywhere in the Scripture, as when it is called,
Knowledge, understanding, sight; as when it is said, We see now in a
glass. And that it is in the will, it is evident by that which is
said, Rom. x. 10, For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness,
and Eph. iii. 17, that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; for
the seat of the will is attributed to the heart. Furthermore, the
names whereby faith is termed in the Scripture do sufficiently con-
vince that the seat of it is not only in the mind, but also in the
will and heart; as when it is called an apprehension, and when it is
called a certain embracing, and such like names, which signify the
office of the heart and will. Thus far of the subject of faith.
Now let us come nearer to the nature thereof, and to the parts
of the nature of it. The first part of faith is the knowledge or
understanding of the mind, whereby the mind doth plainly under-
stand some sentence or proposition of the Gospel, and by name,
that proposition, which is in the syllogism of the Gospel, which we
alleged before; for the proposition of that syllogism is, as it were, an
abridgment of the whole Gospel. From this part, as the principal,
namely, knowledge, faith is named everywhere in the Scriptures.
parts offith. The second part of faith is the judgment, or, as it is commonly
called, the assent of the same mind. Of this judgment the Scripture
speaketh everywhere, as 1 Cor. ii. 15, The spiritual man judgeth all
things. 1 John iv. 1, Try the spirits whether they be of God. This
judgment judgment is twofold; the first, of truth; the second, of goodness.
” The judgment of truth is, when the mind assenteth to the proposition
of the Gospel, that it is true; of this judgment see John iii. 33, He
that receiveth his testimony, hath sealed that God is true. 1Tim. i. 15,
This is a faithful saying, and worthy by all means to be received, &c.
To conclude, this judgment of truth is gathered out of all places of
Scripture, wherein there is mention made of the truths of God's
Word. The judgment of goodness is, when the mind assenteth to
* Acts xy. 9.
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 199
that thing which is in the proposition of the Gospel, that it is good;
and therefore to be followed. For it must be known, that all the
propositions of the Gospel be practical, as they say; in the naked º
speculation and contemplation of which none must set up his rest; *P*
but they are to be drawn out into the manners and life, every day.
Of this judgment of goodness ye have that, Rom. vii. 16, I consent
to the law that it is good. 1 Cor. i. 18, The preaching of the cross is
to us which are saved the power of God. And in the same chap.
ver. 24, We preach Christ, to them which are called, the power and
wisdom of God. And thus much concerning the twofold judgment,
which, as we have said, must be of the general proposition of that
evangelical syllogism : of both which, this, last of all, is to be held,
that it is not only general, but also special ; whereby I do judge
that those things which are spoken in the Gospel are true of me,
and good to me. For, as we said before, those things which are
published in the Gospel are to be understood to be spoken specially
of me, and of thee. And this special judgment is properly that which
is called full assurance. After this follows conſidence, which be-axneoto-
longs to the heart and will; whereof we will speak in the next sº
place.
There followeth, therefore, in the third place, the choice or hold-
taking of the will, which is, when any one doth with his will or
heart peculiarly apply to himself that which he hath judged first
true, then good, not only in general, but also in special. This ap- tºu.
prehension or application is in the assumption or conclusion of that
syllogism of the Gospel, alleged before by us. For after that the
mind hath seen and judged the proposition of that syllogism, then
the will of every one doth particularly apply unto himself in the
assumption and conclusion, those good things which that general
proposition did concern. Of this apprehension ye have, 1 Tim. |.
vi. 12, Lay hold on eternal life. Phil. iii. 12, I follow, if I also mayfaith.
apprehend it. 1 Tim. i. 15, This is a faithful saying, and worthy
by all means to be embräced by us. To conclude, this third part
of faith is to be understood in all those titles whereby the choice
of the will is signified in the Scripture. From this part faith is
200 A TREATISE OF
termed a special confidence or trust; for the nature of faith is
chiefly seen in it. -
These things thus declared, it will be easy to gather a definition
of faith. For Faith in Christ with all his benefits, as he is offered in
the Word and Sacraments, is first a knowledge of the mind; then an
apprehension of the will or heart." In this definition we have first the
object of faith; then the subject of it; thirdly, the parts. Under
the knowledge of the mind I understand also the judgment or as-
sent of the mind, and that twofold, whereof we have spoken before.
It is to be known, that faith thus defined by us, is improperly taken
for the function and work of faith, seeing faith is properly an in-
fused habit, as they call it, or a holy quality, first of the mind;
then of the will or heart.
Now this quality in the mind, what is it else but that light of
which the Scripture speaks everywhere? Ye were once darkness;
but now ye are light in the Lord, Ephes. v. 8. The eyes of your mind
being opened, that ye may know what is that hope of his calling, Ephes.
i. 18. God, which commanded that the light should shine out of dark-
mess, is he which hath shined in your hearts, to give the light of the
Anowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, 2 Cor. iv. 6.
But God hath revealed those things unto us by his Spirit; for the Spi-
rit searcheth all things, even the deep things of God, 1 Cor. ii. 10.
And this light of the mind, which is the first part of faith, seem-
eth to be not only a restoring of that natural light, which was im-
paired in Adam's fall, but also a certain supernatural light put into
the mind by the Spirit of Christ, to this end, that the mind might
behold and see those things which excel all natural knowledge.
Faith defined.
Faith a light.
1 The Original of this important passage is:—His expositis facile erit colligere
definitionem fidei. Est enim fides Christi cum beneficiis Suis, ut in verbo et
sacramento offertur, primum mentis cognitio, deinde voluntatis sive cordis
apprehensio. I would not object greatly to the translation in the text. Yet it
seems erroneous in this, that the question is not, “What is faith in Jesus.
Christ 2"—but, “What is justifying faith?” To which, I think, our Author's
answer is, “It is faith in Jesus Christ with his benefits, as he is offered in the
word and sacraments; being, first, the assenting knowledge of the understand-
ing; and, secondly, the hold-taking of the will or heart.”
GOD'S EFFECTUAL CALLING. 201
Whereupon, Eph. iii. 17, 18, it is thus said, That ye, being rooted and
grounded in love, may be able to attain with all saints what is the
length, and breadth, and depth, and height, and to know that love of
Christ, which passeth all knowledge. -
I do not think that this knowledge was in Adam, in his first *ge
creation, before his fall. For all the knowledge in Adam's mind, ºre his
before his fall, as it was holy, so it seemeth it was natural; it seem-
eth it was a natural knowledge of God himself; it seemeth it was a
natural knowledge of the things created. Neither did he before
this see God in the Mediator Christ, nor was it needful he should
see him so. Besides, this light which I speak of is kindled in our
mind by looking on the face of Christ the Mediator, as it were in
the glass of the Gospel. 2 Cor. iii. 18, We all with open face, be-
holding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the
same image from glory to glory. Also iv. chap. ver. 6, To give the
light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
But Adam before his fall, as he heard nothing concerning the
Gospel of Christ, he saw not his face in the glass of the Gospel.
Besides, 1 Cor. xv. 45, of Adam it is said, the first Adam was made
a living soul; but of Christ, the last Adam was made a quickening
spirit. Out of which words the difference betwixt Adam and
Christ is seen, that Adam was made only natural, yet holy; but
Christ was made spiritual and supernatural; for spiritual things are
supernatural. Again, out of this difference we gather this, that
spiritual and supernatural light, which we have only by the benefit
of Christ, that is, the second Adam, was not in Adam before the
fall. For in the same place, (verses 48,49,) our heavenly or spiritual
condition is ascribed unto Christ. But of this thus far, and but
sparingly.
Also in the will or heart faith is a supernatural ability, put into º
it by the Spirit of Christ, of which Col. ii. 12, By the faith of tºº.º.
Eph. iii. 20.
God that worketh mightily in us. This power, also, as I think, was ... "
not put into Adam's heart before the fall, being induced by the ...”
* This note is the translator's own.
202 A TREATISE OF
Justifying
faith defined.
same reasons which we alleged before. And seeing that the light
of the mind and efficacy of the heart are supernatural, it followeth
also, that the functions of that light and efficacy, namely, the know-
ledge of the mind, and the apprehension of the heart, are likewise
supernatural. Wherefore unto that definition of faith before set
down, we add this branch, supernatural, as the last; so that Justi-
fying faith in Christ, with all his benefits offered unto us in the Word
and Sacraments, is not only a holy, but also a supernatural knowledge
of the mind, and apprehension of the will. Thus, then, we define
faith, as we admonished before, as the name of faith is taken for
the function and work of faith, for so the divines do commonly de-
fine it. So also in the Scriptures is the name of faith wont to be
taken, namely, for the function or work of faith, as it is termed,
2 Thess. i. 3. But if the description of faith properly, and as it is
taken for an infused quality, do like any man better, thus also he
may have it described, that Faith is a light of the mind, and an
#večyato.
effectual action in the heart, supernaturally put into them both, for the
Knowing and apprehending of Christ with all his benefits, offered in the
Word and Sacraments.
Now it remaineth that we speak something touching the effects
of faith. That knowledge and apprehension of Christ which we
speak of, sith the seat of it is in the principal and reasonable facul-
ties of the soul, namely, the mind and the will, it cannot be idle,
neither does it contain itself within the bounds of those higher
faculties of the mind, the soul, and the will; but it is effectual also
in the lower heart, that is, in all the affections; and there is not
any of all the affections, but is affected some way or other by this
knowledge and apprehension, being not only sanctified by it, but
also wrapt up above itself and the nature thereof. For as we said
of faith, that it is a supernatural knowledge and apprehension, the
same is true also of the functions of all the affections; for they are
all not only made holy, but also supernatural, by a certain superna-
tural faculty put into them by the Spirit of Christ.
But to speak distinctly of the effects of Faith. Christ with all
his benefits being once known and apprehended, a hope of good
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 203
to come, and a fear of evil to come, the love of Christ, and :*
the desire of him, and joy and gladness, are in a wonderful manner ºw
kindled in the soul, as 1 Peter i. 8, Believing in him, ye rejoice with
joy unspeakable and glorious. Grief, also, which is according to
God, is kindled, with groans which cannot be expressed, Rom. viii.
26. To conclude, the whole heart burns to God-ward. By faith
also our affections toward our neighbour are stirred up, and that
for God and Christ, as love of our neighbour, and delight in the
saints, Ps. xvi. 3. And these are the first effects of faith, and those
are inward in the lower heart or affections.
There be also outward effects of faith, having their being in the
body, and in all the members of the body; and those are outward
actions of the body, into which the inward motions of the affections
break forth. And those are, first, such as respect God; then, such
as respect our neighbour for God’s cause. And thus much of the
effects of faith, both inward and outward, as also of faith; which
is properly so called, which they commonly term Justifying Faith.
CHAPTER XXX.
OF THE IMPROPER SIGNIFICATIONS OF FAITH.
IT followeth that we speak of the improper significations of faith. Pººp:
For this very word, Faith, is ambiguous, and signifieth many iii.
things.
Properly, it signifieth this faith which they call justifying; for 1.
that is properly and simply termed by this name. Secondly, it 2.
signifieth that faith which they call historical, or dead; which is
nothing else but, as it were, the carcase of justifying faith, for it
lacks the soul, the full assurance of the mind, and the confidence
of the heart in the special assent of the mind, and in the trust
and apprehension of the heart.
Thirdly, it signifieth faith which they call temporary, which is a 3.
204 A TREATISE OF
Historical or
dead faith.
Dead faith.
certain ape of justifying faith. Fourthly, and last of all, that faith
which they term miraculous.
These three last significations of faith are improper, and the name
of faith is but an Homonomy,” or improperly put upon them, to sig-
nify these things. For not any of these may be called by the name
of faith, unless you say, “in some respect,” “in part,” and “after a
sort,” and “with an addition;” for example, the knowledge of history
is termed faith, but with this addition, historical or dead, and so of
the rest. Now a general notion of this word faith is that which is,
Heb. xi. 1. And that is a knowledge in general, with assent and
agreement to all those things which are comprehended in the Word
of God, and that whether general or particular. I mean by a par-
ticular word, when any thing is revealed to any one peculiarly out
of order, by which kind of revelation it came to pass that miracles
were done by some. We must speak, therefore, in the first place,
concerning historical or dead faith; and first, for the testimonies
of Scripture touching it. James ii. 17, Faith, if it have no works, is
dead of itself. 1 Cor. xii. 9, Unto other faith by the same Spirit. The
coherence of the text, and comparison made with other gifts of the
Holy Ghost, which in that place are numbered, do show sufficient-
ly that the Apostle speaketh of historical faith. Hitherto belongeth
that place which is, 1 Cor. xiii. 2, If I had all faith, so that I could
remove mountains. Here he doth not only mean the faith of mira-
cles, but also the historical; for he saith all faith; and after he sets
down one kind, as if he had said by name, miraculous faith to re-
move mountains. The reason of the name is this: It is termed
historical, because it is only a bare knowledge of the holy history
concerning God, Christ, the will of God, and his works, and not a
holy apprehension of the things known. And why it is called dead,
James rendereth a reason in the place before cited, namely, because
it hath no works; the reason is from the consequent or sign. For
want of works or actions, argueth and showeth that faith is as it
were dead, and without life, and, if I may so speak, the carcase of
1 That is, the same in Sound only—not in signification.
GOD'S EFFECTUAL CALLING. 205
faith, even as if there be no motions nor actions in a man neither
inward nor outward, thereby it is declared, that the man is dead
and the body without life, or but the dead carcase of a man.
Our adversaries, that I may speak of this by the way, when they
hear of it, of James ii. 17, that faith is therefore called dead, because
it hath no works, by and by conclude, that charity and the works of
charity is the soul of faith; but this followeth not that charity and
the works of charity are the soul of faith, but this followeth, that
charity and the works of charity are the signs and tokens of the
soul, that is by name, of that apprehension of Christ which is in the
heart; for this is indeed the soul and form of faith. I will declare
this thing by a like example. A man, if he have no works, no ac-
tions, neither inward nor outward, that indeed argueth, that there
is not a soul or form in him, out of which actions do proceed; but
it doth not argue that works or actions are the soul and form of
DOlćll),
But they think that the words of James, chap. ii. ver. 26, do make
for their opinion. For out of that that James saith—As the body
without the spirit or breath is dead, so also faith which is without
works is dead—thus they infer; Therefore as the spirit is the form
of the body, so are works the form of faith." But this consequent
is not of force. For the comparison and similitude is not in that,
but in this, that even as the body without the soul or breath is
dead, so faith without works is dead. The body without the spirit,
as her soul and form, is dead; faith without works, as the signs and
tokens of the soul, is dead. Even as therefore the want of the
* “Some heretics hold that good works are pernicious to salvation and justi-
fication; others, that though they be not hurtful, but required, yet they be no
Causes or Workers of Salvation, much less meritorious, but are as effects and
fruits necessarily issuing out of faith. Both which fictions, falsehoods, and
flights from the plain truth of God’s word, are refuted by these words, where the
Apostle saith, That faith worketh together with good works; making faith to be
a coadjutor or co-operator with works, and so both jointly concurring as causes
and Workers of justification : yea, afterward he maketh works the more princi-
pal cause, where he resembleth faith to the body, and works to the spirit or life
of man.”—Notes to the Rhemish Translation of the New Testament, James ii. 22.
The Papists
concerning.
206 A TREATISE OF
Subject of ,
an historical
faith.
Note well.
The nature of
a historical
faith.
spirit or the soul doth argue the death of the body; so the want
of the sign and token of the soul of faith doth argue the death of
faith ; it is therefore a comparison of the spirit and works in the like
effect, and not in the like nature. For both have the like effect,
which is death; but both the things are not of the same nature,
Hitherto of the reason of the name. The object of historical faith
is all the holy story, that is, the whole truth which is according to
godliness, and the word of both covenants; wherein this faith dif-
fers from justifying faith, which hath the word of the Gospel, or of
the covenant of grace, for the object thereof.
The subject of this faith is the mind, which knoweth and
judgeth; but the judgment of the mind doth only reach to the
truth of the history, as I think, and not to the goodness of the
things themselves, which are contained in the story. For although
a hypocrite do profess that all those things, of which the Gospel
speaks, are true ; yet he doth not assent to them in his mind, as
good things; which is the first step of practice or action. For
after the judgment of the goodness of things, followeth the appre-
hension thereof, which belongs to the will, out of which after pro-
ceed the motions of the affections, and out of them last of all do
issue the outward actions of the body. Therefore, this dead faith
doth not sincerely, at the least, assent to those things which are
in the Word, as good things, but rather doth indeed reject them,
and count them as evil; so the devil, who hath this faith, is said to
tremble, James ii. 19. Out of which it is manifest, that the devil
doth reject Christ and all his good things. For this horror ariseth
out of rejecting and hating of the thing. Therefore, in one word,
this historical faith pertains only to the mind, and hath that for the
subject of it.
It followeth, that we speak of the nature thereof. By these
things which have been spoken of the subject, it may easily be
learned what is the nature of it. For it is wholly comprised but
only in the general knowledge of the mind, and judgment of truth;
it hath therefore one or two degrees of justifying faith. Out of
all these things which we have spoken of a historical faith, it is easy
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 207
to gather the definition thereof. For historical faith is a knowledge ºad.
in the mind of the whole truth both of the Law and of the Gospel,
and the judgment of the mind made thereupon, as far as concerns
the truth thereof. And thus far concerning historical or dead
faith.
Next followeth a temporary. Of this faith ye have these texts: ...”
Matt. xiii. 20, 21, But he that received the seed in stony ground, is "
he who heareth the Word, and by and by receives it with joy, yet hath
no root in himself, but is for a time, and when persecution and trouble
ariseth because of the Word, is offended presently. To the same pur-
pose read Luke viii. 13. Of this faith see also Heb. vi. 4, 5,
For it cannot be, that they which have been once enlightened, and tasted
of the good Word of God, and of the powers of the world to come, if
they fall away, &c. To conclude, of this faith ye have John v. 35,
He, namely, John, was a burning and a shining candle, and ye would
for a time have rejoiced in his light. The reason of the name is this;
it is called Temporary, because it endures but for a time, because
it hath no root.
It hath the same object with justifying faith, and which is pro-
perly so called, namely, Jesus Christ with his benefits, offered in
the word of the Gospel and in the Sacraments; wherein it differs
from historical faith, which hath for the object thereof the univer-
sal truth. It hath the same subject with justifying faith; for it tº º:
hath its seat both in the mind, and also in the will and heart. rary faith.
Last of all, it hath as many parts of nature as the justifying
hath. For it is a knowledge of the understanding, conjoined with
both the judgments of the mind, and it is the apprehension of the
will or heart, whereout followeth also the stirring of the affections,
as of joy, delight, &c.
But that I may speak a little more largely of this apprehension,
which is in temporary faith, and of this joy. First, it is certain, How the his-
by the Scripture, that these things are in the temporary faith. ;
For Christ saith in Matthew, That he, which is but for a time, doth ºna
receive the Word, and that with joy. And in John, the Jews are lº.
said to have rejoiced for a time in the light of John Baptist. And "*
208 A TREATISE OF
Sincerity.
to the Hebrews, there is attributed to this faith, not only the en-
lightening of the mind, but also the taste of the heart, and that
performed not only by the Word, but also by the Spirit; for he
saith, “They which have been made partakers of the Holy Ghost.”
Therefore, in temporary faith, there is indeed a kind of apprehen-
sion; there is indeed a certain joy, wherein temporary faith differ-
eth from historical faith. For in historical faith, these things are
not indeed, but he that hath it doth feign, and dissemble, and lie,
in his outward profession, that he hath these things; wherefore he
is a shameless hypocrite. But he that hath temporary faith hath
these things indeed—apprehension, I say, and joy, after a certain
manner, neither doth he so feign or lie, as he that hath an
historical faith; yet he is a hypocrite, because this apprehension
and this joy are not sincere, albeit after a certain manner they be
true.
I say, they are not sincere, because they are not for that cause
for which they should be, that is, they are not for Christ himself,
offered in the preaching of the Gospel; they are not for God’s sake,
they are not for his glory, nor for those heavenly benefits of Christ,
his righteousness and eternal life; but they are for other causes, as
for the newness of the Gospel, which is to be understood in that
place, John v. 35, He was a burning and a shining candle, and ye
would have rejoiced for a time in his light, namely, for the newness of
the matter. Secondly, they be, because of a licentiousness to sin,
which men by and by snatch to themselves, upon the hearing of
free justification by Christ, and Christian liberty. To conclude,
they are for riches, honours, and other commodities of this life.
Now, seeing the temporising professorhath these causes propound-
ed to himself in hearing and receiving the Word, and in rejoicing,
it must needs be that these are not sincere in him. For nothing is
done sincerely, unless it be done in respect of the glory of God.
And herein differs Temporary Faith from Justifying. For the
Justifying Faith doth all things for Christ himself, for God him-
self, for the heavenly and spiritual benefits of Christ, as much as
it can for man's infirmity.
GOD’s EFFECTUAL CALLING, 209
Out of this, therefore, it follows, that the temporiser is also a
hypocrite, seeing he is not sincere, and that the temporary faith is
hypocritical, seeing it is not sincere. Out of that again, that it is
not sincere, another thing followeth, namely, that it is not sound
and firm; for nothing that is not sincere can be sound. For those
causes upon which it depends are not sound; as, for example, those
worldly things, as riches, honours of the world, &c. In which thing
temporary faith differeth from justifying faith; for justifying faith, as
Temporiser is
a hypocrite.
it is sincere, so it is sound. For of that it is said, Col. ii. 5, And the The º:
ence between
stedfastness of your faith in Christ. For justifying faith is, as it were, ºry
a solid body, consisting of three dimensions, length, breadth, depth, º
for it possesseth the depth and lowest of the heart; but temporary
faith is not a body with three dimensions, but only a surface,
sticking in the upper part of the heart; for it is not either a sound
light, enlightening all the heart, or a sound apprehension, arising
from the bottom of the heart; or, to conclude, a sound joy possess-
ing the whole body, but all these things are only superficial in the
temporary faith. Whereupon, Heb. vi. 4, that apprehension of hea-
venly things which is therein, is compared to tasting, or slight
touching, seeing that the heart doth but, as it were, with the tip
of the tongue, lightly taste those heavenly things, and not quite
drink them up, and receive them into itself.
Again, out of this, that temporary faith is not sound, another
thing also followeth, namely, that it doth not endure for ever, but
only for a time. For that which is not sound, is not durable and
perpetual; but only temporary. Wherein also it differeth from
justifying faith, which, as it is sound, so it is perpetual and con-
stant. From this property this faith took her name, and was called
temporary; now this property doth presuppose the two others
going before ; namely, first, that it is not sound; secondly, that it
is not sincere, albeit it be in some sort true.
While I consider somewhat more diligently of the cause of these
three properties, I find that it is not to be imputed so much to
those outward things for which this faith doth apprehend Christ
in the Word, and rejoiceth in him, as to the inward evil affection of
WOL. I. O
210 A TREATISE OF
the heart. For the heart of man, as Christ saith, is stony ground;
that is, it is neither good nor honest of its own nature. Now, we
measure this goodness and honesty, chiefly by simplicity and sin-
cerity, which is opposed to hypocrisy and dissembling. Therefore,
a deep hypocrisy, which is contrary to sincerity, possesseth the
heart of man. Now, the heart, so affected, doth believe, appre-
hend and rejoice, not sincerely, for a true cause, for which it ought
to do these things, but for other worldly causes. It followeth,
therefore, that the cause of these evils doth lurk in the heart.
§§. Wherefore, if any man will not be a temporiser, let him above all
**things look to his heart, and sift and examine it diligently, night
and day, so long till he feel that the faith of Christ takes root
in the bottom of his heart, and doth throughout possess the whole
heart, as much as may be.
Out of these things which we have spoken, touching the proper-
ties of this faith, and of the cause of them, a mark may be taken,
whereby any one may discern true and justifying faith from tempo-
rary. And that is, sincerity; in a word, sincerity in doing, in believ-
ing, in apprehending, in rejoicing, and in doing all things through-
out the whole course of the life. Now, sincerity is known by this,
if all things be done and performed by us for God and for Christ,
whether those things be of small or great moment. Whether yeeat
or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God, 1 Cor. x. 31.
º, By these things which have been spoken, it is easy to gather a de-
finition of this faith. For temporary faith is a knowledge in the
mind, and an apprehension in the will, of Christ with all his benefits;
but yet temporary, or enduring but for a time. And thus much of
temporary faith.
The miraculous faith followeth, which is the third improper signifi-
cation of the word faith. Touching this faith these are testimonies:
Matt. xvii. 20, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard-seed. 1 Cor.
#acuousXiii. 2, If I had all faith, so that I could remove mountains. The
reason of the name is this; It is termed miraculous from the effect
of it, because it is powerful to do miracles.
The object thereof is not the bare general Word of God, but ra-
GOD’S EFFECTUAL CALLING. 211
ther a special promise or revelation made to some one, touching the
doing of some certain miracle. Now that the bare general Word
sufficeth not, it appeareth hereby, for because many holy men have
had faithin the general Word, yea, they have justifying faith in the
promise of grace; and yet could do no miracles. Simon Magus
believed by an historical faith in the general Word, and yet he
could do no miracles; therefore he would have bought this faculty
with money for a price, Acts viii. 18. Unless, therefore, unto the
general Word there be added a special promise or revelation, it is
no miraculous faith; which is a certain special and extraordinary
gift of the Spirit. Wherein the adversaries do err very much, who
think that the general Word sufficeth for this, to make a miraculous
faith." The subject of it is the mind, first understanding, and withal §º.
judging the special promise ; and then the will or the heart appre-faith.
hending that which is promised.
The parts of the nature thereof are ; a knowledge with a
judgment of the mind, and an apprehension with the will and heart.
Out of these things now spoken, I gather this definition of this
faith; that Miraculous faith is a knowledge in the mind, and an ap- #.
prehension with the will, of a special promise or revelation, for the doing
of a miracle. Thus far of miraculous faith; and in sum, of the
true doctrine of faith.
! Respondeo; In his omnibus locis, vocabulum fidei accipitur provera fide
Catholica, qua Credimus id Omne, quod Deus revelat; non pro fiducia, aut con-
fidentia. Quamvis illud verum sit, fidem qua impetrantur miracula, magna
[magnam] esse debere, ut etiam gignat fiduciam quandam impetrandi quod pe-
titur. Nam propterea dixit Dominus Chananeae: O mulier, magna est ſides tua.
Matt. xiii. et Apostolus 1 Cor. xiii. Si habuero omnem fidem, ita ut montes
transferam. Esse autem fidem miraculorum, fidem ipsam Catholicam, supra
probavimus ex ca. ult. Marci, et ex hoc ipso loco, 1 Cor. xiii.—Bellarmin,
*bid. Vol. iv. p. 750.
212 A TREATISE OF
CHAPTER XXXI.
THE OPINION OF THE ADVERSARIES CONCERNING FAITH.
IT followeth now that we see briefly what the adversaries do
hold touching Faith. First, they do not acknowledge the divers
significations of Faith ; they entreat only of one faith, and that
£££% they termjustifying ; that is, as they expound the word, that which
9pinion of � • «• © ι• • •
faith. disposeth us to justice, being to be infused after in the time there-
of.' Thus thinks Bellarmin in his Treatise touching Faith.*
In this doctrine of faith, which they term justifying, they differ
from us, first about the object of it. Indeed, they do not deny
that the object of faith is the mercy of God in Jesus Christ, offered
in the Gospel ; that is, that it is the Gospel, and the promises of
grace concerning Christ, and God's mercy in him. But they will
have the object to be not only the word of the Gospel, but equally
the universal word of God.*
' In its proper time. Original: suo tempore,
2 Fidem historicam, et miraculorum, et promissionum unam et eandem esse
docent [Catholici ;] atque illam unam non esse proprie notitiam, aut fiduciam,
sed assensum certum, atque firmissimum, ob auctoritatem primæ veritatis, et
hanc unam esse fidem justificantem.—Bellarmim, ibid. vol. iv. p. 781. CathoIici
contra, ac præsertim synodus ipsa Tridentina, (quam omnes Catholici ut magis-
tram sequuntur,) sess. 6, cap. 6. Septem actus enumerat, quibus impii ad jus-
titiam disponuntur, videlicet, fidei, timoris, spei, dilectionis, pœnitentiæ, propo-
siti suscipiendi sacramenti, et propositi novæ vitæ, atque observationis manda-
torum Dei.—Ibid. p. 755. At nos per obedientiam Christi justos multos existi-
mamus in eo sensu, ut merito obedientiæ Christi reconcilietur nobis Deus, et ab
eo justitia domemur, quæ sit qualitas animæ nostræ, infusa et inhærens.—Ibid.
p. 412. • •
8 Itaque tribus im rebus ab hæreticis Catholici dissentiumt; PRIMUM, in ob-
jecto fidei justificantis, quod hæretici restringünt ad solam promissionem mise-
ricordiæ specialis, Catholici tam late patere volunt, quam late patet verbum Dei;
quin potius certam promissionem specialis misericordiæ, non tam ad fidem, quam
præsumptionem pertinere contendunt. DEINDE in facultate et potentia animi
quæ sedes est fidei. Siquidem illi fidem collocant in voluntate, cum fiduciam esse
definiumt; ac per hoc eam cum spe confundumt. Fiducia enim nihil est aliud,
GOD’S EFFECTUAL CALLING. 213
To confirm this opinion of theirs, they allege' that definition of
faith which is set down, Heb. chap. xi. 1. Faith, saith the Apostle,
is the ground of things that are hoped for, and the evidence of things
which are not seen.” “This,” say they, “is the definition of justifying
faith. But this definition stretcheth itself not only to Christ, to
the promises of God, and to the Gospel concerning him; but also
to the whole word of God, and to all things that are contained in
the word of God. For example; it stretcheth itself to the word
of God, which is concerning the creation of the world, as is evident
by ver. 3, which followeth in the same chapter; By faith we under-
stand that the world was ordained by the word of God.” Hence they
conclude, that justifying faith hath the whole word for the object
of it. But to this we answer; that not only justifying faith is de-
fined by the Apostle in that place, but that that definition [of faith]
is common to all the significations of faith, as is plain enough by
that induction of examples which followeth in that place and
chapter.
Neither is that their argument, which they gather out of the
coherence of the text, of any force. They say, “that that faith is
defined, of which the Apostle spake in the last verses of the chap-
ter going afore; Wow the just shall live by faith, &c. But there the
Apostle spake of justifying faith; therefore here, in the xi. chapter,
justifying faith is defined.” I answer, this definition, I confess,
doth belong to justifying faith, but not to that alone; but it is
common to it with other significations of faith, as with historical Heb. xi. 1.
faith, and miraculous, &c., as is evident by the induction that fol- ºf
loweth. Seeing, therefore, that this definition doth not only be-ºu
faith.
nisi Spes roborata, ut S. Thomas docet in 2. 2, q. 129, artic. 6. Catholici fidem
in intellectu sedem habere docent. DENIQUE, in ipso actu intellectus. Ipsi
enim per notitiam fidem definiumt, nos per assensum. Assentimur enim Deo
Quamvis ea nobis credenda proponat, quae non intelligimus.-Bellarmin, ibid.
vol. iv. p. 731.
! See Bellarmin, De Gratia et Libero Arbitrio, lib. vi. cap. 5,
* As there is some doubt as to the words here translated ground and evidence,
it is proper to remark, that our Author gives, without translating them, the
Greek words, Özóorozorg and šaeyxog.
214 A TREATISE OF
long to justifying faith, it followeth that out of this definition they
get not that they would have, namely, that the object of justifying
faith is equally the universal word of God. Therefore, let the ob-
ject thereof properly be that which it apprehendeth ; and that is
the Gospel, and the promise concerning Christ.
Secondly, they dissent from us about this same special object,
namely, the mercy of God in Christ. For we say and affirm, that
the object of justifying faith is not only a general mercy, nor only
a general promise touching Christ, but much rather a special mercy,
and a special promise; that is, mercy offered in the Gospel, not in
common to all, but peculiarly to me, or to thee. For albeit the
promises and sentences of the Gospel be conceived generally, yet it
is certain, that they are to be received particularly by every one,
as if they were spoken to every one in several; as, for example,
John iii. 15, the promise of the Covenant of Grace is conceived ge-
nerally in these words; Whosoever believeth in the Son shall not perish,
but have life everlasting. This promise is indeed generally conceiv-
ed, but it is to be understood particularly and singularly by every
one, as if it had been spoken to me, or to thee; “If thou believest
in the Son, thou shalt not perish, but have everlasting life.” The
Apostle, 1 Tim. i. 15, doth understand this general sentence, namely,
that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, no otherwise
than if it had been pronounced only concerning himself; where-
How the be-upon he doth apply it particularly unto himself, assuming by name,
ºº that he is the sinner, and concluding, at the least secretly, that Christ
form. came into the world to save him by name. We may make trial of
this thing by those promises that are made specially in the Gospel
to save certain men, as to the man sick of the palsy, Matt. ix. 2;
to the woman that was a sinner, Luke vii. 48; to the adulteress,
John viii. 11; to Zaccheus, Luke xix. 9; to the thief, Luke xxiii. 43.
For the Spirit of Christ, when any general promise or sentence touch-
ing Christ and his mercy is alleged, doth no less particularly now
apply the same to every man, by speaking inwardly to the heart of
every one, than at that time Christ did by his holy voice apply those
particular promises to some certain persons. Rom. iii. 22, when
GOD'S EFFECTUAL CALLING. 215
the righteousness of God is said to belong to all believers, and that
without distinction, it is plainly signified that that righteousness is
offered to men of every sort and condition, and also propounded to
every several person. 1 Tim. ii. 4, after he hath admonished that
we are to pray for all men, he addeth, that God will have all men
to be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth. Out of which it
followeth, that in the publishing of the Gospel, God hath respect
not only of all men in common, but also distinctly of every several
person; which regard also he will have us to have in our prayers.
What need many words? For if there were nothing else that didº,
teach this, the administration of the Sacraments alone hath force.º.º.
enough in it to prove, that the mercy of God in Christ is offered;
© º applied to
specially to every one. For in both the sacraments, the seals of ºne by
e the Spirit, is
that mercy are given and offered to every one severally. And let the jeet of
this suffice to show that special mercy, as it is called, is the objectº"
properly of justifying faith, against which our adversaries hold.
The object of justifying faith being made to be a general mercy,
it followeth, that faith, in the opinion of our adversaries, is a gene-
ral, and not a special assent." For seeing there is only a general
mercy propounded generally to the Church, and not offered par-
ticularly to the several members thereof, how can any particular
man challenge that particularly to himself, which is not spoken and
offered particularly P But we affirm, that justifying faith is that
whereby every believer doth particularly, not only assent to the
promise that it is true in itself, but also apprehends with the heart
the promised thing, and applies it properly to himself. For this
being made plain, that the mercy of God was particularly offered
to every one, it followeth, that faith must be particular. But for
the proof hereof, there are almost infinite testimonies of the Scrip-
tures. We will be content with but a few. Gal. ii. 20, And the life
that I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who
loved me, and gave himself for me. Mark here, he doth by faith
peculiarly apply to himself the Son of God, and his life, his love,
and his death. Neither is there any cause why any one should
! See p. 212, note 3.
216 A TREATISE OF
say, that this might be lawful for the Apostle, who had some ex-
traordinary revelation of that thing, but that it is not lawful to the
common sort of Christians; inasmuch as the Apostle doth in this
place bear the person of every Christian and believing man. Rom.
viii. 38, For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, &c. Mark
here that special trust and particular application is pointed at by the
verb of the singular number. Beside, that which is cited out of
Habakkuk (ii. 4) by the Apostle,” The just shall live by faith, doth
The certain
ty of faith.
sufficiently insinuate a special faith; for thereby is signified that
every just person doth live by his faith, that is, by a special assent
to, and application of, the righteousness of God in Christ. Matt.
chap. ix. 2, a particular faith is commended to the man sick of the
palsy, to whom it was said, Son, be of good comfort, thy sins be for-
given thee. John iii. 36, when it is said, He that believeth in the Son
hath eternal life; that very same special faith is signified, which is
when every one doth assent particularly to, and apply to himself,
everlasting life offered to himself. What need many words? The
same thing doth that verb, I believe, which is found in the Apos-
tles' Creed, teach ; for to believe, is there specially and particu-
larly” to believe.
Out of the general mercy, and general faith of the adversaries,
followeth the uncertainty of particular faith, and of God’s peculiar
grace, which they defend." For it is easily discerned, that uncer-
tainty doth follow necessarily out of that generality; first, a doubt-
fulness of mercy, then of faith. For when as mercy is propound-
ed and offered, not specially, but generally, and when there is
only a general assent of faith, how can I be certain of that mercy,
which pertains not certainly by name to me?
But that there is a certainty of faith, against which they hold,
1 That is, represent. Original: sustineat personam. w
2 Rom. i. 17; Gal. iii. 11; Heb. X. 38.
3 Individually. Original: individuo. -
4 Sicut memo pius de Dei misericordia, de Christi merito, deque Sacramento"
rum virtute et efficacia dubitare debet ; sic quilibet dum Seipsum, Suamgue pro-
priam infirmitatem et indispositionem, respicit, de Sua gratia formidare et timere
potest. Cum nullus scire valeat, certitudine fidei, Cui non potest Subesse falsum,
se gratiam Dei esse consecutum.—Concil. Trident. Sess. 6, c. 9.
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 217
first, it easily appeareth by those things which have been spoken of,
God's special mercy, and special faith. For seeing mercy is offer-
ed particularly to thee and to me, &c., and I again assent particu-
larly to it; now am I certain of that mercy that it is mine speci-
ally, seeing I do already by faith and special application possess it.
For Christ dwelleth in our hearts by faith," that is, we now possess
Christ, and do enjoy him as present. Of this special certainty, see
Rom. iv. 16, The inheritance is of faith, that it may be by grace,
to the end the promise may be firm to the seed. And in the same
chapter, ver. 18, Which Abraham against hope believed under hope.
But hereof there is a notable place, Heb. vi. 18, That by two im-
mutable things, in which it is not possible that God should lie, we might
have strong consolation, which have our refuge” to hold fast the hope
that is set before us. Where you see, first, that God hath promised
it; secondly, that he hath bound himself by an oath, that is, that he
hath declared the unchangeableness of his counsel for saving of us
by two immutable things, to this end, that we might have strong
consolation. Now the comfort is not strong, unless it rise out of
our firm and certain assent, whereby we consent to the truth of Note.
God’s promise. For if our assent waver and be uncertain, certainly
there can no strong consolation arise out of our assent. Secondly,
that it may be a strong consolation, some general certainty of our
assent is not sufficient, but it must needs be a special and particular
certainty of assent, whereby, to wit, I am certain, that that is pro-
mised is true of me. For what consolation at all, much less a
strong consolation, can that be, when as I am certain that the pro-
mise concerning Christ doth belong only in general to the Church,
and not to myself also in particular P Nay, rather in that very thing
is the grief increased, when one sees that the benefits of Christ
pertain to others, but not to himself at all.
But to the end that this which we speak of, touching certainty
and uncertainty, may be the more manifest, we must search into
1 Eph. iii. 17.
* Who have hastened our flight thither. Original: qui cursum eo corripuimus.
—Beza's translation of x2+2(pvyóvreg.
218 A TREATISE OF
The certaint
of faith.
What the
controversy
this point a little more deeply. In general, therefore, certainty is
* either of the thing or of the person. Concerning the certainty of
the thing, and the firm truth thereof, there is no question. The
certainty of the person apprehending the object is nothing else but
the firmness of the judgment or the assent of the mind, consenting
to the truth of some thing or sentence. Wherefore, certainty is
nothing else but a certain property of the judgment, or of the
assent of our mind. And seeing the assent of the mind is twofold,
either general, when I generally assent to the truth of some sen-
tence that it is true, as, for example, concerning the universal
Church; or it is special, when as I assent to the truth of any sen-
tence that it is true, even of me and of each particular; seeing, I
say, there is a twofold assent of the mind, it followeth that there is
a twofold certainty, one general, namely, the property of a general
assent; the other special, namely, the property of a special assent.
Now, that we may come to the state of the controversy; The
is concerning question is not concerning general certainty, but all the controversy
a particular
faith.
is of the special certainty of a special assent, which they call the
certainty of grace or of special mercy. For we do affirm and de-
fend the certainty of special grace; but they oppugn this same cer-
tainty of special grace, but, I pray, with what arguments P First,
they say, “that in the Gospel no mercy is anywhere offered and pro-
mised to any particular, or any one man; therefore there can be no
certainty of special grace.” I answer, and do invert the argument.
In the Gospel grace is promised and offered, not only in general to
all, but in special to every one, as we have taught before; where-
fore the certainty of a special grace is required in every one.
Now, to those things which we said touching special mercy offered
to several persons, I add these few things, to the end that the whole
matter may more clearly appear, and to the end that we may learn
1 Non potest aliquid certum esse certitudine fidei, nisi autimmediate contine-
atur in verbo Dei; aut ex verbo Dei per evidentem consequentiam deducatur:
Fides enim non est, nisi verbi divini auctoritate nitatur. Neque de hoc princi-
pio vel Catholici, vel hacretici dubitant. At in verbo Deinon continetur imme-
diate particularis ista propositio, Talis vel talis homo vere justificatus est.—
Bellarmin, ibid, vol. iv. p. 866.
GOD’S EFFECTUAL CALLING. 219
by sense and experience itself, that grace is offered to every one
by God. The Spirit of Christ only is Christ's vicar on earth, who ºf
teacheth and instructeth us in those things which Christ spake, º' "
and which are written in the Gospel. Now this Spirit teacheth,
not only generally, that the promises and sentence in the Gospel
touching Christ and his benefits are true of the whole Church, but
much more that they are true of that special and particular man
whom he inwardly teacheth. And sith the Spirit of adoption doth
testify with our spirit that we are the sons of God, Rom. viii. 16, this
testimony of the Holy Ghost is not general concerning the whole
Church, that they which are in the Church be the sons of God;
but it is a special testimony of me and of thee that I am the son of
God, and that thou art the son of God. Besides, 1 Cor. chap. ii. 10,
it is said of the Spirit, that he searcheth even the deep things of God,
that is, the Spirit which is given to every one, and which dwelleth
in every one, doth search that grace and mercy in Christ Jesus
which lieth hid in the deep, and makes it to be known to every
one. For the Spirit of God dwelleth in me, reveals to me that
which is hid in the very heart of God. Now I demand whether
he reveal to me some general mercy only, belonging in general
only to the Church; or whether he reveal to me that special
mercy hid in God, which belongs to me peculiarly P Certainly there
is no man to whom this Spirit dwelling in him hath at any time
revealed any grace that lieth hid in God, but he will constantly
affirm, that by the Holy Spirit there is revealed to every one not
a general mercy, I know not what rough draught of mercy; but
a special mercy belonging particularly to himself. Wherefore these Defenders of
same defenders of general grace and mercy only seem to me to be ſº :
only natural men and not spiritual ; of whom that of the Apostle te
may be truly spoken, The natural man perceiveth not the things which
are of the Spirit of God, 1 Cor. ii. 14.
Secondly, they say, “that it is not expedient that every one should
be certain of his own grace, righteousness, and salvation, for cer-
tainty breedeth pride, but uncertainty humility.” I answer, cer-
* Tertia ratio probabit, non expedire ut homines habeant ordinarie certitu.
220 A TREATISE OF
tainty is a gift of the Spirit regenerating, which is bestowed only
upon the elect; I speak of true and sound special certainty, which
is the property of true justifying faith. Can it therefore be spoken
without blasphemy, that the Holy Spirit and justifying faith is the
cause of the greatest of all evils that are, and that the worst of all,
that is, of pride?" Nay, rather the uncertainty of a man is utterly
the property of one that exalts himself against God, even when
he promiseth and offereth special mercy, and binds it with an oath.
Thirdly, they say, “ certainty of special mercy is a special prero-
gative of some certain men, to whom God was pleased to reveal
extraordinarily some special mercy proper unto them. Is, there-
fore, a special prerogative which belongs but to some, and but to
a few men, to be reckoned among God’s common or spiritual
graces?” I answer, it is false that the certainty of special grace is
a special prerogative of some certain men. For if justifying faith
be reckoned among the good things and gifts of all Christians, and
this special certainty be the property of justifying faith, with what
face dare any deny this gift of special certainty to the common
sort of Christians? Is it because it was revealed but to some cer-
tain and few of them, that their sins are forgiven, as to that man
dinem de propria gratia. Nam (ut Sanctus Augustinus ait in lib. de Corrept.
et Gratia, c. 13) in hoc loco tentationis tanta est infirmitas, ut superbiam possit
generare securitas. Unde etiam S. Gregorius Scribit lib. 9 Moralium, cap. 17,
Si scimus nos gratiam habere, superbimus. Et ipse Dominus, Luc. 17, per para-
bolam Pharisaei et Publicani ostendit, eos qui Se justOS eSSe confidumt, facile
se caeteris antepomere, eosque despicere; Non sum, aiunt, sicut; cateri hominum,
velut etiam hic Publicanus. Contra autem ignoratio hujus Secreti humilitatem
conservat et auget, facit enim ut se fideles Superiores arbitrentur, et unus alium
honore praeveniat.—Bellarmin, vol. iv. p. 868.
1 Of the worst evil of all, that is, pride. Original: mali omnium pessimi,
hoc est, superbia. -
2 Quarta ratio docebit, re ipsa fidelibus ejusmodi certitudinem mon adesse.
Nam in primis quibusdam singulari beneficio revelatum esse constat, ipsis
remissa fuisse peccata. Idenim testatur de Sancto Antonio Magnus Athanasius,
in ejus vita; de Sancta Galla S. Gregorius in lib. 4 Dialogorum, cap. 13; de
Sancto Francisco, Sanctus Bonaventura in ejus vita, c. 3; mee desunt alia ejus-
dem generis exempla. Quorsum autem Deus id certis hominibus revelaret,
quasi speciali praerogativa, si fidelibus omnibus esset notitia ista communis?—
Bellarmin, ibid.
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 221
sick of the palsy, to that sinner, to Zaccheus, to the thief, is there-
fore this gift of certainty no other but special and extraordinary 2
Nay, we have already said, that the special mercy of God is no
less now promised and offered to every several and particular per-
son—as, to me, and to thee—than it was offered in times past to
those men by Christ's express words.
Fourthly, “the holiest men,” say they, “have bewrayed with a
lamentable voice, at the very point of death, and do bewray daily,
the uncertainty of their salvation.” Therefore there is not that
certainty of mercy and life which we say there is.” I answer, there
is much difference between that which is and that which ought to
be. This argument doth only conclude that which is; that is, that
there is an uncertainty, but it concludes not that there ought to
be uncertainty; nay, it concludes against it, that it ought not to
be. For they that weep and lament for the uncertainty of their
own salvation do thereby declare, that there ought not to be an
uncertainty; but our adversaries do reckon the uncertainty of our
own salvation among the chief Christian virtues. Secondly, I
answer, that out of that complaint of holy men, being ready to give
up the ghost, the certainty of special mercy doth never a whit the M. Rollock
argueth of
less follow than the uncertainty. For that speech riseth out of the conflicts
- of the godly
that war that is between the Spirit and the flesh, between faith and º.
unbelief, between certainty and uncertainty. Wherefore it is no.""
less an argument of certainty than of uncertainty; nay, it argueth
that in that war certainty hath the upper hand.
Fifthly, they say, “the best may fall from grace and faith; there-
fore what certainty can there be of special mercy and salvation?”3
Ianswer, they which are endued only with temporary grace and faith,
! To the woman that Was a sinner. Original : peccatrici mulier. See Luke
vii. 48; and the same list in p. 214.
* Deinde non minus constat, alios quosdam, alioqui perfectissimos, in obitu
Suo propter hoc incertum non mediocriter trepidasse. . . . At certe si viri
etiam Sanctissimi propter incertitudinem gratiae, et abyssum judiciorum Dei
trepidant, quomodo credibile erit, omnibus fidelibus certitudinem adesse de
propria gratia atque justitia?—Bellarmin, ibid.
* See Bellarmin, De Justificatione, lib. iii. c. 14, entitled, Fidem ac justilian
non esse propriam electorum, et semel habitam amitti posse,
222 A TREATISE OF
§., both may indeed fall, and do fall away; but those which are endued
with true justifying faith, and with regenerating grace, can neither
fall away totally nor finally. Now that comes to pass, not in re-
gard of the men themselves, for of their own nature they are prone
to final and total defection, such is their infirmity and weakness,
but it comes to pass, by the nature, as I may speak, of that grace
and gift of God which is given in Christ Jesus, For the gifts and
calling of God are such as that he cannot repent himself of them, Rom.
xi. 29.
Sixthly, they object testimonies of Scripture," those chiefly which
commend unto us care, thought, and endeavour for the keeping and
...; preserving of grace. As, He that standeth, let him take heed lest he
jºr fall, 1 Cor. x. 12. Also 2 Cor. vi.1, Paul exhorts the Corinthians
*...that they receive not grace in vain. To conclude, Christ admonisheth
... that we should watch and pray, to say nothing of those places
:... wherein fear is commended to us, as Rom. xi. 20, Thou standest by
Phil. ii. 12. faith; be not high-minded, but fear. And in another place, Work out
Ayour salvation with fear and trembling.
Out of these and the like places, they say, followeth doubting of
a man's own grace and salvation. “For why should there be such
commandments given, unless it might be so that one might fall
from grace and faith? and therefore that he ought to doubt of his
own grace and salvation.” I answer, that out of these and the
like places, it followeth there is no perseverance in grace, unless
there be joined a care, thought, and labour to keep grace. For
gº care and thought is set, God so ordaining it, to be, as it were, the
how good keeper and watchman to grace; forbidding, that a man fall not into
carnal security, which is the enemy of grace; and this thought and
care is given with grace, yea, and itself is a kind of special grace,
and a companion of grace, which never departeth from her side; for
where grace is, there is always surely some thought and care to
I See Bellarmin, ibid. c. 12, entitled, Réfellitur error de certitudine Praedesti-
nationis.
2 This had escaped Rollock's notice. In the original he quotes Bellarmin's
version, (Qui stat, videdt ne cadat,) as he does in the quotation from Philippians.
GOD’S EFFECTUAL CALLING. 223
retain that grace, which is never all quite lost, even as grace itself
is never wholly lost, for it is ever in proportion to the grace. For
when there is great grace there is great care, and when there is but
a small grace, the care is but little. And because God knoweth
how necessary this care is, which is the companion and preserver
of grace, therefore doth he so often in the Scriptures stir us up
unto care, and commendeth it unto us. And all these exhortations
are nothing else but so many outcries, as it were, whereby this
care, which we said is the watchman and keeper of grace, is stirred
up and provoked to do her duty; that is, to keep grace, and drive
away carnal security, which is an enemy to grace, and which
would, except care stood upon her watch, utterly abolish grace it-
self, as faith, regeneration, righteousness, and life. Wherefore, out
of these and the like places, care and not doubting, virtue and not
vice, do follow. For doubting hath been ever reckoned in the
Scriptures among the worst evils, and of most enmity to God and
Iſla, Il.
Now, let us speak of the subject of justifying faith, what that is, ;
according to the mind of our adversaries. They make the mindſº
only to be the subject; and in the mind only one faculty properly,
which is, that that judgeth and assenteth to the truth of any sen-
tence;' but of the will and heart, they speak nothing, when yet
justifying faith doth chiefly belong to the heart, as we have said
before. -
For the parts of the nature of justifying faith, they make not so parts.orge
many as we. For as touching knowledge, which is the first part º:
of justifying faith, either they say that it is not necessary, or else * †ysts.
that some obscure knowledge will suffice; which thing they labour
to prove by this reason. “There is,” say they,” “a double assent of
the mind, whereby we consent to the truth of any sentence. The
first assent is, when we consent unto it for some reason or cause;
! See p. 212, note 3.
* Judicium autem sive assensus duplex est. Alter enim sequitur rationem et
evidentiam rei, alter auctoritatem proponentis; prior dicitur notitia, (si propric
logui Velimus,) posterior fides.—Bellarmin, ibid. p. 739.
224 A TREATISE OF
and this is termed knowledge. This assent doth necessarily require
knowledge to go before it, to the truth whereof we assent. The
latter assent is, when we assent to the truth of a sentence, not for
some reason, but for the authority of him that speaketh : this assent
is called faith; but it doth not require that the knowledge of that
thing whereto assent is given should go before it, being content
only with the bare authority of the speaker. Out of this distinction
and difference of assent,” say they, “it followeth, that in faith there
is no need of knowledge, seeing faith is an assent, whereby we do
agree to the truth of some sentence, being induced not by any
reason or cause, but by the authority of the speaker.”
To this reason we answer, and, first, we do grant this difference
of assents; but we deny that that assent, which is yielded because
of the authority of the speaker, hath no need of knowledge to go
before it. For that it may be justifying faith to us, it is required
that that which is spoken by God himself be some manner of way
understood by us. For God doth not require that of us, that we
should assent to his word and voice because of the bare authority
of him that testifieth, when as we understand them not at all.
Secondly, they reason out of that definition of faith, Heb. xi. 1,
Faith is the ground" of things that are hoped for, and the evidence of
those things that are not seen. “Here,” say they, “we see faith of things
unknown, namely, of such things as are to be hoped for, and as are
3rdarzais, not seen.” But, say I, these two words, ground and evidence, do
£7,80/X40g. argue sufficiently, that those things which are hoped for, and not
seen, are, in the meantime, in some sort present, and seen of us.
The Popish, Whereupon Paul, 2 Cor. chap. iv. 18, saith, While we look not on
implicit faith. ſº © º
those things which are seen, but on those things which are not seen. Here
1 The same remark, as was made p. 213, note 2, applies to this whole passage
wherever ground and evidence occur. -
2 See Bellarmin, De Justificatione, lib. i. c. 5, entitled, Réfellitur ec cap.
xi. ad Hebr. haereticorum error de notione fidei.justificantis. Bellarmin translates
Jºrdarzaig by substantia, Agyzog by argumentum, which he explains, after
Augustin, by demonstratio seu convictio. Itaque definitio fidei, he says, ab
Apostolo tradita duas continet fidei proprietates; unam, quod faciat in animo
subsistere ea, quae sperantur futura; alteram quod intellectum faciatiis assen-
tiri, quae non intelligit. -
GoD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 225
you see that even those things which are not seen, nor object to
these eyes of our bodies, are yet seen and beheld with the spiritual
eyes of our faith. And this is their opinion touching the knowledge
of faith, which tendeth to this purpose, to establish that faith which
they term implicit or infolded" faith.
Concerning that assent which we said is the second part of
justifying faith, they do place the nature of faith only in that assent,
which is yielded in regard of the truth of a thing; for they speak
nothing of the assent or judgment of goodness, and they make that
same judgment of truth, which they hold, to be only general;
namely, whereby one doth judge that some sentence is true, not of
himself, but, in general, of the whole Church : * when as notwith-
standing that judgment, as well of truth as of goodness, which is
the property of faith, is rather particular; yea, a very peculiar
grace, which, in the Scripture, is called that full assurance, as we ???,8000-
have said before. 0.4%.
Touching the third part of faith, which we termed the confidence
of the heart, they do not acknowledge it. For they say “that con-
fidence is nothing else but hope strengthened,” and a certain effect
of faith;” whereas notwithstanding confidence, which the Greeks
term reºroidnois, is a certain motion of the will or heart not expecting,
but in present apprehending some good, and depending thereupon,
and rejoicing therein as present. Furthermore, Tſarig and reroíðngle,
that is, faith and affiance, are of the same root. For both of them confidence
and faith of
come from the verb reſtogol, which signifieth to persuade." Besides, fºot
- - IIl GreeR,
the verb reſtoga is taken everywhere by the Apostle for “to be per-
suaded, to believe,” and not “to hope:” Rom. viii. 38, rºreſcual, that
is, I am persuaded that neither life, nor death, nor things present, nor
things to come, &c. : Phil. i. 6, Táreiopoi,” I am persuaded that he that
"This etymological hint is not in the original, which simply has, quam
ips; implicitam vocant. I can find in Bellarmin no notice of ſides implicita,
* See Bellarmin, De Justificatione, cc. 8, 9, 10, 11.
* Spes roborata.
* The original has persuadere. But, Comparing this with the next sentence
it is evident that this is a misprint for persuaderi, and that we should here have,
to be persuaded.
* This should be rezotē0s. The same mistake occurs in the Original.
WOL. I. I?
226 - A TREATISE OF
hath begun in you a good work, &c, ; 2 Cor. v. 11, Knowing, therefore,
the terror of the Lord, &yūgºroug refºogey, we persuade or draw men to
the faith. I grant that the name retroſºngſ; is sometimes taken for
confidence, which is a consequent of faith, and a certain property
of it; for it comes to pass, that he which believeth or trusteth doth
depend on him in whom he placeth his trust. Of this signification
of regroſ0noug, read Eph. iii. 12, In whom we have freedom, and access
with confidence, ày reºrolºhoal, by faith in him. -
Out of these things which we have spoken, it is easy to gather a
definition of faith, according to their opinion, who take justifying
faith to be nothing else than that whereby every one doth, in
ãºle-general, assent to the truth of the word of God, and that for the
faith. authority of the speaker; which definition, what else is it, I pray
you, than a general notion of faith, and such as is common to all
the significations of faith, which we set down before ? From this
#ºle- definition of justifying faith, they gather, and that truly, that justi-
faith. fying faith may be in every wicked and heinous sinner." For in
him this general assent may be, which cannot be denied to the
very devils, as James” witnesseth. “The devils,” saith he, “believe
and tremble;” and yet they call this justifying and true faith, though
not living. For they distinguish between true and living faith.
“True faith,” they say, “is even that which worketh not by love,
yea, though it be dead;” but a living faith they term “that which
worketh by love as by her form, and not as an instrument,” where-
upon they term this by another name, formed faith.*
1 See Bellarmin, De Justificatione, lib. i. c. 15, entitled, Fidem veram posse
re ipsa a dilectione, altisque virtutibus separari. 2 II. 19.
8 Fides sine operibus non est falsa Sed vera tametsi mortua dicatur.—Bellarmin,
vol. iv. p. 607.
4 Distinctio vero unius fidei in formatam et informem ab Apostolis Christi
Paulo et Jacobo manifestissime traditur. Nam quid, quaSo, interest, si dica-
mus fidem vivam et mortuam, Vel formatam et informem. 2 Corte enim res
viva, per aliquam formam vivif, etres mortua propter absentiam alicujus format
mortua est. Fidem autem vivam et mortuam Jacobus appellat in epistola sua,
capite 2. Sed Apostolus Paulus non solum docet fidem charitate formari, sed
otiam explicat dilectionem formam esse extrinsecam fidei, non intrinsecam, et
quae det illi, monut sit, sed ut moveatur, ac per hoc sive dilectione non desinat
esse fides, sed desinat esse res actuosa et operans.—Bellarmin, ibid. p. 813.
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 227
But we do utterly deny this distinction of true and living faith;
for we take true faith and living faith for one and the same ; even
as one and the same man is true and living, and as true and living
man is so termed from his soul or form, so also true or living faith
is so termed from her soul or form, which consists in full assurance
and trust, as we have said, without which faith is nothing else but
a carcase, even as a man without a soul is not so much a man as a
carcase and dead body.
But they endeavour to prove out of James ii., last verse, that even
dead faith, and not living, is nevertheless true faith. “As the body
is to the soul, so is faith unto works; but the body, without the
soul, is a true body, albeit not living; therefore faith, without
works, is a true faith, although not living.”" I answer, that this is
a sophistical argument; for the comparison of the body and faith,
which James maketh, is not in the truth, but in the death of them;
and James assumes and concludes out of that proposition: But the
body without the spirit is dead; wherefore, also, faith without works is
dead. For between faith and the body this is the difference; one
and the same body may be dead and true, but faith is not both true
and dead, even as a man is not both true and dead; for as a man
is a compound thing, of his body and his soul, so faith is a certain
compound thing, as it were, of her body and of her soul, the tokens
or signs whereof are the actions. Wherefore, in James the com-
parison is made between a simple and a compound; the simple
thing, which is the body void of the soul; the compound, which is
faith. And the comparison is of force in that wherein it is made;
namely, in the death of both, and not in other things.
And so much of justifying faith, according to the opinion of our
adversaries, as also of the whole doctrine of faith.
' Deinde comparat [Jacobus] fidem sine operibus corpori sine spiritu, quod
certum est, verum esse corpus, licet mortuum,_Bellarmin, ibid. p. 766.
228 A TREATISE OF
CHAPTER XXXII.
OF HOPE.
Hope. HOPE followeth faith; for that apprehension of Jesus Christ,
with his benefits, offered in the word and sacraments, which is the
property of faith, doth give hopes unto us that we shall one day
enjoy Christ present. The Apostle, Rom. v. 4, saith, that experience
breeds hope. Now, by faith we get experience," and, as Peter
saith, we taste, how good the Lord is; wherefore, it must needs be,
that faith begets hope.
That we may therefore speak of hope, it must, first of all, be
object of seen what is the object thereof. The object of faith and hope is
hope the
same nºb-the same in substance, namely, Jesus Christ with his benefits.
stance with
** Heb. xi. 1, it is said, that faith is the ground” of things that are hoped
by as air for. It may be again said, that hope is of those things which are
believed, or which have, after a sort, a being by faith. By these
things it is evident, that the object of faith and hope is the same
thing in substance or effect.
Yet the object of hope differeth in reason” from the object of
faith. The chief difference is this, that the object of faith is Christ
in the word and sacraments, or the word concerning Christ and
the sacraments, which shadoweth him. Wherefore, the object
of faith is a certain image of Christ, which is propounded to us to
be looked upon in the glass of the word and sacraments. Where-
upon, 2 Cor. iii. 18, we are said, with open face, to behold, as in a glass,
and to be transformed into the image which we behold in that glass.
But the object of hope is Christ with his benefits, not, indeed,
appearing to us in the word and sacraments, but appearing as he
1 Simply: we experience; expressed in 1 Peter ii. 3–ye have tasted, yew-
ooza 36.
2 See p. 224, note 2.
3 Rather : in the way in which it is viewed. That is, Faith views Christ's
image; Hope, Christ himself.
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 229
is, and, as I may say, in his own person. For hope is not settled
upon that image of Christ which we behold in a glass by faith, but
upon the face of Christ himself, which we hope we shall see at the
last. Phil. iii. 20, from whence also we look for the Saviour, our Lord
Jesus Christ. Tit. ii. 13, Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious
coming of the great God, our Saviour Jesus Christ. 1 John iii. 2, 3,
Because we shall see him as he is ; and whosoever hath this hope in him,
that is, he that hopes that he shall see him as he is. By these
things it appeareth that hope hath for its object the very face of
Jesus Christ. There be three things which are conversant about; º;
one Christ, Faith, Hope, and Sight, but each in a diverse respect. * *
For faith is properly of his image; hope is of his face, but to come
and appear hereafter; and sight is likewise of his face, but pre-
Sent.
The second difference between the object of faith and hope is a
consequence out of the first, and this is it, that faith is of present of
things, namely, of Christ and his benefits," or rather of the image
of these things, which we behold present in the glass of the word
and Sacraments; whereupon, Heb. xi. 1, it is called a ground and an
evidence, which words signify the presence of those things which
are believed. But hope is of things which are to come hereafter;
for hope, if it be seen, is no hope, that is, if it be of things present
it is no hope; for why should a man hope for that which he sees?
Rom. viii. 24. Beside, hope is of his face, which is not yet seen.
The third difference follows also out of the first ; for faith is of the
thing only in part, seeing that it is of the image, and, as it were,
of the shadow, and, as I may say, of the earnest, which is but part
of the sum. See 1 Cor. xiii. 12, We know in part. But hope is of
the whole thing, it is of the face, of the complement;” to conclude,
it is of the whole sum, the hope whereof that earnest, which we
apprehend by faith, giveth unto us. And thus far of the object of
hope.
* This should be: Faith belongs to things present—Christ and his benefits, -
Original: quodſides sit rerum praesentium, Christi et beneficiorum ipsius.
* The fulfilment. Original: complementi, -
230 A TREATISE OF
#" The subject followeth, which is not the mind, or some faculty of
the mind, whether of understanding or judgment; nor is it the will,
for faith hath made her seat in these. But hope, being content
with the inferior seat, hath its abiding in the heart. For it is an
affection of the heart, even as fear is, which is opposed to it. If
We speak of the nature of it, it is not judgment or assent; it is not
an apprehension or trust; for all these belong to faith, but it is an
expectation which followeth faith, and is begotten by faith.
The property of hope is, not that certainty, properly, which is
of faith, or of that assent which is in faith. For faith is properly
ºpe is said to be certain, but hope is not properly called certain; but it
is termed certain because of the certainty of faith. In Scripture,
I find that patience is attributed to faith [hope] as a certain property
::::::::: thereof. Rom. viii. 25, But if we hope for that which we see not,
hope. we do with patience abide for it. Heb. vi. 15, It is said of Abraham,
that when he had patiently tarried, he obtained the promise. 1 Thess.
i. 3, there is mention made of the patience of hope, or of patient
hope. And this patience is it, whereby hope doth sustain all the
crosses and afflictions of this life, and doth, as it were, go under
them. For all the promises of heavenly things are made with an
exception of temporal afflictions. Wherefore, whosoever hopeth
that he shall obtain those heavenly promises, he must needs make
himself ready to bear and sustain all the calamities which are in-
cident to this life. Wherefore, patience is so necessarily joined
with hope, as that hope cannot be without it.
ºpe defin- Out of these things which we have spoken, the definition of
hope may be gathered; that hope is a patient abiding of the heart
for the face of Christ, or fulfilling of the promise. It is to be noted,
that this is the definition of hope, as the name is taken for the work
and office of hope, which properly signifies an affection of the
heart, and that a sanctified one; and not only so, but an affection
carried above nature. For when we are regenerated by the Spirit of
Christ, we do not only recover that holiness of nature lost in Adam,
but also in regeneration there is not a faculty of the mind or an
affection of the heart, but some Supernatural power or quality is
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 231
put into it, for the exercising of supernatural functions. For our
regeneration is not so much effected, according to that image which
was entire and holy in Adam before his fall, as according to the image
of Christ; 1 Cor. xv. 49, We shall bear the image of the heavenly
man. Whereupon the motions of our heart are termed unutterable,
and such as cannot be declared. Rom. viii. 26, they are called groans.
which cannot be eaſpressed. 1 Pet. i. 8, Joy is called unspeakable and;...
glorious. And the faculties of the mind and the affections of the
heart regenerated, are carried to those things which are incompre-
hensible, and which, I think, could not be comprehended by Adam's
holy nature. Such as these are: The unsearchable riches of Christ,
Ephes. iii. 8: the love of Christ, which passeth all knowledge, in the
same chapter, verse 19: as those things which the eye hath not seen,
nor ear heard, nor ever entered into man's heart, 1 Cor. ii. 9. But we
have spoken of these things already in the doctrine of Faith.
This last of all is to be observed concerning hope, that there be º
many degrees of it. For there is a certain more earnest or vehe-
ment hope, which is called by the Apostle, Rom. viii. 19, the fer-grozzez-
vent desire of the creature. Phil. i. 20, Paul doth profess this ooziz.
Kind of hope and earnest looking for. And thus much of hope,
according to the judgment of our churches. -
Now be advertised in few words, what our adversaries think of ºp-
it. They make the object of hope to be those things which belong *
to him that hopeth ;' for this difference they make between hope
and faith, that faith is of general mercy, and not of proper; but
that hope is of proper mercy.” But this difference is false; for
as well faith as hope is of proper grace and mercy. They say with
us, that the subject of hope is the heart; for they teach that hope
is a virtue put into the heart.
They make the nature of it to consist not in knowing nor in judg-
ing, but in expecting. Bellarmin makes a difference between hoping
* Should be: which have a special reference to. Original: qua peculiariter
ad sperantem pertiment. -
* Pauci illi Viri, et ii valde eximii, fortasse peculari revelatione certifieri
meruerunt degratia, quam apud Dominum invenerunt.—Bellarmin, ibid, vol. iv.
p. 885. Spes est tantum pertinentium ad sperantem.—Ibid.
232 A TREATISE OF
and expecting. “We hope,” saith he, “for those things which we
do not know, certainly, that we shall obtain. Whereupon the blessed
souls in heaven are said to expect the resurrection of their bodies,
because they know, certainly, that it shall come to pass.” But
Paul, Rom. viii. 25, seemeth to take the words of hoping and
expectation for one and the same thing; If we hope for that which
**śv, we see not, then do we with patience eaſpect it. You see that with Paul,
cºrex0éxed-
Soct. to hope and to expect are one and the same.
They make the property of hope to be certainty;” for they say that
hope is certain, but they teach that this certainty belongs to the un-
derstanding. “For it is the understanding that doth know, certainly,
that salvation will come to pass; and because of the certainty of the
understanding, hope is said to be certain, and the heart hopeth, cer-
tainly, that salvation will come. Therefore, this certainty is not pro-
perly in hope, but hope presupposeth it.” They say that this certainty
is not simple and absolute. For they say that no man is simply and
absolutely certain of his salvation, or doth certainly know that he shall
obtain salvation. Nay, contrariwise, that there is simply and abso-
lutely an uncertainty of hope, and he that hopeth, say they, is simply
and absolutely uncertain of his salvation. “But he that hopes,” say
they, “is certain of his salvation, not simply and absolutely, but after
a certain manner and in some respect. First, in regard of the founda-
tion of hope, that is, the promise of God which cannot deceive, and
1 Quod certo scimus nos habituros, non proprie Speramus, Sed simpliciter
expectamus. Hoc enim modo, anima beatorum non proprie sperant corporum
resurrectionem, sed tantum expectant, quia Certissimae Sunt ex parte intellectus,
eam sibi deesse nom posse.—Bellarmin, ibid. p. 886.
2 Bellarmin’s notions of Hope, which our Author evidently alludes to, are
contained in his treatise, De Justificatione, lib. iii. C. 11, of his great Work. His
views are given here somewhat confusedly. Bellarmin admits that Hope ought
to be certain. That certainty, however, consists of two parts—of the will firmly
cleaving to the object hoped for; and of the understanding, judging whether we
are united to God. In this second part lies the uncertainty of Hope. For,
while the understanding may firmly believe the truth of God’s promises, it
cannot but fear as to our compliance with all the Conditions on which these
promises rest; and, secondly, even in the case of righteous men now reconciled
to God by Love, (caritate,) the possibility of their falling away must occasion
uncertainty.
GOD'S EFFECTUAL CALLING. 233
for which, if there were not other causes of certainty, one might
be said to be simply and absolutely certain of his salvation. But
seeing there be other causes of certainty, beside the promise
of God, a man cannot be said to be simply and absolutely certain
of his own salvation for the promise of God only, and the infallible
truth thereof. Secondly, a man is said to be certain of his sal-
vation in respect of charity, which,” they say, “is the form of faith.
For he that hath charity is in this part, and in this respect, certain
of his salvation. For charity is a sure cause of salvation, and if it
could be that a man might never fall from charity, even for that
cause alone, he might be simply and absolutely certain of his salva-
tion. But seeing any man might fall from charity and lose it,
therefore there is no absolute certainty of hope in respect of charity
neither.”
This is, then, their opinion, “that hope is likewise uncertain, but
yet that it is certain in some respects; First, in respect of the
promise; then in respect of charity.” And, therefore, that the cer-
tainty of hope is always mixed with uncertainty; for what time
it is certain because of the promise of God, at the same time, it is
uncertain for other causes which are in ourselves, as in regard of
our repentance, in respect of our works and merits, which are also
required to make hope certain. Again, what time it is certain be-
cause of charity, at the same time it is uncertain, because of the
changeableness of charity.” This is their opinion. But we hold
thus, that hope is called certain because of faith going afore it, and certainty of
for the full assurance of that faith. For certainty doth properly hope,
belong to faith; and it is faith whereby every one of us doth cer-
tainly know that Salvation belongeth unto us. Hence cometh
the sureness of hope, and the certainty thereof. Secondly, we say,
that this certainty of hope, which is for faith's sake, is simple and
absolute; and we deny that hope is in one respect certain, and in an-
other respect uncertain, which thing they affirm; but we affirm that
it is certain in all respects, at least, that it so ought to be in respect
* The reader hardly requires to be reminded, that the word here translated
Charity, is the Christian virtue of love to God.
234 A TREATISE OF
of God's promise, in respect of charity, and of our whole regenera-
tion, in respect of our perseverance; and so of the rest. For all
these things are certain and sound, upon which hope dependeth,
and for which it is said to be certain; and these things do depend
upon God's unchangeableness, whether they be out of us, as the
promise of God, or within us, as charity and all regeneration; for
grace once given in Christ Jesus can never be totally and finally
lost.
Our adversaries do place some cause of certainty in ourselves, and
in our strength, and in our works and merits. And, therefore, it
is no marvel, though they say that hope is not simply and absolutely
certain ; for there is nothing more uncertain than these things,
in which they place some, or rather, the chief cause of the certainty
of hope.
Concerning the absolute certainty of hope, these be some testi-
monies of Scripture: Ps. xxxi. 1, In thee, O Lord, have I hoped, let
me not be confounded for ever. Ps. cxxv. 1, He that trusteth in the
Lord shall be like mount Sion, which shall not be moved for ever.
Rom. v. 2, We rejoice under the hope of the glory of God; and after,
5, Hope maketh not ashamed. Rom. viii. 24, We are saved by hope.
Phil. i. 20, According to my earnest eaſpectation and hope, that I shall
not be ashamed. Rom. ix. 33, Whosoever believeth in him shall not be
confounded. And thus much of hope.
CHAPTER XXXIII.
OF CHARITY OR LOVE.
AMONG the principal effects of faith, charity is reckoned in the
next place after hope; and Paul unites them together, as the three
special graces of the Holy Ghost, faith, hope, and charity, 1 Cor.
xiii. 13. There are three, saith he, faith, hope, charity, and the
greatest of these is charity. The Apostle unites these together, and
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 235
we do not sever them, specially for that God's love is a certain
bond uniting us to God, together with the bond of faith, which is
the primary and principal. For this cause Peter" saith, that our
communion with Christ, now absent from us, doth consist in love
and faith. And this moveth us, in the third place, after faith to
entreat of charity, in this treatise of our Effectual Calling.
And charity or love proceedeth from that sweet apprehension and Nº.
taste of the Lord, for that taste stirs up in the heart an exceeding love *
of the Lord, and of our neighbour for the Lord's sake. And when as
charity hath received this life by faith, it becomes the instrument
of faith, whereby it worketh other effects of the Spirit; as the gifts
of knowledge, of prophesying, of tongues, and of miracles. These
also are the instruments and means whereby justifying faith work-
eth, but the principal is love; for which cause it is said, Gal. v. 6, º,
that faith worketh by love, and love with the works or fruits thereof, *
among all signs and testimonies, gives the surest evidence unto faith.
If this be compared with other graces of God's Spirit, it must be
preferred before them all; for it hath the third place after faith.
Therefore, if ye set aside faith and hope, love hath the first place
of all the graces of the Holy Ghost, and is, as it were, the soul of
all gifts which follow after it. For this cause the Apostle, 1 Cor.
xiii., having numbered divers gifts of the Holy Ghost, saith,
that if these graces wanted love, they were either as dead, or as
nothing, or should profit nothing. Whereby he gives us to under-
stand, that all other virtues have no soundness in them, if ye sever
them from love, but to be only certain dead shadows of virtues.
We may, therefore, justly call charity the life of all gifts and graces
which follow it.
If the adversaries had contented themselves with this prerogative **
of charity, they had not erred, but for that they avouch it to be
also the life and form of faith,” herein they sin greatly, that faith
1 1 Peter i. 8, 9.
* Itaque sensus Apostoli [Gal. v. 6] est fidem a charitate agi et moveri, quo
modo a Spiritu movetur, et agitur corpus. Ac per hoc dilectionem non esse
signum Viventis fidei, ut adversarii dicere solent, sed esse ipsam vitam fidei, et
fidem Sine dilectione similem esse corporisine spiritu, ut rectissime scribit.Jacobus.
236 A TREATISE OF
Object of
love.
1 Thess. i. 5.
Naturo Of
love.
rather contrarily is the life of charity, for that without faith, there
is no man hath but the dead shadow of love. Wherefore the faith
of Christ is the principal life or soul, both of charity, and of all
other virtues, for without it they are all but vain and counterfeit,
and very sins before God; for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.”
The primary object of love is the same with the object of faith
and hope. For what we first apprehend by faith, and next expect
in hope, the same we embrace in love. The secondary object of
love is our neighbour, whom we love in and for the Lord. The
subject of love is the heart; for we love with the heart, as the
Apostle speaketh, love out of a pure heart.”
The nature thereof is not in knowledge, nor in hoping, but in
loving. In love two things are principally to be respected; first, a
diligent endeavour for the preservation of that we love; next, an
earnest affection to be united and conjoined with it, both which we
see are to be respected in the love of God and of our neighbours.
The properties of love are many. 1 Cor. xiii. 4, &c. For whereas
love is, there is a heap of virtues; for charity is never alone in any
man, but hath ever many other virtues as companions and hand-
maids attending on it.
Of the premises ye may gather some definition of faith;”
Love defined as namely, that love is a holy endeavour for the preservation of
that which is beloved, whether God or man, with an earnest desire
to be united unto it. For love is that bond, as the Apostle
speaketh,' whereby the members of the body are knit together.
And it serves also in some sort and place to unite us unto God and
Christ, notwithstanding that the communion of Christ, the head of
his body the Church, be principally to be ascribed unto faith. And
in this respect love goes before justification, and is a branch in our
Recte igitur Catholici dicunt fidem sine charitate esse informem, et cum cha-
ritate formatam.—Bellarmin, ibid. Vol. iv. p. 813.
1 Rom. xiv. 23.
2 “As the Apostle speaketh,” &c., is the translator's own. The marginal
reference is also his, and seems to be a mistake for 1 Peter i. 22.
* Faith, evidently a misprint for Love.
* Col. iii. 14.
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 237
effectual calling, ever going together with faith, hope, and repent-
ance. For which cause principally, I thought good to speak of it
briefly in this treatise, after faith and hope, for that faith, wherein
we say consisteth the second part of our effectual calling, hath
these for inseparable companions, faith, hope,” and repentance; after
which follows our justification by order, not of time, but of nature.
But in another respect love follows justification, and appertaineth
to the grace of regeneration ; but of this we shall speak in fit
place.
Now to return to our purpose; the definition given before is
not so much of love itself, as of the work and function thereof.
For love is properly an affection, holy or sanctified; and not so #.
only, but also supernatural, carried up to love those things which
are above nature, and exceed all natural affection; for like as faith
is of those things which excel all natural knowledge and apprehen-
sion, and hope is of those things which excel all natural expectation,
so love also is of those which be above the reach of all natural affec-
tion. For as we have often before admonished, this our new-birth
in Christ Jesus, is not so much a restoring of us to that image of
Adam, which he had before his fall, as unto the image of Christ,
who is a spiritual and a heavenly man, in whom, and by whom, we
have not only, so to speak, a natural sanctity or holiness; but also
do receive from him a certain heavenly and supernatural virtue and
efficacy infused into all affections and powers of the soul. But this
our supernatural condition as yet appeareth not unto men, neither
do we sufficiently feel it and find it ourselves, but it shall be seen
in another life, when as we shall put on, and bear the image of that
heavenly man, 1 Cor. xv. 49. Now we are called the sons of God, but
as yet it appeareth not what we shall be ; but we know it shall come to
pass, that we shall be like unto him, when he shall appear, 1 John iii. 2.
The adversaries spend all their labour in setting forth the com-
mendations of love, and they be too long in extolling charity; for
they adorn it with the spoils of justifying faith, so gracing it with
* Should be: hope, love, and repentance. Original: spem, charitatem, ct
resipiscentiam.
238 A TREATISE OF
stolen colours, and not with its own proper beauty, ascribing the
justification and salvation of man, which they take away from faith,
unto charity," as shall be seen when we come to speak of the doc-
trine of free” justification. And thus far shall suffice of charity or
love.
CHAPTER XXXIV.
OF REPENTANCE.
REPENTANCE followeth faith, as the effect followeth his cause; for
that godly sorrow which is according to God, and worketh repent-
ance, is the daughter of faith, as we shall see afterward. Of this
benefit there are divers names in divers languages. The Hebrew
do call it TESCHUBHAH,” the Grecians, gar&yoto,w and aerogºetzy.
The word ward woto, is of a verb," which signifieth to be wise after
a thing is done, to retract his sentence, to change his mind, and
to return to a right mind. Whereupon repentance is nothing else
but an after-wit, a reversing of judgment, and change of determina-
tions. The word aeropéxeto, is of the verb garoºsty, which signifi-
eth to be careful and anxious after a thing is done; whereupon
peropºsio, is nothing else but a trouble and disquietness of heart,
after a thing is acted. Therefore these two Greek words differ,”
for that the first concerneth properly the mind or understanding;
the second, the heart and affection. They differ also in another
1 Quod si charitas est forma fidei, et fides non justificat formaliter, nisi abº
ipsa charitate formata, certe multo magis charitas ipsa justificat.—Bellarmin,
ibid. p. 813.
2 There is no word for free in the original. Or love, also is the translator's
own explanation.
8 Hºwj. Bellarmin (ibid, vol. iii. p. 907) gives mayºn, which our Author
has followed.
4 gerovosiv, which is in the original.
5 On this subject, see Erasmus and Beza on Matthew iii.; Calvini Instituta,
iii. 3, § 5; and Campbell's Preliminary Dissertations, vi. 3.
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 239
respect, in that perſºvoſo, comprehendeth the whole work and benefit
of repentance, for the change of the mind, which is implied in this
word, doth necessarily presuppose the sorrow of the heart, and
that same garoºxalov, which is a contrition, and an anxiety after
the fact committed; whereas ºrg/.3%ato, is rather restrained to
signify only a part of this benefit, namely, the first, which consisteth
in sorrow, in contrition, and the disquiet of the heart after a thing
is done; for it followeth not, that wheresoever this same compunc-
tion of heart be, there should presently follow that sound repent-
ance; as it is necessary that wheresoever sound repentance be
found, there also must be that compunction of heart. Some there
are which make a third difference between these two, affirming
that this sound repentance properly belongs to the godly and to
the elect, and only to them ; for the elect only, properly, and in
very truth, become wise after their falls, and they do only change
their minds, and their purposes, and return to a sound mind;
whereas some compunction, and disquietness of heart, doth not only
belong to the godly and the elect, but also to the wicked and to
the reprobates, in whom there is found, after a sin is committed,
some grief, and disquietness of heart, not so much for the sin com-
mitted, as for the punishment of the sin. But we are to understand
that wheresoever this same sorrow is attributed to the wicked, there
is not understood hereby that godly care and sorrow which is
according to God; but a worldly sorrow, and a sorrow which is
unto death. In which sense it is attributed to J udas, Matth. xxvii.
3, Judas repented himself; but contrariwise, when it is attributed to Azero:22-
the godly, thereby is signified not so much a sorrow for the punish- º; 6
ment of sin itself, as for the offence and displeasure of God. Thus 090&g.
far of the Greek names of repentance.
The Latins do call it a conversion, an after-wit, to return to heart coºl,
and understanding, and repentance." Conversion doth fitly answer Hºpisten-
with the Hebrew word; and it is a word which the prophets have
* This should be: The Latin terms are, Conversio, Resipiscentia, Paenitentia.
Holland translates resipiscentia by after-wit, a change of the mind, and repentance,
Pęnitentia, by repentance, penance, and compunction, generally one of the two latter.
240 A TREATISE OF
used in the Old Testament, Convert me, O Lord, and I shall be con-
verted, Jer. xxxi. 18. Even as Christ and his apostles themselves use
the foresaid Greek words in the New Testament of repentance and
compunction of heart, a change of the mind is properly signified
in the Greek word gar&yoto, for to change the mind is to begin to be
wise after the deed done. Penance is signified in the Greek word
Aeropºsio, for it is derived of the verb poenitere, which signifieth a
punishment;" for in this kind of repentance, that sorrow and anxiety
of the heart is a punishment. For as the Greek word Aeropéxeto,
doth differ from the word paróyoto, so doth poenitentia, penance, from
the word resipiscentia, repentance. For to pass by other differences,
the word penance signifieth properly one part only of this benefit, to
wit, sorrow, disquietness, and anxiety after the deed done. But
the word resipiscentia, which is a change of the mind, doth com-
prehend this whole benefit; for the change of the mind, and to
become wise after our falls, doth necessarily presuppose the sorrow
of the heart, as the efficient cause. The old Latin translation doth
translate both the Greek words every where poenitentia, penance.”
The adversaries do earnestly contend, that the word penance is every
where to be retained, to wit, that they may defend the sacrament of
penance, as they call it, even by the very name itself, to consist in
external and corporal affliction.” The word resipiscentia, which signi-
fieth a change of the mind, is more used by our Divines" when they
speak of this grace. And thus much concerning the names of this
benefit.
The parts thereof are generally these ; first, sorrow, then, after
sorrow, a change of the mind and purpose, which is properly, as is
Teschubhah.
Azérévoto.g.
Azéto:/0%-
A 6429.
Tesipiscon-
tia.
Parts of re-
pentance.
1 This is the common derivation of poemitet, from poena. Erasmus singularly
derives it from pone, to give the force of the Greck &ero.
* See Campbell, ibid.
* Denique unde vox Poenitentia dipthongum haberet quem habet vox Paena,
sia Pone, ut vult Erasmus, et mon a paena derivanetur? Maneat igitur omnes
Poenitentiae voces, Hebraicam, Graccam, et Latinam, Secundum Scripturæ et
bonorum auctorum usum, non Solam mentis mutationem, aut erroris agnitionem,
sed etiam detestationem peccati, et vindictam Sponte assumptam significare.—
Bellarmin, ibid. vol. iii. p. 909.
4. It was introduced by Erasmus.
GOD’s EFFECTUAL CALLING. 241
aforesaid, signified by the Greek word used for repentance. We
are, therefore, first to speak of sorrow, which is the first part of
repentance, and this sorrow is of two kinds. First, for the pun-ºw twº-
ishment of sin, which, 2 Cor. vii. 10, is called the sorrow of the world,
and also a sorrow which is to death. Secondly, it is a sorrow for
the sin itself, and because of the offence which is committed
against God, which, in like manner, is called of the Apostle, a
sorrow according to God. Of both these we will speak severally.
The principal efficient of the first sorrow which is conceived in
the heart for the punishment of sin is the Holy Ghost, which, Rom.
viii. verse 15, is called the spirit of bondage to fear; that is to say,
which testifieth unto us of our terrible and miserable condition
without Christ, and, therefore, doth beget fear and horror within
us. The instrument, whereby the Spirit doth work this sorrow in
our hearts, is the preaching of the Law. The sum whereof is in
that syllogism, concerning which we have spoken in the doctrine of
faith; the proposition of which syllogism is this, Cursed is every one
that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of this law,
to do them.” The assumption is by every man's conscience thus an-
swered:—But I have not continued in them ; and the conclusion,
therefore, is this, I am accursed. From hence doth that sorrow,
or rather that horror of the heart, arise or spring, not so much for
sin, which is in the assumption, as for the punishment and fear of
the curse, which is in the conclusion. And this is that which is
called the prick of conscience, which, by means of the conclusion
before showed, doth not only prick a wounded mind, but also
pierce even through the heart. And this legal sorrow, if the
grace of the Gospel did not put a helping hand between it and us,
would drive a man into utter desperation. And thus much con-
cerning that first sorrow.
The very same Spirit of God is likewise a principal efficient
cause of the latter sorrow, but not proceeding as before; for now he
becometh the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father, Rom.
viii. 16, that is, testifying of our adoption in Christ, and, therefore,
! Gal. iii. 10.
VOL. I. -
242 A TREATISE OF
doth enlarge both our heart and mouth to call upon God fami-
liarly, as upon our Father. -
The instrument whereby the Holy Spirit doth work this faith
in our hearts, it is the preaching of the Gospel, the sum whereof
is contained in that syllogism, concerning which we have spoken
in the doctrine of faith. The proposition of this syllogism is, He
that believeth shall be justified, and shall live; whereupon faith doth
assume, saying, But I do believe; and concludeth saying, There-
fore righteousness and life pertaineth unto me. In this conclusion
there is, Iconfess, matter of joy and of unspeakable gladness; but it
is as true that there is in it matter of sorrow also, which is con-
ceived after we have known the mercy of God in Christ to be so
great, and doth arise in this respect, because we have offended
so merciful and so loving a Father. It is then a joy mixed with
sorrow, and with the unspeakable and glorious joy of faith, having
joined with it sighs that cannot be expressed. And thus much
also of the latter sorrow.
Now let us see how both these kinds of sorrow belong unto
sound repentance. That first sorrow, which is of the law, and is
*º of conceived by reason of the punishment which followeth sin, I con-
the Law a
preparative
for the Gos—
pel.
fess it is no part of this holy change and conversion unto God, for
of its own nature it doth rather estrange us from God, than con-
vert us to God; and, in very deed, it doth altogether alienate the
wicked from God as from a terrible judge. Notwithstanding, in
repentance it hath his use, for it prepareth the elect by giving
them sense of their misery, to that grace and mercy which is pro-
pounded in the Gospel. The latter sorrow, which is according to
God, and is effected by the Gospel, is properly a part of repent-
ance, and doth effect that change of the mind and reason before
specified. And, therefore, the Apostle saith, 2 Cor. vii. 10, that the
sorrow, which is according to God, causeth repentance. And thus
far of the first part of this benefit which is found to be in sorrow.
The other” followeth, which is called properly by the Apostle,
1 Mark xvi. 16.
2 That is, the other part of repentance. The first was Sorrow, 1. for the
punishment of sin; 2. for offending God. The second is a change of mind.
GOD'S EFFECTUAL CALLING. 243
2 Cor. vii. 10, a change of the mind. For there followeth after ºt
that godly sorrow a certain wonderful change of the mind, of the *
will, and of the heart. As touching knowledge and illumina-
tion of the mind, this goes before the sorrow we have spoken of,
and is an acknowledgment wrought in us first of sin, and of our misery
by the Law; next, of mercy by the Gospel. Therefore, the change of
mind which followeth this sorrow pertains to the faculty or judgment
of reason, which also is called the counsel and purpose of the mind;
Acts xi. 23; he exhorteth them, that with one purpose of heart they
would cleave unto the Lord. And the judgment or counsel of the
mind is changed in this sort. The mind disalloweth the evil which is
committed, and alloweth the good hereafter to be practised. Thereº
y - e º ... hath tw
are, therefore, two parts of the change of the judgment or counsel; º,
the first is the disallowing of the evil committed; the second is the
approving of the good to be done. After the change of the judg-
ment, or counsel of the mind, there followeth a change of the will
in this manner. The will rejecteth that evil which is committed,
or it declineth from it, and alloweth the good to be done hereafter,
or inclineth thereunto. There are these two parts of this change; $ºf
first, a declination of the evil committed; secondly, an inclination -
to the good which is or ought to be done. After the change of
the will followeth the change of the heart, which is on this man-Change of
ner. The heart hateth and detesteth that evil which it hath here." heart.
tofore done, and it loves and affects the good which hereafter it
ought to do. There are, therefore, two parts of this change;
the first is the detestation of evil done and committed; the second
is the love of that good which ought to be done.
In general, therefore, there are two parts of that change of the
mind which is an effect of sorrow ; the first is a change from evil,
and from sin committed; the second is a change to good hereafter,
to be practised and followed. Commonly these parts are called
mortification and vivification, but I know not how rightly and
justly ; for mortification and vivification are properly parts of re- ãº.
generation, which doth differ from repentance, as shall be seenº
hereafter.
244 A TREATISE OF
Repentance
defined
Repentance
and regene—
ration differ.
By that which hath been already said, we understand what be
the special points of repentance, from whence it proceeds, and
whereunto it serveth. The point from whence it proceeds is the
evil or sin committed; the point to which it tendeth is the good
hereafter to be done. Repentance, therefore, standeth between
two actions, past and future, and it doth differ from regeneration,
for the points thereof * are not deeds and actions, but qualities, to
wit, the corruption of nature or the old man, and sanctity or the
new man ; but of this we shall entreat afterwards, when we come
to speak of the difference of repentance and of regeneration.
Ye see, then, after that great sorrow, how there is a change in
the whole mind of man. Next, ye see by that hath been said of
this benefit of repentance, that repentance doth begin from the
heart, and doth proceed by the reasonable faculties of the
mind and will; and, last of all, it doth end and rest in the heart.
To conclude, it may easily be gathered, by that which hath been
said in the treaty of the parts of it, what the definition of repent-
ance is, that it is an after-wit, after the deed and evil committed, and a
sorrow, because God is offended, and from that sorrow a certain change
of the whole mind from evil unto good. The effect of repentance is
in the outward life, to wit, an amendment of life bringing forth
fruit worthy of repentance; Matth. iii. verse 8.
There is question concerning repentance, whether it be the same
with regeneration or new birth;” for the common opinion of Divines
is, that the benefits of regeneration and new birth differ not in
matter itself. Notwithstanding, it appears unto us that there is a dif-
ference between these two, and it shall appear to them also who dili-
gently consider the ends of both ; for repentance is to be referred to
our effectual calling, and it is an effect of faith, which is another part
of our effectual calling, for as many as believe, they repent, they
change their counsel, and return to a better mind. But regenera-
tion is the beginning of our glorification, and the beginning of a
I That is, of regeneration.
2 Rollock uses the words here, regeneratio sive renovatio, in the Sense of
sanctification.
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 245
new creature. Repentance goeth before justification, even as faith
and hope; for of the Baptist it is said, that he preached the
baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, Mark i. 4; Luke
iii. 3. But regeneration followeth justification; for, being justified,
we receive the Spirit of sanctification, whereby we are renewed,
and, as it were, find a new creature begun even in this life. Re-
pentance is the cause, regeneration is the effect; for therefore God
doth renew us in Christ, and make us new men, because we repent ºne-
us of our old life, and begin to be wise after sin committed. Not-jºº
withstanding, in the middle place, betwixt repentance and regene-
ration, comes in justification, when as God doth of his mere mercy
account and repute us as just. The name of repentance implieth
sorrow, but the name of regeneration gladness. To conclude, the
points' of repentance, as whence it proceeds and whereunto it
tends, they are deeds, the evil or sin committed, and the good
which ought to be practised; but the bounds of regeneration are
qualities—inherent corruption, and sanctity or holiness, which is
wrought in us; the old man and new man renewed in Christ.
But you will say, in repentance there is a change from evil to good,
a change, I say, of the mind and heart. I answer, in our effectual
calling [also, and faith] there begins a change of the mind of man;
notwithstanding, all divines distinguish calling and faith from regene-
ration. Why then should they not in like manner distinguish be-
tween repentance, which followeth faith, and our effectual calling,
and regeneration ? For every change of the mind is not to be How reſent-
ance follow—
deemed forthwith regeneration, but there are certain changes of.”
lation.
mān's mind which go before regeneration, and which prepare the
mind, and so the whole man, unto regeneration, and to that new
creation; in which kind repentance is a special grace.” These things
are to be distinguished not in time but in nature; for at that very
same instant, we believe, and be effectually called, and do repent,
and be justified, and be regenerate.
' Points and bounds are in the original, termini.
* Should be: in which class is repentance. Original: in quo genere est re-
Sipiscentia.
246 A TREATISE OF
Degrees of
repentarce
in the im—
pious.
Note this
distinction.
Judas' ex-
ample.
CHAPTER XXXV.
HOW FAR A WICRED MAN MAY PROCEED IN REPENTANCE.
HAVING thus far spoken of repentance, which is proper to the
elect and godly, we are next to consider how far the reprobate
and ungodly man may proceed in repentance. All wicked and
ungodly men do not make like progress, for they profit, some less,
some more, in the work of repentance. We will first speak of
them which be least proficient. These first have a sorrow or hor-
ror in their minds which cometh from the Law, and that not for
sins or any offences committed against God properly and truly,
but because of the punishment of sin properly, and for sin acci-
dentally, because punishment followeth sin. Next, after this sorrow
there followeth in them some dislike in mind of the sin committed,
but because of the punishment; but as touching affection to the
good which ought to be done, so far they come not. Further
yet, there followeth in the will a declining from evil committed,
but because of the punishment; for in the meanwhile their will is
not bent or inclined to the good which ought to be done. After
this little change of the will, there followeth in the heart a detes-
tation of evil committed, but in regard of the punishment; for all
this while the heart doth not proceed to love justice, or the good
which ought to be done. And as touching the outward life, there
is no good change or holy amendment in it.
In this kind was Judas the traitor, of whose repentance read
Matth. xxvii. 3-5, where first it is said that Judas did repent him of
that he had done. Note here in this word his sorrow and anxiety of
heart. Next, he is said to have brought the thirty pieces of silver to
the high priest, whence may necessarily be gathered a change of the
will, of the mind, and of the heart, which thing also by his own con-
fession may appear, because he said afterward, I have sinned, betraying
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 247
the innocent blood; for this word doth argue a dislike of sin in some
sort, and a renouncing and detestation of sin, albeit not sincere,
but principally in respect of the punishment, accidentally in respect
of the sin, because sin and the punishment thereof go together :
finally, whereas he cast the silver pieces into the temple, it appears
there was in him an inward dislike and detestation of evil: and yet
that no amendment of life followed this change of mind, it appears
in this, because, presently going aside, he hanged himself.
There are other impious men, who proceed a little further in
repentance than these, having in their minds some change unto
good, their minds allowing that which is good, and their will
choosing the same, and their heart affecting it; yet these things
be not sincere in them, but proceed from fear of punishment.
And as concerning the amendment of their outward life, they
begin that also ; but as the Prophet saith, Their goodness van-
isheth as a morning cloud, and as the morning dew, Hosea vi. 4.
Of this number was Saul, 1 Sam. xv. 24-31, and Achab, 1 Kings Saul.
xxi. 27. And of this kind also, it seems, was Esau, Gen. xxvii. 31-38.
His sorrow appeareth by his tears shed; the change also of his mind
in some sort unto good appears by that it is said, he would have
obtained the blessing, he sought the blessing ;' but there was nothing
sincere in him, for, forthwith after he returned to his old haunt, or
wonted course again. The wicked, which yield best signs of repent-
ance, are those who have attained the temporary faith, whose sor-
row also doth arise from the Gospel, and the acknowledgment of the
mercy of God in Christ; and the change of the mind unto good is
in some sort for the good itself, for they taste after a sort the
sweetness of God in Christ, and are delighted in it. And as con-
cerning the amendment of outward life, that also is in them a
little longer than in those before described. They also do turn
and relinquish many sins.
Of this kind, it seems, Herod was, of whom it is written, Mark
vi. 20, Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just and a holy
* Hebrews xii. 17.
248 A TREATISE OF
man, and he received him, and when he heard him, he did many things,
and heard him gladly. And thus far of these three steps of impious
men in repentance; and here also I end the doctrine of sound re-
pentance.
CHAPTER XXXVI.
WHAT THE JUDGMENT OF PAPISTS IS OF REPENTANCE.
IT followeth now that we consider what the Papists do think of
their penance; for they reject the very name of repentance. Their
errors are many which they hold, we will take view of some few
of them, and briefly confute them. First, they say “that repentance
is a sacrament.” But, I ask, if it be a sacrament, what sensible
Asacrament sign hath it 2 They answer, “that the sign is partly the act of the
penitent person, and partly the words of the priest, whereby the
penitent is absolved.” But, I answer, in a sacrament there must
be not only an audible sign, but also a visible; there must be also
a certain element, and not a ceremony only, as in Baptism and the
Supper of the Lord. Besides the ceremonies and rites, there are
elements, water, bread, and wine. Concerning this error, this
shall suffice.
Secondly, they affirm “that the use of repentance is this, to abolish
mortal sin after baptism, and to make him, who, of a friend, through
sin, was become God’s enemy, the friend of God again, that is, a
just man.” To this I answer: To the restoring and repairing of
2. Errot.
* Nune ad veritatem confirmandam accedamus, Ac primo quidem loco habe-
mus verba Domini, Joan. 20,—Quorum remiseritis peccata, remittuntur eis, et
quorum retinueritis, retenta Sunt. Ex quibus verbis duo colliguntur, quae ad omne
Sacramentum proprie dictum constituendum, et requiruntur, et sufficiunt; ritus
externus sive symbolum divinitus institutum, et promissio gratiae justificantis, illi
ritui sive symbolo annexa.—Bellarmin, ibid, vol. iii. p. 914.
* Hic igitur status controversia est. An poenitentia signis externis manifestata,
accedente ad eam verbo Absolutionis, sit Sacramentum novae legis proprie dictum.
GOD’S EFFECTUAL CALLING. 249
man, who hath sinned after baptism, we have no need of any other
sacrament than baptism, the force and virtue whereof is perpetual
and effectual throughout the whole life of man, for the washing
away of sin to regenerate men; for it is false that in baptism these
sins only are washed away which were committed before baptism,
seeing baptism reacheth to the whole life of man, and the remem-Baptism ef-
• º º & fectual to the
brance thereof is effectual for the remission of sins, and our.
regeneration, even then, when a man gives up the ghost and de-
parts this life.
Thirdly, they say “that the repentance which was in the Old 3. Error.
Testament, and before the resurrection of Christ, is not the same
which followed the resurrection of Christ; for that was no Sacra-
ment, but this is.” I answer, that the doctrine of repentance, and
of our conversion to God, is one and the self-same, which all the
Prophets, John Baptist, Christ before and after his incarnation,
and the holy Apostles, have preached.
Fourthly, they say “that the principal efficient cause of repent-4. Error.
ance is free-will, and the strength of nature, stirred up by a pre-
venting grace, and that grace is but only our helper, working
together with nature or free-will.”
I answer, that it is clean contrary; for the Spirit, or grace of
God, is the principal efficient cause of repentance, but the instru-
ments are the faculties and powers of the mind, not such as they
are by nature, but as they are sanctified by the Spirit; which may
Istum enim ritum reconciliandi lapsos post Baptismum, qui ex poenitentia signis
externis prodita, et vérbo Absolutionis constet, Catholici verum ac proprie dictum
Sacramentum esse affirmant; Haeretici negant.—Bellarmin, ibid. p. 910.
* Scribit quidem Concilium Trident. Sess. 14, cap. 1. Sacramentum Poeni-
tentia institutum fuisse post Christi resurrectionem, et ea de causa Sacramenta-
lem Poenitentiam non fuisse Catholici docent Poenitentiam illam quam Baptista
et Christus praedicabant.—Bellarmin, ibid. vol. iii. p. 902.
* Quare cum et Deus conterat corda nostra, et nobis imperet ut ea scindamus,
et conteramus ; cum det nobis cor novum, et velit, ut nos ipsi nobis faciamus cor
novum ; cum projiciat peccata nostra, et nobis, ut eam projicianus, mandet ; cum
nos convertat, et Poenitentiam nobis inspiret, et simul ut convertamur, et Poeni-
tentiam agamus, jubeat; nulla remanet dubitatio, quin ad Contritionem mostram
vere cooperemus, et sit contritio, non vere passio, sed etiam actio, eague volun-
tanda et libera.-Bellarmin, ibid. p. 965.
~
250 A TREATISE OF
appear even by this testimony, Jer. xxxi. 18, Convert me, O Lord,
and I shall be converted; where the principal efficiency, and cause
of the work, is given to the Lord himself, and to his grace. But
of us it may well be said, that we become active in repentance, being
acted and moved by the Holy Ghost.
Fifthly, they divide penance essentially into the act of the peni-
tent, as the matter; and absolution of the priest, as the formal
cause." I answer, that there is no necessity why repentance should
be so parted between the penitent, or confessing sinner, and the
priest absolving. For the sinner, who doth repent him of his sin,
may privately confess unto God, and of him also be absolved,
without any conceived or set form of absolution by the priest. We
repent daily, and yet there is no need that the matter should be
daily so performed by the sinner repenting, and the priest or min-
ister absolving. Wherefore, repentance is not to be restrained to
this form and dialogue or communication, which must pass, as they
say, between the sinner repenting and the priest absolving.
Sixthly, they divide penance materially into contrition, confes-
sion, and satisfaction, for these three parts do, as it were, appertain
to the acts of their penitents, which be the matter of their Sacra-
ment of penance.” I answer, concerning contrition, which is
nothing else but a sorrow of heart, we verily admit of it, but
without any opinion of merit which they attribute thereunto.
And as touching confession, first, we say, that it is not properly
any part of repentance, but an outward sign of repentance, which
is wrought inwardly in the mind; for amongst the signs these are
numbered—confession of the mouth, tears, humbling of the body,
and other actions of like kind. Again, we say that their auricular
confession, wherein all, even the private sins of a man, must be
numbered, as near as they can remember, and whispered into the
5. Error.
6. Error.
Signs of re-
pentance.
1 Tribus partitionibus dividi solet poenitentiae Sacramentum. Prima sumitur ab
essentia, quae duabus partibus constat, materia, et forma, id est actibus poenitentis,
et solutione sacerdotis, secunda a materia, qua tres partis comprehendit, Contri-
tionem, Confessionem; et Satisfactionem.—Bellarmin, ibid. p. 936.
2 See previous note.
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 251
ear of the priest;" we affirm, I say, that such a confession is the
invention of man's brain, whereof there is no commandment or ex-
ample extant in the whole Scripture; yea, verily, the will of God
is, that many private sins, unto which we alone are privy, should
be concealed, and not uttered, even as God doth cover the multi-
tude of our private sins of his free-will and mercy, wherewith he
embraces us in Christ Jesus. Notwithstanding this, he requireth
of us that we privately repent of them, so oft as we shall remember
them.
To conclude, concerning satisfaction, we utterly condemn and
renounce it; for by it, as they teach, “we satisfy, of ourselves, the
wrath and justice of God, and that by temporal punishments, which
we willingly suffer for our sins.” This we do utterly condemn, as
an opinion which doth derogate from the merit and satisfaction of
Christ, whereby alone the wrath and justice of God is satisfied for
sinners. And as for these temporal afflictions of the godly, they
are not truly satisfactions for their sins, but by them God doth
mortify the remnants of sins, and by that means provoke us to
earnest repentance; hereby curbing and keeping us from falling
into sin again. Finally, as all things work for the best to them
that love God, so these things, which are not so much punishments
as crosses, do work together for the best for the godly. Neither is
that distinction of temporal and eternal punishments to be allowed;
for it is certain that whosoever are punished temporally for their
sins, and in that respect, and for that cause, such also, without
repentance, shall be punished for their sins eternally; for temporal
punishments of the ungodly, in this life, are the very beginnings
of eternal punishments to be suffered in another life. And thus
far of repentance. *
* Qui mortali peccato se obstrinxerunt, tenentur jure divino Poenitentiam
agere et reconciliationem cum Deo quarere. Sed medium necessarium ad recon-
ciliationem post Baptismum est confessio omnium peccatorum sacerdotifacta. Ergo
tenentur jure divino, qui post Baptismum mortali peccato se obstrinxerunt, sacer-
doti peccata omnia confiteri, &c.—Bellarmin, ibid. p. 1028.
* Concilium Tridentinum, sess. 14, cap. 9, docet, tribus modis Domino satis-
fieri: poenas et flagella a Deo immissa patienter ferendo, opera laboriosa sponte
252 A TREATISE OF
CHAPTER XXXVII.
OF MAN’s FREE-WILL.”
AFTER the doctrine of Faith, Hope, and Repentance, the doc-
trine of Free-will is to follow, because the adversaries do attribute
faith, hope, repentance, or, as they call it, penance, to the liberty
of our will, as to the principal agent or cause ; but they assign to
grace the second place in the work of faith, hope, and repentance;
for they say, “after that free-will is stirred up by a preventing grace,
man, by the benefit of his free-will, doth, of his own strength, be-
lieve, hope, and repent him of his sins. And as for grace, that is
only a fellow-worker,” say they, “and a helper of man's free-will,
which principally worketh in faith, hope, and repentance.” But to
this we have answered before in the doctrine of repentance, and we
shall hereafter answer it a little more plainly. Now, having thus
far showed the occasion, why, after the doctrine of faith, hope, and
repentance, we speak of free-will, let us come to the point itself,
and discourse of it. The will of man is a faculty of the reasonable
soul, following next after the faculty of reason; for the mind first
understandeth, and then judgeth. The function thereof is in willing,
in milling, in choosing, in refusing, and in doubting of those things
which were before concealed” and considered of in the understanding.
The will de-
Scribed.
assumendo, et mulctam Sacerdotum arbitrio injunctam Subeundo.—Bellarmin,
ibid. p. 1095.
* The title in the original is, De Libero Arbitrio Humano. But it is proper to
notice, that though the Translator throughout uses the term Free-Will as the sub-
ject of the chapter, the Author treats of two subjects, between which he makes a
distinction. The first is, Libertas Voluntatis, and the Second, Liberum Arbitrium.
—See p. 263, note 1.
2 See Bellarmin, De Gratia et Libero Arbitrio : especially the last chapter,
entitled, Compendium disputationis de cooperatione gratia et liberi arbitrii, aliquot
sententiis comprehensum.
* A misprint, I presume, for conceived. Original: intellecta.
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 253
The objects thereof are things simply good, and evil, and things in- º
different. I call those things simply good, which are commanded
by some express law of God. I call those things simply evil, which
are forbidden by the same express law of God. And those things
I count indifferent, which are neither expressly commanded nor
expressly forbidden in the law of God; and if they be commanded
or forbidden by any law of God, that is by accident, to wit, so far
forth as they further or hinder the edification of our neighbour.
These objects of the will I subdivide into their final causes or ends,
and into those means which tend and lead us to the ends. And
thus I apply the functions of the will to the ends, and to the
means. We be said as well to will and nill the means as the
ends unto which they serve; for to will and mill are things general;
but we are said only to accept, and to reject, and to doubt of the
means; for these things are special. And thus far of the will,
according to our present purpose. * ,
There is ascribed unto the will a certain property, which the ſº
Latins call Liberty; the Greeks a Power; as Rom. ix. 20, where.”
the Apostle speaks of the power the potter hath over the clay.
And 1 Cor. vii. 37, He that ſath power over his own will ; as if he
should have said, he that hath liberty or power of his will ; in our
vulgar tongues it is called sovereignty." This liberty of the will is,
as it were, a royal power, and the Greek word is used to set forth
the power of a king or some supreme magistrate. Rom. xiii. 1,
Let every soul be subject to the higher power. For this cause the will,
in the soul of man, is received as a queen, and, in that respect, is
said to have, as it were, the jurisdiction in her own hand.
But to come to some description of free-will. This freedom of ºn
will is a liberty when as a thing being offered to the will, as to a
certain queen, whether it be good, or evil, or indifferent, the will
even then can, by its own proper right or power, either will it or
mill it, reject or receive it, or hold a man in suspense. For which
cause commonly in schools it is defined to be a power or faculty,
to like or dislike things that are directly opposite, that is, to incline
* Original: Soveranitie. Holland: Soueraingtie.
254 A TREATISE OF
to either part of the contradiction, to receive or reject the one or
the other, and thus commonly they describe it. Yet I like best
this description—to wit, that liberty of will should be,” in respect
of good and evil things, for concerning them the controversy is, it is,
I say, a power of the will, or a certain right it” hath, whereby of
itself, and of its own inward and natural motion, without constraint,
it wills only that is good—it chooseth the good—it wills not that
is evil—it rejecteth that is evil;-in one word, liberty of will is a
power unto good, not to evil.
I am induced to like best this definition of liberty by the example
of the liberty of God himself, who, by the confession and grant of
§sº all men, most freely wills and doth all things, notwithstanding the
liberty of God is not so defined, that it should be a certain power,
whereby he doth so will good as though he might mill it, or doth
not so nill evil, as though he might will it; but the liberty of God
is this, of his own right, and without constraint, only to will that
which is good, and mill that is evil. Again, the same is plain by
the example of the blessed angels, who have liberty to that is good
** only, and not unto good and evil; that is, they do not so will good,
as if they might mill it; for they are so governed and strengthened
of God, that their will only is inclined to good, and doth abhor
from evil. To conclude, the same is showed in the example of
Alº-Adam, and of his state before his fall; for then truly the liberty
innºcence of his will was to will good only, and not both good and evil; that
is, he did not so will good as if he might mill it, except you under-
stand a remote power; whereas we, by this word liberty, to speak
properly, do understand a more near faculty of the soul.
.*P* I call that a remote faculty which is incident to the matter, as
is the power or property of laughter in the body of a man, before
it hath either form or life. I call that a near faculty which is inci-
º dent to the form, as laughter in a man that hath life. So in the
will of man there is a remote power, as appertaining to the matter,
and there is a near power, as pertaining or consequent to the form;
J Rather, is. 2 That is, the will.
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 255
but we, as a little before we spake, by liberty understand not that
remote power, which is incident to the matter, but that near power
which is consequent to the form; and by the form we understand
that sanctity which is according to the image of God, which is the ºmage ºf
soul, as it were, of our soul, and without which our soul is, as it
were, dead. For which cause, the Apostle saith, Ephes. ii. 1, that
without this holiness we are truly said to be dead in sins and tres-
passes. Whence I conclude, that the liberty of will is properly a
power or faculty, which is a consequent of sanctity, as of the formal
cause, and, as it were, the very soul of the will. Whereby it com-
eth to pass, that the will in this state, without constraint, doth in-
cline only to good, and doth decline from evil; for this liberty of
a man's will is according to the similitude and image of the liberty
of God himself. Unto this liberty, constraint" is opposite, proceed-
ing from some outward agent, and is contrary to the nature of the
will; for it is not a will if it be constrained, neither is it said that
the will is constrained, albeit man himself, in whom the will is,
may be said to be constrained. I say that constraint is opposite
to liberty and not necessity; for those things which we will or mill
freely, we will or mill those things of necessity; first, because of
the necessity of God’s decree; secondly, because of the incident
form of the will itself, as of holiness, of corruption, of both. As
when man was holy in his creation, so long as that holiness con-
tinued, of necessity he did will that which was good, and nill the
evil. So the blessed angels of a certain necessity will that is good,
and nill the evil, and at length, when man is glorified, he shall in-
cline to good and decline from evil; so man being wholly corrupt
before his regeneration, of a certain necessity, he wills the evil, and *::::
mills that is good, and notwithstanding after his manner he doth *
will freely, albeit this be not a true liberty, as we shall hereafter
'see. To conclude, a man regenerate partly of necessity doth will
good, in respect of his new birth ; partly of necessity he doth will
evil; for that he is as yet partly corrupt, yet in both respects he
willeth freely; for we must distinguish betwixt necessity and con-
i Original: Coactio, which Holland renders throughout by “constraint.”
256 A TREATISE OF
straint, for necessity is more general and large than constraint is,
for that which is constrained is necessary, but, on the contrary,
that which is necessary is not constrained. And thus much con-
cerning the liberty of the will in general.
There is, then, a fourfold hate of man to divers conditions or
states of man to be considered." The first state, of his innocency
before his fall; secondly, the state of his corruption after his fall;
thirdly, the state of regeneration; fourthly, the state of glorification.
First, then, concerning the first state, it is a question, whether man
in his innocency had liberty of will? I answer, if you follow the
former definition of liberty, which is a faculty or power respecting
inclining to either side, I grant that in things indifferent it had a
liberty; but in things simply good and evil, man had not in that
state of innocency that liberty of will, whereby, when he did will
good, he might nill it, and when he did nill evil, he might will it,
except you understand a remote power; for in respect of his near
power he was inclined to good only, because of the form of sanctity
and goodness in the will which was in him, according to the image
of God; but if you follow the latter definition of liberty, which is,
when the will of itself, of an inward motion, without coaction or
constraint of any external agent, is carried to that which is good
only ; if, I say, you follow this definition, I answer, that man in the
state of innocency had a liberty of will.
Concerning the second state of man, the question is, whether
man in the state of corruption now hath liberty of will? I answer,
if you follow the former definition of liberty, I do not deny that in
things indifferent he hath his liberty, but in things simply good and
evil he hath not liberty. For man, which is wholly corrupt, doth
not so will evil as that he may or can mill it ; neither doth he so
reject that is good as that he may or can will it, except ye under-
stand a power remote; for in man unregenerate that near power
1. State.
Propinqua.
potentia.
2. State.
* This is unintelligible, and should be: We must now apply this to the various
conditions of man. In all, four states of man fall to be considered. Original:
Nunc applicanda est ea ad varias hominis conditiones. Quadruplea omnino status
hominis venit considerandus.
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 257
of the will is only inclined to evil, because of the form of corruption
and of impurity which doth wholly possess his will. But if you
follow the latter definition of liberty, then verily we cannot ascribe
that liberty of the will which is according to the image of the
liberty of God himself, and is a near power or faculty, and whereby
without constraint he is carried to that only which is good—we can-
not, I say, truly attribute this to the unregenerate and his will.
For a faculty to evil cannot truly be said a liberty, but rather a
certain servitude. And in verity the unregenerate man's will is
not free but bound; yet, because the unregenerate doth not will
evil by constraint, but of his own accord and mere motion, in some
sort it may be said that his will is free.
Here our adversaries dissent from us, ascribing liberty of will
to the man unregenerate, whereby also of his own mere power herº
ree-W
may will good;’ “whereas this liberty or self-power, before prevent-
ing grace, lieth indeed asleep, yet, notwithstanding,” say they, “it
is in him like as a man though he be asleep, yet he is both a man
and living.” From whence it followeth necessarily, as they would
I See Bellarmin, De Gratia et Libero Arbitrio, especially lib. iv. c. 9, (Posse
hominem sine ſide, cum auxilio Speciali, et etiam sine illo, bonum aliquod morale
perficere, si nulla tentatio urgeat,) and the twenty-one chapters that follow.
* Bellarmin (ibid p. 708) repudiates this illustration as deceptio vel fraus hem-
nitii. His own opinion is contained in the following extract, which, though long,
is interesting and instructive. It must be premised, that Bellarmin identifies
gratia operans with gratia praeveniens. Haec est igitur gratia operans, quae
praevenit conatum et industriam nostram, et operatur ut velimus, quod antea no-
lebamus, sine nobis operantibus ut velimus, non tamen sine nobis libere consen-
tientibus dum volumus.
Atque hinc intelligemus, cur ad primum actum voluntatis tantum, requiratur
gratia operans, ad reliquos autem non sit necessaria operans, sed cooperans: nam
posteaguam coepimus velle converti ad Deum, jam nos ipsi non tantum per
liberum arbitrium producinus Deojuvantereliquos actus, sed etiam nos incitamus
et impellimus, Deo cooperante, adeos.
Acut corporali similitudine rem illustremus, sit aliquis cui expediat navigare
in orientem, et tamen nolitid facere; si quis ad eum accedat, eique multis allatis
rationibus tandem persuadeat, et de molente volentem faciat; deinde ubi eum
velle navigare cognoverit, procuret illi navem, pecunias et cætera, quae naviganti-
bus sunt necessaria; is profecto vere dicere poterit, ego solus feci, ut juste navi-
gationem suscipere vellet; nam etiamsi alter rationes allatas audierit, atque apud
WOL. I. R
258 A TREATISE OF
have it,” that there is some holiness and integrity in the will of a
man unregenerate. For there is no self-power of the will to good
unless there be in it the form of sanctity and integrity, which is as
it were the life of the will, and quickness of this self-power in the
will unto good.
The Papists, therefore, err here two manner of ways; first, be-
cause they will have some sanctity and integrity to remain in the
will of man unregenerate now after the fall; and, secondly, because
they will have this self-power of the will, which necessarily is a
consequent of the formal cause thereof, which is holiness, as is
aforesaid—they will have this self-power, Isay, unto good to be in
the will. For as touching holiness and righteousness, it is certain
that all the image of God was lost in the fall of man, and what
portion soever hereof we shall have in this life, it is repaired, and,
as it were, created anew by Jesus Christ; for which cause it is
called a new creature. And if this in any respect be old, where-
fore is it called new P and if any sanctity, which is the soul of our
soul, remain in man after the fall, why is man said after the fall,
before regeneration, to be dead and not half-dead? We forbear to
use testimonies of Scripture in this matter, which are infinite. And
as concerning the liberty or self-power which they ascribe to the
will of man, how many evidences of Scripture might be produced
to repel the same ! John vi. 44, No man can come to me, except the
Father which sent me draw him. Rom. viii. 7, The wisdom of the
flesh, it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. 1 Cor.
ii. 14, The natural man perceiveth not the things that are of God; for
they are foolishness to him, neither can he discern them. These places
Propinqua
materia.2
se expenderit, et tandem assensum praebuerit: non tamen ipse sibi persuasit,
neque se ipse movit, sedamicus eius illum movit eigue persuasit.
Caeterum quod attinct ad exeguutionem voluntatis, non potestamicus ille dicere,
Ego solus detuli istum in orientemsed solum, Ego illum adjuviet cooperatus sum
ut commode navigaret. Siquidem ille qui ab amico persuasus navigare decrevit,
sine dubio non sibi ipse defuit, sed cogitare coepit, quid facto opus esset, et cona-
tum atque industriam adhibere ad futuram navigationem.–Ibid. p. 448.
1 This clause is not in the original.
2 It does not appear what the Translator wished to indicate by this marginal
note.
GOD’S EFFECTUAL CALLING. 259
of Scripture, and other such like, are to be understood of that near
power of the will unto good, which, therefore, the Scripture denieth
in his corruption, because there is in him no holiness left since the
fall of Adam. For as touching the remote power of the will unto
good, which is a consequent of the matter, not of the form, we do
not deny that it is in the will of a man unregenerate, and that it
also becomes of a remote power a near power, so soon as any holi-
ness is wrought in the will of man by the Spirit of Jesus Christ.
Seeing, then, we leave this remote power to the will of the unre-
generate man, that is, a certain power of the cause material, there
is no cause why our adversaries should say that we make men very
stocks and blocks,” because we deny free-will unto them.” For this
power of the material cause unto good, which we ascribe unto the
will of man unregenerate, may not truly be ascribed to any dead
stock or trunk.
We must understand in this place, that whereas we deny this
near power to the unregenerate, that is, a liberty to good; we mean
hereby that which is good, as it is truly good. For even the un-
regenerate person may will that which is good in itself, as the
conservation of his country, justice, equity, &c. But that which
in itself is good, becomes evil in some sort, in regard of the man
unregenerate, who doth not will well that which is good in itself,
that is to say, neither in that manner, nor to that end, doth he will
it as he ought to will it, because himself is not good and clean; and
to the unclean all things are unclean, as to the clean all things are
clean, Tit. i. 15.
Again, be advertised, that, in this matter of free-will, I hold that
there is one and the same reason of good things of what kindsoever
'Can our Author have had in view the following passage from Bellarminº
(ibid. p. 700.) Respondet Calvinus, lib. 2, Instit. cap. 5. § 14. Ista omnia loca
nihil aliud sibi velle, nisi non moverinos a Deo, tamguam stipites et truncos, sed
tamquam homines mente et ratione praeditos, quamvis necessario moveamur, nec
possimus aliud agere, quam id, quod Deo movente agimus. Stipites et truncos
are the words used by our Author in this passage. Bellarmin, so far as I can
find, never uses this objection. But that it had been made, appears from the
words of Calvin, (l.c.) Extranea est illa similitudo qua nos invidiose gravant :
quis enim ita desipit ut hominis motionem a jactu lapidis nihil diferre autumet 2 2
* This should be: what they call freedom of will. Original: libertatem, quan,
vocant, arbitrii.
260 A TREATISE OF
they be, natural or civil, and human or spiritual; for the unregener-
ate man hath not this liberty or near power to any good thing, as
it is good or acceptable to God, and agreeable to his law; albeit
by nature his will is most far estranged from spiritual things, which
the natural man perceiveth not, and which, as the Apostle saith,
He cannot know, yea, they are foolishness unto him. By spiritual
good things I mean faith, hope, repentance, justification, eternal
life itself. There is no cause, therefore, why our adversaries should
ascribe faith, hope, repentance, to the liberty of our will, that is to
say, to the strength of nature, as to the principal efficient cause of
the same; as if we, by nature, and the strength thereof, could be-
lieve, could hope, and truly convert ourselves unto God.
But to the intent this thing may yet be more manifest, we must
understand that there be two kinds of good things; the one is of
human good things, the other is of divine and spiritual good things.
Human good things are either moral, and pertain to every private
man; or economical, and pertain to a man's family; or they are
political, and pertain to the whole commonwealth, or to the whole
city. Spiritual good things are faith, hope, repentance, justification,
sanctification, life eternal. To both these kinds of good things
man's will is not like affected, for unto human things, or unto
human good things, it is somewhat more inclined; as, for example,
nature doth incline unto temperancy, fortitude, liberality, justice,
albeit it doth neither will nor choose these things, which, in them-
selves, are good, in that manner, or to that end, it ought. Where-
by it cometh to pass, that those things that in themselves are good,
yet, in respect of him who is unregenerate, become evil and very
sins before God. And concerning things spiritual, the nature of
man is more estranged from them; and when they offer themselves
to the will, nature itself doth wholly abhor from them.
The thing may be yet more plain by example and experience.
There are two certain” good things, to wit, justice by works, and
Kinds of good
things.
1 There is here a reference to Bellarmin’s answer in the affirmative to the ques-
tion : An homo liberum arbitrium habeat in operbus naturalibus et civilibus 2
discussed, ibid. lib. iv. Co. 5-16.
2 It would be better to omit the word, certain, throughout this passage. It
is the translation of the original, qua'dam, in various forms.
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 261
& tº %, . sº º g e e • Righteous–
justice by faith, which is called the justice or righteousness of God; ºr,
we all have experience that our will naturally is inclined to that *
righteousness which is by works, and which is a certain human
good thing. Hence it comes that even to this day all the world,
following nature, seeks to be justified by good works. But the
same will doth wholly abhor, and utterly dislike, that righteousness
which is by faith; the reason is, because it is a certain spiritual
and unknown good thing. Hence it comes to pass, that so few
seek to be justified by faith, and by the alone mercy of God in
Jesus Christ.
By this and other such like examples it appears, that man’s will
is more inclined by nature to human good things, and wholly to
abhor spiritual good things. Albeit in truth, to speak exactly, it
is inclined to no good at all, as it is truly good. It is not inclined
at all, no, not to those human things, as they be truly good and
acceptable unto God; for it wills them neither in that manner,
neither to that end, it ought. So far forth, then, as it willeth them,
even those things that are good in themselves are sins, and unpleas-
ing to God. Notwithstanding they differ from those evils and sins
which, even in themselves, and in their own nature, are sins, as
manslaughter, adultery, theft, and in which I grant there be more
degrees of sin; for in these things men sin both in the substance of
the things themselves, and in the manner of doing, and in the end.
And the will of man unregenerate is more inclinable unto these
things by its own nature, than unto those things which are good
in themselves. For, first, it is carried, of its own accord, to those
which are evil in themselves. Secondly, it hath but some inclina-
tion to things human, which, in their own kind, are good. Lastly,
it doth wholly abhor spiritual good things before regeneration.
Again, I conclude, that human good things, so far forth as man
unregenerate doth will them, become in some sort evil; and the
man unregenerate doth sin in the very desire of them, which thing
also is true in things indifferent, which are neither good nor evil in
themselves. For so far forth as man unregenerate doth will them,
* And unknown, is the Translator's own.
262 A TREATISE OF
so far forth they become evil; and the unregenerate man doth sin,
when he doth will and desire even that which, of its own nature, is
indifferent, because he doth will it neither in that manner, nor to
that end, he ought.
Now, concerning the estate of regeneration, the question is,
whether the regenerate man hath his free-will? I answer, if you
define free-will to be a liberty or power to choose, or will, they say,"
any of both sides: First, in things indifferent, we say that he hath
this liberty. Secondly, we do not deny unto him this liberty also
in good things and evil: for seeing that there is a double act and
a double form in the will of the regenerate man, to wit, the form of
holiness, and the form of corruption; and because he hath the first-
fruits of the new man, and the remnant of the old, it cannot be but
that the near power of his will be double also, one inclining unto
good, the other declining unto evil: so that this received definition
of free-will seems unto me to agree best with the will of the regen-
erate person. But if you define liberty to consist of a power not
constrained, tending to good only, and not to evil, then, verily, the
man regenerate is not so free, but proceeds” only to this liberty,
which shall at length be perfected in another life.
Finally, concerning the estate of glorification, the question is,
whether man, when he shall be glorified, shall have this liberty of
will ? I answer, if you define free-will a power to make choice of
either part, even in good things and in evil, then, I say, man, in
this state of glorification, shall not have it. For he shall have that
near power to good only, because of that form of holiness, or glory
rather, wherewith, then, his will shall be endued withal. I deny
not that there shall be in him also a remote power to evil, in re-
spect of the necessary mutability of the creature, but this remote
power shall never be a near power, because God shall for ever
strengthen him and sustain him in that state of glory. But if you
follow that latter definition of free-will, the glorified person shall
at length be set free : for he shall will that only which is good and
They say, an addition of the Translator.
* That is : makes progress. Original: progressum facit.
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 263
acceptable to God, and that without constraint and for ever. Man
had free-will in the state of innocency, according to the image of
that divine liberty, but in the state of glorification, wherein he shall
come more near to the image of his God, and shall bear the image
of that heavenly man Jesus Christ, his will shall be much more free,
and far more ready, to that which is good only. And thus have
we spoken hitherto of the liberty of will, that is, of that propriety
or natural quality of the will.
Now we be to speak of free-will.” But there be which refer the
word Arbitrium to the mind;” for that they deem it is nothing else
but the judgment of the mind, which goeth before the free action
of the will, but the word free, they say, doth pertain to the will.
Notwithstanding I think the word Arbitrium doth signify the decree
of the will itself, that is, that, by this word, we understand the
function of the will, whatsoever it be, whether it will or mill,
whether it choose or reject. We ascribe liberty to this purpose or
endeavour” of the will, and it is said to be free, even as the will
itself is called Free-will, for that ever the propriety of the cause
doth predicate, as the Logicians speak," both of the effect and of
the action of the same cause. Free-will, then, is nothing else, in
my judgment, but the decree or endeavour* of the will, which is
without constraint, and which proceedeth from some inward motion
of the will, and not from any constraining external power.
A question may be demanded, whether the will, when it doth
freely execute his function and office in willing freely, or willing any
thing, whether, I say, the mind and understanding have not some
working herein I answer, that object, whatsoever it be, which
the will and the free function thereof doth respect, is first discerned
by the mind. The judgment also of the mind is twofold; first, hºt of
he mind
twofold.
1 He has hitherto spoken de libertate voluntatis. He distinguishes man's voluntas,
the power whose promise it is to choose or reject, from arbitrium, the act of the
voluntas in actually choosing or rejecting. See p. 252, note 1.
* Mentem in the sense of the intellect or understanding.
° Determination. Original : placito.
* This clause is not in the original.
264 A TREATISE OF
simple and intelligible;" as when, without any discourse or rea-
soning, it judgeth that this is good, and that is evil; this is to be
followed, and that is to be avoided. This judgment of the mind is
of the end, or of some means serving to the end, which is but only
one. Next, the judgment of the mind is, [the result of reflection,”]
when as by discourse, or arguing, it judgeth anything to be good
or evil; to be avoided or to be followed. This judgment is where
divers means fall out, of which, after discourse had in the mind,
one is chosen and the other is rejected. Now the object which by
the mind and understanding is in some sort showed and discerned,
the will doth freely will or mill, choose or refuse ; howbeit, since the
The disorder fall of man such is the confusion of these faculties, or powers of
and confu-
tº the mind of man, that what the understanding judgeth to be evil
i.” and disalloweth, the very same doth the will choose and prosecute;
and, on the contrary, that which the mind approveth for good and
alloweth, that very same the will rejecteth.
Of the mind it may be demanded, whether it can discern be-
tween good and evil—approve the one, improve” the other ?
This question must be answered by the consideration of that
fourfold state of man. But because the question chiefly is of
the understanding of man in the state of corruption, whether
that can accept or approve the good and reject the evil, our
answer shall be accordingly. We say, therefore, that if you un-
derstand that near power, which is a consequent of that corrupt
essential form, the mind of man in this state can but only allow
that which is evil; it may also allow that which is good in itself,
but not as it is truly good, because it cannot allow it neither in
the manner, nor to the end it ought, as is aforesaid of will. But to
approve that good which we call human good, the mind of man in
the state of corruption is more inclinable, but far is it from enter-
1 Conceived by the understanding. Original : voortzov.
2 Not in the translation. Original : 31&vontuzów.
3 That is, reject. Original: improbare. This use of unprove is not un-
known in early English.-See Johnson's Dictionary, s. v. It is still found in the
peculiar phraseology of Scottish Law.
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 265
taining any spiritual good at all; for, as the Apostle St Paul Saith,
1 Cor. i. 14, it judgeth every spiritual grace to be folly, for the
things which are of the Spirit of God are foolishness unto him. And
thus far have we spoken concerning the freedom of man's will, or
of free-will.
It followeth now that we speak next of the grace of God,
which is contrary to free-will or to nature, and which is not only
the principal efficient cause of faith, hope, and repentance, but
also the sole efficient cause of them. It followeth, then, that we
treat next of the free grace of God.
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
CONCERNING THE FREE GRACE OF GOD.
THE grace of God is the undeserved favour of God, or it is that graceae.
whereby God favoureth his creature without any desert of his."
The Apostle doth intimate this much, Ephes. i. 9, in that he putteth
no difference between these words, grace and a good pleasure; for tw8.2ſ,
whereas he saith in that verse, that God hath elected us according to
his free grace,' it seems to be spoken in the same sense and meaning
with that with which he said before in that same chapter, ver. 7, In
him we have redemption according to the riches of his grace. For the
grace and love of God are taken indifferently one for another;”
Rom. ix. 13, I have loved Jacob. This is that love, or that free
grace, wherewith from all eternity he loved Jacob. Eph. iii. 17,
That, saith he, you being rooted and grounded in love, &c. And this
is that grace whereby he loved us from all eternity. Tit. iii. ver, 4,
* Ummerited good pleasure. Gratuita benevolentia is Rollock's translation of
evöoxic. And his argument is, that, as in the one passage the Apostle uses the
term, grace, (x,&etrog,) and in the other, good pleasure, (evöozizw,) grace and
good pleasure are synonymous.
* The Grace and the Love of God seem also to be used indifferently. Original :
Widentur etiam gratia Dei, et Charitas sive dilectio, indifferenter accipi.
266 A TREATISE OF
Grace more
general than
mercy.
The first de-
cree of God's
free grucC.
the grace of God, as it respected mankind, is called pixwºgoºrſo, or
love towards man.
Again, this word grace is taken more generally than this word
mercy, for whereas mercy doth more properly respect such as are
in misery and sinners; grace reacheth unto all creatures of what
kind or condition soever they be, as well to the blessed angels as
to sinful men, as may appear by the salutation which Paul useth to
Timothy in the First and Second Epistle, where he wisheth first
grace to Timothy, as being a more general thing; then, in the
second place, mercy, as a more particular thing, restraining it to
the person saluted. For although in those salutations, grace and
mercy are taken metonymically for the blessings and benefits which
are conferred, and conveyed to men of God’s free grace and mercy,
yet hereby may appear that the mercy of God, which is the cause
and fountain of these benefits, hath not so general an acceptation
as grace. For the meaning of the words is thus much, as if the
Apostle had said, the benefits which God doth give us are freely
bestowed upon us, without any desert of ours, and not only without
desert, but to us which deserve to be punished with all the miseries
and calamities that can be.
That it may farther appear that all the blessings and benefits of
God are derived and conveyed unto us by means of his grace and
same favour of God, we will search into and consider more deeply
of the doctrine of grace. God, from and before all eternity, pur-
posed to be glorified specially in his grace, Rom. xi. 32. God hath
shut up all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all. In which
place we may see the justice of God to attend on his mercy and
grace. So, in like manner, all the other essential properties of God,
as his power and wisdom, &c., all which he subordained to serve
his grace and mercy. Hence it is, that, first of all, God had, before
all eternity, past his decrees of grace to the praise and glory of his
grace. Eph. i. 6, 12. The first decree of God's free grace was
concerning the incarnation of his Son, and the glorifying of him,
at the appointed time, unto the praise of his grace. Concerning
the decree of his Son Christ, read Acts ii. 23, and iv. 28 Concern-
GOD’S EFFECTUAL CALLING. 267
ing the love of the Father to Christ, Col. i. 19, Because the Father
was well pleased in him; where you may see that the love of the
Father is the cause why the fulness of the Deity doth dwell corpo-
rally in Christ; for it was of his admirable grace that God would
have flesh, that is, so base and vile a creature, to be united unto
God, the glorious and incomparable Creator.
The second decree proceeding from grace, was concerning the Second dº.
cree of God's
first creation of man after his own image; then after the fall, free grace.
concerning his restoring by his Son Jesus, I trust,” unto the image
of his Son; that is to say, by calling, justifying, and glorifying of
man to the glory of Christ, and to the praise of his own grace in
his appointed time. For the restoring and repairing of mankind
after the fall is summarily set down in these three chief points;
read Eph. i. 4, 5 ; Rom. ix. 11; Tom. xi. 5, 6.
Hence followeth the execution of these decrees by same grace Fºot
of God; and the first execution was of the decrees of God concern- grace.
ing man, which by order of nature had the second place; for that
which was first in decree and ordination became the second in
execution ; and, contrarily, that which was the second in decree
and ordination became the first in execution. Therefore the exe-
cution of the decree of God concerning man hath the first place,
and the same was of the free grace of God, unto the glory and
praise of the same grace. Therefore the execution of the decree
of God concerning man, to speak something thereof, was first the
creation of man, of God's free grace, after the image of his Creator,
and to the praise of the same grace. Then after the fall of man
followed the restitution of man, of God's free grace, in and by his
Son Christ, to the glory of Christ his Son, and to the praise of the
grace of God the Father. This repairing, which is one of the parts
of the execution of the decree of God concerning man, consisteth
of many parts, all which proceed from the mere grace of God, and
first tend to the glory of Christ the Head, and our Mediator between
'Because it pleased the Father that in him, &c. Original: Quoniam in co
placuit Patri, &c.
* I trust, not in the original.
268 A TREATISE OF
God and man; next, to the praise of the grace of God the Father.
1 Cor. iii. 22, 23. All things are yours, and you are Christ's, and
Christ is God's. And concerning this restoring of mankind, before
we come to the parts thereof, ye must be advertised that, in time,
it partly went before the execution of that decree concerning Christ
the Son of God, and partly did follow after it. For before the
fulness of time came, wherein Christ was manifested in the flesh,
God began to restore mankind, even from the very fall of the first
man: that is, men were called, justified, and glorified; and that
partly by virtue of that decree concerning Christ, which was from
everlasting, and partly because of the manifestation of the same
Christ, which was to come. But when that fulness of time came,
and when Christ was now manifested in the flesh, had suffered and
was glorified, this redemption of man was more fully and richly
accomplished. For Christ, being now come, works our restitution
more effectually by his Gospel; I mean his power is more effectu-
ally seen and known in our vocation, justification, and glorification,
than it was before his incarnation. Therefore the execution of the
decree concerning Christ the Son of God, which was first, falleth
now as it were into the midst of the repairing of mankind, or of
the execution of the decree concerning man’s redemption. Where-
fore we shall also speak thereof in the middle place, that so from it
we may proceed to speak of the parts of the redemption of man-
kind.
The execution, then, of that decree touching the Son of God,
Jesus Christ, consisteth in his incarnation, passion, and glorifica-
tion, and that of the free grace of God, which respected partly
the humanity of Christ, and partly respected us, who be repaired
and redeemed by that same very flesh of Christ, hypostatically'
united unto the Son of God. Therefore, the execution of the
decree concerning the Son of God, Jesus Christ, did proceed from
a double grace, and was to the praise of that grace of God.
Now I come to speak of the recovery or redemption of man-
The execu-
tion Of the
decree con–
cerning
Christ.
The execu-
tion of the
decred COn-
cerning
man's re-
demption.
1 Original: Wroaro.71%g.
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 269
kind, or of the execution of the decree concerning the restitution
of man; the parts hereof briefly be these : vocation, justification,
glorification. Our calling, to speak thereof in the first place, is
by God's free grace, and that in a double respect. For, first in our
effectual calling, the publishing of the covenant, and the preach-
ing of the Gospel, is of the only free grace of God. Eph. i. 9, Hav- **
ing opened unto us, saith he, the mystery of his will, according to his
good pleasure. Next, faith, whereby we receive the promise of the Faith.
covenant, which is offered unto us in Christ, is of the mere grace
of God. Philip. i. 29, For unto you it is given for Christ, not only
to believe, but also to suffer for him. Hence it followeth that faith
is the free gift of God. That former grace may be called the
grace of our vocation; this grace is common to all that are called,
elect and reprobate. But the latter grace in our effectual calling
may be called the grace of faith, appertaining only to the elect ; for
it is given only to those that are predestinated to life everlasting
to believe. Under the grace of faith I likewise comprehend the
grace of hope and of repentance as being subaltern graces, and
comprehended under this argument of our effectual calling.'
The grace of justification followeth this double grace in our
effectual calling. For that very imputation which followeth faith,
and that apprehension of faith in our effectual calling, proceed also
of a certain new grace of God. For it cannot be but of grace
that the justice and satisfaction of another should be imputed or
accounted unto us as ours; Rom. iii. 24, We are justified freely,
that is, by grace, as elsewhere often. This grace the Apostle doth
always oppose to works and to merits, making it the companion Merits,
to faith in Christ; for the free grace of God doth well agree, and
stand with the merits of Christ apprehended by faith, not only
because that merit is not ours but Christ's, that is, the merit of God
himself, but much more rather, because the satisfaction and merit
of Christ is of God's free grace and mere mercy; For God spared
not his Son, but gave him to die for us, Rom. viii. 32. Hence it is,
1 Which are subaltern to the head that treats of effectual calling. Original:
qua loco de vocatione ºfficaci subalternae sunt.
270 A TREATISE OF
that the grace of God doth more appear in this satisfaction and
merit of his, than if he had justified us without any merit at all,
either of our own or of any other.
Therefore, the free grace of God doth very well stand with that
merit which God gave us of his own. And if that merit and price
of our redemption had not been paid by God himself, then surely
the grace of God had not so manifestly appeared in our redemp-
tion. And as for man's merit, we say that the grace of God can-
not in any ways stand with it.
The grace of glorification or regeneration followeth the grace of jus-
tification; for as [the] pronunciation and giving of sentence is of grace,
Hºlso the execution thereof is likewise of grace, for regeneration or glori-
tº fication is a certain execution of the sentence of justification afore-
execution of
... going. Of this grace, see 1 Pet. i. 3.; Who of his great mercy hath
#" begotten us [again] unto a lively hope. Tit. iii. 5; According to his
mercy he saved us, by the fountain of regeneration, and renewing of
the Holy Ghost. Eph. ii. 5, 8; Ye are saved by grace.
Here ye must observe, that in this work of the restitution of
mankind, and that in all the parts thereof, there is but one only
grace of God, which is the beginning and first cause of all these
proceedings; but we, according to the variety of the effects thereof,
do thus distinguish it, and consider of it diversely; like as the
Spirit of God, which is one, 1 Cor. xii. 4, in respect of the diver-
sity of the gifts and effects thereof, is after a sort distinguished,
for that in some respect, but not in deed and verity, he seems not
to be one and the same, as it were, Rom. viii. 15, For you have not
received the spirit of bondage to fear any more, but you have received
the Spirit of adoption.
By this that hath been spoken, understand that there are, as it
were, four graces of God in the restoring of mankind, and in the
parts thereof. For whereas there is a double mercy of God in our
effectual vocation, to wit: First, an offering of Christ with all his
benefits in the covenant of grace, or the Gospel; secondly, faith to
parts of our receive Christ being offered, (under faith I comprehend hope and
effectual g e e
calling repentance, which follow faith), therefore, in our effectual calling
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 271
two graces must be understood; the grace of our vocation, or of
offering Christ unto us, and the grace of faith, or of receiving
Christ by us. In justification we have a third grace, which we
may call the grace of justification. And in glorification there is a
fourth grace, which we may not unfitly call the grace of glori-
fication.
Hence we may see, that the first grace, which they call prevent- ºurs
ing grace, is that grace whereby God first calleth us to himself by
his Gospel; and the last grace, which is the complement" of grace,
to be that grace whereby God doth glorify us together with his
Son in his kingdom; for he beginneth the last grace in this life by
regeneration, but reserveth the full consummation thereof to an-
other life by glorification. Thus much of the parts of the restitu-
tion of mankind, all which proceed from the mere grace of God,
and are directed unto the glory of his grace.
We must observe this in general, that all the blessings of God,
as well those that were from all eternity as those that are in time,
be founded upon the only and mere grace of God. And that in re-
spect of grace there is no difference between those benefits of God
that were before all worlds, as his prescience and predestination,
and these which are in time, as our vocation, justification, glorifi-
cation. -
This is the truth of God, and it will stand in despite of all the
adversaries and enemies of the grace and cross of Christ, which,
notwithstanding, hold I know not what freedom of will, and that
our meritorious works do concur in our vocation, justification, and
glorification, with the grace of God.” For as touching our calling,
| Fulfilment. Original : Complementum.
* Sedet illud praeterea libenter agnoscimus de justificatione dici posse: Ipse
fecit nos, et non ipsi nos. Deus enim est quijustificat, et qui regenerat in spem
vivam, et nos ejus factura Sumus creati in Christo Jesu, in operibus bonis, id
Scripturæ loquuntur. Caeterum, sicut respiciendo terminum justificationis, ut
est, habitum charitatis infusum, ipse facit mos, et non ipsi nos, quoniam solus
ipso habitum charitatis infundit, ita respiciendo dispositionem adjustificationem,
ipsinos, Deo adjuvante, facimus, quod expressit Ezechiel c. 18, cum ait: Ipse
animam swam vivificavit.—Bellarmin, ibid. p. 708.
272 A TREATISE OF
although they confess this to be true, that preventing grace, as they
speak, doth so prevent or pre-occupy us, even then, when we think
nothing of the grace of God, or of preparing ourselves to receive
grace, but being, as it were, asleep in sin; yet they do ascribe to
free-will that affiance' which we give unto faith, whereby we assent
unto preventing grace, and admit the same,” as though we had any
actual free-will or self-power,” as they speak, to receive the grace of
God. We do grant some power or freedom of will, whereby it in-
clines after a sort unto that which is good—I understand a power
of the matter"—but we do utterly deny that men by nature have any
actual free-will,” or that we have a self-power" to do that which is
potentapro-good, as it is good. That self" or near power of will, or liberty of
* will to good, I define to be that liberty in the will which is by the
essential form of holiness, or by the image of God which is im-
printed in the will, as may appear in the chapter of Free-will before
handled. Therefore we hold and teach, that in receiving the first
grace, our will stands before God mere passively and not actively;
that is, when the free grace of God preventeth it, we say it hath a
power unto good, but the same to be of the matter only, as schoolmen
speak, and passive, which they call a remote power. Again, we
avouch that the same power is made actual by means of divine
grace preventing us; that is, by the working of the Holy Spirit,
who taketh possession, as it were, of us by the preaching of the
Gospel, whereby the Holy Ghost doth renew our hearts, inspiring
that life of God into us from which we were before altogether stran-
gers, as it is written, Eph. iv. 18, creating in us again that
image of God which was lost, that image, I say, of holiness and true
righteousness.
1 Assent. Original : assensionem.
2 Liberum enim arbitrium per gratiam pravenientem excitatum et praepara-
tum, potest per vires, quas a Deo recipit, cooperariad Suam ipsius conversionem.
—Bellarmin, ibid. p. 707.
8 Proximate power of the will. Original : potentia propinqua voluntatis.
4 See chapter on Free Will, p. 254, where he calls this power, in the lan-
guage of the schoolmen, remota potentia, and materia consequens.
5 Original : qua aetu sit.
6 Soo note 3 slipra.
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 273
As touching our justification, where our adversaries do affirm that ºut-
it is twofold, terming the first habitual, and the second actual ;'
they say, that we are prepared by our free-will to the first justifi-
cation as by a principal agent, and by the grace working together
with the same.” But as for the second justification, that they place
in works proceeding from free-will and from our first justification,
which they call infused grace. And here they ascribe life ever-
lasting to the merit of this second justification,” which doth consist
in the works of our free-will, and of infused grace, as they call it.
Hence we may see that they do not attribute to the only grace
of God any of the former benefits, neither justification, nor voca-
tion, nor glorification, nor any of those spiritual graces which God
in time gives to his children. But they do part them between
God’s grace, free-will, and man's merit. Finally, if any comparison
be made between God and us concerning the conferring of these Note:
benefits, we shall find them to ascribe more to us and our free-will,
and our works, than to the grace of God. But we have written
somewhat of this before in the chapters of our Effectual Calling,
of Repentance, and of Free-will. Therefore I refer the reader to
these places, and here I end this matter.
Thus far, then, have we spoken of this common-place of our
effectual calling, which, because it comprehendeth under it many
other points of divinity, it may be well reckoned amongst the most
general heads of theology.
* Semper enim docuimus et docenus, justificari homines ox fide of dilectione
ac operibus bonis; ita ut ad praeparationem ac dispositionem ad justificationem
requirantur actus fidei, Spei, et dilectionis, quos ipsos tamen non habemus, nisi
Dei gratia nos prºveniente, excitante, et adjuvante: Ipsa vero formalis justifi-
catio consistat in remissione Vera omnium peccatorum, et infusione habitum
fidei, Spei, et charitatis, quos propter Christi meritum, Deus in corda nostra
gratis diffundit. Denique actualis justitia sit legis divinae obedientia et obser-
Vatio, ad quam non ex nobis idonei Sumus, sed cº spiritu gratia, id est fidei,
Spei, et charitatis, nobis a Deo per Christum donato.—Bellarmin, ibid. p. 1202.
* Præterea, potest homo nondum reconciliatus per opera poonitentia, impe-
trare et mereri ex congruo gratiam justificationis.-Bellarmin, ibid. p. 1022.
* Catholici omnes agnoscunt opera boma justorum esse meritoria vitas
aeternae.-Bellarmin, ibid. p. 1009.
VOL. I. & S
274 A TREATISE OF
Rinds or
forms of re-
Velation.
What is
Theant by a
lively voice.
Whose it
W&S.
The quality
of it.
OF THE MEANS WHEREBY GOD FROM THE BEGINNING. HATH
REVEALED BOTH EIIS COVENANTS UNTO MANKIND.
QUESTION. How many ways are there whereby God from the be-
ginning hath revealed all his will, that is, the doctrine of both covenants,
of works and grace, unto mankind 2
ANSWER. They are two.
Q. Which be they 2
A. The first is a lively voice, the second is the Scripture.
Q. What callest thou a lively voice 2
A. The first means of revelation, whereby God, partly by his
own mouth, and partly by men, hath manifested the whole doctrine
of both covenants to his Church from time to time.
Q. What were the instruments of that lively voice from the be-
ginning 3
A. First, God himself spake sometimes by his Son in the form
or likeness of man, appearing to the Fathers; sometimes by his
Spirit inwardly in the heart. Secondly, the lively voice of Angels
was heard. Thirdly, the lively voice of men, first of the Fathers,
then of Moses and the Prophets; after that of John the Baptist
until Christ. Then followed Christ himself, manifested in the
flesh. Last of all, the lively voice of the Apostles of Christ.
Q. This kind of revelation, which was by a lively voice of all those
whom you have named, was it by inspiration, and altogether free from
error 7
A. Concerning the lively voice of God himself, of Christ, and of
the Angels, there is no question. And as concerning men, whose
lively voice God hath used from the beginning of the world hitherto,
in revealing his will to his Church, they truly, albeit they were
sinful men, and in part only regenerated; notwithstanding, in the
delivery of the doctrine of the truth of both covenants, they were
GOD’s EFFECTUAL CALLING. 275
so extraordinarily governed and inspired with the Holy Spirit of
God, that they could by no means err.
Q. Dost thou mean, then, that all men, as many as have been from
the beginning of the world hitherto, by whose mouths God hath spoken
to his Church, were men extraordinarily endued with ea traordinary gifts
of the Holy Ghost, and confirmed by miracles?
A. I mean even so; for prophecy in time past came not by the
will of man, but holy men spake as they were moved by the Spirit
of God. 2 Pet. i. 21.
Q. At what time began this lively voice in the Church 2
A. It began even in the first creation of man. wºn tº
Q. How long hath the lively voice of God and men, who could not
err in delivering the doctrine of the truth, continued in the Church of
God?
A. It hath been from the beginning of the world, even to the gºnuance
death of the Apostles, all which time there was almost no age
wherein at least some one holy man of God was not extraordinarily
stirred up, who could not err in delivering the doctrine of the
truth.
Q. Why do you say almost ; was there any intermission at all?
A. Truly there was ; but I will name only some more notable
intermissions, which may be gathered out of the Holy Scriptures.
First, in the age of the Patriarchs it is observed, that there was an
intermission in Terach's time, who was the father of Abraham :
for albeit he retained some grounds of truth, received from his
fathers, notwithstanding he became an apostate and an idolater, as
is manifest by the history." Next, there was an intermission also
when the people lived in Egypt, for from the death of the sons of
Jacob, even to the departure out of Egypt, Ezekiel testifieth,
chap. xx. 8, that all the people were fallen from God to the idols of
the Egyptians. Lastly, there was an intermission from Malachi,
the last of the prophets, until John Baptist, in all which time
no prophet was raised up ; notwithstanding, the Word of God
was continued amongst the people of the Jews by high priests and
* Joshua xxiv. 2.
276 A TREATISE OF
Whether a
lively voice,
not subject to
error, con–
tinues till
Christ.
the ordinary ministry, but not without corruptions, so that, at the
coming of Christ, for the more part the doctrine of truth was now
corrupted.
Q. Ought not the lively voice of God, which is not subject to error,
be continued in the Church until the coming of Christ, because you said
that this lively voice did continue un the Church till the coming of the
Apostles only 2
A. The lively voice of Christ continues in the Church, I confess,
but not the lively voice either of God or of extraordinary men, such
as were the Fathers, Prophets, and Apostles; but only the lively
voice of ordinary men, of pastors, and doctors, who both may err, and
do err, whensoever they depart, never so little, from the prescript
word of the Prophets and Apostles.
Q. But God hath given a greater measure of his Holy Spirit to his
Church, which now is under Christ, than ever he gave to the old Church.
Therefore, if in the old Church there was a lively voice which could not
err, how much more shall there be now in the Church of Christ a lively
voice which cannot err 2
A. It is true, indeed, that together with this full revelation,
which is contained in the writings of the Apostles, a more full
spirit was given to the Church of Christ which now is than was
given to the old Church. But hence it followeth not that either the
Church, or the pastors and doctors in the Church, are so governed
with that spirit, that they cannot at all err in delivering the truth.
For this was the extraordinary gift of the Holy Ghost, which was
given but for a time; but the gift of the Spirit, which was given
to the Church of Christ since the times of the Apostles, is ordinary
and perpetual; to wit, the gift of sanctification, illumination, and
regeneration.
Q. The Church, then, which now is, seems to be in a worse case than
the old Church was, which had the lively voice of God, and of men
which could not err 3
A. That doth not follow ; for this Scripture of the Prophets and
Apostles, which now the Church hath, doth not err in doctrine,
and contains also a most full and clear revelation of the truth.
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 277
Q. Albeit I should grant the condition of our Church to be better
than of that old Church which was before Moses, and which had the
tradition and use only of the lively voice, and that very imperfect and
obscure ; notwithstanding I see not how the Church was not in better
case, which was after Moses, even to the coming of Christ, as having
not only the use of tradition and of a lively voice, but also of the Pro-
phetical Scripture as a light shining in a dark place 2
A. Truly that Church had both, that is, both the sound of a
lively voice, and of the Scripture and written Word of God; but
neither perfect nor absolute. But this Scripture, which our
Church alone" hath, contains a most full and plain revelation; for
even one form or manner and kind of revelation, which is perfect
and full, must be more excellent than two which are both imper-
fect, or which contain an imperfect revelation of the truth.
Q. But there is no man who would not say it were better with this
our Church if it had some lively voice which, in speaking and answer-
ing to all controversies, might not err 2
A. They have Moses, the Prophets, and Apostles, that is,
the writings of Moses, of the Prophets, and of the Apostles, and
those truly not only sufficient but most perfect ; whence only if they
cannot learn the truth by them,” and decide and end all contro-
versies, they will not be instructed with the lively voice of any
extraordinary man : howbeit, as I have said before, the lively
voice was to continue only so long in the Church, as something was
wanting to the full declaration of the mystery of Christ. So that,
if now there should be any need of the lively voice either of God,
or of some extraordinary man in the Church of Christ; that truly
should plainly argue, that the revelation of the truth and mystery
of Christ is not perfect as yet nor accomplished.
Q. You conclude, then, that since the Apostles' time there hath been
no lively voice heard in the Church which could not err 2
A. Yea, truly.
* Which alone our Church hath. Original: quam solam habet nostra ecclesia.
* From which indeed if they cannot learn the truth. Original: ex quibus
quidem si veritatem non didicerint.
278 A TREATISE OF
Q: Why did a lively voice, not subject to error, continue in the Church
all that time, which was from Adam to the Apostles?
A. To speak nothing of the will of God, with the which alone
we ought to rest contented; first, the condition of the Church did
require this continuance, and then the measure of the revelation
that then was.
Q. Why the condition of the Church 3
A. Because the visible Church in all that time, which was from
Adam to the Apostles, was both in place more strait, as being shut
upin one family, or in one nation, and was, by reason of age, weaker,
or not so well grown. For the Church before Christ, if I may so
speak, was either as a child or as a young man.
Q. What then 2
A. The lively voice doth more easily reach, or extend itself to
a Church, which is in place more strait, and to the saints fewer in
number; and the Church being as yet unexperienced by reason of
the age of it, and less grown, had need of the lively voice of a
teacher, none otherwise than children have need of the lively voice
of a master, who, as it were, stammereth with them. But after the
coming of Christ, when the Church was sufficiently instructed by
the lively voice of Christ, and of his Apostles, and now come to
man's estate, there was no more heard any lively voice either of
God or of men extraordinary.
Q. Why did the measure of revelation require this 2
A. Because all that time, which was from Adam to the Apostles,
there remained as yet something more clearly and more manifestly
to be revealed; and the revelation of the doctrine was, in several
ages, made more manifest, still as pertaining to the substance of it.
And so long as some thing remained to be more clearly revealed,
so long a lively voice was to continue ; for every new revelation
ought first to begin with a lively voice.
Q. Seeing that the last and most full revelation was by the lively
voice of Christ and his Apostles, hath there ever since been heard any
lively voice, either of God or of any extraordinary man 2
A. None at all.
GOD’S EFFECTUAL CALLING. 279
Q. Do you gather by these things, which you have spoken, concerning
the causes of the continuance of a lively voice in the Church, what was
the use of it heretofore in the Church 3
A. Yea, truly; for the use of it was, first, in respect of the Church
itself, to give it instruction while it was yet so small for place and so
young in knowledge; next, in respect of revelation, to deliver it
from time to time more clearly and evidently unto the people.
Q. By this use of a lively voice, which you have here mentioned, it
seems that this kind of revelation, which was by a lively voice, was the
more simple, and the more familiar, and the more imperfect, and, there-
fore, the more fit for persons and things that were of like imperfection ?
A. It is even so as you have said.
Q. Hitherto I have heard you speak concerning a lively voice; now,
I would hear something of you concerning the subject of it; what say
Jou, then, was taught all that time by a lively voice?
A. In all that time, and in every age, the self same, and the The subject
wº * g or matter of
whole truth of God, was delivered by a lively voice. the lively
Q. Wherefore, then, said you, that the perfect manifestation of that"
mystery of godliness was not accomplished till the Apostles' time?
A. By that fulness and perfection I understood not the substance
of the doctrine itself, but the quality, that is, the clearness of one
and the same doctrine. For the mystery of Christ was in the
Church, and was manifested, in some measure, from Adam unto
Christ and the Apostles; but if the comparison be made of times,
it may be said to be shut and hidden in all ages before the coming
of Christ.
Q. Was the purity of the heavenly doctrine sufficiently conserved
and kept by a lively voice 3
A. The history shows plainly that the doctrine delivered by a
lively voice was often corrupted and adulterated.
Q. How, then, was it restored?
A. It seemed good to God, afterward by new revelations, to
restore the purity of his word decayed, to conserve and keep it,
and to give a more full declaration of it.
Q. Was the purity of doctrine sufficiently preserved and Kept so 2
280 A TREATISE OF
A. Not so, verily ; and therefore it seemed good to God at length
to add hereunto the written word.
Q. Are there no other causes of writing the Holy Scripture?
A. There are ; for, first, the condition of the Church required
that the Scripture should be added unto the lively voice; and,
next, the measure also of revelation.
Q. Why the condition of the Church 2
A. Because at length, in Moses' time, the Church began to be
both in place more large, as being spread throughout a whole
nation, and to grow greater and riper in years; for the time from
Moses unto Christ was, as it were, the time of the middle age or
young years' of the Church.
Q. What then 2
A. The written word, therefore, was first” in respect both of place
and ripeness of age. For both a whole nation is more easily taught
by writing than by voice; and the age which is more ripe is more
capable of that doctrine which is delivered by writing, that is, by
that kind of revelation which is not so familiar and simple, and by
writing doth more easily conceive any man's meaning.
Q. Why doth the measure of revelation require the written word 2
A. Because, whereas before Moses, the revelation of the mystery
of godliness was small and very obscure, it seemed not good to the
Lord to cause it straightways to be written, to the intent it might
be kept for posterity. But wherein Moses’ time the revelation
began to be much more clear than before, then it seemed good unto
God to commit it to writing, to the intent it might be reserved, and
remain for those which should come after. For that which is more
perfect and full, that we are to write, to this end, that it may re-
main both for us and our posterity; but that which is more imper-
fect, that we do not esteem worthy the writing, or to be reserved
unto posterity. -
Q. Before you go any further, I would have you declare unto me the
ages of the Church, whereof you have so oft made mention ?
1 Original: adolescentia.
2 Suitable. Original : convenit.
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 281
A. I will do so.
Q. How many ages then, say you, are there of the Church?
A. Three. The first was from Adam unto Moses, which was the
infancy and childhood of the Church. The second, from Moses unto
Christ, which was the youth or middle age of the Church. The
third, from Christ and his Apostles, even unto the end, which may
be called the ripe age of the Church, if it be compared with the
ages past;" for otherwise we are not men grown until we be gathered
together with Christ our head in heaven.
Q. Do you mean, then, that God hath respect always of these three
ages in his proceedings with his Church 2
A. I mean so, indeed; for, that I may so speak, he hath tem-
pered these three things proportionally to these three ages of the
Church; to wit, first, the measure of revelation; secondly, his Holy
Spirit; thirdly, the manner of revelation.
Q. Declare, I pray you, more particularly what you have said.
A. To the infancy and childhood of the Church he gave the least
measure of revelation, to wit, first, the first principles of religion
only. Secondly, the least measure of the Holy Spirit, to wit, that
which was proportionable to the revelation. Thirdly, one only
kind of revelation, which was by lively voice, as being the most
fit for the instruction of infants, and of such as were weak in the
faith.
Q. I understand what you say concerning the first age of the Church;
now, I would have you speak concerning the middle age, which you call
the youth of it, and to apply these three things mentioned to it in like
manner. dº
A. To the middle age of the Church he gave, first, a greater
measure of revelation. Secondly, so to speak, a greater portion of
the Holy Spirit. Thirdly, a double kind of revelation, the lively
voice, and the Scripture. The lively voice, I say, because as yet
it was but weak; and the written word, because it was in age
better grown, and so more capable, in some sort, of the word
* Those ages that had gone before. Original: cum praecedentibus illis astatibus.
282 A TREATISE OF
written; for God hath tempered these two kind of revelations to-
gether, and of both hath made a middle kind of revelation, accord-
ing to the time and age which we call the middle, and, as it were,
the temperate age.
Q. You have spoken of the first and second age of the Church, now,
I pray you, speak of the third.
A. To the third age of the Church, which I call the manly or
ripe age, he gave, first, a full measure of revelation. Secondly, a
most plentiful effusion of the Holy Ghost. Thirdly, both those
kinds of revelations, and that now truly containing a full and perfect
revelation; he taught it by lively voice for a certain time, and,
after this, he added the writings of the Apostles. And when, as
the mystery of our salvation was fully revealed by that lively voice
first, and then that full revelation was written, ever since there
hath been no more use of the lively voice of any extraordinary
Prophet or Apostle. But the Scriptures, written first by the Pro-
phets, and after by the Apostles, remained only without any lively
voice, which could not err.
Q. Where must we begin to count the third age of the Church 2
A. Not so much from the coming of Christ, and the sending of
his Apostles to all nations, as from that time when the Apostles
ceased to speak with lively voice as well to the Jews as to the
Gentiles; for even then the Church catholic came to man's estate
and full growth, and then the Church began to understand and to
learn the will of God by the written word,” as being a more accurate
and perfect manner of revelation. The time then which was from
the coming of Christ until the death of the Apostles, was as it were
a passage from the middle age of the Church unto the full growth
and ripeness of the same. -
Q. I understand what you say concerning the causes of addition of
the written word to the lively voice and of the several ages of the Church,
1 Original: temperavit, meaning “compounded,” which is the sense in which
we must understand “temperate,” four lines below.
2 Written word alone. Original: ea solo scripto.
GOD'S EFFECTUAL CALLING. 283
now I would have you speak something concerning the Scripture, or of
the writing of God's word.
A. I will do so.
Q. What, then, call you writing or Scripture ?
A. I call Scripture or writing the second kind of revelation,
whereby God either by himself, or by the means of men, extraor-
dinarily revealed those things, which already had been delivered
by lively voice before, to wit, in that first kind of revelation.
Q. Who, then, were they who ever since the beginning have written ?
A. First, God himself; next, men, Moses, the Prophets, and the
Apostles.
Q. This kind of revelation, which was by writing, was it not subject
to error like as that kind which was by a lively voice 2'
A. No, truly; for concerning that which God himself did write
there is no question; and, touching men, they were so extraor-
dinarily inspired and governed by the Spirit of God, that in
writing they could not err at all.
Q. When began it then” to be written ?
A. In Moses’ time.
Q. How long did the word written continue in the Church 2
A. The Scripture, or the act of writing, continued from Moses,
even to the Apostles, all which time there was almost no age
wherein extraordinarily some one was not stirred up, who, in de-
livering the doctrine of truth by writing, could not err.
Q. You think otherwise of the Scripture itself than of the act of
writing 2
A. I do so; for the Scripture itself, or that which is now written
* Our author does not mean that the revelation by a “heavenly voice,” was
Subject to error—though his Words are ambiguous. They are: An modus jºie re.
velationis qui fuit per scriptionem errori non est obnoxius, perinde ut modus ille
qui fuit per vivam vocem? He evidently understands non-obnoxius to be a com-
pound term—“free from "error, as the revelation by a lively voice was (non-
obnowius) free from error. And, accordingly, the answer begins: Ita est, “Yes,
it is free from error.”
W * “When at length,” i. e. in the progress of the Church. Original; Quando
Cl6????!???.
284 A TREATISE OF
by Moses, the Prophets, and Apostles, yet continues in the Church
and shall continue unto the second coming of Christ.
Q. Was there any intermission of writing the word from Moses unto
the Apostles 2 x
A. There was ; for it appeareth in all that time, which was from
Malachi till John the Baptist, none was stirred up, either prophet
or writer inspired by God, for the books of the Maccabees be not
given by inspiration, as we shall show hereafter."
Q. You said that writing continued in the Church until the time of
the Apostles ; ought it not then to continue unto the end ?
A. Like as, since the Apostles' time, there is no lively voice
heard in the Church, which can be said to be so governed by the
Holy Ghost that it cannot err at all; so, since the Apostles, no-
thing is written in the Church which may worthily be called or
said to be given by inspiration.
Q. What, then, do you think of so many writings of godly and
learned men, which have been published since the times of the Apostles,
from time to time, to the great good and profit of the Church 2
A. Verily, I think of the writings of the pastors and doctors in
the Church as I think of their preaching, to wit, that both be sub-
ject to error, and neither is so governed by the Holy Ghost, but in
delivering the truth of God they may err.
Q. It seemeth, then, that the condition of the Church, which, since
the time of the Apostles, is not so good, as having neither the lively voice,
as is aforesaid, nor the writings, as now you speak, of those very men
who in delivering the truth cannot err 2
A. It hath the Scriptures of the Prophets and Apostles, which,
as pertaining to the substance of revelation, is full ; and, as touch-
ing the kind and form of revelation, it is given by inspiration, and
not subject to error; out of the which Scripture whosoever do not
learn all things which are necessary to faith and salvation, assuredly
such would not receive from the mouth of God himself, openly
1 He refers to the treatise on “Effectual Calling,” where the Apocrypha is
discussed. See chap. xvii. The Subject forms no part of this Catechism.
GOD's EFFECTUAL CALLING. 285
speaking in an audible and intelligible voice, the doctrine and in-
struction of faith and salvation.
Q. Wherefore did the Lord so continue to record his will by writing º:
on the Church all that time, which was from Moses to the Apostles? º
A. There are the same causes of the continuance thereof, as are "*
of the addition of the lively voice unto writing; for both the condition
of the Church and the measure of revelation required the same.
Q. Why the condition of the Church 2
A. Because the Church continually increased and grew, as in
numbers, so in knowledge.
Q. What then 3
A. The greater number and riper knowledge do require this,
that the word be written. -
Q. Why the measure of revelation ?
A. Because the revelation of the doctrine of salvation was from
time to time made more clear and manifest, even unto the times of
Christ and his Apostles, at which time it was in the end complete
and perfected. For it was meet that every revelation manifested
more clearly and fully should be recorded in writing, to this end,
that it might be surely kept and delivered to posterities.
Q. Can ye gather by these things the use of the continuance of The use of
Scripture in the Church of God? Writing.
A. Yea, truly.
Q. What is then the use of it 2
A. To pass by the consideration of the purity of doctrine, the
first use was in respect of the Church, for the instruction thereof,
as being now in place more ample and large, and in knowledge
more perfect. Secondly, it was in respect of the revelation of the
doctrine itself, that it might comprehend and keep it more fully and
clearly.
Q. By this use of Scripture, or writing, which you give, it seems that
this kind of revelation, which is by writing, is somewhat more perfect
and high, as that which is best agreeing and fitting to persons and things
that are more perfect?
A. It is even so.
286 A TREATISE OF
Q. Thus far, then, for writing or Scripture. Now I would have
$you declare something unto me concerning the subject of this writing,
and of the matter itself which is written ?
A. As touching the substance, the very same is written which
was before delivered by the lively voice.
Q. I pray you speak in order unto me of the subject or argument in
Scripture, written first by God himself, secondly by men, by Moses, the
Prophets, and Apostles.
A. I will do so.
Q. What then hath God written ?
A. The sum of the doctrine of the covenant of works, and of the
law, even the very same which he had delivered first by a lively
voice to the Fathers and to Moses.
Q. What hath Moses written ?
Moses books. A. All the celestial doctrine, which he had received partly of
the Fathers by tradition, partly of God himself, who spake mouth
to mouth' with him, for so the Scripture speaketh ; partly he had
learned of the Holy Ghost by an inward inspiration; and, to speak
in a word, whatsoever had happened to him, and to all the people
in his lifetime, for the space of one hundred and twenty years,
all these things he committed to writing, and gave to the people.
Q. Did Moses, then, write whatsoever true doctrine was delivered
from the beginning of the world to that time 2
A. Moses omitted no point of true doctrine, which at any time
had been delivered concerning either faith or manners, for from the
beginning unto that very time one and the same doctrine of truth,
as touching the substance, was taught full and whole in all ages.
The difference only was in the measure of the revelation of it, that
it is accidental;” and Moses delivered this doctrine fully and wholly
by lively voice more clearly and manifestly than ever before; then
after this, it was recorded in writing.
1 Face to face. Original: ore ados. See Exodus XXXiii. 11, &c.
2 In accidente, i. e. in a part not necessarily belonging to the essence. The
substance was the same, but the fullness, called in the language of the Schoolmen
accidens, was different. The distinction will be seen from the next note.
GOD'S EFFECTUAL CALLING. 287
:gs
Q. What did the Prophets write, who followed Moses every one in
their time and order 3 . -
A. The same and all, as touching the substance, which Moses
had written before; the difference only was herein, that every
one by revelation did add a more clear and manifest interpreta-
tion, as the bright morning star did approach more near.
Q. What have the Apostles written after the Prophets?
A. All and the same, which from the beginning of the world in
all ages before them was both by lively and audible voice delivered
and written, they first also by lively voice delivered the same, and
after committed it to writing.
Q. Do you, then, make no difference betwixt the writings of the Pro-
phets and of the Apostles 2
A. In the matter and substance, none; in the clearness and per-
spicuity thereof, very great ;' for the Scriptures of the Apostles,
containeth the same revelation of the mystery, which was declared
from the beginning of the world, but most fully and most clearly.
Q. I have heard you speak concerning both kinds of revelation, con-
sidered without comparison; now I would have you to compare together
the lively voice and writing, that by comparison it may appear whether
*t is of greater dignity and authority.
A. I will compare them together. The lively voice and Scripture
are compared either in respect of substance and of matter itself,
which is revealed by these means, or in respect of the kinds of the
revelation of it. If comparison be made in regard of the matter or
substance, they must needs be both equal and alike, seeing that the
matter in either is one and the same ; but if you compare the kinds
of revelation together, it cannot truly be denied but that the first
and better place is due to the lively voice, seeing that the lively
voice is both in respect of time more ancient, and was before the
organs or instruments thereof *—for the mouth is an instrument
more worthy and to be preferred before the hand—and is a kind of
teaching more familiar and more fit for the capacity of such as are
' Original: in re et substantia nullum, in rei claritate et accidente magnum.
* Is first in point of instruments. Original: organis prior sit.
288 A TREATISE OF, ETC.
more rude and ignorant. Albeit, also, in some respects writing is
to be preferred before the lively voice; for it is a more perfect and
accurate kind of revelation, fit to instruct those that are more perfect,
and to keep the truth more firmly. In the meanwhile, it cannot be
denied but that in other respects they are both alike, for they have
both spoken and written the same thing, and in the same manner,"
to wit, as being guided and moved by the Holy Ghost and inspired
of God, 2 Pet. i. 21; 2 Tim. iii. 16. To conclude, seeing that now
the lively voice by the will of God hath ceased, and in the place of
it the Scripture hath succeeded; so, that whole dignity of the lively.
voice before mentioned is, and ought worthily to be, ascribed and
referred unto the Scripture, or written Word of God.
Q. Do you mean, then, that the Prophetical and Apostolical Scrip-
ture ought to be now in as great account with us as the lively voice of
God himself, and of extraordinary men was in times past?
A. I mean so ; and in this kind of revelation alone I willingly
rest, as in that which came by inspiration from God, so long, until
I shall hear at his glorious coming that lively and most sweet voice
of Christ my Saviour; when he shall say to them who shall be at
his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom
prepared for you from the beginning of the world. To whom be all
praise for ever. Amen.
To God only wise be praise through Jesus Christ
for ever. Amen.
1 For it is this same men that hath both spoken and Written; and that
in the same manner. Original: idem enim et loquut; sunt, et scripserunt, et
eodem modo.

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TO THE CHRISTIANE READER.
As all the godlie and profitabill instrumentis in the Kirk of
Christ haif not lived togidder at ane time, nor in ane land ; bot
the Lord, even the Lord of the harvest hes sent furth heir and
thair, now and then, labourers, according to his awin gude ple-
sure, and as he hes sene the neid of his people and corruptioun of
the time to crave. Sa he hes never at onie time communicat all
graces to ane, bot according to the divers turnis that ar to doe in
his house, hes given unto diverse men diverse graces, sa that in
everie ane thair hes bene and is to espy sum grace (at the leist a
greater measure of it) quhilk ane uther laikis. Thair ar diversitie
of gifts, bot the same Spreit, and thair ar diversitie of administra-
tiounis, bot the same Lord : and thair ar diversitie of operations,
bot God is the same, quha wirketh all in all, sayis the Apostle.
Zit thair is never ane quhome the Lord ever sent, or dois send
furth, bot they have brocht and bringis with them gold, mirrhe,
and franckincense : that is, even he quhais grace in comparisoun
will be called mein, being considered in the self, is mair precious
nor the maist precious thing in the warld, and mair savorie in the
spirituall sanctuarie, then all the odouris and perfumes in the eirth.
Amangis the rest of the Lord his Messingers that hath cum furth
in thir last times, quhen we remember of that worthy and deir
servand of God, M. ROBERT ROLLOK, (quha having died in the
Lord now restis fra his labouris), and considderis the great varietie
and diversitie of excellent graces and gifts quhilk the Lord maid
to schyne in him, we cannot bot admire the Lord his bountie and
riches of his mercie, Schawin furth in the persoun of that man to-
wardis this last and declyning age of the warld. For, to banische
T 2
292 TO THE REIDER.
darknes and ignorance, this man come furth with a measure of
licht and knawledge far bezond uthers, quhilk he hes employit sa
profitablie to the weill of God his Kirk, as I think thair be few
pairtis of this land (for of uthers I ceis to speik) that findis not
the fruit of his travellis : quhair thair is not ane or mae in quhome
the Lord used him as ane instrument to dres and prepair them
for his wark. Bot quhen I speik of knawledge in this man, I mon
call it sanctified knawledge, quhilk al men that knew him micht
cleirlie have persaved: First, For that he used all his knawledge
in sciences, in artes, and languages (quhilk in him was not small)
as helpis and furtherances to that chief point of knawledge quhairin
standis life eternall, even of the Lord and of his sonne Jesus
Christ quhome he hes sent. Nixt in his account and estimation
quhilk he had of all thir giftis, notwithstanding excellent in them-
selfis, he estemed him to knaw mathing bot Christ and him cruci-
fied ; and last of al in that singular blissing of God that accumpa-
nied al his travels, sa that the Lord, be the visibil incres declared,
that he planted in his name, he watered in his name, and as he la-
boured to him, sa he reaped to him. He was wise, bot wise accor-
ding to sobriety. He was zealous, bot (quhilk is rair), his zeall
was tempered with a halie discretioun, quhilk keipis men from com-
mitting of that quhilk is unworthie of thair calling. For suppois
the Disciples of Christ wer commended fra that effect of thair zeal,
that they left al to follow Christ, zit they are als far discommend-
ed, quhen (as wald appeir of zeall), they craved that fyre micht
cum doun from hevin and consume the Samaritanes. Zea, our
Maister sayis to them, Ze knaw not of quhat spreit ze ar. Bot by
the way ame of the symptomes of the Seiknes of our age appeiris
not to be heit, bot cauldnes; and sa our diseis is the mair deidlie;
for the bodie that is hait, is distempered, bot the bodie quhilk is
altogidder cauld, is dead. Thair was beside all thir graces in that
notabill servant of God sic a rare and wonderfull grace of humility
and meiknes, quhilk in sic sort seasoned all the rest of his graces,
that he was content to abase him self under al, and to becum, as it
wer, ane servant to al, that he micht win al to Christ. He culd
TO THE REIDER. 293
never be drawin to give over hard and rigorous ane censure of ony;
he met never the calumnies and bitter speiches of men with the
like, he spak never of the maist deboschit sinner, bot with pitie,
Schawing him self ever touched with ane sense of the common
miserie and corruption of nature. He eschewed all schawis and
ostentatioun, to lurk at his studie and meditation he tuke pleasure,
Sa that to be sene he desired never, except quhen the exercises of
his calling drew him in publict. To be schort, all that luiked upon
him in all his occupations micht have sene him as a man out of the
warld, consecrat and sanctified to the service of his God. We
have a common proverbe quhairin we say, Familiaritie geners con-
tempt: because men oft frequenting togidder, espyis ilk ane in
uther sic infirmities as makis them peice and peice, to tyne that
reverent estimation, quhilkutherwayis they wald have : Bot sure-
lie how sa ever he wanted not his awin sinnes and infirmities in
the sicht of his God, familiaritie with him brocht out the contrair
effect: for as men grew in familiaritie with him, they espied ever
farther and farther grace in him, of quhilk it come to pas, the
greater familiarity the greater lufe and reverence, as I have heard
gude men and of sound judgement, that had bene langest acquaint
with him, and wer oftest in his cumpanie, give him this testimonie
(efter his departure), that they culd never espy in him onie thing
bot that quhilk was worthie of imitation. Now, as in al thir
things quhairof I have spoken, the Kirk of God in this time micht
think themself mekill addebted and behaldin to thair God in the
person of this man : sa especially in that notabill gift of publict
preiching and opening up of the Texts of Scriptures, to the greit
comfort and singulare edificatioun of the heirers. With quhat
haly gravity, with quhat spiritual authoritie, zea, with how greit
evidence and demonstration of the Spreit he dischargit this point
of dewtie, I refer mee to the conscience of his heirers; the affec-
tioun of his hart, the words of his mouth, togidder with his haill
outward actioun did sa concurre, that being as it wer ane man
transported and ravished himself, he ever drew his auditor in the
same sense with him; and the maist gros of judgement did per-
294 TO THE REIDER.
save that his ministerie was not a bair and naked ministery, bot
accumpanied with Spreit and grace. Sa that thair armoniesaullis
now blissing the time quhairin it pleasit the Lord to deall with
them be the ministerie of that man, and mak the power of religion
to cum to their hartis. And becaus that his forme of teiching,
being sa weill warranded, and having sa speciall ane blessing
accumpanying it, may serve as a reull and exemplar to uthers that
sall cum efter, we have not thocht meit that the posteritie suld be
defrauded of this benefite, bot rather or sum thing suld not be
extant to mak knawin his forme of teiching, we wer content to tak
the scrols quhilk we fand in the hand of sum of his schollers quha
wrait at his mouth, quhill he teiched, and to give them furth to
licht for the comfort of Goddis Kirk. And albeit it be true that
in the letters we ar not able to expres and Schaw furth that quhilk
was maist singular in him, quhill he uttered thir thingis be vive
voice, zit in them we propose unto zou his form, that he keip it in
publict preching quhilk may serve to monie gude usis, baith to
teichers and heirers; for he esteming ever sobrietie, prayer, and
humbil meditation to be preferred to curious and presumpteous in-
quisition, keipit in the handling of the Scripture of God that halie
simplicitie quhilk heir ze may persaif. For as every sound is not
Musick, sa everie sermon is not Preiching, bot worse then gif ane
suld stand up and reid a Homelie. And suppois art had taucht
him weil aneuch to go heich in his style, and be exquisite in his
termis, zit in this cace of preiching ze sall see him set all that kind
of art, and the colouris forged in the brain of man aside; Sa dan-
gerous a thing estemed he it, and sa it is indeid, not to descrive
Christ his croce in the awin colours, or to defile it with humane
eloquence 1 Besidis this, of him ze sall leirn heir that preiching
and opinning up of Scripture, stands not in liberty of discoursing,
men taking small occasions of the words, and thairby carying the
heirers far fra the present purpois, bot standis in a plain and evi-
dent opening up, and precise sticking be the words and purpois of
the text: and then hes thou a warrand in uttering: then is it also
that the people edifies in heiring, quhen na thing sounds in thair
TO THE REIDER. 29.5
eiris bot his word quha hes promeist the blessing, and the thing
quhilk is solidlie grounded thairupon. Then ar men brocht to be-
leve becaus like the nobil man of Beroea efter seking of the Scrip-
tures they find it to be sa as hes bene spokin. We offer then thir
few Sermons for the reasons quhairof we have spoken, not to the
proud and wise of this warld, in quhais eies the croce of Christ
and al preiching semis fulischnes, bot to the humble and meik
scheip of Christ, to be weyit be them in the richt balance of the
sanctuary, that is examined according to the cannon and rule of
the Scripture : and we doubt nathing bot they sal find weicht in
them. And seing that the calling hame of sic ane Ambassadour
of peace portendis weir; and the removing of sic a licht threitnis
darknes and wraith, let us seik al be the tears of repentance, to
prevent the imminent judgement. The Prophet Amos cals it ane
evil time, quhairin the prudent keipis silence: Sa we may call this
a hard and ane evil time quhairin sa prudent, sa grave and learnit
a man keipis silence, and is callit hame to his rest for the sins of
the land. I will not detein zou Christian reidar with langer letter
fra the purpois. As this man in his lifetime waited not for honor,
for riches, for pleisure, for the countenance of men, bot with Si-
meon, waitit for the consolation of Israel: sa having imbraced his
Saviour in the armes of his Saull, joyfull and peaceable was his de-
parture, and his eies saw the salvation of the Lord, with quhom
as he ringis now in Saul, sa sal his body be raisit up at the last
day, and his glory accomplisched. The Lord mak us to live the
life and die the deith of the richteous, that with them we may be
pertakers of that glorie. Amen.
UN TO THE TO W N AND
Kirk of Edinburgh ament the departure of
thair maist godlie, learned, and pain-
full Doctour and Pastour, M.
R O B E R T R O L L O K.
SONNET I.
Thy Divine Doctor deirest now is deid,
Thy peirless Preicher now hes plaide his part:
Thy painfull Pastor, quha in loue did leid
Thy little Lambes, with sweet and tender hart,
Hes dried his dayes, with sair and bitter smart,
To purchase pleasand profit unto thee.
His words, his warks, his wayes, his vertues gart
Thee get this gaine of great felicitie.
How thou suld live, and how that thou suld die
In Jesus Christ, he hes in word and deid
Declared and done unto thine eare and eye,
Als weill as thou could ever heare or reid.
O follow then, till thou atteyne to this,
And Schaw a thankefull hart to him and his.
II.
Richt happie war his hearers, when he lived,
And happie war his hearers at his dead,
Bot happier quha heiring baith, believed
That word of life, quhilk can not fall nor fead.
I heare how humblit mekill dule was maid
Be all his hearers, at the buriall:
And justly, for he stude them in great stead,
To leade them to the life celestiall.
Bot let us Pastors, and zou people all
Haste to that happines wherein he is,
Professing truly Christ on quhome we call,
As he hes teached and practised quhome we mis.
Sa sall the preassing to his halines,
Mak us atteyne unto that happines.
298 SONNETS. -
TO THE DEFUNCT.
Of Christ thou was the Pastor, and the scheip,
That hard his voice, and lovingly obeyit,
That fed his Lambis, and cairfully them keipt
With painfull labour, and na tyme delayit,
On Christ thy hart was haillie set and stayit :
Of Christ thou ever thocht, thou spak, and wryte,
With Christ thou wissed all thy warkis arrayit,
In Christ, in life and deid, was thy delyte.
Be Christ, nocht ellis, thou Socht to be perfyte;
And finallie thy Christ to thee was all.
Sa hes he cround in thee that wark sa greit,
And brocht thee to his blis perpetuall.
O ! micht I follow as I clearlie see
Thy rare example ! sa so live and die.
M. I. MELVILL.*
* Mr James Melvill, Minister of Kilrenny and Anstruther, in Fife, and author of
the Autobiography published by the Wodrow Society.
THE FIRST SERM O N.
2. COR. CAP. 5.
1. For we knaw that gif our earthly hous of this Tabernacle be destroyit,
we have a buylding given of God, that is, a hous nocht made with
hands, bot eternall in the heavens.
2. For therefore we sigh, desyring to be clothed with our hous, quhilk
is from heaven.
3. Because that gif we be clothed, we sall not be found naked.
4. For indeid we that ar in this Tabernacle, sigh and ar burdened, be-
caus we wald not be unclothed, bot wald be clothed upon, that mor-
talitie might be swallowed up of lyfe.
IN the Chapter immediatlie going before, the Apostle Paul hes
bene speiking of the afflictions that he sufferit in his awin person,
and hes declarit that thair was twa things that held him up in
those afflictions, the ane thing present, the uther thing to cum.
The thing present, the power of God, the lyfe of Jesus; this held
him up in sic sort (sayis he) that quhen he was dying under afflic-
tioun in the bodie, zit the lyfe of Jesus was manifest in him, and
he was living in Saull: and the mair his bodie was decaying and
wearing away, the mair the inner man, that spirituall lyfe that
flowis from Christ, grew and was renewit. Woe to that man that
dyis altogidder: thou mon die, and this bodie and lyfe mon sever,
the bodie mon gang” to the dust, bot luik that saul and bodie gangf
not togidder. Luik that as thou findis the bodie and lyfe naturall
to decay, sa thou find that spiritual lyfe, that flowis fra the Lord
* The body must go, &c. Edition of 1634; from which the other various readings
given in these foot-notes are derived.
f Go.
300 THE FIRST SERMON,
of lyfe, to grow, or ellis of necessitie thou mon have ane wofull
departure. This is the thing present that held him up. Ane other
thing and greater quhilk was not present bot to cum, held him up
under all the afflictiounis that was laid on him, quhilk he utteris
in thir wordis, “The momentanean lichtnes of afflictioun wirkis
unto us ane everlasting wecht of glorie that passis in excellencie.”
Thir ar the wordis of the Apostle, quhairin he wald leirne us that
efter all thir afflictiounis ar done and endit, thair abydis ane
glorie efter this lyfe, that passis in infinite degreis above all the
afflictiounis that ever came to man in this lyfe. Will ze luik to
the nature of the afflictiounis; first, they ar licht, that is ane pro-
pertie; then, they last bot for ane moment, that is ane uther pro-
pertie; the weicht of them is licht, the time of thair during is bot
ane moment. “Bot the glorie,” (mark every word of the Apostle),
“the glorie” (sayis he) “passis in excellencie.” It is not onlie
excellent, bot it excellis in excellencie; excellent above excel-
lency; ane heip above ane heip, mounting up to an infinite heip.
Then luik to the wecht thereof, it is not licht, bot it is heavie; the
afflictiounis war licht as ane fether, or as the wind in comparison of
this glorie, bot the glorie is hevie and weichtie, ane wecht of glorie
that passis in excellencie, this is the first propertie. Than luik to
the tyme, the afflictiounis wer bot for ane moment. And gif thou
suld live ane thousand zeirs, and be afflictit als monie zeiris, (for
all thy dayis, and thy best dayis, and thou suld live never saweill,
arbot dayis of affliction,) all the thousand zeiris ar bot ane mo-
ment in respect of that eternitie that followis. Then let ever zour
eie be upon eternity of joy, or eternitie of paine, eternity either of
torment or of rest. Afflictioun is bot for ane moment, this glory
that passis in excellencie is eternall in time. Luke how great
things is spoken in few words ; ane glorie passing in weicht and
etermitie. And quhen he hes tauld zou all that he can, he hes not
atteinit to the thousand part of the greatnesse of that glorie; never
man thocht of it as it is, nor it could never enter into the hart of
man that excellent glorie that is preparit for them that love God,
1. Cor. ii. 9.
ON 2. COR. 5. 301
Quhen he hes set doun thir twa pointis in the end of the chap-
ter preceiding, he gais forward, and he schawis quhat he is doing
in the meantime quhill he get this excellent glorie. Learn to do
as he is doing. He sayis, “my eies are not upon the warld; My
luke is not set upon thir visibill thingis that men hes sa great
pleasure into ; bot my eies ar liftit up, and I am luking to thingis
invisible, that the mortall eie of man can not see, because all thir
things visible arbot temporall, and will decay.” Gif it wer ane
kingdom and thou begin to rest or repose upon it, it will decay,
and thou sall fal doun togidder with it, and perische everlastinglie.
Bot the things invisible ar eternall, and he quha leanis and reposis
thairon, sall get eternitie. Luke to the condition of those thingis
quhairupon thou reposis in this warld. For gif they be thingis
hevinly, spirituall and eternall, thou sall be hevinlie, spirituall and
eternall. And as ever thou wald wis to see that glorie, luke that
thy eie be set thairon in this eirth, luke that thy eie be mountit
up above al thir eirthly things, and that thou keip the hevinly
things in thy sicht; forzet them not, for gif thou die, and they be
out of thy sight, thou sall never sie them. Take pleasure to luke
to that excellent glorie, and thou sall obteine it, otherwayis not.
Now I cum to the text: I sal let zou see the dispositioun of the
Apostle, and quhat he esteinnis of this life present, quhairof we
account sa mekil, and quhairupon our hart and mynd is sa set to
keep it. All our terrour is for the parting of the saull from the
body, luik to Paule quhat he dois, and behald his dispositioun
either in lyfe or deith. Brethren, we have the mair mister to-tak
tent to thir thingis,” because we sall all be put to the prufe: hap-
pie is he that can be preparit. The Apostle having spoken this
that his eie was set on that hevinlie glorie. It micht have bene
said, thou settis thyne eie upon ane lyfe above, bot tak heid Paul
thou sall die in the mein time, is not lyfe and deith twa con-
trares? thou mon die, and that bodie of thyne mon be dissolvit?
lukis thou ever to ryse again? thinkis thou anie other thing bot
to be disappointed of lyfe? luikis thou that that body of thyn,
* We have the more need to take heed to these things, &c.
302 THE FIRST SERMON,
being dissolvit in dust, sall ryse againe to glorie? This is ane
fair tentatioun, and sundry thinkis efter this maner. The Apostle
answeris, “We knaw that gif our eirthlie hous of this Tabernacle
be dissolvit, we have ane buylding given be God, ane hous not
maid with handis bot eternell in the hevinnis.” Leirne ane les-
soun heir. Ze se quhil ane man is luiking to hevin, he will not
be without tentatioun, nay not Paule himself, nor na other man
nor woman, that hes thair conversatioun in hevin. And the spe-
cial tentatioun of him quha wald faine have lyfe, is deith, and the
dreidfull sicht of deith, and deith is ever in his eie. He was never
borne bot deith will tempt him, deith will be terrible to flesche
and blude; and when he is luiking up to that licht and glorie in
hevin, it will cum in betwixt his eie and the sicht of hevin, as it
wer ane terrible black cloud, and sum tyme will twin” him and
that sicht of hevin. As quhen ane man is luiking up to the
Sun, ane cloud will cum in on ane suddainty and tak the sicht of
the Sun frae him : sa quhen ane man is luiking up to the Sun
of richteousnesse Christ Jesus, that cloud of deith will cum in
and cleik the sichti of Christ fra him. This is our estait heir, and
thair is name acquainted with heavinlie thingis, bot he will find
this in experience as Paule did. Bot quhat is the remedie 2 In
the first worde of the text that we have red, he says, “we knaw,”
and we ar assured, for the word importis ane full assurance, and
faith, and ame full perswasion. Then the remedie aganis this ten-
tation of deith is only faith, ane full perswasioun and licht in the
minde of the knawledge of the glorie of God in the face of Christ,
with ane gripping and apprehensioun thairof: this is the onlie re-
medie. The man that lyis in ignorance, and hes not this knaw-
ledge, he is oppressit be deith. Sa ever seik, and seik earnestlie
for licht, Christ is licht: and let zour plesour be in licht, for deith
is darknesse, and it smoris; the saull except it be lichtnit with this
licht that cumis fra the face of Jesus. Bot to be mair speciall,
quhat licht and knawledge mon this be quhat assurance man
this be? Thou man knaw and be assurit, not that thou will be
* Sunder. f Catch the sight. i Smothereth.
ON 2 COR. 5. 303
exemit fra deith; nay, begyle not thy self, die mon thou, and re-
solve to die: sa it mon not be sic ane assurance as to be perswadit
that thou sall not die, opponing thy self to deith, saying I will not
die, and I sall not die. Then quhat assurance and knawledge mon
this be? Ever this, that efter I am dead I sall ryis againe to lyfe.
It is trew, O death, thou sall sease upon my bodie, and thou Sall
not leave it quhill it be dissolvit in dust, bot quhen thou hes gottin
this bodie dissolvit, I sall recover ane new glorious bodie : Thair
is the meiting of this tentatioun, assure thy self of lyfe efter deith.
Seik this assurance, and labour to pearce with the eie of faith
throw the cluds of tentatiounis to see that lyfe in Christ quhilk
is hid up above those cluddis. Seik that eie of faith to pearce in
throuch those cluds, to schaw thee that life and the Sun of richte-
ousness Christ Jesus. Now the wordis would be weyit particu-
larlie ; and first, mark ane descriptioun of this death, and of the
tentatiouns that wald sever thee from that life eternall. The
wordis ar thir, “Gif our eirthlie hous of this tabernacle be dissol-
vit.” Then quhat is death P ane dissolution and lousing of ane
thing that was joynit togidder, ane dissolving and scattering of
the parts of it: it is not ane utter destruction of it, the thing that
it dissolvis, it wrackis" not utterlie. It lyis not in the handis of
deith to wrackf the thing it dissolvis: it may weill louse it and cast
it sundrie, bot it cannot destroy it. Then deith is ane dissolutioun,
not ane destructioun : ane dissolving, quhairoff Not of the saull,
it lyis not in the power of deith to louse thy saull, or sunder the
partis thereof, thou hes that advantage. Death will dissolve and
louse thy house, the ludging that thou dwellis in, that is, this
bodie quhilk cleithis thy Saul. Thou art termit be thy saull, and
the Saull properlie makis ane man to be ane man; it is the cheif
part of man, and the bodie is callit the ludging of the saull, and
the Saull dwellis in it as in ane house. Sa deith is the dissolutioun
of the body, of the hous, quhilk it lousis into powder : zea it will
louse all the members and partis of the house. O, bot mark quhen
it cummis to powder and asches, it lyis not in the handis of deith
* Destroyeth. f Destroy.
304 THE FIRST SERMON,
to destroy the powder and asches of the bodie, bot that powder
and aschis in spyte of deith will be gatherit and set togidder in
ane mair glorious forme of bodie nor ever it was befoir. Zit luik
how the apostle descryvis this house: first fra the matter, secundlie
fra the forme thairof. As for the matter he callis it “our eirthlie
hous.” This bodie is bot clay, evin ane lump of that clay and
eirth quhairupon thou gangis,” esteim of it as thou wil: ze se the
mater of this body is vile and contemptible. As for the form thair-
of, it is ane hous, nocht ane hous that hes ane fundatioun or biggitt
on ane groundstane, bot ane tabernacle and flitting tent. It is
set doun heir the day, the morne tane up and set doun in ane uther
place. Thy body is ane pavillion that men transports hither and
thither as they pleis. Then thou seis that thy body is ane thing
little worth, quhidder thou luik to the mater quhairof it is maid,
of the eirth, or to the form thairof, ane unstabil tent or pavilion.
Now mark this weill, Brethren, quha speiks this? It is Paul. How
speikis he it P Be faith. Speikis the body this? Na. Quhat
then P. The Saul that dwellis in the body as in ane ludging speikis
it. The Saull is speiking of the body, the faithful saul of Paul is
speiking of his fraile body. Then leirn how little faith counts of
deith. Leirne also how little the faithful saul counts of the body,
zea even then quhen it is dwelling in the body, it wil lichtly the
ludging thairof: It wil cal it ane lump of clay, ane tabernacle, ane
tent, an frail hous. It wil count na mair thairof nor ane glorious
king wil count of ane coit hous, he having many fair palices.
Weil brethren, it is faith that dois this ; it is not the Saul allane
that can count sa lichtly of deith, or the frail body. Gif thou have
onlie the saull in the bodie and want this faith, the saull will think
the bodie Sweit to dwell in. It is faith and the faithfull Saull that
dois the turn. And thair is not ane better argument nor this to
see gifthy saull be faithfull or not. Luke quhat estimation thou
hes of thy body and carcase, quhat account thou makis thereof:
I say to thee, gif thou hes thy cheif plesour in esteining of thy
bodie, decking and feiding it, following thy appetyte, wallowing in
* Goost. i Builded. | Cottage.
ON 2 COR. 5. 305
the lust thairoſ, gif thou lives in sic estimation of thy bodie, I say
thou hes a faithlessaull remayning within thy bodie. Wo to that
faithles man that hes nauther pleasure, nor can grip nor seik to na
uther thing, bot to the plesing of that fleschlie bodie, without regard
of the pretious saul: allace in plesuring thy bodie thou tynis” thy
saul, thou makis thy body thy hevin, and thou testifies plainly,
that thou wants that licht and sense of that hevinlie bodie, quhilk
sall be efter this lyfe. This far for the description of the death of
the body, quhilk is the hous of the saul, learning us to esteim of
the saul and bodie as they ar in deid, and that not with ane flesch-
lie sense, bot with the spirituall eies of faith.
Now we cum to the lyfe that is contrarie to deith. Thair is
twa partis of man, his saull and his bodie, this glorie quhilk we
speik of is not the glorie of the saull onlie, bot the glorie of the
bodie likewise, ane glorie belanging baith to Saull and bodie.
“We,” (sayis he), “ sall get ane building, not ane sarie” house, as
this eirthlie bodie was, bot ane fair buylding.” He callis the bodie
quhilk we have presentlie ane hous, bot the body quhilk we sal
get he termes it ane building, thou gat this body fra nature, that
uther is above nature; nature can not give thee that other body,
God sall give thee it above nature, and against nature. Quhat
buylding is this? It is ane hous not biggit" with the handis of
men; it is biggit with God’s awin hand; the Lord immediately
with his awin hand biggis' up this buylding. The former house of
this body was unstabil, and had na abiding, for this bodie passis
away, but this secund buylding is ane house that sal never fal nor
flit, bot sal be eternal: quhen thou sal get this buylding, thou sal
not neid to be feirit for the dissolutioun thairof; it sall never be
dissolvit. Quhair sal this buylding be biggit P Men regardis me-
killº situatioun in buylding 2 This hous in the quhilk we dwel heir
it is biggit in the eirth, and it is ane tabernacle pitchit quhylis' in
this place, quhylis in that place, bot the situation of this buylding
sall be in the hevin. For I assure thee, fra anis ane man” is glori-
* Alas ! * Losest. * Silly. * Builded. * Builded. * Much,
* Sometimes. ~. * When a man is once.
U
306 THE FIRST SERMON,
fyit, and enteris in that glorie, he sall na mair returne to the eirth.
The eirth dow" not bein ane glorifyit person; Christ glorifyit could
not byde in the eirth, bot being glorifyit he went to that glorious
mansioun in hevin. Thou sall na sooner be glorifyit, bot thou sal
mount up to hevin as Christ did. Weill, then, thair is the glorie,
and thair is no word heir, bot it aggregis that passing glorie.
Everie word lets us see the greatnes of that glory, and zit it is not
all tauld. Nay, Paul can not tel thee al the glorie that sal be in
the glorifyit bodie, he hes maid” bot ane little inckling of it. It is
botane buylding quhairof he tellis thee. Zit mark, quha is this
that spekis this? It is Paul. How speikis he it? Be faith. Is it
his mouth that speikis it 2 Nay. It is the saull that ludgis in the
bodie, that fallis out in the extolling of that buylding that it sall
dwell in. As ane sillie man in ane coit house,” appointit to glorie,
suld say: I am now sitting in ane sarie house, bot I sall anis sit
in ane glorious palice. Sa marke, faith will cause the Saull mount
up above the bodie, and quhill the Saull is in the bodie, faith and
hope will lift it up, and put it (in ane maner) in hevin. Thairfoir
this same Paul sayis in the third chapter to the Philip. the 20.
verse, Be faith and hope he had his conversatioun in hevin, quhill
hee was zit dwelling on the eirth. Get thairfoir faith and hope,
that enteris thee in the possessioun of that glorie, and befoir the
saull be severit fra the bodie, they will in ane maner put thee in
possessioun thairof. It is the to-luik to hevin that makis the Saull
of Paull to rejoyce in this glory. The coitter4 that hes not a to-
luik to ane better hous, he is a full to despyse this coit-house, bot
he that hes ane to-luik to ane better, quha can wyte" him to de-
spise this cot-hous. I will tel thee my counsel, befoir thou disludge
out of this bodie, for als fraile as it is, wit weill" of ane better,
gang not out of the hous dore, except thou wit that’ thou sal enter
in ane glorious house. I assure thee and thou be not provydit
for ane better house, and have not faith and hope of ane better
than that quhilk thou ludgis in, thou Sal enter in ane worse,
* Can. * Given. * Cottage. * Cottager, * Who can blame.
* Be assured. * Know that.
ON 2. COR. 5. 307
thou sal get that bodie againe quhilk was evill befoir, bot then
it sall be ane thousand tymis worse: for the saul sall be schot in
that body again, and then thou sall be schot baith 'saull and
bodie in that foule dungeoun of hell. Sa, brethren, luke for ane
glorious buylding, and thou that esteimis not of this bodie, be cair-
full for a better. Ane vain prodigall man will cast his saull out
of this bodie, and in the mein time will not be provydit for ane
better ludging thairto. He is not estemit ane man in thirº dayis,
that will not hazard and cast out his life for ane evil cause and
quarrell. Trowis” thou that saull of thine sall get ane better ludg-
ing heireſter, and thou not provydit thairof be faith and hope heir :
nay, nay. O blissit is that man that deis in ane gude cause.
And quhat better caus can be nor Christis cause, quha is the God
of lyfe: assure thee thou that will die for Christis cause, thou sall
get ane buylding in hevin : thou that takis na cair of this lyfe for
Christis cause, death sall be advantage to thee. The Lord grant
us ane to-luiking to that hevinly buylding, and ane assurance of
that hevinlie life. This mekill for the assurance that Paul hes
that he sall dwell in hevin. Now in the verse following learn how
he groundis this assurance, and quhat warrand he hes for him.
Faith is not ane word as to say, (I believe); and hope is not ane
word as to say (I hope). Na, bot thou mon have ane warrand of
thy salvation in this lyfe, or ellis I assure thee in the name of
God thou sall never get hevin. It is ane strait way to cum to
hevin, and it is wonder” hard to get the assurance of it : it is na
small mater to get ane assurance of lyfe everlasting efter death.
Than luik quhat warrandis this man Paul had, that thou may
preis to have the lyke. The first ground of his assurance is in
this secund verse. For, (sayis he), “For this cause we sigh, de-
siring to be clothed, to put on as it wer ane garment:” Quhair-
with ? “With our hous quhilk is fra hevin.” Thir ar his wordis.
Then his first warrand and ground of his assurance is ane desyre
of that samin glorie. Quhat sort of desyre P Ane earnest desyre
with siching and sobbing: not ane cald desyre, bot day and nicht
* These. * Trustest. * Wondrous.
U 2
308 THE FIRST SERMON,
crying and sobbing for lyfe. Trowis, thou sa easily to get hevin
that can never say ernestlie in thy hart, God give mee that hevin-
lie lyfe : na, thou will be disappointed : it is the violent that enters
in hevin, Mat. xi. 12; as ze will see ane man violentlie thring” in
at ane zet.” Thou that wald gang to hevin, make thee for thring-
ing throw quhill' all thy guttis be almaist thrustit out. Paul, in
the viii. chap. to the Romanes, the 22. and 23. verses, usis thir ar-
gumentis againis those wickit men that can not sich for hevin.
First he takis his argument fra the elementis, the sensles and
dumb creaturis, quha sobbis and gronis for the revelatioun of the
Sonnis of God, and travellis for that time as ame woman in hir
birth. O miserable man the eirth sall condemne thee, the flure
thou sittis on is siching, and wald faine have that carcase of thine
to hevin. The waters, the air, the hevinnis, al siching for that
last delyverance, the glory apperteinis to thee, and zit thou is
lauchand, allace quhat sall betyde thee. The other argument he
takis fra the siching of men quha hes gottin the spreit of God:
“We also, (sayis he) quha hes the first frutis of the spreit, even we
do sich in our selfis, wayting for the adoptioun, even the redemp-
tioun of our bodie.” Thou that hes not gottin the spreit sall never
sich for hevin ; flesche and blude will never sched ane teare for
hevin. It mon only be the spreit of Jesus, that mon fetch up the
sich out of the hart, and the teare in the eie. Rom. viii. 26. Sa he
takis his argument fra them quha hes gottin ane sense of the spreit
of God, and redemptioun of the bodie, to prove the certaintie of
that heavenlie kingdome and glorie. Now thair can not be ane
surer argument to us that ever we sall obtein glory, nor this sich-
ing in hart for it, and this earnest desyre thairof. Gif thou finde
thy hart desyrous of glorie, ane sure argument thou sall be partaker
of glorie. It is said, “Blissitar they that hungers and thirstis for
richteousnes, for they sall be fillit.” Mat. v. 6. Sichis thou for
Christis richteousnesse and thy glorie, assure thee thou sall get ane
sweit filling, mark it, I say to thee, thou hes not onlie throuch this
ernest desyre of glorie, ane assurance that thou sall ring" in glorie:
* Thinkest. * Thrust. * Door. * Till. * Reign.
ON 2. COR. 5. 309
bot (luik to zour experience) that desire is not sa some begun of
that life and glorie, bot alsº some the saul of the faithfull begins to
ryse with joy. Quha ever zet was he that gave ane sich fra his
heart, raisit up be the spreit of Christ, that felt not with that sich,
ane joy in his heart 2 Learn it be zour experience. This lets us
see, that the desire and thrist of glorie, puts us in present posses-
sioun of ane part of glorie. Or thou cum to it desire it earnestlie,
and I promeis thee in the name of the Father, thou sall be present-
lie put in possessioun of ane part of that hevinlie inheritance. It
is trew thou sall not get it all heir, zit thair is name other hevin
efter this life, bot that hevin quhilk thou gets begun in thee in this
life. Alway is luik ever for that joy that is be sicht. Thair is twa
joyis the ane be sicht, the other be faith. 2. Cor. v. 7. The joy
be faith is in our pilgrimage in this lyfe. The joy be sicht is efter
this life quhen with our eies we sal see Christ. The joy be faith
is to luik to Christ afar of, and zit we rejoice, and lufis him that
is far absent. 1. Pet. i. 8. Faith hes ane joy that it enjoyis, be
speiking and thinking. Sicht hes the joy that it enjoyis be pre-
sence. The joy of the eie greit in quantitie and the fulnes of joy:
the joy of faith not sa great, for it is the joy of ane pilgrime, not
as zit cummit to his hame. The joy of the sicht is quhen we sall
see our glorious Lord, face to face, quhom we see only now be faith.
1. Cor. xiii. 12. This is the fulnes of joy. The joy of faith, quhilk
is induring our pilgrimage, is not sa full. O how greit sal be the
joy at the perfite seing of Christ. Think never to have the joy
be sicht efter this life, except in this lyfe thou have the joy be faith,
as the arliss' penny of the other, and except be faith thou get ane
joy anis or thou gang fra this lyfe, thou sall never see the face of
Christ, nor have joy in him. Sa brethren, it is ane gude thing to
have that desyre of hevin. Sich and sob, and desire with Paull for
hevin. For it is ane sure chartour and evident,” of thy everlasting
inheritance. And never ane eirthlie Lord had ame surer chartour
of his land, nor thou, that hes ame desyre of hevin, hes of thy in-
heritance in hevin. For thir eirthlie evidentis of land ar without.
* SO, * Earnest, *... * Evidence.
310 THE FIRST SERMON,
them in thair kistis, bot this evident of thine is written and ingraft
in thy hart. Now quhen extremitie is threatned, it is time to seik
thy warrands of this heavinlie inheritance. This present countrie
is gude for thee, and the best countrie that ever thou sall see, ex-
cept thou find this warrand of siching, and desiring for that hevin-
ly inheritance. And therefoir, let scorners and mockers scorne as
they will, the children of God mon powre furth tearis: And this
is it that the Lord hes bene desyring thir monie day.is bygane, he
hes bene gentlie drawing out of us this sense; bot now he begins
to preis it out of us, that our eies may burst out in tearis; and
thou that can nocht sob, and desyre in thir miserabill day.is to be
dissolvit, thou hes na trew mater of joy. Wo be to them that hes
na hart to sich for the trubill of Christis kirk, bot is ay” reddie to
execute judgement againis Godis servandis quhen the Lord is
pressing” them. Weill, the Lord sall wring out tearis out of them
in his wraith, that will not sob in the time of the daunger and
trubill of his Kirk. Then quhat is it that Paul sichis for, and
quhat desyris he? He desyris ane new cleithing to be put on abone,”
as ane cleithing abone ane cleithing, that is, he wald keip this same
bodie in substance, and cast off this filthie garment of sinne and
death, and put on that glorious Schaipe of the bodie of Christ.
The reason is set doun, “For quhen the Lord sall cleith us, we
sall not be fund nakit.” Sa this bodie sal remaine in substance,
bot O the glorie and immortalitie of it. Mark the nature of the
ludging quhilk we sall receave, it sal not be in ane other body in
substance then this bodie quhilk we have heir in eirth. The same
bodie in substance we sall have in hevin that we have heir. Heir-
in onlie is the difference, this bodie is vyle, it is mortall, full of
sinne and wickednesse, unglorious, ignominious, full of corruptioun,
waik, infirme. Bot quhen this bodie sall be changit in hevin, it
sall be changit not in substance, bot in qualitie. Paull, i. Cor. xv.
42, 43, 44, sayis, “The bodie is sawin in corruption, and is raisit
agane in incorruptioun, it is sawin in dishonour, it is raisit in glorie;
it is sawin in waiknesse, it is raisit in power :” the waikest bodie
* Past. * Are ever. * Visiting. * Above.
ON 2. COR. 5. 311
in hevin sall be starker nor the strongest man in eirth. “Then”
(sayis he) “it is sawin ane naturall bodie, and is raisit ane spirituall
bodie.” Sa the change is in qualitie; and thairfoir he sayis to the
Philip. iii. 21., “Quhen Christ cummis he sall transforme (not abo-
lische, bot transforme) in qualitie our vyle bodie like to his awin
glorious bodie.” Christ keipis in the hevin that same verie bodie
quhilk he had in the eirth, and thou sal keip the same bodie in
hevin, quhilk thou hes in eirth ; bot it sal be alterit in qualitie,
als far as the hevin and eirth is different. Brethren, this ministers
comfort. Thair is name of us bot naturallie we love this bodie,
then let this comfort thee, that suppois thy saull sall be for ane
tyme uncled of? this body, zit thou sal get it agane. Ane other
comfort; deith dow not destroy it, the grave dow” not be abil to
swallow up that bodie, bot the grave sal keip it and the dust and
substance thairof, quhil the cumming of Christ, and then it sall be
compellit to rander it again. “ Lyfe sall swallow up death :” Bot
deith nor the grave sall not be abill to swallow up the bodie of
Goddis elect: Bot the reprobate sall be swallowit up of deith baith
in Saull and bodie. In the aucht chapter to the Romanes the tent
and ellevint verses, Paul ministers thair twa consolationis aganis
deith. He sayis; “the bodie mom die because of sinne :” bot he
subjoynis : The Saull in the mein tyme sall live ; and the spreit of
Iesus sall tak it and cover it with that blude. And albeit it was
ane sinfull Saull, zit alssone as the Father blenkis upon it, wompledº
and wrapped as it wer in the blude of Iesus, immediatlie he bid-
dis it pas to glorie. He gais fordward. And quhair it micht have
bene said, sal we have na consolatioun in the bodie? He answeris,
“Gif the Spreit of him that raisit Iesus fra the deid, dwell in zour
mortall bodie: quhat then Phe, that is, God the Father that raisit
up Christ from the deid: he, be his Spreit sall rais zour bodies: that
same body that is dead and laid in grave, that same body be God’s
spreit, (for the spreit of Iesus and the spreit of the Father is al ane)
sal be raisit up.” Leirn then fra amis" this halie Spreit of God tak
* Stronger than, “Without. * Shall. * There, * Wympled, (i. e. folded.)
* Learn them if.
312 THE FIRST SERMON,
Judging in zou, he sall never leave zou in saull nor bodie: he sall
accumpanie the bodie in the grave, and convoy the saull to hevin.
The spreit of Iesus sal gang with the saull and lift it up. The
eirth gets the body quhen the saull is separate from it, zit the
halie Spreit sal gang to the grave with the bodie, and sall remain
with it in the grave, and with the leist pickill of dust thairof: and
quhen Christ sall cum he sall gadder it togidder, and mak ane
hail bodie. Sa happie are they that hes anis ludgit this gaist? in
thair Saullis, for fyre, nor water, nor na uther power, ever sall be
able to destroy them, becaus that Halie Spreit ever remaines
with them. Now in the next verse, because it micht have bene
said and objected: Thou wald not want the bodie, quhy sichis
thou then and quhat meinis this desyre, gif thou wald keip the
bodie? “We (the faithfull) that ar in this tabernacle, we sich
and are burdened: (bot mark our desyre) becaus we would not
be unclothed, (as sum will say, Saull to God, and banis to the
borrow mure” in contempt of the bodie : trowis thou to be glorifyit
in hevin without ane bodie? Na) but would be cleithed upon,
that mortalitie micht be swallowed up of life.” As gif he wald
say, I wald have this fair cloke of glorie put on this bodie, that
it micht consume, and swallow up all this stink of sinne, that is
in the bodie. Leirn then first the bodie as it is now, is ane burden.
He sayis: “We that ar in this tabernacle, sich and ar burdenit,”
it is ane lead” layit on the back of the Saull, it is ane tabernacle,
botane burdenable tabernacle, as ane house Smoring" him doun,
and he halding the same up on his schoulders, that appeirandlie it
wald be better to him to be out of it. Leirn secundlie the estait
of them that dwellis in this tabernacle. Gif the bodie be ane
burden, then the Saull mon grone and sich as ane man under
ane heavie burden. And the bodie is nathing bot ane hous of
murning to the faithful saul, sa lang as it dwels thairin. The wan-
ton licht man thinkis this bodie quhilk he beiris about to be na
burden, and will rin and loup" with it, as thochtſ this carcase wer
*
* Part. * Guest. * Soul to God, and bones to the dunghill. * Load.
* Smothering. * Leap. ' Though.
ON 2. COR. 5. 313
licht as ane fether. Allace he feillis not the burden, he is sensles,
and like ane in ane fever, and in ane rage, that wats' nocht quhat
he dois or quhat he sufferis. Ane mountane is lying on him, and
he feillis it not. Woe to thir men that are sa wantoun under this
miserie. Amend in tyme, or the Lord sal thrust thee doun to
hell. Fy on thee that dwellis in Bethania, the hous of murning,
and can not murne : Murne in tyme, or ellis I assure thee thou
sall murne for ever. This being the conditioun of men that dwellis
in this tabernacle, siching and desyring, as ane woman with child
to be relievit, quhat is the end of this desire? The end of the
murning of the godlie is, not that they wald be quyte of the hous,
as manie desyris: that were wrang: for manie will murne under
this hous desperatlie, and the bodie will be ane burden to the Saull
in them, and thair life will be displeasand” to them: they wil think
to get ane relief of the burden be the want of this present life, and
wil put hand in themselfis, bot then beginnis thair everlasting
murning, they never wist quhat murning was quhill that end come.
Sa this is not the way to be delivered of the burdene, bot the way
is to seik to put on ane cleithing on this bodie, and heir is the end
of our desire. It is cled with mortalitie, and that is all the mater
of thy murning, it is not the substance of the bodie that causis
thee to murne, bot sinne that seazis on thy bodie, and gangis into
the merche of thy banis,” deith accumpanying sinne. Then this
mortalitie being ane accident of sinne, quhilk is the chief cause
thairof, the remedie is: Seik to be cled with the lyfe that cummis
of Christ. Soukº in be faith ane drop of that lyfe of Christ. This
will not destroy thy bodie, bot it will destroy the deith and sinne
that seazis' on thy bodie. And the lyfe of Iesus Christ in anemo-
ment will swallow up all that deith, and sinne, and all that misery
that lay on thee. Thair is the way to dwell with ease in the bodie.
Seik not to destroy the bodie, bot seik the slauchter of that sinne
and deith that lyis on thy bodie, utherwayis Saull and bodie baith
* Knoweth. * Unpleasant. * But sin that possesseth thy body and corrupteth
the marrow of thy bones. * Suck. * Possesseth.
314 - THE FIRST SERMON.
sall perische, the hous sall fall doun, and the man that ludgit in
the hous sall be destroyit.
Remember then, lyfe and deith ar not maters to mow with, they
ar not wordis, nay, nay. Think gravelie of them, and befoir thy
Saul be disludged, luik that thou be preparit for ane better lyfe,
luik that thou finde the Lord of lyfe Christ Iesus be his Spreit
wirking the deith of mortalitie in thee, and the beginning of the
lyfe that sall last for ever. The Lord be his Spreit wirk thir
thingis in zour hartis: To quhome be all prais, glorie, and honour,
for ever and ever. Amen.
* Life and death are not matters to be scorned withal.
THE SEC OND SERMON.
2. COR. CAP. 5.
5. And he that hath created us for this thing, is God, quha also hes given
wnto us the arlis' of the Spreit.
6. Thairfoir we ar alwayis bauld, thocht we knaw that quhylis we ar at
hame in the body we ar absent from the Lord.
7. (For we walk by faith, and not by sicht.) -
8. Neverthelesse, we ar bauld, and love rather to remufe out of the bodie,
and to dwell with the Lord.
BRETHREN, ze that wer present the last day, hard quhat was
the purpos of Paul in this place. First he beginnis to comfort
himself, and all others that ar to die, and to be dissolvit, against
deith, and the terrours of deith. He (as he sayis in the chap.
preceiding ver. 18.) is luiking up to hevin, and whill he is luik-
ing up to hevin to see that end that he was anis to attein to,
thair cummis in betwixt his sicht, and the licht of that glorie
and lyfe, ane cloud of deith, to have cleikitº out of his eies (gif
it had bene possible) all to-luik to lyfe everlasting. The re-
medie aganis it, we schew zou was faith, and ane constant hope,
with ane schairp, eirnest, and stedfast luiking, even to pearce in
throuch deith, and that cloud of deith, and throuch deith to get ane
sicht of that lyfe, and licht of glorie, that lyishid up in hevin bezond
deith. “We knaw” (sayis the Apostle) “and ar assurit, that our
bodie and the eirthlie house of this tabernacle, sall be dissolvit, zit
we sall get ane buylding for ane hous, ane buylding that is fra God,
not maid with mannis handis, ane buylding eternall, that is situate
* Earnest, * Caught.
316 THE SECOND SERMON,
in the hevin above the eirth.” Quhen he hes set doun this remedie,
he beginnis to comfort himself and utheris, be ane sure faith, that
efter deith he sall live agane, efter the dissolutioun of his mortall
bodie, he sall receave ane glorious bodie. The first argument of
his assurance is fra the desire he had of lyfe, siching with ane eir-
nest desire of that kingdom quhilk is fra hevin. This desire never
disappointit man. Never was thair onie man that had ane eirnest
desire of lyfe and glorie, and had the trew knawledge and mein to
attein to this glorie, that was disappointit of his desire: bot quha
ever desirit maist eirnestlie to be glorifyit, maist certainlie they
live now in hevin, and at this hour they ar glorifyit thair; and
name thair sall be that sall have this desire, and stryvis to thring
in to hevin violentlie, Mat. xi. 12; bot they sall enjoy hevin efter
thair departing. Now in the text quhilk we have red, we follow
out the assurances, and warrands quhilk the Apostle hes of the glory
of the lyfe to cum. The secund assurance and warrand of the lyfe
to cum, is in the first words: “He” (sayis the Apostle) “that hes
creatit us for this thing is God,” &c. The argument of the lyfe
to cum, in thir wordis, is fra the end of our creation, God hes crea-
tit us to this end, to wit, that in the end this mortality quhairwith
we arcled, micht be swallowed up of lyfe, thairfoir live mon we in
hevin. This is the end of our creatioun : thairfoir it cannot fail,
bot glorifyit mon we be. Learne then : The maner of our glori-
fying is this: It is God, not man, that hes maid us and creatit us
to this end: It is impossible that God can be disappointit of the
end quhilk he settis befoir him of his wark. Man may be disap-
pointed, for he wil begin ane wark for sum purpose, bot oft tymis
he will be disappointed of that purpose: He will big ane house to
dwell in, bot it may be he never dwell in it, ane uther will dwell
thairin. God quhen he workis ane wark to ony end, it is impos-
sible that he can be disappointit. All the warld gif they wald
stand up and oppone to Goddis wark, they cannot hinder it: That
wark that God workis in us, is sic ane wark that tendis to lyfe as
to the end thairof. “Quha sall condemne” (sayis the Apostle) “it
is God that justifyis.” Rom. viii. 33. Wil he justific thee? al
ON 2. COR. 5. 317
the warld sal not be able to condemne thee. Wil he save thee?
all the warld sall not be abill to make thee perische. Sa it is of
his haill Kirk in general. Suppose al the warld wer conspyrit
aganis his Kirk, he will have it saif: and wonderfullie workis he
the salvation of his Kirk, and every member thairof: throuch
deith he bringis them to lyfe: sa that it is follie to men to stryve
against the warkis of God. Zit luik to the wordis: “He that hes
creatit us to this end, is God.” Quhat creatioun is this that he
meinis of 2 Is this that first creatioun of Adam and Eva P Of everie
ane of us in them that was at the beginning 2 Not swa;” that crea-
tioun faillit. Indeid we wer first creatit to live and throw that first
creatioun everie ane of us gatane certaine richt to live for ever: bot
that richt we lost in our awin default, we ar fallin fra that richt
of our creatioun in the fall of Adam. Sa we mon seikane uther
creatioun or we sall never see lyfe : for we have na richt to that
first creatioun that was in all halinesse according to the image of
God. Eph. iv. 24. Gif thou stick to that first creation and auld
birthricht, thousal never see life. Then the Apostle meinis of ane
uther? Quhat uther making or creating of us is this? It is our re-
generatioun and renewing again, quhilk is nathing ellis bot as it
wer ane new birth and begetting, fra the quhilk we ar called new
creatures. 2. Cor. v. 17. Then brethren wald thou have ane sure
argument that thou sall live efter this life? (and wo to thee and
thou live not efter this life, wo to them that ever saw this warld,
and they get nocht ane lyfe efter this lyfe, for this lyfe will away.)
Luik gif thou be regenered and renewed, luik gif thou be sancti-
fied, and finds ane slaying of thy lustis within thee. Luik gif thou
finds the lyfe of God be his Spreit wirking within thee, not this
naturall life, bot this hevinlie and spirituall lyfe begun in thee, not
be nature, bot be grace. Gif thou hes this, thou hes ane warrand
thou sall live, and albeit this naturall lyfe sall be takin from thee,
thow sall get ane uther lyfe everlasting in glorie: Bot gif thou find
thee not renewed be the Spreit of grace, tak this life from thee,
thou sall not get life everlasting in glorie. Sa luik gif thou be a
* Church. * So.
3.18 THE SECOND SERMON,
new creature, thou hes gottin ane greater grace, nor to be borne to
ane earthly kingdome, gif sa be thou may assure thy self of life
everlasting. Quhat is this newnes in the new creature ? This new-
nes that is in the new creature is nathing ellis bot that same life
quhilk we sall live in hevin, and is begun heir. This newnes is
only this new life of regeneratioun, quhilk lyfe sa lang as thou
livis heir (fra time thou hes gotten ane sponk thairof) peice and
piece eatis up the auld cankerit nature. The lyfe of God within
thee, will consume, (evin as thou consummis the meat thou eatis)
the auld corruptioun that lyis in thy nature: and in the end, in the
glorious resurrectioun of the deid, it sall be altogidder abolisched.
This lyfe then quhilk is begun heir, it sall oppin the mouth and
swallow up deith, and deith thairefter sall have na mair place.
This life is onlie eating up peice and piece deith heir : bot at that
time it sal swallow it up haillely” and thou sall say with Paull,
“Death is swallowed up,” 1. Cor. xv. 54. Sa weil is the saull that
hes ane warrand of his new creation, quhidder he die in his bed
or out of it, he sall die with joy. Then my counsell is, seing
deith is daily threatned, let every ane preis to get this assurance
of this new lyfe begun in him heir, that it may swallow up deith :
woe be to them that hes not this assurance. This is the secund
assurance of life everlasting. I pray zou mark thir assurances, for
Paul had sic ane earnest desire, that he socht al assurances
and warrands of this life, and he is reigning now in hevin. Sa
thou quha thirsts efter life, learne at him. Now restis the third
warrand in the nixt wordis, “Quha alway hes given us the arlis of the
Spreit.” Learne the wordis, for all the doctrine rysis of the wordis.
Then the third warrand is the Spreit of Christ Jesus in thee.
Gif ever thou myndis to have life heirefter, thou mon have Goddis
Spreit in thee: not onlie thy awin Spreit, bot Goddis Spreit, flowing
fra God through Jesus Christ and entering in thy bodie and saull.
Behald the liberality of God, quhen he be his Sprit hes renewit
thee, he will not tak that Spreit fra thee, as ane man will doe .
quhen he his biggit ane wark, he will tak his hand fra it, stand
* Little and little. * Wholly.
ON 2. CoR. 5. 319
gif it will or not. Bot the Lord dois not swa : he hes renewed
thee be his halie Spreit, quhilk he puttis within thee. O how
the Lord puttis the third person of the Trinitie in thee, and makis
him ane aris-pennie to thee of life everlasting. Because thy re-
generatioun is imperfite, and thou hes not zit atteined to that life,
thairfoir he lets his Spreit byde in thee, assuring thee as ane aris-
penny, that quhatsaever God hes promised, he sall performe it to
thee, and thou sall not be disappointed of ane jot thairof. Sic is
the infidelitie of our nature, all the promises, all the aithis quhilk
he makis to confirme his promises, all his sacramentis quhilk
he hes joynit to his promises cannot perswade us : bot luik
to this third warrand, hes thou the Spreit of God, gif he be in
thee, he will be quick, wirking joy with sichis, he can not be idill,
he will be wirking the wark of regeneration baith day and nicht.
“Then anger him not.” Eph. iv. 30. Away with filthy cogita-
tiounis, away with everie rotten word, away with every evill deid,
labour to plesour him day and nicht, and preis' to keip him, and
thou sall have ane warrand in thy bosome of lyfe, and quhen thou
is dying, thou sall find sic sweitnes in death as is wonderfull to
tell. Nane ever had the Spreit of God bot in deith they had un-
speikable joy. Sa” seik to be in Christ and get his Spreit within
thee, and getting this Spreit, keip him diligently, and powre out
thy awin Spreit, bot never Gods Spreit for then in all distressis
thou sall have comfort. Now to resume all : Ze that takis greit
plesour in zour chartouris, the evidentis of zour inheritance and
land, take tent to this,” zour inheritance is in hevin : and thou is
ane fuile quha thinkis that thou hes ane inheritance in eirth. For
either sall thou be ruggit frat it, or it sall be ruggit fra thee. Na,
luik as ever thou wald be ane inheritour, that thy inheritance be
in hevin. Thou is the fulischest begger, and the puirest that ever
was, and thou wer" ane king, gif thou think thy inheritance to be
in airth : having laid this count with thy self, my inheritance is
in hevin, then nixt luik that thou have thy evidents: thou sall not
bruikº hevin, and thou have not the evidents thairof laid up in
* Strive. * Then. * Take heed. * Pulled from. * If thou be. * Possess.
320 THE SECOND SERMON,
thy chartour kist. Now thy evidents ar the same evidents that
Paul had, and the same kind of evident servis for all, it is ane in-
heritance that all men mon get, ane sort of chartour mon serve
for ane inheritance. Quhat then can be the chartour and evident?
Can thou sich for that hevinly inheritance P can thou have ane
desire of it? thair is thy first evident: then findis thou thy self
to be renewit? findis thou Christ's life in thee? “the life of Iesus is
manifest in me” sayis Paul, 2. Cor. iv. 10. Findis thou the wickit
lyfe of this warld reformit P thair is the secund evident. Zit mair,
finds thou the worker of the desire, and the worker of thy regene-
ration, the Spreit of Christ within thee? then keip him weill.
Thair is the best evident of all the evidents of thy inheritance:
having thir assure thee of hevin : want thou thir or onie of them,
thou sal never get that inheritance in hevin. As thir three ar
three evidents of thy hevinly inheritance, sa they ar three proppis
of faith that grippis this hevinly lyfe, they are three pillars that
halds up faith that is biggit on them; cut ane of thir pillars away,
thou sall tyne faith and hope. Bot heir it may be speirit," Ar all
thir three of the nature of the life to come? I answere: As for the
desire, siching and sobbing for that hevinly inheritance, it endis with
this lyfe, and in that lyfe to cum “al weping sall be tane away.”
Revel. xxi. 4. Murne and grone in time, then heirefter sall cum
joy, and puir joy. Ane trublit joy is heir in this life, bot heireſter
thair sall be ane puir solide joy, and mathing bot joy. Sa this
murning ceisses then, and is not of the nature of the lyfe to cum.
Bot as to the new creature and regeneratioun, it is of the nature
of the lyfe to cum : and it is the beginning and first part of that
hevinly glory, sa that our hevinly glory sal be nauther thing bot
the perfyting of our regeneratioun. For quhen all this peltrie” sall
be taken away, then we sall fullie be renewed. As to the Spreit,
gif ever he was powerfull in eirth, he sall be mair powerfull in
hevin, sa that the same spreit that heir dwelt in thy body, sall then
glorify thy body, and mak it schyne mair bricht then the sun.
Thairfoir let us seik this regeneratioun, and the Spreit of Christ :
* Asked. * Pelfry, (i. e. Vile trash.)
ON 2. COR. 5. 321
for in thir twa standis the perfection and the glorie of the life to
cum. Now when he hes reckned out al the warrands of lyfe,
quhairby he assuris him self thairoſ, he concludis in the next
verse: “Then (sayis he) we have confidence alwayis:" As gif he
wald say: having thir warrands, I have confidence alwaies, that
is, I am assurit of my glorie: and zit the wordis importis not onlie
ane assurance, bot the effect thairoſ, quhilk is anesweit securitie in
the saull: for quhen ever onie man is assurit of lyfe, then the
saull with sweitnes will rest : then cummis that peace of conscience
assuring us quhidder we live or we die we ar Christ's; sa this
drawis on that bauldness and confidence. Then luik the nature,
the beginning, and rysing of Faith. It standis and is buyldit upon
zone thre pillers, ane earnest desire of lyfe, regeneration, and the
Spreit of God: Thir ar the three proppis thairof, quhilk ar sensible
to them that hes faith, and we suld be acquainted with them :
Then of this rysis the sweit confidence of glorie, and securitie, the
repose and rest of the saull and conscience, and fra the Saull it
cummis up to the mouth, and brekis out in ane glorying: As this
same Apostle upon this confidence in his saull brekis out and sayis,
“Quhat sall sever us fra the love of Christ? sall tribulatioun, or
anguische, or persecutioun, or famine, or nakednes, or perrill, or
sword:” “Na, in all thir thingis we ar mair nor victorious throw
him that luiffit us.” Rom. viii. 35, &c. Sa that faith being biggit
upon thir three pillers, securitie and confidence being biggit upon
faith, than bauldness in mouth will say, I defy all contrarie
powers: lay the sword, lay fyre, lay deith before mee, it will
say, I defy them all: zea, let all the devillis of hell cum befoir
a man, and his faith be weil biggit, and confidence on faith, he
will defy them all: zea, albeit they threatin damnatioun to him;
for gif thou stand in Christ, live sall thou: albeit thou may be
severed from this mortall lyfe, al the warld can not sever thee fra
the lyfe of Christ. Seik this lyfe now in tyme, that in troubill we
may say that we will rest on Christ, and all the warld sall not se–
ver us fra him. Zit to go fordward in the wordis : The Apostle as
* Whensoever. * These.
X.
322 THE SECOND SERMON,
zit hes not the full contentatioun in hart, for all this assurance.
“For (sayis he) we knaw that whyll we ar at hame in the bodie,
we ar absent fra the Lord.” Gif we be at hame with ane thing,
we ar on feild fra ane better. Allace thou being at hame at thy
awin house and fyre, thou is far on feild' fra thy hame in hevin :
whill we ar at hame in this mortal bodie we are strangers and pil-
grimes fra the Lord. Brethren, ze sall leirn heir ane great diffe-
rence betwixt confidence and contentatioun. It is ane thing to
have contentatioun, ane other thing to have confidence. This
Apostle had confidence bot not contentatioun. Thou art al begylitº
that thinkis thou hes sufficient contentatioun in this warld. Wo is
thee, zea althocht thou have hevinlie graces, and thou think thou
hes contentatioun either of glorie, or of sicht: all is naething.
Quhy P because thair can not, nor suld not be contentatioun heir :
na, the best nor maist confident man that livis, suld not think he
hes contentatioun in this present life. All thy halines, faith, confi-
dence and hope, suld not give thee full contentatioun. Al the king-
doms, honour, and riches of this warld, quhilk is nathing but dirt
and peltry in respect of those hevinly thingis, suld not give thee
full contentatioun. And zit the warldly full will say in hart, I have
contentatioun and sufficiencie. O, bot quhat said Christ to him
that decreit with his hart to mak wyde barnis: “Fuil, this nicht
thy saul sall be takin fra thee.” Luk. xii. 20. Away with ane opi-
nioun of contentation in this eirth an thou wer ane king of al the
eirth: Will thou have contentatioun without Christ P Will thou
have sufficiencie, and not have him quha is thy lyfe and glorie:
Quhen thou is ane pilgrime fra Christ, and wandring fra thy coun-
trie and inheritance, will thou say thou hes thy hartis desire? Had
ever pilgrim full contentatioun during the time of his pilgrimage?
Then na contentatioun to the faithful Saull bot in Christ. I sal
never think contentatioun to be in my Saul quhilº I se Christ face
to face. I give the same counsel, zea, and I had al spiritual graces
in never sa greit ane measure, na contentation for my Saull quhil I
1 We are far from a better thing which is abroad. * Thou art far abroad.
* Far deceived. * Till.
ON 2. COR. 5. 323
see Christ. For all our blissitnes stands in the sicht of Christ,
and thou can not see Christ heir, becaus thou is absent fra him.
“For sa lang as I am at hame,” (speiking of the saul sa lang as it
is closit heir within this eirthly tabernacle), “I am absent from
Christ.” And this preson of my bodie sa closis me about that I
can not see Christ. Brethren, it is this mortall bodie that is cled
with sinne and mortalitie, wherewith we mon be cled sa lang as
we are heir, that haldis us fra the sicht of Christ: It is impossible
sa lang as thou art cled with the sinfull body, to get that full sicht
of Jesus, albeit he were standing on the earth, cled with his glory.
Sa thou mon be uncled of this mortalitie or thou can see him.
And thair is the ground quhairfoir we suld think na contentatioun
quhill we are in this bodie. Because sa lang as we dwell in this
mortall bodie, we shall never see Christ, nor get ane full fruitioun
of his countenance. Thairfoir, Brethren, tak not sameikle plesure
and delyte in this mortall bodie, for I assure thee it is bot ane
presoun halding the faithful saul, and the eie of the faithful saul
from the sicht of Christ: bot how sone sa ever" it sall be lousit
thairfra,” it sall mount immediatlie with joy to Christ, and thair get
full contentatioun in his face. Ze think sa lang as ze want thir
eirthlie thingis, ze can not get contentatioun : (I speik not of the
wickit bot evin of the regenerate man): bot when the saul gettis
this glorious presence of Christ in hevin, it sall have ane joy in in-
finite degreis greater nor ever it had in eirth. And albeit the bo-
die sall lie heir in grave, and ignominie for ane time, zit all that
sall be recompensed be the glorious sicht of Christ quhilk the saull
sall enjoy in the hevinnis, being separate from the bodie. We
think we can have na hevinlie glorie and joy, except we have this
eirthlie bodie thair. It is trew indeid, the saul can not have sa
great joy, as gif the Saul and bodie were togidder, bot it is als trew
that the Saull being separate hes greater joy in hevin, nor saull and
bodie can have togidder in this eirth : Otherwayis how wald
Paull have desired to have been dissolved, he having that confi-
dence and arlis penny of glory, except he had desired that joy in
* But as soon as. * From it.
X 2 w
324 THE SECOND SERMON,
the Saull. Allace, we are sa senselesse that we think joy cannot
cum, except we get it in our bodie eirthlie. And this is ane pairt
of our miserie. Now in the next verse in ane parenthesis, he castis
in the cause quhy he is absent fra God, and ane pilgrime heir, and
sayis: “For we walk be faith and not be sicht.” As gif he wald
say, All the sicht quhilk I have of him is far of, luik how far the
hevinnis is distant fra the eirth, als far is Jesus distant fra the eie
of the faithfull saull: thair is only ane far sicht of him heir : all
the sicht of hevinlie gloir quhilk we haif heir is like ane mote in
respect of that sicht we sall get. It is sa far fra thee, that it semis
not to be the thousand pairt of that fulnes that it is in deid. Thou
seis it now as it were ane mote, bot thou sall anis see it as ane
mountane in great fulness. Sa Paull sayis, I see my Lord bot far
of, that is ane greit distance betwixt the eie of my saul and him :
and besides this farnes, sic mist aryses out of the stinking bodie of
corruption betwixt my Lord and mee, like ane cloud, that it hydis
my Lordis face frame. Sa thair is twa impedimentis that hinders
from the full sicht of Christ. The first is the far distance of place
betwixt him and mee. The secund is the reikº and mist of my cor-
ruptioun that gangis in betwixt me and him, that takis the sicht
of my Lord frame. Find ze not this in zour selfis be experience?
In the beginning of ane hour thou sall have ane sicht of him, and
agane or” the half-hour be past the sicht of him is away, let be ane
day or half ane day. Then mervell not suppose Paul compleinis
of this, that he cannot see Christ in respect of the farmes, and reik,
that cummis betwixt them : wald to God we had ane sense of this.
Quha is he that anis granis for this, and sayis, Allace, I am ane
pilgrime, it is ane far sicht quhilk I have of my Lord. O gif my
saul were lousit fra my bodie, that I micht be with him. Quha
can say this? Na: we ar all sleiping, and thair is na eie
liftit up to Christ in this great miserie? Will thou aye" cry
peace in sic ane miserie P at last thou sall be pressed doun to
hell. Zit to insist upon this verse, “We walk,” (sayis he), “be
faith and not be sicht.” Ze see heir then the conditioun of ane
* Afar. * Smoke. * Ere. “Always.
ON 2. COR. 5.
3
2
5
Christian is walking, not sitting, or sleiping, he mon be on fute.
This word is ever in the Apostle's mouth. 1 Thes. v. 6; Col. iv. 2,
&c. Ever walking,
pilgrime upon thy journey toward ane other countrie, thou mon
ane pilgrime mon not sit doun. Thou is ane
not sit doun : for otherwayis thou sall never cum to thy journeys
end. The secund thing quhilk I mark heir : This walking mon
not be in darknes, bot it mon be in licht. Woe to him that walkis
in darknes, for gif he were never sa weill occupyit, he sall die in
darknes, he that walkis in darknes he sall get hell, for hell is dark-
mes: Sa that walking mon be in licht. The licht is of twa sorts,
they are baith set doun in this verse. The first is the licht and
knawledge of faith: the second the licht of presence and sicht.
The knawledge of faith is bot ane glimmering in respect of the
other licht that is be sicht, quhen thou sall see Christ. In his
presence is ane wonderfull licht : quhen he sall luik to the, and
thou to him, the beamis of his glorie sall sa stryke on thee, and
cause the schyne that thou sall be astonyit. Thair is na Saull bot
sa. Sone as it cummis in his presence, it will be astoneist, and mer-
vel that ever thair was sic ane licht in Christ. Faith hes bot ane
sarie licht, bot the licht be presence is mervellous. He sall trans-
late us to ane mervellous licht. 1. Pet. ii. 9. All the angellis won-
ders at the licht quhilk is about the Lamb : and thy saull quhen
it sall come in glorie, sall stand wondering at sic ane glorie: and
thy bodie quhen it sall fallow, sall wonder, and all sall be wondring
at sic ane passing glorie. Thir ar the twa sichts. Wald God we
culd tak tent to get ane glaunce of that hevinlie glorie, then all
the plesures of this eirth wald be bot vanitie, dirt, and peltry to us.
The Lord zit oppin our cies to get ane sicht of this glorie. Thir
ar the twa lichtis. As thair is twa lichtis, sa thair is twa kindis
of walking: the anc is in this life, the other in hevin in the life to
cum. In this lyfe we have ane sarie glimmering without ony sun,
ane blenk of licht environed about with darknes. Thairfoir be-
caus of the want of licht, thair is sic stammering” in our walking in
this life. Bot when we sall walk in the hevins with that hewinly
* Heed. * Such stumbling.
326 THE SECOND SERMON,
licht of God, with the countenance of Christ befoir our eies, then
na. Snappering" neither to this side nor to that, becaus of that licht
that is in the face of Christ schyning ever in our eie. The dark-
ness ze see is unplesand, the licht is plesand. It is ane wonder-
full thing that we sal get leif to walk in that inaccessible light of
God, quhairin the Father and the Sone walkis. Brethren, think
on thir thingis, for thirar the chief end of al.” All eirthlie thingis
evanischis as the sunne gais to,” and darknes cummis. Thairfoir
Set Zour eie on that glorie that never sall evanische, as ever ze
wald desire to ring thair. Thir dayis cravis' this preparatioun.
Certainlie preaching and heiring will evanische, and preiching
being taken away, faith will fail, and without faith how can men
attein to glory. Thairfoir to keip in the glorie of this licht, we
suld ernestlie cry: Lord give us this word. For gif it be taken
away we sall be worse nor Sodome and Gomorrah. Now quhen
he has schawin this, he cummis back agane, and he sayis, “Never-
theles we have confidence.” He that hes confidence, he will re-
joice to speik of it, and it swellis Sa in his hart that of necessitie it
mon be utterit, and he will say anis, twyse, thryse, I have confi-
dence. Bot now with confidence he joynis ane other thing, to wit,
his love to die, and to flit out of the bodie to reigne with Christ.
Love to die is the companion of confidence. He sayis, “I
have confidence, but I love rather to remove out of the bodie,
and to dwell with the Lord.” Thair ar twa gude thingis,
the ane confidence, the other licht. The apostle makis ane
choise heir : he will leif confidence heir in the bodie, and he
chusis to die that he may attein to the licht. And in this re-
spect he wald cois" all the confidence that he hes with deith.
Thou will not cois a fut of eirth with death, bot the Apostle will
cois confidence with deith, and confidence is mair pretious than all
the eirth. Few will doe this, and zit thou will die and thou had
sworn it. Weill is that bodie that is Sa resolvit to die as Paull
was. Bot makis Paull ane chose of deith for deith itself? Cer-
* No staggering. * For these are the chief points of all. * When the
sun goeth down. * Require. * Change.
ON 2. COR. 5. 327
tenlie na man will chose deith for deith itself: for except the Lord
lichten deith and transforme it, it is ane entrie to hell: And gif
thou have na other respect in deith bot to be quyte of this miser-
abill life, (as sum will say, “Wald God Iwer dead that I might be
quyte of this miserie”), thou sall be in greater miserie efter deith
nor ever thou was quhill thou was living. Quhat then suld be the
speciall cause that suld move a man to say, “Wald God I
were dissolvit,” even this, I am burdenit with sinne, I am
burdenit with mortalitie. This burden suld be ame great mo–
tive: Weill is the saull that is fred of sinne Quhat plesure
is it to ane Saull that wald faine serve God, to live ever in sinne?
Na, name plesure. This is the speciall motive that suld move us
to mak choise of deith : to be with Jesus Christ, to dwell with
him, and to be in his companie, in the participatioun of that glorie
that is in the countenance of Christ. For that cause I wald flit,
that I micht be with my Lord, and embrace that joy. Sa as the
misery of this warld will put thee fordward to God, sa the sweit-
nes of Christis cumpanie will draw thee fordward. Then to end:
the Apostle hes preconceaved in him selfe ane wonderfull joy of
that glorie, when he saw it not zit, sa mon we doe. All his walk-
ing was be faith, and not be sicht: bot he seis befoir the hand
ane hevinlie joy and pleasure, in respect of that fruitioun that he
sall anis get of the countenance of Christ. This suld learne thee
to luik ever for mair nor thou seis. Think not that thou hes sein
all the glorie that sall cum to thee, and hes felt all the plesures
that is laid up for thee in hevin. Bot think that thair is greater
joy and glorie thair, nor ever thou culd heir of For Christ him-
self never utterit all the glorie that is laid up for the saintis. All
that we see heir is bot in ane mirrour. All the glorie of Christ in
the Scripture, is bot in ane mirrour : lyke as quhen the sunne
schynis in the mirrour, thou lukis not to the sun that schynis, bot
to the glauncing thairof in the mirrour. And as thair is greater
schyning in the sunne, nor in the glancing thairof that thou seis: sa
think ever thair is greater glorie in hevin nor ever thou hard of in
328 THE SECOND SERMON.
the Scripture. Trow not that thou can think of the joyis of hevin
as men on eirth dois” of eirthlie thingis, quha can think ane thing
greater nor it is. Na, the glorie of hevin, and the joy with Christ
mountis up above the reache of thy faith and hope, and all thing,
that is abill to consave the same. It mountis up hicher than the
hevin of hewinnis is above the eirth. Thairfoir think not with thy.
self, it is over meikle” that I luik for: thou failis onlie in nar-
rownes, thy faith and hope is sa narrow, that they cannot com-
prehend the thousand part of that glorie. And sa we suld say,
“I hope and I believe mair nor I dow” comprehend.” And heir
is the caus that thou cannot get that full sicht of glorie that is laid
up for thee. The waik begun grace of faith, and the Spreit of
God in thee is not abill to attein to the thousand pairt of that
glorie. The Lord give us grace to preconceave this glorie in
sum measure, that we may seik the same, and say with Paull, I
have faith and hope, bot that glorie passis all. The Lord graunt
this even for Christis saik. Amen.
* Suppose. * Think, * Too much. * More than I am able to.
THE THIRD SERMON.
2. COR. CAP. 5.
9. Wherefoir also we covet, that baith dwelling at hame, and removing
fra hame, we may be acceptable to him.
10. For we must all appeir befoir the Judgement seat of Christ, that
everie man may receive the thingis quhilk ar done in his bodie, ac-
cording to that that he hath done, quhidder it be gude or evil.
11. Knawing thairfoir that terrour of the Lord, we perSwade men, and
we are made manifest unto God, and I trust also that we are made
manifest in Zour consciences.
WE have hard, Brethren, thir day.is bygane; the remedie that the
Apostle sets doun against this temporall deith, and the dissolution
of the bodie. In ane word, it is ane full assurance and perswasion
of the hart, that quhen we ar deid concerning the bodie, zit we
sall live againe, and sall receave at the handis of God ane mair
glorious bodie nor ever this bodie wes. It is ane hard mater to
get this assurance, for the naturall reason of man can not, nor will
not perswade him, that he anis being deid, the bodie being dissolvit
in asches, that ever that bodie sal be recovered againe. Thairfoir
the Apostle bringis in three arguments of this assurance: the first
is, the earnest desire that the godlie hes in this life to be glorified:
it is ane thing impossibil that this desire can be in vaine. He that
gevis thee ane desire of glorie and siching for it, he mon give thee
the life and glorie that is desirit and sichit for. For otherwayis he
wald never give thee grace to sich anis for this life and glorie, ex-
cept he were purposit to put thee in possessioun of that glorie ane
* These days past.
330 THE THIRD SERMON,
day. The secund argument is taken fra our regeneration, or the
end of our regeneration. God is he that makis us over of new
againe, efter we were dis-maid be the fal of Adam : he creatis us
of new againe, to this end, that we suld live the first creatioun.
It endit indeid, and we have lost the richt thairof evin in the first
creatioun. We wer creatit to live everlastinglie, zit we dyit. Bot
the secund creatioun in Jesus will never brek, bot as in him we ar
renewed to lyfe, live sall we in the hewinnis everlastinglie : it can
never faill. Peter sayis, 1. Epist. chap. i. ver. 3. We are regene-
rat againe into that livelie hope. The third argument is, the
spreit of Christ, quhairby God workis in us baith the desire, and
regeneration : having anis given us that Spreit, he takis him not
fra us againe, bot lets him dwell in Saull and bodie, to be ane arlis-
penny in us assuring us he sall never leif us, quhill the haill promis-
es in Christ be fulfilled to us. And thairfoir he is callit the
“spirit of truth.” John xv. 26. Notwithstanding of al this confi-
dence and assurance, proppit up upon thir' three pillars, desire, re-
generatioun, and the Spreit, the Apostle hes not full contenta-
tioun of hart: and the reason is, becaus he seis not the Lord. He
is zit wandring as ane pilgrime in this warld, and hes not gottin
that joyfull countenance of Christ, in the quhilk countenance is
onlie Saciety of plesures. For assure zou, the faithful hart sall
never have contentatioun quhil it se Christ. Thairfoir to attein
to this thing, and to get the full satisfactioun of the hart, he makes
chose of deith and removing out of the bodie : he preferris it to
all grace that can be had in this life He preferris it to that
confidence and assurance, and to all other graces that he can
have in this body, that he micht win” up to that presence of Christ.
This far we have spoken hitherto. Now to cum to this text that
we have presently red: The Apostle considering that sicht that
anis we sal see, and that presence that anis we sal haif of the Lord
Jesus, quhilk he hes not gottin, and will not get unto the time it
pleis the Lord to call on him; (and nane of us will get it, albeit
we wald never sa faine, quhill that the Lord call on us) he schawis
* Under-propped with these. * Go.
ON 2. COR. 5. 331
thairfoir quhat he will do quhill the time cum that he get that
presence, and how he will be occupyit living heir in this pilgrim-
age, quhat will be his studie and cair in life and deith. “Thair-
foir,” (says he) “also we covet that baith dwelling at hame, and
removing fra hame, we may be acceptabill to him.” Thair is his
cair in the mein time. All my cair, wald he say, sa lang as I live
in this eirth, sall be, to be acceptable to my Lord, to quhome I
gang, that I may be the welcummer quhen Icum. Zit, brethren, be-
caus the wordisar wechtie everie word wald be weyit. “We covet,”
(sayis he) thair is the first word, and in the first language this
word importis not onlie ane common desire, bot ane ambitioun :
Sa be this word he utteris that he is gredie of honour, and ambi-
tious; for thair is ane halie ambition that is lesum,' that is requi-
site, that is neidful in everie Christian man, evin in the purest
man that is. Bot to cum to the honor quhilk he covets;–“We
covet,” (sayis he) “ that we may be acceptabil.” Thair is the
honour to be acceptable to be countit and lykit of. The warldlie
man that huntis efter the honour of the warld, he desyris to be
estemed of, to be had in admiratioun, and to be in gude grace.
Sa is it with the man of God, the honor quhilk he desiris is
estimatioun, he wald be accountit of, he wald be in grace and gude
lyking, and gif it wer possible, he wald be esteimed above al the
men in the warld. Bot quhome wald he have esteimand” of him 2
The warldlie ambitious man wald be accountit of be men; he hes
na regaird of Goddis estimatioun of him; he wald have the Prince
accounting of him above all courteouris; he wald have the people
accounting meikill of him. Bot the man of God that hes this
holie ambitioun and gredines of honour, he cairis not the account
and estimatioun of men, and Seikis not his prais of men, bot of
God and Christ, with quhome he mon dwel efter this life. He de-
siris in this pilgrimage to be assured that Christ hes ane liking of
him, that efter this lyfe he may ring with Christ as ane king
for ever. That is his honour. To ga fordward in the words.
Quhen seikis he to be acceptable to Christ P At quhat time?
* Lawful, *To esteem.
*
332 THE THIRD SERMON,
Thair is twa tymis; ane tyme of living, and ane uther tyme of
dying ; ane time quhen the Saull dwellis in the bodie, and ane
uther tyme quhen scho flittis. The ambitious halie man seikis to
be acceptable to the Lord baith thir tymis, baith dwelling at hame
and flitting fra hame. All the honour of the wardlie man is in
this life, and quhill the Saull is dwelling in the bodie. Botanis
lay him doun in his bed, and let death seaze on him, thair he layis
doun his honour; and gif ze tel him of the honour quhilk he was
seiking, he will spit at it. Bot the godly man, gif ever he was
gredie of honour in this life, in the hour of his deith he is gredier
thairof, and the neirer deith, the gredier of the honour of Christ.
He can have na contentatioun in hart, quhill he knaw his saul is
acceptable to that Lord quhom to he is going. As for the meinis
quhairby he seikis to cum to this honour, ze will heir of them in
the nixt verse heireſter. This same Apostle, 2 Timoth. ii. 15, sets
them doun also. Quhen he hes desirit Timothie to studie to ap-
prove himself to God, immediatlie he subjoynis, Gif thou wald be
approven be ane wark-man, thou will not get this acceptatioun be
dryving over thy lyfe in idilnes or sluggischnes; let everie man in
quharsaever estat be ane wark-man. The warldly man is claiming
to his honour be meinis unlesum,” be flatterie, be falset,” bot it endis
in miserie. Bot the godlie man let him seik to be approvin be the
King of Kings, being ane faithfull wark-man in his calling, and
diligent thairin. Thair is the mein of thy acceptation in this life;
in thy dying, and quhen all thy sensis, thy toung, thy hand, and
all faillis thee, and thou dow not work, zit suffer with patience,
and set thy hart patientlie to suffer deith, that in thy deing God
may be glorifyit, and sa thou may consecrat baith deith and lyfe
to him. Mark heir ane lessoun. Paull of befoir he makis ane
choise to gang and dwell with Christ. He wald faine have bene
dead, bot heir is ane uther desire, quhilk man ga befoir that, and
thou mon have the lyke desire befoir thou desire to flit out of this
bodie, and to be with Christ. First desire quhil thou is in the
bodie to be acceptable to him, and then desire to flit, utherwayis
* Assail him. * Unlawful means. * Falsehood.
ON 2. COR. 5. 333
not. For certeinlie gif thou die befoir thou be acceptable to God
in thy lyfe, thou sal not be welcum to him, and he sall be the
maist terrible sicht to thee that ever thou saw. I sall never desire
to see him quhen I die, gif I desire not to be acceptabill to him
first in life and deith. Thairfoir studie be ane faithfull discharge
of thy dutie heir on eirth to be acceptable to thy Lord, begyle not
thyself. Leirne againe heir. Quhen he hes maid ane choise to
gang and dwell with the Lord, he desiris that he may live ane
godly lyfe heir first ; then the lessoun is, ane godlie lyfe heir is
ane to luik to that lyfe that we sall have in Christ, that makis ane
faithfull pilgrime desire to be with Christ. It is ane easy thing to
have ane eie to the life to cum, gif thou study to live weill in this
life. And on the uther pairt, it is the hope of that life and glory
to cum, and ane eie to hevin, that makis ane pilgrime to live weil
in this life; quhair this eie to hevin is not thair is na gude life.
Quhairfoir suld we speik farther? Allace thir evill lyfis of men,
thir murthers, adulteries, thiſtis, tellis us plainly thair is na sicht of
hevin, nor regaird of the lyfe to cum. Thou that passis thy time
taking thy plesure in the displesing of God, testifies that thy eie was
never on hevin, that the eie of thy saul] was never liftit up above
thy bodie; and assure thy self, gif thou live on sa, thou sall never
see hevin. Now, in the nixt verse, he subjoynis ane other argu-
ment, moving him to be ambitious to be with that Lord of lyfe.
The first argument was, because he was to dwell with that Lord
in hevin. The secund is, that terrible judgment that al flesche sal
se, except they indevour them selfis to serve God in this life.
“For,” sayis he, “we mom all appear befoir the judgement seat of
Christ.” Learne ane lessoun of the pith of this argument. As
thair is ane force in hope of the lyfe to cum, sa thair is ane force
in the feir of ane terrible judgement to move ane man to live weill
heir. Luik how neidfull the ane is to cause thee to live weill in
this life; als neidfull is the uther. Hope of life is neidfull, feir of
judgement is neidfull. Quhat suld be the cause of this? Knawis
thou not thy nature how bakward and thrawart' it is, sa that ex-
* Froward.
334 THE THIRD SERMON,
cept thou be brodditi fordward with terroris of judgement, thou
wil never addres thee to hevin, bot will linger and sit doun be the
gait.” Brethren, thair is twa thingis in hevin, and twa thingis in
eirth, baith serving to muſe us to live weill heir in this life. In
hevin thair is twa saitis, ane sait of grace, that is callit the throne
of grace : the uther ane seat of judgment, ane tribunall: Fy on al
tribunals in the eirth, in respect of that hevinly tribunal. The
throne of grace is spoken of in the Heb. iv. 16. “Let us goe bauldly
to the throne of grace, that we may get mercie.” Bot this will not
suffice except the tribunal of judgement be also befoir thee, to
draw thee fordward. Baith mon befoir thee, and as thou luikis
to the throne of grace with the ane eie, sa luik to the throne of
judgment with the uther eie. Thair is siclyke in eirth twa thingisº
to draw thee fordward: The ane, the Gospell of grace: the uther,
the Law threatning judgement. The Gospell drawing thee loving-
lie to God, the Law threatening thee to gang fordward or thou sall
die. The Gospell gentlie alluring thee fordward, promising that
thou sall get lyfe ; the Law standing about the Gospell as ane fyre,
to terrifie thee, and gif thou gang out of the richt way, it will burn
thee. It will not be the Gospell alane that will do" the turne. In-
deid gif thair wer na canker in thee, the Gospel wald do the turn,
bot in respect of this wickit canker in thy nature, thou mon be
thretnit with the Law. Seis thou not thy nature: fairnes will not
do the turn, thou mon be ruggit" be the hair fordward, or ellis thou
will fall in damnation. Tak me away the rebuikis of the law, and
thou wert king or monarch, it is bot a deid Gospell to thee. Sic
is the corrupt nature of man: Tak away the canker of the nature
of man, I sall speik na thing of the law : bot sa lang as this canker
remaynis, the Law mon threatten al, fra the king to the begger. I
were ane fals doctour gif I usit not the threatning of the law to
rebuke this canker of nature. Quha is mair halie nor Paul was 2
He luiking up to hevin Seing the mercie Sait, likewise seis the
judgement sait, and gif he had not sein the judgement sait,
* Pricked. * Way. * There are also in like manner two things in earth.
* Serve, * Pulled.
ON 2 COR. 5. 335
and bene terrified thairwith, he suld never haif gottin ane
sicht of that mercy sait: sa mon it be with us, we mon see
that judgment sait als weill as the mercie Sait. This is mer-
vellous. He was evin now speiking of Christ as ane Sweit Lord,
and fain wald be at him, and now agane, he sets him up as ane
judge to terrifie men. Is this the Lord at quhom he wald be?
Quha desiris to compeir befoir ane terribiljudge, quha hes lyfe and
deith in his handis? Tak tent: this is Paullis meaning. The Lord
Jesus is baith terrible to men and joyous to men, and he mon be
baith joyous and mercifull in deid to thee quha indevouris thy self
to pleis him in this life. Terribill to them quha endevouris them
not to pleis him in this lyfe. Wald thou have him mercifull to
thee, studie then to live weill, serve him sinceirlie in thy calling.
Will thou have him terrible to thee, thou sall in deid find him ter-
rible to thee, and thou sall schaik and trimbill at his countenance,
in cace thou seik not to pleis him in this life. And this sall be the
first sicht that ever the wickit quha desired not to pleis him in this
life, sall get of him. Hevin and hell are thocht mowis’ now a dayis:
and this tribunall is nocht luikit to, bot certeinlie compeir mon thou
either befoir the throne of mercie, or the tribunall of judgement.
Zit to gang fordward in the wordis ; I sall onlie touche them,
without discoursing on that generall judgement. Then first heir,
to let you see the terribilnesse of that judgement, thair is ane com-
peirance” quhairof Esaias in his fourtie and five chapter, and the
23. verse thairof: and Paull, Rom. xiv. 11, speikis: “As I live
(sayis the Lord) all kneis sall bow to mee, and all thingis sall con-
fess mee to be GOD.” Thair is the reverence that sall be at that
compeirance, all kingis in the eirth sall bow thair kneis: and the
toung that wald not speik in this eirth to Goddis glorie, sall then
be compellit to speik to his glorie. Then thair is first ane com-
peirance, secundlie ane necessitie, compeir mon thou: thridlie, ane
universalitie, all sall compeir without exceptioun, all sall be callit
and all mon answere, HIC SUM, I am heir. Nane sall be away,
man nor woman, riche nor poore, from Adam the first man to the
* Appear. * Are thought jests and mocks. * Appearance.
336 THE THIRD SERMON,
last borne man on eirth. Then fourthlie, the sait befoir the quhilk
this compeirance mon be, is ane tribunal : the judge is Christ, Je-
hovah, God, not man onlie: all kneis sall bow to him as God, and
not onlie to Christ as God, bot to Christ in our nature, as man he
he sall sit as ane glorious judge, as it is said Joh. v. 22. The Fa-
ther judgis na man, bot hes committit all judgement to the Sonne.
And as thair sal be ane compeirance of all, sa thair mon be ane re-
ceiving : name sall compeir bot sumthing they sall receiue. Quhat
sall be received? Ane rewaird of thy actiounis, and doing in thy
bodie, quhilk reward sall perteine to the bodie als weill as to the
Saull, becaus thou did them in the bodie. As to the qualitie of the
rewaird, it is proportionall to that quhilk thow hes done in the
bodie, be it gude or evil: gif it be gude thou sall be rewairdit with
glorie: gif evil, thou sall be rewairdit with ignominie and schame.
To insist sum thing on the last wordis, becaus the Papistis sticks
on them, and thinkis they have ane advantage of this place: quhen
they heir that everie ane sall receive according to the thingis
quhilk they have done in the flesche, incontinent they conclude:
ERGO Warkis meritis. I answere, Evill warkis indeid meritis
damnatioun, and damnatioun sall be thy portion for them, gif
thou be out of Jesus: bot gude warkis hes na merite. In all
thy gude warkis thair is na deserving, albeit they wer ten thou-
sand mal nor they ar. Thair is force aneuch in ane evil wark to
condemne thee, bot in a thousand gude warkis na force to
save. The Apostle sayis not heir, they sal receive ane rewarde for
that quhilk they have done, bot according as they have done: he
sayis not Propter, making warkis ane cause, bot secundum, that is,
according to the testification of the warkis. Bot to leif the larger
insisting in this, as mair pertinent to ane uther place, and to cum
to our purpose. -
Wey the wordis, for everie word is ane word of wecht, import-
ing ane terrible judgement, ane compeiring, ane necessitie of com-
peiring, ane universal compeiring without exception, na respect of
person of the king, mair nor of the begger, na mitigation of the
* . More.
ON 2. COR. 5. 337
severity of the judge: Christ wil have na mitigation, bot gif thout
be ane reprobat, thou wil be handlit seveirlie, albeit thou wer ane
king. The judgement then being sa terrible, the judge Christ mon
also be terrible: And sa the Apostle sayis, “IGnawing thairfoir that
terrour of the Lord,” &c. And all this is to learne everie Saull, not
sa to presume of the mercie of Christ, that thou sall think to find
him mercifull in that day, except that thou have studied to be ac-
ceptable unto him in this lyfe, and can say: Lord I imployed my-
self in serving thee. Away with that presumption of mercie, that
makis the lowne quhen he is murthering and committing adulterie
to say, God is mercifull. Having set doun the terrible judgement,
he concludis quhat he will doe in his awin persoun. Is the judge-
ment and judge sa terrible? I will be wise: (the Lord give us this
wisdom.) “Knawing,” sayis Paull, “that terrour of the Lord,” I
will doe my dewtie in this lyfe. My dewtie is to preiche to bring
men to the faith in Christ: I will walk in the discharge of that
dewtie nicht and day. He sayis, “Knawing perfytely that terrour
of the Lorde:” It is nocht ane blind terrour that will mak ane man
to doe his dewtie in this life, bot it is the knawledge of ane Tribu-
nall: to beleve that thair is ane Judge and ane Tribunall in hevin,
and that thair is ane maist terrible day abyding. And gif ane be-
leved that thair is ane tribunallin Hevin, ane terrible Judge sitting
thair to tak account of his doingis in eirth, for all the warld he
wald not offend that God: bot this can not sink in the hart of man.
He will say, thair is ane general judgement: bot this is fra the
mouth onlie, and not fra the hart; and surelie sa lang as ane man
continewis in sinne, albeit he suld sweir that thair is ane Tribunall,
it is ane takin' he knawis it not. The wordis of judgment availlis
nathing: it is the beleving, and sure knawledge that thair is ane
judgement, and ane terrible Judge to sinners in hevin that dois the
turne. Thairfoir seik perswasioun, and luik to that article of thy
Creid, that the Judge sall cum and tak account baith of the quick
and the deid. Beleve it, and then it sall draw thee to live ane
godlie life, “Knawing thairfoir that terrour of the Lord, we per-
1 Token.
Y
338 THE THIRD SERMON,
Swade men,” or causis them beleve. He sayis not, I go to play the
pairt of ane King, or of ane politick man, I am bussie in this or that
turne that perteinis’ not to my calling: Na, bot according to my
calling I preiche the gospell, to perswade men to beleve in Christ,
that they may be saif. To speik the treuth, it is not thy laboring
and doing in ane uther man's calling that will profeit thee, bot thou
art ordanit be God to do thy dewtie in thy awin calling: and quhen
the account of thy deidis sall be taneº in that greit day, he sall not
say, Quhat hes thee done in ane other man's calling: bot quhat hes
thou done in thy awin? I maid thee ane minister, how travellit
thou in that vocation? Thairfoir I say as every man wald be red-
die to give ane account of his doings, let every man be walkrife” in
his awin vocation, seiking the glorie of his God thairin. Now it
micht have bene said to Paul, Thou boistis mekil of thy doing and
preiching, bot luik with quhat sinceritie thou hes bene occupyit,
and with quhat uprichtnesse of hart thou hes bene preiching in
thy lyfetime P. He answeris: and first, he takis God to be witnes
of the sinceritie of his hart in discharging his ministerie: and then
he takis the Corinthians amang quhom he had travellit, to be
witnes also of his sinceritie. As for God, he sayis, “We ar made
manifest unto God”: And as for men, “I trust also I am made
manifest in zour consciences.” He takis first God to be witnesse,
quha knawis the hart ; and then the Corinthians quha saw his
actiounis. Then, brethren, it is not aneuch for ane minister that
preichis Christ as Paull dois, for perswading men to beleve in
Christ, to speik outwardlie to men, as I am now speiking to
zou, bot he mon luik in the mein time, that inwardly his hart
be set upon God : that is, luik that he approve his hart
in sincerity to God quha seis the hart. Men markis the wordis
that cummis out of the mouth, bot God markis the sinceritie of
the hart, to se with quhat sinceritie the man speikis. This that I
speik of Paul in his calling, I mein of all uther men in thair call-
ings. Dois thou onie thing outwardlie to men? Luik that thou
doe it inwardlie in thy hart with sinceritie to God, utherwayis
1 Appertaineth. * Taken. * Diligent.
ON 2. COR. 5. 339
thou tynis all thy travell, albeit it were never sa gude in the pre-
sence of men. Of this it followis, all thir ar but vain voices, to
stand up and say, I haif done this thing, or that thing. To speik
to men quha knawis not the hart, except in the mean time as thou
art speiking to men, thou may draw the Lord to be witnes (as
Paull dois) to the sinceritie of thy hart, and may say, I have bene
travelling, with quhat sinceritie the Lord knawis: That quhilk I
have done I haif done it in sinceritie. Not being content to call
God onlie to be witnes, he turnis him to the Corinthians, and he
appealis thair conscience to beir record of his sinceritie in his
doing, and he sayis, “As for zou Corinthians (speiking sparinglie)
I trust, &c.” He was assurit of God’s testimonie, bot he trustit
that the Corinthians buir, him recorde, that he had travelled trulie:
He sayis, “in zour consciences.” It is to be markit, that he appealis
thair consciences, not thair mouthis, bot thair consciences: for the
mouth of man wil give an testimony, bot the conscience wil give
ane uther. And quhen the conscience will be saying the man hes
spoken trulie and in sinceritie, the mouth in the mean time wil
be backbyting him, and the conscience will say, thou leis mouth.
Speik thairfoir ever according to conscience : for gif thy con-
science speik ane thing, and thy mouth ame uther, thou sall be
challenged of ane lie. It is trew in deid men knawis not the
hart of man, as quhen ane minister is speiking, ze can not judge
of his hart, the Lord judgis it, zit ane faithfull and sincere man,
he wil utter sum time the inward sinceritie of his hart in his
wordis and deidis, that all that seis and heiris him, will luik in
thairthrow,” and see the inward sinceritie of the hart, and give ane
outward confessioun of it. Now, Brethren, then in this example
of Paull ze have sic ane protestatioun as the faithful Pastour suld
make in the hour of his deith, and quhilk suld be his Testament.
Thair is twa thingis in his ministrie, the outward speiking, and
the inward sinceritie of the hart: Gif he wald protest of his faith-
fulnes, luik that he protest as Paull did : first outwardlie, I have
used all diligence in discharging all the outward parts of my
1 Also would bear. * Throw.
Y 2
340 THE THIRD SERMON.
calling, I have keipit na thing aback: and then inwardlie. As
for my sinceritie, First I take God to be witnesse, quha knawis,
and onlie seis my hart, with quhat sinceritie I have spoken; and
then I take zou witnes, that hes bene conversant with mee, Sa far
as ze can knaw the inward sinceritie of my hart, be my living and
outward actiounis Wald to God we culd have this sinceritie.
And I pray the Lord grant me this sinceritie, and I beseikº him
that as he hes bene with mee sen the beginning of my ministrie :
sa he wald never leif mee, untill the time I finish my cours with
joy, to his glory, and comfort of his Kirk, through Jesus Christ
our Lord. To quhome with the Father, and the Halie Gaist, be
all honour, praise, and glorie, for now and ever. AMEN.
1 Beseech.
THE FOURTH SERM () N.
2. COR. CAP. 5.
12. For we praise not our Selfis agane unto zou, bot give zou ane
occasioun to rejoice of us, that ze may have to answere against
them, quhilk rejoice in the face, and not in the hart.
13. For quhidder we be out of our wit, we ar it to God, or quhidder we
be in our richt mynde, we ar it unto zou.
14. For that love of Christ constraynis us.
15. Becaus we thus judge, that gif ane be dead for all, then wer all dead,
and he died for all, that they quhilk live suld not hence furth live
unto them selfis, bot unto him quhilk died for them, and rose agane.
To repeat schortlie that quhilk we haif hard in this chapter, we
hard first of that assurance of glorie and of lyfe everlasting quhilk
is the onlie remedie against deith and the dissolution of this bodie
We hard secundly of the three warrands of this assurance of lyfe
and glorie: the first, the earnest desire quhilk the heart had of that
glorie and lyfe: the secund regeneratioun and renewing: the thrid,
the Halie Spreit quha is the worker of all grace in our hartis, and
quha nevir leiſis us, bot bydis in us as ane assured arlis-penny of
the ful accomplischment of all that glorie promised to us in the
Word of God. And zit for all this, we hard that the Apostle had
not that contentatioun nor full satisfactioun of his hart, because he
is zit ane pilgrime, living heir by confidence, and hes not gottin the
full presence of his Lord, he choisis to leif all the thingis in this
life, and thairfoir he taks resolutioun quhat he wil do in life and
1 Abideth.
342 THE FOURTH SERMON,
deith, to the end that when he cummis to his Lord in the hevinnis
he may be welcum. The thing he resolvis to do is this, he ende-
vouris himself in his calling to be acceptabill to him in life and
deith, and he will consecrate al the actiounis and sufferingis of
baith to him. Beside that glorie to cum quhilk movis him to
studie to be acceptable to his Lord, he settis doun ane uther mo-
tive, ane terrible Tribunall quhilk abydis him and all men and we-
men, quha studies not to be acceptabill to the Lord. The Saull
sal not sa sone depart out of the body bot it sall als some be pre-
sentit befoir that Tribunall, and sall receive that dolorous sentence,
gif they have not studied to be acceptable to him. Thairfoir the
Apostle concludis, Knawing thairfoir the terrour of the Lord we
travell in our calling to preiche Christ, and to bring men to faith,
and that not for the fassoun," bot in sinceritie of heart: sa that
we tak God (quha seis the hart) to be witness to us of our since-
rity. And as to zou Corinthians upon quhome we have bestowed
our labour, we appeale zour consciences, and we tak Zou to be wit-
nes of that same sinceritie of our calling. This is the sum of all
Quhilk ze have hard hitherto in this chapter.
Now to cum to this text quhilk we have red, in this first
verse the Apostle having spoken of his sincerity in preiching,
the Corinthians quha had not that lyking of him quhilk they
suld have had, micht have objected : Weil Paull, zit vauntis
thou of thyself? Thou hes anis vaunted of thy self (as ap-
peiris in the second and third chapter preceiding) and zit art
thou commending thy self? He answeris : Na, I commend
not my self agane. I vaunt not of myself, neither befoir nor
now : bot quhen I said, “We ar maid manifest to God, and I
trust also that we ar maid manifest in zour consciences.” In
thir wordis, I give zou occasioun to glorie of mee, and not for
my caus sa mekill, as for the caus of fals flattering apostles, quha
gloryis in thair outward doings, without sinceritie in the hart: the
repressing of thir mennis vain glorying, is the cause of this my
speiking. This is the meining of this verse. Then this text being
1 Fashion.
ON 2. COR. 5. 343
plaine, learne thir lessounis. I mark first in the persoun of the
Corinthians quha objectis this vaunting to the Apostle mistaking
his words: Scarse may ane godlie man speikane or twa wordis of
the grace quhilk the Lord hes given him, and that not to his awin
praise, bot to the prais of his God, quhen he is mistaken be evill
men, quha sets them selfis to wry' everie word that is spoken. And
gif ever thair was ane age in the whilk this vice rang,” I am assured
(and experience provis it) na age may be compared in that cace to
this age. Zea, ane godly man can do na thing, bot incontinent he
is mistaken: he can speik na thing bot he is misconstrued, and
especiallie the Ministeris in thair callings, amang all men thair
wordis ar maist misconstrued. The day rysis not bot thair is ane
evident experience of this point, and ilk" ane seis it. Thairfoir
quhat remedie bot patience. All this judging is bot for ane time,
tarie ane littill quhyle, and keip ane guid conscience in the mein
time, and we sal see ane uther judgment, quhen he sall cum that
judgis richtlie. Then secundlie leirn in the person of Paull. He
will not have it sameikill as seming anis," that he praises him self.
Everie gude man, and especiallie ane minister suld fle al occasion
of vain glorie. Zea, that Christian modestie and sobernes cravis,
that everie man and they wer indewit with the greatest gracis in
the warld, zit they suld speik and think of themselfis soberly. The
mair they have, the greiter grace that God hes given them, the les
they suld account of themselfis: zea, suppois they be sum thing in
the sicht of God, zit luiking to the nauchtines that abydis in this
cankert, nature, they suld say of themselfis, I am na thing. For
the Apostle sayis 1 Cor. viii. 2, and Galat. vi. 3. “He that thinkis
him self sum thing, he is na thing:” and Phil. ii. 3. “Let everie
man account ane uther man better nor himself.” Gif ane man will
meditate on his awin estait, either be night or be day, let him
think of his infirmities, his sinnis and naughtines: Will he rejoice
of himself in his awin minde 2 Luik to Paull quhat he sayis, 2 Cor.
xii. 9. “I will rejoice in my infirmities, that the power of Jesus
may dwell in mee.” The power of God never dwelt in ane proud
1 Wrest. 2 Reigned. * Every. “So much as once seeming.
344 THE FOURTH SERMON,
nor ambitious hart bot in ane humbilhart. “God resistis the proud
and gevis grace to the humble.” 1 Pet. v. 5. Sa Paul quhen he was
prasing of himself, albeit he had sene greit visions, 2 Cor. xii. he
compleinis of his infirmitie to the Lord. The Lord answeris, “My
grace is sufficient for thee, my power is maid perfite throch waik-
nes.” Then thou that wald be strang in God, be waik in thyself,
think nicht and day of thy infirmitie and miserie be sinne. I
mark agane in the wordis of the Apostle; ane godlie man may re-
joice and glory in the grace of God. Quhy suld not the grace of
God be gloried in * The Apostle in that xii. chap. 2. Cor. 5 verse,
quhen he hes spoken of that hevinlie revelation. “Of sic ane man
I wil rejoice,” sayis he, “of myself will I not rejoice, except it be of
my infirmitie.” Then may not ane godlie man speik of himself?
Zes, he may speik of himself as the instrument of God, as the dis-
penser of the grace of God, as Paull did heir. To quhat end?
That they unto quhom the Lord hes maid him ane gude instru-
ment, upon quhom he hes bestowed his travels, may glorifie God,
and may rander him the honor of ane minister. Paull, 1 Cor. iv.
1, sayis, “Let ane man count of us as of the ministers of Christ,
and disposers of the secreitis of God.” And sa ane minister suld
have honour, and they upon quhome he hes bestowed his travellis
and the grace quhilk God hes given him, suld honour him, and
they ar als strait detbund' to give him it, as onie debt that ever
they aucht to pay. Thairfoir the Apostle sayis in the 2. Epistle to
the Corith. xii. chap. the ellevinth verse : “I have bene fulisch in
glorying, bot zee have compellit mee, because I suld have bene
commended be zou.” It is a point of sacriledge to tak onie honour
fra them that God hes given them. Now, quhairfoir is this that
the Apostle wald have them glorying of him 2 Not sameikil for
his awin cause, as for the caus of fals teichers, quha rejoiced in the
face and not in the hart; that is, not in inward sincerity, bot in
outward thingis, having ane fair Schaw of eloquence and fair
wordis. Then leirne, ambitioun mon not be borne with. It is
pernicious baith to the man in quhom it is, and to uther men quha
1 They are as greatly indebted.
ON 2. COR. 5. 345
hes ado with him. This vain glorying is ane kind of blasphemie,
for that quhilk thou takis to thyself in thy vaine glorying, thou
spuilzies' God of it in quhat calling sa ever thou be. Thairfoir this
vaine vaunting of our selfis is ane vice, quhilk amang all vices
suld be maist repressed. Allace that stinking flesch suld stand up
and spuilzie God of his glory. Now wald thou have ane mein to
repres this vaunting in the mouth of ane ambitious man 2 Quhen
he is vaunting of thir outward graces and benefites, as ame tume
tub° sounding without sinceritie in his hart, cast thou up in his
teith the sinceritie of the hart. Say, Vaine man, all thy speach is
in thy face, and not in the hart. Set up the hart against the
face, and it sall blek” it. It availes not to speak of onie thing
that thou can do, except thou have inward sinceritie in the hart.
For thir outward thingis sal evanische, and dar not appeir befoir
God in that great day : bot sinceritie remains for ever.
To cum to the nixt verse. Zit they will not let him be, zit they
will object unto him his fulischnesse. Quha will vaunt of him-
self bot ane full 2 Paull, thou is ane fule, thou braggest of
thyself? The Apostle answeris with modestie “Quhidder we
be out of our wit, we are it to God, or quhidder we be in our
richt mynd, we are it unto zou.” Thair is the Apostle's answere.
Than, Brethren, that quhilk God countis wisdome, the warld
counts it fulischnesse, and that quhilk the warld countis wisdome
God countis it fulischnes. Wes thair onie fulische talking heir,
quhen the Apostle sayis, “We ar manifest to God, and I doubt not
bot we are manifest also to zour conscience:” Was thair onie brag-
ging heir Sa the wisdom of God is fulischnes to the warld, and
sall be sa lang as corrupt nature is within us. And the Apostle
says, 1 Cor. iii. 19. “The wisdome of the warld is fulischnes with
God.” Bot the questioun cannot now be decydit, quhat is the trew
wisdom, and quhat is fals wisdom, the end will prove. Trew wisdome
is justified of hirawin children, Math. ii. 19. Weil, the end wil
schaw and speciallie that day quhen all thingis sall be reveiled.
Fulischnes sall stand up, and all the warld sall see it to be fulisch-
* Reavest. * As an empty vessel. * Shame.
346 THE FOURTH SERMON,
nes : wisdome sall stand up, and all the warld sal see it to be wis-
dome, and then it sall have the awin approbatioun. Sa that thir
men that will be countit wise in this warld, will be compellit to
utter thir wordis of them quhome they estemed fuillis in this warld,
Ar thir the men quhais life we countit fulischness? And I beseik
God to oppin our eies to see this trew wisdome, and specially in
thingis concerning religioun, quhilk wisdom onlie will abyde ap-
probatioun. Secundly learne, Paul heir zeildis to them. Let me
be wod,” I am wod to God. My God is befoir my eies, and I cair
not to be mad to this warld. And as for zou, gif I be in my richt
minde, it is to zou. Ze Corinthians have na thing to lay to my
charge, for I have done my dewtie faithfullie to zou. Brethren,
see ze not heir the cair quhilk we suld have of the glorie of God,
and of the Kirk of God, and hir salvation ? It suld cause ane man
of this calling that Paull was of, to be ravisched in Sprit, and to be
content to be countitane fuill in this warld, that God may be glori-
fied, and men helped forward to hevin. Gif God be glorifyit in
my wodnesse, quhat regaird I to be wod 2 Quhat reckis” of man
in this warld? Quhat reckis of mannis” ruine and decay, gif God
be glorified ? Bot allace thair is sic ane self-love ingraft in the hart
of everie man, that we will not let God be honourit, except it may
stand with our honour. And we will say, I will not be esteimed
ane fuill, I will not be disgraced : gif it may stand with my honour
and profite I will glorifie him ; bot gif his honour and mine standis
not togidder, I will cheiflie have respect to my awin honour. Sa
it will never be weill quhill we get this cankert self-love submitting
the self to the glorie of God. And it suld be the greatest endea-
vour that ever we suld have in this warld to cast out this self-love,
that we may be content that God may be glorified, and it wer with
our dishonour, zea, and it wer with our destruction. It is not self-
love that bringis honour and glorie, onlie honour is of God, and
thou sall never get honour except thou cast away self-love, that
God may be glorified.
Then to gang fordward. Paull mon have sum thing for him
1 Mad. * What respect is to be made. “What if men go to.
ON 2. COR. 5. 347
quhy he will bee wod for Goddis cause : he will not bee wod
without sum reasoun. Thairfoir in the nixt verse he sayis,
“For the lufe of God constraynis us.” As gif he wald say, I
am constrained to this fulischnes; and ane charge is laid on mee
to doesa. I am bund and obleist sa to do : that is, to be ane wod
man for the glorie of my God. And quhairfra' cummis this ne-
cessitie? It is the love of God (sayis he) that constraynis me :
this band that bindis mee is the love of Christ, not the love quhilk
I beir to him, (that is over waik) bot the love quhilk he beiris to
mee, it bindis all my sensis, and careis” mee to honour my God
with my haill bodie. Thir ar the wordis. Then the verie necessi-
tie quhilk lyis on thee to be ane wod man for Goddis cause, it is
not ane thing quhairof thou can free thee: thair is ane necessitie
laid on thee to be counted wod for Christis cause. Then gif thair
be ane necessitie laid on us to do this, (albeit it be to our awin
dishonour) quhat gif we doe it not, bot will schaik of this zoke P
Then I tell thee, in place of it, ane uther necessity mon cum in.
ane necessity of wo. Paull sayis, “Woe to mee gif I preiche not
the Gospell.” 1 Cor. ix. 16. Hes God laid this necessitie on mee
to preiche, and I cast it off, ane uther necessitie of woe sall be laid
on mee. Allace, this warld thinkis all this worschipping of GOD
to be voluntarie, that men may serve GOD as they pleis, and that
men may preiche as they pleis, this way, or that way, and speik
heir, and hald thair toung thair as they will. Bot I say to thee,
will thou free mee of that necessitie that lyis on me? Is thou
abill to take it off my back? Gif thou be not abill, then for Goddis
saik let mee preiche the gospel with fredome and sincerity of hart.
I tell thee, thair is sic ane necessitie laid on the schoulders of the
ministers, to utter everie thing quhilk the Lord puttis in thair
mouth, that gif thou Schaik of this necessitie, ane uther necessitie
of wo sal be laid on them. And this sall be thair cry on thair deida
bed, Wo be to mee that I preichit not trewlie the Gospell.
Zit to gang fordward. Quhairfra cummis this necessitie? He
sayis, “It is the love of God that constraynis me.” It is the love
1 From whence. * Urgeth. ° Death.
3-48 THE FOURTH SERMON,
of Christ quhilk he kythit" in his suffering for mee, that bindis mee.
Sa, it was the love of Christ towardis Paull that moved him pa-
tientlie to be callit wod for Christis caus. Christ for the love
quhilk he buir to us, sufferit himself not onlie to be called wod,
bot to be called ane Devill. Mat. xii. 24. He suffered the extre-
mitie of paine and ignominie for our saikis: and all the revylings
and reprochis that suld have lichtit on us, he tuke them on him.
Sic was his love quhilk he buir to us. Then will not thou suffer
to be called ane wod man for his cause. Gif thou wald have ane
pairt of the inheritance conqueist be Christ,” bund mon thou be,
ane necessitie mon be laid upon thee, and gif thou be loused, thou
is lowsed fra the love of Jesus, and then wo and destructioun ever-
lasting sall cum on thee. I see then, all our service of Christ, is
of necessitie: Then quhat pleisure can be in the service of Christ,
gif it be constrayned service P The thing I am compelled to doe,
I will have littil pleisure in the doing of it? In deid it is trew,
thou art not lous, bot bund. Fra time thou enters in the Kirk of
Christ, thou enters in bondes. Bot thair is ane great difference
betwixt band and band : ane band will bind thee and force thee to
doe ane thing, wil thou, mill thou?: Ane uther band will onlie leid
thee the richt way quhilk thou is to gang. Brethren, this band
that Paull speikis of in this place, it is sweit band the band of the
love of Christ, and it bindis thee Sweitlie and lovinglie to discharge
thy dewty to God: and althy dewty be this band is voluntarie,
and he quha is bund with this band, wil rejoice mair to be callit
ane fule for Christis saik, nor to be esteinmit ane king upon the
eirth. Bot thou mon tak tent quhair this band is that bindis thee,
that it may leid thee to do thy dewty willingly. Gif the love of
Christ quhilk is the band, be outwith thee, only sounding in thy
eir (as quhen it is tauld thee, Christ lovis thee) I tel thee it wil
not bind thee. Al the preiching in the warld wil not bind thee,
and it be without thee. Paul sayis thairfor, Rom. v. 5. “The love
of God is sched abrode in our harts throw the Haly Spreit that is
given us.” Then that that love may bind the hart, it mon be pourit
1 Shewed. * Which Christ conquered. * Whether thou wilt, or wilt not.
ON 2. COR. 5. 3.49
in thee, and quhen it enters in the hart, it lowsis the hart with
sic ane sueitness to do God's wil as is unspeikable : it bindis the
hart with ane exceiding joy. Wald to God we had ane taist of
this love. All is bot wordis. Thair can be na sic sweitnes as that
is, fra anis the Sprit hes powrit the love of Christ in thy hart,
then let all our travels be quhen we heir of thir things, to get ane
sense of the lufe of Christ in our harts. All the powers in the
warld will not move thee to doe thy dewty sa meikle, as the feil-
ing of this love of Christ towards thee. And na thing will be abil
to stay thee fra Christ and honouring him (and it wer with thy
awin ignominy) gif anis thou have ane sense of it. In the mixt
verse he gevis twa reasounis quhy the love of Christ constrained
him. The first reason is takin fra that misery that Christ fand
him in, quhen he sufferit for him: the secund is takin fra the end
of the deith of Jesus. As to the first, this was our miserabil estait
befoir Christ loved us: “We were all dead.” How provis he
that, “Gif ane be dead for all, then wer all dead,” gif thou had
not bene dead, in vaine deit Christ for thee. Gif thou had ben bot
half deid (as the Papists sayis, quha vaunts of thair fre wil,) the
Son of God had never deit for thee. Gif Paul had had this fre
wil, and sa bene half deid, Christ had never deit for him : and gif
ther wer na uther argument bot this, to import that thair is not
ane free will, nor spunk of godlines in men be nature, it is sufficient
to say, Christ hes deit for al : we were without all spunk of free
will to gude quhen Christ come. Mark the force of the argument.
It is fra that miserabill estait and spirituall deith quhairin Christ
fand us, quhen he began to kyith his love on us. We wer deid
spiritually in sinne, deid in trespassis. Quhat reckis of this cor-
porall deith, gif thou be deid in sinne, thou is worse nor ame carrion.
This spirituall deith suld move us to think that the love of Christ
was wonderfull towards us: it suld ever mak us aggrege that
love quhairwith he hes loved us. He died for thee quha was deid
in sinne and trespassis, and sa ane enemie to him. “Quha is he
(sayis the Apostle) that will die for his enemie P’’ Rom. v. 7. Thou
1 Bestow.
350 THE FOURTH SERMON,
being deid in sinne, thou lived in sinne, and sa lived ane enemy
to the lyfe of Christ. And thairfoir thy hart can never sufficient-
lie aggrege the benefite of his deith. Men ar miserable, bot
allace they feill it not: thou hes na want nor scant of miserie,
bot thou wantis sense: and the less feiling thou hes of thy deid-
ness, the greater is thy deidness: for the sense of deith is the
beginning of life? the greater thy inlaik be of the sense of deith,
thou is ever the deider: the quikker” the sinner be, lowping” and
playing him in his wantonnesse, the deider is he in Saull. For he
hes ane burden on his back that will presse him throw the eirth,
and mak him sink to hell ane day: and in the mein time he is
running to his mischeif and villanie, and kennis not that he hes
deith everlasting on the back of him. O wo be to that miserabill
cative suppois he wer ane king. Allace, men ar deid in sinne and
half in hell, and will not considder it. It is ane pitifull thing to
considder how thair is na sense of this infernall miserie, that fol-
lowis upon this deith. Quhen it is tauld them, the Lord hes died
for them, they will mak na account of it. The word of the croce
of Christ hes bene to the multitude of this land botane vain sound,
and they have never counted of sic ane mercy. And thairfoir
quhat wonder is it to see thir vexatiounis. O Scotland, thou sall
get ane uther walkning, thou hessa lang contemnit grace, quhilk
is the maist pretious that ever was : The Lord can not be Lord
and he suffer sa lang contempt and lichtlying of Christ and his
love unpunisched ' The secund argument is taken fra the end and
purpose that Christ had in deing : luikit he to this end that thou
suld play thee, and follow thy awin lust 2 that thou suld abuse
that life, quhilk he had bocht sa deir with his precious blude 2 Na
his purpose was that not onlie in his deith and satisfactioun thou
suld be justified and counted just, bot also that thou suld be sanc-
tified, that thou suld cast of thy warkis of unclennes, and dedicate
thy life in halines to him. It is said, Rom. xiv. 9. “That he rais
againe, that he micht be Lord over thy life.” For thair was never
man that had sic ane richt to an eirthly thing as he hes to thy life:
1 The more thou wantest the sense of death. 2 Livelier. * Leaping.
ON 2. COR. 5. 351
then do quhatever may pleisure him, and it wer to die ane
thousand times, and it were to be ame fule for his cause, quhat
ever may pleisure him, set thee to do it, or of necessitie thou sall
tyne that life of thyne. Bot heir is the miserie : Man knawis not
quhairfoir Christ died. Will ze speir at men and wenen, quhen
they ar lying bathing them selfis in wickitnesse, gif they will gang
to hevin; they will answere, Zes, they will gang to hevin or ever
thair feit be cauld. Bot vain lown, thou never knew Christis
purpose in deing for thee. His purpose was that thou suld be ane
new man, and thou suld not live to thy awin self, bot to him. And
the end sal prove (and thou proceid sa, living to thyself and not
to him quha hes died for thee) that the deith of Christ had never
force in thee. Thairfoir luik gif thou livis to Christ : and gif
thou dois sa, then assure thyself Christ died for thee. Luik gif
in the morning thou can say, Lord thow died for mee, I will
give thee my life, and consecrate to thee this day all my actiounis,
and all that I have. Weill is the saull that can say this way.
Then all turnis to this, Seing Christ died for mee, I will tak this
resolutioun, I will live to him all my day.is. The Lord grant us
this resolutioun that we may live to him in this life, that heirefter
we may live with him in hevin for ever. To quhome be all
honour, prais and glorie for ever. Amen.
THE FIFT SERMON.
2. Cor. CAP. 5.
16. Quhairfoir hencefurth knaw we na man efter the flesche: zea though
we have knawne Christ efter the flesche, now zit hencefurth knaw.
ze him no more.
17. Thairfoir gif onie man be in Christ, he is a new creature: auld thingis
ar passit away, behauld all thingis ar becum new.
18. And all thingis ar of God, quhilk hes reconciled us unto himself
through Jesus Christ, and hath given unto us the ministerie of recon-
ciliatioun. - •
ZE heard the last day, in the last part of this chapter, the reasounis
set down quhairfoir ane man is bund and oblisched in conscience
to live to God, to consecrate his life, his deith, and all his actiounis
to Jesus Christ: to wit, first the love of Christ constrainis and
oblischis us sa to love him agane, that we be content even to be
fuilis to this warld for his saik. Ane uther argument was taken
from our awin estait quhairin we wer, quhen he kythit' this love of
his on us, we wer deid in sinne and trespassis. Sa this miserabill
condition that we lay in, quhilk was the beginning of hel and
everlasting damnatioun, suld move us never to think on pleising of
ourselfis, bot onlie to pleisure him quha hes delyvered us fra sic
damnatioun. The thrid argument wes taken fra the purpose quhilk
the Lord had in dying for us: to wit, that the lyfe that was bocht
be his deith, suld be consecrate to him, and imployed in his service:
for being anis redeemed by him we ar na mair our awin men, bot
1 Shewed.
ON 2. COR. 5. 353
his quha hes coſt us. And thairfoir as the servand sets his eie
upon his lord, waiting to plesure him; sa in our haill actiounis, with
our haill mind, we suld be set to pleisure our Lord, quha coft us
quhen we wer bund slaves to sin and Sathan. Utherwayis we sall
fall aback to that damnation quhairfra” we wer redemed.
Now to come to this text that we have red. In the first verse
thairof we have the resolutioun of the Apostle Paull, and the pur-
pose quhilk he takis concerning this matter. Seing Christ his Lord
hes set himself to pleis him, and to redeme him fra deith, and to
conqueis” life to him, his resolutioun is to give him agane that life
quhilk he hes conqueisit to him, to imploy the haill life of him in the
service of that Lord that hes redemit him. Thairfoir, Brethren,
befoirl gangfordward learne ane lessoun of this general, Gifthis was
the purpose of Christin deing for us, and in deing sa Schamefull ane
deith, that we for quhome he deit suld live to him, and not to our-
selfis; our purpose suld be on the uther part, to give him this life
that he hes bocht sa deirlie. Give him it, or ellis thou sall give it
to ane worse man. Imploy it in his service, or els thou sall imploy
it in the service of ane worse man. And ilk" ane suld say for thair
awin partis as Paul did for his pairt, Hes Christ died for me to this
purpose that I suld live to him, then will I tak purpose and will
resolve in my hart to give him the life that he hes conqueist to me
be his deith. This was his purpose in his deith concerning me, I
will not disappoint him of his purpose. That life that he hes win
to mee, I will consecrate it to his service. It is true, thou can
never disappoint the Lord of his purpose: his purpose standis im-
movable. The man to quhome he luikit in his deith he mon live,
and every man for quhom Christ died was in his eies quhen he
died. Na godlie man was out of his minde in his suffering, bot he
said in his hart, I will die for this man and for this woman, that
they may live to mee. Sa he will not be disappointed. Bot luik
thou disappoint not thyself. Gif thou say, Christ died for mee,
and in the meintime thou wil not give thy life to him, bot will live
to thy lustis, and not to him, thou of necessitie in the end sall bring
* Bought. 2 From which. * Purchase. * Every.
Z -
354 THE FIFT SERMON,
thyself to ane miserable point. Thair is nathing in the warld that
ane man suld take mair tent" to, nor to the life to cum, to thair
maner of living heir, and to the actions that they have in hand,
and the things about the quhilk they ar occupied in thair conver-
sation. For gif thou have ane conscience, thy conscience wil tel
thee by thy actions quhat part thou hes in Christ; gif in thy
actions thou be serving him, thy conscience wil tel thee, thou hes
a part in the Lord quhom thou is serving. And thou in the mein
time (gif thou wer bot eating thy denner) gif thou do it to his
glorie thou sall finde ane Sweit apprehensioun of the deith of
Christ, and it sall raise a greit joy in thy hart. Bot be the con-
trair, gif thou be evill occupied, and about to doe any evill turne,
thy conscience within thee will give thee ane secreit warning, and
wil say, Oh! man, thy wark testifies thou hes na thing ado with
Christ, and thou sall find in thy hart na comfort of Christis deith,
nor of his resurrectioun. Sa it is gude to be weill occupied everie
man in his awin calling, and in all his doings ever to have Christ
befoir his eies, quha hes given him this life. Wald thou then try
quhidder the turnis” that thou dois be service done to the Lord or
not, I sall tell thee how thou sall ken, (I will not speik of outward
takinnis) bot luik day and nicht within thyself to thy awin hart
quhat thow feillis thair : Feillis thou ane conscience be nicht and
be day testifying to thee that thou art upon ane gude course, and
serving Christ quha died for thee, it is weill with thee: gif thy
conscience be richtlie informed, and thou find in the mein time
ane sweit apprehensioun of Christis deith, passion and rysing, it is
weil. Bot gif thou feill not this testimonie of ane gude conscience,
bot rather ane displesour and grudging in thy Saul, al is wrang.
Weil is thee gif thou find in all thy doings ane Sweit apprehen-
sioun of Christis deith and resurrectioun : gif thou find it not, woe
is thee, leave that turne, away with it. Away with all busines
that will not furneis ane joy of conscience in Christ, and will nocht
mok thee to say, Christ is myne, I am doing him service.
Now to cum to the purpose, the special point of service that suld
* Heed. * Deeds.
ON 2. COR. 5. 355
be given to Christ is set doun in thir wordis —“From hencefurth
knaw we na man efter the fleshe tº thir ar the wordis, wey them.
The speciall point of service set doun heir, is the richt estimatioun
of men among quhom we live in the warld. It is na Small mater
to esteim of men and wenen as we suld do. The rule quhairby
the Apostle will esteim of them is not in the flesche, nor be fleschlie
doing, that is, be na outward thing. All thir outward thingis, as
kindred, nobilitie, beautie, wisdome, warldlie eloquence, riches,
honour, with all the rest of thir things quhilk men hes in admira-
tioun, is nathing. This is not the rule of the Apostle, nor we suld
not be that rule esteim of them. How then 2 Quhat is contrair
to the flesche? the Spreit. Quhat is contrair to nature ? Grace.
Quhat is contrair to the auld man P Regeneration. Then quhat
aucht to be the rule according to the quhilk we sould judge of men?
the Spreit, Grace and Regeneratioun. Bot ze will say, ar not all
thir warldlie thingis benefitis of God, suld not men be estemed of
for them P I answere : the Apostle speikis not simplie of them, bot
in comparisoun, in respect of the spirituall graces. The nobilitie
of the King is bot dung in respect of the leist drop of the blude of
Christ: the leist spunk of grace is worth haill nature; the leist
portion of hevinlie glorie is worth all the glorie in the warld; the
leist spunk of regeneratioun is worth all the genealogies that can
be in this warld. Quhen Christ cumis with his Spreit, grace and
regeneration, all thir eirthlie prerogatives vanisches as the mist.
Then mark: Thair is the special point of service done to Jesus,
discerne betwixt deid men and living men in this warld. Deid
men ar they quha ar naturall men and na mair. Hes thou na
mair bot nature with al the prerogatives that can follow nature
thou art deid suppois thou were ane king. Living men ar they
quha arborn again be Christ. Hes thou the Spreit of Christ thou
livis: want thou the Spreit of Christ thou art bot deid. Sa thair
is ane speciall point of Christis service, discerne betwixt living
men and deid men: thou art in the middis of them, and living
men on the ane hand, and deid men on the uther hand. Discerne
betwixt them. Count not of the dead man althocht he had all the
Z 2
356 THE FIFT SERMON,
prerogatives under hevin. Gif he have na mair bot nature, cal
him not blissit. The living man is he that hes the Spreit of Christ
in him, albeit he wer ane begger; and the men quha makis ane
account of thir warldlie prerogatives, and followis nature and the
auld generatioun, arbot natural men: thou quha accounts of deid
men art deid thy self, and as thou art deid, 'sa althy estimation is
of deid men. To go fordward to the words, he amplifies this be
the example of Christ. He sayis, howbeit I countitanis of Christ
efter the flesh, befoir I knew him weill; zit from hencefurth I wil
ken him na mair efter the flesche, and thairfoir quhy suld we ken
men efter the flesche, quha ar inferiouris to Christ, the heid of all
flesche. Now to speik of this Lord. Quhen he was in this warld
he was cled with thir eirthlie prerogatives as uther men; zea, I
think he had thir outward prerogatives in his awin person in
greatest measure above all men. For never man descended of ane
mair excellent race and genealogie than he did. Then luik to his
beautie, albeit it is not set doun in the Scripture, I doubt gif ever
thair was ane man' sa fair in beautie as he. He was maist wise,
maist eloquent of all men, and thairfoir the Apostles had him in
admiratioun for thir prerogatives. Bot fra anis by his glorious
resurrection (as the Apostle sayis, Rom. i. 4) he was declared
michtelie to be the Some of God, then all thir thingis evanisched,
and the onlie admiratioun remained of that glorie quhilk he declared
by his resurrectioun. All thir eirthlie prerogatives (sayis Paul)
then past out of thair eies, and the graces of Christ only remained
to be mervailled at. The lessoun is plaine. The Lord Jesus is
the rule of the estimatioun of all flesche. In thy estimatioun hald
thy eie ever on Christ, or ellis thou sall fall. First cast thy eies
up to hevin, and then cast doun thy eies on man quha is bot ane
worme on the eirth. Luik up to ane glorious God, Jesus the Me-
diatour, and then to ane worme on this eirth, and he wer ane king,
and say, Those thingis that I will not count of in Jesus, quhilk
he had, being in Galilie and in the eirth, I will not count of them
in thee that art botane worme, I wil not do it. Bot be the con-
* Yet I think there was never man.
ON 2. COR. 5. 357
trair, that thing quhilk I esteim of in him, that passing glorie
quhilk is in him, quhen I luik to thee and seis ane glaunce thairof
in thee, indeid for that littill resemblance quhilk I see in thee like
to my Lord resembling him in grace, I will esteim of thee, uther-
wayis I may weill give thee this warldlie reverence, bot gif thou
want this resemblance I will never count thee happie, and thou
had all the eirthlie prerogatives in the warld. And certainlie they
quha hes men in admiratioun for thir eirthly prerogatives never
saw Christ, nor his glorie. Thou that will see ane tribunall, ane
monarche heir, and mervell thairat, thou never saw the tribunall of
Christ. Sa the thing that garris' people esteim of men for thir
eirthlie prerogatives, is because they see not the glory and graces
of Christ. Wald the people have estemed sa mekill of Herode, gif
they had knawin the majestie of the greit God quhen they callit
him ane God. Act. xii. 22. Na, not for all the warld, and thair-
foir seikane sicht of the glorie of God, gif ze wald richtly esteim
of men, and give them only thair awin place.
Now to go fordward. Ze have heard of the purpose that the
Apostle takis in serving of his Lord, be the richt esteiming of men
in this warld amang quhom he livis. In the nixt verse he cummis
to the estait of this warld, and schawis quhat alteratioun was made
in the warld be the alteration made in the person of Jesus; for quhen
Jesus altered all creatures altered with him; quhen he went from
the eirth to the hevin, and left behind him all thir eirthlie plesures,
thair followit ane wonderfull change and alteratioun in al the crea-
tures. Bot to cum to the wordis ; he first speikis of the estait of
man; and, secundly, of the estait of the rest of the creatures in
the eirth. As for man he sayis: “Thairfoir gif ony man be in
Christ, let him be a new creature :”
mark this: gif onie man be
in Christ he is a new creature; he is changed, he is altered, and
wonderfullie altered: he is changed fra ane auld creature to ane
new creature; fra ane auld deid creature to ane new living crea-
ture; fra nature to grace; fra deith to lyfe; fra hell to hevin :
Quhat suld becum of ane auld rottin stock bot be castin in the
* Albeit. * Causeth.
358 THE FIFT SERMON,
fyre P Sa gif thou had continewed ane auld rotten creature,
brunt had thou bene in that fyre quhilk is unquenchable. He
settis doun the meinis how this change is maid: First thou mon
be in Christ; as ever thou saw ane imp ingraft in ane tre, sa thou
mon be planted and ingrafted in him. Being planted in him, than
cummis that fresche sop' out of him into thee, and transformes
thee, and makis thee ane new creature. Then leirn of this first,
luik the force of the alteratioun of Jesus: quhen he altered fra
eirthlie thingis to hevinlie glorie, man especiallie altered with him.
Then luik, secundlie, the dignitie of man,—amang all creatures
he hes the first place of chaunging, and Christ was first effectuall
in man to make him ane new creature. And this preferment hes
man above al the hevinnis and above al the creatures. The maner
how this cummis to pas is this. Or thou be altered thou mon be
raised up to him, and be joyned with him, and ingraft in him as
ame imp in ane tree; then thou and he, and he and thou being
made ane, the glorie that is in Jesus spreddis the self over thee,
and covers thee. Bot gif thou be not in him, thou sall never get
ane part of his glorie. Luik that thou be in him, be faith, (for
faith ingrafts thee in him), and being in him thou sall get a part
of his glorie; and zit thou is botane creature, and not ane creator.
The difference is in newnes, thou wes made befoir ald, bot now
made new, green and livelie, fra anis thou be planted in Christ
thou is flurisching. It is true all thir thingis ar not sene zit, and
this flurisching of us in Christ is not fund zit perfitelie, and this
conjunction of him with us is not sa sensible as it sall be, bot this
sall anis be fund true, we sall find that we wer the sonnes of
God, and new creatures, quhen we wer on this eirth, and we sall
get the accomplischment of our felicitie in hevin, quhen we ar
reigning in glorie with him. Now as to the rest of the creatures
he sayis, “Auld things ar past by, behauld al thingis ar becum
new.” He sayis, “Behold;” mark the word: heirby steiring up
their hartis to see the alteratioun and renewing of thir creatures,
seing it is ane thing difficill to be beleved be men. Thair is na
1 Sap.
ON 2. COR. 5. 359
creature, neither angell, nor man, no the dumb and sensles crea-
tures as the hevin, eirth, the fyre, water, air, bot they wer al bene-
fited be that change maid in Christ, and be his glorious Resurrec-
tion and Ascension they receaved some alteration fra the worse to
the better. The angels quha wer befoir in glorie, wer bettered,
and thair glorie was augmented be the rysing of Christ. The
Apostle, Eph. i. 10, and iii. 10, and Coloss. i. 20, Schawes this ;
bot to speik of the inferiour creatures and thair estait, of this
Hevin, Sunne, Mone, Starres, Eirth, Water, &c., that was created
for the use of man, thir creaturis fra the beginning ever altered with
man. Quhen man was created in the beginning in perfectioun,
thir creaturis was in thair perfectioun, the hevin in his perfectioun,
the sunne in his perfectioun, &c. Quhen man fell, they fell also,
the hevin fell from his perfectioun, &c., the eirth was accursed for
man. Rom. viii. 20. As man grew auld, that is, as he grew in
sinne, unto the time that sinne came to the hicht (quhilk fell in
that same period of time quhen Christ come in the warld; then
the Apostle sayis sinne superabunded and all was under sinne.
And surelie I think gif the Lord had not cummed at that periode
of time quhen the warld, superabunded in sin, and sinne was cum
to the heicht, the warld had presentlie perisched;) sa, I say, as
men grew auld be sinne, the Hevins, the Sonne, the Mone, and al
the rest of the creaturs grew auld. Allace man be sin defylis the
air, the hevins, &c. Quhen thou, oh man, for quhom all the rest
of the creatures was maid, runnis fordward in offending thy Crea-
tor, thou drawis on al the rest of the creaturs efter thee. And
again at the cumming of Christ the auld creaturis began to be
maid new creaturis, and the creaturs that was maid to the use of
man, wer benefited with that benefit of man, and gat ane renewing
as man thair Lord was renewed. Again efter Christis cumming,
quhen man began of new to degener and grow auld, then the
creatures also began to grow auld. Sa man growing in sinne
drawis efter him the creaturis, and as he decayis, the eirth and all
creaturis decaies, and thairfoir Paul (Rom. viii. 19, 22.) sayis,
that the sensles and dumb creaturis granis and makis ane mane
360 THE FIFT SERMON,
for sin, murning as ane woman travelling of birth, and fain wald
be deliverit. Sa the eirth wald fain be quite of thee, O sinful
man, quha is maid of the eirth, and trampis on the belly of the
eirth. Scho granis' under the wecht of thee for sin, fy on thee
that can not grane for sin: thousal either grane heir in this lyfe
and get releif, or thousal grane efter this life for ever without re-
leif. This is the graning that the puir creature makis for the
beiring of thee, and the eirth wald fain serve God in hirawin
kind, bot sho is maid subject to thy vanity, (Rom. viii. 20) and,
thairfoir, scho granis: Sa the sensles creaturs tyris” and cryis, Lord
put an end to this vanity, and ar crying this day this same hour;
bot man, for quhom the eirth and all is maid subject to this mise-
rie and vanitie, is going playing him on the eirth without groning.
Weill, at last quhen the sonnes of God sall be reveiled, and sall
be glorified, (Coloss. iii. 4) then the eirth quhilk groned with them
quhen they groned sall be glorified with them, and then the sunne
and the mone sall receave newnes, and, as Peter sayis, (2. Epist.
iii. 13,) The sons of God sal receive this same hevin in substance,
bot it sal be new, and the eirth Sal be new, and then the eirth sal
be na langer capabil of a sinfull man. Thou sinner sal not get leif
to luik to this hevin, onlie the sons of God that sall be glorified
sal get this priviledge, they sall be kingis of this new eirth. Ze
see then the estait of the creatures evanisches according to mannis
estait, and alteris as man dois, and in the end the creatures sall
have the participatioun with man of that glorie quhilk they longed
for. This for the opinning up of the text. Leirne heir. Ze se
the creaturis gets renewing alswell as man; bot (mark the differ-
ence) in the second rowme. Man is first renewed, then the crea-
turis is renewed; man hes his preferment first, nixt the ereatures
is renewed, bot not efter that maner that man is renewed; for
man is first imped” in Christ, and he is maid ane with him. Jesus
the heid, the kirk, the bodie, and everie faithful man and woman
ane member of that bodie. (Eph. i. 22, 23.) Bot the creatures
quhen they ar renewed they are not imped in Christ; the hevin
* Groans, * Are weary. 3 Grafted.
ON 2 COR. 5. 361
quhen it is renewed is not called to that honour to be impit in
Christ, it is na part of the bodie of Christ: the eirth quhen it is
renewed is na part of the bodie of Christ. Na: na sic conjunc-
tioun is betwixt Christ and those creatures, as is betwixt him and
his Kirk. Sa seing thir creatures that ar renewed with man, ar
not honoured with that conjunctioun quhilk is with Christ the
Lord, it mon follow that the glory of the creatures is not equall
with the glorie of man. Quhen the hewinnis sall be made new
and verie glorious, zit all sall be nathing to that glorie of man.
Thou O man sall schyne in bodie above the glorie of the sun be
ane thousand stages, (Matt. xiii. 43.) The conjunctioun of Christ
not being sa made with the creaturis as it is with man, the glorie of
them can not be compared with the glorie of man, bot all the glorie
of the creatures sall be as ane participatioun of the glorie of man.
Thou man sall be glorified with the glorie of Jesus Christ him self:
the creaturs sall be glorified, bot with thy glorie. Al this tellis us
quhat glorie we suld luik for, Seing this Lord that makis this reno-
vatioun, is sa glorious. It is certain that at the cumming of Christ
in the warld, and his passing up to the hewinnis, ane renewing of
all the creatures in the warld was maid, all thingis were renewed.
This is ane ground that we mon hald, gif we believe that Christ
come in the warld and hes ascended to glorie. Allace, this is not
perceaved, and in myself I can not see it as I wald, and the maist
godlie compleinis that they can not see this effectualnesse of
Christis glorie. The cause is, the deidnes that abydis in us, sinne
can not be gottin out of this warld, quhill the Lord cum againe.
It dwellis in us, and reignis in the warld, and the Devill the Prince
of this warld reignis be it, (for quhair sinne reignis, he reignis)
zea, it oppressis the godlie hart, that scarcelie they can feill in
them selfis this renovatioun : Sa weichtie is sinnel quha seis it?
Thair is ane glimmering of this new creatioun, bot quha hes this
glimmering * Nane, bot that new saul. Ane unregenerat man
never saw this regeneratioun neither in himself, nor in uthers, and
he can not suffer to heir of ane regenerate and sanctified man: he
will laugh as thocht thair culd not be sic ane thing as regenera-
362 - THE FIFT SERMON,
tioun, because the mocker himself is unrenewed, thairfoir he can
not wey Goddis graces in ane uther. Sa lang as thou art unre-
generat, thou can not bot scorne regeneration: zea, and persecute
the regenerate man, and sa rasche thy heid against ane wall. For
the Lord hes maid him inviolable, and the temple of his Spreit,
and thairfoir he sall wrak' thee that art the unregenerate man:
zea and wrakit sall everie man be that daschis himself against the
Kirk of Jesus, that is the renewed bodie, that bodie as ane iron
wall sall bruise them. Experience tells this. Quha ever was he
that rusched aganis the Kirk, bot the Kirk dang and beat him” in
powder: Mell” not with the Saincts of God: suppois it wer bot
ane Sanct renewed be the grace of God he is sufficient to destroy
and bruis ane haill kingdome that ruschis on him. The Lord
opin men's eies to see this. For all the warld, wald I not be ane
to mak opposition to ane of the saincts of God. The Lord thair-
foir save men, and leirn them to account of this renovatioun, as
they wald have ane portion thairof, and be glorified at the cum-
ming of Christ.
Now, to end schortlie : The Apostle, quhen he hes spoken
of the renewing of all creatures made be Jesus the Mediatour
(for all flowis out of him), in the nixt verse he rysis and mountis
up, (O how he that is carried with the Spreit of Christ will
ryse, quhen he is speiking of Jesus) he rysis up to ane licht
inaccessibill, he seis God the Father sitting in his throne and ma-
jesty, and the wark of this renewing flowing fra him, throuch
Christ the Mediatour, and rysing up to the Father of Christ he
sayis, “And all things are of God,” &c. Our lessoun is. All
graces cummis fra Christ the Mediatour, our regeneratioun flowis
out of his life, bot the fountaine of all is the Father of hevin, the
father of Jesus; and thairfoir quhen thou findis the grace flowing
from Jesus, rais up thy Saull and luik throw to the glorious foun-
taine, sitting in his majestie, and say: “All glorie be to the Father,
I acknawledge all güdenes to cum fra thee,” “O Father thou hes
given all graces to mee through thy Sone Christ.” Now quhen he
' Destroy, * But the Church hath beaten him into. * Moddle,
ON 2. COR. 5. 363
hes risen up to the Father, he cummis doun agane to twa degreis,
quhilk at the twa wayis quhairby the regeneratioun is wrocht.
The first is the reconcilliatioun to the Father through Christ the
Mediatour be his deith. The secund is this ministerie, base and
contemptible in the eies of men, this dispensatioun of the mys-
teries of God that he hes put in the handis of his Ministers to be
distribute to the people. Weil, brethren, ane man mon cum to
this regeneratioun be degreis, as ane man stepping up ane stair.
Sa thou that wald be renewed in Christ mon clim and gang up be
degreis. The first is the ministerie of reconciliatioun : the secund
is, the reconciliatioun itself in Christ : the third and last is, the
fountane of regeneratioun, God the Father. Will thou loup up
and misse ane of thir steppis? Na, it is not possible, for thou sall
never get regeneratioun befoir God be friended with thee: thou is
his enemie, thou mon be friended with him, or ever thou be re-
newed. Weill then thou wil say, I mon be friended with him, bot
I neid not thy ministerie: can I not cum to hevin, bot be heiring
thee preiche? I say thou can not, I lay this necessitie befoir thee,
and I strait” thee, and I bind thee to this ministerie. Imagine
thou ane other mein to attein to this glorie, contemme thou this
ministerie in the silliest person to quhome God hes given it, I sal
gar ane stray bar the zettis” of hevin on thy teith. Suppois” thou
were ane monarche thou sall never get reconciliatioun without
this ministrie. The Lord walkin our consciences that we may
imbrace the ordinance of God: we sall never be wise in God ex-
cept first we becum fullis that we may be wise. Then seing this
necessitie is of the ministerie to mak ane reconciliatioun with our
God, and this reconciliatioun mon passe be ane proclamatioun of
peace to the miserabil warld, and pass be the mouth of this con-
temned ministerie, the Lord walkin thir our sensles hartis that we
may reverence and esteim of this ministery mair than we have
done. The Lord grant us this for Christis saik. To quhome
with the Father and the halie Spreit be all glorie and honour for
ever. Amen.
* Run, * Charge, * Make a straw bar the gates, * Yea, albeit.
THE SEXT SERM ON.
BEING THE FIRST SERMON ON THE FIRST TO THE CORINTH.
BEGINNING AT THE 6. VERSE, CHAP. II.
6. And we speik wisdome among them that ar perfite: not the wisdome
of this warld, nor of the Princes of this warld, quhilk cummis to
nocht.
7. But we speik the wisdom of God in a mysterie, even the hid wisdom
quhilk God ordained befoir the warld unto our glorie.
8. Quhilk name of the Princes of this warld knew, for had they knawin it,
they wald not have crucified the Lord of glorie.
9. Bot as it is written, the eie hath not sene, the eir hath not heard,
neither have entred into the hart of man, the thingis quhilk God
hath prepared for them that love him.
IN the Text immediatlie preceiding, (weilbeloved in the Lord
Jesus) the Apostle hes bene renouncing the wisdom of man in
uttering of the Gospell of Jesus Christ, thinking it not worthie
that onie man's faith suld be builded on it. For that faith that is
builded on it can not stand, because the wisdome of man is ane
fals foundatioun, and the thing that is builded on ane fals founda-
tioun can not stand. Now to cum to this Text quhilk we have
red presentlie: it micht have bene said to the Apostle, quha
countis of thy wisdome 2 thou esteimis not of mannis wisdome nor
eloquence, bot quha countis of thee, or of thy wisdome either?
He answeris in the 6. verse, “We speik wisdome among them that
arperſyte,” &c. That is, quha ever ar perfite in the Kirk of God,
or quha ever ar cummit to ane degree of perfectioun, or preisis to
ON 1. COR. 2, 365
perfectioun, aspyring above nature, above humane thingis, to
see thingis hevinlie and spiritual, thir men countis of my wisdome,
in the sicht of thir I am wise, and in thair audience I speik wis-
dome, howbeit eirthlie men thinkis all that I speik bot follie. Thair
is the meining and the effect of the Apostle's answer schortlie.
As to this word of perfectioun, I will not insist in it. Ane full
perfectioun is not heir meanit, bot ane Stryving to perfectioun.
Na man nor woman in this life is perfyte, bot the perfytest of us
that livis in this warld onlie are stryving to perfectioun throw in-
finite infirmities. Thairfoir this word of perfectioun is not to be
understand of that consummate perfectioun quhilk we sall have in
that other life, bot as it is opponed to them that hes na perfectioun
na spirituall nor hevinlie sicht or knawledge of thingis hevinlie
and spirituall. Then thair is the lessoun in ane word. Ze knaw
the sentence spoken commonlie, “Wisdome is justified of hirawin
children.” (Matth. xi. 19.) Let the warld count of it as it will,
wisdome sall ever be wisdome to them that hes onie wisdome : fullis
will never coſnt that hevinlie wisdom to be wisdome, nor the wise
of this warld will never esteim of it. Mekill consistis in the dis-
position of the hartis of the heirers: that quhilk is wisdome to ane
is meir folie to ane uther, and all because the disposition is divers
and contrair. Set me togidder ane man that is hevinlie minded and
ane man that is onlie eirthlie minded, speik the wisdome of God
to them baith, ane wisdome to the hevinlie minded man it sall be
wisdome, to the eirthlie minded man it sall be fulischnes. The
speich of the Croce (sayis the Apostle in the first chapter of this
Epistle, verse 18.) to them that perisches is fulischnesse, bot to them
that ar saved it is the wisdome and power of God. Art thou ane
that is ordained to be saved? the Gospel of Jesus Christ sall be
wisdome and onlie wisdome to thee. And thairfoir seing thair
standis sameikle in the dispositioun of the heirer, or ever thou
cum to heir, luik thy dispositioun, leif thy eirthlie minde behind
thee, lest thou receive thine awin damnatioun, and bring ane he-
vinlie minde with thee, that the wisdom of God may be the power
of salvatioun to thee. Thair hes bene lang heiring and teiching
366 THE SEXT SERMON,
amang us in this Toum, bot the ischue of thingis testifies that thair
hes bene ane evill dispositioun in the hartis of the multitude, the
present trouble of this Toun tellis quhat hes bene the dispositioun
of manie : for quhat ever be the wark of men heirin, zit na ques-
tioun the Lord hes his wark in it, to spuilziel thee for thy ingrati-
tude and evill dispositioun of thy hart of the libertie of his glorious
Gospell; and gif this Gospell gang away, then schame and confu-
sion sal licht not onlie upon this Toun, bot also on the haill land
and everie estait thairof. Then to gang fordward. The Apostle
fallis out in ane heich descriptioun and commendatioun of this
wisdome quhilk he preiched, quhilk is the wisdome of God. Mark
it. He sayis, “Not the wisdom of this warld, nor of the Princes
of this warld quhilk cum to nocht.” In this description thair is
nathing that may commend anie science or wisdome of this warld,
quhilk is nocht brocht in heir to the commendatioun of this hevin-
lie wisdome. Sciences and wisdome usis to be commended from
the Authours, from them that invented them : they use to be
commended fra their secrecie and hidnes, in that they ar hid up
in ane mysterie fra the eis of men : they use to be commended
from the end and fyne” for the quhilk they were ordained: They
use to be commended fra their sublimitie and subtilitie, quhen
they pas the capacitie of men, men hes them in admiratioun and
wonders at them. They use to be commended fra their subject
Quhilk they intreat of, gif it be ane worthy subject it is ane
worthie science. Thir thingis recommends to us Sciences invented
be the brain of man. Al thir thingis ar in ane heicher degree in
the wisdome of God, nor ever they were in onie science warldlie.
Now mark everie word. The Apostle beginnis his commenda-
tioun at the Authour: and first he lets Zow se quha is not the
Authour: then he lets Zow se in verie deid quha is the Authour of
this wisdom. (All this is spoken of the Gospell quhilk we preiche
to you, and thairfoir note everie circumstance, mark the excellen-
cie of this Gospell, quhilk the Apostle to the Philip. iii. 8, callis,
The eminencie of the knawledge of Jesus Christ quhilk mountis
* Spoil. * Use. *
ON 1. COR. 2. 367
above al knawledge in this warld.) Then quhome sayis he not to
be the Authour of it? This warld never fand it out, never in-
vented it, it come never of the heidis of warldlie men. Indeid it
is true, this warld is wise in the awin kind, Luk. xvi. 8, and this
warld and the men thairof fra the beginning of it to this hour, hes
bene occupied in counsels, in laying of plattis, in setting doun pur-
posis and taking consultatioun : they have bene fellon' busie : Bot
amang all the thingis that ever man advysed on thair was never
fund sameikle as ane thocht in the heid of ane man of the remedie
against sinne and deith, bot sitting fra the beginning in thair
counsels, they sate like als monie damned creaturis, without onie
thocht how they suld be releved of their damnatioun , and this is
that hevinlie wisdome spokin of heir, that tellis us of the remedie
against sinne, deith, and damnatioun quhairin we lay. Zea
Brethren, let be they had not onie thocht of this mater, they did
nathing in all thair wise consultatiouns for the maist pairt, bot in-
volved them selfis mair and mair in thair guiltiness, and augmented
thair damnatioun quhairin all men wes fallen be Adam. Then it
was not the warld that fand it out. O, bot thair is sum Princis
in the warld that passis others in wisdome, thair is wise and heich
spreitit men that will put ordour to others, and with thair wit will
compas hevin and eirth, that will seirche out the deipnes of nature,
and be occupied in heich thingis, it may be that thir men hes fund
out this wisdome? The Apostle meitis this: Na (sayis he) none
of the princes of this warld, quhidder Jewes or Gentiles, fand out
this wisdome. All the great Monarches, al the Philosophers with
thair wisdome and Philosophie, never thocht anis on sic ane thing.
It is true indeid, thair is sum in this warld that hes ever bene
occupied in hich thingis above the reiche of the commoun sort of
pepill, sitting on hich places, serching in to the deipness of nature,
bot amang all thair occupations, heich conceitis and devysis, thair
was never sa meikle as ane thocht or suspitioun, or ane dreame of
that onlie remedie against sinne and deith, of that only way and
mein of salvatioun and deliverie of ane lost sinner. Ane wonder-
* Very.
368 THE SEXT SERMON,
ful thing, condemned men sitting in sic occupations, without onie
thocht of thair damnatioun. Empreours condemned men, and
zit never sic ane thing as ane thocht how they suld be releved of
thair condemnatioun. It is true the philosophers amang the na-
tiounis aspyred to ane wisdom and knawledge of God to knaw
him, and sum of them laboured to set down ame science of him.
Plato travelled mekle on this purpose, and thairfoir he was called
divine: bot all thair knawledge was of God the Creator, as he
created this warld, and be his providence governis it. Bot will ze
speik of God the Redemer in his Sonne Jesus Christ, they had
never sic ane thing as ane thocht of him : and zit for al the
busines that they had about the creation, and God the Crea-
tor, quhat were they? fuilis, and evanisched in their cogitations,
and as ze may reid, Rom. i. 22, 23, in steid of the true God they
set up ane idoll to be worschipped. Then seeing they fand it not
out, and seing it is sa necessar for all men, even for princes (for
they sall never see life, except they get ane part of this wisdome)
they ar bund to keip that wisdom in sinceritie, and not to prejudge
hir libertie in a quhit! : bot to maintain hir and keip hir from all
hir enemies, that wald pervert hir. Thow fand hir not out, keip
hir thairfoir in hirawin libertie. The Lord graunt that men may
be occupied this way in thair counsels, not in impairing, bot in
preserving the liberty of that wisdome, that only mon save them.
Thy kingdome, thy life, thy honour, and al thir eirthlie riches wil
away, onlie this wisdome will abyde. Then this wisdome is not
found out be this warld, or be the princes thairof. Zit befoir we
cum to the Authour quhairfra it is cum, ze have ane reasoun
quhairfoir scho can not be of the princes of the warld, “Quha cum
to nocht,” they arabolisched, they evanische, scho is eternall, and
will never have ane end. Ane perisching heid wil never invent
ane science that will last for ever, and his heid were never sa
quick and sa curious, bot as the heid perischis and gois to the
grave, sa sall the wisdome thairof die in the awin time: and thair-
foir thair was never ane arte nor science invented be the heid” of
* One Whit. * Brain.
ON 1. COR. 2. 369
man quhilk sall not die and perische, because they ar all cum of
perisching heidis ; howbeit the heid die, and the wisdome remain
for ane space, zit that science and wisdome sall also die in hirawin
time. Aristotle is deid, his wisdome abydis zit, bot it sall die.
Plato is deid, his wisdome abydis zit, bot it sall also die. Bot
the immortall God quhen he findis out ane wisdome, it sall be
immortal also. In the first Epistle of Peter i. 23, thair is twa
thingis joyned togidder, the immortall seid of the word, and ane
living and immortall God that abydis for ever. The seid of the
word is immortall : and quhairfoir is it immortall ? Becaus it
cummis fra ane God that abydis for ever. Gif it be anis sawin in
thy hart it sall never die out of thy hart, na, this word sall gang
to hevin with thee, and thair it sall spring out in ane wonder-
full glorie, and sall abyde in him quha fand it out, and in thee in
quhom it is sawin for ever. Then gif the warld be not the au-
thour of it, quha hes fund it out? “We speik, (sayis the Apostle,)
not our awin wisdome, but the wisdome of God.” Paull in-
vented it not, never ane man that preached this Gospell was the
authour of it, the Lord quha is onlie wise fand it out. Then
mark, Brethren, gif God of his infinit mercie (efter thou made that
foull fall in Adam, and fell fra grace and innocencie) had not fund
out to thee the onlie mean of thy deliverie fra deith and sinne,
thou had never risen agane, for thou had never sa mekle as anis
ane thocht of the way of thy redemptioun. Adam quhen he had
fallin, and hid him self in ane hole, had not sa mekle as ane cogi-
tatioun of his deliverie : that God that created thee without thee,
redemed thee also without thee. Quhen he maid thee of na
thing in the beginning, he callit not thee to the counsel, becaus
thou was not; na mair was thou on the counsel of thy redemption
quhen he tuke purpois to redem thee. Na : thair was never ane
angel on the counsel of thy redemption. And this is that that is
spoken, (Rom. xi. 34.) “Quha hes knawin the mind of the Lord,
or quha hes given him counsell ?” Na, all is of him, and all is from
him onlie. He is the onlie finder out alsweil of thy redemptioun,
as of thy creatioun, that the onlie glorie may be given to him. I
2 A -
370 THE SEXT SERMON,
micht speik Sumthing heir aganis the enemies of the truth, bot I
will not insist. Gif thou tak onie part of thy wark to thy self,
thou spuilzies him of ane part of his glorie. Thairfoir seing thou
hes neither airt nor part in it, let him have the onlie glorie for
ever and ever. Now followis the secund part of the commenda-
tioun of the Gospel “in ane mysterie.” It is in ane mysterie, it
was hid up. Sciences usis to be commended because of thair
secrecie. For men wil say, O it is ane mystick and secreit thing,
thairfoir it is ane commendable and pretious thing. Bot gif ever
onie science or wisdome in the warld, merited commendatioun
throw the secrecie of it, especially this wisdome of God, for thair
was never sa hid “ane wisdom, sa mony ages, fra Adam quhil Christ
come, * all closed up in ane mysterie, and hid fra the warld; and gif
thair was onie blenk of it, it was verie obscure. Brethren, thair
ar sundrie wisdomes of God. Thair is ane wisdome of the crea-
tioun and governement of the warld, and thair is ane wisdome of
God of the redemptioun of the warld anis created, and making
defectioun from that blissed estait of creatioun. As for the wis-
dome of creatioune, als some as ever the warld was created, this
wisdome brak out, * and was reveiled and made knawin to men, and
it schynis zit in the creaturs: luik to them, thou sall se the image
of that wisdome schyning in them : and mair nor this, man re-
ceaved this wisdome of creatioun written in his hart. Sa this
wisdome was not keped close, bot maid patent to the eies of men
and angellis to luik on it. Bot as for the wisdome of God of the
redemptioun of the warld, in the creation he neither uttered it in
word nor wryte, he wrait not ane letter of it in the hart of man in
the creatioun. Bot efter Adam fell he made ane inkling of it,
bot verie obscure. Now quhairfoir was this that the Lord hid up
this wisdome? Thairby na doubt he wald testifie to the warld,
that this wisdom contened ane pretious thing, ane jewell: thair
was inclosed in it the haill treasure of hevin. The treasure of
hevin is Christ Jesus quha is inclosed in this mysterie, and thair-
foir the Lord wald not reveill it quhil Jesus Christ came in the
* Bereavest God. * Secret. * Till Christ came. * Forth.
ON 1. COR. 2. 371
warld. Is it reveiled now 2 It hes been reveiled ever since Christ
came into the world, and this day in Scotland that treasure is
laid oppin gif we had eies to see it. Abraham, nor David, nor all
the godlie Kingis and Fathers was never in sa blissed ane estaite as
thou art. Bot gif thou repent not and receave this wisdome, the
greater is thy damnatioun. For ever the greater the benefite be,
the greater is the condemnatioun and it be not receaved. And
manie ane at that day sal say, Wald to God we had never heard of
this Gospel : Weill, keip it as ye wil, thair is na glorie bot it, and
tak me it away, fairweil the glorie and weilfair of the land : yea, I
say mair, thair is na glorie in this warld bot it. Zit the Apostle
stands not heir bot passis fordward in the praise of this wisdom.
He hes praised it fra the Authour, quha is God onlie: fra the se-
crecie, that it is ane mysterie hid up sa lang: he cummis now to
the time quhen it was fund out. “Quhilk God had determined
befoir the warld.” Sciences usis to be commended fra thair ancie-
tie." Men sayis, O, it is ane auld science, it was found out be the
AEgiptians, thairfoir ane commendable science. Bot thair was
never wisdome that might be compared in ancietie to this wisdome.
Will thou speirº how auld is this wisdome? I speir ane uther ques-
tion how auld is God himself? This gospell is even als auld as
God himself is: the Gospel is fra all eternitie, as the Glorious God
is without beginning fra all eternitie. Then this Gospell that is
preiched this day, is na noveltie. This is that wisdome and doc-
trin that God predestinat fra al eternitie, houbeit the enemies in
contempt call it ane new doctrine. Thou leis, suppois thou wer 3
the Paip; I speik it to the glorie of God, this Gospell that is
preiched in Scotland, was fra all eternitie. The wordis importis
mair. It is not onlie fra all eternitie, bot it is grounded upon ane
eternall counsall. The glorious Trinitie set doun in ane glorious
counsall, this doctrine of salvatioun. And thairfoir seing this doc-
trine is set on sa solide ane foundatioun, quha will schaik it? Schaik
it let see off hir foundatioun, and put “at it, I* will schaik thee and
ding thee to hell. I tell thee it hes saved monie men fra the
* Antiquity. * Ask. “Thou art a liar, although thou be. “Thrust. ” It. " Drive.
2 A 2
372 THE SEXT SERMON,
beginning, bot it alsº true, it hes slane monie ane; bewar that it
slay thee not: for it is the strangest thing that ever was. Thou
may weill banische this Gospell and put it out of Scotland, bot thou
sall never put it out of the warld, sa lang as thair is ane Saull to
be builded by it: Bot quhen scho is out of Scotland and Ingland
baith, scho can gang, and it wer to al thir New-fund-landis, and
abyde thair. Zit mark how he rysis in his termes (I never heard
ane Philosopher in all his Declamatiounis ryse sa heichlie in his
prayses of onie science, as the Apostle dois in praysing of this wis-
dome, and it is not the eloquence of man, bot the eloquence of the
Spreit of God that raisis him. Zit he hes not tauld all hir glorie.
Na, we sall never see it all, quhill we see the Lord Jesus quha is
the subject of this Gospell.) Sciences hes thair commendatioun
fra thair end. It is ane gude science that hes ane gude end in-
vented for the weill” of man, for his profite, and plesure and glorie :
Bot this science in this mounts above all the sciences in the warld.
For all the sciences in the warld will not gar thee mount up, nor
raise thee ane fute braid “fra the eirth, suppois thou were ane Mon-
arch : they may weil get thee a peice of honor heir, bot it salal be
bot eirthly honor. O bot the science quhairof our God is the
authour, this wisdom of our redemption garris thee mount, drawis
thee up, in ane word, glorifies thee. All that ever learnis in hir
schuil sall be glorified, will thou learne this wisdome scho sall
glorifie thee in the hevinnis. For quhy, “scho is the power of God
to salvatioun,” (Rom. i. 16,) and as he speikis, (2. Cor. iii. 18,) will
thou luik in hir bot as in ane mirrour, to the glorie of God in hir,
“scho sall transforme thee fra glorie to glorie in that same image.”
Quhat mair? All the wisdom in the warld without this wisdome, is as
als mekle poisoun to swell up thy hart in pride against God and man.
Sal I cum to the particulars P Art thou ane Lawier and hes the
knawledge of the commoun Lawes 2 Gif thy science of the Law be
not seasouned with this wisdome, it is meir poison to thee. Art
thou ane Medicinar, perfite in that science, and hes read all Hip-
pocrates and Galene and all the rest of them, and hes not this
* But it is also. * Weal. * Foot breadth.
ON 1. COR. 2. 373
wisdome, thou is poisoned for all thy Medecine. Is thy heid full
of Policie, and hes thou manie plattis and conceitis in it, and hes
thou not this wisdome 2 thou hes ane tume 1 and ane poisoned heid.
Art thou ane Philosopher, and can tel all the starris, and can seirch
out all the minerallis, and can gang doun to the center of the eirth,
zea, and it were doun to hell, and hes not this wisdome, thou art
poysoned. Quhat neidis me to speik farther ? Gif thou have na
apprehensioun of this wisdom that onlie sanctifies thee and all thy
sciences, and makis them profitabill unto thee, thou art ane mis-
erabill bodie, and wa to thee for ever. Wald to God the warld saw
this, bot allace, this humane wisdome and the glory of this warld
cleikis Christ out of thair eies and obscuris this hevinlie glorie.
Bot wa is thee that ever thou saw this licht and thou get not ane
part of that hevinlie glorie. Zit he stayis not heir, bot luik how
he climmis up and exaltis this hevinlie wisdome. Sciencis usis to
be commended for thair subtilitie and sublimitie. O sayis the
Philosopher, It is ane heich and subtile science, thairfor it is prais-
worthie. Mathematikes ar subtile, and ar full of subtile demonstra-
tiounis, thairfoir they ar worthie sciences. Bot, Brethren, thair
was never science comparable in sublimitie to this wisdome of God
quha is onlie wise. Als far as the heid of God passis thy brain,
als far dois this wisdome that is cum of Goddis heid pas all the
wisdome that thou can invent and it wer ane thousand zeir. And
thairfoir the Apostle sayis, “This wisdome name of the princes of
this warld hes knawen.” Na, nocht efter scho was revealed and
came in the warld, quhen they saw hir, they wist not quhat scho
meinit. The philosophers quha skansed” in curiosities, quhen this
wisdom came to them, they kend ma mair in it nor bairnis" or in-
fants. Luik how littill ane bairne can conceive of onie humane
sciences, als littill culd they conceive of this wisdome. Reid Act.
cap. xvii. ver. 18, when Paul come to Athens and preached it to
them, they said, Quhat ane sawer of wordis is this? They thocht
he had na thing bot wordis. This is ane mervellous hidnes: they
culd not find hir out quhen scho was fund out to thair hand, they
'Empty, * Knew. 'Scanned. ' They know no more in it than children. “Secrecy,
374 THE SEXT SERMON,
wait' not quhat scho meinis. Thair is not ane science fund out be
man, bot I sall get ane naturall man that will comprehend it, and
oft times he will gang bezond the Authour himself: bot to this day
thair was never ane naturall man that culd comprehend the wis-
dome of this Gospell. For quhy, scho is spiritual, supernaturall,
and above nature, and thairfoir the natural wit culd never be able
to comprehend hir. I say mair to zow, the mair ame man hes of
naturall wit and judgement, the mair he pride him in his wit, and
clap” his awin heid, and thinke he hes ane wise pow,” the mair he
count of his awin wisdome, the mair sall this wisdome of the Gos-
pell be fulischnes to him : and ever the wysest of the warld countis
the Gospel the greatest fulischnes. I had rather tak in hand to
teiche ane idiote the gospell, and cause him to conceive it, gif God
wald give me grace, nor to tak ane heich-heided chylde’ that is
puffed up with the pride of nature, to ding in him ane word of it.
Sillie anes quha hes not ane conceit of thair naturall wisdome, will
swallow it up, bot ane proud-heided bodie can not be capable of
it. Thairfoir the Apostle in this same first Epistle to the Cor.
iii. 18, sayis verie weil, Wil thou be wise P be ane fuill that
thou may be wise. Renounce that reason of thine and captive it,"
and mak it ane slave, utherwayis thou sall never see God to thy
consolation: for thy naturall reason is ane enemie to God, and his
wisdome; (Rom. viii. 7.) He gives ane reasoun in the end of the
verse that testifies that the princes of this warld knew not this
wisdome: zea, not quhen it was laid oppin to them. He sayis,
“For had they knawin it,” (namelie that great Prince Herode, and
Pilate that Romane President) “they wald not have crucified the
Lord of glorie.” They had not done sic indignitie to him to naill
him on ane ignominious croce. How aggreis thir twa togidder 2
the Lord of glorie, and ane ignominious croce? How stands thir
twa, the King of glorie, and sic ane Schamful deith ? Becaus they
knew not his glorie they exponed him to sic ane ignominious deith.
Thou that can not see the glorie of God in the Gospell, thou will
commit the maist ignominious, the maist villanous thing in the
* Knew. * Stroketh. * Brain. “Worldling. * Take it captive.
ON 1. COR. 2. 375
warld. Na, and Christ wer heir, thou wald crucifie him agane.
And thairfoir find not fault with Pilate nor Herode, or onie of them
that crucified him, and think not that thou had bene free of it gif
thou had bene thair. Na, I tell thee, Thou that seis not the glorie
of the Gospell of Jesus Christ, gifsic ane turne wer in handis thou
wald have ane scair in it. It wil not be speiking that will do the
turne. Let men speik of this Gospell, and all this wisdome quhat
they will, thair deidis will ayº bewray them. I will not give ane
pennie for thy mouth, for thy toung, for thy speiking, zea for thy
preiching, gif thou have not deidis in thy calling.
Art thow ane King? Art thow ane Counsellor P Art thow ane
Minister? Gif I see not gude deidis in thy awin calling, althy
wordis is bot winde. Quhen thow hes stand" up and tauld that
thou kennis Christ, thou" understandis his word and Gospell, and
then in thy lyfe will be ane enemie to Christ, and will dishonour
him, and his Gospell in thy calling, thy doingis bewrayis and
utteris quhat stuffe is within thee. The God of this warld, and
thy awin malitious hart hes put out thy eies, thow hes ane blind
mynde quhairfra thy deidis proceidis. Will thou crucifie Jesus
Christ and expone him to ignominie onieway, and persecute and
trouble him in his members, and then will stand up and say thou
kennis Christ, thy doingis testifies to the warld that thou art ane
lear. The Lord oppin mennis eies to ken quhat it is to deal with
Christ or his members. As ever thou wald testifie to the warld
that thou kennis Christ honour him and his Ministers baith, and
honour his members: for what ever is done to ane of them in the
eirth gude or evil, he countis it all done to him self. “Saul, Saul,
quhy persecutis thou mee,” sayis he to Paul, (Act. ix. 4.) He
standis not heir bot gois fordward in hir commendation. Mark the
wordis, and I beseik Zow to wey them, that seing the eminencie
of this gospell, ze may leirne to stoup and give obedience to it.
Sciences ar commended fra their subjectis quhairof they intreat.
Gif they have ane glorious subject, they ar accounted heich, and
* If such a deed were to be done, thou wouldest have a share in it. * Will Seryo.
* Ever. * Stood. * Knowest. * And,
376 THE SEXT SERMON,
accurate sciences: bot thair was never science quhilk had sic ane
fair glorious subject, as this Gospell quhilk we preiche, Quhat is
the subject of it I can not tell it in better wordis nor it is laid
doun heir : “The thingis quhilk the eies hath not sene, neither
the ear hath heard, neither come into mannis hart.” All sciences
of this warld, and wisdome fund out be man, ar of thingis either
visible that is sene be the eie, or of things audible, heard be the
eare, or of things intelligible understoode be the minde. Gif I can
nocht see thy inventioun, gif I can not heir it, at the leist I will
get some apprehensioun of it in my mynde, I have that advantage.
Bot as for the subject of this wisdome, thy naturall eie never saw
it, thy naturall ear never heard it, and it never entered in thy
naturall hart. And thairfoir quha ever will see thir things, he
mon seikane eie that is mair nor naturall, that is supernaturall,
that is spirituall: Seikane eare that is supernaturall and spirituall.
Go to the hart, content not thy self with ane natural hart: Seik
ane hart that is spirituall and supernaturall. For gaze with thy
eie as thou will, lay to thy lug" as thou will, gif thou suld heir ane
hundreth preichingis, gif thou have bot ane naturall ear, and ane
naturall eie, thou sall not see nor heir, “bot in heiring thou sall not
heir, and in understanding thou sall not understand,” as the Prophet
Esaias in the sext chapter and ninth verse sayis. Thairfoir seik
at God ane heavenlie eare, and ane heavenlie eie, and say: Lord
give mee ane heavenlie ear and ane heavenlie eie, that I may con-
ceave thir thingis and apprehend them.
Now in the end of the verse he bringis them doum for als heich as
they wer, and tellis quhat they ar, “Quhilk God (sayis he) hes pre-
pared for them that love him.” They ar predestinat fra all eternitie,
and they ar prepared in time, for sa monie onlie as loves the Lord.
Thairfoir love Jesus, and thow sall get ane part of them. The les-
soun is this. Wonderfull ar the thingis that God hes prepared for
them that loves the Lord Jesus. Bot how sall I ken that sic heich
and sublime thingis ar prepared for mee? Art thow stamped with
this mark,” and careis thow it about with thee? Loves thow the
* Ear. * Art thou marked with this token.
ON 1. COR. 2. 37 7
Lord, howbeit not saweill as thow wald P (Accursed be he that loves
not the Lord: let him be ane Anathema Maranatha, as the Apostle
sayis in the xvi. chapter the 22. verse of the first Epistle to the
Corinth.) Loves thou him, assure thy self howbeit thou can not
get sic ane love to him, or sic ane sicht of thir thingis as thou wald
have, they are prepared for thee. Onlie thou hes to tak tent to
see gif that love of God be in thy hart. Go not to seirche quhat
is in hevin, and think not to get ane full sicht of that glorie in this
lyfe, that is laid up for thee: bot rest on him, and it wer half
blindlings. Weill is the saull that can love the Lord Jesus. I
will end heir, and will recommend to everie Saull that love of
Jesus, as ever they wald see the thingis that “the eie never
saw, nor the eir never heard, nor hes never entered in the hart
of man,” to thair everlasting comfort and consolatioun at the
cumming of the Lord Jesus. To quhome with the Father
and the Halie Gaist, be all honour and praise, for ever and ever,
Amen.
THE SEVENTH SERMON.
BEING ANE UTHER SERMON ON THE FIRST TO THE CORINTEI. THE
2. CHAPTER.
10. But God hath reveiled them unto us by his Spreit: for the Spreit
searcheth all thingis : zea the deip thingis of God.
11. For quhat man knawis the thingis of man, save the spreit of a man,
quhilk is in him? even sa the thingis of God knawis na man, but
the Spreit of God.
12. Now we have received not the spreit of the warld, bot the Spreit
quhilk is of God, that we may knaw the thingis that ar given to us
of God.
THE last day, Brethren, we heard ane cleir descriptioun and com-
mendatioun of that wisdom quhilk Paul spak and preiched, quhilk
is na uther thing in effect bot this same blissed Evangell that is
preiched to zow. We schew zou that thair was na thing that
micht commend ane science or wisdom in this warld, bot it con-
curred with him to the commendatioun, praise, and glorie of this
wisdome that is heir described. The Author of it is not the warld,
nor of the Princes of the warld, bot God the maker of the warld.
The secrecie of it, was hid up in ane mysterie sa monie ages, fra
the creatioun to the cumming of Christ and manifestation of him
in the nature of man: the ancietie of it, was predestinat fra all
eternitie: the end of it, our glorie: the sublimity and heichnes of
it, quhen it was reveiled at the cumming of Christ, name of the
princes of this warld culd understand it, for gif they had knawn
it they had not crucified the Lord of glorie; the subject of it, the
ON 1 COR. 2. 379
thingis quhilk the eie never saw, the eare never heard, quhilk ne-
ver entered in the hart of man, and zit for all this prepared for
them that love the Lord. Now to cum to the Text quhilk we
have in hand. It micht have bene speirit at the Apostle,_Gif
sic thingis as was never sene, never heard of, never entered in the
hart of man was contened in that wisdome that he taught, quhat
profite have we be that wisdom 2 Quhat profeit have we of the
thingis quhairof we are not capable P The Apostle meitis this in
the first verse quhilk we have red. “Bot (sayis he) God hath
reveiled them unto us by his Spreit.” It is true indeid they
passe the sicht of our eie, they surmount above our heiring, they
pas the capacitie of our minde, zit that Lord hes demitted him
selfe to us, and be his Spreit he hes reveilit those thingis to us
the sillie anis of the warld, not to the princes of the warld, bot to
the sillie simple anis: He hes reveiled them not be our spreit,
bot be his awin Spreit. Thair is the soum of the answere schort-
lie: he gives the reasoun in the nixt part of the verse, and lets us
see, that the Spreit of Jesus is abill to reveal al thir hich and hid
things to us: setting out the nature of the halie Spreit. “For,
(sayis he) the Spreit searcheth all things, zea the deip things of
God.” The Spreit is ane searcher, and he is ane searcher of all
thingis created in hevin and eirth. Na thing can eschaip him, bot
he will seirche in to the secreitest thingis in the warld, and to the
hiddest hirnes' of thy hart. Quhat mair? He is ane searcher of
the God of glorie him self, and wil pearce into the infinite deip-
ness that is in God. He being sic ane Spreit as this, is he not abill
to reveill the thingis quhairof we ar nocht capable? Thair is the
meaning of the haill verse schortlie. Then we see thir thingis
conteined in the hevinlie wisdome, as the riches of God in Jesus
Christ, our remission of sin, our justification, our regeneration, our
salvation and life everlasting, even commoun thingis quhilk ze heir
of dailie, togidder with Jesus Christ the Mediatour, in quhom and
throw quhom all thingis ar wrocht, ar the thingis quhilk the eir
hes not heard, nor the eie sene, nor hes not entered in the hart of
* Secretest parts.
380 THE SEVENTII SERMON,
man. Zit we see that thir thingis passis not sa the capacitie of
man, nor they ar not sa altogidder hid fra man bot they ar revealed.
And they ar revealed, to quhom? to them for quhom they are pre-
pared. They ar reveiled, quhen P even in this life: thair is none
for quhom they ar prepared fra all eternity, bot in this life or the
Saul gang out of the bodie they sal receive sum revelation and un-
derstanding of thir same things; and thou that gettis na revela-
tioun of them in this life, yat' gets not ane sicht of them or the
Saull gang out of the bodie, I will say to thee, they wer never pre-
pared for thee. Remission of sins wes never prepared for thee.
Justification befoir the Tribunall of God, regeneration, lyfe ever-
lasting was never prepared for thee. Thair is not ane better takin
of life efter this life, nor ame blenk of lyfe in this life, and it wer
bot ame glimmering (for the best of us hes botane glimmering),
ame blenk of Jesus Christ and of the graces that ar in him in this
life is the suirest taking that thou can have of the lyfe to cum.
And be the contrair thair is not ane worse takin of darknes efter
this life, nor to haif thy eies sa closed, that thou hes na blenk heir
of that life to cum. And quhen thou deis having na sicht of the
life to cum, thou sall die ane miserabill cative, and ane faggot for
the fyre of hell.
Let us go fordward to the rest, “God hes reveiled them
be his Spreit.” Then ze see heir ane revelation be the Spreit.
Mark it, I sall stick” sum thing on the wordis. Ze heard be-
foir of ane revelatioun be the word, quhilk is this wisdome.
Now ze heir of ane revelatioun be the Spreit. It is not aneuch
to receive ane revelatioun be the word, and it were never sa
fair, and sa soundlie preached, it will never do thee gude, it is na
thing bot as gif thou wald haldane licht befoir ane blinde man,
and say to him, Man seis thou not this licht. Will thou bid ane
blind man judge of colours, thou scornes him. Sa all the speiking
of the Scripture to men is bot scorning of thee, except they get
this revelation of the Haly Spreit. Quhat is this revelation of the
Spreit? I sall tell zow quhat it is. With that preiching of the
1 And *Tarry.
ON 1. COR. 2. 381
word quhilk is the first revelatioun, the Spreit of Jesus cummis
doun and seazis him self in thy eie, and oppinis thy eie to see the
thingis quhilkar spoken, seazis on thy eir and opinnis thy eir to heir
the thingis that are spoken, enters in thy hart and makis thee to
conceave the thingis thou seis and heiris, and maks thee capable of
them, of the quhilk thou art na mair capable be nature nor the
verie stane in the pillar: speik to thee and to the stane all is alyke,
quhill this alteratioun be maid in thy Saull. Then, Brethren, thair
is twa revelationis, the first be word, quhen it is preached : the
secund be the Spreit, quhen that halie Spreit concurris with the
word. I wil tel you the difference of them, the first wil be com-
moun to all, the word is preached alyke to al. O bot the uther
revelatioun is not sa commoun, bot is onlie maid to sum secreit
anis of the Lord. That blissed Spreit will nocht licht upon everie
man and woman, bot onlie upon sum secreit persons upon quhome
the Lord hes pitie. We reid in the xvi. chapter of the Acts of
Apostles, that thair is ane meiting of manie. Manie ar convened 2
togidder, Paull the Apostle, the Preacher he revealis the grace of
the word to all alyke : Amang all the rest we reid of ane speciall
bodie & Lydia (thair was never ane word spoken of the rest) it is
said of hir namelie, that the Lord opened the hart of Lydia to re-
ceave that that Paull preached : the Spreit of Jesus opened hir
hart, not Paull, the Spreit of Jesus only is the reveiler, be never
content of + heiring onlie. Fy on thee gif thou think thou hes
done aneuch, quhen thou hes sittin ane hour or twa heiring, gif
thou find not the Sweit operation of the Spreit to oppin thy hart
with sic ane Sweitnes as is unspeikable. And thairfoir fixe not
your eies sa mekle on men, as upon the Lord that sendis the
Spreit: and cry ever, Lord give me the Spreit, or ellis all is bot
wind. Blissed is that bodie that gettis the Spreit, for the word
will never do gude without the Spreit.
Zit I go fordward, and I mark the reasoun. “The Spreit
searcheth all thingis : zea the deipnes of God.” Thair is the
wordis. Thair is ane greit deipnes in thir wordis, gif we culd
* Seateth, * Gathered. * Person. * With,
382 THE SEVENTH SERMON,
attein to it. The first thing that I tak up heir is this. Greit is
that deipnes and that profunditie that is in our God. Paul in
the iii. chapter to the Ephesians, the auchtenth verse, considering
that deipness fallis out in thir wordis : “That ze being ruted in love
may attein togidder with all the saincts, to see quhat is that lenth,”
(meining of God) “quhat is the breid,” (he is baith lang and breid)
“quhat is that heicht,” (he is heich also) “quhat is that deip,” (he is
deip withall): infinite in length, infinite in breid, infinite in heicht,
infinite in deipnes, quhat wald ze have? He himself is (as it wer)
ame bottomlesse deip. Thair is never ane propertie in him, as we
call them, bot all is ane infinite deipnes, the wisdome of God, ane
infinite and endles deipnes: his power, ame endles deipnes. And
thairfoir the Apostle, (Rom. xi. 33.) fallis out in ane admiration of
the deipnes baith of the wisdom, and of the knawledge of God.
Weill then, Brethren, it is na wonder albeit it was said in the verse
going befoir, that “the thingis that ar prepared for them that love
him, the eie never saw, the eir never heard, nor never entered in
the hart of man.” Quhy P. Becausal thir things is hid up in ame
bottomles deipnes, that is, in God. Quhat wonder then that thou
can not see them, that the eie of ane worm creping on the eirth
can not see them, that the eare of ane worme can not heir them,
that the hart of ane worme can not be capable of them. It is true
indeid the gospell speikis of them all to us, zit the word is not suf-
ficient to schaw them, they ar not sa in the word bot they abyde
still in that deipnes. The mercie is not sa reveiled in the word
and brocht doun fra hevin, bot zit it abydis' still in that deipnes.
Remissioun of sinnes is not sa reveiled in the word, bot zit it
abyds stil in that deipnes. And thairfoir the word quhen it speikis
of thir things, quhair” sends it thee to ? Quhen it speikis of the
mercie of God in Jesus Christ, of the justice of God, of lyfe ever-
lasting, quhair sends it thee to, and quhairto directis it thee? Ay”
to this deipnes. Go thy wayis, (sayis the word) to the deipnes of
God, and see al thir thingis plainlie. Thairfoir the same Apostle
sayis, Coloss. the iii. chap. ver. 1, 3, “Seik the thingis that ar above
1 Romaineth. * Whither. * Evermore.
ON 1. COR. 2. 383
quhair thy life is hid with Christ, in God.” Quhair is thy lyfe
then P I am speiking of it now : bot quhair is it 2 It is hid up in
that deipnes in God. The word suld not hald doun thy eie, bot
lift it up to seik all those mercies that ar above with God. Ze
may see then thir thingis that concernis our salvatioun in Jesus
Christ, our remissioun of sinnes, our justification, our salvatioun,
(thirar even the thingis to speik them plainlie quhairof the Apostle
meinis) they ar incomprehensible to the wit of man, to the eie of
man, to the judgement of man, to the nature of man. He will
stand up and talk of his nature, of his ingyne, ane heich-spreited
man, his wit will compas all the warld. O, bot thy wit reiched
never up heir to seirch this deipnes. Thairfoir be nature, thair
is na assurance of remissioun of sinnes, of salvatioun, of life, gif
thou have na mair bot nature, (scorne as thow will) and thou were
ane Monarche thou sall never get assurance of lyfe, bot die like
ane desperat dog. Is thou abil to peirs in to the deipnes of the
sea that hes ane bottome, or to the deipnes of the eirth that is
finite P Na, thou wil never see ane fute in it, suppois thou were
never sagleg" of sicht, and then, O fuill, wil thou mint” to reich up
to ane bottomles deipnes that is in GOD, with thy wit and thy
conceptioun, quhen can thou 9 attein to ane finit thing.
Now, Brethren, Ihave spoken of God, and of his deipnes. Nixt we
have to speik of the Spreit, of the searching of the Spreit. Isall onlie
touche it schortlie sa far as the text will furnische, and not digres
in amplifying of thir commoun heidis. I mark then of this text.
As thair is ane infinite deipnes in God, sa thair is ane searcher of
it, it wantis not ane searcher. The onlie searcher of this deipnes
is the Spreit of God: everie Spreit is ane searcher. It is the na-
ture of ane spreit ever to peirs in, and to seirche. For it is ane
subtile thing and will peirs in verie subtilly to the secreitis of
thingis. The spreit of an Angel] is ane searcher, and ane subtile
thing, the spreit of the Divell is subtile, and will peirs in subtillie,
he will peirs into thy hart and insinuate himself thairin; sa the
Spreit of ane man is ane subtile spreit, and ane searcher also: he
1 Clear. 2 Strive. * When thou camst not.
384 TITE SEVENTII SERMON,
will searche out the thingis that ar in hevin, and in the sae, and
in the eirth; for he is wonderfully inclyned to searching. Bot all
the spreits except the Spreit of that halie ane, searches onlie the
creatures. The Spreit of ane Angell, of the Divell, of ane man,
searchis bot the creatures. As for the Creator, na spreit is abill
to searche in him, bot his awin Spreit, zea they knaw mathing in
him, bot sa mekle as he will reveill to them. As for man he is
verie busie, bot for all his busines he could never zit seirche out
his awin hart. Thair is ane mysterie of sinne lying in the faldis of
his hart, that he sall never see, except this Spreit enter in, and
give him licht. Bot the blissed Spreit of God and of Jesus Christ
(he is the Spreit both of the Father and of the Sone, for ane Spreit
cummis' fra baith) he searchis the Sone, he searchis the Father, he
rypis up all. And never ane man sall be ane gude searcher, or
ane sanctified searcher, except he have this Spreit. Gif thy spreit
be not sanctified be this Sprit that is the onlie searcher and sanc-
tifier of al thingis, all thy searching is bot vanitic.
Now to go fordward. Befoir he was called ane searcher, now he is
called ane reveiler: first he searchis out, then he reveilis to us. Thair
is the order: he reveilis the hid things in God becaus he himself of
his awin nature is anc searcher of them, and befoir that ever he reveil
them he searchis them out first. Then he that wil be ane reveiler,
and will set himself to reveill those thingis to men: (I speik it in
plaine talk) he that wil be ane Preichir of thir hid thingis to uthers,
luik that first he be ane searcher and let him be occupied in search-
ing, and crave” at God that the Halie Spreit wald leid him in to
those thingis that hes na accesse. For he dow nathing 4 to be ane
Preicher of the gospel that searchis not with al his main, º first to se
these things in God, that he speikis to uthers. Wa to him that
cummis in affhand " to speik the thingis to uthers, that he never
saw or felt first in his awin hart. David sayis, (Psal. cxvi. 10,) “I
beleved and thairfoir I spak.” Paul efterhind 7 sayis, “We beleve,
and thairfoir we speik,” (2 Cor. iv. 13.) Quhat is this belief? Na
1 Proceedeth. 2 Discovereth. * Heartily beseech. 4 Is not fit, 5 Might.
° Of purpose. 7 Afterwards.
ON 1. COR. 2. 385
other thing bot or ever he speik to uthers, to get ane assurance of
them in his awin hart. Now luik the maner of the reveiling of
thir thingis. The Spreit he reveilis becaus he oppins our hartis,
and takis away the vaill aff our hartis, to let us see them, uther-
wayis in vain were it to lay them befoir us. I see ane uther maner
of this revelation, and thairfoir luik quhat mair the Spreit dois.
He is not content to tak the vail from thy hart, bot he takis thy
saull be the hand as it wer, and leidis it in throw the deipnes of
God; he will ravische it out of the bodie, as it wer, and lead it in
to that licht that hes na accesse: and will say: Loe, thair is the
mercie, loe thair is the richteousness, loe thair is the everlasting
life that is spokin of, Seis thow nocht them all in him 2 Sa he
will point out everie thing in God. Thairfoir na doctrine availes
without this halie Spreit, seing he onlie takis the vaill from our
heartis, and leadis us in to see the thingis that is spokin of Thair
is na perfite doctour but the Spreit of Jesus onlie. Thair is na
creature, suppois' he were ane angell, that can tak aff the slouch”
of thy hart to let thee see, that can bore thy eir to let thee heir
perfitlie : and thairfoir in preiching depend not on the mouth of
men, bot on the Spreit of Jesus Christ onlie. Zit I sall mak the
mater mair plaine, and Schaw how the Spreit will tak thee and let
thee see the thingis quhilk are in God. I will use ane suppositioun
quhilk can not be, zit it will make the mater mair cleir. I sup-
pois that my Spreit or saull entered into thee, gif my Spreit or
my saull be in thee, thair wald be na thing within mee bot thou
wald see it, all my thochtis wald be patent to thee. Now to apply
this. This is na suppositioun. God will put his Spreit in ane man
or woman: for gif his Spreit be not in us, wa be to us for ever
and ever. Gif God puts his Spreit in ony of us, mon it not follow
of necessitie that we mon see in God at leist the thingis that con-
cernis our weill and salvation ? That Spreit in mee, in thee, mon
reveill to mee, to thee, the thingis that lies in the verie deipnes
of God, quhilk concernis our weill and salvation : and that man
that hes the Spreit of God will see the verie hart of God, and his
* Although. * Vail.
2
B
386 THE SEVENTH SERMON,
mynd, he will see the remissioun of his sinnis in the mind of God,
and al be the benefite of the Spreit of Jesus that dwellis in him.
Mark this ze that accounts sa lichtlie of the Spreit of Jesus, in
quhom consists the onlie felicitie of man. For gif thou want his
Spreit, wa to thee, thow sall gang to hell. Sa we have ane greit
vantage heir, that be the benefite of the Spreit, we see the thingis
that ar in God. Bot, brethren, God hes als great ane advantage
of us: for gif Goddis Spreit be in us, be his Spreit he seis all that
is in our hartis: for gif my spreit were in thee (as I spake befoir)
as thou wald see all that is in my hart, sa I wald see all that is in
thy Saull, and the least thocht of thy hart wald be patent unto me:
sa mekle mair that Spreit seis the leist motioun and thocht of the
hart of man in quhom he is, and will present them all to the Father,
and lay them oppin befoir him. Sa all tends" to this end, that we
suld tak tent” to the leist thocht of our hartis, and be war to think
ane thocht to displeis him. For the Spreit, as he is called the
searcher of the deipnes of God, sa he is called the searcher
of the hartis of men. Thair is nocht ane thocht nor ane
grome in thy hart, nor ane motioun of joy in thy Saull, bot he re-
portis all to the Father. We have neid to tak tent to all the mo-
tiounis of our harts, and never to think ane thocht, bot that
quhilk we think is acceptabil to the Father, and never to anger
the Spreit, as the Apostle sayis, Eph. iv. 30, neither in word or
thocht. And thairfoir as thou wald keip him, and not anger him,
studie to sanctification, and sanctification sall bring on salva-
tion, for it is the verie mein that sal mak thee to se God. Luik
quhat the Apostle sayis, Heb. xii. 14. “Without sanctification
na man sall see God.”
Now upon all this discourse I mark schortlie. Thair was never
twa thingis in the warld sa straitlie joynit togidder as God and
man is. Thair was never sic sibnes' betwixt twa thingis in the
warld, as is betwixt the God of glorie and ane eirthlie man. Thou
will count thy sibnes with this man, and that man, gif thou be
joined with him in blude or alliance. Bot I speir this questioun,
* Serveth. * Heed. * Kindred.
ON 1. COR. 2. 387
Is his Spreit within thee? Is his saul within thee? Or is thy Saul
in him 2 Indeid it is true the affection may go out of thee to him,
bot givis thou him thy spreit with thy affection ? or givis he thee his
spreit with his affection ? Kennis thou the thocht of his hart or
kens he the thocht of thy hart 2 quha will say it? O bot God with
his affection givis thee his Spreit within thee, that thou may ken
every thocht of his hart, and he of thine. This is the conjunction
that is betwixt God and thee. Thair is a narrow conjunction in-
deid betwixt the members of that mystical body, for they ar con-
joined togidder be the Spreit of Christ, and be love, bot never
member puts his Sprit in ane other member: thair is the other con-
junction betuix your heid and the members of the natural body.
For the saul wil as it wer cum doun, and the spreit of the heid
to the members, and they wil understand the thocht of the heid,
and the heid wil understand the thocht of the members, bot thair
was never sic ane conjunction betwixt the members and the
heid, as is betwixt God and man; and all conjunctions amang men,
arbot ane pendicle of that quhilk is betwixt God and man. In this
conjunctioun with thy God, and with thy heid Jesus, (for thou ar
joymed with God in him) standis thy felicitie and blissednes.
To cum to the next verse. It micht have bene said to the Apostle,
Thou ascryvis' all to the Spreit of God, may not the spreit of man
do sum thing in this purpose, may not my spreit searche in to God
and rype” up the deipnes that is in him He answeris, “Na man can
see the thingis that ar in God bot his awin Spreit.” Then he de-
claris his answere be ane comparisoun, “Evin as na man can see
the thingis that is in man, bot the spreit of a man, sa na thing can
searche the thingis that ar in God bot the Spreit of God.” Thou
will not see the thingis that are in me, onlie I myself will see the
thingis that ar in mee: even sa na man can see the thingis that
ar in God, bot onlie his awin Spreit. Now the Apostle heir he
meitis the verie pride of the hart of man, that he will conceit of
himself, that he be his Spreit will seirche the thingis that is in
God. Paull had this experience in the Corinthians, that were bot
* Dedicatest. * Discover.
2 B 2
388 THE SEVENTH SERMON,
carnall, they tuke upon them to judge upon his doctrine that was
spiritual. Hes thou bot that spreit quhilk is carnall? Suppois'
thou were ane Monarch, thou art over pert* to tak on thee to judge
of thingis that is spirituall, and spokin spirituallie. This same is
the pryde of the Papistis this day. Out wil he cum, ane Thomist,
ane Scotist, that hes the spreit of ane man onlie, and ane very sub-
tile, or rather ane Sophistical Spreit, ane humane Philosopher, and
he will judge of the gospell of Jesus Christ, and turne it over in
humane Philosophie. They have turned the gospell of Jesus to
Aristotle, all thair writingis ar bot spreitles. Thair is not sa mekle
as ane Smel of the Spreit of Jesus in them all. Bot O that ter-
rible judgement that abydis sic doctors that are prophane polluters
of the gospell of Jesus Christ. Thair is name of us all bot gif ane
man wald stand up and say to mee or to thee, I ken thy hart, and
quhat is in thy hart, we wald be angrie at him. Then wil not
that glorious God be angrie at ane prophane villain, that will say
he will searche in to that profunditie, having only his awin spreit.
Brethren, quhen I was zunger nor I am, gif I had sene ane of
great ingyne, and great capacitie, and great graces, I thocht fra
hand 8 he wald comprehend all the Bible, bot I protest befoir God
that ay the langer I live, I think the less of the wit of man, I had
rather have the leist spunk of the Spreit of Christ, nor all the in-
gyne and knawledge of the warld: Na, ane silly body that hes the
Spreit of Jesus will conceave mair of spirituall thingis, nor all
the heich heided bodies in the warld. Thairfoir ever* renounce thy
awin wit, and be ane full that thou may be wise.
Ane other thing Imark heir. Quhen he hes magnified the Spreit,
and maid him the searcher of all the deipnes of God, see how he
haldis affhim the proud conceitis of men : he wil not let thee touche
him, or his priviledgis, that is, to seirche the deipnes of God. Thair-
foir gif ze wil speik of God to his honour (he is inviolable) save him
fra the proud conceitis of men. Hald proud men aff God, and let
them not touche him, or violate that inviolable majestie, or ellis
thou sall be guiltie gif he be violated in” thy default. Allace,
* Albeit. * Too bold. * I thought immediately. * Always. * By.
ON 1. COR. 2. 389
quhairfoir was thou set in this warld bot to preiche his glorie, and
to keip it inviolat fra the injuries of all flesche in the warld. Luik
quhat he dois nixt in the last verse, quhen he hes as it wer worne'
aff God the proud conceitis of men that wald tak on them to
searche in to the deipnes of God, quhat dois he He drawis that
Spreit to himself, and sayis, “Now we have received, not the
spreit of the warld, bot the Spreit quhilk is of GOD.” Quhairby
he learnis thee this lessoun. It availlis thee not to magnifie, to
glorifie God and his Spreit, except in the end thou tak that Spreit
to thyself, and may challenge Christ and his Spreit as thy awin
property. Men hes spokin verie hichlie of Christ and hes had
littil ado with him. Speik thou not of him sa, bot as thou speikis
of him to his prais, tak him to thy self, utherwise in althy speik-
ing of him, thou art bot ane very babler gif thou have not that
Spreit within thee. For the Apostle sayis, “Na man can cal Jesus
Lord, except he have the Spreit of Jesus; ” 1 Cor. xii. 3. Thair-
foir as thou wald save thy self fra prophaning of God and of his
Spreit, and of his graces, quhen thou art praising and magnifying
him, luik that thou have the Spreit that thou may say to thy self,
this Spreit quhome I prais is mine. This God whom I have bene
magnifying, and all His graces is mine. -
In the end of the verse he sets doun the end quhairfoir God hes
given us this Spreit. The end is this, to make us “to knaw the
thingis that argiven unto us be God.” Isee heir the Spreit of Jesus
quhen he makis our eie to luik into that deipnes of God, to that store
of mercie, he will let us see na thing in God but meir grace, meir
mercie. As this Evangell preachis na thing bot meir grace and mer-
cie, sa the Spreit of Jesus quhen he lets thee see all the hid thingis
in God, he lets thee see na thing bot meir mercie and grace. And
thairfoir he that will tell the people of the merites of men, of the me-
ritis of Saincts, that they ar not justifeit be meir grace, bot mon eik?
to thair awin deservings, I will telzou my judgement of sic aneman :
Suppois he wer never sa glorious ane doctour, never sa facund or
sa learned, he never spak be the Spreit of Jesus, Papist doctours
* Holden, * Add.
390 THE SEVENTH SERMON.
that leadis men to leane to thair awin merites, and to the meritis
of Saincts, never spak nor wrait be the Spreit of Jesus. For the
Spreit of Jesus lets thee see mathing in God bot meir mercie, for ane
merite of man will destroy al grace : Sa contrair is the Spreit of
God and the spreit of man, the grace of Christ and the merite of
man | And this is the spreit that man stryvis to put amang us
agane : for gifthey bring in Papistrie amang us againe, fairweill the
Spreit of Jesus. Na, I speik it fra my hart, cum in that idolatrie
agane, I sall stand up in my last preiching and say fairweill the
Spreit of Jesus. For na mair nor hell can accumpanie hevin, na
mair can that blissed Spreit of Jesus accumpany that dirt and dung
of man's doctrine. Thairfoir as thou wald keip the Spreit of Je-
sus, hald aback thir men, for thou sall not bruik" them baith in de-
spyte of thy hart. The Lord Jesus can not abyde” amang idola-
teris, and gif thou have not his Spreit thou art nocht his, Rom.
viii. 9; and gif thou be not his thou art the Divel’s, and sall gang
to everlasting damnatioun. Thairfoir I say over againe, hald them
away, as thou wald keip that blissit Spreit of Jesus Christ. To
quhome be all honour and praise, for ever and ever. Amen.
1. Enjoy. * Remain.
THE AU CHT SERMON.
ANE SERMON ON THE 2. TO THE CORINTH. THE 4. CHAPTER.
3. Gif our Gospell be then hid, it is hid to them that ar lost.
4. In quhome the God of this warld hes blinded the myndis, (that is, of
the infidels,) that the licht of the glorious Gospell of Christ, quhilk is
the Image of God, suld nocht schyne unto them.
5. For we preiche not our selfis, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and our Selfis
Zour servandis for Jesus Saik.
IN the verse immediatlie passing" befoir this text quhilk we have
red in Zour audience, the Apostle hes bene speiking of that since-
ritie, of that plainnes quhilk he used in the preiching of the Gospel
of Christ quhilk he uttered with sic ane evidence that quha sa ever
heard him micht understand him, micht have sene the licht of the
Gospel and have apprehended it. Now becaus this people of Co-
rinth was stif-neckit, hard to conceive, conceittie,” and lyked na-
thing bot humane wisdome and eloquence, scorning and mocking
the evidence of the Spreit : thairfoir sum of them micht have
objected immediatlie: Paul, thou speikis of thy plainnes in utter-
ing the gospell, zit for all thy plainnes thair is mony amangis us
that waitisº not quhat thou speikis: thy gospel is hid to monie,
monie takis 4 thee not up. The Apostle meitis this in the first
words quhilk we have red, “Gif our gospell be hid, it is hid
to them that perishe.” Ane Sair sentence. As gif he wald say,
Corinthians, wyte" mee not, nor my gospell; the fault is in that
* Going. * Full of conceits. °, Know. * Understand. * Blame.
392 THE AUCHT SERMON,
miserabill corruptioun quhilk is in zou. Ze can not see the licht
of my gospell because ze ar adjudged to perdition and damnation:
Sa the wyte is in zour blindnes that ar appointed to damnation fra
all eternitie. Sa this verse being plain, let us observe sum lessons.
The first is this: Thair hes bene and is monie in the warld in al
ages, that never saw, seis, nor sall see the licht of the Gospel. Ze
have ane exemple of thir Corinthians, howbeit the Gospell suld
schyne mair cleir nor the sun in the nonetydel of the day, it sall
never be sene be them, it wil be hid to them, howbeit it suld be
as ane buik laid oppin befoir them, zit it wil be ane glaspit” buik
to them. Let everie man bewar of himself, for this is ane neces-
sitie laid on the multitude of this warld. Ane multitude hes bene
in al ages, ane multitude is in this age, ane multitude sall be in
the ages” to cum, quha sal never see the licht of the Gospell. The
nixt lessoun is : Thir folk hes this propertie and dispositioun,
(being pleisers of themselfis,) they ar ever quarrelling 4 the gospell,
amangal the heirers of the warld the maist quarrellous, they that
gettis leist gude of it ever maist quarrellous, and ever turning
over the wyte either on the gospell, or on the teichers thairof, be-
cause they get na licht nor consolatioun thairof." Bewar of this
quarrellous complexion. I mark thridlie, quhair is the wyte, or in
quhom 2 They wyte the gospell and the teichers thairof, bot
quhair lyis the wyte 27 Paull tellis thee heir, “Gif my gospell be
hid, it is hid to them that perisches.” That perditioun and de-
structioun quhairunto thou is appointed fra all eternitie, is the
cause quhairfoir thou receivis na consolatioun, na licht in thy saul
throch the gospell of Jesus Christ. Thou layis the wyte quhair
it is not, thou is like ane blind man that will stand up against the
Sunne schyning on the nonetyde of the day, and quarrell” it becaus
it schynis not, quhen it is in the mein tyme schyning on the face
of him. Thou art ane veschell of perditioun, gif thair be not ane
remedie, and because the sentence is past, thairfoir as quhen ane
thief or ane murtherer is anis condemned to deith, the gratious
* Noon time, * Clasped. * In every age. * Quarrelling with.
* They are. * Thereby. * Where is the fault indeed P * Accuse.
ON 2. COR. 4. 393
r)
presence of the Prince is withdrawn fra him, that he may luik on
him na mair: Sa fra' anis ane creature be adjudged to deith, the
gratious countenance of Jesus Christ is withdrawin from him, least
he suld behald it in the gospell. Ane uther thing followis. Thair
armonie takins of damnation, that men and wenen ar adjudged to
death, amang the rest this is ane sure takin, gif the gospel be hid
to thee evin as it is now preiched in Scotland, (we have not Paull
and Peter to teiche now) zit gif it be hid to thee, gif thou receive
no licht nor consolatioun be it, as it is now preiched, gif thou con-
tinue sa quhill thy lyfe be in thy lip, as we speik, quhill the last
gasp, thou hes ane seall in thy awin bosome of everlasting damna-
tioun : thy hart is stamped” with ane stamp of perditioun : zea
suppois thou were ane king, thou art ane vesschell ordained for
schame and ignominie. Then, Brethren, learn heir : Seing thair
mon be ane number that mon perische, and ane number of all
estaites in the warld mon die, that mon go to hell, ordained fra all
eternitie to perdition, begyle not zour selfis, and seing to this
number the Gospell mon be hid, and mon be ane closed buik, they
can never have consolation of it. Then thou that delytis to walk
in the licht of the gospell of Jesus Christ, think thou not iliº of this
gospell, think thou not evill of this ministerie. Joine mee thir twa
togidder that can not be severed, the Ministry and the Gospel.
Thou that thinks evil of the ministrie thinkis evil of the gospell:
be thou not ashamed of the ministers, nor of thair bandis, nor of
thair captivitie, nor of thair death, nor of na crosse that can be
laid on them, the 2d epistle to Timothie, the 8th chapter. For
the multitude of the warlde thinkes shame of the gospell and the
ministers thereof, fra time affliction be laid on them.4 Thou that
loves the gospell, keip thy comfort in thy awne bosome, and assure
thy self thair is na other way to heaven ; and knawing well that
this mon be the weird" of the gospell and of the ministers, tak all
thir troubles for sure notes" of the treuth of God. I love not the
gospell that hes the countenance of the princes of this warld, and
* Even so, if. * Marked. * IEyil. “When affliction once cometh upon
them. * Hazard. ° Tokons.
394 THE AUCHT SERMON,
hes the confluence of the multitude. The princes and multitude
of this warld hes ever born the pure gospell of Jesus Christ at
hatred.
This far for the first cause quhairfoir the Gospell of Jesus
Christ is hid from monie, to wit, that perditioun quhairunto they
ar adjudged from all eternitie. Now tak up in the nixt verse ane
uther cause quhairfoir the gospell is hid to monie, “In quhome
(sayis he) the God of this warld hes blinded their minds.” The
Secund cause is excecatioun, blindfalding, putting out of the eies,
and all to this end, that they suld not get ane sicht of the glorious
licht of the gospell, and sa be saved? Bot how cummis this to
pas, how ar they blinded ? I sal tel zow. Anis being adjudged
to die, and ordained in the counsell of God to perdition, in cummis
the god of this warld, that is, the Divell, quhome this warld makis
ane God of, the God of hevin sendis him. Quhome to sendis he
him 2 Unto that cative, that miserabill creature that is ordayned
for perditioun, as ane tortourer, and burreaw, ane hangman, to put
that eternal decree in executioun. And quhat dois he quhen he
cummis in P. The first turne that ever he dois he bindis him.
Quhat bindis he, his handis or his feit P Na, he lets them louse,
and lets him work on with them his awin ruine, and run on to his
awin perditioun. Bot he bindis his eies, or rather pullis them out,
that the miserabill bodie may not see the gracious face of Christ.
Quhairfoir is he send to him 2 The cause is nocht onlie in the
ordinance of God, bot in the cative him self that malitiouslie re-
pynis to the licht, and will not receive the gospell, thairfoir the
God of hevin sends the Divel, to put out his eies that he suld not
see. Mark then the lessoum. They that ar adjudged to die and
to perditioun in the warld to cum, in this warld or ever they gang
out of this life, they ar bund like theifis and murtherers, to be
presented bund to that damnatioun that is to ensew : they ar re-
served in chaines to that great day. Quhat chaines ar thir?
Chaines of darknes, thair eies are plucked out, that blindlingis in
that great day they may be cast in hell, in that laik that burnis
* Persecutor.
ON 2. COR. 4. 395
with fire and brimstane for ever. Thair is never ane Saul that
gangis to damnatioun in the warld to cum, bot in this life it is
blinded. Ze ken the Ethnicks saying, Quos perdere vult Jupiter,
is mentem solet admere. It is ane true saying: and thairfoir tak
up agane ane sure note of perdition to cum, excecatioun, blindnes:
sa that gif thou can not see that gracious face of Christ in the
gospell at na time, for all thy heiring, for al this ministrie that is
in the warld, tak tent to thy self, and feare that damnation ever-
lasting. Be never at quiet nicht nor day quhil thou see ane licht
in thy minde be the gospell: utherwayis thy conscience sall con-
demne thee as ane veschell of perditioun. The gospell is not send
for nathing. Either sall it be unto thee ane savour of life unto
life, or ane savour of deith unto deith, and this sall be justified
ane day. And except thou get licht, thou sall warie” the time that
ever thou heard it, quhen it cummis to that damnatioun.
Ane uther thing mark heir. Quhen cummis the God of this warld
to blind men P (luik to the order of the text.) The first cause is
countit perditioun and Goddis ordinance, then cummis in the
Divell. Quhen cummis in the Divell? Quhen God hes first said
the word, I will have this bodie perisching, and wil be glorified in
his perditioun, then cummis in the torturer and pluckis out his
eies. Sa the Divell is na thing to God, but ane burreau, anemi-
mister of his wraith quhen he is angrie, then is the loun at hand,
as ame slave, to put in executioun that wraith. Bot it is ane sair
pitie to considder the miserabil bodie on quhom this wraith is exe-
cute. Quhen the hangman cummis to bind the handis of ane
bodie, that bodie is sorrowfull and sad: bot quhen the Divell is
binding thee, thou art blyth at it,” and quhen he is ane divell to
thee, thou trowis” he is ane god to thee. Thou art never blyith 4
bot in blindnes, luik to experience, the multitude of this land is
never blyith bot quhen he is binding them, and harling" them to
harlatrie," to murther and villanie, to scolling’ and drinking.
Count not of sic ane man : bot say, or think gif thou dar not say
* Curse. * Thou art merry in the meantime. * Thinkost. * Thou never
rejoicest. * Drawing. * Filthiness. * Gluttony.
396 TILE AUCHT SERMON,
it, O miserabill cative the divel is blinding thee and leading thee
to perditioun.
Now mark in the third rowm, the causes that haistis this
damnatioun, and that mon pas befoir the God of this warld cum
as ane torturer to put in executioun the sentence of GOD. Thair
mon gang befoir this excecatioun, and the damnatioun that
followis this excecatioun, ane caus in thy self, thou mon ever be
the wyte of thy awin deith : notwithstanding the ordinance
of God, zit thou never perischis quhil thou be worthie thy
awin deith, and merite thy awin damnatioun. Quhat bringis on
this blindnes 2 Ane malitious, false, infidell hart repugning to the
gospell, for thou first despysis it, and rejectis it sa malitiouslie and
despytefullie, that in ane manner thou wald spit on the face of
Christ Jesus that schynis in the gospel. This haistis the wraith.
For quhen the Lord seis the dispytefulnes of thy hart, that thou
will not see nor luik in the licht quhen it is offered to thee, and
haldin up befoir thine cics: then he sendis his tortorer and sayis,
Go thy wayis Sathan, and pluck out the eies of this bodie : then
he pluckis out the cies of thy minde immediatlie, and God givis
the over to ane reprobate sense: and this is it quhilk the Apostle
sayis of the Gentiles, Rom. i. 28. “It pleased them not to retein
God in knawledge, thairfoir God gave them over to ane reprobate
sense.” And Ephes. iv. 18, “having (sayis he) thair cogitations
darkned, and being strangers fra the life of God, throw the igno-
rance that is in them, becaus of the hardnes of thair harts.” Thair
plainlie he lets us see that the hardnes and malice of thair harts
bringis on this ignorance and blindnes. Thairfoir bewar of this
malice, and put it out of thy hart, or cllis thou sall be caried blind-
lings to everlasting damnatioun, suppois thou were ane Erle or ane
Ring : quhat regaird hes God of persons?
Now, Brethren, thair is sum wordis that I monwey to zou, as the
Lord sall give mee the grace, and I sall repeat them, and mark ze
with mee, gif they be not wechtie. “That the licht of the glorious
gospell of Christ, quhilk is the image of God, suld not schyne unto
* Causer.
ON 2. COR. 4. 397
them,” or spred his beamis upon them. Zeken, and onie man that hes
knawledge kennis, that this micht have bene spokin in fewer and
baser wordis, bot the Apostle contentis not himself with base wordis,
in sic ane mater: bot sayis, “That the licht of the glorious gospell
of Christ,” &c. Weil, is thair ane word heir in vaine, and is thair
ane change of wordis maid for nathing 2 Is sarie base wordis
changed in glorious wordis for nathing 2 Na, (allace we can not
see this), and it is ane of the thingis in the warld that I wald fain-
nest have zou to understand, quhat moves the apostles and pro-
pheitis to use sic ane heich language, and set up ane thing in sic
glorious tearmis, quhilk they micht utter in baser tearmis Think
not that the men of God, prophetes, and apostles hes spoken (as
we say), hyperbolice great and voustie” wordis, greater nor the
matter. Thir wordis ar borrowed wordis, and they ar borrowed
fra the maist glorious thing in the earth, and zit they attein not to
the thousand part of the thing quhilk be them he wald expresse.
Al the heich wordis that a man can use to expres the glory of
Christ ar not able to expresse the thousand part of that glorie.
Bot to cum to the purpose. Ze have set doun, first in glorious
termis, the effect of the Gospel : it is set doun in schining and
beamis, theirefter ze have set doun the gospel it self. To cum to
the first. The maist glorious thing that ane man can see in this
earth, is the schyning of the sunne, quhilk the Lord hes setº in the
hevennis. The pleasandest thing that ane man can luik to, quhen
he hes luikit to all thir cirthly things, is the glancing of the sunne
in ane fair day. And thairfoir ze see the glorie of the sunne is
descryved verie hichlie be David in the xix. Psalme. To apply
this. Even sa the effect of the Gospel being the maist glorious
effect that ever was wrocht : the Spreit of God sets it out be the
maist glorious thing in the warld, the spredding of the sunne
beamis. And surelie suppois thair wer na mair bot this word
[schyning] it lettis us see ane wonderfull effect of the gospell in the
hartis of men and wenen. Ze see be experience, the beamis of the
sunné, suppois they were never sa bricht, will never alter the bodie
1 Simple. * Lofty. * Fixed,
398 THE AUCHT SERMON,
quhilk they schyne on, nor mak it bricht lyke them selfis, the
sumne hes Schyned this lang time in the warld, bot zit be schining
it culd never sa trans-change ane creature, that it culd becum as
bricht as the sunne it self. It may weill let thee see the bodie
that is OPACUM, (as we say) dark and obscure, sa lang as it
schynis, bot als sone as it is removed, the bodie is dark as it was
befoir. Bot as to the Gospell: The gospell with the beamis of it
not onlie makis the object quhairon it schynis to be seene and to
appeir : bot it dois mair, it transformes the saul of the man or
woman in that same licht and brichtness that is in it. That is to
say, the face of Jesus, the sum of richteousnes that schynis in the
gospel, quhen the beamis of it strykis on thy Saull, they mak it
lichtsum and bricht like the face of Jesus, they turne the saull in
the Schaip of the face of Jesus, that schynis in the gospell. Would
Ze have scripture for this, luik the last verse of the chapter going
befoir. “We behold (sayis he), as in ane mirrour the glorie of God
with ane open face, and are changit into the same image fra glory
to glory, as be the Sprit of the Lord.” And this is done in sic ane
sort (O, wald to God we knew the power of the gospel) that thou
quha had na thing bot darknes within thee, is maid ane schyning
licht, casting out thy beamis, and over Schaddowing sillie dark
bodies. “He that brocht licht out of darknes (sayis Paull) be
his word, he hes schyned in my hart, that I may minister the knaw-
ledge of Jesus Christ to uthers.” Sa it is maist certain, thou in
quhom the gospell is sa powerful, art maid ane licht in the warld
to illuminat dark Saullis.
Now to cum to the nixt, the Gospell itself. How expressis
he the gospell ? He callis it not simplie and bairlie with ane
wairsche word, the gospell, (all thir wairsche wordis, and silly
unsel” speicheis of sic ane glorie, tellis quhat feilling men hes in
thair hartis of the effectualnes of the gospell) bot he callis it the
licht of the gospell, the gospell is ane licht, and it is the licht of
lichtis. The sun albeit it be bricht was never comparabil to it in
schining, and thairfoir it castis out sic glorious beamis in the saulis
1 Mean. * Simple.
ON 2. COR. 4. 399
of men and wemen. Quhat is the caus that it is ane licht º' The
cause is in the subject of it. The subject of it is glorie: quhat
will mak ane licht, gif glorie wil not mak it 2 The gospell, is the
gospell of glorie, and all that is within it is glorie. Quhat glorie
is this? The glorie of Christ the King of kingis, his glorie mon be
ane great glorie. Quhat kind of person is this Christ He is the
image of God: he never restis mounting up quhill he cum to that
divinity. See how he rysis. He climmis fra the gospell to the
Mediatour, and from the Mediatour to that glorious majestie. Sa
all the glorie that schynis in the gospell is the glorie of God, and
all the licht of the gospell is that licht of God quhilk the Apostle,
(1.Timoth. vi. 16,) callis that licht that hesna acces: and never man
had acces to it, quhill this Jesus brocht it doun : and without this
licht thou art bot darknes, and sall end in exteriour and utter
darknes. All the beamis of the sunne arbot darknes in respect of
it. The sunne is bot ane creature, this is the licht uncreated of
the glorious God, the verie essence of God, count of it as thou
will. Now mark ane thing of this : This man be his speich leidis
us to his hart. Quhat reck of words and they want the hart and
they have no life—quhat reckis” suppois thou spak ame thousand
zeiris of licht and glorie, gif thou have neither licht nor glorie in
thy Saull? Certainlie thair is name that will luik thir wordis bot
they may see the mans hart was replenisched with this licht and
glorie quhairof he spak. The face of Jesus schyned on his saul,
and sa wonderfullie he utteris that conceptioun, and fulnes of the
hart, in sic wordis as is mervellous. The hart of Paul was full of
licht and glorie. But I see littill licht in the hartis of men and
wemen, in respect of that licht that was in his hart. And thairfoir,
Brethren, to speik the truth, because this Gospell howbeit it hes
bene sounding in the eir thir monie zeiris in this land, zit it hes
not entered in the hartis of men and wenen, it hes bene ane sound
in the lug,” bot not ane licht in the Saull, becausthou hes not suffered
t to enter in thy hart, and keip it thair : thairfoir the Lord is
hreatning to tak it from thy ear also : and sa will be sene on
What are words, if. * What are words to be respected, suppose, &c. * Ear.
400 THE AUCHT SERMON,
Edinburgh ane day. The eie is ay" upon men, bot thou luikis not
to that poysonabill hart of thine, that is procuiring the away tak-
ing of this gospell out of thy eare; and except ze discend in Zour
awin hartis, and seirche the emptines of that licht in them, it is
not possibil that it can remain. Can it be possibil that this con-
tempt of the gospell, that of the” awin nature is sa effectuall in the
hartis of men can be born with for ever? Na, the Lord will not suffer
this contempt to be unpunished. And thairfoir the Lord appeir-
andlie hes said, “I will put away my gospell fra this ungrate” people,
quhom it hes not illuminated efter sa lang time.” Saye that hes
bene lang luiking to instruments, luik als lang on Zour awin fals
hartis that hes the wyte" of al. Zit, Brethren, notwithstanding of
all this contempt of the gospell, the Lord save mee, and all them
that I wische weill to, from this, to be ane instrument of the with-
drawing of it: for zit it was never sene that the Lord used gude
men to be instrumentis in sic ane turne." Quha is it that is heir
send to blind this warld? quha bot the God of this warld the
Divell: and thairfoir I give this watchword, Let never man preis
to be the occasioun of the away taking of the Gospell.
Now I sall tak up the nixt verse schortly, and sa I sall end. In
the mixt verse the Apostle gives the reason quhairfoir they to quhom
the gospell was hid, behoved to be they quha was ordained for per-
ditioun, and quhome the God of this warld hes blindit. His rea-
soun is takin even fra his sinceritie in preaching the gospell: “For
(sayis he) we preache not our selfis.” Quhom preiche I then P
“Bot Jesus Christ the Lord,” and I preached him to be the Lord
in my gospell, and quhat preached I of my self? “Our selfis your
servandis for Christ Jesus saik.” For the brydegrome's cause I
was ane servand to the bryde : for his cause quha is the onlie heid
and Lord of the Kirk, I was ane servand to the Kirk. Then of
this reasoun mark this lessoun. Ane man quhom the Lord raises
to preache the gospell, not to seik him self, nor his awin advance-
ment, nor warldlie riches, nor honor, bot onlie to preiche the gos-
pell in sinceritie, quhat effect will he have in his preaching 2
1 Always. * Her. * Ungrateful. * That are the cause. * Deed.
ON 2 COR. 4. 401
Strange effects wilfollow him : gif he save thee not, gif he win thee
nocht to God, gif he minister nocht comfort to thee be his gospell,
quhat will he doe? I sal tel thee, he wil put ane stamp on thee,
and thrist it on thy awin hart and conscience, testifeing to thee in
the awin time (for the conscience walkinnis not in all men at all
times) that thou was nocht faithfull, bot an reprobate ordained to
perdition fra all eternitie, gif thou get not repentance in time, and
gif the gospel preiched be ane sinceir man hes not fructified in
thee, all his preiching is botane seall to thee of thy damnatioun,
and in the great day sall stand up and aggrege thy judgment.
Mark ane uther thing heir. Quhat is this that makis this man sa
bauld He will denunce perdition, excecatioun and blindfalding be
the god of this warld, (I assure you this is ane bauld speich to
denunce damnatioun) bot what makis him sa bald? Ze see it in
ane word, the conscience of his awin sinceritie, that in his preich-
ing he socht not him self, bot the Lord his maister. Thair is the
lessoun. Ane man quhom the Lord will send (and the Lord als
certainlie will send men to speik in sinceritie his message, as ever
he sent anel Propheit in the warld, howbeit thair be not ane extra-
ordinar calling now). Ane man (I say) quhom the Lord will send,
he wil denunce damnation to ame obstinate and rebellious people :
and he will be bauld to tak thee, as it wer, be the lug,” suppois
thou were” ane King, and leid thee to that tribunall to heir the
sentence of damnation pronounced against thee. The Lord give
mee this sinceritie, and than I will not cair" all the kings and all
the men in the warld: for the Lord will give baldnes to the man
quhome he raisis in sinceritie to cite kingis befoir that tribunall of
Jesus Christ. Ane uther thing I see in this text: Thair is na
Lord, bot the Lord Jesus, quha will tramp" down all the Lordis in
the eirth, and tred upon thair craigis" at his pleisure. And mair, I
see thair is na Ladie, nor Queene, bot the Kirk, the spous of Jesus
Christ. As for Kingis, Queenes, Politickes in the eirth, all ar bot
servandis onlie, Kingis servandis, Queenes servandis, Pastouris and
Ministers servandis and nourischers of the Rirk of Jesus: The
* Any. * Ear, * Be. * Care for. * Tread. * Necks,
2 C
402 THE AUCHT SERMON.
Apostles servandis, ministring fude to this glorious body of Jesus,
and feiding it with the sinceir milk of the word. And that is it
quhilk the Apostle sayis, 1 Cor. iii. 22, speiking of himself, and of
Apollos: “All is zouris, (sayis he) quhidder it be Paul, or Apollos,
or Cephas,” &c., all is zouris, all is bot servandis to zou; ze ar
Christis, he is zour lord, ze have not ane lord, bot Christ. Then
the Kirkmon have ane great prerogative, jurisdictioun, and libertie.
Scho is ane queene, and gif ever thair was in ane cuntry ane juris-
diction and libertie, scho hes it given hir of hir spous, the Lord
Jesus. Then ze knaw quhat suld follow : Gif scho hes ane libertie
and jurisdiction, I will speik that quhilk the Apostle speikis, (2 to
the Cor. the xiii. chap. 10 verse.) “God hes not given mee, (sayis
Paul), power to zour destruction, bot all the power quhilk God
hes given mee is to zour edificatioun.” The God of hevin gave
never to na” creature in hevin nor eirth power to doe against hir,
bot all to maintaine hir in hir libertie. Then mel” not with hir
jurisdictioun. Let na eirthlie power meddle with it, and bewar
that na irruption be made within it. Thair was never Empreour
nor Monarch of this warld, that maid irruption within it, that ever
wan be it. Thairfor let everie Saul bewar to mell” with this liber-
tie : for certainlie that sword that sall be strikken at hir scho sall
ding aback agane like the hammer aff the studie.” Reid the
Ecclesiasticall Histories, ze sall see that never man gat the
upper hand that ever melled with it. And thairfoir the Lord
oppin men's eies, and let them see this, that they may reverence
this glorious spouse of Jesus Christ, as ever they wald see that
glorious face of Christ Jesus hir heid. To quhom, with the
Father and the Halie Spreit, be all honour, praise, and glorie,
warld without end. Amen.
1 Others. “Any Meddle. ‘Ding it back. * Stithy.
THE NYNTH SERMON.
ANE SERMON PREACHED ON THE 2. EPISTLE TO THE CORINTH.
THE 10. CHAPTER.
1. Now I Paull myself beseikº you by the meiknes and gentleness of
Christ, quha quhen I am present amang Zou am base, bot am bauld
towardis zou being absent.
2. And this I requyre zou, that I neid not to be bauld quhen I am present
with that same confidence quhairwith I think to be bauld against
some, quhilk esteme us as thouch we walked according to the flesche.
3. Nevertheles thouch we walk in the flesche, zit we do not weir efter
the flesche :
4. (For the weapons of our weirfair ar not carnall, bot michtie throuch
God to cast doun haldis ;)
5. Casting doun the imaginations, and everie heich thing that is exalted
against the knawledge of God, and bringing into captivitie everie
thocht to the obedience of Christ.
THIR* Corinthians unto quhom the Apostle wrytis, being befoir
founded and grounded in the faith of Jesus Christ be this minis-
try, zit efterward seduced and led aside with fals apostles, ora-
tours rather nor” teichers, quha preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ
with humane affected eloquence, beginnis to lichtlie" the Apostle
quha founded and grounded them in that faith of Jesus Christ, and
to count” of him evin as gif he had not bene sent, or had not bene
an Apostle in verie deid, bot had onlie given himself out for ane
1 Beseech. *These. *Than. “Disdain. " Account.
2 C 2
404 THE NYNTH SERMON,
Apostle. Thairfoir in this present text, the Apostle beseiks them
to count" of him, (as he was indeid), as the apostle of Jesus Christ,
and desiris them sa to esteme of him ; and sa taking the occasion,
he fallis out in ane verie heich description of his apostleship. And
first he makis ame requeist unto them : “Now I Paull myself be-
seik Zow by the meiknesse and gentlenesse of Christ.” Surelie
gifye will considder thair deserving at the handis of the Apostle,
they suld have been met mair hardlie, and scharper language suld
have been directed to them : Zit the Apostle meitis them gentlie,
and directis to them ane meik and gentle requeist. “I, Paul, in my
awin person, beseikis you, and that for the meiknes and gentlenes
of Jesus Christ, gif ever ze had ane taist of that mercie and meik-
ness in Jesus Christ towardis you, evin for that meiknes saik, and
for that mercies saik, obey mee, doe the thing quhilk I bid you.”
Sa the Pastour hes his lesson first heir. It is the pairt and dutie
of ane pastour quha hes to do with people, first at the entrie to
begin with meikness and lenitie: yea, amangis all the properties
that is requyred in ane faithfull pastour, this is not the leist, to be
endewed with lenitie and pitie: Lenitie, (I say), arysing not onlie
of the consideration of the misery of men with quhom he hes to
doe, (for all people ar miserabil be nature, and all our preichings
ar to ane cumpanie of miserable creatures, quha being miserabill
hes mister” of mercie, and cravis pitie) botarysing also of ane sense
and feiling of his awin wretchednes and miserie. Quhat? Is he
not him self ane miserabill man be nature, als well as onie uther
persone of the flock, man or woman 2 Then againe, the mercie and
lenitie of Jesus Christ quhilk he hes found towardis himself suld
move and raise up his lenitie and pitie towardis his flock.
Thairfoir Paull being of mind to speik to thir Corinthians, how-
beit he had mater of Schairpnes and threatning offered to him
be them, zit the mercie of Christ towardis him, quha was sa miser-
abill himself untill he gat that mercie, changes all Schairpnes in?
lenitie, and turnis his threatnings quhilk he might have used, in
ane pitifull requeist. Nixt the People likewise hes thair lessoun
* Account. * Hath need. * To.
ON 2. COR. 10. 405
heir. For as the lenitie, pitie, and meiknes of Jesus Christ suld
move the pastour to lenitie towardis the people, evin Sa this same
lenitie and meiknes of our Lord Jesus suld move the people to
obey the gentle and humble requeist of the pastour. And he or
scho that ever hes felt in hart, and taisted the sweitnes of the
mercie of God in Jesus Christ, will not sa some heir of this lenity
and mercie, for Christis mercies sake, or for his lenities saik, bot
als sone they will be moved to obey the requeist. And they
again that abydis' stubburn and disobedient, notwithstanding of
ane dewtiful and lawful requiest, I say (for mee)” that stubburn
harted bodie never wist" quhat Christ meinit, never felt remissioun
of sinnis throuch the blude of Jesus Christ. They that will not
doe the thing quhilk they suld do for the mercies saik of Christ,
sall never taist of that mercy nor of Jesus Christ. Assuredlie,
they serve for na thing bot to be faggots for hellis fire: for quhair
mercie is not, thair mon be judgement. Now in the latter part of
the verse, he settis down ane descriptioun of himself, “I Paul
quha quhen I am present amang Zou am base, but am bald toward
zou being absent.” This is ame thing in effect with that quhilk
followis afterwardis in the 10th verse of this chapter (for this dis-
estimation of him,” is fra that licht account and regaird that they
made of him, and of the gospell quhilk he teached). For the Let-
ters (sayis he) ar Sair and strong, bot his bodilie presence is waik,
and his speich is of na value. He heir descryves him self con-
forme to thair disestimatioun of him, for the mislyking is recent
in his memorie, zit his speich is meik to them. This matter wald
have angered ane gude man, bot Paul is sa far fra anger, that he
brekis out in ane gentle and humble request. Quhairupon I note,
that the unthankfulnes of the warld suld not breck our patience,
nor caus us forget that lenity quhairwith the Embassadour of Jesus
Christ suld be endewed: for lenitie is bund to us, and we ar bund
to it, zea, althocht this warld be never sa ungrate, zit we ar bund
to stryve be lang suffering to overeum in the end. Secundlie,
think ze not bot Paull suld have thocht schame to registrate, as it
* Who continue. * For my part. * Knew. “For the fire of hell. " Himself.
406 THE NYNTH SERMON,
were, his awin Schame to the posteritie to cum, sa that I may say,
Paul thou was of na estimatioun, and everie ane may see in how
small account he was amang thir people. Thair is name of us all,
gif thair be anie infirmitie in us, bot we wald have it hid: bot ane
man having ane gude conscience and discharging ane faithfull
pairt of dutie, is na thing blotted be the speiking of the warld, nor
the registrating of thair speiches, is na thing to his schame. Bot
the schame perteinis to the people: thair wordis and deidis to-
ward the Pastour abydis” in his memorie, and in the memorie of
God, and sall abyde” untill the day of judgement except they re-
pent: zea, evin thir same wordis spoken against Paull sall meit
them in the teith at the day of judgement.
Zit I see in thir wordis ane Schairpnesse and rebuiking mixed
with lenitie, to let us see, that quhen we have to do with wicked
men, lenitie and meiknes suld not be dolfe,” bot tempered with
schairpnes, that ungrat” men may be brocht to ane sense and feil-
ing of sinne and miserie. Lenitie alane will not do” the turn, bot
with sweitnes sowrnes mon be mingled, that the word spokin may
be the mair effectuall and forcible. “Quha quhen I am present
amang zou am base,” &c. The warld and the men of this warld
countis" of na thing bot of that quhilk hes ane fair schaw, and that
they esteim hichlie of, althocht it were never sa littill worthie.
The ground quhairof is this. All men and wenen be nature ar
hypocrits, painted bodies, na soliditie in them, all ar visorned folk:
he cummis out, scho cummis out, all masked and disaguysed : For
quhat is a hypocrit, bot ane fals Schaw 2 Nathing surelie: and
thairfoir becausthair is na solidity in themselfis, they can count 7
na thing of soliditie: as he is him self, sic is his estimation and
reputatioun of uthers: as scho is hir self, sic is hir estimatioun of
utheris. O, wald to God everie man and woman culd descend in 8
them selfis, and ken” thair awin nature. Amangis all thingis in
the warld, this ministerie is the vyldest,” it is the bassest thing un-
* Remaineth. * Continue. * Corrupted in the English translation, but this
is a mistake. The Scottish word dolf, or dowſ, means here, feeble and spiritless in
expression. * Ungrateful. * Serve. * Account. " Account. * Into.
* Know. 19 WileSt.
ON 2. COR. 10. 407
der the sunne to the eie of man. Uther callings wil have sum
outward glory, ane king wil have ane outward glorie, bot this
ministerie hes na outward glorie: and zit thair is na calling under
the sunne that hes sa pretious ane subject, as the calling of the
ministerie: Zea, the maist solide thing in the warld is under it,
even that quhilk makis men and wenen solide, and without it na
soliditie, bot all is as caffel befoir the wind. The Apostle, 2 Cor. iv.
7, comparis Jesus Christ and his graces quhilk ar revealed in the
gospell to ane treasure, and the Apostles themselves to lame” ves-
schels, “Bot we have (sayis he) this treasure in eirthlie vesschels,
that the excellencie of that power micht be of God, and not of us.”
Thair the maist glorious thing in the warld is in the bassest ves-
schels, and waikest instrumentis. Quhat makis the warld to con-
temne and disdaine this treasure of the gospell, bot the waiknes
of thir vesschellis, the basnes of thir sillie men quhome GOD hes
put in this service. Indeid I mervell not howbeit I see the con-
tempt of this Ministerie, (and surelie thair is na thing mair vyld in
the eiris of men of Scotland, then to heir the name of ane minis-
ter) bot I wonder rather that ever man or woman suld be altered
be this ministerie: the ane is of mature, the uther is of grace.
Wonder never at nature, bot wonder to see ane man or woman
altered be grace. Allace, this is to be pitied, men lossis thair part
of thir unseirchable riches in Jesus Christ, becaus they stumble at
the basnes of this ministerie. For he that esteimis not of this
ministerie, never taisted of the Sweitnes of Jesus Christ. He that
esteimis not of the lame vesschell, hes na pairt of the riches quhilk
ar in the lame vesschell. In the wordis following, “Bot I am
bauld towardis Zou quhil I am absent:” I see they were compelled
to see and feill sum bauldnes in Paull, gif not in his presence, zit
in his absence, gif" not be his wordis in speiking, zit be his wryte."
Thair is name sa sensles in the warld, name sa deid, name sa hard
harted against the power of this ministerie, bot either be word or
wryte, either be absence, or ellis be presence, they sall be compelled
* Chaff. * Loam. * Though. “Writing.
408 THE NYNTH SERMON,
to feill the force of it. Zea, this ministerie sall either be the savour
of lyfe to lyfe, or ellis the savour of deith unto deith to them.
“And this I requyre zou, that I neid not to be bauld,” &c. In
this nixt verse we have his requeist expressed in few wordis,
quhilk is als mekill" in effect as gif he wald say, Seing I am the
Apostle of Jesus, I beseik zou to account” of mee as of ane Apostle.
The argument is, Gif ze count not of mee quhill I am absent,
quhen I cum, gifº thair be onie power in mee, I sall gar zou ken it,”
and utter it against zou : ze sall finde mee bauld, and not base :
ze sall finde sowrnes, and not meiknes: Schairpnes and not lenitie.
Heir he tellis be ane comparisoun quhat kind of bauldnes he will
use. Quhen I cum to zow, I sall use the same bauldnes towardis
zou, that I use towardis the fals Apostles: and as concerning the
false Apostles, I sal thunder out against them Schame, and confu-
sioun and ignominie, sa that they that countis’ not of mee that I
am the Apostle of Jesus Christ sall finde my power. We may se
heir Paul wald be counted be thir Corinthians to be the Apostle of
Jesus Christ. Is he thairfoir seeking his awin honour and glorie?
Na, he is seiking the weill" of the people. It is the weill of the
people to count of the servand of GOD, for quhen they count
nocht of him, they can not count" nor accept of his doctrine : and
quhen the doctrine is nocht weili” accepted, then gangis' the build-
ing slawlie fordward. Allace, this evill counting” of men in the
ministerie makis sa few to be” edified, and Sa monie to abyde” faith-
les. For quhair the man is lichtlied, the doctrine is contemned :
and quhair the doctrine is contemned, thair can be na faith, na
edifeing: sa that it is ane greater matter to contemne the minis-
terie, nor men trowis.”
Mark these wordis, “That I neid not to be bauld.” Heir we
see plainlie that lenitie and meiknes is requyred in ane Pastour.
The Pastour is ever bund first to begin with lenitie and meiknes,
severitie suld onlie cum upon necessitie, quhen lenitie and meiknes
is contemned and can not serve. Reid the first to the Corinthians
! Much. * Acknowledge. 3 If. * I shall make you know it. * Account.
6 Weal. " Account. 8 Well. * Goeth. * Esteeming. * Is the cause
that so few are. 12 Do remain. 13 Tham men think it to be.
ON 2. COR. 10. - 409
iv. 21. “Tak zour chose quhidder I sall cum to zou with ane rod,
or in love and in the spreit of meiknes:” meining, that he wald cum
in severitie, gif lenitie wald not serve. And 2 Cor. xiii. 2, quhen
he seis that they cannot be win! with lenitie, he turnis his tune,”
“Gif I cum again Isal not spair zou.” Quhen I cum agane, I sall
terrifiezou with the power of God, becaus ze thraw8 it out of mee.
I see agane, he is verie schairp against thir fals oratouris, he usis
na lenitie towardis them. Zit thair is ane discretioun to be had
betwixt the dealing with fals teichers, and with the people. Thair
suld be lenitie used towards the people : bot quhat suld be 4 with
ane deceiving lown, that begins to bring the truth in sclaunder ??
He mon be handled with severitie and rigour: na lenitie suld be
used towardis thir" that creipis in dailie to bring the truth in
Sclaunder. Ze knaw thair voices, Quha made Calvine ane minis-
ter? Quha made Luther ane minister? Bot they sall find ane
day that Calvine and Luther was ministers, and that thair was ane
power in the word quhilk Calvin and Luther teiched. For this is
true that Paull spak, “The Lord consumes them dailie with the
word, that cummis out of the mouthes of his ministers, and sall
consume them dailie, untill the day of the Lordis appearance.”
In the third verse he fallis out in ane descriptioun of the maner
of his walking. “Nevertheles thocht we walk in the flesche,” &c.,
thocht we live in the flesche, that is, in the infirmitie of this com-
moun nature : (for to live in the flesche heir, is to live in the
waiknes of nature, “zit we walk not or warre not according to the
flesche,” that is, our actions and doings in our apostleschip ar not
fleschlie and waik. Ze see the outward bodie is waik, bot mea-
sure not the inward man efter the body and the strenth thairof:
for suppois my bodie be waik, Zet my actions ar strong. Sa he
takis to him ane thing, and refusis ane uther. Now, Brethren, let
everie man that livistak gladlie to him frailtie and waiknes, and
gif men call thee waik, tak it to thee, for he that wil be strong in
him self, can not be strong in God. In this same Epistle xii. 9,
1 Won. * He changes his voice. * Throw in the English translation. The
word means, twist, wrench. “But what should be done. * Slander. * These.
410 THE NYNTH SERMON,
“The power of God (sayis he) is maid perfite in my infirmity.” Of
all men in the warld ane man quhais calling is to be ane minister,
suld tak cheiflie upon him this frailtie and waiknes: zea, let him
accept it mair redilie nor it can be castin to him : and as he is
frail and waik, sa he mon feill his frailtie and waiknes, for ane cheif
part of his preiching suld be of frailtie: and that minister that never
felt his awin miserie, can nocht perswade the peple that they are .
miserabill, and bring them to ane acknowledging of it. And herein
appeiris the wisdom of God, quha chuses nocht to this ministerie
those quha hes the greatest graces of nature, and natural giftis,
bot he chuses out the waik anis, and contemptibill bodies, that ar
amangst men, and he settis them up to be preachouris to mankinde,
as he speikis in the first Epistle to the Corinthians, the first chap-
ter, the 26. verse. “Ze see, brethren, zour calling, how that not
monie wise men among you according to the flesche, not monie
michtie, not monie noble ar called, bot God hes chosin the fulisch
thingis of the warld to confound the wyse, and God hes chosen
the waik thingis of this warld to confound the michtie.” Sa the
Lord chuses the ignobill and sillie creatures, and settis them up
above kingis, zea, and the greatest monarches of the world to ding"
them doun.
Mark again, as everie man suld willinglie tak to him this frailtie
and waiknes of nature, sa let him refuis the uther, that is to say, let
him refuis walking” according to the flesche. To walk according
to the flesche, and to warre according to the flesche is all ane, (for
the walking of ane Christian is ane warfair.) Hald aff thirº flesch-
lie actiounis, and namelie thir actiounis of sinne: tak to thee the
waiknes of nature, bot cast aff sin. For gif thy actiounis be alto-
gidder fleschlie, be thou sure thow hes na pairt of the power of
GOD, nor of the lyfe of Jesus Christ: thou hes bot the life of ane
man, or of ane woman, and sall die like ane man or ane woman
without the lyfe of God. Bot above all men in the warld let ane
Minister eschew thir actiounis of the flesche, luik that his actiounis
be powerful, and that the power of God appeir in his walking: Sa
1 Beat. * To walk. * Hold back these.
ON 2. COR. 10. 411
that quhen in outward appeirance he is bot ane waik bodie, zit it
may be said of him, he" is strong in Christ. For als waik as he is
to luik to, zit he is ane strang warriour, the Spreit is sensible in
him, he speikis not like ane man onlie, thair is ane uther grace
convoying his wordis, nor” can accumpanie the word of man. Gif
thou be ane minister, althocht thou were never sa strang in bodie,
gif thou findis not God's power in thy life and doctrine, I wil not
give ane pennie for thee, luik that thou feill the power that Paull
felt, as ze reid, 2 Cor. iv.16, quhen he was deing in the body then
was the inner man quickest in him : and the mair the bodilie lyfe
wes away, the mair the lyfe of God was manifest in him. Ane
minister that hes not the power of God within him, how can he
preache of Christ's power or of his lyfe 2 How can he be ane minis-
ter of life that hes na taist of life?8 How can he preache of lyfe
that never felt lyfe 2 Of necessity he must be a schameles man,
that will speake of Christ, of his mercy, life and power, quhen in
the meane time he kennis 4 not quhat the mercy, life and power of
Christ meanes; that man was never called of God to be ane minis-
ter, all that he speikis is like the babling of ame parockquet: the
power of God dois the turne:” and thairfoir God chusis the waik
instruments, that the warld may see that it is onlie his grace, and
not the giftis of the men that dois the turne. He callis it not his
walking, bot warring and fechting. The life of ane minister is bot
ane warfair, and he quha wald be ane minister suld mak him for
warfair, mak him for paine and labour, utherwayis let him never
mint" for that calling. Zea, thair is na thing salaborious or painfull,
bot the life of ane minister is comparit to it. We never reid in the
Scripture quhair it is compared to ony thing that importis easines
or idlenes. 1 Cor. ix. 26, the minister is compared to ame warri-
our, then to ane runner running with all his main speid, stryving
till he cum' to the mark, never luiking over his schulder to this or
that thing, as monie will doe: Saying, I have done this turne or
that turne. Na, quhen thou hes done all thou can doe, say, thou
1 That he. * Than. ° Life".5mself. * Knoweth. * Doeth the deed .
° Strive. * Striving to come. *
412 THE NYNTH SERMON,
hes done nathing. Then he is comparit to ane wrastler, and to
ane husbandman that haldis the pleuch fra morning till evening.
In all thir comparisounis of the scripture, the figure is not sa great
as the thing figurat, quhen ane thing hevinlie" is compared with
ane thing warldlie, the thing warldly is nathing in respect of the
thing hevinlie. And thairfoir thair is na man comparable to the
minister in labour, the warriour, the runner, the plewman is na
thing to him. The Apostle, wryting to Timothie, sayis in his Se-
cund Epistle, ii. 5, “Gif thou fecht nocht, thou sall never attein to
the croun,” and quhy suld thou tyne” sa fair ane crown for ane
moments fechting P “Na man (sayis he) is crowned except he fecht
faithfullie.” And, 2 Timoth. iv. 8, “Thair is ane croun of richteous-
nes laid up, not onlie for mee, bot for all those that loves the
bricht cumming of the Lord Jesus.” Quhen Paull was ane auld
man and leiſing this warld, “I have ended (sayis he) my warfair,
and I have fouchten ane gude faucht, and thairfoir I luik for that
croun.” Gif he had never bene ane runner, he wald never have
tane this promise to himself, “ane croun is laid up for mee.” And
thairfoir the Lord give us grace to labour for ane quhyle, that we
may rest from our labour in the lyfe to cum.
In the nixt verse he proves that his warring and fechting in
this warld was not according to the flesche, taking the argu-
ment fra the weapons and armour quhairwith he faucht, sic” as
the armour is, sic sall the warring be, gif the armour be waik,
the fecht sall be waik, gif the armour be strang, the fecht sall
be strang, “Our armour (sayis the Apostle) is not fleschlie,”
our weapons ar not of flesche nor frail mater, “bot our weap-
ons are strang through God,” the power of God is in them ;
God is in the word quhilk we speak; he settis doun the end,
2?
“ to ding" doun strang haldis :” this power will ding them doun,
na thing will gainstand it. Brethren, ze see be experience, put
ane rasour in ane bairnes” hand, it will cut : this cutting cum-
mis nocht of the strenth of the bairnes hand, bot of the schairpnes
of the rasour. Takane gun and put it in ane bairnes hand, he
1 Heavenly thing. * Lose. * Sºuch. * Beat. * Into a child's.
ON 2. COR. 10. & 413
will slay ane man or schute throw ane buirden dure: this is not
be the strenth of the bairne, bot be the strenth of the armour.
Evin sa GOD be his word in the mouth of the silliest and waikest
bodie in the warld, will slaie and kill the starckest man that gangis
on eirth; * gif he put his word and it wer bot in ane blabbering
mouth, as he did in Moses, that word sall cum and pearce in throw
flesche and bane till it cum to the marrow, and sall devyde asunder
the saul and the Spreit, (Heb. iv. 12.) It is not the man that dois
this, bot the weapon, the word that is in his mouth. The multi-
tude of this warld is begyled gif they see ane pure * man set up ;
they will measure the grace of God be the man, and they trow * the
inner * man be als waik as the outward; and sa Kingis and Princes
ar dungº doun this way and slane, Erlis fallis doun slane, men and
wenen of all rankis fallis down slane, als sure as ever Ze saw ane
man slane in the bodie. Ze remember the historie of Samuel,
1 Sam. xv. 32. He callis for King Agag, and als Sone as Agag
cummisfordward and had eschewed the furie of the zoung King,
thocht that he suld eschew the sword of the aged man also ; bot
Samuel callis for the sword, takis it in his hand and hewis' him in
peices. Sa this word in the mouth of waik bodies slayis kingis
and queenes in the warld, quhen they ar lauching and playing
they ar slane by" their expectatioun. Zit in this same verse mark
the force of this armour, ze heir not of the bigging, " bot of the
dinging” doun. It is true he biggis up also, bot thou mon first
be brocht down and humbled, and then bigged up upon ane
new ground. Quhat is he that will big” ane new building” upon
ane auld rottin wall; thou wald keip nature and sinne, and zit
be ane new creature: na, thou mon first renounce nature; for the
slauchter of the auld man mon go befoir the quickning of the
IleW II 18.11.
In the verse following, having spoken of the weapons he cummis
to the warfare, and heir is ane stranger battel nor” ever was fouch-
1 Shoot through a wooden door. * The strongest man that goeth upon earth.
3 Poor. 4. Think. 5 Inward. * Beaten. * Cutteth. * Without.
* Building. 10 Throwing. 11 Build. 12 Work. 13 Than.
414 THE NYNTH SERMON,
tin. “We ding down, (sayis he,) the imaginatiounis and everie
heich thing, &c. Thair is ane battell, and ane strang battell.
Paul is the fechter of this battel, the warriour of the Lord Jesus,
ane warriour to him to win prisoners to him, to tak Kingis and
Princes be the lug,' and leid them to Christ. That thing that is
assaulted in this battell, and againis quhilk Paul hes taken armour,
is first the cogitatiounis. Be thir cogitatiounis is meaned the haill
faculties of the Saull, for the principall function is the reasoun of
man. Now quhat is scho doing, bot sitting in hir castell bigging
hir rampier, and casting hir fowseis about hir, and snairing hir self
in hirawin net. And let thee be, thou misters not ane uther” to
trap thee, thou wil trap thy self, pryde thee in thy ingyne als
mekle as thou will,” gif thou have na mair, wa is thee: It sall fetter
thee and tak thee in the girne als sickerlie" as ever thou saw ane
bird fangit" in the net of ane fowler. The nixt thing that Paull
assaultis in this battell, is everie heich thing that is exalted aganis
God: this I tak to be the pride of the hart, quhilk as ane heich
mountaine rysing up as it were to the hevin, exaltis the self
against God, and haldis out God and the licht of God. Thir then
ar the thingis quhilk Paul assaultis. Now to cum to the battell,
the first thing that Paul dois, he weildis his weapons sa skilfullie,
that first of all he dingis' doun all the imaginations and resonings
of the minde, quhilk ar as rampiers and fowsies quhairwith scho
circuit hir self to hald out God and his licht. Nixt he assaultis
the pryde of the heart, quhilk as ane mountane exalted the self?
against God, he dingis” it doun, and makis it equall with the
ground. Thridlie, having dung doun all, he cummis and takis the
thief be the neck, and leidis him be the haire, captive to Jesus
Christ, not to him self, that he suld be king over hir. Na, Jesus
Christ is the King over the Saull, as the Apostle, 2. to the Corinth.
xi. 2, wowis the Kirk of God not to him self, bot to his spouse, to
the end that scho may be saif, and God glorified. The man that
seikis his awin gaine is bot ane hyreling. Thair ar thre actions
1. Ears. * Thou needest none other. 3 Take thou as much pride in thine own
ingine as thou wilt. 4 Surely. 5 Caught. * Beateth. " Itself. * Beateth.
ON 2. COR. 10. 415
heir, quhairof the first twa ar nauther thing bot the destroying of
the sinne that is in the mind and in the hart. The third is the
saving of man be leiding him captive to Jesus Christ, for the leid-
ing of ane man captive to Jesus Christ, is his saiftie, and the liber-
tie of the saull is this captivitie, and the slaverie of the Saull is
libertie to sinne. “Quhen ze were slaves to sin (sayis the Apostle
Paull in the vi. chapter of the Epistle to the Romanes, the twentie
verse,) then ze wer free from richteousnesse.” Mark heir ame won-
derfull power of God in this base and sillie ministerie, (O, wald
to God men culd ken' this power,) destroying the deceit of reasoun,
and dinging” doun the pride of the heart of man mounting up
against God. Allace, sa greit is the power of sinne, that it hes
na matche under hevin bot this ministery. I will tell it over
againe, thair is na thing to thraw this power doun bot this minis-
tery. Quhen this ministerie was not in the warld amangst the
Gentiles, (of the quhilk Scotland was ane pairt, for our progeni-
touris was Gentiles without God in the warld) sinne rang” to deith,
Rom. v. 21. Multitudes of Gentiles perisched; bot fra time Jesus
Christ the authour of grace came in the warld, and brocht with
him this ministerie, first he himself, thairefter his apostles (amang
quhom Paul was als painful as onie man,) maid it manifest how
powerfull this ministerie was be demolisching the kingdome of
sinne, for then grace begouth" to reigne, and the power of God was
manifested. Brethren, I dar affirme the onlie thing that haldis
doun the power of sinne is this sillie, base ministerie, tak it away,
(for men wald faine have it away,) and schute it to the dore, (and
for ocht I can see I trow it sall gang away,)" sinne sall cum to ane
heicht. Tak away the thing that haldis doun the heid of it and
sinne sall reigne. Then, O miserabill Scotland, heir I denounce
schame and ignominie Sal cum to thee, Schame and confusioun to
King and Court, Land and Burgh, gif this candlestick be removed.
This sall be fund in experience as° ever thing was true. And thou
that wald rin to damnation, haist the removing of it, that thou may
I Know. * Beating. 8 Reigned. 4 Into. 5 By. * Began. " And
for ought that I can see I think it shall go away. S If.
416 THE NYNTH SERMON.
haist thy awin damnatioun. Now the last thing I see is the pro-
per effect of this ministerie of the blessed God, (and wald to God
the warld culd see the glorie of it,) the proper effect is not to slay
men, bot to save them. This warld trowis we be cum to slay them.
Na, we ar cum to slay sinne in zou, that will slay you gif it be not
slane. Paull in the first Epistle to the Corinthians, the iii. chap.
the 12. and 13. verses, compares the ministerie to ane burning fire
that burnis up haie, stubble, and treis; even sa it burnis up thy
sinne, and the drosse of thy nature, and all the vanities of thy hart,
bot saves thy self. How is this that the warld can not abyde the
mein of thair salvatioun, they cannot get rest, nicht nor day,
quhill they get away the thing that saves them. Now it saves
the man, be taking him and leiding him captive under the King of
glorie. Ze see they that ar superiouris in the battell, quhen they
cry” to onie man, be takin, gif he will not be takin, they will slay
him thair; evin sa als trulie gif thou will be stubburne and will
not be takin in this feild, this word sall slay thee. Thairfoir,
blessed ar they that can suffer the ordinance of God and stand still
until sinne be slane, and they themselfis be led captives under
Christ, for that captivitie under him is true fredome. To that im-
mortall and everlasting King, be all honour and glorie for now and,
evermair. Amen.
1 This world thinketh that we are come. 2 Say.
THE TENT H S E R M ON.
ANE SERMON PREACHED ON THE FIRST CHAP. TO THE PHILIPPIANS.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
Quhat then 3 zit Christ is preached all maner of wayis, quhidder it
be under a pretence, or sincerely ; and I therein joy, and will joy.
For I knaw that this sall turn to my salvatioun throuch zour prayer,
and by the help of the Spreit of Jesus Christ.
As I hartilie luik for, and hope, that in mathing I sall be aschamed,
bot that with all confidence, as alwayis, sa now Christ sall be mag-
nified in my bodie, quhidder it be by life or by deith.
For Christ is to me baith in life and in deith advantage.
And quhidder to live in the flesche wer profitabill for mee, and quhat
to chuse I knaw not.
For I am greatly in doubt on baith sides, desiring to be loused and
to be with Christ, quhilk is best of all.
Nevertheles to abyde in the flesche is mair neidfull for zou.
And this I am sure of, that I sall abyde, and with zou all continue,
for zour furtherance and joy of zour faith.
That ze may mair abundantlie rejoice in Jesus Christ for me, be my
cumming to zou againe.
PAUL lying in bandis at Rome, thair rysis up twa sortis of Preich-
€I’S.
The first sort of them that preichit sincerlie that God and
his glorie micht be advancit. The secund sort of them that
preichit not sincerely, not for the advancement of Christ nor his
gospell, bot to eik to afflictioun to Paul's bandis, movit with ambi-
1 But to add afflictions.
2 D
418 THE TENTH SERMON.
tioun and invy to him. In the first verse quhilk we have red in
your audience, Paull utters his mind concerning thir twa sorts of
preachers, and this is his minde in effect: Let them (sayes he)
preache as they will preache, let them preache of sinceritie for the
glorie of Christ, let them preache for the fashioun ; how ever they
preiche, (preiching the truth of God) Christ is preached, evin be
them quha preichis not sincerlie. And thairfoir becaus Christ is
preached, I rejoice notwithstanding of all that injurie quhilk I re-
ceive be thair preiching, I rejoice and will rejoice, and na man will
be abill to tak my joy fra mee. Schortlie then, thair is Paulis
mynd concerning thir twa sortis. My doctrine sall be generall.
And the first thing that I mark heir, is this, (and onie of zou may
se it,) the Lord is glorified, Christ is magnified, even be ane coun-
terfait doing of men, quhen they doe the thing that is gude, zit
not in sinceritie, nor of purpose to glorifie God in thair doing.
Bot thair purpose not being to glorifie him" in thair doing, (they
not doing sinceirlie), howbeit he gettis his awin glorie be thair
doing, zit they sall get littill thankis. It is not sa mekill the
turne it self, the action it self, preiching, or quhatsaever it be, that
procures to ane man thankis and grace at the hands of God, as it
is the purpose and intentioun in doing. I had rather do the
soberest thing in the warld, and it were to eit my meit, and drink
my drink, of purpose to glorifie GOD in my doing, nor to doe the
greatest and fairest wark that can be sene to the eie of man, with-
out purpose to glorifie God in that doing. Mark it: “Quhidder
ze eit, quhidder ze drink, quhatsaever ze doe, littill or mekill,” doe
all to the glorie of God,” sayis Paul, 1 Corinth. x. 31. And thair-
foir, brethren, thair is mathing that ane man suld sa mekill luik to
in his doingis and actiounis, as to his purpose, and to the inten-
tioun of his hart. Luik thou as thou will, the Lord luikis cheiflie to
everie mans intentioun and purpose. He that preichis, quhat reckº
with quhat measure of grace he preiche, gif in preiching his inten-
tion be to glorifie God and Christ: quhatever anie man or woman
dois, let them luik above al thingis that in doing thair intentioun
* God. * And if it were but. * Much. * What is to be respected.
ON PHILIP. 1. r- 419
be to glorifie God, as ever they wald luik for thankis at his handis.
This is ane lessoun. I see heir ane uther thing. The gospell is
advanced, Jesus Christ is glorified in Paullis hurt, and quha is ane
deirar man to Christ nor Paull? The lessoun then is this. We
see the Lord is glorified quhen those quhom he loves best is dam-
nified in this warld, in thair hurt and domage he gettis his glorie ;
that thing quhilk is done agains them in malice, the Lord thairin
is glorified. Weill then, Ileirn be the exemple of Paull; gifsa
be that my God is glorified in my hurt, gif he gets advantage be
my damnage and skaith, then, understanding that glory redoundis
to him be my suffering, and it were be my deith, I am bund to re-
joice. “I rejoice (sayis the Apostle) and sal rejoice:” I am bund to
rejoice, and thou is bund to rejoice still in glorifeing God to the
end. Sa above all thingis the glorie of Christ suld be socht. Quhat
reck of meel and my schame, my hurt, and deith : quhat reck of
thee,” thy schame, hurt, and deith, gif it redound to the glorie of
him quha maid me, and thee for his glorie.
Now quhen he hes Schawin his joy and mynd concerning thir
twa sortis of men: In the nixt verse he cummis to the cause of
his joy, in that the Lord was glorified in his hurt and domage.
“For (sayis he) I knaw that this sall turn to my salvatioun,”
&c. That thing that is done to my hurt, it sall be sa changed
and turned about, that against the expectatioun of men quha wald
hurt mee, the Lord sall work out my salvatioum. Thair is the
lessoun. Gif I can rejoice, and thou can rejoice, that the Lord
gettis glory be thyne or mine skaith or hurt, we may be assured
that our trouble sall be wonderfullie altered and changed: that
quhilk was done to our hurt, sall turne to our salvatioun. The
Apostle Paull sayis in the viii. chap. of the Epist. to the Rom. verse
28, “To them quha loves God al thingis cumis for the best.” For
gif the glorie of God be deir to thee, gif thou prefer his glorie
above thy salvatioun, be assured thy life and salvatioun sall be
deir to him: zea, thy salvation sal be deirer to him, nor his glorie
can be to thee: for thou can not love him saweill as he loves thee.
* What am I to be respected. * What art thou to be respected.
2 D 2
420 THE TENTII SERMON,
Moses in the buik of Exodus xxxii. 32, utteris ane wonderfull zeal
to Goddis glorie, and sayis: “Orthou destroy this people, raze mee
out of the buik of lyfe,” that is, alluterlie destroy mee. Bot quhat
answere gets he? “Na, Moses, I had rather raze them out of my
buik, quha hes sinned against mee.” Paull cravis” that he may be
ane anathema, Rom. ix. 3, and that for the zeall he bure” to the
glorie of God. Bot Moses sall never be scraped out of the buik of
God, becaus he loves Goddis glorie: Paull sal never be accursed
becaus he loves Goddis glory. And gif thou will luik to his glorie,
all that evill quhilk thou can wische to thee for his glorie, sall be
turned to thy well" and salvation: Then zee see thair is na thing
that we can tyne" be seiking of Goddis glorie. Our damnage sall
be ever turned to our advantage.
In the nixt part of the verse, and the verse following, is set
doun the maner, and the ordinarie meanes quhairby the hurt and
domage that the godlie sufferis for the glorie of God is turnit
over to thair weil." The Lord onlie is abill to turne it to thair
weill. Quha is abil to turne darknes in licht, deith in life,
ignominie in honour, bot he It passis the cunning of all the
creatures to make this wonderfull change. The Lord onlie is
able to mak this change. And certainlie the schame, trouble,
and affliction that the godlie suffers in this life, wald all be
the beginning of hell, except that maist skilfull craftisman the
Lord, come in, and maid this wonderfull alteratioun, and turned
all thir thingis to thair advantage, except he turned deith to lyfe,
ignominie to honour, and trouble to joy, the estait of the godlie in
thair sufferings wer maist miserabill. Think not that thir things
argude in themselfis: Na, deith is not gude in the self; it is ane
punischment for sinne, Rom. vi. 23. The Lord onlie makis the
change, and makis deith to be the entrie to lyfe: bot the Lord
dois all this be ordinar meinis and middis, and zit all the meinis
quhilk he usis derogats mathing to his glorie, because they all cum
of him, and he hes the glorie of all. Seing then in making of this
1 Altogether. * Desireth. * Had. * Health. * Lose.
* Good. * Good of itself.
ON PIIILIP. 1. 421
wonderfull change of darknes in licht, of deith in lyfe, of wo in joy,
&c. thair monº be ordinarie meinis, woe be to thee that contemnes
the meinis: for gif thou doe it, the trouble sall lye still on thee
Quhill thou be troubled in hel. Seiknes sall be seiknes indeid to
thee, deith sall be deith indeid, and the beginning of hell to thee.
Then let us tak up the meinis, as they ly heir in order. Ze
have heard of ane alreadie, to wit, Rejoicing that God is glorified
in trouble. Gif (as I have said) thou can have that hart and cair
of his glorie, that thou can rejoice in thy trouble, that thy trouble
glorifies him, be assured ane wonderfull alteratioun sal be maid of
thy trouble. Trouble sall be na trouble, afflictioun sall be na afflic-
tioun, deith sall be na deith. Onlie get mee” this desire of his glorie.
Now followis the nixt mein. The Apostle sayis, “I am assured
that this thing sall turne to my salvatioun throuch zour prayeris.”
As the cair to the glorie of God is ane mein to mak this altera-
tioun, and to turne our troubles to our salvatioun : Sa the cair and
solitnes” of the bodie of the Kirk, the intercessioun and prayer that
the godlie makis for us, that lyis in trouble, is ane other mein ; for
the praiers of the godlie for onie member of the bodie' hes ane
wonderful effect. They will turn darkness unto licht, deith to
lyfe, miserie to joy. Zit howbeit utheris have cair of thee lying in
distresse, gif thou thyself contemne and dispyse thair cair, gif thou
regaird nocht, howbeit mane pray for thee, and nameº mak inter-
cessioun at Goddis handis for thee, thair sall be nae thing bot trouble
to thee. Trouble sall ever abyde" trouble. Afflictioun sall ever
abyde' afflictioun. And as thou contemnis and despysis the pray-
ers of the Sainctis and the godlie for thee, sa thou sall ly still in
miserie, and drowne in miserie at last. It is ane follie to ane man
to think that his awin cair only for himself will does the turne, con-
temning and despysing the cair of al utheris for him : I cannot
think that he'hes an spunk of godlines in him, thatlo wil contemne
your cair of others. For it is certain the sufficiencie of grace is
1 Must. * Thou. * Solicitude. ‘ Of the body of the Church.
* If thou regardest not whether they pray for thee or not, and nobody. * Shall
always continue. * Shall always remain. * Serve. * That such a one.
10 Who.
422 TILE TENTH SERMON,
not given to ane man or to ane woman onlie, bot to the haill mem-
bers of the bodie. And thairfoir thair mon! be ane concurrence of
the haill, all mon concur for thy weill” and salvatioun : for gif the
hand will stand up and say to eie, to the mouth, to the fute, or to
the rest of the members, cair for yourselfis; fute cair for thyself;
womb cair for thyself, &c., I will cair for myself. Wer not this ane
daft" hand 2 wald not this hand perische and wither? zea, it wald
perische gif the mouth fed it not, gif the fute gaid not,” gif the
womb received not sustenance to nourische it. Sa gif thou say
to the rest of the members," cair for zourselfis, I will cair for
myself, thou sall die like ane drie member and be cut off, na salva-
tioun bot in the unioun of that blissed bodie of Christ quhilk is the
Rirk. And name ever zit come to hevin, bot be ane certaine con-
currance of the rest of the members of the bodie, be praying, be
preiching, be admonisching, exhorting and rebuking. Gif thou re-
fuse this concurrance in teiching, admonisching and comforting thee,
thou sall never get hevin. Paull, (Rom. viii. 28,) sayis, “We knaw
all thingis workis togidder for the best to them that love God.”
Mark the force of the wordis, Gif thair be not ane working togid-
der for thy salvatioun, thou sall nocht cum to heaven.
Thir artwa of the meinis quhairby trouble and damnage is turned
to salvatioun : Zit thair is mae" of them, for he sayis, “And by the
help of the Spreit of Jesus Christ.” Thair is ane uther mein. As
it is ane fault to ane member to refuse the help of the rest of the
members of the bodie," thair praier, thair intercessioun : Sa it is als
great ane fault, to leane sa on the cair of onie of the members of
the body, of the kirk or of the ministerie, in preiching, praying,
exhorting and comforting, that in the mein time thou have na cair
of thy self, to get the Spreit and lyfe within thee, for Christis
Spreit is thy life; thou will not pray for thy self, bot wil bid the
Kirk and Ministery pray for thee, as gif that wer aneuch :8 na, ex-
cept that Spreit be within thee, (quhilk is the Spreit of Adoptioun)
1 Must. * Good. * Foolish. * If the foot carried it not. * Even
so if thou sayest to the rest of the members of the Church. * There are more.
* Body of the Church. * Enough.
ON PHILIP. 1. 423
to mak intercessioun with sighis unspeikable at the hands of God,
doun sall thou gang, albeit that the Kirk and haill members thairof
wald pleisº to hald thee up. Quhat gif the hand had na motioun, life,
nor strenth in itself, wald the fute and the eie be able to hald it
up 2 Na, gif the fute and eie wald preis” to hald it up, they suld
rott with the hand, and behoved to be cut of For quhairto
servis ane rotten member 2 It will infect the haill bodie gif it be
not cut aff. Sa gif thou be without Spreit and life within thy self,
howbeit all the rest of the members of the bodie of the Kirk wald
hald thair handis about thee to hald thce up, thou sall fal doun
and die. Sa as ze wald have uthers cairing for Zou, cair for zour
self, and see that ze have the Spreit of God cairing for zou. Gif
Moses, Abraham, and all uther faithfull men wald pray for zou it
is nathing. Quhat gude did Samuel's praiers for Saull? The Lord
stopped his mouth and forbad him to pray for him.
Thus ze have hard of three meinis quhairby this wonderfull
change is maid. The first is the cair of God and his glory: the
secund is the intercessioun of the rest of the members of the body :
the thrid is the Sprit of Christinterceiding for us, and the cair quhilk
we have of our selfis. We have neid of thir meinis. And certainly
the day is approching that experience wil tel the truth of thir
things. Paul, ane man ever afflicted, in truble and under danger,
tellis of his awin experience quhat he fand. Bot arthair zit onie
mae meinis? Luik the verse that followis, “As (sayis he) I hartilie
luik for and hope,” &c. The word importis sic ane hope, as quhen
ane man hes his heid raisit up, his eies oppin and bent awayting
for ony thing attentivelie. We see quhen ane man luikis eirnestly
for aneuther, his heid will be lifted up, his eies will be bent, luiking
to that place quhairfra he suld cum ; and gif he love him weill, he
will look attentivelie, having baith hart and eies bended up with
hope of his cumming. The like word in the 8th to the Rom. v.
19, is ascryved to the creatures. “They await with fervent desire
quhen the sonnes of God Sal be revealed.” I sall mak the wordis
mair plaine. “I hope,” according to my attentive expectation,
1 Go. * Prease, i. e., press. 3 Striyo.
424 THE TENTH SERMON,
“ that in mathing I sall be aschamed,” that is, that I sall never
think Schame of my master Jesus Christ; because that gif I think
schame for onie thing quhilk I suffer for his cause, I think schame
of himself. He sayis, “that in mathing I sall be aschamed.” Thair
is the negative, I will be aschamed in mathing. Bot quhat mair?
“With all bauldnes of spreit I sal magnifie him in my body,” not
in my Saull onlie, bot in my bodie : and that “ quhidder it be in
my life or in my deith.” He castis in the argument of this assur-
ance, “as in all tymes bygane ever to this hour I have magnified
him in my bodie.” Sa this bygane experience (wald he say) makes
mee to be assured by hope, never to be eschamed of him, bot to
glorifie him in life and deith. Then tak up the lessoun. Amang
the rest of the meinis quhairby this change is maid of miserie to
felicitie, of deith to life, and all thingis ar maid to serve to our
salvatioun, hope is ane, and it is the fourt in number. Quhairin
standis this hope 2 That in na afflictioun quhilk I suffer for Christ
I will be aschamed, and sa schame the Lord. (For in suffering
gif thou blusche, and think schame, thou Schames him). Bot be
the contrair in all thingis that I sall do, or suffer in this bodie,
I sal do with courage, with confidence, and libertie; I sall suffer
with courage, confidence, and liberty. And sa, in doing, in suffer-
ing in the bodie, I sall magnifie my Lord. Sa this is the point.
Gif I glorifie him befoir men with courage and bauldness in my
afflictioun, I may be assured he sall glorifie mee befoir his Father
in hevin, (Mat. x. 32.) They that suffers with him sall ring” with
him, (2 Tim. ii. 12.) Bot be the contrair, gif thou with blussching
think schame of him and of his gospell, and of the afflictiounis of
the gospel, gif thou Schame him befoir the warld, he sall schame
thee befoir his Father, (Mark viii. 38.) Sa this hope is na small
mater, for gif thou have ane assured hope during thy haill life,
thou sall magnifie Christ, quhatsaever fall out in life or deith,
assure thy self all sall be turned to the glorie of God and thy sal-
vation. All the troubles that sall be laid on thee in this warld sall
be sa turned over, that they sall serve to thy weill” and consola-
1 Body also. * Reign. 3 Good.
ON PHILIP. 1. 425
tioun. Bot gif this hope be away, gif thou ly sluggischlie, not
having thy heid raised up, with closed eies, not luiking and hoping
that thou sail glorifie thy Lord, not caring for his glorie, either in
thy life, or in thy deith, all thy miserie that lichtis on thee Sall
abyde" miserie, and sall presse thee doun to everlasting damnatioun.
Luik then how pretious this hope is º Leirne ane uther thing heir.
Thair standis mekil” in thir twa, in scham and blusching, in confi-
dence, libertie, and courage. I say to thee, that mair standis” in
g, nor standis' in the suffer-
ing and doing itself. I suppone” thow suffer the deith for Christis
saik; gif thou be aschamed in suffering, and have not libertie and
the consequentes of suffering and doin
courage, thou sufferis not sa mekill" for Christ as for thy self, and
thy deith is nathing els bot ane deith to thee, and thy suffering
is nathing bot an suffering to the." Evin sa doe quhat thou will
doe to glorifie him, gif it be not done with liberty, freedom and
courage, thou tynis thy travell. Seing then that sa mekle standis
in the disposition of the hart, let everie man luik that he prepair
him self with courage and confidence, against the day of tryall,
that with confidence in suffering he may magnifie God. Paull
sayis to Timothie, (2 Tim. i. 8,) “Be not aschamed of Christ, nor of
mee that is his captive.” Think schame of name that suffers for
Christ, bot rather be thou pertaker of that afflictioun, to suffer
with courage and confidence those thingis with them.
Zit mark ane uther thing heir. He sayis, “That he micht mag-
mifie Christ in his bodie.” He speikis not of the saul. And sa I
observe, that of the very bodie, (let be of the saull) even of the verie
bodily masse quhilk thou beiris about with the, ane great dewty is
craved" for the glorifying of God and his Christ. Quhen thow art
living in thy actiounis, quhen thou is deing in thy deith, it mon be
ane instrument glorifieing God, quhen thou art ganging on” thy feit,
it mon be ane instrument of his glory, quhen thou art lying in thy
bed : zea, the Lord mon be glorified in it, quhen it is dissolved inli
1 Remain. 2 Much. 3 There standeth more. * Than standeth.
5 Suppose. ° Much. * Thyself. * Losest. * Required.
10 Going upon. 11 Into.
426 THE TENTH SERMON,
asches in the grave. I mark this against that vaine conceit of
men, quha will say, quhat reck gif Ikeip" ane gude mind to GOD,
let mee prostitute my bodie to harlatrie, gluttonie, and all vices:
zit I will keip my saull to GOD. Na, either GOD will have all,
or the Divell will have all. Away thow idolatour, quha will keip
thy Saull to GOD, and will bow thy knee to Baal, the Divell will
get baith Saull and bodie.
Paull sayis not that the Lord hes onlie coft” thy Saul with ane
price, bot that he hes coft” baith saull and bodie that they suld
glorify God, 1. Cor. vi. 20. “Ze arbocht with ane price, ze ar
nocht Zour awin.” Fy filthie bodie, that will say, may I not do
with my bodie as I pleis 2 Hes thou power to reif * it out of the
handis of the Lord * The Lord hes the power of thy bodie, and
in that last day thou shall be challenged with thiſt and sacriledge.
And quhen he hes said, “ze are coft” with ane price,” he subjoynes,
“Glorifie God not in zour spreit onlie, bot also in zour bodies.”
Either he will have baith, or ellis name. Trowis" thou to send thy
saull to God, and thy bodie to the Devill? Na, either the Lord
sall get baith, or baith sall gang to hel. Tak tentſ how ze keip
thir bodies, ze sall rander account of them. Thy bodie suld be
the temple of the Halie Sprit, gif thou fyle” the sait of that halie
ane, schame sall licht on thee. I mark heir. To assure himself
of continuance that he sall continew in glorifying God in life, and
deith, he takis ane argument fra his former experience, ever hither-
to I have glorified God in my bodie, and I have ane steadfast hope
that I sall continue, and that all the actiounis of my bodie sall
glorify him ; and quhen I am deid he sall be glorified in my bodie.
It is gude then to begin weill and to have experience that thou
hes served God weill in thy calling: “for experience bringis hope,
and hope makis theena wayis aschamed,” (Rom. v. 4, 5.) And gif
thou have experience that thou hes, served God, and he hes bene
with thee, and keepit thy bodie in puritie, thou may be assured
to continue to the end. Nocht that our continuance stands in our
1 What care I so I keep. 2 Bought. 3 Bought. 4 Reave.
b Bought. * Thinkost. * Take heed. * Defile.
ON PHILIP. 1. 427
self, (na our continuance stands not in our selfis, for the best man
that livis is not abil of himself to stand ane moment) bot our
standing is in God, for gif he wald take his grace fra us, in ane
moment we wald fal. It is the love that he beinis to us that haldis
us up : be anis assured of that love of God towards thee, and
then thou may be assured that thou sal glorifie God baith in life
and deith.
Now in the next verse he sayis: “For Christ is to mee baith
in life and deith advantage.” He givis ane reasoun quhairfoir
he said he wald magnifie God in his bodie, baith in life and
deith. The reasoun is, becaus of the advantage he hes of him,
Christ Jesus is advantage to him. And quhen 2 Not quhen I live
onlie, (sayis he) bot in my deith also. Is it not gude reasoun that
I sould glorify him baith in life and deith, in quhom I have ad-
vantage baith in life and deith. All men dois for advantage.
Quhen ane man hes done and sufferit he wald have advantage.
Quhen we honor the Prince or onie man, al is for advantage. Gif
gaine moves to honour men, to serve them, quhair was thair ever
sic ane gain and advantage as may be luikit for at the hands of
Christ P gif gain will move thee, quhair will thou get it gif not in
Christ P Wald thou have gaine and advantage for thy doing in
thy life-time 2 he will give thee it. Thou sall not doe ane turnel
bot thou sall have thy hyre in thy hand. Wald thou have gain
in thy deith ? gif thou die for him, thou sall get als fair ane ad-
vantage as ever man gat. Indeid ane man will give thee gaine for
honoring him in thy lifetime, bot quhen thou is lying in thy deid-
bed,” can thou get advantage out of the hand of ane man P Sup-
pose ane monarch wald give thee ane kingdom, quhat advantage is
it to thee, gif thou live not to bruik it * Bot I tell zou plainlie,
the Lord is greater advantage to us in deith nor” in life: and al
this advantage quhilk we have of him in this life, is na thing in
respect of that advantage quhilk we sall get in the life to cuin.
Paull in the thrid chapter of the Epistle to the Philippians, quhen
he hes counted al his advantages, and numbered out all the prero-
1 Decd. * Deathbed. * Tham.
428 THE TENTH SERMON,
gatives quhilk he had in this warld, that he was ane Jew, ane
Pharisie, his father ane Pharisie, of the try be of Benjamin, name
sa zealous of the law as he, &c. monie advantages and greit prero-
gatives: bot fra time he cummis' to Christ, and gettis him, he
sayis, “All is bot dung in respect of that excellent knawledge of
that advantage of Jesus Christ.” As I counted mekle (wald he
say) of thir eirthlie advantages befoir I knew Christ, sa fra anis I
gat” ane sicht of him, I counted them na thing bot dirt and dung.
And thairefter he tellis out the advantages and gaine that he fand
in Christ. “That (sayis he) I may be fund in him, that is, not
having my awin richteousnes quhilk is of the law, bot that quhilk
is throuch the faith of Christ, evin the richteousnesse quhilk is of
God throw faith.” Thair is the first advantage. Thou art justi-
fied befoir the tribunall of God. Quhat king can give thee that
advantage, to set thee up as ane free man befoir the tribunall of
God? And albeit thou had gottin all the advantages that kingis
can give thee, gif thou get not this advantage to stand befoir that
tribunal cled with Christ, thou sall gang to damnatioun. Then he
eikis’ to ane uther advantage. “That I may knaw him, and the
vertue of his resurrectioun, and the fellowschip of his afflictiounis,
and be maid conformabill unto his deith, gif be ony meinis I micht
attein to the resurrectioun of the deid.” Thair" the second advan-
tage : thou art maid lyke him in haliness, and baith in suffering
and in glorie thou art conformed to him. Weill is the man that
can get this advantage to be glorified. Quhat reck of all advan-
tages” that can cum to thee in this life, in respect of this advan-
tage: that quhen thou is lying ane vyld" bodie in the grave, Christ
sall tak thee up, and set thee in that glorie quhilk is prepared for
the sonnes of God. Allace, gif men culd see the advantages quhilk
ar in Christ. For all faillis for fault of sicht. Gif men gat bot
ane blenk of Christ, they wald not give that sicht for all the king-
domes in the eirth: we want spirituall eies and senses. Thir spi-
i But after that he once cometh. * Even so, after that I once had gotten.
* Addeth. * There is. * What are all advantages to be counted of.
• Wile,
§
ON PHILIP. 1. 429
rituall advantages in Christ, ar sene onlie with ane spirituall eie :
and for fault of that spiritual sicht, we see not the advantages
quhilk ar in him. Thair is nathing we suld desire mair nor thir
spirituall senses, quhairwith we may get ane sicht and foirtaist of
thir thingis quhilk ar in Jesus Christ.
Now in the nixt verse taking occasioun of the wordis, that Christ
was advantage to him baith in life and deith, he beginnis to doubt
quhidder it were better for him to live or die, “And quhidder (sayis
he) to live in the flesche wer profitabill for mee, or quhat to chuse I
knaw not.” Ithink Iwald be deid to see my advantage quhilk I will
get in deith, for my gaine quhilk I get living is nathing to that ad-
vantage quhilk I will get in deith. Bot I am straited quhidder to live
in the flesche, or to gang" out of the bodie. Then he bringis in the
reason, “It is better to mee to be lowsit and to be with Christ.” I
will be at him, zit he sayis, I am in doubt and not resolved, “Ne-
vertheles to abyde” in the flesche is mair neidfull for zou.” For
albeit it be better to mee to be dead, zit quhen I luik to zou, it is
worse for zou. Efter this doubting and reasoning he concludis,
“I will live, then, and the Lord will keip me for zour weill.”
Then, brethrein, I will mark heir ane or twa thingis, and sa I
sall end. Ze see ane doubting in Paull, quhidder he sould live or
die, quhilk distractis his minde. This doubting is commoun to
monie. For quhylis we wald live, and uther quhylis we wald be
deid. Bot luik to the cause that distracted Paullis minde, and
maid him to doubt quhidder he suld desire to live or die. Sum
men wald die becaus thair is na thing in this warld bot miserie :
sum men wald die for another cause, because of seiknes, sum be-
cause of Schame following sum offence, for the life is tedious to ane
miserabill bodie, the lyfe quhilk suld be comfortabil, is tedious in
distres. Bot how mony cummis to this point, To desire to be dis-
solved for the glory that is with Jesus, and sayis, Gif I wer away
I wald get this advantage of glorie. Quha wald be away for the
glorie of hevin, and advantage that is laid up thair? It is a rare
grace to get this desire. Na questioun (think as ze will) infinite
I Go. 2 Remain.
43() THE TENTH SERMON,
joy, glorie, and passing advantage is in hevin. Again, sum men
wald live, quhairfoir P becaus they are fresche, grene, and able
men, they wald pas thair time zit: sum men wald live becaus they
have wife and bairnis,' and wald cair for them, (I condemne not
lawful cair) bot al this desire is vain. Quhair will thou get that
man that wald live to help the pure Kirk” of Christ with his labor?
How monie will cum on with this, to live onlie for the weill of the
Kirk of Christ? I desire sic a pastour quha is minded to live, for
the cair that he hes to leid monie be the hand to hevin, or he gang”
away, that he may win monie Sauls to Christ, that he may be the
welcummer quhen he cummis thair him self: He is happie. It is
the sicht of that hevinly glory that makis men to have this foirsaid
desire. How mony seis that hevinly glory P Fy on us seing sic
ane glorie laid up in hevin for us, that zit will not mak ane mein
to get it : we perische for fault of sense: Thair is na laik of ad-
vantage in CHRIST, bot the laik is in mee and in thee, I have na
desire of that glorie, thou hes na desire of that glorie, and sa we
perische. Thairfoir get this sense of glorie in time, or ellis thy
saull sall be rugged" out of thy bodie. Doe accordinglie. Wald
thou have it sweitlie lowsed ? Then get in time ane sense of this
glorie. Wald thou have it rugged” out perforce P Then neglect
the sense and sicht of this glorie. -
Observe ame other thing of the cair of Paull. He counted na-
thing of all thir afflictions in respect of the cair quhilk he had of
the Kirk of God. I wonder at this cair of his, considdering now
our cairlesnesse. For gif ever cair was deid out of the hartis of
men, it is now deid. Fairweill the cair of the Kirk of God in
Scotland, for falt of the zeall of Goddis glorie, and the cair of the
Rirk of God. I see this Land and the Kirk of God thairin decay-
ing. -
Learne ame uther thing of Paullis resolution. Zit he resolves
to live, and that for the weill of the Kirk of Christ. Mark it.
Thair is name of us bot we suld desire to have the fruitioun of the
glorie and joy that is in the face of Jesus: zit we quha may pro-
1 Children. 2 Poor Church. 3 Ere he go. 4 Drawn. 5 Pulled.
ON PHILIP. 1. 431
feit in the Kirk of God in this lyfe, ar bund to desire to live for
ane quhyle, that the Kirk may be helped. The Lord accountis
mair heichlie of this desire, then of ane desire that ane man hes to
die, and to be with Jesus. The Lord counted” mair of Paullis liv-
ing to help the Kirk, nor of his glorifying him in his deith. Trow”
ze that Paull wald have lived sa lang except the Lord had sene
him profitabill to his Kirk? And na questioun the Lord Jesus
(knawing the miserie of this earth) wald have taken up his Apostles
at his ascension with him, gif he had not loved the weill of his
Kirk. Thair is na gude bodie bot the Lord wald have them with
him : zit he lets them byde’ heir in pain, that they may help the
Kirk: utherwayis thair wald not be ane gude bodie left living in
Scotland, he wald tak them all out; and glorifie them. Bot sa lang
as he hes ane Kirk in Scotland, he will let gude men abyde,” and
Quhen he takis them away, woe be to them that abydis' behind :
It is wonderful to see how the Lord will keip ane man be quhaisº
travels he will help his Kirk. All the warld will not get leif to
hurt ane hair of his heid. Acts xii. Herode takis Peter and puttis
him in preson, layis him betwixt twa souldiers, thinking to slay him
the morne.” Bot the Lord be his angellis waikinnis him, and bringis
him saif out, and zit he wist not quhat he wes doing. Paull and
Peter wer wonderfully delyvered, salang as the Lord had to do with
them ; but quhen he had done his turne, and they fell in Nerois
handis, thair is na mair din of them, they wer slane. Sa lang as
the Lord hes ado with onie man, he will schaik hevin and eirth oriº
he perische. Weil, the cair of the Kirk of God is decaying in
Scotland. Let us cry, Lord put the cair of this Kirk, and the cair
of the members of the bodie of Christ in the hartis of men, that
everie man may cair for the salvatioun of ane uther, and God may
be glorified in them throuch his son Christ. To quhome, with the
Father, and the Halie Gaist, be all prais, honour and glorie for
ever. Amen.
1 Holpen. 2 Accounted. 3 Think. 4 Remain. 5 Away.
* Continue. " Tarry. * By whose. * Execute him the next
morning. 10 Ere.
THE ELLEVENTH SERMON.
ANE SERMON PREACHED ON THE THIRD CEIAP. OF THE EPISTLE
TO TITUS.
3. For we our selfis wer in times past unwise, disobedient, deceived,
serving the lustis and diverse pleisures, living in malitiousnes and
envy, haitfull, and haiting one another.
4. Bot quhen the bountifulnes and love of God our Saviour toward man
appeared,
5. Not be the warkis of richteousnes quhilk we had done, bot according
to his mercie he saved us, by the wasching of the new birth, and the
renewing of the Halie Gaist;
. Quhilk he sched on us abundantlie, through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
6
7. That we, being justified be his grace, suld be maid heires according to
the hope of eternall lyfe.
GIF we sall considder this Text (weilbeloved in Jesus Christ) we
sall find in it three thingis. The first, the miserabill estait and
conditioun of man quhairin he stude befoir he was callit to grace
be Jesus Christ. The nixt is his mercifull deliverie fra that miser-
abill estait and conditioun. The last is the end of his mercifull
deliverie: to wit, that he sould serve God all the dayis of his lyfe
in all manner of thankfulness for sa mercifull ane deliverie. And
seeing our communicating with the bodie and blude of the Lord
approches, our preparatioun cannot stand in thre better thingis
nor thir: First, in ane knawledge of our miserie befoir that we knew
ON TITUS 3. 433
4T) &
God in Christ: Nixt, in ane knawledge of our merciful deliverie fra
that miserabill estait: and Thirdlie, in ane dewtie toward God for
our deliverie. We sall speik at this time of the first twa. Bot" to
returne and to go throw the wordis, as the Lord will give the” grace.
The occasioun of the setting doun this first pairt, to wit, of our
miserie befoir we knew Christ, is this. Immediatlie befoir, he hes
exhorted Titus to use all kind of lenitie towardes them that wer
not converted, not to deall with them in rigor, bot to deall with
them in meiknes; he givis the reasoun: Luik quhat they ar now,
even sic" were we befoir we were called, living in concupiscence,
our myndis wes rebellious against God; thairfoir let us deal with
them as we wald have been dealt with our selfis at that time. I
mark heir first: That our miserabill estait that we stood in (befoir
we wer called to this grace throw Jesus Christ) suld never be for-
zet." The miserie of nature, quhairin we ar conceived and borne,
and quhairin we live for ane time quhill we knaw Christ, suld never
go out of our remembrance: quhen thow hes played the fuill ane
time,” in sin, quhen thow hes played the harlot," committed murther,
oppressed thy neighbour, and quhen God hes called thee out of
that miserabill conditioun, and made thee to knaw him in Christ,
forzet never thy former miserie, forzet never that thou wes ane
harlot, ane murtherer, ane oppressour,” &c. Sayis the Apostle to
the Ephesians, that were Gentiles efter thair conversioun in Christ,
“Forzet zour auld done deidis,” sayis he sa? Na, bot he sayis “Re-
member that ze wer Gentiles.” Brethren, it is true the estait of
grace in Christ hes ane sweitnes with it, gif ane man or woman
have an sense of it, but luik that the Sweitness of it blunt” na sathy
taist, that in the mein tyme thou lose al sense of thy former misery.
Keip thairfoir baith the miserie and the dely verie in thy minde,
that thairby the true sense of Goddis mercie may be steired up in
thy hart: for mane hes the true sense of the mercie of God in Christ,
except he onlie that sichis for the misery quhilk we lay" in befoir.
1 Now. - 2 US. * Of this. * Such. * Forgotten. * Awhile.
7. Followed harlotry. 8 Forget never that thou hast followed filthiness, murdered,
oppressed. * Misrelish, 19 Did lie. - -
2 E
434 THE ELLEVENTH SERMON,
This is the first: Another thing I mark heir. This same remem-
brance of our miserie, it suld mak everie ane of us that standis in
grace to have ane compassioun upon sinners: quhairever thou sees
them, labour to winne them, bot with pitie; and let be thy bit-
termes—Ane man that hes na pitie, bot is full of bitternes against
ane sinner, that man hes forzet that he was ane sinner of be-
foir: Thair is na man sa cleane, but thair is ane remanent cor-
ruptioun in him, albeit he sees it not. They that hes the true
zeale of God they will indeid be seveir against sinners. Quhy
not ? bot they begin ay” at them selfis, and then reprovis otheris.
Hypocritis begins not at themselfis, bot they hyde and cloik thair
awin sinnis, and aray” seveir against utheris. Bot the man that
begins at himself, his severity is ay mingled” with pitie. Bot to
cum neirº the wordis. “We was sic as they ar now :” we wer wod"
and out of our richt wit: we wer beside ourself. Thair is the first
part of our miserie in nature, for we wer all miserabill be nature:
thair is never saull" bot it is born miserabil be nature.
Ye see then, Brethren, our miserie begins not at our bodie: (thair
armonie quha, gifthey have thair bodie weil disposit, ar at eis then,
bot gif it be not weil disposit, they are hevilie displeisit, then they
grain and sigh) na, our misery begins not at our bodie, it begins
within us at our saullis, and not at the inferiour parts of the saul,
bot at the mind quhilk is the maist excellent part and licht of our
saullis, and that suld gyde all the rest of the powers of the Saull.
Now the seiknes of it is madnes, it is blind, ignorant, without judge- -
ment, and we are mad fuillis be nature. Thair is na man born in
the eirth, bot he is born ane fuill, thou art born ane wod" bodie, and
by thyself. Thou will think thyself verie wise, and thy wit will
compas hevin and eirth, zea and others that luikis to thee wil think
thee wise, bot gif thou have na mair nor nature thow art ane fuill.
As he is ane fuill in verie deid, quha thinkis he speikis ay” ane
oracle, euin sa art thou, that is not in Christ, and counts thyself
wise; the wiser thou thinkis thyself, thou art the mair and the
Remaining. * Always. * Aye mixed. * Near to, * Mad.
* There is not one soul. * Beside, - -
ON TITUS 3. 435
mair ane full. Al this is to let men see, that name is wise without
God. For quhen the licht of God is not in thee, all that thou dois
is fulischness, and he that is wise without God, sall curse his wis-
dome ane day, and say, that all was bot madnes : zea and all the
monarches in the warld sall curse that wisdome quhilk they had
without God. This naturall seiknes gois farther doun, it descendis
to the hart, it abydis' not in the minde : bot nixt we becum main
rebellis against God, he that is wod,” he is set to rebell, and he is
backward,” ever inclyning to disobedience against God. Brethren,
ze knaw thair is twa sortis of fullis amangst men : sum fullis ar
sillie daft fuilis, other fuilisar malitious fuilis : be nature we ar all
borne fuillis, bot malitious fullis, ay” rebelling, and displeasing God.
Gif we compair thir twa sorts of fullis togidder the second is worst.
Lord save us fra ane rebellious heart : for I tell thee, the mind is
not sa blinded, bot it hes sum sicht of God: bot the hart of man
efter the fall is altogether inclyned to rebellioun, sa that gif thair
be a spunk of licht left in nature, it will travell by all means to put
in the finger in the eie of the mind and put it out. And thairfoir
travell to reforme thy hart, for gif it be not reformed, it sall ay” carie
thee the wrang gait."
Sa thair is twa pairts of the miserie of man. Now cummis
on the thrid pairt. Thy miserie ends not heir, mark, and travell
to find this in experience, (fy on us gif we ken' not ourselfis, for
gif we knaw not ourselfis we sall never knaw God aricht.) The
thrid part standis in actiounis, for the wod” and rebellious hart
mon breck out in sum actiounis. Can ane wod” and rebellious
bodie be idle? He callis our warkis tavering,” going out of the Way.
Can ane wodº man keip the hie gait?” Na, bot ay he mongo" to ane
side or other. Na mair can we be nature ga fordward in the richt
way: for be nature we ar wod,” froward, and disobedient. It is
true, naturall men will doe thingis that are richt in themselfis, bot
never* man sal do that quhilk is gude in theiº self richtlie, that hes
1 Tarrieth. 2 Mad. 3 Forward. * Silly simple fools. * Evermore.
• Way. 7 Know. 8 Wavering. 9 High way. , 10 But evermore
he goeth. 11 NO. 12 It.
2 E 2
436 THE ELLEVENTH SERMON,
that rebellioun in his hart: for we do mathing richtlie bot quhen
our eie is upon God. Albeit the action wer never Sagude, gifthou
seik not God in it, it is not done richtlie. Thou may weill doe it
to pleis the eies of men, and thou may get thankis at the hand of
men for it, bot thou sall get name at Goddis handis ; sa gif thou
wald be accepted of God, and wald have the actioun of thy handis
to pleis God, first luik that thy actioun be gude, and then luik to
God in thy action. Then thair ar three pairts of misery of the
naturall man : first wodnes' in the minde, secundlie malitiousnes
in the hart, thridlie his actiounis ar taverings,” all wandring out of
the way. To go fordward: He descryvis this wavering, and he
callis it serving; it standis in slaverie, his haill lifetime is bot ane
service and slavery. The natural man, gif he have na mair bot
nature, he is ane slave and servand coft” and Sauld, for Paul sayis,
“he is sauld to be subject to sinne,” Rom. vii. 15. Suppose he wer
the monarche of the haill eirth, gif he be without the new man, he
is ane slave. It is true, he will have monie servandis under him,
bot he is the first and chief slave himself, zea, he is a greiter ser-
vand nor the very cuik lad,” and the maist abject servand in his
house. Bot to quhom is this service done P To quhom ar we slaves?
In plain talk he sayis, to concupiscences. He callis them pleisures,
bot fy on them, howbeit they ar Sweit thingis they have ane sour
end. Harlatrie is sweit for ane time, bot O that bitternes in the
end. It is sweit to murther, bot O that bitternesse that it sal
bring with it in” end, it sal be bitterer nor the verie gall. Paull
makis mentioun heir of ane varietie and diversitie of lustes. Thou
that servis thy awin lustis, art nocht subject to ane maister onlie,
bot to ane hundreth ; thou art subject to monie unclein maisters
of divers qualities. Brethren ar thir our maisters ? Fy upon them,
the service done to them, it is ane vyle service. Thou that is ane
Lord, quhen thou luiks to thy cuik lad," thow will think his service
vile; bot fy upon thee, thou art ane greiter slave, he is a honest
servand, bot thou art ane slave : for thy service is done to thy
filthie pleasures, thair is ane varietie of them, and sa thow hes
1 Madness. 2 Waverings. 3 Bought. 4 Kitchen boy. 5 In the.
ON TITUS 3. 437
monie maisters quhom thou servis. And thairfoir ze will see thir
men that servis thair lustis, the trakedest bodies that livis," even as
gif they wer drawin throw an myre, for the onlie true and clean
service, is the service of that onlie ane God; the only repose of
thy Saul is on that ane God. Thair is na rest bot on him. Away
with that creature that drinkis in the foull lusts of this eirth, that
is na rest to him heir, and woe to that rest that sall cum in the end.
Sa thair ar the maisters quhilk we serve, foull concupiscencis,
fleschlie lustis. It may be speired,” Will ane persoun be subject to
sic ane greit varietie of concupiscencis P I answere, the seid of
every sinne in the warld is in everie man : Sa al concupiscencis is
in thee, becaus the seid of them is within thee : Na, the best men
in the eirth hes the seid of thir lustis, that buddis out into ac-
tiounis. It will lurke for ane time in the winter, bot in the spring
it will brek out, and then thow will knaw thou hes it, quhen thou
feillis the stink of it. Sa thair is the first answere, the seid of
everie sin is in the hart of everie man, in sic sort that it wil gar”
thee owg” at it, gif thou saw it; bot allace, it is hid fra our eies that
we can not see it, and thairfoir we skunner not with it.” Again in
sum men and wenen that seid of all lustis, will brek out in actions.
Ane man that is ane harlot" wil be ane drunkard also, ane avari-
tious man will be ambitious also, &c. It is ane mervell to see how
monie sins will be ringing" in ane miserabill slave, and to see how
that slave will be harled° fra ane sin to another. Fy on thee, will
thou never get thy fill of sinne P thou sall anis be filled with
wraith, and then thou sall skunner” at thy sins. For albeit thair
wer na mair botane sin in thee, it is enouch to gar thee ganglo to
hell.
Now to gang" fordward. He numbers out sum of thir con-
cupiscencis, and the first is malice, maliciousness in the hart agains
our neighbour. Then cummis in hir twa dochters, envie and ha-
tred. Quhen thou art wa” at thy neighbouris well, and can not
1 Those men who serve their own lusts to be the weariest bodies that ever lived.
2 Asked. 8 Make. 4 Loathe. * And therefore we loathe it not. 6 A
man that followeth harlotry. 7 Reigning, 8 Hurried. 9 Loathe. 10 Cause
thee to go. 11 Go. 12 Sorry.
4.38 THE ELLEVENTH SERMON,
se him thrive, then thou wil hait him. Thair ar three particulars,
and they are als monie pleisures to them that servis them : he that
hes malice thinkis him! never weill bot quhen thair is malice in his
hart : thairon cummis envie, and the envious hart is never weil,
bot quhen it speikis evill of the neighbour, for that is meit and
drink to it : he that hes hatred is never weil bot quhen he haitis
thy” neighbour, and that is his meit and drink. Now I sal draw
thir concupiscences to certain ranks. Thair ar sum of them
against God, sum against our neighbour, and sum against our-
self, amangs the quhilk is intemperancie. Fy on thee, O Epi-
curian, thou sinnis againis thy self. Now the Apostle in set-
ting doun thir concupiscencis makis a choise of the concupi-
scencis against our neighbour, for gif we be malitious agains him,
we ar malitious against God. Quhasaever is enemie to man, he
is also enemie to God. Now thair is na harmonie amang men,
that ar onlie naturall : for without God in Christ, naº true love, na
true concord. Put ane man and ane woman togidder without
God, wil thair be omy concord thair P Na, na: for the dewties of
the first Table ar requisite for the discharge of the dewties of the
second Table, and mon preceid them : how can thou love thy wife
or thy bairnis” without God? Na, na" true love, and the end sall
prove it to have bene bot hatred onlie. In the end of the verse he
settis down twa sortis of hatrentis," he sayis, “haitfull,” that is, he
that suffers hatred: then he subjoins, “haiting ane aneuther;” we
arodious to utheris, then againe we hait uthers. Alwayis mark ane
meiting heir. Trowis' thou to hait, and not to be haited againe? It is
bot the just judgment of God that as thou envyis and haitis, thou also
be hated and envied. Quhat harmonie can be heir quhen thou haitis
mee, and I thee ? Name true concord, bot all is louse. Thair is
na conjunctioun bot that quhilk is in Christ Jesus. Quhen this
conjunction is not amangs men, away with all uther conjunctions.
This is schortlie the miserabil estait quharin we stude be nature,
befoir the participatioun of mercy in Christ. Now I cum to the
1 Thinketh himself. 2 His 3 His. * There is no. 5 Children.
"No, there is no. 7 Hatreds. 8. Thinkest.
ON TITUS 3. 439
uther estait. Ane alteratioun mon be maid, or ellis we ar game :
For quhat can cum of ane body gif he die wodnes? Now luik how
we are delivered? “Bot (sayis he) efter that the bountifulness
and love of God our Saviour appearit.” Thair is the way how
our mercifull dely very cummis on. Ze reid not ane word heir that
man lying in misery, begoud” to finde out ane deliverie him self.
Ze reid not that the wod’ man of him selfe begins to tak up him
self: he sayis not, Then we tuik up our selfis. Na, na: we wald
have lyin lang oré we had takin up our selfis. Then the natural
man waltering and wallowing in sinne, and drinking in the foull
pleisures thairof, he will never tak up him self, and let him goe
on, and” he suld live ten thousand zeiris he will never be the
better, bot ay" worse and worse. Can ane man that is deid na-
turallie, think of ony life to himself, to rise up and stand again P
Not sic ane thing, he can not sa meikill as anis mint' to rise up.
Now, Brethren, we ar all black deid spirituallie, be nature thair is
not ane spunk of that hevinlie life in us, na mair nor in ane dead
bodie, that is deid naturally, thair is a spunk of natural life : and
we ar not half deid onlie, bot ar haill deid. Can a naturall man
anis think of ane spirituall lyfe P Na, and thairfoir Paul sayis,
Eph. ii. 31. “Quhen we wer deid in our sinnis, we wer quickned
be Christ,” meining that we had na power in our self to ryse again.
Gif it be sa then, quhen I see ane wicked man (that hes bene
serving his foul lustis all his lifetime) tak up him self, I will not
say that that man tuik up him self, I wil say, thair is ane deid man
rissin to life. I wil speir atº thee, In the beginning of the crea-
tioun, thocht thow of thy creatioun, minted” thou to think of it 2
Na, na mair thocht thou of thy regeneratioun : thou thocht als
littill of thy second creation, as thou thocht of thy first creatioun.
And thairfoir it is well said, “He created thee without thee.” And
as he created thee without thee, sa he redemit thee without thee.
Dar thou say, that thou gave counsall to thy redemptioun, and
1 For what can become of a body that dieth in madmess 2 2 Began. 3 Mad.
4 Lain long ere. 5 If. 6 Still. * He cannot so much as once think.
8 Ask of. 9 Desiredst.
440 TIIE ELLEVENTH SERMON,
thocht of it quhen God redemed thee. Then how cummis this
wark on ? We ar prevented," sum thing appeiris that was hid:
thair wes ane thing lang hid, and now it begins to schyne. And
quhat was this bountifulnes and love to mankind? it was hid, and
brekis out. And quha is it that is bountiful? is this ony man’s
bountifulness? Na, it is the bountifulness of God: and this
quickning love is God's, and that toward man. And quhat God is
this P. He callis him God our Saviour. For God is considered
twa wayis, as ane Creator, and as ane Saviour. It is the love of
him as ane Saviour that is schawin” to thee in thy redemptioun.
And quhen was this love reveiled 2 quhen Jesus Christ come in.”
the warld, and tuik on him” our nature, then this love brak out to-
ward man. He loved him fra all eternity, bot it brak not out
quhil then. Mark then. It is the love of God that saves, it is
Goddis bountifulnes that savis, our deliverie behoved to proceid of
ane wonderfull bountifulnes in God, quhairof the ground is love.
Gif he had not loved thee, he wald not have delivered thee. Then
it is not ane common love quhilk he beiris towardis us, bot thair
is ane speciall love in God to mankind; he lovis not thir hevins,
thir starnis” sa weil as he dois men. Na he communicats not the
thousand pairt of those thingis that he communicatis to man,
either to the hevins or to the starnis.” Then it is not the love of
God the Creator that dois this, and is the grund of this bountifulnes
and of our life in him, bot it is ane special kind of love. It is that
love that proceidis of God the Saviour. It is not the love of ane
Creator, bot of ane Father, not to the creature, bot to the Son. God
loves his Sonne better nor he dois his creature; he loves us as his
sonnes. Gif thair wer na farther love of God bot as he is ane
Creator, thou durst never cry “Abba, father,” and except the Spreit
sched abreid in our harts that love he beiris to us, for al the warld
thou durst not face him." The time is set doun quhen he hes saved
us, quhen his singular love appeared in the warld, “he saved us,
being manifested in the flesche.” Then it followis we wer lost, tint,
1 i. e. The operation of the Spirit comes first to us. 2 Showed. 3 Into.
4 And took upon him. 9 Stars. 6 Thou durst not appear before him.
ON TITUS 3. 441
and gane, quhen God of his love pat to his hand and saved us, we
wer out of our richt wit, rebellis to God, wavering and vaging out
of the richt way, slavis to our awin lustis. Quhom count ze tint,’
gif thir be not tint P* I will never count of a deboschit body4 given
ovir to filthines, to harlatrie, given over to murther, given over to
oppression and to mischief; I will never count of him bot as ane
mad, tint,” and lost bodie ; quhen he is walking abroad and mov-
ing in the warld, he is botane deid carcas, and gif he cum to God
again in mercy, it may be said, thair is ane deid body turnit to
life. Was thou an harlot,” repentis thou? Thou was deid' in sin,
bot now thou art alife. The lost chylde quhen he had spended
his bairns part of geir, and repented, and come hame to his father
agane,” his father sayis, “he that was deade is living agane,”
Luke xv. 24. Sa in a word we war lost men. Trowis thou
thou” ar not loist quhen thou can braith ? And thinks thou ane
man not dead gif he can gang upon the gait?10 Thinkis thou thy
selfe very weill gif thou have thir vitall motions in thee ? O bot
suppois thou had all the naturall lives in the warld, gif thou be
gevin over to thy awin affections, and leaves not off thy auld sinnes
and iniquities, thou art ane dead and wood” body. Begoud” than
that love towards man onely to appeir quhen Christ came in!” the
warld? I answere ; the love of God the Father appeirit and kythit
the selfe" in some measure to the godly, even befoir Christ came in 18
the warld, God forbid bot this love had kythit the selfe" upon
Abraham and the rest of the godly befoir the incarnatioun of our
Saviour. Bot at the comming of Christ it kythit the selfe" mair
brichtly nor ever it did befoir; for all his love of befoir was in
Christ to come ; bot now since he came in” the warlde, the love of
God towards mankinde hes kythit the selfe" in greater abound-
1 We were lost and gone. 2 Vagabonding, i. e. wandering. 3 Lost. 4 Re-
probate person. 5 Desperate. 6 Hast thou followed harlotry P 7 Thou
hast been dead. 8 The lost son, when he had spended his child's part of goods, yet
he repented and came home to his father's again. 9. Thinkest thou that thou.
10 If he can walk upon the street. 11 Mad. 12 Began. 13 Into. 14 Mani-
fested itself. 15 Been apparent. 16 It manifested itself. 17 Hath
appeared.
442 THE ELLEVENTH SERMON.
ance. The Lord grant us ane apprehensioun and sight of this
love, that at the least we may strive to love him agane, quha
hes loved us sa deirlie in his sonne Jesus Christ.
Now he schaws be quhat meinis this our salvatioun is procured
at the handis of God, he tellis zou be quhat meinis we ar not saved.
“Not (sayis he) be the warkis of richteousnes quhilk we had done;”
the meinis be the quhilk we ar not saved, is our awin just warkis,
thou art not saved be thy just warkis. Leane to them as thou will,
I will promeis thee in the name of that greit God, they sal never
save thee. Can ane man that is wodi and rebel to God, and ane
slave to his awin lustis, doesic warkis as may procure salvatioun ?
“Bot sic wer we,” (sayis the Apostle,) thairfoir we can deserve na
thing be our warkis. Fy on thee Papist, with thy meritis: fy on
the warkis of preparation, can ane wod" man prepair him self for
grace P Na sic thing. I tell zou, quhen God pat to his hand to
our salvatioun, he fand na matter in us of our salvatioun, bot dam-
nation. Quhen God beginnis to love, he findis na mater of love
in us, bot of hatred. And this commendis the greatnes of his love
towardis us, quhen he seis na thing in us bot mater of damnation,
zit he of his fre grace and mercy lovis us and savis us, Rom. v. 8.
This settis out his love heichlie towardis us, quhen that we wer
sinners he sent Christ to die for us. Thairfoir seik not thy salva-
tioun, neither befoir thou be in Christ nor efter thou art in him be
the merite of warkis, for thou sall never get it that way, bot thou
sal ay” be the farther fra it the mair thou seikis it be that mein.
Then gif gude warks be not the mein, quhat is the mein P. The
Apostle sayis, “He hes saved us according to his mercie.” Thir
ar plat contrair,” the mercie of God, and the merite of man.
Gif thou be savit be the mercie of God, then na merite, because
thy merite is not abil to save thee. The first fountane of our sal-
vation is love, efter love cummis on mercie, then pitie and compas-
sioun in his mercie presupponis miserie. Mercie is schawin to the
miserabill creature. God Seing us miserabill, wod,' rebellis, follow-
ing our awin crukit affectiounis, beginnis to be pitiful and to have
1 Mad. 2 Still. 3 These are flat contrary.
ON TITUS 3. 443
compassioun of us. Ze ken' mercie and pitie followis upon love.
For quhen we love ane bodie" and seis him in miserie, then we
have pitie upon him ; gif thou hait him suppois he wer in never sa
great miserie thou will not pitie him. Then God seing us wrapped
in sinne and miserie, he hes pitie upon us, quhilk pitie proceidis of
love, and with love and pitie concurris his power. We will love
ane and see him ly in miserie, quhen it will pas our power to re-
leave him, bot Goddis power is ever” effectual to deliver all them
quha is subject to miserie, gif anis he extend his love and compas-
sioun towardis them. Then the cause of our salvation is in God
onlie, and na pairt in man quha is saved. The first cause is the
love of God, quhilk is the fountaine: the next cause is mercie, for
or” ever this warld was created, God of his mercie tuik ane purpose
to save us. The Apostle sayis, Eph. i. 4. “He purposed of him-
self, he saw mathing in us quhairfoir he suld tak purpose to save
.” And quhen he cummis on to the executioun of that eternall
TIS
purpose of our salvatioun, thair is na thing in us, bot all is in him-
self, for he is all-sufficient himself, and mathing is without him.
The end quhairfoir he died all of himself, without us, was to the
prais of the glory of his grace, Ephes. i. 6, that thairby the haill
glorie of our salvatioun micht redound to him onlie, becaus the
caus is onlie in him. Thou that takis ane” pairt in it, and attributs
it to thy self, thou spulzies" God of his glorie. Either give him all
the glorie of this actioun, or tak it all to thyself: this glorie is
over' heavie for thee, gif thou tak it on thee, it will presse thee to
everlasting damnatioun. Then thair is the mein of our salvatioun,
the mercie of God. Nixt he layis out the pairtis of our salvatioun
abreid, ane be ane, that ze may see quhat salvatioun meinis. He
sayis, “Throuch the lavver or washing of our the new birth, or
regeneration of the Halie Gaist.” Thair is the first pairt. It is
ane wasching of us, quhen God puttis to his hand to save us. Ze
knaw wesching presupponis foulnes: thairfoir it mon follow quhen
God begoud” to save us, we wer uncleane, full of bylis and botchis,
1 Know. ? Any one. * Always. 4 Ere. 5 Amy. 6 Spoilest. 7 Too.
8 By the washing of the new birth, and the renewing of the Holy Ghost. 9 Began.
444 THE ELLEVENTH SERMON,
conceaved and born in filthines, and then worbling and waltering
in our awin sinne and filthiness, and ever the langer we live we ar
ay” the filthier. It is ane mervell that that halie God suld ever sus-
tain to luik to thy filthe,” or to put his halie and pure hand to thy
Vyle botches, or to send doun his clein Spreit to dwel in thy un-
clean hart, or that ony wayis his puritie suld mell" with thy impu-
ritie. Amang all the arguments of his love this is ane, quhen he
puts to his fair hand to thee that is sa foull. Findis thou thy sin-
nis pardoned, and thyself purged and wasched? assure thyself thou
art saif, and God hes loved thee. For except the love of God had
beneal the greater towardis thee, he wald never have purged thee
fra thy sinnis. It is ane sure takin” of his love towardis thee, that
it is infinite and exceding, that he hes not skunnerit at thee, at thy
worsum bylis, and botchis.” I see heir twa waschingis, ane out-
ward, ane uther inward; the first in thir wordis, “the lavver of
regeneratioun,” the nixt, “ the renewing of the Halie Spreit.”
The first is our baptisme, the nixt the inward wasching and
renewing be the Halie Spreit, represented be this outward bap-
tisme. As the water waschis away the filth fra the bodie, sa the
Halie Spreit purgis and waschis the hairt fra sinne, I will speik
bot this far schortlie of Baptisme. The outward wasching in
baptisme is not to be luikit to lichtlie, the pouring on of the
water is botane base signe to luik to : zit it is not ane bair signe
of the wasching of the Halie Spreit: Bot it is the instrument that
God taks in his hand, and quhairby he applyis to us the inward
wasching of the Haly Spreit; Col. ii. 12; Rom. vi. 4; he ascryvis
our regeneratioun to baptisme. We be baptisme ar buried with
Christ, risen with Christ, and gif this mean be contemnit, thair sall
be na regeneration. Gif ane man lichtlie this baptisme, I affirme
thair sall be na renewing inwardlie be the Halie Spreit: and gif he
be not renewit, he sall never be saved : for without regeneratioun,
na salvatioun. Ze see (2 Kings v. 10) quhat was injoymed to Naa-
1 Warbling. The word means to wriggle like a worm. Jamieson gives warble and
wrabil. 2 Still. 3 Filthy boils. 4. Should meddle. * Token. 6 That
he hath not loathed thee, and thy filthy boils and botches.
ON TITUS 3. 445
man the Syrian, quhen he socht clenging,' the Prophet bade him
gang” to Jordan and wasche him seven times. Bot he thocht with
himself, quhat is this? Ar not thair fair rivers at hame at Damas-
cus * Zea, he wald not gang quhil he tuke better counsaill, bot
sa sune as he went, and waschit himself seven times, he was
clengit.” Even sa it is in Baptisme: gif ane man contemme the out-
ward washing, he sall never be cleansed by the Spreit. This same
is also true of the sacrament of the Supper. Count not, thairfoir,
littil of the sacraments, because God hes promised to give himself
with the sacrament gif it be richtlie received. Now luik how lang
our regeneratioun is in working in this life, the force of baptisme
continewis als lang: thou mon be continually renewed till thy last
braith. Thairfoir the force of baptism mon last with the to thy last
braith. It is a vanity to think that the force of baptisme standis
in the ministratioun of the actioun onlie : na, it leiffis us never
fra time we receive it,4 till we be placed with Jesus Christ. Have
thy eie ay on” baptisme, for it is ane mein quhairby the Lord will
save thee. Farther, brethren, he beginnis heir at regeneratioun :
ze may see then the necessitie of regenerationn. Wald thou be
saif? luik that thair be ane new birth ; luik that thou be borne
over againe, as Christ said to Nicodemus, John iii. 3; “Verilie I
say to you, except ane man be borne again he cannot see the king-
dome of God.” Gif thou be not an new creature you are not in
Christ, bot outwith" Christ, and outwith" Jesus Christ na salvation.
Ze see men wald begyle themselfis, and they will say quhen ze
speirº at them, quhidder they will gang” to hevin or not : they will
answere, we will ga to hevin, and zit, in the mein time they will
hald on the auld man, and will never change their maners, bot that
vain opinioun will deceive them, 2 Cor. vi. 9. “Be not begyled, for
na fornicators, adulterers, manslayers,” drunkardis sall inherite the
kingdome ofhevin.” Gif thou hald on the auldman, thou sall never
besaif, Jesus Christmon beget thee anew againe, or” thou sall never
1 Cleansing. 2 Go. 3 Cleansed. 4 After we have once received it.
5 Have thine eye still upon. 6 Without. 7 Ask. 8 Go. 9 Murderers.
10 Or else.
446 THE ELLEVENTH SERMON,
enter within the zettish of hevin. Now quhen he hes spoken of this
inward and outward wasching, he insistis in this point concerning the
Spreit, and declaris quhom fra” this Spreit cummis, “quhilk he
sched on us abundantlie throw Jesus Christ our Saviour.” We have
him not our selfis, he that waschis us is he that pouris on the precious
lavver of the Spreit, quhairby we ar waschin. Then the Spreit is fra
God. Is that Spreit fra the Father immediatelie? Na, he powris
him in throuch Jesus Christ our Saviour: sa immediatlie this
Spreit cummis fra Jesus Christ, bot mediatelie fra God as the foun-
tane : he cummis fra the Father to the Sonne, fra the Sonne to us,
John xv. 26. The cause of this ordour" is this; he is our Saviour
and hes coft us with ane deir price ; the Spreit is coft* to us be
the blude of Jesus Christ; his blude hes coft# all quhilk we re-
ceive and get be him ; sa he givis his Halie Spreit with al his
graces be the hand of Jesus Christ the man. Then gif ye wald
have the Spreit, dresse zour selfis to that treasure in hevin, and
crave that God wald Zett on that Spreit on zou” throuch Jesus
Christ, and give zou his grace be the hand of the man Christ.
Zit to oppin up the words mair narrowlie, “Quhome he pow-
ris out,” &c. He speikis of the Spreit as it wer of water : the
Spreit heir is compared to water, becaus of the wasching, for as
the ane waschis the filth of the bodie sa the uther waschis the
filth of the saull. He is not content to say, he powris out the
Spreit simplie, bot he sayis, “abundantlie,” in ane great mea-
sure, as ane flude in abundance. This teichis twa things to us,
first the liberalitie of God. He gives not grace niggardlie as
men, bot quhat ever we get it is in abundance; his love is riche,
his mercie is riche, the Spreit quhilk he givis us" is riche, sa he is
liberall to us. Then it followis of this also, that we ar verie foull
and unclein. Ane claith verie foul wil crave mekill water, and
great wasching; sa we mon' have aboundance of grace, becaus we
wer sa foull throuch sinne; bot suppose we ar never sa foull, ex-
1 Gates. 2 From whom. 3 Order. 4 Bought. 5 And beseech God
that he would vouchsafe to send that Spirit upon you. 6 He giveth unto us. 7 A.
cloth that is very foul will require much water and washing; even so we must.
ON TITUS 3. 447
cept we get ane sicht of our filthines, we will never desire to be
waschin, Psalm li. quhen David felt himself verie filthie in murther
and adulterie, he cryed, “Wasche mee, O Lord, and make mee
clein.” -- • •
Quhen ane bodie cummis to ane remorse of conscience, it is ane
wonder to se how ane man' will drink in that Spreit, and desire to
be satiat with that water. Ane foul bodie that hes not the sense
of his filthiness, will never cry for wasching. The murtherer and
harlot will never cry Lord wasche mee, unlesse they get ame sicht
of thair awin” uncleinnesse. “Blissed ar they that thirstis for richt-
eousnes: for they sal be filled,” Mat. v. 6. Thair may be moved
ane questioun heir. How is it said that the Spreit is zet” out sa
aboundantlie, how monie feillis this richnes: Will ane man or
ane woman discend in thair selfis, they will find greit inlaik and
scaircenes" of this Spreit. Brethren, I answer, Ane drop of the
Spreit of Jesus Christ is counted greit riches: ane drop of grace
is great riches, ane drop of the water of lyfe is greater riches nor
all the water in the warld. It will wey doun all the precious
thingis that ar upon the face of the eirth. Thou that hes gottin ane
drop of grace in Jesus Christ, thou ar richer than al the kings in
the warld. Mairover, gif this drop of grace culd be dryed up in
the hartis of the regenerat, it werles to be counted of, bot thair is
ever” drop efter drop, and na" end of dropping. Continually thou
art refresched now and then with new droppis of grace, sa lang as
thou livis. Sa this continuance in dropping is ane greit riches:
thou hes na caus to complein that hes this continuance. Weill is
the saul that gets drop efter drop, for that saull may say it hes
gottin greit riches. - *
This mekill' for the first part of our salvatioun called Re-
generatioun : quhen God puts to his hand to save us, he put-
tis to his hand and wasohes us inwardly, and outwardlie, and
gives us his Spreit. Now followis the nixt pairt, “That being
justified be grace, we may be made heires according to the hope
1 How he, 2 Own. 3 Poured. * They will find great lack and
scarcity. 5 Still. 6 None. 7 Thus much.
448 THE ELLEVENTH SERMON,
of lyfe everlasting.” The nixt pairt standis in Justificatioun. I
will not insist; I sal touche it in ane word. It is na uther thing
bot the imputing of the richteousnesse of Jesus Christ to" us. This
richteousnes is not inherent in us, bot the satisfaction of Jesus
Christ is impute to us. This justificatioun in effect is na thing
uther,” bot forgivenes of sinnes, quhen God forgives thee thy sins,
and accounts Christ's richteousnes to be thine, and layis not thy
sinne to thy charge. All is ane thing. Justification is not this
that men dreamis,” to wit, ane richteousnes inherent in our selfis,
bot it is ane uther man’s justice quhilk be imputatioun is maid
ouris. Compair thir twa togidder, justificatioun and regenera-
tioun, and considder the naturall ordour* of them, justificatioun is
first. Ane man is justified be the blud of Jesus Christ imputed
to him, or” ever he be regenerate be the Spreit. The Spreit that
waschis him in regeneratioun cummis throuch the blude: the blude
is first, and than cummis in regeneratioun, and waschis away the
mother sinne, and the foull stinking corruption that is in thee :
and baith9 thy justification and regeneration cummis of free grace,
without meritis: for thir twa ar ever opponed, grace, and merit:"
preise not to mingle” thir twa, to give God ane pairt, and to at-
tribute ane uther pairt to thy self. Leif thy merite behind thee,
tak thee to the mercy of God, utherwayis na” salvation for thee.
Thairefter cummis on ane uther pairt of Salvatioun, we ar maid
heiris of everlasting life : bot thair is sum thing gois betwixt that
is not set doun heir. For ze see that quhen we ar justified and
regenered,” we ar made sonnis adopted:” or ever we be heiris, we
mon be children. Bot I leif this becaus the Apostle speiks not of
it heir. Then the last pairt is : We ar made heires of the king-
dome of hevin. Quhat can mair be” requyritin salvatioun ? Thair
is the heichest degree, thou art placed in thy inheritance; thair is
thy perfectioun. “According to the hope of lyfe eternall.” Leist
1 Unto. 2 Is none other thing 3 That men dream of. 4 Order. 5 Ere.
* Both. 7 In the original mercie, a misprint evidently. 8 Deal—surely a
mistake. 9 Otherwise there is no. 10 Regenerated. 11 Sons by adoption.
12 What more can be.
ON TITUS 3. 449
we suld think that we ar alreadie put in possessioun of this inhe-
ritance, he meitis this, and shawis that albeit we ar in this life
maid heires, zit we ar not in this life put in" ane reall possessioun
of this heirschip : bot he sayis, “according to hope:” we are heiris
be hope, botanis hope and all sall go away,” and we sal be heires
in verie deid. Zit hope is necessar Sa lang as we live heir : Sa lang
as the Father is living, the airis hes ane to-luik and ane hope of
the heirschip: Hope, or” thou sall never se hevin. Now this Hope
is not sa bair, that in the meintime we have na fruitioun of the
thing hoped for: zea, even in this life the fruition of hevin is
begun in effect, and gif thou have not the beginning of it heir,
hope never for the accomplischment of it hence.” We have ane
beginning in this life, bot as for the full possessioun and fruitioun
of our inheritance it is reserved to the life to cum. And
thairfoir it is, that the godly in this life hoips stil for the cumming
of Jesus Christ, quhill they be set and placed with him in that
inheritance purchasit to us be his blud. To quhome with the
Father and the Haly Spreit, be al honour, prais and glorie, for
ever and ever.
* Into. *But once hope shall go away. 9 Hope thou, or else. 4 Hereafter.
§§§
§ C E R T A IN E
§s ERMoNs,
VPON SEVER ALL
Texts of Scripture:
PREACHED BY THAT REVE-
rend and faithfull ſervant of Ieſus
Chriſt M. R. o B E R T R o L L o K,
Miniſter of the Church (and Rector
of the Colledge) of Edinburgh.
§
:
;
º
Whereof the firſt eleven were be-
fore publiſhed, and the remnant
ſeven, are newly adioy-
ned thereunto.
*
&
#
ED IN BU R G H .
Printed by Andro Hart. 1616.
ãº
(Another Edition of the Work bears)
:
Imprinted at Edinburgh by the
heires of Andro Hart, 1634.



TO THE RIGHT WORSHIPFUL,
THEIR MOST LOVING FRIEND IN THE LORD,
MASTER WILLIAM soot of ELIE,
GRACE IN THIS LIFE, AND EVERLASTING GLORY IN THE
LIFE TO COME.
OUR gracious God, who in his rich mercy (Right Worshipful)
hath in this latter time raised up many rare and worthy instru-
ments and faithful preachers in other countries about us, hath not
left this our country destitute of the like benefits: for, as amongst
them, so amongst us, striving with our ingratitude, he hath
raised up from time to time, sundry notable men, endued with
singular graces, whose ministry he made powerful to over-
throw the kingdom of Satan, Sin, and the Antichrist, and to ac-
quire a CHURCH unto himself, in the which he might be glorified
in the riches of his mercies; of whom the most part now sleep in
the LORD, and rest from their labours: Amongst whom Master
ROBERT ROLLOK, of blessed memory, deserveth (for his graces)
to be counted with the first : for who ever pressed more to approve
himself to GOD in a good conscience than he 2 Who ever was
more faithful and painful in his calling than he He strove al-
ways to glorify GOD, and to honour his profession and calling, by
a godly life and conversation, so that the very enemies of the
truth could not accuse him, nor envy itself justly reprove him.
454 EPISTI,E DEDICATORY.
He set himself always to do good to others: for he thought he
was not his own man, but deputed for the service of others. He
was never idle, but he did either read, meditate, pray, confer,
counsel, comfort, preach, or write. He was peaceable in the
Church, patient of wrongs, never vindictive, but ever ready to
forgive. He sought not the world, knowing that he had here no
continuing, but had his conversation in the heaven, from whence
he looked for his Saviour to come. -
But it is needless to praise him, either to you, Sir, who knoweth
so well what store of grace the LORD vouchsafed upon him, or yet
to any others, seeing his works speak plainly enough for him: for
as he edified many in his life by his preaching, so also he hath edi-
fied many not only in his country, but in many other parts, by
his learned and judicious writings, left behind him.
And because his Lectures, that have been before published by
us, upon the COLOSSIANS and THESSALONIANs, as also the first
eleven Sermons here contained, have been received with good
liking and applause of many : and now, finding that there are not
copies extant, especially of these eleven Sermons, to satisfy the
desire of such as seek them, we have thought good to cause im-
print them over again : as also to adjoin seven other Sermons,
preached by him upon diverse texts, and received by his scholars
from his mouth : which, indeed, we must confess, required the re-
fining hand of the Author, that they might have shined in their
own beauty. Always our care has been in these, as in all the
rest before published, out of some copies offered unto us, as near
as we could, to give out to the public view of the Church, both
the matter, style, and phrase of the godly Author.
Now, for many reasons, we are moved to recommend these his
Sermons, (and our labours therein) to your patronage, that with
them your memory with the posterity might long endure.
First, in respect of the entire love and affection ye carried to
Master ROLLOK, from the first hour that ye were acquainted with
him, even unto his death, for no man ever loved him, conversed
FPISTLE DEDICATORY. 45.5
with him, respected him, &c., more than yourself: and many a
time have you resorted unto him in his health, and offered him
such courtesy and kindness that he acknowledged himself to be
obliged to none so much as to you. And, finally, ye not only
visited him in his sickness, but allured him to come to your house,
where, without regard of pains and expenses, you entertained
him, and such as visited him, most liberally and cheerfully, till the
time that the LoRD called him to himself. Yea, you counted
it a singular blessing of the LORD, that he honoured you with
such a guest.
Next, Master RolloR in his Testament ordained, that all his
books which after should be imprinted should be dedicated unto
you; that whosoever got commodity thereof, next after God, might
give the honour and thanks unto you.
Thirdly, through your care, endeavour, and expenses only, these
whole Sermons were gathered in from them that wrote them;
through your procurement only, they were revised, corrected, and
made fit for the printing: by your means only now they see the
light, which, without you, had been buried in darkness.
Lastly, if it were free to us to make choice of a patron, we would
make choice of none but you, to testify our thankfulness for your
great undeserved kindness shewed unto us particularly, yea, and
to all these whom the LORD hath set in his service.
So that, in all respects, reason requireth, that all these Sermons
should be published under your patronage and protection. For,
whereas your name was not prefixed unto the first eleven, when
they were first imprinted: (seeing by your endeavour, charges,
and expenses only, they were first set forth) now this occasion be-
ing presented, we might justly have been blamed, if that oversight
by us had not been amended.
Finally, Sir, honour the LORD, and he will honour you, delight
in his ways, and he will give you your heart's desire; weary not
to do good unto the saints, and he will recompense you, and at
last, will crown all your good deeds with glory.
456 EPISTLE DEDICATORY.
The LoRD make you to go on from grace to grace, and in all
things direct you by his Spirit, that you may be long happy in
this life, and for ever happy in the life to come. Amen.
Yours in the Lord,
H. C.
W. A.
Edinburgh, the 22, of January, Anno Dom. 1616.
THE TWELFTH SERMON.
PSALM CXXX.
1. Out of the deep places have I called unto thee, O Lord.
2. Lord hear my voice : let thine ears attend to the voice of my prayers.
3. If thou, O Lord, straitly markest iniquities, O Lord, who shall
stand 3
4. But mercy is with thee, that thou mayest be feared.
THE inscription of this Psalm, brethren, declareth that it is a
psalm most excellent; the excellency of it we remit to the matter
contained therein. It hath been penned by some holy man and
prophet of old, but by whom it is not certain : it is sufficient to
us to know that the Spirit of God was the dyter of it.
To come to the matter and parts thereof, the prophet, whoso-
ever he was, first setteth down the estate and disposition of his
soul in trouble, to wit, that he ran to the Lord, and prayed to him
for delivery : and this he doeth to the fifth verse. Next, finding
in very deed the effects of the prayer he made, and finding mercy
and delivery as he craved, he professeth before all the world, that
as he had before awaited upon God, so he will await still upon
him, and he will put his confidence in him. And this he doeth to
the seventh verse. Lastly, from the seventh verse to the end, he
recommendeth this duty to Israel, that is, to the Church of God,
to wait upon the Lord, and, with the recommendation, he giveth in
458 THE TWELETH SERMON,
forcible reasons to move them. To come to the first part, first,
he saith, that in his greatest danger he cried to the Lord Jehovah.
Next, he setteth down the prayer. To come to the proposition,
he saith, “Out of the deep :” yet more, “Out of the deep places
have I called unto thee, O Jehovah.” By these deep places he
understandeth great miseries, great dangers wherein his body was,
great terror and fear in his conscience for his sin and offending of
God: for the Scripture, as ye may see, (Psalm Bºix. 1, 2,) com-
pareth great afflictions to deep waters, wherein a man is like to
drown ; and many a time, when the body is in danger, the soul
will be like to drown in desperation. No doubt, the greatness of
the danger, made him to utter to the Lord voices coming from the
very depth of the heart. If we felt ourselves in great danger we
would call from the depth of our hearts to God: he uttered not a
voice only, but a loud voice, with a cry. This is the meaning of
the words. We see here, first, that the children of God, whom
God loveth most entirely, are many times subject to great and ex-
treme dangers and troubles; and if ever thou thinkest to come to
heaven, make thee" in thine own course to suffer one trouble or
other. Let no man, therefore, judge evil of a man because he
suffereth. Next, we see the greater the danger be, the heavier
the distress and the affliction wherewith the godly is exercised be,
the more vehement, fervent and earnest, will their prayer be they
have to God. And how cometh this to pass 2 Even in this man-
ner, and by these degrees, oppression and affliction worketh in the
hearts of the faithful a sense of the common misery of nature.
When the hand of the Lord is upon a faithful man then he begins
to feel his sin and corruption; and except the Lord exercise us in
this life, either one way or other, the best of us all will fall into
such a sound sleep, that we will neither remember what we have
been, what we are, nor what we shall be, neither acknowledge our-
selves to be sinners : so there is a necessity of afflictions, for afflic-
tion bringeth us to a feeling of our misery. Next, when through
affliction the heart is prepared and brought to some sense of sin,
1 A Scottish idiom for prepare.
ON PSAILM CXXX. 459
then it is capable of grace, then it prayeth to God. (Look never
to come to heaven if thou feelest not thy sin, yea, and that thou
art a miserable sinner.) Then, if once thine heart be prepared
with some sense of sin and misery, then cometh in that holy Spirit
of Jesus Christ, which in the Scripture is called the Spirit of adop-
tion, who, finding the heart dejected and made lowly, (the Spirit
will never look in to a proud heart,) beginneth to work, and to
touch the heart of the miserable sinner with a sweet sense of
mercy through Jesus, he beginneth to shed abroad the love of
Christ into the soul: and when once the heart hath tasted of the
sweetness of mercy, and, as Peter saith, hath tasted how sweet
and gracious the Lord is, and findeth this passing love of God in
Jesus Christ, then it taketh a boldness, and beginneth with confi-
dence and pertness" to present itself before God, and to put up
prayers and requests; (Romans viii. 26.) When once that Spirit
hath given liberty, then we cry with an open mouth, (for the heart
is wide opened, Abba, Father, (Romans viii. 15,) because we
have gotten a sense of that fatherly love in Jesus Christ. The
prayer of the faithful is most effectual when they are in greatest
danger, and then the voice is loudest : for it is the Spirit of God
who maketh intercession for us, with sighs which cannot be ex-
pressed; but God knoweth the meaning of his Spirit.
Now, Brethren, surely few of us have yet been in this deepness
and extremity of misery. The Lord hath not yet so pressed us
with his hand as he hath done many others; and, therefore, few
there is amongst us who hath this feeling of sin and misery, and,
consequently, few of us can pray so earnestly. How many are
there amongst you that dare say, that ye feel sensible the common
misery of nature ? Go to your hearts and look if ye feel it not
sleeping in sin ; and so long as thou sleepest thus, and knowest
not thy misery, how wilt thou be careful to feel the love of Christ?
And how wilt thou earnestly pray to God? And certainly I take
this coldness in prayer to be a forerunner of a judgment to over-
take this land. No, it were better to be swimming in the waters
* Boldness.
460 THE TWELFTH SERMON,
of affliction, praying earnestly to God, than to be this way lying
in prosperity without prayer.
Now I go forward. After he hath proponed, that out of the
deepness he cried to Jehovah, then to let us see his cries, he set-
teth down the form of prayer that he used in his great miseries:
First, he saith, “O Lord hear my voice:” Next, in the other words
he doubleth over the same petition, “Attend to the voice of my
prayers:” For he prayeth not coldly, but he crieth earnestly ; cer-
tainly the doubling of the cry would be opened up from the ground.
We should gripel down to the heart from whence the prayers of
the godly do flow, that when we hear them, or read them, we may
get such a heart and disposition in prayer as they had. The
doubling of the prayer, and the mouth wide opening, cometh of
the doubling of the graces of the Spirit of God in the heart, and
of a double opening of the heart; for, except the heart be opened
in prayer, the mouth cannot be opened with pleasure, otherwise
if thou speak any thing, I will not give one penny for it. So the
opening of the mouth cometh from the opening of the heart. When
the Holy Spirit so sweetly maketh manifest the love of God to the
creature, then the tongue is loosed, and the second cry cometh of
the second grace, and of the second opening of the heart; and so
oft as thou criest, so oft is there a new grace and motion within
the heart, wrought by the Holy Spirit, for it is he only, that open-
eth the mouth, piece and piece, to speak to God. For take this
for certainty that Paul saith, “there is none that can call Jesus
Lord, without the Spirit come in,” (1 Cor. xii. 3.) And again he
saith, “we know not what we should pray, or how we ought to
pray, without that Spirit teach us,” (Romans, chap. 8, verse 26,) and
if he teach not, no man or woman is able once to open the mouth
with confidence and liberty to pray. -
And so, Brethren, if ye would speak well, pray well, or do well,
look ever to the disposition of the heart, and night and day pray
for that Spirit, who may transchange thee, transform thee, and take
thee out of nature, and plant thee in grace; for so long as thou re-
1 Search.
ON PSALM CXXX. 461
mainest in nature, thou canst not think well, thou canst not speak
well, thou canst do nothing well, yea, thou art worse than a very
beast.
But because the words are very weighty, we will yet consider
them better. What meaneth he when he saith, “Ilord let thine
ear be attentive to my prayer ?” Thought he that the Lord heard
him not, and that the Lord played the part of a deaf man 2 No, he
meaneth not this; look to the estate of the godly when the hand
of the Lord is upon them, when the Lord afflicteth us any way,
we think that he neither heareth nor seeth us, nor remembereth
upon us: Indeed, I grant it is not so in effect, for God never alter-
eth his affection towards his own ; but the faithful oftentimes judge
and apprehend so, and all the fault of this is in us. Ye see how
David oftentimes complaineth to the Lord, that he had forsaken
him, he had left him, and desireth that he should look upon him.
I ask, is it so indeed, that when the faithful soul crieth, Lord hear,
see, and remember, that he heareth not, he seeth not, he remem-
bereth not ? No question but he doth : “For he that made the eye,
seeth he not ? He that made the ear, heareth he not ? He that
formed the heart of man, understandeth he not ? Remembereth he
not?” (Psalm xciv.) Yea, all things are patent to his Majesty, albeit,
when he maketh it not manifest by some sensible effects and ope-
ration, we think he heareth not, he seeth not, he remembereth not,
his favour and affection is never indeed altered nor changed from
his own children: Then, when they cry for his presence, are they
altogether destitute and deprived of his presence? No, they want
it not : For who gave the heart to say, Lord hear me, Lord see
and remember me 2 If that thou hadst not some presence of the
Lord in thine heart, thou couldest never utter these voices to God.
Then I say, if I have the presence of God when I cry unto him,
why cry I, and pray I, as though I had not his presence? Are not
such prayers in vain? No, for although we have the presence of
God when we pray, yet for all that, our prayers to God are not
in vain; for if we had him of before in any measure by our pray-
ers, he will manifest himself more sensibly, piece and piece, more
462 THE TWELETH SERMON,
and more. And look how much more strongly thou criest, so
much the more will the Lord be drawn to thy soul, and so much
the more shalt thou find the increase and growth of grace in
thy soul. It is impossible that the prayer of a faithful man, if it
were but one word that proceedeth from the Spirit of adoption, can
pass away without comfort: For the Lord giveth his Spirit to no
man in vain, but because he knoweth the meaning of his own Spirit,
therefore he will grant that thing for which he maketh request,
there is nothing more certain; and therefore the Lord, (Mat. v. 6,)
pronounceth them blessed, “who hunger and thirst for righteous-
ness, for’’(saith he,) “they shall be filled and satisfied:” And so Christ
speaketh to that woman of Samaria, (John iv. 13, 14,) “If thou
soughtest a drink, I should give thee a drink of the water of life;
for the water that I shall give shall be, in a man (or woman) a
well of water springing up into eternal life;” meaning, generally,
that whosoever hath gotten the first fruits of the Spirit, and the
beginnings of grace, desireth and seeketh for further progress and
increase, that the Lord should ever furnish them with something
to quench their thirst, and that because they should ever have a
fountain within their belly, to furnish something to them when
they thirsted; so that when as they should seek refreshment, they
might get it in abundance. And if we felt this thirst and dryness
of the soul, we would seek earnestly ; for there was never such a
dryness and such a heat in any man naturally, as there is in us
through sin. Consider thine own experience, when thou hast felt
sometimes the great burden of sin, and the terrors of the wrath of
God for sin, whensoever, in this estate, thou camest to God, and
prayed for mercy, and said, I am a miserable sinner—Lord give
me mercy, hast thou not felt that the Lord hath answered thee
comfortably, and hath filled thine heart with joy, even when, in
thy prayer, thou sighest and sobbest unspeakably? What meaneth
that joy 2 Even that as soon as thou openest thy mouth with
liberty to seek that water of life, the Lord convoyeth some portion
of it into thine heart to quench thy thirst. -
Now, after he hath cried twice, he subjoineth in the next
ON PSALMI CXXX. 463
words, “If thou, O Lord, straitly markest iniquities, O Lord, who
shall stand P” This, no question, followeth by way of preoccupa-
tion. It might have been objected to him in his prayer, (for many
are the temptations of the godly,) by his conscience pleading for
God against him, or God himself might have said, Thou prayest
to me, and yet thou art a sinner, how should I hear thee ? How
darest thou stand before me 2 it is a wonder that, in my fierce
wrath, I destroy thee not. To this he answereth, first, by way of
confession, It is true, O Lord, that if thou wilt straitly mark ini-
quity that no flesh can stand in thy presence, but they must be
consumed, through the rage of thy displeasure. Then he answereth,
by way of correction, “But mercy is with thee.” The meaning is,
Thou takest no heed to our iniquities, but, of thy free mercy and
grace, thou pardonest them all in thy Son Jesus Christ; for none
of the saints, none of the fathers, none of the prophets ever got
mercy, but through that blood of Jesus Christ, who was slain from
the beginning of the world; through his blood only was the wrath
of God pacified. Except God’s justice be first satisfied, there is
no place left to mercy; therefore, saith he, my refuge is to thy
mercy. Indeed, our estate, who live now, is far better than the
estate of them who lived before Christ came into the world; for
they saw the death and satisfaction of Christ, and remission of sin
in his blood, but afar off; but we see them now already past, and
we may say, that now God in Christ is merciful to us, is become
our Father, and hath forgiven all our sins.
Now, out of these words, and by this example of the prophet, ye
may see what is the estate of God's children in prayer, to wit, when,
in affliction, they seek to repair to God by prayer, they will not so
soon begin to pray, but as soon their guilty consciences will begin
to knock and challenge them, as unworthy to be heard. The con-
science will stand up, and, if it be not cleansed, it will present thy
sins before thee, and set them in order in all their circumstances.
Albeit thou forget thy sins after thou hast got thy pleasure, yet
thou shalt see that thy conscience hath marked them all; and as
a man cannot read when the book is closed, yet being opened,
464 THE TWELFTH SERMON,
they may read therein; even so, albeit when our consciences are
benumbed, we see not the ugliness and guiltiness of sin, yet when
God wakeneth them, we will see sin in the own colour, and find
the ugliness and guiltiness thereof. Our sins will come in, and
stand up as mountains, and will hide the blessed face and presence
of God from thee. Sin goeth betwixt us and God, and separateth
us from God.
The saints find in experience, that it is not an easy thing to
find a familiar access to God in prayer. Except our consciences
first be purged, we can have no access to God; therefore, whoso-
ever would draw near to God, let him seek to follow the counsel
of the Apostle in the 10th chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews,
and the 22d verse, where he saith, “Let us draw near with a true
heart in an assurance of faith, sprinkled in our hearts from an evil
conscience.” No flesh can have a favourable access to God, except
his conscience be first purged from guiltiness; yea, that which we
speak of the guiltiness of sin, we speak also of sin itself, that ex-
cept it be quite taken away out of his sight, that he will not look
favourably upon us. And this is that which the prophet saith
here, “If thou, O Lord, straitly markest iniquities, O Lord, who
shall stand P” For, as guiltiness of sin stayeth us to behold
God, so sin itself stayeth God from beholding us, miserable
wretches, with the eyes of his compassion. So long, therefore, as
thy conscience is not purged, when thou goest to present thyself
before his majesty, if thy conscience be wakened, thou wilt find
God marking thy sins,—laying them to thy charge, and wilt find
him as a terrible judge, compassed about with burning wrath, ready
to destroy thee: and if he mark thee, thou hast no standing, and
if thou appear not clothed with the righteousness and perfect sa-
tisfaction that Jesus, through his blood, hath purchased for thee,
thou darest not presume to approach, for then his fierce wrath shall
be poured out upon thee.
Further, we learn hereof, that whenever we would have our
prayers accepted, we should begin with an humble confession, of
our sins and unworthiness, and with an earnest prayer to forgive
ON PSA LIM CXXX. 465
the same. Yea, we must aggreadge" our sins by all circumstances,
as the prophet doeth here. No, none; not the holiest saints,
fathers, nor prophets, could be able to stand, if he marked their
iniquity, let be himself, who was such an unworthy wretch, who was
laden with so many and great sins. Thou must not extenuate thy
sins before God, if thou wouldest find favour with God, as many
men commonly do, saying, We are all sinners; yea, many men
have sinned more, and have done worse deeds than I have done.
That is not the way to find God’s favour. Thou must be very
abject, vile, and contemptible in thine own account, if thou would-
est have the Lord to account of thee. Then where shall we get a
remedy to help an evil conscience P For sin taketh away all joy
and confidence in prayer. -
The next words furnish a fair remedy—“But mercy is with
thee.” Lord, it is not thy justice I look to, but thy mercy; thy
justice holdeth me aback, but thy mercy allureth me. I flee from
thy justice, and I claim to thy mercy. So when a man desireth
his prayers to be heard, he must first have a sight of his own
misery, guiltiness, and unworthiness, and of the fierceness of the
Lord's wrath for the same ; and in all humility he must confess
the same. Next, he must have a sight of the Lord's mercy, and
hope that it is possible that God be reconciled with him; except
that these two be joined together he cometh not duly prepared.
The one without the other will not serve; both are necessary.
For without the knowledge, sight, and feeling of our misery, of
sin, and of the wrath of God for the same, we will never be ear-
nest in prayer. Who will ask, except he find his want? And
without an humble confession there is no coming before God.
Thou must not do as the Pharisee did. Read that parable of the
Pharisee and of the Publican, (Luke xviii.) The Pharisee was so
blinded with self-love, that he could not see the filthiness and
corruption of his own heart; and, therefore, not only in the pre-
sence of man, whom he might deceive, would he justify himself,
but also in the very presence of God, who cannot be deceived,
1 Aggravate,
2 G
466 THE TWELFTH SERMON,
and who searcheth the hearts, he would boast of his righteous-
ness, and condemn the poor Publican. But what found he It is
said he went home not justified, that all men might fear thereafter
to come before God with a conceit of their worthiness. Thou
must follow the example of the poor Publican, who, being ashamed
of himself, would not look up to heaven, but looked down and
smote his breast, and said, “O God be merciful to me a sinner.”
Next, if thou have no more but a sight, sense, and confession of
thy misery, will that be sufficient 2 No, for albeit thou sawest all
thy sins, and foundest the burden thereof, and foundest the Lord
as a judge in a judgment pursuing thee, and heaping daily judg-
ment upon judgment, and wrath upon wrath, that will never make
thee to draw near to the Lord, but by the contrary, will make
thee to turn thy back upon the Lord ; for, as a malefactor hath
no pleasure to behold the face of a judge, because his countenance
is terrible, no more can the sinner abide the countenance of God.
His judgments and his wrath may make us astonished and stupi-
fied, but, if there be no more, they will never make us to come to
God. Then if this be not sufficient, what more is requisite P Even
a sight of the Lord's mercy, for that is most forcible to allure, as
the prophet saith here, and as the Church of God sayeth, (Can.
i. 2,) “Because of the savour of thy good ointments, therefore the
virgins love thee.” This only is forcible to allure the sinner; for
all the judgments of God, and curses of the law, will never allure
him. What was the chief thing that moved the Prodigal son to
return home to his father ? Was it chiefly the distress, the dis-
grace, and poverty wherewith he was burdened, or the famine that
almost caused him to starve? No, but the chief thing was this, he
remembered that he had a loving father. That maketh him to
resolve with an humble confession to go home. (Luke xv.) Even
so is it with a sinner; it is not terrors and threatenings that
chiefly will move him to come to God, but the consideration of
his manifold and great mercies. Therefore, if the Lord waken
thy conscience, present thy sins before thee, threaten thee,
and heap judgments on thee, then say, Lord, I deserve to be
ON PSALM CXXX. 467
threatened, and always to be plagued; but, Lord, thou knowest
my nature, these things will not make me to come to thee, but
will put me away from thee. Therefore, let me see thy mani-
fold mercies towards sinners, to allure me, and then I shall come
unto thee.
So we see the remedy against an evil conscience, to wit, an hum-
ble confession of sin and unworthiness, and a fleeing from the jus-
tice of God, to his mercy. The fairest and sweetest thing in the
world is to feel the mercy of God. But herein there is great hard-
ness and difficulty. It is not so easily attained unto, as men com-
monly think; for his mercy is compassed about with his justice,
and with his wrath against sinners, as with a wall of fire; and he
who will come to grace, he must come through a consuming fire;
and, when he presseth to come near, the fire of God’s wrath will
hold him off, and will strike out and burn up the impenitent sinner,
as fire doeth the stubble; so it is a harder thing than many think
it to be, to win God’s mercy. And how shall this be remedied ?
By what means shall we get through this wall of fire P Truly, he
who would mean to pass through fire had need to be well armed ;
the man who presseth to approach near to that inviolable majesty,
who can abide no sort of uncleanness, and would draw near to the
throne of his grace, must be well armed against the justice and
wrath of God, which debarreth sinners. Surely there is none
armour in the world, that can preserve us from that raging and
consuming fire, of the justice and wrath of God, but only the right-
eousness and satisfaction of Jesus Christ. Let a man use all the
means in the world, and he be not found in Christ, he shall have
none access to come through the justice and wrath of God, to the
throne of grace; yea, his soul and his conscience must be sprinkled
and purged from dead works, with that blood which was offered
up to God to that end, by his eternal Spirit, (Heb. ix.) Without
he be dipped in that blood, he will find God a terrible judge.
And after that, through faith in the death and blood of Jesus, thou
comest to that throne of grace, thou shalt hear the sweetest and
* Throughout these sermons, and is often used, Scottice, for if
2 G 2
468 THE TWELFTH SERMON,
most comfortable voice that ever was, that is, All thy sins are for-
given thee in that blood. And if a man were condemned to die
for some heinous crime, if the king would say, I absolve thee, I for-
give thee, thou shalt live : what joy and comfort would that voice
bring to the heart of him who was condemned. The Apostle saith,
(Heb. x. 22.) “Let us go to the throne of grace with a true heart, and
purged from an evil conscience through the blood of Jesus Christ,”
that is, think not to come to that throne of grace, except first thou be
purged with that blood. Therefore, as ever thou wouldest be in
heaven, or see the face of God to thy comfort, seek to have faith
in Christ Jesus; look what necessity is laid upon a sinner; either
must he be banished from the presence and face of God for ever,
and be castem into the society of the damned, or else if he would
be saved, he must be imped and engrafted by a true and lively
faith in Jesus Christ. Make thee for it with all thy main, to get
a gripe of Christ as ever thou wouldest be saved.
Now after he hath met this objection, which God, or his own
conscience in God’s cause, might have casten in, that he was so
unworthy to be heard, by an humble confession of unworthiness,
and by fleeing from his justice, and claiming to his great mercies,
he setteth down the end of this mercy and free forgiveness of sins
when he saith, “But mercy is with thee, that thou mayest be
feared.” The end wherefore the Lord granteth mercy and for-
giveness of sins to sinners, is that they may obey, serve and wor-
ship God with pleasure and alacrity. No man can ever be able to
glorify God, and to serve him cheerfully, but the man who hath
assurance that his sins are freely forgiven him in that eternal love
of God, through the blood of Jesus; for none can glorify God, ex-
cept first he be glorified of God. Albeit the natural man got
never so many and great benefits, yet because he hath none assur-
ance of the forgiveness of his sins he can never glorify God nor
be thankful to him. On the other part. It is impossible, and if
thou have a sure persuasion that thy sins are forgiven thee, but
thou wilt be careful in some measure to meet the Lord God in love,
to pleasure him, and to thank him. For the first effect that flow-
ON PSALM CXXX. 469
eth from the remission of sins, is sanctification or glorification :
And it is not possible but if thou be glorified, thou must glorify
the Lord again. But the question may be here proponed, wherein
standeth our glorifying of God? Hath he need of our glorification?
Can our service be profitable to him? Can our well-doing extend to
him? Hath he need of anything that we can do? I answer; In-
deed it is true, our well-doing cannot extend to him, as David con-
fesseth of himself in the 16th Psalm and the 2d verse. All the
kings and monarchs in the world cannot do any thing that is pro-
fitable and steadablel to God. We are not able to add anything to
the glory of God, for his glory is infinite, and to an infinite thing,
nothing can be added, for if any thing could be added it were not
infinite. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit perfectly glo-
rified one another from all eternity. “Glorify me,” saith Christ,
“with that glory which I had with thee before the foundation of
the world was laid.” That blessed Trinity was as perfect in glory
before the creation of the world as it hath been ever since. Our glo-
rifying of God standeth only in this, when the Lord illuminateth
our minds that we may see his glory in all his properties, that we
in our hearts, with pleasure and cheerfulness consent thereunto,
allow of it, and with our mouths proclaim that glory which we see
to be in him. And it lieth not in man nor angel to impair his
glory. The good and the evil, the weal and the wo, the commo-
dity and incommodity of all, cometh to our own selves; and happy
is that man that glorifieth God, and miserable is he that glorifieth
him not, for our felicity standeth not in that that we ourselves be
glorified, but in this, that we glorify our Lord eternally, for that
end were we created, and to that end were we redeemed with that
precious ransom, even that we should glorify the Lord; and happy
is that creature that hath some purpose, thirst and desire to glorify
God in this life, for he may be assured that one day the Lord
shall glorify him eternally in heaven. That soul, I say, shall be
perfected in the life to come, and without all impediment shall
cry with the blessed angels, “Holy, holy, holy, is the God of
heaven, the whole world is full of his glory.” There shall it find
* Available. *
470 THE TWELFTH SERMON.
“in his countenance satiety of joy, and at his right hand pleasures
for ever.”
Mark here last, (and I shall end with it,) that the feeling of the
mercy of God in Jesus Christ bringeth out obedience and cheerful
service of God ; yea, of all arguments to move a man to abstain
from sin, and to serve the Lord with pleasure, that is the most
pithy and forcible. The shame of the world, the fear of temporal
judgment, the horror of conscience, and the fear of the pains of
hell, will not be so steadable; it may be that they repress raging
lusts and furious affections for a time, but they will not mortify
sin and slay corruption, and will never cause a man with pleasure
to serve and obey God. But if a man hath found that God hath
loved him so well that he hath given his only son to die, that he
might live, it is not possible but that man, in some measure,
will set himself with alacrity and cheerfulness to serve God.
Therefore, the Apostle, when he would persuade Christians to
abstain from sin, and to serve God, what argument useth he
chiefly P Read Rom. xii. 1, he proponeth the mercy of God
offering Jesus to die for them, for there he saith, “I beseech
you, brethren, through the mercies of God, that ye offer up
yourselves a living sacrifice.” Therefore, if thou wouldest covet
to do the Lord’s will cheerfully, pray the Lord, that he would not
so much threaten thee, and propone terrors to thee as that he
would make thee sensible of his mercies in Jesus Christ. The
vain Papist speaks little, or nothing almost, to the people of this
mercy of God in Jesus Christ, but propones to the people the pains
of Hell and fire of Purgatory, to stay them from sin and to make
them serve God, and do good works; but if there be no more, it
will never make them to bring forth such obedience, as either is
acceptable to God, or yet profitable to themselves. The Lord,
therefore, make us to be sensible of his unspeakable love in Jesus,
that we may set ourselves with pleasure to serve and glorify him
here, that so we may be assured that he shall glorify us, in the
kingdom of heaven, which Jesus hath purchased to us by his pre-
cious blood. To this Jesus, with the Father, and the Holy Spirit,
be all praise, honour and glory, for now and ever. So be it.
THE THIRTEENTH SERMON.
PSALM CXXX.
5. I have waited on the Lord; my soul hath waited, and I have trusted
in his word.
6. My Soul waiteth on the Lord more than the morning watch, watcheth
for the morning.
7. Let Israel wait on the Lord: For with the Lord is mercy and with
him is great redemption.
8. And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.
WELL-BELOVED in the LORD JESUs, The last day we divided this
Psalm in these three parts: First, the proposition. Whosoever he
was that wrote this psalm, he maketh mention and rehearsal of that
prayer that he made to his God in the time of his great danger,
and this he doth to the fifth verse; then finding in experience a
comfortable answer, and how good a thing it was to pray to God,
and to wait on him, he professeth, that, as before, he had awaited
on him, so still in time coming he would await on him, and this he
doeth to the seventh verse. In the third and last part, he turneth
him to Israel, to the Church, and exhorteth them to await on God,
as he had done, promising them mercy and redemption from all
their iniquities if they would await on him. The last day we
ended the first part, so we have now to follow out the other two
parts which remain.
Then as for the second ; the prophet finding in experience the
fruit of his prayer, he professeth that he will yet still wait on the
Lord: “I have waited on the Lord: my soul hath waited, and I
472 THE THIRTEENTH SERMON,
have trusted in his word;” as though he would say, I depend yet
still on his word, for the presence of the Lord that we have in
this life, is in his word, and in his Holy Spirit, that accompanieth
it; so all the dependence we have on God is in his word and pro-
mise. Take that away and then we have no sight, no presence, no
faith here, till we see him face to face.
Yet the words are better to be marked, he saith, “I have waited
on the Lord:” Then he saith, “My soul hath waited on the Lord,”
as if he would say, I have not awaited on the Lord only with my
bodily eyes; but with mine heart and secret inward affections: I
have depended on him from my very heart. For brethren, mark
it well, it is the heart of a man or woman that draweth God down
from heaven and sucketh in his presence.
Marvellous is the power that a faithful heart hath, when it send-
eth up sighs and sobs to heaven for grace, to pull down God's pre-
sence and grace; if there be no more but the eye, it will not do
the turn, but where the Spirit of the Lord dwelleth in the heart, it
maketh it to sigh with sobs that cannot be expressed. It is not
possible but God, who giveth his Spirit to no man in vain, and
who knoweth the meaning of his own Spirit, will grant that, for
which the Spirit maketh intercession. Paul (in the 8th chapter to
the Romans,) setting down the waiting on of the godly, how they
wait on the Lord, he setteth down both the forcible operation of
God's Spirit in our hearts, as also the fruit of its operation, “We
sigh in ourselves, waiting for the adoption, even the redemption of
our bodies;” there the waiting on of the godly, is conjoyned with
sighs and sobs. Then after, he letteth us see what followeth upon
that: “What to seek we know not;” but when the Spirit of the
Lord intercedeth for us with sighs and sobs unspeakable, then the
Lord who searcheth the heart, and knoweth the meaning of his
own Spirit, granteth that thing for the which the Spirit maketh
intercession ; for what else meaneth that unspeakable joy, which
many a time the saints of God find before they have ended their
prayers, but that their prayers are favourably accepted 2 What
meaneth that unspeakable joy when he saith, “Believing we re-
ON PSALM CXXX. 473
joice with joy unspeakable and glorious?” That joy witnesseth
that the Lord giveth his presence; for there is a sure ground.
There is no true joy but in the presence of God; and so the joy
testifieth to thee, that thou sighest not so soon, but the Lord giv-
eth his presence to thee. Now, when he hath said, “My soul
hath waited,” then he subjoineth, “I will wait still upon his word;”
I will hold up mine ear to heaven, as it were, and hear what he will
speak unto me. There is no consolation nor joy in this world but
in the hearing of his voice: “The friends of the bridegroom,”
saith St John, “when they stand and hear the bridegroom speak
they rejoice exceedingly;” so it is the joy of a Christian to hear
the Lord Jesus speak. The meaning is this, I have waited on so
long, and have found in experience how good a thing it is, and
therefore that experience shall move me to wait on still, I am
forced through the experience of mercy, to wait on still without
wearying. This prophet, whosoever he was, was in a great danger,
and, therefore, in the beginning he said, “Out of the deep places
have I cried unto thee, O Jehovah ;” so he was under great af-
fliction: his affliction that he suffered wrought in him so, that he
waiteth patiently the Lord's deliverance; awaiting with patience,
in end he finds experience and proof of the mercy of God, for he
was delivered; finding experience of the Lord's love through that
delivery he conceits a hope that God’s favour shall never leave
him, and professeth that he will wait yet still, and wait on continu-
ally, because of that experience of mercy. In the fifth chapter to
the Romans ye have the notable effects that affliction worketh,
linked together; and if there were no more but the effects that
we find to have been in this man, they testify, that it is true that
the Apostle speaketh here, “Oppression,” saith he, “worketh pa-
tience,” that is, “when affliction is sanctified to him that is afflict-
ed,” through time, it bringeth forth patience. Then after that a
man hath waited patiently on the deliverance of the Lord, then
saith he patience worketh experience, that is, a body that abideth
patiently under the cross, in the end he findeth an experience and
proof of the Lord's love, one way or other, either by delivery or by
474 THE THIRTEENTH SERMON,
furnishing strength to bear it out, or by some spiritual grace.
Then he saith, experience worketh hope, that is, when any one hath
found in experience the mercy of the Lord, he conceiveth a hope
that the Lord shall ever deliver him, and never forsake him; and
he hopeth that he shall get greater favour than ever he got before;
for if the Lord give the faithful a temporal delivery, they hope he
shall give them eternal delivery. And this is sure, thou canst
never hope for great enough things of the Lord, thine hope is far
inferior to the things that shall be granted: for certainly they that
hope in the Lord shall find greater things than ever they hoped
for : thou art not able to apprehend in thine hope the greatness
of them, the kingdom, the joy, and the glory, is greater than thou
canst look for : when thou shalt come there, thou shalt find that
all things are greater than thine hope.
Now when he hath proponed that he will hope in the Lord, he
beginneth in the next verse to amplify that proposition, and de-
clareth the earnestness of it, by a comparison taken from the
watchmen, who watch all the night over without any relief, and
saith, “My soul waiteth on the Lord more than the morning
watch, watcheth for the morning.” It is a worthy thing to consider
how that after the heart is once prevented with a tasting of the
sweetness of God’s favour, how that heart will hang and depend
upon him, and seek and wait for grace at him more and more.
Alas! from whence cometh this that men and women are so care-
less to seek the Lord, and to wait on him 2 Alas ! they have not
tasted of that gracious sweetness that is in God through Jesus
Christ; for if they had once tasted of it, there would be a per-
petual thirsting and desiring for that presence : the heart would
never have rest nor ease till it got that presence. The apostle,
IPeter, when he desireth them to seek that sincere milk of the
word whereby they might grow, he subjoineth, “If once ye have
tasted how sweet and gracious the Lord is,” meaning, that they
that never have tasted of the sweetness of the Lord’s presence and
his graces have not a desire of grace. We see here what is the
estate of the faithful in this world, by this comparison with the
ON PSALMI CXXX. 475
watch. The estate of every one of us is this waking, and watch-
ing, from evening to morning. The watch, ye know, watcheth in
the night, and there especially where greatest danger may fall out,
and the watch that hath no relief in his watching, but must watch
from the evening to the morning, he must be very weary, and be-
ing very weary, he will be very desirous of the morning, and the
sun rising: when it cometh, he is relieved of his painful watching,
and goeth to take his rest. To apply this to us: this world which
we live in, till the coming again of the Lord Jesus, is but a dark-
some night, in respect of that glorious day that shall appear when
he cometh again. Indeed, the world, since the first coming of
Christ, is called a day in the Scripture; but that is in respect of
them that were before Christ; but in respect of that passing light,
that Jesus Christ shall then bring with him, this is but passing
darkness, and we shall think so when that day shall come. Now,
next the watch in this world was never more straitly bound to
watch in the night than every Christian man is bound to watch
till he come again; and this was the direction that Christ gave
his disciples, “Wait, for ye know not what hour the goodman of
the house shall come.” And in watching we find a great heavi-
ness. What faithful man is in this world that is not wearied with
watching 2 The world that sleepeth in this life is not wearied, but
the faithful that watcheth is weary of this life; and fain would
they have that morning coming when the sun of righteousness,
the Lord Jesus, shall rise up, that they may be relieved; and
when that morning shall come, thou that hast watched in this
world, at the least hast striven to watch, and looked for that
glorious coming of the Lord Jesus, thou shalt get rest, so sweet a
rest as never man found in this world; but thou that hast slept
here, and hast not watched for him, sleep on ; when he cometh
thou shalt get no rest,-thy sleeping shall end in a terrible
wakening. There is no rest to them that have not a desire to
watch in this world; but they that have a desire to watch and
to hold up their heads, they shall get rest, yea, endless rest
and quietness.
476 THE THIRTEENTH SERMON,
Now, having spoken of the first and second parts, Ishall go shortly
forward to the third part of the Psalm, wherein the prophet turns
himself to Israel,-that is, the Church of God, and he exhorts
Israel, the Church of God, to watch and wait on the Lord: “Let
Israel wait on the Lord.” Finding in experience what he had got
for his waiting on, to wit, mercy and deliverance, he cannot be held
from glorifying him, and cannot get him glorified enough; there-
fore he turneth him to the whole Church, and exhorts them to wait
on, that they may find such experience as he found, and that they
may glorify the Lord also ; so the end he looketh to is, to glorify
the Lord, that he may be glorified in many believers and waiters
on him. The end of the mercy of God tendeth to his own glory.
There are many properties in God; he is infinite in wisdom, in
power, in truth; infinite in glory and majesty. Now the Lord is
glorified in all his properties, in his wisdom, power, and justice,
—but, above all things, the Lord seeks that the world should glo-
rify him in that deep riches of mercy and gentleness that is in him,
that we should praise him everlastingly in his mercy.
And as this is his will, and as the mercy of God serveth to his
glory, so the soul of a man that hath once tasted of the Lord Je-
sus is carried away with such a zeal to his glory, that it will cause
a man forget himself, and, with Moses and Paul, wish to be a curse
and anathema to have God glorified. This man, ye see, when he
hath tasted of his mercy, he turneth him to the whole Church, and
willeth them to trust in him, that they might find his mercy, that
so God may be glorified. So it is he only who hath tasted of the
mercy of God, who, when he looketh through the miserable world,
can have pity on any man. He that never tasted of that mercy of
God, had never true pity upon any man ; then the thing which he
craveth is this, that many should taste of his mercy, that God may
be glorified by many. His heart is moved with pity, and so all
his endeavour is, to see if once he can get them won to God; for
when he looketh abroad upon miserable sinners, he is full of ruth
and compassion. But mark again, the zeal which he hath to the glory
of God is the first cause that moved him to seek that all the world
ON PSALM CXXX. 477
should taste of mercy, and glorify God; so first he beareth a love
to God’s glory, and then he hath pity toward men. The one is
the cause, the other the effect; the one precedeth, the other fol-
loweth; the one is the root, and the other the branch. All the
love we carry to man should be for the love we have to God; and
where these two go together, a zeal to the glory of God, (alas !
where is zeal to God’s glory now-a-days P which is a true token
that his glory is departing away,) and then a pity of the misery of
man, a desire of the salvation of man,—then that man will forget
himself, that he may seek the salvation of the world, that so in it
God may be glorified. And the man that hath this disposition in
his heart, is fit to be a minister and preacher of grace to the world;
otherwise, if he want this disposition, it is but a cold preaching
that he will make.
Now, in the next words, when he hath proponed the exhorta-
tion, and desired them to wait on the Lord, to move them the
more, he pointeth out to the Church the nature of God, what God
is ; for we must know what God is, ere ever we put our trust and
confidence in him. “ For, why?” saith he, “with the Lord is
mercy and gentleness;” as if he would say, The Lord is full of
mercy, his mercies are incomprehensible, yea, infinite, and neither
man nor angel can sound out the deepness thereof. He is all
mercy. And as St John saith in his first Epistle, chap. iv. ver, 8.
“The Lord is love.” Therefore, await on him. For why? there
is no want nor scant of mercy in him. This is well to be marked,
when he exhorteth Israel to wait upon the Lord, he saith not, be-
cause, “He is omnipotent, and infinite in justice, only wise,” &c.
But he giveth this reason, “because mercy is with him, therefore,
wait upon him.” This would be well considered, what is the cause
of this? Now I will ask another question. What thing in God
need we most into this world? There are many things which we
have much need of. What is it that we have most need of?
Another question. What is the estate that every one of us is
born in, in this world? Are we not born sinners? Conceived
and born in sin and iniquity ? And so are we not all miserable?
478 THE THIRTEENTH SERMON,
For there is nothing for sinners but misery, death and damnation,
and so all sinners are miserable. So what thing is it that a sinner
wanteth most? what is it that sin and misery craveth, but mercy,
and if thou be miserable, the thing in this world that thou shouldest
crave first, is mercy, that God would be merciful to thee. So
mercy and forgiveness of sin is the first thing whereto thou ought-
est to have recourse. And if thou wilt tell a miserable body that
feeleth himself to be miserable and the child of wrath, that God is
omnipotent, if thou point him out in his wisdom, in his justice, he
shall be so far from receiving any comfort, and consolation, of any
of these things, that, by the contrary, he shall be so terrified that
he dare not presume to seek God, to look to him, to come to him,
&c. But he will run away from God: but tell him that God is
merciful, and full of grace in Jesus Christ, that is the sweetestspeech
that ever he heard But alas! few of us feeleth that burthen of sin:
Who is he that groaneth under sin? Who feareth the terrors of that
wrath? If thou find them, then tell thee of the mercies of Jesus
Christ, it would be the sweetest tale that ever thou heardest. And
when a man is once sensible of the infinite mercies of God, in Jesus,
then tell him of all the infinite properties of God; tell him of his
power, wisdom, and providence, they will all serve to his comfort: for
why? He will think that all things that are in God appertain to him
and serve to his weal; he will find that all things will serve to his
salvation; otherwise, without this assurance of mercy, he will never
think them comfortable. So there is a sure ground, the faith of a
man or woman, first of all, is ever relative to the mercy of God;
and that is the first object of faith. Indeed, having gotten a grip
of mercy, then it extendeth to all the rest; but, before that, there
is nothing in God that it can rest upon. Ye see by experience,
when the Law is preached there is little allurance of the heart;
but when the Evangel and Christ Jesus is preached, the heart is
drawn on and allured. What is the cause of this P. The doctrine
of the Law is a doctrine of extreme justice, and his justice doeth
nothing but terrify the soul; but the doctrine of the Evangel is a
doctrine of the mercy of God in Jesus Christ, which draweth to it
ON PSALM CXXX. 479
the hearts of men; albeit thou hear the law preached a hundred
years, and hear no more, thou shalt be so far from being the bet-
ter, that thou shalt still be the worse; so this testifieth that the
object of our faith is the surpassing mercy of God. Then, if thou
wouldest search the nature of God, (and search him a thousand
years, thou shalt never come to the ground of his deepness,) search
out especially his love and mercy. A man may fail and vanish
away in curiosity, searching the deepness of God; but in searching
out his mercy thou shalt never err; it shall be with joy and con-
solation of the heart. Paul prayeth for the Ephesians (chap. iii.
verse 18,) that they might attain to that infinite deepness and
breadth, length and heighth in God, for God is infinitely deep in
all things. But wherefore is it that he prayeth P Even that they,
searching in God, should search that infinite profundity of the
love of God. Surely, if we would know that profundity of God,
and search into his nature, then let us search always into that
love and mercy of God in Jesus Christ; and this searching hath
ever a growth and increase in faith, till we get a sight of him
everlastingly.
To go forward, He is not content to say, “with him is gentle-
ness,” but he subjoins, “with him is great redemption.” The words
grow in highness, and these words comprehend and set out a
greater mercy in God than the former. Now, the mercy of God
in Jesus Christ is not all told in a word. Alas, for want of feeling
we speak slenderly and lightly of it. No, in very deed, all the
words, and the greatest words in the world, of the most holy, most
wise, and most eloquent men, is not able to set out and point out
that infinite greatness and deepness of it, and he and she that once
have tasted of mercy, scarcely can they find words to express the
thousandth part of it; when they have gotten a little taste and ap-
prehension of it, they are not able to get words to express that
apprehension of the heart. Paul commonly calleth it the riches of
mercy, “God who is rich in mercy, according to his infinite and
great love,” &c., (Eph. ii. 4.) Paul, David, and the rest of them,
cannot get words to express that apprehension of mercy that they
480 THE THIRTEENTH SERMON,
have in their hearts. No, there is no creature that is capable of
that infinite mercy. For the work that the Spirit of Jesus Christ
doth work in the heart, whether it be a sense of dolour, or a sense
of joy, the tongue of no creatnre can tell or express. Paul calleth
it sighs inexpressible; and Peter calleth it joy unspeakable. So
the heart cannot express the greatness of the work of the Spirit.
Men will think them hyperbolical words, but that is a token that
they have not tasted that joy and mercy in their own hearts.
Now, in the last words, he cometh near hand, and makes a par-
ticular promise of his mercy to his Church, “He will redeem Is-
rael,” his Church, “from all her iniquity.” As he would say, I
have told you, he is merciful and full of redemption, but I come
nearer hand; thou shalt find in experience, that he is merciful,
and full of redemption. So it is not enough to the preachers of
the word, to preach God's mercy and redemption generally to the
world. No, they must come nearer hand, and, in promising, they
must make to the hearts of the people a particular application, and
say, not only, God is merciful, but, he would be merciful unto you,
and he is full of redemption, and he shall redeem you. And so
say I, I have not been speaking of mercy and redemption that ap-
pertaineth not to us, but the Lord shall be merciful, and redeem
you, if ye believe in Jesus Christ; for there is no grace but in
him. If this particular application be not made, the conscience of
sin is so great, that the sinner dare not put forth his hand to re-
ceive mercy. Now, to whom pertaineth mercy and redemption ?
He saith, he shall redeem Israel, that is, the Church militant.
The Church is militant in this world, but redemption pertaineth
to it in the end. But wherefrom shall the Lord redeem the
Church 2 not from persecution and tribulation in this world, but
from all her sins. So this presupponeth first, that the Church is
full of sin so long as it is in this world.
This is but a vain dream, to imagine that there shall be a Church,
or any member of the same, in this world, without spot; away with
that vanity. So next, the redemption of the Church standeth not
so much in freeing it in persecution or tribulation, (although she
ON PSALM CXXX. 481
shall be redeemed from all these things also,) as in redeeming her
from sin, the chief redemption shall be from sin. For why? the
greatest enemy of the Church is her own sins, and it is her own
sins that is the cause of all her persecution, and it is sin that the
Lord mortifieth and slayeth by persecution and tribulation. For if
there were no sin there would not be such a thing as a persecutor
or a tyrant against her; and the greatest burthen that the godly
feel is always their own sins, and they were never under so great
persecution—no cross, no trouble comparable to the burthen of sin.
Paul saith, (Rom. vii. 24,) “Miserable man, who shall deliver me
—where from ? not from persecution, albeit, he was subject to as
great persecution as any man, but—“from this body of sin?” because
he could not get that obedience to God that he would have had.
And wherefore died Christ; was it to redeem us from persecution,
or crosses in this world 2 No, the Lord died that he might redeem
us from sin with his precious blood; and Paul (to the Corinthians)
maketh mention of that triumph that the Church shall have when
the Lord Jesus shall come, “O death where is thy sting * Then
she shall glory that she is redeemed from sin, and from offending
of God.
And that shall be our chief felicity in that life to come, that our
hearts and thoughts shall be free of all sin—we shall offend God no
more, but all shall be full of obedience to Jesus Christ; and then
shall we be fully sanctified and glorified, when we get that blessed
presence of the Lord Jesus, which we long for. To whom be praise,
honour and glory, for now and evermore.
THE FOURTEENTH SERM ON.
MATTHEW, CHAP. xv.
21. And Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyrus and
Sidon.
22. And behold a woman, a Canaanite, came out of the same coasts, and
cried saying unto him, have mercy on me, O Lord, the son of David,
my daughter is miserably vexed with a devil.
23. But he answered her not a word. Then came to him his disciples,
and besought him, saying, send her away, for she crieth after us.
24. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of
the house of Israel.
25. Yet she came and worshipped him, saying, Lord help me.
26. And he answered, and said, It is not good to take the children's bread,
and to cast it to whelps.
27. But she said, truth, Lord, yet indeed the whelps eat of the crumbs
which fall from their master's table.
28. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith:
Be it unto thee as thou desirest. And her daughter was made whole
at that hour.
IN this text which we have read, -well-beloved in the Lord
Jesus, we have a wonder that the Lord wrought on a woman, a
Canaanite, a Gentile, of a cursed generation, the generation of
Canaan. The wonder is, the healing of a woman's daughter that
was possessed and sore and miserably vexed with a devil. The
woman having the occasion to meet with the Lord through his
ON MATTHEW XV. 483
coming to these parts where she abode, she slippeth not the occa-
sion, but seeketh mercy and grace; she findeth at the first great
hardness and difficulty to get mercy; but at the last, overcometh
all by her faith, and getteth mercy.
Now to go through this history so shortly and plainly as the
Lord shall give the grace. This woman is called a Canaanite;
that is, descended of that old and rotten stock of Canaan, that was
destinate for wrath and destruction, (Genesis ix. 25.) Look to
her estate—she is come of a cursed race, she is lying in sin and
security of sin. This is the estate of every one of us—we lie in
sin. Conceived in sin, and born in sin, we feel not the sin and that
deadly sleep of security is worse than the sin we lie in. There is
none of us better by nature than this woman was. Then, when she
is thus lying in sin and security, the Lord from the heaven sendeth
her a wakening and a sharp wakening; for the judgments of God
are like so many messengers from heaven to waken us. In the
example of the woman we see that the Lord’s children must be
wakened; and oftentimes our first wakening is very sharp, dole-
ful and fearful, as it is with one that is wakened in the rage of a
fever. Yet there is grace here. Well is the man that is wakened,
though the wakening were never so sore and sharp, for the mul-
titude of the world die in security, and never waken till the fire of
hell waken them. Well is thee, and thou be wakened, albeit it
should be with never so heavy a judgment; yea, though thy daugh-
ter, or thyself, should be possessed with a devil.
Now when this poor woman is thus wakened, and in wrestling
under the heavy hand of God, the Lord casteth an eye towards
her, (for no doubt, howbeit she was one of the race of cursed
Canaan, yet she was chosen to eternal life,) and of very purpose
he casteth himself into these parts where she was. Whatever
other errand he had, there is no question but he had a particular
respect to her, that she might have the occasion to come to him,
and this was a great grace. When we are wakened out of secu-
rity, then the mediciner hath his time, and this is a greater grace.
It is a great grace to be wakened, but it is a greater grace to find
2 FI 2
484 THE FOURTEENTH SERMON,
a mediciner to cure thy disease; for, as multitudes die in security, so
also multitudes die in pain, torment and desperation after they are
wakened. Well, she hearing tell that he was come to these parts, and
that he was such a man, “a wonderful man,” as the prophet Esay
calleth him, “who cured all sorts of diseases, who restored sight to
the blind, limbs to the lame, cleansed the leprous, and raised up the
dead,” she is moved to seek grace and mercy at him. Had not the
Lord prevented her, and come down thither and sought her to draw
her to him, there had never been such a thing, that she had sought for
him. All thy misery, albeit it were never so great, will never draw
thee to him, except he seek thee first, and draw thine heart unto
him.
Well now to come forward: When she seeketh him, she findeth
him and getteth his bodily presence. Christ and his disciples
were walking together after his accustomed manner. At the first
meeting, saith the text, “The woman crieth :” he is apparently
going before, and the woman followeth after, and crieth ; misery
constraineth her to cry. And if the Lord lay his hand upon thee,
he will compel thee to howl and cry. O that power and might
that is in the Lord over his creature
But I doubt not, considering the words and communication that
the Lord hath with this poor, miserable, and sinful woman, but it
was that spirit of adoption that opened her mouth so wide to cry
upon him so, “O thou son of David, have mercy on me.” What
crieth she P Mark her words: she crieth, “Have mercy upon me.”
How many of Jerusalem cried after this manner P A heathen, a
Canaanite, crieth this way: misery compelleth her to cry. But
what maketh her to cry, “Mercy?” We will rail and blaspheme God
when we are in misery; but what caused her to cry “Mercy * No
question the conscience of her demerits caused her to cry “Mercy.”
She felt herself to be worthy of all that misery wherewith she was
burthened. The voice of a miserable sinner that feeleth misery is,
“O Lord have mercy upon me :” but lo, how she styleth him, “O
Lord, the son of David.” These were the common styles, indeed,
of the Lord in this life: he was called of the multitude “Lord,” and,
ON MATTEIEW XV. 485
“The son of David.” But certainly I am of this mind, that this
woman took these styles otherwise than the common multitude.
The very eye of her soul was opened to see Jesus Christ to be the
Lord, and to be the Son of God manifested in the flesh, of the
seed of David—howbeit, I will not attribute unto her a distinct
and clear knowledge of both his natures in one person, and of his
offices.
Then, Brethren, ye see two grounds of her petition: The first is,
a lordship, and power, and dominion in him of whom she sought
mercy; the next is, a pity, a mercy in him of whom she sought
mercy. She sought mercy at a merciful face, grace at a gracious
face. Look that thy prayer be well grounded on the Lord: when
thou openest thy mouth to seek mercy at that Lord, look that thou
acknowledge that there is a power in that Lord to give thee every
thing that thou standest in need of. And, chiefly, look that thou
acknowledge that there is an infinite passing mercy in that Lord,
surmounting all thy sins, and then shalt thou pray from the heart
with confidence and liberty; otherwise thou mayest well seek mercy
from the teeth outward, but never with thine heart. Then she
letteth him see a good cause wherefore she sought mercy: “Lord,
I have need of a physician, for I am sick.” What sickness is sorer
to a poor body than this, to be rent both in soul and body with a
devil? “Lord, my poor daughter is tormented with a devil.” As
in thy prayer thou must have a sight of the infinite power of thy
God, of the mercy of thy God, so scorn him not with a senseless heart:
no, if thou gettest not a sense and feeling of thy misery, of thy
trouble, and vexation in thine heart, call not upon the name of the
Lord. It is true, indeed, the Lord sees and knows thy misery as
well as thyself, albeit thou speak not a word unto him of thy misery;
yet, for all that, the Lord takes pleasure to hear thy misery out of
thine own mouth. He will not only have thee to feel and groan in thy
heart for it, but he will have thee to utter it unto him with thy tongue
also, if opportunity serve; he will have thee to make it known
unto him, as if he knew it not; he will have thee to bring up thy
misery from the ground of thy heart, and as thou feelest it in the
486 THE FOURTEENTH SERMON,
sadness of thy heart, so to utter it in thy voice; for the Lord de-
lights to hear miserable bodies speaking of their misery.
Now to go forward. When she hath made her petition, see the
meeting. The text saith, at the first he answered her not a word,
but goeth forward with the disciples, and letteth her follow on,
crying, “O Lord, have mercy upon me,” not once or twice, but the
cry goeth never out of her head. This is wonderful. He that
prevented her with grace, and gave her grace to seek him, will not
make her one word answer, but goeth his way, and will not speak
unto her. Yea, thou wilt find that he who prevented thee with
grace, and sought thee or ever thou soughtest him, and gave thee
grace to cry and pray, “Have mercy, O God P’ yet he will seem
to misknow thee, and make thee none answer. Thou wilt cry, in
sickness, “Mercy,” but wilt thou always find mercy 2 No, no;
thou wilt cry in other troubles, “Mercy,” and his Spirit, no ques-
tion, will intercede for thee, and yet for a time he will make thee
none answer. What meaneth this? why doeth he so 2 Now
when he hath given thee grace to cry for mercy, a thirst and a
hunger for grace,—“Blessed are they that hunger and thirst,”—
when he hath given thee this first grace, he will let thee cry a
great while to try thy constancy. We never get a spiritual grace
in this life, but with the grace we get always a trial; and when he
giveth us grace to cry, he will try if we will cry on; and to speak
the truth, brethren, all our life here is but a trial of the graces of
God, which he hath given us. We get not our heaven here, but
a faith to look afar off unto it, a hunger, a thirst, a desire of it;
and with our thirst, a trial of our faith, a trial of our hope, of our
desire to see if we will stand in it. “And then,” saith Peter, “in
the life to come, the trial of thy faith, and hope, and patience
being ended,”—what shall follow —“Praise, and honour, and
glory when Jesus shall appear.” (1 Pet. i. 7.) Thou shalt be filled
with satiety and fulness of joy—thy hunger and thirst shall be
satisfied as soon as ever thou seest thy Redeemer.
Now to proceed : the disciples that followed the Lord they are
troubled with the cry of the woman, and say to the Lord, “Either
ON MATTHEW XV. 487
give her one answer or other, and let her go her way.” Surely, I
think, this suit of the disciples was not so much for any desire
they had that he should help her, as to be quit of her crying, be-
cause they were deafened with her. So, then, the Papists need
not upon this to ground their intercession of the saints in heaven
for us that remain here on earth; for this ground is as weak as
their doctrine of intercession is. And she directeth not her speech
to the apostles here, to Peter, James or John, that they should
intercede for her, but to the Lord himself: she speaketh to none
of them, but she passeth and speaketh to the Lord immediately.
So should we leave all the saints, and with confidence go to the
Lord himself. The disciples are deafened and troubled with her
crying: the Lord himself letteth her cry on, and this is a token
that he is not wearied with her crying. Well, then, thou findest
a comfort here when thou criest night and day: he never wearieth
with thee: he saith not “Thou troublest me :” all thy cries, sighs,
and sobs are pleasant to him. Men will be weary sometimes with
thy crying, as we read that unjust judge was importuned by the
just suit of the poor woman, and dispatcheth her away, and saith,
“Thou troublest and irkest me night and day,” (Luke xviii. 1.)
But the true righteous judge is never wearied with thee; when he
letteth thee cry out, he will not answer with a grudge, as the
judge did, but cheerfully. The Lord that loveth a cheerful giver
he himself giveth cheerfully. What meaneth that joy that the
faithful find in their hearts, accompanying the benefit that cometh
from him, but that the Lord giveth his benefits cheerfully P For
if the Lord gave them not thee cheerfully, but in anger and wrath,
and threw them to thee as to a reprobate, thou wouldst never have
joy in the receiving of them. There is not such a thing as a re-
probate can have joy in the giver, or ever have his mouth open
with true thanksgiving to the Lord to say once, “I thank thee.”
Why? Because the Lord giveth him not his benefits in love, but
in anger. So this is a sure token when thou findest joy in thine
heart, and a contentation in thy prayer, and a purpose to be thank-
ful, that the Lord giveth thee cheerfully, and heareth thee joyfully;
488 THE FOURTEENTH SERMON,
and if thou canst get but a joyful look of thy God, thou mayest be
assured that it proceedeth of mercy. When he looketh so unto
thee he doeth not as earthly kings, or any earthly creature used
to do, for they can keep a fair countenance and yet have little
goodwill in their hearts. Well, the woman crieth, and the dis-
ciples cry : the Lord must answer once, but he maketh an answer
little to her contentment:-‘‘I am not sent,” saith he, “but unto
the lost sheep of the house of Israel. What have I to do with
that poor woman P. She is not one of my sheep; she is of a cursed
generation of the Canaanites, ordained to destruction and wrath.”
In a word, he debarreth her from grace, he closeth the gates of
heaven upon her teeth ; for when he saith he is not sent to her,
he shutteth her out of heaven. We ought to mark this well, for
we are Canaanites, that is to say Gentiles. It is true, indeed, the
Lord coming down from the heaven, and manifesting himself in
the flesh, he had his commission first and principally to the Jews,
and not to the Gentiles, not to Scotland, nor England, nor Ger-
many, nor France, chiefly and principally. As Christ said to
Jerusalem, “Oh that thou couldest see the day of thy visitation,”
(Luke xix. 41.) He was sent with commission to the Gentiles, but
in case of the contumacy and rebellion of the Jews; as if the Lord
had said unto him, “Go thy way unto my own people, whom I have
chosen from among all the nations of the earth, and see if thou
canst win them : go no further.” And if the Jews had not been
rebellious and disobedient, we had never gotten mercy and grace.
Look Romans xi. 11. The fall of the Jews was the raising up of
the Gentiles, and the diminution of the Jews was the riches of the
Gentiles. “How got ye grace P’’ saith he. By their contumacy
and rebellion. So Christ, sending out his disciples to preach, bid-
deth them go, not unto the Gentiles, or unto the Samaritans their
next neighbours, “but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel,”
(Matt. x. 5.) And Paul, in a preaching before both the Jews and
Gentiles, (Acts xiii. 46,) “The word of God,” saith he, “behoved
first to be preached unto you, the promise belonging unto you :
But, because ye will not receive the word, and have made your-
ON MATTHEW XV. 489
selves unworthy of life everlasting; therefore, I will turn and
preach to the Gentiles;” and so he bade the Jews good-night,
and turned him to the Gentiles. And the text saith, that then
the Gentiles rejoiced exceedingly.
So we were strangers from heaven, and aliens from the common-
wealth of Israel. And we learn, in the example of this woman, that
our entry to grace, and to heaven, was very hard and difficult. And
as our entry to grace was hard, so if we fall from grace, our re-entry
to grace shall be far harder. And if thou fall once from grace, hardly
shalt thou get grace again. A Gentile that falleth once from
grace, and treadeth under his feet the blood of Jesus, shall never
be renewed with grace again. And I say to thee, O Scotland, if
thou fallest from grace, look never for grace again. Look to the
cities amongst the Gentiles that fell from grace, look Corinth, look
Philippi, look the Galatians, &c. Got they ever grace again P
No : so if Scotland fall from grace, it will be a wonder if ever
it get grace again. The wrath of God shall be poured forth
upon every one, from the greatest to the smallest. For if he
received not the Jews, his own people, into grace, after that they
were once fallen from it, shall he take thee up again, a Gentile,
a vile dog, in respect of them 2 And yet our men in this
country care not to cast themselves and their whole land into
hell, and into everlasting abjection from grace without all hope
of recovery.
So this is a hard answer, she findeth no grace at all. They that
follow Jesus Christ, and seek for grace, will find in their way a sore
trial. Men think that heaven is but a common benefit, and that it
is easy to a man to come thither: but albeit thou be a king, an em-
peror, or monarch, thou wilt find a hard entry therein. Will thy
kingdom or thy lordship bring thee to heaven? No; if thou sleep
on in careless security, thou shalt never see heaven. So if there were
no more but this example of this Gentilish woman, it teaches us,
that it is hard to win heaven, and that the gates of heaven at the
first shall be shut upon our teeth. What is the cause of this 2
Thou art further from Christ, and from grace, from heaven, and
490 THE FOURTEENTH SERMON,
from the joy of heaven, a thousand times more than the natural
earth is from the natural heaven. Thou art a Canaanite, come of
a cursed generation. What ado hath a Canaanite with heaven ;
so unworthy a thing, with so worthy a thing 2 The Lord, before
he opened the gates of heaven unto her, he would let her under-
stand, that she had nothing to do with heaven. And I say unto
thee, that the Lord, ere ever he give thee grace, he will have thee
knowing by tentations and trials, that thou art a Canaanite, de-
scended of a cursed and reprobate generation, and unworthy that
ever thou shouldest see heaven, or have ado with heaven. And if
he bring thee not to this sight and this fear, I give thee thy doom,
thou shalt never see heaven.
Now mark, he hath closed the doors of heaven upon her. And,
certainly, this answer might have caused her to have gone away
with shame and confusion. But for all this tentation, she conti-
nueth still, she crieth still, and hopeth for mercy. Hold upon
mercy, hope still, believe on still, and that hope shall never make
thee ashamed. She hath cried for mercy, the gates of heaven are
shut against her. What doeth she Goeth she her way ? No,
no ; she tarrieth still, and knocketh. And if thou knewest what
heaven were, and what hell were, thou wouldest be loath to leave
heaven. Oh the torments that remain for them that fall into
hell ! So she knocketh, and falleth down upon her face, and ador-
eth, and saith, “O Son of David, have mercy on me.” This
adoring was not only for the casting the devil out of her daughter.
No, no; she sought everlasting life at the hands of the Lord, and
that healing of her daughter was an earnest-penny of that life.
This was the mind of the woman, no question. It is said in the
Scripture, “Seek and ye shall find, ask, and ye shall receive;
knock, and it shall be opened unto you,” (Matt. vii. 7.) If the
seeking fail thee, yet tarry still, and knock. And if it had not been
the Lord's will that a sinner, when he findeth heaven's gates closed
upon him, should tarry still, and knock, would he have bidden
him knock 2 It were a presumptuous thing for a beggar to knock
at one of our doors. But seeing the Lord hath expressly com-
ON MATTEIEW XV. 491
manded thee to knock, then knock on boldly. And if thou go
away with the first answer, or the first nay-saying, thou wast
never truly hungry nor thirsty, and it is a token that thou count-
est little of the grace of God. If thou knewest how precious a
thing the grace of God and Jesus Christ were, and what heaven
were, and what hell were, thou wouldest never cease knocking,
day nor night, all the days of thy life. For if thou go away
proudly, and tarriest not upon God’s answer, but speak presump-
tuously, and say, “If he will not give me grace, let him hold it to
himself,” as blasphemous men will say ; then he will shoot thee
into hell. For if thou wert a king of all the world, thou shalt
never get thine head in at heaven gates, except thou knock. Lord,
if the world knew how hard a thing it is to get entry there ! Men
think that they will come easily and sleeping to heaven, albeit
they take their pleasure and pastime. But they deceive them-
selves, there must be much striving and fighting ere they get
heaven. Before that heaven could be opened, it behoved Jesus
Christ to shed his precious blood.
Now, Brethren, ye may say to me, alas, who can knock? Who
is able to come there 2 No, thou hast no power once to lift up thine
hand to knock at that gate, except that the Lord put out his hand
and hold thee up even in the mean time when he is holding thee
back. So wonderful is the Lord’s working with his own, he will be
holding them aback with the one hand, and he will be pulling them
in to him as fast with the other hand. When he will be dissuading
he will persuade, when he forbiddeth to approach unto him, he in-
wardly allureth men to come unto him.
Now, will ye hear the Lord's answer? If the first answer was
hard, this is as hard and rough ; for with an angry countenance,
no doubt, he answereth ; “It is not lawful,” saith he, “to take
the children's bread, and to cast it unto dogs.” It is even as
much as if he had taken her by the shoulders, and thrust her out.
First he saith, “Thou art but a dog, a Gentile, and this that thou
seekest is a precious thing—the bread of life—this appertaineth
only to the children of God; shall I take that, and give it unto a
492 THE FOURTEENTH SERMON,
dog?” As if he had said, “Go thy way, dog, thou shalt not get
such a precious benefit as thou requirest.”
Then we see here, because she was a Gentile, therefore he call-
eth her a dog. Suppose thou be a King, (I pray thee be not too
proud in thine own conceit), and yet a Gentile—ergo, by nature a
dog. He will cast a kingdom, an empire, a monarchy to a man,
as one will cast a bone into the mouth of a dog, but all is nothing in
respect of one drop of grace, and the hope of the kingdom of heaven.
Albeit thou be a beggar, and yet gettest but one drop of grace
through Jesus Christ, any hope of the kingdom of heaven, any be-
ginning of regeneration, then thou hast gotten a greater grace, a
more precious thing than Caesar, that got all the world. There is
no comparison betwixt the meanest spiritual and heavenly gift, and
betwixt the greatest temporal and earthly thing.
Now I note again the hardness to win to the kingdom of heaven.
Would ye not think it a marvellous thing to turn a dog into the
Son of God? It is as great a wonder to see a Gentile to be called
to heaven, as to make dogs and stones the sons of God. Now
know, that before thou gettest access to heaven, although thou
wert a king, thou must be humbled in thine own conceit, thou must
know thine own estate and condition, thou must think thyself as
vile and contemptible as a very dog by nature, as this woman was
brought to say; otherwise thou shalt never get heaven.
Then, brethren, if the entry to the kingdom of heaven be so hard,
if thou like a dog return to vomit, or as a sow to the puddle, as
Peter sayeth, (2 Peter ii. 22,) after thou art washen with the blood
of that immaculate Lamb, then it is a wonder if ever thou get
grace to re-enter again. Now hear the poor woman's answer; she
granteth all:—“It is very true thou sayest. I am but a dog, a vile
and an unworthy wretch, and that bread of heaven is a precious
thing, I am not worthy that it should be casten unto me. Yet” (saith
she) “the whelps do eat of the crumbs which fall from their mas-
ter's table. If thou wilt not shew me this grace to eat bread with
the children yet let me eat the parings and crumbs under the table.”
1 In consequence of being a Gentile, thou art by nature, &c.
ON MATTHEW XV. 493
Ere ever the Lord bestow grace and eternal life upon thee, he will
have thee to accompt thyself unworthy of any grace; yea, he
will have thee to accompt as vilely of thyself as of a dog, albeit
thou hadst never so many great prerogatives otherways in the
world. Ere thou get that life, thy conscience will accuse thee to
be unworthy of such a life, and such a joy as the Lord ordained
for his own. She skipped before, now she thrumbleth' and thrust-
eth in at the gates of heaven, and goeth like a violent woman—not
indeed pressing like a sturdy beggar, to be in whether the Lord
would or not; but by humility and acknowledging of her own un-
worthiness, in all submission, coming—as it were, creeping like a
silly whelp under the table; that is “ the violence that is done to
the kingdom of heaven,” (Matt. xi. 12.) She taketh up heaven by
violence, in all submission and humility. And if thou be once but
a whelp under the table of God, in the house of God to gather up
the crumbs of that plentiful table, thou art called to a greater hon-
our than if thou were made king of all the world. “I had rather
be a door-keeper in the house of God than to be king of all the
world.”
Now, brethren, when she is thronging in, he is loath to put her
out again. No ;” he saith, “O woman, great is thy faith, be it
unto thee as thou desirest; thy faith hath won the victory.” From
whence had this poor woman all this perseverance, and this con-
tinuance and this constancy, but from him 2 And yet he standeth
wondering at his own graces. The Lord, behold his doing, when
he hath given thee grace and perseverance, when thou comest to
heaven, he will wonder at thee; and there is the end of all thy per-
severance, a fair crown of glory.
And what more doeth he That same moment, that force
that was in the word, that proceeded out of the mouth of J esus,
extended itself to the woman's daughter, and healeth her, and
casteth the devil out of her. Now she sought only to creep in
as a whelp under the table to eat the crumbs, and now the
Lord setteth her up at the table to sit with him in glory; as
i. e. Pusheth. * He will not put her out again.
494 THE FOURTEENTH SERMON.
Christ himself saith, “I say to thee,” saith he, “many shall come
out of the east, and out of the west, into mine house, into the
kingdom of heaven, and sit down at the table with Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob,” (Matt. viii. 11.) And from whence are we
come 2 Even out of the furthermost point of the west. And,
O Scotland, believe in Jesus, seek earnestly grace at him, and
wait patiently, when he trieth thee, and thou shalt find that
thou shalt be set down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in glory.
We are the sons of God indeed, but it appeareth not yet what we
shall be ; but one day it shall appear, when we shall be crowned
with the crown of glory. The Lord work this faith and earnest
desire of grace in us for Jesus Christ's sake To whom be all glory,
honour and praise, for ever and ever. So be it.
37.
38.
39.
40.
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
THE FIFTEENTH SERM ON.
LUKE, CHAP. VII.
And behold, a woman in the city, who was a sinner, when she knew
that Jesus sat at table in the Pharisee's house, she brought a box of
ointment :
And she stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash
his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head,
and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.
Now when the Pharisee who bade him saw it, he spake within him-
self, saying, If this man were a prophet, he would surely have known
who and what manner of woman this is who toucheth him : for she
is a sinner.
And Jesus answered, and said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to
say unto thee. And he said, Master, say on.
There was a certain lender who had two debtors: the one owed five
hundred pence, and the other fifty.
When they had nothing to pay, he forgave them both : Which of
them, therefore, tell me, will love him most 3
Simon answered, and said, I suppose that he to whom he forgave
most. And he said unto him, Thou hast truly judged.
Then he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this
woman 3 I entered into thine house, and thou gavest me no water
to my feet : But she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped
them with the hairs of her head.
Thou gavest me no kiss : But she, since the time I came in, hath not
ceased to kiss my feet.
496 THE FIFTEENTH SERMON,
46. Mine head with oil thou didst not anoint: But she hath anointed my
feet with ointment.
47. Wherefore, I say unto thee, many sins are forgiven her : For she
loved much. To whom a little is forgiven, he doth love a little.
48. And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven thee.
49. And they that sat at table with him, began to say within themselves,
Who is this that even forgiveth sins ?
50. And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.
THIS text, well-beloved in the Lord Jesus, containeth a notable
history of the conversion of a penitent sinner, a sinful woman,
whom the Lord first called inwardly by his Spirit, and to whom,
after, outwardly by his own voice, he giveth assurance of the re-
mission of her sins. And we have first set down the occasion that
the Lord offereth to this sinful woman to meet with him, that she
may receive mercy and forgiveness of her sins. Of very purpose
he casteth himself in her way, and into these parts where the
woman was, and yieldeth to dine in the house of a Pharisee, where
she might have the occasion and opportunity to meet with him.
This occasion being offered unto her, being partly touched with a
feeling of her own misery, partly being prevented with the Spirit
of Jesus alluring her, she letteth it not slip, but she cometh to the
house where the Lord was, and she cometh not empty handed, but
she bringeth with her a box of precious sweet-smelling ointment,
and, coming to the house where the Lord was sitting at table, look
what she doeth. She entereth not in pertly, and boldly, neither
cometh she before his face, being ashamed of her own sins; she
was ashamed that these eyes, these all-seeing eyes of the Lord,
which pierce into the soul of man, should see her: “So she
standeth,” (saith the text,) “behind his back, and then she falleth
down at his feet.”
The sight of thy sin,_as it will work shame of face, when the re-
1 This seems to mean, that just as there is a natural sense of shame at the first con-
ception of sin, there is a profound sense of humility produced by God’s grace opening
ON I,UKE VII. - 497
ques of nature begin to challenge it, when it striveth to enter into
the soul, so that scarcely thou darest look a man in the face, let be
the Lord, who is the revenger of it—even so, when it once pleaseth
the Lord to waken the conscience, it will work in thee a won-
derful humility, so that thou wilt stoop, and cast thyself down
under the feet of thy God. The stiffness that ye see in men, who
bow not their bodies and knees unto the Lord, proceedeth of the
want of that sight of sin and corruption within them. If these
men who fling their heads in the air, and make their boasts of their
evil deeds saw their sins, they would be ashamed of themselves,
and humble themselves in the dust. When she is fallen down,
she weepeth. The sight of sin will make thee to weep and
mourn. Thou laughest now, and playest the wanton, because
there is a veil casten over thine eye, that blindeth thee so that
thou canst not see sin in the own colour; yea, it covereth thy-
self from thee: but if once thou saw sin and thyself well, it would
make thee to weep and lament bitterly. Well, she leaveth not off
yet, but being drawn and allured with a sense of his preventing
mercy, that came from him, she draweth near unto him. If she
had not felt that love that came from him, she durst never have
come near him. As a malefactor hath no pleasure to behold the
countenance of the judge, but his eye and countenance is terrible
to him ; even so, the Lord is fearful and terrible to them that feel
not that love that proceedeth from him.
It is the sense of the love that allureth sinners to come to God.
As David saith, (Psalm crxx. 3,) “If thou straitly markest ini-
quity, no flesh can stand; but mercy is with thee, that thou mayest
be feared.” The tears that the displeasure for sin expresseth out
of her, she will not lose them, but she taketh “them and washeth
his feet with them,” and then “taketh the hair of her head, and
drieth them therewith.” Hadst thou once a sense of that sweet
mercy in Jesus Christ, were that love once spread abroad in thine
heart by his Holy Spirit, as the Apostle speaketh, O how thou
up a sense of sin. The reliques of natare seems to indicate man's natural feelings or
conscience not wholly depraved. * Rom. v. 5.
2 I
498 THE FIFTEENTH SERMON,
wouldst love him, and be careful to serve and pleasure him This
want of love towards the Lord Jesus argues plainly that thou hast
not felt that love of his towards thee; for if once thou hadst felt
how well he loveth thee, who shed his precious blood for thee, then
it is a fair matter to thee to shed tears for him that shed his blood
for thee; and if thou once felt that love, now all the tears, and all
the moisture in thy body—yea, thy very soul—thou wouldest be
glad to pour it out for him, and consecrate thy life unto his service;
but living against him, in doing all kind of villany in despite of
him, thou testifiest plainly that thou hast never found the virtue
of his blood.
Look what Paul says, (2 Cor. v. 14,) “The love of God con-
straineth me;” that is, bindeth up my soul and all the powers and
faculties thereof, and occupieth my whole senses, that I am ravished
from all things in the world, to get my heart and affections fixed
upon him. Why? saith he. Because he loved me so well, that he
hath died for me, and, therefore, I will consecrate my life to him
who hath purchased everlasting life for me. And therefore, whoso-
ever hath not a purpose to pour out his life for Jesus Christ, and
hath not a free heart towards him in some measure, he cannot have
any sure argument that Christ hath died for him; and if you have
not that assurance, wo is thee, that ever thou tookest life: it had
been better thou hadst been made a stock or a stone, if thou find-
est not that Christ died for thee.
But what further did this silly woman P. She ceaseth not here,
but is continually “kissing the feet of the Lord.” Ye who before
delighted in kissing, leave your harlots, and from this woman learn
to kiss the Lord, or else thou and thy vile mouth shalt burn in
hell. Riss the feet of the Lord, who hath shed his blood for thee.
For so oft as thou kissest the feet of the Lord, thou shalt find that
thou suckest grace out of him. And this woman, who was before
a vile harlot, now only she taketh pleasure to kiss the Lord. And
what did this woman more ? It is said, when she had bestowed her
body upon him, she taketh that “box of costly ointment,” that she
had prepared for him, “and anointed his feet therewith.” Bestow
ON I,UKE VII. 499
thyself first upon the Lord, and bestow thy body upon him and his
service, and say to him, “Now Lord I give thee, and I bestow upon
thee mine heart, my soul, my body, and all the members thereof;
keep thou them in holiness, that they may be consecrate to thee.”
Then when thou hast bestowed first thine heart and thyself upon
him, it will be none hard matter to bestow thy goods when his
glory requireth. And, certainly, when men are so niggard in the
Lord's cause, that they will not bestow a penny upon him when
his glory requireth, or upon his poor members, it is a sure argu-
ment that they never bestowed their heart upon him. Many vain
men and women will say, “And if Christ were in the world, for the
love I carry unto him, I would follow him, serve him, employ my
body and all that I have in his service, and to his glory.” But if
thou wilt not bestow thy goods upon the needy, upon his servants
and upon these who carry his image, if Christ himself were in the
world, thou wouldest bestow nothing upon him ; for if once thou
were sensible of that liberality that Jesus offereth unto his own,
thou wouldest love him so well, that thou wouldest shew thyself
liberal to these who carry his image; thou wouldest give all that
thou hast for his cause, who is only able to make thee rich.
Now to go forward in the history. Whilest she is thus exer-
cised in weeping, in washing the Lord’s feet with her tears, in dry-
ing them with her hair, in anointing them with precious ointment,
what doeth the Lord? What is his behaviour P All this time the
Lord speaketh never a word unto her; all this time while she find-
eth so great grace and mercy in him, he turneth not once his face
unto her. If thou gettest once the Lord's back near unto thee, if
thou gettest leave to kiss his feet, howbeit thou gettest not his
face at the first, nor his countenance at the entry, yet out of him
thou shalt suck grace and mercy unspeakable. It is a marvellous
thing to see how a sinner will get grace. When the Lord will
seem to turn his back upon thee, yet follow thou on and leave him
not, till he turn his face toward thee; and I assure thee thou shalt
get his face at the last. Therefore, never depart from him, but
stick by his back and his feet, and certainly in the end thou shalt
2 I 2
500 THE FIETEENTH SERMON,
get that sight of that joyful countenance that shall complete thy
joy.
Now to come to the Pharisee's part, who called him to dinner—
for we have heard the part of the woman. The Pharisee, named
Simon, sitteth still and seeth all that is done and speaketh not one
word, but thinketh. And he thinketh the thing which is not good;
his mouth is closed, but he blasphemeth in his heart, “If this man
were a prophet,” saith he, “he would know who, and what man-
ner of woman this were who toucheth him, for she is a sinner.”
He thought incontinent, that the filthiness of the woman would
pollute the Lord—would he suffer this vile harlot to touch him if
he were a prophet or a holy man? Ye see now, Brethren, how dis-
dainfully he thinketh of her, and how he contemneth her in his heart.
A Pharisee; that is—a hypocrite that will counterfeit outwardly a
kind of holiness—see how he will disdain a poor sinner, that is an
open sinner in the sight of the world. A hypocrite is a foul sin-
ner, and he will do such things in secret that is a shame to speak
of, because his sin is cloaked from the sight of the world, and from
his own eyes. When he beholdeth another sinner again, that sin-
neth openly in the sight of the world, how disdainfully will he
count and speak of the open sinner, and will spit at him The
severest censurer that ever was, is a hypocrite ; and then he will
stand up admiring of himself and his coloured righteousness, and
say, “I thank God, I am not like other men.” And what is the cause
of this 2 The Lord saith “The hypocrite is nothing but a whited
tomb, a painted grave, all within is full of dead men's bones, stink
and filthiness.” (Matthew xxiii. 27.) And yet that cloak of hypo-
crisy being spread over the heart, the hypocrite seeth not that fil-
thiness that is in his own heart; and that hypocrite that thinketh to
beguile all the world, chiefly he beguileth himself. And if thou
sawest that seed of that mischief that is within thyself, certainly
thou wouldest disdain thyself, and thou wouldest be inclined to
judge charitably of a poor sinner; thou wouldest not be so sore and
rigorous a censurer of others as thou art ; and if thou sawest what
kind of stuff were within thyself, howbeit it break not out, thou
ON LUKE VII. 5()1
wouldest say: “Now, I see as great corruption in myself as in any
body, and it is the Lord that letteth it not break out. The Lord
purge and renew me, and the Lord purge and renew yonder sin-
ner from the sin that breaketh out so openly in outward action l’
Now as the Pharisee knoweth not himself, so he knoweth not what
the Lord is, he knoweth him not to be the mediator come into the
world to save poor sinners; and, therefore, he concludeth so blas-
phemously, the Lord is not a prophet.
Mark, Brethren, whoever seeth not that misery that is within
themselves, of necessity they never saw that mercy that is in Jesus
Christ. These two go together of necessity; whosoever seeth
not himself is ignorant of Christ, and would not buy the mercy of
Christ for one penny, he careth not for Christ's kindness, he count-
eth grace and mercy all but vanity. Now of these two followeth
another thing. Not seeing himself, first ; next, not seeing that
mercy in Christ, not knowing that he was that Saviour of the world
—of these two followeth this wicked conceit in him, seeing the
sinner deal with him to get grace and mercy, and the Lord dealing so
mercifully with her, he scorneth and contemptuously disdaineth in
his heart this dealing that the poor sinner hath with the Lord.
The men who see not their own misery nor the Lord's mercy, they
will scorn and disdain a poor sinner, either outwardly, calling them
sighing brethren and sobbing sisters, or at least in their heart in-
wardly. And I am assured there are hypocrites enough this day,
who have no sense of mercy, that scorn in their hearts a poor sin-
ner that seeketh mercy of the Lord, and hold in derision our fast-
ing, our humiliation, and all our preaching which they hear. And
therefore, as thou wouldest not be culpable of such scorning, and
wouldest not be involved in that judgment that abideth that scorn-
ful number, seek, I beseeeh thee, to get these two sights, and say,
“Lord, I am but a miserable body, and am unworthy to look up to
the heaven”—and then get a sense of the mercy of the Lord ; and
then thou shalt be so far from scorning grace in thine heart, that
thou shalt be fain to creep in with all humility to get a part and
portion of the grace that is spoken of The Pharisee yet hath not
502 THE FIFTEENTH SERMON,
been one of the worst of them. He was not an open blasphemer,
but a hypocrite; I doubt not, but the Lord hath had mercy on
him; but what, how, and when his conversion hath been, the Lord
knoweth.
Now I go forward to the part of the Lord, first toward the
Pharisee, and then toward the poor woman. The Pharisee con-
ceived not this so quietly and secretly within his own heart, but
the Lord, the searcher of the heart, that made the heart, draweth
it to light, and saith, “Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee.
I know what thou thinkest well enough ; no man needeth to tell
me thine heart, and, therefore, I will speak something unto thee.”
Simon answereth, “Lord, say on.” Brethren, strive to present
holy thoughts before God: think it not enough to keep thine
hand holy, thy tongue from blasphemy, but keep a holy heart
unto the Lord ; begin not to play the counterfeit, to speak holily
and to have a fair shew outwardly, and then to keep a foul heart.
And if an evil thought escape thee, (as who will not have a thou-
sand evil thoughts P) if a blasphemy against God escape thee, (as
who blasphemeth not God in their heart as well as the Pharisee ?)
be sorrowful for it, away with it, let it not tarry, but say as Paul
saith, (Rom. vii. 17,) “It is not I that doeth it, but the corruption
of my nature which remaineth within me.” Renounce that foul
birth, and take it never unto thee; and this is that battle which
we should have night and day, to get that vile canker and corrup-
tion which uttereth itself so violently against that inviolable ma-
jesty, repressed and put away.
Now, when he had thus spoken, he beginneth to let Simon see
that that same very woman, of whom he counted so disdainfully,
was not so vile a woman as he thought ; as though he would say,
“Simon, thou thinkest there is not so vile a sinner in the world as
she is ; but I say unto thee she is not so sinful: I have cleansed
her, I have given her remission of all her sins.” (Who dare call
a sinner foul that the Lord hath called clean?) “Darest thou call a
penitent sinner foul who hath washen my feet with tears, and re-
penteth unfeignedly P" Then subsuming, he saith, “This woman
ON LUKE VII. 503
repenteth unfeignedly, and testifieth her repentance in loving me so
exceedingly: therefore,” he concludeth, “all her sins are forgiven
her. Therefore, Simon, disdain her not, no more than I do.”
But to consider more narrowly, first, the ground of the proposi-
tion; then the assumption; last, that joyful conclusion. The
ground of his reason is this—to whom a great debt is forgiven, that
person will love exceedingly. To make us to understand this the
better he bringeth in a familiar example, a parable :-‘There was
a certain lender who had two debtors; the one owed five hundred
pence and the other fifty : and when they had nothing to pay he
forgave them both. Which of them, therefore, tell me, will love him
most?” “He,” saith Simon, “to whom he forgave most.” “Well,”
saith the Lord, “then I take this proposition out of thy mouth, He
to whom much is forgiven, he loveth exceedingly : he loveth
much.” And, certainly, if thou have no sense of debt, if thou think-
est in thine own conceit that thou owest nothing, I say to thee, thou
lovest not God; thou hast no love towards him. A wanton sinner
that feels not the burthen of sin, he hath no more love to God, nor
to Christ, than a dog hath. Fy on thee, dog fy on thee that hast
not a sense of sin, for thou hast no love to God! Next, again,
suppose thou have a sense of sin, and feelest some burthen thereof,
yet if thou but thinkest that thou hast a penny in thy purse to
pay God for thy debt, thou wilt never love thy God. And I say
to thee, I could never think in mine heart that a Papist, a vain
lowne, who will boast of his merits, who glorieth in his own works,
and thinketh he can pay God for his redemption, I say I could
never be persuaded that such a one could love the Lord. Next,
except with the sense of thy debt, thou find also a free remission
of all thy debt, alas! thou canst have no love to God. Feel thy
sin and thy poverty as much as thou wilt, if thou findest not a free
remission and pardon of all thy debt, thou wilt never love him ;
but he is a terror unto thee so oft as thou thinkest of him, and
thou wouldst flee out of the world to escape his hands. Then,
thirdly, thou that feelest thy debt, and then feelest thine own
* Generally loon, i. e., a worthless, or an ignorant man.
504 THE FIETEENTH SERMON,
poverty, that thou hast not one penny to give him, (suppose thou
be a king, all thy kingdom will not ransom thy soul: no, sell the
heaven and the earth and all, they will not ransom the soul of one
creature ; they will not fill up one penny of the sum to ransom the
soul of one sinner,) and then with the sense of the poverty feeleth
a free remission, and heareth the Lord say, “I forgive thee all, I
will have none of thy silver; but I forgive thee all in the precious
blood of my dear son, the Lord Jesus”—(there is the ransom, and
I adjudge thee to damnation that seekest any other ransom)—then
thou wilt love the Lord exceedingly. These three things being
felt, first with groans and sobs feeling the debt and burthen : next,
thy poverty and unability to pay; and, last, a free remission and
disburthening, that sinner would bestow all his goods, and land,
and life, and all that he hath, for the love that he beareth to the
Lord Jesus; thine heart will be sweetly loosed with a love to the
Lord. Who is able to express that love and that unspeakable joy
that will be in the heart of a sinner that feeleth the remission of
his sins ! sº
Brethren, there is yet more than this in the comparison—“He to
whom little is forgiven, he will love little ; and he to whom much
is forgiven will love much.” He or she that will come in and confess
their sins, but will in the meantime extenuate it and say; “It is
but a little sin, it is but a venial sin, and many one hath done twice
as much ;” that body, I say, that will extenuate sin, although it
were but an evil thought against that inviolable Majesty, I know
not whether such a one hath gotten remission of their sins or
not. And supposing they have gotten remission of it, yet it will
be but a little love that they will have unto the Lord. But
he or she that will come in and aggreadge their sin, though it
were but a thought against that Majesty, for thou art never able
to aggreadge it enough ; and if thou find a remission of thy sin,
then no man can think how heartily that body will love the Lord ;
for if once thou gettest grace to repent, and to love God, thou
mayest be assured that thy sins, though they were never so great,
never so weighty, and many in number, shall never hinder thee of
ON LUKE VII. 505
grace and mercy. And then, again, I say to thee, the greatest
sinner that counteth most of their sins, once feeling the remission
of their sins, will ever be the greatest lover. Paul, an oppressor,
a persecutor, a blasphemer, a wrongful man, once feeling the love
of the Lord forgiving him, O ! how exceedingly loved he the Lord.
A penitent sinner shall far surpass them in love that have not
sinned half so much. The world shall admire at him for his love;
he shall be a miracle to all them that behold him.
Now I proceed forward. The Pharisee can judge well enough
of this general, that he that hath most forgiven him loveth most ;
and that love is the effect of remission of sins; (well art thou
that lovest the Lord, for be assured that the Lord loveth thee,
and hath forgiven thee thy sins ;) but when it cometh to the as-
sumption that that poor woman, that sinful woman, loved the Lord,
there he erreth. Behold, brethren, the light of nature, and the
blindness of nature. By nature we will know the general well
enough. Suppose thou hadest no more but that light of nature,
thou wilt confess that a murderer should die the death ; but if
thou come to the particular, “O ! but thou art a murderer, thou
hast a bloody heart, a bloody hand, and thou art all bloody;” will
any man suffer that No, no, and therefore he will hold off this
conclusion, “Therefore thou shouldest die the death, and be taken
to the place of execution, and there lose thine head.” And would
to God that our bloody men, whether they be noblemen, lords,
earls, barons, or others, had been beheaded long since; for it is a
marvel that plague followeth not after plague continually, till this
land be purged of this blood that crieth continually in the streets.
So the Pharisee could not believe the particular, that ever the
poor sinner could get mercy, he was so hard a censurer of the poor
woman. But I count it nothing worth to judge uprightly in
general, except also thou judge uprightly in particular. The
judges of the land they will judge uprightly in general; but come
to the particular, to kinsfolks, friends, and alliances, this man or
that man with his bud," O there the judgment is perverted.
* i. e. Bribe.
506 THE FIETEENTH SERMON,
Wellis the judge that judgeth uprightly in particular; for a Turk
may judge uprightly in general; and woe is thee that judgest not
uprightly in particular.
Now, to come to the other part of the reason. The Lord turn-
eth him to the poor woman, and the more the Pharisee findeth
fault with the Lord, the more the Lord turneth him toward her,
and saith, “I say to thee, Simon, that this woman loveth me more
a thousand times than ever thou didst.” If thou withholdest grace
from a sinner, then, in despite of thy teeth, the Lord will heap
grace upon him. The assumption is this—“This woman loveth me
exceedingly ;” then the conclusion will follow in the own room—
“Therefore, this woman certainly hath all her sins forgiven her.”
Then he declareth the assumption by way of comparison with the
Pharisee, “Thou calledst me to dinner,” saith he, “but this
woman loved me better than thou doest. I entered into thine
house, and thou gavest me no water to my feet,” after the fashion
of the country: “But she hath washed my feet with tears. Look if
this be a token of love.” Then, again, “Thou gavest me no kiss,”
after the fashion of the country; “but she, since the time I came
in, hath not ceased to kiss my feet.” Then, “Mine head with oil
thou didst not anoint : But she hath anointed my feet with oint-
ment. Therefore, she loveth me better than thou.”
Now the Pharisee could not discern of the penitent sinner;
but the Lord letteth him see that he can discern betwixt a hypo-
crite and a true penitent sinner—there he hath paid him in his own
hand. And the Lord letteth us see that he taketh heed, and shall
take heed to the end of the world, to the least thing that thou
doest for his cause to any of his. Who would have thought that
the Lord would have taken heed to this 2 The Lord will take
heed who giveth him water to wash his feet, which is but a sober
office. The Lord will take heed who will stoop down and give him
kiss, and wash his feet with tears. The Lord will take heed who
will bestow common oil to anoint him with, or who will bestow
precious ointment on him ; and in the great day, when all secrets
shall be revealed, (look if he took heed what we were doing in the
ON LUKE VII. 507
world, Matt. xv. 34,) he will say, “Thou gavest me nothing when
I was here in the world, thou visitedst me not:” and he will point
out place, time, and all the circumstances unto thee.
Then, brethren, if the Lord taketh so good heed what we do,
well is the soul that giveth but a piece of bread to a hungry body
for Christ's sake, or a coat to a naked body for his sake. And,
therefore, ever have him before thine eyes, and say, “Lord, I give
this to thee, that thou mayest not say to me when thou comest to
judge the world, “Thou gavest me nothing.”
Now, I hear there is a great poverty and famine in this land,
and wo unto them that are the instruments of hunger. Let us be
so far from this, to be the causes thereof, that, on the contrary, we
may pinch ourselves, that we may spare upon the needy; for I see
the Lord will try our liberality. Therefore, let us spare upon the
poor in this land, that we may hear of the Lord in that great day,
“Come ye blessed of my Father, for ye gave me meat and ye
gave me drink in this world.” And further, we see here, the trial of
a hypocrite. How shalt thou know a hypocrite P The Lord lay-
eth down the rule: “Ye shall know them by their fruits;” (Matt.
vii. 16.) Ye shall know by their doings; a hypocrite hath many
fair words. And I doubt not but this Pharisee, when he invited
the Lord to dinner, had many fair words; but there shall be little
doing, at the least he shall never do any thing heartily. Where
is this Pharisee's humility? He offereth not to wash the Lord's
feet, who was ever travelling and journeying, nor to kiss the Lord
when he entered into his house, after the fashion of the country,
nor shewed none heartsomeness towards the Lord. A hypocrite
can never do any thing heartily, neither to God nor man. Then
wouldest thou know a true Christian man or woman? Ye hear
never a word out of her mouth, all this time that she is washing
the Lord's feet with tears, kissing them, anointing them with oint-
ment. So a true Christian hath few words, but many deeds. One
good deed is worth ten words. And when thou speakest look that
thy words be hearty, and savour of love. Look that thou bless
not with thy mouth, and curse with thine heart. And whatsoever
508 THE FIFTEENTH SERMON,
thou doest, do it heartily, and though thou were but presenting a
cupful of cold water to a poor body, do it heartily, and then the
Lord shall count well of it, though it were never so little. Look
what sentence the Lord giveth out concerning the poor woman
that presented two mites: He saith, she gave more than they all
did, (Luke xxi. 3.) Whatsoever thou doest, do it for the love of the
Lord, still waiting for that day wherein the Lord shall reward thee.
It is true, indeed, that he who hath any discretion will discern the
heart by the very deed of the hand. And he or she that hath
any heartsomeness inwardly, it will be manifest and uttered in the
very deed of the hand outwardly. t
But stand thou not upon the sight of any man in the world;
but say, “Lord, thou seest the heart, thou seest with what hearti-
ness I do this.” And whatsoever thou doest, strive ever to do it
with heartsomeness, for Jesus Christ's sake: so in doing thou shalt
have joy. No man can do any thing heartily or joyfully but they
who have their eyes upon the Lord.
Ye have heard the proposition, and the assumption also. Now
he cometh to the conclusion, and he concludeth as it were in the
teeth of the Pharisee, “Therefore her sins are forgiven her.” Not
that this love is the cause of the remission of her sins, but a sure
argument and testimony of her faith. Her love toward Christ
preceded not, nor went before the assurance of the remission of her
sins, but it followed as a true token. So it is an argument not
from the cause but from the effect, that testifieth assuredly, that
the cause is and hath preceded; that is, that she hath faith in
Jesus Christ.
Howbeit, the Papists abuse this place, gathering here, that the
love which this woman carried to Jesus was the cause of the re-
mission of her sins; but I leave them to their own vanity.
Now, Brethren, after the example of this Pharisee, I shall never
judge evil, nor be a sharp censurer of a penitent sinner. For the
poor sinner that believeth once in Jesus Christ, and repenteth, and
“ Not only faith, (as you may perceive,) but love or charity obtaineth remission of
sins.” Rhemish Testament.—Note in locum.
ON I,UKE VII. 509
taketh purpose of amendment, (for faith and repentance go ever
together) a sinner that believeth in Jesus Christ, will repent, and
hate and detest sin to the death, wherewith he hath offended God.
For when he hath once tasted of mercy, then will he say, “Alas!
that I have offended so loving and so merciful a father.” For after
that he hath once gotten a sense of the infinite mercy of God, all
his displeasure will be, that ever he hath offended so loving and
so merciful a father. I say, such a sinner may be assured of for-
giveness.
Now, mark the Lord’s answer to the Pharisee. He saith not,
“Howbeit she be a sinner, yet she is penitent and loveth me.” But
he saith, “She is no sinner, all her sins are taken away.” For ex-
cept all her sins had been taken away, and purged by him, it is most
true that the Pharisee thought, to wit, the Lord would not have
suffered her to have touched him, he would not have received the
kisses of her mouth, nor the tears of her eyes. No, the Lord Jesus,
that Holy One, (if thou be not made as white as the snow and all thy
sins be not purged) he will not suffer thee once to touch him, nor to
kiss his feet. It is a wonderful thing to see such a sudden change
in an instant, that so vile and so unclean a body should be so pure
and so clean. Howbeit the body were as red as the blood, and as
the scarlet, as the prophet Isaiah saith, in the first chapter of his
Prophecy, and the 18th verse, yet, suddenly, he will make it as
white as the snow and the wool. Indeed, it is true, thou wilt never
be purged from the remains of sin, so long as thou art in this life;
but yet, notwithstanding, if thou put on that righteousness of Je-
sus Christ, by faith, God shall count thee as clean as a glorious
angel in his sight. -
Now, when he hath ended the speech to the Pharisee, at the
last he speaketh to the Woman, not thinking it enough to speak in
her hearing unto the Pharisee. But to the greater joy and conso-
lation of the poor woman, he speaketh to herself. Thou will run
in and out, hither and thither, to get a word of the king. And
why not, if so thy necessity require P But strive to get a word
out of the mouth of Jesus. Kings many times will give thee flat-
510 THE FIFTEENTH SERMON,
tering words, but the Lord, when he speaketh unto thee, he will
speak in truth, and with wonderful love. When he saith to thee,
“Thy sins are forgiven thee,” thy sins are forgiven thee indeed.
For the word of the Lord hath an operation with it, for if he once
call thee a Holy One, thou wilt be so indeed. The word of the Lord
worketh in thee the thing that he speaketh, most powerfully. For
he calleth these things that are not, and by calling he maketh them
to be. So the Lord filleth her heart with joy; her heart, no ques-
tion, began to find joy when she was speaking to the Pharisee.
Now he filleth up her joy, for the fulness of joy is not gotten
in an instant; all joy is in the face of Jesus Christ. Think ye
not, but this woman, when she heard this word, conceived an un-
speakable joy in her heart? And I say unto every one of you,
who, as penitent sinners, will bewail your sins, and mourn for of
fending of God, and will purpose to wash the feet of Jesus with
tears, and wipe his feet with your hair, as the Lord hath given me
commission to speak, “Repentest thou sinner of thy sins 2 Think-
est thou to amend thy life? TXetestest thou thy sins? Believest
thou assuredly? Lovest thou the Lord?” I say to thee, thy sins
are forgiven thee, in the blood of that same Jesus whom thou
lovest so well.
Now a word, and so I shall end. When he hath spoken thus
comfortably to the Woman, the Pharisee beginneth again to inter-
rupt and to impede him—if it had been possible, to hinder the
woman of her salvation. The rest about the table scorn him,
“What is he this,” quoth they, “that taketh upon him to forgive
sins P He taketh too much upon him, more than he is able to
perform.” So as the Pharisee concluded before, that he was no
prophet, now they conclude that he was no mediator.
Well, Brethren, the work of our salvation hath many impedi-
ments. Wilt thou seek salvation ? seek grace and mercy 2 Then
think not to come sleeping to grace; for I say to thee, ere thou
wantest a stop to hinder thee from grace, from remission of sins,
thine own heart, by the suggestion of the devil, shall stand up in
thy teeth and blaspheme, as the Pharisee did first, and as the
ON LTUKE VII. 511
rest at the table did thereafter, and all to hinder the work of thy
salvation. But see the end. Stayeth the Lord for all this? retreat-
eth he his sentence again, and saith, “Thy sins are not forgiven
thee ?” No, no; the Lord’s conclusion is past; if he say it once
to thine heart, and if he give once that persuasion in thine heart,
so that thou mayest say, “Lord be blessed, my sins are forgiven
me; happy art thou; they shall be forgiven thee. The Lord shall
double it within thee. So he speaketh to the woman, as he would
say, “Let them speak what they will, thou art in heaven: thy sins
are forgiven thee; go in peace l’’ There is no peace but the peace
of the Lord, coming from the remission of sins. Cry peace as
thou wilt, but if thou go not in the peace of the Lord, thou
goest not in peace, but in war. The Lord is at war with thee;
and albeit thou gettest the king's peace, and all the world’s peace,
yet, if thou gettest not the Lord's peace, thou hast no peace at all.
So, well is he that hath his peace; for they only may go in joy,
that may say, “Now, Lord, I am at peace with thee, thou hast for-
given me my sins.” And if thou canst say this truly, thou shalt
have such a joy in thy soul as all the kings in the world cannot
give thee, nor all outward comforts and pleasures afford thee.
Now, the Lord give us this peace, and a blink of that joy in the
heart, through the remission of our sins; for then, one day, we
shall see the accomplishment of it, to our everlasting joy and sal-
vation, in Jesus Christ. To whom, with the Father and the Holy
Spirit, be all honour, praise, glory, power, and dominion, both now
and evermore, world without end. So be it.
THE SIXTEENTH SERMON.
John, CHAP. III.
6. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that that is born of the
Spirit is spirit.
IN this conference that Nicodemus hath with Christ,--well-beloved
in the Lord Jesus—first, Nicodemus coming to him by night,
confesseth him plainly that he was a teacher that came from God,
because there was none that could work those wonders that he
wrought, except the Lord were with him. Then, the Lord Jesus
begins to play the part of a teacher to Nicodemus, who was a doc-
tor in Israel, and the first ground that he begins to instruct him
into, is the ground of regeneration; for Christ came to make a
a new world again, and to renew man, who was dead in sins and
trespasses. Therefore he beginneth to instruct Nicodemus in this
doctrine of regeneration, and he bindeth him to learn it with such
necessity, that except he and whole mankind be regenerated, there
are none of them that shall see the kingdom of God; and this he
doeth with a great asseveration, saying, “Verily, verily.” Nico-
demus, hearing and fearing that heavy denunciation of banishment
from the kingdom of God, but not understanding this regeneration,
beginneth to reason that it was a thing impossible that he could be
born again, because he was an old man, and it is not possible
that an old man can enter into his mother's womb again. Christ
answereth, and, answering, insisteth in that proposition of regene-
ON JOHN III. 513
ration, urging him again with a necessity of the same regeneration;
only He addeth to that that he spake before, the manner and way of
this begetting, to wit, “ of water and the Spirit.” It is not a fleshly
generation, but a spiritual generation, whereby a man is begotten
again, by the renewing of the Holy Spirit in him, of the which
water is the seal, to seal up our faith in that assurance of that re-
generation or new birth.
Now in this text which I have read, Christ insisteth in the same
doctrine: and, likeas in the verse preceding he hath proponed the
manner of this new birth not to be natural but spiritual, so in
this verse, he sheweth Nicodemus what a kind of birth it is—
“That,” (saith he) “that is begotten of the Spirit, is spirit;” that
is, the Spirit of the Lord Jesus working, begetteth not a fleshly
or corrupt creature, but a spiritual and heavenly creature. This
he setteth not down simply, but he setteth it down by the way of
comparison with the fleshly generation, to the end that Nicode-
mus and all men seeing the corruption of the flesh, they should es-
teem the more highly of that spiritual generation. And he saith
that “the thing begotten of the flesh is flesh;” that is, as the flesh a
corrupt mass of flesh and blood, cannot beget but corrupt flesh, even
so, the Spirit of the Lord Jesus cannot beget but that that is spi-
ritual and heavenly. And thus ye see the meaning of this place.
But because this place offereth occasion to speak somewhat of
Regeneration, whereof the world had never greater need than at this
present, for I think that the world is going back again to that old
corruption from the which they were delivered,—therefore, to the
end that all things may be the more clear, I shall speak to you
first of the flesh and generation thereof; next, of the Spirit and re-
generation. And the Lord make us careful to find the Spirit to be
effectual in every one of us to Regeneration.
Then, being to speak of the flesh, it shall be expedient to de-
duce it from the fountain. There are two sorts of sin in this world.
The one sort is called original,—that sin that man and woman is
born with in this world, which they draw out of their mother's
womb with their birth. The other sort is called actual sin, that
2 K
514 THE SIXTEENTH SERMON,
standeth in a doing and working, and which floweth and proceed-
eth from that original sin, as from the fountain. I may not insist
upon these things particularly, but I shall give you a short view of
them.
Original Sin" standeth in two parts. The first is that horrible de-
fection and apostacy which whole mankind” in the world, from Adam
to the end of the world, have made in the loins of Adam. For ye
must understand, it was not Adam alone that sinned, and fell from
God, but it was thou, and all others that ever were gotten of man, and
born of woman, whole mankind made that defection. For it is said,
in the seventh chapter to the Hebrews, and the ninth verse, that
when Abraham paid tithes to Melchisedec, that Levi, who long after
was not begotten nor born, was tithed in the loins of Abraham his
forefather, he paid his tithe as well as Abraham did, even so, we
being, every one of us, in the loins of Adam when he sinned, we
made all defection from the Lord, and sinned in him. Upon this de-
fection there followed a guiltiness, wherethrough there is none of
us but we are obliged to die everlastingly. And if there were no
more sin in all this world but that first apostacy only, there is mat-
ter enough of thine everlasting damnation: thou needest not to
heap sin upon sin, there is thine obligation to thine everlasting
death and to damnation. This is the first part of original sin. The
second part of original sin is the effect that followeth upon the first,
a foul and horrible corruption, that entered in the whole nature
of man, so that, from the top to the toe of man, there is not so
much whole as one inch. Man is a vile, leprous creature, there is
not a whole inch, neither in body nor soul, but all is infected. For,
brethren, that first defection past not away so, but it brought with
it a fearful ruin and wreck” to mankind. And it leaveth behind it a
foul stink and terrible darkness, and that came of the just judg-
ment of God, punishing sin by sin. And this corruption of nature
1 The reader will do well to compare with this, the chapter on Original Sin, (xxv.)
in the treatise on Effectual Calling, pp. 166, &c. of this volume. * We now say,
all mankind. 8 It may be useful to the etymologist to know, that the original
has wracke.
ON JOIIM III. 515
bringeth with it the own guiltiness and obligation to eternal death,
so that sundry ways we are guilty of death.
The Apostle Paul, (Eph. ii. 3,) setteth down this guiltiness, when
he saith, “we were all children of wrath.” This second part of it is
it that Christ calleth here “flesh;” in another place it is called the
old man'. For by flesh we understand not this fleshly and bodily
lump which we carry about with us; nor yet, as the Papists’ call
it, a concupiscence in this lump, and nothing in the soul; no, no,
but this flesh is a corruption both in soul and body, and in all the
powers and faculties thereof; so that there is never an inch free
from that pest.
The Lord who made man (Gen. viii. 21) expresseth the work
and the force of the flesh after the fall, where it is said, that after
he looked and saw this corruption, he said that the whole imagina-
tions of the cogitations of the heart of man are wicked and evil
continually ; which words import, that man from his youth, yea,
even from his mother's womb, could do nothing but imagine, think
and forge evil, wickedness and all sorts of mischief. And when he
saw this, he uttered a sad and a heavy voice, “It forthinketh" me
that ever I made man,” (Gen. vi. 6.) And it was no small thing, no
question, that made the Creator to repent that he had made man.
What is man now but a filthy creature, and a pest to infect heaven
and earth if it were possible P
But that ye may the better understand the incomparable great-
ness of this evil which is in man, I shall let you see how it hath
spread itself through the whole power of the soul of man. For as
for the body, I speak nothing of it. It is true, indeed, it never
leaveth that body till it resolve it in earth again, which otherwise
was made to be immortal, and in the mean time, till death come,
it maketh the body to be subject to many great and fearful sick-
nesses and diseases. Where from come these biles, the fevers, the
palsy, the pest, the leprosy, and other diseases, but from this cor-
ruption ? But I speak nothing of it. I will let you see how it hath
1 Rom. vi. 6. Eph. iv. 22. Col. iii. 9. 2 Sec pp. 178-80 of this volume.
3 i.e. Repenteth.
2 K 2
516 THE SIXTEENTH SERMON,
spread itself in the soul of man. Brethren, there is never a power
nor faculty in the soul but all is infected. This pest, it hath not
only infected the inferior appetite, as the blind philosophers thought,
and as the Papists do this day affirm. But where beginneth it?
What is the most excellent power of the soul? It is the under-
standing, the mind, and this is it that we call reason. This corrup-
tion, it hath so entered into the soul of man, that when, as that
understanding should be as a light going before to direct all our ac-
tions, motions, and thoughts, the right way according to God’s word
and ordinance, it doeth nothing but fight and repine against the
wisdom of the God of heaven. It is a hard matter that God
hath created this understanding, and yet it fighteth against him.
Paul Saith, (Rom. viii. 7,) “ that the wisdom of the flesh is en-
mity against God;” that is, the very understanding of man, which
is the most excellent thing in man, is enemy to God, let be the in-
ferior appetites. And, therefore, (Eph. iv. 23,) he desireth not
only that the inferior appetites should be renewed, but that re-
generation should begin at that which is most excellent in the
soul, even that they “may be renewed in the spirit of their mind.”
Then ye see this understanding of man is altogether corrupt, and
that light of the mind is turned unto terrible darkness, and that
this wisdom fighteth directly against God. For this reason of man
fighteth not only against the wisdom of God set down and declar-
ed in the law, but chiefly against that which is more against his
wisdom manifested in the evangel—he esteemeth naturally to be
but mere foolishness, that ever a man should get salvation by a
crucified man, (1 Corinthians, i. 18.)
And to go forward. This pest ceaseth not here, nor resteth not
in the mind only, but it entereth into the roots of the heart, into
the will and affections of man. It hath entered so into his will,
that when as this will of ours, this power of our soul, that we call
the will, should have chosen that which is good, and refused that
which is evil, according to the reason going before and informing
what is to be chosen and pursued, and what is to be refused and
eschewed; it fighteth not only directly against that most holy
ON JOHN III. 517
wisdom and will of God, but even against that spunk of knowledge,
light and reason that is left in man. For when man fell in Adam
the Lord took not all kind of light from man, but he left in his
great mercy in man some spunk of light and” knowledge of the
majesty of God the creator, whereby he might in some measure
know his creator. Andhe left in man also some knowledge and judg-
ment of politic things concerning our conversation and dealing with
our neighbours, what is just and what is unjust, what is reasonable
and what is unreasonable; he left in him also some judgment and
discretion of natural things, whereas he might have set up man as
brutish as a dog or an ass. Notwithstanding of this, the raging
corruption of the malicious will repineth against this spunk, and
striveth to blot it out, that it should never utter itself to reformation,
and to glorify God and to discharge a duty to man, in such sort,
that it were a just judgment of God, that they should be made as
brute as beasts; as it went with the Gentiles, (Rom. i. 28,) “whom
he gave over unto reprobate minds,” so that they had not care of
natural honesty or shame, but they wrought all sort of unclean-
ness, because they detained the truth of God in unrighteousness,
and suffered it not to reform them. And natural men have found
this repining of this corrupt will contrary the reason and light of
the mind, and they have said, “Video meliora probogue, deteriora
sequor,” that is, “I see and allow better things, but I follow the
worst’.” And to be short, this wit of a man repineth as fast against
the Lord's will, as the will of the devil doth. For by nature we will
that same thing that the devil willeth, and there was never any
thing so abominable that the devil hath pleasure in but we have
pleasure of the same: “Ye,” saith our Saviour, “are of the devil
your father, and the lusts of your father will ye fulfil,” (John viii.
44.) Behold how great matter and occasion the Papists have to
boast of free will to any good”; they are but vain blind bodies.
The will of man goeth wholly with the will of the devil; there
is no such a thing. There is not so much as one jot of the will of
man free : yet the corruption resteth not here, but it goeth for-
* See the same quotation, p. 172. * See pp. 256, &c,
518 THE SIXTEENTH SERMION,
ward, and pulleth and defileth all the affections that are in man ;
as anger, love, hope, fear, &c. None of them are free, they
fight all against God, they have no conformity, but a great repug-
nance with that will of God.
I go forward, and I will not omit the natural powers and facul-
ties of the soul: and I affirm that there are no powers of the soul
that are natural, as the faculty and appetite of eating, of digest-
ing, of expelling, but all are infected with this pest ; so that,
brethren, there is never a power of the soul that is free of this
corruption. Would ye understand what becometh of this corrup-
tion, and what it doeth P Being in the soul of man, it maketh that
there is never a thought that a man thinketh but it is a sin. And
if thou have no more than nature, the least motion of thine heart
is a sin in the sight of God; never a word that thou speakest but
it is a sin; never a deed that thou doest but it is a sin; never a
way that thou wilt go but it is a sin, and, consequently, it maketh
thee always subject to the heavy wrath of God. If thou stirrest
but thine hand or thy foot thou sinnest, and the wrath of God will
pursue and follow thee, till at last thou be casten into hell if thou
be not renewed. Besides this, so long as we remain in nature this
corruption and pest is so forcible in every one of us, that there is
not one sin in the world so great and abominable, but with plea-
sure and delight every one of us would perform it, if the Lord of
his mercy did not by his Spirit renew us, at least by his power
restrain us when occasion is presented. The root and seed of all
mischief under the sun is compacted in every man and woman.
Marvel not when thou seest some running to adultery, some to
murther, some to sorcery and witchcraft; for that seed which is
forcible in them would be as forcible in thee to all mischief, if the
Lord restrained thee not. Naturally thou art as bent and inclined
to these things as they are, if the Lord by his powerful providence
did not restrain thee. When the Apostle Paul considereth the
strength and the force of that corruption that was in his heart,
he saith, “I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, there is no
good.” And in another place the Prophet saith, “Except the
ON JOII N III. 519
Lord had left a seed in us, we had been made like Sodom and
Gomorrha.” (Esay, chap. i. verse 9.)
Brethren, this same seed and root of bitterness is in every in-
fant. Ye think they be angels, and men commonly call them in-
nocents. No, no, they are but wolves' birds;" and there is a
world of mischief within them which will burst out, when years,
strength, and occasion concurreth, except the Lord restrain the
S2Iſle,
Further, I advertise you of the deceitful lurking of this pest, for
it is not only to be feared when it bursteth forth, and is fruitful in
evil deeds, but also when it lurketh. Ye see if there be a pest in
the flesh of man, before it be broken out, many a time they will
think they have not a pest. So it is with this pest : it will lurk
within the flesh and sinews of the heart so quietly, that a man will
think he is the holiest body in the world; but touch him, present
any object or small occasion, yea, apply but the holy law of God to
that heart, incontinent his foul affections and lusts shall utter
themselves, and burst out ; even as ye see sometimes that fire will
be so hidden and covered under the ashes that it will not appear,
and men will think that there is no fire there ; but as soon as
there is any meet and apt matter, as wood, powder, or brimstone
applied, then it will manifest itself and burst forth in a flame.
Even so, albeit when men feel not their foul lusts and affections,
they seem to themselves to be holy : yet speak to them of the law
of God, forbidding and discharging such and such things to be
done, then they shall find the passions of sin, which appeared be-
fore to be dead within them, to begin to live, yea, to rage in the
soul, and to bring forth fruits unto death, as Paul saith in his
Epistle to the Romans, the seventh chapter and fifth verse. And
then when these passions break out, happy is he that hath some
part of the spirit of regeneration to repress them, and strive
against them in some measure. For, naturally, there is nothing in
1 “Bird, burd, offspring. This term seems to be generally used in a bad sense, as
witch-burd.”—Dr Jamieson, s. v. This seems to be an attempt of the editors to An-
glicize the Scottish expression, “Tod's birds,” (or “bairns,”) used by Robert Bruce,
(p. 354, Wodrow Edition,) and to which Dr Jamieson refers.
520 THE SIXTEENTH SERMON,
us to gainstand them, but wholly with all our force, and with
greediness we will accomplish them; yea, the devil sitteth betwixt
the shoulders, yea, in the very heart of man, and carrieth him
here and there to accomplish all sort of mischief in all kind of
filthiness, and shall never let him stay till he bring him to destruc-
tion. There is no power in man to resist, and, therefore, sin is
said to reign, and to have a kingdom within us; and except the
Spirit of Christ come, and in mercy either hold down, or else mor-
tify and slay that foul corruption, it shall slay us at the last.
Ye see, then, how deceitful it is, and how easily men are de-
ceived, whilst this corruption lurketh within and uttereth not it-
self.
But, brethren, more dangerous is the deceit thereof when it
bursteth out. We think that man to be in a miserable estate who
is raging in this bodily pest, and yet is so blinded and senseless
that he is not aware of the sickness till he die in the same. If he
were sensible of the disease, he were in a better estate and condi-
tion. And so is the estate and condition of man naturally, when
this corruption beginneth to utter itself; for ye see some raging
in murder with pleasure, and washing their hands in innocent
blood with greediness, and some committing adultery without
any remorse, yea, boasting and vaunting of it among their com-
panions; others, abusing the benefits of God through intemper-
ance in drunkenness, without any grief of conscience; and others,
delighting to oppress and spoil with violence such as they may
overcome ; and, in the meantime, they have no grief, prick, nor
trouble in their conscience for such doing. Are not such men
miserably deceived, who, when they are going to judgment and
wrath, rejoice ; yea, when they are posting to destruction, take
their pastime; when they are running to condemnation, laugh; and
who, when they are most miserable, think themselves most happy?
And this is the estate of many, and chiefly of the great men in
this country. They rejoice and boast of their sins, and they
think themselves in a good and happy estate, because they find
no remorse nor grief in their consciences,
ON JOHN III. 521
I shall use a homely similitude to declare this matter. A man
will have a worm in his finger, or tooth; it will keep itself quiet,
and cease from gnawing for a season, and he will think he is whole
enough, but take a little vinegar, or some such like piercing and
sharp water, then she will begin to gnaw, and then the silly man
will complain that he was beguiled, when he thought he was well
enough. Even so it is with the conscience of man; for it lieth in
the soul of man lurking, as a worm lieth in the flesh, and some-
times it gnaweth and sometimes it lieth still, and letteth the mur-
derer, the adulterer, the oppressor, go forward in murder, adultery,
oppression, and other most abominable sins, without any accusa-
tion, grief, remorse, or fear of the law of God, and threatening of
the curses thereof. I shall tell you more than that. Sometimes
the conscience of a miserable malefactor will be so senseless, that
it will nowise be moved by the preaching. A murderer will be
sitting before the minister; a vile, filthy adulterer will be sitting
there, devising how to accomplish their abominable lusts, in the
meantime that the minister will be threatening judgment against
their wickedness. They will not be moved with the threatenings,
but will disdain and scorn them in their hearts, and will say, “This
fellow doeth nothing but prate and rail what he pleaseth ; and,
after preaching, will go out merrily to his dinner, and there curse
and swear and blaspheme God’s name, and thereafter go to his
bed as a beast, or a senseless sow.”
But I admonish thee, O miserable wretch, in despite of thy
teeth, thy conscience shall not sleep always. The conscience of
all flesh shall be wakened one day, either to their weal or to their
wo; and that law which so securely men contemn many a time,
shall be so powerful to waken the consciences, and to torment
them, that by no means nor policy shall they be able to pacify
them again. Their drinking, their hawking, their hunting, their
carding, their dicing, and other pastimes, will not then bring
comfort or true peace to the soul; then that man who thought
himself most happy when he was enjoying the pleasures of sin,
1 She-the worm.
522 TIII, SIXTEENTH SERMON,
shall think himself the most miserable wretch that ever the earth
bare.
Brethren, the law that was given, and threatening thereof is
wondrous terrible; and for as little as many men account of it,
yet either one time or other it shall be effectual to stir up and to
waken the consciences of men; I except no man. And if the
conscience sleep still on in this life, till death overtake men, as it
doeth in many, yet it shall be so wakened after this life in hell,
that it shall never get leave to sleep again—it shall so gnaw upon
the soul, that it shall never get rest. And in that great day when
that righteous judge shall appear, the law shall be most forcible to
raise in the soul dolor, grief, and anguish for ever, which is impos-
sible for any flesh to overcome, expel, and put away; yea, it is as
impossible as it is to overcome the majesty of God his own self.
For as the gospel is the power of God to salvation, to every one
that believeth; so the law is the power of God, to raise up dolor,
terror, and anguish in the souls of impenitent sinners, and at last
to bring them unto condemnation. Therefore, happy is that man,
who, in the time of grace, when the gospel is crying unto every
weary and laden soul to come to Jesus, and promising to ease and
disburden all that come unto him, findeth his conscience wakened
in mercy; for now Jesus Christ, by his servants, is" going through
the world, offering to cure all sorts of diseases, yea, even these
that are most incurable. And miserable is that man who sleepeth
on till death overtake him, for then the time of grace is past; re-
pentance then will be too late, it will not avail; remission of sins
then cannot be obtained. The voice of the law shall ever sound,
“Cursed art thou, miserable wretch, for ever.” The comfortable
voice of the gospel crying, “Come all ye weary and laden,” shall
never be heard any more. Suffer, therefore, yourselves to be lanced
and wounded in time, that ye may be compelled to come to Jesus;
and the Lord waken the conscience of these bloody murderers,
adulterers, and oppressors in time, that they may see where away
they are going, and at last may return to God
1 Original, in, an evident misprint.
ON J () I IN III. 523
Now, hitherto we have handled this natural corruption and this
noble' flesh which men glory so much into. Now, let us speak
something of that natural birth, “That which is born of the flesh,
is flesh.” And what can corruption breed but corruption ? What
can a leprous man bring out but a leprous child 2 Who can bring
a clean thing out of filthiness 2 No, not one, (Job, chap. xiv.
ver. 4.) For why, brethren P. In this natural generation, as the
parent naturally communicateth nature, and his own substance ;
so, look what venom, vileness, and detestableness is in his nature,
he giveth and communicateth it all to his children”.
Men glory commonly much of these things which they get
through their parents: they will say, I have gotten great heritages,
much honour, and great riches by my father. But I say, that no
man ever got so surely these things through their parents, as they
get through them and their birth a poison and pest with their
flesh, whereby they are made the children of wrath, and shall get
hell for their inheritance.
Brethren, happy is the man that can consider this natural un-
cleanness, and is touched in conscience with the pollution which
he giveth to his children, and striveth to have it purged; for in
so doing, he both acquireth a good conscience to himself, and
giveth his children a better heritage than if he left him all the
heirships of the world.
When thou hast begotten thy child, and gathered goods and
riches together, and acquired great possessions unto him, then, if
thou takest no care of the purging of that corruption which he hath
contracted from thy loins, that same pest shall be laid to thy charge
in that great day.
Therefore, now having spoken something of the flesh and the
generation thereof, let us now speak shortly of the Spirit and his
generation. What is meant by the Spirit 2 This Spirit is the
Spirit of the Lord Jesus; this Spirit is the Spirit of regeneration,
who reneweth men and women, and, of old and sinful creatures
1 This may be irony. But our author does not imply this figure, and noble is pro-
bably a misprint for vile, or some such word. 2 See pp. 173, &c.
524 THE SIXTEENTH SERMON,
maketh them new and holy again; for as soon as a sinful man be-
ginneth to lay hold on the Lord Jesus, by a true and lively faith,
so soon findeth he power and grace convoyed by his Spirit into
his soul to renew it.
Then to speak of Christ, because this Spirit is his Spirit. As
Jesus Christ is our elder brother, so is he also our Father. He is
called the Father of eternity, (Esay ix. 6;) he is called the second
Adam, (Rom. v. 14.) He is our spiritual Father, who begetteth us
by his Holy Spirit. Now, compare the natural parent with this
spiritual parent. Our natural parent is not only culpable and
guilty of that first defection, but also of innumerable sins and
transgressions following thereupon ; our spiritual parent, Christ,
is culpable of no sin at all, but is full of all kind of obedience;
for he was obedient to the Father to the death, even to the death
of the cross. Our natural parent is altogether naturally corrupt,
—yea, a lump of sin, -but Christ, our spiritual parent, is not
only clean, in nature, from all spot of sin, and perfectly holy, as
he is man, but also he is holiness itself, because he is the Son
of God from all eternity; and what can be cleaner than cleanness
itself?
Now to come to their generation. The natural parent begetteth
by the force of nature: there is a force in nature to beget. Our
spiritual parent, Jesus, is far more able to beget by the power of
his Spirit, who is the author of nature. The natural parent, by the
force of nature, will beget flesh—a corrupt mass, a sinful creature,
yea, the image of the devil. This will he give to his child. But
our heavenly parent, the Lord Jesus, by his Spirit begetteth the
Spirit, that is, a spiritual man, a holy and clean man, who hath
no delight nor pleasure in sin; for Saint John saith, in his First
Epistle, chap. iii. verse 9, “He that is born of God sinneth not;”
that is, sinneth not as the worldlings do, with pleasure and delight
—sin reigneth not in him. Why sinneth he not ? “Because,”
saith he, “the seed of God remaineth in him;” that is, his Spirit,
by whom, as a lively seed, we are begotten and made new crea-
tures. And what saith he more ? He saith, such a man “cannot
ON JOHN III. 525
sin,” that is, he cannot sin as the natural and unregenerate man
sinneth; he cannot follow the course of this world, and wallow in
the puddle of sin as they do. And why can he not sin so? “Be-
cause,” saith he, “he is born of God.” It is a marvellous force
that the Spirit of God hath; he maketh a man that he cannot sin;
all the world will not make him to sin. The natural man can do
nothing but sin; all his actions are sins; but he that is born of
God cannot sin.
Now this generation of the Spirit is called Regeneration, which
word, albeit it be commonly in many men's mouths, yet few un-
derstand what it meaneth. Therefore we shall set down the nature
and definition thereof, and touch some particular circumstances
which may serve for the better understanding thereof. Then,
what is regeneration ? It is an alteration and changing of the
whole nature of man, accomplished and performed by the power-
ful operation of the Holy Spirit. When I call regeneration a
changing of nature, I mean not that there should be any change
of the substance and essence itself, either of the soul or of the
body, as if that, by regeneration, the old substance were quite
abolished, and a new substance brought forth, but I mean that
there is a change and alteration of the qualities which are in the
substance.
I will let you see this in the powers and faculties of the soul, as
in the mind and reason, in the will, and in the affections. In the
mind and reason there must be a change of the wisdom of the flesh
into the wisdom of God. Nothing is a greater enemy to God and
his glory, to thyself and thy Salvation, than the wisdom of the flesh;
and therefore, if thou wouldest be saved, this wisdom must be
mortified, and thou must become “a fool, that thou mayest be
wise,” as ye may read in the First Epistle of Saint Paul to the
Corinthians, the 3d chapter and the 18th verse. Instead of this
wisdom, must be poured into the mind the wisdom of God. In
the will and affections there must be a change of the frowardness
and wicked inclination into holiness and a good inclination.
Whereas, before, there was nothing in them but frowardness,
526 TIIE SIXTEENTH SERMON,
—Lord, that man is a froward creature when God commandeth
him to go one way, he will go the plain contrary, that must be
mortified and slain; and instead of it there must be wrought in
the heart a propension and willingness, in some measure, to pursue
and to do that which the Lord commandeth, and hath pleasure into.
Now, howbeit I call regeneration a change only of the qualities,
yet it is not so light a matter, and so easily performed, as men
would think: for it is a greater work to renew man than to create
him. In the beginning God created all things with his word, but
before man could be renewed, the Son of God behoved to become
the son of man, and suffer shame and ignominy, and die an ac-
cursed death, “even the death of the cross.”
It is an easy thing for thee to say, “I must be changed ere ever
I see heaven;” but, brethren, it is not so soon done. It is the most
difficult thing under the sun, to get the heart of a creature chang-
ed. And they who have found this work sensibly to have been
begun in them, have found how hard it is by their own experience.
For I tell thee, that before thou be renewed, thou must deny thine
own self; Christ saith, thou must renounce thyself, and take
up thy cross daily, and follow him, (Luke, chap. ix. ver. 23.) If
the Lord had only bidden us to renounce our friends, our father,
our mother, our riches, our lands, and such other things as are
without us, we would have thought it a matter hard enough, and
scarcely would we have been induced to give obedience, as ye see
in the young man in the gospel, (Matt. xix. 16.) Dut when the
Lord commandeth us to renounce ourselves, even that thing that
is most excellent—that which is most wise, this reason itself, the
wisdom of the flesh—that furnisheth so many reasons to dissuade
men either to profess or follow Christ. What can be more hard P
But suppone reason were convinced, and the mouth thereof closed
that it could get no shift to answer, yet thinkest thou so to be quit
of thyself? No, the will and the affections will stand obstinately
against the judgment of the mind, and follow out, and pursue that
which the mind discerneth to be evil.
* That refers to reason, the wisdom of the flesh.
ON JOHIN III. 527
So thou mayest casily see, that there is nothing more hard than
to get this regeneration. Yea, thou mayest see that is a thing
altogether impossible, except that almighty Spirit of God be
present and work it effectually in the soul. All the kings of the
earth, with all their weapons and engines of war, cannot be
able to do it—no, all the angels in heaven are not able to
accomplish this work: “ The weapons of our warfare,” saith
Paul, “are not carnal, but mighty through God, to cast down
strongholds, casting down imaginations, and every high thing that
is exalted against the knowledge of God and bringing into capti-
vity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” (2 Corinth. x. 4, 5.)
There is no power in heaven or earth but only the Spirit of God
that is able to renew one creature. And this power is granted to
this our ministry, the preaching of the Evangel. Let great men,
let worldly men esteem of it as they please, God hath ordained
this ministry to minister this wonderful power whereby the souls
of men shall be regenerate.
Further thou must understand, that this regeneration is not per-
fected in an instant, but in process of time. It must continue all
the days of thy life. So long as thou livest, albeit thou livest a
thousand years, this old man will not be perfectly and altogether
mortified and slain, till the hour of death. Thou must all the days
of thy lifetime be groaning under the burden of sin, subject to
crosses and troubles, away with lightheaded sinners, who say, they
would always have their hearts up ! sadness becometh a sinner
well—and thou must strive to find the new man to be renewed de-
gree by degree, piece and piece, even till at last death be swallowed
up of life, and mortality of immortality. And if thou wouldest
have this work to go forward in thee, then set evermore Jesus thy
Lord and thine head before the eyes of thy soul. Look upon him
with the eyes of faith. For it is only his presence and the sight of his
glory, that worketh this marvellous change. For there is a great
odds between the sight of his glory, and the sight of the glory of
worldly princes. For the sight of their glory will not change thee,
nor make thee glorious, but vanisheth away in a moment; but
528 THE SIXTEENTH SERMON,
the sight of the glory of Jesus shall change thee, and make thee
glorious, whensoever thou beholdest him, either by faith in this
world, or else face to face in the kingdom of glory. For when thou
beholdest him with the eyes of faith here, thou shalt be changed, ac-
cording to the measure of thy faith—and because thy faith is imper-
fect, thy change here must be imperfect. But when thou shalt see
him face to face, and behold him as he is, then shalt thou be like
unto him in glory—thy change shall be perfect. His presence
shall be effectual to change thy vile body, and to fashion it like
unto his own glorious body. When thou beholdest his glory, thou
shalt be changed into the same glory.
Therefore, ye see what need we have to find this regeneration
begun in us here, and to find a continual progress therein all the
days of our life, that so we may be assured that the Lord shall
crown his work in us with glory in Jesus.
And now to end. Then, surely ye see what corruption, mis-
chief and venom, every man, without exception, communicateth
unto his children, by natural generation. Therefore, Brethren,
this is mine exhortation to all, both to great and small,—I except
none, from the king to the beggar—Strive, as ye are instruments
of generation, so to be instruments of regeneration, that your
children may be taken out of nature, and planted in grace, and so
be made members of the mystical body of Jesus Christ. Strive
to bring them up in the knowledge of Christ, that so ye may be
free of that heavy judgment which remaineth for all such as ne-
glect this duty towards their children, and that ye may see God's
blessing upon your children here, and may have hope of that eter-
nal life and glory hereafter, which the Lord hath promised to his
own in Christ Jesus. To whom, with the Father, and the Holy
Spirit, three persons and one God, be all honour, glory, praise, and
dominion, both now and for evermore. So be it.
THE SEVENTEENTH SERMON.
1 TIMOTHY, CHAP. I.
12. Therefore, I thank him, who hath made me strong, that is, Christ
Jesus our Lord: For he counted me faithful, and put me in his ser-
vice :
13. When before, I was a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and an oppressor.
But I was received to mercy; for I did it ignorantly through unbe-
lief.
14. But the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and
love, which is in Christ Jesus.
IN this text—beloved Brethren in Jesus Christ—there is set down
to us a notable example of thankfulness to God, in the person of
the Apostle Paul, for that great and incomparable mercy which
the Lord bestowed upon him, not only in forgiving him his
gross and manifold sins, but also for setting of him in his service,
and for the committing to him the message of reconciliation, and
making him an Apostle to preach repentance and remission of
sins to others. As the mercies which he found were wondrous
great, so is he wondrous careful always to testify his thankfulness
to God. And to the end the more cheerfully he may praise and
thank God, he considereth and setteth down by degrees and in
order his unworthiness, and the evil deeds that he did, notwith-
standing whereof, the Lord extended his mercy most abundantly
towards him.
To come to the words. He saith, “Therefore, I thank him who
hath made me strong, that is, Christ Jesus our Lord.” These
2 L
530 THE SEVENTEENTH SERMON,
words depend upon the verse immediately going before. He said
before that the glorious evangell of Jesus Christ was concredit to
him, for the which cause he bursteth forth in thanksgiving, and he
saith, “Therefore I will be thankful to him, who hath concredited it
unto me.” -
Then ye see, his thankfulness ariseth on two considerations :
First, upon the consideration of the excellency of the Evangel of
Jesus Christ: the gospel is glorious in itself, and it is come down
from the blessed God. Next, upon the consideration of his own
unworthiness: look how worthy the gospel was, as unworthy was
he. Then considering that so worthy a thing was given unto him,
and that he himself was so unworthy, he knoweth not what thanks
to give, he cannot devise what manner of way to testify his thank-
fulness. If once we could see what God were, how blessed that
inviolable Majesty were, and what the evangell is, how glorious,
how lively, and how powerful in operation, and then what our-
selves are, how unworthy we are, now, Lord, what would we ac-
count of Jesus Christ P. This heart that now is bound up, would
then be loosed to thankfulness. But we see not what God is, and
we have not found the glory and power of the gospel. Look what
great commendation this Apostle giveth to the gospel, (2 Corinth.
iii. 6.) When he compareth the law with the gospel, and calleth
the gospel the ministry of the Spirit, the ministry of righteousness,
the ministry of life. Then again, we see not what ourselves are,
how vile, how filthy and unclean we are. We see not that mystery
of sin that is in us, and therefore we account so little of the gospel,
and are so little moved when the Lord threateneth the away-taking
of it. And to the end men may know how they ought to esteem
of this ministry and of this gospel committed unto them, which
now the world so much contemneth and disdaineth, we shall speak
a little of the dignity and excellency thereof. To have the gospel
of Jesus Christ committed to a man’s charge is no small thing.
No, there is no flesh worthy of such dignity and honour. No, not
the angels in heaven, let be silly mortal creatures. Is the creature
worthy to dispose the treasures of salvation ? Is a man worthy to
ON 1 TIMOTHY I. 531
reconcile God and the world? Is any man worthy to be an in-
strument to bring remission of sins, peace of conscience, and joy in
the Holy Ghost to the soul of man? Is any worthy to bear wit-
ness to the soul of man, that life everlasting appertaineth unto him,
and is laid up for him in the heavens 2 And this moved the
Apostle to cry out, when he considered this, “who can be found
meet for these things?” (2 Cor. ii. 16.) And so, if we knew all that
is contained in the gospel, we would say, that the angels them-
selves are not worthy to bear such a message, to dispense the se-
cret and hidden things of God, to confirm forgiveness of sins, to
put poor sinners out of doubt, that the Lord loveth them, and
taketh them for his children; and last, that he will crown them
with salvation, and everlasting life. And the consideration of this
should move them whom the Lord hath set in his service, to follow
the example of the Apostle Paul, and day and night to be thank-
ful unto God, who chooseth such frail and poor creatures to such
a high, excellent, and glorious office, as to offer salvation to them
who before were condemned and castaways. Next, this considera-
tion should move men faithfully and carefully to execute that
charge which is committed unto them, as also to pray the Lord
earnestly, that he would bless them with graces and strength ac-
cording to the weightiness of the calling, that they may be found
faithful in that great day. For man of himself cannot do so much
as to think a good thought (2 Cor. chap. iii. verse 5), let be to
have such graces by nature as to furnish such a high and glorious
a calling. And as the pastors have their duty to learn here, so
the people also may and should make their use of it; that is, when
they come to hear the word of God, to the end that the gospel
and the promises of mercy may profit and edify them, they should
be resolved in themselves, that it is God that sendeth men unto
them, and maketh them meet who were unmeet. And in this
place the Apostle's mind is not only to humble preachers to ac-
knowledge the grace bestowed upon them, but also to resolve all
men that he that preacheth is sent from God. Otherwise, the
preaching of the gospel will never profit them.
2 L 2
532 THE SEVENTEENTH SERMON,
And last, this serveth to reprove the vain thoughts and ungodly
speeches of the common multitude; for they think this ministry
to be but a base and contemptible calling, and say, who should be
placed into it? Who but such fools and unworthy bodies as can-
not be meet for another calling 2 Who but kinless' bodies? But
if a gentleman, an esquire's son, a lord’s brother, &c., take on this
calling, he is disgraced and abased therewith. But O unworthy
wretch | No emperor, no monarch, nor no flesh whatsoever, is wor-
thy of so great a calling; no, the angels in heaven honour not so
much the commission as the commission honoureth them. If thou
continuest in counting basely of it to the end, thou shalt find it at
the last to be the most glorious thing that ever was ; but it shall
be to thy confusion and destruction.
Now I go forward. He cometh to a reason of his thankfulness;
“who hath strengthened me,” saith he ; that is, of a weak body full
of imperfection, blots and sins, which might have hindered me from
that calling, he made me strong and able. So the Apostle com-
pareth his estate by nature, with that estate which he found of
grace; and when he was in nature, he saith he was weak; and,
under the word of weakness he comprehendeth his blasphemy, per-
secution and oppression, which he setteth down hereafter. And
hereby we may sce, that men will never know the grace of God
well, nor account worthily of it, until they consider what men are
when God leaveth them to their own estate; and when men get a
sight either of themselves or of others, they will see that there is
no goodness, nothing worthy of praise, but much mischief and
misery both in themselves and in others. And when men once see
and know this, then it will be an easy thing to them to judge of
the grace of God, which supplieth and remedieth all wants and
vices.
When Paul looked to himself, he saw no goodness, and that, that
Kinless, sine gente, who have no kin to boast of Hence the double force of the
sncer of the Scottish judge at the praise bestowed on the impartiality shown by the
IEnglishmen, who, in part, administered justice in Scotland, under the Protectorate,
“Small thanks to them—kinless loons.”
ON 1 TIMOTHY I. 53.3
had appearance of goodness, was nothing but evanishing smoke;
and, therefore, confesseth that whatsoever was in him by nature
was corrected, and so he giveth the praise of all to God.
Again, I see that none will account of Jesus Christ and his gos-
pel, but they who find a power and strength in the gospel. There
is a power in the gospel which all the faithful find ; for by the gos-
pel, he that was weak to any good deed is made strong ; by the
gospel, he that was dead is quickened and beginneth to live. This
constrained the Apostle Paul to give such glorious and powerful
styles to the gospel. He calleth it “the power of God to life and
salvation, (Rom. i. 16,) he calleth it “lively and mighty in ope-
ration,” (Heb. iv. 12.) The children of God find it powerful “to
overthrow and cast down the imaginations of man and every strong-
hold which is raised up against Jesus.” And whosoever findeth
this, of necessity they must be thankful. Alas ! that there should
be such a power and strength in the gospel, and that we should
find so little of it; for if we found it, it could not be possible but
we would testify and practise by mouth and hand, by word and
action, our thankfulness otherwise than we do.
Now we come to the next argument which moved the Apostle to
be thankful; he saith, that “our Lord Jesus Christ counted him
faithful, and set him in his service.” He meaneth not here that the
Lord foresaw that there would be some worthiness, goodness and
faithfulness into him, and therefore employed him, as vain and
ignorant men do affirm; for are not all corrupt P Are not all child-
ren of wrath and subject to Satan P What goodness then can God
see in any of us, except he put it into us? And what can move
him to make a choice of one more than another, but only his good
pleasure and free-liking? But this he saith, to meet and stop the
mouths of wicked and malicious men, who went about to disgrace
his person and office, and to make his preaching fruitless—the
world is now full of such persons. As if he had said, “I let men re-
proach me, disdain me, set themselves against me, yet this is suffi-
cient for me, that Jesus Christ who hath all authority, and who is
* 2 Cor. x. 4.
534 THE SEVENTEENTH SERMON,
Supreme judge, who only can absolve and condemn, and from whose
sentence none can appeal, is on my side, and hath declared, by
putting me into his service, and by calling me immediately with
his own mouth, that he would use my ministry; and declared, that
where I was unfaithful before, he accounted me faithful—he ac-
counted more of me then I was worthy of.”
So by this the Apostle importeth a double grace which he got
from Christ; first, that whereas he was unfaithful, the Lord gave
him faith, and so accounted him faithful; next, that he had mani-
fested, by calling him to be an Apostle, that he had a liking that
he should be in his service.
Then here ye see, that as before, he thanked God for the power
and strength that he found, so here he thanketh God for that ex-
ceeding mercy uttered in forgiving him his sins, and in calling
him to be an Apostle.
Hence we perceive, brethren, that no man will ever account of
Jesus Christ, except he first find that Christ hath accounted of him;
yea, except he find that Christ hath accounted of him that which
he is not ; whereas he is unfaithful, he must find that Jesus count-
eth him faithful; whereas he is unjust, he must find that Christ
counted him just. Ye see by common experience, that when
one man loveth another exceedingly, he will account more of him
than he is to be counted of indeed, for love over-seeth and hideth
many infirmities and offences. Was there ever such a love as
Christ Jesus carried unto us, unworthy wretches P For when we
were vile and wretched sinners, ever offending the majesty of God,
and procuring his wrath, the Lord Jesus, in the multitude of his
mercies and infinite deepness of his love, covered our sins and hid
our iniquities that they should not be seen by God.
So when the Lord Jesus hath once extended the mantle of his
mercy and compassion upon his chosen children, then albeit they
were replenished with never so many vile and gross sins, yet the
Lord will not lay them to their charge, but in Jesus he will count
them just, righteous and innocent ; so he will account more of them
than they are worthy of For except that every one of us be per-
ON 1 TIMOTHY I. 535,
suaded of this, that we are greater men in the account of Jesus
Christ than we are in ourselves, we shall perish in our sins for
CVOI’.
The Pope, and that crew of his shameless ones, scorn this doc-
trine of the Imputation of the righteousness of Jesus. They will
have men to be justified by their inherent righteousness in God's
presence; but I denounce, in the name of the great God, that if
they go on, if they lean to their own righteousness, and if they find
not the righteousness of Jesus to be imputed unto them, they shall
never taste of mercy.
But how knoweth the Apostle that the Lord accounteth so
much of him 2 The last words of the verse declareth ; “He put
me into his service;” therefore I know that he hath accounted
more of me than I am. Wouldest thou know that the Lord hath
accounted more of thee than thou art 2 hath the Lord Jesus put
thee into his service P then he accounted of thee. Indeed, I grant
that there are many who are called to offices, both in Church and
policy, who cannot, nor may not say that, therefore, the Lord
hath counted them faithful; for there are many who are not sent
of God, but who run unsent, and are thrust out by their own cor-
rupt affections—as by ambition, by vainglory, by desire of prefer-
ment, by covetousness. Oftentimes ye see that many, who have
the place and name of pastors, set themselves to trouble the estate
of the Church, and to give offences unto the weak ones, to speak
nothing of their negligence in that calling. And such like," in the
seat of justice, ye will see men without regard of God, conscience,
nature, and common honesty, to give out wicked judgment, and
maintain manifest heinous crimes, and to stand directly in contrary
terms with the majesty of God, countermanding where he hath
commanded.
Therefore, such persons cannot allege that the Lord hath
counted them faithful, and men cannot say that they are set into
these offices by God’s hand, but, as it were, by Satan. Therefore,
to the end that thou mayest know whether the Lord counteth
l i. e. And in a similar mammer.
536 THE SEVENTEENTH SERMON,
thee faithful or not, look and see that thou have these signs and
testimonies, which may bear witness that the Lord hath called
thee. It is true, men now-a-days cannot have such a persuasion
as Paul had, for he was called immediately by the mouth of Jesus
Christ from heaven, and therefore he might speak confidently;
but it is as true there are none whom the Lord calleth but they
have some signs thereof. Look, therefore, if thou have an earnest
desire to glorify the Lord in the riches of his mercy, to propagate
the kingdom of Jesus, to draw men from darkness to light, from
misery to felicity, from death to life, from hell to heaven; look if
thou hast grace, in some measure, for such a calling; look if the
Lord accompanieth thy ministry with evidence and demonstration
of the Spirit, and by thy preaching hath acquired subjects to his
kingdom; look if thou do the work of the Lord cheerfully. If
thou have these tokens thou mayest be assured in thy conscience,
and other men also may be persuaded that thou runnest not unsent;
but if thou hast not these tokens, then boast not of this, that thou
art in a calling. And, to speak more generally to all them who
are called Christians. Wouldest thou know, in what estate and
calling soever thou art into, whether private or public, whether
the Lord account more of thee than thou art worthy P whether
he accounteth thee faithful or not ? Look to the marks, signs, and
tokens of a true Christian,—if thou find them in thee,—as, namely,
whether thou hast a pleasure in body and soul, through infirmity,
to serve the Lord, to be exercised in the means of grace, in preach-
ing, prayers, reading, conference, &c.; look if thou have a pleasure
to approve thyself in all things to thy Lord and Master; look if
thou have a care to further others in the course of Christianity
and way of repentance. Then, if thou hast these tokens, thou
mayest rejoice. --
Then he goeth forward; and he cannot sufficiently set out that
mercy which he found, he knoweth not how nor in what terms to
utter and proclaim it. If we could find that mercy of Jesus, we
would see that the heart would never satisfy itself with thinking
of it, or the mouth with speaking of it. And to the intent that he
ON 1 TIMOTHY I. 537
may magnify the greatness and the riches of the mercy of the
Lord, he confesseth and setteth down, although to his own shame,
his former sinful life and behaviour in sundry degrees: “Whereas
before,” saith he, “I was a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and an
oppressor.” Look if he thought much of himself; he was one of
the cruellest persecutors that ever was in the Church ; he was in
a rage against Christ.
Behold, Brethren, Paul is not ashamed to paint out himself in
his own colours, and, particularly, to confess his former evil deeds,
and to registrate them to his own shame to the world’s end.
Yea, ye shall see in sundry places where he speaketh of himself,
that he can never satisfy himself in aggreaging his own wicked-
ness. The sinner who hath found mercy will not regard to dis-
cover his sins to his own shame, and to tell all the world of them,
that he may glorify him who hath given him mercy: he will not
stand upon his reputation, but he will prefer God’s glory unto his
own account ; he will glorify the Lord with his own shame.
When David found mercy for his vile adultery and abominable
murther, he not only confesseth his sins to his own shame, but also
ascendeth to confess the natural corruption which he had from the
loins of his parents. •
The man that hath fallen into a notorious and vile sin and of.
fence, and yet for shame will not confess it that God may be glori-
fied, that soul hath never felt the mercy of God. And if thou
hadst felt that mercy of God, thine heart would be loosed and thy
mouth also, to glorify God by an humble confession.
Moreover, ye may perceive out of these words how and what
way the Apostle found the strength and power of the gospel. He
found a power in it, but not at the first instant; but ere ever he
felt the power of the Lord, he findeth himself to be weak, and ere
he felt the mercy of God, he findeth himself to be a miserable man.
Thou shalt never feel the power of God, except first thou feel thine
own weakness; and thou shalt never feel his mercy, except first
thou feel thy misery. And, therefore, the Lord Jesus many a
time, sundry ways crosseth his own in this life, to the end that
538 THE SEVENTEENTH SERMON,
they may know and feel their weakness and misery, and so go out
of themselves to find strength and mercy in Jesus Christ. Some-
times he will exercise his own with shame and reproach in the
world ; sometimes with heavy diseases and painful sicknesses;
sometimes with want of the outward comforts of this life; some-
times with trouble and terror in the conscience—and all to this
end, that they may know what they are without the Lord; how
weak, how frail, how abject and naughty they are; that so finding
themselves as nothing, they may be compelled to renounce them-
selves, and to seek to be found in Jesus. Yea, after the Lord hath
drawn them to him by crosses, the Lord useth all the days of their
lifetime to expone them to crosses, that every day, finding more
their wants, infirmities, and lack of comfort in themselves, they
may the more daily seek and strive to be found in Jesus, who
can supply all their wants, and furnish every thing that they stand
in need of.
It is true, indeed, many a time the Lord will not exercise his
own with crosses, but spare them and let them have liberty, and
give them in abundance the outward comforts of this life before
they be effectually called. Look to Paul. Before he knew Christ
he boasted much of his worldly prerogatives, of his kindred ; he
was a gentleman—he was in great account—by the law a Pharisee,
(Philip. iii. 5.) He knew not what the cross meant.
The like ye will find in many other of the saints of God. But
as soon as he calleth them effectually, he layeth the cross upon
them ; that seeing their weakness, and distrusting themselves,
they may learn to renounce themselves, and desire to find the
power and life of Jesus in them, which they will find effectual in
the cross in a wonderful manner. Look 2 Corinthians xii. 8, 9,
10 : the Lord layeth manifold crosses upon Paul; and when, with
tears, he prayeth that the Lord would take them away, he getteth
this answer, “My grace is sufficient for thee, for my power is
22
made perfect through thy weakness;” meaning that he will be glo-
rified, and make Paul to find strength in him when as he is weak
in himself. And never one is strong in Christ but when he feeleth
ON 1 TIMOTHY I. 539
himself weak. Therefore, he subjoineth, that he would rejoice
and take pleasure in his infirmities, that the power of Christ might
dwell in him. He saith, (2 Cor. iv. 10,) “Every where we bear
about in our body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of
Jesus might also be made manifest in our bodies,”—when the body
by crosses was dying, then he found the life of Christ. And no
soul shall find that life without it be dying. Therefore, if ever
thou wouldest find the power and life of Christ in thee, be careful
to feel thine own weakness and misery.
Yet mark the words. He saith, “notwithstanding of my sins, the
Lord had mercy upon me;” and if ye look to the speech, it im-
porteth a wondering that ever he should have found mercy, who
was such a great sinner. It is the greatest wonder that ever was,
that one sin is forgiven to a sinner, suppose it were but an evil
thought : and if thou sawest that great, inviolable, and infinite
majesty, and the greatness of thy sins, thou wouldst wonder that
ever thou gettest one sin forgiven thee, let be blasphemy and per-
secution forgiven thee, And wonder thou as thou wilt; all the
angels of heaven wonder that sinners should get mercy, and that
God loved the unworthy world so, that he would give his only son
to die that they should live for ever. And they wondered when
Adam and the fathers of old got mercy; but when Christ came
into the world to die for the sins of the world, they wondered far
more at that mercy, and with cheerful voice praised God for the
same, saying “Glory be to God in the high heavens, and peace on
earth, and towards men good will.” (Luke ii. 14.) Look also what
the Apostle saith to this purpose to the Ephesians (chap. iii. verse
10); it is their pleasure to pierce into that mystery, and to look
to that mercy; but miserable man, to whom it belongeth, commonly
wondereth not at it. But albeit the profane man when he is
sleeping in sin, and going on in an evil course, thinketh it but an
easy thing to get mercy ; and albeit he wonder not much when he
seeth another miserable sinner to get mercy, but account it a mat-
ter of sober" importance, yet—if it please the Lord once to waken
! Unexciting, small,
540 THE SEVENTEENTH SERMON,
his conscience, and make his sins to appear in their own colour,
how great, how vile, and how detestable they are, and what it is
to offend that infinite and inviolable majesty, that omnipotent
Jehovah who created all things, and to find the terrors and tor-
ments of that inevitable wrath and everlasting pain; and if the
Spirit of God leave him there to his own self, and help him not
forward—he would conclude that there were no mercy for him, and
he would marvel that ever a sinner should get mercy; for he would
see the justice of God as a wall of fire standing before God, hold-
ing off the sinner, that he press not to come near to God.' So
such persons would dite their own dittay,” and give out their own
doom against themselves. And except it please the Lord to send
his Holy Spirit—who searcheth all things, yea, the deepness of God
—out of his own bosom to a miserable sinner, thus exercised, to
convoy him through his justice through that wall of fire, and to let
him see and feel the mercy of God in the Lord Jesus, he would
never, nor durst never claim to his mercy. Only they who get
that Holy Spirit—who cometh out of that deepness—to convoy the
creature to that unsearchable deepness, (for albeit the deepness of
that mercy be infinite, yet the Spirit of God searcheth out that
deepness,) will acclaim and apprehend mercy; and then such per-
sons will marvel, that ever themselves, or any other should have
found such infinite mercy : and the Saints of God in the kingdom
of heaven shall ever be exercised in marvelling at the mercies of
God upon them.
It is true that many vain, wanton men, when they are going on
in sin, being drunken and bewitched with the pleasures of sin,
and mad in their damnable course, will promise mercy to them-
1 If this sentence does not belong to that unfinished class technically called &v2z4-
2.2992, it is, at the best, an awkward one, from which character all the mysteries of
punctuation can hardly rescue it. -
2 . e. Would write out the accusation against themselves. Dittay is not to be con-
founded with ditty, a song, which Johnson derives from the German dicht. The for-
mer, (probably from dictum,) is a term of Scottish law, and signifies a criminal charge,
or an indictment, as-“whereupon dittay or indictment is taken up.”—(Regiam Ma-
gistat, fol. 163.) It is not noticed by Jamieson, but will be found in a work of great
value and merit, the Imperial Dictionary, now in course of publication.
ON 1 TIMOTHY I. 541
selves, and will apply mercy to sin, to make sin more and more
sweet, as if it were not sweet enough before. But away with thee!
for mercy appertaineth not unto thee, but wrath and judgment, so
long as thou remainest in that estate. Thou art not in that estate
that thou mayest claim to his mercy; for only the man who hath
a sad, a contrite, and a broken soul, may acclaim to mercy, and
such a man, in greatest sadness for sin, shall have unspeakable joy.
Now after he hath wondered at the mercy of God, in the end
of the verse he setteth down a cause, not so much wherefore God
gave him mercy, as that God was so ready to give him mercy.
He saith that he “was an ignorant;” and that he proveth, “because
he wanted faith.” His ignorance deserved no mercy, but rather
made him culpable and guilty; for the Lord will not allow such
an excuse in that great day; but ignorance maketh the sin the
less. The sin that proceedeth from ignorance is not so great as the
sin that proceedeth from knowledge; for the servant who knoweth
not the master's will, and doeth it not, shall be striped with few
stripes; but the servant who knoweth the master's will, and doeth
it not, shall be striped with many stripes, (Luke xii. 47, 48.)
But, for the better clearing of this point, we must understand
that Paul meaneth not that every sin which is committed willingly
and wittingly, men knowing well enough that they are sinning,
shall not be forgiven; for in what case should we all be into then?
Do we not all, many a time, sin wittingly and willingly do not
our consciences challenge us in the very act? will we not do wrong
to our neighbour in his person or in his goods, or in his name and
account P Yes, no question; and we cannot justify ourselves in
our doings. If, therefore, they who offend God, even with open
eyes, were condemned without hope of mercy, alas ! in what case
would we be into ? He meaneth not then of all sins in general;
he meaneth not of the sins committed against the second table—
against our neighbours; but, by joining ignorance and misbelief
together, he sheweth that he meaneth of the resisting of the truth
of God, which is a far greater sin than theft, whoredom, or back-
biting; for they who resist the truth do as much as in them lieth
542 THE SEVENTEENTH SERMON,
to pluck God out of his seat, and to put out the remembrance of
his glorious majesty, that he reign no more. And they say in
effect, “Let me alone with God and I shall handle him well enough.
I shall bring him to nought; he shall not reign; I shall fight against
him.” Therefore Paul, speaking of such an accursed sin, saith, not
without cause, “I did it of ignorance;” as if he had said, “It is true,
to blaspheme God’s name, and to tread God’s word under feet,
and to persecute the saints of God, is a sin that surmounteth and
surpasseth all sins, and I am culpable of this sin; but, what 1 I did
it not wittingly, for I thought I served God when I was an enemy
to the gospel, because I wanted faith.” Indeed Paul was a
learned man, and brought up in all good literature, as we read in
the third chapter to the Philippians; as for the knowledge of the law,
and the tradition of the Pharisees, he surpassed the rest, (Gal. i.
14.) Yet, for all this, he saith he was ignorant, because he wanted
the knowledge of Christ. Suppose thou knowest all the world,
and yet if thou knowest not Jesus Christ, thou knowest nothing;
and though thou knowest all the laws in the world, all humanity
and philosophy, yet, if thou knowest not Christ, thou knowest
nothing. Now blessed is that soul that knoweth Christ, albeit he
knew no more," for in the knowledge of him standeth life everlasting.
Mark again. He saith, “because he was ignorant,” therefore
“he was a blasphemer and persecutor.” Ignorance is a dangerous
thing. They who are ignorant of Christ; they who have not faith
in him ; they who know not what a glorious personage he is,
what incomparable benefit he brought with him unto the world;
who have not found his mercies; who have not been sensible of the
forgiveness of their sins; who have not found the image of God
repaired in them; and they who have not found that peace of
conscience and joy in the Holy Ghost—they will persecute Christ,
and his gospel, and his Saints. It is a dangerous thing for the
saints of God to dwell among ignorants and unbelievers, for such
men are unreasonable—yea, they are atheists. The Apostle Paul
requesteth the Thessalonians to pray to God for him, that he may
1 She knows—and knows no more—her Bible true, &c. Cowper.
ON 1 TIMOTHY I. 543
be delivered from froward and unreasonable men; “for,” saith he,
“all men have not faith,” (2 Thessal. iii. 2.) This land is full of
atheists; and give them but a watchword, they would soon make
a massacre. And it is a marvel that the Church of God standeth
so long amongst them; for few is the number, and silly is the flock
of God that believeth, in comparison of them who remain in igno-
rance and infidelity. We should, therefore, pray to God daily, that
he would deliver his own saints from them, and that, by his power-
ful providence, he would restrain their malice and fury, and guard
his own on all sides. Further, think not that Paul allegeth his
ignorance, that thereby he may justify himself, as if it were with-
out fault and offence. For no man’s ignorance shall serve to be a
cloak to absolve him before God ; it will not serve a man to say,
“I thought not of it; I thought otherwise, I knew it not ;” but if
he get not mercy, he must die for his ignorance. But he allegeth
it, to let men see that it was not of malice and despite that he set
himself to fight against God, and therefore that the Lord was more
ready to forgive him.
Then, consider that the Lord taketh heed, and regardeth the
grounds and fountain of sin—wherefrom it proceedeth, and, ac-
cordingly, he is either more easy, or more hard to shew mercy.
There is a sin against Christ of ignorance, and such was the sin
of Paul; there is a sin against Christ of knowledge; this is a
higher degree, and this sin will hardlier get remission. This sin of
knowledge is of two sorts; for either it cometh of infirmity or else
of malice. If it come of infirmity, as fear of trouble, danger of
life, it may find mercy. Such was the sin of Peter, when at the
voice of an handmaid he denied his master Christ, for he knew in
his conscience that he said and did wrong; yet it proceeded of in-
firmity, for fear of his life. For as Bernard saith, “Petrus peccavit
contra veritatem, non contra caritatem,” for he loved him in his
heart whom he was denying with his mouth. And therefore he
found mercy, albeit his sin was higher than the sin of Paul was.
But if it come of malice and despite against God and the light of
his gospel, it getteth no mercy. That is, if a man come to this
544.' THE SEVENTEENTH SERMON,
point, that when he knoweth God's truth—albeit he be not moved
with infirmity, fear or danger—that he will say in his heart, “I know
that this doctrine is truth, it is the truth of God, yet I will go of
set purpose to fight against God; I will go clean against it; I will
do so much as in me lieth to bring it to nought;”—when a man
cometh thus far this man carrieth a mark about with him, whereby
he may account himself a condemned person. Such was the sin of
Judas, and of Julian the Apostate; for of very malice they sinned
against Jesus Christ and his gospel—therefore they got no mercy.
And well were it with many of this land, and namely these whom
the Lord hath promoved and preferred above others, who have sold
themselves to the Antichrist, that man of perdition,” either quietly
and craftily to undermine, or else openly, if occasion offer, to per-
secute the Church and saints of God; well, I say, were they, if
either they did it of ignorance, or of infirmity and weakness.
Now to come to an end. In the last verse he returns again to the
grace and mercy; “But the grace of our Lord superabounded so
much the more. My sin was great, but it reached above and sur-
passed my sin.” He wondered before of the mercy of God; but now,
finding unspeakable joy proceeding of this mercy, his heart is en-
larged and his tongue loosed with cheerfulness, to magnify his mercy.
“Where sin aboundeth,” saith the Apostle, “there grace super-
aboundeth,” (Rom. chap. v. ver. 20.) Go to thine own experi-
ence, and consider what motions thou hast found in using the
means of grace, sometimes at the hearing of the word, sometimes
at the holy sacraments, sometimes in prayer, and sometimes in me-
ditation; and I will let thee see that grace superaboundeth. Wilt
thou not feel when thy heart is very sad, when it is burthened with
exceeding grief and displeasure; when thou art sighing, sobbing
and groaning under the burthen of sin, and when thou art pouring
out tears abundantly before God because of thy sinful life and fool-
ish race which thou hast run ; will ye not find exceeding, yea, in-
comprehensible joy to arise out of that sadness at that same time,
which will swallow up all displeasure and sadness—such a joy, I
1 2 Thess. ii. 3.
ON 1 TIMOTHY I. 545
say, as the like whereof all worldly pleasures and comforts cannot
be able to afford 2 No question but if thou be the child of God,
sometimes thou wilt find this joy. Now from whence proceedeth
this joy but from the feeling of a superabundant mercy, forgiving
thee all thy sins? For as sadness riseth of sin for offending such a
loving God and merciful father; so the joy riseth of the assurance
of forgiveness of sin in his superabundant mercy; and if there were
not a superabundant mercy the joy would never swallow up the
sadness. So if there were no more to testify that the mercies of the
Lord superaboundeth but the unspeakable joy mixed with sadness,
it is as sure an argument as ever was in the world. Yea, and when
thou feelest this joy, wilt thou not be compelled sometimes to burst
out, and to say, “Lord thy mercies are superabundant, where sin
aboundeth there thy grace and mercy aboundeth more ?” So if thou
wouldest feel this surpassing joy, strive not so much by a general
knowledge and bare contemplation to know that the mercies of
God are infinite, and to speak of them that they are above all his
works, higher than the heavens, deeper than the sea, and broader
than the earth; but chiefly to find and feel them by experience in
thy own soul (for a bare knowledge and naked speaking without
feeling avails nothing)—and then thou shalt find such a joy as will
make thee contemn and disdain all joys that thou found before in
sin, or in these worldly courses, and it shall make thee to say, that
thou never knewest before what true and solid joy meant. And to
the intent thou mayest find this superabundant mercy, which is the
cause and fountain of this joy, strive to have sadness and bitter-
ness in thy Soul for the offending of so loving a God and merciful
father; for none is capable of this mercy but he who hath a con-
trite, a broken and bruised soul. The Lord, therefore, give us
grace to feel the burthen of sin, and to groan under it, that we may
taste of that “superabundant mercy,” and so may find that true
and solid joy, that passeth all understanding, in Jesus Christ. So
be it.
2 MI
THE EIGHTEENTH SERMON.
1 TIMOTHY, CHAP. I.
14. But the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and
love, which is in Christ Jesus.
15. This is a true saying, and by all means worthy to be received, that
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am
chief.
16. Notwithstanding, for this cause was I received to mercy, that Jesus
Christ should first shew on me all long-suffering, unto the ensample
of them, who shall in time to come believe in him unto eternal
life.
THE Apostle Paul—well-beloved Brethren in Christ—considering
that the Lord Jesus had shewed such mercy upon him as to con-
credit to him the glorious Evangel of the blessed God, immedi-
ately falleth out in a thanksgiving to Christ. There are two
causes in the proposition of the thanksgiving. The one is taken
from the power of Christ, wherewith he is made strong; for when
he was nothing the Lord Jesus made him strong. The other is
from the mercy of Christ when he was unfaithful,—how could a
blasphemer be faithful?—The Lord was so merciful, that he made
him faithful, and this he declareth, because he being before a per-
secutor, the Lord made him an ambassador of that same Evangel
which he persecuted. He leaveth not this mercy, but insisteth in
magnifying of it, in regard, that not only he was a preacher, but
ON 1 TIMOTHY I. 547
likewise he was a true Christian man. Ere ever he set down this
mercy, he telleth what he was before, and he saith, “When I
was a blasphemer, and not only that, but with torments compelled
the Christians to blaspheme, I was a persecutor, and yet further,
an oppressor.” He leaveth nothing untold of himself, and he think-
eth no shame to honour that God who had mercy upon him with
his own shame, and he registrateth his own misbehaviour to his
shame, that every one of the saints of God, to the end of the world,
may say, “Glory be to God, that hath shewed mercy on such a sin-
.” Then he wondereth and saith, “but he had mercy upon me;”
and therewith by the way he joineth a reason why the Lord shewed
TheI’
mercy so readily on him, because he did it not of malice or know-
ledge, but he was blinded—he did it of ignorance, he was destitute
of faith; but as soon as he got mercy, he changed his course. Yet
he leaveth not off, but entereth into a deeper consideration of this
grace, and he saith, “The grace of the Lord abounded exceed-
ingly, my sin abounded, but grace superabounded.” And these
words are from the sense of the heart; the heart being opened with
the sense of grace, openeth the mouth that it uttereth these words,
“The grace of Christ is superabundant;” for if the heart be filled
with the sense of grace and mercy, it will make the mouth to pro-
claim the mercy of God, and to extol it highly. The cause why
we cannot set out the mercy of God in his terms, is because in us
there is no feeling of mercy; therefore it is that we utter words
so slender and of so little valour, when we speak of that love and
that mercy as it were a thing of none importance. When he hath
told that the grace of the Lord superabounded, he addeth also
“ with faith and with love in Jesus Christ.” He declareth that
superabundant grace, by a wonderful mutation and change that was
made in him by the power of Jesus Christ, that of a blasphemer of
Christ he is made a believer, apprehending him by faith, of a per-
secutor and oppressor of the Saints of God, he was made a lover of
them. -
The sense of the mercy of God, and faith in Jesus Christ,
bringeth forth love in the heart. And whosoever hath assurance
2 M 2
548 THE EIGHTEENTH SERMON,
of mercy and true faith, his heart will be joined with Christ, and
he will have a great love towards him. Then for Christ's sake he
will love all his saints. There will not be a soul in the Church of
Christ but he will love him so entirely that he would give his life
for him, and as he will love him, so he will pity him. For he that
hath faith, will both love and pity men. He that wants pity and
careth not what becometh of the whole world, so he be well, hath
never found what was the mercy of God in his heart. Alas! how
few is the number of these faithful ones? how rare a thing is faith
in the hearts of men P what argueth this coldness in the hearts of
men, this want of love and pity in the multitude? Nothing but
this, that albeit mercy be preached, yet the multitude feeleth it not.
And if thou hadst all this world, and yet tasted not of that sweet-
ness of this mercy of God in Jesus Christ, thou knowest never
what joy, what comfort, what pleasure was.
Then, in the next words he openeth up the ground, as it were,
of that mercy that was shewed upon him, which is the general end
of the coming of Christ into this world. And from the general
he concludeth on this manner, “Christ Jesus is come into the
world to save sinners; and I am a sinner, therefore, he will save
me amongst the rest.” Before he come to the words of the propo-
sition, because it is a great and notable sentence, he useth a pre-
face; as the Lord Jesus in matters of importance used to say,
“Verily, verily, I say unto you;” so here the Apostle saith, “This
is a true saying, and by all means worthy to be received.” In this
preface he prepareth not only Timothy, but all that ever shall hear
this sentence, unto the end of the world; and he prepareth them,
not only to the attention of the ear, but he prepareth them unto
faith in the heart ; so that as soon as they should hear this sen-
tence, they should apply it with their hearts. Alas! why should
so worthy and excellent sentences as these are, pass away without
any attention or preparation on our part P. It is true, Brethren, we
should never come to the hearing of any part of the word without
preparation. We should not come to the holy congregation like
as many swine, without having any regard what we are doing, but
ON 1 TIMOTHY I. 549
we should come with preparation; and not only wait with an ear
prepared, but with a heart prepared; and when thou enterest into
the Church thou shouldest say, “The Lord prepare mine heart,
that I may receive some sponk” of grace.” So a preparation is re-
quisite in general to the hearing of the word. But yet the heart
of man would be better prepared for the hearing of such notable
sentences as this is, “ Christ is come into the world to save
sinners;” they require a more singular preparation. There is no
doubt he spake through the full assurance of faith, and that which
he spake, he assuredly believed, and therefore he spake of it.
When we speak of that grace, the heart should rise with an as-
surance. Look to the prophet David, with what assurance he
speaketh of it. “I believed,” saith he, “therefore did I speak.”
(Psal. cxvi. 10.) Look to the Apostles, with what faith and as-
surance they speak of it. “Because,” saith Paul, (2 Cor. iv. 13.)
“we have the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I be-
lieved, and therefore have I spoken, we also believe, and therefore
we speak.” So when thou hearest or speakest of this grace of the
Lord Jesus, seek to have this assurance in thy heart, and say,
“Lord give me thy grace in speaking and hearing of the benefit
of Christ, that I may speak and hear with assurance.”
And if ye take heed to the words of the preface, he riseth up in
commending of this sentence, that “Christ came into the world to
save sinners.” And he saith, not only, “this is a true saying,”
that we may assuredly believe; but likewise he saith, “and by all
means worthy to be received.” He welcometh (in a manner)
Christ Jesus coming into the world—he embraceth that salvation
that he brought with him. And would to God, whether we be
preachers or hearers, that we could attain to that measure of
grace, that so oft as we name the coming of Jesus Christ, that in
speaking of it our hearts may be moved to embrace him, and that
life and salvation which he hath purchased for us! So this pre-
face serveth to confirm our hearts, and deeply to imprint in them
the doctrine of the grace of Christ of remission of sins, of sal-
* Generally spunk, i.e. spark, or small fire.
550 THE EIGHTEENTH SERMON,
vation through him, &c. For by nature there is in every one
of us such a mistrusting and doubting thereof, that albeit God
would a thousand times offer it unto us; albeit Christ himself
would teach never so much unto us, yet are we ever still in doubt
and questioning in our own hearts, whether it be so or not.
Against all this mistrusting and reasoning of our own hearts, we
must be armed with this preface of the Apostle as with a buckler,
that “it is a true saying, and by all means worthy to be received.”
But to come to the saying itself, it reckoneth up the whole Evan-
gel; for what is the Evangel in few words? “The Lord Jesus,
the Son of God, is come into the world by his manifestation in
the flesh, and taking upon him our nature; and in it he hath
suffered the most shameful death of the cross for the sins of man,
and rising again from death hath passed up to glory, and all to
this end, for the Salvation of man.” There is the whole gospel.
Alas! if we took heed to these tidings, our hearts would not be
carried after so many vanities. The Apostle (1 Tim. iii. 16) calleth
this the mystery of godliness, and a great mystery, that God is
manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of the angels,
preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up
into glory. All this he setteth down here in a word, “Christ
Jesus came into the world;’ and he telleth us it was “to save sin-
ners,” that we who are sinners might have joy, and rejoice at his
coming; for we should never hear nor read such sentences but
with joy.
But the words would be weighed. He saith, “Christ came
into the world to save sinners.” What is this that he calleth
sinners? There are two sorts of sinners in the world. The
first are they who think they have no sin—they are so hardened
in their sin, they never got their hearts opened to see their own
sin and wretchedness, (for an indured sinner feeleth no sin ;)
but by the contrary they think themselves just. They are puffed
up with a conceit of their own righteousness; they think them-
selves whole and free from the disease of sin, and these are the
1 Induratus, hardened.
ON 1 TIMOTHY I. 551
greatest part of the world. An example we have in that proud
Pharisee, who would stand up and justify himself before God,
and say, “I thank thee, O God, that I am not a sinner as other
men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican,”
(Luke xviii. 11.) But it is not for the salvation of those men
that Christ came into the world. No, mercy belongeth not to
them; they will never taste of any mercy of God in Jesus Christ.
And therefore Christ saith, (Matt. ix. 12, 13,) “The whole need
not a physician,” that is, they who are whole and free of the
sickness of sin in their own conceit. “I am not come to call
the just,” that is, indured sinners who think themselves just, be-
cause they are touched with no sense of sim. And well had it
been for them if Christ had never come into the world, for they
want not only grace in him, but, by the contrary, by the contem-
ning of the grace that is offered, they heap on condemnation on
their own heads. There is another sort of sinners, who have a
true sense of sin, and groan under the burthen thereof, who are
sore grieved in their own consciences for it; and it is of these sin-
ners that the Apostle speaketh here, for Christ sheweth mercy
only on these sinners—he came into the world to save them only.
Therefore, he saith, (Matt. ix. 13,) “I come to call sinners to re-
pentance,” meaning these sinners who have their consciences
wakened with the sense of sin—these sinners only he inviteth to
come unto him to get grace and refreshment. “Come unto me,”
saith he, “all ye that are weary and laden, and I will refresh you,”
(Matt. xi. 28.) These sinners will get grace to hear the word,
and will get their minds illuminated with it, whereas indured sin-
ners, the more they hear the more are they blinded. And, there-
fore, Christ saith, (John ix. 39,) “I am come unto judgment into
this world, that they that see not may see”—to wit, the penitent
sinners—“ and that they that see,” that is, indured sinners, “may
be blinded;” and if thou be an indured sinner, thou canst not hear
the word with profit—thou canst not be enlightened thereby, But
albeit thou be a blasphemer, an adulterer, an harlot, and the great-
est sinner that is, if thou harden not thine heart at the hearing of
552 THE EIGHTEENTH SERMON,
the word of God, O how wonderfully will it work in thy soul! It
will bring thee to a sense of thy sin, it will make thee to be grieved
for thy sin, and to lament and mourn unfeignedly for it; it will
make thee to run and seek for grace and mercy in Christ, that thy
sin may be done away. An example of this ye have in David,
when he had committed adultery and murder. No sooner is the
word preached to him by Nathan, but as soon his heart is pierced
with the sense of his sin, he confesseth and acknowledgeth it, he
is sore grieved for it, he crieth for mercy in the Messias, to put
away his iniquities, as ye may see, (2 Sam. xii. 13, and Psal. li. 1.)
Such like ye see in Paul, who before was persecuting the Church—
as soon as he heareth the voice of Christ, his conscience is wakened,
he trembleth, he is astonied, he humbly entreateth for mercy, he
offereth service to the Lord, and saith, “Lord, what wilt thou
that I do?” (Acts ix. 6.) And it is only such persons as these,
who are of a contrite spirit, who tremble at the Lord’s words, that
do get mercy and salvation. Then, in a word, a humble and peni-
tent sinner, how great soever his sin be, he shall get salvation; so
there is nothing that hindereth thee from mercy and salvation, but
the maliciousness of thine own heart. It is not adultery, it is not
murder, it is not blasphemy or oppression that depriveth thee of
that salvation, but the hardness of thine heart that cannot repent.
If thou hast a contrite heart, and canst say, “Wo is me, that I have
offended so sweet and gracious a God,” thou shalt get mercy. It
is a heavy and lamentable case that sinners should want mercy
for fault of repentance.
When he hath set down this general sentence whereon he
groundeth the mercy of God that was shewed on him, that
Christ came into the world to save sinners, he cometh to the par-
ticular application, and he subjoineth, “But I am the first sin-
ner in the world.” The conclusion is understood; “Therefore Christ
Jesus came in the world to save me.” Would to God every
sinner in the world could learn to apply this general sentence to
themselves, in the same manner that Paul doeth here, and from
his heart could say with him, “Christ Jesus is come in the world to
ON 1 TIMOTHY I. 553
save sinners;” and then subjoin, “But I am the first sinner in the
world;” that so he might apply mercy and salvation to himself! For
without this application these general sentences can serve for no
use. It is true, indeed, brethren, sciences of these general sen-
tences that are contained in the scripture is very good; yea, the
knowledge of them is most necessary, for no man can have con-
science without knowledge. But it is as true, on the other part,
that science and knowledge avail not without conscience, applying
particularly to a man’s soul the thing that he knoweth; as when
men know these general sentences set down in the word, if they
apply them not to themselves, the knowledge of them can serve
to no purpose. As for example, when a man knoweth this general
sentence of the law, “Cursed is every man that continueth not in
every thing which is written in the book of the law, to do them,”
if thou apply it not, it can do thee no good. But if thy conscience
be wakened to acknowledge thy transgressing of the law, and con-
sequently to apply to thyself that curse of the law, and eternal
condemnation, what sorrow and grief will it work in thy heart
what earnest desire will it work to be free from that curse and
eternal condemnation Yea, thou wouldest be content to give all
the world to be free of that curse, and the heavy burden of the
wrath of God. And, Brethren, look never for mercy, nor salva-
tion, except first thine own conscience condemn thee. If thy con-
science condemn thee not, the Lord of heaven shall condemn thee.
There is never one that is freed from the curse and condemnation
of the law, but they who feel their sin, and groan under the bur-
then of it, and get a sight of their condemnation for sin. Another
example we have of * this general sentence that the Apostle
hath in this place, “Christ Jesus is come into the world to save
if thou apply it not, and say not as the Apostle doeth,
“I am a sinner,” it can furnish thee no joy nor comfort. Then
when we come to hear the doctrine of grace and mercy, let us
come with a conscience wakened and weary with the sense of
sin; for if the souls of men and women were weary and laden
sinners;’
* Used synonymously with knowledge. * A seeming misprint for in.
554 THE EIGHTEENTH SERMON,
with the burthen of sin, they would feel an unspeakable joy in
their hearts at the preaching of the doctrine of salvation. But be-
cause we are casten up in a senseless security, our consciences
are asleep, and the thing that we have is but a general notion
—therefore it is, that at the preaching of the law there is no
sorrow, no grief, no heaviness of heart; and if the glad tidings of
the Evangel be preached, there is no joy, no comfort; and this is
the thing that we have most to lament at the preaching of the
word, that we have no feeling neither of sadness nor of joy, and
therefore the judgment is the nearer. And he or she that lieth
hardest, sleeping in greatest security, shall get the sorest and most
terrible wakening when the judgment cometh. Now the Lord
waken our consciences in time, and give us grace to take heed to
the preaching of the word, and to beware of ourselves, and ever
pray to the Lord for grace; and never let neither the memory of
his mercy toward penitent sinners, nor of his judgments against
indured and impenitent sinners, pass out of our mind
Mark again, in application, when he applieth the general unto
himself, he applieth not immediately salvation, but first he applieth
sin to himself, and then salvation. He saith not first, “I am
saved,” but first he saith, “I am the greatest amongst sinners,” and
thereafter he saith, “I have obtained mercy.” Then take heed to
thy application. When thou hearest, by the preaching of the gos-
pel, salvation offered to sinners, take not first to thyself salvation,
but first take sin and death, then take life and apply it to thyself.
Rejoice not first at the preaching of the glad tidings of salvation,
but first conceive a displeasure, then let joy arise out of displeasure;
for joy of salvation must arise out of the displeasure, through the
fear of damnation. It shall pass thy power to find joy through
the sense of mercy and salvation, before thou find sadness and
heaviness of heart through the sense of sin and damnation. Even
as ye see a spring of water will not break out of a rock except the
rock be broken, even so it is with this effect." No joy can be to the
heart of a Christian man or woman, till the heart be contrite and
* i. e. In reference to what is effected by the gospel.
ON 1 TIMOTHY I. 555
*
broken with sadness through the sense of sin; the heart is first
exceeding heavy and sorrowful, and out of that heaviness ariseth
the joy; and the heavier the heart is, the greater the joy is. Would
to God we had this sorrow and sadness, and the sense of the wrath
of God in our hearts for sin for the saddest heart for sin will get
the greatest joy, and evermore the greater sadness the greater joy.
If our hearts be grieved, and weary with the sight of sin, we shall
have such a spiritual joy, as the world knoweth not ; and this joy
is as sure an earnest-penny of that joy of heaven as ever was. And
he that hath that joy that ariseth from that sorrow in the heart for
sin, he hath a sufficient warrant of that joy in heaven; and he that
hath not that joy, he hath no warrant of that heavenly joy ; there-
fore, Christ saith, “Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be
comforted,” (Mat. v. 4.) Now in this world this joy is mixed with
tears, but then it shall be a perfect joy, and all tears shall be wiped
away from our eyes. Now for Christ's sake put away vanity and
wantonness, and let every one of us take up a new course of life,
that we may mourn and weep unfeignedly for our sins, (for we have
all need,) that instead of this worldly joy, we may get that solid
and unspeakable joy that ariseth out of sadness; otherwise we only
enjoy the name of Christians, but as for the disposition of the heart
which is required in a Christian, it is far from us.
Yet mark further, his conscience is not only wakened with the
sense of sin, he is not only touched with a true sorrow for it, but
also he maketh a clear and plain confession of it. Then mark it,
before thou gettest mercy in Christ, thou must first of necessity
acknowledge and confess thy sin; for confession of sin must of
necessity go before mercy. David found this by experience, for so
long as he held his tongue, and would not confess his sin, he could
find nothing but the wrath and heavy hand of God against him.
“My bones,” saith he, “were consumed, I roared all the day,” &c.
But as soon as he taketh this resolution with himself, “I will con-
fess against myself my wickedness unto the Lord,” then he found
the Lord to shew mercy on him, and to forgive him the punish-
ment of his sin, (Psalm xxxii. 3, 4, 5.) And to what purpose
556 THE EIGHTEENTH SERMON.
should any man cover his sins from God, whose all-seeing eyes
pierce into the brains and most secret corners of the heart, and
to whom all things are open and patent, and who knoweth every
man's sins better than he can do himself? Why shouldest thou
then dissemble with him P Why shouldest thou not make a plain
and open confession of thy sins unto him, that thou mayest get
mercy.
Another thing would be marked; he is not content to confess
his sin, but he saith, “I am the chief of sinners;” he saith not
simply, “I am a sinner, but the chiefest sinner, the first sinner
in the world.” Brethren, if we had a sense of our sin, even
the least sinner of us would think he were the greatest; he
would not go about to excuse his sin, he would not cloak it as
Cain did, he would not extenuate it, much less would he have a
proud conceit of himself and of his own righteousness. He would
not enter in as that proud Pharisee did, (Luke xviii. 10,) who
held up his head, and said, “I am not as other men, extortioners,
unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.” The poor publican
was in the mean time hanging down his head; but he was a great-
er sinner. But if thou enter into comparison with others, and
have a sense of thy sin, thou will think with thyself, “There is not
so great a sinner in the world as I am,” and thou wilt say with
Paul, “I am the first and chiefest of sinners.”
Now when he hath applied the general sentence to himself, and
shewed that the Lord had given him mercy and salvation, he
setteth down next the end of this grace; “But herefore,” saith
he, “he had mercy on me, that he might first shew on me all long
suffering.” There is an end; another end is, “that I should be
an example to others in the world.”
Now, Brethren, when God sheweth mercy on any man it is not
for nothing, it is not without great and manifest causes; for he
will not cast grace lightly away. Indeed he will give these tempo-
ral benefits to the wicked, because he esteemeth not so much of
them. He will throw a lordship, an earldom, yea a kingdom to a
1 A rare correlative to therefore.
ON 1 TIMOTHY I. 557
reprobate, but as for one spunk of the spiritual grace of Jesus
Christ he will know well to whom he giveth it: he will take good
heed to whom he giveth one drop of that precious blood of Jesus
Christ, and he will love them exceedingly. Think ye not that he
would love a leprous man well that would wash him with his own
blood? The preciousest liquour that ever was in the world is the
blood of the Lord Jesus, yea, such is the worthiness and precious-
ness thereof, that all the world will not buy one drop of it. Shall
we not think then that he loveth that man well whom he washeth
with his blood? Shall we not think that he beareth an unspeakable
love to that man whom he washeth with his Holy Spirit 2 Mark it,
Brethren : mercy cometh by chance to no man. It is usually said
kingdoms come of hap; but it is not so with mercy and the grace
of Jesus Christ. None gets it, but these whose names are written
up in the book of life: none are called to the participation of one
spunk of that saving grace, but they who were predestinated from
all eternity. And, therefore, if thou hast gotten one spunk of
grace, count with thyself that thou wast predestinated from all
eternity to everlasting life, and count with thyself that thou hast
gotten a more excellent and precious thing than if thou hadst
gotten all the world. Now as he will not lightly give grace, so
he giveth it not for the person himself alone who receiveth the
grace, but he will have a consequence following upon the giving
of that grace and mercy. First, he will have the glory of that
grace and mercy to himself. And what more ? He will set him
on whom he hath vouchsafed that grace and mercy, to be a spec-
tacle and example of his mercy before the world.
To speak of the first end, “That he should shew on me all
clemency. That is, that shewing such mercy on me, who was the
greatest sinner, he might manifest and declare the exceeding great-
ness of his mercy to the world. Brethren, the thing that God
looketh to in his works is, that he might be glorified in his essen-
tial properties; but above all the rest of his properties, he will be
glorified in his mercy. He will be glorified in his power, in his
wisdom, in his justice. Sodom and Gomorrha was a spectacle to
558 THE EIGHTEENTH SERMON,
sinners of his justice, to terrify sinners to the end of the world.
But above all he seeketh to be glorified in his own mercy: above
all things the Lord will have his love and mercy to shine in the
world; he will have the creature to glorify him in his mercy.
What is the cause that he sent Christ into the world? That in
Christ his mercy might shine in the world. What is the cause of
this preaching of the evangel? why is it sent 2 That his mercy
might shine in the world. And all the pastors should teach and
proclaim this mercy of God, and not speak of judgment, but
when men regardeth not his mercy. Look what the Lord will
do that his mercy should shine in the world. He will take blas-
phemous persons, persecutors, oppressors, such as Paul was,
and he will shew mercy upon them; he will make them to be
spectacles of his mercy in the sight of the world, that all the
world should stand wondering that the Lord sheweth mercy upon
them. And there is not one of them who are justified by Christ
but they are spectacles of the mercy of God, set before the world,
to make the world to wonder at his mercy, that so we may
learn to know, and deeply to consider the mercy of God, not only
by his word, but also by his works and examples of them that have
obtained mercy. -
Now to come to the second end he saith, “Unto the example
of them that shall in time to come believe in him.” Then Paul
getteth mercy, not for himself only, but also for other sinners,
who, seeing this mercy shewed upon him, might reason with
themselves and say, “Yonder blasphemer, yonder persecutor,
yonder oppressor hath gotten mercy, and may not I likewise be
assured to get mercy?” Therefore, when thou seest that the Lord
is merciful to any man, say with thyself, “It is not for nothing that
the Lord hath given this man mercy; but it is for my cause, that
I may by his example be stirred up to seek mercy; therefore I
will go and get mercy at his hands.”
But, alas ! such is our security and senselessness, that howbeit
the Lord be continually calling upon us, and offering mercy unto
us by his word, and likewise by ever setting forth before us godly
ON 1 TIMOTHY I. 559
men and women, that of unholy creatures are made holy creatures
to be spectacles of his mercy, that by them we should take ex-
ample—yet all these means that God useth to testify his mercy
unto us, moveth us not to consider and take up his mercy. But
blessed is that soul that can learn by any of these means to take
up the mercy of God and to seek for it; for mercy is the pre-
ciousest jewel that ever was. Therefore when thou findest not
assurance of mercy, then be sorry for it, and strive earnestly to ob-
tain it; for there is no surer token that the Lord is to shew mercy
to any soul, than when upon the sight and feeling of the want
thereof the soulis grieved, and striveth and endeavoureth more and
more to obtain a more full assurance thereof.
And, therefore, when I consider how men in this land are sleeping
in sin, without any remorse of conscience, and are so careless to
seek to have assurance of mercy, I am afraid that the Lord is about
to withdraw mercy from this nation. The Lord avert his wrath
and be merciful unto this sinful nation for Christ's sake. To
whom with the Father, and the Holy Spirit, be all honour, praise,
and glory, world without end. So be it.
DE AETERNA MENTIS
DIVINAE APPROBATIONE ET IMPROBATIONE,
DOCTRINA BREVIS,
ET PRO NATURA REI TAM ARDUAE EXPLICATA.
PER ROBERTUM ROLLOCUM.
DEUs ab æterno vel approbat vel improbat aliquid. -
Approbatio in genere, vel est nuda et sine decreto, vel est cum
decreto. - -
Approbatio sine decreto, est cum approbat aliquid Deus simpli-
citer, non etiam decernit eligendum aut sequendum. . -
Approbatio sine decreto, est bomorum omnium per se, quae
tamen nullo unquam tempore fiunt, cujusmodi sunt conversio,
fides, salus reproborum ; quae approbat quidem Deus simpliciter,
sed non decernit fieri ; imo decernit ea non fieri, ut in doctrina
improbationis videbimus. De approbatione sine decreto vide
Deut. v. 35; ** O si esset hic eorum animus illis, ad timendum me
et observandum omnia praecepta mea omnibus diebus, ut bene
esset eis et filiis eorum in saeculum ;* 1 Tim. ii. 4, ** Qui quosvis
homines vult servari, et ad agnitionem veritatis venire ;* 1 Tim.
iv. 10, “ Qui est conservator omnium hominum, maxime vero
fidelium.” - -
Approbatio Dei cum decreto, est cum etiam eligendum aliquid
decernit atque concludit. Hanc sequitur voluntatis divinae
electio. •»
Decretum autem conjunctum duplex est.
' Primum, quo decernit Deus aliquid fieri. Sub hoc decretum
cadunt—ut hic taceam substantias omnium actionum et qualitatum
2 N
562 IDE AETERNA MIENTIS DIVINAE
tam bonarum quam malarum—eadumt, inquam, bona omnia per
se, quae in mundo hoc efficiuntur. Hujus decreti species quae-
dam, est praedestinatio praecipuarum creaturarum ad vitam æter-
nam. De hoc decreto vide Evod. xxxiii. 19; dixit, “ Ego faciam
ut transeat tota bonitas mea ante faciem tuam, et inclamabo
mominatim Jehovah ante faciem tuam : sed gratiosus ero cui
fuero gratiosus, et miserebor cuius misertus fuero ;" Act. xiii. 48,
“ Et crediderunt quotquot erant ordinati ad vitam eternam.”
Secundum decretum est, quo decernit Deus nom quidem simpli-
citer fieri, verum permittere fieri aliquid. Sub hoc decretum ca-
dunt per se mala, per accidens autem bona, hoc est, aliquo respectu
bona, quæcunque in mundo eveniunt. Hujus decreti species quæ-
dam est præúestinatio præcipuarum creaturarum ad mortem æter-
nam. De hoc decreto vide Evod. iv. 21 ; ** Tum edixit Jehova,
Moschi ; quamdoquidem proficisceris ut revertaris in Ægyptum,
vide ut omnia illa prodigia quae posuero in manu tua, facias coram
Parhome : sed ego obfirmabo cor ejus, ut nolit dimittere populum
illum ;" Act. xiv. 16; “ Quique praeteritis aetatibu§ sivit omnes
gentes suis ipsarum viis incedere.”
Res autem quæ fiunt ex utroque hoc decreto Dei Hecousiaî
sive Voluntariae dicuntur : mam etiam quæ decreto permissionis
divinæ fiunt, hecousia et voluntaria sunt quodam modo, quatenus
nimirum non sine decreto aliquo fiunt. Hecousion factum ex
simplici approbatione, hoc est, ea approbatione quæ est sine de-
creto, non dicitur, vel hac sola ratione, quod nullum plane factum
existat ex approbatione ea quæ simplex est ac sine decreto; hecou-
sion autem adjunctum quoddam sit facti alicujus. Apparet etiam
hecousion non esse ex simplici approbatione, vel ex contrariis,
quia Acousion nihil dicitur ex simplici improbatione, ut postea
videbimus. Respectu Dei res quæ fit vel evenit nulla acousia
dicitur sive invita ; nam acousion proprie est, non quidem quod
impingit in legem aliquam expressam, vel voluntatem, quam
vocant, revelatam, verum quod impingit in decretum Dei, vel
voluntatem, quam vocant, non revelatam, evenitque contra de-
cretum divinum, vel simpliciter ita dictum vel permissivum.
APPROBATIONE ET IMPROBATIONE. - 563
Quod autem acousion sit proprie quod impingit in decretum,
apparet ex Act. ii. 23; ** Hunc, inquam, definito' consilio et pro-
videntia Dgi deditum cum accepissetis, manibus sceleratis cruci
affixum interemistis;” Act. iv. 28; * Ut facerent quaecunque manus
tua et consilium tuum prius definierat facienda.** Quibus in locis
Spiritus Dei occurrit opinioni hominum de crucifixione Christi,
tanquam facto acousio respectu Dei, affirmans nihil factum a Ju-
dæis, nisi quod permissum fuerit jam olim decreto divino. Cum
autem nihil possit evenire contra decretum aliquod Dei, (id quod
habemus, Esai. xiv. 27 ; ** Nam Jehova,** inquit, * inivit consilium
et quis irritum faciat ? et manum ejus extentam ecquis avertat ?)”
profecto respectu Dei nihil acousion dici potest. Dici potest,
fateor, Deo non approbante vel improbante aliquid fieri, nempe
quod fit contra expressum ipsius mandatum ; verum non est illud
statim acousion respectu Dei, quod non approbatur ipsius man-
dato, cum fieri possit, imo necessarium sit, ut illud ipsum ex de-
creto Dei permissivo fiat, quod alioqui contra mandatum admitti-
tur. Hactenus de æterna Dei approbatione, nunc de improba-
tione dicendum.
Improbatio in genere vel est nuda et sine decreto, vel est cum
decreto.
Improbatio sine decreto est, cum improbat aliquid Deus simpli-
citer, non etiam decernit repudiandum aut fugiendum.
Improbatio sine decreto est malorum per se, quæ aliqua ratione
permittuntur fieri, simpliciter tamen improbantur, ut sunt mala
culpæ, induratio et perditio reproborum, quæ Deus simpliciter im-
probat, aliquo tamen respectu permittit fieri, nempe quo inservi-
unt ipsius gloriæ. De improbatione sine decreto vide Ezech. xviii.
23; “ An ullo pacto delector morte improbi, dictum Domini Je-
hovae ; annon cum revertitur a viis suis, ut vivat?” Rom. ix. 22;
“ Quid si vero volens ostendere iram et motam facere potentiam
suam, pertulit multa lenitate vasa iræ coagmentata ad interitum ?**
1 Sic. Beza, gives, definito illo consilio. * Beza has, praedestimavit ut fierent.*
* Tremellius and Junius tramslate, Jehova eæercituum. * Beza : pertulit multa cum
irae inhibitione vasa irae, compacta ad interitum ?
564 . IDE AETERNA MENTIS DIVINAE
Improbatio cum decreto est, cum etiam repudiandum aliquid
decernit atque concludit. Hanc sequitur voluntatis divinæ re-
pudiatio.
Decretum hoc duplex est, prout duplex fuit decretum pendens
ex approbatione divina.
Primum est decretum, quo decernit aliquid non fieri simpliciter.
Sub hoc decretum cadunt bona per se, mala tamen aliqua ratione,
quia nimirum non inserviunt gloriæ Dei, cujusmodi sunt salus,
fides, et conversio reproborum. Coincidit autem hoc decretum
negativum cum affirmato permissivo: nam una eademque opera
decernit permittere, verbi gratia, indurationem reprobi et conver-
sionem ipsius nunquam futuram. De hoc decreto prohibitivo
simplici, vide 1 Reg. xii. 15; “ Quum itaque non auscultasset rex
populo (erat enim causa a Jehova, ut praestaret verbum suum quo
allocutus fuerat per Achijam ;*) et 2 Chron. x. 15; item Josuae,
xi. 20; “ A Jehova enim fuit quod obfirmabant cor suum ad oc-
currendum bello Israeli ut internecioni devoveret illas, nec fieret
illis gratia, sed ut perderent eas, quemadmodum praeceperat Je-
hova Moschi;” Joan. xii. 39 ; “ Propterea non poterant credere,
quia.... excaecavit eorum oculos.” -
Secundum est decretum quo decernit non permittere malum
aliquod fieri a malo instrumento. Sub hoc decretum cadunt mala
quae nullo pacto, hoc est, neque simpliciter, neque respectu ali-
quo approbantur et permittuntur, ut sunt induratio et perditio
electorum. Coincidit autem hoc decretum negativum cum affir-
mato, quo simpliciter decernit fieri aliquid, verbi gratia, conversi-
onem et salutem electorum. Nam una eademque opera decernit
et fieri salutem ac conversionem electorum et non permittere fieri
a malo instrumento. Vide Gen. xx. 6; ** Tum dixit ei' in somnio,
tum ego sciebam cum integritate cordis tui te fecisse istud, tum
etiam cohibui ego te me peccares in me : idcirco non sivi te attin-
gere eam ;* Matt. vii. 18 ; “ Non potest arbor bona fructus malos
»
ferre, neque arbor putris* fructus bonos ferre;” item, Mat. xxiv.
1 Tremellius and Jumius; dixit ei Deus. * Beza: arbor mala.
APPROBATIONE ET IMPROBATIONE. 565
24; “ Surgent! enim Pseudochristi et Pseudoprophetae, et edent
signa magna et miracula ; ita ut seducant (si fieri possit) etiam
Electos.” - .
Utrumque hoc decretum prohibitivum est, et ex adverso respon-
det utrique illi decreto affirmato quod pendet ex approbatione
divina : nam decretum negatum, quo decernit Deus non fieri
bonum, ex adverso respondet decreto affirmato, quo decernit fieri
bonum. E contra decretum negatum quo decernit Deus non per-
mittere fieri malum, ex adverso respondet decreto affirmato, quo
decernit Deus permittere fieri malum.
Advertendum autem in decreto prohibitivo permissionis mali,
vel quo decernitur ne permittatur fieri malum a malo instrumento,
nomine mali intelligendum esse malum quocunque modo conside-
ratum, sive simpliciter et qua malum est, sive secundum quid, et
aliquo respectu malum. Nam indurationem et perditionem Elec-
torum omni modo omnique respectu prohibet decreto suo : quo
differt decretum permissionis prohibitivum a decreto permissivo
affirmato, cum decretum permissivum affirmatum sit mali permis-
sivum, non qua malum est, sed qua respicit bonum aliquem finem,
et qua bonum est aliquo certe modo.
Ex his quae diximus, videmus malum qua malum est neque
ullo respectu bonum est, sed qua malum est tantum et in suapte
natura consideratur, ex decreto permissionis non pendere. Est
quidem fateor id quod alioqui malum est ex decreto permissionis,
verum non qua malum est, sed ut boni aliquam rationem habet.
Diximus enim decretum permissionis pendere ex Dei approbatione
aliquo modo ; ex quo sequitur quod si ex decreto permissionis pen-
deret malum qua malum, ex approbatione etiam dei aliqua ipsum
penderet necessario ; quod falsum est. Nam Deus, quae est ejus
sanctitas inviolabilis, non potest approbare malum qua malum est,
vel quod idem est, malum simpliciter. Oljectio; Ergo malum, qua
malum, Deo invito fit, si non saltem permittente. Resp.; Non se-
quitur ; nam ut sit invitum aliquod factum, ut diximus, necesse est
1 Beza, Eccitabuntur.
566 DE AETERNA MENTIS DIVINAE, &c.
contra decretum aliquod Dei eveniat. At dum fit malum, qua
malum, non fit contra decretum aliquod ; ergo invito Deo non fit,
vel non est Aoousion respectu Dei. Quod autem non fiat contra
deeretum dei malum, qua malum, quicquid illud sit quod evenit,
vel ex eo apparet, quod si esset aliquod decretum ejus prohibiti-
vum, hoc est, decernens me permitteretur illud fieri, profecto non
posset fieri omnino: verbi gratia, si fuisset decretum prohibitivum
perniciei Judae, profecto Judas non perditus fuisset. Nam cujus
mali extat decretum prohibitivum ne permittatur fieri, illud nun-
quam fit necessitate. Exempli gratia; decretum fuit ab æterno pro-
hibitivum ne permittatur perditio Petri Apostoli; hinc factum ut
illa non potuerit evenire.
FINIS.
ExcVDEBAT ROBERTVS WALDE-GRAVE, TYPOGRAPHVS REGIVs.
ANNO DOMINI. M.D.XCIII.
Alex. WALKER, PRiNTER, 6. JAMES's CoURT, EDINBURGII,
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