A17690:178
Divers sermons of Master John Calvin, concerning the divinity, humanity, and nativity of our…Diuers sermons of Master Iohn Caluin, concerning the diuinitie, humanitie, and natiuitie of our…
Divers sermons of Master John Calvin, concerning the divinity, humanity, and nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ as also touching his passion, death, resurrection, ascension: together with the coming down of the holy Ghost upon his Apostles: and the first sermon of S. Peter. The order of which you shall find in the page ensuing.Diuers sermons of Master Iohn Caluin, concerning the diuinitie, humanitie, and natiuitie of our Lorde Iesus Christe as also touching his passion, death, resurection, ascention: togeather with the comming downe of the holy Ghoste vpon his Apostles: and the first sermon of S. Peter. The order of which you shall finde in the page ensuing.
London: printed by Thomas Dawson for George Byshop, 1581
Title page typeset from the transcription.
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
and yet our Lord Jesus was contented •o un•nesse as much as God had enjoined him to do: not […] that he should teach (for that was no place for the purpose bu• to confirm and ratify the doctrine, which before he had de••e•••. Now we are on the one side to note by the way, that the offence which chiefliest troubled the Jews, was that he had made a gar•o•• & hindered the payment of tribute to the Emperor of Rome: which was a thing to move the Governor being a Pagan, whom the Emperor had sent thither to wrath. In deed this is very certain, that our Lord Jesus showed himself to be a king,1 but yet no earthly Prince: for we see, that when the Jews would have crowned him, he withdrew himself and hid him in a mountain: and thereby he cut the throat of this slander, because he should have made the Gospel to have been evil spoken of if he had perverted the politic order and government of the world. For be that came to call us all to the kingdom of heaven and to make us partakers thereof, meant not to abolish earthly kingdoms, seeing they are upholden by him, and his power. And therefore it was not meet that the Gospel should carry with it any such blame, as that Jesus Christ was come to usurp any worldly power, or authority. And here we see why he namely ⟨p. 54⟩sayeth unto Pilate that his kingdom was not of this world. And to say the trueth, what were it, and if the kingdom of Jesus Christ were earthly. For what should we get by putting our trust in him,2 when as we see our estate to be so miserable in the world. Truly the very Infidels are in better case then we, considering the afflictions which we must abide. In deed it is true that God sendeth his scourges over the face of the whole earth; and they which desire as much as is possible to be freed from them, shall neither will nor choose but be subject to a number of miseries and afflictions. And yet for all this, we shall always be more roughly handled: For God must first begin, to chastise his own house and Church. And therefore, if our Lord Jesus had been an earthly King, it should seem that we were mere strangers unto him.