A17690:181
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.
By this we are admonished not to follow our own fantasies, when the matter concer•eth the service of God, but altogether do his will.
By this wée are admonished not to folowe our owne fantasies, when the matter concer•eth the seruice of God, but altogether doe his will.
Let us not therefore feign a devotion which seemeth good in our own eyes, but be contented to do the thing which God hath ordained & allowed. And here we see what ariseth upon this kind of custom, to wit, that we make laws accordingly at this day: so that whatsoever is received for a common order, seemeth to be lawful. And yet howsoever it seemeth to us, God utterly condemneth it. Now, we see what abuse hath come herein, which is this, that this corruption hath made Barabbas to be preferred before the son of God. A man here would at the first sight think it very strange that our Lord Jesus should be thus lightly esteemed of, and a thief and murderer greatlier privileged then he: that he, should find such favour & grace amongst men, & Jesus Christ to be so shamefully & slanderously handled. For, was it not enough that the son of God was crucified, & abode a most slanderous kind of death, without he must also be greatly tormented. The death of the cross was but as a punishment for thieves: & it was not only, as at this day the gallows should be, but it was as if he should have abidden the wheel. Was it not then enough, that after Jesus Christ had been buffeted, & spitted on, & brought even down to the pit of hell, but that he must in comparison be showed to be accursed of all the world? For, if we should judge of it according to natural reason, & look upon the outward show, surely we should be confounded, but we must lift up the eyes of faith a great deal higher, & come unto that which before we have said: to wit, that all this was governed by the counsel of God And therefore let us not stand upon that which the people, & Pilate did, but let us behold the unchangeable decree of God: which is, that for the better humbling of us, his will was to have his Son so shamefully to be cast down, yea to be cast under the feet of all the malefactors of the world: being crucified between two thieves, as hereafter shall be seen. We see then what it is for us to observe, when it is here said that Barabbas must be let lose, and Jesus Christ be made the most abominable man of the world Yet for all this, Pilate went about to have delivered our Lord Jesus: but it was by a devilish mean, to wit, by buffeting of him (which they then called punishing) & would have let him gone, when he had so punished him, as one that had committed a fault: