A17690:241
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.
Now, as he had before said, after the example of David, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Even so likewise taketh he at this present, the prayer which David made in the one and thirty Psalm, Into thy hands I commend my spirit. In very deed, David said these words when he was in the middest of all his dangers:1 as if he should have said, O Lord, I beseech thee receive me into thy protection: for my soul is as it were in my hands & is there even at random: for I see how I am thrust out to all hazards, and my life hangeth as by a thread: and therefore thou must protect me. We see here then, that David by this prayer, made God his protector: and yet gave he not over, but still called on him whenas he was at the point of death, always assuring himself that God would save his chosen, not only in defending them here in this world, but also when he calleth them unto himself. For the chiefest regard that God hath on us, is this, that when he hath taken us out of this world, he hideth us under his wings that we might enjoy his presence,2 according to the saying of Saint Paul to the Corinthians. For when our Lord Jesus made this prayer, he showeth that he died quietly, whenas he overcame all the combats which he sustained for us, and triumpheth in our behalves, both for our profit, and for our salvation. And a none after, he declareth by the same means that God is his Saviour, & keepeth his soul as a sufficient pledge For this much his request imported, when he said, My God, thou shalt preserve my soul even when I am dead. When our Lord Jesus speaketh after this sort, it is as much as if he assured us all, that we cannot do amiss in submitting our selves unto our GOD, seeing that he, for the defending of us, vouchsafeth to take the charge of us, and that we shall never perish under his hand Now, we have eftsoons to consider, that when Jesus Christ said, Into thy hands O Lord I commend my spirit, that he obtained this privilege which Saint Stephen gave him in the seventh of the Acts,3 which is, he was made the preserver of all our souls. For what was it that S. Stephen said when he went to his death? Forsooth these were his words, Into thy hands O Lord I commend my spirit. And here we see, that Saint Stephen showed the benefit of the request, which Jesus Christ made: