A17698:1812
Sermons upon Deuteronomy
The sermons of M. John Calvin upon the fifth book of Moses called Deuteronomy faithfully gathered word for word as he preached them in open pulpit; together with a preface of the ministers of the Church of Geneva, and an admonishment made by the deacons there. Also there are annexed two profitable tables, the one containing the chief matters; the other the places of Scripture herein alleged. Translated out of French by Arthur Golding.The sermons of M. Iohn Caluin vpon the fifth booke of Moses called Deuteronomie faithfully gathered word for word as he preached them in open pulpet; together with a preface of the ministers of the Church of Geneua, and an admonishment made by the deacons there. Also there are annexed two profitable tables, the one containing the chiefe matters; the other the places of Scripture herein alledged. Translated out of French by Arthur Golding.
London: printed by Henry Middleton for George Bishop, 1583
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.
After that Moses hath warned the people to keep Gods commandments, now he hearteneth them by setting Gods promises before them, as if GOD should tell them, that his will was they should not serve him but for good wages. And in deed, God perceiving how loth & slow we be to follow him, allureth us to it, by promising us that we shall not lose our labour in §40so doing. Not that he is bound to do it, or that he intendeth to have us as hirelings, or that we can deserve or earn any thing at his hand: we must rid away all such imaginations. It is meet that we should yield obedience unto God, though no reward at all were behighted us. For we ought to love him for his own sake, & not for any recompense that can be looked for. Again on the other side, our affection must be frank & free, and not like theirs that will do nothing, except §50their profit be always before them. We must love God with a free heart. Thirdly, we can deserve nothing at all by our doings: do what we can, God is never yt more bound unto us for it. For we be his already, & what can we bring▪ which is not due to him already by nature? Yet is he contented to apply himself to our rawness, in saying that if we serve him, there is a reward ready for us, so as we shall not need to be afraid that our Labour §30in honouring him should be unprofitable to us if we endeavour so to honour him. Now we see what a fondness it is for men to conclude, that because God promiseth reward to such as keep his Law, therefore men can deserve at his hand: For that is not his meaning: but it is done for our infirmities sake because God seeth that we have need to be quickened up. And therefore all the promises of the law are as strokes with the spur. Besides this, we must also come back to the doctrine of S. Paul, which is, that whatsoever promise with condition God do make us in his law,1 it stands us in no stead. For we on our side, in stead of performing the things that God commandeth us, do go clean back from them, and by that means are far off from all the benefit that is behighted us there.2 And whereas the Law saith, he that doth these things shall live in them:3