A17698:3075
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.
Sometimes God giveth the bridle to the wicked to blaspheme with open & full mouth, & to pervert all truth, whereupon they take so unruly & lawless leave, as none can be greater, & do nothing else but pluck forward the vengeance of God upon their heads. To be short, all the world groweth out of kind by their abuses. God sometimes permitteth this. And why so? because men are worthy sometimes of such scourges. Secondly, God meaneth to humble us. And thirdly, he will try the steadfastness of our faith. But in Balaam he used another manner of order, that is to wit, he bridled his tongue so as he could not do what he would, & what he purposed: for god withstood him. And why did he so? Because the people were over tender & nyceharted: they had need of help, and therefore God meant to give them this advantage. So then let us note, that he suffereth deceivers sometimes to darken the trueth, yea, & to cast forth their lies at full, & in the mean while notwithstanding disappointeth them of their purpose: or if his will be that they prevail, it is because of mens unthankfulness: for (as S. Paul saith) they have well deserved that God should forsake them.1 But sometimes he will bridle the tongues of the wicked, so as the enemies of the word of God ⟨p. 807⟩cannot speak that which full fain they would: & we see nowadays many experiences hereof. In deed a man may see on the one side these hireling villains, these hypocrites & flatterers [I mean] which write nowadays as their knowledge serveth them, & as men grease them in the hand like common strumpets of the stews. It is nothing with them to speak evil of God, and to advance themselves against his word. We may see many such Balaams nowadays, which are §10at the Popes pay, & are of his stinking clergy, & be of the number of these horned beasts. But yet we see also how God bridleth them, & locketh them up in such close ward, that they speak sometimes clean contrary to that they purposed, so as they profit us more by that means, than if they had set themselves purposely to serve god: insomuch that the throat of Popedom is cut by his own underlings, & by all these Balaams which endeavour to bring all to utter destruction, & the §20things which are done by them, do serve us to as good purpose, as if the servants of God had spoken & written. Therefore when we see this, let us acknowledge the goodness of God, and be confirmed more & more therein.