A17698:852
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.
Furthermore it is not without cause that God comparing here his wrath and vengeance with his mercy, sayeth that he will punish those that hate him, even in three or four descents: and show mercy in a thousand descents to them that love him. For thereby he showeth the thing which is yet better expressed in other sentences of the scripture: which is, that he is slow to wrath and forward to mercy,1 and therewithal long suffering, so that where as his anger lasteth but a very short time, his mercy is everlasting all the life long. Ye see then that the very nature of God is such, as he seeketh nothing but to draw men to him by all manner of gentleness, and to use his goodness towards them. When he punisheth them, it is (as ye would say) against his nature. Not that it is not meet for ⟨p. 193⟩God to punish as well as to show mercy: but his meaning is to show us that his goodness is far the greater: and to be short, that he is not rigorous, but that his only desire is to utter his good will to us, if we would suffer him: for in very deed he would fain be known to be good and pitiful, and it is the thing wherein his glory doeth chiefly shine forth. Therefore let us mark well how it is not for nought that Moses hath assigned here a thousand generations §10to Gods mercy: and restrained his wrath and vengeance to a three or four generations. As if he should say: It is true that our Lord will not suffer superstition unpunished. When ye shall have corrupted his service and defaced his honour by gadding after your own dotages, ye shall feel the punishment thereof, yea and even your children after you must be fain to feel it to: insomuch that when the fire of his wrath is once kindled upon you, it shall not be §20quenched again so soon as ye ween for: but yet for all that he will not fail to be pitiful still, and his mercy shall always be greater than his wrath. And in deed, like as by the threat which we have heard, GOD intended to hold the world in the true religion, to the end they should not make idols and puppets to themselves: so was it his will also, that the promise which is contained here should allure us to him, if we bear him the love and §30reverence which we ought to do: and he had lever to win us by his goodness, than to restrain us by his threatenings.