Two and twenty sermons of Master John Calvin In which sermons is most religiously…Two and twentie sermons of Maister Iohn Caluin In which sermons is most religiously…

It is time for the Lord to lay to his hand: for they have destroyed thy law.

It is time for the Lorde to laye to his hand: for they haue destroyed thy lawe.

Here David maketh a petition against the contemners of God, and transgressors of his law: saying, That it is time for the Lord to lay his hand, since that he seeth his law to be so destroyed, that there is no account made of it. It is very true, that David greatly desired the conversion of all men, and by little and little their salvation. And it is no doubt but that he prayed too God with a good affection, that it would please him to bring to repentance all those which he see to be lead unto wickedness but yet he was not without this zeal which we see in this place: that is, that God would execute his judgements upon the obstinate, and upon all those which were altogether stubborn. And see also how we ought to temper our affections, that when we see men go to do mischief, let us have compassion upon them: if we see them given to sin and wickedness, if we see them to be in the way of perdition, let us travel too bring them again into the right way, to procure their salvation as much as in us lieth, and we ought to desire and to pray for it, have we had any such affection? Then let us never cease to pray unto God, to stretch forth his hand upon those his enemies whom he knoweth to be altogether desperate. It is very true we must not condemn them: But we ought rather, as I have already said, to use the effect of charity towards all, and pray unto God that he would save them: but because there are a great number which are stubborn and without amendment, we ought to beseech God, to show him ⟨image 143⟩self a judge over those whom he knoweth to be such. And why so? Because they draw the simple and ignorant unto wickedness, and are an offence unto them, because also they make the word of God to be evil spoken of, and are the occasion that liberty is given to all evil. When then we see the name of God to be evil spoken of, that there is no reckoning made of his word, that all doctrine is cast underfoot, we are to pray unto him to remedy it. It is time, saith he, for God to lay to his hand: for they have destroyed thy law, O Lord. He here speaketh in the third person: & after directeth him self to God. And why doth he so? Although that this order is not always to be observed, that he which prayeth unto God is to continue in one self same person: