sion) shall heerafter put foorth for the edifying of Chrystes flock: for I knowe how suche things are the woork of God and not of man. VVhat remayneth then, but that your Lordship, framing your selfe according to the rule of God's most holy word, should hie you apace to the atteinment of the true honour and immortall glory, by subduing sinne, the world, and the Deuil, the Hectors that cannot bee vanquished but by a christen Achilles; and by your good guyding bring many vnto Christ, that in the end you may receiue the rewarde of true and perfect blissednesse, euen the euerlasting saluation of the soule, whiche is the faire Helen for whose safetie it behooueth all good men too endure, not tenne yeeres warre, but continuall warre all their life long. To the furtherance wherof, God hath by householde alyance lincked vnto your Lordship a long experienced Nestor, whose counsaile and footsteps if you folowe, no doubte but you shalbee bothe happie in your selfe, and singularly profitable to your common welth; and moreouer, God shall blisse you with plentiful and godly issue by your vertuous and deerbeloued Spouse, to continew the honour and renowne of your noble house after the happy knitting vp of bothe your yeeres, which I pray God may bee many in vnseperable loue, like the loue of Ceix and Alcyonee, to the glory of God, and the contentation of bothe your desires. VVritten at London, the xx. of ¶ Your good Lordship's moste humble to commaund, Arthur Golding. THE AUTHOR'S PREFACE. JOHN CALVIN TO THE GODLY AND INGENIOUS READERS, GREETING. Ir the reading of these my COMMENTARIES confer as much benefit on the Church of God as I myself have reaped advantage from the composition of them, I shall have no reason to regret that I have undertaken this work. Having expounded here, in our small school, the Book of Psalms, about three years ago, I thought that I had by this means sufficiently discharged my duty, and had resolved not to publish to the world what I had familiarly taught those of my own household. And, in fact, before I had undertaken to expound this book in my lectures, at the request of my brethren, I said what was true, that I had kept away from this subject, because that most faithful teacher of the Church of God, Martin Bucer, had laboured in this field with such singular learning, diligence, fidelity, and success, that at least there was not so great need that I should put my hand to the work. And had the Commentaries of Wolphangus Musculus at that time been published, I would not have omitted to do them justice, by mentioning them in the same way, since he too, in the judgment of good men, has earned no small praise by his diligence and industry in this walk. I had not yet come to the end of the book, when, lo! I am urged by renewed solicitations not to suffer my lectures, which certain persons had carefully, faithfully, and not without * aur sirn down, to be lost to the world. My puras vil somamod zactored; only I promised what for a long time I had been thinking of to write something on the suheet in de French language, that my countrymen might av de vihout the means of being enabled to understand so i a dok when perusing it. Whilst I am thinking of making this attempt, suddenly, and contrary to my first destra # Avurred to me, by what impulse I know not, to ompose in Latin, only as it were in the way of trial, an exposition of one Psalm. When I found that my success corresponded to my desire far beyond what I had ventured to anticipate I was encouraged, and accordingly began to make the same attempt in a few other Psalms. On perceiving this my intimate friends, as if in this way they held me bound, urged me with the greater confidence not to desist fem my susa. One reason which made me comply with their solicitations, and which also had from the commencement induced me to make this first attempt, was an apprehension that at some future period what had been taken down from my ketures might be published to the world contrary to my winders or at least without my knowledge. I can truly say, that I was drawn to execute this work rather from such an appredension, than led to it from my own free will. At the same time as I continued to prosecute the work, I began to porveive more distinctly that this was by no means a superduous undertaking, and I have also felt from my own indivital experience that to readers who are not so exercised, I would furnish important assistance in understanding The Be Seas The varied and resplendid riches which are contained in this treasury it is no easy matter to express in words; so wwed so that I well know that whatever I shall be able to say will be far from approaching the excellence of the subject. But as it is better to give to my readers some taste, however small, of the wonderful advantages they will derive from the study of this book, than to be entirely silent on the point, I may be permitted briefly to advert to a matter, the greatness of which does not admit of being fully unfolded. I have been accustomed to call this book, I think not inap propriately, "An Anatomy of all the Parts of the Soul;" for there is not an emotion of which any one can be conscious that is not here represented as in a mirror. Or rather, the Holy Spirit has here drawn to the life all the griefs, sorrows, fears, doubts, hopes, cares, perplexities, in short, all the distracting emotions with which the minds of men are wont to be agitated. The other parts of Scripture contain the commandments which God enjoined his servants to announce to us. But here the prophets themselves, seeing they are exhibited to us as speaking to God, and laying open all their inmost thoughts and affections, call, or rather draw, each of us to the examination of himself in particular, in order that none of the many infirmities to which we are subject, and of the many vices with which we abound, may remain concealed. It is certainly a rare and singular advantage, when all lurking places are discovered, and the heart is brought into the light, purged from that most baneful infection, hypocrisy. In short, as calling upon God is one of the principal means of securing our safety, and as a better and more unerring rule for guiding us in this exercise cannot be found elsewhere than in The Psalms, it follows, that in proportion to the proficiency which a man shall have attained in understanding them, will be his knowledge of the most important part of celestial doctrine. Genuine and earnest prayer proceeds first from a sense of our need, and next, from faith in the promises of God. It is by perusing these inspired compositions, that men will be most effectually awakened to a sense of their maladies, and, at the same time, instructed in seeking remedies for their cure. In a word, whatever may serve to encourage us when we are about to pray to God, is taught us in this book. And not only are the promises of God presented to us in it, but oftentimes there is exhibited to us one standing, as it were, amidst the invitations of God on the one hand, and the impediments of the flesh on the other, girding and preparing himself for prayer: thus teaching us, if at any time we are agitated with a variety of doubts, to resist and fight against them, until the soul, freed and disentangled from all these impediments, rise up to God; and not only so, but even when in the midst of doubts, fears, and apprehensions, let us put forth our efforts in prayer, VOL. I. d sion) shall heerafter put foorth for the edifying of Chrystes flock: for I knowe how suche things are the woork of God. and not of man. VVhat remayneth then, but that your Lordship, framing your selfe according to the rule of God's most holy word, should hie you apace to the atteinment of the true honour and immortall glory, by subduing sinne, the world, and the Deuil, the Hectors that cannot bee vanquished but by a christen Achilles; and by your good guyding bring many vnto Christ, that in the end you may receiue the rewarde of true and perfect blissednesse, euen the euerlasting saluation of the soule, whiche is the faire Helen for whose safetie it behooueth all good men too endure, not tenne yeeres warre, but continuall warre all their life long. To the furtherance wherof, God hath by householde alyance lincked vnto your Lordship a long experienced Nestor, whose counsaile and footsteps if you folowe, no doubte but you shalbee bothe happie in your selfe, and singularly profitable to your common welth; and moreouer, God shall blisse you with plentiful and godly issue by your vertuous and deerbeloued Spouse, to continew the honour and renowne of your noble house after the happy knitting vp of bothe your yeeres, which I pray God may bee many in vnseperable loue, like the loue of Ceir and Alcyonee, to the glory of God, and the contentation of bothe your desires. VVritten at London, the xx. of ¶ Your good Lordship's moste humble to commaund, Arthur Golding. |