: church, that perchance the Book of Enoch, which St. Jude cites in his epistle, was not an apocryphal book, but canonical Scripture in the time of the Jews. As though the Holy Ghost were a time-server, and would sometimes issue some things, for present satisfaction, which he would not avow nor stand to after; as though the Holy Ghost had but a lease for certain years, a determinable estate in the Scriptures, which might expire, and he be put from his evidence; that that book might become none of his, which was his before. We therefore, in receiving these books for canonical, which we do, and in post-posing the apocryphal, into an inferior place, have testimonium ab homine, testimony from the people of God, who were, and are the most competent, and unreproachable witnesses herein and we have testimonium ab inimico, testimony from our adversary himself, Perniciosius est ecclesiæ librum recipere pro sacro, qui non est, quam sacrum rejicere1, It is a more pernicious danger to the church, to admit a book for canonical, which is not so, than to reject one that is so. And therefore, Ne turberis novitie, (saith another great author of theirs1) Let no young student in divinity be troubled, Si alicubi repererit, libros istos supputari inter canonicos, if he find at any time, any of these books reckoned amongst the canonical, Nam ad Hieronymi limam, verba doctorum et conciliorum reducenda, For saith he, Hierome's file must pass over the doctors, and over the councils too, and they must be understood, and interpreted according to St. Hierome. Now this is but testimonium ab homine, St. Hierome's testimony, that prevailed upon Cajetan, and it was but testimonium ab homine, the testimony of the Jews, that prevailed upon St. Hierome himself, It is so for the whole body, the Bible; it is so for all the limbs of this body, every particular book of the Bible; and it is so for the soul of this body, the true sense of every place, of every book thereof; for, for that, (the sense of the place) we must have testimonium ab homine, the testimony, that is, the interpretation of other men. Thou must not rest upon thyself, nor upon any private man. John was a witness that had witnesses, the prophets had prophesied of John Baptist. The men from whom we 15 Idem ex Aquin. 14 Melchilanus (qu. Melchior Canus ?-ED.) are to receive testimony of the sense of the Scriptures, must be men that have witnesses, that is, a visible and outward calling in the church of God. That no sense be ever admitted, that derogateth ftom God, that makes him a false, or an impotent, or a cruel God, that every contradiction, and departing from the analogy of faith, doth derogate from God, and divers such grounds, and such inferences, as every man confesses, and acknowledges to be naturally and necessarily consequent, these are testimonia ab homine, testimonies that pass like current money, from man to man, obvious to every man, suspicious to none. Thus it is in the general; but then, when it is deduced to a more particular trial, (what is the sense of such or such a place) when Christ saith, Scrutamini Scripturas", Search the Scriptures, Non mittit ad simplicem lectionem, sed ad scrutationem exquisitam, It is not a bare reading, but a diligent searching, that is enjoined Now they that will search, must have a warrant to search; they upon whom thou must rely for the sense of the Scriptures, must be sent of God by his church. Thou art robbed of all, divested of all, if the Scriptures be taken from thee; thou hast nowhere to search; bless God therefore, that hath kept thee in possession of that sacred treasure, the Scriptures; and then, if any part of that treasure lie out of thy reach, or lie in the dark, so as that thou understandest not the place, search, that is, apply thyself to them that have warrant to search, and thou shalt lack no light necessary for thee. Either thou shalt understand that place, or the not understanding of it shall not be imputed to thee, nor thy salvation hindered by that ignorance. us. : It is but to a woman that St. Hierome saith, Ama Scripturas, et amabit te Sapientia, Love the Scriptures, and Wisdom will love thee the weakness of her sex must not avert her from reading the Scriptures. It is instruction for a child, and for a girl, that the same father giveth, Septem annorum discat memoriter Psalterium, As soon as she is seven years old, let her learn all the Psalms without book; the tenderness of her age, must not avert her from the Scriptures. It is to the whole congregation, consisting of all sorts and sexes, that St. Chrysostom saith, Hortor, et hortari non desinam, I always do, and always will 17 John v. 39. exhort you, ut cum domi fueritis, assidua lectioni Scripturarum vacetis, that at home, in your own houses, you accustom yourselves to a daily reading of the Scriptures. And after, to such men as found, or forced excuses for reading them, he saith with compassion, and indignation too, O homo, non est tuum Scripturas evolvere, quia innumeris curis distraheris? Busy man, belongeth it not to thee to study the Scriptures, because thou art oppressed with worldly business? Imo magis tuum est, saith he, therefore thou hadst the more need to study the Scriptures; Illi non tam egent, &c., They that are not disquieted, nor disordered in their passions, with the cares of this world, do not so much need that supply from the Scriptures, as you that are, do. It is an author that lived in the obedience of the Roman church 18, that saith, the Council of Nice did decree, That every man should have the Bible in his house. But another author in that church saith now 19, Consilium Chrysostomi ecclesia nunc non arridet; The church doth not now like Chrysostom's counsel, for this general reading of the Scriptures, Quia etsi illi locutus ad plebem, plebs tunc non erat hæretica; Though St. Chrysostom spoke that to the people, the people in his time were not an heretical people : and are the people in the Roman church now an heretical people? If not, why may not they pursue St. Chrysostom's counsel, and read the Scriptures? Because they are dark? It is true, in some places they are dark; purposely left so by the Holy Ghost, ne semel lectas fastidiremus 20, lest we should think we had done when we had read them once; so saith St. Gregory too, In plain places, fami occurrit, he presents meat for every stomach; in hard and dark places, fastidia detergit, he sharpens the appetite: Margarita est, et undique perforari potest"; The Scripture is a pearl, and might be bored through everywhere. Not everywhere by thyself; there may be many places, which thou of thyself canst not understand; not everywhere by any other man; no not by them, who have warrant to search, commission from God, by their calling, to interpret the Scriptures, not everywhere by the whole church, God hath reserved the understanding of some places of Scripture, till the time come for the fulfilling of those 18 Corn. Agrip. 19 Escalante. 21 Hierome. prophecies; as many places of the Old Testament were not understood, till Christ came, in whom they were fulfilled. If therefore thou wilt needs know, whether, when St. Paul took his information of the behaviour of the Corinthians, from those of Chloe 2, whether this Chloe were a woman, or a place, the fathers cannot satisfy thee, the latter writers cannot satisfy thee, there is not testimonium ab homine, no such human arguments as can determine thee, or give thee an acquittance; the greatest pillars whom God hath raised in his church, cannot give a satisfaction to thy curiosity. But if the doctrine of the place will satisfy thee, which doctrine is, that St. Paul did not give credit to light rumours against the Corinthians, nor to clandestine whisperers, but tells them who accused them, and yet, as well as he loved them, he did not stop his ears against competent witnesses (for he tells them, they stood accused, and by whom), then thou mayest bore this pearl through, and make it fit for thy use, and wearing, in knowing so much of St. Paul's purpose therein, as concerns thy edification, though thou never know, whether Chloe were a woman, or a place. Tantum veritati obstrepit adulter sensus, quam corruptor stylus; A false interpretation may do thee as much harm, as a false translation, a false commentary, as a false copy; and therefore, forbearing to make any interpretation at all, upon dark places of Scripture (especially those, whose understanding depends upon the future fulfilling of prophecies), in places that are clear, and evident thou mayest be thine own interpreter; in places that are more obscure, go to those men, whom God hath set over thee, and either they shall give thee that sense of the place, which shall satisfy thee, by having the sense thereof, or that must satisfy you, that there is enough for your salvation, though that remain uninterpreted. And let this testimonium ab homine, this testimony of man, establish thee for the Scripture, that there is a Scripture, a certain book, that is the word, and the revealed will of God; that these books which we receive for canonical, make up that book; and then, that this and this is the true sense of every place, which the Holy Ghost hath opened to the present understanding of his church. 24 We said before, that a Christian being a commonwealth to himself, the Scripture was his law, (and for that law, that Scripture, he was to have testimonium ab homine, the testimony of man) and then, his conscience is his judge, and for that he is to have the same testimony too. Thou must not rest upon the testimony and suggestions of thine own conscience; nec illud de trivio paratum habere, thou must not rest in that vulgar saying, Sufficit mihi, &c. As long as mine own conscience stands right, I care not what all the world say. Thou must care what the world says, and study to have the approbation and testimony of good men. Every man is enough defamed in the general depravation of our whole nature: Adam hath cast an infamy upon us all; and when a man is defamed, it is not enough that he purge himself by oath, but he must have compurgators too: other men must swear, that they believe he swears a truth. Thine own conscience is not enough, but thou must satisfy the world, and have testimonium ab homine, good men must think thee good. A conscience that admits no search from others, is cauterizata, burnt with a hot iron; not cured, but seared; not at peace, but stupified. And when in the verse immediately before our text it is said, That John came to bear witness of that light, it is added, that through him, (that is, through that man, through John, not through it, through that light) that through him all men believe. For though it be efficiently the operation of the light itself, (that is, Christ himself) that all men believe yet the Holy Ghost directs us to that that is nearest us, to this testimony of man, that instrumentally, ministerially works this belief in men. If then for thy faith, thou must have testimonium ab homine, the testimony of men, and mayest not believe as no man but thyself believes, much more for thy manners, and conversation. Think it not enough to satisfy thyself, but satisfy good men; nay weak men; nay malicious men till it come so far, as that for the desire of satisfying man, thou leave God unsatisfied, endeavour to satisfy all, God must weigh down all; thyself and others; but as long as thyself only art in one balance, and other men in the other, let this preponderate; let the opinion of other men weigh down thine own opinion of thyself. It is true, (but many men flatter 24 Hierome. |