A SERMON PREACHED AT St MARIES 〈◊〉 OXFORD VPON TVESDAY IN EASTER VVEEKE 1617. CONCERNING THE ABVSES of obscure and difficult places of holy Scripture and remedies against them By IOHN HALES FELLOW OF ETON COLLEDGE and Regius Professour of the Greeke tongue in the Vniversitie of Oxford AT OXFORD Printed by Iohn Lichfield and William Wrench Printers to the famous Vniversitie 1617. 2. PETER 3. 16. Which the vnlearned and vnstable wrest as they doe the other Scriptures vnto their owne destruction THE loue and favour which it pleased God to beare our Fathers before the law so farre prevail'd with him as that without any bookes writings by familiar and frendly conversing with theÌ„ and communicating himselfe vnto them he made them receaue and vnderstand his lawes their inward conceits intellectualls being after a wonderfull manner as it were Figured and Characterd as St Basill expresses it by his spirit so that they could not but see and consent vnto and confesse the truth of them Which way of manifesting his will vnto many other gracious priviledges which it had aboue that which in after ages came in place of it had this added that it brought with it vnto the man to whom it was made a preservati on against all doubt and hesitancy a full assurance both who the author was and how farre his intent and meaning reacht Wee 〈◊〉 their ofâ—â—ng ought as St Chrysostome tells vs fo to haue demeand our selues that it might haue been with vs as it was with them that 〈◊〉 might haue had no need of writing no other 〈◊〉 but the spirit no other books but our hearts no other means to haue beene taught the things of God Nisi inspirationis divinae internam 〈…〉 ubi sine sonis sermonum sine elementis literarum eo dulciùs quo secretiùs veritas loquitur as saith Fulgentius 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith Isidorus Pelâ—siota for it is a great argument of our shame imperfection that the holy things are written in bookes For as God in anger tells the Iewes that he himselfe would not goe before them as hitherto he had done to conduct them into the promised land but would leaue his Angell with them as his deputie so hath he dealt with vs the vnhappy posteritie degenerated from the ancient puritie of our forefathers When himselfe refused to speake vnto our hearts because of the hardnesse of them he then began to put his lawes in writing Which thing for a long time amongst his owne people seemes not to haue brought with it any sensible inconvenience For amongst all those acts of the Iewes which God in his booke hath registred for our instruction there is not one concerning any pretended ambiguitie or obscuritie of the Text Letter of their Law which might drawe them into faction and schisme the Divell be like hauing other sufficieâ— advantages on which he wrought But ever since the Gospell was committed to wâ—â—ting what age what monument of the Churches acts is not full of debate and strife concerning the force meaning◠〈◊〉 those writings which the holy Ghost hath left vs to be the law rule of faith St Paul one of the first penmen of the holy Ghost who in Pâ—â—â—dise 〈◊〉 wordes which it was not lawfull for man to vtter hath left vs words in writing which it is not safe for any man to be too busie to interpret No sooner had hee laid downe his penne almost ere the inke was drie were there found Syllabarum aucupes such as St Ambrose spake of qui nescire aliquid erubescunt per occasionem obscuritatis tendunt laqueos deceptionis who thought there could be no greater disparagement vnto them then to seeme to bee ignorant of any thing and vnder pretense of interpreting obscure places laid gins to entrap the vncautelous who taking advantage of the obscuritie of St Pauls text made the letter of the Gospell of life and peace the most forcible instrument of mortal quarrell contention The growth of which the Holy Ghost by the Ministery of St Peter hath indeavored to cut vp in the bud and to strangle in the wombe in this short admonition which but now hath founded in your eares VVhich the learned c. In which wordes for our more orderly proceeding we will consider First the sinne it selfe that is heare repreheÌ„ded wresting of Scripture where we will breifly consider what it is and what cauâ—â—â— and motioners it findes in our corrupt vnderstandings Secondly the persons guilty of this offence discipher'd vnto vs in two Epithets vnlearned vnstable Last of all the danger in the last words vnto their owne damnation And first of the sinne it selfe together with some of the especiall causes of it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 They wrest They deale with Scripture as Chimickes deale with naturall bodies torturing them to extract that out of them which God and nature never put in them Scripture is a rule which will not fit it selfe to the obliquitie of our conceits but our perverse and crooked discourse must fit it selfe to the straightnesse of that rule A learned writer in the age of our fathers commenting vpon Scripture spake most truely when hee said that his Comments gaue no light vnto the text the text gaue light vnto his Comments Other expositions may giue rules directions for vnderstanding their authors but Scripture giues rules to exposition it selfe and interprets the interpreter Wherefore when wee wade in Scripture non pro sententia divinarum Scripturarum as St Austine speakes sed pro nostra ita dimicantes vt tam velimus Scripturarum esse quae nostra est When we striue to giue vnto it and not to receaue from it the sense when wee factiously contend to fasten our conceits vpon God and like the Harlot in the booke of Kings take our dead and putrified fancies and lay them in the bosome of Scripture as of a mother then are we guiltie of this great sinne of wresting of Scripture The nature of which will the better appeare if wee consider a little some of those motioners which driue vs vpon it One very potent and strong meane is the exceeding affection and loue vnto our owne opinions conceits For growne wee are vnto extremities on both hands we cannot with patience either admit of other mens opinions or endure that our owne should be withstood As it was in the Lacedaemonian army almost all were Captaines so in these disputes all will be leaders and we take our selues to be much discountenanced if others thinke not as we doe So that the complaint which one makes concerning the dissention of Physicians about the diseases of our bodies is true likewise in these disputes which concerne the cure of our soules hinc illae circa agros miserae sententiarum concertationes nullo idem censente ne videatur accessio alterius From hence haue sprong those miserable contentions about the distemper of our soules singularitie alone and
that wee will not seeme to stand as cyphars to make vp the summe of other mens opinions being cause enough to make vs disagree A fault anciently amongst the Christians so apparant that it needed not an Apostolicall spirit to discover it the very heathen themselues to our shame and confusion haue iustly judiciously and sharply taxt vs for it Ammianus Marcellinus passing his censure vpon Constantiâ—◠〈◊〉 Emperour Christianam religionem absolutam simpliceÌ„ saith he and they are words very well worth your marking Christianam religionem absolutâ—â— simpliceÌ„ anili superstitione confudit In 〈◊〉 scrutanda perplexiùs quà m componenda grauiùs excitauit dissidia plurima quae progressa fusiùs aluâ—t concertatiâ—ne verborum dum ritum omnem adsuâ—â—â— trahere conatur arbitrium The Christian religion a religion of great simplicitie and perfection hee troubled with dotage and superstition For going about rather perplexedly to search the controversies then grauely to compose them he raised great stirres by disputing spread them farre and wide whilst he went about to make himselfe sole Lord commander of the whole profession Now that it may appear wherefore I haue noted this it is no hard thing for a man that hath wit and is strongly possest of an opinion and resolute to maintaine it to finde some places of Scripture which by good handling will be woed to cast a favourable couÌ„tenance vpon it Pythagoras Schollers hauing beene bred vp in the doctrine of numbers when afterward they diverted vpon the studies of nature fancied vnto themselues somewhat in naturall bodies like vnto numbers and therevpon fell into a conceit that numbers were the principles of them So fares it with him that to the reading of Scripture comes forepossest with some opinion As Antipheron Oriâ—tes in Aristotle thought that every where hee saw his owne shape and picture going afore him so indivers parts of Scripture where these men walke they will easily perswade themselues that they see the image of their owne conceits It was is to this day a fashion in the hotter countries at noone when the sunne is in his strength to retire themselues to their Closets or beds if they were at home to coole shadie places if they were abroad to avoid the inconvenience of the heat of it To this the Spouse in the Canticles alluding calls after her beloued as after a shepheard Shew me O thou whom my soule loueth where thou feedest thy flocke where thou dost rest at noone The Donatists conceiting vnto themselues that the Church was shut vp in them alone being vrged by the fathers to shew how the Church being vniversall came on a suddaine thus to bee coÌ„finde to Africke they had presently their Scripture for it for so they found it written in the Canticles Indica quem diligit anima mea vbi pascas vbi cubes in meridie In which text meridies doubtlesse as they thought was their Southerne countrie of Africke where the shepheard of Israell was and no where else to feed his flockes I may not trouble you with instances in this kinde little observation is able to furnish the man of slendrest reading with abundance The texts of Scripture which are especially subiect to this abuse are those that are of ambiguous and doubtfull meaning For as Thucydides obserues of the fat and fertile places of Greece that they were evermore the occasions of stirres and seditions the neighbouring nations every one striuing to make it selfe Lord of them so is it with these places that are so fertile as it were of interpretation and yeeld a multiplicity of sense they are the Palastra for good wits to proue masteries in where every one desires to bee Lord and absolute A second thing occasioning vs to transgresse against Scripture and the discreet and sober handling of it is our too quicke and speedy entrance vpon the practise of interpreting it in our young and greene yeares before that time experience haue ripened vs and setled our conceits For that which in all other businesse and here likewise doth most especially commend vs is our cautelous and wary handling it But this is a flower seldome seen in youths garden Aristotle differencing age and youth makes it a propertie of youth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to suppose they knowe all things and to be bold in affirming and the heathen Rhetorician could tel vs that by this so speedy entring vpon action and so timely venting our crude and vnconcocted studies quod est vbique perniciosissimuÌ„ praevenit vires fiducia a thing which in all cases is most pernicious presumption is greater then strength after the manner of those who are lately recoverd out of some great sicknesse in whome appetite is stronger then digestion These are they who take the greatest mysteryes of Christian religion to bee the fittest arguments to spend themselues vpon So Eckius in his Chrysopassus a worke of his so tearmed wherein he discusses the question of predestination in the very entrance of his worke tells vs that hee therefore enterpris'd to handle this argument because forsooth hee thought it to be the fittest question in which hee might luveniles calores exercere The ancient Masters of sence amongst the Romans were wont to set vp a post and cause their young Schollers to practise vpon it and to foine and fight with it as with an adversarie Insteed of a post this young fencer hath set himselfe vp one of the deepest mysteries of our profession to practise his freshmanship vpon Which qualitie when once it findes Scripture for his obiect how great inconvenience it brings with it needs no large discourse to proue St Ierome a man not too easily brought on to acknowledge the errours of his writings amongst those few things which hee doth retract censures nothing so sharply as the mistake of his youth in this kinde In adolescentia provocatus ardore studio Scripturarum allegoricè interpretatus sum Abdiam Prophetam cuius historiam nesciebam Hee thought it one of the greatest sinnes of his youth that being carried away through an inconsiderate heate in his studies of Scripture he adveÌ„tured to interpret Abdias the Prophet allegorically when as yet hee knewe not the historicall meaning Old men saith our best naturall master by reason of the experience of their ofâ—en mistakes are hardly brought coÌ„stantly to affirme any thing 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they will alwaies cautelously interline their speeches with it may bees and peradventures and other such particles of warines circumspection This old mens modestie of all other things best fits vs in pervsing those hard and obscure texts of holy Scripture Out of which conceit it is that we see St Austine in his bookes de Genesi adlitteram to haue written only by way of questions and interrogations after the manner of Aristotle in his Problemes that he might not for so he giues his reason by being over positiue preiudice others and peradventure truer interpretations that every one might choose
Heâ—od the voice of God and not of man If he then that abases the Princes come deserues to die what is his desert that insteed of the tried silver of Gods word stamps the name and character of God vpoÌ„ Neâ—ushtan vpon base brafen stuffe of his owne Thirdly No Scripture is of private interpretation saith the Apostle There can therfore be but two certaine and infallible interpreters of Scripture either it selfe or the holy Ghost the author of it It selfe doth then expound it selfe when the wordes circumstances doe sound vnto vs the prime and naturall and principall sense But when the place is obscure involu'd and intricate or when there is contain'd some secret and hidden mystery beyond the prime sense infallibly to shew vs this there can be no interpreter but the holy Ghost that gaue it Besides these two all other interpretation is private Wherefore as the Lords of the Philistines sometimes said of the kine that drew the arke vnto Bethshemesh If they goe of themselues then is this from God but if they goe another way then is it not from God it is some chance that hath hapned vnto vs so may it bee said of all pretended sense of Scripture If Scripture come vnto it of it selfe then is it of God but if it goe another way or if it bee violently vrged and goaded on then is it but a matter of chance of mans wit invention As for those marvailous discourses of some fram'd vpon presumption of the spirits helpe in private in iudging or interpreting of difficult places of Scripture I must needs confesse I haue often wondred at the boldnesse of them The spirit is a thing of darke secret operation the maner of it none can descrie As vnderminers are never seene till they haue wrought their purpose so the spirit is never perceaved but by its effects The effects of the spirit as farre as they concerne knowledge and instruction are not particular information for resolution in any doubtfull case for this were plainely revelation but as the Angell which was sent vnto Cornelius informes him not but sends him to Peter to schoole so the spirit teaches not but stirres vp in vs a desire to learne Desire to learne makes vs thirst after the meanes and pious sedulitie carefulnesse makes vs watchfull in the choice and diligent in the vse of our meanes The promise to the Apostles of the spirit which should lead them into all truth was made good vnto them by private and secret informing their vnderstandings with the knowledge of high and heavenly mysteries which as yet had never entred into the conceit of any man The same promise is made to vs but fulfil'd after another manner For what was written by revelation in their hearts for our instruction haue they written in their bookes To vs for information otherwise then out of these bookes the spirit speaks not WheÌ„ the spirit regenerats a maÌ„ it infuses no knowledge of any point of faith but sends him to the Church and to the Scriptures When it stirres him vp to newnesse of life it exhibits not vnto him an inventory of his sinnes as hitherto vnknowne but either supposes theÌ„ knowne in the law of nature of which no man can bee ignorant or sends him to learne them from the mouth of his teachers More then this in the ordinary proceeding of the holy spirit in matter of instruction I yet could never deserie So that to speake of the helpe of the spirit in private either in dijudicating or in interpreting of Scripture is to speake they knowe not what Which I doe the rather note first because by experience we haue learnt how apt-men are to call their private conceits the spirit And againe because it is the especiall errour with which S. Austine long agoe charged this kinde of men tantò sunt ad seditionem faciliores quantò sibi videntur spiritâ— excellere by so much the more prone are they to kindle schisme and contention in the Church by how much they seeme to themselues to bee endued with a more eminent measure of spirit then their brethren whilst 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as St Basils speakes vnder pretense of interpretation they violently broach their owne conceits Great then is the danger in which they wade which take vpon them this businesse of interpretation temeritas asserendâ— incertae dubiaeque opinionis saith St Austine difficile sacrilegij crimen evitat the rashnesse of those that averre vncertaine and doubtfull interpretations for Catholike and absolute can hardly escape the sinne of sacrilege But whereas our Apostle saith their owne destruction is the destruction onely their owne this were well if it stretched no farther The ancients much complaine of this offence as an hinderer of the salvation of others There were in the daies of Isidorus Pelusiota some that gaue out that all in the old Testament was spoken of Christi belike out of extreame oppositioÌ„ to the Manichees who on the otherside taught that no text in the old Testament did foretell of Christ That Father therefore dealing with some of that opinion tels them how great the danger of their tenent is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for if saith he we striue with violence to drawe and apply those texts to Christ which apparantly pertaine not to him we shall gaine nothing but this to make all the places that are spoken of him suspected and so discredite the strength of other testimonies which the Church vsually vrges for the refutation of the Iewes For in these cases a wrosted proofe is like vnto a suborn'd witnesse It never doth helpe so much whilest it is presumed to bee strong as it doth 〈◊〉 when it is discouered to bee weake St Austine in his bookes de Genesi ad litteram sharply â—â—proues some Christians who out of some places of Scripture misvnderstood fram'd vnto themselues a kinde of knowledge in Astronomie and Physiologie quite contrary vntosome parts of heathen learning in this kinde which were true and evident vnto sense A man would thinke that this were but a small errour and yet hee doubts not to call it 〈…〉 perniciosâ—â— maxiâ—â— cavendum His reason warrants the roundnesse of his reproofe For he charges such to haue beene a scandall vnto the word and hinderers of the conversion of some heathen men that were schollars For how saith he shall they beleeue our bookes of Scripture perswading the resurrection of the dead the kingdome of heauen and the rest of the mysteries of our profession if they finde them faultie in these things of which themselues haue vndeniable demonstration yea though the cause wee maintaine bee never so good yet the issue of diseas'd and crazie proofes brought to maintaine it must needs bee the same For vnto all causes be they never so good weakenesse of proofe when it is discovered brings great prejudice but vnto the cause of religion most of all St Austine obseru'd that there were some qui 〈◊〉 de aliquibus qui
â—â—â—anctum nomen profitentur aliquid 〈…〉 velveri putuerit 〈…〉 vt de omnibus hoc credâ—tur◠〈…〉 with religion it selfe theÌ„ it doth with the professors of it Diverse malignants there are who lie in wait to espie where our reasons on which we build are weake and hauing deprehended it in some will earnestly solicit the world to beleeue that all are so if meanes were made to bring it to light 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Nazianzen speaks vsing for advantage against vs no strength of their owne but the vice and imbecillitie of our defence The booke of the Revelation is a booke full of wonder and mystery the ancients seeme to haue made a religion to meddle with it and thought it much better to admire it with silence then to adventure to expound it and therefore amongst their labours in exposition of Scripture scarsly is there any one found that hath touchâ— it But our age hath taken better heart and scarsly any one is there who hath entertained a good conceit of his owne abilities but he hath taken that booke as a fit argument to spend his paines on That the Church of Rome hath great cause to suspect her selfe to feare least shee haue a great part in the prophecies of that booke I think the most partiall wil not deny Yet vnto the expositors of it I will giue this advise that they look that that befall not them which Thueydides obserues to befall the common sort of men who though they haue good meanes to acquit themselues like men yet when they thinke their best hopes faile them and beginne to despaire of their strength comfort themselues with interpâ—â—â—ati 〈◊〉 of 〈…〉 abscure prophecies Many plaine 〈◊〉 of Scripture are very pregnant of sufficient strength to overthrowe the points maintained by that Church against vs. If we leaue these and ground our selues vpon our priuate expositions of this booke wee shall instly seeâ—e in the povertie of better proofes to rest our selues vpon those prophecies which though in themselues they are most certaine yet our expositions of them must 〈◊〉 except God giue yet further light vnto his Church necessarily bee mixt with much vncertaintie as being at the best but vnprobable coniectures of our owne Scarsly can there be found a thing more harmefull to religion then to venâ— thus our own conceits and obtrude them vpon the world for necessary and absolute The Physicians skill as I conceaue of it stands as much â—n opinion as any that I knowe whatsoever Yet their greatest master Hippocrates tells them directly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. then the Physicians praesumption vpon opinion there is not one thing that bringes either more blame to himselfe or danger to his patient If it be thus in an art which opinion taken away must needs fall how little roome then must opinion haue in that knowledge where nothing can haue place but what is of eternal truth where if once we admit of opinion all is overthrowne But I conclude this point adding onely this generall admonition that we be not too peremprorie in our positions where expresse text of Scripture faileâ— vs that we lay not our owne collections conclusions with too much praecipitancie For experience hath shewd vs that the error and weakenesse of them being afterwards discovered brings great disadvantage to Christianitie and trouble to the Church The Easterne Church before St Basils time had entertained generally a conceit that those greeke particles 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and the rest were so divided among the Trinitie that each of the persons had his particle which was no way appliable to the rest St Basil hauing discovered this to be but a nicenesse and needlesse curiositie beginning to teach so rais'd in the Church such a tumult that hee brought vpon himselfe a great labour of writing many tracts in apologie for himselfe with much adoe eare matters could againe be setled The fault of this was not in Basil who religiously fearing what by way of consequence might ensue vpoÌ„ an error taught a truth but in the Church who formerly had with too much facilitie admitted a conclusion so iustly subiect to exception And let this suffice for our third part Now because it is apparant that the end of this our Apostles admonition is to giue the Church a caveat how shee behaue her selfe in handling of Scripture giue me leaue a little insteed of the vse of such doctrines as I haue formerly laid downe to shew you as farre as my conceit can stretch what course any man may take to saue himselfe from offâ—ing violence vnto Scripture and reasonably settle himselfe any pretended obscuritie of the text whatsoever notwithstanding For which purpose the diligent obseruing of two rules shall bee throughly availeable First The litter all plaine and vncontroversable meaning of Scripture without any addition or supply by way of interpretation is that alone which for ground of faith we are necessarily bound to accept except it bee there where the holy Ghost himselfe treads vs out another waie I take not this to bee any peculiar conceit of mine but that vnto which our Church stands necessarily bound When wee receded from the Church of Rome one motiue was because she added vnto Scripture her glosses as Canonicall to supply what the plaine text of Scripture could not yeeld If in place of hers wee set vp our owne glosses thus to doe were nothing else but to pull downe Baal and set vp an Ephod to runne round and meet the Church of Rome againe in the same point in which at first wee left her But the plaine evident and demonstratiue ground of this rule is this That authoritie which doth warrant our faith vnto vs must every way be free from all possibilitie of errour For let vs but once admit of this that there is any possibility that any one point of faith should not be true if it bee once granted that I may bee deceaued in what I haue beleeued how can I be assur'd that in the end I shall not be deceaued If the author of faith may alter or if the evidence and assurance that hee hath left vs be not pregnant and impossible to bee defeated there is necessarily opened an inlet to doubtfulnesse and wauering which the nature of faith excludes That saith therefore may stand vnshaken two things are of necessitie to concurre First that the author of it bee such a one as can by no meanes be deceaued and this can bee none but God Secondly that the words and text of this author vpon whom we ground must admit of no ambiguitie no vncertainetie of interpretation If the trumpet giue an vncertaine sound who shall provide himselfe to battle If the words admit a double sense and I follow one who can assure mee that that which I followe is the truth For infallibility either in iudgement or interpretation or whatsoever is annext neither to the sea of any Bishop nor to the Fathers nor to the Councells nor