The Works of John Knox, Volume 2 (of 6)

VOLUME SECOND.

EDINBURGH:
JAMES THIN, 55 SOUTH BRIDGE.
MDCCCXCV.

* * *

Works of John Knox

* * *

The Wodrow Society

Instituted May 1841

FOR THE PUBLICATION OF THE WORKS OF THE FATHERS AND EARLY WRITERS OF THE REFORMED CHURCH OF SCOTLAND.

* * *

Ad Scotos transeuntibus Primus occurrit Magnus ille JOANNES CNOXUS, quem si Scotorum in vero Dei cultu instaurando, velut Apostolum quendam dixero, dixisse me quod res est existimabo.

THEOD. BEZA.

Manufactured in the United States of America

* * *

Table of Contents

To the Buke of Discipline

To the Great Counsall of Scotland now admitted to [the] Regiment, by the Providence of God, and by the commoun consent of the Estaittis thairof, your Honouris humble Servitouris and Ministeris of Christ Jesus within the same, wishe Grace, Mercy, and Peace from God the Father of oure Lord Jesus Christ, with the perpetuall encrease of the Holye Spirite.

Frome youre Honouris we receaved a charge, daittit at Edinburgh, xxix of Aprile, in the yeir of God Jm Vc thre scoir yeiris, requyring and commanding us, in the name of the Eternall God, as we will ansuer in his presence, to committ to writing, and in a Buke to deliver unto your Wisdomes oure jugementis tuiching the Reformatioun of Religioun, quhilk heirtofore in this Realme, (as in utheris,) hes bene utterlie corrupted. Upone the recept quhairof, sa mony of us as wer in this Toune, did convene, and in unitie of mynd do offer unto your Wisdomes these Headis subsequent for commoun ordour and uniformitie to be observed in this Realme, concernyng Doctryne, administratioun of Sacramentis, [election of Ministers, Provision for their sustentation,] Ecclesiasticall Discipline, and Policye of the Kirk: Most humilie requyring your Honouris, that as ye luke for participatioun with Christ Jesus, that nather ye admitt ony thing quhilk Goddis plane word sall not approve, nather yit that ye sall reject suche ordinances as equitie, justice, and Goddis word do specifie: For as we will nott bynd your Wisdomes to oure jugementis, farther then we be able to prove the same by Goddis plane Scripturis; so must we most humblie crave of yow, evin as ye will ansuer in Goddis presence, (befoir quhom boyth ye and we must appeir to rander accomptis of all oure factis,) that ye repudiat na thing for pleasour nor affectioun of men, quhilk ye be not abill to improve by Goddis writtin and revealled Word.

* * *

The First Head, of Doctrine.

Seeing that Christ Jesus is he quhom God the Father hes commandit onlie to be herd, and followed of his scheip, we urge it necessarie, that his Evangell be trewlie and openlie preached in everie Kirk and Assemblie of this Realme; and that all doctrine repugnyng to the same be utterlie suppressed as damnabill to mannis salvatioun.

The Explicatioun of the First Head.

Least upone this our generalitie ungodlie men tak occasioun to cavill, this we adde for explicatioun. By preching of the Evangell, we understand nott onlie the Scripturis of the New Testament, bot also of the Auld; to wit, the Law, Propheittis, and Histories, in quhilk Christ Jesus is no les conteaned in figure, then we have him now expressed in veritie: And, thairfoir, with the Appostill we affirme, that “All Scripture inspired of God is profitable to instruct, to reprove, and to exhorte.” In quhilk buykis of Auld and New Testamentis we affirme, that all thingis necessarie for the instructioun of the Kirk, and to mak the man of God perfite, is conteaned and sufficientlie expressed.

By the contrarie Doctrine, we understand quhatsoever men, by Lawis, Counsallis, or Constitutionis have imposed upone the consciences of men, without the expressed commandiment of Goddis word; suche as be [the] vowis of chastitie, foirswering of marriage, bindyng of men and wemen to severall and disagysed apparrellis, to the superstitious observatioun of fasting dayis, difference of meit for conscience saik, prayer for the deid; and keping of holy dayis of certane Sanctis commandit by man, suche as be all those that the Papistis have invented, as the Feistis (as thai terme thame) of Appostillis, Martyres, Virgenis, of Christmess, Circumcisioun, Epiphany, Purification, and uther found feistis of our Lady: Quhilk thingis, becaus in Goddis Scripturis thai nather have commandiment nor assurance, we juge thame utterlie to be abolischet from this Realme; affirmyng farther, that the obstinat mayntenaris and teachearis of suche abhominationis aucht not to eschaip the punyschement of the Civile Magistrat.

The Secound Head, of Sacramentis.

To Christ Jesus his holie Evangell trewlie preached, of necessitie it is, that his holie Sacramentis be annexit, and trewlie ministred, as seallis and visible confirmationis of the spirituall promisses contened in the wourd: And thai be two, to wit, Baptisme, and the Holie Supper of the Lord Jesus: quhilk ar then rychtlie ministred, quhen by a lauchfull Minister the pepill, befoir the administratioun of the same, ar planelie instructed, and put in mynd of Goddis free grace and mercy, offered unto the penitent in Christ Jesus; quhen Goddis promisses ar rehersit, the end and use of the Sacramentis declared, and that in suche a toung as the pepill dois understand; quhen farther to thame is nothing added, from thame no thing diminissit, and in thair practise nathing changit besydis the institutioun of the Lord Jesus, and practise of his holie Apostles.

And albeit the Ordour of Geneva, quhilk now is used in some of oure kirks, is sufficient to instruct the diligent reader, how that boyth these Sacramentis may be rychtlie ministred; yit for ane uniformitie to be keipit, we have thocht gude to adde this as superaboundand.

In Baptisme, we acknawlege nothing to be used except the element of wattir onlie, (that the wourd and declaratioun of the promisses aucht to preceid we haif said befoir.) Quhairfoir, quhosoevir presumeth in baptisme to use oyle, salt, wax, spattill, conjuratioun, or croceing, accuseth the perfyte institutioun of Christ Jesus of imperfectioun; for it wes void of all suche inventionis devysed by men: And suche as wald presume to alter Christis perfite ordinance yow aucht seveirlie to punische.

The Tabill of the Lord is then most rychtlie ministred, quhen it approacheth most ney to Christis awin actioun: But plane it is, that at that Supper, Christ Jesus sat with his discipillis, and thairfoir do we juge, that sitting at a table is most convenient to that holie actioun: that breid and wyne aucht to be thair; that thankis aucht to be gevin; distributioun of the same maid; and commandiment gevin that the breid suld be tackin and eittin; and that all suld likewise drink of the cowp of wyne, with declaratioun quhat boyth the one and the other is, we suppoise no godlie man will doubt. For as tuiching the dampnabill erroure of the Papistis, quho can defraude the commoun pepill of the one parte of that holie Sacrament, to wit, of the coupe of the Lordis blude, we suppois thair errour to be so manifest, that it needeth no confutatioun; nather yit intend we to confute any thing in this oure simple confessioun; but to offer publict disputatioun to all that list oppung any thing affirmed by us.

That the Minister break the breid, and distribute the same to those that be nyxt unto him, commanding the rest, every one with reverence and sobrietie, to breake with other, we think it nyest to Christis actioun, and to the perfite practise [of the Apostles,] as we reid it in Sanct Paull. During the quhilk actioun, we think it necessarie, that some comfortable places of [the] Scripturis be red, quhilk may bring in mynd the deith of Christ Jesus, and the benefite of the same; for seing that in that actioun we aucht chieflie to remember the Lordis deith, we juge the Scripturis macking mentioun of the same most apt to stear up our dull myndis then, and at all tymes. Lett the discretioun of the ministeris appoint the places to be red as thai think gude. Quhat tymes we think most convenient for the administratioun of the one and of the other of these Sacramentis, salbe declared in the Policie of the Kirk.

Keep reading