To Maister William Scot of Ely
ALL knowledge, and all sciences inuented by the wise men of this world without the knowledge of IESVS CHRIST, by whom remission of sinnes is obtained to the miserable soule, are but vaine and vnprofitable. The Apostle reckoning, out his prerogatiues, Philip. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. which were many, counts them all in respect of the excellency and knovvledge of Christ Iesus to be but losse and dung: Euen so it is with all sciences, if they be seuered from the knowledge of Iesus Christ in the Gospell. For, what auailes it a man to knowe the height of the Heauens, the courses of the Starres, the breadth of the earth, if in the mean-tyme his conscience accuse him for his sinnes to be vnworthie both of Heauen and earth? What auailes it a man to seeke by Physick to prolong afraile temporall life to the bodie, if his conscience tell him in the mean-tyme that his soule shall perish for euer? What auailes it a man to brag of the knowledge of the Lawe, if his conscience accuse him to be most vnjust and worthie of eternal damnation. In these and such like things the wise men of this world doe glorie, and yet they make not the soule the better. The knowledge of Iesus Christ in the Gospell is the onely knowledge that preserues the soule, and makes it to liue for euer, Ioh. 5. 39 as our Sauiour sayes, Search the Scriptures, for in them ye thinke to haue eternall lyfe, Ioh. 17. 3 and they are they vvhich testifie of me. And againe, This is life eternall that they knovv thee to be the onely verie God, and vvhom thou hast sent Iesus Christ. Then this science is to be sought, praised, and preferred to all others in all respects Look how highly PAVL commends it: 1. Cor. 2. 6. 7. 8. 9. Wespeake, sayes he, vvisdome, among them that are perfite: Not the vvisdome of this vvorld, neither of the Princes of this vvorld, vvhich come to nought: But vve speake the vvisdome of God in a misterie, euen the hid vvisdome, vvhich God had determined before the vvorld vnto our glory: Which none of the Princes of this World hath knovvne: for had they knovvne it, they vvould not haue crucified the Lord of glory: But as it is vvritten, the things vvhich eye hath not seene, neither eare hath heard, neither came into mans hart, are vvhich God hath prepared for them that loue him: But God hath reueiled thē vnto vs by his Spirit. Other sciences were inuented by men: but God himselfe is the Author of this science, he reueiled it. Other sciences are all inuented in tyme, but this science is before all tyme, from all eternitie: other sciences handles things corruptible and changeable the knoweledge whereof albeit it be pleasant and profitable for this present life, yet it cannot reforme the soule to eternall life: for all their vertue is but the couerture of vyce, but this science settes out and reueiles to a broken harted sinner a fauorable and reconciled God in Iesus, who is aduantage both in life and death, and in whom the heigh and wonderfull things of God, and all things that the soule of man can require for grace or glory, pertaining either to this or to that other life, Col. 2. 3. 9 10. is contained: For in him are hid all the treasures of vvisdome and knovvledge, in him dvvelleth all the fulnesse of the god-head bodily. Now this pretious treasure the Lord hes committed to earthen vessels, he hes set in his seruice base and contemptible persons to carie the message of reconciliation, and to proclame to weary and loaden sinners the glade tydings of saluation, he sendes out simple men to manure his husbandrie: he sends them out as souldiers to that spirituall warfare vvith vveapons that are not carnall, 2. Cor. 10 4. 5. but mightie through God, to cast dovvne holdes, to cast dovvne imaginations, and euery high thing that is exalted against the knovvledge of God, and to bring into captiuitie euery thought to the obedience of Christ. Whom for the message they carie, the Gospel they preach, the word of life they offer, that hid treasure that is committed to them, the Lord craues we should haue in singulare account, honour and loue. And indeed if we had the sight of the fearcenesse of that eternall wrath of God for sinne, it could not be possible but we would say, O hovv bevvtifull are the feete of them vvhich bring glade tydinges of peace, Rom. 18. 15. and bring glade tydinges of good things! We cannot honour, loue and highly esteeme of the Maister, and respect the Gospell, if we hate and contemne the seruant and messenger. And if we loue our parents, of whom we haue nothing but misery, who hes conceiued vs in sinne, nurirished and trained vs vp in sin, and who by nature makes vs aires of wrath and hell (for that vvhich is borne of the flesh is flesh.) Ioh. 3. 6. O how excedinglie should we loue these whom God makes instruments of our regeneration to beget vs to God, to make vs his sonnes, and to translate vs from darknesse to light from miserie to felicitie, from death to life, from hell to heauen. And yet this vnworthie world neuer duely accounts of them, but of all men they hate most malitiouslie the true seruants of Iesus Christ. And to passe by other ages and Countries, the Lord of the haruest stryuing against our ingratitude hes sent out from tyme to tyme into this Land sundry painfull laborers and faithfull preachers of the Gospell, who preased in all respectes to approue themselues to God, to a good conscience, and to the consciences of so many as beleeued, of whom the world was not worthie.
Among the rest whom God did bewtifie with singulare graces, the Lord in the person of M. ROBERT ROLLOCK, that faithfull and reuerent seruant of Iesus Christ, gaue vs no sober token of his loue. For we cannot tell if vpon any almest in this Land the Lord bestowed greater aboundance and varietie of graces of his Spirite, if in any there was a more spirituall and heauenly soule, if any spared themselues lesse and vndertooke greater paines that they might be found faithfull and finishe their course with joye, if any preased more to approue themselues to God and a good conscience then he. O what and how many giftes and graces were in the person of that man! in conceiuing he was quick, in judgement solide, he vttered the Word with great libertie, he preached with euidence and demonstration of the Spirit and power: in opening vp of the text and raising groundes of doctrine he had a speciall grace, in teaching he was cleare and sententious, in conuincing, powerfull: in exhorting earnest and pithie: in correcting vehement: who for graces being in account and honoured was more humble? (& rara virtw humilitas honorata) who being prouoked was lesse vindictine? who preased more to keepe the chaire of Veritie cleane from corrupt passions, that the word of God might haue free passage and be glorified? Who sought the world lesse? Who estemed lesse of these earthly thinges: For he behaued himselfe as a faithfull seruant of God, not seeking himselfe, but Iesus Christ, as a pilgrime heere, yea and crucified to the world: for knowing that here he had no continuing cittie, he sought for one to come he had his conuersation in heauen, from whence he looked for Iesus Christ his Sauiour to come. And hauing liued such an holy life to the glorie of God, there followed a most sweete and comfortable death in Iesus, whom he counted alwayes to be his aduantage. Reuel. 14. 13. And blessed are they that dies in Iesus, for they rest from their labours, and their vvorkes follovv them. O how great a wound did the church receiue by the losing of such a mēber! Experience teaches vs this day when there is such distraction of harts in the Church what inlack we haue of this man, whose labours in the like dayes and cases the Lord while he liued blessed wonderfully. His life preached his death preached to the world: Many one who heard him found in experience that he ranne not vnsent: For he laboured not in vaine, 1. Tim. 3. 2. &c. but the grace of God was powerfull in him, and by him to many. Finally, he as a viue exemplar represented to vs such qualities and conditions as the Spirite of God requires to be in a Bishop of Iesus Christ. Tit. 7. 8 Put why insist we to speake to you, Sir, of this man who was wel knowne almost to all, but most interely to you: Neither was he steadable to the faithfull that heard him by his vine voice onely in his life preaching, but also his workes yet teaches the posteritie. For his learned and judicious writtings left behind him in latine hes acquired to him a famous name and reuerend account among the learned in sundry nations, who professe that therby no smal edification redounds to the Church of God. And therefore, seeing that God did accompany his forme of teaching so powerfully with his spirit and made it so profitable, we haue thoght meet to set out these his Lectures vpon the two Epistles to the Thessalonians, that not only the simple may be instructed thereby but also the teachers may know and imitate his gratious forme of teaching: as likewise, because the other Sermons that were before imprinted hes bene receiued with great lyking by the humble and such as desire to be edified,
Now, Sir, whereas others in such cases vses to say that they were aduising as doubtsome to whose patronage they should recommend their worke, we heerein are releeued of this care: we need no deliberation: for to whom in all respects can it belong but to you? First in respect of that inteere and exceeding loue and familiaritie that was betweene you and the Author heereof. For from once by his preaching the Lord wroght in your hart, all who knew M. ROLLOCK knew also how ye loued him, delyted in his companie and conference, set your selfe in all thinges to pleasure him, what testimonies of true loue and vnfained kindnesse ye would haue vttered to him, how freely for the loue of Iesus ye would haue communicate to him temporall thinges, (if that man, who was so well content with that he had, could haue suffered you, and had not stayed the course of your liberalitie.) Also when that last messenger and fore-runner of death did sease vpon his fraile and weakned bodie, few are ignorant how carefull ye were for his greater ease to haue him transported to your owne house: How liberallie ye and your bed-fellow (whose praise ought not nor shall not be buried in obliuion) bestowed on him all thinges necessare and commodious, how chearefully ye receiued and intertained for his cause all them that came to visite him, and what great benefite ye counted the Lord bestowed on you in that he offered the occasion, which long ye wished to showe your liberalitie in temporall thinges towardes such a rate vessell of mercie and faithfull seruant of Iesus from whom he had receiued so many spirituall thinges. Againe who is ignorant, what affection and kyndnesse ye haue vttered and daily vtters towardes his relict and posthume for his cause yea and towardes all these who loued him in Christ. Next, to passe by that M. ROLLOCK in testimonie of his loue dedicate to you his commentare in Latine on the second of these Epistles, as also that in his Testament he ordeined that all his bookes which he left to be printed after his decease should be dedicate to you, and come out vnder your name and patrocinie, that whosoeuer gote commoditie thereof, next after God, might giue the honour and thankes vnto you, after a speciall sort this worke requyres your patronage. For throgh your care, moyen and expenses these Lectnres were collected and gathered from the handes of these who wraite them from his mouth, by your moyen and procurement they were reuised, corrected, and made apt for the printing by your meanes they now see the light, which they had neuer seene, but had bene buried in darknesse, if the Lord had not made you an instrument to publishe them. Last, if that the paines which hath bene taine in reuising, correcting and making them apt for the printing might yeelde any right to make choise of a patrone to this work, we would not, nor could not offer it to any, but to you, Sir, not onely because of the vndeserued loue and kyndnesse ye vtter daily towardes vs, yea and towardes all the seruants of Christ, both publikly and priuily as they themselues doe testifie, but also in respect ye were the Author to mooue vs to vndertake such traueiles. Indeeed such a propine is farre inferior either to your desertes or our desire: and therefore we present it, not so much thinking thereby to discharge and satisfie the debt, as to acknowledge our obligation to you, and to be a testimonie of our thankfulnesse.
For these causes, Sir, we desire you to receiue this work in your patronage and protection, to defend it from the speaches of such as hes not learned yet to speake well of any person or their workes. For we are not ignorant how much and oft they who set forth other mens works vse to be subject to the sharpe censure of men, and how little thankes commonly, either they get, or may looke for of many, so that few would be found to take trauaile in them, except they were rather moued through the loue of the glorie of God, and edification of his Church, then throgh any thankfulnesse they may expect at mens hands. Last, Sir, wearie not in wel-doing, goe forward to doe good vnto the Saintes for Christs sake, and experience shall giue you a proofe of the Lords loue and blessing vpon your bodie, soule, and actions in this life, his Saints shall loue you, his seruantes shall pray for you that ye may finde mercy in that great day, and when ye haue run out your course, when your journay shall be ended, when ye haue foughten out the battaile, the Lord shall then gather you to his Saints and crowne you with glorie. Now the God of al consolation, Lord of Lords, and King of kings, blesse you with al benefits spiritual and temporal, direct you by his sprit, and preserue you long to the glorie of his Name, and to he well of his Church, that your pilgrimage being ended ye may with joy rest from your labours in Iesus, in whose countenance is sacietie of joyes, and at whose right hand are pleasures for euer more, AMEN. Edinburgh the 16. of Iune. 1606.
Yours in the Lord H. C. W. A.
