John Knox

“ For our natural fire, in comparison to hell-fire, is like a fire painted on a wall; but that shall be so extreme, that no man is able to express the terrible horror and grief thereof.
O what a pitiful thing is it, that man will not consider this, and leave the sin and pleasure of this world, and live godly; but is so blind and mad, that he will rather have a momentary, and a very short and small pleasure, than hearken to the will and pleasure of Almighty God; who can take away everlasting pain and woe, and give unto him everlasting felicity! ”

“ Arrived in Leith, and hearing no word of those that had appointed to meet him, to wit, the Earl of Cassillis and the gentlemen of Kyle and Cunningham, Master George kept himself secret for a day or two. But beginning to wax sorrowful in spirit, and being asked the cause, he said, "What differ I from a dead man, except that I eat and drink? Unto this time, God has used my labours for the instruction of others, and for the disclosing of darkness; and now I lurk as a man that is ashamed, and dare not show himself before men." ”

“ But in vain, some will think, that all this labour I have taken; for no man of whole judgment any part of this would half deny. Nor yet does it prove anything of my intent; for the Mass is not the invention of man, but the very ordinance of God. Then I descend to prove the Mass to be the mere invention of man, set up without all commandment of God.
And first, of this name Missa, which we call the Mass, I would ask at such as would defend that papistical abomination: "Of what spirit is it invented that Missa shall signify a sacrifice for the sins of the quick and the dead?" ”

“ This I write, beloved in the Lord, since you know the word of God not only to be that whereby heaven and earth were created, but also to be the power of God to salvation to all that believe, the bright lantern to the feet of those who by nature walk in darkness, the life to those that by sin are dead, a comfort to such as are in tribulation, the tower of defence to such as are most feeble, the wisdom and great felicity of such as delight in the same. And, to be short, you know God's word to be of such efficacy and strength, that thereby sin is purged, death vanquished, tyrants suppressed ”

“ So these trumpet notes are the outpouring of a very great nature, if not of a great thinker; of one whose absolute and dauntless devotion to GOD, to truth, to right, whose burning indignation against wrong-doing and faith in the Divine vengeance to overtake it, fitted him to do a giant’s work in the Reformation, and will enshrine his memory in the affection of all good men till time shall end. ”

“ Lethington. All this reasoning is not to the purpose; for we reason as if the Queen should become such an enemy to our religion, that she should persecute it, and put innocent men to death. This, I am assured, she never intended, and never will do. If I should see her again of that purpose, yea, if I should suspect any such thing in her, I should be as far forward in that argument as ye or any other within this realm. But there is not such a thing. Our question is, whether we may and ought to suppress the Queen's Mass? Or whether her idolatry shall be laid to our charge? ”

“ Give us, O Lord! hearts to visit thee in time of affliction; and albeit we see no end of our dolours, yet our faith and hope may conduct us to the assured hope of that joyful resurrection, in which we shall possess the fruit of that for which we now labour. In the mean time, grant unto us, O Lord! to repose ourselves in the sanctuary of thy promise, that in thee we may find comfort, till this thy great indignation, begun amongst us, may pass over, and thou thyself appear to the comfort of thine afflicted, and to the terror of thine and our enemies. ”

“ And in them was a commemoration of sins made, but neither was remission of sins obtained, nor purgation made by any such sacrifice.
What will you do, Papist priests? There rests no sacrifice to be offered for sin by you, nor by any mortal man. These are dolorous tidings unto your hearts. And no marvel. For by that vain opinion that the Mass was a sacrifice for sin, have you so quietly rested into that flood of Euphrates, that is, in all worldly felicity, which flows unto you as a continual flood. ”

“ O immortal God! how long shalt Thou suffer the wodness and great credulity of the ungodly to exercise their fury upon Thy servants, who do further Thy Word in this world. They desire to do the contrary, to choke and destroy the true doctrine and truth, whereby Thou hast showed Thee unto the world, which was all drowned in blindness and misknowledge of Thy name. O Lord, we know surely that Thy true servants must needs suffer, for Thy name's sake, persecution, affliction, and troubles in this present life, which is but a shadow, as Thou hast showed to us by Thy prophets and apostles. ”

“ Ay, Rome, thou shalt be taken and burnt in a furnice of fire, and a mill-stone shall be bound about thy neck, and thou shalt be cast into the midst of the sea, and shalt be drowned; there thou shalt fall, and thy fall shall make heaven and earth, and all the angels and saints to rejoice at thy fall. Ay, God shall put it into the hearts of the kings to do it; we know not what kings they are; and then the bride shall prepare her for the bridegroom's coming in the clouds. ”

“ There is in Knox throughout the spirit of an old Hebrew Prophet, such as may have been in Moses in the Desert at sight of the Burning Bush; spirit almost altogether unique among modern men; and along with all this, in singular neighbourhood to it, a sympathy, a veiled tenderness of heart, veiled, but deep and of piercing vehemence, and withal even an inward gaiety of soul, alive to the ridicule that dwells in whatever is ridiculous, in fact a fine vein of humour, which is wanting in Dante.... ”

“ If such tyranny were used against any woman, as violently to pull her infant from her breasts, cut the throat of it in her own bosom, and compel her to receive the blood of her dear child in her own mouth, all nations would hold the act so abominable, that the like had never been done in the course of nature. No less wickedness commit they that shed the blood of God's children upon the face of their common mother, the earth, as I said before. ”

“ As there were some that uprightly favoured the cause of God, so were there many that, for worldly respects, abhorred a perfect Reformation—for how many within Scotland that have the name of Nobility are not unjust possessors of the patrimony of the Kirk? Yet, the barons and ministers were called, and commandment was given unto them to frame in plain and distinct heads the sum of that doctrine which they would maintain, and would desire that Parliament to establish, as wholesome, true, and alone necessary to be believed and to be received within that realm. ”

“ The Mass is Idolatry. All worshipping, honouring, or service invented by the brain of man in the religion of God, without his own express commandment, is idolatry. The Mass is invented by the brain of man, without any commandment of God; therefore it is idolatry.
[Part One: All Worship Invented by Man is Idolatry]
For probation of the first part, I will adduce none of the Gentiles' sacrifices, in which, notwithstanding, was less abomination than has been in the Mass; but of God's scriptures I will bring forth the witnesses of my words. ”

“ This day is coming, and the Lord is preparing himself to come down through the clouds, to sit on a great white throne, and the archangel is putting the trumpet to his mouth, and he is near to the blowing of it, and the rest of the angels are but waiting when they shall give the last shout, “Rise, dead, and come to judgment,” the Bridegroom is coming, and the heaven and the earth are waiting when the Lord shall come in his glory, in flaming fire, to burn them up. ”

“ Idolatry was never in greater rest: virtue and virtuous men were never in more contempt: vice was never more bold, never did it less fear punishment. And yet, who guides the Queen and Court? Who but the Protestants? O horrible slanderers of God, and of His holy Evangel. Better it were for you plainly to renounce Christ Jesus, than thus to expose His blessed Evangel to mockage. If God do not punish you, so that this same age shall see and behold your punishment, the Spirit of righteous judgment guides me not."... ”

“ I see thy promise to be true, and thy love to remain towards thy chosen, even when death appears to have devoured them: “For thy dead shall live, yea, not only shall they live, but my very dead carcase shall arise;” and so I see honour and glory to succeed this temporal shame, I see permanent joy to come after trouble, order to spring out of this terrible confusion; and, finally, I see that life shall devour death, so that death shall be destroyed, and so thy servants shall have life. ”

“ Yea, what wisdom or worldly policy was in us, to have brought to a good end so great an enterprise? Our very enemies can bear witness. And yet in how great purity God did establish amongst us His true religion, as well in doctrine as in ceremonies! To what confusion and fear were idolaters, adulterers, and all public transgressors of God's commandments brought within short time? ”

“ O! the Judge of the whole world, God himself, that infinite Essence that men and angels have borrowed their being from, even he whose glorious face the seraphims and cherubims cannot behold for the brightness thereof; and therefore they have wings to cover their faces, because they cannot bear to see him, much less so then can any mortal man see his face and live; he that rides on his white horse, and tramples under foot all his enemies, and treads them in the wine-press of his wrath without the city ”

“ Yea, Madam, it appertains to me to forewarn of such things as may hurt that commonwealth, if I foresee them, no less than it does to any of the Nobility. Both my vocation and conscience crave plainness of me. Therefore, Madam, to yourself I say that which I speak in public place. Whensoever the Nobility of this realm shall [283] consent that ye be subject to an unfaithful husband, they do as much as in them lieth to renounce Christ, to banish His truth from them, to betray the freedom of this realm, and perchance they shall in the end do small comfort to yourself. ”

“ Ay, Peter, but this shall be a whiter appearing, and thou shalt think it better to be with him here. Ay, Lord, it is true, white wast thou upon mount Tabor, but whiter shalt thou be in the clouds.
He is white again, in respect of his citations. O that our hearts were ravished with the consideration of thy righteous and just citing and summoning of all men, when thou shalt cause the earth, grave, hell, and the sea, and all places, thrust out of them all their dead; just shalt thou be in glorifying the souls and bodies of them that glorify thee on earth ”

“ Should any minister be taken in any notable crime, such as whoredom, adultery, murder, manslaughter, perjury, teaching of heresy, or any that deserveth death or that may be a note of perpetual infamy, he ought to be deposed for ever. By heresy we mean pernicious doctrine, plainly taught and obstinately [403] defended, against the foundation and principles of our faith. And such a crime we judge to deserve perpetual deposition from the ministry; for we know it to be most dangerous to commit the flock to a man infected with the pestilence of heresy. ”

“ Well, I pray God grant us such hearts, that we may look diligently about us, and make ready against his fearful and joyful coming—fearful to them that delight in sin and wickedness, and will not leave them; and joyful unto those who repent, forsake their sins, and believe in him; who, no doubt, will come in great honour and glory, and will make all his faithful like unto him, and will say unto them that are chosen to everlasting life, “Come, ye blessed of my Father, possess that kingdom which is prepared for you from the beginning of the world.” ”

“ O ye kings, will ye look to the heavens above you, and see that white cloud, and upon the cloud one standing like the Son of man, having upon his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle, who thrusts his sharp sickle in the earth, and cuts down the vine of the vineyards of the earth, and casts them into the great wine-press of the wrath of God; so he calls it a great throne. Solomon's throne was great which he made of ivory, and had six steps, and twelve lions, two on every step, and the queen of the South was astonished when she saw it ”

“ We take God to record in our consciences, that from our hearts we abhor all sects of heresy, and all teachers of erroneous doctrine; and that with all humility we embrace the purity of Christ's Evangel, which is the only food of our souls; and therefore so precious unto us, that we are determined to suffer the extremity of worldly danger, rather than that we will suffer ourselves to be defrauded of the same. For we are most certainly persuaded that whosoever denies Christ Jesus, or is ashamed of Him, in presence of men, shall be denied before the Father, and before His holy angels. ”

“ Lest Satan shall take occasion of our long silence to blaspheme, and to slander us the Protestants of the realm of Scotland by suggesting that our actions tended rather to sedition and rebellion than to reformation of manners and abuses in religion; we have thought it expedient, as truly and briefly as we can, to commit to writing the causes moving us, a great part of the nobility and barons of the realm, to take the sword of just defence against those that most unjustly have sought our destruction. ”