to befal him for his impiety. On this Beza ob serves, Accordingly, what Calvin at that time predicted to him, namely, that a heavy judgment from God was about to befal him for his obstinate wickedness, that he afterwards actually experienced*." Thus the event confirmed the prediction. But one of the most remarkable circumstances of a supernatural kind, recorded in the life of this Reformer, is the manner in which he was miraculously made acquainted, at Geneva, with a battle that was being fought near Paris. That is, he was miraculously made acquainted with it at the time of its occurrence, and many days before the arrival of the intelligence. "One thing must not be omitted, that on the nineteenth of December" (1562), "Calvin lying in bed sick of the gout, it being the Sabbath-day, and the north wind having blown two days strongly, he said to many who were present, Truly I know not what is the matter, but I thought this night I heard warlike drums beating very loud, and I could not persuade myself but it was so. Let us therefore go to prayers, for surely some great business is in hand.' And this day there was a great battle fought between the Guisians and the Protestants not far from Paris, news whereof came to Geneva within a few days after †.” On this narrative it seems necessary to make a few observations. 1. Though I have taken it from an English work, it will be found, with no material variations, in Calvin's Life by Bezat. Beza himself, also, evidently records the occurrence as believing it, "Itaque quod ei jam tum prædixit Calvinus, grave nimirum Dei judicium pertinaci ipsius impietati imminere, hoc reipsa postea expertus est."-Beza's Life of Calvin, prefixed to his Epistles. + Lives of Luther and Calvin, 2d edition. London. 1740. p. 123. "Neque hic pigebit quidquam animadversione non indignum commemorare Jacebat ex podagra Calvinus in lecto xix Dec. qui dies erat and as recognising its supernatural character. Here, then, we see the belief of two, among the most eminent Reformers, in such miraculous oc currences. 2. The circumstance of the wind's blowing violently* from the north, seems to be mentioned for the purpose of more strongly marking, what indeed is of itself sufficiently evident, that the sounds could by no possibility have reached Geneva in a natural way. The mention of the fact also proves to us, that the extraordinary occurrence must have attracted notice at the time, while it admitted of examination, and while it was possible to ascertain how the wind was on the day specified. 3. Calvin related what he had experienced in the hearing of many individuals †. 4. The sound which he heard was not faint or doubtful, but as loud as possible ‡. 5. He seems to have been fully conscious of the possibility of self-deception; nay, to have been disposed to think himself under a delusion; but could not bring himself to that persuasion §. 6. The deliberate conclusion, to which he had come when he addressed his friends, was, that some great business was certainly in hand ||. Sabbathi, et boreas jam totum biduum flabat quam vehementissime. Tum Calvinus multis audientibus, Equidem, inquit, nescio quid hoc rei sit, videbar mihi hoc nocte audire tympana bellica quam fortissime personantia, nec poteram mihi persuadere, quin ita se res haberet. Precemur obsecro, nam omnino magni aliquid geritur. Atque hoc ipso die accidit ille apud Druydas acerrimus conflictus, de quo aliquot post diebus Geneva fuit renunciatum."-Beza's Life of Calvin. Quam vehementissime." "Multis audientibus." "Tympana bellica quam fortissime personantia." "Nec poteram mihi persuadere, quin ita se res haberet." 7. On this conclusion he solemnly acted, proposing prayer *. 8. The news of the battle, which had actually been fought at the time, coming to Geneva some days after, must have made a solemn impression on all those who had heard, or had been informed of, Calvin's words. In short, Calvin, and the other Reformers, seem to have been often dealt with, in respect to their views upon supernatural and miraculous occurrences, too much according to the feelings and preferences of those who have professed to give a representation of them. Such persons are themselves hostile to all belief in occurrences of the kind referred to: and consequently, under the influence of this feeling of dislike, and acting from it, they lay hold on a few of the strongest expressions on one side of the question, I mean, on their own; present us with these as affording a fair representation of the writer's general sentiments; overlook (for I really do not think they would in every case wilfully secrete and keep back), overlook, through strong prejudice, preference, and antipathy, all that makes against them; and thus totally mislead those who trust to them for information, deceive the church, and leave it in error. Who, that reads the above account, will pretend to tell us, or even to prove to us by any expressions which can be produced, that either Calvin or Beza had no belief in supernatural and miraculous occurrences? If I am asked, how, "Precemur obsecro." after all, it comes to happen that such expressions can be found in their writings; expressions confessedly, if viewed alone, unfavourable to the doctrine of miracles; my reply is, that I really do not feel myself called upon to solve the difficulty. Perhaps the case is, that the experience of the Reformers in this matter lay above some of their technical statements. This, we shall find great reason to think, was the case especially with Luther. It is the case, indeed, with many Christians. Their religious system, and their religious experience, are often quite different things. The one they have from man, or hold by the sufferance of man; the other they have from God. Much, as I have shewn in the First Part of this Chapter, is to be explained by the peculiar circumstances in which the Reformers were placed with respect to Papists and fanatics; much by their peculiar views on another subject-namely, that of the Apostolic commission, But, after all, the difficulty is one for which I am not bound to find a solution. The fact is before us. Whatever Calvin may have written with a view to particular points of controversy, or upon particular texts, it is proved to demonstration, by the narrative now cited, and given in Beza's Life of him, that miraculous occurrences were not totally excluded either from his creed or from his experience. Nor, unless he had gone more or less with some other Reformers, and with some of the Fathers, in the idea that the evangelizing of mankind was peculiarly the work of the first ages, should we ever have met with such expressions against miracles, as I readily admit that his works after all contain, from a pen that could set forth the spiritual benefit of miracles in such terms as the following: "Yet must we notice this benefit of the miracle, that they who had witnessed it, moved with admiration, inquire whether Jesus be the Christ. For, the power of God being thus recognised, they are led as it were by the hand to faith. Not that they had suddenly made all the proficiency that they ought (for they speak with a degree of hesitation); but yet even this is no small proficiency, when they bestir themselves to consider more attentively the glory of Christ *." The Reformer next appealed to by Mr. Noel is MARTYR. "P. Martyr.- Whence their argument fails who say, that because we find in Mark that certain signs were to follow them that believe, which do not take place among us, we must acknowledge that the church of our day is without faith. They are deceived. Miracles were like the trumpets and heralds by which the Gospel was recommended; for as the Law of Moses received authority by means of various miracles wrought at Sinai and throughout the wilderness, which ceased after the people entered the land of promise, so miracles have ceased now also, since the Gospel is diffused through the world. The promise, then, in Mark did not relate to all times.'-(Comment on 1 Cor. xii.)+" On this passage I will simply offer a few observations. 1. As I find Martyr's words in the original, this is not a sufficiently exact translation of them. For * Cæterum notandus est miraculi fructus, quod admiratione tacti qui viderant, secum inquirunt numquid Jesus sit Christus. Nam agnita Dei virtute, quasi manu ducuntur ad fidem: non quod repente profecerant quantum oportebat (dubitanter enim loquuntur): sed hic tamen non exiguus est profectus, dum sese expergefaciunt ad considerandam attentius Christi gloriam."-On Matt. xii. 23. † Remarks, p. 15. K |