Knox’s Letter of Instruction to the Protestants of Scotland during his absence.—In the first edition, I printed this letter in the Appendix as an unpublished paper. I have since discovered a printed copy; but as it is exceedingly rare, and as the letter itself is so valuable, I shall insert it in this place.
“To his brethren in Scotland efter hie had bene quyet among thame. The comfort of the halie Gaist for salutatioun.
“Not sa mekill to instruct you as to leave with you, dearlie belovit brethren, sum testimony of my love, I have thought gud to communicate with you, in theis few lynis, my weak consall, how I wald ye suld behave yourselves in the middis of this wickit generatioun, tuiching the exercis of Godis maist halie and sacred word, without the whilk, nether sall knawledge incres, godlines apeir, nor fervencie continew amang yow. For as the word of God is the begyning of lyfe spirituall, without whilk all flesche is deid in Godis presence, and the lanterne to our feit, without the bryghtnes whairof all the posteritie of Adame doith walk in darknes, and as it is the fundament of faith, without the whilk na man understandeth the gud will of God, sa is it also the onlie organe and instrument whilk God useth to strenthin the weak, to comfort the afflictit, to reduce to mercie be repentance sic as have sliddin, andfinallie to preserve and keip the verie lyfe of the saule in all assaltis and temptationis, and thairfoir yf that ye desyr your knawledge to be incressit, your faith to be confirmit, your consciencis to be quyetit and comfortit, or finallie your saule to be preservit in lyfe, lat your exercis be frequent in the law of your Lord God; despys not that precept whilk Moses, (who, be his awn experience had learnit what comfort lyeth within the word of God) gave to the isralitis in theis wordis: ‘Theis wordis whilk I command the this day salbe in thi hart, and thou sal exercis thi children in thame, thou sal talk of thame when thou art at home in thi hous, and as thou walkest be the way, and when thou lyis doun, and when thou rysis up, and thou sall bind thame for a signe upon thi hand, and thay salbe paperis of rememberance betwene thi eis, and thou sall wryt thame upon the postis of thi hous and upon thi gatis.’ And moses in another place commandis thame to ‘remember the law of the Lord God, to do it, that it may be weill unto thame, and with thair children in the land whilk the Lord sall gif thame;’ meanyng that, lyke as frequent memorie and repetitioun of Godis preceptis is the middis whairby the feir of God, whilk is the begynning of all wisdome and filicitie, is keipit recent in mynd, sa as negligence and oblivioun of Godis benefitis ressavit the first grie of defectioun fra God. Now yf the law, whilk be reasone of our weakness can wirk nathing but wraith and anger, was sa effectuall that, rememberit and rehersit of purpois to do, it brought to the pepill a corporall benedictioun, what sall we say that the glorious gospell of Chryst Jesus doith wirk, so that it be with reverence intreatit! St Paule calleth [it] the sueit odour of lyfe unto thois that suld resaif lyfe, borrowing his similitude fra odoriferous herbis or precious unguementis, whais nature is the mair thay be touchit or moveit to send furth thair odour mair pleasing and delectabill: even sic, deir brethren, is the blissit evangell of oure Lorde Jesus; for the mair that it be intreatit, the mair comfortable and mair plissant is it to sic as do heir, read, and exercis the sam. I am not ignorant that, as the isralitis lothit manna becaus that everie day thay saw and eat but ane thing, sa sum thair be now a dayis (wha will not be haldin of the worst sort) that efter anis reading sum parcellis of the scriptures do convert thame selves altogether toprophane autors and humane letteris, becaus that the varietie of matteris thairin conteaynit doith bring with it a daylie delectatioun, whair contrairwys within the simpill scriptures of God the perpetuall repititioun of a thing is fascheous and werisome. This temptatioun I confess may enter in Godis verie elect for a tyme, but impossibill is it that thairin thay continew to the end: for Godis electioun, besydis othir evident signis, hath this ever joynit with it that Godis elect ar callit from ignorance (I speik of thois that ar cumin to the yeiris of knawledge) to sum taist and feilling of Godis mercie, of whilk thay ar never satisfeit in this lyfe, but fray tyme to tyme thay hunger and thay thrist to eat the breid that descendit fra the heavin, and to drink the watter that springeth into lyfe everlasting, whilk thay can not do but be the meanis of faith, and faith luketh ever to the will of God revealit be his word, sa that faith hath baith her begynning and continewance be the word of God; and sa I say that impossibill it is that Godis chosin children can despys or reiect the word of their salvatioun be any lang continewance, nether yit loth of it to the end. Often it is that Godis elect ar haldin in sic bondage and thraldome that they can not have the breid of lyfe brokin unto thame, neither yit libertie to exercis thame selves in Godis halie word, but then doith not Godis deir children loth but maist gredilie do thay covet the fude of thair saulis; then do they accuse thair former negligence, then lament and bewaill thay the miserable afflictioun of thair brethren, and than cry and call thay in thair hartis (and opinlie whair thay dar) for frie passage to the gospell. This hungir and thrist doith argue and prufe the lyfe of thair saulis. But gif sic men as having libertie to reid and exercis thame selves in Godis halie scripture, and yet do begin to wearie because fra tyme to tyme thay reid but a [one] thing, I ask, why weirie thay not also everie day to drink wyne, to eat bread, everie day to behald the bryghtnes of the sone, and sa to use the rest of Godis creatures whilk everie day do keip thair awn substance, cours, and nature? Thay sall anser, I trust, because sic creatures have a strenth as oft as thay ar usit to expell hungir and quenche thrist, to restoir strenth, and to preserve the lyfe. O miserabill wreachis, wha dar attribut mair power and strenth to the corruptible creatures in nurisching and preserving the mortallkarcass, than to the eternall word of God in nurissment of the saule whilk is immortal! To reasone with thair abominable unthankfulnes at this present it is not my purpois. But to yow, deir brethrene, I wryt my knawledge, and do speik my conscience, that sa necessarie as meit and drink is to the preservation of lyfe corporall, and so necessarie as the heit and bryghtnes of the sone is to the quicknyng of the herbis and to expell darknes, sa necessarie is also to lyfe everlasting, and to the illuminatioun and lyght of the saule, the perpetuall meditation, exercis, and use of Godis halie word.
“And thairfoir, deir brethrene, yf that you luke for a lyfe to cum, of necessitie it is that ye exercise yourselves in the buke of the Lord your God. Lat na day slip over without sum comfort ressavit fra the mouth of God. Opin your earis, and hie will speak evin pleasing thingis to your hart. Clois not your eis, but diligentlie let thame behald what portioun of substance is left to yow within your fatheris testament. Let your toungis learne to prais the gracious gudness of him wha of his meir mercie hath callit you fra darknes to lyght and fra deth to lyfe. Neither yit may ye do this sa quyetlie that ye will admit na witnessis; nay, brethren, ye are ordeynit of God to reule and governe your awn housis in his trew feir, and according to his halie word. Within your awn housis, I say, in sum cassis ye are bishopis and kingis, your wyffis, children, and familie ar your bishoprik and charge; of you it sal be requyrit how cairfullie and diligentlie ye have instructit thame in Godis trew knawledge, how that ye have studeit in thame to plant vertew and to repress vyce. And thairfoir, I say, ye must mak thame partakeris in reading, exhortation, and in making commoun prayeris, whilk I wald in everie hous wer usit anis a day at leist. But above all things, deir brethren, studie to practis in lyfe that whilk the Lord commandis, and then be ye assurit that ye sall never heir nor reid the same without frute: and this mekill for the exercises within your housis.
“Considdering that St Paul callis the congregatioun the bodie of Chryst, wheirof everie ane of us is a member, teaching ws thairby that na member is of sufficience to susteane and feide the selfwithout the help and support of any uther, I think it necessarie that for the conferrence of scriptures, assemblies of brethren be had. The order thairin to be observit, is expressit be sanct paule, and thairfoir I neid not to use many wordis in that behalf: onlie willing that when ye convene, (whilk I wald wer anis a week,) that your begynning suld be fra confessing of your offences, and invocatioun of the spreit of the Lord Jesus to assist yow in all your godlie interprysis; and than lat sum place of scripture be planelie and distinctlie red, samekill as sal be thocht sufficient for a day or tyme, whilk endit, gif any brother have exhortation, interpretatioun, or dout, lat him not feir to speik and move the same, sa that he do it with moderatioun, either to edifie or be edifeit. And heirof I dout not but great profit sall schortlie ensew, for first be heiring, reiding, and conferring the scriptures in the assemblie, the haill bodie of the scriptures of God salbecum familiar, the judgement and spreitis of men salbe tryit, thair pacience and modestie salbe knawin, and finallie thair giftis and utterance sall appeir. Multiplicatioun of wordis, perplext interpretatioun, and wilfulnes in reasonyng is to be avoydit at all tymes and in all places, but chieflie in the congregatioun, whair nathing aucht to be respectit except the glorie of God, and comfort or edificatioun of our brethrene. Yf any thing occur within the text, or yit arys in reasonyng, whilk your judgementis can not resolve, or capacities aprehend, let the same be notit and put in wryt befoir ye depart the congregatioun, that when God sall offir unto yow any interpreter your doutis being notit and knawin, may have the mair expedit resolutioun, or els that when ye sall have occasion to wryt to sic as with whome ye wald communicat your judgementis, your letteris may signifie and declair your unfeaned desyre that ye haue of God and of his trew knawledge, and thay, I dout not, according to thair talentis, will indeuour and bestow thair faithfull labors, [to] satisfie your godlie petitionis. Of myself I will speak as I think, I will moir gladlie spend xv houris in communicatting my judgement with yow, in explainyng as God pleasis to oppin to me anyplace of scripture, than half ane hour in any other matter besyd.
“Farther, in reading the scripture I wald ye suld joyne sumbukis of the ald and sum of the new Testament together, as genesis and ane of the evangelistis, exodus with another, and sa furth, euer ending sic bukis as ye begyn, (as the tyme will suffer,) for it sall greitly comfort yow to heir that harmony and weiltunit sang of the halie spreit speiking in oure fatheris frome the begyning. It sall confirme yow in theis dangerous and perrellous dayis, to behald the face of Christ Jesus his loving spous and kirk, from Abell to him self, and frome him self to this day, in all ageis to be ane. Be frequent in the prophetis and in the epistillis of St Paul, for the multitude of matteris maist comfortable thairin conteanit requyreth exercis and gud memorie. Lyke as your assemblis aucht to begyn with confessioun and invocatioun of Godis halie spreit, sa wald I that thay wer never finissit without thanksgiving and commoun prayeris for princes, rulers, and maiestratis, for the libertie and frie passage of Chrystis evangell, for the comfort and delyverance of our afflictit brethrene in all places now persecutit, but maist cruellie now within the realme of France and Ingland, and for sic uther thingis, as the spreit of the Lord Jesus sal teache unto yow to be profitable ether to your selues, or yit to your brethren whairsoeuer thay be. If this, or better, dear brethrene, I sall heir that ye exercise your selues, then will I prais God for your great obedience, as for thame that not onlie haue ressavit the word of grace with gladnes, but that also with cair and diligence do keip the same as a treasure and jewell maist precious. And becaus that I can not expect that ye will do the contrarie, at this present I will vse na threatenyngis, for my gud hoip is, that ye sall walk as the sonis of lyght in the middis of this wickit generatioun, that ye salbe as starris in the nyght ceassone, wha yit ar not changeit into darknes, that ye salbe as wheit amangis the kokill, and yit that ye sall not change your nature whilk ye haue ressavit be grace, through the fellowschip and participatioun whilk we haue with the Lord Jesus in his bodie and blud. And finallie, that ye salbe of the novmber of the prvdent virginis, daylie renewing your lampis with oyle, as thai that pacientlie abyd the glorious aparitioun and cuming of the Lord Jesus, whais omnipotent spreit rule and instruct, illuminat and comfort your hartis and myndis in all assaltis, now and euer. Amen. The grace of theLord Jesus rest with yow. Remember my weaknes in your daylie prayeris, the 7 of July 1557.
“Your brother vnfeaned Johnne Knox.”
MS. Letters, p. 352–359.