When God speaks we can trust Him, and His Word stands forever sure."

Where has God spoken? Machen asks. Where may we find His thoughts on the matter? We find them in the Holy Bible. This does not merely contain the Word of God: it is the Word of God. In all our weakness and perplexity, turmoil and distress, we may turn with perfect confidence to this blessed Book.

What, then, does the inspired, inerrant, authoritative Word of God say about these things?

God is Sovereign

At the heart of everything the Word of God says about this universe stands one sublime truth: that God is sovereign. That is, says Calvin: "By His providence, not heaven and earth and inanimate creatures only, but also the counsels and wills of men are so governed as to move exactly in the course which He has destined." He who made the universe now rules it, upholding and directing it according to His own will and purpose, for the manifestation of His own glory. As the Westminster Confession of Faith majestically says: "God, the Creator of all things, doth uphold, direct, dispose and govern all creatures, actions and things, from the greatest even to the least, by His most wise and holy providence, according to His infallible knowledge and the free and immutable counsel of His own will, to the praise of the glory of His wisdom, power, justice, goodness and mercy." So, simply because He is God, "He does as He pleases, only as He pleases, always as He pleases," in pursuit of "His own pleasure and the promotion of His own glory." (A.W.Pink) This is the doctrine of the sovereignty of God.

Practical Counsels

There is no need here to expound this truth in all its Biblical scope. Pink's Sovereignty of God (in the original edition) says all that is to be desired. What is needed today is a renewed determination to assert, defend and live out this glorious doctrine.

To this end we offer the following counsels:

1. Proclaim "an enthroned God, and His right to do as He wills with His own, to dispose of His creatures as He thinks well, without consulting them," for "men will allow God to be everywhere except on His throne." (C.H.Spurgeon) The age-old conflict - between God's will and man's - is still not played out. Yet since God is sovereign, man must submit to Him. To resist Him is futile, and ultimately impossible. "He is sovereign Lord of all. He rules over the whole universe and does whatsoever pleases Him. His knowledge is without bound. His wisdom is perfect, and what none can circumvent. His power is infinite, and none can resist Him. His riches are immense and inexhaustible. His majesty is infinitely aweful." (Jonathan Edwards) The best service we can do to God and our fellow men, therefore, is to assert His sovereignty and pray for all to be brought to acknowledge it.

2. Live in daily communion with our sovereign Lord. The Puritan Thomas Goodwin notes that "believers' souls . . live upon" the truth of God's sovereignty "every day." Their "lively sense" and "application" of it "to themselves" brings them to "enjoy . . sweet communion with God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ." Since He appoints everything that takes place in our lives, in accordance with Ecclesiastes 3.1-8, and since "all things work together for them that love" Him, what comfort we should derive in communion with Him from the daily acknowledgment of His absolute sovereignty. (See, for example, the Memoirs of Mrs William Veitch) Indeed, asks Loraine Boettner: "Who would not prefer to have his affairs in the hands of a God of infinite power, wisdom, holiness and love, rather than to have them left to fate, or chance, or irrevocable natural law, or to short-sighted and perverted self? Those who reject God's sovereignty should consider what alternatives they have left." Furthermore, when we consider that both "the great affairs of nations and the little affairs of our mundane lives" are under His control, we should be willing to "have Him always present in our thoughts," "consult with Him" in all our circumstances, thank Him for all the good we receive, "submit patiently" to all the evils we suffer, "bridle our tongues from impatient speech," "quieten our tumultuous thoughts," banish all "sullen discontentedness" and give us "a retired secret delight to submit to the will of GOD and silently to rejoice in it." (Robert Leighton) After all: "It is easier to complain of the decree than to change it." (Rutherford) Let us then, concludes Leighton, "strive to learn this one thing: COMPLIANCE WITH THE WILL OF GOD in all things." This is the only way to honour Him and benefit ourselves and others.

3. Oppose every modern man-centred belief system with the truth of the sovereignty of God. In the sphere of salvation this is the only power able to nullify the gospel of self-esteem. "Today," observes John Piper, "people typically feel loved if you make much of them and help them feel valued. The bottom line in their happiness is that they are made much of." Yet the true Gospel is proclaimed and received to the praise of the glory of God's grace, not to the furtherance of man's self-esteem. (Eph 1.6) "Men grossly deceive themselves," says Calvin, "when they presume they are worth anything." It is only when we "yield to God His due glory" and acknowledge that "we owe everything" in our salvation "to God" that we begin to serve others according to their real need. Says John Piper again: "Our culture is dying for want of this vision and this food." Let us then seek grace to set the absolute sovereignty of God firmly against everything that opposes it, in science, the arts, education, philosophy and every other sphere. In this way even we may become witnesses of His glory to this poor lost world.

Amidst all the hollow fraternization of the ecumenical movement, there may be seen one great gulf persisting. This runs along the 'fault-line' of the 16th century Protestant Reformation.

On one side of the line stands a host of romanticizing mediaevalists, crying out bitterly over the Reformation's rending of the seamless robe of Christ; namely, the Age of Faith and its great Catholic civilization. Luther and Calvin, they claim vociferously, split nature and grace so drastically that they inevitably paved the way for divisive nationalism, rationalism and secularism. These in turn have brought on us all the evils of modern society, which can be removed only by a return to our mediaeval heritage.

On the other side stand those who see the Reformation as "the re-establishment of the primitive principles of Christianity"(J.H.Merle D'Aubigne) or as "the greatest event or series of events that has occurred since the close of the canon of Scripture."(William Cunningham)

Insofar as these two positions represent two opposite confessional commitments they can never be reconciled. Either the Reformation was a vast mistake or it was a genuine revival of Biblical truth and godliness.

Despite the bewildering complexity of the movement - involving political, social and economic as well as spiritual and moral forces; differences between the Reformers themselves; inexcusable un-Christian conduct of some of its subjects - decision as to which side we are on is not difficult. The matters for which the Reformers contended and suffered are as clear as the noonday sun. They were then and are now the same burning questions of life and death that have always agitated the two parties: Is the Bible the sole source of authority in faith and morals, or is tradition a joint source? Is man justified by grace through faith or by grace plus his own works? Is the Church a hierarchical institution or a body of faithful believers? Is the head of the Church Christ or the pope? Is heresy to be exterminated by the death of heretics or by spiritual sanctions? Do Christians at death pass instantly into the presence of Christ or must they spend a season in purgatory before being fit to be with Him?

We must not allow our judgment to be swayed either by the malicious charges of enemies or by the internal differences of the Reformers themselves or by the subsequent abuse of Reformation liberties. Men do not choose exile from wife, children and homeland to keep their newly-found faith in Christ (as the marquis Galeacias did), or to be beheaded rather than take part in a Corpus Christi procession (as the Elector George of Brandenburg was prepared to be), or to be burnt at the stake for refusing the "blasphemous fable and dangerous deceit" of the Romish Mass (as Bradford, Taylor, Hooper, Latimer, Ridley and Cranmer were) from self-seeking motives. No! God's Word and Church, and their own precious souls, were at stake. The ultimate driving force behind these martyrs, "of whom the world was not worthy", was far greater than personal survival or comfort. As Luther himself poignantly wrote:

"And though they take our life,
Goods, honour, children, wife,
Yet is their profit small:
These things shall vanish all;
The city of God remaineth."

In this respect, they all stood in the direct line of succession with that "great cloud of witnesses" of Hebrews 11 and with the New Testament apostles and martyrs. These are the considerations that should determine our stance regarding the Reformation. In the light of them we have no doubt in stating unequivocally that it was both a true and a great work of God. O that we had the Reformers' self-denying faith, commitment and integrity!

Some Reformation Theologians

Introduction

When the Psalmist prayed: 'We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, what work thou didst in their days, in the times of old' (Psa 44.1), he was stating at least two very important truths.

One is that theology is inseparable from history. That is, our knowledge of God springs from what He has done. What He did to deliver Israel out of Egypt is theology. That He did it in the days of the 'fathers' is history. The two are inseparable. Luther's adage, therefore, that it is by 'living and dying' that one becomes a theologian, and not through 'reading and speculation', is true. Our theology is forged in the fires of God's dealings with us.

The other truth is that true religion is to be kept alive by older generations teaching their children, who in turn teach theirs. As Matthew Henry says: "It is a debt which every age owes to posterity to keep an account of God's works of wonder, and to transmit the knowledge of them to the next generation." In this way God enables His people to fulfil the prediction: 'One generation shall praise thy works to another.' (Psa 145.4)

With these principles in view, we wish to devote a few articles to certain Reformation theologians. Before we do so, however, let us consider some advantages of such a project:

1. It would dispel some of our ignorance of our precious Reformation heritage. To learn, for example, that Calvin called Peter Martyr Vermigli 'the miracle of Italy', that the Swiss Bullinger helped to shape the covenant theology of Scotland, that Tyndale taught the regulative principle, is both informative and edifying.

2. It would go far to steer us away from a merely academic pre-occupation with theological systems. Certainly, while we should earnestly contend for the truths of Calvinism against the errors and heresies of Arminianism and Pelagianism, we must remember that the Reformers were not members of a Reformed Scholars' Club. They sought the glory of God and the salvation of souls not by arm-chair theologizing, but through severe mental and spiritual conflict, with deep pastoral concern, and in danger of losing their lives. They were more familiar with death-threats, exile and sheer weariness than with libraries, doctoral theses and theological conferences. As Luther said from agonizing personal experience: "Doctrine directs us and shows the way to heaven."

3. It would help us to retain our Reformed identity in face of the current onslaught from secular humanism and false religion. These enemies conquer only after hacking souls away from their Reformation roots. Thankfully, our ties to the Reformation are still able to show us whose we are and whom we serve, as well as to guide us into the future along 'the old paths' and 'the good way.' May our gracious God use the Reformers' testimony to keep us from becoming robotic slaves!

4. It would help us to see that, despite contemporary claims to the contrary, there is a unified core to Reformation theology (the true saving knowledge of God) and religion (the tie that binds us to live to God). That core is embodied in the five great doctrinal 'solas': sola Scriptura, sola gratia, sola fide, solo Christo, soli Deo gloria (ie. by Scripture alone, by grace alone, by faith alone, by Christ alone, to the glory of God alone.) Despite the tragic divisions between Zwinglianism, Lutheranism and Calvinism; and despite the spawning of such sects as the Anabaptists, Spiritualists, Family of Love and other fanatics and mystics; those who stood inside the core formed by these doctrines of grace are our true spiritual fathers. If we follow them, insofar as they followed Christ, we may humbly regard ourselves as their lawful spiritual children. This should comfort us in times of anxiety, conflict and trouble. We may enjoy little fellowship with present-day believers, but acquaintance with those of the past is an untold blessing.

Lastly by way of introduction, let us heed a word of warning. We need to beware of reading back into the Reformers' teaching our own presuppositions. This would be to misunderstand them and perhaps even to use them for our own ends. (William Bousma has fallen into this trap in his study of Calvin. So have others, who have turned the Reformer into either a Hyper-Calvinist or an Amyraldian!) Rather, let us listen to them, learn from them, and test all their views by the inerrant Word of God. Then, with His blessing, we may come to appreciate and be thankful for the wondrous truths of His that they brought to light.

His Life

Described by Calvin as "the miracle of Italy" and by Beza as a "phoenix born from the ashes of Savonarola," Peter Martyr Vermigli was recognized in his day as "an exceptional preacher," "better versed in old doctors, councils and ecclesiastical histories than any Romish doctor of Christendom," and as having a "piety and learning" marked by "modesty, candour and gentleness." In Reformed churches on the continent his writings were placed alongside those of Calvin on account of their "judiciousness and perspicuity." Indeed, one of Vermigli's Roman opponents thought him clearer and more learned than Calvin.

Be that as it may, his life throughout was a singular example of the enlightening, sanctifying and preserving grace of God. Born in Florence, he was, he recalled, "from an early age" drawn to pursue one aim above all others; namely, to "learn and teach the divine Scriptures." Study, first at an Augustinian monastery, then at the renowned University of Padua, led to his ordination and a doctorate in theology (1526). By this time he was already famous as a distinguished theologian, eloquent preacher and church reformer.

It was in Naples between 1537 and 1540 that Vermigli first read Protestant literature and embraced the pivotal doctrine of justification by faith alone. His re-orientation immediately expressed itself in his establishment at Lucca of "the first and last Reformed theological college in pre-Tridentine Italy." Like the apostle Paul upon his conversion, he 'straightway . . preached Christ . . that He is the Son of God' and preached 'boldly . . in the name of Jesus.' (Acts 9.20,27) At Lucca he introduced Girolamo Zanchi, author of a classic on predestination, to the writings of the Reformers Melanchthon, Bucer, Bullinger and Calvin.

With the reconstitution of the dreaded Roman Inquisition under the iron hand of Cardinal Carafa, Vermigli was cited to appear before a church court in Genoa. But being warned by friends, he fled his homeland rather than submit to coercive church authority.

Soon after his appointment as Professor of Divinity at Strasburg (1542), Vermigli became recognized as a Biblical scholar and Protestant theologian of the first order. So valuable was he to Bucer that the latter consulted him before making any major decisions.

Following five productive years in Reformed Strasburg, he (at Thomas Cranmer's invitation) accepted the Regius Professorship of Divinity at Oxford. Here he taught theology to the new generation of Anglican ministers, vindicated the Reformed doctrine of the Lord's Supper at the Oxford Disputation, counselled John Hooper in the Vestiarian Controversy, assisted Cranmer in compiling and revising the Prayer Book, helped to formulate the Forty-two Articles of Religion and played a major role in writing the Reformatio Legum Ecclesiasticarum (Reformed Church Law). But the accession of 'Bloody' Mary to the throne in 1553 forced him to leave England and return to Strasburg.

Here he encountered opposition from the Lutheran John Marbach over his teaching on the Lord's Supper and predestination. This conflict led him to accept Bullinger's invitation to teach in Zurich, where he moved in 1556, accompanied by his pupil John Jewel.

Soon after his arrival, Vermigli became embroiled in further controversy, again not of his own making. This focussed on predestination. Although Bullinger did not espouse 'double predestination' (election and reprobation), he did not oppose his Italian colleague. But Bibliander, another Theological Faculty member, did. He both publicly attacked his doctrine and challenged him to a duel with double-headed axes! Mercifully Bibliander was eventually dismissed from his post. Our Reformer's survival of this controversy marked the confirmation of Zurich in the full-orbed Reformed doctrine of predestination.

While not entirely tranquil, Vermigli's Zurich years were productive of much good. His lectures on Romans and Judges, along with his defence of the true doctrine of the Lord's Supper (against Stephen Gardiner, bishop of Winchester), were published. With Beza, Calvin's successor in Geneva, he attended the French Colloquy of Poissy (1561), where he tried in vain to win Catherine de Medici to the Reformed Faith. Nevertheless, through his means God converted the bishop of Troyes, who proceeded to attempt the reform of his entire diocese.

Vermigli's last days on earth were spent in uninterrupted harmony with his brethren in Zurich, where he died in 1562. "Bullinger, who loved him as a brother, closed his eyes, and Conrad Gesner spread the cloth over his face, while the pastor and elders of the Locarnian church (of Italian exiles) wept around his bed."

His Theology

Vermigli's theology is firmly built around four 'loci': Scripture, Justification, Predestination and the Lord's Supper. Let us briefly examine these in turn.

1. Scripture

Vermigli's doctrine of Scripture is marked by two distinguishing features: submission to its supreme authority and devotion to the most careful exegesis of its contents. Reformation subjection of both reason and scholastic method to these principles is "nowhere more vividly illustrated than in the work of Vermigli."

His dedicatory epistle to his commentary on Romans expressly describes Holy Scripture as "oracles from heaven," "God's books" and "God's words." At one point he states: "We will speak to men, not with the words of men, but with the words of God." So, writes a modern student of the Reformer: "Indeed if there was one over-riding precept, one essential doctrine, one foundational presupposition at the heart of Vermigli's theology, it was the commitment to the final authority of Scripture."

Regarding the second principle, his express aim as a Biblical commentator was to "make plain the words" of each Biblical writer, so as to bring out the "true genuine sense of Scripture." This desire bore fruit in the unusual clarity of his commentaries. Sharing with his fellow Protestants the commitment to the idea of ad fontes = to the sources, Vermigli placed strong emphasis on strict exegesis of the original Hebrew and Greek.

It is worth noting that Vermigli interspersed his commentaries with loci communes, or systematic expositions of the doctrines embodied in Scripture, in the form of essays. (The Scots Robert Boyd and James Durham do the same in their commentaries on Ephesians and Revelation respectively.) Significantly, like Calvin, Vermigli places his essay on predestination after his comments on Romans 9, thereby indicating (with Paul himself) his primary pastoral concern.

2. Justification

We find this same pastoral orientation in Vermigli's doctrine of justification. This stems from his firm belief that justification is the "head, fountain and summit of all piety." His loci on it appear in his commentaries on Genesis, Romans and 1 Corinthians.

Vermigli developed his teaching on justification under three propositions: good works do not justify, faith justifies, and faith alone justifies. It thus follows strictly Paul's emphases in Romans and squarely opposes the teaching of Rome.

Along with all sound theologians, Vermigli makes justification a legal act of God. He even uses the term 'forensic' to locate it as a judicial sentence. For him, therefore, justification belongs to the legal domain, and answers the great question of how a guilty sinner is made righteous before God. This, he argues, is by double imputation: God imputing His people's sins to Christ and Christ's righteousness to them. This double imputation brings two legal benefits: acquittal, by which they are discharged of all their debts to God; and eternal life, or becoming right with God. This reception into His favour is identified with adoption, another legal process. From the time of his justification, which is by faith in Christ alone as presented in the Gospel, the elect take on more than a legal connection with their Judge. They enter into a new, filial relationship with Him.

Although Vermigli lays this understanding as his foundation for the doctrine, he does not leave matters there. Probably to rebut the Roman charge of a 'legal fiction' (ie. pronouncing a sinner righteous when in fact he is not so), he deliberately links justification to regeneration and sanctification. That is, besides imputing Christ's righteousness to believers, God also infuses His righteousness into them by His Spirit, who "refashions and wholly renews" them. This internal work invariably begins the life-long process of sanctification, by which the believer produces "good and holy works" and which enables him "to live honestly and uprightly." Thus by a God-given, as well as a God-imputed righteousness, he progressively grows in holy obedience.

This moral fruit of justification can never be separated from its legal aspects. While the righteousness by which we are forensically justified "does not adhere to our souls, but is imputed by God," the righteousness that springs from our justification does adhere to us. Since Adam's fall brought on us spiritual death and moral corruption as well as legal guilt, so Christ's redemption brings regeneration and sanctification, as well as forensic justification. When we consider Vermigli's former eminence as a Roman theologian, we can only wonder at the greatness of God's grace in granting him such a lucid grasp of His truth.

3. Predestination

While Vermigli did not make the Reformed doctrine of predestination the cornerstone of his theology, he repeatedly defended it, specifically against Marbach in Strasburg and Bibliander in Zurich.

His most vigorous exposition of it appears in an extended locus in his commentary on Romans. Since, with Augustine, he sees mankind as a "mass of perdition," he finds the exclusive cause of the elect's salvation in God's will in eternity. Being chosen out of this mass, the elect, renewed by the Holy Spirit and granted faith in Christ, embrace Him in time and inherit eternal life. In short, "Vermigli . . taught what has been called unconditional election." His definition of the part of predestination known as election follows Scripture closely: "Predestination is the most wise purpose of God by which He has decreed firmly from before all eternity, to call those whom He has loved in Christ to the adoption of sons, to be justified by faith, and subsequently to glorify through good works, whose who shall be conformed to the image of the Son of God, that in them the glory and mercy of the Creator might be declared."

Neither did he shy away from the 'horrible' (ie. 'terrifying') decree of reprobation. Three important features characterize his view of it.

First, he understood it as a "passing over" the non-elect, a decision "not to have mercy" on them.

Yet secondly, he could not perceive God as merely passive. Therefore he distinguished reprobation from condemnation. Certainly, God's decision not to have mercy is rooted in His inscrutable, sovereign will. Condemnation, by distinction, is based on original and actual sin. "Sins," therefore, "are the cause of damnation, but not the cause of reprobation." Condemnation expresses divine justice. Reprobation expresses His unfathomable will. One feature is common to both - the denial of any influence from human works: "Just as God predestined (ie. elected) eternally those whom He willed and did this not because of some future merits of theirs, so also He eternally reprobated those whom He willed, not because of their future demerits."

Thirdly, eternal reprobation is absolutely just.

Vermigli's teaching on predestination is thus seen to reflect that of Paul in Romans 9 and Ephesians 1, where the inscrutable will of God is the eternal cause of election and rejection. How we should stand in awe of both Him and it!

4. The Lord's Supper

While not attaining the fulness with which such later writers as Robert Bruce and James Durham treated the subject, Vermigli was acknowledged by Calvin himself as having the best grasp in his day of the Reformed doctrine of the Lord's Supper. His words are: "The whole [treatment of it] has been crowned by Peter Martyr, who has left nothing to be desired."

The Italian Reformer appears to have celebrated the Supper in a Biblical manner at Pisa during his flight from his native land. Certainly by 1542 he had rejected the Roman doctrines of transubstantiation (the physical presence of Christ in the elements following the words 'This is my body') and the mass (the repeated sacrifice of Christ). By the time of his arrival in Strasburg, his teaching agreed with that of Bucer and Calvin.

Like Augustine, Vermigli defined the sacrament as "a visible sign of an invisible grace," making a clear distinction between the sign (bread and wine) and the thing signified (the broken body and shed blood of Christ). Yet, unlike Zwingli, he saw the elements as far more than bare signs or mere memorials. When each believer worthily partakes of the Supper, he taught, the Holy Spirit, activating his faith afresh as the words of institution are pronounced, he is assured of the spiritual presence of his Saviour. While the bread and wine remain physical elements, they become true means of spiritual nourishment to his soul. This communion with Christ forms part of his spiritual growth springing from his existing union with Him. In fact, the Supper (like Baptism) is all about what God gives to His people, not what they give to Him. Just as Christ is God's gift to them, so the Supper is also. And since it is given to promote their more intimate communion with Him, His Word in the Gospel, His Spirit in applying it, their faith in the crucified Redeemer and the Communion itself all co-incide in finding both their source and their end in Him.

Conclusion

Recent studies of Peter Martyr Vermigli help us to recognize that Reformed theology (as distinct from Lutheran) does not derive from Calvin alone, but is the fruit of the combined labours of several like-minded theologians. Farel, Bucer, Viret, Bullinger, Beza, Cranmer, Jewel and Vermigli (to name only a few) were men of God whose thinking developed along parallel lines during the same momentous period in the life of His Church. Together they provided the Reformation with clear, deep, solid theology, all shaped by their massive grasp of Scripture, its original languages, the Church Fathers, Roman heresy and corruption, the late mediaeval scholastics and the works of pre-Reformation reformers. They corresponded with each other, often worked together in the same churches and universities, and formed a spiritual brotherhood that transcended national boundaries. And overseeing all was their great God and Saviour, fashioning the Reformed Faith into an international movement whose influence continues to affect both individuals and nations. In this great work of God Peter Martyr Vermigli played a significant role. May we be thankful for him, and may his contribution be blessed to us and future generations.

The Editor wishes to express his gratitude to God for the loving concern and prayers of readers during the past year, and for the restoration of a good measure of health. J.M.B.

[The following quaint but beautiful 'Farewell Address' was found among the papers of the famous Dr. James Kidd, minister of Gilcomston Church, Aberdeen, who died 24 December 1834. We would do well to ponder its contents and seek grace to make all but the incidental matters our own. Ed.]

I feel myself advancing fast to the grave, and upon a back look of past life I can say in truth that God hath been very merciful to me; and I now leave my testimony to His providential care of me from my infancy hitherto. He has given my heart's desire to me in my standing in society, and I bless and praise Him for all, and am willing to lay down my professorship and my ministry, when He may please to call me to do so. [Dr. Kidd was Professor of Oriental Languages in the University. Ed.]

I now bid adieu to the University and to all things beneath the sun. Farewell, ye Sun, Moon and Stars, which have guided my wanderings in this valley of tears; to you I acknowledge much assistance in all my attainments.

Farewell thou Atmosphere, with thy clouds and thy rains and thy dews, thy hail and snow and different breezes, which contributed so much to my life and comfort.

Farewell, ye Earth and Sea, which have borne me from place to place, where providence has ordered my lot, and with your productions have supported my bodily wants so often and so long.

Ye Summers and Winters, adieu!

Farewell, my native Country [Ireland. Ed.], and every place where I have had my abode. Adieu, Aberdeen! May peace and prosperity for ever be in you. To all your Inhabitants I bid farewell.

Farewell Marischal College and University, in which I have had the honour of a Chair so long; may Learning and true Religion flourish in you to the latest posterity. Adieu ye Members of the Senatus Academicus; may ye enjoy many year of health, peace and prosperity.

Farewell all ye who studied under my care; may ye be useful, faithful and successful Ministers of the Gospel.

Farewell Chapel of Ease. May peace be within thy walls; for my friends and brethren's sake, Peace be in thee, I say.

Adieu, ye Eldership, ye Heads of Families, ye Young. May the Lord in tender mercy bless all I have baptized and all I have admitted to the Lord's Table for the first time. I follow all with my most earnest prayers as long as I live.

Farewell ye little Children in general all around, whom I have so often met in kindness and saluted with my best wishes for your good. May all good be your portion, in this world and the next.

My own Children, I commit you to God, in life and in death. May He fulfil to you the promise: "When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up." (Psa 27.10)

With mixed distress I leave you under the care of Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy. Farewell!

I bid Adieu to my Library and to my BIBLE, which has been my companion from my earliest days. I leave the Volume, but I carry with me, as the ground of my sure hope, the contents found in Psalm 73.23-28:

"Nevertheless I am continually with thee; thou hast holden me by my right hand.

Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterwards receive me to glory.

Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee.

My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.

For lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: thou hast destroyed all them that go a-whoring from thee.

But it is good for me to draw near to GOD: I have put my trust in the LORD GOD, that I may declare all thy works."

John 14.3: "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also."

Psalm 138.7-8: "Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me, thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me.

The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever; forsake not the works of thine own hands."

Psalm 23: "The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil: my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever."

These I take, before GOD, as my dying support and comfort.

Farewell Time! Welcome Eternity! Farewell Earth! Welcome Heaven!

Amen, and Amen.

Aberdeen, October 3, 1833. JAMES KIDD.

We apologize to our readers for the following errors in the printing of the Accounts in the last issue: the Bank Interest was included twice, Interest on Treasury Stock and Commission on Sale of Stock should both be under 2002, not 2003, and the Excess Income in the Balance Sheet for 2003 should have been shown in brackets as a deficit.