A Sermon by Richard Hooker
with Introductory comments by James Kiefer
Richard Hooker (1554?-1600) was possibly the greatest theologian
that England has ever produced. In 1585, he was appointed Master of
the Temple: that is, was assigned to one of the most visible pulpits
in England. Almost immediately, he incurred the suspicions of the
Puritan party. In the course of one of his sermons, he said: "I
doubt not but God was merciful to save thousands of our fathers
living in popish superstitions, inasmuch as they sinned ignorantly."
This sentence, which today would be fiercely attacked by those who
thought it arrogant, narrow, and bigoted, was at the time attacked
on opposite grounds. Walter Travers, the afternoon lecturer at the
Temple, said that since the adherents of the Pope did not believe in
justification by faith, they could not be justified by faith, which
meant that they could not be justified at all, which meant that they
were certainly damned, with no exceptions. Hooker, he claimed, had
sold out to the enemy. The sermon given below is Hooker's reply.
In reading it, remember that, when he argues that the popish errors
do not automatically damn all who hold them, he needs to state
emphatically that he is not himself one who hold such views.
Note also, that he frequently devotes a paragraph to stating the
case for the Puritan position (as represented by Travers) and then
the following paragraph to a rebuttal. The reader must be attentive
to when Hooker is speaking for the prosecution and when for the
defense. Doubtless, when the sermon was delivered "live," there were
clues in the manner of delivery that are not evident in the written
script. I have taken the liberty of inserting the signposts
[OBJECTION:] and [REPLY:] where I thought they might be helpful. I
have also included the paragraph numbering (which I think to be
standard) from the Everyman's edition, and the section titles (which
I do not think to be standard) from the P E Hughes edition.
The standard edition of Hooker's writings, edited by John Keble, has
footnotes for most of the quotations, from Scripture and other
sources. Some of these have been reproduced here, but those
interested in his quotations other than from Scripture will want to
consult the Keble notes.
For a general account of the writings and thought of Hooker, see C S
Lewis's ENGLISH LITERATURE IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY, EXCLUDING DRAMA
(Oxford U Pres, 1954), especially pages 441-463. (To the reader
anxious to understand the issues of the Reformation, I recommend the
whole work, but especially pages 32-44, 162-165, 177-180, 181-192,
438-463.)
To Lewis's account of Hooker, one bit of information must be added.
In Lewis's day there was some doubt about the authenticity of the
last three of the eight books of Hooker's masterpiece, the LAWS OF
ECCESIASTICAL POLITY. Only the first five were published in Hooker's
lifetime. Since then, the manuscript of the last three books, in
Hooker's handwriting, has come to light, and there is accordingly no
scholar (as far as I know) who disputes their genuineness.
And now for Hooker's sermon.
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
A Learned Discourse of Justification,
Works, and how the Foundation
of Faith is Overthrown
by
Richard Hooker
"The wicked doth compass about the righteous;
therefore perverse judgment doth proceed."
Habakkuk 1:4
1> For better manifestation of the prophet's meaning in this
place we are: first, to consider "the wicked," of whom he saith that
they "compass about the righteous"; secondly, "the righteous" that
are compassed about by them; and, thirdly, that which is inferred,
"therefore perverse judgment proceedeth." Touching the first, there
are two kinds of wicked men, of whom in the fifth of the former to
the Corinthians the blessed Apostle speaketh thus: "Do ye not judge
them that are within? But God judgeth them that are without."[1 Cor
5:12f] There are wicked, therefore, whom the Church may judge, and
there are wicked whom God only judgeth, wicked within and wicked
without the walls of the Church. If within the Church particular
persons, being apparently such, cannot otherwise be reformed, the
rule of apostolical judgment is this: "Separate them from among them
you";[1 Cor 5:13] if whole assemblies, this: "Separate yourselves
from among them; for what society hath light with darkness?"[2 Cor
6:14] But the wicked whom the prophet meaneth were Babylonians, and
therefore without. For which cause we have heard at large heretofore
in what sort he urgeth God to judge them.
2> Now concerning the righteous, there neither is nor ever was
any mere natural man absolutely righteous in himself: that is to
say, void of all unrighteousness, of all sin. We dare not except, no
not the blessed Virgin herself, of whom although we say with St.
Augustine, for the honour's sake which we owe to our Lord and
Saviour Christ, we are not willing, in this cause, to move any
question of his mother; yet forasmuch as the schools of Rome have
made it a question, we must answer with Eusebius Emissenus,[The
quotation that follows has not been traced, but it probably comes
from a treatise or homily wrongly attributed to Eusebius of Emesa.]
who speaketh of her, and to her, to this effect: "Thou didst by
special prerogative nine months together entertain within the closet
of thy flesh the hope of all the ends of the earth, the honour of
the world, the common joy of men. He, from whom all things had their
beginning, hath had his own beginning from thee; of thy body he took
the blood which was to be shed for the life of the world; of thee he
took that which even for thee he paid. The mother of the Redeemer
herself, otherwise than by redemption, is not loosed from the band
of that ancient sin." If Christ have paid a ransom for all,[1 Tim
2:6] even for her, it followeth that all without exception were
captives. If one have died for all, all were dead, dead in sin;[2
Cor 5:14f; Eph 2:1,5] all sinful, therefore none absolutely
righteous in themselves; but we are absolutely righteous in Christ.
The world then must show a Christian man, otherwise it is not able
to show a man that is perfectly righteous: "Christ is made unto us
wisdom, justice [that is, righteousness], sanctification, and
redemption"[1 Cor 1:30]: wisdom, because he hath revealed his
Father's will; justice, because he hath offered himself a sacrifice
for sin; sanctification, because he hath given us of his Spirit;
redemption, because he hath appointed a day to vindicate his
children out of the bands of corruption into liberty which is
glorious.[Rom 8:21] How Christ is made wisdom, and how redemption,
it may be declared when occasion serveth; but how Christ is made the
righteousness of men we are now to declare.
3> There is a glorifying righteousness of men in the world to
come; and there is a justifying and a sanctifying righteousness
here. The righteousness wherewith we shall be clothed in the world
to come is both perfect and inherent. That whereby we are justified
is perfect, but not inherent. That whereby we are sanctified,
inherent, but not perfect. This openeth a way to the plain
understanding of that grand question, which hangeth yet in
controversy between us and the Church of Rome, about the matter of
justifying righteousness.
4> First, although they imagine that the mother of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ were, for his honour, and by his special
protection, preserved clean from all sin, yet touching the rest they
teach, as we do, that all have sinned; that infants who did never
actually offend have their natures defiled, destitute of justice,
and averted from God.[See Council of Trent, sess V, decree
concerning original sin. 4] They teach, as we do, that God doth
justify the soul of man alone, without any other coefficient cause
of justice; that, in making man righteous none do work efficiently
with God, but God.[Trent VI,ch 7] They teach, as we do, that unto
justice no man ever attained, but by the merits of Jesus
Christ.[Ibid] They teach, as we do, that although Christ as God be
the efficient, as man the meritorious, cause of our justice, yet in
us also there is something required.[TrentjVI ch 4,5; canons 4,9]
God is the cause of our natural life; in him we live: but he
quickeneth not the body without the soul in the body. Christ hath
merited to make usjust; but as a medicine which is made for health
doth not heal by being made but by being applied, so by the merits
of Christ there can be no justification without the application of
his merits. Thus far we join hands with the Church of Rome.
DOCTRINAL DISAGREEMENT
5> Wherein then do we disagree? We disagree about ...
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