John Trapp on Titus 1

CHAP. I. Verſe 1. The faith of Gods elect]

NOt the election of Gods faithfull ones, as the Arminians make it.

And the acknowledging of the truth] It is uſuall with S Paul in the beginning of his Epiſtles, to utter much in few, and to ſet down the ſumme of the whole Goſpel, as here he doth Juſtification, Sanctification, and the hope of ſalvation, and all by the acknowledging of the truth.

Verſe 2. God that cannot lie] The word of promiſe bindes God: therefore it ſeems (ſaith one) that it is ſtronger then God: for he can aſſoon deny himſelf as his promiſe.

Verſe 3. Manifested his word] As when he laid plainly, He that believeth is the Son hath eternall life.

Verſe 4. Common ſaith] Common to the communion of Saints, verſ. 1. and to them proper and peculiar; for all men have not faith, 2 Theſſ. 3.2.

Verſe 5. Set in order] [non-Latin text not transcribed] Co[illegible: 1 letter]ſicias. Gr. Set ſtraight, or make up the things that I left unfiniſhed.

Verſe 6. The huſband of one wiſe] Here the Apoſtle canonizeth (ſaith an Interpreter)Stult[illegible: 1 letter]t. the marriage of Min[illegible: 1 letter]ſters.

Verſe 7. A Biſhop must be blamel[illegible: 1 letter]ſſe] As was Moſes, Samuel, Paul, Bradford, Bucer, &c. who led convincing lives: ſo that their foes could not many thing ſtain them, nor their friends ſufficiently commend them.

Not ſoon angry] [non-Latin text not transcribed]. Bil[illegible: 1 letter]oſus & bellicoſus, teſty and techy, eaſily blown up in[illegible: 1 letter]o [illegible: 1 letter]age, that will not be laid down without revenge.

Verſe 8. Temperate] [non-Latin text not transcribed]. No ſlave to his fleſhly appetite: but one that can maſter him[illegible: 1 letter]elf, and give laws to his luſts. See my Common place of Abstinence.

Verſe 9. [non-Latin text not transcribed]. Holding fast, &c.] As with tooth end nail, againſt thoſe gain-ſaiers that would ſnatch it from us.

Verſe 10. For there are many unruly] Lawleſſe, yokeleſſe, maſterleſſe men, untractable, untameable, that refuſe to be reformed, hate to be healed. God will hamper theſe Belialiſts, 2 Sam. 23.6.

Verſe 11. [non-Latin text not transcribed]. Whoſe mouths muſt be ſtopped] Gr. Muzzled, as bandogs are. C[illegible: 1 letter]c. de divinat La[illegible: 1 letter]rli[illegible: 2 letters]. Fides puni[illegible: 1 letter]a Virgil. Cres ſemper mendax, [illegible: 1 letter]ala bellua, & bell[illegible: 1 letter]o deſe[illegible: 1 letter]. Camde[illegible: 1 letter]s Eliz. fol [illegible: 1 letter]04 Cre[illegible: 1 letter]iz[illegible: 1 letter]c [illegible: 2 letters] [illegible: 1 letter] Cret[illegible: 4 letters]h[illegible: 3 letters]de Fr[illegible: 1 letter]en. A [illegible: 1 word]. [non-Latin text not transcribed] [illegible: 1 span] Caſaub. Frogs they [illegible: 2 letters]y will leave croaking, if but a light be hanged over the lake wherein they are. Let but the truth come clearly in place, and heretikes will be ſoon fil[illegible: 1 letter]nced. But if they will not, another courſe muſt be taken with them.

Verſe 12. Even a Prophet of th[illegible: 1 letter]ir own] Epimenides the Poet, who by his countrey-men the Cretians was counted a Prophet, and had divine honours done to him after his death.

The Cretians are alwaies liers] So were the Carthaginians, Tyrij que bilingues. The French had ſo often deceived the Engliſh, that ſuch as they mean to deceive, they call by a common byword, Ias A[illegible: 2 letters]l[illegible: 2 letters], The Engliſh. The Cretians were loud liars, even to a Proverb. Of Delon Homer ſaith, That he had an art in lying. But Eu[illegible: 1 letter]aem[illegible: 1 letter]a Joannes (that Cretian Dae noni[illegible: 1 letter]ck) wins the whet[illegible: 1 letter]on[illegible: 1 letter] one from all his countrey-men, whiles he bluſheth not to tell the world in print, that theſe are the doctrines and practices of the Proteſtants, to worſhip no God, to frame our religion to the times, to pretend the publike cauſe to our private luſts, to break our words, as we ſee good for our purpoſe, to cover deadly hatred under fair flatteries, to confirm tyranny by ſhedding the bloud of innocents, &c.

Verſe 13 Rebuke them ſharply] Gr. Preciſely, rigidly, [non-Latin text not transcribed], [illegible: 1 letter] uttingly. ſeverely, and to the quick. A Metaphor from Chyrurgeons, who muſt not be melch-hearted, faith Celſus: but pare away the dead fl[illegible: 1 letter]ſh, Ne pars ſincera trabatur. Howbeit,Chirurges miſericordes eſſe non opartes. that is a good rule given by a godly Divine, that although there muſt be ſome warmth in a reproof, yet it muſt not be ſcalding hot.M Wbatcy in his Atchetyp. Words of reviling and diſgrace, they ſcald, as it were. But words that tend to ſtir up the conſcience to a du[illegible: 1 letter] conſideration of the errour, or evil reproved, they be duly warm, and tend to make the phyſick work more kindely. Evangelizatum non maledictum miſſus es, ſaid O[illegible: 1 letter]col [illegible: 1 letter]mpadius to Farellus: laudo zelum, modò non d[illegible: 1 letter]ſideretur mauſu[illegible: 1 letter]tudo. Vinu[illegible: 1 letter] & oleum in tempore ſuo inſund [illegible: 1 letter]dum. Evangelistam non tyrannicum leg ſ[illegible: 1 letter]atorem praeſtes. Thou art ſent to preach, not to rail. Thy zeal [illegible: 1 letter] commend ſo it be mingled with me[illegible: 1 letter]kneſſe. Wine muſt be poured into mens wounds one while,Oecolamp epad Gul. Fa[illegible: 1 letter]d. and oil another. Thou muſt ſhew thy ſelf a peaceable preacher, not a tyrannicall Law-giver, &c.

Verſe 14. Not giving heed to Jeniſh fables] Wherewith their Talmud is full far[illegible: 2 letters]: which whiles they hug overhard, as Cleopatra did the [illegible: 2 letters] [illegible: 2 letters]es that ſucked her bloud, they periſh.

Verſe 15. Ʋnto the pure all things, &c.] This Piſcator holds a ſufficient warrant for us to uſe, Ne for[illegible: 2 letters], and other Heathen-expreſſions; like as the Apoſtles uſed, [non-Latin text not transcribed], &c. Piſe[illegible: 1 letter]t in Mare[illegible: 1 letter]a 14 3. Paſ praeſat ad Lexic. abuſed by the Greeks to ſignifie then wicked and deviliſh oracles. But Paſ[illegible: 1 letter]r is utterly againſt it.

Is nothing pure] Their own table is a In[illegible: 1 letter]re to them, yea Gods table. The Saints are kept at hard commons, but have their keeping of free-coſt: the wicked have larger cates, but pay ſweetly.

Conſcience is d[illegible: 1 letter]ſiled] To wit, with ſins, and ſo can no more judge of it, then a man can diſcern of colours in a foul and ſoiled g[illegible: 2 letters]ſle.

Verſe 16. They proſeſſe that they know] Aliud in titulo, aliud in pyxi[illegible: 1 letter]e. Out-fide Chriſtians, who perform as Ephraim, dow-b[illegible: 1 letter]ked duties, are almoſt perſwaded, as Agrippa, come near Gods kingdome with that young Phariſee; faint chapmen that go without the bargain, as he did that came kneeling to our Saviour, and ſaying, What ſhall I[illegible: 1 letter]d, to inherit eternall life? Theſe do vir[illegible: 1 letter]ut is ſtrag[illegible: 1 letter]lam pudeſacere, put honeſty to an open ſhame, as Diogenes ſaid to Antipater, who being vicious wore a white cloak, the enſ go of innocency.

Being abominable] [non-Latin text not transcribed]. Gr. Such as ſtink above ground, and are of an offenſive ſavour.

To every good work reprobate] Or injudicious: ſuch as cannot make a right judgement of any good works, ſo as to approve and reliſh them, to ſee a beauty in them, as good, &c.