Pious doubters still belong among the faithful — do not drive them to despair
Experience: many godly people trust God’s Word and promises, flee to him, and plead for mercy — yet are not sure grace is already theirs, anxious about whether their faith and repentance are sincere enough.
No reason to cast them out of the truly faithful.
Console them: the faith by which they flee and thirst is itself the faith to which God promised remission and salvation.
To demand certainty of obtained grace as if without it there is no true faith is to pave the way to despair.
Latin
CI. Adde quod testatur experientia multos homines pios atque Dei timentes, quiique nullo modo dubitant de veritate Verbi Dei, & promissionum in eo contentarum, ac jugiter & serio ad Deum confugiunt, & ejus gratiam ac misericordiam ardentibus precibus implorant, nondum tamen esse certos de illa impetrata, quoniam scrupulis variis vexati anxii sunt de propria sua dispositione, & de propria fide & poenitentia dubitant, an satis seria atque syncera sit. Quos certe nulla ratio est, cur e vere fidelium numero excludamus. Nec videtur quomodo possimus conscientias eorum afflictas solari atque erigere, nisi doceamus eos hanc fidem per quam ad Deum confugiunt, & gratiam ejus sitiunt, & implorant, esse illam ipsam cui Deus peccatorum remissionem & salutem promisit. Imo vero viam ad desperationem sterneret, qui simpliciter eos hortaretur, ut certi sint de Dei gratia, quasi sine hoc vera fides esse nequiret.
About this text
Louis Le Blanc de Beaulieu - Sedan Theological Theses, newly rendered from the 1675 London Latin. Covers De Theologia through Angelorum & Hominum Sanctorum Cultu Romana I-LXXVII and Pars Secunda (Reformata) I-XL. Not the collected folio.
English follows locked Pitt Latin through Imaginum CLOSED + Sanctorum Cultu Romana CLOSED + Pars Secunda Reformata I-XL. 1675 PDF ~384-390 (book ~370-376); Vision OCR + pdftotext + tess. No modern English. This slice densifies Sanctorum Pars Secunda I-XL. Next: Pars Secunda XLI–fin (~CI). Claim stays claimed (book densify not done).
Catalogue & scope
ESTC R17887; Wing L802. IA bub_gb_eOkHAW4G0-wC (+ EEBO 1675 for gap leaves). Densify through Sanctorum Cultu Romana I-LXXVII + Pars Secunda Reformata I-XL (Pars Secunda not closed; not whole folio).
Witnesses
- Copy-text Locked Latin, De Theologia I-XLIII (Pitt 1675) (Latin)
- Checked print Internet Archive PDF of the 1675 Pitt folio (Latin)
- Checked print pdftotext of De Theologia pages (Latin)
- Checked print Internet Archive DjVu OCR of the 1675 Pitt folio (Latin)
- Copy-text Locked Latin, De Fide I-XXII (Pitt 1675) (Latin)
- Copy-text Locked Latin, De Authoritate Scripturae Pars I I-XLVII + Pars II I-XXXV + Pars III I-VIII (Pitt 1675) (Latin)
- Copy-text Locked Latin, De Scripturae plenitudine densify (Pitt 1675) (Latin)
This is an AI-assisted study translation. Source fidelity and completeness have not been independently certified. Open Latin on each section (or the Latin source witness link) for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.