26
July 1587 A.D. (1578-1646) Rev.
Dr. William Twisse Born--Prolocutor of the Westminster Assembly, Reformed Churchman,
& Church of England
“This illustrious divine was born at Spenham-Land, near
Newbury, in Berkshire, and was educated first at Winchester school, then in New
College, Oxford, where he was chosen fellow. He spent sixteen years at the
university; and, by a most intense application, obtained an extraordinary
knowledge of logic, philosophy, and divinity. His profound erudition appeared
in his public lectures and learned disputations, but especially in correcting
the works of the celebrated Bradwardine, then published by Sir Henry Savile. He
was an admired and popular preacher, eagerly
followed both by the collegians and townsmen.
“His uncommon fame reached the court of King James, who chose
him to be chaplain to Lady Elizabeth, then about to leave her native country
and go to the Palatine. He cheerfully complied with the appointment, and
accompanied the pious young princess to the foreign court; and, to moderate her
grief, and administer comfort to her troubled mind, upon her painful separation
from her friends, he expounded some portion of Scripture
to her every day. He dwelt much upon the great uncertainty of life, and the
importance of a suitable preparation for death; and, from his
appropriate instructions and admonitions, she derived that signal advantage by
which she was enabled to endure the greatest adversity with undaunted courage.
“Upon his return, he became curate of Newbury where, by his
exemplary life and useful preaching, he gained a most distinguished reputation.
In this retired situation, which was exactly suited to his wishes, he lived in
great peace and comfort; and being secluded from the world, his time was wholly
devoted to his studies and the spiritual advantage of his flock. He never
sought after worldly riches or aspired after ecclesiastical preferment, but
modestly refused them when they were offered. No man ever sought more
industriously to obtain ecclesiastical promotion than he sought to avoid it.
Hence, when he was offered the provostship of Winchester college, and was
warmly entreated to accept it, he as warmly contended against it, though it was
a post of considerable pecuniary interest. He preferred his studies and the
ministry of the Word, to any idle or honourable post; and worldly interest had
but little influence on his mind.
“Upon the publication of the Book of Sports, our learned divine refused to
read it, and ventured to declare his opinion decidedly against it. Nevertheless
he escaped better than many of his brethren, who, for so doing, were suspended
from their ministry, driven out of the kingdom, or cast into prison. His refusal
to read the book did not pass unnoticed at court, but when King James heard of
it, he commanded the bishops not to molest him. His majesty, indeed, very well
knew that though Dr. Twisse lived in low circumstances and in an obscure
situation, his fame was so great in all the reformed churches that their
lordships could do nothing against him which would not be a public reproach to
themselves.
“He obtained uncommon celebrity from the books which he
published, especially upon points of controversy. Here his talents and
erudition were employed upon his favourite subjects without restraint, and with
extraordinary success. Among his antagonists were Dr. Thomas Jackson, Mr. Henry
Mason, and Dr. Thomas Godwin, who was a person of great learning, especially in
antiquities; but is said to have been more fit to instruct grammarians than to
contend with a logician like Dr. Twisse. He next encountered Mr. John Goodwin,
the celebrated advocate for Arminianism,
whom he is said to have refuted with great learning and judgment. His next
contest was with Mr. John Cotton, a divine whom he highly esteemed, and whom he
treated with great gentleness. He learnedly refuted Dr. Potter's "Survey
of the New Platform of Predestination." He treated Dr. Heylin according to
his deserts, in defence of the morality of the Sabbath.
He also successfully contended with the famous Arminius and others in defence
of the doctrines of grace. His answers to Dr. Jackson and Arminius, and his Riches of God's Love, when
first published, were all suppressed by the arbitrary appointment of Bishop
Laud.
“In the year 1640, Dr. Twisse was chosen to assist the
committee of accommodation appointed by the House of Lords to
consider the innovations introduced into the church, and to promote a more pure
reformation. In the year 1643, he was nominated, by order of Parliament
as prolocutor to the Assembly of Divines.
On account of his great modesty, he repeatedly declined the appointment, but
was at length prevailed upon to accept the office. The learned assembly was
opened July 1, 1643, when Dr. Twisse preached to both houses of parliament, in
Henry the seventh's chapel. "In his sermon,"
says Fuller, "he exhorted his learned auditory to a faithful discharge of
their duty, and to promote the glory of God and the honour of his church; but
he was sorry that they lacked the royal assent. He hoped, however,
that in due time it might be obtained, and that a happy union would be procured
between the king and parliament."
“Dr. Twisse, on account of his age and manifold infirmities,
was not able to attend upon the concerns of the assembly; but, in a few months,
was taken ill, falling down in the pulpit to rise no more. He had been long
grieved to behold the disagreement between the King and Parliament, which, he
said, would prove fatal to both; and he often wished that the fire of
contention might be extinguished,
though it were at the price of his own blood. When he fell down in the pulpit,
he was carried to his lodgings and laid upon his bed, where he languished about
a year. During his long illness, multitudes of persons resorted to him, who
witnessed his exemplary faith and patience. In the civil wars, he had been
driven from his curacy and the people of his charge, at Newbury, and deprived
of all his property by the royal forces; so that, in the time of his sickness,
when certain persons were sent from the assembly to visit him, they reported
that "he was very sick, and in great straits."
“The Parliament, having taken his case into
consideration, passed an order December 4, 1645, for one hundred pounds to be
given him out of the public treasury. Nearly the last words that Dr.Twisse
uttered, were, "I shall at length have leisure enough to follow my studies
to all eternity," and died July 20, 1646. The
whole House of Commons, and the Assembly
of Divines paid their last respects to his memory
by following, in one sorrowful procession, his mortal remains to the grave. Dr.
Robert Harris preached his funeral sermon from Joshua 1:2,
"Moses my servant is dead." He was buried in Westminster Abbey, where
his body quietly rested until the Restoration, when King Charles ordered his
bones to be dug up, together with the bodies of many other persons eminent in
church and state, and thrown into a pit digged on purpose in St. Margaret's church-yard. Though Dr. Twisse died in
necessitous circumstances, Parliament after his death voted a thousand pounds to be given to his
children, out of the public treasury. But on account of the national confusions, it is
doubtful whether it was ever paid.
“Mr. Clark says, "he was
much admired for his great learning, subtle wit, exact judgment, great
integrity, pleasing behaviour, and his exemplary modesty, piety, humility and
self-denial." Fuller denominates him "a divine of great abilities, learning,
piety, and moderation." Wood says, "his plain preaching was esteemed
good; his solid disputations were accounted better; but his pious life was
reckoned best of all." The most learned of his adversaries confessed that
there was nothing extant more accurate and full upon the Arminian controversy
than what is contained in his works. All writers against Arminianism have made
honourable mention of his works, and have acknowledged him to have been the
mightiest man in those controversies that the age produced. [from The
Lives of the Puritans, by
Benjamin Brook][see also William Young's excellent biographical
sketch]
The Works of William Twisse:
A Brief Catechismal Exposition. (62 pages) [pdf via Supralapsarian]
A catechism on the sacraments, the Lord's Prayer, the Ten Commandments, and the Apostles' Creed.
The Christian Sabbath Defended. (246 pages) {Can you help us find this?}
A Discovery of D. Jackson's Vanity. (728 pages) [pdf via Supralapsarian]
The Doctrine of the Synod of Dort and Arles, Reduced to the Practice. (198 pages) [pdf via Supralapsarian]
The Doubting Conscience Resolved. (166 pages) [pdf via Supralapsarian]
In which it is shown that the Holy Scriptures form the foundationupon which the church is built, not the decrees of the Pope.
An Examination of Mr. Cotton's Analysis of The Ninth Chapter of Romans. (280 pages) [pdf via Supralapsarian]
or, A Treatise of Mr. Cotton's Clearing Certain Doubts Concerning Predestination.
The Five Points of Grace and of Predestination. [epub mobi txt web via Grace Online Library]
Of the Morality of the Fourth Commandment. (298 pages) [pdf epub mobi txt web via Internet Archive]
The Riches of God's Love. (592 pages) [pdf via Mount Zion Primitive Baptist Church]
The definitive treatment of supralapsarianism (the doctrine that God planned in advance all of redemptive history before creating the world), the full title is The Riches of God's Grace unto Vessels of Mercy, Consistent with His Absolute Hatred or Reprobation on the Vessels of Wrath.
The Scripture's Sufficiency to Determine all Matters of Faith Made Good Against the Papist. (95 pages) [pdf via Supralapsarian]
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