In saying this I do not lay all under the necessity of making a full and
entire confession of everything which they believe, even should they be
required to do so. I am aware also of the measure observed by St. Paul,
altho no man was ever more determined boldly to maintain the cause of
the gospel as he ought. And hence it is not without cause our Lord
promises to give us, on such an occasion, "a mouth and wisdom" (Luke
xxi., 15); as if he had said, that the office of the Holy Spirit is not
only to strengthen us to be bold and valiant, but also to give us
prudence and discretion, to guide us in the course which it will be
expedient to take.
The substance of the whole is, that those who are in such distress are
to ask and obtain such prudence from above, not following their own
carnal wisdom, in searching out for a kind of loop-hole by which to
escape. There are some who tell us that our Lord Himself gave no answer
to those who interrogated Him. But I rejoin, First, That this does not
abolish the rule which He has given us to make confession of our faith
when so required. (I Peter iii., 15.) Secondly, That He never used any
disguise to save His life: and, Thirdly, That He never gave an answer so
ambiguous as not to embody a sufficient testimony to all that He had to
say; and that, moreover, He had already satisfied those who came to
interrogate Him anew, with the view not obtaining information, but
merely of laying traps to ensnare Him.
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