DR. HERMAN WITSIUS (1636–1708)

Herman Witsius was born in 1636 at Enkhuizen to God-fearing parents who dedicated him to the Lord prior to his birth. His father was a man of some renown, having been an elder for more than twenty years and a member of Enkhuizen’s city council.

Witsius commenced his theological studies at Utrecht under the tutorship of Professor John Leusden who taught him Hebrew. By the time he was sixteen years old, he could speak Latin fluently as well as read Creek and Hebrew. He also studied under Voetius, Hoornbeek, and Essenius while in Utrecht, and obtained additional theological lessons from Maresius at Groningen. In 1653 he returned to Utrecht where he was influenced profoundly by the local pastor, Justus VanderBogaerdt (a bosom friend of VanLodensteyn). According to Witsius’ own later acknowledgment, it was primarily through VanderBogaerdt’s preaching and fellowship that he was preserved “from the pride of science, taught to receive the kingdom of heaven as a little child, led beyond the outer court in which he had previously been inclined to linger, and conducted to the sacred recesses of vital Christianity” (cf. memoir of Witsius prefaced to Sacred Dissertations on the Apostle’s Creed, p. xiv).

In 1656 Witsius passed his final examinations and was declared to be a candidate for the ministry. Due to the abundance of ministers, he had to wait a full year before receiving a pastoral call. On July 8, 1657 he was ordained into the ministry at Westwoud at the age of twenty-one. Two years later he published his first book, Het bedroefde Nederlant {The Sorrowful Netherlander).

At Westwoud, Witsius met much opposition in large part due to the congregation’s ignorance of their Reformed heritage. Many medieval customs were still imbedded among the people, such as praying for the dead and Sunday burials.

In 1661 Witsius was installed in his second congregation at Wormer, where he co-labored with Rev. Petrus Goddaeus. These two eminent servants of God also took turns teaching a doctrinal class on weekday evenings in order to instruct their hearers how to “defend the truth of our teachings against false doctrines,” and to inculcate “the sanctity of our teachings in terms of God-fearing conduct,” for this is “indeed the pith and marrow of Christianity.” The outgrowth of Witsius’ work in this regard was an oft-reprinted work entitled, Praktijke des Christendoms (The Practice of Christianity, with a spiritual representation, first, of what is laudable in the unregenerate, and then, of what is culpable in the regenerate). In this, as well as all his writings, Witsius unveils himself as a true Nadere Reformatie (Second Reformation) divine.

Witsius accepted a call to Goes in 1666 where he labored for only two years, but these were among the best years of his life. In the preface to De Twist des Heeren met Sijnen Wijngaard (The Lord’s Controversy with His Vineyard) (1669), Witsius informs us that he labored in this congregation with much peace together with three colleagues — “two of whom were venerated as fathers, and the third was loved as a brother.” Of these four ministers working together in one congregation, Witsius notes: “We walked together in fellowship to God’s house. We did not only attend each other’s services, but also each other’s catechism classes and other public services, so that what one servant of God might have taught yesterday, the others confirmed and recommended to the congregation the next day.” Under the influence of these four ministers, Witsius writes that “all sorts of devotional practices blossomed, piety grew, and the unity of God’s people was enhanced.”

After serving Goes, Witsius went to his fourth pastoral charge, Leeuwarden, where he served for seven years (1668–1675). In 1673 he was again joined by a renowned colleague —this time, Wilhelmus a Brakel, with whom he served two years. Also in his years at Leeuwarden, Witsius played a critical role in mediating the disputes between Voetius and Maresius to a satisfactory conclusion.

In 1675, Witsius was finally called to be a professor of theology—first at Franeker (1675–1680), subsequently at Utrecht (1680–1698), and finally at Leiden (1698–1707).

Shortly after his arrival at Franeker, Witsius received his doctorate in theology. Under Witsius’ leadership the small Franeker seminary grew, especially after the arrival of the youthful, twenty-one year old professor, Dr. Johannes a Marck, in 1678. Moreover, during his Franeker professorship, Dr. Witsius produced his greatest theological classic, De Oeconomia Foederum Dei (The Oeconomy of the Covenants between God and Man, comprehending a Complete Body of Divinity, trans, by William Crook-shank, 3 vols.; London, 1763). In this work, Witsius utilizes certain Cocceian methods while maintaining essentially Voetian theology.

Dr. Witsius’ next professorial chair was in Utrecht where he labored for eighteen years and also found opportunity to preach a few dozen times each year. Two times he served as president of the Utrecht University; once he took a leave of absence to study Puritan theology in England. His years at Utrecht were not free of strife, however, as Witsius felt obliged to oppose the erroneous theology of Professor Roell and subsequently opposed the seeds of rationalism in the teachings of Balthasar Bekker.

Finally, at sixty-two years of age, Leiden called him as professor. Within a year (1699), he was appointed regent of the State college. In 1700, two major works of Witsius appeared in Dutch, which were subsequently translated into English: Sacred Dissertations on the Lord’s Prayer, trans, by Rev. William Pringle (Edinburgh, 1839), and Sacred Dissertations on what is commonly called The Apostle’s Creed, trans. by Donald Fraser, 2 vols. (Edinburgh, 1823). These volumes, as well as Witsius’ work on The Covenants, are most worthy of reprinting.

In 1707 Witsius retired. He died on October 22, 1708 at the ripe age of seventy-two.

Witsius holds a unique place in the Dutch Second Reformation. With regards to the need for godly piety, he served as a classic Second Reformation divine. At the same time, however, he was one of the first covenant theologians among Second Reformation divines who drew close ties between the doctrines of election and covenant. He also had greater sympathy for Biblical Theology as a proper study in itself than did most of his contemporaries.

Throughout his life as pastor and later as professor, Witsius was a man of peace and frequently a mediating figure in disputes. He managed to remain friends with both Voetius and Cocceius. His motto was: “Unanimity in what is necessary, liberty in what is not necessary, in all things prudence and charity.” He was noted for meekness and patience. His biographer summarizes his life beautifully in this tribute: “With him it was a fundamental maxim, that Christ ‘in all things must have the pre-eminence’; and free and sovereign grace, reigning through the person and righteousness of the great Immanuel, he cordially regarded as at once the source of all our hope, and the grand incitement to a holy practice” (cf. memoir, pp. xxvii).

Dr. Herman Witsius influenced many theologians and pastors in his lifetime — particularly Campegius Vitringa and Bernardus Smytegelt in Holland; Friedrich Lampe in Germany; Thomas Boston and the Erskine brothers (Ralph and Ebenezer) in Scotland.

Deze tekst is geautomatiseerd gemaakt en kan nog fouten bevatten. Digibron werkt voortdurend aan correctie. Klik voor het origineel door naar de pdf. Voor opmerkingen, vragen, informatie: contact.

Op Digibron -en alle daarin opgenomen content- is het databankrecht van toepassing. Gebruiksvoorwaarden. Data protection law applies to Digibron and the content of this database. Terms of use.

Printen