Herman Witsius

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His death was deeply regretted by the friends of true religion in Holland and other countries. And on the 29th of October, after his mortal remains had been committed to the dust amidst the tears of a vast concourse of mourners, Dr. a Marck, the same worthy divine who attended him in his last moments, by appointment of the professors of the university of Leiden, pronounced the funeral oration from which many of the facts in this account are taken. In the course of that oration, Dr. a Marck took occasion to specify, with much feeling, the friendly services which Witsius had done for him personally, and the great advantages he had derived, in his youth, from the public discourses, academic lectures, personal intercourse, salutary counsels, and engaging example of this eminent man of God.

As to the character of Herman Witsius, we can glean only some idea from Dr. John a Marck’s funeral oration. As it was customary in those days to have funeral orations, so it was also the custom to make many flowery and flattering remarks about the subject of the oration. I have tried to draw “facts,” not flattery, in this presentation.

Unquestionably, Witsius was a man of many talents, without any exaggeration a genius, and blessed with many gifts. His learning was various and profound. Deeply skilled in languages, philosophy, and history, as well as theology, he used them wisely; but there is no doubt about the fact that he devoted himself in particular to the study of the Bible. Few have ever acquired either so complete a command of the expressions of Scripture in the original tongues or so great an insight in expounding its most difficult passages. Instead of relying on human authority or allowing himself to be led by the best expositors, whether ancient or modern, he constantly appealed to the sacred volume as the only infallible standard, and implicitly sought and relied upon the dictates of the Holy Spirit. His zeal for “the faith once delivered to the saints” is clearly evident in his discourses and writings. When dangerous opinions in philosophy and divinity prevailed, and when reason was extolled to the prejudice of faith and to the overthrow of the essential doctrines of the Christian religion, he vindicated the cause of truth with pious zeal and unshaken fidelity, but always blended with meekness and prudence. With regard to the less important differences of sentiment which took place among sound and faithful theologians, no one could exercise greater mildness and forbearance than Witsius. He was an admirer of, and took for his motto, that excellent saying: “Unanimity in what is necessary, liberty in what is not necessary, in all things prudence and charity.”

To heal the breaches of Zion and to promote peace and concord among brethren, was to him a delightful task. Amid all his attainments, he remained humble and modest. It was evident that he indulged no vain conceit of his own capacities or performances; and when his most intimate friends began to address him in the language of praise, he immediately checked them. He never was happier than when he enjoyed fellowship with heaven in spiritual meditation and in stated and ejaculatory prayers. The objects of eternity seemed to be habitually present in his mind, and it was the desire of his heart to promote the highest interests of his pupils and the people of his charge. The whole tenor of his conduct served to show that he was himself “spiritually minded,” and that he aspired at nothing less, on behalf of all of whom he had the oversight, than to guide them, by the united influence of precept and example, to “the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” The religion of which Witsius was so able a teacher and so bright a pattern, was equally at variance with that of the cold formalist and the proud self-righteous Pharisee. With him it was a fundamental maxim, that Christ “in all things must have the preeminence”; and free and sovereign grace, reigning through the Person and righteousness of the great Immanuel, he regarded as the source of all our hope and the greatest incitement to a holy practice.

Herman Witsius, though dead, yet speaks by his writings; most of which have continued and, it is hoped, will continue through many succeeding ages to give instruction and delight to the lovers of sacred truth. Many of the writings of Witsius were in the Latin language, six volumes in all. We will list only those which have been translated into English:

I. The work for which Witsius is best known is The Economy of the Covenants, which was first published when Witsius was Professor of Divinity in Franeker. By the year 1693 it had already passed through two editions. A translation into English was first published in London, in 1763, in three volumes. A new translation from the original Latin was published in New York in 1798, also in three volumes. It has recently been reprinted in two volumes and is now available in that form.

This learned work is highly recommended. The first English translation has the following recommendatory statement: “We most heartily concur in the recommendation of his works to serious Christians of all denominations, and especially to ministers and candidates for that sacred office.” Among the many signers are John Gill, D.D., John Brine, and Thomas Gibbons.

James Hervey (1714-1758) writes in his Theron and Aspasio about The Economy of the Covenants as follows: “It is a Body of Divinity, in its method so well digested; in its doctrines so evangelical; and (what is not very usual with our systematic writers) in its language so refined and elegant; in its manner so affectionate and animating; that I would recommend it to every student in Divinity.”

II. The second work of Witsius to be recommended is a two-volume work entitled Dissertations on the Apostles’ Creed. This work was translated from the Latin by Donald Fraser, a Scottish minister, and was first published in Scotland in 1823. The translator has added copious explanatory notes in the back of each volume and includes a copy of the Apostles’ Creed in Greek, Latin, and English in parallel columns. This two-volume work was reprinted in 1993 and is still available.

The work is greatly enhanced by the various indexes:

1. An index of the passages of Scripture more or less amply illustrated in the Dissertations on the Apostles’ Creed.

2. An index of Hebrew words illustrated.

3. An index of Greek words illustrated.

4. An index of texts, more or less illustrated in the notes of the translator, Donald Fraser.

5. An index of things adverted to in the notes.

6. An excellent index of authors quoted or referred to in the dissertations, including short notices of most of them.

7. An index of authors quoted or referred to in the notes.

III. Another work by Witsius which has recently been reprinted (1994) is Sacred Dissertations on the Lord’s Prayer. This work was first published in Latin in 1681 and was translated into English by William Pringle about 150 years ago. There are brief explanatory footnotes by the translator. I reserve comment on this book since I have read little in it. Like all of Witsius’ works, it has all the appearance of a scholarly work.

Note: Much of the material for this account of the life and works of Herman Witsius has been gathered from the “Life of the Author” extracted from Dr. a Marck’s funeral oration, as found in the 1798 three- volume edition of The Economy of the Covenants. Some additional material has been gleaned from the “Memoir of Herman Witsius, D.D.” by Rev. Donald Fraser, as found in the recently reprinted two-volume work of Witsius, Dissertations on the Apostles’ Creed.

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