as a very godly and honest act in him Again see another grosse errour asserted and justified by the Author of the Maccabees 2 Mac 14 41 42 43 44 c. In which place is set forth and expressed the high commendation and praise of Razis a Jew for murthering himself in a most desperate wilfull and butcherly manner Also Ecclesiasticus 46 20. And the book of Wisdome 19 11. The words I omit to quote and expresse at length for brevities sake 2. Vntruths For proof heerof look into 2 Esdras 14 21 22 23. The words begin thus For thy Law is burnt wherfore no man knoweth the things that are done of thee or the works that shall be done in the world But if I have found grace before thee send the holy Ghost into me and I shall write all that has been done in the world since the beginning c. Now that that is a palpable falsity untruth the most complete History of the worlds Creation and preservation all along in the 5 Books of Moses c. and the books of the Prophets Evangelists and Revelations most admirably preserved and kept from burning and destruction notwithstanding the frequent devastations and conflagrations of Jerusalem and the Captivities of the Jews and persecutions since of the Christians as in all former ages doth most abundantly evidence and declare to the everlasting glory of God and comfort of his children So likewise you may see such other untruths in 2 Mac. 2 4 5 6 7 8. Tobit 5 11 12 13. Judith 8 33. And Judith 10 9 compared with 10 12. And 11 6 12 13 14 15. Also 1 Mac 9 3 18 compared with 2 Mac 1 10 As also 2 Mac 1 13. 3 Blasphemie For the clearing of this look into Tobit 12 12 15. The words are these Now therfore when thou didst pray and Sara thy daughter in law I did bring to memory your prayers before the holy One and when thou didst bury thy dead I was with thee likewise I am Raphael one of the 7 holy Angels which present the prayers of the Saints and which go forth before his holy Majestie These 2 verses being compared with Rom. 8 34. Who is he that condemneth It is Christ that died yea rather that is risen again who is even at the right hand of God who also maketh intercession for us And with the 1 Tim: 2 5. For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men the Man Christ Jesus And also with Revel 8 3 4. And another Angel came and stood at the altar having a golden censor and there was given to him much incense that he should offer it with the prayers of all Saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne And the smoke of the odours which came up with the prayers of the Saints ascended up before God out of the Angels hand Compare these 3 places I say with that of Apocryphall-Tobit and then see and say whether it be not abominable Blasphemie to make or mention any other Mediator twixt God and his Saints than Christ Jesus alone as there it is of one Raphael 4. Magick or Inchantment That this is so also be pleased to see Tobit 6 6 7 8 9. The words are these Then the young man said to the Angel Brother Azarias to what use is the heart the liver and the gall of the fish And he said unto him touching the heart and the liver If a devil or an evil spirit trouble any we must make a smoke therof before the man or the woman and the partie shall be no more vexed As for the gall it is good to anoint a man that hath whitenes in his eyes and he shall be healed c. Also Tobit 11 10 11 12 13. Tobit also went forth toward the door and stumbled But his son ran unto him and took hold of his father and he strake of the gall on his fathers eyes saying be of good hope my father And when his eyes began to smart he rubbed them and the whitenes peeled away from the corners of his eyes Now if these were not plain Spels and unwarrantable wayes of Magick and Inchantment thus to drive away devils and evil spirits and to cure diseases by the help of such a spirit as Azarias and Raphael let all truly godly say and determine 5. Contradictions to Canonicall Scriptures For proof heerof be pleased to take notice of that in Judith 9 2 3 4 The words are these O Lord God of my father Simeon to whom thou gavest a sword Genes 34 2 25. to take vengeance of the strangers who had loosned the girdle of a Maid to defile her and discovered the thigh to her shame and polluted her virginity to her reproach for thou saidst it shall not be so and yet they did so wherfore thou gavest their rulers to be slain c. Now compare this with Gen. 49 5 6 7. The words are these Simeon and Levi are brethren instruments of crueltie are in their habitations O my soul come not thou into their secret c. Cursed be their anger for it was feirce and their wrath for it was cruell c. And then see and judge whether that of Apocryphall-Judith were not a most false and foul contradiction to this Canonicall Scripture in Genesis Judith accusing the Lord God as consenting to and allowing of that cruell murther committed by Simeon and Levi on the Shichemites for the rape of Shichem on their sister Dinah Also Ecclesiasticus 46 20. The words are these And after his death he prophesied and shewed the King his end 1 Sam 28 18 19 and lift up his voice from the earth in prophesie c. Now compare this with Isa 57 2. He shall enter into peace they shall rest in their beds every one that walketh before him And with Ecclesiastes 12 7. Then shall the body return to the earth as it was and the spirit shall return to God that gave it And now see if there be not a most egregious contradiction of Gods Canonicall Truth in that of Apocryphall-Ecclesiasticus falsly bringing in the holy Prophet Samuel to rise alive out of his grave and to prophesie to Saul after his death So also in Hester Apocrypha 12 5. compared with Hester Canonicall 1 3. And Hester Apocryphall 15 9 10. compared with Hester Canonicall 5 2. And there you will also easily perceive apparent oppositions and clear contradictions to Gods sacred-Truths not to be admitted or indured especially in one and the same book and volume Besides take this one more note by the way as a black-brand and mark of unworthines of thus misplacing the Apocrypha with or in the heart and midst of the holy Bible the most sacred canonical-Canonicall-Scriptures even the low and base style of the Penman of the Apocrypha 1 who at the conclusion of all writes thus 2 Maccab 15 39. If I have done well and as the Storie required it is the thing I desired But if I have spoken
Unholsome Henbane between two Fragrant ROSES OR Reasons and Grounds proving the unlawfull and sinfull inserting of the corrupt and most erronious Apocrypha between the two most pure and sacred Testaments Together with a most humble Vote and serious desire to our most Reverend and Religious Assembly of DIVINES to be a means to the High and Honorable Court of Parliament for the utter expunging of it out of the Holy-Bible AMong the many rank and high-grown stinking weeds of wickednes and impietie fit to be eradicated and pluckt up by the roots and thrown out of the Garden of Gods Church in these so hopefull Halcyon-dayes of a most holy and happie Reformation I have a long time taken notice of one which I humblie conceive to be none of the least namely the heertofore peremptorily commanded and hitherto uncontrouled inserting and marvellous ill misplacing the unholy and unholesome Apocryphall-writings in our Bibles and that between the two most holy and Canonicall-Scriptures of the Old and New Testament just me thinks like a deal of clinging Clyver or noysome Cockle and Darnel perking-up in the midst of a fair and full-grown field of Wheat or Corn Upon just and serious apprehension of the undoubted evill whereof I have humbly made bold to be though a mean and most unworthy yet a faithful Remembrancer both to our most grave and godly learned and religious Assemblie of Divines in speciall for the holy and happie reformation of this great evill among us And also to all the rest of Gods people and truly faithfull-ones in generall not to permit or tolerate such an uncomely and corrupt peice of patcherie yea of down-right errours and therefore palpable impietie in the very midst of no nor in any part of their Bibles the pure and unspotted the most holy and holesome Word of God The not onely Indecencie but apparent Impiety and therfore undeniable sinfulnesse and unlawfulnes wherof I have heer endeavoured and I hope not unfruitfully to make most easily and evidently appear to every pious and prudent Christian who is bound to Abstain from all appearance of evill much more from everie apparent evill 2. Thess. 5 22. And this I say will most perspicuously and plainly be manifested to us if we wisely consider these few but most serious and weightie considerations following First then as touching the Indecencie and unfitnes thereof consider with me I pray That between the prophesie of the Prophet Malachi which is the end of the Old Testament and the Gospel of St. Matthew which is the beginning of the New Testament have too-long and too-inconsiderately if not irreligiously been inserted certain Private-writings called Apocrypha which I may me thinks fitly call an Vnholesome Henbane planted between two most odâ—riferous and fragrant Roses It being indeed a meer humane stinking-breath between the two sweet and most sacred lips of the most holy Old and New-Testaments even in the midst and very heart as it were of the blessed-Bible Gods Book the onely-Book of all Books Now then for the better dilucidating and clearing of this great and grosse Indecencie I shall desire the Christian and candid Reader to consider That Malachi the last Prophet which signifieth Messenger or Angel did prophesie plainly c 3 1. and c 4 5. that the Lord would send to the Jews a Messenger even Elijah to prepare the way before the Messias or Messenger of the new Covenant viz Christ And these speeches of Malachi or last Angel of the old-Covevant are the very face of the New-Testament or Covenant made for many Then immediately comes or indeed should come the first Evangelist St. Matthew and he reports Matth 1. 20. the Angel from heaven bringing news of Jesus and immediately after the Messenger of the New-Covenant is born cap 2 1. And then cap. 3. John Baptist the Repairer of Christs way is introduced to the manifesting of that work And this John is by the Evangelists yea by our blessed Lord and Saviour Christ Jesus himself called and declared to be that Elias which Christ said should come before him Matth 11 14 and 17 3 11 12. And he indeed went before Christ in the spirit and power of Elias Luke 1 17. And thus I say all the 4 Evangelists begin their work of the New Covenant making the last Sweet-Breath of the Old-Testament and the first and most sweet and savourie Breath of the New-Testament all one sweet Canonicall-Breath inspired upon us from heaven They look not like bi-fronted Janus to 2 contrarie coasts or wayes but hand in hand as it were they do or at least as I said before should joyn immediately and sweetly without any stop or disturbance meet and kisse each other And who now should dare and be so bold as to hinder their holy lips from so due and decent a meeting who I say should dare and presume to disjoyn and put asunder at such a foul distance Those things which God hath so justly conjâ—yned together by inserting such uncanonicall writings yea such a private pernicious unholesome and unsavourie a stinking-Breath as I shall immediately shew it to be Besides the Jews who most carefully kept the Canon Law of God or rather God for them never received these writings for Canonicall as the Learned well know neither were they written in Hebers sacred-tongue A sufficient brand upon them to render them but a spurious offspring of meerly erring men not a legitimate Birth sprung from Jehovah nor any of his Divine Oracles given to Hebers people Now all this I humbly conceive doth abundantly shew the most unfit and undecent misplacing of these Apocryphall writings in the midst or very heart as I said of Gods Canonicall unerring and immaculate Scriptures And now in the next place I shall I hope by Gods assistance make it no lesse clear and evident that it is not onely thus undecent and uncomely but indeed most impious and unlawfull so to misplace them in the midst of Gods Book or indeed in any part thereof which may most easily appear by these subsequent enormous and dangerous evils in them viz. Errors Vntruths Blasphemy Magick and Contradictions of Canonicall Scriptures 1 Errâ—urs For proof of this namely that the Apocryphall-writings have Errors in them See 2 Maccabees 12 43 44 and 45. The words are these And having made a gathering through the companie he sent to Jerusalem about 2000 Drachmes of silver to offer a sacrifice doing very well and honestly that he thought of their resurrection For if he had not hoped that they which were slain should rise again it had been superfluous to pray for the dead And he perceived that there was great favour laid up for those that died godly and therfore it was a holy and good thought So he made a reconciliation for the dead that they might be delivered from sin See heer a plain and most notable Popish tenet of praying for the dead and offering sacrifice for the sins of the deceased maintained and justified by Judas Maccabeus
slenderly it is that which I could do Whereas the Inditer of the holy Canonicall-Scriptures begins goes on and concludes from Genesis to the end of the Revelations with majesty gravity and convincing authority Thus saith the Lord The Word of the Lord is pure and undefiled And Cursed is he which addes or diminisheth from this word and such like most high and authoritative expressions I say all along from first to the last Now then all these most serious and weightie premises advisedly and piously considered How dares my man especially by his or their authority who ever they be joyn such patcheries nay rather such putrified and pernicious impieties with Gods most pure and holy Canon the sacred Scriptures Certainly it is most impious and impudent pertinacie and saucynes for any man I say to presume and dare to joyn and set up such bumane and rotten-posts by the Lords most strong pious and precious Posts and their Thresholds by his Thresholds which the Lord himself complains of and cals and counts defiling abominations Ezek 43 7 8. And for which very thing he cut off and consumed in his anger his people of Israel both them and their kings as there in that Scripture is most evidently clear And yet even this durst our late most impious and imperious tyrannizing Taskmasters the Prelats do in their formerly uncontrolled most proud and even Papally-domineering dayes yea and so audaciously durst they do it and proudly command it to be done as not to suffer any Bibles to be bound up without it under pain of sharp reproof and severe censures and Fines too for it Yea and to this very day do too many even very good Christians and especially almost all our irreligious Malignants and sottish Ignoramuses both in City and Countrey I know not out of what insensible and corrupt custome hugge and hold-fast in their Bibles these so impure and polluted Apocryphal-writings just as they idolized formerly their prelaticall common-prayer-Common-Prayer-Book almost with equall faith and affection to the most pure and unspotted most holy and holesome canonical-Canonicall-Scriptures which onely are abundantly sufficient and profitable to life and salvation as being for this very use and end indited pend and preserv'd by the Lords own speciall command power and providence in all ages maugre all the malicious machinations of Sathan in any or all his instruments to have destroyed them Atheists Infidels and Assyrian or Babylonish heathens But heer it may peradventure be objected especially by or blockish Malignants and silly Ignerants O but Sir are there not very many excellent and Divine sayings and Sentences in the books of Apocrypha as in the book of Wisdom and Ecclesiasticus fit for men and women to read and therfore were it not pity say they such good things should be so ill spoken of and so harshly and wholly rejected and quite put out of the Bible Wherunto I easily answer first But are ther not far more excellent purely-holy and Divine Sayings and Sentences in most parts of the sacred Scriptures especially in those precious pearley-Bracelets and golden-chains of sacred Sentences in the books of Proverbs Ecclesiastes the sacred and sugred Book of Psalms and as I said generally all over the whole Bible which may nay ought to be more holily and holesomely read and ruminated on than any or all those in the so polluted Apocrypha Secondly I answer If the meer morall goodnes of those Apocryphal-writings and that 's the most and lest you can make of them be the main and only ground of retaining them in your Bibles as so it seems it is then I say for the very same reason and on the very same ground you may as justly yea and as profitably place in the midst of your Bibles the excellent Sayings and Sentences collected in a book called The Lives and Answers of the Philosophers wherin is contained as many and as excellent wise and morally Divine Sayings and Sentences of those Philosophers as any that are in the books of Wisdom and Ecclesiasticus But I say neither these nor those nor any other mens sayings who ever they were being but meer-mens ought as I humbly conceive by any means to be conjoyned and set cheek by jowl as the proverb is especially not to be tolerated in the very heart and midst of the sacred Scriptures what ever specious pretences or fair glosses may be urged for it For that which ofttimes seems good and very goodly to the eyes and heart of man is a most palpable and execrable abomination to the Lord The Vote upon the Premises O therfore that among the many most excellent and eminent work of Reformation in the Church of God now lately thought upon and in much measure fairly already effected to the perpetuall praise and glorie of our good God the just honour of his pious Instruments Both Houses of Parlâ—ament and the most learned Reverend and religious Assembly of Dâ—vines and to the ineffable soul â—â—â—â—ring joy and comfort of all true Englâ—sh-hearted Saints and Servants of the Lord who have together with mine unworthy-self the meanest of them all long time longed for and from the root of their hearts desired to see those holy happie Halcyon-dayes of Kâ—ng Jesus sitting solely upon his throne of powerfull and pure Ordinances O therfore I say that it might please the Lord to put into the hearts of our most grave and godly Assembly to whom I humbly conceive it most properly now appertains seriously to see unto if alreadie they have not a most exact and accurate Reformaâ—â—â—â— both of the particular great and grosse vitiosities and also the gâ—nerall foul abuses offered to the whole Kingdom in and about this sacred Book of God the Bible both as touching the constant defect of exact correction of the Orthographie of it from the Printers-Presses wherby the sense is in very many places feully corrupted and falsly mistaken as also the constant and generall printing of our Bibles in very course and extreme thin and bad sinking-paper and a dull and blunt letter yet setting a high and inhaunced price upon them a most foul shame to them and an intolerable abuse to the whole-Kingdom that such a most preciously usefull and daily vendible Book should be so ill used Also the adding unto heertofore by constraâ—nt on pain of Hâ—gh-Commission penalties and forfeitures of their Bibles through the horrible pride tyranny and Popish-superstion of the Bishops and by the base aymes and ends of some London-Stationers and others who for filthy lucre got Patents for the adding unto I say and binding with our Bibles divers humane patches and peices of mens inventions to be as it were of necessity by reason of their Patents bound with every Bâ—ble making them therby to swell out to a bigger bulk and so the more unconveniently portable principally to raise the prices of Bibles and to vent every mans inventions if I say they could but procure the Bâ—shops Papall authority therunto as namely the superstitious and idolized Book of Common-Prayers the Genealogies the Concordance the Doctrine of the Bible the Historie of the Bible and such like Some wherof though I acknowledge to be usefull in themselves for honest ignorant and plain people yet not fit as under correction I conceive to be set cheek by jowl with the pure and immaculate Word of God But most especially I say my humble suit and heartie desiro is and shall be that our most Reverend and Religious Assemblie of Divines would be piously pleased to be a means to our present Parliaments that by their supreme Authority the most vile and vitious Apocryphal-writings so erronious and enormous as hath been fore-mentioned may be utterly expunged and expelled out of all Bibles whatsoever heerafter to be printed and bound up for publick and private use and this under such pain or penaltie as their grave and godly wisdom shall see fit That so Gods holy word alone may be had and used in its own genuine orbs and native purity without any humane coagulated mixtures or improper additions in any part of them That thus both those arch enemies of the Lord Jesus Christ I mean Jesuites and Papists may loose a mightie advantage which they at least seemed and pretended to have among us and against us and Gods Truth especially by those vitious-writings so equalized as it were by many of us with Sacred Scriptures and by which they most boldly though most falsly used to boulster up upon mine own knowledge I speak it and to wrangle-out many of their blasphemous and damnable opinions against the most pure immaculate and invincible Truths of Gods word And also that by this means all Malignants and ignorant poor and blind formall Protestants whom the specious and glitterring tales and fables and for ought we yet know to the contrary untrue Stories of Susanna Judith Bel and the Dragon and such like do so please and affect as hath been fore-specified may be made better yea only acquainted with the pure and undefiled and most authentick Word of God the sacred Scriptures which are able of themselves alone to conform and confirm souls to Christ and to make simple-ones wise to salvation Psal 19 7 8. And this I say hath been the longing and thirstie desire and till it be throughly effected is and shall be the most servent and zealous prayer of one of the meanest and most unworthie Servants of his most dear and precious Lord and Master Christ Jesus John Vicars FINIS Imprimatur Ja Cranford London Printed for John Rothwell at the Sun in Pauls Church-yard 1645.