beginning of the world And this is true humility when we presume nothing upon our owne strength or worthinesse but depend wholly upon the truth of Gods promises Moreover marke the Comandement of the Apostle to the Cor. Prove your selves whether you are in faith examine your selves know you not your own selves how that Jesus Christ dwelleth in you except ye be reprobates 1 Cor. 3.5 Know yâ— not saith the Apostle know ye not that is assuredly and certainly without doubting c. The Prophet Nathan said to David 1 Sam. 12. Thy sin is done away And our Saviour Christ said Son be of good cheere thy sinnes are forgiven thee Mat. 9. And thy faith hath made thee whole hath hath not shall shall it is done doubt not c. Therefore we justly conclude out of the stable Word of God That faith is a knowledge firme and certaine But Popery doth crosse this plaine truth That knowledge ought to go with faith There is nothing more hatefull in that Kingdome of darknesse than to heare of knowledge and in this particular most they abide it not For Nic Cusanus Epist 2. ad Baron a great pillar of their Church is not ashamed to write that Obedientia irrationalis est consummata obedientia perfectissima quando obeditur sine inquisitione rationis sicut iâ—mentum obedit Domino suo Obedience without reason is a full and most perfect obedience when thou obeyest without asking any reason as the horse doth his Master Upon these words Bishop Babington in his Exposition upon the first Article of the Creed saith thus A most strange speech and fitter for a horse or Baalams Asse than for a man surely most ill beseeming a Cardinall but that errour will often be most grosse Yet he stayeth not here but again in the same Epistle answering to this Objection What if the Church comand contrary to Christ whom must we obey with as great grosnesse he saith againe Ab hoc est omnium praesumptionum initium c. This is the beginning of all presumption when particular men thinke their own judgement to be more agreeable to Gods Comandements than the judgement of the Universall Church Whereby you see that he utterly disliketh the people should any way seeke to know what they believe or what they obey unto but simply and sillily to follow blind guides whithersoever they please to lead them The very selfe same darknesse doth Doctor Smith and other of their Catholick teachers againe deliver in one of his Books where he saith That albeit a man do by the comandement of his Bishop or Priest a wicked thing yet this very cloak of his simple obedience shall excuse him But the blessed Apostles knew no such obedience when they answered Whether it is better to obey God or man judge you c. Sir Thomas Moore and other of that side not unlearned boldly avoucheth that If ten should preach in a day and every one contrary to another yet shall he never thrive that will search who saith true directly contrary to the Commandement of our Saviour Christ John 5. Search the Scriptures and to that notable example of the men of Berea so comended and liked by the Holy Ghost that believed not even Saint Paul himselfe without triall but searched the Scriptures whether those things were so Acts 17. And we further read in the Scriptures 1 Thes 5. and 1 John 4.1 and 1 Cor. 11.1 Prove all things hold fast that which is good believe not every spirit but try the spirits whether they be of God or no be ye followers of me but how even as I am of Christ Mark this example well and consider in your own heart whether any Priest or Prelate under heaven may challenge more obedience of Gods people than the blessed Apostle might but the Apostles will be obeyed no further than he obeyeth and followeth Christ which he leaveth us ever to try him in As this Doctrine of Proving all things now in question doth reprove the palpable ignorance and blinde zeale of the Papists so it doth comend the activity and diligence of many of the Laity as of the Clergy in those last times that have attained unto a great measure of knowledge of Gods revealed Will by an industrious and frequent reading of the Scriptures joyned with prayer and hearing of the Word not omitting conference with the learned and using other good means for the right understanding of them This Doctrine I say doth approve the labours of some that in humility of heart sâ—eke the Lord but withall it condemneth the arrogancy and over-boldnesse of others that have a zeale of God but not according to knowledge Rom. 10.2 That boast much of the spirit but can they shew the fruits thereof in their words and actions If we live in the spirit let us also walke in the spirit Let us not be desirous of vaine glory provoking one another The Apostle telleth us The fruit of the Spirit is love joy peace long suffering gentlenesse goodnesse faith meeknesse temperance against such there is no law Galat. 5.22 23. Moreover the Papists are more blinde in their beliefe than they are grosly idolatrous in their worship and service of God It shall be worth our time and paines to consider the worshipping of Images whether it be lawfull for a Christian man or woman cringing kneeling creeping crossing kissing lighting up candles to it and such like as we see done in the Church of Rome with great observation In the Scriptures of God we have a plaine Comandement Thou shalt not make any graven image c. Read the 4.5.6 and 7 Chapters of Deut. Neither shalt thou set thee up any graven image which the Lord thy God hateth Deut. 16. Cursed be the man that maketh any graven or molten image an abomination unto the Lord the workes of the hands of the craftsman and putteth it in a secret place Deut. 27. See Exod. 23.24 Levit. 26.30 and Isai 41.29 and 44.10 and Jer. 43.13 and Psalm 97. Let it fall then even in the feare of God what mans head inventeth against the Lord in his own duty and at the last let us see it to be a vain mocks to think we can worship God in an Image and by it or under it Our Adversaries have a shift for defence of Images in the Church but it is a very ill favoured one They are say they Lay-mens books and stand in very good stead to put us in mind of God Now that they are no good Books but very dangerous and deceiving sights for lay-men or other whatsoever let the Word of the Lord himself be Judge The Prophet Jeremie in Zeal of Spirit detesteth such books and refuseth to be put in minde of God by any such deceitfull means For the Stock saith he is a doctrine of vanity yea they are vanity and the work of errours and in the time of their visitation they shall perish Jer. 10. The Prophet Habakuk againe saith That the image is a teacher
suffice to be sâ—id at this time of the faculty and Science of Physick a profession I confesse that is altogether out of the Sphear of my Theory and out of the Verge of my activity and practise SECT IV. Of the Science of THEOLOGY BUt finding my soule in greater need of Physick than my body I shall passe by the other Schools and read my last Lecture in Divinity Remember now thy Creatour in the dayes of thy youth while the evill dayes come not nor the years draw nigh when thou shalt say I have no pleasure in them Eccles 12.1 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was and the spirit shall return to God that gave it Vanity of vanities all is vanity And moreover because the Preacher was wise he still taught the people knowledge yea he gave good heed and sought out and set in order many Proverbs The Preacher sought to finde out acceptable words and that which was written was upright even words of truth The words of the wise are as the goades and as nailes fastned by the Masters of Assemblies which are given from one Shepherd And further by these my son be admonished of making many bookes there is no end and much study is a wearinesse to the flesh Let us heare the conclusion of the whole matter Feare God and keep his Comandements for this the whole duty of mâ—n For God shall bring every work into iudgement with every secret thing whether it be good or whether it be evill Eccles 12. 8 9 10. c. True Christians endeavour to go forward toward the marke of Christian perfection But if we should returne back into Egypt or desire to live in Babylon we should declare our selves neither studious of perfection nor of Christian Religion nor carefull to maintaine the reputation of our Nation How long shall we waver betwixt two Religions If God be God and his written Word be Truth then we are to follow him and to found our faith upon his Word If the Pope be the supreme God of this world and his determinations true then we are to follow the Pope and his Decretals No man Certes can allow Popery but he must condemne the Apostolicall Religion of Jesus Christ professed in this Church of England What communion saith the Apostle 2 Cor. 6. hath light with darknesse what concord hath Christ with Beliâ—l what agreement hath the Temple of God with Idols As many therefore as believe that the Papists walke in darknesse and follow Antichrist living in idolatry â—nd infidelity wound their consciences if they grant any toleration or consent to it The test trust needs runne into the same danger unlesse they can answer the reasons brought to prove the Pope Antichrist and Papists to be false worshippers of God or else plaine Idolaters See 2 Thes 2. and 1 Tim. 4. And the 13.14.17 and 18 Chap. of the Revel we are to pronounce them Anathema which preach beside that which the Apostle preached as himselfe teacheth us Galat. 1. But the Papists preach the Pope and his decretaline doctrine which is both besides and contrary to the Gospell preached by Paul Christian Religion never called the Pope the foundation the head or the spouse of the Church as Bellarmine in his books de Pontif. Roman and other Papists do It is not therefore safest to retaine Christian Religion built on Christ Jesus and to reject Popery built on the Pope No religion is to be tolerated that leaveth the rule of faith that is the holy Scriptures which of all are called Canonicall and seeketh defence and succour out of other rules as Traditions popish Determinations School-mens Distinctions and such like leaden and Lesbian rules But Papists deny Scriptures to be the onely rule of faith as Bellarmine l. 4. de verbo Dei Cap. 4. and others commonly teach Thus we see how miserably the Papists are deluded and led into vanity by their blinde guides But touching faith and assurance of our salvation we Protestants with a joynt consent hold this Doctrine that True faith is a knowledge firme and certaine of the good will of God towards us which being founded upon the truth of his free promise in Christ is both revealed to our mindes and sealed in our hearts by the Holy Ghost This is Eternall life to know thee to be the only very God and whom thou hast sent Jesus Christ John 17.3 Againe which mysterie hath been hid saith Saint Paul Col. 1.36 since the world began and from all ages but now is made manifest unto his Saints And Col. 2.2 That their hearts might be comforted and they knit together in love and in all riches of the full assurance of understanding to know the mysterie of God even the Father of Christ And 2 John 3.14 And we know that we are translated c. We know All which places you see evidently prove faith to be a knowledge so doth even reason for how can we believe things which we know not Saint Peter knew it could not be and therefore joyneth faith and knowledge saying And we believe and know that thou art That Christ the Son of the living God For he yeildeth a reason why he and other of the Apostles believed in Christ namely because they knew that he was the Son of God Which being so it necessarily followeth that they believe not to whom those things are unknown that he hath revealed in his Word And therefore that tale of Popery concerning implicita fides an ignorant faith is most foolish for faith and knowledge are so knit together that they cannot be separated Trust perfectly in the grace that is brought unto you in the revelation of Jesus Christ 1 Pet. 1.13 Perfectly to trust excludeth doubting 1 John 5.13 14. We know we know c. excluding doubting I am perswaded that neither death nor life c. shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Rom. 8.38 The knowledge which we have by hope grounded upon Gods promises is so sure that it cannot be deceived as it is plaine Rom. 5.5 The perswasion that the Apostle hath in other places is also grounded upon good Arguments but here Rom. 8. upon the immutable Decree of God And it is good reason to prove that every Christian man which is endued with faith and hope may and ought to be infallibly assured that he is justified and shall be saved because the Word of God and his promise to all that believe in him and in faith call upon him cannot faile but be most infallibly true That we shall also persevere in the favour of God and so consequently that we are predestinated to eternall life the Apostle doth most plainly prove in this Chapter wherefore by the Spirit of Adoption and the effects of Gods grace agreeable we may have certaine knowledge that we shall inherit Gods Kingdome which none shall do but they that continue unto the end and were appointed unto it before the
I have been resolved and setled in my judgement of a long time that the Supereminencies Prerogatives Temporall Dignities Barronies intermedling in Secular Affaires and the Lordly Monopolizing of Titles Jurisdictions and Functions by Archbishops and Bishops above the Pastors and Teachers of Gods Word their fellow-latourers and that the High-Commission with the whole Regiment of it's subordinary Offices likewise Deaneries and Chapters with their dependencies are all contrary to Gods Word unlawfull unwarrantable in themselves pernicious destructive of the peace godly unanimity which ought to be in a true Christian Church and Common-wealth But I confesse the many learned Books and Writings which I have seen and diligently perused since this question hath been moved and throughly debated of late by many sage acute Doctors and other learned men of divers Nations and Kingdomes have not only much confirmed but instructed me also in this point 'T is true that ex gratiá Regis by the favour of the Prince and for Government sake the Order of Bishops hath stood a long time in our Nation supported by the Lawes of the Realme and confirmed by Parliaments And so I see no reason why by the same legislative Power it may not be altered Now whereas by the gracious providence and disposing of Almighty God the Honourable Court of Parliament are zealously affected with a magnanimous and godly care of establishing the True Religion in his Majesties Dominions which consisteth in pure and sound Doctrine in a setled Government in a good and decent Discipline agreeable to the Gospell of Christ and to the rules and ensamples of the Apostles and Elders of the Church in the Primitive times From the first sitting of this great Assembly my hearty desires and prayers have been and are continually that in every Parish Countrey Towne lesser Village and Hamblet within the Kingdomes of England Scotland and Ireland a Religious painfull and learned Preacher may be placed with a Competent Livelyhood and Maintenance for the faithfull and true discharge of their Calling I shall forbear to insist upon this matter or to presse it as large for that Mr. Marshall that worthy and laborious Minister of Gods Word by whose preaching and exhortations thousands of souls have profitted much and as I may probably say many have been converted hath fastned upon this Subject already as I finde in a learned Sermon of his preached before the Honourable House of Commons Novemb. 17th 1640. and published by Order of the said House But I protest in the truth of my heart were I of riper years had I been blessed with a convenable estate and fortune had I been of judgement or had the honour and abilities to have supplied a roome as the meanest Member of that Noble and great Assembly in all humility by a discreet observing of the Countenance and Order of that Court I would have used my best endeavours for the promoting and furtherance of this Motion and I would have laboured and assayed all honest wayes and direct courses in this weighty and only speciall affaire for the security and happinesse both of Church and State had I seen any hopes of effecting it Whence come Heresies Breaches in Religion Schismes Sowings of strife between brethren Backslidings to Popery Superstition Ignorance and blind zeale False worship of God Prophaning of his holy Name Word and Ordinances and polluting of his Sabbaths And wheâ—â— cometh the cursed dishonour of Parents despising of Government the reviling of Magistrates vilifying the Pastors of Gods Word and contemning of Superiours Whence come evill thoughts adulteries fornications murthers thefts covetousnesse wickednesse deceit lasciviousnesse an evill eye blasphemy pride foolishnesse Whence proceed all these impieties I say but out of the impure hearts of prophane and ungodly persons not clensed through the Word of Christ The Apostle St. Paul wrote to the Corinthians not to keep company If any man that is called a brother be a fornicatour or covetous or an Idolater or a rayler or a drunkard or an extortioner with such a one no not to eate I am perswaded that many of Gods deare Saints do mourne in secret to behold the crying sinnes of our Nation which they would but know not how to remedy But the wise King Solomon telleth us for our instruction and comfort If the Spirit of the Ruler rise up against thee leave not thy place for yielding pacifieth great offences There is an evill which I have seen under the Sun as an errour which proceedeth from the Ruler Folly is set in great dignity and the rich sit in low place I have seen servants upon Horses and Princes walking as servants upon the earth Eccles 10. If thou seest the oppression of the poore and violent perverting of judgement and justice in a Province marvell not at the matter For he that is higher then the highest regardeth and there be higher then they Eccles 5.8 Verily as touching my selfe my spirit groaneth and my heart lamenteth and even bleeds within me to heare and see the horrible blasphemies rash oathes cursings and evill speaking lying hypocrisie dissimulation envie malice corrupt communication drunkennesse adultery fornication uncleannesse riot gluttony idlenesse chambering and wantonnesse filthy lucre pride with many more like sinnes which even now do reigne among us Protestants that professe the Name and Gospell of Christ Wherefore me thinkes we should lay our hands upon our hearts and consider with our selves that we are become dead to the Law by the Body of Christ that we should be married to another even to him who is raised from the dead that we should bring forth fruit unto God For when we were in the flesh the motions of sinnes which were by the Law did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death But now are we delivered from the Law that being dead wherein we were held that we should serve in newnesse of spirit and not in the oldnesse of the letter Rom. 7. Shall we continue in sinne that grace may abound God forbid how shall we that are dead to sinne live any longer therein Know ye not that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death Therefore we are buried with by baptisme into death that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father even so we also should walke in newnesse of life For if we have been planted together in the likenesse of his death we shall be also in the likenesse of his resurrection knowing this that our old man is crucified with him that the body of sinne might be destroyed that henceforth we should not serve sinne Also let us minde the Exhortation of Saint Paul to the Ephesians Chap. 4. This I say therefore and testifie in the Lord that ye henceforth walke not as other Gentiles walke in the vanity of their minde Having the understanding darkened being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them because of the