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A51427
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The presentment of a schismaticke by Thomas, Lord Bishop of Dvrham ; in his sermon preached at the cathedrall church of Saint Pauls the 19 of Iune, 1642.
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Morton, Thomas, 1564-1659.
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1642
(1642)
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Wing M2846; ESTC R22069
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15,026
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30
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THE PRESENTMENT OF A Schismaticke By the Right Reverend Father In GOD THOMAS LORD BISHOP of DVRHAM In his Sermon Preached at the Cathedrall CHURCH of Saint Pauls the 19. of IUNE 1642. LABORE ET CONSTANTIA LONDON Printed by T. Badger for R. Whitaker and S. Broun and are to bee sold in Saint Pauls Church-Yard M. DC XLII 1 CORINTHIANS 11.16 But if any Man seeme to be contentious we have no such Custome neither the Churches of God THe sound Beloved in Christ Iesus I say the very sound of these two words which you have heard Contentions and Churches can tell you of the consonancy which is between this Text and these our times of Contentions and distractions in our Church which will more manifestly appeare in the discussing the Text it selfe which consisteth of these two parts The first is the presentment of a Schismatick in these words If any seem to be Contentious The second of a Renouncement and rejecting of him in the next words We have no such Custome nor the Churches of God In the first place we are to learne the Presentment If any doth the Apostle doubt hereof He sheweth in the former Chapters that he had information thereof and doth he now question it Let us consult with himselfe in the 18 verse where speaking of that his intelligence saying I heare there are Schismes among you addeth saying and I partly believe it O that wee could believe our contentions but in part Next If any saith he naming none nor will I No nor yet will I aime at any one however If any saith the Apostle he is absolute he will not spare any one There is no respect of persons with God and so it ought to be with the Ministers of God But we shall see our Schismatick in the next words If any seeme to be Contentious Behold the Man it is the contentious Man who will be far more visible in the Greek {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} signifying a contentious Man And which is more there is in it both {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} a Lover and {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} in the end observed by the Grecians to give this Emphasis to such words as to import a delight of doing And now you have the full face of this Schismatick that he is one that delightfully loveth Contentions Neverthelesse because one may see the face of another and yet not discern the linaments and figurature except he take an exact view So here will it be hard for us to marke the right properties of this kind of man without some description setting out his Characters even to the life to this purpose we have brought you one as exact as either wit could invent or art expresse borrowed from St Augustine which for the excellence thereof * Master Calvin translated into his Institutions the which I am now to deliver to you paraphrastically First this Contentious Man saith he maketh ostentation of his own worthinesse his Character here it selfe conceitednesse rank poyson at the first as Salomon in his Wisdom thought of it Seest thou one conceited in himselfe saith he there is more hope of a foole than of him especially if it be of the worthinesse of his own wisdom And if he be given to Ostentation then sure he will seeke our some company among whom he may boast it That is the next carrying people after him saith Augustin alluding to the words of Christ concerning like contentious drawing disciples after them this Character is popular ambition that that company may be dependant upon them and then it is odds he will carry and draw them from the Church which is specified in the next words Affecting Divisions This Character is black mallice affecting divisions that is delighting in divisions even for divisions sake as much as to cut off the Limbs of a Man only to cut them off And when this division is wrought what will this boaster think of himselfe trow ye It is told us He swelleth with Pride You have his Character named it is swelling Pride And no marveile for when this ostentator shall look behind him and see as a Leader what Troops of People he carrieth or as a Rabbi what number of Disciples he draweth behind him Is it any wonder that being cryed up by their acclamation their breath should be a full Gayle He hoysing up his top-sayle to carry him he knoweth not himselfe whether being now destitute both of the Helme of discretion and Anchor of moderation as will now appeare by his other Characters in respect both of Church and State Church how He is deceitfully slanderous You see the Character is lying deceitfully And so it must needs be for doth any separate themselves from any Church but will cast dirt with their heeles upon the face of that Church by imputations albeit never so false against their generall conversation as prophane their Doctrine Erronious their worship as Superstitious or Idolatrous whereof we shall have occasion to speake hereafter Nor shall the Civill estate escape them Therefore doth Auguistin note them to be Trecherously seditious Germany gave the world sufficient Arguments hereof by the miserable combustions raised by the Anabaptisticall faction among them And something I could say concerning the same among us If the report of Pamphlets were worthy the Pulpit only this one thing which I have read in divers of their printed Books that in their invective against Church Government and Service they excite their Auditors by such Texts of Scripture as speake directly of massacring One I have yet in memory the words of Jeremiah Cursed is he that doth the work of the Lord negligently where immediatly followeth And cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from Bloud wherby was ment the vengeance which God would have executed upon Moab as if they who are now Thorns in the Eyes of States would afterward prove Goads in their sides But can any imagine how these contentious ones can presume to shew their faces in broyling the world in this manner Be it known unto you that however ostentative such Men are yet they disguise themselves as the same Father will have us observe Least they may seeme saith he to be destitute of the light of Truth Destitute then they were of Truth which is the Character of Ignorance although they would not seeme to be such next they arrogate to themselves the shadow of Austerity Not true austerity but a shadow of it which is a Character of Hipocrisie The Devill himselfe could not deceive Men comming as I may so say in his own likenesse and not putting upon himselfe the semblance of an Angell of Light And notwithstanding all this his Austerity is but a a shadow Why so Because it is not substantiall in them for what is the substance of a Christian is it not Charity If I give my body to be burnt and have no Love I am nothing If I give all my goods
felonious or trayterous intention Let us but opening our eyes and we shall easily see their slanderous lying also for behold our Church in her service Booke doth make knowne to all the world that shee doth detest the superstition of the Romish Ceremonies by condemning their superstitious opinions First in making them necessary parts of Gods worship Secondly in ascribing an efficacious sanctitie unto them Thirdly by arrogating a meritorious condignity from them unto themselves Yea and besides she instructeth her Reader that she hath professedly purged her Liturgie of all those Lees and dregges of superstitious opinion of Papists which makes this their slander farre more slanderous Yet notwithstanding they persist in condemning the said Ceremonies as having bin either used or abused in Popery stil bewraying their ignorances for even this our Apostle did make use of the saying of Poets Menander Aratus and Epimenides all Heathens And shall therefore such Divine sentences be called Heathenish I cannot omit the peece of Prayer in our Liturgie which is That God will accept of our bounden duetie not weighing our merits but pardoning our offences the same hath been continually used in the Romish Masse beseeching God that hee would admit of them and their devotions Non tanquam aestimater meriti sed tanquam veniae largitor Not as an esteemer of merit but as a giver of pardon wherein the Romish will they nill they disclaime all conceipt of merit in their publike Liturgie which is a condignity of a work by the exact Law of Gods justice deserving an eternall reward which merit notwithstanding they maintaine in their new Romish Creed and bookes of controversies as an Article of their faith howbeit This sentence was that which brought the great Cardinall Bellarmine upon his knees when after his long and large dispute about justification by perfection of workes hee was inforced at last to cast Anchor absolutely upon the mercies of God as for so hee saith Tutissimum The most safe refuge of mans soule this being granted the same sentence serveth us both for a testification of this our saving truth to our selves as also for a confutation of the Popish error of merits which is a judging out of his owne mouth Wee demand then ought our Church to have used this sentence or not if so then is not this prayer therefore to be called Popish because used in Popery but ought she not Then doe they fondly affirme shee ought not use a forme of prayer which is both wholsome for him that prayeth and usefull to convince the Romish Church of Error in her superstitious opinion of merit But our Saviour hath taught us a more Divine lesson saying Wisdom is justified of her Children to let us understand that truth is truth wheresoever it soundeth even as a Pearle is a Pearle of price although it be taken out of the head of a toade I have insisted on this point because it may justifie our whole Liturgy against the censuring of a rite Popish for that it was used in that popish Church But there next blow is harder condemning such rites because abused by Papistâ— albeit not ignorant that herein wee can justly appeale not onely to the custome of ancient Churches of Christ but even to their owne schismaticall assemblies for the Primitive Fathers at the first dawing of publike peace in the Church began to convert the Temples of Pagans although they had beene the brothell houses of devils into the Houses of God consecreated to his worship And our opposites themselves can sometimes bee contented to use these Churches wherein was professed and practised that Popish Liturgy which they and justly inveighed against as indeed Idolatrous which is the blackest brand that can bee put upon any worshippers and which these opposites cast upon our Church as their last filth and dung This they do because of two kind of kneelings one at the administration of the holy Communion the other of bowing at the hearing of the name of Jesus To the first our answer is that Papists will not approach to our Sacraments Or if any doe yet it is in opinion that our consecration doth not operate their faigned transubstantiation and also the professed Protestants believing that there is therein no corporall presence of Christ cannot adore that as Christ which they know is not Christ and therefore can as impossible bee Idolatrous as the Papists in the worshipping their breaden God cannot possibly but be our reason is that that was an Article of Faith in the Primitive Churches of God whereunto we may justly appeale in a doctrine never to be repealed It is this That it is impossible for any Creature to be in two places at once not excepting the sacred body of Christ which their Catholike doctrine they professed for two causes one to avouch the prerogative of God to whom the existence in diverse places at one time is properly essentiall and this they grounded upon that divine foundation the Scripture of God Psalme 39.6 wherein the Psalmist in professing the Diety of the spirit of God saith Whether shall I goe from thy spirit if I goe up to Heaven thou art there if downe to Hell thou art there also and if to the outermost part of the Sea thither shall thy hand lead me The Argument thus The spirit of God is here and there and yonder therefore it is in diverse places at one time and consequently GOD because by the same essentiall property hee is as well in three Millians of places and indeed every where as hee is in any three or two and this they confirme by two circumstances First that the spirit of God was at one time in diverse Prophets Jeremie in Judea Daniell in Babylon Ezechiel in Chobar this in the Old Testament accordingly in the New the same spirit of God at one and the same time was in the Apostles when they were dispersed in diverse nations in the world for preaching the Gospell of Christ There second reason of this their dispute was to preserve the integrity of the body and humanity of Christ According to that caution of Augustine Cavendum est ut ita divinitatem Christi astruamus ne humanitatem ejus auferamus Wee are so to defend the divine nature of Christ that we destroy not his bodily and humane nature And therefore they distinguish both natures in respect of locall existence arguing thus Although the Deity be in Heaven yet is it then on Earth also and if on Earth then is it in Heaven but the humane Nature of Christ if it be on Earth it is not in Heaven and when in Heaven then is it not on Earth This was the Catholique Faith in those perfects and purest times of Christianity and that this was believed of them as an Article of Faith is as plaine Because they maintained that Truth against the Hereticks of their time who impugned the essential properties of Christs body with one Article of ancient Faith doth strangle more all the virall parts of