A MIRROUR OF TRUTH OF THE HIGHEST CONCERN To all sorts of People Noble and Ignoble Rich or Poor Soveraigne or Subject 1. Rom. 14. To the Greeks and to the Barbarians to the wise and unwise I am a Debtor Printed in the Year 167â— A MIRROUR OF TRUTH The Preface IT is for the Lovers of Peace and naked Truth for whom I write this in a few but substantial words declaring the grounds thereof and no more without the least dispute or Contest with any The Truth KNOW therefore that as all things are Vanity of Vanities but only to Love and serve God Eccl. 1.2 So all Knowledge which is not to that End is blind ignorance And all otherwise seeming Truth plain deceit and falshood For there is no Truth but that which leads to God Truth it self the Beginning and End Alpha and Omega nor any Errour or falshood but what seduces from Him Truth indeed is the chief of all most to be loved and sought after Esd 3.4 All the Earth calleth for Truth and Heaven blesseth it thus Esdras And let it be seriously sought after and firmly embraced above all in this foundation and ground-work of all true Vertue and Perfection Divine Faith without which it is impossible to please God Heb. 11.1 Now Faith is the ground of things to be hoped for and the evidence of things which are not seen If this point be rightly understood well observed the great stumbling-block to Errors Heresies is taken away This is St. Paul's definition of Faith and most true it is Observe then that since Faith a supernatural gift of God is the Evidence of those things that by no sence or understanding can be perceived but only through this free and gracious gift of God why do we so much busy our Understandings to conceive the Articles of our Faith and believe in a manner Nothing but what we would pretend clearely to know and understand All which is incompatible with Faith which must have no other Operation of the Understanding but simple subjection and obedience to that Divine Light And for this reason He teacheth us to bring into Captivity all Vnderstanding in Obedience to Christ 2 Cor. 10.5 As if he should say Good People in vain it is for you to trouble your heads discussion and search in these matters will not quiet or satisfy you The true Rule of Faith you must simply believe because God revealeth and the Church proposeth That which Faith tells you is above your capacity You may as well put the whole Ocean into a small Pitt as the least of these high mysteries into your Understanding you may as well understand the nature of God Himself as the least of them They are all alike little and great high and low as delivered by Faith We may not therefore search them Pro. 25.27 Exod. 19.12 For who is a searcher of Majesty shall be oppressed by Glory And the Beast that toucheth the Mountain shall be stoned These be Edge-tool's there is no jeasting with them Humane reason cannot reach thus high We must simply submit to the Divine Revelatian and the Churches Proposition All the Disputation in the world is to no purpose in these matters We must not contend in words for it availeth nothing but to the subversion of the Hearers It is not Man's Wisdom can teach us these things but the plain evidence of the Spirit of Truth And for this cause St. Paul gave this Admonishment to Timothy saying O Timothy keep that which is committed unto thee 1 Tim. 6.19 and avoid profane and vain babling and opposition of science falsly so called which while some profess they have Erred concerning Faith A Sentence worthy to be written in every Man's heart with indelible Characters for his direction to attain and gain the true Faith which must be committed by the Church to Him and he must take heed of loosing it again through vain Science falsly so called by the curious itching of which we come to breake out in Faith and loose our integrity How come we then to hear these vain bablings and oppositions of Science falsly so called from many who Esteem themselves right believers yea Masters in Israel vaunting of their light from God to know and discern all truth and to dive into the highest Mysteries of Faith yea assume unto themselves a Prerogative Royal proper to Christ only and his Substitutes and Commissioners endued with his Holy Spirit to define what is Faith and what is not O Petty Undertakers who receive no Rule of Faith but their own fancies which they would have all to follow Saying this is no Article of Faith How can we believe a peece of bread or white wafor to be turned into the Body of Christ I see not to what End there should be a continual sacrifice since Christ hath been offered once for all How doth it not derogate from the honour of God to pray to the Saints what power vertue can there be in their Reliques what vain superstition is it to use the signe of the Cross holy water Beads c. How can Man forgive sins How ridiculous is it to think there is a third place or Purgatory with infinite other such like Infidel questions if they knew what they asked For by these and the like questions they seem to shew they believe no more then they see reason for according to their own conceits And so in Truth and very deed they have no Divine Faith at all which is above humane reason and understanding and not by it to be judged Yea these prophane voices sound so high that they themselves will rule and be Judges of that which they constitute the rule of Faith I meane the holy Scriptures admitting and refusing what they please as the Machabees the book of wisdom the Epistle of St. James with much more And why because they like them not and so judge them not to be Scripture And the like is not onely of the word of God it self As God himself is inscrutable to our understandings so is his holywrit Lib. 32. contra-Faustum 〈◊〉 19. but also of the true sence and meaning of it of which they will have no other Judge but their own sense and meaning so that we may say unto them what St. Augustine said to Faustus one of their own Crew You seem to do that saith he which taketh away all Authority of Holy Scripture making every ones Mind the Interpreter of it As God himself is the Authour of holy Scripture so must â—â—e be the sole â—â—terpreter â—â—y His Holy â—nd infallible Church what in every place he please to make the sense meaning of it That is not to be subject to the Scriptures in believing but to make the Scripture subject to Him Not liking any thing because it is right written by Supream Authority but therefore it seems to be right written because it likes Him Thus this Holy sublime wit shews
which is alwaies pure and holy tending to Vertue View and Consider the Tenets and practises of Both true and false and then judge The Religion which is true and holy is that WHich hath Calendars full of approved Known Saints of all Ages and Professions A kallendar of 〈◊〉 approved known Saints whose Sanctity none dare or can justly oppose That which hath wrought evident and true miracles in all Ages from the beginning till this hour True Miracles and shall work upon occasion to the Consummation of the Saints That which hath converted all nations to the Faith of Christ from Judaisme All Nations Converted c. Idolatry Heathenisme c. and whose teachers and Professors have been of known sanctity and holy Life To name One for all St. Augustin our Apostle of the holy Order of St. Bennet who converted England to the Faith of Christ from blind Idolatry and Heathenisme Sent by St. Gregory the great then Pope of Rome of the same holy Order That which hath built all the Churches Churches Monasteries Nunneries Hospitals built c. Monasteries Nunneries Colledges Hospitals c. in Christandom endowed them with rents instituted the Universities distinguished the Multitude into Parishes proportioned the Tyths annexed the glebe Land ordayned the Bishoppricks lymitted the Diocesses and decree'd the Ecclesiastical Lawes so full of learning and Piety that they are now all good and learned Mens Studyes besides infinite other good Works of all sorts That which from the Flower of her Infancy the Apostles themselves being such ever had still hath Religious Orders and ever shall have infinit Multitudes of Beleivers of either sex professing Poverty Chastity and Obedience the three cheif Evangelical Counsels so highly commended and practised by Antiquity not onely as Sonveraigne divine helps to perfection but also as Beautiful Ornaments to Christs Church raysing the Professors to a supream degree of Grace and glory Witnessed and sealed with the Blood of holy Martyrs and Confirmed by Miracles That which hath been testified and sealed with the blood and sufferings of such Martyrs and Confessors as are allowed by the adversaries thereof and all Points and Articles of her holy Doctrine confirmed by most authentical and approved Miracles which no other Contrary Religion ever was or shall be able to do sufficient to convince the whole World if they were not extreamly blind and perversly Obstinate That which hath instituted the Feasts Fastingdays and feasts Holy Rites and wholesom Ceremonys Fasting dayes and all good Ceremonies and Observations used through out the the whole Church As Christmas Easter Ascension Whitsontide Corpus Christi the Vigils and Feasts of the Apostles and other Saints the fast of Lent Emberdays Abstinence from flesh On Frydaies and Saturdads very wholsome commodious even to Common Wealths and private Families Rites likewise and sacred Forms and Ceremonies observed in administring the Sacraments Consecrations Coronations instalments and all other solemnities which carry with them Veneration State and decency That which professeth not the large The Narrow way of Morification and Penance and Broadway but the straight and narrow such as the holy writ affirms to be the way to Heaven as Annual Confession to a Priest Pennance Restitution Satisfaction performance of Vows Mortification of the old Man and the like injunctions observed by none but those of the true Religion Libertinisme being the sole Profession and the very soul of all Sectaries in One kind or Other That unto whose society whosoever truly enters Change of Manners upon Conversion lives forthwith in more feare and love of God hatred to sin and changes his former life into a better That which most hath The most learned holy and able Men. and in former Ages ever had and ever shall have the most Famous Men for wit Judgment reading writing true schollership and solid Vertue Qualityes of all Other most likely to discern and abandon errors to her Teachers Doctors and instructers That which hath excelled in spirituallity True spirituallity and whose beleivers have interiourly Conversed with God in a most experimental and Ineffable way and thereby satisfied their Propension not possible to be satisfied out of the true Faith and Religion and have chosen the best part never to be taken from them And this is most evident by many Admirable Books written by the Practisers of this spirituality and professors of this only true and holy Religion That whose publick Church-service is performed Publick Church Service and executed with that Reverence Venerable gravity Majesty And the several parts and ceremonies so admirably and aptly composed and ordered for annual Commemorations and representing of our Saviours Incarnation Birth life Passion Burial Resurection Ascension Coming af the Holy Ghost the institution of the blessed Sacrament of the Altar and other passages aswel of Christ our head as of his Members the Saints That whose Secular The single â—ife of the Clergy Secular and Regular and regular Clergy live without wives free from Care of providing for Wife and Children and the second sort no way distracted with Affairs and incumbrances of the World but Cloistred unles some of the more Able and Vertuous be through special want and to Gods greater Glory called to Episcopal Sees and other employments in the Church pass their whole time in Prayer watching Fasting Continual study of Scriptures with daily Conferences for the full and perfect Understanding of them Add to this that all their Priests and beneficed Clergy are bound to say every day an Office in their Breviary â—ound to say â—â—e Breviary A Book of that Excellency that none but the Spirit of God could have composed it and which alone is sufficient to make them Devout and learned That finally though there be many other motives of Holiness in this true Church which by reason of her Holy Doctrin Royal Loyal and divine Obedience subjection to all Power Civil and Spiritual and Ordinances keeps all subjects in due allegiance to their Temporal Kings and Princes and to all power spiritually constituted over them And hath evermore blessed Popes Bishops Abbots Superiors Kings and Princes Magistrates and Subjects with Constant and permanent Peace true Happiness Prosperity and Victorys true Glory temporal and Eternal together with unfeigned Love One to another neighbourly and just Commerce And in a word so that all things go on with Order Love Justice and Peace Now as the true Church and Religion hath these glorious fruits and evident Effects So have all Heresies and Sects the clear Contrary Foul and monstrous Fruits and Effects And most apparently abominable to all who are not wilfully blind and perversly Obstinate Consider then on the Contrary side how the False Church and Religion is That which is void of Saints A Calendar of Hipocritical ridiculous Saints Foxes Acts and monuments sufficiently witness and hath no other but vile hypocrites such as after some time even those of the
the Body of Christ and the whole substance of Wine into his Blood Which Conversion the Catholique Church calls Transubstantiation I acknowledg likewise that under One only form all and entire Christ and a true Sacrament is received I do constantly hold there is a Purgatory and that the souls there detayned are holpen by the Prayers and suffrages of the faithful In like manner that the Saints raigning with Christ are to be venerated and invoked and that they offer up Prayers to God for us and that their Reliques are to be reverenced I do most constantly affirm that the Images of Christ of the Virgin mother of God and of other Saints are to be kept and had in due honour and Veneration That the power also of Indulgences was left by Christ in his Church and the right use of them to be wholsom and profitable to Christian People I do acknowledge that the Holy Catholick and Apostolick Roman Church is the Mother and Mistriss of all Churches And I do promise true Obedience to the Bishop of Rome the Successor of St. Peter Prince of the Apostles and Vicar of Jesus Christ This was the Constant Profession of Faith in those dayes by St. Augustin and all his disciples Venerable Bedes Histâ—ry set forth by Docter Tho. Staplâ—ton and Prâ—sented to Queen Eâ—â—zabeth in the Yeare 1565. And For Further proof read 〈◊〉 Book Callâ—â— Englands 〈◊〉 old Religioâ— set forth by H. B. Printed at Antwerpe 1659. Now that you may not think I impose upon St. Augustin read the History of England written by Venerable Bede 800. Yeares ago and other most authentik Histories St. Augustins very letter to Pope Gregory before mentioned acknowledging Him cheif Pastor ruled by Him as head and Chief His life practise and Conversation holding forth both by word and Example all and every Article of Faith aforesaid daily sacrificing and offering up the Holy Masse even in the same manner as now it is praying to the Saints and for the dead administring the Sacraments in a word doing all the Catholick Church doth now at this Day and ever shall For as I have often said and say it again There can be no new Article of Faith The Articles are alwaies and ever will be the same Methinks I heare some Murmur and mutter Objection saying this discourse tends plainly to Popery and the introducing thereof To which answer is already Answer clearly plainly made with this distinction If they mean by Popery the ancient true Catholick Apostolick Christian faith such as Christ and his Apostles planted and taught and continueth from Christ to this hour and ever shall as is here set down That is to say again again a Truth never too oftento be repeated The Christian Religion planted by Christ and his Apostles as is here set down derived by infallible Authority of Tradition down to us without Addition or diminution Then in Gods name let such Popery be introduced every where if that be Popery to the Glory of God and salvation of all Mens Souls But if you mean by Popery Superstition Idolatry and that the Pope is infallible in his Person That he hath power to depose Kings and over temporal possessions I would have no such Popery introduced I defy and abhorr it knowing it to be novelty and the invention of Men. I am none of that Company gang or Crew I am I hope a good Christian and Loyal subject I acknowledge the Pope chief Pastor Successor of St. Peter supream head of the Church to whom all owe Obedience and Subjection in spiritual things and from whom as from the Fountain all spiritual Jurisdiction is derived But as St. Bernard observes well His Power is over the Sins of the People not over the Possessions of the Earth Math. 22.21 Give to Caesar what is Caesers to God what is Gods And here I leave you and if this be not sufficient to satisfy any indifferent man seeking the Truth of Religion let their own Conscience be judge which will give Testimony against them in that day when Jerusalem shall be searched with Lanthorns and the Hearts of all made known and manifest Sopho. 1.12 and the veil of Hypocrisy and vain Fancy taken away from the Face of the pretended Saints A Prayer O Our Lord God most humbly prostrate at thy feet in this perilloâ—â— time we most heartily supplicate thy divine Majesty as thou desirest not the Death but repentance of sinners be propitious 〈◊〉 thy People returning to Thee that theâ— remaining devout to thee Thou mai'â—â— mercifully remove the scourge of thy Angerâ— and absolve us from all Errors whereby wâ— shall be delivered from the Perditioâ— which hangs over us Through our Lorâ— Jesus Christ AMEN AMEN AMEN Ezec. 16.55 Et tu filia tua revertimini ad Antiquitatem vestram And thou and thy Daughters shall return to your Antiquity Errare possum haereticus esse nolo Err I may a Heretick I will not be ECCLESIAE JUDICIO SUBIECTA SUNTO B. P. S.
same profession are ashamed off and do loath their very naming and that with just reason The Crafty Fox shews it fully in his Acts and Monuments by which he hoped to have erected the Glory of his braynsick Martyrs and doting Confessors That by which and whose Professors never any Miracle was Wrought or ever can be No Miracles That which hath no religious Orders No religious Orders or peoplei professing a peculiar perfect state of life through Poverty Chastity and Obedience That which is destitute of all wholsome Laws for the Direction of the Ministers and People towards God and his holy Service No Canon Laws That which professeth the large Libertinisine and broad way leading to Perdition granting Libertinisme to the highest degree of wickedness in One Kind or Other to all Its followers That into which whosoever enters forsaking the true Wickedness of life begins presently to leave all goodness and becomes an outcast and Scumm of the earth as to all wickedness and prophaness That which enjoyes no true Spirituality â—ut brainsick Phancy No solid true Spirituality as being void of all true Humility and Mortification the only sound groundwork and foundation of all true Spirituallity and interior correspondence with God and this appears most evidently by the fruits The divine Book of the Following of Christ For never any sound spiritual Book hath been written by them but excellent Ones written by those of the true Religion corrupted by them They have the Lord indeed much in their Mouth but their hearts are farr from him Mat. 19.8 I wish therefore with all my Soul that all such as have an Interiour Propension would seriously ponder this Motive if they desire to satisfy such their Interiour Propension as they must needs be inclined to do thereby to discern A good advice and shun these Sectaryes and to embosome themselves in the true Catholick Church as they love the real and otherwise impossible true satisfaction of their Propension And they shall receive and experience a more beautifying kind of spirituality then ever they have done or could do out of the true Church Remember this again and again you who are called Puritans and pretend to be spiritual and come the right way home to your selves That whose publick and common service is without all Ceremony Publick service and Majesty no Commemorations of the mysteries of our faith no Ceremonies in administration of the Sacraments or much more truly no Sacraments at all and most of all to be noted no true real propitious Sacrifice no honour to the Saints That lastly though much more may be said of the wickedness thereof which by reason of its wicked Obstinacy and libertinsme brings all the professors thereof to disobedience Rebellion and disobedience and Rebellion to their Princes and Superiors takes away all neighbourly Love and just dealing one with another and hereby brings Ruin and Confusion upon all Common-wealths yea Kingdoms and Ecclesiastical power where such sway and domineer To all which give evident Testimony the late bleeding Experience of our own miserable Country and the General History of former Ages Read Monarchomachia or Jerusalem and Babel a Book so called printed in London 1653. and then give Credit The Church of God as it is One and Holy so must it be Catholick THe true Church must be Catholick that is Universal Catholick sprend over the whole world since by it all must be saved The sound of it must Come to all Mens Eares of what Nation Rom. 10.17 and Country soever For Faith coms by hearing And therefore beginning at Jerusalem river-like through the length of her Course hath ever more encreased and spread it self from time to time even to this hower and shall do for ever till it poure it self forth into the triumphant as the records of all Nations and Ages and the approbations of 18. General Councils the highest Consistories upon Earth and Oracles of the greatest infallibility as being the sentence of all the most learned in the Christian world and assisted by the holy Ghost bear evident witness And this is so palpable and Visible that He must be most blind deaf void of all sense and a stupid block who cannot discern it Look upon the whole world at this present and behold if this One holy Church be not Catholick that is spread over the whole world a being in Italy Spain France Germany Poland Portugal China the east and wesâ— Indyes and infinite Other Places of the World which are governed by no other Religion but this and all consent iâ— One and the same Now as St. Augestiâ— said very well if any thing be done by the whole Church to call that in Question is insolent Madness What Madness iâ— it then in this Iland of England and Scotland I must not include Ireland a little corner of Europe to question noâ— only some things done but the very Fundamental Religion of the whole world besides O insolent Madness to be thus singular and peculiar which must bring upon our Country singular and peculiar Misery before we can Enjoy the blessing and true happiness which always wait on the true Catholick Faith This Note Mark is so proper to the Church that no heretical Congregation sect or Company could ever obtain it though they have endeavoured much for it and at this present do but fail of their enterprise Wherefore what St. Augustin said of old we may now with truth say and it will ever with Truth be said If any ask to go to the Catholick Church they dare not shew their Conventicles Congregations Churches or houses And therefore saith be the very Name of Catholick which not without cause the only true Church hath obtained keeps me in her Bosome This Name Catholick no heresy could ever obtain let them labour never so much for it and Justly For how can they be called so since their Congregations or Churches are neither One or holy And therefore cannot be Catholick True it is Heresies may be spread over the world then you may call them Epidemical that is a general Plague but not Catholick a general union holiness or Blessing No no their names are very proper for them which they assume and stile themselves withal and are so known and called by Others to wit Lutherans Calvinists Protestants Puritans Brownists Anabaptists Armenians Socinians Independants black and white with an infinite rable besides Lutherans you shall find few out of Germany Swedland and Denmark Calvinists in Geneva some places of France Scotland England is not wholly subject to them Prelatical Protestants no where but in England Brownists Anabaptists Armenians Socinians c. are individui vagi wanderers sculking in every Corner but the sink of all and Confusion of Babel is at Amsterdam in Holland Judge then if there be any Religion Catholick but One true and Holyâ— And hereupon Cyrillus Jerosolomitanâ—â— said very Learnedly and to the