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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A11429	A briefe collection of the church, and of certayne ceremonies thereof gathered by Thomas Sampson	Sampson, Thomas, 1517?-1589.	1581 (1581)	STC 21682; ESTC S112207	24,396	80

the substantiall pointes of trueth touching our saluation shall alwayes be buryed in the whole church but the Lord will haue alwayes some number in it sometime litle sometime great which shal vnderstand that which they ought to vnderstande and follow that which they ought to followe So did it come to passe in the time of the Prophet Eliah in Israel and in the captiuitie of Babylon and also in the time of the comming of our sauiour Christ For euen then was founde a number though but a litle number of them whose hearts were touched with the knowledge and taste of trueth as Zacharie Elizabeth Iohn the Baptist Ioseph the virgin Marie Simeon Anna. These did knowe and had the right and sure vnderstanding of the certein fulfilling of the prophecies of the comming of the promised Sauiour And yet they liued in the midst of the corruptiōs of the Scribes Pharisees Sadduces priestes Such interruptions of open professing the trueth happen in the church of God proceeding of the iniquitie of men as a thick mist which after vanisheth away by the heat of the Sunne of the doctrine I meane of the worde of God when it pleaseth God according to his secrete ordinance iudgement wisedome to suffer the same Sunne of his worde to shine foorth with power maiestie then trueth is seen embraced professed of the elect children of God Thinke you now that we will or that we doe reiect al the old Councels Nay verily but this I say that if all the rules giuen in the eldest best of them were put in execution at this daye they woulde make a greater change in the popish or Romish church called catholike than they would or could doe in the church which is nowe reformed by the gospell of Iesus But let the holy word of God be the touchestone to trye examine all that is sayde or done in the church and then it will be easily seene where the true church is Count not this a straunge thing that I require For it is an olde saying receiued before our times of the most catholike doctors Augustine writing to Maximinus the Arrian Li. 2. ca. 14 Is there any generall Councell more allowed or approued than that first Councell which was holden at Nice I trowe not sayeth he And what is that Councell which was holden at Ariminum It was a Councell reiected condemned for good cause Augustine there handleth a principall point of our Christian faith that is the diuinitie of Christ our Lord Sauiour And yet Augustine saith that for his part he wil not be boūd to the Nicene councell neither wil he haue the Ariā bound to the Councell holden at Ariminum but he wil haue the matter tried by the holy scriptures which are the meetest witnesses for both partes It may be that these Romish mē which doe runne away from the scriptures will say that there is great darknesse in the holy scripture I answere that it is most true which saint Paul saith that the naturall man perceiueth not the thinges of the spirite of God 2. Cor. 2. It is true also that saint Peter sayth 2. Pet. 1. that no prophecie in the scripture is of any priuate interpretation But yet this obscuritie is not so great but that the scriptures can expound them selues And therfore doeth our Lord and chiefe master Iesus send vs to the scriptures to nothing else but to the scriptures Search you the scriptures sayth he Ioan. 5. Luc. 16. Abraham beeing required by the damned rich man to sende some one frō the dead to admonish his brethren which yet liued in his old house answered thus They haue sayth Abraham Moses and the Prophets If they will not beleeue them they will not beleeue any that shall come to them from the dead And howe did all those moste auncient and godly Christians before vs which had among them only the scriptures of the Prophets and Apostles before that any commentarie or explication was written vppon any of them by the olde writers did they not then fetche all their light of the holy scripture onely A Romish man will here drawe vs to receiue the traditions Apostolicall for a moste sure interpretation of the holy scripture Traditions And by Apostolicall traditions he wil meane that which hath beene always receiued in the church through all the church and by them all which haue beene of the church But nowe who can assure vs that these three pointes are to be founde in any of these traditions which they do call Apostolicall traditions I doe not knowe who can doe it There is great diuersitie to be founde in the bookes and writings of the auncient fathers and that in some pointes touching faith And againe touching these wordes alwayes and of all let the Romish men tell vs at what time wee shall begin the account of this alwayes If wee will do well wee must fetch the beginning of this time euen at the church Apostolike And who shall be the firste in this account verily the Apostles them selues must be the first that shal begin this account the historie of whome is faithfully written by S. Luke and by their owne writings wee must take knowledge of them their doctrine and their doings All trueth commeth of God And God hath chosen his Prophets and Apostles to speake in his name vnto vs all that trueth which doeth appertaine to our saluation Therefore wee must alwayes haue and make our recourse to the holy scriptures And yet wee doe not vtterly cast away the aduice of Councels nor of the auncient fathers Wee doe proue that which they do saye by the holy scriptures The which holy scriptures as Augustine doeth saye truely are so tempered by the holy spirite of God that that which is obscurely spoken in one place is clearely expressed in another place of them Some of the Romish rout haue sayd that the whole wil of God touching all that which doeth appertaine to our saluation is not all written by the Apostles and Euangelists By this wicked false saying they make an open way to bring in al that falsehood error vntrueth which men list to deuise And it is the way by which Satan hath entred to destroy the vineyard of the Lorde to sowe therein his darnell of damnation and cockle choking true doctrine and Christian faith I graunt that before the time of Moses God gouerned his church by heauenly visions inspirations and reuelations But the Apostles planted the churches of God by his holy worde written And the malice of men growing with the number of them and the better sort of men decaying together with goodnes it was the good pleasure of the Lorde our God that this doctrine shoulde be written in a tongue common and knowen by which plaine trueth Gods children might receiue all that doctrin which concerneth saluation and might also withstand all subtilties creeping in vnder the couler of traditions or reuelations or custome or other

A BRIEFE collection of the Church and of certayne Ceremonies thereof gathered by Thomas Sampson LONDON Printed by H. Middleton for George Bishop ANNO 1581. TO THE RIGHT worshipful Master Francis Hastinges Sheriffe of Leicestershire IN the French historie which you did leaue with mee I did find the whole historie of the Colloquie had at Poissie much more largely written in French than euer I did see it in Latine At this Colloquie the Cardinal of Loraine being the chiefe and capitaine on the part of the Papists made an oratiō more glorious in shew thā sound in trueth The which to doe hee had both the aduise and prompting of the papistes assēbled vnder him as of that subtill Sorbonist Despense of that little furie Xaintes with their mates Thus being vnderpropped this Cardinall made an oration touching two pointes The one was of the Church the other of the Sacrament which with thē is called the Sacrament of the Altar This later point by him handled after his sort did so please our Papistes that some of them did both translate and publishe it in English being as it were taken hott out of the Cardinalls mouth The seconde part touching the Church he handled like a Cardinall painting Rome so cunningly as he coulde vnderpropping it with the holow and rotten postes of Visibilitie of personall succession and ordinarie calling as they call it and such like stuffe And therewith did he driue with might and maine to deface the true Church of Christe into which it hath pleased God to call vs to whome he hath giuen grace to professe his holy gospell Our Church hee woulde deface because wee haue not those rotten pillers of visibilitie personall succession and ordinarie calling in such sorte as he claimeth them for Rome I founde in your booke a verie short but a pithie answere made to this latter part of the Cardinalls oration touching the Church the which because I had not read it before did easily holde me in it I liked it well and so I thinke will you I haue not the skill to be a perfect translator out of the French tongue neither doe I take vppon me so to do But yet I haue truely set downe in English the whole matter conteined in the answere That little which I haue added to that which is in the French is not from the purpose I trust This I giue to you now as I did before A briefe confession of the christian faith which I founde in that booke And one thing more by the grace of God I intend to giue hereafter if I may see the other volumes accordinge to your promise This little scrappe taken out of the large French booke I sende to you not that you neede it for you doe vnderstand the French tongue much better than I but I giue it to you to the ende that it may remaine with you as a testimonie of my dutie of thankefulnesse to you for your great good will alwayes borne towards me that by these Englished scraps you may be prouoked at your leasure to reade the whole booke your selfe and in the meane time you may communicate in Englishe some part of that good which is in the French booke to such as you thinke good Accept my poore labour in good part I pray you I shall indeuour to doe more God of his goodnes ayding me to whose goodnes and direction I doe commende you Yours in Christ T. S. A BRIEFE COLlection of the Church Gathered by T.S. THE name of the church is in greeke 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whiche worde is also taken out of an other Greek word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifieth to call a man from one place or state of life to another And we doe finde in the holy scriptures that there are two kinds of calling The one is ioyned with the efficacie power and worke of the holy ghost Of which kinde of calling the Apostle doth speake in the Epistle to the Romans where he saith that God doth iustifie them whom he hath called Rom. 8. The other calling is of lesse force efficacie because men are deafe and dul such as wil not heare nor vnderstande Of this kinde of calling doth the Lorde Iesus spake saying Manie are called but few are chosen This name Church Matt. 20. therefore in the cause which we haue in hande doth signifie the companie of them which are called and gathered together by the voice of God who doth by his owne word call them In the which company we do see two sorts of men For taking the word Church generally to comprehende all them which are called and doe make an outwarde profession to obey the voyce of God wherby they are called doubtles among them many hypocrites are to be founde and reprobates as both the holy scripture speaketh of the Church and experience doth declare to be true But if you will take this worde Church more properly and straitly as oftentime it is to be taken then wee must say that it signifieth only the assembly of the elect of God and of those his children whom God hath predestinate to life euerlasting This church is called and is the body of Christ members of his bodie bone of his bones and flesh of his flesh In which number the reprobate cannot be conteyned For they are the members of the diuel It is vnpossible for one to be a member of Christ and a member of the diuel at one time as Augustine well noteth Lib. 2. cont Cresc ca. 21. This distinction of the name of the church the same father vseth writing vppon the threescore and fourth Psalme when he sayeth that the Church which is signified by Hierusalem had the beginning in Abel and that which is signified by Babylon did begin in Cain And yet in his booke written of baptisme against the Donatistes Lib. 1. ca. 16. taking this word Church in the more general significatiō he sayeth that it is it which engendred Abel Enoch Noah Abraham the Prophets also that it engendred Cain Ismael Dathan and such other like to them To conclude this matter let vs take that which Augustine writeth in that same treatise Lib. 7. ca. 19. that other place which is taken out of Hierome and is cited in the decrees 24. Q. 1. Omnibus consideratis where it is said that there are two sortes or manners of men in the Church One sort are the members of Christ and the verie true Church and are in such sort of the house of God that they are the house of god it selfe whereby it may be gathered that the other sort are in the house of God but are not of it at all They are as chaffe mingled with the Wheate vntill they be fanned out of it Hereof nowe will arise this question Visibilitie of the Church that is whether the church be visible or not Truely God alone doth know thē which are his electe and we do professe that we doe beleeue