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cause_n	faith_n	instrument_n	justification_n	2,903	5	9.7467	5	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A28344	Vindiciæ foederis, or, A treatise of the covenant of God enterd with man-kinde in the several kindes and degrees of it, in which the agreement and respective differences of the covenant of works and the covenant of grace, of the old and new covenant are discust ... / [by] Thomas Blake ... ; whereunto is annexed a sermon preached at his funeral by Mr. Anthony Burgesse, and a funeral oration made at his death by Mr. Samuel Shaw.	Blake, Thomas, 1597?-1657.; Burgess, Anthony, d. 1664.; Shaw, Samuel, 1635-1696.	1658 (1658)	Wing B3150; ESTC R31595	453,190	558

love in a graciously disposed soul cleaves to Christ for communion but receives him not for justification These two stand as relatives there is no soul entituled to this righteousnesse but by faith and faith is it that entitles to it the beleeving soul hath interest in it Therefore justification in Scripture is ascribed to faith and denied to works when neither faith nor works can beare us out of themselves before the tribunal of God but faith takes hold and the soul by faith rests on this righteousnesse of grace which the Gospel tenders It is true that faith receives the Spirit as well as it receives the blood of Christ Joh. 7. 39. Gal. 3. 14. But this is for another use for the work of sanctification inherent not justification by righteousnesse imputed And it is also true that faith accepts Christ as a Lord as well as a Saviour But it is the acceptation of him as a Saviour not as a Lord that justifies Christ rules his people as a King teacheth them as a Prophet but makes atonement for them onely as a Priest by giving himself in sacrifice his blood for remission of sins These must be distinguished but not divided Faith hath an eye at all the blood of Christ the command of Christ the Doctrine of Christ but as it eyes and fastens on his blood so it justifies He is set out a propitiation through faith in his blood Romans 3. 24. not through faith in his command It is the blood of Christ that cleanseth all sin and not the Sovereignty of Christ These confusions of the distinct parts of Christs Mediatourship and the several offices of faith may not be suffered Scripture assignes each its particular place and work Sovereignty doth not cleanse us nor doth blood command us faith in his blood not faith yeelding to his Sovereignty doth justifie us There are several acts or fruits of justifying faith Heb. 11. But all are not justifying It is not Abrahams obedience Moses self-denial Gideon or Sampsons valour that was their justification but his blood in which faith alone gives interest who did enable them in these duties by his Spirit Paul went in these duties as high as they living in more clear light and under more abundant grace I doubt not but he out-topt them and yet he was not thereby justified as 1 Cor. 4. 4. James indeed saith that Abraham was justified by works when he had offered Isaac his son on the Altar James 2. 21. But either there we must understand a working faith with Piscator Paraeus Pemble and others and confesse that Paul and James handle two distinct questions The one whether faith alone justifies without works which he concludes in the affirmative The other what faith justifies whether a working faith onely and not a faith that is dead and idle or else I know not how to make sense of the Apostle who streight inferres from Abrahams justification by the offer of his sonne And the Scripture was fulfilled that saith Abraham beleeved God and it was accounted to him for righteousnesse How otherwise do these accord He was justified by works and the Scripture was fulfilled that saith he was justified by faith Neither can I reconcile what he saith if this be denied with the whole current of the Gospel The Rhemists indeed understand those texts of the Apostle where he excludes works from justification to be meant of mans moral works done before faith and conversion The works of the Law done without Christ Annot. in Rom. 3. 20 28. As though the Law did not command those duties unto which Christ through faith strengthens a Christian converted by grace And when the Apostle concludes the impossibility of being justified by the works of the Law his meaning should be unlesse grace assist the Law that it may justifie This could not be the Apostle calls it a righteousnesse of God without the Law not a righteousnesse of the Law with addition of strength from the Gospel All works before or after conversion inherent in us or wrought by us are excluded from justification See Ravanellus in verbum Justificatio Num. 3. page 867. This justification wrought freely by grace through faith Rom. 3. 24. is no way consistent with justification by works And what the Apostle speaks of election we may well apply to justification the same medium equally proves the truth of both If by grace then it is no more of works otherwise grace is no more grace But if it be of works then it is no more of grace otherwise works were no more works Rom 11. 6. And these things considered I am truly sorry that faith should now be denied to have the office or place of an instrument in our justification nay scarce allowed to be called the instrument of receiving Christ that justifies us because the act of faith which is that which justifies us is our actual receiving Christ and therefore cannot be the instrument of receiving This is too subtile a notion we use to speak otherwise of Faith Faith is the eye of the soul whereby we see Christ and the eye is not sight Faith is the hand of the soul whereby it receives Christ and the hand is not receiving And Scripture speaks otherwise We receive remission of sinnes by Faith and an inheritance among them that are sanctified is received by Faith Acts 18. 26. Why else is this righteousnesse sometimes called the righteousnesse of Faith and sometimes the righteousnesse of God which is by Faith but that it is a righteousnesse which Faith receives Christ dwells in us by Faith Ephes 3. 17. By Faith we take him in and give him entertaintment We receive the promise of the Spirit through Faith Gal. 3. 14. These Scriptures speak of Faith as the souls instrument to receive Christ Jesus to receive the Spirit from Christ Jesus The instrumentality of it in the work of justification is denied because the nature of an instrument as considered in Physical operations doth not exactly belong to it which if it must be alwayes rigidly followed will often put us to a stand in the assignation of causes of any kind in Moral actions The material and formal causes in justification are scarce agreed upon and no marvel then in case men mind to contend about it that some question is raised about the instrument But in case we shall consider the nature and kinde of this work about which Faith is implied and examine the reason and ground upon which Faith is disabled from the office of an instrument in our justification and withall look into that which is brought in as an instrument in this work in the stead of it I do not doubt but it will easily appear that those Divines that with a concurrent judgment without almost a dissenting voice have made Faith an instrument in this work speak most aptly and most agreeably to the nature of an instrument The work about which Faith is implied is not an absolute but a relative

work a work of God towards man not without the actual concurrence of man such in which neither God nor man are sole efficients nor any act of God or man can be sole instruments but there must be a mutual concurrence of both This must needs be granted unlesse we will bring in Doctor Crispes passive recipiency of Christ Christs abode in man without man in spight of man and suppose him to be justified in unbelief And hereupon faith is disabled from this office in justification by this argument If Faith be an instrument it is the instrument of God or man 1. Not of man for man is not the principal efficient he doth not justifie himself 2. Not of God For 1 It is not God that beleeveth though it is true God is the first cause of all actions 2. Man is the causa secunda between God and the action and so still man should be said to justifie himself 3. For as Aquinas the action of the principal cause and of the instrument is one action and who dare say that faith is so Gods instrument 4. The instrument must have an influx to the producing of the effect of the principal cause by a proper causality who dare say that faith hath such an influx into our justification I answer It is the instrument of man and though man do not justifie himself yet he concurres as a willing ready agent with God in it God is a justifier of those that beleeve in Jesus Rom. 3. 26. God hath set Christ forth a propitiation through faith Rom. 3. 25. It is one God which shall justifie the circumcision by faith and the uncircumcision through faith Rom. 3. 30. And because it is the instrument of man in a work of this nature it is also an instrument of God As some have observed a communication of Titles between Christ and his Church the Church being called by his Name so there is a communication of actions in these relative works Christ dwells in our hearts by faith Eph. 3. 17. We believe and not Christ and yet faith there is Christs instrument whereby he takes up his abode God purifies the hearts of the Gentiles by faith Acts 15. 17. They beleeved and not God yet faith is Gods instrument in the work of their purification so on the other side the Spirit is Gods work yet we by the Spirit do mortifie the deeds of the flesh Rom. 8. 13. Man neither justifies nor sanctifies himself yet by faith he is raised to close with God in both and so Faith as an instrument receives righteousness to justification and therefore is called the righteousness of faith which is our justification and works sanctification provided you understand not the first work which is properly regeneration and precedent to faith but the farther progresse and increase of it The Spirit working faith faith takes in a larger measure of the Spirit John 7. 37. He that beleeveth on me as the Scripture saith out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water but this he spake of the Spirit which they that beleeve on him should receive The Spirit will do nothing without our faith and our faith can do nothing without the Spirit Man cannot justifie himselfe by beleeving without God and God will not justifie an unbeleeving man Faith then is the act of man man beleeves yet the instrument of God that justifies onely beleevers so that what is here spoken by way of exception against faith as an instrument holds of efficients and instruments sole and absolute in their work and causality But where there is a concurrence of agents and one makes use of the act of another to produce the effect that in such causality is wrought it will not hold The promise or grant of the new Covenant in the Gospel is insted of faith made the instrument in the work of justification This is indeed Gods and not mans It is the covenant of God the Promise of God the Gospel of God but of it self unable to raise man up to justification It is often tendred and justification not always wrought so disabled from the office of an instrument by Ke●ker in his Com upon his first Canon concerning an instrument Assoon as the instrument servs not the principal agent so soon it loses the nature of an instrument He instanceth in an horse that obeys not the reins of his rider but grows refractory then he ceaseth to be an instrument for travel A sword is not an instrument of slaughter where it slays not nor an axe an instrument to hew where it cuts not neither is the Gospel an instrument of justification where it justifies not without our faith it never justifies Where the Minister is a Minister of condemnation the savour of death to death there the Gospel becomes an instrument of condemnation and of death The efficacy that is in the Gospel for justification it receives by their faith to whom it is tendred Heb. 4. 2. Vnto us was the Gospel preached as well as unto them but the Word preached did not profit them not being mixed with faith in them that heard it 1 Thes 2. 2 13. You received not the Word of God which you heard of us as the word of men but as it is in truth the Word of God which effectually worketh also in you that beleeve So that the Gospel in it self considered is wanting in that honour assigned to an instrument to have influx to the producing of the effect of the principal cause by a proper causality If none dare say faith hath such an influx they may much lesse say that the Word hath such an influx The Gospel is an outward instrument saith Ravanellus Faith an inward They both making up one instrument full and compleat yet Faith is more aptly and fitly called an instrument Seeing that faith gives efficacy as an instrument to the Word the Word may be without Faith and so no instrument at all but Faith always presupposeth the Word of Promise is not without its object Therefore to wind up this whole dispute in which I have studied to be brief though I fear some will think I have been too tedious Seeing that those that make Faith the instrument in justification make the Gospel an instrument likewise and dare not go about to strip it of its honour I hope that they that make the Gospel an instrument will acknowledge Faith to be an instrument in like manner being in their efficacy as instruments so inseparably joyned and so all the controversie may be fairely ended and concluded CHAP. XXII Objections against the conditionality of Faith answered AGAINST this which hath been said it is objected by one that Vnbelief is not a barre hindring one Objections from having part in Christ God bestowes Christ without any regard to our belief or unbelief Which words how high soever against the Gospel yet he undertakes to salve with a distinction There is a twofold receiving of Christ saith

onely begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life Mark 16. 16. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved but he that beleeveth not shall be damned Acts 10. 43. To him give all the Prophets witnesse that thorough his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sinnes Acts 13. 38 39. Be it known unto you therefore men and brethren that through this man is preached unto you forgivenesse of sinnes And by him all that beleeve are justified from all things from which ye could not be justified by the Law of Moses Acts 16. 31. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved and thy whole house Rom. 3. 25. Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood Rom. 10. 4. Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness to every one that believeth In all these texts and several others faith is required of men in covenant and if men did not engage to beleeve they could not be so much as professed covenanters This is in reason further evident 1. That which gives us interest in the Mediator of the covenant without which we have no title to him or portion in him is a condition of the covenant This is plain of it self without interest in the Mediator of the covenant we are as though no covenant were entred and the former distance held up But it is faith that gives us interest in Christ the Mediatour He dwells in us by faith Ephes 3. 17. He is set forth a propitiation through Faith in his blood They that believe receive him John 1. 12. Others hold a distance from him To as many as received him to them he gave power to be the sonnes of God even to those that beleeve in his Name 2. That which receives all that grace gives must needs be a condition of the covenant of grace This is as plain to be under a covenant of grace and void of the gifts of grace is a vain entrance upon it and the reception of the gift is a condition necessarily requisite But Faith receives all that grace gives It is of Fath that it might be of grace Rom. 4. 16. God gives nothing at least tending to eternity but he puts it into the hands of Christ He is the Fathers treasury and store-house Col. 1. 19. It pleased the Father that in him all fulnesse should dwell And that of his fulnesse we should all receive Joh. 1. 16. And faith receives al from him He that believeth out of his belly flowes rivers of living water Joh. 7. 38. 3. That which interest us in and gives title to all priviledges of a people in covenant with God through Christ is a condition of the covenant This is plaine the end of the covenant being to conferre those priviledges upon us But Faith interests us in and gives title to all these priviledges Paul is sent to the Gentiles to turne them from Satan to God to bring them out of Satans kingdome and to bring them in a covenant-way into Christs Kingdome That they may receive forgivenesse of sins and an inheritance among them that are sanctified saith Christ by faith that is in me Christ is the object of a Christians faith on whom it is terminated Faith which is in Christ receives that leading priviledg forgivenesse of sins without this priviledge we are strangers to all other priviledges Being under sinne we are heires of wrath and in no capacity of mercy Faith interests us in this Acts 10. 43. To him give all the Prophets witnesse that through his Name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins Acts 13. 39. And by him all that beleeve are justified from all things from which ye could not be justified by the Law of Moses Rom. 3. 25. Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood to declare his righteousnesse for the remission of sinnes that are past through the forbearance of God Faith interests us in the consummating priviledge an inheritance among them that are sanctified He that believeth hath everlasting life John 6. 40. Faith interests us in all intermediate priviledges which a man in covenant can enjoy in the way to this inheritance Adoption of sonnes is this way obtained John 1. 12. Gal. 3. 26. Pacification of Spirit Serenity and tranquility of minde Isa 26. 3. Rom. 5. 1. Boldnesse at the throne of grace Ephes 3. 12. There is no priviledge bottomed on Christ that hath foundation in him but Faith receives Faith then must be a condition of the covenant 4. That which puts into a capacity to receive the mercies of the covenant held forth in Promise is a condition of the covenant and the want of it strips off all hope and expectation of it But Faith puts into a capacity to receive all the graces of the covenant given in promise Said I not unto thee if thou wilt beleeve thou shalt see the glory of God John 11. 40. God exerts and glorifies his power in great things for good unto those that exercise the grace of Faith Paul saw the Creeple had faith to be healed Acts 14. 9. Sure if there be such a thing as a condition in any covenant in the world any such thing as a conditional covenant then sure faith is a condition of the covenant of grace Some conceive an absolute covenant made of God for grace as Jer. 31. 33. This with me is very disputable and I have given my reasons But the covenant made to grace must needs suppose grace There is no covenant for happinesse made with any creature but upon termes and conditions For further clearing of this point we must know that faith is considered under a double notion First as an instrument or if that word will not be allowed as the way of our interest in Christ and priviledges by Christ Secondly as an inherent grace or Christian duty to which both the Law and the Gospel call The radical grace from which others flow though not in their being yet in their farther growth and encrease I speak of Faith now in the first acception Neither as a part or any way a working cause of the farther progresse in inherent righteousnesse so it will come in the second place but as interesting us in another righteousnesse and so I say it is a condition in the covenant of grace immediately serviceable for our returne to God and reconciliation in Christ For clearring of which I shall clear it in some propositions First God will by no means justifie a wicked person no man in sin shall stand and live in his sight He that hath made a Law to forbid it ordained hell for the punishment of it will not justifie the person that is convinced and found guilty of it Some say it is against his essence The justice of God which is God ties him to take vengeance sure I am it is against his declaration of himself

dwells in us by Faith so we in Christ Ephes 3. 17. 2. All ingraffing is into that which gives sap and juice to the ingraffed as the stock from the root to the syens Now Christ gives sap to the Elect beleeving not the Church and therefore it is not into the Church but into Christ 3. If saving faith ingraffe the branch into the Church invisible then the Church invisible is the proper object of such Faith but the Church is no such object of Faith but Christ 4. That supposed ingraffing into the invisible Church is either known to the body invisible or unwitting if know then it is no invisible They have no light to discerne an invisible work if unknown then there could not be such a dispute about the new ingraffing of Gentiles nor complaint of breaking off of the Jewes all being done by an invisible translation and so the subject of the question is taken away To dispute whether ingraffing into the Church be into the Church-visible or invisible is to dispute whether the Mount of Olives be a Mountaine of Earth or Aire I shall assoon finde a Mountaine of Aire in Geography as this ingraffing into the invisible Church in Divinity And here I tie not any up to the word which I conceive in reference to any Ecclesiastical or Spiritual station is not elsewhere used in Scripture but to the thing All that accesse to the Church from Gentile Nations which is so large fore-prophesied in the Old Testament and Historically related in the Acts of the Apostles was an ingraffing into the Church visible and this ingraffing here mentioned The visible Church did immediately receive these new branches and so the whole body of Jews and Gentiles professedly beleeving Ephes 2. 15. became one new man The visible Church communicates sap and juice which is the fatnesse of the Olive in Ordinances This is known by the Church visible they were sensible of and full of praises for the new addition to this number Argument 4. Fourthly That ingraffing is meant verse 17. whereby the wilde Olive is co-partaker of the root and fatnesse of the Olive-tree as is asserted there But such is only Election and giving of Faith Ergo. The minor I prove by considering who the root is and what the fatness of the Olive-tree is 1. Negatively the root is not every beleeving parent Answ I suppose I may answer for my self that I never said that every beleeving parent is the root I willingly yeeld that every beleeving parent is not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the root but I affirm that every beleeving parent is a root I cannot reach this mystery that Abraham can be a root of all the branches in Israel reaching down to the Apostles times no intermediate rootes intervening no more then Adam can be a natural root of mankinde to this time without intermediate fathers of our flesh deriving us from him as Jacob with Rachel and Leah was a root from whom Israel sprang as branches of an Olive so Judah and Tamar Boaz and Ruth were roots likewise They built up the house of Israel Ruth 4. 11 12. The house of Israel was this Olive-tree these several Metaphors expressing the same thing the building of the house and bringing out the branches are one and the same All builders are roots these are builders therefore roots Abraham may be called the builder laying the first foundation so the root from whence every branch was derived yet every particular Beleever that had issue a builder a root Those Israelites that had no holinesse of inhesion but only of relation that were members of the Church visible not invisible were fathers by way of communication of this holinesse 1 Cor. 10. 1. All our fathers were under the cloud and all passed through the sea It is as necessary to have intermediate fathers between us and Abraham as to have intermediate mothers between us and Eue. Eve may as well be the mother of all living and no other mother between us and her as Abraham can be the father of the Faithful and no intermediate father to derive from him and communicate to us But his proof is very well worth the hearing that every beleeving parent is not the root For then all the branches should be natural the childe of every beleeving Parent is a natural branch from his father But here Apostle makes the Gentiles branches and a wild Olive graffed in besides nature and the Jews only natural branches growing from the root verse 21 24. The Apostle makes them wilde onely at their first ingraffing and so was all Terahs race wilde likewise till that change of Faith wrought in Abrahams call and the covenant of God entered with him We now are natural as they were and cannot be called wilde but in our first Original Positively he sayes the root is no other then Abraham that Abraham onely is a holy root or at most Abraham Isaac and Jacob. If this have any face of Argument it runnes thus If Abraham be the root and not every beleeving Parent then the ingraffing is by Election and Faith that justifies The truth is the sequel is undeniable on the contrary If Abraham be the root then the ingraffing is not into the invisible Church which he strangely calls by Election but onely into the visible This Master Blakwood saw and faine would have maintained that Christ is the root for ingraffing into Christ and not into Abraham makes a member of the Church invisible If the ingraffing be by a saving Faith only to derive saving Graces personally inherent as a fruit of Election from Abraham then it must needs be that we are Elect in Abraham Abraham may say Without me ye can do nothing and he that beleeveth in me out of his belly shall flow forth rivers of living water and we may say The life that we live in the flesh we live by faith in the sonne of Terah This must necessarily follow if Abraham be the root not only respective to a conditional Covenant but to the grace under condition covenanted It had been more safe for our Authour with Master Blackwood though in contradiction to himself to have made Christ the root when these consequences must follow To which he answers If I made Abraham a root as communicating Faith by infusion or impetration mediatory as Christ this would follow But I make Abraham a root as he is called the father of all them that beleeve Rom. 4. 11. Not by begetting Faith in them but as an exempl●ry cause of beleeving as I gather from the expression verse 12. That he is a father to them that walk in the steps of our father Abraham which he had yet being uncircumcised A root not by communication but example an ingraffing not to have any thing communicated from the root but to imitate it is such a Catacresis as may well make all Rhetorick ashamed of it and if the Sun ever saw a more notable piece of non●sense I am to seek what sense is A

when it is well known that infant-Baptisme was not in that Councel of 66 Bishops at all agitated much lesse determined It was not put to the Question but taken for granted by all that were present The dispute and the determination was upon that which Fidus questioned which was the Baptisme of infants before eight dayes old and not infant-Baptisme how could he mean that it hath since continued in a streame by vertue of that determination or Canon when he very well knowes there was neither determination nor Canon upon it nor yet any need of it They determined that which in their meeting was put to the Vote that an infant under eight dayes might be baptized So that this Quaere as all the rest stands unsatisfied and antiquity cleared for infant-Baptisme It is yet farther said that many learned men in former and latter times take infant-Baptisme onely for an unwritten tradition giving us a list of Popish Writers that have spoke to this purpose a Cardinal in a Popish Councel Bennus Bellarmine and Erasmus that had scarce stept over the threshold from them To which we answer That it is no marvel if these making it their businesse to parallel unwritten Traditions with Scriptures some of them to preferre them before them and knowing infant-Baptisme to be in honour in all Churches do pin it upon unwritten Tradition that so they may advance the honour of unwritten Tradition with it yet even these cite Scriptures for it and so marre their own market of Traditions as those that procure them are forced to acknowledge When Bellarmine would argue the Scriptures imperfection and assert a necessity of unwritten Tradition then he can affirme that infant-Baptisme hath no other foundation but when he will defend infant-Baptisme against those that matter not Tradition he can finde Scripture for confirmation Foreseeing this Objection an Answer is brought out of Bennus That some things may be proved out of Scripture when the true sense of Scripture is evident and infant-Baptisme is proved from John 3. 5. but the sense whereby to prove it is manifest by tradition Becan Manual lib. 1. cap. 2. sect 24. It is very well known that these Jesuites will say as much of any point of Faith and leave the whole meaning of all Scripture to rest on the Churches interpretation continued by tradition As to the quotation of Protestant Authors so many of them as have kept up the honour of Scripture and made no defection from that way it onely speakes their boldnesse to affirme that any of them ever dishonoured infant-Baptisme in that way as to settle it upon unwritten tradition or to fixe it on such a bottome They very well know that as they defend the Scriptures full perfection and make it their businesse to oppose all that would have it ek't out by any thing that is unwritten so they assert infant-Baptisme on Scripture-foundation Can they think that they have to deal with such weak adversaries that whiles against their party they contend with Scripture-Arguments that infants ought to be baptized they will yield up the cause on the other hand to Papists and confesse the insufficiency of Scriptures But the homonymie or various acception of the word Tradition may deceive the unwary Reader Sometimes tradition is taken in the proper sense for that which is delivered or handed over from one to another in this sense every point of faith is a tradition and so is Baptism it self as well as infant-Baptisme in which sense Paul takes it 2 Thes 2. 15. Stand fast and hold the traditions which ye have been taught whether by word or our Epistle Sometimes tradition is taken for that which is delivered in word without writing as there is distinguished a tradition by word and a tradition by Epistle what Paul taught in his Epistles is a tradition and what Paul delivered by word of mouth is a tradition and both must be held Here somewhat seemingly is spoken for unwritten traditions by the Apostle For solution of which our Protestant Divines have taught us to distinguish between the doctrine it self that is delivered to us and the way and manner of delivery So Chamier de canone fidei lib. 8. cap. 1. sect 16. The former of those might admit of many sub-divisions The way of delivery is either by writing in the Scriptures or by lively voice by Gods Ministers as Chamier farther observes sect 19. Here again we must distinguish between words and things the words that are uttered and the doctrine that these words contain all words are not written all our words in Sermons are not written in the Scriptures all Pauls words in his Sermons are not written in Scriptures as appears by his distinction before delivered by word or Epistle but the doctrine it self that we deliver is contained there Paul preached nothing but that which Moses and the Prophets said should come Acts 26. 22. yet there were many words delivered by him which Moses and the Prophets never spoke They yet teach us to distinguish between that which is expressely written in the Scriptures and that which is by evident consequence thence deduced Amesius defending the Scriptures perfection against Bellarmine introducing unwritten traditions saith The Question is not whether in so many words all necessary truths are contained in the Scriptures but whether they may be gathered from thence in any expresse speech or necessary consequence Bellar. Enervat cap. 6. thes 1. Let Doctor Sclater in this be heard who speaking to this point saith Thus informe your selves 1. Where generals are delivered there are all particulars comprized in those generals intentionally delivered because generals comprehend particulars 2. Where principles and causes are delivered there effects are also intended as being virtually contained in their principles 3. Where one equal is taught all of like reason it taught quia parium par ratio and where there is par ratio there is par lex Where there is like reason there is like law So take contents of Scripture no instance of any point of necessary or but convenient faith and practice can be given but what is delivered in the written Word Doctor Sclater in 2 Thes 2. 15. and when they have well weighed these things they will finde small cause to believe that they have any advantage from these Authors Field it is said sayes The fourth kinde of Tradition is the continued practice of such things as are neither contained in the Scripture expressely nor the examples of such practice there delivered though the grounds reasons and causes of the necessity of such practice be there contained and the benefit or good that followeth it Of this sort is the Baptisme of infants which is therefore named a tradition because it is not expressely delivered in Scripture that the Apostles did baptize infants nor any expresse precept there found that they should do so yet is not this so received by bare and naked tradition but that we finde in