Confusions and therefore there is such an one This is to argue from our own Fancies what God should do and not what he has done And they might as well conclude the Being of an Universal Infallible Judg over all the World in Temporal Matters for the Peace of the World which yet we see is not appointed as such an one over the Church for the Peace of the Church But it is not to be expected that all Differences in Religion should cease in this World for there must be Heresies 1 Cor. 11. 19. As there were Heresies even in the Apostles Times though they were Infallible which is an Argument that Infallibility in any if it were is no certain means to prevent Heresies or Divisions If Men be modest and humble and teachable God hath provided sufficient means for their direction in the plainness of the Rule which he has given in all things necessary and appointing Guides for their direction in doubtful things if they will follow their instruction But if Men be governed with Prejudice and Passion they would not hearken to an Infallible Judg if there were one And Christ the Judg of all will take an account of such Men in due time when the Great Judgment-Day shall come Then the Tares shall be gathered together and bound in bundles to be burnt and the Wheaâ— shall be gathered into the Barn Mat. 13. But this Judgment in the mean time is to be suspended till that Day shall come But that Men may judg for themselves in some things without an Infallible Judg our Adverâ—aries themselves are fain to allow For how else 〈◊〉 they judg in the Controversy about the Infallible Judg himself whether there be such an onâ— or 〈◊〉 and who it is and of the Scriptures and Reasons that are brought to prove it And if they may judg of this Controversy and of these Scriptures and Reasons without an Infallible Judg then why may they not also of others which are as necessary and of other Scriptures and Reasons in other Points which are as plain as they And then there is no need of an Infallible Judg at all As for the pretended Infallibility of the Church of Rome for the qualifying it to be such a Judg If the Church of Rome be infallible then it must be so either as it is a Christian Church and because it is so And then all Christian Churches would be Infallible likewise and not that only Or as it is an Apostolical Church planted by the Apostles if it were so and then all the Churches that were planted by the Apostles would be so likewise and this would give no particular priviledg to the Church of Rome Or as it hath continued down a succession of Pastors from the Apostles by whom there is a safe conveyance of Apostolical Doctrine and Tradition to the present Age But if this be so then all the Churches that have had such a Succession will be Infallible likewise as well as the Church of Rome as the Grecian Church which hath had the like Succession and upon this Principle the Church of England may come in for a share too But indeed this proves the Infallibility of no particular Church at all because of the uncertainty of Tradition therein notwithstanding such Succession which may arise from many Causes No more then it did the Infallibility of the Jewish Church notwithstanding that it had a continual Succession of the Priests and Pastors as much as the Church of Rome or any other Church whatsoever can pretend unto And therefore we are not to have respect to any Church Pastor or Pastors as Infallible nor to bind up our Judgments to them as such upon the account of any such Succession Aaron was called to the High Priesthood immediatly by God himself but was he therefore infallible or were the People bound to follow him when he made an Idol Exod. 32. Vriah was a Priest by an uninterrupted Succession from Aaron was he therefore Infallible or to be followed when he overturn'd the Service of God and Introduc'd Idolatry into the Temple Caiaphas the Chief Priest was so by an uninterrupted Succession for 1500 Years ought he therefore to be followed when he condemened Jesus Christ for a Blasphemer or were the Resolutions of the Council where he was President Infallible when Jesus Christ was declared worthy of Death The Pharisees sat in Moses Chair and the Disciples are bid observe and do whatso 〈◊〉 they said unto them ought one therefore with them to have rejected Jesus Christ By that word therefore whatsoever he doth not mean every thing without limitation but whatsoever was agreeable to the Law of Moses So that they were to judg for themselves what was or what was not so agreeable Mat. 16. 6. It is foretold that ravening Wolves should arise from among the Bishops of the Churches Doth their Succession of Orthodox Bishops oblige the Sheep of our Lord therefore to follow them as Infallible The Son of Perdition was to sit in the Temple of God but was he therefore Infallible or to be followed in his Revolt If the Church of Rome be then Infallible and yet not so upon the former Accounts Is it then by reason of its Relation to its first pretended Bishop St. Peter who was Infallible and by reason of his dying there and his leaving his Priviledges to his Successors of that See But though St. Peter was Infallible how doth it appear that this was more than a personal Priviledg and in which therefore he was to have no Successor As the Infallibility of the rest of the Apostles was a personal Priviledg and in which they were to have no Successors As for St. Peter's Headship over the Church and that of the Bishops of Rome as his Successors it is refuted in the foregoing Chapters But if the Church of Rome be Infallible none of these ways and yet is so then must it not be by virtue of some particular Promise by which Infallibility is annexed to the Church But where is that Promise As for the Apostles calling the Church The Pillar and Ground of Truth 1 Tim. 3. 15. If it proves any thing it proves the Infallibility of the Church of Ephesus and not that of Rome For the Apostle speaks of that Church in which Timothy was Bishop which was the Church of Ephesus But indeed it signifies the Churches Duty and not her Performance and may be likewise applied rather to Timothy himself than to the Church As for that saying Mat. 18. 17. Tell it unto the Church If that proves the Infallibility of a Church it proves the Infallibility of every Church And so the Church of Rome will get nothing particularly by it for the Direction is given to every particular Member in case of Scandal offered by him to his Brother And whither is such an one to make his Complaints but to the Church of which he is a Member And indeed it is only an Institution of Church-Discipline in every Church
preach'd 2 Pet. 1. 19. We have a more sure Word of Prophecy whereunto ye do well to take heed St. Peter praises those that read the Prophets and why should Men he blamed then for reading the Apostles and Evangelists Note whereas he says vers 20. That no Propheâ—cy of the Scripture is of any private Interpretation He doth not speak it to deter private Men from the reading or judging of the sense of it but to shew the sureness of their Rule that it was not first interpreted or written by the Fancy or Will of private Men but it came by the Will of God and holy Men of God spake therein as they were moved by the Holy Ghost ver 21. Acts 8. 27 28. Behold a Man of Ethiopia an Eunuch of great Authority and Power under Candace the Queen who had the charge of all her Treasure as he was returning from Jerusalem and fitting in his Chariot read Isaias the Prophet Observe that this Person was not a Church-man but a Treasurer or Minister of State to the Queen And Philip was sent to him by the Spirit to help him to understand the Prophecy he was reading Which is a clear Testimony of the holy Spirit 's approbation of his practice and is a great incouragement to others to do the like and in doing so to hope for the divine Direction and Blessing Acts 17. 11. 't is said The Bereans therefore were more noble than than those of Thessalonica in that they received the Word with all readiness and searched the Scriptures daily to know whether these things were so 'T is noted as an Instance of an excellent Spirit in them that they search'd the Scriptures for their satisfaction about what was delivered by the Apostles So 2 Tim. 3. 15. From a Child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures See here a Child exercised in the Holy Scriptures And this is noted by the Apostle as an excellent and praise-worthy thing in him Observe that the Apostle St. Paul addresses the most part of his Epistles not to the Priests or Bishops but to the Churches of God to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus and to all that call on the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ see Rom. 1. 7. 1 Cor. 1. 2. 2 Cor. 1. 1. Gal. 1. 2. Ephes 1. 1. And to shew clearly that he wrote to the People as well as to the Pastors he distinguishes them in his Epistle to the Philippians Chap. 1. 1. Paul and Timotheus the Servants of Jesus Christ To all the Saints that are at Philippi with the Bishops and Deacons So likewise St. James addresses his Epistle to the Twelve Tribes that are scattered abroad And St. Peter his first Epistle To the Strangers scattered throughout Pontus Galatia Cappadocia Asia and â—ithynia Chap. 1. 1. His second Epistle is yet more general To all those that have obtained like precious Faith with us through the Righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ St. John writes to Fathers to young Men and to Children Now what colour can there be to hinder those Persons from reading those Epistles that were sent and addrest to them Add to this that the Apostles did formally and expresly command and require Persons to read their Epistles Thus Col. 4. 16. When this Epistle is read among you cause that it be read also in the Church of the Laodiceans and that ye likewise read the Epistle from Laodicea So 1 Thess 5. 27. I charge you by the Lord that this Epistle be read to all the Holy Brethren And note that for this end they were writ in a Language best known to the generality of People As also all the Holy Scripture besides was writ in a Language that was best understood by the People for whom it was writ The Old Testament in Hebrew for the use of the Jews The New Testament in Greek that being the Language then most generally used And for this end there were Translations made of the Scriptures into the Languages of several Nations that People of all sorts might read them As to what is said 2 Pet. 3. 16. That in the Scriptures there are some things hard to be understood which many do wrest to their own destruction It is from the vice and rashness of Men that they do so wrest them which if they were of humble and teachable spirits they might avoid And therefore to prevent this wresting of them the Apostle doth not prohibit the People the reading of them but only cautions them that they be not led away with these Errors of the Wicked and directs them to grow more in knowledg the way to attain unto which is to peruse them with greater care and diligence And it is an unreasonable thing to build a Prohibition of reading the Scriptures upon a far-fetch'd consequence from this Text against so many express Commands to the contrary Yet see moreover Rev. 1. 3. Blessed is he that readeth and they that hear the words of this Prophecy and keep those things that are written therein Note here the most difficult Book of Scripture is commended to Mens reading and the Spirit of God calls those Blessed that read and keep it And what reason can there be then to deter Men from reading the Gospels and Epistles of the Apostles which contain Things much more familiar and easy to be understâ—â—â—â—â— Of the Church CHAP. IV. That the State of the Church is always visible Bellarm. de Eccles lib. 3. cap. 11. THat the Church of God shall continue in being in all Ages is not denied but that it shall be always gloriously and conspicuouly visible to the observation of all Persons that they may know whither to have recourse to it to join in communion with it and may be moved thereunto by its splendour is against many Scripture-Instances and Prophecies to the contrary Which many Times comes to pass through the prevailing of Corruptions in it or Persecutions against it which very much darken and obscure it So that a very few Persons may retain the purity of Doctrine in it and those not visible to the Notice of many others As for Example What was the Face of the Church then when God brought Abraham out of the 〈◊〉 of Infidels and Idolaters Gen. 12. What was the Face of the Church when Israel was in Egypt where they defiled themselves with the Idols of Egypt Ezek. 20. 7 8. Then they rebelled against me says God and would not hearken unto me they did not every Man cast away the Abominations of his Eyes neither did they forsake the Idols of Egypt then I said I will pour out my Fury upon them and mine Anger against them in the midst of the Land of Egypt Here was a very great Corruption in the State of the Church and that in the very chief and principal Points of Religion What was the Face of the Church in the Time of the Judges of Israel Judg. 2. 10 11 12 13. All that Generation were gathered unto their Fathers and
for the reducing of Offenders to Repentance and not a setting up a Judg of Controversies in Matters of Faith for all Mens infallible Direction As for that Promise John 16. 13. When the Spirit of Truth is come he shall guide you into all Truth It was made to all the Apostles and seems to be made to them only as appears by the Circumstances of the Discourse Chap. 14. 25 26 28. Chap. 15. 26 27. Chap. 16. 4 6. Or if it be to be extended to their Successors so far as it is so it must be extended to all their Successors as it was made to all the Apostles And so it will make all them Infallible likewise if it doth make any of them Infallible and not their Successors in the Church of Rome only or the Popes and Bishops there by a particular Priviledg But now suppose the Church of Rome were Infallible who is it in that Church that is Infallible Is it the Pope alone or is it a General Council called by him or is it both together or the Council confirmed by a Pope or the Council alone In this they do not agree among themselves As for the Pope's own Infallibility his Pretentions are considered already And if a Council be not Infallible unless called and confirmed by the Pope who is yet in himself Fallible how can the Calling or Confirmation of a Fallible Pope make a Eallible Council Infallible or will two Fallibles put together make one Infallible As for the Infallibility of a Council alone in it self if the greatest or major part of Christian Pastors are not Infallible but may fall into the grossest Errors as all will allow then how shall a General Council be Infallible which is to represent the whole Church and in which things are to be carried by the Rules of the major part which may err Unless it can be proved that the major part of Christian Pastors which are grosly erring singly by themselves when they come together shall be indued with so much Wit and Honesty that they shall suffer themselves to be governed and over-ruled by the lesser part that do not err But what Promise or Security have we for all this As for Mat. 18. 20. Where two or three are gathered together in my Name there am I in the midst of them If that proves an Infallibility in the Persons so gathered together it proves the Infallibility of every Assembly of Christians gathered in Christ's Name as well as of a General Council And therefore it would prove too much whereas indeed it is a Promise of Christ's gracious Presence and not of an Infallible Guidance And that suspended upon condition of being gathered in Christ's Name acting for his Glory according to his Rule by his Command and Commission As for that Place Acts 15. 28. It seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to us to lay no other Burden upon you c. It is only a Declaration of the present Case and not a Promise for the Future It is true that this Council was guided by the Holy Ghost and was Infallible but it doth not follow that other Councils shall For the Apostles who were all Infallible were the chief Actors in this Council and therefore its Determinations were Infallible which cannot be said of those of any other Council where there is not the same reason And now as to the Infallibility of a General Council suppose it were granted how shall we certainly know when a Council is truly General Or suppose such an one and Infallible when it sits yet how will that satisfy the pretence of the necessity of a living Judg in the Church at all Times for the ending of Controversies unless such a Council did always sit Which we know there did not in the first Ages of the Church when there were many Heresies and Differences and we know hath not done in several Ages and we see doth not now at this Time. If they say we may read the Determinations of Councils that are in Writing and that will suffice us So we may do the Determinations of the Articles of Faith in the Scriptures which yet they say is not sufficient without a living Judg to give their Sense And if the Scriptures are not sufficient without a living Judg then neither are the Definitions of Councils that are in Writing For the Definitions of Councils left us in their Books are as much a dead Writing as the Scriptures and can as little help themselâ—â—â— and we see there is as much difference about the Sense of them So that if there must be a living Judg and a General Council must be 〈◊〉 then there must be a Council still sitting For if the written Determinations of a former Council will serve the turn then they must give up the Controversy of the necessity of a living Judg. And if it can be proved that the Scriptures are a sufficient Rule without such Determinations and sufficiently 〈◊〉 in all things necessary then though it be but a dead Rule yet it will do the deed as well as the dead Determinations of a dead Councill And so all the Controversy will run into that aboâ—â— the sufficiency and clearness of Scripture which has been considered in the beginning and to his Controversy about the Infallibility of a General Council for a living and visible Judg will be wholly superseded and useless Yet after all if all these Difficulties could be got over about an Infallible Pope or Council yet that would not signify very much to the common People unless their particular Bishops and Curats may be supposed to be Infallible likewise to give them an Infallible account of an Infallible Pope or Councils Definitions or unless every particular Person may go himself to the Pope or Council for rcsolution in all Cases Which they know cannot be done for the common People cannot read all their Determinations in Print or Writing or if they could would as little understand them as they do the Scriptures and so must need a living Infallible Judg nearer at hand to give them Infallible direction or else they may still be deceived for want of one if the want of one must needs make them liable to deceit so that they must have Infallible Curats likewise to preserve them from danger of being deceived If they say the Curats may inform them of the true meaning of the Definitions of Councils and Popes and that they may be sufficiently certain of this without their being Infallible which is the only thing that can be said then it seems there may be Certainty without Infallibility And then why may not the Protestant Bishops and Ministers though they were not Infallible as certainly inform the People of the true meaning of the Scriptures So that if the Scripture be a sure and plain Rule of Faith so that it may be understood without the Infallibility of those that read it then the Protestant People who have not Infallible Teachers may yet have as much certainty
Pope Leo himself Distinct 13. Can. omniâ— So that the Apostle might have married if he had pleased and was under no Obligation to the contrary 1 Tim. 3. 2 4 5. A Bishop then must be blameless the Husband of one Wife vigilant sober of good behaviour given to Hospitality apt to teach One that ruleth well his own House having his Children in subjection with all gravity For if a Man know not how to rule his own Family how shall he take care of the Chruch of God Then he that is chosen into the Office of a Bishop may have and retain a Wife These words the Husband of one Wife cannot be understood of the Church of God seeing the Apostle makes a dictinction between the Pastor's Family and his Flock If a Man know not how to rule his own House how shall he take care of the Church of God 1 Tim. 4. 1 2 3. The Spirit speaketh expresly that in the latter Times some shall depart from the Faith giving heed to seducing Spirits and Doctrines of Devils speaking lies in Hypocrisy and having their Consciences â—eared with an hot Iron forbidding to marry Is not this true of the Church of Rome that wholly interdicts Marriage to the Monks and Clergy It is in vain to say that there were some Ancient Hereticks who did forbid Marriage and that the Apostle speaks of them in this place for many may fall into the same precipice To forbid Marriage either wholly or to any Persons whatsoever as a Pollution is plainly to incur the Apostle's Censure Noah a Preacher of Righteousness was married Gen. 6. Abraham the Father of the Faithful was married Gen. 12. Moses the greatest of the Prophets was married Exod. 2. God himself gave orders touching the marriage of the chief Priests Lev. 21. 12. The Prophet Isaiah was married Isa 8. 3. The Prophet Ezekiel was married Ezek. 24. 18. There is mention made of St. Peter's Wife's Mother Mark 1. 30. St. Philip the Evangelist had four Daughters Acts 21. 9. Unless there were a Command to forbid the Clergies Marriage which that there is not is plain to those who read the Bible carefully and unless there were an universal Promise of the Gift of Continence to them at least upon their asking as it doth not appear there is it can be nothing else but a bold presumption and which is the occasion of many Mischiefs to lay such an Injunction or Prohibition upon them CHAP. XV. That the Vow of Poverty is laudable and that Mendicant and begging Friars are in a State of Perfection Council of Trent Sess 25. cap. 1. Bellarm. de Monach. lib. 2. cap. 20 45. THis is to make a Vow of that which God often inflicts as a Curse upon Men and therefore should be reputed a thing which Men should not chuse but avoid Psal 109. 10. David speaking of the Wicked saith Let his Children be continually Vagabonds and beg let them seek their Bread also out of desolate Places as those that are cast out of their Habitations The Royal Prophet puts beggary among the Curses of God and what Reason hath any one then voluntarily to take it up as a State of Perfection So Deut. 28. 48. Because thou servedst not the Lord thy God with joyfulness and gladness of Heart for the abundance of all things therefore shalt thou serve thine Enemies in hunger and in thirst and in nakedness and in want of all things Poverty hath many Inconveniences and Troubles usually attending upon it and is that which often exposeth Men to great Temptations and Snares which no Man can be sure he shall be always able to bear or overcome whatever his present temper and disposition of Mind may be if he be cast into this Estate by the Providence of God he may believingly pray and hope for the Divine Assistance but voluntarily to vow it and expose himself to it is to put himself upon that which may be an occasion of much Sin which no Man should do It is that which wise and good Men have prayed against â—rov 30. 8. Give me neither Poverty nor Riches but feed me with Food convenient for me Should any one make that a Vow to God which the wise Man prays against To have a competent provision of the good things of this Life according to the condition of ones place is a Blessing and Comfort and may be of great use to the ends of Piety and Charity for the more chearful serving God and the relief of our necessitous Brethren Voluntarily to cast away this is to be ungrateful to the Bounty of God who giveth us richly all things to enjoy 1 Tim. 6. 17. And it is to be cruel to ones self not to use the good things which God hath given us of his Liberality as a Blessing For so it is accounted Psal 128. 1 2. Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord For thou shalt eat the Labour of thy Hands happy shalt thou be and it shall be well with thee And it is against that Duty which we owe to our Neighbour by which we are obliged as far as we may and as far as the Providence of God will assist us so to provide and manage Things by our Labour and Industry as that we may always be in a capacity to relieve others in necessity and not to cast our selves upon their relief when we may avoid it For this we have the Apostle's direction and approbation Acts 20. 35. I have shewed you that so labouring ye ought to support the Weak and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus how he said It is more blessed to give than to receive So Ephes 4. 28. it is the Apostle's Rule Let him that stole steal no more but rather let him labour working with his hands the thing which is good that he may have to give to him that needeth Voluntarily to put ones self out of a capacity of doing this is to sin against the Command of the Apostle and under pretence of Perfection to violate a down-right Command And is this fit to be the Matter of a Vow To seek our living by begging Relief of others without using those Means which we may for our own subsistence is expresly against God's Ordinance 2 Thess 3. 10. For when we were with you this we commanded you That if any would not work neither should he eat And what is such a Vow then but to contradict God's Ordinance Is this the perfection of those slow Bellies those lazy and slothful Monks that live delicately upon the Liberality of others that pervert and abuse the Alms of the People and consume in Idleness and Luxury what the Poor should have Gen. 3. 19. God hath laid it upon Men In the sweat of thy Face shalt thou eat thy Bread. It was ordered by God among the Jews and was look'd upon as a great Blessing Deut. 15. 4. That there be no Poor among you And is that now to be vowed under the Gospel as a State of
A COLLECTION OF Texts of Scripture WITH Short Notes upon them And some other Observations against the Principal Popish Errors IMPRIMATUR Julii 9. 1688. Guil. Needham LONDON Printed for W. Booker over against the King's-Head Inn in Old-change 1688. The Epistle to the Reader IT is agreed on all hands that the Mind and Will of God revealed to us howsoever the Revelation be made is the proper and adequate Rule of Conscience by which we are to direct both our Faith and Practice And that the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament contain at least a part of this Divine Revelation is granted by the Church of Rome it self From whence it will clearly follow that whatsoever is contrary to that Revelation which we have in the Holy Scriptures ought not to be received for Divine Doctrine and Truth unless we will suppose an inconsistence in Divine Revelation or that God doth contradict himself which none will have the folly to assert We must remember therefore how we have received and heard in the Holy Scriptures and hold that fast And if there be any Doctrine or Tradition which contradicts the Doctrine of God delivered in the Holy Scriptures or makes his Commandment therein contain'd of none effect we are taught by our Saviour to reject it So that if an Apostle or an Angel from Heaven and much more if a Father or if a Church preach to us any other Gospel than what is therein delivered to us we should do the same Whether the Doctrines that are contested between us and the Church of Rome are of this Nature is the Question in dispute To make a right Judgment of which we need but consider the several Doctrines and then compare them with the Holy Scriptures and observe their agreeableness and disagreeableness thereunto To assist the Reader in which is the Design of this small Treatise wherein you have a Collection of the chief Points in Controversy between us and in the head of the several Chapters is first set down the Romish Doctrine as it is defined and received or generally taught in the Church and then the Texts of Scripture are subjoined with short and easy Notes and Observations deduced from them to apply them to the present purpose whereby it is easy to make a Comparison between the several Doctrines and the Scripture and the Contrariety between them will be manifest to the meanest Capacity But yet that it might be made more useful to prevent all misunderstanding and to make the Matters in Difference the more clear where it was thought needful the Controversies also are briefly stated and some farther Considerations added and the principal Objections are briefly obviated So that it is hoped it may be of good use to all that desire to be guarded against the Errors of Rome especially to those that have not Mony to buy or Time or Capacity to read and understand larger or more learned Discourses for whose service it was principally intended And some such Thing in so plain and easy a Method seemed to be desired The Gentlemen of the Church of Rome we may be sure will not be pleased with this Method because we do not take the Scriptures in their Sense and with their Interpretations But those we think are Comments which destroy the Text and therefore we have no mind to them And we should not have the Text neither by their good will for they do not love that that dangerous Book should come into the hands of the Common People for fear lest they should think that the Text is against them But however they endeavour to make themselves Masters of the Sense and Interpretation that that may be for them Thus if the Text be ready to strike them they put out its Eyes by the Exposition that it shall not know how to direct its Blow and then they are safe enough But we cannot think our selves obliged to take every thing upon trust that they say But they refer us also to Tradition and the Consent of the Fathers for the understanding of the Scripture-Doctrine which we are not against But unless we will take this Tradition and this Consent of the Fathers from their Mouth likewise they will not be pleased So that as they would have it our Faith must be ultimately resolved only into the present Voice of their Church And we must not condemn any of her Doctrines because they say they shall not be condemned that is they will be Judges in their own Case for fear of the worst It is well known that we make use of Tradition and the Judgment of the Fathers as well as they And we do not fear to refer our selves to them in the Matters contested between us but then they must give us leave to make use of Tradition a little more Catholickly than they do and not to seek it only from the Voice of their Church For we hope as long as we have Eyes we may read the Fathers as well as they and we do not know why we may not as well understand their Sense as also the Sense of the Holy Scriptures having the same means for it only the worst is we want Infallible Parts which we do not know but they may want as well as we But what is it but a great derogation from the Holy Scripture and the Holy Ghost the Author of it to think that of it self it is equally apt to deceive as to instruct to induce into Error as to lead into Truth What is this but to level it with the Heathen Oracle that spake always with that ambiguity that no Body knew what to make of it and therefore they were as soon deceived by it as not But yet is not this in effect the very Sense of the Church of Rome Or why else doth she so studiously with-hold the Bible from her Members for fear lest they should have more hurt by it than good if they take it by it self What is this but under pretence of taking care of her Children to call her Father and Husband whom she pretends so great respect to all to naught and to commend her self that she hath more tenderness and love to her Children than they But is it not rather her own Grandeur and Height which she takes care of which these Doctrines do subserve to And therefore she is resolved to maintain them and must use the means for it which iâ— by with-holding the Light that would discover them For it is to be truly feared that if the Bible were in every one's Hand and read with any attention it would soon scatter this Darkness which the Church of Rome well perceives And if that be to deceive the Scripture will deceive And if Instruction consists only in learning their Errors the Scripture will never instruct us to the World's End So that in this the Church of Rome is in the Right and is a very wise Mother for her self but let others judg how kind she is to her Children or
17. 9. The same practice was observed under the Reign of King Hezekiah 2 Chron. 31. 3 4. Accordingly our Saviour and his Apostles refer to the Scripture as the only Rule and confirm their Doctrines by it but no where have recourse to Tradition for any thing Thus for the obtaining amendment of Life and the avoiding of Condemnation Luke 16. 29. They have Moses and the Prophets let them hear them And this he commends for as great efficacy to that end as if one should come and arise from the Dead to speak to them So Joh. 5. 39. For the attainment of the knowledg of himself and Life everlasting Search the Scriptures says he for in theâ— ye think ye have eternal Life and they are they which testify of me He doth not reprove but allow encourage this thought in them Luk. 24. 27. Beginning at Moses and all the Prophets he expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself But makes not the least use of Tradition So also he refutes the Pharisees by the Scripture Mat. 22. 31. Thus the Apostle St. Paul Act. 26. 22. witnâ—ssing both to small and great and saying none other things that these which the Prophets and Moses did say should come to pass He teacheth at Rome that Jesus was the Christ by the Scripture Act. 28. 23. He combateth all sorts of Errors by the Scripture see his Epistles to the Romans to the Corinthians to the Galatians c. To end the Difference that was agitated at the Council of Jerusalem St. James alledges the Scripture Acts 15. 15. So that the Scripture is that which is every were referr'd to as the Rule of Faith and Manners but not one word said of Tradition to that end It having pleased God when once the Scripture was Indited to leave nothing to Tradition though sometimes he was pleased to reveal himself farther by immediate Revelation till all the Books of the Holy Canon were perfected On the other side Tradition is so far from being commended that the use of it is decried as the foundation of many Errors and Wickednesses and Superstitions and their adhering to the Traditions of the Fathers is censured Thus Mark. 7. 1 c. When the Pharisees saw some of his Disciples eat Bread with defiled that is to say with unwashen Hands they found fault For the Pharisees and all the Jews except they wash their Hands oft eat not holding the Tradition of the Elders And when they come from the Market except they wash they eat not And many other things there are which they have received to hold as the washing of Cups and Pots and brazen Vessels and Tables Which they observed as a part of religious Worship received by Tradition from their Fathers though not commanded in the Law of Moses Like the Holy Water of the Church of Rome the Incensings and Garments the Salt and Spittle and Exorcisms and Wax-candles used in Baptism the Priests shaving the Head after the manner of a Crown which they profess to have received from Christ and his Apostles conveyed to them by the Tradition of the Church through all Ages though there be not one word of any of it in the Holy Scriptures See Council of Trent Sess 22. cap. 2 c. Cathechism Roman par 2. cap. 2. § 59 c. But our Saviour condemn'd all the Traditions of the Fathers so received by them for vain Worship because not written in the Law Ver. 7 8. So I doubt not but we shall have reason 〈◊〉 do the like with those of the Church of Rome by the same Warrant The Apostle reckons it his great Fault before his Conversion Gal. 1. 14. That he was exceeding zealous 〈◊〉 the Traditions of his Fathers which were superadded to the Law which was the very foundation of Pharisaism and a ground of very great Superstition among them Therefore 1 Pet. 1. 18 19. Ye know that ye are not redeemed by corruptible things from your vain Conversation received by Tradition from your Fathers but with the precious Blood of Christ Here also we have an intimation from St. Peter of many vain Observations which the Jews took up by Tradition from their Fathers So that the Tradition of their Fathers was so far from being a sure Rule to them that it was a means of very great Corruption which the Christians are redeemed from Therefore there was that Exhortation Ezek. 20. 18 19. Walk ye not in the Statutes of your Fathers neither observe their Judgments nor defile your selves with their Idols I am the Lord your God walk in my Statutes and keep my Judgments and do them The vanity and uncertainty of Tradition for a Rule of Faith sufficiently appears by these things And how much the use of it is decried as mischievous and hurtful And if it was so in the Church and State of the Jews which was but of a very narrow compass and thereupon it might be supposed then to be a more certain means of conveyance of Truth how much more reasonably may we think it to be so in the Christian Church diffused through all Nations where by reason of the multitude and distance of Christian Teachers and Professors it must needs be much more easy for superstitious and conceited Men to obtrude their Innovations and to back them with the pretence of Tradition of which there hath been many Instances And hence such Difference hath arisen between Traditions themselves as is plain in the Controversy in the Primitive Church about Easter and many others And can we think that our Saviour should leave his Church to such an uncertain Rule now when there is so much need rather to have it more exact and setled Should that be a Rule of Faith in the Christian Church which was wholly disallowed and decried in the Jewish Or is Tradition now become so much altered that it is become so sure and harmless above what it was If Tradition be taken for a natural Means there is nothing more uncertain in a long tract of Time. And sure our Saviour would not leave his Church to such uncertainty when he might do better If it be pretended to be assisted with Infallibility that shall be examined afterwards It is plain that the Christian-Inspired Writers also saw it needful to write down the Doctrine of our Saviour to transmit it to After-ages they did not think Tradition was a sure means of conveyance then no more than it was before Therefore St. Luke wrote his Gospel to the most excellent Theophilus that he might know the certainty of those things wherein he had been instructed Luke 1. 4. implying that the other way of conveyance by Tradition is not so certain And St. Peter I will not be negligent says he to put you always in remembrance 2 Pet. 1. 12. And vers 13. I think it meet to stir you up by putting you in remembrance Mens memories are not so very good to retain Divine Things unless they are excited and quickned
And vers 15. Moreover I will endeavour that you may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance Which seems to be done by his putting St. Mark to write this Gospel from his Mouth Thus St. Jude says That he gave all diligence to write unto them of the common Salvation and that it was needful for him to write unto them vers 3. And if it was needful for that Age it was much more needful for After-ages We may be sure our Saviour and his Apostles would have that done which was needful in their own Judgments for Mens Salvation And we are likewise assured by St. John that it is done fully as it was needful it should be done that nothing might be left to the uncertainty of Tradition John 20. 31. These things are written that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God and that believing ye might have Life through his Name He shows that the writing of these Things is needful to be a Foundation of right Faith to Men and that enough was written then in his own and the other Gospels and Writings which it is said he had seen to be a Foundation of that Faith in Men which is needful to their eternal Salvation So that no saving Truth was left to be conveyed by Tradition at all which yet does not argue the uselessness of what Books were after added as was said before 1 John 1. 4. These things write we unto you that you may rejoice and that your Joy may be full So that the Scripture giving us sufficient knowledg as to what concerns our Faith and Comfort in order to Eternal Salvation how can we imagine any deficiency in it but must needs suppose that it contains in it all the material Objects of Faith and Matters of saving Practice Or how can we depend upon Tradition as distinct from the Scripture which was ever so decried for uncertain mischievous and 〈◊〉 Therefore we conclude with our Church That Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to Salvation 〈…〉 whatsoâ—ver is not read therein nor may be proved thereby is not to be required of any Man that it should be believed as an Article of Faith or be thought requisite or necessary to Salvation Artic. 6. It is a sufficient evidence of the vanity and uncertainty of Tradition unwritten that amongst all the Sayings and Works of our blessed Saviour which St. John tells us were so many John 21. 25. That if all the things which he did should be written every one I suppose that even the World it self could not contain the Books that should be written Yet there is not one of all these come certainly to our knowledg but what is written in the Holy Scriptures And we have fair warning also given us of Tradition now in the New Testament 2 Thess 2. 2. Be not soon shaken 〈…〉 or be troubled neither by Spirit nor by Words nor by Letter as from us as that the Day of Christ is at hand Let no Man deceive you by no means By which it appears that even in the Apostles Times there were forged Writings and feigned Traditions which some had the boldness to obtrude for Apostolical Doctrines This is a fair warning to us now much more in these later Ages to give but little heed to any thing however pretended to be never so much Apostolical that is not contained in the Sacred and Apostolical Writings which are owned to be undoubtedly such And indeed how can we believe that the Evangelists and Apostles in all the Writings that they wrote and it does not appear that they wrote any other besides those we have when they write many things that are not so absolutely necessary to be known in order to Salvation yet should omiâ— so many things that are so as the Church of Rome pretends And that when they speak so often of Baptism for Instance that they should never tell us of the Salt and the Spittle the Exâ—cisms and Wax-candles but speak only of being baptized in Water in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost or that they should never when they speak so much of Worship tell us of the worshipping of Saints and Images or of praying for the Dead when they give us so many directions about Prayer c. We must hold fast the Traditions say they which we have been taught by the Apostles 2 Thess 2. 15. But we cannot believe that these and such-like things were ever taught by them when we have nothing at all of any of them in all their Writings And that exhortation could be then meant only of those things which the Thessalonians had heard from them and were very sure of that they were Apostolical Doctrines And which we doubt not were no other but what were after set down in the holy Writings and in them conveyed to us It is impossible for the Church of Rome to shew that they were any other by Tradition only when the traditional conveyance of Points is evidently so uncertain and that which we have been so warned against Yet after all note that all this is nothing against the Tradition of the Universal Church as a means of delivering down to us the Holy Scriptures themselves the number of the Books and the Names of the Authors c. Nor against that which is concurrent with Scripture or corrolorative of it in any Point of Faith or Practice but against that which is urged as a Rule of saving Faith and Practice distinct and different from it and sometimes contrary to it and is pretended to be the Tradition of the Universal Church from the Apostles Age but can never be proved to be so There is no fear of falling into Error therefore either through Ignorance or Infidelity as to such Traditions But we must say as our Saviour Mark 12. 24. Do ye not therefore err because ye know not the Scriptures And as the ignorance of Scripture is the Source and Fountain of Error so on the contrary then to follow the guidance of the Scripture is the way to be preserved from Error CHAP. II. That the Holy Scripture is dark and obscure Bellarm. de Verbo Dei. lib. 3. cap. 5. UPon this ground it is that they withhold the Scripture from the common People pretending that they are not capable Judges of the Sense of it and if they should read it more prejudice than benefit would arise to them from it But this is contrary to that which is written Psal 19. 7 8. The Testimony of the Lord is sure making wise the Simple The Commandment of the Lord is pure or clear enlightning the eyes Can Darkness enlighten Mens Eyes or can it make wise the Simple if it be not Intelligible by them Psal 119. 105. Thy Word is a Lamp unto my feet and a Light unto my path And vers 130. The entrance of thy Words giveth Light It giveth understanding unto the Simple When a Man hath but begun to
there arose another Generation after them that knew not the Lord nor yet his Works which he had done for Israel And the Children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord and served Baalim And they forsook the Lord God of their Fathers which brought them out of the Land of Egypt and followed other Gods of the Gods of the People that were round about them and bowed themselves to them and provoked the Lord to anger And they forsook the Lord and served Baal and Ashtaroth How was the Face of the Church disfigured at that Time when they publickly worshipp'd false Gods He that would see the several Ecclipses of the Church of Israel then let him read this History of the Judges particularly Chap. 2. 3 4 6 10. And 2 Chron. 15. 3. When Israel was for a long season without the True God and without a teaching Priest and without the Law. In the Reign of Rehoboam the Son of Solomon ten of the twelve Tribes of Israel revoked from the Service of God and publickly worshipp'd the Calves in Dan and Bethel which were made by the Commandment of Jeroboam 1 King. 12. And if you desire to see how much the Face of the Church was disfigured and how often the Service of God was interrupted read the History of the Kings The ten Tribes were the greatest part of the Church of Israel But in them the Church was so obscured in the Time of Ahab that Elijah complained 1 King. 19. 10. The Children of Israel have forsaken thy Covenant thrown down thine Altars and slain thy Prophets with the Sword and I even I only am left and they seek my Life to take it away God had indeed reserved to himself 7000 Men that had not bowed their Knees to Baal And 1 King. 18. 4. When Jezebel had put to death the Prophets of the Lord Obadia took an hundred Prophets and hid them by fifty in a Cave and sed them with Bread and Water So that there was a Church then left in Israel but iâ— was so obscured that Elijah himself could not see it In the Kingdom of Judah also there was sometimes the same obscure State of the Church As in the Time of Ahaz 2 Chron. 28. 24 25. For Ahaz gathered together the Vessels of the House of the Lord and cut them in pieces and shut up the Doors of the House of the Lord and he made him Altars in every corner of Jerusalem And in every several City of Judah he made high Places to burn Incense unto other Gods and to provoke to anger the Lord God of his Fathers Repeated again 2 Chron. 29. 6 7. There was no other Church of God then upon Earth but what was among the Children of Israel and Judah and there was not any one Temple dedicated to the Worship of the True God but that at Jerusalem But yet you see that was prophaned the Service of God banish'd Idolatry establish'd And what external Form of a Church then was there there where the true God was not acknowledged or served So in the Time of Manasseh 2 Chron. 33. 4 5. Who built again the high Places which Hezekiah his Father had broken down and he reared up Altars to Baalim and made Groves and worshipped all the Host of Heaven and served them Also he built Altars in the House of the Lord whereof the Lord had said In Jerusalem shall my Name be for ever Which was as great a Promise as ever was made to any Church and if there had been any Promise designed ever to secure the State and Splendour of the Church in any place 〈◊〉 â—ould think this had been such an one If 〈◊〉 had been but a like Promise made or half 〈…〉 said of the Church of Rome what confiâ—â—nt boasting and brags should we have had yet you see Jerusalem and the Temple filled with Idols And it is moreover to be observed that at this time the State of the Church was so corrupt that there were no Copies of the Law to be found extant among the People but the Book of the Law was found in the restoring of the Temple by Josiah at the reading of which as a new thing the King was mightily terrified 2 Chron. 34. 18 19 20. which is a plain Argument that the Law was but little known and the Copies of it generally lost And the Prophet Jeremy saith Jer. 11. 13. That according to the number of thy Cities were thy Gods O Judah And according to the number of the Streets of Jerusalem which is yet called the Holy City Matth. 27. 53. have ye set up Altars to that shameful thing to burn Incense unto Baal And what Corruptions did the Prophet Isaiah complain of before Chap. 1. In the time of the Captivity the whole Land was a desâ—lation and an astonishment Jer. 25. 11. the Temple of Jerusalem was demolish'd and the Service of God beaten down So in the New Testament there are Prophecies of great defections and much obscurity that there should be in the Church 2 Tim. 4. 3 4. For the time will come that they shall not endure sound Doctrine but after their own Lusts shall they heap to themselves Teachers having itching Ears And they shall turn away their Ears from the Truth and shall be turned unto Fables So 1 Tim. 4. 1. The Spirit speaketh expresly that in the latter Times some shall depart from the Faith giving heed to seducing Spirits and Doctrines of Devils or rather Doctrines concerning Demons or a sort of under-Gods or angelical Mediators with God speaking lies in hypocrisy having their Consciences â—eared with an hot Iron forbidding to marry and commanding 〈◊〉 abstain from Meats How well doth this agree to 4. Church of Rome Rev. 12. 6. The Woman by which the Church is represented fled into the Wilderness where she hath a place prepared of God there to lie hid for a time during the rage of the Dragon It is very unjust and unreasonable then to demand that at all times we should shew the visible State of the True Church Rev. 13. 15 16 17. The time is prophesied of that the second Beast shall cause that as many as will not worship the Image of the former Beast shall be killed And he causeth all both small and great rich and poor free and bond to receive a Mark in their right hand and in their forehead and that no Man might buy or sell save he that had the Mark or Name of the Beast or the Number of his Name And how should the Church then during this Tyranny have a visible and flourishing State And the Papists themselves allow that in the time of Antichrist there shall be an universal defection for a time It is certain in Fact that many Churches founded by the Apostles themselves have quite fallen away to Mahometanism And in the time of Athanasius the whole World almost was become Arian And in the Ages just before the Reformation the Purity of the Church was so
lost and corrupted with Errour Superstitious and Idolatrous Worships that the Doctrine of the Gospel was almost quite extinct and false Legends humane Traditions and Constitutions had taken place of the Word of God and were come in the room of the Divine Commands and Institutions So that 't is no wonder if in those Ages we could not shew any one Congregation or number of Persons and Professions that always held the same Doctrines that we do Though there were always some that opposed and groaned under the growing Superstitions of their Age. Luke 18. 8. I say unto you saith our Saviour when the Son of Man cometh shall he find Faith on the Earth What then at that time shall be the Face of the Church If you will believe Cardinal Bellarmin all the publick Ceremonies of Religion and Sacrifices shall cease De Rom. Pontif. lib. 3. cap. 7. And if there be nothing of the publick Ceremonies of Religion how should the Church then have a visible State And as for the Roman Church in particular the Apostle gives some intimation of her Defection as great as that of the Jews Rom. 11. 20 21 22. CHAP. V. That Multitude is a Mark of the Church Bellarm. de Eccles lib. 4. cap. 7. THis doth not agree to the Church alone nor yet always to it nor to the purest part of it in opposition to others If we should go to the Poll the Mahometans would outnumber the Christians And the Professors of the True Doctrine are many times but few in comparison of the rest of the Church and much more in comparison of the rest of the World. And therefore this is a very improper Mark to distinguish and know the Church by in all Ages As especially in the first Age and in the Time of the Arians and in the Reign of Antichrist So that to assert it for a Mark agreeing to the Church Universal is false Luke 12. 32. Fear not little Flock for it is your Father's good Pleasure to give you a Kingdom The Church is called a little Flock and Babylon that is opposite to the Church is called a great City Rev. 16. 19. Consider the Course or Series of the History of the Church For after more than sixteen hundred Years after the Creation of the World the Church was composed but of eight Persons that entred the Ark Gen. 7. 13. Near two thousand three hundred Years after the Creation of the World the Church was composed but of seventy Persons that went down into Egypt Exod. 1. 5. and all these but of one Family And though it was much encreased in Moses's Time yet then it was still but one People wandring in a Wilderness It was confined to the Jewish People alone for many Ages and to a few Proselytes that came into them And as to the Jewish People it self and more than three thousand Years after the Creation of the World besides the two Tribes that worshipped at Jerusalem there were in the other ten but seven thousand that had not bowed their knees to Baal And these so little appearing that the Prophet Elijah thought he himself had been left alone 1 King. 19. 10. Of what side then was the Multitude there were four hundred lying Prophets and but one true one 1 King. 22. In our Saviour's Time the whole Christian Church consisted of twelve Apostles and seventy Disciples and some few followers besides which were not many nor very constant in their Profession John 6. 66 67. For from that time many of his Disciples went back and walked no more with him So that our Saviour said also to the Twelve Will ye also go away If the Apostles had followed some sort of Maxims they had answered Yes Sir we are going too for the Multitude is not of thy side Again Chap. 12. 37 38. Though he had done so many Miracles before them yet they believed not on him That the saying of Isaias the Prophet might be fulfilled which he spake Lord who hath believed our Report and to whom is the Arm of the Lord revealed It seems then the Church was not made up of Multitude Mat. 27. 20. The chief Priests and Elders perswaded the multitude that they should ask Barrabas and destroy Jesus To follow the multitude then one should have cried against the Saviour of the World Let him be crucified vers 22. Acts 1. 15. In those days after the Ascension of Christ Peter stood up in the midst of the Disciples and the number of the Names together were about one hundred and fifty There was no great Assembly of Christians then in the World. In After-Ages the Church indeed was much increased but yet at some times was so over-run with Errors that the number of the Orthodox was inconsiderable in comparison of the Hereticks And it is prophesied Rev. 13. 3 4. that all the World would wonder after the Beast and worship the Dragon which gave power unto the Beast and they worshipped the Beast saying Who is like unto the Beast who is able to make War with him Few Disciples follow Jesus Christ but behold the whole World runneth after the Beast And vers 7 8. It was given unto him to make War with the Saints and to overcome them and Power was given unto him over all Kindreds and Tongues and Nations And all that dwell upon the Earth shall worship him whose Names are not written in the Book of Life of the Lamb. How should all the Inhabitants of the World worship the Beast and yet Multitude be of the side of the Church So Rev. 17. 1 2. it is the great Whore that sitteth upon many Waters now vers 15. The Waters which thou sawest where the Whore sitteth are Peoples and Multitudes and Nations and Tongues And the Kings of the Earth have committed Fornication with her and the Inhabitants of the Earth have been drunk with the Wine of her Fornication So that the great Whore commands Kings and a multitude of Peoples and Nations This is that the Church of Rome vaunts of so much but we shall think never the better of them for their Multitude nor yet the worse of our selves though we were fewer than we are having had such fair Warnings as to this Matter This is no sufficient Argument of their being the true Catholicks for having the greatest number of Professors of their side unless they likewise retain and profess the Catholick Faith the same Christian Religion which all good Christians in all Ages and of all Nations have ever constantly profess'd And if we do this we are true Catholicks though we are the lesser number if it be so But upon Calculation it has been judged that the number of the Reformed is not much unequal to theirs But no wise Man ever judged of the Truth of Religion by the major Vote which is an Argument to none but Fools Exod. 23. 2. Thou shalt not follow a Multitude to do evil But if Multitude were always in the right this had been a very improper
and vain Caution CHAP. VI. That Temporal Happiness is a Mark of the Church Bellarm. de Eccles lib. 4. cap. 18. WHat was said of the former Mark may also be applied to this here This doth not agree to the Church alone and therefore cannot be a proper Mark to distinguish it from others For the Heathens and especially the Mahometans have often had this to plead for themselves Besides it is but a contingent Note and agrees to the Church and the Defenders of it but at some times And some times agrees to one part of the Church when it does not to another and sometimes to the more corrupt part of it when it is otherwise with that part that is more pure And therefore it is a very improper Note to distinguish one from the other and so doth not do the office of a proper Mark. Or if it signified any thing the Reformed of this and the last Age may plead it in some places blessed be God as well as the Romanists But indeed it is but a fallacious Mark and to assert it universally of the Church or the most pure part of it at all times it is false and contrary to the Doctrine and Predictions of the Scripture and the Experience of the Church John 18. 36. My Kingdom is not of this World. Our Saviour did not aim at an earthly Pomp or Grandeur or Authority like the Kings of the Earth nor to leave this as an Inheritance to his â—ollowers 1 John 2. 15. The Lusts of the Flesh and the Lusts of the Eye and the Pride of Life are not of the Father but of the World. Mat. 16. 24. If any will come after me let him deny himself and take up his Cross and follow me Not temporal Happiness not a Cross of Gold and Silver but Affliction for the Gospel Mat. 24. 9. They shall deliver you up to be afflicted and shall kill you and ye shall be hated of all Men for my Name 's sakâ— This was the lot of the Apostles and the Christians of the first Age and so it hath continued to be more or less in most of the Ages since And the Church indeed seems to be calculated for a state of Affliction for then it thrives best John 15. 20. Remember the Word that I said unto you The Servant is not greater than the Lord If they have persecuted me they will also persecute you The Life of our Lord Jesus was a continual Persecution And God has predestinated us to be conformed to the Image of the Son Rom. 8. 20. John 16. 2. They shall cast you out of the Synagogues yea the time shall come that whosoever killeth you shall think that he doth God service Vers 20. Verily verily I say unto you That ye shall mourn and lament but the World shall rejoice ye shall be sad but your sadness shall be turned into joy All things have their season Eccles 3. The World laughs now but one day it shall gnash its teeth Good Men mourn here below but above God shall wipe away Tears from their Eyes Rev. 7. last Acts 14. 21. Paul and Barnabas returned confirming the Souls of the Disciples and exhorting them to continue in the Faith and that we must through much tribulation enter into the Kingdom of God. Affliction and Tribulation is no more than what those who continue in the Faith may expect to meet with according to what hath come to pass in former Ages 2 Tim. 3. 12. All those that will live godly in the Faith of Jesus Christ shall suffer Persecution But the Children of Babylon glorify themselves and live deliciously Rev. 18. 7. 1 Thess 3. 3. I sent to comfort you that no Man should be moved by these Afflictions for your selves know that we are appointed thereunto The Church is not appointed then to a continual prosperous State. Rev. 12. 14 15. When the Dragon saw that he was cast unto the Earth he persecuted the Woman which had brought forth the Man-Child And to the Woman were given two Wings of a great Eagle that she might flee into the Wilderness into her place And the Serpent cast out of his Mouth Water as a Flood after the Woman that he might cause her to be carried away of the Flood This represents the Fury of the Devil stirring up Persecution against the Church which God nourishes for a time in the Wilderness Chap. 13. 7. It was given him that is the Beast to make war with the Saints and to overcome them Where was then the Prosperity of the Church Chap. 17. 4. The Woman the Great Whore was arrayed in Purple and Scarlet-colour and deck'd with Gold and precious Stones and Pearls having a golden Cup in her Hand full of abominations and filthiness of her Fornications But now behold the Equipage of the faithful Martyrs Heb. 11. 36 37. They had trial of cruel Mockings and Scourgings yea moreover of Bonds and Imprisonment They were stoned they were sawn asunder were tempted were slain with the Sword they wandred about in Sheep-skins and Goat-skins being destitute afflicted tormented of whom the World was not worthy they wandred in Deserts and in Mountains and in Dens and Caves of the Earth Therefore 1 Pet. 4. 12. Beloved think it not strange concerning the fiery Trial as though some strange thing happened unto you John 16. 33. In the World ye shall have Tribulation a description of a State far enough from temporal Prosperity but be of good chear I have overcome the World. CHAP. VII That Miracles are a Mark of the Church Bellarm. de Eccl. lib. cap. 14. WHensoever any Persons have been sent out upon an extraordinary Message by an extraordinary Mission from God to preach or teach such Doctrine as hath not been delivered before or not sufficiently attested In that case it is confest that Miracles are necessary to attest their Mission and to confirm their Doctrine But this Mission of theirs having been once sufficiently attested and their Doctrine confirmed by Miracles and both this Doctrine and Miracles faithfully recorded and the Records safely preserved then there can be no absolute need of more Miracles For there can be no need of doing that again which hath been sufficiently done already And therefore there can be no need of more Miracles when a Doctrine already sufficiently confirmed by Miracles is only to be cleansed and restored from the mixture of Errors with which it is defiled or obscured But in that case it is sufficient to have recourse to the Writings and Records in which the true Doctrine hath been delivered which hath been sufficiently confirm'd before And therefore Hezekiah and Josiah wrought to Miracles when the Reformation was set a-foot by them according to the Law already confirm'd by Miracles And Hosea Amos c. wrought no Miracles when they were sent to recal the People from their Apostacy to the observation of the Law. And John Baptist himself wrought no Miracles John 10. 41. being but to teach the People that
Servant of all If our Saviour had intended a primacy of Jurisdiction or Authority to St. Peter over the rest of the Disciples would he have exprest himself in such universal Terms so absolutely denying this Authority and Superiority to all Would he not have excepted St. Peter's Right and Priviledg which he intended to him But here 's an universal Negation of such supreme Authority to all of them indifferently without any such Exception Mat. 19. 28. Jesus said unto them Verily I say unto you that ye which have followed me in the Regeneration when the Son of Man shall sit upon the Throne of his Glory ye shall sit upon twelve Thrones judging the twelve Tribes of Israel The Apostles are here represented sitting equally upon twelve Thrones Is not this to let us understand that they were to have an equal Authority Whereas if St. Peter was to have had a superior Authority one would think he should have had a Throne too superior to all the rest Mat. 23. 8. Be not yâ— called Rabbi or Master for one is your Master even Christ and all ye are Brethren Here is no assignation of any Mastership to St. Peter as Christ's Vicar But all the Disciples are joined together in an equality of Brotherhood under Christ their Lord. Luke 22. 24. There was also a strife among them which of them should be accounted the Greatest Note that this Dispute was but the Evening before the Passion of Jesus Christ after these words were spoken Mat. 16. 19. I will give unto thee the Keys If St. Peter had been then constituted the Chief of the Apostles there would never have been this Dispute among them touching the Primacy For our Saviour upon this Dispute said not one word that he had given it to St. Peter But on the contrary Vers 25. 26. The Kings of the Gentiles exercise Lordship over them and they that exercise Authority upon them are called Benefactors but ye shall not be so Which certainly excludes such a Supreme Authority as is claim'd by the Pope John 20. 22 23. Jesus Christ breathed upon his Disciples and said unto them Receive ye the Holy Ghost Whose Sins ye remit they are remitted and whose Sins ye retain they are retained Note here that the Power of binding and loosing which was promised to St. Peter Mat. 16. 19. is here given to all the Disciples indifferently Therefore that Promise conveyed no special Priviledge or Authority to St. Peter but what was given in common to them all Ephes 2. 20. Ye are built upon the Foundation of the Apostles and Prophets Jesus Christ himself being the chief Corner-Stone Note that the Apostles and Prophets are here put in the same rank and are all equally called Foundation-stones as St. Peter was called a Rock Matth. 16. 18. and James and John Pillars as well as he Gal. 2. 9. To Jesus Christ alone belongs the Preheminence So Rev. 21. 14. And the Wall of the City had twelve Foundations and in them were the Names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb. You see here still the Apostles advanc'd to the same degree of Honour Buâ— note that the Apostles are not called Foundations in respect of their Persons but in respect of the Doctrine which they held or preach'd And in the Text Matth. 16. 18. Thou art Peter and upon this Rock will I build my Church The Rock there mentioned is expounded by many of the Ancient Fathers as St. Chrysostom St. Ambrose St. Austin c. of the Doctrine which St. Peter confest that Christ was the Son of the living God. Which Christ calls a Rock and that upon which he would build his Church with allusion to St. Peter's Name that spoke it which signifies a Stone And upon this Doctrine all the Apostles indifferently founded the Churches where they came as well as he John 21. 17. Where our Saviour three times saith to St. Peter Feed my Sheep What is there contained in that or signified by it but what is equally the duty of all other Pastors of the Church So that here is no Priviledg conferr'd only to him but a Duty injoined which concerns all but is there particularly three times repeated to St. Peter and urged upon him as the best expression of his Love which he then professed to his Lord and Master whom before he had thrice denied and perhaps was as a rebuke for that denial three times repeated 1 Pet. 5. 1 2 3. Here St. Peter puts himself in the rank of the Elders that is to say the Pastors of the Church and doth not in the least attribute to himself any manner of Domination and forbids the same to others The Elders which are among you I exhort who am also an Elder He doth not say who am supreme Ruler and Governor over all as he might and should have done to have inforc'd his Exhortation the more if it had been true For he should have magnified his Office as St. Paul did Feed the Flock of God which is among you taking the oversight thereof Which is the same Exhortation which our Saviour gave him And how then is it a special Prerogative belonging to him alone But then he adds likewise not by constraint but willingly not for filthy Lucre but of a ready Mind neither as being Lords over God's Heritage but being Enamples to the Flock Quite contrary to the Pride and Arrogance of many Bishops of Rome that lord it over all Consider farther there are no Indications of any such supreme Authority in St. Peter but the quite contrary in very many Instances St. Peter is not always named in the first place as Mark 16. 7. Joh. 1. 44. 1 Cor. 1. 12. Gal. 2. 9. He spake not first in the Council of Jerusalem but a great Dispute there had been before he began his Discourse Acts 15. 7. It was not by his Sentence that the Decree of the Council was stated vers 13. The Message to the Gentiles was not sent by him vers 22. The Decree of the Council was not publish'd in his Name vers 23. He shared the Ecclesiastical Charge with the Apostles as their Fellow and Companion in the Work of the Lord. Gal. 2. 9. And when James and Cephas and John who seemed to be Pillars perceived the Grace that was given to me they gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of Fellowship that we should go unto the Gentiles as they unto those of the Circumcision St. Paul makes himself equal unto him in all things Gal. 2. 6. Of those that seemed to be somewhat whatsoever they were it maketh no matter to meâ— God accepteth no Man's Person They that seemed to be somewhat in Conference added nothing to me So 2 Cor. 11. 5. For I suppose I was not a whit behind the very chiefest Apostles It had been good manners to have excepted St. Peter his Head and Lord at least St. Peter was sent in Commission by the rest of the Apostles Acts 8. 14. When the Apostles that were at Jerusalem
heard that Samaria had received the Word of God they sent unto them Peter and John. Doth this look like his being their Head or having supreme Authority over them Sure it would be esteemed a strange piece of presumption if the Bishops should undertake to do the like to the Pope St. Peter was required to render an account also of his Carriage Acts 11. 2 3. And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem they that were of the Circumcision contended with him saying Thou wentest in unto Men uncircumcised and didst eat with them But Peter rehearsed the Matter from the beginning and expounded it by order to them He was also publickly reproved by St. Paul Gal. 2. 11. When Peter was come to Antioch I withstood him to the face because he was to be blamed And vers 14. When I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the Gospel I said unto Peter before them all If thou being a Jew livest after the manner of the Gentiles and not as do the Jews why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews Was this very decent in Paul if St. Peter was his Head and chief Governor over all So that here is not the least Testimony or Sign of any such Supremacy or Power ever owned or acknowledged by St. Peter Note also that all Headship over the Church is always appropriated to Christ and that in such a manner that it cannot be delegated to St. Peter or any other Thus Ephes 1. 22 23. God hath put all things under the feet of Jesus Christ and hath given him to be Head over all Things to his Church which is his Body the fulness of him that filleth all in all Had it not been proper to have said And under the feet of St. Peter too and his Successors as Christ's Vicar if it had been so But as in the Body of Man there is but one Head so there is but one Head in the Church of which we are all Members Ephes 5. 23. The Husband is the Head of the Wife even as Christ is the Head of the Church and he is the Saviour of the Body Where the Apostle joins his being Head of the Church and Saviour together So that he that is not the Saviour of the Church cannot be the Head. And note that our Lord Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church in the same manner as the Husband is the Head of the Wife So that as in the business of Marriage there is to be no Substitute so neither is Christ to have a Deputy or Vicar in his Church 1 Cor. 3. 11. For other Foundation can no Man lay than that is laid which is Jesus Christ But supposing that St. Peter was Head of the Church why must the Pope be so Or if it could be proved that there was such an Headship in St. Peter how doth it appear that this was any more than a personal Privilege in which therefore he was to have no Successor and an Honour conferred upon him out of particular respect and not from any universal necessity of such an Office in the Church A supreme Pastor they say is necessary to the Unity of the Church and therefore St. Peter was such a one and therefore he ought to have a Successor in that same Office. But is it sufficient to build so great a Pretension that can be rightly grounded upon nothing but a Divine Institution upon a mere humane reasoning of the expediency and necessity of the Thing Is it not more modest rather to argue the contrary that because there is no Divine Institution of such an Office that therefore it is not necessary however we may mistake the conveniency of it Shew the Institution and we will believe it or else though St. Peter should have been Prince of the Apostles and Head of the Church under Christ which yet is shown that it was not why may not we take this for a particular Honour and not for a necessary Office Cannot our Saviour who is God over all sufficiently dispence his Influences and provide for his Churches Welfare as far as he thinks meet in this military State by other Means and Church-Officers without such a Vicar Head Or how is it possible that a meer Creature should be capable of executing such an Office over all the Churches for their good at such remote and distant places or how could he be able to manage such a wide and mighty Empire But after all if it could be proved that St. Peter was vested in such an Office for the Time being yet how does it appear that he was to have a Successor in it or that it must be the Bishop of Rome rather than any other So that here we are altogether at uncertainty still and must build an Institution again upon meer humane Reasoning If because he himself was Bishop of Rome so was he said to be of Antioch too And why should not his Successor at Antioch claim this Privilege as much as he at Rome If because Rome was his last See when he died how doth it appear that his dying there transfers his Authority to the following Bishop unless it appears it was his last Will to have it so and that he had power to make such a Will But lastly doth it appear by the Scripture at all or certainly by ancient Record that ever St. Peter was at Rome much less Bishop there And if not how is the Pope his Successor at all See for this a late Discourse printed at London called A Modest Inquiry Whether St. Peter were ever at Rome c. So that here is nothing but uncertainty still to build all their glorious Pretences upon And considering all I cannot but conclude as our Church doth Sermon of Obedience 3d. part The usurped Power of the Bishop of Rome which he most wrongfully challengeth as the Successor of St. Peter is false feigned and forged Neither is it necessary then to the being of a true Church to be united to the Pope as supreme Pastor and Governour over it as is pretended Catech. Roman par 1. de 9. Artic. Symbol sl 11. If no such Center of Unity be appointed by Christ who is the Lord and Bridegroom of the Church then it cannot be necessary to the Unity of the Faith to be united in it nor is that an essential Note of the True Catholick Church And so all those great Pretensions of the absolute necessity of Peoples being in Communion with the Church of Rome under the Pope as supreme Pastor upon the pain of Damnation for the guilt of Heresy and Schism in breaking this Union are meerly false and vain So that our Church may be a Member of the true Catholick Church and in Catholick Unity still though we have separated from them if there be nothing else to render our separation culpable besides this vain pretence The Apostle gives us an account of all other Church-Officers both ordinary and extraordinary that are appointed by
' s Judgment-Seat where I ought to be judged being a Roman So he acknowledges Cesar's Jurisdiction Yet to the Jews I have done no wrong as thou very well knowest though I were liable to their Courts If I be an Offender or have committed any thing worthy of Death by the Roman Laws I refuse not to die so he readily submits himself to the Trial of their Laws and to the Sentence to be inflicted according to them But if there be none of these things whereof they accuse me no Man may deliver me unto them to be punished by them I appeal unto Cesar the Roman Emperor as my proper and lawful Judg. And is not this a plain acknowledgment then of Cesar's just Authority But saith Bellarmine he was constrained to appeal unto Cesar because the Gentiles and Jews would have mock'd him and with good reason if he had appealed to St. Peter who was his Soveraign Prince and Judg. Recognet lib. de sum Pontif. de Cleâ— lib. 1. cap. 30. Is not this prettily said of so great a Cardinal CHAP. X. That the Church of Rome is Infallible and that it belongs to her to judg of the Sense of Scripture so that all Persons are bound up to her Judgment and Definitions Catech Roman part 1. de 9 Art. Symbol §. 18. Council of Trent Sess 4. Decret de Edit usu Sacr. libr. THis is contrary to all those Texts of Scripture that allow a Judgment of Discretion to every private Person in Matters of Religion whereby they are at liberty to judg for themselves and to try and examine the Doctrines which they are taught whether they be true or false or whether revealed by God or no. As 1 Thess 5. 21. Prove all things hold fast that which is good How must we prove all things if we must take them upon trust without examination from any Person whatsoever 1 John 4. 1. Beloved believe not every Spirit but try the Spirits whether they are of God because many false Prophets are gone out into the World. So that we are not to give up our selves by an Implicit Faith to be led by any Persons whatsoever that pretend themselves Guides but examine their Doctrines before we receive them And here 's no referring of Christians to an Infallible Judg to whose Sentence and determination all are bound to submit which the Apostle ought in all reason to have done if such an one had been constituted in the Church and not to leave it to every Man 's private Judgment to examine these things as he doth 1 Cor. 10. 15. I speak as to wise Men judg ye what I say The Apostle implies a Capacity and Power in private Men to judg and discern of the Doctrine proposed And though he was guided by an Infallible Spirit yet he doth not expect that Men should blindly submit to his Doctrine but requires them to make use of this Power of discerning in themselves Acts 17. 11. The Bereans are commended for searching the Scriptures daily to know whether those things were so or no which were delivered by the Apostles themselves Gal. 1. 8. Tho we or an Angel from Heaven preach any other Gospel unto you than that which ye have received let him be accursed This plainly supposeth that Christians may and can judg in themselves when Doctrines are contrary to the Gospel and that they ought to do it and not blindly rely upon on any one no not an Apostle or Angel from Heaven 1 Pet. 3. 15. Be ready always to give an Answer to every Man that asketh you a Reason of the Hope that is in you Christians must understand and judg of the Grounds of Faith themselves Mat. 7. 15 16. Beware of false Prophets which come to you in Sheeps-clothing but inwardly they are ravening Wolves Ye shall know them by their Fruits How should they beware of them if they cannot discern or judg of them and their Fruits We have warning given us of seducing Spirits that shall be in the latter Days 1 Tim. 4. 1. And how can it be but Men will be in danger of giving heed to them if they must not judg for themselves or cannot discern their Doctrines Mat. 15. 14. They be blind leaders of the Blind And if the Blind lead the Blind they both fall into the Ditch The Leaders of the People you see were blind And the People that follow blind Leaders shall perish with them This is a fair warning to us not blindly to submit to the guidance of any So that there is no other way but for the People themselves by a diligent and serious perusal and study of the Scriptures to judg for themselves what the right Sense and Interpretation of them is and what Doctrines are true or false not refusing the assistance of their Spiritual Guides who are appointed for their direction herein yet not giving up themselves unreservedly or unlimitedly to any as Lords of their Faith. If there were a Judgment of Authority vested in any Person or Persons in the Christian Church which might impose upon all and to which all were bound in their Judgments to submit why is not this Infallible Judg referred to by the Apostles How is a judgment of discerning allowed to every private Person which is inconsistent therewith But for Men to judg for themselves is indeed a natural Right belonging to Men as Men and as rational Creatures And no Man can judicially embrace the True Religion unless he be permitted to judg whether that which he embraces be the True Religâ—on or no. And supposing the Scriptures plain in all Things necessary to Salvation as hath been proved Chap. 2. so that every Man of ordinary capacity after competent Instruction in Matters of Religion may arrive to a sufficient understanding of all those â—hings that are so he may judg of them as well for himself as any Man or company of Men can judg for him For every Man can judg of what is plain And therefore 't is reasonable that those things which are plain to every Man should be left to every Man's judgment And there can be no necessity of an Infallible Judg to guide or determine him therein The Civil Magistrate or Judg only determines Mens Practice and outward Actions or disposeth of some of their Goods and Properties And that there should be such an one besides a Law or Rule is needful in Civil Government for the regulating Mens outward Actions and Properties But he doth not prescribe to our inward Sense and Judgment which is the thing that this Infallible Judg in Religion is pretended to do to whose Judgment Men must not only submit their Practice but their Judgment Which is quite a different thing from the former and therefore there is no parity of Reason from one to the other If they say It is needful that there should be such a Judg in the Church for the determining and ending of all Controversies and for the preventing and repressing of Heresies and
of Faith as the common People of the Church of Rome can have for their Lives Of Prayer and Worship in an Unknown Tongue CHAP. XI That Prayers and the Publick Divine Service is to be every where celebrated in Latin or a Tongue not understood by the People Council of Trent Sess 22. Cap. 8. Can. 9. AGainst the Rule of the Apostle 1 Cor. 14. almost the whole Chapter Vers 2. He that speaketh in an unknown Tongue speaketh not unto Men or to their understanding but unto God alone and no Body receiveth any benefit by them Vers 4. For he that speaketh in an unknown Tongue benefiteth and edifieth himself alone Therefore Vers 5. greater is he that prophesieth and speaketh intelligibly to the Church in plain words than be that speaketh with Tongues except he interpret that the Church may receive edifying And Vers 6. then if I come unto you speaking only with Tongues unknown what shall I profit you Vers 7 8 9. Even things without Life giving found as musical Instruments whether Pipe or Harp except they give a distinction in the sounds how shall it be known what is piped or harped And if the Triâ—â—pet for example give an uncertain and untelligible sound who shall prepare himself to the Battel So likewise you except ye utter by the Tongue words easy to be understood by your Hearers how shall it be known what is spoken by you or what are they the better For ye shall speak unprofitably and into the Air Vers 10 11. There are it may be so many kinds of Voices and several Languages in the World and none of them are without their proper signification but this only to those that know them Therefore if I know not the meaning of the particular Voice or Language I shall be unto him that speaketh only an unintelligent Barbarian and he that speaketh shall be a Barbarian unto me This is that which comes to pass between the Priest and the People in the Church of Rome when they sing Mass one is a Barbarian to the other not understanding a word what is said Vers 12. Forasmuch as ye are zealous then of Spiritual Gifts that ye may not be unintelligible and unprofitable seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the Church Vers 13. Wherefore let him that speaketh in an unknown Tongue pray that he may also have the Gift and Ability to interpret it Vers 13 14. For if I pray in an unknown Tongue my Spirit or Gift of Tongues prayeth well indeed but my Vnderstanding is unfruitful as to others to make them understand so as they may profitably join with me What is it then here to be done I will pray with or by my Spirit or Gift of Tongues and I will pray intelligibly with my Vnderstanding also to others And â— will sing with the Spirit and with the Vnderstanding also or else keep silence in the Church Vâ—rs 16 17. Else when thou shalt in such an unknown Tongue bless or sing praises to God with the Spirit how shall he that occupieth the room of the Vnlearned join his Affection and Intention with thee and say Amen at this thy giving of Thanks seeing he understands not what thou sayest For verily thou gavest Thanks well but the other is not edified or advanced in his Devotion hereby Vers 18 19. I thank my God I have this Gift to speak with Tongues more than any of you all Yet when I am in the Church I had rather speak five words with my understanding in a way that is intelligible that so by my Voice I might teach others also than ten thousand words in an unknown Tongue Vers 26. Let all things be done to edifying It is plain from all this Discourse of the Apostle that all Publick Service in the Church should be done to the Edification of the Church But if the People do not understand what is said they cannot be edified by it or give their assent to it And it is plain if it be performed in a Tongue which they know not they cannot understand the Matter of the Service And consequently 't is a vain and unprofitable Act because in this way the People are not edified For it is certain that in this way the Mind is not informed nor the Affections rationally excited and therefore it is but a blind irrational Devotion that is then offered up to God by the People and thereby his Name is profaned rather and taken in vain than honoured How should the People say Amen when they say their Prayers and give Thanks in Latin How should the common People of England be able to say Amen seeing they understand not what is said or how should they know what they say Amen to If the Priâ—st should be so wicked he may Conjure as well as Pray or Curse the People instead of Blessing them and they never the wiser but say Amen to their own Condemnation Or when he baptizeth he may baptize in the Name of the Devil for any thing they know as well as in the Name of Christ as it is said a Jew once did under the Profession of a Priest As to what they pretend of the Unity of Devotion which would be attained hereby all the World over Unity of Understanding sure would more advance that than Unity of Language for all Languages are all one to God. But where there is no Unity of Understanding there can be no Unity either of Affection or Devotion Here the Priest may pray for one thing and the People may pray for another Whilst the Priest is praying for Heaven the People may pray for fair Weather or one for Pardon of Sin and another for Patience and so on in the same place and at the same time But here is no united Devotion which is the great End of publick Service unless the People likewise understand what the Priest prays for and so may join with him nor yet any Devotion at all without understanding what they are about CHAP. XII That there are other Mediators of Intercession in Heaven besides Jesus Christ such as Angels and Saints and especially the Virgin Mary who is the Mother of Mercies and Advocatress of the Faithful And that it is good and profitable to invoke them and to have recourse to their Prayerâ— Aid and Help Council of Trent Sess 25. de Invocat Catech. Rom. par 3. cap. 2. par 4. cap. 5. WHich is contrary to all those Texts of Scripture which speak of Christ as the only Mediator and that instruct us to direct our Worship and all our Prayers to God alone by him 1 Tim. 2. 5. There is one God and one Mediator between God and Man the Man Christ Jesus The Apostle speaks it without distinction that as there is but one God excluding all inferior Deities so there is but one Mediator excluding all inferior Mediators without distinguishing a Mediator of Redemption and Mediators of Intercession So that it is as much an Error against the Christiaâ—
distinguish'd one from the other but they think as long as they make a Protestation of 〈◊〉 owning the Supreme God alone for God and worship him accordingly though they render the Saints the same outward Adoration in all the Circumstances of it yet that cannot be supposed to invade his Worship But we find in Scripture that there is a certain outward Adoration which there are certain outward Circumstances to determine appropriated to God and the giving of this with any such Circumstances as in the construction of the Fact do determine it only to God to any Creature is condemned whatsoever the inward Intention of the mind may be of reserving to the Supreme God his own Prerogative And what shall we think then of the outward Adoration of the Saints performed in the Church of Rome which in all the Circumstances of it is the same with what is performed to God If this be not Idolatry then there is no merely outward Idolatry at all And the three Children might have given an outward Adoration to Nebuchadnezzar's graven Image so as they had but reserved or directed their inward Intention aright See what our Saviour saith to the Devil Luke 4. 8. Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him only shalt thou serve Where it was only outward Adoration or bowing down to him that the Devil did desire and not so as that he himself should be owned for the Supreme God or the Worship given to him with any such intention For he did not pretend in this Request to be the Supreme God or to challenge Worship as such for he in the same breath pretends that he had the disposal of all the Kingdoms of the World not in his own right but because it was delivered to him which implies an owning of a Supreme God above him But yet our Saviour refuses to render him such Adoration or to bow down to him for this general Reason only that thou shalt worship the Lord thy God alone without considering the distinction of supreme or inferior Worship or that the outward Adoration was to be determined by the inward Intention alone which the Devil would have been content to have left to him Nor doth he assign that as a Reason of his refusal that the Devil was a wicked Spirit but gives a Reason which would have been equally against it if he had been a good One. And the same Reason as much reaches us as it did him Col. 2. 14. Let no Man beguile you of your Reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of Angels intruding into those things which he hath not seen vainly puft up by his fleshly mind Where the Humility censured by the Apostle which is the ground of this Worship of Angels is not that which implies a submission to them themselves as Supreme Gods but that which implies a respect to the only Supreme God upon the same ground as what is now practised in the Church of Rome viz. That because the Majesty of God is so high and inaccessible as he is it becomes us therefore to sue to him by the Intercession and mediation of Angels as his special Favorites or to trouble those with our Devotions rather than him so much Which is a specious sort of Humility but is here notwithstanding condemned And the practice of praying to Saints in the Church of Rome being founded upon the same Reason is also liable to the same Apostolical Censure Rev. 19. 10. 22. 8 9. When St. John fell at the Feet of the Angel to worship him who shewed him these things The Angel forbad him See thou do it not for this reason I am of thy Fellow-Servants and of thy Brethren that have the Testimony of Jesus worship God. So that none of our Fellow-Creatures are to be worshipped but God alone Acts 10. 25. When Cornelius fell down at St. Peter's feet and worshipped him it could not be supposed that he intended to give him supreme Divine Adoration as God. But yet St. Peter took him up saying Stand up I my self also a◠a Man. For that reason alone refusing it And he is a Man too now he is in Heaven as well as he was then but only now he is out of his Body and more perfect in his Spirit As for what concerns the Virgin Mary in particular the same Reasons make it alike unlawful and idolatrous to pray to her as to pray to the other Saints Neither is there any thing of Prerogative left to her in this respect in the Scripture Luke 1. 46. Mary said My Soul doth magnify the Lord This is far enough from calling her self Lady according to the stile of the Litanies Vers 47. My Spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour She owns God for her Saviour which is far enough from calling her self the Salvation of others Vers 48. From henceforth all Generations shall call me Blessed She doth not say All Ages shall adore me and shall address their Prayers to me but all Generations shall call me Blessed as we do But Chap. 11. 27 28. When a certain Woman among the People said unto him Blessed is the Womb that bare thee and the Paps which thou hast sucked Then said he unto her Yea rather blessed are they that hear the Word of God and keep it How can this consist with such a strange Superiority as is pretended to belong to her John 2. 4. Jesus saith unto her Woman what have I to do with thee My Hour is not yet come Which our Saviour doth not speak out of any want of respect or love to her but to check her interposing in the Office and Work that was committed to him And can we believe then that she doth share with him in the Office of Mediator much less that she hath Authority to command him Mat. 12. 47 48. When a certain Man said unto him Behold thy Mother and thy Brethren stand without desiring to speak with thee He answered Who is my Mother and who are my Brethren And he stretched forth his Hands towards his Disciples and said Behold my Mother and my Brethren For whosoever shall do the Will of my Father which is in Heaven the same is my Brother and Sister and Mother There is neither here nor at any other time the least encouragement given to that Worship and Service that is performed to her He doth not bring out his Holy Mother before the People that stood round about nor say to them Behold the Queen of Heaven and Earth before whom every Knee should bow Behold the Ladder by which you shall ascend into Heaven and the Door by which you shall enter into Paradise see that ye place your Hopes and Confidence in her But rather gives certain Instructions quite contrary to prevent this Superstition As for what is pretended that there is no difference between begging the Prayers of our Brethren upon Earth and the Popish praying to Saints in Heaven to pray for us There is a vast difference our Brethren upon
who only was made to be Sin or a Sin-offering for us that we might be made the Righteousness of God i. e. treated as Righteous Persons in him and for his sake and not for the Merits and Satisfactions of others 2 Cor. 5. 21. And Vers 19. God was in Christ reconciling the World to himself not by the Satisfactions and Merits of Saints 1 Pet. 1. 19. Redeemed we are by the precious Blood of Christ as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot Which the Apostle implies it was needful he should be to become our Redemption but this cannot be said of the Sufferings of any Saint 1 Cor. 1. 30. He is made to us of God Wisdom and Righteousness and Sanctification and Redemption that according as it is written He that glorieth let him glory in the Lord and give him the praise and thanks of the whole Work and have no dependance upon the Sufferings and Satisfactions of Saints For Isa 43. 11. I am the Lord and besides me there is no Saviour And Col. 2. 10. Ye are compleat in him So that we have no need of Saints Satisfactions nor is it their Office and Business to satisfy but only Christ's We cannot do it for our selves nor others for us but he alone who is our Peace As was also proved before by the Texts of the foregoing Chapter There is none but Christ who by his Satisfactions and Intercessions doth answer for others Sins There is no meer Man that can answer for another Though God may and doth often shew Mercy to some Men with respect to others in many Instances according to his Covenant or for other holy and wise Ends it is not for the sake of any Merits and Satisfactions which others have offered for them nor doth he pardon Mens Sins or give them Life upon the account of such Merits and Satisfactions but deals with Men in that respect only according to their own Works and shows Mercy only in Christ and for his sake Gal. 6. 6 7. Let every Man prove his own Work and then shall he have rejoicing in himself and not in another For every Man shall bear his own Burden Exod. 32. 31. Moses said O this People have sinned a great Sin yet now if thou wilt forgive their Sin and if not blot me I pray thee out of the Book which thou hast written And the Lord said unto Moses Whosoever hath sinned against me him will I blot out of my Book The Prophet Moses was not admitted to bear the Punishment of the People but every Man was to bear his own Sin. Ezek. 18. 20. The Soul that sinneth the same shall die The Son shall not bear the Iniquity of the Father neither shall the Father bear the Iniquity of the Son. The Righteousness of the Righteous shall be upon him and the Wickedness of the Wicked shall be upon him Mat. 3. 9 10. Think not therefore to say within your selves We have Abraham to our Father every Tree which bringeth not forth good Fruit is hewen down and cast into the Fire ' T is not another's Righteousness will avail to our acceptation Hab. 2. 4. The Just shall live by his Faith not by the Faith of another 1 Cor. 3. 8. Every Man shall receive his own Reward according to his own Labour For 2 Cor. 5. 10. We must all appear before the Judgment-Seat of Christ that every Man may receive the things done in his Body according to that he hath done whether it be good or bad 1 Pet. 1. 17. For the Father judgeth without respect of Persons according to every Man's Work. In vain shall we alledge the Fasts and Alms of another He that serves God by a Proctor shall go to Hell in his own Person Mat. 25. 8 9. The foolish Virgins said unto the Wise Give us of your Oil for our Lamps are gone out They would fain have had a benefit in their Righteousness But the Wise answered saying Not so lest there be not enough for us and you It must be your own Righteousness that must serve you according to the Covenant of Grace in Christ And therefore Vers 35. one Man's good Works did not profit another but every one is judged according to his own Actions And it is Christ alone that satisfies for others and not any Saint with him or subordinate to him As 1 Cor. 1. 12 13. Every one of you saith I aâ— of Paul and I of Apollo and I of Cephas and I of Christ Which is equally blame-worthy in having recourse to their several Merits with Christ's as upon other respects Is Christ divided was Paul crucified for you or were ye baptized in the Name of Paul The same may we also say to those of the Church of Rome when one says I am of St. Francis I of St. Dominick and I of the Society of Jesus Is Jesus divided from Christ Was St. Francis crucified for you or were ye baptized in the Name of Dominick or Igâ—atius Loyola As for what the Apostle says Col. 1. 24. I now rejoice in my Sufferings for you and fill up that which is 〈◊〉 of the Afflictions of Christ in my Flâ—sh for his Body's sake which is the Church It is not meant that he suffered to satisfy for their Sins as if any thing were wanting in the meritorious Sufferings of Christ to that end God forbid But it was for the Church's good that the Apostles suffered to give them an Example of Constancy c. And the Sufferings of the Members of Christ are called Christ's Sufferings 2 Cor. 1. 5. And they are partakers of Christ's Sufferings 1 Pet. 4. 13. They being predestinated to be conformed to their Head Rom. 8. 29. They are to suffer as he did and so by degrees to fill up the Sufferings that are designed for the whole Body of Christ and then at last also they shall reign with him but that by his Gift and Purchase alone Rev. 2. 10. And Rev. 7. 14. These are they which came out of great Tribulation and have washed their Robes and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb therefore are they before the Throne of God. Now if there be no Satisfactions for Sin made by any Man or Men but only Christ and much less superabounding Satisfactions and Merits for others above what any one hath need of him then there can be no Treasury of these in the Church for the use of others that want For there can be no Treasury of that that is not And what need can there be of it when Christ's own Satisfaction is sufficient in all Cases And if there be no such Treasury in the Church for the benefit of others to be dispens'd then the Pope nor any one else is the Dispenser for he cannot dispense it if it be not If it be not in his hands to give he cannot give it or rather sell for they do not use to be very free of their Gifts And then consequently the use of Pardons and Indulgences for
the dispensing out of these superabounding Merits and Satisfactions to others is a vain thing For this is to pretend to give that that is not than which what can be more vain And consequently to sell about these Indulgences for Mony and thereby to give People hope of Pardon of their Sins is both to cheat and deceive their Souls and pick their Pockets by pretending to sell to them that that is not But suppose there were such a Treasury why must the Pope be the Dispenser Why should it not be supposed that that is left in the hands of Christ Jesus alone who is only able to discern who are fit to have benefit thereby and who hath the Key of David who openeth and no Man shutteth and who shutteth and no Man openeth Rev. 3. 7. But whatsoever Satisfactious or Merits even of Christ himself any Person hath share in Surely these are not to be sold by Mony nor hath any one an application thereof made to him by such a Traffick but upon his Faith and Repentance alone which Christ alone and not Man can judg of the sincerity of and accordingly apply the Benefits of his Redemption Indulgences of Canonical Penance in the Church upon the humiliation and submission of the Penitents are allowed But Indulgences to dispense an imaginary Treasury of imaginary Satisfactions and there to be bought by Mony or some very slight Performances are a bold and unaccountable rashness and presumption CHAP. XIX That there is a Purgatory or place of Torment after this Life for the expiation of the Sins of good Men that are not sufficiently purged here And that the Souls there detained are help'd by the Masses Prayers Alms and other good Works of the Living Council of Trent Sess 6. Can. 30. Sess 25. Decret de Purgat THE Foundation upon which this Doctrine of Purgatory is built is That there is a Debt of Temporal Punishment remaining to be paid even by those that are absolved and in a state of Grace tho the Eternal Punishment be forgiven And that every Man therefore must undergo these Temporal Pains in proportion to his Sins Christ having not at all satisfied for them And if this be not done in this Life that then it must be done in the next in Purgatory before a Man can have entrance into Heaven Now this having been refuted before and it having been proved that Christ hath satisfied fully for all our Sins and that we have compleat and perfect Remission of Sin through the free Grace of God upon the account alone of Christ's meritorious Satisfaction and so that there is no proper Satisfaction to be made by us for Sin at all the Foundation upon which Purgatory is built is taken away And all those Texts serve to the refuting of it which are before produc'd to prove the compleatness of our Saviour's Satisfaction and of the free Remission of our Sins upon it But yet if it were admitted that there were a reserve of some proper Satisfactory Punishments which God may think fit to inflict upon some Men in some Cases here yet unless it could be proved that this were a perpetual Ordinance and perpetually observed by God it would not signify any thing to the purpose of what is intended And yet if this were admitted likewise that it were perpetually so here yet what is this to prove a Purgatory hereafter For who can tell but for such Punishments as are to be undergone it may be all done here unless God reveals to us to the contrary But there being neither one nor other of these things proved but the contrary rather appearing we cannot otherwise think of Purgatory but that 't is a fond Thing vainly invented Moreover 't is directly contrary to all those Texts of Scripture that assert the Happiness and Rest of the Saints after this Life As Isa 57. 1 2. The Righteous is taken away from the Evil to come He shall enter into Peace they shall rest in their Beds Is this to be taken away from the Evil to come to be put into a condition where they must undergo heavier Is that to enter into Peace and to be at Rest to be burning in Fire seven times hotter than ours and which differs from that in Hell in nothing but in respect of duration Rev. 14. 13. Blessed are the Dead that die in the Lord from henceforth that they may rest from their Labours and their Works do follow them that is their good Works in the gracious Reward that is given them not their Sins and Punishments Now all the Faithful that die die in the Lord Rom. 14. 5. So that they all rest from their Labours But to be tormented in burning Fire sure that is not to rest from their Labours but to be put to worse In the Book of Wisdom which the Church of Rome holds for Canonical and therefore cannot deny its Testimony Chap. 3. 1. it is said The Souls of the Righteous are in the Hand of God and there shall no torment touch them What can be more express John 5. 24. Our saviour says Verily verily I say unto you That he who heareth my Word and believeth on him that sent me hath eternal Life and shall not come into condemnation but is passed from Death to Life Note that it is not said That he who believeth in Jesus Christ shall pass from Death unto Torment but he that shall pass from Death to Life that is a blessed Life for the other would be to pass from Death to Death at least for a while Therefore 2 Cor. 5. 1. We know saith the Apostle that if our earthly House of this Tabernacle were dissolved we have a Building of God an House not made with Hands eternal in the Heavens It is not Purgatory then or a Place of Torment that the Saints remove into when they remove from their Bodies And therefore saith he vers 2. In this we groan earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our House which is from Heaven But if Death were followed with Torment so horrible as those are represented to be which are in Purgatory there would be reason rather for one to be affrighted at it and to fly from it than to desire it with so much ardour and earnestness and to wish to continue in this present state of Life still for fear of the worst Yet again vers 6 7 8. Whilst we are at home in the Body we are absent from the Lord and are willing rather to be absent from the Body and to be present with the Lord. Implying that that would be presently upon the leaving the Body Now our Lord sure is in Heaven and not in Purgatory Therefore so shall the Saints be also when they die Hence saith the Apostle Phil. 1. 21. To me to live is Christ and to die is Gain But according to the Romish Church to die is a damage to us The fear of Purgatory may make the best Men fearful of dying But vers 23. I am in a
be so is also plain because our Saviour gave it to his Disciples as his Blood shed But his own natural Blood then was not shed unless they will say it was shed before he suffered for this was before his Suffering So that it must needs be understood only figuratively that the Wine poured forth did signify and represent the Blood of his which was shortly to be shed for Sinners and by which the New Testament was confirmed And for that end and because of the use of it mentioned it has the name of the Blood given to it the Sign having the name of the thing signified And though it be thus only in a figurative and not in a proper sense that we are to understand the words of the Institution yet the Benefit and Comfort of the Sacrament will be nevertheless For it may be of equal efficacy and advantage to us if we outwardly receive only the Symbols as if we received the very Body and Blood of Christ themselves for the efficacy doth not lie in the thing received but in the Blessing that goes along with the Institution As the Water in Baptism without a substantial change in the Element with the Divine Blessing is equally serviceable to the Ends of that Sacrament as if there were a substantial change So 1 Cor. 10. 16. The Bread which we brake is it not the Communion of the Body of Christ We may have Communion with the Body of Christ by partaking of the Bread. As Idolaters may have fellowship with Devils by partaking of the Sacrifices offered to them without having the substance of the things sacrificed to them turned into the substance of Devils 1 Cor. 10. 20. So Believers may have fellowship with Christ by partaking of the Bread and Wine instituted for that End without having the substance of the Bread and Wine changed into the substance of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ We see then it is highly reasonable and necessary to understand the words of Institution as other figurative Expressions of the like nature are to be understood And there is not the least inconvenience or absurdity will follow upon it But to understand them in the sense of Transubstantiation is highly unreasonable and is against the being and design of the Scripture and is also monstrously absurd If the Bread and Wine in the Sacrament be turned into the Body and Blood of Christ then Christ must be with us still with his bodily Presence which is against the whole current of Scripture for he is ascended into Heaven and therefore he is not here Acts 3. 21. The Heavens must receive or retain him until the time of restitution of all things And how is he then in the hands of the Priest Col. 3. 1. Christ sits at the right Hand of God and there we must seek him and not in the hands of a Priest or upon the Altar For said he John 16. 28. I leave the World and go to the Father And therefore in his absence he promised the People another Comforter who should abide with them and supply his place John 14. 10. But Henceforth saith the Apostle 2 Cor. 5. 16. we know him no more after the Flesh he abiding in us only by his Spirit and we know him only by Faith. We are not like the Disciples of the Prophet Elijah who sought on Earth for their Master whom God had taken up into Heaven 2 King. 2. Our Saviour sâ—ith Mat. 26. 11. The Poor ye have always with you but me ye have not always Whereas if he be every where in the Mass we may have him with us always as much as the Apostles had him And when our Saviour told them they had always the Poor with them whom they might shew kindness to but not him and therefore they should not grudg at the expence of a box of Ointment upon him If they had been of the Miâ—d of the Church of Rome they might have answered Lord we shall have thee with us as long as we shall have the Poor and this cost which this poor Woman hath been at is nothing in comparison of what shall one day be laid out upon Thee in hâ—â—ging the Streets with Tapestry in â—â—ecking the Altar◠〈◊〉 inclosing Thee in rich and â—ostly Pieces and in sâ—â—ting Thee up 〈◊〉 stately and magnificent Mansions But then if Christ's Body be with us it seems he must be invisible also and not to be felt which is contrary to the nature of an humane Body In which he is made like unto us Heb. 2. 17. To be invisible is to be more like a Spirit which hath not Flesh and 〈◊〉 Luke 24. 39 40. If the Body of Christ be also in the small Wafer of the Sacrament he must be without proper extension suitable to the nature of an humane Body And if he be whole in every Wafer of the Sacrament he must be whole in many places at once Which is a contradiction for then he would have a Body which is one and not one but many as the places are in which he wholly is And it is against the reasoning of the Angel Mat. 28. 5 6. He is not here for he is risen But according to this Doctrine he might be there and risen too and then the Angel's reasoning was not good And then Christ might be distant from himself as that Body now which is at London would be distant from that that is at Rome many hundred miles and that Body which is at Rome may meet that Body which is at London and so it would be the same and not the same and the same would move towards and meet it self And then Christ's Body might move and not move at the same time and it might be carried and not carried and it might be eaten and not eaten in one place eaten with Rats and at another place worship'd and might be glorious and not be glorious and innumerable such Absurdities follow upon this sensless and unreasonable Doctrine Besides the barbariâ—y and bloodiness of eating and drinking humane Flesh and Blood and devouring ones God. And then the most wicked Men may receive Christ with the mouths of their Body and likewise eat his Flesh and drink his Blood. But Christ tells us this we only do now by believing in him John 6. For the Flesh profiteth nothing The Wicked having not Faith have no part in him they do not dwell in Christ nor Christ in them as they that eat his Flesh and drink his Blood do John 6. 56. And therefore it must be understood spiritually and by Faith. To conclude We have as much assurance that Transubstantiation is false as that Christianity is true that is our Sense and Reason in concurrence with the Holy Scripture And is not this a goodly Doctrine which if granted would raze the Foundation of the Christian Faith and reduce us to the vastest Uncertainty so that we could reasonably believe nothing For what can we be certain of at all if not
contrary to all those places before which assert the perfection and sufficiency of Christ's one Offering made on the Cross Besides there can be no Propitiation made by any Offering without the destruction of the Offering in the stead of him for whom the Offering is made But now in the Sacrifice of the Mass there is no destruction of the Offering as our Adversaries themselves allow Heb. 9. 22. Almost all things are by the Law purged with Blood and without shedding of Blood there is no remission But now in the Mass there is no shedding of Blood for they say That is an unbloody Sacrifice And how can that be a Sacrifice for Propitiation and Remission then An unbloody undestroyed Sacrifice and yet a propitiatory Sacrifice cannot stand together but are inconsistent And the Apostle argues vers 25 26. That it was not needful that Christ should offer himself often as the high Priest entreth into the holy Place every Year with the Blood of others quite contrary to what the Church of Rome pretends which teacheth that Christ doth offer himself often by the hands of the Priest in the Mass the very self-same Offering too that he offered himself upon the Cross for then must he often have suffered since the Foundation of the World. Offering and Suffering are join'd together so that if there be an Offering there must be a Suffering and if there be no Suffering of Christ in the Mass then there can be no Offering But now saith the Apostle Once hath he appeared in the end of the World to put away Sin by the Sacrifice of himself And as it is appointed to all Men once to die but after this the Judgment so Christ was once offered when he suffered and died as a Sacrifice to bear the Sins of many and unto them that look for him he shall appear the second time without Sin or suffering for Sin unto Salvation So that the time of Christ's Suffering is past and so therefore is the time of his Offering to put away Sin by the Sacrifice of himself And there is no more Offering of Christ to be to the end of the World because there is no more dying or suffering The propitiatory Sacrifice of the Mass then is a meer vain pretence Neither hath Christ instituted a Priesthood upon Earth to offer such a Sacrifice as is pretended for he himself is the only Priest Heb. 7. 23 24. They truly under the Law of Moses were many Priests because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death But this Man Jesus Christ because he continueth for ever hath an unchangeable Priesthood That is The Levitical Priests were a number of Men succeeding one another by which Succession provision was made for the continuation of the Priesthood which otherwise must have expired through the mortality of the Priests But Christ hath no Successor in his Priesthood which does not pass from him to any other for that is the meaning of the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 here rendred unchangeable because he himself is not mortal but continueth for ever So that as he continues for ever so he continues the only Priest for ever Vers 25. Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them The Salvation which he works is not by virtue of any new Sacrifice or the repetition of what he hath offered but by virtue of his Intercession which is founded upon the Sacrifice which he offered on Earth He ever living to make this Intercession thereby obtains and applies to us the infinite Merit of his Death without the repetition of the Sacrifice for our Salvation And it is the Spirit of Christ which he hath obtained by his Sacrifice and Intercession to be his Vicegerent now upon Earth in his absence that by his Grace enables us to believe and so applies to us the benefit of our Saviour's Death without which ten thousand Sacrifices repeated would be of no value to us It is to be observed that while the Chief Priest was in the Sanctuary there was never any Sacrifice offered Levit. 16. But now Jesus Christ is in Heaven prefigured by the Sanctuary Heb. 9. Therefore whilst Christ is in Heaven there is no other true and proper Sacrifice to be offered for now the Offering is ceased The Sacrifices now are Prayers and Praises which Christ hath made all his People Priests so far as to offer these Spiritual Sacrifices 1 Pet. 2. 5. Rev. 1. 6. and Rom. 12. 1. the Sacrifice of Christians consists in offering themselves to God by an holy Life and not in offering Jesus Christ who having offered himself over upon the Cross is now at the right Hand of God where he makes intercession for us but is never more to be offered for us As for Melchisedeck's pretended Offering of Bread and Wine which they say did but typify the Offering of Christ under the Species of Bread and Wine in the Sacrament and so is to be continued by it Gen. 14. 18. 'T is plain that he brought forth Bread and Wine not to offer to God but to refresh Abraham's Men. What he did as a Priest was in his priestly blessing of Abraham The Apostle makes not the least mention of his Offering when he compares him with Christ but makes Christ to be of his Order upon other accounts Besides tho Christ himself be a Priest after the Order of Melchisedeck yet it is plain before that Christ had no Successor in his Priesthood but is the only Priest himself after this Order From 1 Cor. 10. 16 17 18 19 20. it cannot be inferred that in the Sacrament there is an Altar and Sacrifice as there was among the Jews and Heathens but only that they who partake of the Lord's Supper have as truly Communion with him and thereby do testify their Communion with him and owning his Religion as they who fed upon the Sacrifices of the Gentiles that were offered to Devils did thereby testify their Communion with Devils The Comparison is made not between the things themselves which are in themselves of a different Nature but between the Actions of the Men and their signification which is the same in both sides and bears the same construction CHAP. XXVII That the Host is to be worshipped in the Sacrament with Divine Worship and to be solemnly carried about and shewed to the People to be worshipped Council of Trent Sess 13. Chap. 5. Can. 6. WE do not deny but that Christ may be lawfully adored and worshipp'd by us in the time of the celebration of the Lord's Supper but this doth not serve the turn of the Church of Rome which defines that Adoration be given to the Sacrament That the Sacrament is nevertheless to be adored because it was instituted to be received And the Adoration is not fix'd in the Person of Christ as separate from the Host but as making one Object of Worship together with it
use of the Bread too as well as the Cup or else they ought to continue both aâ— there is the same Command for both Vers 26. For as often as ye eat this Bread and drink this Cup ye do shew the Lord's Death till be come So that they must drink this Cup as well as eat this Bread to shew the Lord's Death This is to be done by both together and not by either singly And all those for whom Christ died then are obliged to shew his Death in the Sacrament by the use of the Cup as well as by the use of the Bread. But Christ died not only for the Priests or Ministers of the Gospel but also for the People And therefore this order concerns both Vers 28. But let a Man examine himself and so let him eat of that Bread and drink of that Cup. This is spoken to the People of Corinth and it is plain from many Passages in this and the foregoing Chapter that the People of the Church of Corinth did drink of the Cup and committed great excess in their drinking But notwithstanding this Abuse the Apostle doth not presume to alter the Institution or to take it away And what shall we thinkâ— then of the presumptuous boldness of the Church of Rome that dares to do this in manifest defiance of and open contradiction to our Saviour's Command and Institution and without the least colour of any good reason If they say whole Christ is contained in the Bread was it not so in the beginning of our Saviour's Institution as well as now And if our Saviour notwithstanding instituted the Cup how do they dare to take it away upon this vain Presumption as if they knew better than our Saviour what was fit to be done This Doctrine of Concomitancy of the Blood with the Body did not keep our Saviour from instituting the Cup and how comes it to be so good a Reason now to take away what he was instituted He hath appointed different Symbols one for his Body alone and another for his Blood as shed and separated from his Body the one to eat and the other to drink And how should the Bread which is to be eaten which represents his Body without the Blood represent to us the Blood as shed and separated from his Body by way of concomitancy when they are considered as asunder If so then the Blood of Christ must be eaten too with the Bread but is not drank whereas our Saviour instituted the Cup as a Symbol of his Blood shed and so to be drank apart as the Symbol of it and not eat by way of concomitancy with the Bread which is the particular Symbol or Figure of his Body But some have urged that some of the Blood may be apt to hang upon Mens Beards and so be profaned and therefore for this reason the People ought not to have the use of the Cup. As if there were not Beards in our Saviour's Time also as well as now but they were new sprung up or new come in fashion in these latter Ages But it seems our Saviour did not consider this very weighty Reason SOME PREJUDICES OF THE Church of ROME Answered SECT I. They accuse our Doctrine of Novelty THIS the Pharisees likewise alledged against our Lord Jesus Christ and urged the same Prejudices Mark 1. 27. They question among themselves saying What thing is this What new Doctrine is this And Acts 17. 19. St. Paul being brought to Areopagus they demanded of him May we know what this New Doctrine whereof thou speakest is So likewise this is the Tone of the Romish Doctors who call the Reformation an upstart Religion and say that our Doctrine is new and still are insisting upon the thread-bare Question Where was your Religion before Luther As the Ancient Heathens no doubt would be almost perpetually questioning the Jews in the same manner Where was your Religion before Abraham And the same Answer for substance will serve for our Defence that would do for theirs For as our Saviour said to the Pharisees Whatever they may pretend about the Antiquity of their Religion the like the Jews might say to the Heathen and so we may say to the Church of Rome That from the beginning it was not so Idolatry and the worship of Idols was not from the beginning So neither was the Mass Purgatory worship of Images Invocation of Saints believed or taught from the beginning of Christianity But our Religion is as ancient as Christianity it self as the Jewish Religion in worshipping the True God in opposition to the Heathen Idolatry was as old as that of Noah or Enoch or Adam For we believe and receive nothing as absolutely necessary to Salvation but what our Saviour and his Apostles taught and delivered to the World and what is contained in the Ancient Creeds But as the Worship of the one True God and the True Religion was greaâ—ly corrupted in the Ancient Times which Abraham was raised up to reform and so his Reformation was new in comparison of the Abuses that were before So indeed the Reformation of the Corruptions and Errors which for many Ages had obtained in these Western Parts of the World did not begin very long ago And if this be accused of Novelty we cannot help that but are sorry it was no sooner All Reformation is new in comparison of the Abuses that went before and so therefore was that set aâ—oot by Luther But how could this be remedied unless there should be no Reformation at all or because things are once â—ad they should never be better For they cannot be better without being reformed and whenever a Reformation begins it is certainly New. So that the Question is Whether those were Errors and Abuses which the Reformation cut off and so whether it were a Reformation really or no And if this be so as may appear in part by the foregoing Treatise then the Reformation justifies it self though it was pâ—â—y it had not been sooner And all those Negative Articles which we hold in opposition to the Errors of the Church of Rome and which now make up part of our Confession of Faith in opposition to those Errors are only New because the Reformation is New. And so it must be whensoever Men renounce or protest against Errors or unless they will err still SECT II. They say That we had no Call. THey say we had no Call to do as we did we had no Call to separate from the Church of Rome or to set aâ—oot this pretended Reformation But were those Errors or no which the Church of Rome taught And were they Innovations and Corruptions or no which they practised If they were as hath appeared in part before have we no Call to renounce Errors or to reject Corruptions or must there never be a Reformation of Things that are amiss If they say we should have stay'd till the Church had done it If they mean by the Church the Church of Rome we see it
is not done yet and how long then should we have stayed For these very Things which the Reformation rejects are still defended by her and all the Protestations and Applications that have been made to her have had no effect upon her to procure a Reformation on her part and we do not know when they will have But why must we stay till the Church of Rome had ordered the Reformation which we see would have been long enough What is the Church of Rome to us but as a Sister Church whatever she pretends of her Catholicism and Masterdom or Mistresship over the rest of the Churches which is refuted before And what hath she to do then to control our Reformation or to oblige us to stay her leisure Or why have not Princes and National Churches in themselves full Power and Authority to reform what is to be reformed in their own Precincts We see what the good Kings of the Jews Asa Hezekiah Josiah did And what did we do but what in a like case they did before And if the Church of Rome had had never so much an Authority over us yet if upon due Applications she would not reform Errors and redress Abuses and yet these Errors and Abuses be of a most pestilent and dangerous Nature to the Souls of Men and most contrary to the true Religion must we therefore persist in these false Beliefs and Practices whilst she thinks fit to retain them And hazard our Eternal Salvation in rejecting Divine Truth and contradicting the Light of our Minds and the true Gospel-Doctrine meerly out of respect to her Or must we not provide for our own wellfare our selves without which we should run the hazard of Eternal Perdition if others will not do it who ought Now this was the very Case The Corruptions of the Church of Rome were so very great both in Faith and Worship as may appear partly by this little Treatise and were so very dangerous and fatal to Mens Souls and so universally spread and so stifly maintained that there was no hope of a Reformation of them by that Church but the Council that was assembled to remove Corruptions setled them the stronger Because they could not be brought to a better mind to renounce these Errors must we therefore continue to err for company Or when we could no longer hold Communion with them without having a Communion in these Corruptions had we not a just cause then of separation from them Jer. 51. 9. We would have healed Babylon and she is not healed forsake her and let us go every one to his own Country It is just the same in our Case we have remonstrated to the Church of Rome her Errors and she hath not reformed them but on the contrary she hath excommunicated and persecuted with Fire and Sword those that have publish'd the Truth and therefore we had just cause to abandon her Communion 2 Cor. 6. 17 18. Wherefore come out from among them and be ye separate saith the Lord and touch not the unclean thing and I will receive you and be a Father unto you and ye shall be my Sons and Daughters saith the Lord Almighty And Rev. 18. 4. Come out of her my People that ye be not partakers of her Sins and that ye receive not of her Plagues Here is our Call to do as we have done when we could no longer abide in the Communion of the Church of Rome without being defiled with her Sins and partaking of the Torment which is prepared for her we were then obliged to come out of her Rom. 16. 17. I beseech you Brethren mark them which cause Divisions and Offences contrary to the Doctrine which ye have learned and avoid them This we say the Church of Rome hath done so that we are required by the Apostle to mark and avoid them For Gal. 1. 9. Whosoever preacheth saith he another Gospel than that which ye have received let him be accursed And we have seen that the Church of Rome hath corrupted the Doctrine of the Gospel in many and very great Instances so that it looks like another Gospel than what was preach'd by our Saviour and his Apostles 1 John 5. 21. Little Children keep your selves from Idols And if the Church of Rome be guilty of Idolatry as hath been proved and we cannot keep to them without keeping to her Idolatry must we not then keep our selves from both For it is in vain to pretend that their Doctrines that is we say their Corruption is antient This was no warrant to the Jews formerly to follow the old Heathen Customs because of their Antiquity But saith Joshua Chap. 24. 14 15. Put away the Gods which your Fathers have served on the other side of the Flood and is Egypt and serve the Lord. And if it seem evil to you to serve the Lord chuse you this day whom you will serve whether the Gods which your Fathers served that were on the other side of the Flood or the Gods of the Amorites in whose Land ye dwell but as for me and my House we will serve the Lord. The like we say doth concern us And if others will persist still in their false Worship it doth not follow that we should do so too And therefore if the Worship of the Church of Rome be such as we prove it is in many Instances we are bound to renounce it though it were never so Ancient yea though it were older than Noah's Flood SECT III. They object to us the Divisions that are among the Reformed BUT what do they get by this Because there are Divisions among the Reformed is therefore the Reformation it self evil Or because we are divided among our selves in some things and some of us then must be in the Wrong doth it therefore follow that they are in the Right If this be an Argnment against the Reformation the same might have been an Argument against Christianity it self For as soon as Christianity spread it self abroad were there not Divisions then too amongst those that embrac'd it Some were for retaining the legal Ordinances and mixing the Ceremonies of the Law with the Gospel of Christ with whom the Apostles had great contention Some very famous Churches were leavened with this Error as that was which was in Galatia Other strange Heresies were broach'd in the Church of Corinth and obtained amongst many even in the Apostles Days And there soon arose many others that corrupted the Faith of the Gospel both in the Apostolical and following Ages Gnosticks Valentinians Marcionites Arians c. which spread far and wide and continued a long time Was this now a just Objection against Christianity that there were Divisions and Heresies among those that profess'd themselves Christians And how comes it then to be so mighty an Argument now against the Reformation We are sorry indeed to see it fall out so that there should be no better agreement amongst the Reformed and that there should any Heresies spring out of
Christ for the edifying of the Church Ephes 4. 11 12. He gave some Apostles and some Prophets and some Evangelists and some Pastors and Teachers for the perfecting of the Saints for the Work of the Ministry for the edifying of the Body of Christ till we all come in the Vnity of the Faith c. But not one word of such an Office as that of supreme Pastor or universal Sovereign over all Which we may be sure he would not have omitted if such an Office had been so necessary to the aforesaid Ends as is pretended CHAP. IX That the Pope hath power over Kings to Excommunicate and Depose them and can give Power to resist Soveraign Princes and can absolve Subjects from their Allegiance And that all Ecclesiastical Persons are exempted from the Jurisdiction of Secular Courts The 3d General Council of Lateran Cap. 27. 14. The 4th of Lateran Can. 3. de Haereticis Can. 43. Council of Lions Ann. 1245. Council of Constance Sess 17. Council of Trent Decret de Reformat Cap. 12. THis vast and exorbitant Power being founded upon the Pope's Headship over the Church which is refuted before there needs no new Arguments here for the confutation hereof For it is not pretended that the Pope hath a proper and direct temporal Soveraignty but as a necessary Consequent to and appendix of his Spiritual and for the promoting the Ends thereof The Pope can change Kingdoms take them from one and give them to another as the soveraign spiritual Prince if this be necessary to the Salvation of Souls Which are the words of Bellarmiâ—◠〈◊〉 Rom. Pontif. lib. 5. cap. 6. So that the same Arguments produced before to refute the spiritual Soveraignty serve also to overthrow the temporal and more strongly this having only relation to the former and inferr'd from it by far-fetch'd Consequences without the least intimation from Scripture And the exemption of all Ecclesiastical Persons from the Temporal Power is grounded likewise upon the same Papal Headship For he being supposed to be their supreme Governor and Soveraign is to take cognizance of all Causes that have relation to them as their proper Judg. And this being the Consequent of such a Principle the Principle being overthrown the Consequence must also fall with it And then there remains no other Power upon Earth to which the Clergy are to be subject as their supreme Governor under God and Christ but soveraign Princes and States in their several Dominions But yet this pretended Exemption of the Clergy may be likewise farther confuted from the following Texts Rom. 13. 1 2. Let every Soul be subject unto the higher Powers meaning the supreme Civil Authority whatsoever it is whether Emperor King c. in their several Dominions Here 's an universal Assertion respecting all Persons under such Authorities and no exemption of any For there is no such Power lawfully constituted but of God The Powers that be are ordainded of God. Wherefore he that resisteth the Power resisteth the Ordinance of God and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation So that there is no Power whatever that can absolve Subjects from their Allegiance to the supreme Magistrate or free them from his Jurisdiction lawfully constituted For he beareth not the Sword in vain 't is his part to bear and wield and Sword of Justice For he is the Minister of God to execute Wrath upon him that doth evil and to punish Offenders And therefore Ecclesiastical Persons as â—ell as others if they do evil against the Laws of God and a lawful Government are liable to the just execution of punishments inflicted by such Governours But it is well known that the Republick of Venice was put under an Interdict for having began a Process against an Abbot and a Canon who were notoriously criminal and punishable 1 Pet. 2. 13 14. See also St. Peter ' s Judgment Submit your selves to every Ordinance of Man for the Lord's sake whether it be to the King as Supreme or unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evil Doers and for the praise of them that do well He doth not say Submit your selves to me as the supreme Head of the Church neither saith he Submit your selves from time to time to my Successor in Rome but submit your selves to the King as Supreme And how could he more manifestly teach subjection which all Persons of whatsoever Condition and Quality should render unto him For he makes no exception of the Clergy but this Epistle is directed to them as well as others See Chap. 5. Tit. 3. 1. See here again to the same purpose St. Paul Put them in mind to be subject to Principalities and Powers and to obey Magistrates Who were these that Titus was to put in mind to be subject but those who by St. Paul's direction were committed to his care and teaching among which we find the Elders and Bishops of the Churches Chap. 1. 4 5. these were some of those then whom Titus was to put in mind to be subject Aaron was Elder Brother to Moses and chief Priest yet nevertheless he was subject to Moses and called him his Lord Exod. 32. 21 22. And Moses said unto Aaron What did this People unto thee that thou hast brought so great a Sin upon them viz. of the Golden Calf of which they spake And Aaron said Let not the Anger of my Lord wax hot thou knowest the People that they are set on mischief And Numb 12. 11. Aaron said unto Moses Alas my Lord lay not this Sin upon us wherein we have done foolishly and wherein we have sinned for he and Miriam had murmured against Moses The chief Priests were subject to the Kings of Israel For which you need but read the Books of Kings See one Example hereof to which no reply can be made 1 King. 2. 26 27. Vnto Abiather the Priest said King Solomon Get thee to Anathoth unto thine own Fields for thou art worthy of Death but I will not at this time put thee to death because thou bearest the Ark of God before David my Father c. So Solomon thrust out Abiathar from being Priest unto the Lord. But now under the New Testament saith Cardinal Bonaventure the Temporal Rule is subject to the Priesthood and Popes may now degrade Kings and depose Emperors as this hath often come to pass But wherein is the difference and where is the proof of this impious Assertion St. Paul pleadeth his cause before Felix a secular Judg and doth not except against the Jurisdiction of the Court Acts 24. And so again before Festus Acts 25. But now the meanest Priest and the poorest Monk of them all where he can refuseth to appear before the secular Judges And it is a received Maxim The Pope ought to judg all the World and be judged himself of no Body Distinct 40. Can. Si Pape At last St. Paul appeals unto Cesar Acts 25. 10 11. Then said Paul I stand at Cesar