God but without that is forth of the Church are dogs enâ—hanters whoremongers adulterers c. And the Arke out of which all perished figured the Church out of which al are condemned And for this cause Saint Luke saith that the Lord added to the Church from day to day such as should be saued And the reason hereof is plaine for without Christ there is no saluation but out of the militant church there is no Christ nor faith in Christ and therefore no saluation Againe forth of the militant church there are no meanes of saluation no preaching of the word no inuocation of Gods name no Sacraments and therefore no saluation For this cause euery man must be admonished euermore to ioyne himselfe to some particular church beeing a sound member of the Catholike church The third rule is that the church which here we beleeue is onely one As Christ himselfe speaketh My doue is alone and my vndefiled is the onely daughter of her mother And as there is onely one God and one Redeemer one faith one baptisme and one way of saluation by Christ onely so there is but one church alone The Catholike church hath two parts the church Triumphant in heauen and the church Militant on earth The Triumphant church may thus be described It is a companie of the spirits of iust men triumphing ouer the flesh the deuill and the world praising God First I say it is a companie of the spirits of men as the holy Ghost expressely tearmeth it because the soules onely of the godly departed as of Abraham Isaac Iacob Dauid c. are as yet ascended into heauen and not their bodies Furthermore the properties of this companie are two The first is to make triumph ouer their spirituall enemies the flesh the deuill the world for the righteous man so long as he liues in this world is in continuall combate without truce with al the enemies of his saluation and by constant faith obtaining victorie in the ende of his life he is translated in glorious and triumphant maner into the kingdome of glorie This was signified to Iohn in a vision in which he saw an innumerable companie of all sorts of nations kinreds people and tongues stand before the Lambe clothed in long white robes with palmes in their handes in token that they had beene warriours but now by Christ haue gotten the victorie and are made conquerours Their second propertie is to praise and magnifie the name of God as it followeth in the former place saying Amen praise and glorie and wisdome and thankes honour power and might be vnto our God for euermore Hence it may be demanded whether Angels be of this Triumphant church or no Ans. The blessed Angels be in heauen in the presence of God the Father the Sonne and the holy Ghost but they are not of the mysticall bodie of Christ because they are not vnder him as he is their redeemer considering they can not be redeemed which neuer fell and it can not be prooued that they now stand by the vertue of Christs redemption but they are vnder him as he is their Lord and King and by the power of Christ as he is God and their God are they confirmed And therfore as I take it we can not say that Angels are members of the mysticall bodie of Christ or of the triumphaÌ„t church though indeed they be of the coÌ„pany of the blessed The church Militant may be thus described It is the companie of the elect or faithfull liuing vnder the crosse desiring to be remooued and to be with Christ. I say not that the Militant church is the whole bodie of the elect but onely that part thereof which liueth vpon earth and the infallible marke thereof is that faith in Christ which is taught and deliuered in the writings of the Prophets and Apostles and this faith againe may be discerned by two markes The first is that the members of this companie liue vnder the crosse and profit by it in all spirituall grace And therefore it is said that we must through many afflictions enter into the kingdome of heauen And our Sauiour Christ saith If any man will come after me let him denie himselfe and take vp his crosse euery day and follow me The second marke is a desire to depart hence and to be with Christ as Paul saith We loue rather to be remooued out of this bodie and to be with Christ. And againe I desire to be loosed and to be with Christ which is best of all Where yet we must remember that the members of Christ doe not desire death simply and absolutely but in two respects I. that they might leaue off to sinne and by sinning leaue to displease God II. That they might come to enioy happines in heauen and to be with Christ. Touching the generall estate of the Militant church two questions are to be considered The first how farre forth God is present with it assisting it by his grace Ans. God giues his spirit vnto it in such a measure that although the gates of hell can not preuaile against it yet neuerthelesse it remaines still subiect to errour both in doctrine and manners For that which is true in euery member of the church is also true in the whole but euery member of the Militant church is subiect to errour both in doctrine and manners because men in this life are but in part enlightened and sanctified and therefore still remaine subiect to blindnesse of minde and ignorance and to the rebellion of their wills and affections whereby it comes to passe that they may easily faile either in iudgement or in practise Againe that which may befall one or two particular churches may likewise befall all the particular churches vpon earth all beeing in one and the same condition but this may befall one or two particular churches to faile either in doctrine or manners The church of Ephesus failed in leauing her first loue whereupon Christ threatneth to remooue from her the candlesticke And the church of Galatia was remooued to an other Gospell from him that had called them in the grace of Christ now why may not the same things befall twentie yea an hundred churches which befell these twaine Lastly experience sheweth this to be true in that generall Councels haue erred The Councell of Nice beeing to reforme sundrie behauiours among the Bishops and Elders would with common consent haue forbidden marriage vnto them thinking it profitable to be so vnlesse Paphnutius had better informed them out of the Scriptures In the third Councell at Carthage certaine bookes Apocrypha as the booke of Syrach Tobie and the Macchabees are numbred in the Canon and yet were excluded by the Councell of Laodicea And the saying of a Diuine is receiued that former Councels are to be reformed and amended by the latter But Papists maintaining that the Church can not erre alleadge the promise of Christ Howbeit
consecration of the host in which they make their Breaden-god in exorcismes ouer holy bread holy water and salt in the casting out or driuing away of deuils by the signe of the crosse by solemne coniurations by holy water by the ringing of bels by lighting tapers by reliques and such like For these things haue not their supposed force either by creation or by any institution of God in his holy word and therefore if any thing be done by theÌ„ it is from the secret operation of the deuill himselfe The fift sinne is that in their doctrine they maintaine periurie because they teach with one consent that a papist examined may answer doubtfully against the direct intention of the examiner framing an other meaning vnto himselfe in the ambiguitie of his wordes Aâ— for example when a man is asked whether he said or heard Masse in such a place though hee did they affirme he may say no and sweare vnto it because he was not there to reueale it to the examiner whereas in the very lawe of nature he that takes an oath should sweare according to the intention of him that hath power to minister an oath and that in trueth iustice â—â—â—gement Let them cleere their doctrine from all defence of periurie if they can The sixâ— sinne is that they reuerse many of Gods commaundements making that no sinne which Gods word makes a sinne Thus they teach that if any man steale some little thing that is thought not to cause any notable hurt it is no mortall sinne that the officious lie the lie made in sport are veniall sinnes that to pray for our enemies in particular is no precept but a counsell and that none is bound to salute his enemie in the way of friendship flat against the rule of Christ Mat. 5.47 where the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifieth al manner of dutie and curtesie that rash iudgement though consent â—â—me thereto is regularly but a veniall sin that it is lawfull otherwhiles to faine holines that the painting of the face is ordinarily but a veniall sinne that it is not lawfull to forbid begging wheras the Lord forbade there should be any beggar in Israel Againe they teach that men in their choller when they are chiding and sweare woundes and blood are not indeede blasphemers Lastly their writers vse manifest lying to iustifie their doctrine They plead falsely that all antiquitie is on theâ—r side whereas it is as much against them as for them and as much for vs as them Againe their manner hath bin and is still to prooue their opinions by forged and counterfeit writings of men some whereof I will name 1 Saint Iames Liturgie 2 The Canons of the Apostles 3 The bookes of Dionysius Ariopagita and namely De Hierarchia Ecclesiastica 4 The Decretall Epistles of the Popes 5 Pope Clements workes 6 Some of the Epistles of Ignatius 7 Origens booke of repentance His homelies in diuersos sanctos Commentaries â—â— Iob and booke of Lamentation 8 Chrysostomes Liturgie 9 Basils liturgie and his Ascetica 10 Augustines booke de 8. quest Dulcity A booke of true and false repentance Ser. de festo commemorationis animarum booke de dogm Ecclesiast Sermon ad fratres in Heremo Sermon of Peters chaire Booke of visiting the sicke c. 11 Iustin Martyrs Questions and Answ. 12 Athanasius epistle to Pope Foelix 13 Bernards sermons of the Lords supper 14 Hieromes epistle ad Demetriadem sauouring of Pelagius 15 Tertullian de Monogamia 16 Cyprian de Chrismate de ablutione pedum 17 In the Councell of Sardica the 3,4 and 5. canons are forged 18 In the Councell of Nice all saue 20. are forged 19 Certaine Romane Councels vnder Sylvester are forged For he was at this time dead and therefore could not confirme them Sozom. lib. 2. 20 To the sixt canon of the Councell of Nice are patched these words That the Romane church hath alwaies had the Supremacie 21 Lastly I will not omit that Pope Sozimus Bonifacius and Coelestinus falsified the canons of the councell of Nice to prooue appeales from all places to Rome so as the Bishops of Africke were forced to send for the true copies of the said councell from Constantinople and the Churches of Greece I might here rehearse many other sinnes which with the former call for vengeance vpon the Romane Church but it shal suffice to haue named a few of the principall Now in this reason our Sauiour Christ prescribes another maine dutie to his owne people and that is to be carefull to eschew all the sinnes of the Church of Rome that they may withall escape her deserued plagues and punishmeÌ„ts And froÌ„ this prescribed dutie I obserue two things The first is that euery good seruant of God must carefully auoid contracts of marriage with professed Papists that is with such as hold the Pope for their head and beleeue the doctrine of the Councell of Trent For in such matches men hardly keepe faith and good conscience and hardly auoid communication with the sinnes of the Romane church A further ground of this doctrine I thus propound In Gods word there is mentioned a double league betweene man and man countrie and countrie The first is the league of concord when one kingdome bindes it selfe to liue in peace with another for the maintenance of trafficke without disturbance and this kind of league may stand betweene Gods church and the enemies thereof The second is the league of amitie which is when men people or countries binde themselues to defend each other in all causes and to make the warres of the one the warres of the other and this league may not be made with those that be enemies of God Iehosaphat otherwise a good king made this kind of league with Ahab and is therfore reprooued by the prophet saying Wouldest thou helpe the wicked and loue them that hate the Lord 2. Chr. 19.2 Now the mariages of Protestants with Papists are priuate leagues of amitie betweene person and person and therefore not be allowed Againe Malac. 2.11 Iudah hath defiled the holinesse of the Lord which he loued and hath married the daughters of a strange God where is â—latly condemned marriages made with the people of a false god nowe the papists by the consequents of their doctrine and religion turne the true Iehoua into an idol of their own braine as I haue shewed the true Christ reuealed in the writteÌ„ word into a fained Christ made of bread Yet if such a marriage be once made and finished it may not be dissolued For such parties sinne not simply in that they marrie but because they marrie not in the Lord being of diuers religions The fault is not in the substance of marriage but in the manner of making it and for this cause the Apostle commaundes the beleeuing partie not to forsake or refuse the vnbeleeuing partie beeing a very infidel which no Papist is if he or shee will abide 1. Cor. 7.13 The second thing
Moses a reason may be framed thus If ye saw no image namely of God ye shall make none But ye saw no image onely heard a voyce Therefore ye shall make no image of God The second reason That idolatrie which the Israelites committed the very same is prohibited in this commandement But the Israelites idolatrie was the worship of God in an image Hos. 2. 16. At that day saith the Lord thou shalt call me no more Baali but shalt call me Ishi The golden calfe was an image of God for when it was finished Aaron proclaimed that to morrow should be a feast to Iehouah Exod. 32.5 And the same calfe is tearmed an idol Act. 7.41 Therefore the worshipping of God in an image is here prohibited Any grauen image Here the more speciall is put for the more generall namely a grauen image for all counterfeit meanes of Gods worship The first part of the commandement is here illustrated by a double distribution The first is drawne from the causes Thou shalt not make thee any idol whether it be engrauen in wood or stone or whether it be painted in a table The second is taken from the place Thou shalt not make thee an idol of things in heauen as starres and birds or in the earth as of man woman beasts or vnder the earth as fishes This place is so expounded by Moses Deut. 4. 14. to the 20. verse Thou shalt not bow downe to them This is the second part of the commandement forbidding all men to fal downe before an idol In this word Bow down is againe the speciall put for the generall for in it is inhibited all fained worship of God For I These words are a confirmation of this commandement perswading to obedience by foure reasons The Lord which is strong The first reason God is strong and so able to reuenge idolatâ—ie Heb. 10.31 A iealous God This speech is taken from the estate of wedlocke for God is called the husband of his Church Esay 54.5 Eph. 5.26,27 And our spirituall worship is as it were a certaine marriage of our soules consecrated vnto the Lord. Ier. 2. 2. I remember thee with the kindnes of thy youth and the loue of thy mariage when thou wentest after me in the wildernes in a land that was not sowne Here is another argument drawne from a comparison of things that be like Gods people must alone worship him because they are linked to him as a wife is to her husband vnto whome alone she is bound therefore if his people forsake him and betroth themselues vnto idols he will vndoubtedly giue them a bill of diuorcement and they shall be no more espoused vnto him Visiting To visit is not onely to punish the children for the fathers offences but to make notice and apprehend them in the same faults by reason they are giuen ouer to commit their fathers transgressions that for them they be punished And this is the third reason drawne from the effects of Gods anger Hate me It may be this is a secret answer the obiection whereof is not here in expresse wordes set downe but may be thus framed What if we vse Idols to inflame and excite in vs a loue and remembrance of thee The answer is this by the contrarie You may thinke that your vse of idols kindleth in you a loue of me but it is so farre from that that all such as vse them cannot choose but hate me Shew mercie The fourth reason deriued from the effects of Gods mercie to such as obserue this commandement Here may we first obserue that Gods mercie exceedeth his iustice Psal. 103.8 The Lord is full of compassion and mercie slow to anger and of great kindnes vers 17. The louing kindnes of the Lord endureth for euer vers 9. He will not alway chide neither keepe his anger for euer Secondly we may not surmise that this excellent promise is made to euery one particularly who is borne of faithfull parents For godly Isaak had godlesse Esau to his sonne and godlesse Saul had godly Ionathan The negatiue part Thou shalt neither worship false gods nor the true God with false worship Many things are here forbidden I. The representation of God by an image For it is a lie Habak 2. 18. What profiteth the image for the maker thereof hath made it an image and a teacher of lies Zach. 10.2 The idols haue spoken vanitie Ierem. 10. 8. The stocke is a doctrine of vanitie The Eliber Councel in the 39. canon hath this edict We thought it not meete to haue images in Churches least that which is worshipped and adored should be painted vpon wals Clement booke 5. ad Iacob Dom. That serpent by others is wont to speake these words We in honour of the inuisible God are accustomed to adore visible images the which out of all controuersie is very false August in his treatise vpon the 113. Psalme The image also of the crosse and Christ crucified out to be abolished out of Churches as the brasen serpent was 2. King 18.4 Hezekiah is commended for breaking in pieces the brasen serpent to which the children of Israel did then burne incense This did Hezekiah albeit at the first this serpent was made by the Lords appointment Numb 21.8 and was a type of Christs passion Ioh. 3.14 Origen in his 7. booke against Celsus We permit not any to adore Iesus vpon the altars in images or vpon Church walls because it is written Thou shalt haue none other gods but me Epiphaniusâ— in that epistle which he wrote to Iohn Bishop of Ierusalem saith It is against the custome of the Church to see any image hanging in the church whether it be of Christ or any other saint and therefore euen with his owne hands rent he asunder the vaile wherein such an image was painted Some obiect the figure or signe which appeared to Constantine wherein he should ouercome but it was not the signe of the crosse as the Papists doe triflinly imagine but of Christs name for the thing was made of these two greeke letters 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 conioyned together Euseb. in the life of Constant. booke 1. chap. 22,25 Neither serue the Cherubims which Salomon placed in the temple for the defence of images for they were onely in the holy of holiest where the people could not see them And they were types of the glorie of the Messiah vnto whome the very Angels were subiect the which we haue now verified in Christ. If any man replie that they worship not the image but God in the image let him know that the creature cannot comprehend the image of the Creator and if it could yet God would not be worshipped in it because it is a dead thing yea the worke of mans hands not of God and therefore is more base then the smallest liuing creature of the which we may lawfully say it is the worke of God This euinceth that no kinde of diuine worship belongeth to an image either simply or by relation
Ministers sinne against their neighbours is this not to preach the word of God to their charge that they thereby might be instructed in the waies of life Prou. 29.18 Where there is no vision the people decay but he that keepeth the Law is blessed Esai 56. 10. Their watchmen are all blind they haue no knowledge they are all dumbe dogs they cannot barke they lie and sleepe and delight in sleeping And these greedie dogges can neuer haue ynough and these shepheards they cannot vnderstand for they all looke to their owne way euery one for his aduantage and for his owne purpose Ezech. 3. 18. When I shall say to the vvicked Thou shalt surely die and thou giuest him not warning the same wicked man shall die in his iniquitie but his blood will I require at thy hands And not onely not to preach at all but to preach negligently is vtterly condemned Ier. 48.10 Cursed be he that doth the worke of the Lord negligently Revel 3.16 Because thou art lukewarme and neither hote nor cold it will come to passe that I shall spew thee out of my mouth This reprooueth nonresidencie of ministers which is an ordinarie absence of the minister from his charge namely from that particular congregation committed vnto him Esai 62.6 I haue set watchmen vpon thy walls O Hierusalem which all the day and all the night continually shall not cease yee that are mindfull of the Lord keepe not silence and giue him no rest till he repaire and till he set vp Ierusalem the praise of the world Act. 20.28,29,30,31 Take heede therefore vnto your selues and to all the flocke whereof the holy Ghost hath made you ouerseers to feede the Church of God which he hath purchasedwith his owne blood For I know this that after my departing shall grieuous wolues enter in among you not sparing the flocke Moreouer of your selues shall men arise speaking peruerse things to draw disciples after them Therefore watch and remember that by the space of three yeares I ceased not to warne euery one night and day with teares 1. Pet. 5.2,3 Feede the flocke of God which dependeth vpon you caring for it not by constraint but willingly not for filthie lucre but of a readie minde not as though ye were Lords ouer Gods heritage but that ye may be ensamples to the flocke Ezech. 34.4 and 33. The Councel of Antioch the 17. Can. If any Bishop by imposition of hands inducted into a charge and appointed to gouerne a people and he neglect to take vpon him that office but delaieth to goe vnto the congregation allotted vnto him such an one shall be prohibited from the Lords table till he be enforced to attend vpon that charge or at the least somewhat be determined by a complete assembly of the Ministers of that Prouince The Councel of Sardice the 14. Canon We remember that our brethren in a former assemblie decreed that if any lay-man remaining three Sabboths or Lords daies that is three weekes in a citie did not in the same citie frequent the Church assemblies he should be excommunicated If then such things are not allowable in lay-men much lesse in Ministers for whome it is neither lawfull nor conuenient without vrgent necessitie to be absent from his parish Church longer then the time aboue mentioned To this decree there was not one non placet but euery one said It liketh vs well The CouÌ„cel held at Const. in the 24. Canon decreed that Ministers ought not to haue their substitutes or vicars but in their owne persons with feare and cheerefulnesse performe all such duties as are required of them in the seruice of God The Canon law doth conclude the same things dist 39. Canon si quis vult debent indesinenter c. The Bishops saith the Canon ought to be continually resident in Gods tabernacle that they may learne somewhat of God and the people of them whilest they read often and meditate vpon Gods word Againe in the Canons intituled Pontifices and siquis in clero Episcopos qui dominici gregis suscipiunt curam c. The Bishops which take upon them to feede Gods flocke ought not to depart from their dutie least they loose that excellent talent which God hath bestowed vpon theÌ„ but rather striue with that one talent to get three more talents And in the 80. Can. of those which are tearmed the CanoÌ„s of the Apostles there is an expresse mandate that such whether Bishop or Senior who attendeth not vpon their office in the Church shall forthwith be remooued from that place The Chalcedon Councell Canon 10. Let no man be ordained Minister of two Churches in two seuerall cities but let him remaine in that vnto which he was first called And if for vaine glorie he shall afterward goe to a greater congregation let him immediately be recalled to his first charge and in that onely exercise his ministerie But if one be called to another charge let him simply giue ouer the former and haue no interest in the same c. For this thing looke to the decree of Damasus and the Councel of Trent sect 7. Can. 8. There are notwithstanding the former testimonies some cases wherein it is permitted to the Minister that he may be absent if by his absence the congregation be not endammaged I. Sicknes the Councell of Menâ—z 25. Canon If a Bishop be not at home or be sicke or vpon some exigent cannot be present at his parish let him procure one who vpon Sabbothes and festiuall daies will preach vnto his charge Augustine testifieth epist. 138. that he was absent on the like occasion II. Allowance of the Church to be absent for a time vpon some necessarie and publike commoditie for the same Coloss. 1.7 Epaphras is their minister but chap. 4.12 he beeing absent saluteth them And Ambrose though he were Bishop of Millaine yet went he twise Ambassador into France to make agreement betwixt Maximus and Valentinian Ambrose 5. booke and 27. epist to Valentinian the Emperour III. If by reason of persecution he be enforced to flee and see no hope to procure the safetie of his people This made Cyprian to be absent from Carthage as he testifieth in his epistles Thus much concerning sinnes against our neighbour Now follow such sinnes as a man committeth against his owne person as when a man doeth hurt kill and endanger himselfe Matth. 16.24 If any man will follow me let him denie himselfe take vp his crosse and follow me Matth. 4. 6. He saide vnto him If thou be the sonne of God cast thy selfe downe headlong for it is written He shall giue his Angels charge ouer thee and with their hands they shall lift thee vp least at any time thou shouldest dash thy foote against a stone 7. Iesus said vnto him It is written againe Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God Therefore for a man to be his owne executioner though to escape a most shameful death is vtterly vnlawfull and vngodly The affirmatiue part Thou
as possibly they can agreeable to the equitie of Gods lawe yet can they not assure themselues and others that they haue failed in no point or circumstance Therefore it is against reason that humane lawes beeing subiect to defects faults errours and manifold imperfections should truely bind conscience as Gods lawes doe which are the rule of righteousnes All gouernours in the world by reason that to their old lawes they are constrained to put restrictions ampliations and modifications of all kinds with new readings and interpretations vpon their daily experience see and acknowledge this to bee true which I say sauing the Bishop of Rome so falsly tearmed which perswades himselfe to haue when he is in his consistorie such an infallible assistance of the spirit that he cannot possibly erre in iudgement Argum. 6. If mens lawes by inward vertue bindes conscience properly as Gods lawes then our dutie is to learne studie and remember them as well as Gods laws yea ministers must be diligent to preach them as they are diligent in preaching the doctrine of the gospell because euery one of them bindes to mortall sinne as the Papists teach But that they should be taught and learned as Gods lawes it is most absurd in the iudgement of all men Papists theÌ„selues not excepted Argum. 7. Inferiour authoritie cannot bind the superiour nowe the courts of men and their authority are vnder conscience For God in the heart of euery man hath erected a tribunall seate and in his stead hee hath placed neither Saint nor Angell nor any other creature whatsoeuer but conscience it selfe who therefore is the highest Iudge that is or can be vnder God by whose direction also courts are kept and lawes are made Thus much of the Popish opinion by which it appeares that one of the principall notes of Antichrist agrees fittely to the Pope of Rome Paul 2. Thess. 2. makes it a speciall propertie of Antichrist to exalt himselfe against or aboue all that is called God or worshipped Now what doth the Pope els when he takes vpon him authoritie to make such lawes as shall bind the coÌ„science as properly and truely as Gods lawes and what doth he els when hee ascribes to himselfe power to free mens consciences froÌ„ the bond of such laws of God as are vnchangeable as may appeare in a Canon of the Councill of Trent the words are these If any shal say that those degrees of consanguinitie that be expressed in Lâ—uiticus doe onely hinder matrimonie to be made and breake it being made and that the Church cannot dispense with some of them or appoint that more degrees may hinder or breake marriage let him be accursed O sacrilegious impietie considering the lawes of affinitie and consanguinitie Leuiticus 18. are not ceremoniall or iudiciall lawes peculiar to the Iewes but the very laws of nature What is this Canon else but a publike proclamation to the world that the pope church of Rome do sit as lords or rather idols in the hearts conscieÌ„ces of men This wil yet more fully appeare to any man if we read popish bookes of practicall or Case-diuinitie in which the common manner is to binde conscience where God looseth it and to loose where he binds but a declaration of this requires long time Now I come as neere as possibly I can to set down the true manner how mens lawes by the common iudgement of Diuines may be said to binde conscience That this point may be cleared two things must be handled By what meanes they binde and How farre forth Touching the meanes I set downe this rule Wholesome lawes of men made of things indifferent so farre forth bind conscience by vertne of the generall commaÌ„dement of God which ordaineth the Magistrates authoritie that whosoâ—uer shall wittingly and willingly with a disloyall minde either breake or omit such lawes is guiltie of sinne before By wholesome lawes I vnderstand such positiue constitutions as are not against the lawe of God and withall tend to maintaine the peaceable estate and common good of men Furthermore I adde this clause made of things indifferent to note the peculiar matter whereof humane lawes properly intreat namely such things as are neither expressely commanded or forbidden by God Now such kind of laws haue no vertue or power in theÌ„selues to constraine conscience but they binde onely by vertue of an higher commandement Let euery soule be subiect to the higher powers Rom. 13.1 or Honour father and mother Exod. 20. which commandements binds vs in conscience to performe obedience to the goodlawes of men As S. Peter saith Submit your selues to euery humane ordinance for the Lord. 1. Pet. 2.13 that is for conscience of God as he sayeth afterward v. 19. whereby he signifieth two things first that God hath ordained the authoritie of gouernours secondly that he hath appointed in his word and thereby bound men in conscience to obey their gouernours lawful commandements If the case fall out otherwise as commonly it doeth that humane lawes bee not inacted of things indiffereÌ„t but of things that be good in themselues that is commanded by God then are they not humane properly but diuine lawes Mens lawes intreating of things that are morally good and the parts of Gods worship are the same with Gods lawes and therefore bind conscience not because they were inacted by men but because they were first made by God meÌ„ beeing no more but instruments and ministers in his name to reuiue renewe and to put in exequution such precepts and lawes as prescribe the worship of God standing in the practise of true religion and vertue Of this kinde are all positiue lawes touching articles of faith and the duties of the morall law And the man that breakes such lawes sinnes two waies first because he breaks that which is in conscience a lawe of God secondly because in disobeying his lawfull Magistrate he disobeyes the generall commandement of God touching magistracie But if it shall fall out that mens lawes bee made of things that are euill and forbidden by God then is there no bond of conscience at al but contrariwise men are bound in conscience not to obey Act. 4.19 And hereupon the three children are commended for not obeying Nabuchadnezzar when he gaue a particular commandement vnto them to fall downe and worship the golden image Dan. 3. Moreouer in that mans law bindes not but by the authoritie of Gods law hence it followes that Gods law alone hath this priuiledge that the breach of it should be a sinne S. Iohn saith 1. epist. 3. Sinne is the anomie or transgression of the law vnderstanding Gods law When Dauid by adulterie and murder had offended many men and that many waies he saith Psal. 51. Against thee against thee haue I sinned And Augustine defined sinne to be some thing said done or desired against the lawe of God Some man may say if this bee so belike then we may breake mens laws without sinne I answer that men in breaking
is eaten his owne flesh which he was to giue for the life of the worlde and what can be said more of the Lords supper Augustine saith that beleeuers are partakers of the bodie and blood of Christ in baptisme and Hierome to Edibia that in baptisme we eate and drinke the body and blood of Christ. If thus much may be said of baptisme why may it not also be said of the word preached Again Hierom vpon Ecclesiastes saith It is profitable to be filled with the bodie of Christ and drinke his blood not onely in mysterie but in knowledge of holy Scripture Nowe vpon this it followes that seeing the worke done in the word preached conferres not grace neither doth the worke done in the sacrament conferre any grace Reason II. Math. 3.11 I baptize you with water to repentance but he that cōmeth after me is stronger then I hee shall baptize you with the holy Ghost and with fire Hence it is manifest that grace in the sacrament proceedes not from any action in the sacrament for Iohn though he doe not disioyne himselfe his action from Christ and the action of his spirit yet doth he distinguish thē plainely in number persons and effect To this purpose Paul who had said of the Galathians that he trauelled of them and beget them by the Gospell saith of himselfe that he is not any thing not onely as hee was a man but as hee was a faithfull Apostle thereby excluding the whole Euangelicall ministerie wherof the Sacrament is a part from the least part of diuine operation or efficacy in conferring of grace Reason III. The blessed Angels nay the very flesh of the sonne of God hath not any quickning vertue from it selfe but all this efficacie or vertue is in and from the godhead of the sonne who by meanes of the flesh apprehended by faith deriueth heauenly and spirituall life from himselfe to the members Now if there be no efficacie in the flesh of Christ but by reason of the hypostatical vnion how shall bodily actions about bodily elements conferre grace immediatly Reason IV. Paul Rom. 4. stands much vpon this to prooue that iustification by faith is not conferred by the sacraments And from the circumstance of time he gathereth that Abraham was first iustified and then afterward receiued circumcision the signe and seale of his righteousnes Nowe we knowe that the generall condition of all sacraments is one and the same and that baptisme succeeded circumcision And what can be more plaine then the example of Cornelius Act. 10. who before Peter came vnto him had the commendation of the feare of God and was indued with the spirit of praier and afterward when Peter by preaching opened more fully the way of the Lord hee and the rest receiued the holy Ghost And after all this they were baptised Now if they receiued the holy Ghost before baptisme then they receiued remission of sinnes and were iustified before baptisme V. Reason The iudgement of the Church Basil. If there bee any grace in the water it is not from the nature of the water but from the presence of the spirit Hierome saith Man giues water but God giues the holy Ghost Augustine saide Water toucheth the bodie and washeth the heart but he shewes his meaning else where There is one water saith he of the sacrament another of the spirit the water of the Sacrament is visible the water of the spirit inuisible That washeth the bodie and signifieth what is done in the soule By this the soule is purged and healed Obiect Remission of sinnes regeneration and saluation is ascribed to the sacrament of baptisme Act. 22.21 Eph. 5. Gal. 3.27 Tit. 2. Ans. Saluation and remission of sinnes is ascribed to baptisme and the Lords supper as to the word which is the power of God to saluation to all that beleeue and that as they are instruments of the holy ghost to signifie zeale and exhibite to the beleeuing minde the foresaid benefits but indeede the proper instrument whereby saluation is apprehended is faith and sacraments are but proppes of faith furthering saluation two waies first because by their signification they helpe to nourish and preserue faith secondly because they seale grace and saluation to vs yea God giues grace and saluation when we vse them well so be it we beleeue the word of promise made to the sacrament whereof also they are seales And thus we keepe the middle way neither giuing too much nor too little to the sacraments The XX. point Of sauing faith or the way to life Our Consent Conclus I. They teach it to bee the propertie of faith to beleeue the whole whole word of God and especially the redemption of mankind by Christ. Conclus II. They auouch that they beleeue looke to be saued by Christ and by Christ alone and by the meere mercy of God in Christ. Conclus III. Thirdly the most learned among them hold confesse that the obedience of Christ is imputed vnto them for the satisfaction of the lawe and for their reconciliation with God Conclus IV. They auouch that they put their whole trust and confidence in Christ and in the meere mercy of God for their saluation Concl. V. Lastly they hold that euery man must apply the promise of life euerlasting by Christ vnto himselfe and this they grant we are bound to doe And in these fiue points doe they and we agree at least in shewe of wordes By the auouching of the fiue conclusions papists may easily escape the handes of many magistrates And vnlesse the mysterie of popish doctrine bee well known any common man may easily be deceiued take such for good protestants that are but popish priests To this end therefore that we may the better discerne their guile I will shew wherein they faile in each of their conclusions and wherein they differ from vs. The difference Touching the first conclusion they beleeue indeed all the written word of God and more then all for they also beleeue the bookes Apocryphal which antiquitie for many hundred yeares hath excluded from the canon yea they beleeue vnwritten traditions receiued as they say from Councills the writings of the Fathers and the determinations of the Church making them also of equall credit with the written worde of God giuen by inspiration of the spirit Now we for our parts despise not the Apocrypha as namely the books of the Machabees Ecclesiasticus and the rest but wee reuerence them in all conuenient manner preferring them before any other bookes of men in that they haue beene approoued by an vniuersall consent of the Church yet wee thinke them not meete to bee receiued into the Canon of holy scripture and therfore not to be beleeued but as they are cōsenting with the written word And for this our doing we haue directiō from Athanasius Origen Hierom and the Councel of Laodicea As for the vnwriten Traditions they come not within the compasse of our faith neither can
Creede beeing a summary collection of things to bee beleeued was gathered briefly out of the word of God for the helping of memory and vnderstanding of men I adde that this Creede is concerning God and the Church For in these two points consisteth the whole summe thereof Lastly I say that it is gathered forth of the scripture to make a difference between it and and other writings and to shew the authoritie of it which I will further declare on this manner There bee two kinde of writings in which the doctrine of the Church is handled and they are either diuine or Ecclesiasticall Diuine are the bookes of the olde and newe Testament penned either by Prophets or Apostles And these are not onely the pure word of God but also the scripture of God because not onely the matter of them but the whole disposition thereof with the style and the phrase was set downe by the immediate inspiration of the holy ghost And the authoritie of these bookes is diuine that is absolute and soueraigne and they are of sufficient credit in and by themselues needing not the testimonie of any creature not subiect to the censure either of men or Angels binding the consciences of all men at all times and beeing the only foundation of faith and the rule and canon of all trueth Ecclesiasticall writings are all other ordinarie writings of the Church consenting with Scriptures These may be called the word or trueth of God so far forth as their matter or substance is consenting with the written word of god but they cannot be called the scripture of God because the style and phrase of them was set downe according to the pleasure of man and therefore they are in such sort the word of God as that also they are the word of men And their authoritie in defining of trueth and falshood in matters of religion is not soueraigne but subordinate to the former and it doth not stand in the authoritie and pleasures of men councels but in the consent which they haue with the scriptures Ecclesiasticall writings are either generall particular or proper Generall are the Creedes and confessions of the Church dispersed ouer the whole worlde and among the rest the Creede of the Apostles made either by the Apostles themselues or by their hearers and disciples apostolicall men deliuered to the Church and conueied from hand to hand to our times Particular writings are the confessions of particular Churches Proper writings are the bookes and confessions of priuate men Nowe betweene these we must make difference For the Generall Creede of the Apostles other vniuersall Creeds in this case not excepted though it be of lesse authoritie then scripture yet hath it more authoritie then the particular priuate writings of Churches and men For it hath beene receiued and approoued by vniuersall consent of the Catholike Church in all ages and so were neuer these in it the meaning and doctrine can not be changed by the authoritie of the whole Catholike Church and if either the order of the doctrine or the wordes whereby it is expressed should vpon some occasion be changed a particular Church of any country can not do it without Catholike consent of the whole Churche yet particular writings and confessions made by some speciall Churches may be altered in the words in the points of doctrine by the same Churches without offence to the Catholike Church Lastly it is receiued as a rule of faith among all Churches to trie doctrines interpretations of scriptures by not because it is a rule of it selfe for that the scripture is alone but because it borroweth his authoritie froÌ„ scripture with which it agreeth And this honour no other writings of men can haue Here some may demand the number of Creedes Ans. I say but one Creede as there is but one faith and if it be alleadged that wee haue many Creedes as besides this of the Apostles the Nicene Creede and Athanasius Creed c. I answer the seuerall Creedes and confessions of Churches containe not seueral faiths and religions but one and the same and this called the Apostles creede is most ancient and principall all the rest are not newe Creedes in substance but in some points penned more largely for the exposition of it that men might better auoid the heresies of their times Further it may be demanded in what forme this Creede was penned Ans. In the forme of an answere to a question The reason is this In the Primitiue Church when any man was turned from Gentilisme to the faith of Christ and was to be baptised this question was asked him What beleeuest thouâ— then he answered according to the forme of the Creede I beleeue in God c. And this maner of questioning was vsed euen from the time of the Apostles When the Eunuch was conuerted by Philip he said What doth let me to be baptised Philip said If thou doest beleeue with all thine heart thou maist Then he answered I beleede that Iesus Christ is the sonne of God By this it appeares that although all men for the most part amongst vs can say this Creede yet not one of a thousand can tell the ancient and first vse of it for commonly at this day of the simpler sort it is saide for a prayer beeing indeede no prayer and when it is vsed so men make it no better then a charme Before we come to handle the particular points of the Creede it is very requiâ—ite that we should make an entrance thereto by describing the nature properties and kindes of faith the confession and ground whereof is set forth in the Creede Faith therefore is a gift of God whereby we giue assent or credence to Gods word For there is a necessarie relation betweene faith and Gods word The common propertie of faith is noted by the author of the Hebrewes when he saith Faith is the ground of things hoped for and the demonstration of things that are not seene For all this may be vnderstood not onely of iustifying faith but also of temporarie faith and the faith of miracles Where faith is said to be a ground the meaning is that though there are many things promised by God which men doe not presently enioy but onely hope for because as yet they are not yet faith doth after a sort giue subsisting or beeing vnto them Secondly it is an euidence or demonstration c. that is by beleeuing a man doth make a thing as it were visible beeing otherwise inuisible and absent Faith is of two sorts either common faith or the faith of the Elect as Paul saith he is an Apostle according to the faith of Gods elect which also is called faith without hypocrisie The common faith is that which both elect and reprobate haue and it is threefold The first is historicall faith which is when a man doth beleeue the outward letter and historie of the word It hath two parts knowledge of Gods word and an
And at that day saith the Lord thou shalt call me Ishai shalt call me no more Baali Here it appeareth that the Israelites meaning was not to worship a false god but the true God in Baalim And Aaron when he made the golden calfe proclaimed that the next day should be holy daie not of any false god but of the Lord that brought them out of Egypt The prophet Esay after that hee had set forth Gods maiestie very worthily he comes in with this conclusion To whom theÌ„ will ye likeÌ„ God or what similitude wil ye set vp of him which declareth that the Iewes after the maner of the Gentiles ran a whoring after Idols that is Images not only of false gods but also of the true God I conclude therefore as I began that the Church of Rome by maintaining images hath repealed this commandement Neither doth it shew lesse fauour to the third commandement which also is repealed First in that they teach men to giue the glorie which is proper to God to some thing els it is proper to God after the daie of iudgement to bee all in all this they giue to Marie saying that shee is all in all It is proper to Christ in respect of other creatures to be a light lightening all that come into the world yet they pray to Marie to giue light to the blind It is proper to Christ to be the redeemer of mankind this worke of redeÌ„ption is ascribed to Marie whome the Papists call their hope their ioy their medâ—atresse a medicine for the diseased a defence from the enemie a friend in the houre of death Againe they make S. Martin a priest according to the order of Melchisedech which is proper to Christ. Secondly they hold that the people is to be barred from the reading of the Scriptures vnlesse it be in an vnknowne tongue and so they maintaine ignorance and the prophaning of Gods name for the preaching of the word and therefore also the hearing learning reading searching of it is the glorifying of the word and so the glorifying of Gods name The fourth commandement is repealed in that they require that their feast daies should be kept as solemnly as the Lords sabboth For they must be kept in all honour and comlines and men must rest from their labours from morning to euening as on the Sabboth whereas contrariwise the Lord hath giuen permission to his seruantes to labour the sixe daies so bee it on the seuenth they will rest from the workes of their callings and do the works of the spirit They repeale the fift commandemeÌ„t in that they teach that their Cleargie hath an immunitie therfore is not bound to performe obedience to magistrates for so they haue decreed that Clearkes are to be iudged only of Bishops that they are only to reskue them from iniuries Againe that the Bishop must not be iudged of the secular power and that the Pope himselfe oweth no subiection to Kings Princes Emperours but hath power to make them and to put them downe at his pleasure But S. Paul for the maintaining of the fift commandement bids euery soule be subiect to the higher powers and therefore the pope with his cleargie as Chrysostome hath expouÌ„ded it must be subiect to ciuil magistrates vnles they wil exclude themselues out of the number of men for Paul speakes to all Against the sixt commandement they haue decreed asyles for murderers plainely permitting them which feare authoritie to haue safetie in the lap of their mother the Church Thus they annihilate Gods commandement yea more then this whither tends all that they teach but to the very murdering of soules For example saluation by works of grace is one of their chiefe points But that man that is perswaded that he must be saued by his workes must also put his trust in them and hee which trusteth to his workes is accursed before god For cursed is that man that trusteth in man whether it be himselfe or other The seuenth Commandement is repealed diuers waies First in that they maintaine the occasions of Adulterie and fornication namely the vowe of single life both in men and women when as they haue not receiued the gift from God to be continent which gift when they want and yet are bound to single life they must needes breake out into much loosenes This sinne made Mantuan Palingenius and Petrarch to crie out against the Church of Rome Againe some Papists defend the toleration of the stewes in Rome for the auoiding of greater euils And in the Councell of Trent chastitie and Priests marriage are made opposite so that marriage with them is a filthie thing although God hath ordained it for the auoyding of fornication in all Furthermore that which is most abhominable and prooues the Church of Rome to be an Antichristian Church they maintaine marriages within the degrees forbidden both by the law of nature of gods word For in the table of consanguinitie they which are placed in the transuerse vnequall line cannot marrie because they are as Parents children yet if they be distant foure degrees on diuers sides from the common stock they may marrie togither by the Canon law As for example the graund vncle may marrie his sisters nephewes neece a thing very filthy in nature considering that a man cannot marrie with any honestie his sisters child To goe further by Gods word they which are distant foure degrees in the transuerse equall line are not forbidden to marry togither as cosin germanes Thus the daughters of Zelophehad were married to their fathers brothers sonnes this example as I take it may be a warrant of the lawfulnes of this marriage Yet the Canon lawe vtterly condemnes this marriage of cosin germans the marriage of their children after theÌ„ though they be eight degrees distaÌ„t Thus the Church of Rome doth ouerthwart the Lord where he giues libertie they restraine it and when hee restraineth men then they giue libertie They repeale the 8. coÌ„mandement by their spirituall marchandize in which they sel those things which are not to be sold as Crosses to dead men Images praiers the sound of bels remission of sins and the merits by which men may come to the kingdom of heaueÌ„ their shaueling priests wil do no duty without they be fed with money hence comes the prouerb no penny no pater noster They teach men to beare false witnes and so to sinne against the ninth coÌ„mandement in that they holde that Marie is the Queene of heauen whereas indeede shee is no Queene but doth continually cast down her crown before Christ with the rest of the Saints And a man may as well beare false witnes in speaking too much as in speaking too little In the tenth commandement the first motions that goe before consent are forbidden otherwise there shall be no difference betweene it and the rest For they also
body They obiect that God is omnipotent True indeede but there bee some things the doing of which agreeth not with Gods power as to make contradicentia things contradictorie to be both true of which sort these are For that Christs bodie is a true bodie and that it is in many places at once are flatte contrarie beccause as hath bin shewed it is essential to all magnitudes to be in one place and therefore to a bodie And God cannot take away that which is essentiall to a thing the essence remaining whole 2. Againe transubstantiation maketh the Accidents of bread and wine to remaine without the substance Here also is another contradiction as impossible as the former for it is a common saying in schooles Accident is esse est inesse It is of the essence of an Accident to bee in the substance Now therefore if the Accidents bee there is also the bread and wine and if there bee no substance of bread or wine neither can there be any accidents 3. It holdeth that bread is turned into the bodie of Christ and therfore it must needs holde that Christs bodie is made of bakers bread and yet it holdeth and teacheth that Christs bodie is onely made of the seede of Marie quite ouerthrowing the former Transubstantiation V. It teacheth that a man must alwaies doubt of his saluation and likewise it teacheth that in praying we are to cal GOD father which are things quite contrarie For who can truly call GOD father vnlesse hee haue the spirit of adoption and be assured that he is the child of God For if a man shall call god father yet in his heart doubt whether he be his father or not he playeth the dissembling hypocrite wherefore to doubt of saluation and to say Our father c. in truth are contrarie VI. The Church of Rome maketh praier to bee one of the chiefe meanes to satisfie for sinnes But praier indeede is an asking of pardon for sinne Now asking of pardon satisfaction for sinne are contrarie therfore by the iudgement of the Papists praier which is a satisfaction is no satisfactiō And indeed let vs consider what madnes is contained in this popish diuinitie the poore begger commeth very hungrie to the rich mans doore to craue his almes and straightwaies by his begging he will merit and deserue it The same doeth the papist he prayeth verie poorely for the thing which he wanteth yet he looketh very proudly to merit no lesse then the kingdome of heauen by it VII Doubting of saluation hope cannot agree together for hope maketh a man not to be ashamed that is it neuer disappointeth him of the thing which he looketh for And therefore it is called the anchor of the soule both sure and steadfast which entereth into that which is within the vaile So that true hope and the certaine assurance of saluation goe togither VIII True praier and iustification by works cannot stand togither For hee which prayeth truly must be touched inwardly with a liuely feeling of his owne miserie and of the want of that grace whereof he standes in neede Now this cannot be in the heart of that man that looketh to merit the kingdome of heauen by his workes for he that can doe this may iustly conceiue somewhat of his owne excellencie IX Papists teach that it is great boldnes to come immediately vnto God without the intercession of Saints and therefore they vse to pray to Marie that shee would pray to Christ to helpe them yet on the contrarie when they haue so done they pray to God immediatly that he would receiue the intercession of Marie for them And thus they are become intercessors betweene Marie and God Yea when they offer vp Christ praying God to accept their gifts and sacrifices the humble priest that wil not pray to God but by the mediation of Saints is then a mediator between Christ Iesus God the father X. It holdeth that in the masse the Priest offereth vp Christ to his father an vnbloodie sacrifice This is a thing impossible for if Christ in the masse be sacrificed for sin then he must die his blood must be shed Heb. 9.22 And in the Scriptures these two sayings Christ is dead Christ is offered vp in Sacrifice are all one So then the Papist when he supposeth that there may be an vnbloodie sacrifice in effect he saith thus much There is a sacrifice which is no sacrifice And it is not possible that a bloodie sacrifice should be offered in an vnbloodie manner XI In the Canon of the masse the Church of Rome praieth on this wise We humbly beseech thee most merciful father by Iesus Christ thy sonne and our Lord that that thou wouldest accept these gifts and oblations and these holy Sacrifices which thy Church offer to thee c. where first they offer vp Christ to God the father in the name of Christ and so they make Christ to be his owne mediatour Againe they desire God to blesse and to accept his own sonne for they offer vp Christ. If they say he needeth now the blessing of his father they make Christ a weake and imperfect Christ if he need not the blessing of his father their praier is needelesse Also they desire God to accept not one gift or one sacrifice but in the plurall number these gifts and sacrifices whereas they hold that Christs bodie is one only bodie and therefore but one sacrifice And thus they are at variance with themselues XII Papists in word they say that they beleeue put thei◠trust in God yet whereas they looke to be saued by their workes they set the confidence of their hearts in truth vpon their owne doings XIII They put such holines in matrimonie that they make it one of their 7. Sacraments which conferre grace to the partakers of them yet they forbid their Cleargie to marrie because to liue in marriage is to liue according to the flesh and the Councell of Trent opposeth marriage and chastitie XIV It teacheth that soules kept in purgatorie may be redeemed by Sacrifices and Suffrages Against this is a Canon of their lawe taken out of Saint Hierome we know that in this life we may help one another either by praiers or by good counsell but when we shall come before the iudgement seate of Christ neither Iob nor Daniel nor Noe may intreat for any but euery mā is to beare his own burthen And according to another Canon going vnder the name of Gelasius Bishop of Rome Either there is no Purgatorie or the soules which goe thither shall neuer returne XV. And to conclude the most points of their religion are contrarie to their Canons as by searching may appeare in these examples 1 The dead cannot heare the praiers of them which call vpon him 2 Peter and Paul were two of the chiefe Apostles and it is hard to say which was aboue the other 3 Leo the fourth
and right iudgement of the estate of any man without a particular rehearsall of his sinnes For he which soundly and truly repents of one or some few sinnes repents of all Secondly this confession is ouerturned by the practise of the Prophets Apostles who not onely absolued particular persons but also whol churches without exaction of auricular coÌ„fession WheÌ„ Nathan the Prophet had rebuked Dauid for his two great horrible crimes Dauid touched with remorse said I haue sinned and Nathan presently without further examination declared vnto him in the name of God that his sins were forgiuen him Thirdly it can not be prooued by any good and sufficient proofes that this confession was vsed in the Church of God till after fiue or sixe hundred yeares were expired For the confession which was then in vse was either publicke before the Church or the opening of a publicke fault to some priuate person in secret Therefore to vrge sicke men vnto it lying at the point of death is to lay more burdens on them then euer God appointed And whereas they make it a necessary thing to receiue the Eucharist in the time of sicknes toward death and that priuately of the sicke partie alone they haue no warrant for their practise and opinion For in the want of the sacrament there is no danger but in the contempt and the verie contempt it selfe is a sinne which may be pardoned if we repent And there is no reason why wee should thinke that sicke men should bee depriued of the comfort of the Lords supper if they receiue it not in death because the fruite and efficacy of the Sacrament once receiued is not to bee restrained to the time of receiuing but it extends it selfe to the whole time of mans life afterward Againe the supper of the Lord is no priuate action but meerely Ecclesiasticall and therefore to be celebrated in the meeting and assembly of Gods people as our Sauiour Christ prescribeth when he saith Doe ye this and Paul in saying When ye come togither But it is alleadged that the Israelites did eate the Paschal lambe in their houses when they were in Egypt Answ. The Israelites had then no libertie to make any publike meeting for that end god commanded that the Paschal lambe should be eaten in all the houses of the Isaraelites at one the same instant and that in effect was as much as if it had beene publike Againe they alleadge a Canon of the Council of Nice which decreeth that men beeing about to die must receiue the Eucharist not be depriued of the prouision of food necessarie for their iourney Ans. The Council made no decree touching the administration of the Sacrament to all them that die but to such onely as fall away from the faith in persecution or fell into any other notorious crime and were thereupon excommunicate and so remained till death either then or somewhat before testified their repentance for their offences And the Canon was made for this ende that such persons might bee assured that they were againe receiued into the Church and by this meanes depart with more comfort Thirdly it is obiected that in the primitiue Church part of the Eucharist was carried by a ladde to Serapion an aged man lying sicke in his bedde Ansvv. It was indeede the custome of the auncient Church from the very beginning that the elemeÌ„ts of bread wine should be sent by some of the Deacons to the sicke which were absent from the assembly And yet neuerthelesse here is no footing for priuate communions For the Eucharist was only then sent when the rest of the Church did openly communicate and such as were then absent onely by reason of sickenes and desired to bee partakers of that blessed comâ—union were to be reputed as preâ—ent Lastly it is obiected that it was the manner of men and women in former times to carrie part of the SacrameÌ„t home to their houses and to reserue it till the time of necessitie as the time of sicknes such like Ans. The reseruatioÌ„ of the sacrament was but a superstitious practise though it be ancient For out of the administration that is before it begin and after it is ended the sacrament ceaseth to be a sacrament and the elements to be elements As for the practise of them that vsed to cramme the Eucharist into the mouth of them that were deceased it is not only superstitious but also verie absurd As for the Annoiling of the sicke that is the annointing of the bodie specially the organes or instruments of the senses that the partie may obtaine the remission of his sinnes and comfort against all temptations of the deuill in the houre of death and strength more easily to beare the pangs of sickenesse and the pangs of death and be againe restored to his corporall health if it bee expedient for the saluation of his soule it is but a dotage of mans braine hath not so much as a shewe of reason to iustifie it The fifth of Iames is commonly alleadged to this purpose but the annointing there mentioned is not of the same kinde with this greasie sacrament of the Papists For that annointing of the bodie was a ceremonie vsed by the Apostles and others when they put in practise this miraculous gift of healing which gift is nowe ceased Secondly that annointing had a promise that the partie should recouer his health but this popish annointing hath no such promise because for the most part the persons thus annointed die afterward without recouerie wheras those which were annointed in the primitiue Church alwaies recouered Thirdly the auncient annointing serued onely for the procuring of health but this tendes further to the procuring of remission of sinnes and strength in temptation Thus hauing seene the doctrine of the Papists I come nowe to speake of the true and right manner of making particular preparation before death which containes three sorts of duties one concerning God the other concerning a mans owne selfe the third concerning our neighbour The first concerning God is to seeke to be reconciled vnto him in Christ though wee haue beene long assured of his fauour All other duties must come after in the second place and they are of little or no effect without this Nowe this reconciliation must bee sought for and is obtained by a renewing of our former faith and repentance and they must be renewed on this manner So soone as a man shall feele any manner of sickenesse to seaze vpon his bodie hee must consider with himselfe whence it ariseth and after serious consideration hee shal find that it comes not by chance or fortune but by the special prouidence of God This done he mâ—st goe yet further and consider for what cause the Lord should afflict his bodie with any sickenesse or disease And he shal find by Gods word that sicknesse comes ordinarily and vsually of sinne Wherefore is the liuing man sorrowfull man
they because they come vnto vs by the hands of men that may deceiue and be deceiued And we hold and beleeue that the right Canon of the bookes of the old and newe Testament cōtaines in it sufficient direction for the Church of God to life euerlasting both for faith and maners Here then is the point of difference that they make the obiect of faith larger then it should be or can be and we keepe our selues to the written word beleeuing nothing to saluation out of it In the second conclusion touching saluation by Christ alone there is a manifest deceit because they craftily include and couch their owne works vnder the name of Christ. For say they works done by men regenerate are not their owne but Christs in them and as they are the workes of Christ they saue and no otherwise But we for our parts looke to be saued onely by such workes as Christ himselfe did in his owne person and not by any worke at all done by him in vs. For all workes done are in the matter of iustification and saluation opposed to the grace of Christ Rom. 11.6 Election is of grace not of workes if it be of workes it is no more of grace Againe whereas they teach that wee are saued by the works of Christ which he worketh in vs and maketh vs to work it is flatte against the word For Paul saith Wee are not saued by such workes as God hath ordained that men regenerate should walke in Eph. 2.10 And hee saieth further that hee counted all things euen after his conuersion losse vnto him that he might be found in Christ not hauing his owne righteousnes which is of the lawe Phil. 3.8 Againe Heb. 1.3 Christ washed away our sinnes by himselfe which last wordes exclude the merit of all workes done by Christ within man Thus indeede the Papists ouerturne all that which in word they seeme to hold touching their iustification and saluation We confesse with them that good works in vs are the workes of Christ yet are they not Christs alone but ours also in that they proceede from Christ by the minde and will of man as water from the fountaine by the channell And looke as the channell defiled defiles the water that is without defilement in the fountaine euen so the minde and will of man defiled by the remnants of sinne defile the works which as they come frō Christ are vndefiled Hence it is that the works of grace which we doe by Christ or Christ in vs are defectiue and must be seuered from Christ in the act of iustification or saluation The third conclusion is touching the imputation of Christs obedience which some of the most learned among them acknowledge and the difference betweene vs stands on this manner They hold that Christs obedience is imputed onely to make satisfaction for sinne and not to iustifie vs before God We hold and beleeue that the obedience of Christ is imputed to vs euē for our righteousnesse before God Paul saith 1. Cor. 1.30 Christ is made vnto vs of God wisdome righteousnes sanctification and redemption Hence I reason thus If Christ be both our sanctification and our righteousnes then he is not onely vnto vs inherent righteousnes but also righteousnes imputed But he is not onely our sanctification which the Papists themselues expound of inherent or habituall righteousnesse but also our righteousnes for thus by Paul are they distinguished Therefore hee is vnto vs both inherent and imputed righteousnesse And very reason teacheth thus much For in the ende of the world at the barre of Gods iudgement wee must bring some kinde of righteousnes for our iustification that may stand in the rigour of the law according to which we are to be iudged But our inherent righteousnesse is imperfect stained with manyfold defects and shall be as long as we liue in this worlde as experience tels vs and consequently it is not sutable to the iustice of the lawe and if we goe out of our selues we shall find no righteousnesse seruing for our turnes either in men or angels that may or can procure our absolution before God and acceptation to life euerlasting We must therefore haue recourse to the person of Christ and his obedience imputed vnto vs must serue not onely to be a satisfaction to God for all our sinnes but also for our perfect iustification in that god is content to accept of it for our righteousnes as if it were inherent in vs or performed by vs. Touching the fourth conclusion they holde it the safest and surest course to put their trust and confidence in the mercie of God alone for their saluation yet they condescend that men may also put their confidence in the merit of their owne workes and in the merits also of other men so it be in sobrietie But this doctrine quite marres the conclusion because by teaching that men are to put confidence in the creature they ouerturne al confidence in the Creatour For in the very first commandement wee are taught to make choice of the true God for our God which thing we doe when wee giue to God our hearts and we giue our hearts to God when we put our whole confidence in him for the saluation of our soules Now then to put confidence in men or in workes is to make them our Gods The true and auncient forme of making confession was on this manner I beleeue in God the father in Iesus Christ and in the holy ghost without mention making of any confidence in workes or creatures the auncient Church neuer knew any such confession or confidence Cyprian saith He beleeueth not in God who putteth not affiance concerning his saluation in God alone And indeede the Papists themselues when death comes forsake the confidence of their merits and flie to the meere mercie of God in Christ. And for a confirmation of this I alleadge the testimonie of one Vlinbergius of Colen who writeth thus There was a booke founde in the vestrie of a certaine parish of Colen written in the dutch tongue in the yeare of our Lord 1475. which the Priests vsed in visiting of the sicke And in it these questions be found Doest thou beleeue that thou canst not be saued but by the death of Christ The sicke person answered Yea. Then it is said vnto him Go too then while breath remaines in thee put thy confidence in this death alone haue affiance in nothing else commit thy selfe wholly to this death with it alone couer thy selfe diue thy self in euery part into this death in euery part pearse thy selfe with it infold thy selfe in this death And if the Lord will iudge thee say Lord I put the death of our Lord Iesus Christ betweene me and thy iudgement and by no other meanes I contend with thee And if he shall say vnto thee that thou art a sinner say Lord the death of my Lord Iesus Christ I put betweene thee and my sinnes If he shall say
when he is come which is the spirit of truth he will lead you into all truth Ans. The promise is directed to the Apostles who with their Apostolicall authoritie had this priuiledge granted them that in the teaching and penning of the gospel they should not erre and therefore in the councell at Ierusalem they conclude thus It seemes good vnto vs and to the holy Ghost And if the promise be further extended to all the Church it must be vnderstood with a limitation that God will giue his spirit vnto the meâ—bers thereof to lead them into all truth so farre forth as shall be needfull for their saluation The second question is wherein stands the dignitie and excellencie of the Church Ans. It stands in subiection and obedience vnto the will and word of his spouse and head Christ Iesus And hence it followes that the Church is not to chalenge vnto her selfe authoritie ouer the Scriptures but onely a ministerie or ministeriall seruice whereby shee is appointed of God to preserue and keepe to publish and preach them and to giue testimonie of them And for this cause it is called the pillar and ground of truth The church of Rome not content with this saith further that the authoritie of the Church in respect of vs is aboue the authoritie of the Scripture because say they we can not know Scripture to be Scripture but by the testimonie of the Church But indeede they speake an vntruth For the testimonie of men that are subiect to errour can not be greater and of more force with vs then the testimonie of God who can not erre Againe the Church hath her beginning from the word for there can not be a Church without faith there is no faith without the word there is no word out of the Scriptures and therefore the Church in respect of vs depends on the Scripture and not the Scripture on the Church And as the lawyer which hath no further power but to expound the law is vnder the law so the Church which hath authoritie onely to publish and expound the Scriptures can not authorize them vnto vs but must submit her selfe vnto them And whereas it is alleadged that faith comes by hearing and this hearing is in respect of the voice of the Church and that therefore faith comes by the voice of the Church the answer is that the place must be vnderstood not of that generall faith whereby we are resolued that Scripture is Scripture but of iustifying faith whereby we attaine vnto saluation And faith comes by hearing the voice of the Church not as it is the Churches voice but as it is a ministerie or meanes to publish the word of God which is both the cause and obiect of our beleeuing Now on the contrarie we must hold that as the carpenter knowes his rule to be straight not by any other rule applied vnto it but by it selfe for casting his eye vpon it he presently discernes whether it be straight or no so we know and are resolued that Scripture is Scripture euen by the Scripture it selfe though the Church say nothing so be it we haue the spirit of discerning when we read heare and consider the Scripture And yet the testimonie of the Church is not to be despised for though it breede not a a perswasion in vs of the certenty of the Scripture yet is it a very good inducement thereto The militant Church hath many parts For as the Ocean sea which is but one is deuided into parts according to the regions and countries against which it lieth as into the English Spanish Italian sea c. so the Church dispersed ouer the face of the whole earth is deuided into other particular churches according as the countries are seuerall in which it is seated as into the Church of England and Ireland the Church of France the Church of Germanie c. Againâ— particulaâ— Churches are in a twofold estate sometime lie hid in persecution wanting the publike preaching of the word and the administration of the Sacraments and sometimes againe they are visible carrying before the eyes of the world an open profession of the name of Christ as the moone is sometime eclipsed and sometime shineth in the full In the first estate was the Church of Israel in the daies of Eliah when he wished to die because the people had forsaken the couenant of the Lord broken downe his altars slaine his Prophets with the sword and he was left alone and they sought to take his life also Behold a lamentable estate when so worthie a Prophet could not finde an other beside himselfe that feared God yet marke what the Lord saith vnto him I haue left seuen thousand in Israel euen all the knees that haue not bowed vnto Baal and euery mouth that hath not kissed him Againe it is said That Israel had beene a long season without the true God without priest to teach and without the law Neither must this trouble any that God should so farre forth forsake his Church for when ordinarie meanes of saluation faile he then gathereth his Elect by extraordinarie meanes as when the children of Israel wandered in the wildernes wanting both circumcision and the Passeouer he made a supplie by Manna and by the pillar of a cloud Hence we haue direction to answer the Papists who demand of vs where our Church was three-score yeares agoe before the daies of Luther we say that then for the space of many hundred yeares an vniuersall Apostasie ouerspread the whole face of the earth and that our Church then was not visible to the world but lay hid vnder the chaffe of Poperie And the truth of this the Records of all ages manifest The second estate of the Church is when it flourisheth and is visible not that the faith and secret election of men can be seene for no man can discerne these things but by outward signes but because it is apparant in respect of the outward assemblies gathered to the preaching of the word and the administration of the Sacraments for the praise and glorie of God and their mutuall edification And the visible Church may be thus described It is a mixt companie of men professing the faith assembled together by the preaching of the word First of all I call it a mixt companie because in it there be true beleeuers and hypocrites Elect and Reprobate good and badde The Church is the Lords field in which the enemie soweth his tares it is the corne flore in which lieth wheate and chaffe it is a band of men in which beside those that be of valour and courage there be white liuered souldiours And it is called a Church of the better part namely the Elect whereof it consisteth though they be in nuÌ„ber fewe As for the vngodly though they be in the Church yet they are no more parts of it indeede then the superfluous humours in the vaines are parts of the bodie But to proceede