to forget the Afflictions of his Church And therefore I cannot sufficiently wonder that Mr. Mede Maresius Tilenus the Gappe Synod and others of the Divines aforenamed should imagine that God would be so regardless so unmindful and so severe though in Justice we confess he might be much more severe unto the Christian Church Note this well as to suffer the Great Antichrist the greatest and the cruellest enemy unto his Church that ever the world bred to reign and rage against his Saints and Servants for so many hundred of years as the Pope and Turk have now ruled since they conceive them to be the Antichrist and the Great Antichrist that should be so signally revealed 3. 3. That the Antichrist was to arise not out of a true planted Church but out of a truly reformed Church I say that it is manifest the Antichrist should arise not out of a true converted Church from Paganisme and the serving of their Idols to Christianity as both Constantinople and all the rest of the Eastern Churches were when Mahomet corrupted them and also Rome and the Western Churches when the Pope replenished them with his Superstitions but the Antichrist was to spring and to appear out of the true and purely Reformed Church after it should be purged and cleansed from all Heresies Errours and Superstitions For it was prophesied and fore-shewed by the Apostle St. That it was foretold us seducers false prophets should come into the Church Acts 20.29 30. 1 Pet. 2.1 Paul that after his departure Seducers Corrupters of Gods Word and false Prophets should creep into the Church and introduce many damnable Doctrines amongst Gods people to poyson the Souls of the Flock of Christ And St. Peter likewise foretels us that there should come False Teachers into the Church who should privily bring in damnable Heresies And so we find that not only Ebion and Cerinthus two Heretical Jews and after them Arius Pelagius Manichaeus Nestorius Entyches and the like brought in most wicked Errours and Heresies that did most palpably and grossely infest and trouble the Church of God and therefore were the sooner perceived and the easier prevented and confuted by the Grave and Godly Fathers but also the Church of Rome the Popes and their Parasites have privily that is insensibly and unperceived by the very Doctors of the Church brought in many strange Doctrines and thereby corrupted in many things the true Faith of Christ and defiled the Church of God with many most Pernicious Errours as specially in forbidding the Priests to marry commanding us to abstain from Meats besides many other Superstitions and Points of less moment and most of all in that strange Metaphysical and incredible Doctrine of Transubstantiation and the consequents of that Doctrine in the Idolatrous adoration of the consecrated Host and other very frivolous Superstitions which have brought much Misery and have been most Pernicious unto the Church of Christ That a reformation of the abuses in Gods service was foreshewed And after that the Field of Gods Church should be thus overgrown with Tares and with Thornes and Thistles the same Apostle sheweth that God would look upon his Church and there should come a Reformation and he would raise Reformers to root out those erroneous weeds and Bastard Plants and to prescribe a form of Godliness or a set form of Gods Worship whereby the Church of Christ and Servants of God should be guided and directed how to serve God aright in the true Faith of Jesus Christ And these Reformers of the foresaid Errours and Prescribers of that set form of Gods Service and Teachers of the People to worship God according to that form of wholesom Doctrine are stiled by St. Paul as they were indeed good men and the good Ministers of Jesus Christ 1 Tim. 4.6 1 Tim. 4.6 Hypocritical proud Saints the worst of all sinners And because the Devil can never rest quiet but when we strive to be best then will he labour and strive to make us worst of all and to become proud Saints that are more odious in the sight of God than the greatest sinners when they be humbled for their sins as our Saviour testifieth the same quick-sighted Argos being illuminated by the Divine light of Gods Holy Spirit saith there should spring up a company of Hypocritical Professors that would be proud and boasting of their knowledge though it were never so erroneous and proud of their Godliness though they were never so great worldlings and Hypocritical Dissemblers And these E. H. rightly termeth the black guard of the Antichrist and he counteth eighteen Troops or as I think he might have rather said eighteen Legions of them 1. Self-Lovers which is the Root of all Mischief That abundance of hypocritical professors no lesse then 18 troops or legions should under the pretence of Religion corrupt Gods service and destroy his servants 2 Tim. 3.2 3 4 E. H. de Antichristo p. 145. 2. Covetous men that long for the Lands and Livings both of King and Priest 3. Boasters of what great things they would do 4. Proud men of their strength of their Knowledge and of their Goodness and Holiness 5. Blasphemers of God of the King and of the Saints of God 6. Disobedient to Parents especially to their Spiritual Parents the Bishops and the Church 7. Unthankful men to those that have best deserved and done them most good 8. Unholy men without any spark of true Holiness or Religion in them 9. Without natural Affection to their Kins-folk and those of their own flesh and blood 10. Truce Breakers without any regard of their Oaths Promises or Articles of Agreement 11. False Accusers and Make-bates by charging men with those things that they never knew 12. Incontinent and given over to all uncleanness and all fleshly lusts 13. Fierce and cruel men thirsting after the Lives and blood of those whom they hate and nothing satisfying them but their death 14. Despisers and so haters of those that are good 15. Traytors that is Betrayers of their King of their Governours and of their Friends 16. Heady that is obstinate and wilful men that will have nothing done nor said but what they themselves think good 17. High-minded men and such as from a low estate and mean extract aimed at great matters and aspired to high places to be Knights Lords and Princes 18. Lovers of Pleasures more than Lovers of God whatsoever Pretence they made of their love to God yet indeed their own Pleasure was and is their god and their main end is for their own good And all these eighteen Troops which the Apostle cloatheth in the same Livery that is a pretended form or shew of Godliness and a Directory to seem more zealous in Religion and to bear a greater love and care of Gods Honour than all others but should notwithstanding all their Pretences their Zeal and their Saintship deny the Power and vertue of the right and true Form of
concluded and expressed in our 39 Articles to which all Ministers subscribed and this uniformity of Gods worship thus purged from all abuses errors and Superstitions and so perfectly composed by all those holy men for the honor and service of God was fully authorized by the Queen and all the Parliaments that were convened and held in her time to be observed without any omission or alteration in all Churches as you may see by the Act prefixed before the Book of common Prayer And afterwards it was continued and preserved by that wise and learned King K. James and above all and more strictly than all by that ever blessed King and glorious Martyr of Jesus Christ Charles the 1. that defended the true faith and this true form of serving God against all opposers both the superstitious Papists and the apostate Puritanes and Separatists even to the loss of his life And I presume all good Protestants will yield unto me and I am perswaded That the Church of Ingland in King Charles his raign was the purest Church on earth that the Pope and his Cardinalls if they would speak according to their consciences could not deny but that the Church of Ingland as it was purged from Idolatry and Superstition and established in such purity of Doctrine and excellency of Discipline in the raign of King Edward the 6th and especially in Queen Elisabeths time and so continued in the raign of King James and King Charles was the truest and the purest Church unless they did except their own Church that way-fared and was militant here on earth where the faith of Gods elect might infallibly be found the service of God was rightly observed and was the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Temple the House and the Church which he hath purchased and wherein he dwelleth And So E. H. truly confesseth that amongst all the reformed Churches E. H. in his Preface to the Reader the Church of Ingland hath alwayes been esteemed the purest as being most conformable to primitive purity and the word of God both in Doctrine and Discipline B. Montague in apello Caesarem c. 5. p. 47 48. And this appears even from the pens of the heads of other reformed Churches as Bucer Melancthon Calvin Camerarius Beza Zanchius Molinaeus Casaubon Sergevil Saravia and others who many of them confess in plain words and all by consequence conclude that the Church of Ingland of any particular national Church in the world cometh nearest to the apostolick rule for though all the Churches that protested against the superstitious tenents and errors of the councill of Trent and the Church of Rome have borne the name of reformed Churches yet neither all nor any of them all are indeed well and perfectly reformed when as many of them are corrupt in many points of Doctrine as I could shew you amongst the Calvinists and especially the Lutheran Churches that maintain that foul error of the ubiquity of the humanity of Christ their consubstantiation of his body in the Sacrament of the Lords Supper and their many mistakes about the communication of the Properties of both his natures as Danaeus sheweth most excellently against Chemnitius and most of them are deficient in the rule of primitive Government not any one of them indeed following the Apostles Discipline And the reason of their deficiency is The reason of the deficiency of the Reformation of the other reformed Churches because that in the French and German Churches and the Churches beyond the Seas the Reformers of them by reason of the innumerable number of their potent enemies and the civil broyles and diffentions that were then in those parts and especially the want of a King in Israel that is a supream Monarch in some of those places over the people which made way for every one of the vulgar sort to do as we read in the Book of Judges what seemed right in his own eyes Judges 21.25 were constrained to do what they might and not what they would have done what could be effected and not what they desired to be performed But the Church of Ingland not by popular or any one particular mans reformation as John Knox that furious puritane did in the Church of Scotland but by a national Synod of all the Bishops and best Divines called by the King and confirmed by the King Peers and Commons of the whole Kingdome reformed her self not as other Churches did tumultuarily but with a great deal of advice diligence and deliberation that so it might be effected as the Apostles left it as the sacred rule required and as it was premonstrated it should be performed and weeded from all the dross the tares and the darnells that should spring to choak the pure wheat And therefore seeing the Church of Ingland until these late times was the truest and the purest reformed Church on earth it is conceived and I do believe it that the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the great Antichrist should arise not out of Rome that hath corrupted many truths and superadded many errors and Superstitions upon the fundamentalls of our Religion and is as yet unreformed nor out of Constantinople which hath likewise apostatized from the true faith of Christ and doth still continue unreturned to Christ from their false Prophet nor out of Hierusalem as some men do most fondly dream but out of this Church this very Church of great Brittain For as heretofore Speed l. 6. cap. 45. Camden britan pag. 74. Euseb in vita Constant. Zechar. 10.11 this Iland of great Brittain brought forth Constantine the son of Helen the daughter of King Coylus which was the best instrument that ever the Church of Christ had to further and to honor the Christian Religion as Eusebius sheweth the same at large And as according to the Septuagint the Prophet saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he hath passed through the narrow sea with affliction and the pride of Assyria shall be brought down and the scepter of Aegypt shall depart away which may signifie that Christ hath first of all purged this Church that lyeth within the narrow seas and hath made the purest Reformation here that was made in any place by the afflictions and sufferings of the aforenamed Martyrs in Queen Maries dayes and hath thereby brought down the pride of the Pope and of the Roman Church that were then as powerfull as the Assyrians were when the Prophet wrote the same and hath driven away his usurpation and freed us from his tyranny as the Israelies were delivered from the bondage of the Aegyptians so the devil bearing an inveterate hate and infinite malice against this Iland more than against any other place The 2. special Reasons why the devil beareth a greater malice to this Iland more than to any other place for these two grand services that it did to God 1. The toleration of the Christians to profess their faith in peace and the Plantation of the Church of Christ to encrease
God I would have all wise men to consider whether the Presbyterians Independants and all the brood of our new and lay-Preachers have not moved and preswaded the long Parliament to suppress the Governors of the Church and to lay aside the ancient Discipline and Government thereof and have they not themselves abandoned and cast off not only the Apostles Creed and the other 2 authentick Creeds so that you shall seldome or never hear any one of all three repeated by the Minister to any of their Congregations but also the Lords prayer the 10 Commandements and all the whole former service of God which was formerly used in the Church and is now wholly neglected and seldome or never used to be read and practiced to be done by these men unto the people which in divers Parishes have not had the holy Sacraments in many years administred unto them Et non ignota cano And the Reason hereof is What Pope did ever cast away the whole publick service of God as I conceive it because the service-book as we term it that is the Book of common Prayer that containeth these 3 Creeds and the Lords Prayer and the Decalogue and the form of the Administration of the Sacraments and all the other Prayers that are the principal and most essential parts of Gods publick service is so straitly prohibited and rejected And the Disciples of these new masters and the Adherents of that long Parliament tore the Bibles threw down the fonts The enormities that were done by the disciples of the Presbyterians cast away all crosses spoyled all pictures prophaned the Churches and did many other sacrilegious and outragious things whereby as many men conceived the whole reformation of this Church is nullified and the apostasie that is here spoken of by the the Apostle is fully come to pass and accomplished and they pray that there may never come to any national Church as they hope there shall not come a greater apostasie and falling away both from the truth of faith and the service of God than this is whereof the like as many good men and great Schollars do believe hath never been hitherto by the worst and the most dangerous Sect of Hereticks Because the Church being as the Scripture testifieth acies crdinata Bellarm. de Ecclesia milit cap. 2. like an army that is well ordered under their lawful Commanders Or as Bellarm. saith Coetus hominum ejusdem christianae fidei professione colligatus sub regimine legitimorum Pastorum ac pracipuè unius Christi in terris Vicarii Romani Pontificis In stead of which last Sentence I say sub legitime regimine or regimine legitimorum Pastorum And they are no lawfull Pasters nor Ministers of Gods Church that have not their lawfull Ordination and go no further that is a Company of men gathered together and professing the same Christian Faith under the rule and government of their lawful Governours the true and lawful Government being dissolved and the Governours suppressed and the Symboles of our Faith rejected the true Doctrines corrupted and the right Service of God cast away and the like enormities that are used do eradicate the foundation and not only pollute but also destroy and unchurch the Church of Christ and make it not to be as it should be visible here on earth and do provoke the Lord to leave his Habitation and to remove our Candlestick to another place For you may remember what the Prophet Zechary saith I took unto me two staves Zech. 11.7 the one I called Beauty the other I called Bands and I fed the Flock this flock is the Church of God and the two staves are the Doctrine and the Discipline of the Church the Doctrine is the Beauty and the Discipline is the Bands and preservation thereof and therefore when the Discipline is rejected and rebelled against the Doctrine must needs then be corrupted with Heresies and Errors and the service of God neglected and prophaned For as a Garden or Vineyard which the Church of God is Esa 5. cannot be kept undestroyed from the wilde boar and the beasts of the field without their fence so no more can the beauty of the Church the service of God nor indeed the Church herself be preserved without her bands which are the Lawes Canons and Discipline of the Church and therefore the Devil instigateth all his instruments to break these bands asunder and to cast away the cords from them Psal 2.3 And so you may remember we presently found that when the Bishops the Governors of our Church that preserved the Discipline which was the fence and the hedg of Christ his vineyard to keep out the foxes that is the Hereticks and Schismaticks out of the Church and the hoops of Gods barrel to keep in the wine Judges 9.13 that cheareth God and man that is the true Doctrines of faith and the right service of God were thrown down nay thrown away and the Government of this our Church dissolved by that long Parliament which never happened to the Church of Rome then instantly the beauty of this Church which formerly for learning Doctrine Cant. 2.1 and Discipline was the flower of all the Churches in Christendome as the rose of Sharon and the lilly of the valies became quite defaced and the Church her self became Lo-ammi her whole usual service was rejected the service-book Hos 1.9 that was the rule of Gods worship broken all to pieces and straightly prohibited to be used the Creed Lords Prayer and Decalogue seldome or never repeated the fundamental points of our faith either corrupted or omitted to be taught and all sorts of damnable long-buried Heresies were revived preached and printed in every place whereby our well-reformed and lately glorious Church became like an Army routed a barrel unhooped and a vineyard unfenced and then filled with all corruptions both of life and doctrine to make way for the man of sin as John Baptist did to Christ to enter in And to shew the enormities of these times more plainly I will out of their own mouth and from their own books quote unto you what a Presbyterian Tho. Hall in his Book intituled The pulpit guarded in Eâ—ist dedicat Domino Joâ—nr Trap pastoride Bello-vado as I conceive him to be saith Vetus est illa oratoris quarela proveniebant oratores novi stulti adolescentuli prâ—veniunt hac nostra tempestate non oratores sed aratores novi stulti fabri ferrarii aerarii lignarii rastris quam rostris aptiores pistores nunc pastores textores tonsores sutores sartores coquinarii cupedinarii milites mulieres puelluli puelluiae c. necnon quamplurimi alii ejusdem furfuris quos vulgo vocamus Gifted brethren hem lingua utendum est belluina ne belluae ist a nos dilacerent and whom I pray you doth this man mean should be the beast and these beasts that he speaks of and is afraid
of Jesus Christ as St. Bernard saith Yet such is the Pride of these men that some of them do say a just mans work is of value worthy of Heaven and that absque ullo respectu meriti Christi without any respect to the merits of Christ as I read it alleadged Suarez was not ashamed to write Nay more they teach that men are able not only for to merit but also to supererrogate that is to merit for themselves and for others likewise when they do more service unto God than God commandeth them to do and do more good works than God requireth at their hands Mat. 25.9 I remember the five wise Virgins would not impart with one jot of their Oyle unto their Fellowes lest they should want the same themselves but these men think they have enough both for themselves and others And therefore because they would have nothing lost they have invented that gainful Doctrine of Indulgences and pardons whereby they transfer the surplusage and remainder of the merits of those Saints which have supererrogated and have done more good works than will serve their own turn or that God requireth at their hands unto those The Doctrine of Merits and Supererrogation very beneficial to the Church of Rome that want them and can pay them for them the which point of their Doctrine I dare say is no Gospel but a very profitable Kitchin-Divinity And so you see how they derogate all from Christ and ascribe all this unto themselves And as Constantine saith of Acetius do erigere sibi scalas set up Ladders of their own framing to climb alone to Heaven without the help of their Saviour or but with a very little of his help And what is this but as the Poet saith turgescere fastu to swell with pride and to become insolent against the Lord against the Holy One of Israel as the Prophet speaketh of Babylon For our Saviour saith if any man will be his Disciple he must forsake all and deny himself and follow him but these men will neither deny their own errors nor forsake their own Pride to rely on their Saviour Christ 3. As the Chaldean Babylon was full of Idolatry the Land of Graven Images The Idola 〈◊〉 the Roman Church Jer 50. thâ—â— was mad upon their Idols as the Prophet peaketh so is the City and Church of Rome Of whom we may justly say with Baptista Mant. Fama est AEgyptum coluisse animalia quaedam Et pro numinibus mult as habuisse ferarum Ista superstitio minor est quam nostra ferarum Hic aras habet omne genus contraria certe Natuae res atque Deo And this Idolatry of the Roman Church we affirm to be committed two waies In two Respects 1. Respect two waies and and in two special respects 1. In giving the true honour and worship of God to faise Gods 2. In worshipping the true God with false worship _____ For 1. They give the Divine Worship 1. Giving the true Worship of God to false gods which they themselves confess to be only due to the true God unto the Creatures _____ As 1. To the consecrated Bread of the holy Sacrament of the Lords Supper here on earth _____ And 2. To the Saints and Angels that are in Heaven 1. When the Priest hath consecrated the Bread he lifts it up above his head 1. To the consecrated bread and saith three times that one of the most comfortable Sentences in all the whole Book of God and ever proper and peculiar to Christ alone O the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world have mercy upon us and then immediatly all the people fall down and prostrate themselves unto that Wafer Cake as unto the everliving God And what greater and more palpable Idolatry can there be than to worship Bread in stead of God Indeed the Heathens adored Ceres that they say first invented the sowing of Corn for a Goddess but they counted her the lowest of all their Goddesses and her Daughter Proserpina they feigned to be married to Pluto the King of Hell the fittest place for such Goddesses But these men adore not the makers and authors of bread but the bread it self and count that bread to be the true and living God and therefore seeing their Idolatry is the greater let them take heed lest their judgment shall be the severer and that they shall not with Proserpina be either Kings or Queenes or have any Dignity in Hell but with the rest of the wicked Idolaters shall be slaves of Hell if they repent not for evermore But these men to salve this sore and to quit themselves from this high charge of Idolatry do say they worship not any bread either hallowed or unhallowed but the Body of Christ which is the blessed God for ever and ever For after the Priest hath consecrated the bread and said this is my Body it is no more bread but it is changed and transubstan iated into the very true and natural body of Christ according to the words of Christ himself this is my Body So as the water was no more water Mat. 26. â—6 John 2.9 after Christ had changed the same into wine the bread is no more bread after the Priest transubstantiates the same into the Body of Christ and therefore they commit no Idolatry nor offence by this their adoration of the Host Why the Body of Christ is to be worshipped which is now become the true Body of Christ because the Body of Christ though not as it is a Creature and the Son of Mary yet as it is hypostatically united to the Son of God and is a nature of that Person which is the true God by nature is to be worshipped and adored I answer that if they could well prove the former point that the consecrated bread is transubstantiated into the body of Christ we would willingly as we do readily yield unto the latter as I shewed unto you how the body of Christ is to be worshipped But for the truth of their Transubstantiation of the Sacramental bread into the body of Christ it resteth to be discussed We read in St. John that the Word was made flesh John 1.14 Gal. 4.4 and so flesh was united unto the Word And St. Paul saith the Son of God was made of a woman and so the seed of the Woman was made the Son of God but we never read it in all the Scripture ture The first Inventers of transubstantâ—ation that the Son of God was made of bread nor that bread was made the Son of God For it was those Antichristian Popes Leo Nicholas Innocentius and Honorius that were the first Fathers which begat this new Doctrine of Transubstantiation and the Council of Lateran not much above 400 years ago was the first Council that confirmed and gave life unto the same But how far this new devised Doctrine of theirs The falshood of the Doctrine of
on the earth that is as I sayd the earthly and worldly minded men for the true Saints he deceiveth not but he deceiveth them that dwell on the earth and they worship the beast and assist him and adhere unto him as being seduced and beguiled through the faigned and dissembled zeal of the false Prophet and the Sight of persecution from them that profess themselves Divines could no more deceive the Beholders and cause them to worship the beast then the persecutions of the Heathens deceived the people How the dissembling zeal of hypocrisie deceives many men that saw the Primitive Martyrs suffering for the faith of Christ when as that sight converted many of the Pagans to become Christians as Sozomen writeth and could do no more then terrifie the fearful from christianity but never deceive any to think well of the Persecutors or ill of the pe secuted but the dissembling zeal of hypocrits hath deceived many good men and therefore much sooner could the fiery zeal of this false Prophet deceive the carnal and earthly men and make them believe such zealous Professors to be none other then heavenly Saints Nor the fire of false prestigies But Janius in Annotat in loc And as this fire cannot be taken for the fiery persecution of the Saints so no more can it signifie those falsa praestigia the lying wonders and the jugling tricks of the Romish Priests and Friars which Junius sayth they used to justifie their Doctrine of Purgatory Indulgences Transubstantiation and other like Popish Trumperies whereof you may finde store in their Legends in Vin ceutius his Speculum historiale and some in Stapleton's moral Promptuary and in divers others because these fiery Meteors or rather sulphurious fire and faigned wonders from the Souls in Purgatory and those lying fables of their Images sweating blood and their wonderful Narratives of their Saints Reliques and the Revelations of S. Bridget and the like holy Matrons do bear no Analogy or correspondency with fire from heaven when as all such Prestigia's or prodigies either of the Magiciaus or of the idolatrous Priests of the Gentiles and so the faigned miracles of the Roman Clergy are well known not only by the learned but even by all rational men to be all framed and forged upon the Devils Anvil and do spring from Hell and not from Heaven as all the honest Papists do confess Teneda in his miracles unmesked pa. 13. but the fiery zeal which the Presbyterian beast pretends to have to Christ to his Religion to the propagation of his Gospel and to the pure worshiping of God above all other Saints of God may without any absurdity and without incongruity be sayd A fiery zeal to Christ and his sarvice and may be thought to be fire from Heaven because such a zeal if they truly had it as they pretend could spring from no place else and from no other Fountain then from the Spirit of God and this fire of such a zeal the false Prophet pretendeth to make it to come down from Heaven on the earth that is on the earthly carual and worldly men to make them their Prosâ—lites and so to come to eternal happiness and by their perswasion and the opinion that the people have of thiis fire and this their zeal they are the sooner and the more easily deceived to become followers of their pernitious wayes and to be the Assistants of the first beast Out of all which that I have shewed of their blasphemy against God and their tyranny over the Consciences of men which is every way far worse then tyrannizing over their bodies it is apparent 1. That although the Tenets of the Church of Rome touching Purgatory 1. The doctrine of the Presbyterians more derogatory to the truth justice goodness of God then the doctrine of the Romish Church praying to Saints and adoration of Images and the like stuff be very frivolous and fantastical yet none of all the Doctrines of the Romish Church is so scandalous and so derogatory from the justice truth goodness and mercy of God as are the Doctrines which these Presbyterians Independants and Lay-preachers do preach and publish in Print concerning Original sin the cause of evil Free-will and the absolute irrespective Decree of God touching Election and Reprobation and other the like points depending hereupon without any just distinction or expression of the fore-sight and knowledge of God which is so fully and so excellently set down by Doctor Stern in his learned Discourse De medela animi and by divers others 2. 2. The discipline and government of the Presbyterians moro tyrannical over the consciences of men then the discipline and government of the Court of Rome Matth. 11.28 nor yet the Court of Rome hath ever exercised such an absolute power and domineering Authority over the consciences of Christians as this false Prophet useth to do for neither of the foresaid Courts did ever Excommunicate any member of the Church but either for apparent contumacy and a wilfull contempt of the Power and Authority of the Church or upon the proofe of two or three witnesses at the least of such crimes as were most scandalous unto the people of God and yet every petty Priest of our Presbyterians either upon his own malicious discontent or some other private dislike to his neighbor will debar him from the Blessed Sacrament and exclude him from the Body and Blood of Christ and so cut him off as a rotten member from his Saviour that doth so lovingly invite him to come unto him and deliver him unto Satan as a lively limbe to be tormented for ever And what is this discriminating of the sheep from the goates this admitting of whom we like to be of our Church and refusing whom we hate or do distast to any society or fellowship with the faithfull is it any other thing then to fit in the Temple of God as God oftentantes se esse deos and every one of them shewing himselfe that he is God when he takes upon him to do the proper work of God to distinguish the reprobate from the Elect the vile from the precious and those that have not on their wedding garments from them that had them on which the true inviters of Christ his guests durst not presume to do untill the Master of the Feast came himselfe to see his guests and to turne him out that had not on his wedding garment how then dares every Presbyter do the same Is not this to have a Pope in every Parish and whether is it better to have one Pope or a thousand Popes and every one of them more tyrannizing over their Flock then the Pope of Rome And therefore if these Presbyterians Independants and Lay-Preachers that gather Churches unto themselves out of the Church of Christ and exclude many true members of Christ from the Communion of Christ be not the false Prophet that hath two bornes like the Lambe but do
dominions 2. The Hierarchie or Episcopal government of Gods Church which is as requisite for the Church as the Monarchie is for the Common-wealth for the Church of Christ is said to be Gods vineyard and the vineyard must be well fenced or if the hedge be broken down all the wild beasts of the Forest will destroy the vine so must the Church be well fenced and guarded by wise discreet and careful Governours which are as the fence and hedges that by their spiritual Courts and censures do keep out all Sectaries and hereticks and all errrours and heresies and false doctrine from the Vineyard of God which is the Church of Christ And if these hedges and fences of Gods Church the Bishops and Governours thereof be broken down their Court supprest and themselves nullified and annihilated as that long Parliament did it is as impossible to keep out Sects Hereticks and false Prophets from the Church as it is to keep the civil state and common-wealth in peace and to have justice and equity duly preserved among all men without the civil Magistrates and their Courts of justice for as these protect the innocent and punish the Malesactors with the powerful sword of justice so must the Bishops and Governours of the Church which are best able to judge of divine questions defend the truth and as Christ whipped the buyers and sellers out of the Temple so must they by their censures whip all those Sectaries and Heteticks that will not other wise by fair means be driven out of Gods Church because as Saint Bernard saith qui nolunt duci debent trahi And it is not unknown to any that hath taken notice of the transac ions of these times how that long lasting and intended to be an endlesse everlasting Parliament hath killed our most heroical religious and renowned King the most constant Martyr and the first and chiefest of the two witnesses of Jesus Christ and also Doctor William Laud Arch-Bishop of Cantcrbury and suppressed all the Bishops that were the other witnesse of Christ But our good God hath promised that he would resuscitate and revive the slain and slaughtered Witnesses and restore them to the Church and their charge again Revel 11.11 12. And now you see how the wise and great God whose wayes are in the seas his paths in the great waters and his foot-steps are not known hath by unlikely unprobable and almost in mans judgement impossible wayes through the many many transmutations of things and alterations of governments brought his own purposes to this passe to make you the instruments to effect his will to perform his promise and to be that Cloud in which and by which the two slain Witnesses shall ascend to heaven chapt 11. verse 12. and hath given you power and authority and inabled you to do the same And now most honourable and most renowned Patriots you have most justly most religiously and most gloriously to your everlasting praise revived the first and chief Witnesse of Jesus Christ and restored the government of these nations to be Monarchicall that doth most resemble God himselfe which is the sole Monarch of all the world and is the government that the most nations of all the world hath ever used and especially this kingdome since the first peopling of it and you have put the Crown upon His head to whom your wisdomes knew It justly belonged which was the onely way to bring Peace and to make these kingdomes happy It resteth that the other Witnesse of Christ be revived and the Government of the Church be restored as it hath been ever fince the Apostles time to be Episcopal and so to raise the Bishops and other Ministers their dependants that as yet lye unburied in the streets of the great City to their pristine dignity to their offices their authority and their former estates for their inabling to discharge their duties in the government of God's Church they having suffered wrongs and indignities enough already And I hope your wisdomes will direct you to let the Ark of God be carried upon the Levite's shoulders as the Lord commandeth and suffer the worship and service of God to be used as it was in the reign of Queen Elizabeth King James and King Charles and confirmed by all the Acts of Parliaments and royall edicts in their times and not to suffer the depravers of Gods honour and disturbers of the Peace of the Church out of any singularity or sinister end either to suppresse the same or any wayes to alter it or any part of it unlesse your wisdomes do appoint a full and lawful Synod congregated after the usuall manner of this Church to confider what is fit if any thing be found fitting to be added diminished or altered therein for this care of Gods service to uphold the same in its integrity and purity is the onely thing that will bring a blessing and continue the happinesse of this or any other nation and they are to do the same to whom God hath committed the government of his Church and the teaching of his people And because of the multiplicity of Sects and diversity of opinions that have sprung in this our Church since the killing of the witnesses and that the faith of Christ is to be perswaded by the word of God and not forced by the sword of man I humbly beseech you to grant such toleration as your wisdomes shall think fitting to such weak and tender consciences as cannot on the sudden comply with us in our service to God untill that by a friendly conference painfull preaching and writing of learned books we captivate their understanding and bring them so to the truth and true faith of Christ and service of God and not by rigid wayes and too severe censures and punishments to compell them either to be hypocrites in our Church or Apostates to run out of our Church For I would not have the people of God to be driven hurried and harrased like as we drive wild beasts but to be led gently and eafily like sheep Leni spiritu non dura manu by an inward sweet influence and not by any outward violence And here I humbly beseech your Honours to give me leave to tell you what I am not suffered to be silent videlicet that to take away the Lands and possessions of men that never rebelled nor offered any violence nor the least wrong to any of our Protestant people in Ireland but relieved them and hindred others as much as they could to abuse them and yet to dispossesse and to cast them out of their inheritances because they were Papists and profest themselves Roman Catholicks as the long Parliament and their subordinate instruments in Ireland have done to the utter ruine of many ancient families both of Brittish and English extract is not onely as I conceive most unjust but also contrary to all Christianity and farre enough from humanity it selfe When the Apostle bids us to honour all men that is because
sprang up in the Apostles times and of whom and the like 1 John 2.18 It is confessed that the Pope is an Antichrist but not the great transcendent Antichrist S. John saith And now there are many Antichrists each one of them an Antichrist and such indeed are all Antichrists more or less according as their opposition is more or less unto Christ his Church and his Gospel and no doubt but the Pope and Papacy oppugneth Christ corrupteth his truth and oppresseth his Church in very many things and therefore he cannot be denied to be an Antichrist and one of them that are great Antichrists But though these things do sufficiently prove the Pope and Papacy to be an Antichrist and a very great Antichrist too yet they come too short to prove him to be the great eminent egregious transcendent and especially designed Antichrist which the Scripture saith should come before the end of the world and I never saw yet any Arguments alledged by the best of the aforesaid Authors B. Montague in his apello Caesarem pag. 143. that was sufficient to evince him to be the same nor indeed as Bishop Montague saith That I could not sufficiently answer at least-wise to mine own satisfaction to hinder my belief therein And though the Synod of Gappe and Mr. Powel and some other rigid Puritans of Ingland transported with the height of their zeal to a prejudicate opinion against the Pope do put it amongst the Articles of their Faith to believe him and his Hierarchie to be that great transcendent Antichrist yet I am sure that The Church of Ingland hath not determin'd the Pope to be the great Antichrist neither learned Zanchius nor Grynaeus nor Faius nor any of the most learned and more moderate Divines of Ingland do think him to be the same neither is it the Doctrine of our Church when as no Synod of ours hath resolved it nor any one of all our Convocations assented to it as learned and reverend B. Montague well observeth And although S. Peter calleth Rome as it was then in his time Ethnick idolatrous and full of confusion Babylon yet quia de cet Scripturam proprie accipere How the Scriptures ought to be expounded ubi non cogit fides ad tropos descedere because it ought to be an infalible Rule which all Divines should immutably observe That the holy Scripture is to be taken and expounded properly where the Analogy of Faith doth not compel us to recede unto Tropes and figures as here it doth when S. Peter wrote this Epistle but not so when Rome became all Christian and was rather Hierusalem then Babylon And because I see Bellarmines Arguments to prove the Pope not to be that great and long expected Antichrist unsufficiently answered The main Reasons why we cannot believe the Pope to be the great Antichrist and the answers unsatisfactory to many men notwithstanding all the endeavours of Bishop Downham and others of our best learned men to do the same and especially because that although many of the marks signes and actions of the great Antichrist may be rightly applicable and properly belonging to the Pope yet seing none can be truly said to be that very Antichrist but he that shall have all the marks tokens and characters of that Antichrist and shall by his actions fulfill all the Prophesies and Predictions that are foretold us in the Scripture the great Antichrist should do and all the markes and actions foretold us of that great Antichrist are no wayes applicable to the Pope nor fulfilled by the Pope as in the prosecution and sequel of this Discourse I shall make it as clear as the light to any impartial man that is not peevishly transported and obstinately wedded to his own groundless opinion and for many other reasons that in the explication of those Scriptures that speak of him I shall hereafter set down unto you all the men in the world shall never make me believe that the Pope E. H. de Antic pag. 81. 2. That many other learned men do believe the Turk to be the great Antichrist or succession of Popes or popish state and Polity is that great enormous Antichrist that should come into the world or that the city of Rome is or must be the proper seat and throne of that Antichrist and so E.H. in his Treatise de Antichristi Pag. 81. saith these very same words that I do 2. As the foresaid Authors concluded the Pope and Papacy to be that great Antichrist so many other learned men and great Divines finding the invalidity of the former mens Arguments and the insufficiency of their reasons to confirm their Opinion and to justifie their allegation to prove the Pope to be Antichrist have thought the Turk to be the same that should come into the world to destroy the flock of Christ and they do judg Constantinople to be that Babylon which is prophesied and spoken of in the Revelation to be the seat and throne of that bloody beast ever since Mahomet the 2. took the City of Constantinople and turned the great and famous Church of San-sophia in anno 1455. to be for the service of the false Prophet Mahomet Mahomet who he was that was the son of Abdalla a Merchant in Mecca of Arabia and was born post-humus in anno 571. as the Lord Verulam collecteth And that learned Bishop Montague setteth down 10 special reasons that might prove his Successor and upholder of his Blasphemies the great Turk and his wicked tyrannical state and Polity directing all his Lawes and Practices ex diametro to oppose the state and Kingdome of Christ and to oppress his servants to constitute and to be that great Antichrist rather and far more likely than the Pope as to abbreviate the same unto you Reason 1 B. Montague his 10 Reasons to prove the Turk Antichrist 1. In his Apostacy whether you understand it from the Doctrine and Gospel of Christ or from the Rom. Empire for both himself and all his Sectaries have relapsed from Christ and Apostatized from the Profession of his name and have received the mark and stamp of the Beast and he is much more interessed in the Rom. Empire than the Pope is or then any of the Popes that ever was Reason 2 2. For his deceiving signes and wonders from the first Mahomet to the present Turk the stories are most manifest how he and all his took that course to deceive the people and to make himself to be believed and to be esteemed a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 some great one like Simon Magus the which thing secundum literam 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 was never personally verified in any Pope of Rome to this day as it was in that false prophet who is amongst all his followers accounted the great power of God and their Saviour to these very times Reason 3 3. For the number of the beast whether you take it from the time of his rising
and multiply by the means of Constantine And 2. The Reformation of this Church better then any other Church by the means of those holy Martyrs and godly Bishops that did the same he was fully resolved to be revenged upon this Church of Great Brittain Therefore as not long after Constantines times he stirred up the Picts the Scots the Danes and the Saxons to punish plague and tyrannize over the poor Brittains as it appeareth by the lamentable address that they made unto the Romans for their aid and help against their enemies for the first good service they had done to the honor of God How the devil revengeth the good service that this Iland did to Christ so immediately after that those godly Reformers of this Church had rooted out those evil weeds of Errors and Superstition that the Devil had planted therein he stirred up Penry Martin Marprelate Cartwright Broughton and divers others that in Q. Maryes dayes fled beyond seas to save their lives and there suckt that transmarine poyson that infected both their own and many other mens soules to make invectives against our Church far worse and more bitter than all the Actions that Cicero did against Verres or his Philippicks against M. Antonius to revenge the second good service that this Iland had done to Christ And these that were reasonable good Schollars but fiery mad and furious men did through their violent proceedings get so many Proselites and Disciples after them that as S. Bernard saith of the former Hereticks in a very short space numeri eorum multiplicati sunt super numerum they increased like the rats of Egypt that do super-faetare beget young ones before they be delivered of their old brood And this grand host of his Instruments the Devil perswaded and egged them forward to prosecure their enterprise and never to give over and desist untill they should effect these 3 things The three especial things that the devil perswaded his instruments to effect 1. Unking the Kingdome and make it like the Israelites after the time of the Judges that every man might do what seemed right in his own eyes 2. Unbishop the flock of Christ that the foxes wolves and other savage beasts the Hereticks and Scismaticks might destroy them at their pleasure and so 3. To unchurch this formerly pure and famous Church of great Brittain and to cause it totally to apostatize from the true faith of Gods elect to be divorced from Christ and to be no wayes answerable to the usual and right definition of a true visible Church to which the infidels and unbelievers being converted might be incorporated And then after that they had more than desperately opposed their King and risen up against the pious Defender of the true faith he perswaded them that if he would not consent to defile that faith to abolish the right form of Gods worship to corrupt the Christian Religion and to destroy the witnesses of Christ the governors and upholders of Gods truth in this so well reformed Church with fire and sword to war against him and never leave untill they should bring him to a bitter death and a glorious martyrdome and after that they had like Jannes and Jambres withstood their Governors and cashiered their Bishops and supprest the Articles and Liturgy of the Church he perswaded them to fill the same Church with damnable Heresies not privily as the Apostle saith the former Hereticks would do but most openly How Satan perswaded his instruments to fill the Church with all impiety and villany in the sight of the sun and at last as our Saviour saith out of Daniel to bring the abomination of desolation that is such abominable blasphemies heresies errors and absurd opinions among the people and such wicked deeds of perjury oppression pride lasciviousness and the like corruptions of Gods true service that do more highly provoke the wrath of God than all the sinnes of ignorance negligence or infirmity and cause him to bring utter ruine and desolation upon any Kingdome to stand in the holy place that is in the Churches Chappels and all other consecrated and holy places that were dedicated for the true service of God and for the people of God that did formerly truly and holily serve the Lord in those places And this the Devil did to this end videlicet That so the Kingdome being without a King the flock of Christ without Pastors and the Church of Christ without her Discipline and true Doctrine he might raise that cruel beast which S. John saw rising out of the sea from these narrow seas and bring up the great Antichrist out of this pure Church of great Brittain to root out the true service of God to be the plague of his servants and the death of his saints and to be fully revenged on this Iland for the twofold displeasure it had done to him before Now whether Satan hath by his Instruments done all this or not I leave it to the wise and judicial impartial Reader to determine it only I finde that Mr. Alexander Rose in his animadversions against Mr Hobbs his Leviathan p 18 Alexander Ross saith the Instruments of Satan brought such abominable blasphemies heresies errors and absurd opinions among the people more in these few years than were all the time hitherto since christianity was imbraced which is a shreud suspicion if not an infallible proof that the great Antichrist is come amongst us CHAP. III. That the Antichrist is no single Person but a Collected Multitude of men Who those men might be Of the Grand Apostasie whereof the Apostle speaketh that made way and opened the Door wide for the Antichrist to enter in That it is neither the Apostacy of the Prime Hereticks nor of the East Churches nor of the Roman Church but of some purely Reformed Particular Church supposed to be and demanded if it be not the Church of Great Brittain BUT here it is a great Question among the Learned Whether the Antichrist be one sing le Person or else a multitude of men either succeeding one another or collâ—cted together whether this Great Antichrist be one single and singular Person or a certain Polity Kingdom or Multitude of men Hyperius saith Est multitudo aliqua diversi sibi invicem succedentes qui unum quodammodo Antichristi vastum corpus efficiunt It is a multitude of men succeeding one another which after a sort do all make up the vast Body of the Antichrist and so saith Tilenus and all those that would have the Pope to be the Antichrist Brightman saith the Antichrist must be understood to be a wicked Kingdom Rule or Dominion which he affirmeth to be not the Kingdom of Ingland which in his time indeed could not be but the Papacy the Roman Hierarchy and the Rule and Dominion of the Pope Tilenus exeg de Antichristo p. 9. Achor is 66. in Italy France Spain or wheresoever his Jurisdiction reacheth and Mr. Mede Mr. Potter and
speaketh evidently that in the later times 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Tim. 4.1 some shall depart from the faith and so in Acts 21.21 it is said they heard of thee quod 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that thou teachest a defection or discession from Moses that is from the lawes and Ordinances of Moses and so Theodoret calleth this apostasie 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a secession and departure from God which is the last step and period of our rebellion against the King or civil Magistrate And this falling away from God and from Gods service must be of such men as formerly have made shew to be the true subjects unto their Governors and the Professors of the Gospel of Christ and the obedient children of his Church because apostasie or rebellion is a falling away off and from that which we either were or seemed to be before as subjects that pretend obedience and not strangers of another kingdome are said to rebell against their Governors This Apostafie is of such as have professed the Gospel which strangers never acknowledged to be their Governors but as Julian was termed the Apostata because that during all the time of his Predecessor Constantius he professed himself a Christian and afterwards when he himself came to be the Emperor he renounced the faith of Christ fell into the Heathenish idolatry and persecuted all the best Christians and therefore this Apostasie cannot be ascribed to Caius Caligula as some think because that he being bred up in Idolatry cannot be said to depart from the worship of the true God which he never professed nor can it indeed be ascribed to any manner of men The Turks and Papists cannot be guilty of this Apostasie but to such as have receded and departed from that faith and service of God which they professed or seemed to profess before and therefore also the Turks that are bred in the Mahometan Religion and the Papists that are misled up in idolatry and superstition cannot be guilty of this apostasie nor be said to apostatize and to depart from the true faith and service of God because they never had it nor profest it for how can he be said to depart from the truth that never knew nor understood the truth or how can any man be said to depart and recede from London that never was in London therefore it is most certain that this apostasie is a discession and departure from that true faith and service of God Object which men professed or seemed to profess before E. H. de apostas pag. 36. cornel â—lapide in loc And whereas E. H. and some others say that this Apostacy whereof the Arostle speaketh here 2 Thes 2.3 must be understood of an universal and a general Apostasie universalis defectis as Cornelius à lapide termes it an universel falling away that is of all the particular national Churches in the world both the Western and the Eastern Churches because the Apostle speaks indefinitely and limiteth not the apostasie to this or that particular Church Solut. I answer with the leave of so great and so learned a Clerk as Cornel. à lapide is that as here the Apostle intendeth not to speak of the Antichrists in general when as then Eusebius l. 3. c. 7. l. 4. c. 14. Apoc. c. 2. Clemens Alexand Stromat lib. 3. in his time there were many Antichrists as St. John sheweth such as were the Ebionites Cerinthians Marcionites Nicholaitans and the like but he speaketh of an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a particular Antichrist that should be an Antichrist 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and a more eminent egregious Antichrist than all other precedent or subsequent Antichrists whatsoever were or should be so he meaneth here by this Apostacy not every petty apostacy or single Heresie or any small and little stubbornness of some particular Churches that should fall away and rebel against their Governours and Teachers and so make a defection from some Points of the true Faith or corrupt the Profession and Faith of Christ by their evil Manners and wicked Conversations as in St. Pauls time the Church of Corinth did by denying the Resurrection prophaning the Lords Supper and suffering the incestuous Corinthian to communicate amongst them which was no small apostasie And in St. Johns time the Churches of Asia did not much less than the Church of Corinth fall away from the Truth but the Apostle would have us to understand that the Day of the Lord shall not come 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 until there shall come that falling or the falling away first that is such and so great so eminent and so full a falling away and so foul a rebellion against their Governours and from the Faith of Christ and the true Service of God as the like rebellion and falling away from the Truth and specially from the right worshipping of God was never known before in any Church Greek or Latine Eastern or Western Church nor ever shall the like be seen after it until the day of Christ his coming And this the Particle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That the Apostle â—peaketh of some particular eminent rebellion and apostasie of some particular well reformed Church and not of a general apostasie of the Catholick Church against which the gates of Hell shall never prevail Mat. 16.18 set before 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 doth sufficiently shew unto us that as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 doth deâ—gn and particularize some great transcendent Antichrist so 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 doth shew a particular and a most egregious foul and enormous Apostasie and so the meaning of the Apostle in few words seems to be this that before the day of the Lord that is the great day of Judgment there shall arise a grand rebellion against the Governours of the people and against the Pastors and Discipline of the Church and a huge apostasie defection and falling away from the true Faith of Christ and especially from the form of wholsom Doctrine and the right worship and usually accustomed and received Service of God And then when you see such an unnatural rebellion as the like was scarce ever known if ever and such a corruption of the true Doctrine of Christ and opposition to the chief Governours of the Church as the like was never seen in any age nor found in any other Church nor read in any History the whole Church of Christ and all the Servants of God then in being may know for certain that an exceeding great Antichrist greater than any of all the other former Antichrists that were seen before will arise in that Church which formerly was the best and purest Reformed Church of all other Reformed Churches though now it doth recede and thus apostatize from the Faith of Christ and her own former purity And after the Coming and appearance of that Great Antichrist and the Tragical Acts that he shall do within a while and some short space best known to God how long
or how soon Christ will come to Judgment to make a final end of the Antichrist and to deliver his Servants out of all their troubles And this Author wrote a Book entituled The Grand Rebellion that they shall suffer by the Means and procurement of the Antichrist And so first the grand Rebellion will shew it self and the great Apostasie will appear then the great Antichrist will come and settle himself in the Church of Christ and he shall be revealed and made known not to all men no more than Christ was when he came into the world but to as many as the Spirit of God shall enlighten and open the eyes of their understanding to take notice of him that they may avoid him and not be seduced by him E. H. de Antichristo c. 6. pag. 101. to follow his pernicious waies as E. H. hath most truly declared And then as the Apostle saith the Day of the Lord will come and we may certainly expect it and believe it will not be long before he cometh Question Now it is demanded where in what Kingdom and in what Reformed Church or in what other Church this Grand Rebellion and huge apostacy hath happened and appeared And it is answered Respons That the apostacy here spoken of cannot be 1. The apostafie of the prime grand Hereticks 1. That this apostacy here spoken of cannot be meant of the apostasie of the prime grand Hereticks For though the Nicolaitans the Ebionites and the Cerinthians in the time of St. John and afterwards the Montanists Valentinians Arians Nestorians Eutychians and the succeeding Hereticks Manichaeans Pelagians Donatists and all the other Brood of the prime Hereticks fell into many most fearful errours and so rebelled against their Governours and drew many Disciples after them to make a defection from the true Faith and have by their apostasie and subtilty corrupted whole Churches and Congregations of Christ yet that their backsliding and apostasie cannot be said to be this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the grand Rebellion and the special great falling away from the Faith which the Apostle here speaketh of because their apostasie was not so general and so extensive from the most and the chiefest points of Faith as this is but each Heretick and each Sect of those Hereticks started aside from some particular point of the true Catholick and Christian Faith as Arius denied the Divinity of Christ Nestorius made Christ to subsist of two Persons and Eutiches on the other side to confute him confounded the true Properties of both Natures Manichaeus would have God to be the Author of evil or that there be two Gods the one good and the author of all goodness and the other evil and the author of all the evil that is Pelagius taught the too large extent of mans Free-will All the prime grand Hereticks far better than our present Presbyterians and others with the Stoicks ascribed all events to a fatal necessary and so the rest of those Heresiarchs defiled themselves and their Churches with some particular errour or with some very few at the most and yet still they retained the rest and the most points of the true Faith and especially the setled Form of Gods Service and defired alwaies to be in the Commnion and to keep the unity of the Catholick Church and they ever observed the right Government and Discipline of the Church none of all the Hereticks until Aerius nor after he was therefore condemned for an Heretick as Epiphan sheweth any other Heretick till this last Century produced a Brood of Aerius Proselites were ever found to deny the Episcopal Government of the same and they all generally retained the established Creeds and Articles of wholsom Doctrine Lyturgies Catechismes and the right manner of the Worship of God with that reverence and devotion as he ought to be worshipped though they started aside and apostatized from some particular points of the Foundation of the Catholick Faith And 2. 2. Nor the apostasie of the Eastern Churches The like may be said of all the Asiatick and Affrican Churches that succeeded them and were many of them corrupted by those grand Hereticks that they professed the Creeds observed the Lyturgies and reverenced their Governours as the Apostle enjoyneth and receded only like their Leaders from some few Points of the true Faith and therefore the grand apostacy here spoken of cannot be fastned nor applied to any of them And 3. As the Eastern Churches are free from this apostacy so the Church of Rome 3. Nor the apostasie of the Church of Rome and all the rest of her subordinate Western Churches though they have corrupted the Doctrine of Christ with many Errours Ceremonie and Superstitions yet because they retain the main Heads the true Scriptures the Catholick Creeds and the gross sum of the Christian Religion though mingled with many erroneous accessions and is therefore rightly compared to a field of goodly Wheat but very full of Tares and Darnels cannot be said to be guilty of this grand Rebellion and apostasie Reason 1 1. Because all their Errours and Superstititions are not so foul as those of the foresaid Hereticks and the additions which they agglutinate unto the Truth as a bad super-structure upon a good Foundation cannot be liable to this transcendent apostasie when as all the errours of the Church of Rome are rather Superstitions and additions of more Articles than ever the Apostles left or the Primitive Church professed to the true Faith and Catholick Creeds than a defection or discession and departure from the Faith and therefore that Church cannot be guilty of this apostasie and departure from the Faith but rather of creating a new Faith and new Articles of Faith which God never requireth us to believe Reason 1 2. Because the now Church of Rome of France Spain and other Churches under the Popish Jurisdiction did never profess all the Articles of our faith in the true and right sence as they ought to be believed and interpreted but they were born nursed and nusled in the errors and Superstitions that they are in continually and how can they be said to recede and depart from the faith and from the truth that never knew them nor profest them and therefore seeing they never were in the true faith they can no wayes be said to be guilty of this apostasie from the faith Object But you will say as E. H. doth and many others with him that when after Constantines time E. H. in the Preface of his book de Autic the Church began to be wealthy and as the envious said venenum intravit in Ecclesiam poison that is the poison of riches honors and authority especially after Phâ—cas his time that gave unto the Pope the title of universal Bishop entred into the Church and among the Clergy then the Monks brought tapers into the Church and they induced the trisagium that is sancte Deus sancte fortis sancte immortalis which as
the Monks say was first uttered by an Angel in the Cathedral Church of Canstantinople and about the year 605. Boniface the 8. usurpeth the Title of Universal Bishop and after that the Churches became Sanctuaries for malefactors holy-dayes were appointed Priests were forbidden to marry Latine-service was injoyned the Lyturgies were augmented the Pax was commanded to be kissed Images were adored the Saints were invocated and prayed unto which Mr Mede saith is the Doctrine of Daemons that makes the Apostasie which the Apostle speaks of 1 Tim. 4.1 2. Vestiments and other Church Utensils were consecrated Mr Mede in his Apostasie of the latter times the Emperours and other civil powers were shouldered out by the Pope and Church Indulgences were sold and abundance more of such absurdities were brought into the Church And when the godly Christians petitioned unto his Holiness the Pope The manifold Errors of the Church of Rome confirm'd by the Council of Treâ—t for a reformation of these abuses did not the Council of Trent confirm them Did it not in their first meeting Sess 3. decree that the vulgar Translation that hath some errors and much rude Latine in it should be authentical in all places and Sess 4. That original sin is so taken away by Baptisme that concupiscence or lust in renatis the regenerate is no sin untill they give consent unto it and Ses 5. That there remains in us a freedome of mans will to good which being excited and stirred up by grace concurs with grace to do the good we do and Sess 7. That seven Sacraments were to be received Vide etiam Tiâ—â—num exegesis de Antichristo pag. â—5 dâ—inceps And then at their second meeting in Bononia Sess 2. did they not establish the Doctrine of Transubstantiation And Sess 3. have they not made Penance and extream Unction two Gospel-sacraments or Sacramenta novae legis as they term them And 9 years after at their third meeting Sess 5. have they not impowered the Pope to mutilate the holy Sacrament of the Eucharist or Lords Supper and to take away the cup from the Laiety and Sess 6. have they not concluded the whole Masse to be a propitiatory Sacrifice both for the quick and the dead and Sess 8. Did they not give full power unto the Church to dispense with Gods Law in Levit. 18. concerning Marriages And at their last Sess Have they not confirmed the Doctrine of Purgatory invocation of Saints worshipping of images giving of Indulgences and preservation of Reliques And was there ever since Christ his time or could there be a greater and a more general extensive apostasie and departure from the truth and true faith than this where the Pope and his Faction have thus prevailed against the Protestants to put out the light of truth to corrupt the Gospel of Christ and to defile the service of God in this manner Respon To this great and bitter charge against the Church of Rome I answer That some men are so addicted to this Church that they see nothing to be evil in her but all truth and all to be imbraced without question and others are so transported with passion such hatred unto the Pope and such a prejudicate opinion of that Church that they think nothing good in her and nothing to be followed that she holdeth so that they are willingly ready to reject the Gospel as they do all Prayers and service the Papists use to God because they are approved by the Church of Rome it is an Argument sufficient to cast away all the service of God all good works and all the acts of Pieâ—y and Charity if they be but once perswaded they are Popery For my part The Authors resolution touching the Roman Church I do unfeignedly from my heart profess my self a true and right Protestant and an obedient Son of the Church of Ingland as it was reformed and the 39 Articles of our faith approved and confirmed in Q. Elizabeths time and so continued in King James and King Charles his time untill the Beast that ascendeth from the bottomeless pit I may mean the Devil endeavoured to remove our candlestick and to put out the light of Israel And for the Church of Rome I do perfectly and throughly hate and renounce all the errors and Superstitions of it and for her truths and good things that she holdeth and doth I do heartily love and embrace them and will therein joyn the right hand of fellowship and desire communion with them as a man that will not refuse a pearl because it was taken up from a dung-hill but for the aforesaid things and points that E.H. and others speak of and object against her I believe some of them may in some sence be justified some others not altogether so offensive as a groundless haâ—red against Popery makes them seem to be to such as Martial speaks of Non anto te Sabide nec possum dicere quare I love thee not ô Sabidus but why I cannot tell thee only this I can tell that I do not love thee Hoc tantum possum dicere non amo te I love thee not but why to tell thee I cannot Yet this I can tell for truth I love thee not And for most of them I confess they are either enormous or superstitious or some way or other justly offensive to Gods people and do sufficiently prove that the Church of Rome hath apostatized and receded from many points of the true Doctrine of Christ that her self had formerly professed especially when S. Mr. Mede in his Apostasie of the later times Plato in cratilo Apuleius de deo Socratis Plutarchus de defect oracul Paul wrote unto her and as that learned and worthy Divine Mr. Mede hath fully shewed how that Church hath backslided in worshipping Mahuzzims invocating of Saints and adoring of their Images and relicks so I confess the same to be a foul and mighty error and a great abuse of Gods service in them and not much inferior or less fault than the Gentiles adoring of their Deastri or Daemones which was the deifying of their deceased Heroes such as Hercules Romulus Numa Pompilius and the like were as Plato Apuleius Plutarch and others testifie the Heathens did Though notwithstanding I am so far from blaming S. Basil S. Chrysostome Fortunatus S. Gregory S. Hilary James Bishop of Nisibis Eucherius Theodoret and others that Mr. Mede chargeth to have done too undiscreetly to say no more for so much commending the holy Martyrs and calling them walls and fortresses and as Gregory Nyssen termes them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Guardians and Protectors of those Cities and places where those Martyrs were interred Mr. Mede's crimination of the Fathers answered that I do exceedingly approve their discretion and commend their wisedome and piety herein because those times were times of Persecutions and Christianity sought by the enemy of mankinde and his Instruments to be expunged and rooted out of the
of that is such a rebellion as Corah Dathan and Abiram stirred up against Moses and Aaron and such a discession and falling away from the true faith and the right service of God which they formerly professed as neither leaves the fundamentals of Christian Religion undigged up or unshaken nor the appearance of a true visible Church among the people For that all the people of Ingland were very faithfull and loyal Subjects and most respectively obedient unto their Governors both their Kings and their Bishops That the people of Ingland were good subjects true believers and right worshippers of God during all the raign of Q. Elizabeth King James and many years of King Charles as any Nation under heaven I think I do verily believe no man can justly deny So likewise that all the subordinate Clergy did ex animo subscribe and unfainedly profess to uphold and maintain the 39 Articles of the Church of Ingland and the established Discipline thereof and did accordingly for well nigh a century of years use to teach the people to believe that Doctrine and to observe that discipline as the true Christian Faith and the right Government that Christ and his Apostles for the preservation of that faith hath left unto his Church and also that the people and Congregations throughout all this Kingdome had the true faith preached unto them and the right service of God the 3 authentick Creeds repeated the Lords Prayer used the 10 Commandments published the 2 blessed Sacraments administred and all the other prayers and service of God that the Governors of Gods Church prescribed were observed practised and professed by them I am very sure and consident hereof and I believe no man will gainsay the same And therefore this Church had and did profess the true faith and Doctrine of Christ and did use to serve God rightly and to be obedient to their Governors both Magistrates and Ministers for many years according to the form prescribed unto them And you may remember how you read in Revel 6.9 that the soules which S. John saw under the altar and cryed to God to avenge their blood on them that dwell on the earth are said to be slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held and why I pray you doth the holy Ghost make such a distinction betwixt the word of God and the testimony which they held but to shew unto us that these soules had collected out of the Bible which containeth all the word of God the chiefest heads and points that are to be known believed and practiced for the true worship of God and their own Salvation and so compiled an abstract of Gods word into another book which is here called their testimony and that is the communion Book or Book of Common-prayer and publick service of God which is sometimes called the Book of life Revel 22.19 and ch 20.21 as Revel 20.12 and Revel 22.19 where you may observe how mention is there made of 2 special Books and the one is termed the book of this prophesie which is the word of God and the other is termed the book of life because the sum and the substance of all that is in the Bible which is the word of God and which is necessary to attain unto Eternal life is contained in this book of their testimony for which book and the constant practice of Gods service according to this book as well as for the other book of the word of God those faithfull soules were slain and it is well known the Presbyâ—erians caused the Parliament to destroy us for the testimony that we held of these Books but the Answer that God gives unto these slaughtered soules may serve for a sufficient comfort unto us yet this gives occasion to demand Whether the prevalent faction of the long Parliament and their adherents the Sectaries of these 3 Kingdomes have not hereby resisted their Governors whom formerly they had so religiously observed and rebelled warred killed and beheaded both Moses and Aaron that is the supreme Magistrate and the chief Priest I leave it for my Reader to determine And whether the Assembly of Divines at Westminster and all their followers and Adherents contrary to their former oathes practices and profession have not generally apostatized and totally relapsed and fallen away from the most essential and most material points of our Christian Religion and from all the right service of God which themselves formerly taught and observed and have led their Congregations after them to the same apostasie let the observers of our new teachers what Doctrines are now taught and what service is now used in every Church judg hereof For I read it in Arise Evans Arise Evans in his Voice from heaven pag. 15. that you may easily finde it every foolish man gets up into the Pulpit and poureth out his folly and so now the false Christs and false Prophets do appear for the Independant saith here is Christ the Presbyterian saith loe here is Christ but the Anabaptist saith no he is not amongst you but here is Christ with us 1 Cor. 1.13 and so all the other Sectaries crie and have as the Apostle saith divided Christ And you may consider what Tilenus saith Vetus Ecclesia primis temporibus solo Apostolorum quod vocant symbolo ex sacris literis excerpto contenta erat The ancient Church in the first times was contented only with that faith which they call the Aposties Creed that is taken out of the holy Srciptures this was the faith of the Christians in the Apostles time and this was the sun and the substance and the abstract of all the whole Scripture for so much as concerned the saving faith and this faith contained in this Creed is the Faith of Gods elect and sufficient to save all the elect people of God though afterwards for the suppression of those Hereticks that sprang up to corrupt the same formulam illam per novas formulas ex iisdem sacris litteris collectas luculentius copiosius explicuerunt episcopi The Bishops and he saith not the Presbyters did more fully and more clearly out of the same sacred Scriptures explain that form of faith by other new formes as the point in question Tilenus exegesis pag. 57. aphoris 169. and controverted by the Hereticks did require as First in the Council of Nice then in the Constantinopolitan after in the Ephesine and at length in the Chalcedon Council And the whole Catholique Church and all the particular Churches of God the Greek Church and the Latine Church and every other particular national Church of the world have ever professed to observe and to retain this form of faith thus left to us by the Apostles and thus explained by the reverend and godly Bishops in these Councills and never to discede from the same And yet now That our new Preachers have and do recede from the true faith and the right service of
Disciples at the Quarter-Sessions which was on that week and so they went to the Clerk of the Peace and drew a bill preferr'd it to the bench and had 3 or 4 witnesses sworn to prove the disturbance of the Preacher in his Sermon but one of the Justices of the Peace upon the bench that is a Presbyterian and the son of a Presbyterian understanding that the Preacher disturbed was a Bishop called the Prosecutor of the Bill and told him he could do nothing in that bill which he should have rather preferred against the Bishop for preaching than against the Parson and his followers for disturbing him because the Bishops are all prohibited and must not preach and therefore advised him to take up his Bill and the other Justices wished him to follow his advice and so after all their pains and cost he did because he wisely foresaw it was but vain contra stimulum calcitrare to swim against the stream Yet afterwards in the General Sessions held for the County of Denbigh the Grand Jury consisting of 24 good Gentlemen indited the preaching trooper for disturbing the Bishop in his Sermon but the Judg after he had thundered his threatnings against some of the Jury and pleaded for the Trooper as if he had been his Advocate quasht the inditement a very good Judg and is not he a member of the beast yet the Bishop would question him in another place but for fear of meeting such another Judg. And I would very fain know when such a thing was done or suffered to be done in the Church of Rome and that with the approbation of the Governors of that Country But to proceed and to shew unto you the enormities and Apostasie of the men in these times a little more plain Revel 13.16 Revelat. 14.1 as the servants of the Antichrist are said to bear the mark and the name of the beast in their foreheads or in their right hand so the servants of Christ are said to have the name of the Lambe and of his father written in their foreheads and that is the vow and promise wherewith they have bound themselves in their baptisme to serve the Lambe as their Lord and General Canstitut Apost l. 12. c. 6. and never to backslide from him to the service of Satan and to follow his pomps and devices and the lusts of our own flesh For as S. Chrysostome and others of the Fathers do witness this was the practice and the ancient custome in most Churches that every one which gave himself to Christ to be baptized and to receive his badg and mark in his forehead should profess and say 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chrysost ad populum Antio Hom. 22. August in Joan. tract 6. contra lit petil that is I do renounce Satan and all his works and all his pomps and all his worship and after he had made this Profession he should receive the Sacrament of Baptism as the seal of the Lord and the mark and name of the Lamb and of his Father in his forehead the which mark S. Augustine calleth the royal mark and the mark of the Redeemer wherein the Christians so much gloryed and rejoyced in And as Epiphanius saith that those Jews which ran after the Idol-service and to that end Joseph antiq l. 12. c. 6. Epiphan de ponder mensur Tertul. de spect c. 4. Origen de spect execrat l. 8. c. 59. Aug. in Joh. tract 7. by the Art of Chyrurgery blotted out their circumcision praeputium per attractionem patiebantur as Josephus witnesseth many of them used to do they did it ad dei ipsius abnegationem patrum characteris abolitionem to the denial of God himself and for the abolishing of the mark and character of their forefathers so Tertul. Isidore Origen and S. August tell us that they have lost the Mark of Christ and have blotted out the seal of the Lamb and cast away his name which have received the mark of the devil and are become revolters or apostata's from the Christian faith which renounce their baptisme and covet that which they profess to renounce in their Baptisme And I know none of all the old Hereticks backsliders and apostate Churches or persons any where whether you look into the Greek Church or the Roman Church or any other national Church in all the Christian world not the Donatists which came nearest excepted that used this ancient form of renouncing Satan and his pomps and adhering to Christ and receiving his seal and his marke in their foreheads and did afterward so execrate and abhor that form refuse the mark and renounce the very seal the Sacrament of their baptisme and receive the mark of the beast and follow after the works of the devil the pomps of the world and the lusts of their own flesh as many in the long Parliament many Presbyterians Independants Anabaptists and other Sectaries and adherents to the long Parliament have done or especially any hereticks or apostata's in this Church that have made their apostasie wider and more general than these men have done For you may observe that although T. Cartwright and Penry and the frantick Parker that indicted the innocent signe of the cross which the primitive Christians commonly used to shew that they were not ashamed of their crucified Saviour of fellony adultery murder and all other sinnes of the Decalogue and some other particular Calvinists their Proselites did in their puritanical zeal start aside from the discipline and some points of the Doctrine of this our Reformed Church as especially that Article of Christ his discension into Hell yet all the Clergy and the whole Church were never comprized within this apostacy neither did they so generally consent unto it and adhere unto these Masters but the Assembly of Presbyterians at Westminster concluded all the Clergy and all the other people by their binding Directory and Determinations that were comfirmed by the Parliament and required them strictly to recede from all the whole established form of Gods worship and to follow their Directory and manner of praying preaching and other service of God which is conceived to be more destructive to the true Christian faith and more derogatory to the honor of the just God then were any of the Heresies of the greatest Heresiarchs as is partly manifested against their Doctrine B. Montague in his apel Caesar by B. Montague in his appello Caesarem and by Dr. Stearne in his medela animi and in Dr. Taylors vindication of Gods attributes against the desperate and most dangerous Doctrines of this false Prophet the Prebsbyterians Independants and Anapabtists and their Disciples that by the aforesaid means 2 Sam. 3.39 are now so multiplyed that as David said of the sons of Zervia so may we say of them the sword is not able to suppress them but they must have places of credit and Titles of honor conferred upon them for fear of further inconveniences And therefore
transubstantiation shewed three waies is from the old received Faith of the Church and from the Divine Truth of God I shall briefly shew unto you 1. From the Holy Scriptures 2. From the Ancient Fathers 3. From pure and sound reason And a threefold cord is not easily broken For 1. Christ told his Disciples 1. From the Scriptures John 14.3 v. 28. Mark 16.19 Acts 7.56 Acts 9.4 Acts 3.21 before his passion that he must leave the world and go to his Father as he was man And St. Mark saith that after his resurrection he was taken up into Heaven and sitteth on the right had of God And so Saint Stephen saw him in heaven standing on the right hand of God and Saint Paul heard him from Heaven saying Saul Saul why persecutest thou me And St. Peter saith that the Heavens must receive or contain or hold him until the times of restitution of all things that is until the last day the day of Judgment How then can he be corporally present here on earth and be still residing in Heaven But to make the Point more clear John 6.53 our Saviour saith except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his Blood ye have no life in you that is none can attain unto eternal life but only those that do eat the flesh of the Son of man and do drink his bloud but all the Patriarchs Fathers and Prophets of the Old Testament and all those Christians that are baptized and die before they receive the Sacrament of the Lords Supper The Fathers of the old Testament could not eat the natural flesh of Christ could not nor cannot eat the very natural flesh of the Son of man For as yet in the time of the Fathers of the Old Testament he had not assumed his Body and therefore either all those Fathers can have no life or else our Saviour meaneth it of a spiritual eating of his flesh by the mouth of Faith and not of any carnal eating of him by the mouth of our Bodies But to deny eternal life to these Fathers is most absurd and injurious unto them therefore our Saviours meaning must needs be granted to be of a spiritual eating of his flesh and no thanks to grant it For the Apostle proves it saying that they did ali eat the same spiritual meat 1 Cor. 10.3 4. and they did all drink the same spiritual drink that is as we do now for they drank of that spiritual rock that followed them and that rock was Christ whose flesh they did thus spiritually eat that so they might have eternal life And St. Aug. in Johan tract 26. Aug. expounds it in the same manner saying visibilem cibum hoc est Manna spiritualiter intellexerunt spiritualiter esurierunt spiritualiter gustaverunt they understood that visible meat that is the Manna spiritually they hungred after it spiritually and they did eat the same spiritually And of all Christian Children and others that are baptized and die before they receive the Sacrament of the Lords Supper the same Father saith nulli est aliquatenus ambigendum tunc unumquemque fidelium corporis sanguinis Domini participem fieri quando in baptismate efficitur membrum Christi Aug de Symbol fidei ad catech to 9. no man ought any way to doubt but that every one is then made partaker of the body and blood of our Lord when by Baptism he is made a member of Christ Therefore the words of Christ are not to be understood of any oral eating of his flesh or drinking of his blood 2. 2. From the Fathers The whole stream of the first Fathers of the Christian Church are against this new-found Doctrine of Transubstantiation of the bread into the flesh of Christ and of the wine into his blood and for the spiritual eating of the flesh of Christ and the spiritual drinking of his blood For Origen saith si secundum literam sequaris id quod dictum est Origen in Levit hem 7. nisi manducaveritis carnem filii hominis non habebitis vitam in vobis litera illa occidit if you follow the letter of that which is said except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man ye have no life in you that letter killeth for it is the Spirit that giveth life the flesh profiteth nothing Theoder Dialog 7. And Theodoret saith Christus naturam panis non mutat Christ changeth not the nature of the bread So Tertullian contra Marcionem l. 4. August contra Adamant Manich. to 6. c. 12. in epist 221. Cyprian de coena Domini Hesichius in Levit. l. 3. c. 2 Amb. de Sacrament l. 1. c. 5. Chrys in Johan Tract 25 26. And all the rest that write of this Point are of the samâ— minde and do expound it in the same manner And so many of the Popish Writers themselves do either ingenuously confess or else tacitely yield unto this very truth for Pope Gelasius saith non desinit esse substantia vel natura panis vini the substance or nature of the bread and wine doth not cease to be and Roffensis yieldeth that the very presence of Christs body in the Masie Fisher Bishop of Roches cont Capt. Babylon Tonst de Euch. l. 1. Pag 65. Ar. Mont. in Luc. 22. cannot be proved by any place of Scripture and therefore sure we need not believe it for any truth and Tonstall confesseth it was no heresie to deny the Doctrire of Transubstantiation before the Council of Lateran And Arias Montanus upon the words of our Saviour this is my body saith it is no more but my body is sacramentally contained in this Sacrament and this we do all affirm and accursed be he that denieth it for we say with Clemens Alexandrinus that duplex est sanguis Domini alter carnalis quo redempti sumus alter spiritualis quo scilicet unctisumus and so the fiesh or body of Christ is understood to be 1. Carnally or corporally in heaven 2. Mystically and spiritually in the Sacrament and in the first sence none did or can eat him but in the second sence all the godly men have and do and will eat him and drink him nam hoc est bibere Jesu sanguinem incorruptionis domini participem esse for this is to eat the flesr of Christ and to drink the blood of Jesus to be partakets of the incorruption of our Lord as S. Clemens saith and as S. August August in Johan saith credere in Christum est manducarc panem vivum to believe in Christ is to eat the bread of life which is the flesh of Christ 3. Reason it self disproveth 3. From reason 1. Reason John 3.9 and is fully against this their doctrine of Transubstantiation For 1. If the bread upon the pronouncing of those words this is my body be turned into the flesh of Christ then the Apostles did eat his body and yet saw it whole and intire before their
divisions corruptions and confusions that are now conceived to be in the Churches of these Dominions Donatist Cradokist Cerinthian Catharist Ebyonist Eutychian Familist Gnostick Hugonite Hussite Jesuit Libertine Lollard Marcionist Manichean Montanist Millenary Nestorian Nicholaitan Origenist Petagian Puritan Quaker Ranter Sadduce Socinian Seeker Tritheist Valentinian Winterist or if you will Atheist or Adamite or Independant From all these and from all other Seâ—â—â—â—d or new and have liberty of Conscience to profess and be of what Sect you 〈…〉 so you profess to believe in Jesus Christ as all the very worst hereticks did and 〈◊〉 and so you take the Oath of abjuration and renounce popery and 〈◊〉 which are the only men as I see that although they do believe in Jesus Christ as well if not better than any of the foresaid Hereticks are excluded from this benefit and excepted from this liberty of conscience to serve God as seemeth good in every mans eyes And though all these Sects differ one from another and are in confusion The common and joynt practise of all the Sectaries and execrating one another yet all of them do agree to dissociate themselves from the true Professors of the primitive Christianity to tear the Apocriphal Books out of our Bibles to cast away the service Book and to cashier the Articles of our Church and the Book of Homilies they are no Saints if they do not this But for the resolution of the foresaid Questions though I could say much therein Yet I will only refer the same to what you may read in a little Treatise intituled Hell broke loose that so as it seemeth the Antichrist might come forth out of the bottomless pit as S. John saith he should do and to a book of Mr. Edwards intituled Gangraena which is set out at large and three times printed where you may finde very orderly and methodically set down such a ferrago and hodg-podg of Heresies and such a multitude of most horrible blasphemies so odious and so hideous Mr. Alexander Ross in his animadversions upon Mr. Hobbes his Leviathan sheweth how the Leviathan blasphemeth 1. God 1 Errour that my hairs do stand and my heart doth tremble at the thought of them and my soul is very much afraid to name them least thereby the Devil should intice some wicked men that as yet know them not to embrace them and likewise to another book of Mr. Alexander Ross against Mr. Hobbs his Leviathan which Mr. Ross saith is like that beast in the Revelation cap. 13. and that is the Antichrist which opened his mouth into blasphemy against God and his Tabernacle and against them that dwell in Heaven 1. Against God himself and that many waies as specially 1. In saying that God made the world by nature and so by consequence of necessity according to the course of nature whereas indeed he did it voluntarily and freely and might have chosen whether he would have created any thing or nothing for he being liberrimum agens a most free and no waies necessitate agent whatsoever pleased the Lord that did he in heaven and in earth and in the Sea and in all deep places saith the Prophet Errour 2 2. In making the Three Persons of the Trinity the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost to be rather Names than Substances which is contrary to our very Creeds and the Faith that we do profess Errour 3 3. In making Christ only to personate God the Son as if he were not so indeed but takes upon him only that Office Place and Title Whereas in very truth Christ by reason of the Hypostatical union of his Manhood to the Godhead is rightly said to be as he is the Son of God Errour 4 4. In making God with the Manichees to be the author of sin and so unjust if he punisheth us for doing that whereof himself is the author when as the Scriptures tell us plainly he hateth all those that work vanity vide Hab. 1.13 1 John 1.5 much more them that work wickedness and that he is of pure eyes neither shall any evil dwell in his sight he being that light in whom is no darkness at all and that perfect order in whom is no Ataxie or disorder at all Errour 5 5. In making God to be corporeal and a part of the Universe when as Christ tels us plainly God is a Spirit and the Scripture tels us so in many places 2. Against Gods Tabernacle that is his Church 2. The Tabernacle by labouring to overthrow her Faith her Knowledge her Miracles and her Ordinances 3. 3. The Angels and the blessed souls of the Saints Against them that dwell in Heaven that is the Angels and separated Souls of the Saints in making the one but Fancies and dreams that are indeed created substances of a pure spiritual being and the other mortal and not capable of any other happiness than what is earthly which is the greatest discouragement that can be to all Christians 1 Cor. 15.19 and would make them if this were true of all men the most miserable and would be the very poyson of all Piety and vertue And besides all this he saith that the said Hobbes in his Leviathan affirmeth that Faith is not by inspiration or infusion but 〈…〉 and industry that to believe in God is not to trust in Gods Person 〈…〉 confess the Doctrine of the Scripture that our Belief is in the Church The manifold errours heresies and blasphemies that Ross collecteth out of the Leviathan that they â—â—e not Devils but mad men that confessed Christ in the Gospel that Covetousness Ambition and Injustice with Power able to uphold them are honourable that wicked Tyrants and good Princes are all one and no such difference betwixt them that a man may sin against his Conscience that is do the things which his own Conscience tels him he should not do that men should not render a reason or an account of their Faith that Kings and Princes are not subject to their own Lawes that private men have no propriety in their own Goods that our natural reason is the Word of God that divine dreams cannot win our Belief that it was but a wind and not the holy Spirit of God that moved on the waters in the Creation Gen. 1.2 that the Dove which lighted on Christ in his Baptisme and the fiery Tongues which sate upon the Apostles in the day of Pentecost may be called Angels that Christ hath no spiritual Kingdom here upon earth that Christ did not cast out Devils Mat. 3.16 Acts 2.3 but only cured Madness that Satan did not enter into Judas that we may dissemble in matters of Religion and that we may disobey both Christ and his Apostles without sin Such Job 41.20 and much more like stuffe and smoak saith Ross doth this Leviathan send out of his Nostrils as out of a boyling Cauldron and herein contrary to all truth and without shame he raked up the
Why the Lord raiseth these Idol-shepherds Verse 3. the crie of the good shepherds and faithfull Pastors of Gods Church for their contempt their rejection and suppression for as the Apostle saith that because men receive not the love of the truth that they might be saved therefore God shall send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie that they all might be damned who believe not the truth 2 Thess 2.10 11. Luke 13.34 but have pleasure in unrighteousness so because the people rejected the true shepherds and as our Saviour saith killed the Prophets and stoned them that were sent unto them for Zachary was stoned with stones by the command of King Joas in the Court of the House of the Lord Micheas was thrown down by king Joram to break his neck because he had rebuked him for the sinnes of his Father Amos was very often persecuted by Amasias and his son struck him with a club on the temple of his head Dorotheus de vitis Prophetarum and so killed him Isaias was sawed asunder in two parts under King Manasses Jeremy was stoned by the people at Taphnis in the land of Egypt Ezekiel judged the two Tribes of Dan and Gad in Babylon and because he reproved them for their wickedness one of them slew him Urias the son of Simei was killed by Joachim Jeremy 26.23 and his carkasse thrown where the common sort of people were buried and so the rest of Gods faithfull Prophets were rejected persecuted and suppressed Therefore the just God as a just reward of this unjust dealing with the true shepherds raiseth up the foolish and the idol-shepherds and as he faith by the Prophet Michah if a man walk with the winde and lie falsely he shall be the Prophet of this people Ver. 13. The 2. Reason that moved the Lord to raise up these idol-Shepherds is said to be the roaring of the young Lions Micah 2. Verse 11. which I take to be the harsh and thundering threatnings of the new-sprung domineering Lords against the old faithfull shepherds to cause the people to reject them and to adhere unto their young Teachers because it is said v. 5. Verse 5. that their possessors slay them and hold themselves not guilty but think they do very well herein and they that thus sell the people say blessed be the Lord for I am rich that is in Gods favour and their own shepherds that is their new young shepherds pitty them not but think that they are in a far better condition then ever they were before Therefore the Lord saith I will not feed you and I will no more pitty you Ver. 6. that is Verse 6. you that are thus seduced by your Possessors the young roaring Lions and your new Teachers that are the Chaplains of those Lions but that that dieth let it die and that that is to be cut off let it be cut off and let the rest eat every one the flesh of another Verse 9. Vers 9. And yet such is the great love of God and his pitty towards his elect that he Vers 4 biddeth his good old shepherds and his true Prophets to feed the flock of the slaughter Ver. 4. Vers 7 and that is the poor of the flock as the Prophet explains it Ver. 7. or those that are despised and as it were appointed for the Slaughter by the young roaring Lions The two staves of the true and old Preachers Vers 7. and the foolish new shepherds And therefore the true Prophets and good old shepherds do take unto them 2 staves the one they call beauty and the other they call hands and they feed the flock that is the poor of the flock that are willing to be fed by them So you see the raiser of this foolish and idol-shepherd and the reason why he raiseth him 2. Time when the foolish idol shephere is raised then 2. For the time when God raiseth him you may observe that it is after the breaking of the Prophets 2 staves beauty and bands and 1. The staff of Beauty signifieth the true Doctrine of the Church and the faithfull exposition and teaching of the law of God and 2. The staff of bands is the good discipline and the right Government of the people that bindeth them together in the unity of Faith and perfect charity among themselves and hindereth them to straggle and to fall out into divers Sects and factions Verse 10 And if you do observe it you shall finde that when the staff of beauty was cut in sunder that is when the true exposition of the Law of Moses and the true Prophets was corrupted by the false glosses of their new Teachers When Christ was bought and sold Verse 12. This was fulfilled by the long Parliament Verse 14. that were the Scribes Pharisees and Sadduces then presently their King their Priest their Prophet and their good shepherd Jesus Christ was bought and sold by them for they weighed for his price 30 pieces of silver a goodly price that he was prized at of them for I heard of some that when the staffe of beauty was broken and the truth of Gods word corrupted by false teachers sold a far Meaner Man for a far greater price And was not our King bought and sold and murdered when our staff of beauty was broken to pieces and were not our Bishops suppressed when our staff of Bands was chopt asunder by the beast and the false Prophet Iet my Reader judge But when their King and their Good Shepherd is thus bought and sold then presently the other staff When the foolish shepherd riseth Verse 15. What is the Instrument of the foolish Shepherd Verse 16. even Bands that is the Discipline and Government of the Church is cut asunder and when both these staves are broken then the foolish shepherd with his instrument is to guide and to feed the flock for so the Lord now saith unto the Prophet take unto thee yet the instrument of a foolish shepherd And what is the Instrument of a foolish shepherd I cannot guess it to be any other than his Pipe wherein he takes great delight to be alwaies piping and prating unto his flock thinking that his piping is a sufficient discharge of his whole duty and so wholly neglecteth the Office of a good shepherd which is set down v. 16. And therefore as the children that sit in the Market place and call one to another Luke 7.32 The practice of the foolish and new Shepherds saying we have piped unto you and ye have not danced so we may say that these foolish shepherds do pipe all day unto the people and yet the people dance not after them because they lead not the dance they do nothing but pipe or as our Saviour tels us they say and do not and therefore their piping is no better than vain jangling So you see the time when God raiseth this foolish and Idol Shepherd when the staffe of
Kingdoms 4. The judgment of the Idol shepherd So the right eye i.e. the understanding of divine things shall be taken from the Antichrist though his left eye shal be quick-sighted enough in all worldly things and tore their clawes i. e. their strength and power all to pieces I think I may say this without question 4. Tâ—e Lord denounceth the Judgment of this Foolish Idol shepherd saying Wo to the Idol shepherd that leaveth the flock and much more wo to him that thus spoileth the flock the sword shall be upon his arm and upon his right eye his arm shall be clean dried up and his right eye shall be utterly darkned And so it fell out accordingly to this Idol shepherd the Scribes and Pharisees and the rest of the false Prophets of the Jews for though they thought themselves safe and had done all things well when they had broken the two staves of Beauty and Bands and had bought and sold their King Priest and Prophet and had put to death the true Bishop of their soules Jesus Christ yet the just God that is slow to anger and of great patience and was formerly forty years grieved with this generation when their Fathers tempted him proved him and saw his works forty years after this direful tragedy And so this Beast for doing as the Jews did kill his King and his Bishop let him fear the like judgment as the Jews had executeth this very judgment upon this Idol shepherd as Josephus ben Gorion and Josephus the Son of Mathathias 1.7 de Bello Judaico setteth down the same at large and in his 18th Book of Antiquit. he confesseth the same to be for their malice against their King Jesus Christ and the killing of the holy Apostle St. James that was Bishop of Hierusalem And this much shall serve to be spoken of the foolish Idol shepherd of the Jews that the Lord raised in the time of Christ and was the Type of the great Antichrist who in all the foresaid particulars did or will imitate this his Predecessor so far as the type doth agree with the thing typified So that I need not spend any longer time to tell you what the Prophet sheweth the great Antichrist that is here exprest under the title of the Idol shepherd should do when the Lord should raise him and for our sins send him amongst his flock because you have heard many points of his lewd and foolish pranks already in the doings of his type that was the Idol shepherd of the Jews that the Lord raysed for their sins in the time of Christ And you may see The a Staves never broken in any Church till now in the Church of Ingland as I said before how this Prophesie is now and never till now fulfilled since the type in the time of Christ for 1. As Christ the king of the Jews was bought and sold and crucifyed when the staff of beauty was broken so Charles our King was bought and sold and beheaded when the true Doctrine of faith and true obedience to our Governors were corrupted and this staff of beauty broken all to pieces 2. The time that the Antichrist should rise The Antichrist must be those new raised Preachers that do cohere with this foolish and idâ—l shepherd of the Jews As when the staff of bands was broken the Lord raised this foolish and idol Shepherd among the Jews so when our Bishops and Governors were supprest and their Discipline which is the staff of bands was broken all Sects increased all errors and heresies appeared and the great Antichrist manifested himself unto the world and did as he is here typified by the doings of this foolish and idol shepherd But now that which is more considerable to be understood is to know who is or should be the great eminent and transcendent Antichrist that is here typified by this Idol-shepherd I know the Divines of Gappe and the most of our Presbyterians are as sure as Gabriel Powel was that believed iâ— as he believed the Apostles Creed that the Pope is that great Antichrist and therefore when other matters fail them they fill their Sermons with exclamations against the Pope and deal with him as the Collier did with the Major of London when he came to High-gate and yet I am as sure that they are altogether mistaken in their faith and knowledg herein for though the Pope should be The Pope is an idol-shepherd yet not meant here tipified by this idol-shepherd as he is an Antichrist and a foolish Idol-shepherd as many others of our Presbyterians be and doth imitate this Idol-shepherd of the Jewes in all or most of the foresaid particulars as the little or no good that he doth to the flock of Christ and the great honor and service that he expecteth from all the Kings and Princes of the earth yet there are many other signal Characters notes and acts of the great Antichrist exprest in other places of the holy Scripture which are no wayes coherent and applicable to the Pope which I could shew unto you but that nunc non est narrandi tempus But then you will demand of me Who is that Antichrist if the Pope be not the Antichrist I answer that as S. Augustine saith satius est dicere quid not sit Deus Yet by Gods help I shall hereafter tell you whom I take him to be quam quid sit Deus for God is not the Sun he is not the Moon he is no created substance and I erre not in any of these answers so I say tutius est dicere quis non est Antichristus quam quis est Antichristus and he is not the Pope I am sure of it but I am sure he is a foolish and an idol shepherd whosoever he be yet not the Pope because these have not as yet happened unto the Pope for that his strength and power are not clean taken away though much diminished neither is the knowledge and Doctrine of the Roman Church utterly or totally perverted and the truth of Christian Religion quite extinguished nor yet the right way of serving God wholly corrupted as I shewed unto you before but whether the power and strength of the Long Parliament be not mouldred away from a mountain to a mole-hill and themselves vanish away like smoak let those members that are yet unnihilated answer it or if they be not yet come to nothing how long they are like to continue let my Reader judge 2. The next testimony of the Old Testament 2. The prophesie of Daniel under the person of Antiochus that is said to have any reference to the Antichrist and his doings is found in the Prophesie of Daniel But St. Paul tels us that to the Jews and Fathers under the Law omnia in figura contingebant illis all things happened and fell out to them in types and figures and most of those types and figures that were delivered unto them reached no further than
upon the transgressors then as is conceived the Pope ever did for the omission of his Breviary and Missal or the Turk for the neglect of using his Alcoran Yet as the Author of the French History relating the horrible rebellion of the holy Leaguers in France saith that the essential form of a zealous Catholick in this League was to rob and to prophane Churches ravish widows spoyl the Clergy and murder them even against and before the Altars Mercurius Rustic printed at Oxford and to vomit out all kinds of indignities and scandalous imputations against their King so the author of Mercurius Rusticus saith the Zealous Covenanters limbs of the Beast and members of the Antichrist the Proselites and adherents of the Long Parliament he doth not say the very members of the Parliament themselves have done the very same things if not worse and have out-gone and out-done those holy Leaguers and all examples of impiety in justice and wickedness and have also passed all Presidents of Sacriledge and prophanation of Gods Holy Worship So that whatsoever the old Eustathians Messalians Fratricelli and the rest of those hair-brain'd and mad Hereticks durst never attempt to do or say these holy Schismaticks and Covenanters that put no difference betwixt holy and prophane whether persons times places or things have acted ever with greediness and taken delight and pleasure in those that did them so as if the devil would shew in them the master-peece of all infernal impiety And what are these doings but as Christ saith of the Scribes and Pharisees that would be counted the only Saints among the Jews to sit in Moses Chair Mat. 15.3 Mar. 8.7.8 9. which they usurped and to teach for Doctrines the traditions of men that were indeed but the Doctrines of devils And as the Apostle saith to sit in the Temple of God as God When they have presumed to teach more errours and heresies than the Pope and the Romish Church ever taught and to act more impieties than the Turk or Mahometans ever durst presume or adventure to do Or as St. John saith here 1 Joh. 2.2 what is all the great profession of holiness that they make but a great lie When they say one thing and do another profess Religion and follow all Abomination and with the Jews draw near unto God with their lips Esa 29.13 and to have their hearts far enough from him And this is the first and main branch of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Lyar Judge whether the long Parliament hath not fulfilled this when the Antichrist doth bely his Profession and his doings his practises and his works do rell and testifie to his face that all his words and sayings are very plain and palpable Lies 2. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Lyar doth imply that the Antichrist is a great Covenant-breaker and a false Deceiver of those that trust him because 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 2. By Covenant breaking and deceiving those that unst him that is derived of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which doth properly signifie decipere fallere to deceive to couzen and cheat from whence 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a false brother and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a false witness is derived doth betoken a falsifying of ones faith and the breaking of the Oath and Promise that we make to any one So that from hence you may likewife see how that the Antichrist is an eminent Christian in Profession promising and vowing in his Baptisme to forsake the World the Flesh and the Devill and protesting in his words that he renounceth them all and yet but an hypocritical Apostata by all his Actions and demeanour both towards God and Men whenas he violates his Oaths falsifieth his Faith and breaks the Promises and Vows that he hath made to his God to his King to his Country and to all that trusted him and believed him to be such a Saint and good Christian as he profest himself to be But whether the long Parliament and their adherents have broken their Covenants and their Articles and deceived their King and their Country and have falsified their Oaths their promises and protestations both to God and Man I leave it to God and their Country to judge 2. The Apostle sheweth he meaneth not that every petty Lyar 2. What the great lye of Antichrist is whereof we have too too many in every place is the Antichrist or that the Antichrist is but a petite Lyar but his meaning is that the Antichrist is both an ordinary lyar cozener and deceiver of men and also an eminent notorious and a transcendent Lyar no small Lyar but a Lyar 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 beyond and above all other Lyars whatsoever for this great Lyar doth not only belye his holy Profession by his lewd and wicked actions as I shewed to you before and as very many other worldly men and nominal Christians do but he tells also this great lye this capital Lye the worst of all lies especially for a Professor of Christianity to lye that is to deny Jesus to be the Christ The Antichrist is a negative Lyar. which is a negative lie not the simple telling of an untruth but a malicious denial of the chiefest truth and the most beneficial truth of all truths to all mankind and therefore a lye worse than any other lye whatsoever and a lye that doth as you shall see hereafter co-incidate and cohere with that sin of the Antichrist that S. Paul meaneth that I have expressed to you before and doth make the esse formale the very very being of that Antichrist that could never devise a worser and a more pernicious lye than this and therefore in denying this truth in denying Jesus to be the Christ he denieth the Father and the Son and discovereth himself plainly by this denial of Jesus to be the Christ as by a proper undeniable mark and character to be that great Antichrist that was expected to come into the World For the better understanding of which great and special point whereby you may infallibly know the Antichrist you must consider these two things 1. 2. Special things to be observed What is the meaning of denying Jesus to be the Christ 2. Whom we can find to have denied Jesus to be the Christ and if we can find any that hath or doth deny Jesus to be the Christ than we have found the Antichrist let us take heed of him And for the clearing of the first point A special observation Luk. 12.8 9. Mat. 10.33 you are to observe here that this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the great Lyar is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a denier of Christ or of Jesus to be the Christ and you know what Christ saith Whosoever shall confess me before men him shall the Son of man also confess before the Angels of God but he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the Angels of God or as St. Matthew saith more emphatically
on earth and he is still our King as the Prophet saith The Lord is King and hath put on glorious apparel Psal 93.1 and he placeth other Kings to be his Substitutes and Vicegerents to guide and to govern his people according as he doth command and therefore he saith By me Kings do raign Prov. 8.15 and as he is still our King so S. Peter saith He is still the Bishop of our souls 1. Pet. 2.25 and the Priest that maketh an atonement to God for us and he placeth other Bishops and other Priests under him to teach and to govern his Church in the truth of his Service and Religion And you know what Christ saith to these his Deputies and Vicegerents Luk. 10.16 He that despiseth you despiseth me and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me So he that denieth and hindereth you to execute your Offices denieth me mine Offices to be both King and Priest and so denieth me to be the Christ and in denying me he denieth him that sent me Psal 2.8 and gave me the Gentiles for mine Inheritance and the uttermost part of the earth for my Possession and also Sware that I should be a Priest for ever Psal 110.4 after the Order of Melchizedech Therefore it is most plain and apparent that whosoever professeth himself a Christian and yet maliciously opposeth and trayterously denieth the execution of the Kingly and Priestly Offices of Christ to be performed by his Deputies Kings and Priests that he appointeth under him and so far denieth them to do it as utterly to destroy them and deny them to live as the Jews denied Christ before Pilate to be Kings and Priests in Christs stead to Govern and to Teach his Church is here meant by the Apostle to be the Grand Lyar and the Great Antichrist that denieth Jesus to be the Christ and so you have seen what is the meaning of denying Jesus to be the Christ 2. The other Point to be considered is to enquire and search if we can find 2. Whom can we find to have denied Jesus to be the Christ Neither Pope nor Turk who have thus as I shewed you denied Jesus to be the Christ and if you find who hath done so you shall find out the Antichrist and I beleeve we shall find him neither in Rome nor in Constantinople for the Pope I am sure of it denieth not the Bishops as Christs Depuâ—ies to execute their Priestly Office when he professeth himself to be Christs Deputy and Vicar to discharge that Office to instruct and to govern his Church and for the Turke he will not extirpate Monarchy nor cast down Kings when he professeth himself to be the chief Monarch of the earth and a King of Kings as his own Letters testifie But whether the Long Parliament and their adherents Let the Reader judge whether the long Parliament hath not fulfilled this saying of the Apostle that in words do constantly affirm and profess that Jesus is the Christ and themselves good if not the best Christians that are on earth have not by their deeds in opposing their King the Substitute and Vioeroy of Christ and denying him either to execute his Regal Office or to live and in suppressing all the Bishops and so many Orthodox Loyall Preachers so that they shall never as Bishops execute the Priestly Office of Christ denied Iesus to be Christ by denying those Substitute Officers of Christ to execute those Offices or to live in those Offices I leave it to them that can judge who is the Lyar and the Antichrist and that denieth Iesus to be the Christ Only I must say That if I were a Pagan and an Infidel and had seen no more of the Parliaments doings but these two things i.e. 1. Their words and great profession of holiness and Christianity And The two chiefest things that do most of all regret the mind of the Author 2. Their deeds in the cutting off of their own just and lawful Kings head and the head of their chief Priest and the suppression exclusion and extirpation of all the godly Bishops in these three Kingdoms and likewise the prohibition and sileneing of them and the rest of the Orthodox Preachers from preaching of the Gospel of Iesus Christ not for any supposed Errour in their Doctrine but for a suspition they had that those faithful men would publish the truth and villanies of their Acts and Proceedings unto the People I should beleeve none could be a greater Lyar or a greater Antichrist than they that did such things Being confident that neither Decius nor Dioclesian nor any other of the primitive Persecutors nor Pope nor Turk nor any later Tyrant hath ever done the like And yet herein That the Author can very well endure dissentients I am not so wedded to mine own opinion as that I cannot endure dissentients for I am not of their mindes that hold him not for their friend and will bear no correspondence with him that will not per omnia in omnibus in all things be of their minde neither do I propose my conceptions notions and Expositions as infallible Articles of faith for others sub paena to be believed but I only set down what I conceive and do verily believe to be true and my Reasons and Arguments that induce me thereunto leaving to all others the liberty of their own conscience to believe what they will and whom they will to be the Antichrist Pope or Turk or whomsoever they please 3. 3. That the Antichrist denying Jesus to be the Christ denieth the Father and the Son which may be done 2 waies 1. Way Mat. 10.40 Luc. 10.16 S. John proceedeth and saith that the Antichrist not only denyeth Jesus to be the Christ but also by this denial he denyeth the Father and the Son and this as I conceive may be done two manner of wayes 1. By separating himself from the rule Government and Ministry of Christ and maliciously suppressing the ordinances and the substitute Governors of Christ which is a most observable and inseparable mark of the Antichrist and of all his followers for thus our Saviour tells us that whosoever despiseth rejecteth and suppresseth the officers Embassadors and Ministers that Christ sendeth and setteth over us to ruâ—e us and to instruct us despiseth rejecteth and by as much as in him lieth suppresseth Christ himself and whosoever despiseth rejecteth and denyeth him despiseth and denieth God the Father that sent him and therefore you may plainly see hereby Vide R. W. in lib. The Doctrine of the Scripture touching the original of Government pag. 117. that the rebellious risers against their King Prince or any other their supream Governor that Christ placeth over them and the suppressors of the Apostles Bishops and Pastors of Gods Church the successors of the Apostles that Christ sends to teach and to govern his Church throughout all ages do rebell reject and deny Christ which is
this Ecclesia sticall Witnesse and the Key that shutteth the Gate and the Windows of Heaven that the rain of grace and the comforts and consolations of Gods word cannot fall on such a person so long as he continueth in that excommunicate condition And as God hath given unto Moses power by his Rod to turn the Rivers and all the waters of Egypt into blood and to bring all the other Plagues that were brought upon Pharaoh and upon all the Land of Egypt The extent of the power of the witnesses for their obstinate refusall to let Israel go to serve the Lord So he hath given unto his Kings a power and a Sword that is signified by Moses his Rod to punish and to draw blood even the hearts blood of such wicked offendors as will be like Pharaoh rebellious and obstinate against the Commandements of God And herein you may observe the extent of their power which he granted unto them that is to smite the Earth but not the Heaven with all Plagues and that is to punish the earthly and worldly minded men that are wicked and do follow after the vanities impieties and iniquities of this sinful life but not the godly men whose conversation is in Heaven and which are obedient to the Lawes of God and man with fines mulcts imprisonments banishments and death it self for if they smite the Heaven that is the righteous and the innocent with any of these Plagues that power is not given them from God but from the Dragon that is the Devill gives it them Revel 13 2. as the Apostle sheweth And so you see the powers and the abilities that God hath given to these his two witnesses the King and the Bishop the Civill and the Ecclesiasticall Governours of his People the one exercising his power in the Church with the word of his mouth and the other in the Commonwealth with the Sword in his hand And for the time The time that the two Witnesses shall continue to prophesie c. 11. v. 3. Fran. Jun. in loc Ezek. 4.6 Dan. 9.24 Numb 14. v. 34. Mat. 3.2 Luc. 3.3 that these two Witnesses shall quietly and peaceably execute their Offices and Prophesie that is discharge their Duties to govern the Commonwealth and to build up the Church of Christ the Angell saith it shall be 1200 and 60 dayes cloathed in Sackcloath and that is as Junius here and divers others do rightly take a day for a year 1200 and 60 yeares as they do collect out of Ezekiel and Daniel and other places of Scripture where under the number of so many dayes as are expressed so many years are to be understood And so we find that with the favour and under the protection of Christian Emperors and Godly Kings the Orthodox Bishops and true Pastors and Preachers of the Gospel of Christ did freely without fear publish the Doctrine of faith and repentance which was the Doctrine of John Baptist and the Doctrine that Christ continued to preach and commanded his Apostles in like manner to preach the same unto the people and which I take to be signified by their Cloathing in Sackcloth in their so conforming themselves unto their Doctrine as John Baptist did Mat. 3.4 cloathing himself in a Garment of Camells hair and a girdle of Leather about his loines and not mourning for the pollution of the true Church which during the time of their Prophesie was not polluted as Mr. Mede and others do suppose but Mr. Mede part 2. p. 7 8. as I conceive much amiss that we should think the true Church was or that God would suffer his true Church to be so long polluted for the full space of 1200 and 60. years before the persecution of the Antichrist should begin or that his persecution should last so long And that is if you begin to account not as Junius would have it Junius in annotat in loc immediately after the passion of Christ because this power of free publishing the Doctrine of repentance was not yet given them while they were prohibited and persecuted from place to place for preaching the Gospel of Christ but it was given them after the end and determination of the ten former persecutions of the Church by the Heathen Tyrants and after the other storms and afflictions that were raised against them by the meanes and procurement of the Arian Hereticks and were as violently prosecuted by Constantius and other Arian Kings of the Gothes and Vandalls as the persecution of the Heathen Emperours as the life of Athanasius and the story of the Church doth sufficiently testifie when the Church was setled and established in peace and quietness and the governing Bishops freely permitted and royally protected by the Christian Kings and Emperours to preach the faith of Christ and to exhort their people to repentance from dead works yea and to injoyn the transgressors to repent in Sackcloth and to abhorre themselves and their former courses in dust and ashes And this was not The time when the two witnesses received their full power to prophesie about the year 382. till after the death of Valens which was about the year of Christ 382. When Theodosius had vanquished the Huns and the Gothes and the rest of those boysterous Northern enemies of the Empire that exceedingly troubled and brought infinite crosses and molestations not much inferiour if not some wayes worse then the Heathen persecutions upon the Church as you may easily find in those excellent Books of St. August de civitate Dei and others the Ecclesiasticall Writers of those times And from this suppression of those fierce and cruel enemies both of the Orthodox Church and the Roman Empire which was as I said about the year 382. to the beginning of the long Parliament we shall find about the summe of 1200. and 60 years When the time of their prophesying in Sackcloth was ended throughout all which time the true Orthodox Bishops the one of the two witnesses of Gods truth in all the Christian Kingdoms as Spain France Germany Ingland Scotland Ireland and the rest had full power and free liberty to preach the Doctrine of faith and to injoyn penance unto their people and they were not onely protected from the wrongs violence and malice of all their opposers About the year 1642. but they were also assisted to reduce all transgressors to repentance as above all other times in these Kingdoms that are best known unto us the happy Reign of Queen Elizabeth King James and King Charles can sufficiently justifie this truth unto you and the Christian Kings and Princes that were the other witness of Gods truth and the nursing Fathers of the Church were through the faithfull preaching of Gods word and the strict and godly Discipline of the Church most loyally obeyed and religiously observed as they ought to be in all the Christian Kingdoms and so both the witnesses by their mutuall helping and assisting one another were throughly strengthned
conceive more agreeable to the meaning of the Holy Ghost then her Son and the Dragons eating of it would be a speedy devouring of her Child whether it were Male or Female so the Dragon was watching this woman and is still watching to devoure every Child of the Church Male or Female And in the fifth verse the Angel saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 V. 5. The diversity of opinions who this Child should be and the woman brought forth a man Child who was to rule the Nations with a rod of Iron and the Child was caught up to God and to his Throne where we are past the plaine and are come into the Wilderness wherein the way is not so easie to be found out when we do find so many pathes and such a great diversity of opinions among the learned who is meant by this Man child and what is to be conceived of his birth and of his taking up to the Throne of God Rupertus de victoria verbi dei l. 9. c. 28. l. 12. c. 2. Math. 2.16 c 4.1 for some Interpreters by the Birth of this Man child do understand the Birth of Jesus Christ in the Jewish Synagogue of the Blessed Virgin whom the red Dragon the Devill by Herod his grand instrument sought immediately to destroy as soone as ever he was borne as St. Mathew sheweth and also tempted him as soon as ever he was Baptized as the same Evangelist declareth But against this E. H. doth rightly oppose E. H. de Apostasia pag. 44. that the Revelation is not of known things that are past but as the Angel saith of things that must shortly come to pass and the incarnation or Birth of Christ of the Virgin Mary was not to come the same being already past well nigh an 100. years before and therefore though we deny not but the Dragon sought to destroy Christ as Rupertus saith as soon as ever he was brought forth out of his Mothers Womb yet we say that cannot be the meaning of this place which is to be understood of another Child that is to be borne of another Woman E. H. Lococitato By this Child understandeth the great Constantine and therefore E. H. and some other Authors do understand this woman to be the Primitive Church of the Christians groaning to be delivered from under the bloody Tyranny of the Red Dragon that is from the cruel dealing and sad condition that she sustained under the Pagan and persecuting Emperours and the Lord delivering her from those Tyrants by raising up Constantine who as they say is the Man-child that the Church then brought forth a good Christian to rule the Nations with a Rod of Iron that is to subdue Licinius and Maxentius and the Nations that adheared to them with his Victorious Sword and he was caught up to God when he was converted from an Infidell to become a Christian and he was placed in Gods Throne when he attained to the Imperiall Majesty The which exposition The former exposition rejected though it seem very probable and plausible yet cannot I yield unto it to be the meaning of the Holy Ghost in this place because this woman doth not crie to be delivered from her enemies that were without her but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 having in her belly that is a Child within her 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 she cryed by reason of her child birth pain which the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that cometh from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifieth to bring forth a Child from whence 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 doth properly signifie dolor parturientis the very pangs and pain of bringing forth the Child into the world and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that comes of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 torqueo to be grieved or vexed and wrested with pain doth make it manifest that she cryed not to be delivered from her enemies but to be delivered of her child that she had in her womb and would faign have him to be brought forth into the world That Constantine is not the Man-child here meant Neither can I see any reason to perswade me to yield that this man-child should signifie Constantine the great Reason 1 1. Because this woman which signifieth the Church was not as then before Constantines time 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 circumcinctasole cloathed or girded and compassed about with the great light of the Sun that is fully inlightened and instructed with the Doctrine of Christ and the many points of particular truths of Christian Religion nor can we finde her to be thus inlightned untill the time of Theodosius alter the death of Valens and Gratian which was about the year of Christ 382 when those great lights The woman not cloathed with the Sun till 382. that God then raised in his Church to expell the foggy mysts of errors and clouds of heresies that were formerly raised by the Hereticks and still pestered the Church St. Hierome St. Ambrose St. Augustin St. Basil Bishop of Caesaria that for his great learning and wisdom was rightly termed Basilius Magnus great St. Basill Gregory Nazianzen that for his excellent skill and knowledge in Divinity was styled Theologus the Divine as the writer of these Revelations is called John the Divine Epiphanius Cyrillus Bishop of Hierusalem When the Bishops were like Stars and when like the Sun and many more most worthy men of great learning and piety made the truth of the Gospel of Christ that was left unto us by the Evangelists and Apostles to shine in the Church as the Sun in the Firmament that formerly while those hereticks that Irenaeus Tertullian Epiphanius and St. Augustine record troubled the Church and darkned the truth of the Gospel the said truth shined but as the light of the Starres and therefore during those times of the grand Hereticks the very Angels of the seven chiefest Churches of Asia that is the Bishops and prime Pastors of those Churches Revelat. 1.20 were called seven Starres for the seven Starrs are the Angels of the seven Churches saith the Holy Ghost and the twelve Apostles are compared unto twelve Starres as I shewed to you before and the Church could not be inlightned with the light of the Sun when her chief teachers were but Starres and shined to her but as Starres though the light which these Starres sent forth was the light which they received from the Sun that is the Sun of righteousness as the Prophet calleth him but in the year 382. and about that time Reignolds Devitis Imperat. fol. 115. was the flourishing time of the learned when the Doctrine of Christ did shine as the Sun saith Reignolds Reason 2 2. Because that although the Church like the woman that is with Child is pained before the time of birth yet is she most of all tormented when the child is nearest to be born so the Church had her pangs in those that she brought forth in the
come A speciall observation of the time of this rejoycing and not before because that till now the Church was exercised either with bloody persecutions from without or with intestine broyles and heresies from within but now 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the accuser and false traducer of our Brethren the Holy Prophets and the Apostles of Christ by misapplying their sayings misconstring their words and perverting their meaning and making them to say that which they never thought as all Hereticks do being cast out of the Church and quite vanquished consuted and silenced 1. By the blood of the Lamb that is by the faith which the true Christians had in the death of Christ and by the patient sufferings of the Martyrs for the defence of that faith in the former persecutions both of the Pagans and Arians when they loved not their lives unto death but valued them as nothing and yielded them most freely for the maintenance of that Faith which they had in the blood of the Lamb. and 2. by the word of their Testimony that is the breif Articles of their faith and the uniforme rule of Serving God and by the constant firme and faithfull justifying and maintaining the truth of that Doctrine and Service which they professed and published unto the people against all Hereticks whatsoever Therefore now 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 v. 12. rejoyce you Heavens Use 12 1. The rejoycing of the Angels and Saints the Church tryumphant and militant for the suppression of the Hereticks and ye that dwell in them that is the highest Heavens and all you Blessed Spirits and Holy Angells that do rejoyce at the Conversion of one Sinner rejoyce now much more for these great Victories and especially for this last victory that Michael and his Angels hath obtained against the Dragon and his Angels and you the Metaphoricall Heavens the Churches of God wherein God resideth rejoyce you as you have most cause to rejoyce that the accuser of your brethren and the false traducer of the Apostles and Holy Fathers of the Church is cast out from amongst you and your Churches are purely reformed the doctrine of faith truely taught and the service of God righty administred and all errors heresies and superstitions swept out of the Church But woe to the Inhabitants of the Earth and of the Sea v. 12. that is Who are meant by the inhabitants of the earth and of the Sea to the Worldlings Hypocrites bloody men and loose livers for the earth signifyeth earthly men and the Sea is a loose roaring and raging element cold and moyst and therefore signifieth the loose and dissolute livers roarers and furious men that have not any heat of Love and Charity in them and those also that for the love of gaine and profit only and not out of love to benefit their Countrey and their Neighbours and to shew the bountifull goodness of God to all places but onely out of a covetous desire to inrich themselves do passe all Seas into all forreign Lands woe woe unto all those because that he which could not and can not prevail against the true Christians that do so firmly stand and so stoutly oppose him will be sure to catch these soon enough within his net and hold them fast enough to make them pay for all because as the Holy Ghost saith he hath 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 great wrath and is exceedingly troubled and vexed not onely for his former foyl and his casting out of Heaven but also most especially for that now after these victories he knoweth or as the word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he seeth that he hath but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a short space to recruit and to see if he can revenge his former foyls and therefore 2. 2. The bloody and the most malicious persecution of the Dragon after the suppression of the Hereticks He goeth presently among the Inhabitants of the Earth and of the Sea and perswades them to throw all the stones of the Earth and to stir up all the waves of the Sea and to use all possible arts to vex and oppress the woman and to overwhelm the Ship of Christ which is the Church in the Seas of all miseries and afflictions And so now the Dragon begins a fresh to rage and to persecute the woman saith the Holy Ghost v. 13. which brought forth the man-child and to vex and molest all her Children all the true and faithfull members of the Church whereof most of them especially her lay children were left prety quiet while the spirituall and dogmaticall warre lasted that raged most of all amongst the Clergy but now that warre being ended the Church reformed superstitions expunged and all the Heresies confuted the Dragon vanquished his Angels suppressed and the service of God purely and rightly discharged the true Church and all her members the corrupted unreformed Churches he hath them in his hands already so that he need not trouble himself to meddle with them are newly molested and exceedingly persecuted with great wrath saith the Angel and that is with a bloody warre and a greater warre and a far more unnaturall and unchristian warre and a more violent and more malicious prosecution of the warre and persecution of them that were quiet in the Land then ever was done by this Dragon at any time before this time And the reason of the exceeding greatness and sharpness of this persecution of the true Church The reason of the sharpness of this persecution shewed signified by this woman is not omitted to be set down by the Holy Ghost for the comfort and consolation of all the persecuted Saints and distressed members of Christ and for to incourage them with the more constancy to persist and to withstand the assaults of the Dragon unto the end and that is because the Dragon that in the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 had many hundred years to prosecute that heriticall and dogmaticall war yet now knoweth and seeth that he hath but a short time to rage and to wage this newly revived bloody war and therefore he must bestir himself or he shall lose his Harvest that hath but a short time to gather in his fruit and that time that he is permitted thus to rage against the woman as the spirit of God sets it down Cap. 12.14 c. 11 8 v. 11. c. 13 5. c. 11.2 is but a time and times and half a time which signifieth the three dayes and a half that the two witnesses of Christ shall lie unburied in the streets of the great City and the 42 moneths wherein the beast should prevail against Gods Servants and should tread the holy City that is the purest Church under feet for all these times thus exprest by severall termes and expressions The suppression of the witnesses and persecution of the Church the same time as of time times and half a time and three dayes and a half and 42 moneths and do synechronize and cohere for the
they are heavy as were the persecutions of the Jewes under Antiochus very grievous then are they as theirs were very short and therefore the troubles and persecutions of the Church under the Beast being most heavy and more grievous then ever the Church felt before as I have formerly shewed and the reason of it it is not likely it should be as Mr. Mede and some other learned men do think very long but as we conceive very short about three years and a half and not so many hundred years as they set down that would have the Pope to be the Antichrst about twelve hundred years at least since the time that some men would make the Pope to be the Antichrist The Parallel And we all know the Parliaments Warre with the King continued not very long but much about the time here alotted unto the Beast and that is 42. moneths which make three years and a half CAP. II. The blasphemy of the Beast 1. Against God by the Doctrines of the Presbyterians and as it is alledged the manifold injuries of the long Parliament 2. Against his Tabernacle that is the Churches and places where God is worshipped and served and which the prime Christians had to serve God in them Of the twofold service of God at what times God might be served in any place the two things that Jeroboam did to uphold his Idolatry how God will be served in the time by the persons after the manner and in the places where he appointeth and in what sence all things are alike holy and in what sence some things are more holy then other things BUt how long soever these 42. moneths is whether they signifie three years and a half or three years and half three years as some do think which make four years and a half for I dare not presume so precisely to determine what length of time is here meant to a hair by these 42. moneths or whether as I rather conceive some other unlimited space that should not be very long when it is expressed sometimes by dayes and here by moneths and not by years for where the Scripture sets down the time that any thing should be done as that Antiochus should rage a time and times and the dividing of times which all Interpreters expound to signifie three years and a half Dan. 7.25 and that Christ should be three dayes and three nights in the heart of the Earth it is not meant that it must be so exactly to a jot or a minute for we find that Antiochus continued three years seven moneths and thirteen dayes and Christ was buried by Joseph and Nicodemus about three houres before Sun-set on Good-Fryday and rose again about four or five a Clock on Sunday morning which maketh not in all above 36. or 38. houres or not above 40. houres casting it to the highest account and that reacheth not fully to three dayes and three nights properly and literally taken but the meaning is that it shall be so and so much about that very time And so the Beast shall contiue such a time as the Holy Ghost intendeth by these 42 moneths and in all that time having received this power and great Authority from the Dragon he opened his mouth in Blasphemy against God to Blaspheme his Name and his Tabernacle and them that dwell in Heaven v. 6. I desire my Reader to be an unpertiall judge in whom he seeth this Prophesie fulfilled And I do earnestly beseech all men to observe and seriously to consider whether ever any Tayler fitted any Garment to any mans body or Shooe-maker a shooe to any mans foot fitter then this prediction doth agree with the long and lately dissolved Parliament and their Teachers the Presbyterians and lay Preachers and with none else either Jew Pagan Turke Pope or any other Infidell or Heretick whatsoever so as it doth with them of that Parliament and their adherents for here you may observe a three fold Blasphemy of the beast 1. Against Gods Name 2. Against his Tabernacle 3. The Blasphemy of the Beast 3 fold 1. Against Gods name Mr. Mede pag. 75. Against his Servants that dwell in Heaven but 1. Mr. Mede saith that by Blasphemy here the Idolatry of the beast is to be understood and I confess that the Idolatry of the Israelites is termed and translated Blasphemy as in Ezekiel 20.27 where the Lord saith that by offering their Sacrifices in Bama and polluting themselves with their Idols they Blasphemed him v. 28. c. 31. Yet I say 1. That every Blasphemy is not Idolatry neither doth it signifie the Idolatry of the beast in this place nor do Mr. Medes reasons confirme it for Though I do yield the beast to be an Idolater and guilty of very much Idolatry That Blasphemy doth not alwayes nor here signifie Idolatry and that the beast seateth himself in Babylon and Babylon is the Mother of Harlots that committeth Spirituall Fornication which is the following after other Gods as the Whore followeth other men with or beside her own Husband Yet this proveth not that the Blasphemy of the beast which is here spoken of must signifie the Idolatry of the beast when as the beast like unto a shameless Whore is guilty of more faults then one 2. I deny the other heads of the beast as I shewed to you before to signifie those Kings of the Roman Empire which Mr. Mede affirmeth to be and so 3. I deny this beast to have descended from those Idolatrous heads that he conceiveth and therefore that the Idolatry of those Romane Emperors or Kings doth not prove the Blasphemy of this beast to signifie his Idolatry in this place 4. Neither do I conceive it likely that the Evangelist writing in Greek and to the Gentiles should use the Greek words in the signification of those Hebrew words that do in some places signifie the same thing therefore I expound the word The paralel How the Parliament Preachers and Assembly of their Divines have Blasphemed God Unde factum Est ut tot gentes una cum liberis suis infantibus aeternae morti involveret lap sus Adae absque remedio nisi quia Deo ita visum est Decretum quidem horribile fateor Calv. instit l. 3 c. 23. not for Idolatry but according to the Gramnaticall and native signification of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 compounded of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 noceo laedo and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 dico which signifieth to speak or write impiously wickedly and unjustly both of God and of his Tabernacle and of his Servants the Angels and Saints that dwell in Heaven And thus consider 1. How the Chaplens of the long Parliament and their selected assembly with those that they admit for the Preachers and Ministers of Gods words which are the false Prophet here spoken of in this Apocalyps as I shall anon shew unto you have and do Blaspheme the most Holy Name of God when as I told you
to deceive them and St. Paul saith this I know that after my departure shall grievous wolves enter in among you not sparing the flock also of your own selves that is questionlesse among the Lay people shall men arise and not be sent speaking perverse things Act. 20.29 to draw away disciples after them and these are the young novices and Lay Trades men that as St. John saith went from us but were never of us that is neither called nor approved by us but intruding themselves into our Office and separating themselves from the old way which as the Prophet saith Jerem. 6.16 is the good way do preach strange doctrines to gather to themselves Churches out of the Church of Christ and to lead them out of the fold of Christ unto the dens of the destroyer from whence as out of Cacus den vestigia nullae retrorsum there can be no deliverance without great repentance Saint Peter likewise saith 2 Peter 2.1 that as there were false Prophets amongst the people of the Jews so there should be false Teachers among us who privily should bring in damnable heresies and many shall follow their pernicious wayes and these be our itinerant Preachers that wander from Parish to Parish and go from house to house and so privily as the Apostle saith do lead men into Schismes and most damnable heresies and of these Saint Jude prophesied saying Jude v. 12 and 13. that they were wandring stars without light and clouds without water carried away with the wind Nay more then all this St. Paul tells us the time would come as we see now it is come when men would not endure to hear sound Doctrine but after their own lusts should heap to themselves Teachers having itching eares which they shall turn away from the truth unto fables 2 Tim. 4.3 4. for if you search all times from St. Pauls time to these very times I would fain know when was there such heapes of Teachers and such an inhibition to hear the truth and to Preach sound Doctrine as now it is for whereas before the Teachers of errors and heresies were not endured now very few Congregations where I live are permitted to be content and to injoy their old setled and well known Pastors but they must have some wandring starrs to inlighten them and such Teachers to instruct them as neither understand the state of the Flocks which we should be carefull to know as Solomon saith Prov. 27.23 nor know the diseases of the sheep and therefore must needs be ignorant how to apply any remedies to them lest they should give them poyson in stead of medicines And if the old Doctors and the Faithfull Ministers of Christ undertake to Preach they are affronted as I foreshewed and so threatned and terrified that the people are afraid to hear them whereby you may see that as the Apostle saith the sound Doctrine and True Service of God cannot be endured to be heard by reason of such heapes of false Prophets and wandring stars that are sprung up amongst us And yet our Saviour tells you how these false Teachers should come unto you How the false Prophets deale with the people and exclaim against true Prophets in sheepes cloathing that is with smooth flattering speeches pretending that they come for your salvation but withall he tells you that in very deed they are inwardly ravening wolves and their wayes lead you to destruction for they speak you faire and cry out against the trus Governours of Gods Church that never admitted such intruders to be Gods Ministers and they roare and raile against all the Learned Preachers of the Gosspell as if wisdom and knowledg and learning were odious unto God and to be excluded out of Heaven where they think none shall come but folly and ignorance 2 Chron. 18.23 and simplicity and therefore they smite their Governours and these Learned men on the cheekes as Zedechia did to Michaiah that is they throw dirt in their faces and beslubber their reputation with most scandalous aspersions that they are Popish superstitious and the very limbs of the Antichrist and that they have not Gods Spirit which they presume to know as if they were of Gods Counsell and all is to no other end then to seduce the people to renounce their true Pastors as they have now done and to take them for their gracious Protectors But How King Philip sought to seduce the Athenians and how Demosthenes prevented him let the people take heed lest these new Teachers deale with them as Philip of Macedon intended as Demosthenes said to deale with the Athenians when before he Warred upon them he sent unto them word that all his quarrell was against their Philosophers and Orators that suggested rebellions and disobedience unto the people and therefore if they would renounce them apprehend them and transmit them unto him he would become their true friend and loving Patron whereupon the learned Orator told the Athenians that the wolves on a time sent unto the sheep to tell them that their shepherds dogs hunted them and worried them and very often bit them sore and sometimes killed them and therefore advised them to lay hold upon their dogs and send them bound to them and so they should be freed from their persecutors and they would become their friends to protect them from all dangers whereupon the silly sheep being glad to be freed from their dogs and itching after novelties and desirous to make triall of their new masters found a way to catch their dogs and so delivered all their faithful preservers unto the faithless wolves who as soon as ever they got the dogs into their hands fell upon the sheep without resistance and destroyed them all at their pleasure without pitty even so said Demosthenes will King Philip deale with you when you have delivered your learned Philosophers and grave Oratours into his hands and he was herein a very true Prophet And I pray God these false Prophets upstart novices and unlawful unlicenced intruders into the sacred calling of the Ministery deale not so or worse with our people for if the blind lead the blind Matth. 15.14 both must needs fall into the ditch if young ignorant Schollars lead old ignorant men both must fall into new and old errours and if the tradesmen teach the husbandmen and the country-men teach the citizens and the souldiers teach them both the way to heaven I fear they will but walk apace towards hell when as this is but the devils new policy to obstruct the old way of verity and a hellish trick to put out the heavenly light for as Moses tells the Israelites Deut. 32.17 that their new Gods that came newly up whom their fathers feared not were but old devils so I may truly say that these new teachers are but old bereticks and false Prophets and their new lights are but ignis fatuus infernall torches to lead the people to everlasting darknesse
such affectionate addresses and passionate prayers for the continuance of Richard Cromwell in his Protectorship as may be seen in their Diurnalls and inquire if any one of the Bishops or of all the Episcopall party did the same and then to consider whether such men that are so unjust to their King to their Civil Governors be fit men to be made Governors of the Church of Christ as they imitate this malicious King in their actions so they are the disciples of railing Rabsheca in their Sermons for letting passe those doctrines that derogate from the goodnesse truth and justice of God they stuffe their Sermons with most unsavory expressions and ridiculous things in the eares of men as a Presbyter Preacher in Christs Church said that hell was paved with Kings Crowns and Bishops sculls another said that God might as rightly be said to be the Authour of sin as of Monarchy and a third said that Monarchy was such a beast as he would venture his life to fight against it these and the like were the doctrines of this beast and yet now who pretends to be more zealous to reduce our David to his throne then these Presbyters when as other men knowing their doings think it strange they should have the impudencie to look any King in the face And to justify what I say of these Presbyters the chiefest branch of this false Prophet as I will not refuse a pearle from a dung-hil so I will not disdain to alledge the testimony of George Fox the younger in the eleventh page of his book whose copy was delivered into the hands of his Majesty the fourth day of the fourth moneth 1660. where he saith unto the King if thou shouldst come in upon the account of the Prethyterians or shouldst refuse to bow to what they should set up or not Jatisfy the covetousnesse of their Priests there be several of them would be ready to serve thee as they did thy Father and a little after he saith how abominably have these durty deceitful covetous Priests acted in all these changes i.e. which he had formerly spoken of Oh! it is hard to utter their deceit who one while have prayed for a King and Parliament and when they saw the King was like to fall and no ways likely to maintain them they turned against him and prayed onely for the Parliament and asserted their authority and cursed them that would not go out to help against the mighty and shortly after when Oliver Cromwell had turned out the Parliament and set up himself they cryed him up and prayed for him and many of them began to assert his authority to he just and when he died many of these Preachers began to addresse themselves to his Son and fawned upon him that he might provide for their God which is their belly and they appeared to be sorrowful for his Fathers death and blasphemously termed him the Light of their eyes and the breath of their nostrills and they told Richard that God had left him to carry on that glorious work which his Father had begun and some of these Preachers compared Ol. Cr. to be like unto Moses and Rich like unto Joshua who should carry them into the promised land and how soon did some of them turn to cry for a Parliament again when the Army turned out Richard and when George Booth made a rising then they cried out against the Parliament and began to curse such as would not go out against them and when George Booth was taken they petitioned to the Parliament to excuse themselves and that they had no hand in the rising and now they are for thee O King and if thou wilt believe them thou art worthy to be deceived by them But I should be overtedious if I should relate unto you the abundant blasphemies of their vile Doctrine Which you may find at large in Arise Evans his Euroclydon per totum and obliquity of all the actious of these new Presbyters and their Proselites and therefore I will pass to those things that are here mentioned and shew the description of this second beast as the H.G. doth here set it down and leave my Reader to judg whether they be not all fulfilled and every way appliable to our Presbyterians to prove them and none else to be this false Prophet here mentioned in this Book of the Revelation Where notwithstanding I would have you to observe that there are two sorts of the now and new Presbyterians that is 1. Rigidi superhi ambitiosi 2. Moderati molles timidi 1. The proud ambitious and rigid Presbyters that sate at Westminster like the Synedrion under Cayphas an Assembly of Divines that chalked out the way for the rest to follow them in their extravagant and exorbitant courses and these are the partes constitutivae the chiefest and the principall parts of this false Prophet 2. The moderate remisse and fearful Presbyters are such as to preserve their livings do unwillingly observe the Directory of the rigid Presbyters that are here so amply described by the holy Ghost and do in all things correspond and are conformable to every point of the description of this two-horned beast as hereafter I shall shew unto you The seed of this beast though begun to be sowen When the seed of the beast was first sown in the Church as the Apostle saith of the my tery of iniquity by Simon Magus Ebion Cerinthus Nicholas and the like in the first age of the Church yet did not this beast shew his hornes nor this mystery so visibly with any strength appear in our Church of Great Britain till now of late Indeed when the godly professors of the Gospel in King Edward the sixth his time and in the beginning of Queen Elizabeths reign began to fow good corn in the field of this our Church and to make a reformation and a rooting out of those weeds of superstition that the Ministers of the said mystery had spread and now began to be discerned among the wheat then presently the envious man super-seminavit Zizania that is When Puritanisme began amongst us in these dominions which you may see more fully shewed in Mr. Fullers History of our Chuch Brightman in Revelat. c. 2. Detrahunt noâ—is perimus detrahunt Canoni veritati non detrahant Aug de verbis Aposteli Sermone 14. And so may we say of these men the devill stirred up his seeds-men John Knox in Scotland and Thomas Cartwright in Ingland to mingle our wine with wormwood and to scatter darnells and tares among our good wheat whereby they infected very many with an epidemical and most deadly disease then termed Puritanisme the offspring of the old Catharists that is a dissembling pharisaical purity and pretended holinesse far excelling the rest of their brethren both in life and doctrine especially in the conscientious refusall to subscribe and to submit themselves to the established Liturgy and the orderly observation of the discipline and
Lords Table though Christ admitted Judas whom he knew far better then these men do know those whom they reject and cast away and we can and ought to do no more to the lewdest offenders but to shew them the danger of the unworthy receivers and exhort them to repent and to believe in Christ and upon the confession of their faults and profession of their Faith and repentance we ought to believe them to be Gods children and receive them among the Faithfull and leave them all for Christ to judge which of the guest doth want his wedding garment Yet we confess That the Apostles had two manner of gifts 1. Extraordinary it is true that the Apostles had a double qualification 1. The one extraordinary which was requisite for the planting of a new Church and that consisted chiefly in these two things 1. Infallibility of the Doctrine which they taught 2. A powerful working of miracles to confirm that doctrine and to win the hearers to give credit and to believe the same And when the Churches were converted these graces determined and ceased with the Apostles 2. Ordinary which were either 2. The other was ordinary which was requisite for the instructing guideing and ruling of the Church so long as the Church should continue till Christ should come to judgement And these graces that were thus requisite for the continuance of the Church in the service of God were likewise of two sorts 1. Common 1. Common to the Apostles and Presbyters and Deacons as reading the Scriptures preaching or expounding the word administring the Sacraments provision for the poor and other like christian duties 2 Proper which the Apostles reserved unto themselves 2. Proper which consisted in two things and to the Bishops that were to be their successors to guide and to govern the Church after them And this proper qualification of the Apostles which they left as peculiar to the Bishops that were to succeed the Apostles was and is likewise two-fold 1. Ordination 1. Ordination of Presbyters and Deacons to read the word and to preach and to administer the Sacraments and to do all the other common duties of the Church 2. Jurisdiction which was twofold 1. The lesser censure 2. The greater censure 2. Jurisdiction in censuring those that were refractory and walked disorderly in the Church and this Ecclesiasticall censure is either 1. The lesser which is a debarring of the offendor from the Lords Supper 2. The greater censure which was by such an excommunication as excluded the offender quite from the Churh and was not received into it untill he had satisfied the Church by his confession of his fault and repentance shewed for the scandall he had given Now such is the pride and ambition of every Presbyterian that he would have nothing left proper unto the Bishop but that all must be common as well to him as to the Bishop How the Presbyterians do usurp the authority of the Bishop he cannot indure to be excluded or debarrd from any thing but cryeth out as Corah Dathan and Abiram did against Moses and Aaron that the Bishops take too much upon them And therefore 1. They usurp and assume unto themselves the office of ordination and do make Priests themselves the which boldnesse of theirs I intend not to stand now to confute but do assure the people Lay-preachers and tradesmen to execute the Ecclesiastical function have as good authority and calling as the new Presbyterian Priests that the Priests of their making have no better calling nor authority to enter upon that sacred function then he that is made a Judge or a Justice of Peace to rule the countrey by a company of high-way thieves and robbers and the Lay-preachers be they what they will husband-men or trades-men Taylors Shoemakers or Weavers or the like may as lawfully and perhaps more blamelesly do all the service of the Church as any of them that have their ordination from these Presbyters 2. They usurp the jurisdiction over the Church as well as the ordination of the Priests unto themselves and they are more rigid in their censures that are also more illegally done then either Bishop or Pope See the translation of Grallae pag 69. to pag. 90. and you shall find how these Presbyterian censures do exceed the tyranny of the Pope who exercised their discipline and censures in open Court in forma juris and secundum allegata probata when the Presbyterians do it secundum beneplacitum as it seemeth good in their own eyes because they have the discerning spirit to know who are worthy to be received and who ought to be excluded both from Christ and from the Church of Christ And yet I do not wonder so much that the Presbyters should be so ambitious to lay hold of this authority as I do admire that the people should be so foolish as to hate us for telling the truth unto them for their own benefit and shewing the other mens iniquity But I remember a story that Sir Thomas Moore tells us of two famous Philosophers that by their great skill in astronomy foresaw that at such a constellation A pretty story of Sir Thomas Moor. there would fall such a shower of pestiferous rain upon the earth that all the men which scaped not the drops of that rain should presently prove frantick and be distracted of their sences whereupon those Philosophers concluded that they would hide themselves in a Cave untill that shower was passed over and so they did and all things succeeded as they expected for when they came out of their hole where they were hidden they found all the people like mad-men playing the Anticks and therefore they being sober thought to do them good by advising them to leave their fooleries and to follow after sobriety but the mad people told the Philosophers that they themselves were mad and they would take a course with them for saying that they were out of their wits and knew not what they did and so they laid hold on the Philosophers and beat them and they had much adoe to escape from these mad people with their lives this was the reward they had for their well-wishes and desire to do those mad people good to guide them and to direct them in the right courses I wish it may not be so with us that the people prove not themselves like those upon whom that fatal shower descended and that they would not deal with us It is easier to find few wise men then to find many wise men for telliug the truth of these mens doings for their good as those mad men did with those Philosophers And I would the people that are so affected to the Presbyterian government would consider whether it be as easie to find ten thousand wise and sober moderate men as to finde out ten The Kings and Emperours heretofore were very careful to make choice of the best and wisest men that
Ceremonies of our Church which they spared not most loudly and lewdly to bark against and to call it the Laodicean luke-warm Church and the Governours and upholders of all the good orders uniformity and discipline of this Church of Christ they blushed not to style Popish Bishops and proud Prelates and the Book of Common Prayer as if it had been the Turkish Alcoran They perswaded the people to believe it was the English Masse-Book and all the Ceremonies thereof the ragges of Rome and so belched out their poyson against out Church And to what incurable mischief this disease was like to grow that wise and reverend Arch-Bishop Bancraft did foresee and with all his might endeavoured to prevent by discovering and publishing the same unto the world so did worthy Doctor Whitgift before him and so did Doctor Dove Doctor Covell Doctor Gardiner Doctor Leon. Hutton and Mr. Thomas Hutton and many other godly and learned men labour to unvaile this beast his face to shew his hornes and the weaknesse of his reasons unto the weak and seduced people But as the harlot said unto Socrates ego tibi Socrates multum praesto I do much excell thee O Socrates because I can sooner allure the youths of Athens and intice far more of them to my house of leudnesse then thou canst with all thy rhetorick and eloquence perswade to thy School of Philosophy so these locusts and their Proselites prevailed more with those that were such as Socrates answered the harlot her customers were proclives ad malum inclinable to be misled and easily drawen to evill as we are all by nature then all the wise Governours and grave Doctors of the Church could do to hindet them so that in a short space notwithstanding the execution of Martin Mar-prelate Penry and some others in Queen Elizabeths dayes which did a little stop their gallopping course and the careful industry of King James to suppresse them yet multiplicati sunt super numerum they increased exceedingly like the frogges and rats of Egypt that do super-faetare beget young ones before they be rid of their old brood and then being so multiplyed they that formerly pulled in their horns like a snaile did begin in King Charles his time to set up their hornes on high and to speak with a stiffe neck and now to set their instruments the disconteuted Nobility and Gentry and their own seduced disciples on work to bring their long-wished purposes to an end for as the soule worketh no corporeall act but by the organs of his body so these men being spiritual men could not themselves prevaile to attain unto their ends against the power of the King but having so plentifully sowen their seed among their Proselytes and so well instructed the body that was their instrument they can with their help produce the acts that they intended and which they do suggest into the heads of the other beast which is their body And therefore as in every sinful act the soul which is actus primus corporis organici causa actuum secundorum Arist de anima l. 2. c. 1. Text. 4. Is more liable to judgement and deserves more punishment then the body so as I said before this spiritual beast is far the worst of the twain and the worst of all other beasts that ever were so bad that I am no wayes able to shew unto you the badnesse and to display the wickednesse of this second beast yet as the Arian hereticks gave forth of themselves Aug. epist 48. ad Vincent that they onely were the true Catholick Church of God and those that were the members of the true Church indeed they called Athanasians Ambrosians Joannites and as Nestorius being a pestilent heretick covered himself notwithstanding 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with the cloak or vaile of the Catholick faith saith Theodoret so I know these men think themselves to be the onely true servants and the most faithful Ministers of Jesus Christ but indeed as David did worse then Joab in the murther of Vriah and as the teacher of a man to sin is worse then he that commits the sin as the Serpent that inticed the woman to eat of the forbidden fruit was worse then the woman so this second beast that seduced and taught the first beast to do all or most of the evills and wickednesse that he did is far worse then the first beast that was but his instrument to effect all those vile acts and mischiefs whereof this second beast was the prime Authour instructor instigator and no marvell for as corruptio-optimi est pessima The second beast farre worse then the first beast and so I deem the Prerbyterians the worst of all the men in Ingland and the Authours of all the mischiefs done in this kingdom Jerem. 24.23 Tertul. l. de prescript advers haeres c. 42. and as Jeremy his figges were either exceeding good or extream bad so are the Preachers and teachers of men either the best of men and so worthy of double honour if with the true Prophets they go the right way to work or else the worst of all men and so worthy of many stripes if with this second beast and false Prophet they go about to corrupt the truth to seduce the people and as Tertullian saith of the hereticks of his time cum hoc sit negotium illis non ethnicos convertendi sed nostros evertendi to labour more to overthrow us then to build others in the faith of Christ And as the Arian Prelates and Preachers were more cruell and greater persecutors of the Orthodox then either the heathen tyrants or the Ariankings that were but their instruments and were indeed lesse bloody and more consciencious then their teachers so are these Presbyterians and Independents and Lay-Preachers more proud and more cruel and of lesse conscience and lesse honesty as being the prime Authours fomenters and devisers of all villanies miseries and mischiefes that have been acted in these dominions ever since they were hatched then were the members of that long Parliament as the sequele of their description and their actions here specified will make it plaine and the Author of the Last Will and Testament of Sir John Presbyter in his Epitaph that concludes too uncharitably doth briefly paint them forth saying Here lies Jacke Presbyter void of all pitty Sir John Presbyter his Epitaph That ruin'd the Country and fooled the City He turn'd Preaching to prating and telling of lies Caus'd Jarres and Dissentions in all Families He invented new Oathes Rebellions to raise Deceiving the Commons whil'st on them he preyse He made a new Creed despised the old King State and Religion by him bought and sold He foure yeares consulted and yet could not tell The Parliament the way Christ went into hell Resolved therein he never could be Therefore in great hast he goes thither to see And I would to God they had the Grace to see the mischiefes that they have done and to repent