took the mantle of Elias he smote the waters the second time and they were divided this way and that way and Elizeus passed over Do you not see how Elizeus yea rather how God honored by a stupendious miracle the cloake of Elias No wonder then Saints bodyes should be more graced with miracles then theyr garments Read what followeth there c. 13 v. 20. Elizeus therefore dyed and they buried him And the Bands of the Moabites invaded the Land the same yeare And it came to passe as they were burying a man behold they spyed a Band of men and they cast the man into the sepulcher of Elizeus anciently they buried in the open fields making caves and grottes capable of more bodyes And when the man was lett downe and touched the bones of Elizeus he revived and stood upon his feet And will you be still scoffing at us for devout touching of Saints bones when so casuall a touch caused so great and stupendius a good to that man as was the restoring of his life Note allso how God honored Elizeus his bones by so miraculous an accident 2. Now to joyne the new Testament with the old I find that for keaping with all Reverence and rich inshrining of Reliques we read thus Heb. 9.4 In the which Ark was a golden pott having Manna and the rodd of Aaron that had budded and the Tables of the Covenant All these Reliques so honorably placed in gold and in the Ark were by consequence all hid by Ieremie with it and in it And so after the Captivity thus beeing miraculously found were with all pompe placed in the Temple which was restored by Zorobabel and amplified by Herod And there they remayned till Hierusalem under Titus and Vespasian was destroyed and had not left a stone upon a stone This is most to be noted because Protestants scoff so much at us for believing the wood of the H. Crosse aÌ„d many such Reliques to be preserved so many yeares uncorrupt Indeed though this be no part of our faith the probability of it is hence invincibly confirmed For the Tabernacle and all things perteyning to it was finished about the yeare of the world 2485. Now Christ was borne after the yeare of the world 4000. He lived 33. yeares and 40. yeares after his death Ierusalem was overthrown so that the Ark and Tabernacle with theyr Veiles and Courtaines and other appertinances lasted wel neer 2000. yeares uncorrupt and so the Rodd of Aaron so much inferior to the Crosse and the table of the Law yea and the Manna it self though so corruptible by nature that what was gathered one day would grow full of wormes the next day unlesse it were the Sabboth No wonder then many Reliques should keep and be reverently keept since Christs time which is farr shorter then the space which these Reliques were keept as appeares by S. Paul Lett us go on 3. What Relique meaner then the latchet of a shoe and yet S. Iohn Baptist the greatest Prophet which had risen sayd truly Io. 1. v. 27. Whose shoes latchet I am not worthy to unloose For the Relation it had to Christ With what reverence think you would a S. Iohn Baptist have touched that poor leather thong Hence that devout woeman Matth. 9.21 If I may but touch his garment I shall be whole And Iesus turning him and seeing her sayth Thy faith hath made thee whole The faith therefore in this devout touch was not superstitious Note here how the cure was wrought by this exterior touch with interior faith see Mark 5.30 Luke 8.46 who Chap. 6.19 sayth The whole multitude sought to touch him For vertue came out of him and cured all We indeed touch the Reliques with faith and Reverence but the vertue by which any favour is granted comes from the Saint whose Reliques wee touch God giving him power to assist us for our devout recourse to him Hence Apoc. 2.26 He that shall overcome and keep my words to the end I will give him power over the nations He shall have power to helpe even whole nations but he shall have this power given by me I will give him c. 4. Note allso that the very manner of applying other things to touch Saints Bodyes and after they have touched them to apply them with devotion a thing most ieered at by our Adversaries is notwithstanding a thing recommended unto us in Scripture proposing the example of the first and best Christians in this point Act. 19.12 There were allso brought from his Pauls body napkins or handkerchâ—fs upon the sick and the deseases departed from them and the wicked spirits went out Do not then blame us for hoping to obtaine some blessings by wearing Saints bloud or bones or other Reliques which commonly have a farr greater Relation to them then those napkins or handkerchifs had to S. Paul meerly in respect of a simple touch of his body unles you dare venture to say that it is more to touch a Saints Body when his soule liveth in it then when his soul lives with God in heaven I pray tell me what hath a thinner relation to man then his shadow Or what apprentise Painter of one days standing will not be able to make a better Image of such a man then his shadow is And yet the first and purest Christians did hold the very shadow of Saints in great veneration either because it was a kind of Picture of them or had some smale relation at lest to them And God confirmed theyr devotion by a world of miracles Act. 5.5 In so much that they did bring forth theyr sick into the streits and layd them in beddes and couches that at lest the shadow of Peter passing by might over shadow some of them Our Bibles have that they all might be delivered from theyr infirmities Which it seems they should not have been though they had been neerer to him on the other side on which the Sunne shined Note here that there beeing so great a resort of all and all beeing cured surely many came devoutly from remoter parts to enjoy this favour Blame not then our Pilgrimages to his Body it self at Rome where he is enterred beeing the Scripture sheweth many to have come to his very shadow to obtaine help 5. The Point following hath so great connexion with this present point that as we desire the Reader to note all here sayd for proof of that point so we desire him for further proof of this point to have recourse to what shall be sayd in the point following And particularly in both thefe points we earnestly intreate our adversaries to observe how many and how strong Texts we bring for our doctrine in these points and how few and how weak proofs they can bring out of Scripture to the contrary It is a shame to them to appeale to Scripture in these Points or to say they will reforme our errors in them by clear Scripture which is here so clear against them THE XLII POINT
many nor halfe so cōvincing Texts cā be alleaged against it And yet grāt this and you must grāt all Note that besides these 30. Texts here alledged I have allso all those numerous and most full Texts related at large Point 3. For whatsoever proves that the true Church cannot faile to be a true church proves allso her infallibility For truth of doctrine is essentiall to a true Church If therefore by being fallible and erring the whole Church could recede from the true doctrine of Christ it manifestly follows that the whole Church could faile to be a true Church contrary to these most expresse Scriptures there plentifully alledged 23. Most impertinent is the distinction which our adversaries use to avoide the force of these Texts They say that the Church may be taken in two wayes first for the visible Church containing all beleevers as well reprobate as elect and this Church they say may erre Secondly for the invisible Church which only containes the elect and this they say cannot erre But this is a palpable contradiction if well noted For this invisible Church of the elect which as you say cannot erre is contained in the visible Church in which as you say both reprobate and elect are contained which visible Church you allso say may wholy erre But if the whole visible Church wholy erre then allso the elect contained in it may erre or if they cannot erre thē many in the visible Church cannot erre And yet you cannot find many in any Church visible vpon earth whome you can shew on the one side to have differed from the beleefe of the Roman Church and on the other to have been guarded from errour as those who make the true Church must be Again I have shewed that many Texts here by me cited speake clearly of the visible Church THE SIXT POINT That the Roman Church is this infallible Church and our judge in all points of Controversie 1. THough this Question seemes to import as much as the certaine decision of all our Controversies yet haveing been so long in the former Point we are able to give in a word full satisfaction in this For no man will denye the Church which is proved to be infallible to be the most commodious decider of all Controversies For what can a man wish more to the right decision of his Controversie then a cleare sentence delivered there in by an infallible authority 2. All that can be imagined against what hath been sayd is this That we have not as yet proved the Roman Church to be infallible We have indeed proved the true Church to be so but there seemes a vast labour to remaine to prove the Roman Church to be this true infallible Church and consequently the decider of all Controversies I most earnestly therefore begg of my Reader to note well this one short demonstration and he will see how evidently convincing it is to prove home our full intent even in a word 3. My demonstration is this No Church can be the true infallible Church and decider of all Controversies which teacheth herselfe to be fallible For if any such Church be infallible in all that she teacheth she is infallible allso in teaching herselfe to be fallible And hence it followeth that infallibly such a Church is fallible but every Church in the world but the Romā teacheth herselfe to be fallible wherefore by evident demonstration no other Church upon earth can be infallible But the true Church is infallible as hath been proved by no fewer then thirty Texts therefore by evident consequence the Roman Church by all those Texts is proved the only true Church and our Iudge in all our Controversies THE SEAVENTH POINT That the Chiefe Pastour of this Church is the successor of S. Peter 1. THe old Testament helps vs thus farr in this Point that it teacheth first that amongst the Priests of the old law one was chosen successively to be the highest and chiefe Priest Num. 3.32 The Prince of Princes of the Levitts Eliazar the sonne of Aaron the Priest And Num. 27.21 If any thing be to be done for Iosue theyr Governour Eliazar the Priest shall consult our Lord. At his word shall he Iosue go out and go in and all the rest of the Children of Israël with him By going in and going out all the principall actions are vsually vnderstood in Scripture In those actions therefore God would have Iosue and all the people to depend on the high Priest When then we read Iosue 3.8 that Iosue did commaund the Priests and that Ch. 5. he appointed Circumcision to be ministred and that Ch. 24. he renewed God's Covenāt c. he is to be supposed therin as in all his principall actions to have proceeded according to the above cited Text only executing that which God by Eleazar the Priest had ordeined him to do For example to command the Priests to go with the Arke into Iourdan to administer Circumcision to renew the Covenant with God c. Again when Princes are allso Prophets as Iosue David Salomon and some others were they might have some extraordinary commission to do and order severall things which belong not to the ordinary Iurisdiction of temporall Princes So Kings 2.27 Salomon cast out Abiather that he should not be the Priest of our Lord yet this was done that the word of our Lord might be fullfilled which he spake concerning the house of Helle. Salomon allso as a Prophet by extrordinary commission v. 35. Placed sadoe the Priest for Abiathar 2. Secondly wee have cleerly in the old Testament the distinction of the chiefe Ecclesiasticall and chiefe secular Power 2. Chr. 19.11 And behold Amariath the chiefe Priest is over you in all matters of the Lord that is Ecclesiasticall affaires Then for temporall or secular affayres Zebediath the Ruler of the house of Iudah for all the Kings matters whence it is cleare that the former causes are not matters which aperteine to the Kings 3. Thirdly we have the old law Deut. 17. v. 8. commanding all such causes as are Ecclesiasticall causes to be brought to the Tribunall of the High Priest and his sentence to be obeyed even vnder paine of death I call them Ecclesiasticall causes because the former Text sayth they be matters of the Lord and distinct from matters of the King 4. Fourthly we have out of the new Testament this vnanswerable Text concerning the high Priests even of the old law Matth. 23.2 Vpon the chaire of Moyses have sitten the Scribes and Pharisees all therefore whatsoever they shall say unto you observe and doe it No wikedness of the high Priests his person shall excuse your obedience if he sitt vpon the chaire of Moyses Moyses was not only a secular Prince but allso the first high Priest amongst the Iewes Moyses and Aaron amongst his Priests Psal 99.6 Now those who succeed Moyses as he was high Priest are sayd to sitt upon the chaire of Moyses for as he was the secular Prince of the
and for forty yeares theyr very Children shall bear theyr fornication and they shall suffer all the incommodities of wandering in a wildernesse Can then any man wonder if they themselves who had theyr pardon on these termes and then were slain the very next day by theyr enemies should for a time yea perhaps for forty years suffer some punishment after death Eternall punishment the old sin being forgiven they could not suffer if they did no new one yet manifestly some punishmēt after death could not but be due to thē seeing that so great a punishment was so justly laid upon theyr Childrē for theyr sake for forty whole years 7. Let vs go on 2. Sam. ch 12. vpon Davids great repentance for his great sins of Murther and Adultery God by the Prophet Nathan tould him v. 13. Our Lord allso hath taken away thy sin Howbeit because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme the Child that is borne unto thee shall surely die Behold the sin taken away and yet behold a punishment still due even for this deed Yea for this deed the sword shall not depart from thy house for ever I will take thy wives and give them to thy neighbours and they shall sleep with thy wives in the sight of this Sun v. 10.11 All which great punishments even after this forgiven sin did befall David and his family His son dyed v. 18. Three more of his own sons were slain Ammon in the next chapter Absolom chapter 18. Adonias 1. Kings v. 24. Yea Absolom before his death did raise an Army against David his Father and enforced him to fly Ierusalem being taken they pitched a tent for Absolom in the house top the leads of the place And he went to his Fathers Concubines before all Israël 2. Sam. Ch. 16. v. 22. Thus in the sight of the Sun lying with his own fathers wives called here concubines because they were not admitted to the title of Queenes 8. Our Lord sayd to Moses and Aaron Num. 20.12 because you have not believed me you shall not bring this people into the land which I will give them And v. 24. Aaron shall be gathared to his people that is shall dye for he shall not enter into the land which I have given to the Children of Israël because he rebelled against my word and v. 28. Aaron dyed there in the top of the mountaine and Ch. 27. v. 13. God sayd to Moses when thou hast seen the land of promise thou allso shall be gathered vnto thy people as Aaron thy Brother was gathered For ye rebelled against my commandment Thus you see these two great Saints both punished with a most speedy death For that very sin of which they being admonished by God himself questionlesse did repent Whence after this sin committed God did so familiarly converse with Moses from ch 20. to 27. By all these and a world of other such examples it is made evident that upon the true repentance of the delinquent though the pain of eternall death be allwayes forgiven him yet often the delinquent remaines liable to suffer temporall punishments even as in this world though upon the repentance of a delinquent deserving death the punishment of death be forgiven him yet he is justly made liable to suffer imprisonment or condemned to pay such a fine 9. Out of this principle it clearly followeth that there is a Purgatory for seeing that a man may dye before he hath suffered or satisfyed for the punishment due by divine Iustice unto him it doth necessarily follow that this punishment according to the same Iustice must be given him in the world to come not in hell because the sin is forgiven him but yet in the prison of Purgatory out of which he shall not go untill he hath paid the last farthing Matth. 5.26 It remains then proved that this principle so well grounded in Scripture cannot be true unlesse it allso be true that there is a Purgatory 10. I passe to the second principle teaching that some sins are only veniall deserving indeed some punishment but not eternall For as he were a Tyrant who would punish every offence though it deserves but whipping with a cruell death so we should have too too hard opinion of Gods Iustice if we believed that for every merry lye for every idle word or passionate speech for every trifling away of a small time unprofitably for every vain or lazy action he should punish the delinquent with death everlasting and the endlesse and unspeakable torments of Hell fire if the person dyeth without repentance as thousands must needs do who dye suddenly or out of theyr senses or in theyr sleep c. 11. That there be such veniall sins or smaller offences as these are which be truly sins yet not mortall or damnable is clear out of Scripture Exod 1.17 But the Midwives of Egypt feared God and preserved the men Children contrary to the command of the King who questioning them for breaking his commandment they answered The Hebrew weomen are not as the Egyptian weomen for they have the knowledg to play the Midwife themselves and before we come to them they are delivered God therefore did well to the Midwives and because they feared God be built them houses Here you shee the Midwives telling an officious lye which is a sin yet this sin did not take from them the love of God or made God hate them but they even then feared God as the Scripture sayth and he for this theyr fear exercised not in this lye but in theyr Charity and Mercy highly rewarded them Yet this lying being a sin divine Iustice could not but reserve some punishment for it though not eternall 12. Even so Iosue 2.2 The spies sent by Iosue entred the house of Rahab And it was told the King of Iericho He sent to Rahab saying bring forth the men that came to the for they be spies and the woman taking the men hid them and sayd I confesse they came to me when the gate was a shutting in the dark and they withall went out I know not whither they be gone persue quickly and you shall overtake them But she made the men go up to the roof of her house and covered them with the stalk of flax which was there Here you have another officious lye but only a veniall not a damnable sin By lying she sinned venially but by that act of charitably hiding the spies she pleased God For S. Paul sayth by Faith Rahab perished not receiving the spies with peace Hebr. 11. 31. And S. Iames chap. 2. v. 25. Rahab was she not justifyed by works receiving the Messengers and putting them forth another way after that she had first hid them Of these kind of veniall sins the Scripture allso sayth Seven times shall the just fall and rise again Prov. 24.16 For these smaller sins cast us not out of Gods favour wherefore by his grace we soon get pardon