Selected quad for the lemma: death_n
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A35885
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The salvation of Protestants asserted and defended in opposition to the rash and uncharitable sentence of their eternal damnation pronounc'd against them by the Romish Church / by J.H. Dalhusius ... ; newly done into English.
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Dalhusius, Johannes H. (Johannes Hermanus)
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1689
(1689)
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Wing D132; ESTC R1473
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51,117
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84
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them with Clamour and Judicial Sentences and which is more fill every corner of the World with their Thundring Writings to prevent the Voice of Truth from being heard nay which is more then all this like Ahab himself they make it their business to throw the guilt of the Troubles which themselves have rais'd upon the Faithful Preachers of the Truth and which is most horrible to hear make it their glory to condemn them all to the Punishment of Infernal Fires The same ill Fate has befall'n me For when it was my late hap to officiate in the Function of Ecclesiastial Overseer in the County of Weeden upon the Rhine one of the Popish Prelates a certain Neighbour of mine was not asham'd instead of a NEW-YEARS-GIFT to send me word That not only my Self but also all the Protestants in general were eternally Damn'd and to be infallibly Burn'd in the everlasting Fire of Hell. But in regard that by the Testimony of the Apostle We can do nothing against the Truth but for the Truth and that it is the chief Duty of a Preacher of the Gospel To hold fast the faithful Word which is according to Doctrin that he may be able both to Exhort in wholsom Doctrin and to Convince them that say against it I thought it my Duty not only to Translate into the German Language the Catechism of Controversies written by Monsieur Moulin and by that means to arm my Auditors against the daily Attacques of the Monks but also to refel such an inconsiderate and unchristianlike Letter and by this my ANSWER to vindicate the Salvation of the Protestants against so horrible a Condemnation Wherein I have chiefly made it my business to encounter my Antagonist with the Sword of his own Brethren as having brought in Aid of our Cause the Testimonies of the most Famous Popish Doctors against him Not that I would have it so to be understood however as if the Suffrages of Men that wander in the Paths of Error were necessary for the support of our Doctrin but only that as vanquish'd Enemies following the Triumphal Chariot of Truth their Necks laden with Chains and compell'd to submit to the Victress they might give all the World an unquestionable Testimony of her Conquest or else that if after the first Rout they should adventure to make a second Attempt upon her being by this Stratagem set together by the Ears one among another and distracted in their Minds or at least in their Sentences they might by mutually wounding each other destroy themselves thereby affording us this pleasing Spectacle as if the Lord had set every Man's Sword upon his Neighbor throughout the Host and had so brought it to pass that they should kill one another with the Weapons which they had made themselves and that the Heads of these new Goliah's should be cut off with the Swords which they had girt upon their own Loyns For thus we see that the Papists in many things are like Samson's Foxes having their Tails in such a manner ty'd together to set on Fire that with their Heads they draw two contrary Ways or else like certain Monsters whose Bodies are not united together till about the Navil or the Belly But as Fawning creates Friends and Truth begets Hatred so neither could I avoid the Hatred and Persecution of the Papists For their Revenge transported them to that degree that they sent several Soldiers to apprehend me and to have punish'd me with eternal Captivity who because they could not overtake me flying away on Horseback discharg'd two Pistols at me to have kill'd me outright but in vain while God in his Mercy protected me Constrain'd therefore by these and other Persecutions and continual way-layings of my life some Weeks ago I threw my self into the Bosom of your Church that under your Protection I might live in more safety and so soon as opportunity should permit that I might be ready to employ the utmost of my Abilities and Sedulity in your Service But in regard that according to the Proverb There is no Desire of that which is to Men Unknown I thought it might be worth my while most devoutly and humbly to offer and dedicate this my Answer to all and singular both Shepherds and Sheep High and Mean Ecclesiastics and Laity Magistrates and Subjects as having no other means to excite and kindle in your Hearts when once made known to your Christian Pity so much of generous Goodness as to receive me into the Arms of your Charity and make me Partaker of your Labors Accept I beseech ye therefore most Honourable Patrons with courteous Mind and Hand this little Treatise of mine and open to me the doors of your Benevolence and what you would should be done to your selves in the same case that do to me Be not weary in well doing for in due season ye shall reap if ye faint not While we have therefore time let us do good unto all Men especially unto them that be of the houshold of Faith. In the mean time our Merciful God who has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ that being fill'd with the fruits of righteousness ye may speak the Word of God without fear and continue in one Spirit and one Soul holding together in the defence of the Faith of the Gospel and in nothing fearing your Adversaries which is to them a Token of Perdition but to you of Salvation and that of God. For to you it is given for Christ not only this that ye believe in him but also this that ye suffer for his sake Having the same sight which ye saw in me and now hear in me My Brethren count it all joy when ye fall in diverse temptations For blessed is the Man who endureth temptation because that when he is try'd he shall receive the Crown of Life which the Lord has promis'd to those that love him May it please the same Almighty God That fighting a good fight ye may hold Faith and a good Conscience which some having put away as concerning Faith have made Shipwrack So shall ye remain faithful unto death and a Crown of Life shall be given unto you So that when the time of your dissolution is at hand you may gladly and truly say We have fought a good Fight We have fulfilled our Course We have kept the Faith. Henceforth there is laid up for us a Crown of Righteousness whicb the Lord the Righteous Judge shall give at that day and not only to us but to them that have lov'd his appearing Now unto the King Everlasting Incorruptible Invisible To God only Wise be Honour and Glory for ever and ever Amen So farewel most Honoured Patrons and benignly favour Your most Humble Servant And Exile J. H. Dalhusius THE SALVATION OF PROTESTANTS Asserted and Defended c. The Salvation of Body and Soul comes from one Fountain of Salvation which is
of Ethnics Mahometans and Jews no not in the Society of those who retaining the Name of Christ nevertheless subvert the Foundation of Salvation such as formerly were the Ebionites Borborites Manichaeans Arrians and at this day the Socinians or if there be or were any other such like Monsters in Religion But in our Religion what is there to be discover'd that subverts the Fundamental Articles of Christianity but rather on the other side what serves in a high degree to support them Does it not admit the Scriptures of the old and New Testament to be of Divine Inspiration and the Three more solemn Creeds the Apostolic Athanasian and Nicene together with the Four Oeconomic Councils of Nicaea Chalcedon Ephesus and Constantinople Does it not adore in truth One God Three in One the Father Son and Holy Ghost Does it not acknowledg one Christ God and Man for the Mediator between God and Men the Redeemer of Souls a Prophet Priest and King of the Church Does it teach any thing concerning God which is repugnant to his Majesty his Glory and his Power Can it be accused of any Opinion that subverts good Manners or that sins against the Law of God or public Honesty The aim of Religion is to inform Men how to live well and bear Death with confidence to the end that after they have lived in the fear of God they may die in his favour And this is that which a Christian may easily attain in our Religion for it most powerfully excites a faithful Man to fear God and love his Neighbor It propounds no Article of Faith from whence various Corollaries may not be deduc'd for performance of our Duties and Reformation of our Lives and administers most sweet and those most effectnal Consolations to a Christian against the assaults of all Temptations and Death particularly advancing the Certainty of Redemption through Christ into the number of the Sons of God by his Merit and Favour so that they themselves who deal so rigorously by us so often as any one is to be prepar'd for Death insensibly come over to our side and tacitly renounce their own Opinions as is to be seen in Conson Agoniz written by Viguerrus For then they do not comsort the dying Person with heaps of his own proper Merits but exhort him to put all his hope and confidence in the Mercy of God and the Satisfaction of Christ Nor do they scare their doubtful Consciences with the Terror of Purgatory but comfort it with the hopes of soon obtaining Everlasting Rest and admonish the sick Person often to repeat the words of David Into thy hands I commend my Spirit The Bishop of Toledo is reported to have written to the Pope that the Emperor Charles V declar'd upon his Death-bed that he plac'd all the Hopes of his Salvation in one Redeemer and Saviour Jesus Christ and in his Merits adding withal that he look'd upon Luther's Opinion concerning Justification to be very true To which as the Famous John Crocius my Tutor formerly at Marpurgh reports in his Anti-Wigelius p. 451. they make the Pope to return this Answer That he would not celebrate his Funeral Obsequies because he held with Luther in such a Principal Point of Religion Maximilian II when the Bishop of Naples D. Lambert Gruterus came to him then lying under the Pangs of Death would not suffer him to be admitted but upon promise first That he would talk of nothing else but of the Merits of Christ his Blood and Sâ—eat The Bishop was as good as his word and made a long Oration concerning the Merits of Christ full of Consolation and when the Emperor was ask'd Whether he intended to die in that Faith He made Answer I shall do no otherwise As Crato relates in his Funeral-Oration and Chytraeus Chron. Sax. The Head and Summ of Christian Religion is Christ Crucify'd 1 Cor. 2. 2. Other Foundation can no Man lay then that which is laid which is Jesus Christ 1 Cor. 3. 11. So that for the obtaining of Salvation there is no other Rule of Faith to be acknowledg'd then the Word of Christ resounding in Scriptures nor any other Merit to be pleaded before God but his Death nor any other Purgatory but his Blood nor any other Propitiatory Sacrifice for our Sins but that which he offer'd once upon the Cross nor any other Head of the Church nor any other Mediator with God but Himself Behold the Foundations of our Faith Why should you deny us Eternal Salvation Moreover it would be very cruel and altogether repugnant to Christians to condemn to the Torments of Hell so many Myriads of Christians living in the East under the Patriarchs of Antioch Alexandria Jerusalem and Constantinople The Georgians Armenians Abissines Egyptians Greeks whose Churches the Apostles founded Martyrs water'd with their Blood the most Learned of the Fathers cultivated with their Instructions so many Councils honour'd with their Decisions and which are able to vye their Titles of Antiquity and Succession with Rome it self Now if the way to Salvation is not to be deny'd to these Christians dispers'd over the East and retaining the Foundations of Christianity tho' believing nothing of the Fire of Purgatory the Pomp of Papal Dignity Transubstantiation of the Bread into the Body of Christ Communion under One Kind the Use of Latin or a Foreign Tongue in Publick Worship the necessary Celibacy of the Ministry Auricular Confession and the like why may not Salvation be obtain'd in the Society of the Reformed Churches which are gather'd to Christ in the West tho as to those Points they have renounc'd the Roman Communion Then there is another thing which you Romanists confess of your own accords that our Church Reform'd according to the Word of God leads all the Members of its Communion directly to Christ that they may obtain Salvation in him and by him that they feed the starving Consciences with the Spiritual Bread of the Divine Word and Sacramental Eucharist call Sinners to Repentance and recommend to every one Piety towards God and Charity towards our Neighbor There is also another thing which they acknowledge that our Reformed Church both has and administers the true Baptism of Christ and by means of that Spiritually begets Sinners which are to be Heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven seeing that by their own Confession our Children dying after Baptism receiv'd in our Churches ascend to Joys Celestial as may be collected from Bellarmin lib. 1. de Bapt. cap. 11. In the mean time I beseech you Venerable Sir can you tell me what Motives they were that lead you headlong into so absurd a Precipice Or what I beseech you were the Impulsive Causes and Pregnant Reasons of so preposterous and unseasonable a Damning of our Souls If you are Ignorant as I shrewdly conjecture you are I will tell you what they are from your own Doctors who have written variously concerning this Question that is to say That we are therefore to be Damn'd and are