that the sum of all the controversies that our English Schools have been wrangling and the Pulpits railing about this hundred years is here perfectly represented on both sides nor is it to be wondred at that women should arive to such a perfection in divinity in this age wherein all learning is almost become prostitute when above a thousand years ago we finde one of the curiousest peices of divinity written by Athenais who seemed to be that which the Poets feigned of Pallas she was bred in Paganisme better acquainted with the Theogony of Hesiod than the genealogy of Jesus Christ better skil'd in Homers Illiads then the books of the Gospel and better in the Apothegmes of Pythagoras then the commandments af God but she became afterwards so skilful in the Christian Law that she wrote in Homerick verses the principal Acts of Jesus Christ and even as the blessed Magdalen with the same hair wherewith she had weaved nets for wanton love did afterwards turn into a Towel to wipe the feet of our Saviour so she consecrated all the Graces of her wit and learning which she had before misimployed in vanities to the Trophy of Jesus Then as to the devotion of that sex I conceive it less questionable when women are right set none can go beyond them for that The Church hath always given to them the title of the devout sex Their blessing is in the dew of Heaven they resemble Bees which are born in hony or rather those birds of the fortunate Islands that breath no air but perfumes and are onely nourisht with incense they grow wholly Angelical insomuch as forgetting their sex and all their natural imperfections they furnish themselves with the most perfect Ideas of divinity and scarce retain any thing in them common with matter We find likewise that great priviledges and prerogatives are given to them by our Saviour for as the chast womb of a woman served him for a lodging at his first entrance into the world so when he was to issue out of it amongst so many horrors and terrible images of death when stones were rent in sunder for grief under his feet and heaven it self distended with sorrow over his head women also were found near to the Cross as witnesses of his last words and survivers of his bloud nay they were the first likewise that he would do the honour to appear to after his resurrection Now I must confess that the prejudicators of this piece and all the devotion and divinity of that sex carry with them a great deal of reason too for there is a sort of fisking Gossips who imagine devotion to he nothing but an ordinary practise of motions and gestures such as little puppets would make if annimated with a quantity of Quicksilver whilest the true virtues of devotion we know according to S. Thomas is nothing else but a prompt will to the service of God others there are of them whose devotion is altogether silken and very fine forsooth in all things so coy and curious they will be in the choice of persons that Sacraments themselves are good for nothing if they he not tyed to such and such hands where vanity seeks its interests nay forsooth their dovotion is such that they will plant their prettie petite pride upon the very hair cloth of Penance and if God would chastise such creatures to their liking he must be forced to tye up his rods with silk or else they will never receive correction from his hands Though they rise not till noon yet as if they feared the vapours of the serain they must be armed before they come out of their beds with restoratives from the Kitchin to keep their colours more fresh Then they will set themselves down to be cloathed with their Lookingglasses before them as if their fingers were too good to touch their own clothes and yet will be drest up like Idols and so adored too by their servants who are to stand about them admiring of their beauty which they have more ado too to preserve then the Vestals of Rome had to maintain the sacred fire one presents their Ladyships with white another with red this with some Serous that with some Fucus another attends the Looking-glass to hold it or remove it at their Ladyships pleasure whilest another stands behind to he the tell-clock but dares not tell their Ladyships that the hour of the Curch is ready to be past whilst their Ladyships are fastening on their Pennons Necklaces or Bracelets yet must the Canons of the Church be as easily broken as a glass to obey the humors of these women and the celebration begin when it is to be doubted whether the Sun begin not then to bend towards its setting prayers in the Church must be past over with making of some sowre faces and looking scornfully with a good grace with some slight ceremonies of devotion it may be which go no further neither then the outward parts There it is where resolutions are made of entertainments of time to be chosen for the next day then follow visits gaddings coachings dancings c. besides what passeth behind the Curtain their husbands in the mean time are very uncivil as they say if they give them not permission to do any thing and as it is said of the Moon that she never agrees in qualities with the Sun but when she hath ecclipsed him so they find no concord in marriage but in the diminution of their husbands authority These are the Lady-birds that will make their husbands sell a large patrimony to buy them a little Cabinet lay out thousands of pounds upon a rope of Pearl to wear about those necks that do better deserve a halter nay their very ears which they take a pride to shew little and slender yet they must have whole Lordships hanging upon them A man would say to see how they pamper their bodies that they were discended from heaven and that thither they intended to return without passing through the sepulchre so they deifie their flesh and to fatten and gild a dunghill covered with snow they sport with the blood and sweat of men what a sight it is to see these Ladies groan as at a torture under the weight and straightness of their garments and yet for all this will court and adore their own punishments He that will take the pains to examine well the furniture of them will think that they resemble those birds that have no body almost under a great deal of feathers then their apparrel is made rather to sell their bodies then to cover them I know not for my part what may be reserved for the eyes of their husbands when through all the streets and markets the secret parts of their wives bodies are exposed as open as if they were ready to be delivered over to the best bidders Then the cloaths they wear are so extravagant in their head dressings flying elbows great gorgets and farthinggals that the Church dores
Micah 6.6 by pretended good works in this Pathetical expostulation Wherewith shall I come before the Lord and bow my self before the high God Shall I come before him with burnt offerings with Calves of a year old Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of Rams or with ten thousands of Rivers of oyl Shall I give my first-born for my transgression the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul Then the Prophet concludes immediately He hath shewed thee O man what is good and what doth the Lord require of thee but to do justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with thy God What can be more evident then this to shew that God Almighty requires nothing of a sinner but a faithfull returne to his Duty Where is then your pitifull satisfaction Our Saviour Jesus Christ did most sufficiently satisfie for our sins by his own most bitter passion and death as is abundantly clear in Scripture nor was his precious Passion sufficient only to take away the sins of the whole world which it may be you will willingly grant but also to take away the pains and punishments due to us for them for the Prophet I say affirms it thus surely he hath born our griefs and carried our sorrows Isai 53.4 5. and again he was wounded for our transgressions he was bruised for our iniquities the chastisement of our peace was upon him and with his stripes we are healed Thus it is plain aswell the punishment of sin as sin it self was taken away by him without any piece of our satisfaction required And Jesus Christ the great Physitian he always makes a perfect cure of sin and punishment what need then is there of our satisfaction That the Root and foundation of all these your doctrines is extreamly false and that Man hath no free-will at all is proved most plainly thus The Blessed Baptist assures us that man can receive nothing except it be given hipe from Heaven Saint James likewise tells us John 3.27 that every good gift and every perfect gift Jam. 1.17 is from above and cometh down from the Father of Lights c. Saint Paul yet more plainly 2 Cor. 3.5 that we are not sufficient of our selves to think any thing as of our selves but our sufficiency is of God 1 Cor. 4.7 And to the same Corinthians saith What hast thou that thou didst not receive now if thou didst receive it why dost thou glory as if thou hadst not received it With the truth of all these Texts how can your Doctrines of Free-Will stand 2. Rom. 9.19.16.18 Isa 63.17 Jerem. 10.23 Prov. 16.1 Prov. 30. Again Saint Paul to the Romans quctes the Words of the Lord to Moses I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion from thence draws an Argument himself against your Free-Will to then it is not of him that willeth nor of him that runneth but of God that sheweth mercy Therefore he hath mercy on whom he will have mercy and whom he will be hardneth what now will become of your Free-Will The Phophet Isaiah expostulates somewhat strangly with God about this O Lord why hast thou made us to erre from thy ways and bardned our heart from thy fear What can man do then with his Free-Will 4th The Prophet Jeremy declares it for a truth of his own knowledge O Lord I know that the way of man is not in himself it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps Solomon assures us likewise that the preparation of the heart in man Jerem. 10.23 Prov. 16.1 Prov. 20.24 and the answer of the Tongue is from the Lord and again mans goings are of the Lord how can a man then understand his own way if he cannot understand it he can sure left direct it The Prophet Isay and S. Paul tells us Isay 45.9 Rom. 9.20 that it is an extravagant thing for the thing formed to say to him that formed it why hast thou made me thus and the Apostle in the same Chapter says that God of his free grace and meer election faves some and not for any thing of their works or freewill that is exprelly said in the Text if it were not it would however follow from reason for otherwise grace would not be grace at all and then concludes as a foresaid that it is not of him that willeth nor of him that runneth but of God that giveth mercy what could be said more cleerly against your Churches doctrine Our Saviour tells his Apostles as three Evangelists do joyntly and severally assure us Mat. 10.19 Mark 13.11 Luke 12.11 that they should take no thought how or what they should speak for it should be given them in the same hour what they should speak for said he again it is not ye that speak but the spirit of your father which speaketh in you if then our ability be so short to speak how much less must it be to do his will S. Matthew again tells us in the same Chapter Mat. 14.29 how our Saviour argues the matter with them are not two sparrows sold for a farthing and one of them shall not fall to the ground without your Father if a Sparrow fall not without him how shall a thought word or action of ours Our Saviour very positively concludes this point in S. Johns Gospel thus John 6.44 no man can come to me except the Father which hath sent me draw him and I will raise him up at the last day what can poor we do then with all the strength of our will or works so I beseech the same Father to draw your Ladiship and all erring Christians to himself This paper my Lady had no sooner read but she sent a messenger with a letter back to Mrs. N. to thank her for the favour of her paper and to assure her of the best satisfaction she should be able to give to it but cheifly to defire her for the future to forbear Scholastick questions least by their little skill in those nicities they might before they were a ware engage themselves in Blasphemy or Heresie So Mrs. N. returned thanks to her Ladiship for her kind caution and promised to avoid all speculative disputes and to proceed upon things more morall and practicall with which the Lady was satisfied so fell to work upon the papers thus To what you alledge against our doctrine of goodworks and for your justification by faith alone I answer thus To the first We do humbly believe acknowledge and profess that the just must live by faith for faith is the foundation of the spirituall building Heb. 11. and the substance of all things hoped for as the Apostle tells us But what you do from thence gather of your faith alone is a meer tearing and a falsifying of all those texts out of the Prophets Apostles and Evangelists For it is no where said that the
all that are bitten by the devil As to the breaking of it by Hezekiah I have hinted already that the end for which it was made ceased it was of no use longer then the children of Israel were in the wildernes for there was no more danger of Serpents in the land of promise But the image of Christ Crucified is made to this end to represent to us our bleeding Saviour and to call to minde those benefits that we receive by that his bitter death and passion now this end must last till the end of the world therefore his image is still to be retained and kept with honour for ever 2 King 8 Besides the brazen Serpent after the end of its making ceased began to be as a foresaid an occasion of Idolatry which the image of Christ cannot be amongst us Christians for we know it is set up to no other intent of purpose then to represent our Saviour and his benefits to us Again Levi. 26.1 Josh 24.26 we finde in Leviticus forbidden to make idols or graven images nor to rear up a standing image nor to set up any graven stone in the land and yet we finde that Joshua took a great stone and set it up there under an oak that was by the Sanctuary of the Lord and so the Altar that was built by the children of Reuben and Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh was permitted to them though contrary to their Law so soon as they had satisfied their brethren Iosh 22. that there was no intention of Idolatry in their so doing and in the like maner did Samuel which I have before insisted upon Again if to set up Images in the house of God had been absolutly Idolatry 1 Kings 7 would Solomon have done it Nay it was done by Gods own order so many Lions Oxen and Cherubims and all carrying a divine morall or signification with them had never sure been set up in that glorious Temple the beloved house of God if they had not been as well usefull as lawfull and specious And so let the use remain in the name of God and the abuse be taken away In the last place I beseech you tell me now if that Scripture and the whole Church were filent in this case by what reason you proceed when you endeavour with so much charge and artifice to paint adorne and preserve the statues and Pictures of Princes and great persons the pictures of Parents Children husbands and wives you will not deny but this you do and you think well done too What madness therefore must it needs appear to be in you to contemn the picture of Christ Spit upon his Images or throw durt in the faces of them beat e'm down abolish or exterminate them would not any indifferent person say that sees those actions that you have a greater kindness for a parent kinsman child or freind then you have for your Crucified God I must tell you that a good honest Pagan would blush and be troubled at it a good Jew would no doubt be pleased at the action yet angry with all those that did it and none but the Devil could rejoyce and make sport with it I am sure I pitty it as the action of poor blind men that are led by those that are willfully blind that is blinder than themselves To what you are pleased to alledge against our doctrines of Indulgencies Purgatory and prayer for the dead I answer thus To the first Now first as to the matter of Indulgencies you say you have but one blow to give me but that must be a mortall one and that must be out of S. Paul to the Romans well I shall freely and humbly grant all that the holy Apostle saies that nothing that we suffer heer can be compared to the glory that we are to receive by his favour heâ—reafter But you must understand that as the works of Jesus Christ upon earth so are those of his saints heer as well satisfactory as mertorious For he merited both for himself us For himself he merited because by the humility of his passion he merited the glory of his Resurrection for so S. Paul tells us Phil. 2.9 10. that being found in fashion as a man he humbled himself and became obedient unto death even the death of the Cross wherefore God hath highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name c. Then he merited for us Rom. 5.17 18 19. as S. Paul declares to the Romans for if by one mans offence death reigned by one much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by Jesus Christ therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men to justification of life for as by one mans disobedience many were made sinners so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous c. For all this his works were meritorious Now they were satisfactory not for his own sins because he had non as S. Peter tells us Who did no sin 1 Pet. 2.22 Esay 5.4.5 6. Ephes 5.2 1 Pet. 2.24 neither was guil found in his mouth but for our sins as is apparent out of scripture he was wounded for our transgression and brused for our iniquities the chastisment of our peace was upon him and with his stripes we are healed All we like sheep have gone astray we have turned every one to his own way and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all c. therefore S. Paul tells us that he hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savour and S. Peter saies that his own self bare our sins in his own body on the Tree that we being dead to sin should live unto righteousness by whose stripes we are healed 1 John 2 2. and S. John assures us that he is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours onely but also for the sins of the whole world just so we are to conceive of the works and sufferings of the saints which as they are meritorious are more then enough and infinitly beyond their merit remunerated as the Apostle whom you so urge does diliver to us But as they are satisfactory for punishment we do finde that there are many saints who have satisfyed and suffered more than they ought to have done for their own sins as is plain in holy Job Job 6.2.3 in whose book and divers others of holy writ it is said that he suffered much more than he deserved and S. Paul speakes it most plainly of himself Colos 1.24 thus who now rejoyce in my sufferings for you and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his bâ—dies sake which is the Church Can any thing be more plain than this for the doctrine