130. yeeres assigned to Thare before he begat Abraham which three score yeres the greater part euen of the best Chronographers haue hitherto omitted The answere I say first that we ought not to consider so much what others haue doone as what they should haue doone For as a prouerb saith aliquando bonus dormit Homerus to which this other is consonant Bernardus non vidit omnia I say secondly that as well the old Chronographers as other ancient Fathers haue shewed themselues to be men in many things I say thirdly that where I dissent from others I desire no more credit to be giuen to my words then manifest reason shall conuince I say fourthly that Thare was 130. yeres old when he begat Abraham and I prooue it because Abraham was but 75 yeeres olde at the death of his father Terah or Thare at which time he departed out of Haran Genes 12. verse 4. and yet was Thare 205. yeres old when he died in Haran Gene. 11. v. 32 so then if Thare had begotten Abraham when he was 70. yeres old as the obiection would haue it it would follow of necessitie that Abraham was at his fathers death 135. yeres old and not onely 75. yeres old which yet the text as I haue proued doth auouch See the 17. chapter following in the fourth difficultie of the fift Section The replie The text saith plainely Gen. 11. verse 26. that Terah was but 70. yeres old when he begat Abram Nahor and Haran The answer I answer with saint Austen that the scripture only auoucheth Thare to haue bin 70. yeeres olde before he begat his children Abram Nahor and Haran and that Abram was not first borne although he be first named For as saint Austen considered grauely he is the first named by reason of his excellencie and prerogatiue aboue the rest euen as Iacob was named before Esau and Iudah before his brethren though indeede hee were but the fourth in number This answer I make good by sundry reasons first because these are the wordes of the text Terah liued 70. yeres and begat Abram Nahor and Haran Now it is manifest that he begate them not all three in the 70. yeere of his age as saint Austen well obserued and consequently that he begate some of them in his riper yeres Abram therfore was not borne till Terah was 130. yeres olde For Terah was 205. yeeres old at his death in Charran Gen. 11. ve 32. at which time Abraham was 75. yeeres of age Genes 12. verse 4. which thing saint Steuen confirmeth in these wordes then came hee out of the land of the Chaldeans and dwelt in Charran and after that his father was dead God brought him from thence into this land wherein ye now dwell Lo by the testimonie of Moses in the booke of Genesis Abraham was but 75. yeeres old when he went out of Charran and by the report of saint Steuen in the acts of the apostles he came not out of Charran vntil his fathers death So then hee could not be more then 75. yeres old when his father was 205. yeres of age and consequently he was not the eldest sonne of Terah begotten in the 70. yeere of his age but his yonger sonne borne when hee was 130. yeres old and so we must haue 60. yeres more in this second age then the Chronographers commonly do allow But the truth must preuaile howsoeuer mans reason deeme A difficultie of the word Haran Since the name of Abrahams brother was Haran as wel as the place where he dwelt how shal we discerne the one from the other I answer to this that if wee will obserue the strict and precise maner of pronunciation we must call the brother Haran and the place Charran For in the originall the Hebrue tongue the brothers name is written with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and the place of Abrahams abode with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 so as Abrahams brothers name ought to be termed Haran and the place where Abraham dwelt Charran which varietie of writing some translations haue well obserued See the 17. chapter following in the third difficultie of the fift section The third age The third age from the birth of Abraham till the departure of the children of Israel out of Egypt containeth 505. yeeres whereof behold this plaine demonstration Abraham begate Isaac when he was an hundred yeeres old Genes 21. vers 5. Genes 17. vers 17. Isaac or Izhak begat Iacob when he was threescore yeeres of age Gene. 25. verse 20 and 26. Iacob went into Egypt when he was 130. yeres old Gen. 47. verse 9. The Iacobites or Israelites abode in Egypt 215. yeeres So write Eusebius Caesariensis and Marianus Scotus yea many later writers come short of that supputation by 5. yeeres The trueth of this important difficultie shall by the power of God be decided shortly The whole summe of yeeres is 505. 100 60 130 215 505 Make addition and this summe will appeare 505. An important obiection We reade in Genesis cha 15. ver 13. and in the Acts cha 7. ver 6 that the Israelites were in Egypt 400. yeres and Moses in Exod. cha 12. ver 40. auoucheth constantly that they were there 430. yeres so then to affirme their abode there to be no more but 215. yeres is farre different from the trueth The answere I say first that the varietie of supputation set downe in holy Writ may easily be accorded if we duely consider the varietie of time from which the same supputation is deriued For the 400. yeres must be reckoned from the birth of Isaac vntil the departure out of Egypt and the 430. yeeres from Abrahams going out of his countrie for the seede of Abraham was so long afflicted in a land not their owne I say secondly that it is not possible to proue out of the scriptures by particular and precise supputation that the Iacobites abode in Egypt either 400. yeeres as saint Steuen reporteth or 430. yeeres as saint Moses telleth vs and therefore we must reckon and begin the said supputations as is alredy said I proue this mine assertion in this maner Iacob was 130. yeeres old when he went into Egypt Ge. 47. verse 9. and he died at the age of 147. yeres so as he liued in Egypt no more but 17. yeres Gen. 47. verse 28. Iacobs third sonne Leui of his first wife Leah Gen. 29. ve 32. liued but 137. yeres Exodus 6. verse 16. Rohath or Caath the sonne of Leui liued but 133. yeeres Exodus 6. verse 18. Amram the son of Rohath liued but 137. yeres Exo. 6. v. 20 Moses the sonne of Amram was but 80. yeeres old when he brought the Israelites out of Egypt Exodus 7. verse 7. Now for perspicuous conceiuing of this so intricate a doubt I note first that Leui could not be aboue 95. yeres in Egypt I prooue it because Ioseph Iacobs yongest sonne was 40. yeeres olde before Iacob with Leui and the rest of his family came into
seculi consummationem futura est quis non intelligaâ— sicut eis iliud ait quod ad eos omnino non pertinet tamen sic dictum est tanquam ad solos etiam pertineret cum videritis haec omnia scitote quia propé est in ianuâ—â— ad quos enim hoc pertinet nisi ad eos qui in carne tunc erunt eum omnia complebuntur It is not therefore so said to the Apostles ye shalbe my witnesses in Hierusalem and in al Iurie and in Samaria euen to the vtmost parts of the world as if they onely to whom he then spoke should haue accomplished so great a matter but as he seemeth to haue said onely to them that which hee said in these words behold I am with you to the worlds end Which thing neuerthelesse euery one perceiueth that he spoke it to the vniuersal church which by the death of some and by the birth of other some shall continue to the worlds end euen as hee saith that to them which doth nothing at all pertaine to them and yet is it so spoken as if it onely pertained to them to wit when yâ—â— shall see these things come to passe knowe that it is neare 〈◊〉 the doores For to whome doth this pertaine but to those who shall then bee liuing when all thinges shall bee accomplished In these words Saint Austen proueth plainly that this obiection wherin the papists glory so greatly make th◠〈◊〉 for them for saith hee these words alreadie recited one spoken to the whole congregation of the faithfull which are or shall be to the worlds end and this Saint Austen sheweth by two reasons First because not onely the Apostles but others together with them should be his witnesses in Hierusalem and Samaria albeit Christ spoke that of them touching the bearing witnesse of him as he spoke this to them concerning his spiritual presence And therefore as hee spoke the other to all the faithful so did he also this that is promised his inuisible presence not onely to the Apostles or pastors of the church but euen to all the faithful in the world Secondly because Christ spoke that to his Apostles as pertaining onely to them which for al that did nothing at al concerne them as if he had saide it is not a good reason to denie Christs presence to the whole church because hee vttered the words onely to the Apostles For since hee spoke that to the Apostles which pertained nothing to them but onely to others much more might he speake that to them which belonged to them with others The eight replie Christ himselfe saith that the holy ghost shal teach the Apostles al trueth euen many things whereof they were not capable then and therefore did he be serue those things till the comming of the holy ghost The answere I answere that the holy ghost after Christs ascension taught the Apostles al truth euen such things as Christ had reserued and that by reason of their â—uditie and imperfection in conceiâ—â—â—g heauenly doctrine yet those things so reserued and the truth so taught was nothing else but a manifest explication of the selfe same veritie which they in briefe before had heard For the holy ghost did coyne no new doctrine nor reueale anie new articles of faith but onely taught the Apostles the true sâ—nse of Christs words which before for their dulnesse they were not able to perceiue which sense they being directed by the instinct of the holy ghost deliuered to the whole world first by word and afterward by writing Al this I proue by two euident demonstrations first because Christ himself doth so expouÌ„d himself in these words folowing He shal teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance which I haue told you which saying must bee wel noted because the latter words are a plaine declaration of the former as if Christ had said all things which the holy ghost shall teach the apostles after my departure are no newe doctrine but the very same things which they heard before of me and they differ onely in this that the Apostles doe more plainely vnderstand them by the assistance of the holy ghost Secondly because the best learned popish doctors do holde the same opinion For Melchior Canus hath these words Nec vllas in fide nouas reuelationes ecclesia habet for the church hath no new reuelations in matters of faith Thus saith Christ himselfe and thus teacheth their owne doctour and yet would the papists enforce vs daily to admit new doctrines from the church of Rome The ninth replie Peter is the rocke of the church against which hell-gates shall neuer preuaile therfore Saint Peters successors can neuer erre The answere I answere that not Saint Peter but the confession which he made is that rocke of the church against which hell gates shal not preuaile And this is not my opinion onely but Saint Beda Saint Austen Saint Chrysostome Saint Hylarie and sundrie verie learned papists doe teach the same doctrine constantly These are Saint Austens wordes Tu es Petrus super hanc petram quam confessus es super hanc petram quam cognouisti dicens tu es Christus filius Dei viui aedificabo ecclesiam meam Id est super meipsum filium Dei viui aedificabo ecclesiam meam super me edificabo te non me super te thou art Peter saith Christ and vppon this rocke which thou hast confessed vpon this rocke which thou hast acknowledged saying thou art Christ the sonne of the liuing God will I build my church that is vpon my selfe the sonne of the liuing God will I build my church vppon my selfe will I build thee not my selfe vpon thee Saint Chrysostome writeth thus Columnae quidem quoniam virtute sua ecclesiae robur sunt fundamentum quòd in confessione insorum fundata est ecclesia dicente domino Tu es Petrus super hanc petram fundabo ecclesiam meam The Apostles are the pillers because by their vertue they are the strength of the Church they are the foundation because the Church is built in their confession when the Lorde saieth thou art Peter and vpon this rocke will I build my church Loe this text vpon which the Papists build their popish primacie is vnderstood of all the Apostles not of Peter alone neither is the church built vpon any of their persons but vpon the ioynt confession of them all for Peter made the confession in the name of them all as Saint Chrysostome truely saith which confoundeth the Papists vtterly S. Hylarie hath these words Haec fides ecclesiae fundamentum est per hanc fidem infirmae aduersus eam sunt portae inferorum haec fides regni caelestis habet claues this faith is the foundation of the church by this faith hell gates shall not preuaile against it this faith hath the keyes of heauen The receiued popish glosse vpon this text doth
Dei custodit non quia in illa verbum caro factum est habitauit in nobis sed quia custodit ipsum verbum Dei per quod facta est quod in illa caro factum est Our Lord magnified this in her for that she did the will of his father not because her flesh bare his flesh Therfore when our Lord seemed admirable to the people working signes and myracles and shewing what was hidde in the flesh the people maruelling saide happie is the bellie that bare thee and hee answered yea happie are they that heare the word of God and keepe it that is to say my mother whom ye cal happie is therefore happie because she keepeth the word of God not because the word was made flesh in her and dwelt in vs but because shee keepeth Gods worde by which she was made and which was made flesh in her Againe in another place he writeth thus Beatior ergo Maria percipiendo fidem Christi quam concipiendo carnem Christi Nam dicenti cuidam beatus venter qui te portauit ipse respondit imo beati quiaudiunt verbum Dei custodiunt denique fratribus eius id est secundum carneÌ„ cognatis qui non in eum credideruÌ„t quid profuit illa cognatio Sic materna propinquitas nihil Mariae pofuisset nisi foelicius Christum corde quam carne gestasset Therefore Marie was more blessed in receiuing the faith of Christ then in conceiuing y e flesh of Christ for he answered to one that said blessed is the wombe that bare thee yea blessed are they that heare the word of God and keepe it Finally his brethren that is his kinsmen in y e flesh that beleeued not in him what good had they by that kinred And euen so motherly kinred had doone Marie no good vnlesse shee had borne Christ more blessedly in her heart then she bare him in her flesh S. Chrysostome hath these expresse words Ea sententia dictum existima non quod matrem negligeret sed quod nihil vtilitatis ei matris nomeÌ„ allaturuÌ„ osteÌ„deret nisi bonitate fide praestaret Infra Nam si id profuturum erat per se Mariae profuisset etiam Iudaeis quorum consanguineus erat Christus secundum carnem profuisset ciuitati in qua natus est profuisset fraâ—ribus Atqui dum fratres verum suarum curam habuerunt nihil eis propinquitatis nomen profuit sed cum reliquo mundo damnati erant Thinke that Christ spoke that not because he had no care of his mother but because he woulde shew the name of a mother to profit her nothing vnlesse she were better in pietie and faith For if that could haue done Marie good of it selfe it would also haue profited the Iewes it would haue profited the citie in which he was borne it would haue profited his brethren but while our Lords brethren set their hearts vpon their owne worldly matters the name of kinred did them no good at all they were damned with others in the world The fift obiection Nathan the Prophet brought word to Dauid that God had forgiuen him his sinne and that he should not die neuerthelesse because Dauid caused Gods enimies to blaspheme by reason of that his sin God punished him by the death of his child So Dauid being penitent for his sinne in numbring the people obtained remission of the fault and yet suffered three daies pestilence in his people So God forgaue the Israelites their rebellious murmurings against him yet for that fault none of them coulde enter into the lande of promise so in baptisme also our sinnes are freely forgiuen vs and yet do we still suffer temporall paines for the same al the daies of our life Which texts of holy scripture and others of like sort do plainely insinuate that after God hath forgiuen vs our sins and remitted both the fault and the eternall paine there still remaineth some temporall satisfaction to bee done for the same either in this world or in purgatorie which satisfaction is accomplished in the popes pardons while he maketh application of the superaboundant passions of holy men and women locked vp in the treasure of the church of Rome The answere I say first that when God forgiueth vs any sin he freeth vs as wel from the pain as froÌ„ the fault which I proue by many reasons First because otherwise Gods works should be impefect though holy writ hold them most perfect when it saith Dei perfecta sunt opera Gods works are perfect which in the originall and Hebrew is vttered more significantly where God is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a stone or rocke noting vnto vs that his workes are done with power and might and therefore with all exact perfection And doubtles if his act in forgiuing sin be perfect as it is most perfect then after God hath remitted the fault there can remain no satisfactioÌ„ for the same Secondly if mans act should bee a partiall satisfaction for sinne then coulde not Christ be a perfect and absolute redeemer but as it were a ioynt redeemer together with man Thirdly the fault is neuer truly perfectly forgiuen where payment is still required for the same Fourthly God who is faithful in al his promises hath promised to forget all our iniquities when soeuer we truely become penitent for the same yet can be not possiblie forget that for which he requireth our satisfaction Fiftly the papists grant with vniform consent generally that in baptisme martyrdome god remits sins wholly and perfectly aswel in respect of the pain as of the fault and yet can they neuer yeeld any sufficient disparitie betweene the forgiuenes of our sins before after baptisme whereupon they may build their fondly forged satisfaction This is a mighty reason as which troubled me al the while I was a papist because I could neuer reade or inuent anie sufficient solution to the same though at that time I would most willingly haue done it it was one motiue to excite mee against their superstitious and idololatricall doctrine in regard hereof grauely learnedly and christianly saith S. Augustine Christus communicando nobiscum sine culpa poenam culpam soluit poenam Christ while hee tooke part with vs of our paine without sin purged vs both from the sin and from the paine due for sin I say secondly that the punishment which God layeth on vs after he hath remitted and forgiuen vs our sins are not satisfactions for our sins committed but they are fatherly correctious to teach vs our duties to minister to vs fit matter of spiritual exercises and to keep vs and others from sinne to come as also to ingraffe in our hearts how odious a thing sin is in Gods sight This to be so Chrysostome rightly surnamed Os aureum golden mouth vttereth very perspicuously in these golden words Nam ne peccantes inulti manentes nos efficeremur
first that howsoeuer sundry of you admire your Iesuites whom I willingly confesse to be learned wishing they would vse their learning to Gods glorie yet cannot wise men be carried away with ipse dixit as if they were become disciples of Pythagoras I say secoÌ„dly that S. Pauls own words confute your Iesuite sufficiently For first he saith that he deliuered euen that which he receiued Againe he reciteth the precept aswel after the cup as after the bread which must bee wel obserued For hereupon doth it follow that both kinds be of like force the one not more commanded then y e other Thirdly he applieth aswel the drinking of the cup as the eating of y e bread to al the faithful in generall Fourthly he applieth the examination to euery one of the faithful Fiftly he willeth the examination to be made aswel in drinking of the cup as in eating of the bread Sixtly he wrote spake aswel to the lay people as to the priests as the beginning of the epistle declareth And in this sense doth their owne Haymo so reputed expound S. Paul for these are his words Ego nâ— accepi à domino quod et tradidi vobis .i. mysterâ—uÌ„ corporis sanguinis Dom. quomodo debeatis sumere Sicut mihi reuelauit ita tradidi vobis For I haue receiued of the Lord that which I deliuered to you that is the mysterie of our Lords body and bloud in what manner ye ought to receiue it Euen as he reuealed it to me so haue I deliuered it to you The reply S. Marke maketh it plaine that it was onely spoken to the apostles Drinke ye all of it For he addeth And they all dranke of it For it is cleare that al they dranke thereof who were commaunded to drinke The answere I say first that it was spoken to al the faithfull aswell as to the apostles For Paul exhorted the whole church at Corinth to vse both the kinds saying that God had so appointed As if he had said not I but the Lord coÌ„mandeth you thus to do for he reuealed to me euen as I haue deliuered vnto you Therefore if ye do it not you transgresse his holy commaundement Yea S. Paul declared expressely in the very beginning of his epistle that commandement of receiuing the holy Eucharist in both kindes concerned all the faithfull in the world as well to come as theÌ„ liuing For these words Ye shal shew the Lords death till he come doe euidently prooue that the forme prescribed by the apostle must continue after the death of the Corinthians euen till the day of doome I say secondly that since Christ himselfe instituted both kinds since the apostle deliuered both kinds euen to the lay people since the church communicated to the faithful laycall people in both kinds euerie where for many hundred yeres together as the papists themselues cannot denie since they confesse that both kinds may lawfully be vsed since no scripture teacheth vs that one kind is sufficient since no father did euer exhort to vse one only kind since no councell till the late synode of Constance did euer commaund one only kind in fine since the church for more then a thousand yeeres together did euer vse both kinds how impudent howe vnchristian nay how tyrannicall and bloud-thirstie is the Pope of Rome and his Iesuits that incense and excite him thereunto who labor this day with fire and fagot to enforce the faithful to the contrary I say thirdly that this obiection maketh against the papists for in that they al dranke therof it cannot folow that none else may drinke thereof otherwise the practise of the church hitherto should haue beene wicked and the apostles themselues haue sinned grieuously but that all present ought to drinke thereof For which cause their owne canon-law commaundeth all to bee putte out of the church that will not communicate when the consecration is ended Yea their own Pope Iulius doth condemne their grosse illation as who vnderstoode Christes wordes of all the faithfull Thus doth he write Illud vero quod pro complemento communionis intinctam tradunt eucharistiam populis nec hoc prolatum ex euangelio testimonium receperunt vbi apostolis corpus suum commendauit sanguinem seorsum enim panis seorsum calicit coÌ„mendatio memoratur Nam intinctum panem alijs ChristuÌ„ praebuisse non legimus excepto illo discipulo tantuÌ„ queÌ„ intincta buccella magistri proditorem ostenderet But where they giue y e dipped eucharist to the people for the complement of the communion they found not this witnessed in the gospel where Christ coÌ„mended his bodie and blood to his disciples For the bread is commended apart and the cuppe also apart For we reade not that Christ gaue dipped bread to any others saue onelie to the disciple whom the dipped morsell declared to be the betrayer of his maister The replie The councill of Constance commaunded no new thing but onelie made a law for the continual performance of that which the church had practised long before The answer I say first that thogh it were so practised before in some places yet was that practise neither generall nor approued by anie setled lawe vntil the late councill of Constance I say secondly that the great pillar of the popish church Thomas Aquinas honestly confesseth so much in this behalf as is enough for the euerlasting confusion of all Romish hypocrites And because I couet to deale faithfully in this point as in al other I will alleage the expresse wordes of Aquinas as himselfe hath deliuered them thus doth he write Ex parte quidem ipsius sacramenti conuenit quòd vtrumque sumatur scilicet corpus sanguis quia in vtroque consistit perfectio sacramenti Et ideo quia ad sacerdotem pertinet hoc sacramentum consecrare perficere nullo modo debet corpus Christi sumere sine sanguine ex parte autem sumentium requiritur summa reuerentia cautela ne aliquid accidat quod vergat ad iniuriam tanti mysterij quod praecipuè posset accidere in sanguinis sumptione qui quidem si incautè sumeretur de facili posset effundi Et quia creuit multitudo populi christiani in quâ continentur senes iuuenes paruuli quorum quidâ—m non sunt tantae discretionis vt cautelam debitam circa vsum huius sacramenti adhibeant ideo prouidè in quibusdam ecclesiis obseruatur vt populo sanguis sumendus non detur sed solûm à sacerdote sumatur In the behalfe of the sacrament it is meete that both be receiued to wit both the bodie and the blood bicause in both consisteth the perfection of the sacrament and therefore because it belongeth to the priest to consecrate and to perfite this sacrament he may in no case receiue the bodie of Christ without the blood In the behalfe of the receiuers great reuerence and circumspection is required left any thing
the euerliuing God and not to blaspheme him as I did for which cause I made this miserable end being murthered by mine owne children Note heere that after Eusebius Senacherib was also called Salmanasar which I thinke consonant to the holy scriptures Assar-addon succeeded Senacherib his father but was not fortunate for the strength of the Assyrians began to decay euen while his father was yet liuing Besides this the mighty prince Merodach-baladan the Chaldee made wars both with him his father before him forthwith after the death of Senacherib hee wanne Babylon and enioyed it with other territories in Assyria vntill the death of Assar-addon from whose death hee possessed the whole Empire Hee raigned tenne yeares Merodach-baladan the first king of the Babylonians for the fame and memorie of the ancient kingdome of Assyria was called king of the Assyrians also as were likewise other kings that followed him He first transported the maiestie of the Assyrians to the Chaldees or Babylonians for the glorie of Niniue where the kings pallace was of olde was nowe translated to Babylon for which benefit Merodach after his death was honoured for a God of the Babylonians Ier. 50 ver 2. he raigned 40. yeares Ben-merodach the second king of the Babylonians was a milde and mightie Prince he raigned 21. yeares Nabuchodonosor the first or the old the third king of the BabyloniaÌ„s after Merodach was father to that Nabuchodonosor who subdued Hierusalem and erected the Babylonian monarchy he made two great battailes the one against Phaortes aliâs Arphaxad king of the Medes the other against Nechao the mightie king of the Egyptians Hee slew king Arphaxad in the mountaines of Ragau as the storie of Iudith maketh mention But Nechao ouercame him and enioyed all Syria he raigned 35. yeeres Nabuchodonosor the great sonne of Nabuchodonosor the first shortly after his fathers death wanne againe all Syria He was the mightiest king of all the kings of Babylon much spoken of in holy Writ Hee subdued the citie of Ierusalem and led away the inhabitants thereof captiues to Babylon This Nabuchodonosor as he was mightie in power so was he prowd in heart He made an image of golde and set it vp in the plaine of Dura in the prouince of Babylon Which done he commaunded all his princes nobles dukes iudges receiuers counsellers officers and all gouernors of his prouinces to come to the dedication of the image Hee appointed an herald to crie aloude that when they heard the sound of the cornet trumpet harpe sackebut psalterie dulcimer and other instruments of musicke then they should fall downe and worship the image And because the three holy Iewes Sidrach Misach and Abednego would not adore the image hee caused them to be cast into a very hote burning ouen from which fiery furnace God deliuered them myraculously In regarde whereof Nabuchodonosor magnified the liuing God made a decree that al people and nations which spake against the God of Sidrach Misach and Abednego shoulde bee drawen in peeces and their houses made a iakes Dan. 3.29 After this the king still swelled in pride so that he was cast out from his kingdome driuen from men ate grasse as oxen and his bodie was wet with the dew of heauen till his haires were growen as Eagles feathers and his nailes like birdes clawes Dan. 4. verse 30. After Nabuchodonosor magnus succeeded Euil-merodach after him Balthazar of which two see the first chapter in the fourth section CHAP. II. Of the destruction of Troy THe kingdome of Troy was of great antiquitie it began as sundrie Chronographers write a little before the death of Moses about the 32. yeare after the departure of Israel out of Egypt They write that Dardanus was the first king of the Troians and Priamus the last Alexander the sonne of Priamus surnamed Paris tooke away violently Helena wife to Menelaus king of the Lacedemonians which fact was the occasion of the most bitter and bloody battell of the Troyans This battel was fought of the most valiant people in Asia and Europe with mortall enmitie and inestimable losse on both sides with the bloud and destruction of many most flourishing regions Troy was taken burnt and vtterly destroyed 340. yeares before Rome was built in the age of the world 2935. From the captiuitie of Troy vntill the first Olimpias were complete 340. yeares albeit Liuiâ—s and some other haue their different supputations CHAP. III. Of the supputation of the Greeks THe olde Greekes did account as wee doe nowe by the yeres of our Lord the first Olimpias the second the third the fourth and so forth Some holde that Olimpias is the space of fiue yeeres but if thou wilt not be deceiued therin gentle reader reckon it but for the space of foure yeares The supputation of the Greeks by the Olimpiads is of all writers deemed true and therefore albeit before their Olympiads euerie one wrote as pleased himselfe yet after their Olympiads wee ought greatly to respect their account Africanus writeth that the first Olimpias was in the first yere of Ioatham king of Iuda and so it should be in the age of the world 3251. others dissent fro that computation affirme it to bee in the time of Ioas and then it chanced in the age of the world 3130. which supputation seemeth not so probable and therefore with Affricanus Eusebius and others I imitate the former but in reckoning the time of Iotham and Ioas I dissent from them both as is alreadie shewed CHAP. IIII. Of the citie of Rome ROme was builded in the end of the sixt Olympias in the age of the world 3218. after the destruction of Troy 340. before the incarnation of our sauior Iesus Christ about 729. yeares Romulus and Rhemus were brothers twinnes both of one age Contention and controuersie fell betweene them after whether of them the citie which they had newly built should be named The contention grew from words to tumults from tumults to strokes from strokes to bloudy battel insomuch as in the bickering Rhemus was slaine after his death Romulus enioyed the Empire alone of whome the City was called Rome Rome hath beene sundrie times sacked and ouerthrowne by the Gothes and Vandals first by Alaricus the Gothe in the yeare of our Lord God 412. This king besieged Rome and after burned it during which siege such famine was in the city that the mothers were constrained with hunger to eate their owne children It was besieged taken and sacked the second time by Gensericus the Vandal in the yeare of our Lord 456. It was besieged sacked and subuerted the third time by Totilas king of the Gothes in the yeare of our Lord 548. in the yeare after the citie was built 1300 in which siege as in the first the famine was exceeding great mothers were enforced contrarie to nature and kinde to kill and eate the flesh of their owne children Procopius Palmerius The same
difficultie In Ester the Prouinces are reckoned to be 127. but in Dan. cap. 6. verse 1. reckoning is made onely of sixe score seuen wanting of the number in Ester The answere I answere that the vsual maner and course of the holy scripture is this to recite the perfect number and to omit the odde and vnperfect Euen so Daniel expressing the perfect number was carelesse for the odde CHAP. IIII. Of the weekes mentioned in Daniel The first section The Monarchie of the Persians conteined the kingdomes of the Persians of the Medes of the Assyrians of the Chaldeans a great part of Asia and of other regions adiacent It began in the age of the world 3425. In the 20. yere of Darius Longhand aliâs Darius Artaxerxes beganne the seuentie weekes foreshewed by Daniel cap. 9. See the fourth section No place of holy scripture is more excellent more worthie or more necessarie to be vnderstood of euerie christian man then the 70. weekes reuealed by the angel to Daniel For no place in all the old testament doth more cleerely set Christ with al his glory and manifold giftes before our eies no place doth more firmely strengthen our faith no place doth more effectually conuince the Iewes no place doth more strongly confute all heresies all phantasticall opinions and all pestilent errors against our Sauiour Christ then this place of Daniel Worthily therfore ought we to employ our whole care studie and industrie for the exact vnderstanding of the same The second section All writers agree in these two points First that weeks in the ninth chapter of Daniel are not taken for common weekes but for weekes of yeares euen as we finde in Leuiticus cap. 25. verse 8. where it is thus written Thou shalt number seuen Sabbothes of yeeres vnto thee euen seuen times seuen yeare and the space of the seuen Sabbothes of yeares will be vnto thee nine and fortie yeares Secondly that the 70. weekes make seuentie times seuen according to the phrase of Leuiticus and so the iust number must be 49. yeares In this point the very Rabbins of the Iewes doe agree with our Christian interpreters and historiographers And necessitie without more adoe enforceth vs to admit this glosse and exposition of the weekes because otherwise the assertion of the angel of God notified to vs by the Prophet Daniel shoulde be absurd and vtterly swaruing from the trueth The third section Of the probation for the exposition of the seuentie weekes Dan. 9. verse 24. That 70. weekes doe neither signifie weekes as a weeke importeth seuen daies neither yet 70. weekes only as weekes be taken for yeares I prooue sundry waies First because an angel needed not to haue been sent from heauen to instruct Daniel if the 70. weekes had no mysticall nor secret meaning far aboue the common and literall signification of the wordes Secondly because the vision which Daniel had and which the angel came to expound conteined the duration of the second and third monarchies as appeareth in the eight of Daniel Which farre exceedeth both the number of 70. weekes and 70 yeares Thirdly because Gods mercie doth seuen fold exceed his iudgment which mercy he promiseth to his people who were 70. yeares in captiuitie and that it shalbe accomplished in the aduent of the true Messias Christ Iesus By whom and through whom wickednesse shall be finished sinnes sealed vp iniquitie reconciled and our righteousnesse purchased euerlastingly Fourthly because no other interpretation of the 70. weeks can possibly accord the wordes of Daniel Fiftly because albeit S. Hierome Clemens Alexandrinus Tertullianus Africanus and others doe muche dissent in determining the beginning of the 70. weekes that is in what yeare of what king we must beginne the supputation yet doe they all iumpe in the signification of the 70. weeks as who al do constantly write that they connotate 490. yeares Sixtly because the supputation of euerie writer bringeth vs to Christ which is the scope intended and plainly expressed in Daniel and consequently no other exposition can be true Obserue well the second section The fourth section Of the varietie in writers touching the time of the 70. weekes Some writers beginne the supputation of the 490. yeares in the second yere of the 80. Olympias which was in the 7. yeare of Darius Artaxerxes Longimanus Some beginne in the 32. yeare of Darius Histaspis Others begin in the first yeare of Cyrus Others sooner others later Some end their supputation in the birth of Christ some in his baptisme some in his preaching some in his death So that all agree in the substance of the thing though they dissent in the modification of the same Affricanus whose opinion I preferre beginneth the supputation in the twentieth yeare of Artaxerxes Longhand because then receiued Nehemias commandement to build vp the walles of the Citie of Hierusalem and to consummate the whole worke of the temple walles and cittie Nehe. 2.1.8 from which time if we reckon saieth he vntil Christ we shall find the 70. weekes But if we beginne out computation from anie other time neither the times wil be consonant and many absurdities wil insue thereupon And we must saith Affricanus reckon our yeares after the supputation of the Hebrewes who doe not reckon moneths after the course of the Sunne but of the Moone for from the 20. yere of the said Artaxerxes that is from the fourth yere of the 83. Olympias vnto the 202. Olympias and second yeere of the same Olympias and 18. yeare of Tyberius Cesar in which yeare Christ was crucified are gathered 475. yeares which doe make 490. yeares after the supputation of the Hebrewes and course of the Moone Whoso listeth may reade this matter handled at large in Saint Hierome in his excellent Commentaries vppon the ninth of Daniel where hee citeth the variaable opinions of Hippolitus Tertullianus Clemens Affricanus Eusebius and others and seeing the difficultie to bee great referreth the iudgement to the reader although hee seeme indeede to preferre the opinion of Affâ—icanus before the rest That this opinion of Affricanus is grounded in the true meaning of the prophecie of Daniel I will prooue by sundrie important reasons First because it agreeth verie fitlie with the supputation of the Persians and Romain monarchie Secondly because from the twentieth yere of Artaxerxes Longimanus vntill the passion of Christ be iust 490. yeares according to the course of the Moone or after the supputation of the Hebrewes Thirdly because no other opinion doth either iumpe with the death of Christ or with the computation of the monarchies Fourthly because the prophet speaketh expressely of the death and passion of Christ Iesus These are the words And after threescore and two weekes shall Messiah be slaine so then the true account of the weekes must so beginne as they may end iust with the death of Christ but so it is that no account saue onely this of Affricanus which I preferre doth or
subiection But so soone as Philopator was dead his sonne Ptolomeus Epiphanes sent a mightie armie into Syria vnder the conduction of Scopa who recouered certaine Cities in Syria and a good part of Iudea Yet within a short space after Antiochus skirmishing with Scopa neere to Iordan had the vpper hand and tooke the cities againe from Scopa Then the Iewes yeelded them selues to Antiochus receiued his armie voluntarily within the walles and affoorded him large helpe against the garrisons of the said Scopa In respect of which fauour Antiochus dealt very fauourably with them gaue them rich giftes and graunted them libertie to call home againe all the Iewes that were in dispersion The third obseruation Antiochus Epiphanes was hostage at Rome where he learned by the Example of the Romaines flatterie deceite and other bad qualities to accommodate himselfe to the time and maners of men Hee was famous not for his vertues but for his naughtie dealing He was called as some write for his dissolute life not Epiphanes but Epimanes that is not noble but madde He beganne his reigne about 134. yeares after the death of Alexander at which time his brother Seleucus ceased by death to reigne in Syria At the same time Ptolemeus Epiphanes dyed in Egypt leauing behinde him to young sonnes Philometor and Physcon Ptolemeus hadde these sonnes with his wife the queene Cleopatra who was sister to Antiochus Vnder this pretence Antiochus went into Egypt and by faire speeches got the regiment during the nonage of Philometor the yong prince And when hee had contriued all thinges so as he might take the kingdome vpon him at his pleasure hee went to Hierusalem at the intreaty of Iason who sought ambitiouslie to be made the high priest by his procurement euen as popes of late yeares are made at Rome as hereafter shalbe prooued Where as writeth Iosephus so soone as hee came the gates were opened to him by men of his owne faction Which vsurped dominion hee exercised cruellie and sacrilegiously neither sparing the goods nor the liues of those that willingly opened the gates vnto him The fourth obseruation Demetrius Nicanor the twelfth king of Syria was driuen out of his kingdome by his brother Antiochus Sedetes by the aid and meanes of Tryphon Yet afterward hee was restored to his kingdome againe and ruled Syria peaceably vntil Alexander surnamed Sabineus of the house of Seleucus tooke him prisoner at Tyrus where he put him to death CHAP. III. Of the kings of Macedonia and of the diuision of the Empire after the sixt yeare of Alexander THe holy will of the liuing God was that foure mightie kings shoulde succeede Alexander the Great after the sixt yeare of his raigne whereof euerie one should possesse a part and no one be so mightie as himselfe which thing was euidently foretolde by the Prophet Daniel The foure kings that succeeded Alexander to wit Cassander who raigned in Macedonia and Grecia Seleucus who raigned in Syria Ptolomeus who raigned in Egypt and Antigonus who raigned in Asia did all descend of the house Petigree and bloud royall of Alexander that most puissant and valiant Emperour and for that cause surnamed the Great Cassander caused Olympias daughter of Neoptolemus and mother to Alexander a most chast and vertuous Queene to be beheaded cruelly that so hee might raigne more licentiouslie but God the iust iudge who for his wisedome seeth all things and for his iustice sake letteth no sinne passe vnpunished did so in his eternall prouidence dispose of Cassanders issue as it was a worthie spectacle to the world For Antipater and Alexander his sonnes had mutual mortal bloudie warres the one against the other as concerning the kindgome of Macedonia But what was the ende Antipater was slaine by Lysimachus his father in law and Alexander by Demetrius the sonne of Antigonus who both were their owne complices to whom they trusted and sought for helpe at their hands A worthie obseruation King Alexander the great was not onely full of valure and prowesse but throughly garnished with heroicall and morall vertues amongst which this was not the least that so often as he heard the complaint of one against another the accused partie being absent his continuall custome was to open one onely eare to the plaintife and to keepe the other closely shut by which ceremonie he liuely expressed vnto the world the office of euerie good Prince and righteous iudge to wit that they should neuer haue respect of persons as holy Writ beareth witnesse but heare all parties indifferently and iudge euer according to lawe and equitie Which indifferencie king Alexander fitly practised euen with the admiration of his auditory while as hee graunted to the accuser one eare so did hee to the accused reserue the other neuer condemning the one nor iustifying the other before hee vnderstood perfectly the truth of the matter But in our time wee may iustly exclaime with holy Polycarpe O God to what worlds hast thou reserued vs for nowadayes iudges lawyers are so corrupt with bribes that when a poore man crieth he can not be heard with neither eare because both are shut at once on the other side so soon as they grope the rich mans gold they open both the one eare the other there is no stay at al. Of such iudges magistrates and lawyers speaketh wise Salomon when he saith that many reuerence the person of the mightie and euerie one is friend to him that giueth gifts When a rich man commenceth any sute against the poore man euerie iudge euerie lawyer euerie iustice euerie bailife will for money be readie to further his cause for golde and money with a becke they come anone and with a winke they will bee gone though their matter were verie badde in the beginning yet wil it be right good in the ending money worketh so forcibly with them that it may bee saide to alter the case and to change the nature of the thing Gifts saith Saint Ambrose dazle the eyes of iudges and weakeneth the force of their authoritie Contrariewise when the poore man commeth to them either without money or but with a little they are dumbe deafe and sencelesse they can neither heare see nor vnderstand they will vse such dallying such demurring such shiftes and delayes vntill the poore man bee exhaust and spent so as perforce he must let the matter fall and sit downe with the losse For albeit his cause were right good in the beginning yet will it be starke naught in the ending Wherefore Innocentius his wordes are well verified in this kinde of people You respect saith he not the causes but the persons not lawes but bribes not what reason prescribeth but what will affecteth not what the minde thinketh but what it coueteth not what should be done but what yee list to haue done your eie is not single which should make your body bright but euer ye mingle a peece of leauen which corrupteth the whole dowe The
damned in hell blaspheme Christ ergo there be some vnder the earth that is in purgatorie which worship and adore Christ. The answer I answere that the bowing of the knee whereof the apostle speaketh doth not signify worship or adoration but that subiection which shalbe shewed openlie in the last iudgement when and where the deuilles as well as men and the good angels shall yeeld homage and dominion vnto Christ. For so S. Paul expoundeth S. Paul in his epistle to the Romaines and S. Luke recordeth that the deuill falleth prostrate before Christ and acknowledgeth his power ouer him which is that bowing of the knee whereof S. Paul speaketh Other expositions whatsoeuer are repugnant to the text The replie S. Iohn saith that hee heard all the creatures which are in heauen and on earth and vnder the earth and in the sea and al that are in them saying in this maner praise and honor and glorie and power be vnto him that sitteth vpon the throne and vnto the Lambe for euermore Therefore they be vnder the earth which truely worship Christ and consequently since the deuils as yee grant do rather blaspheme then worship Christ they that worship Christ vnder the earth must needes bee the soules in purgatory The answere I answere that S. Iohn meaneth nothing els then that which S. Paul hath vttered he vseth the figure Prosopopeia after the vsuall course of the scriptures causeth things senselesse and voide of reason to sounde out the praise of God so saith the Psalmograph Dauid All thy workes praise thee O Lord and thy saints blesse thee and in another place thus The heauens declare the glorie of God and the firmament sheweth the worke of his hands yea as the prophet saith and as the three holy Hebrewes sang fire heate winter summer frost snow light darkenesse the starres the sunne the moone and creatures blesse the Lord. The tenth obiection S. Iohn saith that no vncleane thing shall enter into heauen but many depart out of this life which are not pure ergo such must be purged in purgatorie before they come in heauen The answere I say first that faith in Christ Iesus can as well purge a man in this life as the Popes pardons and yet as your selues teach vs a plenarie indulgence will salue this impuritie I say secondly that it is a needelesse thing to establish popish purgatorie because popish pardons supplie the want thereof This is proued copiously in my booke of Motiues I say thirdly that the faithfull and elect children of God haue their cleanenesse before him in Christ his sonne with which they may enter into heauen For as S. Iohn saith they haue washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lambe who as S. Paul saith when hee knew no sinne was yet made the sacrifice for sin that we might be the righteousnes of God in him And as S. Peter saith their hearts are purified by faith yea as Christ himself saith his sacred word hath made them cleane In fine holy Writ pronounceth them blessed that die in the Lord that they rest from their labors Which being so they neither haue any impurity nor suffer any purgatorie paine The replie You all confesse that your inherent iustice is vnperfect and impure and so your vncleanenes must be taken away after this life be fore yee come into heauen ergo there is a purgatorie The answere I answere that original concupiscence is an inseperable accidēt during this life aswel in you as in vs but as it is proper to this state so is it taken away in that very instant in which our state is altered The 11. obiection S. Peter saith that God raised vp Christ after he had loosed the sorrows of hel This place saith our Iesuite must needs be vnderstood of purgatory for first it cānot be meant of the damned because their paines shal neuer end Secondly it cannot be meant of the sorrowes of Christ because they were finished on the crosse Thirdly it cannot be meant of the fathers in Limbo because they had no paine at all it therefore remaineth that it be meant of the sorrowes which soules abide in purgatorie The answere I say first that if their Latin text were sound this obiection would solue it selfe for the originall and Greeke text is this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hauing loosed the sorrowes of death Out of which words nothing can be gathered that fauoreth purgatory any thing at al. I say secondly that if it were as y e papists do reade the sorrowes of hel being loosed their soules should alwayes feele paine but neuer haue an end Which cannot be truely verified of their purgatorie fire I say thirdly that the fathers whō the papists hold to haue bin in Limbo at that time did according to their owne doctrine suffer poenam damni because they were not as yet partakers of the cleare vision beatificall which Bellarmine granteth in another place and so is repugnant to himselfe But let that be deemed a small fault in a Iesuite which is thought a great crime in another man Adde hereunto that poena damni is a greater pain then poena sensus by their best popish diuinitie I say fourthly that by the sorrows of death is meant nothing els but the bitter paines which Christ suffered vpon the crosse to accomplish mans redemption For then did he properly perfectly triumph ouer death when he rose againe from death who was deliuered to death for our sins saith Saint Paul and is risen againe for our iustification And the verie words of the text next following in the Actes doe confirme this exposition for there it is thus written whome God raised vp and loosed the sorrowes of death because it was vnpossible that he should be holden of it as if S. Peter had said although the passion of Christ was so bitter exceeding great as implying the curse and malediction due for our sinnes insomuch that the remembrance therof caused him to sweate out drops of blood yet could not death possiblie preuaile against him but that he should rise againe and conquer both hel and it The replie Although the greek word in the 24. verse signifieth death yet in the 27 verse it signifieth hel and so the sense is against you The answere I answer that the hebrew word in the psalme from whence this sentence is taken is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and signifieth a sepulchre or graue and so doth your owne great linguiste Arias Montanus interpret it as if the Prophet hadde saide thou wilt not leaue my soule or life in the graue For the course of holy scripture doth comprehende our life vnder the name of the Soule so saith the Prophet Ionas therefore now O Lord take I beseech thee my soule from me for it is better for me to die then to liue So is it in the Hebrew and original and yet by
the Papists themselues and consequently that the papists ought not to make account of his iudgement herein For you doe see that he granteth the punishment of the damned to be mitigated in hell for the prayers of the liuing which thing no papist will or dare auouch And the like is to be saide of other of the Fathers when they folow opinions not grounded vpon the word of God Saint Austen therefore must be reiected by his owne rule as I haue prooued in my Motiues when he dissenteth from Gods word the true touchstone and triall of all trueth And saint Austens inconstancie is plainely vttered in an other place where he hath these wordes Quod quidem non ideo confirmo quoniam non resisâ—o Which verily I do not therefore approue because I do not impugne it Out of which wordes I note that though saint Austen could not approoue the opinion of the vulgar sort as which he knew to haue no ground but a meere naturall affection yet would hee not condemne it but leaue it as in suspense The foureteenth obiection Praier for the dead is proued by the scripture euen in y t new testament for when S. Iohn forbids to pray for them that die without repentance he doubtles exhorts to pray for them that die penitent The answer I say first that when cardinall Allen in his notes vpon this place auoucheth roundly that this text coÌ„uinceth praier for the dead he may tell that tale to wise men and repute himselfe a foole for his paines For first as S. Austen vpon whose authoritie he only buildeth affirmeth that the apostle speaketh of him that dieth impenitent so doth the same S. Austen auouch that he doth iniury to a martyr that praieth for a martyr which is a receiued axiome with the papists and consequently when he inferreth out of S. Austen that we must pray for them that die penitent he concludeth against S. Austen that wee must pray for most constant martyrs and so commit a manifest iniurie So then albeit S. Iohn dehorteth from praying for such as die without repentance yet doth he not exhort vs to pray for those that die penitent for otherwise doubtles wee must pray for martyrs which no papist wil allow I say secondly that S. Iohn exhorteth to pray for penitent sinners here on earth but not for the dead I prooue it because these are saint Iohns words If any shal see his brother sinning a sin not to death but he that sinneth is in this life for wee can not see a man sinning in the next life where no sinne is committed and therfore S. Iohn speaketh of prayer only in this life I say thirdly that saint Iohus purpose is this no other to exhort vs to repentance for our sins in this life because after this life there is neither repentance nor remission of sinnes to be had neither can any other sense be truely deduced out of S. Iohns words Yea their owne cardinall Caietane doth so expound this place to their vtter confusion CHAP. VII Of praying to Saints departed COncerning the inuocation of Saints great abuses and intollerable superstition haue crept into the church and dazeled the eies of the vulgar sort wherein I desire diligent attention and indifferent iudgement vntill the end of my discourse The first Conclusion Albeit a christian man neuer pray to the saints departed yet doth he not sinne therein I prooue it because euery sinne is a transgression of Gods law or commandement but God hath made no law nor giuen any commandement to pray to saints Ergo not to pray to them is no sin at all The proposition is a receiued maxime in the Romish church grounded on these wordes of saint Austen Peccatum est factum vel dictum vel concupitum aliquid contra legem aeternam Sinne is any deed word or thought against the eternall law which is the will of God Saint Ambrose confirmeth Saint Augustines description in these wordes Quid est peccatum nisi praeuaricatio legis diuinae caelestium inobedientia praeceptorum What is sinne but the transgression of Gods lawe and the disobedience of his holie precepts The assumption is secure vntil the papists can alleadge some precept out of the olde or new testament for the inuocation of saints which they will doe ad Calendas Graecas But the Papistes thinke they haue a mightie obiection against this Conclusion taken out of Genesis in these wordes Et innocetur super eos nomen meum nomina quaeque patrum meorum Abraham Isaac And let my name be called vpon them and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac To which I answere thus First this vocation or nomination was not any precept from God but the meere fact of Iacob or Israel who as hee was holy so was he a man and might haue erred herein as man Secondly the hebrew text is thus Let my name be named in them that is let them bee called my children by adoption or let them bee surnamed after me For it was the custome both of the Hebrewes and of the Greekes to expresse the surname of euery one by the name of the father as Aristoteles the sonne of Nicomachus Zenophon the sonne of Gryllus Cambyses the sonne of Cyrus Thirdly the whole course of holy scripture doth yeelde this interpretation of Iacobs wordes In the olde testament it was a great reproch for a woman to beare no children though nowe with the Papists they be reputed holy that will rashly vow neuer to marry for which respect the small remnant of men left after the execution of Gods iustice in the destruction of Ierusalem inforced women contrary to womanly shamefastnesse to seek vnto men and to offer themselues to very base conditions to the end they would be their husbands and so take away their reproch Which thing the prophet Ieremy vttereth in these wordes In that day seuen women shall take hold of one man saying We will eate our owne bread and weare our owne garments onely let vs be called by thy name and take away our reproch Thus writeth Gods holy prophet whose discourse with the due circumstances thereof if the christian Reader wil exactly ponder he shall behold as clearely as the glittering beames of the sunne the most impudent and sophisticall dealing of the papists For though the words aswell in the latine as in the Hebrew be all one and the very same yet are the papists ashamed I am well assured to inferre or proue inuocation of Saints by this latter place That which I say is euident because these women desired nothing else of the man but that he would be their husband and that they might be called his wiues and so put away their reproch This interpretation is plainely touched in the expresse wordes of the text when the women desired the man to take their reproch away by letting his name be called vppon them for which end they promised not only
Surplesse and the stole about his necke sang a collect of martyrs so after his maner canonising a rebellious subiect for a saint Such is the seditious impudencie of newly hatched Romish Iesuites And least any other Iesuite or papist shall denie that they ascribe their saluation to saintes for they vse to say that they make them but mediatours of intercession and not of saluation and redemption I will prooue it flatly out of their owne bookes and church seruice which I wish the reader to marke attentiuely In the praier which the church of Rome readeth publickly vpon Thomas Beckets day sometime the Bishop of Canturburie I finde these wordes Deus pro cuius ecclesia gloriosus poÌ„tifex Thomas gladiis impiorum occubuit praesia quaesumus vt omnes qui eius implorant auxilium petitionis suae salutarem consequantur effectum O God for whose church the glorious bishop Thomas was put to death by the swordes of the wicked graunt wee beseech thee that all which desire his helpe may attaine the effect of their petition to saluation Out of these wordes I note first that Thomas Becket is pronounced a glorious martyr albeit the disobedience of his lawfull prince was the cause of his death I note secondly that the Romish church seeketh for saluation euen through his merites I note thirdly that the papistes make him a Sauiour yea such a Sauiour as is equall with Christ and consequently that they make him another Christ. For as S. Paule truely recordeth Christ redeemed the church with his owne bloud And yet doth the Romish church teache as yee see that Thomas Becket shed his bloud for the church of God Since therefore the proper and onely badge of Christes mediatorship is giuen to Thomas Becket what remaineth for him to be if not another Christ And least we should not fully vnderstand how our redemption is wrought in the bloud of Thomas they deliuer this mysterie more cleerely in another place in these wordes Tuper Tho. sanguineÌ„ queÌ„ pro te impendit fac nos Christe scandere quò Thomas ascendit Thou O Christ cause vs to come thither where Thomas is euen by the bloud which hee shedde for thy sake Loe Thomas Becket died for vs and shed his bloud to bring vs to heaueÌ„ as the papists teach vs therfore by their doctrine hee is our redeemer and mediatour not only of intercession but also of redemption In their praier bookes deliuered to the vulgar people which God wote they vnderstoode not they teache the people thus to inuocate their proper Aungels Angele Dei quicustos es mei pietate superna me tibi commissum salua defende guberna O Aungell of God who art my keeper by supernall pietie defend mee gouerne mee and saue my soule To S. Paule they teache vs to pray in this maner O beate Paule apostole te deprecor vt ab angelo Sathanae me eripias à ventura ira liberes in coelum introducas O blessed Apostle Paul I pray thee that thou wilt take me from the angel of Satan and deliuer me from wrathe to come and bring me into heauen To Saint Iames in this maner O foelix Apostole magne martyr Iacobe te colentes adiuua peregrinos vndique tuos clemens protege ducens ad coelestia O happy Apostle and mightie martyr Iames helpe thy worshippers defend courteously thy pilgrimes on euery side and bring them to heauenly ioyes To Saint Martin thus Caecis das viam mutisque loquelam tu nos adiuua mundans immunda qui fugas daemâ—nia nos hic libera O Martin thou causest the blinde to see and the dumbe to speake Helpe vs and purge the vncleane thou that castest out diuels deliuer vs here But for breuitis sake I wil wittingly and willingly superseade many particular praiers made to meaner saintes and come to the blessed Virgine The Papistes teache vs to inuocate the holy virgine Mary thus O Maria gloriosa in delitiis delitiosa praepara nobis gloriam O Mary glorious in dainties delicious prepare thou glory for vs. Againe in another place thus Maria mater Domini aeterni patris filij fer opem nobis omnibus ad teconfugientibus O Mary the mother of our Lord the sonne of the eternall God helpe vs all that flie for helpe vnto thee Againe in another place thus Maria mater gratiae mater misericordiae tu nos ab hoste protege hora mortis suscipe O Mary the mother of grace the mother of mercie defend thou vs from our ghostly enemie and receiue vs at the houre of death Againe in another place thus Solue vincla reis profer lumen caecis mala nostra pelle bona cunctae posce Monstra te esse matrem sumat per te preces qui pro nobis natus tulit esse tuus Loose the bandes of the guiltie bring light to the blinde driue away our euils require all good thinges for vs shew thy selfe to be a mother let him receiue thy praiers that was borne for vs and suffered to be thine Againe in another place thus Veni regina gentium dele flammas reatuum dele quod cunque deuium da vitam innocentium Come O Queene of the Gentiles extinguishe the firie heate of our sinnes blot out whatsoeuer is amisse and cause vs to leade an innocent life Againe in their olde Latine primers the people are thus taught to pray In extremis diebus meis esto mihi auxiliatrix saluatrix animam meam animam patris mei matris meae fratrum sororum parentum amicorum benefactorum meorum omnium fidelium defunctorum ac viuorum ab aeterna mortis caligine libera ipso auxiliante quem portasti Domino nostro Iesu Christo filio tuo O glorious Virgine Mary bee thou my helper and Sauiour in my last dayes and deliuer from the mist of eternall death both mine owne soule and my fathers soule and the soules of my mother brethren sisters parents friends benefactors and of all the faithfull liuing and dead by his help whom thou didst beare our Lord Iesus Christ thy sonne Againe after two or three leaues in this maner Vt in tuo sancto tremendo ac terribili iudicio in conspectu vnigeniti filii tui cui pater dedit omne iudicium me liberes protegas a paenis inferni participem me facias coelestium gaudiorum I beseech thee most mercifull and chaste virgine Mary that in thine holy fearefull and terrible iudgement in the sight of thine only sonne thou wilt deliuer and defend me from the paines of hell and make me partaker of heauenly ioyes These praiers if they be well marked will prooue my conclusion effectually as which conteine euery iote of power right maiestie glorie and soueraignty whatsoeuer is or ought to be yeelded vnto our Lord Iesus Christ. Yea these two last praiers make the virgine Mary not onely equall with Christ but farre
that whosoeuer will worship God truely must worship him neither in the mountaines neither in Hierusalem but in spirite and veritie I say thirdly y t as going on pilgrimage is commendable in some and tolerable in other some so is it necessary to saluation in none and very vnfit for many Which thing their own S. Bernard can tel them whose iudgment I am well assured no papist will refuse I say fourthly that popishe pilgrimage was not knowne in Christes church for the space of manie hundreth yeares after Christes sacred incarnation Neither shall the papistes euer be able to cite anie authenticall writer for the contrary The fift obiection S. Ambrose telleth great miracles done by the bodies of S. Geruasius and Protasius while they were touched lying on the coffin S Austen reciteth like miracles which were wrought by the reliques of S. Steuen S. Chrysostome Eusebius Palladius and diuers others make mention of the like miracles Yea the holy scripture it selfe telleth vs that myracles were done euen by touching the reliques of Elizaeus Why therefore may not the people this day resorte to suche places where such wonderfull miracles haue been done for to get helpe either of corporall diseases or spirituall is the cause of their going thither And for corporall helpes your selues this day go to S. Anne of Buxton and to other like places The answere I say first that the scripture telleth vs of the death of Saint Steuen of S. Ioseph of Moses and others as also of their funerals but not one word of inuocatioÌ„ or adoration done vnto their reliques I say secondly that y e fathers which tel vs of the miracles done by the reliques of saintes doe neither will vs to inuocate nor to adore them I say thirdly that miracles as S. Austen and S. Gregory doe truely write are for infidels and not for the faithfull For which respect they were frequent in the primitiue Church as rare as a white crowe or black swanne in latter daies I say fourthly that God wrought miracles by the reliques of his chosen seruantes aswel to prooue his owne diuine soueraigntie as their true faith in him But not that we should adore dumbe bones and dead ashes or seeke to merite by such pilgrimage I say fiftly that God confirmed the authoritie of Elizaeus by the myracle wrought at the contact of his dead bones that at the sight thereof the people might embrace his doctrine which they contemned in his life time or at least be thereby confounded to their greater condemnation And the same I say of other miracles done by other reliques I say sixtly y t if the good king Ezechias was highly coÌ„mended in the holy scripture because he pulled downe the brasen serpent set vp by Gods appointment so soone as the people committed idolatry by adoring the same worthily are those christian princes commended who prohibite their people from gadding on pilgrimage in popish idolatricall maner albeit y e originall therof was tolerable and a long time free from popish godles superstition I say seuenthly that waters haue natural curatiue qualities in sundrie places as haue also certain herbs stones and metals Which effects some ascribe to the water of Burton though my selfe haue long doubted thereof How soeuer that be to go thither for merite or in way of such satisfaction for our sinnes is flat idolatrie The sixt obiection S. Iustine who liued shortly after the apostles telleth of great honour done vnto reliques as that the bodies of martyrs defended men from the diuels cured many incurable diseases The answere I say first that Iustinus liued more then one hundreth and fiftie yeares after Christ and speaketh nothing at all of adoration Only this he saith that great myracles haue been done at the Sepulchres of martyrs which no learned man can or will denie I say secondly that the questions from whence your obiection came are counterfait and not S. Iustins indeed I prooue it because in the 82. and in the 86. questions I finde mention made of Origen who was borne long after the death of S. Iustinus So likewise in the 127. question mention is made of the Manichees who yet followed long after S. Iustines death CHAP. IX Of Christian righteousnesse or iustification THe Papistes doe not onely dishonour God while they seek to establish their owne righteousnesse but withall they slander good and true christians auouching them to be contemners of good workes but how blasphemous they be on the one side and howe malitious on the other shall sufficiently appeare by these briefe conclusions The first conclusion Man albeit hee was so created as hee might sinne and die which thing the euent it selfe declared yet was he so adorned and beautified with supernaturall giftes and graces aswel external as internal that he might haue liued eternally and haue eschewed all sinne world without end This conclusion I thus proue That man might haue liued euer if he had not sinned is euident by Gods owne wordes when he saith Thou shalt eate freely of euery tree of the garden but of the tree of knowledge of good and euill thou shalt not eate of it for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt die the death And againe in another place after that he had pronounced the earth cursed for Adams sinne he vttered these words For out of it wast thou taken because thou art dust and to dust shalt thou returne By which wordes it appeareth that if hee had not transgressed he should not haue died S. Austen confirmeth the same in these wordes Quapropter fatendum est primos homines ita fuisse institutos vt si non peccassent nullum mortis experirentur genus Wherefore wee must confesse that our first parentes were so created that vnlesse they had sinned they shoulde haue felt no kinde of death neither of soule nor of body Death saith S. Bernard shoulde neuer haue followed if sinne had not gone before S. Chrysostome gathereth this conclusion out of the expresse text of Genesis These are his wordes Factus enim est mortalis propter praeuaricationem vt ex hoc mandato his quae sequuta sunt claret Sequitur itaque ante praeuaricationem immortales erant alioqui post cibum non hoc supâ—licij loco imposuisset For he became mortall by reason of transgression as is euident by this commandement and that which followeth after Therefore they were immortal before the transgression otherwise after the eating thereof this punishment should not haue been imposed vpon them He confirmeth the same in another place where he writeth thus Cum Adam peccasset corpus illius confestim mortale ac passibile factum est plurimosque recepit naturales defectus So soone as Adam had sinned his bodie forthwith became mortall and passible and receiued many natural defects That Adam might haue liued without al kind of sin is likewise manifest by y e scripture which saith that God made man
otherwise he should be contrarie to himselfe who affirmeth it to bee sinne in many places of his works as is alreadie prooued but hee onely laboureth to perswade the reader that it is neuer imputed to the faithfull that stoutly striue against it And that this is the true meaning of S. Austen I proue it by the iudgement of S. Ambrose concerning the selfe same matter Thus doth hee write Caro contra spiritum contra carnem spiritus concupiscit â—ec inuenitur in vllo hominum tanta concordia vt legi mentis lex quae membris est insita non repugnet Propter quod ex omnium sanctorum persona accipitur quod Ioannes apostolus ait si dixerimus quoniam peccatum non habemus nosipsos seducimus veritas in nobis non est cum tamen idem ipse dicat qui natus est ex Deo peccatum non facit qoniam semen ipsius in eo manet non potest peccare quoniaÌ„ ex Deo natus est Vtrumque ergo verum est quia nemo sine peccato est in eo quod nemo est fine lege peccati qui natus est ex Deo peccatum non facit quia per legem mentis id est per charitatem quae Dei semen est peccatum non facit Charitas enim operit multitudineÌ„ peccatoruÌ„ the flesh lusteth against the spirit the spirit against the flesh neither is there found in any man such concord but that the lawe of concupiscence which is ingrafted in the members fighteth against the law of the mind And for that cause Saint Iohns words are taken as spoken in the person of all saints If we say we haue no sin we deceiue our selues and the truth is not in vs when for al that the same apostle saith He that is borne of God sinneth not because his seed abideth in him and he cannot sinne because he is of God Therfore both are true because no man is without sinne for that no man is without the law of sinne that is concupiscence and he that is borne of God sinneth not bicause he sinneth not by the law of his mind that is by charitie which is Gods seede for charitie couereth the multitude of sinnes Out of these words I note first that concupiscence moueth rebellion against the spirit in the holyest man vpon earth I note secondly that this rebellion of concupiscence is sinne in euerie one because S. Iohn speaketh of sinne indeede whose words saint Ambrose applieth heere to concupiscence I note thirdly that hee speaketh of originall concupiscence because he speaketh of that concupiscence which is in the saints that is in those that are borne of God I note fourthly that the faithfull sinne not because charitie couereth their sins So then S. Austen meaneth as S. Ambrose doth that they are without sin to whom sinne is not imputed Yea Aquinas himselfe granteth which is to be admired that the inordinate motion of sensualitie euen which goeth before the deliberation of reason is sinne though in a lowe degree These are his expresse wordes Dicendum quòd illud quod homo facit sine deliberatione rationis non perfectè ipse facit quia nihil operatur ibi id quod est principale in homine vnde non est perfectè actus humanus per consequens non potestesse perfectè actus virtutis vel peccati sed aliquid imperfectum in genere horum Vnde talis motus sensualitatis rationem praeueniens est peccatum veniale quod est quiddam imperfectum in genere peccati I answere that that which man doth without the deliberation of reason he doth it not perfectly because that which is the chiefe in man worketh nothing there wherefore it is not perfectly mans act and consequently it cannot be perfectly the act of vertue or of sinne but some imperfect thing in this kinde Whereupon such a motion of sensuality preuenting reason is a venial sinne which is a certaine imperfect thing in the nature of sinne The fourth replie Concupiscence at the most is but a little venial sinne as S. Thomas Aquinas truely saith therefore it cannot bring a man to hell neither debarre him of heauen The answere I answere that euerie sin is mortall vndoubtedly as which is flatly against Gods holy commaundements For that the transgression of Gods commandements is a grieuous mortal sinne no man euer did or will denie Cursed is euery one saith the apostle that continueth not in all things which are written in the booke of the law to doe them Againe in another place The reward or wage of sinne is death And S. Iames saith Whosoeuer shall keepe the whole lawe and yet faileth in one point he is guiltie of all Nowe that euerie sinne aswel great as small is against Gods holy lawe I prooue sundrie waies First because the Apostle saith that al our thoughts words and works ought to be referred to the glorie of God for most certaine it is that no sinne at al is referred to Gods glorie For no sin no not the least of al is referrible to god but is of it own nature repugnant to his glorie Secondly because wee must yeelde an account to God for euerie idle word as Christ himselfe telleth vs and yet as euerie child can perceiue God most merciful and most iust wil neuer lay that to our charge which is not against his holy law Thirdly because the apostle saith of sin generally that the punishment thereof is death Fourthly because sinne in generall is defined by the fathers to bee the transgression of Gods law which definition could not bee true if anie little sinne could stand with his commaundement Fiftly because famous popish writers as Ioannes Gerson Michael Baius Almayn and our owne Bishop of Rochester doe all freely graunt that euerie sinne is mortall of it owne nature and deserueth eternall death their words I haue alleaged in my booke of Motiues Sixtly because Durandus and Iosephus Angles to whom the Schooles of the papistes this day accord doe sharpely impugne Aquinas his doctrine in that he teacheth Venials not to be against Gods law The 7. conclusion Although good works do not iustifie yet are they pretious in Gods sight and neuer want their reward Christ himselfe prooueth this conclusion when he promiseth that not so much as a cup of colde water giuen in his name shall passe without reward And in another place hee saith That whosoeuer shall leaue house parents brethren wife or children for his sake shal receiue much more in this world and in the world to come life euerlasting And in another place Christ telleth vs that when the sonne of man commeth in his glory and al his holy angels with him then will he pronounce them blessed that haue done the works of charitie to their poore neighbours God saith S. Paul will reward euery man according to his workes The Lord rewarded me saith holy
like worthie for that communion not as it was in the olde lawe where the priest ate one part and the people another neither coulde the people be permitted to take part of that that the priest ate For nowe it is not so but to all is proposed one bodie and one cuppe Out of these golden words I note first that the difference in communion is a Iudaicall ceremonie from which Christs death deliuered vs. I note secondly that in the christian communion the common people ought to be as free as the minister I note thirdly that it was so in Saint Chrysostomes time when the people receiued vnder both kinds I note fourthly that the pope hath brought vs into greater bondage then euer were the Iewes S. Ignatius hath these wordes Vna est caro domini Iesu vnus eius sanguis qui pro nobis effusus est vnus etiam panis pro omnibus confractus vnus calix totius ecclesiae There is one flesh of our Lord Iesus one blood which was shed for vs one bread also broken for all and one cuppe of the whole church Saint Iustine hath these wordes Praesidens vero postquam gratiarum actionem perfecit populus vniuersus apprecatione laeta eum comprobauit qui apud nos vocantur diaconi atquo ministri distribuunt vnicuique praesentium vt participet eum in quo gratiae actae sunt panem vinum aquam After the chiefe pastour hath finished the giuing of thankes and all the people haue with ioyfull prayer approoued the same they that we cal Deacons and Ministers do distribute to euery one that is present the sanctified bread wine and water to be partaker thereof Yea the said Iustinus a little after addeth these important wordes Nam apostoli in commentarijs à se scriptis quae euangelia vocantur ita tradiderunt praecepisse sibi Iesum For the apostles in their commentaries that is in the gospelles haue taught vs that Iesus so commaunded them to minister the holie communion Where note by the way that Christ did not onelie ordaine both kindes but he also gaue commaundement to retaine the same in the church For which cause saint Paul teaching the Corinthians to communicate vnder both kinds said that he receiued that form maner from the Lord. S. Austen hath these words Cum Dom. dicat nisi manducaueritis carnem meam biberitis meum sanguinem non habebitis vitam in vobis quid sibi vult quod à sanguine sacrificiorum quae pro peccatis offerebantur tantopere populus prohibetur si illis sacrificijs vnum hoc sacrificium significabatur in quo vera sit remissio peccatorum à cuius tamen sacrificij sanguine in alimentum sumendo noÌ„ solum nemo prohibetur sed ad bibendum potius omnes exhortaÌ„tur qui volunt habere vitam When our Lord saith vnles ye shal eate my flesh and drinke my blood ye shal haue no life in you what meaneth it that the people is so greatly forbidden the blood of sacrifices which was offered for sins if in those sacrifices this onely sacrifice was signified in which there is true remission of sins From y e blood of which sacrifice for al that to be takeÌ„ for nourishment not only none is prohibited but al rather are exhorted to drinke it that desire to haue life S. Ambrose at such time as the emperour Theodosius after his great slaughter of men at Thessalonica desired to enter into the church at Millan and there to be partaker of the holie eucharist spoke these words vnto him Quî quaeso manus iniusta caede sanguine respersas extendere audes eisdem sacrosanctum corpus domini accipere aut quomodo venerandum eius sanguinem ori admouebis qui furore irae iubente tantum sanguinis tam iniquè effudisti How I pray thee darest thou stretch out thy hands sprinckled with vniust slaughter and blood and to take the holie bodie of our Lord in the same Or how wilt thou touch thy mouth with his venerable blood who to satisfy thy fury hast shed so much bloud so vnworthily Gregorius magnus their owne bishop of Rome confirmeth this veritie in these words Eius quippe ibi corpus sumitur eius caro in populi salutem partitur eius sanguis non iam in manus infidelium sed in ora fidelium funditur For his bodie is there receiued his flesh is diuided for the saluation of the people his bloud is now powred not into the handes of infidels but into the mouthes of the faithfull What need many words Their owne Gelasius in their owne canon law condemneth their fact as flat sacrilege These be his words Aut integra sacramenta percipiant aut ab integris arceaÌ„tur quia diuisio vnius eiusdeÌ„que mysterij sine grandi sacrilegio non potest peruenire Either let them participate the whole sacraments or els let them abstain from the whole bicause the diuision of one and the same sacrament cannot be done without great sacrilege The first obiection The commaundement to receiue in both kinds was onelie giuen to the twelue apostles and in them to all priestes for they onely were present when Christ spâ—ke these wordes Drinke ye all of this The answer I say first that if the commaundement pertained onelie to the apostles then are priests aswell as clarkes free from the same I say secondly that the commandement was giuen of both kindes in one and the selfe same maner and therefore the lay people are as free from the one as the from the other I say thirdly that by the common opinion of the papists they were lay people that receiued the communion at Christs handes in his supper For the apostles were vnpriested vntil after his resurrection when hee saide Receiue ye the holy ghost I say fourthly with S. Bernard that the participation of both kinds was commaunded by Christ in the first institution thereof for thus doth he write Nam de sacramento quidem corporis sanguinis sui nemo est qui nesciat hanc quoque tantam tam singularem alimoniam eâ primùm die exhibitam eâ die commendatam mandatam deinceps frequentari For concerning the sacrament of his body and bloud euery one knoweth that this such and so singular nourishment was exhibited that day the first that day commended and commaunded afterward to be frequented This commandement S. Cyprian and saint Iustine vrge for both kindes their words already are set downe I say fiftly that S. Paul who knew Christs minde aswell as any papist did communicate the vnpriested Corinthians vnder both kinds and told them that Christ had so appointed The replie S. Paul only recited Christs institution saith our Iesuite Bellarmine but gaue no commaundement for both kindes but left it as he found it indifferent and in the free choise of the Corinthians to communicate in both or in one only kind The answere I say
body and bloud either the Lords supper or the Eucharist or the coÌ„munion or the liturgie or the blessed sacrament or the masse if we vnderstand rightly the thing signified by the same For all these words I know are rightly vsed by the ancient holy learned fathers Where I note this by the way that whether the word Masse be latin or hebrew or what it doth properly signifie the papists cannot yet agree among themselues I say secondly that the fathers indeede doe often call the Eucharist Christs body and bloud the sacrifice of the mediator the vnbloudy sacrifice and whatsoeuer else is due to the sacrifice of the crosse neuerthelesse they haue alwaies a godly sense and meaning in such kind of appollations that is to say they ascribe such names to the Eucharist not because it is properly the selfe same thing that the word importeth but for that it is y e sacrament the signe the memorial thereof or else bicause it is spiritually the sacrifice of laude and thanksgiuing for the proofe hereof it were enough to call to minde that sacraments in the scripture haue the names of those things whereof they â—e the sacraments For Moses saith of the paschal lamb 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it is the Lords passeouer yet most certain it is by the very text it selfe that the lambe was not the passeouer it selfe but only the signe and signification thereof like as al sacraments be signes of the things which they do represent but not the things which are signified by the same And this I hope to make so plaine euen by the expresse testimonies of the holy fathers wherein the papists vse to glory beyond al mesure as no papist in y t the christian world shal euer be able to answer me therein S Austen hath these expresse words Sacrificium ergo visibile inuisibilis sacrificij sacramentum i sacrum signum est Therfore the visible sacrifice is the sacrament of the inuisible sacrifice that is an holy signe And a little after hee addeth these words Illud quod ab hominibus appellatur sacrificium signum est veri sacrificij that which men cal a sacrifice is the signe of y e true sacrifice In another place he hath these words with many other to the like effect Cuius rei sacramentum quotidianum esse voluit ecclesiae sacrificium Wherof he would haue the sacrifice of the church to be a daily sacrament In another place he hath these words huius sacrificij caro et sanguis ante aduentuÌ„ Christi per victimas similitudinuÌ„ prrmittebatur in passione Christi per ipsam veritatem reddebatur post ascensum Christi per sacramentum memoriae celebratur Before the comming of Christ the flesh and bloud of this sacrifice was promised by the sacrifices of similitudes in the passion of Christ it was restored by the verity after the ascension of Christ it is celebrated by the sacrament of memorie In all these places S. Austen saith expressely that though the Eucharist be called a sacrifice yet is it not a sacrifice properly and indeede but onely a sacrament signe and representation of Christs sacrifice vpon the crosse For first he saith it is a signe of the true sacrifice as if he hadde said it is not the true sacrifice but a representation therof Secondly he saith it is a daily sacrament of the true sacrifice as if he had said it is not y e thing but a signe of the thing Thirdly he saith it is the sacrament of memory as if hee had saide it is but a commemoration of the true sacrifice indeede Fourthly he saith that that which men call a sacrifice is nothing els but a signe of the true sacrifice as if he had said though many vse to tearme the Eucharist a sacrifice yet is it but the signe of the true sacrifice indeede Greg. Nazianz. who was Hieromes schoolmaister for his singular knowledge in y e holy scriptures surnamed Theologus expresseth this matter very liuely in these brief pithy words Quo tandeÌ„ modo externuÌ„ illud sacrificiuÌ„ illud magnoruÌ„ mysteri oruÌ„ exeÌ„plar praefidenti animo ipsi offerrem How shuld I offer to him with a confident mind that externall sacrifice which is the example or signe of the great mystery Lo so soone as hee hath tearmed it a sacrifice by and by he interpreteth himselfe calleth it the signe and representation of the sacrifice as if hee had said we vse to tearme it by the name of sacrifice because it is the image signe sacrament and representation of the true and onely sacrifice S. Dionysius Areopagita S. Pauls disciple in his ecclesiastical Hierarchy which worke the Papists wil needs haue to be his hath these words Ad eorundem sacrificium quod signis continetur venit atque id quod à deo proditum sit facit The B. commeth to the sacrifice of those things which is contained in signes doth that which God hath appointed to be done Lo he calleth the eucharist a sacrifice as the other fathers do and yet for a plaine testimony of his right meaning he addeth that it only consisteth in signes As if he had said it is nothing else but a significatiue or commemoratiue sacrifice Saint Chrysostome hath these words Offerimus quidem sed ad recordationem facientes mortis eius Sequitur hoc autem quod facimus in commemorationem quidem fit eius quod factum est Hoc enim facite inquit in meam commemorationem NoÌ„ aliud sacrificiuÌ„ sicut pontifex sed idipsum semper facimus magis autem recordationem sacrificij operamur Wee offer I grant but we do it for the remembrance of Christs death And that which wee doe we doe it for the commemoration of that which is already done For hee saieth Doe yee this in the remembrance of me There is not another sacrifice as there is an other Bishop but we doe alwaies the same thing yea rather we worke the remembrance of the sacrifice Out of these wordes I note first that the Eucharist or christian masse if any list so to call it is nothing else but a commemoration of Christes death vppon the crosse I note secondly and it is a point of importance that the sacrifice is euer the same thogh the priest or bishoppe bee changed I note thirdly that where the priest is changed there can not bee that reall sacrifice which was offered vppon the crosse the reason is euident because wheresoeuer that sacrifice is there the priest is not chaunged but is one and the same euen with the sacrifice it selfe S. Basil hath these expresse wordes Fac nos idoneos vt tibi offeramus sacrificium laudis tu es enim operans omnia in omnibus Make vs meete to offer to thee the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiuing thou that workest all in all To these and the like testimonies the Papistes can not possibly frame any true answer The reply True it
For first the cup doth figuratiuely signifie the liquour in the cup. Again the cup is called the testament and yet it is but the figure or signe of the testament I say secondly that y e figure Metonymie is very frequent in the holy scripture aswell in the old as in the new testament In the old testament we haue these examples this is the passeouer That is this doth signifie the passeouer Againe this is my couenant that is to say this doth signifie my couenant or this is a signe of my couenant Againe the 7. good kine are 7. yeares and the seuen good eares are seuen yeares Againe the the seuen thinne and euill fauoured kine are seuen yeares Againe the seuen emptie eares blasted with the East-wind are seuen yeares of famine In all which places the figure Metonymia is vsed For neither the kine nor the eares were the seeuen yeares as euery childe knoweth but they did signifie the yeares to come they were a signe and figure thereof In the newe testament we haue these examples I am the vine Againe I am a doore Againe My father is an husbandman Againe The seed is the word of God Againe We that are manie are one bread Againe The rocke was Christ. Againe The lyon which is of the tribe of Iuda the root of Dauid hath obteined to open the booke In which places Christ neither was the vine nor the rocke nor the lyon neither was the seed the word of God neither was God the father an husbandman neither are the fathfull one bread but al these things are figuratiuely spoken by the vsuall custome of the holy Scripture I say thirdly that not only the ancient fathers but euen the papistes also haue acknowledged this figure their words and testimonies are alreadie cited I say fourthly that the verie wordes of institution are figuratiue which thing is so plaine as euerie child may perceiue the same For thus saith S. Luke This cup is the newe Testament in my bloud which is shed for you Where I am well assured euerie papist small and great will confesse with me that the cup by the figure metonymia is taken for the liquour in the cup. And so against their will they are enforced to acknowledge a figure euen there where they so obstinately denie a figure The fift obiection The Prophet Malachie hath such a plaine testimonie for the reall presence and sacrifice of the altar as it can neuer be aunswered till the worldes end These are the wordes In euery place incense shall be offered to my name and a pure offering These wordes of the Prophet being effectually applied will confound the respondent whatsoeuer hee shall answere For first the prophet speaketh of the oblatiō of the new testament as your selues cannot deny Secondly the prophet saith that this oblation must be in euery place and so it cannot be vnderstoode of Christs bodie offered vpon the crosse for that oblation was but in one place euen without the walles of Ierusalem Thirdly it cannot be vnderstood of the sacrifice of praise thanksgiuing bicause whatsoeuer proceedeth from vs is impure polluted Yea as an other prophet saith Al our righteousnes is as filthie clouts and so no oblation that is ours can be pure Therefore he speaketh of Christs body offered in the masse which is a pure oblation indeede The answere I answere to this insoluble so supposed argument that the prophet speaketh of the sacrifice of prayer and thankesgiuing And I prooue it by the flat testimonies of the holy Fathers Saint Irenaeus hath these wordes In omni loco incensum offertur nomini meo sacrificium purum Incensa autem Ioannes in Apocalypsi orationes esse ait sanctorum Incense is offered to my name in euery place and a pure sacrifice and Saint Iohn in the Reuelation saith that this incense is the prayers of the Saints Saint Theodoretus doeth expound this place after the same maner in his Commentaries vpon the same text Saint Hierome hath these wordes Sed thymiama hoc est sanctorum orationes Domino offerendas non in vna orbis prouincia Iudaeâ nec in vna Iudaeae vrbe Hierusalem sed in omni loco offerri oblationem But incense that is the prayers of saints must be offered to the Lord and that not in Iudea one onely prouince of the world neither in Ierusalem one onlie citie thereof but in euery place must an oblation be made Now where it is said that al our actions be impure and polluted I answere that that is true indeed when our actions be examined in rigour of iustice But not so when we are clad with the righteousnesse of Christ Iesus and haue washed our sins in his bloud for whose sake God doth not impute our pollutitions and filth vnto vs. Not so when God dealeth with vs according to mercie Not so when God accepteth our sinfull and imperfect acts as pure iust and innocent For our owne vnworthienesse the Prophet desired God not to enter into iudgement with his seruants but for Christs righteousnesse the Apostle pronounceth vs free from condemnation For though our sinnes be red as scarlet yet so soone as they be washed in the bloud of the immaculate Lambe they become by acceptation as white as snow This whole discourse Saint Augustine handleth finely in these golden wordes Vae etiam laudabili vitae hominum si remota misericordia discutias eam Woe euen to the laudable life of men if thou examine it thy mercie set a part And in this sense the obiection taketh place Neuertheles god of his great mercie doth accept our works as iust and pure through faith in Christ Iesus our sweet redeemer for whose sake he doth not impute our sins to vs. So saith the Apostle not by the workes of righteousnesse which wee haue done but according to his mercie hath he saued vs by the washing of the new birth the renewing of the holy Ghost So saith S. Iohn These are they which came out of great tribulation and haue washed their long robes haue made them white in the bloud of the lamb through the merits of which lambe our prayers and works are reputed pure Therefore saith Saint Paul I will therefore that the men pray euery where lifting vp pure hands without wrath or doubting The 6. obiection If the words of consecration be trophicall and figuratiue so as there is but a bare signe of Christs body and bloud then shall our sacraments of the newe Testament bee no better then the sacraments of the old The reason is euident because they did signifie Christs death and passion euen as ours do and yet is it cleare by the scriptures that we haue the verity wherof they had but the figure onely The answere I say first that our sacraments excell the olde sundry waies first because they are immutable and shall not bee altered till the worlds
say secondly that Gods ministers bind and loose sins by preaching his sacred word of which kind of binding and loosing Christ speaketh in Saint Matthew and in Saint Iohn For when the people of God beleeue in their hearts his word sincerely preached and in their conuersation shew the liuely fruits thereof then doubtlesse are their sinnes loosed on earth and then is that loosing also ratified in heauen then are the wordes of the Apostle verified who saith that the gospel of Christ is the power of God vnto saluation to euery one that beleeueth it then are Christs ministers as the Apostle saith become in them the sauour of life vnto life On the contrarie side when the people will not heare and beleeue Gods worde sincerely preached but contemne it and the ministers thereof then doubtlesse are their sinnes bound on earth and then is that binding also approued in heauen Then are the apostles words verified who saith that vengeance is readie against all disobedience Then are Christes ministers as y e apostle saith made vnto them the sauour of death vnto death What can be a more ioyfull loosing what can be a more terrible binding See the aunswere to the third obiection following and there marke S. Hieromes words I say thirdly that our people cōfesse their sins generally before the minister in the face of the whole congregation according to the holy scriptures Yea in the reformed churches abroad the people vse to confesse to the ministers such speciall sins as most greeue clog their consciences and for which they need graue aduise and godly councell Which christian libertie is graunted also in our churches of England For such as list may confesse their sinnes to the minister priuately and haue both his godly aduise and absolution if he deeme them penitent for their sinnes The replie Your confessions are nothing els but a meere mockery for ye confesse your selues generally to be sinners but ye name no sins at all Againe as in Germany they confesse some sinnes so do they leaue vnconfessed what pleaseth them And this is the scornful libertie which ye grant to your churches of England The answere I say first that we confesse our sinnes this day as the Israelites of olde confessed their sinnes before Ezra and the Leuites As the humble publican confessed his sins when he said O God be mercifull to me a sinner As the prophet Dauid confessed his sins when he said I know mine iniquities and my sin is euer before me Against thee against thee only haue I sinned and done euill in thy sight that thou maist be iust when thou speakest and pure when thou iudgest As the prodigal son confessed his sins when he said Father I haue sinned against heauen before thee am no more worthy to be called thy son And as your selues confesse your sins in the beginning of euery masse I say secondly that your selues graunt that Venials need no confession at al. And yet as I haue already proued the least sin of al deserueth eternall death For thus doth your own famous Canonist write Quibus consequens est posse quem si velit confesso vno peccato veniali alterum tacere Vpon which it followeth that one may if he list confesse one veniall sinne and conceale another Maior and other Schoole-doctors are of the same opinion I say thirdly that by the scriptures vpon which ye woulde gladly ground your confession we are no lesse bound to confesse one sin then another For your triuolous distinction of mortall and veniall sinnes can be found in no text of holy scripture And consequently since the scripture it selfe by your graunt freeth vs from confessing Venials it followeth directly that wee are bound to confesse none at all I say fourthly that your confession is ridiculous indeede as which vrgeth the penitent to confesse those sinnes to sinful men which God of his mercy hath forgiuen already I prooue it because your best approoued writers hold that contrition onely reconcileth sinners to God and taketh away both the fault and the paine But after that we are reconciled to God by only cōtrition and haue both our sinnes and the satisfaction remitted I weene it is a vain and a ridiculous thing to afflict our selues for popish absolution This that I say is witnessed by Martinus Nauarrus by your learned frier Ioan. Lud. Viualdus and diuers others I say fiftly that your confessions are neuer able to bring peace to any troubled conscience but to driue them headlong into desperation For first none liuing is able to make a true confession of all his sinnes which thing is so cleere by the Scriptures that your Cardinall Caietane cannot denie it Secondly thousandes are so turmoiled therewith that dayly they come to confesse the sinnes which they had forgotten condemning themselues of their former negligence Thirdly none of you all can prescribe howe much time or what diligence is inough y t ones confession may be perfit The consideratiō wherof bringeth many thousand souls to perplexitie For you beare thē in hand y t they must confesse all mortal sins and all specificall differences of the same And yet will I gage my life that ye haue ten thousand priestes in Europe yea perhaps in Italie that cannot perceiue the aforesaid differēce and much lesse can the lay people performe it See more hereof in my booke of Motiues The 2. obiection S. Iohn the baptist induced the people to the confession of their sinnes which doubtlesse was not to confesse themselues in generall to be sinners but to vtter euery man his sinnes So is it said in the actes of the apostles that many of them which beleeued came confessing and declaring their deeds And therfore saith S. Hierome that priestes binde and loose Auditâ peccatorum varietate hauing heard the varietie of sinnes The answere I say first that S. Iohn the baptist cannot meane of your sacramentall confession because it was not instituted before his decollatiō But you make smal accompt to wrest the holy scripture if by any meanes it could so serue your turne For as your graund doctor Pighius resembled it to a nose of waxe euen so in good sooth ye seeme to vse it The trueth is this S. Iohn exhorting the people to repentance and to amendment of their former liues euil spent found so good successe in his preaching that Hierusalem and all Iurie and all the countrey about Iordan were desirous to be baptized and in signe of their true repentance they publickly acknowledged their sinnes But that they this did in generall termes and not in popish maner I prooue it by two reasons First because popish auricular confession was not yet inuented but after Christes resurrection as all papistes graunt Againe because one man could not possibly heare seuerally the generall confessions of so manie multitudes speciallie in so short a time I say secondly that with