little the Model and Methode of it In the first place are set down the Occasions of that Honorable new Converts doubts concerning the Truth of the Protestant Religion such as are the Ministers Inconstancy in Doctrin Disciplin their great Dissensions and Divisions Their Tyrannizing over mens Consciences Their Contradicting their own Principles c. In which matters some late histories or passages are interlaced without expressing the names of persons therein concerned because that was not necessary since the things here touched are publique late fresh in all mens knowledge and Memories within the Countrey and the persons also well enough known Neither is it the digrace of any mens persons Hier. Apolog. 3. cont Ruffin c. 11. which S. Hierom calls the Machines of Heretiques but the correction of their Errors which is here intended After the occasion of the doubts is shewed in some few chapters then followeth the Triall of the last pretended Presbyterian Reformation in the principal points thereof as its condemning of Episcopacy the abolishing the hymne of Glory to the Father c. the denying the Apostolical authority of the Apostles Creed neglecting to say our Lords Prayer c. In all which points the Presbyterians are found to go against the word of God the Primitive Church the former doctrines practises of many among themselvs against their first Reformers and many learned Protestants So that this last pretended Reformation is shewed to be nothing but a reall Deformation destroying not only the Apostolique office government established by Christ in his Church but also the two chief Pillars or heads of the Christian Religion to witt our Lords Prayer and the Apostles Creed Then followeth the Trial of the first pretended Reformation which is also shewed to have destroyed in effect the other two chief Pillars of Christianity to witt the Divine Commandments and Holy Sacraments and to have brought in a most Erroneous doctrin of Iustification by Faith only expresly against the Scriptures holy Fathers So that these two pretended Reformations are shown to have made vp between them the hideous work of Desolation After this the whole Protestant Church by the vndenyable principle of the perpetuity of Christs Church is proved not to be the true Church of Christ And by the same vndenyable principle the Church in Communion with the Sea of Rome and she alone is demonstrated to be the true Catholique Church of Christ and to have in all ages still continued in the same doctrin which she received from Christ his Apostles notwithstanding the calumnies of Heretiques Then lastly the same truth is proved by the Marks whereby the true Church is clearly designed in the Scriptures as by her Vnity Sanctity Vniversality Apostolical Succession by which marks the holy Fathers also did prove the true Church in their times To which is subioyned a brief Examination of the Presbyterian Covenant or Confession of Faith which although it was much Idolatrized of late is shewed to be nothing but a Denyall and Abiuration of the holy Faith with many execrations and blasphemies against it This briefly Courteous Reader is the Scope and Methode of the ensuing Treatises which the Author thereof earnestly wishes may tend to thy profit That if thou be a new Converted Catholique thou mayst be coÌ„firmed thereby in thy holy Faith If one who after many tossings in Errors art seeking the Truth thou mayst be assisted to find it where only it can be found if lastly thou be one who not through malice but through negligence or ignorance adheres vnto Errors thou mayst be stirred vp to try them and to seek diligently the Truth which is a work most worthy of thy paines Neither is it so hard as some do imagin to find the Truth since God Almighty according to his infinit goodnesse wisdom has prepared the way to heaven so much the more certain easy to be known how much more Error and deceit in it brings greater losse with it and therefore he has promised so plain and direct a way vnto Eternal happinesse that fooles may not erre by it Esay 35.5 Whence it is evident if thou seekest this way with diligence and after the right manner thou mayst have great confidence by Gods grace to attayn vnto it But then thou wilt seek it in the right way according to the advice of the glorious Doctor S. Augustin to his friend Honoratus if thou dost vse fervent and frequent prayer Aug de vtilâ— credâ—s 15 16. strivest to have peace and tranquillity of mind if thou wilt hear that Church which God hath established on earth with so great authority and which is called Catholique both by her own by strangers For it is by Authority only whereby men can come vnto the knowledge of Divin Truth and there is no Authority equall vnto this wich began by Miracles and is most famous for Multltudes of peoples and Nations and therefore if thou proceedest orderly at this Authority thou oughtest to begin as the same holy Father affirmes But if thou contemnest so great Authority and only openest thy eares to the Enemies and Calumniators of so famous a Society which has been also calumniated by all the former heretiques as well as by these of this Age thou canst not be excused neither canst thou arrive vnto the possession of solid Truth Therefore if thou be wise follow the former advice of S. Augustin who was so wise so learned a Doctor and who had such great knowledge and experience in this affaire And if thou wouldest take a short and compendious way to come vnto the Truth Try only that one question of the Church according to the marks abovementioned whereby it is clearly designed in Scripture and thou wilt not only soone find that they cannot agree to thy New Inconstant Church but also thou wilt quickly see that they agree to the Catholique Church which has ever endured and against which Hels gates could never prevaile and so with the true Church thou wilt find aâ—l Truth because it is ever governed by the Spirit of Truth and is the Pillar and ground of Truth This is the right manner for thee to attayn vnto the Truth and to true Happâ—nesse To which that God Almighty may direct and bring thee shall be earnestly desired by thy welwisher F. W. S. A TABLE OF THE CHAPTERS Chap. I. THAT God by the Confusion of Error stirres vp many to seek the Truth p. 1. Ch. II. Of the Ministers Inconstancy and of the Alterations made by the late Presbyterian Reformation p. 8. Ch. III. Of the Ministers Dissensions Divisions p. 15. Ch. IV. Of the Presbyterians Rigour and Tyranny over Protestants p. 26. Ch. V. Of the Presbyterians contradicting their own Principles p. 34. Ch. VI. Of the Presbyterians Disobedience to the Civil Magistrate and of their pretext of Piety p. 46. Ch. VII Of Episcopacy condemned as Anti-Christian by the Presbyterians p. 53. Ch. VIII Of our Lords
Reformation This was not done by any formal act but as a Minister spoke by a desuetude of the principal Covenanters whose example the rest of the Ministers followed But there was one thing which hapned in this matter not vnworthy of remark and is very famous throughout the countrey For whilst the people of a Parish in Anguse were singing at the conclusion of a psalme Glory to the Father and to the Son c. as not knowing of the new alterations they were presently interrupted by their Minister who cry'd aloud No more Glory to the Father No more Glory c. which accident rendred the Presbyterians very ridiculous to the old Protestants Fourthly they proceeded further and strook at the roote of the Christian faith to witt the Apostles Creed denying it to be Apostolicall The contrairy whereof we was taught in our yonger yeares as was believed troughout the whole Christian world And after they had thus denyed the letter and authority of it they proceeded next to corrupt the sense of that Article He descended into hell as we shall see shortly Their inconstancy and changes may be instanced in diverse other points and practises as in their taking the Communion sitting and condemning kneeling as vnlawfull Their deuiding of the bread among themselues wherein they place no small purity of their religion and not taking it out of the Ministers hand as the custome was before Their condemning private Cōmunion and private Baptisme although administrated vpon extream necessity which I found to be pernicious errours especially in so far as concern's Baptisme Their condemning as superstitious the religious observation of Christmasse and of all other festival dayes c. All which are not only contrary to the doctrine of the most famous Protestant Churches abroad but also were contrary to the doctrine lawes practises of this Church at home By which inconstancy of the Ministers and the alterations made by thē the people was not only miserably tossed to and fro and carried about with violent winds of new doctrines but also they knew not what to believe and almost loos'd all belief since they saw that many points which they believ'd before being taught them by their own Pastours were now condemned by the same Pastours who are very like vnto these whom the Apostle S. Iude calls wandering starres Hauing thought seriously vpon these things I made this reflection with my self How can this Scottish Church which changeth like the Moone and is as vnstedfast as the wind be the true Church of Christ which must be firme and stedfast as a rocke How can these Ministers who drawes yea driwes the people into such varieties of faith Ephes 4.11.14 be the true Apostles of Christ seing they were established as S. Paul testifies to conserve the people into the Vnity of Faith They must be false Pastours who do tosse the people to and fro with the inconstant winds of their new doctrines since true Pastours were ordain'd by Christ to keep the people into the constant profession of the old doctrin which was once delivered and generally professed throughout the world and to preserve them from such tossings As the scripture sheweth that inconstancy and lightnesse belongs to false Teachers so I found that the holy Fathers did observe it by experience Iren. l. 1. c. 18. c. 5. S. Ireneus saith They delight to find out every day some new thing Let vs now see their inconstant doctrin c. But 5. Hiero. most pithily describs their humour The feet saith he of those who erre Hier in cap. 16. Ezech. are alway's wavering neither are the footsteps sure which are against the truth but they run here and there and are caried about with euery wind of new doctrin whilst they passe from one falshood into another falshood Therefore seeing the great inconstancy and changes of the Scottish Church I desired to find out a more constant and skifull Guide to rely vpon to lead me vnto the kingdome of heauen CHAP. III. Of the Ministers Dissensions and Divisions AS the Inconstancy of a Church in faith and doctrine gives iust occasion to many of doubting and stumbling at it's religion so Dissensions and Divisions which necessarly flow from such Inconstancy are no lesse but rather more sensible evils and gives greater and more vniuersal scandals For there are many who would take no notice of Inconstancy and yet are awakned by the confusion that ever attends Dissension and Division It 's evident by the light of reason that nothing becomes more the house of God then vnity and order and that confusion and dissension are only fitting for Babel or the house of the Devil and as Vnity tends to preservation so Dissension hastens to destruction Therefore our B. Saviour being to found his Church which was to be a heavenly house vpon earth of admirable order and to stand for ever did pray most earnestly for the Vnity of it S. Thn ch 17. by which he knew it would be both beautifyed and conserved Yea he sheweth that by the admirable Vnity of his Church the world showld know Ibid. ver 21.23 that he was sent from heaven and be made to believe in him Therefore these Churches which haue no Vnity but are torne by Dissensions and Divisions cannot be the true Church of Christ neither can they long laste As Vnity doth designe beautifie and conserve the true Church so Dissension points out deformes and ever at lenth destroies all false Churches Our Saviour saith Luke 11.17 Gal. 5.15 Every kingdome divided against it self shall be made desolate And S. Paul If yow bite and eate one an other take heede you be not consumed one of an other And that this division and destruction befalls to all false Churches Luther himself doth testifie A kingdome saith he divided in it self Luth. tom 3. wit in psal 5. fol. 166. cannot stand neither did Heretiques at any tyme perish by force or art but by their owne mutuall dissensions neither doth Christ our Lord fight against them by other armes then by sending among them the Spirit of giddinesse and dissension Now what miserable dissensions have happened these yeares by past into the Church of Scotland by which it hath been much deformed and a considerable part of it destroyed are knowen far and neare at home and abroad For these dissentious haue been for matter manner and the miserable effects that have flowed from them very remarkable The matter of them concern'd no lesse points then the Governement of the Church established by Christ the authority of the Apostles Creed the vse of the Sacraments of private Baptisme and Communion the vse of our Lords prayer and of Glory to the Father the keeping of holy dayes and the rest of the articles of Perth the Covenant it self the Heade spring of all Dissensions and the authority of the Civil Magistrate c. But the forme and manner of these dissensions hath overcome the matter for it hath been
c. and is turned vnto vaine opinions in which nothing is solid nothing stable that can satisfie the minde Therefore he striveth to satiat himself dayly with new opinions and idle inventions but all in vaine for these are nothing but husks which leave the bellie empty There is no remedie for him but to return with the prodigal child vnto his fathers house where he will be received with ioy and feasted with the bread of Angels But said the Catholique to make a general reflection vpon all that hath past vnder this Trial Do you not now clearly see how falsly these Reformers pretend alwayes the Scriptures to be for them when you have found the Scriptures so expresly against them in all these principal points of the Christian religion already examined And which is very considerable have you not seen these Scriptures to be so vnderstood by the holy Fathers in the pure and primitive times as they are now vnderstood by the Roman Catholiques Do y not now perceive how Heresy like a strumpet fardeth her self with the colours of the divin Scriptures by which fain'd and false beauty she allures and deceives many but so soone as she is brought near the fire of Triall how her fardings melt fall away and her own vglinesse appeares Among heretiques saith S. Augustin Aug. cont epist. fuÌ„d c. 1. Ioseph lib. 5 de bello Iudaico c. 5. there is nothing but the promise of truth a meer shew or pretext of it no performance Their doctrines are like the fruites of Sodom and Gomorrha which as Iosephus testifyeth have a specious shew and appear pleasant vnto the eye but so soone as they are touched fall into ashes So truly are all hereticall opinions they are given out for the fruites of pure Scriptures they appeare very specious and pleasant but so soone as they are tryed diligently according to the Scriptures and are touched as it were by the fingers of the holy Fathers they presently evanish and nothing remaines but the flammes of heretical dissentions like the smoak of Sodom Gomorrha as a testimonie of the divin iudgment vpon them Have you not now seen that these two pretended Scottish Reformations have between them compleated the hydious work of desolation and destroyed the 4 principal pillars of the Christian religion and that as the later hath taken away two to witt the Lords prayer and the Apostles Creed so the first hath taken away in effect the other two to witt the divin Commandments and the holy Sacraments and so the Presbyterians haye overturned what their Predecessors left vntouched In a word they may be briefly described thus They have a Creed from the Apostles which they do not beleeve they have a prayer from Christ which they do not say they have Commandments from God which they professe they will not keep and the two Sacraments of the law of grace which they had only left to themselves they have made altogether gracelesse almost vselesse And besids all this they have robbed the holy Trinity of Glory and the Church of the Apostolique governement together with all order decency to speak nothing of their other smaller pranks Therefore I am now confident that you have found what I promised at the beginning to witt that the first pretended Reformation was no better grounded then the last and that the end of both hath been total desolation and the destruction of the chief Pillars af the Christian religion whereas vpon the contrary you have seen the Catholique religion which you had heard so often calumniated with strong and shamelesse cries to be in all these principal points conforme to the Scriptures and holy Fathers and to the primitive Church Thus he As I was so clearly convinced in all these particulars that I behoved to renounce both knowledge conscience if I would deny them so I did ingenuosly confesse to him my satisfaction and withall I promised if I could find the like evidence for the Catholiques in all the other controuersies that I would by Gods grace render my self a Roman Catholique To which he answered that the triall of all the particular doctrines in controversie after the former manner was a long laborious md needlesse way and that God had appointâ—d more easie and shorter meanes to come vnto the knowledge of the truth or else what would become of those who are not capable to make such trials Therefore he would vndertake to prove shortly by a clear vndeniable Principle and granted by all Protestants the Protestant Religion their whole Church to be false and by the same principle to shew clearly the present Catholique Church in Communion with the sea of Rome to be the ancient Catholique Church established by Christ his Apostles and to have continued still in their doctrin without any variation And so with some confidence arising from my former experience I prepared my self to receive this new instruction CHAP. XXIII That the true Church of Christ must be perpetuall and must endure without interruption vnto the end of the world THE principle said my Catholique friend whereby I will demonstrate the Protestant Church not to be the true Church of Christ shall be so evident and convincent that as nothing is more expresly in Scriptures so nothing is more freely granted by Luther Calvin generally by all learned Protestants And this principle is the perpetuity of Christs Church or that Christ must have a Church which hath endured from his ascension vntill this time shall endure from this vntill the end of the world Before I proceed further I will first manifest vnto you the strength of this truth by the Scriptures Fathers by Protestants and their reasons The passages of Scripture for this truth are many but I shall content my selfe with some few which may serve for your satisfaction The first do concern the eternal kingdome of Christ by which all men vnderstand his Church Of this the prophet Daniel saith In the dayes of these Kings Daniel 2.44 the God of heaven shall set vp a kingdome which shall never be destroyed c. It shall break in pieces all these kingdomes and it shall stand for ever The Angel Gabriel speaking of the same kingdom of Christ to the blessed Virgin said And of his kingdome there shall be no end Luke 1.33 Calvin proveth by these places and others which speak of the kingdome of Christ the perpetuity of of his Church against Servetus So doth also Beza and the Confession of Holland If then the kingdome of Christ be perpetual there must alwaies be some to acknowledge him to be their King The second passages of Scripture contayne Christs promises to his Church Math. 16.18 and the Governours of it Vpon this rock saith he will I build my Church and the gates of hell shall not prevaile against it By this place S. Augustin proveth both the perpetuity Auge lib. 1. de Symb. ad Catech c. 8 and inuincibility of
advertised of her maladies and desired to cure them would admit no medicine which the Protestants taking at length in a cup of Reformation did purge themselves of all infirmities and thereby their Church was rendred whole and sound So that there is no more difference between the Roman Protestant Church then between the same man whole sick who by health and sicknesse is not substantially different but remaines still the same man The Protestants who followed this course were famous in their own generations and much cryed vp for learning prudence as Hooker the Bishop of Spalato Feild Bunny Potter Chilingworth and diverse others as may be seen in the B. of Calcedons treatise of fundamental points and in the Protestants Apologie I shall content my self with the testimony of M. Bunny who writes thus Bunny Tract de Pacification sect 18. p. 108. No question ought to be made for our separation from the Church For we make not a distinct Church from them nor they from vs. There was therefore no separation made froÌ„ the Church neither did any of vs go out from them The only question may be which of vs are to be esteemed the more wholsome members of the Church we or they Neither is there any other question approved by vs. Yea he acknowledgeth that vnlesse this answer be made the Papists have great advantage in their old question seing the Protestants cannot shew a Church distinct from the Roman before Luther But this answer of these late Authors is as false and insufficient as any of the former First it directly contradicts the d ctrine practice of their Reformers who are supposed to have been heavenly Apostles For they accused the Roman Church of Idolatrie superstition and diverse grosse fundamental errors which make not a Church to be only sick but also kill and destroy it and as the Presbyterians speak make it of the Church of Christ become the Synagogue of Sathan Anti-Christ Then for separation 〈◊〉 first Reformers were so far from denying it that they invited all persons to separate themselves from the Roman Church which they called spirituâ—l Babylon And according to this doctrin their practice followed Therefore it is evident that the first Reformers did not think the Roman and Protestant Church all one in fundamentals neither did they deny separation from the Roman Church but rather the quite contrarie is most clear and certaine Secondly Diverse other famous Protestants condemne this new opinion as im ious For M. Perkins writes thus Perk. in c. 8. ad Galat. v. 9. Whita cont 2. quaest 6. c. 3. The Politician who is of no religion saith hat we and the Papists differ not in substance And Whiteker saith plainly that the Roman Church hath taken away many fundamental articles of faith and corrupted faith in the principal parts All the oâ—her late Protestants and especially the Presbyterians condemne the same opinion For nothing almost can incense them m re then to say that the Church of Rome is a true Church and that the Protestants made no separation from her Hence it came to passe that M. Hooker was sharply reproved for this device by the Puritans in their Christian letters Thirdly besids all these confusions contradictions among themselves the answer in it self is false insufficient For when we are seeking a Protestant visible Church before Luther these men shew vs the Popish Church and albeit all the world knowes that Papists are not Protestants yet they affirm that the Popish and Protestant Church are all one differ not substantially which is a double deceit first â—o shew one thing very different for another and then to affirm that they are both one But I conceive it can hardly enter into a mans imagination vnlesse it be troubled to think that these Churches are substantially one which differ and are clearly opposite in the principal substantial points of religion as in Sacrifice Sacraments the observation of the divine Commandments iustifying faith good works and many others particulars The one Church approveth External Sacrifice as a most acceptable service and worship due to God and offers vp the Christian sacrifice as the most excellent of all sacrifices and adores it as God The other hath no sacrifice at all but condemnes that as great abomination grosse Idolatrie which the first makes the greatest obiect and exercise of its piety This difference alone albeit we speak of no more is so great that M. Dallie a renown'd Min ster in France doth affirm in his Apologie which he wrote lately for the reformed Churches and is approved by his Colleagues the Ministers of Charenton that it was sufficient to iustifie the Protestants separation from the Roman Church and to hinder their vnion again with it as being a most substantial and fundamental difference By which it 's evident that the ground whereon this answer is founded to witt that there are no fundamental differences between the Catholique Protestant Church is false both in it felt in the iudgment of the first Reformers of many other famous Protestants But whither there be fundamental differences or not the answer is not sufficient For the qâ—estion still remaines where was the Protestant Church before Luther that is a Church believing all the articles of a Protestant Confession whither some of them b called fundamental or not fundamental or if they please of men holding all these articles and esteeming some of them fundamental and some not For we are now seeking a Protestant Church before Luther and according to the definition above setled such a Church is a society beleeving all the articles of their CoÌ„fessioÌ„ Therefore they must shew vs such a ConfessioÌ„ or else they do not shew vs a Protestant Church Yea the points which they call not fundameÌ„tal wherein they disagree froÌ„ the Papists are these which make them properly Protestants If then they confesse as they must do that no society can be had before Luther which believed all these points which they call not fundamental they must also grant that there was no visible Protestant Church before Luther which is directly to succumb faile in that which they vndertook to shew So that albeit this distinction of fundamentals c. were admitted as good true whereas indeed in their sense it 's false and deceitfull as we shall see more clearly hereafter yet in relation to the present question it would serve them to no purpose These reasons are more then sufficient to shew that this new answer is false and insufficient and is nothing but a meer shift devised to elude the question And that it cannot be satisfactorie to any man who is searching for the truth which is condemned by famous Protestants as fâ—lse and impious and which is contrarie to the doctrin practice of the first Reformers This sheweth clearly the great straight necessity wherevnto such learned and prudent men were reduced in answering this hard question which
after it began how furiously it ran what great noise it made how it carried down almost all with it Now you see it runs more calmly it is almost run out and the great noise of it is past Again the true Church is like the Sun ever shining in all generations according to that of the Psalmist He hath put his tabernacle in the Sun Psal 18.6 which S. Augustin expounds thus He hath placed his Church in manifestation And such has been the Church in Communion with the sea of Rome always visible and ever shining since the time of Christ But all heresies are like Comets which arise at certain times being made vp of terrestrial vapours make a great blaze so long as their grosse matter lasts but so soō as that failes they quickly evanish So indeed are heresies made vp for the most part of tēporary interests which make thē for a short time give a great glister but so soon as the grosse matter of these interests failes as it cannot laste long then they begin to shine dimnly then they languish in end evanish How great a light was the Covenant esteem'd What a great lustre did it make in great Britain so long as the interests concurred But these soon failing new lights have risen which have discocovered the former to be meerly humane have made it to languish and in a word have shown it to be a Comet Moreover the Church of Christ is frequently compared by the holy Fathers to a ship strongly built and wisely governed by Christ which ever since his time hath sailed through the seas of this world and notwithstanding the many tempests which the Divel and wicked men have raisd against her yet she riding out them all hath carried in her all these who have been saved vnto the port of Salvation She has been many wayes tossed but could never be overwhelmed For Ambros lib. de Salomone c. 4. as S. Ambrose saith excellently She cannot suffer ship shipwrak because Christ is exalted on the mast that is on the Crosse the Father sits pilot in the sterne and the holy Ghost preserves the fore-Castle Such is the Church in Communion with the sea of Rome as we have seen But heretical Churches are like little boats neither made nor governed by Christ but by new Sect-Masters who foolishly abandoned the ship of the Church Who promise a safe and more easy passage to heaven whereby many are rashly drawn to entrust their soules to them But within a short space the stormes arising these new vnskifull Pilots being of contrary iudgments fall into horrible dissensions and their passingers into bloody factions to the destruction of one another So that in end these boats which came but lately vpon the sea of this world which intended fondly to sink the Church are das't against rocks split in pieces and all these miserable soules which remain'd in them are overwhelm'd with waters Hieron epist ad Damaum For whosoever saith S. Hierom is not in the ark of Noah shall perish by the raging deluge And thus all false Churches after a little time have perished Lastly the Church is compared by Christ vnto a house built by himself as by a wise Master-builder vpon ◠rock which must stand for ever And such is the Church in Communion with the sea of Rome which hath stood vnto this day But heresies are new houses built by foolish sect◠masters not founded vpon a rock but vpon the sand which are soon shaken overthrown Wherefore to conclude I hope now through Gods goodnesse that you having seen such evidence for the truth of the Roman Catholique Church will make your self a domestique of this heavenly house which can never be shaken that you will enter into this ship which can suffer no shipwrack that you will walk in this light that can never be eclipsed and that you will runn this channel wherein all the Saints have pas't vnto paradise To this purpose spake the Catholique After I had considered diligently all these things which were given me thereafter in writing and had seen that this reason was so well grounded in the Scriptures and was vsed by the holy Fathers as a most clear and convincing way to prove the true Church I was much satisfyed therewith But yet I desired the Catholique if he would fully satisfie me to shew that the Roman Catholique Church had never changed her doctrin and had still kept that same which she had received from the Apostles For I doubt not said I but you know that the Ministers accuse her to have fallen from the Apostolique doctrin in many points and to have brought in many corruptions Wherevnto he answered that by proving the Church in Communion with the sea of Rome and her alone to have had a continued succession he had proved clearly her to be the true Church and so consequently to haue stil retained the same doctrin which was taught by Christ and the Apostles for change of doctrin changeth the Church and so the doctrin being changed the Church had not continued But said he for your more full satisfaction to take away all doubts and to dispell the mists of these calumnies I will prove the same truth by another special way CHAP. XXXI That the Church in communion with the sea of Rome holds now and has still held the same doctrin which was taught first by Christ his Apostles ALBEIT this truth hath been sufficiently proved by the continued succession of the Church yet now it shall be demonstrated by the special manner whereby this Church has received and still conveighed all her doctrin and for more clearnesse I frame my reason thus That Church which in all ages believed nothing as the doctrin of Christ his Apostles but what she received from her immediat Ancestors as their doctrin holds and hath still held the true doctrin of Christ his Apostles But the Church in Communion with the sea of Rome she alone hath in all ages received all her doctrin after that manner Therefore she alone holds and hath still held the true doctrin which was first taught by Christ his Apostles and consequently she has never changed the doctrin which she first received The Maior is proved after this manner That Church which in all ages believes the same doctrin which Christ and his Apostles taught in the first age hath ever held the true doctrin of Christ his Apostles But that Church which believes nothing as Christs doctrin but what she received as such from her immediat Ancestors believes in all ages the same doctrin which Christ his Apostles taught in the first age Therefore that Church which receives so her doctrin has ever held the same doctrin which was taught at first by Christ his Apostles The reason of this vniformity of doctrin in all ages is because that principle of receiving no doctrin as the doctrin of Christ his Apostles but what was delivered immediatly
by the Christians of the preceeding age makes the doctrin of every following age the same with the doctrin of the preceeding age and so makes the doctrin of all after ages the same with the doctrin of the first age For suppose that the Church now in this age relies vpon that principle to believe nothing as Christs doctrin but what her predecessors of the 15. age taught her to be his doctrin it is evident that the doctrin of these two ages will be the same And the Church of the 15. age relying vpon the same principle must hold the same doctrin which the Church of the 14. age held and so vpward the doctrin of the third age will be the same with that of the second and the doctrin of the second will be the same with that of the first and so if this principle has been carefully observed in all ages the doctrin of all ages will be the same with the doctrin of the first age which is the doctrin of Christ and of his Apostles The Maior then is evident The Minor is proved thus The Church now in Communion with the Roman sea holds in this age that principle For she professeth to believe nothing contrary to the doctrin of her immediat Ancestors and presumes to add nothing as Christs doctrin vnto the doctrin of her Ancestors Therefore she professeth to believe nothing as Christs doctrin but what she received as such from her immediat Ancestors If the Church of the present age professeth so as it is evident she doth then the Church of the fifteenth age behoved to make the like profession or else the Church of this age could not make it For so many persons as are now in Communion with the Roman Church cannot concurre to make so notorious sensible a lye as to say they professe nothing but what was profes't and taught by their immediat Ancestors if these of the 15. age had not made truly such a profession of the same doctrines And for the same reason these of the 15. age could not make that profession and teach it vnto this age vnlesse the 14. age had done the same and so you may ascend vpward even vnto the first age Therefore the Church professing to observe this principle now in this age hath profes't it alwayes If she has profes't it alwayes she has also observ'd it alwayes for the same reason because so many Nations as are in Commmunion of the Roman Church cannnot make so notorious a lye as to say they believe nothing but what they received from their immediat Ancestors if they believed any thing else as Christs doctrin which they had not received Therefore seing they affirm in all ages even vnto the first that they received all their doctrin from their Ancestors it must be true that they did receive it all and it must be also true that with the other doctrine they received and observed this principle To believe nothing but what has been delivered by their immediat Ancestors For this is as it were the rule ground of all particular doctrines So that by proving that the present Church in Communion with the sea of Rome professeth to observe this principle it 's proved she profes't it alwayes and by proving that she profest it alwayes it is shown she has observ'd it alwayes and this principle been alwayes profes't and observed it has been ever delivered with the rest of the doctrin as the main ground whereon the Church hath relyed by which men may come vnto the sure knowledge possession of the true doctrin which was taught by Christ his Apostles So that if the whole Church hath not made a notorious sensible lye in one age to damn themselves and their whole posterity she hath ever received all her doctrin from her immediat Ancestors and so it will be true that the doctrin of all ages is the same with the doctrin of the first age which is the true doctrin of Christ his Apostles Now it rests to be shown that this Church alone observes the former principle which is easily done For if there had been any other society of Christians which had constantly kept that principle it had also kep't the same doctrin which the Roman Church keeps as is evident by what hath been said Secondly No other Churches and especially the Protestant can so much as pretend to keep this principle For they are so far from professing to receive all their doctrines from their immediat Ancestors that at their first rising they accuse their Ancestors and the Church in their time of Errors whereof they professe themselves to be Reformers and that not by doctrin which they had received immediatly from others but what they had received or pick't out from the Scriptures by their private collections which has been the ordinary custom of all heretiques And this is evident in Protestants who do acknowledge that they have their doctrin not by the testimony of the age immediatly preceeding Luther but from him who opposed the whole Church in his time and for many ages before him which he pretended to reform by the Scriptures The whole strength of this proof is grounded vpon this manifest truth that a full report from whole worlds of fathers to whole worlds of Sons of such things as they heard and saw is altogether infallible since sensible evidence in a world of eye witnesses vnanimously concurring is altogether infallible And such is the test mony of the whole Church in every age for her doctrin that it is the very same which was delivered by Christ and his Apostles and therefore it was truly delivered by them For neither can the Church be mistaken in this testimonie since whole Nations cannot be deceived in what is told them not once or twice but what is dayly beaten into their ears what they are bred with and what they see dayly with their eyes or else we may say the whole world erres in iudging white from black Neither can all the Christians in the world dispersed through so many Nations malitiously conspire to make so notorious a lie as to say they heard this taught and saw it practised if they had not seen and heard it For that were to testify a lie in a matter subiect to sense against their greatest interest to witt the Salvation of themselvs of their posterity If it be impossible that all the persons of a great Citie and much more of a whole Nation should think affirm that they saw and heard such things which truly they neither saw nor heard How much more is it impossible that all Christians Cities Nations should think and affirm they were instructed in such doctrines saw such practices if it were not really true that they had received these doctrines seen these practices Hence it remaines evident that this continued testimony of so many Christian in every generation is a most sure infallible way to attayn vnto the certain knowledge of what
doctrin Christ his Apostles taught and that the Catholique Church by her constant treading this way has still held the same true doctrin which she first received and consequently has never changed her doctrin nor brought in corruption as the Ministers do caluminate And therefore their pretended Reformation having no other ground but this calumnie is a groundlesse imagination and a destruction of Christs true doctrin But that the truth of this whole matter may yet more fully appear I will shew you briefly that this constant testimony is the only sure infallible way to attayn vnto the certain knowledge possession of our Saviours true doctrin that it is also most easy vniuersal for all sorts of persons that the holy Fathers primitive Church did follow it and that all Errors heresies have been clearly confuted by it We have already show'n that this testimony is a sure infallible means now that it is only sure infallible Aug. cont ep fond c. 5. is shewed For if there were any other it would be the Scripture as Protestants pretend But that cannot be 1. Because we cannot beleeve the Scripture without the testimony of the Church as S. Augustin clearly avoucheth 2. Albeit we could know it without that testimony yet by the Scripture we cannot know the whole doctrin of Christ especially since the Scripture it self saith 2. Thessal 2.15 Hold fast the Tradition Thirdly principally Albeit the Scripture contain'd the whole doctrin of Christ yet how shall I know assuredly by the letter of the Scripture the true sense of it without which I have not the true doctrin of Christ Yea I may corrupt the Scripture or follow those who corrupt it as S. Peter shewes many do vnto their own perdition Here many if not all Protestants are perplexed to show how by the Scripture the true sense of it may be had Some say that the Scripture is clear in all things necessary to Salvation so that every man may easily vnderstand them Others think that the Scripture is not so clear but an Interpreter is necessary But they are divyded in assigning this Interpreter Some say the Scripture in one place expounds it self in another Others assign the private Spirit and last of all some assign for an Interpreter every mans natural reason But all these are false frivolous pretences For first they could never shew what these necessary points are Besides this is an open confession that by the Scripture we cannot know assuredly our Saviours doctrin in these points which they call not necessary Then is not the true belief of the Sacrament necessary for the Church and yet we see what contrary glosses the Lutherans Calvinists make on our Saviours clear words Lastly if there needed no Interpreter for things necessary every one although vnlearned who could but read might pick out what are necessary which troubles the most learned heads among them to find out and these who could not read behoved to pin their implicit faith at at other mens sleeves Now what confusion would this make what vncertainty would there be in this case of our Saviours doctrin And how contrary are these things to truth and experience to Protestants principles practices So it is evident that by the Scripture alone we cannot come to the sure and infallible knowledge of our Saviours doctrin Neither can we attayn to it by the Scripture assisted by any Interpreter which Protestāts assign For it is false that the Scripture expounds it self it being obscure in many places which are not interpreted by others more plaine as may appear besides other reasons by the Protestants dissenssions in many points The conference of places study and the like which some require to be ioyn'd with the Scripture are but humane helps subiect to error and not infallible Then for the private Spirit it can give vs as little assurance of the sense as it can of the letter of the Scripture We see what contrariety is among those who all equally lay claim to it Neither is the last Interpreter to witt every mans reason assigned by M. Chilingworth the last peaceable Refiner of the English Church any white better but rather worse For besids that this opinion makes humane reason not the divine authority the main ground of our faith which is a dangerous errour it is so far from bringing men vnto the sure knowledge of what our Saviour taught that it professeth no more but a moral certainty for the truth of the whole Christian religion and leaves all particular doctrines to be pickt out of the Scriptures according to the diversity of mens particular reasons And so diuerse men according to the diversity of their reasons collect from the Scriptures opposite doctrines For what some think reasonable accept others esteem vnreasonable and reiect as is evident in the Socinians who deny the divinity of Christ principally vpon this ground because it chokes their reason as the Calvinists also chiefly for the same reason deny the reall presence So that this Interpreter brings as great vncertainty to know our Saviours doctrin as any other And therefore it remaines evident that the Scripture even assisted by any Interpreter which Protestants can assigne much more the Scripture alone is not a sure infallible means for this end and consequently the testimony of the Church is the only sure infallible means But here I did enquire of the Catholique If the Scriptures were as cleer every where as S. Augustin affirmes they are concerning the Church where he saith they need no Interpreter might they not then give vs vndoubted assurance of our Saviours doctrin To which he answered That although the Scripture were never so clear and as evident in every sentence as words can be written Yet because these words may be diversly vnderstood taken indifferent senses they cannot be so sure infallible away to certifie vs what was our Saviours doctrin as the living words testimony of the whole Church which received the true doctrin and the sense together with the letter of the Scriptures which she hath constantly transmitted vnto posterity This is evident in a very principal point of the Christian religiō to witt the holy Sacrament What words can be more clear then these of our Saviour This is my body which shall be given for you c And yet vpon these clear words there are reckoned about two hundred diverse interpretations since Protestāts arose How then should a man amōg such variety of senses come vnto the true sense be sure that he has attayn'd vnto it in which only Christs true doctrin consists Therefore it is evident in this case that the written word cannot do it and this only the Church can perform which has conserved both the letter and sense of the Scriptures from corruptions If then the Scriptures although they were written in most cleer words cannot certifie vs fully of the true sense of our Saviours doctrin
how much lesse can they as they are now being in many places hard and obscure These Protestants who reiect all but Scripture would make Christ to have been the most imprudent Lawgiver that ever was in ths world to have left vs only a written law or a book in many things very obscure and expose it to every man to scance vpon without assigning an Interpreter who could give vs full assurance of the true sense of it That way would never bring men to the sure knowledge of Christs doctrine and the true sense of his law but would make all things vncertain and bring in a confusion more worthy of Babel then of the house of God But his divine wisdom hath otherwise provyded We haue seen then said the Catholique that the testimony of all Christians in every generation is the only sure infallible way Now we shall see that it is the most easy vniversal way to attayn vnto the certain knowledge of what Christ his Apostles taught For what is more easy then to hear a continued testimony of Pastors people who constantly depose that this is the doctrin which they have receiued from their Forefathers what can be more easy then to open our eys and see the practise of all Christians No man of sense will deny if the true doctrin can be surely known hereby but it is a much mor easy way then by the Scriptures which are so hard and obscure or by any written word although never so cleer And it is also evident that it is more vniversal for the Scriptures are only for those who can read and vnderstand them but this serues for all sortes of persons learned or vnlearned these who can read or cannot and even for the meanest capacities This was certainly the meaning of God when he promised vnder the Gospel a direct way so that fooles cannot erre by it Therefore this being so sure Esay 35.8 so easy so vniversal a way the wisdom goodnesse of God who disposeth all things wisely and sweetely has made vse of it This may be yet further illustrated and confirmed by the manner how the Christian religion was planted First the Apostles stayd long in one place that they might diligently inculcate the Christian doctrin as S. Paul said to the Ephesians Acts 20 27.31 I haue not spared to declare vnto you all the Counsell of God c. For three years night day I ceased not with teares to warn every one c. Secondly the Apostles earnestly exhorted their disciples to keep carefully what they had received 2. Timoth 2.2 Galat. 1.9 to entrust it vnto faithfull witnesses and not to admit any doctrin contrary to that which they had received not although an Angel from heauen should preach otherwise Thirdly The mysteries of the Christian religion were not only sensibly taught to the eare but they were rendred visible to the sight by the â—ractise devotion of the Christian people Fourthly The Christian religion was planted at once in many diverse nations Therefore it was easy for the primitive Christians to know what was the Apostles doctrin which they had heard so often beaten into their eares which they saw practised with their eys and which was profest through out the whole word and great reason had they not to receive any doctrin contrary to it It was also easy for them to discern hold out all new false doctrins For although some would pretend never so much the Scriptures against the publique doctrin of the Church yet the ancient Christians knowing certainly that the Scriptures are not contrary to the doctrin which the Apostles had clearly delivered by lively voice and publickly establish'd in the Church they vnderstood the Scriptures according to the clear rule of faith left by the Apostles They did not vpon pretext of contrariety between the doctrin of the Church the Scriptures abandon the Apostles clear lively doctrin vniversally establisht and follow a new glosse of their writings contrary to it which had been indeed grosse follie and directly against the Apostles command in the Scriptures as has been shown And as this was an easy way in the first ages to know the truth and to discern error so it has been in the succeeding ages For the rule of faith ought to be immoveable as the faith it self is God himself promiseth the continuance of this easy way when he said by Esay Esay 59.21 My Spirit which is in thee and my words which I have put in thy mouth shall not depart out of thy mouth and out of the mouth of thy seed for ever And again Vpon thy walls ô Ierusalem Esay 62.6 I haue appointed watchmen all the day all the night c. The Scripture directs vs to this way Deuter. 32.7 Remember the dayes of old saith Moyses Consider euery Generation ask thy Father and he will show thee thy Elders they will tell thee God himself saith in Ieremy Ieremie 6.16 stand you in the ways and see and ask for the old Paths where is the good way and walk therein and you shall find Rest to your soules Because many leave this old good way we see they change many wayes and can find no rest and never will vntill they return again to the old good way which they foolishly abandoned Christ directs vs to this way Math. 18.17 when he saith Tell the Church and who heares you heares me c. The holy Fathers followed this way S. Augustin shewes that this is the way to put an end to all doubts to attayn vnto the truth to be at rest which he knew by his own experience Aug. de vtilitate cred cap. 8. If thou seeme to thy self saith he to have been already sufficiently tossed and would make an end of these labours paines Follow the way of the Catholique Disciplin which has proceeded from Christ by his Apostles even vnto vs and from hence shall descend and be conveighed vnto posterity Tertullian affirmes there is no other way to know the Apostles doctrin Tertull. de praescrip c. 21. What the Apostles taught saith he I will prescribe ought no otherwise to be proued then by these Churches which the Apostles founded And that we must begin with the testimony of the Church in the time wherein we live to ascend by every generation vnto the ancient Church and so to the very mouth of Christ his Apostles the same Tertullian shewes who makes this ladder of belief Tert. de praes c. 21. What I believe I receiued from the present Church the present Church from the Primitive the Primitive from the Apostles the Apostles from Christ c. According to this tradition the holy Fathers did vnderstand the Scriptures Vincent Lyr. cont heres c. 1. S. Vincentius Lyrinensis shewes the necessity of this rule to avoid the turnings and windings of diverse errors where he cites and commends the following words of
S. Ambrose Let vs therefore keep the precepts of our Elders and not with temerity of rude presumption violate those seals descending to vs by inheritance To the same purpose Origen writeth In our vnderstanding saith he of the Scriptures Orig. tract 27. 〈◊〉 we must not depart from the first Ecclesiasticall Tradition nor believe otherwise but as the Church of God has by succession delivered vnto vs. By this way also all heresies have been clearly discovered condemned Theodoret l. 1. hist c. 8. Theodoret expresly witnesseth that the heresy of Arius was condemned by the doctrin not written which had been always profest in the Church For there was no end by Scripture the Arians pretending that as well as the Catholiques Tertullian saith There is no good got by disputing out of the texts of Scripture But either to make a man sick or mad And the reason is because albeit you would bring never so clear Scriptures the heretiques will expound all according to their pleasures and they never faile also to bring Scriptures for themselvs so that the victory is vncertain or not so evident but by the constant belief of the Church all heretiques are clearly confounded S. Athanasius by this means confounds the Arians Behold saith he we have proved the succession of our doctrin delivered from hand to hand from father to son But as for yov ô new Iewes and Sons of Caiphas Athanas lib. 1. de decret Niceni CoÌ„ what progenitors can you name for your selvs By this means also the Error of rebaptizing those who had been baptized by heretiques was refuted and the custom of the Church to the contrary prevailed over all S. Cyprians reasons and many authorities collected from the Scriptures Aug. lib. 2 de bapt c. 9. As yet saith S. Augustin there had been no General Councell assembled in that behalf but the world was held in by the strength of Custom which was opposed to those who would bring in that novelty S. Stephen Pope and Martyr wrote to S. Cyprian in these words Nihil innovetur nisi quod traditum est Let nothing be changed nothing received but what has been delivered Herevpon I proposed this difficulty that some things were believed after the definition of a General Councel which were not believed before Therefore it would seem that the Church has not always relied on that principle to believe nothing but what was delivered by the constant testimony of their immediat Ancestors To which the Catholique answered that the clearing of this difficulty would manifest the strength evidence of the former proof First said he it is evident that the principal if not all the points maintain'd by Catholiques and now questioned by Protestants did ever appear externally in the profession practise of the whole Church and were not defined by anterior Councils Therefore according to S. Augustins rule they are Apostolical Aug. lib. 4. de baptis c. 24. For that saith he which the vniversal Church doth hold and was not instituted by Councels but has been still retayn'd in the Church is most iustly believed to have descended from no other authority than from the Apostles Therefore this obiection makes nothing for the benefit of Protestants who condemn many things which were publickly vniversally profest and practised in the Church before they were by any Councils authorized Secondly These points of faith which were determined by General Councels were not defin'd as new doctrines For either they were generally constantly believed by the whole Church till some heretiques began violently to oppose them or there were some points not so generally believed practised throughout the whole Church but some Catholiques did with submission to the iudgmeÌ„t of the Church doubt of them Now it is evident that the Church in the points of the first kind believed the same thing after the definition of a General Council which she believed before as we haue seen out of S. Athanasius concerning the Divinity of Christ which was believed as well before the great Councell of Nice as after it Neither were these other points of which some Catholiques doubted defin'd as new doctrines but the whole Church assembled in a General Council after due examination having found these points to have descended by sufficient approued testimony or tradition and being assisted by Christ the head of his body which is the Church the holy Ghost the Guide of it according to our Sauiours promise special necessary providence over his Church proposeth them to be vniversally believed without any more doubt And whosoever after this definition of the vniversal Church of her supreme authority call these things any more in question become heretiques are cast out of the Church But all good Christians who had any doubt before for want of the Churches proposeall having now got that do acquiesce and are put out of all doubt for to oppose the whole Church Aug. epist 118. ad â—anuar as S. Augustin observes would be most insolent madnesse This whole matter is clear in the question of rebaptization For it was decided by a General Council according to the custom or Tradition which was opposed before the Council to S. Cyprian Therefore the same thing was a matter of faith was believed before the Council although some did not know it to be such till the Church did interpose her supreme authority declare it to be so S. Augustin shewes how much himself relies on this iudgment and that S. Cyprian would have yielded to it if in his time it had been interposed Aug lib. â— de bapt c. 4. Neither durst we saith he affirm any such thing if we were not well grounded vpon the most vniforme authority of the vniversal Church vnto which vndoubtedly S. Cyprian also would have yielded if in his time the truth of the question had been cleared declared by a General Council established Vpon the other part these who after the determination of the Council maintaynd the same error of rebaptization were esteemed Heretiques Vincent cont he es c. 9. which made S. Vincentius cry out thus O admirable change the Authors of one self opinion are called Catholiques and the followers of it Heretiques And the reason of the difference is because as S. Augustin observes An erring disputer may be suffered in other questions not diligently tried not as yet strengthned by the full authority of the Church Aug. serm 14 de verbis Apostol in these matters an error may be suffered But after the iudgment of the Vniversal Church which is the highest authority on earth has past and condemned any error then it is no more to be suffered then these who will not hear the Church are by our Sauiours command to be esteem'd as Heathens Publicans By which the difficulty proposed is clearly answered the proof stands good That the Church has alwayes believed that which from father to son has been delivered
and amongst all doctrines which have been delivered there is none descended more clearly then the irrefragable testimony of the Catholique Church either as she is dilated throughout the whole world or as she is assembled in a General Council whereof the continual practice of the Church from the beginning is a superabvndant evidence From this truth we will briefly deduce some Corollaries 1. Since we neither ought nor can arrive vnto the certain knowledge of our Saviours and his Apostles doctrin but by the testimony of the Catholique Church this Testimony is not only necessary for the knowledge of the doctrines not written but also of these which are written because the true sense of these cannot be infallibly known but by this lively rule of faith 2. The doctrines not written which have been still believed and profest in the Church are truly Apostolical divine as well as these doctrines which are contain'd in Scripture because we have the same infallible assurance for them that we have for these 3. Since the Testimony and authority of the Vniversal Church is the only means by which we can be fully assured what was the doctrin of Christ and therefore is the formal motive of our belief it followes that what ever the Church testifieth to be revealed by God has been truly revealed and ought to be beleeued whither the matters themselvs be great or small And hereby the Protestants distinction of points fundamental not fundamental is quite overturned and shewed to be impertinent Because neither of these points are beleeved for themselv's but for the divine authority revealing them and this cannot be known but by the testimony of the Church by her authority proposing them Therefor the formal motive being the same for all points they are all alike to be beleeved when they are by the same authority of the Church sufficiently proposed and in that case to deny any thing albeit never so small for the matter is a fundamental error and clearly opposite to the formal motive of our faith for which all the points of faith are beleeved and whosoever disbeleeves any thing at all so proposed denies faith to God reiects his authority 4. He who contemnes or neglects the testimony of the Catholique Church in the time wherein he lives which is a testimony beyond all exception most worthie of credit can never come to the full certain knowledge of our Saviours doctrin For that is as it were the first step of the ladder vpon which if one set not first his foote he cannot arrive vnto the top that is vnto the first age wherein Christ his Apostles lived 5. From this principle flow all the notes of the Church As first her Vnity in all points of faith For if she has alway's beleeved nothing but what was received from hand to hand from father to son by the testimony of the Christian world and all persons within her submit to the same supreme authority of one chief Pastor of General Councels the Church cannot but have Vnity in all points of faith Secondly the holynesse of the Church flowes also from the foresaid principle For if the doctrin of the Church was holy at the beginning as all Christians must confesse and the doctrin by this continual testimony remaines ever the same as hath been proved Then the Church is still holy in all her doctrines which all tend to holynesse Thirdly the Church is also Catholique For it is by the testimony of Christians in all Nations that the doctrin of Christ is infallibly conueighed vnto vs. Lastly the Church is Apostolique For it is by her continued testimony that the doctrin of Christ is known in all generations and therefore she must have a continued succession from the Apostles Wherefore to conclude I hope that I have proved now sufficiently the Church in Communion with the Sea of Rome by receiving all her doctrines in all ages from her forefathers has ever kept the same doctrin which she first received from Christ his Apostles never changed it and therefore as she was so she still is the spouse of Christ being a fruitefull Mother yet a chast Virgin never parting from Christ for she could never be drawn from the doctrin which she once received from him neither by the bloody persecutions of the Pagans nor by the deceitfull pretexts and allurements of heretiques yea she never did dissemble the least Error in her deerest children Iude v. 3. but as S. Iude exhorts has ever contended earnestly for the faith once delivered to the Saints She has indeed been ever falsly accused as an Adulteresse by all heresies which are themselvs as we have seen before harlots and strumpets But she remaines pure chast Adulterari non potest Cypr. in tract de simplicitate Prelator Osee 2.19 saith S. Cyprian Sponsa Christi c. The Spouse of Christ cannot become an adulteresse she is chast incorrupt What she once knew of Christ she still holds and never at all parts from him as he never parts from his Church to which he said I will espouse thee to my self for ever S. Paul speaking of the great love of Christ to his Church saith that he delivered himself for it Ephes 5.25 c. that he might sanctifie it and present it vnto himself a glorious Church not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing c. And of the indissolvible coniunction between Christ and his Church he saith This is a great Sacrament Ibid. v. 32. but I say in Christ his Church As the Iewes did loaden our Saviour with lies calumnies so all heretiques strive to defame oppresse his Spouse by the same means but all in Vain For as the innocency of Christ did appear and the whole earth was filled with his praises whereas his enemies were cloathed with shame confusion were scattered through the earth had their Temple destroyed and their Nation ruined So within a short time the vnspotted innocency purity of his spouse is manifested to the shame confusion of all heresies which being accursed by the Church with all their lies calumnies are ever at length destroyed from the face of the earth for as the Wiseman has observed Ecclesiastic c. 3. v. 11 the Mothers curse rooteth vp the foundation If it was a great sin in the Iewes that they not only refused to hear and obey Christ but also falsly accused him and many wayes lyed and blasphemed against him It cannot be a small sin in heretiques that they do not only refuse to hear the Church for which crime alone they are by Christs command to be holden as Heathens Publicans but also they falsly accuse his Spouse which he loves so deerly for an Adulteresse and charge her with Idolatry Superstition all sorts of abomination These calumnies if not blasphemies are the ground of all their new doctrines pretended Reformations By which we may know the rare fabrick
against his brother and every one against his neighbour citie against citie and Kingdome against Kingdome S. Augustin saith it is the iust iudgment of God Aug lib. de agone Christi c 29. lib 1. de bapt c 6. that those who seek nothing else but to divide the Church should themselves be miserably divided And so he shewes how the Donatists were cut into small threds S. Chrysostom affirmes that the sin of dividing the Church is so great that nothing doth so provoke the anger of God So that when we have done all other manner of good Chrysâ—st hom 11. in ep ad Ephes we deserve no lesse severe punishment for dividing the Vnity fulnesse of the Church then those who pierced divided Christs own body Salomon saith that there are six things which our Lord hates Proverb 6.16.19 and the seventh is abomination to him which is He who soweth discord among brethren How much then must he hate and abhorre those who sow discord in his Church which is his body and his spouse for which he died and for the Vnity whereof he so ardently prayed And therefore it 's no wonder to see the curse of division fall ever among them And as this division and contrariety ariseth naturally from their principall doctrin the ground of all the rest besides Gods iudgment on them so they have no way to take it away when it doth arise For albeit they pretend the word of God to be their Iugde of Controversies to which they promise all obedience yet this Iudge could never hitherto end any controversy among them and indeed it is not the word but the sword which decides all their Controversies The iust contrary is in the Catholique Church For albeit all heresies and sects do first arise out from her 1. Cor. 11.19 as the Apostle saith There must be heresies and S. Iohn affirmeth They went out from vs but were not of vs yet they do not arise from the nature of the Churches doctrin or from her principles which are constant immoveable all tending to Vnity but from the malice of the Devil And when they arise the Church loseth not her Vnity thereby For if these coyners or followers of new doctrines do not submit themselvs to the iudgment of the Church they are iudicially cutt off from that body from which they first cut themselvs by misbeleef and by this means the rest of the body is preserved entire and at Vnity within it self So that when any question ariseth the Church has a solid way to take away all Controversie and to preserve Vnity But the Protestants principles tend to division and they have no means to take it away as has been shewed Since then it is so evident by the Scripture that the Church of Christ must have Vnity it is no lesse evident that that cannot be the true Church which wants Vnity and is full of Dissensions Divisions as the Protestant Church appeares now evidently to be even to the weakest vnderstandings by her great Schismes and divisions both in doctrin government And therefore he who believes a Church of so great division or confusion to be the true Church cannot be said to follow the Scriptures but rather to controul them and to follow his own fancies Whereas the Church in Communion with the Sea of Rome by her admirable Vnity both in doctrin disciplin all the world over even to the least article or point of faith may be easily seen to be the true Church of Christ which was founded by him and he by the same Vnity may be known to be the true Messias who was sent from heaven CHAP. XXXIII The true Church proved by her holynesse THE second mark whereby the true Church is described in the Nicen Creed is Holynesse I beleeve One holy c. Church which property is also assign'd to her in the Apostles Creed I beleeve the holy Catholique Church Besides these authorities the very light of Nature and the Scripture show that the true Church ought to be holy For this being a society of people ordain'd by God for a most holy end to witt to enioy himself who is the Holy of Holies for all eternity must have holynesse of doctrin to direct them and holynesse of life to bring them to so holy an end This the Prophet David sheweth Psal 92 vers vlt saying Holynesse becometh thine house O Lord for ever S. Paul saith that Christ delivered himself fâ—r his Church that he might sanctifie it c. that he might present it to himself Ephes 5.26.27 a glorious Church not hauing spot or wrinkle or any such thing but that it may be holy and vnspotted It is evident then by the â—reed by the light of Nature and by the Scriptures that the true Church must be Holy And the holynesse of it for our present purpose consists principally in two things to wit in holynesse of doctrine holynesse of life Therefore that Church which teacheth impious doctrin and wherein there is little or no holynesse of life cannot be the true Church Let vs then briefly see to which Church whither to the Protestant or to the Church in Communion with the sea of Rome this mark of Holynesse doth best agree First concerning doctrin I find that the first Apostles of Protestants teach doctrin directly repugnant to the goodnesse of God to the Nature of man to the holynesse of the Christian Sacraments to the observation of Gods commandments besides many other particulars Calvin the great Foundatour of Pressbytery teaches that God is the Author of sin for thus he writeth Cal lib. 1. instit cap. 18 par 3. Now I have clearly enough shewed that God is called the Author of all these things which these Controwlers to witt the Papists will have to fall forth by his idle permission onely And such things which according to Catholiques God willeth not but only permits are sins of which Calvin there speaks as of the blindnesse and tyranny of Achab of the incest of Absalon and the like of which he calls God the Author Again he saith Man by the iust impulsion of God Ibid par 4. doth that which is not lawfull for him to do And of Pharao he saith Deus voluit vtique illum iussui suo non obtemperare immo vt ei repugnaret In Rom. pc 454. ipse in eo effecit God willed him not to obey his Commandment yea he himself wrought that in him that he might disobey it Many more places are collected by Becan in a Treatise which he wrote on this subiect de Authore peccati Where he cites diverse testimonies of Beza and other Protestant Authors to the same purpose Now that this is an impious opinion and against the very clear light of nature is evident For all men conceive by natural instinct that God is not only good in himself but also goodnesse it self the Author and fountain of all goodnesse But
how can he be goodnesse itself and the Author of goodnesse if he be the Author of wickednesse A holy Father saith Basil quod Deus noe sit auctor malor It 's the same madnesse to deny God and to say he is the Author of sin For if he be the Author of sin he is not good if he be not good he is not God The Manicheans taught the same impiety but with this difference that they made not the good but the evil God the Author of evil Moreover it 's evident that God cannot be the Author of that whereof he is the punisher But he is the punisher of sin Therefore he cannot be the Author of it I know some Protestants strive to make a faire face vpon this doctrin of Calvin but all in vain for it is so black and vgly of it self in the tearmes which he vseth that as it is in the proverb these who would blanch it vndertake to wash a black-Moore The text is so bad that it can admit no good Commentarie Feuardentius lib. 2. Theomachiae Calvinisticae cap. 12. So that the Lutherans in Germanie have condemned it as contumelious against God pernicious to mankind and the Zuinglians of Berne caused Calvins books wherein these black errors were contain'd to be burnt publickly by the common Executioner He teacheth also some doctrin no lesse pernicious in the iudgment of many concerning predestination as that God by his only will has ordaind many without any consideration of their merits to damnation Cal. lib. 3. Inst c. 22. par 2. His words are these By his only will and without any consideration of their merits they are predestinated to eternal death Such doctrin which transformes God into the Devil and represents him as the greatest Tyrant imaginable cannot be holy no more then he who taught it can be heavenly albeit he be much esteem'd by the Presbyterians who keep still this doctrin lying at their hearts though vpon some occasions they are ashamd to profess it Secondly As he robs God of his goodnesse so doth he also spoile man of his free-will which is not only false against common experience and the confession of mankind for as S. Augustin saith no fewnesse of the learned Aug. lib. de vera relig c. 14. no company of the vnlearned do deny it but also in the iudgment of many Protestants it makes all exhortations admonitions and threats which are so frequent in the Scriptures both vselesse and ridiculous it hinders all exercise yea and attempt of vertue holynesse and with the opinion of Gods absolute decree of reprobation it brings men to despaire Thirdly their doctrin of the impossibility to keep the divine commandments even with the assistance of Gods grace we have seen above to be iniurious to the goodnesse wisdom and iustice of God to be a great hindrance of the growth of piety and of the care of a good life from which wicked doctrin flowed the impious sect of the Anti-Nomians To which if we shall add that doctrin which they call the life of their religion to witt their iustification by a special faith only whereby they beleeve that all their sins are forgiven them what a wid gate is opened to all licentious liberty to the neglect of piety and of all good works Their doctrin also concerning the Sacraments is not holy which robs them of all grace and vertue of sanctification In a word if the proper doctrines of the Presbyterians be impartially considered there is almost nothing amongst them which hath appearance of holynesse or any invitation to it For they do not esteem their Churches holy they have no holy ornaments no holy Vessels no holy rites or Ceremonies no holy dayes or festivities no holy forme of publique worship or service of God and nothing that setteth forth the Maiesty magnificence of God or that can breed respect or reverēce in man Yea their principles if they be followed lead to prophanesse or Atheism whereof I will bring some few instances The first is of one named Godefridus a Valle who wrote a book Becan opusc disp An Deus sit Auctor peccati cap. 17. which he entitled Of the art of beleeving nothing In which he said all other things false and one only thing true as Becan relates to witt that he who would become an Atheist should first be a Calvinist as himself had been For from that doctrin of Calvin that God is the Author of sin and that by his absolute decree of Reprobation he had preordain'd the most part of men vnto damnation without any regard of their works but only for his own pleasure he collected that such a God was a most cruel Tyrant Therefore he would rather deny there was a God then acknowledge such a God And therevpon he became a profest Atheist and was burnt publickly in Paris in the yeare 1572. Another instance fell out not long ago in our own Countrey on another subiect For as the Presbyterian Ministers generally teach that the Church is no more holy then any other place nor no more reverence due vnto it except only when the Minister is preaching so a great Apostle of the Covenant taught that doctrin very eagerly in Aberdeen the fruite whereof did shortly thereafter appear For a covenanting souldier of the Saints army was found within few dayes in the Colledge Church of that town in vncivil conversation with a woman and being brought before the same Minister as I was credibly informed who did exaggerate the grievousnesse of the crime from the holynesse of the place he answered that there was neither preaching nor praying in the Church at that time By which he confounded the Minister Now of a long time they keep their Churches shut both night and day except only at such times as the Minister is to preach I knew also a young Lady who took great scandal at a Ministers sermon wherein he vndertook to prove against the Papists the impossibility of living chastly which doctrin she truly said was very dangerous to young people and loosed the reines to all lasciviousnesse So that in many points both concerning God and man the Sacraments the Commandments we see the Presbyterian Church is not holy in doctrin But on the other part the Church in Communion with the Sea of Rome teacheth most holy doctrin in all these points For first concerning God she teacheth that in him there are all perfections in an infinit degree that he is not only good in himself but the fountain of all goodnesse and that no evil can proceed from him That he is neither the cause Author or approver of sin That he is so good that he would not permit sin to be vnlesse he could draw good from it That he has predestinate no man to damnation but only for sins which they willingly freely commit This is the doctrin of the Catholique Church and of the holy Fathers Aug. in Enchir. c. 100. S.
length described So by this means M. Knox gote his Vocation to be a Minister from the call of that holy Congregation which was guiltie of murder and robbery and was then in actual rebellion by the mouth of their Preacher who could have no lawfull vocation himself but being an vnlettered man had taken vp by all appearance that calling at his own hand as many others did For it is said of him in the 74. page Albeit he was not the most learned yet was his doctrin without corruption c. I was much astonished when this historie of our first Reformer his Vocation was first shown me in his own book by a Catholique who did not faile to manifest the ridiculousnesse of it by all the circumstances Now these are all the different Vocations of the Protestant Ministers and all and every one of them are so vnsufficient that they are disproved not only by Catholiques but also by most famous Protestants who are brought to such confusion in this matter that they hardly know what to say For they can neither pretend ordinary nor extraordinary Vocation not the first because they evidently want succession as also ordination both which are requisite to an ordinary calling Not the second because they want the power of working miracles and have no extraordinary holynesse which are qualities very requisite and vsual for all Gods extraordinary Ambassadours And albeit neither of these qualities were required yet these who pretend this extraordinary Vocation do fall into such contradictions that they are evidently known thereby not to be Gods extraordinary Ambassadours whom he never vseth to send with contrary Commissions So that to the Protestant Ministers or Bishops agree well the words of S. Cyprian Cypr. de simplicit Praâ—lator These are men saith he who without any divin disposition preferre themselvs among rash people who make themselvs Prelats without any lawfull ordination who none giving to them a Bishops office take the name of Bishops vpon them Therefore the Protestant Pastors wanting clearly succession from the Apostles are not Apostolique and so are not true Pastors but Vsurpers and consequently the Protestant Church is not the true Church for that cannot be the true Church which hath no lawfull Pastors Vpon the other part this succession of Bishops from the Apostles has been ever so evidently in the Church of the Roman Communion that the holy Fathers did bring it as a most evident argument to show the true Church and therefore they reckon out ordinarly the succession of the Roman Bishops Aug. cont epist fund c. 4. S. Augustin saith The Succession of Priests from the Seat of Peter the Apostle vnto the present Bishoprique holds me in the Church And elswhere shewing the continuance of the same succession he saith The continuance of the true Church by most certain succession of Bishops Aug. lib. conâ— advers leg prophet c. 20. doth persevere from the Apostles time vnto ours and to the times after vs again And this succession doth to this day continue in the Roman Church as evidently as it did in the time of the holy Fathers neither can any thing be said now against it which might not have been said as iustly by the auncient heretiques Therefore as the Church in Communion with the Sea of Rome has been shewed to be one holy and Catholique Church so it is no lesse evident that it is Apostolique having lawfull Pastors as it has ever had deriving their Vocation from the holy Apostles by lawfull ordination personal succession and consequently this is the true Church lawfull spouse of Iesus Christ This matter of Vocation is of great importance because doctrin depends vpon it and because it is easily discerned so that it is compared by our Saviour Iohn 10.1 to a Gate As then it is more easy to hold a theef at the gate then to thrust him out being once let in so all heretiques are more easily confounded for lack of Vocation which is to hold them at the doore of the Church then by the falshood of their doctrin which is to expell them after they are once admitted For if they cannot bring evident testimonies of their Vocation ordination from a known Pastor of the Church they are presently known to be Wolves who run when they were not sent who enter not by the doore but climb vp another way Therefore it is great deceit in some Ministers to vndertake to prove the lawfulnesse of their Vocation by the truth of their doctrin which is a preposterous and ridiculous way Numer 16. Core and his complices taught no other doctrin but that which was taught by Moyses and yet because they vsurped the Priests office we know how fearfully they were punished What would be more ridiculous then if one would vsurp the Office of a Iudge in the state and then would prove himself to be a lawfull Iudge by the iustice of his decisions This question then of Vocation being so important and easy a Catholique gave me this advice which I resolve God willing to follow never to admit a Minister to dispute of religion till he first shew the lawfulnesse of his Vocation and to make ever that the first question Wherefore having now seen such evidence for the truth of the Roman Catholique Church to which alone the marks and properties of the true Church recorded in Scripture do so clearly agree I will draw to an end by this subsequent Conclusion CHAP. XXXVI The Conclusion AS light is more pleasant after darknesse so is the invention of truth more delightfull after errors I have now by Gods grace and by the former Triall seen both our pretended Reformations which were called such great engyring Lights to be nothing but thick Aegyptian darknesse obscuring the chief and most clear truths of the Christian Religion both in doctrin disciplin I have now found amongst the Protestants what S. Augustin observed amongst the Manichees Aug. cont epist fund c. 4. that they have nothing but a meer promise of truth a pretext of following only the Scriptures wheÌ„ indeed they follow their own Errors That their doctrin is nothing but counterfeit Mettall which cannot endure the fire of Triall Yea I have clearly seen that their Church which is the ground work of all has not the least resemblance of the Church of Christ as she is without ambiguity described in the Scriptures For according to them the Church of Christ must endure for ever But the Protestant Church has only endured since the time of Luther According to the Scriptures the Church cannot be hid but must ever shine like a light set vpon a Candlestick But the Protestant Church has lyen many hundred years hid and invisible vnder a bushell The Church of Christ must have Vnity as becomes the house of God But the Protestant Church is full of division confusion both in doctrin disciplin The true Church must be holy in all her doctrin and
fruitfull in produceing Saints But the Protestant Church teacheth doctrines which tend to prophanesse to the neglect of piety of all good works and she is so barren in produceing Saints that she professeth to bring forth none but those who continually or dayly break mortally Gods Commandments The true Church according to the Scriptures must be Catholique or Vniversal and must convert all Nations from infidelity to Christianity But the Protestant Church is only in parts pettie corners of the earth and has never as yet converted any Nation of Infidels but according to the nature of heresy has only perverted some ill Catholiques The true Church must ever have true Pastors lawfully called and ordained deriving their Succession by an vninterrupted line from the holy Apostles But the Protestant Churches first Pastors succeeded to none and without any lawfull Vocation ordination did intrude themselves by Vsurpation into the Pastoral office as all their successors have done The true Church adheres so closly to the truth that she is called in the Scriptures The pillar ground of truth 1. Timoth 3.15 But the Protestant Church is so inconstant passing from one falshood into another that she may be called the Pillar ground of Error The true Church according to Christs promise is ever directed by the Spirit of truth into all truth But the Protestant Church is misgoverned by the Spirit of giddinesse as is known by fresh experience These considerations besides others make me see the great darknesse wherein I lay and have made me to admire of my former blindnesse that I reading so frequently the Scriptures did not see the monstrous difference which is between the Church of Christ there so clearly described and the Protestant Church to which not one propertie of the true Church contain'd in the Scriptures doth agree This shew me how necessary it is to read the Scriptures with attention and to implore the Divine Maiesty for spirituall illumination without which darknesse will seem light and light darknesse But in the holy Catholique Church I found not only promise but also perforformance of truth I found her faith to be more pretious then gold which is tried by the fire as S. Peter speaks 1. Pet. 1.7 which after greatest opposition and triall doth ever shine more brightly I found in this Church clearly fulfilled all the Prophesies and that to her do agree all the properties of the true Church described in the Scriptures For this is the Church which alone has endured since the time of the Apostles This is the Church which as a Citie seated on a hill could never be hid but as a Candle set vpon a Candlestick hath enlightned the whole world This is the Church which has been admirable for its Vnity and eminent for its sanctity replenishing the heaven with innumerable Saints who have all lived and died in the bosome of her Communion This is the Church which is Vniversal for time place which has had her gates continually open night and day to receive the strength of the Gentils which she alone has converted from infidelity to Christianity This is the Church which has had a continued succession of Pastors descending without interruption from the holy Apostles This is the Church which adheres so closely to the faith she once received that she would never part from it nor yield in one syllabe or letter neither to Heathnish cruelty nor to heretical impiety and which neither force nor flatterie could ever shake so that she may be iustly called the Pillar ground of Veritie This Church is the chast Virgin Spouse of Christ which has been ever falsly accused as an Adulteresse by all Heretical Strumpets and has been even overloaden with their Calumnies but she has alwayes adhered vnto her heavenly spouse who in his own time has manifested her innocencie and brought confusion on her Enemies And in a word this is the Church which is admirable for its order and government for its supreme authority and invincible strength for its heavenly doctrin and great holynesse and lastly for her power of working miracles What then can I do more fitly then after so great darknesse to embrace so clear a light after so many dangerous errors and wandrings to put my self in the direct way of Salvation and incorporat my self without delay into this one holy Catholique Apostolique Church wherein all the holy Fathers all the Saints have liv'd and dyed What can I vse more properly then the words of S. Augustin who saith to this purpose since we see so great help of God Aug. dt vâ—il credendi c. 17. so great profit and fruite shall we make any doubt at all to retire vnto the bosome of that Church which from the Apostolique Sea by succession of Bishops has obtaind the Soveraign authority heretiques in vain barking round about it c. To which not to yield the Primacy is either a matter of greatest impiety or of precipitat arrogancy The same Motives which held S. Augustin within the Catholique Church have drawn me vnto it To witt Idem cont epist fund c. 4. the Consent of People and Nations Authority begun by Miracles nourished by Hope enlarged by Charity and Confirmed by Antiquity The Succession of Priests from the Seat of Peter vnto the present Bishoprick And last of all the very name Catholique which not without cause this Church has only obtaind among so many Heresies Iohn 1.41 Iohn 4.29 As then S. Andrew and the Woman of Samaria were glad when they found the Messias foretould by the Prophets because they were sure to find with him all truth So am I no lesse overioyed to have found the true Church foretould and clearly described by the Messias for with her I am sure to find all truth since she is the Pillar and ground of Truth and Christ has promised to her the Spirit of truth to remain with her for ever to lead her into all truth As the Apostles believed Christ for the voice of God the Father who said Mark 9.7 Luke 10.16 This is my beloved Son heare him so I believe the Church for the voice of God the Son who said Who heares you heares me and who despiseth yow despiseth me Math. 18.19 and who will not hear the Church let him be to thee as a Heathen a Publican And as the holy Apostles did believe Christ in all things because he received all from his father so I believe the Catholique Church in all points because she has received all her doctrines from Christ his Apostles and has faithfully retaind them This Catholique Church is she alone which Lactan. lib. 4. divinar Instit c. vlt. as an auncient Father writeth retaines the true worship This is the fountain of truth and House of Faith This is the Temple of God into which if one do not enter or from which if one go astray he is a stranger from the hope of life
practice of the whole Church against whose custome to dispute as S. Augustin affirmes is most insolent madnesse Therefore without or rather against all reason do you detest the Ceremonies of the Catholique Church No religion can be without Ceremonies and we see in the Scripture that all great mysteries are accompanyed with sublime significative Ceremonies as our Saviours Nativity Baptism Transfiguration Resurrection Ascension the Descent of the holy Ghost c. Our saviour also at all great solemn actions vsed many Ceremonies as at the raising of Lazarus the cureing of the man who was both deaf dumb Mark 7.33 and vpon many other occasions all which Ceremonies serve as Ornaments of religion presenting an external Maiesty to the senses and making the spiritual mysteries to be more clearly vnderstood to be received with greater reverence and to be more deeply imprinted in the hearts of the beholders The same might be easily verifyed of the Catholique Ceremonies Therefore you who vnder pretext of spirituality are profest Enemies to all Ceremonies do not take heed that you take all order decency from the Church service of God that you oppose the practice of Christ his Apostles and of the whole Primitive Church and do render the sublime mysteries of the Christian religion contemptible You renounce also to vse your words the Popes 5. bastard Sacraments But that is only proper to adulteresse Churches to have bastard Sacraments The Catholique Church has none but lawfull Sacraments instituted by her heavenly Spouse Iesus-Christ of admirable vertue grace as we have seen all these 5. to be But indeed you have made even those two which you keep bastard Sacraments by robbing them of all vertue and grace We shall only speak a word of your other Detestations which follow in this Section because some of them have been touched above First vnder the name of the Pope you detest the iudgment of the Catholique Church as cruel against infants dying without Baptism and for the absolute necessity of Baptism But this was also the iudgment of the Primitive Church yea of Christ himself who has said Iohn 3.5 vnlesse one be borne again of water the Spirit he shall not enter into the Kingdome of Heaven And therefore is not cruel as has been shewed above at more length Whereas your iudgment is both false and cruel against many children dying with Baptism excluding them from heaven Yea not only your Iudgment is cruel but also your practice suffering many children to dye without Baptisme Confer Hampton-Court for which cruelty King Iames affirmed that your Ministers who were guilty of it would be damned You accuse next the Catholique Church of blasphemy for beleeving the Reall Presence or Transubstantiation which you wisely make all one question and for teaching that the wicked receive the body of Christ But they are not blasphemous who do beleeve Christs words expressed by 3. Evangelists and one Apostle and who follow the constant doctrin of the holy Fathers of the auncient Church as the Catholiques do in this matter as has been shewed above And if the wicked did not receive the body of Christ how could they be guilty of it as the Apostles affirmes the vnworthy receivers of it to be But you are rather guilty of blasphemy even in the iudgment of Protestants who will not beleeve Christs clear words and deny thereby his Omnipotency Luther your first Apostles gives this Iudgment of you We censure as heretiques aliens from the Church of God the Zuinglians all Sacramentaries Luth. cont Lovanien Thes 27. who deny the body blood of Christ to be received with the Carnal Mouth in the Eucharist And a famous Doctor of his Church continues the same opinion of you for speaking of this same matter he saith the sect of the Calvinists is grown to such blasphemy and madnesse Conrad Shlussel Theol. Calvin l. 1. c. 3. that they dare call in question Gods omnipotency Then you accuse the Pope Catholique Church for Dispensations in solemn Oaths and Periuries But these are either vain or false allegations For it is certain that the Church may dispense sometimes with the bond of oaths as she may loose from punishments and free men from the bonds of sins according to that power which Christ gave to her saying whatsoever thou shall loose on earth Math. 16 shall be loosed in heaven c. But it must be for a iust cause and without the iust preiudice of others as Becan shewes Becan de ur iustitia quest 88. q. 11 or else the dispensation is not valid Periuries or false oaths need no Dispensations as you mistake or calumniate but must be only taken away by true Repentance as other sins are purged It is strange that you should deny the lawfull power of dispensing to the whole Catholique Church such as S. Paul vsed with the incestuous Corinthian and yet appropriate it to every one of your selves and should obiect that falsly as a crime to others whereof yourselves are so deeply guilty For it is known how many oaths vowes your first Reformers did either break or dispense with at their own hands and if we will beleeve King Iames Basilicon Doron p. 41. you are not behind with any in these enormities You accuse also falsly the Pope Catholique Church for dispensing in degrees of Mariage forbidden by the word of God that is by the Law of Christ vnlesse you will have the Ceremonial Law of the Iewes to be the Law of Christ and to oblige all Christians whence it would follow that if a man died without issue Deuter. 25.5 his brother should marie the Widow which yourselves do not observe but deny that it ought to be done The Church is so far from dispensing in degrees forbidden by the eternal Law of God that she has made Lawes forbidding dissolving Mariages in degrees not prohibited by the Eternal Law of God which serve as out-works to guard the divin Law She dispenseth indeed sometimes vpon good reason in her own lawes but never in the eternal Law of God which she professeth to be altogether indispensable Neither is the Pope and Catholique Church guilty of cruelty against the innocent divorced by forbidding them to marie vnlesse Christ himself and S. Paul be cruel and the Primitive Church which taught the same doctrine Luke 16.8 Our Saviour saith every one that putteth away his wife and marieth another committeth adulterie and he that marieth her committeth adulterie 1. Cor. 7.10 S Paul saith not I give commandment but our Lord that the wife depart not from her husband if she depart to remaine vnmaried or to be reconciled to her husband Whence it is clear that neither of the parties can marie so long as the other lives This was the doctrine of the holy Fathers and of the ancient Church S. Augustin proveth this in his bookes de adulterinis coniugijs
ch 17. p. 183. seq Their SPECIAL and groundlesse Faith 9 9 They deny all Satisfaction or works of Penance for sins and so they teach men are not to make any Satisfactions for their sins p. 500. Their doctrine of sinning WITHOVT Satisfactions 10 10 They teach Iustification by faith only against the expresse words of Scripture Iames 2. v. 24. as may be seen above ch 17. p. 182. Iustification by faith ONLY 11 11 Albeit some were great sinners yet so soon as they took the Covenant they were esteemed Saints and all their sins forgiven them though indeed they becam no better This is a greater Opus Operatum which the Presbyterians ascribed to their Covenant then that which the Catholiques assign to the holy Sacraments as may be seen above p. 202. 203. The Opus Operatum of the Covenant which SAINTED without dispositions even the worst Covenanters 12 12 They do not only abiure works of greater perfection not coÌ„manded but counselled but also they neglect works of duty commanded teaching hat the Commandments are impossible to be kept p. 502. 5â—3 Their Omission of works of DVTY tending to EDIFICATION 13 13 They teach that all their works are evil and therefore are demerits which may be iustly renounced p. 504. 505. 4. They often give and sell pardons from their stoole of Repentance or else all the great people must be Saints only the poore must be sinners For it is very rarely seen that any person of condition doth sit vpon their stoole of Repentance See p. 506. Demerits 14 14 They bragged that they should never leave off till they went with their Covenant Covenanting Armie to destroy the walls Citie of Rome p. 507. 508. SELLING of Pardons 15 Their intended WARLIK peregrinations to destroy holy places 16 16 The English Independents did call ordinarly the Presbyterian K rk-SessioÌ„s Bawdy-Courts For by them the fines were imposed vpon the fornicators But now that power is taken from them and given to the Civil Magistrate These Sessions are not so good as the Catholiques Stations above p. 508. Their Kirk SESSIONS 17 17 They do not consecrate their Communion Wine and albeit the Ministers say a long prayer at the beginning by which they would seem in some measure to hallow that which is present which is but a small quantity yet the rest is brought sometimes out of the Tavern and vsed without any benediction See of Holy water above p. 510. 511. VNCONSECRATED wine 18 18 See above how at the beginning of their pretended Reformation they vnhallowed many Bells p. 511. 512. Their VNHALLOWING and selling of Bells Their 19 19 The true Church has only power to cast out Devils Luther tryed once to do this but it succeded ill with him as may be seen above p. 512. WANT of power to coniure Spirits and cast out Devils 20 20 The Presbyterian Ministers do much hate the sign of the Crosse calling it the badge of Anti-Christ as may be seen in Spotswoods historie lib. 6. p. 324. See above p. 513. the Antiquity efficacy of that glorious sign of the Son of man Their CVRSINGS and Detestations of the SIGN of the CROSSE as also 21 21 The holy Apostles vsed Vnctions as may be seen above p. 514. which custome has been ever observed in the Church ibidem As also the Church did ever hallow some Creatures for holy ends as Water burial places Churches Bells c. which the Presbyterians have often made common and turn'd into profanes vses of VNCTIONS of benedictions of Creatures for holy ends together with the PROFANATIONS of these hallowed Creatures Their Domineering Presbyterian 22 22 How the Presbytery domineered over all sorts of persons may be seen above ch 4. and 5. of Presb. Triall 23. Their severity cruelty may be seen ibid. DEMOCRACY and 23 cruel ANARCHY 24 24 Their solemn League Covenant which intended the setling of Presbytery in all the 3. Kingdomes is not such a work of perfection as are the 3. Solemn Vowes of chastity poverty Obedience which they here abiure and which their first Reformers Vowed but did not keep And therefore their Solemn League may be better renounced then the three Solemn Vowes abiured Their Solemn LEAGVE and CovenaÌ„t with all their ROVNDHEADS of Sundry SECTS Their cruel Decrees made at GLASGOW to extirpate the Catholique Religion where their Covenant which has proved a bloudy Band was confirmed against the holy Catholique Church And lastly we reiect all their 25 25 See above pag. 229. 242. how by Trops and figures the clear words of Christs institution of the holy Sacrament are perverted by them against the sense of the holy Fathers and of the auncient Church VAIN TROPES AND FIGVRES perverting the true literal sense of the divin Scriptures against the constant exposition of the holy Fathers together with all their 26 26 Their denying of privat baptism is a Presbyterian Tradition derived from Calvin as may be seen above p. 212. without or rather against the word of God and the practice of the auncient Church The same may be also said of their denying private Communion c. PRESBYTERIAN Traditions brought in without or against the word of God and Doctrin of the 27 27 As the Catholique Church is only the true Church of Christ so S. Cyprian has observed that all heretiques like Apes do take vpon them the name and falsly Vindicate to themselves the authority of the Church Cypr. Epist ad Iubaian holy CATHOLIQVE Church the Pillar ground of Truth To the which holy Catholique Church we MOST WILLINGLY ioyn our selves in Doctrin Disciplin and all holy RITES as members of the same vnder Christ Iesus the Supreme invisible Head and the 28 28 See above section 4. p. 432. where it is shewed that S. Peter was ordain'd by Christ Supreme Pastor of his Church and that the Bishop of Rome succeeds vnto S. Peter in the same charge BISHOP of ROME the Successor of S. Peter Prince of the Apostles the Visible and Subordinate Head or Governour thereof 29 29 As the Catholique Church remaines constant in her doctrin and government so the Scottish Protestant Church has been very inconstant for it has changed diverse doctrines and very sensibly its disciplin three or foure times since the beginning of their pretended Reformation so that a man cannot wisely swear constant obedience to such an vnconstant Church See above ch 2. and 7. of Presb. Trial. Promising by the assistance of Gods Grace to continue in the obedience and Communion of the same Church all the dayes of our lives 30 30 As it is a malicious calumnie to say that any Catholique is stirred vp by the Pope to deny and abiure the Catholique religion against his conscience vpon hope of the Popes Dispensation So it is a known truth by diverse fresh experiences
Tim 3.13 what the first Reformers who could not on a suddaine deny all truths left vntouched your second Presbyterian Reformers haue abolished as they haue done here the hymne of Glory which was said in praise of the holy Trinity and for which you haue got the noble exchange of cōtinual praises of the Covenant Presbytery But as the great Councel of Nice did add vnto the ancient hymne of Glory to the Father c. that clause As it was in the beginning c. For confusion of the Arian heresy So also it hath by the same addition prophetically foretold the continuance of it for ever to the confusion of this new sect called Presbytery which is most consonant to that of S. Paul To God be glory in the Church and in Christ Iesus to all generations world without end Amen Ephes 3.21 That Church which hath triumphed over the Arians who corrupted this glorious hymne will also triumph over the Presbyterians who have abolished it Yea this hymne shall not only continue to the worlds end in the Church Militant but it shall be also the exercise of the Church Triumphant which shall never cease for all eternity to sing praise glory vnto the most holy Trinity Thus ended my Catholique friend whose words I found to be more waighty a good space after then they appear'd to me at the time when he spoke them Moreover I remember he desired me to consider that these innovations against our Lords prayer and the hymne of Glory were such blacke actions that the prime Presbyterians who introduced them were ashamed to make acts to forbid them as they had done for abolishing of Episcopacy and some other points but only brought them in by a desuetude as they speake and so wore them out of vse Which sheweth said he that they would gladly haue some things done covertly which they are asham'd to avow publickly CHAP. X. Of the Apostles Creed denyed to be Apostolical by the Presbyterians THERE was hardly any thing that the Presbyterians did which made me stumble so much as their Innovation concerning the authority of the Apostles Creed They were not content with their Reformation or rather abrogation of the Apostolique governement vnlesse they also did deny the Creed to be made by the Apostles and so weare it out of vse as they had done our Lords prayer At the end of of their new Catechisme they speake thus of the Creed Shore Cat. Vvest in fine Albeit the substance of the doctrine comprised in the Abridgement commonly called the Apostles Creed be fully set forth in each of the Catechismes so as there is no necessity of inserting the Creed it self yet it is here annexed not as though it were composed by the Apostles c. In which words they reach covertly two things 1. That the Creed it self is not necessary if we have the substance of it as it is explain'd in the new Presbyterian Catechisme 2. that it needs not be esteemed to be composed by the Apostles But their practise did shew more evidently their meaning For they did not only declare it not to be Apostolical and therefore to be only a humane collection but also they did no more say it neither did they require it to be said any more of others as the custome was formerly at Baptismes And by these means they put it out both of estimation and vse This innovation gave great scandal to many who thought iustly they could thereafter be sure of nothing since their Creed was called in question This was vniversally esteem'd before the Covenant began the badge or mark of a Christian and the principal foundation of the Christian religion The authority of it was held so sacred that it was an ordinary proverbe in mens mouth 's when they would give great assurance of performing any thing they had promised that before they failed They would as soone deny their Creed As it was called the Apostles Creed so it was taught for such so it was believed and esteemed to be It was publickly said in the Church by parents at the Baptisme of their Children and it was required to be said by the people when they were Catechized But all these things were altered and overturned by the Presbyterians The authority and esteem of the Creed was dash't by their denying it to be Apostolicall and the custome of saying it both publikly privatly was taken away so that it was soone worne out both of vse and request If they did this so easily with our Lords prayer which is contain'd in Scripture how much more easily would they do it with the Creed which is not in Scripture and which they pretend to be a meer humane collection And so in a short time they would get it to be altogether slighted as a humane invention and banished out of the memories of men Wherefore being desirous to penetrat this matter more inwardly I found after some diligence that the same grounds which can be brought for the Apostolique authority of the Scriptures are also brought and that in an eminent degree for the like authority of the Creed And therefore if we receive the one we cannot reiect the other I shall briefly collect what I found or hath been shewed vnto me for the Apostolique authority great excellency frequent laudable vse of this diuine Symbol Baron tom 1. Annal. an 44. n. 15. seq Cardinal Baronius in the 1. tome of his Annals doth shew by the testimony of the holy ancient Fathers that the Creed was composed by the holy Apostles a little before they were to part and goe into several Countries to preach the Gospel vnto the Gentils to the end there might be a certaine short clear rule of faith in which they all agreed wherein they were to instruct all persons and by which as by a certaine badge all Christians might he knowen For this cause it was not committed to writing but was delivered by lively voice and imprinted in the hearts of Christians by the faithfull diligence of the Apostles This S. Hierom Hier. epist 61. and S. Augustin do testify The first saith The Symbol of our faith hope which was delivered by the Apostles is not written in paper or inke but in the fleshly tables of the heart The other affirmeth Aug. ser 119. de temp Idem ser 69. de expos Symb. that the Creed was not written that it might be retain'd in the hearts of the faithfull And againe he saith The holy Apostles did deliver a certaine rule of faith which being comprehended in tuelve articles according to the number of the Apostles they called a Symbol by which the faithfull may hold Catholique vnity and tread vnder feete heretical impiety To these two great Doctours Ambro. ser 38. epist 81. agrees also S. Ambrose who saith The holy faith is contain'd in the Symbol of the tuelve Apostles who as skiful Artificers meeting together haue made a key by common
confirmed in this resolution when I vnderslood how Luther Calvin hauing no Scripture for them but against them haue grosly abused it to maintaine their errour For Luther the first Apostle in this last age of this new doctrine did two notable iniuries to the word of God For Seeing that this prime article of his faith was not expresly contain'd in the Scripture by an vnparallel'd presumption he added the word sola or Alone to the Scripture in his German translation of the Bible And whereas S. Paul saith we account a man iustifyed by faith without the workes of the law he makes him say by faith alone And when this high temerity of adding to the word of God was obiected to him Luth. tom 5. Germ. fol. 141. dâ—m he defended it with most insolent words saying that a Papist and an asse was the same thing and that the word sola should remaine in his Bible although all the Papists in the world shoud go mad and be transformed to in Asses The second iniury that he did to the Scripture was not by Addition but by Diminution wherin he was much more liberal then in the first for he added only one word but he took away many hundreds Because finding that the words above cited of S. Iames epistle were clearly expresly against his doctrin he expunged the whole epistle out of the Canon of the holy Scriptures Luth in praef in novu n Test Luth in cap. 22. Genes calling it an epistle of straw vnworthy the Spirit of an Apostle Yea he arrived to that impudency that he said the Authour of that epistle delirat that is dotes or raves By these two practises I was moved to think that Luther could not be the second Elias the Restorer of purity true religioÌ„ who would not only reform the Church but also the Scriptures yea in such a manner as he hath incurred not one but both the curses threatned by S. Iohn for adding to and pareing from the Scriptures And by this I perceived also what little esteem they make of the Scripture when it makes against their errours Calvin went more subtilly to work for although he followed Luthers doctrin of Iustification yet he neither added the word Sola to the letter of the Scripture neither did he deny S. Iames epistle to be Canonical But what Luther added to the letter Calvin added to the sense and what Luther denyed the other corrupted For Calvin would have Iustification by faith only to be as firmly believed as if the word only were there in Scripture which indeed is all one as if he had added with Luther that word to the Scripture Then the words of S. Iames which are clearly opposite to his errour and for which Luther did reiect the whole epistle he doth so corrupt with new senses which Luthers more grosse head could not invent that they passe many mens senses vnderstandings too and are against the words of Scripture clearly against the sense of the holy Fathers For he saith faith alone doth iustify but not alone Some others of his Schollers explaine it thus fides sola iustificat sed non solitaria Others say faith doth iustify and not works but yet faith not without works or a man is iustifyed with works but not by works and works are the means but not the causes of Iustification But all these inventions are directly contrary to the words of S. Iames. For he saith man is iustifyed by works not by faith only He doth not say man is iustifyed with works but by works he doth not say he is iustifyed by faith only but not by faith only And after the same manner and expression that he ascribeth our iustification to faith he ascribs it also vnto works He neither speaks of causes nor means these are the Ministers words and not the word of God which is not cleared but rendred more obscure by them It was made appear to me that the question at first between the Catholiques Luther was whether good works were in any respect necessary to our iustification and not whether they were required as causes or conditions Luther said they were in no wise necessary or else none could be iustifyed since the best works of the greatest Saints are mortal sins And in this he spake consequentially to his principles But Calvin finding that the Catholiques by innumerable Scriptures and particularly by that place of S. Iames proved the necessity of good works vnto Iustification he invented a distinction not to cleare but to confound the matter that good works were necessary but not as causes and faith was the only cause of Iustification And this he did also very vnreasonably against the principle which he holds common with Luther to witt that all our best actions are deadly sins For if good works be in any manner necessary how can any be iustifyed according to Calvin who maintains there can be no good works but that all are mortal sins For if a condition be necessary to any effect then if the condition be not fulfilled the effect cannot be produced As approximation of wood vnto the fire is ordinarly called the condition without which the wood could not take fire Therefore as the wood if it were not put near the fire would not conceive fire so also if good works be a necessary condition vnto iustification as Calvin pretends no man can be iustifyed since according to him there can be no good works Therefore Calvin speaks very inconsequentially if not also falsly Moreover it was showen me that the Lutherans were so highly offended with these new glosses of Calvin his Schollers that they call them the doctrins of the new Papists more pernicious then these of the old and Illyricus Illyr in praef ep ad Rom. a famous Lutheran doth not stand to call these Calvinists Seducers who by diuerse waye saith he would elude the propositioÌ„ of S. Paul c. For this cause the Lutherans deny all necessity of good works vnto Salvation either as means or causes For this they professed at the conference of Altenberg Coll. Al ten col 4 f. 75. We conclude say they with that worthy saying of Luther If works be necessary vnto Salvation then none can be saved without works and then we would not be saved by faith only So I found at length that this prime article of our religion to witt that man is iustifyed by faith only after so many great brags is not in Scripture but against Scripture as the Lutherans vnderstand it and as Calvin takes it it s not only against Scripture but also against his own principle who makes the whole matter to end in Philosophical termes for the most part neither vnderstood by speakers nor hearers Of which matter I had not long ago a notable experience For being in a Gentlemans house in the countrey where there chanced to be a Minister of esteem'd learning two Roman Catholiques and diverse Protestants as the
the principal article of their religion that man is iustifyed by faith only which is clearly against the word of God which saith in expresse tearmes Man is not iustifyed by faith only Iames 2.24 They beleeve that the Commandments are impossible to be kept Which is against the word of God which affirmeth that Gods Commandments are not grievous 1. Iohn 5.3 and that Zachary Elizabeth did keep them They beleeve that the Eucharist is not the body and blood of Iesus Christ Luke 1 6. which is directly against the Scripture which affirmeth It is his body and blood and that with such words as design the true body true blood Therefore it is evident that they cannot be perswaded of the truth of their religion by the Word of God seing the principal articles of their religion are so clearly against the word of God Yea before their religion can be true the most clear truth in all the Scriptures must be false to witt the perpetuity of the Church of Christ For their whole religion is founded vpon that supposition that the whole Church of Christ had become Anti-Christian and had perished for a long time before Luther Then which nothing can be more against the word of God as we have seen above Neither have the Covenanters any other refuge to shun these contradictions between their beleef and the Scriptures but to fly vnto tropes figures and pretend that these places of Scripture must be vnderstood figuratively which is the very fraude that was vsed by the auncient heretiques So soone Aug. lib 3. de doct Christian 6.10 saith S. Augustin as any Error doth prepossesse their mynds they esteem all to be figures which the Scripture saith to the contrary Yea they must bring senses iust contrary vnto the words of the Scriptures as for example the Scripture saith Man is not iustifyed by faith only which according to their beleef must be vnderstood as if the Scripture said Man is iustifyed by faith only which it nowhere saith Therefore if men can be perswaded by the Scripture to beleeve such things as are contrary to the expresse words of Scripture the Covenanters are perswaded by the Scripture of the truth of their religion otherwise they are not but rather perswaded to the contrary Secondly they come as small speed of their pretext of the Spirit of God For first they can bring no more ground for it then all sects do that is their own bare words and therefore they ought not to be beleeved more then others Secondly They cannot be perswaded by the Spirit of God who oppose the Catholique Church which according to Christs promise is ever directed by the Spirit of Truth S. Iohn who adviseth vs wisely not to beleeve every Spirit but to prove the Spirits if they be of God gives this Touch-stone by which they may be tryed He that knoweth God 1. Iohn c. 4. v. 6. saith he knoweth vs and he that is not of God knoweth vs not In this we know the Spirit of Truth and of Error This same Touch-stone has held in all succeding generations For these who would not beleeve the Catholique Church and the Pastors thereof succeeding vnto the Apostles although they bragged never so much of the Spirit of God were instantly seen to be misled by the Spirit of Error and were condemned as heretiques who with insolent folly would appropriat the Spirit of God vnto every one of their own giddie heads and yet deny it to the whole Catholique Church against the clear Scriptures The same holds against Calvin his descendents the Presbyterian Covenanters Thirdly They cannot have the Spirit of God which is the Spirit of Vnity who have mingled among them the Spirit of giddinesse and Contrariety by which their Erroneous Spirit is discovered now even to the most simple among the people Lastly the Covenanters falsly pretend that they are fully perswaded of the truth of their religion For if they had full assurance of it they would not make so many changes in it and besides their Director is very vnconstant for what is more changeable then the privat Spirit Having seen now said the Catholique the Covenanters vain false pretence of the word and Spirit of God we will briefly run through the description of their religion and to spare paines of often repeating their names we will turn our speech to them First you say that your faith religion is the only true faith religion pleasing God and bringing Salvation to man If this were true the world for many ages had been in a pittifull condition For about the space of a thowsand or 12. hundred yeares your faith religion were not known and so all that time there had been no means of salvation By which device you not only controule the clear Scriptures but also show your selvs enemies to the Glory of Christ to the riches of his Grace and to the perpetuity of his Kingdome yea and to the very good of Man And lastly you oppose most famous Protestants who acknowledge Salvation was had in the Roman Church before Luther and may be had now after him in so much that King Iames in his speech to the Parlament 1605. sharply censures you for this cruel opinion We confes saith he that many Papists especially our Ancestors c. may be saved and often are saved detesting in this parte and iudging worthy of fire the cruelty of Puritans who yeeld Salvation to no Papist Secondly you describe your religion further saying that it is now reveald to the world by the preaching of the Evangel But that is rather a mark of the false then of the true religion For the true Christian faith was reveald of old by Christ his holy Apostles and from that time could never be hid But your Presbyterian faith has iust two contrary qualities to witt it is now reveal'd and has lyen long hid S. Vincentius Lyrinensis sheweth the nature of your faith by describing the doctrine of the auncient Heretiques What do they propose saith he Vincent Lyr. cont haeres c. 12. but new and vnheard doctrines For you shall heare some of them say Come ô you vnwise miserable men who are commonly called Catholiques learn the true faith which besides vs none knoweth which has lyen hidd many ages but now is lately revealed and manifested Neither doth it a white availe you that you call your faith the Gospel and the revealing of your faith the preaching of the Gospel For so all heretiques call their greatest Errors the Gospel of Christ S. Hierom saith wisely that the Gospel of God Hieron 1. ad Galat. by a false interpretation becames the Evangel of man or which is woâ—se the Evangel of the Devil So there still remaines a great question about the truth of your preaching which is nothing but your privat interpretation Thirdly to make your faith more commendable you pretend that it is both auncient Vniversal You
not vsurped For he who is a iust Possessor is no Vsurper Yea he has been so far from vsurping over the Scriptures the Church c. that he has chiefly preserved them from the Vsurpations and corruptions of Heretiques And first it is shewed that he doth not vsurp over the Scriptures as the Covenanters do calumniate For he neither Vsurps over the letter nor the sense of them Not the first For both the Pope whole Catholique Church professe that they only declare that to be Scripture which they received for such from the holy Apostles and it 's by their care diligence that the letter of the Scripture has descended pure free from corruptions vnto our hands whereas it might have been altogether corrupted or totally perished for Protestants Neither do the Pope or Catholique Church vsurp over the sense of the Scriptures but they preserve that sense which is conforme to the Vanimous consent of the auncient fathers of the Primitive Church Secondly the Pope doth not vsurp over the Church because the care and charge of it was committed by Christ to S. Peter and to his Successors as we have seen and he preserves the Church from the Vsurpation of Heretiques Thirdly He doth not vsurp over the Civil Magistrate The experience of many ages in all Christians Kingdomes Common-wealths is more then sufficient to make this good to manifest the impudent falshood of the Presbyterian calumnie to the contrary Fourthly The Pope doth not vsurp over the Consciences of men but as chief Governor of the Church has lawfull authority to make Ecclesiastical Lawes which bind in Conscience as also all the iust Lawes of Kings other Civil Magistrats do bind in Conscience to which their subiects ought to obey according to that of S. Paul Be subiect not only for wrath but also for Conscience sake Rom. 13.5 And the contrary doctrin of Protestants which affirmeth that neither the Lawes of Church Kings or other Magistrates do bind in conscience is much detested by the Catholique Church and opens a broad way to all disobedience But now it will not be amisse to show how yow are destitute of all lawfull authority and deeply guilty of the same Vsurpations which yow falsly impose on others First all heretiques who go out of the Church and having no lawfull calling or authority take vpon them to be Pastors and impose their new doctrines Lawes vpon the Church are truly Vsurpers and are called Theeves by our Saviour who enter not by the doore but climb vp another way So S. Optatus speaks to the Donatists How comes it to passe Opt. lib. 2. cont Parmen saith he that you who are fighting against the Chair of Peter by your presumptions and Sacrilegious boldnesse contend to Vsurp the keies of the Kingdome to your selves Thus Luther Calvin the two chief Apostles of Protestants were Vsurpers who being private men without any lawfull calling or authority would bring in new doctrines and prescribe lawes to the whole Catholique Church And in this the Covenanting Ministers do imitate them Secondly they vsurped in particular over both the letter and sense of the Scriptures For Luther added the word Only to them in the matter of Iustification and tooke the whole Epistle of S. Iames and the Apocalypse from them Calvin also by his private Spirit made vp a new Canon not known before his time expunging many bookes avnciently received out of the Scriptures which new Rule the Covenanters follow Then for the sense they transgressed the bounds set by the Fathers reiecting the auncient sense preserved by the Catholique Church and invented new senses of their own imaginations which they enforced vpon others as divine Truths In this also you Covenanting Ministers have followed closely their footsteps For you have been no lesse fertile in inventing such new senses then active in enforceing them vpon others Thirdly your pretended Reformers were Vsurpers over the Church who having no lawfull calling nor authority tooke vpon them to be Reformers of the Church who would impose their own fancies as lawes divine Oracles on the Church who insolently would take vpon them to iudge and condemn the whole Catholique Church and who vnder pretext of Reformation have destroyed almost all that is sacred in the Church barbarously destroying many excellent Churches and Sacrilegiously vsurping and plundering the riches Ornaments of them This Luther and Calvin did at the beginning and this you have compleated in a great measure above all their progenie Fourthly you are also very guilty of Vsurpation over the Civil Magistrate The late riseing of your religion cannot furnish vs old histories but for your short time you have been prettie bussie and afford vs a good store For in our Countrey there have been only 3. or 4. Princes since your religion Began and none of them has been exempt from your Vsurpation First The Queen Regent was deposed by you from her Regency and died shortly thereafter for grief Secondly How you vsed her daughter Queen Mary Stewart it is notoriously known to the world For after you had imprisonned her enforced her to renounce her Crowne you never desisted till by persecuting of her vnto death you made her purchase a more glorious Crown and yet by your calumnies after her death augment her glory in heaven Thirdly Basili con Doron How you Vsurped over King Iames her Son he himself hath registred to your no small infamy And albeit you did not prevaile against him yet you have payed home that deficiency with Vsury to his Son the late King Charles By this may be seen whither the Pope or yow do Vsurp more over the Civil Magistrate Lastly you have been great Vsurpers over mens Consciences as may be known to passe by all other instances by your furious vrgeing this same Covenant vpon many Protestants against their Consciences for which they give you the Title of Soule-Tyrants By all which may be seen that you are very guilty of the same Vsurpations which you falsly obiect to others SECTION V. That the Lawes of the Catholique Church are not Tyrannous nor her doctrin concerning the Scriptures and office of Christ erroneous AFTER you have renounced the Popes authority as vnlawfull then yow renounce his Lawes as Tyrannous and the doctrin of the Catholique Church concerning the Scriptures the office of Christ as Erroneous For thus you speak in your Covenant We detest all his Tyrannous Lawes made vpon indifferent things against our Christian libertie His Erroneous doctrin against the sufficiency of the written word the perfection of the Law the office of Christ and his blessed Evangel If you renounce all lawes made vpon indifferent things pretending that they are against your Christian libertie then you renounce the most part of all Lawes both Civil and Ecclesiastical which are ordinarly vpon such matters and in a certain manner restrain libertie Then you may renounce also the Lawes of the Apostles Acts 15. for