changed into Christ's Body For when the Church of Rome would oblige me to believe that what my Senses behold is not Bread and Wine but the true Body and Blood of Christ it is clear that it is contrary to them for my Eyes see them to be Bread and Wine I smell nothing but Bread and Wine I taste nothing but Bread and Wine and my Hands feel nothing but Bread and Wine Object We confess say they that it is contrary to Senses but Senses ought not to be Judges in the Mysteries of Faith I Answer That Jesus Christ made use of the Senses to prove to his Apostles that he was not a Spirit but a Body when he said unto them Handle me and see for a spirit has not flesh and bones as ye see me have Luke 24. 32. And if the Fathers disputing against the Marcionites and Euthicheens the former of which believed that Jesus Christ had not a true Body but only the appearance and the latter that the Substance of his Body was changed into the Godhead after his Resurrection they made use of the very words of Jesus Christ Handle me and see for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me have I may after their Example make use of my Senses in the Sacrament of the Eucharist and say to let the Church of Rome know that what they believe to be the true Body and Blood of Jesus Christ is true Bread and Wine Handle and see Object The reason say they why Christ's Body is not seen in the Sacrament is because he is there miraculously I Answer That if the Bread be turned into the very Body of Christ by a Miracle then should it appear visibly so For the Nature of every Miracle is to be visibly to the outward Eyes and Senses As when Jesus Christ turned Water into Wine it was visibly Wine when Moses Rod was turned into a Serpent it was visibly a Serpent And so if the Bread were turned into the very Body of Christ it should be visibly a Body if they will hold a Miracle in this Sacrament But St. Austin answereth that there is no Miracle in the Sacraments Honorem saith he tanquam Religiosa possunt habere stuporem tanquam mira non possunt Tom. 1. 8. c. 12. Thirdly I say that this Doctrine is contrary to Reason 1. Because it supposes the same Body in several places at one time A Body may be considered objectively at one time in several places but that it should be really or substantially in many places at one time altogether as the Church of Rome would have which teaches and obliges to believe that the Body of Jesus Christ is Substantially in Heaven and Earth and in every place where the Priest pleases to Consecrate or pronounce these words This is my Body this is my Blood and in every part of the Consecrated Bread so that if you divide it into a thousand Parts no bigger than the Point of a Needle he is there in every part wholly that is contrary to Reason For according to Reason a Body of six Foot in Dimension cannot occupy no more place than the Circumference of six Foot and though it may be successively in several places yet it cannot at the same time And these words of St. Peter Acts 3. 22. Whom the Heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things Prove my saying evidently for though he has a glorified Body yet he retains the Nature and Property of a true Body still which cannot be but in one place at once And so saith St. Austin in Joan. Tract 3. Corpus Domini in quo resurrexit uno tantùm loco esse potest 2. This Doctrine is contrary to Reason because it makes Accidents exist without any Subject It is the Nature of Accidents to be joyned to their Subject As for Example It is the nature of the whiteness of a Stone to be joyned to the Stone so that if you destroy the Nature or Substance of this Stone you must of necessity destroy its Whiteness and other its Accidents And according to the Opinion of Modern Philosophers who say that Accidents are nothing else than Matter modified that is to say as it is disposed to this or that Fashion it follows that Matter cannot be destroyed without its Accidents being destroyed likewise with it It is the Opinion of Iraeneus who saith That we cannot consider Water without its Humidity nor Fire without Heat nor a Stone without Hardness these things being so United that the one cannot be without the other but that they must exist together Nevertheless those of the Church of Rome teach the contrary for in their Mystery of Transubstantiation they put Accidents without any Subject they put Colour and Quantity without Matter Smell and Taste without Substance Hardness and Humidity without there being any thing that is hard and moist I may then very well say and affirm that this Doctrin is contrary to Reason Fourthly I say that it is contrary to the Holy Fathers for St. Chrysostome Epist ad Caesar saith That the mystical Symbols do not lose their proper Nature but remain in their first Substance as the Body of Christ has preserved the true Substance of a Body when it was Glorified And Writing to the People of Antioch Hom. 6. he saith That God gives us things Spiritual under things Visible and Natural and that Bread being Sanctified is delivered from the Name of Bread and 〈◊〉 exalted to the Name of the Lord's Body although the nature of the Bread still remains Origines in Matth. 15. speaks thus The Bread that is Sanctified with the Word of God as touching the material Substance thereof goes into the Belly and forth again like other Meats Justin Martyr and Iraeneus Bishop of Lyon say That our Flesh is nourished with the Cup which is the Blood of Christ and is increased with the Bread which is the Body of Christ These words do destroy those of the Roman Church who because they believe that the Bread and Wine are changed into the Body and Blood of Christ are forced to say that our Body is not nourished with the Bread and Wine but with their Accidents or by some Substance that God Createth Tertullian L. 4. Advers Marci c 40. saith that Jesus Christ took the Bread and giving it to his Disciples made it his Body saying this is my Body That is to say as Tertullian himself explains it the Figure of my Body St. Austin Cont. Adam c. 12. is of that Opinion The Lord saith he doubted not to say this is my Body when he gave but the Signs of his Body And in Psal 8. He saith That the admirable Patience of Christ admitted Judas to the Banquet wherein he delivered to his Disciples the Figure of his Body and Blood And in the third Book of the Christian Doctrine he speaks thus When the Lord saith if ye do not eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink his Blood you
shall have no life in you He seems to command a Wickedness and a great Crime therefore it is a Figure whereby it is injoyned unto us to think upon our Lord's Passion and remember that his Flesh was Crucified and Wounded for us He saith also in an Epistâ—â— to Boniface That the Sacraments are called by the name of the things they represent The Sacrament then of the Lord's Supper may be taken either conjunctively with what it represents and in this Sense it is said to be the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ or separately from the things which it signifies and in this Sense it is the Type the Symbole or Figure of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ and that is to be seen in the Affairs of the World as when we say that the Letters which are brought wherein is contained the Pardon which the King gives to a Criminal are the King's Pardon Theodoret Dial. 2. saith That the mystical Signs after Consecration do not depart from their Nature but they abide still in their former Substance Figure and Form and may be both seen and felt as before And Dial. 1. he saith That Jesus Christ has honoured the visible Symbols with the Name of his Body and Blood not in changing their Nature but in adding Grace to it The Pope Gelasius in lib. de duab nat advers nest Eutich saith That the substance or nature of Bread doth not cease and verily there is the Image and Similitude of the Body and Blood of Christ celebrated in the action of the Mysteries of the Body of Christ Baronius An. 648. N. 15. and 869. N. 3. saith That Theodorus Bishop of Rome for the Condemnation of Pyrrhus and that the Council held at Constantinople for the Condemnation of Photius took the Consecrated Cup and poured Ink into it and having dipp'd their Pens into these two mixt Liquors they subscribed the depositions of these Men. If they had believ'd that the Consecrated Wine was the Blood of Jesus Christ as now the Church of Rome believes is it credible that they would have mixt Ink with it and dipp'd their Pens with it No it is not to be believed for the Church of Rome would not do so now but would believe they should commit an horrible Sacrilege Moreover if the holy Fathers had believed Transubstantiation that is the conversion of Bread and Wine into the true Body and Blood of Jesus Christ they would not have failed to instruct us that a Body is under a point that it has Accidents without any Subject and that it is after the manner of a Spirit They would have taught us what nourishes our Bodies in receiving of this Sacrament and from whence come the worms which are ingendred in the Bread They would have told us what kind of action it is which makes Christ Exist under the Species of Bread and Wine whether it was a Reproduction or Adduction or Ubification I say they would have taught us all these things since the Church of Rome gives now a particular instruction in it Now since they were as Learned as the present Doctors of the Church of Rome are at this time and since they said nothing of it it is a certain sign that this Doctrin was contrary to their Opinion And for the confirmation of what I say is that when the Fathers disputed against Idolaters they confuted them with these words Why do you adore what your Hands have made and which has neither Speech nor Motion but is subject to Fire and to Corruption and to be stolen away by Thieves This was the Argument they made use of to prove that they were Idolaters If at that time they had believed Transubstantiation the Idolaters would not have failed to retort their Argument and since we find they have not retorted it it is a certain sign that this Doctrin was contrary to the holy Fathers The Origine of Transubstantiation was a Dream of Paschasius a Monk of Corbis and Innocent the Third in the Year of our Lord 1215. set it up amongst the Articles of Faith in the Council of Latran So many years were past before Transubstantiation was named Then the Pope set it on foot and so it came out from Rome and for want of the holy Scripture of Reason and holy Fathers to maintain it they have since defended and do still defend it at this day with Sword and Fire It is then manifest that the Bread Consecrated by the Popish Priests is not really changed into the Body of Jesus Christ and therefore that the Church of Rome is Idolater since in Worshiping a bit of Bread baked upon the Fire in Praying to it in carrying it in Procession in shewing it to the People in their Mass in offering Frankincense unto it in bowing before it at the Ringing of a small Bell or Cymbal as the People did before the Image of Nebuchadnezzar and taking it for their God She Worships the Creature for the Creator Object We believe that what we do Worship is God and that therefore hinders us from being Idolaters I Answer If this Reason were good and sufficient the Heathens which did Worship Jupiter had not been Idolaters because they believed him to be the true God And yet the Church of Rome maintains that all those who did Worship Jupiter were Idolaters It is then true that to Worship as a God that which is not God tho' it be taken for a God is a gross and flat Idolatry and therefore that the Church of Rome is Idolater because she Worships for her God a bit of Bread which is not God although she believe and take it for her God 2dly I say that she is Idolater because she makes graven Images of the Godhead and bows before them and because she kneels down before those of Saints prays to them kisses and serves them offers Frankincense unto them Crowns them with Flowers Cloaths them with Fine Garments and Orders as it may be seen in the II. Council of Nice that they shall not only be placed in Churches Chappels and Oratories where the Divine Majesty is Worshiped but shall be also Honoured and Worshiped Which is directly contrary to these words of Samuel Prepare your hearts to the Lord and serve him only and to those of Christ in St. Matthew Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him only shalt thou serve as also to those of God in the XX Chapter of Exodus Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven Image nor any likeness of any thing that is in Heaven above or that is in Earth beneath or that is in the Waters under the Earth Thou shalt not bow down thy self to them nor serve them Objection This forbidding say they is against Idols and not against Images and when we bow to them and serve them we do not render them a Worship of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 only First I Answer That these words Nor any likeness of any thing
ROME TYRANNICAL Idolatrous and Heretical The Origine of Her Errors WITH An Answer to Her Objections Also Three short Sermons of Repentance against Swearing and Drunkenness Preached to the Ships Company before Admiral Aylmer and several Captains By Peter Berault Chaplain in His Majesty's Ships the Kent and Victory in the Late War Gal. 3. 1. O Foolish who has bewitched you that ye should not obey the Truth London Printed by W. Redmayne for the Author 1698. TO His Excellency The Right Honourable John L. Summers Lord Baron of Evesham High Chancellor of England one of the Lords of His Majesty's most Honourable Privy Council and one of the Lords Justices of England during the Absence of His Majesty May it Please your Excellency ROME who in former Ages was both Holy and Orthodox â—s now corrupted not only in Her Manners but also in Her Doctrine Yet She is so Confident as to accuse of Impiety and Heresie all the Protestant Churches of England Holland Germany and other Countries and peremptorily affirm unless they be of Her Communion they must never expect to be sav'd And so I may say without any passion that She is like those Lewd and Naughty Women who quarrelling with those that are Honest do immediately call them infamous and opprobrious Names lest the same should be justly retorted upon Themselves I do not here intend to speak of the Vices of the Church of Rome since most of 'em to our Shame are too frequently found amongst us I will only make mention of Her Tyrannies Idolatries and Heresies which thanks be to God are not yet seen in Reformed Churches and were the true Reasons why I left my Native Country and came hither to live and end my days I know a different Construction will be made by the Papists as also by some Protestants for as St. Paul being newly converted to the Christian Religion was not only hated by the Jews some of them making an Oath they would neither eat nor drink till they had kill'd him but even was suspected by the Apostles themselves who were for some time afraid to converse with him So when a Man leaves the Errors of the Church of Rome and embraces the Truths of the Protestant Religion then all the Zealots of his former Opinion do presently Anathematize him and those who were his most intimate Friends become his greatest Enemies And that which most aggravates his Trouble is that the Protestants amongst whom he came to secure himself do commonly doubt of the Sincerity of his Conversion and are very shy of putting Confidence in him He that has powerful Enemies stands in need of a mighty Protection and this is the reason My Lord why I do here under God implore yours which I do not in the least question since you are an Enemy to the Romish Errors and have a great Love for the Truth of the Reformed Religion and no less Tenderness and Affection for them that couragiously defend it The Three Sermons I have lately presented to your Excellency were so kindly receiv'd that I thought I was obliged upon the first opportunity to make some acknowledgment to your Excellency by dedicating this small Treatise I should not offer you a Present of so little value had I not this to encourage me that it is not the Gift but the Intention in giving which finds acceptance with Great and Generous Minds I do not here intend to attempt an enumeration of all your excellent Qualities I will only say that every one admires your solid Judgment extraordinary Prudence and wise Conduct in the high Places you are in as well as in all the Affairs you undertake either Publick or Private that England doth find in you both Equity and Integrity in the Administration of Justice and that our very Prudent and most Generous King William having chosen you amongst so many Learned Lawyers to be Chancellor of England one of the Lords of his most Honourable Privy-Council and one of the Lords Justices of England during his Absence is a certain Proof of your Merits and the best Commendation of your eminent Virtues These Virtues My Lord will render your Name Immortal to Posterity and will leave a lively Idea of your Renown which will serve to influence your Example to all succeeding Ages I abhor Flattery but I love Justice and in all that I have said here to your Excellency every body is obliged to declare or with Silence give their Consent that I only give Honour to whom Honour is due I ask your Excellency's Pardon for the Liberty I have taken I pray God Almighty that you may live long and healthful in the high Places wherein you so worthily acquit yourself I wish you every thing that may contribute to make you intirely Happy in this World and when in the other you are call'd at the Judgment-Seat of our Lord Jesus Christ you may hear these comfortable words Come you Blessed of my Father inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the Foundation of the World It is and shall be as long as I live the earnest Prayer of him that is with Sincerity and Respect Your Excellency's Most Humble Most Obedient and Most Affectionate Servant P. Berault A MON SEIGNEUR SUMMERS CHANCELIER D'ANGLETERRE EPIGRAMME SAge Juste Summers ta profonde Science Jointe à ta grande Probité Demande que par Equité Châcun par tout te rende Homage Reverence On dit que la Justice que la Verité Ne sont plus icy sur la Terre Il est Faux car dans l'Angleterre Summers par un beau Don de la Divinité Possede l'une l'autre en leur Integrité P. Berault ROME Tyrannous Idolater and Heretick THE Church of Rome may be now compared to the Image of Nebuchadnezzar for as his Head was of fine Gold his Breast and Arms of Silver his Belly and his Thighs of Brass his Legs of Iron and his Feet part of Iron and part of Clay So when we look upon the Ancient Church of Rome She was then as pure as Gold But when we come to the following Ages we do find in her so notable a change that we do now see in her an Iron-Age and quite different from the former I do not here intend to imitate several Authors who even when they compose but a small Book are wont to make a long Preface They build as the Proverb saith the Door bigger than the House They do promise much and perform but little That I may not be guilty of the fault which I do here impute to others I immediatly enter into my Subject and prove per Argumentum ad Hominem that is by the very Principles of the Church of Rome that She is Tyrannous Idolater and Heretick 1. I shew that She is Cruel and Tyrannous for all those that contrary to the Doctrine of Jesus Christ and Law of Nature do persecute Men and cause them to die meerly because they are not of their Opinion and
Religion are Cruel and Tyrannous The Church of Rome contrary to the Doctrine of Jesus Christ and Law of Nature does persecute Men and cause them to die meerly because they are not of her Opinion and Religion Therefore She is Cruel and Tyrannous The Major Proposition of this Argument is true as for the Minor which is in question I prove it thus It is evident that the Roman Church does persecute Men and cause them to die meerly because they are not of her Opinion and Religion The rigorous Laws of her Inquisition whereby She did persecute an innumerable number of Men and cause them to die meerly because they were not of Her Opinion and Religion is a convincing proof of what I say And that it is contrary to the Doctrine of Jesus Christ and Law of Nature to persecute Men and cause them to die because they are not of our Opinion and Religion I shall endeavour to prove it evidently 1. I say that this Doctrine of the Roman Church by Persecuting Men and causing them to Die meerly because they are not of her Opinion and Religion is contrary to Christ's Doctrine For Jesus Christ going to Worship at Hierusalem the Samaritans who were of another Religion refusing to receive him in his Journey two of his Disciples James and John presently took Fire and out of a well-meaning Zeal for their Master and of the true God and of Hierusalem the true place of Worship asked leave to dispatch out of the way these Enemies of God and Christ and the true Religion And to this end they desired our Saviour to give them Power to call for Fire from Heaven to consume them Jesus Christ seeing them in this heat which seem'd to be well-meaning did very calmly but severely reprove this Temper of theirs saying The Son of Man is not come to destroy Mens lives but to save them Luke 9. 56. You own your selves to be my Disciples but do you consider what Spirit now Acts and Governs you Not that surely which I do teach you which is not furious Persecuting and destructive Spirit but mild gentle and aiming at nothing but to save Men's Lives even of our greatest Enemies This Spirit of Persecuting and Destroying one another about Religion is contrary to the Intention for which I came into the World For I am not come to destroy Men's Lives but to save them Ye ought to love one another even your greatest Enemies and far from giving you leave to Persecute them I forbid you to hate those who Persecute you If I would destroy my Enemies and the Hereticks that are not of my Religion could I not do it by the Power which I have received from my Father and could I not obtain of him a Legion of Angels to destroy them But my Intention is not that Religion should be propagated in this cruel Method but by Meekness and Perswasion I will have Men to be drawn to the Profession of it by the Bonds of Love and Conviction If any Man saith he will be my Disciple if any Man will come after me And when his Disciples were leaving him he does not as they do in Rome and Spain set up an Inquisition to Torture and Punish them for their Defection from the Faith only says will ye also go away And in imitation of this blessed Pattern the Christian Church continued to speak and act for several Ages This was also the Language of the Holy Fathers and the Style of Councils they said that the Christian Law doth not avenge it self by the Sword Lex nova non se vindicat ultore gladio and that we must not offer Violence to no Man to compel him to Faith Nemini ad credendum vim inferre And Gregorius ad Episc Constant Writes thus Nova inaudita praedicatio quae verberibus exigit Fidem This sort of Preaching is new and strange which extorts Faith by Whips and Scourges If Hereticks were to be Persecuted and Destroyed the Samaritans who were true Hereticks and had affronted our Saviour himself the Honour of God and of Religion ought certainly to be punished And to shew the contrary Jesus Christ does severely rebuke his Disciples that had a great mind to destroy them saying unto them Ye know not what manner of Spirit ye are of and he gives them such a Reason as ought in all Differences of Religion how wide soever they be to deter Men from this Temper for saith he The Son of Man is not come to destroy Men's Lives but to save them What can then the Church of Rome plead for her Persecution to Men for the cause of Religion which James and John might not much better have pleaded for themselves against the Samaritans Does she practice these Severities out of a Zeal for the Honour of God of Christ and the true Religion Upon these very Accounts it was that James and John would have called for Fire from Heaven to have destroyed the Samaritans Is she perswaded that those whom she Persecutes are Hereticks and that no Punishment can be too great for such Offenders So James and John were perswaded of the Samaritans and upon much better Grounds than those of the Church of Rome for Jesus Christ does excuse them saying Ye know not what manner of Spirit ye are of But in the Church of Rome and especially in the Governing part of it this Excuse cannot be brought for a good Plea for the Christian Religion which they do Profess forbids them Persecution And it is no more evident in the New Testament that Jesus Christ was born died and rose up for Sinners than it is manifest that Christians ought not to Persecute one another for the Mis-belief of any Article of Revealed Religion much less when these Articles are invented by Men or are imposed as only Ceremonies I know that those that live in the Roman Church are not all of this Opinion that all Hereticks or those that are not of their Opinion ought to be Persecuted and put to Death I knew some of them in France which were of a better and more Christian Principles yet it is too true that this hellish Doctrine is taught and practised among them Their several and frequent Conspiracies in England their cruel and horrible Massacres in Ireland France and other Countries as we may read in the History their severe and damnable Inquisition in Italy and Spain their rigorous Persecutions towards our poor Brethren of the Reformed Church in France which was these several years and is at present 〈◊〉 extreme that I should be toâ— long if I would write it down in this Treatise and the very words of the Council of Laâ—â—â—n are a certain Proof of what I say If a Temporal Lord saith this Council be required and warned by the Church to Purge his Country from this foul Heresie does neglect it let him be Excommunicated by the Metropolitan Bishop and from that time let him Denounce his Subjects discharged of their Allegiance and let him give
his Country to be Possessed by the Catholicks And in the next words several Priviledges and great Indulgences are granted to all Men that shall endeavour to destroy the Hereticks 2. I make it appear that this Doctrine of Persecuting and Destroying those which are not of our Opinion and Religion is contrary to the Law of Nature For this is the Law of Nature As ye would that Men should do unto you so do you unto them We would not be Persecuted and Destroyed for our Opinion and Religion therefore we ought not to Persecute and Destroy others But some will object we have a Law and by this Law they ought to be Persecuted and Destroyed I Answer if that were a sufficient Reason to warrant Persecution we could not blame the Jews when they Crucified Jesus Christ for they said They had a Law and that by this Law he ought to die And we could not blame Queen Mary who by a Law in her days caused so many to suffer Martyrdom nor could we now blame the Papists who by their Laws in France Italy and Spain establish Cruelty and Oppression and as so many Nebuchadnezzars give Order that all Persons that will not Worship their God of Bread or refuse to bow before their Images or will not believe what they believe be Persecuted Tortured and put to Death by the most cruel Torments If any Man be found a Plotter or breed Sedition and Disturbance in a Kingdom if he contrive any Evil against the King or Government he ought to be Punish'd according to the Law of this Kingdom But if he only be found Erring concerning some Articles of Religion he ought to be Taught and Admonish'd by the Bishop and afterwards rejected from the Congregation if he will not be perswaded But he ought not to be cast into Prison nor deprived of his Estate nor sent to the Gallies nor Condemned to Die For this Cruelty as I have already shewed is not only contrary to the Doctrine of Jesus Christ but to the Law of Nature also And therefore it is evident that the Church of Rome is Cruel and Tyrannous since contrary to Christ's Doctrine and the Law of Nature she Persecutes and puts Men to Death meerly because they are not of her Opinion and Religion The Origine or the Author of this hellish Doctrine was a Dominican Fryar or rather the King Nebuchadnezzar for as he that would not Worship his Image was cast into a fiery Furnace so those that will not Worship the God of Bread of the Papists and bow to their Images are Condemn'd to be burnt alive Secondly I shew that the Roman Church is Idolater All those that do Worship the Creature for the Creator are Idolaters The Church of Rome does Worship the Creature for the Creator Therefore she is an Idolater The Major Proposition of this Argument is true and is granted by all Divines As for the Minor which is in question I prove it thus The Church of Rome does Worship a bit of Bread baked upon the Fire and takes it for her God therefore she does Worship the Creature for the Creator therefore she is an Idolater That the Roman Church Worships a bit of Bread baked upon the Fire and takes it for her God this does clearly appear since she believes that the Bread being Consecrated by her Priests is really Transubstantiated or changed into the true Body of Jesus Christ and renders unto it the very same Adoration that we render to the Godhead And that it is false that this Bread Consecrated by her Priests be really changed into the true Body of Jesus Christ I will make it evidently appear because this Doctrine of theirs is contrary to the Holy Scripture to Senses to Reason and to the Holy Fathers 1. I say that it is contrary to the Holy Scripture that the Bread Consecrated by her Priests be really changed into the true Body of Jesus Christ and consequently be here still upon Earth for Jesus Christ being about to leave the World and his Disciples afflicting themselves upon this account he doth not comfort them by saying I leave you my Body under the Species of Bread and Wine but he tells them The Poor ye have with you but me ye have not always I came forth from the Father and am come into the World again I leave the World and go to the Father He tells them that his Father will Protect them will send them his holy Spirit and that he is going to prepare them a place in Heaven He tells them of his intercession and of his second coming to Judge both the quick and the dead and that the Heavens must receive him until the time of the restitution of all things John 12. 8 16 28. Acts 3. 21. and in the 24th Chapter of St. Mat. 26 Verse it is written that a time will come when they shall say Lo here is Christ or there behold he is in the secret Chambers and that we must not believe it By these words it appears clearly that it is contrary to the holy Scripture that the Body of Jesus Christ be yet here upon Earth and consequently that the Bread Consecrated by the Priests be really changed into his Body Object Jesus Christ saith the Roman Church took Bread and gave Thanks and said Take ye and eat this is my body which is broken for you Matth. 26. 1 Cor. 11. 24. Jesus Christ saith the Roman Church is true he has said in giving the Bread This is my Body therefore this Bread ought to be changed into the true Body of Jesus Christ therefore he is here still upon Earth And to shew she saith that it is not the Figure of Jesus Christ and these words This is my Body are not Metaphorical because he said which is broken for you Now it is not the Figure of Jesus Christ which was broken for us but his true Body Answer It is certain that Jesus Christ is true and though he said This is my Body which is broken for you and that it was the true Body of Jesus Christ which was broken for us and not the Figure yet that doth not hinder these words from being Metaphorical and to let you see it clearly observe my Reason This is my Body which was broken for you is that is to say signifieth or representeth As you may see in several other Texts of the holy Scripture as for Example in this The Rock was Christ where this word was means did signifie or represent Which is broken for you the Relative which does not serve to shew the Transubstantiation or that the Bread is changed into the true Body of Jesus Christ because it is related to this Word Body and not to the Proposition This is my Body It has a relation to the Attribute and not to the Subject That which hinders not this Proposition from being Metaphorical no more than this the Rock was Christ. For if the Evangelist had added which was Crucified or which was raised
that is in Heaven above c. signifie the one and the other I mean both Idols and Images Secondly I say that besides this distinction of a Worship of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is new and not found in the holy Scripture the Roman Church according to her own Confession and the Doctrin of her Angelick Doctor Thomas Aquinas Worships the Cross with a Worship of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This Truth is especially seen upon Good Friday at which time ye may see that not only the Monks Priests Bishops Cardinals and the Pope himself bow and kneel down before it and kiss it all Singing Ecce lignum Crucis venite adoremus but that all the common People imitate them also and even that Princes and Kings lay down before it their Crowns and Scepters They confess also that they do Worship the Images of God the Father with a Worship of Latria and likewise those of the Son and the Holy Ghost Objection This Worship say they that they do render to the Cross and Images of the Godhead and Saints is Relative it is not related to the Cross and Images but to God and Saints and that is the reason say they why they are not Idolaters I Answer That these words of Samuel Prepare your hearts unto the Lord and serve him only and that those of Jesus Christ in St. Matthew Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him only shalt thou serve do quite destroy all these distinctions of the Church of Rome concerning the Relative Worship of Latria and Dulia For that it is a flat Idolatry to Worship God in any Image I evidently shew it by the Children of Israel when they made the golden Calf to be a Representation of God Exod. 32. For the Text shews that it was a flat Idolatry for which many of them were Plagu'd and Punish'd And yet their Worship was Relative for their meaning was to Worship the true God in the Calf for they were not so simple as to think or believe that that dead Idol or Image was God The Idolatry then of the Church of Rome by Worshiping the Cross and the Images of the Godhead and by bowing down before the Images of Saints Martyrs Apostles and kissing them and imploring their assistance and offering Frankincense unto them is as gross and wicked as theirs was The Origine of the Worshiping mages proceeds from Irenea Empress of Constantinople about the year 790. She called a Council at Nice wherein by Intreagues and Threatnings she did so prevail that it was concluded we ought to Worship Images notwithstanding the Oppositions that were then made in all Parts For the Emperor Carolus Magnus did at the same time call a Council at Francfort wherein that of Nice was Condemn'd and the Decree of Worshiping Images made void But because they remained still in Churches this Superstition of Worshiping them to which the Ignorant People was always inclin'd got at last the uppermost It is then true as I have clearly made it appear that the Church of Rome is Idolater Thirdly I shew that she is Heretick for all those that are obstinate in their Errors are Hereticks The Church of Rome is obstinate in her Errors therefore she is Heretick The Major Proposition is true and all Divines are of that Opinion As for the Minor which is in question I prove it thus All those that refuse to obey the Holy Scripture in several Points of Faith and Practice are obstinate in their Errors The Roman Church refuses to obey the Holy Scripture in several Articles of Faith and Practice Therefore she is obstinate in her Errors The Major Proposition is true also and it is the consent of all Divines As for the Minor behold as I prove it All those that do add to the Holy Scripture and diminish from it several Articles both of Faith and Practice refuse to obey the Holy Scripture for Deut. 4. 2. It is commanded us neither to add to the Word of God nor to diminish from it And St. Paul 1 Cor. 4. 6. Forbids to think above that which is Written But the Church of Rome adds to the Word of God and diminishes from it several Articles both of Faith and Practice Therefore she refuses to obey the Word of God therefore she is obstinate in her Errors therefore she is Heretick That the Church of Rome does add to the Word of God and diminish from it several Articles both of Faith and Practice is that I shall endeavour to shew evidently 1. I say that she adds to the Word of God several Articles of Faith which she obliges to believe under the Pain of Damnation For though it be manifested in several places of the Holy Scripture that Jesus Christ is our Saviour Redeemer and Mediator that there is no Salvation in any other and that there is no other name under Heaven whereby we must be saved Acts 4. 12. That we have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the Righteous and that he is the Propitiation for our Sins 1 John 2. 1. And that there is one God and one Mediator between God and Men the Man Christ Jesus Tim. 2. 5. Nevertheless those of the Church of Rome call the blessed Virgin the She-Redeemer of the World as it may be seen in Bellarmin c. 4. of Indulgences And in the Litanies and Hymns Composed in her Honour they call her the Queen of Heaven Mother of God and their Hope and give her such Titles as belong to God only They implore the help of Saints they put their Trust and Confidence in them and take them for their Advocates and Mediators as we may see in several Prayers wherein they speak thus O great Saint in whom I put my Trust and Confidence Pray for me miserable Sinner c. And though Jesus Christ Teaching his Disciples how they ought to Pray bid them to call upon his Father and say Our Father which art in Heaven And although the Almighty spake thus by his Prophet Isaiah 45. 21. There is no God else beside me a Just God and a Saviour there is none beside me Yet those of the Church of Rome will have us to implore the help of Saints to trust in them and take them for our Advocates and Mediators as it is declared in the Council of Trent Sess 25. It is then evident that this Doctrine being not found in the Holy Scripture they add to the Word of God and think above that which is Written Object We Pray say they and beg the Favour of the Saints as we pray a Friend at Court to Request a Kindness from His Majesty I Answer they ought not to do so for it is Written We have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the Righteous And we do not read that any other is our Advocate If the King's Son should say when ye will ask my Father any Favour come ye unto me and not unto another if after this Declaration some body should
after his Death into Hell and there was tormented and that Lazarus's Soul he being Dead was carried into Abraham's Bosome a place of Joy and Comfort To the Thief which was Executed with Christ at his Passion and believed in him Jesus Christ answered This day shalt thou be with me in Paradise Which shews that the Souls of the Faithful never come into Purgatory-fire to be burnt and tormented for all their Sins are forgiven and consequently the Punish ment incident to the same is forgiven also and their Souls pass from Death to Life that is they go to Heaven Blessed are the dead that dye in the Lord from henceforth they rest from their labors and their works follow them If from the time of their Death they have Blessedness and Rest then they are not in any Purgatory-fire to be burnt and tormented The first place saith St. Austin Hyp. L. 5. the Faith of the Catholicks doth by divine Authority believe is the Kingdom of Heaven the second is Hell a third place we are utterly ignorant of neither can we find such a one in the holy Scriptures And in his Enchiridion ad Laur. c. 67. He saith That those that believe a Purgatory-fire are much deceived and that through a humane Conceit Know ye saith he de van secul 1. c. That when the Soul is separated from its Body she is immediately placed in Paradise for her good Works or cast into Hell because of her Sins Object The Primitive Church say they did pray for the Dead as Tertullian de Corona Militis doth confess Therefore it is a good proof that she believed a Purgatory I Answer That when the Primitive Church did pray for the Dead she did not believe they were in any place of Torments nor that there was a Purgatory She only believed that the Souls of the Faithful should only enjoy the sight of God after the day of Resurrection She prayed then for the filling up of their Glory she prayed to be joyned with them and be partakers of the Resurrection of the Faithful She prayed that Jesus Christ would hasten their Resurrection and she prayed also for the Patriarchs the Prophets the Apostles and Martyrs that God would be pleased to increase their Glory but she did not implore their assistance nor believe a Purgatory as it is related by Justin Martyr 9. 60. and 76. Iren. L. 5. Tertul. Cont. Marc. L. 4. c 13. The Origine of Purgatory is Virgil in the sixth Book of his Eneids wherein he saith that the Souls before they enjoy Blessedness are differently purged in different places as you may see in these following Verses Ergo exercentur poenis veterumque malorum Supplicia expendunt aliae panduntur inanes Suspensae ad ventos aliis sub gurgite vasto Infectum eluitur Scelus aut exuritur igni c. Thirdly I shew that the Church of Rome adds to the Word of God when she teaches that the general Councils and Popes are Infallible that the latter have Authority or Pre-eminence over all other Bishops that they have power to Depose Kings and Princes from their Thrones and are above them for this Doctrine is not found in the holy Scriptures 1. I say that their general Councils and Popes are not Infallible for St. Austin Tom. 6. l. 2. cont Donat. plainly teaches that God alone and the holy Scriptures are Infallible or cannot Err. The general Councils saith he which are gathered of all the Christian World are often corrected the former by the latter when by any tryal of things that is opened which was shut and that is known which was hidden If a general Council may be corrected as saith St. Austin therefore it may err Wherefore he speaks thus to Maximian Bishop of the Arians Neither ought I to alledge the Council of Nice nor thou the Council of Arimini to take advantage thereby for neither am I bound nor held by the Authority of this nor thou of that Set Matter with Matter Cause with Cause or Reason with Reason try the Matter by the Authority of the Scriptures l. 3. c. 4. The Council of Constantinople condemned the setting up Images in the Churches and the Council of Nice Act. 4. ordered afterwards they should be set up One of these Councils being contrary to the other must needs be Erroneous And that is granted by it self when in a set Form of Prayer which is appointed to be said after the conclusion of every Council they pray that God would spare their Ignorance and pardon their Errors de ord celeb conc The Pope himself may Err for Pope Innocentius doth teach lib. ad Bonif. cont Epist Pelag. c. 4. That young Children cannot be saved except they receive the Baptism of Christ and also the Communion of his Body and Blood And Pope Gelasius Comperimus Consecra de distinct 2. did decree That all they should be Excommunicated which would receive the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper but in one kind But this Doctrine is now taxed for an Error by all Papists and the Council of Trent Sess 21. Can 1. made a Decree contrary to the Doctrine of the Pope Gelasius If any body saith this Council assures that all and every Faithful are obliged by God's Commandment to receive one and the other species in the holy Sacrament of the Lord's Supper let him be Anathema Therefore it is evident that the Popes may Err And this may be seen in their own Decrees wherein it is written That they are to be judged of none except they be found erring from the Faith part 1. cap. dist 40. cap. si Papa Whereby it appears that they thought their Popes might Err in matter of Faith or else that exception was put in vain For all Men are subject to Error all Men are worse in their Words and Sinners in their Works There is none True and Infallible but God and his holy Scriptures because they are inspired of him He is the God of Truth he cannot Lie Tit. 1 2. 2. I say that the Popes have no Authority or Pre-eminence over the other Bishops though those of the Church of Rome stifly holding the contrary give them the Title of Universal Bishops and call them Gods on Earth Kings of Kings and Lords of Lords as saith Albanus de potest pap part 1. n. 22. And Antonius part 3. n. 22. And upon the Triumphant Arch Erected in the honour of Sixte the Fourth it was written Oratio vocis Mundi moderaris hâ—â— henas Et meritò in Terris diceris esse Deus But this Doctrine being not found in the holy Scriptures it is consequently manifest they do add to the Word of God Objection The Popes say they have Authority or Pre-eminence over all other Bishops because they are Successors to St. Peter and St. Peter had such a Pre-eminence and Authority over the rest of the Apostles because Jesus Christ told him Thou art Peter and upon this Rock I will build my Church I grant that Christ said to
they are deceived for they ought to remember that the Keys given were the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven and consequently by this Authority of the Keys he cannot meddle with Terrestrial Kingdoms to shut out those that are in them And they ought also to remember that he has no more Authority by the Power of his Keys or of Binding and Loosing than any other Bishop for the Keys were given to all the rest of the Apostles as well as to St. Peter For Christ speaks thus Receive ye the Holy Ghost whosoever Sins ye remit they are remitted unto them and whosoever Sins ye retain they are retained It is then manifest that it is contrary to the Will of Jesus Christ that any Minister of the Gospel should claim Authority above another for they are all indifferently joyned in one Commission and consequently have all equal Authority And therefore the Pope has no more Authority by the Vertue of his Keys than any other Bishop that is to say none at all to Depose Kings and Princes from their Thrones His Duty is rather to obey them and teach the same Obedience to others as the Apostles of Christ did For in the first Epistle of St. Peter 2. 13. It is Written thus Submit your selves to every Ordinance of Men for the Lord's sake whether it be to the King as Supreme And St. Paul to the Romans 3. 1. saith Let every Soul be Subject to the higher Powers And Jesus Christ himself said that his Kingdom was not of this World He refused to be made a King he payed Tribute to Caesar and commanded others to do the same If then Christ were Subject to Caesar is it not a great shame to the Pope to exalt himself above Caesar I mean above Kings Some Papists do Answer that he got this Sovereign Authority by Donation from the Emperor Constantine but let it be granted that some Christian Emperor was so foolish as to give his Empire which is neither likely nor credible yet I say it was not Lawful for him to take it if he will be a true Minister of the Gospel or lawful Successor of the Apostles For Christ has expresly forbidden his Apostles and in them all the Ministers of the Gospel all such Dominions when he told them Matth. 20. 26. Ye know that the Princes of the Gentiles exercise Dominion over them but it shall not be so among you Which words being prohibitory shew that they must not Reign like Kings of Nations but must serve in the Church and be diligent in the great Charge that Jesus Christ has laid upon them It is then evident by what I have said here before that the Pope has no Authority over Kings and Princes and is not above them This may be seen by these Words of Tertullian in Apolog. We Honour saith he the Emperor as the next Man to God and Inferior to god only And in another place he saith that the King iâ— the second to God the first next after God and before and over all Men. Optatus Cont. Parmen l. 13. saith that there is none above the Emperor but God only which made the Emperor And St. Chrysostome ad Pop. Anthio hom 2. saith He has no equal on Earth And Gregory Bishop of Rome himself affirms that Power is given to Princes from Heaven not only over Souldiers but Priests also Which is confirmed by St. Peter when he saith in his first Epistle 2. 13. Submit your selves to every Ordinance for the Lord's sake whether it be to the King as Supream It is then evident that the Popes are not Infallible that they have no Authority to Depose Kings and Princes from their Thrones and that they are not above them And therefore that the Church of Rome does add to the Word of God when she holds and teaches such a Doctrine Secondly I say and shall endeavour to make it appear that the Roman Church diminishes from the Word of God several Points of Faith and Practice 1. Because she Prays Sings and gives Thanks to God in the Church in an unknown Tongue 2. Because she forbids the Reading of the Holy Scriptures to the common People 3. Because in the Lord's Supper she takes away the Cup from them and from the Clerks that are not Priests 4. Because she forbids every one to eat Flesh in certain Time and Days and all Priests Monks and Nuns to Marry 1. I say that the Roman Church diminishes from the Word of God when she Prays Sings and gives thanks to God in the Church in a Tongue unknown to the common People For St. Paul will not only have us to speak in the Church with a known Tongue but also he shews the Confusion of them that speak in an unknown Tongues Except Pipe or Harp saith he 1 Cor. 14. give distinction in the sound how shall it be known what is Piped or Harped If the Trumpet gives an uncertain sound who shall prepare himself to the Battle So likewise you except ye utter by the Tongue Words easie to be understood how shall it be known what is spoken For ye shall speak into the Air. Therefore if I know not the meaning of the Voice I shall be unto him that speaketh a Barbarian and he that speaketh shall be a Barbarian unto me Object St. Paul saith the Church of Rome thereby speaketh concerning Sermons and consequently doth not speak against her because she Preaches in a known Tongue I answer that St. Paul speaks concerning Prayers Psalms and Thanksgivings If I Pray saith he in an unknown Tongue my Spirit Prayeth but my Understanding is Unfruitful What is it then I will Pray with the Spirit and I will Pray with the Understanding also I will Sing with the Spirit and I will Sing with the Understanding also else when thou shalt bless with the Spirit 〈◊〉 shall â—e that occupyeth the Room of the Unlearned say Amen at thy giving of Thanks seeing he understands not what thou sayest And notwithstanding this Ordinance of St. Paul and the Confusion of them which go against it as it is declared by the Comparisons of the Pipe Harp and Trumpet the Roman Church Prays Sings and gives Thanks in the Church in a Tongue unknown to the common People And though in the Primitive Church all Prayers were made in the vulgar Tongue Linguâ auditoribus non ignotâ omnia peragebantur consuetudo ita ferebat ut tota Ecclesia simul pssalleret And though St. Austin says Deus vult ut quod Canimus intelligamus humana ratione non quasi Avium voce canamus God will have us to understand what we Sing and not be like Parrots which do not understand what they say Yet the Church of Rome doth not obey this Commandment but continue still in that Error The Origine of this Error proceeds from the Popes of Rome who being exalted in an eminent degree of Grandeur could not be contented until they had set up Laws though very irregular and unreasonable and
burn 1 Cor. 7. Formerly young Women were not admitted to take the Nun's Vail till they were forty years old as it may be seen Can. Sanctimoniales causa 20. 9. 1. And though St. Paul speaks thus I will that younger women marry bear children guide the house Let not a widow be taken in the number under threescore years old but the younger widows refuse for when they have begun to wax wanton against Christ they will marry 1 Tim 5. Yet those of the Church of Rome laugh now at this Ordinance and Custome For they shut up young Maids in Monastries before they have any true knowledge of God of the World and of Themselves So Rhea Sylvia Numitor's Daughter was shut up in the Monastry of Vesta by her Uncle Amulius who had expelled Numitor for fear she should marry and get Children able to revenge and re-obtain her Father's Estate They are shut up in Iron Cages as wild Beasts and mad Folks for fear they should commit any disorder By this Prison wherein they are shut up and by this Prohibition of Gregory That all Priests and Clerks ought not to converse nor dwell with Women nor so much as with their Mothers Sisters and Kindred lest it should happen to them as it happened to the Son of David It is clear that neither the one nor the other have the Gift of Continence for if they were endued with it for what end all these Iron Cages to the Nuns and all those strict Prohibitions to the Priests And if they have not the Gift of Continence St. Paul commands them to marry and consequently they are not bound to keep their Vows Therefore all Priests Monks and Nnus are obliged to them but upon this condition that God has endued them with the Gift of Continence As he that made a Vow to be a great Philosopher or famous Orator is not bound to the performance of that Vow but upon condition that God gives him a sufficient Wit and Strength for the obtaining of these two eminent Qualities I have the Gift of Continence therefore I make a Vow to keep a perpetual Chastity that Consequence is good But I promise unto God a perpetual Chastity therefore he shall give me the Gift of Continence this Consequence is not good For in the Contracts we make with Men our Promise doth not oblige us but as it is accepted by him to whom we make it And when a young Man and Maid at sixteen years old solemnly promise unto God a perpetual Chastity who told them that God did accept their Promise Therefore since many Monks Nuns and Priests have neither the Gift of Continence nor any assurance that they shall have it all the Days of their Lives it is a Rashness to them to promise what is not in their Power Therefore their Vow wanting the last Condition to make it good becomes void therefore they may and ought to Marry For it is better to Marry than to Burn and Marriage is Honourable in all but the Whoremongers and Adulterers God will Judge The Origine of Monastical Life came from several Christians who in the time of Persecution retired into desert Places And when Persecution ceased many of them rested there either because they were used to that Calm Innocent and retired way of Life or because they were afraid to fall again into Persecution But this Monastical Life was quite different from that which is now seen at this day For then they made no Vow of perpetual Chastity they lived with the Labour of their Hands and many of them were Married And St. Cyprian l. 1. Epist 9. c. 11. tells us that the Virgins who did Consecrate themselves unto God that they might relieve the Poor had the liberty of breaking their Vow of perpetual Chastity when they thought they might better serve God in the State of Marriage than in that of Virginity Let us then conclude since those who contrary to Christ's Doctrine and the Law of Nature persecute and cause Men to die merely because they are not of their Opinion and Religion are Cruel and Tyrannous since those that do Worship the Creature for the Creator are Idolaters and since those that do add to the Word of God and diminish from it several Articles both of Faith and Practice are Hereticks The Roman Church contrary to Christ's Doctrine and the Law of Nature Persecuting and causing Men to Die merely because they are not of her Opinion and Religion Worshiping the Creature for the Creator and adding to the Word of God and diminishing from it several Articles of Faith and Practice it doth evidently follow that she is Tyrannous Idolatrous and Heretick FINIS First Sermon of Repentance Except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish Luke 13. 3. IF Lucifer with all his proud and obstinate Companions if Dives Judas and many other wicked Men were cast into Hell and did all likewise perish it is because they did not repent of their Sins But there is this difference between Angels and Men that though God according to all Divines did not grant the grace of Repentance to the former yet he did not refuse it to the latter For speaking concerning Man he saith Ezechiel 18. 32. I will not the death of a Sinner but that he turn and live Repentance is called by St. Austin a second Plank after Shipwrack For when Men have made Ship-wrack to lay hold on a Plank is their only remedy so when in the vast Ocean of this World they are lost by Sin the only remedy left them that they may not eternally perish is Repentance If I begin to Preach unto you this excellent Virtue ye are not to wonder at me for I do nothing but what St. John the Baptist Jesus Christ the Apostles and Holy Prophets have done when they began to Preach and convert Sinners Repent ye for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand said Jesus Christ in his First Sermon and in the words of my Text he speaks thus except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish By these words ye shall see the necessity and utility of Repentance but because it is hard to Men first I will shew you its difficulty That Repentance is hard will be the first part of my discourse that it is necessary will be the second and that it is very useful will be the third 1. Part. I must confess that Repentance is very hard the Latin word Poenitentia does evidently shew it for it means nothing but pain and grief Indeed there is nothing in this World more difficult to Men than Repentance whether we consider it in respect of the Creator or in respect of the Creature If we consider it in respect of the Creator God must without forcing our wills make a change in our minds and Hearts He must change the mind and heart of him that feeds an Inclination for revenge Love must take the place of hatred meekness and clemency that of bitterness and cruelty God must without destroying