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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A46991	A collection of the works of that holy man and profound divine, Thomas Iackson ... containing his comments upon the Apostles Creed, &c. : with the life of the author and an index annexed.; Selections. 1653	Jackson, Thomas, 1579-1640.; Oley, Barnabas, 1602-1686.; Vaughan, Edmund.	1653 (1653)	Wing J88; Wing J91; ESTC R10327	823,194	586

Lord their God and yet did all their works to be seen of men They had often taught their Auditours to honour father and mother and learnedly discoursed upon the equity of this precept in general yet could upon private respects dispense with it in sundry particulars They said well in the former and did ill in the latter And albeit they justified their practise by tradition of the elders as the Pontificians do theirs when they absolve subjects from the bond of duty to their civil or children to their naturall parents that they may be more serviceable to the Church their mother yet their sayings in these Apologies were but accessary to their doings not comprehended under that universal affirmative All whatsoever they bid you observe and do but under the negative After their works do not for they were more desirous to be honoured as Rabbies and Fathers of the Congregation then to honour the parents of their flesh albeit they usually taught others so to do save onely when their treasury might be enriched or their own honour enlarged by dispensations which the people easily might have discerned for contrary as well to the Law of God and nature as to these dispensators own doctrine when themselves were not parties 9 From the restraint of this universal precept we may easily limit that speech of our Saviour unto Saint Peter which Bellarmin labours to make more then most universal because the surest ground in their supposals of the Popes transcendent Authority I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven and whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth shall be bound in heaven and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven Matth. 16. 19. By these keyes saith Bellarmin is understood a power of loosing not onely sins but all ●ber bonds or impediments without whose removall there is no possibility of entrance into the Kingdom of heaven for the promise is generall nor is it said whomsoever but Whatsoever thou loosest c. giving us hereby to understand that Peter ●●d bis successors may loose all knots or difficulties of what kind soever if of lawes by dispensing with them if of sins by remitting them if of controversies or opinions by unfolding them Thus far would this cunning Sophister improve the universal Whatsoever above it ordinary and ancient value in Scripture phrase further then the condition of the partie to whom the promise was made being Christs servant not his equall will suffer For what greater Prerogative could Christ himself challenge then such as Bellarmine for the present Popes sake would make Saint Peters The Universal note in this place as the like before ●includes onely an abundant assurance of the power ●…thed a full and irrevocable ratification of the Keyes right use such a shutting as none can open such an opening as none can shut as often as sentence is either way given upon sufficient and just occasions The proper sa●ject th●● limits the universall form of this more then princely prerogative is the den●… confession of Christ either in open speech in perpetuall actions or resolution as shall be by Gods assistance made evident against Romish assertions without derogation from the royalty of Priest-hood which within these Territories is much more dreadfull and soveraigne then worldlings will acknowledge untill they be made feel the full stroke of the spiritual sword in these our dayes for the most part born in vain 10 Whatsoever reasons else they can from any other places of Scripture pretend for absolute infallibilitie in the High Priests or Church representative under the Law fall of their own accord these fundamentall ones being overthrown But before I proceed to evince the Jewish supreme tribunall most grosly erroneous de facto I must request the ingenious Readers as many as understand Latin and can have accesse unto these great Doctor writings to be eye-witnesses with us or if it please them publick Notaries of their retchlesse impieties Of which unlesse authentick notice be now taken and propagated to posterity by evident testimonies beyond exception this impudent generation in future ages when these abominations growold and more stirred in begin so to stink that for the Churches temporall health the books of modern Jesuites must be purged will surely deny that ever any of their grand Divines were so mad with incestuous love of their whorish mother as to seek her maintenance by such shamelesse grosse notorious palpable written blasphemies as ungracious Judas would rather have choaked with an halter in their birth then have granted them entrance into the world through his throat He in comparison of these Antichristian Traitors ingenuously confessed his foul offence in betraying innocent bloud But even the flower of Romish Doctors Bishops and Cardinals are not ashamed to justifie him in betraying and the Scribes and Pharisees in solemnly condemning our Saviour For if the one sort did not erre in judgement the other did not amisse in executing what they enjoyned yet by that very Consistorie of Priests and Elders brought in by Bellarmin as chief supporters of the Churches infallibilitie was the life of the world censured to death for an Heretick or refractarious Schismatick and the Talmu●… taking that Consistories authority but for such as the Jesuites supposed conclude directly from principles common to the Synagogue and the Roman Church that he deserved no lesse because he would not subscribe unto their sentence nor recant his opinions 11 Again if we understand that other place The Scribes and pharisees sit in Moses seat all therefore whatsoever they bid you that observe and do universally as most Papists do and Hart out of his transmarinal Gate hism● would gladly have maintained it any Jew might thus a●● me The S●… sees solemnly bid Judas and others to observe our Saviour as a ●… and charged the people to seck his bloud therefore they were in ●… and upon pain of damnation bound so to do Do I amplifie one word or wrong them a jo● in these collections I appeal unto their own Writers Let Melcbur Canus inferiour to none in that Church for learning and for a Papist a man of singular ingenuitie be judge betwixt us If from his words as much as I have said do not most directly follow let me die the death for this supposed slander Against the absolute infallibilitie of Councels or Synods maintained by him in his fifth Book our Writers as he frames their Argument thus objects The Priests and Pharasees called Councels whose solemne sentences were impious because they condemned the Son of God for such in like sort may the Romish Prelacie give sentence contrary unto Christ Unto this Objection saith Canu● the answer is easie Let us hear it The practises of the Priests were indeed against our Saviour but the sentence of man otherwise most wicked was not onely most true but withall most profitable to the Common-weal Yea Saint John the Evangelist tels us it was a divine Oracle

at least which this Counterfeit exacts to be Believed as true to wit that he himself is a man of excellent parts and one that wil use Fidelity as wel in his Doings as Sayings and in a word one whose proposal in matters of State or War is as infallible as the Popes in matters of Faith Yet notwithstanding that this Counterfeits Proposal or Asseveration which must be Believed from the Princes commendation of him which must be believed again from his Proposal Non habent unum idem objectum sed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 have not one and the same Object yet is the former resolution ●… and so is Valentians resolution of his Catholick Faith most ridiculously impious For what other issue of such dissolute resolutions can be expected but that men who know no better should hereby be driven to suspect the Scriptures for Counterfeit and the Catholick Church if the Roman were only the Catholick Church of villanous Forgery at the least in those places of Scripture which she pretends for Proof of her own Infallibilitie 19 As for Valentians later Exception why his Resolution should not be Circular it is more ridiculous then the former most ridiculously false to omit other points in this one that he dare deny the Churches proposal by their Doctrine to be the Cause why we Believe the Divine Revelation or rather that these Scriptures which we have are Divine Revelations For by their Positions we cannot assure our selves that the Scriptures are the Word of God by any other cause or reason besides the Churches Authoritie and therefore by their Doctrine the infallible Authoritie of their Church is the only Cause why we Believe this Sacred Canon of Scriptures which we enjoy to be Divine Revelations although it be no Cause by their Doctrine why we Believe that in general Divine Revelations are true For this is a dictate of Nature not controversed betwixt us and them or betwixt any who acknowledge a Divine Power And Valentian himself directly implies that which he impudently denies in the self-same period For he granteth that Propositio Ecclesiae est ratio credendi divinam revelationem ratio eredendi the Reason or Rule of Believing must needs include in it a precedent Cause of Belief it cannot be only a Condition annexed thereto but of this point God willing hereafter 20 Sacroboscus who hath followed Bellarmines and Valentians foot-steps as faithfully as any ●rish Foot-man could his Master though sometimes taking a more compendious and smoother way likely to entice pedestria ingenia wits either by nature dull or novices in Arts and smatterers in School-learning to follow him sooner then those great ones hath taken upon him to answer to this Circle in effect as Valentian doth save only that he hath put more Tricks of Art upon it either to confound the judicious or deceive the sample Reader Which here we shal not need to examin because we purpose to unrid his mystical Evasions in the next Dispute In the end of his tract in defence of Bellarmin he frames his Objection against both Valentian and his own Resolution Whether in Believing the Church by Scriptures and Scriptures By the Church the Belief of the one must in nature if not in time go before the other He thinks it not necessary that the one should be before the other Nam actus fidei fertur in suum objectum modo simplici ut visus in suum And therefore as we see colours per species visibiles by the visible shapes or resemblances which flow from them not by seeing the visible shape before the colours so do we Believe the Scriptures by the Church albe it we do not expresly and formally Believe the Church before we believe the Scriptures Quo teneam vultus mutantem Protea nodo In the former part of this his discourse the Visible Church was unto Scriptures as the Light was unto Colours now it is unto Scriptures as visible Shapes are unto Colours What then Do we not see visible shapes before Colours nor Colours before them no. For we see no visible shapes at all but by them Colours only are brought into our sight and we cannot see one before the other if the one we see not at all And in like sense it were true that we should not Believe the Church before Scriptures not Scriptures before we Believe the Church if we were not bound to Believe the one at all But if we see one thing by another which we likewise see we must needs see that first by which we see the other and so if either we Believe the Scriptures by Believing the Church or Believe the Church by believing Scriptures we must of necessitie Believe the one before the other For that by which we Believe a thing is the Means of Belief and the Means of Belief must needs in nature and order go before Belief it self And if the Church be the Means of believing only in as much as we believe it or to speak more distinctly if the believing the Church be the very Meanes of believing the Scriptures then must we needs believe the Church before we believe the Scriptures If our Adversaries affirm that their Church is the only infallible Means of believing Scriptures in any other sort then by believing it let them in the name of God assign by what Means they wil she can make us believe the Scriptures we shal not much contend so they wil not bind us to believe this their Churches Decisions Sacroboscus his comparison of the Visible Church and visible Shapes we admit thus far for good that as unlesse there were such visible Shapes no Colours could be seen so likewise unlesse God had some Visible Church on earth men ordinarily could not see the Light of the Gospel For it is not ordinarily communicated to any but by the Ministery of others but being communicated we believe it in it self and for it self not by believing others as we see Colours in themselves and for themselves not by seeing the visible Shapes by which they are presented or communicated unto our eyes But whether there be any Propriety between the belief of these two Church and Scriptures according to our Adversaries Doctrine or whether the belief of the one be the cause of the Belief of the other or in what sort the cause and what Inconveniences wil follow thereon we shal dispute hereafter 21 Let them in the mean time illustrate the Manner how we believe Scriptures by the Church as they please Let it have the same proportion to Scriptures which the Light or visible Shapes have unto Colours they themselves make the belief of Scriptures most uncertain and for this reason seek to establish the Infallibility of their Church for to assure us of the Truth of Scriptures We demand how ●… of their Churches Infallibility can possibly be proved By Reason that is impossible as you heard before By Tradition of whom of such as may erre that is

adventure Thus might Divines dispute without any danger to 〈◊〉 Souls if the Romanists had not been so lavish in coyning matter for Contention rather then in searching Scriptures for Edification of Christs Church Or if the Laitie would be as carefull of their Spiritual as Bodily Health and not take their Physick blind-fold at such Mountebanks hands as Jesuites Priests and Seminaries be who minister none but such as either shall intoxicate the Brain or inflame the Heart with preposterous zeal Nor should variance in Points of Doctrine amongst Divines breed any danger or disturbance to Common-weals if they would not be Statists or Underminers of States as the Jesuites be If their Contentions were for the manner uncivil or bitter as are all contentions which the Jesuites breed the Supreme Magistrate whether Ecclesiastick or Civil might bind their Tongues and Pens to good abearance were it not for these Romish Wolves which in Sheeps cloathing convey themselves into the Fold of Christ and once crept in will admit of no triall but in the Lions Den unto which they are sworn Purvevors for whose maintenance like their Master that great Accuser of Gods Children they compasse Sea and Land and fetch their range about the World 10 Who can imagine any other Cause besides this their insolent challenge of Soveraigntie over all others Faith why the Scripture might not be admitted Judge over all Controversies of Divinitie much better then Hypocrates or Galen of all Controversies in Physick without any infallible Physitian perpetually resident in the World to give sentence viva voce It is no Paradox to hold that God which made us these Souls and gave the Scripture for their Health did much better know what was necessarie for them then either Hippocrates or Galen did what was good and wholesome for mens Bodies one hair of which they neither made black or white Even what they best knew they knew not otherwise to communicate unto Posteritie then by these dumb Characters or atramentarie instructers Whatsoever our Adversaries can urge to the prejudice of Scriptures Sufficiencie or Abilitie of Gods Spirit is true of these great Authours and their Writings all other Means of teaching though their dearest Schollers died with them now not able either to strengthen or consolidate the weak or shallow brain or illuminate darkned understandings they cannot so much as take notice of their Followers towardly pains and industrie or reward such as are most devoted to their Memorie and use their Aphorismes as infallible Rules of Bodily life and health with any blessing of Art or Nature But our God lives for ever and knows best who are his alwayes ready to Reward such as love him And as there is none living but hath received some Gift or other from him so hath he promised to give more and more unto all such as well Use what he hath already given If Nature be dulled so it be not slothfull withall in good courses he can sharpen it by Art though both be defective yet can he so inflame the heart with Zeal as it shall pierce more deeply into the Mysteries of mans Salvation then the acutest unregenerate Wit that Nature yeelds or Art can fashion His Spirit cannot be bound but bloweth where he listeth and giveth life to whom he pleaseth and can inlighten our mindes to see that Truth now written which he taught others to Write for our good 11 Physitians look not Hippocrates or Galen should stand on earth again Vessalius like to read Anatomy-Lectures upon their Followers live-tongues or other instruments of breath and speech abused to debate and strife or blowing the coals of bitter Dissention about their Meaning But we all look if we Believe aright that Christ Jesus who hath left us these his Sacred Lawes and Legend of his most blessed Life as a Patern whereby to frame our own free from contention peaceable humble and meek will one day after which shall be no more exact a strict accompt of every idle Word much more will he punish such Tongues or Pens as have been continually set on fire by Hell with the everlasting flames of that brimstone lake 12 Were our exorbitant Affections brought within compasse by hope and fear answerable to the Consequences of the former sweet Promises made to such as rightly use and terrible Threats against all such as abuse the good Means ordained by God for knowing his Will his inf●… word● from whose mouth soever uttered yea though but privately read with attentive silence would instruct us how to demean our selves in the search of Truth inform us how to direct fasten or inhibit finally how in all Mysteries of our Salvation to moderate our Assent much better then this supposed infallible Authoritie residing usually in men most like to Heathen Idols Though Mouthes they have as they pretend infallible yet fearce speak they once in two ages whose words when they are uttered portend more danger to the Christian World then if brute beasts should speak like men 13 No Christian Common-wealth but either hath or might have good Lawes for composing Contentions or establishing Unitie in the studie of Truth To see what should be done is never hard would strength of Authoritie be as willing to enforce men unto a Civil and orderly observation of Means known and prescribed Our Statutes are much more absolute and complete then Israels were when it was a sin to enquire after other Means either more easie or effectual for their conduction unto that true Happinesse whereat all States aim but onely such shall light on as put these Sacred Lawes in execution It is the common Errour of all corrupted mindes to seek that far off which as the Lord told his people is within them even in their Hearts and in their Mouthes so they would be Doers not Hearers onely of the Law Many Heathens have used such diligent care and unrelenting Resolution for just execution of their defective erroneous Laws as would the coactive Power every where resident where Christianity is professed use the like for establishing an uniform and unpartial though but an external and civil Practise of the ten Commandements and other Sacred Moral Precepts of whose Truth no Christian doubts about whose Meaning nor Protestant nor Papist nor any Sect this day living do or can contend fallible Judges might effect what the Papists pretend as infalliblie as if every particular Congregation had such a true infallible Teacher as they falsely deem or fain their Pope to catechise them ex cathedra thrice a week For who could better resolve us in all Points of Moment or retain our hearts in Unitie of Faith then Truth it self once clearly seen or made known unto us yet is it in it self much brighter then the Sun we daily see which it likewise herein exceeds That whilest Gods Word endures amongst us it still remains above our Horizon and cannot set onely grosse and foggie Interpositions raised from exhalation of such foul Lusts and reeking sins as

Syllogism●… wherein a Proposition of Faith is Concluded can be but Conjectural 5 The proposed inconvenience we may drive from this difficulty How the Papists themselves can attain to the infallible belief of the Churches infallible authority The Church they think hath a publick spirit and publick spirits they know are infallible hence they may perswade themselves the Church is infallible only upon the same terms they believe it hath a publick spirit if their belief of this later be but conjectural their assent unto the former can be no better Seeing then they must of necessity grant for this is the principal mark they aim at that all must infallibly believe the Church hath a publick spirit the difficulty removes to this point how this infallible perswasion is or may be wrought in them Either it must be grounded upon Scriptures or not avouched unto them and wrought in their hearts it must be either by a publick or private spirit Let us examin all the parts of this division 6 First if private mens infallible perswasion of the Churches publick or Authentick spirit be not grounded upon Scriptures acknowledged by us and them the Churches Authority without all controversie is much greater then the authority of Scriptures if it by this assertion can be any and the Churches not all in all For unto that which men cannot know whether it be true or false they cannot be bound to yield absolute or immediate obedience unto that authority which they absolutely believe as infallible they are bound to yield infallible assent and absolute obedience directly in it self and for it self But by this supposition men cannot know Scriptures infallibly without the Churches authority and yet they must infallibly believe the Churches authority without Scriptures The Scriptures authority therefore is either lesse then the Churches or none at all 7 But be it supposed that private mens infallible Belief of the Churches publick spirit is grounded upon Scriptures acknowledged by us and urged by them to this purpose as upon these it seemeth good to the Holy Ghost and us I have prayed for thee thy faith should not fail The question whereunto we demand an answer is whether this infallible Belief of the Churches authority grounded upon these places must be wrought in mens hearts by a private or publick spirit If by a private spirit only Bellarmin believed the Churches publick spirit or those Scriptures truth or true meaning whereon he grounds it He and all other Papists such as he was when he delivered this Doctrine neither Bishops nor Cardinals are subject to the same inconveniences which he hath condemned us for as Hereticks For all private spirits by his positions are abnoxious to errour unsufficient to plant any infallible perswasion in matters of faith yet such is this article of the Churches Authentick spirit of which unlesse men be so perswaded infallibly perswaded they cannot be of the minor proposition in any Syllogism wherein a point of faith is concluded and uncertain of the minor they cannot be certain of the conclusion which as Bellarmin rightly observes alwayes follows the weaker part The infallible conclusion therefore of Bellarmin's resolution is unlesse private men may have publick spirits to warrant the truth of Scriptures and the Churches infallibility thereon grounded they cannot truely believe any conclusion of faith It remains then we inquire what inconvenience wil follow if they admit private men to be partakers of publick spirits 8 Diversity of such spirits they acknowledge not If therefore private mens Infallible Assent unto the truth or true sense of those particular Scriptures whence they seek to prove their Churches Infallibility must be planted by a publick spirit planted it must be by the same spirit which guides and guiding makes the Church and Pope authentick and infallible both in their proposal of Scriptures and declaration of Scriptures sence Seeing this spirit is one and the same if it can make the Church or Pope infallible in all why may it not make all private men by this supposition partakers of it alike infallible at the least in the right understanding of those places which warrant the Churches Infallibility or publick spirit For our adversaries I hope wil easily grant that the Churches publick and Authentick spirit must be most infallibly Believed because so expresly taught in those Scriptures cited by Bellarmin to this purpose If this publick or Authentick spirit can work such infallible apprehension of those places true meaning in private hearts why not in all others as necessary for them to know that is in all necessary to salvation And if thus it do why are we bound to believe the Pope more then the Pope us we being partakers of a publick and infallible spirit as wel as he 9 Or if they hold it no absurd●ty to say we must believe two or three places It seemeth good to the Holy Ghost and us Peter feed my sheep by a publick and authentick spirit teaching us from these to rely upon the Pope in all other parts of Gods Word because as it must be supposed we have but a private spirit for their assurance by this supposition the Popes authority in respect of us must have the same excesse of superiority unto Scriptures that a publick spirit hath unto a private or the Pope who believeth all Scriptures by a publick spirit hath unto a private man This publick spirit whereof they vaunt is the same which did inspire the Scriptures to Atoses the Prophets and Apostles and must by this position be the Pope or Churches immediate Agent for establishing this inviolable league of absolute allegeance with mens souls unto them but of none so absolute to their Creator and Redeemer and the rest of whose written laws and eternal decrees must be communicated unto them by a private spirit and subscribed unto with this condition If the Pope shal witnesse them to be his laws or to have this or that meaning 10 Nor can our adversaries deny the truth of this subsequent collection If it were possible for the Pope in matters controversed to teach contrary to Gods Word we were bound to follow him For they themselves argue thus If the Pope could erre in matters of Faith Faith might perish from the Earth all Christians bound to erre because bound to obey him This proves that our Assent to any Scriptures besides those which teach the Popes authority cannot in it self be perfect and absolute but subject to this condition if the Pope be infallible And even of those places which as they pretend witnesse him to be such there yet remains a further difficulty These the Pope believes not because they are confirmed to him by his predecessor but directly and immediately by his publick spirit But may private men believe them so too No. For these especially and the Churches infallibility contained in them are by all our adversaries consent propositions of Faith in respect of us and need by their doctrine the proposal or