Selected quad for the lemma: faith_n
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A19583
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Manuale catholicorum A manuall for true Catholickes.
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Crashaw, William, 1572-1626.
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1611
(1611)
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STC 6018; ESTC S118546
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19,964
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137
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cannot then let the company who stand by say Lord into thy hands we commend his soule He that doth thus is safe and secure for he shall neuer tast of eternall death Also in another old booke I find this written THese be the six signes vpon which a man may rest confident of his saluation 1 If he beleeue the Articles of Christian faith as many as are determined by the Churche 2 If he reioyce to dye in the faith of Christ 3 If hee know that hee hath grieuously offended God 4 If he bee heartily sorry for it 5 If he resolue to forsake his sinnes if God giue him life 6 If he hope and beleeue to come to eternall saluation not by his owne merits but by the merits of Iesus Christ And Anselme saith that these six questions are to bee asked of euery one at the time of his death and saith further thus Then say to the sicke person if Sathan obiect any thing against thee oppose thou the merits of Christ betwixt thee and him and thus without all doubt hee shall be saued This consolation of the sicke and preparation to their death is in ancient Copies ascribed to Anselme who liued more then 500 yeares agoe euen when Popery was almost growne to perfect age Now if any man make question how our fathers were saued in these later and worse times when Popery preuailed in a greater measure I answere that euen almost the same preparation and same questions were vsed long after Anselme euen in the deepest darkenesse of Popery For in the most euill time about the Councell of Constance some two hundred years ago Thus I finde it written in ancient Booke and it is ascribed to Gerson Euery Christian whether secular or regular is thus to be examined and informed in his sicknesse touching his saluation 1 DOest thou beleeue all the principal articles of faith and all that is contained in the whole body of holy Scripture according to the exposition of the Catholicke and orthodoxall Doctors of the holy Church and dost thou detest all heresies and errours and superstitions condemned or reproued by the Church and art thou glad that thou dyest in the faith of Christ and vnity and obedience of thy Mother the Church 2 Doest thou know and confesse that thou hast many wayes and grieuously offended thy God and Creator 3 Dost thou sorrow from thy whole heart for all thy sins committed against Gods Maiesty his loue and mercy art thou truely sorrowful for the euils that thou hast committed and the good that thou hast omitted and the grace thou hast neglected and art thou agreiued not so much for feare of death or any punishment as for that loue which thou oughtest to beare towards God 4 Doest thou beg pardon for all these thy sins of Iesus Christ desiring that by him thy heart may be enlightned truely to see and know thy sins that so thou maist particularly and more seriously repent of them 5 Doest thou propound and resolue truly to amend thy life if so be thou liue and neuer hereafter to sinne so againe but rather to loose any thing how deere soeuer vnto thee yea euen life it selfe then to offend thy God againe 6 Doest thou also desire of God grace to continue in this purpose that thou maist not fall againe 7 Doest thou forgiue from thy whole heart all that haue done thee any wrong in word or deed for the loue of Christ Iesus thy Lord and Sauiour and as thou hopest for pardon from him and doest thou hartily desire to bee forgiuen of all men whom thou hast any way offended 8 Wilt thou that there be ful restitution made according to thy power yea though it should extend to thy whole estate if otherwise there cannot bee satisfaction made 9 Doest thou beleeue that Christ dyed for thee and that thou canst bee saued no otherwise but by the merites of Iesus Christ and doest thou giue God thankes for this from thy whole heart as much as thou art able And whosoeuer can giue true answere to these questions affirmatiuely out of a good conscience and faith not fayned It is an euident and sufficient testimony of saluation and let him not doubt but if he so depart hee is one of them that shall be saued Behold heere good Reader our Religion practised in the most misty times of Popery behold heere the true holy Catholike and ancient way to heauen Namely By Christ and his merits alone Heere is no trusting on mans merits either our own or others Here is no mention of Agnus deis or Wodden Crucifixes He is not bid to trust in the prayers suffrages requiems dirges Masses Trentals or other obsequies that shall be sayd for him after his departure He is sent to no Angell no nor to the Virgin Mary for matter of Saluation Nay all are excluded Christs death alone euen it alone is made the meanes of his Saluation And the makers heereof were so resolute and zealous in this point that they vse such variety of words as though they could not sufficiently expresse the excellency and the nececessity of cleauing to Christ alone in the matter of saluation And if any man suspect that this is but deuised by vs and falsely fathered vpon Antiquity let him know that not onely we haue the ancient Copies whose age will speake for themselues but euen the better sort of Papists that be learned doe know this well enough A learned Papist of this age Gasper vlenbergius in lib. de Causis Causa 14. pag. 462. editionis Colon. 1589. writeth that in a Church in Colaine this very booke is extant Manuscript and that hee hath seene it and that this manner of comforting the sicke was vsed in former ages and confesseth that it containes the very treasure kernel of Christian Religion and saith further that this manner was vsed not in Germany onely but ouer all the Christian world Indeed to the Iesuits I confesse this is held a ridiculous manner of comforting the sicke such a spirit possesseth them Thus doth Gretzer their Champion flout vs Lutherans as he cals vs for thus doing The Lutherans saith hee do Iae. Gretzerus in refutat Leyseri de histor Ord. Iesuit thus comfort their sick Relicks Crucifixes Agnus deis and such matters are but dead things and nothing worth the Scripture hath not a word of them it is therefore very vngodly to trust in them but God is our hope and God is our strength trust in him c. On this wise fashion do these godly comforters comfort their sicke persons Thus in the Iesuites iudgement it is but a seely course to trust in Gods mercy and Christs merits in points of saluation Hereby it may be discerned of what spirit they are But let them mocke vs as long as with vs they mocke the Scriptures Antiquity and the better sort of their owne side for we appeale to this that hath bene said whether this manner of comforting the sicke were not in
MANVALE Catholicorum A Manuall FOR True Catholickes LONDON Printed for Leonard Becket and are to be sold at his Shop in the Temple neere the Church 1611. ENCHIRIDION PIARVM PRECVM ET Meditationum Ex vetustiffimis Manuscript pergamenis descripta Ex Bibliotheca W. Crashavi Theol Bacchal verbi Div. Mnistir apud Temp. Lond. A HANDFVL OR Rather a Heartfull of holy meditations and Prayers Gathered out of certaine ancient Manuscripts written 300 yeares ago or more By WILLIAM CRASHAW Batchelour of Diuinity and Preacher at the Temple TO THE RIGHT HONOVRABLE LORD HENRY THE Noble Earle of NORTHHAMPTON Lord priuy Seale Lord Warden of the Cincque Ports and one of his Maiesties Honourable priuy Counsell RIGHT Honourable our Aduersaries amongst their many obiections against vs and our Religion vse this for one that if wee refuse their Church and condemne their faith wee condemne to hell all our forefathers But it followeth not for in such fundamental points as necessarily concerne saluation as matter of merit and meanes of Iustification c. our fathers in former times were not of the Romish faith but of our Religion excluding disclayming renouncing all their owne merits and cleauing only to Gods mercy and the merits of Iesus Christ for their saluation This was the faith of the ancient Church c. Saint Basillius in homel in Psal 114. Basil saith Eternall rest remaines for them which haue fought a good fight in this world yet not for the merit of their workes but through the rich mercies of God in whom they trust Saint Hillary saith our Hillarius in Psal 51. workes suffice not to merit eternall life but our hope is in the mercy of God for euer and euer Saint Augustine saith Augustinus concione 1 in Psal 70. Tua peccata sunt merita Dei sunt supplicium tibi debetur et cum praemium venerit sua dona coronabit non tua merita Sin is ours Merit is Gods Punishments are our due but if rewardes come God crownes his owne gifts not our merites Gregory moral lib. 9. ca. 14. Saint Gregory a Pope saith If I doe well I shall haue eternall life not by my merits but Gods mercy And long after euen in Bernardus sermone 15. in Psal 90. the darkest times deuote Bernard saith A mans whole merit is to put the whole affiance of his heart in him that hath saued the whole man and therfore in another place he concludes My merit is the mercy of the Lord. All these Bellarmine cannot Sermone 61. in Cant. meritum meum miseratio domini deny and himselfe produceth some of them or all but shapes such answeres to them as it would satisfye an indifferent man euen to read him in that pont And this was not the faith Bellar. to 4. lib. 5. de lust cap. 6. of the principall Fathers only but by the mercy of God it was deriued euen vnto the inferiour and vulgar sort not of the Cleargy alone but euen of the Laity also If the monuments of elder ages were extant vncorrupted it is more thē maruailous how cleerly this truth would shine that our forefathers were not damned though they beleeued not as doth the present Romish Church Nay further that they were saued by the same faith by which wee are at this day though they were misled by some errours and nusled in some superstitions for which being sinnes of infirmity or rather of ignorance we hope the Lord was mercifull vnto them knowing that euen Dauid himselfe cried to God to clense Psal 19. him from his secret sinnes But such hath beene the craft and malice of Popish policy that partly the oldest bookes are embezilled and extinguished and those that remaine are so altered corrupted and depraued from that they were that there now remaines not one of many of the testimonies which the former ages yeelded to this truth Notwithstanding the prouidence of God hath not failed his Church for do what they could yet he who said the gates of hell Math. 16. should not preuaile against the true faith hath taken order in spight of all plots to the contrary that so many testimonies shall be preserued as shall sufficiently witnesse to the world that our faith flourished in former ages My purpose is if the Lord will to gather vp such Antiquities though they be scattered and almost lost in these old worme eaten Manuscripts wherein they lye buried which as Gods prouidence hath deliuered from the force and fury of the inquisitors fire so it is al Christians duties to preserue them to posterity I haue here begun with a Handfull or rather a Hartfull of holy prayers meditations worthy to be worne in the hand and borne in the heart of euery Christian by which it may euidently appeare that the faith and Religion of the former ages foure fiue hundred yeares ago was euen the same by which we looke to bee saued at this day Let this haue leaue right Honorable to come abroad out of the corners of obscurity into publicke view in the light lustre of your renowned name who are knowne to bee a reuerencer of Antiquity a Mecaenas of learning a practiser of piety an enemy to the idolatry superstitions ambitious practises traiterous deuices and Machiauellian plots of Iesuites and a detester of such especially who vnder a pretence of Religion doe cloake and conuey impieties against God and against his annointed The God of heauen confirme that blessed worke of his in your Lordship more more to the glory of his name the benefite of this Realme and to your owne saluation in Christ Iesus So praieth Your Lordships deuoted in Christ W. CRASHAW The Contents 1 A Holy and orthodox Confession of the Trinity the Father the Sonne and the holy Ghost 2 A godly confession of sinnes and prayer for pardon and for eternall life 3 A godly meditation of mans misery and Gods mercy together with a deuout prayer 4 The manner of preparing sicke persons to death in the ancient times euen in Popery De Deo Patre pia orthodoxa Confessio A 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Deus Hely Hely Deus meus Cuius virtus totum posse Cuius sensus totum nosse Cuius esse summum bonum Cuius opus quicquid bonum Super cuncta subter cuncta Extra cuncta intra cuncta Super cuncta nec elatus Subter cuncta nec substratus Extra cuncta nec exculsus Intra cuncta nec inclusus Super totus presidendo Subter totus stustinendo Extra totus complectendo Intra totus es implendo Super nullo sustentaris Subter nullo fatigaris Extra nusquam dilataris Intra nunquam coarctaris Mundum mouens non moueris Locum tenens non teneris Tempus mutans non mutaris Vaga firmans non vagaris Vis externa vel necesse Non alternat tuum esse Heri nostrum cras pridem Semper tibi nunc idem Tuum decus