when it is not appropriated or fixed to any certaine place as the Iewes did dreame of Ierusalem long agoe and the Papists doe now dote of Rome but reacheth unto all parts and places of the world secondly it is called Catholike in respect of persons comprehended in it because no sort of people are excluded or refused For now the wall of partition is pulled downe and wee are all one in Christ Iesus thirdly it is called Catholike in respect of time that whensoever it had beginning yet it continueth for ever eyther militant here upon earth or triumphant in heaven So the whole family or house of God is divided Fourthly and lastly the Church is called Catholike in respect of doctrine therein professed for it imbraceth maintayneth not parts or portions but the whole body of Prophetical and Apostolical doctrine The Church of Rome is not Catholique in any of these respects and therefore we pleade Not guilty of apostasie in leaving it Let our adversaries meditate rather how to cleere the Church of Rome of apostasie for it is fallen away from them of whom it received the Gospell Faith Religion and the name of a Church Let them refuse their Synagogues forsake their broken cisternes that will hold no water returne to that true ancient faith for which they were once renowned through the world and wee shall runne together againe in an holy union with them If they will not I call heaven and earth to record against them this day that they themselves are fallen from the Gospell from truth from word from Sacraments from ReligioÌ„ from Christ from the Apostles church of Christ all which wee uphold with great endevour For they have broken the bands wherwith they were coupled to the Apostles they have relinquished that coÌ„munion which formerly they held with the Church These bands be of two sorts outward and inward The outward bands may bee cut in sunder as the profession of true doctrine and the right administration of the Sacraments Both which bands are broken by our adversaries as wee have shewed some proofe of before And they shall never be able to throw any just aspersion upon us in that kind the Lord of heaven and earth be praised for it Amongst the inward couplings Election is first for all that belong truely to the Church are bound together in heaven in the bundle of life with their God The other is the band of Christ his holy Spirit which worketh the same faith and love in the members that is in Christ our head These inward bands cannot be dissolved or cut in sunder for neyther can God his eternall election be avoyded neyther can the faith of those that are elected faile totally or finally The visible Church hath in it selfe two different sorts of people the one make an outward bare profession onely the other by inward election are firmely joyned unto Christ The first are in the visible Church alone but not of the Church invisible They participate in the outward Sacraments of Christ but not with the inward blessings of Christ and so they may fall away they may be in the Church but not of the Church They which are inwardly coupled to Christ by his election and holy Spirit cannot fall away from Christ his church So our Text teacheth us their constancie and perseverance If they had beene of us they would have continued with us The outward joynts and participation may be dissolved for all they are not the Israel of God which are of Israel No many of theÌ„ are Israelites they were amongst the multitude that was called they were not of the small number that was elected Mali in Area nobiscum esse possunt in horreo non possunt Hypocrites and false Gospellers may bee in the Church with us they cannot be of the church they are like Summer fruit they hold not out they continue not On the other side they that bee of us they continue with us After they be matriculated have their names registred in the holy Rolls of the Church they doe not revolt but are established All that the Father giveth me shall come to mee and him that commeth unto mee I cast not away The counsell of the Lord endureth for ever Vnde saith Saint Augustine nisi de nobis quos antea praescivit praedestinavit Quis tollit praedestinationem Dei ante mundi constitutionem vidit nos fecit nos emendavit nos misit ad nos redâ—mit nos hoc ejus consilium manet in aeternum haec ejus cogitatio manet in secula seculorum How doth the Lords counsel endure for ever but in us whom he hath seene and predestinated Who can take away God his predestination before the foundation of the world he did foresee us he made us he reformed us he sent unto us he redeemed us this counsell of the Lord abideth for ever this thought of the Almightie remayneth thoroughout all ages Behold the ground and certainty of their faith marke how they which are inwardly coupled to Christ his Church cannot fall away from the one or the other for Christ sayes None can take them out of his hands Another reason is expressed in the same place My Father which gave them to mee is greater then all and none is able to take them out of my Fathers hands These reasons were not good if they might fall away from Christ which are inwardly coupled to him for then Christ and his Father must bee weaker then hee that did take them out of their hands and that is a blasphemie worthy to be detested If faith could fayle the elect might perish for without faith it is impossible to please God But our Saviour Christ doth testifie that it is not possible that the elect should perish therefore their faith cannot fayle If their faith could fayle the elect should be regenerate often but the elect are borne of incorruptible seed and as the seed is so must the generation also be incorruptible To that purpose S. Iohn writeth Hee that is borne of God sinneth not neither can hee because the seed of God abideth in him How should faith be variable that hath God his promise I will put my feare in their hearts that they shall not goe from me If God will not have his to fall away how should they fayle If he will put his feare into their hearts that they should not fayle how can they lose that feare No no. Besides that they have a further preservative namely the efficacie of Christ his prayers Keepe them in thy truth Ioh. 17 Againe I have prayed for thee that thy faith doe not faile Luc. 22. The mountaines shall remove and the hills shall fall downe but my mercy shall not depart from thee neither shall the covenant of my peace fall away saith the Lord Esay 54. You have not chosen me but I have chosen you and ordeyned you that you goe and bring forth fruit and that your fruit remaine If Christ
detriment to the Wheate but suffer both to grow together untill the Harvest and let him separate which hath the Fanne in his hand to purge the floore I know it will here be objected that the Antichristian sort may be well discovered by their apostasie and relinquishing the Church when the Church it selfe is not controverted but where the Church is ambiguous that men make question where the true Church is whether it be with those that professe the Gospell of Iesus Christ sincerely or amongst such as have addicted themselves to the Bishop of Rome there the notice of apostasie is not perspicuous it is not easily to bee taken For as Waspes make themselves combes like to Bees so hereticks have their Conventicles their Synagogues which they adorne with the stile title of Churches And this painting hath ever made a debate Inter nos Donatistas quaestio est ubi sit Ecclesia Quid ergo facturi sumus In verbis nostris eam quaesituri an in verbis capitis sui Domini nostri Iesu Christi puto quòd in illius verbis potius eam quaerere debemus qui veritas est optimè novit corpus suum novit enim Dominus qui sunt sui When doubts are moved where the Church should be there are but two manner of enquests or trials to finde it either by the markes which we have devised our selves or by evidences which Christ Iesus the lively head of the Church hath prescribed for the manifestation of it And this latter inquisition by the judgement of Saint Augustine is the surer and fairer proofe for CHRIST is truth and knoweth his owne bodie best Doeth not the Lord knowe who bee his Yes certainely Hee calleth his owne sheepe by name Ioh. 10. On the other side sadde experience teacheth us that live in this age how miserably they are mistaken that goe about to point out the Church not by anie certaine demonstrations out of the holy Scripture but by deceiveable fantasies of men Wherein they commend Antiquitie first for a speciall marke of the Church and consider not that it may bee counterfeited or pretended without anie truth of right and just antiquitie Did not the Gibeonites pleade it in that manner for their ragges their over-worne shooes and moulded bread So they did if they circumvented a wise and vigilant Governour with such colourable pleas how much easier is it to beguile ignorant and simple people or to put them into errour by maskes and pretences of feined antiquitie And though wee have not anie cause to avoide or shunne the triall of true antiquitie which commeth from the Ancient of dayes nor our adversaries to presume of it the unpartiall and due consideration of the thing it selfe will certainely evict that Antiquitie cannot bee anie firme or individuall companion of the Church and so no good marke For then the Church must have beene ancient in the verie infancie or beginning thereof which is a thing impossible Antiquitie is commendable not in it selfe or when it is alone but as it is joyned with veritie Therefore I conclude this article with the same exhortation that the Prophet Ieremy used to the men of his time Stand upon the wayes and consider which is the olde way and the good way and walke in it that you may finde rest to your soules Let us passe on further to the consideration of other markes and you shall see it cannot stand good to make the Church alwaies visible or conspicuous That would take away an article of our Faith and Creed VVhen wee beleeve there is a Church we doe affirme plainely that it is not visible or ocularly to be discerned for Faith is an apprehension of things that cannot be seene So beleeving there is a Church as is by all professed we acknowledge therein that the same is not visible Why should anie speake of multitudes to be a marke of the Church seeing Christ himselfe calleth it a little flocke Quid gaudendum ad multitudines This marke of multitudes had beene a weake and impertineÌ„t allegation when all the world was drowned but eight persons saved in the Arke and that was then the whole number of the Church Or when the five cities were destroyed with fire and Lot onely escaped with his two daughters or in Elias time when hee coÌ„plained he was left alone The Church is not ever in one state but like the Moone sometimes encreasing sometimes diminishing sometimes at the full sometimes in the waine and therefore the multitude or paucity of people in the Church being but accidents and not essentially inherent in the Church are made markes of the Church unproperly Thus they are deceived and deceive others that seeke and set forth a Church in their owne words Nolo humanis documentis sed divinis oraculis sanctam Ecclesiam demonstrari I will not have any demonstration of the Church made unto me saith S. Augustine out of mens instructions but from the oracles of God Seeke then for the Church in the words of Christ and the demonstration thereof will be infallible Our blessed Saviour sendeth his Disciples into all the world that is the extent of the Church he chargeth them to preach the Gospell unto every creature to baptize them in the name of the Father of the Sonne and of the holy Ghost and to teach them to observe all that he hath commanded These be the things which the Sonne of God would have practised in his house and by them you may easily finde out the Church of God The sincere doctrine of the Gospell the true and right administration of the Sacraments and that forme of discipline which may bring obedience to his commandements who can make that a Church where these things be wanting who can deny it to bee a Church where they be exercised My sheepe saith our Saviour heare my voyce Therefore the Word of God must be read it must be preached it must sound amongst them else how is it possible that they should heare it Ecce Scripturae communes ecce ubi novimus Christum ecce ubi novimus Ecclesiam The Scriptures which are propounded to all men saith S. Augustine are the usuall markes to know Christ and his Church by So Christ saith himselfe If yee abide in mee and my words abide in you yee are verily my Disciples But alas how can his wordes abide in those which heare not of them that are forbidden to heare or know them Non est pax sed bellum nec Ecclesiae jungitur qui ab evangelio separatur There can be no peace but warre with such people neyther can they be joyned to the Church that sever themselves â—â—om the Gospel Or put case they have the Gospell yet if it bee not expounded truely unto them if it bee not taught purely and sincerely what advantageth it them As all gold was not holy but that only which belonged to the Sanctuary so every sense that is without the compasse of Holy Writ glistering without
his eternall Spirit nor without his death whereas hee died but once for ever And where these things be done the essentiall parts of the Sacrament are not kept therefore no Supper no Sacrament but an horrible prophanation and plaine sacriledge Adulterum est impium est sacrilegum est quodcunque humano furore instituitur ut dispositio divina violetur Whatsoever is instituted by humane temeritie to violate God his ordinance is adulterous it is impious it is sacrilegious As for those mens discipline whereby people should bee brought to the obedience of Christ his commandements the world seeth their wilfull negligence In which case I must needs approve of that which S. Chrysostome writeth to the people of Antioch Mihi Civitas non habens bonos cives omni villa vilior est The Citie that is not inhabited with good men is more unpleasing to mee then the basest village Seeing therefore the Church of Rome reteyneth not the sincere puritie of the word seeing it hath abolished one of the Sacraments corrupted the other prophanely seeing it hath little or no care at all of godly discipline men may peradventure make doubt or question whether it be the Church of God or no I dare not wholly take away the name of a Church from it I know that Antichrist shall sit in the Temple of God that Baptisme cannot bee administred out of the Church And when the intire forme of Baptisme is observed S. Augustine is resolved Non haereticus sed haeretici manu Christus baptisat There it is not the hereticke that baptiseth but Christ doth it by the hand of an hereticke Therefore the Councel of Nice determined very gravely that there should bee no rebaptization of such as were baptized by heretickes Yet I doe not allow the Romish Synagogue to bee a Church simply but by equivocation and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as the woman carrieth the name of your wife which you did once marry and afterward found her defiled with adultery yet because she keepeth the marriage Ring and some other pledges of her former wedlock she still beareth the name of your wife So it is with the Church of Rome albeit for her adulteries she hath deserved a divorce justly yet because the Bridegroome hath not given her his bill of divorce but suffered her hitherto to hold Baptisme as it were the marriage Ring I account it a Church but miserably deformed and infected with infinite errors I cannot reckon it lesse then a part of discourtesie of more advantage then Gods truth needeth so to contend with the adversaries thereof as not to admit of those graces amongst them which God is pleased to vouchsafe unto them Let us give every one his right let our adversaries in the name of God hold their due let us willingly yeelde them all that doth appertaine unto them and let us taxe their corruptions neverthelesse with all freedome This is heroicall this is Propheticall this is Apostolicall and much more then they will yeeld unto us For without hearing of us or our cause they which are parties against us take upon them to be our judges too and to condemne us for heretickes for schismatickes and to have no Church at all Like to Athalia that seeing the right heyre Ioas crowned King of Iudah cryed Treason treason when shee was greatest traytor her selfe Indeed if wee unchurch Congregations for schisme or for simple heresie there will be no good warrant unlesse the heresie impugne one of the three persons of the holy Trinitie directly then the heresie is not single but ariseth to infidelitie which is the bane cut-throat of all Churches But our adversaries doe charge us also with Apostasie and that is a marke of Antichrist mentioned in our Text They went out from us but they were not of us Hereupon our Rhemish Seminaries note that Luther and Calvin went out of their Church that is of Papists became Protestants but they came not out of ours that is the Catholique Church which is forsaken To admit that which will not easily bee proved that England first received the Christian faith from Rome both in the time of Eleutherius their Bishop and also in the time of Augustine their Monke yet wil it not thereon follow that we must still fetch our Religion from Rome as from the chiefe fountaine and well-spring of all godlinesse For if any man fall away from that Church which is not Christ his spouse hee cannot be charged justly with Apostasie Nullus pudor est ad meliora transire It is no shame to change for the better Or if a man doe leave and depart from a particular Church in bodie and yet forsake not the communion and fellowship of the Apostles doctrine nor the Sacramēts rightly administred but holdeth them with all other sincere Churches that man is no Apostata Non ille de Ecclesia exire videtur qui corporaliter exit sed qui spiritualiter veritatis Ecclesiasticae fundamenta reliquit Hee goeth not out of the Church that departeth corporally but hee that spiritually hath forsaken the foundations of Ecclesiastical truth The right apostasie is a falling away from the true Catholique Apostolique Church of Christ and therefore from Christ and that by revolting from the Apostles doctrine the communion of the Catholique faith They went out from us If Luther Calvin and our selves went out of the Church of Rome wee incurre no crime of apostasie therein because we left that Church which was neither Catholique nor Apostolique We left not Bethel that is the house of God untill it became Bethaven that is the house of iniquitie An Apostolique Church it is not because it resteth not upon the doctrine of the Apostles but is fallen from it as wee have formerly shewed In which case we have S. Augustines grave advise Ne Catholicis quidem Episcopis consentiendum est sicubi sorte fallantur contra canonicas Scripturas aliqui sentiant No consent is to bee given to those Bishops which are Catholique when they are deceived or hold any thing contrary to the canonicall Scriptures Wee then in going out of that Church where the word of God is not purely taught the Sacraments are not administred duely according to our Saviour Christ his holy institution and God is not worshipped after the Apostles doctrine make no default or departure from the Church but as Moses went out of Egypt Lot out of Sodom Elias from Baals Priests and that is no apostasie but a renunciation of their apostasie that wee might marshall our selves under the Standard of our head and Captaine Christ Iesus and so enter into true Hierusalem which is mother of us all If the Church of Rome give impediment to us in this passage it is a step-dame no true mother no Apostolike Church Neyther is it the Catholike but a particular Church as the Churches were of Alexandria Milan Ephesus c. The Church is called Catholike first in respect of place