Heathen and a Publican Matth. 18. Now he that would tell the Church any thing in your sence must ramble all the World over to do it But it is plain that our Saviour by the Church there meant the Prelates and Presidents of it for presently after he speaks to his Apostles as to Prelates and give them the power of binding c. That you may the better understand this take along with you the whole context of that place of Denteronemy which I have before quoted to you and that you shell find to be this Deut. 17. If there arise a matter too hard for thee in judgment between blood and blood between Plea and Plea between stroak and stooak being matters of controversie within thy Gaces then shalt thou arise and get thee up into the place which the Lord thy God shalt chuse and thou shalt come unto the Priests and Leviteâ— 8 10 11 and unto the Judge that shall be in those days and enquire and they shall shew thee the sentence of judgement And thou shalt do according to the sentence which they of that place which the Lord shall chuse shall shew thee 12 13 14. and thou shalt observe to do according to all that they inform thee Accorto the Sentence of the Law which they shall teach thee according to the judgment which they shal tel thee thou shalt do thou shalt not decline from the sentence which they shall shew thee to the right hand nor to the left And the man that will do presumptuosly and will not heark in unto the Priest that standeth to Minister there before the Lord thy God or unto the Judge even that man shall dye and thou shalt put away the evill from Israel I pray you observe there the power and great authority of the old Legal Priests and consider then the just power that the Evangelicall ones ought to have and do not forget to observe the dismall punishment of presumption and disobedience Then I pray you be pleas'd to observe how the Primitive Christians did follow the orders that were given by Moses in Denteronemy for we find in the Acts that when a great dissention arose about the businesse of circumcision the Apostles and Elders came together for to consider the matter and upon the issue of the dissention and disputation they determined to send Paul and Barnabas up to Jerusalem unto the Apostles and Elders there about this question and they did so and it follows it so pleased the Apostles and Elders with the whole Church now what was the whole Church there not the whole Congregation of Christians but they went up to the Apostles and Elders about this question here it is plain that the Apostles and Elders were the representative body of the Church To the Ninth and last I utterly deny the whole Church to be such an invisible thing as you world have much less not to be understood for first if it were so hidden from the eyes and understanding of men why or how should our Saviour command us to tel the Church and if he hears not the Church Math. 18. Rom. 12. 1 Cor. 1.12 Ephes 1.5 Col. 1. c. Now if the Church were hidden how could any man tell it any thing and if it were not to be understood how could any men hear it Do we not find that the Church is the body of Christ and all Christians the members and this is plain in severall places of Scripture Now how can you say that body and those members are hidden and the Church to be only in clouds when St. Paul tells us plainly you are the body of Christ and members one of another c. Luke 11. It has been of Hereticks always to run into Dens and Caves and hiding holes the Church hâ—'s always put the Candle in the candlestick as the Gospel teacheth us The Church ha's been always visible to us in Councils in the Apostolicall Seat in Bishops Presidents and Pastor of severall Churches 2 Cor. 8.18 For if the Church were in the clouds and a meer Mathematical Phancasme as you would have it how could the Brother that St. Paul speaks of have his praise throughout all the Churches And the Prophet David repeats so often with thee is my praise and glory in the Congregation of thy people and in the Chair of the Elders Psalâ— 21. Psal 106. let thy name be praised and desires that he may see the good of his chosen that he may rejoyce in the gladnesse of his people and that he may glory with his inheritance c. Now I have been inform'd indeed that it ha's ever been the fashion of all old Hereticks to strengthen the Church with a narrow compass and draw it within the compasse of one of their convanticles I hope you will not be guilty of that fault and whereas you urge it for a matter of faith therefore not to be seen I ask you whether God the Creator be not to be seen in every thing that moves and has a being and yet the Creation is an Article of faith I ask whether Jesus Christ God the son was not seen in the flesh and to ascend visibly into heaven and yet matters of faith I ask again whether God the holy Ghost was not seen visibly to discend upon the Apostles and yet an Article of faith propoâ—'d by the same Apostles and so the same I say of the Holy Catholick and Apostolick Church Now because I have been so large in my answers I shall not need to be otherwise then short in my replies but something I shall urge to you out of Scripture according to my former method and that Scripture alone cannot be the Rule of our faith I prove thus I shal begin with the Articles of your faith and ours contein'd in the Apostles Creed and aâ—k you whether alll those are to be proved out of expresse Scripture As first that Article of Christs discent into Hell the Church ha's ever believed it â—ecles 24. as it is propos'd locally but how shall we prone it I say out of Scripture if out of Ecclesiasticus where it is said I will pierce into the lower moâ—â— parts of the Earth you will say it is Apocripha If out of St. Paul to the Ephesians Eph. s 4.9 10. where is it said now that he ascended what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth he that descended is the same also that ascended up farre above all things c. Some of your Doctors have found a shift for that too First they will say that he descended by his power not by his person Then they will tell you of his descen into the wombs of the Virgin c. Now as you are pleased to distinguish upon it what are we the better in that point for the Scripture Then in the Athanasian Creed how will you prove the one substance of the blessed Trinity if from
Romane from the most noble part the head of it and that she must be that Universal and for ever visible Church of Christ is plain because she ever has been so Let any man shew that any other Church has continued without errour or interruption and I will grant you all that you have said and can more require of me But if it be manifest that no one Church of Christ in the world has continued without errour or interruption but onely she it must follow that she is the onely true Church of Christ First the Jewish Church has been long since more then interrupted quite abrogated The Turkish or Mahumetan has not always been The Liaheran Calvinian and reformed Church of England are all new for they began with pretended reformation which was made by them and other particular Doctors so must of necessity imply novelty The Roman onely has persevered in its own place and ancient profession so must be for ever the Mother and Mistress of our faith as taught by the Spirit of God If any of you will say that your Church or any other their Church has continued visible and without errour I beg the favour onely to know by what name she was called and is what parts of the world she has possest does what pastors and Bishops she has had and still has what Kings and Emperours have adhered to her and still do What Hereticks have been condemned by her What Universities she hath confirmed What Churches and Monasteries built If none of this can be shown you must give me leave to persist in my former perswasion Now though I conceive enough said in my answer before as to the business of the popes being Anti-christ and that no obligation at all lyes upon me to prove a negative yet because that is so great a gudgeon and so vulgarly swallowed I shall undertake the taske a little further That you may better understand this controversie concerning Anti-christ you must know that the name of Anti-christ signifies as I am informed an enemy or adversary to Christ and that must be understood in a two fold manner first generally for any enemy of Christ as all Hereticks are and in that sense we are to understand the Apostle who tells us that even now there are many Antichrists that is many Hereticks that think evilly and maliciously of Christ of whom it follows in the Text They went cut from us but they are not of us and again in another chapter of the same Epistle And every spirit that confesseth not 1 John 4.3 that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God and this is that spirit of Antichrist whereof you have heard that it should come and even now already it is in the world Secondly it is taken specially for the principall and grandest adversary of Christ of whom all the rest before spoken of are but forerunners and of this grand Antichrist it is that S. Paul speaks when he says 2 Thess 2 3 4. unless that man of sin be revealed the son of perdition who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God c. Now first I shall prove that this special Antichrist is not yet come at all for it is agreed upon by all the learned that the Antichrist shall not come till after the overthrow and desolation of the Roman Empire and they ground themselves upon those express places in Daniel and the Revelations Dan 2.7 Rev. 17. but now we know that the Roman Empire is not yet over thrown therefore Antichrist cannot be yet come Then we finde in the Revelation Rev. 11.3.6 I will give power unto my two witnesses and they shall prophesie a thousand two hundred and threescore dayes clothed in sackcloath who shall have power to shut up heaven that it rain not in the dayes of their prophesie and have power over waters to turn them into blood c. but these two witnesses are not yet come fore Antichrist cannot yet be come himself In the second place I am to prove that the Pope is not Antichrist and first as before Antichrist is not to come but after the ruine of the Romane Empire but the Pope came and still is in the flourishing condition of the Romane Empire Then Antichrist is to kill those two witnesses or Prophets before spoken of but this the Pope has not done therefore Then again Antichrist is not to reign above three years and a half Dan. 7.25 Re. 11.2 Rev. 5.3 as first the Prophet Daniel informes us for a time and times and half a time and in the Revelation it is said for forty and two moneths in one place and a thousand two hundred and threescore dayes in another place but now the Pope has raigned for many ages Again the Antichrist is to be received by the Jews for their Messiah John 7.43 2 Thess 10. as both S. John and S. Paul do testifie but the Pope I am sure never yet was and very improbable it is that he will ever be received by them for their Mossiah Lastly Antichrist is to make fire come down from Heaven Rev. 13.13 as we see said in the Revelation but none of this has the Pope ever done therefore he can never be thought to be Antichrist Thus I have been bold to inlarge upon this particular it being so vulgar an errour and the grand pretext of all the schisme and heresie in the whole world for to justifie their defection from the Bishop of Rome and indeed it was a very artificial trick of the Devil and some of your Doctors to fasten that dirt upon him for who will be so mad to keep in communion with that man of sin or the Antichrist as most of your common people do most ignorantly presume him to be And so I have done with all your Papers but I hope I have not yet done with you and presume that you will do me the honour very speedily to see me that we may sit and discourse something further upon these particulars so the Lord give you understanding in all things and enable me to prove more fully that I am Mistress N. your most faithfull friend to serve you M. Postscript I pray you dear Mistress N. do me the favour to come and dine with me to morrow and bring your Husband with you so you shall more obbige your true friend M. So my Lady immediately closed up the Papers into one Packet which she sealed and presently sent it away by her servant FINIS THE DIPPER DROWNED By endeavouring to wade in the unfathomable depths of SCRIPTVRE Whilst the FEMALE DUELLISTS Swim over him 1 Cor. 27. God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise London Printed by Peter Lillicrap 1661. THE DIPPER DROWNED By endeavouring to wade in the unfathom'd depths of Scripture c. Mris N. had no sooner received these papers but she went immediately with them to her husband the Doctor imploring his
do I remember that I ever heard of any Heretick so impudent as to say that the flesh of Christ upon the Cross profited nothing Besides is this a consequence the flesh profiteth nothing therefore it is not in the Sacrament truly if that be good Logick it may as well follow in my judgement that the flesh of Christ profiteth nothing therefore it is not in heaven over and above all this it is plain our Saviour speaks not there of his own flesh for he says not my flesh profiteth nothing indeed some of the Jews there had such a foolish oppinion as to think upon our Saviours mystical words that the very flesh of Christ should be visibly under the species of flesh torn by mens teeth that sottishness of theirs our Saviour onely reproves To the third To what you alledge out of Scriptures and Articles of Faith I answer and acknowledge our Lord and Saviour to be in heaven and fitting on the right hand of his Father in visible and quantitative form yet he may lye invisibly and sacramentally under the species of Bread Nor does the verity of our Eucharist clash at all with the verity of our Articles of Faith for we know as the Scripture tells us that with God nothing is impossible His Almighty word sure can as easily make a body to be in divers places as nature his servant can make the essence of a soul to be in divers members Nay we see it plainly and positively said so nor can it chuse but be so for Jesus Christ who as we said is eternally to be at the right hand of his Father yet appeared upon earth to S. Paul Acts 9.22 1 Cor. 15. To the fourth To what you alledge out of our Saviours institution I utterly deny that he said take ye bread but taking bread he said take and eat this is my body Now I would fain know what difference there is betwixt saying take my body and taking bread to say take this is my body nor is it the mumbling or breathing of the Priests mouth that makes this miraculous change but Christ himself when the Priest according to his institution speaks the words of consecration is pleased to assist with his divine omnipotency and convert the substance of bread into his very body and wine into his blood Now this power was delivered by Christ to his Apostles when he gave them Commission to do the like and bid them so often as they did it to do it in remembrance of him and so the Apostle Paul tells us that what he received from the Lord that he delivered to us Then as to the impassibility of the body of Christ we do most humbly acknowledge it nor do our Priests say who know that our Saviour dies no more that his body shall be delivered but they relate onely that our Saviour did use those words at his last Supper which is Truth for then his body was to be delivered and his blood to be shed To the fifth For the Evangelists calling it bread it is always understood before consecration but that being done they do all unanimously call it the body of Christ In like manner the Apostles and Fathers might sometime call it so because before its change it was so as a Serpent in Scripture was called a Rod because it was a Rod but Aarons Rod devoured their Rods Exod. 7. then because the figure of bread and all its other accidents remain as things are sometimes called from their representations 1 Kings 10. so Solomon was said to make oxen and little Lions because he made the images of them Then the Eucharist may still be called bread because in it is the living bread which came down from heaven John 5. To the sixth and last To what you alledge out of the 24th of S. Matthew I answer that you are mistaken cleerly in the Text for those words you make to be spoken of the body of Christ are clearly meant of Christs kingdome of Faith His divine Majesty cleerly foresaw that the Hussits would have one Christ to stand for them the Lutherans one Christ to be for them the Annabaptists one for them the Calvinists one for them the Arminians one for them and Socinians one for them and the like of such bold challengers of Christ as those and other Hereticks are our blessed Saviour gives us a fair warning to beware which good Mrs. N. God give you grace to do Thus I have briâ—fly and punctually as I could answered your alligations out of the Scripture against the mystery of Christs Reall Presence in the Sacrament Now give me leave to mind you of some places of Scripture that do most expresly assert the Catholick doctrine against you First the words of our Saviours institution in all the four Evangelists are most significantly harmonious to a letter Mat. 14.26 27 28. as first in S. Matthew And as they were eating Jesus took bread and blessed it and brake it and gave it the Disciples and said take eat this is my body and he took the cup and gave thanks and gave it to them saying drink yee all of it for this is my bloud of the new Testament which is shed for many for the remission of sins S. Mark hath it thus And as they did eat Jesus took bread Mark 14 22 23.24 and blessed and brake it and gave to them and said take eat this is my body and he took the cup and when he had given thanks he gave it to them and they all drank of it and he said unto them this is my bloud of the new Testament which is shed for many Luke 22.19 20. St. Luke thus And he brake bread and gave thanks and brake it and gave unto them saying This is my body which is given for you this do in remembrance of me Likewise also the Cup after Supper saying This cup is the New Testament in my blood which is shed for you St. John in his sixth Chapter Joh. 6.51.53 54 55 56 57. makes it his whole business to shew how our Saviour did endeavour to explain this mysterie and therefore is pleased expresly to say I am the living bread which came down from heaven if any man eat of this bread he shall live for ever and the bread that I will give is my flesh which I will give for the life of the world Then upon the Jews murmuring he adds Verily verily I say unto you except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood ye have no life in you whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life and I will raise him up at the last day for my flesh is meat indeed and my blood is drink indeed He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood dwelleth in me and I in him As the living Father hath sent me and I live by the Father So he that eateth me even he shall live by me c. The Gospels themselves