death fall like trees and cannot afterwards alter their condition And saith our Saviour Joh. 9.4 I must work the work of him that sent me while it is day the night cometh when no man can work And this night we may be sure will come at death tho' our Lord here may have some respect to Persecution too And saith St. Paul Phil. 2.12 Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling Here the Apostle doth plainly shew that every one is to work out his own Salvation here in this World and exhorts us to do it with exceeding great care and lets us plainly see that it is not to be done by the Prayers and Absolutions of others after we are dead And saith the Apostle Heb. 3.13 But exhort one another while it is called to day Hereby also shewing that our work is to be done here before death And at the great Day of Judgment every one is to be judged according to the things that he hath done here in the body 2 Cor. 5.10 For saith St. Paul we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ that every one may receive the things done in his body according to that he hath done whether it be good or bad According to the things done here in the body in this world are men to be judged at the last day and here is no regard that is to be had to the matters of Purgatory which shews that there is no such place And after death we may see that the righteous cease from their labor and are at rest and therefore are not laboring and tormented in the fire of Purgatory Job 3.12 13. Why did the knees prevent me or why the breasts that I should suck For now should I have slept then had I been at rest with Kings and Counsellors of the earth And ver 17. There the wicked cease from troubling and there the weary be at rest Job concluded that he should be at rest as soon as he was out of this troublesome world and that other righteous men should be so too and yet he had perfect knowledge of a world to come Job 19.25 And Daniel was to be at rest Dan. 12.13 But go thou thy way till the end be for thou shalt rest and stand in the lot at the end of the days And saith the Prophet Isaiah 57.1 None considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come He shall enter into peace From evil here in this world is the righteous man taken and when he departs hence he enters into peace and rest And saith the Apostle Heb. 4.9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the People of God For he that is entred into his rest he also hath ceased from his own works as God did from his Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest least any man fall after the same example of unbelief A rest remaineth to the People of God after this life is ended and here we are to labor that we may enter into it And saith St. John Rev. 14.13 And I heard a voice from Heaven saying unto me Write Blessed are the dead which dye in the Lord from hence forth yea saith the Spirit that they may rest from their labors and their works do follow them Those that dye in Christ are blessed and happy and are then to rest from their labors and not to be tormented in Purgatory 2 We may conclude from hence also that there is no Purgatory because the body has need to be purified as well as the soul and must be purified before it goes to Heaven but the body is not purified in Purgatory and therefore we may conclude that the soul is not purified in any such place It is more likely that the body should be purified in such a fire than that the soul should be so but the body lyes here in the grave with us until the resurrection and is not purified by Purgatory And yet the body must be purified before it can go to Heaven For the Apostle hath told us That flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of Heaven and that corruption doth not inherit incorruption 1 Cor. 15.50 But our bodies are to be glorified and spiritualized by our blessed Lord. Phil. 3.20 For our conversation is in Heaven from whence also we look for the Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ who shall change our vile body that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body according to the working whereby he is able to subdue all things unto himself The body is to be purified before it can go to Heaven but it is certain that the bodies of men dead are in the grave and not in Purgatory and that the bodies of the righteous are to be changed and glorified by our blessed Saviour and we may be sure also that the souls of the righteous are purified by him When we by the grace of God have done what we can to purify our souls we may be sure that our blessed Saviour will complete this purity and present them without spot before the Throne of God as I have shewed before This clear proof before our eyes that the bodies of men departed are not in Purgatory but in monuments and graves here upon earth doth make it more evident that there is no such place as Purgatory but that it is a vain Fiction and a meer Fable All Receptacles of the dead shall at the last day deliver up the bodies of men that are in them and are there to remain till that day according to John's Vision Rev. 20.13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it and death and hell or the Grave delivered up the dead which were in them and they were judged every man according to their works In the several receptacles where the bodies of men are and shall be reposed and laid up are they to abide till the general day of Judgment and are then and not before to be delivered up And if there were any need that men should be purifyed in Purgatory before they can be fit for Heaven there would be the same need and necessity that the last generation of men should be purifyed herein before they could be fit for Heaven But we are taught by St. Paul that at the last day the dead shall be raised up and that the living shall then be changed and so go with them strait to Judgment to meet the Lord and that the righteous shall from thenceforth abide with him for ever 1 Cor. 15.51 Behold saith he I shew you a Mystery we shall not all sleep that is die but we shall all be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye at the last trump for the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible and we shall be changed That is those of us that shall be then living And 1 Thess 4.15 saith he For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord That we which are alive and remain unto
they shall go to confusion together that are makers of Idols And saith God by the Prophet Habakkuk Habak 2.19 Wo unto him that saith unto the wood Awake to the dumb stone Arise it shall teach Such Woes and Curses and Confusion await the makers and worshippers of Images and such must they expect And to conclude this particular we may see that Idolaters are to be excluded and shut out of the Kingdom of Heaven and to have their portion in the Lake that burns with fire and brimstone And it is plain by the sacred Scriptures that the worshipping of Images is flat Idolatry And from hence it doth appear that all Image worshippers are like to be utterly excluded from the Kingdom of Heaven and to go to the Lake that burns with fire and brimstone This is plain that Idolaters are not like to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven 1 Cor. 6.9 Know ye not saith St. Paul that the unrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdom of God Be not deceived neither Fornicators nor Idolaters shall inherit the Kingdom of God And saith he again Gal. 5.19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest which are these adultery fornication uncleaness lasciviousness Idolatry of the which I tell you before as I have also told you in times past that they which do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God It is clear that all Idolaters are like to be shut out of the Kingdom of Heaven and to have their part in the Infernal Lake of fire Rev. 22.14 saith St. John Blessed are they that do his Commandments that they may have right to the tree of Life and may enter in thorow the gates into the City For without are dogs and sorcerers and whoremongers and murderers and Idolaters Those that keep and not those that so notoriously violate and break the Commands of God are the persons that are to inherit his blessed Kingdom And Rev. 21.8 saith St. John again But the fearful and unbelieving and the abominable and murderers and whoremongers and sorcerers and Idolaters and all lyars shall have their part in the Lake which burneth with fire and brimstone which is the second death We see that Idolaters must go to this dreadful place of fire and brimstone and it is clear that Image worshippers are great Idolaters and that they are like to go to this dreadful place of Torment It doth plainly appear that the worshipping of Images is flat contrary to the blessed Word of God in a multitude of places and that all the Pretences of the Papists that they worship Almighty God or our blessed Saviour or the Saints by them signifie nothing at all to excuse them from Idolatry and breaking the sacred Commands of Almighty God and that these Pretences are no more than what the old Idolaters both Jews and Heathens have made which are so much condemned in the Word of God and that all Image-worshippers are like to go to the dreadful Lake of fire and to perish to all Eternity This one Particular doth shew that there is no hope of Salvation for Papists so long as they practise such abominable Idolatry VI. Their worshipping of the Saints and Angels is not agreeable to the blessed Word of God This is the making of them Gods and is contrary to the first Commandment Exod. 20.3 Thou shalt have no other Gods before me The worshipping of Saints and Angels is to make them Gods and contrary to this great Commandment and many other places in the sacred Scriptures God hath declared that he will not give his Glory to another Isa 42.8 But by worshipping of the Saints they give it away And our Saviour hath shewed us that God alone is to be worshipped and served Matt. 4.10 Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him only shalt thou serve But in worshipping of Saints and Angels they go directly against this Precept and do not worship and serve him alone And St. Paul shews that the blessed Angels are not to be worshipped but that it is vanity of mind in such as attempt it Col. 2.18 Let no man domineer over you that is a volunteer in humility and worshipping of Angels intruding into those things which he hath not seen vainly puft up by his fleshly mind The Translation in the Bible differeth a little here but this seems to me to be the true meaning of the Greek here And here the Apostle dissuades us from being drawn away by others to the worshipping of Angels who thro' the vanity of their own mind run inconsiderately into such things as they understand not and for which they have no warrant And much less are we to be drawn then to the worshipping of Saints And we may see that the blessed Angel would by no means suffer St. John to worship him Rev. 19.10 And I fell at his feet to worship him saith St. John and he said unto me See thou do it not I am thy fellow servant and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus worship God And Rev. 22.9 saith he And when I had heard and seen I fell down to worship before the feet of the Angel which shewed me these things Then saith he unto me See thou do it not for I am thy fellow servants and of thy brethren the Prophets and of them which keep the sayings of this book Worship God The blessed Angel would by no means be worshipped we see but sheweth that God only is to be worshipped and if the blessed Angels are not to be worshipped but God only we may be sure that the Saints are not to be worshipped And we are not to make Mediators of them for we are taught that there is but one Mediator between God and Man and that is our blessed Lord. 1 Tim. 2.5 For saith the Apostle there is one God and one Mediator between God and men the man Christ Jesus Our blessed Saviour alone is our Mediator and we are not to make Mediators of the Saints The worshipping of the Saints is the making of them petty Gods and the worshipping of them by Images is gross Idolatry and both are contrary to a multitude of places in the sacred Scriptures And by what hath been said before we may see that those that practise such things are like to perish eternally if they do not betake themselves to a speedy Repentance and Amendment of their sinful Practice herein VII Their Doctrine of Transubstantiation that is That the Bread and Wine in the Sacrament after Consecration are changed into the real Body and Blood of Christ our Saviour is not agreeable to the blessed Word of God St. Paul hath plainly taught us that it is Bread after Consecration and that it is still Bread when it is eaten 1 Cor. 11.26 27 28. For saith he as often as ye eat this Bread and drink this Cup ye do shew the Lord's death till he come Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread and drink this cup of the Lord unworthily shall be guilty of the
a wicked thing it is to pretend to pardon them before they are so Isa 55.7 saith the Prophet Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return unto the Lord and he will have mercy upon him and to our God for he will abundantly pardon Upon this condition of repenting and forsaking of sin and returning to God he will pardon but not else And this God sheweth Ez. 18.21 But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed and keep all my statutes and do that which is lawful and right he shall surely live he shall not dye And ver 24 But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness and committeth iniquity and doth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doth shall he live all his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned In his trespess that he hath trespassed and in his sin that he hath sinned in them shall he die Here we see ver 20 that the soul that sinneth must die and not be pardoned except he repent but upon repentance and amendment here is mercy and pardon to be had but not without it And saith our Saviour Luke 13.3 Except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish And Luk. 24.47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his Name among all Nations Repentance is to be preached to all as the condition of pardon and remission of sins And saith St. Peter to Simon Magnus Acts 8.22 Repent therefore of this thy wickedness and pray God if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee This was the way that St. Peter prescribed to have his sins forgiven viz. to repent and humbly to pray to God for pardon and forgiveness And he hath set us no example of selling of pardons but the quite contrary And he hath shewed us that Spiritual Gifts and Powers are not to be sold and bought for Money Ver. 18 And when Simon saw that thro' laying on of the Apostles hands the Holy Ghost was given he offered them money saying give me also this power that on whomsoever I lay hands he may receive the Holy Ghost But Peter said unto him thy money perish with thee because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money The gifts of God are not to be bought with Money And from hence it doth appear that the Pardons of men's sins ought not to be sold for Money and that such Pardons are but miserable Deceits to the poor deluded Souls that buy them And saith our Saviour to his Apostles when he sent them forth Matt. 10.8 Heal the sick cleanse the lepers raise the dead cast out devils Freely ye have received freely give This is the Command of our blessed Lord that his gifts should be freely communicated to all persons that were capable of them and well qualified for them and not sold in such a covetous manner for sinful gain And saith St. Peter 1 Pet. 1.18 For as much as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold from your vain conversation But with the precious blood of Christ or of a lamb without blemish and without spot It is this Blood that hath redeemed us and this Blood and not silver and gold must procure us the pardon of our sins By these places without drawing a multitude more together here which might be alledged to this purpose it is plain that the Popish way of selling pardons is not at all agreeable to the sacred Scriptures but contrary to them XIV The Practice of the Romish Church in deposing and dethroning of Emperors Kings and Princes and turning them out of their Empires Kingdoms and Dominions and absolving their Subjects from their Oaths of Allegiance and from all Fidelity and Obedience to them is directly contrary to the Word of God This is very great wickedness to turn Princes out of all their Rights and Dominions and to tolerate Rebellion Perjury and Regicide and such black and bloody Crimes and to involve whole Kingdoms in dismal War and Blood This is not to act like a Servant of Christ the Prince of Peace to turn whole Kingdoms thus into Disorder and Confusion and to set men to kill and destroy one another and to command them to commit such wicked things as these and to violate the sacred Commands of God to the contrary The High Priests among the Jews were subject to their Kings and Princes and did not Lord it over them at this rate Aaron was subject to Moses tho' the younger Brother because he was the supreme Magistrate among them David and Solomon and the rest of the Kings of the Jews did Rule as Supreme Governors and the High Priests were subject and obedient to them And we read not that ever our blessed Lord and his Apostles did depose and dethrone any Kings and Emperors because they would not presently submit to them or gave any command that they should be deposed and removed upon any such account We cannot find that ever the blessed Jesus and his Apostles set such a wide gate open to sin and wickedness and gave men liberty to practise what Villanies they pleased against their Soveraign and the Lord 's Anointed tho' an unbeliever We cannot see that they have made Perjury and Murder lawful upon any account much less the murdering of a King But we may see that such practice is strictly forbid by the Gospel Our Saviour hath commanded that Caesar should have his dues Matt. 22.21 Render therefore unto Caesar saith he the things which are Caesar's and unto God the things which are God's Caesar was not to be dethroned but to have his Dues tho' a Heathen And the Apostles strictly enjoyn and command obedience to Kings and all supreme Governors Rom. 13.1 saith St. Paul Let every soul be subject unto the higher Powers for there is no Power but of God the Powers that be are ordained of God Whosoever therefore resisteth the Power resisteth the Ordinance of God and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation And ver 5. Wherefore ye must needs be subject not only for wrath but also for conscience sake Here is a positive and strict Command that all men whatsoever should be subject to the supreme Power and no less than Damnation is threatned to them that resist and rise up against lawful Authority and Government And saith St. Peter 1 Pet. 2.13 Submit your selves to every Ordinance of man for the Lord's sake whether it be to the King as supreme or unto Governors as unto them that are sent by him To the King and Governors in all things that are good and lawful doth St. Peter command us to be subject and obedient And saith St. Paul to Titus 3.1 Put them in mind to be subject to Principalities and Powers to obey Magistrates to be ready to every good work By these and such places it doth plainly appear that all