himselfe notable in his art he telleth his Reader that that vow was not much vnlike to the vow of religious persons and biddeth him thereof to see the sixt Chapter of the booke of Numbers as if looking there he should finde it so to be Now for their pupils and scholers who must yeeld to enlarge their throats to swallow all their Masters googeons hee knew well enough that they would neuer nay they dare not looke the Chapter and as for others though they finde him a lyar what cares he for that He that looketh into that Chapter or any other what shall he finde that may giue him cause to thinke the vow of the Nazarites like to the vow of religious persons The vow of religious persons is a vow of perpetual pouerty chastity and obedience and what is there in the vow of the Nazarites that carryeth any semblance of these things h Num. 6. 2. 3. c. He was to forbeare wine and strong drinke and all things of the grape to suffer no razour to come vpon his head but to let the locks of his haire to grow to come at no dead body not his father his mother his brother or sister and by these ceremonies to separate himselfe to the Lord but of giuing away all his goods to liue in pouerty of forbearing marriage or the company of a wife of liuing vnder obedience to any mans rules or lawes there is nothing I say nothing to bee found Now who can thinke it safe to trust M. Bishop that is not ashamed thus wilfully to falsifie that which is so plainly reported by the holy Ghost As for Saint Pauls taking vpon him that vow of a Nazarite which Saint Luke recordeth it was but a yeelding for the time to the infirmity of the Iewes becomming i 1. Cor. 9. 20. 21 to the Iewes a Iew that he might winne the Iewes as he professeth otherwhere For although in the death and resurrection of Iesus Christ the ceremoniall law of Moses were at an end and now to be abolished yet there was a time to be yeelded for instruction and teaching of the Iewes thereby to withdraw them from the opinion of those things which so long and by so great authority euen from God himselfe both they and their fathers had obserued that the sodaine relinquishing thereof might be no scandall or offence vnto them St. Austin saith notably hereof that k Aug. Epist 19. Cum venisset fides qua priùs illis obseruationibus praenunciata post morte resurrectione Domini reuelata est amiserant tanquam vitam officij sui veruntamen sicut defuncta corpora necessarioruÌ„ officijs deducendae â—â—ant quodammodo ad sepuituram nec simulatè sed religiosâ— non autem deserenda continuò vel inimicorum obtrectationibus tanquam canum morsibus proijcienda when the faith fore-shewed by those ceremonies was after the death and resurrection of Christ reueiled they lost as it were the life of their office or vse but yet as the dead bodies of friends they were by the office or seruice of friends religiously to be brought to their buriall and not to be presently forsaken or cast to the slanders of enemies as to the bitings or gnawings of dogs But though l Ibid. Illo teÌ„pore quo primùm gratia fidei reuelata est hoc noÌ„ crat pernicioâ—â— progressu verò temporis perniciosum erat nisi obseruationes illae ab omnibus Christ aniâ— desererentur it were not hurtfull as he there saith againe that these ceremonies at the first preaching of the faith were for a while obserued yet in processe of time it had beene pernicious that they should not haue beene forsaken of all Christians yea it should haue been impious to retaine them And hath not M. Bishop then for proofe of their vowes made good choise of an example which it were pernicious and impious to retaine in the Church of Christ But hee found there the name of vow and that he thought was enough to soppe them who he knew would take any thing that he should tell them From vowes he â—larteth to praier for the dead and saith that it is not true that in St. Paul there is nothing for prayer for the dead And what is there I pray for it He teacheth saith he that some of the faithfull who haue m 1. Cor. 3. 13. built vpon the right foundation hay stubble and such like trash shall notwithstanding at the day of the Lord be saued yet so as through fire But what is this to prayer for the dead Marry the ancient Doctors doe take this to be the fire of Purgatory and if many while the drosse of their works is purged do lie in fire it will easily follow that euery good soule will pray for the release of them Thus he telleth vs what some Doctors doe thinke and what he himselfe gathereth thereof but otherwise of St. Paul himselfe he can tell vs nothing It appeareth not by St. Paul himselfe that that fire is Purgatory fire it appeareth not by St. Paul himselfe that we are to pray for the dead therfore in all this M. Bishop hath said nothing because it is not the question what some haue gathered of an obscure sentence of St. Paul but what St. Paul himselfe hath deliuered and that in the Epistle to the Romans where Theodoret witnesseth as I haue said all doctrines of faith to be contained But he dealeth here after the very manner of Heretikes who are wont to make choise of some figuratiue and allegoricall and darke speeches of Scripture which they may construe at their owne pleasure and alleage them according to their owne construction to proue their falshoods and heresies by them when as notwithstanding the plaine and euident testimonies of Scripture doe make against them St. Paul speaketh of purpose to giue instruction of our carriage towards the dead where of Purgatory or praier for the dead he teacheth nothing n 1. Thess 4. 13. I would not brâ—thren haue you ignorant saith he concerning them which are asleepe that yee sorrow not as other which haue no hope for if we beleeue that Iesus is dead and is risen euen so them which sleep in Iesus wil God bring with him And then shewing in what sort God will bring them with Iesus he concludeth Wherefore comfort your selues one another with these words Is it possible that the Apostle should here omit to giue charge of praying for the dead if it were religion to pray for them Nay he telleth vs of the faithfull departed that they sleepe in Iesus and of them that sleepe in Iesus o Apoc. 14. 13. the spirit saith Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord which sleepe in Iesus for they rest from their labours and if they be blessed and at rest then they are not labouring in the restlesse fire of Purgatory and therefore neede none of our prayers for release Albeit if vve grant M. Bishop his Purgatory yet
Catholike Church from the errour of perfidiousnesse the obseruance or obedience almost of the whole world ioyned to his name and honour in which manner â—armenian also though he held the Church d Optat. lib. 2. Eam tu apud â—os solos esse dixisti to be with them only yet pretended e Ibid. post Offerre vos dicitis pro vna Ecclesia quae sit in totâ— terrarum orbe dissusa to offer or pray for one Church which is dispersed ouer the whole world Euen so the Papists also albeit they know that it is but a small part of the world wherein the communion of the Bishop and Church of Rome is accepted or acknowledged yet take pleasure to babble and prate as if the Popes triple crowne were so wide as to compasse the whole earth and his scepter so long as to reach to the worlds end Thus much then M. Bishop hath gained by being angry at my comparing the Papists to the Donatists that whereas I mentioned but fiue resemblances before I haue now added twelue more and so like are they in all these that I doubt not but by obseruation they may be found like in many moe As for the retortion of this comparison which he hath vsed in his answere to my Epistle Dedicatory as it is wholly forced and violent in it selfe so it argueth only malice and folly in him I will set downe the branches of the Donatists heresie as he hath noted them and adde the application that he hath made of euery of them First he f Reproofe pag. 42. saith they held that the true Church of Christ was perished all the world ouer sauing in some coastes of Africa where their doctrine was currant Well and what is that to vs The Protestants saith he teach euen as they did that Christs visible Church was perished for nine hundred yeares at the least all the world ouer and is now wholly decayed in all other parts of the world sauing where their doctrine is embraced and this he saith was the maine point of the Donatists heresie To shew why he nameth the visible Church he putteth in a parenthesis thus for the inuisible Church the Donatists held could not perish as St. Austin witnesseth in Psal 101. Which is a very lie neither is there any thing to be found in St. Austin to that effect But as touching the visible Church where doe the Protestants hold or affirme that it was or is perished in that sort as he saith Why doth he not cite vs some authour of this assertion Well whether we say so or not it skilleth not g Bellarm. de notis Eccles c. 9. Ecclesiam visibilem a multis seculis perijsse nunc solum esse in septentrionalibus partibus vbi ipsi sunt doceâ—t omnes Bellarmine hath told him that we all say so and that is enough for him Yet that we doe not all say so M. Bishop may sufficiently vnderstand by that that hath beene before handled at large as touching this point in the answere h Sect. 17. to the Preface to his second part whither I referre the Reader for further satisfaction hereof Here I briefly answere him that we hold in all that time wherof he speaketh one only Catholike church whereof the Church of England was a part and the Church of Rome another part and the Greeke Church another part and so the rest throughout the whole world The Church in these parts was in that time blemished with many corruptions and errours whilest first the Teachers in steede of i 1. Cor. 3. 18. siluer and gold and pearle built hay and straw and stubble vpon the foundation and secondly the Pastors more and more k Ierem. 10. 21. became beasts as the Prophet saith and sought not the Lord nor had any vnderstanding to teach Gods law by meanes whereof ignorance encreased and of ignorance grew superstition and one idolatry begat another till the whole face of the Church was berayed with the filth thereof l Mat. 24. 15. the abhomination of desolation standing in the holy place and the man of sinne tyraÌ„nizing ouer the Church and giuing strength to all abuse and corruption for his owne gaine So grosse were the enormities and superstitions which in this time had growen into the Church as that the great Rabbines of the Church of Rome could not for shame but in some part acknowledge the same and tooke vpon them to correct sundry things m Trident. CoÌ„cil sess 22. de Missa celebr Quae siue temporum vitio siue hominum incuria improbitate irrepserunt in Missam ipsam which either by the corruption of times or by the carelesnesse and naughtinesse of men were crept into the very Masse And thus the Pope himselfe confessed concerning their Offices and Primers that n Offic. Beatae Mariae per Pium V. in Summar constitut indulgent c. Vanis superstitionum erroribus alia ferè omnia huiusmodi officia etiam Latino sermone referta esse deprehensum fuit c. Credant ijsdeâ— alijs â—fficijs multas sub falsis confictis sanctorum nominiê° confictâ—â— orationes fuisse insertas they were found to be stuffed with vaine errours of superstitions and that many counterfaite praiers were inserted into them vnder false and counterfaite names of Saints Of these errours and superstitions they reformed what they list and purged their bookes and Seruice of many things that were amisse and what will any man say hereupon that they became another Church We proceeded further and voided the Church of the rest of those abhominations which ignorance and errour had brought in which they were not willing to haue medled with because the same were gainfull to them and shall we be said hereupon to deny that there was any visible Church before and to beginne a new Church No we say that the Church hath continued still from the time that it was first planted we affirme it to haue been the house of God the garden and vineyard of the Lord but we say that the husbandmen had long dealt wickedly and vnfaithfully in the vsage of it they drest not the Lords vine but suffered it to grow wild they let this garden be ouergrowen with briars and weedes and Foxes and Swine had liberty to tread it downe and to destroy it All that we haue done hath beene but to loppe and prune the vine to dresse and water the garden that lay wast to plucke vp the weedes and thornes to driue out the noysome beasts and to repaire the fence that they may be kept out Therefore we doe not take vpon vs to be another Church but the same Church reformed neither haue we gone about to bring in a new religion but only to reforme that which they call the old retaining still the same Scriptures which they acknowledged the same articles of faith the same Sacraments of Baptisme and the Supper of the Lord the same forme of diuine Seruice saue
amputatis quae superflua leuia falsa blasphema ridicula phantastica videbantur false blasphemous ridiculous n Pius 5. Offic. Beat. Mar. in Princip Huiusmodi ferè omnia officia vanis superstitionum erroribus reserta erroneous superstitious were brought into the seruice of the Church and o Liâ—dan apud Espenc vt supra Preces secretae mendis turpissimis conspurcatae the prayers thereof were filthily corrupted or when p Cor. Agripp de vanit scient cap. 17. Hodie tanta in Ecclesijs Musicae licentia est vt â—â—â—am vnà cum Missae ipsius Canone obscoenae quaeque cantiunculae interim in organis parâ—s vices habeant filthy songs had equall place or course with the Canon of the Masse And what will not M. Bishop say as all his fellowes doe that the Pastors and Doctors of all the Easterne parts haue gone astray will hee not acknowledge that all those Churches haue failed in faith What is become of the Church of Ephesus to which the Apostle wrote these words now in question What of the Church of Corinth of Colosse of Thessalonica and the rest If this the truth of the Apostles wordes reserued might befall to them what saith he for other Churches more then he doth for them If M. Bishop will say that the wordes haue some speciall reference to the Pastors and Doctors of the Church of Rome we hold him a most ridiculous man that taketh vpon him to see that which amongst so many ancient interpreters of the place neuer any man saw before him Once againe I say that Christ hath giuen Pastors and Doctors to his Church as of old q Ezech. 3. 17. 33. 7. he gaue watchmen to the house of Israel Hee hath prescribed them their office and duty and appointed the worke that they shall doe When they performe their duty faithfully and carefully they are the saluation of the people and bring many vnto glory But if they neglect their duty and leaue the worke of God vndone the people perish vnder them and they become guilty of their destruction And thus it befalleth often in the publike state of the Church euen to the ruine thereof that theeues and robbers thrust themselues or creepe by stealth into the places of Pastors who sometimes cannot sometimes will not teach and sometimes teach errour and lies in steede of truth whilest they measure their teaching by r Tit. 1. 11. filthy lucre and by Å¿ Rom. 16. 18. Thil. 3. 19. seruing their bellies in steede of seruing Iesus Christ The Apostle doth not say they cannot erre hee doth not say that the Church vnder them cannot faile in faith Only God amidst all ruines and desolations prouideth for his Elect and in the want and default of ordinary Pastors raiseth vp other spirits and vseth other meanes for the effecting of his good purpose concerning them so guiding them not as that they neuer erre in faith they erre often greeuously and are misled with the customes and superstitions of their times but so as that they neuer erre finally as touching any truth the knowledge and faith whereof hee hath made necessary to eternall life Now whereas M. Bishop concludeth out of the same place that the Church shall neuer be inuisible as which hath alwaies visible Pastors and Teachers hee therein sheweth his absurd loosenesse and carelesnesse of arguing because though the Apostle affirme Pastors and Teachers in the Church yet he doth not so much as intimate any way that they are alwaies visible What is there in the Apostles wordes whence hee should in any sort gather that there is a perpetuall visible state and succession of Pastors and Teachers Be it that there is a perpetuity of succession to be gathered from hence yet it doth not follow that there is a perpetuall visibility thereof It is enough here thus to reiect him as an idle Sophister and indeede not worthy of so much as the name of a Sophister that will bring a conclusion there where he hath no slâ—ew of footing for it otherwise of the visibility or inuisibility of the Church I haue spoken sufficiently t Part. 3. Answere to Doct. Bishops Preface sect 17. and CoÌ„futat of his Answere to M. Perkins Aduertisement sect 6. otherwhere and it were too long to dispute here His next matter is a bare recitall of a text without any collection made therefrom imagining in his blinde vnderstanding that it is a plaine assertion of that that hee would proue by it Hee maketh St. Paul to say that Priests are chosen from among men and appointed for men in those things that appertaine to God that they may offer gifts and sacrifices for sinne Where it is first to bee noted how to serue his owne turne he falsifieth the Apostles text and readeth Priests are chosen from amongst men for that the Apostle saith Euery high Priest is chosen from amongst men By saying Priests hoe would extend the wordes as to be vnderstood of their Popish Priest-hood in the Gospell whereas the Apostle by naming a high Priest appropriateth his wordes to Aarons Priest-hood in the law For euen in the Popish Priest-hood there is no high Priest the power of sacrificing being indifferently common to them all and no more belonging to Popes and Bishops then to the meanest hedge-Priest or Curate in the world Seeing then the Apostle speaketh of a Priest-hood which admitteth a high Priest which the Popish Priest-hood doth not certaine it is that the wordes can haue no reference to Popish Priest-hood Therefore the Fathers vniuersally apply this text as the drift of the holy Ghost most plainly leadeth them to the Leuiticall Priest-hood only neither did they euer dreame of any Euangelicall Priest-hood intended herein Ambrose declareth the purpose of the Apostle to be this u Ambros in Heb. 5. Vt consueto SacerdotuÌ„ more qui in lege fuit ad altius id est Christi sacerdotium eos perdâ—ceret qui adhuc infirmi fueruÌ„t propterea modum carnalis Pontificis introducit that by the accustomed manner of the Priests in the law he might bring them being weake to the higher or more excellent Priest-hood of Christ therefore saith hee doth hee bring in or set downe the manner or condition of the carnall high Priest Theodoret saith x Theodoret. ibid. DoceÌ„s quòd etiam in lege non Angelus vt pro hominibus sacerdotio fungatur electus est sed homo pro hominibus c. Haec dixit Apostolus non nobis Pontifiâ—atus regulas volens ostendere sed ad dicendum de Pontificatu Domini viam muniens He teacheth that euen in the law there was not an Angell chosen to execute the office of Priest-hood for men but a man was chosen for men and The Apostle saith he speaketh these things not to set downe rules of the high Priest-hood but to make way to the Priest-hood of Christ Wee see they both take the wordes as spoken of the Priests in the law