exalted Neither is it any difficulty that Christ could not be exalted to any eminence that should not be due to him as God in mans flesh and therefore that which was due to him as incarnate could not be due to his Crosse For the assumption of mans nature being a work of God and not of nature the state which our Lord Christ was to assume in our nature was not determinable any way but by the voluntary apointment of God and the Father who ordered it So that nothing hindred the effects of the holy Ghost dwelling in our Lord Christ without measure to be exercised in such measure and upon such reasons as God should appoint nor the declaration of the fullnesse of the Godhead dwelling in our flesh to depend upon his obedience and suffering in it The declaration hereof is that which S. Paul calls that name above all names at which all things bow which the giving of the holy Ghost to our Lord Christ to convince the world of it upon his exaltation is that which effecteth So saith S. Peter Acts II. 33 Being therefore exalted to the right hand of God and having received the promise of the holy Ghost of the Father he hath shâ—d forth this which ye now see and hear For it is true our Lord promised his disciples the holy Ghost John XIV 16 17 18. XVI 7 13 14 15. But this promise he received upon his advancement to the right hand of God being then and thereupon enabled to perform it And therefore it is that which our Lord signifies Mat. XXVIII 18. When he saies All power is given to me in heaven and upon earth Go ye therefore and make disciples all Nations Baptizing them in the Name of the Father the Sonne and the holy Ghost For the event shews that this power consists in sending the holy Ghost whereby the World was reduced to the obedience of the Christian Faith So that when our Lord saies Mat. XI 27. All things are delivered unto me by the Father he means the right to this power though limited in the exercise of it unto the time and state of his advancement which gave him right in it And though it be granted as I said afore that the generall terms of all power in heaven and earth and all things are to be understood of that which concerns his kingdome Yet seeing the ground thereof consisting in giving such measure oâ— the holy Ghost to his disciples as the advancement of his kingdom requires supposes the fullnesse thereof to dwell in his own flesh it imports no disparagement to the Godhead of Christ that the exercise thereof in our flesh is limited to that time and that state of his advancement which the Father appointeth S. Paul Ephes IV. 7-11 writeth thus Now to every one of us is grace given according to the measure of Gods gift To wit in which God pleased to give it Therefore he saith Going up on high he led captivity captive and gave gifts to men Now that he ascended what is it but that he descended first into the lower parts of the earth He that descended is the same who also ascended farre above all heavens that he might fill all things And he hath given some Apostles some Prophets some Evangelists some Pastors and Doctors Where it is manifest that he sets forth the ascension of our Lord in the nature of a triumph after the victory of his Crosse as Conquerors lead captives in triumph and give largesses to their subjects and souldiers And that which S. Paul terms giving gifts to men David out of whom it is quoted Psal LXVIII 18. calls receiving gifts for men Our Lord being his Fathers Generall and by his Commission conquering in his name Receiving therefore of him who gave him Commission the gifts which he bestowes at his triumph can any man doubt that he receives them in consideration of the discharge of that Commission which he undertook And these gifts are the meanes by which the Gospel convicteth the World and taketh effect in it The same appears by the conquest of Christs Crosse and those Scriptures that speak of it Col. II. 15. Disarming principalities and powers he made an open shew of them triumphing over them through it To wit his Crosse to which he had said just afore that he nailed the decrees of the Law that were against us Heb. II. 14. Seeing then that Sonnes partake of flesh and blood he also likewise did partake of the same that by death he might destroy him that had the power of death even the devil and free as many as through fear of death were all their life long subject unto bondage 1 Cor. XV. 54-57 When this corruptible shall have put on incorruption and this mortall immortality then shall that come to passe which is written death is swallowed up in victory Death where is thy sting Hell where is thy victory The sting of death is sinne and the strength of sinne is the Law But thanks be to the Lord which giveth us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ How doth God grant victory by our Lord Jesus Christ are we not and he severall persons by nature the conflicts severall what doth this conquest contribute to ours but by inabling us to overcome How that but by the help of God granted in consideration of it How are slaves to the fear of death freed from death by Christs death but because there is no condemnation for them that live by the Spirit of life granted them in consideration of his death And what is the triumph of the Crosse over the powers of darknesse but this that by the meanes of it they are disabled to keep mankind prisoners as afore And wherein consists the condemning or the executing of sinne in the flesh which S. Paul spake of afore but in this that by the death of Christ we are inabled to put it to death The Parable of our Saviour is manifest in this that as the branches bear fruit by being in the vine that is of it so Christians by being in Christ John XV. 1-8 and that force by virtue whereof they bear it not being conveyed but by Gods appointment why God had appointed the merits and sufferings of Christ to go before this conveyance but to procure it is not reasonable Therefore our Lord John VIII 31 36. If ye abide in my word ye shall be my disciples indeed and shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free And againe Verily verily I say unto you that every man that sinneth is a slave to sinne Now the slave abideth not for ever in the house but the Sonne for ever If therefore the Sonne set you free you shall be free indeâ—d The Sonne of God sets free the slaves of sinne not as the Sonnes of men by the death of their Fathers becoming heirs and granting freedome to whom they please but by dying himself and by his death helping them to their freedome And S. Paul 1 Cor. II.
spirit of Christ hee is none of Christs So hee had premised Rom. V. 1-5 Being justified by Faith wee have peace towards God through our Lord Jesus Christ together with the joy of hope by the love of God poured out in our hearts through the Spirit of God which is in us The Kingdome of God consisting in righteousnesse and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost Rom. XIV 17. If it be here objected that the Grace of the Holy Ghost is necessary to bring a man to Christianity and therefore cannot suppose it Supposing this for the present but not granting it because it is in controversie and must be resolved by the grounds which wee seek It will be easie to distinguish between the grace of the Holy Ghost and the gift of the Holy Ghost For hee that is converted to believe the truth of Christianity may acknowledge it to be of Grace but must not presume of the gift of the Holy Ghost that it is bestowed on him for his own till his conversion be complete by undertaking the profession of Christianity If it be further alleged that Cornelius and his company received the Holy Ghost before they were baptized The answer is ready from that maxime of Law That every exception against a Rule establishes the Rule in cases not excepted Cornelius no Jew but converted from Idols to worship the true God under the promises which the Jewes expected with his company of the same Faith being in the state of Gods grace upon that account receives the Holy Ghost before Baptisme because God knew him ready to undertake the profession of Christianity so soon as it could appear to be commanded by God And this for the satisfaction of S. Peter and the Jewes in that secret which hereby begâ—n to be declared that the Gentiles as well as the Jewes belonged to the Church It is true the graces of the Holy Ghost are of two kindes For some of them are given for the benefit and salvation of those in whom they are Some for the benefit and edification of the Church And it is true that both kindes are meant and expressed by these Scriptures But it is no lesse true that neither of them is to be had but supposing the truth of Christianity and of the Scriptures For the first kinde is granted to none but those that imbrace Christianity with a sincere intention of living according to that which they professe Being indeed the help that God by his Gospel promises and allowes them to go thorough with that high and difficult profession which they undertake Wee see the Apostles forsake their Lord and make a doubt of his resurrection before the coming of the Holy Ghost Whom having received they are ready to professe Christ in the midst of utmost dangers And S. John as hee giveth the reason why the righteous sin not because their â—eed abideth in them that is the word of the Gospel by which they were ingendred anew to be Christians 1 John III. 9. So hee giveth the reason why they were not to be seduced by the Heresies of that time because the unction which they had received from the Holy One taught them to know all things 1 John II. 20 27. Thus the Unction of the Spirit supposes the seed of the Word and the seed of the Word inferres the Unction of the Spirit And as when the Word of God came to the Prophets they were withall possessed by Gods Spirit moving them to deliver it to the people So when the word of Faith is established in the heart of a Christian as David saith the Spirit of God possesseth him with an inclination both to professe it and to live according to it As for the second kinde it is true they are granted to those that are not heires of Gods promises as it appeares by the instances of Saul surprised with the Spirit of Prophesie when hee intended the death of David 1 Sam. XIX 23 24. Of those that have prophesied and cast out Devils and done miracles in our Lords name to whom hee shall say I know you not Mat. VII 22 23. Of Caiaphas who prophesied of our Lords death when hee was compassing of it John XI 49 -52. And of Balaam in the last place as all know But as the former kinde supposeth true Christianity in him that hath it so doth this correspondently suppose the profession of it as under the old Law the profession of the true God The tryal of a Prophet under the Law was not the doing of a miracle alone If hee seduced from God in stead of taking him for Gods messenger they were to put him to death Deut. XIII 1-5 So the tryal was the doing of a miracle under the profession of the true God Under the Gospel No man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus anathema nor can any man call Jesus Lord but by the Holy Ghost 1 Cor. XII 3. Supposing that a man speaketh such things as must come either from Gods Spirit or from evil Spirits the tryal is whether hee professe Christ or not And 1 John IV. 2 3. Every Spirit that confesseth Jesus come in the flesh to be Christ is of God And every Spirit that confesseth not Jesus Christ that is come in the flesh is not of God Every Spirit that is every inspiration which a man of himself cannot have God will not have his people so tempted that under the profession of the true Religion the Devils instruments should have power to work miracles to seduce them from it Upon these terms prophesied Saul under the Law and upon the same terms prophesied those under the Gospel whom our Lord will not own having done miracles in his name As for Caiaphas it doth not appear that hee spoke those words whereby S. John saith hee prophened of our Lords death by revelation or inspiration from God For the reason is given why hee prophened because hee was High Priest that year Now when the High Priests declared Gods orders to his ancient people there is no appearance that they were inspired by revelation with that which they declared But that putting on the Pontifical robes Gods will appeared by the brest-plate of Urim and Tummim though now wee know not how Accordingly to were Caiaphas his words ordered this gift being ceased many ages afore as to containe a Prophesie of our Lords death by Gods intent but without his But Balaams case is farre otherwise Arnobius advers Gent. I. tells us that Magicians in their operations met with contrary Gods whom hee calls Antitheos that would not suffer them to proceed Balaam met with the true God and knew him to be so and all his Inchantments controlable by him and yet sacrifices to false Gods that by their help hee might curse Gods people In this case Balaam though commanded as a subject is not as a friend inspired by God when God forces him to speak what hee would not If any man then resolve the credit of the Scripture into the
of the Languages and of Historical truth to the text of the Scripture And many things more may be cleared by applying the light of reason void of partiality and prejudice to draw the truth so cleared into consequence No part of all this can be said to be held upon any decree of the Church Because no part of the evidence supposes the Church in the nature and quality of a Corporation the constitution whereof inableth some persons to oblige the whole Because there are maters in question concerning our common Christianity and the sense of the Scriptures upon which the great mischief of diviâ—â—on is fallen out in the Church it is thought a plausible plea to say that the decree of the present Church supposing the foundation of the Church in that nature and the power given to every part in behalf of the whole of which no evidence can be made not supposing all that for truth which I have said obligeth all Christians to believe as much as the Scriptures supposing them to be the Word of God can do Which they that affirm do not consider that it must first be evident to all that are to be obliged Both that the Church is so founded and whoâ—e Act it is and how that Act must be done which must oblige it Seeing then that the Scriptures are admitted on all sides to be the Word of God let us see whether it be as evident as the Scriptures that the act of the Pope or of a General Council or both oblige the Church to believe the truth of that which they decree as much as the Scriptures I know there are texts of Scripture alleged First concerning the Apostles and Disciples Mat. X. 14 15 40. Luke IX 5. X. 10 11 16. where those that refuse them are in worse estate than Sodom and Gomorrha And Hee that heareth you heareth mee Hee that neglecteth you neglecteth mee Mat. XXVIII 19 20. Go make all Nations Disciples teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you and behold I am with you to the worlds end 1 Thess II. 13. Yee received the Gospel of us not as the word of man but as it is indeed the word of God Then concerning S. Peter as predecessor of all Popes Mat. XVI 18 19. Vpon this rock will I build my Church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it And I will give thee the keyes of the Kingdom of heaven and whatsoever thou bindest on earth shall be bound in heaven whatsoever thou loosest on earth shall be loosed in heaven Luke XXII 32. I have prayed for thee that thy Faith fail not and thou once converted strengthen thy brethren John XXI 15 16 17. Simon son of Jonas lovest thou mee Feed my lambs feed my sheep Again concerning the Church and Councils Mat. XVIII 17-20 If hee heare them not tell the Church If hee hear not the Church let him be to thee as a Heathen or a Publican Verily I say unto you whatsoever yee binde on earth shall be bound in heaven whatsoever yee loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven Again I say unto you If two of you agree on earth upon any thing to ask it it shall be done them from my Father in heaven For where two or three are assembled in my name there am I in the midst of them John XVI 13. The Spirit of truth shall lead you into all truth Acts XV. 28. It seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to us 1 Tim. III. 15. That thou mayest know now it behoveth to converse in the house of God which is the Churchof God the pillar and establishment of the truth You have further the exhortations of the Apostles 1 Thess V. 12 13. Now I beseech you brethren to know them which labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you And esteem them more than abundantly in love for their works sake Heb. XIII 7 17. Bee obedient and give way to your Rulers for they watch for your souls as those that must give account That they may do it joyfully and not groaning Which is not for your profit And afore Rememeer your Rulers which have spoken to you the Word of God And considering the issue of their conversation imitate their Faith Those that spoke unto them the Word of God are the Apostles or their companions and deputies whom hee commandeth them to obey no otherwise than those who presently watched over them after their death In the Old Testament likewise Deut. XVII 5-12 Hee that obeyeth not the determination of the Court that was to sit before the Ark is adjudged to death Therefore Hag. II. 12. Thus saith the Lord the God of Hosts Ask the Priests concerning the Law Mal. II. 7. The Priests lips shall preserve knowledge and the Law shall they require at his mouth For hee is the messenger of the Lord of Hosts The answers of the Priests resolved into the decrees of the said Court therefore they are unquestionable And this Power established by the Law our Lord acknowledging the Law allowes Mat. XXIII 2. The Scribes and Pharisees sit on Moses chair whatsoever therefore they command you that do But according to their works do not This is that which is alleged out of the Scriptures for that Infallibility which is challenged for the Church If I have left any thing behinde it will prove as ineffectual as the rest In all which there are so many considerations appear why the sense of them should be limited on this side or extended beyond the body of the Church that it is evident they cannot serve for evidence to ground the Infallibility of it For is it not evident that the neglect of the Apostles in questioning their doctrine redounds upon our Lord who by sending them stamps on them the marks of his Fathers authority which hee is trusted with Not so the Church For who can say that God gives any testimony to the lie which it telleth seeing Christianity is supposed the Infallibility thereof remaining questionable Is it not evident that God is with his Chu ch not as a Corporation but as the collection of many good Christians Supposing that those who have power to teach the Church by the constitution thereof teach lies and yet all are not carried away with their doctrine but believe Gods truth so farre as the necessity of their salvation requires If there were any contradiction in this supposition how could it be maintained in the Church of Rome that so it shall be when Antichrist comes as many do maintain Besides is it as evident as Christianity or the Scriptures that this promise is not conditional and to have effect supposing both the teaching and the following of that which our Lord lud taught and nothing else Surely if those that refuse the Gospel be in a worse state than those of Sodom and Gomorrha it followeth not yet that all that refuse to hear the Church without the Gospel are so For the truth of the Gospel
Church in time perhaps they may declare I have not hitherto understood Shall I say there is not sufficient argument for the sense of the Church in the Gospels It is no part of my meaning Shall I therefore say it is clear of it selfe in the Gospels that is to say by the sayings and doings of our Lord recorded in the Gospels Doth not our Lord plainly make himself equal to the Father John V. 17-23 Doth hee not answer again being questioned for this John X. 33 34 35. by the words of David spoken of meer men Psal LXXXIII 6. I have said yee are Gods Doth hee not say plainly again My Father is greater than I John XIV 28 Which things as it is plain by argument that they may stand with the sense of the Church so that those arguments are plain of themselves to all understandings is as much as to say That a seeming contradiction argues an intent in our Lord that all men should see the resolution of it Again that all that will be saved by our Lord Christ must take up his Crosse and professe him to the death is plaine by the Gospels But so long as the Disciples might and did believe that they should raigne with our Lord in his Kingdome over that people which should destroy their enemies was the intent of suffering death for Christ to raign with him in heaven plaine by the Gospels That the Law should stand for ever is it not plainly delivered by our Lord in the Gospel and is it not as plainly of the necessity of salvation to believe that wee are saved by the Gospel and not by the Law I appeal to S. Pauls Epistles Though I dispute not whether this be abrogating the Law as Divines commonly speak or derogating from it Certainly though I know not whether the Socinians would be content with the Leviathan that no thing be thought necessary to salvation to be believed but that our Lord is the Christ Yet I know they would be astonished to hear that hee who believes that and lives according to the Lawes of his Soveraign hath done the duty of a Christian and may challenge his share in the kingdome of heaven for it But this I must not dispute further in this place Onely here I must answer his reasons out of the Scripture and show you upon what a weak pinne hee hath hung all this waight Christ is the foundation 1 Cor. III. 11. Mat. XVI 18. which all the Gospels pretend to induce us to believe John XX. 31. as also the exhortations of the Apostles Acts XVII 2 3 6. by this the good thief was saved believing onely our Lord anointed by God to his Kingdome Luke XXIII 42. Everlasting life is to be had by believing this and the Scripture because it witnesseth this John V. 39. and XVII 3. XI 26 27. Which is all blown away with this breath That hee that admits our Lord to be the Christ cannot refuse any part of his doctrine And therefore salvation is justly imputed to that which whoso receiveth shall be bound to admit and undergo whatsoever his salvation requireth This is eternal life to know thee the onely God and whom thou hast sent Jesus Christ John XVII 3. These things are written that yee may believe that Jesus is the Christ and that believing yee may have life John XX. 31. How have life believing Because hee that believes will be baptized and hee that is baptized must undertake to live as Christ teacheth professing to believe in the Father Sonne and Holy Ghost which believing in Christ coming from the Father to send the Holy Ghost implieth And therefore the Eunuch Acts VIII 36 37. is baptized upon this Faith as others into it Acts II. 38. VIII 16. XIX 5. The belief of the Creation of the world of Providence the Resurrection and Judgment to come not being introduced by Christianity but found in force among the Jewes when our Lord came So that limitation by which the Leviathan inlargeth his sense of that which the believing of our Lord to be the Christ implieth is not worth a straw It is not onely necessary to salvation to believe all that the Messias was to be or to do to be verified and to have been done by our Lord Jesus Unlesse we believe that wee are to believe and to do whatsoever hee taught us to believe and to do And that as I have showed is not determinable by any means but that which Christ by himself or by his Apostles hath provided us neither whether so or not and much lesse whether necessary to salvation or not That which hath been alleged to show That the substance of Christianity necessary to the salvation of all under the Gospel is not clearly contained in the Old Testament nor in the sayings and doings of our Lord related by the Evangelists Holds not in the writings of the Apostles For being directed to Christians already reduced into Churches constituted upon supposition of the knowledge and profession of Christianity there is no reason why they should be sparing in declaring the truth of it to those to whom they write True it is and evident by their writings that they used great reservation in declaring to those that were of Jewes become Christians the discharge of their obligation to Moses Law But whatsoever their proceeding was in that case not onely the reason of the truth but also the reason of that proceeding is clearly declared by their writings But if all their writings suppose in them to whom they write knowledge sufficient for the salvation of all Christians and none of them pretend to lay down the summe and substance of that whereof the salvation of all Christians requireth the knowledge evident it is that the perfection of none of them nor the whole Scriptures consisting of them and those which wee have spoken of hitherto requireth that they clearly contain all that is necessary to the salvation of all Christians For the Perfection of every writing consisteth in the sufficience of it for the purpose to which it is intended If therefore the occasions of the Apostles writings and so the purpose of them evidently express not an intent to lay down clearly to all understandings the whole substance of that which is sufficient to render all Christians capable of salvation as evidently neither any nor all of them do then neither doth the perfection not sufficience nor clearnesse of the Apostles writings require that all things necessary to the salvation of all be clear in them to all understandings For let no man object That they were all of them necessary to the salvation of all or most of them to whom they were sent Unless it could be said That whatsoever was necessary to the salvation of those to whom the Apostles writ is necessary to the salvation of all Christians Which so long as there is a difference between necessity of means and necessity of precept That is between that which is necessary to the common
himself because hee expresses not so much of his meaning For my part as I found it necessary so I finde it sufficient to have quoted these opinions and reasons advanced against the right of the Church because I finde they oblige mee to digg sor a foundation upon which as the true ground of that right which the Church claimeth I may be inabled to dissolve whatsoever reasons wit and learning impregnated by passion or interest can invent to contradict the same Here then I must have recourse to a position which some men will count hazardous others prejudicial to Christianity according as their prejudices or engagements may work But will appear in truth to them that shall take the pains to look through the consequences of it in the resolution of Controversies which divide the Church to concern the interest of Christianity and the peace of the Church more thâ—n any point whatsoever that is not of the Foundation of Faith In as much as there is no question that is started or can be started as the case is now with the Church so as to call in question the peace and unity thereof but the interpretation of the old Testâ—ment or some part of it in relation and correspondence to the New Testament will be ingaged in it Concerning which the position that I intend to advance is this That by the Law of Moses and the Covenant between God and the people of Israel upon it nothing at all was expresly contracted concerning everlasting life and the happinesse of the world to come Not that I intend to say That there was not at that time sufficient ground for a man to be competently perswaded of his right to it or sufficient means to come to the knowledge of that ground for hee that should say this could not give account how the Fathers should attain salvation under the Law which I finde all that maintain the truth of Christianity against the Jews so obliged to do that without it they must give up the game But that the thing contracted for between God and the people of Israel by the mediation of Moses was the Land of Promise That is to say that they should be a free people and injoy their own Lawes in the possession of it upon condition of imbracing and observing such Lawes as God should give As for the kingdome of heaven which the Gospel of Christ preacheth the hope of it was so mystically intimated that there was sufficient cause to imbrace it even then but not propounded as the condition upon which God offered to contract with them as hee doth with Christians And this though I cannot say that the Church hath at anytime expressed to be a part of the Rule of Faith yet that the Church hath alwaies implicitely admitted it for a part of the reason of Faith which wee call Divinity I must and do maintain Before I come to prove this I will here propound one objection because it seems to contain the force of all that is to be said against it For when our Lord sayes Mat. XIX 19. If thou wilt enter into life keep the commandements When hee resolves the great commandements of the Law to be the love of God above all things and of our neighbor as of our selves Mat. XXII 36. In fine wheresoever hee derives the duties of Christianity from the Law of Moses hee seems to suppose and so do his Apostles that the same life everlasting which hee promiseth by the Gospel was proposed by the Law as the reward for observing it And indeed what can the Gospel was propound for a more suitable way or meanes to salvation than the love of God and man in that order which the Law of God appointeth It is not for nothing that S. Augustine observeth The first commandement of the Decalogue to acknowledge God and the last not to covet that which is another mans to contain in them the utmost office of a Christian And all Divines have distributed the precepts of Moses Law into Moral as well as Judicial and Ceremonial The Moral precepts containing in them no lesse than the duties of Christianity when they are done with such an intent as God who by giving Moses Law declareth himself to see the most inward of the heart requireth Here in the first place supposing that God entring into Covenant with that people intended to establish their Civil Government by the Law of Moses I will proceed to argue that all Civil Lawes that are not contrary to the Law of Nature and the actions by them injoyned or prohibited may be done or not done for two several reasons For if there be reason enough for the Nations that know not God nor ground their Lawes upon any presumption of his will or expectation of good or evil from him to unite themselves in Civil Society then is their reason enough for them to observe the Lawes upon which the benefit of Civil Society is to be had though they suppose not themselvs obliged by God to them nor to oblige God by keeping them And if it be evident that all Civil Lawes not contrary to the Lawes of God and Nature do come from God as Civil Society doth it will be as evident that the keeping of them in that regard and for that consideration is obedience to God The Jewes Civil Law hath this privilege above the Civil Lawes of other Nations to be gronnded upon those acts whereby God revealing himself for their freedom by Moses tendereth them the Land promised to their Fathers upon the Covenant they then had with God upon condition of undertaking the Lawes which hee should give them for the future And no reason can deny that this was sufficient to convince them that God required of them not onely the work which the Law specified but that it be done in consideration of his will and in reference to his honor and service Though on the other side it is not necessary to grant that so much is expressed by the Civil Law of that Nation expresly tending to their Civil freedome and happinesse in the possession of the Land of Promise It cannot be doubted that the immortality of the soul and the reward of good and bad after death was received among that people from and before the time of receiving the Law Otherwise how should the Patriarchs obtain it which the maintainance of Christianity requireth that they did obtain It is also evident by the Scriptures that the same conversation which Christ and his Apostles preached was extant in the lives and actions of the Fathers before the Law Abraham Isaac Jacob Joseph Job Moses and the rest as the Fathers of the Church are wont to argue against the Jewes that Christianity is more ancient than Judaisme It is also manifest that the same conversation was extant and to be seen under the Law in the lives of the Prophets and their Disciples by the words of our Lord to the Scribes and Pharisees Mat. XXIII 29-36 when hee
Circumcision John VII 22. Such was the Law of mourning for the dead so much in force at giving the Law that upon the death of Aarons sons it was necessary that a Law should presently come forth incerdicting the Priests to mourne for them upon paine of death the rest of the people remaining under that Law Though Aaron thereupon excuses himself that they did not feast upon the sinne offering upon that day of mourning and is accepted Levit. X. 5 to 19. This the Law introduceth not but was in force under the Fathers as wee see Gen. L. 2 10. XXVII 41. The same is to be said of the seven dayes in which Marriages were celebrated under the Law as wee see in Sampson Judg. XIV 12 15 17. which is doubled Tobâ— VIII 22. no where introduced by the Law no more than the seven dayes or seventy dayes or thirty dayes of mourning Gen. L. 2. Deut. XXXIV 8. The like of answering adjurations which the Law Levit. V. 1. presupposes as also Prov. XXIX 24. as a duty then received that if a man conjure all that know any thing of his businesse to declare what they know all that heare him stand bound to declare their knowledge in it For for this cause it is that the Law supposing him guilty of perjury that conceals his knowledge in that case makes him liable to the sacrifice for expiâ—tion of perjury as you may see Levit. V. 1. And by virtue of this custome among Gods people not onely stood they bound to answer the High Priest as our Lord answers Caâ—aphas Mat. XXVI 63. or the King 1 Kings XXII 18. 2 Chron. XVIII 15. Jos VII 19. Job IX 24. but also private men in the Coâ—â— where their cause was hearing adjuring all that were present to testifie their knowledge in their causes if wee believe the Jewes Constitutions In like maner wee have nothing ordained in the Law that Tithes should be payed or that it should be lawfull or acceptable to God to consecrate any other part of their goods to the service of God or to make Vowes of abstinence from things otherwise lawfull But wee have it determined by the Law what kindes shall be Tithable what Vowes shall stand good what sacrifice shall be offered by him that transgresses his Vow how every thing that a man freely consecrates to the service of God shall be valued in money Levit. XXVII 1-30 Psal XV. 4. Gen. XIV 20. XXVIII 22. Numb XVIII 29. The like is to be said of many other Lawes which being in the Old Testament mentioned as in force by custome and no where introduced by the Lawes of Moses must be presumed to descend by Tradition from the Fathers Which hee that believes as it cannot be doubted must of necessity acknowledge that not onely the principles and grounds of spiritual and inward obedience to God for Gods sake but also the precepts wherein it consists are rather presupposed by the Law than introduced by it And therefore may well be said to be translated out of the Law of Nature into Moses Law when they are mentioned by it Though hereunto I must adde this That they had not onely the doctrine of their Fathers afore the Law to introduce and to regulate this inward obedience but also the Prophets under the Law The intent of whose Office was not onely to reclaime them from Idol to their own true God but also to instruct them wherein consisted not so much that civil and outward observation of his Law which it promiseth to reward with temporal happinesse in the Land of Promise as that spiritual and inward obedience to God from which they might conceive competent ground of hope toward the world to come Every man knows how ready they were to fall from God all the time whereof wee have the records in the Scriptures before the Captivity of Babylon After that time wee do not finde that ever they â—ell to the worship of Idols but wee finde abundantly by the reproofs of the Scribes and Pharisees by our Lord in the Gospels that the next sinne to it of Superstition and Hypocrisie was soon come in insâ—eaâ— of it When by the outward observation of the Ceremonial and Judicial Lawes they promised themselves the favor of God and the reward of the world to come As by paying Tithes precisely Mat. XXIII 23. Luc. XI 42. XVIII 12. by washing their hands and vessels according to the Tradition of their Predecssors Mar. VII 4 8. Mat. XXIII 25 26. Luc. XI 39. by punctually observing the Sabbath Mat. XII 1-12 Mar. II. 23-28 Luc. VII 1-9 XIII 10-16 XIV 1-5 Joh. V. 9 inlarging their Phylacteries and fringes Mat. XXIII 5. by many things more which are to be read up and down the Gospels This disease could not have been reproved by our Lord by the testimony of the Prophet Esay Mat. XV. 9. Mar. VII 7. Esa XXIX 13. had it not taken root even before the Captivity when as yet they were so subject to fall to the worship of false Gods Therefore wee finde the reproof of this superstitious and hypocritical confidence in the Sacrifices which they thought to bribe God with and other outward performances of the Law to be the ordinary work of the most part of the Prophets David Psal XL. 7 12. Psal L. 8-13 LI. 18. The Prophet Samuel 1 Sam. XV. 22. The Prophet Esay of Sacrifices and Festivals Esa I. 11-20 Of their Fasts Esa LVIII 3-10 Of their serving God by Traditions Esa XXIX 13. The Prophet Jeremy that God required not Sacrifices but obedience Jer. VII 21 22 23. and concerning patience and hope in the afflictions which hee sendeth Lam. III. 25-33 The Prophet Hosea in the Calves of our lips Hos XIV 2. The Prophet Micah when hee teacheth what they should come before God with Micah VI. 6 7 8. The Prophet Zachary of celebrating their Fasts Zac. VII 3-10 VIII 16 19. In fine all the Prophets in their instructions and exhortations to the inward obedience of God in spirit and in truth have showed themselves true fore-runners of our Lord Christ and his Apostles Not onely in preaching the principal intent of the Law to be the same which the Gospel pretends to covenant for but in suffering as well for this as for reproving Idolaters at the hands of those that taught for doctrines the Traditions of men the like things as our Lord and his Apostles suffered for the same cause at the hands of the Scribes and Pharisees First then the acknowledgment of one God that disposeth of all things and knowes the secrets of all hearts expresly covenanted for by Moses Law by consequence of right reason infers the duty of spiritual obedience to him in all his commands Secondly the Fathers before the Law had delivered the Prophets after the Law did preach the same no lesse than they did the acknowledgment of the true God but more principally than the outward observation of the Ceremonial or Civil precept of it Therefore there might
be and was sufficient means under the Law to make them understand their obligation to that spiritual obedience which the Gospel covenanteth for though wee suppose as the truth is that the Law expresly covenanteth onely for the temporal happinesse of the Land of Promise Therefore there was also sufficient meanes to oblige them to expect the coming of the Christ as wee see by the Gospel that they did at the coming of our Lord and as all that will maintain Christianity against the Jewes are bound to maintain And therefore to the objection proposed I answer That though the words of the precept of loving God with all the heart and all the minde and all the soul and all the might may contain all that Christianity requireth to be done in consideration of duty to God and with an intent of his honor and service Yet neverthelesse that sense thereof that depends upon the Covenant of the Law is to be limited to the observation of those precepts which God should confine their civil life to in the service of him alone The intent of the Covenant being to contract with God for temporal happinesse in the Land of Promise they undertaking as a Common-wealth to live by such civil Lawes as hee should give as well as to worship him by such Ceremonies as hee should prescribe And therefore supposing they observed those precepts they were to expect the inheritance of the Land of Promise though wee suppose that they did it out of respect to that reward and not onely to God and to his honor and service Yea though wee grant that for the acknowledging of the true God alone they were bound to indure persecution and death rather than for fear of torment to deny God or sacrifice to Idols or renounce his Law as wee see Daniel and the three Children did under Nebuchadnesar and the zealous Jewes in the Maccabees time under Antiochus Epiphanes For if the Heathen had cause to believe that which is received of all as the ground of civil Society that particular persons are bound to expose their lives for the defense of their Countrey that is to no other end but that they may live and die in the Lawes under which they are bred though they had no promise of God that they should hold their inheritance of this world by maintaining them Cereainly the people that obtained their inheritance by taking upon them Moses Law shall stand bound not onely to maintain it by the sword under the conduct of their Soveraignes but also by suffering for it when they were not to maintain it by force A thing nothing strange to a man that shall consider how desâ—rable life is to him that is forced from the Lawes of his Countrey As for the other part of loving our Neighbor as our selves it is without doubt pregnant with an evident argument of this truth seeing in plain reason the extent of the precept might so argue the intent of it For it is evident by infinite Texts of the Law that a mans neighbor in this precept extends no further than to Israelites whether by birth or by religion that is to say those that are ingraffed into the Covenant by being circumcised For example Let mee ask how the Law could forbid the Israelites to seek the good of the Moabites and Ammonites if it be part of the same Law to love all men under the quality of neighbors as themselves Let mee demand of any man how Mordecai was tied not to do that honor to Haman that his Soveraigne commanded to be done How hee could in conscience disobey his Prince in a mater of indifferent nature of it self had it not been prohibited by the Law of God Whether a Jew that is commanded by the Law to professe hostility against all Amalekites could be dispensed with in this obligation by any act of his Soveraign Whether any just reason can be alleged for Mordecai but this Nay those who are called strangers in the Law That is to say those that had renounced all Idols and professed to worship the true God and thereupon were privileged to dwell in the Land of Promise out of which the Israelites were sufficiently commanded to root all Idolaters those strangers I say by the leter of Moses Law are not comprehended in the precept of loving our neighbor as our selves For hee that asked who is the neighbor that the Law speaks of Lut. X. 27-37 is not convicted by our Lord by any leter of the Law but by a Parable intimating the example of that which hee did for mankinde to be the reason of that which the Gospel requires Forsooth if the love of Christians extend to strangers and enemies because the good Samaritâ—ne which is our Lord Christ extended his so farr then not because Moses Law had convenanted for it Therefore besides this precept of loving our neighbors as our selves it was requisite that the Law should by a particular provision limit that respect and tenderness wherewith they were required to use those strangers as converts to the true God for so the Syriack translation of the Law calls them alwaies to wit in the rank of Widowes and Orphans If this be true the precept of not coveting by the immediate intent of Moses Law stands confined to that sense which the Jewes at this day give it according to the decisions of their Doctors that no man by contrived oppresion or vexation designe to force his neighbor that was by the Law inabled to make a divorce to part with his wife or any thing else that hee called his own Which sense our Lord also in the Gospel manifestly favors Mar. X. 19. where recounting the precepts that those must keep that will inherit life everlasting after thou shalt not bear false witnesse hee inserres thou shalt not take away by fraud or oppression that which is another mans for the sense of the tenth Commandement thou shalt not cover that which is thy neighbors All which extendeth no further than the over act of seeking what is not a mans own And though this be out Lords answer to him that asks what hee is to do to obtaine life everlasting yet it may well seem that our Lord intended first to propound unto him the civil Law of Moses as necessary to salvation and a step towards it because the Gospel saith that our Lord loved him that answered All these things have I kept from my youth up as acknowledging that hee said true For that hee had kept these precepts in that spiritual sense and to the intent and purpose which the Gospel requireth it was not true And by that which followes when hee askes what remained to be done namely that hee leave all to follow Christ hee inferrs in one precept the whole inward and spiritual obedience of God which under the Gospel is expresly required To wit that a man set all the world and himself behinde his back that hee may follow Christ Therefore though they be the obedience
in Horeb. Then repeating the summe of what they had seen since their coming out of Aegypt as to move them to imbrace Gods Covenant Wherefore saith hee yee shall observe the termes of this Covenant and do them that yee may prosper in whatsoever you do And so contesting the whole Assembly that they and their posterity must by transgressing come under the curse which it is inacted with thus expresses the summe of it That hee may settle thee to himself for a people and hee be thy God as hee hath said to thee and as hee hath sworn to Abraham Isaac and Jacob thy Fathers To whom hee had expresly sworn to give the Land of Promise and therefore so determined the expresse sense and intent of being their God For to expound what it means for them to have God for their God and hee them for his people it followes that if any of them return from the Lord to the Gods of the Aegyptians and other Nations they shall incurre the curse which the Covenant is inacted with that the Land being turned into salt and brimstone shall not be to be sown nor spring nor grasse grow but be like Sodome and Gomorra and Seboim which the Lord overthrew in his wrath Hereupon hee begins the XXX Chapter thus And it shall come to passe that when all these things are lefallen tâ—â—e and thou shalt call them to minde among all Nations to which God shall have driven thee and return to the Lord thy God And the rest whereby God promises that hee will be intreated of his people and turn the said curses from them upon their enemies Remitting plainly him that will understand what those are to that which went afore from cap. XXVI 16 XXVII XXVIII XXIX which hee that will peruse may trust his own senses whether they speak of life everlasting or of the Land of Promise And indeed the whole book of Deuteronomy containing nothing else but the repetition and continuation of what was most necessary to introduce and perswâ—de this renewing of the Covenant whether wee judge of the premises by the conclusion or of the conclusion by the premises wee shall â—inde no more thâ—n what I have said Now the whole XXV of Leviticus being nothing else but an exhortation and warning to keep the Law propounded before the camp removed from Mount Sinai as you have it XXVI 46 Had any such thing as eternal life been covenanted for of necessity the arguments there used must have been drawn from thence But you shall finde no more than concernes the Land of Promise The effect of this reason is not to argue a negative from Scripture That is to say this is not recorded in the Scripture not in this or that part of the Scripture therefore not true But to argue from the common reason of all men and the visible nature of the businesse then in hand that what was not then expressed for a condition of that Covenant which is related to have been struck between God and the Israelites cannot be presumed to have been an expresse condition of it For by interpretation from not onely the conversation of the Fathers but the doctrine of the Prophets and the preaching of the Gospel I grant that it is the principal intent which the Law intimateth though not expresseth One particular precept of the Law I must not omit It is that of Lev. V. 1-5 which appointeth the same sacrifice to be offered for legal uncleannesse as for perjury Now it is to be considered that legal uncleannesse is not a thing forbidden by the Law but is contracted by observing the Law as Tobits uncleannesse which made him lye out of the house and occasioned his blindenesse by burying the dead Tobit III. 11. being indeed an outward accident coming to passe without any inclination of mans will to it and therefore not imputable If therefore the same means of expiating that which is not forbidden by the Law expiate such a sin as perjury let any man understand how by this Law expiation is made for the guilt of perjury whereby every Christian believes hee becomes lyable to everlasting death when by the same expiation is made not for sinne but for a legal incapacity of conversing with Gods people or coming to the Tabernacle Another is that of Prayer negatively For who will believe that the spiritual reward of everlasting life is promised by the Covenant of the Law which does not so much as command the spiritual service of Prayer as the Jewes themselves observe Maimoni in the beginning of the Titles of Prayer and Blessings that Prayer is commanded onely by the precept of the Law Deut. VI. 13. X. 20. Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God and serve him The Lord thy God shalt thou fear and him serve And those Blessings in which so much of their Religion consists onely by Deut. VIII 10. And when thou hast eaten and art full then shalt thou blesse the Lord thy God for the good Land which hee hath given thee Out of these texts their Elders they say have taken occasion to prescribe the kindes and measure and circumstances of their Prayers and Blessings And truly when there is so much in the Law of their Festivals and Sabbaths and Sacrifices and so little of the spiritual duties which God is to be served with and was served with even under the Law It is impossible to give a reason of it unlesse wee say that as the Gospel was yet to be a secret to the spiritual service of God which under it was to be required was not under the Law to be covenanted for that is expressed And here I am not to forget the Sect of Sadducees which though it denyed the reward after death yet notwithstanding was not onely tolerated among the Jewes but also in such Power that I have showed in another place that during the time mentioned by the Acts of the Apostles it had authority in all publick maters of the Nation under the Romanes For if they that denied the Resurrection expresly renounced the Law by renouncing the expresse condition of it it will be impossible to say how they that renounced the Law should manage that Power of governing their own people by the Law which was reserved to the Nation by the Romanes Indeed when Idolatry prevailed the precepts which punished that sinne by death of necessity were superâ—eded for the time But when after the Captivity some denied the life to come others expected it from the literal and carnal observation of the Law both maintaining themselves under the Law and by it it might be signified by the Law as our Savior proves the Resurrection Mat. XXII 23. Mar. XII 18. Luc. XX. 27. but had it been covenanted for impudence would not have had wherewith to maintaine the contrary acknowledging the Law And therefore I agree that when our Lord sayes Search the Scriptures for in them yee think yee have eternal life John V. 39. This think is a term of abatement
observable than in the Psalmes XVI 11. Thou shalt make known to mee the way of life Fulnesse of joyes is before thee and pleasures at thy right hand for ever more Is not this true in the sense of Ezekiah Esa XXXVII 10 21 First hee saith I shall see the Lord no more in the land of the living But upon the tender of the Prophet hee askes What is the signe that I shall go up into the house of the Lord Where the presence or right hand of God and the pleasure of it is the joy that his people have to worship him before the Ark of his presence Psal XVII 15. As for mee I will behold thy presence in righteousnesse when I awake I shall be satisfied with thy likenesse The same thing hee meanes and hee awakes when hee comes out of trouble to serve God Though I am to grant that I cannot think of any text in all the book of Psalms wherein the world to come is more literally exâ—ressed thâ—n in these words Psalm CXXVI 5 6. They that sow in tears shall reap in joy Hee that now goeth on his way weeping shall doub lesse come again in joy and bring in his sheaves Whether at the returne from Captivity or in heaven let the beginning of the Psalme speak When the Lord turned again the Captivity of his people thâ—n were wee like men that dreame But there would be no end if I should go about to produce all those passages of the Psalmes wherein the same is to be observed Let us come now to the New Testament and produce first the sayings of the Apostles wherein my position is expresly affirmed especially in the Apostle to the Hebrewes VII 19. For the Law persited nothing but the bringing in of à better hope by which wee draw nigh unto God What is this better hope but that of the world to come so much better than the Land of Promise and what bringeth it in but the Gospel of Christ by whom alone sinners have accesse to God X. 19 Againe VIII 6. But now hee hath obtained a more excellent ministery by how much hee is the Mediator of a better Covenant which is inacted upon better promises IX 15. And therefore is â—ee the Mediator of a New Covenant that dâ—ath interceding for the redemption of those sins that were under the first Covenant those that are called may receive the promise of eternal life This more excellent Ministery is the Priesthood of Chriâ—t after the order of Melchisedeck To make way for which the whole Epistle ciâ—putâ—s that the Levitical Priesthood is removed as the interest of Christianity against the Law of Moses and the qâ—â—â—â—ion on foot required Now Melchisedek was â— Priest not by the law of a carnal precept but by the power of indissoluble life saith hee again Ebr. VII 19. What thiâ— carnal precept is you have IX 9-14 When hee saith that at present to wit under the Law gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot persit him that serveth as to the conscience consisting onely in meats and drinks and several washings and carnal justifications imposed till the time of Reforma 〈…〉 When Christ coming as a High Priest of good things to come and having fo 〈…〉 sage into heaven cleanses the conscience from dead works to serve the living â—â—d So that according to the Apostle the Sacrifices of the Law effecting onâ—ly a carnal right to the Congregation of Gods people the Sacrifice of Christ a right to heaven this right is tendred by the Gospel the other by the Law And thus S. Paul 2 Tim. I. 9 10. calleth the Gospel the Grace that was given us in Christ Jesus before the ages of the world but is manifested now by the appearance of our Lord Christ Jesus who hath destroyed death but declared life and incorruption by the Gospel For though the life to come was known and declared by the Prophets under the Law yet had they no expresse commission to ingage God for it till Christ rendred it as that which the Gospel covenants for on Gods part But I must not forget the occasion of that memorable passage quoted from Ebr. IX 9. from the discourse that went afore whereby the Apostle declares the whole course and constitution of the service of the Temple to be nothing else but a Parable of the present time to wit of Christianity As also the legal Tabernacle was nothing else but a Copy of the Heavenly by the pattern whereof hee observes that Moses was commanded to build it VIII 5 6. calling it therefore the Worldly Sanctuary IX 1. because it was a Copy as it were of this whole world in the several parts of it as Philo and Josephus have discoursed at large The most Holy place into which the High Priest entred once a year by the Apostles interpretation answereth to the highest heavens whereunto our Lord Christ is ascended whom therefore hee calleth the minister of the true Tabernacle which God and not man pitched VIII 7 And therefore the outward Sanctuary into which the Priests went once a day was intended to signifie the Starry heavens and the Court of the Tabernacle the World here below as Philo and Josephus declare justifying the reason why the Apostle calls it a Worldly Tabernacle This interpretation of the Ceremonial Law made by the Apostle in this place by that which it expresly affirmes concerning the twofold sense of that part of the Old Testament induces a consequence to the twofold sense of all the rest Inferring that if the mystical and allegorical sense of the Old Testament determine in the promises of the world to come then the literal and historical sense of the same determines in the promises of this life the allegory that is to say the reason of interpreting the Old Testament to that purpose consisting in nothing else but the correspondence between them I am not ignorant that some Divines have done their best to create one Controversie more to divide the Church by maintaining that there is but one sense of the Scriptures which the leter intends The things figured under the Old Testament and the figures of them there set down making but one and the same sense as a man and his picture are called the same man because without the things signified the signes are nothing at least in the nature of signes For my part I finde it a thing as easie as for every fool to tye knots which a wise man cannot loose to ingage in disputes in which men cannot yield to the truth while that ingagement continues But I finde no pretense why that sense of the Scriptures which they make one consisting of the figure and the thing figured should not be counted two one immediately the other principally intended Because the Gospel was a secret under the Law as S. Paul so many times layes down So that hee which knew the Law many times understood not the utmost intent of it under the Gospel Seeing then that this way of
the Original is a Kingdome of Priests in 1 Pet. II. 9. where hee challengeth the effect of the promise to the Church of Christ a Royal Priesthood in S. John Rev. I. 6. Kings and Priests But chiefly pag. 253. from that text of Numbers XXVII 21. where it is ordered that Josue stand before Eleazar the Priest who shall ask counsail for him before the Lord At his word they shall go out and and at his word they shall come in both hee and all the children of Israel with him For saith hee unlesse wee understand them to be a kingdom of Priests because the High Priests succeeded one another in the Kingdom it accordeth not with S. Peter nor with the exercise of the High Priesthood the High Priest onely being to declare the will of God to them by entring into the Sanctum Sanctorum pag. 218. Though after the death of Josua and Eleazar when a generation was risen that knew not the Lord Jud. II. 10. it came to passe as it is said divers times in that book that there was no King in Israel The High Priests not being obeyed according to Law and the power of the Judges depending upon the voluntary submission of the people to the graces and the successe God gave then for their deliverance Till rebelling against Gods appointment they desired a King As God expresly construes it 1 Sam. VIII 7 8. pag. 253 254. For thenceforth God having given way to them when God was to be consulted the High Priest put on the holy Vestments and inquired of the Lord as the King commanded according to the examples which hee allegeth pag. 228. This kingdom of God saith hee so cast off by the choice of Saul is that which our Lord Christ accorâ—ing to the promise of God by the Prophets came to restore And the Gospel nothing else but the good newes that God would give them that should believe our Lord Jesus to be the Christ and submit to Gods government by him immortal life in that kingdom which Christ after the general Judgment should restore upon earth pag. 219 234 240 241. and so Christs kingdom is said not to be of this world John XVIII 36. because it comes not till after the general Judgment that this world is past pag. 262 263. This monstrous conceit is reproveable upon the same grounds as Christianity is receivable upon from the Scriptures of the Old Testament upon which the difference between the Law and the Gospel is stated and the Old Testament admitted for a figure representation and introduction to the New So that the Law being admitted to proceed from God the Gospel is inferred so soon as the true meaning and purpose of God in providing it for the time as an introduction to the Gospel is understood If the maintenance of Christianity require that the ancient people of God their Kings their Priests and their Prophets be taken for figures of our Lord Christ and of his Church and Christian people as the Covenant of the Law promising civil and temporal happinesse is a figure of the New Covenant of Grace promising forgivenesse of sin and evâ—rlasting happinesse in being freed from it and the punishment thereof and perfectly subject to God by perfectly knowing God Then is the kingdome of Christ though not of this world yet in this world as taking place in them who living in this world neverthelesse acknowledge the inward and spiritual obedience of their soules to be due to him who having ransomed them from the bondage of sin and maintaining them here against it will one day make them raigne with him in the world to come Which all Christians untill the Leviathan alwaies took to be Christs Kingdome For though there be those that believe that Christ is to come and raign again upon earth for a thousand years after the worlds end and would astonish us into an expectation to see it come to passe within these very few yeares whose opinion as I am farre enough from allowing so I cannot think this the place to say any thing to it Yet is it not their intent to say that this raign of Christ upon earth is either his kingdom of Grace which is begun here by the obedience which wee yield to his Gospel Or his kingdom of Glory which is consummate in the world to come by the accomplishment of that subjection and our happinesse in it For after the thousand yeares aforesaid are past then do they expect the general Judgment which all Christians believe not afore the raign of Christ upon earth and the kingdom which hee shall resign to the Father 1 Cor. XII 24-28 It had been worth this Philosophers wit to tell us what kinde of Immortality wee are to expect in a civil government under Christ When our vile bodies are made like his glorious body according to the working whereby hee is able to subdue all things to himself Phil. III. 21. When wee are neither to marry nor to be given in marriage but shall be like the Angels of God in heaven Mat. XXII 30. And when wee shall have been caught up in the clouds to meet our Lord in the aire 1 Thess IV. 10. what shall bring us down to live upon earth again But to leave this singularity to the father of it I must needs stand astonished to see an imagination of such consequence to all Christianity advanced upon such imaginary grounds For my part truly I fully believe Josephus that the Jewes after the Captivity were governed by the High Priests in chief so farre as by sufferance of their Soveraignes the Persians and after them the Macedonians they were governed by themselves For this must be the reason why the sons of Mattathias having been the means to free them from the monstrous tyrannies of Antiochus Epiphanes and thereupon by degrees seizing into their hands the Soveraign Power found it necessary to make themselves High Priests which by lineal succession from Aaron they were not intitled to be After which time being reduced under the dominion of the Romanes that power which they allowed them over themselves was in the High Priest so often as they allowed them not a King of their own as will easily appear by the Gospels and Acts of the Apostles compared with Josephus For first indeed after the return from Captivity it seems to mee that there was a Governor over them for the King of Persia For Zerobabel is stiled Governor of Judah Hag. I. 1. And Nehemiah who wee know had his Commission from the King of Persia qualifieth himself by the same stile making mention also of others besides Neh. V. 14 15. and it is to be observed that the word or title 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is elswhere reckoned among the stiles of the Lieutenants or Governors of the Chaldean and Persian Empires Dan. III. 2 3 27. VI. 8. Ezra V. 3. VI. 7. VIII 36. Nehem. VII 7 9. Esther VIII 9. IX 3. When as therefore they obtained of their Soveraignes to be
governed by their own Nation shall wee imagine that this power was trusted with the High Priests because God had made them Soveraignes by the Law Or because after the King whom in that estate they could not have the High Priest was regularly the second person in the Kingdom For what a ridiculous thing is it to imagine that because Josue and the people to goe in and out at the word of the Lord by Eleazar the High Priest therefore the High Priest was alwaies Soveraigne Was it any more for Josue to be ruled by Elâ—azar the High Priest and his answer by Urim and Tummim not by going into the Sanctum Sanctorum than for Saul or David to be directed by the answer of the High Priest in those dayes when as our Author saith the right of the High Priest was by Gods permission though against Law seized in the Kings hands As for the Judges they that reade In those dayes there was no King in Israel every man did what was right in his own eyes with their eyes in their head do thereby understand that though the stories of the Idol in Dan and of Gibea are last in the book of Judges yet they are first in order of time before any Judge had succeded Josue the Judges having the same power for which Moses is called King in Israel Deut. XXXIV 5. For God being their King by the Covenant of the Law while hee raised up no Judge to be his Vicegerent in Moses stead hee governed theâ— by the Elders of the people to whom therefore Clemens and Eusebius and other Chronologers impute the time between Josue and Judges When this Government proved not of force to rule so stiff-necked a people and that God had raised up a Judge to refuse him was to refuse God who by manifest operations of his Spirit in him had declared him his Vicegerent Which is the plain reason why God pronounces that in refusing Samuel they had refused him and not Samuel For it is manifest that they might by the Law demand a King Deut. XVII 14 15. so ridiculous a thing it is to imagine that by demanding a King as other Nations had they rebelled against God who had made the High Priest their Soveraign For God expresseth their rebellion to consist in refusing Samuel whom hee had declared his Vicegerent who being once declared they were no more free do demand a King by the Law till his death Neither doth a Royal Priesthood or a Kingdome of Priests signifie that the High Priests were their Kings But that they who came out of bondage should now make a Kingdom themselves to be governed by their own Nation and Lawes which Lawes should consist much in offering sacrifices to God And those sacrifices though for the future special persons were to be appointed to offer them yet in regard they were offered in the name and on the behalf of the people whose offerings they were the body thereof are justly called Priests As all Christians to whom S. Peter challengeth the effect of this promise are ftiled by him a Royal Priesthood and by S. John Kings and Priests though nothing hinder them to have their Priests whose functions cannot be intermedled with by those who are no Priests without sacrilege In fine the effect of these words is that of the Prophet Esay LXI 5 6. that when the people shall be restored the Gentiles shall be their laborers and Vine-dressers while they in the mean time attend upon keeping holiday by offering sacrifices and feasting upon the sacrifices which they had offered It will now be easie to maintain that the Church when our Lord saith tell it the Church is not nor can be understood but of the Congregation of Christians though at that time in common speech it signified no more than the Congregation of Gods people For supposing that our Lord Christ came to contract a New Covenant with those that received him whereby they became his people on other termes and to other purpose than the people whom hee had before That hee conditioned with them to leave all things and take up his Cross That hee appointeth those that imbrace this condition to be baptized in the Name of the Father Son and Holy Ghost I say this being supposed they that before were the Congregation of Gods people are no more the Congregation of his people upon the same termes not by the same right or title though the same persons The one being his people under a Covenant for the Land of Promise and the condition of living by Moses Lawes The other under the promise of life everlasting which the former were not excluded from though not expresly included in it upon condition of receiving the Christian Faith and continuing in it Suppose wee that when our Lord Christ commanded them to baptize all Nations in the Name of the Father Son and Holy Ghost his Disciples understood no more by all this than that those who should become Proselytes to this new and true Judaisme which our Lord preached should be initiated unto the same by Baptisme as Proselytes then by custome were unto the Law because wee see after the resurrection of our Lord how strange it was to them that the Gospel should be preached to the uncircumcised as such Suppoâ—e wee further that all the Nation of the Jewes whether in Jewry or wheresoever dispersed and none but Jewes had received the Gospel of Christ so as the ancient and New people of God to consist of all the same persons I say all this supposed shall make no maner of difference in the case But there shall be as much difference between the Old and New people of God considered as Societies and Bodies constituted and therefore distinguished by the several Covenants upon which they subsist as if they consisted of all several perâ—ons Should a man judge onely by his bodily eyes and see the people of Rome as it was when the Soveraign Power was in the people and again after it had been seized by Augustus I could not blame him to say that it was the same people But hee that should look upon that people with his understanding as a Civil Society State and Commonwealth and â—ay it was the same all men of understanding would laugh at him for it how much soever the interest of Augustus required that it should seem the same to grosse people Apply this instance to the case in hand and I shall need say no more Several things must either have several names or the same name in several notions or significations If our Lord took upon him to teach his Disciples the New Covenant hee came to introduce to make them the New people of God which hee came thereby to constitute such is the correspondence between the Old and the New the old Name served best to signifie the New thing But in the same sense it could not serve to represent to his hearers the several termes upon which Jewes and Christians are Gods people
should follow that under the Gospel there should be no such Power in the Church For had it been never so clear never â—o much granted that such a Power was in force under the Law yet could it not be derived upon the Church mediately or immediately from some act of our Lord Christ founding his Church it would not have served the turne The Law of Moses continuing Scripture to the worlds end but Law to none but to those whom it was given to oblige That is the people that subsisted by receiving it and that for that time when it was intended to be in force But if it may appear that the Church is made one Society and Communion by the act of them that founded it and that such it cannot be without a Profession limiting or uniting the right of that Communion to him that makes it nor stand such without power of denying the same to him that visibly makes that Profession and visibly failes of it Whether any such thing were in force under the Law or not under the Gospel it shall not therefore fail to be in force True it is that this cannot be true unlesse a competent reason may be made to appear of something answerable to it under the Law in the same proportion as the correspondence between the Law and the Gospel between the Synagogue and the Church holds But such a one will not be wanting in this case They that argue from the excluding of Adam out of Paradise to the putting of sinners out of the Church if they argue no more than a figure discernâ—ble by the truth when competent evidence of that truth is made conclude not amisse For though this be before the Law yet not before the purpose of God in figuring Chriâ—â—ianity was set on foot And that Paradise as it is a figure of heaven and the joyes thereof so likewise is a figure of the Church upon earth is necessarily conâ—equent to the reason upon which the mystical sense of the Old Testament is grounded So likewise under the Law the shutting of Lepers out of the camp of Israel answerable in the Jewes Law to the City of Jerusalem and supposing the truth of the Gosâ—el a figure of the visible Church neither signified any cause nor produced any effect but of a legal incapacity of conversing with Gods people But supposing a spiritual people of God intitled by their profession to remission of sins and life everlasting a visible failleure of this profession is the cause which producing inviâ—ble separation from God is competent to produce a visible separation from the Church which is visibly that people The penalty allotted to the neglect of circumcision is The childe to be cut off from his people Which penalty beginning there is afterward much frequented by the Law in many cases the penalty whereof is to be cut off from Gods people Signifying as hee hath learnedly showed and saved mee the pains of doing it again that such a forfeiture should make him that incurred it lyable to be suddenly out off by Gods hand from the land of his people And because it was an evident inconvenience that a civil Law should leaye such faults to Gods punishment who never tied himself to execute the punishment though hee made the transgressor lyable to it therefore the Antiens of Gods people according to Gods Law have allotted to such faults the punishment of scourging as next in degree to capital for grievous But there are several other crimes mentioned in the Law which who incurres is by the same Law cut off from Gods people by being put to death I demand now what correspondence can be more exact supposing the Law that tenders the happinesse of this life in the Land of Promise to them that undertake and observe it to be the fore-runner of the New Covenant that tenders remission of sins and life everlasting upon the same terms than is seen betwixt the invisible and visible forfeiture of the privileges of Gods people in the Land of Promise and the invisible and visible forfeiture of the Communion of Gods people as the sin is notorious or not Nor will it serve his turn to scorn S. Cyprian urging as you may see by my book of the Right of the Church that Origen and S. Austin do pag. 27. that Excommunication in the Church is the same as putting to death under the Law As proving that by a meer allusion which if it have not other grounds is not like to be received For S. Paul saith well that the Scriptures are able to make a man wise unto salvation through Faith in Christ Jesus 2 Tim. III. 15. speaking of the Scriptures of the Old Testament Because without faith in Christ upon the motives which his coming hath brought forth to the world they are not able to do it but supposing those motives received do inable a Christian to give a reason of that different dispensation whereby it pleased God to govern things under the Law and so not onely to attain salvation but with wisedom to direct others in it and take away stumbling blocks oâ—t of their way to it And in this case should a man go about to perswade Christians to admit such a Power over them by no other argument than this well might the motion be scorned by them to whom it were tendred But there being no pretense in this allegation but of rendring a reason for a Power of the Church from that of the Synagogue and the Fathers so well stated in the difference between the Law and the Gospel as not easily chargeable of the indiscretion to use ridiculous arguments it is to be maintained that they have given such a reason from the Old Testament as is to be required by such as would be wise to salvation by it Indeed I could not but observe in the late History of Henry the Eight p. 157. where the Writer imagines what reasons Cardinal Woolsey gave the Pope for his consent to the dissolving of some little Monasteries for the erection of his Colleges at Oxford and Ipswich that hee alleges among others That the Clergy should rather fly to Tropes and Allegories if not to Cabbala it self than permit that all the parts of Religious worship though so obvious as to fall easily within common understandings should be without their explication The intent whereof may justly seem to charge the Clergy to have advanced the mystical sense of the Scripture as a means to make the Religion they maintaine more considerable for the difficulty of it But I would there were not too much cause to suspect from other writings of the same Author a compliance with Porphyry Celsus Julian and other enemies of Christianity that have not spared to charge our Lord Christ and his Apostles with abuse and imposture in alleging the Scriptures of the Old Testament impertinently to their purpose though here hee charge onely the Clergy for that wherein they follow his and their steps To mee I confesse
it smelled so ranck that I conceived my self bound to cry out upon the venene that may be so closely couched under the words But to those that believe the truth of Christianity arguments from the mystical sense of the Old Testament must not seem contemptible those of our Lord Christ and his Apostles being such provided that the correspondence between the Law and the Gospel be preserved upon the right ground and in the right grain Provided also that no more waight be laid upon them than they are able to bear To wit no more than wee can lay upon the Law of Moses in proving the truth of Christianity Which if wee premise not the miracles of our Lord Christ and his Apostles done to witnesse their commission from God together with the excellence of Christianity above Judaisme even in the ballance of reason If wee make not good and constant correspondence between both wheresoever the ground of that correspondence takes place wee allege a reason that needs a reason to defend it But if wee do that wee imprest all the miracles done by Moses to introduce the Law to depose for the truth of the Gospel Wee furnish our selves of a magazine of argument in all points of Christianity to convince those who have received it what the conâ—â—itution of Gods ancient people and the truth then on foot will inferre upon the correspondence which they are supposed to hold with Christianity and with the Church I do then freely grant that Excommunication stood not immediately by Gods Law among Gods ancient people though by that Power which Gods Law had vested on them that first introduced it Were it Esdras by commission from the King of Persia as to the Power that inforced it with means to constraine though by the Law as to his Title before and against other men by the Law or whosoever it were besides But I will allege evidence for it after the return from Captivity which to my knowledge hath not hitherto been alleged Namely that which is called in the Greek Bible the third Book of Maccabees where it is râ—lated that when some of the Jewes at Alexandria had obeyed the Edict of Ptolomee Philometor commanâ—ing to worship an Idol which hee had set up the rest of the people 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Abhorred those of them that had turned Aposâ—â—â—es and condeâ—ned â—â—em as enemies to the Nation depriving them of mutual conversation and the henefit of it III. 25. Upon the consideration of which passage I easâ—ly conclude that of 1 Macc. XIV 38. not to be well understood nâ—â— translâ—ted where it is said that Razias 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifying indeed that in the â—orâ—er times under Antiochus Epiphanes when so many Jewes departed from their Law hee had brought in the decree of not mixing Judaisme That is to say that hee had been the means of passing a decree that those who stuck to their profession should not commâ—nicate with the Apoâ—â—ates These things were done by virtue of the Law against the will of their Soveraignes and therefore Philometor complaines of them for it 3 Macc. III. 16. but it is by virtue of his decree being his subjects that they put them to death aftâ—rwards VII 8 9 10. I do also grant that the putting of a man out of the Synagogue which I admit to have come in by the act of those men who nâ—verthâ—lesse had their authority originally from that act of God which made them a people under those Lawes imported a great abatement of the temporal privilege of each Jewes estate in as much as it is evident that whosoever was banished the conversation of Jewes in whole or in part was at the same rate abated the privilege of a Jew which they held by the declaration of their Soveraignes to maintain them in the use of their own Lawes For the privilege which a man holdeth among his people whereof hee is a native will appeare of what consequence it is when hee comes to live among strangers But I do not therefore yield that to be excommunicate out of the Church by the original constitution thereof and the Law of God imports the abatement of any secular privilege Because of the difference between the Synagogue and the Church which God appointed to be gathered out of all Nations under the condition of bearing Christs Crosse For such a company refusing their Communion to such as they exclude can neither prejudice their persons goods nor fame which being doubtfull to the world so long as they professe the Religion which the world owns not returns by consequence when they quit that Religion to return to the Religion of the State Rather as the Leviathan truly sayes they make themselves liable to all the persecution that may be brought upon them by such as think they have had ill measure by being put out of the Church Now to that which is argued That because the Christians went for Jewes among the Gentiles at the beginning of Christianity injoying Jewes privileges and thereby the exercise of their Religion therefore the Excommunications used by them must needs be such as were in force among the Jewes according to Moses Law that is by the Power which it establisheth The answer is by denying the consequence The reason this The Christians at the beginning communicated with the Jewes in that service of God which they used as well in the Temple as in the Synagogue How should they have opportunity to make them acquainted with the Gospel otherwise But as sometimes they assembled secretly among themselves for fear of the Jewes Acts XII 12. John XIX 38. so also besides those Offices which they served God with among the Jewes in the Temple or in the Synagogue they acknowledged others which they held themselves bound to and for which they retired themselves from the Jewes Acts I. 13. II. 42 46. III. 23. V. 42. VI. 2. The ground of their Communion with the Jewes Christians know to have been the hope of winning them to be Christians lasting while that hope should continue the ground of serving God in their own Assemblies the obligation of Christianity for ever to continue In regard of the conversation and communion which they held with the Jewes whether Civil or Religious they were subject to be excommunicated by the Jewes That is part of our Lords Prophesie John XVI 2. They shall put you out of their Synagogues Nay the time cometh that whoso killeth you shall think that hee doth God service But whatsoever the effect of these Excommunications might be being driven and confined in a maner to the Communion of the Church by being excluded or at least abridged the Communion of the Synagogue must they not needs forfeit their Communion by not fulfilling the condition by which they held it Or could they forfeit it upon other gronnds or to other effect than those upon which and to which they held it Indeed I will not undertake to give you many Scripture examples of Excommunications
knowledge as to think himselfe fit to recall the Lawes of his Country and give new Laws to the Church of God in it is not ashamed to admit that the reason why the Idolatries of Israelites were so odious to God was because he had not commanded them by the Scriptures As if God had never forbade them to worship Idols by the Scriptures For otherwise he could not have inferred by the words of the Prophet that a Christian ought to do nothing without a Text of Scripture to warrant it much lesse to admit any Law of the Church without such evidence Which had it been granted him with power to give the Church such Laws he could not have proceeded without demanding this exception that those which Cartwright should make without any such warrant might be counted godly and religious but these which the Church superstitious CHAP. XXVII Why it was death to transgress the determinations of the Jews Consistory and what power this argueth in the Church A difference between the authority of the Apostles and that of the Church The being of the Church to the worlds end with power of the Keyes makes it not infallible Obedience to Superiors and the Pillar of truth inferre it not IT will not be more difficult to show how the true sense of all those Scriptures which are alleadged towards the infallibility of the Church concurs to make good the terms upon which I have resolved the dispute in hand For having showed that the Law of Moses was given the Jews for the condition of holding the land of promise they ruling as well their civil communion as the service they tendred to God according to it I will demand but one thing more from the general experience of all civill people which is this That no form of Laws can be propounded to any community of men whatsoever so as to serve it without further determining and limiting of such things as time and the occurrences of time shall discover to be undetermined by that Law and therefore questionable So that Moses Law though given by God who foresaw whatsoever could become questionable concerning the mater of his Law yet because given for the civil Law of the people must needs be given liable to want such limitations as the occurrences of time should make requisite Neither can the truth hereof be better evidenced then by showing the course which God by the Law hath taken for the ending of all such disputes arising upon the Law I do therefore not onely grant but insist upon this that the power established by the law of Deut. XVII 8 -12 extendeth to all maner of debates arising upon occasion of any recept of Moses Law and to the determining of them by limiting those things which the leter of the Law had not expressed I do likewise grant that death is allotted for a penalty to whosoever should not conform to any such determination and the practice of the Law according to it And I do find so much reason for it that I do not understand how possibly that people should subsist and by consequence the Law which made them that people in practice of it without such a provision as this An opinion of the intent and meaning of God in the practice of any precept being sufficient to divide that people into parties not to be reconciled but by the voice of God either upon the occasion or by the Law warranting the sentence of those whom he authorizeth to declare what he requireth of his people Setting aside for the present to dispute whether it be the Priests alone or the Priests with the chiefe of the People in whom this Power is vested by the Law as for the present I dispute not who the persons are in whom the power of Church maters rests in behalf of the Church it is plainly by this Law a capitall crime to teach and do contrary to what the publick Power of that People should determine concerning the intent and practice of any Precept of that Law And therefore accordingly I grant insist that in the new Israel of God according to the Spirit which is the Church of Christ there is and ought to be a Power of putting out of the fellowship of the same any man that shall not stand to the resolution which legally is able to conclude it For without such a Power it cannot be imagined how the unity thereof should subsist seeing that there can be no community in which debates shall not arise about those things wherein they communicate I grant further and insist that he who is justly put out of the Church though meerly for violating the unity thereof by disobeying that just order which unites it is thereby condemned to the death of the world to come As he that teaches and does contrary to the sentence of that power that concludes the Synagogue is put out of this Notwithstanding as many other crimes besides this are capitall by the law of Moses so there be many other causes both of faith and of life by which a man forfeits his interest both in the world to come and in the communion of the Church But if any man argue that because a man forfeits the Communion of the Church by disobeying the determination thereof therefore all the determinations thereof are infallibly true and obliging by virtue of Gods Law I shall deny the consequence by virtue of that very Law of Deut. XVII 8 -12 upon which this Argument is grounded For whereas it makes disobedience a capital crime there are other Laws that suppose a breach of the Law even in following the determinations of that power which it establisheth At least if we admit the practice of those Jews that follow the Talmud in those precepts of Levit. VI. 13 -21 Numb XV. 21 -26 which indeed cannot reasonably be otherwise understood How should the Congregation offer sacrifices to expiate that ignorance wherein all were involved but as those that had power to make wrong determinations should expiate that ignorance which the Congregation by following had incursed Neither saith our Lord any lesse in the Gospel though in a mater of greater consequence when having condemned them that transgressed Gods commandment for the Tradition of their Predecessors Mat. XV. 5-10 Mar. VII 8-12 neverthelesse he commands them to observe and do all such things as the Scribes and Pharisees sitting in Moses Chair should command Mat. XXIII 2. to wit because the authority of Moses his Chair presupposed the Law of God but extended not to nullifie any part of it In like maner the authority of the Church presupposing the truth of Christianity the profession whereof makes Christians the Body whereof is the Church It is not possible that it should reach so farre as to warrant any man to believe that which those grounds upon which the truth of Christianity stands cannot evidence to be true I say not that the Church cannot determine what shall be taught and received in such disputes as
also their New-birth Whereupon it follows Hebr. IX 18. Whence neither the first was dedicated without bloud Making the first Covenant a Testament also because the sacrifices which it was dedicated with signified the death of Christ whose Testament the New Covenant is Now every Covenant every Contract whatsoever is a Law which the parties intercbangeably tie themselvs to being free before Neither can it be a Covenant that imposeth nothing upon one of the parties I know the promise of God not to destroy the World any more by water is called many times his Covenant and the Rain-bow the sign of it Gen. IX 9. 17. whence it may be argued that nothing hinders a Covenant to be no more then a bare Promise And truly it is properly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is a disposition though by free promise it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or a choice according to them that will have that to be the originall of the Word He that would be contentious might have ground to dispute that this promise of God was not without a condition annexed unto it For the tradition of the Jews is now generally received by men of Learningâ— that God gave Noah and his Sons seven Precepts to observe which were visible during the time that his People lived in the Land of Promise as being the condition upon the undertaking whereof strangers were protected by Gods Law among them Which if it be true it can no way seem unreasonable to say that the undertaking of these precepts was the condition upon which it pleased God to secure them from the waters of another deluge reserving himself neverthelesse the liberty of destroying the world by fire when that Covenant which was to succeed this and all the additions to it under Abraham or Moses should have wrought the effect for which it was tendred in the salvation of Mankind And thus it might be said that the name of a Covenant is properly attributed to this promise because of the condition annexed though not remembred in the Scripture But seeing the word Covenant is manifestly used in the Scripture to signifie a decree of God or the declaration of it as when it speaks of Gods Covenant with the day and the night I shall not need to ground my selfe upon any such nicety as this provided and understood alwaies that the annexing of a condition necessarily determines and limits it to signifie a Contract not a bare decree or promise Which easily appeareth in the Covenants whereof we speak because they are treated For to induce a man to imbrace a promise which being of advantage brings no burthen within it is not for the wisdome of God to send his Son to do because none but a mad man can refuse it But where God sends his Son to tender mankind terms of reconcilement where he suffers death to undergo and execute his Commission where he sends his Disciples authorized by the evidence which his Spirit gives that he sent them but obliged to undergo death in testimony of the same There I suppose there is such a condition annexed which they that have reason to be satisfied of the truth of the message may doubt whether to make themselves parties to by imbracing the profession of it Hear the Apostle 2 Cor. V. 18 19 20. All is of God that hath reconciled us to himselfe by Jesus Christ and given us the Ministery of reconcilement As that God was about reconciling the World to himselfe by Christ not imputing to them their transgression and placing in us the Ministery of reconcilement We are therefore Ambassadors in Christs stead As if God did exbort by us In Christs stead we beseech you be reconciled to God If all that is said in the Bible of the second and New Testament or Covenant of Grace imported no more but a bare promise was mankind so void of reason as to need all this to perswade him to imbrace his own happiness tendred without any reputed disadvantage For though to forsake the world and our selves be really an advantage to the most noble parts of humane nature yet because that is not seen but by Faith not imbraced without disadvantage in regard of the present world that which is really a difficulty to the imbracing of Christianity I admit as in the reputation of them to whom the Gospel is preached to be a disadvantage And therefore with them to whom the Gospel is preached the case is the same as with Cain when God said to him Gen. IV. 5. If thou dost well shalt thou not be accepted but if thou dost not well sin lieth at the door As with the Israelites when God said to them Deut. XXX 15. Behold I have set before thee this day life and good and death and evil Whereas I command thee this day to love the Lord thy God to walk in his wayes and to keep his commandements and statutes and judgements and thou shalt live and increase and the Lord thy God shall blesse thee in the Land whither thou goest in to possesse it In fine as with them to whom it is said Ecclesiasticus XV. 14 17. He made man from the beginning and left him in the hand of his own Counsel Keep the Commandements and faith if thou wilt To do things acceptable to him He hath set before thee fire and water stretch forth thy hand to whether thou wilt Life and death is before man and that shall be given him which he liketh That is to say so manifest as it is that God when he tendred the Law to the Israelites tendred them their choice whether they would undertake to live according to it upon condition of obtaining the promises tendred with it So evident is it that God tendring the Gospel in the same terms to all that are invited to undertake Christianity tendreth it upon condition of living according to it And therefore that as well in matter of Christianity in the imbracâ—ng or rejecting in performing or failing of it the choice of free will is evidently seen and exercised in as any thing else wherein one man contracts with another The nature and consideration of a Covenant holding as fully in this as in humane contracts Which if it be true we must not be nice in allowing the Gospel of Christ the name nature of a Law thogh the name of the Law being already possessed by the Law of Moses when it is put with some addition incompetent to the Law of Moses cannot be understood of any thing else For if every contract be a Law to the parties so soon as it is inacted then can it not be denied that the Covenant of Grace is a Law to them that ingage in it unless we would have God tied by his promise and Christians free from any obligation yet nevertheless intitled to the same For what is a Law but the condition by observing whereof every man maintains his estate in the Commonwealth whereof he is Which he that would not have Christianity
to be in regard of the world to come what would he have Christians to be but Libertines and Rebels True it is God imposeth it not as upon his subjects but tendreth it as to his rebels for the condition upon which they may become his subjects instead of his rebels And that is a just reason why it is called a Covenant rather than a Law And that reason justly reproves the Leviathans imagination that it can oblige neither more nor less than the Law of Nature For being positive as tendred by the meer will of God and upon what terms he pleased as the Precepts thereof which are Gods Laws to his Church and the institution of the Church it selfe is meerly positive there is no reason at all to presume that the moral Precepts which are in force under it are bounded by the Law of Nature Though whether it be so or not I undertake not here to determine But we know what S. Paul saith Rom. III. 27. Where is boasting It is shut out By what Law Not by the Law of works but by the Law of Faith That is by the Gospel which requireth that Faith of which I am inquiring wherein it consists for the condition of obtaining the promises which it tendreth And S. James 11. 8. 12. If ye fulfill the Royall Law which saith Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy self ye do well And So speak ye and so do ye as being to be judged by the Law of Libertie For the liberty of being Gods subjects and under Gods royall Law the Gospel giveth Neither is S. Paul otherwise to be understood when he saith Rom. VIII 2. The Law of the Spirit of Life which is in Christ Jesus hath freed me from the Law of sin and of death The imbracing of the Gospel being the Law that is the condition upon which we become partakers of the Holy Ghost free from sin and from death And truly I cannot but pity the blindness of error so oft as I remember that I have heard Antinomians alledge the words of the Prophet Jer. XXXI 31 -34. quoted by the Apostle to show the difference between the first and second Covenant Heb. VIII 8 -11. Behold the dayes come saith the Lord that I will settle with the house of Israel and the house of Judah a new Covenant not according to the Covenant that I made with their Fathers when I tooke them by the hand and brought them out of the Land of Aegypt for they abode not in my Covenant and I neglested them saith the Lord For this is the Covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those dayes saith the Lord Putting my Laws into their mind I will also write them upon their hearts and I will be to them for their God and tâ—ey to me for my people Neither shall they teach every man his neighbour and every man his Brother saying Know the Lord For they shall all know me from the least of them to the greatest I say I cannot but pity them that upon these words ground themselves that the Covenant of Grace is a meer free promise not onely freely made for so I say it is free for what but Gods goodness moved him to tender it but freely without condition contracted for at their hands For cannot God by his Prophet foretell the effect of the Covenant of Grace but he must be presumed to set down the terms of it And if he express them not there is he the less free to demand them when he tenders them Especially the Covenant it self being to remain a secret till Gods time to reveal it I say then that this Prophesie hath taken full effect in the lives of those who submitting themselves to the terms of Christianity have received of God the gift of the Holy Ghost to understand their profession that they might live according to it But that this gift of the Holy Ghost that is to say the habituall assistance thereof neither was due nor bestowed but upon supposition of Chnstianity professed by baptisme which God by our Lord Christ hath revealed to be the condition which he requireth of them that will injoy the same CHAP. IV. The consent of the whole Church evidenced by the custome of chatechising By the opinion thereof concerning the salvation of those that delayed their Baptism By the rites and Ceremonies of Baptism Why no penance for sins before but after Baptism The doctrine of the Church of England evident in this case BUT I am now come to the argument that is to be drawn from the practise of the universall Church to my purpose And truly he that shall consider for what reason the Apostles should require those whom they had converted to be baptized will find himselfe intangled in rendring it unless he settle the ground of it upon the obligation of professing true Christianity And the effect of it in admitting to the unity of the Church which may require the performance and maintain the exercise of it And the consequence thereof they that are or shall be imployed by the Church to preach to unbelievers will find to be such that either they must insist upon the terms which I hold with them or they shall make them but aequivocall Christians That is such as may wear the Cross of Christ to man for a cognizance but not in the obligation of their hearts to God rather to suffer death than either to profess or act against that which he hath taught The next point in the visible practice of the Catholick Church is the custome of catechizing The circumstances whereof for time and manner though no man can mantain to have been the same in all Churches yet it may be argued to have been generally a time of triall for them that had been wonne to believe the truth of Christianity how they were likely to apply themselves to live like Christians and what assurance or presumption the Church might conceive that they would not betray the profession thereof And therfore I appeal to the common sense of all men whether they that exercised this course did not admit men to Christianity and baptism upon the condition of professing and undertaking so to do Besides those things which I alledged in the first Book in the Constitutions of the Apostles in the most ancient Canons of the Church and generally in all Church writers we read of Missa Catechumenorum and Missa fidelium In English the dismission of Scholars and the dismission of Believers Because during the Psalms during the reading of the Scriptures expounding the same reason was that learners should be present as well for their instruction in Christianity as for discharge of their â—uty in the praises of God and prayers to God Though the same prayers were not to be offered to God for Learners as for believers but they were to be dismissed with peculiar prayers of the Church for their particular estate such as yet are extant in the ancient Offices of the
mercy on all And out of the same consideration he argues Gal. III. 10 13. That as many as are of the workes of the Law are accursed For it is written Cursed is every one that continnueth not in all things that are written in the book the Law to do them And againe Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law being made a curse for us For it is written Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree For though the Law provided remedies for many transgressions the use whereof might and did restore men to the benefit of those temporall promises which it tendered Yet in as much as there was no remedy against capitall transgressions by the Law in as much as no remedy against death which is the punishment allotted to the transgression of Gods originall Law in so much it is justly said That by the law there was sufficient conviction of that spirituall death to which those that retired not themselves under the Spirituall Law of God were necessarily liable Though that Spirituall Law were never published till Christ by submitting to the literal curse of the law had established the same To this purpose truly saith S. Paul Gal. III. 18 19. That the inheritance being allowed Abraham by promise the Law was added because of transgressions That is because there was no relying upon the good nature of that people whose benefit the promises made to Abraham did concerne that because they professed the true God and acknowledged his providence and judgement to come therefore without constraint of temporall punishments they would abstain even from those sins whereby eivil society is violated And therefore the Apostle addeth That God hath concluded all under sinne that the promise might be given those that believe by the faith of Jesus Christ But before the faith came saith he we were guarded by the law as shut up to the faith which was to be revealed So that the law is our Pedagogue to bring us to Christ that we may be justified by faith The office of a Pedagogue in S. Pauls sense according to the custome of those times is not that which most men understand as I said afore A Pedagogue is not the master of a School but a governour such as Fathers then appointed their sonnes out of their slaves for the most part in whose discretion they had some confidence to trust their children with them for the conducting of them to Schoole and for the over-seeing of them when they were dismissed by their masters againe So that when he saith the Law is our Pedagogue to bring us to Schoole to Christ The sense is most fit and proper according to my intent That discovering the conviction of sinne by the punishments wherewith it guardeth and shutteth men up from offending it leadeth us to the ingagement which Christ requireth of us that we offend no more And upon this ground and to this effect it is that S. Paul inferrs out of the passages of the old Testament which he had there premised Rom. III. 19 20 21. What the Law saith it saith to those that are under the law that every mouth may be stopped and all the world become guilty to God thot no flesh should be justified before him by the works of the Law For by the Law is the knowledge of sinne But now the righteousnesse of God is manifested without the Law being testified by the Law and the prophets For how is the righteousnesse of God witnessed by the Law which ministreth conviction of sinne and by the Prophets but in regard the Law affords sufficient arguments of the truth of the Gospel by which that righteousnesse which God accepteth to everlasting life is tendered And because the Prophets succeeding the Law do cleare and publish the same more and more And againe Rom. IV. 15 16. For the law worketh wrath Because where there is no Law there is no transgression Therefore of saith is the promise that it may be according to grace that the promise may be firme to all the seed not onely that which is of the Law but that also which is of the faith of Abraham which is the Father of us all For if there be a twofold seed of Abraham one according to the Law onely which worketh wrath the other according to the promise then is there also a twofold Law because that promise inferres a Law of God by virtue whereof those that are of faith are justified by the promise Now if the restraining of that people from grosse offences by those punishments which the Law threatned them with were a considerable meanes to prepare that people to submit themselves to the Gospel when iâ— should come to be preached It will necessarily follow that during the time that the Law was to stand it was appointed by God to bring them to true spirituall righteousnesse who apprehending the secrets of their own hearts open to God whom the Laws ties them to acknowledge and liable to his judgements in confidence of the goodnesse which he prevented them with should engage the resolution of their hearts to worship him in spirit and in truth Seeing then that all the arguments whereby the Law and the Prophets do bear witnesse to the truth of Christianity are grounded upon the correspondence between the temporall promises of the Law and the spirituall and everlasting promises of the Gospel whereupon follows the correspondence between that carnall obedience which the Law and that spirituall obedience which the Gospell requireth it followeth necessarily that though there was then no expresse publication of any will of God to be engaged to give life everlasting to those that should take upon them to yeeld him that inward and spirituall obedience which the Gospel now covenanteth for yet notwithstanding this will of his darkly intimated by the dispensation of the Law was effectuall to make those that imbraced those intimations to yeeld him such obedience and yet the number of them so slender as made the coming of Christ and his Gospel no lesse necessary to the salvation of the Jews then of the Gentiles And this is that equivocation of the word Law which Origen in his exposition of the Epistle to the Romanes and in his Philocalia oftentimes complaines to be the occasion of the obscurity of that and other of S. Pauls Epistles The same in a word which made the Jews stumble at the counsel of God in voiding that Law to which he had brought them up and so well accepted their zeale for it Onely this we must take along with us that whatsoever is here said to be intimated by the Law and made good under it concerning the reward of everlasting life to the inward obedience of Gods spirituall Law is to be understood by virtue of those promises upon which the Gospel is established Which the Fathers from the beginning were bred up in the expectation of according to that of the Apostle Heb. XI 13 16. These all died according to faith not
forgive our brethren their offences against us Mat. VI. 14. 15. Our Lord rendring a reason why he had taught his disciples to pray Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespasse against us For if it forgive men their sinnes your heavenly Father will forgive you also But if you forgive not men their Transgressions neither will your Father forgive your Transgressions And the Apostle James II. 13. to the same purpose Judgement shall be without mercy to him that sheweth not mercy And the foote of our Saviours Parable Mat. XVIII 35. So also shall your bravenly Father do to you if from your hearts yee forgive not every one his Brother their transgressions So Mar. XI 25. 26. And Luc. VI. 37. 38. Judge not and yee shall not be judged condemn not and ye shall not be condemned pardon and ye shall be pardoned give and there shall be given to you good measure crouded and shaken and runing over shall be given into your bosome for the measure that ye mete with shall be measured to you againe And againe Luk. XI 41. But give Almes according to your power and all things shall be cleane to you So Solomen Prov. XVI 6. By mercy and truth shall inquity be expiated And Daniell to Nebuchodonosor Dan. III. 5. Redeeme thy sins by righteousnesse or Almes deeds and thy iniquity by shewing compassion upon the afflicted For the verbe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 can signifie nothing but Redeem in the Caldee though there is a figure of speech in the Prophets Language intending redeem thy self from thy sinnes as I shall have occasion to say in another place and therefore t is in the Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And from hence come those sayings Tobit IV. 11. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And againe Tob. XII 9. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Almes delivereth from death and suffereth not to enter into darknesse And Almes delivereth from death and purgeth away all sinne And Ecclus. III. 33. Water quencheth flaming fire and with almes shall he make prepitiation for sinnes And XXIX 15. Shut up almes in thy store houses and they will deliver thee from all afflictions And the words of the Apostle are plainest in this sense I Pet. IV. 8. Charity shall cover a many sinnes The Prophet also to the same purpose Isa I. 17. For they that make that filth which alone justifieth not to include or presuppose that condition to which Baptisme tieth Christians must needs crucifie themselves and set the Scriptures upon the rack to finde another meaning for them then the words bear By which that which God hath made due without and before any condition may turely be said to be given in consideration of it Which reason and the common sense of all men abhors But supposing that faith which onely justifieth to include the profession of undertaking Christianity as the condition upon which the promises of the Gospel are to be expected So certaine as it is that this will not be due if the condition be not fulfilled so necessary and so proper it will be to say That whatsoever that condition includeth is the consideration upon which the promise cometh though not by virtue of the thing done but by virtue of Gods tender and the Covenant of Grace and the promise which it containeth and the free goodnesse of God which first moved him to tender that promise And therefore you shall find those that suppose it not alwayes tormenting themselves to force upon the Scriptures such a meaning as the words of them doe not beare And in the last place concerning the consent of the Church though the Fathers are free in acknowledging with S. Paul justification by faith alone yet notwithstanding they are on the other side so copious in attributing the promises of the Gospel to the good workes of Christians that it may truly be said there is never a one of them from whom sufficient authority is not to be had for evidence thereof Which will amount to a tradition of the whole Church in this point In particular S. Augustine to whom appeal is wont to be made in all parts of that dispute which relateth to the Heresie of Pelagius hath so clearly and so copiously delivered the answer which I maintaine to those texts of S. Paul where he denieth that Christians are justified by the workes of the Law that those that challenge him in other points of this dispute concerning the Covenant of Grace doe not pretend to be of his mind in this Though the ground of this answer consisting in the twofold sense of the Law deserved as I conceive to be further cleared even after S. Augustine and the rest of ancient Church-writers I would therefore have the reader here to understand that I account all the rest of this second book to be nothing else but the resolution of those difficulties the answer to those objections and demandes which arise upon the determination here advanced The chief of them is that which followes in the next place How the promises of the Gospel can be said to be the effects of Gods free grace requiring our Christianity as the condition upon which they become due and not otherwise But there are also others concerning the possibility of fulfulling Gods Law by the new obedience of Christians concerning the goodnesse and perfection of it concerning the force and effect of good workes either in making satisfaction for sinne or in meriting life everlasting Which I shall allow that consideration in due time which the model of this abridgement will bear As for the sense of the Fathers evidencing the Tradition of the Church I am yet to learn that there ever was any exception alledged to infringe the consent of the Church in the necessity of good workes to the obtaining of salvation for Christians But onely the case of those who being taken away by death upon professing Christianity have not time to bring forth the fruits of it And how good workes can be the necessary meanes to procure the salvation of Christians but by virtue of that Law or condition for obtaining salvation which the Gospel now expresly enacteth and alwaies did covertly effectuate no sense of man comprehendeth For that the ancient Church agreeth in allowing the force of satisfaction for sinne to workes of Penance of Merit for the world to come to workes done in the state of Grace none of the Reformation which either disowneth or excuseth it for so doing according to the respect they have for it can make questionable And therefore though this be not the place to justifie the ancient Church in these particulars yet this is evident that those who maintaine more then my position requires do agree in that which it containes I shall therefore content my selfe for the present with producing some speciall passages of the Fathers expressing in my opinion the markes of my position and the reasons whereupon it proceeds As limiting the position between faith and workes in the matter of justifying
Christ how farre it is declared to us by the Scriptures and original Tradition of the Church Knowing neverthelesse that this being resolved the rest of the controversie concerning the holy Trinity necessarily falls to the ground of it self as having nothing whereupon to subsist when the everlasting Godhead of Christ is once maintained afore Now the ready way that I can think of to go through so great a dispute as briefly as is possible is to take in hand first the point of originall sinne in which the dispute between Pelagius and Socinus on the one side and the Church on the other side is grounded For therefore I hope it will appear the shortest way to dispatch the whole dispute because that being decided together with that which dependeth upon it as incident to it concerning the state of our Lord Christ before his coming in the flesh the rest will appear to consist either in controversies of Divines or in mistakes and disputes about words I begin with S. Paul because he it is who having laid forth the necessity of Christianity to the salvation as well of Jewes as of Gentiles in the beginning of his Epistle to the Romanes and in the fourth chapter by the Example of Abraham confirmed the same Or if you please answered the objection concerning the salvation of the Fathers before and under the Law proceeds in the fifth Chapter to lay forth both the ground upon which it is effectuall which is the death of Christ and the ground upon which it was necessary which is the sinne of Adam Thus then saith S. Paul Rom. V. 12 13 14. Therefore as by one man sinne entered into the world and death by sinne and so death passed upon all in whome all sinned For untill the Law sinne was in the world Now sinne is not imputed where there is no Law And yet death raigned from Adam until Moses even upon them that had not sinned after the likenesse of Adams transgression who is the figure of him that is to come It is said that the wordes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are to be translated in asmuch as all had sinned To signifie that Spirituall death came after Adam upon all that had sinned as Adam did inasmuch as they had sinned For as for bodily death they believe not no more then Pelagius that it was the punishment of Adams sinne but the condition of mans birth Onely the troubles the cares the sorrowes by which men come to their graves these as they acknowledge to be consequences as of Adams sinne so of all those sinnes whereby men follow and imitate Adam so they think to be meant by the sentence In the day wherein thou eatest thereof shalt thou die the death But this is no lesse then to deny the literall sense of the Scripture which the Church hath received for one of Origens errors in the interpretation of the beginning of Genesis What is it else to say That Adam was liable to bodily death by nature but to spiritual death by sinne For it is manifest by the premises that through all the Old Testament the second death is no otherwise preached then under the figure of the first death and that by virtue of the ground laid from the beginning that the Covenant of Grace which tendreth life and death everlasting was onely intimated under the Covenant of nature which the Law only received and limited to the happiness of the land of promise as to the Israelits tendring expresly only blessings and mercies of this life to the civil and outward obedience of Gods commandments And can it be imagined that in the very first tender that God made to man of life in consideration of obedience and death of disobedience this life and this death must be understood to be the second when the obedience was onely in abstaining from the forbidden fruit What was then that fruit of the tree of Life by eating whereof they might have preserved themselves from death I aske not what it signified but what it was For all reason will require admitting the premises that it signified that whereby the soul escapes spirituall death But the same reason will inforce that it must be the fruit of a tree which so long as they eat not of the tree of knowledge they were licensed to eat to preserve them from bodily death Neither is there any difficulty in that they aske How all the posterity of Adam should have come by the fruit of that tree that grew no where but in the garden of Eden For I suppose it had been as easie to have planted all parts of the world with the same tree as with the posterity of Adam had he continued in obedience Who being not driven out of Eden as upon his disobedience but sending his posterity to do that in the rest of the world which he did there had made all the world Eden by placing the Paradise of God wheresoever innocence dwelt In this case I see not why any man should take care for the tree of Life that no posterity of Adam might die No more then what should become of that innocent posterity which when it had so planted the World the counsel of God concerning the propagation of man kind may well be thought to have been come to ripenesse The Socinians indeed do alledge Josephus who speaking of the tree of life doth not say that it should have made man immortall but onely that it should have made him live to very great yeares But that is of no consequence In regard that it is not expressed in the Scripture that God would have had man live everlastingly upon the earth had he lived in obedience For supposing that it was a question among the Pharisees to which sect it appeares Josephus inclined most whether so or whether God would translate them to a heavenly life after a time of obedience here which to the Pharisees that acknowledge the resurrection and the world to come must needs seem credible enough it is no marvaile that Josephus should say That by virtue of the tree of life they had lived to a very great age though in case not translated they might as well have lived alwayes by virtue of it But let us hear S. Paul 1 Cor. XV. 21 22. For since by man came death by man also came the resurrection of the dead For as by Adam all died so by Christ shall all be made alive Is there any rising from bodily death but by Christ I say not any rising in the quality of those in whom the Spirit of Christ dwelleth of whom S. Paul saith that He who raised Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortall bodies through his Spirit dwelling in you Rom. VIII 11. But setting aside this quality it is the coming of Christ and his trump that raiseth againe even those that shall rise to judgement And can it for all this be doubted whether that life was lost by Adams fall which the rising of Christ shall
the second Adam is the meanes of our righteousnesse and therefore by that likenesse of reason which S. Pauls discourse proceeds upon the first Adam the meanes of our sinne And to this purpose speaketh that which followeth For when the Apostle argueth that whereas sinne is not imputed when there is no Law notwithstanding death raigned upon all those that had not sinned as Adam did That is by transgressing such an expresse law of God as Adam did transgresse Observing that the Fathers who walked with God whom Adam offended tasted neverthelesse of that death which Adam incurred he inferreth to us that the effect of Adams sinne remaines in the whole kind of his posterity to which death the punishment thereof belongeth And I beseech you of whom speaketh S. Paul but of all mankind when he writeth thus Rom. VII 5-13 For when we were in the flesh the passions of sinne which were by the Law were exercised in our members to bear fruit unto death But now are we voided to the Law that being dead by which we were held that we may live in the new Spirit not in the old letter What shall we say then Is the Law sinfull God forbid Nay I had not known sinne but by the Law For I had not known concupiscence had not the Law said Thou shalt not covet But sinne taking advantage by the commandment wrought in me all concupiscence For without the Law sinne was dead Now I lived somtime without the Law But the commandment coming sinne revived and I died And that commandment which was for life to me was found to death For sinne taking advantage by the commandement deceived me and slew me by it So the Law is holy and the commandment holy and just and good Did then that which was good become death to me God forbid But sinne that it might appear sinne wrought me death by that which was good that sinne by the commandment might become sinfull above measure For though S. Pauls speech here be concerning a Jew in the person of one that of a Jew was become a Christian yet seeing the proposition of the Apostle bears that the Gentile is much more involved in that condemnation to which the Jew is liable that which belongs to every Jew that comes to Christianity will be true much more a fortiori of the Gentile all mankinde being then compleatly divided into Jew and Gentile And therefore let no man think that my present purpose shall ingage me before I can make use of this Scripture to decide the question now on foot among Divines whether S. Paul here speakes in the person of an unregenerate man or regenerate which notwithstanding in another place I may be ingaged to decide For the present it is enough for my turn that an unregenerate man admitting S. Paul cannot refuse his owne case to be that which S. Paul here sets forth to be this That being in the flesh the passions of sinne were exercised in his members and so forth For I know it is said that to be in the flesh is to be in the custome of sinne But what difference makes that in the case when all to whom the Gospel first comes are in the flesh excepting those who under the Law though not by the meer Law came to that state of Grace in which the Fathers stood And therefore it is to me of no consequence whatsoever the meaning of the Apostle may be when he describes those sinfull passions which he saith were exercised in their members to be those that were through the Law I see there are two opinions of his meaning when he saith afterwards That sinne getting advantage by the comandment without which it was dead but the man alive and when it came sinne revived and he died So that the Law which tendred life became to his death because sin by advantage of the Law slew him deceitfully wrought in him all concupiscence For one opinion saies That when an unregenerate man becomes convict that the Law of God takes hold of his inward inclinations which he findes to be evil the inbred corruption of nature not submitting thereto upon this meer conviction flies out into utter defiance of God and his Law in all disobedience to it whereby the concupiscence that is opposed may be satisfied The other saith That the Law of Moses in the outward and literall sence thereof requiring onely civil obedience answerable to that temporall happinesse which it tendereth It is no marvaile that Jewes being tied to the letter of the Law as their study and businesse should think the outward and civile observation thereof to be the utmost intent of it which we see to this day to be the error that detaines them from Christianity And therefore it is properly said according to this opinion that sinne taking this advantage by the Law slew me by deceit But to me this dispute is of no consequence Or rather both opinions are to be admitted in relation to the two severall senses of the Law which I have advanced For as to the literall sense of the Law which the Gentile could have nothing to do with it is manifest this might be For it is manifest that it is become a scandale to the Jew to make him think that he stands right in Gods Court without any Gospel of Christ and thereupon to induce him to defie it But as to the spiritual sense of the law in which the Gentile also hath his interest as concerning things written in the hearts of all men whatsoever the occasion is by which it becomes revived in the heart in which at any time it may have been dead because it neither gives rule to the actions thereof nor bindes it over to judgement most certaine it is and most evident the meaning of S. Paul that when it cometh to convict a man of his duty and by consequence what he is liable to upon the faileure the Law that is for life will prove to death That is if Grace help not sinne will overcome For if the helpe of the Law convicting of one true God his providence and judgement even upon the secrets of the heart were not able to reclaime those that were bred under it to spirituall righteousnesse much lesse shal that conviction whereby the light of nature evidences the same be of force to the same purpose And this is that which S. Paul intimates Rom. VIII 3 4. For whereas the want of force in the Law was weake through the flesh God sending his sonne in the likenesse of sinfull flesh and concerning sinne condemned sinne in the flesh that the righteousnesse of the Law might be fulfilled in us that walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit For if the doctrine of Moses Law which as I have shewed giveth so really eminent advantages towards the choice of true righteousnesse was uneffectuall to the Jewes by reason of the flesh of necessity the light of nature must needs become uneffectual to the Gentiles
can be attributed to the spirit of God speaking of Gods own people in the mouth of David And without doubt as Idolatry was the originall of the most gross customes of sinne as appeares by the premises So can there be no greater argument of the corruption of mans nature then the departure of all nations from the worship of one true God to the worship of they knew not what That all nations coming of one blood from one God which at their first apostasy was so well known to them and not able to blot out of their own hearts the conscience of the service they ought him should imagine themselves discharged of that obligation by tendring it to what they pleased saving a small part of mankinde whom he reserved to himselfe by making them acquainted with himself through the familiarity which he used them with if all other arguments of a common principle of corruption in our common nature were lost is enough to make the apostasy of our first forefathers credible which the relation of Moses makes truth Wherefore when David attributes to himselfe by nature that which the people of God attribute to the Gentiles it must needs be understood in regard of a principle common to both which the Grace of God suffereth not to come to effect but preventeth in his people And when he attributeth the same to his malicious enemies Jewes onely by the first birth he warranteth us to say the same of those that are Jewes by the second birth so farre as the birth of both is the same I will not forbear to alledge here the Law of Leviticus that appoints a time of impurity for women that have brought forth as no lesse fit to signifie the evil inclination to which our nature by the fall of Adam is become liable then the ceremonies of the Law are fitly used by God to shadow the truth of the Gospel Not that I make any doubt that this impurity of it self is but legall as the impurity contracted by touching a dead man or a living creature that was unclean or that of the leprosie or by the custome of women or the like Which I am resolved amounts to no more then an incapacity of freely conversing with Gods people or an obligation to a sacrifice which is there called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because it purged this incapacity which in regard of that positive Law may be called sinne But this being granted and these Legall incapacities being by the correspondence of the Law with the Gospel to signifie the cause for which men are uncapable of heaven As the leprosie of the body and the touching of a dead man or a living creature that is unclean by the law necessarily signifieth that incapacity which cometh by the custome of sinne So that uncleannesse which ariseth from those things which come from our own bodies seemeth by necessary correspondence to signifie that incapacity of coming to heaven which ariseth from the inward inclination of our nature to wickednesse Neither will I omit to allege the saying of the Prophet David alleging the reason of Gods compassion to his people in their sinnes to be their mortality Psal LXXVIII 40. For he considered that they were but flesh and even as a wind that passeth away and cometh not againe And Psal CIII 14-17 For he knoweth our frame he remembreth that we are dust The dayes of man are as of grasse as the bud of the field so springeth he For a wind passeth upon it and it is not And the place knoweth it no more But the goodnesse of the Lord is from generation to generation upon them that fear him and his righteousnesse upon childrens children For having shewed that the bodily death to which Adam was sentenced implied in it spritituall death and supposed the same according to S. Paul I may well say that he could not expresse that reason which Christians alledge to God for his compassion upon their infirmities more properly to the time and state of the Law then by alleging the death which our bodies are subject to as an argument of sinne which it is allotted to punish And the antithesis which follows between our short life and the continuance of Gods mercies to his servants of their posterity comes corespondently to set forth the grace of the Gospel though sparingly signified as under the Law And here I must not forget the Wise mans exhortation Wisdome I. 12 Affect not death through the error of your life nor purchase destruction through the workes of your hands For God made not death nor taketh pleasure in the destruction of the living For he made all things to indure And the beginnings of the world were healthful and no deadly poyson among them nor any dominion of hell upon the earth For righteousnesse is immortall But the wicked with their words and works purchased it And thinking it their friend decayed and made a covenant with it because they are worthy to be on the side of it Here it is evident that the speech is of temporall death but so that by it is intimated spirituall death according to that which hath oft been observed and will oft come to be observed that the mystery of Christianity intimated in the old Testament begins more plainly to be discovered in these books then in the canonicall Scriptures And therefore though the purchase of death is attributed to the evil words and works of the wicked yet seeing it hath taken place over all the world contrary to the first institution of God thereby he leaves us to argue the corruption of nature which moveth mankinde to take pleasure in those workes by which death takes place Last of all I will allege not the authority of the Book of Job which is not questionable but the authority of the Greek Translation of it Be the author thereof who may be be the authority thereof what it may be it is manifest how ancient it is and that it came from the people of God while they continued the people of God and hath passed the approbation of the Apostles When therefore it is said that no man is clear of sin no not the infant of one day old upon earth It remaineth manifest that this was the sense of the then people of God As it appeares also by Philo 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That to sinne is a property born with all that are born in as much as it is come to birth And divers sayings of the Heathens might be alledged as obscure arguments of that truth which the Gospel is grounded upon But that I conceive the disorders of the world the greatest whereof that can be named is that which I named even now of the worship of Idols are greater and more evidences of the same then any sayings of Writers Which therefore it will not be requisite to heap into this abridgement CHAP. XII The Haeresie of Simon Magus the beginning of the Gnosticks
then if nothing were revealed CHAP. XVIII The necessity of the grace of Christ is the evidence of originall sinne How the exaltation of our Lord depends upon his humiliation and the grace of Christ upon that All the work of Christianity is ascribed to the grace of Christ Gods predestination manifesteth the same THese things thus premised the evidence which I make for originall sinne from the grace of Christ as for the grace of Christ from originall sinne consists in this proposition That not onely the preaching of the Gospel but also the effect of it in converting us both to the profession and conversation of Christians is granted in consideration of the obedience of Christ for the cure of that wound which the disobedience of Adam made Here I must note that the conversation of Christians as it requireth and presupposeth the profession of Christianity so it comprehendeth all parts and offices of a mans life to be guided and lead according to that will and law of God which his word declareth So that to prove my intent it will be requisite to shew that it is through those helps which the grace of God by Christ that is in consideration of his obedience and sufferings furnisheth that any part of a mans duty is discharged like a Christian Which otherwise would have been imployed to the satisfaction of those inclinations which the corruption of mans nature by the fall of Adam hath brought forth This to do I will begin as afore with the Epistle to the Romanes In the beginning whereof S. Paul having proved that which Pelagius and Socinus both allow that there is no salvation without Christianity and coming to render a reason for the necessity thereof from those things which I pressed afore concerning the disobedience of Adam proceeds to maintain it by the antithesis of Christs obedience thus Rom. V. 15-19 having begun to say that Adam is the figure of him that was to come But the grace is not as the transgression For if by one mans transgression many are dead much more hath the grace of God and gift through the grace of one man Jesus Christ abounded to many Nor is the gift as that which came by one that sinned For judgement came of one to condemnation but the free gift is of many transgressions to righteousnesse For if by one mans transgression death reigned through one much more shall they who receive the abundance of the grace and the gift of righteousnesse reign in life through one Jesus Christ Therefore as by the transgression of one the matter proceeded to condemnation upon all so by the righteousnesse of one to justification of life For as by the disobedience of one many were made sinners so by the obedience of one many shall be made righteous Here whosoever acknowledgeth that righteousnesse comes by Christ which the free gift that brings from many transgressions to righteousnesse and the abundance of the grace and gift of righteousnesse unto life manifestly argues can neither refuse the contrary unrighteousnesse which causeth condemnation and death to come from Adams sin nor yet the grace which voids it called by S. Paul the gift which comes through the grace of one man Jesus Christ that is that grace which he hath obtained with God to be granted in consideration of Christ through whom the Apostle saies they that receive the gift of righteousnesse shall raign in life For how shall they raign in life through him and through the gift of righteousnesse but that through him they receive the gift of righteousnesse Therefore S. Paul lamenting afterwards the conflict between sinne and grace Rom. VII 22 -25 I am content with the Law of God according to the inward man But I see another Law in my members warring with the Law of my mind and captivating me to the Law of sinne that is in my members Wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from the body of this death I thank God through our Lord Jesus Christ To wit because from God in consideration of J. Christ and his obedience and not onely through the doctrine which he taught he had help to overcome in so great a conflict Wherefore it followeth immediately Rom. VIII 1-4 There is therefore now no more condemnation for them that are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit For the Law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath freed me from the Law of sinne and death For whereas the inability of the Law was weake through the flesh God sending his Sonne in the likenesse of sinnefull flesh and for sinne condemned sinne in the flesh that the righteousnesse of the Law might be fulfilled in us that walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit Whether you understand the Law of the Spirit of Life or Life to come in by or through Christ Jesus if we be freed from the Law of sin and death by Christ then by the helps God gives in consideration of his obedience For how is sin condemned in the flesh but because it is executed And how executed but because we are inabled to put it to death And how by Christs death but by the helps which God grants in consideration of it Therefore it followeth a little after If man have not the Spirit of Christ he is not his But if Christ be in you the body is dead indeed because of sinne but the Spirit is life because of righteousnesse But if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwell in you he that raised Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortall bodies through his spirit that dwelleth in you That Spirit which makes righteousnesse a Law to us by Christ shall raise againe these mortall bodies which shall be destroyed because of sinne So as our rising from death is purchased by the resurrection of Christ so our rising from sin by his death which purchased his rising againe For consider what S. Paul writes againe of our Lord Christ Phil. II. 5-11 For Let that sense be in you that was also in Christ Jesus who being in the forme of God made it no occasion of pride that he was equal with God But emptied himself taking the forme of a servant becoming in the likenesse of man and being found in habit as a man humbled himself becoming obedient unto death even the death of the Crosse Therefore God also hath overexalted him and given him the name that is above every name that at the name of Jesus every knee should how of things in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue confesse to the glory of God the Father that Jesus Christ is the Lord. Where seeing iâ— is manifest by the premises that our humbling of our selves is with God the consideration upon which he promises to exalt us being as hath appeared the condition of the Covenant of Grace it cannot be denied that the humiliation of Christ was the consideration for which he was
the maintenance of no necessity of grace because no originall sinne to deny Christ to be God incarnate that so the grace of God which the Covenant of Grace pretendeth may consist in Gods sending it not in Christs purchasing those helps whereby it is received and observed Which had Pelagius seen how consequent it is to his saying he who held the true faith of the holy Trinity would probably never have proceeded to deny the grace of Christ For would they have the Son of God born into the world and suffer death upon the Crosse on purpose to testifie the Gospel to be Gods message As if the Law had not been received before without it being recommended by such miraculous works of God that the Jews think there cannot be the like motives to believe that it is abrogated by Christianity Be their belief false sure we are Gods arme was not shortned to have no meanes in store to verify his Gospel but the death of his Sonne that he might rise againe to witnesse it For that it should be done to assure them who are perswaded that the Gospel is Gods message of the performance thereof on Gods part is rather a blasphemy then a reason In as much as he who doubts whether God will perform what he doubts not that he hath tied himself to by Covenant believes not God to be God And that we should be better assured of Christs protection because God hath freely bestowed upon him the honour and power of God then because he brought it in time into our flesh which he had from everlasting is a reason which no man can comprehend to be reasonable For whatsoever Grace comes to us by Christ the more originally and inseparably that it belongs to him the better it is assured upon us But one thing I demand of Pelagius aswell as of Socinus For as Socinus expresly grants the habituall grace of the holy Ghost to true Christians as necessary to inable them in performing what they undertake by their Christianity so I suppose Pelagius had the question been put to him would not have refused it I demand then whether a man in reason be more able to do the office of a Christian having undertaken it or to undertake it to wit sincerely while he is free from the ingagement of it That is whether a mans will be able inwardly to resolve without any help of Gods Spirit to do that which without the help of Gods Spirit he cannot performe I suppose the inward act according to all Divines and Philosophers amounts to one and the same in esteem with the outward and the beginning most difficult of all when the proposition of Christianity is most strange For a resolution upon mature debate of reason as in such a case and an engagement upon profession thereof is a meanes powerfull enough to carry a man to undergoe as much hardship as Christianity requires in a thing neither profitable nor pleasant If therefore to the performance of Christianity the assistance of Gods Spirit is requisite then because our nature is averse then much more to resolve us to it Whereby it appears that the same gift of the holy Ghost which being purchased by the obedience of Christ inabled the Apostles to do those things and say those words by which the world stands convict of the necessity of Christianity the same it is that effects the conviction of those who imbrace it and dwelling with them inables them to live in it according to the promise of God to his ancient people Esay LVIII 20. And as for me this is my Covenant with them saith the Lord My Spirit which is upon thee and my words which I have put in thy mouth shall not depart out of thy mouth nor thy seeds mouth nor thy seeds seeds mouth from this time for evermore With the like brevity will I plead the Tradition of the Church concerning the Grace of Christ evidencing the same by three particulars The first whereof shall be of the Baptisme of Infants which as there can be no reason for uâ—lesse we believe originall sinne So I do challenge that it could not have come to be a Law to the Church had not the Faith of the Church from the Apostles time supposed originall sinne First negatively from the proceeding of Pelagius He first a Monk in Britaine and traveling thence along to Rome afterwards either by himself or by his agent Coelestius to Constantinople and Carthage through Asia the lesse and Affrick the East Egypt and Palestine and not finding in all this vast compasse any Church in which it had not been accustomed to baptize infants shall any man be now so madde as to imagine that this can be discovered to have been taken up upon misprision or abuse the custome of the Church having been otherwise afore It is time that the mindes of men that are possest of their senses should be imployed about things within the compasse of reason and not to perswade themselves that they see what cannot be because they cannot answer all arguments that may be made against that which is and is to be seen Could Pelagius have found any footing to deny it he was not such an Idiot as to suffer himself at every turn to be choked by the Catholicks objecting the baptisme of Infants every where received in the Church who might easily have put them to silence by saying it was not an originall Catholick practise of the whole Church but the mistake that of some men which had prevailed by faction in some times and parts of the Church as I pretend hereby to maintaine the Reformation against the present Church of Rome Since that ingenious and learned heretick nor any of his complices hath been found to use this plea all men that intend not to renounce their common sense will justify me if I challenge positively S. Austines Rule in a particular of such moment as this is That seeing it is manifest that it was a law to the whole Church that Infants should be Baptized and that there can be assigned no originall of it from any expresse act of the Church in Councill or otherwise it is therby evident that it comes from the order of the Apostles The reason is the unity of the Church the principle upon which all this proceeds whereby it appeares that it is utterly impossible that a point of such importance to Christianity could have been admitted over all the world where Christians were without any opposition or faction to overcome the same had it not from the beginning been acknowledged to proceed from the common principle from which all Ecclesiasticall Law is derived to wit from the authority of our Lords Apostles the founders of the Church It is not my intent hereby to say that the Apostles order was that all should be baptized Infants whose parents were Christians afore Against which I find reasons alledged in Tertullianes book de Baptismo which I cannot deny to be considerable But that no
work of our Christianity and therefore to every part of it and by consequence that this grace is not given us in consideration of any thing that we are able to do towards the obliging of God to bestow it upon us But I will not take upon me to inflame this abridgment with rehearsal of the testimonies of Church Writers that went afore Pelagius in both these points The testimonies of Fathers that went afore him which S. Augustine hath produced are enough to put those to silence which would have originall sin to be a devise of his But Vossius in his History of the Pelagians having comprised as well these as the rest concerning originall sin libro 11. parte 1. Thes VI. and those which concern the necessity of Grace libro III. parte I. Thes I. II. it will not be to the purpose to do any part of that which hath been sufficiently done already over again To me indeed it seems very considerable that Pelagius acknowledging for Grace first free Will and the Law which teacheth the difference between good and bad after that for the Grace of Christ his doctrine and example first then the illumination of the mind by the Holy Ghost Yet alwaies maintained that man without the help of Grace is able to love God above all to keep his Commandments and resist the greatest temptations to the contrary And in all these points was condemned by the Church as you may see there libro III. parte II. Thes I-VIII For certainly there is a vast difference between the doctrine of Gods Laws absolutely necessary to the doing of his Will even for Adam in the state of innocency and the preaching of the Gospell convincing mankind that they are under Gods wrath by sin tendering pardon to them that imbrace it assuring of everlasting life or death according as they observe the profession of it and shewing the way by our Lords example All which the Scriptures ascribe to the coming of Christ as granted in consideration of it How much more when he granteth the illumination of the Holy Ghost to shew what is to be done must he needs transgress his own position which saith that there is no difference between that state in which we are born and that which Adam was made saving his example but the difference between a man and a Babe For were we born as Adam was made what needed Christ to have purchased by his death the gift of the Holy Ghost to enlighten us inwardly in doing that which without it man is born able to do And having granted the reasons and motives upon which Christians act as Christians to be shewed them both outwardly and inwardly by the Grace of Christ to deny the necessity of the sayd Grace to the acts which proceed from the same can have no excuse but one that Christ came only to evidence the truth of his message leaving the embracing or rejecting of it to every mans choyce Which to maintain if Socinus was fain to make our Lord Christ a meer man that there might be no more in his rising after death then a miracle to assure it Pelagius acknwledging the Trinity will be streightned by S. Pauls consequence If righteousnesse come by the Law then is Christ dead in vain supposing the death of Christ to bring that help of Grace which a miracle by evidencing the truth of the Gospel doth not And seeing God could not be moved by any thing that man could do to give our Lord Christ and the helps which his coming bringeth with it there will be no more left for Pelagius to say But that these helps are not granted of Grace but received by the works which men prevent it with The foundation therefore of the Christian Faith consisting in Gods-sending our Lord Christ of his pure free grace by vertue whereof all the effects of it are works of the same Grace Necessary it was that Pelagius should be condemned for the denying of the necessity of Grace to all acts of Christianity and for affirming that Grace is given according to mans merits as you see there Thesi IX XI that he was Both upon the doctrine of S. Paul premised afore that God was not moved by the works either of Jews or Gentiles to send them those helpes to salvation which the Gospel tendreth Nevertheless the preaching of the Gospel and all the help which it bringeth toward the imbracing of it is no less the Grace of Christ because Pelagius was forced for the better colouring of his Heresie to acknowledge it Onely it is not therefore to be sayd that it is all the help which the Grace of God by Christ furnisheth toward that salvation which Christianity tendreth But to be left to further dispute what further help is granted by God before and without any consideration of mans merit to bring to effect those acts in which the discharge of our Christianity consisteth Excluding therefore the pretense of Pelagius that Moses before the godly Fathers pleased God by the meer strength of nature and that salvation was to be had under the Law by the same Besides the good works of the Gentiles wherewith God was pleased according to Pelagius whom the Church condemned in this Article also as you may see there Thes X. And truly Pelagius acknowledging the Gospel to be no more then the declaration of that Will of God by which man is to be saved after Christ as the Law before Christ utterly overthroweth the plea of the Church derived from the Apostles that the Fathers were saved by faith before and under the Law that the New Testament was in force under the Old by vertue of that commerce which God by his word which afterwards being incarnate was our Lord Christ held with the Fathers His Spirit as naturally planted in the word going along to procure the efficacy of it Whereas Socinus though he acknowledgeth the difference between the literal and mystical sense of the Law yet making our Lord Christ a meer man the vertue of whose death could not extend to the salvation of those who lived afore his coming destroyeth the ground of that which he acknowledgeth This supposition that Christianity is more ancient then Judaâ—sme being necessary to the maintaining of the Church against the Synago ue Which is verified by Gods designing of a Church for the spouse of his Sonne before the Fall figured by the marriage between Adam and Eve according to S. Paul Ephes V. 22-33 But presently after the Fall that Word which being incarnate in our Lord Christ having declared enmity betwen the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent saying It shall break thy head and thou shalt bruise the heel of it The first Adam became the figure of the second according to the same S. Paul Rom. V. 14. Whereupon the Spirit of the second Adam in those Preachers of righteousnesse to whom the Word of God came in that Angel whom the Fathers worshipped for God strove form
principles to spirituall good can no way impeach it as coming from the constitution of our nature supposing the ornaments and additions of grace to be removed The opinion of the fulfilling of Gods Law by Christians supposes that the remaines of concupiscence in the regenerate and the immediate effects thereof in the first motions to sinne which cannot be prevented are not against Gods Law but onely besides it From whence it will follow that he who of his free will imbraces Christianity and perseveres in the good works which it injoyneth meriteth of justice the reward of the Life to come And truly for my part I cannot deny that all this is justly pleaded against those that are of this opinion and cannot by them justly be answered But that this opinion is injoyned by the Church of Rome I cannot understand seeing divers learned Doctors of the Schools alledged by Doctor Field for the opposition which he maketh to this opinion and that very truly and justly shewing infallibly that the contrary opinion is allowed to be maintained in the communion of the Church of Rome And that nothing hath been done since the authors whom he alledgeth to make this unlawfull to be held amongst them I suppose it will be enough to produce the decree of the Council of Trent since which it is evident that it is lawfull among them to maintaine that concupiscence is originall sinne For though the decree declareth that the Church never understood concupiscence in the regenerate to be truly and properly sinne but to be so called as proceeding from sinne and inclining to sinne Yet in as much as it is one thing to speak of concupiscence in the regenerate another in the unregenerate and in as much as it is one thing to declare the sense of the Church according to the opinion of the Synode another to condemn the contrary sense as opposite to the Faith it is manifest that this declaration condemns not those that hold originall concupiscence to be originall sinne but onely shewes that they could not answer the difficulty of originall sinne in the regenerate On the other side it cannot be justly said so farre as I understand that those of the Reformation do affirme that the grace given to Adam at his creation was due to his nature in this sense and to this effect as if they did intend to deny that he was created in such an estate and to such a condition of happinesse as the principles and constitution of his nature do not necessarily require But onely this That the gifts which by his creation he stood indowed with were necessary to the purchase of that happinesse which he that is to say his nature was created to whereupon they are justly called the indowments of nature Here I must not omit the opinion of Catharinus in the Council of Trent That Adam received originall righteousnesse of God in his own name and the name of his posterity to be continued to them he obeying God Whereupon his disobedience iâ— in Law their disobedience though in nature onely his and the act of his transgression imputed to them is their originall sinne as personall as the penalties of it No otherwise then Levâ— paid Tithes in Abraham Many passages of S. Augustine he had to alledge for this as also a Text of the Prophet Osee and another of Ecclesiasticus But especially the expresse words of S. Paul That by the inobedience of one man many are made sinnerâ— And That by sinne death came into the world which surely came into the world by the actuall transgression of Gods commandment Alledging that Eve found not her self naked till Adam had eaten the forbidden fruit Nor had originall sin been had the matter rested there And by this reason he thought he avoided a difficulty not to be overcome otherwise how the lust of generation can give a spirituall staine to the soul which must needs be carnall if it come from the flesh And by this meanes nothing but an action which transgresseth Gods Law shall be sinne which all men understand by that name This opinion the History saith was the more plausible among the Prelates there as not bred Divines but Canonists or versed in businesse and so best relishing that which they best understood to wit the conceit of a civile contract with Adam in behalfe of his posterity as well as himself To give a judgement of this opinion I shall do no more but remit the reader to those Scriptures which I have produced to shew that there is such a thing as originall sinne concluding that the nature of it wherein it consists must be valued by the evidence of it whereby it appeares that it is It will then be unavoidable that when death is the effect of sinne because righteousnese is the cause of life as Adams sinne is the cause of his death so the death of his posterity depends upon their own unrighteousnesse Why else should Christianity free us from death as hath been shewed Why should S. Paul complain of the Law that he found in his members opposing the Law of righteousnesse why should the flesh fight with the Spirit and the fruits of the flesh be opposite to the fruits of the Spirit but that the same opposition of sinne to righteousnesse is to be acknowldged in the habituall principles as in the actuall effects which proceed from the same As for that onely text of S. Paul in which he could find any impression of his meaning if the reader observe the deduction whereby I have shewed that S. Pauls discourse obliged him to set forth the ground whereupon the coming of Christ and his Gospel became necessary to the salvation both of the Jews and Gentiles he will easily find that the question is of the effective not of the formall cause that S. Paul is not ingaged to shew wherein that source of sinne which our Lord Christ came to cure consisteth but from whence it proceedeth True it is when the posterity suffers losse of estate and honour for the Fathers treason it may properly be said that the Fathers crime is imputed to the posterity Not because any reason can indure that what is done by one man should be thought to be done by another but because the effect of what one man does may justly be either granted to or inflicted upon another whether for the better or for the worse As in a civile state suppose the Laws make treason to forfeit lands and honours which every man sees are held by virtue of the Lawes that posterity which hath no right to them but from predecessors and the obligation which they had to maintaine the state should forfeit them by the act of predecessors is a thing not strange but reasonable Though so that the forfeiture may transgresse the bounds of reason and humanity if the Law should not allow posterity or kindred to live in that state to which predecessors have forfeited when there is so much cause to believe that the
reconcile aswell the activity of Gods providence generally in all things as the efficacie of his predestination and grace in supernaturall actions leading to the happinesse of the world to come wiith our common freedome For it is manifest that this opinion of predetermination proceeds not upon any supposition of originall sin but meerly of the nature and state of a creature and intends to affirme that whether Adam had sinned or not the will of man must have been determined by God to do whatsoever it should do as unable to determine it selfe otherwise then as every creature moves when God moves it And therefore I am here to acknowledg the answer is lâ—rger then the question at least then the occasion of it and the resolution then the ground of the doubt The necessity of the grace of Christ being grounded only upon the fall of Adam and that bringing on the dispute what freewill hath to do where the freegrace of God cannot be spared and herefore what freewill it is that remaines to be freed from the bondage of sin by grace But as the generall comprises necessarily all particulars it is no esse destructive to the covenant of grace that the freedome of the will should be denyed upon the account of the constitution of nature then of depravation by sin And therefore I find my selfe bound to answer in what estate the covenant of Grace overtakes man borne in originall sin whether upon the account of Originall sin or meerly of Gods creature But I do purposely observe this to all them of the Reformation that I believe their own consciences will tell them all if passion or faction give leave that all the controversy advanced against the Church of Rome about freewill in the works of Salvation was grounded upon the supposition of the necessity of grace occasioned by Originall sin from which so much is derogated as is arrogated to freewill without iâ— and therefore the controversy never needed about all kind of works but those only that tend to salvation the meanes whereof became necessary upon the account of Originall sin Which if it be true then cannot the Interest of the Reformation consist in any opinion concerning all maner of human actions without difference whether in the state of uprightnesse or sin Nor can any thing but the spirit of slander impute the maintaining of Gods grace without or against such opinions to any inclination towards the abuses of the Church of Rome but to the conscience of Gods truth without respect of persons For further evidence vvhereof I shall make good use of the evill of faction if not of division now on foot upon occasion of this dispute as vvell among those of the reformation as in the Church of Rome For seeing that both parties are divided about it though in the Reformation only the mater hath proceeded to a breach first between Lutherans and Calvinists in the Empire then in Holland between these and Arminians he that goes about to cast the aspersion of Popery upon that opinion which the Papacy injoyneth not though it aloweth must first answer whether the popery of the Dominicans the rest of them that hold predetermination whether the Popery of Jansenius his followers be Popery or not With all I shall think the way made towards the proof of my position by observing that the ground upon which I shall proceed to make evidence of freedome from necessity under originall sin will necessarily take place against the predetermination of the Will by God whether under Originall sin or in the state of uprightnesie And upon that ground I shall freely affirme that this position is not onely intended to contradict but also effectually contradicteth the opinion of the predetermination of the will by the immediate operation of God CHAP. XXII The Gospel findeth man free from necessity though not from bondage Of the Antecedent and Consequent Will of God Praedetermination not the root but the rooting up of Freedome and of Christianity Against the opinion of Jansenius THE ground which I speak of may be branched out into particulars as large as you please But it shall be enough for me to say That whatsoever is read from one end of the Bible to the other concerning a treaty tendred by God to man concerning an alliance or covenant contracted upon it concerning an inheritance or assurance of an inheritance upon that alliance concerning exhortations reproofes promises threats inducing to observe that contract and not to transgresse it all this and whatsoever else may be reduced to this nature evidenceth that neither freedom from necessity is lost by originall sinne nor the will of man determined by the immediate operation of God to do or not to do this or that I must further mention here that difference between the antecedent and the consequent the conditionall and the absolute will of God the first suspended upon some act of mans free will the second resolute as supposing the same past or not requiring it not because the divines as well of the Eastern as of the Western Church have imbraced it but because they all found that they could not discharge their account of the Scriptures without it But I must not forget to mention withall the rewards and punishments expressed in the Scriptures to be brought upon the compliance with or resistance of those helps which the antecedent and conditionall will of God requireth whether he choose it or not In the Old Testament you have the contestations of Moses in Deuteronomy often warning Gods people that he had set before them the good and the bad for them to make choice You have the Prophet Esay V. 3-6 contesting with Gods vineyard that he had done what he could do for it and that having born wild grapes in stead of good fruit it was therefore just with him to destroy it You have the Psalmist protesting the cause why he gave over his people to their enemies and to famine to be their disobedience Psal LXXXII 9-17 You have the Prophet Ezekiel XVIII 30 31 32. thus reclaiming them Return and repent of your transgressions and wickednesse shall not be to you a stumbling block Cast from you all your transgressions which you have transgressed with and make you a new heart and a new spirit for why should ye dye ye house of Israel For I delight not in the death of him that dieth saith the Lord God but repent ye and live For is not this to say of my self I desire not your death but because of your obstinacy in rejecting my Prophets By whom he so often protesteth that he had risen betimes to send them from age to age if by any meanes he might reclaim them to his Law and so preserve them in the inheritance of the Land of Promise In like manner our Lord in the Gospels Mat. XXIII 37 38. Luke XIII 34 35. Jerusalem Jerusalem that killest the Prophets and stonest them that are sent thee how often would I have gathered thy
conceive maintaines the interest of Christianity best though a Iew or a Pagan much more a Jesuite or an Arminian had said it As for the opinion of Arminius and the decree of the Synod at Dort having already said why I have inlarged my considerations beyond the compasse of those termes upon which they disputed it shall suffice me to say That his opinion concerning Election and Reprobation is that which I have showed that all the Church hath alwaies held for mater of Faith To wit that God appoints them to be saved and to be damned who receive Christianity and persevere in the profession of it till death or not That in mine opinion they might have admitted some thing more To wit that God is not obliged by any workes of free will preventing the help of his Grace through Christ but by his own free pleasure to grant those helps of Grace which he knowes wil be effectuall to finall perseverance in Christianity to some which he refuseth to others And that the decree of granting them is Gods absolute predestination to Grace For I am confident that Arminius doth acknowledg the calling of Gods Grace to become effectuall by meanes of the congruity of those helps which God provideth with that disposition which God foreseeth in him whom he appointeth to be moved by the same Whether or no the decree of the Synod require further that they should acknowledg Predestination to glory to be absolute I hold not my selfe any waies obliged to dispute For I find that those persons that were â—mployed to the Synod from England have professed as well in the Synod as otherwise that they came not by any commission or instruction from the Church of England but onely as trusted by K. James of excellent memory to assist his good neighbours the states of the United Provinces in composing the differences in Religion raised among their Divines and people And therefore I cannot be concerned in the decree to which the Church of England never concurred Yet I say further that the persons that concurred to it whose opinions as Divines I cannot esteeme at an easy rate by waâ—ving the opinion of predetermination by acknowledging the death of Christ for all the operation of grace not irresistible but such as stands not with actual resistence do seem not to insist upon absolute predestination to glory And that if the decree do necessarily import it I do not know how to reconcile it with their own opinions Which whether it be also to be said of them of the reformed Churches in France who holding the decree do now acknowledg the death of Christ for all mankind let them that read their writings judge CHAP. XXVII The question concerning the satisfaction of Christ with Socinus The reason why Sacrifices are figures of Christ common to all sacrifices Why and what Sacrifices the Fathers had what the Law added Of our ransom by the price of Christs propitiatory Sacrifice HAving thus showed how the Gospel tenders a Covenant of Grace though requiring the condition of Christianity in regard of those helps which the Grace of God through Christ provideth for the performance of it I am now to show the same in regard of that right to which God accepteth that performance For if it appeare that God out of his grace in Christ and not for the worth of that which we doe accepteth it for a title duely qualifying us for remission of sinne and life everlasting then is it a Covenant of Grace which the Gospell tenders though it require the profession and practice of Christianity on our part And here I have to doe with the Socinians on the one extremity in the first place who will not allow the Gospell to continue the Covenant of grace if it be said that it tendereth remission of sins and life everlasting to those that are qualified as it requireth in consideration of the obedience and sufferings of Christ as the ransome and price of our sinnes Acknowledging allways that Christ died to settle and establish the New Covenant but not to oblige God by his death either to declare and become ingaged to it or to make it good having declared it but to assure mankind that God who of his owne free grace was ready to pardon and accept of those that should accept of the termes of reconcilment which his Gospell tendereth will not faile to make good that which by delivering his well beloved sonne to death he hath signed for his promise to us Indeed they goe about to strengthen this opinion by adding another reason and end of Christs death To wit the attaining of that Godhead wherewith God they say hath rewarded his obedience in doing the message which he trusted him with that thereby he might be able of himselfe to make good that which God by him had promised confounding all that may oppose the salvation of them that imbrace the Covenant of Grace But that it should be said that God declareth or giveth remission of sinnes and everlasting life to them that imbracâ— the same in consideration of the obedience and sufferings of Christ as satisfied thereby for that punishment which our sinne deserved of his justice this is that which they deny and the Church teacheth and therefore this it is which we must show how it is delivered by the Scriptures Which every man may observe to stand cheifely in those texts of Scripture which say that Christ died for us that he redeemed us and reconciled us to God by his death and bloud shed which being the utmost of his obedience comes most into account at all occasions of mentioning this subject in fine it is easy to be observed that the expressions of this point in holy Scripture have relation to the Sacrifices of the Old Testament as figuring the death of Christ whereby both agree we are delivered from sinne the question remaining whether ransomed or not And therefore I shall first consider how and to what effect the Sacrifices of Moses Law are figures of the sacrifice of our Lord upon the Crosse Where I must in the first place inferre from the principle premised of the twofold sense of the Old Testament that all the sacrifices thereof were figures of the death of Christ and our reconcilement with God by the same So farre I am from yeilding them that unreasonable demand that onely expiatory Sacrifices and especially that of the Solemne day of Atonement are properly so Onely I must declare my meaning to be this That whereas the sacrifices of the Fathers were so as they were pledges of Gods favour generally the sacrifices of the Law being the condition upon which that people in generall and every person thereof in particular held their interest in the land of promise expresse more correspondence with that interest in the world to come which Christians hold by Christs death on the Crosse For the land of Canaan being promised them upon condition of keeping the Law and every mans interest in the
State of reconcilement which is our right to life But so that if the State be from Christ as S. Paul saith we have received reconcilement by Christ then is the right to it in consideration of Christ when he saith that being enemies we were reconciled to God by his death Saint Paul againe arguing how God hath abolished the difference betweene Jew and Gentile by the Law pursues it thus Eph. II. 15. 16. That he might make up both into one new man through himselfe making peace And reconcile both in one body to God by the Crosse slaying the enmity by it Here Socinus will have us to construe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but absolutely to the behoofe and glory of God Which had a Schooleboy doâ—e he should have been whipt for seeking something out of the text to governe that case which he hath a verbe in the text to govern Therefore the Gentiles are indeed reconciled to the Jewes according to S. Paule But why because both to God And therefore the reason is the same in the reconcilement oâ— men and Angels Col. I. 19 22. For in him he pleased that all fullnesse should dwell And by him to reconcile all to himselfe pacifying through him by the bloud of his Crosse whether the things that are on earth or that are in heaven And you being once estranged and enemies in your mind through evil workes now hath he reconciled by the body of his flesh through death Especially comparing this with the purpose of God which he declareth Eph. I. 10. For the ordering of the fullnesse of time to recollect all in Christ whether thinges in heaven or on earth For that which here he termes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to recollect unto Christ that is by Christ to reduce to the originall state of dependence upon God is in part the same with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to reconcile to himself afore But wholy agrees not in as much as this particularly concerns the case of mankind whose sinne required reconcilement that they might be reduced to God in one body with the holy angels that had no sinne All this the Apostle meant to expresse at once and yet imply what was particular to man besides that which belonged to the Angels And we must either admit reconcilement between Men and Angels because both reduced to God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifying 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because of Christ mention had been made afore Col. â— 20. as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Pet. I. 4. is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 1 Pet. I. 25. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ephes I. 5. is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Cor. VIII 6. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or show how the Angels are reduced to God by the death and bloud-shed of Christ his Crosse It remaines that I say something of the effect of all this in cleansing and purging of sin and in making propitiation and attonement for it Of which you have the words of the Apostle 1 John I. 7. If we walk in the light as he is in the light we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sinne Where cleansing of sinne by Christs bloud supposing the condition of Christianity it is manifest that the effect of Christs bloud in cleansing of sinne is not to bring us to Christianity Againe 1 John II. 1 2 If any man sinne we have an advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous and he is the propitiation for our sinnes and not for ours onely but for the sinnes of the whole world Saith Socinus Jesus Christ the righteous that is Jesus Christ the faithfull 1 John I. 9. If we confesse our sins he is faithfull and just to forgive our sinnes and cleanse us from all unrighteousnesse That so he may be thought to expiate our sinnes by testifying the Covenant which ingages Gods faith So farre he goes for an interpretation that destroyes the virtue of Christs intercession founded upon his innocence 1 Peter I. 19. Isaiah LIII 7 9. For if Christ be an effectuall advocate because he suffered innocently for Gods will then not onely because he hath obliged God by dealing in his Name to make good what he hath promised us Whereas if his bloud be a propitiation for the sinnes of Christians that are not any more to be moved to receive the faith as well as for the sinnes of the rest of the World that are it must be the same consideration of Christs obedience that moves the goodnesse of God to send the Gospel to the World and to make it good to Christians And what 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 meanes is seen by the Latine hilaris according to Hesychius 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith he is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 chearfull in countenance And 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 chearfully mâ—râ—ly So the condition of Christianity being supposed in these words also the consideration of Christs bloud makes the face of God chearfull to a Christian that sinneth Here they alledge 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Heb. II. 17. to signify expiating sinnes and that must presently be by bringing men to be Christians But there is in diverse speeches of this subject that figure which Servius so often observes in Virgil calling it Hypallage As 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Heb. I. 3. It is not the sinne that is cleansed but man from sinne And yet the Apostle saies of Christ who having made purgation of sinnes So neither are sins ransomed but men from sinne and yet he saith againe Heb. IX 15. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 For the ransoming of the sinnes that were under the former Covenant And this is the true sense of Dan. IV. 24. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Redeem thy sinnes For though a man ransomes not his sinnes yet he ransomes himself from his sinnes by repentance as I said afore So seeing propitiation tends to make God propitious of angry It is manifest that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for variety or brevity or elegance of Language stands for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 As for the Hebrew verb 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whereof 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is alledged to be the Greek in the signification of expiating a man of sin which the sacrifice of Christ does say they by perswading him to be a Christian sometimes it is said of the Priest making propitiation for the sanctuary or the Altar with the particle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or for the people with the particle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Levit. XVI 33. And then out of that which hath been said it may appear how the sacrifice is the consideration whereupon it is made But if it be said of God as Jer XVIII 23 Ps LXXIX 9. with the particle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it seems to expresse God propitious to sin when
bound by natural equity to accept that for full satisfaction which makes up his whole intresse when civile Law obliâ—es him not Makes the tender of Christ no lesse the substitute to our payment of that debt which Gods Law requireth for how is it lesse fit to be tendred when it is not due to be accepted then when it is no lesse able to fulfill Gods desire seeing nothing can be imagined more acceptable to him then the voluntary obedience of his own sonne consisting in those sufferings wherein the greatest virtue that mans nature is capable of was seen and tending to the redemption of mankind which his love to his creature inclined him so much â—o desire as his wisdome found to comport with his native goodnesse and the exercise of his justice I shall not here as in other points stand to clear the Faith of the Catholike Church When Pelagius is alleged for one that held not the satisfaction of Christ it is plain enough that it can have no footing in or allowance from the authority of the Church which hath disclaimed Pâ—lagius Onely we may take notice how well the evidence which the witnesse and practice of the Church renders to the rule of Faith is understood by them who in stead of alledging some allowance of the Church by some person of noted credit openly professing it and nevertheless esteemed to be of the Church name us one that was cast out of the Church for holding it whether expresly or by consequence As for Lactantius who alleging the suffering of Christ for our example addes further neverthelesse pro crimine nostro for our crime Instit IV. 23 24 26. Though I might safely have said as afore that a word of his upon the by may well have past without censure because his credit was not such in the Church as to create appearance of offense Yet I shall not need to have recourse to this answer his own words having given so much advantage for a fair interpretation of his meaning in the sense of the Church As for Pâ—trus Abailardus that is thought to have said something to the same purpose I shall not need to insist what his opinion was For as I allow that he lived in such an age when something that is true might be entertained with the censure of the Church So when it is said to be in a point wherein he is pâ—rtizane with Pelagius the Church that condemned him must needs in condemning him for iâ— be partizane with the Church that condemned Pelagius I will onely allege here a doctrine which I take to be generally received by the ancient Fathers of the Church That the devil by bringing Christ to death that had not sinned forfeited that power of death which the Apostle speakes of Heb. II. 14. to wit that which he had over man that had sinned in bringing him to death And I allege it because the Socinians seem to take it for granted that the Church is now ashamed to maintaine this which I confesse I am not For if the devil be Prince of this World as our Saviour calls him John XIV 30. because he is imployed by God as his Goaler or the executioner of those judgements to which he abandons those that forsake him by giving them up to his temptations shall we not understand the justice of God to be seen towards him in limiting this imployment as under the grace of Christ we believe it is limited in consideration of his attempting upon Christ beyond his commission because without right he being without sinne And therefore the justice of God having appointed him this imployment and this justice satisfied by the obedience of Christ it is but due consequence that this imployment in which the principality of this World consisteth should become forfeit and voâ—de so farre as the Grace of Christ determineth it By virtue of which reason our Lord Christ rising from death because not having sinned he could not be â—â—ld by death drawes after him all that upon the sound of his Gospel imbrace the profession of Christianity CHAP. XXX God might have reconciled man to himself without the coming of Christ The promises of the Gospel depend as well upon his active as passive obedience Christ need not suffer â—ell paâ—nes that we might not The opinion that maketh justifying Faith to be trust in God not true Yet not prejudiciall to the Faith The decree of the Council of Trent and the doctrine of the Schoole how it is not prejudiciall to the Faith As also that of Socinus I Will not leave this point till I have inferred from that which hath been said the resolution of two or three points in question necessarily following upon it And first that though as I have said it is impossible for the wit of man to propose any course for the reconciling of men to God by which the glory of God in the exercise of his divine perfections should have been more seen then is that which it pleased God to take Yet was it not impossible for his divine wisdome to have taken other courses to effect the same his glory remaining inâ—â—re according as S. Augustine hath long since resolved Though to the great displeasure of all them who distinguish not the imagination of immediate satisfaction by the death of Christ for the sinnes of them that shall be saved from that dispensation in the Originall Law of God which the Gospel declareth to all that imbrace the terms of it To the effect whereof I have showed that God provided and accepted it For if God did not provide noâ— accept de facto the death of Christ for immediate satisfaction to his vindicative justice in behalf of their sinnes that shall be saved Then was he not tied in point of right to seek that satisfaction for the same either from Christ or from us And truly this opinion that God was tied to execute his vindicative justice either upon Christ or us seems to represent God to the fansies of Christians as taking content in the evils and torments which Christ suffered that being the onely recompense that vindicative justice seeks without consideration of that perfect obedience and zeale to Gods glory in the saving of his creature together with his justice and holinesse in regard whereof God indeed accepteth the same Now though it be necessary for the maintenance of Christianity to say that the course which God takeâ—h for the reconciling of man to himself according to it preserveth his glory intire as being agreeable to his divine perfections For to say that man cannot propose a course more for his glory then that which it advanceth is rather honourable for Christianity then necessary for the maintenance of the truth of it yet to say that Gods wisdome in designing this course according to the exigence of all his perfections is so exhausted and equalled by the work of it as it were that his own wisdome could have designed no other course to attaine tâ—e same end preserving
say that there is enough in the doctrine of the Schoole or in the dâ—cree of the Council of Trent to show that they cannot intend the first sense but that they must acknowledge it to Gods free promise which being accepted becomes the Covenant of Grace This followes upon severall points of their doctrine First as they make at least the materiall of originall sinne to consist in concupiscence the remains whereof in the regenâ—rate â—re therefore even with them of the same nature and kind though rebated and acquiâ—ed of the nature and effect of sinne which is to make liable to death For this cannot hold but in regard of severall Lawes whereof the one forbiddeth this concupiscence the other allowes reconciliation and grace supposing it as I said afore that Law that succeedes being the Covenant of Grace Secondly as it requires the Sacrament of Baptisme to the allowance of this righteousnesse in lieu of the reward which it challenges For the Sacrament of baptisme being a part of the Christian Law which is the Covenant of Grace and so a Secondary and positive provision for the salvation of mankind lost by Gods originall Law it were a contradiction to say that any thing claimed by viâ—tue thereof should be due by Gods originall Law Thirdly and lastly in regard of that sound sense in which they clearely and freely maintaine the satisfaction of Christ which by the promises is nothing else but the consideration for which God accepts the acts and the quâ—litiâ—â— which the Gospell requires in due plea for that which it premisâ—s For imputation being nothing else in common reason but the immediate consequencâ— of satisfaction the righteousnesse which God imputes to Abrahams spirituall seed as to his person according to S. Paul Roâ— IV. 16 24 cannot depend upon the meer worth of the condition required but upon the free grace of God accepting it for that it is not worth in consideration of the obedience of Christ Lastly I say there is appearance of reason to move men that are jealous of the glory of Gods grace to thinke that they claâ—me the promises of the Gospel as due by Gods originall Law to that infused righteousnesse by having whereof they say we are righteous before God First in that they depart from the language of the Scripture and the true meaning thereof in making justification to consist in the infusion of righteousnesse which though it presupposeth by the premises formally it signifieth not For having showed that the condition which the Gospell requires is allowed of grace in consideration of Christ to qualify us for the promises of it it remains beyond question that the righteousnesse which the Gospell requireâ— is of it selfe râ—all true righteousnesse because it is God that allowes it and accepts it to that effect to which he accepts not the righteousnesse of an hypocrite Allwayeâ— understanding it to be the righteousnesse of one that turneth from sinne with a sincere and effectuall resolutâ—on to serve God in all thinges for the future Whose righteousnesse may well be called infused righteousnesse in regard of the helpes of Gods grace whereby it is effected though we suppose no other kiâ—d of quality beside that disposition which brings a man to Baptisme to succeede upon it but onely the habituall assistance of the Holy Ghost promised â—o inable all them that sincerely undertake Christianity to preforme what they undertake Thus then making justification to consist not in Gods allowance but in his act of infusing righteousnesse they create appearance â—o reason that the righteousnesse so infused is in their opinion that righteousnesse before God to which the promises of the Gospell are due by his originall Law For if there were not other points of theire doctrine to create another interpretation of it there could be no other sense for it then this Secondly in that they make this righteousnesse to consist not in any acceptation and allowance of God but in his grace really infused into that soule which out of an act of the love of God raised by the helpes of his grace supposing faith and hope joyned with servile feare afore had resolved upon Baptisme For what allowance can this love be imagined to need as of grace to make the promises of the Gospell by Gods originall Law due to it if it be admitted for righteousnesse before God Here I must doe them right I must not say that it is the Council of Trent or that it is any act of the Church obligatory to all the Communion that ownes it that obliges them to attribute the effect of justifying to Gods infused Grace by virtue of the nature of it and not by virtue of his Grace in accepting it to that purpose For it is notorious and you may find the names of the Doctors in Vasquez in 1. 2. Disput CCIV. Num. 1. 2. 3. that hold this grace not to render men gracefull to God for it selfe but by his free accepting it to that effect The Nominals in particular besides Durandus and Alliacensis by name In the meane time no man can deny that it is lawfull to â—old that we are justâ—fied by the worth and naturall perfection of Gods infused Grace Which though he freely giveth yet can he not refuse justification having given it And therefore they who place their Religion in making theire distance from Hereticks as our Puritaines from Antichrist as wide as they can possible have taught and still doe teach that the supernaturall infused righteousnesse of Christans which as I said they make to consist principally in the love of God above all thinges of it owne worth and intrinsecall perfection and not by Gods accepting of it to that effect not onely formally remitteth sinne as formally it expelleth the same but so justifieth that God were unjust should he not justify Christians in consideration of it And what could have been said more expresse that it is due by Gods originall law not by any dispensation in it which the promise of the Gospell importeth That the grace of God in Christ iâ— not seene in rewarding that disposition which the Gospell requireth but in giving those helpes whereby we attaine unto it A thing never a whit more contradictory to that which hath been proved here then to other points of their owne Profession alleged even now Before I leave this point for the clearing of that which I said that the Council of Trâ—â—t seemeth to have inacted the doctrine of the Scholâ— for mater of Faith not that indeed it hath so done I will observe that it hath not decreede that we are justified by Grace habitually dwelling in the Soule But onely that through the merit of Christs passion the love of God is diffused in the harts of those that are justified and is inherent in them so that in theire justification with remission of sinnes they receive Faith Hope and Charity as infused into them Sâ—ss VI. Cap VII For here it is expressely claimed by Doctors of that Church not
would not I agree with the Law that it is good But it is not I that do it but sinne that dwelleth in me And this law in his members warring against the Law of his mind he sayes lead him captive to the Law of sin in his members so that he cries out Miserable man that I am who shall deliver me from the body of this death Whereunto is added the authority of S. Augustine pressing this exhortation so hard that it serves for an aspersion of Pelagius his heresy for a man not to allow it Though S. Augustine is not alone in it Methodius against Origen in Epiphanius writing against his heresy S. Gregory Nazianzene and others perhaps among the Fathers follow the same sense But the aspersion is too abusive For I have showed that the Tradition of the Church declared by the records of the Fathers extendeth not to the exposition of particular Scriptures but to give bounds within which the Scriptures are to be understood Wherefore had S. Augustine and his party truly expounded this Scripture yet ought it not to be a mark of Plagianisme to maintaine another exposition without supposing any part of Pelagius his heresie But if they consider further that S. Augustine acknowledges no more then the motions of concupiscence which are alive in the regenerate to divert the rigor of their intentions from the course of Christianity not the committing of any sinne that layeth wast a good conscience to be consistent with the state of grace they will have little joy of S. Augustines exposition of this place For what is that to the murther and adulteries of David to the apostrasy of S. Peter to the Idolatries of Solomon Or what consequence is it because concupiscence is alive in Christians that are at peace with God untill death that therefore David S. Peter and Solomon were at peace with God before they had washed away those sinnes by repentance Wherefore I must utterly discharge S. Augustine and those of his sense of having said any thing prejudiciall to Christianity by expounding S. Paul according to it The question that remaineth will be how S. Paul can call himselfe carnall and sold under sinne how he can say I like not that which I doe For I doe not what I would but what I hate And to will is present with me but how to doe that which is good I find not And I find a Law by which when I would doe well evill is at hand to me And that this Law in my members warring against the Law of my mind leades mee captive to the Law of sinne that is in my members And wretched man that I am who will deliver me from the body of this death The question I say will be how all this can be said of him of whome it followes Rom. VIII 1 2 5-8 There is therefore now no damnation for those in Christ Jesus that walke not after the flesh but after the spirit For the Law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath freed me from the Law of sinne and of death For they that are according to the flesh mind the thinges of the flesh They that are according to the Spirit the things of the spirit For the sense of the flesh is death but the sense of the spirit life and peace Because the sense of the flesh is enemy to God for it is not nor can be subject to the Law of God Neither can they that are in the flesh please God For if these things cannot be said of the same man at the same time it remains that though we allow S. Augustine and those of his sense that a Christian falls continually into sinne and by continuall offices of Christianity comes cleare of it yet when he willfully runnes into that sin which he cannot but know that it cannot stand with his Christianity he cannot be of that number for whom S. Paul sayes there is no condemnation in Christ Jesus that walke not after the flesh but after the Spirit And therefore for the true meaning of the Scripture in hand it will be requisite to have recourse to that figure of speach whereby S. Paul himselfe declareth that he speakes that of himselfe which he would have understood of others meerely for the a voiding of offense 1 Cor. IV. 6. So is it no mervaile if to make those that were zealous of the Law beleeve that they could not be saved but by Christianity he whom they took for an Apostle show it in his owne case before he was a Christian saying Is the Law sinne Nay I had not knowne sinne but by the Law Rom. VII 7 I have showed you how Grotius hath understood him to speak of himselfe in the person of an Israelite comparing himselfe considered as having received the Law and under the Law with himselfe before he received it If any man think this consideration to farre fetched for S. Paul to propose to those zealous of the Law that he writes to He may understand him to speake in the person of one of them to whome the Gospell had been proposed and thereby conviction of the spirituall sense of the Law which therefore the concupiscence which we are borne with cannot but make great difficulty to imbrace according to the premises For seing the Scribes and Pharises having received the Tradition of the world to come in opposition to the Sadduces had prevailed with the body of that people to believe that the outward observation of the law according to the letter was the means to bring them to the rewards of it It is no mervaile if S. Paul in the person of one so reduced say I had not known concupiscence had I not found the Law to say Thou shalt not covet For he that understood not the Law of God to prohibit the inward motions of concupiscence till by the preaching of Christianity he learned that to be the intent of the precept may very well say that he knew not concupiscence but by the Law so preached By that same reason might he say as it followeth Without the Law sinne is dead But I was once alive without the Law To wit when he thought himself in the way to life under the doctrine of the Pharisees But when the commandment came to be declared to him in that sense which the salvation tendred by the Gospel requireth it s no marvaile if sinne that was in him and concupiscence of it revived and he was discovered to be dead in sinne as not yeelding to the cure of it But that the commandment which was given for life became unto his death because sinne taking occasion by it deceived and slew him All this takes place in that Pharisee who being perswaded by the Pharisees that by not contriving to take away his neighbors wife and goods he stood qualifyed for the world to come now coming to know by the preaching of the Gospell the restraint of inward concupiscence is commanded by it found himself by meanes of the
Law cousened and slaine as enimy to Christianity which tenders the onely cure of sinne Whereunto the conclusion agrees well enough For when having questioned Miserable man that I am who shall deliver me out of the body of this death He answereth I thank God by Jesus Christ our Lord He seemeth to declare that the Gospel having overtaken him in this estate and discovered him to himself in it the imbracing of it cured him and gave him cause to thank God through our Lord Jesus Christ for his deliverance from it All the rest that followeth between these terms in the discourse of Saint Paul serving for a very lively description of that mans estate who being convinced of the truth of Christianity findeth difficulty in renouncing the pleasures which sinne furnisheth for the obtaining of those promises which the Gospel tendreth There remaineth yet one difficulty concerning the Polygamy of the ancient Fathers before and under the Law which to me hath allways seemed an argument for the truth which I maintaine rather then an objection against it If any soule sensible of the feare of God can imagine that Gods Jewells his choice ones the first fruits of his creatures knowing themselves to be under the Law of having but one wife not to be parted with till death should notwithstanding take many and those many times so qualified as the Law much more Christianity allows not as Jacob two sisters Abraham his neece and so Amram and to outface the Law hold them till death and never come short of Gods favour whose Law they transgresse with bare face as the Scripture speakes let him believe that a Christian living in sinne can be in the state of grace But he that sees the Law to have restrained marying with the neice which he sees practiced afore and sees withall that plurality of wives is not forbidden by the Law for besides wives of an inferior ranke which may be called concubines a captive Deut. XXI 11. and an Ebrew maid sold for a slave Ex. XXI 8. 9. 10. there can be no question in the Law of two wives whereof the one is beloved the other not Deut. XXI 15. besides that the Law restraining the King from having many wives seemes to allow him more then every man hadde and therefore that David might be within compasse of the Law though Solomon trode it under foot I say he that considers these things will be moved to be of opinion that the Pharises interpretation of Levit. XVIII 18. is true and that before that Law there was no prohibition for a man to marry two sisters which is there first introduced and yet with an exception in Deuteronomy in the case of a brother deade without issue which before the Law was also in force as by the story of Judah Gen. XXXVIII doth appeare I will therefore conclude that as the knowledge of God increased by giving the Law so was the posterity of Abraham restrained from more by the Law then the posterity of Noe upon the promises given them had been restrained from after the deluge From whence in all reason it will follow that the posterity of Abraham according to the spirit which is the Church of Christ should be still restrained from more then the posterity of Abraham according to the flesh by the law And so that the Fathers before and under the Law living in Gods grace did not withall live in open violation of Gods Law but that they knew themselves not to be under the Law of one wife to one husband though intended in Paradise by virtue of Gods dispensation in it till Christianity should come For unlesse we presume that not onely all thinges necessary to our salvation but all thinge necessary to the salvation of all men since the world stood are recorded in the Scriptures there can be no reason to presume that they could not understand what Lawes they were under but by those Scriptures which for our salvation have been granted us I argue yet further that it will be impossible for true Christians and good Christians to attaine unto assurance of the state of Grace if it be to be had for them that commit such sinnes as Christianity consists not with And this upon supposition of the premises for the ground of this assurance For without doubt were not some thing in the condition which the Gospell requireth impossible for flesh and blood to bring forth it were not possible for him that imbraceth the Gospell to assure himselfe that he doeth it out of obedience to God not out of those reasons which hypocrites may follow But I having declared afore and maintaining now that no man by the force of flesh and blood that is to say of that inclination to goodnesse which a man is born into the world with is able to profess Christianity out of a resolute and clear intention to stand to it am consequently bound to maintaine that he who soe doeth not onely may but must needes assure himselfe of the favour of God in as much as he cannot but assure himself of that which himselfe doeth For in as much as he knowes what himselfe means and what he does as S. Paul sayes that no man knowes what is in man but the spirit of a man which is in him so sure it is that a mans selfe knowes what he means and what he does as it is sure that another man knowes it not But not allowing nor presupposing this ground of a mans knowledge how shall he know it Shall a man by having a perswasion that he is in the number of Gods elect or by having in himself an assurance of Gods love to the effect of everlasting happinesse be assured that his assurance is well grounded and that he is of that number which is elected to life everlasting As if it were not possible for the temptations of Satan and carnall presumption to possesse a man as much even to this effect as the Spirit of God can do Where is then the effect of Christianity seen if not in limiting such grounds and such termes as he that proceedeth upon shall not faile of that grace of God whereof he assureth himself upon those grounds But he that placeth that faith which alone justifyeth in believing that he who believeth is predestinate to life everlasting Or in the confidence of Gods grace in attaining the same I demand upon what ground he can pretend to distinguish this faith from that which he cannot deny that it may be false For if it be said that the Spirit of God that is in him assureth him that his perswasion is well grounded It is easie for me to say that the question to be cleared that is to say whether it be the Spirit of God that tells him so or not cannot be the evidence to clear it self And therefore that he standeth obliged to bethink himself of some meanes whereupon he may assure himself that it is the Spirit of God not the temptation of Satan or carnall
sacrifices and other ceremonies thereof how little soever they minded the true intent and meaning of it were the true predecessors of the Scribes and Pharisees in our Lords time and the Prophets and their disciples the forerunners of our Lord and his Apostles and that both persecuted both upon the same score of account The inward righteousnesse of the heart which God onely alloweth being that which both preached and professed though the former under that knowledge of God and of his will with the Law the other which the Gospell advanceth And this the true and reall ground why they and that which befell them under the Old Testament do beare the figure of our Lord and his Apostles and that which befell them by the rulers of the Jewes in the New According to the words of our Lord Mat. XXIII 34 where he showeth that by crucifying himself and persecuting his disciples they do but fill up the measure of their Fathers wickednesse And S. Paul of the Jewes to the same effect 1 Thes II. 15 16. Who both killed the Lord Jesus and their own Prophets and please not God and oppose all men Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved For wrath is come on them to the end I say then that under that dimme light of Gods will which the Saints of the Old Testament injoyed when the world to come was not yet covenanted for nor the sayings and doings of our Lord Christ manifested to invite to Christianity it is necessarily consequent that God should accept of that obedience under the law which as it must come from a sincere heart and studious of pleasing him so must it needs come short of that perfection which the Gospel requireth For as I said before that love of God with all the heart and all the soul and all the might which the Law requireth is limited by the precepts of the law which whoso observes with all the heart and so forth must be thought to have performed that love wherein then the observation of Gods law consisted As for the precept of not coveting of which S. Paul sayes Rom. VII 7-11 that he had not known concupiscence had not the Law said Thou shalt not covet And Saint Augustine observes that being joyned to to the precept of loving God above all things they comprise all Christianity Though all this be true according to the spirituall sense of the Law yet according to the leter it cannot be denied that the last precept of the decalogue forbiddeth onely compassing that which is another mans Counting his wife in that number because there was then meanes to compasse another mans wife without breaking the Law which allowed of divorces And therefore this is the senâ—e of that which followeth in S. Paul Sinne taking advantage wrought in me all concupiscence by the commandment For without the Law sin is dead But I once lived without the law But the commandment coming sin revived and I died And the commandment which was to life was found for me to death For sin taking occasion by the commandment deceived me and so slew me All this I say as the rest of that Epistle concerning the inability of the Law to bring us to righteousnesse is to be understood of the outward and litterall sense of the law To wit that the Israelites before they received the Law and so other men without the Law understood not that it was a sinne but a piece of wit to compasse a mans wife or goods without violence or to commit that uncleannesse to which the law had assigned no penalty So the Law being given and having assigned no penalty to the transgression of this precept was it marvile that sin prevailing over that conviction of the conscience which the precept tendered should seduce a man to give way to concupiscence and turn the precept that was given for life to his death He then that was not imposed upon with this â—light of sinne but received the commandment as Gods who hath other penalties in store then those which the Law assigneth if out of conscience to God he observed the Laws of his worship from the heart if he kept all that which not onely the penalties assigned by the law but the will of God declared by the precept convinced him to take hold of his conscience is it not reason to conclude that he fulfilled that measure of spirituall righteousnesse which God for that time required of them whom he assured of the world to come upon condition of such obedience Which if it be so that obligation to this righteousnesse which was so declared under the Law is that Law of spirituall obedience which God judgeth those by whom for that time he accepted unto the reward of the world to come As for the precept of loving our neighbour as our selves having showed that it concerned onely Israelites under the Law I have also by the same meanes showed that they were to detest the Gentiles as Idolaters that detestation being the meanes to keep them up to the service of God from falling away to Idols Whereupon as by the Law he that fell from the Law and seduced his kindred to do the like was to find no maner of pity at the hand even of his brethren Deut. XIII 8. So also it is provided by the Jews Constitutions that they shall observe no rule of common equity in seeking evidence against such a one to bring him to conviction and to make him an example And as for those hypocrites which under pretense of the outward and carnall observatiof the Law persecuted the preachers of true spiritual righteousnesse the Prophets of Old and our Lord and his Apostles who pretended to carry it unto the Gentiles whom they hold themselves obliged to hate as having been once Idolaters it is visible that those Saints who suffered persecution at their hands did not find themselves tied to that measure which the Gospel prescribeth of praying for their enemies to the utmost This is seen in those curses which David and Jeremy pursue their enemies with the Gospel having prescribed for a generall rule to all Christians Blesse them that curse you Mat. V. 44. Luke VI. 27. Rom. XII 14. 1 Pet. III. 9. James III. 9. I deny not that herein they were figures and forerunners of our Lord and his disciples and their sayings prophesies of the curses that should overtake the people of the Jewes for persecuting them For I have showed just now the ground upon which this is to be received But I challenge that ground also which I setled at the beginning that the mysticall sense of the Scripture alwayes supposeth a litterall sense and that these things cannot be understood to be fulfilled in our Lord Christ but that first they must have been verified in the Prophets themselves In whome as it is plaine that the persecutions for which they curse did come to passe so plaine it is that their curses fell upon their persecutors For nothing
can be more manifest then that the Prophet Jeremy first prayed for the people that God would not destroy them And when their sinnes were so great that God would not hear him but commanded him to publish their ruine that they thereupon so hated and persecuted him that his patience was overcome and he prayed to God to punish their ingratitude to him with the judgements which he had denounced Jer. VIII 16. XI 14 19 20. XVIII 16 17 18. XVII 18-23 And it is plaine that the case is the same with the Prophet David and that he receiving evil for good of his enemies thereupon proceeds to those prayers which he makes against them Ps XXXV 11-14 LXIX 5 8 10 11 12 23-29 CIX 3 4 5-20 And what is the difference between this and that of Elias Of whom S. James V. 17. sayes that he prayed that it might not raine and it rained not for three yeares and six monâ—ths So that when he sayes 1 Kings XVII 1. there â—â—â—ll be neither dew nor raine upon the earth but according to my word He speakes upon the obtaining of that prayer of his For afterwards the raine came not till he prayed for it 1 Kings XVIII 43. Whereupon it followes in S. James And againâ— he prayed and the heavens gave raine and the earth budded forth her fruit For by these things you see that he prayed for judgement upon the Land of Israel for refusing his prophesies even as he executed it upon the prophets of Israel 1 Kings XVIII 42. And is not the reason the same when he destroyes two Captaines of fifties with their bandes by praying for fire from heaven upon them for taking in hand to execute the command of an Idolatrous King and coming to seize him 2 Kings I. 10 12 Is it not the same in his Scholar and successour Elizeus when he curses the children of Bethel for despising of him being a Prophet of God whereupon two and â—orty of them are destroyed with beares out of the forest 2 Kings II. 22 23 24 For had these children been bred in the fear of the true God and not under Idolatrous parents it cannot in reason be thought that they would have reviled one of Gods Prophets who were held in and treated with such reverence even by the Princes of his people And truely when Samson casts away his own life to do mischief to Gods enemies and the enemies of his people out of this expresse consideration of being revenged upon them for putting out his eyes can any mans heart be so hardned by misunderstanding the Scriptures as to say that this can be reconciled with the principles of Christianity which forbid all revenge Jud. XVI 28-31 Rom. XII 19. Mat. VI. 22 38-48 It is said indeed that Samson did this as a figure of Christ who killed his enemies the powers of darknesse by his death And it is certainly true But that will not answer the reason formerly alledged Whether we say that Samsons death was a figure of Christs by the intent of Samson or by the intent of God whose Providence so ordered things to come to passe that his death might figure Christs death It cannot be said that the intent of figuring Christs death could make that agreeable to Gods Law which otherwise was not Rather we are to advise whether sinfull actions and not according to Gods own Law were fit to figure Christ Nor will it serve the turne to say that he did it by the motion of Gods Spirit which we are indeed to allow that the Judges being Prophets were indowed with For it is not to be said that the Spirit of God moveth any man to do that which the will of God declared by his Law forbiddeth And therefore the fact of Razias 2 Mac. XIV 37-46 though not udertaken with that confidence of doing mischief to Gods enemies which Samson had by the assurance of his being called to deliver Gods people from them yet being done to deprive them of their pleasure they should have in insulting over Gods people destroying so faithfull a servant of his must needs be said to proceed from the the same motive with Samsons Though I say not therefore that this can serve to prove that Book of the Maccabes to be either Canonical or otherwise Thus much I conceive is to be granted that the Maccabees taking armes for maintaining their Religion and Nation against the tyranny of Antiochus Epiphanes is not to be condemned as against Gods Law because we see them commended By the Apostle Heb. XI 35-38 And yet for Christians to take armes for the maintaining of themselves in the free exercise of their religion much more for the Power of imposing of it upon others is certainly contrary to the instructions of the Apostles Rom. XIII 1-6 Titus III. 1. 1 Pet. II. 13-17 as it appears by the practice of all the Primitive Christians who maintaining themselves to be for number able to defend themselves by armes against persecution maintaine withall that their profession did not allow them so to do And indeed though the godly Jewes indured death rather then renounce Gods Lawe as the Christians afterwards yet a man may see a great difference between the motives of their severall sufferings if be consider that they died for the Lawes of their country which the heathen themselves have reputed a due consideration for a man to part with his life for though out of carnall selfe love â—ow much more to obey Gods Law whom they maintained to be the onely true God by suffering death for the lawes which he had given them Whereas Christianity requires to be maintained with our lives though we become ignominious by the Lawes of our Countries for maintaining it Whereby we see how true it is that God allowed them some motives of temporall good to invite them to undergoe the hardship which the profession of his Lawes should inferre Whereas from Christians he challenges the same constancy when he allowes no presumption of help in this world no hope but that of the world to come Which is indeed another strong argument that God accepted of a lower measure of obedience under the Law then he requireth under the Gospel of Christians Because forsooth he alwayes managed his ancient people like babes with the fear of the rod and the hope of cakebread so with the fear and hope of the blessings and punishments of this present world habituating them to presume of his favour or disgrace according to the same Let any man read the book of Psalmes and consider throughout the whole tenor of it what presumptions of Gods favour those who indited them by Gods Spirit do raise upon temporall deliverances of his disgrace upon the insultations of Gods and their enemies and tell me if it be according to the stile of the Gospell which alloweth onely the assurance of Gods providence for subsistence in this world to perswade us to take up Christs Crosse Well then saith S. Paul Rom. VIII 15. Ye
and ruled the whole Church and might as easily make his corruptions generall as Christ Christianity But if it were meerly their saying to make it a Tradition of the Apostles what shall we say of Pelagius For they must pardon me who think that the hatred of his Heresie brought the baptism of Infants into force More generall it might deservedly make it For by the condemning of his Heresie the danger of Infants going out of the world was conâ—eâ—â—ed But it was the Baptism of Infants being in force afore that made his opinion an Heresie as making the necessity of Baptism visible as supposed by all Christians and therefore the truth of Original sin Pelagius was not so very a fool as they imagine If all the knowledge that a man of his time could get by seeing all parts of the Church would have served for an exception to the authority of the baptism of Infants he might have wrangled with his adverse party about the exposition of those Scriptures which are alleadged in the point till this day and his opinion have found footing in the Church But because he could not sâ—op mens eyes so as not to see what they saw we may for wantonnesse betray the cause of God by letting the interpretation of the Scriptures loose to every mans fancy which God had appointed to be confined within the Tradition of his Apostles but they could not chuse but condemn that position which the visible practice of the Church proclaimed to be Heresie Thus farre then I proceed upon the Tradition of the Apostles to make the Baptism of Infants necessary in case of necessity that is of danger of death But I that condemn not the ancients for disputing that it ought not to be generall nor the Greek Church for reserving it till years of discretion supposing the means of it reasonably secured in that case am not like to attribute the necessity of baptizing all Infants which the present Laws of the Church do introduce to the tradition of the Apostles but to the original power of the Church founded upon the constitution thereof in determining the circumstances of those offices which being incumbent upon the Church are not determined by any law of either of his Apostles For though I take not upon me to say that there can no reason be given why this particular should not now be so determined as we see it is who do acknowledge great reasons to have been alleadged by the ancients to the contrary for their time yet I see so many ways for the misunderstanding and the neglect of Christianity to creep upon the Church that I cannot see sufficient reason why the Church should trust the conscience of particular Christians whom it concerned to see to the baptism of all Infants that might come into that case now that the world was come into the Church and that therefore the Church could not have the like presumption of the conscience of all that professed Christianity in the discharge of an office of that concernment to that which it might reasonably have while it was under persecution and men could not be thought to imbrace Christianity but for conscience sake And therefore as I do maintain it alwaies to have been within the lawfull power of the Church to make a generall Law as now it is so I must averre that there was just reason and ground for the exercise of that power in determining this point whither as in the East with some toleration of those whom they had confidence in for seeing to the baptizing of their Infants in danger of death or generally as in the West to see the occasion of mischiefe and scandall prevented by doing it presently after birth And therefore those that forsake the unity of the Church â—ather then be subject to a Law which it may lawfully make as I have showed if that which hath been resolved of the difference between Heresie and Schism be true cannot avoid being schismaticks As for the ground of that opinion which moves them to break up the seal of God marked upon those that are baptized unto the hope of salvation upon the obligation of Christianity by baptizing them anew to the hope of salvation without the obligation of Christianity whether they are to be counted Hereticks therefore or not let who will dispute This I may justly inferre they take as sure a course to murther the souls of those whom they baptize again as of those whom they let go out of the world unbaptized There remains two questions which seem to make this resolution hard to believe If there be no salvation without Baptism no not for the Infants of Christians it is demanded what becomes of their souls and whither they go I must needs allow that those ancient and later Divines alledged by Cassander and our Hooker after him had reason to entertain a charitable hope of the happinesse of those who being prevented by the inevitable casualties of mans life of attaining the Sacrament of Baptism are accompanied out of the world by the prayers of Christian Parents commending them to God with the same affections wherewith they alwaies vowed them to God by bringing them to Christianity so soon as they should become capable to be instructed in it But if I will stand to the bounds of Gods revealed will I must also say that this hope is presumed without book that is without any Law of God to warrant the effect of it For if God promise the Kingdom of heaven to Infants that depart after Baptism as the reasons premised and the practice of the Church make evidence nothing hindreth the mercy of God to extend to those that depart without it where nothing hindreth the power of his grace to regenerate without the Sacrament those whom he hath not expressed that he will not regenerate But this shall not proceed from any obligation of his Covenant of Grace nor tend to make good the evidence thereof which the practice of the Church createth And therefore shall make onely a presumption of what may be and not of what is I find that Arminius had further a doubtful conceit that all Infants departing without Baptism are to be saved by the virtue of Gods second Covenant and the death of Christ upon which it is grounded God having extended both as farre as sinne by the first Adam extendeth But the publication of the second Covenant and the intent of Christs death upon which it is grounded being conditional as hath been showed I suppose it is not enough to intitle Infants to the benefit thereof that they never did any thing to refuse it Otherwise what cause is there why all the Gentiles that go out of the world without hearing of Christianity should not be saved by virtue of it notwithstanding all that they sinne against the Law of nature Because the New Covenant is to take effect where it is not refuted and sinnes against the Law of nature cannot be constrained as a refusall of the
and alwaies have maintained that which you see I dare not affirm but he dares namely that all Infants who dye unbaptized go into everlasting fire It is demanded in the second place what is that regeneration by the Holy Ghost and wherein it consists whereof Infants that are baptized can be thought capable For the wild conceits of those that imagine them to have faith in Christ which without actuall motion of the mind is not require miracles to be wrought of course by baptizing that the effect thereof may come to passe And if the state of Grace which the habituall grace of Gods spirit either supposeth or inferreth is not to be attained but by the resolution of imbracing the covenant of Grace as by all the premises it is not otherwise attended it will be every whit as hard to say what is that habituall Grace that is said to be poured into the souls of Infants that are baptized being nothing else but a facility in doing what the covenant of Grace requireth But if we conceive the regeneration of Infants that are baptized to consist in the habituall assistance of Gods spirit the effects whereof are to appear in making them able to perform that which their Christianity requires at their hands so soon as they shall understand themselves to be obliged by â—it we give reason enough of the effect of their Baptism whither they dye or live and yet become not liable to any inconvenience For supposing the assistance of Gods spirit assigned them by the promise of Baptism to take effect when their bodily instruments inable the soul to act as Christianity requireth if the soul by death come to be discharged of them can any thing be said why originall concupiscence which is the Law of the members should remain any more to impeach the subjection of all faculties to the law of Gods spirit Or will it be any thing strange that when they come to be taught Christianity the same spirit of God should be thought to â—way them to imbrace it of their own choice and not onely in compliance with the will of their Parents yet is this no more then the regeneration of Infants by water and the Holy Ghost importeth that the spirit of God should be habitually present to make those reasons which God hath given to convince the world that they ought to be Christians both discernable to the understanding and waying down the choice whereas those that are converted from being enemies to God that is to say at those yeâ—rs when no man can be converted to God that is not his enemy before though the spirit of God knock at their hearts without striving to cast out the strong man that is within doors and to make a dwelling for it selfe in the heart are possessed by a contrary principle till they yield Gods spirit that entertainment which God requireth If this habituall assistance of Gods spirit by the moral effect of Gods promise not by any natural change in the disposition of that minde which never used reaâ—on to make choice of it can be called habitual grace as for certain it is a grace of God in consideration of our Lord Christ and no lesse habitual then any quality which the soul of man or the faculties thereof can be indowed with I shall not need to quarel the decree of the Council of Vienna which hath determined the giâ—t of habitual grace to be the effect of Baptism in Infants Onely I exprâ—sse more distinctly and to the preventing of the inconveniences mentioned wherein it conâ—isteth But I shall inferre as a consequence of this resolution that we are not to look upon Christians that are baptized in their Infancy as thoâ—e who are all of them necessarily enimies to God before they â—e converted again to become true Christians For though that very age when they come first to years of discretion obliging them to act as Christians be liable to â—o many and so great temptations that few câ—n pass through it without falling away from the profession of Christians yet because it is not incredible that there are many cases in which the Ministry of education blessed by Gods providence as acted by his grace brings it to pass it is by no means to be supposed that all those who are baptized Infants are necessarily to passe through the state of Gods enemies And therefore that as many as come into that state do fall from the state of Gods grace into which they are baptized Which is none of the least demonstrations of that which hath been maintained in due place that the state of Gods grace is as well lost and forfeited as it is to be recovered again by Christians And upon this ground and to this purâ—ose it was that the ancient Church at such time as the solemnity of Baptizing became tied to Easter and Whitsuntide and the young were baptized with the old not absolutely Infants but according to the opinion of Gregory Nazianzene related afore at three or four years of age used to give them alâ—o the Eucharist as soon as they were baptized For the Eucharist being nothing but the confirming and seconding of the covenant of Baptism the reason why they were baptized inferred the giving of them the Eucharist Which reason being rendred by the supposed Dionysius in the end of his Book de Ecclesiasticâ Hierarchia where he tells us that litle ones received the Eucharist as soon as they were baptized as I do here that they might be alwaies from thence forwards in the state of Grace The Eucharist being the Body and Blood of Christ because the means to convey his Spirit may well be judged the means to secure and confirm that promise thereof which Baptism importeth Yet doth not this inferre that since it is become necessary for the Church to baptize all in the state of meere Infants it is not for the best to deferre the communion of the Eucharist till litle ones may know what they do though in my opinion it is deferred farre longer then it ought to be nothing but a disposition positively opposite to Christianity defeating the effect of it which may prevent the said disposition in innocents much lesse that this can be any just ground for division in the Church so that the division which shall be raised upon this ground necessarily renders those who are the cause of it Schismaticks In fine seeing it is excellently said by S. Gregory Nazianzene in sanctum Bapt. Orat. XLII 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That we are to think the force of Baptizing to consist in the Covenant of a second life and purer conversation with God And that the Eucharist is nothing else but the seconding of this Covenant where Baptism in that regard is necessary to salvation there the Eucharist though not necessary as the ancient Church never held it cannot be unlawful Whether expedient or not he that contents himselfe with the practice of the Church for Unities sake will prove the best Christian I
limited yet must not this limitation be such as shall abate any thing of the promise of the Gospel which the Sacraments bring with them to those who by a competent resolution for their Christianity are qualified for it Turn we to the Law and the Prophets and observe according to the premises that there was no expiation prescribed by the Law for the inward guilt of sinne but for outward uncleannesses or incapacities of conversing among the people of God and by consequence of injoying the benefit of the Land of promise together with some sinnes which the Law specifies but condemns not to any bodily or pecuniary punishment Wherefore seeing we read in the Law and the Prophets so many exhortations to repentance which if we suppose to come from God we cannot suppose to be void of a promise implyed tendring pardon and favour at Gods hands upon repentance it is necessary to acknowledg that inward repentance under the Law qualified for remission of sinnes Read the seaven Penitentiall Psâ—lms and tell me how men came then to be cleansed of their sinnes David affirming Psal LI. 18. Thou desirest no sacrifice else would I give it thee but thou delightest not in burnt-offerings but by that faith which moved them to seek reconcilement with God by repentance and by that conversion to righteousnesse which their faith supposed acceptable to God So the Prophets Ezek. XVIII 32. XXXIII 9-20 Esay I. 18. 1 King VIII 33. 2 Chron. VI. 24. besides infinite more For if we say that men were then bound to confesse their sinnes that they might be cleansed by the Synagogue he that confessed a capitall crime must incurre a capitall punishment and without death there was no way to cleanse him of it If we say he might be cleansed by sacrifice by the Synagogue without confessing the sin why not under the Gospel by means answerable that is by the Eucharist and the oblations out of which it is celebrated without confessing in particular to the Church I do not therefore here dispute what sins might be and what might not be purged by sacrifices not doubting by many passages of the Prophets and Ecclesiasticus that the righteous and spiritual men of that people under the Law did offer sacrifices for the expiation of those sinnes which there was no particular promise in the Law that God would pardon upon those sacrifices But first I suppose that though God allowed their conformity to his present Law in offering sacrifices that were not expresly required by it but customed by Gods people upon it yet he accepted them not for those sacrifices but for that repentance and conversion of heart from whence they came Thereupon then I argue in the second place that if without declaring the kind of sinne under the Law under the Gospel much more For seeing that there is no expiation for capital crimes without death by the Law he that should offer sacrifice for such a sinne declaring it must become liable to death And the same is the case in the second rank of offenses against the Law which it punisheth with scourging Those also belonging to that rank which the Law threatens with death by the hand of God which renders their life forfeit into Gods hands Because of the Rule which they have that if they come to be know to the Synagogue they are to be punished with scourging For who can imagine that these can be purged by the Law without undergoing the penalty of the Law And therefore if sacrifices were offered for them they were not confessed seeing that all estates in the Synagogue which was bound to punish them were also bound to bring them to punishment As for the Church it hath been already declared that the constitution thereof presupposeth in order of nature and reason the covenant of Grace that is to say the condition upon which the Gospel tendreth remission of sinnes So that as we have all the reason in the world to think that God hath founded the corporation of his Church to be the means of affecting or procuring that dispoâ—ition which qualifieth for the promises of the Gospel So if the same diâ—poâ—â—â—ion câ—n be procured without the ministery of the Church which suppoâ—â—th the knowledge of particulâ—r sinnes there can be no cause why God should injoyn that the effect whereof is to be had without it Now I suppose from the premiâ—es that those who live within the Church have sufficient helps of Gods Grace to â—â—able them to return from their sinnes by repentance As for thoâ—e helps which â—hâ—y may have by the ministery of the Church making known their â—â—nnes to it Though they may be of such virâ—ue as to make that more 〈◊〉 which is poâ—sible without them Yet when all is done that man câ—n do it exâ—â—edâ—th not the same kind of helys whiâ—h man outwardly may rendâ—râ—â—o Goâ—s inwâ—râ—â—râ—ce Which as it is more probâ—ble that Gods good providence should â—â—ke â—ffectuall then where the same outwâ—rd meanâ— are not imployed or where they are imployed in a lesse measure So is it possible that bâ—ing onâ—e â—â—ffiâ—â—â—nt they may become effectual by Gods grace though in a 〈◊〉 measure But I confesse there is nothing prevailes more with me to conclude this then that which the Scripture affords us to evidence that God hâ—â—h instituted and appointed the Ministery of his Church for the reconciling oâ— thoâ—e â—â—nnes which must or which may come to the knowledge of his Church For when God giveth first to S. Peter the Keyes of his Church Mat. XVIII 19. and afterwards to all his Disciples the power of binding and loosing sinnes Joh. XX. 19. it is evident that by this power they are able to do nothing to unbelievers but perâ—wade them by preâ—ching the Gospel to imbrace that courâ—â— by which it tendreth râ—mission of sinne untill having perswaded them to it they oblige them to enter into the Church by Baptism as that to which God hath liâ—ited that profession of Christianity which he requires to remission of sinne Thus is the power of the Keyes or of binding and loosing sinne first seen and exercised in baptizing understanding thereby not onely the ministring of the Sacrament but the bringing of a man to that disposition to which Baptism is due The same is still exercised towards those that are come into the Church by laying forth to them the doctrine of Moses and the Prophets of our Lord and his Apostles obliging them to return from sinne by Repentance So that it cannot justly be said that Preaching as we call it that is further instructing in the doctrine of Christianity those that by the preaching of the Gospell have been moved to imbrace it is a thing impertinent to the power of the Keyes not concerning the office of it Unlesse we think ministring the helps of sufficient grace imperâ—inent to effectuall grace which alwayes supposeth them Having already shewed that before conversion to Christianity the power of the Keyes is seen in ministring the same
that managed the power of the Keyes in behalfe of the Church and by their judgement whether at large or limited by Canons provided afore-hand for the Church was the cure appointed The Council of Trent granteth that God hath not forbidden publick confession of secret sinne My reasons inferre more That confession of sinne in secret is an abatement of that discipline which our Lord and his Apostles instituted for the cure of sinne by the Church and by consequence an abatement to the efficacy of his Ordinance Neither can any thing be alledged for it but the decay of Christianity by the coming of the world into the Church and the necessity which that bringeth upon the Church to abate of that which the primitive institution requireth that the Ordinances of our Lord may be preserved to such effects as can be obtained with the unity of the Church And therefore I deny not that this Law may be abused to become a torture and snare and an occasion of infinite scandals to well disposed Consciences For who will provide Laws for so vast a Body as the whole Church of Christendome yet is that shall give no occasion of offence They that pretend it are but Absoloms Disciples that to cure one advance innumerable No more do I deny that the skill of all Confessors that is all that must be trusted with that power which this Law constituteth is not nor can probably be able to value the sinnes that are brought to them and to prescribe the cure which they requite supposing their conscience such as will not fail to require that which their skill finds to be requisite In questions of this nature though it were to be wished that such Laws could be provided for the Church as being unblameable might render the Church unblameable Yet they that are capable of giving sentence what is best for so vast a body will find it best as in all other Corporations or Common-wealths to improve the Ordinances of God to the best of that which can be obtained with the unity of the Church And therefore setting aside those gross abuses which may follow upon the perswasion that those penalties which are to be imposed by the power of the Keyes to produce that disposition which qualifieth penitents for remission of sinnes tend onely to satisfie for the temporall penalty remaining due when the sinne is pardoned And setting aside those abuses in the practice of Penance which tend to introduce this perswasion I must freely glorifie God by freely professing that in my judgement no Christian Kingdom or State can maintain it selfe to be that which it pretendeth more effectually then by giving force and effect to the Law of private confession once a year by such means as may seem both requisite and effectuall to inforce it Not that I do condemn that order which the Church of England at the Reformation contented it selfe with as rendring the Reformation thereof no Reformation and leaving men destitute of sufficient means for the remission of sinne after Baptism to leave it to the discretion and conscience of those who found themselves burthened with sinne to seek help by the means of their Pastors as appeareth both in the Communion service and in the visitation of the sick But because I see the Church of England hath failed of that great peece of Reformation which it aimed at in this point To wit the receiving of publick Penance This aime you shall find expressed in the beginning of the Commination against sinners in these words Brethren in the primitive Church there was a godly discipline that at the beginning of Lent such persons as were notorious sinners were put to open Penance and punished in this world that their souls might be saved in the day of our Lord And that others admonished by their example might be more afraid to offend In the stead whereof untill the said discipline may be restored again which is much to be wished it is thought good What is the reason that â—o godly a desire of so evident a Reformation could not take place when Reformation in the Church was so generally sought besides those common obstructions with all good pretenses will necessarily find in all communities of Christians I shall not much labour to perswade him that shall consider the â—ares of Puritantism to have been sowed together with the grain of Reformation in the Church of England This I will say that where visible Penance is exercised for sins of themselves visible and much more which the conscience of those who commit them makes visible there is a reasonable ground of presumption that those who see this done upon others will not advance to the communion of the Eucharist without visiting their own consciences and exacting competent revenge upon their sins though they use not the help of their Pastoâ—s in taxing it That vulgar Christians would have been moved voluntarily to seek the help of their Pastors in taxing the cure of their sins without seeing the practice of that medicine upon notorious sins which the discipline of the Church required who can imagine For nothing but example teaches vulgar people the benefit of good Laws Noâ— did secret Penance ever get the force of a general Law but by example But where there is no pretense of casting notorious offenders out of the company of Christians that thereby they may be moved to submit to the cure of their sinnes by satisfying the Church of their Repentance because the secular Power inforces no sentence of excommunication it is no Christian Kingdom or Common-wealth though Christians may live in it â—as Christians may be cast upon a coast that is not inhabited by Christians For he that believes not onely that there is a Catholick Church in the world but that he must be saved by being a member of it may and will find imperfection enough in those Laws by which the Keyes of the Church are imployed and exercised but if he find no reconciliation of sinne by the Keyes of the Church because no excluding of sinners from the communion of it will find no part of the Catholick Church there because no part of the Catholick Church was ever without it And therefore I must not fail to declare my opinion in this place that in a Christian Common-wealth if by any means those that are convicted of capitall crimes by Law come to escape death either by favour of the Law or by Grace of the Soveraign as many times it falls out and likewise all those that are convicted of crimes that are infamous having satisfied the justice of the Law ought to stand excommunicate till they satisfie the Church And for the same reason those whom the Church convicteth of crimes which civill justice punisheth not but Christianity maketh inconsistent with the hope of Christians being excommunicate upon such conviction ought not to be restored to the communion of the Church until by just demonstrations of their converâ—ion the Church be satisfied of them as qualified for
reconcilement with God For where there is means for those that are detected of notorious sinnes to be restored to the Communion of the Church without the hardship of Penance there can be no reason to imagine that those whose sinnes are secret will of themselves submit themselves to the Keyes of the Church to procure pardon or to assure themselves of it I find great reason to believe that at the first those sinnes which were brought under publick Penance by the primitive Church were onely those three great crimes of Murder Adultery and Idolatry which the Montanists and Novatians excluded from reconcilement by Penance and the branches that were reducible to the same For Pacianus Paraenesi ad Poenitentiam speaking expresly of this mater expresses no more But when the Empire was Christian and the Church became ingraffed into the State then was the Rule inlarged to all crimes that the Laws of the State made capital to which in point of conscience those that are infamous by Civil Law are not inferiour though being not so pernicious to the world they are not by Civil Law punished with death The Reformation of Ecclesiastical Law intended here under Edward VI. hath taken notice of these terms As for the Presbyterians that would so fain be authorized by the State to swagger domineer over the consciences of their poor Neighbors that they have not been ashamed to submit the Original power of the Church to an appeal to the secular which is in English to let Parliament men live as they list so themselves might be inabled to do what they listed with litle ones to give them the power of the Church is to destroy the Church the power whereof they pretend not to exercise to the curing of sin but onely to the abolishing of scandall which the Church never pretended to abolish but by curing the sinne And yet they must give me leave to ask further either how that conscience can be cured of sinne that is not wounded with it or how it can be wounded with it that is bound to believe the pardon of sinne before repentance So necessary it is that they be required to disclaim the remission of sinne and the opinion of saving faith without supposing repentance and the same to be procured by the Keys of the Church before we suppose them to be a Church CHAP. XI The Unction of the sick pretendeth onely bodily health upon supposition of the cure of sinne by the Keyes of the Church Objections answered The Tradition of the Church evidenceth the same BEfore I leave this point I am here to consider what Ecclesiasticall power it is and how well grounded which the Church of Rome pretendeth to exercise in extream Unction so called because it belongeth to the sick in extremity and being accounted by them in the number of the seven Sacraments is applyed unto the sick over and above the Sacraments of Penance and of the Eucharist The question of the Sacraments wherein the nature of them consisteth and by consequence how many of them there are I wholly set aside from the present discourse Because I conceive it will be determined more briefly upon more setled grounds all at once when I shall have discovered what powers they are which the Church indeed exerciseth by those actions which are or which may be pretended to be Sacraments But it is plain enough that the Church of Rome pretendeth also to exercise the power of the Keys in extream unction because according to the words of S. James afore quoted they assign the effect of it to be the remission of sinne On the contrary they who by the promise of bodily health to be restored to the sick upon the unction which the Apostle prescribeth do gather that the whole office there commanded was temporary as only intended for those ages when the miraculous grace of healing was in force in the Church by consequence do not admit any office to be incharged or any power estated upon the Church by it That which hath been premised to show that the circumstances of the Apostles words together with the originall and generall practice of the Church argueth aloud his intent to concern the exercise of the Keyes of the Church and the power of them towards those that are in danger of death ingageth my resolution to be this That the unction of the sick together with the prayers of the Church for the recovery of their bodily health which Christianity alloweth not without praying principally for the health of the soul is no way commanded by S. James but as an appertenance or an appendant to the exercise of the power of the Keyes in reconciling the sick to the Church whereupon the prayers thereof become due and therefore without further promise of remission of sinne or grace then that generall promise which the injoyning of prayer for the sick presupposeth The reason of this assertion is now to be deduced out of the Scriptures supposing for grounds those things which hitherto have been setled When our Lord sent his Disciples to preach the Gospel and to do those works that might witnesse them to be the Disciples of him that was sent by God it is said Mark VI. 13. That they cast out many Devils and annointed many sick with oyl and healed them Now it is evident that the miracles of the Apostles as did their Masters tended to one generall purpose by bodily cures to intimate the cure of sinne and the recovery of life and health to the soul which our Lord pretended to bring and tender them though by his works convincing them that he was the Messias whom they expected to bring them deliverance from their bodily enemies and the happinesse of injoying freely the Land promised by their Fathers Whereby we may see what consideration those Writers of Controversies have of the Scriptures that ground the unction of the sick which they will have to be a Sacrament of the New Testament upon this action of the Apostles when as the Gospel though now in preaching by the Apostles as well as our Lord yet was not established till his death past and accepâ—ed by God and by his resurrection declared to be accepted as the ratification of that ambassage of reconcilement and peace which he came to publish Far more discreet is that which the Council of Trent hath said that being intimated by S. Mark it is published by S. James At least if we understand the ground whereupon we maintain that the cure of sin is intimated by that bodily health which S. Mark relateth to have been restored by the Apostles For so indeed it is The bodily cures which the Apostles then did seemed to intimate that the imbracing and undertaking of Christianity is from Christs death forwards in consideration thereof the cure of the soul and the restoring of it from death to life Which if it be so then hath the Church no further power in the pardoning or abolishing of sinne then the absolute
secure them that put away their wives under the law in point of conscience to God And it is certain if that be true which I have setled in the second Book concerning the inward and outward the civill and spirituall obedience of God under Moses law and the difference between them that it could not alwaies do it For could he that knâ—w he put away his wife for â—ust or for wrath or for advantage think that he loved his wife whom all men know they are to love above others being bound to love all Israelites as himselfe But on the contrary he that had lighted upon a wife of crooked conditions and having done his reasonable indeavour to reclaim her had found her incorrigible how should he think he did her wrong using the power that Gods law had given him so moderately in putting her away Had God given them a Law which could in no case be used without sinne For had the nakednesse which the law allowed for a just cause of divorce signified nothing else but that which our Lord by his Gospel allows what question remains whither the conscience be secured by it or not But among Christians covenanting with God upon express promises of the world to come under a 〈◊〉 and more excellent rule of obedience with promise of helps proportionable to go through with it it is marvail if an obligation be acknowledged of bearing with patience the maners of the wife vvhich a man himselfe chuses never giving over the hope of reducing her to reason until she falsifie the trust of wedlock That when the mater is come to that point it should no more be mater of precept but mater of counsail to indure such a wife when the infamy of a mans bed my be saved and hope of reclaiming her may remain So that the question whether the meaning of Moses his words be the meaning of Christs is the same in this particular of mariage vvhich the Christians have generally with the Jews whether our Lord Jesus persiting the Lavv by bringing in the Gospell be the Christ or not The resolution whereof as it necessarily infers the difference between them which I have setled in the second Book so that difference vvill as necessarily inferre this provision of our Lord to be severall from that of Moses Out of Origen in Mat. VII a pleasant conceit is alleged Forsitan audax aliquis Judaicus vir adversus doctrine Salvatoris nostri dicet quoniam Jesus dicens Qui cunque dimi serit uxorem suam exceptâ causâ fornicationis facit â—â—â— machari permiâ—it uxo em dimittere quem ad modum Moyses quâ—m retulit propter duritiem cordiâ— Judâ—orum hoc prâ—cepisse Et hanc ipsam inquiet esse causam fornicationis per quam juste uxâ—r à viro dimittitur secundum quam Moyses praecepit dimitterâ— uxorem si inventa fuerit res turpis in â—â Perhaps some bold Jewish fellow may say crossing our Saviours Doctrine that even Jesus saying Whosoever shall send away his wife but for fornication makes her comâ—â—it adultery hath given leave to put a wife away even as Moses who he relareth did command this for the Jews hard-heartednesse And will say that this is the very same cause of fornication for which a wife is justly put away by a Husband according to which Moses also commands to put away a wife if a foul thirg be found in her Whence it is argued that there were then that expounded our Lords words to the same intent vvith Moses That there were Origen sayes not that there might be I grant But they must be Jews and adversaries to our Saviours Doctrine that should do it For he that should say so must blame our Saviour for pretending to contradict Moses vvhich Origen supposeth no Jevv could deny saying indeed the same thing Othervvise he must contradict the Synagogue for allowing divorce where Moses allowed it not if the soul thing which Moses allows divorce for be onely that fornication for which our Lord allows it Then he that would make use of Origen to prove that the terms of our Lord and of Moses may signifie the same thing must first answer the Argument wherewith he convinces him that thus should blaspheme our Lord. Adultery saith he is no cause of divorce but of death by Moses law therefore that dishonest thing for which the Law allows divorce is not adultery In fine he that examines all that is said or can be said of the diverse significations of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Scriptures will find but two the one proper in the case of man and wife the other by translation to the alliance between God and his people perpetually compared to a mariage all over the Scripture That this signification cannot take place here this may serve to evidence That the cause upon which our Lord allovvs divorce must be something betvveen the Wife and the Husband as it vvas in the Lavv For vvould it not be impertinent to punish transgression of Gods Covenant vvith dissolution of vvedlock The proper signification of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 indeed is larger in the Scriptures then according to the Atrick Greek to signifie all uncleannesse at the mater requires For vvhen S. Paul sayes 1 Cor. V. 1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for a man to have his Fathers wife would not have been 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in ordinary Greek But it is no marvail if the Jews that spoke Greek call all that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which their usuall language called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Syriack 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 So that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in our Lords words is exactly expounded by Hesychius and the Etymologick turning 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Who being Christians do usually expound that proâ—erty of the Greek which is usuall among Christians out of the Bible And this is demonstrated to be the signification here meant because it is not possible to show that ever there was any opinion rule or practice received in the Church that it is lawfull to divorce but in case of Adultery I do truly conceive that there was anciently a difference of opinion and practice in the Church whither it be lawfull to mary again upon putting away a wife for adultery or whether the bond of mariage remain undissoluble when the parties are separated from bed and bord for adultery But this difference argues consent in the rest that is that excepting the case of Adultery there is no divorce to be among Christians Neither do I now speak of the base times of the Eastern Empire of which I will give you such an account as I find most reasonable when I come to the difficulty that is proposed I say it may appear that the Church originally granted no divorce but for adultery whether the innocent party or whether both were allowed to mary again living the other or not It is acknowledged by our Author that Tertullian cont Marc. IV. 34. de Pudicitiâ— cap.
XVI both expounds our Lords words in this sense and determines against divorces out of them that Origen in Mat. Hâ—â— VII accepts them in the same sense and disputes for it That Clemens Alexandrinus Strom. II. sub finem condemns the divorces vvhich the Roman Lavvs then licensed and mariage upon them That S. Chrysostome in Mat. Hom. XVII and LXIII Libro de Virginitate Serm. I. de debitore X. millium S. Ambrose in Luc. lib. XVII S. Jerome Epist XXX in Mat. XIX S. Basil ad Amphil. Can. IX in Hexaem Hom. VII Asterius Hom. ult S. Austine de adulterinis conjugiis ad Pollentium â—ollovv the the same sense and deliver the same Doctrine vvhich seems to be also S. Gregory Nazianzâ—nes vvhen he calls a Wife 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 An evill which being gâ—â— is not to be lâ—t go The record is yet to seek that may shovv any such opinion in the Church and having escaped so diligent hands I may vvell challenge all the world to produce it For vvhereas it is said p. 155. that Origen ubi supra argues that there are faults no lesse destructive to any society or communion in wedlock then adultery is And therefore that adultery is named but as an instance in a sentence to be extended by reason of equity necessarily inherent in the case to all faults equally destructive to mariage I grant that Origen hath so argued and that Grotius out of whose Annotations upon Mat. V. 31. 32. all this dust hath been raised hath seconded him in it But it is one thing to say that by consequence of reason where the fault is no lesse destructive to mariage then adultery is there ought to be the same liberty of divorce Another thing to say that by the Leter of our Lords words all causes of divorce that Moses Law or the Civil Lawes of Christian Staâ—es allows are allowable in point of Conscience The one leaves the weight of the fault and the equality of it with adultery to be judged by the Church The other takes away the Church and the judgement of it which Origen never meant to do Again I say that those things which are disputed by Origen were never held of such consideration to the Church that either the opinion or much more the practice of the Church should be valued by them It is plain he was allowed so to argue but it is as plain that his arguments took no effect either in the opinion or in the practice of the Church As for S. Augustine who was so much perplexed whither our Saviour might not mean spiritual fornication in those words Retract I. 29. having delivered it for his opinion before in his exposition of the Seâ—mon in the Mount Will any man believe that he who so â—â—ifly holds that it is unlawful to mary after divorce for Adultery as S. Austin in his Books de adulterinis conjugiis ad Pollentium and elsewhere does can allow divorce for any thing but Adultery The truth is he that considers the businesse throughly shall see that it was that supposition that obliged S. Austine to this doubt as on the contrary the improbability of the doubt is that which chiefly renders the supposition improbable Which being a thing not yet observed so farre as I know and there being no means to judge what is in the power of the Church and what is not in matter of divorce otherwise I will go out of the way to debate rather to resolve it before I go forwards CHAP. XIV Scripture alleged to prove the bond of Mariage insoluble in case of adultery uneffectuall S. Paul and our Lord speak both to one purpose according to S. Jerome and S. Austine The contrary opinion more reasonable and more general in the Church Why the Church may restrain the innocent party from marying again The Imperial Lawes could never be of force to void the Power of the Church Evidence for it SOme texts are alleged to prove the bond of Mariage undissoluble which to me I confesse do not seem to create any maner of consequence S. Paul saith Rom. VII 2. The wife that is under a Husband is tied to her Husband living by the Law But if her Husband dye she is clear of her Husband So living her Husband she shall be stiled an aduâ—teress if she become another husbands But if her Husband dye she is free from the Law so as to be no adulteress if she become another Husbands Where say they it is plain that she who maries before her former Husband is dead is an adulteress As also in 1 Cor. VII 39. The wife is tied by the Law as long as her Huband lives but if her Husband fall asleep she is free to mary whom she please onely in the Lord. And yet it is manifest that S. Paul in the first place speaks according to the Law in the second according to Christianity and that there is no question that under the Law mariage might be dissolved Therefore the words of S. Paul are not superficially to be considered when he saith Rom. VII 1 Know ye not brethren For I speak to those that know the Law 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 For the meaning cannot be that the Law hath power of a man as long as the man lives that the Law hath power upon but as long as the man lives who hath power over him by the Laâ— As it is evident by the inference For the wife living is tied by the Law to her Husband but if her Husband die she is clear of her Husband And the compariâ—on froâ— which S. Paul argues holds thus As a wife is no longer tied to her Husband by the power which the Law gives him when he is dead so are not Christiâ—ns â—â—ed to God by the Power wâ—â—â—h the Law gives him when it is voided by the death of Christ but by the new bond which the Covenant oâ— Grâ—ce knitteth Now by the Law the bond of Mariage is not to be dissolved but by the will of the Husbâ—nd but if the Husband will it is dissolved by a Bill of divorce And therefore that exception is necessarily to be understood in S. Pauls words Which being understood it will be ridiculous to inferâ—e that therâ—fore the mariage of Christians is indissoluble Though diverse oâ— tâ—â— Fathers it is true hâ—ve thought it a good inference But among Christians when S. Paul sayes the wife is tied by the Law as long as her Husband lives his intent can require no more then that she is free when he is dead to mary again Not that she can no way be free while he is alive Again Eph V. 28-32 He that loveth his wife loveth himselfe For never did any man hate his own flesh but feed and cherish it as our Lord his Church For we are members of his body of his flesh and of his bones Therefore shall a man leave Father and Mother and cleave to his wife and they two shall become one flesh This mystery is
great but I mean in Christ and in the Church The mariage of Adam with Eve was intended by God for a figure and prophesie of the incarnation of Christ and his spiritual mariage with the Church by virtue of it as the Scripture wheresoever it speaks of the first and second Adam declareth Therefore as I said their mariage was an indissoluble union of one with one as the mariage of Christians which reviveth it Be the mariage of Christians then a Sacrament as much as any man would have it to be be it a commemoration if Adams was a prediction of the incarnation of Christ and of his mariage with the Church Let it contain a promise of Grace to them that exercise it as Christians should do it is therefore indissoluble in the point of right I confesse that is to say it is the profession of an obligation upon the parties to hold it indissoluble But is it therefore indissoluble in point of fact May not the obligation so professed be transgressed And is not mariage a civill contract even among Pagans and Infidels and that by Gods appointment And may not the Law which God â—â—ath restrained the mariage of Christians to presuppose the conditions of a civill contract And are not civill contracts void when one party transgresseth the condition on which they are made Or cannot mariage signifie the mariage between Christ and his Church cannot the observation of it oblige God to give grace unlesse we understand all such conditions thereby to be extinguished The union of the word with our flesh the union of Christ with his Church depends onely upon that effectuall Grace which himself purposed from everlasting because as I said upon supposition of our perseverance The union of Wife and Husband signifies it no lesse though the obligation being transgressed it may become void But how shall marying as a Christian should mary be the means to obtain Grace unlesse as well the union as that promise may be forfeited by transgressing the condition upon which it is made The cheife difficulty then lies in the words of our Lord Mat. V. 30. 31. XIX 3-9 in which I must in the first place consider that there are diverse things observable in them to show that our Lord though he declared not openly that the Gentiles should imbrace Christianity and the Jews refuse it yet neverthelesse propounds it so that he must be understood to intend it for the Gentiles so converted as well as for the Jews That of Origen in the first place For the Law appointing death for the punishment of adultery what need the exception of adultery to the Jews among whom divorce for adultery was death Secondly his words in S. Mark X. 11. 12. Who so â—utteth away his wife and marietâ— another committeth adultery against her and if a wife put away her Husband and mary another she committeth adultery For by the Jews Law though the Husband might put away his wife yet the wife could not put away her Husband And though Josephus report that Herods sister Salome sent her Husband a Bill of divorce yet he reports it as that which never was done afore and therefore cannot be thought to have come to a custome in our Lords â—ime Thirdly how could our Lord say according to the Jews Law that he who maried a woman divorced committeth adultery when as what hindred a man then to mary a divorced wife out of meer charity to keep her from committing adultery Lastly if we consider S. Pauls wordes whereby he teacheth as I have showed that the wife having the same interesse in the Husband as the Husband in the wife by the Christian Law the wife can no more leave her Husband then the Husband the wife 1 Cor. VII 1-5 I. 11. it will appear that his Doctrine extending to the condition of man and wife by the then Romane Law is derived as it must needs be derived from this sense of his Masters Seeing then that divorce not onely among the Jews but among â—he Romanes was alwayes understood to dissolve the bond of Mariage what appearance can there be that our Lord when he sayeth He that putteth away his wife unlesse for adultery and marieth another committeth adultery and he that marieth her who is put away committeth adultery intendeth not to extend the exception to marying again as well as to putting away And therefore that he who putteth away for adultery she who is not put away for adultery may mary again For if those whom he spoke to could understand nothing by divorce but that which they saw and the divorce which they saw or heard of inabled all parties to mary again then that divorce which the exception of fornication allows by our Lords law understanding that exception inables to mary again Two reasons are opposed from our Lords words First in S. Mark X. 12. S. Luke XVI 18. the exception is not expressed and yet it is said He that puts away his wife and maries another commits adultery To which it is answered That the Gospels are as S. Justine the Martyr calls them remembrances of the sayings and doings of our Lord the effect whereof was delivered to and received by them who were baptized as the Law of Christianity And that therefore in recording them it was thought enough to remember the heads of those things which were undertaken to be believed and observed That therefore all that undertake to expound the four Gospels do use to adde whatsoever any of them hath more then the one which he hath in hand to make up his sense In fine therefore that in this point the sense of our Lord is not to be measured by that which S. Mark and S. Luke hath lesse but that which S. Matthew hath more And therefore that when our Lord saith He that puts away his wife and maries again commits adultery And he that maries her that is put away commits adultery He is to be understood with this exception unlesse for adultery It is objected secondly That by this account she that is put away for adultery may mary again and neither her selfe noâ— he that maries her be chargeable with adultery which were a gross inconvenience that by the Law of our Lord a woman by committing adultery or man in like case should advantage himselfe to mary again with a good conscience For if it be true He that puts away but for adultery and maries again and he that maries her who is put away but for adultery commits adultery then will it follow that he who puts away his wife for adultery and maries another and he that maries her that is so put away commits no adultery To which I answer that it follows not that our Lord so saying should mean this consequence But rather that he who maries her that is put away for adultery commits adultery much more Though he who puts her away is no cause of it neither chargeable with adultery for marying again For if the Husband be
Epist IX ad Probum Statuimus fide Catholica suffragante illud esse conjugium quod primitus erat divina gratia fundatum Conventumque secundaemulieris priore superstite nec divortio ejectâ nullo pacto posse esse legitimum We decree the Catholick faith voting for it that to be mariage which first was founded upon Gods grace that was first made according to Christianity and that the wedding of a second wife leaving the first can by no means be lawful Which exception could possibly signifie nothing if in no case not of adultery a second could be maried while the first is alive And in the West Chromatius of Aquileia in Mat. V. as well as in the East Asterius Homil. an liceat dimittere uxorem the first damns him that shall mary again excepting adultery The second would have his hearers perswaded that nothing but death or adultery dissolves mariage But do I therefore say that the Church cannot forbid the innocent party to mary again or is bound by Gods law to allow it All Ecclesiastical Law being nothing but the restraining of that which Gods Law hath left indefinite And the inconveniences being both visible and horrible I conceive I am duly informed that George late Arch-bishop of Canterbury was satisfied in the proceeding of the High Commission Court to tie them that are divorced from marying again upon experience of adultery designed upon collusion to free the parties from wedlock having been formerly tender in imposing that charge The Greek Church may beter avoid such inconveniences not being tied to any Law of the Land but the tempering of the Canons remaining in the Governors of the Church But they that would not have the Lawes of the Church and the justice of the Land became Stales and pandars to such vilanies must either make adultery death and so take away the dispute or revive publick Penance and so take away the infamy of his bed and the taint of his issue that shall be reconciled to an Adulteresse or lastly bear with that inconvenience which the casualties of the world may oblige any man to which is to propose the chastity of single life in stead of the chastity of wedlock when the security of a mans conscience and the offence of the Church allows it not But though this in regard of the intricacies of the question and the inconveniences evident to practice may remain in the power of the Church yet can it never come within the power of the Church to determine that it is prejudiciall to the Christian faith to do so as by Gods Law And the Church that erres not in prohibiting mariage upon divorce for adultery will erre in determining for mater of faith that Gods law prohibites it so long as such reasons from the Scriptures are not silenced by any Tradition of the whole Church It is easie to see by S. Augustine de adulterini conjugiis II. 5-12 that publick Penance was the means to restore an adulteresse to the same reputation among Christians which an adulteresse that turned Christian must needs recover among Christians And that is the reason why the Canon of Arles orders that young Christians be advised not to mary again that their wives may be recovered of their adultery by Penance and so their mariage re-estated I see also that Justiniane Nov. CXVII hath taken order that women excessive in incontinence be delivered to the Bishop of the City to be put into a Monastery there to do Penance during life And supposing adultery to be death according to Moses Law the inconvenience ceaseth If the Civil Law inable not the Church to avoid the scandall of this collusion it is no marvail that the Church is constrained to impose upon the innocent more then Gods law requires to avoid that scandall which Gods law makes the greater inconvenience And thus having showed you that S. Austines interpretation of fornication is not true I have into the bargain showed you that it cannot serve to prove divorce upon other causes besides adultery and so the insolubility of mariage excepting our Saviours exception is as firmly proved as the consent of the Church can prove any thing in Christianity I know Origen argues that poysoning killing children robbing the house may be as destructive to the Society of Wedlock as Adultery And he thereupon seems to inferre that our Saviour excepts adultery onely for instance intending all causes equally destructive to wedlock as Grotius who follows his sense seems to limit it But Origens opinion will not interrupt the Tradition of the Church unlesse it could appear to have come into practice sometime in some part of the Church Neither would it serve his turn that would have those divorces which the secular Power allowes to extend to marying again For Origen never intended that his own opinion should bind but that it is in the power of the Church to void mariages upon other causes For he saith he knew some Governours of Churches suffer a woman to mary her former husband living Praeter Scripturam besides the Scripture And that as Moses permitted divorce to avoid a greater mischiefe But I may question whether they thought that against the Scripture which Origen thought to be against the Scripture And in the mean time as I do not see what breach his report can make upon the Tradition of the Church so it is plain the Power of the Church and not the secular did that which he reports And truly what the testimony of S. Austine extending that Adultery upon which our Saviour grants divorce to all mortall sinne but confining him that is so divorced not to mary another can avail him that would intitle the secular Power to create causes of divorce to the effect of marying again let all reason and conscience judge I shall conclude my argument Exceptio firmat regulam in non exceptis An exception settles the rule in all that is not excepted Either our Saviour intended that who had put away a Yoke-fellow for adultery should mary again or not If so he hath forbidden marying again upon other causes If not much more For though upon adultery he hath forbidden to mary again And thus is the Power of the Church in Matrimoniall causes founded upon the Law which our Lord Christ hath confined all Christians to of marying one to one and indissolubly whither without exception or excepting adultery For seeing that of necessity many questions must arise upon the execution of such a Law and that Civil Power may as well be enemy to Christianity as not and that as well professing to maintain it as professing to persecute it to say that God hath left the Consciences of Christians to be secured by the Civil Power submitting to what it determines is to say that under the Gospell God hath not made the observing of his lawes the condition of obtaining his promises This is that power which Tertulliane in several places expresly voucheth de Pudicitiâ cap. IV. Penes nos speaking
though we question whither it contain the due bounds of this prohibition as it was first delivered to mankind after the flood And hereupon well may wee answer with them that when Moses saith that for these abominations the seven nations were driven out before the children of Israel he is to be understood respectively to those abominations which were committed against the true intent of the prohibition of uncleannesse injoyned on all mankind but not to those things which we see were in use among the Fathers before the Law nor to whatsoever was committed against the first institution of Paradise Which if it be admitted then all that is established by the Law of Levit. XVIII will oblige the whole Church without dispensation by any power of it though not because by the act of giving the Law to the Israelites the Church is obliged but because there is more reason why Christianity should restrain that which was allowed by the Law then that the Law should restrain that which was allowed by the Patriarchs And upon this principle we shall not need to runne upon any inconvenience to obtain one degree of affinity and one of consanguinity to be unlawful for Christians though not expressed in the leter of the Scripture to wit the mariage of the sister to a mans deceased wife and that of cousin Germanes The former is thought to be secured by the Text of Levit. Thou shalt not uncover the nakednesse of thy Brothers wife it is thy Brothers nakednesse For the wives sister being as neer as the Brothers wife the one being prohibited and neernesse the onely reason of the prohibition the other cannot be licensed saving the reason of the Law Therefore the provision of Dâ—ut XXV 5-10 that the next of kin though a Brother should mary the wife of the Brother deceased so that the children should be in account of Law the children of the deceased All this signifies no more but that the Law being positive this exception is made to it by him that made it So that when it follows Levit. XVIII 18. Thou shalt not take a wife to her sister to vex her to uncover her nakedness beside her in her life time It is observed that in the Ebrue to take a wife to her sister is to take a wife to another wife And therefore that this Law is a prohibition of Polygamy at least when the taking of another wife may be an occasion to vex the former wife Not that a Jew was licensed hereby to mary his wives sister after her death This indeed was the interpretation of the Sadduces and of those Jews that admit no interpretation of the Law of Tradition but onely by the leter of it for which they are reproved by the Talmudâ—sts the off-spring of the Pharisees in the Book called Pesikta Though it is to me difficult to believe that the Sadduces of old or their successors the Scriptuary Jewes did thereupon tie themselves to one wife It is indeed difficult enough to give an evident reason of difference in nearnesse of blood wherefore the brother should be prohibited his brothers wife and the sister allowed her Brothers husband But it is one thing to alledge an inconvenience an other thing to answer an argument nor are we to presume that God doth nothing by his Law without acquainting them whom he imposed it upon with the reason of it Now this interpretation cannot subsist without overthrowing all that hath been said to show that Polygamy after the flood was first prohibited by Christianity For when thy Brothers wife is generally prohibited in Leviticus and afterwards licensed or commanded in case he die childlesse it is but a particular exception to a general But if in Ex. XXI 10. a man is supposed to have power of having more wives then one and by Lev. XXIII 10. injoyned to have no more then one in Deut. XXI 11-15-18 supposed to have more then one can these be thought reconcilable Certainly the tenor of these Lawes imports no such thing as dispensing but a liberty already in use which the Law restrains not but this Law would restrain if had it been thus meant And why should the Law say in her life time if the intent of it were that a man should not have two wives at once Could there be any question whether a man might mary a second wife or not Therefore that clause must be thought to be added to signifie that after death this Law forbids not to take the wives sister to wife And so that which Jacob had done before is by this Lavv forbidden to be done for the future For Jacob vvhen first he found that he had beded his vvives sister vvas innocent for all that vvas done but had been utterly disabled to have companied vvith any other for the future vvithout dispensation in this Lavv vvhich vve must imagine either to have come betvveen Labans proposition of marrying both and Jacobs assent or else to have gone before all the actions of like nature vvhich the Scripture testifies vvhereof vvhither is the more reasonable let any man of reason chuse As for the limitation added to the right of having more vvives then one under the Lavv Exod. XXI 10. vvhereby he that hath an inferiour vvife bought vvith his silver of Gods people is bound to pay her the benevoâ—ence due to a vvife though it make the mariage void by abuse of his right for it is said He shall let her go free vvhich implies the dissolution of the marriage yet it no vvay signifies that he vvas not able to mary her afore And vvhen the Prophet Mal. 11. 14. 15. 16. blames the Jevvs for oppressing their vvives out of love to strange vvives vvhich by the Lavv they might not have be this adultery if you please because such a mariage as I have shovved vvas ipso facto void be it treachery in transgressing his covenant vvith the first vvife yet did not he that took a second vvife so as to oppresse the first violate this Lavv of Levit. XVIII 18. For hovv can a mariage that is good and valid become void by oppressing but as an Ebrue slave that one maries is made free by the Law if she be not used as a wife and so no longer his wife that reliefe being onely provided by the law in that case Therefore when the Law saith to vex her it is not limitation but a reason which the Lavv follows in sisters because in them as it is more likely to come to passe so it is more unreasonable as in Jacobs example whereas being a perpetual attendant of Polygamy as in the wives of Elkanah it was not nevertheless admitted for a reason totally to prohibite it And therefore I say that I am no waies tied to give a reason why God who prohibited two Brothers to have the same wife should allow two sisters to have the same husband after death For the Lavv being positive as it is confessed by the dispensation introduced by the Law on
whereby they thought they held their estate whether of this world or the hope they might have of the world to come For my opinion obligeth me not to say that Idolatry was commanded by this law of Jeroboam or practised by all that conformed to it But that though not expresly commanded yet it followed by necessary consequence upon the introducing of the Law Not by consequence of naturall necessity from that which the terms thereof imported but by that necessity which the Schoole calls morall when the common discretion of men that are able to judge in such matters evidences that supposing such a Law it must needs and will come to passe CHAP. XXVI The Place or rather the State of happy and miserable Soules otherwise understood by Gods people before Christs ascension then after it What the Apocalypse what the rest of the Apostles declare Onely Martyrs before Gods Throne Of the sight of God I Come now to the nicest point if I mistake not of all that occasions the present Controversies and divisions of the Western Church the state of soules departed with the profession of Christianity till the day of Judgement The resolution whereof that which remaines concerning the publick service of God the order and circumstances of the same must presuppose This resolution must procede upon supposition of that which the first book hath declared concerning the knowledge of the Resurrection and the world to come under the Old Testament and the reservation and good husbandry in declaring it which is used in the writings of it The consideration whereof mightily commendeth the wisdome and judgment of the ancient Church in proposing the bookes which we call Apocrypha for the instruction of the Ca echumeni or learners of Christianity For these are they in which the Resurrection and the world to come and the happy state of righteous soules after death is plainly and without circumstance first set forth I need not here repeat the seven Maccabees and their mother professing to dy for Gods Law in confidence of Resurrection to the world to come 2 Mac. VII 9 11 23 36. nor the Apostle Ebr. XI 35-38 testifying the same of them and the rest that lived or died in their case But I must not omit the Wisdom of Solomon the subject whereof as I said afore is to commend the Law of God to the Gentiles that in stead of persecuting Gods people they might learn the worship of the onely true God For this he doth by this argument that those who persecute Gods people think there remains no life after this but shall find that the righteous were at rest as soone at they were dead and in the day of judgement shall triumph over their enemies Wisdome II. III. 1-8 V From hence proceeding to show how the wisdome of Gods people derives it selfe from Gods wisdome who so strangely delivered them from the persecutions of Pharaoh and the Egyptians for a warning to those that might undertake the like In particular the Kings of Egypt under whom this was writ and the Jewes most used the Greek The Wisdome of Jesus the sonne of Sirach pretending to lay down those rules of righteous conversation which the study of the Law the off-spring of Gods Wisdome had furnished him with is not so copious in this point though the precepts of inward and spirituall obedience and service of God from the heart which he delivers throughout can by no meanes be parted from the hope of the world to come being grounded upon nothing else And he proposeth it plainly from the beginning when he saith He that feareth God it shall go well with him in the end and at the day of his death he shall be blessed The very additions to Daniel are a bulwarke to the Faith of the Church when it appeares that the happinesse of righteous soules after death is not taken up by any blind tradition among Christians but before Christianity expressed for the sense of Daniels fellows in those words of their hymne O ye spirits and souls of the righteous blesse ye the Lord praise him and magnify him for ever And whatsoever we may make of the second book of Maccabees the antiquity of it will alwayes be evidence that the principall author of it Jason of Cyrene could never have been either so senselesse or so impudent as to impose upon his nation that prayers or sacrifices were used by them in regard of the resurrection if they believed not the being and sense of humane souls after death 2 Mac. XII 43. Proceed we to those passages concerning this point which the Gospell afford us and consider how well they agree herewith I will not here dispute that our Lord intended to relate a thing that really was come to passe but to propose a parable or resemblance of that which might and did come to passe when he said Luke XVI 19 There was a certaine rich man that was clad with fine linnen and purple and made good chear every day But I will presume upon this That no man that meanes not to make a mockery of the Scriptures will indure that our Lord should represent unto us in such terms as we are able to bear that which falls out to righteous and wicked soules after death if there were no such thing as sense and capacity of pleasure and paine in souls departed according to that which they do here I will also propose to consideration the description of the place whereby he represents unto us the different estate of those whom it receiveth And in Hell lifting up his eyes being in torments he sees Abraham from afarre and Lazarus in his bosome And afterwards And besides all this between us and you there is a great gappe fixed so that those who would passe from hence cannot nor may they passe from thence to us For I perceive it is swallowed for Gospell amongst us that Dives being in Hell saw Lazarus in the third heavens Whereas the Scripture saith onely 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the invisible place of good and bad â—oules For so the processe of the Parable obliges us to understand it Sâ—â—ing it would be somewhat strange to understand that gappe wherewith the place of happy soules is here described to be parted from the place of torments to be the earth and all that is between the third heavens and it The Jewes at this time as we see by the Gospell believing according to the testimonies alleged that righteous soules were in rest and pleasure and happinesse wicked in misery and torments called the place or state of those torments Gehenna from the valley of the sonnes of Hinnom neer Jerusalem where those that of old time sacrificed their children to devils burnt them with fire The horror of which place it appears was taken up for a resemblance fit to represent the torment of the wicked soules after death In like manner Gods people being sensible of Gods mercy in using meanes to bring them back to the ancient inheritance
God hath allowed them to tempt mankind and to dwell in the air about them Job I. 7. II. 2. Ephes II. 2. VI. 12. whereupon they desire our Lord not to send them into the deep Luke VIII 31. it seemeth necessary to grant that he will take account of them for the malice which at present he suffereth them to exercise though sentenced to that dungeon and those bonds which they can no more escape then be converted to goodnesse from the beginning CHAP. XXVII The Soules of the Fathers were not in the Devils Power till Christ Though the Old Testament declare not their estate Of Samuels soul The soul of our Lord Christ parting from his body went with the Thiefe to Paradise Of his triumph over the powers of darknesse Prayer for the dead signifieth no delivering of soules out of Purgatory The Covenant of Grace requires imperfect happinesse before the generall judgement Of forgivenesse in the world to come and paying the utmost farthing IT is manifest then by these premises that there is appearance enough of difference in and between severall Scriptures that concern the state of souls departed before the generall judgement Neverthelesse in this it cannot be said that there is any difference but that all is agreed that the wicked are in paine the righteous at rest upon their departure As the Parable of Dives and Lazarus distinguishes And this I should here proceed further to limit but that I hope to do it more clearly and resolutely premising here the determination of two points incident For it is manifest that all parties in difference do allow the hope of salvation to those Christians that depart imperfectly turned from their evil wayes and amended in their inclinations and actions Be it but for the example of the thiefe upon the Crosse though we suppose that as there is but one example written so there are few and very few examples come to passe yet seeing that which hath come to passe may come to passe againe and that the case cannot be excepted from the hope of salvation the question will be what becomes of those soules that depart hence in the state of Gods grace but burthened with sins which they have not repented of to amendment And because all that is to be said of happinesse after death must come out of the new Testament according to the premises It will be requisite to inquire in the second place in what condition the soules of the holy Fathers before and under the Law and those who by their doctrine and example did belong to the new Testament though they lived under the old as I have said in what condition of ease or sorrow they are between their departure and the generall judgement Which drawes an other question after it concerning the place where or the company which Christs humane soul was with during the time it was departed from the body For it is manifest that there is an opinion which hath very great vogue even among the Fathers that the soule of Christ was in Hell with the soules of the Fathers during that time and brought them along from thence when he rose againe carying them up into heaven with him at his ascension where ever since the souls of the martyrs and other eminent Christians which now are properly called Saints for in the writing of the Apostles Christians who are generally called Saints as in the old Testament Israelites are received when they depart hence Those that dy not in Gods Grace being condemned to hell torments But those who have not had care to cleanse themselves of sin by repentance and amendment remaining in the Suburbs of Hell as I may well call that place which the Church of Rome calls Purgatory till by the prayers of the living or having payd the debt of temporall paine remaining due when the guilt of sinne is done away with the debt of eternall paine they are removed to heaven and to the sight of God which is the same happinesse they shall injoy after the resurrection onely that the body hath no part in it as then it shall have That which the opinion which I have mentioned saith of the state of righteous souls under the Old Testament seemeth to stand upon those descriptions of the dead which it giveth The Prophet Esay describing the ruine of the King of Babylon Esay XIV 9. Hell or the grave from beneath is moved for thee at thy coming It stirreth up the dead for thee even all the leaders of the earth To what purpose is it here to dispute whether Hell or the Grave where it is so evident that the dead must rise to meet the King of Israel To what purpose to allege a figure of Prosopopaeia unlesse it could be understood that dead corpses could meet him and receive him without their souls The dead here are in the originall the Giants of whom we read Gen. VI. 4. that for the wickednesse of their times the World was condemned to the floud For though Moses call them Nephilim and Esay Rephaim Yet it is manifest that the same word is attributed to the dead because of the violence and wickednesse which the Scripture showeth were multiplied upon the earth by the Giants before the Floud and afterwards by the Giants that inhabited the land of promise whereupon the Scripture by calling the dead by the name of Giants signifieth that the Giants were under that death which God threatned Adams sinne with And doth not the Scripture of the Old Testament describe unto us the Fathers of the Old Testament in the same estate What shall we say of the soul of Samuel which the witch of Endor raises out of the earth if the Scripture say true 1 Sam. XXVIII 12 14. when the woman saw Samuel And Saul perceived that it was Samuel And that no man may say it is a witch and that he that went to a witch says it What shal we say to the language of Jacob I will go down to my sonne into hell mourning Gen. XXXVII 35. For his grief for Joseph would not have been enough to make him dy with sorrow had he died with Saint Pauls expectation to be with Christ so soon as he was dismissed And therefore the language of David Psal LXXXIX 4 -7 entertaining the thought of death with such astonishment seemeth to give credit to that grosse opinion that souls have no sense till the resurrection but sleep out the time As also King Ezekias weeping at the news of death because the dead could not praise God Esay XXXVIII 3 18. as also Psal VI. 6. and Baruch II. 17. And Job III. 13. makes his case had he never been born the same with the dead Not because he thought the soul mortall Therefore because he thought it a light that death puts out and the resurrection kindles it againe But all this is to be imputed to nothing in the world but that dispensation of the Old Testament which I have spoke of so many times and now
in opposition to the flesh seeing the soules of the Fatherâ— which by the dispensation of the Law appeared not freed from the Devin wâ—re indeed free by the Gospel uâ—der the Law it is no marvaile that â—ur Lord Christ represents his soule as in the power oâ— those who had the power oâ— death who â—aith This is your time and the time of the powers of darkenesse Doâ—h S. Paul make any more oâ— thâ—s text Heare his words Actâ— Xâ—Iâ— 34-37 That he raised him from the dead no more to returne to corruptioâ— thus he saith I will give you the sure meâ—cies of David Wherefore he saith also in an other Psalm Thou shall no suffer thine holy one to see corruption For David having served the counsaile of God in his generation fell asleep and was added to his Fathers and saw corruption But he whom God raised â—â—w no corruption He argues the mysticall sense in our Lord Christ 〈◊〉 the literall sense in David was come to nothing by his death but how the mysticall sense in our Lord Christ By his triumphing in Hell or by rising againe Therefore S. Paul againe Rom. X 6-9 thus wrâ—steth the words of Moses out of the Jewes hands to the establishing of the Gospel upon supposition that the law is the figure of it Say not in thy heart who shall goe up into heaven as Moses Deut. XXX 12. faith The Law is not in heaven that thou shouldest say would to God some body would bring it us from heaven that we might heare and doe it So saith he of the Gospel thou needest not say would to God some body would go up into heaven To wit to bring downe Christ Or who shall goe downe into the deep as Moses addeth The Law is not beyond sea that that thou needest say would to God some body would goe beyond sea and bring it us that we might heare and doe it So thou needst not say would to God some body would goe downe into the deep To wit to bring Christ up from the dead But what saith it The Law correspondent to the Gospell The word is neere in thy mouth and in thy heart That is the word of Faith which wee preach That if thou prâ—fesse with thy mouth the Lord Jesus believing with thy heart that God raised him from the dead thou shalt be saved Here it is plaine the deepe is not named for the place of the damned but for that place or for that state out of which it was hard to recover Christ supposing him dead As it was hard to bring the law from beyond the seas The deep I deny not represents to us the place of the damned Luke VIII 31. as also the parts that are under the earth Phi. II. 10. Apoc. V. 13. may comprehend also the dead Therefore the deep signifies the place of the damned not necessarily as here but because the speech is of the region of Devils of the sealing up of the devill in the deep Just as I said of the grave the pit and the place under the earth that when the scripture speakes of the Giants of the enemieâ— of Gods people of Davids enemies in Gods people it signifies either the place or at least the state of the damned which the Old Testament must needs acknowledg acknowledging the happinesse of Gods people Psalme IX 18. Proverbs V. 8 VII 27. IX 18. And so went Corah and his complices quick into Hell Num. XVI 30 33. So Psalme LV. 24. LXIII 10. The proper place of the dâ—mned spirits seemeth to be properly called by S. Peter Tartara when he saies that God delivered them to be kept for judgement 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in chaines of darkenesse being cast downe into Tartara or Hell 1. Peter II. 4. Now the state of death brings not Christian soules into Hell unlâ—sse wee suppose that the place of good souls under the Law which supposition I have destroyed Therefore the bringing of Christ from the deep is done by raising him again So quoting David againe Ephes IV. 8 9 10. Therefore he saith Psa LXVIII 17. Going upon high he led captivity captive and gave men gifts Now that he ascended what is it but that he first descended into the lower paâ—ts of the Earth He that descended is the same that ascended far above all things to fill or fulfill all things The Psalme speakes of the Arke going up into the Tabernacle or Temple figuring the going up of our Lord to the right hand of God as Psalme XXIV 6-10 XLVII 5. The going up of the Arke was Gods triumph over the Idolatrous nations whom he cast out of the Land of promise giving gifts to his people in it The going up of our Lord Christ S. Paul saies implies that he had come downe before into the lower pâ—rt of the Eearth Either in respect of mount Sinai upon which the Psalme describes God with that attendance which the aâ—ke the Cherubines thereof signifie his host of Angels in the words just afore Or we may well understand the lower parts of the earth to signifie by the figure of apposition the earth that is below as flumen Rheni Vrbs Patavii signifie the river Rhine and the City Padna For we have a peremptory instance in Psa CXXXIX 15 where David saith that he was fashioned in the lower parts of the earth speaking of his mothers wombe therefore meaning the earth below The ascension therefore of Christ pretending to fill rather then fulfill all with his graces of which he proceeds to speake requires no descent into hell which he pretends not to fill with his Graces If the resurrection ascension of Christ satisfie these texts so that they require no further descent then into the state of deaâ—h supposing what I said before of the soules of the fathers under the Old Testament I must needs conclude that the body of Christ being buryed his soule went with the good theifes soule into Paradise or the bosome of Abraham where the soules of the Fathers were refreshed of their travells till the first and then the second comming of our Lord. Paradise we know was the place of mans happniesse wherein he was created whence having sinned he was shut out In our Lords time Gods people it is plaine understood well enough the state of the righteous soules in the other world You have seene it out of those boâ—kes which we call Apocrypha Supposing the place unknown as indeed it is how could it be more properly signified then by the name of Paradise opening unto us the whole allegory by which the happinesse which wee seeke to recover by the covâ—nant of grâ—ce was expressed to us by God first in the Land of promise secondly in the Church after in the heavens after the redemption of our bodies The true Land of promise to which the Gospell and the Church secretly taught and built under the Law introduceth us because the Law cannot is that Paradise to which Christ restoreth Adam that was
course of life as he thinks may give him best meanes and opportunity of discharging the common profession of Christians though all Christians are not tied to professe the same shall he not stand bound to make it good upon the same ground for which Ananias and Sapphira are condemned in withdrawing that which they professed to consecrate to God But Saint Pauls instruction to refuse the younger widdows hath no answer Because when they grow wanton against Christ they will marry Having damnation as having set their first faith at nought 1 Tim. V. 11 12. For what can that first faith be but their promise ingaged to the Church whereby they dedicate themselves to the service thereof in the state of widows Under the Old Testament it is no mistake of the Jewes to believe that all Gods people were ordinarily under the precept of increase and multiply requiring of them the state of marriage Saint Angustine and other Fathers of the Church have found markes of it in the Old Testament It is not therefore to be imagined that there is either precept or precedent for the state of Monkes in the Old Testament Nor yet to be denied that Nazarites especially from the mothers womb that those women who kept guard at the Tabernacle Exod. XXXVIII 5. 1 Sam. II. 22. as Anna the daughter of Phanuel that departed not from the Temple serving God with fasting and prayer day and night Luke II. 37. that the Rechabites are instances and precedents of some principles and ingredients of their profession even under the Old Testament For if man and wife should now dedicate themselves to attend upon the poor sick and helplesse in hospitals or the like they would be no lesse The Prophets though under no perpetuall tye lived in a kind of Community with their disciples not for that knowledge of the Law which the Rulers of the people professed whom they were ordinarily in difference with and often times persecuted to death by them but for those rudiments of Christianity which by their meanes were kept alive under the Law The Rechabites being of the race of the Kenites which it seems upon Moses invitation to Jethro tooke part with the Israelites in the Land of Promise under the condition of worshipping onely the true God knowing what all strangers are subject to living under the dominion and protection of strangers received a Law from their predecessors not to have further to do in the world then their subsistence by the simplest sort of life by being shepherds required And being commended for obeying their Rule by the Prophet Jeremy from Gods mouth have much justified them who under Christianity do voluntarily put themselves under the like Rule out of a pretense the better to discharge their Christianity by that meanes During the time of our Lord there was a third sect of people among the Jewes whom we find no mention of in the Scriptures of the New Testament because they lived retyred out of the world some married others in single life both under a most strict observation of their Rule which you have in Josephus under the name of Essanes It is well enough known that Eusebius finding a relation written by Philo the Jew of that manner of life which they used in Egypt hard by Alexandria hath reported them for Christians and how this report hath been disowned of late yeares as a meer mistake of Eusebius or an ungrounded conjecture I who have showed that it is possible Philo himself may have been a Christian must not reject the opinion of those who think they might really be Christians converted by the first arrivall of Christianity in Aegypt For in the case which I spoke of there is no cause why they might not be both Jewes and Christians the separation of the Church from the Synagogue not being yet formed and when it was formed continue Christians forsaking the Synagogue And truly the mention of Virgines as of a peculiar order visible in the Church is so ancient in the writings of Tertulliane Methodius whose Book of Virginity is published of late and Saint Cypriane that it must needs be impossible to find any beginning for it For Tertulliane writing his Book De velandis Virginibus to prove that Order not exempt from Saint Pauls injunction that women vail their faces at divine service appeales to the custome of the Church at Corinth to which Saint Paul writ it as having alwayes observed it in Virgines And therefore the same Saint Paul directing him who had resolved to keep his daughter a Virgine 1 Cor. VII 37. seems to suppose this resolution to imply that education whereby she might be inabled so to continue For it is true the profession is difficult but not impossible for him to go commendably through with that by Gods grace undertakes it with that zeal which the end requires I do much admire the resolution of Gennadius De ' Dogmat. Eccles cap. LXIV that it is not the meer love of a continent estate which Christianity esteems unlesse it be chosen as the meanes and opportunity of serving God with the more freedome otherwise signifying rather the declining of mariage then the love of Chastity For. so it is indeed he that chuses a continent estate to avoid the difficulties of mariage seems rather to tempt God and to expose himself to many desertions waving the remedy which he hath provided But he who trusts to Gods assistance for the accomplishment of that intention which Christianity commendeth though it command not may assure himselfe of it not destituting his prayers of the indeavours which he may and is to contribute This being the case of particular persons that withdraw themselves from the world to make their salvation the more assured the interesse which accrues to the Church in them that do so seems to be no more then may be grounded upon the profession of such a purpose For so long as it is secret between God and the soul the Church can have nothing to do in it But being once professed and known to take hold the transgression thereof becoming notorious is a sinne which owes an account to the Church Not that the manner of this profession is any way provided for but by the custome of the Church For he that should actually and visibly declare such an intention by really entering upon the course and living according to it would become necessarily liable to that account for the transgressing of it which the solemnity renders due And therefore that solemnity reduceth it self to the nature of those ceremonies whereby actions of great consequence wherein the authority of the Church is exercised ought in reason to get reverence For by that meanes the parties concerned receive a due impression of the charge they undertake when God and his Church become rather parties then witnesses to it In the mean time they remaine in the Church what they were before private Christians onely professing such a course of life onely ingaged to God in
bodies the holy Ghost that dwelt in them here raiseth This is that precious pearle and that hid treasure this is that grain of mustard seed that leaven which being purchased at the price of all we have and sowed in the heart and layd up in the past of our thoughts makes all our actions fruitfull to the riches of everlasting happinesse This is that little spot of truth for the maintaining whereof so many bloudy fields of Controversies in Religion are and have been fought by soules that perish by maintaining division in the Church to the prejudice if not the losse of that truth for which they fight As the country alwaies suffers by the warre that is made for it All this while it is to be remembred that Baptisme tieth not onely to professe this faith unto death but to live according to Christianity Whether it be by virtue of Moses Law cleared by our Lord of the false glosses of the Scribes and Pharisees or by the New Law of Christ clearing the spiritual intent of the Old it is not necessary to salvation for a Christian to know For Irenaeus briefly distinguishing mater of Faith from mater of Knowledge in the Scriptures 1. 2 4. makes all that which concerns the reason of the difference in Gods proceeding under the Law and the Gospel to be mater of abundant knowledge not of necessary faith But it is necessary for the salvation of a Christian to know that by being a Christian he undertakes to suppresse mortify and prevent as far as in him lies even the first motions of concupiscence whether in the lusts of the flesh or the lust of the eyes or the pride of life as our Lord in the Gospel hath clearly laid forth howsoever the Law have expressed or intimated the same And this is that warre with the devil the world and the flesh for the keeping of Gods commandments which our Baptisme undertaketh For there is no difference in things to be done concerning a private Christian as a private Christian that seems to be any considerable ground of division in the Church The substance of our common Christianity in that part seems to remain without dispute In things that are to be believed it were well if it could be said so truly that there is no part of the rule of Faith in dispute In the meane time the substance of Christianity containing whatsoever it is necessary for the salvation of all Christians to know whether in matter of Faith or of maners whereof to speak properly the rule of Faith signifieth onely the first part consisteth onely in that which concerns a particular Christian as such whether to be believed or to be done But what then shall the beliefe of one holy Catholicke and Apostolicke Church in our Creed signify Onely that there are Christians in the world Shall a Christian be saved by believing that which all Christians see that there is a company of men that call themselves Christians Or shall it therefore be necessary to the salvation of all Christians to know that God hath founded the whole body of the Church consisting of all Churches for a Society and Corporation subsisting by his Law shall it concern the salvation of simple Christians to understand the nature of Corporations and to know how visible communion in Christian Offices makes the Church such a one believing that this comes by Gods appointment I do not imagine any such thing Indeed whosoever allowes no ground of difference between true Christians on the one side and hereticks and schismaticks on the other side cannot admit the belief of one Catholicke Church for an article of his Creed For had there never been heresie or schisme the communion of all Christians with all Christians going forwards without interruption the Church had been no lesse Catholicke then now that it is called Catholicke to distinguish it from heresies and schismes which prevailed sometimes in some places but never spread nor lasted with the Church But had there been no profession qualifying for communion with the Church Had there been no power in the Church to limit the Order and circumstance of Communion in the Offices of Christianity it could never have been visible whom a Christian was to communicate with professing himself bound by believing one Catholicke Church to communicate with it Because by this meanes it was visible and because being visible an obligation was acknowledged of communicating with it the profession of this obligation was to be part of the common Christianity which the Creed was to signify But when it is no more visible whom a Christian is to communicate with by reason of division in the Church what is it then that resolves whom a Christian is to communicate with That is indeed the question which this whole businesse intends to resolve For the Reformation having occasioned division in the Church the parties are both visible but which is the true Church remaines invisible so long as it remaines in despute For though it be not invisible to that reason which proceeds aright upon due principles yet that is not required of all Christians that would be saved And therefore if it be not visible to the common reason of all men it is invisible This I alledge to no further purpose then to show how much all parties stand obliged to procure the reunion of the Church as answerable for the soules that may miscarry by chusing amisse in that which Gods ordinance makes visible but mens disorder invisible to common sense For the more difficult the way of salvation proves by this meanes the more shall all estates stand obliged to clear it Let us then see wherein the difficulty of the choice consisteth let us see what satisfaction the parties tender common sense that salvation is to be had by leaving of them The Word and the Sacraments are the markes of the true Church So say the Doctors of the Reformation so say perhaps their confessions of Faith It were too long to dispute that But how are these markes distinctive For I suppose they pretend not to make known the Reformed Churches to constitute the true Church in opposition to the Church of Rome by markes common to both And will any common sense allow that the Church of Rome will grant that they have not the word of God or the Sacraments which they allow the Reformed to have If you adde the pure preaching of the Word and the pure ministring of the Sacraments you advance not a foot For is common sense able to judge that the Reformed way is pure that of the Church of Rome impure It judgeth that they who call it so think so Whether it be so or not it must come under dispute And appealing to the Scriptures it appeareth that common sense is not judge in the meaning and consequence of them upon which the resolution depends It is therefore manifest that the preaching of the word and the ministring of the Sacraments is no mark of the Church unlesse
to communicate All are bound to communicate once a year at Easter and before they do it to say they are sory for the sinnes they confesse undertaking the Penance which is injoyned not for cleansing the sinne but to remaine for Purgatory if they do it not here The like at the point of death with extreme unction over and above Within the compasse of this law Christians may fall into the hands of conscientious Curates and Confessors that shall not faile to instruct them wherein their Christianity and salvation consists and how they are to serve God in Spirit and in truth preferring the principall before the accessory rubbish of ceremonies and observations indifferent of themselves but which spend the strength of the seed and root of Christianity in leaves and chaff without fruit But they may also fall under such as shall direct them to look upon the virtue of the sacrifice that is repeated in the Masse and promise themselves the benefit thereof by the work done without their assistance To look upon their Penance onely as that which must be paid for in Purgatory if not done here To do as the Church does and to believe as it believes promising themselves salvation by being of communion therewith though it import no more then I have said Nay though they be directed such devotions as are common to God with his creature as spend the seed of Christianity in the chaffe of observations impertinent to the end of it On the other side departing thence to Congregations and Presbyteries what meanes of salvation shall a Christian have Two Sermons a Sunday and a prayer before and after each But whether it be the Word of God or his that Preaches whether Christianity allow to pray as he prayes or not no Rule to secure And whether Christian liberty allow that men be tied to serve God from Sunday to Sunday or not untill Gods spirit indite what every man shall say to God no way resolved A man may possibly light upon him that does not take justifying Faith to consist in beleeving that a man is of the elect for whome alone Christ died or that beleeving it presses the consequences which contradict his owne premises as if he did not But how easy is it to light upon him that drawes the true conclusion from the premises which he professeth and maketh meere Popery of the whole duty of a Christian Certainly the Church of Rome holdeth no error in the Faith any thing neare so pernicious as this That of transubstantiation is but a fleabite in comparison of it He who by reason of his education is afraide to thinke that the elements remaine is he therefore become incapable of the Spirit of God conveyed by the Body and Blood of our Lord in the Sacrament And certainely that is the prime Interest of our Christianity in it though the bodily presence of the elements is no way prejudiciall to the same But who so beleeveth he hath Gods Word for his salvation not supposing any condition requisite may think himselfe tied to live like a Christian but by no meanes but by holding contradictories at once Which though all men by consequence do because all erre Yet in matters of so high consequence to do it cannot be without prejudice to the work of Christianity and dangerous to the salvation it promiseth Nor can Baptisme or the Eucharist be Baptisme or the Eucharist but equivocally to them that allow the true consequence of this And shall any man perswade me that unlesse a man will sweare that which no man is able to show that a Christian may sweare he perishes without help for want of this communion so obtained Or on the other side that his salvation can be secured who to obtaine that meanes of salvation which Congregations or Presbyteries tender concurre to the open act of Schisme which they do So necessary is it for me to continue in the resolution of my nonage as being convinced upon a new inquiry that the meanes of salvation are more sufficient more agreeable for substance to the Scriptures expounded by the originall practice of the whole Church though perhaps not for forme in that meane then in either extreme This resolution then being thus grounded what alteration can the present calamity of the Church of England make in it to perswade a man to believe thosearticles which the Bull of Pius VI. addeth to the common faith to maintaine whatsoever is once grown a custome in the Church of Rome as for that service of God which it destroyeth Or on the other side to become a party to that expresse act of Schisme with misprision of Heresy involved in it which the erecting of Congregations and Presbyteries importeth Epiphanius mentioneth one Zachaeus in Syria that retired himself from communion with the Church to serve God alone If the force of the Sword destroy the opportunities and meanes of yeelding God that service which a mans Christianity professed upon mature choice requireth shall it be imputable to him that desiring to serve God with his Church he is excluded by them who ground their communion upon conditions which the common Christianity alloweth not Or to them by whom he is so excluded I can onely say to the scattered remaines of the Church of England whose communion I cherish because it standeth upon those termes which give me sufficient ground for the hope of Salvation which I have cherished from my cradle that the Ecclesiastical Laws of the Church of England being no longer in force by the Power of this world are by consâ—quence no longer a sufficient Rule for the order of their communion in the offices of Gods service In which Order the visibility of every Church consisteth Not as if the nature of good and badde in the matter of them had suffered any change but because being the mean to preserve unity in the service of God upon those termes which the Law of the Land inforced they are no sufficient meane to preserve it upon those termes which onely our Christianity requireth To wit that it be distinct from Congregations and Presbyteries as well as from the Church of Rome Which in my opinion making it necessary to the salvation of every Christian to communicate with the Catholicke Church that is with a Church which ought to be a member of the whole Church is of great consequence For neither is it actually and properly a Church the order whereof in the service of God is not visible Nor is there sufficient meanes in that case for the effect of a Church and of that visible order in which the being of a Church consisteth towards the salvation of those who are of it or might be of it And this is that which must justify that which I have done in speaking out so farre what I conceive the Rule of Faith what the Lawes of the Catholick Church require to be provided for in every Church and every estate For if they be not wanting to themselves to their