body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup. Here we are plainly taught that it is still bread when it is eaten And our Saviour calls the wine the fruit of the vine Matt. 26.29 But I say unto you I will not drink henceforth of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's Kingdom Our Lord here shews us that this was the fruit of the vine and wine when he drank it And our eyes and hands and mouth do testify to us that the bread and wine in the Sacrament are bread and wine when we eat and drink them and it would be nonsense and madness to think that our blessed Saviour eat his own body and drank his own blood and gave them also to his Disciples that they might eat and drink them too We are taught that there is but one Christ and that he cannot be divided Ephes 4.5 6. One Lord saith the Apostle one faith one baptism one God and Father of all And 1 Cor. 1.13 saith he Is Christ divided Hereby shewing that he cannot be divided And Christ is the only begotten Son of God and is but one Joh. 3.16 But according to the Doctrine of the Romish Church that will have Christ to be wholely in every bit of the consecrated bread there will be millions of Christs directly contrary to the sacred Scriptures We are also taught that Christ is in heaven at the right hand of God and that he is to abide there till he shall come to judge the World at the last day Acts 1.11 This same Jesus said the Angels which is taken up from you into Heaven shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into Heaven And till we see him come in this visible and glorious manner we are to know that he is not bodily present here upon earth And saith the Apostle Act. 3.20 And he shall send Jesus Christ which before was preached unto you whom the Heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things And he tells us that he is at the right hand of God Rom. 8.34 And there we are to know that he is to abide until these times of restitution when and not before God will send him again to judge the World And therefore it is plain that Christ cannot be bodily present in such a multitude of places here upon earth at one time as the Papists would have him to be contrary to these places of Scripture and contrary to all the reason and understanding of man We are taught that Christ's body is glorified and spiritualized and made incorruptible Phil. 3.20 For our conversation saith the Apostle is in heaven from whence also we look for the Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ who shall change our vile body that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body And saith he again 1 Cor. 15.42 So also is the resurrection of the dead It is sown in corruption it is raised in incorruption it is sown a natural body it is raised a spiritual body Our bodies are to be made glorious bodies like Christ's body and our bodies are to be made spiritual and incorruptible bodies which shews that Christ's body is such And he is to return no more to corruption as the Apostle saith Acts 13.34 And how then can the glorified and spiritual and incorruptible body of Christ be eaten by men and return to corruption again This Doctrine of the Church of Rome we see is flat contrary to the sacred Scriptures and to all the sense and reason and understanding of man And as for those Words of our Saviour Matt. 26.26 This is my body We may see that this is a very common and ordinary way of speaking to call things by the names of those that they signify and represent The Paschal Lamb is called the Lord's Passover Exod. 12.11 And ye shall eat it in haste it is the Lord 's Passover This was to signify and to be a Sacrament of the Lord 's passing over the houses of the Israelites when he saw the blood of this Lamb upon the Door-posts and not suffering the destroying Angel to enter into them but the Lamb was still flesh as is said ver 8 and could not be the Lord 's passing over the houses of the Israelites but only as a Sacrament and Rite to signify this Action of passing over them and shewing them Mercy when the Egyptians were destroyed Pharaoh's kine are said to be years of time Gen. 41.26 The seven good kine are seven years And the seven thin and ill-favoured kine that came up after them are seven years But these kine could not be years of time any otherwise than that they signified so many years of plenty and so many years of scarcity that were to come The bones which Ezekiel saw are said to be the whole House of Israel Ezek. 37.11 Then he said unto me Son of man these bones are the whole House of Israel behold they say our bones are dryed But here we see that no more is meant hereby but that this vision of bones was to represent and signify the House of Israel By these and many more Instances we may see that this is a common way of speaking And hereby it is plain that by these words This is my body we are to understand that this bread was to be a Sacrament and Signification of his Body For we see and are taught by the sacred Scriptures that it is bread still as I have shewed Again our Saviour saith that he is a door John 10.7 And men may as well argue for a Transubstantiation here as upon those other words of his But how ridiculous would a man make himself that should from hence affirm That Christ after he spake these words was turned into a perfect door and that his body was no more flesh and bones but changed into as real a door as ever moved upon hinges Our Saviour saith that he is a vine Joh. 15.1 And men may as well argue for a Transubstantiation from hence as from the other place and say that Christ after these words was no more a man but was then changed into as real a vine as ever grew in the ground and bore grapes But to talk after such a vain and whimsical manner as this is more fit for mad and distracted persons than for such as pretend to Sobriety and Understanding VIII Their worshipping of the Bread and Wine in the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper is contrary to the Word of God and gross Idolatry We see that the Bread and Wine are bread and wine still after Consecration tho' they be consecrated and set apart to a sacred use And our Saviour and his Apostles have given us no Command nor Example to worship them And this is to make them Idols and is contrary to a multitude of places in the sacred Scriptures This is flat contrary
death fall like trees and cannot afterwards alter their condition And saith our Saviour Joh. 9.4 I must work the work of him that sent me while it is day the night cometh when no man can work And this night we may be sure will come at death tho' our Lord here may have some respect to Persecution too And saith St. Paul Phil. 2.12 Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling Here the Apostle doth plainly shew that every one is to work out his own Salvation here in this World and exhorts us to do it with exceeding great care and lets us plainly see that it is not to be done by the Prayers and Absolutions of others after we are dead And saith the Apostle Heb. 3.13 But exhort one another while it is called to day Hereby also shewing that our work is to be done here before death And at the great Day of Judgment every one is to be judged according to the things that he hath done here in the body 2 Cor. 5.10 For saith St. Paul we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ that every one may receive the things done in his body according to that he hath done whether it be good or bad According to the things done here in the body in this world are men to be judged at the last day and here is no regard that is to be had to the matters of Purgatory which shews that there is no such place And after death we may see that the righteous cease from their labor and are at rest and therefore are not laboring and tormented in the fire of Purgatory Job 3.12 13. Why did the knees prevent me or why the breasts that I should suck For now should I have slept then had I been at rest with Kings and Counsellors of the earth And ver 17. There the wicked cease from troubling and there the weary be at rest Job concluded that he should be at rest as soon as he was out of this troublesome world and that other righteous men should be so too and yet he had perfect knowledge of a world to come Job 19.25 And Daniel was to be at rest Dan. 12.13 But go thou thy way till the end be for thou shalt rest and stand in the lot at the end of the days And saith the Prophet Isaiah 57.1 None considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come He shall enter into peace From evil here in this world is the righteous man taken and when he departs hence he enters into peace and rest And saith the Apostle Heb. 4.9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the People of God For he that is entred into his rest he also hath ceased from his own works as God did from his Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest least any man fall after the same example of unbelief A rest remaineth to the People of God after this life is ended and here we are to labor that we may enter into it And saith St. John Rev. 14.13 And I heard a voice from Heaven saying unto me Write Blessed are the dead which dye in the Lord from hence forth yea saith the Spirit that they may rest from their labors and their works do follow them Those that dye in Christ are blessed and happy and are then to rest from their labors and not to be tormented in Purgatory 2 We may conclude from hence also that there is no Purgatory because the body has need to be purified as well as the soul and must be purified before it goes to Heaven but the body is not purified in Purgatory and therefore we may conclude that the soul is not purified in any such place It is more likely that the body should be purified in such a fire than that the soul should be so but the body lyes here in the grave with us until the resurrection and is not purified by Purgatory And yet the body must be purified before it can go to Heaven For the Apostle hath told us That flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of Heaven and that corruption doth not inherit incorruption 1 Cor. 15.50 But our bodies are to be glorified and spiritualized by our blessed Lord. Phil. 3.20 For our conversation is in Heaven from whence also we look for the Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ who shall change our vile body that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body according to the working whereby he is able to subdue all things unto himself The body is to be purified before it can go to Heaven but it is certain that the bodies of men dead are in the grave and not in Purgatory and that the bodies of the righteous are to be changed and glorified by our blessed Saviour and we may be sure also that the souls of the righteous are purified by him When we by the grace of God have done what we can to purify our souls we may be sure that our blessed Saviour will complete this purity and present them without spot before the Throne of God as I have shewed before This clear proof before our eyes that the bodies of men departed are not in Purgatory but in monuments and graves here upon earth doth make it more evident that there is no such place as Purgatory but that it is a vain Fiction and a meer Fable All Receptacles of the dead shall at the last day deliver up the bodies of men that are in them and are there to remain till that day according to John's Vision Rev. 20.13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it and death and hell or the Grave delivered up the dead which were in them and they were judged every man according to their works In the several receptacles where the bodies of men are and shall be reposed and laid up are they to abide till the general day of Judgment and are then and not before to be delivered up And if there were any need that men should be purifyed in Purgatory before they can be fit for Heaven there would be the same need and necessity that the last generation of men should be purifyed herein before they could be fit for Heaven But we are taught by St. Paul that at the last day the dead shall be raised up and that the living shall then be changed and so go with them strait to Judgment to meet the Lord and that the righteous shall from thenceforth abide with him for ever 1 Cor. 15.51 Behold saith he I shew you a Mystery we shall not all sleep that is die but we shall all be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye at the last trump for the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible and we shall be changed That is those of us that shall be then living And 1 Thess 4.15 saith he For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord That we which are alive and remain unto
commanded to do And the same we may see is required under the Gospel that the common People should still be instructed in the Law and Word of God Our blessed Lord hath taught us this both by his own Practice and by positive Command For he himself read the Scriptures in the Synagogues and commanded his Apostles to teach all Nations his Precepts and Commands Luk. 4.16 And he came to Nazareth where he had been brought up and as his custom was he went into the Synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up for to read And there was delivered unto him the Book of the Prophet Isaias This we see he usually did and hereby he hath shewed us that it is our duty to do so and to do what we well can to instruct all People in the Word of God and not to keep them in ignorance of it And our Saviour bid the Jews to search the Scriptures and from thence to instruct themselves Joh. 5.39 Search the Scriptures for in them ye think ye have eternal life And saith he Matt. 13.9 Who hath ears to hear let him hear And he commanded his Apostles and Ministers to go and teach all Nations to observe all his Commands and not their own Matt. 28.19 20 Go ye therefore saith he and teach all Natitions Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you And Mar. 16.15 And said unto them Go ye into all the World and preach the Gospel to every creature The Gospel and Word of God is to be preached to every Creature and no one is to be kept in ignorance and deprived of it that would hear it And St. Paul gives command that his Epistles should be read to all the Church and not be kept from the common People Col. 4.16 And when this Epistle saith he is read amongst you cause that it be read also in the Church of the Laodiceans and that ye likewise read the Epistle from Laodicea And saith he to the Thessalonians 1 Thess 5.27 I charge you by the Lord that this Epistle be read unto all the holy Brethren Such order and such a charge doth he give that his Epistles should be read unto all Christians that all might hear them and that they should not be kept from the knowledge of any persons And he commands Timothy to be diligent in reading the Word of God to those under his care 1 Tim. 4.13 Till I come saith he give attendance to reading to Exhortation to Doctrine He is to give attendance in reading the Word of God to his Flock as well as in Exhortation and Doctrine By these and such places we may plainly see that it is the Will and positive Command of Almighty God that his blessed Word should be made known to all Men even to the common People and that it is a chief part of the Office of all Pastors and Governors to take diligent care to instruct those that are under them herein And God did in an extraordinary manner enable the Apostles to speak strange Languages for this very end and purpose That they might preach his Word to all People in their own Tongues which they understood as we may see in the Acts of the Apostles And this also shews that all men ought to have the Word of God in their own Language that they understand We may also see that the Scriptures were written for Instruction Admonition and Comfort and that the ignorance of them is the cause of Error Rom. 15.4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime saith St. Paul were written for our learning that we thro' patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope And 1 Cor. 10.11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples and they are written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the World are come But how can the common People and the generality of Men receive Instruction Admonition and Comfort by them if they are industriously kept from them flat contrary to the design for which they were written And saith our Lord Matt. 22.29 Ye do err not knowing the Scriptures We may also see that the sacred Scriptures are recommended to us as the surest Guide of our Lives as the only Book of Wisdom and that a Blessing doth await all those that carefully read them with a hearty desire to learn and practise what they read therein Psal 19.7 The Law of the Lord is perfect saith the Psalmist converting the Soul The testimony of the Lord is sure making wise the simple The statutes of the Lord are right rejoycing the heart The commandment of the Lord is pure enlightning the eyes And Psal 119.9 saith the Psalmist Wherewith shall a young man cleanse his way By taking heed thereto according to thy word And ver 98. Thou thro' thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies for they are ever with me And ver 105. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path The Word of the Lord when well read and minded will enlighten the eyes and make Wise the simple and Foolish and is to be read and known by them And St. Paul commendeth Timothy for his knowledge of the holy Scriptures from a Child 2 Tim. 3.15 And that from a child saith he thou hast known the holy Scriptures which are able to make thee wise unto salvation thro' faith which is in Christ Jesus This early knowledge of the holy Scriptures had Timothy and hereby we see that Children are to learn them And all good men are to make them their daily study and Meditation Psal 1.1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly But his delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law doth he meditate day and night And saith St. John Rev. 1.3 Blessed is he that readeth and they that hear the words of this Prophecy and keep those things which are written therein for the time is at hand By these and such places we may clearly see that all men ought to know and understand the blessed Word of God and not be kept in ignorance of it and that the Word of God is not to be kept in an unknown Tongue from them that the common People cannot read it This is but to put out People eyes that they may lead them more easily at their own pleasure and to keep them from seeing their gross Errors And this is a grand piece of wickedness against Almighty God for the Romish Church to take upon them to over-rule his Divine Commands and to disannul the Decrees of Heaven at their own pleasure This I think can well be deemed no other but flat Hostility and open Rebellion against Almighty God himself Thus to intercept and seize upon his Divine Laws and Commands and to suppress them that they may not become known to Men that they may fulfil them And instead thereof to issue out their own Commands that they may be observed and kept To tell men that they must
And the Prophet Isaiah having set forth the great Majesty of Almighty God in a high and lofty manner asketh to whom he may be compared and sheweth that Images cannot represent him Isa 40.15 Behold the Nations are as a drop of a bucket and are counted as the small dust of the ballances behold he taketh up the Isles as a very little thing And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt-offering All Nations before him are as nothing and they are counted to him less than nothing and vanity To whom then will ye liken God Or what likeness will ye compare unto him The workman melteth a graven Image and the Goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold But saith he ver 21 Have ye not known It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth and the Inhabitants thereof are as grashoppers that stretcheth out the Heavens as a curtain and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in That bringeth the Princes to nothing he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity To whom then will ye liken me or shall I be equal saith the holy One God is cloathed with Honor and Majesty and covered with inaccessible Light and is an invisible Being that cannot be beheld with mortal eyes Psal 104.1 1 Tim. 6.16 And how then shall he be represented by sordid Images that are much more base and vile than our selves These we see would be a great reproach to Almighty God and highly injurious to him and therefore are by no means to be used And our blessed Saviour is to be worshipped as he is God and therefore no Image can be made to represent him And his body too is now glorified and spiritualized and not to be represented by an earthly Image And the Saints departed are either separated Spirits or else have their bodies glorified and made incorruptible and therefore cannot in any meet manner be represented by a dead and senseless Image and they are not to be worshipped themselves and much less their Images We are strictly commanded not to bow down to any Images or Similitudes whatsoever nor to perform any other Religious Worship and Service to them such as the building of Temples and rearing up of Altars to them the lighting of candles or lamps before them in a Religious way the making of Prayers or Religious Addresses to them and returning them Praise the offering of Sacrifices and burning of Incense to them the making of Vows to them or swearing by them the shewing of any reverential fear towards them and placing any trust and confidence in them the performing of any such Religious Service towards them or joyning with those that do so is clearly forbidden by the sacred Word of God And the worshipping of Images and all such Idolatry is as well forbidden by the New Testament as the Old Our blessed Saviour hath taught us in his answer to the Devil that God alone is to be worshipped and served Matt. 4.10 For it is written saith he Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him only shalt thou serve And saith St. James concerning the Gentiles Act. 15.20 But that we write unto them that they abstain from Pollutions of Idols And ver 29 That ye abstain from meats offered to Idols And saith St. Paul 1 Cor. 10.7 Neither be ye Idolaters as were some of them And ver 14. Wherefore my dearly beloved flee from Idolatry St. Peter also shews Idolatry to be a grievous Crime 1 Pet. 4.3 And saith St. John 1 Joh. 5.21 Little Children keep your selves from Idols Amen Idolatry we see is strictly forbidden by the New Testament as well as the Old And it is plain by the sacred Scriptures all along that Images that are made for worship are Idols and that the worshipping of them is Idolatry Psal 115.4 saith the Psalmist Their Idols are silver and gold the work of mens hands They have mouths but they speak not eyes have they but they see not We may plainly see that these Idols were Images And so again Psal 135.15 And saith St. John Rev. 9.20 And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands that they should not worship Devils and Idols of gold and silver and brass and stone and of wood which neither can see nor hear nor walk And this place as Dr. More sheweth respecteth the Romish Church it self It is evident from all these places and many more that the worshipping of Images and such Idols is a very sinful thing Again we may see that God commanded that the Worshippers of other Gods should be put to death as not fit to live any longer and to deter all others from the committing of such gross and notorious Impiety And such Gods were for the most part Images and such Idols That man or woman that had gone and served other Gods was to be stoned to death Deut. 17.2 And that Prophet or Friend or Relation that went about to draw them to serve other Gods was to be put to death Deut. 13 1-5 And that Prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death because he hath spoken to turn you away from the Lord your God And ver 6 If thy brother the son of thy mother or thy son or thy daughter or the wife of thy bosom or thy friend which is as thine own soul entice thee secretly saying Let us go and serve other Gods which thou hast not known Thou shalt not consent unto him nor hearken unto him neither shall thine eye pity him neither shalt thou spare neither shalt thou conceal him But thou shalt surely kill him Thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death and afterwards the hand of all the people And thou shalt stone him with stones that he dye And the City that fell to Idolatry was to be destroyed ver 12. If thou shalt hear say in one of thy Cities saying Certain men the Children of Belial are gone out from among you and have withdrawn the Inhabitants of their City saying Let us go and serve other Gods which ye have not known Thou shalt surely smite the Inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword And thou shalt gather all the spoil of it into the midst of the street thereof and shalt burn with fire the city and all the spoil thereof Idolaters are here called the Children of Belial and were all to be put to death for committing such abominable wickedness and to deter and fright others from committing the like and their City and Goods were to be burnt as accursed things so detestable is this sin to Almighty God And such as we may plainly see is all Image-worship Again we may see that God commanded that all Images as well as all other Idolatrous worship should be destroyed And the Jews were strictly commanded to do this Exod. 23.24 But thou shalt utterly overthrow them and quite break down their Images
see is flat contrary to the express Word of God In these matters concerning Marriages it is clear that their Practice is not agreeable to the sacred Word of God XII Their Doctrine of Purgatory and their Masses and Prayers and Absolutions for the delivering of men from thence are not agreeable to the sacred Scriptures And first we may see that the places alledged to prove these will prove no such thing Our Saviour hath told us Matt. 12.32 That whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven him neither in this world or age neither in the world or age to come But this place doth not prove that any sins shall be forgiven in another world which are not forgiven in this This only shows that no pardon at all was to be granted to this sin And so it is explained in St. Mar. 3.29 But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness but is in danger of eternal Damnation This place in St. Matthew is clearly explained to us by the Spirit of God how we are to understand it and nothing like Purgatory we see can be drawn from it And we may see that such expressions as these in the Scriptures prove nothing at all to this purpose Our Saviour saith concerning the man that was born blind Joh. 9.3 Neither hath this man sinned nor his parents But this is no proof that other men do sin before they are born into the World Nor does this place prove that sins shall be forgiven in another world which are not forgiven in this And if some sins were to be forgiven in another World that would belong to God and men here upon earth have nothing to do to order the affairs of the World to come and are in ignorance as concerning the State and Condition of the greatest part of particular men tho' something may be known concerning a few And great arrogancy and vanity it is for men here to pretend to order the affairs of the World to come and another life Again saith our Saviour Matt. 5.25 26 Agree with thine Adversary quickly whilest thou art in the way with him lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge and the judge deliver thee to the officer and thou be cast into prison Verily I say unto thee thou shalt by no means come out thence till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing Here our blessed Saviour doth exhort and persuade men to repent and amend their lives and to make satisfaction for all the Injuries and Wrongs that they have done to others while it may be done here in this World and lets them know that if they do not take this wise course to make satisfaction now they shall hereafter be dealt with with great rigor and severity like one that suffers the extremity of the Law and is not released from prison till he hath paid the uttermost farthing that was due from him These words till thou hast paid do not prove that such an one shall be released but are rather to be understood of lying in hell for ever But here is nothing like Purgatory and no proof that men shall be delivered from thence by Absolutions and Prayers and Masses c But this place instead of proving of Purgatory is a strong argument to prove that there is no such place For here we see that our Saviour doth exhort men to take such a course in due time that they may not be cast into prison and if they will be wise betimes and take care he sheweth that men may escape this prison and not come into it at all And when men are cast into this prison he doth plainly affirm that they cannot be discharged from thence by Absolutions nor be begged and bought out thence by Prayers and Masses c. Again we read of the Holy Jerusalem Rev. 21.27 That there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth But this is no proof at all that men must be purged in Purgatory after death And the Word of God doth plainly teach us that we are to be purged and cleansed other ways We are cleansed and sanctified by Baptism by the Word and Spirit of God and by the blood of Christ and not by Purgatory after death 1 Cor. 6.11 But ye are washed saith St. Paul but ye are sanctified but ye are justified in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God And saith our Saviour Joh. 15.3 Now ye are clean thro' the Word which I have spoken unto you And Ephes 5.25 saith the Apostle Even as Christ also loved the Church and gave himself for it That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word That he might present it to himself a glorious Church not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing but that it should be holy and without blemish And saith St. John 1 Joh. 1.7 But if we walk in the light as he is in the light we have fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin Here we see how men are cleansed and purified and made fit to enter into the Holy Jerusalem And here we see that there is no need of Purgatory and that men are not cleansed and purified this way but that they are purified by the Ordinances of Christ by repentance and forsaking of their sins and evil ways by being baptized into the Christian Religion and living of holy and innocent lives according to the Doctrine and Commands thereof and by the precious blood of Christ and by the Holy Spirit of God These Texts of Scripture do plainly prove to us that there is no such place as Purgatory because there is no need of it and men are not cleansed and purified by it but are purified by other ways and means Nothing like Purgatory can be gathered from this place in the Revelation chap. 21. ver 27. Again saith St. Peter 1 Pet. 3.18 19 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins the just for the unjust that he might bring us to God being put to death in the flesh but quickned by the Spirit By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison And these Spirits the Papists would have to be in Purgatory and that Christ by his Spirit went to preach to them But this will prove nothing to their purpose For these are those sinful Wretches that were disobedient in the days of Noah and then it was that Christ preached to them by his Spirit in Noah and the righteous men in those days And thus saith St. Peter ver 19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison Which some time were disobedient when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah while the Ark was a preparing And while the long-suffering of God waited for their repentance in the days of Noah then it was that Christ preached to them by his
the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep For the Lord himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout with the voice of the Archangel and with the trump of God and the dead in Christ shall rise first Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and so shall we ever be with the Lord. The last generation of men shall be changed and so go strait away to meet the Lord and to Judgment and the righteous of them are then to abide with the Lord for ever and they go not to any Romish Purgatory And they prove to us that there is no necessity of any such place and that in truth and reality there is no such place at all 3. We may see that it is not our duty to pray for the dead and that our Prayers in such cases are like to avail nothing and therefore that Prayers and Masses and Absolutions for the dead are altogether vain We have no Example in the Word of God for any such practice and we may see by David's Example that we are not to pray for the dead 2 Sam. 12.23 But now he is dead saith he wherefore should I fast I shall go to him but he shall not return to me Here we see that David ceased from all religious duties upon the account of the Child as soon as he knew that he was dead and concluded that it was now to no purpose for him to Pray and Fast for it any more And saith St. Paul 1 Thess 4.13 But I would not have you ignorant brethren concerning them which are asleep that ye sorrow not even as others which have no hope For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him The Apostle here forbiddeth immoderate sorrow for the dead and sheweth that good men do sleep and rest in Christ and shall be raised up again But here is not a word of Purgatory or of praying and saying Masses for the dead where the Apostle speaketh of the concerns of the dead And the Scriptures do shew that Prayers and Masses and Absolutions cannot profit the dead Psal 49.7 saith the Psalmist None of them can by any means redeem his brother nor give to God a ransom for him For the redemption of their soul is precious and it ceaseth for ever That he should live for ever and not see corruption And saith God Ez. 14.14 Tho' these three men Noah Daniel and Job were in it they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness saith the Lord God By these places we may see that it is very great Vanity to pretend to deliver the Souls of men in another World seeing such pious and holy men and such favourites of God were not able to effect any such deliverance in this World And the Apostle tells us plainly That every one shall bear his own burden Gal. 6.5 But to be delivered by the Services of others is not to bear ones own burden We may see that Prayers and Masses and Absolutions for the dead are very vain and that it is not our duty to pray for them 4. We may see that all men are reduced to two sorts viz. the Righteous and the Wicked That there are but two ways for them to go to happiness and to misery That the Righteous enter into a state of happiness upon their departure hence and go not into torment and punishment and that the Wicked enter into a state of misery and are never like to be released out of it And therefore that there is no such place as Purgatory where men shall be tormented for a time and afterwards released from it The sacred Scriptures do all along rank men into these two sorts of Righteous and Wicked tho' sometimes by other names as the Evil and the Good the Just and the Unjust the Saints and the Sinners the Children of God and the Children of the wicked One Believers and Infidels c. Under these two sorts doth our blessed Lord comprehend all men Matt. 5.45 That ye may be the Children of your Father which is in Heaven For he maketh his sun to rise on the Evil and on the Good and sendeth rain on the Just and on the Unjust that is upon all men And so Matt. 13.49 and 25.33 We may see also that there are but two States of Life which men are to enter into after death the one of joy and happiness the other of sorrow and misery Matth. 7.13 saith our Lord Enter ye in at the strait gate for wide is the gate and broad is the way which leadeth to destruction and many there be which go in there at Because strait is the gate and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life and few there be that find it And Matt. 18.8 Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee cut them off and cast them from thee It is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire And to this effect Mar. 9.43 And again Matt. 25.21 46. In all these and the like places we see that there are only two places and States for men to enter into after death the one of joy and happiness the other of torment and misery and that all men are like to enter into one of these two States of Life and that there is no third State and Condition for them to enter into Again we may see that the Righteous and just after their departure hence do enter into a State of Joy and Happiness and therefore that they are not tormented in Purgatory They enter then into rest as I have shewed before and therefore not into Purgatory And of Lazarus in the parable it is said that he was carried presently after death into Abraham's bosom Luk. 16.22 And it came to pass that the beggar dyed and was carried by the Angels into Abraham's bosom And we may be sure that Abraham the Friend of God is not in Purgatory and torments And this place sheweth as much because the rich man went to a quite different state to hell and torments and Lazarus's condition is opposed to his and he is said to be comforted and therefore certainly not in misery and torments ver 25. But Abraham said Son remember that thou in thy life time receivedst thy good things and likewise Lazarus evil things but now he is comforted and thou art tormented Here we see in this parable that Lazarus was carried strait away after death into Abraham's bosom into a place of comfort and joy and that he went not into any such place as Purgatory And hereby are we instructed that all righteous men shall be conveyed as soon as they are dead to a place of comfort and joy And our blessed Lord commended his spirit into the hands of God the Father when