body his body is put under the species of bread and then in a place a part from that body of his he by force of these words This is my blood doth put his blood in the Chalice under the shape of wyne like blood poured forth and separed from the body 3. Again Ieremy 33. v. 18. There shall not faile of David a man to fitt upon the throne of the house of Israël And of the Priests and Levits there shall not faile from before my face a man to offer offerings and to kindle meat offerings and to do sacrifice continually By such sacrifices as then were known God expressed the continuance of true sacrifice in his Church there must not then fayle now Priests and Levits offering a true sacrifice 4. Now God speaks thus expresly to the Priests of the old Law I have no will in you sayth the Lord of Hostes and an offering I will not receive of your hands Malachy 1. v. 10. So that the former Text must needs be understood of Priests offering continually Sacrifices in the new Testament But now a cleane Sacrifice not a bloody one therefore here in the next verse it followeth for from the rising of the Sunne even to the going down great is my name among the Gentles And in every place incense shall be offered to my name and a pure offering to wit the pure offering and cleane Oblation of Christs body under the sweet and lovely shape of bread and wyne into which all those Holocausts burnt-offerings and killing of Victimes were turned though Ieremy used these termes because they as then knew no other sacrifices as they knew no other Priests and Levits but such as were killers of Victimes in a bloody manner But it is very observable that the same Prophet Malachy speaking in the third chapter of the coming of the Messias and the Lord whom ye seek v. 1. doth allso tell us clearly this then shall the offerings of Iuda and Ierusalem be pleasant unto the Lord v. 4. although before he had so flatly sayd to the Priests of Iuda and Ierusalem I have no will in you and offerings I will not receive at your hands Whence it is evident that by the pleasing Sacrifice of Iuda and Ierusalem he meaneth not the carnall but the spirituall Iuda and Ierusalem that is Christs Church where sacrifice is to be done continually as we did now say out of Ieremy 5. In the very last yeares of the world Antichrist knowing the chiefe worship of God to consist in this Sacrifice shall so mightily labour to abolish it that he shall seem for a very short time to have prevailed Daniel 9.27 And in the half of the weeke shall the Host and the Sacrifice faile and there shall be in the Temple abomination of desolation which last words our Saviour himself expoundeth to be understood of the end of the world Matth. 24. What signe of thy coming and of the Consummation of the world Sayd the Apostles to him v. 3. Our Lord telling many other signes at last sayth v. 14. This Ghospel shall be preached in the whole world and then shall come the Consummation thereof therefore when you shall shee the abomination of desolation which is spoken of by Daniel the Prophet c. This then shall not happeÌ„ untill the world is eveÌ„ come to the end and the Ghospel shall have been preached every where 6. According therefore to the practice of the Law of nature in time of Melchisedech and according to the practice and manifest prophecies in the written law exteriour Sacrifice which from the beginning of the world was ever held the chief and peculiar worship due to God is allso to be found in the Church of Christ from the rising of the Sunne to the going down even till the worlds end when Anti-christ for a short time shall in great part abolish it Lett us then see the Sacrifice that Christ a Priest for ever according to the order of Melchisedech did institute in his Church Luke 22. v. 19. This is my body which is given for you Now given in this very present time and now by me offered in an vnbloody manner he sayth not to you but for you that is for your sins which body presently after I wil offer in a bloody Sacrifice upon the Crosse Behold here a Sacrifice and a propitiatory Sacrifice For what is offered for us and offered for remission of sins is a propitiatory offering applying plentifully the satisfaction of Christs Passion to us not derogating from that Sacrifice but deriving the fruits thereof to us Thus his body is properly sayd given for us But when it is given in the Sacrament it is sayd given to us not for us This Sacrifice the Apostles were offering to our Lord Act. 13.2 when they are sayd to have been ministring to our Lord. Had they been ministring the word of God or ministring the Sacrament they had ministred to the people But they had not been ministring to our Lord that is offering some thing to him In the Greeke text it is they beeing offering Sacrifice to our Lord. And so Erasmus translats it 7. This Sacrifice is plainly insinuated in S. Paul 1 Cor. 10. if his discourse be well noted He there discoursing of the Iewish and Heathnish Sacrifice doth conclude that all such persons as will be partakers of these Sacrifices can not be made partakers of the Christian Sacrifice of the Body and Blood of our Saviour First then v. 14. he bids them fly from serving Idols by eyther Sacrificing to them or eating of that which hath been Sacrificed to them If they will doe this he tells them of a farr better Sacrifice of which they may be made partakers at our Altars For sayth he v. 16. The Chalice of benediction which we do bless is it not the Communication of the Blood of Christ And the bread which we break is it not the partieipation of the Body of our Lord And having thus taught them that by vertue of the Priests Benediction or Consecration the true Body and Blood of Christ are made communicable upon our Altars under the shapes of bread and wyne he goeth on to tell them they can not be partakers of this Sacrifice if they will continue still to partake of eyther Iewish or Heathnish Sacrifices of which they truly make themselves partakers if they will still eat of that which is sacrificed by them For behould Israël sayth he v. 18 they that eat of the sacrificed Hosts are they not partakers of the Altar For by thus doeing they communicate with those that Sacrifice And having thus spoakeÌ„ of the Iewish Sacrifices he speaks to them of the Gentills Sacrifices But the things which Heathens do Sacrifice to Divels they Sacrifice and not to God And I will not have you have fellowâ—hip with the Divels as you will if you eat or partake of what is imolated to theÌ„ and will drink the Libaments offered out of theyr cup. For sayth he you can
in another a greate way of And so to goe seeking from the beginning of Genesis to the end of the Apocalipse And this though the number of Pointes necessary to saluation be but smale as Protestants all agree I can not therefore thinke is was Gods intention te leave us to the Bible only as to the sole Rule of Faith THE SECOND POINT Tradition besides Scripture must direct us in many necessary Controversies 1. FIrst the word of God may be notified either by Tradition with out writing or by Scripture or writing It is undoubted that the word of God written or unwritten is the Rule of Faith wherefore seeing it hath been proved in the former Point that the writteÌ„ word of God is not our only Rule of Faith it evidently followeth that Gods unwritten word notified by Tradition must be taken as part of this Rule 2. Secondly Moyses was the first Scripture writer and he according to his own story did not write till the world had continued above two thousand and four hundred yeares so long then all the faithfull in the world were truly faithfull without any Scripture All this long time then the unwritten word of God that is Tradition was the only Rule of Faith For even then many had that faith which is defined by S. Paul 11. Hebr. 1. which I prove because in that very place he numbers Abel Enoch Noë Abraham and Sara all having the faith he there described and yet Sara cannot be shewed to have had her faith grounded on any other word of God but that which was delivered by the Tradition of the Church in her times And generally then the faith of all true beleivers was grounded upon Tradition only By this Tradition they knew that God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it Gen. 2.3 And so all held themselves obliged to keep the Saboth By this Tradition they knew the distinction of Beastes cleane and uncleane Gen. 7.2 By this Tradition they knew themselves obliged not to eate the flesh with the blood Gen. 9.4 so likewise that the Tithes were to be pâ—yd to the Priest Gen. 14.20 By only Tradition they knew the fall of Adam theyr future saluation by the Messias to come theyr remedy from sinne by Pennance and repentance theyr reward of Good punishment of evell Againe from Abraham untill the written law that is for some foure hundred yeares they knew by Tradition only that this is the Covenant which ye shall keep between me and you All man kind shall be circumcised an infant of eight dayes Gen. 17.10 Now give me one Text if you can which bide us not to take Tradition for a Rule of Faith after the writing of Scripture 3. Thirdly even after the writing of Scripture the Gentils had not the Scripture yet by Tradition only many of them as apeares by the booke of Iob retained true faith And even among the Iews after they had the Scripture several necessary Pointes where left to be knowne by Tradition only as the remedy for Original sinne before the eight day and for woemen children both before and after As also by only Tradition they knew that all the vertue there sacrifices had to take away sinne was from the blood of theyr Redeemer to come The observing of al these traditions was not any unlawfull Addition to the written word of God whence you may understand the clere meaning of those words so often objected against us Deut. 4.2 You shall not adde to the word I command you neither shall you diminish ought from it For here is only forbidden to add contrary to the law So that other place Ch 12.32 Whatsoever I command you observe thou shall not adde thereunto nor diminish from it For this place is meant only of offerings not any other sacrifices besides those which were in the law prescribed But it was ever lawfull for lawfull Superiors to add more preceps agreable to the law So 2. Ch. 30.21 after the Children of Israël according to the law had kept the solemnity of Azymes seven dayes v. 23. The whole assembly took good counsel to keep other seven dayes And v. 27. Theyr prayer came to the Holy habitation of heaven This addition then did not displease God Again Esther 9.27 The Iews ordained and tooke upon them and theyr seede and upon all that would be ioyned with them so as it should not faile that they keep these two dayes and that these dayes should be kept through out every Generation every family Behold here an other addition and behold also an other again of the Dedication of the Altar made for eight dayes from yeare to yeare 1. Mach. 4.56.59 And that you may know that this booke is Scripture or at least that a feast is to be kept not appointed in Scripture our Saviour himselfe did keep this Feast Iohn 10.22 as I shall shew Point 38. Again the change of the Sabboth into the Sunday is only clearly known by Tradition Yea the manner of keeping it is contrary to all Scripture we have for Scripture sayth Levit. 23.32 From Even unto Even shall ye celebrate Your Sabboth Yet we do not begin the Sunday the even before neither dare wee worke after the even upon Sunday Who taught us this Tradition only 4. Fourthly Tradition is and therfore is truly to be held the word of God making us fully assured of what is not written For example for some yeares after the Death of our Saviour his glorification after death was not written so as to expresse that Iesus was that Christ whom God had glotified and yet before this was written S. Peter sayd truly Acts 2.36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly marke the word assuredly that God hath made the same Iesus whome you have crucified both Lord and Christ We may then have an infallible faith of what is not written yea we are forbidden to believe otherwise then was delivered by Tradition 2. Thess 2.14 Therefore Bretheren stand and hold the Traditions you have bin taught whether by word or by our Epistle For what he taught by his tongue only was as truly the word of God as what he did also write with his penne Yea this which I call Tradition is the Epistle of Christ 2. Cor. 33. you are the Epistle of Christ not written with inke but with the spiritt of the living God This Epistle written with the spiritt of the living God is no lesse true nor of lesse credit then what is writteÌ„ with inke in papers Whereforemost of the Apostles did give their Convertites no other forme of beliefe but what by their preaching they had written in theyr heartes not with inke but with the spiritt of the living God For the proper subject to receive and râ—â—ayne the word of God is not paper but the heartes of the faythfull Whence S. Irenaeus lib. 3. cap. 4. What if the Apostles had also left no Scripture Ought not we to follow the order of Tradition which they delivered to them to
1. Kinges 18.22 I even I only remaine a Prophet of our Lord. And in the next Chap. v. 10. I even I only am left which again he repeates v. 14. I answer that at lest he is told presently by God v. 18. That there were left in Israël seven thousand men whose knees had not bin bowed before Baal And in the former Chapter it is manifest he knew of an hundred Prophets For v. 13. Abdias told him I hidd of the Prophets of our Lord an hundred men by fifty and fifâ—y in caves Wherefore he knew well that there were many faithfull amongst whom so many Prophets were known to him yea hence it is cleare that he was not the only Prophet left Wherefore those words I only I remaine a Prophet of our Lord are to be understood thus I only I remaine a Prophet standing openly to oppose theyr fury amongst the Apostated Tribes of Israël For Elias knew full well that not all the Children of Israël but only tenne Tribes were faln from God 1. Kinges 12. He knew allso that the still faithfull Tribe of Iuda including Benjamin afforded Roboam an hundred and four seore thousand chosen men to fight against the other revolted tenne Tribes v. 21. which is again repeated 2. Chron. 11. with a notable declaration how much the true Church even then florished in Iuda and Benjamin Roboam himselfe building fifteene cities inclosed with walls And v. 13. the Preestes and Levits that were in all Israël resorted to him out of all theyr coasts And v. 16. Of all the Tribes of Israël whosoever had given theyr heartes to seeke theyr Lord God of Israêl came into Ierusalem to sacrifice and they strengthned the Kingdome of Iuda All this Elias knew very well and also that which follows to witt that Asa reigned over all Iuda in all pietie and peace 2. Chron. 14. And he built other fenced cities in Iuda And v. 8. Asa had of Iuda an army of three hundred thousand and of Benjamin two hundred eighty thousand And he defeated tenn hundred thousand Ethiopians And 2. Chr. 17. Iosaphat who lived in the day 's of Elias was yet greater then Asa his Father both in piety and power For v. 10. The Dread of our Lord came about all the Kingdomes of the Lands that were about Iuda Neither durst they make battell against Iosaphat And he built many strong cities and stupendious was the number of his forces v. 14. of Iudath under Abnath Three hundred thousand and two hundred eighty thousand under Iohanan And two hundred thousand under Amasias And two hundred thousand under Ehada And two hundred eighty thousand under Iosobad All these make Eleven hundred thousand and sixty thousand soldiers And yet the Scripture sayth All these were at the hand of the King besides others whome he had putt in Walled cities in Iuda Behold the Iewish Church even at her lowest ebbe Christ's Church is the Mistris and of higher dignity Wherefore at all times after her beginning you must find me at lest as many visible Professors of her doctrine as the Iewish Church had in her meanest coÌ„ditioÌ„ For the new testameÌ„t is established in far better promisses Heb. 8.6 As also appeares by the texts which here shall be cited All which texts coÌ„vince such a perpetuall coÌ„spicuous and visibly florishing state at all times that no church differing from the RomaÌ„ caÌ„ be shewed to have had any thing like it 3. The other only considerable objection is that perhapes these promises made by God to his Church concerning his allwaise protecting her were made upon this condition that he would do this if she should persever to keep his commandments for so all his promises to David and Salomon are made I answer that it is evideÌ„t that some promises which feeme made to them and their posterity are not to be litterally understood of their posterity according to flesh but as they by grace be sonnes of Christ who was the sonne of David And diverse of these promises are made so absolutly that absolutely they admit of no such condition Take for proof hereof that convincing Text Ps 89.4 I have made a covenant with my chosen I have sworne to David my servant thy seed will I establish for ever and I will build up thy throne to all generations All which is only verified in Christ Who in his Church hath giveÌ„ hâ—m the seate of David his father and he shall reigne in the house of Iacob for ever and of his Kingdome there shall be no end As the Angel sayd Luke 1.32 After this promise of everlasting perpetuity to his Church lest any ony should thinke his promises might be made void by any sins of hers or to be made only upon condition of theyr walking in his commandments he addeth in the same Ps v. 29. And I will putt him the first begotteÌ„ high aboue the kings of the earth I will keepe my mercy unto him for ever and my Testament faithfull unto him I will putt his seede for ever and ever and his throne as the days of heaven But if his Children shall forsake my law this can not be possibly in your doctrine spoken of the Elect and will not walke in my Iudgments If they will prophane my Iustices and not keep my commandments I wil visit theyr iniquities with a Rod and theyr sinnes with stripes But my loving kindness I will not take a way from him nor suffer my faithfulness to fail My covenant will I not break nor the thing which is gone out of my Lips Once I have sworn in my holy if I ly to David his seed shall continue for ever And his throne as the Sun in my sight and as the Moon perfect for ever This Text speakes home to prove what I inteÌ„d to witt that these promises be made upon Christ The son of David the son of Abraham Matth 1.1 and as S. Paul teacheth that only those who believe in Christ be the rue children of Israël and Abraham so they only be the true children of David and concerning them is verified the promise which as is here sayed for no fins of theirs shall ever be frustrated Not as though the word of God had takeÌ„ no effect but they that are the Children of the Promisse are counted for the seed Rom. 9.6 4. And in this sense the Sacred Text speakes 2. Sam. 7.16 And thine house and thy Kingdome shall be established for ever before thee thy throne shall be established for ever According to all these wordes did Nathan speake to David So Psalm 72.5 They shall feare thee as long as the Sun and Moone endure through out all generations He shall have dominion allso from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the Earth In whom can these Texts of Scripture be verified but in Christ ever raigning in his Church diffufed even in a florishing condition over the face of the earth According to what is sayd Luke 1.32 The Lord God shall give
him the throne of his father David And he shall reigne over the house of Iacob for ever by having still the Kingdome of his Church consisting of those true Israëlits of whom S. Paul spoak and of his Kingdom or Church there shall be no end 5. Isaias every where is very full to this purpose Chap. 49. v. 14. And Sion sayd our Lord hath forsaken me and our Lord hath forgotten me Why can a woeman forget her infant that she will not have pitty on the Sonne of her wombe And if she should forgett yet I will not forgett thee Behold I have written thee in my handes And again Ch 54. v. 9. As in the day 's of Noë is this thing to me to whome I swore I would bring in no more the waters of Noë upon the earth so have I sworne not to be angry with thee nor to rebuke thee For the mountaines shall sooner be moved and hills tremble But my mercy shall not depart from thee and the covenant of my peace shall not be moved sayd our Lord thy Miserator Poore litle one shaken with tempest with out all comfort behold I wil lay thy stones in order and will found thee in Saphires and I will put the Iaspar stone for thy munitions Again Ch. 60. v. 15. I will make thee the pride of worlds a Ioy unto generation and generation v. 18. Iniquity shall be no more heard in thy land wast and destruction in thy borders and saluation shall occupy thy walls and prayse thy gates Thow shalt have no more the Sunne by Day neither shall the brightness of the Moon illighten thee these are to meane lightes for thee but the Lord shall be to thee an Everlasting light and thy Lord God for thy glory Thy Sunne shall go down no more and thy Moone shall not be diminished because the Lord shall be unto thee an euerlasting light and the dayes of thy mourning shall be ended Again Ch. 61.6 You shall eate the strength of Gentils and in theyr glory You shall be proude Everlasting Ioy shall be to theÌ„ I will give theyr worke in truth and make a Perpetuall Covenant with them And they shall know theyr seed in the Gentills Al that shall see them shall know that these are the seed which the Lord hath blessed Again 62.3 Thou shallt be a crowne of glorie in the hand of our Lord and the Diademe of a Kingdome in the hand of thy God Thou shalt no more be called forsaken and thy land shall be called no more Desolate But thou shalt be called my will in her aÌ„d thy laÌ„d inhabited because it hath well pleased our lord in thee and thy land shall be inhabited Thy God shall rejoyce upoÌ„ thee upoÌ„ thy walls IerusaleÌ„ I have placed watchmeÌ„ all the day and all the night for euer they shall not hold theyr peace See here the continuall visibility of the church in her watchmeÌ„ and Pastours of which consequently there must be a perpetuall successioÌ„ And v. 8. Our lord hath sworne by his right hand and by the arme of his strenght if I shall give thy wheate any more to be meate to thy enimies and if the straÌ„ge ChildreÌ„ shall drinke thy wine And he concludeâ—h v. 12. Thou shalt be called a citty sought for and not forsaken That the true Church allso shall have a perpetuall successioÌ„ of Priests and Levites is cleerly expressed in the last chapter of Isaias in wich after the Prophet had named Africa Lidia Italy Greece and the Ilands a farr of he addeth v. 21. And I will take of them to be Priests and Levites sayth our lord for as the new heaveÌ„s and the new earth which I make to stand before me so shall staÌ„d the seed of your name Note that these Levites be now not by birth but by electioÌ„ ordeyned to be such out of severall couÌ„tries Italy Greece and other IlaÌ„ds which names your bible avoids to traÌ„slate 6 S Ieremy is no lesse copious C 30. v. 11. Though I make a full end of al natioÌ„s yet I will not make a full eÌ„d of thee but I will correct thee in measure The church indeed may be chastised for a while but never be brought to consuÌ„matioÌ„ For C. 31.35 Thus sayth our lord that giveth the Sunn for the light of the day the order of the moone and the starrs for the light of the night c. If these laws shall faile before me sayth our lord theÌ„ also the seed of Israël shall faile froÌ„ beeing a natioÌ„ before me for ever If the heaveÌ„s aboue shall be able to be measured and the fuÌ„datioÌ„s of the earth to be searcht out I also will cast a way al the seed of Israël Again C. 32.38 And they shall be my people and I will be theyr God and I will give theÌ„ one heart and one way that they may feare me all days and it may be well with theÌ„ and with theyr childreÌ„ after theÌ„ And I will not cease to doe theÌ„ good And I will make an Everlasting covenaÌ„t with theÌ„ And I will giue my feare in theyr heart that they may not reuolt froÌ„ me Again C. 33.14 Behold the days will come sayth our lord and I will rayse up the good word that I haue spoakeÌ„ to the house of Israël in that time I will make the spring of Iustice to budd forth unto Dauid and he shall doe IudgmeÌ„t and Iustice on the earth This sayth our Lord there shall not fayle of Dauid a man to sitt upon the throne of the house of Israël Christ must successively have his vicar or vicegereÌ„t in al ages aÌ„d of the priests aÌ„d leuites theyr shall not fayle before my face a maÌ„ to offer holocaustes and to burne sacrifices and to kill victimes all days Behold a successioÌ„ of lawful Priests still offering sacrifices expressed by the Priests and sacrifices as were then only known Again it followeth and the word was made to Ierimy saying if my covenaÌ„t with the day caÌ„ be made voide allso my covenant may be made voide with Dauid my seruaÌ„t that there may be not of him a sonne a vicar or vicegereÌ„t to reigne in his throne aÌ„d the leuites aÌ„d priests my ministers yea v. 22. eueÌ„ as the stars in heaueÌ„ caÌ„ not be nuÌ„bred aÌ„d the saÌ„d of the sea be meÌ„sured so will I multiplie the seed of David my servant and the Levites my Ministers Whence it is evident that the number of lawfull Priests by lawfull mission and ordination shall not only never fayle but allso never fayle to be a great number There followeth again in the same Chapter the formeâ— Covenant repeated once more 7. Ezechiel allso speakes very home Ch. 34.22 I will save my flock and it shall be no more into spoyle and will rayse up over them one Pastour who shall Leade them my servent David he shall feed them and he shall be theyr Pastour And I the Lord will be theyr God and my servant David the Prince of them
that knows God heareth us 9. Tenthly In declaring the true meaning of the true Scriptures the practise and doctrine of the Church is necessary to be followed as a certaine Guide For example When Christ sayd Doe this in remembrance of me He did impose sayth the Church a true commaund to doe so Yet though Christ no lesse cleerly sayd Iohn 13.14 That we ought to wash one anothers feete for I have given you an example that as I have done So you allso should doe He did not impose sayth the Church any commaund obliging vs to wash one anothers feete For though he sayd we ought to wash one an others feete yet by the practise and doctrine of the Church it is assuredly declard to vs that these words of Christ containe no precept though the former do 10. Eleventhly The same Apostle in his first Epistle Chap. 2.19 after that concerning Heretikes he had sayd They went out from us He turnes his speach to those who still remained in the Church subject and obedient to it and of them he sayth But you have the unction from the Holy one and know all things To witt the spirit of truth residing in the Church to teach her all truth maketh you who are guided by the Church to know all things necessary for your information and instruction 11. Twelfly It is grounded in this infallibility of the Church that her Prelates may exact obedience of her Children in captivating theyr understanding to the faith which she by commission from Christ delivereth unto them 2. Cor. 10.4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty through God casting downe Imaginations or Reasonings and every thing that exalts it selfe against the knowledg and bringing into captivity All understanding unto the obedience of Christ and haveing in a readines to revenge all disobedience So S. Paul But it is most irrationall to say God should impower his Church to force men to follow a Church which being fallible must needs confesse that she may deceive you and enforce you to follow errors Yet this in a Church haveing the infallible assistance of the Holy Ghost is most rationall For there you are to your apparent good enforced to follow truth in place of such error as might be most hurtfull to you Thirteenthly The same S. Paul tells vs that God out of an expresse intention which he had to keepe vs from all wavering and vnsetlement in faith resolved so to assist the Governours of his Church that we might securely relye upon them For Ephes 4 11. He gave some Apostles and some Prophets and other some Evangelists and other some Pastours and Teachers for the perfecting of the Saints for the worke of the ministery for the edifying of the Body of Christ untill we all come into the unity of faith To what end all this to the end that we hence forth be no more Children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the sleight of men and cunning craftines from which his Providence had not thus secured vs vnles these our Teachers had beē infallible whē defining in a lawfull councill or proposing what is universally taught by them 12. The second sort of Texts proving the infallibility of the Church conteines such glorius Titles given her or such admirable things spoke by Gods own mouth of her as must needs be vain empty and truthles words if the Church ever prove to be a Mistris of errors obtruding them to her Children for divine verities First Psal 132.13 Our Lord hath chosen Sion he hath chosen it for an habitation unto himselfe This is my rest for ever and ever Here will I dwell because I have chosen it Now Christs dwelling place as S. Paul tells vs is his visible Church 1. Tim. 3.15 That thou mayest know how to converse in the house of God The Church of the liveing God He could not be taught how to converse in an invisible Church he speakes then of the Church visible Farr be it from this house to be a store house of errors For how then could it be Christs desirable Habitation and his rest for ever and ever 13. Again Isa 54.4 Feare not for thou shalt not be ashamed neyther be thou confounded for thou shalt not be put to shame What greater shame or confusion to a Church which should be the Pillar and ground of truth to see herselfe growne now to professe open superstition Idolatry and other pernicious errors in whole swarmes How then is that true which follows 14. Thirdly Isai 60.15 I will make thee an eternall excellency a ioy of many generations Fourthly v 18. Thou shalt call thy walls saluation our Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light Thy Sunne shall goe downe no more and thy Moone shall be no more diminished because our Lord shall be thine everlasting light Words manifestly spoken not of the Elect but of the visible Church on earth even from the beginning of the Chapter for v 10. he tells how Kings should minister to her and how he had struck her when she was the Synagogue in his indignation Which words cannot be understood of the elect or the invisible Church and so he goes still on speaking 15. Fiftly In the like sense Chap. 62. v. 3. Thou shalt be a crowne of glory thou shalt be no more called forsaken as thou wert when thou wert the Synagogue but thou shalt be called my delight in her And sixtly to secure her from all error contrary to his will he adds v. 6. Vpō thy walls Hierusalem I have appointed watchmen And how careles soever thy be by theyr owne nature yet by my continuall assistance all the day and all the night for ever they shall not hold theyr peace To witt by crying downe errours For they had better have held theyr peace that preached publickly errours every where And v. 12. Thou shalt be called a Citie sought for and not forsaken And yet Protestants say they did laudably forsake every visible Church vpon earth by adhering to Luther and his followers who did separate themselves from all Churches visible in the whole world openly professing that as then there was no one Church on earth worth seeking for and so they did not joyne themselves in Communion with any Church then vpon earth but pretended to returne to the Primitive Church as it was above a thousand yeares before which is to say that for this whole last thousand yeares the Church was a Citie forsaken and that for so long her Communion was not to be sought for 16. Seventhly There is a very convincing text to prove the Church to be by divine Providence assuredly provided of faithfull Pastours and Governors Ierem. 33. v. 25 If I have not put my Covenant to night and day and laws to the heaven and earth then will I cast away the seed of Iacob and David my servant that I doe not take from his seed Princes to be Rulers over the seed of Abraham Isaac
many nor halfe so cōvincing Texts cā be alleaged against it And yet grāt this and you must grāt all Note that besides these 30. Texts here alledged I have allso all those numerous and most full Texts related at large Point 3. For whatsoever proves that the true Church cannot faile to be a true church proves allso her infallibility For truth of doctrine is essentiall to a true Church If therefore by being fallible and erring the whole Church could recede from the true doctrine of Christ it manifestly follows that the whole Church could faile to be a true Church contrary to these most expresse Scriptures there plentifully alledged 23. Most impertinent is the distinction which our adversaries use to avoide the force of these Texts They say that the Church may be taken in two wayes first for the visible Church containing all beleevers as well reprobate as elect and this Church they say may erre Secondly for the invisible Church which only containes the elect and this they say cannot erre But this is a palpable contradiction if well noted For this invisible Church of the elect which as you say cannot erre is contained in the visible Church in which as you say both reprobate and elect are contained which visible Church you allso say may wholy erre But if the whole visible Church wholy erre then allso the elect contained in it may erre or if they cannot erre thē many in the visible Church cannot erre And yet you cannot find many in any Church visible vpon earth whome you can shew on the one side to have differed from the beleefe of the Roman Church and on the other to have been guarded from errour as those who make the true Church must be Again I have shewed that many Texts here by me cited speake clearly of the visible Church THE SIXT POINT That the Roman Church is this infallible Church and our judge in all points of Controversie 1. THough this Question seemes to import as much as the certaine decision of all our Controversies yet haveing been so long in the former Point we are able to give in a word full satisfaction in this For no man will denye the Church which is proved to be infallible to be the most commodious decider of all Controversies For what can a man wish more to the right decision of his Controversie then a cleare sentence delivered there in by an infallible authority 2. All that can be imagined against what hath been sayd is this That we have not as yet proved the Roman Church to be infallible We have indeed proved the true Church to be so but there seemes a vast labour to remaine to prove the Roman Church to be this true infallible Church and consequently the decider of all Controversies I most earnestly therefore begg of my Reader to note well this one short demonstration and he will see how evidently convincing it is to prove home our full intent even in a word 3. My demonstration is this No Church can be the true infallible Church and decider of all Controversies which teacheth herselfe to be fallible For if any such Church be infallible in all that she teacheth she is infallible allso in teaching herselfe to be fallible And hence it followeth that infallibly such a Church is fallible but every Church in the world but the Romā teacheth herselfe to be fallible wherefore by evident demonstration no other Church upon earth can be infallible But the true Church is infallible as hath been proved by no fewer then thirty Texts therefore by evident consequence the Roman Church by all those Texts is proved the only true Church and our Iudge in all our Controversies THE SEAVENTH POINT That the Chiefe Pastour of this Church is the successor of S. Peter 1. THe old Testament helps vs thus farr in this Point that it teacheth first that amongst the Priests of the old law one was chosen successively to be the highest and chiefe Priest Num. 3.32 The Prince of Princes of the Levitts Eliazar the sonne of Aaron the Priest And Num. 27.21 If any thing be to be done for Iosue theyr Governour Eliazar the Priest shall consult our Lord. At his word shall he Iosue go out and go in and all the rest of the Children of Israël with him By going in and going out all the principall actions are vsually vnderstood in Scripture In those actions therefore God would have Iosue and all the people to depend on the high Priest When then we read Iosue 3.8 that Iosue did commaund the Priests and that Ch. 5. he appointed Circumcision to be ministred and that Ch. 24. he renewed God's Covenāt c. he is to be supposed therin as in all his principall actions to have proceeded according to the above cited Text only executing that which God by Eleazar the Priest had ordeined him to do For example to command the Priests to go with the Arke into Iourdan to administer Circumcision to renew the Covenant with God c. Again when Princes are allso Prophets as Iosue David Salomon and some others were they might have some extraordinary commission to do and order severall things which belong not to the ordinary Iurisdiction of temporall Princes So Kings 2.27 Salomon cast out Abiather that he should not be the Priest of our Lord yet this was done that the word of our Lord might be fullfilled which he spake concerning the house of Helle. Salomon allso as a Prophet by extrordinary commission v. 35. Placed sadoe the Priest for Abiathar 2. Secondly wee have cleerly in the old Testament the distinction of the chiefe Ecclesiasticall and chiefe secular Power 2. Chr. 19.11 And behold Amariath the chiefe Priest is over you in all matters of the Lord that is Ecclesiasticall affaires Then for temporall or secular affayres Zebediath the Ruler of the house of Iudah for all the Kings matters whence it is cleare that the former causes are not matters which aperteine to the Kings 3. Thirdly we have the old law Deut. 17. v. 8. commanding all such causes as are Ecclesiasticall causes to be brought to the Tribunall of the High Priest and his sentence to be obeyed even vnder paine of death I call them Ecclesiasticall causes because the former Text sayth they be matters of the Lord and distinct from matters of the King 4. Fourthly we have out of the new Testament this vnanswerable Text concerning the high Priests even of the old law Matth. 23.2 Vpon the chaire of Moyses have sitten the Scribes and Pharisees all therefore whatsoever they shall say unto you observe and doe it No wikedness of the high Priests his person shall excuse your obedience if he sitt vpon the chaire of Moyses Moyses was not only a secular Prince but allso the first high Priest amongst the Iewes Moyses and Aaron amongst his Priests Psal 99.6 Now those who succeed Moyses as he was high Priest are sayd to sitt upon the chaire of Moyses for as he was the secular Prince of the
heaven ever did as those who are skilled in antiquity know Yea Christ himself was pleased to sett forth some more mysticall cures which he did with such ceremonies as you would scoff at thē if our Church in farr more mysticall actions had made use of them So Mark 7. v. 32. in the Cure of a deaf and dumb man First he took him from the multitude a part Secondly he putt his fingars into his eares Thirdly spitting he touched his tongue Fourthly he looked up to heaven Fiftly he groaned Sixtly he used a word deserving speciall interpretation saying Epheta that is be opened So allso Iohn 8. v. 6. In pardoning the adulteresse he twice bowing himself wrot in the earth God knows what And in the nynth Ch. curing a man blind from his nativity v. 6. He spitt on the ground and made a claye of his spittle then he spread the clay upon his eyes Lastly he sayd unto him goe wash in the Poole Siloe which is interpreted sent Thus teaching his Church to use Ceremonies in such mysterious actions as are ordeined to cure our spirituall deafnes spirituall dumbnes spirituall blindnes So we shall see it to be Scripture that sprinkling of water must be used in Baptisme Imposition of hands in Confirmation and Ordination anoynting with oyle in Extreme-vnction Before our Lord gave the Eucharist to his Disciples he Mark 14. made choyse of a roome very spacious and adorned He first washed his disciples feete then setting down he tooke bread gave thanks blessed it brake it c. When he gave his disciples power to absolve and to administer the Sacrament of Confession Io. 20.22 He first sayd to them As my father sent me so I send you when he had sayd this he breathed upon them and he sayd to them Receive the Holy Ghost whose sins yo shall forgive are forgiven c. When the Pastors of our Church use the insufflation or Breathing upon any for the lyke mysticall signification you cry a lowd superstition superstition an apish mimicall action c. 7. There is allso one very great commoditie in the Churches perscribing such and such particular ceremonies in such and such actions that hence it ensues that all her priests performe all these sacred Rites in administring Sacraments offering sacrifice c. after just one and the self-same manner all the world over which is a most comely and orderly thing and could not have happened had not such and such peculiar Rites been prescribed to all 8. But now if after that we have proved Ceremonies to be reasonable you aske why the Church did prescribe just these particular Ceremonies and no other First I answer that eyther these particular Ceremonies are more proper and seemly and as it were more connaturall to such an actiō or secondly they are fittest for some mysticall signification Lastly I say that our unsatisfied adversaryes would have asked the self same question of any other particular ceremonies if the Church had peculiarly appointed them Even as some men will curiously be asking Why did God make the world just at such a particular time and not sooner or later For as S. Augustin wittily answers Had God made choise of any other time to make the world you would still have been asking the very selfsame wyse question Why just now and not sooner or later Even so you would as wisely haue been saying Why just such a Ceremonie and not as well such or such an one Lett this suffice for the Iustification of our Ceremonies THE TENTH POINT Of Baptisme which is the first Sacrament 1. I Will first shew Baptisme to be a Holy signe or ceremony signifying and causing grace in those who duly receave it Ezech. 36.25 And I will power uppon you cleane water and you shall be cleansed from all your contaminations Behold an outward powring of water cleansing inwardly from all contaminations The Baptisme of S. Iohn was an outward powring of water with a solemne profession of doing pennance towards the cleansing of the soul but no grace was given by it to cleanse the soul So Matth. 3.11 sayth S. Iohn Baptist I have Baptized you with water but he Christ shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost His baptisme shall give this soul-cleansing grace Again Act. 2.38 Be every one of you baptized for Remission of your sins and you shall receave the Holy Ghost Again Act. 22.16 Rise up ad be baptized and wash away thy sinns Nothing can cleanse from contamination give Remission of sins wash away sins but that which gives grace Again Gala. 3.27 As many of you as are baptized in Christ have put on Christ Hence Baptisme is called Tit. 3.5 The washing of Regeneration and by it man is borne of the spirit Whence Io. 3.5 Vnlesse a man be borne again of water and the Holy Ghost he can not enter into the Kingdome of God That is to say Baptisme so breeds our spirituall birth in God as our carnall birth causeth our life into the world 2. Wherefore evē the Childrē of the Iust need baptisme For Rom. 5.12 Vnto all men death did passe in whom all sinned Whence David Ps 51.5 And in sin did my mother conceave me And therefore unlesse such an one be born againe of water and the Holy Ghost he shall not enter into the Kingdome of God For of every one it is sayd Eph. 2.3 We were by nature Children of wrath as allso the rest THE ELEVENTH POINT Of Confirmation 1. COnfirmation is approved such a Sacrament Act. 8. v. 14. And when the Apostles that were in Ierusalem had heard that Samaria had receaved the word of God they sent unto them Peter and Iohn wo when they were come prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Ghost For he was not come upon any of them but they were only baptized in the name of our Lord Iesus Then did they impose theyr hands upon them behold the outward signe and they received the Holy Ghost Behold the inward grace given to those who though they had been baptized yet they had not received this particular strength and Confirmation of speciall grace which the coming of the Holy Ghost in this Sacrament did bring unto them It is allso most agreable to Scripture that this Sacrament be given not by inferiour Priests but by Bishops Whence Bede excellently noteth that it was not Philip the Apostle who is here sayd to have converted Samaria but Philip one of the seaven Decons And so though he could baptize them yet he could not give thē this Sacrament and therefore the Apostles sent Peter and Iohn to Samaria Not to baptize them again but to confirme them And though here be no mention of oyle yet it followeth not that no oyle is to be used in this Sacrament For so in the Scripture there is no mention of water in that very Text which mentions the institution of Baptisme as Matthew the last Teach all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father the Sonne and Holy
his flesh to be eaten in a meere signe or figure of it had S. Peter thought this I dare say he would have pulled the other disciples backsaying our master only speaks of giving a signe of his body Had this been so then allso vndoubtedly the other Evangelists when they had come to write of this mystery which had scandalized so many before theyr writing would not have encreased the scandal by writing so vnanimously of this Sacrament in words sounding so loud a litterall sense as these do This is my body this is my blood But they would rather have lessned the difficulty by declaring it only to be a figure which they might have done in a word S. Paul was so farre from declaring it to be so that 1. Cor. 11. v. 27. he flatly saith Therefore whosoever shall eate this bread and drink the Chalice of our Lord unworthily he shall be guilty of the Body and Blood of our Lord. Which could not be vnlesse he received the Body and Blood truly and not in a figure only To eate a Paper picture of Christ makes no such heinous guilt though it be done by a sinner and it be allso a figure of his body 4. S. Luke allso had been particularly to blame in encreasing the scandal by expressing so clearly a litterall sense Chap. 22. v. 19. This is my body which is givē for you This cup is the new Testamēt in my Blood which Chalice shall be shedd for you I say which Chalice that is that which is cōteyned in the Chalice shall be shed for you Now wine was not shed for vs but his true blood His true blood therefore was the thing cōteined in the Chalice For though by the Latine or English words we can not tell whether Christ sayd his blood should be shed for thē or the Chalice or Cup yet S. Luke writing in Greek makes it evidēt to all who know that language that he sayd the Chalice should be shed for us for he speakes in the nominative case by a word which can not agree with the blood which in Greek is the dative Now thus having proved that Christ literally sayd This is my body I have proved allso that this is not bread For it is his body which is as good a consequence as this this is a stone therefore it is not bread Or this is not bread for it is a stoone 5. Coming now out of Scripture to answer the chiefe okjections I begin with one which doth afford me a new strong argument They object then Idolatry to vs for adoring that which is bread I answer that according to Scripture Idolatrie can not be found in the only visible Church of Christ for Scripture sayth clearly of this Church Ifa 2.18 And Idolls shall be utterly abolisht Again Ezech. 36.25 And I will power upon you cleane water c and from all your Idols will I cleanse you And in the next Chapter v. 23. Neither shall they defile themselves any more in theyr Idols Again Micheas Chap. 5.12 Thou shalt no more adore the works of thy hands Again Zachar. 13. v. 1. In that day shall be a fountaine lying open to the house of David And it shall be in that day sayth the Lord of Hosts I will cast of the names of Idols out of the Land and they shall be remembred no more Hence I argue thus In the whole visible Church there continued and doth still continue adoration of the Sacrament but Idolatry did not continue in the whole Church visible therefore adoratiō of the H. Sacramēt is not Idolatry Moreover if worshipping this H. Sacrament were Idolatry all Christianity for many ages practizing this adoration had committed Idolatry and Christs Church for so many ages had quite failed as is cleare out of the third and fourth point For Christ had no other Church for many ages but that which every where practized this Idolatry as you miscall it Or tel mee if you can what other visible Church Christ had vpon earth different from the Roman in faith and worshipe for the thousand yeares before Luther If this be the only visible Church Christ had vpon earth then I have proved it could not be guilty of Idolatry 6. Against such a torrent of Scripture as we have for vs you ground yourselues not in Scripture but in Philosophy which tried by Scripture will be found to faile you in all your objections First then you object that an accident can not be without a substance Wee answere out of Gen. 1.3 God sayd be light made and light was made Light is a quality or accident Yet hence S. Basil S. Greg. Naz. and Theodoret are of opinion that light was without any subject at all for the Scripture specifyes no subject in which it was put Whence followes that at lest they must needs think it possible that light should be without a subject Secondly you object that the same body of Christ can not be multiplied so often over We answere again out of Gen 2.21 Our Lord God cast a dead sleepe upon Adam and whē he was fast a sleepe he tooke one of his ribbs and filled up flesh for it And our Lord God built the ribbe which he tooke of Adam into a woeman I aske how many times over must this one ribbe be multiplyed before a whole woeman of a comely proper stature could be made up of it After the same manner God can of one ordinary brick make a pillar of many foote high by multiplying that one brick In the like manner our Saviour multiplyed those five Barley loaves with which he fed above five thousand men Io. 6. For if he made new loaves he did not feede them with those five but with those many hundred new loaves which he made and yet the Scripture sayth v. 12.13 After they were filled they gathered the remnants and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves and not of any new loaves created by Christ so that the bread which was eaten remained still to be eaten And it is worth our noting that our Saviour did this miracle immediatly before he did first declare this strange doctrine of giving his flesh to be eaten like bread by every one that so when he should presently declare this strange doctrine they should have no reason to disbelieve the possibility thereof For his disciples seeing that he had done that most prodigious miracle so very lately ought not presently to have sayd This is hard and who can heare it Neither ought they so soone to have walked a part from him as there S. Iohn sayth they did but rather they ought to have sayd with S. Peter We believe and know thou art the Sonne of God able to make they words good as thou wart able so to multiply so few loaves 7. Hence appeares a solution of that which allso they still object one body can not be in two places at once For if whole Eve were made of one ribbe of Adam as the
can not be sayd of our so well known set forme of prayer and service which we all knowing to be approved by the Church and to be understood and so highly esteemed by our learnedst men feare not to say Amen or to joyn our intention with any part of it neither doth its approbation depend on our Amen I answer therefore that S. Paul spoak of those extēporal blessings Canticles and Lauds or such lyke inspired prayers of private persons which he recommends to be sayd in the vulgar language yet the contrary is not ill though it be lesse perfect For even to him who doth the contrary it is sayd v. 17. Thou verily givest thanks well and not foolishly or superstitiously But the other is not edified which fruict and end thou shouldest chiefly have intended God having to this end given thee this guift And therefore in such exercises of devotion I will speake five words with my understanding rather then tenne thousand words in a tongue that is a barbarous tongue straunge to the Heares because the chief end of these exercises is to edify and excite the people to prayse God whereas the chief end of the Liturgie is to pray to God for the people 5. I allso note that S. Paul doth not so much as meane here to exclude the use of such well known tongues as the Greek and Latin were that is such as were the languages well known to all the better bred sort of most nations so that here is nothing against the Masse sayd in Latin through the Latin Churches or in all those westerne parts where all knowing and understanding men very commonly know this language I prove this manifestly For if S. Paul should call this praying in a tongue your Bible puts in a different letter the word unknown so as to make such a tongue as this unfit for publike service in these Countries he himself had notably transgressed in this matter who beeing to write to the Romās writes to them in Greek knowing well that they spoak Latin only and that the vulgar knew no other language Yet he did thus write to them a very large Epistle in Greek now divided into sixteen Chapthers And this though he did write this chieffly for theyr instruction and edification Behold this was done even by him who sayd before I had rather speak five words with my understanding that my voyce might teach others then tenne thousand words in an unknown tongue You must not then call speaking in an unknown tongue the speaking in such languages as are well known to the learneder sort of those people to whom you speak Wherefore you must not say he did speak in a tongue or an unknown tongue to the Romans when he did write in the Greek tongue to them though he was not understood by the vulgar of them but only by the learneder sort Now then as he can not be sayd to have spoaken in an unknow tongue to the Romans when he did write this Epistle to them in Greek because Greek is not a Barbarous tongue wholy unknown to the better sort so a Roman Priest saying Masse in Latin in the westerne parts doth not say Masse or speak in a tongue that is a tongue wholy unknown to the better sort Wherefore as the Greek tongue was not judged a tongue unfit for S. Paul writing to the Romans even when theyr instruction was chiefly to be regarded so it is not unfitt when not instruction but making prayer for the people to God is chiefly intended as in the Masse Read the Remish Testament handling this Chapter very well 6. And observe allso that the service of the Catholik or universall Church is best celebrated by a Catholik or universal tongue such as Greek is in the East Latin in the West tongues not subject to such alterations and peril of changes in substantiall words as vulgar languages are and therefore lesse fitt for the everlasting perpetuity and universality of the Church If at our conversion we had had our Masse in the old Brittish or old English language who would now have understood it Yea who doth not laugh at all English he reads which is much above a hundred yeares standing It was most unfitt the Liturgie should be so often chopped and changed as vulgar languages alter Or that it should usualy be so often turned into severall tongues not understood by the Church Representative So that she could not passe her Iudgement whether there were any grosse corruptions creapt into this most divine service Therefore in respect of universality both of all ages for which the Church was to last and of universality of all nations through which shee was to be spread no language more fitt for her publik constant service then Hebrew Greek and Latin God regarded unity in worship so much that he would have the whole nation of the Iewes for a thousand and six hundred yeares only to Sacrifice in one place though it might be objected that this much hindred the many and frequent Sacrifices which would otherwise have been offered if in any place they might Sacrifice To keepe unity in Religion it is most rationally ordered that Sacrifice should be celebrated with prayers in one and the same language over one and the same Church Moreover it is well known that a distance from what is ordinary and vulgar breeds respect and reverence And contrarywise you your selves found that publike service in English was soone vilifyed and contemned by the vulgar English and at last with all expressions of contempt and dirision quite exploded and abolished Cast pearls before swyne and the Scripture tells you how they will behave themselves towards them 7. Lastly shew me but one service book in all the fiveteene hundred yeares before Luther in any one vulgar tongue which agreeth with your service-book and for that one books sake we will all come to your service THE XVI POINT Of the Sacrament of Pennance or Confession 1. EVen in the old Law some particular Confession of particular sins was under precept appointed to the Iewes Numb 5.6 Speak to the Children of Israel man or woeman when they shall doe any of all the sins that are wont to chance to men and by negligence have transgressed the Commandment of theyr Lord and have offended they shall confesse theyr sin And if theyr sin were in point of wrōging theyr neighbour they shall restore the principall it self and the fift part over to him against whom they sinned Behold Confession behold Restitution and for satisfaction the fift part over and above to be givē And besides that sacrifice to be offered to God so to repaire the dishonor done him 2. The new Law perfecting the old confession was elevated by Christ to a Sacrament giving grace Io. 20. v. 23. He sayd to them receave the Holy Ghost whose sins you forgive they are forgiven and whose sins you retaine they are retained But Thomas was not with them when Iesus came yet no man can deny that
and Cephas Here in place of a woman your Bibles reade a wyfe making the H. Ghost restreyn the word gynaika to a wyfe though it is knowne that this word is vsually put for a woman whether wyfe or not wyfe Here the Rhemish Testament shewes how Antiquity ever expounded this place of leading about such devout woemen as followed Christ to minister to him Matth. 27.55 I could thus have maintayned my selfe sayth S. Paul or by partaking of your temporall goods to whome I give spirituall goods But to burthen no body I being a tradsman have made it my glory to maintaine my selfe by the labour of my owne hands Yea your owne Bible but two chapters before translated the selfesame Greeke word for such a woeman as could not be a vvyfe 1. Cor. 7.1 It is good for a man not to touch a woeman Translate if you dare It is good for a man not to touch a wife gynaika 10. The second corrupt Text you object is Heb. 13. v. 4. For where we reade word for word out of the Greek Marriage honorable in all you reade Marriage is honorable in all men adding the verbe is and the nowne men yet your best Bibles have not this nowne Men and they print this verbe is in a different letter As allso in the former text they did print the word woeman in the margent This jugling the vulgar perceives not And the Bibles used it to make them take for the true Text that which is but theyr interpretation of it But if a man would presume to add a Verbe which should come as neere as may be to the minde of the Apostle then he should put the verbe in the Imparative moode thus Lett marriage be honorable in all For S. Paul useth this moode in the first verse Lett Brotherly love continue and in the second Be not unmindfull c. And in the third verse Remember them in bonds The fourth verse being that we speake of should be likewise expressed by a Verbe in that moode especially seeing he still goeth on in that moode in the fift verse let your conversation be without Covetousnes The Apostles sence then seems clearly to be Lett Marriage be honorable in all That is lett no man dishonour his marriage bed with either unfaithfullnes to his spouse or with vnnatural or brutish lust and so his next words very fitly are For God will judge fornicatours ad adulterers But your Bible by a double imposture maks a quyte different sence The first is to put the Verbe in the Indicative Moode Marriage is honorable and because this alone helped not much you used a second imposture in the words following which in Greeke are en pasi in Latin In omnibus And in both languages all Schollers see that there is doubt whether this should signify in all men taking the Adjective in the masculine gender or in all things taking it in the neuter gender Our Bibles leave it as they find it in all But your Bible undertaks absolutely to determine the sence of the Holy Ghost and make him say roundly Marriage is honorable among all men Thus your Bible Anno 1577. Yea Inter quosvis sayth Beza 1565. that is Marriage is honorable among any kinde of persons Out of which new Scripture the people easily inferre Marriage is honorable among those who have receaved Holy Orders or have made Vows of Virginity and the text being thus stretcht they might adde Among Brothers and Sisters Father and Daughter But wee shall in the next point n. 5. shew how flatly this Consequence is contrary to S. Paul who plainly denounceth damnation to such as have marryed after they vowed Chastity Your objection is sufficiently answered by having shewed a double corruption in the text alledged as many of you doe alledge it THE XXI POINT Of the single life of such as have vowed perpetuall Chastity 1. HOw commendable works of supererogation are by which we voluntarily do what we are not commanded and observe that which is of Counsel and not of precept we shall see in the next point Yet here we cannot but speake some thing to shew how much the vowing of Chastity is counseled and recommended and shew allso how strictly those who vow Chastity are obliged to keepe theyr vowes which voluntarily they made Numbers 30.3 If any man make a vow to our Lord to bind himselfe by an oath he shall not make his word frustrate but all that he promised he shall fulfill Whence S. Aug. q. 56. in Num. He that voweth abstinence from a thing lawfull maketh it unlawfull to himselfe by his vow Now that you may evidently see that the Scripture speaketh here of vowes made in matters not commanded it followeth If a woeman vow any thing and binde herself with an oath she that is in her fathers house and as yet in Maidens age if her father know the vow she promised and the oath wherewith she bound her soule and held his peace she shall be bound to the vow whatsoever she promised and sware she shall fulfull indeede But if immediately as he heares it her father doth gainsay it both her vows and her oath shall be frustrate neither shall she be bound to the promise The same he sayth of the vows of a wyfe that they shall hold if her husband hold his peace but if he gainesay it he shall make her vow frustrate Who sees not that it could not be either in the power of the father to make his daughters vows voyde or of the husband to frustrate and annul the vows of his wyfe if they had vowed things which they stood obliged to performe by commandments from God For example if shee should vow to fast in the feast of expiation her husband could not have made her vow voyd by gainesaying it For the Law obligeth her saying Levit. 23. v. 29. Every soule that is not afflicted that is which fasteth not this day shall perish out of his people By this you see that the Scripture here speaketh of vows made to do that to which they were not otherwise obliged But after the vow they stand now obliged to fulfill indeede what they promised by word 2. Take a further evident proof of this Deut. 23. v. 21. When thou hast vowed a vow to our Lord thy God thou shalt not slack to pay it because our Lord thy God will require it and if thou delay it shall be deputed unto the for sin If thou wilt not promise thou shalt be without sinne But that which is once gone out of thy lipps thou shalt observe and shalt doe as thou hast promised to our Lord thy God and hast spoaken with thy proper will and thy owne mouth What could be said more manifest to prove that where there was no kind of Sin or breach of obligation before now there is a sin by the breach of a most strait obligation arrising from this vow Againe Eccl. c. 5. 4. Whatsoever thou hast vowed pay it And it is much
After this there appeared allso another man marvelous for age and glory and for the port of great dignity about him And Onias sayd this is the lover of his Brethren This is he who prayeth much for the people and the whole Cittie Ieremy the Prophet of God And he gave to Iudas a sword of gold saying Take the Holy sword a gift from God wherewith thou shall overthrow the adversaries of my people The event confirmed the truth of this vision Origen Tom. 18. in Ioan reflecting on this place sayth It appeareth that Saints departed from this life have care of the people as it is written sayth he in the acts of the Machabees many yeares after the death of Ieremy This is Ieremy the Prophet who prayeth much for the people So that though the Books of Macabees be admitted not as Scripture but only as a true Ecclesiasticall Hystory wee have from thence that the most Holy High Priest and cheif of Gods only people believed that Saints prayed for us and helped us and that all the people who were sayd incouraged by this vision were of the same belief How farre then is this from all novelty which can be proved to have been practiced before the dayes of the Apostles and this by an authority farre greater then that of Iosephus or any such Historian to whom you would scorne to give a place in your Bible as you do to the History of the Machabees 6. Let us now come to the New Testament What motive soever moved Dives Luke 16.27 to pray to Abraham saying I would beseech the◠that thou wouldest send to my Fathers house for I have five Brethren to testify to them least they allso come to this place of torments The very same motive will worke farre more upon the hart of departed Saints to help us theyr poor Brethren from that place of torments and promote us to those eternal Tabernacles of which Christ Luke 16.9 Mak◠unto your selves friends of Mammon of iniquity that when you faile they may receive you into everlasting habitations Again Apoc. 2.26 He that shall overcome and keep my words to the end I will give him power over the nations And he shall rule them with a rod◠of Iron The Saints having authority to rule nations so powerfully as is here expressed by a rodd or scepter of Iron they exercise this theyr power chiefly by making intercession so powerfully to God for us as to obtain for us such graces as wee stand most in need of this theyr power beeing given to a spirituall end 7. And as God who is goodnes and mercy it self in an infinite degree doth notwithstanding not so shew this his mercy and bounty towards those who never pray to him as he doth to those who are incessantly begging his help So Saints cheifly are moved to aid those who are still begging theyr assistance yet true it is that they are of theyr own accord helping us So Raphael offered the prayers made to God by Toby as wee have seen in the former Point n. 3. So Apocal. 5.8 The four beasts and four and twenty elders fell before the Lambe having every one harps and golden Vials full of odours which are the prayers of Saints which prayers made by Saints on earth these Saints in heaven did know and hear for they presented them in golden vials And c. 8. v. 3. An other Angel came and stood at the Altar having a golden Censer And there was given to him much incense that he should offer it with the prayers of all Saints upon the Altar of gold which is before the throne of God and the smook of the incense which came with the prayers of the Saints ascended up before God out of the Angels hand Note that the Angel being before the throne of God did there hear the prayers of Saints in earth Secondly he did not only hear theyr prayers but allso Offer them up before the throne of God in a golden Cēser which he could not do if he had not known thē Thirdly these prayers of the Saints on earth by being thus joyntly offered up by the more fervent prayers of the Saints in heaven or H. Angels did become more acceptable to God For hēce the smook of the incēse with these prayers ascēded more sweetly and pleasantly to God from the hand of the Angel God indeed knows our prayers before the Saints or Angels offer them but he knows that they mount up lesse powerfully when they be not seconded with theyr intercession So God knew before hand that all the people answered Moyses saying to him All things that our Lord hath spoaken wee will do Exod. 19. v. 8. And yet the very next words are and Moyses returned the words of the people to our Lord. Which words were well known to God before that Moyses did returne them yet by returning them he did make by his joynt Mediation this cheerfull offer of the people more pleasing to God 8. And because he did this to theyr greater advantage Moyses himselfe sayth Deutr. 5.5 I stood between the Lord and you at that time This I note to answer the objection of our adversaries saying it is injurious to Christ to take any other Mediatour For one is our Mediatour To be a Mediatour is nothing but to stand between God and us mediating for us In this proper sense Moyses was a Mediatour between God and his people The same in the same sense may be sayd of other Saints Yet in that sense that Christ is sayd to be our only Mediatour wee make no other Mediatour For he is called Mediatour because he is so by his own worth and by his merits offered for us fully satisfying Gods anger and capable of no repulse I did know that thou dost allwayes hear me sayd Christ to his eternall father Io. 11.42 Hee is heard for the Reverence due to him as S. Paul speaks In this sense wee make no Saint Mediatour for us Wee only begg of them to pray for us as wee begg of living Saints whom by theyr prayers wee desire to mediate for us S. Paul in this sense desired the Thessalonians to mediate for him to God Brethren pray for us 1. Thess 5.25 And to Hebrewes 13.18 Pray for us And God himselfe bidds Iobs friends use the mediation or intercession of Iob promising to hear the prayers of this theyr Midiatour made for them but no where promising to hear theyr prayers made without his Mediation Yea rather intimating that he would not hear theyr prayers unles Iob mediated for them as now I shall shew 9. If you say it derogates from Christs honour that any other should help to save us I answer that Saints yet living upon earth help to save us And so Iob 42. v. 7. God tells Iobs three friends My wrath is kindled against thee Take therefore unto you seaven oxen and seaven rammes and go to my fervant Iob and offer up for your selves a burnt offering And my servant Iob shall pray
whole Rosary consists of a hundred and fifty Ave Maries And as the Instrument to which David did sing his Psaâ—mes was an instrument of ten strings Ps 32.2 So wee distinguish these hundred and fifty Ave Maries into severall tenns that is into fifteen tenns if wee say the whole Rosary or into five tenns if wee say but the third part of it as wee do when our leasure or devotion reacheth not at once to the whole Rosary Every tenn is distinguished with a Pater noster sayd in the beginning thereof For before wee call upon our Lady wee think it fitt to call upon our Lord from whom all the graces of our Lady did proceed and from whom all must be given which wee begg of her to obtain For wee do not acknowledg our Lady to be the giver of any graces though her intercession be most powerfull to obtain them to be given by her Son When wee use this devotion wee do indeed deed say ten Ave Maries for one Pater noster But the reason of this is not that wee honour our Lady more then our Lord for wee are so farre from equalizing her to him that wee confesse her infinitely inferiour to him But the reason is that it is fitt wee should set some time a part to honour her or else wee should honour her at no time Now as when wee are busied in honouring our Mother wee are not at that time busied in honouring our Father So when wee bestow this parcel of time in honouring our Lady wee only at this time honour our Lord so farre as all the honour we do to his Mother is done out of the respect wee beare to her because shee is his Mother Wee reserve other devotions to our Lord which contain an honour of an incomparably higher strain then any honour wee give to our Lady For because our Lord dyed on the Friday wee to his honour fast all fridayes because he remayned dead all Saturday wee honour him for it by abstinence from flesh all Saturdayes Because he did rise again on the Sunday wee honour his Resurrection by solemnizing all Sundayes Because he fasted forty dayes for us wee to his honour yearly fast the forty dayes of Lent No such honour is done by us to our Lady Our adversaries will aske us first what authority wee have for the Ave Mary Secondly why wee use this prayer just so often reiterated and how wee busy our minds in the mean time You will soon know what to answer by the ensuing discourse 6. Wee say then the first part of the Ave Mary was made by an Angel and he as Ambassador from God used such words as he knew to be to Gods mind saying to our Lady Hail full of grace our Lord is with the blessed art thou among weomen Luke 1.28 The second Part came allso from God For v. 41. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost and shee spake out with a loud voice and sayd blessed art thou among weomen And blessed is the fruit of thy wombe The Holy Church addeth Holy Mary Mother of God for shee is in the next verse called Mother of our Lord pray for us sinners now and at the houre of our death Amen Which words are most full of piety supposing what wee have proved prayer to Saints to be pious for if wee may pray to our Lords servants wee may pray to his Mother Behold the whole Ave Mary 7. Secondly wee use just the number of a hundred and fifty Ave Maries in the whole Rosary because wee would say a whole Psalter to her honour If these had been a hundred and fifty severall prayers as there be a 150. Psalmes who would have remembred them But now they being all but the same prayer so often repeated and this prayer allso so well knowen any simple person though he cannot read can say this whole Psalter to our Lady without book And it was made chiefly for a devout entertaynement for those ignorant people who cannot read though it be allso an excellent entertaynment even for the most learned when either they have not light to read or when being wearied out with contemplation or lesse disposed thereunto they desire to walke or passe the time devoutly without any overmuch tiring exercise If any one adds an Ave Mary more or lesse then this number he doth no other hurt then he who intending to say the whole Psalter should say one Psalme lesse or repeat one twice These hundred and fifty Ave Maries are most conveniently divided into fifteen tenns to help us at every severall tenne to call to our memory and devout consideration a severall Mystery of the life of Christ and our Lady For the prime Mysteries of theyr lives be reduced very fitly and orderly into fiften Mysteries of which five be joyfull five be sorrowfull and five be glorious To the honour of all these fifteen Mysteries wee say the fifteen tenns when wee say the whole Rosary If wee have not will or leasure to say the whole Rosary at once then wee say only the beads of five tenns honoring or pondering either the five joyfull or the five sorrowfull or the five glorious Mysteries When I say the first five tenns at each tenn I will honour and attentively ponder with devotion one of the five joyfull Mysteries As first the Annunciation of our Lady when the Angel announced unto her that God would become man and shee should be exalted to be his Mother Secondly her Visitation when visiting her Cosen Elizabeth As soon as Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary the infant did leap in her wombe and Elizabeth was replenished with the Holy Ghost and cryed out Blessed art thou c. Luke 1.41 Thirdly the Nativity of our Lord. A joy that shall be to all people because this day was borne to them a Saviour Luke 2.10 Her joy was greatest who was the Mother in this joyfull birth Fourthly her Purification when Simeon in whom the Holy Ghost was came in spirit into the Temple and took the Child into his armes shewing him to all publickly in the Temple and declaring him to be a light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of the people of Israël Luke 2.32 Fiftly her finding the lost Child disputing with the Doctours in the Temple where they all were astonished that heard him upon his wisdome and answers Luke 2.47 And he went down with his Mother and lived subject unto her even till he was thirty yeare old and shee keept all his words in her hart v. 51. 8. When I come to say the second five tenns I will honour and ponder the five sorrowfull Mysteries First Christ his prayer in the Garden Secondly his whipping at the Pillar Thirdly his Crowning with thornes Fourthly his carrying of the Crosse Fifthly his being Crucifyed and dying upon the Crosse All which as Christ felt them most sensibly in his body so our Lady next to Christ had a most tender feeling of them in her own soule And
her own soule the sword of grief did peerce As Holy Simeon prophecyed of her Luk. 2.35 When I come to say the third five tenns I will spend the time in saying each of them by meditating upon and so honouring each of the five glorious Mysteries First the Resurrection of our Saviour Secondly his Ascension to heavenly glory Thirdly his sending the Holy Ghost Fourthly the Assumption of our Lady When as many Holy Fathers have taught that body of hers in which Christ took flesh was soon after its buriall not made meat of wormes but with farre greater reason made partaker of her Sons Resurrection then were those many Saints of whom S. Matth. c. 27.53 sayth theyr graves were opened and they rose And they going forth out of theyr graves after his Resurrection came into the Holy Citty and appeared to many Fiftly and lastly I will to her honour consider her Coronation importing her special state in that heavenly glory in which shee is looked upon and reverenced by all Saints and Angels as theyr Queen she being the Mother of the King of glory The Mother of my Lord. Luke 1.43 9. The intent of the Holy Church recommending this devotion is to teach all that use it especially the more ignorant who cannot use Books how to imploy theyr minds fruitfully in a most commendable Meditation of Mysteries most glorious to Christ and his Mother and most beneficiall to our soules whilst theyr lipps are most devoutly busied in reciting words so pleasing to the Mother of God to which end the Teachers of our Church both by words and by writing still are inculcating this true use of the Beades 10. Now this number of fifteen tenns or of five tenns serving so fitly for the orderly practise of so easy a devotion cannot be more easily observed then by letting one Bead fall at each Ave Mary And the beginning of the next tenne can no way be more easily notifyed then to begin the sayd tenne with a bead of so different a bignes that it may easily be noted even in the dark without any distraction And the same different Bead serves allso to mind us of passing to the consideration of a different Mystery unles perhaps our soule hath other predominant pious thoughts or affections which tending to a very beneficiall Meditation are better continued then interrupted Now though many simple people use not these considerations but attend only to the words they say yet those words be so excellent that this entertaynment proves most vertuous by theyr using the recitall of them to honour Christ and his Blessed Mother 11. Neither is the often repeating of the same prayers or prayer a thing blame worthy For if after the saying of one Ave Mary wee should use a lesse excellent prayer yea or no prayer at all you could not blame us How then grow wee to be blame worthy for using this so excellent prayer Hee who should every houre say our Lords prayer although he should do it three times each houre is not to be blamed but commended How thē is he to be blamed who sayth the Lords prayer three our fourscore times in one houre Next unto our Lords prayer no prayer hath greater authority or excellency then the Ave Mary Why then be wee blamed for using it so often in so short a space whilst as you thinck you remain without blame who use it so seldome our Saviour had the rarest invention that ever man had and if we may make bould to accoūt any of his prayers more excellent then an other his prayer in the garden may seem to have been most excellent And yet even then as rare an invention as he had He prayed the third time using the same words Matth. 26.44 And not inventing any new forme So likewise those four blessed six winged Creatures Apoc. 4.8 Had not rest day and night saying Holy Holy Holy Lord God Omnipotent The oftner they said this one prayer over and over the more fervour appeares even in so rare inventive spirits All the Publicans prayer was God be mercifull to mee a sinner Luke 18.13 and v. 38. All the prayer of the blind man was to cry again and again saying Iesus Sonne of David have mercy upon mee And when they rebuked him to hold his peace he cryed much more Sonne of David have mercy upon me And thus he by perseverance in the same prayer obtained his request Who doth not see a speciall power to stirre up a great feeling of Gods mercies in the Psalm one hundred and thirty six which containeth but twenty seaven verses and yet it doth twenty seaven times repeat those words For his mercy endureth for ever THE XL. POINT It is laudable to worship the Images of Saints 1. IT is laudable I say to worship the Saintes Images in that sense in which we Roman Catholiks worship Images The very Saintes themselves we worship not with divine honour as I sayd and largely declared Point 36. n. 3. 4. 5. And therefore it is a most unconscionable slander which our Adversaries lay upon us saying that we give divine honour to Images No we give no such honour to the Saints themselves much lesse do we give it to theyr Images without you think we worship the Images more then the person represented by the Images All that we Roman Catholiks hold as a Point of faith may be read by all men in the Councel of Trent sess 25. where this Councel teacheth due honour and veneration to be given to the Images of Christ and his Saints not that there is believed to be in them any Divinity or Vertue for which they are to be worshiped or that any thing is to be asked of them or that any confidence is to be placed in the Images as anciently was done by the Gentils who did put theyr hope in theyr Idols Psal 115.8 But because the honour which is given to the Images is referred to the persons represented by the Images so that by or through the Images which we kisse and before which we uncover our head or ly prostrate we adore Christ and reverence the Saints whom these Images represent Behold the belief of our Church teaching that all the reverence done before Images I pray note well this manner of speach All the honour I say that is shewed before the picture resteth not in the Image but passeth through it and resteth in the person represented to me by this picture He that abuses King Charles his picture or statue neither intendeth to shew nor sheweth any anger or disrespect to Paper or to stock or stone All the abuse by all mens Iudgment is given to King Charles represented by his picture in paper or engraven in wood or stone A further and an evident proof of all this is that your selves on the one side believe the Sacrament to be only a signe or figure of Christs body and yet on the other side you count it no Idolatrie to kneel before this Sacrament at the
to the honour of that person 6. But because our Adversaries much blame us for using this honour before insensible creatures lett us see whether such honour is not used in Scripture before things wholy insensible of any honour Yet behold before I look into the Bible and whilst I only stay looking upon it I see Protestants cover theyr Bibles with curious covers and placing them in decent places and taking it very ill if any one should trample them under foot or scornfully tear them in peeces And all this is done by reason of the relation which the word of God hath to God himself You know and we shall tell you in the next Point what honour was given to the Ark by reason of the Relation it had to God in regard that from thence he gave his Oracles to the Priests And 2. Sam. 6.16 it is sayd Michol saw David dancing before our Lord. Because he danced before the Ark he is sayd to do this before our Lord so when he kneeled or adored before it it may allso be properly sayd David kneeled and adored before our Lord. And in this sense when we kneele before any Image of our Lady or Saint we may be sayd to kneel before our Lady or before such a Saint This manner of speaking which you account ridiculous and superstitious is as you see the very phrase of Scripture in like occasion Yea adoration it self was used before the Ark. David Psal 99.5 Sayth worship at his footstoole for he is Holy Mark that the reason why worship is to be made at his footstoole is the Relation which this footstoole hath to him whose footstoole it is for he is Holy that is for it is the footstoole of him who deserves that worship should be done even at his footstoole 7. Our Adversaries will make us believe that they can call to mind Christ and his Passion as well and as frequently without seeing a Crucifix as by seeing it which is contrary to all common experience And the Scriptures teach our weaknes and dulnes to be much helped towards stirring up pious Acts by the outward use of these materiall signes Numb 15.38 Speak to the Children of Israël to make to them selves fringes in the borders of theyr garments And it shall be to you a fringe that ye may look upon it that ye may remember all the commandments of our Lord. These fringes were those Philacteria Matth. 23.5 We see that to help theyr dulnes in remembring Gods commandmēts this command is given them so Deutr. 6.9 Thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house and on the gates And you Protestants usually for this reason write them in great letters in your Churches Give us then leave by Images of our Saviour to excite the memory of him Now to theyr objections 8. You first object Exod. 20.4 Thou shalt not make to thee a graven thing you read Image nor any similitude But I pray go on v. 5. Thou shalt not bowe down thy self to them nor serve them I answer these last words do tell you the sense of this commandment That is we are not to make any graven thing to adore it or serve it And this is the sense insinuated in those words Thou shalt not make to thee that is to be adored as God by thee or served by thee We neither bowe to them with intention to adore them as Gods nor do wee hold them so much as capable of beeing served by us Again the Hebrew word Pesel doth only signify a Graven thing though you did translate this word as if it had determinately signifyed a Graven Image This you did purposely to make us apeare Idolaters Certainly if God had declared it unlawfull to make Graven Images he would never have caused the Images of Cherubins to be made in the Ark before whose only presence Idols could not stand as we see 1. Sam. 5.7 by Dagon so often cast downe before it Neither would Salomon have presumed to place round about the walls of Gods Temple Images of Cherubins Wherefore in this command Idols only are forbidden and not such Images as are not used as Idols Whence the septuagint whom you pretend to follow hath the very word eidolon that is Idols why then translate you Graven Images If our Images be Idols God hath not fullfilled his promise to take out of his Church the worship of Idols as I sayd n. 2. 9. Your other and only objection to any purpose is Exod. 32. To answer which I must note some things before I put it First the people beeing assembled against Aaron sayd Arise make us Gods that they may go before us v. 1. Secondly Aaron knowing that they ment such Gods as they had seen worshiped in Aegypt made them a Molten calfe neither can you think of any other reason why he made rather a Calfe then any other thing but only because the Aegyptians worshiped theyr God Apis or Serapis in the shape of a black Calfe with white spotts as S. Augustin testifyeth l. 18. de Civit. c. 5. Thirdly this Calfe beeing molten v. 4. they sayd These be thy Gods ô Israel which have brought thee out of the Land of Aegypt which when Aaron had seen he built an Altar before it and by the Cryers voyce proclamed saying To morow is the Feast of our Lord. Here comes your objection The word which Aaron useth here for the Lord is the name Adonai or Iehova as your Protestants will have it a name proper to the God of Israël so that it seems they only worshipped the God of Israël Neither is it say our adversaries credible that Aaron would do otherwise or that he could call the Aegyptian God by the most sacred name of all names a name so especially appropriated to the God of Israël Whence say they you committ Idolatry if through the Images you worship the person it represents For the Israëlits when they committed Idolatry did only through that Calfe worship the God of Israël represented by It. And this seems strongly confirmed For Ieroboam renewed the selfsame Idolatry by making molten Calves to the house of Israël yet through these Calves he only worshiped the God of Israël calling him Baali as appeares by these words of Hosea c. 2. v. 16. And it shall be in that day sayth our Lord that thou shalt call mee no more Baali Where you see the God of Israël sayth they called him Baali Him therefore the Israëlits worshiped Calling him Baali And so through Baali they worshiped him I answere that they did not in this theyr Idolatry worship the true God but false Gods The people themselves desired Gods to be made them by Aaron as is thrice in that Chapter of Exodus expressed And Aaron knowing that they meant such Gods as they had seen worshipped by the Aegyptians did for that reason make a Calfe as I sayd To this Calfe or if you will to the Aegyptian God Apis through this Calfe they did offer Sacrifice Hence God sayd to
whom they committed the Churches To which ordinance many Nations of those barbarous people who have believed in Christ do consent with out letter or inke having salvation that is soul-saving doctrine written in their heartes For a world of the first believers did never so much as see all scripture It was the yeare 99. before S. Iohn writt his Gospell And when the Canon of Scripture was fully ended there is no meÌ„tion made euen of the lâ—â—st care taken by the Apostles to divulge the Scripture in barbarous languages no nor to divulge it in latin it selfe as you must needes say who deny primitive Antiquity to all Latine Editions All this cleerly proves that Tradition was relyed upon as upon the word of God it selfe Whence S. Paul did not only counsel but also commaÌ„ded the Thessalonians to with draw them selves from all who walked not after the Tradition they had received of their Pâ—stors 2. Thâ—s 3.6 Now sayd heâ— wee comaund you Bretheren in the name of our Lord that ye with draw your selves from every brother that walketh discorderly and not after the Tradition which he receaved of us 5. It was for the keeping this Tradition and forme of Faith why he praysed the Romans Ch. 6.17 You have obeyed from your heart the forme of doctrine what was delivered you This forme could not be a forme conteyned in the whole Canon of Scripture for the whole Canon was not finished when S. Paul did write this It was therefore the forme of uniforme TraditioÌ„ delivered in each church which taught by word of mouth all th nges necessary For this he praysed the Corinthians 1 Cor. 11.2 Now I prayse to Bretheren that you keepe the Traditions so you put in the margenâ— but in the Text you read Ordinances as I eliverded them to you This Forme these Traditions these Ordounances are inculcated again and again 1. Tim. 6.20 O Thimothie keep that which is committed to thy trust And v. 3. If any one teached otherwise he is proud knowing nothing Again 2. Tim. 1.13 Hold fast the good forme of good words which thou hast heard of me That good thing which was committed to thee keep by the H. Ghost Again Ch. 3.14 But thou continue in those things which thou hast learned and been assured of knowing of whom thou hast learned them learned I say by word of mouth for by writing he had received but title So also when as yet by writing he had taught the Romans nothing he in his first and only Epistle to them wrote thus Rom. 16.17 Now I beseeeh you Bretheren mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned Likwise when as yet he had written nothing to the Galatians for where is any such writing he begines thus Gal. 1.6 I maruel that so soon you are removed from him who called you into the grace of Christ unto an other Ghospell I say removed that is changed from the forme of Faith which I delivered which was a true though not a written Ghospel into an other Ghospel taught by these new otherwise teathers yet sayth he with all earnestness Although wee or an Angel from heaven preach any other Ghospel unto you then that ye have receaved let them be accursed v. 8. S. Paul as yet had preached nothing to them in writing but they had received all by Orall Tradition and yet not with standing once again more vehemently v. 9. As wee have sayd before so I say now again if any man preach any other Ghospel unto you theÌ„ that you have received be he accursed Note the word Received intimating that they had all by Tradition For what as then had they received from him in writing And he sayth no more then other Apostles Who did write nothing but delivered all by Orall Tradition might truly have sayed of the Ghospel so delivered by them Neither did S. Paul speake of what they should receive many yeares after but of what they had as theÌ„ received For that was as true as any thing they should receive by writing And therefore for theyr forsaking of what they had received thus he most deservedly sayth unto them O Foolish Galatians who hath bewitched you c. 3. v. 1. For indeed they seeme bewitched out of theyr senses who to follow the private judgment of some otherwise teachers reject what they had received by the full and still-continued report of all Christianity from the first teachers of the faith 6. They object Tradition to be the word of men but all these arguments shew this Apostolicall Tradition for which only wee now contend to be the word of God A forme of sound words And 1. Thes 2.13 Ye received the word of God which ye heard of us ye received it not as the word of men but as it is in truth the word of God Behold what was heard by them by only word of mouth was in truth the word of God Therefore a fitt Rule of Faith even before it was written 7. They aske how wee know a true Apostolicall Tradition from a false one which is the tradition of men I answer that a true Apostolicall Tradition cometh downe handed by a full unanimous report of all Catholike Nations in all ages attested by thyr universall practise and uniforme doctrine what is thus delivered is the Doctrine of the Church diffused and therefore infallible upoÌ„ this ground for other infallible groundes you have none you receive only such and such Scripture for Canonicall and such and such copies of the Scripture for Authenticall We can therefore to the full as well distinguish true Traditions from false ones or Apostolicall Traditions from Traditions of Ordinary men as you can distinguish the Authenticall copie of theyr writings from such as are forged or corrupted for you must first distinguish the truth of the Tradition which recommend such bookes unto you from all false Traditions THE THIRD POINT Of the never fayling of the Church which beeing perpetuall can preserve perpetuall Traditions Also of succession of true Pastors and Professors 1. IF the Church of Christ could fayle or cease to be it is evident Tradition might fayle and not be preserved in its purity The true Church is both infallible as long as she lasts of which see Point 5 and is allso sure to last to the end of the world Yea she is assured all this time to have a lawful succession of true Pastors and under them true Professors of the faith in a vast number find any such Church besides the Roman if you can and I give you leave to call that the true Church And lest perhaps the great number of powerfull Texts which we are to cite should worke smale effect with minds prepossest with one or two objections to the contrary we will first cleare them and then passe to the manifold cleere Texts which demonstrate the true Church at no time to be in a lurking Invisibility 2. The prime objection is from the wordes of Elias