death fall like trees and cannot afterwards alter their condition And saith our Saviour Joh. 9.4 I must work the work of him that sent me while it is day the night cometh when no man can work And this night we may be sure will come at death tho' our Lord here may have some respect to Persecution too And saith St. Paul Phil. 2.12 Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling Here the Apostle doth plainly shew that every one is to work out his own Salvation here in this World and exhorts us to do it with exceeding great care and lets us plainly see that it is not to be done by the Prayers and Absolutions of others after we are dead And saith the Apostle Heb. 3.13 But exhort one another while it is called to day Hereby also shewing that our work is to be done here before death And at the great Day of Judgment every one is to be judged according to the things that he hath done here in the body 2 Cor. 5.10 For saith St. Paul we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ that every one may receive the things done in his body according to that he hath done whether it be good or bad According to the things done here in the body in this world are men to be judged at the last day and here is no regard that is to be had to the matters of Purgatory which shews that there is no such place And after death we may see that the righteous cease from their labor and are at rest and therefore are not laboring and tormented in the fire of Purgatory Job 3.12 13. Why did the knees prevent me or why the breasts that I should suck For now should I have slept then had I been at rest with Kings and Counsellors of the earth And ver 17. There the wicked cease from troubling and there the weary be at rest Job concluded that he should be at rest as soon as he was out of this troublesome world and that other righteous men should be so too and yet he had perfect knowledge of a world to come Job 19.25 And Daniel was to be at rest Dan. 12.13 But go thou thy way till the end be for thou shalt rest and stand in the lot at the end of the days And saith the Prophet Isaiah 57.1 None considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come He shall enter into peace From evil here in this world is the righteous man taken and when he departs hence he enters into peace and rest And saith the Apostle Heb. 4.9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the People of God For he that is entred into his rest he also hath ceased from his own works as God did from his Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest least any man fall after the same example of unbelief A rest remaineth to the People of God after this life is ended and here we are to labor that we may enter into it And saith St. John Rev. 14.13 And I heard a voice from Heaven saying unto me Write Blessed are the dead which dye in the Lord from hence forth yea saith the Spirit that they may rest from their labors and their works do follow them Those that dye in Christ are blessed and happy and are then to rest from their labors and not to be tormented in Purgatory 2 We may conclude from hence also that there is no Purgatory because the body has need to be purified as well as the soul and must be purified before it goes to Heaven but the body is not purified in Purgatory and therefore we may conclude that the soul is not purified in any such place It is more likely that the body should be purified in such a fire than that the soul should be so but the body lyes here in the grave with us until the resurrection and is not purified by Purgatory And yet the body must be purified before it can go to Heaven For the Apostle hath told us That flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of Heaven and that corruption doth not inherit incorruption 1 Cor. 15.50 But our bodies are to be glorified and spiritualized by our blessed Lord. Phil. 3.20 For our conversation is in Heaven from whence also we look for the Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ who shall change our vile body that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body according to the working whereby he is able to subdue all things unto himself The body is to be purified before it can go to Heaven but it is certain that the bodies of men dead are in the grave and not in Purgatory and that the bodies of the righteous are to be changed and glorified by our blessed Saviour and we may be sure also that the souls of the righteous are purified by him When we by the grace of God have done what we can to purify our souls we may be sure that our blessed Saviour will complete this purity and present them without spot before the Throne of God as I have shewed before This clear proof before our eyes that the bodies of men departed are not in Purgatory but in monuments and graves here upon earth doth make it more evident that there is no such place as Purgatory but that it is a vain Fiction and a meer Fable All Receptacles of the dead shall at the last day deliver up the bodies of men that are in them and are there to remain till that day according to John's Vision Rev. 20.13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it and death and hell or the Grave delivered up the dead which were in them and they were judged every man according to their works In the several receptacles where the bodies of men are and shall be reposed and laid up are they to abide till the general day of Judgment and are then and not before to be delivered up And if there were any need that men should be purifyed in Purgatory before they can be fit for Heaven there would be the same need and necessity that the last generation of men should be purifyed herein before they could be fit for Heaven But we are taught by St. Paul that at the last day the dead shall be raised up and that the living shall then be changed and so go with them strait to Judgment to meet the Lord and that the righteous shall from thenceforth abide with him for ever 1 Cor. 15.51 Behold saith he I shew you a Mystery we shall not all sleep that is die but we shall all be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye at the last trump for the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible and we shall be changed That is those of us that shall be then living And 1 Thess 4.15 saith he For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord That we which are alive and remain unto
the unlearned say Amen at thy giving of thanks seeing he understandeth not what thou sayest Here the Apostle plainly sheweth that such as understand not the Language cannot join in the Prayers and Thanksgivings that are made therein and say Amen to them when they understand not what is said And ver 17. For thou verily givest thanks well but the other is not edified Such Service we see is altogether unedifying And saith he again ver 27.28 If any man speak in an unknown tongue let it be by two or at the most by three and that by course and let one interpret But if there be no Interpreter let him keep silence in the Church and let him speak to himself and to God All we see here is to be so done in the Church that all may understand it And he that could speak a Tongue which the Congregation understood not was to be silent in the Church except there were some Interpreter and not to speak what could not be understood by the Congregation By this Chapter it is clear that the Practice of the Romish Church in performing their publick Worship in an unknown Tongue which the common People understand not is directly contrary to the Word of God And our Saviour forbiddeth all vain Babblings and vain Repetitions Matt. 6.7 But when ye pray saith he use not vain repetitions as the Heathen do for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking And yet such vain repetitions do the Popish repetitions seem to be V. Their worshipping of Images is directly contrary to the sacred Scriptures This God hath expresly and strictly forbidden in the second Commandment of the Decalogue and given positive Command That no Image nor Likeness of any thing whatsoever should be made for Worship and that men should not bow down to any such Image or Likeness or any ways else worship and serve them Exod. 20.4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven Image or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above or that is in the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth Thou shalt not bow down thy self to them nor serve them For I the Lord thy God am a jealous God And so Deut. 5.8 The Command we see is very full and clear against the making of any Image or Similitude for Religious use and against the performing of any kind of Religious Worship and Service to any such Image or Likeness of any thing whatsoever But for Ornament where they were not to be worshipped this Command doth not forbid the making of Cherubims as we may see Exod. 25.18 and 26.1 But these are no Plea for the Idolatrous uses of them The making of Images or any Similitudes for Religious Worship and the performing of any Religious Worship and Service unto them either as the mediate or ultimate Object thereof is flatly and clearly here forbidden And this we may see is confirmed by a multitude of places more in the sacred Scriptures Exod. 20.23 Ye shall not make with me Gods of silver neither shall ye make unto you Gods of Gold And all kinds of Images and Figures for a Religious use are forbidden of what matter or fashion soever they were made as the Law of Moses sufficiently sheweth Lev. 19.4 Turn ye not unto Idols nor make to your selves molten Gods I am the Lord your God And Lev. 26.1 Ye shall make you no Idols nor graven Image neither rear you up a standing Image neither shall ye set up any Image of stone in your land to bow down unto it for I am the Lord your God And Deut. 16.22 Neither shalt thou set up any Image which the Lord thy God hateth The setting up any Image whatsoever for Religious Worship is strictly forbidden and declared to be hateful to Almighty God And we are not to think that the Idols and Images and Statues and Pictures of the Heathens only are here forbidden For there is no such restriction and limitation in any of these places to shew that they were solely designed against them and that the modern Image-worship of the Papists is not forbidden hereby but the Images that the Papists use are as strictly forbidden as the other and there is no exception to shew that Images may be used in Religious Worship when they are for the Worship of Almighty God or his blessed Son or the Saints and blessed Angels The Idolatrous Israelites and the very Heathens did pretend as much as this as we may gather from several places in the sacred Scriptures and yet they are condemned as very grievous Idolaters It doth appear that the Israelites made their golden Calf for the Worshipping of the true God thereby because the People said These by thy Gods O Israel which brought thee up out of the Land of Egypt And when Aaron proclaimed a feast for this Idol he said To morrow is a Feast to the Lord. Exod. 32.4 5. And he received them at their hand viz. the golden ear-rings and fashioned it with a graving tool after he had made it a molten calf and they said These be thy Gods O Israel which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt And when Aaron saw it he built an Altar before it and Aaron made proclamation and said To morrow is a feast to the Lord. This Calf and Idol that they had made we see was to represent and personate the great God that brought them out of the Land of Egypt and the feast of this Idol was to be a feast to the Lord. And saith the Psalmist Psal 106.19 20 They made a Calf in Horeb and worshipped the molten Image Thus they changed their Glory into the similitude of an Ox that eateth grass Their Glory that is their glorious God did they thus change into this similitude of a Calf By these places it is clear that they intended to worship the true and great God by this molten Image of theirs And yet they are condemned as notorious Transgressors of the sacred Commands of Almighty God and as Corrupters of themselves for what they did herein Exod. 32.7 And the Lord said unto Moses Go get thee down For thy People which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them they have made them a molten Calf and have worshipped it and have sacrificed thereunto and said These be thy Gods O Israel which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt And the Lord said unto Moses I have seen this People and behold it is a stiff-necked People Now therefore let me alone that my Wrath may wax bot against them and that I may consume them They pretended as the Papists now do to worship Almighty God by this Calf but notwithstanding this God abhorred them for it and his Wrath was ready to break forth against them and consume them It appeareth that Micah's Images were for the service of the true God Judg.
17.3 And when he had restored the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother his mother said I had wholly dedicated the silver unto the Lord from my hand for my son to make a graven image and a molten Image now therefore I will restore it unto thee yet he restored the money unto his mother and his mother took two hundred shekels of silver and gave them to the founder who made thereof a graven Image and a molten Image and they were in the house of Micah From hence it doth appear that they intended to serve the Lord by these Images Jeroboam pretended by his Calves also to worship and serve the Lord as we may see 1 King 12.28 Whereupon the King took counsel and made two Calves of gold and said unto them It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem behold thy Gods O Israel which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt From hence it doth appear that he pretended to worship and serve the same God by his Idolatrous Calves that was worshipped at Jerusalem and the same God that brought them up out of the Land of Egypt And yet he is branded with infamy for his practice herein and called Jeroboam the Son of Nebat who made Israel to sin 2 King 10.29 And his House and Family were totally consumed upon this account 1 King 13.34 And this thing became sin unto the House of Jeroboam even to cut it off and to destroy it from off the face of the earth And 1 King 14.7 His pretending to serve and worship the true God hereby did not at all excuse his Idolatry but notwithstanding this his Calves are called other Gods and the judgment of God came upon his House for his wickedness herein And it doth appear that the very Heathens by their Images and Idols did design to worship the supreme God as the Apostle sheweth Rom. 1.22 23. Professing themselves to be wise saith he they became fools And changed the Glory of the uncorruptible God into an Image made like to corruptible man and to birds and fourfooted beasts and creeping things From hence we may see that they originally at the first intended to worship the supreme and incorruptible God by these Images of men and beasts and used them as Substitutes and Representations of him in Religious Worship And Rabshakeh also pretended that the Altars that Hezekiah destroyed were for the Service of the supreme God 2 King 18.22 But if ye say unto me saith he we trust in the Lord our God Is not that he whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away and hath said to Judah and Jerusalem ye shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem Hence we may see that he pretended that these altars and high places were for the worship and service of the Great God above that was the God of Israel The old Idolaters both Israelites and Heathens pretended as much we see for their Image-worship as the Papists now can do and yet we see that they are both condemned in the Word of God We are to make no Images or Similitudes and Likenesses of Man or Beast or Crucifixes to worship the Great Jehovah thereby or his blessed Son or the Glorious Trinity For this would be Idolatry like the Heathenish Idolatry and flat against the Commands of God And the worshipping of the Images of the Saints is a more base and vile kind of Idolatry and a more wicked thing because they themselves are not the true Objects of our Worship And the more to shew that no Images or Similitudes are to be used in the Worship of God we may see that when Moses made the Tabernacle for his Worship and Service the Mercy-seat was to be left vacant and empty and to be filled with no Image or Similitude but only such Sparks of Glory as God himself was pleased to exhibit there Exod. 25.17 And if God been to be worshipped by any Image or Similitude we may be sure that one should have been placed in this peculiar Seat of his But there was to be none and hereby are we taught that none is to be made for Religious uses And Moses warneth the People that they should not corrupt themselves by making a graven Image or any Similitude upon this account and enforceth his Charge to them with this reason because they had seen no Similitude of God when he spake to them from Mount Sinai Deut. 4.15 Take ye therefore saith he good heed unto your selves for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the Lord spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire Lest ye Corrupt your selves and make you a graven Image the Similitude of any figure the Likeness of male or female the Likeness of any beast that is on the earth the Likeness of any winged fowl that flyeth in the air the Likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground the Likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth Here it is plainly shewed that no Images or Similitudes whatsoever are to be made as Mediums to Worship Almighty God by And we may see that this would be very injurious to him and a great derogation from his exceeding great Glory and Majesty and tend much to the debasing of Him in our minds to make dead and senseless Images to personate him which are much more vile and mean than our selves This is as St. Paul saith the changing the Truth of God into a Lye Rom. 1.25 For how can he be represented by a dead and senseless Image who so far exceeds all the understanding and apprehension of Man Our Saviour hath told us that God is a Spirit Joh. 4.24 He is a most Glorious Spiritual Being that cannot perish and decay but is an Everlasting and an Ever-living God And how can be then be represented by a Material and corruptible Image that must return to destruction and dust at the last This is the way to beget mean and low thoughts of Almighty God in our minds and such we ought not to have of him as the Apostle sheweth Acts 17 29 Forasmuch then as we are the off-spring of God saith he we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold or silver or stone graven by art or man's device God is of such a vast Immensity and Infinity that is not to be exprest nor conceived by us Thus saith the Lord Isa 66.1 the Heaven is my Throne and the Earth is my footstool Where is the house that ye build unto me And where is the place of my rest And Jer. 23.24 Do not I fill Heaven and Earth saith the Lord And so dreadful was his Majesty upon Mount Sinai that the Israelites cryed out that they should be all struck dead with it if the Lord spake any more to them Exod. 20.19 Deut. 5.25 And how then shall he be represented in any meet way by dead stocks and stones and so mean and base a thing as an Image is
And Exod. 34.13 But ye shall destroy their altars and break their Images and cut down their groves And Numb 33.52 Then ye shall drive out all the Inhabitants of the land from before you and destroy all their molten Images and quite pluck down all their high places And Deut. 7.5 But thus shall ye deal with them ye shall destroy their altars and break down their Images and cut down their groves and burn their graven Images with fire And again Deut. 12.3 And you shall overthrow their altars and break their pillars and burn their groves with fire and you shall hew down the graven Images of their Gods and destroy the name of them out of that place In all these places were they strictly commanded to beat down and destroy all Images for Religious use and all such Idols out of their land This is often repeated to them that they might be sure to take great Care to do it And they were commanded to cast away the very gold and Silver that was upon them as a cursed thing and not to take it to them that they might not be snared thereby Deut. 7.25 26. The graven Images of their Gods shall ye burn with fire thou shalt not desire the silver or gold that is on them nor take it unto thee lest thou be snared therein for it is an abomination to the Lord thy God Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house lest thou be a cursed thing like it but thou shalt utterly detest it and thou shalt utterly abhor it for it is a cursed thing Here we see what cursed and abominable things Images are to Almighty God and that his People and Servants are commanded to abhor and detest them and not to take so much as the gold and silver that was upon them lest they should bring a Curse upon themselves thereby And this one might think should be enough to keep all good People from all Image-worship and to make them abhor all such thoughts And we may see that all good Kings and Princes did beat down and destroy all Images and such Idols according to the Commands of Almighty God Moses burnt the Calf that Aaron had made and ground it to Powder and cast it upon the water and made the Children of Israel to drink of it notwithstanding it doth appear that it was made for the Service of the true God Exod. 32.20 Hezekiah brake down the Images that were set up to be worshipped in Judea and is commended for doing that which was right in the sight of the Lord 2 King 18.3 And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord He removed the high places and brake the Images and cut down the groves And yet Rabshakeh pretended that he had broken down the Altars of the Lord. Josiah brake down all the Images that he met with in his Dominions and is commended for a good King and for doing that which was right in the sight of the Lord 2 Chron. 34.2 And he destroyed Jeroboam's Altar at Bethel and it is like his Calf too if it were to be found and was not destroyed before 2 Kings 23.15 And yet Jeroboam pretended to serve the true God by his Calves as I have shewed before King Asa also destroyed the Images and all such Idolatrous Worship and is commended herein for doing that which was good in the eyes of the Lord 2 Chron. 14.2 King Hezekiah also brake in pieces the Brazen Serpent that was set up by Moses when it was abused to an Idolatrous use that it might be no more an occasion of Idolatry 2 King 18.3 And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord He removed the high places and brake in pieces the brazen Serpent that Moses had made for unto those days the Children of Israel did burn incense to it This we see can be no Plea for Idolatry and image-Image-worship because he brake this brazen Serpent to pieces when it was thus abused to an Idolatrous use and his commended for doing that which was right in the sight of the Lord. These we see brake down and destroyed all Images and such Idols and are commended for their practice in so doing And we may see that Shadrach Meshach and Abednego would not be driven to worship the golden Image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up by all the threatnings and Terrors that he could use tho' he threatned to cast them forthwith into the midst of a Fiery Furnace if they did it not Dan. 3.15 And because they would not break the sacred Commands of Almighty God and commit such wickedness as the King commanded them but were resolved to part with their Lives tho' it were in this terrible and dreadful manner rather than do so God did in a wonderful manner deliver them and they received no harm at all tho' they were cast into a fiery Furnace as we see in that Chapter Again farther we may see that God hath declared himself to be a jealous God and that he will not part with his sacred Rights and give his Worship to Images and Idols and that a Wo and Curse is denounced against such Idolaters and that they are like to be shut out of the Kingdom of Heaven and to go to the Lake that burns with fire and brimstone God declareth himself to be a jealous God in the second Commandment upon this account Exod. 20.5 Thou shalt not bow down thy self to them nor serve them For I the Lord thy God am a jealous God And so Exod. 34.14 For thou shalt worship no other God for the Lord whose Name is jealous is a jealous God And saith he Isa 42.8 I am the Lord that is my Name and my Glory will I not give to another neither my Praise to graven Images And saith Moses Deut. 4.24 For the Lord thy God is a consuming fire even a jealous God God we see hath flatly declared that he will not part with his Sacred Worship and Service and let them be given to Images and Idols and hath oft declared that he will be full of jealousie and Fury when men set up Images and such Idols to rival him And a Curse and Wo is denounced against such as worship Images This is the first of Moses's Curses Deut. 27.15 Cursed be the man that maketh any graven or molten Image an abomination unto the Lord the work of the hands of the crafts-man and putteth it in a secret place and all the people shall answer and say Amen Tho' this should be done secretly yet he that should do it is here pronounced Cursed And saith the Psalmist Psal 97.7 Confounded be all they that serve graven Images that boast themselves of Idols worship him all ye Gods And saith the Prophet Isaiah Isa 42.17 They shall be turned back they shall be greatly ashamed that trust in graven Images that say to the molten Images ye are our Gods And Isa 45.16 They shall be ashamed and also confounded all of them
they shall go to confusion together that are makers of Idols And saith God by the Prophet Habakkuk Habak 2.19 Wo unto him that saith unto the wood Awake to the dumb stone Arise it shall teach Such Woes and Curses and Confusion await the makers and worshippers of Images and such must they expect And to conclude this particular we may see that Idolaters are to be excluded and shut out of the Kingdom of Heaven and to have their portion in the Lake that burns with fire and brimstone And it is plain by the sacred Scriptures that the worshipping of Images is flat Idolatry And from hence it doth appear that all Image worshippers are like to be utterly excluded from the Kingdom of Heaven and to go to the Lake that burns with fire and brimstone This is plain that Idolaters are not like to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven 1 Cor. 6.9 Know ye not saith St. Paul that the unrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdom of God Be not deceived neither Fornicators nor Idolaters shall inherit the Kingdom of God And saith he again Gal. 5.19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest which are these adultery fornication uncleaness lasciviousness Idolatry of the which I tell you before as I have also told you in times past that they which do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God It is clear that all Idolaters are like to be shut out of the Kingdom of Heaven and to have their part in the Infernal Lake of fire Rev. 22.14 saith St. John Blessed are they that do his Commandments that they may have right to the tree of Life and may enter in thorow the gates into the City For without are dogs and sorcerers and whoremongers and murderers and Idolaters Those that keep and not those that so notoriously violate and break the Commands of God are the persons that are to inherit his blessed Kingdom And Rev. 21.8 saith St. John again But the fearful and unbelieving and the abominable and murderers and whoremongers and sorcerers and Idolaters and all lyars shall have their part in the Lake which burneth with fire and brimstone which is the second death We see that Idolaters must go to this dreadful place of fire and brimstone and it is clear that Image worshippers are great Idolaters and that they are like to go to this dreadful place of Torment It doth plainly appear that the worshipping of Images is flat contrary to the blessed Word of God in a multitude of places and that all the Pretences of the Papists that they worship Almighty God or our blessed Saviour or the Saints by them signifie nothing at all to excuse them from Idolatry and breaking the sacred Commands of Almighty God and that these Pretences are no more than what the old Idolaters both Jews and Heathens have made which are so much condemned in the Word of God and that all Image-worshippers are like to go to the dreadful Lake of fire and to perish to all Eternity This one Particular doth shew that there is no hope of Salvation for Papists so long as they practise such abominable Idolatry VI. Their worshipping of the Saints and Angels is not agreeable to the blessed Word of God This is the making of them Gods and is contrary to the first Commandment Exod. 20.3 Thou shalt have no other Gods before me The worshipping of Saints and Angels is to make them Gods and contrary to this great Commandment and many other places in the sacred Scriptures God hath declared that he will not give his Glory to another Isa 42.8 But by worshipping of the Saints they give it away And our Saviour hath shewed us that God alone is to be worshipped and served Matt. 4.10 Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him only shalt thou serve But in worshipping of Saints and Angels they go directly against this Precept and do not worship and serve him alone And St. Paul shews that the blessed Angels are not to be worshipped but that it is vanity of mind in such as attempt it Col. 2.18 Let no man domineer over you that is a volunteer in humility and worshipping of Angels intruding into those things which he hath not seen vainly puft up by his fleshly mind The Translation in the Bible differeth a little here but this seems to me to be the true meaning of the Greek here And here the Apostle dissuades us from being drawn away by others to the worshipping of Angels who thro' the vanity of their own mind run inconsiderately into such things as they understand not and for which they have no warrant And much less are we to be drawn then to the worshipping of Saints And we may see that the blessed Angel would by no means suffer St. John to worship him Rev. 19.10 And I fell at his feet to worship him saith St. John and he said unto me See thou do it not I am thy fellow servant and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus worship God And Rev. 22.9 saith he And when I had heard and seen I fell down to worship before the feet of the Angel which shewed me these things Then saith he unto me See thou do it not for I am thy fellow servants and of thy brethren the Prophets and of them which keep the sayings of this book Worship God The blessed Angel would by no means be worshipped we see but sheweth that God only is to be worshipped and if the blessed Angels are not to be worshipped but God only we may be sure that the Saints are not to be worshipped And we are not to make Mediators of them for we are taught that there is but one Mediator between God and Man and that is our blessed Lord. 1 Tim. 2.5 For saith the Apostle there is one God and one Mediator between God and men the man Christ Jesus Our blessed Saviour alone is our Mediator and we are not to make Mediators of the Saints The worshipping of the Saints is the making of them petty Gods and the worshipping of them by Images is gross Idolatry and both are contrary to a multitude of places in the sacred Scriptures And by what hath been said before we may see that those that practise such things are like to perish eternally if they do not betake themselves to a speedy Repentance and Amendment of their sinful Practice herein VII Their Doctrine of Transubstantiation that is That the Bread and Wine in the Sacrament after Consecration are changed into the real Body and Blood of Christ our Saviour is not agreeable to the blessed Word of God St. Paul hath plainly taught us that it is Bread after Consecration and that it is still Bread when it is eaten 1 Cor. 11.26 27 28. For saith he as often as ye eat this Bread and drink this Cup ye do shew the Lord's death till he come Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread and drink this cup of the Lord unworthily shall be guilty of the
of our Saviour and the Apostle XI The Practice of the Romish Church in respect of Marriages is not agreeable to the Word of God First The prohibiting the Marriage of Clergy-men is not agreeable to the Word of God The Word of God alloweth them to marry as well as other men if they see good cause for it and it is great Tyranny and an evil thing to deny them this Liberty The Law of God allowed the Priests and even the High Priests to marry as we may see Lev. 21.7 and in several other places They shall not take a wife that is a whore or profane neither shall they take a woman put away from her husband for he is holy unto his God And ver 13 And he shall take a wife in her virginity The Priests might marry notwithstanding God accounted them holy to himself and would not suffer them to profane themselves in many other respects wherein the Common People might profane themselves And we see that Aaron and his Sons were married men and yet were the High Priests of the Jews and that they married as they saw good observing only the limitations of the Law of God And the Gospel doth allow all men liberty to marry that see good cause for it And it doth require that those should marry that have not the gift of continency and cannot well otherwise keep themselves chast but it tolerates no whoredom at all 1 Cor. 7.2 saith St. Paul Nevertheless to avoid fornication let every man have his own wife and let every woman have her own husband Here is no exception but all may marry that see need for it And saith the Apostle Heb. 13.4 Marriage is honourable in all and the bed undefiled but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge And St. Paul doth plainly shew that Bishops and Deacons might be married men 1 Tim. 3.2 A Bishop then said he must be blameless the husband of one wife He that had not married one Wife and put her away and married another as the Jews sometimes did but had married but one Wife he might be a Bishop And so might the Deacons be married men as we may see ver 8 And St. Paul alloweth Bishops and Elders to be married men in his Instructions to Tit. 1.5 And it doth appear that St. Peter the Apostle was a married man mention being made of his Wives Mother Matt. 8.14 Mar. 1.30 1 Cor. 9.5 And the Apostle tells us that it is better to marry than to burn 1 Cor. 7.9 But if they cannot contain let them marry for it is better to marry than to burn Such as are in danger to be tempted to wickedness are not only allowed but advised to marry and keep themselves pure and not to fall to Whoredom And the Apostle sheweth that the forbidding of Marriage is a sinful and evil thing 1 Tim. 4.1 Now the Spirit speaketh expresly saith he that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of Devils Forbidding to marry This is one thing that these sinful men would do And hereby we see that it is an unlawful thing to prohibit marriage and to keep any Order of men from their liberty herein which God hath granted to all The Practice of the Romish Church is not agreeable to the sacred Scriptures in not suffering the Clergy to marry To prohibit Marriage and to tolerate Whoredom is flat contrary to the sacred Word of God Secondly The Romish Church doth tolerate Incestuous Marriages and the Popes do grant Dispensations for such Marriages as are forbidden by the Word of God God hath forbidden all Incestuous Marriages in the Book of Leviticus and told us what persons we are to marry Lev. 18.5 None of you shall approach to any that is near of kin to him to uncover their nakedness I am the Lord. And the several degrees of persons that we are not to approach to are mentioned in this Chapter and in the twentieth Chapter of this Book And here we may see that the marrying a Brother's Wife is unlawful Lev. 18.16 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy brother's wife it is thy brother's nakedness And Lev. 20.21 And if a man shall take his brother's wife it shall be an unclean thing And John Baptist told Herod that it was not lawful for him to have his Brother's Wife Matt. 14.3 For Herod saith St. Matthew had laid hold on John and bound him and put him in prison for Herodias sake his brother Philip's wife For John said unto him It is not lawful for thee to have her But notwithstanding these plain and positive Commands of God the Popes at their pleasure will grant Dispensations for the marrying of such persons as are here forbidden and for marrying a Brother's Wife Thirdly The Practice of the Romish Church in dissolving of lawful Marriages is not agreeable to the Word of God When a Marriage is lawfully contracted and duely solemnized it is not to be dissolved but only upon the account of Fornication This is our Saviour's determination in this Matter Matt. 5.31 It hath been said whosoever shall put away his wife let him give her a writing of divorcement But I say unto you that whosoever shall put away his wife saving for the cause of fornication causeth her to commit adultery and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery And Matt. 19.3 The Pharisees came unto him tempting him and saying unto him Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause And he answered and said unto them Have ye not read that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female And said for this cause shall a man leave father and mother and shall cleave to his wife and they twain shall be one flesh What therefore God hath joined together let not man put asunder And again Mar. 10.8 And they twain shall be one flesh so then they are no more twain but one flesh What therefore God hath joined together let no man put asunder This we see is a sacred Knot and a work that God hath done when it is lawfully done according to his order and not to be dissolved by man except in the case of Fornication And saith St. Paul 1 Cor. 7.10 11. And unto the married I command yet not I but the Lord Let not the wife be separated from her husband But and if she be separated let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband and let not the husband put away his wife Christians are not to put away their Wives but were even to keep their Heathen Wives if they would live with them and not leave their Husbands because they were Christians But notwithstanding Marriage is so sacred a thing and we are commanded not to dissolve it yet the Church of Rome doth dissolve the Marriage of all Priests and we see that the Marriage of the Clergy is as lawful as the Marriage of other men This we