of Creation the memorie of the first is obscured by the last and so the one is to give place unto the other as in a case not much unlike it the Prophet Ieremâ—e hath declared Ier. 16.14 15. Nor againe doth this last impose a like commemoration with the former in regard of Rest because our Saviour did not so much rest upon that day whereon he arose as valiantly overcome the powers of death It may be rather said that he rested before whil'st he lay in the Grave and so they who are dead bee sayd to rest from their labours but to rise againe implyes a breaking off from rest and a beginning of labour which even in this cannot but be granted if the consideration be taken up with relation to that rest which went before it whil'st the bodie lay in the quiet Grave till the time appointed Nor doe I thinke it strange to say that on our Day of the Lord the memorie of the Redemption be come in place of that of Creation For tho we have the proper solemnitie of Christ's Resurrection upon that day which is called Easter yet this weekely day of publique worship being as Saint Austine speaketh consecrated to us by our Lords Resurrection doth not onely deserve to be made choice of for the peculiar day of our solemne Assemblies but to be judged also to relate in some sort to the benefit of Redemption Secondly their strict resting was a memoriall of their deliverance from the hard labours which they had lately suffered in the Land of Aegypt as is expressely mentioned in Deut. 5.15 Now this was a thing peculiarly belonging unto them and not to us Therefore they and we are not both bound to one and the same strictnesse unlesse their condition and ours were both alike Thirdly Ezek. 20 12. this their Sabbath was given them for a signe Psal 147.20 that God had then chosen them from among all the Nations of the earth to be his people For the Heathen had no knowledge of his Lawes but they had the partition wall was then unbroken In token of which favour they had the Sabbath which they were strictly to observe not doing their owne will nor speaking so much as their owne words as in these Scriptures is declared Exod. 31.13 Ezek. 20.12 and Esa 58.13 And albeit all Christians now be likewise the people of God yet because they are of more Nations then one and live in times of more maturitie they are not tyed to such a strict yoake as if they were still in the dayes of the Law but differenced from that Heire who whil'st he is a Child must live as a servant as the Apostle speaketh Gala. 4.1 For when the fulnesse of time was come the condition of God's people was altered as at the fift verse of the foresayd Chapter is declared And at the seventh verse thus Thou art no more a servant but a Sonne And therefore though bound to bee obedient yet freed from those hard taskes which of old were strictly required from the Jewish people Last of all their Sabbath was a type whereby was prefigured that Rest Heb. 9.4 which as the Apostle speaketh and of which their Canaaen likewise was a figure remained for the people of God to be purchased for them by Christ who being come and gone into his Fathers house Ioh. 14.2 wherein are many mansion places went to prepare them as was prefigured in the foresaid Rest of the Jewish Sabbath And therefore seeing Christ hath actually purchased that which was then prefigured it were injurious to Christ to lay the same yoake still upon our neckes Yea in a word by what hath beene said it cannot but appeare that although our Lord's Day or Sunday hath of late yeares beene vulgarly knowne and called by the name of the Sabbath yet of right neither the name nor manner of keeping it appertaines thereunto For there is so great a difference betweene the old Sabbath and our Sunday that it is a manifest mistake to urge those Scriptures upon us which peculiarly belonged to them in the observation of their Day But if the Sunday be no Sabbath Quest why then doth the Church in her Liturgie retaine still the fourth Commandement and say Remember that thou keepe holy the Sabbath day c. yea and why are the people bound to pray at the end thereof Lord have mercy upon us and incline our hearts to keepe this Law For answer whereunto Sol. this is first that although all the other Commandements are to be kept ut sonant according to the letter as St Austin speaketh yet this of the Sabbath is of another kinde being partly morall partly ceremoniall And if so then in part it is abolished and in part retained And being but in part abolished it must upon necessity have still a place among the other precepts For so farre as 't is morall 't is still of force and is therefore put among the Precepts of the Decalogue for that which is morall in it For as I said formerly it proceedeth from the Law of Nature that some time be set apart for Gods publicke service And therefore this being revived in the Law of the fourth Commandement ought to be remembred and kept upon one day in seven which last though unknowne till Nature was informed is now to be reckoned as that principal portion of time which God requireth And so last of all being bound to the morality of the precept there is good reason that we pray to have the Lord incline our hearts to the keeping of it for being strengthned by his assistance there will be care had that we decline not away from the observation thereof And whereas I formerly gave notice that it is the very chiefe of Dayes or as I then expressed it Gods chiefe Schoole-day I had reason for it because there is no Holy Day which the Church hath appointed to be kept of such eminency and excellency as is this Day of the Lord according to that of St. Austin in his 251 Sermon De tempore at the very beginning therof in these words saying Sciendum est Fratres charissimi quod ideo à sanctis patribus nostris constitutum est christianis mandatum ut in solennitatibus Sanctorum maxime in Dominicis diebus otium haberent à terreno negotio vacarent ut paratiores promptiores essent ad divinum cultum In which words appeareth not only the excellency of this Day above other Festivalls but the necessity also of such a Rest as may be no hindrance but a furtherance to Gods publicke worship For such a Rest as this is as a means requisite for that end for which the Day is set apart The ancient Sabbath had as hath beene shewed other ends which here in this Day can take no place because the Day it selfe is now abolished and gone and the armes of the Church extended further then to one only Nation All that can be added more is this
in vaine they are yet in their sinnes I shall speake of these in their order Of the time the place the persons I. And as for the chiefe time I call it as I ought the Lord's Day or Sunday because the Sabbath as ceremoniall was abolished at the death of Christ as in the second Chapter to the Collossians is declared And why a day must be still observed is inregard of what is morall in the fourth Commandement For it is absolutely and directly of the Law of Nature that some time be set apart for the publique worshippe and solemne services of God And why one day in seven is not in regard of what is strictly morall in respect of Nature dictating but in respect of Nature informed by the Divine instruction of the God of Heaven For whereas Nature knew not how to make choice or put a difference betweene one number and another it pleased God to instruct and informe Nature that thereby that which is not strictly morall ratione naturae might bee knowne and accounted as morall ratione disciplinae of which condition is the quota pars both for Tythes and for the time of God's publique worshippe And next why this part of one in seven hath since the ceasing of the Sabbath beene observed by us ratheÌ„ ron the first then second third or any other day of the weeke is not in regard of any precept expressely commanding it but in regard of the Churches practice at all times and in all Ages ever since Now they that began it were the Apostles being led thereunto by our and their Lords resurrection and by his often apparitions to them upon that very day rather then upon any other day beside For as they knew the Sabbath to be abolished by Christs death In like manner by his resurrection they had ground sufficient to direct them to the choice of a peculiar day for the observation of a new and chiefe Festivall and so much the rather because Christ used then as I sayd to appeare unto them Hence therefore it is Revel 1.10 Ignat. epist ad Magnes that Saint Iohn makes mention of a Day which he calleth Dies Dominicus the Lord's Day And Ignatius one of Saint Iohns Disciples telleth us that it was the first day of the weeke the very Queene and chiefe of Dayes renowned by our Lord's resurrection So also sayth Saint Austine Aug ad Ianua epist 119. c. 13 the Lord's Day was declared to Christians by the resurrection of the Lord and from that time began to be celebraeted De verb. Apost Serm. 15. And in another place The raysing of the Lord hath promised to us an eternall day and hath consecrated for us the Lord's Day By which he meaneth that Christ thus honouring this day did thereby as it were point it out as the onely day to be made choice of for the religious and solemne services of God Or to use againe his owne words Demonstrare consecrare dignatus est Ad Ianuar. epist 119. c. 9. He did vouchsafe to demonstrate and consecrate it Thus they and their successours first tooke it up Apostoli Apostolici viri This was their ground and from them to us the observation thereof hath proceeded and is still retained in the Christian Church Yea Iust apol 2. ad Anton. Imperat ppope finem and further even this Day which was thus frequently called the Lord's Day Iustine Martyr calls also Sunday and may fitly be so named not because the Pagans dedicated that day to their Idoll of the Sunne but because as another Father speaketh The Sonne of righteousnesse which enlightneth every one of us Saint Ambr. Serm. 61. did then arise Neither was it knowne to have so much as the name of Sabbath ever after in the Church of God without some distinction added to distinguish it from that of the Iewes For in a proper and litterall sence it cannot bee called the Sabbath Day as being neither that day which the Iewes observed nor of such strickt rest as was that Day of theirs And indeed the very stricktnesse of their rest gave the name of Sabbath to the Day which they were to keepe but was not the principall thing wherein the sanctification of it consisted For though the rest was strictly exacted yet but accidentally annexed and therefore now removed in the removall of that yoke of outward observances which for the time was laid upon them Gala. 4. For as the effect abideth so long as the cause remaineth but perisheth when the cause ceaseth so the strictnesse of Rest was to remaine so long as the Day and memoâ—y of the things vailed under the strict rest thereof abided But the Day being taken away the end and reason of the sayd Rest is gone and also the strict Rest it selfe which being figurative could not be too strict For the more exact the figure is the better it signifieth as in the Lambe for the Passeover well appeareth which was to be alwaies such as had no blemish And that this Rest of theirs thus strictly exacted was but accidentally annexed will be manifest if we consider the many causes more then the chiefe and principall for which they were to keepe it For though such a Rest be alwaies requisite as may promote the divine duties of God's publique worship and not be contrary to the observance of that precept which requires the performance of them Yet if there be other ends beyond that which the solemne service of God requireth those ends must bee examined whether they be connected with that end which participates with the moralitie of that Commandement which leades us to the setting apart of some time for God's publique and solemne service We denie nothing to be abolished which is as a meanes requisite to that end for which a Day is set apart But if in the Iewish rest there were things figurative and to signifie something which was either past present or then to come We are nothing bound either to the name of their day to the day it selfe or to the strict observance of such a rest as that day of theirs required For if this be not granted wee retaine not onely the substance but ceremonie likewise of the Sabbath their many ends of rest beside that for which the day was chiefely set apart must needes be the cause of an extreame stricknesse But being to signifie as aforesayd it was to them and not to us that God intended such a Rest For first they rested in memorie of the Creation which on that particular day was ended sixe dayes being spent in Creating Exod. 20.11 before that day of Rest approached From the memorie of which after the manner that they remembred it we are now called in regard that the observation of the day it selfe is ceased Col. 2.16.17 Not that we doe hereby deny God to bee our Creatour but acknowledge Christ to be our Redeemer And indeed the benefit of Redemption being greater then that
but of peace and order The seventh and last is the envious hearer not so much against the Priest as against his neighbour Ye may easily know him for he sits like a malecontent very sad and sorrowfull as if he were a deafe man and heard not untill he thinketh that the Preacher hath a speciall ayme at some one or other whom he himselfe hateth upon thought of which he cheeres up his spirits begins to looke like a willing hearer and is exceeding well content to drinke up with greedinesse such a passage thinking it no small happinesse to have his eares blessed with the vineger and gall of that particular But if this be hearing I am much deceived Luk. 8.8.18 For he that hath an care to heare saith our Saviour let him heare yea and take heed likewise how he heareth Not turne aside and stop his eare for then he doth not heare at all Nor heare as himselfe pleaseth for then he hears amisse But heare as he ought that thereby he may heare indeed and so at the last he shall be one day taken to that happy and joyfull place of seeing yea and sing that song Psal 48.8 As we have heard so have we seene in the City of our God SECT III. THis therefore brings mee unto a third thing propounded viz. That the people obey as well as heare The obedience is two-fold Deut. 30.14 Heb. 13.17 concerning Doctrine and Government 1. That of Doctrine is first and is no more but the submitting unto and practising of what their Pastors teach them For except it manifestly appeare Ezek. 33.31 that the Doctrine delivered be false thou art bound to reverence to receive it and to obey it as the word of God Jam. 1.17 Yea though the preacher have much out of humane writers and ancient Fathers for what saying soever is agreeable to the word of God and fitly applyed is to be received as the word because if it be truth it must needs come downe from God who is the fountaine 1 Cor. 4.7 not only of every perfect gift but of every good gift For what good is there in man which he hath not received To which purpose Saint Austin speaking of such truths as are many times delivered even by Philosophers themselves saith Aug. de Doct. Christ lib. 2. Si quae vera Philosophi dixerunt ab eis sunt tanquam ab injustis possessoribus vendicanda in usum nostrum meaning that what truths soever Philosophers have spoken are to be taken from them into our use as from unjust possessours Nay further should the life of the Minister distaste thee yet flye not his doctrine For when the wicked Scribes and Pharisees satin Moses his chaire Math. 23.2.3 they said but did not In which case it was Christs owne advice That what they taught should bee observed but what they did should be avoided Dicunt enim quae Dei sunt faciunt quae sua sunt Aug. contra liter as Petil l. 2. c. 6. as Saint Austin speaketh Whereto I adde that an Eagles eye anâ— an Adders eare are badly chosen for who is there among the sonnes of Men that can acquit himselfe from humane frailties But why doe I talke of frailties The world especially in looking on us is not so charitable as to put a difference between grosse offences and infirmities Nay should we live like Angels Math. 10.24.25 or like Christ himselfe there would not bee wanting some or other to traduce us If we suffer not our selves to be defrauded but seeke for our owne we are accounted covetous and seeke not you but yours although in this we doe but call you backe from that blacke sinne of foule Sacriledge wherein you doe not so much rob us as God Malac. 3.8 Or if we will not suffer our selves to be contemned we are proud and ambitious although in this God's honour and the dignity of our callings be defaced Or if we endeavour to have things rectified that be amisse we are accounted busie and troublesome although in this we goe about to discharge the duties of our places For thus can the world extract something out of nothing and multiply molehils into mountaines concerning the steps of our proceedings I excuse not all but rather teach you to be cautelous and well advised in accusing those who bee your Pastours Nor doe I thinke all to be free from scandalous living Howbeit even in this sport not with accursed Cham at your Fathers nakednesse but rather pray with the Church that both by our life and doctrine we may set forth God's true and lively word and rightly and duly administer his holy Sacraments For indeed they preach most who live best and why is that but because such is the nature of fraile mortall men that they are more prone to be led by example than by precept howbeit our Saviours rule directeth otherwise as a little before hath been declared Let it therefore be that you heare and not only so Math. 7.26 Jam. 1.22.24 but that ye heare and doe For he that heareth and doeth not is like unto him who built his house upon the sands or like unto one who beholdeth his naturall face in a glasse who when he hath considered himselfe goes his way and forgets immediately what manner of one he was Therefore be ye hearers of the word Rom. 2.13 and not hearers only but doers also for not the hearers of the Law but the doers shall be justified Deut. 7.12.13 Or as it is in Deuteronomy If thou hearken to my Lawes and observe them then the Lord shall keepe with thee his covenant he shall love thee and blesse thee Nor againe may the nature of the Doctrine distaste thee For in case thou hadst rather have sugar than salt honey than gall oyle than vineger liberty than restraint know that God hath sent his Spirit to rebuke the world of sinne Iohn 16.8 And therefore being reproved out of the word of God neither despise nor murmure but rather remember your obedience shew your thankfulnesse acknowledge your sinnes bewaile your iniquities abstaine from your wickednesse Heb. 3.8 â—8 slack not your conversion nor put it off from day to day lest by delaying your danger be past recovery Ye may vow perhaps to sacrifice your Minister upon the unsanctified Altar of your owne scorne for speaking as you thinke too home unto your soules But doe ye not know that obedience was preferred in a farre better sacrifice than this and rebellion branded withan hellish marke It is divellish sure to disobey 1 Sam. 19.22.23 Disobedience is coupled to the sinne of witchcraft And in Physicke ye also know it is not required that it should please but rather that it should helpe and heale Wherefore although the word to flesh and blood be not tooth some yet let it suffice that in it selfe 't is wholesome For conclusion therefore with that of Saint Bernard and that of Saint Hierom let
the text wil beare it as well as that of the 5. Commandement Give mee leave therefore in as plaine a method as I can to set before your eyes not onely these but even the severall sorts of other parents which in a peevish perverse and crooked Generation are rather cursed then blessed dishonoured then honoured despised then cherished contemned then obeyed with a thousand other such desperate dealings which a wicked generation casts upon them And indeed to take up the matter aright it must needs be a true conclusion that it can be but a lame and a disobedient dutie to acknowledge none to be our parents but those who begat and brought us forth For although I speake nothing of masters who are Patres familias 2 Kin. 5.13 Fathers of a family or although I speake nothing of the Aged who are Elders and must bee honoured as fathers 1 Tim. 5.1.2 Although I say nothing be spoken of these or of some others which by way of eminency have a prerogative that pleads for their honour we have besides them yea and besides our Natural parents also even fathers of the Church and of the common wealth And therefore they are not onely our parents who give us a beeing but such also as give vs a safe and well-being Our naturall parents give us the first Our politicall parents give us the second And from our spirituall parents we receive the third or last which is the perfection of all the rest Now if to give the first bee something then something sure it needs must be to give or uphold the second and if the second then the next That is If hee who gives the first being must have honour and the like then hee who gives the second And if this be due to the first and second then also to the third Neither secondly can I thinke that a mans first being is as any thing to him if he wants the next that is if he bee oppressed by the mighty and finds no comforter For what a poore thing it is to bee without a deliverer from the hard usage of wicked men Solomon declareth in the fourth chapter of Ecclesiastes at the first second and third verses Or thirdly having both these and wanting that which is the instrumentall cause of the best or last is to bee without the happinesse of that which is sure to crowne even the second and first For saith our Saviour concerning Iudas Woe be to that man by whom the Sonne of man is betrayed Math. 26.24 it had beene good for that man if hee had never beene borne Intimating that the not being of a creature is farre better then the ill being especially when the end which should crowne the act must abide for ever in the never ending sadnesse of a sad catastrophe And therefore as wee may not curse revile harme contemne or despise those from whom wee have our first being So neither may wee revile harme curse contemne or despise those from whom we have either our safe or our well-being For as thou art a man it is that thou honourest thy naturall father and as a member of a politicall bodie or societie thou canst not but honour thy civill father yea and as a Christian which is more then a man thou must likewise see that thou honour thy Spirituall Ecclesiasticall or Ghostly father Thy naturall parent is Gods instrument for thy naturall being Thy prince Gods instrument for thy safe quiet civill being and thy pastor Gods instrument for thy spiritual well and holy being Without the first thou couldest not be any thing Without the second thou couldest not be safely what thou art And without the next thou couldst not be what thou wouldest For as the sword of the civill Governour keepes thee from the forreigne and domesticke power of such wicked builders and bloody hunters as were Cain and Nimrod So the sword of Gods Minister keepeth thee from the snatching pawes of Sathan that sworn enemy of all mankind 1 Pet. 5.8 who like a roaring Lyon ramps up and downe seeking whom he may devoure These then are the chiefe Fatherhoods of greatest note the one wherof may be no more cursed then the other nor the other lesse blessed then the first Concerning whom I will both resolve the doubtfull and convince the divelish that thus they are yea and thus must they be honoured Aequè but not aequalitèr Iustly and fitly as of right is meet and due but not all of a just and equall portion I. The first which be our naturall parents are called Fathers of our flesh Heb. 12.9 For we have had fathers of the flesh that corrected us and wee gave them reverence saith the Apostle And not without just cause Prov. 20.20 for Who so curseth his father or his Mother shall have his lampe put out in obscure darknesse Looke therefore what it meaneth and perhaps you shall finde that they die the death of the damned Prov. 20.20 Or as it is at the 17th verse of this very Chapter The ravens of the vallies shall picke out their eyes and the young eagles shall eate them Shall pick out the eye saith Iunius Iun. in annot in Prov. 30.17 that is Filium immorigerum aut parentibus iniquum in malam rem condemnabit Deus God saith hee shall condemne he disobedient and wicked child into some great mischeife signified by that phrase of picking out and eating up their eyes To which I cannot but adde a second glosse namely that if the speech be figurative then may these birds of prey by an allegorie bee taken for the damned Divels with whom these desperate sinners shall without repentance have their deserved punishment For he that honoureth not his earthly parents whom he hath seene will scarce honour God as his heavenly father whom he hath not seene and so being obstinately rebellious and wilfully guilty of the breach of both Tables must needs continuing so be damned die and perish everlastingly These are the first II. The second are Patres Patriae Fathers of their countrey as Kings cheife Magistrates and Rulers bearing office in the common-weale Thus was Ioseph stiled even by the Law of nature among the Egyptians For being advanced unto honour by Pharaoh King of Egypt as we read in Genesis chap. 41.43 the people went before him with a joyful acclamation crying out and saying Abrech which as St. Hierome expounds it signifies a young and tender Father Hier. trad 〈◊〉 Genes from Abb Father and rech young or tender Thus also did the ancient Romans call their Senatours They were Patres conscripti Fathers upon record and to attaine to this to be entituled a father of their country they esteemed it the best and the greatest honor For thus I say did even the Law of nature teach them to reverence the persons of their governours and to give them that honourable title and stile of Fathers So also Ioshua the cheife Magistrate after Moses was dead called
this and therefore are no more idolatrous then was David in the fift Psalme at the seventh verse Yea in a word if men were disposed to be right there stands before us in our assemblies a chiefe signe of God's presence as being that from whence we have our perfectest communion with the God of Heaven For though it begins in Baptisme it ends in the Supper neerer then which we cannot goe till we passe from hence to a better place So that although he give us good assurance of his Presence in sundry things and by many testimonies tells us truely that he is with us yet in nothing so much nor so really as in this high mysterie of our Religion And next albeit every circumstance in respect of the forme and fashion of these places not knowne at the first yet 't was a Dictate of the Law of nature that some place as well as some time should be holy to the Lord. It had footing as soone as might be Some say in Paradise Gen. 3.8 But more plainely afterwards for the place mentioned in Gen. 4. unto which Cain and Abel brought their offerings that their Father Adam as a Priest might offer them to God for them is at the 14. and 16. verses called the Face or Presence of God that is the House of God being that place where the publique and solemne services of the Lord were usually performed For first they came unto it sayth the Text. Secondly they brought their offerings thither Thirdly Cain also confesseth that he was excommunicated or driven away from thence that is he was expelled from the Congregation of the faithfull for Adam had sundry other Children at the same time as is signified at the fourteene verse How else could he be sayd to goe out or be driven away from the presence of the Lord who in other respects is every where And last of all 't is thus to be expounded because the Scriptures afterwards do so explaine the like phrases speaking so punctually to our capacities that whereas in one place it is Bring an offering and come before him in another 't is Bring an offering and come into his Courts See the proofes in the 1 Chron. 16.29 and in Psal 96.8 By the face then or Presence of God is here signified a peculiar sacred place where teaching hearing praying sacrificing and other duties of Gods publique worship used to be performed And so also in other the like phrases of holy Scripture for by them we know how to take up the true sense of this Afterwards we also finde that the Patriarchs used Altars Groves and Mountaines to the selfe-same purpose that Adam and his Sonnes before them had used their foresayd place of meeting As for example it is recorded in Gen. 13.4 that Abraham with all his houshold went up from Egypt unto the place of the Altar which he had made there at the first and there Abraham called on the name of the Lord. And againe in Gen. 13.18 we also finde that when he came to Mamre and dwelled there he built in that very place an Altar unto the Lord. And in Gen. 21.33 when he sojourned in the Philistims land he planted a Grove in Beer-sheba and called there on the name of the Lord the everlasting God And in the next Chapter 't is also thus written that when he was to offer up his sonne Isaac he is directed to a Mountaine in the land of Moriab which signifieth The feare of God as being a place not of common use but for God's honour as was signified afterwards more openly when Solomon built there the holy Temple Next look upon Isaac who where he spread his Tent built an Altar Gen. 26.25 But above all that of Iacob is most remarkable who when he came to Luz found that there was an house of God which at the first he knew not and is therefore said to be afraid lest perhaps he had offended in not ordering of himselfe so there as of right he knew he ought to doe in all such places For indeed had he beene a stranger to such chosen places had he beene ignorant of their holinesse or had the knowledge of them been a new thing never heard of before among the Patriarchs he had not now suspected this to be God's house nor the Gate of heaven See Gen. 28.11.16.17.18.19 He lodged saith the Text in a certaine place had there a vision and by vertue thereof he presently declared that this was no other then the house of God and therefore a place of feare and reverence Intellexit Iacob saith one quod prius nesciebat Lipp in Gen. 28. ex Cajet tum Deum esse in illo loco tanquam in loco appropriato auditorii sui Briefly if we look at nothing but his feare 't is enough to signifie that he was no stranger to chosen places For supposing it to be granted that none of the Patriarchs had ever used to worship here yet that they had peculiar places set apart from common use is still apparent for lesse then so cannot possibly be gathered hence Now then if these things were thus before the Law they are ill advised who care not for the difference of places after the Law for if we be still the worshippers of our God we must still have places for his holy worship which must be dedicated and set apart only for him and his services Nay if we look no further then the dayes of Moses and from thence cast an eye to the times of David and Solomon it is sufficient For as the Christian religion is come in place of the Jewish so are our Churches come in place of theirs Their Tabernacle saith one was a patterne of their Temple and their Temple a type of our Churches even as all their service was a type of our Christ And also as it was of old Ye shall keepe my Sabbath and reverence my Sanctuary so now the Sunday being God's holy day in stead of the Sabbath the Church must be the place of his holy worship These two in that very saying hath the Lord ioyned together and therefore it is not for man to divorce or put them asunder If we deny the place we are against the day but if we acknowledge the one we grant the other In which regard Act. 18.11 although St. Paul at the first when he had iust occasion given him to renounce the Iewes and their Synagogues Act. 28.8 was necessitated to preach in a private house yet as soon as might be 1 Cor. 11.22.33.34 he took order for the building of Churches teaching moreover how both men and women should behave themselves in them And so did other godly Christians after him They were carefull even in the times of persecution to have such speciall places erected And although Dioclesian made fearfull havock of them yet no sooner was that godly Constantine become a Nursing Father to the Church but they were againe restored their number much increased
For as in the case of divorce Christ sent the Scribes and Pharisees to see how it was Ab initio so in this case of maintenance for Gods Ministers Inquire of the old wayes and when you find that in the beginning it was not so as sacrilegious persons now would have it nor commanded since that it should be so you may conclude without any more adoe that the Quota pars is still a tenth And indeed that wee may bring the totall of this dispute home to the Apostles Text that very way of paying tithes is a reall communication of all kind of goods whereas in stipens taxing of houses or rating of persons cannot but bee much errour Pars celatur pars subducitur ausim dicere 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Omnia bona non communicantur saith that famous (*) Bishop And. in his Posth De decimis pag. 148 Worthy of happy memory And againe secondly that it ought stil to be as in diebus illis St. Paul †1 Cor. 9.13 14. in another place speaks it more plainely expresly setting downe the practice of the Old Testament for a President unto the New He fetcheth proofes (*) Deut. 2◠1. from Moses awnot only to confirm the equity of providing maintenance for Gods Ministers but also to shew and confirme the manner how even to the measure thereof For it must be granted Dr. Carlet of tythes c. 4. that the Apostles words concluding sometime certainly doe rather conclude that which was the ordinary maintenance commonly received in the Church than that which was never in use insomuch that as the Levites lived by tthes and offerings so should we For it is in the Text plainely and directly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Even so Even so hath the Lord ordained that they who preach the Gospel should live of the Gospel And if even so then by tithes and offerings for so was the Ministery of Law maintained Nay marke it yet a little better and it cannot but be yeelded that whereas the Apostle saith The Lord hath ordained that they who preach the Gospel should liue of the Gospel there must be some ordinance of the Lord shewed concerning this of which hee speaketh but none can be shewed excepting that of old The Apostles times were extraordinary and such as they could be where Persecution put all things out of square yea such as they could be in the first founding of a Church the Planters and Waterers being sent from place to place and things not setled till a long while after as anon shall bee further shewed Here therefore was no ordinance for a continued maintenance Their taking of benevolence proves no such thing no more than their going from place to place proveth that a Church should be always unsetled And therfore his Ordinance was of old so this Even so can plead for nothing else to bee ordinarily received than tythes and offerings for Even so hath the Lord ordained And why Even so or after the same manner but because Gods part is certainly annexed to Gods worship the rate or measure whereof beside offerings is said to be a tenth of all that wherewith the Lord yeare by yeare blesseth his people this being that maine and principall tithe Deut. 18.1 which in Deuteronomy is called the Tythe of Inheritance as afterwards more fully shall be shewed Bullinger in the tenth Sermon of his fift Decade speakes not so much of tithes as of stipends to bee given to the Ministers of the Gospell yet when hee commeth to this of Saint Paul 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Even so hath the Lord ordained hee then concludeth thus But I judge saith he this especially to be observed which the Apostle speaketh in plaine words viz. That the Lord instituted his Ordinance concerning the maintenance of the Ministers unto the imitati 〈◊〉 of the ANCIENT LAVVES of of the Iewish people Hereof wee gather that wee misse not much the worke if in this and such like cases wee doe not utterl reject the ancient institutions of the Fathers Thus he Another speaking of our owne countrey saith Here onely was the errour of that marke the King did not restore the Tenths to the constant maintenance of the Ministery which portion whether it now belong to the Church or no Iure divine I intend not to dispute pro or con But this I dare say Gods owne order hath manifested it to be both competent and convenient for that purpose beyond all old exceptions or new inventions and so proves it to agree with the Law of Nature if not to flow immediatel from thence deserving therfore to live after the honourable buriall of the Ceremoniall Law as it breathed long before it Thus that other Neither thirdly is it but that in the seventh Chapter to the Hebrewes Levi is said to pay tythes unto Christ because Abraham in whose loines Levie then was paied tithes to Melchisedech the type of Christ which whether it bee pertinent to our right and claime who are the Ministers of Christ I shall need to say little Only this I would should be well observed that as under the Law it was not so much the Levites as God by them who received this sacred tribute So before the Law not so much Melchisedech as the Lord in Melchisedech yea and now also under the Gospel not so much the Ministers as Christ receiveth Tythes For hee saith the Apostle Of whom these things are spoken is Christ our Lord who sprang out of another Tribe then that of Levi even out of Iudah Heb. 7.13 14. Quod debehat Ahraham Deo solvit in manum Melchisedeck saith Calmin Calvin in Heb. 7. That which Abraham owed unto God hee paied into the hands of Melchisedeck Or as Saint Chrysostome speaketh Abraham the Father of the faithfull Chrysost hous 5. adversus Iudaeo paying his Tythes to Melchisedeck shadowed out all the faithfull paying Tythes unto Christ Againe Tythes payed to Melchisedeek are here brought by the Apostle to prove not onely the greatnesse but the perpetuity of Christ's Priesthood and therefore Tythes ought to bee payed as long as Christ's Priesthood standeth And as I said before although the Priests have alwayes received them yet the originall right is none of theirs They have them but by way of Deputation or Assignment and this but once made manifest by any written Law Howbeit that once was enough because the end was ever the same namely for the service that they do This very end made it be practised in Nature towards them that then were the Lords Priests though (†) Bishop Mount against Mr. Seld. ◠1. pag. 210. no doubt the Patriarkes had for this as for all other points of Divine service speciall instruction and direction by Illumination Angelicall information or divine Revelation which was the Pedagogy God trained them up in untill that Scripture came in place wherein the Assignation and reason of it was recorded And from thence also it was that before the Law
they were taught not the duty for Nature it selfe could teach them that but the proportion of Gods due this being as I said before concerning the particularity of a seventh day for Gods publike worship a thing morall not in respect of nature dictating but in regard of Nature informed by the divine instruction or angelicall Illumination of God Almighty and so the very particular part is Morall although not Ratione naturae yet Ratione Disciplinae Thus then you see that Ratione originis or by right Originall Tythes are the Lords For all the Tythe of the Land is the Lords Levit. 27.30 And therefore in Malachie thus wee reade Malac. 3.8 Will a man rob God yet yee have robbed me saith the Lord in Tythes and offerings Now this was knowne before but not recorded and how knowne I have already shewed For better proofe whereof marke well the manner of the words It is not said Thou shalt pay all Tythes to the Lord for such a Precept might argue an Institution of Tythes as Dr. Carleton wel observeth Dr. Carlt. of tythes c. 3. But it is said All Tythes are the Lords which words doe not expresse any new Institution but declare that ancient Right which God had alwayes in them long before the Law But how are they his not as all things else are his but by a speciall propriety Otherwise when hee gave them to the Levites because he chose them into the priesthood he had given them althe Cattell upon a thousand hils Psal 50.10 as well as the tenth And indeed so ought men to thinke of whatsoever it is that here they enjoy They hold what they have from the Lord and in token of subjection thankefulnesse and obedience hee expecteth back againe one part of ten as a sacred tribute to himselfe And therefore saith Solomon Honour the Lord with thy substance Prov. 3.9 Nam qui nobis totum dedit a nobis decimum dignatus est recipere For hee who hath given us the whole vouchsafeth to receive backe againe a Tenth as in the doctrine of the Canonists is fitly affirmed And so Saint Austine also makes his descant Vide Winchest in Posthum de Decimis pag. 156 Aug de temp Serm. 219. Quid enim si diceret Deus Meuses ô homo mea est terra quam colis measunt Semina quae spargis mea animalia quaefatigas Meaesunt pluviae mens solis hic ardor Haec cum omnia mea sint tu qui manum tantum accommodas solam decimam merebaeris sed servo tibi novem da mihi decimam Si non dederis decimam auferam novem Si dederis decimam multiplicabo novem That is what if the Lord should say Thou art mine O man mine is the earth which thou plowest mine are the seeds which thou sowest mine are the beasts which thou toylest Mine are the drops of raine mine is this heate of the Sunne Seeing all these things are mine thou which dost only lend thy hand deservest onely a Tenth But I keepe for thee nine parts give mee a Tenth If thou wilt not give a Tenth I will take away the Nine But if thou wilt give a Tenth I will then increase thy Nine And again Nolite de cuncta substantia vestra fraudare Decimam ne vobis novem partes aufer antur et sola decima remaneat And again Idem Serm. 219. de teusp Quod si decimas non habes fructunm terrenorum quod habet Agricola quod cunque te pascit ingenium Dei est et inde Decimas expetit unde vivis Besides which the Lord is also well pleased with the Free-wil-offrings and oblations of holy men and although hee require both Exod. 25.2 chap. 35.5 1 Chron. 29 9. yet not both alike He left the one free to the pious considerations of the godly but not the other For offerings (*) Psal 36.8 are but as his Presents but tythes †Levit. 27.30.32 are his Rents or speciall portion reserved to himselfe And verely it is even a shame to Christians if wee consider how forward the Heathens were in these duties For as nature taught them to acknowledge a God or gods so it also taught them to bee open handed and to consecrate unto them both Tythes and Offerings insomuch that they who denied the one were accounted as if they denied the other also Namely that if they with-held to give of their increase to their gods they were called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Atheists Irreligious people not serving God without piety and the like which is enough to shew it cannot bee avoided that generally they practised the paying of tythes as a necessary duty I shall nee◠therefore to say little of that which might be alledged out of Herodotus Xenophon Plutarch Macrobius Diodorus Siculus Livie Plinie and others concerning either the Egyptians Persians Grecians Sabaeans Ethiopians Carthaginians or Romans with many more besides who gave to their gods both tythes and offerings For beside their ordinary payments they offered likewise in token of thankefulnesse gifts and sacrifices Vpon recovery of health they remembred to gratifie Esculapius If they had successe at sea they sacrificed to Neptune If their Vintage was good they made their offerings to Bacchus If their flocks thrived they payed their vowes to Pan and Faunus or if their harvest was plentifull they were thankefull to Ceres And al this because Nature taught them that upon the receit of every benefit there is a tribute due to the Author and Donour of it By this very light it was that the Heathen Emperour Alexander Severus could say Emperator respondit quoquo modo esse satius in illo loco Deum colero quam cauponariam ibiexercert Diez Sumne Tom 1. ex Baptisla Fulgosie in a case of contestation between the pagans the Christians concerning a piece of ground employed to a religious use that it was honest and fit to have God served before Ale-houses And the Athenians likewise bad Phidias hold his peace and talke no more of cheanesse for in such things as belonged to Gods service they could not endure to have cheapnesse or saving of charges named Doe wee not also reade that the Heathens beleeved Prometheus to be chained to Mount Caucasus and tormented by an Eagle for coosening Iupiter in his sacrifices It is no shame for us to gather good out of their examples It were a shame rather that a false God should bee more honoured than the true Wee may avoid their superstition but imitate their zeale otherwise they walke better by the dimme light of Nature than wee who have both the light of Nature and of Scripture to direct us I doe not say or thinke that in the payment of their tythes Nature taught them the just portion of a Tenth For though the substance of this duty was Lex inscita yet the other was by way of imitation taken from the example of the ancient Patriarkes to whom the will of
God was better revealed then to the Heathens Thus also thinketh that learned Brentius in his Comment upon Leviticus Chap. 27. Verse the 30 th How they had it from them is not much materiall It was without question time out of mind among them as well as amongst Gods people And a man may as wel declare who was the first that taught Deos esse colendos as who was the first that delivered the Tenth part rather then any other part to bee the reserved and speciall portion appropriated to a Deitie In briefe all these practises serve to shew that by the law of Nature as a part of Gods service all people knew themselves bound to give something to God of those temporall blessings which God giveth unto them This Something was no will worship unrequired but looked for and expected by the Giver of all even from the first times of the worlds beginning Gen. 4. It was likewise for the Quetitie * Gen. 14.20 Heb. 7.4 Gen. 28.22 Levit. 27.30 declared by the practice of the Patriarkes before the Law and by the words recorded in the Law to bee a Tenth What was beside were those Free-will Offerings and Oblations already mentioned Presents but not Rents And yet such as God was and is wel pleased to receive Thus then you have seene Gods right namely that Tythes are the Lords holy to the Lord and therefore out of the power of man to turne them into common uses Next for the Assignation or Deputement of them to the Priesthood wee have againe to observe That as the Lord did not begin to have a right in them when the Law was given so the Assignment was not then although but then declared by a written Law And therefore as the Right was perpetuall so the Assignment For when God declared why the Priests were to receive them hee affirmeth That it was for the service which they doe Numb 18.21 Deut. 18 5. And if for the service then not due to the Levites as the sonnes of Levi but as the Priests of God Or being due principally to the Service and not to the Men but for the sake of the holy Function maintenance of them in their places it must needs follow That where God is served there tythes are due to those in a secondary right who administer in the Priests office and doe the services belonging to it Yea thus have they alwayes followed Gods worship as well before the Law as under it and why not now also under the Gospel cannot bee shewed For the end of their deputation ceaseth not no more now then it did before Are not therefore Priesthood and Tythes fitly called Twins or as Logicians speake are they not Relatives have ever gone together and of Right ought so to doe so long as God hath a Church and Officers belonging to it For in Gods Church the worke for which Tythes were given can never end and therefore the wages cannot without wrong bee detained from those who doe the Services Neither can it bee denied but that the substance even of the legall Services as reading the Law expounding the Law performing of publike prayers blessing the people and such like is still of force For there is nothing ceased but what was typicall all else abideth with what hath ever belonged to it So that although it bee granted that * Viz. parts of sacrifices and such like some portions belonging to the Levites are now ceased because the parts of those Services for which they were due are abolished and gone yet that which was payed for the maine duties and principall services belonging to the substance of Religion before any such Ceremonies were commanded is still of force and of right our lawfull hire this being the full Tenth of all that increase wherewith the Lord Almighty blesseth his people And although Cajetan by the name of Tenth doth not understand the tenth part but a certaine portion which in Moses his time was called a Tenth Lippom. in Gen 14. Yet Lippoman seeking no such evasion overthrowes his supposition with a more downe-right dealing For in that storie of Abraham paying tythes Melchisedech hee renders it from the Hebrew and saith 't is thus Dedit ei decimam ex omnibus Hee gave him a Tenth out of all which as the Chaldee interpreteth Is one out of ten And therefore Iuxta legem naturae Dei solvuntur Sacerdoti saith the same Authour So also in that vow of Iacob Genesis 28. Idem in Gen. 28.22 Et ne forte alicui dubitare contigeret de portione quam pro Decima se soluturum Patriarcha promittit occurrit Chaldaica inquiens Et omnium quae dederis mihi unum ex decem seperabo coram te Meaning as before That this Patriarke would separate one part of tenne And againe to shew how the old Patriarkes came to the knowledge of this part rather then of any other the said Authour recordeth out of Hugo de Sancto Victore Deum docu sse Adam divinum cultum quo ejus benevolentiam recuperaret quam per peccatum transgres sionis amiserat ipsumquè docuisse filios sues dare deo Decimas Primitias Meaning that Gods Divine Worship was immediately taught unto Adam by God himselfe c. And that Adam taught his sonnes to give Tythes and First fruits to the Lord. Certaine it is that they brought their Offerings at a set time and to a chosen place Gods House called by reason of the Lords more speciall presence there See Gen. 4. Gods Face that then and there they might offer unto the Lord not immediately but rather mediately by Adam the Priest of God for so the Lord expounds our offering to him Numbers 5.8 To the Lord even to the Priest Or as it is in the 2 Chron. 15.11 The people are said to offer when as they onely brought their Sacrifices and the Priest offered for them Neither may this seeme strange For among Gods people from Adam to Moses he that was the eldest of every family was both the King and the Priest over his owne family Thus do the Hebrewes tell us that the Priesthood was a perpetuall annexum to the Birth-right Yea thus doth Saint Hierome witnesse in more places of his writings Hier. quaest hebraic et in Epist 126. ad Evagr. then one And wee also find it in those many priestly practises of the blessed Patriarkes Saint Chrysostome likewise saith that the Prerogative of Birth-right was great whether it were by nature or of grace When Iacob and Esau therefore strove about their Birth-right they contended not about a trifle but about a matter of great weight and moment And howsoever it was that in sundry families there were sundry Priests yet the eldest Patriarke then living was as it were high Priest among them all Bp. Mount against Mr. Seld. c. 1. pag. 207 208. Gen. 14.18 their office ceasing or being suspended for a time when a greater high Priest was present
then themselves witnesse that passage which was betweene Abraham and Melchisedech For though when Melchisedech was King and Priest of Salem Abraham also was King and Priest over his owne family yet Abrahams office yeelded and gave place to Melchisedech because hee was of an elder house and so greater then Abraham For this Melchisedech was Sem Hier. tradit in Genes as the Hebrew Doctors also witnesse and made the First-borne not by birth but by his Fathers †Gen. 9.26.27 blessing And indeed seeing that Iaphets sons (*) Act. 2.5 fetch their religion from Salem whom God would perswade to (†) Gen 9.27 fetch it from Sems tents who should rule †Or Ierusalem as in Psal 76.2 Salem where God his Tabernacle should bee rather then Sem Wherein wee may also note that although there were Priests and offerings before yet is Melchisedech the first who is directly said to be a Priest and the first also that in direct termes is said to take Gods portion by the name of tythes Yea no sooner is hee said to be a Priest of God but tythes are * Abraham gave him tythes of all Gen. 14.19 20 not by voluntary contribution but by necessary injunction witnesse both Melchisedechs superiority as also the meaning of the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Heb. 7.6 paied to him and those even as was afterwards mentioned in the written Law for the service that hee did And what was that speciall service As a (†) For thut doe Iosephus Rabbt Solomon among the Iewes and Cajetan among the the Papists understand the place Num. 6.23 Num. 8.16 King hee brought forth Bread and Wine to comfort both Abraham and his souldiers but as a Priest hee blessed him namely Abraham and then tooke tythes thesa cred due belonging to his holy function It was no Ceremoniall but Substantiall part of the Priests office It was among the Levites afterwards who were chosen in stead of the First-born Yea and hath stil followed the Priesthood from the times of Christ and his Apostles to our very dayes It was done by Christ himselfe Marke 10.16 Luke 24.50 It was by him commanded and a promise granted to second it upon such as readily received them that he sent Luke 10.5 It was also practised by the blessed Apostles and hath as I said still followed the Priesthood ever since For according to that forme in the 2. Cor. 13.14 the Ministers of the Gospel in all ages thereof have continued to blesse the people or if otherwise 't is according to what is else where taught them as in Phil. 4.7 Rom 15.33 Shall then the wages for this service be abolished it cannot it may not it must not be For to whom the selfe same power and duty of blessing belongeth as did to Melchisedech before the Law and to the Priests and Levites under the Law to them from the blessed ought the same dutie to be performed that is the tithes of all but the Ministers of the Gospel have as hath beene shewed the same power and right of blessing the people Therefore tythes are their due as well as the due of the Priests before them Thus then as I said before Priest-hood and Tythes are Relatives Quorum uno posito ponitur et alterum et uno sublato tollitur et alterum For hee blessed Abraham and received tythes of all that for Melchisedech Gen. 14 19.20 Heb. 7.1.2 Deut. 10 9. Numb 18.22 And againe to blesse in his name Wherefore the Lord is their Inheritance and hath given them all the Tenth in Israel That for the Levites Object Object 1 But it is objected that Abraham paied the tythes of his spoyles and not of his other goods and therefore was not necessarily bound to the performance of this duty perpetually at other times and out of his other substance Answ It is answered that the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Answ in Heb. 7.4 translated The spoyles of warre doth signifie the Top the Chiefe the Principal or best of anything as well or rather then the spoyles of warre And therefore as hee gave Tythes of all which is mentioned at the second verse so de praecipuis of the best of all 〈◊〉 that learned Authour speaketh Hee give him the best of all for tythe pag. 〈◊〉 But say wee should grant that at this time Abraham gave onely the tythes of the spoyles yet is it so farre from hindring the right of tythes that it rather confirmeth all more fully For if Abraham gave tythes of the spoyles much more then of his owne goods ordinarily and at other times The vow of Iacob doth well confirme it where I am sure is nothing spoken concerning spoyles For of all saith he which thou shalt give me I will give the Tenth unto thee Gen. 28.22 out of which words it appeareth how generall this practise was of paying tythes It is most manifest that when hee spoke them Gen. 32.10 hee had not wherewithall to performe the duty of such a payment howbeit because hee knew the equity of it and had ordinarily seene the zealous performance of it hee voweth not to be deficient in it whensoever it should please the Lord to enable him for the performance of it as well as others of his kindred Besides if there were no other tythes given by Abraham to Melchisedech but of those spoyles onely why is this compared with Leviticall tythes which were payed yeerely It was therefore a common practise as well then as under the Law to pay their tythes to Gods Priests and so what was done before the Law in these duties can no more cease now after the Law then Christ ceaseth to be a Priest for ever after the order of Melchisedech Object Object 2 And secondly whereas some object that vowes are onely to be made of things indifferent and not of things necessary Mr. Perrot Append. to Iacobs vow pag 5. It is answered very fitly that to forsake the Devill and all his workes is a duty necessary but wee may not onely vow this in Baptisme but take the Sacrament afterwards of the Lords Supper to bind us to the performance of the same vow Object Object 3 Oh but say some Iacob vowed tythes with condition therefore they are not such as are contained in the Law of Nature Answ It is answered Answ that albeit wee are bound without a vow to the performance of Morall duties See Doctor Carlt. of tythes 6.2 pag. 8. yet neverthelesse it is nothing unlawfull to vow them that thereby wee may be stirred up to the performance of them with the more exact care and fervent zeale For beside that a vow serveth to shew a resolved and willing mind it also serveth to stirre up a diligent care And so though David was bound without an oath or vow to keepe the righteous judgements of the Lord yet hee (*) See also concerning the vowing of morall duties in 2 Chron. 15.12.13 bound himselfe by a
edition 1613 although in his edition 1610 hee mentions them by the name of Pecunia Ecclesialis which is no great advantage neither but may bee well interpreted by the word Decimae as a generall by a speciall But howsoever what is one Authour against more and yet this one in his last thoughts is nothing differing but speakes just like those other already mentioned Well then without further question here was the originall of Infeodations and first beginning of lamentable Sacriledge in the alienation of Tythes from the Ministers or Churches to the which they were payd And in the summe of the whole answere note that at the first they that had possessions sold them and brought the money to the Apostles this was about Ierusalem And in other Churches collections were made both for the necessities of the Saints and of the Ministers Then after this it was thought more convenient rather that such as were minded to give should give the Lands themselves rather I say than the price of them that thereby they might remaine as a perpetuall helpe to the Church Here began the endowment of the Church with Gleab and this is commonly attributed out of Polidore Virgil Polid. De invent lib. 6. c. 10. and others to the dayes of Urban the first who was in the * Calvis in Chron. yeare 224 about which time Origen spake of Tythes as of things then payd I have alreadie shewed it And before Parishes were divided these were at the disposing of the Bishop and payd unto him for the use of the Clergie within the Diocesse But Parishes being divided which was in the dayes of Dennis the first about * See Folid Virg lib. 4. c. 6. the yeare 266 they were annexed to the Priests of particular Cures For the defence of whom that they might not bee wronged in their dues there were certaine temporall men appointed either by godly Kings or by such as gave Lands to the Church to bee Patrons of Churches or Defensores Ecclesiarum who might be readie to defend the Churches rights And yet perhaps some particular parishes which were by reason of such Churches as were of Lay foundations were not knowne till some while after and yet not so long after as some have thought For by the fourth Canon of the Councell of Arausicanum held in the yeare 441. it appeareth that Parish Oratories and Churches of Lay-foundations were even then to beseene But what need I loose my selfe in this argument for let a man take these things which way hee pleaseth yet still hee may see that tythes as well as other Church goods belonged and were generally paid to the Clergy either in their own Cures or to the Bishops for them before the dayes of Charles Martell who was the first that brought in the most manifest corruption concerning their alienation for albeit Iulian robbed the Church yet hee did it as a Persecutor from whom no lesse could be expected And although the successors of Martel were more honest and restored somewhat backe againe taking in Lease from the Churches in regard of the imminent warres and many invasions of the enemy such parts as were retained and doing all this with great circumspection hoping that under the favour of God in this necessity they might thus and not otherwise without prejudice doe it yet the former example of Charles Martel was the more powerfull and in succeeding times proved but as a dangerous Load-starre to direct divers other countries to imitate his practise and to prophane their greedy hands with the Priests maintenance while on the other side the Pope did as fast appropriate Parsonages to Abbies and Nunneries which in those blind times was thought to bee no wrong it being commonly conceited that preaching bred nothing but heresies schismes and contentions and that therefore there was no better way to save soules then by the devotions of Monkes and Friars Which also was a cause as superstition more and more increased to get no small portions fraudulently from the hands of the deceived Laity it being a constant practise to give and give evermore to those idle Droanes and fat-bellied Houses that thereby they might have the more speedy passage out of feigned Purgatory To which likewise adde how the Popes againe although they would have somewhat restrained the covetousnes of the Monkes when they saw the greatnesse of it fixed upon another project For that they might enrich their Favourites friends and kindred they would not seldome convert the tythes to their uses And now to countenance and helpe forward these practises with a colour of warrantable proceedings Alexander de Hales began to broach a new Doctrine concerning the right of tythes never knowne nor heard of among the ancient Fathers For this was the Doctrine of the Fathers both Greek and Latine that tythes are due to the Ministers of the Gospel by the word of God secundum literam literally and precisely as they were in the old Testament to the Priests of the Law whereas this Hales who was about the yeare 1230 taught otherwise namely that it was a part of the Morall Law naturally written in the heart that something should be paied but as for the Quota pars it had its dependance meerly upon the Iudiciall Law and so the Tenth was onely positively due and no otherwise due according as the Lawes positively should determine In which Doctrine was inferred that they who might make the Lawes indetermination of the Quotitie which was to be paid might alienate to severall uses as much out of that portion as they pleased The Schoole-men went after him in the same steps to the utmost of their power strained their wits for the upholding of such a politike opinion Howbeit the event proved afterwards extreamely pernicious First in occasioning that heresie which held them as Almes And secondly in giving occasion also to the civil power to take from the Church not only the jurisdiction of tythes but to alienate them in the end from the Church Church-men to a meere civill use Wherein yet one thing is observeable that although the times were darke there was alwayes some or other beside the Canonists who opposed the abbettours of this new doctrine and taught this point of tything not after the corrupt tenets of the School-men but as the Fathers had done before them of which you may reade more in Dr. Carletous history of tythes Chap. 5. And for the doctrine of the Fathers see Doctor Tillesley in his Catalogue of 72. testimonies cleane contrary to what was taught by Hales Aquinas and the rest And last of all why and how they are within the compasse of the Morall and not Ceremoniall or Iudicial Lawes no not for their Quotitie I have already shewed And therefore as known by paid in the name and portion of a Tenth part before the Law unlesse a man could find somewhere in Gods word an expresse command to the contrary For looke but unto the time of the Law it selfe which was the middle time between the time of Nature and of Grace and you shall find I grant that the worship of God in regard of the manner thereof is ceased since the Passion of Christ but God hath caused the ceasing of so much as is ceased Ephes 2.15 Colos 2.14 And looke what was not abrogated by Christ that still remaineth as being the substance which is perpetual Mr. Rob. revenue of the Gosp pag. 10. So also of Gods right or portion which he had in the time of the Law some parts are ceased viz. those fragments of the Sacrifices which were the shares of the Priests for even the Sacrifices themselves being types of Christ to come are fulfilled and abolished in and by Christ being come But tythes as hath beene proved were no types of Christ neither in their substance nor in their circumstance but were only the maintenance of Gods publike worship which being perpetuall they also are perpetual In a word they did belong to the worship of God before there was a Leviticall worship and when they were paid to the Levites they did but follow Gods worship as being principally due to the service and not to the men but for the service sake and so also still such must be their end of Assignation For Levi should have had as little portion in them as any of the other Tribes if God had not chosen him from the rest to the Ministery Num. 18.21 And as for Lay-men besides this that they doe no service the very name of Impropriation pleads against them I shall stil therefore urge that what the Patriarkes and old people of the Iewes practised by the Law of nature or the rule of right reason or by inspiration of Gods spirit many hundred yeers before the Ceremoniall or Leviticall Law was given are not to be ranked among Iudaicall Ceremonies which were fulfilled in our Saviour Christ and were by him taken away nailed to his Crosse This is all for I know nothing else of moment which can bee objected And therefore here an end of this Discourse which may be to the faulty a Correction of their errours if they will if not they have just cause to feare it as a witnesse one day to bee brought forth against them For what have I done but declared such truths as the Scriptures Fathers Councils and other Histories of good authority have recorded Soli Deo gloria FINIS