and by is contrarie vnto trueth and often times vnto it selfe The worde of God written saieth expresly Thou shalte not make to thy selfe in the vse of religiō because it is a commandement of the first Table Any grauen image or likenesse of any thing thou shalt not fall downe to them and worship them This notwithstanding the Papistes will beare vs in hand the worde of God vnwritten saieth the contrary thou shalt make to thy selfe grauen images for religion thou shalt fal downe to them and worship them The Scripture telleth vs by a cléere renelation of the spirit that it was the doctrine of Diuels to forbidde meate and marriage for holinesse and religion The Papistes tell vs that it is the Churches authoritie which is equal with the scriptures which forbiddeth meats marriage The trueth written saith Drinke yée all of this they dranke all of it Let a man examin himself and let him eate of this bread drinke of this cup But the vnwritten veritie of the Papists saith in the Constantian councell The laye people shall not drinke of that cuppe at all but the Priestes only These contradictions cannot possibly bée both true wherfore wée must néedes hold it for an vndoubted principle y t whatsoeuer is contrary to the word of god writtē is not the worde of God because it is not true For although Papists are not so courteous to the holy scriptures to acknowlege that they are perfect and doe containe at the full all truth neccssary for vs to bée knwne for our saluation yet nature her selfe denieth vnto them this horrible absurditie that any thing contrary to truth shoulde bée true Seeing therefore they dare not for shame say the scripture is vntrue let them bée ashamed to auouch any thing for truth which is contrary to the Scripture And albeit it were as they say that they had another worde of God beside that which is written in the bookes of the Canonicall Scripture yet were it madnes to make it contrary to the Scripture and blaspemie to make it of greater authorie then then the Scripture For the worde of God howe euer it bée expressed is alwayes of equall authoritie Therfore to boast of suche a worde of God vnwritten as shoulde bée of authoritie to abrogate the worde of GOD written or to controul the same or to dispēse with any commaundement of the same otherwise then the same written word alloweth is a blasphemous bragge of satanicall pride and can bée no suer testimonie of y e truth of Gods worde Such is the presumptuous boasting of the Papistes concerning the authorie of their tradition of their church of their Pope which they aduance so highly as y t they bée of power to change what pleaseth them in the worde of God written to dispose with what preceptes they list yea euen those that nature her self will not dispense withall which brag what other thing doth it import but that they haue a worde of God in their tradition Church or Pope which is of greater authoritie then the word of God writtē in the holy scriptures which is plain in that they challenge authoritie not only of interpreting of Scriptures as they liste against grāmer against the propertie of the tongue against reason against y e scripture it selfe in other places against the plaine circūstāces of the same places but also to giue credit alowāce euer to y e holy scriptures thēselues w t should haue no credite of thēselues but by meanes of their approbation and authoritie which is so great that it is of power to giue equall credite vnto y e Apocrifall writings of men which the holy Scriptures inspired of God vpon which ground they haue receiued into the Cannon of the holy Scriptures the Apocrifall bookes of Ecclesiasticus Tobye Iudith Machabees and such like to bée of equall authorie and credite with the bookes of the Lawe the Prophetes and the Psalmmes and with the Gospels and Epistles of the new Testament although they confesse that the Church of God before the incarnation of Christ did alwaies take them for the Apocrifall and none otherwise were they taken of the Churche of Christe for many hundred yeeres after his passion But this is to farre out of square that they are not content most iniuriously to accuse the holy Scriptures of imperfection and vnsufficiencie but they will glory of Gods worde to be in their possession of greater authoritie then that which is contained in the holy scriptures Well let that passe and let vs sée whether wee haue not sufficient testimonie in the holy Scriptures to prooue that they are perfect and sufficient and that the word of trueth contained in them is a full and absolute rule of all doctrine necessarie to eternall saluation The Lorde by Moses chargeth that only which hée commaunded Moses did write to bée practised Therefore the worde written was a sufficient instruction for any thing that shoulde bée doone to the pleasure of GOD and peoples saluation Also hée forbiddeth them to adde any thing to it or to take any thing from it which hée had deliuered in writing wherefore there was no want there was no superfluitie in that written worde The Prophet Dauid in an hundred places of his Psalmes extolleth the vtilitie sufficiencie and perfection of the same lawe of God written Euery verse almost of the 119. Psalme doth set out the excellencie of that doctrine The prophet Esay sheweth y t the people of god for al questiōs must resort to the law and to the testimonie The Prophet Malachy which was the last of the Prophets that god sent to teach by reuelation extraordinary referreth the people vnto y e law of Moses as sufficient to direct them vntill the comming of Christe Abraham in the parable of Luke 16. sendeth the rich mans fiue brethren vnto the Lawe and Prophets as sufficient to teach them that they come not into the place of torments Our Sauiour Christ himself willeth the Iewes and all them that will know him to search the Scriptures Search the scriptures saith he for in them looke to haue eternall life the same are they that beare witnesse of me But perhaps you wil say they were deceiued in that they thought to attaine eternall life by the doctrine of the scriptures as alone being sufficient Thē heare what our sauiour Christ affirmeth in this samepraier This is eternall life y t they may know thee the only true God Iesus Christe whom thou hast sent But the knowledge of God Christ are sufficiently to bée learned out of the holy scriptures therfore y e doctrine of the holy scriptures is sufficiēt to the attaining of euerlasting life S. Paul saith y t what thinges soeuer are written before they are writtē for our learning y t through patience and comfort of the scriptures wée might haue hope This is little to the purpose will some Papist say that all the scripture is for our learning séeing it
rather then in faith although it was such an error in discipline as gaue the onset to one of the greatest errors of y e pope I meane his supremacie which then was reiected and countermaunded of all sides Therefore I will come to Pope Liberius who at the first manfully resisted the Arrians insomuch that for his constancie hée was by the Emperor Constantius put out of his Bishopricke and driuen into banishment But afterward being ouercome with tediousnes of banishment and seduced by one Fortunatianus as S. Hierome affirmeth he subscribed to the Arrian heresie and was restored to his See at Rome from whence he chased Foelix that occupied the place in his absence Thus haue you a Pope deniyng the eternal diuinitie of our sauiour Christ conuicted of heresie by y e testimonie of Hieronime one that liued in the same Churche not long after Héere the Papistes stampe and starcle denying the testimonie of Hieronyme as sufficient Yet thus muche at least is gayned that Hieronyme beleeued not this Popishe principle The Pope cannot erre for then hee woulde not haue affirmed that Pope Liberius subscribed vnto hereise But yf Hieronyme alone bée not sufficient what say you to Anthanasius Is hée a credible witnesse Hée liued in the time of Liberius and knewe him hee affirmeth the same of him But if Athanasius bée not great enough to carry away the matter what say you to Pope Damasus one of his successours coulde hée erre or no Uerily Pope Damasus chargeth him with reuolting vnto heresie saying That hée subscribed but yet hee was not rebaptised and entred into Rome like a Conquerour holding councell with the heretikes I knowe the impudent Papistes when they are driuen to the wall by this example of Liberius for their last refuge doe say that hee subscribed indeede to the condemnation of Athanasius but not to the Heresie of Arries which is a shamelesse lye Ad subscriptioonem Haereseos to the subscription of heresies saith Saint Hierome The like dothe both Athanasius and Damasus affirme Therefore wée haue founde one Pope falne into a damnable errour After him wée finde that Pope Innocentius erred although not in so waightie a matter For Innocentius defined against the Pelagians that it was as necessary for infantes to eate the fleshe of Christe and drinke his blood in the Communion as to bee Baptised As testifieth of him Saint Augustine saying Qui parvulis definiuit c. Whiche hath defined that little children can by no meanes haue life except they eate the fleshe of the Sonne of Man Some Papistes cauill that although the Pope may erre yet hée cannot erre in his definitiue sentence Beholde Augustine saith that Innocentius hath héere desined of this matter and yet it is an error which the Papistes them selues doe not holde at this day And yet Augustine affirmeth that this was the errour of all the Westerne Churches in his time But if any man thinke Saint Augustine no sufficient witnesse to depose against Pope Innocentius let him take paines to reade the Epistle of Pope Innocent himself sent vnto the Bishop of Africa assembled in councell Where y e words of Augustine cited out of him are plainely set downe But héere I knowe the vaine replie of the Papistes will bée readie to obiect that Pope Innocent and Augustine with the rest of the Catholike Bishops in that time did practise in déede to minister the communion to infantes as soone as they were baptised but that was no error so long as they did not hold it to bée necessary for infants to receiue the Communion Thus they graunt the practise and denie the errour eyther in the opinion or in the practise of those times But if they were not so impudent y t they had framed their foreheads not to blushe at any lye they woulde neuer against so cléere testimonies both of Augustine and Innocentius séeke to excuse them of that opinion which they doe so willingly maintaine The Pelagians denied that Baptisme was necessary for the saluation of infants whcih they said were without sinne both Augustine and Innocentius prooue the necessitie of Baptisme by the necessitie of communicating which may bot be graunted to any that is not Baptized Therefore saith Innocentius in his diffinitiue Epistle to the Affricane Bishops Illud vero quod eos vestra fraternitas asserit praedicare paruulos aeternae vitaepraemiis etiam sine baptismatis gratia posse donari perfatuum est c. But that thing which your brotherhood affirmeth them to preach that young children may obteine the rewards of eternall life euen without the grace of Baptisme it is a very foolishe thing For except they shall eate the fleshe of the Sonne of man and drink his blood they shall haue no life in themselues But they whiche defende this vnto them without regeneration seeme to mée that they will make fustrate Baptisme it selfe Beholde saith Augustine vpon these wordes Pope Innocent of blessed memory euery Bishop was called Papa in his time saith that little children cannot haue life without the baptisme of Christ and without the participation of the body and blood of Christ. By which saying you sée they affirme as well the necessitie of the one Sacrament as of the other For what other thing mooued them to giue the Communion to infants but because they thought it necessary to saluation while they missevnderstoode those wordes of Christ in the sixt of Iohn as though they had béene spoken of Sacramentall eating of Christes body as they did the other in the third of Iohn as though Chirst had spoken of the sacrament of Baptisme whiche hee saith of the necessitie of regeneration Furthermore where the Papists are inforced to affirme that it was not erronious but a laweful practise to minister the Communion to infants as to baptise them although the one bée not so necessary as the other the plaine doctrine of the Scripture doth confute them For S. Paule forbiddeth any man or woman to presume to the Lordes Table without examination and iudging of themselues which thinges because infantes cannot performe it can be none other but a méere prophanation of the Lordes Supper to minister it vnto young infants euen as it was of them which ministred it vnto dead bodies vpon the same erronious persuasiō of the necessitie thereof vnto eternall life And whereas the blinde Cardinall Hosius affrmeth that infants may aswell examine themselues by other men as in baptisme they beléeue by other men and therfore by the Churches authoritie without grounde of Scripture are baptized I answere if wee had not better grounde of Scripture then either the authoritie or reason of the Popishe Churche for the baptisme of infants wée woulde not practise if any more then we doe minister the Communion to infants But wée baptise them not for the faith of other mē but for the couenant of God which extēdeth euen to the séede of the faithfull so that there children are holy and not vncleane as the children
the Pope Concerning the Church the Apostle seemeth to giue a cléere testimonie that the answere thereof is an infallible Oracle of Gods worde when he saith It is y e piller and stay of truth whereof it may bée inferred that the Church alone whiche as the holy Scriptures is sufficient to vpholde and stay the truth that it should neuer faile nor decay in the worlde Much rather when it hath the assistance of the Scriptures in some part is the Church able to maintaine an other part of truth without the Scriptures After this maner the Papistes reason out of this text to prooue that all truth is not conteined in the holy Scriptures But this is a very féeble kinde of reasoning For graunting that the Church is y e piller and the stay of truth as it is in déede it followeth not thereof that it vpholdeth any truth which is not comprehended in the holy Scriptures But contrariwise séeing it hath béen plētifully prooued that all true doctrine is taught in the holy Scriptures euen to the perfection of the man of God it followeth that the Church is the piller and stay of that true doctrine which is taught in the Scriptures and not of any truth beside the Scriptures For when all truth is taught in the scriptures it followeth that whatsoeuer is not taught in the Scriptures is not truth But if this be y e proper note of y e Church to bee the piller of truth say they it is prooued thereby that the Churche cannot erre so that if it set foorth any thinge beside the Scriptures the same muste needes bée true I answere this Sophistrie is already confuted for it it bée graunted that the Church cannot erre as in matters necessary to saluation the whole Churche of God cannot erre to continue therein it is because the Church cannot depart from the doctrine contained in the Scriptures which are able to make a man wise vnto saluation But admit it were graunted that the Churche cannot erre at all what shoulde that auaile the Papistes verily nothing but to prooue that they are not the Churche For if this be a proper inseparable note of the Churche that it cannot erre what companie soeuer doth erre is not the Churche But the Papistes whose doctrine containeth so grosse contradiction of the worde of GOD doe shamefully and abhominably erre from the truth therefore the Popishe faction is not the Church which is the piller and stay of truth Thou shalt make no images for religion saith the worde of God Thou shalt make some images for religion saith the Popish Churche Thou shalt not fall downe to them nor worship them saith Gods commaundement Thou shalt fall downe and worship them saith the popish Sinagogue Thou shalt worship the Lorde thy God him only shalt thou serue saith our Sauiour Christ. When hée was tempted to fall downe and worship the Diuell not as GOD but as Gods Minister to whom the kingdomes of the worlde were committed to dispose The Pope saith thou shalt worship and serue other beside the Lorde thy God so thou worship them not and so thou serue them not as Gods I might runne ouer a whole hundreth of contradictions which the papistes doe holde and teach contrary to the worde of truth written in the Scriptures by which it is more then manifest that they holde and teache damnable errours therefore they are not the Churche of the liuing God which is the piller and stay of truth at the least wise in matters necessary to eternall saluation But let vs sée whether the Apostle by these wordes intended to priuiledge the Churche of God from all possibilitie of erring in any matter albeit the Church should departe from the certaine direction of the holye Scriptures in any thing Firste it muste bee remembred that Saint Paule in the Chapter 1. Timothie 3. describeth the persons and offices of Christian Bishoppes and Deacons which doone he addeth immediatly These thinges doe I write vnto thée hoping to come vnto thee shortly but if I tarry long that thou mayst knowe howe it behoueth thée to bée conuersant in the house of God whiche is the Churche of the liuing God the piller and stay of truth In which wordes wée haue to note first that the Apostle hath written briefly that which hée purposed if they met shortly more at large to set foorth and confirme Secondly that if he were disapointed so that hée coulde not come shortly that Timothie might haue a sufficient direction howe to behaue himselfe for ordering of the Church of god in appointing the ministers of the same By which it is manifest that this which hée speaketh of the piller and stay of the truth is meant in respect of the Pastors and Teachers of the Churche by whom the truth of heauenly doctrine is vpholden and continued in the worlde which without their ministery woulde vtterly fall to the grounde and decay For euen as hée writeth to the Romans séeing faith commeth by hearing of Gods word of them that are sent of faith commeth inuocation and from thence saluatiō if none be sent there can be no preaching no hearing no faith no innocation no saluation So the Church of the liuing God in respect of the faithfull Ministers of the same which teach the truth to the saluation of Gods people in which respect they are said to saue themselues and them that heare them is rightly called the piller and stay of truth which Ministery if it be taken away the truth also is taken away Euen as the remoouing of the Candlesticke in the reuelation signifieth the ouerthrowe of the Church of Ephesus vnto whom it is threatned if they doe not repent The Candlesticke which signifieth the Church vpholdeth the light of the gospell by the continual preaching of the Ministers thereof so is it a piller and stay of the truth so long as preaching of the Gospell is continued which if it cease then followeth darknes blindnes ignorance errour and destruction This is the true and plaine meaning of the Apostle where hée saith The church is the piller and stay of truth Not that it is vnpossible for the church to erre at any time or in any matter or that the determination of y e church without the scripture is a sufficient testimony of Gods worde or of the truth in any cause as the Papists maintaine For Paule instructeth Timothy by writing howe hée ought to behaue him selfe in the Church of God which is the piller stay of truth although hée should haue no further conference with him in the matter These thinges doe I write vnto thée saith he y t thou maist know so forth whereas if in calling the church the piller of truth hée had meant that the church without the scripture was able to haue instructed him hée would haue said If any thing want in my writing thou maist aske the determination of the church which is the piller and stay of truth But S Paul saith that
hissed out of all Christian Schooles not only by learned men but euen by women and children If the scripture of the olde Testament be sufficient say they the new Testament is superfluous Is there no mean betwéene sufficiency and superfluitie A man that hath wherewith to prouide him selfe of meate and drink apparell and lodging of the meanest sorte hath sufficient for his liuing But if any thing be added to this sufficiency wil you say it is superfluitie Is there no vse of riches or abundance aboue sufficiency but it is by by superfluitie The scripture of the olde Testament cōtaineth the word of God sufficiently for mens saluation but the newe Testament added therevnto containeth no new substance or matter of doctrine or article of beliefe necessarie to saluation but the same auncient and eternall worde of God most richly most plentifully most abundantly Wherefore that the Apostle giueth the commendation of sufficiency vnto the scripture of the old Testament yet so far of that it should hinder the credite of the whole scripture which nowe the Church enioyeth that it doeth a great deale more magnifically set foorth the vnsearchable treasures of Gods wisdom and holy word reuealed more at large more plainly and openly set foorth in the time of the Gospel then it was reuealed or set forth vnder the law Wherfore we may not reason w t the papists if the scripture of the old testamēt had béen sufficient the newe should haue béene superfluous but contrariwise if the olde Testament were sufficient the scripture of the newe and olde together must néedes be abundant That the scripture of the old Testament contained sufficient instruction vnto eternall life hath béene prooued alreadie sufficiently and yet for more clearnesse I will adde other reasōs and authorities to prooue the same richly and abundantly The whole doctrine of the Gospell of Christ is contained in the scriptures of the olde Testament which is sufficient for a Christian mans instruction therefore there is no want nor imperfection no vnsufficiency of the substance of doctrine in the scripture of the olde Testament Saint Paule in this verie place exhorteth Timothy to continue in those thinges whiche hée had learned and whiche were committed vnto him knowing of whome hée had learned them namely of the Apostle and secondly of the holy scriptures in which hée had béene instructed from an infant which were able to make him wise vnto saluation Sée you not here most plainly that the same thinges which Timothy had learned of Paule and which were committed vnto him that hée might perfectly fulfill the worke of an Euangelist which cannot be except hée preache the Gospell perfectly were contained in the scripture of the olde Testament which hée had knowne from a childe which Scriptures were not able to make him or any man wise vnto saluation excepte they contained all articles of Christian doctrine which a christian man is bound to know and beléeue And therfore vpon this ground hée inferreth that the whole scripture is profitable to furnish the man of God vnto all partes of his office and to make him perfect vnto euerie good worke Beside this the holy Ghost in the Actes of the Apostles commendeth the Berhaeans that they receiued the word of God with all readines of mind daily searching the scriptures if these thinges were so as y e Apostles preached Mark this text diligently they receiued the word of al redines as it was preached by the Apostles but they admitted nothing for the word of God but that they found to haue grounde and cōfirmation in y e scriptures in y e law the prophets wherfore the apostles preaching y e Gospel preached none other word of god but that which was cōtained in the scriptures of the old Testamēt For if they had preached any vnwrittē verities howe should the Berhaeans haue found the same in the scriptures And what speak I of the Apostles euen their lord maister y e sonne of God the word of God the truth of God offereth his whole doctrine to be tried by the scriptures of the old testamēt Search y e scriptures saith hée for in thē you think to haue euerlasting life they are the same y t beare witnes of mée Hee testifieth also y t all things that are writtē of him in y e law the prophets in the psalmes must be were fulfilled And whē he authorized his Apostles to preach y e Gospel performāce of all things that were written in the law the prophets He openeth their vnderstāding that they might vnderstād the scriptures which contained the worde of God perfectly sufficiently although the same in the new testament doctrine of fulfilling be set forth more richly more plentifully more plainly And lest you shoulde think this sufficiency of the scriptures to haue béen only after all the bookes of y e old testament were written which were many hundreth yéeres frō the first to the last So that from Moses vntill Malachy or from the beginning of the worlde vntill Malachies prophecy was receiued there was no sufficiency of true doctrine contained in the scripture I will plainly prooue vnto you that frō the time that the worde of GOD was first deliuered in writing there was sufficiency in that scripture for the perfect instruction of the church of that time And what soeuer bookes of scripture were afterward added was but a larger opening and playner demonstration of the same as GOD in wisedome and mercy dyd sée it conuenient and necessary for euerie age of the Church and his people liuing in those times The fiue bookes of Moses was the first scripture that was deliuered vnto the Church which contained a perfect and most sufficient doctrine of all thinges to be knowne and done of that people for the attainment of eternall life the other bookes that followed were but enlargementes and interpretations of the same doctrine that was contained in those fiue bookes For if they had béene additions of any newe doctrine they had béene contrarie to the prohibition of the same law and subiect to the curse of God Yea the principall triall of all Prophetes that succéeded was by the same lawe Insomuch that if a Prophet or dreamer of dreames did arise which taught an other God or an other worship of God not set foorth in the lawe hée was thereby discryed to be a false prophet although he could tell before of thinges that came to passe or worke myracles This argued sufficiently the perfection of the doctrine contained in that lawe against which no signes or miracles should be credited Also Iosua in his exhortatiō made vnto y e people after that hée had deuided the lande vnto them chargeth them to obserue and doe all that is written in the booke of the lawe of Moses that they turne not there from neither to the right hande nor to the left that is they doe neither more nor lesse but that is written in the
doeth signifie the whole worke or office of the minister only and not of the people also What can wée answere to this First I am content to vnderstande the man of God in this text specially for the minister of God as the quarreller saith and what haue wée lost therby The scripture is sufficient to make the minister of god perfect which hath y e charge of all the people to make them perfect and therefore yea much rather it is sufficient to make euery one of the people perfect and throughly instructed to euery good worke For what is the office of the minister of God is it not to teach to improoue to correct to instruct in righteousnesse The scripture is profitable for al these purposes euen vnto the perfection of the man of God therefore there wanteth nothing of sufficiencie in the holy Scriptures For what shall hée teach but true doctrine and howe is the Scripture profitable to make him perfect vnto doctrine except it bee able to teache him all true doctrine What shall hée reproue but errours heresies if the Scripture bee not able to conuince all heresies and false opnions touching religion how is it able to make him perfect to that part of his office which cōsisteth in reproouing and conuincing of errors and Heretikes Againe what shall hée correct but vices and sinnes that are commmitted against Gods commandements But howe shoulde hée bée able to correct them by the Scriptures if whatsoeuer is sinne may not be reprehended and condemned by the authoritie of the scriptures Finally howe shall hée instruct in righteousnesse to the perfect discharge of his office by the proper ablenesse of the scriptures if there bee any works of righteousnes acceptable vnto God which are not commanded or cōmended in the holye Scriptures Thus you sée the myst easily driuen away the cléere light of the truth gloriously shining to the shame confusion of al the enimies of the holy scriptures among whom the papists are not the lest which in no sauce can abide that the holy scriptures inspired of god should bée sufficient to testifie so much of Gods worde vnto vs as should be necessary to saluation of our soules but being thus shamefully ouerthrowne put to flight will they giue ouer and yéelde to the truth No they are frozen in the dregges of their error They will not cease to quarrell vntil they leaue to liue For what other starting hole haue they now trow you to auoide the force of the truth inforcing the sufficiencie of the scriptures by this testimonie of the holy Ghost For sooth they say that Saint Paules wordes are not to bée vnderstood of all the whole Scripture but of euery booke yea of euery text and sentence of the Scripture which is profitable to teach to improoue to correct to instruct but all true doctrine is not taught in euery booke or sentence of the Scripture therefore the sufficiencie of the scripture is not taught by this text I maruell they say not that Saint Paule speaketh of euery worde sillable or letter y t is written in the Bible in which is some profite to teach to improoue to correct and instruct but not to teache all thinges needefull to bee knowne They might as well say that Saint Paule speaketh of euery singular worde as of euery particular booke seuerall sentence of the scripture But howe can it bée prooued that he speaketh not of euery booke or sentence seuered from the rest but of the whole body of Scripture Nay what is more easie to prooue then that When hée speaketh of the Scripture so as it is able to make the man of God absolute and perfectly instructed vnto euery good worke or vnto the whole good worke of his ministerie Euery seueral booke and much lesse euery sentence of the scripture is not able to make the man of God perfect in all partes of his office nor throughly prepared vnto euery good worke therefore it is most euident that the Apostle speaketh not of euery seuer all booke or sentence but of the whole body of the holy Scriptures in which Timothy was instructed and which he said before was able to make him wise vnto saluatiō For neither euery sentence nor euery booke of the holy scripture doth containe sufficient wisedome vnto eternall saluation but the whole body of scriptures is able to make any man wise vnto saluation through faith in Iesus Christe Therefore it is certaine that this text is to bée vnderstood of the whole Scripture and that worde 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is so to bée translated the whole scripture or all the scripture and not euerie scripture But yet blinde malice cannot cease to rayse a dust to blemishe the glorie of Gods truth perfectly expressed in his holy scriptures This text saieth the Papist was written by S. Paule before the new Testament was put in writing and receiued in the Church Therefore it must néedes be vnderstood of the scripture of the olde Testament only Wherefore it is not like that Saint Paul would affirme the olde Testament sufficiently to cōtain the worde of God For then the addition of so many bookes of the newe Testament were altogether superfluous which absurditie that wée may auoide wée must néedes say that Saint Paules meaning was to teache vs that euerie scripture is profitable but not that the whole scripture as it was at that time was sufficient So that there is no text to prooue that the whole scripture as it is now containing both the old and new Testament is sufficient for a Christian mans perfect instruction but that hee must receiue the worde of God from the Churches mouth although it be not registred in the old Testament or the newe This argument being of a late inuention pieaseth the Papistes out of measure insomuch that they clappe their handes at it and thinke them selues clearly discharged of that Terte But howe vayne howe foolishe howe ridiculous it is and vnworthie of any mans estimation I will plainly open vnto you First it is not denyed but Saint Paule in this texte speaketh especially of the scripture of the olde Testament not only because all bookes of the newe Testament were not then written although many were but also because the apostle speaketh of that scripture in knowledge wherein Timothie had béen brought vp from his infancy which should be none other but the lawe and the Prophets the scriptures of the olde Testament But if it may bée prooued that the scripture of the olde Testament did sufficiently containe the worde of God as it hath béene prooued alreadie to make men wise vnto saluation then much more abundantly the scripture both of the olde and new Testament containeth the whole counsell of God a perfect truth euen that worde of God which our Sauiour Christ in this his prayer affirmeth to be the truth For of all the reasons that euer I heard this that nowe pleaseth them so much is most worthie to be laughed at and