to that bold persuasion of some who perswade themselues that saluation may be had in any religion or in either of some two religions or in any faith soe that they beleeue in Christ for they shall finde one day that disobedience to the true Church is a sinne which deserueth damnation S. Augustine againe in another place Epist. 104. Being out of the Church and diuided from the heape of vnity and the bond of charity thou shouldst be punished with eternal fire although thou shouldst be burned aliue for the name of Christ The Church is honored in the scriptures with many noble and glorious titles The titles of Church It is called the kingdome of God the house of God his spouse his faire one his onely one and the very body of Christ He gouerneth it as his kingdome he prouideth for it as his household and loueth it as his deere spouse and as his owne body pleasing and delighting himselfe in the soules of good Catholikes that serue him It is compared to the holy city of Hierusalem in which the true worship of God flourished and in which diuine sacrifice was duely offered It is compared to the arke of Noë out of which there was noe saluation but a general death and destruction Infidels that haue not the faith of Christ are out of the Church Haeretiks Schismatiks and excommunicated persons although they beleeue in Christ yet because they heare not the Church that is obey it not they are also our of it as heathens that participate not the benefits of it The Catholike Church hath two parts The triumphans and militant Church the one Triumphant the other Militant The Triumphant Church is the company of blessed soules in heauen who hauing gotten victory ouer their spirituall enemys in this life are now triumphing in euerlasting glory The Militant Church is the company of the faithfull vpon earth liuing as it were in a warrfare where we are allwais fighting with the enemys of our soules and by perseuering vnto the end in the seruice of God we shall be crowned like good and faithfull souldiers The Militant Church conteineth both good and euill liuers Mat. 3. and therefor it is compared to a field that beareth both good corne and cockle to a nette that gathereth together both good and euill fish The good are kept Mat. 13. but the bad are throwne away It is compared to tenne virgins fiue of which were wise and had prepared the light of good works against the comming of Christ to reward them Mat. 25. and therefor they were admitted into his heauenly nuptials but the other fiue came like fooles and although they had the faith of Christ and were christians yet wanting the oile of the loue of God and the light of good works they were excluded from his blessed ioyes By these and the like places we are giuen to vnderstande that it is not enough to haue the true faith and to be Catholikes if our liues be dissonant from our profession that we liue not like good Catholikes for there are many euill liuers in the Catholike Church who as bundles of cockle shall be throwne into the fire The Communion of Saints Communion of Saints S. Iohn Euangelist writing to the faithfull giueth them as the cause of his writing that you also may haue society with vs Io. 1.1 and our society may be with the father and with his sonne Iesus Christ That is that you may keepe in the society and Communion of the Church and be partakers of those good works and meanes of saluation which are to be had in it For there in is the Catholike Church such a participation of good works that all Catholikes that are in the state of grace participate with one another in them and receiue benefit by the good works of others The reason is because the Catholike Church is as it were one body and all the members of it liue by the same spirit of the Holy Ghost and of Iesus Christ who keepe them in that holy vnion and Communion together And as all the members of the body concurre and helpe to the good of each other soe euery member of the Catholike Church helpeth to the good of the rest and receiueth good by the rest participating of their good works Ps 118. â—am partaker of all that seare thee Saith he holy psalme And in the Pâ—ter nester our Sauiour hath taught vs soe to pray that euery one should aske in the name of all saying giue vs forgiue vs c. Those who are guilty of mortall sinne as they haue noe reward of grace for any worke of their owne which is done in that state soe they loose the benefit which they should receiue by the good works of others For although they be members of the Catholike Church yet wanting the life of grace they are as dead and rotten members into which the rest haue noe spirituall influence The benefit which is reaped by the good works of others is participated by euery one in measure and proportion to the disposition which he hath for it and according to the intention of him that performeth the worke for as we are more or lesse in his intention soe doe we participate more or lesse benefit by the worke which he doth For this it is enough to say that our good works are offerings which we make to God and are therfor receiued and applyed by him according to the offerers intention By all which we may see what a happinesse it is to be in the Catholike Church Ps 83. and in the state of grace Blessed are they who dwell in thy house ô Lord. Now let vs speake OF THE AVTHORITY of the Church BY these words of the Creede it appeareth that the Catholike Church is of diuine authority for euery article of the Creede being of diuine authority and we being by this article bound to beleeue the Church it followeth that the Church hath diuine authority and that we are bounde to beleeue and to obey it as hauing the authority of God And therefor this article was most profitably and necessarily made by the Apostles as the ground and foundation of diuine faith and worship For although in the scriptures it be plane and by reason must needes be true that we are allwais to be gouerned by the authority of the Church yet this article being soe commonly and often professed it is agreat curbe to the rizing of new sects and haeresys all which beginne in the disobedience of some priuate men to the authority of the whole Church and it can not but be a horrour to their mindes and a greeuous wounde to their owne consciences to see how they contradict the common Creede of the Apostles And therefor S. Paul might well say that a man that is an haeretike is subuerted and sinneth Tit. 3. being condemned by his owne iudgment The authority of the Church is diuine in that it is declared also by the
scriptures and that in innumerable places which for breuity I omitte and will mention onely the words of our Sauiour which he spoke to his disciples at his last farewell from them Christ in his Ascension being to leaue his Apostles with a hard taske and difficult worke which they were to performe in founding of the Catholike Church amongst soe many enemys he told them for their comfort Mat. 2â— Behold I am with you aâ—l dayes euen to the consummation of the world He spoke then to the Apostles and would not onely comfort them but all others who were to haue the gouernment of the Church for euer after promising to be with them as long as the world should endure As long then as Christ was to be with them their doctrine was for euer to be true and their authority diuine and he being to be with them vnto the consummation of the world their doctrine was to be true and their authority diuine vnto the consummation of the world as the doctrine and authority of Christ who promised allwais to assist them in their worke and soe their worke was his worke and their doctrine and authority were his Christ therfor is allwais with the Pastors of the Church when they represent and haue the authority of the whole Church not with euery one of them particularly but with all of them together and therefor although any one particular bishop as he is onely a particular member of the Church may erre yet all bishops cannot possibly erre at any time because Christ hath promised to be with them all dayes It is not needfull to produce the sentences of fathers for the diuine authority of the Church both because these words of the Creede made by the Apostles and at all times consented vnto by the fathers I beleeue the Catholike Church may stande for their sentences and also because their sentences to this purpose will frequently occurre in that which I haue to say of the Church Scriptures and fathers are easily misconstrued by haeretiks who make them to speake as they will vnderstande them or if they be too plane against them they discarde the sentence or the whole booke For those that are soe bold as to contradict the whole Church haue lost their shame and neede regard noe authority at all But because they pretende reason as building all their doctrines vpon their owne witts and because this point is soe necessary for the deciding of all controuersys and to the true and lawfull condemnation of all haeresys we will make it euident by plane and easy reasons which all may vnderstande To thinke to haue religion without the diuine authority of an infallible Church is to thinke to build without a foundation or as we commonly say to build castles in the ayre the foundation of all true religion being the authority of the Church which professeth it Grant once that a Church may erre as it may if it be not supported by the diuine authority and we can not be certaine of any doctrine which it teacheth and being vncertaine of the truth of its doctrine we are not bound to beleeue vncertaintys and it can not be the true religion if it be professed by a Church which we are not bounde to beleeue And therefor the first thinge which is to be established as the foundation of true religion is the infallible and consequently diuine authority of the Church that professeth it Take once away the authority of the Church and absolue men from the obedience of it and you make euery man his owne master and leauing him to himselfe to beleeue what he listeth all is brought into vncertainty and confusion for there is noe point of faith soe certaine nor any thinge soe cleere but by prowde and contentious men it might be brought into question This is declared by particular instances If the Church of Christ were not of diuine authority and infallible certainty in all which it teacheth we could not be certaine either of the Creede or of the scriptures or of the sense of either of them or of any article of faith whatsoeuer nay the very foundation of all religion would be destroyed the diuine existence becomming also vncertaine to vs and insteede of gouernment vnion and order in the worship of God we should haue noe diuine worship nor God at all but a horrible confusion and more then hellish disorder would dwell vpon earth First the Creede is not receiued but for the authority of the Church We beleeue that euery article of the Creede was made by diuine inspiration and authority and as such we will defende them with our liues yet this we know not but by the Church for of our selues we could not certainely know it nor should we beleeue it of the Creede more then of other writings which we receiue not as of faith but that the Church commandeth vs soe to beleeue of it and not of them Againe we doe not know the sense of any article of the Creede but by the authority of the Church take away this and we had the sense of them to seeke we knew not where euery one might follow his owne sense and we should be certaine of nothing but of vncertainty and confusion Take away the diuine and infallible authority of the Church in the Apostles times and you bring all into vncertainty whatsoeuer they taught and ruine the foundation of the whole christian faith and it had bene noe matter what they had deliuered in the Creede or whether they had made any Creede at all Take away that authority from the Church of Christ that is at all times and it is noe matter what Creede it deliuer or what sense of the Creede seeing it may erre in that which it sayeth and those thinges may be false which it deliuereth for true The same appeareth in the scriptures We beleeue that such and such scriptures were written by some that had the spirit of God to write nothing but truth in them that all those bookes which we receiue were written with that spirit and that all those bookes passing through soe many hands and handwritings as must necessarily haue bene before printing was inuented haue remained vncorrupted vntill our times How doe we know all this to be soe but by the authority of the Church deny this as all haeretiks doe to follow their owne phansys and you may admitte of what Scriptures you will or if you will you may deny all scriptures And this we see by experience to be true that haeretiks reiecting the authority of the Church and disobeying it reiect also the scriptures and receiue but what they will The Carpocratites Seuerians and Manichees reiected all the old Testament and all the foure ghospels of the new except that of S. Luke Cerdon and Cerinthus reiected S. Luke The Seuerians reiected the acts of the Apostles and all the Epistles of S. Paul Luther and some Protestants reiect the Epistle of S. Iames. The Alogians and some Protestants reiect
the Apocalypse And Suencfeldius seeing such a strife about the scriptures cleered himselfe readily in a word reiecting all Soe that if we might contradict the Church and follow either our owne or the conceits of any priuate men we might reiect the true scriptures as these haue done and receiue false scriptures as the Apocryphi did or deny all scriptures as Suencfeldius Quintinus the Libertines and other haeretiks haue done The authority of the Church bindeth vs to receiue scriptures and appointeth what scriptures we should receiue and for that authority we receiue the ghospell which S. Marke wrote who was noe Apostle and not that of S. Thomas who was an Apostle and we reiect the ghospell of Nicodemus who had seene Christ and receiue the ghospell of S. Luke who neuer saw him Therfor we must ground our selues vpon the authority of the Church and obey it or els we should not know what scriptures to receiue S. Augustine hath said this in plane termes Epis fund c. 5. when he said that he would not beleeue the ghospell but for the authority of the Church And addeth that for the same authority he would not beleeue Manichaeus the haereticke Further more the word of the scriptures is not profitable to vs but in its true sense and that true sense can not be knowne but by a true interpretour which euery priuate man as we see is not for although there be a great disparity in the abilitys of men excelling one another yet noe man of himselfe is free from errour and can but by his owne reason probably affirme that which another may probably deny and therfor all priuate opinions must be referred vnto some certaine authority which must decide all controuersys in the sense of the scriptures Besides the scriptures in themselues are soe hard to be vnderstoode and full of difficultys that it were against reason to leaue euery man to his owne sense and construction of them They haue beside the litteral sense many kindes of allegorys in which if we should follow the letter it would kill vs. The deuill alleadged the letter and word of holy scriptures but in a false sense to tempt Christ and Christ refuted him by the words of scripture in their true sense but if we had not at all times the like authority of Christ in the Church the deuill would easily peruert the scriptures to vs and we should be subiect to continuall errors S. Peter saith that in the Epistles of S. Paul there are certaine thinges hard to be vnderstoode which the vnlearned and vnstable depraue as also the rest of the scriptures to their owne perdition and S. Augustine Pet. 2.3 Epis 119. who was one of the learnedest sort of men confesseth that there were more places of the scriptures which he vnderstoode not then that he vnde stoode The sense of the scriptures is soe depraued by haeretiks that Luther called the scriptures the booke of haeretiks euery haeretike alleâ—dging scriptures and all of them deprauing them to their owne perdition and in this they are knowne to depraue them that they follow their owne interpretations and priuate conceipts against the whole Church Simon Magus would giue soe much honour to the Angels that he would haue them our mediators aboue Christ and he alleadged scriptures and reason for this doctrine Protestants honour them soe litle that they will not grant them any mediation at all neither vâ—der Christ and they also alleadge scriptures and reasons for their doctrine The Manichees forbadde some meates as in themselues vnlawfull to be eaten and alleadged scriptures and reason for this doctrine Protestants allow of all meates to be eaten at all times although it be against the praecepâ— of the Church and alleadge also scriptures and reason for their doctrine The Marcionists Encratites and other haeretiks forbadde marriage as vnlawfull and alleadged scriptures and reasons for this doctrine Protestants esteeme soe highly of marriage that they make it lawfull for virgins and religious persons that haue dedicated and vowed their chastity to God and alleadge also scriptures and reasons for it Pelagius attributeth our good works to our owne natural forces and to freewill more then to grace and hath more shew of scriptures then most haeretiks haue for their doctrines Protestants on the contrary grant noe freewill at all and will not want scriptures nor reasons for themselues Thus you haue two contrary doctrines both of them alleadging scriptures and both of them in a false sense the truth being betwixt them both saith a learned authour as Christ was betwixt two theeues Mald in Io. 6. But how doe we know that neither of them hath the true sense of the scriptures We know it by the authority of the whole Church which at first declared against those doctrines and therefor whosoeuer shall obstinatly mainteine them are haeretiks because they deny the ninth article of the Creede not beleeuing the Catholike Church but standing obstinate against all authority that was then in the world Which if at any time it were lawfull to doe then were there none to interprete the scriptures and to destinguish betwixt sense and sense and reason and reason and we might as well haue noe scriptures at all as haue noe meanes to know the true sense of them Lastly if there were not at all times some authority amongst men infallibly assisted of God to gouerne and direct in his worship and to determine the verity of all propositions that were to be beleeued with diuine faith then might euery man beleeue and say what he liked and all order and gouernment were taken away and vtmost disorder would reigne amongst vs euen to the denying of God For although natural reason doth declare the diuine existence and a demonstration may be made by a good Philosopher to prooue it yet liberty would induce to that which is against reason and would draw into atheisme as it doth to other vices which by the reason and nature of all men are abhorred Besides not one man among a thousand can make that demonstration and what then should become of those that can not if they were to forsake the authority of the Church and follow onely their owne reasons should he onely be saued that can make it noe nor he neither by that which were but a natural knowledge and humane faith in him Out of all which it followeth that the Catholike Church hath diuine authority to determine all veritys and to decide all controuersys of faith and to direct vs infallibly in that which we are to beleeue and to doe in relation to the honour of God or els the Creede had bene in vaine as also the scriptures all proofe of reason had bene vncertaine all vnion and orderly gouernment and the very foundation of all religion were vtterly destroyed and therfor one may as well say I will haue noe Creede nor religion at all as to say I will haue or beleeue noe Church and those onely remaine sure and
Rome was once the head of the Church and that he and his pastors had the authority of the whole Church but will say that he and they were fallen into errors and therfor they were bounde to disobey them But this is not a good answere for it is authority which now we inquire after and which we require obedience vnto All doctrines must be tryed by lawfull authority but lawfull authority must not be questioned in doctrine for that there is none to question it For subiects to examine the authority of the Church and the doctrine which it teacheth is to set the feete aboue the head and to subuert all order and gouernment in the Church of God Christ hath giuen Apostles Pastors Eph. 4. and Doctors vnto the edifying of his body that is to the building vp and preseruing of his Church and these must either be obeyed or els they were in vaine and to noe purpose It is therfor preposterous and haereticall to disobey the authority of the Church vnder pretence of errors Neither is there any thinge by which haeretiks discouer and condemne themselues more then by talking of errors in the Church for by that one sheweth that he hath somethinge to say against the doctrine of the Church which is to be an haeretike The head of the Church and pastors of his Communion haue the authority of the whole Church and can not teach false doctrine for if they could we should haue noe certainty of the scriptures or of the sense of them or of the Creede or of any point of faith and this article were in vaine when we say I beleeue the Catholike Church Which being made by the Apostles to be said at all times the Church can neuer teach false doctrine but in all doctrines whatsoeuer and in all controuersys we must cleaue to the authority of the Church as to a firme and sure rocke and allwais say I beleeue the Catholike Church Ep. 48. S. Augustine it is impossible that we should haue iust cause to depart from and to impugne the whole Church They must first shew that the gouernment of the Church was taken from the bishop of Rome and his pastors and was giuen to some others whom they obeyed or els they could not lawfully disobey them vnder any pretence whatsoeuer Authority must gouerne the Church we shew our authority to be the same which the primitiue Church obeyed and we aske them vpon what authority they disobeyed it what head and what pastors deliuered their doctrine to them by continual succession from Christ and from S. Peter This they must shew or els they open a gappe to all haeretiks to disobey the Church when they will themselues vnder pretence of false doctrine If they say they haue authority from an inuisible head and inuisible pastors it is a ridiculous saying As though a company of souldiers who were brought before a Councell of warre for deserting their colours should pretende licence from inuisible officers or as rebels who being accused for resisting of lawfull authority should pretende a commission for what they did and being required to shew it should say that it were inuisible soe we aske them vpon what authority they disobeyed that authority which the primitiue Church obeyed and they say by the authority of a Church inuisible We bid them shew their commission they say it is inuisible Is not this Ridiculous for this it is enough to say that men are men that is to say a corporal and visible creature and therefor if the Church which gaue them authority were a congregation of men it was visible and if it were the true Church it was most eminently visible as a candle not hidden but set in a glorious candlesticke that all might see it and see by it what they were to beleeue for true and as a city on a hill conspicuous to all teaching preaching administring sacraments and gouerning of people after a glorious and eminent manner that all might haue recourse vnto it To alleadge onely an inuisible authority is to shew noe authority and shewing noe authority they are noe true Church If they say that they disobeyed not and went not out from the Communion of the Bishop of Rome and his pastors but were thrusten out of it whether they would or noe as a later authour who would seeme wiser then the rest hath vrged it is the weakest of all answeres For if they had kept themselues in obedience to their lawfull gouernors as they ought they could neuer haue bene out of the Communion of the Church They were thrusten out of the Church of Rome as Ozias king of Iuda was thrusten out of the holy temple of Hierusalem a plague of leprosy appearing suddainly in his forehead in punishment of his pride and disobediēce to the high Priest and priests that were with him soe they obstinatly disobeying the head and pastors of the Church that then were departed of their owne accord from the inward Communion of the Church and were thrusten out onely from externall Communion with it least they should infect others with the plague of heresy or schisme which appeared in them Seeing therfor all these answeres to be vaine and groundlesse and that they can shew noe head and pastors in all the world that gaue them authority to teach their doctrine in disobedience to those whom the primitiue Church obeyed they will pretende authority not by succession of pastors from pastors which is the ordinary way but after an extraordinary manner immediatly from God himselfe to disobey the first and to beginne a new gouernment contrary to it and hauing for this an extraordinary calling and commission immediatly from God they needed noe authority from any pastors vpon earth and therefor they will act according to their commission and will be tryed by none nor be subiect to any but God This is the onely answere which an haeretike can make who reiecting indeede the authority of all men that then are must of necessity pretende a particular and extraordinary commission immediatly from God But neither is this a good answere First for that there can be noe such extraordinary commission as to disobey the lawfull authority of the Church of Christ it being builded vpon sure promises of his perpetuall assistance that it can not faile in doctrine but hauing ordained pastors for the gouernment of it he will haue them allwais to be obeyed and therefor that Church that hath not allwais a continual succession of lawfull pastors is not the Church of Christ Secondly if they haue any such commission from God they must shew it or els they open a gappe for all disobedient persons to runne out of the Church disobeying their lawfull pastors when they list themselues vnder pretence of commission from God And this commission not comming to them after the ordinary manner from pastors to pastors but after an extraordinary sort immediatly as they pretende from God himselfe they haue noe ordinary meanes to shew it but
aske him Luc. 11. Many there are that satisfy themselues with this answere and because they say their prayers and doe morall good works they will stande in disobedience to the true Church and mainteine a religion which beganne at sometime in disobedience to all the Churches in the world therefor I will say somethinge to shew the weakenesse of it I say therefor that this man willfully deceiueth himselfe in that he either prayeth not as he ought to obtaine the diuine inspiration according to that of S. Ia. 4. Iames you aske and receiue not because you aske amisse or if he obtained it by his prayer he followed it not For although it be true that he who prayeth as he ought with a desire of following of the truth although he be then in a false religion and out of the state of grace obtaineth not withstanding of congruity the diuine inspiration to the true faith and shall come to haue the true faith if he will follow that spirit but if he beginne a religion in disobedience to the whole Church of Christ or follow a religion which soe beganne in obedience to no knowne Church then extant in all the world I say that either there is some defect in his prayer as there was in the Pharisys prayer who prayed not rightly or if he prayed rightly soe as that he was then inspired of God to the obedience of that which is the true Church that then he followed not the diuine inspiration but as that yong man of the ghospel who asking of Christ what he should doe to receiue euerlasting life when Christ told him Goe sell Whatsoeuer thou hast and giue to the poore and come follow mee Marc. 10. He followed not the diuine calling but was strucken sad and went away sorrowfull Soe doth he and soe doe many when God sufficiently inspireth them to the Catholike Church for although God speake to their harts and haue illuminated their vnderstandings to thinke at sometime that the Catholike faith is the true faith yet they sleight that good thought they are strucken sad to thinke of the persecution which they hazard in themselues children or freinds endangering their wordly preferment or riches on which they haue sett their harts and can not soe wel enioy in it and being dishartened with these thinges they follow not the calling of God And although for the present their conscience accuse them yet going on in their old way within a while they forgette that euer they were called and will tell you that they say their prayers and that the spirit directeth them in the way in which they are Where as indeede when they rightly considered of it the spirit of God directed them a quite contrary way and would againe direct them to the same way if they would seeke as they ought to be inspired of God and obey his inspiration when he speaketh to their harts In the next place therefor I will shew how the diuine inspiration to the true Church is to be prayed for I onely desire thus much of all those who are out of the Catholike Church that being as I haue shewed that the true faith which is by a supernatural light and gift of God is allwais with obedience to the Church they will resolue with themselues to seeke vnto God to be inspired to that Church And that if he speake to their harts soe as that they come once to thinke that the Catholike Romane Church is the true Church they take that word of God as a lanterne to their feete and follow it or els they are all ready condemned in their owne consciences and shall finde one day those words to be true which the Holy Ghost hath threatened Esa 65. Because I called and you haue not answered I spoke and you haue not heard c. you shall cry for sorrow of hart and for contrition of spirit you shall howle But let vs see AFTER VVHAT MANNER THE diuine inspiration to the true Church is to be sought for by those who are out of the Catholike Church HAuing shewed that natural reason without supernatural light and diuine inspiration is not sufficient to direct vs in matters of faith and that this supernatural light and inspiration to faith is allwais with obedience to the true Church The next thinge most necessary to be shewed is how to obtaine the diuine light and inspiration to that Church Diuerse haue setforth seueral marks to know the true Church by and in the ninth article of the Creede I destinguish the true from all false Churches by their continuall obedience to the head and Pastors of the Church But here I intreate of a more prime subiect necessary to be knowne before that to wit that being noe marks are sufficient to discerne the true Church by soe as to become à member of it without diuine light and inspiration by which they are brought to obey it I now shew how that efficacious light and inspiration is to be obtained But first I aduertise the Catholike reader that this point hath not cheifly relation to him but to those that are out of the Catholike Church Yet thus farre the Catholike is concerned in it as that he shall planely see by that which immediatly I am going to say that according to his owne grounds and according to reason he can not seeke vnto any other Church where as all other Churches according to reason ought allwais to be seeking vntill they come to it For this is the comfort of Catholikes and of none but Catholikes The Church can not erre that vnderstanding and firmely beleeuing that the Church shall neuer faile out of the world by teaching errors in faith but that it is the pillar and ground of truth Tim. 1.3 and that the spirit of God is With it vntill the worlds end to teach it all truth that it is builded vpon a rocke and that the gates of hell shall neuer preuaile against it Io. 14. Mat. 16. And that Christ hath prayed for it that the faith of the cheife gouernour their of faile not in the gouerning of it and that the other gouernours of it might be sanctifyed in verity and that it is the body Luc. 22. the spouse the kingdome and the house of Christ Io. 17. Catholiks grounding themselues vpon all these places of holy scripture and vpon the ninth article of the Creede I beleeue the Catholike Church hold it a most horrible blasphemy against them to say that the Church can erre and a damnable heresy obstinatly to contradict it and hauing by reason of all these places continued allwais in obedience to it and soe kept constant to their auncient religion which was then extant in the world when all others beganne their new professions which then were not extant in any place of the world Catholiks according to these grounds must still continue as hitherto they haue all wais done in obedience to the same Church and can not seeke vnto
Apostles but in respect of some mystery to wit as he was to be the prime foundation of the Church amongst them Then the keyes of the kingdome of heauen were particularly promised to him hauing first called him a rocke and promised to build his Church vpon that rocke Which can not be vnderstoode of Christ for Christ spoke not then to himselfe but to Simon besides the Church was then all ready builded vpon Christ but here he speaketh for the future and promiseth that it should be builded vpon Simon whom he called Peter and said thou art a rocke and vpon this rocke I will build my Church and therefor he must not be vnderstoode then to say that he would build it vpon another rocke and not vpon that For although the Church were builded cheefly vpon Christ yet then he spoke of Simon and therefor it must be builded vpon him also to whom he then also said I will giue to thee By all which it is manifest to any that hath not the spirit of contradiction and wrangling about any thinge that Christ did not say here that he would build his Church vpon himselfe but vpon Simon whom therefor he called a rocke And vnto this all the holy fathers agree that he founded his Church vpon S. Peter although they grant also that which is true to wit that the Church was founded vpon Christ and also vpon Peters Confession as a meanes and preparation for the building of it upon his person That which Christ here promised he afterwards performed when before his Ascension he spoke to Peter and gaue vnto him the care of his flocke asking him first Io. 21. Simon of Iâ—hn louest thou mee more then these and Peter answered yea Lord thou knowest that I loue thee Then he bad him feede his lambes And againe he asked him Simon of Iohn louest thou mee and Peter answered againe Yea Lord thou knowest that I loue thee Christ not contented with all this asked him againe the third time louest thou mee and Peter answering Lord thou knowest all thinges thou knowest that I loue thee Then he badde him feede his sheepe Now what could all this signify that Christ should soe often aske of Peter if he loued him and if he loued him more then the rest and that Peter should againe and againe professe his loue to him and that he should haue the care of Christs lambes and sheepe but that as Peter had professed before the rest his faith in him when he promised the supreme authority to him soe he should professe his loue especially aboue the rest when he gaue him that authority And this authority being ouer the lambes and sheepe it is general ouer all the whole flocke great and litle pastors and people all being conteined in the denomination of lambes and sheepe Eusebius Emissenus Ser. de net Io. Enang he first committed his lambes and then his sheepe to him because he made him not onely a pastour but the pastour of pastors He is therefor the pastour of all for beside lambes and sheepe there is nothing in the Church And S. Bernard If thou louest mee Peter seede my sheepe What sheepe the people of this or that city Ber. l. 2. de consid ad Eugen. c. 8. countrey or kingdome to whom is it not plane that he assigned in particular none but all Tâ—ere is nothing excepted where noe destinction is made S. Gregory It is plane to all those that reade the ghâ—spell that from our Lords mouth the charge of the whole Church was deliuered to Peter Prince of the Apostles Greg l. 4. Ep. 76. It is indeede soe plane in the ghospell that for all the senses which most places of the scriptures admitte and in which the holy fathers haue diuersely vnderstoode them yet as Maldonat hath obserued vpon this place of S Iohn 21. there was neuer any father either of the Latine or Greeke Church that vnderstoode this place contrary to that sense yet Luther and Caluin are soe bold as not onely to question it but also to contradict it and to stande in this contradiction against them all and against the whole Church S. Denis calleth S. Peter the supreme glory and most auncient tuteur and safeguard of dinines De din. nem c 3. And hauing bene present when he and S. Paul were martyred at Rome he writeth to Timothee who was his fellow disciple to S. Paul the manner how they saluted one another before martyrdome ad Tim. When saith he the two pillars of the world were separated Paul said to Peter Peace be with thee foundation of Churches shepheard of the ewes and lambes of Christ Peter said to Paul Goe in peace preacher of the good mediatour and captaine of the health of the iust Thus did S. Paul salute S. Peter with that which was his prime and propper title of the shepheard of Christs flocke The holy fathers also speake in such termes of S. Peter and giue him such titles as planely expresse an eminency of power and authority ouer the rest of the Apostles Hyp. deconsamma mundâ— Tert. prascrip c. 22. Cyp. ep 40. aliâ—s lib. 1. ep â— Pet. Alex ser de poenit Amb. in c. 2. ad Gal. Opt l 2. cont Donat. Cyr. Catech. 2. 1. 17. Greg N.Z. or 7 â—piph haer 51. Chrysosâ—ora 5. in Iudaos Damesus ep 2. Hiero. in psal 13. Hyppolitus Peter the Prince of the Apostles Tertul. The Rocke of the Church Cyprian One God one Christ one Church one chaire founded vpon Peter by our Lords voice Pet. Alex. Peter the Prince of tâ—e Apostles S. Ambrose To Peter alone the grace of the primateship amongst the Apostles was giuen S. Optatus In the citty of Rome the Episcâ—pal chaire was first giuen to Peter in which Peter the head of all the Apostles satte S. Cyril Hieros calleth him the Prince of the Apostles S. Greg. Naz. The safety of the Church S. Epiphan The captaine of the disciples S. Chrysos The Prince of the Apostles S. Damasus The onely Prince of the Apostles S. Hierome Peter the head of the Church S. August Who knoweth not most blessed Peter to be the Prince of the Apostles The primacy amongst the Apostles by speciall grace is praeeminent in Peter S. Leo Peter alone is chosen of all the world to be set ouer the vocation of all nations Aug. tract 56. in lo. l. 2. dâ— bap cont Donat. c. 1. Lee ser 3. de anniuers Assumpt and all the Apostles and all the fathers of the Church Neither doth the supremacy of Christ ouer the Church hinder the supremacy of S Peter in spiritual affaires any more then his supremacy in temporal power hindereth the supreme authority of temporal Princes in temporal affaires Christ of himselfe was the head of all authority both spiritual and temporall but after his ascension into heauen he being visibly absent from vs as he left kings with supreme authority in the temporal gouernment of their kingdomes soe
beginneth to deriue that authority from Christ vnto S. Peter that by one head and supreme pastour vnity might be preserued in the Church And sayth againe that Heresys haue sprung and Schismes haue bene bred by noe other cause Cyp. l. 1. ep 13. 55. but for that the Priest of God is not obeyed nor one iudge considered to be for the time in the Church of God Soe that to shew who is the true head of the Church will sufficiently destinguish the true Church for the pastors that communicate with him are the true pastors and the people of that Communion are the true people of God and that whole congregation of pastors and people being taken alltogether is the whole Catholike Church Now to shew who is the true head of the Church we must secke into antiquity and see what bishop did aunciently in the first Church of the Apostles and in the primitiue times after them beare that authority and was then acknowledged for the head and supreme pastour of the Church For as truth which was eternally in God was before falsehood which came afterwards by creatures and as true and lawfull power was first in the true Church of Christ and false vsurped power was afterwards begunne by disobeving it soe he that was first acknowledged in the primitiue times of the Church as the head and supreme pastour he and his successors are all wais to be acknowledged after him and they are false Churches that haue begunne at any time in disobedience to him and to the pastors of his Communion Now let vs see what bishop was acknowledged in the primitiue times and was first obeyed as the head and supreme pastour and which of all Churches that how are retaine still their obedience to him These are either all or the cheife christian Churches that are now in the world The Romane Church which is truely Catholike and Vniuersal ouer the whole world the Greeke Churches which are not Catholike nor vniuersall in the world although some of them be much spred The Church of the Georgians of the Armenians of the Aethiopians of the Arians of the Nestorians of the Waldenses of the Lutherans of the Zuinglians if any of them be yet extant destinct from the Caluinists the Church of the Caluinists and the Church of England which is the latest and newest of them all If there be any more besides these as we see petty sects daily to arize out of the later and to beginne in disobedience to them as all of them once did to the Romane Church both they and all the rest beside the Romane Church shall appeare to be false Churches and it onely to be the true Catholike Church for that it onely is in vnion and holdeth obedience to the true and lawfull head of the vniuersall Church and to the pastors of his Communion all the rest disobeying that authority But first it is to be obserued that the word Church being a word of Communion siguifying a company of people communicating together in the same faith and vnder the same authority it can not be the same Church and a lawfull Church if it haue not the same and that a lawfull authority Secondly some of these acknowledge a head and supreme pastour of the Church vpon earth and others of them will acknowledge none The Romane Church all ouer the world acknowledgeth the bishop of Rome to be vpon earth the head and supreme pastour of the Church The Graecians Armenians Georgians Aethiopians and Churches of the east haue some of them the Parriarke of Constanâ—inople others the Patriarke of Alexandria or a parricular and propper pastour to themselues whom they acknowledge for the supreme head of their Church and the Church of England vntill within these tenne or dozen yeares acknowledged their temporal prince man woman or child that was for the time to be the head of that Church Others there are who are headlesse acknowledging noe supreme head vpon earth in any spirituall power as the Lutherans Caluinists c. these are but few and inconsiderable in comparison of those that submitte vnto a head and supreme authority And I shall shew that both they and all others beside the Romane Church are false Churches for that they stande disobedient to him and to the pastors of his Communion who is indeede the true head of the Church I haue shewed before that the gouernment which Christ instituted in his Church was by S. Peter as the head and cheife pastour of it Now I shew that that supreme authority of S. Peter was acknowledged by the primitiue Church to descende vpon the bishop of Rome as successour to him and that there is none but he that can with reason pretende to haue had that authority This is prooued first by the manifest testimonys of those auncient writers that then liued Secondly by the practise of those times for that the bishop of Rome exercized in fact that supreme authority and the faithfull of those times obeyed it Thirdly for that there is none els that can pretende to haue bene at any time aboue all other bishops as the cheife pastour and gouernour of the Church First then I produce soe many The Bishop of Rome is acknowledged by the primitiue fathers to be the head of the Church and such testimonys of auncient writers as shall be sufficient to satisfy him that regardeth the safety of his soule And to beginne euen from the Apostles times the scriptures which they wrote declare soe farre for the supremacy of the bishops of Rome that they are alleadged to that purpose by holy and auncient authors as will appeare by their following citations who seeing the supreme pastorship to haue bene promised by Christ vnto S. Peter Mat. 16. and to haue bene giuen him Io. 21. when he commended soe particularly the feeding of his sheepe to him and considering him to haue died at Rome bishop of that place and a successour in his authority to be allwais necessary for the gouernment of the Church without any more argument they grounded themselues vpon these scriptures and commonly alleadged them for the supremacy not onely of S. Peter but also of the bishop of Rome The same they inferre out of S. Paul to the Romanes where he sayth your faith is renowmed in the whole world Rom. 1. gathering by these words the supremacy of the Romane chaire S. Epis 55. Cyprian speaking against some of those times sayeth They are soe bold as to carry letters from prophane schismatiks to the Chaire of Peter Nu. 6. and the principall Church whence priestly vnity arose not considering the Romanes to be them whose faith the Apostle being the commender was praised to whom misbelcefe can not haue accesse And S. Hierome know ye that the faith of the Romanes will receiue noe such deceits Adner Ruffin l. 3. c. 4. to 2. nor can possibly be changed though an Angell taught otherwise being fensed by S. Cyp. ep 52. and Anronian Amb
against the deuils power Sixtly the corporal life of man as he is ordained to the society of other men requireth a superiour authority to be in some for the gouerning of others and soe an orderly gouernment is necessary for vs in the Church of God and for this we haue the Sacrament of orders in which power is giuen to some in spiritual things Seauenthly for the continuance and conseruation of humane nature a continuall succession and propagation of mankind is necessary in the world and for this the spiritual life of man requireth that it be done by a Sacrament for the orderly propagation of men and the increase of soules to the worship of God This is by the Sacrament of Matrimony which as it is a duety of nature is onely for corporal generation but as it is a Sacrament it giueth grace for the increase of soules in the diuine worship The number of the Sacraments shall appeare furthermore out of the scriptures in that which I haue to say of euery Sacrament in particular The same is declared by diuerse Councels And although the fathers haue had noe occasion in their writings to name them alltogether yet they haue made mention of them all as occasion serued Neither is it necessary that we should assigne the time when euery Sacrament in particular was instituted of Christ We know the times of the institution of some of them and we know that for forcy dayes betwixt his resurrection and his Ascension he frequently appeared vnto his Apostles and taught them many things which they were to obserue in the Church which are not mentioned in the scriptures and we know that the Sacraments of the Church must be of Christs teaching and ordaining We haue for the number of the Sacraments the same authority that we haue for any of the scriptures to wit the authority of the Church which although it declare not the time when the scriptures were written yet it assureth vs of all their verity and soe it doth of the number of the Sacraments ad Casulan S. Augustine giueth vs this rule that for those thinges which are generally receiued by the Church if their beginnings be not knowne they are to be taken for Apostolical traditions but such is the number of seauen Sacraments therefor they are of Apostolical tradition Thus much of the Sacraments in general let vs now come to their particular declarations OF BAPTISME OF THE NECESSITY OF baptisme BAptisme is commonly called the doore of the Sacraments because it is the entrance to the rest necessary to be had before them For vntill we be christened we are not christians and vntill we be made christians we can not receiue the Sacraments of the people of Christ Baptisme is our first spiritual generation and before generation we haue noe operation because we are not soe before baptisme we haue noe spiritual being in grace and therefor it is to be supposed before the rest of the Sacraments be receiued the words of S. Iohn being then verifyed he gaue them power to be made the sonnes of God Io. 1. For as we are borne the children of Adam and of wrath in our corporal births soe in baptisme we are borne the sonnes of God by grace through the merits of Iesus Christ As necessary then as generation is to the corporal being of all men soe necessary is baptisme to the being of all soules in the diuine grace and fauour and as necessary as birth is to the perfection of man in this world soe necessary is baptisme to come to the perfect state of glory Vnles a man be borne againe of water and the spirit he can not enter into the kingdome of God Iâ— 3. By which words it appeareth that Baptisme is a Sacrament that is to say an outward rite or signe that causeth grace in vs. Baptisme a Sacrament We haue a rite and outward signe in the water and we haue the effect of grace in that the kingdome of heauen is obtained by it Heretiks that would confounde all things in the Church of God haue gone about to take away our christendome from vs affirming quite contrary to the words of Christ that a man not borne of water may enter into the kindome of heauen pretending that children are sanctifyed by their parents faith and therefor will not baptize them But this as I haue said is directly contrary to the words alleadged and in it selfe most absurde in that it maketh the kingdome of heauen to come to children not by grace but by inheritance from faithfull parents and supernaturall glory to be obtained by natural and corporal meanes Children are not absolutly holy in that they come of holy parents good parents are indeede a meanes to thee sanctification of their children by procuring for them that which God hath ordained for their sanctification but the goodnes of the parent can not merit grace for the child nor sanctify him This must be done by applying the merits of Christs passion to children in some Sacrament And soe the children of the Iewes in the law of Moyses were saued by the faith of their parents in this sense that they hauing the true faith applyed vnto their children those meanes of sanctification which God then ordained for them but neither in the law of Moyses nor of nature were children euer sanctifyed by onely being borne of good parents but somethinge was allwais done to them as Circumcision or some other outward signe for their sanctification which although it were farre inferiour to our baptisme yet it was necessarily required there being noe proportion betwixt kinred in blood and the diuine grace and glory S. Augustin Doe not beleeue Aug. l. 3. de anima eâ—â—s origineâ— 9. doe not say that children before baptisme can haue their original sinne forgiuen them if thou wilt be a Catholike OF THE EFFECT OF BAPTISME THE propper and particular effect of Baptisme is to make him that receiueth it to become a member of the body of Christ as being admitted into his Church by it and to dispose and prepare him for the rest of the Sacraments after it The general effect of Baptisme which it hath commune with all the Sacraments is to giue grace to the sanctification of soules and this it doth after soe full and plentifull a manner that it remitteth all sinne whatsoeuer original and actual great and litle and forgiueth all punishment due to it in the next world Rom. 6. We are buried saith the Apostle together with him by Baptisme vnto death That is to the death and destruction of sinne and of all punishment after it We haue a figure of this in Naaman the leptose Prince of Syria who washing himselfe in the waters of Iordan Reg. 4 5. as the Prophet had praescribed to him he came forth soe cleane and perfectly cured that the Holy Ghost saith his flesh was restored as the flesh of a litle child Ezechiel prophecyed of this saying I will powre out
alleadge against them the authority of the Church of Christ and will tell them Not the Iewes but the Church holdeth the books of Machabees to be canonical And his owne reason will tell him that to deny the authority of the Church is to deny all Scriptures and to confounde the order of the whole world Tertul. Tert. l. de coron militi◠c. 3. Amb. orat pro Theod. Aug. l. 8. de Genes con Manichaeos Oblationes pro defunctis facimus We make offerings for the dead S. Ambrose in his speech of the Emperour Theodosius prayeth for him Thou o Lord giue rest vnto thy seruant Theodosius S. August speaking of him that dyeth in sinne saith after this life he shall haue either the fire of Purgatory or eternal fire And in Psal 87. In this life purge mee and make mee soe that I may not neede the purging fire The doctrine of Purgatory is soe planely deliuered by the auncient fathers of the Church that Caluin could not deny or conceale it but l. 3. Instit c. 5. § 10. calleth it a most auncient obseruation of the Church and saith that the fathers as humane were deceiued But who can endure this saying in him were the auncient fathers of the Church and both the Church which was aunciently and which was when Caluin came into the world deceided and Caluin not deceiued shall Caluin take vpon him to correct the auncient fathers and present obseruations of the Church And shall any hazard his soule with Caluin against them He asketh what authority of Scriptures they had Must the whole Church be examined by him in the Scriptures And shall not he be thought an haeretike for this and to abuse the Scriptures in condemning of the Church S. Augustine shall answere him Aug. l. de cura pro mortuis Jn the books of the Machabees we read that sacrifice was offered for the dead but although in the auncient Scriptures it were not at all to be read the authority of the vniuersal Church is noe small matter which is cleere for this custome where in the prayers of the priest which to our Lord God are powered forth at his altare the commendation of the dead hath its place S. Augustins argument was good in which he prooued Purgatory both hy the Scriptures and the Church But if this be not enough for Caluin to whom nothing will serue but his owne will and word We will also produce his owne words against him l. 4. Instit c. 2. num 3. he saith that without controuersy nothing from the beginning untill that age was changed in doctrine To wit vntill the times of Tertullian Origen and Augustine of whom he was speaking If therfor this were the doctrine of the Church in those times it was the doctrine of Christ and of the Apostles euer from the beginning And soe Caluin is condemned by Scriptures fathers Church and by his owne words and Purgatory is prooued to be the true Catholike Apostolike doctrine There for pennances are rightly enioyned prayers may be said almes deeds giuen indulgences granted and many voluntary afflictions haue bene vndergone by the Saints and faithfull of the Catholike Church to escape the paines of Purgatory which although they be but temporal yet they are most greeuous and vehement more then can be spoken And because the Catholike doctrine of Indulgences by many is not vnderstoode I wil say somethinge of them in this which is also their propper place An Indulgence is as much as to say a fauourable remission or pardoning of some due punishment Such are the indulgences of the Church either absolute remissions without exchange or imposing of any other taske or exchanges of a greater into a lesser penalty The power of granting indulgences or absoluing from punishment which is all one was granted by Christ vnto his Apostles and especially to S. Peter to whom he promised the keyes of the kingdome of heauen Mat. 16. and told him whatsoeuer thou shalt loose vpon earth shall be loosed in heauen What can be vnderstoode by the keyes of heauen and the words following but power soe to open heauen gates as to take away all that hindereth for entring in at them to wit sinne and punishment He gave also the like authority to the rest of the Apostles saying whatsoeuer you shall loose vpon earth shal be loosed in heauen Mat. 18. If whatsoeuer they loose be loosed then punishment loosed by them on earth is loosed also in the sight of God in heauen Neither is there any good connexion in those words if they be not vnderstoode of absoluing as well from punishment as from sinne Now if any aske how it can be that sinnes of which the diuine iustice requireth soe much satisfaction should be satisfyed for with soe litle as some indulgences require and some indulgences require nothing at all to be done for the gaining of them he may vnderstande that indulgence or pardon of punishment is neuer granted but full satisfaction is made to God for the sinne For there is in the Church a treasury of Satisfactions soe great that it can neuer be exhausted by satisfying for sinnes There are in this treasury the satisfactions of Christ infinitly more then all the sinnes in the world can require There are also the good works of our B. Lady that had nothing of her owne to satisfy for There are the good works of S. Iohn Baptist of the Apostles and of many others whose works were much more satisfactory then their owne sinnes needed and may be applyed by the pastors of the Church to those that stande neede of them For the Church is a body and all the members of it haue a Communication and participation of good works with one another as we professe in the Creede saying I beleeue the Communion of Saints And the psalmist sayeth Ps 118. Col. 1. I am partaker of all that feare thee And S. Paul I now reioyce in suffering for you and doe accomplish those thinges that want of the passions of Christ in my flesh for his body which is the Church He did not fullfill the passions of Christ for any defect or want which was in them but that by his sufferings the passion of Christ was applyed actually to the Colossians as it is by the suffrages and good works which are done in the Church for others and by them their punishments are fully satisfyed for If any aske why the Pope onely and bishops giue indulgences I answere that the words of Christ before alleadged were spoken onely to S. Peter who was to be the Pope and to the Apostles who were at first the onely bishops of the Church And the practise of the vniuersal Church which ought to be our rule in all things hath bene allwais for the Pope and bishops and not for priests to grant Indulgences S. Augustine speaking of the obseruations of the Church saith If the Church through out the World frequent any of these things to dispute of
Body of our Lord was truely offered as a Sacrifice on the Crosse So in the Eucharist it is truely offered as a Sacrifice at Masse Protestants say that his true Body is neither truely offered as a Sacrifice at Masse nor is the Eucharist any Sacrifice at all nor yet is he soe much as present in it What commeration doe they make according to this doctrine of his death on the Cros where he was both truely present and a true Sacrifice The truth is that they laboring to pull downe the Masse as the cheife and highest worship of God which the Catholike Church had regarded not to take away all commemoration of Christs Passion and to leaue the world for euer after without any Sacrifice at all We haue in the acts of the Apostles Act. 13. where they are said to haue bene ministring to our Lord. Which planely denoteth that they were offering of Sacrifice for if they had bene preaching or administring the Sacraments onely then they had ministred to the people but to minister to God can haue noe other propper signification but to offer somethinge to God In the Greeke text it is expresly they being offering of Sacrifice and Erasmus himselfe Translateth it soe expounding the word lyturgy which the Greekes tooke from thence to signify the Church seruice Missa the Masse Soe that the Apostles had Sacrifice and Masse The Church hath declared this verity in seueral General Councells The first Councell of Nyce Can. 13. and more planely in another Canon which Doctour Kellison mentioneth out of Surius and out of the Reuerend Lord Cuthbert Tunstall the last Cathol ke Bishop of Durham of whose consanguinity I very much glory as a glorious Confessour of the Catholike Church The same after many General Councells is lastly declared by the Councell of Trent in which it is defined that a true and propper Sacrifice is offered to God at Masse Sess 22. c. 1. 2. Holy and auncient fathers haue spoken planely of a Sacrifice in the Church and haue called it by the word Missa the Masse Can. 3. Soe the Apostles in their canons requiring that those who are present at the Church seruice when they haue heard the Scriptures of the Apostles and the ghospell they remaine vntill Masse be done Clem. ep 3. S. Clement who liued in the Apostles times admonisheth the Clergy that they doe nothing without the licence of the Bishop and in particular that noe Priest say Masse with out it Eccl. hier c. 3. Amb. in Luc. 1. Aug. l. 10. de ciu Dei c. 19. 20. Ser. 13. de verb. Apost L. 3. de bap c. 19. Bed l. 4. c. 12. S. Denis the Disciple of S. Paul calleth the Sacrifice of the Church the quickening holy Sacrifice the vnbloody host and victime S. Ambrose sayth that there is noe doubt but that the Angels doe assist when Christ is immolated S. Augustine elegantly describeth the destinction of our inward and outward Sacrifice declaring how that Christ according to his humanity is the Sacrifice and according to his diuinity receiueth it and calleth it the Sacrifice of our mediatour the Sacrifice of our price the Sacrifice of the New Testament the Sacrifice of the Church And in another place he stileth it the onely inconsumptible victime without which there were noe religion S. Bede who liued after them although about a thousand yeares since relateth a notable histoty to setforth the power of the Masse The summe of which is that a Gentleman who serued the King of Northumberland in his warres being sore wounded in batle was taken by the enemy and recouering of his wounds was sold vnto a merchant of London His brother who was a Priest thinking him to haue bene killed said euery day Masse for him and to shew the power and essicacy of the Masse in loosing of the soule from punishments in the next world it pleased God that allwais at that time of day in which his brother said Masse for him the fetters with which he was bounde of their owne accord were loosed from him in soe much that is patrone obseruing it and acknowledging some mystery in it gaue leaue to his bondsman to goe amongst his freinds to procure his ransome It is a story worthy to be read at large in S. Bede who endeth the narration of it in these words this because I know it to be true I would insert it into my Ecclesiasticall History And if it be true as S. Bede saith he knew it to be it must manifestly conclude for the dignity power and efficacy of the Masse according as it is vsed in the Catholike Church and that it is a Sacrificè as we beleeue it to be Finally the Masse is soe auncient and soe planely testifyed by the primitiue fathers of the Church of Christ that a Protestant authour Confesseth that noe beginning there of after the Apostles times can be shewen Ascham apol pro Coena Do. Calu. in Heb. 9. Which when Caluin saw to be true he could not conteine himselfe but broke forth into these irreuerent words that the destinction of a bloody and vnbloody Sacrifice is a Scholastical and friuolous innention adding another farre worse terme which I will not repeate and concludeth nil moror quod veteres scriptores sic loquantur I care not for auncient writers saying soe Noe Caluin cared not for auncient writers sayings but good Catholikes care for them It shall allwais be a comfort to vs to haue our doctrine confirmed by the sanctity learning and antiquity of such writers as I haue produced in testimony of the Masse and by such miracles as S. Bede hath related which I needed not to haue mentioned ouer againe but for Caluins rash words We shew by such writers that it was the doctrine of the auncient Catholiks and we beleeue it to be true because the whole Catholike Church doth soe beleeue And this whole Church was contradicted by Caluin when he beganne his doctrine in opposition and disobedience to all the Churches of the world And for this I will adde further the words of the Apostle we haue an altare Heb. 13. where of they haue not power to cate that serue the tabernacle He speaketh there to some who being conuerted from Iudaisme to the faith of Christ were still inclining to the Iewish Sacrifices and to disswade them from this he compareth together their altare and ours and preferreth ours By which it is manifest that we had a Sacrifice in the Apostles times for what are altares for but to offer Sacrifice on and the Apostle comparing these two altares together must suppose and vnderstande their Sacrifices by them for the altares are not eaten but the Sacrifices which are offered on them and therefor as the Iewish altare had a Sacrifice which was eaten soe had the altare of the Apostles or els there is noe comparison betwixt the two altares nor connexion in the Apostles speech To the former authoritys I adde this reason The
diuine word breaketh his lawes and taketh away all order and gouernment quite out of the world for all order includeth subordination that is to say subiection of inferiors to superiour powers but take once away the authority of the Church and absolue men in conscience from the obedience of it to beginne new doctrines beleeuing teaching and doeing what they list themselues and you take away all subordination of inferiors to superiors in the diuine worship therfore take away obedience to the Church and you take away all order and gouernment in Religion quite out of the world by making men subiect to no authority and consequently you destroy the world which without order in Religion can not consist The ground therefore foundation and first principle of all order is the divine authority of the continuall Church to beleeue as the Church teacheth and to obey it The Apostles haue commanded obedience to temporall superiors who then were infidels and could haue no authority in spirituall affaires Petr. 1.2 Let euery soule be subiect to higher powers for there is noe power but of God Rom. 13. Therefore he that resisteth the poâ—er resisteth the ordinance of God If infidell masters Magistrates and Powers be to be obeyed in temporall things as ordained of God how much more are we to obey the higher powers of the Catholike Church God hath ordeined the Superiors of the Church to gouerne the world in his diuine seruice therefore they haue the authority of God Aug. coÌ„t adu leg lib. 1. c. 17. and their Praecepts oblige vnder a mortall sinne There is no chaine of iron or adamant saith S. Augustine that can binde so hard as the Praecepts of the Church The like may be said of Ecclesiasticall customes which by long continuance haue obtained the force of lawes Ecclesiastical customes Therfor S. Paul commendeth the Corinthians for keeping the Praecepts which he had giuen them and alleadging the custome of the Church he thought it sufficient to stoppe the mouths of the contentious to say we have noe such custome nor the Church of God Cor. 1.11 And if those customs of the Church could gaine that authority soe soone within twenty or thirty yeares that Christ founded it certainely they shall haue as much now when it hath the addition of about sixteene hundreds of yeares S. Augustine hath these words for customes In those things of which the scriptures determine nothing for certaine Aug. ad Caâ—ulan the custome of the people is the custome of God and the institutions of our auncestors are to be kept as lawes and as praeuaricators against diuine lawes soe the infringers of Ecclesiasticall customes are to be restrained because the Church seeing those customes and not forbidding them by silence consenteth and alloweth of them and God declareth by the practise of the Church that in those times and places such customes oblige as necessary then to be kept Now let vs declare the Praecepts of the Church in particular THE FIRST PRAECEPT TO fast fasting dayes Soe great is the benefit of fasting that the Catholike Church would haue none of her people to be depriued of it and therefor would oblige all to diuerse fasts which I shall presently declare but first we will say somethinge of fasting in generall Fasting is commended first in the old Testament sometimes by examples of the Prophets and holy men and sometimes by the admirable effects of it Fasting was the first Praecept that was commanded to man and all our miserys beganne first by the vnhappy breaking of that Praecept God might haue chosen any other Commandement to haue exercized our obedience in but he would commende fasting to vs. After that in the Law of nature it was commanded againe some meates being then prohibited to be eaten as vncleane Nu. 6. Iud. 13. Hiere 35. In the Law of Moyses he himselfe fasted at the receiuing of it The Nazareits and Rechabeits who were particularly dedicated to the seruice of God were strict and austere in fasting Holy Iudith armed with fasting went forth against all the Assyrian forces accompanyed onely with one maide seruant and full of zeale and heauenly fortitude with her owne hands slew their Prince and put them all to slight The sentence of death was giuen against all the Israelits and a day appointed for their generall massacre Esther the Queene must venture her life for them by going to the King to aske their pardon She fasted and the people fasted for her good successe and she became soe beautifull and gracious that the hart of the King being enamoured with her the liues of thousands were granted at her request The Niniuers for their sinnes had deserued destruction and God sent his Prophet to declare against them and to cry as yet forty dayes and Niniue shall be subverted Ion. 3. The King hearing of it commanded a solemne fast and the city obseruing it God was pacifyed the sentence was suspended and Niniue stoode firme repaired by the force of fasting The three children armed with this vertue entred into the furnace of Babylon and walked in the raging fire as in a pleasant fresh ayre Daniel by fasting was too strong for Lyons and greedy hungar vrging them to deuoure God stopped their mouths that they did him noe hurt Graue Eleazarus contemned death to defende that fast which God had then commanded in the Church And the seauen brethren in the Machabees with their Mother aboue measure maruelous passed through cruell torments in defence of the same fast In the New Testament we haue fasting much more commended vnto vs by the example of Christ himselfe who blessedly beganne the Law of grace with his owne fast of forty dayes We haue also that Anne the Prophetisse fasted that S. Iohn Baptist fasted that the Apostles fasted and that Christ did not onely commende fasting by his example but in plane words and by miracle He would haue a possessed person to be brought to the Apostles that they labouring in vaine to despossesse him he might performe it himselfe and then declare for fasting saying this kind can goe out by nothing but by prayer and fasting Marc. 9. Is it not now a shame for the enemys of the Catholike Church to pretende Scriptures and yet to stande against the whole current both of tho old and new Testament for some aequivocall sentence which they picke out to obiect against fasting Christ to reprooue the hypocrysy of the Pharisys who vsed often to fast and to wash themselues that they might seeme holy before men said Mat. 15. not that which entreth into the mouth defileth a man meaning that the end intention and circumstances of eating and not the corporall meate was either good or hurtfull to the soule of man and they obiect this saying against fasting in generall or against the fasts of the Church Gal. 4. and call them the obseruations of men and not of God What more could an haeretike say to deny the doctrine of
be decided by their owne reasons but who shall be the iudge betwixt them it must not be the determination of any particular man for that is as subiect to errour as they are and besides this question being concerning the spirit of God it cannot be decided by any authority lesse then diuine least otherwise the true spirit were reiected for false as possibly it might be by any inferiour authority Shall it be decided by force of armes That is soe absurde that it needeth noe refuting although perhaps Ioannes de Zischa was of that opinion for what absurdity will not an haeretike mainteine How then shall they be tryed bring them to the Church and see whether they will heare it But they will not be soe tryed How then there is now noe other way left to try them by They must then goe without any tryal at all to say what they list and soe they shall both prooue false spirits as being contrary to S. Iohn that sendeth vs to try our spirits and as being contrary to the scriptures which commande vs to heare the Church Maâ—t 8. Therefor the spirit of God is allwais with obedience to the Church and the final resolution of faith is reduced to the word of God speaking to our harts and interpreted by the Church For there is noe way to try spirits and to declare certainely who are rightly inspired but by the authority of God speaking by it and by submitting our selues to the obedience of it Luâ— 10. as to the voice of God He that heareth you heareth mee and he that despiseth you despiseth mee Saith Christ to the Pastors of the Church who haue the authority of the whole Church Mat. 18. And in another place If he will not heare the Church let him be to thee as the Heathen and the Publican Aug. tract 109. in Io S. Augustine the word of faith and the word of the Apostles to beleeue God and to beleeue the Church is the very same thinge Secondly the true faith hath bene often prooued and false doctrines confuted by miracles and these miracles haue planely conuinced for the obedience to that Church whose faith was soe confirmed Elias prooued by miracles the true faith of the Israëlits and confounded the Idolatrous Gentils Soe did Christ and his Apostles by many miracles prooue the christian faith against both Iewes and Gentils And these miracles obliged all whom inuincible ignorance excused not vnto the obedience of the Church of Christ and shewed planely that the spirit of God was to the obedience of that Church but noe miracle was euer wrought to shew that men should obey noe Church but that they might liue after their owne liking and beleeue what they would without obedience to any authority vpon earth Neither can there be any miracles wrought for any such manner of liuing for miracles being done in confirmation of the true faith oblige others to imbrace that faith which is soe confirmed by miracles and soe men come to an vnity of faith and make a Church that is to say a people vnited together in faith and religion But if men might for all those miracles which they see still follow their owne priuate spirits and not vnite themselues in obedience to that company whose faith is soe confirmed by miracles but might disobey it in matters of faith then they might disobey the authority of God and miracles were to noe purpose Therefor the very being of true miracles in confirmation of faith prooueth the being of a Church to which our spirits must allwais obey Moreouer if euery man were to be guided by his owne priuate spirit without obeying any Church there should be noe neede at all of miracles for the spirit is an inward and miracles are an outward testimony of the truth of any thinge to draw others vnto it but if all were to follow the inward testimony of their owne spirit without submitting vnto any external power then were they not to regard the outward testimony nor to be drawne by it And indeede to say that euery one is to follow his owne priuate spirit without being bounde to the obedience of any external power is as much as to say that euery one hath the true spirit of God and then what neede were there of miracles All which is contrary to the words of Christ and of the Apostles and contrary to the examples of the scriptures and to reason and experience by which we see soe many spirits of errors and of sinne in prowde and euill men Miracles may be and haue bene wrought to prooue the true faith but such miracles prooue that the spirit of God is to the obedience of the Church therefor the spirit of God is to the obedience of the Church Thirdly God hath ordained an orderly gouernment in his diuine worship and all order includeth subordination of inferiours to superiour powers and leaueth vs not to ourselues alone subiect to noe authority in points of religion and the same natural reason that bringeth vs to rely vpon the diuine autority in matters of faith telleth vs also that it is a more reasonable way for God to inspire vs to the obedience of the Church and to guide it with his sure and infallible assistance then to guide euery man by himselfe and his owne priuate spirit without being subiect to any autority or acknowledging of any superiour for this were to take away all order and to bring such a confusion into the world by making euery man his owne iudge as would by consequence destroy the world which without order can not subsist For if there were not allwais vpon earth some power authorized of God to prooue and approoue of the spirits of men what errors would be broched and what villanys committed and mainteined by wicked men vnder pretence of diuine inspiration God inspireth men to an orderly gouernment in his diuine worship therefor the diuine light and inspiration of faith in allwais to the obedience of the Church Soe that we may well say that faith is a supernatural light and gift of God by which we beleeue and firmely adhaere to the doctrine of the Church God giueth vs supernatural light to enlighten our vnderstandings and by his holy inspiration moueth our wills to submitte ourselues and to beleeue in all thinges according to the doctrine of the Church we cooperating with that light and inspiration of God submitte ourselues to the obedience of the true Church and then we haue actually true faith And whosoeuer he be that pretendeth himselfe to haue the spirit of God yet will not submitte himselfe to any Church but beginneth a new religion contrary to all the Churches then in the world or will mainteine a religion which soe beganne certainely that man hath not the true faith nor is the spirit of God in him But he sayth that he hath prayed to God for his spirit and Christ hath said that our father will giue the good spirit to those that
thinke will the deuill doe to see the sword with which Christ disarmed him and cut of his head be not thou then ashamed of soe great a good least Christ be ashamed of thee when he commeth in his maiesty Thou shalt see then this signe borne before Christ as bright as the sunne The Cros shall goe before him and shall speake with a lowde voice for him to shew that there was nothing wanting on his part This signe both now and of old doth open the doores that are shutt is hath extinguished poyson it hath tamed wild beasts it hath cured the mortall stings of serpents The Cros hath conuerted the world it hath put away feare and brought the truth it hath turned earth into heauen men into Angells death into sleepe it hath brought all our enemys downe to the ground If a gentill shall say to thee adore not him that was Crucifyed be not affraid with a cleere voyce and countenance to say I adore him and will adore him for euer And if he shall lauhg at thee weepe thou with many teares to see his madnes Giue thankes vnto our Lord by whom we haue these things which none without the diuine grace can say We wiâ—h a lowde and cleere voyce and with speciall confidence will cry out The Cros is our glory our freedome our crowne the head and fountaine of our happines I would I could say with S. Paul the world is Crucifyed to mee and I to the world But my Passions hinder mee that I can not say soe Whâ—efore I admonish you and much more my selfe that we be Crucifyed to the world that we haue nothing to doe with he earth but that our wh le mindes be inslaâ—â—â— with the desire of heauenly glory Thus S Iohn Chrysostome and there remaineth nothing for mee to adde to his words words worthy of his holy zeale and eloquence I would I had an Angells voice to sing them as they deserue I would repeato that saying ouer and ouer againe Th Cros is our glory our freedome our crâ—wne the head and fountaine of our happinesse Make it not onely with the fingars on the body but with confidence on the soule and make it as a profession of this faith as an incitement vnto all vertues as an armour against all temptations as a defence against all dangers as a comfort in all afflictions It is the beginning of our awaking of our sleeping of our prayers of our studies of our preaching of our Catechizing of our eating of our drinking of our walking of our riding of our working and of our leauing of from worke all our actions shall beginne and end with this blessed signe and words In the name of the Father and of the Sonne and of the Holy Ghost Amen THE FOVRTH DISCOVRSE OF THE CREEDE OF THE AVTHORITY AND VSE of the Creede I INTENDE now to declare the Creede vnto you in which not onely the cheife mysterys of the christian faith but all whatsoeuer the christian doctrine teacheth in some sort is conteined But first we will haue recourse vnto God and craue his assistance by our blessed Ladys intercession Haile Mary c. Before we declare the articles of the Creede in particular we will say somethinge of the authority and vse of the whole Creede to shew how authentical and pious it is Although the Creede be not deliuered in any part of the scriptures yet it is of equall authority with them to vs neither they nor it being receiued by vs but for the testimony of the Church which both of them haue and which in all thinges we are bounde to beleeue the same autority of the Catholike Church which hath deliuered the scriptures to vs deliuering also the Creede to be beleeued in the same manner by diuine faith the one by writing the other by word of mouth from time to time both of which traditions being in themselues by humane meanes onely a like fallible and by the power of God a like infallible S Pauls writings are receiued by vs as the word of God and he himselfe hath said of his preaching although not written that it was to be receiued not as the word of man but as the word of God Thes 1.2 And againe he planely commandeth them to receiue the like traditions which are deliuered by word of mouth as well as those that are written saying Breth en stande and hold the traditions which you haue learned whether it be by word or by our Epistle Thes 2.2 These are as plane words as S. Paul could speake or write to let vs vnderstande that the words of the Church are to be receiued as the writings which it deliuereth and the holy fathers by these words vnderstande the same autority to be for all the mysterys of faith and for the lawfullnes of all the ceremonys generally practised and allowed of by the Church although not mentioned expresly in the scriptures as is for the scriptures themselues L. 3. c. 3. S. Irenaeus biddeth vs in all questions of controuersy to haue recourse vnto the Apostolicall traditions and to try them by the Apostolicall succession of bishops and in particular by the chayre of Rome and saith that there are many nations of barbarous people simple for their learning but most wise in the constancy of their faith who neuer had the scriptures S. Clement the disciple of S. Peter and the adiutor of S. Paul speaking of the Creede saith that the Apostles before that they separated themselues into seueral countreys to preach the ghospell conferred together and by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost made the Creede as a rule to direct them and others in the faith which they were to preach and therfor saith he it is called the Symbole which is a Greeke word signifying a collection or a conference for that it was made by the general assembly and conference of the Apostles S. Ambrose hath these words Ep. 81. The Apostles like a company of skillfull workmen conserring together made the Symbole as a kea to locke vp the Diabolical darknes and to let in the light of Christ and we must deliuer this kea to ourbrethren that the Disciples of Peter may vse it to locke the gates of hell and open the gates of heauen to themselues S. Augustine speaketh thus of it Serm 80. de temp The Apostles haue deliuered a sure rule of faith comprehended according to the Apostolicall number in twelue sentences They called it a Symbole by which Catholike vnion might be conserued and haeretical pranity conuinced It is a Symbole breife in words but large in mysterys for whatsoeuer is praefigured in the Patriarks whatsoeuer is declared in the scriptures anâ— whatsoeuer is foretold by the Prophets either of God the Father of God the Sonne or of the Holy Ghost or of the receiuing of the Sacraments or of the death and resurrection of our Lord is conteined and breifly confessed in it Let therefor euery one learne that Apostolical faith when
expected in the world to come they despised him and easily finding out wayes to delude their scriptures and hardening their harts against his powerfull miracles by which he prooued himselfe to be the Sonne of God and the Sauiour of the world they made it a blasphemy in him to say soe and sought in priuate to haue killed him but that not preuailing for that the scriptures had otherwise foretold his death they publikely apprehended him and deliuered him to the Gentils accusing him and procuring sentence of death to passe against him and to be openly executed in the sight of the world and soe the scriptures were fullfilled in that which they had foretold of him and which he also had foretold of himselfe And although they knew also of his resurrection againe and that testifyed euen by their owne witnesses yet they continued obstinate in malice against him and contradicting the doctrine which he taught haue euer since for these sixteene hundred of yeares in vaine expected and still expect another Christ to come to redeeme them Here we haue two thinges to declare First that Christ the Messias foretold and promised by the scriptures was to be true God and secondly that Iesus Christ our Sauiour was indeede the true Messias whom the scriptures foretold and promised And although the mirâ—â—es which our blessed Sauiour wrought were sufficient to prooue this doctrine to be true he declaring himselfe both to be the Sonne of God and the promised Messias yet I will breifly alledge some places of scriptures to shew that the promised Messias was to be true God Say to the faint harted Esa 35. take courage and feare not saith the Prophet Esay behold your God shall bring reuenge of retribution God himselfe will come and will saue you Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened and the eares of the deafe shall be open Then shall the lame leape as a hart and the tongue of the dumbe shall be opened Here the Prophet sayth planely that God himselfe should come to saue vs and foretelleth the miracles which were to be wrought at his comming and by which he was to prooue himselfe as Iesus Christ our Sauiour did The Prophet Hieremy hath declared this most conuincingly against the enemys of Christ Behold the dayes come saith our Lord Hier. 23. and I willraise vp to Dauid a iust branch and he shall reigne a king c. And this is the name that they shall call him THE LORD OVR IVST ONE Here the very Iewes confesse that the Prophet speaketh of the Messias who was to come of Dauids race as of the most eminent man by which the tribe of Iuda of which Christ was to be borne was aduanced to regall dignity and of which many kings after Dauid did succeede And by these words he is manifestly declared to be true God for where the Prophet saith that he should be called our Lord the iust one the hebrew text hath the word terragrammaton by which God named himselfe to Moyses and which is vnderstood by all as the most proper name of God neuer vsed to signify any other but the true eternall and omnipotent God And the people of the Iewes haue that word in such reuerence that as vnutterable they will not name it nor reade it in the scriptures but read Adonai insteede of it which the Septuagint interpreters expound Lord. The Prophet Michaeas declareth in particular his proper procession by which he proceedeâ—h eternally as the Sonne of God from his eternall Father Miâ—h 5. And thou Bethleem Eprata art a liue one in the thousands of Iuda out of thee shall come forth vnto mee he that shall be the dominatour in Israel and his comming forth from the beginning from the dayes of eternity Where we haue two processions in the Messias the one eternall as he was the Sonne of God proceeding from the Father the other temporall as he proceeded man of the Virgin Mâ—â—y and was borne in Bethleem called Ephrata to destinguish it from another Bethleem in the tribe of Zahulon Thus would God ordaine that the holy scriptures of the old Testament should foreshew and declare the diuinity of Christ which the Apostles professe in this article Now we shew how that Iesus Christ our Sauiour was the true Messias of whom the scriptures foretold and whose diuinity they declared Christ prooâ—ed by scriptures It was necessary that holy scripture should soe farre declare the circumstances of the Messias his comming as that the world might haue sufficient signes and tokens to know him by when he came and that the Iewes amongst whom he was to come receiuing those scriptures might by the same scriptures receiue him or be vnexcusable if they receiued him not and therefor our Sauiour admonished them saying search the scriptures Io. 5. For you thinke in them to haue life euerlasting and the same are â—â—ey that gine testimony of mee The testimonys of the scriptures by which they testify the circumstances of the Messias his comming to agree to our Sauiour Iesus Christ are soe many that I once thought to haue mentioned none of them but onely to haue shewed the diuine testimony of his doctrine by the miracles which he wrought yet I will take somethinge out of authors for this also and especially out of Lyra commented vpon by Burgensis and note by the way that this Burgensis had bene himselfe a learned Iew borne of the tribe of Leui and brought vp in the study of that sect but discouering the many sleights and impostures which are vsed by them after a long conflict with himselfe resolued in the end to become a christian and accordingly with his whole family he receiued in baptisme the faith of Christ After some yeares he was made bishop of Burgos in Spaine and became an eminent prelate in the Church of God and wrote his commentarys vpon Lyra in which he hath well testifyed his zeale of the Catholike faith First by the circumstances which the scriptures deliuer as tokens of Christ the Messias it appeareth that he is allready come The Prophet Esay speaking of the land of Iury which was to bring him forth Esa 66. sayth that before she traueled she brought forth before her time came to be deliuered she brought forth a man child In all that Chapter he speaketh of the Messias his comming and according to the Chaldaike traslation those words are to be vnderstoode of his comming before the destruction of Hierusalem when the land of Iury felt as it were the pangues of a woman in child birth in that desolation and deluge of sorrowes which then came vpon hâ—r and it is as much as to say that the land of Iury should bring forth the Messias after a strange manner not after the ordinary course of women who haue ioy after their deliuery but on the contrary the paines of deliuery after her bringing forth of him and soe it happened with them in the comming of Christ for after his
Apostle As in Adam all dy soe in Christ all shall be made aliue Neither doe his words to the Thessalonians make against this Thes 1.4 where he saith The dead that are in Christ shall rize againe first Then we that liue that are left with all shall be taken vp with them in the clouds to meete Christ For those that be liuing on the earth when Christ shall come to iudgment shall dy and rize againe to receiue their sentence And of this there can be noe doubt if we consider the cause of the resurrection which is generall to all Cor. 2.5 that euery one may receiue the propper things of the body according as he hath done either good or euill All men being constituted of body and either seruing or not seruing God by it must rize againe that they may receiue in their bodys according to the works which they did in them S. De ciu Dâ—â— l. 22. c. 19. Augustin hath declared with what beauty and ornaments the bodys of the iust shall rize againe free from the deformitys and imperfections which before they had They shall haue noe defects of litlenes weaknes crookednes c. There shall be noe excesse in bignesse the fatt and corpulent shall deminish of their bulke and those that want of their natural pitch shall come to their perfect syze and stature There shall be then noe tendernesse of infants noe feeblenes of old age noe sicknes lamenesse or infirmity in any part They shall rize all full of ioy and content neither as yong nor as old but in a midle perfect age The haire and other ornaments of the body neither too much nor too litle all indecency being changed into comlines and decency that the body and soule may both together praise their creatour as well in corporall as in spirituall glory THE TWELFTH ARTICLE LIfe euerlasting Because life is the most pretious of all things to vs all the happinesse which we enioy in this world being enioyed by life and lost by death therfor the euerlasting felicity of heauen is called euerlasting life and the losse of it may very well be termed an euerlasting death the eternall separation of our soules from God being infinitly more miserable to them then their separation from their miserable bodys and therfor as dying creatures carne and anhele for life soe ought we to earne and anhele after that blessed life Some times that happy state is called the kingdome of God the house of God paradise the holy city thus in the scriptures and all to enamour vs with it The cheife felicity of the blessed which is called their Essentiall blesse consisteth in the cleere vision that is to say the perfect knowledge which they haue of God that they know him with full content as one doth his freind when he is present with him Cor 1.13 Io. 17. and beholdeth him face to face We see now by a glasse in a darke sort But then face to face saith the Apostle and Christ saith This is life euerlasting that they know thee the onely true God The glory of the Saints is giuen to them according to the measure of their grace for as they dy in a higher state of grace soe shall they receiue a higher reward of glory the scriptures frequently declaring that the reward is to be giuen according to our works Cor 1.3 Euery one saith the Apostle shall receiue his reward according to his labour Luth in Natiuit Maria Virgni By which we may see how false that inference of Luther was Christs iustice is imputed vnto euery one alike therefor euery one is as holy as our blessed lady For Christs iustice is imputed vnto euery one in that degree in which euery one applyeth it to himselfe and vnto all the saints alike soe farre as to obtaine glory S. Aug tract 67. in Io. but not in the same degree S. Augustine shall answere him The penny indeede is giuen vnto euery one alike but the many mansions signify the diuerse dignitys of merits in that one eternall life And presently after he citeth the Apostle Cor. 1.15 where speaking of the resurrection of the body he saith one glory of the sunne another glory of the moone and another of the starres for starre differeth from starre in glory Soe saith he is the resurrection of the dead the Saints as starres haue different mansions Greg. mor. l. 1. c. vltime and different claritys in the kingdome of heauen S. Gregory confirmeth S. Augustins words as it were repeating the very same ouer againe Because the elect of God haue different works in this life in the next without doubt there shall be a difference of dignitys and therefor in my fathers house there be many mansions Now to speake of the greatnes of this glory I know not how to beginne for it is neither in the tongue of man to speake nor in his hart to thinke the liberality of God in rewarding of his friends The Saints are then vnited in perfect friendshipp with him and are receiued into his innermost tabernacles where they shall neuer feare to loose his grace nor their place of glory And by that neere and intimate vnion with God the diuine power wisdome and goodnes appeareth soe resplendently in them that euen as iron when it is redd hott seemeth to be all fire by the fire which it conteineth soe the saints by that bright glory and sublime light by which God dwelleth in them and ioyneth himselfe to them seeme to haue put on the very nature of God It ought to be a great comfort in the way of vertue and an encouragement to vndergoe labors for Gods sake to thinke of the reward which we shall haue in the end Dauid a yong man comming into king Sauls campe to visit his brethren that were souldiers in it saw the huge army of their enemys ouer against them and a mighty gyant standing in the midst of both formidably armed challenging all Israël to a single duell with him and although he saw all the Israëlits to fly from his face forvery feare yet hearing by chance of a great reward which was promised to any that should kill him to wit that he should haue the Kings daughter to wife and other things He hearkened after it and when he had informed himselfe well and vnderstoode that such was indeede the kings promise his spirits were raised with the hopes of reward and his hart was on fire to be in hand with the gyant and allthough he knew neither how to weare armour nor manage armes but without either sword or speare or any defence for himselfe was to venture his life with an old tryed souldier he feared nothing but went downe vnto him as though it had bene to beate a dogge and seeing his enemy to approch he ranne towards him threw a stone onely in his face and closing presently with him with his owne sword he cut of his head Soe in our spirituall combats
Act. 5. and she was cured In the acts of the Apostles we haue that people put their sick and lame folkes in the streets and high wayes with in the compasse euen of S. Act. 19. Conc. Nyc Peters shaddow that it might touch them as he passed by and cure them of their infirmitys Act. 3. 4. and that the napkins or hand kercheifs of S. Paul being laid vpon the sicke cured them The second Councel of Nyce alloweth of the worship of holy reliques The tombes of Saints were aunciently worshipped in the Catholike Church S. Aug. l 22. de Câ—â— D. â— c. â— Augustine relateth the miracles which were done at S. Steuans tombe S. Hierome cont Vigilant we honour the reliques of Martyrs that we may worship him whose Martyrs they are We honour the seruants that the honour of the seruants may redounde vnto the master who saith the that receiueth you receiueth mee And this is soe plane in the holy fathers that the Magdeburgians confesse their authority but condemne them for it which is sufficient to condemne themselues in the opinion of all wise men that they starting vp against their Superiors and against theauthority of the whole Church that was then when they beganne would resist the whole world then present and also stande at defyance with the auncient fathers By that which hath bene said of holy images and reliques the worship of Saints is also prooued lawfull for that we worship them not as God but as his seruants in relation to him who is their master That which is commanded in the first commandement is the true worhip of God to wit as it is in the Catholike Church and therefore atheisme and all false worship of infidelity and heresy is forbidden in it Necromancy and all kind of witchcraft superstitious obseruations and actions such as yong women doe to see him that must be their husband or to finde somethinge that is lost These if they be not excused by ignorance committe a mortal sinne against the first Commandement in that they implicitly acknowledge supernatural power to be in some other thinge beside God and soe they worship stranges gods THE SECOND COMMANDEMENT THOV shalt not take the name of God in vaine By this Commandement we are not forbidden absolutly to sweare but to take the name of God in vaine To sweare may be lawfull nay sometimes worthy of praise but to take the name of God in vaine is allwais vaine and vnlawfull It is an act of diuine honour and worship to sweare in due circumstances for by such an oth we acknowledge the supreme goodnes Deut. 6. and first verity to be in God Thou shalt feare thy God and him onely shalt thou serue and by his name thou shalt sweare Ps 61. And king Dauid all shall be praysed that sweare by him Cor. 2.1 The Apostles sometimes confirmed their sayings by oth Apoc. 10. The Angels are also â—ead in the Scriptures to haue sworne as the Angell that appeared to S. Iohn sware by him that liueth for euer and euer Nay God himselfe Gen. 22. the Lord of Angels is read to haue sworne in diuerse places of the old testament our Lord called Abraham saying by my owne selfe I haue sworne Psal 109. And in the Psalmes our Lord sware and it wil not repent him Soe that there is noe doubt but it is lawfull to sweare if the conditions of a lawful oth be obserued As for the conditions of a lawfull oth authors commonly vnderstande them to be conteined in the words of Hieremy Hier. 4. Thou shalt sweare our Lord liueth in truth and in iudgment and in iustice The first condition is verity that it be true that which we call God to be the witnesse of The second is that it must be also with iudgement and not rashly and inconsideratly as some doe vpon euery friuolous occasion abusing the holy name and maiesty of God This is a very great irreuerence For if it be an irreuerence to a king or great personage to be called as witnesse of triuial and friuolous things of noe moment as of killing of flyes or picking of strawes much more is it against the diuine maiesty to be called rashly and indiscretly as a witnesse without necessity The third condition is iustice that it be iust and lawfull that which we promise and sweare to This condition was wanting in Herods oth who hauing sworne to the daughter of Herodias to grant her whatsoeuer she should aske and she asking the head of S. Iohn Baptist he was then either to breake his oth or to doe that which was worse to deliuer the life of a iust and innoceÌ„t man into the hands of a malicious and spitefull woman It was also wanting in those wicked Iewes who meeting together swore that they would neither eate nor drinke till they had killed S. Paul Act. 23. Such oths neuer binde for noe oth can make an vnlawfull thinge to be lawfull but the oth being past the worke is still as vnlawfull as before and if he performe it he committeth two mortal sinnes one in swearing and an other in performing an vnlawfull thinge Catholiks that liue in the dominions of infidels or haeretiks must be very wary of any oths which are tendered to them and consider well before they take them If the oth intrench any way vpon Religion as praeiudicial to the Catholike faith Act. 5. they must not take it for the whole world nor hearken to it but must answere resolutly as S. Peter did saying God must be obeyed rather then men If it seeme not much to concerne religion the best is to take aduize of the lawfull nesse of it and if an answere be required presently before that we can haue aduize we may commende it breifly to God and hauing first resolued with ourselues firmely that we will not offende our conscience we may consider of the grounds for the lawfullnesse of it an we must by all meanes iudge it lawfull before we take it If we thinke that it hath sufficient probability and that our doubt be but a timorous feare we may iudge it lawfull and then take it but if we finde not sufficient probability that we can iudge it lawfull but that we hang in suspense and doubt of the lawfullnes of it it is by noe meanes to be taken for he that doubteth of the lawfullnes of the oth and yet taketh it sinneth and is condemned by his owne conscience as doeing of that which he could not iudge to be lawfull but at least doubted to be vnlawfull That which is obserued in such oths is that there is but litle thanks afterwards to those that take them An. 464. Baronius recordeth of Hunnericus king of the Vandals that being himselfe an haeretike he sent an oth vnto his Catholike subiects in which they were to sweare that after his death they would admitte of his sonne Hildericus to be their king and that they should
vse them Thirdly they obiect that our B. Lady is farre distant from vs and it is absurde to salute one at such a distance But this is noe absurdity because distance of place hindereth not the intelligence of glorious soules It were indeede absurde formen here vpon earth to salute one another in absence because in absence they vnderstande not but if they vnderstoode it were â—ather absurde to hinder their communication when it were for a good end The blessed Virgin vnderstandeth in heauen our deuotions vpon earth for although in body she be abseÌ„t from vs yet in spirit sheis preseÌ„t with vs as Elizeus was absent in body from his seruant but was present in spirit with him and saw all that passed betwixt him and Naaman and told him afterwards Reg. 4.5 Was not my hart present when the man returned out of his chaire to meete thee S. Paul also wrote to the Corinthians that he was absent in body Cor. 1.5 but present in spirit with them But the blessed Virgin seeeth by the light of glory the deuotion of those that pray to her and is much more present with them then Elizeus or S. Paul were whilst they liued vpon earth absent from them Fourthly they obiect against the often repeating of the Haile Mary that God heareth as well at once as at many times but to repeate it a hundred and fifty times to what purpose Yes for many good purposes First to pray with more feruour secondly to obtaine by perseuering in prayer that which at first is not allwais obtained thirdly to imploy ourselues in the consideration of holy mysterys such as I haue declared to be conteined in the Rosary Christ hauing deliuered to his disciples the Pater Noster as a patterne of prayer shewed them also how it was to be vsed to wit with much earnestnes and importunity not presently desisting from prayer when we obtaine not our desire but perseuering still to aske For this he immediatly annexed the parabole of a man who asking to borrow bread at first it was denyed him but perseuering to aske by his importunity he obtained as many loaues as he needed And he did not onely teach this by word but also by example praying with much feruour and repeating in the garden the same prayer ouer Mat. 26. and ouer and ouer againe as S. Mathew hath noted He was heard as well at the first as at the last but he would teach vs to perseuer in prayer and that God granteth for our importunity and therefor he had at last the comfort of an Angell appearing to him which at first it is not likely that he had The blinde man sitting by the way when he heard the noyse of the multitude and vnderstoode that Iesus of Nazareth was passing by cryed out Iesus sonne of Dauid haue mercy vpon mee Luc. 18. And when they rebuked him he cryed much more Sonne of Dauid haue Mercy on mee Christ heard him as well at the first as at the second time yet at first he granted not his desire because he would haue him to perseuer asking that he might commende his faith grant for his perseuerance and propose him as an example to teach vs how to pray The holy Kingin the 137. psalme repeateth in euery verse the very same words ouer againe soe that there being 27. verses the same thinge is repeated 27. times and take vp about halfe of the psalme An haeretike might aske what neede there was of soe much repeating the same thinge To whom I answere that Dauid was a holy man according to the hart of God and would sing the diuine praises with much feruour of spirit repeating the same words ouer and ouer againe many times and soe we repeate the praises of the B Virgin and double and redouble our prayers to her Christ sayeth it behoueth allwais to pray Luc. 8. Thes 1.5 and not to be weary And S. Paul biddeth Pray without intermission but we can not allwais pray new prayers If the prayer be a good prayer the more we repeate it the more loue we shew and more desire of obtaining and that which is to the honour of God cannot be asked too often vntill we obtaine it If it be good to say a good prayer once euery month it is better to say it once a weeke and if it be good to say it euery weeke it is better to say it euery day and better yet to say it euery hower so that we hinder not more necessary imployments l. 4. c. 28. Lactantius who liued about a thousand and three hundred yeares since and was master to Constantine the Great hath a discourse of purpose to commende the often repeating of the Aue Mary Fiftly they obiect that it tasteth of superstition to obserue such a number of prayers I answere that it tasteth of superstition to none but such as are out of tast with pious things and with the deuotions of the Catholike Church what superstition was it in saint Bartholomew and in saint Paul the Ermite to obserue a certaine number of prayers euery day An haeretike may call it superstition in Christ to choose twelue Apostles corresponding to the twelue Tribes of Israel or to pray thrice the same prayer in the Garden for that the number of three is often vsed in the Scriptures to signifie the firmnesse and stability of any thing or in a Catholike to say three Pater nosters in honour of the three persons of the blessed Trinity or siue in honour of the fiue wounds of our Lord. All which are as much superstitious as to obserue a certaine number of the Aue Marys in the Rosary And much more superstitious doth it outwardly appeare for Iosue to commande twelue men to take vp twelue stones out of lordan and to lay downe other twelue in their places to signify the twelue Tribes then to say a hundred and fifty Aue Marys in imitation of Dauids hundred and fifty Psalmes Yet who dare say that any of these things are superstitious We must not goe by the outtward appearance but by the intrinsecal to iudge of the malice of things Christ must not be iudged a sinner because he had the outward habite of a sinner The reasoÌ„ why none of these things are superstitious is because there is nothing done in them but which hath conexion and proportion to a good end for which it is intended and therefore to obserue a certaine number of prayers in relation to some holy mistery not any of the actions aboue mentioned are in the species of superstitioÌ„ nor haue the malice of it because they haue proportion to a good end which is to stirre vs vp to deuotion by the representation of pious things Thus you see that the deuotion of the Rosary is well grounded vpon good and holy misterys and that all obiections against it are vaine and groundles as all must needes be that are obiected against the blessed Virgins honour Blessings are giuen to Beades