Selected quad for the lemma: scripture_n
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A03418
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A letter to Mr. T.H. late minister: now fugitiue: from Sir Edvvard Hoby Knight. In answere of his first Motiue
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Hoby, Edward, Sir, 1560-1617.
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1609
(1609)
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STC 13541; ESTC S104131
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47,450
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130
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accomplishment of their happinesse both for the bodie and the soule by which they are not a little relieued This is as much as the Scripture will warrant and further bare custome backed onely with that place of the Machabees must not lead vs. This is that which D. Humfrey without any delusion professeth when hee saith h Cont. Camp pars 2. p. 262. Quae haec stupida impietas vt homines defuncti à viuentium meritis à monachorum cucullis ocreis à sacerdotum missis precibus ab amicorum teiunijs alijsque operibus dependeant What blockish impietie is it that men departed should depend vpon the merits of those that are aliue vpon the cowles and buskins of Monkes vpon the Masses and praiers of the Priests vpon the fasts Dirges and such like workes of their friends What Delusion can there be in so plaine words Augustine saith he pleades custome but he implieth that there is no Scripture to maintaine this oblation So that that which he looked for from his aduersaries was this not that they should i Pag. 38. propound the difference between our commendation and theirs but that they should produce Scripture to iustifie their Altar their holy Sacrifice their superstitious intention wherin they dissent from vs and wherein S. Augustine bids them trust to their owne proofe as hauing no other shelter but Custome for them at all How can you recompence this worthie Saint for those many cauils wherewith you haue sought to blast his reputation blazing indeed your own shame I hope you will now giue him leaue to borrow the saying of S. Paul k Galath 6.17 De caetero nemo sit mihi molestus he now resteth in peace hauing left behind him not only the happie memorie of a blessed life but also so many obliged friends who will neuer suffer any of his elaborate lines to be blurred with wrongfull disgrace especially by those who with a Catalogue of great names with Ponderations and Considerations thinke to beard the truth l 1. Esd 4.41 Magna est veritas praeualet It is not one strained Scripture that can support the declining waight of decayed Purgatorie it will aske more reparations then the book of God will willinglie bestow vpon it Purgatorie you say is the issue vnto which your thoughts do finallie incline and therefore hauing alreadie laid flat your weaker defences I will plant my batterie to your strongest Bulwarke §. 5. ANd for as much as M. Caluins censure of Purgatorie is held by you as a Pag. 53. a specious venditation though I will giue you leaue to make your best of his Eldership which whilome was your adored Saint yet will I maugre your colourable meditations make good the truth of this his assertion That Purgatory is a pernicious fiction of Satan disgracefull vnto the great mercy of God euacuating the crosse of Christ dissipating and peruerting our faith You think to blow him vp with a b Pag. 131. Syllogisme Now then haue at your c Pag. 154. Point-deuice Purgatory is a Satanical figment I proue it thus 1 That place which neither God made 2 nor Christ mentioned 3 nor the Apostles beleeued 4 nor the Primitiue Church embraced 5 nor the first foure general Councels confirmed is a meere figment of Satan But such a place is purgatorie Ergo A meere figment of Satan For the first God made nothing in vaine nor superfluous But Purgatorie is vaine and superfluous Ergo. My Minor is proued thus VVhatsoeuer is in the Lords field is either d Matth. 13.8 and 25. Corne or Tares But Purgatorie serueth for neither of these there being a Barne prouided for the one and an vnquenchable fire for the other Ergo e Maior vis in negatione quaÌ„ in affirmatione There being no third sort of Persons this third imaginarie place is superfluous For the second Had Christ deliuered a Doctrine so materiall it would haue been expresly f Accepi à Dâ—mino 1. Cor. 11.23 recorded But there is no such record either registred by the Euangelists or alledged by your selues Ergo neuer mentioned For the third Had the Apostles beleeued it they had been iniurious to the distressed soules to haue continued their paines by their vncharitable Concealement especially giuing written instructions of g Praeceptum domini non habeo consilium autem do 1. Cor. 7.25 lesse momeÌ„t But in all their aduertisements touching those that sleepe it is suppressed Ergo not beleeued For the fourth Jf Purgatorie were embraced by the Primitiue Church then was it as an Apostolicall Tradition there being no expresse Scripture to ratifie it But not as an Apostolicall tradition Ergo Not at all embraced That it was not held by them as an Apostolicall Tradition I proue thus As it was held by the Primitiue Church so was it deriued to posteritie But it was not deriued to posteritie as an Apostolicall tradition Ergo not so embraced by the Primitiue Church The Minor I proue thus Euery Apostolicall tradition is knowne by these two h Aug. cont Donat. lib. 4. cap. 24. markes First it must be held ab vniuersa Ecclesia there is the Generalitie Secondly Semper there is the Perpetuitie But neither had Purgatorie generall approbation nor perpetuall succession Ergo no Apostolicall tradition The Minor is confirmed by the testimony of Polydore i De inuent lib. 8. cap. 1. Aliquandiu incognitum fuit serò cognitum vniuersae ecclesiae It was a great while before Purgatorie was heard of and but of late knowne to the vniuersal Church Serò cutteth off the Perpetuitie and the emphasis of Vniuersae intimateth no Generalitie If successiuely it was deriued from the Primitiue Church then vndoubtedlie it could be no stranger to the Greeke Church But to put you out of all hope of this your k Articulo 18. cont Luth. Roffensis is coÌ„tent to bring you this heauie newes Vsque ad hunc diem Graecis non est cognitum Purgatorium The Greekes know not Purgatorie vnto this day Nay he further explaineth himselfe propounding this challenge Legat qui velit Grecorum veterum coÌ„mentarios nullum quantum opinor aut quam rarissimum de Purgatorio sermonem inueniet Reade he that list the ancient Greeke Commentaries he shal find either little or no mention at all of Purgatorie Where is now your continued Perpetuitie He serueth your Generalitie with the same sauce Sed neque Latini simul omnes at sensim huius rei veritatem conceperunt Neither did all of the Latine Church receiue it at once there was some strugling in Rebeccaes wombe and by degrees they receiued this truth So that it was long before they receiued it Ergo no Perpetuitie they receiued it not all at once there was belike some opposition Ergo no Generalitie and then the latter must yeeld vnto the former by your owne l Pag. 3. rule Now for the fifth and last member of my proposition If it
were confirmed by the first foure generall Councels or any of them then it will appeare by their Canons But m Jnsta no one Canon can be thence produced Ergo not all confirmed And so cōsequently a mere Satanicall figment Thus doth your n Page 39. Dagon fal downe before the Arke Had it not been for your grand Patriarchs S. Homer S. Plato and S. Virgil you would neuer haue knowne how to haue set your compasse for the discouerie of this new found world And yet if a man should aske the best nauigator of you all in what degree how many leagues Purgatorie is from the Jnfernall Cape I thinke he would be put to his trumpes Only Beda his ghost commeth somewhat neere the marke in his Carde which placeth Purgatorie vnder the earth in the suburbs of Hell by which whosoeuer is led may happily make but a sorrie voiage Neither see I any reason why you should not as well beleeue Alcuinus who peremtorilie maintaineth that it is situate in the o Somnium Scipioner aire But if one bee sent vnto you from the p As true as S. Bernards miracle pag. 71. dead wherein you are more happy then Diues his brethren I cannot much blame you if you heare him Well Quod vbique est nullibi est it is in so many places that indeed it is in no place But it proceedeth from a iust iudgement of God that such q Gen. 11.9 Babylonians should haue their language diuided the world is now growne wearie of such Alcumists who haue exhausted our treasures with long expectation of this Philosophers stone which yet could neuer be found The next point wherein I am to insist is that it disgraceth the mercie of God euacuateth the crosse of Christ and consequentlie peruerteth our faith The truth whereof is so euidently apparant that I shall not make any long demonstration S. Augustine giueth vs an infallible rule how to order our opinions in this case r Cont. Crescon lib. 20. ca. 31. Secundùm libros certos prophetarum Apostolorum de caeteris libris vel fidelium vel infidelium liberè iudicemus wee may freelie iudge of all other writings and consequently of al traditions according to their agreements or disagreements with the certaine Propheticall and Apostolicall writ So that if I can now prooue that Purgatorie in the forenamed respects is repugnant to the written word I shall also with one the same labor proue it no Apostolicall tradition vpon which you wholly ſ Page 11. relie There is no one point which the Scripture more vrgeth then that the Lord will haue no partner to rob him of his glorie a Apoc. 4.11 5.12 Tibi honor gloria say the elders This glorie as it did shine in the creation of man so is the lustre thereof as bright in his redemption As we lay no claime to haue been any helper in the creation so can wee not part stakes in our redemption b 1. Iohn 1.7 The blood of Christ purgeth vs from all sinnes if sinnes be purged then the punishment is remitted the cause being taken away the effect ceaseth if from all sinnes then as well mortall as veniall as you terme them Neither doth the Lord say He that is so manie yeeres in Purgatorie but c Rom. 10.9 he that beleeueth shall bee saued My argument thē standeth thus The soules in Purgatorie are either punished for those sinnes which Christs blood hath wholly purged or for those which he hath not whollie purged if for those which Christ hath wholly purged then must there needs be iniustice in God to imprison them whose debts are fully discharged if for sinnes that hee hath not wholly purged then it followeth either that he is not d Iohn 1.29 the lamb of God that taketh away the sinnes of the world leauing some part behind or that the workes of God nay his mercy e Psal 144.9 which passeth al his works is imperfect or that mans satisfaction must goe hand in hand with Christs merit by making that good which wanteth in his passion with which surmise the Lord will not suffer his glorie to be ecclipsed And surelie if Apelles leaue his picture vnperfect it is in vaine for any other of his craft to take it in hand Neither can I vnderstand why the blood of Christ apprehended by faith in this life should be of lesse force then when it is applied by Baals priest when we are dead to free vs from that doome Your owne writers are not ashamed to say that a f Reuelat. Brigittae lib. 4. cap. 13. Bishop of Rome his prayers did deliuer Traian a Heathen Emperour from hell who had been dead many hundred of yeares before and yet you thinke much nay you say that we insist in the steps of the g Pag. 53. Nouatians Nestorians and the like when we professe that the h Col. 2.14 handwriting which was against vs being fastened to the crosse of Christ and the bond being cancelled we are no longer liable to the penaltie thereof albeit the Scripture saith that i Heb. 9.26 he appeared once to put away sin how by meriting that the penall satisfaction of Purgatorie might make vs cleane No such matter but by the sacrifice of himselfe And againe k Heb. 1.3 Christ hath purged our sinnes not by vs as making vs our owne Sauiors but by himselfe Frustra fit per plura quod fieri potest per pauciora If the Leprosie of l 4. King 5.12 Naaman be clensed by the water of Iordan what standeth hee in need of Abanah or Pharphar Christ was offered for the sinnes of many and yet as if he had but taken a longer day of paiment the vnbloodie sacrifice must be dailie renewed as if the sheading of his pretious blood vpon the crosse were lesse effectuall then your breaden idoll in a shauelings hand whom blind superstition holdeth to be able to rid them from that dolefull place wherein notwithstanding that one m Heb. 7.27 oblation of himselfe once offered they are for further purgation to bee enthralled If the Lord hath assigned them that place how can your Romish indulgences set them at libertie where is your commission if you will loose thē at all it must be while they are on the earth it is appointed to all men n Heb. 9.27 That they must die and after death commeth iudgement o Eccles 9.5 Mortui nihil nouerunt amplius nec habent vltra mercedem The dead know nothing at all As the p Jbid. cap. 11.3 Tree falleth so must it lie q Cyprian de mortal Qualem te inuenit Deus cùm de hoc mundo euocat talem te iudicat As God findeth thee at thy death so will he iudge thee If the Lord haue assigned no such place to them as is plaine by the premisses then are you cruell comforters who for your owne gaine do terrifie the departing soule of him