the Corner-stone is layd by the Prophets in the Church of God and how mightily Christ vpholdes the Scriptures that are built vpon him one by foretelling the other by fulfilling the written word how the liuing should be borne and liue and die should bee buried and raised and the Liuing word by so entring the wombe and his graue so liuing dying rising as was written so that if our Gospel be hid it is hid to those onely whose minds are blinded by the God of this world as the Apostle speakes But as our Christian Faith is much dishonoured by a company of rude and vnsettled Professours so it is vtterly ashamed of the multitude of false blind which is strange dumb witnesses the Church of God is pestered with I will end therefore with V. A iust Invectiue against all false blind and dumbe Prophets who are indeed no true Witnesses of the Lord. LEt the Iesuit now the Sophister of Christianitie cal to vs to beg light and sufficiencie and auritie to Gods word from their Romane Church tell vs tell vs that we must run to Rome to their Spirituall Man to enterpret the Scriptures who commonly vnderstands not the Tongues they were writ in Let their Apostolicall Chaâ—re vaunt it selfe it cannot fall from the Faith because the two noble Apostles S. Peter and S. Paul sate in it by their doctrine ymbrightened it by their example and with their owne blouds baptized it Alas did not our Sauiour himselfe sow Hierusalem with his doctrine grace it with his Miracles shine vpon it with the light of his vniuitable example water it with the showre the best showre that euer fell from heauen of his owne blood And yet is not that Vine-yeard become a wildernesse hath it not losse with the leaues the fruit with the power of Religion the profession of it And is it possible that Gods word should bee darke it selfe that giues light to the simple insufficient and vnperfect in it selfe that makes perfit the Man of God that Gods word should begge authorities from mans and such a mans who is either the man of Sin or the Beast drunke with the blood of the Saintes and Martyrs of Iesus from such a beastly and sinfull mans word That hee should bee the sole and Infallible Interpretour of Gods word and his diuine Lawe in whose chayre-sentence all our thoughts must acquiet themselues who by his dispensatory court of Faculties is the daily Cancelour of it and is therefore 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 stiled by the Apostle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the lawlesse Man Who can make Apocryphal Authors Canonicall Humane Traditions of Diuine Authoritie disanulling in Princes holy Marriages and making Legitimate amongst them incestuous Contracts Inioyning his Fryars vnlawfull chastity forbidding his Seculars holy Wedlocke commending in his Cardinals royal excessiue pride commanding in his votaries abiect humilitie counsayling in his Iesuits blind and sinfull obedience countenancing in forrein Subiects secret and Sainctly Rebellion creating heere among vs a Religious murder and meritorious treason and making the bulletting of a whole Commonwealth vp into the ayre at a shot an Action not onely vndiscouerable and to bee sealed vp vnder the holy Signet of Confession but canonizing the father of the Action for a most heauenly and venerable saint All which to the word of GOD are most repugnant and gladiatorie Is this the man vpon whose lip of knowledge they would haue vs and all the Prophets hang to kisse whose toes and commit idolatrie with the golden Crosse vpon his Pantofle they would haue vs flye ouer the seas Well when wee heare say hee is better able to make good his Interpretations by the Lights of Art helpe of Tongues and authoritie of Scriptures rightly inferred from the Collation of places the significancy of phrases the light of circumstances the Ayme of the words and the Analogie of Faith and hath ioyned to all these a sincere loue of the Trueth without any siding and part-taking for gainefull and honourable respects and an vnwearied search for it without prae-iudicating affections all which together make vp not an infallible but the least fallible Interpretour we will then thinke whether it bee fit to put out all these Lights in other men thorough the whole Church of GOD and with the losse of our Christian libertie to imbondage our selues to his Romane Chayre It is best therefore to keep on this side the seas from the false and whorish Prophet of Babylon that beares onely false witnesse to Christ and to consider those Ecclesiasticall home-Droanes of our owne which hiue themselues vnder the shadow of our Church the wicked thiefe money that siluer dropsie that now raigns in vnconscionable Patrons making way for them so beare indeed either no witnesse to Christ at all or but very slight and rash witnesse It was Eliahs speech from God to Ahab Hast thou slaine and also taken possession and it may well be his Churches to either of theirs Hast thou taken possession and wilt thou slay also not the body once but for euer the soules of innocent men Let no man quarrell with me as Ahab did with Eliah Hast thou found me O mine Enemie If he doe I must borrow Saint Paules answer Am I thine enemy because I tell thee the Truth No I speake not out of rash but charitable zeale thou art thine owne Enimie thou art Gods Enimie thou art the enimie of his Church For if thou didst loue him thou wouldst feede his flocke feede his Sheepe feed his Lambs If thou diddest loue his Church thou wouldest shew thy loue by thy obedience to it Who enioynes euery one eleuen moneths residence vpon his cure and graunts him but one months absence whereas it is a venture but without long search you may finde one that absents himselfe eleauen moneths and is resident but once a yeare and that is perhaps at haruest or peraduenture at Easter when his owne and not so much the Churches profit calles him to his benefit not his Benefice He would being resident preach euery Sunday as shee commaunds him in her 45. Cannon Hee would labour to coÌ„uince Heretiques which now in his absence growes vppon her or see them at least censured as she bids him in her 65. and 66. Canons He would keepe the sound in safety and visit the sicke as shee directs him in her 67. Canon Thus he would do and not laugh at them that did thus and would haue him doe so as men more precise than wise of more heate than discretion I am not so intemperate as to rage against all Non-residency which in case of insufficiencie of one Liuing or publique and necessarie imployment either in Vniuersities or Court must needs be allowable but either our Church it selfe is precise that bids him doe thus or he that does the contrary without any ouer-ballancing reason prooues himselfe a Bastard and none of hir Children A double wound it is our church receiues from these men For as themselues haue not
witnesse of God his Word and Truth In the first and broadest walkes the heathen Idolator For diuide the World into thirty parts and he takes vp as is obseru'd by a iudicious Mathematician ninteen of them but we must vnderstand his Obseruation of the continued magnitude of the surface of the earth not of the discreet multitude of men contained in it In the next wide field of error walks the Mahumetan who dispreads himselfe into sixe parts of the thirty In the third the stragling Iew wanders who is discoasted into the bounds of all the rest And the Christian impaths himselfe in the last and least and narrowest tract holding but the proportion of fiue parts in the thirty parts The Heathen anciently mistooke the Oracles of the Diuell himselfe for the word of God and in a manner is blinded in that errour to this very day eyther by the illusision of Sathan himselfe or the collusion of his Priests The Mahumetan embraces the Alcoron for the vndoubted word of God and esteemeth that of Diuine and oracular authority The Iews retaine still the ancient word of God but they al reiect the New and are therefore called by the Fathers Archiua Christianorum The olde Records of the Christians being differenced among themselues into three Sects the first whereof are called Charraim and allow all and onely the olde Testament The second sew to the Bible all their fabulous Talmud make that of Scripture-authoritie and are therfore called the Talmudists The third defalke as much from Gods word as the second crowded to it leaue only the Pentateuch or fiue bookes of Moses for selfe-credible named by the rest Samaritans Neither can the little flocke of Christ the Catholique Church now professant in the world goe peaceably in their narrow path together but with Abrahams and Lots Heardsmen or Iacobs bretheren they will wrangling and scolding as they goe being dissundred into thirteene small or fiue maine different sects Protestants Latins Gracians Nestorians Iacobites whereof most of them darken that word of God that should enlighten themselues by carrying the Sunne in a clowd reading the Scripture in an vnknowne tongue eyther of Latine Greeke or Syriacke and so traducing all the authority of Gods Word from it self to the golden and empty Title of The Church As the Latins Nestorians Indians Iacobites the Cophti and the Mannites Some of these again spanging out of the Canon of the New Testament all the Reuelation of S. Iohn the Epistle of S. Iude the second Epistle of S. Peter the second and third Epistles of S. Iohn others farsing into the Canonicall writings Apocriphall and vnknowne Authors the Gospell of Nicodemus c. with a world of rotten and vnwriten Traditions To omit the populous Churches at this day of the Nestorians and Iacobites who commit the like error concerning the Liuing word as they doe about the written the first diuiding Christ into two Persons by a separation the second cōfounding him into one Nature by the Adunation of his Humanity and diuinity Now all these selfe-arrogating to themselues the word of God either by oracular Reuelation as the Heathen or written Tradition as the Mahumetan Iew and Christian how in such a world of open Warre and ciuil mutiny about GODS Word should blinde soules such as wee all come into the World with be euer able to center themselues immoueably in the Diuine Truth of God and not be carried about with some one winde or other of these erronious doctrines Giue mee leaue with the mighty Angell that held open in his hand the little booke of Prophecies Reuel 10. to sweare by him that liueth for euer and euer Either the means how to effect this is here set downe To him giue all the Prophets witnesse or there is none in the earth or vnder heauen For as in it selfe the least tittle of Gods word is more firmely pillard and lesse passable then the whole fabrique of heauen and earth Heauen and earth shall passe c. So to vs this certaintie can no way bee more infallibly euident then by the Prophesies that are storied in it And as the Prophesies are the greatest argument of all the rest so this is the greatest of all the rest of the Prophesies to argue by For here both Gods words are met together The dead word hath met with the liuing the old Testament kisses the New either to other one by fore-telling the other by fulfilling giue mutuall witnesse of their irrepugnable Truthes Since therefore there is so great vnitie in the words and the Prophets are all ioyned in one witnesse Christ to whom they witnesse is vndiuided I industriously spare to make any diuision either of the words or among the Prophets Only I will set this one truth in the Light That Christ is the Center to whom all of them standing round about him as a compassing clowd of witnesses draw all the lines of their Prophecies then briefly gather such Instructions as shall bee thence deducible Wee might see this golden circle of all the Prophets geaphically described by the last of the Prophets himselfe Reuel 4. and 5. chapters where in the midst of 4. Beasts and 24. Elders a glorious Lambe standeth and sends forth the 7. Spirits of God into al the Earth That Christ is the Lamb himselfe the Passeouer of the Iewes wil tell vs. And that the foure Euangelists are the foure beasts their euen number and their standing neerest the Throne as waiting immediately on the Lambe of God our Sauior and the strict keeping of decorum in figuring them like beasts such as the Lamb himselfe is sufficiently proues And doubtlesse the 24. Elders can be no other then the 24. Prophets of the Olde Testament both because they are called Elders being more ancient then the foure Euangelists and stand in a greater distāce farther off frō Christ their number being iust the very same as S. Hierome obserues And because as themselues sing to their golden Harpes the Lambe had made them Kings in matters of Life Priests in Points of Doctrine to rule the Earth hauing before redeem'd thē to God by his bloud which is not appliable to the stedfast Angels but onely to such who had beene yong sinners before they became saintly Elders And to conclude the seuen spirits sent forth into all the Earth must needs be the seuen gifts of Gods Spirit precisely set down by S. Paul 1. Cor. 12. 28. Apostles Prophets Teachers Miracles Guifts of healings Helps in gouernment Diuersities of tongues which are therefore named by Saint Iohn in the very same place seauen Lamps and the seauen hornes and eyes of the Lambe because by them Christ giues Light to his Church and exerciseth a visible power in all the Earth And heere wee see all our Sauiours witnesses are met together The twenty fower Prophets hold out the first Lights to discouer the Lamb of God least they should be obscure the Euangelists sets the truth of the story by
of obedience Psal 128. they would neuer make vs friends in Heauen Luke 16. 9. we should neuer see poore Lazarus landed by the Angels in the bosome of rich Abraham Luc. 16. 22. Our Sauiour would neuer haue sent out his thunder of imbossibilitie against them with this lightning How hard it is for them that trust in riches to enter into the Kingdome of God wee should haue seene Abraham Isaac Iacob Ioseph Iob Dauid Hezechiah the rich Arimathaean c. either lesse religious or more poore Looke then as good ground to the Seeds-man so the honest heart when the seede of Gods benefits are committed to him puts out all the grace of God to the greatest aduantage of his glorie that he can and is neither idle nor vnprofitable in his fruit-seasons For he knowes he must giue account of euery idle word how much more of many talents or a whole life mispent in idlenesse but Gods seede brings forth in him either 30. or 60. or 100. fold and Gods talents are restored for two fiue for fiue tenne Neither can it be otherwise for he is Gods owne husbandrie and therefore to be a religious man and a childe of Abraham must needs be good husbandry because it is Gods who will alwaies blesse his owne grounds and be sure to let his Sunne shine and raine fall vpon them and water them except sometime that they may be more fruitfull after hee lets them for a while lye fallow and for a yeare or so as Dauid did lye spar'd and broken vp without any outward shew of fruite at all Now because all men are reasonable though some be not religious let vs see whether there bee not great reason for it that Religion should bee thought good husbandry and should enrich the man that is a faithfull practiser of it I am perswaded there is none but will confes that he which is the best disposed to get and to keepe the least inclined to mis-spend goods well gotten is most likely to prooue a rich man the Poet ioyns both the wayes of thriuing in one verse Non minor est virtus quā quaerere parta tueri Now if we would know what are the getting virtues they are agreed vpon to be Labour and Diligence Salomons little Ant will tell vs how much is got by Labour if we go to her Go to the Ant thou Sluggard consider her wayes and be wise Prou. 6. 6. And Salomons selfe will tell vs what is the fruite of a diligent hand Prou. 10. 4. A diligent hand maketh rich for as the Ant labours much and wisely so the Poet most elegantly describes it It nigeum campis agmen praedamque per herbas Conuectat calle angusto pars grandia trudunt Frumenta obnixè humeris pars agmina cogunt Castigantque moras Opere omnis semita ferret So the diligent hand loues to labour and goes willingly through all the vp-hils of thrift as Salomon speakes of his good houswife Shee perceiueth her merchandise is good therefore shee worketh willingly with her hands shee is early vp at it And is a wicked man of this disposition It may bee is laborious by reason of the nenecessity of his estate and the strength of his body but is hee constant in his labour does hee loue it Nay will he not presently breake out into some excesse or other and so soone spend ill what was well gotten O how hard a thing is it to see a good workman indeed almost in any calling not to haue some one secret or known vice that like a wicked vermine consumes all his labours but an honest religious hand as it sets it selfe to worke in obedience to Gods cōmand and so gaines his blessing So is it both constant in his labour and prouident to auoyde the mispences other men fall into For as hee is not drowsie in getting his liuing so is he neither drunken nor greede to spend it He remēbers Salomons counsell in the 23. of the Prouer. 20. Be not among wine-bibbers among riotous eaters of flesh for the drunkard and the glutton shall come to pouertie and drowsinesse shall cloath a man with ragges Does not our experience teach vs as the French Prouerbes goes That more men dig their graues with their teeth then are slaine with the sword that is with their ouer greedy cramming themselues but a religious man is taught to satisfie his body with moderate not to surfet his body with excessiiue diet Do not we see many a labouring man boyle his whole body in sweat all the day long onely to quench the dropsie of his throate at night with vnreasonable swilling in his day labour turned into drinke but a religious man as his hand are laborious so he hath a sober throate drinking onely to refresh his body not so till the drinke comes vp where it went down the grape of necessity he freely takes alwaies and somtimes but seldome the second grape of delight but the third of excesse luxry hee neuer touches or tastes of Besides how many great estates and rich patrimonies may wee obserue by often resorting to the house of an harlot to haue gone downe into the chambers of death as the wise man speakes and neuer to haue seene any resurrection but the body of a religious man is a member of Christ therfore cannot be made the member of an harlot thereby to consume both himselfe and his estate what shuld we be tedious in reporting what we cānot not but know That by gaming and pride in apparell and haunt of ill cōpany many a rich heire leaues his sonne a poore child as hee makes himselfe a poore man All which rocks of danger ill hushandry Religion the holy guide of our liues neuer suffers any that saile in Noahs Arke I meane in Gods church for want of a right steering their vessels to run foule vpon And therfore it must needs be Religion being the mother of frugalitie good husbandry to be a religious man both because the blessing of God is vpon him as we are taught by Scripture and because he is furnisht with the vertue of honest getting kept by it from the vice of vnprofitable spending But perhaps a weake Christian will bee ready to quarrel with this truth to obiect That althogh Isaac it may be had some thing left him of his father yet his father Abraham himselfe was but a poore man being stript of all his friends and the hopes of his owne inheritance and called out by God into a strange countrey when he was now seuenty yeares old his son Iacob no more worth thē his poore staffe And that Dauid was poore needy himselfe sayes as much in plaine termes I am poore needy being forsaken of father mother til God took him vp forced thogh after the best sort to beg maintenance of the rich churle Nabal and though God himself say of Iob that he was an vpright man and there was none like him in all the earth