in another a greate way of And so to goe seeking from the beginning of Genesis to the end of the Apocalipse And this though the number of Pointes necessary to saluation be but smale as Protestants all agree I can not therefore thinke is was Gods intention te leave us to the Bible only as to the sole Rule of Faith THE SECOND POINT Tradition besides Scripture must direct us in many necessary Controversies 1. FIrst the word of God may be notified either by Tradition with out writing or by Scripture or writing It is undoubted that the word of God written or unwritten is the Rule of Faith wherefore seeing it hath been proved in the former Point that the writteÌ„ word of God is not our only Rule of Faith it evidently followeth that Gods unwritten word notified by Tradition must be taken as part of this Rule 2. Secondly Moyses was the first Scripture writer and he according to his own story did not write till the world had continued above two thousand and four hundred yeares so long then all the faithfull in the world were truly faithfull without any Scripture All this long time then the unwritten word of God that is Tradition was the only Rule of Faith For even then many had that faith which is defined by S. Paul 11. Hebr. 1. which I prove because in that very place he numbers Abel Enoch Noë Abraham and Sara all having the faith he there described and yet Sara cannot be shewed to have had her faith grounded on any other word of God but that which was delivered by the Tradition of the Church in her times And generally then the faith of all true beleivers was grounded upon Tradition only By this Tradition they knew that God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it Gen. 2.3 And so all held themselves obliged to keep the Saboth By this Tradition they knew the distinction of Beastes cleane and uncleane Gen. 7.2 By this Tradition they knew themselves obliged not to eate the flesh with the blood Gen. 9.4 so likewise that the Tithes were to be pâ—yd to the Priest Gen. 14.20 By only Tradition they knew the fall of Adam theyr future saluation by the Messias to come theyr remedy from sinne by Pennance and repentance theyr reward of Good punishment of evell Againe from Abraham untill the written law that is for some foure hundred yeares they knew by Tradition only that this is the Covenant which ye shall keep between me and you All man kind shall be circumcised an infant of eight dayes Gen. 17.10 Now give me one Text if you can which bide us not to take Tradition for a Rule of Faith after the writing of Scripture 3. Thirdly even after the writing of Scripture the Gentils had not the Scripture yet by Tradition only many of them as apeares by the booke of Iob retained true faith And even among the Iews after they had the Scripture several necessary Pointes where left to be knowne by Tradition only as the remedy for Original sinne before the eight day and for woemen children both before and after As also by only Tradition they knew that all the vertue there sacrifices had to take away sinne was from the blood of theyr Redeemer to come The observing of al these traditions was not any unlawfull Addition to the written word of God whence you may understand the clere meaning of those words so often objected against us Deut. 4.2 You shall not adde to the word I command you neither shall you diminish ought from it For here is only forbidden to add contrary to the law So that other place Ch 12.32 Whatsoever I command you observe thou shall not adde thereunto nor diminish from it For this place is meant only of offerings not any other sacrifices besides those which were in the law prescribed But it was ever lawfull for lawfull Superiors to add more preceps agreable to the law So 2. Ch. 30.21 after the Children of Israël according to the law had kept the solemnity of Azymes seven dayes v. 23. The whole assembly took good counsel to keep other seven dayes And v. 27. Theyr prayer came to the Holy habitation of heaven This addition then did not displease God Again Esther 9.27 The Iews ordained and tooke upon them and theyr seede and upon all that would be ioyned with them so as it should not faile that they keep these two dayes and that these dayes should be kept through out every Generation every family Behold here an other addition and behold also an other again of the Dedication of the Altar made for eight dayes from yeare to yeare 1. Mach. 4.56.59 And that you may know that this booke is Scripture or at least that a feast is to be kept not appointed in Scripture our Saviour himselfe did keep this Feast Iohn 10.22 as I shall shew Point 38. Again the change of the Sabboth into the Sunday is only clearly known by Tradition Yea the manner of keeping it is contrary to all Scripture we have for Scripture sayth Levit. 23.32 From Even unto Even shall ye celebrate Your Sabboth Yet we do not begin the Sunday the even before neither dare wee worke after the even upon Sunday Who taught us this Tradition only 4. Fourthly Tradition is and therfore is truly to be held the word of God making us fully assured of what is not written For example for some yeares after the Death of our Saviour his glorification after death was not written so as to expresse that Iesus was that Christ whom God had glotified and yet before this was written S. Peter sayd truly Acts 2.36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly marke the word assuredly that God hath made the same Iesus whome you have crucified both Lord and Christ We may then have an infallible faith of what is not written yea we are forbidden to believe otherwise then was delivered by Tradition 2. Thess 2.14 Therefore Bretheren stand and hold the Traditions you have bin taught whether by word or by our Epistle For what he taught by his tongue only was as truly the word of God as what he did also write with his penne Yea this which I call Tradition is the Epistle of Christ 2. Cor. 33. you are the Epistle of Christ not written with inke but with the spiritt of the living God This Epistle written with the spiritt of the living God is no lesse true nor of lesse credit then what is writteÌ„ with inke in papers Whereforemost of the Apostles did give their Convertites no other forme of beliefe but what by their preaching they had written in theyr heartes not with inke but with the spiritt of the living God For the proper subject to receive and râ—â—ayne the word of God is not paper but the heartes of the faythfull Whence S. Irenaeus lib. 3. cap. 4. What if the Apostles had also left no Scripture Ought not we to follow the order of Tradition which they delivered to them to
which he will find them in his English Bible for you have so many severall traÌ„slations of the English Bible that whilst I oblige my selfe to follow one I shall make sure not to follow the other I conceived the best expedieÌ„t to avoid this difficulty would be to follow alwayes either the very words or the full seÌ„se of that English Bible which is most universally received And in this point I have been so very scrupulous that I continually admonish my Reader if at any one time I chance to put downe any single text differing in sense from the English Bible vvich I have made choice of as the best edition of theyr most received Bible which is that which was set forth at Cambridg 1635. printed by Thomas and Iohn Buck Printers to that Vniversity which Bible King Iames did cause to be set forth out of his deep Iudgment apprehending how convenient it was that out of the Originall sacred tongues there should be a more exact TranslatioÌ„ as is sayd in the Preface of this TranslatioÌ„ dedicated to his Majesty A note to the Catholike Reader LEt the Catholik Reader observe that when we cite the two books of Samuel the texts cited will be fouÌ„d in our two first Books of Kings And when we cite here theyr two Books of Kings the Texts will be found in our Bibles in the two last Books of Kings For our Third is theyr first our fourth theyr second So also with them the Books of Paraâ—ip be called Chronicles the secoÌ„d of Esdras they call Nehemiah In numbring allso the Psalmes they do from the 10 Psalme differ from us counting still one more then we untill they come to Ps 147. which from the 11. verse includes our Psalm 147. And thence we goe forward with the same account A Table of the Pointes contained in this Treatise POINT I. That the Scripture alone cannot be a Rule sufficient to direct us in all necessary Controversies Page 1. POINT II. Tradition besides Scripture must direct us in in many necessary Controversies Page 12. POINT III. Of the never failing of the Church which beeing perpetuall can preserve perpetuall Traditions allso of succession of true Pastors and Professors P. 21. POINT IV. Of the universality and vast extent of this perpetuall Church which allso must be the converter of Gentils this no Church differing from the Roman ever was Page 33. POINT V. Of the infallibilitie of the Church and consequently of her fittnes to be judge of Controversies P. 44. POINT VI. That the Roman Church is this infallible Church aÌ„d our Iudge in all points of CoÌ„troversie P. 64. POINT VII That the Chief Pastor of this Church is the successor of S. Peter Page 66. POINT VIII That this our Chiefe Pastour or Pope is not Anti-christ Page 74. POINT IX Of the Sacraments of the Church and of the Ceremonies which the Church useth in administrating these Sacraments as allso in other occasions Page 79. POINT X. Of Baptisme which is the first Sacrament P. 86. POINT XI Of Confirmation Pag. 87. POINT XII Of the Holy Eucharist Page 89. POINT XIII Of Communion under one kind Page 106. POINT XIV Of the Masse and of the Holy Eucharist as it is a Sacrifice Page 109. POINT XV. Of saying Masses and other publike prayers in the Latin tongue Page 119. POINT XVI Of the Sacrament of Pennance or Confession Page 131. POINT XVII Of the Sacrament of Extreame Vnction Page 134. POINT XVIII Of the Sacrament of Holy Order P. 138. POINT XIX Of the Sacrament of Matrimony Page 139. POINT XX. Of the single life of Priests Page 141. POINT XXI Of the single life of such as have vowed Chastity Page 149. POINT XXII Of works of Counsel and supererogation Page 155. POINT XXIII Of voluntary Austerity of life Page 159. POINT XXIV Of satisfactory good workes Page 165. POINT XXV Of Purgatory aÌ„d prayer for the dead P. 173. POINT XXVI Of Indulgences Page 189. POINT XXVII That faith alone doth not Iustifie P. 196. POINT XXVIII Whether Justification be any thing inherent in us Page 200. POINT XXIX Whether our Justification may not be lost Page 205. POINT XXX To Justification it is necessary to keep the Commandments Page 209. POINT XXXI How still wee have free will to do good or evill Page 213. POINT XXXII How this free will is still helped with sufficient grace Page 216. POINT XXXIII This sufficient grace is denyed to none Christ dying even for Reprobates Page 220. POINT XXXIV How our good works done in grace and by the helpe of Christs grace be meritorious and merit life everlasting Page 224. POINT XXXV It is laudable to do good works for reward Page 233. POINT XXXVI Wee laudably worship Angels and Saints Page 235. POINT XXXVII The Angels and Saints can hear our Prayers Page 245. POINT XXXVIII That Saints can and will helpe us and therefore it is laudable to pray to them Page 252. POINT XXXIX That among the Saints it is most laudable to pray to our Lady and of the beads sayd to her honour Page 264. POINT XL. It is laudable to worship the Images of Saints Page 275. POINT XLI It is iaudable to worship the Reliques of Saints Page 289. POINT XLII Some places are more Holy then others wee therefore laudably make Pilgrimages and Processions to such Holy places Page 296. POINT XLIII That wee laudably keepe Feasts in the honour of Saints Page 306. POINT XLIV That we laudably observe Fasts Saints eves and other dayes Page 312. POINT XLV That we laudably in our fasts obstaine from certaine meates Page 317. TO THE PROTESTANT READER I Humbly begg of thee to peruse this Table of the Points here treated and to turn first to that very Point in which thou thinkest wee are less able to give thee satisfaction And according as thou findest what I shall say even in that Point to be more or less satisfactory so judge of the rest But first correct these faults escaped with thy penne and pardon the Printer who was an externe THE FIRST POINT That Scripture alone can not be a Rule sufficient to direct us in all necessary Controversies 1. NO Roman Catholike doth deny the Scripture to be a sufficient Rule to direct us in all controversies if wee take the Scripture rightly interpreted And therefore all those many textes which Protestantes bring to prove the Scripture to be our sole Rule of fayth are very clearely answered by saying that all those Textes speake of the Scripture not taken as the letter sounds for the letter kills 2. Cor. 3.6 but they speake of the Scripture as rightly interpreted And Protestantes cannot but graunt the Scripture rightly interpreted to be a sufficient Rule of fayth But what are wee the nearer For now comes the great Question of Questions who be those that give the right Interpretation to Scripture 2. The very ground of all Religions but the Roman is the Scripture as Interpreted by theyr own selves after they have carefully conferred
one place with an other For I aske and ask them again and again by whom Scripture ought to be interpreted They will say by Scripture conferred with Scripture Here I must yet ask them again by whom the conference of one Scripture with another can be made so exactly that from hence wee may come vndoubtedly to know the true interpretation This question I will be still asking them untill they can answer it For I am sure that If I presse this question home they must be at last enforced to say that the ground of their whole Religion is the Scripture interpreted by them selves when it hath bin carefully conferred by them selves so that the very ground of their whole fayth is deceiptfull and fallible if they them selves be fallible either in interpteting or in conferring Scripture carefully or skillfully If they say their Interpretation thus made is undoubted and infallible then they can not blame us for saying that the interpretation of the Church made with as great care and skill used by her in the exact conference of one Scripture with an other is infallible 3. Stay here Deare Reader and as thou lovest thy saluation before thou goest any further ponder attentively how fallible and subject to a world of errors the ground of all such Religions must needs be which wholy and entirely are found at last to rely upon a meer human interpretation after that a meer human and most fallible diligence and skill hath bin employed in conferring one Text with an other Then ponder on the other side how incomparably surer and more justifiable in the sight of God and man the ground of that faith is which relyeth indeed on the Scripture but not on the Scripture as interpreted by private and fallible interpreters after theyr most fallible exactnesse of conferring Scripture with Scripture but which relyeth upon Scripture as interpreted by the Church after that shee with no lesse exactnes hath conferred one Scripture with an other in a generall Council having incomparable greater human abilities then those of any private mans be and having the speciall assistance of the Holy Host leading his Church into all truth Of this infallibility wee shall speak fully Point 5. 4. Now the Scripture as rightly interpreted by the Church will send us for the clearing of many doubtes unto the Church authorized by Christ to instruct and teach us as in that fift Point shall be evidenced out of Scripture The difference then between our adversaries and us is that wee affirme the Scripture as it is rightly interpreted by the Church after she hath exactly conferred in a general Councel Scripture with Scripture to be the Rule of Faith by which she decideth all necessary Controversies But our adversaries misliking the dependence on the Church will have the Scripture by it selfe alone to be a Rule sufficient to direct each one who shall carefully conferre it to judge all necessary Controversies This wee deny and though they say it in wordes yet in very deed they also come to deny what they say for let a man mark it well and he shall see that all these sectaries when they come to the maine Controversie do not take Scripture alone as conferred with Scripture only but they all take Scripture with theyr own interpretation made upon theyr own conference And if you tell them they have fayled by not taking due notice of severall other Texts in Scripture which should have been pondered in their Conference and would have produced a different interpretation they will say their own spirit tels them the contrary so that finally they who laugh at the Church for trusting to be securely guided by the Holy Ghost come to ground theyr whole fayth upon the assurance of being truly guided by theyr own spirit or judgement but let us come to what we propound and let us prove by Scripture that Scripture taken as they take it can not be a sufficient Rule to direct us in all necessary Controversies This I prove 5. First because to end all Controversies wee must at least rule our selves by al the bookes of Scripture and we must be assured wee doe so This is cleere because by no text of Scripture it can be prouved that any determed booke or number of bookes is sufficient to end all Controversies But to do this the whole number of books written by any Scripture writer is wholy requisite seeing that no Text speaks of any one or any determinate number but all speake of all Now marke to what passe this opinion brings you For if wee be to judge all necessary Controversies by all the bookes which ever were written by any Scripture writer we must necessarily have these books amongst us But wee have not in the whole world extant amongst us diverse books of Sacred Propheticall Scriptures For no fewer then twenty books of the Propheticall Pennemen of the Holy Ghost have quite perished as the learned Contzen proveth in his Preface upon the fower Ghospels and I will prove this as far as is sufficient by these following texts Iosue 10.13 Is not this written in the book of Iascker Again 1. Kinges 4.32 Salomon spoke three thousand Proverbs and his songes were one thousand and five Again 1. Chron. 29.29 The actes of David first and last are written in the book of Samuel the Seer and the book of Nathan the Prophet and the book of Gad the Seer Where be these two Prophets books Again 2. Chron. 9.29 mention is made of the books of Nathan the Prophet and the Prophesie of Ahyah and the visions Iddo the Seer And Chap 12.15 and the book Schemaiah the Prophet and of Iddo the Seer concerning Genealogies which seemes to be a different book from his book of visions before specifyed And Chap. 13.22 mention is made of the story of the Prophet Iddo And Ch. 20.34 mention is made of the book of Iehu sonne of Hanani and Ch 33.19 wee find mention of the works of the sayings of the Seers Wee know then by Scripture that what is sayd by those books is sayd by Prophets And wee also know by Scripture that God spoke in time past unto the Fathers by the Prophets 2. Pet. 1.21 Moreover we know by Scripture that Prophesie came not in old time by the will of man But the Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost 2. Pet. 1.21 Standing therefore to what is known by Scripture these bookes which have perished did deliver what was spoken by the Holy Ghost and contained the true word of God Whēce is proved that we have not now entierly the whole word of God written and this is further proved by the ensuing textes of S. Paul 1. Cor. 5.9 I wrote to you in one Epistle Note that he sayth this in his first Epistle to them Where is the Epistle which S. Paul wrote to them before he wrote the first to them I wrote to you Wee then say Give us all sacred Propheticall writings which ever were written
or give us at least some one single cleare text which tells us that wee are to end all necessary Controversies by such books alone as be now extant in the true Cannon of Scripture or else be ashamed to speak with out a text in this very question in which you affirme that all our necessary Controversies must be ended by only cleere Scripture The Controversie about this very question is one of the greatest of all Controversies and yet you would have us credit you without beeing able to bring cleer Scripture for what you say especially Scripture conferred with these now cited texts of which I dare say you never thought And though you should bring me a cleer text to prove what is desired yet where would you find a cleer text to shew me that all those twelve books yea or any one of them which you have rejected amongst the Apocrypha do not belong to the true Canon of the whole Scripture Remember I call for a text as you bid me and not for a reason against which wee have our reasons the Text say you must end all necessary Controversies Let then some Text be brought able to end this even in your own Iudgement 6. Secondly if Scripture only be the Rule to end all necessary controversies then some Ages had no such Rule at all but were destitute of all assured Rule to end theyr necessary controversies and that for two thousand and four hundred yeares together For Moses who was the first Scripture writer was not borne but after the world had stood two thousand and four hundred yeares as may be made aparent by Scripture in calculating the Ages of such as successively lived one after the other according to his own History of Genesis soo long therefore the world was with out any Scripture Scripture then is not the only Rule of true Faith seeing that Sara Rebecca and others of those times had true faith though theyr faith was only squared by the Rule of the Tradition of theyr Church as wee will see in the next Point n. 2. 7. Thirdly the Rule by which all men should be ruled in all necessary points should be in a language understood by all But it is cleere that most of the Iews in the Captivity of Babilon had lost the knowledge of the Hebrew tongue wherein the old Scripture was written Neither was the Bible translated into the Syriak language till some yeares after our Saviours death Syriak differs as much from Hebrew as Italian from Latin And the very letters differ as much as Greeke and Latin The Iews then for above fourteene Generations understood the Hebrew no more then your people now understand the Bible in Latin But of all this I shall speak more fully Point the 15. n. 1. 8. Fourthly That can not be a sufficient Rule to decide all necessary controversies which speaks not one word of many necessary controversies But the Scripture speakes not a word of many necessary Controversies Ergo first it is necessary to know which bookes of Scripture be Canonicall and which not Also whether the Canonicall bookes wee now have be alone sufficient to guide us in all necessary controversies Then whether they can do this if they be not incorrupt And how wee shall assuredly know whether they be incorrupted or not Or which is the Copie that is uncorrupt Again which is the true Translation of this Copie Again which is the true sense of this Translation and that assuredly with a cleere Text for this assurance Of these and many more particular controversies not a word in Scripture Again standing to Scripture alone the Heresy of Helvidius denying our Blessed Lady ever to have remained a Virgin seemeth rather to have had some colourable defence then any cleere jugdment givē against it by Scripture only For Matth. 1.25 He knew her not till the brought forth her first borne Sonne In which Text these words till she brought forth and those others her first borne Sonne give some colour to say she had other Sonnes afterwardes For which doctrine Helvidius was held an Heretik by S. Augustin Her 84. and by S. Hierome contra Helvidium You may see fower and twenty necessary Pointes sett downe all at large by Optatus Ductor in his Question of Questions no one of which are cleerly decided in Scripture 8. Fiftly that can not he a sufficient Rule to decide all necessary Controversies which in such controversies speakes not cleerly but is very hard to be understood as the Scripture is Whence we see all Controversies arise about the true meaning of such and such Texts So 2. Pet. 3.16 In the which Epistles of S. Paul are certeine thinges hard to be understood which the unlearned and unstable wrest as they do the other Scriptures unto theyr owne damnation Whence it is evident that damnable errors may be incurred by misinterpteting places hard to be understood And so this hardnes is found in pointes necessary to saluation For in such only damnable errors can be incurred 10. Sixtly Christ did not command any one of the Evangelistes to write his Ghospell They all did write of themselves upon particular ocasions expressed by Eusebius S. Luke tells you in his Preface why he did write uncommanded Christ then intended to leave us some other Rule then this which he never commanded to be written at all much lesse to be written so as to be to us the only Rule of Faith 11. Seaventhly by reading the Ceremoniall law given by God to Moyses soo cleerely so distinctly and so closse together in the compasse of no great book I evidently inferre that if the selfe same most prudent Lawmaker had intended in the bookes of Canonicall Scripture to deliverd unto us the sole Rule of Faith and which alone we were to follow he would not only have cleerly told us so but he would with no lesse but rather with more clarity and distinction and in a farr lesse compasse have sett downe unto us this Rule intierly and compleatly together in some one part of the Canonicall Scripture distinctly expressing all those pointes the beliefe of which he exacteth of us under paine of damnatiun For this did much more import to be done thus plainly and distinctly then the setting downe of the Iewish Ceremoneyes For is it likely that the same God who prescribed unnecessary Ceremonies to be so cleerly and distinctly set down in a few leafes to direct the Iewish Church which is but the Hand Mayd would not for the Church of Christ which is the Mistris give as clear a direction in Pointes wholy necessary to saluation But would send every one of her Children to read over the whole Bible and to pick out here one place and there an other as Protestantes say God sends us to seeke even the most necessary Pointes of our beliefe which he requires of us under paine of damnation now in this place of so vast a Vollume as the Bible is now in an other place hard by now
whom they committed the Churches To which ordinance many Nations of those barbarous people who have believed in Christ do consent with out letter or inke having salvation that is soul-saving doctrine written in their heartes For a world of the first believers did never so much as see all scripture It was the yeare 99. before S. Iohn writt his Gospell And when the Canon of Scripture was fully ended there is no meÌ„tion made euen of the lâ—â—st care taken by the Apostles to divulge the Scripture in barbarous languages no nor to divulge it in latin it selfe as you must needes say who deny primitive Antiquity to all Latine Editions All this cleerly proves that Tradition was relyed upon as upon the word of God it selfe Whence S. Paul did not only counsel but also commaÌ„ded the Thessalonians to with draw them selves from all who walked not after the Tradition they had received of their Pâ—stors 2. Thâ—s 3.6 Now sayd heâ— wee comaund you Bretheren in the name of our Lord that ye with draw your selves from every brother that walketh discorderly and not after the Tradition which he receaved of us 5. It was for the keeping this Tradition and forme of Faith why he praysed the Romans Ch. 6.17 You have obeyed from your heart the forme of doctrine what was delivered you This forme could not be a forme conteyned in the whole Canon of Scripture for the whole Canon was not finished when S. Paul did write this It was therefore the forme of uniforme TraditioÌ„ delivered in each church which taught by word of mouth all th nges necessary For this he praysed the Corinthians 1 Cor. 11.2 Now I prayse to Bretheren that you keepe the Traditions so you put in the margenâ— but in the Text you read Ordinances as I eliverded them to you This Forme these Traditions these Ordounances are inculcated again and again 1. Tim. 6.20 O Thimothie keep that which is committed to thy trust And v. 3. If any one teached otherwise he is proud knowing nothing Again 2. Tim. 1.13 Hold fast the good forme of good words which thou hast heard of me That good thing which was committed to thee keep by the H. Ghost Again Ch. 3.14 But thou continue in those things which thou hast learned and been assured of knowing of whom thou hast learned them learned I say by word of mouth for by writing he had received but title So also when as yet by writing he had taught the Romans nothing he in his first and only Epistle to them wrote thus Rom. 16.17 Now I beseeeh you Bretheren mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned Likwise when as yet he had written nothing to the Galatians for where is any such writing he begines thus Gal. 1.6 I maruel that so soon you are removed from him who called you into the grace of Christ unto an other Ghospell I say removed that is changed from the forme of Faith which I delivered which was a true though not a written Ghospel into an other Ghospel taught by these new otherwise teathers yet sayth he with all earnestness Although wee or an Angel from heaven preach any other Ghospel unto you then that ye have receaved let them be accursed v. 8. S. Paul as yet had preached nothing to them in writing but they had received all by Orall Tradition and yet not with standing once again more vehemently v. 9. As wee have sayd before so I say now again if any man preach any other Ghospel unto you theÌ„ that you have received be he accursed Note the word Received intimating that they had all by Tradition For what as then had they received from him in writing And he sayth no more then other Apostles Who did write nothing but delivered all by Orall Tradition might truly have sayed of the Ghospel so delivered by them Neither did S. Paul speake of what they should receive many yeares after but of what they had as theÌ„ received For that was as true as any thing they should receive by writing And therefore for theyr forsaking of what they had received thus he most deservedly sayth unto them O Foolish Galatians who hath bewitched you c. 3. v. 1. For indeed they seeme bewitched out of theyr senses who to follow the private judgment of some otherwise teachers reject what they had received by the full and still-continued report of all Christianity from the first teachers of the faith 6. They object Tradition to be the word of men but all these arguments shew this Apostolicall Tradition for which only wee now contend to be the word of God A forme of sound words And 1. Thes 2.13 Ye received the word of God which ye heard of us ye received it not as the word of men but as it is in truth the word of God Behold what was heard by them by only word of mouth was in truth the word of God Therefore a fitt Rule of Faith even before it was written 7. They aske how wee know a true Apostolicall Tradition from a false one which is the tradition of men I answer that a true Apostolicall Tradition cometh downe handed by a full unanimous report of all Catholike Nations in all ages attested by thyr universall practise and uniforme doctrine what is thus delivered is the Doctrine of the Church diffused and therefore infallible upoÌ„ this ground for other infallible groundes you have none you receive only such and such Scripture for Canonicall and such and such copies of the Scripture for Authenticall We can therefore to the full as well distinguish true Traditions from false ones or Apostolicall Traditions from Traditions of Ordinary men as you can distinguish the Authenticall copie of theyr writings from such as are forged or corrupted for you must first distinguish the truth of the Tradition which recommend such bookes unto you from all false Traditions THE THIRD POINT Of the never fayling of the Church which beeing perpetuall can preserve perpetuall Traditions Also of succession of true Pastors and Professors 1. IF the Church of Christ could fayle or cease to be it is evident Tradition might fayle and not be preserved in its purity The true Church is both infallible as long as she lasts of which see Point 5 and is allso sure to last to the end of the world Yea she is assured all this time to have a lawful succession of true Pastors and under them true Professors of the faith in a vast number find any such Church besides the Roman if you can and I give you leave to call that the true Church And lest perhaps the great number of powerfull Texts which we are to cite should worke smale effect with minds prepossest with one or two objections to the contrary we will first cleare them and then passe to the manifold cleere Texts which demonstrate the true Church at no time to be in a lurking Invisibility 2. The prime objection is from the wordes of Elias
his flesh to be eaten in a meere signe or figure of it had S. Peter thought this I dare say he would have pulled the other disciples backsaying our master only speaks of giving a signe of his body Had this been so then allso vndoubtedly the other Evangelists when they had come to write of this mystery which had scandalized so many before theyr writing would not have encreased the scandal by writing so vnanimously of this Sacrament in words sounding so loud a litterall sense as these do This is my body this is my blood But they would rather have lessned the difficulty by declaring it only to be a figure which they might have done in a word S. Paul was so farre from declaring it to be so that 1. Cor. 11. v. 27. he flatly saith Therefore whosoever shall eate this bread and drink the Chalice of our Lord unworthily he shall be guilty of the Body and Blood of our Lord. Which could not be vnlesse he received the Body and Blood truly and not in a figure only To eate a Paper picture of Christ makes no such heinous guilt though it be done by a sinner and it be allso a figure of his body 4. S. Luke allso had been particularly to blame in encreasing the scandal by expressing so clearly a litterall sense Chap. 22. v. 19. This is my body which is givē for you This cup is the new Testamēt in my Blood which Chalice shall be shedd for you I say which Chalice that is that which is cōteyned in the Chalice shall be shed for you Now wine was not shed for vs but his true blood His true blood therefore was the thing cōteined in the Chalice For though by the Latine or English words we can not tell whether Christ sayd his blood should be shed for thē or the Chalice or Cup yet S. Luke writing in Greek makes it evidēt to all who know that language that he sayd the Chalice should be shed for us for he speakes in the nominative case by a word which can not agree with the blood which in Greek is the dative Now thus having proved that Christ literally sayd This is my body I have proved allso that this is not bread For it is his body which is as good a consequence as this this is a stone therefore it is not bread Or this is not bread for it is a stoone 5. Coming now out of Scripture to answer the chiefe okjections I begin with one which doth afford me a new strong argument They object then Idolatry to vs for adoring that which is bread I answer that according to Scripture Idolatrie can not be found in the only visible Church of Christ for Scripture sayth clearly of this Church Ifa 2.18 And Idolls shall be utterly abolisht Again Ezech. 36.25 And I will power upon you cleane water c and from all your Idols will I cleanse you And in the next Chapter v. 23. Neither shall they defile themselves any more in theyr Idols Again Micheas Chap. 5.12 Thou shalt no more adore the works of thy hands Again Zachar. 13. v. 1. In that day shall be a fountaine lying open to the house of David And it shall be in that day sayth the Lord of Hosts I will cast of the names of Idols out of the Land and they shall be remembred no more Hence I argue thus In the whole visible Church there continued and doth still continue adoration of the Sacrament but Idolatry did not continue in the whole Church visible therefore adoratiō of the H. Sacramēt is not Idolatry Moreover if worshipping this H. Sacrament were Idolatry all Christianity for many ages practizing this adoration had committed Idolatry and Christs Church for so many ages had quite failed as is cleare out of the third and fourth point For Christ had no other Church for many ages but that which every where practized this Idolatry as you miscall it Or tel mee if you can what other visible Church Christ had vpon earth different from the Roman in faith and worshipe for the thousand yeares before Luther If this be the only visible Church Christ had vpon earth then I have proved it could not be guilty of Idolatry 6. Against such a torrent of Scripture as we have for vs you ground yourselues not in Scripture but in Philosophy which tried by Scripture will be found to faile you in all your objections First then you object that an accident can not be without a substance Wee answere out of Gen. 1.3 God sayd be light made and light was made Light is a quality or accident Yet hence S. Basil S. Greg. Naz. and Theodoret are of opinion that light was without any subject at all for the Scripture specifyes no subject in which it was put Whence followes that at lest they must needs think it possible that light should be without a subject Secondly you object that the same body of Christ can not be multiplied so often over We answere again out of Gen 2.21 Our Lord God cast a dead sleepe upon Adam and whē he was fast a sleepe he tooke one of his ribbs and filled up flesh for it And our Lord God built the ribbe which he tooke of Adam into a woeman I aske how many times over must this one ribbe be multiplyed before a whole woeman of a comely proper stature could be made up of it After the same manner God can of one ordinary brick make a pillar of many foote high by multiplying that one brick In the like manner our Saviour multiplyed those five Barley loaves with which he fed above five thousand men Io. 6. For if he made new loaves he did not feede them with those five but with those many hundred new loaves which he made and yet the Scripture sayth v. 12.13 After they were filled they gathered the remnants and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves and not of any new loaves created by Christ so that the bread which was eaten remained still to be eaten And it is worth our noting that our Saviour did this miracle immediatly before he did first declare this strange doctrine of giving his flesh to be eaten like bread by every one that so when he should presently declare this strange doctrine they should have no reason to disbelieve the possibility thereof For his disciples seeing that he had done that most prodigious miracle so very lately ought not presently to have sayd This is hard and who can heare it Neither ought they so soone to have walked a part from him as there S. Iohn sayth they did but rather they ought to have sayd with S. Peter We believe and know thou art the Sonne of God able to make they words good as thou wart able so to multiply so few loaves 7. Hence appeares a solution of that which allso they still object one body can not be in two places at once For if whole Eve were made of one ribbe of Adam as the
moved to be more favorable unto him by his great repentance he doth not onely absolue him from from the sin and from the Excommunication but having enjoyned him a most severe publicke pennance which was to have lasted for a great time before the paines due to his enormious offence would have been fully cancelled he notwithstanding out of the plenitude of his Apostolicall power gratiously pardons the remnant of his pennance Now this pardon would have been no favour nor grace unles at the same time he had pardoned the remnant of the paine still due according to divine Iustice Therefore he declares expressely that he doth it in the power of Christ so he sayth 2. Cor. 2. v. 10. To whom you forgive any thing I forgive allso in the person of Christ that is by Christs commission I give this pardon Christ ratifying the pardon or Indulgence which I give to one so well disposed as I see this delinquent to be 7. And hēce comes in a fourth proof Io. 20. v. 23. Receive the Holy Ghost whose sins you shall remitt they are forgiven and whose sins you shall retaine the are retained Behold power in the Church not only to forgive the remnant of the paine due to the sins forgiven which is all that is done by Indulgences but allso behold a power to forgive the very sin it selfe and consequently to take quite away the very eternity of paine which before was due to the sin See Point 16. Whence you cannot wonder to see power of taking away only temporall paine due to sin when such conditions be fulfilled as wee did expresse here n. 2. THE XXVII POINT That faith alone doth not Iustifie 1. THis is a point point blank against the very prime Point of Protestant Religion as theyr grand Reformers call it who define this faith to be an assured confidence that theyr sins are forgiven them wholy by Christs Passion And yet in all Scripture they will not find one single text to prove that ever yet any one single man was justified by this speciall faith as they call it I say by this speciall Faith which breeds in them an assured confidence that theyr sins in particular are pardoned them for Christs sake Wee aske only for one such Text And yet though the beliefe of this the Protestant beliefe be chiefly grounded in this Point they have not so much as one simple cleere Text so groundles is theyr very ground Look upon the Faith of Abraham who is called the Father of all that believe and see what Faith was counted to him for his righteousnes Rom. 4.3 and you shall find that verse taken out Gen. 15. v. 6. where when God had told him he would multiply his seed like the starres Abraham believed God and he counted it to him for righteousnes Why so For his believing promptly that which God had revealed in a matter so hard to his understanding as is expresly sayd Rom. 4.21.22 Hence I argue thus Here is no mention of his assured confidence that his sins were forgiven him by Christs Passion but here is mention of Iustifying Faith or of Faith counted or imputed to man for righteousnes therefore Iustifying Faith is no such matter as this speciall Faith or confidence How this Faith of Abraham came to Iustify S. Iames tels us that it was by being a Faith effective of good works For he so firmely believed what God had said that he feared not to see that saying made null and voyd though he should offer upon the Altar that very Sonne of his upon whom by name all Gods faire promises seemed grounded For was not Abraham our Father justifyed by works when he had offered Isaac his Son upon the Altar Iam. 2.21 2. Wee say then that Faith alone doth not justify but that Faith working by Charity compleats Iustification Luke 7.47 Many sins are forgiven her because shee loved much So Matth. 22. v. 11. Hee that was called to the marriage Feast and came to it and entred in and sat down could not do this but by faith entring the Church yet because he was not attired in a wedding garment of Charity he was cast out and for his sake it was sayd Many are called but few are chosen 3. S. Paul allso inculcates this 1. Cor. 13.2 If I should have all Faith so that I should move mountaines and have no Charity I am nothing Note the word all Faith Again v. 13. The greater of these three is Charity And again Col. 3.14 But above all things have Charity which is the bond of perfection For Matth. 22. v. 40. On these two Commandements of Charity dependeth the whole Law and the Prophets Yet again Gal. 5.6 Neither Circumcision availeth any thing nor uncircumcision but Faith which worketh by Charity or love Behold that very Faith which our very doctrine requires that is Faith working by Charity which allso before he called Faith observing the Commandements of God 1. Cor. 7.19 Where it is sayd Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing but the keeping of the commandements of God Again Gal. 6.15 Neither Circumcision availeth any thing nor incircumcision but a new Creature formed by Charity according to Gods commandements Again Eph 1 4. He hath chosen us before the constitution of the world that wee should be Holy and without blame before him in love or Charity Note how that which makes us Holy and without blame before him is Charity Again Eph. 3 17. Christ dwels by Faith in the hart rooted in Charity Again Hebr. 5.9 He became the author of eternall saluation to all that obey him He was not made the author of this saluation to any but such as did obey him For as is sayd 1. Io. 1.7 If we walke in the light Lex Lux the blood of Iesus Christ clenseth us from all sin Where read you that it doth so if wee walke not in the light or do not obey him 4. Note that besides other Texts I have cited here eight out of S. Paul because our adversaries chiefly ground themselves in those his words Rom. 3.28 A man is justifyed by Faith without the works of the Law Where his meaning only is that neither the works of the written Law done by the Iew nor the works of the Law of nature done by the Gentil before either of them believe in Christ can without Faith in Christ justify any one For neither Iew nor Gentil is justifyed by any one of those works but they are justifyed by that Faith which he told you in the former Texts to worke by Charity and to be a Faith observing the commandments of God making us a new creature rooted in Charity and obeying him Thus S. Paul is explicated by S. Aug. upon this place Yea he is explicated by S. Iames in many places of his second chapter as v. 14. Though a man sayth he hath Faith and have not works can Faith save him Note here first that S. Iames supposeth this may happen that a man may
have Faith but not works and that in this case his Faith will not save him which is that which S. Paul allso sayd before If I have all Faith but have not Charity I am nothing S. Iames goes on v. 21. Abraham was he not justifyed by works offering Isaac Seest thou not how Faith wrought with his works and by works was faith made perfect If this Faith had justifyed before any works proceeded from it it had been perfected before any such works Yet it is sayd that by works this Faith was made perfect Whence followeth v. 24. Ye see then how that by works a man is justifyed and not by Faith only This then is our demonstration if Faith justifyeth alone it justifyeth without works but S. Iames sayth it doth not justify without works therefore it doth not justify alone For by works and not by Faith alone a man is justifyed What more cleer THE XXVIII POINT VVhether our Iustification be any thing inherent in us 1. OVr adversaries doctrine is that wee are only just because God is pleased to repute us so in regard of Christs Iustice imputed to us and thus he doth only cover our sins these sins still remaining in vs but God doth now impute them to us because wee having once layd hold of Christs Iustice by the hands of Faith this Iustice is made ours and by Christs merits wee shall undoubtly be saved Our doctrine opposite in all points shall be point after point proved out of Scripture 2. First then wee say our Iustice is a quality truly inherent in us Ezech. 36.26 A new hart allso I will give you and a new spirit I will put with in you And cause you to walke in my statutes And ye shall keep my Iudgements and do them I need speak no cleerer So Rom. 5.5 The Charity of God is powerd forth in our harts by the Holy Ghost which is given us by the infusion of this Charity into us in us is framed the new creature Gal. 6.15 And this new inward man is sayd Col. 3.12 to be put on by us by such vertues as are inherent As by the bowels of mercies kindnes humblenes of mind meeknes And v. 14. Above all these by Charity which is the bond of perfection Behold the parts of this inward new man of which again he sayth Eph 4.23 Be renewed in the spirit of your mind and put on the new man which after God is created in righteousnes and true holynesse which be qualities most inherent And Eph. 1.4 He hath chosen us before the foundation of the world that wee should be Holy without blame in his sight in Charity which Charity is an inward quality 3. Secondly wee say that by this quality wee are not only reputed just but wee are just verily and really And because wee verily are so wee truly are to be reputed so wee being Holy before him in Charity Eph. 1.4 For as was sayd in the former Texts wee have in us a new hart a new spirit by Charity powred forth in our very harts transforming us inwardly into new creatures and new men being truly renewed in spirit Whence 1. Io. 3. Wee are not only called the Sons of God v. 1. But now wee are the sons of God v. 2. So when you read that Abrahams Fai h working by Charity was imputed to him to righteousnes and he was called the friend of God Iames 2.23 You shall note that he therefore was reputed just and therefore called the friend of God because truly he was just and was truly Gods friend having Faith quickned by Charity in him So Luke 1.6 of Zachary and Elizabeth They were both righteous before God whose eyes see what is the most covered walking in all the Commandements and Ordinances of our Lord without blame They therefore were just even before Gods eyes And this true Iustice in the eyes of God is in the same chapter promised to vs by the grace of the Saviour there foretold that wee may serve him in Holynes righteousnes and Iustice before him all our dayes v. 75. Note this Holynes before him which is to be Holy in his sight Hence God to Noë Gen. 7.1 I have seen thy righteousnes before me Hence allso Col. 1.10 That you may walke worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing fructifying in all good works Giving thanks to the Father who hath made us meet to be partakere of the inheritance of the Saints So Apoc. 3.4 Thou hast a few names in Sardis which have not defiled theyr garments and they shall walk with me in whites because they be worthy And 1. Io. 3.7 Litle Children let no man deceive you He hath doth righteousnes is righteous even as he is righteous Note those words even as he that is God is righteous For God is righteous not by imputative but true interior Iustice of which inward Iustice Christ sayth Matth. 5.20 I say unto you unles your righteousnes shall exceed thae of Scribes and Pharisees you shall not entee into the Kingdome of heaven For if there be not righteousnes in us exceeding Scribes and Pharisees wee shall be damned and no righteousnes shall be imputed to us For as is sayd Rom. 2.2 Wee are sure that the judgement of God is according to truth It were not verity but falsity to repute him just who in very truth is not just but is still a sinner Hence Prov. 17. v. 15. He that justifyeth the impious and he that condemneth the Iust both are abominable before God Dare you say that God doth that which is abominable He reputes things to be as they truly are in themselves So Rom. 2.9 Wrath and Indignation Tribulation and Anguish upon every soule of man that worketh evill He imputes Iustice to no sinner untill he leaves of to be so by true returning to works of Iustice Those whom he reputes clean truly are clean And you are clean Io. 13.10 4. Thirdly hence wee say that our sins be not only covered but wholy taken away For wee by vertue of Gods inward grace given for Christ are clensed made white and glittering For Christ is the Lambe of God who taketh away the sins of the world Io. 1.29 He doth not only cover them but takes them quite away And so Psal 32.2 when David sayth Blessed is the man to whom the Lord doth not impute iniquity and whose sins are covered It followeth there is no guile in his spirit And because there is no guile therefore no iniquity can be imputed to him Protestants still cite the former words but leave out these latter which words teach us excellently that that which is covered from Gods eyes must not be at all and therefore his sin now not being at all cannot now at all be seen For as the same David tells you Psal 103 v. 12. As farre as the east is distant from the West so farre hath he removed our transgressions from us This expressiō though it may be thought very full yet really our sins forgiven are
degree THE XXXV POINT It is laudable to doo good works for reward 1. AS Charity towards our neighbour is a most commendable vertue so charity towards our selves cannot be but most commendable Wherefore seeing these good works do profit us so very much as wee have seen in the last point and last number I cannot possibly vnderstand that Paradox of our Adversaries saying they do ill who do well out of a desire to gain heaven True it is a man may do well out of a more commendable motive that is to honour and please God But because something is better then doing good for hope of reward the doing good out of that hope doth not cease to be good You say faith alone is so good that it doth justify a man and yet Scripture tells you that of these three Faith Hope and Charity the greater and better of these is Charity 1. Cor. 13.13 Faith is very good and commendable Whence appeares that nothing ceases to be good because an other act is better 2. The Scriptures cited in the last point evidently exhort us in our sufferings to be glad and rejoyce because our reward is great in heaven and to do our good works in secret not to loose our reward but to heap up to our selves treasure in heaven and to sell all to purchase treasure there and in doing good works not to fail for in due time wee shall reap not failing May wee not sow in hope of harvest Did not S. Paul seek the fruit abounding on this account to those who had sent to his use Did he not bid us not to loose our confidence because it hath a great reward Hebr. 10.35 And not to sow sparingly that wee may reap plentifully 2. Cor. 9.6 Did not Christ himselfe say make friends of the Mammon of iniquity Luk 16.9 To what end this To the end that they may receive you into the eternal Tabernacles But what can be more cleer then that which I there cited out of Heb. 11.24 Moyses denyed himself to be the sō of Pharao his daughter chusing to be afflicted with the people of God esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches then the treasure of Aegyptians For he looked to the reward or according to your Bibles for the regard or respect he had to the reward No lesse cleer David Psalm 118. vers 112. I have inclined my hart to do thy Iustifications for ever for reward And for this reward he inclined his hart to do them sayth S. Augustin in this place reading it as wee do And so as wee tead it it is so faithfully translated by the Septuaginta out of the Hebrew and so your Translatours might have translated it if they had pleased but they willfully choose another sense though they so much professe to follow the Septuaginta THE XXXVI POINT VVee laudably worship Angels and Saints 1. FOr the ground of this question I lay this fundation out of Scripture that as the Angels are in heaven so the soules of the Saints go directly from hence to heaven without they have some few offēces to cleere in Purgatory Our soules sleep not untill Doomesday Christ sayd to the good theife This day thou shalt be with me in Paradise And therefore S. Paul desired to be dissolved that he might be with Christ And again 2. Cor. 5.8 Wee are willing rather to be absent from the body and to be present with our Lord Therefore wee may come to be present with our Lord even whilst our soules are absent from our body Neither do our English Protestants deny this 2. This supposed our doctrine is that great reverence and worship is due to the Angels and Saints with God Secondly that they can hear our prayers Thirdly that they can and will helpe us and therfore it is laudable to pray to them and that this doth not derogate from Christs honour Fourthly that among the Saints it is most laudable to pray to our Lady And here wee shall speak of the Beads sayd to her honour Fiftly wee laudably worship Images of Christ and his Saints Sixtly that wee laudably worship theyr Reliques and inshrine them richly and place them as honorably as wee can Sevently that some places are more holy then others sanctifyed by the presence of those Reliques or by speciall graces given there And for this reason wee laudably make processions and pilgrimages to these places with all devotion Eightly that wee laudably keep Feasts or Holy Dayes as allso fasts in the honour of Christ and his Saints Lastly in these our fasts wee laudably abstaine from certaine meates All and every one of these nine things shall have theyr particular proofes in so many severall Points next following in the order here designed 3. And first for the worship of Angels or Saints note that the very selfe same outward worship yea and Adoration it selfe may outwardly be given either as a civil reverence to persons of respect and great eminency or it may be given to them out of a religious respect in regard of the great Sanctity and heavenly dignity in such a person or lastly given in regard of Divine perfection and infinite worth When this respect is given thus outwardly there passeth inwardly an act in our understanding apprehending the exellcency which wee honour to be either human as in civil honour or to be an excellency of singular though limited heavenly eminency as in the worship of Saints which wee call Dulia or lastly wee judge that there is a devine and infinite excellency in that person as it happens in the worship of God only which wee call Latria An other act passeth in our will answerable to that which was in our understanding by which wee have a will to make this outward worship or adoration to be either a civil honour only such as is due to men of highest human dignity or to make it a Religious worship though farre from devine such as is given to persons of eminent Sanctity or endowed with great heavenly gifts or lastly wee intend to make it an act of devine worship as when wee do it to God Whence it is evident that by doing of the outward act it cannot be knowne whether the honour wee do be meerly civil or Religious or Devine 4. With only civil adoration Abraham rose up and adored the people of the land Gen. 23.7 Iacob coming into the presence of his elder Brother Esay Gen. 33. v. 4. Going forward adored prostrate to the ground seaven times And v. 7. Lia with her Children adored in like manner and last Ioseph and Rachel adored And Gen. 43 v. 27. Iosephs Brethren offered him presents holding them in theyr hands and they adored prostrate to the ground And again Gen. 50. v. 18 And Iosephs Brethren came to him and adoring prostrate on the ground All these Texts are thus read in the Rhemish Testament But the Protestant Bible refusing to put the word Adore put either bowing down or falling down on theyr face Wee do no