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
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
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
For then in heaven this sentence would never be ratified And tell me not that this texts speakes of private differēces betweene brother ād brother though I denie not but this is also true in such differences as belong to the Court or Tribunall of the Church yet hence evidently follows that this Text doth much more concerne those differences in point of Religion between brother and brother Both because these doe more properly belong to the Court of the Church and to her Tribunall as also because when scandal and offence is giuen to our brother in point of heresie tending to the seduction of his soule our brother seeing this soule-murthering sinne broached to his owne ruine ād to the eternall ruine of his brother hath farre greater reasō in this case thē in any other to tell the Church his mother to whome in this difference aboue all other differences it properly belongeth to looke to the safety of her childred For this is an offēce ād scandal to the whole brotherhood of all Christianity Therefore in these points of highest concernement we are most bound to heare the Church vnder paine of being accounted Publicans and Heathens and of haueing this heauie sentence ratified in heauen 5. Sixtly Matt. 23.1 Then Iesus spake to the multitudes and to his Disciples saying Vpon the chaire of Moyses haue sitten the Scribes and Pharises by which sitting with lawfull succession they as wicked as they were are knowne to be lawfully authorized Prelats all therefore whatsoever they shall say unto you observe and do Behold here a precept of obeying in all whatsoever And therefore behold a precept which could not be givē if that which is delivered by publicke authority of the Church were not secured from error in all whatsoever 6. Sevently The first and best Christians did practically acknowledge theyr beleefe of the infallibility of the Church For to have a decision of the most important Controversies Act. 15.2 they appointed Paul and Barnabas to go up and certaine others of the rest to the Apostles and Priests unto Hierusalem upon this question And the Church assembled the first Councill in which though this Councill were assisted with the Holy Ghost yet there was made a great disputation v. 7. And then the definition of the Church came forth in these words It seemeth good to the Holy Ghost and us v. 28. Other lawfull Councills knowing the Holy Ghost allso promised to them do vse to set forth theyr definitions with the same words and this most agreable to Scripture For Iohn 15. v. 26. When the Paraclete cometh whom I shall send from my father the spirit of truth he shall give testimonie of me and you shall give testimonie Marke this conjunction of he and you He the the spirit of truth and you Governers of my Church so that you in giveing testimony may freely say It seemeth good to the Holy Ghost and us 7. Eightly It is cleere out of Scripture that the first Christians were so fully possessed with the beleefe of the infallibility of the Church that they would beleeve nothing but what thy knew conformable to her doctrine S. Paul was a Scripture-writer and so great an Apostle and yet he sayeth of himselfe Gal. 2.1 Then after fourteene yeares I went to Hierusalem again not meerly to satisfie a vaine fancie of some particular men but I went up according to revelation and conferred with them the Ghospel which I preach among the Gentills But I conferred severally or a part with them that seemed to be something least perhaps I should runn or had runn in vain So that he thought all his fourteen yeares preaching and allso his future preaching might come to be in vaine vnlesse even his doctrine were made known to be approved by the Church as wholy conformable to the Church So much in these goulden dayes were the first Christians taught to relye vpon the Church which had been imprudence if she had been fallible Yet we must not thinke that then they did apprehend that the approbation of the Church did adde any degree of truth to his doctrine as it doth not add any degree of truth to the Scripture or pretend to have power to change or correct true Scripture And so S. Paul sayth v. 6. For to me they that seemed to be some thing added nothing For as the toutchstone adds no value to the gold but onely evidently manifesteth which is true gold which not so the Church as then did only manifest infallibly the truth of what he had preached So allso the Church as now doth only manifest to vs that such and such Bookes be the true word of God such and such be not such be true copies such not c. But the word of God hath its true worth from it selfe and not frō the Church as the gold hath its being true gold from it selfe and not from the toutchstone So when Catholiques say with S. Aug. Cont. Epist fundam c. 5. I would not beleeve the Ghospell unlesse the authoritie of the Church moved me they doe not meane that the Church can adde or take away from the truth of any true Scripture but they meane that by her definition as by a Sure touchstone it is now manifestly assured vnto them that such a booke is true Scripture and such not And as the orall preaching even of such an Apostle as had been a Scripture writer might have been in vain without this approbation so allso might his writings have been in vaine Whence we see that his Epistle vnto the Hebrews was not known or acknowledged as Gods word vntill the Church approved it If the Scripture writer himselfe teacheth in vaine without this approbation much more will his writings teach in vaine 8 Ninthly The Church is to be followed by vs as an assured approver or reprover of spirits and consequently as infallible Iohn 1.4 My dearest beleeve not every spirit but prove the spirits if they be of God then v. 6. We are of God he that knows God heares us Pastours of Church he that is not of God heares us not In this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of errour Here S. Iohn expresly meanes to give to posterity a standing Rule to know a true spirit from a false one To witt By the hearing of us or not hearing of us This could not be a Rule to vs who live after the Apostles if by hearing us he onely meant the Apostles and not theyr successours Yea he could not meane onely the Apostles For the other Apostles were all dead when he wrote this Wherefore the true sence of S. Iohn is In this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of errour if they heare us Pastours and Governours of the Church Not that each one of these Pastours and Governours a part can say to any one heare me vnlesse he teach that which all the rest are sufficiently knowne to teach but they in a Generall Councill may most truely say Heare us He
not be partakers of the Table of our Lord and of the Table of the Divels The reason why we cite and expound this place so fully is because we desire exceedingly to have it noted how that here our Chalice our Bread our Table and Altar the participation of our Host and Oblation are point by point in all Conditions effects and proprieties compared to the Altar Hosts Sacrifices and Oblations of the Iewes and Gentills and as he calls theyr Chalice the Chalice of the Divels for no other reason but because it conteyns liquor Sacrificed to him so he must be sayd to call our Chalice the Chalice of our Lord because it conteyns the liquor of Christs blood sacrificed to our Lord. For by force of these words This is my blood his blood under a liquid species is put in the Chalice as it were a part from that body which before he had put under the shape of bread All which discourse had been very ineffectuall if this had not bin the proper sacrifice among the Christians as those others were the knowne Sacrifices of the Iewes and Gentills 8. Again the same S. Paul sayth Heb. 13. v. 10. We have an Altar of which they have no right to eat who serve the Tabernacle still pressing the Iewes that they can not partake of the Sacrifice of our Altar if they will still stick fast to theyr old Sacrifices And note that which he called before the Table of our Lord he now calleth an Altar truly and properly ordeyned for Sacrifice and so he tearmes it thysiastirion that is Sacrificatorium An Altar to Sacrifice upon And by that word allwaies the Altars of the Iewes ordeyned for Sacrifice are still out of the Hebrew interpreted in Greek Well thē we have an Altar built purposely to offer Sacrifice upon therefore we have a true Sacrifice not of bread and wyne for in no mans opinion we Sacrifice these but of the Body and Blood of our Saviour under the shape of bread and wyne And this was the reason why in the Primative Church the Heathens would some times say we worshipped Bacchus the God of wyne and Ceres the Goddesse of corne sometimes they traduced us as feeders on mans flesh for eating the flesh of our Saviour in this Sacrifice 9. I conclude that had not this manner of Sacrificing in the Masse been delivered us with our first faith from the Apostles it could never without notice beeing taken of the first authour and of the time c. have been universally receaved with out opposition of any or without beeing ever taxed by any one of Novelty yea and be received allso so universally that if before Luthers days you look into all Parishes of Christianity where Confessed Heretiks did not domineere you will in every Parish thereof find no other Common service used publikly in that Parish but the saying and celebrating Masse with offering that which they all adored for the true Body and Blood of Christ under the shape of bread and wyne A Proofe unanswerable See what we sayd before Point 12. n. 2. THE XV. POINT Of saying Masses and other publike prayers in the Latin tongue 1. INS Matth. Chap. 1. v. 17. All the generations from the Transmigration of Babylon unto Christ fourteen generations a very long time And yet all this time the Iewish Church the only true Church in the world had all her Scriptures and all her publike service and prayer which was all taken out of the Psalmes the Law and the Prophets in that very language in which they were written to witt in old Hebrew that is in a language wel known indeed to the common people of the Iewes before theyr Transmigration into Babylon but in theyr Captivity at Babylon they lost the knowledge of theyr old Hebrew language in which all theyr Scriptures were written and did not perfectly learne the Chaldean or Babylonian language whence they made a mixture of both those languages which was called the Syrike language The very letters and characters of this language differ as much as the Greek letters differs from the Latin So that those who can perfectly read the one can not so much as read the other Neither do they understand one another more then the Italians can understand Latin which was theyr ancient native tongue The Scriptures were not at this time but some good time after Christ translated in to Syrike as your great Doctours who now at Londow have sett forth your famous Bible of so many languages do professe in theyr Praeface to theyr Bible And by the way they allso in the same Praeface plainly and openly confesse that in no Parish in Christendom they could in any of those nations which they have caused to be searched for old copies find so much as one ancient service booke written in a language understood by the vulgar or common people of the place A testimony to theyr owne condemnation and confusion The knowledge then of the old Hebrew tongue in which all the Scriptures were written beeing so much lost in the Captivity of Babilon they had all theyr Scriptures and publike service which was taken out of the Law and the Prophets and Psalmes read in a language unknown to all the common people and this was done for fourteen generations 2. Hence presently after theyr Captivity when they first retourned into theyr country Esdra was forced by himself and others to make the Law be interpreted unto them Nehemiah c. 8. v. 8. v. 13. So when our Saviour upon the Crosse did in the old Hebrew words of the Psalme say as it was first written Eli Eli Lammasabachihani Mat. 27. v. 46. S. Matthew who did write his Ghospel in that new kind of Hebrew or Syrike which was vulgarly spoaken by the Iewes in Christs dayes is forced to interprete these words saying which is interpreted my God my God why hast thou forsaken me For this reason allso he interpreted severall other Hebrew words A manifest signe they could not be understood by the Iewes in whose language he did write without interpretation And as he who writes English should ridiculously interpret English so if those words of the Psalme had been written by David in the same language in which S. Matthew did write it had been ridiculous for him to adde theyr interpretation Iosephus the Iew tells you what a world of schooles there were in Ierusalem for Children to learne the Law and Prophets they beeing written in a language otherwise unknown Well then as those who have not been now at our Latin Schooles understand not our Latin Bible and service so then the vulgar sort understood not theyr Scriptures nor theyr common service taken out of them and read in theyr Synagogues before theyr Sermons and Exhortations which S. Paul calls The lesson of the Law and Prophets Act. 13.5 Neither after the Captivity did the vulgar understand the words of Moyses who of old times hath in every citty those who preach him in the Synagogue where he is
After this there appeared allso another man marvelous for age and glory and for the port of great dignity about him And Onias sayd this is the lover of his Brethren This is he who prayeth much for the people and the whole Cittie Ieremy the Prophet of God And he gave to Iudas a sword of gold saying Take the Holy sword a gift from God wherewith thou shall overthrow the adversaries of my people The event confirmed the truth of this vision Origen Tom. 18. in Ioan reflecting on this place sayth It appeareth that Saints departed from this life have care of the people as it is written sayth he in the acts of the Machabees many yeares after the death of Ieremy This is Ieremy the Prophet who prayeth much for the people So that though the Books of Macabees be admitted not as Scripture but only as a true Ecclesiasticall Hystory wee have from thence that the most Holy High Priest and cheif of Gods only people believed that Saints prayed for us and helped us and that all the people who were sayd incouraged by this vision were of the same belief How farre then is this from all novelty which can be proved to have been practiced before the dayes of the Apostles and this by an authority farre greater then that of Iosephus or any such Historian to whom you would scorne to give a place in your Bible as you do to the History of the Machabees 6. Let us now come to the New Testament What motive soever moved Dives Luke 16.27 to pray to Abraham saying I would beseech the◠that thou wouldest send to my Fathers house for I have five Brethren to testify to them least they allso come to this place of torments The very same motive will worke farre more upon the hart of departed Saints to help us theyr poor Brethren from that place of torments and promote us to those eternal Tabernacles of which Christ Luke 16.9 Mak◠unto your selves friends of Mammon of iniquity that when you faile they may receive you into everlasting habitations Again Apoc. 2.26 He that shall overcome and keep my words to the end I will give him power over the nations And he shall rule them with a rod◠of Iron The Saints having authority to rule nations so powerfully as is here expressed by a rodd or scepter of Iron they exercise this theyr power chiefly by making intercession so powerfully to God for us as to obtain for us such graces as wee stand most in need of this theyr power beeing given to a spirituall end 7. And as God who is goodnes and mercy it self in an infinite degree doth notwithstanding not so shew this his mercy and bounty towards those who never pray to him as he doth to those who are incessantly begging his help So Saints cheifly are moved to aid those who are still begging theyr assistance yet true it is that they are of theyr own accord helping us So Raphael offered the prayers made to God by Toby as wee have seen in the former Point n. 3. So Apocal. 5.8 The four beasts and four and twenty elders fell before the Lambe having every one harps and golden Vials full of odours which are the prayers of Saints which prayers made by Saints on earth these Saints in heaven did know and hear for they presented them in golden vials And c. 8. v. 3. An other Angel came and stood at the Altar having a golden Censer And there was given to him much incense that he should offer it with the prayers of all Saints upon the Altar of gold which is before the throne of God and the smook of the incense which came with the prayers of the Saints ascended up before God out of the Angels hand Note that the Angel being before the throne of God did there hear the prayers of Saints in earth Secondly he did not only hear theyr prayers but allso Offer them up before the throne of God in a golden Cēser which he could not do if he had not known thē Thirdly these prayers of the Saints on earth by being thus joyntly offered up by the more fervent prayers of the Saints in heaven or H. Angels did become more acceptable to God For hēce the smook of the incēse with these prayers ascēded more sweetly and pleasantly to God from the hand of the Angel God indeed knows our prayers before the Saints or Angels offer them but he knows that they mount up lesse powerfully when they be not seconded with theyr intercession So God knew before hand that all the people answered Moyses saying to him All things that our Lord hath spoaken wee will do Exod. 19. v. 8. And yet the very next words are and Moyses returned the words of the people to our Lord. Which words were well known to God before that Moyses did returne them yet by returning them he did make by his joynt Mediation this cheerfull offer of the people more pleasing to God 8. And because he did this to theyr greater advantage Moyses himselfe sayth Deutr. 5.5 I stood between the Lord and you at that time This I note to answer the objection of our adversaries saying it is injurious to Christ to take any other Mediatour For one is our Mediatour To be a Mediatour is nothing but to stand between God and us mediating for us In this proper sense Moyses was a Mediatour between God and his people The same in the same sense may be sayd of other Saints Yet in that sense that Christ is sayd to be our only Mediatour wee make no other Mediatour For he is called Mediatour because he is so by his own worth and by his merits offered for us fully satisfying Gods anger and capable of no repulse I did know that thou dost allwayes hear me sayd Christ to his eternall father Io. 11.42 Hee is heard for the Reverence due to him as S. Paul speaks In this sense wee make no Saint Mediatour for us Wee only begg of them to pray for us as wee begg of living Saints whom by theyr prayers wee desire to mediate for us S. Paul in this sense desired the Thessalonians to mediate for him to God Brethren pray for us 1. Thess 5.25 And to Hebrewes 13.18 Pray for us And God himselfe bidds Iobs friends use the mediation or intercession of Iob promising to hear the prayers of this theyr Midiatour made for them but no where promising to hear theyr prayers made without his Mediation Yea rather intimating that he would not hear theyr prayers unles Iob mediated for them as now I shall shew 9. If you say it derogates from Christs honour that any other should help to save us I answer that Saints yet living upon earth help to save us And so Iob 42. v. 7. God tells Iobs three friends My wrath is kindled against thee Take therefore unto you seaven oxen and seaven rammes and go to my fervant Iob and offer up for your selves a burnt offering And my servant Iob shall pray
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