Hee must not keepe away the Bread of life from Gods familie The word of reconciliation is committed vnto him Yea necessity is laid vpon him so that were he as great as S. Paul himselfe yet woe be vnto him if he preach not the Gospell This consideration that the Ministerie of the Word is the meanes of our life O what esteeme should it cause that sacred Calling to bee of among men How beautifull should their feet bee that bring glad tidings of peace How amiable their presence that present vs to God in Christ What haue wee or what can wee giue to them proportionable to the good we receiue from God by them being instrumentally the very Sauiours of our soules Who can open the mouth or lift vp the hand despightfully against such to whom hell it selfe is constrained to giue this applause These men are the seruants of the most high God which shew vnto vs the way of saluation The neglect of hearing the Word nay Recusancy contempt must therefore needs be a haynous sinne whatsoeuer salue of excuse may be laid vpon it For if the word spoken by Angels was stedfast and euery transgression and disobedience receiued a iust recompence of reward how shall we escape if we neglect so great saluation offered vnto vs in the Ministery of the Gospell of Christ Such men as thus reiect and put the Word of God from them if wee will beleeue the Apostle pronounce a direfull sentence against themselues for by the very act of neglect and contempt of the Word they iudge themselues vnworthy of euerlasting life Then how carefull ought we to be to attend vpon the ordinance of God in the Ministery of his Word Let the preaching of the Crosse be to the profane world to them that perish foolishnesse but saith the Apostle Vnto vs that are saued it is the power of God For so it hath pleased God by that which vaine men set so light by euen by the foolishnesse of preaching to saue them that beleeue Let euery soule therefore that would bee partaker of the grace of life neglect no good opportunity of hearing Consider that life eternall consisteth in the Knowledge of God in Christ and as all Learning so heauenly Knowledge must enter into the heart by the eare the sense of hearing being the organe or instrument of learning Set downe then this resolution in thy heart with the faithful in the Psalme I wil heare what God the Lord will speake for he will speake peace vnto his people and to his Saints but let not them turne againe to folly The second meanes of entrance into the Church is by beleeuing This must follow hearing and goe before Baptisme for without faith neither is the Word of force to vs nor we fit for Baptisme The Word preached saith the Apostle did not profit them not being mixed with faith in them that heard it And the Eunuch desiring Baptisme is told by Philip that he must first be a beleeuer If thou beleeuest saith he with all thy heart thou mayest Looke into the examples of all that euer were added to the Church if they will be sound members they must beleeue nay they cannot so much as be admitted into the outward society but they must at least professe faith yea euen Simon Magus himselfe Thus Chrispus beleeued on the Lord with all his house Many of the Corinthians hearing beleeued and were baptized And so of all the rest of the Conuerts to Christianity And there is great reason for it for no man can be added to the body of the Church to become a sound member of it but he must be vnited to the Head Christ Iesus in whom all the members grow vp into a compleate body Now we are vnited vnto Christ by none other meanes but by faith whereby hee dwelleth in our hearts Againe What is the Church but a company of beleeuers a congregation of faithfull men Therefore vnlesse a man beleeue he cannot be of that society Besides the Word is the bread of life the foode of the soule so that as naturall food cannot sustaine nature vnlesse it be receiued into the body and digested no more can the Word bee a Word of life to the soule except it be apprehended by faith It is a sauing Word onely to them that beleeue They therfore that hearing beleeue not are in the same or rather worse condition then they that heare not at all For sinnes of knowledge are greater then sinnes of ignorance and the meanes not profited by doth aggrauate the sin Yea the sentence is feareful that He that beleeueth not shal be damned And the very same word that is by vnbeliefe so reiected shall iudge the incredulous that receiue it not by faith at the Last day This should mouingly perswade euery Christian Soule to mixe the Word with faith considering that as the means of vniting to the Church on Gods part is the liuely voice of his Word preached so on mans part the effectuall meanes is faith Nay God for our greater incouragement hath promised to his both the meanes and efficacy thereof For the meanes see the Prophet Esay Though saith the Prophet the Lord giue you the bread of aduersity and the water of affliction yet shall not thy teachers be remoued into a corner any more but thine eyes shall see thy teachers And thine eares shall heare a word behind thee saying This is the way walke in it And as for the efficacie God hath bound himselfe so to assist his outward ordinance that his inward working grace shall concurre with it I wil put my Law in their inward parts and write it in their hearts saith the Lord. This also may be a touchstone to try vs whether we bee indeede vnited to the Church of God or in outward shew onely for we see euidently that none are incorporated into the body of Christ but the true Beleeuers And who are those true beleeuers Take these briefe notes of them 1. A true beleeuer doth rely only vpon the mercie of God in Christ whose mercy he doth so account his al sufficient merit that he professeth vnfainedly that he hath none in heauen but the Lord and none on earth but he 2. The true Beleeuer liueth no longer in the former course of his ignorance and sinne he walkes not after the flesh but after the Spirit becomming by the power of the death of Christ dead to sinne 3. The true Beleeuer doth expresse his faith by his workes knowing that it is not idle but worketh by loue 4. The true beleeuer is constant in his way of piety and vertue that he may attain to the end of his faith the saluation of his soule for he knoweth well that he cannot receiue the Crowne of life vnlesse he be faithfull to the death The Sacrament of Baptisme is the third meanes of entring into the Church for the
things saith Saint Augustine The righteousnesse of God not our righteousnesse In him not in vs. So then looke how Christ was made sinne for vs in the same manner are wee made the righteousnesse of God in him But Christ was not made sinne by infusion or inherencie of sinne but onely by imputation So we that we may be saued must bee iustified not by our inherent righteousnesse which at the best is imperfect but by the imputed righteousnesse of Christ who of God is made vnto vs wisedome righteousnesse sanctification and redemption 4. This righteousnesse is imputed to euery true beleeuer for it is faith onely whereby we apprehend Christ with all his benefits as we may see if we compare together Faith Hope and Charitie Faith like a hand receiueth and layeth hold on the obiect Christ therefore S. Iohn maketh receiuing of Christ and beleeuing in him all one Hope onely expecteth looketh for the accomplishment of that which faith beleeueth and with patience waiteth for it Charitie distributeth her good things to the benefit of others Hence it is that faith onely is said to iustifie because it is the onely instrumentall cause of our iustification in that it alone doth apprehend Christ by whom we are iustified Scriptures for this are plentifull From all things saith Saint Paul in his Sermon at Antioch from which ye could not be iustified by the Law of Moses by Christ euery one that beleeueth is iustified And disputing the question of iustification he doth thus determine it Therefore wee conclude that a man is iustified by faith without the deeds of the Law This saith Saint Bernard is the Apostles meaning that a man is iustified freely by faith 5. Our iustification is of Gods free grace and mercy This the Apostle auoucheth That all men are iustified freely by his grace A trueth so euident that it hath obtained the Aduersaries ingenuous confession For the vncertaintie of our own righteousnesse saith Bellarmine and the perill of vaine-glory it is most safe to repose our whole confidence in the sole mercy and fauour of God Thus euen our Aduersaries being witnesses our Christian reformed Religion directeth men the safest way to heauen 6. It is for the onely merit of Iesus Christ therefore the Apostle hauing said That we are iustified freely by his grace addeth through the redemption that is in Iesus Christ. And venerable Bede saith That Christs death is our life his condemnation our iustification Thus we see what Iustification is now that it belongeth only to the Church and is a concomitant of saluation our Creede may teach vs where we are directed to beleeue as speciall priuiledges of the Catholike Church the forgiuenesse of sinnes and the Resurrection to life euerlasting And the Apostle saith That wee being iustified by his grace should bee made heires according to the hope of eternall life Where wee haue in one text both the persons to whome Iustification doth belong we saith the Apostle that is the Church and faithfull people of God and the inheritance of eternall life following The last grace accompanying saluation is Sanctification It is a grace of God whereby a man being iustified is in euery part of soule and body renewed by the Spirit of God no more to liue in sinne but to walke in newnesse of life It is in a word the renewed image of God consisting in knowledge righteousnes and true holinesse You may see it in the lesson that grace teacheth all her children which is To deny vngodlinesse and worldly lusts to liue soberly righteously and godly in this present world being zealous of good workes Iustification and sanctification differ in foure points 1. Iustification is before sanctification in nature though both be together in time for as the branch must first be in the Vine before it can by vertue of the sap bring forth fruit so a man must bee first in Christ by faith before hee can be a new creature and so bring forth the fruit of holinesse 2. Iustification is without vs in Christ as was said before but Sanctification is within vs inherent and infused by the Spirit of God 3. Iustification is that whereby we stand absolued and made iust in the sight of God but by Sanctification wee are onely declared to be iust 4. Iustification doth quiet the conscience by reconciling it and making it at peace with God for being iustified by faith wee haue peace towards God through our Lord Iesus Christ. But Sanctification cannot doe so because our best actions are imperfect and in regard of their defect stand in need of pardon If thou Lord shouldest marke iniquities O Lord who shall stand Now that Sanctification is also the Churches peculiar heare the Apostle shewing the difference betweene men out of the Church and such as are in it speaking of their prophanenesse before their calling he saith and such were some of you but telling them of their change he addeth but ye are washed but ye are sanctified It is therefore the stile or addition of the Church Vnto the Church of God saith Saint Paul which is at Corinth To them that are sanctified in Christ Iesus called to be Saints And we beleeue in our Creede the holy Catholike Church the Communion of Saints That it doth accompany saluation is more then manifest for without it no man shall see the Lord but being â—reed from sinne we haue our fruit in holinesse and the end euerlasting life Therfore we must know that sanctificatioÌ„ is such a necessary antecedent though no meritorious cause of Saluation that notwithstanding no man shal be saued for the merit of it yet no man can be saued without it because true sauing faith the instrumentall cause of our iustification and saluation worketh by loue and can be no more without sanctity and good workes then fire can bee without heat or water without moisture To conclude then if there be no saluation without election calling iustification and sanctification and none of these to be found but only in the Church of God it followeth necessarily that there is no saluation out of the Church 3 There are certaine meanes appointed of God to worke and encrease sauing grace which if they shall be found to be the Prerogatiue of the Church it cannot be denied but that there onely Saluation is to be had for in reason the end cannot ordinarily be attained without the meanes leading vnto it Our Sauiour telling the woman of Samaria of the Water of life she answered him Sir you haue nothing to draw withall and the well is deepe from whence then haue you that Water of life Indeede the well is profound and deepe from whence we must fetch the euer-liuing Water and the womans reason may teach vs that we had need of instruments and meanes to conuay it vnto vs. Now the meanes to effect
to them nor worship them An error whereof they are so consciously guilty in themselues that in their Catechismes and confession of their penitents they commonly leaue out that Commandement And their professors being charged with this errour are so ashamed of it that they in plaine termes deny that they doe any such religious seruice to Images therein indeed denying their owne Religion and incurring the curse of their Trent Councell which anathematizeth all those that hold against their Decree heerein namely That duc honour and worship ought to bee giuen to Images But doth not their reall practice crosse their verball excuse for if they doe not worship Images why doe they performe so many religious seruices vnto them they vayle and bow downe vnto them they set vp before them lights in honour of them they offer vp incense and other oblations vnto them they expand and spread foorth their armes before them in Prayer What can they do more for outward seruice to God himselfe This Idolatrous practice is not onely condemned in sacred Scripture as expresly as Blasphemy witchcraft murther adultery or any other sinne and auoyded of all the faithfull of both Testaments but is renounced as impious by the Fathers for many ages after Christ affirming Images in the Church to be contrary to the authority of the Scriptures that there is no Religion where an Image is And S. Gregory about 600. yeeres after Christ forbiddeth vtterly the adoration of Images onely allowing the Historicall vse of them as wee doe at this day whereby we may see that this foule errour had not as yet in so long time possessed the Sea of Rome 5. Their Priests in the Masse offer vp a propitiatorie sacrifice both for the quicke and the dead and their blind followers are bound so to beleeue and doe both pray and pay to bee had in his mâ—mento Whereas all propitiatory sacrifices haue their period and end in Christ who is the end of the Law and the onely Sacrificing Priest in the Gospel being a Priest for euer according to the order of Melchisedech This Sacrifice is onely one and once onely offered and that by himselfe alone and therefore is called The offering of the body of Iesus once for all and this Man saith the Apostle after he had offered one sacrifice for sinne for euâ—â— sate downe on the right hand of God For by one offering hee hath perfected for euer them that are sanctified How sacrilegious then and blasphemous is that daily propitiatory sacrifice of theirs where is their warrant for it seeing Christ ordained no sacrifice to bee offered by any sacrificing Priest but onely a Sacrament commemoratiue to bee administred by the Pastours of the Church and receiued together with them by the people Where in the Gospell can they finde the calling of a Sacrificing Priest The Commission is onely Goe teach and baptize and the subiect of their teaching must be no other thing but that which Christ hath commanded other ordinary Priesthood our Lord ordained none but Pastors and Teachers The name Sacrifice we deny not to the Sacrament but with the Fathers wee call it a Sacrifice for diuers good respects and namely because as the Master of Sentences saith out of S. Augustine and S. Ambrose It is the remembrance and representation of the true Sacrifice offered vpon the Altar of the Crosse. As for any proper reall and propitiatory Sacrifice wee may see by this that it was not knowne in Peter Lumbards time about twelue hundred yeeres after Christ and therefore is farre from being truly Catholicke 6. Their Transubstantiation which they oblige euery Christian soule to beleeue not onely vpon paine of their fagot fire but of the fire of hell thaâ— is that after the words of Consecration there ceaseth to be the substance of Bread and Wine that there remaine only the outward accidents shew and shâ—pe thereof vnder which the very body and blood of Christ is substantially and corporally inclosed How directly contrary is it to the expresse words of Christ in the first Institution For our Lord Iesus after the consecration and blessing testifieth the elements to remaine in their substance calling them by their right names Bread and The fruit of the Vine The like doth S. Paul and that often in one short Context It is an errour indeed against common sense For let the senses of sight smelling taste and feeling report if there remaine not the substance of Bread and Wine after consecration insomuch that if a man haue sufficient quantitie of them he may well for a proportionable time sustaine nature with no other food which could not be if there remained nothing but the externe accidents and meere shew of Bread and Wine It is against the nature of a true body which is to be onely in one place at one time and that in his due dimension and substance Now we know and beleeue that Christ is true man in all things like vnto vs sinne onely excepted and therefore to make him to bee without dimension in so many hundred nay thousands of places at one instant doth manifestly imply a tacite denyall of his humane nature It is against our Christian Creed where wee beleeue that Christ leauing the world in regard of his bodily presence ascended into heauen and sitteth on the right hand of God and from thence hee shall come to iudgement which S. Peter aptly interpreteth in these words Whom saith he the heauen must receiue vntill the times of restitution of all things But there is no one euidence more apparantly conuincing this errour then if wee consider that at the institution of the Sacrament Christ sate visibly before the Apostles that they might plainely see with their eyes where his true body was And withall did expresly signifie vnto them that hee spake not simply of his body but of his body crucified and blood shed which as yet was not then done This saith our Lord Christ is my body which is giuen for you or as S. Paul relateth it which is broken for you Againe of the Cup he saith This is my blood of the new Testament which is shed for many adding also for the cleering of all doubt heerein the commemoratiue vse of the Sacrament which euidently confuteth all carnall and corporall presence This doe saith he in remembrance of me that is of me crucified For saith the Apostle as often as you shall eate this bread and drinke this cup ye shew the Lords death till he come Now whereas he calleth the bread his body and the wine his blood it is according to the vsuall manner of Scripture speaking euery where of Sacraments it calleth them by the name of those things whereof they are Sacraments Thus Circumcision was called the Couenant because it was the signe and seale of the Couenant So the Paschall Lambe is called the Passcouer because it was the signe of the Passcouer
an infinite Maiesty at one instant to heare the manifold variety of petitions of all men vpon the face of the earth yea and to know the very thoughts and desires of euery heart praier being principally the act of the heart Vpon this very ground wise Salomon takes for granted that all praier ought to bee made to God onely Heare thou in heauen saith he to God thy dwelling place and forgiue and doe and giue to euery man according to his wayes whose heart thou knowest for thou euen thou only knowest the hearts of all the Children of men Againe prayer to Saints wanteth that threefold prop that must support euery true and acceptable seruice to God that is to say Precept Promise and Paterne For Inuocation of Gods name we haue expresse commandement Call vpon me And our Sauiour commandeth that when we pray we should direct our prayers to Our Father in heauen We haue also a sure word of promise Whatsoeuer ye shall aske the Father in my name he wil giue it you And Whosoeuer shall call vpon the name of the Lord shall be saued We haue no such precept no such promise to warrant and incourage vs to inuocate the Blessed Virgin S. Peter S. Paul or any or all of the Saints Againe for praier to God only we haue expresse paterne both perâ—onall in all the Fathers from the first Adam in the Patriarkes Prophets Apostles and prime Orthodox Fathers of the Church who did suffer Martyrdome for this very point That God onely in Christ is to be adored and called vpon We haue also a reall paterne in that Heauenly Manuall of praier and praise the Sacred Psalter or Psalmes of Dauid together with the set formes of the faithfuls praiers recorded euery where in Scripture and all directed to God only not on paterne of prayer to Saints This is ingenuously confessed by their own Eccius and other Pontificians that inuocation of Saints hath no warrant in sacred Scripture not in the Old Testament because the Fathers were then in Limbo nor in the new Testament lest the Gentiles should returne againe to their old Idoll-worship and leâ—t the Apostles should bee charged with arrogancy as be speaking beforehand their owne glory and worship to bee done to themselues after their death Nay more they confesse that it is the safer and better way to call vpon God onely in the name of Iesus Christ. And one of them out of a work ascribed to Saint Augustine concludes the question thus More safely and more sweetly do I speake in prayer to my Iesus then to any of the Saints The storie of George Duke of Saxony is herein memorable Lying vpon his death-bed the Monkes like Locusts swarming about him and beholding his agony exhorted him one to inuocate the Virgin Mary another to call vpon the Angels another to pray to these and these Saints for helpe in that extremity but a Noble man one of his familiars standing by directed his speech to the Duke in this manner Your Highnesse saith he was wont in your politicke affaires to take vp this prouerbe To goe the direct way without ambages or circumstances is the most compendious course Why then should your Highnesse in this most dangerous passage goe about the furthest way and not rather goe the direct way vnto God himselfe by Christ who both will and can certainely helpe Erasmus among other his pleasant conceits doth merrily glance at this error reporting a story of one at Sea where as their manner is euery man in a wracke flyeth to his Saint as it were his Tutelar God There was one saith he among the rest when he saw the present and imminent danger and that there was no delaying in the midst of his distraction thoght with himself If I should pray to S. Nicholas it is vncertaine whether he heare me and it may be he is busy in hearing dispatching other petitioners or if not so yet it may be that he cannot haue so speedy accesse to God to mediate for me as my present necessitie requires I will therefore saith he take the safest and surest course and goe the direct way to God himselfe by Christ because it is written in the Psalme Call vpon me in the day of trouble I will deliuer thee and thou shalt glorifie me And in the Hebrewes Let vs therefore come boldly vnto the Throne of grace that we may obtaine mercy and find grace to helpe in time of neede If any stumble at this that some Fathers are alledged to countenance this error let him remember that of S. August We must not hearken to This say I This say you but This saith the Lord. And distinctly first of himselfe he saith I would not haue you follow my authority that you should therfore thinke any thing necessary to be beleeued because I say it And of other Fathers what he held may appeare by that which he writeth of S. Cyprians Epistle viz. That it hath no authority to bind him For saith he I do not hold Saint Cyprians Letters to be Canonicall Scripture but I examine them by the Canonicall and what I finde thereunto agreeable I imbrace with his praise what is not consonant by his leaue I will leaue This is the true profession of a Doctor concerning the Scriptures at his inauguration Quod tenet teneo quod respuit respuo What the Scripture doth hold I hold what it doth reiect I reiect If any harp vpon the long custom of this error in the ChristiaÌ„ world let him consider as one saith wel that Christ said not I am custom but I am truth And that custome without truth is but an old error or the antiquity of error Which like an old sore is so much the worse and more incurable the older it is 11. Their prayer for the dead to deliuer them out of that fearefull and hell-like torment in Purgatory wherein they are made to beleeue they lye boyling as in a fierie fornace What an antithesis and plaine opposition is there betweene the Word of truth and this grosse error We know and are assured by the Word of God that the blood of Iesus Christ clenseth and purgeth vs from all sinne So that there is no neede of humane purgatiues either for veniall sinnes or for temporall punishment of sinnes mortall For our Lord Iesus assureth the faithfull departing this life that he that heareth his Word and beleeueth is passed from death vnto life and that they that die in the Lord are in a blessed estate rest from their labours Yea the poorest Lazarus that dieth in the faith of Abraham is immediately in his precious soule conuaied by the Angels into Abrahams bosome there possessed of heauenly ioy not afflicted with hellish torment This may be a sufficient conuiction of this error that there is not one sentence not one word not one syllable no not one letter in
the whole volume of Canonicall Scripture fauouring prayer for the dead as being in any such misery after their departure Nay that there is expresse Scripture to the contrary The Fathers were farre from any such conceite who held that the faithfull deceasing are in a blessed condition hauing obtained their desired end of victorie and beholding the Lord Iesus face to face And that the friends of the deceased counting him happie giue thankes to the Author of the victory with a song See heere the difference betwene the ancient Fathers and the now Romanists They held the faithfull deceased in a blessed and ioyfull estate These count them to be in misery and torment They congratulated their happinesse These condole their torments They gaue thankes for their attained victory These pray and pay to free them out of their conceited captiuity In a word They did sing for ioy These howle and cry for dolefull sorrow 12. Their daily deuotions which wee see in their Primers Rosaries and Manuals what are they for the most part but Fardles of blinde superstition for besides that they are in most passages directed to a wrong obiect worshipping the creature in stead of the Creator so changing as Saint Paul saith the truth of God into a lye they haue withall this foule blot of superstitious vanity that whereas God will bee serued by waight they serue him by number whereas he requireth serious waighty and iudicious deuotions framed according to our present wants as we may see in all the religious prayers of the Saints in holy Writ they directed by their blinde guides like a Horse in the Mill performe a superficiall slight and Circular seruice placing vertue and religious effect in the very number of their prayers in saying so many times ouer a certain number of Pater-nosters Aue-Maries Credoes the like Read their books they will tel you that for 3. Aue-Maries said three times ouer euery day at three seuerall houres and at euery houre thrice is granted three hundred daies of pardon Againe for saying before the Image of Pittie fiue Pater-nosters fiue Aues and a Credo are granted thirty two thousand seuen hundred and fifty fiue yeeres of Pardon A multitude of these fopperies you may finde euery where in their superstitious deuotions And to further these numerall prayers there was at the last found out a new tricke the inuention of Beades When men saith Polidor Virgill began to number and reckon their praiers as though God were in our debt for often begging of him there were deuised by one Peâ—rus Heremita a Frenchman certain beads about the yere of our Lord 1090. The nouelty of this superstition is conuiction sufficient But the shame of it is that in the iudgement of him that cannot erre it is so farre from Christian piety that it is no better then flat Heathenisme therefore our Sauiour vpon that very ground doth warne all Christians to auoide such vaine repetitions When ye pray saith he vse not vain repetitious as the Heathen do for they thinke that they shall bee heard for their much speaking which is we see in the Lords account but vaine babbling A liuely paterne of a Papist and a Protestant for the maner of Religious deuotion we may see in the priests of Baal the Prophet Elias paralelled together the one continue from morning till noone and from noone till Euening with Audinos Audinos O Baal Heare vs O Baal heare vs c. with much cursitation and stirring as the Romish fashion is The other that is the good Prophet Elias a true paterne of piety and sound Religion reuerently and humbly addresseth himselfe to call vpon God praying in a short but yet a sweete and heauenly manner according to the present occasion Read the Storie and admire the difference 13. To be briefe concerning auricular confession that is that euery man doe confesse all his mortall sinnes with all the circumstances once euery yeere at the least and that priuately to a Priest at the least in vote or desire yea and that also of necessitie to saluation it is vtterly without either rule or example of Gods Word and this want of Diuine authority is ingenuously confessed by many of their owne Authors The confessions we finde in Scripture are either vnto God onely or if vnto men or before men it was in these cases 1. Before Baptisme at the entrance into Christianitie as in those that were baptized by Iohn Baptist. 2. In a case of free and voluntary testification of their sound conuersion as it is said in the Acts Many that beleeued came and confessed and shewed their workes 3. In case of some grieuous sinne lying heauie vpon the conscience as in the example of Dauids confession to Nathan the Prophet 4. In case of publike scandall to giue glory to God and satisfie the congregation as in the example of Achan 5. In case of priuate iniurie done by one man to another whether Priest or priuate man as it is in S. Iames Confesse your faults one to another and pray one for another In all these we haue not one confession after the Romish stampe to be made of necessitie to a Priest of all sinnes and that anniuersarie at the least once a yeere 14. Their placing of Religion in the distinction of meates S. Paul hath branded with the note of errour doctrine of deuils and deepe hypocrisie Prophetically foretelling it to be a marke of that Antichristian Apostasie that should befall these later times Now the Spirit saith hee speaketh expresly that in the later times some shall depart from the faith giuing heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of deuils speaking lyes in hypocrisie hauing their conscience seared with a hote iron forbidding to marrie and commanding to abstaine from meates which God hath created to bee receiued with thankesgiuing of them which beleeue and know the truth 15. Their violent laying hands vpon themselues by whippings to make satisfaction and procure acceptance with God hath no ground in sacred Scripture vnlesse they thinke the example of those Priests of Baal a good warrant Indeed I must needs say they went beyond our Romanists for they vsed Kniues and Launcers these but Whips they did launce these doe but lash 16. Their extreme vnction with which they shut vp and end their Romish race in this world is as vnwarrantable For whereas they haue but two onely texts for it they both faile them as their owne Doctors ingenuously confesse Those Scriptures in S. Marke and S. Iames speake onely of anoynting with oyle for the miraculous curing of the sicke but they vse anoynting to no such end but onely when men are irrecouerable and ready to depart out of this life These instances may be sufficient for a taste of Romish errours being the most vsuall and common to euery one that will be a professed Romane Catholicke Thus