I have made my heart clean I am pure from my sin Eccl. 7. 29. For lo this only have I found That God made man upright at first but since they have fallen away from that Upright State they have sought out many Inventions Jer. 17. 9. The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked who can know it For Matth. 15. 19. Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts murthers adulteries fornications thefts false-witness blasphemies and all things that defile a man. And the Reason of all this is Because Joh. 3. 6. That which is born of the flesh is flesh Man as he is Flesh and Blood is naturally fleshly minded Rom. 7. 14. For we know that the law is spiritual but I am carnal sold under sin for that which I do I allow not for what I would that do I not but what I hate that I do And so Eph. 2. 3. All are by nature the children of wrath Jam. 1. 15. Then when lust hath conceived it bringeth forth sin and when 't is finished bringeth forth death Our first Parents lusted after the forbidden Fruit and that brought forth the sin of breaking the Commandment and that sin brought forth Death And Rom. 5. 12. As by one man sin entred into the world and death by sin so death passed upon all men for that all in him have sinned Wherefore if all are guilty of Original Sin and that guilt makes us Children of Wrath and consequently Heirs of Damnation I don't see any reason we have to boast of our righteousness but rather we have too much cause to bewail our wretchedness and to pray continually against the inevitable misery we are liable to undergo for all the good works we have done or can do unless God be more merciful to the best of us than we deserve And though by Baptism the guilt of Original Sin is washed away yet 't is more than probable that the first Actual Sin brings it again For as he that by amendment of life turns to God his former sins shall not be remembred so he that returns from the Service of God his righteousness shall be blotted out and forgotten and all his former iniquities shall testifie against him To conclude from what has been produc'd this at present occurs to our Observation That though there is no such thing in truth as a Solifidian Justice but every Man that will be saved must be enduced with a Faith that works by Love yet after all we can do we must expect Salvation by Faith in Christ's Blood and not from our own worthiness III. The Third Enquiry propos'd was To whom it belongs to Forgive Sins Psal 3. 8. Salvation belongeth to the Lord. 49. 7. None of them can by any means redeem his brother nor give to God a ransom for him For the redemption of their soul is precious And 37. 39. The salvation of the righteous is of the Lord. Therefore 130. 7. Let Israel hope in the Lord. It was the Psalmists opinion That it belonged to God to Forgive Sins and therefore Psal 51. 14. he thus addresses himself to him Deliver me from blood-guiltiness O God thou God of my salvation And thus God affirms of Himself Isai 43. 11. I even I am the Lord and beside me there is no Saviour I even I am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for my own sake and will not remember thy sins where we may take notice That it belongs to God to Forgive Sins and also That he Forgives them for his own sake which takes off all Merit by Works Dan. 9. 9. To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses It was the constant Opinion of the Jews For when our Saviour said to the Sick of the Palsie Man thy sins are forgiven thee the Jews not believing him to be God as well as Man accus'd him of Blasphemy saying Who can forgive sins but God only Luk. 5. 21. So our Lord himself though John Baptist call'd him the Lamb of God which takes away the sins of the world Joh. 1. 29. directs us to ask God to forgive our sins Mat. 6. 12. For at Vers 14. 'T is our heavenly Father that must forgive us And thus the Apostle tells the Colossians That they being dead in their sins and the uncircumcision of their flesh God had quickened them and forgiven them all trespasses Col. 2. 13. From all which it appears plainly enough That Forgiveness of Sin belongs only to God. The consequence of this is That if it belongs to God only to Forgive Sins then Confession of Sins is due to him alone A Member of the Church of Rome is in danger of passing immediately into Hell if he dies without having confess'd his Sins to a Priest So absolutely necessary do they teach Auricular Confession to be in order to Salvation But if we may examin it a little I am apt to think it will appear much like the rest Psal 32. 5. I acknowledged my sins unto thee and my iniquity have I not hid I said I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin The Psalmist was absolv'd without Auricular Confession only by acknowledging his Sins to God. 1 King. 8. 47. Yet if they shall bethink themselves in the Land whether they were carried Captives and repent and make supplication to thee in the Land of them that carried them Captives saying We have sinned and have done perversely we have committed wickedness c. Here is no Confession to a Priest mentioned Ezra 9. 5. And at the evening sacrifice I rose up from my heaviness and having rent my garment and my mantle I fell upon my knees and spread out my hands unto the Lord my God and said O my God I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee my God c. Psal 41. 4. I said Lord be merciful unto me and heal my soul for I have sinned against thee Hence Confession of Sin is due to him against whom we have sinned And then 't is due Relatively to our Neighbour if we have done him any injury But Properly to God according to the Psalmist Psal 51. 4. Against thee only have I sinned c. when he had committed Adultery with Bathsheba and caused her Husband to be slain Dan. 9. 15. And now O Lord our God that hast brought thy people forth out of the Land of Egypt with a mighty hand and hast gotten the renown as at this day we have sinned we have done wickedly Therefore Jer. 14. 20. We acknowledge O Lord our wickedness and the iniquity of our Fathers for we have sinned against thee In a word I should never have done if I should quote all the Texts to prove Confession of Sins only due to God. And therefore because you will meet with them in reading I shall at present only refer you to the Sixth Chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel to what our Saviour says there of Prayer and Fasting For Repentance and Confession being
inherent parts of Prayer and Fasting I think they may be included in the same Advice which I need not have inserted by reason of your frequent using the Lords Prayer in which 't is evident After all there is not one Text as I know of that by any good Consequence makes Confession to a Priest so absolutely Necessary as the Doctrin of the Church of Rome does If any will do it and do it sincerely we do not deny it to be Good. But after 't is done without a Private Confession to God it must needs be Imperfect for it is God that knows our Hearts better than we do our selves and we are guilty of many Sins we know not of as the Psalmist professes Wherefore we should cry out with him Psal 19. 12. Who can understand his errors cleanse thou me from secret faults The consequence of all is That all Men ought to Confess their Sins to God against whom only they have sinned as to one that has the sole Power to forgive them Not that I desire in the least to diminish the Power of the Keys given to the Church for I own That our Blessed Lord gave Power and Authority to his Ministers to declare and pronounce to his People being Penitent the Absolution and Remission of their Sins in his Name But to confine that Power to the Church of Rome only and to say All that Die out of her Communion are certainly Damn'd for want of it and to make the Bishop of Rome joynt-Competitor with Christ in the Business is against the Grain and will not digest in my Stomach whatever it may do in other Mens I should wast too much Time and Paper If I should examine the Gross Nonsensical Consequences of Believing the Bishop of Rome able to Forgive Sins which have from thence been imposed upon the greater part of the Church of Rome the Ignorant sort of People That the Pope can at once Forgive a Man all the Sins he ever has committed or ever shall be guilty of that he can thrust a Man into Heaven for as long a Time as he pleases where he shall lie undiscovered by the all-seeing Eye of God and at the end of that Term be kicked into Hell that he can forgive the Sins of all that are in the Communion of the Roman Church of all Christians nay if he pleases of the whole World at once It has been acknowledged by many of their own Writers on this Subject who have been guilty of the least Extravagance That the Pope has Power if he will at one Mass to free all the Souls out of Purgatory If this were true King James the First 's Inference on the Position was with Abnegation of the Popes Charity and Admiration of his unparallel'd Cruelty That being granted to have a Power so to do he does not apply his Will to it But I know Madam you are no Friend to such Fancies therefore I shall appeal no further than to your own Ingenuity to judge from what has been produced Who has the Supreme and only Power to forgive Sins to whom Confession properly is due and in whose Name only Absolution ought to be Pronounced And so proceed IV. The Fourth Enquiry proposed was Whether the Scriptures warrant the Worshiping of Images or Praying to Saints and Angels The Second Commandment is so much to our Purpose that they of the Church of Rome have prudently left it out of the Decalogue and to make up the number they cut the Tenth into two Parts so the Church of Rome's Decalogue is this I. Thou shalt have no other Gods before me II. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain c. III. Remember that thou keepest holy the Sabbath-day c. IV. Honour thy Father and thy Mother c. V. Thou shalt do no Murther VI. Thou shalt not commit Adultery VII Thou shalt not Steal VIII Thou shalt not bear false Witness against thy Neighbour IX Thou shalt not covet thy Neighbours Wife X. Thou shalt not covet thy Neighbours House c. So that the generality of the People of the Church of Rome know of no such thing in Being as the tedious Harangue against Images by us called the Second Commandment However there are Texts enough besides both in the Old and New Testaments clearly against them of which I will only give you a few of the chief Judges 13. 15 And Manoah said unto the Angel of the Lord I pray thee let us detain thee until we shall have made ready a kid for thee And the angel of the Lord said unto Manoah Though thou detain me I will not eat of thy bread and if thou wilt offer a Burnt-offering thou must offer it unto the Lord. And Manoah said unto the angel of the Lord What is thy name that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honour And the angel of the Lord said unto him Why askest thou after my name seeing it is secret The Angel would not tell his Name because Manoah should honour God only Psal 29. 2. Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his Name worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness For Isai 42. 8 I am the Lord that is my name and my glory will I not give to another neither my praise to graven Images And I am certain there is not one Text to the contrary but many to the same purpose Acts 10. 25. And as Peter was coming in Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshipped him But Peter took him up saying Stand up I my self also am a man. And Chap. 14. Vers 11. When the People saw what Paul had done they lift up their voices saying in the speech of Lycaonia The Gods are come down to us in the likeness of Men. And they called Barnabas Jupiter and Paul Mercurius because he was the chief Speaker Then the Priest of Jupiter which was before their City brought Oxen and Garlands unto the Gates and wou'd have done Sacrifice with the People Which when the Apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of they rent their Clothes and ran in among the People crying out and saying Sirs why do ye these things we also are men of like Passions with you c. I am apt to believe these things were done and suffer'd by the Providence of God on purpose to shew that as they were not to be worshipp'd while they were on the Earth so neither shou'd we pay Divine Honours to 'em now they are in Heaven But the Apostle to the Corinthians is very express to the purpose 1 Cor. 1. 13. Is Christ divided was Paul crucified for you or were ye baptized into the name of Paul Chap. 3. 4. Who then is Paul and who is Apollos but Ministers by whom ye believed even as the Lord gave to every man I have planted Apollos watered but God gave the increase So then neither is he that planteth any thing neither he that watereth but God that giveth the
That the Rule of Faith is fixed and terminated in the Books of the Prophets and Apostles It was the constant Opinion of this great Doctor of the Gentiles That the Scriptures were of themselves able to make Men Wise unto Salvation Neither is he alone for St. James assures us That they are able to save our Souls Jam. 1. 21. And therefore St. Peter calls 'em a more sure word of Prophecy than a Voice from Heaven and says That all Men would do well that they take good heed to 'em as unto a Light that shineth in a dark place 2 Pet. 1. 19. And our Lord himself in the Parable brings in Abraham telling the Rich Man in Hell That his Brethren had Moses and the Prophets whom let 'em hear says he for if they will not hear them neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the Dead Luk. 16. 29. 31. Upon which words St. Chrysostom's Inference was That we should believe the Scriptures Though the Dead should rise and though Angels should descend from Heaven we must prefer the Testimony of Scriptures before them According to the Apostle Gal. 1. 8. Though we or an Angel from Heaven preach any other Gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you let him be accursed All which I take to be Indications plain enough of the sufficiency of the Scriptures as to all things pertaining to Salvation But besides this I said they were also in themselves sufficient to determin Points of Controversie The Psalmist says of the Word of God That it is a Lamp to his Feet and a Light to his Path Psal 119. 105. And therefore it was that he so often speaks of ordering himself according to this Word and prays so earnestly to God to enable him to do it And thus the Prophet expostulates with the Jews Isa 8. 19 20. When they shall say unto you Seek unto them which have familiar spirits and unto wizards that peep and mutter Should not a people seek unto their God for the living to the dead To the law and to the testimony if they speak not according to this word it is because there is no light in them It was the way of the Apostles on all occasions to have recourse to the Scriptures Thus St. Peter in his Sermon to Cornelius to confirm his Doctrin of the Messias says To him give all the Prophets witness that through his Name whosoever believeth on him shall receive remission of sins Act. 10. 43. And that it was the constant practice of St. Paul no Man can deny that has had the least converse with his Writings especially that great Axiom of his which has never been contradicted That the Scriptures are given by Inspiration of God and are profitable for Doctrin for Reproof for Correction for Instruction in Righteousness is a more than ordinary instance of his Opinion in this particular And as it is written was the only refuge of those Primitive Builders of the Church And it was the very same method that our Lord himself took to reprove the Tempter Matth. 4. 4. It is written Man shall not live by bread alone c. And Vers 7. It is written Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. And Vers 10. It is written Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God. And thus he us'd always to bring the Testimonies of Moses and the Prophets against the impious Objections of the Jews very often telling them That he did not speak his own Words but the Word of him that sent him that is the Word of God. And now would it not be a thing to be wonder'd at if the Holy Fathers of the Church should be ignorant of this way of arguing Or if they did know it that they would not chuse to follow his Example whom they pretended to worship and obey But we have no cause to wonder at this but rather at their ignorance or wilful stubbornness who pretend to be acquainted with them and yet seemingly at least assert their Sentiments and Practice in this matter to be contrary to their Predecessors It was usual with Basil thus to express himsel 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Epist ad Eustath 80 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Let the Scriptures which are divinely inspir'd be Judge between us For says he Whatsoever Idem Etb. Defin. 80. c. 22. 6. is contrary to them is not of Faith and therefore sinful Every Word or Cause ought to be tried and confirm'd by the Holy Scriptures Neither does St. Cyprian come behind him in this Cypr. ad Pomp. cont Steph. Pap. particular If says he the Pipes through which Water is conveyed into the City should be suddenly deficient should we not go presently to the Spring that thence we may know the cause of the defect whether the Spring it self is dry or whether the Pipes are stopt by any thing which may hinder the course of the Water And so the Pipes being clear'd the City may be supplied with Water as before So ought the Ministers of the Gospel to do In matters of Doubt they should go to our Lord and his Apostles that they may model their Actions by their Doctrin as the Fountain and Original of Divine Truth Tertullian likewise would accept of no Argument that was not drawn from the Scriptures And by this Tertul. de carne Christ Idem de Resur mort he confuted the Hereticks of his time For says he take away the Sophistry of the Heathen Philosophers which the Hereticks make use of and when they come to argue from the Scriptures they will not be able to stand St. Chrysostom says That if any thing is asserted without the authority of the Scriptures to back it on it leaves Chrys in Psalm 95. the Hearers in doubt 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 says Clemens Alexandrinus We say nothing against the Scriptures Cl. Al. de Pet. Strom. lib. 6. Theod. dial 1. cap. 6. Id. Hist lib. 1. cap. 3. And Theodoret 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I confide in the Scriptures only To which we may add his Testimony of the Saying of Constantine the Great That the Books of the Evangelists and Apostles and the Oracles of the the ancient Prophets do evidently teach us what we are to think of the Divine Power Therefore in every seditious Controversie let us discuss the Point in question by the Testimony of those divinely inspir'd Writings Whence we may see that all the Fathers are not against us in this matter I think Origen may come in for one on our side For in his Comment upon the Sixteenth Chapter of the Epistle to the Romans having explained those Admonitions of the Apostle vers 17 18. and coming to vers 19. where the Apostle tells the Romans That their Obedience is come abroad unto all Men And that he is therefore glad on their behalf The Apostle says he therefore rejoyces over those that were obedient being sure that as he had taught them not to use that general Obedience which
ye are saved through Faith and that not of your selves it is the gift of God not of works lest any man should boast 2 Tim. 1. 9. Who hath saved us and called us with a holy calling not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began Tit. 3. 5. Not by works of righteousness which we have done but according to his mercy he saved us c. And many more you will meet with in reading but by these few you may judge how available our works even the very best we can do are to salvation Before I leave this Point I presume it will not be impertinent if I add something in this Place touching Justification by Faith In which for brevity sake I shall do little more than set down the most pertinent Texts of Scripture and leave the rest to your Ingenuity And in the first place Gen. 15. 6. Abraham believed in the Lord and he counted it to him for righteousness Habak 2. 4. Behold his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him but the just shall live by his Faith. Joh. 1. 12. But as many as received him to them gave he power to become the sons of God even to them that believe on his name And Chap. 3. 16. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth on him should not perish but have everlasting life When our Saviour went to raise the Ruler of the Synagogue's Daughter he bid him only believe Mark 5. 36. Acts 10. 23. To him give all the Prophets witness That through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins And Chap. 16. 31. When the Keeper of the Prison wherein Paul and Silas were asked them What he should do to be saved their Answer was Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved and thy house Rom. 3. 23. For we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past through the forbearance of God To declare I say at this time his righteousness that he might be just and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus Where is boasting then it is excluded By what law of works Nay but by the law of Faith therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law If you consider this Quotation throughly you will find it as compleat to the purpose as can be desired However I 'll present you with a few more Rom. 4. 1. What shall we say then that Abraham our father as pertaining to the flesh hath found no for if Abraham were justified by works he hath whereof to glory but not before God for what say the Scriptures Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness And to him that worketh not but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly his faith is counted for righteousness Where by the way the Word ungodly in this Text must not be taken to mean Impenitent Sinners for they as such can have no Right to Justification but as no man is Upright in the Sight of God he is said in the Best of Men to justifie ungodly freely by his grace in the foregoing Chapter Verse 23 24. So that this makes doubly for my Purpose shewing first That Justification comes by Faith and also That those that are Justified being Sinners before God cannot with Reason boast of the Merit of Works Rom. 5. 1. Therefore being justified by faith we have peace with God through Jesus Christ our Lord. And Chap. 10. 8. The word is nigh thee in thy mouth and in thy heart that is the word of faith which we preach That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thy heart that God hath raised him from the dead thou shalt be saved Gal. 2. 16. 21. Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by the faith of Jesus Christ even we have believed in Jesus Christ that we might be justified by the faith of Christ and not by the works of the law for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified I do not frustrate the grace of God for if righteousness come by the law then Christ is dead in vain And Chap. 3. 11. And the Scripture foreseeing that God would Justifie the Heathen through Faith preached before the Gospel unto Abraham saying In thee shall all nations be blessed But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God it is evident for the just shall live by faith For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision nor uncircumcision availeth any thing but faith which worketh by love Let that Text. Eph. 2. 8. above cited summ up all For by grace ye are saved through faith and that not of your selves it is the gift of God not of works lest any man should boast Neither have I been at all this Pains from a solifidian Principle to endeavour to seclude Good Works from being the Fruits of a lively Faith For so I should frustrate the Grace of God. And I presume Madam you know my Opinion better than to think so my Intent was only to shew How Erronious it is to suppose Merit from Works especially according to the Doctrin of the Church of Rome That Men may Merit for themselves and others To conclude this Point give me leave to present to your Meditation the Heinousness of Original Sin only and then I 'll leave you to Judge if for all that and the many Actual Sins we daily commit God will be gracious to us and receive us unto his Glory how little Reason we have to boast of that Nothing we have done to Merit his Favour Gen. 6. 5. And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually and it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth and it grieved him at his heart And the Lord said I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth both man and beast and the creeping thing and the fowls of the air for it repenteth me that I have made them I think no man can deny Original Sin to be the Cause of all this and then how Heinous a thing that is which is the Cause of so much Displeasure in God I submit to any person to Judge You will read to the same Purpose Verse 11 12 13. Job 14. 4. Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean not one For Psal 51. 5. Behold I was shapen in iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive me Prov. 20. 9. Who then can say
though the sence of the Text may be hid in a Figure But he that can assert the Doctrine of Purgatory from such a Text as this may as well say that the Apostle was a Mason or Carpenter because he calls himself a Builder or that he Preach'd to Houses and Walls because he calls the Corinthians God's Building or that our Saviour himself was a Stone because he is expresly call'd the head stone of the corner But whither wou'd such absurdities hurry us I assure you Madam 't is very unreasonable to suppose the Doctrine from such a Text as this and I think they can find none plainer than one of these two Which being made thus plain to the contrary I shall only briefly hint a few Texts against the particular Doctrine of Purgatory and so conclude this Point Eccl. 11. 3. If the clouds be full of rain they empty themselves upon the Earth and if the tree fall toward the South or toward the North in the place where the tree falleth there it shall lie This Text is a Metaphorical intimation of the state of the Soul after this life As a Tree that is falling must fall one way either to the South or to the North c. So the Soul when it leaves the Body must go to some certain place and as the Tree shall remain in the place where it fell so the Soul must abide in the place whither she first goes when she leaves the Body But the Preacher is more plain to the purpose Chap. 12. 7. where he says The Dust that is Man's Body shall return to the Earth as it was and the Spirit shall return to God who gave it And the Prophet says Isai 57. 3. The Righteous shall enter into Peace Now according to the Practice of the Church of Rome in this particular unless the special favour of the Bishop of Rome intervene all both good and bad must pass through Purgatory in order to their Perfection tho' according to the Doctrine of the first Query they may be more than perfect before they come thither But what then becomes of the many Promises made to the Godly both in the Old and New Testaments if before they can enjoy the Rewards promis'd they must undergo so severe a Punishment by the way Revel 14. 13. And I heard a voice from Heaven saying unto me write Blessed are the Dead which die in the Lord from henceforth And if there is any such place as Purgatory wherein the best of Men must endure Torment for a Time how can the Blood of Christ be said to cleanse any from all Sin 1 Joh. 1. 7 Certainly God does not require that his Servants shou'd pass through the Fire to purify 'em and make 'em fit for Heaven after they are wash'd in the Blood of his Son. We are taught by the Apostle Heb. 9. 14 that the Blood of Christ purges our Consciences from dead Works but we quite destroy the belief of this if we admit the least thought of any other Purgation Our Saviour tells us Joh. 3. 18. that He that believeth on him is not condemned And if God does not condemn 't is hard to think he 'll punish which he must do if the best of Men must pass through Purgatory before they can come to Heaven But we can meet with no such place in the Scriptures We find but two ways mention'd a narrow and a broad a strait gate and a wide into one of which we must enter And the Apostle says expresly All shall appear before the Judgment 2 Cor. 5. 10. seat of Christ there to receive according to what we have done in the Body and then certainly if there is any such place as Purgatory God must be thought unjust in calling Men to account for their Sins when they are purg'd from ' em But 't is much safer to believe there is no such place Virgil indeed tells us of some such kind of place in the Sixth Book of his Aeneas in his Account of Aeneas's Progress into the infernal World to visit his Father When he came to the Stygian shore he saw Old Charon about his wonted Bus'ness plying the Oars to carry such over as came thither for Passage But he saw some miserable Ghosts on the Banks and in dark Woods thereabouts to whom the old Ferry-man was very surly and deny'd 'em Passage tho' without doubt they 'd have paid him as well for his pains as others did Aeneas as we may suppose was amaz'd at this partiality and ask'd his Guide What was the meaning of Charon ' s rough behaviour to those poor Souls To which she answers Those you see him take into his Boat are buried and by that means challenge his Service But those he beats away are not None must pass these Streams 'till the Ceremonies of their Funeral are perform'd but they must abide in these dismal Shades on this side the River an Hundred years unless they are buried sooner and then I suppose buried or not buried they obtain their Passage Then the Poet sets down a Dialogue between Aeneas and his old Pilot Palinurus who being unfortunately cast away was kill'd in Italy and by the cruel Murtherers left unburied for which reason he must be confin'd to this Purgatory 'till those People mov'd by Prodigious Omnes shou'd Solemnize his Funeral Now not to make a Parallel between this Fiction of the Poet and the Purgatory of the Church of Rome I shall only tell you that I have seen the place represented by them of that Church not much unlike it They have a River in which many are plung'd up to the Neck and labouring very hard to get out at one side of the River is Hell's mouth open to terrifie the poor Souls and over their heads Heaven for their Encouragement Whether they intend this River for Styx or Acheron is not to the purpose 't is enough to suppose the Doctrine of Purgatory very ancient because in vogue with the ancient Romans before Christ's coming into the World tho' of late years it has got a Name which it wanted before and as it was formerly known by the Stygian shore Black shades c. now Purgatory is the Proper name of the place and is therefore deservedly written with a Capital P. 6. The Sixth Enquiry proposed was Whether the Mass is a Sacrifice for the Quick and Dead This Doctrine is built upon the other of Purgatory and 't is to be deliver'd from that place that Men are so willing to trade for Masses and Indulgences which has added so much to the Revenue of the Church that it can now very hardly be laid aside But I have often thought it strange that Men professing Christianity shou'd be so far bewitch'd to Gain as to deny the Efficacy of Christ's Sufferings For if Indulgences will make amends for Sin and the Mass atone for unrighteousness what becomes of the All-sufficiency of Christ's Merits the Satisfaction made by his Death What need have Men to go
so far about for Mercy and Forgiveness when they may have it nearer home Here 's a Merchant has Indulgences to sell at reasonable Rates by virtue of which a Man may gratifie the Lusts of his Flesh here and when he Dies a small Matter towards Building or Repairing some religious Conventicle will purchase Masses enough to deliver him out of Purgatory and then let any judge if such a Man is not far wiser than a sneaking Heretick who lives in ignorance of these Catholick Helps and Salvo's But for all that if we may be allow'd to believe the Scriptures we have no such by-ways to Heaven the way that leads thither is strait as well as narrow So then let others trust to Indulgences and so be cheated of their Souls and Money too while we tread in the Path which is made plain before us and tho' we may want a little Elbow-room yet t is better travelling so in a clean and safe way than by rambling out of it for more liberty to trust to the Promise of a false Guide that we shall come into it again and so follow him through Boggs and Rivers in danger of Drowning every step of the way 'T is evident enough that the Son of God is our only Sacrifice for the Apostle says 1 Cor. â—â— 7 Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us And the Scriptures sufficiently testifie that by one Oblation of himself once offer'd he made sufficient Satisfaction for the Sins of the whole World. And then what need have we of farther Sacrifices nay what warrant can be brought from the Word of God to justifie the Sacrifice of the Mass which is the only new one contended for The Apostle Rom. 12. 1 Exhorts us to present our Bodies a living Sacrifice holy acceptable unto God as our reasonable Service Which Text Bellarmin thinks sufficient to the purpose and thus he argues 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is a Sacrifice properly so call'd that is an External Oblation made only to God wherein by a lawful Minister some sensible Substance is by Mystical rites consecrated and so chang'd or in reference to what it was before destroy'd But Christians have no such Sacrifice to offer to God but the Mass Neither are the Romans here commanded to Kill themselves for that wou'd be an heinous Sin. Therefore the Mass must be the Sacrifice here spoken of And farther 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is the word here used by the Apostle is that Sacrifice which is offer'd by a lawful Minister But no Sacrifice is among Christians offer'd by the Minister but the Mass Therefore the Mass is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or a proper Sacrifice Now not to say the Mass is no sensible Substance which he makes the main condition of a Sacrifice I shall at present thus examine the Argument 1. The Apostle does not speak here of the office of a Minister but the Duty of the Ministers and People both All are to present their Bodies a living Sacrifice I beseech you therefore Brethren c. 2. Therefore supposing the Mass was a sensible Substance yet the Apostle can't intend that because that is to be offer'd by the Minister only 3. Granting all he wou'd have in reference to the Mass's being a Sacrifice yet the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is as properly us'd by the Apostle in reference to the Sacrifice of a Man's Body as of the Mass For 't is confess'd that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is an Oblation made to God only wherein some sensible Substance is by mystical Rites consecrated and so chang'd or in reference to what it was before destroy'd Accordingly the Apostle advises us to present our Bodies a living Sacrifice unto God and in the next Verse Be not conformed to this World where by our renouncing the World we consecrate our Bodies to God's Service and so as the Apostle farther exhorts us we are transform'd or chang'd by the renewing of our Mind and our Bodies in reference to what they were before corrupted and polluted by Sin are destroy'd 4. So then the Apostle here makes use of a Metaphor to express a reasonable Duty as a Sacrifice is laid on the Altar kill'd and cut in pieces so we must die to sin and mortifie our Members which are upon the Earth cut off all Affections to this World keep our Bodies under and bring 'em into subjection to the Will of God and so being transformed from what we were before Servants and Sacrifices to Sin we become holy Sacrifices and acceptable to God. Whence 5. Let us enquire what are the proper Sacrifices of Christians because he says that they have no other but the Mass St. Peter 1 Ep. c. 2. v. 5 says we as lively Stones are built upon a spiritual house an holy Priesthood to offer up spiritual Sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ And what those spiritual Sacrifices are we may be inform'd by other places of Scripture The Psalmist Psal 4. 5. advises us to offer to God the Sacrifices of Righteousness And Psal 50. 23 Whoso offereth Praise glorifieth God. And 51. 17 19 The Sacrifices of God are a broken Spirit and the Lord will be pleas'd with Sacrifices of Righteousness And Psal 141. 2 Let my Prayer be set before thee as Incense and the lifting up of my hands as the evening Sacrifice These are great Expressions from one under the Law when the Morning and Evening Sacrifices were so absolutely necessary But what have we from those that were under the Gospel Our Blessed Saviour of right challenges the first place who in his own Person blames the Pharisees for not knowing the meaning of this I will have Mercy and not Sacrifice Matth. 12. 7. The Apostle is very plain to the purpose Phil. 4. 15 c. Now ye Philippians know also that in the beginning of the Gospel when I departed from Macedonia no Church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving but ye only For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity Not because I desire a gift but I desire fruit that may abound to your account But I have all and abound I am full having receiv'd of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you an Odour of a sweet smell a Sacrifice acceptable well-pleasing to God. From all which the Sacrifices of Christians are Mercy Alms-Deeds Prayer Praise Contrition and all Christian Duties And these are the Sacrifices which are to be offer'd up to God by every living Christian for himself But I can find no such Sacrifice as the Mass nor indeed any other than those above-mention'd For Christ Jesus is the Sacrifice for all Christians in general and these are Sacrifices which every Christian must offer to God for himself in particular And thus I have briefly given my Opinion of the Mass which amounts to this in the general that Christ being our Sacrifice and Propitiation we have no reason to think of any other and he having offer'd himself once to God for all