Beleife that euery true Christian hath First touching Remission of sinnes a benefite in this life afforded to euery penitent beleiuer Secondly two benefites after this life the Resurrection of the flesh and Eternall life Remission of Sinnes bringeth necessarily with it First that euery Christian is a Sinner Secondly the meanes whereby such forgiuenes of sinnes be had Thirdly the effect which such Remission hath in the heart of euery true beleiuer 1 That we are Sinners that is Not doers of the Law 1. Iohn 3. 4. for Amartia is Anomia Sinne is a not-doing of the Law whether it be by Omyssion or Transgression it falleth out two wayes one by Originall sinne deriued Ex traduce from our first Parents Adam and Heuah for out of such a bitter Fountaine we can draw no sweete water Besides we are Sinners Actually that is by our owne immediate act wee hauing subscribed to the law of sinne in our members both by thought word worke One of these Actions much more both are sufficient for our arraignement and condemnation 2 The Meanes whereby we are freed of both these Criminations are onely the sufferinges of the Just for the vniust and that is the sufferings of Christ Jesus for vs seeing hee alone is the Lambe of God that taketh away the sinnes of the world we by his blood and by no other haue our garmentes and conuersation made white Our sinnes in the Law being resembled copiouslie by sundry pollutions and his cleansing of vs by his blood being resembled by the * Heb. 9. 21. c. blood of Animals sprinkling the Tabernacle and Alter there beeing without blood no Remission Which cannot otherwise be vnderstood by the penners of this Creed seeing no Angell or Man is in this Beleife introduced for a Sauiour in whole or in part but the Sonne of God solely who became Jesus the Sauiour and the Christ or Annoynted-one to this purpose The Manqueller in the Law Num. 32. 22. that was set free vpon the death of the Hie-priest did plainely figure out the deliueraunce of a penitent sinner by the death of our Hie-priest Iesus 3 The Effecteâ— which such Remission worketh in our hearts is Loue vnfeigned whereby we are ready to forgiue to our brethren the sinnes whereby they haue transgressed against vs euen as God hath freely forgiuen vs. Our sinnes towardes God being compared to Talents and our brethrens towards vs being assimilated to Pence Which Forgiuenesse at Gods hand as it is dayly and oft in a day so we are thereby inuited to do the like towards our neighbour To God we are to pray for their Remission though them selues doe it not and we are in Gods name to pronounce it vnto them so oft as they shall turne backe and say It repenteth mee Herevpon it is that Moses introduceth Josephs brethren saying Forgiue now the trespasse of thy brethren and their sinne Whereto Joseph replyed Feare not for am I not vnder God as if he should say Feare not my laying of your sinne vnto your charge for as I am subiect vnto God so I as freely forgiue you as he hath forgiuen to mee my trespasses Genes 50. 17. c. Nor did the Law of Sin-offrings vrge lesse Blessed is he whose wickednesse is forgiuen Psal. 32. 1. 2. and whose sinne is couered Blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputeth not iniquitie Lord for thy Sonnes sake forgiue vs our sinnes Section 7. ¶ Resurrection of the Flesh. THe Church being considered as afore with the mayne benefite she reapeth at Gods hand in this life which is Remission of sinnes now follow two benefites after this life The first is Resurrection of the body and the second is Life eternall ensuing The Resurrection of the body is that which the Sadducies denied as Familistes amongst vs. And how doth our Sauiour prooue it From these wordes of Moses in Exod. 3. 6. where the Lord sayth I am the God of thy Father the God of Abraham the God of Isaac the God of Jaakob From whence he thus concludeth Math. 22. 32 God is not the God of the dead but of the liuing as if he had sayd in moe words neither Abraham nor Isaac nor Jaakob was onely soule but also body and therefore the Lord saying hee is their God it must necessarily follow that he was the God both of body and soule Which neither could be except the body liued to him in the assuraunce of Resurrection for being vnited to the soule in endlesse glory This stopped the mouthes of them Sadducies and I pray God also the consideration thereof may stoppe the mouthes of our Semi-atheistes denyers of the bodyes resurrection flowted of naturall Philosophers in Athens but prescisely taught of the Apostle and that with a difference of Glory in the resurrection as there is a difference of glory betweene the Sunne Moone and Starres As for the * Compare Math. 20. 1. with Chap. 21. 33. Parable of the Workemen called into the Vineyard at the sixt ninth and eleauenth hower and each receiuing a penny that medleth nothing in proprietie with the kingdome of Glory but with the kingdome of Grace in this life where the last namely the Gentile so well as Israel the first receiueth the earnest-penny of saluation which is the spirit of Adoption the spirit of our Mediatour Jesus a sufficient recompence to the first and last by the vertue of which * Rom. 8. 11. spirit our bodyes are raysed vp vnto Glory As for the Rising of the misbeleiuer it is but a rising to fall for as God will be none of their God so to the Diuell and his Angels they be referred and this is the finall Curse pronounced against the Lawes transgressers throughout all Moses Section 8. ¶ Life Euerlasting THe first benefite to the Church after this life was noted to be the Resurrection of the flesh The second and last is Eternall life both of body and soule Some like craftie smooth-faced Sadducies haue denied that Moses any where teacheth such Eternall life But I pray such Doctors to tell mee why the Lords speach to Moses which before prooued the bodyes Râ—surrection doth not also as necessarily prooue Eternall life If Jehouah be the God of Abraham and therefore whole Abraham must needes liue which cannot be if the body should not rise then his beeing the God of Abraham prooueth Euerlasting life to appertaine vnto whole Abraham seeing Jehouah liueth euerlastingly the God of Abraham And I would further know of the couetous Sadducie why is not Eternall life fitly necessarily and plainely taught of Moses in Genes 5. when as it is sayd that God translated Henoch from this world to himselfe And when Moses in Exod 32. 32. doth in his Zeale for Israel say thus to the Lord I pray thee rase mee out of thy Booke which thou hast written What Booke speaketh he off sauing of the Booke of life that contayneth the names only of such as through the Lord of life
AN ABSTRACT OF FAYTH Grounded on Moses and applyed to the Common Creede plainely and briefly By Henoch Clapham in the beginning of his third yeares bands Heb. 11. 6. He that commeth vnto God must beleeue that God is and that he is a rewarder of them that seeke him Mark 9. 23. All thinges are possible to him that beleeueth Bernard Lib. 5. de Considerat Fides ambiguum non habet aut si habet Fidem non est sed opinio Fayth admits no doubt for if it do then it is not Fayth but opinion Printed 1606. TO THE THRICE-Excellent HENRIE Prince of Wales c. PArdon sweet Prince pardon my bold present The Hope we haue your Excellencie shall Proue to our Church a matchlesse Instrument For Gospels good and Superstitions fall That and some Grace vouchsafed to my bands Emboldens mee to giue this to your hands Some scandalized haue my Christian Fayth That so hood-winked Maiestrates may bee Though skils not much what Papal-mynor saith Yet duety mine to cause hood-wink't to see This may reproue such fore-heads as be flinted my faith b'ing such as Scotland somtimes printed Yea Priuiledged by our King An. 1595. 96. England's state haue licensed the same The selfesame faith sparsed throuhgout my bookes Which here I properly An Abstract name And vnto Moses for the tryall lookes The methode hath my prisond-sense for mensure But read sweet Prince then giue out your sensure Your Graces poore Orator Henoch Clapham AN ABSTRACT OF FAYTH c. TO the end that no soule in Court or Country be peruerted touching the trueth of my Fayth by the vnconscionable reportes of some incorrigible * Seorsiâ— ducentes Seducers I offer heere to Prince and People a summe of my Fayth with euident proofe from Moses for the groundes thereof And thus with Auncient Beleeuers I begin SECTION 1. ¶ I beleeue in God the Father Almighty maker of heauen and earth BEleife is manifold according to the thing beleiued be it true or false for false beleife it is compared to a man dreaming of Gold but being awaked he findeth a lye in his right hand As for true beleife it ouer-reacheth Fancie and Opinion and is a perswasion setled vpon Trueth as when one beleiueth rightly on God and the thinges of and from God And so Beleife or Fayth generally considered is a true assent to that which is be it a thing of Promise or Narration For much haue they erred that teach how all Fayth respecteth a promise a Heb. 11. 3 Through Fayth we vnderstand that the world was ordained by the word of God as Moses declareth in the first of Genesis which is a thing of Narration not of Promise seeing the world had his existence before man therefore could not be promised to man Touching Fayth apprehending a Promise it is twofold according to the nature of the Promise and that is Eternall or Temporary as it apprehendeth thinges of eternall abyding nature or things that be but momen taine b 2. Cor. 4. 18. This latter being of thinges visible such as Moses describeth in the sixe dayes creation The other of things inuisible and spirituall such as in the sacramentall Tree of life was taught to Adam in Gen. 2. When I say I beleeue in God for euery soule must beleeue for it selfe it is as if in moe words I should say I rest and build vpon God in all my thoughtes words and deedes The Latine therefore is not Credo in Deo but in Deum I beleeue vpon God Which God Moses deliuereth vnto vs in his first speach when he sayth God created the heauens and the earth in the beginning The Onenesse of his Essence he teacheth in the word Bara Hee created that is Hee the one God and in the Noune Aelohim of plurall Nomber signifiyng Mighties he insinuateth the Trinitie of Persons as if the words should run thus Hee the Mighties did create Which Trinitie was not obscurely represented in the three Angels repayring to Abraham the father of true Beleeuers and in the clearest Scriptures they be tearmed * Math. 28. 1. Iohn 5. Father Sonne and Holy-ghost or Father Word and Spirit Which Moses deliuereth euidently inough if scales hung not vpon our eyes when he teacheth that one God to create heauens and earth by his Word and the Spirits motion vpon the face of the creature With curious Scholastique poynts touching the sacred Trinitie in vnitie Moses dealeth not to open view neither doth this auncient Creed of the Christian Church The first Churches were satisfied with that measure of Fayths-confession which our times will not admit So wrathfull vncharitable be our times learned of the man of Sinne. The first most notorious Schisme in the Church did grow from the curious search which curious spirits did make after the bottomlesse depth of this vnitie in Trinitie thereby adding to the Creed But the secret things sayth Moses in Deut. 29. 29. belong to the Lord and to the Lord I leaue the secrets of the Godhead as the auncient Church of God hath done before me Touching this one God it is to be beleeued first that he is a Father Secondly an Almighty Father His Fatherhood is twofold First as he hath Created man secondly as he hath Purchased man after his backsliding from the excellencie of his Creation Both these Moses doth remember in Deut. 32. 6. when as he sayth Is he not thy Father that hath purchased thee He hath made thee 2. Chro. 3. 17. and proportioned thee These two Fatherhoods are to be Pillers to euery Temple of the Holy-ghost as * Jachin signifieth Stablished and Boaz in strength Jachin and Boaz were Pillers to the materiall Temple The Almightinesse of God is taught of Moses in the very terme Aelohim as before and vnto Abraham he is called El-shadaj Almightie-sufficient because no soule ought to doubt as not of his goodwill seeing he is a Father so neither of his Might and sâ—fficiencie for bringing to passe whatsoeuer he willeth in heauen or in earth specially for mankinds good Whence it necessarily followeth that no part of my Fayth is to be fastned vpon Angell or Man or any other Creature be he as bigge as Behemoth Iob. 40. or as scaly as Leuiathan seeing the greatest might and strength of the creature is not so much as a Mite to a Mountaine as also but borowed of the Creator to be drawen backe as breath is out of the nosethrils euen at his pleasure * Hebr. 11. 28 29. Moses by Fayth in this willing Almighty-sufficiencie did ordaine the Pas-ouer and effusion of blood least he that destroyed the first borne in Aegipt should touch them of the Churche Exod 12. And his people by this Fayth passed through the Red sea as by dry-land which when the Aegiptians assaied to doe they were drowned Exod. 14. Nor doe I beleeue that our late passage through the Red sea of humaine blood mixed in conceipt with Fire and Gunpowder did
Bishop is a terme corruptly deriued from the Greeke word Episcopus 2. Tim 3. which signifieth an Ouer-seer namely of soules In him is required Aptnes to teach which includeth Knowledge and Vtteraunce as also the spirit of Gouernment for his sufficient ruling of that Corporation Else-where he is called a Pastor in English a Shepheard or Feeder for that he is called to feed and guide that Flocke of Christes pasture In other places these Bishops or Pastors are tearmed Elders in respect of the many yeares they were ordinarily possessed with before they attained such orderly place of ouersight To haue one or moe of these in one particular Church is not of Substaunce but of Circumstaunce and therefore to be caryed as edifying Circumstances require But with this Prouiso that where moe then one be there one for order and comlynesse sake be called before the rest to ouersee vppon whom the burden of Doctrine and Gouernement may rest as it did in the Churches of * Reuel 2. 3. Asia written too by S. John where one vnder the terms Angel or Embassadour is charged principally with the Churches occasions As for the terme Doctor in English Teacher if it be considered apart from the Pastor it can imploy no other then him that is speciall attendant vnto the Schoole of * 1. Cor. 14. Prophecie that is the Schoole of Christian learning wherein people are trayned vp for supplying the Churches necessitie The terme Deacon is deriued from the Greekes and is in English Minister or Seruitour First for the seruice he was to doe to the Church Secondly towardes the Ouer-seer or Ouerseers To the first in cases of helping the poore To the second in assisting by his spirituall guiftes as necessitie shall call for it For the performance of all which duties it is required that they be full of the Holy-ghost Act. 63. 1. Tim. 3. and of Wisedome hauing the mysterie of Fayth in a pure Conscience such as can rule their owne Househouldes well c. The conclusion then of all this is that for the wel orderly gouernment preseruation of euery particular established Communion of Saincts there be some of best qualificatiō set apart so to attend on the sayd duties whilest the common people on the other hand do attend the duties of their common callings This being all and easie to be learned and obserued if people were not bent to contend about Words and Termes rather then Thinges what is there in it which Moses taught not Israel long since In the place of Pastors Israel had Priestes all their lippes bound to preserue Knowledge and equally attending the Alter howsoeuer one Priest principall as the Angell of the congregation In stead of our Deacons they had Leuites vnder the Priestes and for the businesses of the congregation The Bookes of Exod. Leuit. Numb and Deuteronomie doe largely declare this So Ceremonie and Circumstance is changed but the substaunce and equitie abide still The Word which they are to teach 1 VVord is the pure Word of God which was so perfect in Moses as it was a curse to him that should detract from it or add vnto it as reason euinceth when man shall alter Gods Word Deut 12. 32. All inuentions of men herein be but as the strange Fire of Nadab and Abihu or as the Leauen of the Pharises which poysoned the hearers The Sacraments in common to be administred 2 Sacraments are Baptisme and the Lords Supper Baptisme in Moses was represented by Ceremoniall washinges Purifications intending the Lambes blood whereby we are clensed The Supper was represented in the Paschall Supper and other Ceremoniall eatings intending the body and blood of Christ Jesus the Lambe that taketh away the sinnes of the worlde whereby the Church is nourished by Faith in vnity So farre is it from being to be ministred as Antichrist doth for binding people in and to Rebellion and blood-shed The Discipline to be administred 3 Discipline Markes of an orderly established Church is either brotherly Admonishments and Rebukes according to the nature of the sinne be it priuate or publique or a Separating of the Sinner for his not repenting All these Moses teacheth when first he sayth in Leuit. 19. 17. Thou shalt plainely rebuke thy neighbour and suffer not sinne vpon him with other places the like And secondly when vnder ceremoniall Vncleannesses representing Sinne some were seperated more and some lesse But in cases of Blasphemie generall Apostacie and hy-handed Rebellions the Priest was to leaue him vnto the Magistrates sword like as for the Sinne against the Holy-ghost of the same Nature the soule is to be left to the Iudge of Heauen with an * 2. Cor 16. 22. Anathema maran-atha seeing they openly declare themselues to haue Apostated from louing Christ Iesus A sinne which the Hebrewes are taught to consist * Heb. 6. 1 2 3. 4. compare◠with Chap 10. 25. c. first in a Free-departure from the groundes of true Religion once held with comfort Then secondly in a voluntarie Schisme from Fellowship or Spirituall communion with such beleeuers The first is a voluntarie reiection of Fayth The second a willing reiectiō of Charitie In which Desertions they must be held for not Louers of Christ Iesus and therefore fully Anathematized or accursed to vsward and left to the Lordes comming intended in the worde * In Chaldi◠forme Marae is The Lord and Atha hee cōmeth N. is interposed for sound sake Maran-atha in English The Lord commeth namely with Fire to render vengeance Such is the Anathema too ignorantly shot out of the bosome of many Counsels as if they delighted to cloath themselues ipso facto with Execrations and curings The duetie of the whole Communion of Sainctes is first to * 1. Cor. 16. 13. 14. Heb. 3. 12. 13 watch ouer one another in Loue Secondly to administer of the store which God hath giuen them to the reliefe of the needy specially on the * 1. Cor. 16. 1. 2. first day of the weeke namely the Lords day that so their actions of worship towards God may be mixed with Charitie towardes their neighbour All the Law and the Prophets do teach that The whole Communion so vnited is a litle Citie compact in it selfe seated on a Rocke beauteous and inuincible Distraction in Fayth and Manners is called * 1. Cor. 11. 18. 19. Schisma Schisme in plaine English a Rending a sunder The making choyse of some opinion in Doctrine whereto a soule vnreasonably tyeth it selfe to the violating of Faythes foundation that is called Haeresie With this our Churches be canker-fretted to the harming of Fayth and with the former they be generally torne a sunder to the violation of Fayth and Charitie The Lord purge our Churches of these euils though as with violence of * Hellebore is a violent purger but rightly applyed is wonderfully effectuall Hellebore Section 6. ¶ Remission of Sinnes NOw followeth the