workes of fasting praying and almes giuing therfore the workes themselues be deadly sinnes Our doctrine is first that these workes and such other Psal 109. 7. being done by vnfaithfull hypocrites and wicked men be turned into sinne as Dauid saith for they be so corrupted and defiled with their infidelitie and wickednes that they be but splendida peccata glittering sinnes before God as Saint Augustine termeth them For euen as most pure water flowing through a filthie sinke or priuie is made foule filthy and stinking euen so these workes prayer fasting c. which bee good workes commanded of God flowing from their faithlesse and wicked hearts and bodies be so defiled that they be but filthy sinnes in in the sight of God Pro. 15. 8. Salomon saith the sarcifice of the wicked is abhomination to the Lord but the prayer of the righteous is acceptable to Esa 1. 13. him God saith by the Prophet Esay Bring no moe oblations in vaine incense is an abhomination vnto me I cannot suffer your new Moones nor Sabboths nor solemne dayes it is iniquitie nor solemne assemblies My soule hateth your â—bid 66. 3. new Moones and your appointed feasts c. He that killeth a bullocke is as if he slew a man hee that sacrificeth a sheepe as if he cut off a dogges necke c. These sayings shew that euen the sacrifices commanded in the law of God were wicked abhominable wheÌ„ they were offered of wicked and prophane persons voyd of true faith and repentance So it is in the Prophet Haggai Thus saith the Lord of Hostes Aske now the Priestes concerning the law If one Hagg. 2. 12. beare holy flesh in the skirt of his garment and with his skirt doe touch the bread or the pottage or the wine or ale or any meate shall it bee holy And the Priestes answered and sayd no. Then sayd Haggai if a polluted person touch any of these thinges shall it bee vncleane And the Priestes answered and sayd it shall bee vncleane Then answered Haggai and said so is this people and so is this nation before me saith the Lord. and so are all the workes of their handes and that which they offer here is vncleane Agreeable to this is that which Tit. 1. 15. Saint Paul saith vnto the pure are all things pure but vnto them that are defiled and vnbeleeuing is nothing pure but euen their mindes and consciences are defiled Christ our Math. 7. 16. 12. 33. Sauiour saith Doe men gather grapes of thornes or figges of thistles and a corrupt tree bringeth forth euill fruit Whatsoeuer is not of faith is sinne and without faith it is impossible Rom. 14. 23. Heb. 11 6. to please God Hereof we conclude that euen those workes which God hath commaunded and commended to vs in his word beeing done by the vngodly and reprobate be so corrupted by their infidelitie and wickednes that they bee not acceptable but rather abhominable before God So saith saint Augustine Sine qua fide quae videntur August lib. 3 ad Bonnifac cap. 5. Ambros de vo cat gentium lib. 1. cap. page 6. bona opera in peccata vertuntur without faith those workes which seeme to bee good are turned into sinne Saint Ambrose saith Sine cultu veri dei etiam quod virtus videtur esse peccatum est nec placere vllus deo sine deo potest without the worshippe of the true GOD euen that which seemeth to be virtue is sinne neither can any please God without God Anselme saith Omnis vita infidelium Anselme in Rom cap. 14. peccatum est nihil bonum sine summo bono i. The whole life of the vnfaithfull is sinne and there is nothing good without the chiefest good which is God By this the Christian reader may sufficiently see how false the doctrine of the Papists and namely of our fine and delicate Iesuites who teach as their proctor Andradius one of that coate blusheth not to auouch that all actions of those Explicat orthodox lib. 3. pag. 277. pag. 279. â—ulla culpa coâ—aminata pag. â—80 which bee vâ—yde of the true knowledge of GOD bee not sinne yea that they may doe workes defiled with no fault but worthy of great praise and that we are not to thinke that all the workes of them which be voyd of faith do so displease God that they bee crimes worthy eternall punishments Let the Godly reader compare these sayings of this Iebusite with those alleadged before out of the Scriptures and ancient Fathers and discerne which is more sound and agreeable not to the blind reason of man but to the wil of God reueiled in his word Secondly concerning the workes of the regenerate that belong to Gods election and mercy we say that although they bee done with imperfection and not so fully with their whole soule heart and minde as they should be but carry the touch of mans corruption and are not able to abide the strict and streight iudgement of God yet because they proceed from hearts purified by Act â—5 faith sanctified in some measure with Gods holy spirit they please God and the imperfections of them being pardoned in Iesus Christ they be accepted for pure and holy Math. 7. 16. 1â— 33. Pro. 15. 8. 1. Pet. 2. 5. Heb. 13. 16. Christ saith A good tree bringeth forth good fruite to the pure are all things pure The prayer of the righteous is acceptable to God The faitifull be an holy Priesthoode to offer vp spirituall sacrrfices acceptable to God by Iesus Christ To doe good and to distribute forget not for with such sacrifices God is pleased This therfore is a falsely which this man with a brasen brow affirmeth that fasting praying and almes deedes according to our religion be deadly sinnes These workes be commanded of GOD who commaundeth no sinnes We say that the corruption of our nature which is but in part and imperfectly regenerate in this life doth creepe into them and therefore they be not so purely perfectly done of vs as God requireth whereby we acknowledge that euen the best workes we doe had neede of Gods mercy So Saint Augustine saith Vae etiam laudabili vitae hominum siremota misericordia discutias eam Wo bee August confes lib. â— cap. 13. to the laudable life of man if thou O God examine it with out mercy Now what reasonable man will reason or imagine vs to reason thus that because we doe good workes not so purely and perfectly as Gods righteousnesse requireth and deserueth that therefore good workes as prayer almes deeds c. be deadly sinnes or are to be auoided of vs. But let vs come to examine the proofe of your Minor or second proposition You say that according to our religion and common exposition of this text of Scripture wee are maâ—e all as vncleane and all our iustices are like a stained Isaia 64. 6. cloth the best workes wee can
veritâ—e that is both bee subiect to semblable incertaintie These errors I say they know not and consequentlie cannot discerne a true translation from a false and therefore must needes relie their faith vpon the sillie ministers faithlesse fidelitie which conuinceth they haue no faith at all Answere IDeny the Minor or second proposition of this Syllogisme and say that wee relie not our faith vpon the Ministers credit and sidelitie but vpon the worde of GOD translated the which wee know to bee true and holie not so much for that it is by publike authoritie and generall assent of men allowed as for that it containeth most holie doctrine agreeable to true faith and Godlie life whereby any that readeth or heareth it may behold the Maiestie of Gods spirit appearing in it As for example I beleeue these sayings to be true That Iesus Christ came into this world to saue sinners that hee is the Lambe 1. Tim. 1. Iob. 1. Tit. 2. 11. of GOD which taketh away the sinnes of the world that the grace of GOD which offereth saluation to all men hath appeared and treacheth vs that wee denie vngodlinesse and worldlie lust and liue soberlie righteously and Godlie in this present world c. not for that this or that man hath translated them but because the spirit of God doth beare witnesse vnto my heart that most holie pure and diuine doctrine is contained in them And therefore to say that those which vnderstand not the Hebrew and Greeke tongues because they vse the word of God translated to them into other languages do rely their faith vpon the Ministers credit and fidelitie and haue no faith is most foolish and absurd And let the Christian reader marke and confider how this sottish reason tendeth to the discrediting not onely of vs but also of the most part of all Godly and faithfull Christians in all ages yea and to the most of the Godly Doctors Fathers of the Church who were almost al ignorant of the Hebrew tongue and some of the Greeke also The holy scriptures were translated into many tongues in the which the people of God did reade and heare them As Theodoretus writeth Hebraici vero libri non modò in Graecum idioma conuersi sunt sed in Romanam quoque Theodor. de cu. vatione Graecarum affectionum lib 5. linguam Aegyptiacam Persicam Indicam Armenicamque Scythicam adeoque Sauromaticam semelque vt dicam in linguas omnes quibus ad hanc diem nationes vtantur that is The Hebrew bookes bee translated not onely into the Greeke tongue but also into the Romaine Egyptian Persian Indian Armenian and Scythian and also the Sclauonian tongues to say at a word into all languages which the nations vse vnto this day Did the ancient faithfull Christians which read and heard the holy scriptures in these sundrie languages rely their faith vpon men that did translate them or vpon the diuine doctrine and pretious promises of God contained in them And let this cauiller shew sufficient reason why were are not either to be acquited with them or they condemned with vs. They could no more iudge of the truth of the translations then our people can yet they did to their great comfort and Godly instruction and edification reade and heare the holy scriptures grounding their faith not vpon the translators who might bee and sometimes were euill men but vpon the sound holy and heauenly doctrien therein contained Saint Hierome exhorted ladies and gentlewomen Hieron ad Gaudentium de pacatulae Inâ—â—tulae educat ad letam de institut filiae not onely to reade the scriptures themselues but also to bring vp their young daughters when they were but seuen yeares old in that holy exercise They were not able to iudge of the translations otherwaies then to discerne and perceiue that the doctrine by them deliuered was pure and holy agreeable to true faith and Godly life And euen so they that bee Godly in these daies although they hauing not the knowledge of the Hebrew and Greeke tongues cannot iudge so exactly of translations and of the truth of them as those that vnderstand them can yet they may discerne whether the translations deliuer sound and holy doctrine consonant to true faith good manners and the generall heads and principles of Christianitie or not I neede not heere aske vpon what or whome your 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Catholikes doe rely their faith when they reade either the old vulgar Latine translation of the Remish English seeing they can no more nor better iudge of these translations whether they bee true or false then wee I do not I say aske wheron they rely their faith for it seemeth that they build not their faith so much vpon Extrauagant Ioh. 22. cum inter in glossa dist 96. satis euidenter the written word of God in the scriptures as vpon vnwritten traditions of men customes of fathers decrees of councels and especially vpon the will and pleasure of their great GOD as his owne friends call him the Pope of Rome Whose will is the rule of their faith and life If he giue a dispensation for a man to mary his owne sister as Antoninus Sum. part 3. titu 1. cap. 11. 55. quod papa summa Angelica in Papa fol. â—32 Pope Martin the fift did it is lawfull if he giue a dispensation for one to marry his sisters daughter which is as vnlawfull as the other as a late Pope gaue to the late King Philip of Spaine it is lawfull But yet if any of these counted Catholikes will pretend to build their faith vpon the Scriptures and being ignorant of the Hebrew and Greeke tongues readeth either the vulgar Latine or English Remish translation of the new Testament I would aske how he doth know whether these translations bee true or false or whether hee will say that his faith dependeth vpon the credit and fidelitie of the translator or no But I know Counc TrideÌ„t Sessi decretum 2. what they will answere that the Latine vulgar translation is allowed by the Church that is to say by the councell of Trident which representeth the Church which hath decreed the same to bee taken for authenticall in readings disputations sermons or expositions and that no man bee bold or presume vpon any pretence to reiect or refuse it Wherevnto first I say that as this decree doth allow the Latine so it doth not approue the English Now how shall an English Catholike that vnderstandeth not the Latine know whether the same bee truely translated out of the Latine or no or shall his faith here rely vpon the credit and fidelitie of the translator I would know what difference there is betweene such a one reading or hearing that translation and one of vs reading or hearing ours And why the faith of the one doth more depend on the credit and fidelity of the translator then the other Surely this difference there is that our translations
infidelity But S. Paul doth exhort vs to doubt of our saluatioÌ„ which we are bound to beleeue by faith according to the Protestants religion ergo S. Paul exhorteth vs to infidelity The Maior is plaine for to doubt of matters in faith is manifest infidelity because whosoeuer doubteth whether God hath reuealed that which indeed be hath reuealed being sufficiently proposed as reuealed vertually doubteth whether God saith truth or lieth The Minor is proued by the testimonie of S. Paul Cum timore tremore salutem vestram operamini with feare and trembling worke your saluation All feare whether it be filiall feare or seruile feare inculdeth doubt the one of sinne the other of punishment Answere AS it is false that wee neither know what wee beleeue nor why wee beleeue as hath beene before sufficientlie shewed so is it no lesse false which is here boldlie affirmed but faintly prooued That wee haue no meanes in our Church to settle vs in vnitie of beleefe to determine controuersies and to abolish Heresies Wee haue the word of GOD which we acknowledge to be the onely touchstone of truth concerning religion and saluation We haue learned and Godly Bishops and Pastors to teach the truth of Gods word to confute both by preaching and writing errors and heresies And we haue Synodes although not generall yet prouinciall wherein controuersies may be decided and Heresies condemned as heretofore the truth hath beene maintained and Heresies confuted and confounded in some prouinciall Councels as that called Gangrense and some other Africane Councels as wel as they haue beene in some generall I would faine know of you what other and better meanes the Church of God had for the space of three hundred yeeres after Christs incarnation then these to determine controuersies and abolish Heresies Generall Councels they had not before Constantines time which Pigh 6. de eccle Hierarch cap. â— Bellarm. tom 1 contro 4. lib. 2 cap. 13. Aeâ—cas Siluius epist 28. pag. 802. therefore your fellow Papist Pighius counteth to haue beene an inuention of his but your great Rabbin Rob. Bellarmine therein controlleth him and saith it is false So well these men bee setled in vnitie of beleefe And to your great Maister of Rome whom you now would make the Oracle of the world there was before that time but small respect and regard had as your own Pope Pius 2. in these words confesseth Ante Concilium Nicenum sibi quisque viuebat ad Romanam Ecclesiam paruus habebatur respectus i. Before the Councel of Nice euery one liued to himselfe and there was small regard had to the Church of Rome Shew vs therefore what meanes the Churches of God then had for maintenance of vnity of faith which we want You say that Christ willed vs to heare his Church if we Matth. 18. 17. Bellar. contro 1. lib. 3. cap. 5 would not be accounted for Ethnicks and Publicanes The which place your said Rob. Bellarmine Reader full wisely alleageth to proue the Pope and his Councel to be the supreme Iudge of controuersies As though our Sauiour Christ there spake of deciding of controuersies in doctrine or of expounding the Scriptures or by the Church meant the Pope and his councell and that euery man against whom his brother trespasseth must goe to the Pope and his councell to make his complaint These bee vanities and follies which nullo impellente ruunt and neede no confutation You further alleage out of Ioh. 14. 17. that Christ promised vnto the church the assistance of the holy Ghost where by the church you meane the Pope and his councell as your Maister Bellarmine hath taught you who writeth thus Sed hic in genere dicimus iudiceÌ„ veri sensus Idem ibid. ca. â— Scripturae omnium controuersiarum esse ecclesiam id est Pontificem cum concilio in quo omnes Catholici conueniunt Wee generally say that the church is the iudge of the true sense of the Scripture and of all controuersies that is to say The Pope with the councell wherein all Catholikes doe assemble or rather dissemble together But our Sauiour Christ made this promise to his disciples saying I will pray the Father and hee shall giue you another Ioh 14 16 17 comforter that hee may abide with you for euer euen the spirit of truth whome the world cannot receiue because it seeth him not neither knoweth him but ye know him for he dwelleth with you and shall be in you This promise pertaineth not to all the successors of the Apostles but to all them that truly feare God and beleeue and obey the holy doctrine which Christ deliuered to his Disciples and which they preached the which when you shall soundly proue that your Popes councels do then we will grant that this promise of Christ belongeth to them In the meane time wee will follow Chrysostomes good counsell Si videris aliquem Euangelica Chrysost Hom. dâ— Sâ—ncâ—o adorando spiritu repetentem profecto spiritum sanctum habet Veniet enim spiritus sanctus vt recordari vos faciat eorum quae docui Si quis igitur eorum qui dicuntur habere spiritum sanctum dicat aliquid à seipso non ex Euangelijs non credité meam doctrinam sequimini If thou see any man speaking out of the Gospell surely he hath the holy Ghost For the holy Ghost shal come to put you in remembrance of those things which I haue taught you If therefore any of them which are said to haue the holy Ghost doe speake any thing of himselfe not out of the Gospell beleeue him not but follow my doctrine Whereas you say that you beleeue certainely that the church cannot erre that the generall councels cannot deliuer false doctrine c. I answere that you foolishly begge that which is in question For as wee acknowledge councels assembled of Godlie learned and modest men which simply seeke the glorie of God and the profit of his Church are good meanes to suppresse errors and heresies and to abolish abuses and enormities so to affirme that generall Councells cannot erre or deliuer false doctrine is most false absurd as by many both reasons and examples might bee proued But for shortnes sake I will touch but a few examples The councell of foure hundred Priests of Israel erred and Satan was a false spirit in the â—outh of them all to the 1. King 22. 6. 8 22. Matth 26. 3. 65. 66. Act. 4. 5. 18. destruction of Achab that cursed king of Israel The councell of the Priests of Iuda erred in coÌ„demning Iesus Christ to death The councell of the high Priest and other Priests Rulers Elders and Scribes erred in forbidding Christs disciples to speake or teach in the name of Iesus The councel of Neocaesarea erred in iudging hardly falsly of second marriages which Gods word alloweth Rom Concil Neoca sar Can. 7. 7. 3. 1. Cor. 7. 39. the words of the councell be these
which cannot bee moued but remaineth for euer Being iustified by faith wee haue Psal 125. 1. Rom. 5. 1. 2. peace towards God through our Lord Iesus Christ by whom al so through faith we haue had this accesse vnto his grace wherin we stand and reioyce vnder the hope of the glory of God Ye haue not receiued the spirit of bondage to feare againe but ye haue receaued the spirit of adoption whereby we cry Abba Father Rom 8. 15. The same spirit beareth witnes with our spirit that we are the children of God Who shall lay any thing to the charge of Ibid. vers 33. Gods chosâ—â— it is Christ that iustifieth Who shall condemne c. Who shall seperate vs from the loue of Christ shall tribulation vers 35. or anguish or persecutioÌ„ or famine or nakednes or perill or sword c. I am perswaded that neither death nor life nor Vers 38. Angels nor principalities nor powers nor things present nor things to come neither height nor depth nor any other creature shall be able to seperate vs from the loue of GOD which is in Christ Iesus our Lord. It is God which stablisheth vs with you 2. Cor. 1. 21. in Christ and hath anointed vs who hath also sealed vs and hath giuen the earnest of the spirit in our hearts In whome also ye haue trusted after that he heard the word of truth euen the Ephes 1. 13. Gospel of your saluation wherein also after ye beleeued ye were sealed with the holy spirit of promise which is the earnest of our inheritance c. Let vs therefore goe with confidence or boldnes Heb. 4. 16. vnto the throne of grace that wee may receaue mercy and finde grace to helpe in time of neede So God willing more abundantly Chap. 6. 17. to shew vnto the heires of promise the stablenes of his counsel bound himself by an oth that by two immutable things wherin it is impossible that God should lie we might haue strong consolation which haue our refuge to lay hold vpon that hope that is set before vs which hope we haue as an ancre of the soul both sure and stedâ—ast and it entreth into that which is within the vaile c. Let vs draw neere with a true hart in assuraÌ„ce of faith our hearts being pure from an euil conscience and washed Chap. 10 22. in our bodies with pure water let vs keepe the profession of our hope without wauering for he is faithful that promised Therfore by faith that by grace the promise might be sure to all the seed And he not weâ—ke in the faith considered not his owne Rom. 4. 16. Vers 19. body which was now dead being almost an hundred yeares old neither the deadnes of Saraâ—s wombe neither did he doubt of the promise of God through vnbeleefe but was strengthened in the faith and gaue glory to God being fully assured that hee which had promised was able to doe it and therefore it was imputed to him for righteousnes Herevnto I will adde to the confuting of this doctrine of doubting two or three sayings of the Fathers Chrysostome Chrisost ad Rom. Homi. 9. saith Spes humana subinde intercidit sperantem pudore afficit Nostra verò eiusmodi non est sed firma immobilis perdurat c. The hope that is had in man sundrie times falleth away and shameth him that hopeth but our hope is not such but abideth firme and vnmoueable August praefat in Psal 123. Augustine saith Gaudium ergo nostrum fratres nondum est in re sed iam in spe Spes autem nostra tam certa est quasi iam res perfecta sit i Our ioy O brethren is not as yet in possession but in hope And our hope is so certaine as though Bernard lib. 5. de considera the thing were already done Bernard saith Ergo vt dixi fides ambiguum non habet aut si habet fides non est sed opinio Faith hath no doubting or if it haue it is not faith but an opinion Againe Non est enim fides aestimatio sed certitudo Epist 190. Anton. hist part 2. Tit. 17. cap 1 Sec. 5. fol. 217. faith is not an opinion but a certainty And Antoninus out of the same Bernard alleageth these words Clamat Apostolus Scio cui credidi et certus sum Et tu mihi sub sibilas fides est â—stimatio Tu mihi ambiguum garris quo nihil est certius c. The Apostle crieth out saying I know whom I haue beleeued and am certaine and doest thou whisper to me that faith is an opinion Poest thou bable and tell me that that is doubtful then the which there is nothing more certaine c. Hereby the indifferent reader may see both how false this desperate doctrine of doubting is against the which Ambrosius Catherinus an Archbishop a great doer in the councel of Trent did earnestly writ also that the Papists by this principle of their doctrine teach infidelity And withal let him consider whether is a more true godly comfortable doctrine to beleeue by faith our saluatioÌ„ or to be vncertaine to doubt therof as they teach But now let vs see how S. Paul exhorteth vs as this man saith to doubt of our saluation He saith Cum timore â—remore salutem vestram operamini which is thus translated With feare and trembling worke your saluation This text was alleedged by hearesay and not by sight For this worthy writer who so highly thinketh of himselfe and so greatly disdaineth others quoteth in the margent 1. Cor. 2 whereas it is not in that chapter nor in all that Epistle but it is Philip. 2. 12. But the fault hereof will be laid vpon the Printer Yet that the Printer should so much erre and set 1. Cor. 2. for Phillip 2. it is not likely And that this error is not of the Printer but of this mans fine memorie it may hereby appeare yâ— it is not in the vulgar editioÌ„ which they both do and are bound to follow cum timore but cum metu Hereby the reader may see with what care these men alleage the Scriptures not looking vpon the words nor considering the simple sense and meaning but snatching at the words and wresting them contrary to the purpose and meaning of the Apostle Whose intent is not to teach Rom 3. 28. 4 2. 5. Gal. 2. 16. Ephe. 2. 8. 9. 2. Tim. 1 9. Tit. 3. 4. the Phillippians that they be saued by their workes which is contrary to his doctrine in many other places but to disswade them from carelesse security and to exhort them to walke in good workes and to run on the race of their life in the feare of God vntil they come to attaine that saluation which God hath promised and Iesus Christ for vs hath purchased Saint Paul to the Ephesians doth as it were to the explication of
neither can he know them because they are spiritually Cap 4. 7. discerned What hast thou that thou hast not receiued No man can say that Iesus is the Lord but by the holy Ghost By Cap 12. 3. Cap 15. 10. the grace of God I am that I am Not that we are sufficient of our selues to think any thing as of our selues but our sufficiâ—ncie â— Cor 3 5. Philip 2. 13. Hebr. 13. 21. is of God It is God that worketh in you both the wil the deed euen of his good will and pleasure The God of peace make you perfect in all good works to do his wil working in you that which is pleasant in his sight through Iesus Christ our Lord. Whosoeuer committeth sinne is the seruant of sinne Joh 8. 34. 36 If the Sonne shall make you free ye shall bee free indeede By these sayings let the Christian reader coÌ„sider of what value and force our wit and will is in heauenly matters vntil the one belightned the other reformed by Gods grace and spirit Herevnto I will adde a few places of the auncient Fathers Saint Augustine saith Quid bâ—ni operari potest perditus nisi quantum fuerit perditione liberatus Nunquid August Enchir ad Lani cap 30. libero voluntatis â—â—â—itrio hoc absit nam libero arbitrio male vtâ—ns homo se perdidit ipsum Sicut enim qui se occidit c. What good can hee that is lost doe but in as much as he is deliuered from perdition Can he bee restored by his free will God forbid For man vsing ill his â—ree will lost both himselfe and it also For as one killing himselfe doth kill himselfe whilest hee liueth but hauing killed himselfe doth not liue nor can raise and restore himselfe beeing dead so when a man sinned by his free will sinne hauing gotten victory his free wil was lost De Natura gratia cap. 53. Againe Quid tantum de naturae possibilitate praesumis vulnerata sauciata vexata perdita est vera confessione non falsa defensione opus habet Gratia ergo dei non qua instituatur sed qua restituatur quaeratur What dost thou presume so much of the power of nature it is wounded maymed vexed and lost it hath need of a true confession not of a false defence Therefore the grace of God not whereby the will is ordained but whereby it is restored is to bee sought Many such other sayings he hath in his workes against the Pelagans which I omit But this man saith that man may dispose and prepare his soule to receiue Gods grace and this he proueth not by Scripture but I will not say Assedly by the similitude of a sicke Asse that cannot dispose nor prepare him-selfe to seeke for his medicine By this diuinity men preuent Gods grace and it doth not preuent them men first seeke God and not God them For answere wherof I would aske this man whether it be not with all the of spring of Adam as it was with Aâ—am him-selfe after his fall Now whether did Gene. 3. Adam seeke God first or God him the Scripture saith that GOD called vpon Adam and that he was so farre from seeking God that he and his wife hid themselues from the presence of the Lord God So that if God in mercy had not sought them and called vpon them it seemeth that they had neuer sought nor called vpon God And euen so it is with all his posterity as our Sauiour sheweth by the lost sheepe whome the Shepheard seeketh and bringeth Luk. 15. 4. home the sheepe nothing disposing or preparing it selfe to seeke to the Shepheard or to returne to the fould So God saith I was found of them that sought me not Did Peter repent vntill Christ had looked on him and the Cocke had Isai 65. 1. crowed What disposition and preparation was in Paul to seeke the grace of Christ Therfore I may truely say that as Lazarus prepared himself being dead in graue to be raised vp by Iesus Christ so do men dead in sinne dispose and prepare themselues to receaue the medicine of Gods grace Ephes 2. 4. S. Paul saith God which is rich in mercy through his great loue wherewith he loued vs euen when we were dead by sinnes hath quickned vs together in Christ by whose grace ye are saued To this doctrine the auncient Fathers beate witnes Saint Augustine saith Vt totum Deo detur qui hominis voluntatem August â—nchir ad Laurent cap. 32. bonam praeparat adiuuandam adiuuat praeparatam All is to be giuen to GOD who both prepareth the good will of man to bee helped and helpeth it being prepared Againe Nolentem praeuenit vt velit volentem subsequitur Idem ibidem ne frustra velit GOD preuenteth him that is not willing that hee may bee willing and hee followeth him that is willing that he may not will in vaine Now if this our doctrine concerning the will of man be the truth of God confirmed both by the word of God and by the testimonies of the most learned Fathers then without blasphemy it cannot bee said to tend vnto loosenes of life or carnall liberty it teacheth vs both true humility in acknowledging our own misery and wants and to attribute all to Gods grace and mercy and to attribute all to Gods grace and mercy and to arrogate nothing to our selues and doth it tend to carnall liberty and careles security Wee are both to exhort others and also to stirre vp our selues to feare and serue God in holines of life And yet we must acknowledg that God worketh those things in vs whereto he exhorteth vs. And therefore the same spirit that saith Turne vnto mee with all your hearts saith also Joel 2. Lament 3. Ezch. 28. 13. Ezech. 11. 19. Turne vs O Lord and we shall be turned He that saith Make you a new heart and a new spirit for why will ye dye O house of Israel saith also I will put a new spirit within their bowels and I will take the stony heart out of their bodies and wil giue theÌ„ an heart of flesh And againe create in me a cleane Psalm 51. 20. heart O Lord and renew a right spirit within me The same Isai 1. 16. Psalm 51. 7. Ezech. 36. 25. spirit that saith Wash you cleane saith also Purge mee with Hyssope and I shall be cleane Wash me and I shall bee whiter then Snow And againe I will power cleane water vpon you and a new spirt will I put within you and ye shall be cleane yea from all your filthines and from all your Idols will I cleanse you The same spirit that saith Be ye holy for I am holy saith 1. Thess 5. 23. also the God of peace make you holy And so we must come August confe lib. 10. cap. 29. to that saying of Saint Augustine Da quod iubes iube quod vis Giue
good end which God intended and yet haue solde denied and crucified Christ conforming their intentions to his they being instruments and he the first meouer Againe it cannot be said but that God indirectly and most effectually intended their sinnes for he that intendeth any effect wherewith another effect is necessarily conioyned consequently intendeth it as for example He that intendeth to burne a ship in the midst of the sea intendeth consequently the death of all the men which be in her In like manner if God intended that Iudas should sell Christ vnto which action sinne was necessarily adioyned consequently God intended the sinne as well as the selling The Minor is too too euident For the Protestants deride Gods permission they say that all his actions are energeticall or effectuall they desperately auerre that Pauls conuersion and Dauids aduoutrie were in like manner the workes of God And as he elected some to glorie before the preuision of workes so he reiected some from glorie before the preuision of sins Here hence I infer that according to the Protestants principles God is most properly the author of sinne because he impelleth most effectually thereunto Next that he is the only author of sinne for that he inforceth men vpon necessitie to sinne and they as instruments follow the motion of their first cause Againe that man sinneth not for where there is necessitie of sinning there is no sinne for sinne is free or no sinne besides how can man sinne in conforming his will with Gods will Finally God is worse then the diuell for that the wickednes of the diuell principally consisteth in moouing perswading and iuducing of men to sinne the which by the Protestants confession God perfâ—rmeth more effectually then the diuell because the motions of God are more forcible and lâ—sse resistable then the illusions or suggestions of the diuell Many sinnes moreouer are acted without the temptations of the diuell some of ignorance some of passion but none without the motions of God so that God is worse then the diuell both in causing a greater multitude of sinnes then â—â— diuell and in the forcible manner of causing sinnes which the diuell cannot attaine vnto The which doctrine is as good a ground for Atheisme as euer hell could deuise for were it not much more reasonable to say there were no God at all then to beleeue there were such a God as commaundeth perswadeth vrgeth impelleth men to sinne and yet for the same sinnes will torment them with the inexplicable paines of hell Answere THis man sheweth himselfe to be like to the vnrighteous Luk. 18. 2. Apocal. 12. 10. Iohn 8. 4â— Iudge who neither feared God nor reuerenced man or rather like him that is a slanderer of Gods Saints and a lyar and the father of liâ—s For the Minor or assumption of this syllogisme that all Protestants say that God commaundeth perswadeth vrgeth and impelleth men to sinne is as true as that is that Catholikes in England be wrapped in Beares skinnes and cast vnto dogges to be deuoured which was published in Rome by a printed booke and set out in tables confirmed with Pope Gregorie In a booke intituled Eccles Anglicane Trâ—phea printed in Rome 1584. the 13. priuiledge The which as all men know to be a false malitious slander to discredit our gracious Queenes mercifull and good gouernment so is this also to defame the teachers of Gods truth For if this man or any of his partners can proue that either all Protestants or any learned Protestant doth say that God commaundeth perswadeth vrgeth and impelleth to sinne then will I yeeld vnto him not onely in this but in all other matters of religion If this cannot be shewed as most certainely it cannot what a shamelesse man is this to vtter such a grosse and palpable lye as euen a blind man may as it were feele it with his fingers and in what miserable estate be those simple ignorant soules which credit such lying spirits But this is the iust iudgement of God against them that receiue not the loue of the truth that 2 Thes 2. 10. they might be saued to send them strong delusion that they should beleeue lies As touching the matter wee beleeue with our hearts and confesse with our mouthes that God tempteth no man to euill and sinne but euery man is tempted Iames 1. 13. when he is drawne away by his owne concupiscence and is intised and that euery good gift and euery perfect gift is from â—boue and commeth downe from the Father of lights with whom is no variablenesse neither shadow of turning Whereby Saint Iames meaneth that God is in such sort good and so the giuer and author of good things that there is no change or alteration with him and therefore is the giuer of all good gifts and graces and neuer of any euill And we say with the Prophet Dauid Thou art not a God that loueth or willeth wickednes neither shall euill dwell with Psalm 5. 8. thee And with Saint Iohn God is light and in him is no 1. Iohn 1. 5. darknes And as there is no darknes that is to say ignorance wickednes in God so is he not the author thereof neither doth hee commaund perswade vrge or impell vnto it Fulgentius saith Inâ—quitas igitur quia in Deo Lib. 1. ad Monimum non est vâ—ique ex Deo non est Because iniquitie is not in God therefore it is not of God These blasphemies wee denie and defie neither doe Caluine or Beza in the places Beza Aphoris 1. by him quoâ—ed or any where else affirme them What is it then that they say They â—ay that there is nothing done by any neither vniuersally nor particularly but by the ordinance of God no not those things excepted which be euill and to be detested not in as much as they be ordained of God who is alwaies good and iust but in as much as they be done by the diuell and other wicked instruments So that wee say that the power and 2. Cor. 4. 6. prouidence of God who maketh the light to shine out of darknesse doth so cooperate and worke with the euill actions of wicked men and doth so direct them to the execution of his holy ordinance and iust iudgements that the same as they be done and directed by God be pure and holy and as they be committed of man be wicked and abominable Iosephs brethren did wickedly and of malice sell him into Aegypt for a slaue yet Ioseph saith God sent me before you to preserue your posteritie in this land Gon. 45. 7. and to saue you by a great deliuerance Now then you sent not me hither but God who hath made me a father vnto Pharaoh And againe When ye thought euill against me God disposed it Chap. 50. 20. to goâ—d Here God did neither commaund perswade nor impell Iosephs brethren to sell and send him into Aegypt yet his omnipotent hand was in that action to
vniuersitatis rector Dominus tu necesse est facias quod sine te fieri non potest i. Shall I say that any thing is done without thee O Lord God and that the wicked can doâ— so much thou being vnwilling To thinke this is blasphemous Seeing therefore thou art the ruler and Lord of the vvorlde thou must needes doe that which cannot be done without thee Wee say indeede that Gods works be energeticall and effectuall not onely in the faithfull but also in the wicked and reprobate whose a Exod. 4. 21. Rom 9 18. hearts hee hardeneth b Ioh. 12 40. and eyes blindeth c Rom 1. 28. whom he giueth vp to a reprobate minde d 2. Thess 2. 11. and to whom hee sendeth a strong delusion to beleeue lies These be Gods iust iudgements whereby hee punisheth the wicked who yet are not impelled or coacted of God to these sinnes but willingly harden their owne hearts by the deceit of sinne shut their eyes that they may not see Rom. 6. â—9 giue vp their members seruants to vncleannesse and iniquitie and delight in delusions and in beleeuing lies as Papists now doe Wee doe not desperately auerre but you do falsly and impudently affirme that we teach that Pauls conuersion Dauids adulterie were in like manner the works of God This shamelesse saying you haue picked out of Campians reasons out of which you haue Ratione 8. like a goodly Rapsodist gleaned a great part of this lying Libel but you cannot shew it in the writing of any Protestant This is calumniari non ratiocinari to slander and not rightly to reason But you knowe your friends fauourers will beleeue you though it be neuer so false And you haue learned that lesson Audacter calumniare semper aliquid adhaeret We say that Pauls conuersion was a worke of Gods mercie agreeable to his will reuealed in his word Dauids sinne of adulterie was a worke which hee hateth and repugnant to his said will God wrought mightily in Paul by his holy spirit in conuerting his heart in drawing him out of darknesse and in making him of a persecuter a preacher of his Gospell and a minister of his mercie God did not so worke at that time in Dauid but left him to himselfe to be tempted drawne away and ouercome of his owne corrupt concupiscence yet wee say that God did draw good out of that sinne of Dauid in making him a paterne of true repentance and example of Gods mercie in forgiuing his sinnes thereby teaching vs to walke warily and flee carnall securitie For if so excellent a man that was according to Gods heart did so fouly and fearefully fall what may fall vnto vs if we walke not circumspectly and pray not feruently to God to vphold vs with his hand and to guide vs with his holy spirit Touching Gods preuision you write as though you neither did know what we teach nor regard what your selfe doe write Doe we teach that God elected some to glory before the preuision of workes and reiected some from glory before the preuision of sinnes You shal finde this false assertion in our bookes when you finde the former shamelesse slander We doe not teach that God elected any to glory before hee did foresee their workes For from euerlasting he to whom all things be present did foresee both the good workes of his elect and the wicked works of the reprobate But this we say that the foundation and cause of Gods election and reprobation is not his prescience and foreseeing of the good workes of the one and the wicked workes of the other but his owne purpose will and pleasure and that good workes be not causes of Gods election but fruits and effects of it Saint Paul saith Before the children were borne and when Rom. 9. 11. they had neither done good nor euill that the purpose of God might remaine according to election not by workes but by him that calleth It was said to her The elder shall serue the younger As it is written I haue loued Iacob and haue hated Esau Againe As he hath chosen vs in Christ before the foundation Ephes 1. 4. of the world that we should be holie and without blame before him in loue Who hath predestinate vs to be adopted through 5. Iesus Christ in himselfe according to the good pleasure of his 11. will in whom also we are chosen when we were predestinate according to the purpose of him which worketh all things after the counsell of his owne will Againe God hath saued vs and called vs with an holy calling not according to our workes but according 2. Timoth. 1. 9. to his owne purpose and grace which was giuen to vs through Christ Iesus before the vvorld was Where we may see that the foundation and cause of Gods election is his owne will pleasure and purpose and not the foreseeing of our workes Saint Augustine saith Quod si futuros eorum August lib. de Praedestina gratia cap. 7. mores dicitur diuinum discreuisse iudicium profectò illud euacâ—abitur quod praemisit Apostolus dicens c. i. But if it be said that the iudgement of God did discerne the manners of Esau and Iacob vvhich afterward vvould be then surely that vvhich the Apostle saide before shall bee made frustrate and in vaine Not of vvorkes but by him that calleth it vvas saide The elder shall serue the younger For hee saith not by the vvorkes past but hauing said generally Not by vvorkes hee vvould thereby haue vnderstood vvorkes both past and to come vvorkes past vvhich vvere none to come vvhich as yet vvere not Iacob vvas predestinate a vessell vnto honour because not by vvorks but by him that calleth it vvas said The elder shall serue the younger Againe Nam quid est August lib. 1. de prâ—destin Sanctâ— cap. 17. quod ait Apostolus sicut elegit nos in ipso c. i. For what is that which the Apostle saith As hee hath chosen vs in him before the foundation of the vvorld The vvhich if it be therefore said because God did foresee that they vvould afterward beleeue and not that he vvould make them to beleeue against this foreseeing the Sonne speaketh saying You haue not chosen me but I haue chosen you A little after he saith Elegit ergo Deus fideles sed vt sint non quia iam erant i. God hath chosen the faithfull that they might be and not because they now vvere Againe Vt essemus sancti immaculati Non ergo quia futuri eramus sed vt essemus i. That vve might be Ibid. cap. 18. holy and vvithout blame therefore not because vve after should be but that vve might be Againe Quos elegit c. i. Whom August lib. 6. contra Iâ—lian cap. 8. he hath chosen before the foundation of the vvorld by the election of grace not of vvorkes either past or present or to come for
life did well deserue that commendation Moreouer where S. R. pag. 208. saith that Caluin Whitaker Perkins and I do say all good workes are sinne this is as true as is that lving sclaunder of Duraeus the Iesuite who shameth not to say that wee affirme all workes to bee nothing Duraeus contr VVhitakerum fol. 13. 14. els but inquinamenta et sordes et veram iniquitatem apud deum pollutions filthe very iniquity before God The which is most false for wee teach and beleeue that the workes of the faithfull and regenerate bee good and acceptable vnto God for although they bee so infected and stained with sinne which is in vs and hangeth on vs that they cannot of themselues abide Gods strict and seuere examination but had need of mercy yet in that they proceed from faithfull hearts and sanctified in some measure with Gods spirit and are couered with the robe of Christes righteousnesse they are accepted of God as pure and perfect as I haue in my answere to the second article concerning good life and piety before declared the which I desire the Christian reader to reade and examine and not ouer lightly to beleeue this Lying-sclanderer who thought it the wisest way not to set downe our sayings but to quote the places which he is well assured his affectionate fauorers will neuer examine nor reade what wee shall write in our defence so strongly haue they charmed them and by a strong delusion bewitched them And this shall suffice for answere to S. R. in that which concerneth me The rest Maister Bell hath answered but I know not whether it be printed IOB 6. 24. Teach me and I will hold my tongue and cause me to vnderstand wherein I haue erred ISAIA 41. 21. Stand to your cause saith the Lord bring forth your strong reasons saith the King of Iacob Faults escaped in the Printing p. is for page l. for line and r. for read P. 16. l. 10 r. reuealed p. 23. l 25. r. vp to the Church p. 32. l. 14. r. appoint vnto p. 45 l. 2. r. or the Remish p. 48. The addition in the first line beginning with these words VVhereas yousay c. is misplaced and should haue been inserted in the second line aboue after these words to discredit I must intreate thee gentle reader to pardon this ouer-sight p. 54. l. 5. r. mediation ibid. l. 13. r. eternall predestination p. 56. l. 7. r. to be God p. 56. l. 16. r absurdum p. 57. l. 33. r. repelleth p. 58. l. 18. for new r. true p. 59 l. 29. r. punished for and in the end of the next line put out for p. 61 l. 6 for mysticall r ministeriall ibid. l. 24. put out of p. 72. l. 12 for of r. for p. 73. l. 14. r. Deum p. 84. l. 23. r. affirme p. 84 l. 11. r. to be the lauer p. 87. l 7. r. of sinne p. 88. l. 16. r. of it selfe p. 96 l. 1 r. Crosse and l. 8. r that God doeth p. 105 l. 11. r. such as is p. 106. in the 19. 20. lines these words first second are misplaced p. 100. 25 r. in that ouer obstinately they did p. 1â— â—â—8 for that r. they â— 18. l. 7 r. 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 159. 19 for he r. ye p. 120 l. 26. for poest r. doest p. 127. l. 1. r. we are made ibid l. 25 for affect r. effect p. 129 l. 6. for ale r. oyle ibid. the last line r. Iesuites is who p. 133 l. 18 for boubt r. doubt p. 135 l. 17 r. I say ibid. l. 24 for giuen r. giuing p. 139 l. 6 r. keeping p. 141 l. 29 r. our vertues p. 144 l. 3 r. first they say ibid l 24 r or else few or none p 149 l 8 blot out these words and so attribute all to Gods grace and mercy for they be twise p. 152 l 12 r solam p 153. l 18 r merciful p 154 l 1. r 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p 159 l 6 r this sacred p 169 l 9 r tend vvhich some ibid. l 26 r tot indulgentiae p 175 l 30 r munnatis p 233 l 20 r his owne bloud p 240 l 31 r Region p 246 l 36 r superstition p 247 l 38 r for Q question p 248 l 3 put out first ibid l 20 put out Beside ibid l 38 r for that in Tertullians time the Bishop of Rome fauoured his haeresies as both Tertullian and Beatuâ— Rhenanus a papist do affirme p 254. l 28 r they do p 255 l 36 r for error author p 256 l 8 r Henry ibid l 13 r these p 259 l. 10 r parcite ibi dem l 25 r said p 262 I 16 r. combasâ—â— p. 263 l 36 r. race p 264 l 10 r fuit p 266 l 14 r Sacrae ibid l 15 Jani ibid l 24 r promsit ibid l 28 r censuâ— ibid. r partos p 267. l 3 r. verum ibid l 13 r quaeque ibid l 21 r aâ—teâ— ibid l 22 r. quam ibid l 30 for Mons r Mayne