having received the promises but having seen them afarre of and being perswaded and having saluted them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims upon earth for they who say such things declare that they seek a country And had they been mindfull of that which they were come out from they might have had time to turn back But now they desire a better that is an heavenly Whereupon God is not ashamed to be called their God For he had prepared them a City And againe 39 40. These all being witnessed by faith received not the promises God having provided some better thing for us that they might not be perfected without us Where it is plaine that they according to the Apostle expected the kingdom of heaven by virtue of that promise which is now manifested and tendered and made good by the Gospell whereof our Saviour saith John VIII 98. Your father Abraham leaped to see my day and saw it and rejoyced And againe Mat. XIII 17. Verily I say unto you that many Prophets and righteous men have desired to see the things ye see and have not seen them and to hear the things ye hear and have not hard them CHAP. IX Of the Faith and Justification of Abraham and the Patriarkes according to the Apostles Of the Prophets and righteous men under the Law Abraham and Rahab the harlot justified by workes if justified by Faith The promises of the Gospel depend upon works which the Gospell injoyneth The Tradition of the Church HAving thus shewed that the interest of Christianity and the grounds whereupon it is to be maintained against the Jewes require this answer to be returned to the objection it remaines that I shew how the apostles disputations upon this point do signify the same Of Abraham then and of the Patriarches thus we read Heb. XI 8 10. By faith Abraham obeyed the calling to go forth unto the place he was to receive for inheritance and went forth not knowing whither he went By faith he sojourned in the land of promise as none of his own dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob heirs with him of the same promise For he expected a City having foundations the architect and builder whereof is God Is it not manifest here that both parts of the comparison are wrapped up in the same words which cannot be unfolded but by saying That as Abraham in confidence of Gods promise to give his posterity the land of Canaan left his country to live a stranger in it So while he was so doing he lived a pilgrim in this world out of the faith that he had conceived out of Gods promises that he should thereby obtaine the world to come And is not this the profession of Christians which the Apostle in the words alledged even now declareth to be signified by the pilgrimages of the Patriarchs And is not this a just account why they cannot be said to have attained the promises by the law but by faith Therefore that which followeth immediately of Sarah must needs be understood to the same purpose By faith Sarah also her self received force to give seed and bare beside the time of her age because she thought him faithfull that had promised Therefore of one and him mortified were born as the stars of heaven for multitude and as the sand that is by the sea shore innumerable For S. Paul declareth Gal. III. 16. IV. 22 Rom. IX 7 8 9. that the seed promised Abraham in which all the nations of the earth shall be blessed is Christ and the Church of true Spirituall Israelites that should impart the promise of everlasting life to all nations And this promise you saw even now that Abraham and the Patriarchs expected Sarah therefore being imbarked in Abrahams pilgrimage as by the same faith with him she brought forth all Israel according to the flesh so must it needs be understood that she was accepted of God as righteous in consideration of that faith wherewith she traveled to the world to come Neither can it be imagined that S. Pauls dispute of the righteousnesse of Abraham by faith can be understood upon any other ground or to any other effect then this What then shall we say that Abraham our father got according to the flesh saith he Rom. IV. 1-5 For if Abraham was justified by works he hath whereof to glory but not towards God For what saith the Scripture Abraham believed God and it was imputed to him for righteousnesse But to him that worketh the reward is not reckoned according to grace but according to debt But to him that worketh not but believeth on him that justifieth the wicked his faith is imputed for righteousnesse The question what Abraham found according to the flesh can signifie nothing but what got he by the Law which is called the flesh in opposition to the Gospel included in it which is called the Spirit Did he come by his righteousnesse through the Law or not For had Abraham been justified by works that should need none of that grace which the Gospel tendreth for remission of sinnes well might he glory of his own righteousnesse and not otherwise For he that acknowledges to stand in need of pardon and grace cannot stand upon his own righteousnesse Now Abraham cannot so glory towards God because the Scripture saith that his faith was imputed to him for righteousnesse which signifies Gods grace in accepting of it to his account not his claime as of debt Whereupon the Apostle inferreth immediately the testimony of David writing under the Law in these words As David also pronounceth the man blessed to whom God imputeth righteousnesse without works Blessed are they whose iniquities are remitted and whose sinnes are covered Blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputeth not sinne What can be more manifest to shew that the Apostle intends no more then that the Fathers pretended not to be justified by those workes which claimed no benefit of that Grace which the Gospel publisheth Especially the consequence of Davids words being this Psal XXXII 2. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputeth not sinne and in whose spirit there is no guile For the Prophet David including the spirituall righteousnesse of the heart in the quality of him to whom the Lord imputeth righteousnesse without works the Apostle must be thought to include it in the Faith of him to whom the Lord imputeth it for righteousnesse Now when S. Paul observeth in Moses that Abraham believed God and it was imputed to him for righteousnesse Upon the promise of that posterity which he expected not Gen. XV. 6. It cannot be said that Abraham had not this faith afore Or that it was not imputed to him for righteousnesse till now Because the Apostle to the Hebrews hath said expresly that he had the same faith and to the like effect ever since he left his country to travail after Gods promises And certainly it was but an act of the same Faith to walk after the rest of those
the second Adam is the meanes of our righteousnesse and therefore by that likenesse of reason which S. Pauls discourse proceeds upon the first Adam the meanes of our sinne And to this purpose speaketh that which followeth For when the Apostle argueth that whereas sinne is not imputed when there is no Law notwithstanding death raigned upon all those that had not sinned as Adam did That is by transgressing such an expresse law of God as Adam did transgresse Observing that the Fathers who walked with God whom Adam offended tasted neverthelesse of that death which Adam incurred he inferreth to us that the effect of Adams sinne remaines in the whole kind of his posterity to which death the punishment thereof belongeth And I beseech you of whom speaketh S. Paul but of all mankind when he writeth thus Rom. VII 5-13 For when we were in the flesh the passions of sinne which were by the Law were exercised in our members to bear fruit unto death But now are we voided to the Law that being dead by which we were held that we may live in the new Spirit not in the old letter What shall we say then Is the Law sinfull God forbid Nay I had not known sinne but by the Law For I had not known concupiscence had not the Law said Thou shalt not covet But sinne taking advantage by the commandment wrought in me all concupiscence For without the Law sinne was dead Now I lived somtime without the Law But the commandment coming sinne revived and I died And that commandment which was for life to me was found to death For sinne taking advantage by the commandement deceived me and slew me by it So the Law is holy and the commandment holy and just and good Did then that which was good become death to me God forbid But sinne that it might appear sinne wrought me death by that which was good that sinne by the commandment might become sinfull above measure For though S. Pauls speech here be concerning a Jew in the person of one that of a Jew was become a Christian yet seeing the proposition of the Apostle bears that the Gentile is much more involved in that condemnation to which the Jew is liable that which belongs to every Jew that comes to Christianity will be true much more a fortiori of the Gentile all mankinde being then compleatly divided into Jew and Gentile And therefore let no man think that my present purpose shall ingage me before I can make use of this Scripture to decide the question now on foot among Divines whether S. Paul here speakes in the person of an unregenerate man or regenerate which notwithstanding in another place I may be ingaged to decide For the present it is enough for my turn that an unregenerate man admitting S. Paul cannot refuse his owne case to be that which S. Paul here sets forth to be this That being in the flesh the passions of sinne were exercised in his members and so forth For I know it is said that to be in the flesh is to be in the custome of sinne But what difference makes that in the case when all to whom the Gospel first comes are in the flesh excepting those who under the Law though not by the meer Law came to that state of Grace in which the Fathers stood And therefore it is to me of no consequence whatsoever the meaning of the Apostle may be when he describes those sinfull passions which he saith were exercised in their members to be those that were through the Law I see there are two opinions of his meaning when he saith afterwards That sinne getting advantage by the comandment without which it was dead but the man alive and when it came sinne revived and he died So that the Law which tendred life became to his death because sin by advantage of the Law slew him deceitfully wrought in him all concupiscence For one opinion saies That when an unregenerate man becomes convict that the Law of God takes hold of his inward inclinations which he findes to be evil the inbred corruption of nature not submitting thereto upon this meer conviction flies out into utter defiance of God and his Law in all disobedience to it whereby the concupiscence that is opposed may be satisfied The other saith That the Law of Moses in the outward and literall sence thereof requiring onely civil obedience answerable to that temporall happinesse which it tendereth It is no marvaile that Jewes being tied to the letter of the Law as their study and businesse should think the outward and civile observation thereof to be the utmost intent of it which we see to this day to be the error that detaines them from Christianity And therefore it is properly said according to this opinion that sinne taking this advantage by the Law slew me by deceit But to me this dispute is of no consequence Or rather both opinions are to be admitted in relation to the two severall senses of the Law which I have advanced For as to the literall sense of the Law which the Gentile could have nothing to do with it is manifest this might be For it is manifest that it is become a scandale to the Jew to make him think that he stands right in Gods Court without any Gospel of Christ and thereupon to induce him to defie it But as to the spiritual sense of the law in which the Gentile also hath his interest as concerning things written in the hearts of all men whatsoever the occasion is by which it becomes revived in the heart in which at any time it may have been dead because it neither gives rule to the actions thereof nor bindes it over to judgement most certaine it is and most evident the meaning of S. Paul that when it cometh to convict a man of his duty and by consequence what he is liable to upon the faileure the Law that is for life will prove to death That is if Grace help not sinne will overcome For if the helpe of the Law convicting of one true God his providence and judgement even upon the secrets of the heart were not able to reclaime those that were bred under it to spirituall righteousnesse much lesse shal that conviction whereby the light of nature evidences the same be of force to the same purpose And this is that which S. Paul intimates Rom. VIII 3 4. For whereas the want of force in the Law was weake through the flesh God sending his sonne in the likenesse of sinfull flesh and concerning sinne condemned sinne in the flesh that the righteousnesse of the Law might be fulfilled in us that walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit For if the doctrine of Moses Law which as I have shewed giveth so really eminent advantages towards the choice of true righteousnesse was uneffectuall to the Jewes by reason of the flesh of necessity the light of nature must needs become uneffectual to the Gentiles
thus proceedeth Heb. IX 13 14. For if the blood of Bulls and Goats and the ashes of an Heifer sprinkled sanctify the polluted to the purifying of the flesh how much more shall the blood of Christ who through the everlasting spirit offered himself to God blamelesse cleanse our conscience from dead works to serve the living God For though the Soul of Christ raised from the dead have immortality which is life indissoluable yet it hath not the virtue of it which is to be ascribed to the Spirit which raised him from the dead as vvell as us according to S. Paul Rom. VIII 10. 11. If Christ be in you though the body be dead because of sin yet the Spirit is life because of righteousness But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you he that raised Iesus from the dead shall quicken your mortall bodies also through his Spirit that dwelleth in you And whether the cleansing of sin can be ascribed to any gift bestowed upon the humane Soule of Christ as here they vvould have it ascribed to the immortality thereof let all the World judge I deny not indeed that Christ offers the Sacrifice of himself to the Father in the Heaven of Heavens as the Priest offered him the blood of those Sacrifices which were burnt without the Camp in that Holy of Holies But if I should deny that he offered himself to God vvhen he vvas crucified I might as vvell deny that the Priests offered therein Sacrifices to God when they killed them at the Altar and burnt them upon it So manifest so certain it is that the eternall Spirit by virtue whereof the blood of Christ being offered cleanseth sin was in Christ before his rising again And this is that which S. Paul saith 1 Tim. III. 16. And without crontroversie Great is the mystery of Godliness God was manifested in the Flesh justified in the Spirit preached to the Gentiles seen of Angels believed of the World taken up into Glory It is sayd indeed that the Syriack the Vulgar Latine the Arabick and the Commentaries under S. Ambrose his name all want 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 here and understand S. Paul to speak of the Gospel all the while And that the Gospel being sayd to be preached before it is sayd to be taken up into Glory 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 must be no more then that it is exalted and glorified As if the order of the words did inforce that which is first sayd to have been first done or as if 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 did not signifie the taking of him up to God but the making of the Gospel famous Such violence will a prejudicate supposition offer even to Gods words rather then to quit an argument For to what sense can the Gospel be sayd to be manifested in the flesh because preached by the man Christ And suppose it may be sayd to be justified by the Spirit as Wisdome is justified by the Children of Wisdome Mat. XI 9. Luke VII 35. how much more proper is it to understand that God who appeared in the flesh should be sayd to be justified so to be in or by the Spirit the Works whereof shewed him so to be as afore Neither shall we need to make any greater doubt of the reading of those vvords of S. Paul Acts XX. 28. Look therefore to your selves and to the whole Flock ever which the Holy Ghost hath made you Bishops to feed the Church of God which he hath gotten with his blood Though the written Copy at S. James and the Syriack read here 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 instead of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Because that the Church over which the Holy Ghost makes Bishops it bought with the blood of Christ is the same with that of the Apostle afore that the blood of Christ offered by the eternall Spirit cleanseth sin Neither is it so easie to avoyd the words of the Apostle Heb. XI 16. as some imagine For he took not Angels but the Seed of Abraham he took Suppose 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 be to challenge which is done by laying hands on that which we challenge Is the ground therefore void upon which he challenges these to life as his own that through feare of death were in bondage does not the whole Epistle argue that this is done by the offering of our flesh saith he not expresly that it behoved him to become like his Brethren in all things and that he is not ashamed to call them Brethren because he that sanctifieth and those who are sanctified are all of one Heb. XI 11. 14. 17. does Christ vindicate mankind or the Seed of Abraham For though this is written to the Hebrews alone yet it was written at such time as all christians understood that it belongs no less to the Gentiles Wherfore it is manifest that the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which might seem to signifie Christs challenging mankind or vindicating them into freedome from death as well here as elswhere is restrained by the Text and consequence of the Apostles discourse to signifie the assuming of mans nature by the means whereof he won mankind into freedome and maintains it in the same In fine when the Apostle sayth 1 Pet. I. 11. That the ancient Prophets did search against what or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ that was in them did declare and profess the sufferings to come upon Christ and the glories following the same He sheweth plainly that the same Spirit by which they spake by fits dwelt in the flesh of Christ for ever having once assumed it Of which Spirit the Evangelist sayth Marke XI 8. That Jesus knew by the Spirit how the Pharises reasoned of him within themselves For as I sayd afore that when it is sayd in the Old Testament that the word of God came to this or that Prophet an Angel appeared unto him speaking in the person of God vvho vvas therefore vvorshiped as God because the Word of God for vvhich being incarnate our Lord Jesus is for ever to be Worshiped as God vvas in that Angel at the present for that Service So I must further note here that upon such Word of God coming to a Prophet he became inspired that is possessed and acted by the Spirit of God for the time of that Service vvhich God by such a message imployed him about Not that all Prophets did receive such Word by such message from God before they spake those things which we believe still they spake by the Spirit of God For there is a great deal of appearance in the Scripture for that which the Jewes doctors deliver unto us Abarbanel by name alleging Maimoni for his saying upon Numb XI that there are inferior degrees of Prophesie which comes not by apparitions in which a man saw one that spake to him in Gods Name but sometimes meerly by inspiration of Gods Spirit inwardly moving either to act or to speak as
The nature and intent of it renders it subordinate to the Clergy How farre the single life of the Clergy hath been a Law to the Church Inexecution of the Canons for it Nullity of the proceedings of the Church of Rome in it The interest of the People in the acts â—f the Church And in the use of the Scriptures 368 CHAP. XXXII How great the Power of the Church and the offect of it is The right of judging the causes of Christians ceaseth when it is protected by the State An Objection If Ecclesiastical Power were from God Secular Power could not limit the use of it Ground for the Interest of the State in Church matters The inconsequence of the argument The concurrence of both Interests to the Law of the Church The Inâ—erest of the state in the indowment of the Church Concurrence of both in matrimonial causes and Ordinations Temporall penalties upon Excommunication from the State No Soveraigne subject to the greater Excommunication but to the lesse The Rights of the Jewes State and of Christian Powers in Religion partly the same partly not The infinite Power of the Pope not founded upon Episcopacy but upon acts of the Secular Powers of Christendom 381 OF THE PRINCIPLES OF Christian Truth The First BOOK CHAP. I. All agree that Reason is to decide controversies of Faith The objection that Faith is taught by Gods Spirit answered What Reason decideth questions of Faith The resolution of Faith ends not in the light of Reason but in that which Reason evidenceth to come from Gods messengers THe first thing that we are to question in the beginning is Whether there be any means to resolve by the use of reason those controverâ—â—es which cause division in the Church Which is all one as if we undertook to enquire whether there be any such skill or knowledg as that for which men call themselvs Divines For if there be it must be the same in England as at Rome And if it have no principles as no principles it can have unlesse it can be resolved what those principles are then is it a bare name signifying nothing But if there be certain principles which all parties are obliged to admit that discourse which admits no other will certainly produce that resolution in which all shall be obliged to agree And truely this hope there is left that all parties do necessarily suppose that there is means to resolve by reason all differences of Faith Inasmuch as all undertake to perswade all by reason to be of the judgment of each one and would be thought to have reason on their side when so they do and that reason is not done them when they are not believed There are indeed many passages of Scripture which say that Faith is only taught by the Spirit of God Mat. XVI 17. Blessed art thou Peter son of Ionas for flesh and blood revealed not this to thee but my Father which is in the heavens II. 25. I thank thee O Father Lord of heaven and earth that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them unto babes 1 Cor. I. 26 27 28. For Brethren you see your calling that not many wise according to the flesh not many mighty not many noble But the foolish things of the world hath God chosen to shame the wise The weak things of the world hath God chosen to shame the strong The ignoble and despicable things of the world hath God chosen and the things that are not to confound the things that are John VI. 45. It is written in the Prophets And they shall be all taught of God Heb. VIII 10. Jer. XXXI 33. This is the Covenant that I will make with the house of Israel in those dayes saith the Lord I will put my Laws in their mindes and write them in their hearts These and the like Scriptures then asâ—ribing the reason why wee believe to the work of Gods Spirit seem to leave no room for any other reason why wee should believe But this difficulty is easie for him to resolve that diâ—â—inguishes between the reason that moveth in the nature of an object and that motion which the active cause produceth For the motion of an object supposes that consideration which discovers the reason why wee are to believe But the motion of the Holy Ghost in the nature of an active cause proceeds without any notice that wee take of it According to the saying of our Lord to Nicodemus John 111. 8. The winde bloweth where it listeth and a man hears the noise of it but cannot tell whence it cometh nor whither it goeth So is every one that is born of the spirit For wee must know that there may be sufficient reason to evict the truth of Christianity and yet prove ineffectual to induce the most part either inwardly to believe or outwardly to professe it The reason consists in two things For neither is the mater of Faith evident to the light of reason which wee bring into the world with us And the Crosse of Christ which this profession drawes after it necessarily calls in question that estate which every man is setled upon in the world So that no marvel if the reasons of believing fail of that effect which for their part they are sufficient to produce Interest diverting the consideration or intercepting the consequence of such troublesom truth and the motives that inforce it The same is the reason why the Christian world is now to barren of the fruits of Christianity For the profession of it which is all the Laws of the world can injoyn is the common privilege by which men hold their estates Which it is no marvel those men should make use of that have neither resolved to imbrace Christ with his Crosse nor considered the reason they have to do it who if they should stick to that which they professe and when the protection of the Law failes or act according to it when it would be disadvantage to them in the world so to do should do a thing inconsequent to their own principles which carried them no further than that profession which the Law whereby they hold their estates protecteth The true reason of all Apostasy in all trials As for the truth of Christianity Can they that believe a God above refuse to believe his messengers because that which they report stands not in the light of any reason to evidence it Mater of Faith is evidently credible but cannot be evidently true Christianity supposes sufficient reason to believe but not standing upon evidence in the thing but upon credit of report the temptation of the Crosse may easily defeat the effect of it if the Grace of Christ and the operation of the Holy Ghost interpose not Upon this account the knowledg of Gods truth revealed by Christ may be the work of his Grace according to the Scriptures for that so it is I am not obliged neither have I any reason here to suppose being to come in
spirit of Christ hee is none of Christs So hee had premised Rom. V. 1-5 Being justified by Faith wee have peace towards God through our Lord Jesus Christ together with the joy of hope by the love of God poured out in our hearts through the Spirit of God which is in us The Kingdome of God consisting in righteousnesse and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost Rom. XIV 17. If it be here objected that the Grace of the Holy Ghost is necessary to bring a man to Christianity and therefore cannot suppose it Supposing this for the present but not granting it because it is in controversie and must be resolved by the grounds which wee seek It will be easie to distinguish between the grace of the Holy Ghost and the gift of the Holy Ghost For hee that is converted to believe the truth of Christianity may acknowledge it to be of Grace but must not presume of the gift of the Holy Ghost that it is bestowed on him for his own till his conversion be complete by undertaking the profession of Christianity If it be further alleged that Cornelius and his company received the Holy Ghost before they were baptized The answer is ready from that maxime of Law That every exception against a Rule establishes the Rule in cases not excepted Cornelius no Jew but converted from Idols to worship the true God under the promises which the Jewes expected with his company of the same Faith being in the state of Gods grace upon that account receives the Holy Ghost before Baptisme because God knew him ready to undertake the profession of Christianity so soon as it could appear to be commanded by God And this for the satisfaction of S. Peter and the Jewes in that secret which hereby begâ—n to be declared that the Gentiles as well as the Jewes belonged to the Church It is true the graces of the Holy Ghost are of two kindes For some of them are given for the benefit and salvation of those in whom they are Some for the benefit and edification of the Church And it is true that both kindes are meant and expressed by these Scriptures But it is no lesse true that neither of them is to be had but supposing the truth of Christianity and of the Scriptures For the first kinde is granted to none but those that imbrace Christianity with a sincere intention of living according to that which they professe Being indeed the help that God by his Gospel promises and allowes them to go thorough with that high and difficult profession which they undertake Wee see the Apostles forsake their Lord and make a doubt of his resurrection before the coming of the Holy Ghost Whom having received they are ready to professe Christ in the midst of utmost dangers And S. John as hee giveth the reason why the righteous sin not because their â—eed abideth in them that is the word of the Gospel by which they were ingendred anew to be Christians 1 John III. 9. So hee giveth the reason why they were not to be seduced by the Heresies of that time because the unction which they had received from the Holy One taught them to know all things 1 John II. 20 27. Thus the Unction of the Spirit supposes the seed of the Word and the seed of the Word inferres the Unction of the Spirit And as when the Word of God came to the Prophets they were withall possessed by Gods Spirit moving them to deliver it to the people So when the word of Faith is established in the heart of a Christian as David saith the Spirit of God possesseth him with an inclination both to professe it and to live according to it As for the second kinde it is true they are granted to those that are not heires of Gods promises as it appeares by the instances of Saul surprised with the Spirit of Prophesie when hee intended the death of David 1 Sam. XIX 23 24. Of those that have prophesied and cast out Devils and done miracles in our Lords name to whom hee shall say I know you not Mat. VII 22 23. Of Caiaphas who prophesied of our Lords death when hee was compassing of it John XI 49 -52. And of Balaam in the last place as all know But as the former kinde supposeth true Christianity in him that hath it so doth this correspondently suppose the profession of it as under the old Law the profession of the true God The tryal of a Prophet under the Law was not the doing of a miracle alone If hee seduced from God in stead of taking him for Gods messenger they were to put him to death Deut. XIII 1-5 So the tryal was the doing of a miracle under the profession of the true God Under the Gospel No man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus anathema nor can any man call Jesus Lord but by the Holy Ghost 1 Cor. XII 3. Supposing that a man speaketh such things as must come either from Gods Spirit or from evil Spirits the tryal is whether hee professe Christ or not And 1 John IV. 2 3. Every Spirit that confesseth Jesus come in the flesh to be Christ is of God And every Spirit that confesseth not Jesus Christ that is come in the flesh is not of God Every Spirit that is every inspiration which a man of himself cannot have God will not have his people so tempted that under the profession of the true Religion the Devils instruments should have power to work miracles to seduce them from it Upon these terms prophesied Saul under the Law and upon the same terms prophesied those under the Gospel whom our Lord will not own having done miracles in his name As for Caiaphas it doth not appear that hee spoke those words whereby S. John saith hee prophened of our Lords death by revelation or inspiration from God For the reason is given why hee prophened because hee was High Priest that year Now when the High Priests declared Gods orders to his ancient people there is no appearance that they were inspired by revelation with that which they declared But that putting on the Pontifical robes Gods will appeared by the brest-plate of Urim and Tummim though now wee know not how Accordingly to were Caiaphas his words ordered this gift being ceased many ages afore as to containe a Prophesie of our Lords death by Gods intent but without his But Balaams case is farre otherwise Arnobius advers Gent. I. tells us that Magicians in their operations met with contrary Gods whom hee calls Antitheos that would not suffer them to proceed Balaam met with the true God and knew him to be so and all his Inchantments controlable by him and yet sacrifices to false Gods that by their help hee might curse Gods people In this case Balaam though commanded as a subject is not as a friend inspired by God when God forces him to speak what hee would not If any man then resolve the credit of the Scripture into the
God delivered to the Church by the Apostles commanding them so to live For that which was as difficult as impossible to have been introduced without conviction of the will of God as the rest of Christianity of necessity must go for a part of it But that in such variety of mens fannies reasons and inclinations the Church consisting from the beginning of all Nations and dispersed all over the world should of their own inclination not swayed by any information of Gods will received with Christianity agree in the same Lawes and Rulers submitting to the exercise of the same Power upon themselves is as impossible as that the world should consist of the casual concurse of atomes according to Democritus and Epicurus The name of the Church without peradventure was first used to signifie the whole body of Gods people in the Wildernesse when they might be and were called together and assembled upon their common occasions which the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies After which time the people continuing still one and the same by virtue of the same Lawes then received and the Powers placed in their Ruler Not onely the whole people but such parts of it as resorted to the same Government have still born and do bear the same name The Synagogue of Libertines Cyrenaeans Alexandrians Cilicians and Asians by example Acts VI. 9. which name first belongs to the respective Bodies of Jewes that subsisted at Rome Cyrene or Alexandria in Cilicia or Asia And consequently by Metonymy to the Places where such of those Bodies as chanced to be at Jerusalem might assemble themselves And to so many of those Bodies as being at Jerusalem did assemble at those Places Now no Christian can doubt that the Body of Christians succeeds in the stead of Gods ancient people And therefore the name of Gods Church when it stands without limitation signifies no lesse As when our Lord saith Mat. XVI 18. Vpon this rock will I found my Church Whatsoever the Disciples then conceived the Church should be our Lord that knew all by the name of it meant all that duly beares the name And therefore when hee saith once again Mat. XVIII 17. Tell it to the Church It is strange there should be Christians that should think hee means the Jewes and their Rulers And that the precept concernes Christians no longer now they have left the Jewes Though it is true a man cannot tell his cause to the whole Church but to that part of it to which hee can resort which is called by the name of the Whole as I said even now of the Synagogue S. Paul to the Colossians II. 24 25. calling the Church the Body of Christ saith That hee by the dispensation of God towards them which hee is trusted with is become the minister of the Church to wit as Angels are ministers of the Church because ministers of God towards it And therefore minister of the whole Church which is the Body of Christ not of any particular Church as if an Apostle could be bound to execute his office according to the discretion of any Church which for Gods cause hee attends As all Ministers are bound to execute their Office according to the will of them whose Ministers they are It is therefore the whole Church in which God hath set Apostles Evangelists Prophets and the use of the Graces rehearsed 1 Cor. XII 28. Eph. IV. 11. Because the Office of these Graces can by no means be confined either to any particular Church or to any part of the whole Church The name of the Church signifies the same thing again Eph. I. 22. III. 21. V. 23-32 While all Christendome was contained in the Church at Jerusalem the name of the Church is so used Acts II. 47. V. 11. VIII 1 3. that it is no mater whether wee understand by it the whole Church or the Church of Jerusalem The reason Because all right and power that can at any time be found vested in the whole Church was then as fully in the Church at Jerusalem as it can be at any time in the whole Church though in respect of a Body never so much greater than it As a childe is as much a man the day of his birth as the day of his death and a tree as much as a tree when it growes one as when it is come to the height But Christianity being propagated among Jewes and Gentiles as wee reade of the Churches of Judaea Samaria and Galilee Acts IX 31. and must needs understand the Epistles to the Ebrewes to have been written to Churches consisting onely of Ebrewes as those of S. Peter and that of S. James which mentions the Elders of the Church James V. 14. So the Churches of the Gentiles in S. Paul Rom. XVI 4. wee easily understand to be the Churches of Asia 1 Cor. XVI 9. Apoc. I. 11. the Churches of Galâ—â—ia 1 Cor. XVI 1. the Churches of Macedonia 2 Cor. VIII 1. and the rest that were visible in S. Paâ—ls time Now suppose for the present that these Churches mentioned by the Apostles were no more than so many Congregations as our Independents would have it Seeing they deny not so many Churches to be so many Bodies what reason can they give why the name of the Church when it stands for the whole Church should not signifie the like There is a prerogative attributed to the whole Church by S. Paul 1 Tim. III. 25. when hee calls it the base and pillar of Truth For that this should be said of any particular Church it were too ridiculous to imagine Can the Church bear this attribute if it be not capable of doing any act that may verifie it And if it be not a Body what act can it do In fine the correspondence between Gods ancient people and his new Israel according to his Spirit seems to require That as the Religion of the Jewes and not any Civil Power of the Nation makes them all one Body at this day in point of fact by sufferance of Soveraignes because they were once so in point of right So the Religion of Christians should make them one Body in point of right how many Bodies soever they are burst into in point of fact by their own wantonnesse For the Independents exception which I spoke of can be of no force unlesse they will make it appear that all those Churches that are mentioned in the writings of the Apostles did assemble in one place Not that if this could be made to appear they had done their businesse But because if it do not appear their plea is peremptorily barred Wee reade then of M M M soules added in one day to CXX of the Church at Jerusalem Acts I. 15. II. 41. To these were added or with these they became VM Acts IV. 4. To whom were added multitudes of men and women Acts II. 47. V. 14. These assembled daily in private to serve God as Christians as well as in
as the Evangelist and our Lord both affirm that these things were prophesied concerning the cures which our Lord did upon their bodies so can it not be doubted that the cure of our soules is spiritually signified by the same whether you consider the promises whereby the ground of this correspondence is settled or the expresse words of the Apostle 1 Pet. II. 24. where that which S. Matthew expoundeth of the cures which our Lord did upon their bodies is referred to the taking away of sâ—nne by the sacrifice of Christ upon the Crosse Which if it cannot be denied I shall make no difficulty to inferre that the words of the Prophet Esay VII 14. Behold a Virgin shall conceive and bear a Son and yee shall call his name Emmanuel which the Evangelists referreth to our Lord Mat. I. 22. and by the premises were fulfilled when they were first said as in the figure are still accomplished in the children which by Gods grace are still â—orn of the holy faith of his Church by grace Nor that the words of the Prophet Osee XI 1. Out of Egypt have I called my Son which being manifestly said of the Israelites coming out of Egypt the same Evangelist II. 15. affirmeth to be fulfilled in our Lords coming back out of Egypt are still accomplished in those which out of the darknesse of this world are brought to Gods Church which is spiritually the Land of Promise Nor that the words of the Prophet Jeremy XXXI 15. which the same Evangelist expoundeth of the Innocents which were slaine by Herod at Bethlehem but the correspondence hitherto established requireth us to understand of the captive Jewes at Ramah in that Prophets time are still fulfilled in all that suffer persecution and death for Christianity Nor lasâ—ly that the words of the Psalmes XXII 8 18. Hee trusted in God that hee would deliver him let him save him seeing hee loveth him They pierced my hands and my feet And They part my garments among them and cast lots upon my vesture XLI 9. Hee which did eat of my bread hath lift up the heel against mee XLIX 9 21. The zeale of thine house hath eaten mee up And They gave mee gall to eat and in my thirst they gave mee vineger to drink VIII 2. Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise CIX 8. His Office let another take XVI 10. Thou shalt not leave my soul in Hell nor suffer thine holy One to see corruption which the New Testament will have to be fulfilled in those things that befell our Lord Christ in the flesh in his crucifying Maâ— XXVIII 18 35 43. Mark XV. 22 23 24. John XIX 17 29. in Judas betraying him John XIII 18. in his purging the Temple John II. 17. in the children that praised him Mat. XXI 16. in Matthias chosen in Judas stead Acts I. 20. in the resurrection of Christ Acts II. 31. XIII 35. But the correspondence premised and the reason of it require us first to understand of those things which befell David and Gods ancient people are still spiritually verified and accomplished in those things which befall the children of God and his Church under the state of Grace Neither shall I make any question that the correspondence between the Law and the Gospel which wee have settled being supposed it will not follow neverthelesse that all the Old Testament ought by virtue thereof to be so fulfilled in the life of our Lord Christ But that the Spirit of God in the Evangelists showeth that the Spirit in the Prophets so directed their words that they were intended to be farre more properly fulfilled in our Lord Christ than in those whom they were spoke of in the literal sense For wee do not finde that the Text that is to say that which went before and that which followes after those words which the Gospels say were fulfilled in our Lord Christ is answered by any thing which wee reade to have befallen him in the flesh And the general correspondence between Israel according to the flesh in the Old Testament and Israel according to the Spirit in the New being sufficient to justifie our Lord to be the Christ whom they expected and by consequence that twofold sense of the Old Testament which here wee maintaine there is no cause why they should be said to be impertinently alleged though by ordinary reason supposing this correspondence that could not be proved from those Texts which the Gospels say that they signifie Indeed such of them as are used by our Lord and his Apostles to prove him to be the Christ must be said and well may be maintainâ—d to do it by the perpectual correspondence of Gods earthly promises made good to his carnal people through the meanes of their Kings Priests and Prophets with the promises of the world to come made good by the means of our Lord Christ to the Church Therâ— is yet another kinde of our Lord Christs sayings and of things that befell him in the flesh in which there appears at the first view that difference of literal and mystical sense which hath been settled between the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments The Parable of the Prodigal childe for example seems not onely to contain a plain song of Gods earnest desire to be reconciled with penitent sinnerâ— but also a descant of the rejection of the Jewes and the calling of the Gentiles figured by it In like maner the Parable of him that fell among theeves as hee went down to Jericho Luke XI seemeth not onely to instruct who is the neighbor that wee are to love as our selves but also to figure the fall of man and the sending of our Lord for the restoring of him intimated as the ground of it So the acclamations of them that went afore and them that came after our Lord at his entrance into Jerusalem Mat. XXI agreeing in the same note of Hosanna to the Son of David I cannot tell whether any Christian could be so moroâ—e as to doubt but that it fell out on purpose to signifie the agreement of the Old and New Testament concentring in our Lord Christ But as it cannot be reasonably denied that these Parables and the like are mystical significations of the purpose of God in sending Christ or the event of it in the rejection of the Jewes and calling of the Gentiles So is all this nothing to the two senses of the Old Testament in which it is twice fulfilled once according to the Leter and again according to the Spirit I have thus farre inlarged this point concerning the correspondence and difference between the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament between the Ancient and New people of God to show how I conceive the scruples are to be resolved which may be made against an assumption of more efficacy and consequence than any other wheresoever any point of Christianity is to be showed from the Old Testament Yet so much more protection I owe the
of the Church can be founded upon the right thereof or derived from it Neither is it otherwise with the Prophetical Office The authority whereof as I have showed was of divine right under the Law as depending immediately upon the will of God that raised them up and gave them authority by those evidences which his own Law had made legal And this that hee might tye his people the more strongly by their ministery and by the evidence of his presence among them to observe his Law And yet in as much as all Christians must believe them fore-runners of Christ sent to give notice of his coming by such meanes as God that sent him thought fit so that hee by his Office is the chief Prophet to whom the Father reserved the full declaration of his will and pleasure concerning the alliance hee intended to hold with men of necessity their office was to expire in him neither can it remaine in the Church further than hee by a new act may appear to have appointed I do not here make any doubt that S. Paul argued very well when hee said 1 Cor. IX 13 14. Know yee not that they which work holy things eat of the holy That they who wait upon the Altar take part with the Altar So also hath God appointed them that bring newes of the Gospel to live of the Gospel But hee that will understand this argument must make up the comparison by completing the correspondence between the bringing of souls to Christ by preaching the Gospel and the sacrificing of living creatures to God by executing the Law This correspondence the Apostle himself hath delared to our hands Rom. XV. 15 16. Because of the grace given mee of God saith hee that I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles exercising the sacred function of preaching the Gospel of God that the oblation of the Gentiles may be acceptable being sanctified by the Holy Ghost And Phil. II. 17. Nay though I be poured forth upon the sacrifice and ministery of your Faith I rejoyce and that joyntly with you all Where it appeareth that by submitting to the Gospel men become a sacrifice to God in as much as they dye to the world and that they who bring them to Christianity are the Priests that offer this sacrifice And by this Priesthood it is that the Apostle challengeth a right of living upon preaching the Gospel as the Priests lived by attending upon the sacrifices of the Law Which if it be true then is the Apostles office that Priesthood under the Gospel which was to remaine by the correspondence thereof with the Law and thereforâ— cannot derive any Title from the Levitical Priesthood which it maketh void As for the Office of Prophets under the Gospel it is plain by S. Pauls Epistles that it pleased God among other miraculous Graces of the Holy Ghost whereby hee evidenced his presence in the Church to stirre up Prophets in those Primitive Churches by whom besides they might be instructed in the more solid understanding of their Christianity as may appear in particular by S. Paul 1 Cor. XIV Which being supposed can any man imagine that the Office of those Prophets and the authority which it importeth can be derived from the Prophets under the Law whose Office expired in Christ His act it must be to give authority to Prophets under the Gospel and since wee have showed that the chief authority which hee left in the Church was left with his Apostles it followeth by consequence which by other Scriptures in another place I have showed to have been true that the Apostles by their Office were the chief Prophets of the Church Though as for the continuance of the gift of Prophesie under the Gospel there is no promise recorded as under the Law there is So neither any precept requiring obedience to their Office as then I have showed there was In fine God by Christ designed to raise up children to Abraham which are the new Israel according to the Spirit Hee hath given the Apostles and Disciples of our Lord that authority over them which may answer the power of the Patriarchs and Elders of his ancient people under Moses Hee hath incorporated into their Office under the Gospel the authority both of Priests and Prophets under the Law which both were to cease with the Law Therefore wee are not to derive any Poweâ— of the Church from the rights of the Priesthood under the Law not to argue that the Church hath no right to that Power which the Priesthood as then was not seised of But whatsoever power was in the Prinees of Tribes and their inferiors in the Elders and Judges of Israel for the civil Government of that people under Moses the same wee must inferre to have been in the Apostles and Disciples of Christ and by consequence in them to whom they may appeare to have committed any part of it for the government of the Church under our Lord Christ Saving the difference which the condition whereupon either people are gathered into one Society importeth Which is in them the possession of the Land of Promise upon the observation of the Law in us the Kingdome of heaven upon the Faith of Christ And therefore in them inferreth temporal Power in disposing of causes and things of this world in these onely the Power of directing in spiritual maters wherein the Church by the Covenant of Grace doth communicate This opinion may seem to some man not to agree with the doctrine of the ancientest Fathers who do many times argue what order ought to be held in the Church from that which the Law provided for the Levitical Priesthood As Clemens Ep. ad Corinthios from the order which the Law had prescribed for the Sacrifices prescribed by it argueth that the like ought to be kept in the Church pag. 53. And S. Cyprian that as Eleazar was consecrated High Priest by Moses before the Congregation of the People so ought Ordinations to be celebrated before the Assembly of the Church Which kinde of argument seems to have no force unlesse wee derive the Offices of the Church from the Levitical Priesthood Together with abundance of passages to the same purpose whereof it shall be enough to have produced these for an example But this kinde of argument is easily stopped by one instance For it is manifest that the like argument of instruction or exhortation to those that claime by and under the Apostles may be drawn from divers passages of the ancient Scriptures wherein the Prophets of the Law are exhorted to do or reproved for neglecting their Office And yet no man can go about to derive the right of their authority from the Prophets Office by the Law of Moses And then it is easily answered that nothing hinders the same reason that appeares in the Ordinances of the Levitical Priesthood to be of evident consequence in the ordering of Gods Church Not because the order of the Church depends upon
Corporation of the Church by divine right it is sufficient in this place onely to show that there is a right in the Body of the Church by Gods appointment to do such things as the Nature of a Society founded upon a Charter of Gods inferreth For whatsoever persons shall be by the same appointment inabled to act for the Church and to conclude it as in no form of Government the whole is able to act by it self whatsoever is done by those persons is reasonably and legally said to be done by the Church though I referr it to another dispute to determine what persons they are and in what cases These reasons therefore do satisfie mee that the delivering to Satan which S. Paul condemns the incestuous person to implies indeed something extraordinary which the sentence of Excommunication in these dayes produceth not And it is this That during the time of the Apostles to manifest the presence of God in his Church those that were shut out of it became subject to the visible incursion of evil spirits plaguing them with bodily diseases Which S. Paul calleth the destruction of the flesh Intimating that Gods end in them was to reduce him to the sense of that Christianity which hee had professed that by inwardly returning to it the spirit might be saved in the day of Christ whether or no by outwardly professing it hee might be reconciled to the Church for salvation by the means of it As for the words of our Lord Dic Ecclesiae I will not insist upon the improbabilities of Erastus his interpretation that Let him be unto thee as a Heathen or a Publicane is no more but this Be it lawfull for thee to sue him in the Romanes Court. For this I say It is plain by S. Paul 1 Cor. VI. 1. that our Lords Disciples that is Christians might in no case implead one another before the Gentiles whatsoever Erastus imagine Which it is plain the Jewes also did their utmost to avoid Nor is the other more probable that makes it no more than that upon his neglect of the Synagogue hee was free to return scorn and to avoid him who had scorned the Synagogue For would our Lord binde his Disciples to resort to the Synagogue and yet obtain nothing but leave to scorn him that scorned them first and afterwards the Synagogue Besides the inconvenience common to both these interptetations that such a precept to his Disciples that is to all Christians should concern them no longer nor in any other consideration than that for which at the first Christians were bound to comply with the Synagogue which compliance not onely what it was but even what it signified they then understood no more than hee that understands nothing But I leave all other advantage to prosecute the principle premised That the Disciples of our Lord acknowledged a new King of Israel which the title of Gods anointed the Messias signified a new Covenant by which hee was their King a new Israel according to the Spirit not according to the flesh and by consequence new Laws which a New Common-wealth must needs inferr And therefore call it what you will Synagogue which as yet they understood not to be void or Church which they understood must be but that it should be distinct from the Synagogue understood not being commanded to tell the Assembly they must understand it to be an Assembly of themselves Christs Disciples which all Jews might be for any thing they yet understood And when our Lord saith Let him be unto thee as an Heathen man or as a Publicane though they understood that Heathen men and Publicanes resorted to the Temple as also those that were Excommunicate by the Synagogue did because the Law stood not upon any promise of the world to come but upon the privilege and sitl of a Jew to all rights that Jewes were indowed with yet they underflood also that our Lord spoke in Parables containing sharp speeches figures and riddles When hee faith Hee that smiteth thee on the right cheek turn him the left they underflood that himself no way balked his own command when being smitten by the Jews Ministers hee an-swered not by turning the other cheek But that his meaning was to have his Disciples as ready to do them good that so should assront them as if they should pleasure his anger by turning him another cheek to strike And when hee faith Hee that constraineth thee to go a mile with him go thou twain His meaning is not that they should leave their businesse to be counted fools for it But to be ready to do him as great a pleasure So hee that fees the Jews so to avoid the society of the Gentiles and by consequence of publiâ—anes who has necessary and continual frequentation with Gentiles that when they came from the Piazza they washed their hands before they went to meat as polluted by coming near them hee that fees S. Peter obliged to give account to his brethren the Jewish Christians why hee did eat with Cornelius and his Company though worthippers of the true God and such as had imbraced the Faith that fees God instruct him so to do by the vision of earing unclean beasts as if hee could no more do the one than the other by the Law Hee I fay that considers these things will say that our Lord when hee sayes Let him be to thee as an Heathen man or a Publicane hath very sharply expressed the fame that S. Paul means when hee sayes with such a one no not to eat And therefore I conclude his meaning to be that which I have concluded heretofore that his Disciples should carry none of their suits though concerning mater of Interest out of the Church but stand to what it shall determine For how should S. Paul demand Dare any of you having a cause with another go to suit before the unrighteous and not before the Saints I Cor. VI. I. If it had not been a Law known to Christians that their suits were to be determined within themselves Referring my self for further evidence that this was then in force to what hath been showed in another place and having not been contradicted must needs be in force And if any man shall object that this would be the ruine of all States so soon as they prosesse Christianity if the Jurisdiction of them should be swallowed up in the Jurisdiction of the Church all causes being in that case causes of Christians For an answer referring him not onely to that which I have said already there but to that which I purpose to say further before I have done with this point And upon these terms I grant Erastus that when out Lord sayes Let him be unto thee as a Heathen and a Publicane Hee sayes in effect be it lawfull for thee to sue him in the Court of the Gentiles Not as if our Lord did allow that which S. Paul forbids That a Christian should sue a Christian before Gentiles But
large vvord to make good But if vve look upon the intent of those that spake it and the mater vvhich they had in hand it will appear very unreasonable to extend it to any thing else Now I suppose upon the premises that the Prophets Esay and Ieremy in the first and literal and obvious sense intend to soretell the return of the people of Israel from Captivity and the great change that should be seen in their faithfulnesse to God though figuring thereby that knowledge of God and that fidelity of Christians which the preaching of the Gospel should produce And truly I do challenge all them that are best acquainted with the state of that people from the beginning to show me any greater change in it then that which we see came to passe upon their return from the Captivity To wit that they who formerly before the Captivity had been every day falling away from their own the true God to the worship of imaginary Deities should from thenceforth continue constant to him when tempted with the greatest torments in the world to renounce him for the worship of Idols as we see by the relations of the Maccabees And is it strange then that I should say that this is the change which these Prophesies intend to declare Especially when I say not that this is all they intend because I know that the Apostles have declared them to be intended of the times of the Gospel But that this is that which they intend in the first instance which by the premises must be a figure and step to that which the Gospel intends to declare And yet in regard of the manifold Idolatries which prevailed before the Captivity it shall be most truly and significantly understood that the people of God who after the Captivity never departed from the true God shall not then teach one another to know the true God because that Law the summe of the old Law should be written in their hearts and entrails so that they should have no need to teach one another to know the true God If this be true referring this Prophene to the Gospel of which the Apostle expounds it in the mystical sense Heb. VIII 8 it will be much more evident how those that are baptized upon the profession of the Christian faith who are the new Israel according to the Spirit shall have no need to teach one another to know the true God who both know God and the way to God which is the Law of God which they bear in their hearts if their Christianity be not counterfeit So that when God promiseth to establish this new Covenant he promiseth neither more nor lesse then the conversion of the world to the Christian faith Accordingly S. John truly tells the Christians to whom he writes that they knew all things and had no need that any man should teach them because the unction that was in them taught them the truth because he doth not mean that they knew the secrets of Geometry or the mysteries of nature or whatsoever is or is done in the utmost parts of the world or any thing else impertinent to his present discourse But because they had in them a principle sufficient to condemn those errors which he writes against there to wit those that deny both the Father and the Son by denying Jesus to be the Christ which saith the Apostle is the spirit of Antichrist For surely he that hath unfainedly professed the Christian Faith upon being catechized in it hath in him a principle sufficient to preserve him from such gross infections which the Holy Ghost wherewith he is anointed upon being baptized into this profession out of a good conscience sealeth up in his heart so that such corruptions can have no access to infect it And therefore the Apostle might well call upon them to try such Spirits whither of God or not seeing that the comparing of their pretenses with that which they had once received must needs be sufficient to condemn that which is opposite to it by the judgement of any man that unfainedly adhereth to it So that S. Paul when he bids the Thessalonians try all things but hold that which is good demands no unreasonable thing at their hands if we understand those things which he would have tried to be such as are triâ—ble by the rule of faith common to all Christians Indeed the same Apostle when he writeth to the Corinthians that the spiritual man is judged by no man but himselfe judgeth all things seems to speak more generally not onely of the rule of Faith but of the secret counsel and good pleasure of God in dispensing the revelation thereof one way to the ancient Prophets another way to the Apostles both by the Spirit of God and Christ Which secret counsel those spiritual men that he speaketh of were able to interpret in the Scriptures of the Old Testament by comparing spiritual things with spiritual things That is the revelations granted under the Law with those which the Gospel had brought forth Which though the Apostles could do yet the grace of understanding the Scriptures of the Old Testament by the Holy Ghost was no more common to all Christians at that time then now that the understanding of the Scriptures is to be purchased by humane indeavours it can be common to all Christians to be Divines By all which it appeareth not that the Scriptures con in all things necessary to salvation clearly to all that want it but that Christianity affordeth sufficient means of instruction in all things necessary to the salvaâ—ion of all that learn it And those who to find this instruction turn simple plain meaning Christians to that translation of the Bible which they like to find resolution in the pretenses of the sects which can arise cannot be said either to teach them Christianity or sufficient means to learn it For he who hath not only acknowledged the substance of Christianity but grounded the hope of his salvation upon it will rather deny his own senses then admit any thing contrary to it to be the true meaning of the Scripture whatsoever be the sound of the words of it But he that onely knoweth the Scriptures to be Gods truth and believeth he hath the spirit of God to conduct him in seeking the sense of it not supposing the beliefe of Christianity to be a condition requisite to the having of Gods spirit may easily be seduced by his inbred pride to devise and set up new positions sounding like the Scriptures which the Church acknowledgeth no more then that meaning of the Old Testament which our Lord and his Apostles first declared was acknowledged by the Scribes and Pharisees And thinking he doth it by the same right as they had must needs take himselfe and his followers for our Lord and his Apostles but the Church for the Scribes and Pharisees As for that extravagant conceit of Cartwright I will once more stand amazed at it A man of so much
knowledge as to think himselfe fit to recall the Lawes of his Country and give new Laws to the Church of God in it is not ashamed to admit that the reason why the Idolatries of Israelites were so odious to God was because he had not commanded them by the Scriptures As if God had never forbade them to worship Idols by the Scriptures For otherwise he could not have inferred by the words of the Prophet that a Christian ought to do nothing without a Text of Scripture to warrant it much lesse to admit any Law of the Church without such evidence Which had it been granted him with power to give the Church such Laws he could not have proceeded without demanding this exception that those which Cartwright should make without any such warrant might be counted godly and religious but these which the Church superstitious CHAP. XXVII Why it was death to transgress the determinations of the Jews Consistory and what power this argueth in the Church A difference between the authority of the Apostles and that of the Church The being of the Church to the worlds end with power of the Keyes makes it not infallible Obedience to Superiors and the Pillar of truth inferre it not IT will not be more difficult to show how the true sense of all those Scriptures which are alleadged towards the infallibility of the Church concurs to make good the terms upon which I have resolved the dispute in hand For having showed that the Law of Moses was given the Jews for the condition of holding the land of promise they ruling as well their civil communion as the service they tendred to God according to it I will demand but one thing more from the general experience of all civill people which is this That no form of Laws can be propounded to any community of men whatsoever so as to serve it without further determining and limiting of such things as time and the occurrences of time shall discover to be undetermined by that Law and therefore questionable So that Moses Law though given by God who foresaw whatsoever could become questionable concerning the mater of his Law yet because given for the civil Law of the people must needs be given liable to want such limitations as the occurrences of time should make requisite Neither can the truth hereof be better evidenced then by showing the course which God by the Law hath taken for the ending of all such disputes arising upon the Law I do therefore not onely grant but insist upon this that the power established by the law of Deut. XVII 8 -12 extendeth to all maner of debates arising upon occasion of any recept of Moses Law and to the determining of them by limiting those things which the leter of the Law had not expressed I do likewise grant that death is allotted for a penalty to whosoever should not conform to any such determination and the practice of the Law according to it And I do find so much reason for it that I do not understand how possibly that people should subsist and by consequence the Law which made them that people in practice of it without such a provision as this An opinion of the intent and meaning of God in the practice of any precept being sufficient to divide that people into parties not to be reconciled but by the voice of God either upon the occasion or by the Law warranting the sentence of those whom he authorizeth to declare what he requireth of his people Setting aside for the present to dispute whether it be the Priests alone or the Priests with the chiefe of the People in whom this Power is vested by the Law as for the present I dispute not who the persons are in whom the power of Church maters rests in behalf of the Church it is plainly by this Law a capitall crime to teach and do contrary to what the publick Power of that People should determine concerning the intent and practice of any Precept of that Law And therefore accordingly I grant insist that in the new Israel of God according to the Spirit which is the Church of Christ there is and ought to be a Power of putting out of the fellowship of the same any man that shall not stand to the resolution which legally is able to conclude it For without such a Power it cannot be imagined how the unity thereof should subsist seeing that there can be no community in which debates shall not arise about those things wherein they communicate I grant further and insist that he who is justly put out of the Church though meerly for violating the unity thereof by disobeying that just order which unites it is thereby condemned to the death of the world to come As he that teaches and does contrary to the sentence of that power that concludes the Synagogue is put out of this Notwithstanding as many other crimes besides this are capitall by the law of Moses so there be many other causes both of faith and of life by which a man forfeits his interest both in the world to come and in the communion of the Church But if any man argue that because a man forfeits the Communion of the Church by disobeying the determination thereof therefore all the determinations thereof are infallibly true and obliging by virtue of Gods Law I shall deny the consequence by virtue of that very Law of Deut. XVII 8 -12 upon which this Argument is grounded For whereas it makes disobedience a capital crime there are other Laws that suppose a breach of the Law even in following the determinations of that power which it establisheth At least if we admit the practice of those Jews that follow the Talmud in those precepts of Levit. VI. 13 -21 Numb XV. 21 -26 which indeed cannot reasonably be otherwise understood How should the Congregation offer sacrifices to expiate that ignorance wherein all were involved but as those that had power to make wrong determinations should expiate that ignorance which the Congregation by following had incursed Neither saith our Lord any lesse in the Gospel though in a mater of greater consequence when having condemned them that transgressed Gods commandment for the Tradition of their Predecessors Mat. XV. 5-10 Mar. VII 8-12 neverthelesse he commands them to observe and do all such things as the Scribes and Pharisees sitting in Moses Chair should command Mat. XXIII 2. to wit because the authority of Moses his Chair presupposed the Law of God but extended not to nullifie any part of it In like maner the authority of the Church presupposing the truth of Christianity the profession whereof makes Christians the Body whereof is the Church It is not possible that it should reach so farre as to warrant any man to believe that which those grounds upon which the truth of Christianity stands cannot evidence to be true I say not that the Church cannot determine what shall be taught and received in such disputes as
are justified before God But the inward and Spirituall observation of them at least the purpose and intention of it as it depends upon the grace of Christ which the Gospel publisheth so must it necessarily be included in that faith which in opposition to the works of the Law qualifies Christians for those promises which the Gospel tendereth But that which must remove all doubt of the Apostles meaning in this point must be the removing that difficulty which held the Jewes then and still holds them in the opinion of obtaining righteousnesse and salvation by the Law For certainely could S. Paul have perswaded them that the ancient Fathers from the beginning of whose salvation theyh could not doubt though under the Law yet obtained not salvation by the law but by the Gospel it had been an easie thing for him to have perswaded them to it The Apostles intent therefore is to perswade them to that which because it was hard to perswade them to therefore they continued Jewes and refused to become Christians Now let us suppose that which I have premised that the Law expressely covenanteth onely for the worldly happinesse of that people in the land of promise requiring in lieu of it onely the outward and civil observation of the law But the summe of that outward observation thereof which is expressely covenanted for consisting in the worship of one God whose providence in the particular actions of his creatures it presupposeth maintaining also a Tradition of the immortality of mans soul and of bringing all mens actions to account shall not all that are born under this Law stand necessarily convict that they owe this God that inward and spirituall obedience wherein his worship in Spirit and truth consisteth And seeing the same God tenders them terms of that reconcilement and friendship which maintaines them in that state of this world whereby they may be able and fit to render him such inward and spirituall obedience punctually making good the same to them Have they not reason enough to conclude that they shall not faile of his favour and grace so long as they proceed in a course of such obedience How much more having the examples of the ancient Fathers the doctrine which they delivered by word of mouth the instructions of the Prophets whom God raised up from time to time to assure them that this was that principall intent of Gods law though it made the least noise in it how much more I say must they needs stand convict both of their own obligation to tender God this obedience and also that tendring it they could not faile of Gods favour toward them even as to the life to come Though this cannot be said to be the Gospel of Christ because it containeth not the dispensation of his life in the flesh nor the expresse tender of the life to come in consideration of the profession of his Name and of living according to his doctrine Yet if it be truly said that the Gospel is implied and vailed in the Law either this signifies nothing or this is the thing that it signifies For upon this ground it is manifest that there was alwayes a twofold sense and effect of Moses Law and by consequence a twofold law By virtue of which difference whereas it is said Heb. VII 16. That the legall Priesthood stood by the law of a carnall precept And the precepts thereof are called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as I said afore And the blood of bulls and of goats and the ashes of the red heifer are said to sanctifie to the cleansing of the flesh Heb. IX 10. 13. On the other side S. Paul saith that the Law is spirituall and that the commandment was given to life and therefore discovers concupiscence to be sinne Rom. VII 7 10 14. And S. Steven saith to his people of Moses that he received living oracles to give unto us Acts VII 38. And S. Paul of himself and his fellow Apostles delivering the doctrine of the Gospel Which things we speak saith he not with words taught by mans wisdome but taught by the holy Ghost comparing spiritual things with spiritual things 1 Cor. II. 13. that is the spiritual things which the Gospel expresseth with the same spiritual things implied by the law As I shewed afore that the same S. Pauls meaning is that the man of God is perfectly furnished to every good work when he is able to make the Scriptures of the Old Testament usefull to instruct reprove teach and comfort Christians in Christianity 2 Tim. III. 16 17. And truly whatsoever is said in the writings of the Apostles or the sayings of our Lord Christ supposing the difference between that which is Spirituall and that which is carnall or literall in the Scriptures must be expounded upon this ground of the Apostle that all the promises of God are yea in Christ and in him amen as S. Paul saith 2 Cor. I. 20. That is to say that the temporall promises of Moses law were intended for and fulfilled in the eternall promises of Christs Gospel For upon this ground there is a Jew according to the letter and a Jew according to the Spirit that is a Christian Rom. II. 28 29. There are sons according to the flesh and sons according to promise Rom. IX 8. and he that was born of the bondmaide was born according to the flesh and persecuted him that was born of the free woman according to the Spirit Gal. IV. 23. 29. For this reason it is said That the Fathers all eat the same spirituall meat and drank the same spirituall drink as we Christians do For they drank of the spirituall rock that followed them which rock was Christ 1 Cor. X. 3 4. Because as Christianity was intended by the law so was Christ by the figures of the law neither is there any other reason to be given why the letter killeth but the Spirit quickneth as S. Paul affirmeth 2 Cor. III. 6. but this Because as the law in the literall sense provides no remedy for those that fall into Capitall crimes but leaves them to the justice of the law So the Spirituall sense of it was not available to bring men to life though available to convict them of sinne So that the Jews whom S. Paul pursueth as guilty of sinne by the conviction of the law stand noverthelesse convict that they were never able however convict of sin to attain righteousnesse by the help of it alone and therfore that they are no lesse obliged to have recourse to the Gospel and to imbrace Christianity then the Gentiles themselves who had no other pretense to avoid the judgement of God which the Gospel publisheth This is the intent of S. Paul in the first chapters of his Epistle to the Romanes which he recapitulates in this generall inference Rom. III. 9. We have pleaded before that Jewes and Gentiles both are under sinne And againe Rom. XI 32. God hath shut up all under disobedience that he might have
in the same regard of the flesh Which is therefore the common principle by meanes whereof true righteousnesse can take no place without the Gospel of Christ neither in Jews nor Gentiles And therefore that which follows in S. Pauls discourse Rom. VII 14 leaving for the present the dispute how farre it takes place in the regenerate in all opinions must take place in the unregenerate upon a principle common to all mankind Which is this that as the Law of God is spirituall so man is carnall and by consequence sold under sinne For in whom there is a contradiction to the Law of God and that righteousnesse which it requireth of man from the inward motions of the heart so soon as the understanding becoms convict that this it requireth â—n him there is unquestionably a principle of rebellion against God for something that he is inclined to desire for himselfe without and against all respect of God Now by the processe of S. Pauls discourse all Christians that admit S. Paul must allow that it supposeth such a principle in all that come to Christianity whether or no it inferre the like in those that are already come to it To wit not to do what they like but what they hate and approving the Law to be good that forbids it to do the evil which they would not do not the good which they are willing to do So that though there be a Law of God which in their judgement they approve yet there is another Law in their menbers which prevailes against it to captive them to the law of sinne Which law be it the custome of sinne as much as you will provided that this custome have passed over all mankinde all that the Gospel is tendred to Seeing it is the choice of no man no nation but common to Adams posterity it must needs be derived by propagation from his sinne whom his posterity not knowing could not purpose to imitate The words of S. Paul Gal. V. 16 17. are to the same purpose Now I say Walk in the spirit and fulfill not the desires of the flesh For the flesh Iusteth against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh and these are opposite to one another so that ye may not do that ye would For supposing the same dispute whether they be meant of Christians or of the unregenerate at least when Christianity is tendered when men are exhorted to imbrace it then is there in man a principle opposite to that which the spirit of God bringing the Gospel and brought by the Gospel requires And that inferrs the same consequence as afore But I must not forget the passage of S. Paul Ephes I. 1 2 3. And you being dead in trespasses and sins in which once ye walked according to the age of this world according to the Ruler of the dominion of the aire the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience among whom all we also conversed once in the lusts of our flesh doing the desires of our flesh and thoughts and were by nature the children of wrath as the rest also For I must observe that Paul writing to a Church of Gentiles converted to be Christians himself of a Jew first concludeth the Gentiles to be under the power of Satan And then least it should be thought that the Jews of whom himselfe was one were invited to be Christians upon other termes he inferreth of them that we also among them Gentiles were by nature children of wrath Where it is plaine that S. Paul having expressed the sinnes of the Gentiles in which he saith they were dead and having aequalled the Jewes to them for walking according to their lusts cannot possibly be understood to speake of the common birth of all men when he saith we were by nature the children of wrath as well as others Whosoever shall peruse Epiphanius a Christian Writer but in such a stile as those that were not bred to the learning and elegance of the Greeks language may be supposed to use and therefore much resembling the stile of the Apostles and of very good use for them who would inwardly be acquainted with their language he shall find this word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 very ordinarily used by him not to signifie as commonly it doth by nature or by birth but truly and really Which signification how well it suits with the words of S. Paul when he saith We Jewes were 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 really the children of wrath as also the rest that were Gentiles Let any man that can judge of learning judge So I insist not upon this word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but upon S. Pauls discourse and upon the ground hitherto perswaded I argue That Jewes as well as Gentiles being thus concluded under the necessity of the Gospel which is the grace of Christ the ground of it can be no other then the corruption of all the posterity of the first Adam which onely the second Adam can cure I come now to our Saviours instruction to Nicodemus when of a Doctor of the Jews he became first a disciple of Christ John III. 3 5 6. Verily verily I say unto thee Vnlesse a man be born againe that is of water and of the holy Ghost he cannot see or enter into the kingdom of God That which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the spirit is spirit Marvaile not that I said to thee We must be born again And to the same effect S. John himself speaking in his own person of our Lord Christ John I. 12 13. But as many as received him to them gave he power to become the children of God to wit to those that believe in his name Who were not born of blouds or of the will of the flesh but of God In these words I acknowledge a very considerable difficulty though perhaps it is not that which most men do forecast But I that do maintaine that the Baptisme of Christ was not instituted when these words were said having said already that the Baptisme of Christ is that to which the promise of remission of sinnes is allowed must needs find it hard to answer what our Lord meant when he said Vnlesse a man be born of water and of the holy Ghost For if the Sacrament of Baptisme were not then instituted when our Saviour spake these things to Nicodemus how shall we say that originall sinne is signified by these words wherein there is no mention of the cure of it Surely upon the ground afore setled that the second birth is by the holy Ghost and the holy Ghost given in consideration of the profession of Christianity by being baptized For this being setled it may remaine questionable what Nicodemus could then understand by the name of water but it cannot be questionable that there is no regeneration without the holy Ghost and no holy Ghost without that condition upon which the gift of the holy Ghost is due that is without Baptisme To
the Father but of the World But what is there between God and the world but the old serpent and the leaven which he hath poisoned man with And this is that venim which we read of Psal LVIII 4 5 6. The wicked are estranged from their mothers womb as soon as they are born they go astray and speak lies They have venime like the venime of a serpent like the deaf addar that stoppeth his eare That will not hear the voice of the inchanters that inchant with charmes cunningly For if it be said that all this speakes onely of the wicked which of their own choice have addicted themselves to sinne and that by being bred to it by their Fathers and predecessor and so debauched from their own natural innocence I shall presently appeale to David himself and his confession with which he pretends to grace Psal LI. 7. 8. Behold I was formed in wickednesse and in sin did my mother conceive me But behold thou requirest truth in the intrailes and shalt make me to understand wisdome secretly I know it is said that this is nothing but an hyperbolicall expression of the Prophet whereby he chargeth himselfe with sinne even before he could understand what sinne was and that from the time of his conceiving in the womb were that possible he hath been liable to sinne and so left without mercy And to this purpose is alledged that of the Pharisees to the blind man John IX 34. Thou wast wholly born in sinne and dost thou teach us To argue that among the Jews it was an ordinary expression to aggravate a mans sinne by saying That he was borne in sinne And truly what the Jews of that time might conceive of the coming in of sinne is not alltogether so cleare in regard of the Apostles words to our Lord upon the occasion of the same man when they askt our Lord whether he was born blinde for his owne sinne or for the sinne of his parents John IX 2. Which our Lord answering for neither but for a particular intent of shewing a particular work of God upon him Denies not the common taint of our nature when he affirmes That particualr workes of providence upon particualr persons have particular reasons and ends for which God will have them come to passe But shews that there were severall opinions in vogue at that time through the nation and that there might be a conceit of mens soules sinning in other bodies or before they came into these bodies according to the position of Pythagoras or the conjecture of Origen Though the opinion of Herod concerning John the Baptist that he should be alive againe in our Lord Mat. XIV 2. doth not appeare to proceed from any such presumption as this but from an imagination that dead mens soules might come and live againe in the world whether in the same or other bodies From this opinion then the reproach of the Pharisees to this man that he was born in sinne may well seem to proceed And their error will not prejudice the truth that all men are indeed born in sinne But I observe further that the people of God as they were totally divided from the worship of Idols so from the consequences thereof which Paul in the first of the Romanes sheweth to have been all sorts of uncleanness in the first place and then the rest of those evils which towards the end of the Chapter he qualifies the Gentiles with For it is manifest that uncleannesse which contained no civil in justice was counted but an indifferent thing with all the Gentiles Let him that would be satisfied of this peruse what the Wise man hath said of the seed of the Gentiles which he compareth with the Jews whom they persecuted all along his whole work Wisdom III. 12-IV 1-6 Where it is manifest that he setteth forth the posterity of the Gentiles as defiled with the uncleannesse wherein they were bred and born And this is most certainely the reason why S. Paul saith of Christians married to Gentiles 1 Cor. VII 14. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband Else were your children uncleane but now are they holy To wit that a heathen husband or wife consenting to dwell in wedlock with a Christan is sanctified by a Christian husband or wife by whose meanes he is brought to this ingagement For when S. Paul adviseth the Christian party to continue in wedlock contracted with an Idolater before Christianity he presupposeth that the Gentile shall be willing to forbear the vulgar uncleannesses of the Gentiles for the love of a Christian yokefellow Otherwise it could not be honest nor for the reputation of a Christian among the Gentiles having power of divorcing as both parties had in the Romane Empire to continue in wedlock with him that acknowledged not Christian but onely civil wedlock That is the wife to be tied in regard of the issue but the man free to all uucleannesse which the Romane Lawes no way restrained And therefore their children so farre from being unclean according to the manners of heathen parents that they are holy upon presumption that they shall be bred in the instruction of Christianity by the meanes of that party which was Christian I observe againe that the Prophet David speaking of his wicked enemies the figure of the Jewes whom thereby he designeth aforehand to be the enemies of our Lord and his Church applieth the same expression to them being of the carnall people of God but farre from Jewes according to the spirit which the people of God other whiles use concerning the Gentiles when he saith that they are estranged from the wombe and as soone as they are born go astray and speak lies For it is manifest that he calls them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Psal LIX 6 9. which by the title appeares to be written of the Jewes his enemies And so Psal XLII 2. Which word commonly stands in as ill a sense with the Jewes as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Gentes Nationes to the Christians not for people 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but for Ethnicks or Gentiles that is to say Idolaters And so to this day the Jewes call us Christians 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is to say Gentiles And upon these observations I am induced to believe that the Pharisees and those of the Consistory out of the confidence they had of their own holinesse which they presumed of upon the Curisity which they kept the Law with did judge of those that pretended not to the same as of people once removed from Gentiles and so sinners from their birth by the grossenesse of those manners in which they were bred But when David comes to confesse of himself that he was altogether born in sinne and conceived by his mother in wickednesse It is not possible that any such reason should take place but rather such a one as may make good whatsoever
upon the world to be worshipped for gods the doctrines of devils must needs be those which men guided by devils do advance I must here suppose further that which I reade in Epiphanius that Marcion and Tatianus with his Scholars the Encratites who enjoyned their disciples to abstain from women and certain kindes of meats as not of Gods making had their beginning from Saturninus he from Simon Magus as Iraeneus I. 30. affirmeth Whereby it cannot seem strange that their doctrine should be in vogue during the time of the Apostles I demand then what reason can be given why they who taught the worshipping of angels should also injoyne abstinence from women and meates were there not in the case an opinion that marriage and those creatures come not from God but by some failleur of his as Simon Magus said from the beginning from the Angels To which purpose we must observe that S. Paul gives them warning of Philosophy Col. II. 8. because it is certaine that these sects took their rise from the writitings of Plato and Pythagoras and their followers whom Tertâ—llianâ— therfore stileth the Patriarchs of Hereticks But the words of Irenaeus deserve here to be considered Having promised to refute Marcion in due place Nunc autem necessario meminimus ejus ut scires quoniam omnes qui quoquo modo adulterant veritatem praeconium Ecclelaedunt Simonis Samaritani Magi discipuli successores sunt Quamvis non conâ—iâ—eantur nomen magistri sui ad seductionem reliquorum attamen illius sententiam docent Christi quidem Jesu nomen tanquam irritamentum praeferentes Simonis autem impâ—etatem varie introducentes But it was necessary that we should remember him now that thou mightest know that all those who any way adulterate the truth and wrong that which the Church preacheth are the Scholars and successours of Simon the Magician of Samaria Though to deceive others they professe not their masters name yet they teach hâ—s sense Pretending indeed for a Stale the name of Christ Jesus but divers wayes introducing Simons impious doctrines And by and by Vt exempli gratia dicamus a Saturnino Marciâ—ne qui vocantur Continentes abstinentiam a nuptiiâ— annuâ—ciaverunt frustrantes antiquam plasmationem Dei oblique accusantes eum qui masculum foeminam ad generationem hominum fecit â—orum quae dicuntur apud eos animalium abstinentiam induxerunt ingrati existentes ei qui omnia fecit Deo To speak for example from Saturninus and Marcion those that are called Encratites preach abstinence from marriage frustrating that which God framed of old and indirectly blaming him that made male and female for the procreation of mankind and introduce abstinence from those which they call living creatures being ungratefull to God that made all things If Marcion and Saturninus had this doctrine from Simon Magus of necessity it must have been on foot during the time of the Apostles Onely here will ly a difficult objection from that which I shewed a little afore that Simon Magus baited his doctrine with the pleasures of sensuall concupiscence as the meanes to gaine followers if in stead of the hardship of Christs Crosse he could perswade them that believing the secret knowledge which he taught the free use of them was the meanes to attain the world to come And of Cerinthus in particular he that shall peruse what Eusebius hath related out of Caiâ—s and Dionysius of Alexandria Ecclesiast Hist III. 28. shall easily perceive the whole aime of his Sect to have been the injoying of sensuall pleasure So that the saying of those whom Saint Paul writes against 1 Cor. XV. 32. Let us eate and drink for to morrow we shall dy exactly fits his followers And so doth the pretense of those who seduced the Galatians to observe the Law though themselves kept not the Law that they might not be persecuted with the Crosse of Christ Gal. VI. 12 13. That is that would have them comply with the Jewes in keeping the Law so farre as might save them from being persecuted by the Jews as well as with the Gentiles in their Idolatries to save them from persecution at their hand According to the common principle of the Gnosticks that it was a folly to suffer for professing the Faith To this it is easie to answer That the devil might have severall baits for severall qualities of persons even in the same common principles of Simon Magus whereof if we see some sects imbrace some others those that seem inconsistent with them being certified that both spring from the same source it is no wayes incredible that the seeds of all of them were sowen in his common doctrine That Carpocrates that Prodicus and the Gnosticks that followed Nicolas according to Epiphanius should be remarkable for unnaturall uncleannesse having the way plained for them by Simon how can it be strange that refined spirits should be taken with such grosse pretenses as brutish people are apt to be seduced with would be strange on the other side And that Magick which Simon and Menander with the Basilidians and Carpocratians frequently practised whatsoever the rest did had alwayes pretenses of austerity in discipline not onely as a meanes to obtaine influence from powers above but to seduce the simple with a colour of severity and abstinence Seeing then that Saturninus upon Irenaeus his credit derived this discipline from the doctrine of Simon Magus how can it seeme improbable that during S. Pauls time some branch of the same doctrine should spread over the parts of Asia concerned in S. Pauls Epistles to Timothy and to the Colossians Whether by Cerinthus or by whom besides him I need not dispute There is no doubt indeed but according to Epiphanius his Heresie had vogue in these parts As in Galatia besides Epiphanius Sirmondus his Praedestinatus saith that it is condemned there by S. Paules Epistle And Gaius in Eusebius III. 28. testifieth that Cerinthus pretended revelations by Angels and Tertulliane contra Marc. V. that those who seduced the Colossians did the like But whether Cerinthus or some other branch of Simon Magus the source of his doctrine is plainly from the same principle with Marcion and the Eucratites afterwards Now if any man demand what all this may conduce to the understanding of those Scriptures which speak of our Lord Christ let it be but considered that Simon Magus pretending to be the Christ and to seduce Christians from our Lord Jesus to himself and withall and to be worshipped with honours due to God doth hereby effectually suppose that our Lord was effectually so worshiped by Christians from the beginning Irenaeus saith further of the doctrine of Simon Magus I. 20. That he was glorified of many as God and taught that he was the man who had appeared among the Jewes as the Sonne that is the Messias had come in Samaria as the Father but to the rest of the Gentiles as the holy Ghost So that being indeed the soveraigne
but as it was revealed to them by the said Angels from whom Tertulliane saith they pretended to have received those doctrines which they imposed upon the Collossians though according to the Law of Moses And this is the ground of those things which S. Paul discourses as well against legall observations as against the worship of angels Col. II. 16. which if you will survay what Crotius hath noted upon that place and upon 1 Tim. IV. 1-5 you shall finde to be directly opposed to the doctrines of those Heresies which had their beginning even during the Apostles times So that the reason why he saith that They hold not the head from whom the whole body furnished and compacted by joints and bands groweth the growth of God Col. II. 19. is because they would not have the Angels and the World to be his work which therefore S. Paul must be understood to oppose And truly when they grant the passage of the Psalme noted by the Apostle and repeated before Heb. I. 10. Thou Lord in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth to belong to Christ where it speaketh of changing the world but to God where it speakes of making the world there being no difference imaginable between the making and the changing of it what reason can be imagined why all and the proper name of God with all should not be said of Christ Thus much at least our Lord not onely sayes but argues John V. 19 That God hath given him such workes to do as himself doth to raise the dead for example and to judge both quick and dead that all men might honour him as they do the Father which is neither more nor lesse then to esteem him neither more nor lesse And in the place afore named resuming and reinferring his claime of being equall to God which to divert the fury of the Jewes he had seemed a little to wave John X. 37 38. If I do not the works of my Father believe me not but if I do them though ye believe not me believe the workes That you may know that my Father is in me and I in him Where you may see that by the miracles which our Saviour shewed them having obliged them to believe that he was a Prophet come from God and by consequence that whatsoever he came to teach them is true By the works which he foretold of his sitting down at the right hand of God sending the H. Ghost calling the Gentiles raising the dead and judging both quick and dead he obligeth those that believe him to be Christ to believe him to be God being such things as none but God can do Now when S. John saies further And the Word was made flesh and dwelt amongst us And we saw his glory as the glory of the only begotten son of God full of grace and truth It is not to be denied that the name of flesh intimateh the weaknesse of that meane estate in the which it pleased Christ to come But that implying this it should not expresse his being man is a thing which the bare name of flesh will not indure The people of God onely being acquainted with spirituall and invisible substances in opposition to which man being called flesh or flesh and blood the weaknesse of his nature must by consequence be implied the nature it self being directly understood and expressed Wherefore when the Apostle saith John IV. 2 3. Every Spirit that acknowledgeth Jesus who is come in the flesh to be Christ is of God And every spirit that acknowledgeth not Jesus Christ that is come in the flesh to be Christ is not of God It is manifest that he speakes of those heresies which would have the Christ to be something else then the man Jesus belonging to the fullnesse of the Godhead whether it came upon the man Jesus to leave him againe according to Cerinthus during the time of the Apostles and Valentine and others afterwards or whether it never appeared in the person of a man in the World For I have made it manifest before that these were the Doctrines of those Haeresies wherof he gives them warning Besides we must here recall all the reasons that have been used to shew that S. John in the premises speaks of the state of the Word before the birth of our Lord and not before his appearing to Preach By which it will appear that we shall not need to dispute with Socinus about the signification of the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whether it may at any time or whether here it may or must signifie was or became The consequence of the Text necessarily inferring that when S. John sayes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 his meaning is not that this Word was a mean man but that the Word became man which it was not afore And therefore for S. Johns meaning we must look to the opposition between the Flesh and the Spirit so often expressed and signified to be in our Lord Christ by the Apostles S. Paul speaking of the Fathers Rom. IX 5. Of whom sayth he is Christ according to the flesh who is God blessed for evermore Intimating that he is another way according to the Spirit That way he expresseth Rom. I. 3. saying that Christ who came of the Seed of David according to the flesh is declaâ—ed or as the Syriack translates it known to he the Son of God according to the Spirit of Holinesse by rising from the dead Whereupon another Apostle sayes 1 Pet. III. 18. that he was put to death in the flesh but quickned in or by the Spirit Or as S Paul again 2 Cor. XIII 4. Crucified out of weakness but alive out of the power of God For in all these speeches as the flesh and the weakness thereof signifies the manhood so the Spirit the Godhead For in the Gospells sometimes he professeth to do miracles and cast out Devils by the power of God sometimes by the Holy Ghost Mar. VI. 5. IX 39. Luke IV. 36. V. 17. VI. 19. Where we hear what the Sinne against the Holy Ghost in the Gospell is Namely for those that stood so plentifully convict that these works were done by the power of God in him to say that they were done by the Prince of Devils For vvhen the Baptist sayth John III. 34. He whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God For God giveth him not the Spirit by measure He maketh the difference plain enough between the fulness of the Spirit dwelling in Christ vvhich is the Godhead of the Word incarnate never to be parted from the Manhood of Christ and that measure of it by vvhich the Prophets spake for the time that they vvere inspired As S. Paul sayes of the Church that grace is given it according to the measure of Christs gift Ephes IV. 7. Wherefore the Apostle having observed afore that Melchisedeck is called a Priest not according to the commandment of a carnall Law but according to the virtue of indissoluble Life Heb. VII 16.
Whatsoever my Father giveth me shall come to me And No man can come to me unlesse my Father that sent me draw him And the Apostle 1 John VI. 19. We love him because he loved us first Heb. XII 2. Every good and perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the Father of lights with whom is no change or shadow of turning Gal. VI. 3. If any man think himself something being nothing he deceives himself Heb. XIII 22. God make you of one mind in every good work to do his will working in you that which is acceptable before him through Jesus Christ To wit by the meanes of his Spirit 2 Tim. â— 9 10. It is God that hath saved us and called us with an holy calling not according to our works but his owâ— purpose and grace given us through Christ Jesus before eternall times but now manifested by the appearance of our Saviour Jesus Christ having abolished death but shined forth life and incorruption by the Gospel The abolishing of death and the declaration of eternall life wherein the calling of men to Christianity consists together with the saving of us which is effected by meanes of the Sonne how these things come by Christ we learn from his words John XII 24 31 32 33. Verily verily I say unto you If a graine of wheat fall not into the earth and dy it remaineth alone But if it dy it beareth much fruit And Now is the judgement of this world Now shall the prince of this world be cast forth And I when I am lifted uâ— from the earth will draw all men to me This he said signifying what death he should dy But signifying also what should be the force and effect of that death Then those Scriptures which make charity to be the gift of God and of the holy Ghost John IV. 7. Rom. V. 5. 1 Cor. XII 31. XIII 1. Gal. V. 22. which holy Ghost our Lord Christ by his death hath obtained for us as afore Unto all which I will adde in the last place those which speake of the predestination of God as it signifies no more then the preparation of that grace from everlasting whereby we are saved in time S. Paul indeed when he excludes the presumption which the Jews had of being saved by the Law as the Fathers they thought were distinguishing between the seed of Abraham according to the flesh and according to promise Rom. IX 6-13 which promise he supposes to be the forerunner of Christs Gospel Manifestly declares no more then the question which he is there engaged in requires him to declare To wit that they were not saved by virtue of the Law but by virtue of that Grace which now the Gospel openly tendereth So that Israel and Esau holding the figure of the Jews that expected to be saved by the works of the Law Isaac and Jacob consequently answer the Christians who expect salvation not by their birth but by Gods promise not by works but by him that calleth To wit to the said promise Whereby it appeareth that the words of the Prophet which he alledgeth Jacob have I loved and Esau have I hated signify no more according to the spirituall sense of the Old Testament which the New Testament yeildeth but the accepting of the Church in stead of the Synagogue of the Christians in stead of the Jews And that this is the purpose of God according to choice which S. Paul speakes of immediately afore In as much as God purposed from the beginning when first he took the seed of Abraham from among the Nations to place his name among them that his choice ones of Isaacs posterity as well as Abrahams should be those that bore the figure of the Christian Church promised afore and born upon the promise that they should be beloved All this being granted which I count most true and undeniable notwithstanding the purpose of God according to choice as it expresses a declaration of receiving the Church in stead of the Synagogue so it implies and presupposes a purpose of God to make and to build Christs mysticall body which is the Church upon which purpose of God all those prophesies are grounded whereby God foretelleth of his new people Israel according to the Spirit which Christians know to be those children which he raised up to Abraham out of the stones For we cannot think so slightly of Gods providence that by foretelling this secret he obliges himself onely to finde sufficient meanes to convert men to Christianity But also those which should take effect and bring to passe the conversion of the World to Christianity by the Gospel of Christ Seeing then that the Church is nothing but the souls whereof it consisteth and that the foreknowing and the foretelling of the Church which Christians believe to be fulfilled consisteth in foreknowing and foretelling the conversion of those persons who have constituted and shall constitute the number of believers from the preaching of Christianity til the worlds end It followeth that this purpose of God according to election can no way stand without an intent of God to bring the said election that is this multitude of Gods choice ones to Christianity whether by the preaching of the Gospel or by the helps which depend thereupon as it depends upon Christs death And this is most manifest by S. Pauls answer to an objection which followes upon his conclusion of this point That if God hath mercy upon whom he pleaseth and pardons whom he pleaseth he has no cause to complaine of any man to wit of the Jews who believe not because no man can resist his will That is to say because he is able to convert them if he please Which inference S. Paul not denying that God could convert the unbelieving Jews if he pleased thus avoideth Nay O man who art thou that disputest with God shall the pot say to the potter Why hast thou made me thus and afore What shall we say then Is there injustice with God God forbid For he saith to Moses I will have mercy on whom I have mercy and I will have compassion on whom I compassionate So it is not in the willing nor in the running but in God that shewes mercy Rom IX 18 19 20. 15 16. Where it is plaine that S. Paul no way denies the truth of the assumption That God may if he please imploy such meanes as shall make any man a Christian How he avoides the consequence is another matter and not belonging to this dispute inasmuch as it is manifest to all that understand learning that it is one thing to prove a truth another to clear the objections that ly against it That I shall indeavour to do before I leave the businesse In this I shall think thus much evidenced by the premises that God who knew from the beginning of the sending of Christ and inabling his Apostles and their successors of the Church to convict the world of it who should obey the Gospel and who
the maintenance of no necessity of grace because no originall sinne to deny Christ to be God incarnate that so the grace of God which the Covenant of Grace pretendeth may consist in Gods sending it not in Christs purchasing those helps whereby it is received and observed Which had Pelagius seen how consequent it is to his saying he who held the true faith of the holy Trinity would probably never have proceeded to deny the grace of Christ For would they have the Son of God born into the world and suffer death upon the Crosse on purpose to testifie the Gospel to be Gods message As if the Law had not been received before without it being recommended by such miraculous works of God that the Jews think there cannot be the like motives to believe that it is abrogated by Christianity Be their belief false sure we are Gods arme was not shortned to have no meanes in store to verify his Gospel but the death of his Sonne that he might rise againe to witnesse it For that it should be done to assure them who are perswaded that the Gospel is Gods message of the performance thereof on Gods part is rather a blasphemy then a reason In as much as he who doubts whether God will perform what he doubts not that he hath tied himself to by Covenant believes not God to be God And that we should be better assured of Christs protection because God hath freely bestowed upon him the honour and power of God then because he brought it in time into our flesh which he had from everlasting is a reason which no man can comprehend to be reasonable For whatsoever Grace comes to us by Christ the more originally and inseparably that it belongs to him the better it is assured upon us But one thing I demand of Pelagius aswell as of Socinus For as Socinus expresly grants the habituall grace of the holy Ghost to true Christians as necessary to inable them in performing what they undertake by their Christianity so I suppose Pelagius had the question been put to him would not have refused it I demand then whether a man in reason be more able to do the office of a Christian having undertaken it or to undertake it to wit sincerely while he is free from the ingagement of it That is whether a mans will be able inwardly to resolve without any help of Gods Spirit to do that which without the help of Gods Spirit he cannot performe I suppose the inward act according to all Divines and Philosophers amounts to one and the same in esteem with the outward and the beginning most difficult of all when the proposition of Christianity is most strange For a resolution upon mature debate of reason as in such a case and an engagement upon profession thereof is a meanes powerfull enough to carry a man to undergoe as much hardship as Christianity requires in a thing neither profitable nor pleasant If therefore to the performance of Christianity the assistance of Gods Spirit is requisite then because our nature is averse then much more to resolve us to it Whereby it appears that the same gift of the holy Ghost which being purchased by the obedience of Christ inabled the Apostles to do those things and say those words by which the world stands convict of the necessity of Christianity the same it is that effects the conviction of those who imbrace it and dwelling with them inables them to live in it according to the promise of God to his ancient people Esay LVIII 20. And as for me this is my Covenant with them saith the Lord My Spirit which is upon thee and my words which I have put in thy mouth shall not depart out of thy mouth nor thy seeds mouth nor thy seeds seeds mouth from this time for evermore With the like brevity will I plead the Tradition of the Church concerning the Grace of Christ evidencing the same by three particulars The first whereof shall be of the Baptisme of Infants which as there can be no reason for uâ—lesse we believe originall sinne So I do challenge that it could not have come to be a Law to the Church had not the Faith of the Church from the Apostles time supposed originall sinne First negatively from the proceeding of Pelagius He first a Monk in Britaine and traveling thence along to Rome afterwards either by himself or by his agent Coelestius to Constantinople and Carthage through Asia the lesse and Affrick the East Egypt and Palestine and not finding in all this vast compasse any Church in which it had not been accustomed to baptize infants shall any man be now so madde as to imagine that this can be discovered to have been taken up upon misprision or abuse the custome of the Church having been otherwise afore It is time that the mindes of men that are possest of their senses should be imployed about things within the compasse of reason and not to perswade themselves that they see what cannot be because they cannot answer all arguments that may be made against that which is and is to be seen Could Pelagius have found any footing to deny it he was not such an Idiot as to suffer himself at every turn to be choked by the Catholicks objecting the baptisme of Infants every where received in the Church who might easily have put them to silence by saying it was not an originall Catholick practise of the whole Church but the mistake that of some men which had prevailed by faction in some times and parts of the Church as I pretend hereby to maintaine the Reformation against the present Church of Rome Since that ingenious and learned heretick nor any of his complices hath been found to use this plea all men that intend not to renounce their common sense will justify me if I challenge positively S. Austines Rule in a particular of such moment as this is That seeing it is manifest that it was a law to the whole Church that Infants should be Baptized and that there can be assigned no originall of it from any expresse act of the Church in Councill or otherwise it is therby evident that it comes from the order of the Apostles The reason is the unity of the Church the principle upon which all this proceeds whereby it appeares that it is utterly impossible that a point of such importance to Christianity could have been admitted over all the world where Christians were without any opposition or faction to overcome the same had it not from the beginning been acknowledged to proceed from the common principle from which all Ecclesiasticall Law is derived to wit from the authority of our Lords Apostles the founders of the Church It is not my intent hereby to say that the Apostles order was that all should be baptized Infants whose parents were Christians afore Against which I find reasons alledged in Tertullianes book de Baptismo which I cannot deny to be considerable But that no
work of our Christianity and therefore to every part of it and by consequence that this grace is not given us in consideration of any thing that we are able to do towards the obliging of God to bestow it upon us But I will not take upon me to inflame this abridgment with rehearsal of the testimonies of Church Writers that went afore Pelagius in both these points The testimonies of Fathers that went afore him which S. Augustine hath produced are enough to put those to silence which would have originall sin to be a devise of his But Vossius in his History of the Pelagians having comprised as well these as the rest concerning originall sin libro 11. parte 1. Thes VI. and those which concern the necessity of Grace libro III. parte I. Thes I. II. it will not be to the purpose to do any part of that which hath been sufficiently done already over again To me indeed it seems very considerable that Pelagius acknowledging for Grace first free Will and the Law which teacheth the difference between good and bad after that for the Grace of Christ his doctrine and example first then the illumination of the mind by the Holy Ghost Yet alwaies maintained that man without the help of Grace is able to love God above all to keep his Commandments and resist the greatest temptations to the contrary And in all these points was condemned by the Church as you may see there libro III. parte II. Thes I-VIII For certainly there is a vast difference between the doctrine of Gods Laws absolutely necessary to the doing of his Will even for Adam in the state of innocency and the preaching of the Gospell convincing mankind that they are under Gods wrath by sin tendering pardon to them that imbrace it assuring of everlasting life or death according as they observe the profession of it and shewing the way by our Lords example All which the Scriptures ascribe to the coming of Christ as granted in consideration of it How much more when he granteth the illumination of the Holy Ghost to shew what is to be done must he needs transgress his own position which saith that there is no difference between that state in which we are born and that which Adam was made saving his example but the difference between a man and a Babe For were we born as Adam was made what needed Christ to have purchased by his death the gift of the Holy Ghost to enlighten us inwardly in doing that which without it man is born able to do And having granted the reasons and motives upon which Christians act as Christians to be shewed them both outwardly and inwardly by the Grace of Christ to deny the necessity of the sayd Grace to the acts which proceed from the same can have no excuse but one that Christ came only to evidence the truth of his message leaving the embracing or rejecting of it to every mans choyce Which to maintain if Socinus was fain to make our Lord Christ a meer man that there might be no more in his rising after death then a miracle to assure it Pelagius acknwledging the Trinity will be streightned by S. Pauls consequence If righteousnesse come by the Law then is Christ dead in vain supposing the death of Christ to bring that help of Grace which a miracle by evidencing the truth of the Gospel doth not And seeing God could not be moved by any thing that man could do to give our Lord Christ and the helps which his coming bringeth with it there will be no more left for Pelagius to say But that these helps are not granted of Grace but received by the works which men prevent it with The foundation therefore of the Christian Faith consisting in Gods-sending our Lord Christ of his pure free grace by vertue whereof all the effects of it are works of the same Grace Necessary it was that Pelagius should be condemned for the denying of the necessity of Grace to all acts of Christianity and for affirming that Grace is given according to mans merits as you see there Thesi IX XI that he was Both upon the doctrine of S. Paul premised afore that God was not moved by the works either of Jews or Gentiles to send them those helpes to salvation which the Gospel tendreth Nevertheless the preaching of the Gospel and all the help which it bringeth toward the imbracing of it is no less the Grace of Christ because Pelagius was forced for the better colouring of his Heresie to acknowledge it Onely it is not therefore to be sayd that it is all the help which the Grace of God by Christ furnisheth toward that salvation which Christianity tendreth But to be left to further dispute what further help is granted by God before and without any consideration of mans merit to bring to effect those acts in which the discharge of our Christianity consisteth Excluding therefore the pretense of Pelagius that Moses before the godly Fathers pleased God by the meer strength of nature and that salvation was to be had under the Law by the same Besides the good works of the Gentiles wherewith God was pleased according to Pelagius whom the Church condemned in this Article also as you may see there Thes X. And truly Pelagius acknowledging the Gospel to be no more then the declaration of that Will of God by which man is to be saved after Christ as the Law before Christ utterly overthroweth the plea of the Church derived from the Apostles that the Fathers were saved by faith before and under the Law that the New Testament was in force under the Old by vertue of that commerce which God by his word which afterwards being incarnate was our Lord Christ held with the Fathers His Spirit as naturally planted in the word going along to procure the efficacy of it Whereas Socinus though he acknowledgeth the difference between the literal and mystical sense of the Law yet making our Lord Christ a meer man the vertue of whose death could not extend to the salvation of those who lived afore his coming destroyeth the ground of that which he acknowledgeth This supposition that Christianity is more ancient then Judaâ—sme being necessary to the maintaining of the Church against the Synago ue Which is verified by Gods designing of a Church for the spouse of his Sonne before the Fall figured by the marriage between Adam and Eve according to S. Paul Ephes V. 22-33 But presently after the Fall that Word which being incarnate in our Lord Christ having declared enmity betwen the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent saying It shall break thy head and thou shalt bruise the heel of it The first Adam became the figure of the second according to the same S. Paul Rom. V. 14. Whereupon the Spirit of the second Adam in those Preachers of righteousnesse to whom the Word of God came in that Angel whom the Fathers worshipped for God strove form
thence forth to recover man from the labor of sinne to which when he became mortall he was condemned to Paradise from whence he had been expulsed And therefore our Lord Christ according to S. Peter 1 Pet. IV. 18 19 20. going out of the world by that Spirit whereby he was made alive when he had been put to death in the flesh to wit speaking in his Apostles preached to the Spirits in prison that had been disobedient in the days of Noe Converting the Gentiles by the gift of his Spirit granted upon his sufferings who had refused the same in Noe the Preacher of righteousnesse 1 Pet. II. 5. When God said My Spirit shall no more strive with man Gen VI. 2. For the pilgrimage of the Patriarchs the Promise of the Land of Canaan the Law given by Moses was all but the further limitation and rule of that outward and civile conversation under which the traffique of Christianity was then driven by Prophets who spake by Gods Spirit This Reason Socinus being obliged to miskenne by making our Lord Christ a meer man cannot give that account of the grace of Christ before his coming which the Church doth Acquiting thereby my position That the Law covenanteth expresly onely for the Land of Promise of all suspicion of compliance with his intentions By this you see that Pelagius and Socinus both are carried out of the way of Christianity because they will not acknowledge the decay of mankind by the fall of Adam and the coming of Christ to repair it But those of Marseilles and the parts adjoyning in France that formalized themselves against S. Augustines doctrine of Predestination and effectuall Grace freely and heartily acknowledging Originall sin seem to have justified only upon the true interest of Christianity in that free will which the Covenant of Grace necessarily supposeth though mistaking their way out of humane frailty they failed of the truth though they parted with Pelagius They made faith or at least the beginning of faith and of will to beleive to repent and to turn unto God the work of free will in consideration whereof God though no way tied so to do grants the help of his Grace and Spirit to performe the race of faith Most truly maintaining according to that vvhich hath been professed in the beginning of this book that the act of true Faith is an act of mans free will which God rewardeth with his free Grace To wit with the habituall gift of his spirit inabling true believers to go through with that Faith which thereby they undertake as I have shewed you both these elsewhere Most expresly acknowledging the preaching of the Gospel going before in which whatsoever help the coming of our Lord Chirst hath furnished to move and winne the world to believe is involved But miskenning the grace of the Gospel granted by God in consideration of his obedience to make him a Church that might honour him for it If Pelagius acknowledged no more in the coming of Christ then to make his message appear to be true so that the imbracing of it might oblige God to grant his grace by preventing it with an act of free will complying with it The reason was not because this very tender being the purchase of our Lord Christs free obedience could be subject to any merit of man But because he was engaged to maintaine that we are borne in the same estate in which Adam was made needing nothing but Gods declaration of his will and pleasure towards the fulfilling of it But for them who acknowledge the decay of our nature by the fall of Adam and the coming of our Lord to repair the breaches of it to ascribe the grace which God furnisheth those that believe with for the performing of that which by believing they undertake to the act of freewill in believing which themselves acknowledge to be prevented by so many effects of Christs coming as the preaching of his Gospel necessarily involveth and which the Scriptures so openly acknowledge to be prevented by the Grace of his Spirit purchased by his sufferings must needs argue a great deal of difficulty in the question which the worse divines they appear must needs justifie them to be much the better Christians And indeed there is great cause to excuse them as farre as reason will give leave in a case wherein the Fathers that went afore Pelagius seem to be ingaged with them For it is ordinary enough to read them exhorting to lay out the indeavovrs of free will expecting the assistance of Gods Grace to the accomplishment of that which a man purposes And besides S. Augustine who acknowledges that before the contest with Pelagius he did think faith to be the act of free will which God blesseth with Grace to do as he professeth It cannot be denied that S. Jerome so great an enemy to the Pelagians with some others have expressed that which amounts to it But it is true on the other side that the same Fathers do frequently acknowledge the beginning as well as the accomplishment of our salvation to the grace of God Which is not onely an obligation so to expound their sayings when they set free will before grace as supposing the cure thereof begunne by Grace But also a presumption that those who expresse not the like caution are no otherwise to be understood Especially supposing expresly the motives of faith provided by the holy Ghost granted in consideration of our Lords sufferings in virtue whereof the resolution which is taken for the best must of necessity proceed though by the operation of the same Spirit whereby they are advanced and furnished It is therefore no doubt a commendable thing to excuse the writings of that excellent person John Casiane so farre as the common Faith will give leave as you may see the learned Vossius doth as speaking ambiguously in setting grace before free will sometimes as well as other whiles free will before Grace For Faustus his book De libero arbitrio I cannot say the same though I must needs have that respect for his Christian qualities which the commendations that I read of him in Sidoius Apollinaris deserve For besides that the stile of it is generally such as seems to make free will the umpire between the motions of grace and of sinne which ascribes the ability of well doing to God but the act to our selves that the Fathers under the Law of nature were saved by free will he delivers expresly with Pelagius An oversight grosse enough in any man that shall have considered upon what terms Christianity is to be justified against the Jews out of the Old Testament There is therefore appearance enough that the II Council of Orange which finally decreed against the heresie of Pelagius was held expresly to remove the offenses which that book had made And evidence enough that the articles of it are justified by the tradition of the whole Church For those prayers of the Church that way and subject of
uprightnesse of Adams posterity upon the condition of his obedience when as it is evident enough that it was in his power to have done otherwise And this account being rendred it will be easie to say why Eve found not the effect of her transgression before Adam had eaten the forbidden fruit To wit Not because she should never have found any had not he sinned But because the effects of it do not necessarily follow instantly at all times and in all things and that in tempting Adam which was the next thing she did they did instantly appear As for the great difficulty how the spirituall substance of the soul should receive a taint from the carnall concupiscence whereby it cometh to be united to the body I will here challenge the benefit of that principle which I have once established That which once was not matter of Faith can never by processe of time or any act the Church can do become matter of Faith Though we may become more obliged to believe it not by the generall obligation of Christianity but by having studied the reasons by which it is deduced from the principles of Faith Besides that light of reason which Faith presupposeth And by the same reason the Church may justly injoyne it to be received â—hat is to say not openly contradicted For such is the matter of the propagation of mans soul whether by transplanting as part of the Fathers hold or by immediate existence from God in the body which nature prepareth for it Which having been manifestly disputable in S. Augustines time I hold it very consequent to that which I have done in the point of the Trinity whether it may be made evident to reason or not to leave it without producing any mans reason by which I pretend to maintaine that it is either traâ—uced or created A wayes supposing that no reason can be receivable which provideth not for the immortality of it which no man questions Lastly it is manifest that actuall sinne â—s first called by the name of sinne because first subject to sense but so that the displeasure of God and by consequence the name of sinne is no lesse reall against habituall sinnes So I will confesse further as afore of the terms of essence and person in the mystery of the blessed Trinity that they were brought into the Church to prevent the malice of hereticks and to settle a right understanding in that which was necessary to be received by Christians So now that the terme of Original sinne was first brought in by S. Augustine and the Church of his time to expresse that ground upon which the Church had from the beginning maintained the grace of our Lord Christ and the necessity of it But that thâ—s ground is not to be maintained unlesse we acknowledge besides those habits of sinne which we contract an habituall inclination to sinne bred in our nature from the fall of Adam which may be called sinne in regard of the likenesse and correspondence of it to and with other inclinations to sinne contracted by custome Having thus set aside this opinion before I come to decide the difficulty proposed I hold it necessary to debate that which both parts seem to take for granted neither of them having expressed any reason to oblige us so to take it That is whether Adam were created to supernaturall happinesse which is that which Christians now expect in the presence of God for everlasting and therefore indowed with those graces which might make him capable of it Or onely in a state of naturall happinesse consisting in the content of this life onely and supposing perfect obedience to God in the course of it Were it but for the the repute I have of Grotius for his skill in the Scriptures who in one of his Annotations upon Cassander hath declared this opinion for part of his judgement I should count it worth the debating But I have found it further maintained by reasons which seem to me considerable and no way prejudiciall to the Faith Which notwithstanding I do not intend to propose for mine own ingaging my self to maintaine this but to confront with the reasons brought for it what I find reasonable to be said on the other side that in a nice and obscure point the discreet reader may chuse what he shall think most fit to allow Now all the argument that can be drawn into consequence on either side arising from the relation of Moses compared with such texts of the New Testament as may give light to it It is first argued That seeing God first framed man of the dust of the earth and breathed into him the breath of life and man became a living soule It seemeth evident that he was made in a state of naturall life onely S. Paul having said in comparing him with Christ 1 Cor. XV. 45. So also it is written The first man Adam became a living soul The last Adam became a quickning Spirit Meaning to say That as Moses saith that Adam became a living soul So not that Moses saith but that Christians may say that Christ is become a quickning Spirit For hereupon it followes in S. Paul that as that which is spirituall was to follow so that which is naturall or animall was to go before But to this on behalf of the other part me thinks it may be said That Moses as all the Old Testament speakes onely of the state of our naturall life but intends by the correspondence between materiall and spiritual things as the figure and that which it figures to signify to us that which belongs to that spirituall life which the Gospel introduces Of which intent all that I have produced to settle that difference between the litterall and mysticall sense of the Old Testament is evidence So that Gods breathing the breath of life into mans nostrills is the figure of his breathing the spirituall life of Grace into the soul which divers ancient Fathers of the Church have understood to be signified by the same words and that according to the true ground and rule of expounding the Scripture if they suppose the breath of naturall life signified first by the same words to be inspired as a figure of the spirituall life of grace To which agrees well enough that which followes That man became a living soul in correspondence to the second Adam who is become a quickning Spirit according to S. Paul For Christ is become a quickning Spirit because he shall raise the mortall bodies of those in whom his Spirit dwelt here But Adam though we suppose him to be made a living soul in respect of the life of Grace yet had that life from the Spirit of Grace the fullnesse whereof dwelt in Christ On the other side it is argued that seeing man was made in the image of God and his likenesse Gen. I. 26 27. IX 6. and that the image of God consists in that righteousnesse and true holinesse to which Christians are regenerated by grace Ephes IV.
24. Col. III. 9 10. Therefore man was first created in that righteousnesse and true holinesse to which Christians are renewed which renewing is called therefore the new man by S. Paul To this it may be answered on behalf of the other part That the dominion over the creatures belonges to the image of God in man according to the words of Moses Let us make man after our image and likenesse and let him bear rule over the fishes of the Sea and therefore God requireth a mans bloud of his brother and of beasts because he was made in the image of God Gen. IX 6. So that the image of God remaineth true righteousnes and holines being lost And therefore it seemeth that according to the natural state of man he is made according to Gods image in regard of this dominion over the creatures But according to that spirituall estate which the Gospel calleth us to much more in regard of the dominion over sin and concupiscence which the spirit of righteousnesse and true holinesse bringeth with it Though both derivative from the image of God in Christ to whom the Apostle Heb. II. 6-9 ascribeth that dominion as to the second Adam which the Psalmist setteth forth in the first Psal VIII 5-8 And if it be said as I said it may be that the precept given to them forbidding the fruit of the tree of knowledge is manifestly carnall and concerning their nature it is easie to say on the other side that the garden and those trees and therefore the precept concerning them are not understood if they be not taken as Symbolicall and mysticall to signifie that which S. Augustine in two words of free will and Christ comprehendeth That as the source of death is to satisfie the appetite of our owne particular profit or pleasure so to satisfie the appetite of that true goodnesse which that Word or Wisdome of God which now incarnate is our Lord Christ teacheth is the fountain of Life Not as if there were not two such fruits one granted to preserve life the other forbidden on paine of death But because they not onely did signifie which the other opinion may grant but also were understood by Adam to signify more as I have said As for the giving of names to living creatures which is commonly made an argument of more then humane wisdome in Adam to wit from Gods Spirit I conceive the other side may say That no names can signify the natures of things but some sensible properties by which they are known and discerned So that to give names ingeniously argues no more then taking due notice of those things which sense discovers to be most remarkable in each kinde And that not above the pitch of nature But when Adam saies This is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh And Therefore shall a man leave father and mother and cleave to his wife and they two shall be one flesh And S. Paul thereupon Ephes V. 30. This mystery is great but I mean as to Christ and the Church There is appearance that the Fathers have reason to suppose Adam a Prophet not onely to say the words which foretell the coming of Christ and the effect of it but also to understand the meaning which they contained Not as if he foresaw the incarnation of Christ which supposed his own fall But because by that word of God which spoke to him in his transe he understood that his posterity should be united and maried to God And yet on the other side it may be said without prejudice to Christianity that though this is certainly the mysticall sense of these words yet it is no more necessary that Adam when he spoke them should understand it then that the rest of those who were figures of Christ by their actions in the Old Testament did understand that they were so much lesse wherein that figure consisted Last of all it seems strange that Adam should so easily be cast down with so slight a temptation supposing that he was indowed with that divine wisdome which Gods Spirit giveth which will be no such marvaile if we suppose him to know no more then the conduct of his naturall life in Paradise might require Which notwithstanding this is no such advantage as it may seem For as the description of Paradise and the two trees and the precept concerning them so is also the temptation delivered in Symbolicall terms under the figure of that which concerned the preservation of their life representing all that may move the Sons of the first Adam to fall away from God And whatsoever be the reason that it is called the tree of knowledge to be like unto God and that by a way of such knowledge as should not depend on Gods will but their own choice may easily be understood to be the most dangerous temptation that an estate of so much advantage was capeable of how difficult so ever it be to understand by the words how they might believe it to depend upon eating the forbidden fruit And as the state of meer nature requiring the knowledge of so few things as the leading of such a life in obedience to God required must needs inferre that simplicity and innocence that made them more liable to be tempted So a state of supernaturall knowledge by the Spirit of God withdrawing their consideration from inferior things of this world to be conversant about the matters of God they might be exposed to temptation as well by not attending as by not apprehending the things of the world As on the other side they were fortified against it no lesse by that innocence and simplicity which made them not sensible of that which provoketh it then by that resolution of Gods Spirit which set them above it These being the considerations which appear to me in those things which the Scriptures propose unto us of this estate I will not stick to say that I hold the common opinion to be the more probable for two reasons The first Because it seemeth to me farre more consequent to the effect of mans fall which is the losse and want of spirituall grace necessary to the conduct of him in his spirituall life here to eternall life in the world to come that he should have transgressed and forfeited the meanes thereof then onely that innocence that should have inabled him to yeeld God obedience onely in an estate of meer nature and to the purpose of it Secondly because I find it to be received by the Fathers of the Church after S. Irenaeus who seemeth to have delivered it in expresse and clear terms And yet I must say on the other side that I find it no reason to count it a matter of Faith but onely the more reasonable supposition among divines So that the matter of Faith concerning originall sinne is more easily understood to depend upon it and more reasonably inferred from it and maintained by it Not onely because you see the reasons out of the Scriptures
the world of Judgement because the Prince of theis world is condemned by the conversion of those who forefook him to become Christians Therefore S Steven upbraideth the Jews saying Ye stisnecked and uncircumcised in hearts and eares ye do alwaies resist the Holy Ghost even you also as did your fathers Acts VII 51. Because being convicted by the Holy Ghost which spoke in him that he spoke from God neverthelesse they submit not to his message Therefore our Lord Mark III. 28. 29 30 All sins shall be forgiven the sons of men and blasphemies which they shall blaspheme But whoso shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath no remission for ever but is liable to everlasting damnation Because they said he hath an unclean spirit which you have againe Math. XII 31 32. Luke XII 10. Because being convicted that our Lord spoke did his miracles by the Holy Ghost they blasphemed saying that he spoke and did them by an uncleane spirit For these words and these workes are the meanes by which our Lord accomplished â—his promise Iohn XIV 23. If any man love me he will keep my word and my Father will love him and we will come to him and abide with him For before the condition If any man love me be fulfilled the case is that which our Lord expresseth Apoc. III. 20. Behold I stand at the dore and knock And if any man heare my voice and open the dore I will come in to him and sup with him â—e with me But being fulfilled the words of our Lord take place Iohn XVI 15 16 17. If yee love me ye will keep my commandements And I will aske the Father and he will give you an other Advocate to abide with you for ever even the spirit of truth which the world cannot receive because they â—ee it not nor know it but you know it because it abideth with you and is in you For seeing it is manifest by the premises that the undertaking of Christianity is the condition upon which the Holy Ghost is granted as a gift to abide with Christians the preaching of Christianity that is the proposing of those reasons which God by his word hath shewed us why wee should be Christians is the knocking of our Lord Christ by the spirit at the dore of the heart that he may enter and dwell in us by the same spirit according to the words of S. Paul 2. Cor. II. 16. For ye are the Temple of the living God as God hath said To wit I will dwell and converse among them and will be their God and they shall be my people That which some Philosophers say of the naturall generation of man That the soule frames its owne dwelling being fulfilled in the worke of generation by grace when the Holy Ghost by his actuall assistance frameth the man to be fit for the habituall gift of the Holy Ghost by becoming a true Christian If then we believe that the Holy Ghost was given by God and obtained by Christ as well to make the Gospell effectuall as to move the Apostles to preach it there can no doubt remaine that the preaching of the Gospell that is to say the meanes which the Holy Ghost provideth to make it either sufficient or effectual to convince the world of it is the instrument whereby he frameth himself that invisible house of true believers in which he dwelleth And therefore the meanes whereby Gods grace becomes effectuall to those who imbrace it is the same that renders it sufficient for those who refuse it the difference lying as well in the disposition which it meets with for which the man is accountable as in the spirit of God that presenteth it which renders God the praise when it takes effect and leaves men accountable when it does not If this reason had been in consideration with Socinus and perhaps with Pelagius he would have found it necessary acknowledging as all that read the Scriptures must needs acknowledge that which they find so frequent and so cleare in the Scriptures that the habituall gift of the Holy Ghost is granted to inable those who undertake Christianity to performe it to acknowledge also that the actuall help of it is necessary to make the motives of Christianity effectuall to subdâ—e men to it And by consequence that the coming of the second Adam was necessary to restore the breach which the first had made seeing it was not to be repaired without the same Nor is it to be marveled at that naturall meanes conducted by the grace of Christ should produce supernaturall effects such as I have shewed the obediencâ— of Christianity to be which supposing the Covenant of grace and freedome of mans will cannot be otherwise The reasons which appeare to the understanding and move the will to act contrary to the inclination of originall concupâ—scence in professing Christianity and living according to the same being sufficient to convict it to give sentence that so the man ought to doe And the circumstances in which the spirit of Christ conducteth these motives to the heart which it knocketh at by their means being able to represent them valuable to take effect with him who is moved to the contrary by his originall concupiscence And though meanes naturall because they move a man to proceed according to right reason which nature requires him to doe yet as they are brought to passe and conducted by a supernaturall cause nothing hinders the effect to be supernaturall in such a nature as is by them made capable of acting above nature I do much approve the discourse of some that have indeavoured to shew how this comes to passe thus supposing the covenant of the Law to be the renewing of that which was made with Adam in Paradise for the maintaining of him in the happnesse of his naturall life Which we may suppose though we suppose not that God covenanted not with him at all for the life to come For the dispensation of those blessings of this life which the covenant of nature limited by Moses Law to the happinesse of the land of promise tendreth may well be the advantage which God taketh to make the covenant of Grace acceptable especially to those who by Gods blessing failing of the blessings of the first covenant by that meanes becoming out of love with this present worlâ— meeâ— with the Covenant of Grace in such a disposition as may render it acceptable For so long as things goe well with men in this world it seemes haâ—sh to require them to takeup the Crosse of Christ that they may obtain the world to come But when the comforts of this world faile it is no marvell if any condition that tenders hope in the world to come be welcome If it be said that this renders the grace of Christ effectuall onely to the poore and men oâ— meane condition in the world who have cause to be weary of their estâ—te in it It is answered that it is no marvell if the
easy to wipe it off with S. Pauls argument as any of those vaine words that were advanced in his time For if for those thinges the wrath of God cometh upon Gentiles that are darknesse much more upon them who being become light have a share in the works of darknesse if S. Pauls argument be good And whatsoever induces a man to beleeve otherwise belonges to those vaine words which S. Paul forbids them to be deceived with The prophesy of Ezekiel must needes have a roome here which in order to induce the backsliding Israelites to repentance protests that God judgeth the righteous that turneth from his righteousnesse and the sinner that turneth from his sinne not according to the righteousnesse or to the sinne from which but according to that to which they turne Ezek. XVIII 5 For to say that the Prophet of God speaking in Gods name of the esteeme and reward which God hath for righteous and unrighteous speakes onely of that which seemes righteousnesse and unrighteousnesse to the world or which an hypocrite cousens himselfe to thinke such is such an open scorne to Gods word as cannot be maintained but by taking righteousnesse to signify unrighteousnesse and turning for not turning but continuing in that wickednesse which was at the heart when he professed otherwise Which is nothing else but to demand of us to renounce our senses and the reason common to all men together with the signification of these wordes whereby God deales with us in the same sense as we among our selves to make good a prejudice so prejudiciall to Christianity And what shall we doe with those examples and instances of holy men recorded in holy Scripture to have fallen from Gods grace into his displeasure beginning with our first parents Adam and Eve whom no man doubteth to have beene created in the state of Gods grace that will not have theire fall redound upon Gods account For if it be said that this is a difference between the Covenant of workes first set on foote with our first parents in Paradise and the Covenant of grace tenderd by our Lord Christ It is said indeed but it cannot be maintained without destroying all that hath been premised of the Covenant of Grace and the condition of the same Which though it take place under the Covenant of workes which is supposed forfeite to restore mankind to the hope of a heavenly reward upon conditions proportionable to theire present weaknesse hath notwithstanding appeared to be tendred to their free choice as containing conditions by transgressing whereof they forfeite as much as Adam could doe The examples of Saul and Solomon and David and S. Peter have in them indeed some difference one from another but is there any of them that imports not the state of damnation after the state of grace S. Peter it is plaine forfeits the condition of professing Christ whom he that denieth if our Lord say true in the Gospell Luke XII 8. 9. shall himselfe be denied at the generall judgment and can we imagine his teares to have been shedde without sense of this forfeite Wherefore whatsoever seedes of grace remained in him to move him to repentance as soone as he was become sensible of his estate it is manifest that he had lost the state of grace which he laboureth to recover by repentance I will not examine how much longer David lay in his sinnes then S. Peter before the Prophet Nathan brought him to the sense of them It is enough that he prayes so for pardon as no man could doe for that which he thought he had afâ—ore He prayes also for the restoring of Gods Spirit to him againe Psal LI. 10. 11. 12. Make me a clean heart O God and renew a right Spirit within me Cast me not away from thy presence and take not thine holy Spirit from me O give me the comfort of thine helpe againe and stablish me with thy free Spirit For that which he prayes God not to take away he acknowleges to be forfeite So that it is but of reason that he further desires that it be restored him rather then continued Some thinke they avoide this by understanding onely the Spirit of Prophesy to be his desire not wanting the Spirit of regeneration whereby he desires it Which in the case of David no way takes place without offering violence to the words And I have sufficiently advised that by the helpe of Gods Spirit granted out of that grace which preventeth the Covenant of grace and that state of grace which dependeth upon the undertaking of it a man is inabled to desire the gift of Gods Spirit to dwell in him according to that which the Covenant of Grace promiseth As for Saul and Solomon both of them indowed with Gods Spirit the one of them must not be understood ever to have been in the state of grace the other to have ever fallen from it For it is alleged that Balaam and Caiaphas prophesied and our Lord shall say to those that had prophesied and cast out devils and done miracles in his Name I never knew you Mat. VIII 22. 23. But S. Paules words would be considered concerning his Apostles office 2 Cor. III. 4. 5. 6. This confidence we have towards God through Christ Not because we are sufficient of our selves to thinke any thing as of our selves but our sufficience is of God who hath made us able ministers of the New Testament not of the letter but of the Spirit For if the grace of an Apostle suppose not the grace of a Christian how hath S. Paul confidence to God in the grace of an Apostle given him by God which a Christian obtaineth through Christ Certainly no man spares to argue from these words that we are not able of our selves to think any thing towards the discharge of a Christian mans office as taking it for granted that a good Apostle supposes a good Christian And what an inconvenience were it to grant that God imployes men that are not good upon his messages to mankind giving them the oporation of the Holy Ghost to demonstrate that he sendes them which is sufficient credit for all that they deliver as in his name unlesse we will imagine it no inconvenience that God gives testimony to those whom he would not have to be beleeved As for Balaam it is manifest that he was imployed by unclean Spirits to maintaine men in theire Idolatries by foretelling things to come by their means And that Gods appearing to him to hinder him from cursing his people was upon the same account as Arnobius saith that Magicians did use to find the virtue of Spirits opposite to those unclean Spirits whome they imployed not suffering them to bring to effect those misehevious intentions for which they set them on work And by this means it was that Balaam not being imployed by God is forced to declare that will of God which he would have made voide As for Caiaphas it is not to be imagined that he had any
revelation of that truth which he declareth by the inspiration of Gods Spirit but that God who from the beginning had used the High Preists by Urim and Thummim to declare his direction to that people directed his words so that they might serve to declare that will of his which he had never acquainted him with as a Prophet of his nor could have been acknowledge for that will which God intended to declare by him had not S. John by the Spirit of God declared Gods intent in so directing his words Wherefore when God changed Saâ—les heart at his parting with Samuel and sent his spirit upon him straight wayes 1 Sam. X. 9. 10. it seemes that having liked so well of him as to call him to be Prince of his people he indowed him with the grace of his Spirit for the discharge of that place which onely a good man could rightly discharge Whereupon it followes that the taking away of this Spirit and sending an evill Spirit in steade thereof to torment him are the evidences of his fall from that inward grace which the gift of Gods Spirit presupposed afore Whereby we may judge what the Parable of the uncleane Spirit cast out and returning with seven Spirits worse then himselfe Mat XII 43. 44. 45. Luke XI 24. 25. 26. imports to our purpose though being a Parable I bring it not into consequence The like is to be said of those who having prophesied and done miracles in our Lords name shall not be acknowledged by him at the day of judgement For when he saith I never knew you he speaketh out of the knowledge of God which reaching from one end to the other at the same instant when they had the grace of Prophesy to witnesse their imployment from God foresaw that they would fall away and becoming Apostates retaine no part in the kingdome of heaven which they had preached No mervaile if he take them not for his who he sees are not to be his for everlasting To which purpose the graces of Gods Spirit are promised true Christians Marke XVI 17. Acts II. 38. V. 32. And though Origen hath excellently said that the name of Christ had such power over devils that some times being alleged by evill men it did the deed though rather when out of the sound and genuine disposition of beleivers as those Ebrews who in our Lords time did exorcise Devils as he showes us Mat. XII 25. and as we learne by Justine Martyr Irenaeus Tertulliane and Theophilus of Antiochia produced there by Grotius that so they did till theire time yet the doing of miracles in evidence of the Gospell which they preached alleged by those whome our Lord shall disclaime seemes to import a great deale more then the casting out of devils by naming the name of Christ and therefore to containe the approbation of those men whose imployment from God they seemed to witnesse Here is the place where I will give the true meaning to three or foure Scriptures for so many there are that in opposition to the whole streame of Gods book men will needes produce to reconcile the promises of the Gospell with the present guilt and love of sinne in Christians that have beene overtaken with it Jesus answered and said to the Samaritane woman John IV. 13. 14. 15. Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst againe But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall not thirst for ever but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up to life everlasting The woman said to him Lord give me that water that I may not thirst nor come hither to draw I allow him that hath a mind to it to translate our Lords words shall never thirst For it is plaine the woman understood him as if he had told her of a water which whoso should once drink of should never be a thirst any more as long as he lived But if she failed of his meaning because she understood not that he spake of thirsting in the world to come do not they faile of his meaning who when he saith he that drinks of my water shall not thirst for everlasting understand it to be that he shall never thirst in this world Being so plaine that he shall not thirst in the world to come They make him say He that once tastes of my Grace in him the spring of it shall never dye in this world which is that the woman understood him to say in the literal sense because she understood not that he spake of the world to come He comparing this world with the world to come saith He that drinkes of my water in this world shall not thirst in the world to come Which is to say that he who departs from the Christianity which once he professed in this world does not drink of my water in this world because he comes short of my promise that in him it shall be a well of water springing up to life everlasting I have no reason to be afraid any more of the difficulty of S. Pauls words Rom. VIII 28-39 having showed by evident arguments that the subject of them are they that love God they that are called according to purpose they that he foreknew to be such they that walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit in Christ Jesus For to such I may well allow that all workes for the best because God having foreappointed them to be once conformable to the pattern of his sonne that he might be the first-borne of many calleth them â—o their trialls and finding them faithfull in them justifyeth and glorifyeth them therefore Nor can S. Pauls words signify more supposing when he saith whom he foreknew those he predestinated whom he predestinated those he called whom he called those he justifyed whom he justified those he glorified That he speakes of those whom God foreknew to be qualified as afore then this that knowing them to be such he appointed them to bear Christs Crosse and to inherit his glory for the reward of it Wherefore when it followes What shall we then say to these things If God be with us who can be against us He that spared not his own Sonne but delivered him up for us all how shall he not with him give us all things It is manifest that the quality which S. Paul understandeth in them whom he comprehends when he names us is no other but that which he hath described true Christians by thus farre And therefore when he proceeds Who shall impeach the elect of God It is God that justifieth who shall condemn It is Christ that died or rather that is risen againe who is also at the right hand of God Who also maketh intercession for us It is manifest that this word elect hath no maner of reference to Gods everlasting decree but to the present Christianity of those whom God declareth to account his choice ones his jewels his first fruits out of
would not I agree with the Law that it is good But it is not I that do it but sinne that dwelleth in me And this law in his members warring against the Law of his mind he sayes lead him captive to the Law of sin in his members so that he cries out Miserable man that I am who shall deliver me from the body of this death Whereunto is added the authority of S. Augustine pressing this exhortation so hard that it serves for an aspersion of Pelagius his heresy for a man not to allow it Though S. Augustine is not alone in it Methodius against Origen in Epiphanius writing against his heresy S. Gregory Nazianzene and others perhaps among the Fathers follow the same sense But the aspersion is too abusive For I have showed that the Tradition of the Church declared by the records of the Fathers extendeth not to the exposition of particular Scriptures but to give bounds within which the Scriptures are to be understood Wherefore had S. Augustine and his party truly expounded this Scripture yet ought it not to be a mark of Plagianisme to maintaine another exposition without supposing any part of Pelagius his heresie But if they consider further that S. Augustine acknowledges no more then the motions of concupiscence which are alive in the regenerate to divert the rigor of their intentions from the course of Christianity not the committing of any sinne that layeth wast a good conscience to be consistent with the state of grace they will have little joy of S. Augustines exposition of this place For what is that to the murther and adulteries of David to the apostrasy of S. Peter to the Idolatries of Solomon Or what consequence is it because concupiscence is alive in Christians that are at peace with God untill death that therefore David S. Peter and Solomon were at peace with God before they had washed away those sinnes by repentance Wherefore I must utterly discharge S. Augustine and those of his sense of having said any thing prejudiciall to Christianity by expounding S. Paul according to it The question that remaineth will be how S. Paul can call himselfe carnall and sold under sinne how he can say I like not that which I doe For I doe not what I would but what I hate And to will is present with me but how to doe that which is good I find not And I find a Law by which when I would doe well evill is at hand to me And that this Law in my members warring against the Law of my mind leades mee captive to the Law of sinne that is in my members And wretched man that I am who will deliver me from the body of this death The question I say will be how all this can be said of him of whome it followes Rom. VIII 1 2 5-8 There is therefore now no damnation for those in Christ Jesus that walke not after the flesh but after the spirit For the Law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath freed me from the Law of sinne and of death For they that are according to the flesh mind the thinges of the flesh They that are according to the Spirit the things of the spirit For the sense of the flesh is death but the sense of the spirit life and peace Because the sense of the flesh is enemy to God for it is not nor can be subject to the Law of God Neither can they that are in the flesh please God For if these things cannot be said of the same man at the same time it remains that though we allow S. Augustine and those of his sense that a Christian falls continually into sinne and by continuall offices of Christianity comes cleare of it yet when he willfully runnes into that sin which he cannot but know that it cannot stand with his Christianity he cannot be of that number for whom S. Paul sayes there is no condemnation in Christ Jesus that walke not after the flesh but after the Spirit And therefore for the true meaning of the Scripture in hand it will be requisite to have recourse to that figure of speach whereby S. Paul himselfe declareth that he speakes that of himselfe which he would have understood of others meerely for the a voiding of offense 1 Cor. IV. 6. So is it no mervaile if to make those that were zealous of the Law beleeve that they could not be saved but by Christianity he whom they took for an Apostle show it in his owne case before he was a Christian saying Is the Law sinne Nay I had not knowne sinne but by the Law Rom. VII 7 I have showed you how Grotius hath understood him to speak of himselfe in the person of an Israelite comparing himselfe considered as having received the Law and under the Law with himselfe before he received it If any man think this consideration to farre fetched for S. Paul to propose to those zealous of the Law that he writes to He may understand him to speake in the person of one of them to whome the Gospell had been proposed and thereby conviction of the spirituall sense of the Law which therefore the concupiscence which we are borne with cannot but make great difficulty to imbrace according to the premises For seing the Scribes and Pharises having received the Tradition of the world to come in opposition to the Sadduces had prevailed with the body of that people to believe that the outward observation of the law according to the letter was the means to bring them to the rewards of it It is no mervaile if S. Paul in the person of one so reduced say I had not known concupiscence had I not found the Law to say Thou shalt not covet For he that understood not the Law of God to prohibit the inward motions of concupiscence till by the preaching of Christianity he learned that to be the intent of the precept may very well say that he knew not concupiscence but by the Law so preached By that same reason might he say as it followeth Without the Law sinne is dead But I was once alive without the Law To wit when he thought himself in the way to life under the doctrine of the Pharisees But when the commandment came to be declared to him in that sense which the salvation tendred by the Gospel requireth it s no marvaile if sinne that was in him and concupiscence of it revived and he was discovered to be dead in sinne as not yeelding to the cure of it But that the commandment which was given for life became unto his death because sinne taking occasion by it deceived and slew him All this takes place in that Pharisee who being perswaded by the Pharisees that by not contriving to take away his neighbors wife and goods he stood qualifyed for the world to come now coming to know by the preaching of the Gospell the restraint of inward concupiscence is commanded by it found himself by meanes of the
Law cousened and slaine as enimy to Christianity which tenders the onely cure of sinne Whereunto the conclusion agrees well enough For when having questioned Miserable man that I am who shall deliver me out of the body of this death He answereth I thank God by Jesus Christ our Lord He seemeth to declare that the Gospel having overtaken him in this estate and discovered him to himself in it the imbracing of it cured him and gave him cause to thank God through our Lord Jesus Christ for his deliverance from it All the rest that followeth between these terms in the discourse of Saint Paul serving for a very lively description of that mans estate who being convinced of the truth of Christianity findeth difficulty in renouncing the pleasures which sinne furnisheth for the obtaining of those promises which the Gospel tendreth There remaineth yet one difficulty concerning the Polygamy of the ancient Fathers before and under the Law which to me hath allways seemed an argument for the truth which I maintaine rather then an objection against it If any soule sensible of the feare of God can imagine that Gods Jewells his choice ones the first fruits of his creatures knowing themselves to be under the Law of having but one wife not to be parted with till death should notwithstanding take many and those many times so qualified as the Law much more Christianity allows not as Jacob two sisters Abraham his neece and so Amram and to outface the Law hold them till death and never come short of Gods favour whose Law they transgresse with bare face as the Scripture speakes let him believe that a Christian living in sinne can be in the state of grace But he that sees the Law to have restrained marying with the neice which he sees practiced afore and sees withall that plurality of wives is not forbidden by the Law for besides wives of an inferior ranke which may be called concubines a captive Deut. XXI 11. and an Ebrew maid sold for a slave Ex. XXI 8. 9. 10. there can be no question in the Law of two wives whereof the one is beloved the other not Deut. XXI 15. besides that the Law restraining the King from having many wives seemes to allow him more then every man hadde and therefore that David might be within compasse of the Law though Solomon trode it under foot I say he that considers these things will be moved to be of opinion that the Pharises interpretation of Levit. XVIII 18. is true and that before that Law there was no prohibition for a man to marry two sisters which is there first introduced and yet with an exception in Deuteronomy in the case of a brother deade without issue which before the Law was also in force as by the story of Judah Gen. XXXVIII doth appeare I will therefore conclude that as the knowledge of God increased by giving the Law so was the posterity of Abraham restrained from more by the Law then the posterity of Noe upon the promises given them had been restrained from after the deluge From whence in all reason it will follow that the posterity of Abraham according to the spirit which is the Church of Christ should be still restrained from more then the posterity of Abraham according to the flesh by the law And so that the Fathers before and under the Law living in Gods grace did not withall live in open violation of Gods Law but that they knew themselves not to be under the Law of one wife to one husband though intended in Paradise by virtue of Gods dispensation in it till Christianity should come For unlesse we presume that not onely all thinges necessary to our salvation but all thinge necessary to the salvation of all men since the world stood are recorded in the Scriptures there can be no reason to presume that they could not understand what Lawes they were under but by those Scriptures which for our salvation have been granted us I argue yet further that it will be impossible for true Christians and good Christians to attaine unto assurance of the state of Grace if it be to be had for them that commit such sinnes as Christianity consists not with And this upon supposition of the premises for the ground of this assurance For without doubt were not some thing in the condition which the Gospell requireth impossible for flesh and blood to bring forth it were not possible for him that imbraceth the Gospell to assure himselfe that he doeth it out of obedience to God not out of those reasons which hypocrites may follow But I having declared afore and maintaining now that no man by the force of flesh and blood that is to say of that inclination to goodnesse which a man is born into the world with is able to profess Christianity out of a resolute and clear intention to stand to it am consequently bound to maintaine that he who soe doeth not onely may but must needes assure himselfe of the favour of God in as much as he cannot but assure himself of that which himselfe doeth For in as much as he knowes what himselfe means and what he does as S. Paul sayes that no man knowes what is in man but the spirit of a man which is in him so sure it is that a mans selfe knowes what he means and what he does as it is sure that another man knowes it not But not allowing nor presupposing this ground of a mans knowledge how shall he know it Shall a man by having a perswasion that he is in the number of Gods elect or by having in himself an assurance of Gods love to the effect of everlasting happinesse be assured that his assurance is well grounded and that he is of that number which is elected to life everlasting As if it were not possible for the temptations of Satan and carnall presumption to possesse a man as much even to this effect as the Spirit of God can do Where is then the effect of Christianity seen if not in limiting such grounds and such termes as he that proceedeth upon shall not faile of that grace of God whereof he assureth himself upon those grounds But he that placeth that faith which alone justifyeth in believing that he who believeth is predestinate to life everlasting Or in the confidence of Gods grace in attaining the same I demand upon what ground he can pretend to distinguish this faith from that which he cannot deny that it may be false For if it be said that the Spirit of God that is in him assureth him that his perswasion is well grounded It is easie for me to say that the question to be cleared that is to say whether it be the Spirit of God that tells him so or not cannot be the evidence to clear it self And therefore that he standeth obliged to bethink himself of some meanes whereupon he may assure himself that it is the Spirit of God not the temptation of Satan or carnall
the consent of the Church But what joy they can have of S. Augustine may easily be judged by his opinion of the VII to the Romanes and the difference which I have observed betweene it and theirs For what can any man imagine to be the reason why he should understand S. Paul to speake onely of the surprizes which the regenerate are subject to remaining regenerate but because he was assured that they remaine not such when they fall away to these grosse sinnes which no man is surprized with And he that shall take the pains to peruse what S. Augustine hath written in his bookes de correptione gratia And de predestinatione sanctorum may justly mervaile how any man could come to have such an opinion of S. Augustine Besides in his worke de Civitate dei and in many other places he hath so clearly expressed himselfe that unlesse a man resolve not to distinguish betweene the state of grace and the purpose of God to bring a man to everlasting life which he that useth the common reason of all men cannot but distinguish it is a mervaile how S. Augustine should be taken to say that the state of grace cannot become voide because it is true he sayes so often that the decree of predestination cannot become voide S. Gregory is taken for one of the same opinion because expounding the words of the Prophet Jeremy Lament IV. 1. How is gold obscured the pure masse changed The stones of the Sanctuary scattered in the head of every street Concerning Christians that fall from theire profession according to the true reason of the mysticall sense he hath these wordes Aurum quod â—bscurari potâ—it aurum in conspectu dei nunquam fuit That gold which could be darkned was never gold in Gods sight But is it not easy to understand that the sight of God is that freeknowledge which the decree of predestination either supposeth or produceth And that those whom God â—oreseeth to fall from theire Christianity were never gold in his esteeme in regard of it As I said afore that he never knew them whome he ever knew that they would not ever continue his And seeing S. Austine expressely distinguished between sonnes of God according to that which they are at present and according to Gods foresight and purpose it will be necessary consequently to distinguish upon the attributes of members of Christ and of his Body ingrafted into Christ and his disciples That those are truly called such according to S. Austine that shall continue such for everlasting though those that shall not so continue are so for the present according to S. Austine As it is peremtorily evident by one exception in that he maketh the difference between some of them who have the gift of perseverance and others that have it not to consist in this That some are cut of by death while they are in that estate others are suffred to survive till they fall from it A thing many times repeated in the bookes aforenamed and which could not have been said but by him that held both for the present to be in the state of Grace Nor could he indeed dispute of perseverance not supposing the truth of that in which he requireth Grace to persevere I acknowlege to have seen the Preface to one of the Volumâ— that I spoke of and in it some pretense of making S. Austine and S. Gregory especially for the contrary purpose But I doe not acknowlege to have found any thing at all alleged there that had not been fully answered before it was alleged there in Vossiâ—â— his Collections Historiâ— Pelagianae libro VI. Thâ—sâ— XII-XV And therefore I will discharge my selfe upon him in this point rather then repeate breifly in this abridgement that which he hath fully said there For you shall find also there upon what termes and by what means Christians may and doe overcome that anxiety of mind which the possibility of falling from Grace may affect them with according to the Fathers Even the same as according to S. Paul whose assurance needed no revelation of Gods secret purpose but the knowlege of that resolution which Gods spirit had settled in his spirit which beeing assured that God will not forsake while he forsakes not God assureth him that by Gods helpe he will not forsake God And not onely he but all whom S. Paul comprises in the plurall us as grounded like S. Paul Otherwise that a Christian from the first instant of his conversion should be able to say so that whosoever is saved before death must say so out of the same confidence knowing by faith that he is predestinate as it is meere frenzy once to imagine so never did any of the Fathers maintaine Onely whereas the author of that Preface acknowledging that the Dominicans and Jansenians who hold up the Doctrine of S. Austine concerning the Grace of Preseverance suppose neverthelesse them to be regenerate that are not predestinate nor shall be saved imputes it to the abominable fictions of implicite saith and the efficacy of the Sacraments in exhibiting and convaying the Grace which they seale I would not have him thinke the efficacy of Baptisme can be counted a fiction by any but fained Christans Of the Sacraments I say nothing in this place For I need not so much as suppose what a Sacrament is And whether Baptisme be a Sacrament or not though a thing that no man questions is nothing to my present purpose That God contracteth with man for the promises of his Gospell upon condition of Christianity and that this contract is not onely solemnized but inacted by receiving Baptisme is not now to be proved having been done from the beginning of this book And he that would be free of that which he contracteth for by his Baptisme whereby he holdeth his title to all that the Gospell promiseth would make that step to the renouncing of his Christianity What implicite Faith should pervert the understanding of Doctors whose Faith is explicite in all maters of Faith I understand not unlesse he meane to acknowlege that which is most true that there never needed any expresse decree of the Church in this point as in other points questioned by Pelagius because never any man held otherwise If this be the implicite Faith which he means because the whole Church allwayes held it but never decreed it I shall agree to it but not that any Christian can be seduced by following it Jovinian we reade onely of confuted in this opinion by S. Jerome not condemned by the Church because he could never make it considerable and so dangerous to the Church But in very deed implicite Faith here signifies nothing being onely imployed to make a noise for a reason of that for which no reason can be rendred How that can be thought to be the sense of S. Austine which never any of his followers all zelous of his Doctrine in the matter of Grace could find in his writings And therefore the whole
inconvenience to acknowledge any thing to be sinne which no Law of God forbiddes That venial sinne should be beside the Law of God but not against it would make it no sinne which nothing but the transgression of the Law determineth 1 Joh. III. 4. Rom. IV. 15. For why is any thing sinne but because it ought not to be done Or why ought it not to be done but because it is Gods will that it should not be done Or what would God have done that is not a Law to his creature Therefore all sinne transgresseth that will whereby God would not have that done which it doing transgresseth his Law On the other side how clearly agreeth it with the goodnesse of God how necessarily followeth it upon that Grace which his Gospell publisheth that those who are called to it supposing them obnoxious to that concupiscence which will certainly induce them to sinne notwithstanding the Grace whereby they are regenerate should neither forfeit their estate in it by every sinne which they commit nor by any sinne which they forsake by timely repentance Therefore how exact so ever that obedience is which the Gospell requireth at our hands So long as it leaveth him that returneth by repentance from that sinne whereby he faileth of it right of being reestated in his reconcilement with God It is manifest that his estate in the promises of the Gospel is not forfeit by falling into sinne but by persevering in it How much more when it is acknowledged on all hands that there are in the World so many meanes to divert our mindes from the true end and rule of our doings so numberlesse snares for our inclinations naturally biassed towards that which seemeth best for the present that no Christian can keep an exact account of the occasions whereby he findeth himself to fail of that righteousnesse which he aimeth at how much more I say is it to be presumed that the grace of the Gospell reacheth further then any mans repentance and in consideration of our Lord Christ accounteth not that to be a breach of Covenant which onely the generall study of new obedience extinguisheth In this consideration if any man will say that some sinnes are veniall others mortall in regard of those terms of reconcilement with God which the Gospel proposeth which as no sinne voideth if repentance follow so those sinnes which the present weaknesse of our mortall nature cannot easily avoid must not be thought to infring he shall say no more then the Gospel of Christ will warrant by necessary consequence But whether any sinne be originally veniall by that first Law of God the transgression whereof it is as it manifest that we are not inabled by the Scriptures to dispute tending onely to reveal by degrees Gods purpose of dealing with man under sinne which the Gospel at last hath clearly set forth so it is certaine that it no way concernes either my purpose or any mans salvation to determine And this destinction of Gods Law is founded upon the expresse words of S. Paul Rom. IV. 27. where he saith that glorying is excluded by the law of Faith not by the Law of workes And S. James 11. 12. So speak ye and so do ye as those that shall be judged by the Law of liberty For those terms which God hath proposed to Christians whom he hath freed from sinne are that very Law of Christianity whereby those that are so freed shall be judged whether they have walked in the freedome to which they were called or not the originall Law which differenceth good from bad being set aside as to the purpose of giving sentence by it And upon these termes whosoever dieth in the state of Gods grace fulfilleth Gods Law obtaining the promise which the Gospel tendreth by fulfilling the condition which it requireth But where as it is further questioned among the Schoole Doctors whether according to the ordinary measure of Gods Spirit which the Gospel bringeth it is possible for the regenerate to live without sinne and that distinguishing whether without mortall sinne or whether without veniall sinne because I have allowed the distinction in some sense and to some purpose Having allready answered that which was necessary to be satisfied I am not solicitous of the rest The Church supposed the Faith secured when it was resolved against Pelagius That the Law is not to be fullfilled without the Grace of Christ For the rest S. Austine was tender of denying that a Christian may live without sin by Grace For what may it not doe Yet could have no good opinion of him that should thinke himself the man that lives without sinne S. Jerom with many of the Fathers found it an inconvenience to grant that God commandeth impossibilities And therefore punisheth that which a man must needes doe And yet he makes difficulty to grant that a man may live without sinne The Council of Trent decrees Sess IV. Can. XVIII Si quis dixerit Dei praecepta homini etiam justificato sub gratia constituto esse ad observandum impossibilia anathema esto If any man affirme that the commandments of God are impossible for a man that is justifyed and in the state of grace to keep let him be anathema Thus an opinion when Pelagius was condemned becoms an article of Faith by the Councile of Trent But my opinion is not pressed by the decree For having excepted invincible ignorances and meer surprises of concupiscence because the Gospel supposes concupiscence the commandments of God may be possible and yet not possible for a man whose intentions are distracted about many to avoid all sinne And it followes in the decree of the Council Can. XXII Si quis hominem Jemel justificatum dixerit posse in tota vita peccata omnia etiam venialia vitare nisi ex speciali privilegio quemadmodum de beata virgiâ—â— tenet Ecclesia anathema sit If any man say that a man once justified may avoid all even veniall sinnes through all his life unlesse by speciall priviledge as the Church holdeth of the blessed Virgine let him be anathema What Church holdeth that the blessed Virgine never sinned I know not That the Catholick Church holds it not is evident by the opinions of doctors of the Church to the contrary which you shall find with the rest which I have alledged in this point in Vossius his Collections Historiae Pelagianae libro VI. Parte I. But Andreas Vega who maintaines stiffely that a Christian may live all his life without sinne will have much ado to shelter himself from this anathema Thus farre then I quarrel not the Council of Trent And those who have the II. Councile of Orange at their fingers ends whensoever the absolute efficacy of grace is questioned will be ashamed to refuse the last Canon of it which saith Hic etiam secundum fidem Catholicam credimus quod accepta per Baptismum gratia omnes baptizati Christo auxiliante cooperante quae ad salutem pertinent possint
can be more manifest then that the Prophet Jeremy first prayed for the people that God would not destroy them And when their sinnes were so great that God would not hear him but commanded him to publish their ruine that they thereupon so hated and persecuted him that his patience was overcome and he prayed to God to punish their ingratitude to him with the judgements which he had denounced Jer. VIII 16. XI 14 19 20. XVIII 16 17 18. XVII 18-23 And it is plaine that the case is the same with the Prophet David and that he receiving evil for good of his enemies thereupon proceeds to those prayers which he makes against them Ps XXXV 11-14 LXIX 5 8 10 11 12 23-29 CIX 3 4 5-20 And what is the difference between this and that of Elias Of whom S. James V. 17. sayes that he prayed that it might not raine and it rained not for three yeares and six monâ—ths So that when he sayes 1 Kings XVII 1. there â—â—â—ll be neither dew nor raine upon the earth but according to my word He speakes upon the obtaining of that prayer of his For afterwards the raine came not till he prayed for it 1 Kings XVIII 43. Whereupon it followes in S. James And againâ— he prayed and the heavens gave raine and the earth budded forth her fruit For by these things you see that he prayed for judgement upon the Land of Israel for refusing his prophesies even as he executed it upon the prophets of Israel 1 Kings XVIII 42. And is not the reason the same when he destroyes two Captaines of fifties with their bandes by praying for fire from heaven upon them for taking in hand to execute the command of an Idolatrous King and coming to seize him 2 Kings I. 10 12 Is it not the same in his Scholar and successour Elizeus when he curses the children of Bethel for despising of him being a Prophet of God whereupon two and â—orty of them are destroyed with beares out of the forest 2 Kings II. 22 23 24 For had these children been bred in the fear of the true God and not under Idolatrous parents it cannot in reason be thought that they would have reviled one of Gods Prophets who were held in and treated with such reverence even by the Princes of his people And truely when Samson casts away his own life to do mischief to Gods enemies and the enemies of his people out of this expresse consideration of being revenged upon them for putting out his eyes can any mans heart be so hardned by misunderstanding the Scriptures as to say that this can be reconciled with the principles of Christianity which forbid all revenge Jud. XVI 28-31 Rom. XII 19. Mat. VI. 22 38-48 It is said indeed that Samson did this as a figure of Christ who killed his enemies the powers of darknesse by his death And it is certainly true But that will not answer the reason formerly alledged Whether we say that Samsons death was a figure of Christs by the intent of Samson or by the intent of God whose Providence so ordered things to come to passe that his death might figure Christs death It cannot be said that the intent of figuring Christs death could make that agreeable to Gods Law which otherwise was not Rather we are to advise whether sinfull actions and not according to Gods own Law were fit to figure Christ Nor will it serve the turne to say that he did it by the motion of Gods Spirit which we are indeed to allow that the Judges being Prophets were indowed with For it is not to be said that the Spirit of God moveth any man to do that which the will of God declared by his Law forbiddeth And therefore the fact of Razias 2 Mac. XIV 37-46 though not udertaken with that confidence of doing mischief to Gods enemies which Samson had by the assurance of his being called to deliver Gods people from them yet being done to deprive them of their pleasure they should have in insulting over Gods people destroying so faithfull a servant of his must needs be said to proceed from the the same motive with Samsons Though I say not therefore that this can serve to prove that Book of the Maccabes to be either Canonical or otherwise Thus much I conceive is to be granted that the Maccabees taking armes for maintaining their Religion and Nation against the tyranny of Antiochus Epiphanes is not to be condemned as against Gods Law because we see them commended By the Apostle Heb. XI 35-38 And yet for Christians to take armes for the maintaining of themselves in the free exercise of their religion much more for the Power of imposing of it upon others is certainly contrary to the instructions of the Apostles Rom. XIII 1-6 Titus III. 1. 1 Pet. II. 13-17 as it appears by the practice of all the Primitive Christians who maintaining themselves to be for number able to defend themselves by armes against persecution maintaine withall that their profession did not allow them so to do And indeed though the godly Jewes indured death rather then renounce Gods Lawe as the Christians afterwards yet a man may see a great difference between the motives of their severall sufferings if be consider that they died for the Lawes of their country which the heathen themselves have reputed a due consideration for a man to part with his life for though out of carnall selfe love â—ow much more to obey Gods Law whom they maintained to be the onely true God by suffering death for the lawes which he had given them Whereas Christianity requires to be maintained with our lives though we become ignominious by the Lawes of our Countries for maintaining it Whereby we see how true it is that God allowed them some motives of temporall good to invite them to undergoe the hardship which the profession of his Lawes should inferre Whereas from Christians he challenges the same constancy when he allowes no presumption of help in this world no hope but that of the world to come Which is indeed another strong argument that God accepted of a lower measure of obedience under the Law then he requireth under the Gospel of Christians Because forsooth he alwayes managed his ancient people like babes with the fear of the rod and the hope of cakebread so with the fear and hope of the blessings and punishments of this present world habituating them to presume of his favour or disgrace according to the same Let any man read the book of Psalmes and consider throughout the whole tenor of it what presumptions of Gods favour those who indited them by Gods Spirit do raise upon temporall deliverances of his disgrace upon the insultations of Gods and their enemies and tell me if it be according to the stile of the Gospell which alloweth onely the assurance of Gods providence for subsistence in this world to perswade us to take up Christs Crosse Well then saith S. Paul Rom. VIII 15. Ye
and bloud of Christ in the Eucharist is a very great miracle taking that to be miraculous which requires the infinite power of God to effect it not that which contains a visible effect thereof apt to bear witnesse to that truth which it is done to confirm I must remit you to that which hath been already said to judge whether the miracle consist in abolishing the substance of the Elements and substituting the body and bloud of Christ in their stead Or in placing the substance of Christs body and bloud under the same dimensions in which the substance of the Elements subsisteth Or rather then either of both that it be enough to ingage the infinite power of God that by his Spirit hee tendreth the flesh and bloud of Christ so Sacramentally present in the Elements that whoso receiveth them faithfully thereby communicates as truly in the Spirit of God according to his Spirit as according to his body hee communicates Sacramentally in his body and bloud Here is the place for mee to allege those Scriptures which inform us of the true nature and properties of the flesh and bloud of Christ remaining in his body even now that it is glorified For if in the proper dimensions thereof hee parted from his Disciples and went was carried or lifted and taken up into heaven Acts I. 2 9 10. 1 Pet. III. 22. Luke XXIV 50 51. Mark XVI 19. If in the same visible form and dimensions hee shall come again to judgement Acts I. 11. 1 Thes IV. 16. if the Heavens must receive him till that time for sure no man will be much tempted with that frivolous conceit that S. Peters words Acts III. 21. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are to be construed whom it behoveth to contain the Heavens but whom it behoveth that the Heavens contain Unlesse it could appear how S. Peter should understand the body of Christ to contain the heavens not the heavens it sitting at Gods right han◠till his Enemies be made his foot-stool Psal CX 1. if to that purpose hee leave the world John XVI 28. no more to be in it XVII 11. so that wee shall have him no more with us Mat. XXVI 11. it behoveth us to understand how wee are informed that the promise of his body and bloud in the Eucharist imports an exception to so many declarations before wee believe it Indeed there is no place of Gods right hand by sitting down at which wee may say that our Lords body becomes confined to the said place But seeing the flesh of Christ is taken up into Heaven to sit down at Gods right hand Though by his sitting down at Gods right hand wee understand the man Christ to be put into the exercise of that divine power and command which his Mediators Office requires Yet his body wee must understand to be confined to that place where the Majesty of God appears to those that attend upon his Throne Neither shall the appearing of Christ to S. Paul Acts XXIII 11. be any exception to this appointment Hee that would insist indeed that the body of Christ stood over Paul in the Castle where then hee lodged must say that it left Heaven for that purpose For that is the miracle which the Text expresseth that hee was there whose ascent into Heaven it had reported afore But seeing the very body of Christ might in a vision of Prophesie appear to Paul in the Spirit without any contravention to that determination which the Scripture otherwise had expressed Were it not madnesse to go about to limit the sense and effect of it upon pretense of a promise altogether impertinent to the occasion in hand and every whit as properly to be understood without so limiting the sense of it This is all the argument that I pretend to maintain upon this consideration Knowing well enough that it is said indeed that the flesh of Christ remaining in Heaven in the proper dimensions thereof which the Exaltation allowes nothing hinders the same to be present under the dimensions of the Elements whether the substance of them be there which Consubstantiation allowes or whether they be abolished as Transubstantiation requires Which hee that would contradict must enter here into a Philosophical dispute whether or no the infinite power of God can bring to passe either or neither of these effects That is to say whether it imply a contradiction that the body and bloud of Christ which is as sure in Heaven as the faith of Christ is sure should at the same time be present in the Sacrament of the Eucharist under the dimensions of the Elements whether wee suppose the substance of them to be abolished or to remain present This dispute I am resolved not to touch at this time Partly for that reason which I have alleged upon other occasions Because I desire to discharge this Book being written in our mother tongue of all Philosophical disputes tending rather to puzzle than to edifie the main of those that speak English Partly for a reason peculiar to this point because it hath been argued that if wee deny Transubstantiation or Consubstantiation as contradictory to reason there can be no cause why wee should cleave to the Faith of the Trinity which every man sees to be no lesse contradictory to humane reason than either of both For though I do no ways admit this consequence because it is evident that the nature of bodily substance is far better comprehended by mans understanding than the incomprehensible nature of God which it is impossible to apprehend any thing of but under the resemblance of something belonging to sensible substance yet I am willing to go to issue without drawing this dispute into consequence referring to judgment whether the evidence for Consubstantiation or Transubstantiation be such as for the holy Trinity out of the Scriptures That is to say whether the presence of the flesh and bloud of Christ in the Eucharist is so to be understood as to void the confining of them to those dimensions which the Scripture allowes them in Heaven And this as necessarily by the Scripture as the Scripture necessarily obligeth to believe the Holy Trinity When as it may be more properly to the nature of the businesse understood mystically as in a Sacrament intended to convey the communion of his Spirit In the mean time allowing any man that submits his reason to all that Christianity imports the sober use of it in disputing whether the presence of the flesh and bloud of Christ in the Eucharist as Consubstantiation or as Transubstantiation requires be contradictory to the evidence of reason or not CHAP. IV. The opinion which maketh the Consecration to be done by rehearsing the operative words That our Lord consecrated by Thanksgiving The Form of it in all Liturgies together with the consent of the Fathers Evidence that there is no Tradition of the Church for the abolishing of the Elements COming now to consider wherein the Consecration of the Eucharist consists I find
Christ but that they are thereby made fit to be offered and therefore there must be some other act whereby they are offered in Sacrifice And this they finde in the Canon of the Masse For having rehersed the Institution whereby the parties agree that consecration is done it follows Vnde memores Domine nos servi tui sed plebs tua sancta ejusdem Christi filii tui Domini nostri tam beatae passionis ab inferis resurrectionis sed in coelis gloriosae ascensionis Offerimus praeclarae Majestati tuae de tuis donis ac datis hostiam puram hostiam sanctam hostiam immaculatam Panem sanctum vitae aeternae Calicem salutis perpetuae Supra quae propitio ac sereno vultu respicere digneris Et accepta habere sicut accepta habere dignatus os munera pueri tui justi Abel sacrisicium Patriarchae nostrî Abrahae quod tibi obtulit summus Sacerdos tuus Melchisedech sanctum sacrificium immaculatam hostiam Whereupon wee also thy servants O Lord and holy people mindefull as well of the blessed passion and resurrection from the dead as the glorious ascension into heaven of the same thy Son Christ our Lord Offer to thy excellent Majesty of thy own free gifts a pure sacrifice a holy sacrifice a spotlesse sacrifice the holy Bread of everlasting life and Cup of eternal salvation Vpon which vouchsafe to look with a gracious and clear countenance and accept them as thou deignedst to accept the gifts of thy just childe Abel and the sacrifice of our Patriarch Abraham and that holy sacrifice that spotlesse oblation which thy High Priest Melchisedech offered thee Then follows that which I quoted afore Supplices te rogamus Domine jube haec perferri And this they think to be the offering of the Sacrifice which the consecration exhibiteth onely to be offered at the elevation by these words But the common opinion is offended at this for placing the Sacrifice in that act of the Church which sayes Wee offer to thee in which there is onely a general reason of sacrificing by offering without changing that which is offered And therefore as offering is nothing but dedicating and presenting to the worship of God so that if the substance of the thing be changed in offering it then is it Sacrificing Supposing the substance of the Elements to cease and the body and bloud of Christ to succeed in this doing this opinion places the nature of the Sacrifice For the change of the Elements saith mine Author acknowledgeth Gods power and the dependance uâ—on him of his creature And the body of Christ being under the dimensions of the bread his bloud of the wine Christ is present as sacrificed his flesh and bloud being divided Wherefore that change whereby the Sacrifice is produced sufficeth to the offering of it which is produced as sacrificed The power of God being sufficiently testified by the change though in sacrificing living creatures it is testified by destroying them for Gods service And this hee thinks our Lord signifies when hee saith This is my body which is given for you This is my bloud which shall be poured out for you For to whom but to God seeing hee saith not that is given you But for you And immediately hereupon there is no doubt but it hath the nature of a Sacrifice The offering whereof must consist in that action which is done in the person of Christ as the Consecration they agree is done by using the words of Christ And thus though this Sacrifice by typical and representative of the Sacrifice of Christ upon the Crosse which the parting of his body and bloud signifieth yet is it neverthelesse a true Sacrifice as the Sacrifices which figured Christ to come cease not therefore to be true Sacrifices And from this nature of a Sacrifice hee deriveth the reason why the Table is an Altar the Church a Temple the Minister Sacerdos or one that offereth Sacrifice I have made choice of this Authoâ— because I meet not this difference of opinion among them reported any where else That which I shall say to him will show what wee are to think of others For having maintained that the elements are really changed from ordinary bread and wine into the body and bloud of Christ mystically present as in a Sacrament And that in virtue of the Consecration not by the faith of him that receives I am to admit and maintain whatsoever appears duly consequent to this truth Namely that the Elements so consecrate are truly the Sacrifice of Christ upon the Crosse in as much as the body and bloud of Christ crucified are contained in them not as in a bare sign which a man may take up at his pleasure but as in the means by which God hath promised his Spirit But not properly the Sacrifice of Christ upon the Crosse because that is a thing that consists in action and motion and succession and therefore once done can never be done again because it is a contradiction that that which is done should ever be undone It is therefore enough that the Eucharist is the Sacrifice of Christ upon the Crosse as the Sacrifice of Christ upon the Crosse is represented renewed revived and restored by it and as every representation is said to be the same thing with that which it representeth Taking representing here not for barely signifying but for tendring and exhibiting thereby that which it signifieth On the other side I insist that if sacrificing signifie killing and destroying in the Sacrifices of the Old Testament and the Sacrifice of Christ upon the Crosse it is not enough to make the Eucharist properly a Sacrifice that the Elements are deputed to be worship of God by that change which Transubstantiation importeth and therefore much lesse not supposing any change in their bodily substance For this difference will abâ—te the property of a Sacrifice the truth of it remaining I grant that Gods Power is seen in this change according to the terms already settled For what Power but Gods can make good the promise of tendring the Body and Bloud of Christ as a visible mean to convey his Spirit And hee that goes about to make this change by consecrating the Eucharist must needs be understood to acknowledg this Power of Gods But this is not that acknowledgment which sacrificing importeth but that which every act of Religion implyeth Hee that Sacrificeth acknowledging that which hee sacrificeth with all that hee hath to God to testifie this acknowledgment abandoneth that which hee sacrificeth to be destroyed in testimony of it And therefore the Power of God is not testified in this change as the nature of a Sacrifice requires that it be testified For certainly hee intends not to abandon his interest in Christ that consecrates the Elements into his body and bloud And therefore the consideration of dedicating the Elements to the service of God in this Sacrament makes them properly oblations But the
Brethren if any man of you go astray from the truth and some body bring him back let him know that he who brings back a sinner from the errâ—r of his way shall save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sinnes For it is plain by S. Paul that this extendeth to the recovery of a sinner by the Keyes of the Church as they were managed during the Apostles time Certainly if we understand S. Pauls words 1 Tim. V. 22. 24. of imposition of hands in Penance as I have showed in my Book of the Right of the Church p. 23. that they may and ought to be understood it is necessarily to be inferred seeing they who admit those sinners to be reconciled unto God by the Prayers which the Church makes for them with imposition of hands signifying thereby that it alloweth them to be sâ—ncerely penitent are partakers of their sinnes which shall follow upon the readmitting of them to the Church being not worthy qualified for it Therefore the Church is to see that a man be qualified for reconciliation with the Church upon supposition of his reconciliation with God before he be reconciled to the Church And in first procuring him and then judging him to be so qualified consists the right use of those Keyes which God hath given the Church towards them that transgresse the profession of Christianity after they have made it The reason of all this is derived from those things which have been setled by the premises The condition which the Gospel proposeth for the remission of sinnes to them who stâ—nd convict by it that they are under sinne is that they return from sinne â—nd believing that our Lord Châ—iâ—t was senâ— by God to cure it undertake to professe that which he taught and to live according to the same Those which professe so to do the Church accepteth of wiâ—hout exception because this being the first account she hath of them she cannot expect more at their hands then that they submit the rest of their lives to that Christianity which she obligeth them to If by trâ—nâ—gressing this obligation which they have undertaken they forfeit the right which they obtainâ—d thereby is it in the power of the Church to restore them at pleasurâ— In vain then is all that hath been said to show that the Gospel and Christianity in order of nature and reason is more ancient then the constitution of the Church and the corporation of it And that all the power of the Chuâ—ch presupposeth the condition upon which those blessings which it tendreth are due And certainly our Lord when he saith to his Diâ—ciples Joh. XX. 23. Whosesoever sinne ye remit they are remitted intended not to contradict the sense of the Sâ—râ—bes when they say Who can forgive sinnes but God alone Mark II. 7. Luk. V. 21. Much lesse to reverse the word of his Prophets ascribing this power of him alone Esay XLIII 25. Mich. VII 18. Psal XXXII 5 What is then the effect of this promise to them that have forfeited the right of their Baptism supposing that when men first become Christians the Disciples of Christ and his Church remit sinnes by making them Christians according to that which hath been declared Surely the same observing the difference of the case For he who being convict of his disease and of the cure of it by the preaching of Christianity is effectually moved by the helpe of Gods Spirit to imbrace that cure which none but the Church which tenders it can furnish attains it not but by using it That is by being baptized But he who being baptized hath failed of his trust and forfeited his interest in Christ cannot so easily be restored I have showed you what works of mortification of devotion and mercy the recovering of Gods grace and favour requirâ—s Let no man therefore thinke that the power of remitting sinnes in the Church can abate any thing of that which the Gospel upon which the Church is grounded requiteth to the remission of finne done after Baptism The authority of the Church is provided by God to oblige those who are overtaken in sinne to undergo that which may satisfie the Church of the sincere intent of their returne And the Church being so satisfied warranteth their restitution to the right which they had forfeited upon as good ground as it warranteth their first estate in it But this presupposeth the wrath of God appeased his favour regained and the inordinâ—te love of the creature which caused the forfeit blotted out and changed through that course of mortification which hath been performed into the true love of goodnesse for Gods sake The Church therefore hath received of God no power to forgive sinnes immediately as if it were in the Church to pardon sâ—nne without that diâ—poâ—ition which by the Gospel qualifieth a man for it Or as if the act of the Church pardoning did produce it But in as much as the knowledge thereof directeth and the authority thereof constraineth to use the means which the Gospell prescribeth in so much is the remission of sinnes thereby obtained truly ascribed to the Church Lazarus was first dead before he was bound up in his Grave clothes And when he was restored to life he remained bound till he was loosed by the Apostles The Church bindeth no man but him that is first dead in sinne If the voice of Christ call him out of that death he is not revived till the love of sin be mortified and the love of God made alive in him by a due course of Penance performed If the motion of Gods spirit upon the preaching of the Gospel convincing a man that there is no means but Christianity to escape out of sinne and prevailing with him to imbrace it be effectuall to obtain the promises of the Gospel Much more shall the actuall operation of the same moving him that is dead in sinne to put sinne to death in himself that he may live a Christian for the future be effectuall to regain the grace of God for him who hath not yet the life of grace in him but is in the way of recovering it by the helpe of Gods grace But he who is thus recovered to life by the ministery of the Church is not yet loosed of the bands of his sinne till he be loosed by the Church because he was first bound by it as our Lord having raised Lazarus to live commands him to be loosed by his Apostles For if he who accepteth of the Gospel and the terms of it remain bound to be baptized by the Church for the remission of his sinne Is it strange that he who hath forfeited his pardon obtained by the Church even in the judgement and knowledge of the Church should not obtain the restoring of it but by the act of the Church And therefore the Church remitteth sinne after Baptism not onely as a Physician prescribing the cure but as a judge admitting it to be effected And the satisfaction of the Church presupposeth
necessity of this condition will allow That is to say that it be understood to pardon sinne in as much and no otherwise then as the ministery thereof moveth to induce men to be Christians whither in profession or in performance Thus those who by that Christianity which the Church maintaineth are induced to believe that they are lost for ever unlesse they undertake the profession of Christianity being induced so to do are cleansed from sinne and made Heirs of everlasting life by the Baptism which the Church giveth Thus those who have forfeited the right which they attained by being baptized by forfeiting the profession upon which they attained it being reduced by the Church to a disposition of making it good for the future are thereby re-estated in the same right again And all the prayers which the Church can tender â—o God for remission of sinnes can no way be presumed or understood to be of force with God but upon supposition that those for whom they are made are either in the state or in the way of performing that which their Christian profession undertaketh This reason added to those circumstances of S. James his words and the originall practice of the Church afore quoted which show that he intendeth to speak of the applying of the Keyes of the Church to the sick throughly convinceth that remission of sinne is not attributed to the anointing of the sick but as an appertenance of the power of the Keyes passing upon them and upon supposition that by submitting to it the Church being inabled to warrant their pardon could with confidence pray for that bodily health which they chiefly need in that estate For if supposing this condition nothing can hinder remission of sinne if not supposing the same nothing can warrant it what reason can we imagine why the power of the Church and those persons which are intrusted on behalfe of it should be imployed in this businesse but to procure that disposition which onely qualifieth for remission of sinne And therefore I cannot allow the excuses which the School Doctors use to maintain the effect of this unction in the remission of sinne considering it precisely without that dependance which in the words of the Apostle it hath upon the Keyes of the Church They say the effect of it is to wipe away the remains of sinne whether originall or actuall consisting in that pronenesse to the injoying of the creature that faintnesse and sluggishnesse in following true virtue that weaknesse in tending to God which remain even in him that is perfectly restored to Gods grace For these if they be sinne then are they cured by the same means by which his sin is cured which how it is effected by the Church hath been oft enough said If not sinne God forbid but the prayers of the Church should prevail to weaken them in the sick But as those Prayers have their force uâ—on supposition of the condition so must they be understood to have the effect of forgivenesse ascribed them here by the Apostle in virtue of that disposition which the Ministery of the Church shall have produced And therefore I am not moved with those arguments which are produced to prove that the bodily health here promised hath no relation to the miraculous graces of the Apostles time It is said that those Graces are not given according to mens ranks in the Church but according to Gods good pleasure as S. Paul saith 1 Cor. XII 4-11 where he reckoneth up that variety of Graces which the spirit of God then stirred up in the Church without any intimation that they were given rather to publick then to private persons in the Church And therefore that it had been impertinent for S. James to name the Presbyters of the Church had he intended to speak of curing the sick by any such grace But it is easie to answer that such graces though common to private persons in the Church yet in reason were most frequently imparted to those that were most eminent in Christianity And that publick persons in the Church were made such upon presumption of their eminence above others in Christianity which presumption though it possibly may fail yet of necessity must hold good for the most part And that upon this account as the Apostles the Heads of the whole Church were most eminent in all Graces so it is in reason to be presumed that the Presbyters of the Church whatsoever were the office of Presbyters of the Church for the present were after indowed with those Graces then private Christians Whereupon it will follow for a thing which no reason can be showed why it should not come to passe though the Scripture offered no further evidence that it did come to passe that private persons injoying the Grace of healing by the Holy Ghost might restore to bodily health by anointing with oyl Not extending their function to the procuring of forgiveness for sinne which the publick ministery of the Church pretendeth to procure For on the other side notwithstanding the promise of bodily health in S. James it is no inconvenience to grant that the Prayers of the Church might fail of it though it be not granted that they fail of forgivenesse of sinne when the person is qualified The reason is because the promise of forgivenesse of sinne by the Gospel is absolute the condition being cleared that is supposing the person qualified for it But for bodily health there is no further promise by the Gospel then it shall seem to God that the condition of bearing Christs Cross in this or that man requireth It is also said that according to S. Paul 1 Cor. XIV 22. Tongnes are a sign to unbelievers not Christians And therefore it is not to be supposed that the grace of healing was to be exercised to the benefit of believers but to the conversion of Infidels For S. Paul that cured Publius of a fever Acts XXVIII 8. left Trophimus at Miletum sick 2 Tim. IV. 20. and had Epaphroditus by him sick to death Phil. II. 26. 27. and cured not Timothy of his frequent infirmities 1 Tim. V. 23. But I answer again with S. Paul 1 Cor. XII 7. that the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit with That is to say Those â—raâ—es which do manifest that the Spirit of God is in the Church and therefore that Christianity comes from God are given neverthelesse to Christians to do good to Christians with though not to all alwaies but to such as God who hath given them the Grace shall move them to do good so with it But though I maintain that the promise of bodily health upon the Prayers of the Church belongs to those graces by which it then appeared that God is in his Church yet in that he requires the Presbyters of the Church in that he promises remission of sinne it is not to be imagined that bodily health and the exercise of that Grace which procured it is onely intended and
which they hear from those that do not profess to Preach within those bounds who can deny that they are guilty to their own death What those bounds are I shall say by and by In the mean time let them take heed whose neglect of the written word or whose zeal to preaching shuts the Scriptures out the Church that they contribute not to the bringing in of the secret and invisible Word of the Enthusiasts It is now no dainty to hear that the word which we have written in our Bibles is not the Word that saveth but that which is secretly and invisibly spoken to us within by Gods Spirit And whosoever attributeth the reverence due to Gods word to any such dictate without dependence upon the Scriptures that is deriving the same from the Scripture by those means which God hath allowed us for the understanding of them according to the premises what shall hinder him to preferre the dictate of his own Spirit under pretense of Gods before that which he admitteth to come from Gods Spirit For he who admitteth the greater contradiction of two parallel Soveraigns why should he not admit a less that the written word is not Gods word in competition with the dictate of his own Spirit when there is so easie a cloke of expounding the written word though against all reason and rule of expounding it yet so as to submit even the substance of Christianty to the dictate of a private spirit We have an example for it in the impostures of Mahomet For doth not the Alcoran acknowledge both our Lord Christ and Moses true Prophets of God besides all other attributes yet in as much as it pretendeth the Spirit given to Mahomet in such a degree as to controle them both it smoothes the way to the renouncing of Christianity when the power of the sword fell out on the side of it Simon Magus and his followers the Gnosticks might have done the like had the like power been on their side as the Manichees did in part if those things be true that we read in Cedronus of a party of them possessed of the Power of the Sword about the parts of Armenia all upon pretense of higher revelations then were granted to the Apostles The same is alleged against the Paraclete of Montanus and perhaps his followers being disowned by the Church might fall to such extremities but at the beginning it doth not appear that he pretended any more then to introduce certain strict orders into the Church as injoyned by his Spirit and those of his fellow Prophets which it was not expedient for the Church to undertake and being so it was requisite for him to conform unto the Church any pretense of the Spirit notwithstanding but otherwise were no way destructive to Christianity Suppose then the reading of the Scriptures to be one of those offices for the which the Church is to assemble the order of reading them which is that which remains is a thing to subject so common reason that there need not much dispute about it If we look upon Tertullianes or before him Justin Martyrs Apologies for the Christians there will appear no more then this that every Church that is every Body of Christians under one Bishop did prescribe themselves that order for reading the Scriptures in the Church which they found requisite And if that primitive simplicity which the Christianity under persecution was managed with had continued what fault could have been found with it But when the World was come into the Church which he that injoyes his right senses will not believe did come into it all with the like affections to the professions which they undertook it was in vain to hope that differences would not rise or might not rise about this as well as other points in which the exercise of Christianity consisted Differences arising the greater authority is that to which the ending of them obliges all men to have recourse The greater authority you have seen is that of the greatest Churches whither in Synods or not requiring Synods to oblige the less by reason of the exigence or reasonableness of the case The order of reading the Scriptures and of singing or saying the Psalms and Hymns of Gods praises being grounded upon no other reason nor tending to any other end then that of exercising and improving the Christianity of Gods people I need noâ— dispute that the Order which the power of the Church of Rome hâ—d introduced here as well in the rest of the West was such as made the Assemblies of the Church fruitlesse to that purpose For what could those shreds of Psalms and Lessonâ— which that order prescribeth contribute that might be considerable to that purpose Nor need I argue how considerable the order of the Church of England is to the same For to finish the Psalter once a year the New Testament thrice a year the Old once besides for reverence to the ancient Ordinance of the Church another Order for beginning the Prophet Esay at Advent and Genesis at Septuagesima to be prosecuted on Festival days is an Order from which the Church hath reason to expect a good effect in the instruction of Gods people And the interweaving of the Lessons with Hymns as it is agreeable to the rules and the practice of the ancient Church so it is in reason a fit mean to preserve attention and quicken devotion in them who use it In the mean time supposing there were considerable objections to be made against this or that order yet Order in generall being a thing so requisite to the preservation of Unity in the Body of the Church there is no reason to be given why any body should be admitted to dispute any Order received that cannot advance another Order which he can pretend to be more effectual to the purpose in which the parties must needs agree I am here to answer that part of the question concerning the Canon of Scripture which I said in the first book concerneth the Law not the faith of the Church whither the reading of those Scriptures which S. Jerome calls Apocryphall Ruffinus upon the Creed Ecclesiasticall for part of the Church office be for the ediâ—ication of the Church or not And a few words shall serve me to answer it with The very name of Ecclesiastical serves him that admits the Church to be one Body the unity whereof requires some uniformity in the order of those offices the communion whereof is one part of the end for which it subsisteth For it is manifest that the whole Church hath frequented the reading of them and that they are called Ecclesiastical for no other reason but because the reading of them hath been frequented by the Church in the Church And whosoever makes this any title of separation from the Church of Rome will make his Title Schismatical separating for that which is common to the present Church of Rome with the whole Church But because the repute of the Church is so slight
which our first parents lost by rebelling against God They could not use so fit a terme to expresse the rest and happinesse of blessed spirits in the world to come as by calling the place of it Paradise But that the place of this rest was the third heavens before the sitting down of our Lord Christ at the right hand of his Father I am yet to learn that there is any syllable or tittle in the holy Scripture to signify that the people of God understood at such time as our Lord delivered this Parable So that there can possibly be no reasonable presumption that the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 here used not in reference to the body which goes to corruption in the grave but to the soul or spirit should signify the same with Gehenna in opposition to Abrahams bosome Neither the originall signification of the word nor the circumstance of the parable nor any opinion received then among Gods people so limiting the signification of it But that the bosome of Abraham should signify the place of rest which God had appointed for the righteous the reason is plaine The hospitality of Abraham being renowned in the Scripture and the happinesse of the world to come being usually represented to the people of God at that time under the resemblance of a Feast whereof Abraham is made the Master when his bosome is made the place to receive and refresh Lazarus There is therefore no reason why the bosome of Abraham and Paradise should not signify the same state or the same place to the apprehension of Gods people at that time But there is also no reason why 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Parable should not extend to comprehend both Gehenna and Paradise in the sense of those to whom our Lord addresses this Parable For neither is it any way necessary when the good thief prayes Lord remember me when thou comest into thy kingdome And our Lord answers To day shalt thou be with me in Paradise Luke XXIII 42 43. that Paradise should here be understood to signify the third heavens the way into which was not yet laid open standing the first Tabernacle saith the Apostle Ebr. IX 8. And againe Which new and living way our Lord Jesus hath dedicated or hanseled for us through the vaile that is his flesh unlesse we abuse our selues with an imagination that words can signifie things which could not be aprehended on t of them by those to whom they were said For as for S. Paul who was ravished into the third heavens that is into paradise 1 Cor. XIV 3 4. I conceive I need not insist upon an exception which there is no issue to try To wit that S. Paul speakes of severall raptures one into the third heavens the other into Paradise For to speake freely it seems no more then reason to grant that S. Paul was ravished to the presence of our Lord Christ But I must needs insist that the word Paradise could not signifie the same thing to S. Paul after the Ascension of our Lord as to the hearers of our Lord afore it As for the words of the same S. Paul having a desire to depart and to be with Christ Phi. I. 23. whether they do confine the spirit of S. Paul departed to the place of our Lord Christs bodily presence in the third heavens I will not conclude till I have considered more of those scriptures which may concerne the same purpose And indeed the Apocalypse as it is the last of the new Testament so seemeth to declare more in this mater then all the rest of it before had done For when upon the opening of the fift seale Apoc. VI. 9 10 11. the soules of Martyrs having demanded vengeance upon their persecutors were cloathed with long white robes and bidden to expect the fulfilling of their numbers And after that the CXLIVM of the XII tribes that were to be preserved from the said vengeance were sealed It followeth Apoc. VII 9. 14. After that I looked and behold a great multitude whom no man could number of every nation and tribe and people and language standing before the Throne and before the Lambe and cloathed in long white robes with Pâ—lmes in their hands And to show who they were These be they who come out of the great tribulation and have washed their robes and have blanched their robes in the bloud of the lambe Therefore they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his Temple and he that sitteth upon the Throne overshadoweth them They shall not hunger nor thirst nor shall the sun fall on them nor any heate For the Lambe that is in the midst of the Thorne feedeth them and guidâ—th them to living wells of water and God wipes away all teares from their eyes Here you have the soules of the Martyrs before the throne of God over shadowed by him that sitteth on the Throne who wipeth away all teares from their eyes And again Apoc. XIV 1-5 where the CXLIVM that were sealed appear again upon mount Sion and the voice of harpers is heard singing to their harps a new song before the throne and before the foure living creatures and Elders which no man but the sealed could learne It followeth These are they that have not been defiled with women for they are Virgins These are they that followe the Lambe whithersoever he goeth These are redeemed from among men as first fruits to God and to the Lambe Nor was any deceite found in their mouthes For they are unspotted before the Throne of God Here CXLIVM appeare upon mount Sion hearing onely the song which the harpers sing to their harps And therefore those that were not defiled with women that followe the Lamb whithersoever he goeth that are unspotted before the thâ—one of God are the harpers not those that were sealed The same Martyrs soules that appeared before in long white robes with Palmes in their hands now appeare singing the song of triumph to their harps For so it followeth v. 13. after denouncing the the fall of Babilon and vengeance of God upon those that worship the Beast I heard a voice from heaven say to me Write Blessed are the dead that from henceforth dye in the Lord. Even so saith the spirit for they rest from their labour and their works goe along with them Well might Tertullian restraine this to Martyrs for the consequence of the text mightiâ—y inforceth it The Lambe indeed is seen on mount Sion with those that are sealed But it is never said that they are before the Throne but onely they who appeare in Heaven that is the Martyrs whose song of tryumph they heare and learne which needed not have been said if they were represented as of one company And perhaps it is said that they follow the Lamb whither soever he goes Because they followed him to his Crosse suffering that death for him which he had suffered for us And that they are Virgines Because not stayned
to Chrâ—st and are wâ—th Christ afore Christ under the eaâ—th But accordâ—ng to S. Austin and â—hose that dispose of them till the day of judgement in secret stoâ—e-houses signifyed by the name of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or the invisible place of the dead against which opinion I maintaine there is no Tradition in the Church the reason is plaine from the dâ—fference of those lodgings according to the difference of the qualities in which men depart though all in the state of Grace Take but the Court of the Temple in heaven which S. Ioâ—n saw in the vision of Prophesy for one of those secret store houses in whiâ—h the Saints soules are bestowed til the day of judgement and the scripture remaines reconciled to it selfe and to the primitive and generall practice of the Church Tertullian mistook a little when he affiâ—med that onely Martyrs soules appeare there For the XXIV Elders sit as judges with God according as our Lord promises that his disciples shall doe when he comes to judgement But if they and S. Iohn sawe both the same Thorne S. Paul may be with Christ as one of them and S. â—ohn may say that when Christ appeares or when it appeares what we shall bee we shall see God as he is that â—is not aâ—oâ—e And so the reason is plaine why the Church prayed for all because it hath some thing to pray for on the behalfe of all To wit that which the Martyrs in the Revelation pray for the vengeance of God upon the enemies of the Church and the second coming of Christ upon which theire owne consummation depends What account Innocent III. Pope gives for the change of a prayer that had been used for the soul of Pope Leo and how the Divines of the Church of Rome are inâ—angled about it you may see in the place alledged pag. 197. But neither had the change nor the account for it needed had it beene considered and admitted that the resurrection shall be a benefit even to the soules of saints and Martyrs supposing that in that estate there remaines nothing else to desiâ—e for them And this Epiphanins also alledges against Aerius that to make a difference between our Lord Christ and the Saints we pray for them Not that Chrâ—stâ—ans need to be taught a difference between Christ and his Saints But because the difference between the state of our Lord Christ having resumed his body carryed it into heaven in perfect happinesse and the Saints departed whoâ—e happinesse is not compleat till they râ—sume their bodies in the whole ground of those prayers in reference to Saints and Martyrs And the same is signified by Epiphanius when he saith wee pray for the dead 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as yet in travaile And perhaps also when he saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to signifie that which is more compleate But shall there be therefore no difference between the storehouses in which the Apostles Martyrs and those in which all that departe in the state of grace are lâ—dged Is their intertainment the same because there all rest till the day of judgement The Martyrs soules in the Apocalypse praying for Gods vengeance upon the persecutors of his Church thereby pray for their owne accomplishment And therefore the spirit of the Bride saith come Even the spouse of the Lamb the new Jerusalem which S. Iohn saw come down from heaven dressed like a bride for her husband Apoc. XXâ— 2. To wit with fine linen that shineth which is the righteous deeds of the saints Apoc. XIX 8. This bride still prayeth for the coming of her spouse But I have showed you the Lamb upon mount Sion with the hundreth forty foure thowsand that hâ—d the Fathers name marked upon their foreheades which sing not the song of tryumph which the Martyrs sing to their harps but understand it and they onely Apoc. XIV 1 2 3 And therefore I have showed you an other storehouse for soules of a lower rancke yet wâ—th the Lambe And S. Austins doubt supposeth no doubt of praying for those whom the Church accounted not of as it did of Martyrs And therefore If there be written Copies of the latine Masse in which the prayer for refreshment rest and peace to them that are falne a sleep in Christ appeares not as it is alleged in that answer p. 196. it appeares sufficiently otherwise that the church did pray to that effect for those that were not taken for Saints and Martyrs Epiphaneus alleageth against Aerius that because wee sin all with our will or against our will therefore the Church prayeth for remission of their sins And perhaps when he said 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to signifie that which is more compleat he meant to distinguish the prayers which were made for Saints from those which were made for others So the formes which you have in the Apostles constitutions VIII 4. and other Lythirgyes so S. Cyril Catech. V. Mystag saith that though the Church knit no Crownes for sinners yet it offereth for them Christ slaine for our sins to render God propitious And the supposed Dionysius though he mention no prayer for Saints whoâ—e names are then rehearsed before the consecration Eccles Hierarch cap. III. yet speaking of burying the dead Cap. VII he mentioneth prayer for the remission of their sins For supposing no punishment inflicted upon any that departeth in the state of Grace notwithstanding it is reason to suppose that the soule remaineth affected with comfort for the present and a cheerefull expectation of her future account or the contrary according to the love of goodnesse which shee contracted here Wherefore if the Saints of God are visited either by the immediate operation of his spirit or the ministery of Angels whereby S. Austine conceiveth they may learne what passeth here Is it strange that ordinary Christians departed in the state of Grace but imperfectly turned from lesse sins should need the influence of Gods spirit or the visitation of the Angels to hold them up in the desire of their accomplishments in the expectation of their trriall to come Is there any thing prejudiciall to the faith in that of 2. Es IV. 35. Did not the soules of the righteous aske questions of these things in their chambers saying How long shall I hope on this fashion When cometh the fruite of the floore of our reward Is it not agreeable to reason and to faith that they should be dissatisfied of their present comfort and of the terrible tryall to come after the rate of that affection they had for the world when they parted with it And yet at rest from the temptations of it and secure of being defeated of ending in Gods Grace And yet not under any punishment inflicted by God but onely under the consequence of that disposition which they leave the world with I do alledg here as for the interest of this mine opinion the example of S. Ambrose praying for the Emperors Gratiane Valentinian and Theodosius and for his
question hereafter for the Principles which here wee seek to decide but supposing sufficient reason propounded to make it evidently credible And hee that alleges Gods Spirit for what hee cannot show sufficient reason to believe otherwise may thank himself if hee perish by believing that which hee cannot oblige another man to believe Here wee must make a difference between those men whom God imployes to deal with other men in his name and those which come to God by their means For of the first it is enough to demand how it appears that they come from God To demand by what means hee makes his will known to them supposing they come from him is more than needs at least in this place For if it be granted mee that the Apostles and Prophets were the messengers of God suppose I cannot tell how Prophesies are made evident to the souls of them to whom the Spirit of God reveals them No body will question Whether or no hee ought to believe these whom hee acknowledges Gods messengers And therefore it will be no prejudice to my purpose to set aside all curious dispute how and by what means God reveales his messages to those whom by such revelations hee makes Prophets But those that derive their knowledg from the report of such as are believed to come from God must as well give account how they know that which they believe to come from such report as why such report is to be believed For if wee believe that God furnished those whom hee imployed with sufficient means to make it appear that they came on his message wee can dispute no further why their report is to be believed If wee believe it not there will be no cause why those who pretend themselves to be Gods messengers should not be neglected as fools or rejected as impostors Nay there will be no cause why wee should be Christians upon the report of those that show us not sufficient reason to receive them for Gods messengers But this being admitted and believed unlesse evidence can be made what was delivered by them that came on Gods message it is in vain to impose any thing on the Faith of them that are ready to receive whatsoever comes upon that score The resolution then of all controversies in Religion which the Church is divided about consists in making evidence what hath been delivered by them whom all Christians believe that God sent to man on his message And therefore there will remain no great difficulty about the force and use of reason in matters of Faith if wee consider that it is one thing to resolve them by such principles as the light of reason evidenceth another to do it by the use of reason evidencing what Gods messengers have delivered to us For all dispute in point of Faith tends only to evidence what wee have received from the authors of our Faith Till that evidence come doubt remaineth when it is come it vanisheth Without the use of reason this evidence is not made though not by that which the light of nature discovereth yet by those helps which reason imployeth to make it appear what wee have received from those from whom wee received our Christianity Which without those helps did not appear But if competition fall out between that which is thus evidenced to come from God on the one side and on the other side the light of reason seeming evidently to contradict the truth of it First wee are certain that this competition or contradiction is only in appearance because both reason and revelation is from God who cannot oblige us to make contradictory resolutions Then there is no help without the use of reason to unmask this appearance I will not here go about to controule that which may be alleged on either side in any particular point by any general prejudice chusing rather to referre the debate to that particular question in which cause of competition may appear then to presume upon any thing which the truth of Christianity the only supposition which hitherto I premise appeareth not so contain Only this I will prescribe It is not the exception of a Christian to say That which the light of reason evidenceth not to be possible is not true though commended to us by the same reasons which move us to be Christians For the nature of God the counsails of God the works of God being such things as mans understanding hath no skill of till it be enlightened by God from above That sense of Gods oracles which the motives of Faith do inforce is no lesse undisputable then it is undisputable whether that which God saith be true or not who inacts his revelations by those motives CHAP. II. The question between the Scripture and the Church which of them is Judge in matters of Faith Whether opinion the Tradition of the Church stands better with Those that hold the Scripture to be clear in all things necessary to salvation have no reason to exclude the Tradition of the Church What opinions they are that deny the Church to be a Society or Corporation by Gods Law THe cure of all diseases comes from the sound ingredients of nature when they get the upper hand and restore nature by expelling that which was against it Neither can the divisions and distempers of the Church be cured but by the common truth which the parties acknowledg when the right understanding of it clears the mistakes which mans weaknesse tainteth it with There is a sufficient stock of sound Principles left all the parties which I mean when all of them acknowledg the Scriptures that is so much of them as all agree to contain the word of God But supposing the truth of them to come from God First it remaines in difference how the meaning of them may be determined when doubt is made of it And then because nothing but the true meaning of the Scripture can be counted Scripture if there be a way to determine that Whether any thing over and above it is to be received for the word of God with it Concerning which point it is well enough known what opinions there are on foot When Luther first disputed against the Indulgences of Leo X Pope those that appeared in defense of them the Master of the Popes Palace and Eckius finding themselves scanted of mater to allege out of the Scriptures betook themselvs to the common place of the Church and the Power of it the force whereof stood upon this consequence That whatsoever the Church shall decree is to be received for unquestionable Afterwards certain Articles extracted out of Luthers Writings being condemned by a Bull of the Pope Luther interposes his appeal to a Council that should decree according to the Scripture alone This is the rise of the great Controversie still on foot between the Church and the Scripture between Scripture and the Tradition of the Church of what force each of them is in deciding controversies of Faith They that hold
that the Grace whereby we are justified is a quality habitually informing the soule of man as supernaturally infused by God into it But onely that Faith Hope and Charity are infused into them that are justified and inherent in them as shed into theire hearts by the Holy Ghost Which they say may all be understood supposing that a man is justified by the acts of Faith Hope and Love infused or shedde into the hart by the Holy Ghost as well as by habites supernaturally created to reside in the soule For you may see by Morinus in his Late worke de Administrationâ— Pâ—nitentiâ— VIII 2. 3. 7. that for MCC yeares after Christ a good while after the Schoole Doctors were come in there was no question at all made whether we are justified by an infused habit of grace or not and that it was about the yeare MCCL that this opinion intirely prevailed in the Schooles Whereby it appeareth that as this opinion containes nothing destructive to the faith if it be understood in that sense which the Church of Rome allowes that it is not the naturall worth of it which justifies but Gods accepting of it to that effect So if it did yet could not the Church of Rome be said to teach any thing destructive to the faith But onely to allow since â—uch things to be taught For the Council of Vienna under Clement V. determines it not as matter of faith but as the more probable opinion as you may see Clement de summa Trin. Fide Cathol Tit. I. Cap. VII And therefore Albertus Pâ—ghius de libero Arbitrio lib. V notwithstanding this decree stickes not to count this doctrine forged without any authority of Scripture And those that speake of it with more respect then he thinke not themselves tied to that which the Council holdâ— the more probable It is indeed manifest by the experience of all Christians that the custome and practice even of supernaturall actions to which the inclination of corrupt nature is utterly averse breedes in a man an habituated disposition of doing those things with â—ase and pleasure which at the beginning of his Christianity he could not doe without offering himselfe much violence But that habit which custome and practice leaves behind it though supernaturall for the cause or effect of it because the acts upon which it accrues as also those which it produces cannot accrue from meere nature without the helpe of Christs grace is notwithstanding for that wherein it consists a disposition really qualifying the nature and substance of the soule and inclining it to act otherwise then without it Besides the Gospell promising the Holy Ghost for a Gift to abide with and dwell in those that are baptized nothing hinders the Gift thereof to be held and termed an habituall grace In these regards I find it neither prejudiciall nor inconsequent to the Christian faith to acknowledge habituall grace though neither scripture nor tradition of the Church owne any habit of grace created by God and infused into the soule in a moment as the Schoole imagineth But they seeme to have committed another mistake in that the Church having decreed against Pelagius that the Grace of Christ is necessary to all truly good actions and therefore that man cannot merit the first grace this infused habit of grace they have made to be that First grace which God giveth before man will indeavor any thing towards it For so the Master of the Sentences determineth that grace which preventeth mans indevors to be faith with Love libro II. distinct XXVI D. which though it be capable of a very good sense That the motion to beleeve the truth of Christianity out of the love of God is that which Gods grace prevents all mans compliance with yet in what sense they swallowed it will appeare by the difficulties and dispuâ—es they were intangled with about that sorrow which the heart conceives for sinne out of meerâ— love to God not feare of punishment which the love of our selves breedeth For this sorow being necessarily a disposition preparing him for justification that cometh to God in regard the first grace which God preventeth all manâ— indeavors with is to them this infused habit of Faith and love which formally justifieth how he should come prepared for justification by that contrition which without Gods grace man cannot have who is justified by that infused habit of grace which he was first prevented by God with hath been among them the subject of endlesse jangles Whereas it is manifest the maintenance of the Faith against Pelagius requireth no more then that the resolution of persevering in Christianity to the â—nd be thought necessarily to depend upon the motion to imbrace it which God first preventeth man with without respect to any act of man obliging God to grant it And therefore it is manifest that the Church decreed no more against Pelagius but that the first motion to become a good Christian that every man is prevented with must be ascribed to Gods free grace through Christ not ingaged by any act of mans goeing afore Now requiring onely the actuall assistance of Gods preventing grace it is easy enough to say not how attrition that is sorrow for sinne in regard of punishment accompanied with slavish feare is changed into contrition that is sorrow for sinne out of the love of God whome it offendeth For it is not possible that he who loveth God should be sory for sinne for the same reason which he was sorry for while he loved the world But how the man that was attrite becomes contrite For when first the Gospell reveales unto a man his desperate estate in and by the first Adam it is not possible that he should remaine uâ—touched either with sorrow for the present or apprehension for the future And yet no lesse unpossible is it according to Gods ordinary way of working even by his Grace that he should in an instant resolve to imbrace the onely way to give him peace in that exigence But while he neither casts off the motion of grace nor resigneâ— his interest in himselfe and the world to it but considers upon what reason it behoves him to resolve this consideration by the worke of Gods Spirit disâ—overing to him how much God and the next world is to be preferred before himselfe and this as the love of God and the world to come prevailes in him above the love of himselfe and this accordingly of necessity must the greife of having offended God afore prevaile in him above all that he can conceive for the misery he hath incurred And all this by virtue of those helpes which God grants though allwayes in consideration of our Lord Christ yet not by virtue of that Covenant which is not contracted till â— man be baptized but of his owne free goodnesse dispensing the effects of Christs coming according to the reason of his secret wisdome which the Covenant of grace discovers not I neede say no more to show how a
man that comeâ— into the world with concupiscence becomes either habituated to the love of God above all things or indowed with the habituall assistance of Gods Spirit by that promise which the Gospell importeth Thus much is to be seenâ— by that which hath been said That in the justification of a sinner by Christianity which I have showed to be the condition of it there is a twofold change either implied or signified For that a man should become reconciled to God continues in the same affection to himselfe and the world as before he heard of Christ is a thing which the soâ—ereâ—t of them that dispute justification by faith alone abhorre And that a man by the Gospel should be intitled to no more then that disposition which be is changed to obligeth God to give is no lesse horrible to them that dispute justification by the works of faith And therefore besides that change in the nature and disposition of him that becomes estaâ—ed in the promises of the Gospel which justification involveth there is another change in Gods esteeme which is morall by virtue of his free promise which the change which his nature hath received signifieth not because Gods will onely infâ—rs it The former of these the Schoole insist upon and they seeme to follow S. Austinâ— in it who though he have nothing to doe with any conceit of habituall grace yet most an end attributeth the effect of justifying even before God to those inherent acts of righteousnesse whereby the grace of God translateth his enimies into that state of his grace The later though it be that which both the Scriptures and the most ancient records of the Church doe expresse yet so long as the effect of justifying is attributed to the disposition which is inherent in the soule not for the worth of it but by Gods Grace it can containe nothing either formally destructive or by consequence prejudiciall to the Faith That the one is fundamentally implyed the other formally signified in the justification of a Christian belongs rather to the skill of a divine in understanding the Scriptures then to the virtue of a Christian in holding the faith What the Church thinkes of the workes of those who believing do not yet declare themselves Christians by procuring Baptisme as it is a consideration fit for this place so is it manifest by the doubt which they make of the salvation of those that dye in that estate For though the life that they live supposing the preventing Grace of the holy Ghost to bring them to that estate must needs be ascribed to the same yet is it not as yet under the promise of reward because they are not yet under the Covenant of Grace but onely disposed to it And how good soever their life may be yet so long as it proceeds not to an effectuall resolution of undertaking Christs Crosse it is buâ— actuall and dependeth dâ— facto upon the assistance of Gods Spirit which dâ— jurâ— they can challenge no title in being not yet estated in Gods promises but onely prevented by those helps which they can claime no difference of right in from those that are not prevented with the same But he that undertakes Christs Crosse by coming to Baptisme with a good conscience obtaineth remission of sinnes adoption to be Gods Sonne and right and title to everlasting life Which adoption and which title as they are morall rights and qualities so are they meer appendences of that justification which God alloweth the Faith of those that are baptized sincerely without consideration of workes according to the doctrine of the Fathers Supposing it is true as much change as between a Christian and no Christian in him that obtaines them in which regard it is no marvaile if remission of sinnes or justification be ascribed to the said change many times in their writings For how such sayings are to be understood imports onely the signification of words not the salvation of a Christian but not importing Gods consideration of their qualities the consideration of whose works is excluded S. Augustine it is true considering this change in him that is justified which is indeed the ground upon which God accepteth of his Faith to that purpose and using the word justifying to signify the same hath occasioned the Schoole to agree in that forme of doctrine which the Council of Trent canonizeth But though he frequent the terme more then others in that sense yet can he no wayes be thought to depart from the meaning of the rest who do sometimes describe justification by the ground which it supposeth sometimes by the quality in Gods account which it signifyeth Acknowledging all of them the gift of the holy Ghost to be obtained by this faith which justifyeth of Gods free Grace indeed which onely moved him to set the Gospel on foot but as due by the promise which it containeth to abide and to dwell with him that voides not the condition upon which it is granted This grace of the holy Ghost habitually dwelling in them that have undertaken Christs Crosse to inable them to go through with the work of it as it cannot be unfruitfull in good works so are those works henceforth under the promise of reward which no workes done afore Baptisme can challenge I must not leave this point till I have said a word or two of Socinus his opinion as to this point of justifying faith For as concerning the two points premised I conceive I have showed you that it is no lesse destructive to Faith in teaching that a man is able of himself to imbrace and to fulfill all that the Gospel requires at his hands withoâ—â— any help of Gods grace granted in respect of our Lord Christs obedience Then that God accepteth what a man is so able to performe not out of any consideration thereof but of his own free goodnesse which moving him to settle such a decree moved him to send our Lord Christ to publish and assure it As for the rest of his opinion having maintained that the efficacy of all acts whether of Gods grace or of mans will toward the obtaining of the promises of the Gospel necessarily depends upon the receiving of Baptisme where the outward fulfilling of the promises of a positive precept which the onely will of him that is converted to Christianity fulfilleth not is not unavoidablely prevented by casualties which his will cannot overcome I suppose I have by that meanes showed that his opinion is destructive to Christianity because destructive to the precept of receiving Baptisme without which no man is a Christian And truly this imputation reflects upon the other extreme opinion concerning the justification of a Christian which ascribing it to believing that a man is predestinate excludes it from being necessary either as a meanes to salvation or as a thing commanded both which considerations concurre in the necessity of it supposing the premises For the necessity of that which is necessary as the meanes and the
have not received any more the Spirit of bondage to fear but ye have received the Spirit of adoption whereby ye cry Abba that is Father For those that are led with the hope of temporall promises as all must necessarily be led under that Law which was established upon such must needs be subject to fear of disgrace with God whensoever their sinnes allowed not those promises to take place So then though they were then partakers of Gods Spirit as the Prophet Ezekiel showes us XXXVI 27. XXXVII 14. XXXIX 20. Yet in as much as it is called the Spirit of feare there is due argument that they were not pertaker of that peace and joy in the holy Ghost which Christians afterwards were moved with to indure all persecution for the maintainance of their profession But the Apostle pointeth us ouâ— further the sourse of this feare Heb. II. 14 15. When he saith that our Lord Christ tooke part â—f flesh and bloud that by death he might abolish him that had the power of death â—ven the devil and discharge all those that through the fear of death were all their life long subject unto bondage For so long as the promises of this life ended in death and the punishments thereof conducted to it they who knew that death came into the world upon the transgression of Adam could not think themselves discharged of Gods wrath so long as they found themselves liable to the debt of it No marvaile then if the Spirit of God were the Spirit of fear in them who saw not as yet the kingdom of death dissolved by the rising of our Lord Christ from the dead Another argument I make from the words of our Lord when the disciples were ready to demand fire from heaven upon those Samaritanes that received them not after the example of Elias Luke IX 52-56 Ye know not what Spirit ye are of saith our Lord For the Son of man came not to destroy but to save mens lives Whereby he declareth that because the Gospel bringeth salvation whereas the Law wrought wrath as S. Paul saith by tendring conviction of sinne without help to overcome it Rom. III. 20. IV. 15. VII 8-11 therefore God requireth under the Gospel of those that are his the Spirit that seeketh onely the good of them from whose hands they receive it not Whereas under the Law even his Prophets revenged themselves of their enemies by vengeance obtained at Gods hands And by this meanes we have an answer for that difficulty otherwise insoluble in our Lords words of John Baptist Mat. XI 11. Verily I say to you there never arose among those that are born of women one greater then John the Baptist But the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater then he For if God under the Law required not of his Prophets that perfection of Charity which the Gospel exacteth of all Christians if in those things which they said and did by Gods Spirit they have not expressed it well may it be said that the least of all those that belong to the Gospel in truth which here is called the kingdom of heaven is in a respect of so great concernment greater then the Prophets of the Old Testament As for the example of Jael the wife of Eber the Kenite who being in league with Jabin and Siâ—era for the good of Gods people knocked him on the head being retired into the protection of her house and is commended for it by the Spirit of God in Deborah the Prophetesse Jud. V. 17-21 VI. 24-28 The instance indeed is difficult enough And they that are so ready to condemne the fact of Judith in cutting off Holefernes by deceit and that by the example of her father Simeon that spoiled and destroyed the men of Shecheâ—â— contrary to covenant Judg. IX 2. Gen. XXXIV 23. are not advised how to come clear of it Suppose there was just cause of hostility between them a daughter of the house being dishonoured by the Prince of that people For among Gods people their chastity was alwayes as highly valued as it was little regarded among Idolaters Suppose that they condescended to be circumcised not for love to the true God but for hope of increasing their own power and riches by bringing the Israelites under their Government as there is appearance enough in the words of Hamor Gen. XXXIV 20 21 22. Yet a league being inacted upon such a pretense the zeal of Simeon and Levi in destroying those that were come under the covering of Gods wings so farre very well figures the zeal of the Jewes in persecuting the Apostles and not allowing the Gentiles any room of salvation by their own onely true God And therefore it is excellently observed by S. Jerome Tradit Hebr. in Genesin that the Scribes were of the tribe of Simeon as the Priests of the tribe of Levi in whom the curse of Jacob by the Spirit of God detesting their fact and prophesying the like to those their successors in the case of our Lord Christ and his Apostles I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel Gen. XLIX 5 6 7. was evidently fulfilled in the mysticall sense The tribe of Levi for gathering of Tithes and the tribe of Simeon for imployment of Clarkes and Notaries dwelling dispersed through all the tribes as Solomon Jarchi in his glosse upon the place literally expoundeth it But the case of Judeth is the case of a stratageme in professed hostility which whether Christianity allowe or not certainly no Law of nations disallowes And therefore though she propose to her self the zeale of Simeon and Levi for the honour of their people and the successe they had against their enemies yet if we understand her not to commend the meanes by which they brought it to passe to wit by violating the publick faith we shall not find her contradict the Spirit of God which by Jacob condemns them for it As for the â—act of Jael it is in vaine to alledge any mysticall sense to justify it as some would do unlesse we can undertake that there was no such thing done in the way of historicall truth which I suppose no man will be so madde as to do And therefore if any man will not believe that the Spirit of God in Deborah extolls onely the temporall benefit which the people of God reâ—ped by that fact of hers for which she was alwayes to be famous amongst them leaving to her self the justification of her conscience Let him seek a better answer But he who transgressing that Charity that is fundamentall in Christianity and therefore without which no Christian can obtaine the Spirit of God shall make her example a motive to that which he cannot justify even in Gods ancient people Though I allow him to mistake Christians for Pagans and Idolaters whose professed enmity to Gods people upon the account of Religion was the ground of that revenge which they were allowed then to pursue them with yet I must not allow him
fit for a private person to say what might be condescended to for the reunion of the Church stopping the way upon those mischiefs which the flourishing times of the Church have not prevented While all bounds are refused all extreamities maintained I alledge it for one of the most considerable titles for reformation without the consent of the whole As for the remaines of the Saints bodies and the honour of them having said this of their Souls whereof their bodies had been the instruments I shall need to say but a little Gennadius I will not forget De Eccles dogmat Cap. LXXIII Sanctorum corpora praecipue beatorum Martyrum reliquias acsi Christi membra sincerissime honoranda Basilicas eorum nominibus appellatas velut loca sancta divino cultui mancipata affâ—ctu piissimo devotione fidelâ—ssima adeundas credimus Si quis contra hanc sententiam venerit non Christianus sed Eunomianus Vigilantianus est We believe that we are most sincerely to honour the corpses of the Saints specially the reliques of the Martyres as of the members of Christ And to come to the Churches called by their names with most pious affection and most faithfull devotion If any man do against this sentence he is no Christiane but a follower of Eunomius and Vigilantius At the first the places of their buriall and times of their triumphs determined the circumstances of Gods service Afterwards when more Churches were requisite then there were Saints to bury their remaines where the Eucharist was celebrated seemes an honor proper for the purpose Nay though S. Jerome confesse that those pore women which lighted candles in houour of them had the zeale of God not according to knowledg supposing both Jewes and Gentiles had a custome to light candles on all occasions which they would honourably celebrate why should it seeme a ceremony unfit to expresse mens esteeme of Gods Grace in them If Vigilantius could not downe with this I have nothing to doe with Vigilantius But there were abuses even before that time Lucilla reproved by Cacilianus Deacon of Carthage for kissing the reliques of some questionable Martyre before the Eucharist by her mony and faction raised the schisme of the Donatist upon his being chosen Bishop Optatus I. S. Austin knew many Christians that worshipped tombes and pictures de moribus Eccles Cath. cap. XXXIV Vigilantius might desire onely that bounds might be put to prevent abuses and in that might be borne out by those Prelates whom S. Jerom taxes In that I doe not find Vigilantius condemned by the Church And those bounds were easily determined if prayer to Saints did not transgresse the bounds of revealed truth For were nothing done that should suppose that they heare the prayers that are made them there should be no considerable occasion to transgresse the bounds of honour due unto their reliques As for the worshipping of images of necessity the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or carved Image in the second commandement must either stand for any similitude so the making or having of any maner of image will be forbidden by the precept Or for the similitude of any imaginary Godhead And so no image but those are forbidden by it According to that former sense the making of the brazen serpent the Cherubins over the Arke is a dispensation of God in his own positive law which is easily understood But Solomon making the Buls the Lions Eagles Cherubins in his temple will be no lesse and wil require a revelation to warrant it According to the later making of images will be no more prohibited the Jewes then other nations by the Law But God having constituted a power in the Nation to limit the Law and so to make a hedge for it as the Jewes speake that which they forbid will be by that meanes prohibited by the Law And so there might be such an image in Davids house as we read of 1. Sam. XIX 12. that is such an one as was not so prohibited And by the sâ—me reason the tribute money might have Caesars picture on it which otherwise must be against the Law And when Josephus saies that Solomon incurred blame â—y making images of living creatures in the Temple it will appear that their constitutions in his time forbad the making of such Tertullian contra Marc II. 22. manifestly affirms the making of the Brazen Serpent Cherubines not to have been against the Law because not made for Idoles alleging the words of the precept Thou shalt not worship them nor serve them For a restriction limiting the generality of a carved image And this opinion I doubt not to be true and that there is no third to be named For if it be said that the meaning of the precept is Thou shalt make no Image that may give occasion to worship it Noâ— supposing a conceit of more Gods then one an image is not a thing that can make a man thinke so supposing the conceite of a God besides the true God without an image a man will worship the same Now either God by saying Thou shalt make no image that may give occasion to worship it refers it to every man to judge whether the image that he may make gives occasion to worship it or not And then he leaves it to every man to make any image which he judges to give none Or he refeâ—â— it to the power which he appointeth to oblige the nation in that behalfe to judge Which is that which I say And therefore seeing no man is left to himselfe to judge in that which God hath appointed a power to determine of necessity this sense is the same which I maintaine The consequence whereof is that it is in the power of the Church to judge whether images are to be had and that in Churches or not For the power that concludes the Church being the same with the power that concludes the Synagogue as the Synagogue and the Church are both one and the same people of God under the Law and the Gospell It is not possible to limit this power under the Gospell not to place images in Churches by vertue of this Law which provides nothing concerning Churches The case would come to be the same if we should suppose the precept to prohibit the making of an Image For then the matter would necessarily evidence that it was positive and given onely the people of the Jewes for that estate which the Law introduced Seeing not onely that which is ceremoniall but also that which is positive in Moses Law necessarily ceaseth to oblige Christians The reason why the Law provideth not to the contrary is that which I have alleged why Christians are not tyed to parte with wives or husbâ—nds that are Idolaters as the Jewes were out of S. Austine That whilst the blessings of the world were the promises which God conditioned to give them that should keepe his Lawes the prosperity of this world might move Israelites according to
the â—lesh to fall from their own to their husbands or their wives Gods the worshippers whereof they saw prosper in the world Not so those who had undertaken his Crosse and thereupon if faithfully had received his spirit which the Gospell bringeth For so why should the Church think that having Images should seduce those that are such to thinkâ— them the seates of some God head which supposeth a conceite of more Gods then one And upon this supposition proceedeth all that is written â—n the prophesies of Esay and Jeremy in the book of Baruch under the person of Jeremy and in the rest of the prophets in scorne of the Images of the Gentiles To wit that they imagined some Deity contayned and inclosed in them which were indeed meere wood and stone The question that remaines is but onely this whether this power of the Church hath been duely executed and within the bounds of our common Christianity or not For to pretend that the Apostles themselves have put it in use by prescribing that images be had and in Churches would be to contradict all that appeares in the point by the records of the Church For though I be obliged to say that there was never any constitution of the Apostles injoyning the whole Church not to bring any image into any Church because all the Church that is considerable hath sometimes done it yet will it easily appeare there is no act of the whole Church binding all to have them in Churches The council of Elivira Can. XXXVI Placuit picturas in Ecclesiis esse non debere ne quod câ—litur in parietibus pingatur It seemed good that there be no pictures in the Churches least that which is worshiped be pictured on the wales The Epistle of Epiphanius to Iohn Bishop of Jerusalem is extant in S. Jerome relating how finding somthing of our Lord Christ painted upon a vaile in a Church of his Diocesse he gave order to teare it which being out of his Diocese he could not have don had he not thought it against Gods Law and therfore no law of the Church And Eusebius Eccles Hist VII 18. relating the statue of our Lord curing the woman that had the issue of blood at Caesaâ—ea Philipi faith it is no marvaile that Gentils converted to the â—aith should honour our Lord and his Apostles for he saith he had sâ—en images of Peter and Paul as well as of our Lord 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 preserved from their time as the Gentiles used to honour their Saviors or benefactors But had it been against Gods Law would not the Apostles have told them so would they not have believed the Apostles whom they belâ—eved before they were Christians The picture of the good shepheard upon the Chalices of the Church which Tertullian appeales to de Pudicit cap. VII easily shows that they used not his Picture who used an Embleme of Christ for a Picture And you heard S. Austine say that he knew many worshippers of Pictures and Tombes among Christians The true ground and effect of these passages is hard for me to evidence here in a few words I believe S. Austine saw some dow baked Christians doe that at the tombes of Christians which when they were idolaters they did at the tombes of their friends where part of their Idolatries don were to their Ghosts For by that which followes he complains that he saw that excesse of meate and drinke upon the graves of Christians which it is no marvaile if the Idolatries of the Gentiles allowed So that it is no such marvaile that such Christians should worship Pictures as did the Gentiles The Canon is one of the hardest pieces of antiquity that I know The most probable seemes to be this That it followes the reason alleged in Deuteronomy against any image for God because they saw no shape of God So the word cultus seemes strictly to signifie that honour which Christianity tenders immediately to God not that which it may injoine to his creature And their reason will be this because the God head cannot be painted therefore no Pictures in Churches I doe believe there was somthing of the quarrell betweene Iohn of Jerusalem and Epiphanius about Origen upon which Theophilus of Alexandria heaved S. Chrosystome out of the Sea of Constantinople in that act of tearing the vaile But I believe Epiphanius acted according to his opinion in it and an opinion that he owned to all the world what ever the rest of the Church did for we see not that proceeding against Iohn of Jerusalem as against S. Chrosystome Eusebius might thinke those statues of our Lord and his cure those pictures of S. Peter and S. Paul more ancient then indeed they were But neither doth he charge any Idolatry upon them nor is there any question in the case but of having pictures in private not in the Church That after this time Churches were everywhere trimmed with the stories of the Saints and the Passions of the Martyrs I need not repeat much to prove the controversy in the East about the worshipping of them is evidence enough that the use of them went forward but with such contradiction that some held them Idoles and broke them in peeces who were there upon called Iconoclastâ— others worshipped them who after many attempts of the contrary party prevailed at length in a Council at Nicaea thence called the VII General Council with the concurrence of the Pope That the decree of the Councill injoines no Idolatry notwithstanding whatsoever prejudice to the contrary I must maintaine as unquestionable supposing the premises So far is it from leaving any roome for the imagination of any false God head to be represented by the images which it allowes that it expressely distinguisheth that honour done the image of our Lord Christ to be equâ—vâ—cally called worship that is to be onely so called but not to signifie the esteeme of God which he that believes the Holy Trinity can no way attâ—ibute to the image of our Lord supposing not granting that it were lawfull to honoure the image of our Lord not with any gesture or word signifying any God head inclosed in it which the idolatries of the heathen did signifie but that it is the picture of that man who also is God which he who believes the Trinity and puts off his hat and bowes the knee to the image of our Lord must needs signifie I say this shall be no â—dolatry because whether the worship of the image or of him whose image it is necessarily it is no worship of God but proceeds from an esteem that the image is a contemptible creature but that the man whom it signifies is God I say upon these termes it is not possible that it should be Idolatry to worship this image Because though the words or the gesture which are used may signifie the honour due to God alone yet the profession under which they are used necessarily limits them to the honour of that which is not