the head and quickned by one Spirite for which cause of Christ it is said that he dwels in vs and wee in him he is the head and wee Ephes 3. 17 4. 16 are the members of his mysticall bodie By this threefold certaintie they teach and belieue that they are made sure of Christ in the Sacrament for performance wherof they show that there is no necessitie of corporall presence First because these meanes of certaintie were appoynted of Christ to supplee his corporall absence till his second comming againe Secondly because the Sonne of God is more able after this manner from Heauen to communicate himselfe to vs on Earth then the Sun that shines dayly is able from Heauen to giue light and heate to vs on Earth without descending corporally to vs. Then for the exposition of the wordes of the Sacrament This is my body they professe to expone them as Saint Paul expones them who sayes that the bread which we break is the communion of the body of 1 Cor. 10 16. 1 Cor. 11 25. Iesus the cup which wee blesse is the Communion of the blood of Christ and as Christ speaking of the cup it must be exponed This cup is the new Testament or covenant in my blood and according to the vsuall forme of the Scripture language concerning Sacraments where the name of the gift is giuen to the Seale to assure them who faithully receaue the one that they are made sure of the other or the name of a mercie bestowed is given to the memoriall of it to make the acknowledgment of that mercy more fresh and liuelie Seeing that therefore J could find for the Romish doctrine of transubstantiation no warrand of the Lords worde and by that doctrine no ground of infallible certaintie to free mee from Idolatrie but on the contrare grounds of assurance that it could not bee that God would expose his Sonne any more to personall suffering of such indignities as is done him in the Masse Let any man iudge whether I had reason to sute to bee receaued to the communion with him according to the warrand of his owne worde and bee free for euer from all perill of that grosse Idolatrie CHAP. 10. The Masse drawes away from Christs rule of the Sacrament and defaces his institution THe next reason why J call the Masse an errour is because it doth leade men away from the right rule of the Sacrament to follow mens deuices and forged mysticall rites of mens appoyntments whereof the Lord hath pronounced in generall In vaine doe they worship mee teaching for doctrine the precepts of men Which howsoeuer they bee in estimation among men yet are abominable before God for our Lord Jesus beeing to leaue the World in regarde of his corporall presence thought good to appoynt a holy Supper wherein hee will haue his bodilie sufferings and bloodshed and death represented and brought to fresh remembrance by the breaking of bread and wine powred out in a cup and the Soules of his faithfull ones fed comforted in the assurance that his body was broken for them and his blood shed for the remission of their sinnes by eating of the bread broken and drinking of the wine powred in the cup which eating and drinking should bee to them a pledge and seale of their spirituall coniunction with CHRIST and partaking of his life as certainely wrought by his spirit as if these elements which they did eate and drinke were ioyned with their bodies Then which ordinance of our Lord nothing can bee more sweet to a Soule that considers his purpose therein and therefore he hath commanded not his Ministers only but his whole Church on Earth to doe this in remembrance of him following his example as he hath caused set down by his pen-men in his Testament to bee followed till his second comming againe But the Church of Rome as her defection hath growne peece and peece hath so far departed from the rule that scarsly now in their Masse can the footsteps of Christs ordinance be seene for vnder pretense that they are not tied to follow these circumstances which were proper to the first Supper such as are the time after Supper the place an vpper Chamber the number of persons eleuen or twelue the sexe men only and not women which any man may perceiue to bee proper to that first time and not belonging to the nature of the Sacrament if these circumstances were vrged vniversally they should marre and hinder that action and the comfort of the communicants women beeing secluded the night taking when the day was free a chamber taking wherein all the Church could not assemble and twelue only admitted where fourtie twelues were prepared and waiting on vnder pretense I say of not beeing tied to these foure circumstances when they may be prejudiciall to the action they haue taken libertie to alter the substance and sacramentall rites of this Supper left to be imitate by all Christs Churches till his second cōming again for as thogh Christs ordināce had beene too base and simple they haue deuised to cloath their Priests in brodering of silk and siluer and gold and to make sumptuous Masse cloathes to set out their work with all As if Christ his ceremonies had beene of small signification they haue casten them by and appoynted new ones of their owne making mysticall significations of their owne deuising As if the Apostle Paul had superfluously from Christs mouth giuen commandement to the common people to drink of the cup they haue cutte off the halfe of the peoples comfort and witholden the cup from them As if the Lord had not done wisely in vsing plaine language to his disciples such as they vnderstood they haue rolled vp all in an vncouth language commanding that Masse should only bee said in Latine As if our Lord had not well considered what belongs to the holynesse of such a worke in taking such bread as was vsuall in the Land and as the Master of the house laid downe before him to Supper they haue made a round Masse bread the quantitie of twelvepence or sixpence and as thin as they can cause it sticke together with a stamped crucifixe on the one side of it for the purpose they haue turned the communion of a number to the Priests drinking and eating alone the Lords table to a stone Altar the memoriall of his death to an imaginary corporall presence the seale of Gods giuing of Christ vnto men into mens offering vp of Christ to God Gods Sacrament into mans sacrificing of the sonne of God to the Father in a worde they haue turned Christs holy Supper in the Popes Masse and so what by adding what by pairing what by altering and chopping and changing they haue mutilated deformed and defaced Gods ordinance falsified King Jesus his great seale and corrupted his testament that he who is partaker of the Masse thinking to get Gods blessing by it casts himselfe in danger of Gods curse for beeing
absolute obedience to the superiors of that order renuncing both my will and iudgment as their Father Ignatius His Epistle to his Brethren in Lusitania calls it and to follow al their injunctions without asking question to goe or to stay to do or to suffer whatsoeuer they thought good to enjoyne mee for the Catholick cause and good of the Roman Church This oath J saye I could not get digested For therby J should haue bene bound if they had thought it fit to enjoyne mee for the advancement of the Catholick cause to haue beene an instrument of all the mischiefe that they could devise against my natiue Countrie and vnder colour of relieving soules to doe what any hath done or attempted in that blind obedience Skarring therefore at this oath I came home and yet forced my self still to keep the former grounds of Religion whereby I was made obstinat in errour and vntoward to be dealt with by any who wold haue studied to reclaime me Yet it pleased God at last to force in his own truth vpon my conscience that I began to smell sundrie of their errours and specially of the sacrifice of the Masse and transubstantiation that I began to examine these groundes of the Roman Religiō which I had drunk in the beginning if they could beare me out before God or not wherein finding my selfe miserablie mistaken and so long by that meanes abused freelie and of my own accord not beeing dealt with by any J addressed my selfe for conference with the Ministerie of Edinburgh Falkirke and Glasgow who all louingly and learnedly gaue mee solution to all my doubts and furthered this worke of God in helping home a forlorne Sonne to his Fathers house againe Now for all the particular reasons why I call their masse and transubstantiation an errour and the grounds of their Religion vnwarandable and why J haue renunced their particular errours builded thereon it were not convenient to set them all down here partly because it wold accresse to a volume partly because in substance they are the same that are learnedlie set down by these who handles the contrauersies against the Church of Rome Only J will content my selfe to shew some few things of many First concerning their Religion in generall Next concerning their masse adding therto compendiously in the third place some few things of their common absurdities maintained by them CHAP. 5. The Scriptures alledged imperfection the Pope of Romes perfection who can not erre as is alledged because hee sits in the Chaire of Saint Peter are the two rotten Pillars whereon all these errours are builded THis Romish Religion is a mysterie it makes show to hold the common groundes of Christianitie but by her deedes everts them The first principles of the Romish errours doe resolue vpon these two the imperfection of the Scripture and the peerelesse prerogatiue of the Church of Rome As for the imperfection of the Scripture they alledge that it does not containe all things necessarie for Salvation but place must bee left for traditions that is vnwriten doctrinall poynts and ancient customes long vsed in the Church as also for Ecclesiasticall constitutions and determinations or definitive sentences in matters controverted all which they alledge must haue equall authoritie in mens mindes with the Scriptures Next they alledge that these points necessarie to Saluation which are set down in Scripture are not cleare and plaine in the Scripture but that the Scripture is obscure and doubtsome and therefore is neither necessarie nor expedient that it should bee translated that it is a dangerous thing for laicks to read it wherein to any that will looke narrowlie vpon the matter they bewray a secreet feare if they bee hemde in into the rule of the Scriptures they cannot iustifie with any colour the abundance of their errours Thirdly evidently they show that the reading of the Scriptures by laicks shuld breed moe doubts about their Religion than they could bee able to solve and giue them such insight in this Religion that these whom they keepe now in the chaines of darknesse and blinde beliefe causing them to doe and suffer and beleeue what they please could not but break the yock if they grew acquainted with the Scripture Fourthlie they bewray the Spirit of Antichrist who thus vnder faire pretences sclander Christ Jesus who hauing taken vpon him as the great Prophet and Doctour of his Church to reveale the whole Counsell of God concerning mens Saluation and caused set it downe in Scripture yet hath come short of his purpose as their doctrine importes and neither hath set downe all things needfull nor these clearly which are set downe but obscurely ambiguously and dangerously that it is not safe for common People to read the same and so by these meanes they breed a misregard of the Scripture of Christ in mens hearts and skarres Christs sheepe as long as they can from hearing what the Spirit of Christ sayeth to his Churches As for the peerelesse prerogatiue of the Church of Rome the first is that she cannot erre If wee aske how this can bee since they cannot name six men liuing of the Romish Religion of whom they either dare or wil avow but they may erre and are subject thereto nor three nor two They will answere that yet there is one who is head of all the rest of that Religiō the Pope who cannot erre all the rest of the Church-men of that profession being gathered together without him or without his minde sent by his Legat or Nuncio to them they grant they may erre only he cannot erre So then in stead of the Church of Rome we haue the Pope whose councill of Cardinals they will ioyne with him for lusters cause but the infallibilitie of doctrine they place in none but the Pope only By vertue of this prerogatiue of the Pope they ascribe great things to the Church of Rome vnder this pretence all her traditions are Apostolicke albeit they bee not in Scripture because they are come down as is alledged through the Apostolicke channell of the Popes infallibilitie Vnder this pretence all her customes and obseruations are Catholicke and Apostolicke and all her Ecclesiasticke constitutions and definitive sentences in matters contraverted are of diuine authoritie as they alledge and doe oblige men to beliefe obedience no lesse than the Scripture Yea vnder this pretence the Scripture hath no authoritie in respect of these who beleeue it wherfore it shuld persuade them or be credited more than the fables of Esope but as much as the Church of Rome allowes vpon it Vnder this pretence when other Churches doechallenge the Roman Church for any fault or errour shee takes vpon her to bee judge in all controuersies betwixt her selfe and others The Greeke Church for example in Asia challenges her of vsurpation aboue other Churches shee will be iudge challenges her of defection from Apostolicke doctrine shee will bee iudge challenges her of not doing as shee ought to doe or
Christs spouse ought to do shee will be iudge yea shee will giue the sense of the Scripture and the exposition of it as shal best serue to iustifie her owne cause and if any man shall take a sentence of Scripture otherwise than shee allowes them than that sentence so taken shall not bee accounted Scripture These and other such like consequences they draw and deduce from this one fountaine That the Church of Rome can not erre Aske againe of them why cannot your Pope erre seeing he is a sinfull man as well as others as they will not deny and they least of all who are best acquaint with the Popes priuate conuersation seeing it is possible that the Cardinalls who are subiect to errour especially when their head is dead and a new Pope not yet created seeing they may erre in choosing an vnfit man for so great a charge what warrand can they show to giue assurance that such a Pope cannot erre They answere at last albeit they shift possibliea while becaus Saint Peter was head of the whole Catholick Church in his time hauing supreme authoritie and the fulnesse of pastorall power in doctrine and gouernment ouer the rest of the Apostles and all the Churches of the Worlde Saint Peter so qualified say they was Bishop of Rome and there is his Chaire and the Popes are his only lawfull successours inuested lawfully by God in the same Apostolicke authoritie ouer all the sheepe of Christ and all that may bee sheepe in the World and is as infalliblie assisted by the holy Spirit as euer the Apostle Saint Peter was after the descending of the holy Ghost vpon him in the Pentecost This is the key-stone of their whole building this is the Pillar of whole Popedome if this stand the better for them if this fall all goes to the ground and all that is builded thereon for if either they faile in prouing Saint Peters supremacie or his Romish Episcopacie or the Popes lawfullsuccession in Apostolick authoritie and other priuiledges then the Popes infallibilitie and the Roman Churches certaintie with all their traditions customes constitutions and all the rest of that worke of theirs builded thereon shall hurle to the ground together CHAP. 6. No Papist in the Earth can shew one cleare testimonie of Scripture to make good that ever Saint Peter was at Rome or Bishop of Rome or that the Pope is his speciall successour in his Apostolicke office TO examine then these grounds that therby some taste may be giuen briefly of that Cup which Rome propynes to the World and the Princes therof to drinke that they may fall in loue with her J will say nothing to the Apostolicke authoritie of the Lords deare servant Saint Peter nor to his personall prerogatiue in age in time of following Christ in zeale and painfulnesse in his calling Yet let me vindicate him a litle from that iniurie which his pretended successours doe him who father the basphemous titles of their Antichristian vsurpation and tyrannie ouer Gods Church vpon him For this peerelesse power above the whole Apostles headship of the Church which they alledge is a thing which without blasphemie cannot bee ascribed to any mortall man because Christ in his holy Scripture claims this for his owne royall prerogatiue to bee head of his Church and to haue the Church his body and not anothers To bee the husband of his Church and to haue the Church his spouse and not anothers for these belongs to the Sauiour of the Church who is Christ only and not another and therefore these three styles are Ephes 5. 23. joyned together and ascribed to him And this supremacie of Peter ouer the Apostles is a forgerie only of these who would haue some scugge for their vsurpation Math. 28. 19. Matth. 23. 8. 9. Marke 9. 33 34. Luk. 22. 26. 1. Pet. 5. 3. 4. for Christ gaue all his Apostles equall Cōmission equalled them as brethren and discharged any of them to take any maioririe or supremacie one ouer another And when in their infirmitie they strove for it Christ rebuked them and the night before hee suffered discharged the same absolutly among them Next Peter himselfe disclaimes this supremacie and ascribes it only to Iesus Christ and discharges all Dominion and Lordship ouer the Lords inheritance And the Apostle Paul testifies the trueth of this for magnifying his Apostleship he avows he was nothing inferior 2 Corin. 11. 5. Gal. 1. 1. 16. 17. 18. 1. Cor. 3. 21. 22. to the chiefest Apostles And declares that hee receaued his Apostleship from Christ immediatlie and exercised it sundrie yeares before he saw Peter and dischargeth all to glorie in men whether Paul or Cephas that is Peter or Apollos or any other But because this is not the maine matter let vs come to that wherevpon all stands How proue they that Peter was at Rome or Bishop there or that God hath tied his Spirit to whosoeuer should bee Bishop of Rome after him So weightie a matter as the Popes standing or falling so maine an Article of Roman Catholick Faith the only Pillar of the Romish Religion the ground of the remission of so many sinnes of sauing or damning so many Soules hath neede of expresse direct and ample warrand from the divine Scripture or else of need force the weight of Roman Religion is builded upon the sand and hath no warrand from God Let them but show vs one testimonie out of all the holy Scripture that Saint Peter was properly Bishop of Rome and next let them show any testimonie out of the same Scripture that the Popes of Rome are priuiledged from erring more than other men and are indued with as infallible assistance of the holy Spirit as Peter They will produce to vs their owne flatterers and old storie writers who both in those maters and others disagree among themselves But who are these that the Soules of so many thousands should bee grounded vpon their worde to speake nothing of the fables that is found in them and of the small respect that the Church of Rome carries to them when they seeme to make any thing against them Therefore I say againe let them produce divine warrand out of the Scripture or els let me be iustified who after the tryall of their falshood and deceat haue departed from them as seducers who when J followed their grounds to the vttermost could giue mee no warrand for the grounds whereon all their Religion stands but such as are taken from behind the Bible from lying mens words and forged histories supposititous treatises of the fauorites of Rome helpers vp of their monstruous head the Pope aboue the Church either let them proue these prime Pillars of their Religion or else let all Catholickes who in their heart would faine bee at Christ forsake their seducers as J haue done vpon iust grounds But becaus it is impossible for thē to proue S. Peter proper Bishop of Rome from Scripture far lesse that all
Further when men knowes God and glorifies him not as God they become vaine in their owne imagination and their foolish hearts are darkened in Gods iustice as is said of the Gentiles If thou will not obey this forsaid command and counsell it is as needlesse to dispute this question further before thee as to dispute what taste the honey or the honey combe hath with them that neuer tasted thereof for feare it poyson them And this much for the first part I promised to speake which was of their Religion in generall CHAP. 9. No certaintie to haue the true Christ or to bee free from Idolatrie of a false Christ in the Masse FOllowes heare the next poynt whereof J promised to speake to wit of the Masse but I shall shall insist most vpon that grosse here sie of transubstantiation For vpholding wherof their special ground is the words of the institution This is my bodie which neuer can inforce transubstantiation for first Bellarmine in his third booke of the Eucharist Secundo dicit chap. 23 c. Declares that Scotus sayes there is no place of Scripture so plaine that compelles euidently to admit transubstantitaion without the declaration of the Church And Bellarmine himselfe acknowledges that not altogether to bee improbable Next they aggrie not them selues vpon the exposition of these words so that they cannot condescend vpon the verie first word HOC this as Bellarmine acknowledges of the Eucharist Where refusing the opinion of other Catholicks hee takes him to this interpretation that HOC This signifieth sub his speciebus contentum contained vnder these speces which indeed is an vncouth acception of the worde such as is not to bee found in any author either diuine or hu mane and yet it makes nothing to the purpose forit may euer bee demanded what is that which is Sub his speciebus vnder these speces for that must bee either the bread or the bodie of Christ if they vnderstand the bodie of Christ then the meaning in their exposition is the bodie of Christ is the bodie of Christ Which neither agries with Christs purpose nor yet proues their purpose for the body of Christ may bee the body of Christ and yet no change made of the bread in the substance of Christs bodie And by This if they vnderstand bread then the force of the words will bee This breadis Christs bodie But neither will this proue their purpose because it is not saide the substance of this Bread is changed in the substance of Christes body as they expone it But only This is my body which no more can inferre the change of substance in substance then these wordes which hee saide I am the true vyne can inferre a substantiall change of himselfe Ioh. 15. 1. 5. 1. Cor. 11. 25. in a vine tree or these words which hee said in the same Supper as the Apostle Paul showes This cup is the new Testament can enforce either the change of the substance of the cup or of the vine in the cup in a Testament So I could finde no warrand out of Christs words for transubstantiation J might well take their worde for it in stead of Christs Next their doctrine could giue mee no infallible certaintie that I should bee free from worshiping an J doll and the fantasie of my owne braine in stead of Christ when J came to the Masse for their doctrine is except the Priest haue a speciall intention to consecrate albeit hee say Masse that no transubstantiation will follow and so all that are present at the Masse are deceiued as they grant Now what can any man haue but a probable conjecture or charitable opinion or strong apprehension of another mans intention infallible certaintie can he not haue And I in speciall who knew certainly some of these Priests who were chosen and sent out by their superiours to propagate the Romish Religion subiect to as grosse faultes in their life for drunkennesse and sundrie other vices as other sinfull Laicks as they call them and yet part of them said Masse many a time both neere hand and further off how could I then but be suspense about their intention and how could J but doubt whether God would bee pleased at such mens intentions to change bread in Christs body and to put Christ in their hands and mouthes and to allow them to bee Priests to offer the Sonne of God his body in a sacrifice to the Father J know what they vse to answere in such cases that the Peoples worshipping of a supposed transubstantiat hostie were but materiall Jdolatrie because their purpose was to worship the true Christ when they worshiped only bread and the Idoll of their owne imagination But alace this is a poore shift and no better than if one should comfort a woman who had lyen with another besides her husband saying to her no matter this adulterie of thine is but materiall only and not formall because thy purpose was to giue thy body to thy husband and no other For the Scripture compares Idolatrie Ieremie 3. 1. 2. and adulterie together verie often Thirdly I found their transubstantiation builded vpon a pretense of making men certaine of their communion and coniunction with Christ which coniunction if it may bee sure without a corporall presence of his body their transubstantiation is a needlesse fiction Now I vnderstand certainly that howsoeuer the Papists doe traduce Ministers as if they fed people with signes and shadowes yet they belieue and teach that they are made sure of Iesus our Lord. First by his couenant and promise as these that are espoused beeing faithfull one to another are made sure one of another before their compleet marriage by mutuall affection of heart consent and couenant and mutuall promise for which cause the spouse in the Canticles many a yeere before Christs incarnation said My beloued is mine and I am Cant. 2. 16. his Next they belieue and teach that they are made sure of Christ by his owne great Seales annexed to his couenant the two Sacraments Baptisme and the Lords Supper which the Lord hath ordained to be the pawns pledges and Seales of himself his gifts and his graces bestowed vpon them and so are made sure of Christ and his grace for their Saluation as men are made sure of the Kings gift when they haue his royall donation and his great Seales annexed thereto for which cause When our Lord had giuen the Sacramentes to his disciples he sayes J dispone or appoynt a Kingdome vnto Luk. 22. 9 you because hee had giuen them the Seales of donation thereof presently before Thirdly they teach that they are made sure of Christ by the Spirite of Christ whom Christ promises and giues to euerie one that beleeues in him in such sort that hee who hath not Rom. 8. 9 the Spirite of Christ is none of his By which Spirite Christ is joyned to them and they to Christ as members of one body are ioyned to