amongst meÌ„ there is giuen no other Name vnder heauen vvherby vve must be saued And therefore not vnto vs O Lord not vnto vs but vnto thy name we giue prayse As he came thus to saue his people euen all the father had giuen him accordinge to election not works so Of that nomber this Sovvle beleiveth it to be The former beleif and Confession is only Generall and so farre togither with many particulars flowing from thence the devels and many of reprobate mankinde do comprehend to the effecting and making vp of a true visible Christian therefore is required A particular application of the former mercy exhibited in Christ Iesus The first beleif and confession it is of Logitians termed the Generall or Matter whereof a visible Christian consists but this seconde namely the particular or personall application of the former it is termed the Difference or Forme because it differenceth the thing from other things by his forme euen as the forme of an howse doth difference the howse from tyber and stone lying loose and vnapplyed togither which in such vnmortised estate may be termed the matter of an howse but not called an howse because the different forme is lackinge Both the parts of this definition nor is any thing truly defined without them two blessed Paul layeth downe for himself thus Christ Iesus came into the vvorld to saue synners that is the Generall the Difference foloweth thus of vvhome I am cheife that is the Annoynted Saviour came to saue his people that lay captiued in Syn of which nomber he was thus to saue I beleiue my self to be One Which poynt of appreheÌ„ding fayth as it is the fre worke of God his spirit through the ministry of the ghospell so the same Apostle testifies that the testimony to be giuen vnto all the true Christians saying The same spirit beareth vvitnes to our spirit that vve are the Children off GOD. I knoe very well that our iustification with God it lyeth rather in our being comprehended of Christ then in our comprehending of him so farre is all merit from vs but it is impossible we shold be comprehended of Christ and neuer haue intelligence thereof by his word and spirit for Christ is not tongueles and he lookes the Saued shold prayse his father for such a mercy and impossible as before that such can be possessed of the spirit aÌ„d not vtter theyr faith vnto others So much for faith Generall and Particular Now followeth the fruites Secondly such a sowle professeth it self willing to stand subiect to the saviours lawes as by the Ministry of the word shalbe revealed vnto it Having Hope of salvation administred by the ministrie of faith such a Sowle cannot but promise obedience to the Author and Finisher of his sayth Christ Iesus as also to square obedience vnto his Saviours hests alone The equity whereof Ioshua the figure of Iesus who is to seat vs in heaueÌ„s Canaan where he is gone to prepare Mansions for his trybes he vrgeth it to Israel the type of the Catholike Church who willingly agayne and againe to the Lo. his Minister professed themselues bound to the Lord alone and that him alone they wold serue And the holy man David for tyinge the ronagate heart vnto dutifull obedience he bynds it to the Goodabearinge thus I haue sworne and will performe it that I will keep thy righteous iudgments And because such a vowe may be currant I adde And this only for bringing glory to the father in heauen Obedience is not promised to the end the promiser shall merit thereby for our Merit-obedience fully and wholely abideth in Christ but that by such orderly cariage specially God may receive glorie from the mouths of Many who beholde such conversation according to that our Saviour Let your lighte so shyne before men as they may se your good works glorify your father which is in heauen And that of the Apostle Paul Whatsoeuer ye do do all to the glory of God So that vowe of obedience and obedience it self all is alone to be referred vnto the Lord his glorie seing his Glory is the end of all things Thus much touching a visible Christian vnbaptized who by reason of such fayth and avowed allegiance cannot but couet baptisme nor may be denyed Baptisme Who as he is by the ministrie of Som begotten vnto the fayth so is he not to refuse the seale of his fayth by such ministrie euen as the Males vnder the lawe received Circumcision by the ministrie of theyr Parents And such subiection is due vnder payne of being cut of from Israel I meane such refusers of Baptisme by the ministry of such as haue begot them notwithstanding all other protestations of fayth and obedience they are to stand excommunicate to the Church because they rebell agaynst the glorious seale of entring into the Church for so they cast themselues out of the Covenant whereinto they were entred by such a spirituall Parent NOW touching the Baptized somwhat The former two poynts of fayth and confession they being essentiall to vs-ward for visible Christianity they at no hand may be lacking in the Baptized Wherevnto I also adde being so com vnder the outwarde Couert of the Church it is of absolute necessity that they be found in the Catholike Church holding communion with som particular congregation although the same assembly be as a member passing corrupt and vlcerous Touching spirituall defects we are to admonish but not in paine of death to forsake the fellowship according to that of the Ho. Gh. vnto the Hebrues Let vs consider one another to provooke vnto loue to good works not forsaking the fellowship we haue amongest our selues as the maner of som is but let vs exhort that somuch the more because ye se the day draweth nere For if we syn willingly that is forsake the fayth and fellowschip afore spoke of after we haue received knowledge of the truth there remayneth no more sacrifice for synnes Now though the cawse of a Schismatike yet retayning the fayth in opynton it be not so incurable as his who schismes both from the Church and apostates from the fayth yet that meere schismatike withdrawes vnto perdition And therefore as the Lords sowle shall haue no pleasure in such so the Author of that epistle cleares himself and others of such iudgment thus But we are not they which withdravve our selues vnto perdition but followe faith vnto conservation of the sowle Nor doth Iohn 〈…〉 e them otherwise then sâ—â—ing Euen now are many Anti-christes they vvent out from vs but they were not of vs for if they had bene of vs they would haue continued with vs. Nor can they be otherwise then opposit vnto Christ seing they are opponed to the Body of Christe though it may be cloked with a zeale agaynst the vlcers in Iobs body I meane the corrupted Church For if there can be no true
yea in all those that were pricked in the heart at Peters sermon at Iohn Baptists sermon or at the preachinge of anie who haue begotten faith by the blessed worde By the way therefore to say that the Church which consistes of manie beleiuers it hath bene somtymes wholy invisible it is passing false For as none can be members of Christ without faith and there cannot be such apprehendinge iustifying faith without preaching of the Evangell and that cannot so be preached of anie except they be sent of God so all this cannot be without externall Confession of the same faith according to that of Peter and Iohn we cannot but speak the things which we haue seen heard Now what is it that such do confesse they beleiue That Iesus Christ son of the liuing God is com As before his comming it was required man shold beleiue He shold com for so was he darkly preached to Adam more plainly to Abram but far more openly by the Prophets to auncient mother Zion so synce his manifestation it is required mankynd confesse they beleiue He is com The not beleif whereof is cawse the Iewes stand reiected Nor can they be regraffed into the body of the Church vntill they se and confesse lamenting-wise that already He is com and pearced But vpon such sight ād confession they shall haue the fountaine opened vnto them for syn and vncleannes to the expellinge of the false prophet The literall vayle of Moses so removed the Catholike bodie of Israel shall so be saued And whereas the Gentiles labour and are like still to labour of spirituall errour by the leaues then of that naturall tre the faithfull of the nations shalbe healed Who therefore wisheth an end to contentiō arising from such errour let them pray that the kingdom may quicly be restored to that naturall Israel Which Iesus in english Sauiour must be confessed the Christ in english Annoynted in hebrue Messiah that is that blessed One which from Adams fall was frely promised of God to be sent in tyme for sauinge his people from theyr synnes Which work of salvation he accomplished by prophecy sacrifice and invisible powre weakly fore-figured by the annoynted Prophets Preists and Rulers giuen to Auncient Israel For how can anie be sayd to haue faith in him that confesse not they beleiue him to be that One which saueth his people as the Lord had appoynted Nor can this be without beleyuing him to be the Son of the liuing GOD the beleif whereof is sayd not to com by the Revelation off flesh and Blood but by our father which is in heauen And vppon the confession of this Philip baptised the Eunuch Nor is this to be marvayled at seing the epithet Livinge it distinguisheth the true GOD from all false Gods and the beleiving Iesus to be his Son sent for sauing such as com vnto God by him it is to flesh and blood vnreasonable And that we se in the Iues who held it blasphemy or an euell speach in him to make himself the Son of God To haue made himself the Son of God but only in regard of this obedience to God that they wold not terme an euell speach for they thought so of themselues and theyr princes but teaching himself so to be Son as he is and euer was one with the father that is the same for essence and eternity of essence that they helde blasphemie The impossibility of beleiving this Son-ship is to be considered in the following words Com in our Nature This nature of Man body and sowle assumed of him this the Iues sawe but that nature whereby he was the only begotten of the father figured in Isaac thonly begotten of Abram hy-father that the naturallcy sawe not and therefore beleiued not The humaine nature was not in question amongst the Iues for that they verily sawe ād felt without ani guiste of faith but to acknowledge this visible nature assumed of the former invisible nature that required the fathers revelation as the humaine nature the mothers declaration And this nature was figured by the Ramme that was sacrificed for Isaac And both of them foretyped by the two Hegoates whereof the One died Body in his kynd and the sowle in his kynde both being but Man and death otherwise raigning ouer both which a late writer shold haue obserued before herein he had so easilie contradicted the Auntients that One died for satisfying Iehouah for Israels synnes although with Ionah it came out of the earths wombe not feeling corruption thother scaped but the Sowle which som wold haue only to be typed hereyn it by lot was with the bodie caught and throwen into the Seas off God his boyling indignation so far was it from scapinge thother scaped carying Syn as Captiuity captiue into the place cut of from the habitation of Synners And yet in this same humaine nature touching the manner of generation the reason of faith is also required For that cawse I adde By the holy Ghost his ouershadowing c. As by the spirit of God his mouth ech treature first had existence so for causing this glorious manhood in the first fruites of our nature that was to be vnited with the Godhead for euer the same eternall spirit called also the spirit of Christ because he procedeth both from Father and Son he ouershadowes the Virgin and is Agent to her seede patient for the Manhoods existence That womans seede shold conquer the Head of the serpent that in Abrams seede not seedes all Nation̄s shold be blessed that a virgin shold conceiue and bring forth a Son whose name shold be Gnimmanuel c. God with vs wonderfull Counsailour the might God the euerlasting Father Prince of peace c. all this was preached of old but the mysterie touching the manner of his Conception that was concealed till his comminge And yet this mysterie was before preached vnder couert shadowes For as our Sauiour him self was foretyped in Isaac Samson and Samuel so we se theyr mothers Satah Monahs wife and Hannah to bring forth not by naturall course though Nature not reiected but by promise and Grace Touching the end of whose comming this must be confessed That it vvas for the absolute salvation of his people That he came to saue it was noted from his name Iesus but it must be confessed that his worke is absolute that this that to the beginning continuance and endinge thereof he hath no One to help or vpholde that according to that his speach in Isaiah I am mighty to saue I haue trod the vvynepresse alone of all the people hearken Meritmonger there vvas none vvith me And I looked and there vvas none to help and I vvondred that there vvas none to vpholde therefore myne ovvne arme helped me my vvrath it self sustayned me And this is the same which Peter teacheth thus Nor is there salvation in any other for
faith without Loue then those in breaking Loue the bond of perfection and the end of the lawe they breake faith and highly violate the same Nor can they be termed beleiuers of Noahs doctrine seing they are found without the Arke when the church is within Nor if they deny to tary in Rahabs house because she tavernes bad with good shall they be fre from Ioshuahs sword and Israels iust censure of cuttinge off when the Lords sword is lifte vp agaynst Iericho for our salvation is not by the goodnes of Rahabs howse but by the blood of the Lamb sacramentally fore-typed by the coard of red thred tyed in Rahabs wyndowe To avoyde this iudgment our Saviour therefore sayth Go not out Secondly as they are to keep in the vnity of the Church so the are to vvalk in the obedience of faith tovvards God and his people aÌ„d this to-vs-ward truly though infirmly Such regular cariage the Lo. enioynes on Abraham thus vvalk before me be thovv vpright To that end sayth Zecharias we are deliuered namely for serving him vvithout feare all the days of our lyfe in holynes righteousnes before him Nor is it possible to haue the spirit of adoption but there must be the powre of sanctificatioÌ„ because the nevvman put vpon instead of thold Adam cast of he is after god his likenes created in righteousnes and true holines Otherwise walking persons may be within the Church but not of it euen as the Apostaticall persons whome S. Paul could haue wished cutt of from the churches of Galatia if so it might be don with safety of the body whereof more largely in his owne chapter Whereas I haue added truly though vveakly it is because there wilbe euen amongst true Christians whither in a church established or in a church scatred in the mountaynes asmuch difference in obedience as there is difference of strength in an army of Soldiers And therefore the Stronger is commaunded not to cast of but to beare the infirmities of the vveak yea to beare one anothers burden so fulfill the lavve of Christ. Yea som will somtymes prove so weak as the spirituall Phisitian can only gather they haue Christ liuing in them by motion of the pulses or spirit moving In the person of such an infirme sowle the Apostle thus speaketh That I do I allovve not for vvhat I vvold I do not but that I hate I doe It is not therefore I any more that do it but syn that dvvelleth in me For I knoe that in me that is in my flesh there dvvelleth no good thing for to vvill is present vvith me but I attayne not to that is good In a word he thus concludes In the mynde I do service to the lawe of God but in the flesh to the lavve of syn Which crazie estate of a Christian we must not condemne for dead no more theÌ„ men who wold not be thought to burye the Quick will tumble a person vnder board who yet hath som breathinge The husbandman seing his vyne in wynter season to haue lost his leaues hang downe bruized he therefore commits it not to the fyre because in the rooâ—e and Bole next aboue it he perceives som sappe Nor must such shaken infirme sowles be proclamed Antichristian wheÌ„ as the wyse by touching theyr conscience may perceive a sense of spirituall feelinge They are but blynde spitefull brethren that condemne David for no Soldier because he cannot heaâ—e the waighty harnesse of Saul Not vnlike to the errour of Bro 〈…〉 e which cannot knoe a violet but in an established Garden nor knoe a sheep from a swyne if it be tangled in briers Somuch for that But to make som further vse of that hath bene sayde as there must first be CoÌ„fession of appreheÌ„ding the true Christ vnto salvation sufficient secondly that such Confession must be found within the Catholike Church whither yet baptised or but callinge for Baptisme for out of the Church he cannot be who is so ioyned in his will or spirit god acceptinge in all such turnes the vvill for the deed it now wil be demaunded if the schriptures haue bene for theÌ„ two points so vndâ—rstood as I myself haue thereon concluded I answer yea First that confession is to he made all learned Readers will witnes with me how all auncient writers not only testify that to be the rule wherby the Church walked theyr Classis of Catechumenists proves that but they euer haue enioyned ChristiaÌ„s to be fre and faithfull in such Confession Those are read can testify also how ernestly the Catholike writers ever vrged Baptisme som leauinge no hope of salvation to anie one in any case dying vnbaptised togither with a Dying to syn aÌ„d a Living to holines aÌ„d righteousnes publikly avowed by such baptisme Touching them points I need not here vtter any particular testimonye seing they are graunted of all such as reuerence the trauels of Auncients As for satisfaction of Hogs and Dogs I am not to produce pearles Touchinge my testimonie of Iesus his two distinct Natures vnited for constitutinge One person Mediatour what gates of hell cold euer prevayle against that The first generall Councell held at Nice vp 318. Episcops it condemned Arius for denying Christ to be One with the father for eternity of essence aÌ„d for teaching him to be oÌ„ly a Creature The secoÌ„d generall Councell vp 150 fathers at CoÌ„staÌ„tinople it coÌ„demned Macedonius for denying the spirit to be God aÌ„d so by consequent denying the Father Word aÌ„d Spirit to be one aÌ„d the same Essence Which right conceipt of the Spirit although som may haue bene true ChristiaÌ„s before they attayned so far vp particular knowledge yet to gain say it being of the Church taught it it maketh the case of such condemnable In the former description therefore as I vrged not such particular knowledge of the spirit so it was because I put downe a visible Christian in the lowest degre whose ignorances are to be termed Infirmities not wilfull or obstinate rebellious In the third generall Synode held at Ephesus by 200. Episcops Nestorius was condemned for teachinge Christ to be two Persons And in the fourth vniuersall councell heald at Chalcedon vp 630. Presbyters I vse Isidors worde was Eutiches anathematized for teaching Christ to consist but on One nature and that diuyne And in euery of the sayd Councels as was by all meÌ„ of good reporte before aÌ„d synce taught by word or writinge our saviour Christ Iesus was concluded for Natures Person and office of redemption in the same sort as I haue written and no otherwiser as all read-scholers can testifie with me But two poynts there be whereof I must speake more particularly The fiest for satisfaction of the equall Romaniste the seconde for our Protestants contentment For the Romaniste he denieth Iustification with God to be only by Faith Vnto whome I oppose those Auncients Origen writes so The Apostle