It is a Nouelty because that ancient Fathers wheÌ„ they spake of Satisfaction meaned not of a satisfactioÌ„ made to God but of a satisfaction made to the Church Yea and S. Augustine calleth it Satesfactio quiasatis fiebat Ecclesiae that is because the Church was satisfied It is also a blasphemous opinion because the honour only due to the merites of Christes suffering is attributed to the worthinesse of mens satisfactions such as Fasting Praying distribution of Almes going in Pilgrimage to holie places and such like offices But the vsurpation of the least of the honoures belonging onelie to CHRIST is hornbletreason in the sight of God CHRIST is a propitiation for our sinnes saieth the Apostle 1. Ihon chap. 2. vers 2. If anie man doe imagine that hee can make a satisfaction for his owne sinnes hee is blasphemous against the sonne of God And like as Iulian the Apostate when hee suffered himselfe tò bee saluted by the Armie 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is Emperour CONSTANTIVS the Emperour by that one worde vnderstoode the treasonable attemptes of his aspiring minde And let vs bee perswaded in our owne heartes That incase anie man imagine that hee can satiâ—…fie for his owne sinnes hee is but a Traitor against the SONNE of GOD. THe last head of Popishe Pennance is Absolution wherein three things doe concurre to wit blasphemie vncertaintie and foolishnesse It is blasphemie to saye that any man can forgiue finnes who is not Eternall GOD Marke 2. 7. except in forme of a Messenger executing GODS commaundement in such manner as GOD hath prescribed in his holie worde It is great vncertaintie to absolue men from the guiltinesse of their faults but not from their punishment insomuch that if they bee preuented by death before they haue fulfilled the pennance enjoyned by the Priest then their soules must bee tormented in Purgatorie vntill they haue made full satisfaction for their offences Then Popishe Absolution depending vpon the vncertaintie of a mans life cannot bee a certaine thing but a miserable excrutiation of poore soules put in vaine hope of absolution and yet vncertaine whether they be absolued or not Nowe because they will needes referre the institution of the Sacrament of Pennance vnto CHRIST as the Author thereof when Hee breathed vpon His Disciples and saide Whose sinnes yee remitte they are remitted c. Ihon chapt 20. verse 23. Necessitie constraineth them to prooue two thinges out of the wordes of CHRIST which they count essentiall in the Sacrament of Pennance First that CHRIST commaunded a penitent sinner to make a particulare rehearsall of his secrete sinnes in the eare of the Priest which thing CHRIST neuer commaunded Secondlie that in the absolution of a penitent sinner CHRIST commaunded to enjoyne vnto him a satisfaction whereby hee might merite at the handes of GOD forgiuenesse for sinnes committed after Baptisme which thing CHRIST neuer commaunded yea repugneth manifestlie to the Holie Scriptures of GOD in the which it is saide With one offering hath Hee consecrated for euer them that are sanctified Hebr. chapt 10. vers 14. This is not a single and vpright dealing to referre the institution of the Sacrament of Pennance vnto CHRIST when as they cannot prooue that thinges moste essentiallie requisite in their Sacrament hath allowance from the mouth of CHRIST I compare the Romanists in their doctrine of Pennance to king Hezekias not in time of his zeale vprightnes but in time of his reproueable weaknes for hee shewed vnto the Ambassadours of the King of BABEL the house of his treasures his Siluer Golde Spices and Precious Ointmentes and all the house of his Armour The Messengers of the King of BABEL had no such commission from their Master to viewe the Treasures Riches and Armour of King HEZEKIAS but onely to present letters of congratulation for the miraculous restitution of HEZEKIAS to health and to bring vnto him a present from MERODACH BALADEN King of BABEL But HEZEKIAS King of IVDA in his reprooueable weakenesse as I haue alreadie spoken let the Ambassadoures see maine chinges which they had no commission to see to the great harme and disaduantadge of his posteritie Euen so CHRIST sent out His Apostles and their true Successours to preach the doctrine of repentance and remission of sinnes But the ROMANE Church will let the Ambassadoures of GOD see such thinges as are not contained in their commission to wit a particular confession of all secrete sinnes together with a satisfaction to GOD for sinnes committed after Baptisme of which thinges no mention is made in the written worde of GOD. Heere I leaue them delighting in their Nouelties which haue no grounde from the mouth of CHRIST nor from the doctrine of His Apostles Yea they are like vnto the frogges of the I le of SERIPHVS one of the Iles called CYCLADES in the which the Frogges sette vp their heads in the Monethes of March and Aprill but they vtter no sounding voyce as the Frogges in other places doe Euen so the ROMANE Church holdeth vp their heads as if they would prooue that CHRIST instituted this Sacrament but they faint in the probation A TREATISE Of the Sacrament of Confirmation IN the Sacrament of Confirmation there is a glorious shewe of a signe and a spirituall thing signified The outward signe is Chrisme that is Oyle mixed with some mixture of Baulme which beeing signated with the signe of the Crosse vpon the fore-head of him who is confirmed in the Name of the Father Sonne and holy Ghost they saye that with this outwarde signe is conferred the seuen-folde grace of the holy Spirit And this Sacrament they extoll aboue the Sacrament of Baptisme because the grace of God which is begunne in vs by Baptisme is perfected by the Sacrament of Confirmation Yea and a Priest or Deacon of the Church may baptize but the Sacrament of Confirmation must only bee ministrated by a Bishop Verie early did Popish bishops prouide that they shoulde not be altogether idle for they beganne to loath the office of preaching and baptizing and lest they should seeme to bee idle bellies they reserued some easie exercise to themselues to wit the making of Chrisme and anointing the people therewith To all this is added a Rhetoricall discourse That the people of Israell after they had passed thorow the redde Sea they entered into a Wildernesse in the which they had a great combate with many troubles before they could enter into their rest And in like manner after that we are baptized we haue a great fight with many aduersaries troubles before we can enter into the rest of God All this is true but what is inferred vpoÌ„ this If the Apostle Paul were our instructor hee woulde bid vs put on the complete armour of God to the ende that we might withstand spirituall wickednesse and eate the blessed bread and drinke the cuppe of blessing to the ende that beeing corroborated by the strength of the
Sacramentes ordained by God wee might fight a good fight and finishe our journey with joye This is the Apostolicke doctrine But Papistes will correct the Apostolicke doctrine in all points they wil haue a Christiā to be corroborated by Chrisme the sacrament of confirmation to the end he may passe ouer the stormie tentations of this world in peace Let mee now demand of them two thinges One concerning the signe Another concerning the thing signified Concerning the signe I demand who gaue commandement to vse it Concerning the thing signified I demaunde who hath promised to conferre the seuen-folde grace of the holy Spirite to them who are signated vpon the fore-head by the bishops thombe with the signe of the Crosse These two thinges to wit the commandement and the promise are inlacking in Popish Sacramentes and so their newe found out Sacramentes are like vnto a bodie that is not quickened with a soule The Scholasticke Doctors the first inuentors of this pluralitie of Sacraments they confesse roundly that the Sacrament of Confirmation hath no authoritie in holy Scripture such as Alexander Alensis Bonaventura and Thomas Aquinas who after much fatigation of himselfe and others also hee cannot finde that euer Christ or yet His Apostles conferred this Sacrament to any person Whatsoeuer they can cite out of Tertullian or Basilius or any ancient Councell for the confirmation of Chrisme it is certaine that they confesse that this custome hath no authoritie of the written worde of God And this is the principall marke whereat I aime in all my writinges to prooue that there is no Antiquitie where 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is the written word of God doeth not confirme the antiquitie of that which is alleadged The Romane Church waketh great businesse to proue that in holy Scripture many promises of confirmation and corroboration of the worke of God begunne in vs are contained But they bestirre themselues in vaine in proouing that thing which no man denieth But incase they would prooue that the Sacrament of Confirmation is a Sacramēt in a proper sense then it became them to proue that God in His word hath promised the grace of confirmation to such as are signated vpon the fore-head and annointed with Chrisme and buffeted vpon the chieke with the bishops hand Seeing none of these thinges can bee prooued by Scripture it is a friuolous thing for them to alleadge a promise made by God when as they inuent the element whereunto this promise shall bee annexed If this bee a forme according to the which Sacraments should be fashioned then I dare affirme that the number of Sacraments may be multiplied according to the number of the promises contained in the word of God So that God shall make a promise and man shall inuent without anie warrand of Gods commandement an external element wherevnto the promise shall bee annexed By this forme of doing not onely may they make vp seuen Sacramentes but also seuentie times seuen Sacraments True it is that the holy Apostles by imposition of handes conferred the gift of the holy Spirit that is the gift of Languages to many professors of the true Faith and this gift conferred vnto them confirmed them in the faith of Christ. But what belongeth this vnto the Popish Sacrament of Confirmation in the which the externall signe of imposition of handes is inlacking and the promise of a spirituall grace annexed to the signe is also inlacking and finally that thing which was extraordinarie and appertaining to a few is brought in as the ground of an ordinarie Sacrament which shoulde appertaine to all them who beleeue I will not insist long to speake of this new Sacrament of Confirmation Onely this I say that whatsoeuer is brought in into the Church of God with derogation of the dignitie of Baptisme an holy Sacrament instituted by Christ himselfe it should be abhorred But so it is that the Sacrament of Confirmation is brought in with a derogation to the dignitie of Baptisme ergo c. The seconde part of the argument is prooued by their slender and derogatiue speaches of Baptisme together with their superlatiue aduancements of the eminencie of the Sacrament of Confirmation In Baptisme they say that wee receiue not the vpholding defending gouerning and strengthening Spirite of God but all these graces are conferred in the Sacrament of Confirmation Likewise in Baptisme is prepared an habitation to God but the Father Sonne and holy Ghost enter not into this habitation before wee receiue the Sacrament of Confirmation What can be more directly repugnant to H. Scripture wherein it is expressely said He who beleeueth and is baptized shall be saued Can any man be saued befor his soule be an habitation and Temple in the which God is content to dwell So that the doctrine of the Romane Church is like vnto the nauigation of men who dare presume to saile in deepe and dangerous Seas without a Compasse Euen so they talke of matters of great importance without the warrande of holy Scripture whereby it commeth to passe that their doctrine in many pointes is flatte repugnant to holy Scripture Concerning the testimonies of Fathers whereby they endeuour to proue the Sacrament of Confirmation I might answere compendiously with S. Augustine Quicquid attulerint undecunque attulerint audiamus potius si oues sumus vocem pastoris nostri non ergo audiamus haec ego dico haec tu duis sed haec dicit Dominus that is Whatsoeuer they bring in and from whence soeuer they haue brought it in if we be the Lords sheepe let vs rather bearken to the voyce of our shephearde therefore let vs not hearken to them who saye This I saye or this thou sayest but this saieth the Lord. Neuerthelesse seeing they glorie so much of ancient Fathers let the judicious Reader beware of supposititious writings and he shall not find this Chrisme in ancient writers The Sermon of Cyprian De Chrismate is knowne to be supposititious The opinion of Tertullian who writeth that they who are baptized with water haue not receiued the Holy Spirit but are prepared to receiue it by anointing with oyle and imposition of handes after baptisme doeth not euery man who is versed in the reading of Fathers smell that Tertullian writte this when hee made defection from the trueth and was intangled with the errour of the Montanistes And Cyprian in the bookes of his epistles when he attributeth too much to Vnction with Oyle and imposition of hands after baptisme it is easie to perceiue that he borrowed this errour from Tertullian whom he acknowledged as his Master But neither Tertullian nor Cyprian are speaking of the Popishe Sacrament of Confirmation but of annointing with oyle and imposition of handes immediately after baptisme Marke the words of Cyprian where he saith Non posse esse filios Dei si non utroque sacramento nascantur lauacro scilicet aquae in verbo unctione Chrismatis that is They cannot
miserable to keepe in their bosomes the testimonies of their owne condemnation as the Jewes did who kept the bookes of MOSES and of the Prophets which beare testimonie of Christ Ioh. 5. yet they beleeued not in Christ they kept them indeede to our great profite but to their own just condemnation because they neither beleeued the promises of the worde neither were terrified with the threatnings of that same booke which they kept I pray God we may be better keepers of holy writings then the reprobate Jewes were In this controuersie to defend vnwritten traditions the bookes of ancient fathers are sifted and raked and infinite paines are taken to holde vp this maine and yet dayly decaying pillar of their kingdome It is not my purpose neither to defend nor to excuse euery thing that fathers haue written Onely I say in good conscience that great injurie is done to some of them by the Papistes namely to the most ancient father IRENEVS B. of Lions Hee striueth against VALENTINVS an Heretique and conuicteth him by tradition of the Churches which were thought in his time to be Apostolicke but the heades that he proueth by tradition are the principall articles of our faith That there is one God maker of heauen and earth and that Christ was borne of a virgin and suffered under Pontius Pslate and rose againe and was receiued into the brightnesse of glory and that hee shall come againe to saue such as are to be saued and to judge such as are to be judged c And such sort of traditions as are altogether agreable to holy Scriptures we contrauert not vpon Secondly IRENEVS had a conflict with Heretiques who regarded not scripture but saide they were ambiguous and doubtsome had no authority that tradition was more ancient then scripture and therefore necessitie compelled IRENEVS to fight against him with his owne weapons as PAVL did against the Athenians with testimonies of Poets Acts 17. Iren. lib. 3. cap. 2. cap. 3. Yet was it not IRENEVS purpose to prooue any thing repugnant to scripture The traditions which they reade of in other fathers if any be bound to keepe them it is they themselues who leane vnto them as a necessarie supplement of the want that is in scripture but they themselues will not be bound to the obseruation of them all but haue let many of them goe out of vse such as praying betweene Easter and Whitsonday not vpon their knees but standing on their feete to put them in remembrance of Christes resurrection such like three dippings in water whereof wee spake in the heade of antiquitie And after Baptisme the taste of a temper of milke and honie to signifie their spirituall infancie and many other traditions they haue suffcred to euanish and go out of vse so that we are the lesse bound to them To drawe vnto an ende of this treatise It may be demanded Was not tradition at some time in honourable regard in the house of God and how it commeth to passe that now in the last age of the world we wil bring al traditions vnto the balance of the written word counting light all these traditions that are not agreable to the Scriptures For answere vnto this question we shall distinguish the worlde into three ages and speake of the force of tradition in euery age Godwilling In the first age of the world from ADAM to the flood of NOE tradition had the greater place because the Worde ' of God was not as yet written but God spake by Oracles to ADAM and that which the Lorde spake to him hee deliuered it by faithfull tradition to his postēritie Nowe in this first age it cannot be denied but tradition had great place and to the ende the faith of the posteritie should not leane vpon the naked report of their fathers as vpon an vncertaine ground it pleasedGod to bestow vpō these fathers of the first age two great priuiledges First they were indued with the spirite of prophecie for ADAM prophecied of secret things that were done when hee was sleeping Gen. 2 ver 23 And HENOCH the seuinth from ADAM prophecied in the first age of the world of things that are to be done in the last age of the world Epist. Iud ver 14. 15. And LAMECH prophecied of his sonne NOAH Gen. 5. Beside this God bestowed vpon these fathers long life so that ADAM liued vntill he deliuered the Oracle of God spoken vnto him to HENOCH and HENOCH liued till he deliuered the same to LAMECH and LAMECH to NOE so that NOE needed not to bee in doubte whether the reporte of his fathers concerning the Oracle spoken to ADAM was true or not because it was conueied to him by the handes of faithfull witnesses of vnsuspect credite yea holie Prophets deliuered the holie Oracle of GOD to NOE and holie Prophct of GOD also as they were In the second age of the world it pleased God to register his blessed will in write in the dayes of MOSES and then tradition was nothing else but a page and handmaide to the written worde of God For true it is that God commanded fathers to tell their posteritie the wonderful works of God in slaying the first borne of Egypt and sparing the first borne of the I ewes Exod. 13. ver 8. yet this tradition of fathers to their children was agreable to the word of God written by MOSES in so far that the posteritie beleeued not the writings of MOSES because they were agreable to the report of their fathers but rather the reporte of their fathers because it was agreable to the worde of God written by MOSES and so tradition in this age was a page and handmaide to the written worde of God neither doe wee reade after the worde was written that God commanded fathers to tell anything to their children that was not expresly contained in the written word of God In the last age of the world we should be more attentiuely addicted to the written worde and lesse to tradition in regard the Apostles were moued to put the summe of their most wholesome doctrine in write because their doctrine was not rightly reported euen by those who heard the Apostles teach as said is And if the writing of the summe of their wholesome doctrine was a remedie deuised by the Apostles themselues against false traditions wrong reports of Apostolicke doctrine what injurie doe we to the Romaine Church when we examine al their traditions by the rule of the writtē word that which is not agreable to the written word wee reject it as a doctrine neither catholicke nor Apostolicke because that it is found light when it is weighed in the just balance of the written word of God Now consider howe damnable an inclination is in this our corrupt nature When God reueiled his blessed will by tradition men were not attentiue to it but preferred their lust vnto the will of God reueiled by tradition for the sonnes of
credited that God hath suffered the world to goe astray in such wayes so long time and so many yeeres What is this but as a wette sacke wherewith a naked man is couered as a learned Pastor said it is so farre from arming him against the cold that it encreaseth his shuddering and grwing euen so this excuse vtterly vndoeth their cause they say God would not haue suffered his visible Church to haue erred so many yeeres but the Apostle PAVL saith otherwise that the Spirit speak th euidently that in the latter times some shal depart frō the faith so that it is not a wonderfull thing to see apostasie fall out in the bowels of the visible Church and the golden calfe to be worshipped by carnal israclites Exod. 32. But it is a wonderful thing indeede to see sinceritie of doctrine and puritie of maners to continue long among the very watchmen of the Church so prone and bent is the world to defection that sometime the ordinarie watchmen cannot declare where Christ is whom the soule of the Church loueth Cant. 3. ver 3. Secondly consider that the doctrine of prohibition of meates and mariage is called a defection from the faith a doctrine of deuils When these odious stiles are applied to Gnostici T atiani Or Encratitae Montanistae and Manichai and others all this is heard patiently without sturre and excesse of choler and why because the ancient fathers examining all these opinions according to the rule of the word of God haue found thē heretical opinions But whē we come neerer to say that the prohibition of mariage in some persons and the prohibition of meates at some times is also a doctrine of deuils and a defection from the faith O then it is cast in as a wal of brasse that the anciēt fathers who damned all the forenamed heresies yet liked very well of supplications prayers to be made to God euery Fryday and consequently of abstinencie from delicat meats for the furtherance of prayers in remembrance of the Lords suffering Sozomen lib. 1. cap. 8. And like wise that Priests should bee chaste and continent Socrat. lib. 1. cap. 9. And to damne these opinions also is all on◅ as if we should damne all antiquitie and imagine that the trueth was euer buried since the Apostles dayes vntill our time To this I answere that the fathers are not to be balanced with the Papistes of our dayes in the opinion of meates and mariage for many causes first because the fathers of the first 300. yeeres made no lawes and constitutions to astrict the consciences of men in matters of meate and mariage as the Papists of late dayes haue done The Councill of Ancyra which is a towne in Galatia clearely manifesteth vnto vs what was the custom of the ancient Church in admitting men to ecclesiasticke offices namely this If a man in time of his ordination did protest that he had not the gift of continencie but that hee was purposed to marrie and after his ordination hee maried a wife hee remained still in his ministetie But so many as in time of imposition of handes did professe continencie abstinence from mariage if afterward they maried they were debarred from their ministrie Tom. 1. Concil Here euidently appeareth that in the primitiue Church there was no lawe made anent prohibition of mariage to men in spirituall offices In like maner we reade vnder DECIVS the seuinth persecuting tyrant of whome mention will be made in the third Centurie that DIONYSIVS B. of Alexandria was a maried man and had children and that by the great prouidence of God both hee and his children escaped the hands of the cruell enemie who was laid in wait for him to take him Yea and after the Nicene Councill the assembly gathered at Gangra a towne in Paphlagonia detested the opinion of EVSTATIVS who admiring the monasticke life as a conuersation angelicall began to damne mariage and to perswade maried women to separate from the companie of their husbands and to perswade the people not to receiue the holy sacraments from the handes of maried preachers But when the fathers conueened in the Councill of Gangra pondered the opinion of EVSTATIVS in a just balance they found it to be cursed and execrable not only in the question of mariage but also anent his doctrine in prohibition of meates for he thought that a religious man who eated flesh by so doing was cut off from the hope of better pleasures which God hath laid vp for saintes in heaucn But let vs heare a fewe of the Canons of the Councill of Gangra Tom. 1. Concil CANON 1. If any person vituperat mariage and will detest a faithfull woman because the sleepeth with her husband and counteth her to be culpable and that shee cannot enter into the kingdome of heauen Let him be accursed CANON 2. If any man condemne him who in faith and religion eateth flesh that is neither mixed with blood nor sacrificed to idoles as if by such participation of slesh hee wanted hope Let him be accursed CANON 4. If any man make difference and will not receiue the oblation from a preachers hand when he ministreth it because he hath a wife Let him be accursed CANON 10. If any person keeping virginitie for the Lords sake extoll himselfe aboue those that are maried Let him be accursed In all these constitutions of the councill of Gangr◅ there is no vsurpation of authoritie ouer the conscience in matters of mariage and meates Secondly because euen at that time when custome without a ratified lawe had brought in an vse in the Church of God that vnmaried men should be admitted vnto Bishoprickes and spirituall offices rather then others Yet when such continent men could not be had GRATIANVS himselfe witnesseth that a maried man was admitted by PELAGIVS I. Ann. 556. to be Bishop of Syracuse Distinct. 28. Thirdly the fathers of ancient time spake reuerently of mariage but the Papistes of late dayes haue called it a worke of the flesh and the errour of the Nicolaitanes These two doctrines of the prohibition of meates and mariage are called an apostasie from the faith and endited by the spirit of errour Here it may be objected that the Apostle PAVL himselfe who writeth this in another place saith that the Kingdome of God is neither meate nor drinke but righteousnesse peace and joy in the holy Spirit Rom. 14. ver 17. How then is that thing to be counted an apostasie from the faith wherein no matter is touched that pertaineth to the Kingdome of God To this I answere that there is a great difference betweene abstinence from meates and prohibition of meates for these whose conscience is weake will abstaine from many meates and content themselues with hearbes Rom. 14 ver 2. as it were contenting themselues with the foode of the beastes rather then that their mouth should eat that thing that should perturbe their conscience but such men as take vpon them
clothed in his fathers house that he would not eat any longer of husks and the food of Swine euen so our heauenly father hath fed vs with that Manna that came downe from heauen and it is no time nowe to vs to be fed with the huskes of PLATOES schoole any longer The cause wherefore foolish people are so addicted to Purgatorie albeit it be but an Ethnicke inuention is this a carnall affection that men carie toward their defunct parents or friendes to whome they are so affectionat that if any action done by liuing men could helpe them that are deade they would doe it with all their heart and of olde time it was a custome that when men were recently departed this life their friends would thrust the sacrament in the mouth of the dead body meaning thereby to procure some reliefe to the soule which custome was damned in the third Councill of Carthage Canon 6. In respect Christ biddeth giue the sacrament with this commandement Take eat but dead bodies can neither take nor eate Alwayes it was carnall affection not ordered with knowledge that mooued friends so to doe And in our dayes men that are in heauinesse and full of affection toward their owne friendes are both timorous and credulous so timorous that they feare that their friendes after death should be pined in Purgatorie so credulous that they beleeue that the prayers and almes deades of the liuing their saying of Masses or buying of pardons can helpe the dead either to mitigat their paine or to procure vnto them haistie reliefe out of paine If these two grounds could be remoued that simple people would not preposterously bee both timorous and credulous the conceit of Purgatorie would cease Papists themselues that are corrigible I would exhort before I answere to their arguments that they would doe this honour to Iesus Christ not to make his majestie like vnto ADONIIAH 1. Reg. 1. This proud man called IOAB the Captaine of the hoste and ABIATHAR the Priest and the kings sonnes except SALOMON to banket and by not inuiting to that banket SALOMON and BATHSHEBA his mother and NATHAN the Prophet and ZADOCK and BENAIAH no doubt but hee was minded to bring innocent people vnder the guiltinesse of treason as their speeches to DAVID clearely declare that they forsawe this inconuenient But Iesus Christ is not like vnto ADONIIAH to seek e a quarrell against innocent people whom he himselfe hath purged from all sinne in the precious fountaine of his blood 1. Ioh. 1. Will the Lorde Iesus after hee hath purged vs from all spot of sin in the fountaine of his owne blood send vs to Purgatorie when wee die and not call vs to that celestiall banket of endlesse pleasure in heauen seeing the not calling of vs to that banket importeth a disliking and casting off of vs as ADONIIAH disliked SALOMON and his mother and NATHAN the Prophet the rest whom he inuited not to his banket Surely whomsoeuer the Lord hath loued so dearely that hee hath purged them from all spot of sinne by his blood he will not be vncouth to them by sending them to Purgatorie when they should be inuited to his banket Now in this disputation of Purgatory fire a solide ground is to be laide downe that euery man may know of what sort of paines after this life we dispute All paines are either temporall or eternall Of eternall paines there is no disputation in this treatise Temporall paines say we are inflicted vpon men onely in this life for their amendement if they bee of the number of Gods elect or else are forerunning tokens of euerlasting wrath if they be of the number of the reprobate For this cause the Apostle saith that there is no chastisement joyous for the present vntill it bring foorth the good fruite of righteousnesse Heb. 12. ver 11. And heere hee declareth clearely that temporall chastisements are inflicted vpon the godly for their amendement On the other part the prophecie that was in the mouth of ZARESH the wife of HAMAN albeit grounded onely vpon experience yet it declareth that the downe-casting of wicked men is a forerunning token of a greater downe cast to followe after Ester chap. 6. ver 13. And this is a shorte summe of our opinion anent temporall punishments But Papistes defend that euen after this life there is temporall punishments in Purgatorie the suffering where of satisfieth God for off◅nces committed by men when they were aline and purgeth them that their soules may be meet to goe to heauen This opinion of theirs is linked with another absurde opinion that when out sinnes are freely forgiuen wee are not absolued both from guiltinesse and paine but from guiltinesse only but it remaineth still that we should suffer paines yea such paines whereby we satisfie for our sinnes committed after Baptisme what is this else but to make vs our own sauiours in a part and manifestly to contradict both scriptures and fathers for the scripture plainly saith There is no condemnation to them that are in Christ who walke not after the flesh but after the spirit Rom. 8. And AVGVSTINE saith Culpa est quod injustus es poena quod mortalis es Christus suscipiendo panam non culpam poenam debevit culpam August de verbis domini serm 37. that is thy fault is this that thou art vnrighteous thy punishment that thou art mortall but Christ by taking vpon himselfe our punishment and not our fault hath abolished both our fault and our punishment Arguments brought in to prooue Popish Purgatorie are of three ranckes First some arguments taken out of the wordes of Canonicke and Apocryph scripture Secondly out of the writings of fathers Thirdly out of visions dreames and apparitions where of some are put in write for a memorial to the posteritie In the booke of the Psalms it is written Wee passed through fire and water into thy rest Psal. 65. ver 12. alias Psal. 66. ver 12. Here say they meńtion is made of Purgatorie fire But AVGVSTINE writing vpon this Psalme doth expone it otherwise The fire saith hee burneth the water rotteth both are to be feared the burning of trouble and rotting of water When there are disasters and vnhappie things in this world they are like vnto fire when we are in prosperitie and al things plenteously abound this is like water This is the exposition of AVGVSTINE In the prophecie of ZACHARIE it is written Thou also shalt be saued through the blood of thy couenant I haue loosed thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water Is this also spoken of Purgatorie There is in that chapter a prophecie of Christ of his office humilitie power loue and the operatiue vertue of his blood by which blood beeing his own blood the blood of the euerlasting couenant of God we who were sinners and bond-men of Satan are set at libertie and wee who were heires of hell and condemnation are fred from
sepulchres with IEROMS fauour for honour of his learning his comparisons are not good for MARIES fact was done in zeale mixed with knowledge hath an approbation in Christs own mouth but the sact of those women was done in zeale without knowledge and hath but a slender approbation in IEROMS own mouth Hieron contra Vigilant Againe if it be objected that miracles were wrought at the graues of the Martyrs as namelie in Millain where AVGVSTINE was present at the sepulchres of PROTASIVS and GERVASIVS a blinde man was restored to his sight and AVGVSTINE himselfe beareth witnesse of this miracle because he saw it done with his owne eyes August lib. confess 9. cap. 7 To this I answere that God wrought a miracle at the sepulchre of this holy Martyr PROTASIVS to confirme that true faith for which he suffred martyrdome Like as God wroght a greater miracle at the sepulchre of ELISEVS in restoring a dead man to life againe 2. Reg 13. to confirme the doctrine of ELISEVS that it was of God But the end of these miracles was not to raise vp their bones out of the graue to worship them in regarde that such superstitious facts plainly repugned to the summe of their faith and doctrine Now by good reason the Papists are reduced to this strait that either they must prooue that the adoration of dead mens bones was a point of ELISEVS doctrine and PROTASIVS faith or else these miracles were wroght to teach men to raise out of the graue and to worship the dead bones of the Prophets martyrs of God And AVGVSTINE himselfe clearelie declareth what was the issue of this miracle First men tooke occasion by the sight of hat miracle to glorify God but not to worship PROTASIVS GERVASIVS bones The other end of the working of that miracle was to stay the fury of IVSTINA the mother of VALENTINIAN the second in persecuting of AMBROSE B. of Millain albeit the fame and notoriousnes of this miracle did not convert her to the true faith yet it auailed to abate her furie and rage in persecuting the innocent feruant of Christ. August ibid. confess lib. 9. cap. 7. Againe if it be objected that the dead bones of BABYLAS stopped the mouth of APOLLO so that he could not vtter his oracle vntill BABYLAS bones were raised and transported into an other place Sozom. lib. 5. cap. 19. and therefore there is vertue in the bones of the Saints to helpe the godly and to confound the power of the deuill For answere I say we should not hearken to the deceitfull speeches of Satan who seeing Christians already inclined to transport the dead bones of the Saints for al his simular and fained dumnesse yet he could speake that whereby superstition afterward should be mightilie increased and augmented Hist. Magdeb. Cent. 4. cap. de miraculis But arguments drawen out of the fountaines of Scripture if they were rightly inferred should haue greater countenance credite and regarde then the testimonies of all the fathers joyned together Therefore they will not seeme to be destitute of this armour also The shadow of PETER Acts. 5. 15. was helpfull to diseased persons and the napkins and hand-kercheefes taken from the bodie of PAVL helped diseases and made vncleane spirits to depart from men And therefore say they to attribute vertue to reliques of Saints is no derogation to the glorie of God but rather a great confirmation of Gods trueth To this I answere that scripture hauing intention to glorifie God indeed doth in these miracles neither magnifie PETER nor PAVL nor PETERS shadow nor PAVLS napkins wherin there was no sauing vertue but the text clearlie saith that Godw ought miracles by the hands of PAVL Acts 19. ver 11. Which verse is cast in of purpose to turne our hearts from PAVL the instrument alanerly to God the author of these miracles And if the holy Scripture will not suffer vs to repose vpon PETER and PAVL and other Apostles as if by their owne power and vertue they had made any man whole Acts 3. ver 12. how much lesse can God be pleased with this that power and vertue be attributed to PETERS shadowe and PAVLS napkins And albeit vertue had bene in these things yet PETERS shadow could not haue bene kept as a permanent relique to the posteritie nor yet PAVLS napkin except miraculouslie could haue continued so long But this sufficeth our purpose that in al the scripture there is not a word of the worshipping of PETERS shadow nor PAVLS napkin If I were disputing vpon words I would demand of those that recken PETERS shadow among reliques by what reason they do it seeing that it hath no remaining amongst vs after that his body is taken from vs and therefore cannot be called a relique But I leaue off to speake of the shadow of words aswell as of the shadow of bodies Let vs remember this well that GOD worketh great works by very contemptible meanes to the end the glory may be attributed to GOD alone Now seeing that GOD wrought great workes by the sheep-heards staffe that was in the hand of MOSES he dantoned the land of Egypt divided the red sea and by the stroke of the staffe broght forth waters out of the hard rocke Seing I say that God wroght so great workes by so contemptible a meane what became of this sheepheards staffe after the death of MOSES Some of the learned say that God buried it with MOSES in the plain of Moab lest it should haue bene an occasion of idolatry How euer it be the remembrance of it is buried in scriptures and we cannot tell what became of it But if it had bene in time of Poperie it had bene laid vp and worshipped among their principall reliques The câ—…oake of ELIAS where-with ELIZEVS divided the waters of Iordan semeth to be a relique of ELIAS hauing vertue to worke miraculous works but the text it selfe declareth the contrary that there was no power in the cloake but in the GOD of ELIAS for when ELIZEVS came to the riuer side he lifted vp his heart to GOD saying where is now the GOD of ELIAS 2 Reg. 2. ver 15. So that all scripture both in old and new Testament with one consent sendeth vs from cloakes staues shadowes hand-kerchiefes and such like means to the power of almighty GOD working where when and by what meanes he pleaseth Now if al things wherby or wherin God wroght miracles should be kept as holy reliques then the church of the Iewes might haue surpassed the Romane church infinit degrees For who can deny but God wrought miraculous workes in and by ail the coates hose shooes shirts headcouerings napkins and such other garments that were among the people of the Iewes Their garments waxed not old and their feete swelled not all the space of fourtie yeeres that they were in the wildernesse Dâ—…ut 8 ver 4. If all these garments had bene laide vp in store after they
Angels is damned as horrible idolatry and a forsaking of CHRIST And the bookes of holy Canonicke Scripture which are to be read in time of holy Conuocations of people are particularly reckoned out both of olde and new Testament And in this catalogue of Canonicke bookes no mention is made of the bookes of the Machabees of Ecclesiasticus and other Apocreeph bookes Vnder the reigne of the Emperours Valentinian Valens and about the yeere of our LORD 370. With aduice of both the Emperours a Councill was gathered in Illyricum wherein the Nicene Faith had confirmation and allowance The Emp. Valens was not as yet infected with the poison of the Arrian heresie Lampsacum is a towne situated about the narrow passages of Hellesp◅ntus The Macedonian Heretiques sought libertie from the Emp. Valens to meete in this towne who granted their petition the more willingly because hee supposed that they had accorded in opinion with Acacius and Eudoxius but they ratified the Councill set foorth at Seleucia and damned the Councill holden at Constantinople by the Acacians The Emp. Valens being d◅ceiued of his expectation commanded them to be banished their Churches to be giuē to the fauourers of the opinion of Eudoxius This dash constrained the Macedonians to take a newe course and to aggree with Liberi◅s b. of Rome But these Chame◅ions when they had changed many colours they coulde neuer be white that is sincere and vpright in Religion Vnder the Emp. Valentinian in the West Damasus b. of Rome gathered a Councill in Rome wherein he confirmed the Nicene Faith and damned Auxentius b. of Millan with Ursatius Valens and Caius Likewise hee damned Apollinaris and his disciple Timotheus In the yeere of our LORD 383. or as Bullinger reckoneth 385. in the thirde yeere of the reigne of THEODOSIUS a Generall Councill was gathered at Constantinople consisting of 150. Bishops of whom 36. were entangled with the Heresie of Macedonius who called the Holy Spirit a creature a minister and seruant but not consubstantiall with the Father and the Sonne In this Council the Macedonian Heretiques were louinglie admonished to forsake their errour and to embrace the true Faith that so much the more because they had once already sent messengers to Liberius and professed the true Faith But they continued obstinately in their errour and departed from the Councill The Heresie of Macedonius was damned the Ni◅en Faith confirmed with amplification of that part of the Symbole which concerned the Holy Spirit in this manner I beleeue in the Holie Spirit our LORD giuer of lise who proceedeth from the Father and with the Father and the Sonne is to bee worshipped and glorisied They ordeined Nectarius b. of Constantinople and that Constantinople shoulde haue the prerogatiue of honour next to Rome Great care was had of Prouinces that they shoulde not of new againe be infected with Heresies For this cause the name of Patriarches in the Councill of Nice appropriated to a fewe in this Generall Councill is communicated to manie To Nectarius Megapolis and Thracia was alloted ◅ontus to Helledius Cappadocia to Gregorius Nyssenus Meletina and Armenia to Otreius Amphilochius attended vpon Iconium and Lycaonia Optimus vpon An◅iochia and Pisidia Timotheus vpon the Churches of Aegyt Laodicea was recommended to Pelagius Tarsus to Di◅dorus and Antiochia to Meletius who was present at the Councill and ended his life in Constantinople To other Bishops a care and sollicitude of their owne boundes was committed with this caueat that no man should inuade the bounds belonging to another but if necessitie so required Synodes should be assembled and euery one beeing desired shoulde mutuallie assist his neighbour The great affaires of the Church and the care of their brethren in the West compelled them to meete againe in Constantinople where they wrote a Synodicke letter to Damasus bishop of Rome to Ambrose B◅itto Valerianus Acholius Anemius Basilius and to the rest of the Bishops conueened at Rome Wherein they declare the manifolde troubles they had sustained by Heretiques and now alb◅it in the mercie of GOD they were ejected out of the sheepe-folds yet like vnto rauening wolues they were lurking in woods seeking oportunitie to de◅our the sheepe of CHRIST They excuse their absence because the infirmitie of their Churches newly recouered from the handes of Heretiques coulde not permit manie of their number to journey to Rome Alwayes they sent their beloued brethren Cyriacus Eusebius and Priscianus to countenance the assembly at Rome In matters of Discipline they recommended vnto them the Canons of the Councill of Nice namely that Ecclesiasticall honoures shoulde bee conferred to persons worthie and that with the speciall aduice and consent of the Bisshops of that same Prouince with assistance of their confining neighbours if neede required After this maner was Nectarius Bishop of CONSTANTINOPLE Flavianus Bishop of ANTIOCHIA and Cyrillus Bishop of HIERUSALEM ordained Heere marke that the consent of the Bishop of Rome was not necessarie to the ordination of the Bishops of the East And the usurped authoritie of the Bishop of Rome smelleth of Noueltie and not of Antiquitie This Synodicke letter sent from Constantinople woulde seeme to import that the Councill which Damasus gathered at Rome was assembled in the dayes of Theodosius or els that hee had gathered two assemblies in Rome at diuers times and yet for one purpose Godly Emperours and Kinge◅ such as Constantine Theodofius and Dauid were very carefull of the unitie of the Church that it might bee like vnto a compact Citie as Hierusal◅m was when the toure of Iebus was conquised then the people worshipped one GOD were obedient to one Law and subject only to one Sou◅reigne Theodosius in the fifth yeere of his reigne c◅ring for the peace of the Church conueened a great Nationall Councill at Constantinople not only of H◅mousians but also of Arrians Eunomians and Macedonians hoping that by mutuall conference possibly they might in end accord The good Emp. consulted with Nectarius Bishop of CONSTANTINOPLE N◅ctarius with Agelius a Bishop of the Novatians Agelius with Sis◅nius an eloquent man and a mightie Teacher and a reader in his Church This man considering that by contentious disputations schismes were increased but not quenched gaue this aduice to Nectarius that hee shoulde counsell the Emperour to demande of Heretiques in what account they had the holie Fathers who preceeded their time The Heretiques at the first spake reuerently of the Fathers but when they were demanded if in matters of Faith they woulde giue credite to the testimonie of the Fathers the Her◅tiques were diuided amongst themselues Therefore the Emperour rent in pieces the summes of the Arrian Eunomian and Mac◅donian faith and ordained the Homousian Faith onely to haue place The seconde Councill of Carthage was assembled vnder the reigne of Theodosius neere vnto the time of the Generall Councill holden in CONSTANTINOPLE In it first
to wit in those that are dead If they had followed the certaintie of Scripture what needed such doubtsome and staggering speeches When a tall Cedar falleth many little trees are bruised by the fall of it and when worthie men doe fall into an errour it is offensiue to manie The dolorous examples of Iacob Dauid Salomon and the plurality of their wiues contrary to the first institution of GOD proueth this to bee true Helcana the father of Samuel was not free of this fault And when the Apostle Paul writeth of the giftes that are requisite in a bishop hee would haue him to bee the husband of one wife which exhortation had beene vnnecessary except the preposterous following of the faultes of holie Fathers had beene so uniuersally ouer-spread that scarce the Pastors themselues were free of the contagion of this disease But the GOD of Heauen hath permitted this to bee for our triall euen to trie whether wee loue the LORD our GOD with all our heart or no for if wee loue the LORD with all our heart wee will neuer prefer men to GOD nor mens examples to GODS Commandements how holy and godly so euer they haue beene But now to returne to these two learned Fathers of whom I began to speake Some excuse this weakenesse by the libertie of Rhethoricall ornamentes And indeede incase a lap of this transparent-couering bee not spred ouer the speeches of Nazianzenus who preferreth the paineâ—…ull trauâ—…ls of Basilius to the trauels of the Apostle Paul who filled the world with the preaching of the Gospel from Iudea to Ilyricum If I say this forme of speaking bee not excused by Rhethoâ—…icall ornamentes and namely the figure Hyperbole no Christian man coulde gladly lende his eare to such speeches But now to leaue the sandie ground of mens speaches to conuert our selues to the doctrine of diuine Scriptures as to a sure foundation wherevpon if wee leane we shall not bee deceiued The LORD saith in his word Call vpon meâ—… in the day of thy trouble and I will deliuer thee and thou shalt glorifie mee From this ground of holy Scripture let our Treatise arise wherein GOD willing first wee shall consider the purpose of the Prophet next wee shall declare that Prayer is a part of spirituall worship onlie belonging to GOD thirdly that IESUS CHRIST is the only mediator of our intercession and last that prayers to Angels to the blessed Virgine the mother of our LORD and to the Saintes departed hath no grounde in Scripture and this custome was disliked by many of the ancient Fathers Now the purpose of the Prophet in the fifty Psalme is manifest namely this to conuict Hypocrites who contenting themselues with outward sacrifices neglected the spiritual worship of GOD wherein GOD hath principall delight as CHRIST saith GOD is a Spirit and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and trueth But Hypocrites will needes present vnto GOD chaffe in stead of Corne drosse in stead of Golde and an outward scroofe of externall worship in stead of the very substance of his spirituall seruice To draw them from this grosse imagination he brings in GOD himselfe speaking from his holy Sanctuarie and declaring that outward sacrifices haue bene oft times intermitted without any reproofe of them who beeing compelled by necessitie and not willingly left off the offering of sacrifices In Aegypt the Iewes coulde not offer such beasts as the Aegyptians worshipped els they would haue stoned them to death In Babylon they had not an Altar whervpon they coulde offer sacrifices to GOD lawfully And at some times when both Alter and sacrifices were at hand yet Dauid complaineth that by violence he was debarred from the Courtes of the LORD All these times GOD did not reproue his people for omitting of externall sacrifices because they were constrained by necessitie to intermit such outward exercises In the meane time they worshipped GOD in spirit and trueth and it lay not in the power of their hatefull enemies to hinder them from worshipping GOD spiritually Secondly the Prophet brings in the LORD declaring that hee had no pleasure in bloody sacrifices because hee neither eateth flesh nor drinketh blood and in case hee delited in such things hee would not require them at mens handes seeing that all the foules in the Mountaines and all the beastes in the Forrest are the LORDS and hee may use them according to his owne will and blessed pleasure But the LORD did institute such kind of sacrifices to last for a time as shadowes of thinges to come but they coulde neuer sanctifie the commers the reunto Therefore if they bee separated from CHRIST to whom they led the people as Types and Figures of his euerlasting sacrifice the LORD had no kind of regarde of them True it is that Sathan hath a delite in bloody sacrifices euen in so far as they are bloody and a destruction of the creatures of GOD as the sacrifices in the valley of Ben-hinnon doe testifie and the sacrifices offered to Diaâ—…a in Taurica chersonesus and the bloody tribute paied by the Athenians to Minos King of Candie by the expresse aduice and counsel of Apollo as Chrysostome clearelie affirmeth And this declareth that the deuill who was a murtherer from the beginning hath a delite in bloody sacrifices But God delited not in such sacrifices except only in so far as they were types and figures leading to the sacrifice of Christ. Yea the sacrifices of the Law were like vnto the fire set vpon the top of the marble towre of Pharos for the wellfare of ships and to direct them vnto the right harboure of Alexandria and like vnto the fire set vp vpon the vttermoste wall of HIERUSALEM on the North side called by Cosmographers Turris furnorum This serued to direct the foote-steps of them who in the night season were journeying to the holy Citie that they shoulde not aberre from the right entrie of the gates of HIERUSALEM Notwithstanding children sate about these fires and warmed themselues and knewe none other use wherefore they were appointed saue onely to warme those who were acolde in winter nightes euen so carnall Iewes reposed vpon sacrifices but marked not the right ende wherefore they were appointed by God But the Prophet leades a carnall people from externall sacrifices vnto spirituall exercises and namely vnto prayer and thankesgiuing and consequently to the obedience of faith the very vndoubted grounde of prayer and thankesgiuing for in these exercises consist deeper pointes of the worship of God then in outward sacrifices whether we looke to God or to our selues when wee looke to God hee is a spirit and consequently hee deliteth in spirituall seruice and when wee looke vnto our selues wee haue an earthly bodie and a spirituall soule and if we present vnto God the seruice of the most base part of our person and not the best part then wee fall vnder the curse threatned by
would send from the Heauen the diuine flame of his celestiall loue to the ende that the fleshly conceits of mens hearts may bee brunt vp and that they may bee fully perswaded that the LORD who made the Heauen and the Earth is hee alone to whom spirituall sacrifices are to bee offered and that through IESVS CHRIST to whom with the Father and the Holy Spirit bee praise and glorie now and euer AMEN A TREATISE Of the authoritie of COUNCILS IN the first three hundreth yeeres of our LORD Councils were few in number and verie obscure and few of them had great authoritie except the Councill holden in HIERUSALEM by the Apostles yet was the first age after CHRIST the golden age whether wee consider doctrine or maners in doctrine more sincere in maners more vnreproueable then any age after following in so much that all the accusations forged against their doctrine and conuersation were but calumnies and lyes The banquets of Thyestes and the chambring of Oedipus perpetually objected to the Christians of the primitiue Church what were they but cauillations in thinges whereof they had no vnderstanding They knew not what the spirituall eating of the flesh of CHRIST did meane neither knew they how necessary it was for Christians to keepe holy assemblies in the night time when they had not libertie to doe it in the day time And they spake euill of things they could not nor would not comprehende as the Gracians and Romanes counted the Hebrues Barbarians because they had no regard to vnderstand their language But out of all question the first age was the golden age of the worlde after it was renewed by the comming of CHRIST in doing of good more willing in suffering of euill more patient then anie age that followed the first 300. yeeres of our LORD And that thing where into the primitiue Church seemeth to be inferiour to posteriour times to wit in number and splendor of Councils in that same point it hath a prerogatiue such as Iuda had ouer Israel there were more altars in Israel then in Iuda but that one altar in Hierusalem was better then all their altars And the Councill holden in Hierusalem by the Apostles in the dayes of the Emperour Claudius was better then all the Councils either Generall or Nationall that euer were gathered since those dayes Now before I speake in particular of thâ—… necessitie of Councils of their authoritie of the abuse of Councils and power to conuocate them and who should haue vote in Councils somewhat is to bee premitted concerning the name giuen vnto Gâ—…nerall or Nationall assemblies Gratianus busieth himselfe in manie vnnecâ—…ssarie thinges and in this also to secke out the Etymologie of the Latine word Concilium and hee deduceth it from the word Cilium called in the Greeke language 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is the eye lid and the compound word Concilium signifieth the companie of men who agree in one minde as the eye liddes doe when they couer the eyes they couer both together and when they open againe to giue place vnto the sight of the eyes they open both at once And so Gratianus thinketh that Concilium is Coelus consentientium that is a company of men who agree in one mind The fourth Councill of Garthage requireth beside consent and agreement in one minde a consent to the veritie and trueth of GOD therefore they say that the assemblie of Heretiques should not bee called Concilium but Conciliabulum But in acurate seeking out of Etymologies scarce can Plato himselfe in his Dialogue called Cratylus escape the blame of curiositie the Greeke word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is plainer and is borrowed by the Latinists who usually call a Councill Synodus and it is used in this sence to betoken a meeting of men in spitituall offices for timous suppressing of corruptions either in Doctrine or maners springing vp into the Church The necessitie of Councâ—…ls may bee proued by these arguments following First those ordinarie meanes which the Prophets and Apostles who had their callinâ—… and gifts immediatly from GOD did use for suppressing of false doctrine and corrupt maners should of necessitie continue in the Church But so it is that conuentions assemblies was one of these ordinary meanes ergo they should continue in the Church The seconde part of the argument is proued by the example of the great assemblie gathered at Silo in the dayes of Iosua to suppresse the apparent defection of the Reubenites Gadites and halfe tribe of Manasses from the true worship of GOD as seemed vnto them And this Assemblie had allowance of GOD forasmuch as it was ordered with wisedome the glory of GOD was onely respected and the ende of it was peace in ISRAEL Next the great assemblie of the ten tribes at mount Carmell procured by Helias the Prophet but gathered by the commandement of Achab the king of Israel declareth that assemblies of Church-men and others of chiefe authoritie was an ordinarie meane to reforme abuses in Religion albeit no reformation followed after this assemblie yet the enemies of the true Religion were conuicted in their consciences false teachers were disgraced and punished and the zeale of Helias toward the glory of GOD had allowance by a miracle of fire from Heauen In like maner Samuel by gathering a great assemblie of all Israel at Mizpah procured a reformation both in Religion and maners amongst them Dauid in transporting the Arke to the citie of Dauid Salomon in the dedication of the Temple both used the support of holie assemblies gathered to that effect And in the new Testament the Apostles Elders and Deacons met together in an holie assemblie at Hierusalem and timouslie suppressed the doctrine of false teachers who affirmed that the Gentiles could not bee saued by faith in CHRIST onely except they had also beene circumcised and kept the law of Moses All these examples and manie more contained in holy Scripture teach vs that the meeting of holie assemblies was an ordinarie meane to suppresse corruption in doctrine and maners and to aduance the kingdome of GOD. Secondlie that thing which godlie Emperours did for the suppressing of Heresies following the examples of the Prophets Apostles especiallie when no better meanes could be found out is necessarilie to bee obserued But so it is that the godlie Emperours Constantine Theodosius Valentinian the third and Theodosius the second the sonne of Arcadius and Martianus conuocated Councils for suppressing of the Heresies of Arrius Macedonius Nestorius and Eutyches and no better meanes could be found out neither as yet can bee founde out for suppressing of Heresies Therefore the custome of conuocating Councils at times requisite is necessarilie to bee obserued Other arguments albeit they haue not so necessarie a consecution as the former notwithstanding they proue that lawfull Councils are a terrour to the kingdome of the Deuill and that the instrumentes of Sathan such as Iulian the
are transported with incertainetie of doubtfull opinions so that albeit they bee met together to settle others in the certainetie of the true Faith yet they themselues are so wauering minded that they can neuer bee at rest Like as the Arrians not content with the summe of Faith set downe at Nice assembled themselues many times set downe 9. diuers formes of Faith as Socrates recordeth yet coulde they neuer agree vpon one certaine forme of Faith which they woulde not alter Likew◅se in the affaires of Discipline so great discrepance of opinion was founde that neither Councill agreede with Councill nor Bishop with Bishop nor yet Bishops with Councils The Councill of Ancyra thought expedient for order taking with those who had sacrificed vnto Idoles in time of persecution that vnto Bishops should bee adjoined Chorepiscopi that is Countrey Bishops or Landward Bishops to whom they gaue not power to ordaine Elders and Deacons but onely Readers and Subdeacons Damasus Bishop of Rome coulde not agree to this subordinate order of Bishops called Chorepiscopi The Councils of Neocaesarea Antiochia liked of this forme of gouernament Other Councils in not making mention of this name declared their misliking so that this abuse likewise of diuersity of opinions frequently altered both in Doctrine and Discipline impaired much the authoritie of Councils Before I declare who hath power to conuocate Generall Nationall Councils something is to bee premitted concerning the assemblies vpon the LORDS holy Sabboths These assemblies of all other were counted moste holy in so much that when the Princes of the people of Israel were to conueene with Moses to consult concerning matters of ciuil gouernament they were warned so to doe by the blowing of one of the siluer trumpets onely but when both the siluer trumpets did blowe then the people were warned to conueene at the doore of the Tabernacle for the exercise of diuine seruice which as it was of all Conuentions most holy so in like maner it was foresignisied in most solemne maner These holy meetinges were warranded by the LORDES expresse commandement Remember the Sabboth day to keepe it holy c. And in the new Testament Christians hauing receiued power to meete together in CHRISTES Name with promise that CHRIST woulde bee amongst them they conueened secretely to the hearing of the worde and ministration of the Sacramentes albeit they were most straitely inhibited so to doe by the Edictes of persecuting Tyrantes and these who were comprehended and put to death for their conuentions profession they died Holy Martyres how soeuer the Pagans did put them to death as traitors because they disobeyed the Emperours commandement both in their conuentions and profession Yet this ground beeing once laide that they died Holy Martyrs it wil follow that Christians haue power to conucene to heare the worde preached especially vpon the LORDES day albeit all the Princes of the worlde woulde forbid them to meete And this libertie granted by CHRIST and sealed vp by the blood of innumerable martyrs Confirmed also by the lawes of Christian Princes euer since the reigne of Constantine it will continue vnto the blessed appearance of the LORD IESUS to judge the world albeit all the enemies of the Gospell of CHRIST shoulde grinde their teeth and fret against this libertie These fore-saide weekely conuentions are necessarie at all times and in all ages euen albeit there were no H◅retique nor Scismatique in the worlde to diuert people from the trueth of GOD because euen the best of vs all is but like vnto a barren husbandrie that hath neede continually to bee dressed and laboured and watered with the streames of the riuers of the Sanctuarie of our GOD lest wee wither in the barrennesse of a corrupt nature But Councils Generall or Nationall are not necessarie at all times but onely when the peace of the Church is troubled with Heresie and Schisme or an uniuersall ouer-spreading scab of corrupt maners and at such times it is meete that Pastors acquaint the supreame Magistrate with the danger who hath not neede at all times to conuocate a Councill except the maladie that hee would rem◅die be vnsupportable After this wise forme of dealing did Constantine send Osius Bishop of Corduba to Aegypt to see if by his trauels the Heresie and Schisme springing vp in Alexandria could bee timously suppressed but when the good Emperour sawe that this Gangrene dayly increased then there was no remedie but to gather a Generall Councill for suppressing of Heresie and for keeping of intestine peace into the Church of CHRIST Now to proue that Nationall and Generall Councils ought to bee gathered by Monarches and Princes In the olde Testament the great Conuentions at Carmell Silo and Mizpeh were assembled by Princes and the assembly conueened at Mizpeh by Samuel hee gathered it as a ciuill Gouernor of the land and not in so farre as hee was a Prophet for as yet Saul was not allowed by the people to bee king The Conuention appointed at Gilgal was with the expresse consent and allowance of King Saul who was also personally present at that Assemblie In the new Testament the assembly of the Apostles at Hierusalem albeit it was gathered without the knowledge and allowance of the Emperour Cluadius in whose time it was assembled Yet the Apostles had such extraordinary warrandes of the Spirite such extraordinary giftes and their painefull trauels fell in such an extraordinary time when there was no Christian Magistrate fauouring the Gospel that hee who furnished vnto them courage to preach without libertie granted vnto them by Princes furnished also courage and grace vnto them to meete at Hierusalem for the well of the Church without the fore-knowledge and allowance of the Emperour Claudius But thinges done extraordinarily leane vnto their owne extraordinary warrandes and are no impediment to vs to proceede and to speake of thinges that are ordinary And it is to be noted that euen during the time of the 10. Persecutions Christians neglected not to seeke the support of Emperours against Heretiques whē it could be obtained as clearelie appeareth by the ninth Persecuting Emperour Aurelian who with his ciuil authority assisted the Synode of Antiochia against Samosatenus as hath beene declared in the thirde CENTURIE and the Church had craued the support of the Emperours authoritie to that effect From the dayes of the Emperour Constanti◅e vntill the yeere of our LORD 1215. the Emperours were in use to conuocate Councils But Innocentius the thirde to whose tuterie Fredericke the seconde was recommended by his father Henrie the sixt more like to the successour of Iudas then the successour of Peter made Otto Duke of Saxon Emperour in prejudice of Fredericke vntill the spirit of dissention fell betwixt Otto and Pope Innocentius the thirde Then was Otto excommunicated and the Empire was giuen to Fredericke the seconde to whom it rightly belonged Notwithstanding Pope Innocentius tooke vpon him boldnes to
longer and since that time they giue no price I am the shorter in this Treatise lest I should hinder any man from reading the learned writings of Chcmnicius de Indulgentiis who hath accurately written the beginning progresse and ripenesse of this filthie errour of Popish Pardones A TREATISE Of a great heape of Errours which kithed in the sixt Centurie SEING the time was now at hande whereinto the Antichrist should exalt himselfe against all that is called God or that is worshipped and that he should sit as God in the Temple of God shewing himselfe that hee is God The LORD punishing the contempt of his euerlasting Trueth suffered a departing from many pointes of Faith to fall out as Tapestrie of errours hung vp in the Temple to welcome the Antichrist The signe of the Crosse is nowe filthily abused In the first 300. yeere of our LORD and a litle after the Pagans so abhorred the doctrine of the Crosse and that Saluation should be offered to all men in the suffering of one man that they persecuted this doctrine with vnspeakable crueltie The Christians on the other part in word deede and gesture adhered so fast vnto the doctrine of saluation which commeth by the sufferings of CHRIST that by crossing of themselues they would avow besore the Worlde that they were Christians this was of olde a piece of externall profession but they attributed no vertue to the signe of the Crosse to saue them from enill insomuch that S. Augustine in a certaine place speaking of theeues who would goe out by night to steale they would garde themselues by the signe of the Crosse which signe banished not the power of the Deuill from them but rather sealed vp the power of Sathan within them but in this Centurie Crossing was in vse with opinion that by vertue of that signe made in the are euill was banished from men and good things were procured to them The superstition of Pilgrimages began in the dayes of Constantine and Gregorius Nyssenus damned the conceates of men who imagined that GOD would giue a rewarde in the Worlde to come to workes which he hath not commanded to bee done in this Worlde but in this Centurie this superstition mightily increased in so far that men trauelled to the sepulchers of the Sainctes with intention to obtaine health both of soule and body in those places This resorting vnto the sepulchers of the Sainctes fostred not onely inuocaâ—…ion of Sainctes but also a confidence in them that they could support all troubles both of soule and bodie whereinto any person had fallen insomuch that in the fist Centurie and before the time of the fulnesse of all corruption Atticus bishop of Constantinople was compelled to raise the bodie of Sabbatius out of his graue by night and to burie him into a secret place vnknowne vnto the people to slay their superstition of inuocating Sainctes and confidence in them who were departed The doctrine of the Apostle PAVL wishing all chinges to bee done vnto edification and his owne example who albeit hee was furnished with moe languages than all the Corinthians yet hee had rather speake fiue wordes with vnderstanding that he might instruct others than ten thousand into a strange tongue This doctrine I say and example of PAVL banished from the Church a long time Liturgies into a strange language albeit the Latine Church borrowed from the Hebrewe Liturgie Allellâ—… iah and from the Greeke Liturgie Kyrie eleison yet the Liturgie and seruice of the Church continued into an intelligible language amongst Gods people The vaine assertion of the Romanc Church is that the Liturgie was conceiued in Latine language in Numidia about the foure hundreth of our Lord. It is easily answered that at this time the Africans were vnder the dominion of the Romanes and learned their language in such sort that they were not more familiarly acquainted with the Africane speach than they were with the Latine tongue To this Augustine beareth witnesse that with difficultie he learned the Greeke language but with great facilitie hee learned the Latine language Inter blandimenta nutricum ioca arridentium latitias alludentium that is to say Amongst the flattering speeche of Nourses and amongst the sportes of them who arsided one to another and amongst the solaces of them who were deliting one another so that in Augustines time if the Latine Liturgie had place it was was all one as if the Africane Liturgie had beene in vse because that both were alike intelligible Nowe these who by such places would prooue that seruice may bee said into an vncouth language not onely they flatly gainesay the doctrine of PAVL but also they abuse the testimonies of ancient times in most miserable maner After the time that one man was made vniuersall Bishoppe of all the Church then comes in that deuilish imagination that for setling vnitie into the Church the Liturgie must bee onely in the Latine language in Europe In the Councill called Valentinum because it was assembled in Valentia a towne of Spaiâ—…e it was ordained that the Gospell should bee read after the Epistle in respect that by such reading some were found to bee conuerted to the faith This behooued to bee reading of the Gospell in a knowne tongue so that the custome of reading Liturgies into an vnknowne tongue did not hastily take place Oblationes defunctorum of olde were legacies left by defunct persons for sustentation of the poore these oblaâ—…ions they who did not thankfully pay were counted murtheâ—…ers of the poore and were separated from the fellowship of the Church but nowe all things tending to a lamentabâ—…e decay in steade of Oblationes defunctorum oblationes pro defunctis creepes in into the Church Grâ—…gorius the first learned not this doctrine in holy Scripture but from the narration of Foelix bishoppe of Centumcellae in Hetrruia as I haue alreadie written in the Historie of his life It is a wearisomething to read the foolish fables of miraculous workes confirming this head of Popish doctrine At this time also as Gregorius the first witnesseth in his Homilies vpon the Gospell when men of vnreproouable life were sicke many came to visite them not so much to helpe them in their agonie to fight a good fight and happily to conclude their course as to recommend their owne soules to the castodie of them whome they supponed to haue led an honest life This is a great noueltie vnknowne to sacred Scripture to recommend our soules to the custodie of any person whatsumeuer except onely to GOD the Father of Spirits Reliques of Sainctes were excessiuelie honoured insomuch that Giegorius the first sendeth pieces of the chaine wherewith S. PETER was bound in time of his martyredome to diâ—…erse persons with promise that this piece of his chaine beeing hung about their neckes by the intercession of PETER should purchase vnto them absolution from their sinnes The wrong vnderstanding of the words of Christ
of the holy resurrectioÌ„ might be expected with coÌ„secrated lights Such voluntary seruice inuented by the braine of man had great sway at this time That in the daylie Church-seruice the Lordes prayer vulgarly called Pater noster should be rehearsed because it is vsually called Oratio quotidiana that is a daylie prayer That Alleluiah bee not sung in time of Lent because it is a time of mourning and humiliation vntill the dayes of resurrection be celebrated which is a time of joye and gladnesse That after the Epistle a part of the Gospell shoulde bee read That Hymnes and spirituall songes not contained in holie Scripture may be sung in the Church The song of the three children shall be sung in all the Churches of Spaine and Gallicia In the ende of Spirituall songes it shall not bee simplie saide Glorie to the Father to the Son c. but Glorie and honour to the Father and to the Son to the H. Spirit to the end that hymnes sung in earth may bee correspondent to the song of Elders in Heauen 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Apocal. 4. 11. In Responsories if it be a matter of gladnesse the ende shall be Gloria c. and if it bee a matter of sadnesse the ende shall be Principium c. The booke of the APOCALYPS of Sainct Iohn is declared to bee a booke of Canonicke Scripture and to bee preached in open audience of the CHVRCH betwixt EASTER and WHITSONDAY It is forbidden that the holy Communion should be celebrated immediately after the saying of the Lordes Prayer but let the blessing bee first giuen and then let the Priestes and Leuites communicate before the Altar the Clergie within the Quiere and the people without the Quiere No man shall bee promoted to the honour of Priesthood who is infamous who hath bene baptized in heresie who hath gelded himselfe who hath married the second wife or a widow who hath had concubines who is in a seruile condition who is vnknowne Neophycus or a Laike who is giuen to warre-fare or an attender in Court who is vnlearned or hath not attained to the age of thirtie yeeres who hath not proceeded to honour by ascending degrees who by ambition or bribes hath presumed to honour who hath beene elected by his predicessor who hath not beene elected by the Clergie and people of his owne citie He who is approued shall bee consecrated on the Lordes day by all the comprouinciall bishops at least by three of them Let Leuites bee of the age of 25. yeeres before their admission and presbyters of 30. Let bishops bee vnreproueable according to the precept of the Apostle 1. Tim. 3. Let bishops not onely haue the testimonie of a good conscience in the sight of God but also the testimonie of an vnreproueable conuersation amongst men Presbyters and Leuites whom infirmitie of olde age permitteth not to abide in their secrete chambers yet let them haue witnesses of their honest conuersation in their shoppes and remaining places Youthhood is prone and bent to euill therefore let them who are young be all brought vp in one conclaue vnder the instruction and gouernement of some well approued Senior But they who shall be found lasciuious and incorâ—…igible let them be thrust into a Monasterie to the end that stricter discipline may correct the proud minds of insolent youthes Seeing that ignorance is the mother of all errours it becommeth presbyters who haue vndertaken the office of teaching continually to meditate vpon holy Scripture according to the wordes of the Apostle Tâ—…ke hâ—…ede to reading exhortation and doctrine 1. Tim. 4. for by meditation of holy Scripture and the Canons of the Church men are made able to instruct others in knowledge and in precepts of good maners Presbyters shall receiue from their owne bishops an officiall booke to the ende that through ignorance they doe nothing amisse neither in celebration of the Sacramentes nor in their Letanies nor in their forme of comming to Councels When presbyters and deacons are admitted to their offices they must vowe chastitie and binde themselues to their bishops to leade a continent life and after such profession let them retaine the discipline of an holy life A bishop presbyter or deacon who shall happen to bee vnjustly deposed if they be found innocent by the triall of the Synode let them bee restored to their former dignities before the Altar by the hands of bishops in this manner If he be a bishop let him be restored to his Orarium with Staffe and Ring If hee be a presbyter to his Orarium and Planeta If he be a deacon to his Orarium and Alba If hee bee a sub-deacon to his Plate and Chalice and other orders let them receiue in their restitution that which was giuen vnto them in their ordination If anie of the Clergie be found to haue consulted with diuiners and sorcerers let him be deposed from his dignitie and be thrust into a Monasterie to make continuall pennance for his sacrilâ—…dge Church-men who dwell in the borders coÌ„fining to a nation that is vnder hostilitie with their owne countrey let them neither receiue from the enemies of the countrey nor direct anie secret message vnto the enemies If anie Church-man sit in judgement or bee judge in a sentence of blood let him be depriued of his dignitie in the Church Let bishops haue a care of such as are oppressed to reprooue the mightie men who oppresse them and if the word of wholesome reproofe profite nothing let them complaine to the king to the ende that by regall authoritie impietie may be subdued Seeing auarice is the roote of all euill let bishops so gouerne their dioceses that they spoyle them not of their rightes but according to the determination of anteriour Councels let them haue the thirde part of Oblations Tithes Tributes and Cornes the rest let it remaine vnto the Paroches free and vntouched That thing which one bishop possesseth without interpellation for the space of thirtie yeeres let no man in that same Prouince be heard in an action of repetition But as concerning them who dwell in diucrse Prouinces the case standeth otherwise lest while Dioceses are defended the boundes of Prouinces be confounded A Church newlie builded shall appertaine vnto that bisshop in whose diosie it is knowne that spirituall conuentions haue beene kept A Bishop shall visit yeerelie all the paroches of his diosie and incase hee been impeded by infirmitie or by weightie businesse hee shall appoint faithfull Presbyters and Deacons to take inspection of the fabricke of the Churches and of their rentes Whatsoeuer rewarde a Prelate promiseth to a man who vnder-taketh anie worke tending to the vtilitie of the Church let him faithfully performe his promise Seeing that a part of Church-rentes is bestowed vpon sustentation of strangers and of poore and indigent people if it
as obeye the injunctions of the Priest What haue we to doe with such foolish and babbling speaches which are not grounded in Scripture For the Apostles who preached repentance and remission of sinnes after Christes ascention to heauen they ledde the people expressely to the promises made to the Patriarches and Prophets concerning the comming of Christ and of remission of sinnes in him heereby acknowledging no difference in substance betwixt repentance vnder the olde Testament and vnder the new Testamēt because both they and wee are ledde to one fountaine of the house of Dauid there to be washen and to be cleansed from all spotte of sinne Truely the doctrine of repentance taught in holy Scripture declareth that it is a worke wrought in vs by the Lord himself according as Christ our Lord witnesseth saying No man commeth vnto mee except my Father who sent me draw him The meanes whereby this worke is wrought in vs is by the fearefull trumpet of the law and by the sweet promises of the Gospell The instrumentes which GOD vseth in this worke are the Prophets Apostles their successors None of these things can be denied for the Apostle saieth God was in Christ and reconciled the Worlde vnto himselfe not imputing their sinnes vnto them and hath committed vnto vs the worde of reconciliation no we then are wee Ambassadours for Christ as though God did beseech you through vs we pray you in Christs sleade to beereconciled vnto God In these fore-mentioned places of Scripture three thinges are set downe First God is counted the efficient worker of repentance Secondly the promises of the Gospell whereunto the terroures of the lawe prepare an open doore are the meanes alluring vs to repentance Thirdly the Ministers of the Worde are the instrumentes to carrie the message of reconciliation vnto vs. The very law it selfe and the Gospell cannot haue the honour due to God who is the efficient worker of repentance because both law and Gospell was preached to reprobate Iewes but they were not conuerted by repentance to the trueth of God in regarde the Lord who is the efficient worker of repentance wrought not inwardly in their hearts As concerning the Preachers of the doctrine of reconciliation they receiue their honour from their Ambassadrie and they giue no honour vnto it except by accident in respect of the people who carry the greater reuerēce to an holy message when they see the Ambassadour who carrietith to bee an holy man But now let vs consider God in the worke of repentance as the head the message of reconciliation as the stomacke the preachers of the word who carrieth this message as the feete whose feete albeit they bee called beautifull in regarde of the sweete message which they carry yet the feete must neither haue the honour of the head nor of the stomack But the Romane church by giuing this honour to a priest that hee conferreth exopere operato remission of sinnes to the person who confesseth in particular all his faults vnto him they giue the honour of the head to the feete Like as in all their Religion their principall drift seemeth to bee this to leade the people from the Creator who is blessed for euer to an excessiue confidence in the creatures of God The grounde of the Sacrament of Pennance is a conceite of satisfaction which men can make for their own sinnes committed after Baptisme as if the promise of remission of sinnes made in Baptisme did extende onely to sinnes preceeding Baptisme What is this else but directly to contradict the words of Christ spoken to his Apostles Hee who beleeueth and is baptized shall bee saued Can any man be saued by an absolution from a part of his sinnes and not from all his sinnes This doctrine of the Romane Church bringeth in Christ as a Sauiour and not a Sauiour deliuering vs from the debt of by-past sinnes and setting vs once without the prison doore but knowing assuredly that wee shall be thrust into the prison againe there to remaine vntill wee satisfie for our own sins cōmitted after Baptisme And they make vs to be our owne sauiours rather than Christ for he who deliuereth a man from his last and greatest trouble is rather to bee counted his deliuerer than he who deliuered him from his first trouble The particular thinges required in the Sacrament of Pennance they say are foure to wit Contrition in the heart Confession in the mouth Satisfaction in the deede and Absolution of the Priest If these things were rightly conceiued in repentance all these thinges are necessarily required But as they are in the Romane Church all are meere abominations and displeasing vnto God First concerning the Contrition of the heart the Psalmist speaketh The sacrifices of God are a contrit◅ spirit a contrite and a broken heart O God thou wilt not despise But in the Romane Church when a Poenitentiare commeth to his father Confessor and discouereth a sinne not such as he hath already committed and for the which he is pearced with sore displeasure as Dauid was but rather hee discouereth to his father Confessor a treasonable attempt which he is minded to practise with obstinate purpose of an incorrigible heart shall such a man bee counted to haue a contrite and a broken heart Yet in our dayes no man is more welcome to a father Confessor than such a man as discouereth to him horrible treasons plotted against Noble Princes Yea and no confessions are more secretly buried in the mindes of father Confessors than those confessions are Is this a contrite spirite and a broken heart wherein the Lord delighteth Or can there bee a greater abuse of the doctrine of Contrition than to count them contrite in heart who are bent obstinately to runne forward in the course of vngodlinesse Popish Contrition is not vnlike vnto the fighting of Marcus Crassus both father and sonne against the Parthians Crassus the elder in his Oration made to encourage his army to fight valiantly his voyce failed him Marcus Crassus his sonne in his first out-going out of the house he stumbled Both these things were counted euill presages of the vnprosperous successe of the battell which after followed And what esperance can wee haue of this new found out Sacrament of Popish Pennance when as they judge so boldly of the first point thereof that is of Contrition counting traitors to bee men of a contrite spirit whome God hath appointed for the flames of euerlasting burning except they repent The forme of Confession vsed in the Romane Church hath neither warrand nor example in the Scripture of God that anie person should bee bound in particulare to confesse all his secret sinnes to the Priest The place of Scripture vildly abused Acknowledge your faultes one to another and praye one for another that yee may be healed c. it should bee expounded by another place of Scripture wherein a man who hath offended his neighbour is