For then in heaven this sentence would never be ratified And tell me not that this texts speakes of private differēces betweene brother ād brother though I denie not but this is also true in such differences as belong to the Court or Tribunall of the Church yet hence evidently follows that this Text doth much more concerne those differences in point of Religion between brother and brother Both because these doe more properly belong to the Court of the Church and to her Tribunall as also because when scandal and offence is giuen to our brother in point of heresie tending to the seduction of his soule our brother seeing this soule-murthering sinne broached to his owne ruine ād to the eternall ruine of his brother hath farre greater reasō in this case thē in any other to tell the Church his mother to whome in this difference aboue all other differences it properly belongeth to looke to the safety of her childred For this is an offēce ād scandal to the whole brotherhood of all Christianity Therefore in these points of highest concernement we are most bound to heare the Church vnder paine of being accounted Publicans and Heathens and of haueing this heauie sentence ratified in heauen 5. Sixtly Matt. 23.1 Then Iesus spake to the multitudes and to his Disciples saying Vpon the chaire of Moyses haue sitten the Scribes and Pharises by which sitting with lawfull succession they as wicked as they were are knowne to be lawfully authorized Prelats all therefore whatsoever they shall say unto you observe and do Behold here a precept of obeying in all whatsoever And therefore behold a precept which could not be givē if that which is delivered by publicke authority of the Church were not secured from error in all whatsoever 6. Sevently The first and best Christians did practically acknowledge theyr beleefe of the infallibility of the Church For to have a decision of the most important Controversies Act. 15.2 they appointed Paul and Barnabas to go up and certaine others of the rest to the Apostles and Priests unto Hierusalem upon this question And the Church assembled the first Councill in which though this Councill were assisted with the Holy Ghost yet there was made a great disputation v. 7. And then the definition of the Church came forth in these words It seemeth good to the Holy Ghost and us v. 28. Other lawfull Councills knowing the Holy Ghost allso promised to them do vse to set forth theyr definitions with the same words and this most agreable to Scripture For Iohn 15. v. 26. When the Paraclete cometh whom I shall send from my father the spirit of truth he shall give testimonie of me and you shall give testimonie Marke this conjunction of he and you He the the spirit of truth and you Governers of my Church so that you in giveing testimony may freely say It seemeth good to the Holy Ghost and us 7. Eightly It is cleere out of Scripture that the first Christians were so fully possessed with the beleefe of the infallibility of the Church that they would beleeve nothing but what thy knew conformable to her doctrine S. Paul was a Scripture-writer and so great an Apostle and yet he sayeth of himselfe Gal. 2.1 Then after fourteene yeares I went to Hierusalem again not meerly to satisfie a vaine fancie of some particular men but I went up according to revelation and conferred with them the Ghospel which I preach among the Gentills But I conferred severally or a part with them that seemed to be something least perhaps I should runn or had runn in vain So that he thought all his fourteen yeares preaching and allso his future preaching might come to be in vaine vnlesse even his doctrine were made known to be approved by the Church as wholy conformable to the Church So much in these goulden dayes were the first Christians taught to relye vpon the Church which had been imprudence if she had been fallible Yet we must not thinke that then they did apprehend that the approbation of the Church did adde any degree of truth to his doctrine as it doth not add any degree of truth to the Scripture or pretend to have power to change or correct true Scripture And so S. Paul sayth v. 6. For to me they that seemed to be some thing added nothing For as the toutchstone adds no value to the gold but onely evidently manifesteth which is true gold which not so the Church as then did only manifest infallibly the truth of what he had preached So allso the Church as now doth only manifest to vs that such and such Bookes be the true word of God such and such be not such be true copies such not c. But the word of God hath its true worth from it selfe and not frō the Church as the gold hath its being true gold from it selfe and not from the toutchstone So when Catholiques say with S. Aug. Cont. Epist fundam c. 5. I would not beleeve the Ghospell unlesse the authoritie of the Church moved me they doe not meane that the Church can adde or take away from the truth of any true Scripture but they meane that by her definition as by a Sure touchstone it is now manifestly assured vnto them that such a booke is true Scripture and such not And as the orall preaching even of such an Apostle as had been a Scripture writer might have been in vain without this approbation so allso might his writings have been in vaine Whence we see that his Epistle vnto the Hebrews was not known or acknowledged as Gods word vntill the Church approved it If the Scripture writer himselfe teacheth in vaine without this approbation much more will his writings teach in vaine 8 Ninthly The Church is to be followed by vs as an assured approver or reprover of spirits and consequently as infallible Iohn 1.4 My dearest beleeve not every spirit but prove the spirits if they be of God then v. 6. We are of God he that knows God heares us Pastours of Church he that is not of God heares us not In this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of errour Here S. Iohn expresly meanes to give to posterity a standing Rule to know a true spirit from a false one To witt By the hearing of us or not hearing of us This could not be a Rule to vs who live after the Apostles if by hearing us he onely meant the Apostles and not theyr successours Yea he could not meane onely the Apostles For the other Apostles were all dead when he wrote this Wherefore the true sence of S. Iohn is In this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of errour if they heare us Pastours and Governours of the Church Not that each one of these Pastours and Governours a part can say to any one heare me vnlesse he teach that which all the rest are sufficiently knowne to teach but they in a Generall Councill may most truely say Heare us He
and Iacob So that we shall be as sure not to faile of faithfull Princes and Governors in the Church for none but such as are truely faithfull can be truely sayd to be the true sonnes of Iacob and David As we are sure to have night and day the heaven turning over vs and the earth standing still vnder vs. 17. Eeightly The Prophet Ezech. Ch. 34.22 I will save my flock and it shall be no more into spoile But what spoile would that scabb of error make over all Christs flock if it so infected it all as Protestants say it did yea they will have even Idolatry it selfe the most deadly murraine to have infected the whole Church this last thousand yeares and more 18. The third and last sort of Texts to prove this infallibility containe such as plainly say that God will still direct his Church to follow truth or that it shall not revolt from the truth but be a most direct way to the truth that the spirit of truth shall be as it were entailed vpon the doctrine of the Church with which Church this spirit shall ever abide teaching her all truth So first Isa 61.8 I will direct theyr worke in truth and I will make an everlasting Covenant with them of preserving this never fayling truth Secondly Behold how plaine and direct a way to truth is promised the Church of Christ Isa 35. v. 5. Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened c. And a high way shall be there and it shall be called the way of Holynesse the Holy Catholicke Church the way-faring men though fooles shall not erre there in It is therefore a way infallibly leading to truth Thirdly the same Prophet Chap. 59. v. 20. There shall come a Redeemer to Sion and to them that shall returne from iniquity in Iacob sayth our Lord. As for me this my Covenant with them My spirit that is in thee and my words that I have put in thy mouth shall not depart out of thy mouth nor out of the mouth of thy seed nor out of the mouth of thy seeds seed from this present and for ever With what clearer words could the spirit of truth be entailed vpon the Church present in each age or be more clearly said to Reside ever in her mouth with which she delivers all her doctrine 19. Fourthly Most clearly Ier. 32.39 I will give them one heart and one way that they may feare me for ever I will make an euerlasting Covenant with them that I will not turne a way from them but will putt feare in theyr hearts that they shall not depart from me Note I pray these words I will putt my feare in theyr hearts that they shall not depart frō me Wherefore they did not revolt from him they did not depart from him Fiftly no lesse fully speakes the Prophet Ezech. 37.24 My servant David King over them and there shall be one sheapheard over them all They shall walke in my judgment and observe my statutes and do them Moreover I will make a Covenant of peace with them it shall be an everlasting Covenant with them and I will set my Sanctuary in the middest of them for ever more How fully is all this spoken of a visible Church haveing one theapherd over all Yea the very Heathens shall know who they be as there is sayd Sixtly that according to the Prophet Micheas Ch. 4.5 All people will walke every one in the name of his God and we will walke in the name for our Lord God for ever Which they doe not who walke in a labyrinth of grosse errors for a thousand yeares togeather it followeth I will make Her who was cast of a strong nation and the Lord shall reigne over the from hence forth and for ever 20. Seaventhly Matth. 16.18 The gates of Hell shall not prevaile against it If Hell could ever come to make the Church a Mistris of errours so as to hold them forth for divine verities so many ages togeather the gates of Hell should highly prevaile against her Now I pray note that for many ages there were no Christians which were not eyther manifest Hereticks and held so by the Protestants themselves or which did not as all Roman Catholicks now doe worship and adore Christ as much vnder the shape of bread in the Eucharist as they worship him sitting at the right hand of his father If this be Idolatry the gates of Hell have prevailed against the Roman Church yea and against the Churches in Greece in Armenia in Aethiopia c. who all ever since they were Christians have held this our doctrine and doe still hold it though they adde a world of other errors Where then shall the Protestants find Christ a Church against which the gates of Hell have not a vast long time togeather prevailed They must eyther be forced to make Christ false in this his doctrine or to confesse our doctrine true If it be not how was this Covenant everlasting as hath been so often sayd in the now cited Texts and allso the Text following in which Christ made the everlasting Covenant formerly promised to be made Eightly S. Iohn Ch. 14. v. 16. And he will give you an other Paraclete that may abide with you for ever the spirit of Truth whome the world knows not but you know him because he dwells with you and shall be in you Now the Apostles not being to be for ever and the spirit of Truth being promised for ever we cannot but say that the promise of this spirit of Truth is made also to the successours of the Apostles the Governours of Christs Church to abide in them and be in them as the spirit of Truth directly opposite to the spirit of errour So ninthly Iohn 16.12 Many things I have to say unto you but you cannot beare them now hence appeares how weighty those thinghs were but when the spirit of Truth cometh he will guide you into all Truth To private persons the Holy Ghost is given as the spirit of sanctification but to the Church he is given as the spirit of Truth guiding her into all Truth and so directly excluding all errour from her 22. Tenthly that convincing place of S. Paul shall end all these Texts 1. Tim. 3.15 where speaking of the visible Church in which he teacheth Timothie how to Converse the speakes thus That thou mayst know how to behave thy selfe in the house of God which is the Church of the liveing God the Pillar and ground of Truth Can I leane more assuredly then vpon the Pillar of Truth Can I even wish to have a surer ground then the ground of Truth And yet such a ground is the Church acknowledged in this Text if it be not perverted by such interpretations as be the inventiōs of mē but of men vnable to confirme theyr interpretation by any Text clearer thē this Here thē behold we have produced no fewer thē thirty texts for the infallibility of the Church Whereas not halfe so
have Faith but not works and that in this case his Faith will not save him which is that which S. Paul allso sayd before If I have all Faith but have not Charity I am nothing S. Iames goes on v. 21. Abraham was he not justifyed by works offering Isaac Seest thou not how Faith wrought with his works and by works was faith made perfect If this Faith had justifyed before any works proceeded from it it had been perfected before any such works Yet it is sayd that by works this Faith was made perfect Whence followeth v. 24. Ye see then how that by works a man is justifyed and not by Faith only This then is our demonstration if Faith justifyeth alone it justifyeth without works but S. Iames sayth it doth not justify without works therefore it doth not justify alone For by works and not by Faith alone a man is justifyed What more cleer THE XXVIII POINT VVhether our Iustification be any thing inherent in us 1. OVr adversaries doctrine is that wee are only just because God is pleased to repute us so in regard of Christs Iustice imputed to us and thus he doth only cover our sins these sins still remaining in vs but God doth now impute them to us because wee having once layd hold of Christs Iustice by the hands of Faith this Iustice is made ours and by Christs merits wee shall undoubtly be saved Our doctrine opposite in all points shall be point after point proved out of Scripture 2. First then wee say our Iustice is a quality truly inherent in us Ezech. 36.26 A new hart allso I will give you and a new spirit I will put with in you And cause you to walke in my statutes And ye shall keep my Iudgements and do them I need speak no cleerer So Rom. 5.5 The Charity of God is powerd forth in our harts by the Holy Ghost which is given us by the infusion of this Charity into us in us is framed the new creature Gal. 6.15 And this new inward man is sayd Col. 3.12 to be put on by us by such vertues as are inherent As by the bowels of mercies kindnes humblenes of mind meeknes And v. 14. Above all these by Charity which is the bond of perfection Behold the parts of this inward new man of which again he sayth Eph 4.23 Be renewed in the spirit of your mind and put on the new man which after God is created in righteousnes and true holynesse which be qualities most inherent And Eph. 1.4 He hath chosen us before the foundation of the world that wee should be Holy without blame in his sight in Charity which Charity is an inward quality 3. Secondly wee say that by this quality wee are not only reputed just but wee are just verily and really And because wee verily are so wee truly are to be reputed so wee being Holy before him in Charity Eph. 1.4 For as was sayd in the former Texts wee have in us a new hart a new spirit by Charity powred forth in our very harts transforming us inwardly into new creatures and new men being truly renewed in spirit Whence 1. Io. 3. Wee are not only called the Sons of God v. 1. But now wee are the sons of God v. 2. So when you read that Abrahams Fai h working by Charity was imputed to him to righteousnes and he was called the friend of God Iames 2.23 You shall note that he therefore was reputed just and therefore called the friend of God because truly he was just and was truly Gods friend having Faith quickned by Charity in him So Luke 1.6 of Zachary and Elizabeth They were both righteous before God whose eyes see what is the most covered walking in all the Commandements and Ordinances of our Lord without blame They therefore were just even before Gods eyes And this true Iustice in the eyes of God is in the same chapter promised to vs by the grace of the Saviour there foretold that wee may serve him in Holynes righteousnes and Iustice before him all our dayes v. 75. Note this Holynes before him which is to be Holy in his sight Hence God to Noë Gen. 7.1 I have seen thy righteousnes before me Hence allso Col. 1.10 That you may walke worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing fructifying in all good works Giving thanks to the Father who hath made us meet to be partakere of the inheritance of the Saints So Apoc. 3.4 Thou hast a few names in Sardis which have not defiled theyr garments and they shall walk with me in whites because they be worthy And 1. Io. 3.7 Litle Children let no man deceive you He hath doth righteousnes is righteous even as he is righteous Note those words even as he that is God is righteous For God is righteous not by imputative but true interior Iustice of which inward Iustice Christ sayth Matth. 5.20 I say unto you unles your righteousnes shall exceed thae of Scribes and Pharisees you shall not entee into the Kingdome of heaven For if there be not righteousnes in us exceeding Scribes and Pharisees wee shall be damned and no righteousnes shall be imputed to us For as is sayd Rom. 2.2 Wee are sure that the judgement of God is according to truth It were not verity but falsity to repute him just who in very truth is not just but is still a sinner Hence Prov. 17. v. 15. He that justifyeth the impious and he that condemneth the Iust both are abominable before God Dare you say that God doth that which is abominable He reputes things to be as they truly are in themselves So Rom. 2.9 Wrath and Indignation Tribulation and Anguish upon every soule of man that worketh evill He imputes Iustice to no sinner untill he leaves of to be so by true returning to works of Iustice Those whom he reputes clean truly are clean And you are clean Io. 13.10 4. Thirdly hence wee say that our sins be not only covered but wholy taken away For wee by vertue of Gods inward grace given for Christ are clensed made white and glittering For Christ is the Lambe of God who taketh away the sins of the world Io. 1.29 He doth not only cover them but takes them quite away And so Psal 32.2 when David sayth Blessed is the man to whom the Lord doth not impute iniquity and whose sins are covered It followeth there is no guile in his spirit And because there is no guile therefore no iniquity can be imputed to him Protestants still cite the former words but leave out these latter which words teach us excellently that that which is covered from Gods eyes must not be at all and therefore his sin now not being at all cannot now at all be seen For as the same David tells you Psal 103 v. 12. As farre as the east is distant from the West so farre hath he removed our transgressions from us This expressiō though it may be thought very full yet really our sins forgiven are
one place with an other For I aske and ask them again and again by whom Scripture ought to be interpreted They will say by Scripture conferred with Scripture Here I must yet ask them again by whom the conference of one Scripture with another can be made so exactly that from hence wee may come vndoubtedly to know the true interpretation This question I will be still asking them untill they can answer it For I am sure that If I presse this question home they must be at last enforced to say that the ground of their whole Religion is the Scripture interpreted by them selves when it hath bin carefully conferred by them selves so that the very ground of their whole fayth is deceiptfull and fallible if they them selves be fallible either in interpteting or in conferring Scripture carefully or skillfully If they say their Interpretation thus made is undoubted and infallible then they can not blame us for saying that the interpretation of the Church made with as great care and skill used by her in the exact conference of one Scripture with an other is infallible 3. Stay here Deare Reader and as thou lovest thy saluation before thou goest any further ponder attentively how fallible and subject to a world of errors the ground of all such Religions must needs be which wholy and entirely are found at last to rely upon a meer human interpretation after that a meer human and most fallible diligence and skill hath bin employed in conferring one Text with an other Then ponder on the other side how incomparably surer and more justifiable in the sight of God and man the ground of that faith is which relyeth indeed on the Scripture but not on the Scripture as interpreted by private and fallible interpreters after theyr most fallible exactnesse of conferring Scripture with Scripture but which relyeth upon Scripture as interpreted by the Church after that shee with no lesse exactnes hath conferred one Scripture with an other in a generall Council having incomparable greater human abilities then those of any private mans be and having the speciall assistance of the Holy Host leading his Church into all truth Of this infallibility wee shall speak fully Point 5. 4. Now the Scripture as rightly interpreted by the Church will send us for the clearing of many doubtes unto the Church authorized by Christ to instruct and teach us as in that fift Point shall be evidenced out of Scripture The difference then between our adversaries and us is that wee affirme the Scripture as it is rightly interpreted by the Church after she hath exactly conferred in a general Councel Scripture with Scripture to be the Rule of Faith by which she decideth all necessary Controversies But our adversaries misliking the dependence on the Church will have the Scripture by it selfe alone to be a Rule sufficient to direct each one who shall carefully conferre it to judge all necessary Controversies This wee deny and though they say it in wordes yet in very deed they also come to deny what they say for let a man mark it well and he shall see that all these sectaries when they come to the maine Controversie do not take Scripture alone as conferred with Scripture only but they all take Scripture with theyr own interpretation made upon theyr own conference And if you tell them they have fayled by not taking due notice of severall other Texts in Scripture which should have been pondered in their Conference and would have produced a different interpretation they will say their own spirit tels them the contrary so that finally they who laugh at the Church for trusting to be securely guided by the Holy Ghost come to ground theyr whole fayth upon the assurance of being truly guided by theyr own spirit or judgement but let us come to what we propound and let us prove by Scripture that Scripture taken as they take it can not be a sufficient Rule to direct us in all necessary Controversies This I prove 5. First because to end all Controversies wee must at least rule our selves by al the bookes of Scripture and we must be assured wee doe so This is cleere because by no text of Scripture it can be prouved that any determed booke or number of bookes is sufficient to end all Controversies But to do this the whole number of books written by any Scripture writer is wholy requisite seeing that no Text speaks of any one or any determinate number but all speake of all Now marke to what passe this opinion brings you For if wee be to judge all necessary Controversies by all the bookes which ever were written by any Scripture writer we must necessarily have these books amongst us But wee have not in the whole world extant amongst us diverse books of Sacred Propheticall Scriptures For no fewer then twenty books of the Propheticall Pennemen of the Holy Ghost have quite perished as the learned Contzen proveth in his Preface upon the fower Ghospels and I will prove this as far as is sufficient by these following texts Iosue 10.13 Is not this written in the book of Iascker Again 1. Kinges 4.32 Salomon spoke three thousand Proverbs and his songes were one thousand and five Again 1. Chron. 29.29 The actes of David first and last are written in the book of Samuel the Seer and the book of Nathan the Prophet and the book of Gad the Seer Where be these two Prophets books Again 2. Chron. 9.29 mention is made of the books of Nathan the Prophet and the Prophesie of Ahyah and the visions Iddo the Seer And Chap 12.15 and the book Schemaiah the Prophet and of Iddo the Seer concerning Genealogies which seemes to be a different book from his book of visions before specifyed And Chap. 13.22 mention is made of the story of the Prophet Iddo And Ch. 20.34 mention is made of the book of Iehu sonne of Hanani and Ch 33.19 wee find mention of the works of the sayings of the Seers Wee know then by Scripture that what is sayd by those books is sayd by Prophets And wee also know by Scripture that God spoke in time past unto the Fathers by the Prophets 2. Pet. 1.21 Moreover we know by Scripture that Prophesie came not in old time by the will of man But the Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost 2. Pet. 1.21 Standing therefore to what is known by Scripture these bookes which have perished did deliver what was spoken by the Holy Ghost and contained the true word of God Whēce is proved that we have not now entierly the whole word of God written and this is further proved by the ensuing textes of S. Paul 1. Cor. 5.9 I wrote to you in one Epistle Note that he sayth this in his first Epistle to them Where is the Epistle which S. Paul wrote to them before he wrote the first to them I wrote to you Wee then say Give us all sacred Propheticall writings which ever were written
in another a greate way of And so to goe seeking from the beginning of Genesis to the end of the Apocalipse And this though the number of Pointes necessary to saluation be but smale as Protestants all agree I can not therefore thinke is was Gods intention te leave us to the Bible only as to the sole Rule of Faith THE SECOND POINT Tradition besides Scripture must direct us in many necessary Controversies 1. FIrst the word of God may be notified either by Tradition with out writing or by Scripture or writing It is undoubted that the word of God written or unwritten is the Rule of Faith wherefore seeing it hath been proved in the former Point that the writteÌ„ word of God is not our only Rule of Faith it evidently followeth that Gods unwritten word notified by Tradition must be taken as part of this Rule 2. Secondly Moyses was the first Scripture writer and he according to his own story did not write till the world had continued above two thousand and four hundred yeares so long then all the faithfull in the world were truly faithfull without any Scripture All this long time then the unwritten word of God that is Tradition was the only Rule of Faith For even then many had that faith which is defined by S. Paul 11. Hebr. 1. which I prove because in that very place he numbers Abel Enoch Noë Abraham and Sara all having the faith he there described and yet Sara cannot be shewed to have had her faith grounded on any other word of God but that which was delivered by the Tradition of the Church in her times And generally then the faith of all true beleivers was grounded upon Tradition only By this Tradition they knew that God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it Gen. 2.3 And so all held themselves obliged to keep the Saboth By this Tradition they knew the distinction of Beastes cleane and uncleane Gen. 7.2 By this Tradition they knew themselves obliged not to eate the flesh with the blood Gen. 9.4 so likewise that the Tithes were to be pâ—yd to the Priest Gen. 14.20 By only Tradition they knew the fall of Adam theyr future saluation by the Messias to come theyr remedy from sinne by Pennance and repentance theyr reward of Good punishment of evell Againe from Abraham untill the written law that is for some foure hundred yeares they knew by Tradition only that this is the Covenant which ye shall keep between me and you All man kind shall be circumcised an infant of eight dayes Gen. 17.10 Now give me one Text if you can which bide us not to take Tradition for a Rule of Faith after the writing of Scripture 3. Thirdly even after the writing of Scripture the Gentils had not the Scripture yet by Tradition only many of them as apeares by the booke of Iob retained true faith And even among the Iews after they had the Scripture several necessary Pointes where left to be knowne by Tradition only as the remedy for Original sinne before the eight day and for woemen children both before and after As also by only Tradition they knew that all the vertue there sacrifices had to take away sinne was from the blood of theyr Redeemer to come The observing of al these traditions was not any unlawfull Addition to the written word of God whence you may understand the clere meaning of those words so often objected against us Deut. 4.2 You shall not adde to the word I command you neither shall you diminish ought from it For here is only forbidden to add contrary to the law So that other place Ch 12.32 Whatsoever I command you observe thou shall not adde thereunto nor diminish from it For this place is meant only of offerings not any other sacrifices besides those which were in the law prescribed But it was ever lawfull for lawfull Superiors to add more preceps agreable to the law So 2. Ch. 30.21 after the Children of Israël according to the law had kept the solemnity of Azymes seven dayes v. 23. The whole assembly took good counsel to keep other seven dayes And v. 27. Theyr prayer came to the Holy habitation of heaven This addition then did not displease God Again Esther 9.27 The Iews ordained and tooke upon them and theyr seede and upon all that would be ioyned with them so as it should not faile that they keep these two dayes and that these dayes should be kept through out every Generation every family Behold here an other addition and behold also an other again of the Dedication of the Altar made for eight dayes from yeare to yeare 1. Mach. 4.56.59 And that you may know that this booke is Scripture or at least that a feast is to be kept not appointed in Scripture our Saviour himselfe did keep this Feast Iohn 10.22 as I shall shew Point 38. Again the change of the Sabboth into the Sunday is only clearly known by Tradition Yea the manner of keeping it is contrary to all Scripture we have for Scripture sayth Levit. 23.32 From Even unto Even shall ye celebrate Your Sabboth Yet we do not begin the Sunday the even before neither dare wee worke after the even upon Sunday Who taught us this Tradition only 4. Fourthly Tradition is and therfore is truly to be held the word of God making us fully assured of what is not written For example for some yeares after the Death of our Saviour his glorification after death was not written so as to expresse that Iesus was that Christ whom God had glotified and yet before this was written S. Peter sayd truly Acts 2.36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly marke the word assuredly that God hath made the same Iesus whome you have crucified both Lord and Christ We may then have an infallible faith of what is not written yea we are forbidden to believe otherwise then was delivered by Tradition 2. Thess 2.14 Therefore Bretheren stand and hold the Traditions you have bin taught whether by word or by our Epistle For what he taught by his tongue only was as truly the word of God as what he did also write with his penne Yea this which I call Tradition is the Epistle of Christ 2. Cor. 33. you are the Epistle of Christ not written with inke but with the spiritt of the living God This Epistle written with the spiritt of the living God is no lesse true nor of lesse credit then what is writteÌ„ with inke in papers Whereforemost of the Apostles did give their Convertites no other forme of beliefe but what by their preaching they had written in theyr heartes not with inke but with the spiritt of the living God For the proper subject to receive and râ—â—ayne the word of God is not paper but the heartes of the faythfull Whence S. Irenaeus lib. 3. cap. 4. What if the Apostles had also left no Scripture Ought not we to follow the order of Tradition which they delivered to them to
publick practice and also upon all occasions taught by word of mouth and expressed in written bookes Thus our common law in England though never written by any lawmaker is notwithstanding by dayly practice most faithfully kept and hath been so for so many hundred yeares by the whole Nation diffused And in this manner the Church diffused keepeth in perpetuall practice and delivereth to her children as infallible truth what was first delivered unto her by commission from God either in writing or by word of mouth The other way of making and delivering Laws is to call togeather the represētative body of the Community So here in England our statute laws are made not onely by the King nor onely by the Parlament but by the order both of King and Parlament And what is thus enacted is the decree of the Natiō representative Now as the represētative of our nation is the King and Parlament so the Church Representative is the chiefe Pastour thereof togeather with a Lawfull generall Councill And the definitions and decrees set forth by their authority be called the definitions and the decrees of the Church Representative All such definitions we Romā Catholicks hold infallible Whither the definition of a Councill alone defining without their chiefe Pastour or the definitions of the chiefe Pastour alone defining without a Councill be infallible or no there be severall opinions amongst us in which we do and may varie without any prejudice to our Faith which is not built upon what is yet under opinion but upon that which is delivered as infallible and we all unanimously hold that to be so which the universall Church Representatiue consisting joyntly of the chiefe Pastour of the sayd Church voting in and with a Generall Councell not that this Representatiue made wholy of men is not of its owne nature subject to errour For this we never affirme And so our adversaries say nothing at all to the purpose whilst they labour to proue this Let thē disproue if they can and that out of Scripture alone that which we say to witt that this Church Representatiue is infallible meerly and purely by the speciall assistance of the Divine Provedence always affording to his Church a sufficient measure of the spirit of truth to lead her into all truth And that he is evcr so surely resolved to do this that no sinns of his Church shall ever hinder him from doeing of it as is most expressly delivered by God himselfe Psalm 89. in the words cited by me at large Point 3. n. 3. Which place the Reader shall find most convincing to prove that notwithstanding all the sinns that shall euer happen in his Church the sunne and moone shall sooner faile then God will faile to provide a successour in Christs throne to governe his Church in the profession of truth so as his faithfulnes shall not faile nor none of his words be frustrated which you shall see delivered again and again in the ensueing places of Scripture All which to the number of thirty I gather to fully because the Protestants exclaime againest nothing more then the Churches claime to infallibility which D. Ferne calls The very bane of Christendome though it be the very ground worke of Christianity For all interpretation of Seripture is fallible if the interpretation of the Church be fallible euen then when she hath carefully conferred Scripture with Scripture 2. And to avoide confusion I will divide these thirty Texts into these three severall sorts The first sort shall containe eyther such as command vs absolutly to follow and obey the Church in such a māner as would wholy misbeseeme God to commaund vs if she could thrust errours vpon vs for Divine verities or such Texts as theach vs to relie more vpon the Church then could prudently be done if she could teach errour The second sort shall containe a multitude of such glorious expressions made every where of the Church as would be most emptie and truthlesse if the Church should ever prove a Mistris of errours and presse them on her children for Divine verities The third and last sort shall be such Texts as plainly affirme Truth to be still taught in the Church and to be intailed vpon her promising she shall not revolt from it but stand still a true piller and ground of Truth 3. Of the first sort of Texts we haue these by which eyther God commaundes vs vniversally to follow his Church or speakes that of his Church which could not be delivered as it is if this Church could erre For example how could God glorie in the multitude of such as follow his Church if by so doeing they should be led into errour And yet Isaias 2. God seemes to glorie in the multitude of those who confidently resort to the Church as to a Mistris of assured Truth to be instructed by her saying v. 3. Let us goe vp to the mountaine of our Lord and he wil teach us his wayes and we shall walke in his pathes and he shall judge among the natiōs Behold Christ erecting a Court or tribunal in his Church to judge amōg natiōs ād decide all their cōtroversies which must needs suppose obediēce to be yeilded to this judgmēt Yea the same Prophet adds c. 54. v. 17. that No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper and every tongue resisting thee in judgment thou shalt condemne And the Prophet there from the beginning manifestly speakes of Christs Church Thirdly Isaias Ch. 60.12 The Nation and Kingdome that will not serve thee shall perish Vnder paine of perishing the Church must be obeyed Whence Fourthly Ezech c 44. v. 23. They that is the Priests shall teach the people what is between a holy thing and a thing polluted and the difference between clēane and vncleane They shall shew them and when there shall be controversie they shall stand in judgment and shall judge according to my judgments This being their office the peoples office must needs be not to judge them but obey them 4. Whence Fiftly Christ Matt. 18.17 commands all to obey the Church vnder paine of being held here on earth as Publicās and Heathens and of haveing this sentence ratifyed in heauen Tell the Church sayth he and if he will not heare the Church let him be vnto thee as a Heathen and a Publican Amē I say vnto you whatsoever you shall bind on Earth shall be bound in heaven and whatsoever you shall loose vpon earth shall be loosed also in heaven Here you see obedience to be yeilded vnder paine of being held as a Publican or an Heathen and this sentence to be ratified in heaven Now if the Church could erre in theaching for example that Christ is truly present in the Sacrament and hence oblige all to adore him there in as much as they adore him in heauē and could oblige them to this vnder paine of being held as Publicans and Heathens ād held so as well in heaven as vpon earth surely this cānot be an errour
that knows God heareth us 9. Tenthly In declaring the true meaning of the true Scriptures the practise and doctrine of the Church is necessary to be followed as a certaine Guide For example When Christ sayd Doe this in remembrance of me He did impose sayth the Church a true commaund to doe so Yet though Christ no lesse cleerly sayd Iohn 13.14 That we ought to wash one anothers feete for I have given you an example that as I have done So you allso should doe He did not impose sayth the Church any commaund obliging vs to wash one anothers feete For though he sayd we ought to wash one an others feete yet by the practise and doctrine of the Church it is assuredly declard to vs that these words of Christ containe no precept though the former do 10. Eleventhly The same Apostle in his first Epistle Chap. 2.19 after that concerning Heretikes he had sayd They went out from us He turnes his speach to those who still remained in the Church subject and obedient to it and of them he sayth But you have the unction from the Holy one and know all things To witt the spirit of truth residing in the Church to teach her all truth maketh you who are guided by the Church to know all things necessary for your information and instruction 11. Twelfly It is grounded in this infallibility of the Church that her Prelates may exact obedience of her Children in captivating theyr understanding to the faith which she by commission from Christ delivereth unto them 2. Cor. 10.4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty through God casting downe Imaginations or Reasonings and every thing that exalts it selfe against the knowledg and bringing into captivity All understanding unto the obedience of Christ and haveing in a readines to revenge all disobedience So S. Paul But it is most irrationall to say God should impower his Church to force men to follow a Church which being fallible must needs confesse that she may deceive you and enforce you to follow errors Yet this in a Church haveing the infallible assistance of the Holy Ghost is most rationall For there you are to your apparent good enforced to follow truth in place of such error as might be most hurtfull to you Thirteenthly The same S. Paul tells vs that God out of an expresse intention which he had to keepe vs from all wavering and vnsetlement in faith resolved so to assist the Governours of his Church that we might securely relye upon them For Ephes 4 11. He gave some Apostles and some Prophets and other some Evangelists and other some Pastours and Teachers for the perfecting of the Saints for the worke of the ministery for the edifying of the Body of Christ untill we all come into the unity of faith To what end all this to the end that we hence forth be no more Children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the sleight of men and cunning craftines from which his Providence had not thus secured vs vnles these our Teachers had beē infallible whē defining in a lawfull councill or proposing what is universally taught by them 12. The second sort of Texts proving the infallibility of the Church conteines such glorius Titles given her or such admirable things spoke by Gods own mouth of her as must needs be vain empty and truthles words if the Church ever prove to be a Mistris of errors obtruding them to her Children for divine verities First Psal 132.13 Our Lord hath chosen Sion he hath chosen it for an habitation unto himselfe This is my rest for ever and ever Here will I dwell because I have chosen it Now Christs dwelling place as S. Paul tells vs is his visible Church 1. Tim. 3.15 That thou mayest know how to converse in the house of God The Church of the liveing God He could not be taught how to converse in an invisible Church he speakes then of the Church visible Farr be it from this house to be a store house of errors For how then could it be Christs desirable Habitation and his rest for ever and ever 13. Again Isa 54.4 Feare not for thou shalt not be ashamed neyther be thou confounded for thou shalt not be put to shame What greater shame or confusion to a Church which should be the Pillar and ground of truth to see herselfe growne now to professe open superstition Idolatry and other pernicious errors in whole swarmes How then is that true which follows 14. Thirdly Isai 60.15 I will make thee an eternall excellency a ioy of many generations Fourthly v 18. Thou shalt call thy walls saluation our Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light Thy Sunne shall goe downe no more and thy Moone shall be no more diminished because our Lord shall be thine everlasting light Words manifestly spoken not of the Elect but of the visible Church on earth even from the beginning of the Chapter for v 10. he tells how Kings should minister to her and how he had struck her when she was the Synagogue in his indignation Which words cannot be understood of the elect or the invisible Church and so he goes still on speaking 15. Fiftly In the like sense Chap. 62. v. 3. Thou shalt be a crowne of glory thou shalt be no more called forsaken as thou wert when thou wert the Synagogue but thou shalt be called my delight in her And sixtly to secure her from all error contrary to his will he adds v. 6. Vpō thy walls Hierusalem I have appointed watchmen And how careles soever thy be by theyr owne nature yet by my continuall assistance all the day and all the night for ever they shall not hold theyr peace To witt by crying downe errours For they had better have held theyr peace that preached publickly errours every where And v. 12. Thou shalt be called a Citie sought for and not forsaken And yet Protestants say they did laudably forsake every visible Church vpon earth by adhering to Luther and his followers who did separate themselves from all Churches visible in the whole world openly professing that as then there was no one Church on earth worth seeking for and so they did not joyne themselves in Communion with any Church then vpon earth but pretended to returne to the Primitive Church as it was above a thousand yeares before which is to say that for this whole last thousand yeares the Church was a Citie forsaken and that for so long her Communion was not to be sought for 16. Seventhly There is a very convincing text to prove the Church to be by divine Providence assuredly provided of faithfull Pastours and Governors Ierem. 33. v. 25 If I have not put my Covenant to night and day and laws to the heaven and earth then will I cast away the seed of Iacob and David my servant that I doe not take from his seed Princes to be Rulers over the seed of Abraham Isaac
suddaine all Christianity for so it was as all learned men know all Christianity I say both in the East and the West both amongst those who hold with the Roman Church and those who stood in defiance of it eyther amongst the Grecians Georgieans Abissins Aethiopians all I say again all of them who would be called Christians every where firmely believing every where professing and confessing the reall presence of Christ in the Sacramēt ād falling on theyr knees to adore him Is it possible that in a point so hard as this is so many so differing in customes Languages Manners Educations Interests Opinions and beliefes so distant from one another in place and affections in dictamens and practices should all be found at once and no body can tell at what time first to consent most vnanimously Could so great a thing as this be done upon the persuasion of one man and done so silently that no one single writer should be found to record who that omnipotent man was or by what meanes he could possibly effect a thing so incredible all Christianity over without finding any where amongst good or badd learned or unlearned any considerable opposition This seems to me a thing so incredible that all you can say against our faith in this point is nothing so hard to believe as this alone Wherefore if this can not be so as surely it can not you must all be forced to confesse that when the faith was first preached by the Apostles and theyr successours they did not teach your doctrine concerning this Sacrament but they taught and delivered our doctrine And then you will soone understand that all the difficulties here mentioned be easy to be answered For hence you will easily vnderstand how no other beginning thē that of our first Christēdome could be found of this doctrine because such a doctrine as this is found so universally spread over all Christendome and never recorded to have been accounted new or to have had any particular author or opposer could not possibly have had any other beginning or if it had had more notice would have be taken of it But coming in with first Christianity you can not wonder to see all Christianity found embracing it And though it be a doctrine containing so many difficulties yet beeing proposed as a part of that Christian doctrine with all those powerfull motives which first moved all Christians to be Christians you can not wonder to see those who received Christianity to receive allso this Christian belief Whereas if they all had at first received the contrary belief surely at the first proposing of this known novelty some body or other in some one place of Christianity or other would have opened his mouth and sayd Wee can not adore that for God which the whole torrent of Antiquity from Christ to vs hath taught to be bread as allso our senses tells us Had it been to be adored the Apostles and those who were taught by them would have taught us so or at lest some where some body or other would have heard some newes of this doctrine before now But that which You say is too new to be true it is too cōtrary to all peoples fayth to all practice to all reason and comon sense Can any man imagin that in all Christianity there was neither grace nor witt enough to say this And certinly at that time the very saying of this must needs have quite overthrowne that new Paradox or at lest have withdrawne thousands in all natiōs frō following of it with so great facility For against a novelty so notorius and so absurd so much would have been sayd so much would have beē writtē so much would have been acted in Councells either Generall or Nationall or Provinciall that some smale mention of all this would have come to notice of Posterity as we see things of a thousand times lesser concernment have done Even by your owne bakwardness to believe Transubstantiation and by your great wondering at us for believing it and by the many and great difficulties which you still object against us you may clearly see how evidently true all that is which I have here so fully sett downe because it imports so much 3. Lett us go on now when Iohn 6. Christ sayd I am the bread of lyfe v. 48. and v. 51. The bread which I will give you is my flesh for the life of the world The Iewes therefore strove amongst themselves saying as you Protestants say how can this man give us his flesh to eate Iesus therefore sayd unto them Amen amen I say to you unlesse you eate the flesh of the Sonne of Man and drinke his blood you shall not have life in you My flesh is meate indeed and my blood is drinke indeed These things he sayd teaching in the Synagogue And he was so farre from declaring himselfe to speake figuratively that by all he was conceived so manifestly to meane litterally that many of his disciples and not only ill affected persons hearing sayd This saying is hard and who can believe it And all this happned though even then he tould them that the words he spoake to them were spirit and life Because as I sayd these words ought to have raysed up theyr spirits to believe this flesh of his not to be meere mans flesh but to be joyned with the divinity which was able by vertue of its omnipotency to give them his flesh to eate like bread and his bloud to drinke like wyne yet there beeing not faith enough for this high point From that time many even of his disciples went backe and walked no more with him v. 67. That you may evidently see how hard this doctrine would have sounded at first broaching of it in the Church if Christ had not delivered it seeing that at that very time when it came first even from his mouth it found so smale acceptance even amongst many of his disciples Iesus therefore sayd to the twelve will you allso depart Peter answered wee believe and know thou art the son of God And so art able by that thy divinity to which thy flesh is joyned to give vs thy flesh to eate lyke bread Now to what end had eyther this been sayd or Christ the lover of soules permitted all those many disciples to go back to theyr ruine and now to walke no more with him to what end this if he might have saved them all by declaring in a word that he only intended to give a signe or figure of his body to eate This one word would have saved both thē and would allso have saved those millions and millions which afterwards believed these words to be litterally meant as I expounded them and S. Peter seems to have vnderstood them when to make them appeare credible he sayd we believe and know thou art the Sonne of God And consequently that thou canst make good thy word which had been a very easy matter if he only spoke of giving
better not to vow then after a vow not to performe the thing promised For this is a sin as hath been proved by the former unanswerable Text. 3. As for the particular vow of Chastity we have our Saviours owne words Matth. 19.12 And there be Eunuchs who have made themselves Eunuchs for the Kingdome of heaven Those geld themselves for the Kingdome of heaven who vow Chastity sayth S. Aug. de Virg. c. 27. For by vow they make themselves as it were impotent for marriage And the doing this for the Kingdome of heaven is a cleare proofe that this state doth much further towards obteyning heaven Again both voluntary Poverty and Chastity are particularly rewarded by our Lord. Luc. 18.29 There is no man who hath left either house parents or wyfe for the Kingdome of God Note still how Chastity furthers towards the Kingdome of God who shall not receave manifold more at this present time and in the world to come lyfe everlasting Here I find a reward for leaving a wyfe shew me a reward for marrying one 4. S. Paul is most cleare 1. Cor. 7.25 As concerning Virgins a command of our Lord I have not yet I give my judgement or counsel can you give better counsel or judgement which is Art thou loosed from a wyfe seeke not a wyfe Why so It follows v. 32. He that is without a wyfe is carefull of the things that pertaine to our Lord how he may please God Note still how Chastity conduces to the gaining heaven But he thas is with a wyfe is carefull of the things that pertaine to the world The Virgin thinketh of things that pertaine to our Lord that she may be Holy both in body and spirit But she that is married thinketh of things that pertaine to the world And v. 38. He that joyneth not his Virgin in Matrimony doth better And v. 40. But she is happier if she so abide after my judgment 5. Againe 1. Tim. 5.9 Lett a widdow be chosen which hath beene the wyfe of one husband Here he speaks of the choise of such widdows as then were deputed to the service of the Church in assisting to prepare weomen Cathecumens to Baptisme as allso to serve the sick to administer to the poore especially of theyr owne sex And this they did living under the charge of the Deacons whence they were called Diaconissae S. Paul here sayth he would have none chosen or taken to this kind of state who had been marryed more then to one man Neither doth he permitt them after they have once undertaken this state to marry again That hence you may see evidently how farre he was from permitting Priests to marry again after the state of Priesthood undertaken Heare his discourse c. 5. n. 11. Younger widdows avoyde in this choyce for when they have begun to wax wanton again that is well fedd by Church goods offered to Christ as those widdows were they will marry having damnation because they have cast of theyr first saith Behold here theyr marriage and theyr damnation joyned together and the reason given why they have incurred Kryma damnation or judgment to theyr condemnation to witt because they have cast of theyr first faith This first faith is theyr vow of keeping perpetuall widdowhood according to all Fathers Greeke and Latin who ever did write upon this place sayth the Rhemish Testament here citing allso S. Aug. who together with two hundred and five-tenne Fathers in the fourth Councell of Carthage speaketh thus If any widdows have vowed themselves to God and left theyr laicall habit and under the testimony of the Bishop or Church have appeared in Religious weede and afterwards go any more to secular marriage according to the Apostles sentence they shall be damned because they were so bold as to make voide the faith or promise of Chastity which they vowed to our Lord. And as S. Augustin sayth Heresi 82. Iovinian the Heretike was the first who induced vowed Virgins to marry And l. 3. Retr c. 22. for this his new doctrine he calls him a monster 6. Lett vs go on with S. Paul v. 14.15 I will therefore the younger to marry such as be fraile t◠give no occasion to the adversaries to speake evell for some are allready turned aside after Satan Whence it is evident that breach of vows is damnable even in these yonger widdows who by reason of that breach are sayd to have turned aside or gone after Satan thus making theyr first faith voide 7. I end with that prayse given to Virgins Apoc. 14.4 These are they which follow the Lamb whethersoever he goeth THE XXII POINT Of works of Counsel and supererogation 1. PRotestants deny all works of supererogation that is works which we of our owne selves superadde to our boundē duty and consequently they will have no good worke to be only counseled unto vs but they say we are commanded to do all the good we can Against this errour be allmost all the texts in the former point and particularly the Text I there cited n. 1. out of the Booke of Numbers and what I cited n. 4. out of S. Paul flatly saying Concerning Virgins a commaund of our Lord I have not but Counsel I give And againe art thou loose from a wyfe seeke not a wyfe Is this a commaund Woe then to Ministers marrying when they were free men If it be no commaund what can it be but a Counsel And again He that ioyneth not his Virgin in Matrimony doth better to witt by doing something which you dare not say he is commaunded but which S. Paul once before tould you shee was only counseled And he tells you allso once more that it is only a Counsel More happy sayth he shall shee be if shee remaine so according to my judgment or Counsel Is thine better To the proofe of this point make all those manyfold Texts which in the next point we shall bring to prove how commendable voluntary austerityes be for none of those austerityes be by any precept commaunded but only commended to us and so they be not of precept but of Counsel superadded to what we are commaunded and therefore they be works of supererogation See all those Texts for they be most convincing 2. In the Law of nature I find Iacob freely without being commaunded vowing to build a Church Gen. 28. v. 20. And he vowed a vow saying if God shall keepe me in the way and I shall be returned prosperously to my Fathers house this stone which I have set for a pillar shall be Gods house Which he being safely returned did fullfill c. 35. v. 6. Iacob came to Luza surnamed Bethel and he built there an Altar and called that place the house of God 3. In the Law of Moyses God himselfe giveth a Rule Num. 6.2 To man and woeman who shall separate themselve to vow a vow to separate themselves to our Lord. For those I say who shall separate or consecrate themselves which manner of speach sheweth that
as farre from us as that which is not now is distant from that which is now which is a greater distance then East from West though that be farre enough to declare a true perfect remission by quite abolishing the sin forgiven by infused grace according to Ezech. 36.25 I will sprincle clean water upon you and ye shall be clean from all your filthines And 1. Io 1.7 And the blood of Christ clenseth us from all sin So that by this his blood the body of sin is destroyed Rom. 6.6 And thus he will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea Mich. 7.19 THE XXIX POINT Whether our justification may not be lost 1. THe hart is deceitfull above all things who can know it Ier. 17.9 Yet Protestants placing justification in such a speciall faith as assures each man of his saluation by the merits of Christ are hence enforced to teach two strange Paradoxes The first is that this speciall faith breeds a full assurance grounded in a reall truth wherefore wee need not feare our salution The second which is contained in the former or thence clearly deduced is that this justification of ours cannot be lost for else that assurance might have had a lye for its ground and sole fundation 2. Wee teach first that no man without a speciall Revelation is assured to be saved and so all ought to worke theyr saluation with feare and trembling S. Paul every where proveth our doctrine Thou by faith doest stand be not high minded but feare Rom. 11.20 Again 1. Cor. 4.4 he sayth he knew nothing by himselfe concerning any guilt but I am not justified herein But he that judgeth me is our Lord. I dare not judge my selfe though I know nothing by my selfe how then darest thou Again 1 Cor. 9.27 But I keep under my body and bring it into subjection lest that by any meanes whilst I preach to others I my selfe may become a cast away or reprobate Again c. 10. v. 12. Therefore he wh◠thinketh himselfe to stand as Protestants do lett him take heed left he fall Again Phil. 3.11 If by any meanes I might attain to the resurrection of the dead He found no security in that speciall Faith you speak of Therefore he sayd Phil. 2.12 Work your own saluation with feare and trembling Apoc. 3.11 Hold that fast which thou hast that no man take thy crowne For Luke 8.13 There be those who for a time believe and in time of temptation fall away 3. Secondly conformably to all the Texts wee say that those who were just may come finally to be damned For exod 32.33 Whosoever hath sinned against mee him will I blot out of my Book Those who are baptized are born again of water and the Holy Ghost Io. 3.5 Yet how many thousands of these once regenerated men sin afterwards and never rise again and truth sayth of him who riseth not again whosoever hath sinned against mee him will I blot out of my Book out of which he could not be dashed unles his name had once been enroled in it Salomon his saluation is much doubted of by Holy Fathers yet there could be no doubt thereof if your opinion were true for God himself sayth he once was just 1. Chron. 28 7. I will establish his Kingdome for ever if he be constant to my Commandement and Iudgements as at this day At that day then he was in a state pleasing to God and yet you see doubt of his perseverance is even here intimated Yea by and by David his Father tells him but if you forsake him he will cast the of for ever v. 9. David did not judge Salomon to be at this time out of Gods favour yet his words shew he feared that he might hereafter come to loose Gods favour What Salomon after did the Scripture tels us 1. Kings 11. v. 3. Weomen turned away his hart And when he was now old his wives turned away his hart to other Gods He worshiped Astarthee the Goddesse of the Sidonians and Moloch the Idol of the Ammonites he built a Temple to Camos the Idol of Moab and in this manner he did to all his wives who where strangers Therefore our Lord was angry with Salomon because his heart was turned from the Lord. v. 9. Did he not cease to be just when his heart was turned away from our Lord David sayth Psal 5.7 Thou hatest all workers of iniquity God then did hate Salomon I dispute not whether he repented or no whether he were saved or no but without all dispute he once lost his former Iustice his hart and minde being turned away from God and our Lord therefore bearing wrath against him and hating him Let us proceed 4. The Apostles Act. 6.3 Commanded seaven men full of the Holy Ghost to be made Deacons One of them was Nicolas a stranger of Antioch These they sett in the presence of the Apostles and praying they imposed hands upon them Yet this Nicolas did fall finally into Heresy and began the Heresy of those who from his name are called Nicolaites Apoc. 2.6 S. Paul allso Hebr. 6. v. 4.6 tels us the sad condition of those who were made partakers of the Holy Ghost if they shall fall away which is manifestly to suppose that even such men may fall away So the foolish Galatians having begun with the spirit ended with the flesh Gal. 3.3 It is therefore sayd to them You did run well who hindred you not to obey the truth Gal. 5.7 Behold they came not to obey the truth who before did not only walk well but allso run well Hence allso it is that the Scripture useth to speak thus fearfully and conditionally concerning our perseverance in Iustice Io. 15.6 If a man abide not in me he is cast forth And Rom. 11.22 If thou continue in his goodnes otherwise thou allso shall be cutt of And 2. Io 8. Look to your selves that wee loose not those things which wee have wrought Evident therefore is our Doctrine thus delivered by Ezechiel c. 33. v. 12. The righteousnes of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression Neither shall the righteous be able to live for his righteousnes in the day that he sinneth All his righteousnes shall not be remembred But for his iniquity which he hath committed he shall dy for it He then may die for iniquity who once was just Hence he taught his just Apostles to pray Lead us not into temptation for feare of falling into it Let us therefore when wee have faith Hold faith and a good conscience which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwrack 1. Tim. 1.19 THE XXX POINT To Iustification it is necessary to keep the Commandements This is possible 1. I Say first that it is possible to keep the Commandements by the helpe and assistance of Gods grace sufficiently afforded us to that end Deut. 5. v. 1. Moyses called all Israël and sayd to them heare Israël the statutes which I speake
whole Rosary consists of a hundred and fifty Ave Maries And as the Instrument to which David did sing his Psaâ—mes was an instrument of ten strings Ps 32.2 So wee distinguish these hundred and fifty Ave Maries into severall tenns that is into fifteen tenns if wee say the whole Rosary or into five tenns if wee say but the third part of it as wee do when our leasure or devotion reacheth not at once to the whole Rosary Every tenn is distinguished with a Pater noster sayd in the beginning thereof For before wee call upon our Lady wee think it fitt to call upon our Lord from whom all the graces of our Lady did proceed and from whom all must be given which wee begg of her to obtain For wee do not acknowledg our Lady to be the giver of any graces though her intercession be most powerfull to obtain them to be given by her Son When wee use this devotion wee do indeed deed say ten Ave Maries for one Pater noster But the reason of this is not that wee honour our Lady more then our Lord for wee are so farre from equalizing her to him that wee confesse her infinitely inferiour to him But the reason is that it is fitt wee should set some time a part to honour her or else wee should honour her at no time Now as when wee are busied in honouring our Mother wee are not at that time busied in honouring our Father So when wee bestow this parcel of time in honouring our Lady wee only at this time honour our Lord so farre as all the honour we do to his Mother is done out of the respect wee beare to her because shee is his Mother Wee reserve other devotions to our Lord which contain an honour of an incomparably higher strain then any honour wee give to our Lady For because our Lord dyed on the Friday wee to his honour fast all fridayes because he remayned dead all Saturday wee honour him for it by abstinence from flesh all Saturdayes Because he did rise again on the Sunday wee honour his Resurrection by solemnizing all Sundayes Because he fasted forty dayes for us wee to his honour yearly fast the forty dayes of Lent No such honour is done by us to our Lady Our adversaries will aske us first what authority wee have for the Ave Mary Secondly why wee use this prayer just so often reiterated and how wee busy our minds in the mean time You will soon know what to answer by the ensuing discourse 6. Wee say then the first part of the Ave Mary was made by an Angel and he as Ambassador from God used such words as he knew to be to Gods mind saying to our Lady Hail full of grace our Lord is with the blessed art thou among weomen Luke 1.28 The second Part came allso from God For v. 41. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost and shee spake out with a loud voice and sayd blessed art thou among weomen And blessed is the fruit of thy wombe The Holy Church addeth Holy Mary Mother of God for shee is in the next verse called Mother of our Lord pray for us sinners now and at the houre of our death Amen Which words are most full of piety supposing what wee have proved prayer to Saints to be pious for if wee may pray to our Lords servants wee may pray to his Mother Behold the whole Ave Mary 7. Secondly wee use just the number of a hundred and fifty Ave Maries in the whole Rosary because wee would say a whole Psalter to her honour If these had been a hundred and fifty severall prayers as there be a 150. Psalmes who would have remembred them But now they being all but the same prayer so often repeated and this prayer allso so well knowen any simple person though he cannot read can say this whole Psalter to our Lady without book And it was made chiefly for a devout entertaynement for those ignorant people who cannot read though it be allso an excellent entertaynment even for the most learned when either they have not light to read or when being wearied out with contemplation or lesse disposed thereunto they desire to walke or passe the time devoutly without any overmuch tiring exercise If any one adds an Ave Mary more or lesse then this number he doth no other hurt then he who intending to say the whole Psalter should say one Psalme lesse or repeat one twice These hundred and fifty Ave Maries are most conveniently divided into fifteen tenns to help us at every severall tenne to call to our memory and devout consideration a severall Mystery of the life of Christ and our Lady For the prime Mysteries of theyr lives be reduced very fitly and orderly into fiften Mysteries of which five be joyfull five be sorrowfull and five be glorious To the honour of all these fifteen Mysteries wee say the fifteen tenns when wee say the whole Rosary If wee have not will or leasure to say the whole Rosary at once then wee say only the beads of five tenns honoring or pondering either the five joyfull or the five sorrowfull or the five glorious Mysteries When I say the first five tenns at each tenn I will honour and attentively ponder with devotion one of the five joyfull Mysteries As first the Annunciation of our Lady when the Angel announced unto her that God would become man and shee should be exalted to be his Mother Secondly her Visitation when visiting her Cosen Elizabeth As soon as Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary the infant did leap in her wombe and Elizabeth was replenished with the Holy Ghost and cryed out Blessed art thou c. Luke 1.41 Thirdly the Nativity of our Lord. A joy that shall be to all people because this day was borne to them a Saviour Luke 2.10 Her joy was greatest who was the Mother in this joyfull birth Fourthly her Purification when Simeon in whom the Holy Ghost was came in spirit into the Temple and took the Child into his armes shewing him to all publickly in the Temple and declaring him to be a light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of the people of Israël Luke 2.32 Fiftly her finding the lost Child disputing with the Doctours in the Temple where they all were astonished that heard him upon his wisdome and answers Luke 2.47 And he went down with his Mother and lived subject unto her even till he was thirty yeare old and shee keept all his words in her hart v. 51. 8. When I come to say the second five tenns I will honour and ponder the five sorrowfull Mysteries First Christ his prayer in the Garden Secondly his whipping at the Pillar Thirdly his Crowning with thornes Fourthly his carrying of the Crosse Fifthly his being Crucifyed and dying upon the Crosse All which as Christ felt them most sensibly in his body so our Lady next to Christ had a most tender feeling of them in her own soule And
her own soule the sword of grief did peerce As Holy Simeon prophecyed of her Luk. 2.35 When I come to say the third five tenns I will spend the time in saying each of them by meditating upon and so honouring each of the five glorious Mysteries First the Resurrection of our Saviour Secondly his Ascension to heavenly glory Thirdly his sending the Holy Ghost Fourthly the Assumption of our Lady When as many Holy Fathers have taught that body of hers in which Christ took flesh was soon after its buriall not made meat of wormes but with farre greater reason made partaker of her Sons Resurrection then were those many Saints of whom S. Matth. c. 27.53 sayth theyr graves were opened and they rose And they going forth out of theyr graves after his Resurrection came into the Holy Citty and appeared to many Fiftly and lastly I will to her honour consider her Coronation importing her special state in that heavenly glory in which shee is looked upon and reverenced by all Saints and Angels as theyr Queen she being the Mother of the King of glory The Mother of my Lord. Luke 1.43 9. The intent of the Holy Church recommending this devotion is to teach all that use it especially the more ignorant who cannot use Books how to imploy theyr minds fruitfully in a most commendable Meditation of Mysteries most glorious to Christ and his Mother and most beneficiall to our soules whilst theyr lipps are most devoutly busied in reciting words so pleasing to the Mother of God to which end the Teachers of our Church both by words and by writing still are inculcating this true use of the Beades 10. Now this number of fifteen tenns or of five tenns serving so fitly for the orderly practise of so easy a devotion cannot be more easily observed then by letting one Bead fall at each Ave Mary And the beginning of the next tenne can no way be more easily notifyed then to begin the sayd tenne with a bead of so different a bignes that it may easily be noted even in the dark without any distraction And the same different Bead serves allso to mind us of passing to the consideration of a different Mystery unles perhaps our soule hath other predominant pious thoughts or affections which tending to a very beneficiall Meditation are better continued then interrupted Now though many simple people use not these considerations but attend only to the words they say yet those words be so excellent that this entertaynment proves most vertuous by theyr using the recitall of them to honour Christ and his Blessed Mother 11. Neither is the often repeating of the same prayers or prayer a thing blame worthy For if after the saying of one Ave Mary wee should use a lesse excellent prayer yea or no prayer at all you could not blame us How then grow wee to be blame worthy for using this so excellent prayer Hee who should every houre say our Lords prayer although he should do it three times each houre is not to be blamed but commended How thē is he to be blamed who sayth the Lords prayer three our fourscore times in one houre Next unto our Lords prayer no prayer hath greater authority or excellency then the Ave Mary Why then be wee blamed for using it so often in so short a space whilst as you thinck you remain without blame who use it so seldome our Saviour had the rarest invention that ever man had and if we may make bould to accoūt any of his prayers more excellent then an other his prayer in the garden may seem to have been most excellent And yet even then as rare an invention as he had He prayed the third time using the same words Matth. 26.44 And not inventing any new forme So likewise those four blessed six winged Creatures Apoc. 4.8 Had not rest day and night saying Holy Holy Holy Lord God Omnipotent The oftner they said this one prayer over and over the more fervour appeares even in so rare inventive spirits All the Publicans prayer was God be mercifull to mee a sinner Luke 18.13 and v. 38. All the prayer of the blind man was to cry again and again saying Iesus Sonne of David have mercy upon mee And when they rebuked him to hold his peace he cryed much more Sonne of David have mercy upon me And thus he by perseverance in the same prayer obtained his request Who doth not see a speciall power to stirre up a great feeling of Gods mercies in the Psalm one hundred and thirty six which containeth but twenty seaven verses and yet it doth twenty seaven times repeat those words For his mercy endureth for ever THE XL. POINT It is laudable to worship the Images of Saints 1. IT is laudable I say to worship the Saintes Images in that sense in which we Roman Catholiks worship Images The very Saintes themselves we worship not with divine honour as I sayd and largely declared Point 36. n. 3. 4. 5. And therefore it is a most unconscionable slander which our Adversaries lay upon us saying that we give divine honour to Images No we give no such honour to the Saints themselves much lesse do we give it to theyr Images without you think we worship the Images more then the person represented by the Images All that we Roman Catholiks hold as a Point of faith may be read by all men in the Councel of Trent sess 25. where this Councel teacheth due honour and veneration to be given to the Images of Christ and his Saints not that there is believed to be in them any Divinity or Vertue for which they are to be worshiped or that any thing is to be asked of them or that any confidence is to be placed in the Images as anciently was done by the Gentils who did put theyr hope in theyr Idols Psal 115.8 But because the honour which is given to the Images is referred to the persons represented by the Images so that by or through the Images which we kisse and before which we uncover our head or ly prostrate we adore Christ and reverence the Saints whom these Images represent Behold the belief of our Church teaching that all the reverence done before Images I pray note well this manner of speach All the honour I say that is shewed before the picture resteth not in the Image but passeth through it and resteth in the person represented to me by this picture He that abuses King Charles his picture or statue neither intendeth to shew nor sheweth any anger or disrespect to Paper or to stock or stone All the abuse by all mens Iudgment is given to King Charles represented by his picture in paper or engraven in wood or stone A further and an evident proof of all this is that your selves on the one side believe the Sacrament to be only a signe or figure of Christs body and yet on the other side you count it no Idolatrie to kneel before this Sacrament at the