tell us is Bread and Wine must be so still and cannot be imagined to have changed its substance upon the recital of the five words Shall I add to this that throng of absurdities which croud about this opinion For if it be true then a body may be in more places at once triumphing in glory in one and sacrificed in a thousand other places And a large body may be crouded into the narrow space of a thin Wafer they holding it to be not only wholly in the whole Wafer but also intirely in every crumb of it A body can be without dimensions and accidents without a subject these must be confessed to be among the highest of unconceivables and yet these Miracles must be believed to be produced every day in above a hundred thousand places Certainly he hath a sturdy belief who can swallow over all these absurdities without choaking on them It is little less unconceivable to imagine that a man of no eximious sanctity nay perhaps of noted impiety nor extraordinarily knowing nay perhaps grosly ignorant in Theological Matters shall have the Holy Ghost so absolutely at his command that whatever he decrees must be the Dictates of the Spirit And what an unconceivable mystery is the Treasure of the Church and the Popes Authority to dispence it as he will No less conceivable is the efficacy of the Sacraments by the work wrought nor is any thing more affronting to reason than the barbarous worship And of a piece with this is the blind subjection pleaded for the Confessarius his Injunctions and their opinions of expiating their sins by a company of little trifling penances which tend not to the cleansing the Soul nor killing of the life of Sin much less can be able to appease God either of their own inbred worth or by reason of any value God is pleased to set on them either by Command or Promise But should I reckon up every thing is among them that choaks reason I should dwell too long on this and reckon over most of the things have been through the whole Discourse hinted which seem to stand in the most diametrical opposition to the clearest impressions of all mens reasons But to bring my Enquiry to an issue Easiness and gentleness are by Christ applied to his yoke laws and burden and whatever opposition or trouble they may give to the carnal man by mortifying his lusts and contradicting all his inordinate and unlimited desires yet by the rational faculties and powers they are both easily understood and practised Indeed Religion lies in few things and its chief work is the reforming and purifying the inward man where it mainly dwells and exerts its force and virtue but these who have added so much both to be believed and done beyond what our Lord prescribed as they accuse his unfaithfulness so bring unsupportable burdens on the Consciences of Christians These therefore who lead out the mind by presenting a great many foreign objects to it do introduce superannuated Judaism instead of that liberty Christ brought with him unto the World. But shall I number up here all the Impositions of that Church whose numbers are great as well as their nature grievous for it is a study to know them all But what a pain must it be to perform them It is a work which will take up a great deal of time to understand the Rubricks of their Missals Breviaries Rituals and Pontificals In a word they have left the purity and simplicity of Religion and set up instead of it a lifeless heap of Ordinances which must oppress but cannot relieve the Consciences of their Disciples Shall I add to this the severity of some of their Orders into which by unalterable Vows they are engaged their whole lives Now whatever fitness might be in such Discipline upon occasions for beating down the body or humbling of the mind yet it must be very tyrannical to bind the perpetual observance of these on any by an Oath for thereby all the rest of their lives may become insupportably bitter to them wherein they stand obliged under perjury to the perpetual observance of some severe Discipline which tho at first in a novitious fervour might have had its good effects on them yet that drying up it will afterwards have no other effect but the constant dejecting of the soul and so their life will be a rack to them by their perpetual toil in these austerities This I speak of those who seem the chief Ornaments of that Church whose Devotion doth for most part turn to outwards and rests in the strict observance of their rules not without voluntary assumed mortifications which they add to them but wherein they for most part glory and so the life of pride and self-love the subtillest of all our enemies is fed and nourished by them Neither can we think that these whose exercises are so much external can be so recollected for the inward and serene breathings of the Mind after God and Christ without which all externals tho they seem to make a fair shew in the flesh yet are but a skelet of lifeless and insipid things But indeed they have studied to remove this objection of the uneasiness of their Religion by accommodating it so that the worst of men may be secure of Heaven and enjoy their lusts both according to the corrupt conduct of some of their spiritual Fathers But what I have hinted of the uneasiness of their Religion is taken from the Nature of their Devotions in their highest altitude and elevation And thus far I have pursued my Design in the tract whereof I have not been void of a great deal of pain and sorrow For what pleasure can any find by discovering so much wickedness and so many errors in the Christened Regions of the World and see the holy and beautiful Places wherein the former Ages worshipped God in the Spirit turned to be habitations of Idols and graven Images by which God is provoked to jealousie God is my witness how these thoughts have entertained me with horror and regret all the while I have considered them And that I am so far from being glad that I have sound so much corruption in the Roman Church that it is not without the greatest antipathy to my nature imaginable that I have payed this duty to truth by asserting it with the discovery of so many Impostures which have so long abused the Christian world and if any heat or warmth hath slipped from my Pen I must protest sincerely it is not the effect of anger or passion but of a tender and zealous compassion for those souls who are either already blinded with these delusions or do incline towards those paths which lead to the chambers of death I am none of those who justify rage or bitterness against those in errors for if we had the the Spirit of Christ in us we should mourn over and lament their misery who lie under so much darkness And this is a sure
spot or wrinkle And much more of this Nature meeting us in Scripture declares how plenary his Satisfaction was nothing being left undone by him for removing the Guilt and Demerit of Sin. And what comfortless Doctrine this is we may soon apprehend how it takes away that Joy in God at the approches of Death since there is such hazard of direful Miseries following Now this was no small part of the Mystery by which the World was brought under their Dominion and therefore great pains was taken for rooting the belief of it deep in all Mens Hearts many Visions and Apparitions were vouched for its Proof and all the Lives of the Saints that were written for divers Ages were full of such fabulous Narrations some Souls were said to be seen standing in burning Brimstone to the Knees some to the Middle some to the Chin others swimming in Caldrons of melted Metal and Devils pouring the Metal down their Throats with many such afrighting Stories But for all this the Proof from Scripture was only drawn from one wrested place of the Apostle Paul 1 Cor. 3.12 13 14 15. who saith That in the Day of the Lord such as built upon the Foundation of Christ superstructures of Wood Hay and Stubble should be saved because they kept the Foundation yet so as by Fire But this was only a proverbial form of Speech to express the risque they run to be such as of one that escapes out of a Fire such proverbial Speeches being usual in Scripture as that of the Prophet Zech. 3.2 Is not this a Brand plucked out of the Fire Or of the Apostle Jude 23. Some save with fear pulling them out of the Fire And any considering Person will at first view see how slender a Foundation this was for the Superstructure built upon it But the way was contrived for preserving Souls from or rescuing them out of Purgatory will discover what were the Inducements of advancing the belief of it with such Zeal which was thus framed It is believed by that Church that beside the Commands that necessarily oblige all Christians there are many Counsels in the Gospel in order to the attaining a higher pitch of Perfection such as the Counsels of Poverty and Chastity or the like and they teach that such as did not obey these cannot be said to have sinned but on the other hand those who have obeyed them shall not want a Reward by their so supererrogating beyond what was strictly bound upon them and the Reward of them is their meriting both for themselves and others an exemption from the Pains of Purgatory And of all these Merits there is a common Treasure of the Church wherein for good manners sake the Merit of Christ is the chief Stock and this is committed to the Successors of St. Peter to whom the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven are believed to be given who can communicate of that Spiritual Treasure as they will either for preserving Souls from Purgatory or for delivering them out of it This could not but work wonders for the exaltation of the Papal Dignity when he was conceited to be honoured of God with so high a Trust This was also made an Engin for advancing all the Papal Designs for upon any Quarrel he had with any Prince the Popes proclaimed a Croisade promising exemption from Purgatory to all who hazarded their Lives for the Service of the Holy Church And the contrivance of Purgatory being universally believed this could not fail to draw great numbers about his Standards And by this means he brought most Princes into that servile subjection to him under which they groaned for many Ages Another practice yet more base and sordid was the selling of Indulgences and Pardons for Mony. Certainly here was Simon 's Crime committed by the pretended Successors of him who had of old accused him that thought the Gift of God might be purchased with Mony and thereupon did cast him out of the Church It were endless to tell the base Arts and blasphemous Discourses of the Monks who were sent through the World to sell these Indulgences which in the end proved fatal to that Church since the excessive magnifying of them did first provoke Luther to examine their Corruptions It is true they will not hear of the harsh word of selling Indulgences but disguise it with their giving them to such as will offer Alms to the Church but really this whole Contrivance is so base so carnal and so unlike the Spirit of Christianity that to repeat it is to refute it Here was a brave Device for enriching the Church when the making great Donations to it was judged so effectual for delivering out of Purgatory Who would not out of love to his Friend's Soul if he believed him frying in these Flames give liberally of his Goods but much rather would a Man give all that he had for his own Security especially when on his Death-bed he were beset with Persons who were confounding him with dismal Apprehensions and thus trafficking with him for the exchange of his Soul. Hence sprung the enriching of Abbeys and Churches for every Religious Order hath its own peculiar Merits which they can communicate to one of their Fraternity If then a dying Man had gained their favour so much that he was received into their Order and died wrapped in one of their Frocks then was his Soul secure from the grim Tormentors below And what an endless heap of Fables had they of Souls being on the brink or in the midst of the Flames and of a sudden snatched out But now all this Trade hath quite failed them therefore Indulgences are fallen in their Rates and in stead of them there are Prayers to be used and especially to be said before priviledged Altars or at such Times or before such Reliques that it is no hard work for any among them to ransome the Souls of others or to preserve their own In a word doth not all this debase the Spirit of true Religion and expose it to the jealousy of Atheists as if it were a Contrivance for advancing base and secular Designs And doth it not eat out the Sense of true Piety when the Vulgar see the Guides of Souls making such shameful Merchandise of them and doing it with such respect of Persons that if a Man be rich enough he is secure whereby our Lord's blessing of the Poor and passing a Woe on the Rich is reversed But above all what indignity is by this done to the Blood of the Son of God And how are the People carried from their dependance on Him and their value of His Sufferings by these Practices Another Art not very remote from this for detracting from the value of Christ's Death and the confidence we should have in it is the Priestly Absolution wherein after the Sinner hath gone over his Sin without any sign of remorse and told them to the Priest he enjoins a Penance the doing whereof is called a satisfaction and the Vulgar do
and Jesuits and is a Doctrine dearly entertained in the Court of Rome to this day as appeared from the late Attempt of Pope Paul the Fifth upon Venice But the World is now a little wiser than to be carried away by these Arts and therefore that Pretence is laid to sleep till haply the Beast be healed of the Wound was given it at the Reformation But I cannot leave this Particular without my sad Regrates that too deep a tincture of this Spirit of Antichristianism is among many who pretend much aversion to it since the Doctrine of resisting Magistrates upon colours of Religion is so stiffly maintained and adhered to by many who pretend to be highly reformed tho this be one of the Characters of the scarlet-coloured Whore. But thus far have we gone through the second part of Antichrist's Character and have discovered too clear indications of a difformity to the Spirit and Truth of the Christian Religion in all the Branches of the Honour and Worship due to Jesus the only Mediator of the New Covenant From this I proceed to the third part of my Enquiry which is the Opposition made to the great Design of Christian Religion for elevating the Souls of Men into a participation of the Divine Nature whereby the Soul being inwardly purified and the outward Conversation regulated the World may be restored to its Primitive Innocence And Men admitted to an inward and intimate fellowship with their Maker The first step of this Renovation is Repentance for God commands Men every where to repent and Repentance and Remission of Sins are always united And this being an horrour at Sin upon the sense of its native deformity and contrariety to the Law of God which makes the Soul apprehend the hazard it hath incurred by it so as to study by all means possible to avoid it in all time coming nothing doth prepare the mind more for Faith in Christ and the study of a new Life than Repentance which must needs be previous to these But what Devices are found to enervate this Sins must be divided into Venial and Mortal the former deserving only some temporal Punishment and being easily expiated by some trifling piece of seeming Devotion and hereby many Sins are struck out of the Penitents consideration For who can have a great apprehension of that which is so slightly expiated And this may be extended to the easy Pardons given for acknowledged mortal Sins For he who thinks that God can be appeased for them with the saying by rote so many Prayers cannot possibly have deep apprehensions of their being either so displeasing to God or so odious in themselves But shall I to this add their asserting that a simple attrition which is a sorrow flowing from the consideration of any temporal Evil God hath brought upon the Sinner without any regard had either to the vileness of the Sin or the Offence done to God by it that is I say can suffice for justifying Sinners and qualifying them for the Sacrament whereby the necessity of Contrition and Sorrow flowing from the Principle of the Love of God is made only a high degree of Perfection but not indispensibly necessary In the next place all these Severities they enjoin for Penances do but tend to nourish the Life of Sin when Sinners see a Trade set up by which they can buy themselves off from the Wrath of God. To this is to be added the Doctrine of Indulgences which is so direct an opposition to Evangelical Repentance as if it had been contrived for dispossessing the World of the sense of it That which is next pressed in the Gospel for uniting the souls of Mankind to God is that noble ternary of Graces Faith Hope and Love by which the Soul rests in God by a holy affiance in him believing the Truth of his Gospel expecting the accomplishment of his Promises waiting for the full fruition of him and delighting in his glorious Perfections and Excellencies Now how much all this is shaken by these carnal and gross Conceptions the Roman Doctrine offers of God in their Image and Mass-worship and by their Idolatry to Saints is apparent Are they not taught to confind more in the Virgin or their Tutelar Saints than in the Holiest of all Doth not the fear of Purgatory damp the hopes of future blessedness And finally what impious Doctrine hath been publickly licensed and printed in that Church of the degrees of the love we owe to God Some blasphemously teaching that we are not at all bound to love him others mincing it so as if they were afraid of his being too much beloved In a word there is an impiety in the Morals of some of that Church particularly among the Disciples of Loyola beyond what was ever taught amongst the worst of the Heathen Philosophers which hath been fully discovered by some of the honester and more zealous of that Communion And though these Corruptions have not been avowed by the Head of that Church yet by their being publickly vented by the Deaf Ear he gives to all the Complaints against them and by the constant Caresses and Priviledges he heaps upon that Order which teacheth them he discovers either his great Satisfaction in that corrupt Doctrine or that upon the account of other interests he is content to betray the Souls of Christians into the corruption of such impious and ungodly Leaders since the Order that hath owned all these Corruptions is yet possessed of the Consciences of the greater part of them that own that Communion they being the universal Confessors And since they license the publick vending of so much corrupt Doctrine in printed Writings what reason have we to suspect their base compliance with Sins in their more secret and unknown Practisings with such poor deluded Souls as trust to their Conduct of which many proofs are brought by other of that same Church But I pursue my enquiry into the other traces of the Antichristian Corruption of the Purity and Power of our most Holy Faith Solemn Worship and secret Devotion are the great means of uniting Souls to God and of deriving the assistance of his Spirit and Grace to us but when these are performed in an unknown Tongue how uncapable are they of reaching that End And the Doctrine of the efficacy of the Sacraments for conveying of Grace by the Work wrought looks like a design against all serious preparation for the worthy receiving of them since by that Doctrine a Man be he never so ill prepared yet is sure of their efficacy for if his Priest absolve him and he have a simple Attrition for Sin without any thing of the Love of God he is by their Doctrine and Conduct qualified for receiving worthily were his Heart never so much united to Sin or averse from all Devotion or Application to Divine Matters And what Complaints shall be here made of these who teach that the sure way of gaining the Favour of God which they phrase by the Keys of