them do now too shamelesly make broad their Phylacteries and inlarge the borders of their garments and love the chief chairs in the Schools and to be saluted in the Markets and to be called of men Doctor And by this they go in the apparrel and harness of the Mystical body of Antichrist because it is written that he is the King of all the children of Pride And the Crown of Pride of these children of Pride shall be troden down And thus as it is manifest what Religion founded the Vniversities so it is as manifest what Religion will in the appointed time destroy these Foundations if they be not truly and thoroughly Reformed For surely as they are if the work of Christ go forward in the world as it necessarily must do notwithstanding the present defection in the appointed time they can no more be held up then the house built on the sand in the time of Tempest For the true Spiritual Church is built on the Foundation of the Prophets and Apostles Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone and so it is firmly founded upon a Rock and can never fall But the Vniversities are built on the Philosophers and Heathen Plato and Aristotle being the chief corner stones and so they are built upon the sand and neither can their own hands uphold them nor the Secular Arm establish them in that day wherein the Lord alone shall be exalted But it is not men of moral and civil Religion and Righteousness who will do this work and execute this vengeance for the Inchauntments of the Vniversities are too strong and mighty for all Humane Spirits But the called chosen and faithfull Ones of Christ when he shall summon them and call them to his foot they shall not stand on-Complements Formalities and Niceties nor regard frindship or enmity but through the Power of Faith shall break through all that can be said and objected by the Wisdom Policy Prudence and Religion of man and shall execute the righteous Judgements of the Lord on these Mothers of Harlots and Fornications of the Nations And whereas he saith their Destruction will never be but of themselves I do verily believe that For seeing their Root is rottenness their Fruit must needs be Destruction Yea the Lord will raise up his word in the midst of them to destroy them For the more the word of the Lord shall blow upon the Vniversity the more shall this Grass wither and the flower thereof that is Humane Learning fade away till it be at last quite dryed up And this is the Burden of the Vniversity whose day is coming when iniquity shall have an end And thus have I done with these things There were many other things in that Sâ—rmon as contrary to the Gospel which for brevities sake I have omitted Now what a sad thing is it that such poysonfull Doctrine should be poured forth into an Vniversity Congregation and that by the Ministry of such a man and if the Ceremonies of the Law were in use under the Gospel how ought we to rend our Garments at the bearing of these things And now blessed Lord Jesus who wast crucified dead and buried but art risen from the Dead by the Eternal Spirit and art ascended on high to fill all things have mercy on thy poor Church which is so grievously rent and torn this day by Wolves in Sheeps cloathing and is thus hurt and consumed by poysonable Doctrine of men who seek themselves and their own things to the harm and ruin of thy poor people O thou Son of the Living God who are the way the truth and the life how shall the Kingdom of Antichrist be brought down when the hands of such men who seem Pillars in the Church are stretched forth so strongly to hold it up And how shall the days of Antichrist be shortned when his Kingdom is coming forth again in the greatest deceivableness of unrighteousness that hath ever yet appeared in the World to delude the Nations O Lord remember all thy Promises and make haste to destroy Babylon the Great with all its Mysteries of Righteousness and Vnrighteousness and let it sink as a Milstone in the Sea without any hope or possibility of a Resurrection And seeing there is no hand of man stretched out for this work but all hands are against it do thou destroy it O Lord without hand even with the Spirit of thy mouth and brightness of thy coming according to the Truth of thy Promises and the unutterable sighs and groanes of thy Spirit occasioned thereby in the hearts of all thy faithfull and elect Even so Lord And let thy Kingdom come and make no long tarrying AMEN A TESTIMONY From the WORD Against DIVINITY-DEGRES IN THE University OR Any Academical Degrees made usâ— of for the Ministry of the GOSPEL THe Universities whose soul and life do lye in humane Learning and School-Divinity that they might gaine the greater profit to themselves and glory to their children have after the example of the heathen given their children Degrees in Dâ—vinity as they in Art and the glorious Titles of Batchelors Masters and Doctors in Divinity as so many Crowns of Gold upon their heads to win them honour and reputation with all people who have been under the delusion of Antichrist And in the confirming of these Graduations or Degrees which also is done for a sum of money they give the Graduates license and power to preach and to expound the Scriptures and that by the sole Authority of the University For the Vice-chancelor admitting a Bachelour in Divinity to his Degree useth these words in the name of the University We admit you to declare all the Apostolical Epistles in the name of the Father Son and Holy Ghost And so the Batchelour in Divinity hath Power according to his Degree only to deal with the Apostolical Epistles but must go no farther And admitting a Doctor to his Degree the Vice-chancelor saith thus We admit you to interpret and profess all the holy Scriptures both of the old and new Testament in the name of the Father Son and Holy Ghost And thus doth the University through power received from Antichrist give men chiefly for money Divinity-Degrees and through those Degrees it gives Authority and priviledge to Batchelors in Divinity to expound part of the Scriptures and to Doctors to expound and profess all the Scriptures and they that gaine these Degrees to themselves are as there is good reason the great men in account with the University and also with the carnal people of Antichrist how destitute soever they be of the faith and spirit of the Gospel Wherefore I cannot chuse but give in my Testimony against this glorious and gainful priviledge of the Universities to wit their conferring upon their children Degrees in Divinity and creating them Masters in that Mystery which none can teach but God himself and which none can learn but true believers who are borne of God and are his true Disciples And
the world by wisdom that is its Philosophy knew not God how can it by that wisdom reveal God and his things which it never knew Nay the Apostle doth clearly testifie against this carnal and corrupt Doctrine in 1 Cor. 2.7 8. saying We speak the wisdom of God in a mysterie even the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the world unto our glory which none of the Princes of this world knew and by Princes of this world he means not only wordly Powers as Chrysostome affirms but also Philosophers and Orators who often obtained the chief Government among the nations God hath wrapped up his Gospel saith Paul into such hidden wisdom that they are never able to search into it or to discover the least part of it seeing God contrived it all and appointed it before the world unto our glory and all their knowledge is but from the world Yea he adds Eye hath not seen nor ear heard neither have ever entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him In which words God hath shut out the natural man for ever with all his study knowledge abilities and attainments from the having any right understanding of his Kingdom or the things of it For the eye of man hath not seen them at any time nor his eare heard them nor hath any knowledge of them entered into his heart so far is this Doctrine from truth that the Knowledg of heavenly things cannot come to us but by things on earth But the Apostle shews how the faithfull come to know these high holy spiritual and eternal things which lie infinitely beyond the knowledge and discovery of all men to wit by the Spirit saying But God hath revealed them to us by the Spirit for the Spirit searcheth all things yea the deep things of God So that the people of God know the things of the Gospel not by earthly things as Mr. Simpson affirms nor by Philosophy and outward wisdom which only reaches to earthly things but by the Spirit Farther if all Divinity be swadled in Humane Learning then I do affirm that all such Divinity hath no great Depth seeing the bottom of Humane Learning is easily fathomed But can any Christian Heart think that all true Divinity which comprehends in it the heighth and breadth and length and depth of the love of God which passeth knowledge and all the unsearchable riches of Christ and all the infinite and incomprehensible Treasures of his wisdom power and righteousness of his love goodness truth faithfulness and of all the fulness of the Godhead wherewith he is filled can be contained and wrapped up in the narrow and scant bounds of Humane Learning How much truer Doctrine had it been to have taught that all true Divinity is contained in God and his word and that we can know nothing of God aright but by his word which holy men have spoken by the Spirit and believers do receive by faith and out of this word All the Learning in the world doth not contain in it self neither can it reveal to us aright the least thing of God or of his Mind and Will But I conceive he might speak thus that all Divinity is wrapped up in Humane Learning to deterr the common people from the study and enquiry after it and to cause them still to expect all Divinity from the Clergy who by their education have attained to that Humane Learning which the plain people are destitute of For it is the old and new design of Antichrist to make the People depend on the Clergy for all Divinity though the people have the Scriptures as near them and the Grace of God usually nearer to them then they seeing God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble Again if all Divinity be swadled in Humane Learning then must it sadly follow that all who want Humane Learning must needs also want Divinity And then how shall poor plain people who live in lawfull callings and have not the leisure to attain Humane Learning how shall they do to be saved Or what help must they have to teach them Divinity who have not opportunity to gain Humane Learning And yet farther if all Divinity be swadled in Humane Learning then Christ and his Apostles had no true Divinity for they had no Humane Learning to swaddle it in nor would have none Shall we say now according to Mr. Simpsons Doctrine that they had no Divinity I do with all boldness affirm that this Doctrine is contrary to the Christian faith 4. ERROR That Paul was brought up at the feet of Gamaliel and God took him so fitted to wit with Humane Learning and made him an able Instrument in his Church Answer Not so But God took Paul not a good Schollar and so made him an able Preacher but he took him as a Blasphemer and Persecutor and as a cruel and inraged enemy against Christ and his Truth and People and magnified the riches of his mercy by converting such an one and Paul having much forgiven him loved much and through his great love was the fitter to preach the Gospel according to that of Christ to Peter Peter dost thou love me feed my Sheep Yea Paul himself ascribes his painful and profitable preaching not to his Learning and Education under Gamaliel which also was or ought to have been only in the Law and Prophets as hath been proved but to the free Grace of God bestowed on him saying I laboured more abundantly then they all yet not I but the Grace of God in me So that Paul became so excellent a Preacher not by his fitting through Humane Learning but through the Grace of God And here I shall mind Mr. Simpson of a passage which I have read in Chrysostome which comes home to this matter in hand it is in the third Homily on the first Epistle to the Corinthians where he saith That God had no need at the beginning of the Gospel of Learned men and Sophisters to preach the Gospel and to convince the world with Syllogisms but did only use the word of faith in the mouths of plain Handicrafts men and Artificers Wherefore saith he when the Greeks shall accuse the Disciples of Christ as ignorant of Letters and unlearned let us our selves who are Christians accuse them more Neither let any one say that Paul was wise and learned but let us say Their men were wise and learned but ours were rude and ignorant For in thus doing according to the truth we shall have the greater advantage against them For if Paul were unlearned and yet overcame learned Plato his Victory was the greater and the Grace of God the more glorious * Now this I say saith he because the other day I heard a certain Christian discoursing ridiculously with a Greek each of them in their Discourse prejudicing their own cause For the Greek spake that which the Christian should have said and the Christian spake that
A Plain and Necessary CONFVTATION Of divers gross and Antichristian Errors DELIVERED To the Vniversity Congregation The last Commencement Anno. 1653. By Mr. Sydrach Simpson Master of Pembroke HALL in CAMBRIDGE Potentior est veritas quam eloquentia potior spiritus quam ingenium major fides quam eruditio ut Paulus ait Stultum Dei sapientius est hominibus Luther Epist. ad Caspar Bornerum Profes Lipsens Non est istud temeritas sed fides neque inconsideratio sed ratio neque furor sed fiducia Hilarius lib. contr. Constantium Augustum LONDON Printed by Robert White for Giles Calvert and are to be sold at the Sign of the Black-spread-Eagle near the West-end of Pauls 1654. An Apologie to the Reader touching the following Reply to Mr. Sydrach Simpsons Sermon IF it shall seem grievous to any that I have dealt thus freely and plainly with Mr. Sydrach Simpson one of the first pastors of an independent Congregation in England let them consider how Paul dealt with those Brethren Gal. 2. to whom according to his Zeal and the present occasion he gave no place by subjection no not for an hour that the Truth of the Gospel might continue with the Galatians and though those brethren seemed to be somewhat yet saith Paul what ever they are it makes no matter to me seeing God accepteth no mans Person And so notwithstanding their Reputation he did not spare them Yea let them consider how Paul at Antioch withstood Peter to the face for dissembling with the Jews in the case of the Gentiles and for not walking uprightly according to the Truth of the Gospel wherefore Paul did publikely and sharply reprove him before them all For no true believer is to keep silence when the Doctrine of the Gospel is corrupted by the Doctrines of men or to be modest in this matter Wherefore I was compelled to speak thus plainly to him for his gross prevarication in the things of God and I am well satisfied in my conscience in the discharge of my duty whatever shall be the censure of carnal Christians who have no true sense of the Glory of Christs Gospel or of the profit of his People whom yet Christ so loved as to lay down his life and to be Crucified for them Again if it shall offend any that I deal thus roundly against Humane Learning Let them know that I am not against Humane Learning upon all accounts but do allow Humane Learning so it be sober and serious in its own place and Sphear as well as other Humane things But I do oppose it as it is made another John Baptist to prepare the way of Christ into the world or to pepare the worlds way to Christ And also as men make it necessary for the true knowledge of the Scriptures Yea the very Unction for the Ministry And herein according to the grace of Christ I both do and will contend against it for ever Seeing Humane Learning mingled with Divinity or the Gospel of Christ understood according to Aristotle hath begun continued and perfected the Mâ—sterâ—e of Iniquity in the outward Church Wherefore I do in all boldness appear for Christ the wâ—â—dom of God against Humane Learning the wisdom of thâ—world knowing assuredly that he is as very Antichrist who opposes Christ as the Wisdom oâ—God as â—e that opposes Him as the Power and Righâ—ousness of God and men may as well bring into the Church of God another Righteousness then Christ and another Power then Christ as another Wisdom then Christ Wherefore as they who bring in Humane Righteousness that is civil or moral Righteousness or any Works or Duties of men for Righteousness into the Church of Christ they are true Antichrists in so doing seeing herein they are contrary to and do oppose Christ the Righteousness of God And as they who bring in Humane Power or the Secular Arm into the Church of Christ to do or leave undone to reward or Punish to promise or threaten to encourage or discourage by that they are true Antichrists in so doing seeing herein they are contrary to and do oppose Christ the Power of God So also they that bring in Humane Wisdom or the Learning and Philosophy of men into the Church of Christ they also are true Antichrists in so doing for herein they are contrary to and do oppose Christ the Wisdom of God For Christ is and is to be the only Power the only Wisdom and the only Righteousness in the Church of God And he that brings in any other Power Wisdom or Righteousness besides Christ Himself that man is in very deed Antichrist And in this matter also it was necessary that I should be bold for Christ against Antichrist 3. Again if any shall be offended that I speak thus freely against the Universities which are of such honorable esteem everywhere in the Nation especially with the Ignorant and Vulgar people and with men of all sorts who have not the right Knowledge of Christ and his Gospel wherein are so contained all the Treasures of Wisdom and Knowledge that no part of this Treasury is left out thereof to enrich Heathenish Philosophy withall which by the Gospel is left as a desolate thing empty and destitute of all true Wisdom and Knowledge I say if any think that I have too deeply censured these Universities let them know that I have done in this matter but as Wickliff Hus Luther and several others holy men of God and happy Instruments in the hand of Christ have done before me As for instance Wickliff terms the Universities Castra Caimitica Cains Castles Synagogas Satanae the Synagogues of Satan and affirms they were never Ordained or Instituted by Christ John Hus or Otho Brunfelsius if he set out the Contents of the Chapters calls them Satrapas Antichristi the Lieutenants of Antichrist Luther in his book Contra Ambrosium Catharinum shewing out of Daniel the Prophet that Antichrist is Rex facierum the King of faces or appearances he affirms that the Universities are one of those faces of Antichrist and that they are very comely or sightly to look on and yet indeed are a very chaos and open gate of Hell and that in these the most choise youth of Christian people are prostituted and are cast into the open throat of Hell And that in these Aristotle is read whereby the wits of Christian youth are possessed busied with Humane Heathenish Learning Yea are quite blinded and oppressed with it He saith also that the Universities are the Woe that the fifth Angel mentioned Revel. 9. brought upon the earth and that who ever it was that did first institute and confirm Universities he was a star fallen from Heaven to Earth to wit from the Gospel of Christ to Humane Learning And in his Exposition on Psal. 22. he calls the Universities the Mothers of Learned men the Gates of Hell and saith they are called Scholae i. e. Ludi Schools that is Plays by a fatall name seeing
God and the wisdom of God 1 Cor. 1. And as he made no use of Humane learning all this while So in 1 Cor. 2. he plainly renounces it and rejects it saying Ver. 1. And I brethren when I came to you came not with excellency of speech or wisdom declaring unto you the Testimony of God Ver. 2. For I determined not to know any thing among you save Jesus Christ and him Crucified Ver. 3. And I was with you in weakness and fear and much trembling Ver. 4. And my speech and preaching was not with entising words of mans wisdom but in demonstration of the Spirit and Power Ver. 5. That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of man but in the power of God Ver. 6. Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect Yet not the wisdom of this world nor of the Princes of this world which come to nought Ver. 7. But we speak the wisdom of God in a Mysterie even the hidden wisdom which God Ordained before the world unto our glory c. Ver. 13. Which things also we speak not in the words which mans wisdom teacheth but which the holy spirit teacheth comparing spiritual things with spiritual things In a word this whole Chapter tends to the utter rejection of Philosophy which is the wisdom of the world in the Kingdom of Christ which is the Kingdom of God He also in his Epistle to the Collossians chap. 2. gives forth another plain Testimony against Philosophy desiring ver. 2. that the hearts of the believers might be comforted and that they might be kniâ— together in love and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding to the acknowledgement of the Mysterie of God and of the Father and of Christ in whom are hid all the Treasures of wisdom and Knowledge And this saith he I say least any man should beguile you with entising words Wherefore v. 8 saith he Beware least any man spoyl you through Philosophy and vain deceit after the Tradition of men after the Rudiments or Elements of the world and not after Christ for in him dwells the fulness of the Godhead bodily and ye are compleat in Him who is the Head of all Principality and Power Here is a sufficient caution again Philosophy for the true Church for ever For what need we if we are true Christians to turn aside for Wisdom and Knowledge and Learning and curious Arts to the Heathen seeing God hath given Christ to us in whom is treasured up all the heights and depths and lengths and breadths of Wisdom and Knowledge whereby the whole world was made and every Creature formed and fashioned and in which it hath its being subsistence and operation Yea in this Christ dwells all the fulness of the Infinite and eternal God and he is the head of all Principality and Power in earth and Heaven and there is in him alone infinitely enough to make us wise and learned for ever without calling in the help and contributions of the vain Philosophers and their foolish wisdom It is enough for Christian Schools to be taught to know Christ by the Ministration of the Spirit and all other Learning that is out of Christ though it seem to be never so high and deep all faithfull Christians are to reject it as meer Sophistrie and Deceit And thus you see that the Apostles aswell as Christ taught their Scholars and Disciples only the Gospel and spake not one word for Philosophy but directly against it And the following Fathers and next Teachers of the Christian Church after the Apostles they also obeyed the command of Christ and followed the example of the Apostles in this matter For the Bishops and Presbyters that is the Overseers and Elders had tender regard to the children of Christians and did teach them aswell as the people the pure Doctrine of the Gospel They held forth to them Christ Crucified and did exhort them to faith new Obedience the Confession of Christ and patient suffering and did not at all â—ntermingle Philosophy with their Divinity but alwayes rejected and condemned it all along the first and purest times of the Christian Church till the Mysterie of iniquity began to arise and did cunningly insinuate it self into the Church by the means of Humane Learning And here it will not be amiss to Relate what Justine Martyr saith of himself as to this matter who was before his Conversion to the Christian Faith a great Philosopher and lived about 150. years after Christs Nativity He in his Dialogue which Tryâ—ho relates How first he joyned himself to that Sect of Philosophers called the Stoicks and after to the Peripateticks after to the Pythagorean Sect and after to the Platonists but had no satisfaction in his mind by all this knowledge But at last he beholding the torments and sufferings of Christians and seeing them bear them with such comfort and constancy he did thereby conceive that it was impossible for that kind of people to be subject to any vice or carnality which vices of their own nature are not able to sustain any sharp adversity much less the bitterness of death And hereupon he began to love and search after the Christian Religion and being afflicted in mind he did withdraw himself into a solitary place where there met him an old Antient Father of comely visage and gentle behavior who began to reason with him and to tell him that there was no knowledge of truth among the Philosophers who neither knew God nor were aided by his holy Spirit And did farther reason with him of the immortality of the soul of the reward of the godly and punishment of the wicked Then Justine being satisfied with his reasons yeilded to him and demanded of him how he might attain to that true knowledge of God whereof he had spoken Who counselled him to read the Scriptures adjoyning therewith prayer c. And as thisâ—ustine left all other Learning and betook himself only to theâ—criptures so in the understanding of the Scriptures he rejected all his Philosophy and Philosophical apprehensions Saying that the Interpretation of the Scripture is to be accommodated to the will of the Doctrine of the Spirit and not to Humane reasonings and that he might be sure and safe in all things he had constant recourse to the Scriptures thus understood So that Justine Martyr being effectually Coâ—verted wholly leâ—t his Philosophy and betook himself to the Scriptures and taught them to the Church as he had been taught them of God by his Spirit Constantine the Emperor though he were the first that brought in the Mysterie of Iniquity into the Christian Church by mingling the Civil and Ecclesiastical states and Laws together there being in his time a great increase of Christians through the Ministry of the Gospel and a great confluence of them to his Imperial Citie for the Words sake he wrote to Eusebius Bishop of Nicomedia in a special Letter Wherein he desired him withall
the time of the Law where a Doctrine and Worship prevailed which was not according to Gods word but mans will and where Judaism and Heathenism were mingled together into one mungrel Religion most odious and abominable to God and his People And so the Vniversities in the time of the Gospel are only answerable to the High Places in the time of the Law but not at all to the Schools of the Prophets as Mr. Simpson pretends And now for the Conclusion of this matter which I reckon to be of great concernment for the true Church to be thorowly instructed in I shall bring forth the Testimony of some Godly men of whom some shew how the Schools and Vniversities of Christians came first to be corrupted to wit by departing from the plain word of the Gospel and bringing in Philosophy And another foretels the Reformation of the Schools of Christians to wit by rejecting Philosophy again and bringing in the word of faith all which will serve as a Confirmation of what hath been already spoken Matthias Parisiensis a Bohemian by Nation who lived about the year 1380. wrote a large book against Antichrist whrein he affirms That Antichrist had seduced all Vniversities and Colledges of learned men so that now they teach no sincere Doctrine neither give any true light to Christians through their teaching to wit they being all corrupted through Philosophy and having through that corrupted all Divinity And John Hus that humble and faithfull servant of Jesus Christ and blessed Martyr saith That Antichrist hath seduced all carnal Christians from Divine wisdom which is full of Salvation and the Holy Spirit to the wisdom and Science of men and of the Princes of this world which wisdom and Science he hath exceedingly inlarged and increased and made Authentical and very gainfull of Riches and Honors in this world that so by this means Divine wisdom and science might be neglected of Christians and grow old and be covered over and be accounted as vile and unprofitable by them And that only that which is high with men to wit Humane Learning might be reckoned glorious and excellent and of great Authority with Christian people The same Hus saith That this Humane Learning Wisdom and Knowledge Antichrist doth perfectly subject to himself and his Service he being more mighty and subtil through the Operation of Satan then all worldly men whom with all their Learning Disciplines and Abilities he strongly subâ—ugates to himself and doth especially serve himself of these wherefore saith Job chap. 41. sub ipso erunt radii solis the heams of the Sun shall be under him that is the holy Scripture and the chief Doctors and Teachers of it and he shall prepare gold as dirt that is he shall have all the wisdom and learning of men at his pleasure and in great readiness and with much ease shall gain it to himself And Antichrist by such men saith I. Hus doth make his body or Church strong against the Saints of God and welfavoured and glorious that it may appear very taking to the world and may win in all men to it that are not taught of God and renewed by his Spirit And thus Antichrist serves himself of all Learning and Learned men whereas Divine Learning and the Teaching of God he could never in any measure subject to himself but is alwaies rejected discovered and overcome by it Martin Luther saith That whosoever it was whether Alexander of Hales or Thomas of Aquine who first instituted Vniversities he was a Star fallen from heaven to earth who received the key of the bottomless pit and opened it and brought forth into the Church Philosophy long ago dead and damned by the Doctrine of the Apostles and from the smoak of the bottomless pit that is Philosophy came forth Locusts on the earth that is saith he populus Vniversitatum è Philosophia natus the people of the Vniversities born and bred of Philosophy c. thus Luther Abbas Joachim Calaber who was long before these and flourished about the year 1230 in his Commentary on Jeremy the Prophet speaks to this purpose That the sixt Angel mentioned Revel. opens the bottomless pit and brings out Philosophy into the Church and out of the smoak of this Doctrine Locusts proceeded and are spread over all the Church into every fruitfull place and these Locusts he saith are Scholastici Magistri qui nunc facietenus blandiuntur ut decipiant nunc caudetenus feriunt unsubvertant simplices incautos that is the Locusts are Scholars and Masters according to the Academical degrees who sometimes flatter with their countenances to deceive and sometimes strike with their tails that they may subvert the simple and unadvised And to these Scholars and Masters the ignorant and common people resort and they open to them the old Cisterns of heathenish Learning and Disciplines long ago stopt up by the Doctrine of the Apostles and these Cisterns they open by teaching Philosophy to the people But they shut up the living fountain of saving water that is the word of faith But the spirit of the Lord saith he in the following Prophets whom the Lord shall raise up idola studiorum carnalium visitabit shall visit the Idols of carnal studies maintained and kept up by secular Stipends Further he saith that as Antichrist brings forth his mark which is Philosopical Doctrine in the Church of Christ and by this mark all his Teachers and People are known so there shall rise up against these such as have the mark of Christ or the sign of Thau in their foreheads that is the open and manifest Doctrine of Christ crucified And as the signs of Moses destroyed the signs of the Magicians so shall the word or preaching of the Cross destroy all Philosophical Doctrine and Humane and secular Learning out of the Church And then the children and youth and men of all ages sorts and conditions shall be taught no other Doctrine in the Church of Christ then that which is found in the Scriptures even in the writings of the Prophets and Apostles and that not according to any humane and Philosophical understanding but according to the teaching and mind of the Spirit And God by all his true servants shall destroy the studies of carnal Doctors and Masters in Divinity and shall dissipate all secular and Philosophical Learning by the word of Truth in their mouths And so shall the Church be reformed aright when the Doctrine of Christ only shall be received and esteemed of and shall live and flourish among Christians And thus as Antichrist hath laid aside the Scriptures and all true spiritual and divine Learning out of his Schools and Vniversities and hath brought into them instead thereof Philosophy and Humane Learning and so these Schools are most unlike to the Schools of the Prophets so in due time when God shall undertake to reform his Church all this sort of Learning shall be cast out again
as dirt and dung and the plain word of the Gospel only shall prevail and flourish among the Christian People which time the Lord hasten for his Elects sake 2. ERROR That they who have endeavoured to pull down Schools have alwayes been men who were found Enemies to Religion So Julian the Apostate shut up the doors of the Schools because he would have all Religion to go down Answer True it is that they who have sought the subversion of Christian Schools wherein the Doctrine of the Gospel is purely taught without the mixture of Philosophy and Heathenism they all have been and are very enemies to the true Religion But they that seek to put down Heathenish Schools and to erect Christian or to reform the Schools of Heathen into Christian or to remove Heathenism out of Christian Schools they are not before God and good men enemies to true Religion but the great friends of it Nay they that call Heathenish Schools by the name of Christian that they may still remain with the better credit in their Heathenism without any true Reformation according to the Gospel I rather judge them to be enemies to the true Religion and friends only to their profit preferment and ends Julian indeed did forbid that Christians should be instructed in the Disciplines of the Gentiles but saith Sozomen the Writer of the Ecclesiastical History he did this because he thought that by those Disciplines men might attain to a great faculty to perswade which advantage he would not have the Christians to gaine to the help of their Religion Now certainly this was done as Socrates another Writer of the Ecclesiastical History doth acknowledge by the singular providence of God For seeing then Christians had begun to degenerate from the Gospel and to betake themselves to Heathenish Learning Julian attribuâ—â—d all the glory and excellency of Christianity to that Learning and so thought with Mr. Simpson that if Humane Learning were denyed to Christians Christianity it self would soon be at end Wherefore the Lord stirred up Julian to put down the Doctrine of the Heathen in the Schools of Christians that it might appear to all the World That as the true Christian Religion is not helped by Humane Learning so neither is it hindred by the want of it And that there is more Light Knowledge Truth Wisdom Power Vtterance given to Christians by the Vnction of the Spirit alone which all receive who believe then through all Heathenish Disciplines And also that it might be manifest that true Christianity is founded on faith in Christ and the gift of his Spirit only and not at all on Humane Learning For what Humane Learning had Peter and John and yet in what Wisdom and Authority did they being ignorant and unlearned men Reprove Convince and Silence the greatest and ablest men of the Jews And what Humane Learning had Steven and yet he confuted the Libertines and Cyrenians and Alexandrians and all the Philosophers of Cilicia and Asia which disputed with him and they all were not able to resist not the Humane Learning but the Wisdom and Spirit by which he spake And Christ hath promised all his people that when for his Names sake they should be brought before Kings and Rulers who usually have the greatest accomplishment of Humane Learning that then they should not study beforehand what to say for he would give them in that very hour a mouth and wisdom which none of their Adversaries should be able to resist And the power and vertue of the Gospel and the wisdom knowledge and utterance of Gods Spirit is more gloriously manifest in plain men then in learned men For in the one the Grace and Vertues of the Spirit are attributed to Humane Learning But in the other to God only who dwells in them Wherefore that the Wisdom and Knowledge and Light and Power of the word of faith in true Christians might not be attributed to Humane Learning God stirred up an enemy to Christian Religion to be so serviceable to it as to hinder Heathenish Doctrine from being taught in the Schools of Christians that so the Câ—urch might be restored to be as in the dayes of its Youth when there flourished in it only the simple and plain word of faith without any intermingling Philosophy or Humane Doctrine And if Constantine had made such an order in his time Julian had not had such an opportunity to have renounced Christianity and turned Heathen For Julian being instructed in the Philosophy and Disciplines of the Heathen by Libanius his Tutor by this means he came to love Philosophy better then the Gospel and so by degrees turned from Christianity to Heathenisme which may be a fair warning to all Christians that they suffer not their children to be so educated lest at last with Julian they at least in their hearts loath and reject the Gospel and become with him Apostates and Pagans And hence it is most evident that Heathenish Philosophy is so far from being a profitable study for the children of Christians that it is very dangerous for them to be so educated as Socrates is forced to confess where he saith For Christians to be thorowly instructed in the Disciplines of the Gentiles there is none will grant that this is profitable to the Christian Religion For it is not without danger for Christians to be taught in the learning of the Heathens seeing this teacheth that there are many Gods And therefore saith he the Doctrine of the Heathen is not approved by Christ or any of his Apostles or Disciples Wherefore said Luther My counsel is that a youth should shun Philosophy and School Divinity as the death of his soul 3. ERROR That the Knowledge of Heavenly things cannot come to us but by things on earth and that all Divinity is swadled in Humane Learning Answer I conceive that all Christians at the first reading of this will acknowledge that this Doctrine is not Divine but Philosophical The Philosophers say that nothing is in the understanding but that which is first in the sense which is proportionable to that which Mr. Simpson speaks and yet they know not what they say when they say so But let us consider if this be so That the Knowledge of heavenly things cannot come to us but by things on earth then how shall we know the Mysterie of God even the Father and the Mysterie of Christ who is God manifest in the flesh Or how shall the Mysterie of faith and of our union with Christ through faith into one flesh and Spirit with him be known Or the new birth and new Creature which hath all things new in it and all those new things the things of God Or how shall the free Justification of a sinner through the death of Christ and his Reconciliation to God be known with all the rest of the things of the Gospel seeing nothing on earth can reveal the least part of these things And if
Salvation and the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God Praying always with all Prayer and Supplication in the Spirit and watching thereunto with all Perseverance Here now are the true Christian weapons whereby he defends himself through the word and defends the word against all the world And the same Paul in 2 Cor. 10.3 saith For though we walk in the flesh we do not war after the flesh For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds Casting down Imaginations and every High thing that exalteth it self against the Knowledge of God and bringing into captivity every thought to the Obedience of Christ And having in a readiness to revenge all Disobedience So that the faithful do not defend the Gospel by Philosophy as is heathenishly suggested but by the Gospel they defend the Gospel and the Gospel hath in it self that Wisdom Righteousness Strength and those Vertues which are infinitely able to defend it self against all the world and against all the powers of darkness And how contrary is this Doctrine to Mr. Simpsons And thus much for his Outworks to the Gospel Now for his outer Court to the Gospel I know no other outer Court the Gospel ever had then the Law of Moses which Law was the preparation to the Gospel and the School Master to bring us unto Christ which Humane Learning never was But Humane Learning is the outer Court to Antichrists Temple it is the School-master to bring men to Antichrist And thus would Mr. Simpson also turn the Law out of its place and set up Humane Learning in the stead of the Law and so would make void both Law and Gospel for Humane Learning sake Surely one would think he hath some considerable advantage thereby that he thus fences for it 10. ERROR But what is the bottom saith he of all this that is of some mens appearing against Humane Learning as the Vnction of the Ministry and against the Vniversities as the Fountain of the Ministry but this That some say they are one with Christ and as Christ hath the Divine nature in Him so every Believer also hath and he that hath God in Him need not go to any man to Learn Whereas Joh. 17. Christ speaketh of Believers as at an infinite distance from Himself He their Lord they his Servants He in Glory they in the World And if they be so united to Christ then it will follow that Christ is not the only begotten Son of God and that Christ and we should be equal and He not our Lord c. Answer Now doth not all this declare a most woful Ignorance of and enmity to the Gospel of God our Saviour For is our Vnion with Christ the Foundation of error or have true Believers no real Vnion with Christ but imaginary Do not the Saints partake of the Divine Nature doth not Peter expresly affirm it 2 Pet. 1.4 where he saith exceeding great and pretious promises are made to us that we thereby should be made partakers of the Divine Nature and what is the divine Nature but the very Nature of God See Luther on the place Again are believers as he affirms at an infinite distance from Christ If this were true what sad news would it be to the Church of God How can this Doctrine agree with these Scriptures that Christ may dwell in your Hearts by faith and Christ in you the hope of Glory and of Him are ye in Christ Jesus Again saith Christ I am the true Vine and ye are the branches and so as the Vine is in the branches and as the branches are in the Vine so is Christ in Christians and so are Christian in Christ Again Joh. 14.20 At that day ye shall know saith Christ Himself that you need not doubt of the Doctrine that I am in my father and you in me and I in you And again Joh. 17.21 saith Christ I pray not for these alone that is who now believe but also for all that shall hereafter believe in me through their word that they all may be one as thou Father art in me and I in thee that they may be one as we are one I in them and thou in me that they may be made perfect in one that the world may know thee hast sent me and hast loved them 〈◊〉 thou hast loved me Here now is no infinite distance between Christ and Believers but a wonderfull and admirable Nearness and Oneness which the learned Ignorance of Philosophy understands not nor the ignorant Knowledge of any carnal Christian But sure this word of God is true and the Saints receive it in faith and will not be deluded with any Philosophical Sophistical or Antichristian glosses of False Teachers And thus doth the holy word of God affirm plainly enough that Christ and his Christians are most neerly Vnited And yet doth not this Vnion make an Equality and rob Christ of his due glory seeing Christ is the Head and they his Members Christ the first born and they his Brethren And so as Christ hath the Preheminence in all things above them all as becomes the Head and first born so They have Communion with Him in all things as becomes his Members and Brethren And whereas he jests and saith He that hath God in Him needs not go to man to learn I do affirm this is true enough and the Scripture hath affirmed it in several places Isaiah saith to the Spiritual Church All thy Children shall be taught of the Lord And Christ saith it is written They shall be all taught of God he therefore that had heard and learned of my Father cometh to me And John saith 1 John 2.27 The Annointing which ye have received from him abideth in you and ye need not that any man teach you but as the same annointing teacheth you all things and is Truth and is no lye And this Doctrine is so manifest from the Scriptures that he is of Antichrist that denies it For God inwardly teaches all his People by his Spirit his own self and they so hear the word by the Ministry of man that it is alwayes God that teaches them and not Man 11. ERROR Arts and Tongues are the Cups in which God drinks to us Answer In what a sad condition then are the common and plain people that they cannot pledge him But only the learned Clergie keep these cups to themselves as heretofore they kept the Cup in the Sacrament But what strange Phrase is this Savouring of the Ranters Religion as if God was the familiar companion of the Clergie and sometimes drank to them in a Cup of Hebrew sometimes in a Cup of Greek and sometimes in a Cup of Latine as if sometimes he drank to them in a Cup of Logick and sometimes in a Cup of Ethicks sometimes in a Cup of Metaphysicks Is not this truly Profana vocum novitas a Prophane Newness of Speech never before
be foretold Rev. 9. which Scripture it is worth the while to rehearse and a little to unfold for John saith The first Angel sounded and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit c. I will here make tryal a little with my own apprehension Now certain it is that by Angels through all the Apocalyps is meant the Overseers of Churches as doth plainly appear out of the second and third chapters where it is written to the Angel of Ephesus Smyrna and others Further that other sort of Angels which sounds the Trumpet of which there are seven mentioned chap. 8. cannot agree to any but the Roman Bishop seeing no others are said to sound with Trumpet Now to sound with Trumpet can be nothing else as appears by the consequence of the Text and the following effects then to make Decrees which none ever arrogated to himself besides the Bishop of the Roman Church Neither is it said in vain that they prepared themselves to sound seeâ—ng chiefly in these Popes there hath been an impatient fury and unquiet Tyranny to make Laws and thereby to subject others to themselves But let us come to our first Angel who was the first among three who were to bring three woes upon the earth and this is He who did first institute and confirm Universities whom it is not easie for me to name Histories so varying in this matter But let him be whosoever he was he was a star fallen from heaven to earth whether it were Alexander of Hales or which I rather think St. Thomas who onely after the Universities were approved and this Angel had sounded was either the first or chief Author of bringing in Philosophy into the Christian world being the most Aristotelian yea plainly Aristotle himself to whom as to the Earth he fell from Christ the Heaven having obtained the authority of that most wicked Angel approving such studies And he received the key of the bottomless pit and opened it and brought forth to us Philosophy long ago dead and damned by the Doctrine of the Apostles and from thence ascended the smoak of that pit that is the meer words and opinions of Aristotle and the Philosophers as the smoak of that great Fornace for then Philosophy prevailed and became of large extent and power so that Aristotle was made equal with Christ in respect of Authority and Faith And hereby was the Sun darkned even Christ the Sun of Righteousness and Truth Moral vertues being brought in in stead of Faith and infinite Opinions instead of Truth and the ayre also with the smoak of the pit that it may be understood not to be an Eclipse of the Sun but the obscurity of the Ayre and Sun by the smoak of the pit ascending to wit humane Doctrines obscuring Christ and his Faith as the Sun and Aire And out of the smoak of the pit there came forth Locusts on the earth Here the people of the Universities bred and born of Philosophy are called Locusts by a most fit name because they are without a King that is Christ and flie in companies as is said Prov. 3. and also because they waste and burn up all green things where-ever they light and so the Grammarians think they have their name Locustae Locusts a loco usto vastato from the place which they burn and waste And so this people of the Universities consumes and burns up all the green pasture of Christ that is the fruit of Faith And power was given to them as the scorpions of the earth have power to wit to wound the Consciences of men because the green fruit of Faith being wasted which heals the Consciences of men it cannot be but the Conscience must be hurt and prejudiced And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth nor any green thing that is that they should not hurt the Elect. For they do not hurt all neither do natural Locusts huâ—t every green thing but some certain place so it is here But onely those men who have not the mark or seal of God in their foreheads that is some grass they should hurt to wit those who have not Faith which is the mark of God which we carry in a pure Conscience and free conversation And it was commanded them that they should not kill them but onely should torment them five months This seems to be spoken of Moral Doctrine which seeing it teaches us the knowledge of sin like the Law of God it doth not kill but onely afflict a man with vain studies wherein he is always learning and yet never coming to the knowledge of the truth for they being killed with the Letter are quickned with the eternal Spirit onely they are tormented five months that is the whole time of their sensual life in which moral Vertues reign And we see by experience that all Moral Divines are of a most evil and unhappy Conscience full of scruples and unquietness and have power neither of good nor evil and therefore it follows And their torment is as the torment of a Scorpion when it strikes a man Behold here a wounded conscience for here he expounds what he had said before that they are not savingly killed nor spiritually quickned And in those dayes men shall seek death and shall not finde it and shall desire to dye and death shall flee from them to wit the death of sin which doth too much live in the conscience and yet is not rightly known for if it were known presently it being slain would perish but this cannot Aristotles Ethicks do but it is the office of the Letter and the Spirit And the shapes of the Locusts were like to horses prepared to battle to wit of Scholastical disputation and conflict He describes the war by this Allegory for they are ready to argue pro contra as they speak And on their heads were as it were crowns of gold that is the Names and Titles of Degrees as Magister noster eximius sacrae Theologiae humilis indignus professor c. that is Our famous Master and the humble and unworthy professor of sacred Theology and the like And these crowned ones John Hus called Hypocritas Coronatos Crowned Hypocrites and by reason of these Crowns they have Authority and power among the multitudes of carnal Christians who are willing to entertaine Antichrists pompe into Christs Church Yet have they not true crowns but as it were Crowns of Gold which they are very proud of and are much pufft up with them though usually they are set on the head of Ignorance and Error And their faces are like the faces of men because their doctrine and life is governed not by the spirit of faith but by the dictate of natural reason and by the light of nature illuminated by Aristotle And they had hairs like the hairs of women For Philosophy brings
this evil should arise but in the end of the world when the world through the prevailing of sin being loaden with the wrath of God should draw neer to hell and damnation For the miserable people must needs hear those things taught and delivered out of the Pulpits which those Molochites have learned in the Universities And they have learned nothing but the highest blasphemies of God Neither is it lawful to have anywhere any other Pastor then these In Jeremiah that valley is called Gehinnom from whence Christ took that word Gehenna which what it signifies I do not well know but it seems to me to come from Janah which signifies to eat up or to pill or waste as Tyrants or Usurers do pill and suck out the people so that Gehinnom is the valley of pilling or wasting the people for these being set over the people as shepherds ought to feed them with the word of life and they in stead thereof do insensibly waste and devour them in their body goods and soul with the pestilent Doctrines of Universitâ—es And such Teachers do the Univesities those Sâ—nagogues of perdition give us Thus Luther These now are Luthers own words which I have made legible to English men Wherein it is manifest that he condemns the Universities in the very institution and constitution of them and chiefly in their chief studies Humane Learning and School-Divinity and also as to that gross popish Opinion that they are the Fountain and Nurseries of the Ministery and that none are fit to teach or so fit to teach as those that have been educated in them Yea though these be raw foolish ignorant fellows yet being University-Graduates must they be set over Towns and Parishes and the miserable people must not onely hear them and their doltish Doctrine brought from the Uniâ—ersities but also must be constrained by secular power and Laws to pay them well for such pains which tends onely to the ruine of their souls for ever and no hand is yet strongly and resolutely stretched out to deliver the people from this intolerable bondage For the necks of the people of the world have never endured so grievous a yoak from any Tyrants as from the Doctrine and Domination of the Clergy For worldly Tyrants have onely afflicted mens bodies and temporal estates which reached but to this short life but these spiritual Tyrants the Clergy or false Ministery when they have got countenance strength and ayd from the wordly Magistrates how have they with their Academical Philosophical Heathenish Divinity infected poysoned and destroyed the people to eternal death and no body durst shun them upon pain of temporal death or punishments But now through the great goodness of God and his mighty Providences and Works from heaven it is a more happy age and happy shall they be who being called forth shall do the work of God against all discouragements and difficulties and shall not with Ephraim being harnessed turn their backs in the day of battel And now to return to our business again touching the Universities let none object that Luther speaks against Popish Universities only for this is but a weak and simple Defence and altogether unable to ward off the mighty blow of Gods word from their heads and hearts For the things condemned in the foregoing Testimonies of Luther are the self same for the substance of them as do live prevaile and flourish in our present Universities as hath been before declared and I leave it to every faithful Christian to judge the truth in this matter But men would faine preserve their Titles Degrees Authority Dignity State Stipends and therefore for defence of these things they must needs say something though it be to never so little purpose but yet by such discourse they sufficiently declare how cool and icie they are for Christs interest and how zealous for their own But certaine it is that as the Universities were set up at first as nurseries for Antichrists kingdome men being therein so educated according to the undertaking of Charles the great in Philosophy and School-Divinity that it might be said to them Vos estis sal terrae lux mundi Ye are the salt of the earth and the light of the world which yet onely agrees to the faithful who are born of God so have they still remained the same hitherto in substance though not without some small change of outward form For first the Philosophy taught and studied in the University is the very same that it was at first and this Philosophy is nothing but the Religion of the heathen for what the Law was to the Jews and the Gospel is to the Christians Philosophy was and is to the heathen and in this study the poor lads wast the flower and cream of their lives to no purpose but to make them more heathenish corrupt and bold then they were by nature And 2. For their Divinity which they usually learn in the Universities out of the Fathers Schoolmen and Systems and in which they are trained up to dispute either for it or against it in the Schools it being in seriousnesâ— all one to them what they hold and maintaine in Religion seeing all is but opinion to them and which they after teach to the peole with special regard to their own profit and advantage this is not the true word and Ministery of the Gospel For the Gospel is the word of faith which word is the word in our hearts according to the tenor of the New Covenant wherein God saith I will write my law in their hearts and put it in their inward parts But now the University-Divines the Truth being indeed dead in their hearts and having no presence nor power there they take it up out of the books and writings of men wherein it hath been buryed and by this means bring forth a dead Doctrine to the world which other men have spoken but they have no experience of and not the word of life which hath quickened them but onely a dead Letter raised up like the lâ—ving Letter which they present to them as the Wâ—tâ—h of Endor raised up a dead Samuel in the outward habit and appearance of the living Samuel and presented him to Saul so these University-Divines bring forth the outward garments and appearance of the Truth to the people when they do best but the substance soul and life of the truth they cannot bring forth because they have not the lâ—ving word of God in their hearts but have onely a dead word which they gather out of the books and writings of men And this is the University-Dâ—vinity And Lastly The Preachers which the Universities send forth are usually in the greatest enmity to Christ and his Gospel of all other men whatsoever and do bring greatest prejudice to Christs Kingdom and advantage to Antichrists For when men without learning and yet without the Spirit of Christ will undertake to teach the people as many also now do