their Prayers and thereby make God himself our Debtour for he that giveth to the Poor lendeth to the Lord. Lastly The Champions for Popery alledge for Purgatory 1 Pet. 3.19 20. By which also he went and preached to the Spirits in prison by which they undrstand the Descent of Christ into Purgatory to loose some Souls there from their Torments But 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by which relates to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Spirit that is set down just before it by which Spirit in Noah who is called a Preacher of Righteousness Christ Jesus is said to Preach to the Generation of Men immediately before the Floud whose Souls are now shut up in Hell for their Disobedience For this Preaching was not performed by an immediate act of the Son of God as if he personally had appeared on Earth and actually Preached to the Old World but he did it by the Ministry of a Prophet for to doe any thing by another that is not able to perform it without him as much demonstrates the existence of the principal cause as if he did it of himself without any intervening instrument But if Purgatory be intended in these words we must be mightily mistaken in our conceptions about a future state then the days that follow after Death do afford opportunities of obtaining a better Life then may Men rise from a life of torments to a life of joy whereas the Angels had one Instant either to stand or fall eternally what that Instant was to them that this Life is to us for after Death immediately follows Judgment the Soul at its departure from the Body knows its doom and what it must trust to for ever The Schoolmen labour all they can to destroy the true Belief of Christians in this matter and have the face to propose it as a matter of Faith that Christ delivered the Souls of the Saints from the very suburbs of Hell which they call Limbus of the Fathers It is pity but the wits of these Men had been better employed than in building such Castles in the Air or in filling Mens thoughts with imaginary Ideas of strange places in the other World that have no foundation in Scripture which is our surest guide against all such Notional wandrings opens our eyes to perceive the reality of things and clears the brain not onely from Darkness but form false and useless Light especially the Ignis fatuus of Purgatory which serves onely to mislead Men out of the way and so lose them in the bogs or woods of perpetual errour which teaches us to believe quite otherwise than the Papists do for such as these are the instructions of the Holy Spirit Joh. 5.24 Verily verily I say unto you he that heareth my word and believeth on him that sent me hath everlasting life he shall not come into condemnation but is passed from death to life Mat. 18.8 Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee cut them off and cast them from thee it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed rather than having two hands and two feet to be cast into everlasting fire Mat. 19.29 And every one that hath forsaken houses or Brethren or Sisters or Father or Mother or Wife or Children or Lands for my names sake shall receive an hundredfold and shall inherit everlasting life Mat. 25.46 And these shall go into everlasting punishment but the righteous into life everlasting In the sixteeth Chapter of St. Luke's Gospel from the nineteenth to the one and thirtieth Verse we reade how the Rich Man was cast into Torments and the Poor Man lodged in Abraham's Bosome between the places of both these Men there was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Wide Gulph never to be passed insomuch that Dives did despair of any relief out of his misery when the gift of a drop of water to cool his tongue would not be granted him If we can assent to what the Papists say they have paved a large Caus-way over this wide Gulph and have opened a very easie passage from a life of torments to that of eternal happiness For by virtue of some prayers oblations and indulgences they have made the way broad to Heaven and narrow to Hell a Man that hath money in his pocket cannot be damned and a Camel may as soon pass through the eye of a needle as a poor Man be saved But granting that the written word of God hath nothing of Purgatory in it the Romanists will tell you that Tradition will defend them in the belief thereof which word Tradition they are wont to alledge to give a colour to most of their present innovations Wherefore in the second place I am to shew how they are mistaken in this case of Tradition also and to declare for what reasons the Fiction of Purgatory was first set on foot The Traditions we receive as good and authentick are the Doctrines which we now reade in the holy Scriptures but I have proved Purgatory to be none of these therefore those of the Romish Perswasion must mean some other Tradition that is not to be found written in the word of God But here we ought to observe that the Scripture in this case aswell as in all others is the onely rule of Faith therefore Traditions Councils and Fathers are onely to be used as helps to understand the Scripture better but not to be entertained as any rule of Faith in which case we are bound to be of the Apostle's mind If I or an Angel from Heaven preach any other doctrine than that which we have delivered let him he accursed For this reason we cannot receive those Doctrines for truth which the Church of Rome presses upon our Belief upon the account of Tradition especially when we consider with what strategems of force and fraud this Church hath laboured to keep the People in ignorance for the sake of her New Doctrines that they may be swallowed the more glibly which is an artifice to enslave Mankind by disabling them either to see or know what she is a-doing whereas if we would keep up the honour and privilege of Humane nature if we would preserve our Bibles from being sequestred into Hucksters hands if we have any regard to God's pure and undefiled Religion we must resolve against the Novelties of Popery For in the true Religion there is nothing which the reason of Mankind can challenge wherein the judgments of Men may not have so good an account as to receive full and ample satisfaction And to speak the truth I do not understand that there is among Protestants what more is to be found among the Papists is accommodated to serve some bye-ends and purposes For this reason a great Abbat in the Roman Church was wont to say that he did greatly suspect his Religion must needs fail being not built upon so firm a Rock as was supposed because there was so little Ground for many Tenents of it in the Word of God I may add that there is
much as to say this sin is of that malignant and heinous nature that it justly deserves endless punishment and will never be pardoned II. Another is that of the 1 Cor. 3. They themselves shall be saved but so as by fire or but as through fire which fire he says must be the Fire of Purgatory We Answer that these words seem to allude to those of Zachar 13.9 where he saith I will bring the third part through fire and refine them as silver is refined which is a fair warning to men that the Doctrines they embrace and their practices according to them may be such as will bear the severest tryal that they may not be like wood hay and stubble which will not endure the fire for the Particle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is a Particle of similitude and the whole phrase 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is proverbial used in Scripture aswell as in other Authours to signifie a narrow escape out of a great danger just as St. Peter expresses it 1 Pet. 3.20 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 so here it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he shall be saved with great difficulty so as through fire III. A Third place is that of 1 Cor. 15. concerning Baptism for the Dead here the Cardinal ventures very far even to the drawing of fire out of water the flames of Purgatory out of these washings Baptism for the Dead and Prayer for the Dead is the same thing in his sense though it be discordant to the harmony and scope of the whole Scripture For the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Scripture signifies to Wash or purify by Washing it must be rendred in the same sense here for as all Nations had their peculiar Rites of Burial so had the Jews who were used to wash the Carkasses of the Dead with warm water Camomile and dryed Roses being put into it This 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or use of Baptisation was threefold The First 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a washing from the pollution contracted by the touch of the dead Carkass The Second was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a washing of the dead Corpse its self as Tabitha was washed The Last was the Baptization in the Text 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in use onely among some misguided Christians for the Apostle undertook to convince the Corinthians of the truth of the Resurrection from their own foolish and erroneous Customs in effect telling them that their usage of Baptizing the living for the dead was vain and impertinent if there were no Resurrection for if the Dead rise not at all to what end were these Funeral Solemnities Why was there vicarium tale Baptisma as Tertullian calls it the manner whereof is thus described by Epiphanius When any Catechumenist dyed some living person being placed under the bed they came to the deceased Party and aked him whether he would be Baptized the Party under the bed answered that he would whereupon they immediately Baptized him for the dead a silly superstitious Action Yet from this Topick St. Paul proves a Resurrection to them as he did once the existence of the true God from an Inscription on an Altar in Athens to one that was unknown but Bellarmine would perswade us that by this washing they intended to afford their Friends some relief in Purgatory and he might with as much reason have told us that the Sea burns IV. The Fourth place is that of St. Matthew 5.25 Agree with thine adversary quickly whilst thou art in the way with him lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the Judge and the Judge deliver thee to the Officer and thou be cast into prison verily I say unto thee thou shalt by no means come out thence till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing Now if the Cardinal may be credited Purgatory is this Prison and the Prisoner shut up therein is in a condition to pay the uttermost farthing by the help of Prayers Masses and the Pope's Indulgence whereas all this is an Allegory whereby we are taught to reconcile our selves to God the great Judge of Heaven and Earth by leading a Godly Righteous and Sober life whilst we are in the Way or on this side the Grave for if we neglect our repentance and amendment of life in this our day before the night approaches wherein no man can work we run the hazard of being cast into a prison out of which there is no Redemption for the Text says We shall by no means come out thence till we have paid the uttermost farthing which will be never because we shall never be able to discharge this Debt We are infinitely beholding to the goodness and mercy of God who hath appointed his onely Begotten Son to be our Surety and to deliver us out of this Prison how justly then may the Saviour of the World be angry with Papists for pretending to cast simple people into I know not what Prison and to torture them with painted Fires in spight of that Redemption which he hath made for the whole World V. The Fifth place is that of Matth. 5.22 Whosoever is angry with his Brother without a cause shall be in danger of the Judgement and whosoever shall say to his Brother Raca shall be in danger of the Counsel but whosoever shall say thou Fool shall be in danger of Hell Fire The last onely of these sins Bellarmine observes shall be punished with Hell Fire consequently after this life the punishment of lesser sins will be in Purgatory But this is no true inference because after this life there will be no distinction of Courts of Justice as there was among the Jews in our Saviour's time then all Judicature shall appertain to Christ and his Apostle therefore this Text cannot be rightly understood without considering the words before and after it Now our Saviour in this Chapter was about to interpret the Law of Moses which the Jews thought they had fulfilled when they had not transgressed the Grammatical sense thereof this made them believe that the Sixth Commandment was not broken but by killing a Man nor the Seventh but by actually committing Adultery or Fornication whereas our Saviour forbids the inward Anger of a Man against his Brother without a cause the punishment whereof at the Day of Judgment shall be Hell Fire How Purgatory then should be maintained from these words I cannot imagine unless the Papists can make it out that as the Jews had divers Temporal Courts of Justice so God Almighty will have three distinct Courts of Justice hereafter and will inflict different punishments for Sin VI. The Sixth place is Luk. 16.9 Make ye friends of the unrighteous Mammon that when ye fail they may receive you into everlasting habitations Invocation of Saints the Papists say may be proved from this Text but I cannot see upon what grounds We are advised to make the Poor our Friends by Charity and by giving them some of our Riches that we may have in this life the benefit of
clearly perceive this to be the word of God than it doth those things which are self-evident and the conclusions logically deduced from them there is no reason therefore that any one should fear to acknowledge that assent to be also less certain notwithstanding it follows not upon this account that Faith is uncertain for That which arises not to the certainty of Science is not therefore uncertain for although that certainty which is called Moral be of an inferiour degree to Demonstration yet it is a true certainty leaves the mind satisfied and free from doubt But how can a Man be said to have a certainty greater than that of Science when he hath not that certainty of evidence from the Arguments upon which the matter is grounded It may be answered that no Man can deny but there may be just cause why a Man may adhere to the objects of his Faith more strongly than the Arguments brought for the truth thereof do require for when a Man is sufficiently perswaded by due reasons and arguments that what is propounded to him for Divine Revelation is indeed such this Man if he duly attends and seriously considers that it is God who speaks he will be wholly bent to yield obedience thereunto he will entertain the word of God with the highest veneration he will closely adhere to it and he will be fully resolved to suffer and renounce all things rather than withdraw his assent from those matters of Faith which are contained in it and confirmed by it From thence there arises in his mind a greater or at least a more effectual adherence to the Articles of his Faith than there is in Science for the mind so affected and disposed doth more affectionately embrace and more firmly hold that word of God than any thing else by what light soever it be propounded or by whatever strength of demonstration it be confirmed neither is there any knowledge which he doth so carefully retain nor is there any assent which he will suffer so hardly or with such difficulty to be forced from him which firmness of Faith and strong adherence of mind to the objects of it is not produced by the evidence thereof but by the great weight and moment of it for the mind being enlightned by the holy Spirit understands that any other speculative scientifical Doctrine doth little or nothing conduce to a happy and blessed life but that on This our everlasting happiness doth depend and that we cannot reject This without certain Ruine Therefore we ought to take heed that cunning Men do not deceive us that we do not hearken to the Teachers of New Doctrines which have no foundation in the Scripture their pretences to infallibility and demonstration in matters of Faith are false and unreasonable for they assume these great and unwarrantabe privileges onely to deceive the Ignorant and to obtrude fictitious articles of Faith upon Mankind Wherefore all that now remains is to make some short Reflexions upon the Authours of Purgatory and other new-invented Doctrines in the Church of Rome First They may be charged for imposing upon our belief things contrary to reason self-inconsistent and incongruous of this I will give but one instance which is their asserting that the Bread and Wine in the Sacrament is changed into the real and substantial Body and Bloud of Christ For this is the hardest thing that ever was put upon Men in any Religion because they cannot admit it unless their reason be laid aside as no competent Judge in the matter unless also they give the lye to the report of their senses And if we do this how shall we think that God made our Faculties true which if he did not doe we are absolutely discharged from all duty to him because we have no faculty that can resolve us that This is of God for if our reason must not be trusted we must cease to be Men if our senses are not to be believed the chiefest proof of Christianity falls to the ground which was the sight of those who saw our Saviour after he was risen from the Dead Now if I may not believe the reason of my mind in conjunction with three or four of my senses how shall I know that any thing is this or that therefore I say that this Doctrine is a gross invention of Men contrary both to reason and sense Secondly The Truths they do acknowledge are made void subtile distinctions or equivocations as for example their Doctrine of probability and of directing the intention if a Man can find any Doctour among them that held such an opinion it makes that Doctrine probable and there is nothing so contrary to the rules of vertue and conscience but what some Romish casuistical Doctour hath resolved to be good and practicable just as Tully says there is nothing so absurd or ridiculous which some Philosopher or other hath not maintained and asserted So by directing their intention they may declare that which is false and deny that which is true because they intend the credit of their Church and Religion this mere intention shall excuse them from the guilt of downright falshood and lying They are so well practised in equivocations that you cannot confide in any words they speak they are so ambiguous and of such doubtfull meaning in their evasions their Speech shall bear a double sense whereas no Man ought to use wit and parts to impose upon another or to make a Man believe That which he doth not mean For the Christian Law is plain and obvious void of all ambiguity or ensnaring speeches free from all Sophistications and windings of Language never flies to words of a dubious or uncertain signification but plainly declares the truth to Men therefore these practices are contrary to that simplicity and plain-heartedness which ought to be in the conversation of every Christian Thirdly They super-add to Religion things altogether unlikely to be true and dishonourable to God which will appear in these following particulars I. The use of Images in the Worship of God an Idolatry they are too guilty of otherwise they would never leave out the Second Commandment and divide the Tenth into two to conceal it from the People We find better Doctrine than this among the Philosophers who say God is to be Worshipped by Purity of Mind for this is a rational service and a worship most suitable to an immaterial Being it being the use of that in us which is the highest and noblest of our Faculties II. the veneration of Reliques a very vain and foolish thing for there can be no certainty at this distance of time what they are and if they were indeed what they are taken for what veneration is or can be due to them For inanimate things are far inferiour to those that have life and for the living to worship things that are dead is unaccountable and irrational III. The Invocation or Worship of Angels and Saints our Fellow-creatures particularly of the Virgin Mary