and the people was of no force at all in those dayes vnlesse the Emperours or their lieutenants had confirmed the same This was done 637. yeares after Christs incarnation Concerning the creation of Benedicte Platina hath these words Ad hunc Constantinus imperator sanctionem misit vt deinceps quem clerus populus exercitús que Romanus in pontificem delegisset eundem statim verum Christi vicarium esse omnes crederent nulla aut Constantinopolitani principis aut Italiae exarchi expectata auctoritate vt anteà fieri consueuerat id enim ratum erat in creando pontifice quod princeps confirmasset vel qui eius vices in Italia gerebat The emperour Constantine sent a decree to this Pope that whomsoeuer the clergy people and Romane souldiers should hencefoorth chuse for their bishop all people should by and by beleeue him to be the vicar of Christ scilicet if they would Bartholomeus Carranza a dominican Frier hath the verie same assertion ad verbum Anastasius and Onuphrius haue these expresse words pontifices qui deinde fuerant creati consecrati sunt sine Constantinopolitani imperatoris iussione The Popes that liued afterwards were made and consecrated without the Emperour of Constantinople his commaundement as if they had saide in the olde time and in the auncient Churche no Bishoppe of Rome coulde haue beene admitted at anie time vnlesse hee hadde brought letters patents from the Emperour though now the practise bee farre otherwise Out of which doctrine I gather these three euident and most necessarie corollaries First that the vulgar and common sort of people are grossely deceiued when they terme papistrie the olde religion and repute them for the Catholikes For wee indeede are the true and auncient Catholikes and the Papistes are nothing else but flatte Heretikes For this Benedict coulde not bee made Bishoppe of Rome without the Emperours Letters Patents This primacie of the Emperour ouer the Bishoppe of Rome was sixe hundred foure score and foure yeeres after the incarnation of Christ. For at that time was this Benedict made the Pope So then the Bishop of Rome for the space almost of seuen hundred yeres after the incarnation of Christ Iesus acknowledged the Emperour for his superiour and Lorde as wythout whose Letters Patentes hee coulde haue no Iurisdiction For as in ciuill causes many are debarred from their lawfull inheritance and that by the violent dealing of mightie men euen so we catholikes haue beene many yeares excluded from our own churches our ancient and lawfull possessions and that by the force violence and tyrannie of the bloudy Romish antichrists And as temporall men are in time restored vnto their auncient right by iust and godly magistrates euen so were we and are we by the goodnes of God and most christian princes king Henry the eight and king Edward the sixt of famous memory our most gratious soueraigne Elizabeth restored to the old christian catholike and apostolike religion and placed againe in our owne churches the spirituall birthright of vs and our ancestours I gather secondly that our Bishops in England are made and consecrated according to the ancient christian catholike and Romaine manner that is by the Letters patents of the Prince I gather thirdly that Christian Emperours vppon a certaine zeale not grounded vppon knowledge yeelding vppe their soueraigne rights to the Bishops of Rome opened the window to all antichristian tyrannie For in short time after the Romish Bishops became so arrogant and lordly that they tooke vpon them to depose the Emperours to translate their Empires and to dispose at their pleasures of their royall scepters and regalities The third replie The church of God cannot bee without Bishoppes and priests as you haue already granâ—ed and as I haue proued out of Saint Paul but so it is that when yee first reformed the church as you tearme it yee neither had any Byshoppes nor any priests of your owne neither coulde you find any but with vs and in our church when Martin Luther went out from vs. Our church therefore and none but ours is the true church of god This reason is so strong as it can neuer be truly answered The answere I saie first that this reason seemeth to carrie a maiestie with it and a verie plausible shewe of truth and therefore did it a long time fascinate and seduce my selfe yet I trust by Gods holy assistance so to solue it as no papist shall haue cause any longer to glorie therein I say secondly that if our bishops or our lay-brethren had gone at any time to the greeke and East churches they shoulde haue found as good a materiall succession at the least as that of yours at Rome but there was no neede to take so long and so painefull a iourney in hand I say thirdly that our bishops and priests of late yeares were indeede consecrated by such as were sometimes in your church But thereupon will it not follow I assure you that the true church of God was with you and not with vs for no more can be inferred vpon your reason but that there remained a certaine externall face of the visible church still with you that is to say a mingled materiall succession of place and persons without the formall Euangelicall succession of trueth and doctrine The fourth replie How can the pastors of the church be without the doctrine of the church for the church cannot bee without the pastors as I haue proued and you also admitted this is it that I desire to learne The answere The reason hereof is this because God promised to giue alwaies pastors to his visible church but he neuer promised this to put the truth alwaies in their mouthes For this cause saith Saint Paule that God hath giuen pastors and teachers to his church vntil the end but he neuer said that he gaue them his holy spirit alwaies to preach and teach the truth no no he neuer promised any such thing You brag of your succession you say you are the church representatiue that your pope cannot erre but whatsoeuer he defineth iudicially that must be as true as the holy gospel Euen so did the wicked Iewes boast when the Prophet of God reproued them come said they let vs imagine some deuice against Ieremy for the law shall not perish from the priest nor counsell from the wise nor the worde from the prophet Thus did the Iewes boast then and thus doe the papistes boast now But what saith God by his Prophet to these your arrogant and Pharisaical conceites doubtlesse cleane contrary to wit but the law shall perish from the priest and counsell from the elder as if hee had said notwithstanding your great bragges of your priuiledges yet shall ye be infatuated and spoiled of all counsel trueth and doctrine The fift replie The Apostle saith that God gaue pastors and teachers to his church for this end that they shuld not
eate grapes they thinke that hearbes trees and plants haue life in such manner as they feele great paine when one cutteth or plucketh them vppe by the rootes or otherwise for this respect they deeme it an heynous offence to purge the field from thornes and thistles and so they condemne husbandrie the most innocent art of all as guiltie of many murders yet they thinke husbandrie or tillage of the grounde to bee pardonable in their auditors because by that their labor they bring foode to their elect in whose bellies the substance is purged and the offence taken away And consequently although themselues do no murders actually as they preteÌ„d yet do they liue of manifest murders practised by others really Where note by the way that the church of the Manichees consisted of two sortes of people their elect and their auditors They held this fantasticall opinion that whosoeuer did eate flesh should be made the same thing which he did eate As for example if a man did eate an hogge he should be made a hog if a bull he should become a bull if a bird he should be a bird if a fish a fish and so in the rest The Manichees held also that if any man marry a wife that same man so soone as he passeth out of this life is changed into another bodie and becommeth a woman Yea they say further that if a man kil a man an asse or other liuing thing that man straight after his death is changed into that liuing thing which he killed be it a mouse serpent or whatsoeuer else The Manichees vse to blesse their meates in this manner O bread neither did I reape thee neither did I grinde thee neither did I make thee neither did I bake thee but an other did al these things and brought thee to me my selfe therefore do eate thee without offence These and other like monstrous assertions did this heresie bring forth This is the grace that they vse CHAP. XII Of the Pelagians taken out of Saint Augustine PElagius sometime a monke and a Brytan borne extolled free-will so much that hee ascribed little or nothing vnto grace He affirmed that man may keepe all Gods holy commaundements without his diuine grace and being reprooued saith saint Austen for derogating so much from the grace of God he answered with vnchristian subtiltie that grace was therefore giuen to man that hee might keepe Gods lawes with more facilitie That grace saith Pelagius without which wee can doe nothing that good is is onely in our free-will which free-will God ingraffed in our nature without any our deserts so that God helpeth vs by his law and doctrine to this end onely saith Pelagius that wee may learne what to hope for and what to do but not to do what we know ought to be done The Pelagians hold saith S. Austin that infants in their carnall natiuitie are so pure and free from originall sinne that they neede not the second and spirituall regeneration of water and the holie ghost Now if any man would aske the Pelagians to what end infants are baptized They will answere forsooth saieth saint Austen that by this externall regeneration they may haue accesse into heauen and not thereby to be absolued from the guilt of sinne For if they die without Baptisme yet do they promise them eternall life but without the kingdome of heauen This is the heresie of Pelagius which I haue sincerely recited out of saint Augustine that excellent writer and immoueable pillar of Christs church because many talke thereof who seem not throughly to vnderstand the same With which heresie how the papists agree and how they dissent from the same shall God willing bee shewed when I come to the next Booke in the chapter of mans Iustification CHAP. XIII Of the Arrian heresie ARrius the heretike was the reader of diuinity in Alexandria a man of great learning and eloquence but withall prowd and ambitious He denied the diuinitie and godhead of Iesus Christ affirming him to be pure man and a meere creature Which his blasphemous doctrine was dispersed throughout Egypt Lybia Alexandria Thebais and many other prouinces Alexander a godly bishop laboured by all meanes possible to dissuade Arrius from his pestiferous and execrable heresie but all his trauell was in vaine because many other bishops and cleargie men embraced the opinion of Arrius and obstinately defended the same The most christian emperour Constantinus worthily surnamed the Great deepely lamenting the church of God to be diuided with schisme and dissention sent Hosius the Bishop of Corduba in Spaine to Alexander and Arrius with his owne hand-writing earnestly exhorting them to set all dissention aside and to agree in vnitie peace and trueth But when the blessed Emperour could not preuaile in his holy purpose hee commaunded al christian bishops to resort at a certaine day designed to Nice a citie in Bithynia where this great controuersie was decided before Constantine himselfe and Arrius with his complices driuen into exile The Emperour Constantinus sent for Arrius into his pallace so meaning fully to make trial of his opinion who when he asked Arrius if he were of the same opinion with the councill of Nice Arrius without all deliberation and stay subscribed in the presence of the Emperour to the decrees of the saide councill Then the emperour greatly admiring that fact willed Arrius to confirme his subscription with an othe to which Arrius yeelded deceitfully as he had done before insomuch that the Emperour being perâ—waded that Arrius was an orthodox and good christian charged Alexander the bishop of Alexandria seuerely to receiue Arrius againe into his woonted place and dignitie Yet Alexander knowing Arrius to be an enemy to God and his holy religion and suspecting his dissimulation with the Emperour his soueraigne fearing God on the one side and reuerencing his soueraigne on the other gaue himselfe to deuout and earnest prayer so commending the whole cause vnto God While Alexander was thus deuoutly occupied behold news came vnto him that as Arrius came from the emperours pallace the worme of conscience did wonderfully trouble him and solubilitie of body did so vehemently assault him that hee was inforced sodainely to withdraw himselfe to a common place where while he sought to haue the ordinary course of nature blood gushed but all his inwards fell from him and so he perished most miserably The secret subtiltie wherwith Arrius fought to deceiue the godly and most christian Emperor was this Arrius wrote his execrable opinion of Christ in a peece of paper kept closely vnder his arme holes that 〈◊〉 hee subscribed in the presence of the Emperour then the Emperour maruelling that he would so doe vrged him to confirme the same with an oath Arrius roundly tooke an oath that he thought as he had written meaning indeede of his first writing which hee kept secretly vnder his arme-hole Where euerie one may see how grieuous a sinne it is to dissemble with God
be caried away with false doctrine But if the pastors all haue erred as you would haue vs to beleeue then in vaine did God giue pastors to his Church to preserue vs in the trueth For they that should haue taught the trueth did euen themselues swarue from the trueth and so they became vnfit instrumentes to doe the will of God The answere I say first that albeit Gods wil be one as himselfe is one willing by his owne essence and by one eternall and immutable act whatsoeuer he willeth yet is his will said to be manifold aswel of the holy fathers as of the schooledoctors And this is done for two special considerations The former is for the varietie of the thinges which God willeth The latter is for the varietie of the maner by which God seemeth to will thinges Hereupon arise many diuisions of Gods will assigned by learned writers for explication sake Some deuide Gods will into antecedent and consequent Some others diuide it into the will of signe and will of good pleasure Others into the will reuealed and will not reuealed Others into the will absolute anâ— will conditionate and the like I say secondly that though Gods will consequent and will of good pleasure bee euer accomplished vndoubtedly yet is his will antecedent and will of signe oftentimes neglected and left vndone Of the former wil the prophet speaketh in these words whatsoeuer pleased y e Lord that did he in heauen and in earth and in the Sea and in all the depthes And the Apostle saith for who hath resisted his will Of the latter we haue many examples in the holie Scriptures First God commanded Pharao by Moses to let his people go but Pharao would not obey Secondly God would haue gathered the Iewes togither euen as the hen gathereth her chickens vnder her wings but they would not haue it so Thirdly God would haue all men to be saued as Paul beareth witnesse and yet we know by the holy gospel that the greater part shalbe damned I say thirdly that Gods will mentioned in S. Paule and now obiected against my resolution is only voluntas signi his will of signe and not voluntas beneplaciti his will of good pleasure and therefore it can neuer be effectually concluded out of this text which hitherto hath euer been reputed the strong bulwarke of poperie and either dissembled or lightly passed ouer by the grauest writers that the pastors of the visible church alwaies teach the trueth and neuer swarue from the same Thus more plainly for the simple and ignorant sort When the apostle saith that God placed pastors and doctors in the church that the people be not carried away with false doctrine he neither meaneth that the pastors shall alwaies infallibly teach the trueth nor that the people shall alwaies constantly embrace the truth I proue it because the apostle speaketh indefinitely and indifferently of all teachers and of al hearers of al shepheardes and of all sheepe neither excepting one nor other and yet both ye know and we know that many preachers preach false doctrine and that many hearers embrace the same Whereupon it followeth necessarily that if the Apostle meant as ye woulde haue him to meane then Christes intent and purpose shoulde be frustrate indeede which yet is it that your selues impugne The apostle therfore meaneth only this to declare voluntate signi what he would haue his shepheards and sheepe to doe albeit voluntate beneplaciti the same be not euer accomplished This my explication of S. Paules meaning is confirmed not only by the holy Scripture but also by the expresse testimonies of renowmed popish writers Touching the holy Scripture First it is euident that God would haue al men saued for so saith the apostle Deus vult omnes homines saluos fieri Gods wil is that all men shalbe saued and come to the acknowledging of the trueth Whereby we see that Gods wil and intent is to saue all and yet doe we know assuredly that al shal not be saued For the gospel saith plainly Multi vocati pauci verò electi Manie are called but few are chosen Secondly it is cleere that God appointed good workes to this end that men should walke in them for so saith holy writ Ipsius enim sumuâ— factura creati in Christo Iesu in bonis operibus quae praeparauit deus vt in illis ambulemus For wee are his workemanship created in Christ Iesus vnto good workes which God hath ordained that we should walke in them And yet we see by daily experience that it is farre otherwise Thirdly God gaue vs his holie lawe to the intent that wee shoulde accomplish it for so the scripture telleth vs and no papist doth or can denie the same and yet haue we infallible knowledge out of the same scripture that none liuing can keep fulfil the law in al points For if we could haue kept the lawe in al pointes wee shoulde haue been iustified by the obseruation thereof and so Chrâ—stes passion and his satisfaction had been needlesse In all these places therefore and the like Voluntas signi must be vnderstood but not voluntas beneplaciti Touching the popish Doctors the Iesuite Bellarmine hath these words At fine dubio singuli episcopi errare possunt aliquando errant inter se quandoque dissentiunt vt nesciamus quisnam eorum sequendus sit But without doubt all bishops may erre seuerally and doe erre sometime and sometime dissent one from another insomuch that we cannot tel whom we should follow Out of which wordes I note first that God who caused Balaams asse to speake hath enforced our Iesuite to confesse the trueth I note secondly that there is no Bishop in the worlde but hee both may erre and sometime doth erre and consequently that the pope of Rome is either no bishop at all by his owne Iesuites graunt or els that he both may erre and doth erre indeed Which point I haue prooued copiously in my booke of Motiues I note thirdly that by our Iesuites confession euery bishop hath so many errours that the people cannot tel whom to follow and consequently that S. Paul meant nothing lesse then that the pastors and doctors of the churche shoulde alwaies teach the trueth I note fourthly that since euery auncient father both may erre and doth erre and that by popish graunt there is no reason why the papistes should vrge vs as they doe to stand to the censure of the fathers in euery thing Their owne Cardinall Panormitanus hath these wordes Nam in concernentibus fidem etiam dictum vnius priuati esset praeferendum dicto papae si ille moueretur melâ—oribus rationibus noui veteris testamenti quam papa Nec obstat si dicatur quod concilium non potest errare quia Christus orauit pro ecclesia sua vt non deficeret quia dico quod licet concilium generale
as by which he may readily finde such places soundly answered as the Papists vse to wrest against the trueth The Texts of the Old Testament GEnesis chapter 3. verse 22. And now leâ—t he put forth his hand and take also of the tree of life and eate and liue for euer Page 1 Ge. 4.7 And thou shalt haue power ouer thy sin 361 Ge. 14.18 Melchisedech offred bread wine 419 Ge. 48.16 And let my name be named vpon them the name of my fathers Abraham Isaac 311 2. Sam. 12.14 Howbeit because by this deede thou hast caused the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme the child that is borne to thee shal surely die 292 Iob 42.8 And my seruant Iob shal pray for you for I wil accept him lest I should put you to shame 315 Psal 99.5 Adore ye his footstoole for it is holy 326 Psal. 110.4 Thou art a priest for euer after the order of Melchisedech 419 Psal. 66.12 We went into fire and water and thou hast brought vs into a place of comfort 298 Psal. 107.13 14 He bâ—ake their bonds asunder ib Ierem. 35.6 Ionadab the sonne of Rechâ—b our father commaunded vs saying Yeâ— shal dâ—iâ—ke no wine neither you nor your sonnes for euer 59 Dan. 4.24 â—edeeme thy sinnes with righteousnes 392 Dan. 9.24 Seuenty weeks are determined vpon thy people 99 Dan. 8.14 Vnto the euening and the morning two thousand and three hundred then shall the sanctuary beâ—â—â—ansed 98 Zach. 9.11 I haue loosed thy prisoners c. 297 Mal. 1.11 And a pure oblation shall be offered euery where 468 Mal. 3.3 He shal fine the sonnes of Leui. 299 Texts of the New Testament MAtth. chap. 5 verse â—6 Thou shalt not depart thence vntill thou hast payed the vtmost farthing 300 Mat 12.32 He that sinneth against the holy ghost shal neither be forgiuen in this world neither in the world to come 299 Matt. 16 19. And whatsoeuer thou shalt binde on earth c. 272 Matth. 28.20 And beholde I am with you till the worldes end 208 Luke 18.25 It is easier for a camel to go through a needles eie then c. 472 Luke 22.36 The saâ—nts are equall to the angels in heauen 338 Luke 22.31 I haue prayed for thee that thy faith neuer faile 212 Iohn 16.13 He will leade you into all truth 210 Ioh. 21.16 Feede my sheepe 215 Ioh. 21.26 Then came Iesus when the doores were shut and stoode in the middes 270 Actes 2.24 Whom God hath â—aâ—â—ed vp and loosed the sorowes of hell 305 1. Cor. 3.12 13. And the fire shall trie euery mans worke of what sort it is 301 1. Cor. 15 29. What shall they do that are baptized for the dead 302 2. Cor. 2.10 To whom ye pardon any thing I also pardon 277 2. Cor. 8.13 14. That also their abundance may be for your lacke that there may be equalitie 295 Ephes. 4.11 He hath put pastors and doctors in his church vntil the worlds end 193 Philip. 2.10 That at the name of Iesus euery knee should bow 301 1. Corinth 9 5. Haue we not power to leade about a sister a wife 220 Coloss. 1.24 And fulfil the rest of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his bodies sake which is the church 281 1. Timo 3.2 A bishop must be the husband of one wife 217 1. Timot. 3.15 The church is the ground of trueth 207 1. Timot. 4.3 Forbidding to marry and to abstaiâ—e from meates 226 1. Timot. 5.11 12. Hauing damnation bicause they haue broken their first faith 241 Hebr. 13 4. Marriage is honorable in all 225 1. Ioan. 5.16 If any man see his brother sinne a sin not to death 310 Apoc. 5 13. And all the creatures which are in heauen and on earth and vnder the earth and in the sea c. 304 Apoc. 19.10 See thou do it not I am thy fellow-seruant 321 A Table Alphabeticall A Abels death folio 46 Abraâ—â—mâ— birth and acts 49 Popish Abstinence 59 Adam created on friday 46 Adam though hee were mortall might haue liued foreuer 1 Adams age death and buriall 46 Ages of the world 2 Agnus Dei and the superstition thereof 492 Agrippa king of the Iewes 137 Allegeance taken away by the Pope 528 Alexandra the wife of Alexander 137 Angels if they heare our prayers 337 Antichrist See Supremacie and Priests marriage Antichristian tyranny 200 Antiochus his linage 147 The Apostles when and where they preached 172 Aristobulus king Herods sonne 139 Arrius and his heresie 178 Arrius thought to deceiue Constantine 179 Augustus the name of euery emperor 151 Auricular confession 493 B The tower of Babel 48 Babylon the place of the captiuitie 26 Praying vpon beades 487 Bernard condemneth merite of workes 389 Bernard affirmeth concupiscence to be sinne ibid. Bernard affirmeth the virgin M. to be a sinner 287 The Bookes of the scripture burnt and restored by Esdras 133 The Booke of Ieremie burnt by Ioachim and written againe 34 The Bookes of the Prophets 36 c. Bread remaineth in the eucharist 335 Popish Bulles 492 The building of the Temple 28 All Bishops erre by popish grant 204 C A Camel may passe through a needles eie 472 Candlemas day 491 The Captiuitie of the ten tribes 29 The Captiuitie of the two tribes 2â— The Cardinalles hat 488 The popish Carni-uale 492 Ceremonies of the Romish Church intollerable 486 Christs resurrection 168 Christs ascension and being in heauen 171 Christs body cannot be in two places at once 436 and 169 Christs body not carnally in the eucharist 466 Christs body truely eaten in the eucharist 464 Christs body not eaten by the wicked 452 Christs passion and the houre thereof 167 Christs resurrection 168 The Church cannot erre and how it is to be vnderstoode 207 The Church inuisible and how 206 The Church visible and how ibid. The visible Church among the Papists how ibi Church-seruice ought to be in the vulgar tongue 476 Circumcision a signe onely of the couenant 52 Concupiscence sinne in the regenerate 389 Confession in popish maner when it began 509 c Confession first instituted 515 Confession in popish manner impossible by grant of learned Papists 5â—6 Confession not knowne in Tertullians time 505 Confession abolished by Nectarius 509.510 The Communion of infants 186 Communion vnder one kinde 402 Communion of priests alone 415 Consecration in the popish masse and the forme thereof 432 The signe of the Crosse 157 Councelles summoned by the Emperour 518 D Dayes 2300. expounded 140 Dayes of popish abstinence 59 Daniel preached in Babylon 36 Daniel expoundeth the seuentie weekes 101 Darius king of the Medes 93 Dauid and other kings of the Hebrewes 24 The generall Deluge 27 The Departure of Israel out of Egypt 56 The Disciples of Christ 172 The Duration of the world 2 E Eli the priest Iudge of Israel 12 Elias at what time he liued 23 Elias the Cabalist his prophecie 2 Elias knew not the 7000. faithfull reserued in Samaria 206 The elect
cannot erre neither all generally nor one finally 207 Emperours of Rome 86 Errour may be in the church 206 Errours how they come 342 The Eucharist giuen to infants 186 The Eucharist expounded by Chrysostome 461 The Eucharist is not Christs body 467 The Eucharist vnder one kindâ— 402 The Eucharist broken 484 Eutiches and his heresie 181 F Abrahams Faith did iustifie him 383 Sole Faith iustifieth 370 Faith can not be without good woorkes 399 The first Faith broken how vnderstoode 241 A true Fast 72 Fasting and choice of meates 60 The Fathers doe erre very often 342 Festiuall dayes 116 Fidelitie allegeance condemned by the pope 528 Free-will how it remaineth 358 G Grace that iustifieth is not inherent 370 The Grace of the Manicheâ—s 176 Saint Paul iustified by Grace yet a sinner stil 374 Grace infused may stand with sinne 350 The virgin Mary abounded with Grace yet not freâ— from sinne 28â— The Greekes and their supputation 8â— Gryphus at strife with his vncle 123 The Gouernement of the Iewes 135 H The Heresie of Arrius 178 Of Nestorius 180 Of Macedonius 181 Of Eutiches ibidem Of Mahomet 182 The Historie of Nectarius 509 Of Spiridion 64 Hierusalem besieged 153 Destroyed 25 Holy dayes and Sabbaths 116 I Iesuites are humble 144 Dissemblers 145 Images 139 Indulgences 270 Inuocation of Saints 319 Ioseph and his acts 57 Iosue 58 Of the Israelites but seuentie persons went into Egypt 53 Israelites 400. yeeres in Egypt 54 Iustice inherent 383 Iustice of the regenerate vnperfit 351 Iustification by faith 370 Iustification formall in Christ ibid. Iustification by workes 383 and 384 Iulianus Apostata 175 K Kings of the Assyrians 74 Of Egypt 128 Of the Iewes 135 Of Israel 20 24 Of Iuda 24 Of Macedonia 116 Of the Medes 76 Of the Persians 94 Of the Romanes 83 Of Syria 123 Kings are supreame gouernors in causes ecclesiasticall 34 and 426 Kings that afflicted the Iewes 147 Kissing the altar 483 The pax 482 The patine 483 The Popes feete 487 L The Law impossible after Adam 350 c. The Law fulfilled by faith 370 Euery transgression of the Law a mortal sin 381 What time the Law was giuen 56 The Lie in the midwiues 55 The Librarie of king Ptolomie 132 M Macedonius â—81 The Maniches 176 Marriage of Priests prohibited onely by mans lawe 216 Gratian alloweth priests marriage 231 The Nicene councell alloweth priests marriage 233 The Masse how it is called a sacrifice 428 The canon of the popish Masse 480 Masse in one kinde contrary to Christs institution and antiquitie 402 Popish Masse iniurious to Christs passion 417 Popish Masse is not a propitiatorie sacrifice 432.433 c. Popish Masse a clowted beggars cloake 476 Priuate Masse is diabolical 414 c. Masse ought to be saide in the vulgar tongue 476 Melchisedech what he offered 422 c. No Merit in mans worke 372 c. The Merit which the fathers ascribe to good workes 394 c. The Meritorious cause of iustification 345 The popish Miter 486 A Monarchie contained not all power in it 129 The Monarchie of the Assyrians 74 Of the Greekes 121 Of the Persians 92 Of the Romanes 149 Moses and his actes 55 N The seuerall Names of the ten tribes 43 Nectarius abolished confession 510 Nestorius 180 Nero and his wicked actes 150 Noah his floud 27 Nouatus the cause and beginning of popish confession 512 Nunnes may lawfully marry euen after vowes 235 O Olympias 116 The Olympiads 81 The Originall of confession 509 c. Of kissing the Popes feete 487 Of pardons 270 Of pilgrimage 341 c. Of popish masse 480 Of changing Popes names 486 The Originall of praying for the dead 296 Of praying to Saints 311 Of praying on beades 487 Of popish primacie 187 Of purgatorie 296 Of single life 224 Of transubstantiation 436 P Pardons 270 Pax vsed in poperie 481 Phocas author of primacie 188 Pilgrimage 341 c. Popes and their wicked dealing 529 Of kissing the Popes feete 487 Changing the Popes name 486 Praying to Saints 311 For the dead 296 In the vulgar tongue 476 Vpon beads 487 Primaâ—â—â— 187 Priuate masse 414 Purgatorie 296 Ptolomaeus his librarie 232 R Reliques of Saints not to be adored 349 Remus how slaine 82 The Romish church hath erred 203 c. The church of Rome holdeth many things whereof it can yeelde no reason 186 The church of Rome vseth to wrest the scripture ib. Rome how it had the name 82 Rome when builded ibidem S The alteration of the Sabbath 108 c. The Sacrifice of the masse 428 The Saracens 182 A Scribe what it signifieth 133 The Scripture must try euery trueth 342 The Sects of Romish religion and when they began 530 The Septuagints and their celles 131 Succession of kings See Kings Succession in the Romish church 194 c. Supremacie of the Romish church 187 T The Temple when it was built 2â— Transubstantiation when it began 436 The destruction of Troy 81 All Trueth to be tried by the scripture 342 V No sinne Veniall of it owne nature 381 Vestments and their colour 490 The Virgin Mary a sinner 287 Virgins may marry after their vowes 235 The Visible church clogged with superstitions See Church Vowes cannot dissolue lawful marriage 253 c. Vowes vnlawfull 265 W The Wearing of a Cardinalles hat 488 The seuentie Weekes in Daniel are declared 101 The scripture must Witnes trueth 342 A Woman pope of Rome 191 A Woman clad in mans apparell 74 Good Workes cannot iustifie before God 383 c Good Workes do not merit 392 Widowes damned for breaking their first faith 241 FINIS Among other faults escaped in the Printing these especially are thus to be corrected Pag. 2. for Cabatist reade Cabalist Pag. 13. for 432 443 Pag. 19 for 428 443 Ibidem for 4082 4097 Pag 21. The first two lines as part of the sentence afore-going Pag. 37. for Achab Achaz Ibidem for eight seuenth Pag. 74. for hadle handle Pa. 75. for Tantanes Tautanes Ibid. for Tantens Tantens Pag. 1â—â— deest made with other literall faultes which the ingenious Reader may easily espie and amend Act. 9.1 2. Act 9.4 1 Cor. 15.9 1. Cor. 2.8 1. Tim. 1.13 Gal. â— 10 Genes 2. vers The state of 〈◊〉 in his creation The vertue of the tree of life â—ugust de ciuit 〈◊〉 3 cap. 20. â—enes 2.16 â—enes 3.19 â—enes 1. â—9 â—enes 9.3 Aug. de ciuit libr. 22. cap. 30. The difficultie consisteth not in the ages but in the supputatâ—â—on of the yeareâ— Exceeding greâ—â— varietie of opinâ—â—ons 〈◊〉 first age second age August quaest sup Gen. q. 25. Mal. 1. verse 2 3. â— Par 4. v 1. Actes 7. verse â— The third age â—ee the Fift Sectiâ—n of the eight â—hapter where â—his is handled more at large This point must be well noted See Athanasius in synopsi Anno mundâ— 3088 4. Reg. 25. Ier. 52. Iosephus his â—â—â—putation 〈◊〉 be allowed 〈◊〉 from the 〈◊〉 to the 〈◊〉 be 〈◊〉 443. yeares 〈◊〉
concerning your owne proceedings especially since sundry of them be your owne holy friers I say fourthlie that this storie of Pope Iohn is publikelie painted and this daie to bee seene in your owne Cathedrall churches of Syenna Which painting our newly hatched Iesuites sought earnestly to haue had defaced in the late repairing of that church but the bishop would not suffer them to preuaile I say fiftly that these seuen writers who were all papists and liued so long one after another would neuer haue published one and the selfe same thing to the world if any one of them could in his life time haue learned the contrary to be the trueth The 2. replie They say onely and barely vt ferunt as men say And other graue writers that liued before them all and neerer the time of pope Iohn make no mention thereof The answere I say first that to reason ab auctoritate negatiue is not holden good in schooles and your selues doe often condemne in others that kinde of disputation I say secondly that if these writers had not been perswaded of the trueth of the storie they would neuer haue published it to the worlde because it maketh so much against Romish Religion to which they were addicted whollie I say thirdly that the said authors write of this matter euen as they doe of other thinges Palmerius and Segebertus both haue these expresse wordes Fama est hunc IohanneÌ„ faeminam fuisse vni soli familiaritantum cognitam qui eam complexus est grauis facta peperit papa existens Quare eam inter pontifices non numerant quidam ideo nomini numeruÌ„ non facit The report is that this Iohn was a woman and knowne onely to one that was her familiar friend By whose familiaritie she became with childe and was deliuered euen while she was pope of Rome For which cause some doe not reckon her amongst the popes and so shee maketh not vp the number Marianus Polonus Bergomensis Platina and Carranza alreadie named teach the same doctrine writing vpon the same Iohn And note wel that M. Scotus affirmeth the storie constantly without al ands or ifs And so doth also M. Polonus who was the popes owne penitentiarie To these I may fitly adde that which your L. Abbot Bernard saith the beast saith he mentioned in the reuelation to whom was giuen a mouth speaking blasphemies and to make warres with the Saintes sitteth in Peters chaire His wordes are cited verbatim in the preface to my booke of Motiues The third replie S. Austen auoucheth plainly that the succession of the Bishops of Rome was one of the chiefest motiues that kept him in the catholicke church The answere I answere that succession is of two sorts materiall and formall Materiall is the succession of persons one after another in the same place Formall is the succession of persons one after another in the same doctrine in what place soeuer Now S. Austen in deede writing against the Manichies saith that succession of priestes from S. Peters seate kept him in the vnitie of the church And no maruell because the Bishops of Rome vntill the daies of S. Austen and long after were verie godly men and taught the same doctrine that S. Peter had done before them and so they ioyned succession formall with materiall which if the bishops of Rome would this day performe all godly christians would now ioyne with them as S Austen did in his time For as S. Irene saith wee ought to obey those priestes that with succession keepe the word of trueth The third obiection S. Paule saith plainly that there must be bishops and pastors in the church euen vntill the worlds end Whereupon it followeth that you protestantes haue no church at all For before Luther departed from vs all bishops and priestes for many yeares togither as your selues can neuer denie imbraced our Romish religion This obiection doth so gall you all as ye cannot tell in the world what answere to frame thereunto The answere Gentle wordes I pray you the matter is not so daungerous as ye thinke I therefore say first with saint Paul that pastors and doctors haue euer been in the church since Christs ascension are at this present and shall bee vnto the worldes end I say secondly that albeit the visible church cannot want materiall succession yet cannot that succession without formall yeelde anie sound argument of true faith and religion In regard hereof your owne doctor Nicolaus de Lyra after he hath told vs that many Popes haue swarued from the christian faith and become flat apostataes concludeth in these wordes Propter quod ecclesia consistit in illis personis in quibus est notitia vera confessio fidei veritatis by reason whereof the church consisteth in those persons in whome there is true knâ—wledge and confession of the faith and of veritie So then by the confession of your owne approoued doctor not they that sic in saint Peters chaire at Rome are the true and lawfull successors of Saint Peter but they that confesse and preach saint Peters doctrine I say thirdly that our reformed churches in England are this day able to shew succession both materiall and formal euen from the apostles themselues And therefore our succession is and ought to be reputed farre better then yours The first reply Howsoeuer you wrangle about your formall succession yet is it cleare to all that haue eyes that you haue no materiall succession at all vnlesse you tearme it materiall succession when lay persons possesse the roomes of lawful Bishops For I pray you good sir who ordered your Bishops and Priests in king Edwardes dayes Who sent your Ministers that this day preach and minister your sacraments Can you for shame deny that they were ordered by such as were runnagates from vs in Queene Maries time All the world knoweth yee cannot doe it And yet must you bee sent by ordinary vocation or else confesse that you most shamefully vsurpe that holie function For as saint Paul saith How shall they beleeue in him of whome they haue not heard And how shall they heare without a preacher And how shall they preach except they be sent The answere Our succession is both materiall and formall christian and apostolical as which is consonant to the holy scriptures and to the vsual practise of the primitiue church For first our bishops can proue their doctrine by the scriptures and by the testimonies of best approued writers as I haue alreadie proued in my Motiues and shall by Gods assistance proue more at large in this discourse Secondly our bishops haue mission and imposition of hands according to the practise apostolicall and of all approued antiquitie Thirdly our bishops are made in such forme and order as they haue euer beene accustomed a few popish superstitious and beggerlie ceremonies omitted which of late yeeres had crept into the church that is to say be free election of the Chapiter by
holy angels And Lodouicus Viues vpon the same place of S. Austen hath these wordes Et istos quoque supplicijs liberabat Origenes sicut ex sanctis angelis praecedente tempore diabolos faciebat quae illius erant vicissitudines These also did Origen deliuer from punishment as in processe of time he made of angels diuelles such was his changeable course of dealing Roffensis our late popish bishoppe of Rochester confesseth a trueth in this matter to wit that the Greekes did neuer beleeue there was a purgatorie Againe that purgatorie was not receiued in all places at once neither yet generally for many hundred yeeres His wordes I haue alleadged in the first booke of my Motiues in the seuenth preamble The first obiection I haue loosed thy prisoners out of the pit wherein there is no water Ergo saith our Iesuite Bellarmine there is a purgatorie for out of hell none can be loosed The answer I answer that the prophet means nothing els but that God will deliuer his church out of all dangers howe great soeuer they seeme Againe this text may fitly be expounded of hell as Saint Hierome taketh it His wordes are these In sanguine passionis tuae eos qui vincti in carcere tenebantur inferni in quo non est vlla misericordia tua clementia liberasti Thou hast deliuered in the bloud of thy testament of thy free mercie those that were bound in the prison of hell where there is no mercy And indeed the merite of Christes bloud preserued vs from hell which otherwise was prepared for vs. This text may also be vnderstood of the captiuitie of Babylon from whence the church was deliuered The second obiection We went through fire and water and thou hast brought vs to a place of comfort or refreshing By this place it is cleere that there is a purgatorie The answere I say first that before hell had no water in it but now there is found both fire and water such is the constancie of popishe diuinitie I say secondly that by fire and water the prophet here vnderstandeth the victories which martyrs haue had in their manifold passions That is to say martyrs after all their crosses miseries and afflictions are brought to Christ their head and true comfort Thus doth S. Hierome expound this place whose expresse wordes are these Martyrum hic ostendit victorias quas in diuersis passionibus meruerunt ad vnum eos dicit refrigerium id est Christum Dominum per laqueos per cruces per verbera per ignes aestusq alia diuersa supplicia per quae holocaustum acceptum effecti sunt peruenisse Hee sheweth the victories of martyrs which they were worthie of in their manifold passions and hee saith they came to a place of refreshing that is to Christ our Lord through snares through crosses through beatinges through fire and heate and diuers other tortures through which they became an acceptable sacrifice S. Austen expoundeth it in the selfe same maner The third obiection They cried to the Lord in their trouble and hee deliuered them from their distresse Hee brought them out of darkenes and out of the shadowe of death and brake their bandes asunder Ergo there is a purgatory The answere I answere that the whole Psalme containeth in effect nothing els but thankes giuing to the Lord for his great mercie in that he hath deliuered them not onely from hell iustly deserued for their sinnes but also from the manifold dangers of this life So writeth S. Austen vpon this Psalme and S. Hierome is of the same opinion For these are his expresse wordes Vinctum enim erat genus humanum catenis criminum carceri diaboli mancipatum For mankinde was bound with the chaines of sinne and kept in prison as a slaue by the diuell The 4. obiection He shall fine the sonnes of Leui and purifie them as gold and siluer that they may bring offeringes vnto the Lord in righteousnesse Which fining say our papistes cannot be vnderstood but of purgatorie The answere I answere that the prophet Malachie speaketh flatly of the first aduent of our Sauiour Iesus Christ who by his bitter and sacred passion will purge his church from all her sinnes and then shall the faithfull offer vp the sacrifice of land and thankesgiuing Thus doth S. Hierome expound this text neither can any other glosse be consonant to the discourse of the prophet The 5. obiection S. Mathew saith that the sinne of the holy ghost shalbe forgiuen neither in this worlde neither in the worlde to come By which wordes he giueth vs to vnderstand that some sinnes are forgiuen in the world to come Ergo there is a purgatorie The answere I answere that Gods spirite knoweth best how to interpret the scripture and consequently that S. Mathew meaneth nothing els by these wordes neither in this world neither in the world to come but that the sinne against the holy ghost shall neuer be forgiuen For so doth S. Marke another Euangelist interprete this selfe same text These are the wordes hee that blasphemeth against the holy ghost shall neuer haue forgiuenesse but is culpable of eternal damnation Yea which is a confusion to the papists S. Mathew himself so expoundeth himselfe in the next verse aforegoing And so doth S. Chrysostome expound this place The 6. obiection Thou shalt not depart thence till thou hast paied the vttermost farthing Ergo after satisfaction made or the popes pardon graunted thou maiest come out of purgatory The answere I answere with S. Augustine that the prison whereof S. Mathew speaketh is hell from whence there is no departure in deed For hee that is once committed thither for non payment must tarry there world without end because hee can neuer answere this infinite debt The replie When he saith vntill thou hast paied hee giueth vs to vnderstand that after a certaine time we shall come out I aunswere that the word vntill doth not connotate the end of imprisonment but the continuation thereof because so is the vsual acception of that terme in the holy scriptures For when S. Mathew saith he knew her not vntil she had brought forth her first borne sonne it followeth not that he afterward knew the blessed virgine So when it is said that Michol had no child to the day of her death it followeth not y t she had children after her death Thirdly when our Sauiour promised to be with his disciples till the worldes end it doth not import that he wil after forsake them Fourthly when the prophet saith as the eyes of a maiden looke vnto y e hands of her mistres so our eyes wait vpon the Lord our God vntill hee haue mercy vpon vs he meaneth not that our eies shal not afterward wait vpon the Lord. No God forbid Fiftly when God saith sit thou at my right hand vntil I make thine enemies
manifest if wee ponder deepely what famous popish doctours haue written herein Bernard hath these expresse wordes Sic non est quod iam quaeras quibus meritis speremus bona praesertim cum audias apud prophetam non propter vos sed propter me ego faciam dicit dominus sufficit ad meritum scire quod non sufficiant merita So there is no cause that thou shouldest nowe aske by what merites we hope for glorie especially since thou hearest the prophet say I will doe it saieth the Lorde not for your sake but for mine owne It is sufficient to merite to know that our merites are not sufficient Thus saith deuout Bernard who though hee liued in the greatest mist of poperie and so was carried away with some errours of his time yet did hee teach most christian doctrine almost in all his workes and because hee was reputed a great papist with the papists his testimonie is euer most forcible against them and their proceedings Aquinas hath these expresse words Manifestum est autem quòd inter Deum hominem est maxima inaequalitas in infinitum enim distant totum quod est hominis bonum est à Deo Vnde non potest hominis à Deo esse iustitia secundum absolutam aequalitatem sed secundum proportionem quandam in quantum scilicet vterque operatur secundum modum suum Modus autem mensura humanae virtutis homini est à Deo ideo meritum hominis apud Deum esse non potest nisi secundum praesuppositionem diuinae ordinationis ita scilicet vt id homo consequatur à Deo per suam operationem quasi mercedem ad quod Deus ei virtutem operandi destinauit And it is manifest that betweene God man there is exceeding great inequalitie for they differ in infinit all the good that man hath is of God Wherefore mans iustice receiued of God cannot be according to absolute equalitie but after a certain proportion to wit in as much as either worketh according to his condition Now man hath the measure and condition of his vertue from God and therefore mans merite cannot be with God saue onely according to the supposal of Gods holy ordinance so to wit that man may attaine that at Gods hand by his working as reward to which God hath appointed his power of working Thus writeth the master papist Aquinas who vtterly ouerthroweth all popish merite as it is this day defended in the church of Rome For first marke well gentle Reader for this is a weightie point Aquinas telleth vs that where there is not perfert equalitie there can be no merite properlie Secondly hee graunteth that there is infinite inequalitie betweene God and man Thirdly hee confesseth that mans iustice is not absolute but imperfect Fourthly he granteth that maÌ„ doth merite nothing in Gods sight saue only by way of his free acceptation Fiftly he confesseth that eternall life is not properly hyre but as it were hyre by reason of the same acceptation Durandus their owne schooleman denieth euery mans works how iust or holie soeuer he be to be simply and properly meritorious but onely to merite in an vnproper and large kinde of speech Meritum inquit propriè de condigno est cui simpliciter debetur aequale virtute operis nullum autem opus nostrum aequale potest esse vitae aeternae neque illam largitur nobis Deus ex iustitia sed ex quadam liberalitate sane quia gratìs acceptat nostra opera Merite saith Durand is properly of the worthy to which that is simply due which is equall by the vertue of the worke but no worke of ours can be equall to eternall life neither doth God giue it vs of iustice but of meere liberalitie in that he freely accepteth our workes Gregorius Ariminensis Marsilius Thomas Waldensis Paulus Burgensis and Io. Eckius all being zealous papists doe for al that denie mans workes to be meritorious of eternal life how holy soeuer the man be And gentle Reader that thou mayest fully knowe howe the papists haue of late yeeres bewitched the world and vnder pretence of holy zeale seduced simple soules call to minde that they vse to wrest the scriptures as I haue already proued out of their owne doctors and to come new no distinctions to make their false doctrine good Which for thy better satisfaction I will prooue concerning this present controuersie of the merite of works out of Iosephus Angles a grey frier and learned popish bishop who euen in that booke which he dedicated to the pope himselfe so mightie is the truth writeth in these expresse words Diuus Chrysostomus ait Etsi millies moriamur etsi omnes virtutes animae expleamus nihil dignum gerâ—mus ad ea quae ipsi à Deo percipimus Eodem etiam modo coÌ„siderantes omnes alij doctores sancti naturalem solummodo bonorum operum valorem illum à valore iusta vitae aeternae aestimatione longissime distare perpendentes prudenter dixerunt opera nostra non esse meritoria aut digna vita aterna Ex lege tamen siue conuentione siue promissione facta nobiscum opera bona hominis cum adiutorio gratiae Dei fiunt aeternae vitae digna illi aequalia quae seclusa illa dei promissione quae passim in sacris literis repetitur fuissent tanto praemio prorsus indigna Saint Chrysostome sayeth though wee dye a thousand times and accomplish all vertue of the minde yet doe wee nothing worthie of those things which wee receiue of God And all other holy doctors considering after the same manner the naturall valure only of good words and perceiuing that it is exceeding farre distant from the valure and iust estimation of eternall life sayd wisely that our works are not meritorious nor worthie of eternall life Yet for the couenant and promise made with vs the good works of man with the help of Gods grace are worthy of eternall life and equall with it which for all that that promise of God which is frequent in the scriptures set aside were altogether vnworthie of so great reward Thus sayth our Popish Bishoppe and holy Frier who though he bestirre himselfe more then a little to establish the condigne merite of works yet doth he in his owne kind of reasoning vtterly confute and confound himselfe For first he graunteth that not onely S. Chrysostome but all the rest of the holy Fathers with him affyrme good workes neyther to be meritorious nor worthy of eternall life Agayne he graunteth that workes considered in their naturall kinde are vnworthie of eternall life Thirdly he graunteth that good works euen as they proceede of grace and assistance of the holy Ghost are for all that vnworthy of eternall life if Gods promise and free acceptation be set apart Which three poynts doubtlesse are all that we desire to be graunted concerning the doctrine of good works And so though the Papists
neuer cease to impeach accuse slaunder and condemne vs in this behalfe yet do we defend nothing heerein but that which their owne best Doctors and printed bookes doe teach vs yea euen such bookes as are dedicate to the Popes holinesse himselfe The conceites which this Bishop alledgeth to make good his intended purpose are childish and too too friuolous For first where hee sayth that the Fathers speake of good workes onely in respect of their naturall valure as hee tearmeth it I aâ—nswere that that glosse and exposition is onely inuented by him and his fellowes to salue their beggerly doctrine if it wold be For besides y t no father saith so they repute al works before grace meere sin as I haue prooued out of Austen And our Bishop vnwittingly confuteth himselfe of such force is the trueth when he graunteth that good works done in grace are vnworthy of heauen if Gods promise be set apart For if they merite ex condigno as he auoucheth then doubtlesse promise couenant and mercie is altogither needlesse Secondly where the bishop fleeth to distributiue iustice so to establishe the merite of workes I answere that both the fathers and his fellowes are against him yea euen Aquinas himselfe For they vnderstand iustice commutatiue and require arithmetical equalitie And if Geometricall proportion were to be admitted yet should greater equalitie be required then can be found between our workes and eternall life The 9 obiection Ye brag that the merite of good workes cannot be found in all the Scripture But therein you belie both vs and the holy scripture For in the booke of Ecclesiasticus I finde these expresse wordes Omnis misericordia faciet locum vnicuique secundum meritum operum suorum All mercie shall make place to euerie one according to the merite of his workes Loe here is made expresse mention of the merite of his good workes The answere I say first that the booke of Ecclesiasticus is not canonicall Scripture as which was not found written in the holy tongue I say secondly that it is not for nothing that your late councel of Trent hath so magnified your Latine vulgata editio For such stuffe as this it doth affoord you in time of neede I say thirdly that in the originall and Greeke text your worde merite may long seeke for lodging before it finde any For these are the expresse wordes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Make place to all almes for euerie one shall find according to his workes The 10. obiection One Scripture saith that if we giue almes all things are pure vnto vs. Another scripture saith that charitie couereth the multitude of sinnes And it is frequent with the holy fathers that good workes deliuer vs from hell The answere I say first that S. Luke reprooueth y e extortions of the Pharisies exhorteth them to works of charitie As if he had said not vnwashed handes make you eate vncleanly but your wicked extortions Vse therefore charitie and giue almes to the poore and then your soules shalbe cleane though the platter be vnwashed This sense is gathered out of the verses aforegoing I say secondly that almesdeedes and other good works proceeding of faith do neither merite nor iustifie as is prooued but yet they are testimonies before men that wee be iustified by faith through the merites of Christ Iesus For which respect iustification is often ascribed vnto them as to the effects therof I say thirdly that the fathers in many places doe speake of temporal remission which often is graunted for almes deeds and the like The replie If good workes can neither iustifie nor merite then is it but a vaine thing to exercise our selues therein The answere I say first that thus to say and thinke is a probable signe of the reprobate who hath no feeling of Gods holy spirite but is become senselesse in all spirituall contemplation I say secondly that albeit good workes doe neither iustifie nor merite in proper kinde of speech yet be there many good and necessary causes why we should doe good workes First because God is glorified therein Therefore saith Christ let your light so shine before men that they may see your good workes and glorifie your father which is in heauen Secondly because by good workes we shew our gratitude loue towards God Therfore saith Christ If ye loue me keep my coÌ„mandements Thirdly because it is the end for which we were created Therfore saith the apostle For we are his workmanship created in Christ Iesus vnto good works which God hath ordained that we should walke in them Fourthly because they are necessary effectes of our predestination and consequently yeeld and euident morall certitude both to our selues to our neighbours that we are y e childreÌ„ of God Therfore saith the apostle There is no coÌ„demnation to theÌ„ y t are in Christ Iesus which walk not after y e flesh but after the spirite as if hee had said Who soeuer are the childreÌ„ of God cannot but liue after Gods holy lawes Which is the selfe same doctrine that Christ himselfe taught vs saying If ye shall keepe my commaundementes yee shall abide in my loue as I haue kept my fathers commandement and abide in his loue And S. Iohn confirmeth the same in these wordes In this wee know that we loue the children of God when we loue God and keepe his commandementes For this is the loue of God that we keep his commandementes So then if we keep Gods commandementes it is an euident signe that we loue God and that by faith wee are of his free mercie made his children for the merites and righteousnesse of Christ Iesus See more hereof in the eleuenth preamble in my first booke of Motiues The 8 conclusion Although good workes doe neither merite grace in this life nor glorie in the life to come as which are imperfect polluted with sinne and in rigour of iustice worthy of condemnation as is alreadie prooued yet because God hath decreed in his eternal counsel to bring vs to heauen by them as by ordinary meanes and right fruites of a sound christian faith they may in a godly sense be termed The secundary instrumentall cause of eternall life but in no sense the cause of mans iustification Explico I say of mans iustification because the latter can neuer be the cause of the former and consequently good workes following our iustification as the immediate fruites thereof can by no meanes possible be the cause of the same In regard whereof S. Austen as in many other thinges so in this point saide very learnedly Quòd opera non praecedunt iustificandum sed sequuÌ„tur iustificatum That workes doe not go before iustification but followe him that is iustified I say of eternall life because when there be many gradual effectes of one and the same cause then the former may fitly be termed the materiall cause of the latter that is as the schooles terme it Causa sine qua non