and therefore must preuaile notwithstanding their distinction some workes be Legall some Euangelicall seeing the Free fauour of God excludeth all our workes howsoeuer tearmed for iustifiyng onely Christes merit-worke for our iustification Obiection Fayth is a worke being iustified by Fayth we are so iustified by a worke Answere It is a worke in vs but not of vs for Fayth as the Holy Ghost witnesseth is the Guift of God and so our iustification to saluation the free guift of God and not of our selues onely nor also For if we will plant our thresholds by his thresholds Ezekiel will proclaime it an abhomination And because Christ doth not onely begin the worke but also perfect it the Author to the Hebrewes calles him The Author and finisher of our Fayth The premisses considered and sound in the iudgment of a Romanist were he to die the death for his Fayth against the Turke and not to maintaine a sworne opposition against vs let me put downe the following Positions 1. First these Schismatikes be most hereticall that by reason our outward forme of Discipline likes them not do affirme as some chiefe of them haue in my hearing that the Church of England neither holdeth nor teacheth the Ghospell of Christ. And yet the same people holdeth no other Ghospel then heere they receiued except they make their Lay-eldership their Ghospell or some of their outward workes to giue beeing to the Ghospell And then they fall vpon the Rocke of Poperie which they would seeme to sayle so farre from establishing not onely a Iustification with God by Fayth onely at first but after that a second iustification with God by works also Nor indeed is it better with them if themselues will vnderstand themselues Which easily cannot be done God hauing put vpon them the spirit of slumber 2. Secondly I doe faythfully belieue that in the Romish-church since the first plantation of it there hath been and still is a true Christian people holding the maine Foundation layd in Christes blood howsoeuer sometimes they build vpon it Hay Stubble and the like euen as in the thronge of the Tares the Lord had his Wheate and Children of the Kingdome And in Babel euen after the Returnes to Iudah by Zerubbabel Ezra and Nehemiah God there had his Daniel and others also with him God forbid that their malice against vs reforming the Church should beget in vs a deniall of any Grace which God continues amonst them notwithstanding their abode in lamentable Confusion Nor is this trueth of Christianitie which I beleeue to be amongst them onely an inuisible Grace according to secret election as some Scismatikes make it but in the profession visible witnesse not onely many their Writings but also many their Sermons there at home as these can witnesse that haue trauailed amongst them not to speake any thing of such as dayly do offer vp their blood amongst them in testimony against their false Ghospell 3. Thirdly I do verily belieue that a maine cause why the Apostle handleth so largely Iustification by Fayth onely in that Epistle to the Romaines was this for that he foresaw how that Church would quickly be drawing away from that Pillar for establishing a iustification of their owne in the roome thereof That they haue made a foule departure from that Fayth of the Ghospell and that we in that poynt haue recouered our standing let themselues iudge being vnpossessed of Sophistrie reading but the first eight Chapters soberly ouer or but the first foure accordingly as they be translated in their Rhemish Testament And will they be so bewitched as to giue more credeÌ„ce to the writing of any one among them then to the Apostle Paul enforming their first Christian people Let them labour to bring their opinion to the Epistle and not wrest the Epistle to their opinion holding it true Antiquitie to be one with the Apostle and that golden Epistle and not to reiect them for entertayning a Nouelty couered with colour of Antiquity He that teacheth any other Ghospell then that which S. Paul taught we are though he were an Angell from heauen to hold him accursed yea twise accursed as the same Apostle teacheth Galath 1. 8. 9. So much of the Ghospell preached to the Fathers and exhibited to vs the manner of Dispensation being diuerse but the Thing one and the same In noua Lege vetus inclusa tenetur And Vna est veterum ac nouorum patrum fides And one within 200. yeares after Christ writes thus Vnum quidem revera salutare testamentum quod a Constitutione mundj ad nos peruenit per generationes diuersas tempora etiamsi Datione existimatum fuerit esse Diuersum Consequensâ—n est esse vnam jmmutabilem Salutis dationem ab vno Deo per vnum deum quae multis modis prodest Propter quam causam tollitur Maceria quae diuidebat Graecuâ—â— a Iudaeâ— ad hoc vt esset populus peculiaris sic ambo perueniunt ad vnam fidej vnitatem ex ambobus vnae est Electio CHAP. XV. Touching Antichrist and his Oppâ—sition THAT the Greeke word Antichristes doth signifie one Opposite to Christ it is out of all question But wherein he is to be opposite in Fayth or Manners wholly or in part and if in part then in what part is a mightie Question Besides that there should be such an Aduersarie is out of all question but who that Aduersarie or whether One or Many and from whence he should arise is much in question The Fathers take the word sometimes very largely as they thinke S. Iohn doth in his 1. Epistle sometimes strictly as of one and the same person as they thinke S. Paul doth in 2. Thess. 2. vnder the tearmes Man of Sinne Sonne of Perdition Sometimes they vnderstand S. Iohn to call all these Antichristes that be Heades of Heresie vnder the name of Christ teaching thinges that be contrarie to Christ. And such be the violaters of Fayth Sometimes they vnderstand these Antichristes of such as ouerturne all good manners and order And so their Pope Honorius to that purpose writ thus Cast eye vpon the Princes and Iudges behold in them is plaeced the Beastes seat then he numbers vp their wickednesses Turne to the Cleargie and thou shalt see in them the Beastes Pauilion then he numbreth vp their worldlinesse Contemplate aâ—so the Conuentâ—â—les of Moncks and thou shalt see in them the Beastes Tabernacles then he fileth vp their Hypocrisies Behold also the habitations of the Nunnes and in them thou shalt see prepared the Beastes Bed-chamber then goe vp the Nuns abhominations Turne thy selfe to the rest of the people and thou shalt find in them the very Image of the Beast Thus the Maister in that Dialogue and that 's Honoâ—â—us doth teach his Scholler affirming further that the former Many is Babilon and at warre with Ierushalem whose inhabitants be not so Many Thus vnderstood hee of that Second Beast in Reuelatâ—â—
ostendit probat discipulum Tho. Aquinas in Lect. 4. super Galat. 3. see him also on Rom. 3. his tongue turned to English runnes thus No Workes either Ceremoniall or Morall are the cause why any man is iust before God For Workes are not the cause that man is iust but the execution and manifestation of his iustice because no man is iustified with God by his Worke but by the habite of Fayth infused Let the Romanist wrangle in the abuse of Distinction so long as they shall euen through their Church as they will haue it it hath through all ages passed for vndoubted trueth that vnto Iustification with God no one externall Worke whatsoeuer no not of Baptisme or Circumcision hath once been required for essentiall to the sauing-being of a Christian but Sola fides Fayth onely which is internall and the guift of God also But to become a Christian visible vnto others there is required such outward Workes as fruites whereby we may be well perswaded of the Fayth that is inward as the inward life of the tree which is vnseeable otherwise then in the fruites flowing from it The first fruite of which Fayth to vs-ward is a free Confession that the heart so beleeueth For sayth the Apostle with the heart man beleeueth vnto righteousnesse and with the mouth man confesseth vnto saluation The second speciall Worke is subiection to Baptisme the seale of their iustification annexed to the word of beleefe and therefore the Apostles commission ran thus First Preach and then Baptize Nor would the Eunuch so instantly haue craued Baptisme had not Philip taught the necessitie thereof True it is that it is not necessarie to saluation simply but conditionally as it may be conueniently had But Contempt or wilfull Omission is as damnable as Esaus base thought of Canaan and king Ahaz his hypocriticall shew in seeming not to stand in need of a Signe For how can a soule haue true respect to Gods Word when it shall thinke lightly or vilely of that Seale which is suffixed to that Word A third Worke flowing from true Fayth is a Desire of being further informed in the mysterie of the Gospell which the Angels themselues desire to peire into whom notwithstanding it so much concernes not And who will not desire to know the full of their Fathers Will The fourth fruite issuing from true Fayth is to Loue God aboue all and our Neighbour as our selfe and to testifie the trueth of such loue in all duties of Pietie and Iustice as from Gods word shal be manifest Such a soule so beleeuing working is to vs-ward a true visible Christian. 2 A companie of such gathered togeather are a true Christian assemblie or as the Apostle sometimes calles them finding them in some house a Church of God Which caused Tertullian to conclude thus Vbi tres Ecclesia est licet Laicj Where be but three although Lay-men there is a Church 3 A company of such not only gathered togeather but also possessed of spiritual Ouerseers and Seruitours for the regiment of the whole by Doctrine and Discipline such a people be a true visible constituted Church For as the common sort of them be but as an Eare for hearing so their Ouerseers be as an Eye for seeing and the Seruitours as necessarie Hands to their Ouerseers As the Apostle then can say If all the Body were an Eye where were the hearing So I by like proportion If all were Eye and Eare where were the power of conuayance betweene them CHAP. vij Touching the Ministers of an established Church THE auncient Church of Israel had constituted vnto it two sortes of Ministers Priestes Leuites The Priestes againe were deuided into 2. sortes first in that one was to be Hy-priest not onely for a yeare as was the corruption at last but for the whole tearme of life and he onely might enter into the Sanctum sanctorum and in other businesses was principall In the second place were many other Priestes attending the dayly Sacrifice which after by Dauid were for better order distributed into 24. Classios Of the Leuites simplie so called for otherwise the Priestes were of Leuj they were deuided into two rankes each knowing what partes of the Tabernacle he was to wind vp and carry the one sort of them called Gershomites the other Merarites as all the Priestes were called Kohathites according to the Heads of the Families they came of But when Dauid prepared for a Standing house vnto the Lord he distributed them into other Orders for other purposes as in 1. Chro. 25. and this by no particular precept from the Lord otherwise then from the generall rule whereto Naturall reason leadeth namely That all in the Church should be done with comlynesse and order Another sort of Ministers God prouided for that Church and these were the Prophets and Prophetisses stirred vp out of what tribe soeuer These were not constituted to the Tabernacle or Temples businesses but raysed vp of God besides any ordinarie forme of calling specially for calling Priest and people into order when they erred from the commandement And as their calling for forme sake was extraordinarie so they were furnished with guifes extraordinarie both for knowledge and strange workes working The Ordinarie ministrie therfore constituted to the Church were Priestes Leuiâ—es the extraordinarie ministrie tyed not directly to any one place or people they were such Prophets tearmed of elder times Seers This for that Churches ministrie ¶ The New-testaments Church hath her ministerie proportionable to her Mother Some for calling and qualification Ordinarie some againe Extraordinarie Extraordinarie were these Apostles Prophets Euangelistâ— all whose Outward forme of calling so well as qualification was besides the generall rule Apostles and Prophets hauing their calling immediatly from God howsoeuer the Church might adde sometimes their seale vnto it as in the sending out of Paul and Barnabas The Euangelistes had their calling immediatly from the Apostles and sometimes I doubt not from the Prophets being indeed to these that called them but as godly trustie seruantes as Elisha was to Elias Geâ—èzi should haue been to Eâ—isha The ordinarie ministerie were Bishops Deacons the first being as the Eye of the Church therfore in English called Ouer-seers the other as the Churches hands for better dispatch of some dueties therefore in English called Ministers and Seruitours And into these two sortes as Maister and Man the Apostle distributes them in 1. Tim. 3. But then these Bishops called also Elders for that ordinarily they were such for their yeares they be of two sortes one of them hauing preheminence for place and voyce as the Hy-priest ouer his brethren and for that in Râ—uel 2. 3. hee is styled The Angel of the congregation and very fitly for his place may be tearmed Arch-bishop which is in plaine English but chiefe Bishop or chiefe Ouerseer Obiection Christ is the onely Arch-bishop of
the Church being onely the Piller and Ground of that trueth The veritie of all which was typed out in the Auncient Church before Christ came in the flesh Before the Flood for 1656. yeares the Church remayned in some few Families After the Flood in a few Families till the guift of the Law at Mount Horeb or Sinaj Then the Church began to be more visible and of more glorious constitution first in the Wildernesse then after in Canaan till the time of Salomons sonne Rehoboam Then ten Trybes schisme from the two leauing the two in some orderly state but betaking themselues to grieuous Idolatrie Yet during the times of such Idolatrie God did not leaue them but stirred vp many excellent Prophets among them as Elias Elisha Ionah Amos and others togeather with excellent Schooles of Prophets as at Bethel and Iericho till such time as Assur caried them away captiue In meane time the case stood farre better with the Church in Iudah till the Lord for their sinnes sake suffred Nebuchadnezar of Babel to carry them captiue to Babel There they continued 70. yeares without exercise of Sacrifice At the 70. yeares end they are permitted by the next Monarchist to repaire home for building the sacramentall Citie and Temple But some seauen seauens of yeares euen 49 yeares as Gabriel foretold Daniel it was ere that worke could be finished From that time they continued vnder the gouernment first of the Medes Persians represented by Nebuchadnetsars siluery Breast and Armes Then vnder the Brasen Monarchy of the Greekes Afterwardes vnder the Duarchie of Egipt and Syria the first South from Iudeà the second North as Daniel plainely foretold them And so they reach to Christ that Stone cut from the Mountaine who dashed that Image of Nebuchaanetsars to powder When Christ came we finde the Church as for some 600. yeares it had been quite out of order and very few of them that could brooke the Lord of life or his sauing Gospell Principall Starres for this Storie S. Luke layeth downe when as he giues vs the most glorious persons in succession of pedigree from the first Adâ—m to the second that is vnto Christ Iesus who is blâ—ssed for euer From which holy typicall Storie I conclude first an Euer visibilitie of the Church Secondly but such a visibilitie as inow was more inow lesse inow glorious inow the glory eclipsed inow in constitution inow shaken asunder Nor can it be thought strange that the Daughter I meane the Christian Church brought foorth of mother Zion should be subiect to such mutabilitie and change when as she hath not been inferiour to her Mother for sinne and therefore as capable of iudgement To flesh and blood it is indeed somewhat harsh that Christes Diademe in the earth should be at any time deiected as may appeare by Ethan in Psal. 89. but such deiection is the Churches lot before the second comming of Christ as it was before his first comming And that it should so fall out himselfe foretels in Math. 24. the mysterie whereof begun to worke in the Apopostles times as the Apostle tels the Thessalonians This poynt I conclude with that of Bullinger Omnibus temporibus retinet sibi Dominus ecclesiam etiam in medio corruptissimi mundi et in medio haeresum schismatum atque corruptionum Tempora illa speaking of mother Zion â—ypum praetulere vltimis nostris temporibus in quibus ho die viuimus CHAP. vj. Touching a visible Christian a visible Christian society and a visible Christian society established AFter the deuision of Israels ten Tribes from Iudah for Benjamin being mixt with Iudah was so couched vnder that tearme togither with some of Leuj the people of the world was distinguished Israel being dispearsed as afore into Iew and Gentile So that who was not of the Iewes were called Gentiles The difference betweene which two sortes of people stood thus ¶ The Iew was a people possessed of the Couenant made to Abraham namely That in his Seed all the kindreds of the earth should be blessed He sayth not to thy Seeds as speaking of many but and to thy Seed as of one which is CHRIST Besides of them were the Prophets and to them was the adoption and the glory and couenants and the gift of the Law and the seruice of God and the promises Of whom were the Fathers and of whom concerning the flesh Christ came who is God ouer all blessed for euer Amen So that the Iewes were as Salomons seruantes standing before him as in his chamber of presence hauing all means to make them truely blessed An easie matter therefore for them had not wilfull pieuishnesse hindred them to haue become true visible Christians For the Gentiles they were as the Apostle tels the Ephesians without Christ and were Aliants from the common wealth of Israel and were strangers from the couenants of promise and had no hope and were Atheoi without God in the world Yea they were not onely destitute of all sauing Good but possessed with all euill By the worke of Creation they were necessarily drawen to acknowledge an inuisible Power for the Creator which they called God as the world is of Mercury Trismegistos called Gods sonne and that this God was Heis d' est ' antogenes One and of hiâ—â—selfe as a most ancient Poet Orpheus teacheth in his Hymne of God together with other excellent respects of God but wheÌ„ they should come to worship him they went a whoring after their owne inuentions comming to that one God by a thousand-thousand Idoles seeking God downe in the Creature whereas by the Creature as by Iaacobs Ladder they should haue clymed vpwards to the Creator An hard matter thus it was for a Gentile to become a true Christian. But as things impossible with man are possible with God so after the Lord had taken a first-fruites of the Iewes as Apostles and others he takes this wild Oliue of the Gentiles and plants it in the stocke of the Iewes that thencefoorth they might become children of Abraham by liuing in the fayth of Abraham 1 Who then is to vs a true visible Christian Euen Hee be hee Iew or Gentile that holds the fayth of Abraham And what was the fayth of AbrahaÌ„ This he beleeued that God would raise vp a Seed euen Christ out of his seed in whom alone himselfe and others should receiue the eternall blessing for earthly blessinges he saw to be flitting and therefore looked after a better as the Apostle enformeth the Hebrewes How was this blessing to be effected That he was taught from the Analogie of Sacrifice namely that the Messiah should feele the fierie indignation of God and by his death make satisfaction for Sinne. Adam lyued by the same Fayth expecting the promised Seed of the Woman which should breake the head of the Serpent And that Fayth Habel testified in sacrificing his Lambe Sheth Enosh and the rest knew no other Fayth And Noahs