advice and assistance in the management of hir further discourses with my Lady The Doctor was at this time fallen into some indisposition of body notwitnstanding he took the pains to look hastily over them and then called his wife to him and told her after this manner Indeed sweet-heart you have done very ill to engage your self in any business of this nature without my knowledge and approbation for what you have said or done amiss in it wil be all imputed to me though utterly ignorant and innocent in the matter And I must tell you that you have ventured very boldly upon some main points in which the most learned Doctors in the world are yet to seek for satisfaction and again give me leave to tell you that you charge the Church of Rome with some things that the Church of England does not and so instead of healing up those breaches that are betwixt us which should be all our endeavours to do you have made the wounds wider and differences greater then indeed they are and that truly is no small fault amongst us all Then last of all I fear you have hazarded much of that good opinion that my Lady had of us by entring the list with her upon this occasion and that interest we had in her was not a little considerable being so excellent a neighbour and especiall a friend as she has always been to us so for my part I will have nothing to do in the business but as you begun you shall e'n make an end without me but if you must needs be scribling of controversie and dabling in divinity I 'le let you a task and you may offer it to my Lady if you please and you are both I perceive so good Scripturists as that I may entrust you with it it is a Paper that I received from Mr. R. the grand Patriarch of all the Anabaptist in these parts I will write a Letter to my Lady to beg her excuse of me for not waiting on her Ladyship at dinner Mr is N. not a little troubled to finde no better acceptation of her zealous and painful endeavours for my Ladies conversion yet being unwilling to move her husband further at that time took the Anabaptists paper from him so left him to his other studies and she betook her self to her houshold occasions The next morning early she made her self ready to wait on my Lady that she might have some private discourse with her Ladyship before dinner so calling for her husbands letter she took her walk and comming to my Ladies house she found her in her Kitchin giving orders about dinner and directing her servants how to employ themselves in the other affairs of her family My Lady begging pardon for her being surprized in that place and posture took Mrs. N. along with her to her chamber where after she had delivered her husbands letter they fell to read the Anabaptists paper which when they had done my Lady willingly undertook the task to joyn with her in the answer but what shall we doe with the Latine that is here said my Lady O for that Madam replyed Mrs. N. my husband will direct us and has promised us all his assistance in this though he does not approve our other disputes at all Nay further he sayes that when we have answered in our way he will answer it too in his Well then replied my Lady we will not trouble him till we have done for I have a Kinsman in my house that will be able to give us the English of his Latine and so they fell to work immediately and in two or three meetings more they made an end of the business in this manner as followeth That to build or to use Steeple-houses which you call Churches in the service of God is altogether unlawfull much more to beautifie or adorn them and to give priviledges lands or possessiens to them or to the persons of your Churchmen but that we are all Priests equally and that your Canonical hours and prayers in those Churches are utterly unlawfull too I prove by Scripture thus 1. FIrst we find that Stephen in the latter end of his Sermon and in the words foregoing his death expresly declares against the vanity of all Temples or Churches call them what you please Acts 7.48 49 50. and quotes the Prophet for it Howbeit the Most High dwelleth not in Temples made with hands as saith the Prophet Heaven is my Throne and earth is my footstool what house will ye build me saith the Lord or what is the place of my rest hath not my hands made all these things c. From hence it is plain that God delights not in any of your Steeple-houses Again we find Paul as plainly declaiming against the Idolatry of all Steeple-houses assuring the Athenians Acts 17.24 25. that God that made the world and all things therein seeing that he is Lord of Heaven and earth dwelleth not in Temples made with hands neither is he worshipt with mens hands c. Thus you see how in the begining of Christianity there were not onely no steeple-houses but by Scripture expresly forbiden that there should be any 3. The Apostle Paul bids us again 1 Tim. 2. to pray always in all places holding up pure hands what need have we more of Churches and steeolehouses to pray in than in any other roomes 4 Nay finde we not our Saviour Jesus Christ himself prophesying the destruction of that Idoll of the Jews their Temple to say Matt 24.2 Verely Verely I say unto you there shall not be left heer one stone upon another that shall not be throwne down You may see then what pleasure he tooke in that place which was the gloriousest of the whole world what then will become of your pittifull Temples and steeple-houses 5 Our Saviour yet more plainly shews his distast of that kinde of worship when he tells the woman of Samaria in S. Johns Gospell John 4.21.23 Women believe me The hour cometh when ye shall neither in this mountain nor yet at Hierusalem worship the Father c. But the hour cometh and now is when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth for the Father seeketh such to worship him Heer it is plain that he will not have his worship confined to places no not to his holy Temple 6 Then does not the Prophet Jeremy heat down the fond confidence that the Jews had in their Temple when he bids them not to trust in lying words saying Jer. 4.7 The Temple of the Lord the Temple of the Lord the Temple of the Lord it is plain he says that to call that the Temple of the Lord was to give lying words 7 Is not God in every place and can there be any one place shewed where he is properly present but he is always ready to hear sinners every where as is frequently sayd in Scripture what need have we then of your Churches or
inclosed for which I teturn my most humble thanks and instead of another which you seem to require of me I have sent you two herein inclosed the one to shew you the superstition Idolatry and Will-worship of your Church the other to convince you of the Pride Arrogancy Tyranny and Usurp'd power of it which when your Ladyship hath been pleased to peruse and as well as you can to answer I shall summe up all that you have said rogether and make a short rejoynder to the whole of your replies for I am refolved to trouble your Ladyship with no more Papers so praying God for your Ladyships good health both of Body and Soul I take leave to remain Madam Your Ladyships most assured faithfull servant N. My Lady upon the return of her servant opening the Packet that Mistress N. had sent back to her found the Papers inclosed whereof the first was to this effect as followeth That which your Church teacheth concerning the invocation of Saints is a Doctrine very injurious to God and yet not more prophane then superstitious and impertinent and that I will prove thus 1. Jesus Christ our blessed Saviour with God the Father God the Holy Ghost Holy Trinity in Unity three Persons and one God alone is all-sufficient alone is most liberall and alone is most mercifull and who alone loves us more than all the Saints There is not a Christian living that I think dares deny a word of this if there should be such a monster a were easie to prove every word of it by express Scripture who can think it rationall then to invoke any other thing and besides that this all-bountifull all-mercifull all-powerfull most good most gracious and most loving Lord God has not onely enjoin'd us but importun'd us to pray to him and him alone promising to hear and grant our requests and that I prove by most express Scriptures thus 2. First by the Gospells it is most clear our Saviour in Saint John assures it with a Verily verily I say unto you whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name he will give it you John 16.23 24. and then in the next verse Ask and ye shal receive thus it is but asking of God and having and yet you must think fit to go about by the Saints 3. Then in Saint Lukes Gospel we find and I say unto you ask and it shall be given you Luke 11.9.10 11 12 13. seek and ye shall find knock and it shall be opened unto you For every one that asketh receiveth and he that seeketh findeth and to him that knocketh it shall be opened Then by the paralel of God with a good Father granting his childs requests he concludes how much more shall your heavenly Father give the holy Spirit to them that ask him Again what you ask in prayet believing ye shall receive as Saint Matthews Gospell tells Matth. 2. with an infinity of other places too many to repeat to that purpose wherefore Saint Paul most pithily concludes Heb. 4.16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of Grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need 4 The Apostle tells us 2 Cor. 1.3 that God is the Father of mercies and the Lord of all comforts who comforteth us in all our tribulation that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble by the comfort wherewith we our selvs are comforted of God c. If all our comfort then be from God had we not better make our address to him that we know is the fountain of all Grace than to the Saints who can have nothing but what they derive from him 5. The same Apostle tells Tymothy plainly that there is but one Mediatour between God and men and that is Christ Jesus what an offence then must it needs be to God to make more Mediators that is the Saints Then we finde frequently in Scripture that he alone maketh intercesion for us as in Isaiah that he makes intercession for transgressors 1 Tim. 2.5 Isai 53.12 Rom. 8.26.24 Heb. 7.25 and Saint Paul tells us that he ever liveth to make intercession for us And again who always maketh intercession for us why should we date to make more intercessors that is the Saints 6. In fine to summe up all in short your Doctrine of invocacion of the Saints is highly injurious to God who is a jealous God and will onely be worship'd It is injurious to Jesus Christ who is the onely Mediatour between God and man Thirdly it is injurious to our selves for it is an argument of a diffidence and distrust in God when we fly to the Saints for succour and then lastly it is an impertinent and unprofitable piece of devotion because the Saints in heaven neither do nor can hear our prayets nor know our wants or what is done here amongst us as Job tells us Job 24.21 Eccles 9.5 his sons came to honor and he knoweth it not Ecclesiastes assures us that the living know that they shall dye but the dead know not any thing and the Prophet Isaiah yet more plainly Isai 63.16 doubtlessthou art our Father though Abraham be ignorant of us and Israel do not acknowledge us c. Thus it is plain that the Saintf in heaven are incapable to know our wants or hear our prayers much less to help us That your Doctrine of Veneration of Images is an abominable Idolatrcus Dactrine and prejudicial to divine Worship I prove Thus. First out of the plain words of the Commandement Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven Image Exod. 20.4 5. Deut. 4.5 2â— or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above or that is in the earth beneath or that is in the waterunder the earth thou shalt notbow down thy self to them nor serve them c. The same thing is repeated at the latter end of Exâ—dus and in severall places of Deuteronomy and in many other places of the Old Testament 2. Again we find how good Hezekiah 2 King 18.4 removed the high places and brake the Images and brake in pieces the beazen Serpent that Moses had made c. Yet your Religion strives to restore to Christians that kind of worship 3 How well our Saviour is pleased with that kinde of Worship Joh. 22 23 24. you may see in Saint John's Gospell where our Saviour says ye worship ye know not what c. But the hour cometh and now is when the true Worshippers shall worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth for the Father seekes such to worship him God is a Spirit and they that worship him must worship him in Spirit and in Truth Now I would feign know what a Spirit hath to do with Images or how can the worship of Images be thought a spiritual worship 4 Over and above the danger of Idolatry and many unclean thoughts that may be occasioned by Images I shall onely add this
only but likewise the testimony of the most antient and holy Fathers the invincible evidence of the true Mother-Church and the testimony of divine miracles which are frequently one for the confirmation of our faith But you forsooth as if you were wiser than Christ himself will neither admit or hear of any thing but out of Scripture alone in which you shew your selves like those Jews against whom our Saviour so disputes for the Jews casting off all other testimony would admit onely of Scripture 2 Cor. 3.14.15 â— and yet they neither understood it then nor yet do or ever will as the Apostle tels us when he says but their minds were blinded for untill this day remaineth the same Vail untaken away in the reading of the Old Testament c. and again when Moses is read the Vail is upon their hearts c. To the third For what you urge so hard out of the Acts you shall find to be to as little purpose as the other if if you but please to examine the Context which tells you That there being a Synagogue of Jews at Thessalonica St. Paul as his manner was went in unto them and three Sabbath days reasoned with them out of the Scriptures opening and alledging that Christ must needs have suffered and risen again from the dead Act. 17.2 3. and that Jesus whom he preacht unto them was Christ c. But the Word so preacht did but little profit those of Thessalonica then follows that they of Berea were more Neble then those of Thessalonica in that they received the Word with all readinesse of mind and searched the Scriptures daily whether those things were so c. Now I would fain know what you wil conclude out of this as to your purpose unless thus Those of Berea searched the Testimonies of Scripture concerning Christ that were quoted by St. Paul therefore Scripture alone must determine faith and be the only Rule and Judge between us That is just as if you would say that one of your Doctors searcheth all the testimonies of St. Austin that are quoted by Bellarmin therefore St. Austin is the only Judge of Controversies Or thus one of your Congregation searcheth all the testimonies which are produced against a great Doctor of yours as they are quoted by a greater of your own therefore that great Doctor is the only judge of Controversies Or thus one of your Doctors searcheth all the Traditions that are alledged in the Councill of Yrent thefefore only Tradition is to be receiv'd for a Judge of Controversies I pray you forbear these pitiful consequences and yet your great Doctors seldommake be tter are not asham'd of them so I may well excuse you andothers seduced by them To the Fourth I say that your Argument if it had any weight at all would serve altogether as well agianst your self as us for if as you understand it every man be a Lyar add may erre it will follow necessarily that Moses with the Prophets Apostles and Evangelists nay that your Friends Luther and Calvin nay all your Preachers to be Lyars and may erre because they are men therefore there is no credit to be given to any of them no confidence to be put in them but all things that are said by them must be taken for suspected and uncertain where then is faith Nor matters it though they say that the Word which they tell us is not their own but Gods Word for if they be Lyars they may as well lye in the delivery of Gods message as in any thing else of their own nothing therefore can be certain But God forbid that any Christian should think so for it is far otherwise First we confesse the Scripture to be certain and infallible because it is the Word of God but we adde that it is so obscure that the true sence and meaning cannot easily appear to every man Therefore of necessity there must be some other Judge that must infallibly determine what is the clear and genuine sence of the Scripture it self Now this infallible Judge cannot possibly be every private man for then there would be so many Judges as there be men and diversities of Opinions and so there would be an utter impossibility to agree to any thing or compose any difference in Religion every one being apt to favour his own opinion It is necessary therefore that there should be a publick Judge agreed upon who should have a power of decreeing defining and determining all things between differet parties Gen. 8.21 Psal 38.6 Then again we says that we must consider men in two respects Num. 11.17 Deut. 17.9 Aug. 2.12 Malac. 2.3 Jerem. 1.7 first as men and the sons of Adam so obnoxions to many naturall corruptious so without doubt they are all prone to lying and falshood In the next place we must consider them as they are directed and goveâ—n'd by the Holy Ghost for the instruction of others so they are infallible and without possibility of lying such as Moses in the Old Testament with bis Congregation of Elders about him So were divers other High Priests that succeeded him such were the Prophets Isaiah Jeremiah Ezechiel Daniel and all the rest Such in the New Testament were the Apostles to whom it was said I wil from the Father send you the spirit of truth and again when the of Spirit of truth shall come he shall teach you all truth Iohn 16.6.13 now where there is all truth there can be no lye Such ever was now is and still must be the Church of Christ which having the perpetuall assistance and government of the same Holy Spirit ha's as it were the heart of it so long therefore as the faithfull Christian shall continue in the unity of the Church and keep close to the Doctrine of the supream Bishop and Councells he shall participate of the assistance and government of the holy Ghost nor can erre in faith but if through any pride or perversity of spirit he shall disagree and depart from that head and heart then he shuts all those passages and Chanels by which that divine assistency and direction is to be derived and so must of necessity be seduced from truth and led into a Labyrinth of errours as we have sadly seen in all the antient and modern Hereticks The next similitude may be drawn from a flock of sheep which indeed is the best representation of the Church Ioh. 10.14 math 28.20 as our Saviour himself is pleas'd to attest in the Gospel for as the whole flock being in one Fold or place collected together has the perpetuall assistance and guard of the Shepherd and so are defended from the malice fierceness of wolves so the Universall Church of the faithfull being collected in one faith and spirit has the perpetuall care and assistance of that divine Shepherd who said I an the good Shepherd and know my Sheep and again and I am always with you to the end of the