be beleeued as profitable and necessarie to saluation And these they say are two fold Apostolicall namely such as were deliuered by the Apostles and not written and Ecclesiasticall which the Church decreeth as occasion is offered We holde that the Scriptures are most perfect containing in them all doctrines needfull to saluation whether they concerne faith or manners and therefore we acknowledge no such traditions beside the written word which shall be necessarie to saluation so as he which beleeueth them not cannot be saued Our reasons Testimonie I. Deutr. 4. 2. Thou shalt not adde to the wordes that I command thee nor take any thing there from therefore the written word is sufficient for all doctrines pertaining to saluation If it be said that this commandement is spoken as well of the vnwritten as of the written word I answere that Moses speaketh of the written word onely for these very words are a certen preface which he set before a long cōmentatie made of the written lawe for this ende to make the people more attentiue obediēt Testimonie II. Isai 8. 20. To the lawe and to the testimonie If they speake not according to this word it is because there is no light in them Here the Prophet teacheth what must be done in cases of difficultie Men must not runne to the wizard or southsaier but to the lawe and testimony and here he commends the written word as sufficient to resolue all doubtes and scruples in conscience whatsoeuer Testimonie III. Iohn 20. 31. These things were written that ye might beleeue that Iesus is the Christ and in beleeuing might haue euerlasting life Here is set downe the full ende of the Gospell and of the whole written word which is to bring men to faith and consequently to saluation and therefore the whole scripture alone is suffient to this ende without traditions If it be said that this place must be vnderstood of Christs miracles onely I answere that miracles without the doctrine of Christ and knowledge of his sufferings can bring no man to life euerlasting therefore the place must be vnderstood of the doctrine of Christ and not of his miracles alone as Paul teacheth Gal. ◠1 8. If we or an Angel from heauen preach vnto you any thing BESIDE THAT which we haue preached let him be accursed And to this effect he blames them that taught but a diuers doctrine to that which he had taught 1. Tim. 1. 3. Testimonie IIII. 2. Tim. 3. 16 17. The vvhole Scripture is giuen by inspiration of God and is profitable to teach to improoue to correct and to instruct in righteousnes that the man of God may be absolute beeing made perfect vnto euery good vvorke In these words be cōtained two arguments to proue the sufficiencie of Scripture without vnwritten verities The first that which is profitable to these foure vses namely to teach all necessarie truth to confute all errours to correct faults in manners and to instruct in righteousnes that is to informe all men in all good duties that is sufficient to saluation But Scripture serueth for all these vses and therefore it is sufficient and vnwritten traditions are superfluous The secōd that which can make the man of God that is Prophets and Apostles and the ministers of the word perfect in all the duties of their callings that same word is sufficient to make all other men perfect in all good workes But Gods word is able to make the man of God perfect Therefore it is sufficient to prescribe the true and perfect way to eternall life without the helpe of vnwritten traditions V. The iudgement of the Church Tertull saith Take from heretickes the opinions vvhich they maintaine vvith the heathen that they may defende their questions by SCRIPTVRE ALONE and they cannot stande Againe We neede no curiositie after Christ Iesus nor inquisition after the Gospell When we beleeue it we desire to BELEEVE NOTHING BESIDE for this we first beleeue that there is NOTHING MORE which we may beleeue Hierome on Matth. 23. writing of an opinion that Iohn Baptist was killed because hee foretold the comming of Christ saith thus This because it hath not authoritie from Scriptures may as easily be contemned as approoued In which wordes there is a conclusion with a minor and the maior is to be supplied by the rules of logick thus That which hath not authoritie from Scriptures may as easily be contemned as approoued but this opinion is so therefore Beholde a notable argument against all vnwritten traditions Augustine booke 2. c. 9. de doct Christ. In those things which are plainely set downe in Scripture are found ALL THOSE POINTES VVHICH CONTAINE FAITH AND MANNERS of liuing well Vicentius Lirinen saith the Canon of the Scripture is perfect and fully sufficient to it selfe FOR AL THINGS Beside these testimonies other reasons there be that serue to prooue this point I. The practise of Christ his Apostles who for the confirmation of the doctrine which they taught vsed alwaies the testimony of Scripture neither can it be prooued that they euer confirmed any doctrine by tradition Act. 26. 22. I continue vnto this day witnessing both to small and great saying NONE OTHER THINGS THEN THOSE which the Prophets and Moses did say should come And by this we are giuen to vnderstand that we must alwaies haue recourse to the written word as being sufficient to instruct vs in mattes of saluation II. If the beleeuing of vnwritten traditions were necessarie to saluation then we must as well beleeue the writings of the auncient Fathers as well as the writings of the Apostles because Apostolicall traditions are not else where to be found but in their bookes And we may not beleeue their sayings as the word of God because they oftē erre being subiect to errour and for this cause their authoritie when they speake of traditions may be suspected and we may not alwaies beleeue them vpon their word Obiections for Traditions First they alleadge 2. Thess. 2. 15. where the Apostle biddes that Church keepe the ordinances which he taught them either by worde or letter Hence they gather that beside the written worde there be vnwritten traditions that are indeede necessarie to be kept and obeied Ans. It is very likely that this Epistle to the Thessalonians was the first that euer Paul writ to any Church though in order it haue not the first place and therefore at the time when this Epistle was penned it might well fall out that some things needefull to saluation were deliuered by word of mouth not being as yet written by any Apostle Yet the same things were afterward set downe in writing either in the second epistle or in the epistles of Paul Obiect II. That Scripture is Scripture is a point to be beleeued but that is a tradition vnwritten and therefore one tradition there is not written that we are to beleeue Answ. That the bookes of the old and new Testament are Scripture it is to
foundation to the very bottom And that it may the better appeare that we auouch the truth first I will confirme our doctrine by scripture and secondly confute the reasōs which they bring for themselues III. Our reasons Reason I. Heb. 9. v. 15. and 26 and cap. 10. v. 10. The holy ghost saith Christ offered himselfe but once Therefore not often and thus there can be no reall or bodily offering of his bodie and blood in the sacrament of his supper the text is plaine The Papists answer thus The sacrifice of Christ say they is one for substāce yet in regard of the manner of offering it is either bloodie or vnbloodie and the holy ghost speakes onely of the bloodie sacrifice of Christ which was indeede offered but once Ans. But the author of this epistle takes it for graunted that the sacrifice of Christ is onely one and that bloodie sacrifice For he saith Heb. 9. v. 25. Christ did not offer himselfe often as the high priests did v. 26. For thē he must haue oftē suffered since the foundatiō of the world but now in the end he hath appeared once to put away sinne by the sacrifice of himselfe and v. 22. VVITHOVT SHEDDING OF BLOOD is NO remission of sinne By these wordes it is plaine that the scripture neuer knewe the two fold maner of sacrificing of Christ. And euery distinction in Diuinitie not founded in the written worde is but a forgerie of mans braine And if this distinction be good how shall the reason of the Apostle stand He did not offer himselfe but once because he suffered but once Reason II. The Romish Church holdes that the sacrifice in the Lordes Supper is all one for substance with the sacrifice which he offered on the crosse if that be so then the sacrifice in the Eucharist must either be a cōtinuance of that sacrifice which was begun on the crosse or els an iteration or repetition of it Now let them choose of these twaine which they wil if they say it is a continuance of the sacrifice on the crosse Christ being but the beginner and the Priest the finisher thereof they make it imperfect for to continue a thing till it be accomplished is to bring perfection vnto it but Christs sacrifice on the crosse was then fully perfected as by his owne testimony appeares when he said consummatum est it is finished Againe if they say it is a repetition of Christs sacrifice thus also they make it imperfect for that is the reason which the holy ghost vseth to prooue that the sacrifices of the old testamēt were imperfect because they were repeated Reason III. A reall and outward sacrifice in a sacrament is against the nature of a sacrament and especially the supper of the Lord for one end thereof is to keepe in memory the sacrifice of Christ. Nowe euery remembrance must be of a thing absent past and done and if Christ be daily and really sacrificed the sacrament is no fit memoriall of his sacrifice Againe the principall ende for which the sacrament was ordained is that God might giue we receiue Christ with his benefits and therfore to giue and take to eate drink are here the principal actiōs Now in a reall sacrifice God doth not giue Christ the priest receiue him of God but contrariwise he giues offers Christ vnto God and God receiues some thing of vs. To helpe the matter they say that this sacrifice serues not properly to make any satisfaction to God but rather to apply vnto vs the satisfaction of Christ beeing already made But this answere still maketh against the nature of a sacrament in which God giues Christ vnto vs whereas in a sacrifice God receiues from man and man giues something to god a sacrifice therefore is no fit meanes to apply any thing vnto vs that is giuen of God Reason IV. Heb. 7. 24. 25. The Holy Ghost makes a difference betweene Christ the high priest of the newe testament and all Leuiticall priests in this that they were many one succeeding another but he is onely one hauing an eternall priesthood which cannot passe from him to any other Nowe if this difference be good then Christ alone in his owne very person must be the priest of the new testament and no other with or vnder him otherwise in the new testament their should be more priests in number then in the old If they say that the whole action remaines in the person of Christ and that the priest is but an instrument vnder him as they say I say againe it is false because the whole oblatiō is acted or done by the priest himselfe and he which doth all is more then a bare instrument Reason V. If the priest doe offer to God Christs reall bodie and blood for the pardon of our sinnes then man is become a mediatour betweene God and Christ. Now the Church of Rome saith that the priest in his masse is a priest properly and his sacrifice a reall sacrifice differing onely in the manner of offering from the sacrifice of Christ vpon the crosse and in the very Canon of the masse they insinuate thus much when they request God to accept their giftes and offerings namely Christ himselfe offered as he did the sacrifices of Abel and Noe. Now it is absurd to thinke that any creature should be a mediatour betweene Christ and God Therefore Christ cannot possibly be offered by any creature vnto God Reason VI. The iudgement of the auncient Church A certaine Counsell held at Toledo in Spaine reprooueth the Ministers that they offered sacrifice often the same day without the holy communion The wordes of the Canon are these Relation is made vnto vs that certaine priests doe not so many times receiue the grace of the holy communion as they offer sacrifices in one daie but in one day if they offer many sacrifices to God in ALL THE OBLATIONS THEY SVSPEND THEMSELVES FROM THE COMMVNION Here marke that the sacrifices in auncient Masses were nothing else but formes of diuine seruice because none did communicate no not the priest himselfe And in an other Counsell the name of the Masse is put onely for a forme of prayer It hath pleased vs that praiers supplications Masses which shall be alowed in the Councel be vsed And in this sense it is taken when speach is vsed of the making or compounding of Masses for the sacrifice propitiatorie of the bodie blood of Christ admits no composition Abbat Paschasius saith because we sinn daily Christ is sacrificed for vs MYSTICALLY and his Passion is giuen in mysterie These his words are against the reall sacrifice but yet he expounds himselfe more plainly cap. 10. The blood is drunke IN MYSTERIE SPIRITVALLY and it is all SPIRITVAL which we eate and c. 12. The priest distributes to euery one not as much as the outward sight giueth but as much as FAITH RECEIVETH c. 13. The FVL similitude is outwardly and the immaculate flesh
of Christ and drinke his bloode not onely in mysterie but in knovvledge of holy Scripture Now vpon this it followes that seeing the worke done in the word preached conferres not grace neither doth the work don in the sacramēt confer any grace Reason II. Math. 3. II. I baptize you with water to repentance but he that commeth after me is stronger then I he shall baptize you with the holy Ghost and with fire Hence it is manifest that grace in the sacrament proceedes not from any action in the sacrament for Iohn though he doe not disioyne himselfe and his action from Christ and the action of his spirit yet doth he distinguish them plainely in number persons and effect To this purpose Paul who had saide of the Galatians that he traueled of them beget them by the Gospel saith of himselfe that he is not any thing not onely as he was a man but as he was a faithfull Apostle thereby excluding the whole Euangelicall ministerie whereof the sacrament is a part from the least part of diuine operation or efficacie in conferring of grace Reason III. The blessed Angels nay the very flesh of the sonne of God hath not any quickning vertue from it selfe but all this efficacie or vertue is in and from the godhead of the sonne who by meanes of the flesh apprehended by faith deriueth heauenly and spirituall life from himselfe to the members Nowe if there be no efficacie in the flesh of Christ but by reason of the hypotasticall vnion howe shall bodily actions about bodily elements conferre grace immediatly Reason IV. Paul Rom. 4. standes much vpon this to proue that iustification by saith is not conferred by the sacraments And from the circumstance of time he gathereth that Abraham was first iustified and then afterward receiue circumcision the signe and seale of this righteousnes Now we knowe that the generall condition of all sacraments is one and the same and that baptisme succeeded circumcision And what can be more plaine then the example of Cornelius Act. 10. who before Peter came vnto him had the commendation of the feare of God and was indued with the spirite of prayer and afterward when Peter by preaching opened more fully the way of the Lord he the rest receiued the holy Ghost And after all this they were baptized Now if they receiued the holy Ghost before baptisme then they receiued remission of sinnes and were iustified before baptisme V. Reason The iudgement of the church Basil. If there be any grace in the water it is not from the nature of the vvater but from THE PRESENCE OF THE SRIRITE Hierome saith Man giues vvater but God giues the holy Ghost Augustine saide Water toucheth the bodie and washeth the heart but he shews his meaning elsewhere There is one vvater saith he of the Sacrament an other of the Spirit the water of the sacrament is visible the water of the Spirit invisible That vvasheth the body AND SIGNIFIETH what is done in the soule By this the soule is purged and sealed Obiect Remission of sinnes regeneration and saluation is ascribed to the sacrament of baptisme Act. 22. 21. Eph. 5. Gal. 3. 27. Tit. 2. Ans. Saluation and remission of sinnes is ascribed to baptisme and the Lords supper as to the word which is the power of God to saluation to all that beleeue and that as they are instruments of the holy Ghost to signifie seale and exhibit to the beleeuing minde the foresaid benefits but indeede the proper instrument whereby saluation is apprehēded is faith and sacraments are but proppes of faith furthering saluation two waies first because by their signification they helpe to nourish and preserue faith secondly because they seale grace and saluation to vs yea God giues grace and saluation when we vse them wel so be it we beleeue the word of promise made to the sacrament whereof also they are seales And thus we keepe the middle way neither giuing too much nor too little to the sacraments The XX. point Of sauing faith or the way to life Our consent Conclus I. They teach it to be the propertie of faith to beleeue the whole word of God and especially the redemption of mankind by Christ. Conclus II. They auouch that they beleeue and looke to be saued by Christ and by CHRIST ALONE and by the MEERE MERCY of God in Christ. Conclus III. Thirdly the most learned among thē hold and confesse that the obedience of Christ is imputed vnto them for the satisfaction of the lawe and for their reconciliation with God Conclus IV. They auouch that they put their whole trust and confidence in Christ and in the meere mercy of God for their saluation Conclus V. Lastly they hold that euery man must apply the promise of life euerlasting by Christ vnto himselfe and this they graunte we are bound to doe And in these fiue points doe they and we agree at least in shewe of wordes By the auouching of these 5. Conclusions Papists may easily escape the hands of many magistrats And vnles the mysterie of popish doctrine be well known any common man may easily be deceiued and take such for good protestants that are but popish priests To this ende therefore that we may the better discerne their guile I will shewe wherein they faile in each of their conclusions and wherein they differ from vs. The difference Touching the first conclusion they beleeue indeede all the written word of God and more then all for they also beleeue the bookes Apocriphal which antiquitie for many hundred yeares hath excluded from the canō yea they beleeue vnwrittē traditiōs receiued as they say from Councils the writings of the Fathers and the determinations of the Church making them also of equall credit with the written worde of God giuen by inspiration of the spirit Nowe we for our partes dispise not the Apocripha as namely the bookes of the Macchabees Ecclesiasticus and the rest but we reuerence them in all conuenient manner preferring them before any other bookes of men in that they haue bin approued by an vniuersall consent of the Church yet we thinke them not meete to be receiued into the Canon of holy scripture and therefore not to be beleeued but as they are consenting with the written word And for this our doing we haue direction from Athanasius Origen Hierome and the Councel of Laodicea As for vnwritten Traditions they come not within the compasse of our faith neither can they because they come vnto vs by the hāds of men that may deceiue and be deceiued And we hold and beleeue that the right Canon of the books of the old and new Testament containes in it sufficient direction for the Church of God to life euerlasting both for faith an manners Here then is the point of difference that they make the obiect of faith larger then it should be or can be and we keepe our selues to the written word beleeuing nothing to saluation out of
crueltie therfore now repent of thine iniquitie and breake off these thy sinnes testifie they repentance by doing iustice and giue almes to the poore whome thou hast oppressed Therfore here is nothing spoken of satisfaction for sinne but onely of testification of repentance by the fruits thereof Obiect VI. Math. 3. 2. Doe penance and bring forth fruits worthy of penance which say they are works of satisfaction inioyned by the priest Ans. This text is absurd for the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifieth thus much change your mindes from sinne to God and testifie it by good workes that is by doing the duties of the morall lawe which must be done not because they are meanes to satisfie Gods iustice for mans sinne but because they are fruits of that faith and repentance which lies in the heart Obiect VII 2. Cor. 7. 10. Paul setteth downe sundrie fruits of repentance whereof the last is revenge wherby repētant persons punish themselues thereby to satisfie Gods iustice for the temporall punishment of their sinnes Ans. A repentant sinner must take reuēge of himselfe that is onely to vse all means which serue to subdue the corruption of his nature to bridle carnall affections and to mortifie sinne and these kinde of actions are restrainments properly and not punishments and are directed against the sinne and not against the person Lastly they make three workes of satisfaction praier fasting and almes deeds For the first it is meere foolishnes to thinke that man by prayer can satisfie for his sinnes It is all one as if they had said that a begger by asking of almes should deserue his almes or that a debter by requesting his creditour to pardon his debt should thereby pay his debt Secondly fasting is a thing indifferent of the same nature with eating drinking and of it selfe conferreth nothing to the obtainement of the kingdome of heauen no more then eating and drinking doth Thirdly and lastly almes deedes cannot be workes of satisfaction for sinnes For when we giue them as we ought we doe but our dutie wherevnto we are bound And we may as well say that a man by paying one debt may discharge another as to say that by doing his dutie he may satisfie Gods iustice for the punishment of his sinnes These we confesse be fruits of faith but yet are they no workes of satisfaction but the onely and all-sufficient satisfaction made to Gods iustice for our sinns is to be found in the person of Christ beeing procured by the merit of his death his obedience And thus our doctrine touching satisfaction is cleared and it is to be learned carefully of our common people because the opinion of humane satisfaction is natural and stickes fast in the heart of naturall men Herevpon when any haue sinned and feele touch of conscience any way their manner is then to performe some outward humiliation and repentance thinking thereby to stoppe the mouth of conscience and by doing some ceremoniall duties to appease the wrath of God for their sinnes Yea many thinke to satisfie Gods iustice by repeating the Creede the Lords prayer and the tenne Commandements so foolish are they in this kinde The seuenth point Of Traditions Traditions are doctrines deliuered from hand to hand either by word of mouth or by writing beside the written word of God Our consent Conclus I. We hold that the very word of God hath beene deliuered by tradition For first God reuealed his will to Adam by word of mouth and renewed the same vnto the Patriarkes not by writing but by speach by dreames and other inspirations and thus the word of God went from man to man for the space of two thousand and foure hūdred yeres vnto the time of Moses who was the first pen-mā of holy scripture For as touching the prophesie of Enoch we commōly hold it was not penned by Enoch but by some Iewe vnder his name And for the space of this time men worshipped God held the articles of their faith by tradition not from men but immediatly from God himselfe And the historie of the newe testament as some say for eightie yeares as some others thinke for the space of twenty yeares and more went from hand to hand by tradition till penned by the Apostles or being penned by others was approoved by them Conclus II. We hould that the Prophets our Sauiour Christ and his Apostles spake and did many things good and true which were not writtē in the scriptures but came either to vs or to our ancetours onely by tradition As 2. Tim. 3. 20. it is saide that Iannes and Iambres were the Magitians that withstood Moses nowe in the books of the old testament we shall not finde them once named and therefore it is like that the Apostle had their names by tradition or by some writings then extant amōg the Iewes So Hebr. 12. 21. the author of the Epistle recordeth of Moses that when he sawe a terrible sight in Mount Sinai he saide I tremble and am afraid which wordes are not to be found in all the bookes of the old testament In the Epistle of Iude mention is made that the deuill stroue with Michaell the Archangel about the body of Moses which point as also the former considering it is not to be found in holy writ it seemes the Apostle had it by tradition from the Iewes That the Prophet Isai was killed with a fullers clubbe is receiued for truth but yet not recorded in Scripture and so likewise that the virgine Marie liued and died a virgine And in Ecclesiasticall writers many worthy sayings of the Apostles and other holy men are recorded and receiued of vs for truth which neuertheles are not set downe in the bookes of the old or new Testament And many things we hold for truth not writtē in the word if they be not against the worde Conclus III. We hold that the Church of God hath power to prescribe ordinances rules or traditiōs touching time place of Gods worshippe and touching order and comelines to be vsed in the same and in this regard Paul 1. Cor. 11. 2. commendeth the Church of Corinth for keeping his traditions and Act. 15. the Councell at Ierusalem decreed that the Churches of the Gentiles should abstaine from blood and from things strangled This decree is tearmed a tradition and it was in force among them so long as the offence of the Iewes remained And this kind of traditions whether made by generall Councels or particular Synods we haue care to maintaine and obserue these caueats being remembred first that they prescribe nothing childish or absurd to be done secondly that they be not imposed as any parts of Gods worship thirdly that they be seuered from superstition or opinion of merit lastly that the Church of God be not burdened with the multitude of them And thus much we hold touching Traditions The difference Papists teach that beside the written word there be certain vnwritten traditions which must
be gathered and beleeued not vpon bare tradition but from the very bookes themselues on this manner Let a man that is indued with the spirit of discerning read the seuerall bookes withall let him consider the professed author thereof which is God himselfe and the matter therein contained which is a most diuine and absolute truth full of pietie the manner and forme of speach which is full of maiestie in the simplicitie of words The ende wherat they wholly aime which is the honour and glorie of God alone c. and he shall be resolued that Scripture is Scripture euen by the Scripture it selfe Yea and by this meanes he may discerne any part of Scripture from the writings of men whatsoeuer Thus then scripture proves it selfe to be scripture and yet we dispise not the vniversall consent or tradition of the Church in this case which though it doe not perswade the conscience yet is it a notable inducement to mooue vs to reverence and regard the writings of the Prophets Apostles It will be said where is it written that scripture is scripture I answer not in any one particular place or book of scripture but in euery line and page of the whole bible to him that can read with the spirit of discerning can discerne the voice of the true pastour as the sheep of Christ can doe Obiect III Some bookes of the canon of the scripture are lost as the booke of the warres of God Num. 21. 14. The booke of the iust Iosua 10 13. the bookes of Cronicles of the kings of Israel and Iuda 1. King 14. 19. the books of certain prophets Nathan Gad Iddo Ahiah and Semiah and therefore the matter of these bookes must come to vs by tradition Ans. Though it be graunted that some bookes of Canonicall scripture be lost yet the scripture still remaines sufficient because the matter of those bookes so farforth as it was necessarie to saluation is contained in these bookes of scripture that are now extant Again I take it to be a truth though some thinke otherwise that no part of the Canon is lost for Paul saith what soeuer things were written aforetime vvere written for our learning that vve through patience and comfort of the Scriptures c. Rom. 15. 4. Where he takes it for graunted that the whole canon of holy Scripture was then extant For if he had thought that some books of scripture had beene lost he would haue said whatsoeuer was written and is now extant was written for our learning and comfort For bookes that are lost serue neither for learning nor comfort Againe to hold that any bookes of scripture should be lost calls into question Gods prouidence and the fidelity of the Church who hath the bookes of God in keeping and is therefore called the pillar and ground of truth And touching the bookes before mentioned I answere thus The booke of the warres of God Num. 21. 14. might be some short bill or narration of things done among the Israelites which in the daies of Moses went from hand to hand For sometime a booke in scripture signifieth a roule or Catalogue as the first chapter of Mathew which containeth the genealogie of our Sauiour Christ is called the booke of the generation of Iesus Christ. Againe the booke of the iust and the bookes of Chronicles which are said to be lost were but as the Chronicles of England are with vs euen politike recordes of the acts and euentes of things in the kingdome of Iuda and Israel out of which the Prophets gathered things necessarie to be knowne and placed them in holy scripture As for the bookes of Iddo Ahiah Semiah Gad and Nathan they are contained in the bookes of the Kings and Chronicles and in the bookes of Samuel which were not written by him alone but by sundry prophets 1. Chr. 29. 29. as also was the booke of Iudges As for the books of Salomon which are lost they did not concerne religion and matters of saluation but were concerning matters of philosophy and such like things Obiect IV. Moses in Mount Sina beside the written lawe receiued from God a more secret doctrine which he neuer writ but deliuered by tradition or worde of mouth to the Prophets after him and this the Iewes haue now set down in their Cabala Ans. This indeede is the opinion of some of the Iewes whome in effect and substance sundrie Papists follow but we take it for no better then a Iewish dotage For if Moses had known any secret doctrine beside the written law he would neuer haue giuen this commandement of the said lawe thou shalt not adde any thing thereto Obiect V. Heb. 5. 12. Gods worde is of two sortes milke and strong me at By milke we must vnderstand the word of God written wherein God speakes plainely to the capacitie of the rudest but strong meate is vnwritten traditions a doctrine not to be delivered vnto all but to those that growe to perfection Ansvv. We must knowe that one and the same word of God is milke and strong meate in regard of the manner of handling and propounding of it For beeing deliuered generally and plainely to the capacity of the simplest it is milke but beeing handled particularly and largely and so fitted for men of more vnderstanding it is strong meate As for example the doctrine of the creation of mans fall and redemption by Christ when it is taught ouerly and plainely it is milke but when the depth of the same is throughly opened it is strong meate And therefore it is a conceit of mans braine to imagine that some vnwritten word is meant by strong meat Obiect VI. Sundrie places of Scripture be doubtfull and euery religion hath his seuerall exposition of them as the Papists haue theirs and the Protestants theirs Now then seeing there can be but one truth when question is of the interpretation of scripture recourse must be had to the tradition of the Church that the true sense may be determined and the question ended Ans. It is not so but in doubtfull places Scripture it selfe is sufficient to declare his owne meaning first by the analogie of faith which is the summe of religiō gathered out of the clearest places of scripture secondly by the circumstances of the place and the nature and signification of the wordes thirdly by conference of place with place By these and like helpes contained in scripture we may iudge which is the truest meaning of any place Scripture it selfe is the text and the best glosse And the scripture is falsly tearmed the matter of strife it being not so of it selfe but by the abuse of man And thus much for our dissent concerning traditions wherein we must not be wauering but steadfast because notwithstāding our renouncing of popery yet popish inclinations and dispositions be rise among vs. Our common people maruelously affect humane traditions yea mans nature is inclined more to be pleased with them then with the word of God The feast
of the natiuitie of our Sauiour Christ is onely a custome and tradition of the Church and yet men are commonly more carefull to keepe it then the Lordes day the keeping whereof standes by the moral law Positiue lawes are not sufficient to restraine vs from buying selling on the sabbath yet within the twelue daies no man keepes market Againe see the truth of this in our affection to the ministerie of the word let the preacher alleadge Peter and Paul the people count it but common stuffe such as any man can bring but let men come and alleadge Ambrose Austine and the rest of the fathers oh he is the man he is alone for them Againe let any man be in danger any way and straight he sendeth to the wise man or wizzard Gods word is not sufficient to comfort and direct him All this argues that poperie denied with the mouth abides still in the heart and therefore we must learne to reuerence the written word by ascribing vnto it all manner of perfection The eight point Of vowes Our consent Touching vowes this must be knowne that we doe not condemne them altogeather but onely labour to restore the puritie of doctrine touching this point which by the Church of Rome from time to time hath bin corrupted and defaced We hold therefore that a vowe is a promise made to God touching some duties to be performed vnto him and it is two fold generall or speciall The generall vow is that which concernes all beleeuers and it is made in the couenant both of the lawe and of the Gospell I will here onely speake of the vowe which is made in the couenant of the Gospell in which there be two actions one of God the other of man God in mercy one his part promiseth to men the remission of sinnes and life euerlasting and man againe for his part promiseth to beleeue in Christ and to obey God in all his commandements All men euer made this vowe vnto God as the Iewes in circumcision which also they renued so often as they receiued the Passeouer and in the newe testament all that are baptised doe the like And in baptisme this vow is called the stipulation of a good consciēce wherby we purpose to renounce our selues to beleeue in Christ to bring forth the fruits of true repētance it ought to be renued so oft as we are partakers of the supper of the Lord. This vowe is necessarie and must be kept as a part of the true worship of God because it is a promise wherein we vowe to performe all duties commanded of God either in the lawe or in the Gospell It may be demanded considering we are boūd to obedience how we binde our selues in baptisme thereto Ans. Though we be alreadie bound partly by nature and partly by the written word yet may we renue the same bonde in a vowe and he that is bound may further binde himselfe so it be for this ende to helpe his dulnes for want of zeale and to make himselfe more forward in duties of loue to men and the worship of God to this ende Dauid sware to keepe the law of God psal 119. 116. though he were bound vnto it by nature and by the written law it selfe The speciall vowe is that which doth not reach to the person of all beleeuers but onely concernes some speciall men vpon some speciall occasions And this kind of vowe is twofold The first is the vowe of a ceremoniall dutie in the way of seruice to God and it was in practise in the Church of the Iewes vnder the olde Testament examples hereof are two especially the first was the vowe of the Nazarites whereto no kind of men were bound by Gods commaundement but they bound themselues God onely prescribing the manner and order of keeping the same with rites pertaining thereto as abstinence from wine the not cutting of their haire and such like The secōd example is of the Iewes when of their owne accords they vowed to giue God house or land sheepe or oxen or any like things for the maintenance of the legall worship and of this also God prescribeth certaine rules Levit. 27. Now these vowes were part of the Iewish pedagogue or ceremoniall law wherein God trained vp the Iewes in the old testament and being obserued of them they were parts of Gods worship but now vnder the gospell they are not beeing all abolished with the ceremoniall lawe to which Christ put an ende at his death vpon the crosse It is true Paul made a vowe and since kept the same in the time of the newe Testament Act. 18. yet not as a part of Gods worship but as a thing indifferent for the time wherein he onely condescended to the weaknes of the Iewes that by this meanes he might bring them the better vnto Christ. And whereas Christ is called a Nazarite Math. 2. 23. we may not thinke he was of that very order because he did not obstain from wine but he was so tearmed because he was the veritie and accomplishment of this order For by it was signified that Gods church was a peculiar people seuered or chosen out of the world that Christ in respect of holines was also seperated srō all sinners And the words in S. Matthew he shalbe called a Nazarite are borowed from the book of Iudges cap. 13. where they are properly spoken of Sampson and in type or figure of Christ. For as Sampson saued Israel by his death so did Christ saue his Church And as Sampson killed his enemies more by death then by life so did Christ. It is plaine therefore that this kinde of vowe bindeth not vs for there are no more ccremonies to be kept vnder the gospell for parts of Gods worship but the outward rites of Baptisme and the Lordes Supper Vowes concerning meates drinks attire touching tasting times places daies were proper to the Iewes The second kinde of speciall vowe is that wherby a man promiseth freely to performe some outward and bodely exercise for some good ende and this vowe also if it be made accordingly is lawefull and belongs both to the Church of the olde and newe testament In the olde we haue the example of the Rekabites Ier. 35. who by the appointment of Ionadab their father abstained from strong drinke and wine from planting vineyardes and orchardes whereby Ionadab intended onely to breake them before hand and to acquaint them with their future condition and state that they should be strangers in a forraine land that so they might prepare themselues to indure hardnes in the time to come And nowe in the newe testament we haue warrant in like manner to vowe as if a man by drinking of wine or strong drinke finde himselfe prone to drunkennes he may vow with himselfe to drinke no more wine nor strong drinke for so long time as he feeles the driuking thereof will stirre vp his infirmitie and minister occasion of sinning Of this kind also are the vowes in
an Idol And Isidore saith that the heathen vsed the names of image and idol indifferently in one and the same signification And S. Steuen in his apologie Act. 7. 41. calls the golden calfe an Idol Hierome saith that idols are images of dead men Ancient Diuines accorde with all this which I haue said Lactantius saith Inst. lib. 2. cap. 19. Where images are for religions sake there is no religion The Councel of Elibera can 36. decreed that nothing should be painted on the walls of Churches which is adored of the people Origen We suffer not any to worship Iesus at altars images and temples BECAVSE IT IS VVRITTEN Thou shalt haue none other Gods And Epiphanius saith It is against the authoritie of the Scriptures to see the image of Christ or of any Saints hanging in the Church In the seauenth Councel of Constantinople these wordes of Epiphanius are cited against the Encratitae Be mindfull beloued children not to bring images into the Church nor set them in the places where the Saintes are buried BVT ALVVAIES CARRIE GOD IN YOVR HE ARTS neither let them be suffered in any common house for it is not meete that a Christian should be occupied by the eyes but by the meditation of the minde Arguments of the Papists The reasons which they vse to defend their opinions are these I. In Salomons temple were erected Cherubins which were Images of angels on the Mercieseat where God was worshipped and thereby was resembled the maiestie of God therefore it is lawefull to make images to resemble God Ansvv. They were erected by speciall commandement from God who prescribed the very forme of them and the place where they must be set and thereby Moses had a warrant to make them otherwise he had sinned let them shewe the like warrant for their images if they can Secondly the Cherubins were placed in the holy of holies in the most inward place of the Temple and consequently were remoued from the sight of the people who onely heard of them none but the high priest saw them and that but once a yeare And the Cherubins without the vayle though they were to be seene yet were they not to be worship ped Exo. 20. 4. Therfore they serue nothing at all to iustifie the images of the Church of Rome Obiect II. God appeared in the forme of a man to Abraham Gen. 18. 1 â—3 and to Daniel who sawe the auncient of daies sitting on a throne Dan. 9. Nowe as God appeared so may he be resembled therefore say they it is lawful to resemble God in the forme of a man or any like image in which he shewed himselfe to men Ans. In this reason the proposition is false for God may appeare in whatsoeuer forme it pleaseth his maiestie yet doth it not followe that man should therefore resemble God in those formes man hauing no libcrtie to resemble him in any forme at all vnles he be commanded so to doe Againe when God appeared in the forme of a man that forme was a signe of Gods presence onely for the time when God appeared and no longer as the bread and wine in the sacrament are signes of Christs body and blood not for euer but for the time of administration for afterward they become againe as common bread and wine And when the Holy Ghost appeared in the likenes of a dove that likenesse was a signe of his presence no longer then the holy Ghost so appeared And therefore he that would in these formes represent the Trinitie doth geeatly dishonour God and do that for which he hath no warrant Obiect III. Man is the image of God but it is lawfull to paint a man and therefore to make the image of God Ans. A very cavill for first a man cannot be painted as he is the image of God which standes in the spirituall gifts of righteousnes and true holines Againe the image of a man may be painted for ciuil or historicall vse but to paint any man for this ende to represent God or in the way of religion that we may the better remember and worship God it is vnlawfull Other reasons which they vse are of small moment and therefore I omit them II. Differ They teach and maintaine that images of God and of Saintes may be worshipped with religious worship specially the crucifixe For Thomas of Watering saith Seeing the crosse doth represent Christ who died vpon acrosse and is to be worshipped with diuine honour it followeth that the crosse is to be worshipped so too We on the contrarie hold they may not Our principall ground is the second commandement which containeth two parts the first forbiddeth the making of images to resemble the true God the second forbids the worshipping of them or God in them in these wordes Thou shalt not bowe downe to them Now there can be no worship done to any thing lesse then the bending of the knee Againe the brasen serpent was a type or Image of Christ crucified Ioh. 3. 14. appointed by God himselfe yet when the people burned incense to it 2. King 18. 4. Hezekias brake it in pieces and is therefore commended And when the deuill bad our Sauiour Christ but to bow downe the knee vnto him and he would giue him the whole world Christ reiects his offer saying Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him onely shalt thou serue Math. 4. 10. Againe it is lawfull for one man to worship another with ciuill worship but to worship man with religious honour is vnlawfull For all religious worship is prescribed in the first table and the honour due to man is onely prescribed in the second table and the first commandement thereof Honour thy father which honour is therefore ciuill and not religious Now the meanest man that can be is a more excellent image of God then all the images of God or of Saints that are deuised by men Augustine and long after him Gregorie in plaine tearmes denieth images to be adored The Papists defend their opinions by these reasons I. Psal. 99. 5. Cast downe your selues before his foot stoole Ans. The words are thus to be read Bow at his foot stoole that is at the Arke and Mercyseat for there he hath made a promise of his presence the wordes therefore say not bovv to the Arke but to God at the Arke Obiect II. Exod. 3. 5. God saide to Moses Stand a farre off and put off thy shooes for the place is holy Now if holy places must be reuerenced then much more holy images as the crosse of Christ and such like Ansvv. God commanded the cermony of putting off the shooes that he might thereby strike Moses with a religious reuerence not of the place but of his owne maiestie whose presence made the place holy Let them shewe the like warrant for images III. Obiect It is lawfull to kneele downe to a chaire of estate in the absence of the king or Queene therefore much more to the images of
A Reformed Catholike OR A DECLARATION SHEWING HOW NEERE WE MAY COME TO THE PRESENT Church of Rome in sundrie points of Religion and vvherein we must for euer depart from them with an Advertisment to all fauourers of the Romane religion shewing that the said religion is against the Catholike principles and grounds of the Catechisme PRINTED BY JOHN LEGAT Printer to the Vniuersitie of Cambridge 1598. TO THE RIGHT WORSHIPFVL SIR WILLIAM BOWES KNIGHT c. Grace and peace RIght Worshipfull it is a notable pollicie of the deuil which he hath put into the heades of sundrie men in this age to thinke that our religion and the religion of the present Church of Rome are all one for substance and that they may be reunited as in their opinion they were before Writings to this effect are spread abroad in the French tōgue respected of English Protestants more thē is meete or ought to be For let men in shew of moderation pretend the peace and good estate of the Catholike Church as long as they will This vnion of the two religions can neuer be made more then the Vnion of light darknes And this shall appeare if we doe but a litle consider how they of the Romane church haue rased the foundation For though in words they honour Christ yet in deede they turne him into a Pseudo-Christ and an Idol of their owne braine They call him our Lord but with this condition that the Seruant of Seruants of this Lord may change and adde to his commaundements hauing so great a power that he may open and shut heauen to whome he will binde the very conscience with his owne laws and consequently be partaker of the spirituall kingdome of Christ. Againe they call him a Sauiour but yet in Vs in that he giues this grace vnto vs that by our merits we may be our owne Sauiours and in the want of our owne merits we may partake in the merits of the Saints And they acknowledge that he Died and Suffred for vs but with this caueat that the Fault beeing pardoned we must satisfie for the temporall punishment either in this worlde or in Purgatorie In a word they make him our Mediatour of Intercession vnto God but withal his Mother must be the Queene of heauen and by the right of a mother commaund him there Thus in word they crie Osanna but in deed they crucifie Christ. Therfore we haue good cause to blesse the name of God that hath freed vs from the yoke of this Romane bondage hath brought vs to the true light liberty of the gospel And it should be a great height of vnthankfulnesse in vs not to stand out against the present church of Rome but to yeeld our selues to plottes of reconciliation To this effect and purpose I haue penned this little Treatise which I present to your Worship desiring it might be some token of a thankefull minde for vndeserued loue And I craue withall not onely your Worshipfull which is more common but also your Learned protection being wel assured that by skill and arte you are able to iustifie whatsoeuer I haue truly taught Thus wishing to you and yours the continuance and the increase of faith and good conscience I take my leaue Cambr. Iune 28. 1597. Your VVorships in the Lord William Perkins THE AVTHOR TO THE Christian Reader BY a Reformed Catholike I vnderstand any one that holds the same necessarie heades of religion vvith the Romane Church yet so as he pares off and reiects all errours in doctrine vvhereby the said religion is corrupted Hovv this may be done I haue begunne to make some little declaration in this small Treatise the intent whereof is to shevve howe neere we may come to the present Church of Rome in sundrie points of religion and wherein we must for euer dissent My purpose in penning this small discourse is threefold The first is to confute all such Politikes as holde and maintaine that our religion and that of the Romane Church differ not in substance and consequently that they may be reconciled yet my meaning is not here to condemne any Pacification that tends to perswade the Romane church to our religion The second is that the papists which thinke so basely of our religion may be wonne to a better liking of it when they shall see how neare we come vnto them in sundrie points The third that the common protestant might in some part see and conceiue the point of difference betvveene vs and the Church of Rome an◠knovv in what manner and hovv far forth vve condemne the opinions of the said Church I craue pardon for the order vvhich I vse in handling the seuerall points For I haue set them downe one by one as they came to minde not respecting the laws of methode If any Papist shall say that I haue not alleadged their opinions aright I ansvver that their bookes be at hand and I can iustifie what I haue said Thus crauing thine acceptation of this my paines and wishing vnto thee the increase of knowledge and loue of pure and sound religion I take my leaue and make an ende The places of doctrine handled are 1 Of Free-will pag. 11 2 Of Originall sinne 28 3 Assurance of Saluation 38 4 Iustification of a sinner 61 5 Of merits 103 6 Satisfactions for sinne 117 7 Of Traditions 134 8 Of Vowes 151 9 Of images 170 10 Of Real-presence 185 11 The sacrifice of the Masse 204 12 Of Fasting 221 13 The State of perfection 232 14 Worshipping of Saints departed 245 15 Intercession of Saints 258 16 Implicite faith 266 17 Of purgatorie 278 18 Of the Supremacie 283 19 Of the efficacie of the Sacraments 297 20 Of Faith 305 21 Of Repentance 316 22 The sinnes of the Romane church 331 REVELAT 18. 4. And I heard another voyce from heauen say Goe out of her my people that ye be not partakers of her sinnes and receiue not of her plagues IN the former chapter S. Iohn sets down a description of the whore of Babylon and that at large as he sawe her in a vision described vnto him In the sixteenth verse of the same chapter he foretells her destruction and in the three first verses of this 18. chapter he goeth on to propound the said destruction yet more directly and plainly withall alleadging arguments to prooue the same in all the verses following Now in this fourth verse is set downe a caueat seruing to forewarne all the people of God that they may escape the iudgement which shall befall the whore and the wordes containe two parts a commandement and a reason The commandement Come out of her my people that is from Babylon The reason taken from the euent least ye be partakers c. Touching the commandement first I will search the right meaning of it and then set downe the vse thereof and doctrine flowing thence In historie therefore are three Babylons mentioned one is Babylon of Assyria standing on the riuer
ann 1059 that the Pope shall afterward be created by the suffrages of the Cardinall bishops of Rome with the consent of the rest of the cleargie and people and the Emperour himselfe and all Popes are excommunicate accursed as Antichristes that enter otherwise as al now doe Ioachimus Abbas saith Antichrist was long since borne in Rome and shall be yet aduanced higher in the APOSTOLIC◠SEE Petracrh saith Once Rome now Babylon And Ireneus booke 5. chap. last said before all these that Antichrist should be Lateinus a Romane Again this cōmandemēt must not so much be vnderstoode of a bodily departure in respect of cohabitatiō presence as of a spirituall seperatiō in respect of faith religion And the meaning of the holy Ghost is that men must depart from the Romish Church in regard of Iudgememt and doctrine in regard of their faith and the worship of God Thus then wee see that the words containe a commandement from God inioyning his Church and people to make a separation from Babylon Whence I obserue That all those who will be saued must depart and seperate themselues from the faith and religion of this present Church of Rome And whereas they are charged with scisme that seperate on this manner the truth is they are not scismatikes that doe so because they haue the commandement of God for their warrant and that partie is the scismatike in whome the cause of this separation lieth and that is in the church of Rome namly the cup of abomination in the whores hand which is their hereticall and scismaticall religion Nowe touching this dutie of seperation I meane to speake at large not standing so much to prooue the same because it is euident by the text as to shew the manner and measure of making this separation therin I will handle two things First how farforth we may ioyne with them in the matter of religion secondly how farforth and wherein wee must dissent and depart from them And for this cause I meane to make choice of certaine points of religion and to speake of them in as good order as I can shewing in each of them our consent and difference the rather because some harpe much vpon this string that a vnion may be made of our two religions and that we differ not in substance but in points of circumstance The first point wherewith I meane to beginne shall be the point of Freewill though it be not the principall 1. Our consent Free will both by them and vs is taken for a mixt power in the minde and will of man whereby discerning what is good and what is euill he doth accordingly choose or refuse the same I. Conclus Man must be considered in a foure-fold estate as he was created as he was corrupted as he is renewed as he shalbe glorified In the first estate we ascribe to mans will libertie of nature in which he could will or nill either good or euill in the third libertie of grace in the last libertie of glorie All the doubt is of the second estate and yet therein also we agree as the conclusions following will declare II. Conclus The matters where about freewill is occupied are principally the actions of men which be of three sorts naturall humane spirituall Naturall actions are such as are cōmon to men with beasts as to eate drinke sleepe heare see smell taste and to mooue from place to place in all which we ioyne with the Papists and holde that man hath free will and euen since the fall of Adam by a naturall power of the minde doth freely performe any of these actions or the like III. Conclus Humane actions are such as are common to all men good and bad as to speake and vse reason the practise of all mechanicall and liberall artes and the outwarde performance of civill and ecclesiasticall duties as to come to the Church to speake and preach the worde to reach out the hande to receiue the sacrament and to lende the eare to listen outwardly to that which is taught And hither we may referre the outward actiōs of civill vertues as namely Iustice temperance gentlenes liberalitie And in these also we ioyne with the church of Rome say as experience teacheth that men haue a naturall freedome of will to put them or not to put them in execution Paul saith Rom. 2. 14. The Gentiles that haue not the law doe the things of the law BY NATVRE that is by naturall strength and he saith of himselfe that before his conuersion touching the righteousnes of the law he vvas vnblame able Phil. 3. 6. And for this externall obedience naturall men receiue rewarde in temporall things Mat. 6. 5. Ezech. 29. 19. And yet here some caueats must be remēbred I. that in humane actions mans will is weake and feeble and his vnderstanding dimme darke and thereupon he often failes in them And in all such actions with Augustine I vnderstand the wil of man to be onely woūded or halfe dead II. That the will of man is vnder the will of God and therefore to be ordered by it as Ieremie saith chap. 10. v. 23. O Lord I know that the way of man is not in himselfe neither is it in man to walke or direct his steppes IIII. Conclus The third kind of actions are spirituall more neerely concerning the heart and conscience and these be two fold they either concerne the kingdome of darknes or else the kingdome of God Those that concerne the kingdome of darknes are sinnes properly and in these we likewise ioyne with the Papists teach that in sinnes or euill actions man hath freedome of will Some peraduenture will say that we sinne necessarily because he that sinneth can not but sinne and that freewill and necessitie can not stand togither Indeede the necessitie of compulsion or coaction and freewill can not agree but there is another kinde of necessitie which may stand with freedome of will for some things may be done necessarily and also freely A man that is in close prison must needes there abide and cannot possibly get forth and walke where he will yet can he mooue himselfe freely and walke within the prison so likewise though mans wil be chained naturally by the bonds of sinne therefore cannot but sinne and thereupon sinneth necessarily yet doth it also sinne freely V. Conclus The second kind of spirituall actions or things concerne the kingdome of God as repentance faith the conuersion of a sinner new obedience and such like in which we likewise in part ioyne with the Church of Rome and say that in the first conuersion of a sinner mans freewill concurres with Gods grace as a fellowe or co-worker in some sort For in the conuersion of a sinner three things are required the word Gods spirit and mans will for mans will is not passiue in all and euery respect but hath an action in the first conuersion and change of the soule When any
in praier we must beleeue it shall be giuen vs as we aske it but in praier we are to aske the pardon of our owne sinnes and the merit of Christs righteousnes for our selues therefore we must beleeue the same particularly The proposition is a rule of Gods word requiring that in euery petition we bring a particular faith whereby we beleeue that the thing lawfully asked shall be giuen accordingly Mark 11. 24. The minor is also euident neither can it be denyed for we are taught by Christ himselfe to pray on this manner Forgiue vs our debts and to it we say Amen that is that our petitions shall without all doubt be graunted vnto vs. Aug. serm de Temp. 182. And here note that the Church of Rome in the doctrine of iustification by faith cuts off the principall part and propertie thereof For in iustifying faith two things are required first Knowledge reuealed in the word touching the meanes of saluation secondly an Applying of things knowne vnto our selues which some call affiance Nowe the first they acknowledge but the second which is the very substance and principall part thereof they denie III. Reason The iudgement of the auncient Church August I demand now doest thou beleeue in Christ O sinner Thou saist I beleeue What beleevest thou that all THY SINNES may freely be pardoned by him THOV HAST THAT VVHICH THOV HAST BEELEEVED Bern. The Apostle thinketh that a man is iustified freely by faith If thou beleeuest that thy sinnes cannot be remitted but by him alone against whome they were committed but goe further and beleeue this too that by him THY SINNES ARE FORGIVEN THEâ— This is the testimonie which the holy Ghost giueth in the heart saying thy sinnes are forgiueÌ„ thee Cyprian God promiseth thee immortalitie vvhen thou goest out of this vvorld and DOEST THOV DOVBT This is indeede not to knowe God and this is for a member of the church in the house of faith not to haue faith If we beleeue in Christ let vs beleeue his wordes promises and we shall neuer die and shall come to Christ with IOYFVL SECVRITIE with him to raigne for euer The II. difference touching faith in the act of iustification is this The Papist saith we are iustified by faith because it disposeth a sinner to his iustification after this maner By faith saith he the minde of man is inlightened in the knowledge of the law and gospell knowledge stirres vp a feare of hel with a consideration of the promise of happines as also the loue and feare of God and hope of life eternall Now when the heart is thus prepared God infuseth the habite of charitie and other vertues whereby a sinner is iustified before God We say otherwise that faith iustifieth because it is a supernaturall Instrument created by God in the heart of man at his conuersion whereby he apprehendeth and receiueth Christs righteousnes for his iustification In this their doctrine is a twofold error I. that they make faith which iustifieth to goe before iustification it selfe both for order of nature as also for time whereas by the word of God at the very instant when any man beleeueth first he is then iustified and sanctified For he that beleeueth eateth and drinketh the body and blood of Christ and is alreadie passed from death to life Iohn 6. 54. The second is that faith beeing nothing else with them but an illumination of the minde stirreth vp the will which beeing mooued and helped causeth in the heart many spirituall motions and thereby disposeth man to his future iustification But this indeed is as much as if we should say that dead men onely helped can prepare themselues to their future resurrection For we are all by nature dead in sinne and therefore must not onely be inlightened in minde but also renewed in will before we can so much as will or desire that which is good Now we as I haue said teach otherwise that faith iustifieth as it is an instrument to apprehend apply Christ with his obedience which is the matter of our iustification This is the truth I prooue it thus In the Couenant of grace two things must be considered the substance thereof the condition The substance of the couenant is that righteousnes and life euerlasting is giuen to Gods Church and people by Christ. The condition is that we for our parts are by faith to receiue the foresaid benefits and this conditioÌ„ is by grace as well as the substance Now theÌ„ that we may attaine to saluation by Christ he must be giuen vnto vs really as he is propounded in the tenour of the foresaid couenant And for the giuing of Christ God hath appointed speciall ordinances as the preaching of the word and the administration of the sacraments The word preached is the power of God to saluatioÌ„ to euery one that beleeues and the end of the sacraments is to communicate Christ with all his benefites to them that come to be partakers thereof as is most plainely to be seene in the supper of the Lord in which the giuing of bread and wine to the seuerall communicantes is a pledge and signe of Gods particular giuing of Christs bodie and blood with all his merits vnto them And this giuing on Gods part cannot be effectuall without receiuing on our parts and therefore faith must needes be an instrument or hand to receiue that which God giueth that we may finde comfort by this giuing The III. difference concerning faith is this the Papist saith that a man is iustified by faith yet not by faith alone but also by other vertues as hope loue the feare of God c. The reasons which are brought to maintaine their opinion are of no moment I. Reason Luk. 7. 47. Many sinnes are forgiueÌ„her BECASE shee loued much WheÌ„ce they gather that the woman here spoken of was iustified and had the pardon of sinnes by loue Ans. In this text loue is not made an impulsiue cause to mooue God to pardon her sinnes but onely a signe to shew and manifest that God had already pardoned them Like to this is the place of Iohn who saith 1. Ioh. 3. 14. We are translated from death to life BECAVSE we loue the brethren where loue is no cause of the change but a signe and consequent thereof II. Reason Gal. 5. 6. Neither circumcision nor vncircumcision auaileth any thing but FAITH THAT VVOEKâ—TH BY LOVE Hence they gather that faith doth instifie together with loue Ans. The propertie of true faith is to apprehend and receiue something vnto it selfe and loue that goes alwaies with faith as a fruite and an vnseperable companion thereof is of another nature For it doth not receiue in but as it were giue out it selfe in all the duties of the first and second table towards God and man and this thing faith by it selfe cannot doe therefore Paul saith that faith worketh by loue The hand hath a propertie to reach out it selfe to
eate the bread and drinke the wine that he might with his own person consecrate his last supper as he had consecrated baptisme before And if these wordes should be properly vnderstood euery man must be a manslaier in his eating of Christ. Lastly by meanes of popish reall presence it comes to passe that our bodies should be nourished by naked qualities without any substance which in all philosophie is false and erronious To helpe this the like absurdities some Papists make nine wonders in the sacrament The first that Christs bodie is in the Eucharist in as large a quantitie as he was upon the crosse and is now in heauen and yet exceedes not the quantitie of the bread The second that there be accidents without a subiect The third that bread is turned into the bodie of Christ and yet is not the matter of the bodie nor resolued to nothing The fourth that the body increaseth not by consecration of many hosts and is not diminished by often receiuing The fifth that the bodie of Christ is vnder many consecrated hosts The sixt that when the host is diuided the bodie of Christ is not diuided but vnder euery part thereof is vvhole Christ. The seauenth that when the priest holds the host in his hand the bodie of Christ is not felt by it selfe nor seene but the formes of bread and vvine The eight that vvhen the formes of bread and wine cease the bodie and bloode of Christ ceaseth also to be there The ninth that the accidents of bread and wine haue the same effects vvith the bread and vvine it selfe vvhich are to nourish and fill On this manner it shall be easie for any man to defend the most absurd opinion that is or can be if he may haue libertie to answer the arguments alledged to the contrary by wonders To conclude seeing there is a reall communion in the sacrament betweene Christ and euery beleeuing heart our dutie therefore is to bestow our hearts on Christ endeauouring to loue him and to reioyce in him and to long after him aboue all things all our affiance must be in him with him wee beeing nowe on earth must haue our conuersation in heauen And this is the true reall presence which the auncient Church of God hath commended vnto vs for in all these liturgies these wordes were vsed and are yet extant in the popish masse Lift vp your hearts we lift them vp vnto the Lord. By which wordes the communicants were admonished to direct their mindes and their faith to Christ sitting at the right hand of God Thus saide Augustine If vve celebrate the ascension of the Lord vvith deuotion let vs ascend vvith him and lift vp our hearts Againe they vvhich are alreadie risen with Christ in faith and hope are inuited to the great table of heauen to the table of Angels VVHERE IS THE BREAD The eleuenth point Of the sacrifice in the Lords Supper which the Papists call the sacrifice of the Masse Touching this point first I will set downe what must be vnderstoode by the name Sacrifice A sacrifice is taken properly or improperly Properly it is a sacred or solemne action in which man offereth and consecrateth some outward bodily thing vnto God for this end to please and honour him thereby Thus al the sacrifices of the old testament and the oblation of Christ vpon the crosse in the new Testament are sacrifices Improperly that is onely by the way of resemblance the duties of the morall lawe are called sacrifices And in handling this question I vnderstande a sacrifice both properly and improperly by way of resemblance Our consent Our consent I propound in two conclusions Conclus I. That the supper of the Lord is a sacrifice and may truly be so called as it hath bin in former ages that in three respects I. Because it is a memoriall of the reall sacrifice of Christ vpon the crosse and containes withall a thanksgiuing to God for the same which thanksgiuing is the sacrifice and calves of our lips Hebr. 13. 15. II. Because euery communicant doth there present himselfe bodie and soule a liuing holy and acceptable sacrifice vnto God For as in this sacrament God giues vnto vs Christ with his benefits so we answerable giue vp our selues vnto God as seruants to walk in the practise of all dutifull obedience III. It is called a sacrifice in respect of that which was ioyned with the sacrament namely the Almes giuen to the poore as a testimonie of our thankefulnes vnto God And in this regard also the ancient Fathers haue called the sacrament an vnbloodie sacrifice and the table an altar the ministers priests and the whole action an oblation not to God but to the congregation not by the priest alone but by the people A Canon of a certaine Council saith We decree that euery Lords day the oblation of the altar be offered of euery man and woman both for bread and wine And Augustine saith that vvomen offer a sacrifice at the altar of the Lord that it might be offered by the priest to God And vsually in ancient writers the communion of the whole bodie of the congregation is called the sacrifice or oblation Conclus II. That the very bodie of Christ is offered in the Lordes Supper For as we take the bread to be the bodie of Christ sacramentally by resemblance and no otherwise so the breaking of bread is sacramentally the sacrificing or offering of Christ vpon the crosse And thus the fathers haue tearmed the Eucharist an immolation of Christ because it is a cōmemoration of his sacrifice vpon the crosse Aug. Epist. 23. Neither doth he lie which saith Christ was offered For if sacraments had not the resemblāce of things whereof they are sacraments they should in no vvise be sacraments but from a resemblance they often take their names Againe Christ is sacrificed in the last supper in regard of the faith of the cōmmunicants which makes a thing past and done as present Augustine saith When we beleeue in Christ he is offered for vs daily And Christ is then slaine for euery one vvhen he beleeues that he is slaine for him Ambrose saith Christ is sacrificed daily in the mindes of beleeuers as vpon an altar Hierome saith He is alwaies offered to the beleeuers II. The difference They make the Eucharist to be a reall externall or bodily sacrifice offered vnto God holding and teaching that the minister is a priest properly and that in this sacrament he offers Christs bodie and blood to God the father really and properly vnder the formes of bread and wine We acknowledge no reall outward or bodily sacrifice for the remission of sinnes but onely Christs oblation on the crosse once offered Here is the maine difference betweene vs touching this point and it is of that waight and moment that they stiffely maintaining their opinion as they doe can be no Church of God For this point raseth the
as God Therfore neither Saint nor Angel is to be honoured so much as with the bowing of the knee if it carrie but the least signification of diuine or religious honour Reason IV. The iudgement of the auncient Church August We honour the Saints with charitie and not BY SERVITVDE neither doe vve erect Churches to them And Let it NOT BE RELIGION for vs to vvorship deade men And They are to be honoured for immitation and not to be adored for religion Epiphan Neither Tecla nor any Saint is to be ADORED for that auncient ERROVR may not ouerrule vs that vve should leaue the liuing God and adore things made by him Againe Let Marie be in honour let the Father Sonne and holy Ghost be adored let NONE ADORE MARIE I meane neither vvoman nor man Againe Marie is beautifull and holy and honoured yet NOT TO ADORATION Whē Iulian obiected to the Christians that they worshipped their Martyrs as God Cyril graunts the memorie and honour of them but denies their adoration and of inuocation he makes no mention at all Ambrose on Rom. 1. Is any SO MADDE that he vvill giue to the Earle the honour of the King yet these men doe not thinke them selues guiltie who giue the honour of Gods name to a creature and leauing the Lord ADORE THEIR FELLOVV SERVANTS as though there vvere any thing more reserued for God Obiections of Papists I. Gen. 48. 16. Let the angel that kept me blesse thy children Here say they it is a praier made to angels Ans. By the angel is meant Christ who is called the angel of the couenant Malac. 3. 1. and the angel that guided Israel in the wildernes 1. Cor. 10. 9. compared with Exod. 23. 20. Obiect II. Exod. 23. 13. Moses praieth that God would respect his people for Abrahams sake and for Isaac and Israel his seruants which were not then liuing Ans. Moses praieth God to be mercifull to the people not for the intercession of Abraham Isaac and Iacob but for his couenants sake which he had made with them Psal. 123. 10 11. Againe by popish doctrine the fathers departed knewe not the estate of men vpon earth neither did they pray for thē because then they were not in heauen but in Limbo patrum III. Obiect One liuing man makes intercession to God for another therefore much more doe the Saints in glorie that are filled with loue pray to God for vs and we pray to them no otherwise then we desire liuing men to pray for vs. Ans. The reason is naught for we haue a commandement one liuing man to pray for another and to desire others to pray for vs but there is no warrant in the word of God for vs to desire the praiers of men departed Secondly there is great difference betweene these two To request our friend either by word of mouth or by letter to pray for vs and by Inuocation to request them that are absent from vs and departed this life to pray for vs for this is indeede a worshippe in which is giuen vnto them a power to heare and helpe all that call vpon them at what place or time soeuer yea though they be not present in the place in which they are worshipped and consequently the seeing of the heart presence in all places an infinite power to helpe all that pray vnto them which things agree to no creature but God alone Thirdly when one liuing man requests an other to pray for him he onely makes him his companion and fellowe member in his prayer made in the name of one mediatour Christ but when men inuocate Saints in heauen they beeing then absent they make them more then fellowe members euen mediatours between Christ and them The XU. point Of intercession of saints Our consent Our consent with them I will set downe in two conclusions Conclus I. The saints departed pray vnto God by giuing thankes vnto him for their owne redemption and for the redemption of the whole Church of God vpon earth Rev. 5. 8. The foure beasts and the foure and twentie Elders fell dovvne before the lambe 9. and they song a new song Thou art worthie to take the booke and to open the seales thereof because thou wast killed and hast redeemed vs to God 13. And all the creatures which are in heauen heard I saying Praise and honour and glorie and povver be vnto him that sitteth vpon the throne and vnto the Lambe for euermore II. Conclus The Saints departed pray generally for the state of the whole Church Rev. 6. 9. And I savv vnder the Altar the soules of them that were killed for the vvord of God THEY CRIED 10. How lōg Lord holy and true dost thou not iudge and auenge our blood on them that dvvell on the earth whereby we see they desire a finall deliuerance of the Church and a destruction of the enemies thereof that they themselues with all the people of God might be aduanced to fulnesse of glorie in bodie and soule Yea the dumbe creatures Rom. 8. 23. are said to grone and sigh waiting for the adoption euen the redemption of our bodies much more then do the Saints in heauen desire the same And thus farre we consent The dissent or difference They holde and teach that the Saints in heauen as the virgin Marie Peter Paul c. doe make intercession to God for particalar men according to their seuerall wants and that hauing receiued particular mens praiers they present them vnto God But this doctrine we flatly renounce vpō these grounds and reasons I. Isai 63. 16. The church saith to God doubtles thou art our father though ABRAHAM BE IGNORANT of vs and Israel KNOVVE VS NOT. Now if Abraham knewe not his posteritie neither Marie nor Peter nor any other of the Saints departed knowe vs and our estate and consequently they cannot make any particular intercession for vs. If they say that Abraham Iacob were thē in Limho which they will haue to be a part of hell what ioye could Lazarus haue in Abrahams bosome Luc. 16. 25. and with what comfort could Iacob say on his death bed O Lord I haue waited for thy saluation Gen. 46. 18. II. Reason 2. King 22. 20. Huldah the prophetesse telleth Iosias he must be gathered to his fathers and put in his graue in peace that his eyes may not see all the euill which God would bring on this place Therefore the Saints departed see not the state of the Church on earth much lesse doe they knowe the thoughts and prayers of men This conclusion Augustine confirmeth at large III. Reason No creature Saint or angell can be a mediatour for vs to God sauing Christ alone who is indeede the onely Aduocate of his church For in a true and sufficient Mediatour there must be three properties First of all the worde of God must reueale and propound him vnto the Church that we may in conscience be assured that praying to him and to god in his name
in effect is the doctrine of master Caluin that when we begin by faith to knowe somewhat and haue a desire to learne more this may be tearmed an vnexpressed faith Secondly this point of doctrine serues to rectifie and in part to expound suudrie catechismes in that they seeme to propound faith vnto men at so high a reach as fewe can attaine vnto it defining it to be a certen and full perswasion of Gods loue and fauour in Christ whereas though euery faith be for his nature a certen perswasiō yet onely the strong faith is the full perswasion Therefore faith is not only in general tearms to be defined but also the degrees and measures thereof are to be expounded that weak ones to their comfort may be truely informed of their estate And though we teach there is a kinde of implicite faith which is the beginning of true and liuely faith yet none must herevpon take an occasion to content themselues therwith but labour to increase and go on from faith to faith and so indeed will euery one do that hath any beginnings of true faith be they neuer so little And he which thinks he hath a desire to beleeue and contents himselfe therewith hath indeede no true desire to beleeue The difference The pillars of the Romish Church laies downe this ground that faith in his owne nature is not a knowledge of things to be beleeued but a reuerent assent vnto them whether they be knowne or vnknowne Herevpon they build that if a man knowe some necessarie points of religion as the doctrine of the godhead of the trinity of Christs incarnation and of our redemption c. it is needelesse to knowe the rest by a particular or distinct knowledge and it suffiseth to giue his consent to the church and to beleeue as the pastors beleeue Beholde a ruinous building vpon a rotten foundation for faith containes a knowledge of things to be beleeued and knowledge is of the nature of faith and nothing is beleeued that is not knowne Isai 53. 11. The knowledge of my righteous seruant shall iustifie many Ioh. 17. 2. This is eternall life to knowe the eternall God and whome thou hast sent Iesus Christ. In these places by knowledge is meant faith grounded vpon knowledge whereby we knowe and are assured that Christ and his benefits belong vnto vs. Secondly this kinde of assent is the mother of ignorance For when mē shall be taught that for sundrie points of religion they may beleeue as the Church beleeues that the studie of the Scriptures is not to be required of them yea that to their good they may be barred the reading of them so be it they know some principall things contained in the articles of saith that common beleeuers are not bound expressely to beleeue all the articles of the Apostles Creed that it suffiseth them to beleeue the articles by an implicite faith by beleeuing as the Church beleeueth fewe or none will haue care to profit in knowledge And yet Gods commaundement is that we should grow in knowledge and that his word should dwell plenteously in vs Col. 3. 16. Again the Papists say that the deuotion of the ignorant is often seruice better accepted then that which is done vpon knowledge Such say they as pray in latine pray with as great consolation of spirit with as little tediousnes vvith as great deuotion and affection and oftentimes more then the other and alwaies more then any scismaticke or hereticke in his owne language To conclude they teach that some articles of faith are beleeued generally of the whole Church onely by a simple or implicite saith which afterward by the Authoritie of a generall Counsell are propounded to be beleeued of the Church by expresse faith Rofsensis against Luther giues an example of this when he confesseth that Purgatorie was little knowne at the first but was made known partly by Scripture and partly by reuelation in processe of time This implicite saith touching articles of religion we reiect holding that all things concerning faith and manners necessarie to saluation are plainely expressed in Scripture and accordingly to be beleeued The seuenteenth point Of Purgatorie Our consent We holde a Christian Purgatorie according as the word of God hath set downe the same vnto vs. And first of all by this Purgatorie we vnderstand the afflictions of Gods children here on earth Ier. 3. The people afflicted say thou hast sent a fire into our bones Psal. 65. 12. We haue gone through water and fire Malach. 3. 3. The children of Levi must be purified in a purging fire of affliction 1. Pet. 1. 7. Afflictions are called the fierie triall wherby men are clensed from their corruptions as gold from the drosse by the fire Secondly the bloode of Christ is a purgatorie of our sinnes 1. Ioh. 1. 7. Christs bloode PVRGETH vs frō all our sinnes Hebr. 9. 14. It PVRGETH our consciences from deade workes And Christ baptiseth with the holy Ghost and with fire because our inward washing is by the blood of Christ and the holy Ghost is as fire to consume and abolish the inward corruption of nature To this effect saith Origen Without doubt vve shall feele the vnquenchable fire vnles wee shall novv intreat the Lord to sende downe from heauen a purgatorie fire vnto vs vvhereby vvorldly desires may be vtterly consumed in our mindes August Suppose the mercy of God is thy purgatorie The difference or dissent We differ from the Papists touching purgatorie in two things And first of all for the place They holde it to be a part of hell into which an entrance is made onely after this life we for our parts denie it as hauing no warrant in the worde of God which mentioneth onely two places for men after this life heauen and hell with the two-folde condition thereof ioy and torment Luk. 16. 25 26. Ioh. 3. 36. Apoc. 22. 14 15. and 21. 7 8. Matth. 8. 11. Nay we finde the contrarie Rev. 14. 13. they that die in the Lord are said to rest from their labours which cannot be true if any of them goe to purgatorie And to cut off all cauills it is further said their works that is the reward of their works follow them euen at the heeles as an Acoluth or seruant doth his master Augustin saith wel After this life there remaines no compunction or SATISFACTION And Here is all remission of sinne here be temptations that mooue vs to sinne lastly here is the euill from which we desire to be deliuered but there is NONE OF AL THESE And We are not here without sinne but vve shall GOE HENCE VVITHOVT SINNE Cyril saith They which are once dead can adde nothing to the things which they haue done but shall REMAINE AS THEY VVERE LFFT and vvaite for the time of the last iudgement Chrysostome After the ende of this life there be NO OCCASIONS of merits Secondly we differ from them
touching the meanes of purgation They say that men are purged by suffering of paines in purgatorie whereby they satisfie for their veniall sinnes and for the temporall punishment of their mortal sinnes We teach the contrarie holding that nothing can free vs from the least punishment of the smallest sinne but the sufferings of Christ and purge vs from the least taint of corruption sauing the bloode of Christ. Indede they say that our sufferings in themselues considered doe not purge and satisfie but as they are made meritorious by the sufferings of Christ but to this I oppose one text of scripture Hebr. 1. 3. where it is saide that Christ hath purged our sinnes BY HIMSELFE where the last clause cuts the throat of all humane satisfactions and merits and it giueth vs to vnderstand that whatsoeuer thing purgeth vs from our sinnes is not to be found in vs but in Christ alone otherwise it should haue bin saide that Christ purgeth the sinnes of men by themselues as well as by himselfe and he should merit by his death that we should become our owne Sauiours in part To this place I may well referre prayer for the dead of which I wil propound two conclusions affirmatiue and one negatiue Conclus I. We hold that Christian charitie is to extend it selfe to the very deade and it must shew it selfe in their honest buriall in the preseruation of their good names in the helpe and releefe of their posteritie as time and occasion shall be offered Ruth 1. 8. Ioh. 19. 23. II. Conclus We praie further in general manner for the faithfull departed that God would hasten their ioyfull resurrection and the full accomplishment of their happinesse both for the bodie and soule and thus much we aske in saying Thy kingdome come that is not onely the kingdome of grace but also the kingdome of glory in heauen Thus farre we come but nearer the gates of Babylon we dare not approch III. Conclus To pray for particular men departed and to praie for their deliuerance out of purgatorie we thinke it vnlawfull because we haue neither promise nor commandement so to doe The eighteenth point Of the supremacie in causes Ecclesiasticall Our consent Touching the point of supremacie Ecclesiasticall I will set downe how neare we may come to the Romane Church in two conclusions Conclus I. For the founding of the primitiue Church the ministerie of the word was distinguished by degrees not onely of order but also of power and Peter was called to the highest degree Ephes. 4. vers 11. Christ ascended vp on high and gaue gifts vnto men for the good of his Church as some to be Apostles some Prophets some Euangelists some Pastors and Doctors Now howsoeuer one Apostle be not aboue another or one Euangelist aboue another or one pastour aboue another yet an Apostle was aboue an Euangelist and an Euangelist aboue all pastours and teachers And Peter was by calling an Apostle and therefore aboue all Euangelists and Pastors hauing the highest roome in the ministerie of the new Testament both for order and authoritie Conclus II. Among the twelue Apostles Peter had a threefold priuiledge or prerogatiue I. The prerogatiue of authoritie II. Of primacie III. Of principalitie For the first by the priuiledge of authoritie I meane a preheminence in regard of estimatiō wherby he was had in reuerence aboue the rest of the twelue Apostles for Cephas with Iames and Iohn are called pillers and seemed to be great Gal. 2. v. 6 9. Againe he had the preheminence of primacie because he was the first named as the forman of the quest Math. 10. 2. The name of the twelue Apostles are these THE FIRST IS Simon called Peter Thirdly he had the preheminence of principality among the twelue because in regard of the measure of grace he excelled the rest for when Christ asked his disciples whome they said he was Peter as beeing of greatest abilitie and zeale answered for them all Math. 16. 16. I vse this clause among the twelue because Paul excelled Peter euery way in learning zeale vnderstanding as farre as Peter excelled the rest And thus neere we come to popish supremacie The difference The Church of Rome giues to Peter a supremacie vnder Christ aboue all causes and persons that is full power to gouerne order the catholik Church vpon the whole earth both for doctrine regiment This supremacie stands as they teach in a power or iudgement to determine of the true sense of all places of Scripture to determine all causes of faith to assemble generall councells to ratifie the decrees of the said councels to excommunicate any man vpon earth that liues within the Church euen princes and nations properly to absolue and forgiue sinnes to decide causes brought to him by appeale from all the parts of the earth lastly to make lawes that shall binde the conscience This fulnes of power with one consent is ascribed to Peter and the Bishops of Rome that follow him in a supposed succession Nowe we holde on the contrarie that neither Peter nor any Bishop of Rome hath any supremacie ouer the Catholike Church but that all supremacie vnder Christ is pertaining to kings and princes within theire dominions And that this our doctrine is good theirs false and forged I will make it manifest by sundrie reasons I. Christ must be considered of vs as a king two waies First as he is God and so is he an absolute king ouer all things in heauen and earth with the Father the holy Ghost by the right of creation Secōdly he is a king as he is redeemer of mankinde and by the right of redemprion he is a soueraigne king ouer the whole Church and that in speciall manner Now as Christ is God with the Father and the holy Ghost he hath his deputies on earth to gouerne the worlde as namely kings princes who are therefore in scriptures called gods But as Christ is Mediatour and consequently a king ouer his redeemed ones he hath neither fellow nor deputie No fellow for then he should be an imperfect mediatour No deputie for no creature is capable of this office to doe in the roome and stead of Christ that which he himselfe doth because euery worke of the Mediatour is a compound worke arising of the effects of two natures concurring in one and the same action namely the godhead and the manhood and therefore to the effecting of the said work there is required an infinite power which farre exceedes the strength of any created nature Againe Heb. 7. 24. Christ is said to haue a priesthood which cannot passe from his person to any other whence it followes that neither his kingly nor his propheticall office can passe from him to any creature either in whole or in part because the three offices of mediation in this regard be equall Nay it is a needlesse thing for Christ to haue a deputie to put in exequution any part of his mediatourship considering a deputy
onely serueth to supply the absence of the principall whereas Christ is alwaies present with his Church by his word and spirit for where two or three be gathered together in his name he is in the middest among them It may be saide that the ministers in the worke of the ministerie are deputies of Christ I answer that they are no deputies but actiue instruments For in the preaching of the word there be two actions the first is the vttering or propounding of it to the eare the second is the inward operation of the Holy Ghost in the heart which indeede is the principall and belongs to Christ alone the action of speaking in the minister being onely instrumentall Thus likewise the church of God in cutting off any member by excommunication is no more but an instrument performing a ministerie in the name of Christ and that is to testifie and pronounce whome Christ himselfe hath cut off from the kingdome of heauen whome he also will haue for this cause to be seuered from the company of his own people till he repent And so it is in all ecclesiasticall actions Christ hath no deputie but onely instruments the whole intire actioÌ„ being personal in respect of Christ. This one conclusion ouer throwes not onely the Popes supremacy but also many other points of popery Reason II. All the Apostles in regard of power and authoritie were equall for the commission apostolicall both for right and exequution was giuen equally to them all as the very wordes import Math. 28. v. 19. Goe teach all nations baptizing them c. and the promise I will giue to thee the kâ—â—es of the kingdome of heauen is not priuate to Peter but is made in his person to the rest according as his confession was in the name of the rest Thus saith Theophylact. They haue the power of committing binding that receiue the gift of a bishop as Peter And Ambr. saith What is said to Peter is said to the Apostles Therfore Peter had no supremacy ouer the rest of the Apostles in respect of right to the coÌ„mission which they say beloÌ„ged to him onely and the execution thereof to the rest But let all be granted that Peter was in commissioÌ„ aboue the rest for the time of his life yet hence may not any superioritie be gathered for the Bishopps of Rome because the authoritie of the Apostles was personall consequently ceased with them without being conueyed to any other because the Lord did not vouchsafe the like honour to any after them For first of all it was the priuiledge of the Apostles to be called immediatly and to see the Lord Iesus Secondly they had power to giue the gift of the holy ghost by the imposition of handes Thirdly they had such a measure of the assistance of the spirit that in their publike sermons and in writing of the word they could not erre and these things were all denied to those that followed after them And that their authoritie ceased in their persons it stands with reason also because it was giuen in so ample a manner for the founding of the Church of the new Testament which being once founded it was needfull onely that there should be pastours and teachers for the building of it vp vnto the ende of the world Reason III. When the sonnes of Zebedeus sued vnto Christ for the greatest roomes of honour in his kingdome deeming hee should be an earthly king Christ answers them againe ye knovv that the Lords of the Gentiles haue dominion and they that are great exercise authoritie over them but it shall not be so vvith you Bernard applieth these very wordes to Pope Eugenius on this maner It is plaine saith he that here dominion is forbidden the Apostles Goe to then dare if you will to take vpon you ruling an Apostleship or in your Apostleship rule or dominion if you will haue both alike you shall loose both Otherwise you must not thinke your selfe exempted from the number of them of vvhome the Lord complaineth thus they haue raigned but not of me they haue beene and I haue not knowne them Reason IV. Eph. 4. mention is made of gifts which Christ gaue to his Church after his ascension whereby some were Apostles some prophets some Euangelists some pastours and teachers Now if there had beene an office in which men as deputies of Christ should haue gouerned the whole Church to the ende of the world the calling might here haue beene named fitly with a gift thereto pertaining and Paul no doubt would not here haue concealed it where he mentioneth callings of lesser importance Reason V. The Popes supremacie was iudged by sentences of Scripture and condemned long before it was manifest in the world the spirit of prophesie foreseeing and foretelling the state of things to come 2. Thess. 2. v. 3 4. The man of sinne which is that Antichrist shall exalt himselfe aboue all that is called God c. Now this whole chapter with all the circumstances thereof most fitly agrees to the sea of Rome and the Head thereof and the thing which then staied the reuealing of the man of sinne vers 6. is of most expounded to be the Romane Emperour I will alleadge one testimonie in the roome of many Chrysostome saith on this place As long as the Empire shall be had in awe no man shall straitly submit himselfe to Antichrist but after that the Empire shall be dissolued Antichrist shall invade the state of the Empire standing voide and shall labour to pul vnto himselfe the Empire both of man and God And this we finde now in experience to be true for the See of Rome neuer flourished till the Empire decaied and the seat thereof was remooued from the citie of Rome Againe Rev. 13. mention is made of two beasts one comming out of the sea whome the Papists confesse to be the heathenish Romane Emperour the second coÌ„ming out of the earth which doth all that the first beast could doe before him and this fitly agreeth to the Popes of Rome who doe and haue done all things that the Emperour did or could doe and that in his vety sight Reason VI. The iudgement of the auncient Church Cyprian saith Doubtlesse the same were the rest of the Apostles that Peter was indued vvith EQVAL fellowshippe both of honour and of POVVER but a beginning is made of vnitie that the Church may appeare to be one Gregorie saith If one be called vniversall Bishop the vniversall Church GOETH TO DECAY And chap. 144. I say boldly that whosoeuer calleth or desireth to call himselfe vniuersall priest in his pride is a FORERVNNER OF ANTICHRIST And Beholde in the preface of the Epistle which ye directed vnto me you caused to be set a PROVVD TITLE calling me vniversall Pope Bernard Consider that thou art not a lord of Bishops but one of them Churches are MAIMED in that the Romane Bishop draweth all povver to himselfe Again Gregorie himselfe being
as doe acknowledge him to be their head and doe beleeue the doctrine established in the Councel of Trent we take it to be no Church of God Because Babylon which I haue prooued to be the Church of Rome is here opposed to the Church or people of God and because we are commanded to come out of it wheras we may not wholly forsake any people till they forsake Christ. Some will happely say the Church of Rome hath the Scriptures and the Sacrament of baptisme I answer first of all they haue indeede the bookes of holy Scripture among them but by the rest of their doctrine they ouerthrowe the true sense thereof in the foundation as I haue prooued before And though they haue the outward forme of baptisme yet they ouerturne the inward baptisme which is the substance of all standing in the iustification and sanctification of a sinner Againe I answer that they haue the word and baptisme not for themselues but for the true Church of God among them like as the lanterne holdeth the candle not for it selfe but for others Secondly it may be and is alleadged that if the Pope be Antichrist he then sittes in the temple that is the Church of God and by this meanes the Romane Church shall be the true Church Ans. He sittes in the temple of God but marke further how AS GOD that is not as a member but as a manifest vsurper like as the thiefe sittes in the true mans house For the popish Church and Gods Church are mingled like chaffe and corne in one heape and the Church of Rome may be said to be in the Church of God and the church of God in the church of Rome as we say the wheat is among the chaffe and the chaffe in the wheat Againe he is said to sit in the tâ—mple of God because the Romane Church though falsly takes vnto it selfe the title of the true Catholike church Some goe about to delaie and qualifie the matter by comparing this Church to a man lying sicke full of soares hauing also his throat cut yet so as bodie and soule are ioyned together and life is remaining still But all things wel considered it is rather like a dead carkasse and is voide of all spirituall life as the popish errours in the foundation doe manifest Indeede a knowne harlot may afterward remaine a wife and be so tearmed yet after the bill of diuorcement is giuen shee ceaseâ—h to be a wife though she can shew her marriage ring now the church hath receiued the bill of her diuorcement in the written word namely 2. Thess. 2. and Rev. 13. 11 12 c. Furthermore in this commaundement we may see a liuely portraiture of the state of all mankinde Here we see two sorts of men some are pertaining to Babylon a people running on to their destruction some againe are a people of God seuered from Babylon and reserued to life euerlasting If any aske the cause of this distinction I answer it is the very wil of God vouchsafing mercy to some and forsaking others by withdrawing his mercie from them for the better declaration of his iustice Thus saith the Lord Rom. 11. 4. I HAVE RESERVED seauen thousand that neuer bowed the knee to Baal and the prophet Isai saith Vnles the Lord had reserued areÌ„nant we had beene as Sodom and Gomorrha By this distinction we are taught aboue all things to seeke to be of the number of Gods people and to labour for assurance of this in our owne consciences For if all should be saued lesse care would suffice but this mercie is not common to all and therefore the more to be thought vpon Lastly here I note the speciall care that God hath ouer his owne children He first giueth them warning to depart before he beginne to execute his iudgement vpon his enemies with whome they liue that they might not be partakers of their sinnes or punishments Thus before God would punish Ierusalem an angel is sent to marke theÌ„ in the forehead that mourned for the abominatioÌ„s of the people And in the destruction of the first born of Egypt the angel passed ouer the houses of the Iewes that had their posts sprin kled with the blood of the paschal lambe and this passing ouer beâ—okneth safetie preseruation in the coÌ„mon destructioÌ„ to those that haue their hearts sprinkled with the blood of Christ. This blessing of protection should moue vs all to becoÌ„ true hartie seruants of God Men vsually become meÌ„bers of those societies and corporations where they may inioy many freedomes priuiledges Well behold in the societie of the Saints of God which is the true church there is the freedoÌ„ froÌ„ danger in all coÌ„mon destructions from eternal vengeance at the last day VVhen Hester had procured safetie for the Iewes libertie to reuenge themselues vpon their enemies it is said that many of the people of the land became Iewes Euen so coÌ„sidering Christ hath procured freedom from hell death and damnation for all that beleeue in him we should labour aboue all things to become new creatures ioyning our selues alwaies to the true Church of God Hitherto I haue spoken of the commandement now followeth the reason thereof drawne from the ende that they be not partakers of her sinnes and that they receiue not of her plagues Here I might stande long to shewe what be the sinnes of the Church of Rome but I will onely name the principall The first sinne is Atheisme and that I prooue on this manner Atheisme is twofold open coloured Open Atheisme is when men both in word and deede denie God and his Word Coloured Atheisme is not so manifest and it hath two degrees The first is when men acknowledge God the creatour and gouernour of heauen and earth and yet denie the father sonne and holy ghost Thus the Ephesians before they receiued the gospel are saide to be vvithout God whome in their naturall iudgement they acknowledged because they denied Christ and consequently worshipped an Idol of their owne braine in that they worshipped God out of Christ. And in this respect though the Samaritans worshipped the God of Abraham yet our Sauiour Christ saith they worshipped they knevv not vvhat And the Psalmist saith of all the Gentiles that their Gods are Idols In this degree of Atheisme are placed Turks and Iewes at this day the Anti-Trinitaries and Arians and all that conceiue and worship God out of the trinitie The second degree is when men doe rightly acknowledge the vnitie of the god head in the Trinitie of persons yet so as by other necessarie consequents partly of their doctrine and partly of the seruice of God they ouerturne that which they haue well maintained And thus I say that the very religioÌ„ of the church of Rome is a kind of Atheisme For whereas it makes the merit of the workes of men to concurre with the grace of God it ouerthrowes the grace of God Rom. 11. In
coniurations by holy water by the ringing of bels by lighting tapers by reliques and such like For these things haue not their supposed force either by creation or by any institution of God in his holy worde and therefore if any thing be done by them it is from the secret operation of the deuill himselfe The fift sinne is that in their doctrine they maintaine periurie because they teach with one consent that a Papist examined may answer doubtfully against the direct intention of the examiner framing an other meaning vnto himself in the ambiguitie of his words As for example when a man is asked whether he saide or heard Masse in such a place though he did they affirme he may say No and sweare vnto it because he was not there to reueale it to the examiner whereas in the very lawe of nature he that takes an oath should sweare according to the intention of him that hath power to minister an oath that in truth iustice iudgement Let them cleare their doctrine from all defence of periurie if they can The sixt sinne is that they reuerse many of Gods commaÌ„dements making that no sinne which Gods word makes a sinne Thus they teach that if any man steale some litle thing that is thought not to cause any notable hurt it is no mortall sinne that the officious lie and the lie made in sport are veniall sinnes that to pray for our enemies in particular is no precept but a counsell and that none is bound to salute his enemie in the way of friendship flat against the rule of Christ Matth. 5. 47. where the worde 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifieth all manner of dutie and curtesie that rash iudgement though consent come thereto is regularly but a veniall sinne that it is lawfull other whiles to faine holines that the painting of the face is ordinarily but a veniall sinne that it is not lavvfull to forbid begging whereas the Lord forbad there should be any begger in Israel Againe they teach that men in their choller when they are chiding and sweare vvounds and blood are not indeede blasphemers Lastly their writers vse manifest lying to iustifie their doctrine They plead falsly that all antiquitie is on their side whereas it is as much against them as for them and as much for vs as them Againe their manner hath bin and is still to prooue their opinions by forged and counterfait writings of men some whereof I will name 1 Saint Iames Liturgie 2 The Canons of the Apostles 3 The bookes of Dionysius Ariopagita and namely De Hier archia Ecclesiastica 4 The Decret all Epistles of the Popes 5 Pope Clements workes 6 Some of the Epistles of Ignatius 7 Origens booke of repentance His homelies in diversos sanctos Commentaries on Iob and booke of Lamentation 8 Chrysostomes Liturgie 9 Basils liturgie and his Ascetica 10 Augustines booke de 8. quest Dulâ—itij A booke of true and false repentance Ser de festo commemorationis animarum booke de dogm Ecclesiast Sermon ad fratres in Heremo Sermon of Peters chaire Booke of visiting the sicke c. 11 Iustin Martyrs Questions and Answ. 12 Athanasius epistle to Pope Foelix 13 Bernards sermons of the Lords Supper 14 Hieromes epistle ad Demetriadem sauouring of Pelagius 15 Tertullian de Monogamia 16 Cyprian de Chrismate de ablutione peâ—um 17 In the Councel of Sardica the 3 4 and 5 canons are forged 18 In the Councel of Nice all saue 20. are forged 19 Certaine Romane Councels vnder Sylvester are forged For he vvas at this time dead and therefore could not confirme them Sozom. lib. 2. 20 To the sixt canon of the Councel of Nice are patched these words That the Romane Church hath alwaies had the supremacie 21 Lastly I will not omit that Pope Sozimus Bonifacius ana Coelestinus falsified the canons of the councell of Nice to prooue appeales from all places to Rome so as the Bishops of Africke were forced to send for the true copies of the saide Councell from Constantinople and the Churches of Greece I might here rehearse many other sinnes which with the former call for vengeance vpon the Romane Church but it shall suffice to haue named a few of the principall Now in this reason our Sauiour Christ prescribes another maine dutie to his owne people and that is to be carefull to eschewe all the sinnes of the Church of Rome that they may withall escape her deserued plagues and punishments And from this prescribed dutie I obserue two things The first is that euery good seruant of God must carefully auoide contracts of marriage with professed Papists that is with such as hold the Pope for their head and beleeue the doctrine of the Councel of Trent For in such matches men hardly keepe faith and good conscience and hardly auoide coÌ„munication with the sinnes of the Romane Church A further ground of this doctrine I thus propound In Gods worde there is mentioned a double league betweene man and man countrie and countrie The first is the league of concord when one kingdome bindes it selfe to liue in peace with an other for the maintenance of traficke without disturbance and this kinde of league may stand betweene Gods church and the enemies thereof The second is the league of amity which is when men people or countries binde themselues to defend each other in all causes and to make the warres of the one the warres of the other and this league may not be made with those that be enemies of God Iehosaphat otherwise a good king made this kinde of league with Ahab and is therfore reprooued by the prophet saying wouldest thou helpe the wicked and loue them that hate the Lord 2. Chron. 19. 2. Now the mariages of protestants with Papists are priuate leagues of amitie betweene person and person and therefore not to be allowed Againe Malac. cap. 2. vers 11. the Lord saith Iudah hath defiled the holines of the Lord which he loued and hath married the daughters of a straunge god where is flatly condemned marriages made with the people of a false god nowe the Papists by the consequents of their doctrine and religion turne the true Iehova into an idol of their owne braine as I haue shewed and the true Christ reuealed in the written word into a fained Christ made of breade Yet if such a marriage be once made and finished it may not be dissolued For such parties sinne not simply in that they marrie but because they marrie not in the Lord beeing of diuers religions The fault is not in the substance of marriage but in the manner of making it and for this cause the Apostle commaunds the beleeuing partie not to forsake or refuse the vnbeleeuing partie beeing a very infidel which no papist is if he or she will abide 1. Cor. 7. 13. The second thing is that euery seruant of God must take heede how he trauells into such countries where popish religion is stablished
least he partakes in the sinnes and punishments thereof Indeede to goe vpon ambassage to any place or to trauell for this ende that we may performe the necessarie duties for our speciall or generall callings is not vnlawfull but to trauell out of the precincts of the church onely for pleasures sake and to see strange fashions hath no warrant And hence it is that many men which goe forth in good order well minded come home with crased consciences The best traueler of all is he that liuing at home or abroad can goe out of himselfe and depart from his own sinnes corruptions by true repentance FINIS An advertisment to all fauourers of the Roman religion shewing that the said religion is against the Catholike principles and grounds of the Catechisme GReat is the number of them that embrace the religion of the present church of Rome being deceiued by the glorious titles of Vniuersalitie Antiquity Successiō And no doubt though sōe be wilfully blinded yet many deuoted this way neuer saw any other truth Nowe of them and the rest I desire this fauour that they will but way and ponder with themselues this one thing which I will nowe offer to their considerations and that is That the Romane religion nowe stablished by the councell of Trent is in the principall points thereof against the very grounds of the Catechisme that haue beene agreed vpon euer since the daies of the Apostles by all Churches These groundes are fowre the first is the Apostles Creede the second is the decalogue or ten cōmandements the third is the forme of praier called the Lords praier the fourth is the Institutiō of the two Sacramēts baptisme and the Lords supper 1. Cor. 11. 23. That I may in some order manifest this which I say I will beginne with the Symbole or Creed And first of all it must be considered that some of the principall doctrines beleeued in the Church of Rome are that the Pope or Bishop of Rome is the vicar of Christ the head of the Catholike church that there is a fire of purgatorie after this life that images of God and Saints are to be placed in Churches and worshipped that praier is to be made to Saints departed and their intercession to be required that there is a propitiatory sacrifice daily offered in the masse for the sinnes of the quicke and the dead These points are of that moment that without them the Roman religion cannot stand in the councel of Trent the curse Anathema is pronounced vpō all such as deny these or any of them And yet marke the Apostles creede which hath bin thought to containe all necessarie points in religion to be beleeued and hath therefore beene called the Kay and rule of faith this creed I say hath not any of these points nor the Expositions made thereof by the ancient fathers nor any other creed or confession of faith made by any councell or Church for the space of many hundred yeares This a plaine proofe to any indifferent man that these be new articles of faith neuer known in the Apostolike Church and that the fathers and Councells could not finde any such articles of faith in the bookes of the olde and new Testement Answere is made that all these points of doctrine are beleeued vnder the articles I beleeue the Catholike Church the meaning whereof they will haue to be this I beleeue all things which the catholike Church holdeth and teacheth to be beleeued If this be as they say we must needes beleeue in the Church that is put our confidence in the Church for the manifestation and the certentie of all doctrines necessarie to saluation and thus the eternall truth of God the Creator shall depend on the determination of the creature and the written word of God in this respect is made vnsufficient as though it had not plainely reuealed all points of doctrine pertaining to saluation And the ancient Churches haue bin farre ouerseene that did not propounde the former points to be beleeued as articles of faith but left them to these latter times 2. In this Creede to beleeue in God and to beleeue the church are distinguished To be leeue in is pertaining to the Creatour to beleeue to the creature as Ruffinus hath noted when he saith that by this proposition in the Creatour is distinguished from the creature and things pertaining to God from things pertaining to men And Augustine saith It must be knowne that we must beleeue the Church NOT BELEEVE IN THE CHVRCH because the church is not God but the house of God Hence it followes that we must not beleeue in the Saints nor put our confidence in our workes as the learned Papists teach Therefore Eusebius saith We ought of right to beleeue Peter and Paul but to beleeue in Peter Paul that is to giue to the seruants the houour of the Lord we ought not And Cyprian saith He doth not beleeue in God which doth not place in him alone the trust of his whole felicitie 3. The article conceiued by the holy ghost is ouerturned by the transubstantiation of bread and wine in the masse into the body and blood of Christ. For here we are taught to confesse the true and perpetuall incarnation of Christ beginning in his conception and neuer ending afterward and we acknowledge the truth of his manhoode and that his bodie hath the essentiall properties of a true bodie standing of flesh and bone hauing quantitie figure dimensions namely length breadth thicknes hauing part out of part as head out of feet and feet out of head beeing also circumscribed visible touchable in a word it hath all things in it which by order of creation belong to a bodie It will be said that the body of Christ may remaine a true bodie and yet be altered in respect of some qualities as namely circumscription But I say againe that locall circumscription can no way be seuered from a bodie it remaining a bodie For to be circumscribed in place is an essentiall propertie of euery quantitie and quantitie is the common essence of euerie bodie And therefore a bodie in respect of his quantitie must needes be circumscribed in one place This was the iudgement of Leo when he saide The bodie of Christ is by no meanes out of the truth of our bodie And Augustine when he saide ONELY God in Christ so comes that he doth not depart so returnes that he doth not leaue vs but man according to bodie is in place and goes out of the same place and when he shall come vnto an other place HE IS NOT IN THAT PLACE VVHENCE HE COMES To helpe the matter they vse to distinguish thus Christs bodie in respect of the whole essence thereof may be in many places but not in respect of the whole quantitie whereby it is onely in one place But as I haue saide they speake contraries for quantitie by all learning is the essence of a
bodie without which a bodie can not be 4 In the Creede we confesse that Christ is ascended into heauen and there after his ascension sits at the right hand of his Father and that according to his manhoode Hence I conclude that Christs bodie is not really and locally in the Sacrament and in euerie Host which the priest consecrateth This argument was good when Vigilius against Eutyches said WheÌ„ it the flesh was on earth it was not in heauen and because it is now in heauen it is not on earth and he addes afterward that this is the Catholike faith confession And it was good when Fulgentiâ—s saide According to his humane substance he was absent from earth when he vvas in heauen and he left the earth vvhen he ascended into heauen And The same in seperable Christ according to his whole manhood LEAVING THE EARTH locally ascended into heauen and sits at the right hand and according to the same whole manhoode he is to come to iudgement And it was good when Cyril said No man doubts but that when he ascended into heauen though he be alwaies present by the power of his spirit HE VVAS ABSENT IN RESPECT OF THE PRESENCE Oâ— HIS FLESH And it was good when Augustine said According to the flesh which the Word assumed he ascended into heauen HE IS NOT HERE there he sits at the right hand of the father and he is here according to the presence of his maiestie And He went as he was man and he aboad as he vvas God he went by that whereby he was in one place he aboad by that whereby he was euery where 5 Again in that we beleeue the Catholike church it follows that the Catholike church is inuisible because things seene are not beleeued And the answer commonly vsed that we beleeue the holines of the Church will not serue the turne For the words are plain and in them we make confession that we beleeue not onely the holines of the church but also the church it selfe 6 Lastly the articles Remission of sinnes Resurrection of the bodie and Life euerlasting containe a confession of speciall faith For the meaning of them is thus much I beleeue the remission of mine owne sinnes and the resurrection of mine owne bodie to life euerlasting and that by the iudgement of learned Antiquity Augustine saith If thou also beleeue that thou shalt rise againe and ascend into heauen because thou art sure of so great a patrone thou art certen of so great a gift And Make not Christ lesse who brings thee to the kingdome of heauen for remission of sinnes Without this faith if any come to baptisme he shuts the gate of mercie against himselfe And Whosoeuer faithfully beleeueth and holdes this profession of his faith in vvhich all his sinnes are forgiuen him let him prepare his will to the wil of God and not feare his passage by death And The whole Sacrament of baptisme stands in this that we beleeue the resurrection of the bodie and remission of sinnes to be giuen vs of God And He gaue these kaies to the Church that whosoeuer in his Church should not beleeue his sinnes to be forgiuen they should not be forgiuen vnto him and whosoeuer beleeued and turned from them abiding in the lap of the said Church at length shalbe healed by faith and amendment of life And That vvhich thou hast heard to be fulfilled in the glorious resurrection of Christ beleeue that the very same shall be fulfilled in thee in the last iudgement and the resurrection of thy flesh shall restore thee for all eternitie For vnlesse thou shalt beleeue that thou art to be repaired by death thou canst not come to the reward of life eternall And in auncient time the article of the resurrection hath beene rehearsed on this manner The resurrection of THIS FLESH and the last applied vnto it TO EVERLASTING LIFE Hence then two maine opinions of the church of Rome are quite ouerthrowne one that we cannot by special faith be certen of the remission of our sinnes and the saluation of our soules the other that a man truly iustified may fall away and be damned Now this cannot be if the practise of the auncient Church be good which hath taught vs to beleeue euerlasting life ioyntly without remission of sinnes To come vnto the decalogue first of all it is a rule in expounding the seuerall commandements that where any vice is forbidden there the contrarie vertue is commaunded and all vertues of the same kind with all their causes occasions furtherances This rule is graunted of all and hence it followes that counsells of perfection if they haue in them any furtherance of vertue are inioyned in and by the law and therefore prescribe no state of perfection beyond the scope of the law Secondly the commandement Thou shalt not make to thy selfe any grauen image c. hath two seuerall parts The first forbiddes the making of carued or grauen images the second forbids the adoration of them Now the first part is notably expounded by Moses Deutr. 4. 16. Take good heede vnto your selves that ye corrupt not your selves and make you a grauen image or representation of any figure in the likenesse of male or female Marke the reason of this prohibition in the same place for saith he ye savv no image in the day the Lord spake vnto you in Horeb. and v. 15. Ye heard the voice of the vvordes but savv no similitude saue a voyce Now the reason beeing vnderstood of the image of God himselfe the prohibition must needes be so vnderstood Againe there is no question that God directs his commaundement against a sinne in speculation but against some common and wicked practise of the Iewes and that was to represent God himselfe in likenesses and bodily formes Esai 40. 18. And that was also the practise of the Gentiles that were farre more grosse in this kinde then the Iewes Rom. 1. 23. This then is plaine to any indifferent man that the first part of the commandement forbids the making of grauen images or likenesses of the true Iehova thus the Romane Catechisme vnderstands the wordes As for the second part it must be vnderstoode according to the meaning of the first and therefore it forbids vs to bowe downe to any image of God Hence then it followes that to worship God or Saints in or at images to worship images with religious worship is abhominable idolatrie And common reason might teach vs thus much For they that adore and worship the true God in images doe bind the presence of God his operation grace and his hearing of vs to certen things places signes to which he hath not bounde himselfe either by commaundement or promise and that is otherwise to worship God and to seeke for his blessings then he hath commanded himselfe to be worshipped or promised to heare vs. Vpon this ground is plainely ouerthrowne the excuse which they make that
they worshippe not images but God and Saints in images for neither God nor the Saints doe acknowledge this kinde of honour but they abhorre it Whence it followes necessarily that they worshippe nothing beside the image or the deuise of their owne braine in which they faine to them selues such a God as will be worshipped and receiue our praiers at images It will be saide that the Papists doe no otherwise tie the worship and inuocation of God to images then God tied himselfe to the sanctuarie and the temple of Salomon And I say againe it was the will of God that he would shewe his presence and be worshipped at the Sanctuarie and the Iewes had the warrant of Gods word for it but we haue no like warrant either by promise or commandement to tie Gods presence to an image or crucifix Againe reason yet further may discouer their idolatrie They which worship they know not what worship an idol but the Papists worship they know not what I proue it thus To the coÌ„secratioÌ„ of the host there is required the intention of the priest at the lest vertually as they say if this be true it follows that none of theÌ„ can come to the Masse or praie in faith but he must alwaies doubt of that which is lifted vp by the haÌ„ds of the priest in the masse whether it be bread or the body and blood of Christ. For none can haue any certeÌ„ty of the intention of the priest in consecrating this bread and this wine but rather may haue a iust occasion of doubting by reason of the common ignorance and loosenes of life in such persons Thirdly the commaundement touching the Sabbath giues a libertie to worke sixe daies in the ordinarie affaires of our callings and this libertie cannot be repealed by any creature The Church of Rome therfore erreth in that it prescribeth set and ordinarie â—â—stiuall daies not onely to God but also to Saints inioyning them as straitly and with as much solemnitie to be obserued as the Sabbath of the Lord. Fourthly the third commandement or as they say the fourth inioynes children to obey father and mother in all things specially in matters of moment as in their marriage and choise of their callings and that euen to death and yet the Church of Rome against the intent of this commandement allowes that clandestine marriages and the vowe of religion shall be in force though they be without and against the consent of wise and careful parents Fiftly the last commandement of lust forbids the first motions to sinne that are before consent I prooue it thus Lusting is forbidden in the former commandements as well as in the last yea lusting that is ioyned with consent as in the commandement thou shalt not commit adulterie is forbidden lusting after our neighbours wife and in the next lusting after our neighbours goods c. Now if the last commandement also forbid no more but lust with consent it is confouÌ„ded with the rest and by this meanes there shal not be ten distinct words or commandements which to say is absurd it remaines therfore that the lust here forbidden goes before consent Againe the Philosophers knewe that lust with consent was euil euen by the light of nature but Paul a learned Pharise and therefore more then a philosopher knewe not Lust to be sinne that is forbidden in this commandement Rom. 7. Lust therefore that is forbidden here is without consent Wicked then is the doctrine of the Romane Church teaching that in euery mortall sinne is required an act commanded of the will and hence they say many thoughts against faith and vncleane imaginations are no sinnes 6 Lastly the words of the second commandement And shew mercy to thousands on them that loue me and keepe my commandements ouerthrowes all humane merits For if the reward be giuen of mercy to them that keepe the lawe it is not giuen for the merit of the worke done To come to the third part of the Catechisme the Lords praier is a most absolute and perfect forme of praier For which cause it was called of Tertullian the Breuiarie of the Gospell and Caelestinus saith the lawe of praying is the law of beleeuing and the lavv of vvorking Nowe in this praier we are taught to direct our prayers to God alone Our father c and that onely in the name and mediation of Christ. For God is our father onely by Christ. It is needles therefore to vse any inuocation of Saints or to make them our Mediatours of intercession vnto God and it is sufficient if we pray onely vnto God in the name of Christ alone 2. In the fourth petition we say thus Giue vs our daily bread In which words we acknowledge that euery morsell of bread is the meere gift of God VVhat madnes then is it for vs to thinke that we should merit the kingdome of heauen by works that can not merit so much as bread 3 In the next petition Forgiue vs our debts foure opinions of the Romane religion are directly ouerthrowne The first is concerning humane Satisfactions For the childe of God is here after his conuersion taught to humble himselfe day by day and to praie for the pardon of his daily sinnes now to make satisfaction and to sue for pardon be contrary The second opinion here ouerthrowne is touching merits For we doe acknowledge our selues to be debters vnto God yea bankrupts and that beside the maine summe of many thousand talents we daily increase the debt therefore we can not possiby merit any of the blessings of God It is meere madnes to thinke that they which cannot pay their debts but rather increase them day by day should deserue or purchase any of the goods of the creditors or the pardon of their debts if any fauour be shewed them it comes of merre good-will without the least desert In a word this must be thought vpon that if al we can doe will not keepe vs from increasing the maine summe of our debt much lesse shall we be able by any merit to diminnish the same By good right therefore doe all the seruants of God cast downe themselues and praie Forgiue vs our debts The 3. opinion is that punishment may be retained the fault being wholly remitted but this cannot stand for here sinne is called our debt because by nature we owe vnto God obedience for the defect of this paiment we further owe vnto him the forfiture of punishment Sinne then is called our debt in respect of the punnishment And therefore when we pray for the pardon of sinne we require the pardon not onely of fault but of the whole punishment And when a debt is pardoned it is absurd to thinke that the least paiment should remaine The fourth opinion is that a man in this life may fulfill the lawe whereas in this place euery seruant of God is taught to aske a daily pardoÌ„ for the breach of the law Answer is made that our daily sinnes are
veniall and not against the lawe but beside the lawe But this which they say is against the petition for a debt that comes by forfiture is against the bond or obligation Nowe euery sinne is a debt causing the forfiture of punishment and therefore is not beside but directly against the lawe 4. In this clause as we forgiue our debters it is taken for granted that we may certenly knowe that we are in loue and charitie with meâ— when wâ— make reconciliation why then may not we knowe certenly that we repent and beleeue and are reconciled to God which all Romane Catholikes denie 5. In the last wordes and lead vs not into temptation we pray not that God should free vs from temptation for it is other whiles good to be tempted Psal. 26. 1. But that we be not left to the malice of Sathan and held captiue of the temptation for here to be bed into temptation and to be deliuered are opposed Now heÌ„ce I gather that he which is the child of God truely iustified and sanctied shall neuer fal wholly and finally from the grace of God and I conclude on this manner That which we aske according to the will of God shall be graunted 1. Ioh. 5. but this the child of God asketh that he might neuer be wholly forsaken of his father and left captiue in temptation This therefore shal be graunted 6 This clause Amen signifies a speciall faith touching all the former petitions that they shall be graunted and therefore a special faith concerning remission of sinnes which the Romane Church denieth To come to the last place to the Institution of the sacrament of the Lords Supper 1. Cor. 11. v 23. In which first of all the Reall presence is by many circumstances ouerthrowne Out of the wordes he tooke and brake it is plain that that which Christ took was not his body because he cannot be said with his owne handes to haue taken held and broken himselfe but the very bread Againe Christ said not vnder the forme of bread or in bread but This that is bread is my body 3. Bread was not giuen for vs but onely the body Christ and in the first institution the body of Christ was not theÌ„ really giuen to death 4. The cup is the newe testament by a figure why may not the bread be the body of Christ by a figure also 5. Christ did eate the supper but not himselfe 6. We are bidden to doe it till he come Christ then is not bodily present 7. Christ bids the bread to be eaten in a remembrance of him but signes of remembrance are of things absent 8. If the Popish reall presence be granted then the body blood of Christ are either seuered or ioyned together If seuered then Christ is still crucified If ioyned together then the bread is both the body blood of Christ whereas the institution saith the bread is the body and the wine is the blood 2 Againe here is condemned the administration of the sacrament vnder one onely kind For the commandement of Christ is drinke ye all of this Math 26. 27. And this commandement is rehearsed to the Church of Corinth in these wordes do this as oft as ye drinke it in remembrance of me v. 25. And no power can rehearse this commandement because it was established by the soueraigne head of the Church These fewe lines as also the former treatise I offer to the vewe and reeding of them that fauour the Romane religion willing them with patience to consider this one thing that their religion if it were Catholike and Apostolike as they pretend it could not be contrarie so much as in one point to the groundes of all Catechismes that haue beene vsed in all Churches confessing the name of Christ euer since the Apostles daies And whereas it crosseth the said grounds in sundrie points of doctrine as I haue prooued it is a plaine argument that the present Romane religion is degenerate I write not this dispising or hating their persoÌ„s for their religion but wishing vnfainedly their conuersion in this world and their saluation in the world to come FINIS To the Reader Pag. 235. l. 20. I say that Christ obaied the law for him selfe not because he did by his obedience merit his own glorie but because he was to be a perfect and pure high priest not onely in nature but also in life and as he was a creature he was to be conformable to the law Faults to be amended thus Pag. 1. l. 1. for 3. read 4. p. 9. l. 2. read Apostolicke p. 19. l. 17. read formeth and l. 23. read indeauour p. 39. l. last read too p. 48. l. 18. read or p. 55. l. 2. read holy p. 126. l. 2. read be p. 138. l. 13. read pertaining p. 142. l. 23. read matters p. 161. l. 5. read containe and l. last read chastitie p. 168. l. 5. read persecution p. 187. l. 7. read men p. 192. l. last read cannot p. 222. l. 5. read right p. 260. l. 9. read particular p. 265. l. 14. read I thinke p. 284. l. 2. read deputies Faults escaped in the places of Scripture Pag. 1. v. 3. pro 4. p. 4. c. 18. pro 17. p. 6. c. 18. pro 17. p. 7. v. 18. pro 8. p. 19. v. 5. pro 7. p. 22. v 2. pro 1. p. 43. v. 20. pro 28 29. p. 50. v. 21. pro 22. p. 52. v. 36. pro 63. p 75. v. 13. pro 12. p. 127. v. 12. pro 21. p. 135. v. 20. pro 8. p. 139. c. 8. v. 1. pro c. 1. v. 8. p. 164. v. 38. pro 37. p. 227. v. 18. pro 29. o Epist. 17. Eâ—stâ— Paula ad Marcellam Serm. in CaÌ„t. 33. Epist. 125. C. in nomine dist 23. referente Iuello 2 Thess. 2. d ExameÌ„ pacâ—â—qâ—â— imprimè de nou vâ—â—u a Caen 1590. d Hypogn 3. Ser. 15. de verb. Apost de grat â— arbitr 1. c Posse velle actu velle recipere c August de correp grat c. 12. d Epist. 105. e Fulgent lib. Prad f Bernard l. de libâ—ro arbitrio e Aug. contra Iul. l. 5. cap. 3. c ad Valer. lib. 1. c. 24. d Lib. 2. contra Iul. e Tract 42. in Ioh. c quoadimputationem d quoad exâ—â—tiam b contra Iuâ— l. 6. c. 6. e Bellar. l. 3. pag. 1129. cl Gal. 3. 14. Mark 11. 24. 1. Ioh. 5. 14. Ioh. 6. â—6 c de verbis Dei serm 28. d Tract 5. epist. Ioh. Bellar. dâ— Iustif. lib. 2. cap. 7. d Iren. lib. 5. cap. 17. Chrysostom homil ad Neoph. e namely for himself f as any one starre partakes in the whole light of the Sunne with the rest of the starres so farforth as the said light makes it to shine e we haue posse velle he had no more but posse si vellet he wanted velle quod posset August de corrept grat cap. 11. b de verbis Dei serm 7. c
word they acknowledge the infinite instice and mercie of God but by consequent both are denied Howe can that be infinite iustice which may any way be appeased by humane satisfactioÌ„s And how shall Gods mercie be infinite when we by our owne satisfactions must adde a supply to the satisfaction of Christ Againe He that hath not the Sonne hath not the Father and he that hath neither Father nor Sonne denies God Now the present Romane religion hath not the Sonne that is Iesus Christ God and man the Mediatour of mankinde but hath transformed him into a Fained Christ. And I shew it thus For one Iesus Christ in all things like vnto vs in his Humanitie sinne onely excepted they haue framed a Christ to whome they ascribed two kinds of existing one naturall whereby he is visible touchable and circumscribed in heauen the other not onely aboue but also against nature by which he is substantially according to his flesh in the hands of euerie priest in euerie host and in the mouth of euerie communicant invisible vntouchable vncircumscribed And thus in effect they abolish his manhood Yea they disgrade him of his offices For one Iesus Christ the onely king lawgiuer and head of the Church they ioyne vnto him the Pope not onely as a Vicar but also as a Fellowe in that they giue vnto him power to make lawes binding conscience to resolue and determine vnfallibly the sense of holy scripture properly to pardon sinne both in respect of fault and temporall punishment to haue authoritie ouer the whole earth and a part of hell to depose kings to whome vnder Christ euery soule is to be subiect to absolue subiects from the oath of allegiaÌ„ce c. For one Iesus Christ the onely reall priest of the new Testament they ioyne many secondarie priests vnto him which offer Christ daily in the masse for the sinnes of the quicke and the dead For one Iesus Christ the all-sufficient Mediatour of intercession they haue added many fellows vnto him to make request for vs namely as many Saints as be in the Popes Kalender Lastly for the onely merits of Christ in whome alone the Father is well pleased they haue deuised a Treasurie of the Church containing beside the merits of Christ the ouerplus of the merits of saints to be dispensed to men at the discretion of the Pope And thus we see that Christ and consequently God himselfe to be worshipped in Christ is transformed into a phantasie or Idol of mans conceite Againe there is alwaies a proportion betweene the worship of God and our perswasion of him and men in giuing vnto God any worship haue respect to his nature that both may be sutable and he well pleased Let vs then see what maner of worship the Romane religion affordeth It is for the greatest part meere will-worship without any allowance or commaundement from God as Durande in his Rationale in effect acknowledgeth It is a carnall seruice standing of innumerable bodily rises and ceremonies borrowed partly from the Iewes and partly from the heatheÌ„ it is diuided betweene God and some of his creatures in that they are worshipped both with one kinde of worship let them paint it as they can Thus then if by their manner of worshipping God we may iudge howe they coÌ„ceiue of him as we may they haue plainly turned the true God into a phantasie of their own For God is no otherwise to be coÌ„ceined theÌ„ he hath reuealed himselfe in his creatures word specially in Christ who is the ingraueÌ„ image of the persoÌ„ of the father The second sinne is Idolatrie and that as grosâ—e as was euer among the heathen And it is to be seene in two things First that they worship the Saints with religious worship which without exception is proper to God Yea they transforme some of them into detestable idols making them in truth mediatours of redemption specially the virgine Marie whome they call a Ladie a goddesse a queene whome Christ her sonne obeyeth in heauen a mediatresse or life hope the medicine of the diseased and they pray vnto her thus Prepare thou glorie for vs defende vs from our enemies and in the houre of death receiue vs loose the bonâ—s of the guilty bring light to the blinde driue away all deuills â—HEVV THY SELFE TO BE A MOTHER let him receiue the praiers Againe their idolatrie is manifest in that they worship God in at before images hauing no commandement so to doe but the contrarie They alleadge that they vse and worship images onely in a remembrance of God But this is all one as if an vnchast wife should receiue many louers in to her house in the absence of her husband and beeing reprooued should answer that they were the friends of hir husband and that shee kept them onely in remembrance of him Thirdly their Idolatrie exceedes the Idolatrie of the heathen in that they worship a Breadengod or Christ in and vnder the formes of bread and wine And if Christ according to his humanitie be absent from the earth as I haue prooued the popish Hoste is as abominable an Idol as euer was The third sinne is the maintenance of adulterie And that is manifest first of all in the Toleration of the Stewes flat against the coÌ„mandement of God Deut. 23. 17. There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel neither shal there be a whore keeper of the sonnes of Israel And this toleration is an occasion of vncleanes to many young men and women that otherwise would abstaine from all such kinde of filthines And what an abomination is this when brother and brother father and sonne nephew and vncle shall come to one and the same harlot one before or after the other Secondly their Law beyoÌ„d the fourth degree allowes the marriage of any persons and by this meanes they sometime allow incest For in the vnequall collaterall line the person next the common stocke is a father or mother to the brothers or sisters posteritie as for example Iohn 1 Nicholas Anne 2 Thomas 3 Lewes 4 Roger 5 Anthonie 6 Iames Here Anne and Nicholas are brother and sister and Anne is distant froÌ„ Iames sixe degrees he beeing her neece a farre ofâ— and the mariage between them is allowed by the church of Rome they not beeing within the compasse of foure degrees which neuerthelesse is against the law of nature For Anne beeing the sister of Nicholas is in stead of a mother to all that are begotten of Nicholas euen to Iames and Iames posteritie Yet thus much I graunt that the daughter of Anne may lawfully marie Iames or Anthonie the case beeing altered because they are not one to an other as parents and children The fourth sinne is Magicke sorcerie or witchcraft in the consecration of the host in which they make their Breaden-god in exorcismes ouer holy bread holy water salt in the casting out or driuing away of deuils by the signe of the crosse by solemne