to think that there are more than one Bara Elohim is the sacred Text good Hebrew and sound Doctrine But Creavit Dii is scandalous no true Latine nor good Divinitie And because you think good to joyn with those that hold it not to be a bare Hebraism but an intimation of the Sacred Trinitie I pray you to remember on the other side 1. that the plural number implyeth two or four as wel as three so wholly it is but a matter of uncertaintie 2. because you say here it is a scandal for Christians to Judaize for so you are pleased to Lutheranize if indeed you beleeve that God is called Elohim because of the pluralitie of persons then wheresoever that word be found though ascribed to one several person it must signifie the whole Trinitie and then in stead or Judaism you are in peril to fall into Sabellianism or the errour of the Patropassians And for the common people I hope they will be warie how they walk and how they speak in such points of Faith as this is And because it is a matter of consequence and because the ground is slipperie let them in Gods name lay fast hold upon the Athanasian Creed beginning thus Whosoever will be saved for their guide and conduct let them read it often and hear it with their best attention and prefer it before all Catechismes much more before any new-fangled one There shall they soon learn by plain Analogie according to the Doctrine of the Scripture and the Doctrine of the Catholick Church That the Father is Creatour The Son Creatour The holy Ghost Creatour yet are there not three Creatours but one Creatour And this may suffice for your second chapter CHAP. III. Sinfull lusts THe Question is Whether in those words of the English Catechisme Sinfull lusts of the Flesh the word Flesh signifieth created nature as you taught or the corruption of nature as I said making the epithet sinfull serve onely to amplifie and not as you make it to distinguish Here you say Be it so the matter is not material it is to trifle about a toy Yet I gave some reason why it was requisite that Christians young and old should understand the meaning of that term Matter of words is so far material as to preserve what is material Verba quasi vasa as the shell preserveth the kernel and the vessel keepeth what is put into it But though you say Be it so yet presently after it must not be so Sinfull may be an epithet to distinguish withall Why so Because we are taught to renounce not the works of the Devil onely but the Devil also why not also the other two enemies the world and the flesh Those words of the Catechisme refer to Baptisme In the form of Baptisme these three enemies are twice named singly or solely without any epithet or addition namely Grant they may triumph against the Devil the World and the Flesh also To fight under his banner against Sin the World and the Devil By which two places compared together any one that will may plainly see what Flesh in the form of Baptisme and in the form of the Catechisme doth signifie namely Sin for what is called Flesh in one place is called Sin in the other And every one that will may plainly see also that you are resolved to uphold whatsoever you have said yea though it be an evident absurditie This Question with the answer you left out wholly in your later Edition which when I perceived I made some doubt whether or no I should take notice of it in my Review because I did interpret the omission to be a kinde of confession of your mistake yet did I note it for the reason given in my Postscript But here you declare your self to be for confused signification rather than a nice distinction and what you threw out of your second edition you call home for your relief in defence of your first Neither are you well contented as it seems that every one should interpose or meddle and mislike that which haply may deserve to be misliked Nemo sibi extrane us est sicut in vulnerum tract atione saith Julius Scaliger Ossa mihi extraxi egomet minimo dolore No Chirurgeon can so inoffensively touch or handle a wound or sore or fracture as the Patient can And more than this I shall not say to your third Chapter CHAP. IV. The tree of knowledge VVHen upon the marginal note of your fourtieth Question and Answer I mentioned that horrible errour as you well call it The Denial of Divine Prescience I did it so fairly and softly that I thought I had not given any just cause of distaste or anger I gave you account of my intention in making stay at it It was because the Socinians had gone that way verie far and some of the Remonstrants were following I had some other reasons which I then kept to my self but now my expectation thus failing me you shall have them One was because there was a pestilent Sectarie who to prove that God doth not know free actions before they come to pass produced those words Gen. 2.19 God brought the beasts and fowls to Adam to see what he would call them and because I thought your gloss upon the ninth verse of that chapter might unhappily help that errour forward namely that it was called the tree of knowledge of good and evil because God would trie whether man would do good or evil I therefore endeavoured to give the true reason why it was called the Tree of knowledge And Socinus disproves Divine prescience from those words Gen. 22.12 Now I know thou fearest God seeing thou hast not withheld thine onely son and your explication of a place of the same kinde with these two was likely to promote that pernicious errour Another reason was this I did observe of you in your writings that you do in a manner wholly symbolize with the Remonstrants and in some things with the Socinians as in these for instance 1. In neglecting the authoritie custome and manner of the Church upon pretence of walking onely by the Scripture-rule witness the verie first Question of your Catechisme and Open door Preface § of this You bid the people prefer the Apostles expressions before mens glosses as here pag. 44. you contented your self with the Scripture phrase and used not that of the Church 2. In your opinion that Christs death was onely a Preparation to his Sacrifice 3. Ut fideles panem frangant are the words of their Catechisme and Professours to break bread are the words of yours 4. You hold with them that Faith is wrought by no immediate power but onely the word preached 5. You would have the Names written in the book of life to be Qualities and Socinus Praelect 13. pag. 72. Satìs est eorum qualitatem quandam certam esse quae in hac metaphora proprio nomini planè respondet It is sufficient that those who are said to be elected
it had not been just to demand a second payment But inasmuch as God himself did freely procure the ransome and satisfaction for our sins It was free for him to annex thereto what conditions it pleased him There is therefore no wrong done to such persons as are punished for their sins after the price of their ransome is accepted because they did neither pay that ransome nor perform the condition required CHAP. XIV Election what it is Sect. 1. 2. You needed not to have troubled your self to finde out some that have spoken as you did I implyed so much and yet thought you blameworthy not them because you were busied about an ill work Moreover Of all things Definitions ought to be deliberate and well weighed and it is one thing how some learned writers may chance sometime to speak while they are discoursing before grown and well grounded Christians another thing what words you use in delivering the first principles to new beginners who if they be not instituted very warily may fall into some heresie the name whereof they never yet heard For as that which deceived Nestorius was the want of good attending and taking heed to the first beginning of the union or combination betwixt God and man so likewise to treat of the Incarnation in such a manner that children may think there are not onely two Natures in Christ but two Persons may breed in them the same opinion that Nestorius held Sect. 3. It is Beza's one of his own Masters from him I received the notion and gave both terms chose or purposed to choose When two several men shall do or shall say the very same thing it comes to be quite another thing His Elegit and Decrevit eligere differ not much But they are not all one with yours if your Doctrine and Definition of Election be the same with his then may his authoritie make for you his meaning is that from eternitie he purposed to choose us when we should come to be fallen in Adam and not when we come indeed to beleeve or howsoever it be he seemeth to take Election there for a transient action whereas others take it for an immanent You might take the term from Beza but the sense you had from your other Masters And who was their Master Socinus Prelect 13. pag. 63. Eligendi verbum declarat cligendi decretum paulus affirmare non dubitat Deum suosjam glorificasse Here you have your Doctrine and your proof too How you make it good that none are said to be Elected before they be called falleth to the Readers share to consider and to see what regard you give to testimonies of Scripture That the Elect signifie not chosen but choice I know not who says The evasion is so common to make Elect and Reprobate to be Adjectives and not Participles and to denote a Qualitie in man no Act in God that it is much you have not taken notice of it I will now name one of your Masters whom you divers times have alledged here Hemingius de Grat. univ pag. 25. Primo hoc tenendum est quod Electus non sit Participium ut quidam falsò putant sed nomen habitus seu formae haercntis in anima hominis credentis But though I have helped you to the notion yet that you may not think it worth your taking notice of to your purpose I pray observe that in all reason Elegit nos containeth nos electos if he chose us we are chosen and 1 Pet. 2.4 Disallowed of men à Deo autem electum but chosen of God it must needs have the force of a Participle and though it be but an Adjective verbal yet hath it the signification passive as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which I hope they will give us leave to render by a Participle called until they can tell us how we may render it otherwise But were it but a Substantive it were sufficient to make good the Doctrine that you oppose Rom. 11.7 Electio consecuta est the Election hath obtained The rest were hardened where as I think you must interpret the election by the elected by vertue of the opposition to câ—eteri the rest in the other member of the verse Another of your Masters Huberus a down-right Universalist howsoever he seems to overlook all inferiour learning and cries out upon Grammaticuli Discipuli Libanii Pagana Grammatica is yet content to stoop to so low game as to tell us that eligere in the Etymoligie of it is extrahere ex miseria omne humanum genus not to choose but onely to take out or draw out Thus you may say that Jeremie was elected out of the Dungeon and Joseph out of the pit as the Midianites passed by I think it was wisely done of him that drove away all the true birds out of sight when he had a minde to set forth and to commend his deformed counterfeits And here presently you observe the Grammatical case to prove that God chooseth men when they beleeve 1 Pet. 1.2 chosen in the sanctification of Spirit and yet you cannot but know that those who have very good skill in the Greek turn it to sanctification others into or unto sanctification You may compare it with Ephes 1.4 he hath chosen us that we should be holy or to be holy not being holy or because we were holy And inasmuch as S. Peter in those words mentioneth all the persons in the Trinitie ascribing Election to God the Father Redemption to the Son and Sanctification to the holy Ghost it is best to understand these three works apart and not to make Election and Sanctification all one as you would do Here be three things further to be considered in this chapter 1. Whether our Saviour Christ be chosen first 2. Whether he be chosen to salvation 3. Whether he alone be personally chosen To the first of these your words are Sect. 4. He faults me for beginning with Christ in the Doctrine of Election a great offence to them that lay him by therein and give him not the Preeminence in all things could not he see that to be the Apostles method he chose us in him then not but with respect to him as his chosen ones seeing we receive from him and his fulness and grace for grace Untill you be able to shew out of the very words of the pretended Orthodox not out of Tilenus and Arcana Dogmatum that they lay aside Christ in the Doctrine of Election you must give me leave to think that these words are a great slander and withall a great argument that neither you nor yours are able to speak any thing against your adversaries opinion because you will not represent it as it is but must alter it and pervert it and make it quite another thing before you dare to meddle with it For their constant Doctrine is That the Decree of Election to life doth include the means by which it is brought to pass the first and chief
the Law of Moses were matters hard to be understood by the Jews and in which were many perplexities yet were plainly delivered by the Apostle The impossibility of Apostates repentance and renovation was plainly taught yet attended with difficulties and wrested by the Novatians So is the final period of the world foretold in holy Scripture yet are there many obscurities about it and many errours The Resurrection of the dead is fully and manifestly declared and confirmed yet because it was hard to be understood and beleeved it was wrested to this sense as if it were already past whether interpreted of rising from the death of sin or any other way These particular doctrines now by me named are by divers diversly conjectured to be intended by S. Peter as well as that doctrine to which you apply his words Gods gracious and free Election likewise final Perseverance are evidently taught by the Apostle Peter 1 Epist ch 1. ver 2 and 5. as well as by the Apostle Paul Rom. 8.29 30. and in the chief part of the ninth chapter And because these things are hard to be yeelded to and hard to be received and because there be many things belonging thereto that are secret and unfathomable let not therefore that which is plainly taught be either denied or in such a manner interpreted and perverted that it amounts to a denial You and yours have so gone to work that to an ordinarie capacitie the chapter spoken of is made scarce intelligible You say God decreed not to choose particular persons but to choose all such as beleeve the promises of the Gospel and to refuse all such as seek justification by works whereas certainly had there ever been any such decree made then Paul had never been chosen who was a law-worker as you call it So were many of the Jews and Pharisees who yet were brought to life eternal And whereas the Apostle teacheth Election and Salvation to be Not of man that worketh willeth er runneth but of God that sheweth mercy you have so wrested it that now it is Not of man that willeth or worketh but of man that beleeveth and continueth in Faith and Repentance to his lives end And indeed if Election be of such as such who persevere in Faith and Repentance then is Election of workers in respect of their works namely Beleeving and Repenting and Persevering which are works all of them belonging to Gods law And thus have you overthrown your own doctrine which you have devised wherewith to overthrow the doctrine of S. Paul Sect. 12. It is one thing to look boldly another that it may do so Humane frailties hinder not Christian boldness But he that saith I may look boldly doth there-withall and in so saying look boldly indeed Now you made your book look boldly whether it might do so or no when you taught it to say in the Preface that it might look your worst Adversaries boldly in the face And although he that hath humane frailties may look boldly yet his humane frailties may not and if he saith they may he doth then justifie his frailties And thus much for your Preface or first Chapter CHAP. II. The word Creatours I Shall put him in minde where he may read it in Ainsworth upon Psal 149. The Christian Churches never forbad us to read Eccles 12.1 in the Hebrew tongue or to turn it into English according to its proper force or Idiome You have helped me where to finde the word in our language but that it is found in our Church I cannot admit for you know that Ainsworth was a professed Separatist from the Church of England It was somewhat boldly done of him to turn it so who yet in his Title professed to explain the Hebrew words but it was far more boldly done of you to learn the children at the very first to speak so As you have helped me to the notice of one so will I in lieu of him help you to the notice of another whom perhaps you have not yet observed or if you have I dare say you never before took notice of one of his places which he hath added to yours and Ainsworths It is Th. Br. of N. in a small tract published last year His fourth instance is in these words Eph. 2.12 And ye were without Gods in the world so it is in the Greek plurally but it is falsty tran slated God singularly as if there were but one God in the Trinity I hope there is a mean on this side the Tridentine Restraint without such libertie as many men affect who are afraid that they shall not be known but pass in obscurity and not be counted more learned and judicious than others are if they do not mend and alter something or other though it be without exception generally received and of long continuance AEneas Sylvius before he was Pope or Cardinal or Bishop was Secretary to Frederick the Emperour and having indited some letters at his first coming to the employment he sent the copy to a Bishop then living at the Court who procured him that preferment desiring him to examine it and alter what he should finde needed alteration who soon after returned him again his copie in sundry places blotted but no way bettered having put out divers words here one and there another placing such in their stead as were no way so fit and proper and when the Secretarie asked him the reason and what he misliked in those words that he thus corrected Atqui said the Bishop non vidisse me scripta tua suspectare poteras si nihil immutatum reperisses you would have thought I never read or perused your writing had you received it again just such as you sent it to me I could wish that those men who are forward to show their diligence and their skill in the learned languages or perhaps their ignorance as it hapned in the instance I now gave you by mending the vulgar version would innovate in matters of less moment for these be indeed above any profanae vocum novitates I know it is one thing to teach that such a point of Faith is implyed in such an Hebrew Idiom another thing to teach children and common people to use the plural number upon pretence of drawing the Church to the Scripture Christian Churches forbid not to read Eccles 12.1 in Hebrew but they are against rendring every word just as it is in that language as their practice doth plainly witness And would you indeed that the English Bible should begin in the same manner and with the same pretence that you began your Catechisme withall The Gods created heaven and earth I hope you would not and yet you are in the way to it And though you teach your scholars at your fourth Question to answer There is but one God yet if they be wonted to read or hear that word in the plural and be used so to speak will they not go near to forget your Answer in your Catechisme and
For what should hinder Not all that are drawn come whether that be so or no may soon be known by considering other expressions of the same thing in that place John 6.37 All that the Father giveth shall come and v. 65. No man can come unto me except it were given unto him of my Father and v. 45. Every man that hath heard and learned cometh and v. 44. No man can come except the Father draw him To give and to draw and to teach are of the same import All that are given and all that are taught and likewise all that are drawn do come Your Masters have thought that they eluded this word of Drawing and fairly came off from all force of argument from thence when they found out that it was to be interpreted by teaching in the very next verse following they shall be all taught of God not remembring that Gods teaching is not like mens and that none teacheth like him No nor so much as considering how that it follows in that very verse Every man that hath heard and learned cometh Which as it wholly overthroweth that evasion of theirs manifestly also sheweth the falshood and absurditie of what you here say not all that are drawn come In your 8 Section you yield that Gods Grace doth remove infidelitie but not give faith unless thus explicated Faith or power to beleeve this I take to be all one with what some others say that He doth not give credere but onely posse credere and for this you quote Hos 11.4 I did take off the yoke on their jaws and laid meat before them This is spoken of the civil state of the Israelites and when you have made it appear that the yoke there mentioned is to be taken for a muzzel you are driven to betake your self to a vein of allegorizing for proof of your opinion when it is well known that many plain and direct places prove the contrary Your other texts shew what God doth outwardly to a Nation or Church visible but do not shew that he doth no more than so in the conversion of a particular person Sect. 9. Therefore he may think with himself if I be of the former I must be brought in take what course I will and if of the other I must perish take the best course I can Therefore I had as good take the present good things while I may have them and live as I list He must needs be a man absurd and unreasonable and for the time given over of God that shall in earnest speak in his heart after this manner And if ever he return to his right wits he will begin thus rather to argue with himself If God hath chosen me to be a Saint in heaven and doth intend to bring me to glory then I must out of all doubt beleeve and repent and amend my ways and continue in Gods holy laws to my lives end knowing that without holiness no man shall see the Lord. And although the book of election be now closed up and a seal set upon it yet there is an inscription upon that seal which I can easily see and read Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity But if God doth intend to condemn me to Death eternal it will be for my wickedness and for my rebellion and for being so graceless as to argue thus scornfully against Gods mercie and the dutie that I ow to him I will therefore with my utmost diligence apply my self to the faith and fear of his most sacred name and take heed while I live of such desperate and blasphemous thoughts knowing they proceed from none but the Devil who out of his endless malice to God and envie towards me would perswade me to be a more sot in things concerning life eternal than he dareth to perswade me to be in matters of this life and bodily health For if I knew assuredly that God did now purpose to prolong my life to such a term of years it were too gross a temptation to be put upon me to make me beleeve that it were well done of me henceforth to cast off all care of providing food and raiment and avoiding deadly dangers and not to call for a boat when I am to pass over the water and when I go into the field to battel to leave my armour behinde me In those things therefore that far more nearly concern me I will never be so vile an hypocrite or in effect so forlorn an atheist as to discourse and conclude in such a sort upon supposal of Gods foreknowledge and determination whatsoever some have told me I may do CHAP. XIII Whether all in Adam be pardoned THe Doctrine maintained by you in this chapter is That although all sins whatsoever springing from the sin of Adam be forgiven as of due debt through Gods mercie and the sacrifice of his Son Nevertheless by the manifestation of this his Death and Sacrifice and by occasion of this his goodness made known to men all their actual sins become new debts because they are done against Gods Grace and Truth shining upon all men In defence and explication of this detestable Doctrine You afford us a twofold distinction the first is this such sinning as doth arise from force of natural corruption is not charged upon men but onely sinning voluntarily and unnecessitatedly against the Truth striving to reclaim them pag. 63. The second distinction is so fine and of so great subtility that it flies quite away from all good sense You distinguish of sins considered before or without Christs coming from sins considered as before or without his coming and you ask pag. 68. if I cannot so abstract as to consider them as in the root and according to what they had onely by virtue of that from what they are as against Grace vouchsafed But what say you in the mean time to those sins that are both natural or in some sort necessitated by corruption of nature and voluntarie too as many sins if not the greatest part of them are Shall they be forgiven as natural and punished as voluntary Consider sins as before or without Christs coming they would yet have been against light the light of nature and should not they have been charged upon any man because they were not against the light of grace or the Gospel And know you not that to love darkness more than light resisting of the truth and hatred to be reformed and offending against mercy and goodness are all of them as necessarily derived from the root you speak of and are as truly parts and products of our hereditary pravitie as any sins are whatsoever you can name The chief place of Scripture you alledge is Joh. 15.22 24. If I had not come they had not had sin it had not been charged upon them You make a twofold coming of Christ of this sort One as he came spiritually in his light and truth into the world in all ages upon the
be his friend still they that plead the causes of other men are adversaries one to another and yet out of the court agree well enough among themselves May not one Christian Prince wage war against another Prince and yet be in Christian Charitie he may And what do you call them that call you adversarie You call them the pretended orthodox which is a term more censorious by far and more supercilious then adversarie which hath no hurt in it I am your advarsarie and you are mine and no man thinketh amiss of us for this unless perhaps he mislike the cause why we are so And thus much shall serve for this hungrie cavil and also for this chapter CHAP. XXV Signes of Gods love IN the second section you explain your self and what your meaning is when you usually teach that we should not gather Gods love to us by faith obedience new frames and repentance namely we may gather by these that the benefits of Christs passion are applied to us for our spiritual life but we must not gather by them that the Remedie is provided for us This will I beleeve to have some truth or at least some reason in it when I shall beleeve that there was ever any Christian that did search into his own heart and seek there for good desires and good affections and inclinations to the intent he might thence conclude and know assuredly that Jesus Christ died for all men in the world or when you can shew me who he was that ever yet taught any Christian to do so You made profession in your fourth page above That you armed the children against the dangers and deceits of the pretended orthodox as Antidotes are to be given against the present reigning diseases Now their doctrine is that a Christian person from the fruits of sanctification in his thoughts words and works and especially from the frame and disposition position of his heart may gather the love of God and the benefits of Christs death for his glorification in heaven This was the reigning disease this was the Doctrine against which you framed your Antidote and not against this that we should take heed how we conclude from fruits of holiness that the Son of God offered a sacrifice for the sins of all the world or that he is the Saviour of all men especially of them that beleeve I cannot imagine you spake against that which never any man did or was taught to do but against that rather which all good Christians do practise except those that are commonly called Antinomians There is a seal of Gods spirit which is in this life set upon those that are his and by which he will own them at the last and is not set upon those that are none of his This difference you cannot endure should be made or spoken of He is a Pharisee that is not as other men are but if he gives thanks to God that he is better than others better than this Publican or suppose then this malefactour or this traytour which he seeth or heareth to be executed This this is the poison that needeth the Antidote this is Pharisaisme that must be cried down this is the spirit that must cast out this must be followed upon all opportunities and occasions I noted before how you plied this point in one of your funeral sermons and in another which you preached the year before upon Prov. 14.32 pag. 12. your words are But thou wouldest have some signe or token of the truth of this as concerning thee from him in something to be done by him to thy soul then doest thou as that adulterous generation Mat. 12.39 which Christ reprooveth seeking signes and tokens and if thou shouldest persist in that way thou maist be given up to delusion to believe a lie But when the Apostle in the second Epistle to the Corinthians and the last chapter biddeth them Examine themselves whether they be in the faith and prove their own selves did he bid them do that for which our Saviour reprooved the Scribes and Pharisees Thus you teach but they are deluded that believe you You cōplain Brief Disc pag. 21. That too many of the Teachers love to slumber and content themselves with Dreams in stead of searching out the Truth and giving it forth to the people Is this the truth you have searched for and found it out at last to impart to the people or what shall we call a sick mans dream I will suppose that most of your Auditors had sormerly learned and could then remember that part of the Church-Catechisme wherein they were taught to professe and rehearse after this manner I believe in God the Father who hath made me and all the world and in God the Son who hath redeemed me and all mankind and in God the holy Ghost who sanctifieth me and all the elect people of God And I will suppose also that some good Christian well weighing these words with himself should not rest contented with the common love of God who created all things and hateth nothing that he hath made nor with that generall love of Christ whereby he redeemed all mankind but should endeavour further to finde that he is sanctified by the holy Ghost having heard that there is a seal of the Spirit and every seal is more than a signe but a signe it is having heard also of the fruits of the Spirit Gal. 5. If now this person should be perswaded by you and your Sermon that if he goeth on in this way he is descended of that wicked and adulterous generation of the Scribes and Pharisees that tempted God and provoked our Saviour by calling for signes I cannot think you have done any good service for his soule but rather that he forsakes the right way and gives over the truth to be abused by you When we look for fruits of Faith this is not to enquire whether Christ died for us or not for he dyed for all but whether the holy Ghost hath sanctified us or not because he sanctifieth only the elect people of God and consequently whether we have Christs death applyed to us according to his speciall intention If you had perceived any of your people so fond as to apply that reproof Mat. 12.39 for confirmation of the doctrine you elsewhere teach By the place and office you are in and by your skill and learning in Logick and Languages you should have informed them that a Signe there signifies a Miracle or a Wonder above the sphere and force of nature as Isa 7. Ask thee a signe aske it in the depth or in the height above And Mark 16. The Apostles confirmed the word with signes following much less ought you to have put such a conceit into their heads as if when they examined their own hearts as the Apostle biddeth them they were as blame-worthy as some Atheist or Epicurean who after all the Demonstration which he daily seeth should demand some miracle some signe or proof extraordinary