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A45738
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A discourse against purgatory
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Hartcliffe, John, 1651-1712.
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1685
(1685)
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Wing H965; ESTC R9914
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22,914
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41
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their Prayers and thereby make God himself our Debtour for he that giveth to the Poor lendeth to the Lord. Lastly The Champions for Popery alledge for Purgatory 1 Pet. 3.19 20. By which also he went and preached to the Spirits in prison by which they undrstand the Descent of Christ into Purgatory to loose some Souls there from their Torments But 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by which relates to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Spirit that is set down just before it by which Spirit in Noah who is called a Preacher of Righteousness Christ Jesus is said to Preach to the Generation of Men immediately before the Floud whose Souls are now shut up in Hell for their Disobedience For this Preaching was not performed by an immediate act of the Son of God as if he personally had appeared on Earth and actually Preached to the Old World but he did it by the Ministry of a Prophet for to doe any thing by another that is not able to perform it without him as much demonstrates the existence of the principal cause as if he did it of himself without any intervening instrument But if Purgatory be intended in these words we must be mightily mistaken in our conceptions about a future state then the days that follow after Death do afford opportunities of obtaining a better Life then may Men rise from a life of torments to a life of joy whereas the Angels had one Instant either to stand or fall eternally what that Instant was to them that this Life is to us for after Death immediately follows Judgment the Soul at its departure from the Body knows its doom and what it must trust to for ever The Schoolmen labour all they can to destroy the true Belief of Christians in this matter and have the face to propose it as a matter of Faith that Christ delivered the Souls of the Saints from the very suburbs of Hell which they call Limbus of the Fathers It is pity but the wits of these Men had been better employed than in building such Castles in the Air or in filling Mens thoughts with imaginary Ideas of strange places in the other World that have no foundation in Scripture which is our surest guide against all such Notional wandrings opens our eyes to perceive the reality of things and clears the brain not onely from Darkness but form false and useless Light especially the Ignis fatuus of Purgatory which serves onely to mislead Men out of the way and so lose them in the bogs or woods of perpetual errour which teaches us to believe quite otherwise than the Papists do for such as these are the instructions of the Holy Spirit Joh. 5.24 Verily verily I say unto you he that heareth my word and believeth on him that sent me hath everlasting life he shall not come into condemnation but is passed from death to life Mat. 18.8 Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee cut them off and cast them from thee it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed rather than having two hands and two feet to be cast into everlasting fire Mat. 19.29 And every one that hath forsaken houses or Brethren or Sisters or Father or Mother or Wife or Children or Lands for my names sake shall receive an hundredfold and shall inherit everlasting life Mat. 25.46 And these shall go into everlasting punishment but the righteous into life everlasting In the sixteeth Chapter of St. Luke's Gospel from the nineteenth to the one and thirtieth Verse we reade how the Rich Man was cast into Torments and the Poor Man lodged in Abraham's Bosome between the places of both these Men there was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Wide Gulph never to be passed insomuch that Dives did despair of any relief out of his misery when the gift of a drop of water to cool his tongue would not be granted him If we can assent to what the Papists say they have paved a large Caus-way over this wide Gulph and have opened a very easie passage from a life of torments to that of eternal happiness For by virtue of some prayers oblations and indulgences they have made the way broad to Heaven and narrow to Hell a Man that hath money in his pocket cannot be damned and a Camel may as soon pass through the eye of a needle as a poor Man be saved But granting that the written word of God hath nothing of Purgatory in it the Romanists will tell you that Tradition will defend them in the belief thereof which word Tradition they are wont to alledge to give a colour to most of their present innovations Wherefore in the second place I am to shew how they are mistaken in this case of Tradition also and to declare for what reasons the Fiction of Purgatory was first set on foot The Traditions we receive as good and authentick are the Doctrines which we now reade in the holy Scriptures but I have proved Purgatory to be none of these therefore those of the Romish Perswasion must mean some other Tradition that is not to be found written in the word of God But here we ought to observe that the Scripture in this case aswell as in all others is the onely rule of Faith therefore Traditions Councils and Fathers are onely to be used as helps to understand the Scripture better but not to be entertained as any rule of Faith in which case we are bound to be of the Apostle's mind If I or an Angel from Heaven preach any other doctrine than that which we have delivered let him he accursed For this reason we cannot receive those Doctrines for truth which the Church of Rome presses upon our Belief upon the account of Tradition especially when we consider with what strategems of force and fraud this Church hath laboured to keep the People in ignorance for the sake of her New Doctrines that they may be swallowed the more glibly which is an artifice to enslave Mankind by disabling them either to see or know what she is a-doing whereas if we would keep up the honour and privilege of Humane nature if we would preserve our Bibles from being sequestred into Hucksters hands if we have any regard to God's pure and undefiled Religion we must resolve against the Novelties of Popery For in the true Religion there is nothing which the reason of Mankind can challenge wherein the judgments of Men may not have so good an account as to receive full and ample satisfaction And to speak the truth I do not understand that there is among Protestants what more is to be found among the Papists is accommodated to serve some bye-ends and purposes For this reason a great Abbat in the Roman Church was wont to say that he did greatly suspect his Religion must needs fail being not built upon so firm a Rock as was supposed because there was so little Ground for many Tenents of it in the Word of God I may add that there is
not we degenerate into the lower Rank of Animals and very deservedly pull God's vengeance upon us for disappointing the end of our Creation which was to serve our Creatour in all Faithfulness and Truth it being a fault never to be forgiven for any Creature to say that he is not beholding to God for giving him a Being unless he may be freed from the dreadfull apprehensions of that everlasting punishment which is due against all such as wilfully offend so good and wise so holy and just a God Wherefore let no vain expectations of escaping the wrath to come betray us into so great a sottishness as to put off our Repentance or to defer making provision for Eternity to be throughly regenerate is a harder task than to mumble over so many Pater Noster's or Ave-Mary Prayers I fear those ignorant People whose Religion hangs on a string of Beads and whose Prayers are set upon Tallies understand very little what true Sanctification imports what reconciliation with the nature will and mind of God signifies unless we are thus qualified for the enjoyment of God no Flames of Purgatory will ever prepare us for it Now therefore is the time of working out our Salvation the next World will be the time of giving an account of what we have done either good or evil as this Life leaves us so eternal Life will find us what advantages then we have to day of knowing the will of God and of learning his statutes let us make use of them that we may be able to stand before his Judgment Seat and receive the rewards of good and faithfull Servants in order to the acquitting our selves well at this Bar we have the direction of holy Scripture which we may search as curiously as we please we have all God's institutions to guide us we have the assistance of God's Spirit to help and encourage our endeavours and the promises of the Gospel to assure us that our labour shall not be in vain These are the benefits of the present time but what warrant have we from Scripture that those duties may be performed hereafter which are now neglected No we are told the quite contrary because I called saith God and ye would not answer I will then laugh at your destruction and mock when your fear cometh so St. Luke 15. The rich Glutton is tormented who was always for spending his present time in Riot and Luxury he applauds himself in his wisedom and foresight when he had made such plentifull provisions for many years ease and pleasure but alas how soon is his unprepared Soul surprized with a sad arrest of Death how blank did the Fool then look when he heard the fatal News that that Night should put an end to all his hopes How was he confounded with the terrours of the other World poor wretch how did he tremble when he found himself beset with Devils and damned Spirits On the other side Lazarus is comforted because he did his work in this World through much poverty and hardship he got at last to Heaven This is the case of all Men an eternity of happiness or misery awaits them hereafter there is no other state of things so great and so unalterable the Divine Providence hath made use of all the best and wisest methods to disabuse the enchanted reason of Man that he may not be miserable but happy for ever and if Men could be brought to reflect seriously on the dismal and astonishing events of a wicked Life they would never suffer themselves to be so much imposed upon by Cheats and Impostours who recommend to them an implicite Faith and a belief in such a state as Purgatory whereby their eyes are shut that they may not be affrighted by the sight of their misery The fears of one Parâ—y betray Men into Superstition the vices of another into Atheism the covetousness of a third draws them into the most pernitious mistakes about the World to come But if Men would be at the pains to enquire into the affairs of Religion and be not indifferent whether their condition hereafter be happy or miserable they will easily discover its principles to be highly reasonable and the keeping of its Commandments to be their highest interest they will plainly see the paths of Truth and Blessedness for it sets down the most easie rules both for living well and for believing right because errours in Belief are no less destructive of Christianity and the ends thereof than a general viciousness of manners is But if Men will be Fools and follow trifling opinions no wonder if they perish by their own folly do they believe the immortality of the Soul a future state or a judgment to come if they believe all this to what a degree of madness do they act that will venture the fury of an Almighty vengeance for the sake of obeying one sort of Men who have contrived New and Antiscriptural Articles of Faith who will run the hazard of forfeiting an eternal Happiness and of being cast into an eternal Flame because they fansie their Church is an infallible guide whereas St. Paul writing to the Romans speaks not one word of their privilege of infallibility but rather puts them in fear in the 11. Chap. that they aswell as the Jews were in danger of falling way St. Peter also in his Catholick Epistles doth not once acquaint the Christians whom he writes to what Guide they were to follow after his departure there was no need for any such thing for they had all along told them that by following the Scripture they may be saved having then an infallible way there was no use at least no necessity of an infallible Guide But as the Church of Rome without any colour of reason sets up for an infallible Guide in points of Controversie so with like boldness she may lay claim as some of her disciples do to demonstration in matters of Faith whereas if we will define Faith to be that assent by which we receive the word of God as such and upon account thereof give our assent to all things which therein are propounded to us to be believed then there are to be assigned two several acts of Faith one of which is that judgment by which we acknowlege that word to be truly divine the other is that assent which we give to all those things that are contained therein Faith in the former respect is less certain than Science but in respect of adherence is more certain than the other Now there cannot be so great a certainty in Faith as in Science the Mathematicks for instance because Faith is more lyable to doubting than Science is if any Man perceives the strength and force of a Geometrical Demonstration he cannot in the mean while doubt of the conclusion but now a true Believer doth often struggle with doubting and unbelief wherewith his Faith is assaulted and yet it ceaseth not to be true Faith We must confess that the mind doth less