be caried away with false doctrine But if the pastors all haue erred as you would haue vs to beleeue then in vaine did God giue pastors to his Church to preserue vs in the trueth For they that should haue taught the trueth did euen themselues swarue from the trueth and so they became vnfit instrumentes to doe the will of God The answere I say first that albeit Gods wil be one as himselfe is one willing by his owne essence and by one eternall and immutable act whatsoeuer he willeth yet is his will said to be manifold aswel of the holy fathers as of the schooledoctors And this is done for two special considerations The former is for the varietie of the thinges which God willeth The latter is for the varietie of the maner by which God seemeth to will thinges Hereupon arise many diuisions of Gods will assigned by learned writers for explication sake Some deuide Gods will into antecedent and consequent Some others diuide it into the will of signe and will of good pleasure Others into the will reuealed and will not reuealed Others into the will absolute anâ— will conditionate and the like I say secondly that though Gods will consequent and will of good pleasure bee euer accomplished vndoubtedly yet is his will antecedent and will of signe oftentimes neglected and left vndone Of the former wil the prophet speaketh in these words whatsoeuer pleased y e Lord that did he in heauen and in earth and in the Sea and in all the depthes And the Apostle saith for who hath resisted his will Of the latter we haue many examples in the holie Scriptures First God commanded Pharao by Moses to let his people go but Pharao would not obey Secondly God would haue gathered the Iewes togither euen as the hen gathereth her chickens vnder her wings but they would not haue it so Thirdly God would haue all men to be saued as Paul beareth witnesse and yet we know by the holy gospel that the greater part shalbe damned I say thirdly that Gods will mentioned in S. Paule and now obiected against my resolution is only voluntas signi his will of signe and not voluntas beneplaciti his will of good pleasure and therefore it can neuer be effectually concluded out of this text which hitherto hath euer been reputed the strong bulwarke of poperie and either dissembled or lightly passed ouer by the grauest writers that the pastors of the visible church alwaies teach the trueth and neuer swarue from the same Thus more plainly for the simple and ignorant sort When the apostle saith that God placed pastors and doctors in the church that the people be not carried away with false doctrine he neither meaneth that the pastors shall alwaies infallibly teach the trueth nor that the people shall alwaies constantly embrace the truth I proue it because the apostle speaketh indefinitely and indifferently of all teachers and of al hearers of al shepheardes and of all sheepe neither excepting one nor other and yet both ye know and we know that many preachers preach false doctrine and that many hearers embrace the same Whereupon it followeth necessarily that if the Apostle meant as ye woulde haue him to meane then Christes intent and purpose shoulde be frustrate indeede which yet is it that your selues impugne The apostle therfore meaneth only this to declare voluntate signi what he would haue his shepheards and sheepe to doe albeit voluntate beneplaciti the same be not euer accomplished This my explication of S. Paules meaning is confirmed not only by the holy Scripture but also by the expresse testimonies of renowmed popish writers Touching the holy Scripture First it is euident that God would haue al men saued for so saith the apostle Deus vult omnes homines saluos fieri Gods wil is that all men shalbe saued and come to the acknowledging of the trueth Whereby we see that Gods wil and intent is to saue all and yet doe we know assuredly that al shal not be saued For the gospel saith plainly Multi vocati pauci verò electi Manie are called but few are chosen Secondly it is cleere that God appointed good workes to this end that men should walke in them for so saith holy writ Ipsius enim sumuâ— factura creati in Christo Iesu in bonis operibus quae praeparauit deus vt in illis ambulemus For wee are his workemanship created in Christ Iesus vnto good workes which God hath ordained that we should walke in them And yet we see by daily experience that it is farre otherwise Thirdly God gaue vs his holie lawe to the intent that wee shoulde accomplish it for so the scripture telleth vs and no papist doth or can denie the same and yet haue we infallible knowledge out of the same scripture that none liuing can keep fulfil the law in al points For if we could haue kept the lawe in al pointes wee shoulde haue been iustified by the obseruation thereof and so Chrâ—stes passion and his satisfaction had been needlesse In all these places therefore and the like Voluntas signi must be vnderstood but not voluntas beneplaciti Touching the popish Doctors the Iesuite Bellarmine hath these words At fine dubio singuli episcopi errare possunt aliquando errant inter se quandoque dissentiunt vt nesciamus quisnam eorum sequendus sit But without doubt all bishops may erre seuerally and doe erre sometime and sometime dissent one from another insomuch that we cannot tel whom we should follow Out of which wordes I note first that God who caused Balaams asse to speake hath enforced our Iesuite to confesse the trueth I note secondly that there is no Bishop in the worlde but hee both may erre and sometime doth erre and consequently that the pope of Rome is either no bishop at all by his owne Iesuites graunt or els that he both may erre and doth erre indeed Which point I haue prooued copiously in my booke of Motiues I note thirdly that by our Iesuites confession euery bishop hath so many errours that the people cannot tel whom to follow and consequently that S. Paul meant nothing lesse then that the pastors and doctors of the churche shoulde alwaies teach the trueth I note fourthly that since euery auncient father both may erre and doth erre and that by popish graunt there is no reason why the papistes should vrge vs as they doe to stand to the censure of the fathers in euery thing Their owne Cardinall Panormitanus hath these wordes Nam in concernentibus fidem etiam dictum vnius priuati esset praeferendum dicto papae si ille moueretur melâ—oribus rationibus noui veteris testamenti quam papa Nec obstat si dicatur quod concilium non potest errare quia Christus orauit pro ecclesia sua vt non deficeret quia dico quod licet concilium generale
of works lest any man should boast himselfe And therfore the apostle meaneth nothing lesse then that we shoulde purchase and merite heauen by our good workes I say secondly with deuout Bernard that the ready way to attaine saluation is to beleeue the contrarie doctrine These are his expresse wordes Necesse est primò omnium credere quòd remissionem peccatorum habere non possis nisi per indulgentiam Dei deinde quòd nihil prorsus habere queas operis boni nisi hoc dederit ipse postremò quòd aeternam vitam nullis potes operibus promereri nisi gratis detur illa First of all thou must beleeue of necessitie that thou canst not haue remission of thy sinnes vnlesse God will giue thee a pardon for the same Againe thou must beleeue that thou canst not haue any good works at all vnlesse thou receiue it at Gods hand Last of all thou must beleeue that thou canst not merite eternall life by any works vnlesse it be freely giuen of mercie I say thirdly that the apostle meaneth nothing else but that as god hath called vs and offered saluation to vs and withal giuen vs power to will and to do well so we ought by faith to embrace his gratious gifts and to shew our selues thankfull by the obedience of his holy lawes For to this ende hath God chosen vs called vs and iustified vs not that we should liue idly and dissolutely but that we should exercise our selues in faith and good works and in obedience be answerable to his holy vocation For this respect doth the same apostle say in another place For we are his workemanship created in Christ Iesus vnto good works which God hath ordained that we should walke in them The eight obiection Redeeme thy sinnes with righteousnes saith the prophet and thine iniquities with mercie towards the poore Therefore with good workes we may satisfie for our sinnes and procure Gods fauour towards vs. The answere I say first with the apostle that no man is able to make satisfaction for his sinnes And I adde Bernards glosse vnto the same who writeth thus Iam verò de aeterna vita scimus quia non sunt condignae passiones huius temporis ad futuram gloriam nec si vnus omnes sustineat Neque enim talia sunt hominum merita vt propter ea vita aeterna debeatur ex iure aut Deus iniuriam aliquam faceret nisi eam donaret Nam vt taceaÌ„ quòd merita omnia Dei dona sunt ita homo magis propter ipsa Deo debitor est quà m Deus homini quid sunt merita omnia ad tantam gloriam denique quis melior est prophetâ cui dominus ipse tam insigne testimonium perhibet dicens virum inueni secundum cor meum veruntamen ipse necesse habuit dicere deo non intres in iudicium cum seruo tuo Domine Nowe touching eternall life wee knowe that the sufferings of this time are not worthy of y e glorie to come no not if one man abide al. For the merits of men are not such that for them eternal life is due by right or that god shuld do som iniury if he gaue it not For to let passe that all merits are the gifts of God and so man is rather debter to God for them then God to man what are al merits to so great glorie In fine who is better then the prophet to whom our Lorde giueth so worthie testimonie saying I haue found a man according to my heart for al that he had need to say to god Enter not into iudgement with thy seruant O Lord. In which words the papists are vtterly condemned by their owne approued doctour For first S. Bernard saith that nothing which man can doe or suffer in this life is worthy of the ioyes of heauen Secondly he saith that heauen is not due to anie man for his own deserts Thirdly he saith that god should doe no man wrong if hee should debarre him of heauen Fourthly he saith that man is more in debt to God then God to man and he yeeldeth this reason because it is the free gift of God what good soeuer be in man Fifitly hee alleageth holy scripture for the grounde of his assertion I say secondly that the Hebrew word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 doth properly signifie to breake or dissolue in which signification the prophet seemeth to vse it here although it also signifie to saue or deliuer as if the prophet had said O king thou hast liued wickedly and dealt cruelly with Gods people nowe therefore make an end of sinne and begin a new course of life change thy cruelty into clemencie and thy tyrannie into mercie and conpassion toward the poore Thus doth Theodoretus expound this text I say thirdly that albeit we cannot redeeme our sins in Gods sight or make satisfaction for the same in the court of his iustice as is proued exactly out of holy Bernard yet may wee redeeme them before men while we reconcile our selues to those whome we haue offended and make restitution where we haue done wrong And of this kind of redemption may the Prophet not vnfitly be vnderstoode The replie Not only S. Bernard in the words by you alleaged but the other fathers vsually and generally do acknowledge the merit of good works which you and your solifidians cannot abide The answere I say first that though the fathers doe often vse the worde Merit when they speake of good works yet do they neuer take it in your popish maner nor expect heauen for the worthinesse of their works Which I wish the reader to obserue diligeÌ„tly because the papists euer wrest the word Merite to the wrong sense This is cleare by the words of Bernard alreadie cited to which for better confirmatioÌ„ I adde these his words in another place Deest gratiae quicquid meritis deputas Nolo merituÌ„ quod gratiaÌ„ excludat horreâ— quicquid de meâ— est vt â—im meus nisi quòd illud magis forsitan meum est quod me meum facit Gratia reddit me mihi iustificatuÌ„ gratis sic liberatum à seruitute peccati It derogateth from grace whatsoeuer thou ascribest to merite I will no merite that excludeth grace I abhorre whatsoeuer is of mine owne that I may be mine owne vnlesse perchance that is more mine owne which maketh me mine owne Grace iustifieth me to my self freely and so deliuereth me from the bondage of sinne I say secondly that the fathers tearme workes meritorious not for the worthinèsse thereof but for Gods acceptation and promise sake That is to say they tearme good works meritorious because God hath promised to accept the works of the faithfull as worthie for the worthines of his sonne and for his merits to reward them with heauen as if they had merited the same For which respect either euer or almost euer they ioyne merite and grace together This veritie wil be
neuer cease to impeach accuse slaunder and condemne vs in this behalfe yet do we defend nothing heerein but that which their owne best Doctors and printed bookes doe teach vs yea euen such bookes as are dedicate to the Popes holinesse himselfe The conceites which this Bishop alledgeth to make good his intended purpose are childish and too too friuolous For first where hee sayth that the Fathers speake of good workes onely in respect of their naturall valure as hee tearmeth it I aâ—nswere that that glosse and exposition is onely inuented by him and his fellowes to salue their beggerly doctrine if it wold be For besides y t no father saith so they repute al works before grace meere sin as I haue prooued out of Austen And our Bishop vnwittingly confuteth himselfe of such force is the trueth when he graunteth that good works done in grace are vnworthy of heauen if Gods promise be set apart For if they merite ex condigno as he auoucheth then doubtlesse promise couenant and mercie is altogither needlesse Secondly where the bishop fleeth to distributiue iustice so to establishe the merite of workes I answere that both the fathers and his fellowes are against him yea euen Aquinas himselfe For they vnderstand iustice commutatiue and require arithmetical equalitie And if Geometricall proportion were to be admitted yet should greater equalitie be required then can be found between our workes and eternall life The 9 obiection Ye brag that the merite of good workes cannot be found in all the Scripture But therein you belie both vs and the holy scripture For in the booke of Ecclesiasticus I finde these expresse wordes Omnis misericordia faciet locum vnicuique secundum meritum operum suorum All mercie shall make place to euerie one according to the merite of his workes Loe here is made expresse mention of the merite of his good workes The answere I say first that the booke of Ecclesiasticus is not canonicall Scripture as which was not found written in the holy tongue I say secondly that it is not for nothing that your late councel of Trent hath so magnified your Latine vulgata editio For such stuffe as this it doth affoord you in time of neede I say thirdly that in the originall and Greeke text your worde merite may long seeke for lodging before it finde any For these are the expresse wordes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Make place to all almes for euerie one shall find according to his workes The 10. obiection One Scripture saith that if we giue almes all things are pure vnto vs. Another scripture saith that charitie couereth the multitude of sinnes And it is frequent with the holy fathers that good workes deliuer vs from hell The answere I say first that S. Luke reprooueth y e extortions of the Pharisies exhorteth them to works of charitie As if he had said not vnwashed handes make you eate vncleanly but your wicked extortions Vse therefore charitie and giue almes to the poore and then your soules shalbe cleane though the platter be vnwashed This sense is gathered out of the verses aforegoing I say secondly that almesdeedes and other good works proceeding of faith do neither merite nor iustifie as is prooued but yet they are testimonies before men that wee be iustified by faith through the merites of Christ Iesus For which respect iustification is often ascribed vnto them as to the effects therof I say thirdly that the fathers in many places doe speake of temporal remission which often is graunted for almes deeds and the like The replie If good workes can neither iustifie nor merite then is it but a vaine thing to exercise our selues therein The answere I say first that thus to say and thinke is a probable signe of the reprobate who hath no feeling of Gods holy spirite but is become senselesse in all spirituall contemplation I say secondly that albeit good workes doe neither iustifie nor merite in proper kinde of speech yet be there many good and necessary causes why we should doe good workes First because God is glorified therein Therefore saith Christ let your light so shine before men that they may see your good workes and glorifie your father which is in heauen Secondly because by good workes we shew our gratitude loue towards God Therfore saith Christ If ye loue me keep my coÌ„mandements Thirdly because it is the end for which we were created Therfore saith the apostle For we are his workmanship created in Christ Iesus vnto good works which God hath ordained that we should walke in them Fourthly because they are necessary effectes of our predestination and consequently yeeld and euident morall certitude both to our selues to our neighbours that we are y e childreÌ„ of God Therfore saith the apostle There is no coÌ„demnation to theÌ„ y t are in Christ Iesus which walk not after y e flesh but after the spirite as if hee had said Who soeuer are the childreÌ„ of God cannot but liue after Gods holy lawes Which is the selfe same doctrine that Christ himselfe taught vs saying If ye shall keepe my commaundementes yee shall abide in my loue as I haue kept my fathers commandement and abide in his loue And S. Iohn confirmeth the same in these wordes In this wee know that we loue the children of God when we loue God and keepe his commandementes For this is the loue of God that we keep his commandementes So then if we keep Gods commandementes it is an euident signe that we loue God and that by faith wee are of his free mercie made his children for the merites and righteousnesse of Christ Iesus See more hereof in the eleuenth preamble in my first booke of Motiues The 8 conclusion Although good workes doe neither merite grace in this life nor glorie in the life to come as which are imperfect polluted with sinne and in rigour of iustice worthy of condemnation as is alreadie prooued yet because God hath decreed in his eternal counsel to bring vs to heauen by them as by ordinary meanes and right fruites of a sound christian faith they may in a godly sense be termed The secundary instrumentall cause of eternall life but in no sense the cause of mans iustification Explico I say of mans iustification because the latter can neuer be the cause of the former and consequently good workes following our iustification as the immediate fruites thereof can by no meanes possible be the cause of the same In regard whereof S. Austen as in many other thinges so in this point saide very learnedly Quòd opera non praecedunt iustificandum sed sequuÌ„tur iustificatum That workes doe not go before iustification but followe him that is iustified I say of eternall life because when there be many gradual effectes of one and the same cause then the former may fitly be termed the materiall cause of the latter that is as the schooles terme it Causa sine qua non
The cause without which the latter shall not haue effect For as vocation iustification regeneration and glorification are the effectes of predestination euen so by Gods holy ordinance being predestinate wee are called by the hearing of his word vnto â—aith which faith is the cause of our iustification by apprehending the righteousnesse of Christ Iesus after wee be iustified of our iustification proceedes regeneration as who hauing remission of our sinnes and being ingraffed in Christ by faith are indued with more aboundant grace of his holy spirite thorough which we are dayly more and more regenerate and made new creatures after we be regenerate out of our regeneration spring good workes aswel internall as externall as who being made good trees begin to bring forth good fruits and so continuing are brought at the length of Gods free mercie to the possession of eternall life For as y e apostle saith we are created vnto good workes which God hath ordained that wee shoulde walke in them and continuing in them we shall at the dreadful day of doome heare this ioyfull sentence pronounced to our vnspeakable comfort Come yee blessed of my father take the inheritance of the kingdome prepared for you from the foundation of the world For I was an hungred and ye gaue me meate I was thirsty and ye gaue me drink I was a stranger and ye took me in vnto you I was naked and ye clothed me I I was sicke and ye visited me I was in prison and ye came to me And with this it is true yet y t the apostle saith Not by the workes of righteousnesse which we had done but according to his mercie he saued vs by the washing of the new birth and by renuing of the holy Ghost which hee shed on vs aboundantly through Iesus Christ our sauiour that wee being iustified by his grace should be made heires according to the hope of eternall life This is a true saying and these thinges I will thou shouldest affirme that they which haue beleeued God might be carefull to shew forth good workes These things are good and profitable vnto men Thus saith S. Paule and therefore I thinke this a profitable conclusion By it rightly vnderstood many places of holy Scripture may easily be answered which seeme to ascribe iustification or glorification to good workes The 10. conclusion This popish assertion that workes doe iustifie and merite eternall life de condigno was for the space of a thousand and eightie yeares vnknowne to the church of God About which time Petrus Lombardus and his fellowes began their scholasticall theologie and disputed such matters doubtfully About the yeare of our Lord 1545. the late councell of Trent defined the same for an article of christian beliefe solemnely accursing al such as hold the contrary opinion This is the originall and antiquitie of this impudently defended heresie It is sufficiently confuted throughout the whole chapter CHAP. X. Of the popish idololatricall masse The 1. conclusion TO withhold from the vulgar and laycall sort of people the one part of the holy communion is a diabolical hereticall and sacrilegious fact I prooue it sundry waies First because it is flatly against the expresse scripture and Christes holy institution For Christ himselfe instituted and ministred the Sacrament in both kindes saying drinke yee all of it as Saint Mathew recordeth and they all dranke of it as witnesseth Saint Marke Saint Paule also taught all the Corinthians to communicate in both kindes protesting that hee deliuered the forme and maner of the holy communion euen as he had in spirite receiued it from the Lord. Secondly because the auncient fathers shew euidently that in their time it was the generall practise of the church to deliuer the holy communion to the lay people vnder both kindes Neither was the cup taken from the vulgar sort by any setled law vntill the late councell of Constance which was in the yere of our Lord God 1414. Origen hath these words Quis est iste populus qui in vsu habet sanguinem bibere haec erant quae in euangelio audientes ij qui ex Iudaeis dominum sequebantur scandalizati sunt dixerunt Quis potest manducare carnem sanguinem bibere sed populus Christianus populus fidelis audit haec amplectitur sequitur eum qui dicit nisi manducaueritis carnem meam biberitis sanguinem meum non habebitis vitam in vobis ipsis quia caro mea verè est cibus sanguis meus verè potus est Who is that people that hath in custome to drinke bloud these were the thinges which the Iewes that followed Christ heard in the gospel and were scandalized and said Who can eate flesh and drinke bloud but the christian people the faithfull people heare these thinges and embrace them and follow him that sayth vnlesse ye shall eate my flesh drink my bloud ye shall haue no life in your selues because my fleshe is meate indeed and my bloud drinke indeed S. Hierome hath these words Sacerdotes quoque qui eucharistiae seruiunt sanguinem domini populis eius diuidunt impiè agunt in legem Christi The Priestes also that administer the eucharist and diuide the Lordes bloud to his people transgresse the law of Christ heynously Saint Cyprian with fourtie learned bishops in their ioynt Epistle to Cornelius write in this expresse maner Quo modo docemus aut prouocamus eos in confessione nominis sanguinem suum fundere si eis militaturis Christi sanguinem denegamus aut quo modo ad martyrij poculum idoâ—â—os facimus si non eis priùs ad bibendum in ecclesia poculum domini iure communicationis admittimus Howe doe we teache 〈◊〉 them to shed their bloud for the name of Christ if wee denie them the bloud of Christ when they go to warre or how doe we make them fit for the cuppe of martyrdome if wee doe not first admit them to drinke the Lordes cuppe in the Churche and that by the right of communion where I wishe the reader to note well that the lay people haue right to both kindes and consequently that the Romish church is become the whore of Babylon in that shee robbeth vs of our christian right which wee haue de iure diuino Saint Chrysostome hath these wordes Est vbi nihil differt sacerdos à subdito vt quando fruendum est honorandis mysteriis Similiter enim omnes vt illa percipiamus digni habemur Non sicut in veteri lege partem quidem sacerdos comedebat partem autem populus non licebat populo participem esse eorum quorum particeps erat sacerdos Sed nunc non sic verum omnibus vnum corpus proponitur poculum vnum There is a place where there is no difference betweene the priest the lay person as when we are to communicate in the holy mysteries for we are all in