back that was profitable Doth not this I pray you fully confirm what I said That the belief of any thing more than what is declared in Scripture may prove rather a hinderance than a help to Salvation Nay 't is not only may be but probably if not certainly will be a hinderance and not a help since the Apostle assures us that he declared all things profitable that is all things helpful And doth not St. Peter 2 Epist. i. 8. and following verses discourse to this purpose For there he tells them that in doing those things which he had taught them they should make their calling and election sure and that thereby an entrance should be ministred unto them abundantly Were it not then as sensless as dangerous to venture on any other means or helps as they call them than what the Scripture shews for our Salvation for if we follow that it makes our Salvation abundantly sure But say the Romanists all that the Apostles declared was not committed to writing but some by word of mouth and so passed by tradition from hand to hand and for this they bring us a Scripture 2 Thes. ii 15. My Brethren stand fast and hold the traditions which ye have been taught whether by word or our Epistle From whence say they 't is evident that all things the Apostles taught for mans Salvation were not delivered in writing but some by tradition from word of mouth The answer to this is very easie for though St. Paul did not teach the Thessalonians all things by writing but some by word of mouth yet it doth not follow but that his Epistles to the Thessalonians with other his Epistles as also the Epistles of the other Apostles the Acts the Gospels all together did contain in them all things necessary and profitable also to Eternal Life For this reason St. Paul commanded his Epistles written to one Church to be read to other Churches as I formerly shewed you And so St. Peter in his Epistles commends to the people likewise the Epistles of his beloved Brother Paul And therefore I did not say that any one Epistle two or three did contain all things necessary to Eternal Life Nor did our Saviour tell the Iews that in any one or more Prophets they had Eternal Life but in the Scriptures they had Eternal Life in Moses Psalms Proverbs Prophets in the whole Scripture And if the Old Testament were so perfect and so glorious as to contain in it all things necessary to Eternal Life which glory was to be done away as St. Paul saith shall not the New Testament the Ministration of the Spirit be much more glorious and perfect 2 Cor. iii. 7 8. Would God be less careful of his Church establish'd by his own Son in Person which was to remain to the end of the world than of that erected by Moses his Servant which was but a shadow of that to come Can any man be so simple as to think this though perchance so perverse as to affirm it This and such like things they may whisper in a corner to silly women or men as silly but certainly none can have the face to say this to any man of understanding 't is so absurd and so fully confuted by St. Paul not only in the places before cited but also in 2 Tim. iii. 16 17. where he tells him that all Scripture is given by inspiration from God and is profitable for doctrine for reproof for correction for instruction in righteousness that the man of God may be perfect throughly furnished unto all good works Observe I beseech you That the man of God may be perfect perfect in Doctrine in faith in good works in all things Oh! my beloved God send me and you the perfection of Scripture the Doctrine and Works there taught and let the Papists follow their Doctrines of men their perfection their works of merit yea and of supererogation too Whereas we learn from Scripture that when we have done all we can we are unprofitable Servants but their Doctrines of men teach them that their great Saints Bennet Francis Dominick Ignatius and many hundreds more are such profitable Servants and have done such mighty works of perfection as not only to merit Heaven for themselves but also to gain Heaven for others by their superabundant merits which the Pope hath power when he pleases to apply to Souls scorching in Purgatory and dismiss them away presently to Heaven Sure a hard hearted cruel man that will let any lie long in those raging flames if he have power to release them Who can but pitty those poor silly Souls that are led into everlasting flames by these seducing Teachers so flatly contrary to the Scriptures cited now and others That no man may deliver his brother or make agreement unto God for him For it cost more to redeem their Souls it cost the blood and death of our Saviour Jesus For our sins being trespasses against the infinite majesty of God none but our Saviour who is also of an infinite Majesty both God and man could make a just satisfaction for them Had a thousand Bennets Dominicks c. and ten thousand thousands more been sacrificed on Crosses all had been in vain we should all lie for ever in everlasting flames These Scriptures are shut up from the eyes of poor blind-folded Papists But Blessed are your eyes for they see and your ears for they hear Matt. xiii 16. Your eyes and your ears see read and hear these Scriptures daily preached unto you Hold fast these the words of Eternal Life which alone will make you wise unto Salvation and throughly furnish you unto all good works make you perfect without any Doctrines of men as you shall hear more particularly by and by What then must we lay aside all the Writings of the Holy Fathers and Doctors of the Church even in the purest times by no means for they may be very helpful to us in expounding obscure places of Scripture for which several sorts of learning are very useful First The perfect understanding of the Original Languages in which the Scriptures were written as the Hebrew the Syriac the Greek Languages Now many of the Primitive Fathers were either born or much educated when those Languages were naturally spoken and thereby could much better judg of the propriety and full signification of many words which we are much to seek in and each Country Language hath several proverbial sayings and antient forms of speech which in process of time grow out of use and very hard to be understood we see that very few now are able to understand old Chaucers Language English being very much altered since Secondly History and Geography are very necessary for the understanding of several passages in Scripture And certainly those Primitive Fathers living near the times and places when and where our Saviour and the Apostles taught and acted may be able to inform us of several circumstances and give us great light in many
is come for then mens hearts will be so filled with fears and cares to avoid the present evil and to preserve what they have in this world as that they will not be able to make a right judgment of things relating to the world to come but their reason will be so biassed by their affections as then to think those Arguments for the Popish Religion rational and plausible which now they think very simple and absurd Wherefore now in this time of peace and calmness when your reason is not disturbed with tumults nor your conscience awed with dangers I here ask you in the presence of God Are your judgments convinced by those Arguments which I have laid before you in Gods Holy Word that the Scriptures contain in themselves compleatly Eternal Life and thus you ought to take them alone for the only rule of faith and that you are not to hearken to any Doctrines of men ever so holy ever so learned farther than they can make their Doctrine evident to your understandings by plain places of Scripture and that whatever miracles are pretended to be wrought by them if they tend to prove any things which you according to the best of your understanding verily believe are against Scripture you are to take them for lying wonders wrought by that great deceiver and tempter of mankind the Devil Are you now fully perswaded of all this or no For your fuller satisfaction I repeat it again and do you consider it well Are your judgments c. If you doubt of any part of this I as your lawful Pastor set over you by God and the King his vicegerent require you to repair to me and propose your doubts and I hope by Gods assistance to give you full satisfaction And if you are already satisfied then in Gods name I require you to hold fast to the Scriptures his Holy Word and not to suffer your selves to be carried away with any wind of Humane Doctrine And when if ever times of change and danger come and your judgment begins to alter from what now seems to you apparent truth and fully agreeable to Gods Holy Word you ought to conceive that alteration proceeds from the delusion of the devil the world and the flesh not from any new inspiration from God for he is the same to day and for ever he cannot change 't is you that change But perchance some will say in those days This Papist tells me things I never heard of before new and better arguments and upon better information I may and ought to change to better resolutions Oh my beloved take heed 't is not better information but the old man loves to have it so for it will then make better for his enjoyment of this world But I will now take from you this subterfuge you shall not 'scape me so Go now to the ablest Papist you can hear of consult with such see what new and better arguments they can now give you and if you think you have met with such come to me I shall take any pains to give you better satisfaction But if you come no more at me now but in the change of times your heart and reason change I shall if I so long live and you ought infallibly to conclude 't is not Reason nor Religion but the blindness of your heart and the corruption of your flesh that leads you blindly away from the God of truth to follow the Doctrine of erroneous man For no doubt you may now in times of settlement and quiet make a far better judgment of things than in times of bustle and danger No man whilest he carries this house of clay about him can mount to that high pitch as to be above the reach of storms and combustions but will undoubtedly be shak'd and disordered with them The stiffest Oak will bend with boisterous winds Wherefore now as I said is the time to make a clear rational judgment of truth and to make also firm resolutions to adhere to that And then if danger comes and your heart be besieged by powerful enemies be sure to observe the counsel of good King Hezekiah 2 King xviii 36. Hold your peace and answer not a word to any deluding Rabshakeh who shall endeavour to withdraw you from our Heavenly King Christ Jesus and his holy Word and revolt to the proud Prince of Babylon the Pope of Rome Disputing is dangerous when interest is the Argument that takes captive the hearts of most men silence then will be the safety And be you assured that in that great and terrible day of the Lord the word that I have now spoken unto you for 't is the Word of God shall judge and condemn you if you swerve from it Lastly for a Conclusion let me advise all those who are not throughly setled in their Religion to endeavour it with all speed no man ever so young ever so strong hath any assurance of life for a day we see it by daily experience and it would be a very sad thing for a dying man to be then to chuse his Religion I advise you therefore not to delay this necessary work and when you are on serious mature consideration well setled in the Faith admit no more of debates for 't is a great artifice of the Devil so to busie mens heads in matters of Faith as wholly to neglect good Life without which Faith is fruitless and dead for though we are justified by Faith yet it must be Faith working by Love Gal. v. 6. And he that loves God keeps his Commandments Iohn xiv 15. and 21. And therefore 't is meer Hypocrisie in those who seem so zealous for the truth of Religion but take no care to live the life of Religion of which sort there are too too many they wear out their Life and their Bible in tumbling it over for Texts to oppose the Papists but pass over all those Texts wherewith they should be armed to oppose the temptations of the Devil These ought you to have done and not to leave the other undone Mat. xxiii 23. These persons will be ranked with those who in that final day shall come and say Lord Lord we have Prophesied in thy Name cast out Devils and done many wondrous works and yet shall hear that dreadful Sentence from the Lord I never knew you depart from me all ye that work Iniquity Mat. vii 23. You are then to search the Scriptures both for true Faith and good Life and to captivate yoâ—â— hearts in obedience to Gods Commandments as well as your understandings in obedience to the Faith both are equally requisite to Eternal Life and both are plainly and fully declared in the Scriptures they make us wise unto Salvation and throughly furnish us unto every good work so that we are lest without excuse in either You know these things and happy are ye if ye do them not otherwise And thus Beloved having laid plainly before you out of Gods Holy Word the way
of Truth and the way of Error the way of Godliness and the way of Iniquity the way of Life and the way of Death I most humbly and most earnestly beseech our most Gracious God for his Son Christ Iesus's sake to give you a right understanding in all things and to preserve you continually in the way of Truth Holiness Righteousness and Life Everlasting Amen THE END A SUPPLEMENT To the PRECEDING SERMONS TOGETHER WITH A TRACT concerning the Holy Sacrament OF THE Lords Supper Promised in the PREFACE By the Right Reverend Father in God HERBERT Lord Bishop of HEREFORD London Printed for Charles Harper 1679. A SUPPLEMENT To the Preceding SERMONS IN the Preceding Sermons I have proved these six things 1. That by God's special appointment all persons are to read and learn the Scriptures for their Edification in Faith and good Life and therefore 't is both foolish and impious for vain Man to take upon him to give reasons why the People should not read them 2. The reason of this because that in the Scriptures we have eternal life as our Saviour tells us which St. Paul explicates more particularly saying That they make us wise unto salvation that is they teach us all things necessary for our belief and they throughly furnish us unto all good works that is they teach us all things requisite for good life And these things the Scriptures compleatly contain in themselves without any Humane Doctrines so that if there were no other Writings nor Instructions in the World but the Scriptures alone yet we should not want any thing necessary to eternal life 3. That we are not to believe any thing with Divine Faith but what is clearly contained in Scripture for such a belief is a Duty belonging to God alone and 't is the greatest and most acceptable Duty and Sacrifice we can perform unto God to captivate our understandings in Obedience to Faith in God and therefore to give this principal Divine Service unto Man is high Idolatry and consequently to believe in the Apostles themselves had been great Idolatry had not Christ fully assured us That they should have the Holy Ghost to guide them into all Truth So that to speak properly we do not believe in the Apostles and Prophets but in God the Holy Ghost speaking in them And for this reason we find St. Paul very wary in distinguishing and declaring to the people what he delivered as from the Lord and what he delivered as from himself though he was perswaded he had the Spirit of the Lord even in that But yet no clear and full assurance that it was spoken directly by the Lord. Nay our blessed Saviour himself though God and Man yet would not have us believe in him as Man and therefore assures us That the words he spake were not his but the Father's speaking by him 4. I have proved that we have not any clear and full assurance from God That any Assembly of Men or Church since the Apostles are infallibly guided by the Holy Ghost into all Truth and therefore to believe in any Assembly of Men or Church without this full assurance of the Holy Ghost's speaking in them is Idolatry also for by such a belief you pay them the greatest Divine Worship 5. Though we should grant That some promise of Infallibility were made in Scripture to the Church yet this must include the Laity as well as the Clergy for the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which we translate Church is always set in Scripture for the Congregation of the Faithful and is not once set for the Clergy distinct from the Laity But there is no such thing as Infallibility granted to any neither Priests nor People nor both together 6. Grant yet farther that the word Church in Scripture should signifie the Clergy and a promise of Infallibility made to them as Successors to the Apostles yet the same Promise being made and the same Authority given to all the Apostles alike the Successor of St. Peter and his Clergy cannot from hence challenge any more Infallibility than the Successors of the other Apostles with their Clergy and Church But the Papists deny this Infallibility to other Churches Certainly then other Churches may as well deny it to them All these things I have proved But now for a fuller conviction of the Papists and perchance for better satisfaction to some others I have a mind to grant yet farther That Christ made some particular Promise to St. Peter above the other Apostles yea and to St. Peter's Successors also 't is impossible from Scripture to prove either of these but let it pass so let us now see how the Papists can from hence fix this Infallibility to the Bishop of Rome and his Churches For I have shewed you from Scripture which doubtless is of better Authority than any Writings the Papists can bring for St. Peter that Rome was comprised in St. Paul's Jurisdiction and that he lived and preached and suffered there But we will pass over this also and yield to St. Peter's Jurisdiction over the whole World What then Then St. Peter was Bishop of Rome and setled his Successor there And how do the Papists prove this They answer that many authentick Historians tell them so is this all their Proof Humane Testimony from History is this a sufficient foundation for a prime Article of Faith on which depends the Salvation of all Christian Souls Is this a sure Rock or rather a bank of Sand to build their Infallibility upon Do not the same Historians relate that St. Peter was Bishop of Antioch and we have more reason to believe History for this because the Scripture tells us he was there but not one tittle of his ever being at Rome but strong Presumptions to the contrary St. Luke in the Acts speaking so much of St. Paul's going thither hath not one word of St. Peter's who being as the Papists believe so eminent an Apostle above all the rest seems somewhat neglected by St. Luke which makes me suspect St. Luke was not of their Opinion And shall we accuse St. Paul also for want of charity or civility never to mention St. Peter in all those his particular and numerous Salutations to and from others in his Epistles we must not think that their quarrel at Antioch where St. Paul withstood St. Peter stuck so long in his mind as to omit all Salutation to him in several Epistles We ought rather in charity to St. Paul to believe St. Peter was not at Rome And truly methinks the Papists themselves who pretend so much to honour St. Peter do him no small dishonour in affirming him to be at Rome when St. Paul answered for himself before Nero the first time St. Paul complaining that no man stood with him but all forsook him And if those Historians which the Papists rely on for St. Peter's being Bishop of Rome speak true in the circumstance of time then he was at Rome when St. Paul first answered
Fathers but by this and the following discourses you will find the doctrine of man is no sure ground to build your Faith and Salvation on but only on the Word of God Moreover were the Doctrines of the Fathers of far more Authority yet among their Writings there are many spurious Books foisted in by idle Monks who were the common transcribers of the Fathers Works before Printing Bellarmine the great Champion of the Papists doth acknowledge this and hath written a Book to distinguish the true from the false yet hath reserved some in his Catalogue for true making for their Doctrines as spurious as those he hath cast out You see then 't is very difficult to know which are the genuine Books of the Fathers and when you know that 't is as difficult to know what is the clear sence of their Writings and thirdly to know which are their Orthodox Opinions which their Errors for there is no learned Papist but will acknowledge they had Errors and after all this we have no warrant to build our Faith and Salvation on their Doctrine Wherefore to save all men this great labour both needless and fruitless I resolved on this short easie plain way to prove That in the Scripture alone without any other Book in the world we have clear full and compleat instruction for matters of belief and practice in summ all things necessary for our salvation in Scripture and that there is no need to consult any other Book but the Bible alone for all And Secondly I do here further prove that it is both dangerous and impious to affirm the Scriptures are not compleat in themselves for our Salvation And Thirdly that 't is both irreligious and idolatrous to believe in any man or assembly of men in matters of Salvation which saves all men the labour of looking farther than the Bible for it And because the Papists pretend Scripture which we acknowledge to be our Rule of Faith for some of their Opinions differing from us I have here I hope fully Explained and Answered those Scriptures especially what they pretend for Transubstantiation and Corporal Presence of our Saviour Christ in the Lords Supper which I shall add at the end in a short Tract by it self because it is not at all contained in that Text whereon my three Sermons depend And thus I hope this little Book if not confuted subservient to Scripture may without any other satisfie and settle any one in all the Controversies we have with the Papists First by having proved we are not to believe any thing with divine Faith but what is plainly contained in Scripture Secondly by having Answered what they pretend from Scripture Thirdly because for all other differences with us they have no Scripture Now if any Papist can confute me in any one of these material principal things I shall heartily thank him and promise in the word of a Christian I shall readily acknowledge my Error and embrace his Truth But if he only cavil or scurrilously scoff at trivial things as some to their own shame and reproach have formerly done I shall thank them also for this for thereby they prove their own Errors and confirm my Truths I have this one thing more only to trouble the Reader with The first of my three Sermons on that Text Search the Scriptures was Preacht in September 1677 and in June 1678. comes out a little book to the same intent of that Sermon expressing several things in it and in the very same manner by what means I know not but this I and many others know that my Sermon was Preached almost a year before that Book came forth and therefore I could not have them from that Author called The same Author that wrote the whole Duty of Man who it seems must countenance Books to the worlds end However I thought it fit to Print that Sermon with the other two first because it contains several things not in that Book and secondly the other two would be very defective without it And now good Reader I beg your favourable Censure if you find any small Mistakes or Errors for you know and I confess being a man I may err humanum est errare sed in errore perseverare belluinum est therefore I abhorr it I conclude all with my Prayers for you and begging your Prayers for me that God in his great mercy by the light of his holy Word and holy Spirit would guide us all into all saving truth And to his Divine Majesty from whom cometh every good and perfect gift be ascribed as is most due all Honour and Glory for ever and ever Amen A SERMON ON JOHN V. Ver. 39. Search the Scriptures for in them ye think ye have Eternal Life WHEN I last appeared here my business was to arm you with Christian Courage and firm resolution to fight manfully the good fight of Faith with full assurance of a glorious reward from the sure hand of our most gracious God who never fails to reward those that seek and serve him And this our fight must be not with the arm of flesh and sword of steel which is often subdued and broken by a stronger but with the power of the Word and Sword of the Spirit which no power upon earth or under the earth can subdue because he that is with us is stronger than all that are against us Now for the present I shall endeavour to shew you what we are to fight for And this we learn from the Apostle St. Iude who commands us to contend for the faith once delivered to the Saints once for all the faith which was delivered by our Saviour and his Apostles once to remain to all future Generations for the Salvation of all Mankind Which Faith is contained in the Holy Scriptures and written there for our Learning as the Scripture it self tells us Search therefore the Scriptures for it for in them ye have Eternal Life In these words we have two things set forth unto us First A Command Secondly The Reason of the Command The Command to Search the Scriptures then the Reason of this Command for in the Scriptures we have Eternal Life Both these things are so plain in themselves that they need no explication But the perverse wits of evil men who can find nodum in scirpo have invented some difficulties in them to excuse their pernicious practices clean contrary to them The Governours of the Romish Church guilty of such practices have invented these difficulties For they having many things in their Church Devotions quite contrary to Scripture as I shall shew you e're this business be ended find it necessary to shut up the Scripture from the Laity who would not so blindly be seduced into them had they the light of Holy Scripture to discover the grossness of them And therefore First They will have it that this command of our Saviour to Search the Scriptures belongs only to the Clergy and they are to teach the people out
reading the Scripture it causes them to fall into very extravagant Opinions and Heresies How horrid a thing is it to affirm this Really it appears no less than blasphemy against the Holy Ghost whereof our Saviour pronounc'd that dreadful Sentence That it should never be forgiven neither in this world neither in the world to come For to say the reading of Scripture causes the people to fall into Heresie is the same in effect as to say the Holy Ghost is the Author of sin for I have most clearly proved unto you that the Scripture dictated by the Holy Ghost commands all to read the Scripture But I hope they intend no such matter as blasphemy but think they have some colour for what they say from 2 Pet. iii. 16. where St. Peter speaks of the unlearned and unstable wresting the Scriptures to their own destruction But I pray you mark how St. Peter joyns unstable with unlearned the want of stability is the main cause of their wresting the Scriptures For I shall shew you by and by that they who abound in learning yet wanting stability wrest the Scriptures as well I should say as ill as the unlearned But first I desire my pretending wise men to advise a little with St. Paul Rom. vii 10. where he tells us that the Commandment which was ordained unto life he found unto death did he therefore lay aside the Commandment God forbid the Commandment was Good and Holy how then came it to pass He tells us vers 8. that sin taking occasion by the Commandment wrought in him all manner of concupiscence And again vers 11. Sin taking occasion by the Commandment deceived him and by it slew him Thus Beloved you see 't was not the Commandment that wrought death in St. Paul but sin that is concupiscence the corruption of nature that was in him this caused all the evil And just so it is in our case 'T is not the Scripture which causes Heresies Schisms and Divisions amongst us God forbid we should say so but sin taking occasion by the Scripture works all these the corruption of mens natures blinds and deceives them the pride and wilfulness of their heart the conceit of their own holiness and godly understanding sets them forward in opposition to the common received Doctrine and to affect singularity and applause by teaching some new thing Then they tumble over the Scripture to find out Texts that carry some colour for it as they fondly conceive and having found such they presently blaze abroad their new Doctrine which the giddy unconstant people always fond of new things presently catch at and follow This puffs up the Teachers and sets them agog and makes them ready to suffer any thing in that behalf for this increases the reputation of their Sanctity as suffering imprisonment and the like for the truth and at length by large Contributions this comes to increase the wealth of their purse also and then there 's no reducing them to obedience and order Now as St. Paul saith 'T is not the Scripture which causeth all this but sin the Spiritual pride of their heart takes occasion by the Scripture to work in them Divisions and Heresies And though the Scripture were wholly shut up from them yet the same sin their Spiritual pride of heart would cause the same Divisions and Heresies Do not we see this daily happen to them who reject the Scripture and walk by their new inward lights which they pretend God infuses into them This makes it most manifest that all our Divisions as St. Paul saith proceed from sin that is in us And doth not St. Iames agree with St. Paul in this when he saith From whence come wars and fightings among you come they not hence even of your lusts that war in your members So from whence come these Divisions and Contentions come they not hence even of their lusts that war in their Members Now I beseech you to consider were it not as sensless as wicked to shut up the Scripture the word of life from the whole Congregation of the faithful because the sin and corruption of some turn it to their death But as Iob xi saith Vain man would be wise though a man be born like a wild asses colt Yea he would be wiser than God who well foresaw these Heresies and Divisions and forewarns us by St. Paul 1 Cor. xi 18 c. not only that they would come but also must come for the tryal of the Elect Our Saviour also tells us that he came not to bring peace on earth but a sword to set a man at variance against his Father and the Daughter against her Mother Matt. x. 34 c. And doth vain man think by his wisdom to frustrate the Divine Decree yea to stop our Saviours mouth from preaching the Gospel and say I beseech you Sir hold your peace you set men at variance even Father and Son Mother and Daughter one against another What think you Beloved were this wisdom or desperate sinful folly It is just the same or indeed far worse than to desire God to withdraw the Sun from shining on the earth because it causes evil weeds to grow up in evil ground Wherefore my Beloved I beseech you let us hearken to the true wisdom of God and not to the vain deceivable wisdom of man born as ignorant as the wild asses colt Yet he will be so wise as for the preventing of Errors and Divisions to shut up the Holy Scripture from the people which God hath commanded to be delivered to the people But I shall shew you yet farther the perverseness of these pretending wise men Is it not well known to all men verst in the writings of antiquity that the most dangerous spreading Heresies which infested the Church for several Ages and whereof some continue to this very day sprang not from the people but from learned eminent men Priests and Bishops Monks and Abbots and divers others famous for learning as the Arian the Nestorian the Eutychian the Pelagian the Macedonian the Manichean Heresies and several others which have mightily disturbed the Christian Church in all Nations East West North and South And then by the rule of our rare wise men the Scripture must be shut up from these also Bishops and Priests as well as people from all Seal it up and bury it in a Cave till the Resurrection of the dead and before that time all Religion may be dead and buried also and in the mean time we may take the Alcoran for our meditation or Ovid de Fastibus and so all become Turks or Heathens and the Kingdom of Satan set up instead of the Kingdom of Christ. Satan himself could not have found out a better exploit to do his work And really my beloved I must in all seriousness tell you that the Christian world was very far degenerated and declining into Heathenism by shutting up the Scriptures in later Ages before it pleased God in his great
mercy to stir up Dr. Luther Bucer Melancthon Calvin and several others to open again the Gospel unto us and by the light thereof to discover the Heathenish superstitions of the Church of Rome who had again revived many practices of old Pagan Rome the Pagan had their purifying Waters called Aquae Lustrales in imitation whereof the Papists have their Holy Water to sprinkle themselves withal when they enter the Church So instead of the Pagan Vestal Fires the Papists have their lamps continually burning day and night before their Altars The Pagans had their Tutelary gods as Protectors of this and that place so have the Papists their several Saints for several Countreys St. Dennis for France St. Iames for Spain St. Peter for Rome St. George for England St. Patrick for Ireland The Pagans carried the Idols of their gods about in Procession with great pomp burning Incense and singing Hymns unto them the Papists do the very same to the Idols of the blessed Virgin and Saints to the reproach rather than the honour of their memory as if they had been Heathen and not Christian Saints Many many more are their superstitious fopperies forsaking the body Christ and follow the infatuating shadows of humane inventions Teaching for Doctrines the Commandments of men God only knows what a Chaos of confusion we had been sunk into before this had not God stirred up those Worthies I mentioned when the Pope like a God upon earth had usurped that Anti-Christian power as to thwart the commandments of God and Christ our blessed Saviour as I have already shewed you in many particulars But there is one I have not yet mentioned more remarkable and detestable than any of those I mean the countermanding that solemn and last command of our Lord and Saviour Jesus at his last Supper after he had instituted the blessed Sacrament of his body and blood to our endless comfort and commanded his Apostles to do the same in remembrance of him And I pray you take notice of one circumstance therein which perchance you have never yet observed and 't is this When our Saviour delivered the Bread unto the Apostles he said Take eat this and no more but when he delivered the Cup he gave a more exact command for it saying Drink ye all of this As if he had said Be sure that every one of you partake of the Cup let no one omit it And why so particularly command the Cup more than the Bread Truly with great reason He divinely foreseeing the sacrilegious dismembring of this blessed Sacrament which the Roman Church would make in depriving the people of the Cup. Whereas one would think this Command of our dying Lord and Saviour for us should of all other Commands be most exactly performed to a tittle in every point Yet the Pope as ungratefully as insolently presumes to command to keep the Cup from the People Who could have believed such an insolency had not the whole world seen it By the same rule he might and perchance before this time had not his high presuming power met with such opposition in Germany would have taken away the Bread also and made the People only gazers on and admirers of the great dignity of the Priests who alone were admitted to that Holy Supper for so it is among them now for the most part the Priest saying Mass every day but the common people generally receive the blessed Sacrament but once or twice a year Now had the Pope taken away the Bread also he might have given the very same reason for that as he doth for taking away the Cup. They give two reasons First because it may happen that in delivering the Cup to many people the Wine which they call the Blood may be spilt Why so in giving the Bread some crums may fall and they affirm that Christs body is entirely contained in the least crum Secondly They say the People have the Blood of Christ in his Body when they receive that and therefore they need it not again in the Cup. Though 't is apparent in Scripture that our Saviour gave it in the Cup apart to signifie his bloodshedding from his body saying This is my blood which was shed But 't is no matter what our Saviour said the Pope says otherwise and we must hearken to him he says 't is sufficient for the People to receive the Blood in his Body And so should he say that he is the Head of the Church and if he alone receive the Bread and Cup and no other neither People nor Priest receive either 't is sufficient if the Head receive them the Head stands for the whole Body the Pope guided by the Holy Ghost says so and then who dares say otherwise And thus you see that if we once let go the Scripture farewell all Religion all the commands of God are to small purpose what the Pope says must be a Law Good Lord deliver us The time is welnigh past and I must hasten to an end Wherefore I shall now add only a short reflection on what hath been said with a word of Exhortation in the close You have heard Gods Command to the People of Israel concerning the Old Law That all should read it teach it their Children write it on the doors and posts of their dwellings discourse of it in their Houses by the way and in the fields You have heard also Gods Command to the Prophets To go to all the house of Israel to all the people and cry aloud to them all the day long You have heard our Saviours Command to the Apostles To go and Preach the Gospel to all Nations to every creature You have heard how the Apostles guided by the Holy Ghost directed their Epistles To all the Faithful to all the Saints You have heard Saint Paul strictly command his Epistles to be read to all the holy Brethren And now shall any man be so insolently so desperately wicked as to dare to controul the Command of God so often reiterated and countermand the Scriptures to be shut up from the People Man a worm of the Earth thus to oppose his Creator Nay my beloved hearken yet farther The Romanists declare it to be a sin for the people to read the Scripture And you know the wages of sin is death eternal death so then the Romanists declare it to be Eternal Death for the people to read the words of Eternal Life Stand amazed O ye Heavens at this If this be not transcendent madness and transcendent wickedness too tell me what is To say the Sun is darkness is ten times more tolerable than to say the word of Eternal Life is Eternal Death to him that reads it But now I beseech you mark what a ridiculous Salvo they bring for this their horrid wickedness O say they but you may have leave of your Confessor to read the Scripture if he find you fit for it that is if he find you a dull tame Ass ready to bear all the