they can claim nothing by debt in a way of strict Justice It is allowed by our Adversaries that Men by their good Works cannot merit Remission of Sin. And they who cannot deserve to be forgiven how should they deserve to have an infinite Reward bestowed upon them But whence should both one and the other come then but from Grace And if by Grace then it is no more Works otherwise Grace is no more Grace But if it be of Works then it is no more Grace otherwise Work is no more Work Rom. 11. 6 7. For to him that worketh is the Reward not reckoned of Grace but of Debt Rom. 4. 4. So that 't is also a Contradiction to say that he giveth us Grace to Merit for Grace excludes Merit Where there is Merit there can be no Grace and where there is Grace there can be no Merit And if there cannot be Merit to obtain Remission but that is of Grace how should there be Merit to obtain Glorification To have a Righteousness or Works truly Meritorious this Righteousness and these Works then must be perfect at least and without defect For how should an imperfect Righteousness merit But this cannot be said of the Righteousness or good Works of any Justified Person whatsoever For Jam. 3. 2. In many things we offend all Job 9. 3. If he will contend with him he cannot answer him one of a thousand And vers 21. If I justify my self mine own Mouth shall condemn me If I say I am perfect it shall also prove me perverse That a Justified Person may merit eternal Life by his good Works his good Works ought to be perfect and he ought certainly to have no other but good Works for where there is Sin there is need of Pardon And 't is strange that he should have need of Pardon for some and yet can merit a glorious Immortality by others But now it is plain that every justified Person doth sin often Again to have good Works properly meritorious there must be a proportion between the Work and the Reward that the good Work may be a sufficient price or value for the Recompence But now what proportion can there be between an Imperfect Righteousness and Eternal Glory Rom. 8. 18. I reckon says the Apostle that the sufferings of this present Time are not worthy to be compared with the Glory that shall be revealed in us 2 Cor. 4. 17 18. For our light-affliction which is but for a moment worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of Glory There is no comparison between the Sufferings of the most glorious Martyrs and the transcendently glorious Reward in Heaven Then there is no equality of worthiness of one to the other And if the Sufferings of the most glorious Martyrs have not a Dignity and Worth in them equal to the Glory to come what shall we say of all other good Works Nay though our Works were perfect as perfect as a Creatures can be yet there would be no proportion between our Work and Eternal Life that is so unspeakably great Therefore Adam in Innocency could not merit properly such a glorious Reward as is now promised us in the Gospel For there is no proportional dignity in the Work of any Creature suitable to so great a Glory The most that can be said is That he did not deserve Pain or Punishment or that he did deserve some consideration for the right use of this Free-will that was put into his Power but not that he deserved so great and long and glorious a Reward as is promised us And how can any Justified Person now deserve it whose Righteousness is so stained and defective The most that can be here said also is that it is congruous that good Men who labour against so many Difficulties in mortifying their Lusts and to please God should not be treated in the same manner with other Men but it cannot be said that they deserve so great a Reward as a blessed and glorious Immortality Again be our Works never so perfect yet they could not merit Eternal Life because we do but that which as Creatures we are bound to do though there were no Reward proposed Luke 17. 10. When you have done all those things that are commanded you say We are unprofitable Servants we have done that which was our Duty to do And we can bring no advantage to God by it by which he should be bound to repay it For Job 22. 2. Can a Man be profitable unto God Or is it Gain to him that thou makest thy Ways perfect So Job 35. 7. If thou be Righteous what givest thou him or what receiveth he of thine hand Thy Wickedness may hurt a Man as thou art and thy Righteousness may profit the Son of Man. Job was very sensible of this and therefore what little cause there was of boasting in or relying upon the Merits of his Righteousness though it had been never so perfect Job 9. 15. Whom though I were Righteous yet would I not answer him says he speaking of God but I would make supplication to my Judg. So Psal 16. 2. My Goodness extendeth not to thee And after all whatsoever good Work any Justified Person doth he doth all by a Power received from God himself and how can he merit from God by that which he himself has given For Job â—1 11. Who hath prevented me that I should repay him Ephes 2. 10. We are his Workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good Works Phil. 2. 13. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure And 1 Cor. 4. 7. What hast thou that thou hast not received And if thou hast received it why boastest thou as if thou hadst received it not Rom. 11. 35. Who hath first given unto him and it shall be recompensed unto him When there is a Promise of a Reward annex'd indeed to any performance upon condition of it then upon the performance of the Condition tho it be never so small and by whatsoever power it be performed the Reward is due tho it be never so great But it is due by Promise only the Promiser of meer Grace engaging himself to it and not from the dignity of the Work. And in this sense Eternal Life may be said to be due to them that keeps Covenant with God And therefore 't is sometimes called a Reward and God will at last proceed with Men according to their Works according to the Order assigned and Condition prefix'd in the Covenant of Grace But still the Reward promised is of Grace to us being only founded upon a free and gracious Promise by which God hath obliged himself to give it but is not by virtue of a just and proportionable dignity in the Work it self But this will not serve the turn of our Adversaries who assert that Works are properly meritorious which must be understood in themselves and not by virtue of the Promise For pardon of Sin is
faithful to her Bridegroom As for our parts we are fully perswaded that the Holy Ghost may speak as good Sense and as intelligibly in the Scriptures as any of them in their Writings or as the Church can in hers and that it was his Design to do so And therefore we doubt not but it is done plainly and fully in all Points necessary to Salvation and also as to the Controversies between the Church of Rome and us that enough may be plainly gathered from them And where there is any obscurity either it is in lesser Matters or in prophetick Visions or only ariseth by accident by reason of the distance of time wherein the Holy Scriptures were written the variety and change of Customs the difference of Dialects or Forms of Speech or some such other Causes which are incident to all ancient Writings and especially of the Eastern Countries And either it may be cleared up by the same means which we may use as well as they or else it must for what I know remain so yet to us both for the exercise of our farther industry It is the Scripture then that we build our Faith upon and guide our selves by though we do not refuse any help to the understanding of it And we are not afraid that our common People should read it but do exhort them to it For we do not desire to retain any Doctrines or Works of Darkness and therefore we are very willing that all should be brought to the Light. It is the Scripture that we love and whilst we love the Scripture we do declare it that we cannot be very fond of Rome A plain simple view of Scripture is sufficient to keep us out of the ways of Romish Delusion And such a view is presented to the Reader in this little Treatise in a Method fitted to the most vulgar Capacity Let us but stick to the Scripture or written Word which the Church of Rome is really most dreadfully afraid of and then we are out of danger The Scripture we know from whence it is but as for their Traditions many of them we know not whence they are They pretend they come from the Apostles but we have nothing else but only their own word for it For we cannot perceive the Apostolical Image and Superscription upon them Nor would they then ever contradict the Apostolical Writings as we are well assured they do many of them Tradition indeed alone doth but open a Gap to whatsoever bold and confident Men may obtrude that have subtilty enough to set off a Thing a little plausibly But let us hold fast the written Word and we shall not fear to be intangled with those new Doctrines which are the obtrusions of crafty and ambitious Men to make an advantage by which the face of Christianity comes to be quite marred and all Religion comes to be indangered And read but this little Treatise then and compare Doctrine and Text and then see who is in the right the Church of Rome or We For see if their Doctrine and the Holy Text be not at variance the one with the other And if so the Church of Rome must excuse us if we leave their Doctrine and follow the Text. Beware of false Prophets which come to you in Sheeps Cloathing but inwardly they are ravening Wolves ye shall know them by their Fruits Do not believe every Spirit but try the Spirits whether they are of God. If the Blind lead the Blind they will both fall into the Ditch Heresies will arise in the Church and the Devil will sometimes transform himself into an Angel of Light to deceive whom he can deceive Therefore see with your own Eyes and beg the holy Anointing to teach you A Table of the Popish Errors refuted in this Treatise Of the Holy Scripture and Traditions Chap. I. THat all saving Truth is not contained in the Holy Scriptures but partly in them and partly in unwritten Traditions pag. 1 II. That the Scripture is obscure 12 III. That it is not for the Common People to read the Scripture 15 Of the Church IV. That the State of the Church is always visible 20 V. That Multitude is a Mark of the Church 25 VI. That temporal Happiness is a Mark of the Church 29 VII That Miracles are a Mark of the Church 32 VIII That St. Peter was Head of the Church under Christ and the Pope is so as his Successor 36 IX That the Pope hath power over Kings and can absolve Subjects from their Allegiance and that Ecclesiastical Persons are exempted from the Secular Jurisdiction 44 X. That the Church of Rome is Infallible and the Judg of Controversies to whose Judgment all are bound up 49 Of Prayer and Worship XI That Prayers and Divine Service is to be celebrated every where in Latin in a Language unknown to the People 61 XII That it is good and Profitable to pray to Saints and Angels 65 XIII That Images and Relicks are to be venerated or worshipped 81 XIV That the Clergy may not Marry 91 XV. That the Vow of Poverty is laudable and that Mendicant Friars are in a State of Perfection 94 XVI That the Vow of Blind Obedience is laudable 98 Of Satisfactions Indulgences Purgatory and Praying for the Dead XVII That Persons are obliged partly to satisfy the Justice of God for their Sins themselves Christ having not satisfied for all the Punishment due to them 100 XVIII That some Persons may satisfy over and above what is needful for themselves and that their satisfactions may serve for others being put into the Treasury of the Church to be dispenc'd by Indulgences 108 XIX That there is a Purgatory after this Life for the expiation of the Sins of those that are not sufficiently purged here and that the Souls there detained may be help'd by the Masses and good Works and Prayers of the Living 115 Of Justification and Pardon of Sin. XX. That Justification consists in the infusion of Grace 123 XXI That for the obtaining of Pardon of Sin Auricular Confession to the Priest is necessary 128 Of the Merit of Good Works and Works of Supererrogation XXII That good Works are truely and properly meritorious of Eternal Life 123 XXIII That Men may do Works of Supererrogation above what the Law requires and may have superabounding Merits more than themselves need which may be profitable to others 139 Of Baptism XXIV That Baptism is absolutely necessary to Salvation so that those who die without it are liable to condemnation 143 Of the Lord's Supper XXV That after Consecration there remains no more of Bread and Wine in the Sacrament but that it is transubstantiated into the very Body and Blood of Christ 149 XXVI That in the Sacrifice performed in the Mass the self-same Christ is contained and offered that offered himself in the Cross and that this Sacrifice is truely propitiatory for the Sins of Quick and Dead 159 XXVII That the Host is to be worshipped with Divine Worship 166
who only was made to be Sin or a Sin-offering for us that we might be made the Righteousness of God i. e. treated as Righteous Persons in him and for his sake and not for the Merits and Satisfactions of others 2 Cor. 5. 21. And Vers 19. God was in Christ reconciling the World to himself not by the Satisfactions and Merits of Saints 1 Pet. 1. 19. Redeemed we are by the precious Blood of Christ as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot Which the Apostle implies it was needful he should be to become our Redemption but this cannot be said of the Sufferings of any Saint 1 Cor. 1. 30. He is made to us of God Wisdom and Righteousness and Sanctification and Redemption that according as it is written He that glorieth let him glory in the Lord and give him the praise and thanks of the whole Work and have no dependance upon the Sufferings and Satisfactions of Saints For Isa 43. 11. I am the Lord and besides me there is no Saviour And Col. 2. 10. Ye are compleat in him So that we have no need of Saints Satisfactions nor is it their Office and Business to satisfy but only Christ's We cannot do it for our selves nor others for us but he alone who is our Peace As was also proved before by the Texts of the foregoing Chapter There is none but Christ who by his Satisfactions and Intercessions doth answer for others Sins There is no meer Man that can answer for another Though God may and doth often shew Mercy to some Men with respect to others in many Instances according to his Covenant or for other holy and wise Ends it is not for the sake of any Merits and Satisfactions which others have offered for them nor doth he pardon Mens Sins or give them Life upon the account of such Merits and Satisfactions but deals with Men in that respect only according to their own Works and shows Mercy only in Christ and for his sake Gal. 6. 6 7. Let every Man prove his own Work and then shall he have rejoicing in himself and not in another For every Man shall bear his own Burden Exod. 32. 31. Moses said O this People have sinned a great Sin yet now if thou wilt forgive their Sin and if not blot me I pray thee out of the Book which thou hast written And the Lord said unto Moses Whosoever hath sinned against me him will I blot out of my Book The Prophet Moses was not admitted to bear the Punishment of the People but every Man was to bear his own Sin. Ezek. 18. 20. The Soul that sinneth the same shall die The Son shall not bear the Iniquity of the Father neither shall the Father bear the Iniquity of the Son. The Righteousness of the Righteous shall be upon him and the Wickedness of the Wicked shall be upon him Mat. 3. 9 10. Think not therefore to say within your selves We have Abraham to our Father every Tree which bringeth not forth good Fruit is hewen down and cast into the Fire ' T is not another's Righteousness will avail to our acceptation Hab. 2. 4. The Just shall live by his Faith not by the Faith of another 1 Cor. 3. 8. Every Man shall receive his own Reward according to his own Labour For 2 Cor. 5. 10. We must all appear before the Judgment-Seat of Christ that every Man may receive the things done in his Body according to that he hath done whether it be good or bad 1 Pet. 1. 17. For the Father judgeth without respect of Persons according to every Man's Work. In vain shall we alledge the Fasts and Alms of another He that serves God by a Proctor shall go to Hell in his own Person Mat. 25. 8 9. The foolish Virgins said unto the Wise Give us of your Oil for our Lamps are gone out They would fain have had a benefit in their Righteousness But the Wise answered saying Not so lest there be not enough for us and you It must be your own Righteousness that must serve you according to the Covenant of Grace in Christ And therefore Vers 35. one Man's good Works did not profit another but every one is judged according to his own Actions And it is Christ alone that satisfies for others and not any Saint with him or subordinate to him As 1 Cor. 1. 12 13. Every one of you saith I aâ— of Paul and I of Apollo and I of Cephas and I of Christ Which is equally blame-worthy in having recourse to their several Merits with Christ's as upon other respects Is Christ divided was Paul crucified for you or were ye baptized in the Name of Paul The same may we also say to those of the Church of Rome when one says I am of St. Francis I of St. Dominick and I of the Society of Jesus Is Jesus divided from Christ Was St. Francis crucified for you or were ye baptized in the Name of Dominick or Igâ—atius Loyola As for what the Apostle says Col. 1. 24. I now rejoice in my Sufferings for you and fill up that which is 〈◊〉 of the Afflictions of Christ in my Flâ—sh for his Body's sake which is the Church It is not meant that he suffered to satisfy for their Sins as if any thing were wanting in the meritorious Sufferings of Christ to that end God forbid But it was for the Church's good that the Apostles suffered to give them an Example of Constancy c. And the Sufferings of the Members of Christ are called Christ's Sufferings 2 Cor. 1. 5. And they are partakers of Christ's Sufferings 1 Pet. 4. 13. They being predestinated to be conformed to their Head Rom. 8. 29. They are to suffer as he did and so by degrees to fill up the Sufferings that are designed for the whole Body of Christ and then at last also they shall reign with him but that by his Gift and Purchase alone Rev. 2. 10. And Rev. 7. 14. These are they which came out of great Tribulation and have washed their Robes and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb therefore are they before the Throne of God. Now if there be no Satisfactions for Sin made by any Man or Men but only Christ and much less superabounding Satisfactions and Merits for others above what any one hath need of him then there can be no Treasury of these in the Church for the use of others that want For there can be no Treasury of that that is not And what need can there be of it when Christ's own Satisfaction is sufficient in all Cases And if there be no such Treasury in the Church for the benefit of others to be dispens'd then the Pope nor any one else is the Dispenser for he cannot dispense it if it be not If it be not in his hands to give he cannot give it or rather sell for they do not use to be very free of their Gifts And then consequently the use of Pardons and Indulgences for
of a Priest nor was it exacted or required as a Matter of necessary Obligation And as for what St. James says Chap. 5. 16. Confess your Faults one to another and pray one for another that ye may be healed Note that he directs to this only in case of bodily Sickness accompanied with an afflicted or distressed Conscience in order to the obtaining the more fervent Prayers of those who are made privy to their Case for their relief and help from God but he does not appoint it for an universal standing Rule for all Men and of absolute obligation upon them in all Cases for the obtaining of Remission of Sin by a Priestly Absolution And note that when our Saviour says John 20. 23. Whose soever Sins ye remit they are remitted and whose soever Sins ye retain they are retained It can only be meant of such Sins as might happen to come to their knowledg and in such Cases wherein they might be able to make a right and sure Judgment of Mens Repentance of or pertinacy in Sin which the Apostles were sometimes enabled to do by special Revelation and then they had an extraordinary Power given them by the Holy Ghost to inflict extraordinary Punishments upon Men and to take them off again as they saw cause upon Mens Repentance Acts 5. 3 4. 13. 11. 1 Cor. 5. 5. 2 Cor. 2. 6 7. But the most that any Priest now can do who is not invested with those extraordinary Gifts is to pronounce Men absolved from the Guilt of their Sin upon condition of their Repentance or condemned for their not coming up to it And here is no Institution of Confession to be necessarily made to a Priest nor the least intimation given that the Sins of Men cannot be otherwise remitted if so be they perform the condition of a sincere Repentance in themselves There is no trace or track of it in our Saviour's dealing with Sinners though he had to do with very great ones Nor yet in the Apostles And St. Peter himself when he sinned we hear of him only that he went out and wept bitterly by that Sign expressing the real Contrition and sincere Repentance of his Heart but we read not a word of his going to a Priest to make Confession In case of publick Scandal indeed given to the Church a publick Confession is very needful and was always the Discipline of the Ancient Church And in case of perplexity of Conscience for the disburdening of that and as an help to Repentance a private Confession of the Sinner and opening his Case to some Spiritual Guide is also very useful But that a particular private Confession of all Mortal Sin with all its Circumstances to a Priest is of perpetual and necessary obligation to all in order to the obtaining pardon of Sin can no where be proved And therefore is an horrid Imposition and intolerable Tyranny upon Mens Consciences and is to change the Terms of Salvation from what God himself has appointed and to make that both easier and harder than he has made it either as it is said that Confession is enough with bare Attrition or that it must be added over and above to true Repentance it self And note that the priestly Absolution when it is given is not Authoritative and Judicial For so to absolve Sinners and forgive Sins belongs only to God Mark 2. 7. Isa 43. 25. who is the only Lawgiver Jam. 2. 12. or to Jesus Christ who hath the Key of David who openeth and none shutteth Rev. 3 7. who alone hath the supreme independent and absolute Power and Authority to do all things in the Church And whereas he hath likewise given unto the Pastors of the Church the Key of the Kingdom of Heaven they then open Heaven when they declare the Grace of God to repenting Sinners they shut Heaven when they declare the Judgment of God to impenitent Sinners But if they be ignorant or wicked let them pardon the Impenitent and excommunicate the Good that which they do on Earth is not ratified in Heaven The Authority they have to pardon Sin or to absolve the Sinner being only ministerial declarative and conditional upon the profession and supposition of the Sinner's Faith and Repentance Of the Merits of Good Works and Works of Supererrogation CHAP. XXII That the Good Works of Justified Persons are truly and properly Meritorious and fully worthy of Eternal Life Council of Trent Sess 6. chap. 16. Can. 32. THese Good Works are said by them indeed to be done by the Grace of God and Merit of Christ But then it is the good Works themselves that are truly meritorious of Eternal Life And the Grace of God and Merit of Christ have only a remote or mediate Influence towards the procuring Eternal Life viz. by giving us Grace to enable us to act And that being done the Acts or Works themselves which justified Persons perform do truly and properly deserve Eternal Life Contrary to Rom. 6. 23. The Gift of God is Eternal Life through Jesus Christ our Lord. He said The Wages of Sin is Death Sin deserves Death But he doth not say by way of opposition the Wages of Righteousness is Eternal Life but the Gift of God is eternal Life To teach us that Eternal Life is a free Gift to us and not merited by the Righteousness and good Works of any For free Gift and Merit cannot stand together So Luke 12. 32. Fear not little Flock it is your Father's good Pleasure to give you a Kingdom The Kingdom of Heaven is represented as a Gift and that as flowing from the Father's good Pleasure and therefore not from their merit So again John 10. 28. My Sheep hear my Voice and follow me and I give unto them Eternal Life This is given to Men upon their hearing and following of Christ It is not their following of him doth deserve it Ephes 2. 8 9. By Grace are ye saved through Faith and that not of your selves it is the Gift of God. Both Faith and Salvation it self which is the End of Faith is all of Grace and Gift not of Works lest any Man should boast So Tit. 3. 4 5. After that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward Man appeared not by Works of Righteousness which we have done but according to his Mercy he saved us by the washing of Regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost that being justified by his Grace we should be made Heirs according to the Hope of Eternal Life Regeneration is of Grace and Justification is of Grace and free and we have the hope of Eternal Life as Heirs partaking of the Adoption which is free and not as Mercenaries by Work and Merit And the whole of our Salvation from first to last is of meer Mercy Thus Exod. 20. 6. Shewing Mercy to thousands of them that love me and keep my Commandments Those that love God and render the most obedience to the Commands of God have yet need of his Mercy
promised to Repentance and yet none will say that Repentance meriteth Pardon Tho it be as much said 1 Jo◠1. 9. That if we confess our Sins God is faithful and just to forgive us our Sins As 2 Thess 1. 6. That it is a righteous thing with God to recompence Tribulation to them that trouble you and to you who are troubled rest with us Or as 2 Tim. 4. 8. Henceforth there is laid up for me a-Crown of Righteousness which God the Righteous Judg shall give me at that day and to all them that love his appearing Besides if nothing else had been meant then that our good Works obtain Eternal Life by virtue of the Promise there had been no occasion to have had an Anathema pronounced against those that denied it when that was never denied by any Body CHAP. XXIII That Men may not only be perfect in this Life but that they may also do Works of greater perfection than what are required in the Precept of the Gospel-Law which they call Works of Supererrogation and so may have superabounding Merits more than what themselves need and which may be profitable to others Catech. Rom. par 2. de Sacr. par §. 77. Rhemist Annot. on Luk. 11. 35. 2 Cor. 2. 10. BUT if there be no Perfection for Man here to attain but what is contained in the Precept of the Law which is the Rule of all Perfection to us then there is nothing that Man can do that shall be a Perfection beyond or above the Law. And the former will appear by these following Texts Mat. 22. 37 38. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy Heart and with all thy Soul and with all thy Mind And thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thy self Here God requires the whole Intire Man with all his Faculties And whatsoever in due Circumstances can be an expression of this Love to God or Men is here required So that one cannot do that Work which all Circumstances being weighed is not required and commanded in the Law. Mic. 6. 8. He hath shewed thee O Man what is Good and what doth the Lord require of thee but to do justly to love Mercy and to walk humbly with thy God What is Good and what doth the Lord require of thee are taken for the same By which the Prophet intimates that that only is good and acceptable to God which God requires And whatsoever God requires is contained in these Generals so that there can be no good or acceptable Work but what is reducible to them Mat. 5. 48. Be ye perfect says our Saviour as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect The Perfection of God himself as far as it is imitable by us is proposed as the model of that Perfection which is required of us And unless there be some Perfection then which there is not the Idea of in God what other Perfection is there for us to practise or attain but what is required Rom. 12. 2. All that the Apostle requires of Christians is To Prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect Will of God under the Gospel in order to the doing of it Where he reduceth all that he desires that Christians should be informed in the understanding and practice of the Will of God. This Will of God is perfect and the Rule of Perfection And 't is a conformity to this Will of God which is only good and acceptable to him Col. 1. 9 10. The Apostle prays that Christians may be filled with the Knowledg of his Will in all Wisdom and spiritual Vnderstanding that ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing being fruitful in every good Work. It is the Will of God is the Rule of every good Work and of whatsoever is pleasing to him And therefore 't is the utmost that a Christian can desire to know or do And this it is his duty to do so that there can be no good Work that is pleasing to God but what it is his duty to do Chap. 4. 12. Again That ye may stand perfect and compleat in all the Will of God. If a Man can do all the Will of God he will be perfect and compleat And this every Man ought to labour after So that there is no perfection or compleatness but what is contained in the compass of Man's Duty required For there is no Perfection but what is regulated by the Will of God which is the Rule of Man's Duty Luke 17. 10. When ye shall have done all these things that are commanded you say We are unprofitable Servants we have done that which is our Duty to do The scope of our Saviour is to show that we cannot at any time boast that we have done more than our Duty or what as Servants we were obliged to For whatsoever we do being such it is a Debt to our Master Being bought with a Price we ought to do whatsoever we may glorify God in both with our Souls and our Bodies 1 Cor. 6. ult Phil. 4. 8. Finally Brethren whatsoever things are true whatsoever things are honest whatsoever things are just whatsoever things are pure whatsoever things are lovely whatsoever things are of good report if there be any vertue if there be any praise think on these things What good Work or Action can there be which is not contained in this Command of the Apostle There are some things indeed which in themselves nakedly considered are indifferent and do not come under any Command Such are Marriage and single Life c. But then the observation of them nakedly in themselves is indifferent too and not a Perfection But in certain Times for certain Ends when the glory of God the State of the Church the Edification of our Brethren or our own Necessity require it that which is indifferent in it self nakedly considered and under no Command as it is clothed with these Circumstances then becomes necessary and a down-right Duty as far as it can be conceived conducible to those Ends. And this is the State of things mentioned by the Apostle 1 Cor. 7. And the mistake in this Matter ariseth from not distinguishing between an universal Law that obligeth all and that which obligeth only some Persons in some Circumstances Both these are Laws the violation of which is Sin whereas the latter have been misunderstood for meer Counsels Now then if a Man can do no good Work but if it be good it is his Duty to do by one Command or other then he can have no proper merit at all and much less can he merit for others by doing his own Duty And it is strange to consider indeed that a Man who is not absolutely perfect according to the Law should yet be able to do above the perfection of the Law. And that that is the Case is plain whatsoever is pretended to the contrary For 1 King. 8. 46. There is no Man that sinneth not Prov. 20. 9. Who can say My Heart is clean I am
XXVIII That those Masses are to be approved and commended where the Priest communicates alone 172 XXIX That the Sacrament is to be administred in one kind only and the use of the Cup kept from the People 175 Some Prejudices of the Church of Rome answered Sect. 1. They accuse our Doctrine of Novelty 181 2. They say we had no Call 184 3. They Object to us the Divisions that are amongst the Reformed 188 That there are some Places more Holy than others and that it is a Work of Piety to go in Pilgrimage to them 192 That the Sacraments do confer Grace by the Work done 196 Of the Holy Scripture and Traditions CHAP. I. That all saving-Truth is not contained in the Holy Scripture but partly in the Scripture and partly in unwritten Traditions which whosoever doth not receive with the like Piety and Reverence as he does the Scriptures is accursed Concil Trident. Sess 4. Decret de Can. Script COntrary to that which is written in the second Epistle to Timothy Chap. 3. vers 15. The holy Scriptures are able to make thee wise unto Salvation through Faith which is in Christ Jesus That which is able to make us wise unto Salvation contains in it all saving Truth that is all that is necessary to be known in order to Salvation For how else can it make us wise to Salvation How can the Holy Scripture make us wise unto Salvation if it doth not contain all saving Truth or all that is necessary to be known in order to Salvation Vers 16 17. All Scripture is given by inspiration of 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 Mow if the Man of God who is to instruct others and to declare to them the whole Counsel of God so far as is necessary for their attainment of Salvation be perfectly instructed for the discharge of his Duty from the Scripture then the Scripture must needs contain all saving Truth or all that is necessary to be known both by him and every particular Christian in order to Salvation And note that it is not our part to show what those Scriptures then were which the Apostle here intends they being confessedly the same which are still contained in the Canon of it But whatever they were it is plain from the Apostle that there is no saving Truth but what is contained in them which yet doth not derogate from the usefulness of those Books which were added to the Canon afterwards whatever they were they being useful however as Comments upon the former to clear up what was before less clearly delivered or to declare some Truths of less necessary importance though all that was necessary to Salvation was delivered before So that we must needs apprehend the Scripture as it is now to be a compleat Rule of Faith without taking in any thing of unwritten Tradition to piece it up or compleat it Before Divine Doctrine was committed to writing Men had no other Rule but natural Light or immediate Revelation or Tradition of what was before made known And when the Lives of Men were long Divine Doctrine might better be conveighed this way than it can be now And in our Saviour's the Apostles Time this might serve the turn for the present Age in which there was a continuation of extraordinary Gifts and especially to the immediate Auditors of these inspired Persons But in the shorter Age of Men this was not thought a safe or sufficient means to conveigh down Divine Doctrine to the following Ages And therefore it was thought more expedient to put down in writing what was to be made known to after-Ages for the more sure preservation of all such Truths from Corruption and to be a standing Rule to which they might have recourse upon all occasions Thus God himself wrote the Ten Commandments in Tables of Stone And Moses by God's direction wrote the Law as the Prophets afterwards did their several Prophecies or a brief Summary of them For it is said 2 Tim. 3. 16. All Scripture is given b◠inspiration of God. And sometimes we find express direction for the writing of some things which were to be transmitted to future Ages As Exod. 17. 14. Write this for a Memorial in a Book And Isa 30. 8. Now go write it before them in a Table and note it in a Book that it may be for the Time to come for ever and ever And Psal 102. 18. This shall be written for the Generation to come Whereby is intimated the great need of writing then to conveigh a certain notice of things to future Ages and which implies the Incompetency and Insufficiency of Tradition for that purpose And when once it had pleased God to commit the Holy Rule to writing we find the Scripture commended for a perfect Direction Psal 19. 7. The Law of the Lord is perfect converting the Soul. And Tradition is no where commended or any order given to have recourse to it in any case but to the Holy Scripture alone Thus Isa 8. 20. To the Law and to the Testimony if they speak not according to this Word it is because there is no Light in them Thus Joshua was directed to govern himself in all his Actions by the same Holy Rule and therein should prosper and do wisely Josh 1. 7. That thou mayst observe to do according to all the Law which Moses my Servant commanded thee Turn not from it to the right hand or to the left And vers 8. This Book of the Law shall not depart out of thy mouth but thou shalt meditate therein day and night that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein The same also did Joshua prescribe to his Successors Chap. 23. 6. And the King when he sat upon the Throns of his Kingdom was to write him a Copy of this Law in a Book and read therein all the days of his life Deut. 17. 18 19. And this was the way to have him prosperous and to prolong his days Here is nothing at all left to Tradition nor any recourse to be had to it but to the written Law alone intimated as perfect to all the intents and purposes of a good and holy Life There were no other Ordinances to be observed but what were contained in the Law which forbad all Additions Deut. 4. 2. Ye shall not add unto the Word which I command you neither shall you diminish from it So again Chap. 12. 32. so Prov. 30. 6. Add thou not unto his Words lest he reprove thee and thou be found a 〈◊〉 For this the Children of Israel were condemned Jer. 32. 35. that they built the high Places of Baal to consecrate their Sons and their Daughters unto Molech which I commanded them not The Reformation of the Church therefore under Jehoshaphat that good King was made by the Scripture That was their Rule alone 2 Chron.
the dispensing out of these superabounding Merits and Satisfactions to others is a vain thing For this is to pretend to give that that is not than which what can be more vain And consequently to sell about these Indulgences for Mony and thereby to give People hope of Pardon of their Sins is both to cheat and deceive their Souls and pick their Pockets by pretending to sell to them that that is not But suppose there were such a Treasury why must the Pope be the Dispenser Why should it not be supposed that that is left in the hands of Christ Jesus alone who is only able to discern who are fit to have benefit thereby and who hath the Key of David who openeth and no Man shutteth and who shutteth and no Man openeth Rev. 3. 7. But whatsoever Satisfactious or Merits even of Christ himself any Person hath share in Surely these are not to be sold by Mony nor hath any one an application thereof made to him by such a Traffick but upon his Faith and Repentance alone which Christ alone and not Man can judg of the sincerity of and accordingly apply the Benefits of his Redemption Indulgences of Canonical Penance in the Church upon the humiliation and submission of the Penitents are allowed But Indulgences to dispense an imaginary Treasury of imaginary Satisfactions and there to be bought by Mony or some very slight Performances are a bold and unaccountable rashness and presumption CHAP. XIX That there is a Purgatory or place of Torment after this Life for the expiation of the Sins of good Men that are not sufficiently purged here And that the Souls there detained are help'd by the Masses Prayers Alms and other good Works of the Living Council of Trent Sess 6. Can. 30. Sess 25. Decret de Purgat THE Foundation upon which this Doctrine of Purgatory is built is That there is a Debt of Temporal Punishment remaining to be paid even by those that are absolved and in a state of Grace tho the Eternal Punishment be forgiven And that every Man therefore must undergo these Temporal Pains in proportion to his Sins Christ having not at all satisfied for them And if this be not done in this Life that then it must be done in the next in Purgatory before a Man can have entrance into Heaven Now this having been refuted before and it having been proved that Christ hath satisfied fully for all our Sins and that we have compleat and perfect Remission of Sin through the free Grace of God upon the account alone of Christ's meritorious Satisfaction and so that there is no proper Satisfaction to be made by us for Sin at all the Foundation upon which Purgatory is built is taken away And all those Texts serve to the refuting of it which are before produc'd to prove the compleatness of our Saviour's Satisfaction and of the free Remission of our Sins upon it But yet if it were admitted that there were a reserve of some proper Satisfactory Punishments which God may think fit to inflict upon some Men in some Cases here yet unless it could be proved that this were a perpetual Ordinance and perpetually observed by God it would not signify any thing to the purpose of what is intended And yet if this were admitted likewise that it were perpetually so here yet what is this to prove a Purgatory hereafter For who can tell but for such Punishments as are to be undergone it may be all done here unless God reveals to us to the contrary But there being neither one nor other of these things proved but the contrary rather appearing we cannot otherwise think of Purgatory but that 't is a fond Thing vainly invented Moreover 't is directly contrary to all those Texts of Scripture that assert the Happiness and Rest of the Saints after this Life As Isa 57. 1 2. The Righteous is taken away from the Evil to come He shall enter into Peace they shall rest in their Beds Is this to be taken away from the Evil to come to be put into a condition where they must undergo heavier Is that to enter into Peace and to be at Rest to be burning in Fire seven times hotter than ours and which differs from that in Hell in nothing but in respect of duration Rev. 14. 13. Blessed are the Dead that die in the Lord from henceforth that they may rest from their Labours and their Works do follow them that is their good Works in the gracious Reward that is given them not their Sins and Punishments Now all the Faithful that die die in the Lord Rom. 14. 5. So that they all rest from their Labours But to be tormented in burning Fire sure that is not to rest from their Labours but to be put to worse In the Book of Wisdom which the Church of Rome holds for Canonical and therefore cannot deny its Testimony Chap. 3. 1. it is said The Souls of the Righteous are in the Hand of God and there shall no torment touch them What can be more express John 5. 24. Our saviour says Verily verily I say unto you That he who heareth my Word and believeth on him that sent me hath eternal Life and shall not come into condemnation but is passed from Death to Life Note that it is not said That he who believeth in Jesus Christ shall pass from Death unto Torment but he that shall pass from Death to Life that is a blessed Life for the other would be to pass from Death to Death at least for a while Therefore 2 Cor. 5. 1. We know saith the Apostle that if our earthly House of this Tabernacle were dissolved we have a Building of God an House not made with Hands eternal in the Heavens It is not Purgatory then or a Place of Torment that the Saints remove into when they remove from their Bodies And therefore saith he vers 2. In this we groan earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our House which is from Heaven But if Death were followed with Torment so horrible as those are represented to be which are in Purgatory there would be reason rather for one to be affrighted at it and to fly from it than to desire it with so much ardour and earnestness and to wish to continue in this present state of Life still for fear of the worst Yet again vers 6 7 8. Whilst we are at home in the Body we are absent from the Lord and are willing rather to be absent from the Body and to be present with the Lord. Implying that that would be presently upon the leaving the Body Now our Lord sure is in Heaven and not in Purgatory Therefore so shall the Saints be also when they die Hence saith the Apostle Phil. 1. 21. To me to live is Christ and to die is Gain But according to the Romish Church to die is a damage to us The fear of Purgatory may make the best Men fearful of dying But vers 23. I am in a
great strait betwixt two desiring to be dissolved and to be with Christ which is far better This implies that he did not doubt but it would be so But if there were a Purgatory to pass through first it would be far better to abide longer in the Body For though St. Paul had less Sin than others yet it cannot be denied but he might have some venial Sins And if there must be Punishment undergon by way of satisfaction for these Sins equivalent to the Fire of Hell as that in Purgatory is said to be though he did undergo more Crosses and Afflictions than others yet ye did not undergo those that were equivalent to the Fire of Hell and how could he be sure then but that he also must enter into Purgatory first before he pass into Heaven and then one would think he should have little Heart to desire to be dissolved But he doth not fear any of this And note that the Apostle speaks of the Happiness in the next Life in common in the plural number as belonging to all the Saints and not as a special Priviledg to himself alone So 2 Tim. 4. 8. Henceforth there is laid up for me a Crown of Righteousness which the Lord the Righteous Judg shall give me at that day that is the day of his departure out of this Life vers 6. And then mark Not to me only but unto all them also that love his appearing Luke 23. 43. Our Saviour said to the believing Thief on the Cross This day shalt thou be with me in Paradise He doth not say when thou shalt have been some Years in Purgatory I will receive thee into Paradise but this day c. Now Paradise is acknowledged to be the Seat of the Blessed not a place of Torment And yet there was no Person that could deserve more to be sent to such a place than the Thief having had no time to do Penance for any of his Sins For if to suffer Death for his Sins was a sufficient Satisfaction then it were best for every Man to desire to suffer such a Death or worse For the pains of the worst of Deaths are much easier it seems than those of Purgatory But is it not indeed very strange that God should forgive Men the Eternal Punishment due to the worst and most mortal Sins for the sake of Christ's Satisfaction and yet exact so severe a Punishment for Sins in their own nature Venial which may be so easily remitted that God should do the greater and yet that he should not do the less When yet it must needs be owned that Christ hath offered a Satisfaction enough for all if it be but applied As for those places that are pretended to prove a Purgatory 1 Cor. 3. 13 15. There we read of Fire indeed and that is all but not one word of Purgatory-Fire It is the Fire of the Day of Judgment is there meant which is eminently in Scripture called the Day and is that indeed which shall be revealed by Fire 2 Thess 1. 7 8. And it is the Works of Men there that shall be burnt that is their false Doctrines which are but Hay and Stubble when the Trial comes But it doth not speak of the burning of their Persons that hold the Foundation who are not to be burnt but saved yet so as by Fire which is only a phrase to express the doing of a thing with great difficulty Zech. 3. 2. see a like phrase Jude 23. As for Mat. 12. 32. it speaketh of the greatest of Sins the Sin against the Holy Ghost which shall never be forgiven and so that Phrase signifies neither in this nor in the World to come that is not at all So Mark 3. 29. it is exprest He hath never forgiveness but is in danger of eternal damnation or that Phrase may signify that that great Sin should not be forgiven in the Times of the Messiah or under the Gospel which is sometimes exprest by the World to come Heb. 2. 5. 6. 5. when the Jews expected that greater Sins should be forgiven than could be expiated by Levitical Sacrifices Or if Sins be said to be forgiven in the World to come what is that but at the Day of Judgment when the actual deliverance of the Just from Punishment and their final acquittal may be not improperly called the full remission of their Sins What is this to Purgatory where Sins are not forgiven but punish'd Mat. 5. 26. They shall not come out thence till they have paid the uttermost Farthing that is never but must abide in Hell for ever Hell is mentioned vers 22 29 30. And divers degrees of Punishments intimated there with allusion to the different degrees inflicted in the Jewish Courts but not one word of Purgatory As for 1 Pet. 3. 19 20. those Spirits there said to be disobedient were not saved at all as it is pretended they shall be out of Purgatory And the Prison that they are said to be in doth not signify Purgatory as if Christ then by his Spirit preach'd to them there But by his Spirit in Noah he preach'd to a disobedient World though his preaching did then no good their Souls being then as it were by Lust and Sin enslaved and imprisoned in their Bodies and are now lying in the Prison of Hell for all this Now then if there be no Purgatory or place of Torment in the next Life for just Men to the end pretended then likewise Prayers or Masses and Alms for them are vain things to the end proposed viz. in order to the deliverance out of it If there be no such thing then these things that have relation to it can be of no use And yet if there were a Purgatory for expiation of Sins and for satisfaction for temporal Punishments due to them how doth it appear that Prayer for those in that State will help them out of it or who can tell but that they must continue there if they be there till the Day of Judgment As for the supererrogating meritorious Works of the Living and their availableness to deliver their dead Friends out of Purgatory it is after proved likewise that there are no such Works But yet if they were how should they be available to get them out of it when the superabundant Merits and Satisfactions of Christ were not available to prevent their going in If others Satisfactions and Merits might be of use to them in Purgatory one would think Christ's should have kept them out But if Christ's Satisfactions could not help them but they must satisfy for themselves how should the Saints good Works upon Earth help them This is the great Doctrine with the Appendages of it that brings in so great Wealth to Rome and therefore no wonder it is so stifly retained though among all the Directions that are given about Prayer up and down the Scripture there is not any where the least intimation of any direction for praying for the Dead or of