Council Nice We do not offer worship to the matter as Wood or Stone or painting in colours but through these being brought to the person represented by them we give due honour to him knowing accordingly that the respect to the Image passes to him who is represented by it Chap. 9. Proving that Man hath Free Will to do Good or not to do it contrary to the Opinion of Protestants DId those men which deny this point of Faith but admit in the height of their passions either of reason or consideration they would blush for shame when they shewed them what Traytors they are to themselves in robbing their natures of one prime quality which God hath given them for an ornament to the same for take from man his free-will and you may turn him like a Nebuchadnezzar amongst the beasts for God by Miracle can make him do good actions in that form and nature but for the want of prudent considering the actions of their lives they run into as many disorders as their giddy fancies pleases to suggest to them but this is the misery of most men that when the Devil tempts them to these evils they will not resist but entertain all and amongst al his hellish deceits he hath none that takes more with weak understandings then this sly trick of his seeming to attribute all to God as he tempts Hereticks to believe that Angels must not be reverenced nor Saints respected nor prayed too but all to God which is his devillish slight to hinder that service to God as I proved before and that all mens good works done by Gods holy Grace are sinful and merit nothing onely to hinder and make men carefuless to do such good works and that man hath no free-will onely to make man idle and not strive to imploy those graces that God hath been pleased to bestow upon us so that did all men but once discover these tricks of Satan we should easily see that God is honoured by these things because they are his gifts and benefits which he hath been pleased to bestow on us to enrich our souls and make us more capable of serving him The truth of this shall be as plainly proved by Scripture and Reason as any thing before treated of that so we may lay open the shameful hypocrisie of those that work their self-ends from ignorant people meerly through the blinde pretence of Scripture which being so done you will finde hem rotten at the very heat And first of all concerning Cain where God tells him Gen. 4. v. 7. If thou do well shalt thou not be accepted and if thou dost not well sin lyeth at thy door so here it is plain that God left it to his choice to do well or not to do it Again God said unto Moses Behold I will rain bread from Heaven Exod. 16. v. 4. and the people shall go out and gather it every day that I may prove them whether they will walk in my way or no now if they had not had a free-will why should God say he owuld try them so that you see God left them to their free-will to see whether they would serve him better or no. Again God saith to them in Deuteronomy Deut. 11. v. 26. Behold I set before you a blessing and a curse a blessing if you will obey the Commandments of your God and a curse if you will not obey Now consider that as this is plainly and truly Gods word so plainly and truly doth it show free-will to be in man Again God saith to them in the same Book Chap. 28. v. 1.2 If you will hearken diligently to the voice of the Lord thy God to keep all his Commandments I will set thee on high above all the Nations and so tells them how many sorts of blessing he will bestow upon them if they will keep his Commandments but if they would no Ver. 15. he tells them how many curses should light upon them And in the same Book again he saith to them in a very strange manner I call heaven and earth to record this day against you Chap. 30. v. 19. that I have set before you life and death blessing and cursing therefore choose life that thou and thy seed may live I might justly stand amazed here at these Texts of Gods word and admire with what face men can say they believe the Bible and not tremble when they say so considering how they deny this free-will in man which God hath given him and other principles of Christian Religion proved before for here we see God himself layes it before us and leaves it to us and what would we have God do more unless he should work Miracles daily and we lye like beasts or stones and do nothing The same did God offer to David by his Prophet Gad saying 2 sam 24. v. 12. God and say unto David thus saith the Lord I offer thee three things choose the one of them that I might do it unto thee Now here God would not execute his Justice on David till he had chosen what punishment he would himself that might be most for his good And to his Son Solomon God saith likewise 1 King 6. v. 12. If thou wilt walk in my Statutes and execute my Judgements and keep all my Commandments then will I perform my word with thee by all which is still more plain that Solomon had a free-will Now though this that hath been said might serve sufficiently to convince those that have held the contrary and desire to imbrace the truth of Gods word in reality yet I will proceed for their further satisfaction and knowledg of the truth in this point and first out of the Gospel of Saint Matthew where our Saviour cryes out Mat. 23. v. 37. O Jerusalem Jerusalem how often would I have gathered you together as a hen doth her Chickens but you would not see here how Christ complains of them because they would not imploy their wills in his holy service as he would have had them done for saith he I would but you would not and in another place he saith I thou wilt enter into life keep the Commandments so that in every place it is referred to our free-will to do and not to do any good action as is plain by all these places of Scripture by which you may see what folly they are guilty of that say we have none or that it takes away the honour from God which can no wayes be for since we say that free-will in us is a gift from God and the good actions we do by that will is inspired into us by God then is God the Original of all and we onely the instruments of doing it or not doing it for we all know that God often inspires us to good actions which we never do to our shame we may say it and that he would have us to do them is clear or else he would not inspire us
ravening Wolves But again our Saviour saith in Saint Marks Gospel Mark 10. v. 29 30. There is no man that hath left house or lands or Wife and Children for my sake and the Gospels but he shall receive an hundred fold here and in the world to come eternal life Thus in many places is this truth made so clear to us by Christ himself that I hope none will be so much an Infidel as to practice the contrary But further to show you this truth observe this notable place concerning this point where our Saviour speaking concerning the general day of Judgement declares for what causes some are saved and some damned for to the just he saith Mat. 25. v. 34. Come ye blessed of my Father inherit the Kingdom prepared for you and then in the next verse he tells them for what causes they are made eternally happy Ver. 35. For I was a hungry and you gave me meat I was thirsty and you gave me drink naked and you clothed me c. And the reasons why them on his left hand received the sentence of hell fire was because they did not do these good works which the other had done Ver. 41 42. and so as the just by good deeds had obtained heaven so the wicked by their evil ones had obtained hell Now I verily think that if a Heathen or Jew should read this Book they would say it was rather made for instructing them in the Faith of Christ then for those that profess themselves Christians and to believe the Bible and yet to deny all this thus proved by the Bible Now having proved this by the words of Christ we will see what Saint Paul his Apostle saith who I will warrant you is of the same minde as you shall see by his words to the Corinthians 1 Cor. 3. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour by which words it is plain that every man shall receive his reward according as he hath himself deserved And in the second to Timothy he saith I have fought the good fight I have kept the faith Chap. 4. v. 7.8 henceforth is laid up for me a crown of righteousness which God the righteous judge will give me at that day and to all that love his appearing Now here we see that Saint Paul knew his reward for those good works and declares that all that loves Gods appearing shall be rewarded at the last day And more in his Epistle to the Hebrews Heb. 6. v. 10. he speaks to the purpose in this point That God is not unrighteous to forget you work and labour of love which ye have shewed towards his name in that ye have ministred to the Saints Now you may perceive St. Pauls Opinion which was that it would seem unjust in God if he should not reward our good works but as certain it is that God cannot be unjust so is it as certain that he will reward our good deeds done in communion with his Church which if our works did not deserve or merit we should receive no reward at all but on the contrary receive an eternal punishment Again Saint John Evangelist saith in the Revelation Rev. 3. v. 4. To him that shall overcome shall thus be invested in white Garments and I will not put his name out of the Book of Life and I will confess his name before my Father and before his Angels And again Ver. 12. He that shall overcome I will make him a pillar in the Temple of my God and he shall go out no more And in another place he saith Ver. 21. To him that shall overcome will I grant to sit with me in my Throne I might and could produce many more places out of holy Scripture to this purpose but they that will not believe these will not care for ten thousand proofs made against their perverse principles but I will onely advise those that have any care of their salvation to consider first what Gods word which is truth it self declares to them And secondly what the practise of our Church is in this and other points of Religion and how agreeable to the same word as is clearly shown for in reason onely is this apparent to all Christians that if God as he doth inspire us to do all our good works then must needs those works be meritorious because God inspired them to be done and hath promised to reward the doing of them according to that of Saint John Be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee a crown of life Rev. 22. v. 12. And behold I come quickly and my reward is with me to give every man according to his work Chap. 11. Proving that Gods Church cannot Erre in her Doctrine of Religion and so may be trusted in by every Christian contrary to Protestants opinion DID the Adversaries of Gods Church but consider with themselves what authority and courage and order it hath exercised for this sixteen hundred years they would surely conclude that no government but that of Gods holy Spirit could ever perform the like for by its authority it hath alwayes supprest and beaten down Heresies and by her courage overcome all the torments and sufferings her enemies could invent to lay upon her and by her Order hath ever retained in her Members one uniform Faith and Obedience in all places where her Doctrine hath been spread which if it be granted or can be proved that Gods Holy Spirit is at all times with his Church to direct her in her Doctrine I hope none will deny but that then she is infallible and so cannot possibly be capable of Errour and that it is so shall be made manifestly to appear if you will believe Christ himself who cannot deceive us where in Saint Johns Gospel telling his Disciples that he must go to his heavenly Father to prepare them places at length he gives them and his whole Church this Consolation And I will pray the Father and he shall give you another comforter that he may abide with you for ever John 14. v. 16. Now we all know that the Apostles were not to remain for ever upon earth for they are dead and gone so that this promise of Christ was to them and his Church after them which is to remain to the end of the world and in the next verse he tells them who this comforter shall be Even the Spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive Now I would fain know how Gods Church can Erre in what she declares to us of Faith Ver. 17. when Gods Holy Spirit is with it And again But the Comforter Ver. 26. which is the Holy Ghost whom the Father will send in my Name he shall teach you all things Now we may be sure that since the Holy Ghost is to teach the Church all things there can be nothing but Truth taught
Now God having done his part in inspiring of us he leaves us then to our free-wills to do it or not to do it as Saint Paul saith concerning his chastity I could wish that all men were as I am but if men had not free-wills to be so it were in vain for him to wish any such thing Of all the evil opinions that are held by men there is none so sensless and unreasonable as this for I would demand of them that deny it wherefore they go to hear Sermons if they have not a free-will to do what is there urged to them by the Preacher and wherefore they read the Bible if they have not a will to do what is there commanded for it is not the bare reading of it will save their souls why do they chide and beat their Children and Servants for not going to Church and serving God if they have not a free-will to do it why have they persecuted Catholicks for not coming to their Churches if they had not a free-will to do so and to what purpose should God give us his Laws to keep and threaten us with damnation if we keep them not if we had no free-will to keep them and no man would think it otherwise then unreasonable if a King should command him to do a thing and threaten him with death if he did it not and he had no will nor power to do it But I would have those men know that God is too merciful in his nature then everlastingly to punish us for that which lyes not in our power to do and that at this rate they would make God a Tyrant over us that is so infinitely good to our souls and bodies And lastly why are men punished and hanged and quartered by the Law of Justice for their evil deeds if they had not had a free-will to have done otherwise all these punishments would be unreasonably inflicted and no man deserves any punishment for the worst of crimes if he had no free-will to do that which is good and the greatest sinner in the world might at the Day of Judgement demand of God what reason he hath to damn him for doing ill if he never had enjoyed a free will to have done good And now having as I think fully proved this verity I shall proceed to another subject as plainly declared in Scripture as this and so conclude with this truth that certainly God would never have commanded us to walk in conformity to his will if we have not free-will to perform it Chap. 10. Proving that good Works done in the state of Grace are Meritorious contrary to Protestants Opinion WEre the mindes of men to be searched into and known one by the other it would plainly appear that the tongues of many speak far contrary then what nature hath imprinted upon their hearts and that for some interest or other they give their consciences the lye rather then they will yield from their obstinate opinions for to contradict the merit or desert of good works plainly showes they speak against that which they would not be deprived of themselves so plainly is it agreeable to our natures to expect it and in Scripture often promised to us as shall be made appear And first from our Saviour himself in Saint Matthews Gospel where showing to us how we should deal our almes in secret Matth 6. v. 4. And thy Father saith he which seeth thee in secret himself shall reward thee openly so here is a promise of our Saviour that almes done in secret shall be rewarded if we dare to take his word for it by which it is plain that they merit that reward from God yet not as they barely proceed from us neither for it is Gods godness to inspire the doing of them in us and his gift too in making them meritorious and in the want of this distinction lies the subtilty of Satan and our adverries who make poor souls believe that Papists as they call them trust to their merits so far as not having any need of Christs Merits think to be saved barely by their own but when such untruths as these are be-preachâ— to the people from pulpits as my own knowledge can verifie and many thousands more it is no wonder the common people have prejudicate Opinions against Catholicks But to undeceive them again I will set down the general Decree of Gods Church concerning this point Coun. Trent God forbid that any Christian should hope in trust in his own Merits but in the Merits of Jesus Christ whose goodness is so great to mankinde that those things that are his Benefits he will have to be our Merits by which it is apparent that we do not nor ought not to attribute any merit as they proceed from us barely but as being the gifts of God which is pleased to accept of good works from us and out of his goodness reward them as he hath promised he will But now to Scripture and see what we can gather more from thence where in Saint Matthew our Saviour showing how hard it was for a rich man to enter into heaven because he could not leave the things of this world Matth. 19. v. 27.28 Saint Peter cryes out Behold we have forsaken all and when shall we have so that it is evident he expected a reward from our Saviour and in the next verse he tells them what their reward should be That when the Son of man comes to sit in his glory they should sit upon twelve Thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel and as this shows the bounty of Christ in rewarding them so highly so it shows likewise that their good works in following of Christ and suffering for him had served it so far as was possible in men to do Again we read of St. Mary Magdalen pouring a box of Oyntment on our Blessed Saviours head which being murmured at by his Disciples he said unto them Matth. 26 v. 7 10. Why trouble ye the woman she hath wrought a good work upon me and then he declares her reward which was that so far as the Gospel was to be preached Ver. 13. should her fame be spread conformable to this our Saviour in Saint Marks Gospel saith to his Disciples Mark 9. v. 41. that whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name because ye belong to Christ Verily I say unto you he shall not lose his reward Now what can be more true then this when our Saviour himself so often doth promise rewards for good works done in his name and for his sake and let every Christian consider whether they are not bound to believe him before those that tell them the contrary who plainly contradict Christ and his holy Gospel and yet forsooth these men make you believe their zeal is so hot to Christ that they will give all to him to make you believe they deny themselves but these are such who as our Saviour saith are
and so consequently are in a very dangerous state as to the salvation of their souls Our Saviour doth further demonstrate this extent of his Church by the similitude of a grain of Mustard-seed Mark 4. v. 31 32. which being at first very small it groweth to a great tree so that the fowls of the aire makes their nests therein even so the Church was at first very small but now it is so spread over the face of the earth that all men may make their nests that is come into her Communion and be secure of their salvation living according to her holy commands which you see are agreeable to the Divine Word of God Again Christ saith speaking of the visibility of his Church in the world A City set upon a hill cannot be hid Mat. 5. v. 14 15. neither do men light a Candle and put it under a Bushel but on a Candlestick and it giveth light to all in the house Now this light that Gods Church was to give by this here spoken by our Saviour is not at all seen to forreign parts by any Church but the Roman Catholick who hath the light of her Doctrine as far extended as the Sun hath his beams when all others being but in Corners at home can give no light at all to any which clearly shows none of them can be Gods Church but of the Synagogue of Satan for they have none of the marks of the true Church so plainly set down in Scripture as to be Catholick or Universal and to be visible in all Ages to be at union and peace one with another to convert Nations and several others which they have none for instead of universality and being spread all over the world many of them will not make ten Parishes in ten Kingdoms and the best of them scarce a whole Kingdom in the whole world and instead of being visible to all ages the names of Protestants Presbyterians Independents Anabaptists and the rest were never heard of a hundred and sixty years past and as for their union in Faith which Christ left his Church as a mark I leave to all people to judge how much that belongs to any of them that have seen and known these twenty years confusion about Religion for Saint Paul saith of the Church of God If any man be contentious we have no such custome And for their converting of Nations I am sure they will not boast of that themselves since they never did any By all this it is plain that as the Roman Church hath all these properties so she must be and is this onely true Catholick and Apostolick or none at all and from her must we receive our Faith according to that of our Creed I believe in the Holy Ghost the Holy Catholick Church so that they that deny the Church to be Catholick or the Catholick Church do plainly deny their own Bibles and the Apostles Creed which are the Articles of our Faith But having said enough on this subject for all reasonable people I will conclude with that saying of St. Augustine Augustin tract 1. in Ep. Joan For albeit particular hills in one Countrey may be unknown in another yet saith he a Mountain that passeth throughout all Countreyes and filleth up the whole world as Daniel Prophefied the Church of Christ should do cannot but be apparent to the sight of all men Dan. 2. v. 44 45. but onely of such as illingly shut their eyes from the sight thereof Chap. 14. Proving that Fasting on certain Dayes commanded by Gods Church to be lawful and good contrary to the Opinion of Protestants HAd Almighty God when he created man a reasonable creature to do his will and to live in sobriety and temperance made him an Epicure and designed him for no other purpose he could not have lived either in more contempt or less practice of this Divine Vertue then the people of our Age do who indeed look upon all the rare Examples and holy Institutions of our Blessed Saviour as things indifferent and of no concern at all to them nay are so far from the practice of them themselves that they deride and scorn those that do as if it were a crime to be vertuous or to follow the examples and commands of our Saviour who in many places of his holy word hath exhorted us to the good work of Fasting as very necessary to subdue our sensual appetites and to obtain heaven This will evidently appear if you confult with Holy Writ where we shall first see our Saviours great example in fasting forty dayes and forty nights Mat. 4. v. 2 and I would gladly know wherefore he did so if not for our example of a good life for he never committed sin and therefore did not require to do any such thing for punishment and I think no man will say he did it for pleasure by which it is plain that he fasted for our example but the common objection is can you fast as Christ did if not to what purpose is yours done he fasted forty dayes can you do so and thus people would fain slip their necks out of the nooze for I would ask them wherefore was Christ humble and meek why did he pray and watch and weep why was he patient and courteous to all but onely for our example that we should imitate him and shall we not strive to do any of these vertues but slight them all because we cannot do them with that perfection as Christ did them is not this meer madness to think but let such people know that as it is impossible for the best of us to do them with exactness as he did so God doth not require it from us but to the utmost of our powers we are bound to practise them and so we are this Christian act of fasting the force and power of which Mat. 17. v. 21. as our Saviour saith Casteth out some sorts of Devils which being so we may very well think that God cannot but be pleased with the doing of it and we may justly imagine that the Apostles were strict observers of this rule for Saint Paul in his counsel that he gave to Timothy bids him to mingle a little wine with his water for his healths sake 1 Tim. 5. v. 23. which plainly shows that he chiefly abstain'd from strong drink drinking onely water and so it is said of St. John Baptist that his meat was locusts and wilde honey which was very hard food for nourishing the body in any delights but rather served as they designed them for mortification and that is the onely cause that Gods Church commands her Children to fast and abstain from meat that they may in some measure break their own wills and mortifie their fleshly members that they may be more conformable to Gods will and better disposed to his holy service It would be too tedious to set down all places of holy Scripture to prove this as the often fasting
Interpreter he would never have caused Saint Paul in his Epistle to command us to obey our Pastours whom he hath placed to rule over us and saith he Submit your selves Heb. 13.17 for they watch for your sols and shall give an account for you It is a wonder that this Text iâ— not blotted out by all self-conceiteâ— people or that they do not deny it to be good Scripture as they do many other places for if as St. Paul saith here we must obey our Pastours that is those that teach the true Faith of Gods Church why then we must forsake our own fancies in expounding hard places of Scripture because God hath given it in their charge to do that and put us into their charge too to be guided by them for saith the Text Submit to them and how do we that when we scorn them and submit to none but our own will quite contrary to Gods holy word which one day will be the onely witness against such kinde of men and since Saint Paul tells us that they watch over our souls and shall give an account for us who is it but those that are blinde doth not see that we are bound in conscience to submit to their judgements But the common peevish objection by many people is shall I pin my faith upon any mans sleeve or cannot I know and understand the Bible my self it is plain enough and thus poor souls are miserably cheated by the subtilty of Satan for this snare catches thousands for it is the very same that caught our first Parents for he made them believe that they should be as wise as God Gen. 3. ver 5. to know good and evil and so he leads these kinde of men to their desruction by telling them they may be as wise as their Pastors if they read the Bible they shall know the meaning as well as they and so these hellish suggestions passeth currant with them for the spirit that telleth them the meaning of all for the Devil well knoweth that if he possesseth any with self-conceit he has done his work And now I have discovered this great abuse that is put upon many men I will prosecute the remedy and declare what we is best to be taken to know those hard places in Scripture and the true sense of them First we are to renounce our own judgements which may easily deceive us and resign our selves to Gods Church which cannot for since we are sure that God ever had in the world a Visible Church and that this Church cannot not erre as I have proved before because the Holy Ghost is the guider of it what better way can any man possibly devise then by submitting his Faith to Gods Church for if we do so we do what God commands us and then we discharge our duty which if they that are in the visible Government of it teach us any thing that they ought not to do they shall answer it it to God and not we for we are in their charge and they must give an account for us as St. Paul before tell us and let any man in reason judge if there were no command for it by God whether it be not more secure to stand to the uniform judgement of one hundred thousand grave Doctors in Gods Church which all agree in one exposition of the Bible now and with all that hath gone before that were of the same Church then with their own private spirit or to relye upon those that cannot agree amongst themselves but ar ein continual contest one with another And for our further assurance and security we shall have by resigning our selves to the Church we are to consider that as Gods Church is guarded by his power from the Gates of Hell ever having any power over it so we as Members of it can never fall from our Faith as long as we are so resigned for till then we are continually wavering and unconstant in our mindes as too many by experience findes it true but when we are so settled we have perfect freedom to serve God in that second principle of Christian Religion which is good works I shall onely add one thing to all serious peoples considerations that is why there is so many sorts of Bibles amongst Protestants and all Sectaries and what their design is in it as for example some have all the Books of Scripture and some leave out the Apocraphy as they call it some have Contents to their Chapters and some have not and every translation differs in a thousand places at the least and the reason of it is clear to those that are not willing to be cheated in their souls because every Translator makes them dance after his Pipe that is the Bible he translates shall be sure to favour his pernicious opinions and being taxed with it they all cry the meaning is the same but I would demand of those presumptuous persons how they dare to alter the Scripture either by adding or diminishing since there is a curse pronounced against them that do Rev. 22. v. 18 19. by God himself for since we are all surek that the first Bible that we had for our instruction Deut. 4. v. 2. was writ by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost is it not a high presumption for any man to vary from that and then pretend that the meaning is the same when many times the altering of one Letter mars the sense of a whole Sentence much more when they alter a word nay Sentences themselves to work their own designs as if what God ordained at first had need to be corrected by their wisdoms by which it doth appear that if every Heretick could have his will he would trust out of Scripture all places that make against his principles and yet it would with them be as good Scripture as any and then to interpret that by their own private spirits must needs bring strange confusion both in the knowing which is the true word of God and what the meaning of it is If we consult with holy David we shall finde that he apprehended more difficulty in knowing the word of God then these kinde of men do who saith Give me understanding Psal 119. v. 34. O God and I will search thy Law sure he was as wise as any that pretend so much of the Spirit and yet he would not so much as search into those Mysteries without particular assistance from God So we read that the Eunuch which was a man of great authority under the Queen of Candice and so consequently of great knowledge yet when Saint Philip the Apostle asked him whether he understood what he read out of Isaiah concerning Christ he answered How can I Acts 8.30 31. except some man should guide me and then Philip whose charge it was declared the meaning to him by which we may see that he though a great man was not so presumptuous to interpret Scripture of himself as many do
great Benefice to another not at all considering that if they were true Pastours they should feed Gods Sheep that is go preach in remote places of the world amongst Pagans that know not God as the Apostles did and as Catholick Priests do to this day and as all must do that follow the examples and commands left by Christ or else they cannot be of his sending by which we have very great reason to suspect all these new teachers that lie at home at ease and pleasure and are so far from taking the toil and pains of converting Pagans This is too truly proved by many that dye and never have either Sacraments nor any other comfort from them in their agony of Death that many of them will not stir to a poor person that lies a dying because they cannot receive a golden Recompence Again in the Catholick Church there be many thousands of her Members that are Royally and Nobly Born to great Possessions that quit them all to serve God in strict courses of Religion as Fasting Watching Praying giving Almes and many other bodily Mortifications in Religious Houses where nothing but the Service of God is exalted The vast difference of the two Churches practice Now I would fain know from whence the doing of so much good doth proceed but from the inspiration of God and for to finde one now of any other Religion nobly born or of mean quality to forsake an Estate for the Service of God in their way would be such a miracle as was yet never heard of amongst them nor never will be but on the contrary all people of all conditions take their full career in doing what they please themselves for they will not hear the Church nor Fast nor Pray nor receive the Sacrament but when their fancy pleases and so are let run in a negligent state never to give an account for their sinful actions to the Church at all as God commands we should and so by tis means the flood-gate of all evil is opened for all manner of people to plunge themselves over head ad ears in misery and utter calamity I could enlarge my self in showing the vast difference in many other practices as the beauty and ornaments of Catholick Churches when others are like Barnes in comparison of them the Reverence and Devotion of the Catholick people in them who on their knees adore God whilst others sit at ease some gazing and some asleep with many other practices of the like kinde but this may and will suffice for all those that desire to entertain truth and to minde the salvation of their souls to show clearly which is Gods Church and which is not so that which the Prophet Isaiah foretold is here made good that the Church of God should be a plain way and a direct way so that fools could not erre therein so that all those that itnend at the last day to be separated from the goats must now in this life graze with Gods Sheep that is they must enter into communion with his Catholick Church whereof Christ Jesus is the Head The Conents of the Chapters Chapter 1. Proving the Blessed Sacrament page 1 Chap. 2. Proving Confession to a Priest page 11 Chap. 3. Proving Purgatory page 16 Chap. 4. Proving that none went to Heaven before Christ dyed page 25 Chap. 5. Proving that Angels and Saints know our actions on earth page 31 Chap. 6. Proving it lawful to pray to them page 39 Chap. 7. Proving it lawful to worship them page 52 Chap. 8. Proving the lawfulness of Images page 59 Chap. 9. Proving Free-will in Man to do good page 67 Chap. 10. Proving Good Works to be Meritorious page 76 Chap. 11. Proving that Gods Church cannot Erre page 84 Chap. 12. Proving the Churches Authority in Remission of Sins page 91 Chap. 13. Proving the Churches Vniversality page 98 Chap. 14. Proving the lawfulnesse of Fasting page 108 Chap. 15. Proving the difficulty of understanding Scripture page 114 Chap. 16. Proving the necessity of the Churches Service in one Tongue in all Kingdoms page 126 Chap. 17. Shewing in general the vast difference of both Churches page 137 FINIS
him for so great a good as is this pure Sacrament of his Body and Blood I shall now begin to forsake the Shadows and let the Sun-shine of our happiness appear in clearly proving by the Holy Word of God that we now injoy in reality what they did but prefigure to us And first from the words of Christ himself by Saint Matthews Gospel Mat. 26. v. 26.27 28. where he saith in private to his twelve Disciples onely Take eat this is my Body and drink ye all of it for this is my Blood he names here no Figures but in plain tearms This is my Body and had not our Blessed Saviour meant what he here said he would have expounded his words both for the benefit of his Apostles and all us besides who have no better assurance in any thing for our salvation then his word which is truth it self The second Text is from Saint Marks Gospel where he saith Christ took bread and blest it and said Take eat Mark 14. v. 22. 23 24. this is my body which shall be given for you and so of the Cup he said to them This is my Blood of the New Testament which shall be shed for you now I leave it to all reasonable Christians that are not partial to their own Souls to consider whether Christ did onely in Figure give his Body to dye for us and his Blood in Figure to be shed or his real Body and Blood if he gave them really for us to death he saith here that this is that Body and that same Blood in this Sacrament so that to deny this is to give our Blessed Saviour the flat lye and in refusing of Christs words here may as well shake hands and bid adieu to all points oâ— Christian Faith for that Saint James his Apostle saith That he which breakâ— one Commandment is guilty of all meaning in the not believing of one he may as well not believe any Our Saviour to confirm to us what he told us by the two precedent Apostles hath inspired Saint Luke to publish this great mystery Luke 22. v. 19 20. where in the Text you may finde the same words recited as was before by Saint Mark but above all you shall finde the beloved Disciple more ample in declaring the words of his Master John 6. v. 50 51 52 c. where he saith That the bread which I will give is my flesh which I will give for the life of the world now the Jews wanting faith as too many now adayes do said as Hereticks now do How can this man give us his flesh to eat not understanding what manner Christ meant to bestow it on us Our Saviour who came into the world to lead us into all truth would have opened undoubtedly his meaning to them if he had had any other but he was so far from shewing any other meaning of his words that he reiterates them over and over again saying Except you eat the Flesh of the Son of man and drink his Blood ye have no life in you and so proceeds in the confirmation of what he said before and which is very remarkable his Disciples which followed him and had frequently heard his Doctrine could not comprehend how this great mystery should be brought to pass so distrusting his Godhead Ver. 60 61. wherein his power lay to accomplish it They went away saith the Text and walked no more with him By which every Christian may easily understand that if our Saviour had not meant what he said concerning this Sacrament he would not have suffered his Disciples which he loved so well to have gone away and left him but would have then as he did at other times when he spake parables expounded the meaning but you see he had no other meaning for he sweetly complains to the others and will ye also go away Ver. 67. but St. Peter answers for them that stayed To whom shall we go Ver. 68. thou hast the words of eternal life so that we may understand that they believing in his words stayed behinde with him and would not leave our Saviour as the rest did therefore it concerns every Christian as they tender their salvation to consider what hath been said by our Blessed Saviour concerning this grand Mystery of Christian Religion and not any more to question Christs meaning for since we know he hath often said it is his Body and Blood and we likewise know that it was in his power to make the Bread and Wine so by his Divine Benediction there remains nothing for us to doubt but to humble our Spirits in submitting to our Blessed Saviours Doctrine and to say as Saint Peter did Lord thou hast the words of eternal life And that you may in this great point of Faith receive further satisfaction I shall reduce to your memory the opinion of Saint Paul who you shall see verifies what hath been said before for faith he The Cup of blessing which we bless 1 Cor. 10. v. 16. is it not the Communion of the Blood of Christ and the Bread of blessing which we break is it not the Communion of the body of Christ he names no Figures here nor fancies of we know not what but of Communion of Christs sacred Body and Blood who came into the world to abolish all Figures and out of his immense goodness to leave us his divine self for the consolation of our souls And for our further assurance Saint Paul in his next Chapter treateth more amply and telleth the manner of the institution 1 Cor. 11. v. 24 25 26 27. as you may read in the places cited in his Epistle where likewise he saith That by frequent partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ we shew forth the Lords death Perhaps some will answer it is meant for a remembrance of his Death and of them I would demand what better memorial can there be of any person then to have the said person present for example when our Saviour appeared to Saint Thomas and shewed him his sacred wounds then he remembred him and cryed Thou art my Lord John 20. v. 27 28. and my God and so it is frequently amongst friends that hath been long absent that are forgot one by another till frequent conversation reduces to their memory the knowledge of each other and do commonly say in such cases O! now I remember you So by frequent Communion with Jesus Christ in the Sacrament we have the best memorial his goodness could leave unto us Again he saith That whosoever eateth and drinketh these mysteries unworthily eateth and drinketh his own damnation not discerning the Lords Body so that by these words it is plain there is a Body to be discerned by the eyes of our Faith and as plain that damnation would not follow by eating bare bread and Wine From these so evident places of holy Scripture I hope every good Christian will be induced to the belief of this
great Sacrament and no more question the works of God but conclude with that holy man Thomas de Kempes That if the wonderful works of God were to be understood by our reason they could not be said to be wonderful and unspeakable Thus have I shewed the truth of this Sacrament by the Protestants own Bible which though it work not my desired effects in the belief of it yet I hope it will reduce them to a more charitable opinion of us who think our selves bound to believe it because it is inserted in Holy Scripture according to that of our Saviour Search the Scriptures for therein you shall finde eternal life Chap. 2. Proving Sacramental Confession both by Holy Scripture and Reason against the Opinion of Protestants HAd we the prudence of our Predecessors in submitting our Judgements to Gods Church both as concerning this verity and all others we should not have so much peevish wrangling continually as we have in points of Faith but contrariwise we should joyn hand in hand in one uniform Doctrine of Christian Religion but being far from that happiness in this age we are possest with quite contrary for every one will be his own Judge and pass sentence though it be against Scripture and Reasont too and this will plainly appear when we consider that Confession hath been the practice of all Ages since Christ to this day I shall not need to produce the Authority of every Age which might easily be done it being out of my design because it is so plainly commanded in Holy Writ which ought not by any that professeth himself a Christian to be denied and if not so of necessity to be put in practice The first place I shall prove it from is out of the Gospel of Saint Matthew who speaking of Saint Johns Baptism Mat. 3. v. 5.6 saith They came from Jerusalem and Judea and were Baptized of him confessing their Sins Now to evade this Text the Protestants say That the people confessed themselves in general to be sinners But how poor this shift is let every one judge that hath a minde to know the truth for St. John knew and we all know that every man in general is a sinner without their saying so but the Text saith They confessed their sins which plainly argueth every ones particular sins Again you shall see what another Evangelist saith to the same purpose Mark 1. v. 5. And there went out to him all the land of Judea and they of Jerusalem and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan confessing their sins It may justly bring an asTonishment on the souls of true Christians to consider that those people which say they will believe nothing but the Bible yet when they come to the touchstone of it will believe never a word more then what their own fancies please But now as I have shown you how this was practised amongst the Jews in our Saviours time so now you shall be shown how Christs Apostle from him doth command the same Saint James saith James 5. v. 16. Confess your sins one to another and in all reason and duty since it is thus commanded we are bound under the penalty of damnation to do all the commands of the New Testament at least to believe them to be lawful Many examples of this practice have we in the Old Testament commanded by God himself as in Numbers he saith Numb 5. v. 6.7 That if any man or woman had committed any sins that then they shall confess their sin and he shall recompence his trespass committed So David used Confession to Nathan the Prophet 2 Sam. 12. v. 13. and if there were no Scripture at all Reason might tell us that it is a Divine Institution First in regard of the goodness that is in it self for we finde nothing more repugnant to our corrupt natures then to confess our sins to a Priest from which we may gather that the more it is against our frail natures the more it hath conformity to Gods will in regard by sad experience we all finde how difficult it is for us to comply with Gods will in those things that concerns our salvation Secondly The thought of confessing our sins to a Priest oftentimes hinders our design in committing sins Thirdly by confessing our sins to a Priest to whom God hath given our souls in charge Heb. 13. v. 17. and must give an account for them he knows what sins we are infected with and knows the better what Doctrine to preach to us for the remedy of our spiritual distempers And can any reasonable man think that if it were not a Divine Law that so many Emperours and Kings and Princes as are and have been would stoop on their knees to a poor Priest in a gray course Gown to make their Confession No we may well imagine they would not being men that commonly follow the dictates of their own will did not their consciences tell them it was from God and not of mans invention Now by this you may plainly see what reason the Catholick Church hath to propose Confession to her Children and likewise what madness 't is for Protestants and others to impugne so naked a Truth and so good a principle of Faith as Confession is My advice therefore is to all that enjoy not this benefit That they would beseech the giver of all goodness to unite them in communion with his holy Catholick Church and make them obedient Members thereof if they expect salvation from his hands according to that of Saint Augustine That he that will not acknowledge the Church for his Mother cannot lawfully call God his Father and that out of the Catholic Church there is no salvation Chap. 3. Proving Purgatory or a temporal satisfaction to Gods Justice for our sins committed here against the Belief of Protestants DId we not by the irregular passions of our mindes throw down Reason the Queen of our souls and set up an Idol in her place called Opinion we should with much facility imbrace this verity so long practised by Gods Church though it were for no other reason but because it is practised there but since nothing but Scripture will serve the turns of many in the world I shall plainly set it forth by that rule that they may have no excuse to deceive themselves But first it is necessary to let you know that as God hath these two Attributes to wit Mercy and Justice so he is to have them both satisfied As to the first he satisfies himself in pouring down his Spiritual and Temporal Blessings into our Souls and Bodies for the good of both And the second must be satisfied either in our doing or suffering according as our sins deserve Agreeable to this truth is that satisfaction which God hath required in Scripture so often for example Gen. 3. that of our first Parents for so soon as they had abused the mercy of God which placed them there presently his