fathers who are best assured of their husbands and parents constant loue vnto them Feare of Gods anger against vs by reason of our sins may well stand with assurance of saluation Else why did Dauid require That wee should serue the Lord in feare and reioyce in trembling May a man tremble and yet reioyce and may hee not feare to offend and yet be assured of fauour Pa. Well wee haue expresly That euery man shall be iudged according to his workes A poc 20. Prot. Good And so haue wee Pa. Nay you teach That men shall be iudged only according to their faith Prot. That is not true We teach that seeing it is most fitting for the nature and condition of iudgements to take the euidence whereupon the sentence shall bee pronounced from such things as are most notorious the works good or euill being knowne both to Men and Angells whereas faith which hath her seat in the heart is only seene of the Lord it is most conuenient for iustifying the truth of the Iudge before the world that those things should bee giuen in euidence which fall into the knowledge of the standers by especially when the godly themselues shall be admitted into part of the honour of our Sauiour Christs iudiciall sentence against the reprobates And for this cause it is as we say that our Sauiour at the latter day will say Come yee blessed of my Father For when I was hungry you gaue me meate rather then For that you haue beleeued in mee Haue you any more to say Pa. Yea Wee haue expresly That there remains a retribution stipend and pay to euery good worke in heauen Mark 9. 1 Corinth 3. Apoc. 22. Psal 118. Prot. And doe wee denie it Wee beleeue no good deed shall be lost no not the bestowing of a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple Wherefore this makes nothing against vs. Pa. Yea but you teach Good workes done in Christ merit nothing Prot. Yea but it is one thing to teach That good works done in Christ find retribution and paiment in heauen and another thing to say They merit some things for retribution and stipends and paies are as well giuen of curtesie as of debt or merit Wherefore we teach the former and deny the latter VVhat is your next instance Pa. Wee haue expresly That the affliction which Daniel vsed vpon his bodie was acceptable in the sight of God Dan. 10. Prot. And what is that to vs Pa. Much for you teach That such voluntary corporall afflictions are in vaine Prot. But wee doe not Wee teach with S. Paul 1 Tim. 4. 8. that Corporall exercise voluntarie corporall afflictions are profitable to little There is some good vse of them Not a man of vs teacheth that such voluntary corporall afflictions as Daniel vsed and to such end as hee did vse them are in vaine Haue you not done Pa. No wee haue a plaine text Gen. 48. God who hath fed mee from my youth vp euen to this day The Angel who hath deliuered mee from all aduersâ—ie blesse these children Which implies as much as if we would say God and our Ladie blesse them Prot. By the Angel which is here praied vnto is not meant any created Angel but the Angel of the euerlasting Couenant Christ Iesus as it is plaine by the circumstances of the text and by that testimony of the Fathers And therfore this praier doth not iustifie your praier God and our Lady blesse them No man euer conceiued a praier after this manner Det tibi Deus Angelus that is in effect God and our Lady blesse them saith Athanasius Pa. We haue expresly It is an holy cogitation to pray for the dead 2. Mach. 12. Prot. Yea but the Booke of Machabees is not Canonicall Scripture as I shall proue vnto you ere wee part Now I looke for proofe at your hands out of the Canonicall Scripture Pa. Why then if I should tell you we read expresly in the same Booke that Ieremy the Prophet after hee was dead praied for the people of Israel wherby is proued Intercession of Saints you would put mee off with this That the Scripture alledged by me is not Canonicall Scripture Prot. I might doe so yet I need not for we deny not that Saints make intercession for vs in generall And your Bellarmine alledgeth this to that purpose only Hee alledgeth it not either to proue Inuocation of Saints or the intercession of Saints in particular Pa. And what would you answere me if I vrged That wee haue an expresse example of an holy man that offered sacrifice for the dead 2 Mach. 12. Prot. I would answere you to it That the holy man you meane of offered sacrifice for the liuing and not for the dead And for the full proofe thereof I would referre you to Doctor Reinolds Readings vpon the Apocrypha praelect 158. Pa. And what answere should I looke to receiue of you vpon mention that Tobit 12. wee read expresly That an Angel did present Tobias good workes and almes deeds before God Prot. My answere to that should bee That the booke is Apocrypha Pa. And is not the Booke of Ecclesiasticus Apocrypha in which wee read expresly thus Omnis misericordia faciet locum vnicuique secundum meritum operum Mercie shall make a place to euery man according to the merit of his workes Prot. Yes but I will vse the exception in this case The exception which I take is that the wordes are cited out of a corrupt Translation for in the Greek wherein Ecclesiasticus was first written there is no mention made of merit To euery pitlifull act of goodnesse giue place for euery one shall find not according to the merit of his works but according to his works saith the Greeke Pa. Indeed I confesse the word merit is not in the Greeke for the word merit is not Greeke but Latine yet the Greeke wordes are well translated by the word merit no man can deny who knowes the rudiments of Greek for in the Greek it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which in Latine signifies as much as pro meritis operum Prot. Indeed you fit it for our Sauiour Christ warning his disciples how they should carry themselues towardes the Scribes and Pharisies Doe not saith hee 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not meaning after the merit of their workes but simply after their works Your great M. Cardinal Bellarmine of whom you had this was deceiued Pa. And is that proofe which we fetch for merits out of Heb. 13. 16. fetched out of a corrupt translation Beneficence and communication forget not for with such sacrifices God is promerited Prot. Yea verily for according to the Greeke the Apostle saith no more but That with such hosts God is wel pleased And that may appeare vnto you by this that both S. Austine and Beda read so and
THE ABATEMENT OF POPISH BRAGGS PRETENDING SCRIPTVRE TO BE THEIRS RETORTED BY THE HAND OF ALEXANDER COOKE LONDON Printed by WILLIAM IONES dwelling in Red-Crosse-streete 1625. TO ALL LAY PAPISTS IN THIS KINGDOME DEare Countreymen and seduced brethren I religiously protest I honour some of you and loue all of you Grieuing in my very soule that you and I acknowledging one and the selfe same true God cannot hit vpon the worshiping of him after one and the selfe same true manner Oh that I might liue to see the day wherein we might agree in one But I haue small hope to see it as long as you suffer your Priest to bring you in bondage to deuoure you to take your goods as the Corinthians suffered the false Apostles to ferue them Por as the leaders of the people caused Israel to erre and their shepheards caused them to goe astray turned them away to the mountaines so it is your Priests that haue misled you and that they may make merchandize of you as the false Prophets who in St. Peters dayes taught damnable heresies made of them who followed their destruction it is your Priests who doe hinder your returne into the right way To alienate your affections from vs they tell you That we teach All sinnes are equall All Scripture is very easie That we maintaine the heresie of the Simonians which was that men might bee saued by the grace of Simon Magus and the heresie of the Eunomians which was That whosoeuer beleeued one especiall point of doctrine which they beleeusd viz. That the Son of God is altogether vnlike the Father and the Holy-Ghost vnlike the Sonne could not possibly be damned how damnably soeuer hee liued They report wee maintaine the her esy of the Repusians which was That women might be Priested and one of the heresiesof Iouinian which was That a man truely baptized could sinne no more and another of the same mans which was That the Virgin Mary at the time of her child-birth lost her virginitie They report wee maintaine that heresie of Vigilantius which was That Clergy men ought of necessity to be married and that of the Pelagtans viz That the children of the faithfull are not tainted with originall sin and that of the Graecians viz That iust men shall not see the face of god before the day of dome and that of the Pseudo apostoli which was That onely faith is sufficient to saluation without workes and that of the Nouatians which consisted in dening the Churches power to forgiue sinnes and that of the Aérians to wit That solemne fasts are not to be appointed by the Church They would make you beleeue we plainely deny Melchizedech to haue ben a Priest That we teach God can doe no more then he hath done or will doe That water in Baptisme is not necessary That we abhorre the prayers of the Saints That we take away pennance fasting chastity keeping of vowes necessity of good workes obedience to Ecclesiasticall persons That it is not in our power to choose euill That the Angels cannot helpe vs. That no saint deceased hath afterward appeared to any in earth That fasting is not grounded vpon scripture no nor blessing and in briefe to passe by many other some of them are not ashamed to say we beleeue the soules of men are mortall and that there is no resurection and that Christ Iesus is not come in the flesh from all which errors heresies and blasphemies we are as farre as they are from truth honesty On the other side to win your affections to thē they beare you in hand that the Scriptures the Fathers the Counsels are all yours that Heauen yea Hell the gates of Cities the glasse-windowes in Churches res et reculae giue testimony to your Religion Whereas yet they dare not referre the iudgement of such differences asare betweene vs either to Scripture or Fathers or Counsels but onely to the present Church which is all one in effect as if they referred it vnto themselues or to your Pope they being in their opiniō the Church representatiue the Pope being the Church virtually who only hath power to iudge of controuersies Now doe you not smell there is some pad in the straw by their diuelish slaundring of vs and their cogging with you I passe by their restraining you from reading any of ourbookes especially the Bible of our translation though one of them of late assures you That our condemnation is so expresly set downe in our owne Bibles and is so cleere to all the world that nothing more needs hereto but onely that you know to reade and to haue your eyes in your heads at the opening of our Bible which might giue you occasion to suspect some falshood for if our condemnation bee so expressely set downe in them why may not you for your greater comfort reade them Onely I wish you would be pleased to consider seriously whether it be likely they had any honest meaning in making their Indices Expurgatorios forbidding you to reade books writtē by your owne frends till they had patched something into them which might make for you and torne out of them whatsoeuer they thought did make against you Mee thinks considering your many good morall parts you should not be so stupid as not to perceiue or so blinde as not to see there is some my stery of iniquity in it that you may neither reade what your friends or foes haue written Quidam senex c A certaine old man as one of your owne writers being asked by one who had a purpose to betake himselfe into a Monastery how he should carry himselfe after his admission answered him in good earnest Tuet Asinus vnum estote Carry thy selfe like an Asse refuse no burthen that is laid vpon thy backe Doe not groane at it For my part I feare they would make Asses of you all They would haue you to receiue hand ouer head whatsoeuer they reach you to beleeue without search whatsoeuer they tel you But as some of you are Noble Gentlemen others of you good fellows be not Asse fied by them Remember that you are men men of vnderstanding and able to iudge of reason when you heare it Beleeue none of your Priests vpon their bare words without proofe but especially take heede how you lightly beleeue your ordinary Masse-Priests for in truth the most of them are ignorant Sir Iohns not much vnlike the Bishop of Dunkelden who thanked God he neuer knew what the old and new Testament was The most of them are not much guiltie of learning Take hearts vnto you beloued Countreymen and reade our bookes and our Bibles my soule for yours you may doe it with good consciences and with much profit to your selues But if you cannot be perswaded thereunto yet
de Communione sub vnicaspecie Tract 1. By Iansen Concord Euang. cap. 59. as Bellarmine acknowledgeth lib. 1. de Euch. cap. 5. And your selfe cannot with any reason maintaine the contrary if you will bee tried by the expresse wordes For you deny that Christ gaue bread at the celebration of this Sacrament He gaue shewes of bread not bread indeed according to your learning What is your third instance Pa. We haue expresly touching the Apostles inequalitie He that is great among you let him be made as the younger Luk. 22. whereas you say There was none greater then other among them Prot. Here is some little shew and no substance For it is plaine by the expresse wordes of our Sauiour Matth. 20. 25. and Mark 10. 41. That no more is meant by the wordes you cite then this viz. Hee that would bee great among you let him bee made as the younger which makes nothing for you nor against vs. What is your fourth instance Pa. Wee haue expresly A man is iustified by workes and not by faith onely Iam. 2. 24. which is directly opposite to that which you hold Man is not iustified by good workes but by faith only Prot. We doe not deny that before men and with men A man may be iustified by workes Wee deny only That before God a man may be iustified by workes Now Saint Iames speaks of Iustification which is before or with men not of that which is before God wherof Saint Paul speakes from whom we gather our assertion And that this is so Tho. of Aquin confesseth for Iacobus hîc loquitur de operibus sequentibus fidem quae dicuntur iustificare non secundum quod iustificare dicitur institiae infusio sed secundum quod dicitur iustitiae exercitatio vel ostensio vel consummatio S. Iames speaks here of Iustification as it is taken for manifestation and approuing of iustification saith Thomas And so these wordes doe neither make any thing for you nor against vs. What is your fifth instance Pa. We haue expresly Whose sins yee forgiue are forgiuen Whose sinnes yee retaine are retained Ioh. 20. Prot. And what of this make these wordes against vs Pa. Yea for you say Priests cannot forgiue or retaine sins in earth Prot. You say truely Wee beleeue that Ministers Priests as you call them haue power to forgiue and retaine sinnes on earth The difference betweene vs and you is about the manner which is not determined by those wordes and about which you agree not among your selues What is your sixtinstance Pa. We haue expresly The doers of the Law shall be iustified Rom. 2. 13. Yet you say The doing therof iustifieth not Christians Prot. We say That if a man can bring the Iustice which the Law requires he shall be iustified thereby But who can bring that seeing in many things we sin all Iam. 3. 2. What is your seuenth instance Pa. We haue expresly Vow yee and render your vowes Psal 75. Prot. And how then makes this against vs Pa. Yoâ— for you teach Wee should not vow or if we vow we ought to breake our vowes Prot. We doe not A man according to our Religion may vow in some cases and vpon some occasions as is plaine by our bookes and acknowledged by Bellarmine himselfe and by our Religion he needs not vow for vouere nusquam est praeceptum It s no where commanded that wee should vow saith one And Fateor quia Deus non praecipit sed tantum consulit nobis vt aliquid illi vâ—ueamus I confesse that God commaunds vs not but onely counsells vs to vow vnto him saith an other of you Againe we teach That when a man hath vowed a thing lawful honest and possible he ought inuiolably to obserue it And how then makes this text more for you then for vs Pa. Wee haue expresly Keepe the traditions which you haue learned either by word or by Epistle 2 Thes 2. 15. yet you say The Apostles left nothing to the Church vnwritten Prot. Wee say indeed That the Apostles left no necessary tradition to the Church vnwritten but wee doe not say That S. Paul left no traditions to the Church of the Thessalonians vnwritten by him to them We grant that he deliuered to the Thessalonians traditions which hee did not write in his Epistles which he writ to them But what he deliuered by word to them and not by way 〈◊〉 Epistle that was written either by other holy men of God or by himselfe in the Epistles which hee sent to others So that though hee deliuered to the Thessalonians traditions which he writ not in his Epistles sent to them it followes not thereon that he left some vnwritten necessary traditions to the Church in generall What is your next instance Pa. Wee haue expresly If thou wit enter into life keepe the Commandements Matth. 19. 17. Yet you say The Commaundements cannot bee kept yea you say We are not bound vnto them Prot. We confesse that we are bound to keepe the Commandements And if any be desirous to haue life euerlasting by doing some good thing as this young man was to whom Christ spake these words Hee must keepe the Commandements Yet wee say It followes not He that would haue life euerlâ—sting by doing some good must keepe the Commandements Ergo the Commandements may bâ—â— kept for by Gods Commandements wee learne what we should doe Pa. Yea but we haue expresly That when the young man said hee had already kept the Commandements it was said vnto him â—f thou wilt bee perfect goe and sell all things thou hast and giue to the poore and follow mee Which shewes there is one degree of life perfecter then another Prot. Nay not so It rather shewes there is but one degree of life which is perfect euen that which consists in keeping the Commaundements and which is more Counsells For vpon the young mans asseâ—eration that he had kept all the Commandements from his youth it is not said If thou wilt be more perfect but If thou wilt be perfect as though there were no perfection attained vnto by keeping the whole Law But indeede the young man lied in saying he had kept all the Commandements from his youth Else our Sauiour must bee thought to haue spoken ouer when hee said Ioh. 7. 19. Did not Moses giue you a law and yet none of you keepes the law Haue you any moe instances Pa. Yea many for wee haue expresly worke your owne saluation with feare and trembling Prot. And what gather you of that against vs Pa. s That a man should not make it of his beliefe that hee shall bee saued without all doubt and feares Prot. Why may not a man feare to offend God vnlesse he doubt that he shall finally fall away from God Are not those wiues most fearefull to offend their husbands and those children most fearefull to offend their