he presenteth his Gift his body his merits his prayers his incense our names also or persons in some sort gifts or services all of them but Sacrifice none of them These two words offer and present are coupled together in the Answer thus He in his Ascension offered and presented himself as the prepared Sacrifice to his Father To offer a prepared Sacrifice is one thing which Christ then did not it is another to present himself who was before offered in Sacrifice and thus did our Priest and Advocate and Intercessour appear in the presence of God for us Hebr. 9. 24. So this is the abuse to make us beleeve that because whatsoever is presented may be said to be offered therefore it must be offered as a Sacrifice Another Text is Psal. 110 Thou art a Priest for ever The eternity of his Priesthood can be no where but in heaven Therefore no where but in heaven was his Sacrifice perfected Thus he seemeth to argue thence Answ. Priest and Sacrifice are relative where one is the other is also A priest must offer sacrifice but it is not requisite that he should do it always in actu exercito it is enough that it be done in actu signato that is that he will offer or hath offered or can according to Law and Rite offer sacrifice Jesus Christ is a Priest for ever but he doth not ever or always sacrifice The Sacrifice was offered but once and how often doth the Apostle rehearse that word Once by vertue of which he was consecrated a Priest for ever One Text more Hebr. 9. 12. by his own bloud he entred into the Holy place having obtained eternal redemption for us Answ. But this bloud was shed upon the cross as the bullock and the ram were first slain and then their bloud was carryed into the most holy place The Sacrifice was without the Application of it was within the veil Having obtained that is formerly by his passion and this Redemption thus obtained before his Ascension is called eternal because it did abide and continue so that there was no need of any second any other Redemption to follow after Ascension Q. 160. Who is the head and governour of this Church A. Jesus Christ himself is the onely head and Lord of it though he substitute others for helps of government and usefulness therein Q. 161. What be they A. For more inward growth and helpfulness he hath given Apostles Prophets Evangelists Pastours and Teachers For outward order Bishops or Elders and Deacons The Church is considered two ways 1 Generally consisting of all those who are joyned together in profession of Christianity and outward means of salvation 2 more especially consisting of those who are the best and principal united to God in faith and love The former of these is termed the Church visible or The many called the other is termed the Church invisible or The few chosen The visible Church Catholick is the whole number of professing Christians thorowout the world All that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ This great body or societie Ecclesiastical containeth and comprehendeth under it as parts of it all the parish Churches all Classical Diocesan Provincial and National Churches Of the Catholick invisible Church Jesus Christ is the onely Head and Lord but he hath not substituted any other in his stead nisi vicarium spiritum sanctum unless the Holy Ghost He hath indeed appointed officers in the Church visible which officers have hitherto usually been divided into two sorts first Temporary extraordinary and secondly Perpetual and ordinary which division I think it had been better to retain than to give us a new one which will not hold For certainly the Apostles and Evangelists did govern outwardly and as certain it is that the Bishops or Elders did teach and feed the flock of God for inward growth and helpfulness Acts 20. 28. and 1 Pet. 5. 2. It should seem that he means here The Catholick Church visible for such was the Church he described in Answ to Qu. 158. A company of men called out of the world and gathered into the worhip of God In this Church indeed our Saviour hath set officers 1 Cor. 12.28 in which whole chapter the Apostle treateth of this kinde of Church and it is true also that Jesus Christ may be said to be Head of this Church in regard of the Graces of Edification derived from him for the Offices Ministery and Government of his Church and in regard of the common benefits and common gifts of a spiritual kinde and thus is said v. 12. So also is Christ where he meaneth by Christ this Body of the Catholick Church visible of which he is in some sort the Head and which is in some sort his Body and therefore called Christ Though most properly he is as most commonly he is said to be Head onely of that Body whereof he is also the Saviour Eph. 5. 23. which as his Spouse or wife shall live and reign with him for ever in heaven And I have some reason to think that our Catechist did not intend in this place so much to exclude the Bishop of Rome from being the spiritual head of the Christian world as he did intend to exclude the Christian Magistrate from ruling in a National or any other particular Church Many years now past that the King of England should be called Head of the Church offended the parties of each extremitie As those of our own were sorely troubled at it so was it the point or sting of the charge against the Bishop of Rochester when Hadr. Junius was blasted from Rome for that in the Dedication of his Greek Lexicon to Edward the VI he called him Supreme Head of the Church of England he pleaded for himself by letters to the Court of Cardinals that here with us to clip the Kings Title was almost as Capital as to clip his Coin Howbeit it was thought fit in the beginning of the Queens Reign whether to alter it or explain it by putting Governour in stead of Head More as I suppose out of charitable condescension then any necessity or harm in the word inasmuch as the word doth not note any internal efficacy or influence but onely outward regiment the title or term of LORD being as liable to exception both the one and the other signifying no more then Superiority or pre-eminence and a King or Queen regnant might as well be called Head of these National Churches as Saul was called by Samuel Head of the tribes of Israel 1 Sam. 15 17. And that argument had with it more fallacy then civility which some formerly have used Omnes filii participes c. All that are sons are partakers of chastisement or Discipline No true or right-bred son that is extra Disciplinam Therefore the Supreme Magistrate being a Christian must be censurable as others are because he is a son of the Church But of what Church is he a son of
coming One text he alledgeth but depraveth it that it may serve his purpose Rom. 5.16,17 The judgement was by one to condemnation but the free gift is of many offences to justification therefore Christs Death was properly for those sins he found upon us for those sins which were brought upon us by Adam but for no other sins properly and absolutely Onely out of the superabundance of Christs Grace upon our Repentance shall be forgiven more sins than ever came by Adam as if infidelity and sinning against the light of the Gospel and refusing to be saved and love of darkness more than light were not found upon us by means of Adams transgression And secondly I answer the meaning of the Apostles words is this The first Adams sin was but one but when the second Adam cometh doth he onely take away that one sin not so he doth set us free from many offences that is from the multitude of offences or actual sins committed by us Now S. Paul doth not distinguish of those many offences and why should any other then but would be taken to mean all kinde of offences whether considered before and without Christs coming or else proceeding out of love of darkness when his coming is made known From all kinde of actual sins properly and intentionally though not absolutely without Repentance Christs off-spring or children are discharged through Christ their Head and Father Qu. 136 What is Election A. A gracious act of Gods free will in which he before the foundations of the world chose or purposed to choose the man Jesus Christ into unity with the eternal Word and and so to be his holy One the treasury of all his blessing and worker out of all his pleasure and in him all the seed springing forth of the travail of his soul to holiness and blessing with him for the praise of his own grace The question is propounded concerning Election the main or chief part of the answer is returned concerning the Incarnation of the son of God or the uniting the man Jesus Christ with the eternal word A bold Innovation Confusion and Elusion Innovation so will I think it and call it untill I can finde who hath gone before him of the Papists Protestants of the Remonstrants Lutherans or any other in this definition Confusion in that he hath confounded and in a manner made all one those things which are of a quite differing and disparate nature Elusion for what greater abuse or mockage can by any man be put upon his friend than to stretch forth his hand and hold out one thing and when he should take it to give him quite another Should any man take such libertie as to imitate him he might reduce not the Incarnation onely but most of the Articles of the Creed and most of the works of God to Election And even this great Mystery of the Incarnation which appertained not to this place he hath expressed very untowardly Had he been so wary as to keep himself to the Athanasian Creed he had not used those words of God choosing the man Jesus Christ to be united with the word but of Christ assuming the manhood into God or to the Eternal word The Man denotes the Person The Manhood denotes the Nature Jesus Christ did not assume mans Person but mans Nature The Humanity was framed and united both at the same instant of time the making taking to himself our flesh was but one Act. If the Son of God had taken to himself a man already made and perfected and having personal subsistence then there should have been two persons in Christ whereas there is but one person consisting of two natures as our Authour hath soundly and fully delivered above in the Answer to the 68 Question So that here wresting that to his purpose which did not belong to it to the intent he might be thought not to deny all personal Election but that God chooseth One man particularly and definitely he hath unwittingly dashed himself upon Nestorianisme And if any man shall say now That I deal not fairly thus to aggravate a mistake of this kinde where no harm is intended but all is meant well as I am willing to acknowledge out of his own words elsewhere I shall alledge that for my self which is to be found if I mistake not and is observed in the Civil Law and as I think in our Laws too Res illicita jocularia casum reddit atrociorem He that being seriously employed in his honest calling or any lawfull action doth by way of mis-adventure procure some danger or damage to his neighbours goods or life or limb shall not incur the same guilt nor draw upon himself the same punishment that another shall who doth the very same harm whiles he is either in sport and idle or else bent upon some other mischief Our Authour was meditating a Mock-answer to a serious Question and studying how to elude and evade and make void Gods Election of particular persons to that purpose wresting both the word of God and the Analogy of Faith a bad intent an ill designe and work in prosecution of which while he stumbled upon an old condemned heresie the blame of what befell him may with right and reason rest upon him After the prime and principal part of his Answer followeth something touching what is mentioned in the Question the other I called a Mock-Answer but in such a manner as if he were afraid of being guilty of following his Elders Tradition or of delivering what he hath received of our Church affecting to be wiser then his Teachers who yet have delivered nothing but what they have received of Christ and his Apostles This may appear by these particulars First whereas he saith chose or purposed to choose I do mis-doubt his disjunctive as tending to overthrow all precedaneous Election In Copulatives both must be true to make the proposition true but in Disjunctives it is enough if one of them hold true and it is likely that with some of his partners he will betake himself if need be to the sole purpose or intention to Elect. So abundantly cautelous he is that there should be no Election whatsoever ab aeterno though it be but such as one would think might very safely have been yeelded open door Preface That any uncalled are ever called Elect I can no where finde in Scripture In what terms would he have it delivered that he might say Now have I found it There are Elect from the beginning Elect before the foundation of the world therefore as yet uncalled he may finde Election placed before Vocation in that chain Rom. 8. When as they hear the Elect spoken of they will tell you that Elect doth not signifie chosen but choise or Excellent Tell them it is Electos quos elegit the Elect whom he hath chosen they will say That God chooseth them then when they beleeve Tell them that God doth choose