as you imposed upon me So as No Right that is No Orthodox Church at Rome And yet no newes it is that I granted the Roman Church to be a true Church For so much very learned Protestants have acknowledged before me and the Truth cannot deny it For that Church which receives the Scripture as the Rule of Faith though but as a partiall and imperfect Rule and both the Sacraments as instrumentall Causes and seales of Grace though they adde more and infuse these yet cannot but be a True Church in Essence How it is in manners and Doctrine I would you would loâ—ke to it with a single eye P. Not Right then not Orthodox you hold the Church of Rome to be That 's somthing yet Yet True you ever have and will hold her to be unlesse she absolutely fall away from the Faith Well And yet I wot well you give absolutely falling away from the Faith So large bounds as it is to be feared you will never come to give her for absolutely gone and fallen away from the Faith so long as she can have but one bare thread or ragge of the profession of the Faith of the Creed nay if she can but say over her Creed though as you Confesse elsewhere she hath quite overthrown the sense of it And if the sense of it be destroyed surely the Faith of it also This will more fully appeare as we goe along We come to your Reasons why you hold Rome a True Church 1. For very learned Protestants which hold with you in this First we can set both as learned and double the number of of Protestants who will weigh down the Scale against those that seem to be of your opinion Secondly we could out of those very Protestant Authors whom you mean though I suppose you seldome read such Authors and in other things scarce name them Honoris causa collect more against this opinion That the Church of Rome is a true Church then you can for it As out of Iunius himselfe for Instance I mentioned before a laâ—e Book intituled Babel no Bethel never yet answered by any Jesuite or other Priest Romish or English where the Author hath cleared all or most of those Protestants which his Adversaries alledged and I suppose you meane from this opinion of yours And then also the Author proves by many concluding Arguments and in my opinion unanswerable that the Church of Rome is no true visible Church of Christ as having lost the very Essence of a true Church To which Booke I referre your Lordship could your patience but brook the Authors name or your Conscience not tremble at the mention of him To your Second Reason First I deny that the Church of Rome receives the Scriptures as A Rule of Faith For first The Rule of Faith must be in it selfe simply Divine and Infallible But such to the Church of Rome the Scripture is not For she makes the Infallibility and Divine Authority of the Scripture to depend upon the Church as you do upon Church Tradition which you confesse to be not simply Divine and Infallible Ergo Rome receives not the Scripture as A Rule of Faith Secondly Rome receives not holds not The Rule of Faith Ergo she is not a true Church As the late Dr Carleton of Chichester in his Book of the Church hath well and learnedly proved For not to hold the Rule of Faith is to deny and destroy the Faith and to fall absolutely away from the Foundation of Faith and to set up a new and false Faith upon a new and false Foundation Nor dare or doe you say that Rome receives the Scripture as The Rule of Faith but onely as A Rule of Faith to wit a partiall Rule as Bellarmine calls it But if the Scripture be as it is The onely Rule of Faith and ever hath been in all ages so held till Rome in the Councel of Trent changed this Rule then not to hold it so for The Rule that is the onely Rule but onely as a partiall Rule joyned with other Rules equall to it as her Traditions which Bellarmine in his Book de verbo Dei non scripto calls the word of God unwritten is to reject the onely Rule and so to fall absolutely away from the Faith And you confesse that the Church of Rome holds the Scripture but as a partiall and imperfect Rule And is this nothing with you What is this but to evacuate and utterly make voyd the Rule when for a perfect intire and absolute onely Rule it is made but a partiall imperfect and joynt Rule And when humane Authority is equalled with Divine Humane Traditions with Divine Scriptures as an equall Rule of Faith Nay and those her Traditions which she calls her word of God unwritten are such as teach things directly contrary to the Doctrines of Scripture as of Purgatory Invocation of Saints and the like Is not this a'kurosai as Christ saith to make voyd and of no Authority the Commandements of God by mens Tradition Yet this Camel you can easily swallow you slight this over as a matter of nothing as if it were all one thing in a manner to hold the Scripture The Rule of Faith and A Rule of Faith namely a part or piece of the Rule The whole Rule and a partiall Rule The onely perfect Rule and An imperfect Rule All this breakes no squares with you but that Rome for all this holds the Rule of Faith and therfore you hold her for a true Church of Christ. But yet in so saying you plainly imply That if Rome held not the Rule of Faith she is no true Church of Christ but is absolutely fallen away from Christ the Foundation For you give this for a Reason that Rome is a true Church because she holds the Rule of Faith Ergo If she hold not the Rule of Faith she is no true Church of Christ but is absolutely fallen away from the Faith Whereupon I argue thus That Church which denyeth the Scripture to be the onely Intire Absolute perfect Rule of Faith is fallen absolutely away from Christ and so ceaseth to be a true Church that is to have the very Essence and beeing of a true Church of Christ But the Church of Rome denyeth the Scripture to be the onely Intire Absolute Perfect Rule of Faith Ergo the Church of Rome is absoluely fallen away from Christ and so ceaseth to be a true Church that is to have the very Essence and beeing of a true Church of Christ. The Minor Proposition is confessed by your Lordship For you say The Church of Rome holds the Scripture but as A Rule a Partiall Rule an Imperfect Rule Thus she denyeth the Scripture to be the onely Intire Absolute Perfect Rule of Faith And for the Major Proposition you doe by necessary Consequence confesse it also to be true For you set it down as a Reason why you hold the Church of Rome to be a true Church because she holds the
by pregnant Comparisons ib. 83. How the Prelate hangs the Beliefe of Scripture to be the word of God necessarily upon the Authority of the present Church and other such poore inducements all but meere probabilities which may beget opinion but never beliefe 152 153 154 155. All examined and proved to be meere vanity in all which the Prelate destroyes all Faith and hope of Salvation 156. also 157. In what sense and way onely a Naturall Man being led by the Prelates hand as of the present Church to read the Scripture may be induced to beleeve it is the very word of GOD 154. 84. Further notorious blasphemies of the Prelate in derogating from Scripture as having no light but as a candle in a box of 12 in the pound till Tradition of the present Church doe light it Examined 157 158 159. How the Prelate perverts the Scripture and puts out the light of it 157. Other blasphemies of the Prelate against the Scripture Gods word and the Holy Ghost making his Church-Tradition the eyes inlightner 159 160 161. Gods own voyce in Scripture read and preached begets beliefe that it is Gods word 161. 85. The Prelates prosecution of this Argument in advancing his present Church Authority further confuted 162 163. 85 86. A Subtile and Sly evasion of the Prelate from the Jusuites true objection 164. A pretty tricke of Legerdemain 195. Scriptures full light teacheth a perfect knowledge against the Prelates Evasion 165 166. 87. The Prelates perverting of Scripture in his Babylonish confounding the Historicall with the Saving and justifying Faith as he alwayes doth and another Scripture in confounding the regenerate with the unregenerate 166. to 170. Whereupon the Replyer addes a notable Discourse of the nature of true Saving Faith 170 to 174 as namely of its admirable operations in the severall faculties of the Soule with its excellencie c. The Prelate Contradicts himselfe not knowing wherof he affirmeth Saving that by Faith he ever meaneth a false Faith whereby he destroyeth the true 173. The Sure beliefe of Scripture is a Christians sure comfort in trouble 172 173. 88. Hookers Sensible Demonstration so applauded by the Prelate throughly scanned and soundly proved to be false by most evident Demonstrations proving the Scripture to prove it selfe Gods word 174 to 177. The Prelates Ground from Nature being applyed to Scripture proved false and Christs Saying which the Prelate objecteth cleared 177 178. 89. Hookers stating of the Question commended by the Prelate for Tradition as the Key to open the Entrance to Scripture proved false in the Prelates sense and that Key to be a false pick-lock 178 179. 91. How the Prelate in charging the Pope for usurping Lordship over the world is taken tardy for doing the like himselfe over All England contrary to S. Peters rule alledged by the Prelate 180. 93. What assistance Lawfully sent Pastors and Teachers have ordinarily of God 180.181 95. The Prelate selfe-condemned ibid. 98. The Prelate belyes the Scripture to credit his Church-Tradition 182. Scripture little heholden to the Prelates Church-Tradition ib. His bold belying the Scripture as if that gave Authority to his usurped Church-Tradition ib. The Prelate catcht in his own Delemma or Net ibid. A Solecisme of the Prelate ibid. 100. The Prelate maliciously yoakes the precise party as he calls it with the Jesuite onely making that 10 times worse 183 184. The precise party with the Prelates factious silence Ministers vindicated from his wicked and false reproches 184 185 186. The Prelates 3 marks of his imagined Author of Ipswich Newes 186. The Prelates hypocriticall words and desperate deeds for Preaching how they agree and his cursed hypocrisie cryed shame of by his infamous practises 187. The Prelate knows not what true Preaching meanes 188. Difference between true Sermons and the Preachers for infallibility ibid. The Prelates Diabolicall malice against the true Preachers of Gods word 189. The Replyer at length forced by the Prelate to answre his compari-tween the Ancient Fathers and the best moderne Reformed Dison be vines for Preaching 190 191. Other Cavils of the Prelate answered 192 193. 104. The Prelate perverteth the Fathers to uphold Tradition still which they were against to the Prelates sense 194 195 196. Prelates Popish pretence of Scriptures deepnesse to draw men from them to seek to the Oracles of the present Church Tradition 196 to 199. With the mischiefes that may follow upon it ibid. The Prelates Popish zeale noted by occasion in his forcing all Bibles to be bound with Apochrypha 196 197. How the Prelate overthrows a true Principle and Maxime by a false 198. Grace makes Supernaturall truth more evident then Nature doth the Naturall 199. 106. Another excellent discourse of Saving Faith occasioned by the Prelate bewraying his profound ignorance herein 200 201 202. The Prelats bold belying and blaspheming Gods secret Councels 202. The Prelates broad blind Popish way 203. Fully confuted 203 204. 109. Prelate againe blasphemeth in belying Gods Councels 205. 1â—6 The Prelate hangs the Credit of Scripture upon mans opinions of Gods sufficiencie ibid. Mans opinion of Gods sufficiencie how vaine blind and impotent 206. The Prelate himselfe proved to have a blind opinion of God and of his Sufficiencie and consequently he is an Infidel not beleeving the Scripture to be Gods word 207 108. as which saith he depends on mans opinion of Gods sufficiencie 111. The Prelate still detracts from Scripture all along 208. 113. By the Prelates Doctrine the Faith of all the Apostles Martyrs ancient Fathers and Doctors which know no such Tradition of the present Church as a necessary prime inducement to lead them to the beliefe of Scripture to be Gods word is Hereticall and Schismaticall 206 210. Ergo the Prelaticall Church Schismaticall and Hereticall 115. Most notorious blasphemy of the Prelate against the Holy Ghost making him the Author of falshood as is shewed 211 212 213 214. Sundry probable Reasons layd down by the Replyer why the Prelate should as he doth chuse the light of nature as the Second to his Church Tradition to introduce beliefe of Scripture to be Gods word and of God to be God 212 213. No reverend perswasion of Scripture had till first the Tradition of of the present most Reverend Father commend it as Laudable 212. How the Prelate dallies with Romish Idolatry 211. How the Prelate hangs mans beliefe of God as of Scripture upon his Church Tradition 212. 116 The Prelates good inclination to mans free-will in beleeving The Prelates notorious and grosse hypocrisie pretending respect to the Scripture to be the motive of his tedious vain groundlesse and gracecâ—ssâ— discourse in disgracing and vilifying of it altogether and that as gâ—osly as ever any â—esuiâ—e did 215 216. The Prelaâ—es most wickâ—d perverting and abusing of Scripture 216 Wâ—o are his Christianly dâ—sposed men whom in his Discourse he â—ndâ—avoureth to satisfie ibid. 118. A nimble shift and put off of the Prelates 217. The absurbity of his Comparison of his
your own Name This in our poore opinions will mightily take with the vulgar and easily vindicate and set upright your Graces Reputation And because we are not ignorant of your multiplicious and waighty affaires in Court not permitting your thoughts that vacancie which such a worke would require let not that trouble your Lordship our Service shall not be wanting Thus or so your Divines Well now that you heare your friends Counsell what 's your Resolution L· ibid. I confesse I looked round about these men and their motion and at last my thoughts working much upon themselves I began to perswade my selfe that I had been too long diverted from this necessary worke And that perhaps these might be in voce hominum tuba Dei in the still voyce of men the loud Trumpet of God P. And perhaps my Lord and that whereof it may be ye wil be the rather perswaded the unanimous consâ—nt of these Divines might be by the instigation of that same Spirit in which those 400. Prophets by their unanimous vote prevailed to perswade King Ahab to goe up to Ramoth Gilead that so according to Gods own purpose he might there perish But it might be you say Gods loud Trumpet What to hasten you to Judgement Certainly that lying Spirit in those Prophets was sent from GOD to prepare the way of executing vengeance on that Ahab the more speedily as who had sold himselfe to worke wickednesse in sheding Nabaths blood And surely when I look'd into the intrals of this your Booke as the Roman Southsayers of old did into the bowels and entralls of their Sacrifices and found them so exceedingly vicious and corrupt and withall like to Caesars Sacrifice wherein was found no heart which the Astrologers took for a bad signe no heart at all to the true Religion indeed it suggested these conceits into my mind about this very passage of yours But time will try all things And if you will have my poore opinion I am perswaded if you had never put pen to paper it having been super-sufficient to have expressed your mind in your other handy-works or Practises and so had reserved your Apology when requisite to your perswasive Language and powerfull Rhetorick men might have had lesse hold to take off you when you might have put all your other Actions upon a higher moving Cause as usually ye doe But for writing you know Litera Scripta manet Or else it had been better to have reprinted your First Coppy as it was at first without Alteration and in your Chaplains name still for so you should both have vindicated it from obscurity lying hid and lurking in the belly of Dr. Whites Works and also at pleasure have either owned or disclaimed it as you found occasion Or might have excused any thing that might be taken in it as offensive either imputing it to your Chapleins mistake or to want of leasure to revise it or which is the surest and most beaten way to the Printer as was lately done about that notorious Popish Book of Salis his Devotions And hereof if your Lordship knows it not I will tell you a pretty Tale. This Book of Devotion of Salis bearing the Title of Bishop of Geneva although the Church of Geneva have no such Bishops had been so long ago translated into English and being purged from those grosse points of Popery which were in the Originall Coppy was by Authority published in Print and sold well But of late dayes since you came to sit in that Chaire one undertook to translate the Originall anew and intire as it was at first set forth by the Author without altering any thing as the Translator professed in his Epistle Dedicatory to Mris Anne Roper a notorious Recusant This Translation being brought to your Chaplein to license it past for currant as containing nothing in it against Faith and Manners and so was licensed without the least correction of the grossest things in it It came to the Printer who falling aworke upon it began to stumble at some no small Popish blocks that lay in his way insomuch as he was afraid to goe on but went and shewed them to your Chaplein who making a tush at it bad him goe on and he would beare him out in it So Printed it was And coming abroad some began to find fault with it and the stinke of the Booke more and more increasing with stirring it came at length to be smelled by your Lordship Hereupon what serious examination you used about it I know not but there being some Jealousie that some one of those THREE forementioned troublesome bitter men whose Cause was then shortly to be heard might haply among other things might they have been permitted to speake freely cast that Booke in your Lordships dish the next newes we heard of it was that a Proclamation is published for the burning of the Book in Smith-field wherein also all the blame was layd upon the poore Printer for which he must to prison and you and your Chaplein were acquitted and cleared as no way faulty So easie is it with the least breath to blow away the blackest clowds when they threaten a storme either against you or your Chaplein in such cases But now in this your Booke so exactly Reprinted and revised and republished wherein also you have ratified and avowed all in your former Booke for yours you have for ever fast bound your hands that you cannot helpe your selfe at a dead lift Well 't is too late now either to prevent or remedy what is past Yet one thing there is which you may perhaps deem to be operae pretium worth your paines as wherein lyes your maine Confidence of vindicating your Reputation with good men and that is some Large Discourses in your Booke wherein you seeme to be point blanke against the Papists as about the Scripture Transubstantiation c. This indeed might say well to it and passe for currant were there not in some of them so much grosse allay as makes the whole to be reprobate Silver as the Prophet saith and also did you not commit a grosse Solecisme in writing a seeming Truth and practising apparently contrary and did you not overballance seeming Truths with too much Popish Truth throughout your Booke as will all along appeare And you know that if one dead Fly will corrupt a whole box of oyntment how much more a Swarme And a little poyson corrected and infused in a Potion proves medicinall but if uncorrected and of two great a quantity it becomes mortall and so instead of bealing kills the Patient But to proceed L. p. 9. I have thus acquainted your Majestie with all occasions which both formerly and now againe have led this Tract into the Light P. And not without cause needs your Tract to be led into the light I will not here apply that speech of Christ If the blind lead the blind but leave it to the event L. p. 11. GOD forbid I should
Pope not to be Antichrist and no necessity of frequent Preaching and none to preach but Bishops and Deanes and that onely and especially at the three Solemn times in the yeare Also another Book intituled the Femall Glory as full fraught thoughout with the most grosse blasphemous Idolatrous Popish Stuffe as it can hold and this in plain English allowed by one of your Chapleins or of London house and for ought I heare not yet suppressed or call'd in Besides many other of the same branne some whereof are printed but kept up under deck not daring yet to peep forth till the Storm as in Starre Chamber you call'd it raysed by BURTON and others be over and least they should be made Popish Martyrs in Smithfield as Salis his Devotions were which for feare were burned as afore Under your Primacy hath there not been a mighty stirring and stickling for the seting up of Altars c. yea of Images too and Crucifixes and that in Collegiate Churches or Chappels both in Oxford you being Chauncellour and in Cambridge where you want not a Vice-Chauncellour and which you indeavour in all the Churches of England Under your Primacie have not your pregnantest wits and profoundest Divines been set aworke to write Books to unmorallize the 4th Commandement for the perpetuall keeping of the Lords Sabbath day and so unbind Christians from the sanctification of the Lords day and their Books allowed by your Authority and Dedicated to great ones and much applauded by your Faction Under your Primacie have not your Doctors also written stoutly for your Altars and that even unto blasphemy Saying that the use of the Altar is to sanctifie the Sacrifice and without an Altar the Sacrifice is not Sanctified or dedicated by the Bishop Under your Primacie began not Ministers to be Suspended Silenced Excommunicated put out of their Benefices and Cures of Soules for refusing to read the Book of Liberty for Sports on the Lords day and to set up Altars in their Churches at their Ordinaries Command These these my Lord being thus doe you complaine of unsettlednesse Who hath troubled the Fountain The Wolfe above at the Spring head or the Lamb below To recollect then and recapitulate these things When Profanation of the Lords day is by publick Edict allowed when the Articles of Religion are made as the Delphick Oracles to be taken two contrary wayes when the Doctrines of Gods Grace are universally restrained and forbid to be preached when Popish Books publickly allowed in Print and Orthodox Books against Popery restrained when Altars set up in all Churches where there was none before when Books published by Authority to disanull Gods Morall Law when Books allowed publickly to maintain the seting up of Altars in Churchs when Godly Ministers by multitudes put down for not yeelding to those things which are contrary to the Laws of God and man and all this in the State of England where from the first Reformation such as it was have been universally and constantly maintained both by writing and preaching the morality of the 4th Commandement for the sanctification of the Lords Day the Articles of Religion concerning Grace to have but one Orthodox sense the free and unrestrained preaching of Gods word and confuting of all opposite Errours that the Pope is that Antichrist that the Lords Supper was to be celebrated onely at the Lords Table that Ministers Conformity was extended no further then was limited by the Law all these things considered in the tumult of so many bold Innovations Innovation I cry you mercy Renovations I should say of old Popish ragges and outcast reliques for you disclaim Innovation against Gods law and Mans law what settlement what peace what tranquility can be expected and then again al these new Attempts for Uniformity and Conformity coming in under and with your Primacie can they vindicate your Reputation from a generall opinion of your being the most perillous and pernicious Instrument of unsettling and troubling the State oâ— the Land and of Religion and you may if you will take Scotland in to boot with generall discontents and heart burnings to see the State of Religion thus turned topsie turvie And doe you complain notwithstanding that you cannot attain to an Orderly Settlement Stay my Lord be not so eagre See Scotland first settled before you proceed further in the settlement of England least you unsettle all Be not deceived in the confidence of your own active brain and borrowed power And see also how your Booke will take For Certainly therein you have run your selfe upon the Pikes get off as you can Your Reputation if you meane it for the Repute to be a good Protestant unlesse you meane it that you would be accounted what you are a member of one and the Same Church with Rome is now bound to the Stake ready to be Sacrificed for a whole-burnt Offering For what your Ordinary practises proclaimed to the world of you now in your Book you stick not openly to professe that you desire for the Church and State of England to be reconciled to the Sea of Rome So as your Book besides the turbulent matter in it like the Trojan horse full of armed enemies could not possibly have been borne into the world in a more unhappy time then now when you see two Kingdomes all in a combustion which the Sprinkling of your Romes Holy water wil be so farre from quenching or allaying that it will prove rather as Oyle to increase and feed the flame But GOD give the King the Spirit of Wisedome and Iudgement to see into these things betimes both for the preventing of further mischiefes and for the reuniting of the great rent between his two Kingdomes But as Iehu said to Iehoram when he asked Is it peace Iehu What peace said he so long as the Whoredomes of thy Mother Iezabel and her Witchcrafts are so many So what peace can be expected in the Land where such an Uniformity and Settlement is required as is so repugnant to the Laws of Christs Kingdome and conformable to Antichrists Tyranny and conducible to a reconciliation with that old Iezabel of Rome Certainly the case being so as Deborah said in her Song They chose new gods then was warre in the gates So when a Nation falls to advance higher and higher a new and false Religion where it had been formerly in some good measure cast out to set up Idolatrous and Romish Altars whereby Christ the true and onely Altar of true Christians as hath been shewed is denyed and renounced and to cry down Gods holy Commandements and to oppresse Gods holy Word in the Ministry of it and to persecute Gods faithfull Ministers and People and like the Aegyptians to oppresse Gods People more and more with intolerable burthens of humane inventions to the great reproach of Christ and the throwing down of his incommunicable Royall Soveraignty over his Church and People in matters of Faith and the worship of God Can peace or settlement
Rome What thankes the Church of England may returne you I know not But thus did not any of your Predecessors ever And have you more Charity or more Devotion then they had And for the hope in you whereof you give account to the world and your faith testified wherein you have lived and resolve to dye I will say as Ierome said to the Pelagians Sententias vestras prodidisse Superasse est The discovery of your opinions is our victory So thus to give account of your hope and testifie your faith to all the world as that wherein you have lived and resolve to dye Let 's see by your own testimony now irrevocably upon Record what to judge of you formerly namely as of one Qui cum Lacte nutricis errorem Suxisse videatur who seemeth to have sucked in Errour with his Nurses Milke As the Orator Speakes of all naturall men and what to expect of you hereafter that as you have lived a most notorious Persecuter of the truth of Christ and of his Saints So we must look for it Still so long as you live And this is our victory that we have to deale with one who is not now any longer a disguised but unmasked Enemy of the true Faith and Religion of JESUS CHRIST And however you may flatter your selfe in regard of the World and favour in Court yet if you repent not of your former life but dye as you have lived you can have neither hope nor faith in expecting Gods blessing or favour And so I passe from your Dedicatory to your Discourse as followeth THE REPLIE TO THE RELATION OF THE CONFERENCE L. p. 2. IT is very fit the People should look to the Iudgement of the Church before they be too busie with particulars But yet neither the Scripture nor any good Authority denyes them some moderate use of their own understanding and judgement especially in things familiar and evident which even ordinary Capacities may as easily understand as read And therefore some particulars a Christian may judge without depending P. What you meane by Church you have told us before namely that wherein your Church of England and that of Rome are one and the same one Prelaticall and Hierarchicall Church out of which are excluded all those Reformed Churches which neither have nor acknowledge Prelates to be of divine Institution We have also made a Say of the difficulties So as it is no difficulty to divine what Christians we are like to prove in understanding and judgement in the mystery of Faith and Salvation when we must be limited to that narrow Scantling of some moderate use of our owne understanding and Iudgement and that but in things familiar and evident to every ordinary Capacity O poore Christians that for Understanding in the Scripture must be at the allowance of Antichristian Lords who would bring into bondage Gods people by Chaining them up in Darknesse and Ignorance and doe with them as Nahash the Ammonite answered the men of Iabeth Gilead On this condition will I make a Covenant with you that I may thrust out all your right eyes and lay it for a reproach upon all Israel But the Apostle exhorts Christians Saying Be not children in understanding howbeit in malice be children but in understanding Téleio ginesthe be perfect And Leaving the Principles of the Doctrine of Christ Let us goe on unto perfection And Strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age even those who by reason of use have their Senses exercised to discerne both good and evill But you allow Christians onely some moderate use of their owne understanding and that in things familiar and evident which men of ordinary Capacities may as easily understand as read So as what they read except with the very reading they doe as easily understand it as they read it they must not meditate further of it but in what they presently upon the reading understand not they must depend upon your Churches judgement So as you would exclude your Christians from being of those blessed men of whom David Speakes which delight in the Law of the Lord and in his Law to meditate day and night You would not have them with use to exercise their wits and Senses to discerne 〈◊〉 good and evill Yea the Apostle useth a word very emphaticall diâ— tò exin by an habituall use or long custome have their Senses gegumnasmâ—na exercised the word properly signifieth such an exercise as Wrastlers or such as contend for victory doe use which is with all their might and strength being train'd up unto it by long exercise So as the Scripture doth not onely not forbid but Commands and exhorts Christians to all diligence in the Study of the Scriptures That their hearts might be comforted being knit together in love and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding to the aknowledgement of the Mystery of God as the Apostle speakes And Let the word of God dwell in you richly in all wisedome teaching and admonishing one another c. And the Bereans are Said to be dugenésteroi more noble then those of Thesselonica in that they received the word with all readinesse of mind and searched the Scriptures dayly whether those things were so which Paul taught Loe â—ere they examined Pauls Doctrine by the Scriptures they depended not upon his bare word and therefore the Holy Ghost markes them forth for men of a more noble spirit But you would have your Christians to be poore and beggerly in the knowledge of the mystery of Christ and to be so base-minded as in all things which are not obvious to every Capacity to depend meerely upon your church-Church-Authority and Judgement So as what you meane hereby except to bring into your Church of England the Iesuiticall blind obedience captivating the peoples senses to your Dictates that they might pinne their Salvation and Faith upon your Priests Sleeve I cannot imagine Which will appeare yet more clearely at after Againe these words of yours are in Answere to the Jesuit's words namely That it was not for the Lady or any other unlearned Persons to take upon them to judge of Particulars without depending upon the Iudgement of the true Church To which all your Answere in full is as before Wherein you easily let the Jesuite slip and run away with this that the Church of Rome is that true Church on whose Iudgement for Particulars all unlearned Persons must depend But you understand the true Church to be that wherein you told us before your Church of England and of Rome are one and the Same And so for Rome to be a true Church you plainly confesse at after But your words here may stand you in very good Stead to be a faire Item to all the Readers of your Booke not to be too busie with the Particulars of it but first to look to the Iudgement of the Church of England whose mouth you seem to be in this
tâ—e Rule and Foundation of our Faith but what we find written in the holy Scriptures This is that word of God which is authenticall of Authority to his Church and therefore Authority to us because written So as your unwritten word whereiâ— you agree with Bellarmine and your Apostolicke Traditions wherin you come home to your A. C. the Jesuite we receive none of them all as authentick or to have any thing to doe to expound the Scripture in any doubt about the Faith But if you can shew us any Traditions Apostolick we will by your leave examine them by the Scriptures and not the Scriptures by them You name baptizing of Infants for a Tradition Apostolicke We doubt not but the Apostles baptized the Infants of beleeving Parents For the Infants or Children of such are holy as the Apostle sheweth And so they belonged to the Covenant And as the Children of the Jewes in the old Testament were circumcised as pertaining to the Covenant and promise made to Abraham and to his Seed So Baptisme succeding in place of Circumcision as a Seale of the Same Covenant belongs to all Children of beleeving Christian Parents As the Apostle saith Therefore it is of Faith that it might come by Grace and the Promise might be sure to all the Seed not to that onely which is of the Law but to that also which is of the Faith of Abrahâ—m who is the Father of us all So as beleeving Christians have the same interest in the Covenant with Abraham and their Children or Infants have the like priviledge of Baptisme as the Infants of the ancient Israelites had for Circumcision Therefore the Baptizing of Infants was certainly practised by the Apostles as well as the baptising of beleeving Parents So as we doe not baptize Infants because you tell us it is a Tradition Apostolicke but because it is as clearely and firmely grounded in the Scripture as the baptizing of beleeving Parents We exclude therefore whatsoever Word unwritten or Traditions Apostolicke as you call them as being either partiall or equall Rules of Faith with the Scriptures as Bellarmine calls them or as Interpreters and Iudges of the Scripture in doubts about Faith as you are bold to affirme We have no word of God but the Scripture we acknowledge no Traditions Apostolicke but what we find they delivered in Scripture The Prophets in the old Testament sent Gods people to the Scripture for information instruction resolution in all matters of Faith and Cases of Conscience To the Law and to the Testimony Saith Isaiah if they Speake not according to this word it is because there is no light in them He Saith not To the Traditions of our Fathers but To the Law and to the Testimony Gods word written Els there is no light in men they are blind guides that in matters of Faith lead us any where but to and by the Scriptures And the Prophet Ieremiah They have rejected the word of the Lord and what wisedome is in them All wisdome without this word of God is foolishnesse all knowledge without this is ignorance and blindnesse So our Saviour Christ Search the Scriptures for in them ye thinke to find eternall life and they are they which testifie of me So as Christ allowes us no other Testimony of him and of Faith in him but the Scriptures We must erunan Search them not the Archives or Sacraries of blind Traditions though guilded over never so faire with the name of Apostolick nor of any pretended word of God unwritten And Christ answereth the Lawyer when he asked what he should doe to inherit Eternall life What is written in the Law How readest thou And the Apostle That none presume above that which is written And Whatsoever things were written afore time were written for our learning that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope And Peter We have a more sure word of Prophecy to wit the Scriptures of the old Testament whereunto ye doe well that ye take heed In all which places and many more the Scripture is still commended to us as the onely absolute sufficient perfect and compleat Rule of our Faith in all matters or doubts of Faith touching our Salvation So as it hath no other interpreter but it selfe not any Tradition not any word unwritten But of this you will give us occasion to speak more at after L. p. 72 73. Faith is the gift of God of God alone and an Infused habit in respect whereof the soule is meerely recipient The Sole Infuser is the Holy Ghost Till the Spirit of God move the heart of man he cannot beleeve P. I confesse when first I read these words I began to muse with my selfe and to argue thus What is my Lord of Canterbury turn'd Orthodox no Arminian in the Doctrine of Grace But looking a little further and observing both the Authors you alledge as Stapleton a great man with you and other Popish Authors as is usuall with you throughout your Book and also considering of what Faith you here Speak I changed my conceit and found that you were no Changeling For wheras I thought that all this faire â—â—ourish of Faith is the gift of God of God alone A habit infused The Holy Ghost the Sole Infuser The soule meerely recipient Till Gods Spirit move mans heart he cannot beleeve had been meant of that Grace of Saving and Iustifying Faith which the Scripture teacheth and particularly the Apostle Ephes. 2.8 By Grace ye are saved through Faith and not of your selves it is the Gift of God c. I imagined I say that as you used the Apostles very words and the Language of Scripture so you had done it in the sense and mind of the Apostle and of the Scripture which Speaks so of the Saving and Iustifying Faith But when I found the contrary I confesse I blushed at my folly in having such a conceit of you having had so much experience both of your usuall perverting of Scriptures and your corrupt sense throughout your Book and considering that light and darknesse cannot stand together and how you hâ—ve altogether suppressed the Preaching of the Doctrines of Grace and finding that all this Faith you Speake of is nothing els but that historicall Faith in beleeving the Scriptures to be the word of God which beliefe is common to the very Reprobates and Devils themselves who beleeve and tremble Phristouâ—i they quiver and Shake as when mens teeth Chatter in their head in extreme cold And yet how doe you abuse the Scripture and your Reader in giving to this Faith those peculiar Attributes which are proper and peculiar to the onely Saving Grace of Saving Faith the Sole Infuser Giver and worker whereof is the Holy Ghost Tell me how come the Devils to that historicall faith whereby they beleeve the Scripture to be the very word of God and all things therein to be most certainly true and so all
for beliefe And you place the Authority of the Present Church in the forefront as a prime leader and inducer to this beliefe And this you inculcate very often and Say pag. 120 I confesse every where that Tradition introduces the knowledge of them And pag. 126. you tell the Jesuite A. C. saying Herein we goe the same way with you because we allow the Tradition of the present Church to be the First inducing Motive c. So as herein you jumpe with the Jesuite So then Authority of the present Church is the Prime Or as sometimes you call it Tradition or otherwhiles The voyce of the Present Church All comes to one reckoning Then to this Leader you muster up a troop of followers as here Ordinary Grace a mind morally induced and reasonably perswaded and before a mans owne Reason and humane Testimony morall perswasion Reason and Force of the present Church the Holy Ghost Conferring of the Scripture with it selfe and other writings And what then Then and not before the Scripture gives greater and higher Reasons of Credibility to it selfe then Tradition alone could give What No more effect for all this but a Credibility I expected you should with such a Troope under the command of such a Generall as the Authority Tradiâ—ion and voyce of the present Church have effected that Rockie Forâ— of mans heart to have yealded to open the Gates of his Infidelity to let in this Beliefe that Scripture is the word of God And can you obtaine no more then a Credibility Alas poore Scripture Can all Mans witty inventions advance thy credit which they have taken away no higher then to a Credibility But thus we may see the vanity of Mans wit when it hath cast away the truth This is right as the Preacher Saith Lâ—e this onely have I found That God made man upright but they have sought out many inventions So when men reject the word of the Lord what wisdome is in them Then they fall to their inventions like Michals stuffing her Image with Goates haire and laying it in the bed instead of David Or a right Embleme hereof we have in our First Parents when they had disrobed themselves of that plain simple seamelesse but glorious robe of their Innocencie having thus lost their uprightnesse wherein God made them presently they fall to their inventions they will supply the want of that robe with a many faire fresh Fig-leaves sowed together without either needle or thread vainly imagining that this would cover their shame when indeed it was a plain signe they had lost their Glory and yet could not hide their nakednesse So when a man hath lost the Truth he shall loose his wits in his manifold Inventions before he shal be able thereby to make up his losse Thus did the Church of Rome of old no sooner had they thrust out Gods word and the preaching of it out of their Temples but up goe their Images for Lay-mens Books and in comes crowding a multitude of Ceremonies the Inventions of man as if these would make amends with advantage instead of the holy Scriptures Just your practise in the Church of England at this day And just your like practise here When you have cast a black veile over the Scriptures native beauty and light disabling them as sufficient witnesses to prove themselves the word of God you invent here a number of things to stop our mouthes to make us beleeve that by these you will bring Mans naturall blindnesse to see and his infidelity to beleeve just nothing at all that the Scriptures are the word of God So as you deale with us here as some Parents doe with their Children take the piece of gold from them and please them with a handfull of deafe nuts Onely they doe it providently to preserve the Gold from being lost but you Popishly to destroy the Gold and to set up the painted dresse of your New-nothing Or you put out the Eyes of the Scripture and then light your Candle before it as after you tell us But let 's a little examine your words First I note here what a blind guide you commend to blind men to lead them to the beliefe of the Scriptures to be the word of God For what is it Certainty No Probabilty A man is probably led But of Probability we have spoken before And take this with you for a certaine truth Probability may beget an opinion but never a belief But by whom probably led By the Authority of the present Church What present Church Of the Prelates or Hierarchy ever But who gave you Authority to be a Church Or Suppose you were the true Church of Christ who gave you this Authority to take away from the Scriptures their sufficiencie of guiding men to the faith of them and to tie men to depend upon the Authority of the present Church thereby to be induced to beleeve the Scriptures And what 's your present Church Is it not the Same with that of Rome And is not this Authority which you arrogate Romish And what if your present Church with Rome shall induce us to beleeve the Apocryphall Bookes to be part of Scripture Or some word unwritten which you call Apostolick Traditions to be equall with the word written as you agree with Bellarmine in this Distinction of the word written and unwritten as before is touched And what if as you have given us too much proofe you should limit us in beleeving the Scripture what part to beleeve for Canonicall and what otherwise For as Hierome saith The Scripture consists more in the marrow of Sentences then in the barke of words more in the Sense then in the Syllables What say you then to the 4 th Commandement which your present Church denyes to be Morall for a Seventh day Sabbath and thereby overthrow the Sanctification of the Lords day What say you of the Doctrines of Grace which you have overthrowne by your Declaration before your Articles What of Altars and the like If herein you overthrow the Sense of Scripture doe you not proclaime to the world that such and such Scriptures are not Canonicall Or if the words be still holden for Canonicall yet it must be according to the Sense of your present Church As Paulus 4. the Pope in the End of the Councel of Trent tyes all Priests by oath to interpret the Scriptures no otherwise but according to the Sense of the Catholick Church the Summe whereof is the Decrees and Canons of Trent Is not thus the whole Scripture made voyd But come on let men be primely induced by the Authority of the present Church to wit of the Prelates or Hierarchy for no other Church you allow nor we you to be any other but of Antichrist by what Argument trow you is it likelyest they will be perswaded that the Scriptures are the word of God Will you give me leave to tell you my Opinion It is this in briefe When men upon
your Authority and Commendation should be brought to read the Scriptures and therein should find many Prophecies and among the rest how there should come False Prophâ—ts being Wolves in Sheeps Clothing pretending holinesse but Persecuting Gods Saints pretending Religion but oppessing Gods word pretending to be Christ vicâ—royes but tyrannizing over his people and such as should Apostatise from the Faith and set up Doctrines of Devils as in abstinence from certaine Meates and Marriage at certaine times and how Christ and his Apostles were humble and despised the world being crucified unto it and how they which were proud pompous Lords claiming to be their Successors follow none of their steps neither in diligent preaching nor practise of a holy life are such Antichrists as the Scripture hath foretold and how in the last dayes perillous times should come when men should be Selfe-lovers covetous boastors proud blasphemers unholy without naturall affection implacable covenant-breakers false accusers incontinent fierce despisers of them that are good Traitors heady high-minded lovers of pleasures more then lovers of God Having a forme of Godlinesse but denying the power thereof with many other like things which when they come to compare with the State of the present times and especially of the present Church and chiefly of the Prelates themselves and shall find most of these Prophecies fulfilled in these present times they will certainly hereupon conclude that these be those last dayes and perillous times wherin these things so long agoe foretold doe clearely shew that certainly the Scriptures are the word of God The next thing I note here is that you Say a man so probably led must compare the Scripture with it selfe and other writings What other writings I pray you shall he compare the Scriptures with Shall humane writings light him a Candle to shew him the Sun shining at noon day But thus humane testimony comes in for a Second Inducer And for all your previous inducement you must still at last joyne some thing of man with Scripture Well what 's the third Ordinary Grace And this with the Authority of the present Church may beget in a man an ordinary beliefe that Scripture is the word of God As it seemes such ordinary Grace brought King Agrippa to beleeve the Prophets to be the word of God yet for all that he was but almost perswaded to become a Christian. And this Ordinary Grace is it seems that Holy Ghost which you told us of before The Fourth is morall inducement Well admit this bring him to a morall beliefe or opinion The Fifth is a reasonable perswasion by the voyce of the Church Well what theâ— After all this the Scripture gives greater and higher reasons of Credibility to it selfe then Tradition alone could give Here 's then the upshot of all as we noted before you by these steps advance the Scripture to a Credibility So as all this while you have walkt the round and gone in a Circle and end just where you began for you began at Probability and end in Credibility whereas the Scriptures were credible at least that is such as might be beleeved before you taught this new way to come to the beliefe of them So as this your Conclusion comes to just nothing Only you seem to attribute some thing to the Scripture being assisted with those other inducements wherein it surpasseth your Tradition alone Which is such a comparison and commendation as you could not devise the like to abase the Credit of the Scripture But to conclude What a Tedious Dispute you make here with the Jesuite about that which when you have done all you can will never bring a man upon any sure grounds so much as to beleeve that the Scripture is the word of God much lesse to bring him to Saving faith in Christ. But what doe I speake of Saving faith Alas that 's no worke for your pen. You are for a Scholasticall Dispute here which is so jejune and barren that many Scholasticks would hisse it out of their Schooles much more Divines out of the Divinity Schooles as indeed nothing pertaining to true Divinity but to a Spoyling through Philosophy and vaine deceit as the Apostle Speakes But the summe of all your inducements the Prime whereof must necessarily be your present Churches Authority amounts to this That men being by a bond of necessity tyed to this your Church as without which he cannot come to beleeve Scripture to be Gods word and without this beliefe no faith of Salvation and your Tradition with all other helps cannot bring a man to that beliefe when all is done the Conclusion is that according to your Tradition no man can come to be Saved So as thus by this your new Doctrines you overturne the Foundation of Faith by the very roots leaving no footing for faith to stand upon whereby a man may have any hope of Salvation But I shew'd you before a short and sure way for a man to come to this beliefe and not onely so farre as to beleeve the Scripture to be the word of God but to beleeve that he hath his part of Salvation in that word And this way is by hearing the word of God preached For Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God And this faith being the Saving faith in Christ as it apprehends all the Promises of God in the Scripture to be true and to belong to him so it comprehends the beliefe of Scripture to be the word of God And this this word of God preached and heard is that voyce of the Church of Christ or rather Christs owne voyce in the Church calling men yea and instrumentally causing Gods Spirit effectually working in and by the word to beleeve unto righteousnesse and to confesse to Salvation whatsoever is written in the Scripture to be most true as being the word of God himselfe And besides this true Christians in all ages never beleeved and Authority Tradition voyce of men simply to be any necessary prime inducement to beleeve so much as the Scriptures to be the word of God L. p. 84. That divine light which the Scripture no question hath in it self is not kindled till these helps come Thy word is a Light So David A Light Therefore it is as much a manifestation to it selfe as to other things which it shewes but still not till the Candle be lighted not till there hath been a preparing instruction what light it is till Tradition of the Church and Gods grace put to it have cleared his understanding So Tradition of the present Church is the first morall motive to beleeve P. These words confirme your former with a little illustration A divine Light here you confesse to be in the Scripture But you meane some dimme Light At the best not bright enough not sufficient to shew it selfe to be the word of God And here That Light whatever it is is not kindled till these helps come 'T is but a
and so no title to Gods Grace either to accompany or assist it When Christ tooke his Farewell of the Apostles he left his Commission with them for the Ministry of his Word and Sacraments and thereupon gave a Promise of his continuall assisting grace to them and to all his faithfull true Ministers of his Word successively to the end of the world Goe Saith he and teach all nations baptizing them c. teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you And Loe I am with you alway even unto the end of the world Now 't is plaine as is both shewed before and will yet more that your present Church being Prelaticall and Hierarchicall is a false and Antichristian Church a Church of Priests of a strange Order not of Christs institution nor your Government of Christs ordinance and so your Church is of no Auhority nor doe you faithfully and truely preach the Word and administer the Sacraments but with the mixture of your owne Superstitious devises nor doe you teach men to observe all things whatsoever Christ commanded in his word and hath left written in the Scripture but on the contrary you suppresse the preaching of his word and oppresse his faithfull Ministers and by publick Authority assumed make voyd Christs eternall Law as before So as Gods people have cause to take up that complaint and prayer of David It is time for thee Lord to worke for they have made voyd thy Law And therefore that promise of Christ to his Apostles and true Ministers of the Gospell pertaines not to you and so not to any of your usurped Authority and pretended Tradition of your present Church But you proceed L. p. 85. After the morall perswasion reason and force of the present Church there is ground enough to move any reasonable man that it is fit he should read the Scripture and esteeme very reverently and highly of it And this once done the Scripture hath then In and home Arguments enough to put a soule that hath but ordinary Grace out of doubt that the Scripture is the word of God infallible and Divine P. The same man Still But what if as with the Church of Rome and the Jesuites your present Church of England doth hold this Paradox so She should take up Romes practise and by your Authority forbid all men the reading of the Scriptures but such onely as shal be thought fit to be dispensed withall to read it We know not what you may doe if once you can obtain voyces in Convocation as what may not you doe to make this your bare assertion and Antichristian opinion an Irrefragable Canon of the present Church of England That men ought not to presume to read the Scriptures till the Authority of the present Church hath made way and her Tradition cleared their understanding and taught and informed their Soules and thereupon very reverently and highly esteeme of it For this is the Cleare Summe of your words here No reading of the Scriptures no esteeming highly and reverently of it no In and home Arguments enough to puâ— a soule out of doubt that Scripture is the word of God Infallible and Divine So as till he be perswaded hereof 't is but vaine and frivolous for a man to read the Scriptures and this perswasion he cannot have till after the morall perswasion reason and force of the present Church And here I note again how you put the Tradition of your present Church single and alone forgetting to Second it with Gods Grace which doth but confirme what I said before that Gods Grace Ordinary Grace when you doe mention it it is but when you stumble upon it and it stands but for a Stale it is your Tradition and Authority of the present Church that is all in all But you proceed L. p. 85 86. Thirdly you to wit A. C. pretend that we make the Scripture absolutely and fully knowne Lumine suo by the light and testimony which it hath in and giveth to it selfe c. We doe not Say that there is such a full light in Scripture as that every man upon the first sight must yeeld to it The Question is onely of such a light in Scripture as is of force to breed Faith not to make a perfect knowledge P. The pretence of A. C. herein was not without just cause onely he considered not what the present Church of England now under your Primacy doth hold So as you should or might have shaped your Answere thus A. C. Distingue tempora Distinguish the times Know you not who sits now in the Chaire of Canterbury True it is that formerly the Church of England or rather some private men all or most of the Divines thereof that have written of this Subject allthough very learned I confesse and of great note place and ranke in the Church in their time held and writ so against you but that was onely their private opinion though all their Bookes were published by Authority But what 's all this to the Church of England now Now you may heare and understand by me who am the voyce of the present Church of England that it is otherwise And what you doe pretend I doe thus interpret We doe not Say c. But what doe you not Say We doe not Say that there is such a full light in Scripture as that every man upon the first sight must yeeld to it How So perhaps not any hath Said Yet this all our Orthodox Divines before you have said That there is such a full light in Scripture as that every man by the thorow and serious reading over of the Scripture hath sufficient evidence therein to convince him as to yeeld it to be the very word of God And if he doe not therupon yeeld the defect is not in the Scripture but in himself But at first sight This is a miserable shift and poore put off to answere fully to the Jesuites pretence or rather true assertion For in this he saith true that we to wit all the Orthodox Divines of the Church of England as aforesaid do hold the Scripture absolutely and fully to be known lumine suo by the light and testimony which it hath in and gives to it self Only we do not make it so as you expresse the Jesuite but we find know and beleeve it to be so But they never said At first sight This is your owne Flam. But what our â—ormer Divines have written hereof they have with such Arguments confirmed as not you with all your Divines of note and worth of which you patch up your present Church of England are able to Answere oudè gru not one word or Syllable But come we to the Question as you State it The Question is say you onely of such a light in Scripture as is of force to breed faith not to make a perfect knowledge And what 's your resolution of this Question of your own Stating Do you yeeld thus much that there
to all the faithfull As the Apostle Saith Whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope But on the other side this beliefe that the Scripture is the word of God being in a Reprobate or wicked man the stronger it is in a perswasion and conviction that it is Gods word and so a word of truth the greater terrour it strikes into him when he considers of those fearefull judgements punishments and torments of hell therein denounced against all impenitent persons As Felix trembled when he heard Paul reasoning of judgement to come And Agrippa said to Paul en olÃgo somewhat or almost thou perswadest me to be a Christian when Paul had said unto him Beleevest thou the Prophets I know that thou beleevest So that a wicked man may be throwly convinced in his Conscience that the Scripture is the word of God he may certainly be perswaded of it and that hoes en horámati as a thing visibly before him and he apprehends it as too true But that place of the Apostle We see here dì ainìgmatos as through a darke Saying it is not to be applyed to this Faith that is in a wicked man For the Apostle there speakes of true beleevers We Saith he now doe see through a glasse darkly but then face to face now I know in part but then shall I know even as also I am known So as there he speakes of the estate of the godly here comparatively to their estate of glory hereafter and that concerning their knowledge and spirituall vision of God here and hereafter Here we doe with Moses see but Gods back parts in comparison to that we shall see when we shall see him face to face here we know him at the best but imperfectly but then we shall know even as we are knowne in full perfection And yet so great and glorious is our knowledge of God in the State of Grace that the Apostle saith We all with open face beholding as in a glasse the glory of the Lord are changed into the same Image from glory to glory even as by the spirit of the Lord. So glorious is the Image of Christ in every new-Creature or regenerate man had men but eyes to see it But this by the way On the other side againe as some naturall and morall men may have a certaine evidence of an Historicall Faith thus farre that the Scripture is the word of God and so he trembleth at it So others again and such as think themselves great Clerks and glorious Priests may perhaps see but en skotómati blindly in a brainsick miorim or giddinesse so as their head swimming with wâ—imses the eyes of their understanding being darkened or rather blinded with the god of this world they imagine the world goes round with them and while they so much dispute of the Authority of the present Church in clearing a mans understanding to beleeve the Scripture to be the word of God the conclusion is that they can bring never a good Evidence to prove that themselves have any faith at all You goe on and Say Now God doth not require a full demonstrative knowledge in us that the Scripture is his word and therefore in his Providence hath kindled in it no light for that but he requires our faith of it and such a certaine demonstration as may fit that When shall vaine words have an end as Iob Speaks You have reproched the Scripture these 10 times and therein blasphemed God and are not ashamed as he Speaks in another Case God doth not require Say you a full demonstrative knowledge in us that the Scripture is his word No Doth he not But he requireth such a faith in us which hath in it a full demonstration of knowledge For such is Saving Faith whereof we formerly Spake it is a demonstration of things not seen it is a plerophorÃa a full assurance Now whereon is this faith grounded Is it not grounded upon the Scripture And if this full demonstration of faith be grounded on the Scripture is there not such a full demonstrative knowledge in the Scripture For alwayes the Foundation must have a full latitude and depth proportionable to beare up the building which is layd upon it Faith then being a full demonstration and the Scripture being the foundation of it the Scripture then must have in it a full demonstrative knowledge and if such a full demonstrative knowledge be in the Scripture God requires in us also such a full demonstrative knowledge as is sutable to that full demonstration of Faith As the Apostle saith I know whom I have beleeved And our Saviour joynes knowledge and faith together saying That ye may know and beleeve And so the Apostle speaking of beleevers saith Which beleeve and know the truth And that which in other places is attributed to faith is Ioh. 13.3 attributed to knowledge This is life eternall that they may know thee the onely true God and Iesus Christ whom â—hou hast sent And the act of beleeving is typed out by an act of the eye in seeing to shew that beleeving is a seeing and knowing As Joh. 3.14 15. As Moses lifted up the Serpent in the wildernesse even so must the Sonne of Man be lifted up that whosoever beleeveth in him should not perish but have eternall life Where beleeving in Christ lifted up upon his Crosse hath relation to those in the wildernesse who being stung with the fiery Serpents looked up upon the brazen Serpent upon the Pole which Moses by Gods appointment lifted up and looking upon it they lived There being then such an affinity or rather unity or union between Faith and knowledge Faith being a certain knowledge of the thing beleeved which is the Scripture and faith being begotten by the word of God which is therfore call'd the word of Faith both because it is the seed of Faith and the ground wherin it is rooted and every seed having in it the nature of that which springeth of it it necessarily followeth that there is in the Scripture a full demonstrative knowledge and consequently God requireth in us such a full demonstrative knowledge as whereby we are fully assured and know certainly that the Scripture is the very word of God And this full demonstrative knowledge is in true Faith which apprehending and imbracing Christ the beleever by the same Faith doth know assuredly that that Scripture by the heareing wherof preached he came to beleeve is the very word of God And there is such a necessity of this full demonstrative knowledge to be in every beleever it is both de esse of the beâ—ing of a beleever and also de bene esse of his well-beeing That it is of the beeing of a beleever we have proved out of Scripture because it is of the very beeing of Faith And secondly it is necessary for
parts of mans body yet still that member wants other members to beare witnesse unto it that it is a part of mans body As if every particular member of mans body by its inherent proper motion were not a sufficient witnesse not onely to all the rest of the body that it is a living and true organicall body of man but also to it selfe that it is a true living member of this body Or as thus It is not the whole frame of heaven and earth that can assure us that we doe well to thinke that God made all the world for if any one Creature should give testimony to all the rest yet still that Creature would require another Creature to give testimony to it that it is one of Gods Creatures and so we should never come to any pawse to rest our assurance this way that God created the whole world heaven and earth and all the Creatures therein Now what is there besides the Creature that can assure us of this What The Authority of men or the Tradition of the whole world No for By Faith we come to understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God so that things which are seen were made of things which did not appeare Now whereupon is this Faith grounded Surely on the word of God and confirmed abundantly by the whole frame of heaven and earth and all the Creatures therein not one of them but having a stampe of the Creator upon it to assure us that it is his Creature And how doe we come to be assured that this word of God is contained in the Scripture By the Authority of the present Church Doth Hooker Say so Had you Said The Ancient Church as the Jewes in witnessing for the Old Testament and the Ancient Apostolick Church in witnessing for the New you had said Somthing As also if you had put the Ministry of the Word for the Authority of your present Church For as we said before the Ministry of the Word is Gods own voyce which commends unto us the Scripture as the word of God This is Gods owne ordinary meanes to bring men to Faith and not the Authority and Tradition of I wot not what present Church And now against Mr Hookers sensible Demonstration as you call it I will oppose another Demonstration which is not onely sensible but most true as proving that the testimony of Scripture to be the word of God is in the Scripture it selfe First Paul in the Epistle to the Romans witnesseth that unto the Iewes or Israeliets under the Old Testament were committed the Oracles of God those Oracles were contained in all the severall Bookes of the Old Testament which the Jewes kept intire and inviolate without the mixture of Profane Books And of this Scripture Paul speaketh and testifieth saying All Scripture is given by inspiration from God And Christ himselfe giveth testimony of the Old Testament saying to the Jewes Search the Scriptures for in them ye think ye have eternall life and they are they which testifie of me And what those Scriptures were the Jewes knew well enough for they were deposited with them and they kept them as their chiefest treasure And Peter also gives testimony to the Old Testament saying of it that Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost speaking of the Scripture expresly in that place in the former verse And To Him give all the Prophets witnesse Thus the New Testament gives testimony to the Old that it is the word of God And I hope you will not except against this testimony as insufficient Againe the New Testament gives witnesse to it selfe that it is the word of God Peter witnesseth of Pauls Epistles that Paul wrote them according to the wisdome given unto him that is the Holy Ghost And Christ said to Peter I have prayd for thee that thy Faith faile not Yea He sent the Holy Ghost to all his Apostles that should lead them into all truth Ergo what they preached and wrote was the Truth and word of God And Christ made all his Apostles his witnesses who in all their writings beare-witnesse of him both of what they saw and heard and so their record left in writing is true See Luk. 1.2 1 Joh. 1.3 3 Joh. 12. And none writ the New Testament but either Euangelists or Apostles all indued with the Holy Ghost And the Wisdome of Christ reserved his beloved Disciple Iohn as the last surviver of all the rest to write the Book of the Revelation and to conclude as the New Testament so the whole Bible with that Charge If any man adde to this Book or take away from it c. as shewing that the whole and intire Scripture was now compiled and consummate I might be copious in this point But I will summe up all this The New Testament gives testimony to the Old that it is the word of God also to it selfe one Book to another one Apostle to another who were all witnesses of Christ Christ and the Holy Ghost to all the Apostles all their writings being guided by the Spirit of Truth and giving joynt witnesse unto Christ and to the truth of the Gospell Yea and the severall parts beare witnes to themselvs As 1 Cor. 14.37 If any man think himselfe to be a Prophet or Spirituall let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the Commandements of the Lord. And 1 Pet. 5.12 I have written brieflly exhorting and testifying that this is the true Grace of God wherein ye stand And Joh. 20.31 These things are written that ye might beleeve that Iesus is the Christ the Son of God and that beleeving ye might have life through his Name So 1 Joh. 1.3 4. 2 Joh. 5. 3 Joh. 12. And we also â—eare record and ye know that our record is true And as the New Testament doth every where beare witnesse both to the Old and to it selfe both in the whole and every part even by the Spirit of God that speakes and breathes in the whole and every part So the Old Testament in like manner beares witnesse both to it selfe and to the New Testament and that by many Types and Prophecies all which are fulfilled in the New So as these two Testaments are as Ezechiels Wheeles one within another the New Testament being the Old revealed and the Old the New veiled Or they are like the two Cherubims both looking towards the Mercy-Seat which is Christ the Summe of them both the Old looking upon him as he was promised and to come the New as he is now exhibited and come Thus we have here a full true and evident Demonstration that the whole Scripture gives testimony to it selfe that it is the word of God And yet you Say That Truth it selfe cannot say that Scripture it selfe can doe it But you adde L. ibid. That Scripture cannot beare witnesse to it selfe nor any one part of it
witnesse to it selfe But this Say you it hath not Ergo not the other Againe you Say pag. 81. church-Church-Authority must first light the Candle Ergo the Scripture hath no light of it selfe much lesse light enough for faith to beleeve But though it should though it be granted that Scripture had light enough for Faith to beleeve yet light enough it gives not to be a convincing Reason and proofe for knowledge As if you said Neither for Faith for we have proved before that faith and knowledge goe inseperably together true faith being a seeing and knowing faith and not a blind faith The Scripture teacheth no blind faith And why should not Scripture give light enough to be a convincing Reason and proofe for knowledge When it is a sufficient light to discover unto a man the secret thoughts and intents of his heart wherof man himselfe is thorowly convinced and thereby in himselfe condemned of his own Conscience But this knowledge you cannot away withall But you can never put out the eyes of your Conscience though you may for a time fold it or lull it fast asleep Much lesse shall you be able to put out the light of Scripture which is greater then the light of your Conscience As Saith the Apostle If our heart or Conscience condemnes us God is greater then our heart and knoweth all things If therfore the heart or Conscence that is in man be a sufficient witnesse of all his thoughts good and bad and layeth them before him as the Apostle saith much more is Gods word a sufficient witnesse and giveth light enough to be a convincing reason and proofe for knowledge And Solomon Saith The spirit of man is the Candle of the Lord searching all the inward parts of the belly If such then be mans spirit the Candle of the Lord searching all the inward parts of the belly that is all the secrets of mans heart how much more is the Spirit of God in the Scripture his Word such a searcher yea saith the Apostle The Spirit searcheth all things yea the deep things of God And these deep things of God he hath revealed unto us by his Spirit And where but in his word the Scripture is the voyce of this Spirit of God And it was the constant sentence of all the Ancient Fathers whom you would seem so much to adore which Augustine expresseth in these words In Scripturu sacris apertè continentur ea omnia quae necessaria sunt ad Sâ—lutem In the holy Scriptures are clearly contained all those things which are necessary to Salvation Now how should this be true if the Scripture doth not give light enough to be a convincing reason and proofe for knowledge L. p. 113. To prove the Scripture to be the word of God first cometh in the Tradition of the Church the present Church So 't is no Hereticall or Schismaticall beliefe Then the testimony of former Ages c. P. Here at length you come neere the winding up of the long thread of your endlesse Discourse in this your 16 th Section the summe wherof is to prove that the Scripture is of no selfe-credit and Authority And first and last your present Church Tradition must be the Prime hand to lead the blâ—nd to this beliefe that Scripture is the word of God For otherwise the beliefe thereof should be Hereticall or Schismaticall For thus you say To prove the Scripture to be the word of God First comes in the Tradition of the Church the present Church So 't is no Hereticall or Schismaticall beliefe Ergo Beliefe of Scripture to be Gods word comes by any other way as by the word of God it selfe read and heard in the preaching of it and by Gods Spirit speaking in it then wherein the Tradition of the Church the present Church hath been the Prime leader This beliefe is Hereticall and Scismaticall Ergo this beliefe in all the Apostles Martyrs Ancient Fathers and Doctors of the Primitive Ages who never knew any such Tradition of the present Church as whereon this beliefe should depend for its necessary prime inducement was Hereticall and Schismaticall They constantly held till Rome and you brought in this your blind guide to tread down under feet the light of the Scripture and to exalt the Authority of your Antichristian Hierarchy that the Scripture was of self-self-Authority and Sufficiency to prove it selfe to be the word of God and by the hearing of it preached and read to beget and confirme faith in al beleevers without any such inducement of Church Tradition as you speake of And therefore here you passe your sentence of condemnation of this beliefe in all those forementioned for Hereticall and Schismaticall But how justly may this sentence be retorted upon your selfe and your present Church as both Hereticall and Schismaticall Hereticall as in the maintenance of Doctrines of Devils as afore of the Pelagian and Semi-Pelagian Heresies under colour of your doubtfull Articles of Religion as you have made them by publik Edict and Declaration and flatly forbidding to preach of the Saving Doctrines of Grace as they are clearly layd down and taught in the Scripture and in seting up and maintaining of your Altars whereby the onely Altar Iesus Christ is denyed and in dâ—spensing with the 4 th Commandement yea destroying and unmoralizing of it and so overthrowing the Lords-day-Sabbath wherein you subvert the whole worke of Redemption with the Resurrection and the like thus your present Church is Hereticall as also in this in holding and stiffly maintaining by you a necessity of your present Church-Tradition for the inducing of beliefe of the Scripture to be Gods word as not sufficient and wanting light of it selfe to doe it and which otherwise is of no credit at all Thus I say you are damnably and desperately Hereticall Secondly your present Church is also Schismaticall being a Seperation from the true Church of Christ in your Hierarchy or Prelacy which being altogether â—ntichristian hath no communion in that respect with Christs Church and therfore is notoriously Schismaticall yea in this also Schismaticall that you account and brand that beliefe of Scripture to be Gods word for Hereticall and Schismaticall which is not first induced by your present Church-Tradition wherein you are Schismaticks from the Faith and so from the Church of the Apostles and Ancient Fathers and succeding Churches which never held any such Hereticalll opinion concerning any such insufficiencie of the Scriptures and Authority of the present Church as you most pertenaciously and pernitiously hold Therfore I Conclude that if the present Church of England approve of your Book and hold as you doe it is both Hereticall and Schismaticall But you conclude L. p. 115. So then the way lyeth thus as farre as it appeares to me The Credit of Scripture to be Divine reduces finally into that which we have touching God himselfe and in the same order For as that So this hath three main Grounds to which
of the New Testament L. p. 123. Even that Scripture of the old Testament was a light and a shining light too therfore could not but be sufficient when Tradition had gone before P. What told you us but now of misleading the Jewes by leaning too much upon Tradition and do you goe about the same way to mislead them blind as they be and to make them yet more blind if possible That you have gone to mislead Christians Doe you tell the Jewes now that the old Testament is sufficient when Tradition had gone before So as without Tradition preceding no sufficiency in the Book I perceive you will not yet have done with your Tradition as without which nothing is done L. p. 125. Certaine it is that by humane Autthority Consent and proofe a man may be assured Infallibly that the Scripture is the word of God by an acquired habit of Faith Cui non subest falsum under which no error nor falshood is but he cannot be assured Infallibâ—y by Divine Faith cui subesse non potest falsum into which no falshood can come but a Divine Testimony And a little after If you speake of Assurance onely in Generall I must then tell you a man may be assured nay Infallibly assured by Ecclesiasticall and humane proofe Men that never saw Rome may be sure and infallibly beleeve that such a City there is by Historicall and acquired Faith P. Although you use here a Schoole Distinction Cui non subest falsum cui non potest subesse falsum Of Faith Historicall and Faith Divine Assurance generall and Assurance particular yet in truth in the upshot it will appeare you speake very Confusedly as in the Babylonish Dialect or Phrase For first you attribute Infallibility to your acquired habit of Faith wherein is no falshood which habit of Faith you oppose to Divine Faith wherein no falshood can be whereas Infallibility in its genuine or Gramaticall sense importeth impossibility of Error or falshood For infallible is that which is not subject unto error which cannot be deceived So as you doe under correction very much mistake in applying your Schoole distinctions Non subest non potest to Infalliblity I remember indeed that the Schoole-men apply this Distinction to Faith Cui non subest cui non potest subesse falsum but never to Infalliblity for that is alwayes such Cui non potest subesse falsum which cannot be deceived Look a little better in your School-men and I beleeve you will find it so as I say Secondly while you would seem to put a Difference between your acquired habit of Faith which you expresse and instruct to be Historicall and Divine Faith which you say is onely to beleeve the Scripture to be the word of God you doe bring both ends together making your Acquired Faith and Divine Faith one and the same kind both Historicall Onely Historicall Faith may differ respectively to the object Humane or Divine For it is an Historicall Faith that beleeves there is such a City as Rome in which respect it may be called Historicall Faith humane and it is an Historicall Faith that beleeves the Scriptures to be the word of God in which respect it may be called Historicall Faith Divine Divine I say respectively to the object but being in kind the same Historicall Faith with the other whose object is humane And you tell us before that ordinary Grace and a morall perswasion upon the necessary previous Authority and Tradition of the present Church works this your Divine Faith All which reacheth no further but to an Historicall Faith call it what you will acquired or divine And your building this your Faith upon the Rise of humane Authority and morall perswasion how ever you use the ingredience of ordinary Grace by naming of it yet you are not able to say whether this Historicall Faith be an habit infused or acquired though you never so much daube it over with Divine Onely thus you give us occasion to take notice what an accute School-Divine you are at least so farre as a distinction or two will goe which rather confound then distinguish But admit you could demonstrate and make it plain unto us that your ordinary Grace what ever it is and a morall perswasion puts a speciall difference between your Divine Faith and Historicall yet to what purpose will all this prove May not both these Faiths be found in wicked men and Reprobates however distinguished by divine ordinary Grace and the like The Schooles have a knowne Distinction much more proper and sensible and agreeable to the truâ—h of Scripture then those you bring and so apply For speaking of the Difference between ordinary common Graces and those peculiar to the Elect they call the first Gratia gratis data Grace freely given meaning Ministeriall Graces which God freely gives as well to the wicked as to the godly he gave as Royall KarÃsmata or Graces to Saul as to David and Apostolicall Graces as well to Iudas as to Peter And this Grace Thus freely given is grounded on those words of Christ freely you have received freely give But that peculiar Grace which God freely gives too but onely to his Elect is distinguished from the other being called Gratia gratum faciens Grace makeing us acceptable unto God according to that of the Apostle According as he hath chosen us in him c. haveing predestinated us c. To the praise of the Glory of his grace wherein he hath made us accepted in the Beloved Or that Being justified freely by his grace c. Now ordinary and Common Grace being freely given of God to whom he will good or bad depends not upon humane Authority as a necessary inducing Cause Yet you make your present Church Authority which is but humane a necessary previous Cause to ordinary Grace whereby your Historicall or Divine Faith as you call it is wrought in beleeving the Scripture to be word of God and so what ever faire termes you guild this Faith withall it wil be found no better then either meerely humane or at least common unto the wicked and Reprobate which for all this your Divine Faith goe to hell and then the difference is not so great between your Historicall and Divine Faith which you keep such a puzzell about but that a man may without any great hazard winck and chuse Ob. But you tell us before That ordinarily the Scriptures must have Tradition to goe before Therfore that you place not an absolute necessity in it Ordinarily So you once say indeed But so as withall it must be absolutely necessary For you make all other meanes of this beliefe to be deficient without your Church-Tradition leading the way As for the Scriptures those have not light sufficient for themselves and are as a candle that must first be lighted before it can give light and that is by Church Authority As for the holy Holy Ghost that works not this Faith but by
an ordinary Grace and this Ordinary Grace hath no force at all unlesse the present Churches Authority prepare the way So as this Ordinarily of yours admits of no exception at all in any case though never so extraordinary And thus you exclude that your Divine Faith as it is a worke of ordinary Grace as you call it from being any Grace of God at all except Grace of Canterbury can dubbe it for a Grace For all Grace is one of those two kinds I named even now either that Grace of God which makes a man freely accepted in Christ which your Ordinary Grace by your own Confession doth not or that common Grace which is said to be freely given of God to whom he will without the intervention or prevention of any outward meanes or respect which your ordinary Graces cannot be for your selfe every where professe that no ordinary Grace nor any thing else can worke beliefe that the Scripture is the word of God unlesse your present Church Authority tanquam Gratia preparans ac praeveniens as a preparing and preventing Grace prepare the way And thus you see to what a Confusion all your Schoole Distinctions are brought And in truth your Schoole Distinctions for the most part being weighed in the just ballance of the Sanctuary prove too light and doe corrupt the truth For even that Distinction which I named of Gratia gratis data Gratia gratum faciens though the termes are good and true yet as some apply the latter to wit Grace making acceptable it is corrupt As when by that Grace they understand Faith Hope and Charity which being infused into the soule aâ—e the matter say they of Iustification and of our acceptation with God Now in this sense this member of the Distinction holds not good but is Popish For Faith onely is that Grace which makes us accepted of God but this not as it is a worke or Grace inherent but as an Instrument apprehending and applying Christ in whom alone we are through Faith accepted of GOD who makeâ— us accepted in the beloved So as he that will find any good and sound Distinction out of the Schoole-men he must doe as Virgil said of his reading of Ennius Margaritas è caeno legere gather pearles out of the mudde and he must look to have them well washed and polished and tryed by the Scriptures before he use them to illustrate or confirme any Doctrine of sound Divinity This by the way L. p. 226. The time was before this A. miserable rent in the Church of Christ which I B think no Christian can look upon but with a bleeding heart that C you and we were all of one beliefe D That beliefe was tainted in Tract and Corruption of time very deeply A division was made yet so as E both parties held the Creed and other Common Principles of beliefe Of these this was one of the greatest That the Scripture is the word of God For our beliefe of all things contained in it depends upon it Since F this Division there hath been nothing done by us to discredit this Principle Nay we have given it G all honour and ascribed unto it more sufficiency even to the containing of all things necessary to Salvation with satis superque enough and more then enough which your selves have not done doe not H And for begetting and setling a beliefe of this Principle we goe the same way with you and a better besides The same way with you because we alow the Tradition of the present Church to be the first inducing motive to imbrace this Principle onely we cannot goe so farre in this way as you to make the present Tradition I alwayes an infallible word of God unwritten P. Here I Have Alphabetically as by A B C. c. noted sundry particulars A That you call the Protestants seperating from the Church of Rome a miserable rent Why miserable when Christ Commands it As Rev. 18.4 as is noted before and shall yet more in a fit place So as the Protestants had been in a miserable condition if this seperation this rent had not been made B 2 dly And must every Christian heart bleed to see it because it seems yours doth Surely this hath cost the heart-blood of many thousands of Gods Saints and Martyrs shed and spilt by that blood drunken whore Yet better so to perish by her temporally here then to perish with her eternally hereafter which must have been had not this miserable rent been made C 3 dly But before this rent say you they and we were all of one beliefe You may speake for your selfe if you had lived before the rent was made We doubt not but both you would have been of the same Faith with Rome and would have continued in it so as for your part there should never have been made such a miserable rent We know well both your Faith and your Charitable and Peaceable disposition for that matter Yea though that one beliefe was tainted That should have broken no square For you say D 4 ly That beliefe that very one beliefe whereof you and they then were before the rent was tainted yea very deeply too But I say still speake for your selfe and your Confederates onely usurpe not the name of all Protestants quorum tu pars minima whereof you were the least part if any at all that seperated from Rome whereof many before they came to be called Protestants which was upon their protesting against the Whore of Babylon and for their just and necessary seperating from her dissented from and disliked and so farre as the iniquity of the times and humane frailty and unavoidable necessity permitted seperated themselves privately at least from many of her most notorious and intolerable en ormites and not a few in their severall ages wherein they lived openly protested against her both by writing and preaching though it cost them their heart-blood for it You have at hand a Catalogue of them in Catalogus Testium veritatis and in the Book of Acts and Monuments and other Authors both forraigne and domesticke and that of fâ—esh bleeding memory E 5 ly You prove your Faith was then one for holâ—ing the Creed and other CoÌ„mon Principles of beliefe of which one of the Greatest c. Indeed before that rent Rome professed and held the letter and externall form of the Creed but not the sense faith life and substance as elsewhere you confesse of the present Church of Rome Did you so then so now I doubt 't will prove so in a great measure For though you tell us that your beliefe of all things contained in the Creed depends upon this principle That Scripture is the word of God For that is the best sense can be made of your words yet there be many even fundamentall Doctrines in Scripture which your beliefe depends not upon nor your practises agree unto as both before is touched and occasion will be given yet more to speake of
larger Commentary let him but read the words over againe To the Eighth I answere It is not in it selfe pride not to obey Councels Difinitions and much lesse when a man knows them to be erronious Nor is it against any Iust and Godly Government but onely against that which is Papall Antichristian Tyrannicall And is it not high and Antichristian pride to impose Difinitions of Generall Councels of Prelates yea even when they are erronious and known apparently to be so yet to be as Gods own holy Commandements necessarily obeyed of all This is the highest and most Diabolicall Tyranny in the world thus to bring into bondage the faith soule and conscience of men to a necessary subjection to errour and falshood Yea thus not to obey you call it also unlawfull Unlawfull By what Law Or what Law either of God or of any lawfull Authority of Man or of Civil state is here broken Are mens lufts a Law Or are your Prelaticall Councels any true Generall Councels Generall they may be in respect of Prelates but Generall they are not in respect of the true Catholicke Church of Christ the Body whereof is not represented in your Generall Councels as is shewed before No nor is your Generall Councel Generall in respect of the Catholicke Church whereof you call your selfe the representative body For the lay-people are not admitted into your Councel nor any to represent them therfore it is not Generall therfore not to obey the difinitions of it is it unlawfull And suppose the Councel were lawfull are the Decrees therof to be obeyed when erronious To the Ninth That Christ intended not to leave an Infallible certainty in his Church to satisfie either contentious or curious or presumptuous spirits Here is one thing expressed and another implyed the thing expressed is negative Christ intended not c. the thing implyed is affirmative That Christ intended to leave an Infallible certainty in his Church And sutable hereunto are your precedent words There is there can be no necessity of an infallible certainty in the whole Catholicke Church and much lesse in a Generall Councel of things not absolutely necessary in themselves Which words imply this Affirmative That there is a necessity of an infallible certainty in the whole Catholicke Church of things absolutely necessary in themselves So as here also it is all one as if you had said thus Christ intended to leave an infallible certainty in hiâ— Church but not to satisfie either contentious or curious or presumptuous spirits Oney you doe still in such things of this naâ—ure prudently avoyd the plainer and least deceitfull way of expressing your selfe Now what Christ intended he certainly performs and makes good But to that your Imaginary Catholicke Church Prelaticall I deny that Christ ever intended to leave an infallible certainty For to such he never made any such promise And therfore you cannot say and say truly That Christ intended that For you are no part of his true Church as having no calling from Christ as before is proved And you your selfe confesse in many places of your Booke that the Authority of your Church is not Divinely infallible And for instance you make your present Church Authority in inducing beliefe of Scripture to be Gods word to have a primâ— place in things absolutely necessary in themselves and yet you confesse that this Authority is not Divine and infallible So here is a Contradiction which I leave with you to reconcile Againe you tell us before that our Saviour Christ hath left in his Church besides his Law-books the Scripture visible Iudges to wit Arch-Bishops and Bishops And of such are made your Generall Councels Ergo of necessity Christ must intend to leave unto you an Infallible Certainty in judging Controversies of Faith For the Scripture you deny to be a compleat and sufficient Iudge in doubtfull cases and that in such cases the visible Iudges the Prelates in a Generall Councel are to determine Now if you have not certain infallibility of Judgement in what case is the Church Then it may be said as Bellarmine and other Jesuiâ—es say Christ hath provided very ill for his Church if he had not left a visible Iudge and withall a certaine infallibility unto him to determine controversies of Faith This he speakes of the Pope and upon the very same ground that you doe for all Prelates in a Generall Councel And the ground is that you and they both deny the Scripture to be sole Iudge in Controversies of Faith Well then what say you Doe you confesse this that you have this Infallible certainty If you say you have it not as you do and yet you will be the true Church of Christ then you bely Christ both here saying He intended to leave it and before in saying He hath left you to be visible Iudges For had he intended to leave such an Infallibility certain to such a Church as you speake of and to leave such to be visible Iudges as are Archbishops and Bishops then certainly he would have given you such an Infallible certainty as wherby you should have been qualified and furnished to be sufficient and competent Iudges whose Judgement should be such in matters of Faith as men might secretly and safely rely and rest their Faith upon For otherwise if you have not this Infallibility but that somtimes at least and that in weighty Controversies you might erre in Judgement then men should have no more ground whereon to settle their Faith then the Dove in the Deluge had to set her foot upon you have so covered the Scripture as with a Deluge of Criminations as to be no sufficient Judge in Controversies of Faith And you confesse ibid That a Generall Councel which is an Universall Assembly of Prelates and Grand Bench of visible Iudges is not of infallible credit but that they may erre yea and possibly manifestly too against fundamentall verity as pag. 226. So as if the Scripture be though Infalâ—ible yet not living but a dead Iudge that cannot speake or pronounce the sentence And if the Prelates the visible living Iudges have not infallible certainty nor a Generall Councel infallible credit in their Decrees you leave the Church in a most perplexed case Whither shall she goe in all her doubts To what Judge or Oracle for resolution To the Scriptures That 's dead and cannot say Mum· To a Generall Councel of Prelates That 's of no certain credit their Judgement is not infallible yea not in fundamentall Truths Alas poore Church what wilt thou doe What wilt thou doe Why surely beleeve none of all these false Prophets no not all of them together when assembled in a Generall Councel for they may and will miserably deceive and seduce you if you trust to their Judgement Whither then To the Scripture But it is dead say they They are false Prophets and blind guides beleeve them not follow them not Search the Scriptures as Christ bids you To the Law and
whence I conclude upon your own words that Rome holds not beleeves not the whole Creed and consequently she hath lost and overthrown the whole Creed For overthrowing the sense of any one Articlâ— she overthrows the whole as before And in a word the Church of Rome overthrows the whole Creed in overthrowing the first word of it Credo I beleeve which gives denomination life and beeing to the whole And a maine flaw in the foundation overthrows the whole building And that Rome doth this is cleare for as she hath made a new Creed all of drosse so she hath coyned a new sense to the Credo of the old Creed For she doth not beleeve the Creed with a saving justifying lively faith as is shewed before but hath cancelled and accursed it in her Councel of Trent And so though she hold Credo Deum beleeving that there is a God as even the Heathen doe for quae gens tam barbara c. what nation so barbarous that beleeves not there is a God as the heathen Roman Orator sayd yet she doth not hold any other Creed of God For she holds not simply and absolutely no more then you Credo Deo beleeving God speaking in the Scripture but dependently upon the Authority and Interpretation of the Church And least of all doth she hold Credo in Deum which is the justifying and saving Faith as Augustine Bernard and others of the more Ancients distinguish and define For as Bernard saith Credere in Deum est credendo diligere credendo in eum ire ei uniri c. To beleeve in God is by beleeving to love God by beleeving to goe into him and to be united unto him Now this faith Romes is not for as is shewed before out oâ— the Councel of Trent their faith is without love and doth not goe into God but with which going to hell they are separate from God for evermore So as the Article or Decree of Trent having destroyed the old Credo in Deum she must have some new Credo or els none at all And you doe ibid. rightly interpret the word Vâ—gâ—ès which Athanasius expresseth the â—ustifâ—iâ—g faith of the Creed by namely sound and intire so as if it be not a sound and intire faith such as the Scripture commends and is proper to all true Beleevers the Elect a 〈…〉 is to no purpose And a little after you say 〈…〉 This is true Divinity that he which hopes for salvation 〈…〉 who le Creed and in the right sense too if he be able to 〈…〉 it P. Till this If hem'd in with a Parenthesis I was halfe in hope you had assented to my former speech That the Church of Rome in not holding the right sense of the Creed overthrâ—ws the whâ—le But your Parenthesis so hedgeth in your silly ignorant that it is a sanctuary to secure their ignorance from Râ—mâ—s damnation so as though they have no hope of salvation yet they are in no feare of Romes damnation as being not able to beleeve the whole Creed because not able to comprehend the right sense of it within the narrow circumference of their shallow brainpan But behold closse by another hedge L. p. 343. To hold the Creed inviolate is not as I take itâ— the holding of the true sense but not to offer violence or a forced seâ—se and meaning upon the Creed which every man doth not that yet beleeves it not a true sense For not to beleeve the true sense of the Creed is one thing but 't is quite another to force a wrong sense upon it P. Thus still the Lady and all silly ignorant Papists if ever by their blindnesse they shall happen to stumble upon salvation trusting to the meere simplicity of their ignorance living and dying in the Roman faith not knowing what it is nor able to beleeve any one Article of the Creed in a right sense may thank you for thus incouraging them upon this hope of possibility of an impossible salvation And the case stands thus The Church of Rome in her Councel of Trent hath put a forced sense upon the Creed and so hath made a violation of the faith This forced sense Romes Clergie in the Catechisme of Trent forceth and presseth upon their blind people to beleeve Now tell me What difference is there between the forcing of a false sense upon the Creed which the Councel of Trent hath done and all Romes Clergy conveys the false sense if any at all as â—ank poyson into the minds of their Blindlings so farre as they are capable of any errour being capable of nothing els and the voluntary receiving and imbracing of that false sense and that not onely in beleeving it but so obstinately adhereing to it as they will not they dare not as you befoâ—e confesse beleeve otherwise though the truth be tendered unto him which is the generall condition of all ignorant Papists And being in this case what way now can you find out for them which may bring these misbeleevers or rather no-beleever to salvation What hope can you give them that have no faith And what faith can they have that cannot belâ—eve that cannot may not dare not have no meanes to comprehend the râ—ght sence of the Creed but the forced sense that Rome puts upon it and them L. p. 349. As for Origen I thinke he was the first founder of Purgatory P. This here of Purgatory bordering so neere your last Passage of your misbeleeving Papists gives me occasion to imagine how necessary it were for you to be the first Inventer of some other place in hell like unto that Limbus Infantum where provision may be made to intertaine your silly Infant-Papists that are not able to give any one reason of that hope of salvation which you force upon them and which you have been the first inventer of That as Popish Infants dying without Baptisme goe to their Limbus where they are sensible neither of joy nor paine so your silly ignorants having no sense of any true faith and knowledge of God or of themselves here when they dye they may goe to such a like place or Limbus where they may neither injoy blisse nor suffer paine But a word of Purgatory in the mean time For the first Founder of it in my poore reading I find the Heathen Plato For he tells us as of 3 sorts of men in this world some very good and some starke nought and some indifferent so he fits 3 places for these 3 sorts after this life 1 Elysium the Elysian fields meaning thereby a place of pleasure as Paradise into which went those immediately who were very good 2. Hell whither the very worst went 3. a middle place or lake into which the moderate or indifferent men were cast after death and after a certaine time there as a yeare or two or more as they were lesse or more good or bad being well purged were cast forth againe Whence they went into the Elysian fields
the malignity and iniquity of the Times shall lay upon me which I am most willing to undergoe for his sake who suffered death that we might live And never had I more imployment to exercise me in any age Mother Iustice what sayst thou Iustice. Deare Mother I hold it both just and necessary that the Reply be published both for the beating down of the insolencie of the Relator and the raysing up of the drooping spirits of Gods people and the setling them in the Truth As for presenting it to the King though I be not against it yet for my part I have engaged my selfe in an Appeale to the High and Rightâ—ous Iudge of all the world for Iustice in this Cause where I shall be sure to have it So as I resolve not to descend to any inferiour Court and there too where the like Cause inferiour to none for pure innocencie and that also upon Appeale so foulely miscarried So as I am altogether taken up in waiting for an Answer from my Righteous Iudge wherein I shall desire my Sister Patience to lend me so much of her vertue as may preserve my Attendance from fainting Mother Mercy what sayst thou Mercy Deare Mother I am ingaged with my Sister Iustice in the same Petition to the throne of Iustice and Mercy that the Righteous Iudge will for his mercy sake to his people give righteous judgement between them and the Relator for else they and the Cause must fall to ground And this course I stick unto not that I dissent from my other Sisters but what your selfe and they shall resolve on in this case my Petition with my Sister Iustice may stand in no small stead when GOD shall be pleased to move the Kings heart to vindicate the Cause of Christ and of his innocent people from the unjust and unmercifull dealing of the Relator against whom I stand a dayly Petitioner with my Sister Iustice not departing from the Court-gate of heaven till we have a full Answer Mother Verity what sayst thou Verity Deare Mother I would willingly accompany my other Sisters to the Court in presenting the Reply to the King but that there I am better known then trusted So as I could never yet have any good successe there Insomuch as I have made my selfe as they have made me altogether a stranger at Court because my naked simplicity can no way suit with the garbe of the Court-fashion which can turn themselvs into all formes but mine which is unchangeable Yet if my Sister Hope could lend me her habit I durst adventure with my Sisters once more within the Court-gates in hope the Courtiers would not reject me as not knowing me to be Verity And should they by my language descry me yet seeing me in Hopes habit they might perhaps turn Truths Disciples in hope of some gaine or preferment so much affiance they have in hopes But alas their hope is nothing a Kin to my Sister Hope for her object are things spirituall and eternall but theirs onely temporall And besides the Relator hath forced his Pack with such a deale of trumpery and painted stuffe gilded over with the glittering Titles of Truth and Peace and Piety and Devotion and the Church and the like that these his faire polished Bristow-stones are preferred by his Court-Disciples before the true and precious Diamonds because presented in their ragged or russet Coat so as these prove not merchantable there where otherwise even Truth it selfe is bought and sold. And therefore it shal be sufficient that my Sisters so many as goe weare me as alwayes as a Jewell in their bosomes so I shall not be taken notice of and the fewer they appeare the better least the Prelate conjure them down for a sort of Factious Spirits as he did those THREE of late in the Starre-Chamber I have said Mother Prayer what sayst thou Prayer Deare Mother and all my deare Sisters here present come I pray you and kneele down here and assist me by joyning in earnest supplication to our GOD that he would direct and lead us in that way which in this businesse may most conduce to the advancement of the Cause of Christ and the honour of the King Prayer O Lord God Almighty Who shall not feare thee thou King of Saints Great and marvelous are thy works just and true are thy wayes Thou art the great King over all the Earth the righteous Iudge of all the world the GOD that hearest Prayer and helpest thy People when they cry unto thee and judgest their cause when thou seest their strength is gone But how long LORD Holy and True when wilt thou arise and have mercy upon Sion Is not now the time the set time come Is it not now a day of rebuke and blasphemy Are not the children brought to the birth and there is none to deliver How long shall thy people cry and thou answerest not How long shall the enemy roare and thou regardest not How long shall he blaspheme thy Name For ever Why pluckest thou not thy right hand out of thy bosome Art not thou our King of old working Salvation in the midst of the Earth Didst not thou divide the Sea for thy People to passe through And art not thou the same GOD of Israel still Or is thine arme shortened that it cannot save And dost thou not remember this how the enemy hath reproached O LORD and blasphemed thy Name And wilt thou deliver the soule of thy Turtle Dove unto the Beast Wilt thou forget the Congregation of thy poore for ever Remember thy Covenant O Lord for we are thy People and thou art our GOD. Other Lords besides thee have had dominion over us but by thee onely will we make mention of thy Name And yet dost thou not see the darke places of the Earth full of the habitations of Cruelty O let not the oppressed returne ashamed The poore and needy cry unto thee they trust in thee they waight for thee that they may praise thy Name Arise therfore O GOD plead thine own Cause remember how the foolish man reproacheth thee daily Forget not the voyce of thine enemies the tumult of those that rise up against thee increaseth continually And now behold here spread before thee a Book of Reproaches and Blaspemies against thy Majesty and against thy Sonne Iesus Christ and against thy Holy Spirit and against thy Holy Word and against thy Holy Ministers and against thy Holy People and against thy Holy and Pure Worship yea and against the Kings Sacred Majesty whom thou hast set over thy People to governe them according to Truth and Equity under whose Patronage and Authority notwithstanding the Relator is bold to shrowd this his Book with all the Blasphemies and Falsities therein contained So as hereby not onely the exterpation of all true Faith and Religion in the Land is threatned but consequently the utter ruine and extermination of the Nation it selfe hastened already fitted as dry fewell for thy wrath by this
this Relator professeth and teacheth a blind Charity sutable to his Faith which he boldly affirmeth to be not a mistaken Charity in granting that a silly ignorant Papist so living and dying may be Saved by his Ignorance in that Religion conforming himselfe to his Religious life and on the contrary condemning such Protestants of stiffenesse and churlishnesse that are not of the same Charity with him though the Replyer proveth that there is no true Charity without true Faith and Verity And whereas the same Relator is shewed in this Reply to give much more liberty to your Majesties Protestant People to goâ— to the Romish Masse as being with him one and the same undiffering Religion with that of England then the Jesuite doth to his blind Romanist to come to the English Church And whereas the same Relator hath many passages wherein he makes a Generall Councell of Prelates Iudge in all Controversies of Faith ascribing unto them an Infallibility and in case they shall erre and that even in grosse things and points of Faith yet that all men are bound to yeeld obedience at least externall till another Generall Counsell equall to the former reverse those Errours whereupon by Consequence of this Prelaticall doctrine as the Replyer doth instance the Church of England it self is bound to observe the worship of Images and the forbearance of the Cup in the Sacrament c. decreed in Generall Councels and not yet reversed by other Generall Councels equall to those And whereas the Relator calls Transubstantiation Purgatory and the forbearance of the Cup but disputable and Improbable Questions the nature of which is to be taken indifferently Pro and Con And whereas he never once in all his Relation calls the Romish-worship of Images and of the Sacrament or any other Idolatry in all the Romish Church but onely by the name of Superstition abstaining altogether from the name of Idolatry as if with him the Roman Church were no Idolatresse And whereas he much lamenteth the Seperation and rent between the Protestants and Rome with the continuance of it although with the Iesuite he confesse that errour in Faith is just cause of separation And whereas he the same Relator doth cunningly yet palpably enough in sundry passages of his Booke as also he hath openly done viva voce at the High-Commission-Board exclude all the Reformed Protestant Churches beyond the Seaes as no Churches of Christ as not admitting the Hierarchy Finally also in his Book quipping Luther and in him all the Reformed Churches as having made a rent not onely from Rome with her corruptions but even from the Catholick Church it selfe which indeed in the Relators sense and difinition of the Catholicke Church is most true to wit from the universall Hierarchy And whereas he the Relator doth every where highly extoll his Ceremonies in Gods worship as without which he saith there is no light left to shine before men that they may see his Devotion and so glorify GOD therein most foulely and odiously perverting and abusing the holy Text of Scripture uttered by CHRIST to a cleane other purpose as the Replyer hath noted all which Ceremonies being a will-worship after the Tradition and Commandement of men the Apostle doth utterly condemn as wherby the very merits of Christs death are made of none effect who in his death destroyed All Ceremonies in Religion obliging the Conscience and not onely the Leviticâ—ll but all other whatsoever of humane Ordinance as the Replyer clearely proveth So as it is not left to any Power on Earth to impose the least Ceremony yea though it be of nature indifferent to bind the Conscience in the service of GOD seeing all such imposition is Antichristian Tyranny And whereas all Prelaticall Hereticall and Antichristian Faction erected by the Prince of darkenesse against Iesus Christ and his Kingdome as is apparent both by their profession and practice wherein they have nothing at all yea not any one thing to show wherein they resemble either Christ or any one of his Apostles except Iudas Christs Kingdome being altogether spirituall and not of this world but the Hierarchy a meere carnall and worldly Kingdome onely guilded over with the bare name of spirituall And whereas the Relator throughout his whole Booke bewrayeth his most palpable and profound ignorance and notorious blindnesse in the whole mystery of Faith and all true divinity in so much as when ever he Cites Scripture he still perverts it to a wrong sense and is not able to bring any proofe either from Scripture or Common Reason except from some of his Jesuiticall Authors for any of his Paradoxes and strange doctrines delivering all without Book tanquam è Cathedra as but of some Papall unerring Chaire upon the Authority of his bare word and upon meere trust And whereas the Relator saith That worth once misled is of all other the greatest misleader and who of greater worth in the Church of England and in the Esteem of Great ones too then the Great Primate himselfe whose very word with many is taken as a divine Oracle So as if the Church and State of England will but pin their soules upon this Leaders sleeve he will not fayle to lead them in that way the issue whereof seem it never so right in the eyes of credulity will certainly prove to be as Solomon saith the wayes of death And whereas by the Relator sundry occasions are ministred to the Replyer of instancing divers practises charged upon the Prelate as the principall Agent or Instrument of setting up sundry Innovations in Religion in the Church of England all which have been done under his Primacie as The republishing under your Majesties Name the Book for liberty of profane Sports on the Lords day with pressing Ministers to read the Sayd Book in their severall Congregations and upon refusall extreamely persecuting them and thrusting them from their Ministry and meanes with their poore wives and children The authorizing and licencing of some Doctors Books which cry down the Morality of the 4 th Commandement for the Sanctifying of the Lords Sabbath day The setting forth of a New Order to restraine Preachers from Preaching in the Afternoones on the Lords dayes much pressed by the Prelates and their Officers in all their visitations The setting forth of a Declaration in your Majesties Name prefixed to the Articles of Religion which the Prelates practises plainly interpret to be for the restraining and prohibiting altogether the Doctrines of Saving Grace to be preached and wherein the genuine sense of those Articles touching Grace which formerly were universally interpreted to have but one sence agreeable to the Scripture is confounded with the heterodox hereticall doctrines of the Pelagians and Arminians so as none can tell what to make of those Articles saving that by this meanes the Orthodox Ministers must not preach the truth and the Adverse party and Faction may find footing and countenance for their groundlesse and gracelesse heresies and all this to the manifest
vaine and wicked thought concerning GOD as if he favoured him and his wicked practises and all because GOD was silent and patient in forbeâ—reing to reprove and punish him Now to apply this If you can find any to whom these things may more fitly and truely be applyed then your selfe doe you apply them home unto them But till you doe give us leave to apply them so farre to your Lordship as we have sufficient warrant and good evidence for First do not you in this your Booke in particular pretend at least to declare Gods word and speak of his Covenant as if you would become a Champion to maintain the holy Scripture against the Roman Adversaries thereof This you professe and willingly grant But in the proofe hereof you set us up Mans Authority above the Scripture as we shall see in the due place And doe you not withall hate instruction and cast Gods word behind you when being by Gods Minister as of late reprooved and convinced of such things as you neither could nor can deny to be true as being written in Capitall Letters in your forehead and on the palmes of your hands yet you not onely hated and despised the reproofe and instruction which was according to Gods word and the duty of a Minister whose strict charge is among other things to reproove with all authority but also have manifested this your hatred and contempt in persecuting this poore Minister beyond all measure and example yea and still continue persecuting him to this day and that most Antichristianly and not onely him but his Wife and Children who have done you no offence at all not suffering the one to goe see her Husband nor the other their Father O my Lord heaven rings of this your fury and the earth groaneth under such more then Heathenish inhumanity not sorting with the Law of common humane nature O How shall you escape the damnation of hell And what plagues may not the Land expect for being guilty of such innocent blood and of such unheard of Barbarisme and that also maintained and continued in cold blood Yea and doth not the spirit of the Beast in you breath out persecution and blast many other of Gods faithfull Ministers never leaving them till you have rooted them out And this you neither feare to practise nor shame to professe And then againe Doe you not give your mouth to Evill and frame your tongue to Deceit You frame it as having a special art and Method in it as the Apostle spekas which you expresse in the fourth mark especially Sitting and speaking against your brother and slandering your own Mothers Son as will further yet appeare and doth by your continuall and dayly practises and specially in or at your High Commission chaire or Boord where as else where you have a power to doe what you list without controule or contradiction And for carnall security in an impious and Atheisticall conceit of GOD as if a favourer of wicked practises because a patient forbearer to punish them presently examine your own heart nay may we not both read it in your courses and understand it by your speeches in sundry places of your Booke where you would seem to have a speciall interest in Gods favour as in his admirable restoring you as you say from your dangerous Fever though you there forgot as those nine Lepers that Christ clensed to return him thanks so much as verball And for the further and fuller clearing of the verefying of all this in your selfe I shall call your Book to witnesse In the meane time here Heare Gods doom against this wicked Man But I will reprove thee and set them in order before thee He will bring every worke to judgement with every secret thing whether good or evill And as David elswhere saith Wherefore doth the wicked contemn GOD He hath said in his heart Thou wilt not require it Thou hast seen it O GOD for thou beholdest mischiefe and spight to require it with thy hand the poore committeth himselfe unto thee Thou art the helper of the Fatherlesse Breake thou the arme of the wicked and the evill man Seeke out his wickednesse till thou find none But How long Lord Holy and True Surely when he maketh inquisition for blood he remembreth them he forgetteth not the cry of the Humble There is a day of Gods visitation a comming and it hasteneth yea we may see it even at the doores Therefore Davids inference hereupon will sort well in this place O consider this ye that forget GOD least I teare you in pieces and there be none to deliver Thus you may see what need you have to beware how you meddle with such edg'd tooles in misapplying the holy Word of God for it is a sharpe two edged sword which not skilfully handled as a Sword in a mad mans hand but applyed to a wrong use and object will rebound back upon you and wound you God give you Grace to repent if possible if you be not come to that Sklurâ—tata kai ametanamton kardian as the Apostle speakes hardnesse and impenitent heart treasuring up wrath against the day of wrath I am plain you see if there may be hope and surely 't is no time now to spare when we heare Gods Trumpet sounding the Alarme You proceed L. p. ibid. In the midst of these libellous outcryes against me some Divines of great note and worth in the Church of England came to me one by one and no one knowing of the others coming as to me they protested and perswaded with me to reprint this Conference in my owne Name This they thought would vindicate my Reputation were it generally known to be mine P. What libellous outcryes my Lord Of Scandalous and Scurrilous pennes If Scurrilous I approve not If Scandalous is not that in your sense onely because against you But the Authours names were to the Bookes which they avowed to be theirs How then libellous And Master BURTON in speciall offered to the full Court at his Censure to prove all his Book to be true And how then Scandalous And if just reproofe of Iniquity and Enormities and that by a Minister of GOD in his own Charge be Censured for Scandalous then how shall the writings of the Apostles and Prophets and the words of Christs owne mouth escape this Censure of being Scandalous For Master BURTON was a Minister of CHRIST which under the Gospell is called a Prophet whose Office is to convince and reproove sinne But he named your Lordship and some other of your Brethren in his Book True And what of that Doe you make this to be Scandalum Magnatum Then what say you to the Prophet Elias telling King Ahab to his face Thou art hee that troubleth Israel And in his writing to King Iehoram hee told him his owne which hee shortly after found too true So the Prophet Elisha when hee spake to the Elders of Israel and
their communion with Christ. Now for the second Instance of shaking the Foundation Christ which is Profanesse Tell me are not the ten Commandements Fundamentalls as being the principles and rules of our Sanctification So as the Popes Parasites are not so impudent as in their Decretals and other writings to affirme that he can dispence with the morall Law although they say of him in the Decretalls That Papa aliquando nimium Papaliter dispensat The Pope sometimes dispenseth too papally or Pope-like What say you then of the 4 th Commandement touching the Sabbath day of the Lord our God and the Sanctification thereof Dare you say the Commandement is not Morall being placed in the midst of the Ten And though that seaventh day being the Last of the week as wherein God rested after the finishing of the worke of Creation which he therefore appointed to be the Sabbath day of the Old Testament be now abrogated as giving place to a new Sabbath day the First of the Weeke wherein our Lord Iesus Christ having finished the worke of a New creation rising againe entred into his Rest namely the State of Rest Immortality and Glory is therefore the 4 th Cammandements Morality so abrogated as it is not still in force to injoyne us Christians the Sanctification of that day of the Week which is the Sabbath day of the Lord our God Iesus Christ Or doth it not aswell and by the same Reason bind us Christians to the Sanctification of the first day of the week as whereon the Lord our God Iesus Christ rested from a greater worke of Creation as it did the Jewes to the Sanctification of the 7 th or last day of the Week as whereon the Lord God rested from his worke of the Creation of Heaven and Earth It is so demonstrative and cleare that to deny it argues not onely grosse ignorance in the knowledge of Christ and of Divinity but also a mind destitute of grace and true sanctity that dare imagine the least imperfection or mutability to be in that or any other of the Morall Commandements Now if the 4 th Commandement bind us Christians as 't is cleare it doth and as hereafter I shall take occasion to be a little more large in it to the Sanctification of the Sabbath or rest day of the Lord our God which is now the First day of the weeke upon the same Reason that it obliged the Jewes of the Old Testament to keep the 7 th or last day of the week then is not the open profanation of the Lords day by sports and pastimes a shaking of a foundation of Faith Nor doe I meane onely a Profanation thereof de facto in practise either through ingnorance or custome or frailty but by open and professed Toleration and Dispensation and that by publick Edict incouraging people to such vain sports and pastimes as doe most Heathenishly profane not onely the Day but the very name of Christianity and Christian Profession So as this Profanation and so violation of the 4 th Commandement is of a very high nature and a sinne of presumption as wherein humane Authority lifts it selfe up against and above the Law-giver himselfe daring to dispense with his holy and eternall Law and that in giving liberty to the flesh to commit sinne even with greedinesse Now this Foundation of Faith whereby the Communion of Saints and all true sanctification of life is supported and maintained to wit in the due sanctification of this day in all holy duties publique and private being thus not onely shaken but with high contempt troden under profane feet through intollerable pride of men have you put to your hand as firmly as you can to support it Did you interpose your selfe that that Booke for Sports might not be revived out of the Ashes wherein it had lyen so long buried as it was all rotten and forgotten Or that it might not be reprinted with a new Enforcement Or at least if it must needs be so that it might not be pressed upon Ministers to read it in their Congregations to the manifest dishonour of GOD and their holy Ministry and to the great offence of their Consciences and of their People And when the feare of GOD and their owne Conscience withheld some from reading of it did you spare any of them from suspension at least Did you spare Mr. Wilson of Kent from Suspending him with your own mouth Nay were not divers Ministers in Surrey and els where as in Kent Essex c. so prosecuted as either they were put out of their livings as Mr. Snelling of Kent or els for feare of worse did voluntarily quit their livings and got them gone And when upon petition some were referred to you what reliefe had they Did you put to your hand as firmely as you could to support the poore men Or did you show them the least mercy or favour Nay on the contrary are you not the Grand if not the Sole Instrument both of reviving republishing pressing it upon Ministers punishing and oppressing them yea and undoing them about it Is this to put to your hand as firmly as you can to support such a Foundation of Faith when you not onely shake but breake down the Pillars by whose Ministry such a foundation is maintained Are you not then not onely too wary and one that hath more care of himselfe then of the Cause of Christ but too unreasonably bold and impious in not onely not supporting but putting to your hand as firmely as you can to the utter demolishing and ruinating of these holy Foundations of Faith both by your Antichristian superstition and Heathenish profanesse Nay in so shaking one Foundation the 4 th Commandment in the open toleration of the profanation of the Lords Sabbath day you shake all those ten Foundations overturning all holinesse all duties to God and Man as Infidelity against the first Commandement Setting up your May-Idol-Poles against the second Commandement taking Gods name in vaine in breaking that Baptismall vow of Christianity in renouncing all vanity against the third Commandement despising and abusing Gods Ordinances against the fourth teaching irreverence and disobedience to Parents and Masters and that expresly against the fifth Commandement giving occasion of murther against the sixth of adultery against the seaventh of drunkennesse and so of theft and opening the very flood gate to all wickednesse To conclude this point Either your Lorship is most grosly ignorant of the Foundations of Faith what they be or you are extreamely selfe blind in imagining that the world will not suspect any Serpent lurking under the green leaves of your goodly words having too much tasted of your bitter fruits so as your fair words and foule actions must needs make men asmuch abhorre your gracelesse hypocrisie as they doe your shamelesse impiety while under a faire colour and meere pretence of holding and upholding the Foundations of Faith you undermine them and blow them up L. p. 13 14. Comparing the Church
about Altars Prelates Calling Ceremonies Now if they should consult your Lordship Siting in the Chaire of Canterbury to resolve them in these difficulties what would be your finall determination of them For the first would you not alledge Heb. 13.10 We have an Altar For the second Psal. 45.16 Princes in all Lands that is Prelates For the Third to wit Ceremonies 1 Cor. 14.40 Let all things be done decently and in Order Ergo what Ceremonies the Bishop shall injoyne you must observe These are your Glosses and such interpretations as these we must looke for of your Church Such as the Church of Rome is very dextrous and expert in As This is my body Ergo The Bread is transubstantiated into Christs very body I have prayed for thee Peter Ergo the Pope cannot erre Launch out into the deep Ergo the Pope may fish all the world Arise Peter Kill and eat Ergo the Pope may kill the Venetians As it were by fire Ergo there is a Purgatory Thus the Scripture where 't is plaine should guide the Church otherwise not but in doubt and difficulty the Church should expound the Scripture that is guide the Scripture Ergo the Church is above the Scripture because onely where 't is plaine it guides the Church but where difficult the Church must guide it interpret it In difficulties then the Scripture it must not guide the Church Ergo in difficulties and doubts the Church may interpret as She pleaseth No not so for you adde ibid. Saying Yet so as neither the the Scripture should be forced nor the Church so bound up as that upon just and further evidence She may not revise that which in any Case â—ath slipt by her P. Here be two things enterfeerinch each other First a Caution Secondly a Condition The Caution That the Scripture be not forced Take heed of that But who shall Judge of that Even the Same that forceth it the Church And who shall defend that Scripture from forcing if it be left to mens interpritation and those men in matters of doubt and difficulty are not guided by the Scripture but the Scripture by the Churches interpretation But in no Case let the Scripture be forced You will have a care of that But why then doe you show your selfe so expert in forcing and misapplying the Scripture and that most pittifully as both hath been shewed and will all along appeare But however the Condition will helpe all Forcing or not forcing the Church must not be bound but that upon just and further Evidence She may revise that which in any Case hath slipt by her Now what is this just and further Evidence Or what this Revising And what this Sliping by her I take the Sense and Summe of all to be this That here you lay your ground to make way for an Index expurgatorious to revise But is that all Nay 't is implyed that some thing els be done as to correct and expunge or at least more clearely interpret but indeed to expunge with a Deleatur let it be blotted out whatsoever in any Books formerly Printed by Authority in England hath in any Case slipped by her or if the maine Subject of the Book be not Catholick and consonant to the Doctrines of the present Church that they may be censured as Prohibited Bookes and so una Litura cancelled And withall whatsoever you find in any Books which you do not very well resent to declare which be the Doctrines of the Church of England and which private mens opinions And 't will be requisite in my judgement that you hasten this worke to dispatch it in your time least if you die such another Phoenix will hardly arise out of your Ashes that will have the courage to adventure upon these things But among all other things leave us not in that perplexed estate whereinto you have brought us by your Declaration before the Articles of Religion but make us a New Declaration to certifie us what to beleeve and rather resolve us plainly that the Articles are to be taken in that sense which agreeth with your own opinion then that they should give an uncertain sound for then who shall prepare himselfe to the battell And there may be great reason why we should preferre your Lordships opinion before the judgement of all other those learned men that have formerly lived in the Church of England because the Church may now see more and further into a Milstone then of old as a Dwarfe upon a Giants shoulders And so what slippes have formerly passed by the Church of England your Lordship with your Chapleins and Divines will so revise and repurg as there shal be nothing left upon record whereby it might appeare to Posterity that there is any such difference between the Church of England and of Rome as to hinder their most wished and desirable reconciliation And I think I am not in this farre wide of your Project The Wardens of the Company of STATIONERS can tell what you lately gave them in Charge about such a matter for the revising of Puritan Books that so when you have purged out the Puritanism there may be neither Purity nor Verity left As I remember the Orator said of a certaine Roman that he alwayes had his head and eye-browes Shaven that men might take him not to have one haire of a good man Thus when you have given such Books a dry shaving you will make them to appeare as ridiculous as Davids Messengers whom the young Ammonitish King took and caused halfe their beards to be Shaven off and their garments to be curtalled to their bare buttocks But herein you prudently follow both the example of Rome and the Counsell of Franciscus â S. Clara who commends you for seting afoot this Project But I hope the Stationers will look a little better to their tò méros â—rgasÃa the gaine of their Trade and that which is their Freehold and Livelyhood as well knowing that if the good Books be guelt of their masculine vertue and verity none will buy them except perhaps Chandlers to stop their Mustard pots and put about their Candles And then should the Company of Book sellers and their Posterity be deprived of the benefit of their Coppies which are as a Coppy-hold of Inheritance to them and theirs But time will try all things L. p. 18. And though I cannot prophesie yet I feare that Atheisme and Irreligion gather strength while the truth is thus weakened by an unworthy way of contending P. Cannot you prophesie being the High Priest of England as that High Priest did that it was necessary Christ should dye that the whole Nation perish not So cannot you prophesie That it is necessary that all Puritans Christs members should perish that the whole Generation and Hierarchy of Priests perish not But though you cannot no more then Balaam prophesie or bring an Inchantment against the Children of Israel that God should
did locally in Soule descend into Hell the place of the damned without any proofe from Scripture is Sin My reasons are these 1. Because this opens a gappe to men to beleeve humane Traditions to be of Faith to Salvation as of equall credit and authority to the Scriptures Now it cannot be proved that the Creed it selfe with its forme and words and Articles and Title called The Apostles Creed is other then a humane Tradition or that the Apostles composed the Creed Secondly This argues as a too high estimation of a thing humane as if it were autópistos of selfe-Credit so a too base estimation and undervaluing of the holy Scripture as if they alone were not the Rule of Faith or not to be relieâ— and rested on alone for all matters concerning Christian Faith So as to give Credit to any thing else besides the Scripture as of equall Authority with the Scripture as you make your Creed to be and not examining it by the Scripture is a detracting from the Authority of Scripture and consequently a denying of the Scripture to be the Sole Rule of Faith For the Creed it is either a part of the Scripture or not a part if it be not a part of Scripture as indeed it is not then all the Articles of Faith in it being but a small abridgement of Christian Faith and so of necessity and in comparison of Scripture it selfe very obscure and Scanty are to be proved and illustrated from Scripture the Sole Rule of Faith and Tryall of all Truths Thirdly in Particular to beleeve Christs descent in Soule into hell locally must stand with some reason and analogy or proportion of Faith layd downe in the Scripture For Christ did or suffered nothing but the Scripture shews the Reason Cause and End of it For instance Isaiah Saith To us a Child is borne to us a Son is given So the Angel to the Shepheards To you is borne this day a Saviour which is Christ the Lord. This then shews the End of Christs Incarnation namely for our Salvation Then for his Death He was delivered up for our Sins And Forasmuch as the Children were partakers of flesh and blood he also himselfe likewise took part of the Same that through death he might destroy him that had the power of dâ—ath that is the Devil And deliver them who through feare of death were all their life time subject to bondage So for his Resurrection He rose againe for our Iustification So for his Ascention It was that he might send the Holy Ghost and goe to prepare a place in heaven for all his So for his Sitting at Gods right hand There he makes Intercession for his people rules as King his Church in preserving protecting governing his people and makeing his and their foes his Footstoole But for any such thing as Descent into hell neither is it found in the Scripture nor much lesse any reasons given there of it Indeed Peter Speaking of Christs Resurrection alledgeth Psal. 16. Thou wilt not leave my Soule in Hell So in the English In the Hebrew it is commonly taken for the Grave not for the place of the damned But will you take Peters exposition of it Speaking by Christs owne Spirit This saith he David Seeing before Spake of the Resurrection of Christ that his Soule was not left in Hell neither his flesh did see Corruption So then this place Psal. 16. was by the Holy Ghosts owne Interpretation a Prophecie of Christs Resurrection from the Grave and not of any Descent into Hell the place of the damned For he is not said to rise out of hell as you say he went downe into Hell nor to ascend out of Hell as you beleeve he descended into Hell Will you have a particular Article of Christs descent into Hell and shall you not need another Article for his Ascent out of Hell againe And the Apostle saith Christ descended Eis tà katótera mère tes ges to the lowest parts of the Earth which is spoken of his humiliation to the Death and the Grave but here is no word of his Descent into any such place as Hell the place of the damned But admit your Faith to be true that Christs Soule descended locally into Hell I aske to what end or purpose Can you shew any Reason from Scripture for this Will you say his Soule went thither to suffer Surely that had its Consummatum est upon the Crosse there it was finished Will you say he went to triumph over the Devil in his owne Dâ—nne That was also done on his Crosse as on his Triumphall Chariot And can you give any reason why Christ should descend into hell in regard of us What that so he might deliver our Soules out of Hell Surely this also was done in his Death And againe if it were necessary that Christs soule should goe locally into hell to deliver our soules then also it was necessary for his body to descend into hell to deliver our bodies from thence For he came to redeem our bodies as well as our soules Or what els can you Say Certainly what ever you can invent the Scripture will presently discover the vanity of it But for my part I dare beleeve nothing concerning Christ and my Salvation but what the Scripture hath revealed But the Scripture hath revealed no such thing as the Descent of Christs Soule into Hell locally But you will then object unto me Do I not beleeve my Creed and every Article in it I answere I doe Why then say you Doe I not beleeve the Article of Christs Descent into Hell I say I doe being understood or expounded according to the Scripture and the Analogy of Faith therein How is that Christ dyed and in his Passion he suffered the Torments of Hell in his Soule on the Crosse and in the Garden But his Descent into Hell is set after his buriall And doe you not know that the ancient Heathen used to put Hádes for the state of the dead So as katelthein eis hadou is to goe or to abide in the state of the dead which Christ did for 3. dayes and then arose againe and revived So as the Article shewes the continuance of Christs being dead and buried till his Resurrection Againe you know the Nicene Creed mentions onely Christs buriall and no Descent into Hell and Athanasius his Creed katelthen eis hadou He Descended into Hell without speaking a word of his buriall All which doe confirme what I say that christ in being buried remained so long in the State of the dâ—ad his soule seperated from his body and being said to Dâ—scend into Hell hades signifying also the Grave thereby is meant his being buried for so long a time till his rising againe As it is said in the next Article The third day â—e rose againe from the dead that is from the Grave where he abode in the state of the dead Now I have given
shall set forth to the contrary I must crave pardon if it be not of the same faith with you And thus farre you allow any in the Church of England this liberty for your words are Is it not lawfull for any in the Church of England to say I conceive thus or thus of it c Although you adde L. p. 51. It is one thing to hold an opinion privately within himselfe and another thing boldly and publickly to affirme it P. I doe I confesse boldly and publickly affirme this my faith concerning this Article which my faith I doe assure my selfe is true being grounded upon good and cleare evidence of the Scripture on which my faith is built and not upon any thing of humane Authority And in making open confession of this my faith I doe therin follow the Rule of Scripture which saith Bretheren if any of you doe erre from the Truth and one convert him Let him know that he which converteth a Sinner from the errour of his way shall save a Soule from death and shall hide â— multitude of Sinnes Now what know I that this Declaration of my Faith with Reasons from the Scripture may by Gods grace be a meanes to convert if not your Lordship from your errour yet others or may preserve them from falling into it being dangerously entred into it by such an example as your selfe And however if it be lawfull for you boldly and publickly to affirme such things of beliefe which are not found to be in Scripture why may it not be as lawfull for me boldly and publickly to affirme the Contrâ—ry But the Scope of your Speech as I conceive is to maintaine your practise in punishing in High Commission such as expound this Article by and according to the Scripture L p. 53. For that all the Positive Articles of the present Church of England are grounded upon Scripture we are content to be judged by the joynt and constant beliefe of the Fathers which lived within the first foure or five hundred yeares after CHRIST when the Church was at the best and by the Councels held within those times and to submit to them in all those points of Doctrine P. But first as is before noted as you give accasion why have you made your Articles to be DÃpsucoi of a double sense So as in that respect how can you call them Positive being so perplexed in themselves And againe Whom doe you meane here by Wee I suppose you and your church of England You are contented to be Judged by Fathers and Councels within the first 500. yeares whether your Church-Articles be grounded on Scripture or not Are you contented so indeed Then you must be contented to undergoe the Censure of departing both from the judgement of the Scriptures as disavowing them for the onely rule of Faith and Doctrines to be tryed by and also from the joynt and constant beliefe both of Fathers and Councels within the first 500. yeares For their joynt constant and unanimous beliefe was that nothing besides the Scripture is to be Judge in matters of Faith And if you want leasure to read the Fathers doe but peruse the learned Discourses and Disputes of the Divines of the Church of England before your being a Prelate as Dr. Carleton of the Church De Ecclesia Dr. Whitakers forementioned Dr. White his way to the true Church Dr. Bilson yea and all those that have written of these Controversies and they will abundantly show this that it was ever held as a Principle and therefore not to be denyed nor needfull to be proved and which Dr. Carleton in his said Book proves never to have been altered till in and by the Councel of Trent That the Scripture is the sole rule of Faith But thus you and your Church of England are contented to be one and the Same Church with Rome in refusing the Scripture as the Sole Iudge of your Doctrines But will you be judged by the joynt and constant beliefe of Fathers and Councels within the first 500. yeares whether your Articles about Grace Election Predestination c. bearing as you Declare a double and opposite sense in their Pelagian and Arminian sense be according to the Scriptures or no If I name onely Augustine who was Pelagionorum Malleus that Hammer to knock down the Pelagians both the Fathers and Councels within those first 500. yeares did joyntly and constantly professe that which he writ to be the Beliefe of the whole Church it was so clearely and fully proved out of Scripture In so much as you may read in the Histories of the Councels as in Binius how that some Councels and Bishops of Rome set downe Large Passages in Augustins Tracts against the Pelagians as the Jugement of the Catholick Church and the particular Decrees and Acts of such and such councels If then you will stand to the Judgement of those ancient Fathâ—rs and Councels then you must at their Barre hold up that hand which was a chiefe instrument in drawing up the said Declaration which hath so enigmatized and darkened the Articles as they have no other Light left but a kind of twilight which inclines rather to the night then to the day rather to favour the Pelagian Heresie then the Orthodox verity But this being your language all along that you put not onely your Articles and the Articles of the Creed but the Mysteries also of the Scriptures to the Iudgement of the Primitive Church Fathers Generall Councels we will Supersede from speaking more of it in this place Again where you say that the Church was then at the best if you understand it during the age and time of the Apostles 't is most true but if of the Succeding ages within 500. yeares we may doubt of it or rather resolve the contrary unlesse you meane it comparatively to the ages after that wherein Antichrist and the Mystery of Iniquity began more brightly to shine forth and display themselves in the Roman Sea both in corruption of doctrine and of Gods worship beyond all excesse For you may know that within the space of the first 500. yeares the Church was so overgrown and pestered with the heresie of Arius as the world groaned under it wondering it was become an Arian as Hierome speakes Totus ingemuit mundus miratus se factum esse Arianum And among many corruptions and much unsoundnesse in Doctrine what multitudes of Superstitious devises and heathenish Customes not onely crept but crowded into the service of God Which Heathenish Rites as we find in B. Rhenanus his Annotations upon Turtullian were by the Christians in a kind of carnall policie admitted both because many ancient men being converted to Christianity such as it was could not easily part with their old Customes as also that thereby they might draw other of the Gentiles to become Christians Just such a policie as our new Doctors I meane of your Church of England have used in a pretence at least making us beleeve
your 16 th Sextion mentioned before which continueth from p. 59. to 116. wherein are sundry passages â—o this purpose whereof the last was one and the rest we shall touch as we meet with them And here I cannot though I said I would no more wonder but admire that such Speeches should flow down so fast from the Sea of Canterbury which is a mighty Catarrhact or distillation of the eye drowning the sight and flowing from such an abundant humour in the head as it is like to turne into a Dropsie possessing and putrifying the whole body which if not prevented by some remedy from hâ—aven must needs prove Epedemically mortall You are the first Antagonist of Iesuites that ever uttered such things and you might well have given them leave to utter such base Speeches of the holy Scriptures as more proper for a Jesuite then one pretending the Faith of a Protestant But the difference is not great nor matters is much which of you be the mouth having all one Spirit and being all one and the Same Church So as being the Metropolitan of that Church which with Rome is one and the Same you have the greater priviledge to speake in the language of that pregnant Mother who is so full of the names of Blasphemy against the word of God Now is not the Scripture so demonstratively evident in it selfe as to enforce assent What then shall doe it Probable Arguments from the light of Nature But Nature is blind as we shewed before of naturall Reason And againe how can that which is but probable confirme that which is truth For the Scripture is Truth it selfe As Christ saith Thy word is Truth Now there being strictly no proportion between Probability and Truth how can the Light of Nature which you say is but probable confirme that which is truth And we shewed also how the Naturall man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God which things are contained in the Scripture But you adde Arguments from humane Testimony confirme the Scriptures to be Gods word That which is but humane cannot strengthen that which is Divine I receive not the Testimony of man saith Christ. So the Scripture is so farre above humane testimony that it can receive no strength from it no more then God can receive strength from the creature Gods word from mans word And the Scripture being Gods written word is above Mans bare word As Christ tells the Jewes who took Christ for a meere Man If ye beleeve not Moses his writings how shall you beleeve my words Thereby implying That Writings the Scripture are above mans words Againe humane testimony in Comparison to Gods word is but a lye For every man is a lyer Moreover in saying The Scripture is not evident enough to demonstrate it selfe to be the word of God and to enforce assent but being strenthened by Probable Arguments from the light of Nature and of humane Testimony 't is then wilfullnesse and pride to suspect it Here you set the light of Nature above the word of Grace probability above Truth humane Testimony above Divine Man above GOD. For Christ tells us that the Scriptures beare witnesse of him And you Say the Scriptures are not sufficient witnesses of themselves and so consequently of Christ without mans testimony So as hereby you disable the Scripture as being an incompetent witnesse of Christ because not evident enough in themselves without humane Testimony So as how you can cleare your selfe from blasphemy I see not But this is but one degree For you adde The light which is in Scripture is not light enough it cannot beare sufficient witnesse to it selfe Now you open your mouth a little wider to blaspemy But we shall have yet more of ths Suffe out of your Wardrobe Of which I may say this by the way That you bewray how grosly and palpably blind you are in discerning the Scriptures glorious brightnesse being like that Woman in Lipsius who being blind her selfe blamed the house she was in for being very darke So you because you are blind your selfe the god of this world having blinded your eyes therefore you blame the holy Scriptures of GOD for being darke not bright enough to to beare witnesse to it selfe Why Surely all light is Sui index sui Communicativum it is a witnesse to it selfe that it shineth So as all in the house doe see it yea though it be but the light of a Candle as Christ saith If therefore the Scriptures have not so much light in them as all may see it to shine forth then they have no light at all For if there be any light at all it will shew it selfe But this you will not stick to tell us anon that the Scripture hath no light in it selfe and therefore no mervaile if here you say the Light that is in it is not bright enough And you tell us here also That the Testimony of the Holy Ghost ordinarily is not so much as considerable in this Question Why What is the Question Is it not how or by what meanes we beleeve the Scriptures to be the word of GOD Is not this the Subject Question of this whole 16 th Section and which you handle throughout And this being so have you forgotten what you told us before of this beliefe that the Scripture is the word of GOD Namely that faith is the gift of God of God alone and an infused habit in respect whereof the Soule is meerely recipient and that the sole infuser is the Holy Ghost and Till the Spirit of God move the heart of man he cannot beleeve And now doe you come and tell us The Holy Ghost ordinarily is not so much as considerable in the Question Yea but here you tell us this is not the Question What then Namely how the Scripture may be proposed as a Credible Object fit for beliefe And for this you set us downe a rule of Proposall which must of necessity take its rise from the Tradition or Authority of the Present Church Whereof we shall heare more anon But by your leave this is not the Question but the other For this your manner of Proposall you put it not as a Question but as an a'Ãtema a Question begged not to be argued and disputed upon as the nature of a Question is to be but you doe dogmatÃzein obtrude and force upon us a novell opinion of your owne devising without proofe of Reason Argument or Authority from the Scripture And therefore we deny your Question or Position as Heterodox or a Paradox contrary to the truth of God word which is the onely rule of determining all Questions in Divinity about faith whereof this is not the least How or by what meanes a man comes to beleeve the Scripture to be the word of God Now for the determining herof you would tye us to the one only manner of Proposing the Scripture as a Credible object fit for beliefe and that is necessarily to
the well-beeing of a Christian. A true Christians life is full of affliction more then other men For this he hath the greatest need of comfort Now wherein hath a Christian most solid comfort Surely in the Scriptures David a man of afflictions can tell us this by his own experience Remember Lord Saith he the word unto thy Servant wherein thou hast caused me to hope This is my Comfort in my affliction for thy word hath quickned me And v. 52. I remembred thy judgements of old ô Lord and have comforted my selfe And v. 54. Thy Statutes have been my Songs in the house of my pilgrimage Gods word is that which supports Faith in prayer to God in affliction As v. 76. Let I pray thee thy mercifull kindnesse be for my coâ—fort according to thy word unto thy Servant And v. 80. Let my heart be sound in thy Statutes that I be not ashamed And v. 92. Except thy Law had been my delights I should then have perished in my Affliction And that excellent Psalme which Aug. so much admires and not without cause calling it Magnificum Psalmum it is his own word is full of such meditations and consolations grounded upon Gods word And the Apostle also sheweth this where he saith Whaâ—soever things are written aforetime were written for our learning that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope Now how could a Christian in affliction comfort himselfe in the Scriptures had he not a full demonstrative knowledge by Faith that the Scripture is Gods word and therefore all his promises therein are most true and in Christ yea and Amen I say a full demonstrative knowledge by Faith which is ' élenkos the demonstration of things not seen as before Not that this full demonstrative knowlâ—dge in â—aith hath in it the full perfection of Degrees which is not attained in this life but it is such a full demonstrative knowledge such a sure trust and confidence in God according to his word such a hope in his Promises in Christ that although his â—aith be sometimes assaulted with temptations of feares and doubtings arising either from infirmities and corruptions within or from Satans suggestions without yet the beleever sticks closse and will not let go his hold but as Iob saith though God kill him yet will he trust in him Then then being so your assertion is very bold and blasphemous in saying God in his Providence hath kindled in the Scripture no light for that namely full demonstrative knowledge wherof we have made sufficient demonstration to the contrary And your own next words will confute you for you say He requires our faith of it and such a certain demonstration as may fit that Doth he so And what is that faith but wherin there is such a certain and demonstrative knowledge as gives a man full assurance that the Scripture is the word of God And this is that faith which God especially râ—quireth in hiâ— people as without which they cannot beleeve unto righteousnes and confesse unto Salvation But this is not that faith with its certain demonstration which you mean For as you adde yours is such a faith as is begotten of Reason and ordinary Grace which is ever the burthen of your Song where the soule is morally prepared by the Tradition of the Church Of which enough before Neither can your morall faith probably perswaded by your Tradition ever become to be élegkos a demonstrative assurance that Scripture is Gods word So as hereby you overthrow both the beeing and well-beeing of a Christian and leave him stript of all means and hope of Salvation and consolation by the Scripture L. p. 88. Hooker gives a very sensible Demonstration It is not the word of God which doth or possibly can assure us that we doe well to think it is his word For if any one Book of Scripture did give testimony to it yet still the Scripture would require another to give credit unto it So that unlesse beside the Scripture there were some thing that might assure c. And this he acknowledgeth saith Buerly is the Authority of Gods Church Certainly Hooker gives a true and sensible Demonstration P. First for your Author here alledged he was we all know not onely a Creature but a Champion for your Hierarchy and Ceremonies And besides that his Book was guelt in some things before it could have its passeport to travaile abroad However as you say of Others so I of him he was but a private man And if you take his words to be the Doctrine of the Church of England you may seeing the Jesuite doth so approve of it as also your selfe doth Well let Hookers words be so as you alledge them yet give me leave to detect in them a mixture of some absurdity and some impiety together As in these words It is not the word which doth or possibly can assure us that we doe well to think it is his word And so in that sense which is the onely sense a sensible man and sound Christian can make 't is true that the Scripture neither doth nor possibly can assure us that we do well to think onely it is his word For as the Scripture cannot lye so it cannot assure us that we do well when we come short of our duty as in thinking which is but opinion when we should beleeve which is Faith For the Scripture requires a firme Faith in us and approveth not of thinking as sufficient But now for his sensible Demonstration which is this That if any one book of Scripture did give testimony to all yet still the Scripture would require another to give testimony to it and so we can never come to assurance this way I answere The Scripture is a compleat body in it selfe and every part of it an uniforme and homogeneall member to the making up of this body So as the Scripture is to be taken first in the whole lumpe or body as bearing full witnesse to it selfe and every part or Book of Scripture hath a witnesse in it selfe and for it selfe and for the rest too there being such a sweet and full harmony in the whole and all the parts Gods Spirit speaking and breathing in it as the Animall Spirits in mans body moving the whole and every part and shewing that it is Gods word And we must never in this notion fever the Spirit of God from the Scripture his owne word which it filleth in every part as the life-blood doth the veines So as there is not a Book of Scripture wherein the Majesty of GOD and his Wisdome and Goodnesse and Righteousnesse and Holinesse doe not in some degree more or lesse shine forth And Mr Hooker might as well have reasoned thus It is not the whole frame of mans body that can perswade us that we doe well to thinke that it is a mans body for though one member by its motion doth beare witnesse to the rest that they are
then to Iudas the Standard-bearer of that troope that came to apprehend Christ for Iudas came to Christ with Hale Master and kissed him and with this kisse as by the signall given betrayed him And is not your Ordine primus by this very Character known to be Antichrist while pretending to be Apostolick and a Successor of the Apostles he doth the more easily betray Christ in his Word and Members into the hands and bands of men Object But Peter was Ordine primus What such as to avoyd confusion As a head uniting all the members and governing all the body as your Ordine primus to avoyd confusion necessarily imports Did Peter at any time convent the Apostles Was he that Ordine primus that struck the stroke and gave the Difinitive sentences in that first Generall and Apostolicall Councel Act. 15. Did not Iames determine and the whole Church assented And Gal. 2.9 Is not Iames set before Peter And was not Peter and Iohn sent by the rest of the Apostles to Samaria When was this necessity then of an Ordine primus to avoyd confusion And what confusion is avoyded this day in the Church of England by your being Ordine primus nay prim-as both in honour and Authority and Iurisdiction Have you not by that your Ordine primus brought a confusion upon Religion Upon the Doctrinall Articles Upon the Consciences and Faith of men not knowing what to beleeve or what to doe or how to live in any peace inward or outward But you thinke to shift well enough for one so long as you put an other Ordine primus before as before is noted upon whose back you may lay all your burthens So as if any thing be amisse or succeed not well you are not then the Ordine primus Lastly one thing I observe more from your Ordine primus and that is the necessity of it which say you some one must be What one soever this is whether the Patriarch of the greater world or he of the lesser or other World but Rome rather must be she there 's a necessity for this that one be Ordine primus What 's this By the necessity of this Ordine primus is brought in a necessity of your new Catholicke Militant Church consisting of the Prelacy or Hierarchy which is so one as one must be Ordine primus as generall of the whole Army as the Dragon and his Angels to warre against Michael and his Angels So as here is an indissoluble and inseparable combination and confederacy of Prelates throughout the world making up that one Militant or Malignant Church whereof one must 〈◊〉 the chiefe to order the battel that there be no disorder but that every one keep his ranke and fight in his station against the true Militant Church of Christ as was before noted L. p. 182. Let Rome reduce it selfe to the observation of Tradition Apostolicke to which it held in Irenaeus his time and I will say as he did That it will be then necessary for every Church and for the faithfull every where to agree with it P. Let Rome reduce it selfe to the rule of the Scripture in all things which the faithfull there held in Pauls time when he was prisoner yet Preacher in Rome and then I will say and wil be the first that will doe it I wil be one of the faithfull that will agree with it But for Tradition Apostolicke I know not what you meane and therfore I dare not say as you doe But still you hold with Ordine primus I am sure of it You hold fast together for your Hierarchy wherein you place the Pope your Ordine primus Which while you doe Whatsoever Tradition Apostolicke Rome shall reduce it selfe to it wil be most perillous and pernicious too for any of the faithfull to agree with it And I am sure the Hierarchy and our Ordine primus in that was no Tradition Apostolicke So for that ther 's no talke of reducing either for Romes or Canterbury And could you perswade the world to agree with with the Ordine primus at Rome then that speech of yours pag. 182. would easily take place in these our times as well as Irenaeus his time Very great reason was there in Irenaeus his time that upon any difference arising in the Faith Omnes undique fideles all the faithfull or if you will all the Churches round about should have recourse that is resort to Rome being the Imperiall City and so a Church of more powerfull Principality then any other at that time in those parts of the world But the meaning of A.C. is we must so have recourse to Rome as to submit our faith to hers And should I grant them their own sense that all the faithfull every where must agree with Rome which I may give but can never grant yet were not this saying any whit prejudiciall to us now For first here 's a powerfull Principality ascribed to the Church of Rome so you Here are many words conningly woven and packt up together that to discover your full meaning you had need to unâ—old your whole pack Now all round about Rome is a large compasse for the whole world lyes round about Rome it being also at least there the Imperiall City and so a Church of more powerfull Principality then any other which might therfore challenge resort of all unto it as to the onely Oracle for resolving all your faithfull every where in doubts of Faith Yea and if you should grant too that all must submit their faith to Rome you say it were no whit prejudiciall to us now And should you not grant it how should it agree with your necessity of having one Ordine primus For to what purpose should there be one Ordine primus to avoyd confusion iâ— to his Call Summons and Judgement all your faithfull resorting they should not rest this their faith in his Determination Otherwise how should Confusion be avoyded For then to what one Ordine primus should they goe But do you yeeld it or no You say you may give it but can never grant it I pray you whether shall your affirmative giving or your negative granting be of more force Or if you give it how do you not grant it too Yea giving is more then granting If therfore you give it you doe more then grant it But suppose you restrain it onely to Irenaeus his time Had Rome then an Infallible Oracle in the Popes brest Or was his Iudgement the more infallible because his Chaire was in the Imperiall City Or his sentence of the more credit because his Church had the more powerfull Principality Then why in all doubtfull cases of Faith should not all the faithfull in England resort to the Chaire of Canterbury as which hath the most powerfull Principality of all the Prelates in England Why should not the thresholds of your Palace be as much worne with the footsteps of those that come to your Oracle for resolution
Moris-dances teach us Nemo saltat sobrius could the very Heathen say No man Danceth that is sober And as an English Author saith licenced too but in diebus illis A Dancer and a mad man different but in the duration And to helpe to shake this Foundation yet more you have licenced Books that do unmoralize the Fourth Commandement as before as antiquated now and of no force to bind us Christians to the observation of a seventh day or the Lords day which we have proved before to be the Rest-day or the Sabbath day of the Lord our God Iesus Christ. And did not your Tyranny suppresse all Truth all your Doctors had been ere now answered to the shame of their Divinity-Profession and the confusion of their accursed Opinions and Blasphemies against the holy Truth and eternall Law of God Well here you are charged with shaking this Great Foundation of Faith and Religion And though my Name be not here to the Bill which therfore you wil be ready by another Bill to make a Libell yet as I sayd before I say againe let the King be but pleased to send forth a Proclamation commanding the Author of this Charge to come forth and avouch it before the High and Honourable Court of Parliament where he shall have a faire just unpartiall and honourable hearing and where your Lordship shall as well stand at the Barre as your Accuser and you shall see your Antagonist dare shew his face But to prevent the trouble of Calling a Parliament you will answere this is none of Your doing 't is the Kings Edict and of King Iames before him and now by the Kings speciall command republished Is it so And therein are the Foundations of Faith and Good Manners shaken And that not onely in overthrowing the Morality of the 4 th Commâ—ndement by Dispensaton of profane sports but by dispensing with youth to use their libâ—rty on that day without controule of their Superiours as Parents or Masters who if they shall hinder them the Magistrate shall punish them and so the 5 th Commandement which is a Foundation of Good Manners in all obedience due to Superiours is shaken if not pull'd down to the ground as the Aprentices of London were wont on Shrove-Tuesday to pull down Infamous houses Is all this so Why then did you not step in as good Azariah and withstand the coming forth of such an Edict and tell the King It pertaineth not to Thee ô King to set forth such an Edict to dispense wâ—th Gods Holy Morall Eternall Commandements whereby the Foundations of Faith and Good Manners are shaken least thereby shaking the Foundations both of Church and Common-Wealth you doe through Gods just wrath bring your own Kingdome to suddain ruine But did you at all interpose your selfe Or did you use Prayer and Patience rather undergoing the Kings displeasure then being either Agent or Instrument in the publishing of such an Edict No such thing For it was the handsel of your Primacy to publish the Edict as being the best Office whereby you could testifie your thankfullnesse for so high a Preferment For why should you here leave the King alone in so weighty a Cause when you tell us before that the King and the Priest more then any other are bound to looke to the Integrity of the Church in Doctrine and Manners and that in the first place And would you now leave the King in the lurch to doe that whereby the Foundations of Faith and Good Manners are shaken and the Church in Doctrine and Manners corrupted But you were an Instrument at least and that at both endâ— of the businesse As for Prayer and Patience you were willing to leave them to others that had more need and could make better use of them to wit those poore honest Ministers who seeing the danger of their publicke reading of the said Booke in their severall Congregations so straightly imposed by the Prelates and thâ—inâ— the Kings Name wherein they well understood that the very Foundations of Faith and Good Manners are shaken so as their reading of it to their people would make themselves accesâ—ary to all the mischiefe that might come thereby as whereby the wrath of God must needs be greatly incensed against the whole Land did thereupon refuse to read it committing the Cause to God in Prayer and arming themselves with resolved Patience to indure all the Censure and punishment threatned in the Booke and left to be inflicted by the Bishops As not long after the Bishops thunderclap of threatning they feele the thunderbolt it selfe by Suspension Silencing Excommunication Dispossession out of their Benefices Cures Houses Freeholds Dispersion of Family Wife and Children now exposed to the wide world and made a Prey to Wolves and Lyons Here is indeed the Patience and Faith of the Saints Here is use of their spirituall Armour Prayer Patience Teares the onely weapons of their warfaire against such enemies so as if Solomon the Preacher were now alive he might see his words as truly and fully verified in these times as ever they were in his I returned saith he and considered all the Oppressions that are done under the Sun and behold the teares of such as were oppressed and they had no Comforter and on the side of their Oppressors there was power but those had no Comforter But it is well that you left the poore soules those weapons which you could not take from them but with their lives Prayer and Patience Although how doe you labour to deprive them even of Prayer when you will not suffer them to pray together that suffer together in and for the same Cause but your Beagles hunt them out And would you not reduce all Prayer and conjure down the very Spirit of Prayer by confining it to the prescript letter and form in your Service Book where there is never a Prayer for poore afflicted and distressed soules in such a Case complaining of the Bishops Cruelty and Tyranny over them So as you see they patiently suffer they use no opposition by force And yet what say you to one of your Predecessors who when the King would not agree to his Nobles in the casheering of his Favorites who were his Privy Councellors to the ruine of his Realme he being then but Lord Elect of Canterbury took with him his Clergy and went to the King and threatned him if he would not yeeld in the matter he would Excommunicate him Neither I suppose are you of opinion with once a Brother of Winchester who in a Book of his published by Authority and Printed at Oxford hath these words If a Prince should goe about to subject his Kingdome to a forraigne Realme or change the forme of the Common-wealth from Empery to Tyranny or neglect the Laws establlished by common consent of Prince and People to execute his own Pleasure In these and other Cases which might be named If the Nobles and Commons joyne together
and needs the Churches mouth and if it be dead as being not living Certainly it can be no fit Iudge at all except ye will admit of a Judge that is both blind and dumb and dead As three Romans being sent in Ambassage one a Foole an other a Coward the third having the Gout Cato told the Senate they had sent an Ambassage that had neither Head Heart nor Feet And such a Judge would you make the Scripture But 't is visible you say So are your dumb dead and blind Images in your Churches they are visible and very conspicuous when the Scripture oftentimes can neither be seen nor heard Now to your Generall Councels L. p. 192. And surely what greater or surer Iudgement can we have where sense of Scripture is doubted then a Generall Councel I do not see And pag. 211. The making of Canons which must bind all particular Christians and Churches cannot be concluded and established but there to wit in a Generall Councel P. 224. I said The Determination of a Generall Councel erring was to stand in force and to have externall obedience yeelded to it till evidence of Scripture or a Demonstration to the Contrary made the errour appeare and untill thereupon another Councel of equall Authority did reverse it And pag. 226. Now suppose a Generall Councel actually erring in some point of Divine Truth I hope it will not follow that this Errour must be so grosse as that forthwith it must be known to private men And doubtlesse till they know it obedience must be yeelded Nay when they know if the Errour be not manifestly against fundamentall verity in which case a Generall Councel cannot easily erre I would have A. C. and all wise men consider whether externall obedience be not even then to be yeelded And p 227 Therfore it may seem very fit and necessary for the peace of Christendome that a Generall Councel thus erring should stand in force till evidence of Scripture or a Demonstration make the errour to appeare as that another Councel of equall Authority reverse it And ibid. No way must lye open to private men to refuse obedience till the Councel he heard and weighed And p. 261. A Councel hath power to order settle and define Differences arisen concerning Faith This power the Councel hath not by an immediate Institution from Christ but it was prudently taken up in the Church from the Apostles example Act 15. And ibid. If the Councel be lawfully Called and proceed orderly and conclude according to the Rule the Scripture then the Dâ—finitions therof are binding but not from calling another Councel to reverse or abrogate the former Asts upon just cause P. 346. 'T is true that a Generall Councel de pace facto after 't is ended and admitted by the whole Church is then Infallible for it cannot erre in that which it hath already clearly and truely determined without Errour After 't is confirmed 't is admitted by the whole Church then being found true it is also Infallible that is it deceâ—ves no man And p. 347. For a man upon the pride of his own Iudgement to refuse externall obedience to the Councel was never lawfull nor can error stand with any Government P. 357.358 Christ did just intend to leave an Infallible certainty in his Church to satisfie either Contentious or Curious or presumptuous spirits And therfore in things not fundamentall nor necessary 't is no matter if Councels erre in one and another and a third the whole Church having power and meanes enough to see that no Councel erre in necessary things c. If it erre in things necessary we can be Infallibly assured by the Scripture the Creed the 4. first Councels and the whole Church where it erres in one and not in another And pag. 360 For one Faith necessary to Salvation a most infallible certainty we have already in the Scripture the Creeds and the 4. first Generall Councels to which for things necessary and fundamentall in the Faith we need no assistance from other Generall Councels P. 378. I submit my Iudgement with all humility to the Scripture interpreted by the Primitive Church and upon new and necessary doubts to the judgement of a lawfull and free Generalâ— Councel And I absolutely make a lawfull and free Generall Councel Iudge of Controversies by and according to the Scripture And p. 386. I have expresly declared that the Scripture interpreted by the Primitive Church and a lawfull and free Generall Councel determining according to these is judge of Controversies P. Thus in your Commending of Generall Councels you are very large that I may not say lavish too And surely in one respect especially you have great Reason for your Generall Councels must consist of Prelates onely so as in exalting Generall Councels you magnifie your Prelacie But I remember a saying of Basill that in his Observation he never knew any good to come of Generall Councels of Bishops who when they met in Councel were more zealous and eagre for their own particular Honours and Dignities then of the Church of God And as Bernard saith Totus fervet Ecclesiastiâ—us zelus sola pro Dignitate tuendâ— All the zeale of Church-men is infâ—amed altogether for the advancing and upholding of their Dignity But let us now take a briefe view of your words which we will collect and reduce to certain summary Heads First That Generall Councels are the supreme Iudge of the sense of Scripture when and where 't is doubted p. 192. Secondly that the Canons and Decrees of Generall Councels bind all Christians of necessity p. 211. Thirdly yea though Generall Councels determine Errors yet that requires at least externall obedience Fourthly That Generall Councels erring in some points of Divine Truth yet you hope it will not be so grosse as to come to the common view or if it doe yet obedience must be yeelded p. 226. onely except the Error be not manifestly against the fundamentall Verities Fifthly That a Generall Councel hath no power from Christ to be Iudge in Controversies but the Church prudently tooke it up from the Apostles example Act. 15. Sixtly That the Difinitions of Generall Councels bind being according to the Rule the Scripture yet that those may be reversed by an after-Councel Seventhy A Generall Councel in things clearely and truly determined cannot erre but in that is infallible Eightly That it is pride not to obey the Councels Difinitions yea unlawfull and not standing with any Government Ninthly That Christ intended to leave an Infallible certainty in his Church but not to satisfie contentions or curious or presumptuous spirits Tenthly That it is no matter if Generall Councels erre in one two three c. things not fundamentall nor necessary Eleventhly That for necessary Faith to Salvation we have an Infallible certainty in the Scriptures Creeds and 4. first Generall Councels to which for things necessary we need not the Assistance of any other Generall Councel Twelfthly That the Scripture interpreted by the
what one wise and honest man did in preventing so wicked a Decree of a whole Generall Councell of many Prelates And assure your selfe were there but a few sound Puritans admitted to your Generall Councel and might have free liberty to speake you would not be able to resist the evidence of Truth which they should bring in as Arelatensis told the Prelates in the Councel of Basil concerning the poore inferiour Priests But if you shall exclude the Puritans and so all Reformed Non Prelaticall Churches out of your Prelaticall Councel Generall how should it be a Generall Councel But I cry you mercy Puritan Reformed Churches are already by you doomed for no members of your Catholicke Church whereof and wherein yours and Romes Church are one and the same and therfore as Heathen they ought to be shut out for Wranglers as they were from the Councel of Trent Another Reason against a Generall Councel being Iudge in Controversies is because all sound and Orthodox Divines both Ancient and Moderne both Forraigne and Domesticke in the Church of England formerly with all the Orthodox Fathers in this point have held professed and beleeved That the holy Scripture is the sole sufficient Iudge in all Controversies of Faith And for proofe hereof What say you to Dr Whitakers Lectures against Bellarmine and Stapleton in this Point Or how do or can you answere any of his Arguments drawn from cleare Scriptures and Testimonies from the Ancient Fathers But it seems you have not been acquainted with him as not once mentioning him in all this For that were besides your Purpose But you will except against him as a Puritan which is a sufficient confutation with one puffe of your mouth And so you doe all honest sound learned Religious Orthodox Divines whatsoever whom particularly to alledge here would but make your stomacke rise and so I passe on to the rest Secondly and Thirdly and againe and againe I deny that the Decrees of Generall Councels bind any true Christians Faith and Conscience so much as to outward obedience to any one Ceremony as before Yea though your Councel Decree according to the Scripture yet jure proprio and absolutely of its own Authority it binds not the Conscience That 's proper and peculiar to the Scripture alone immediatly the onely binding Rule of Faith and Conscience How much lesse doth a Councel bind in a matter of error in a point of Faith This is such an abominable point of Divinity as never any Arch-Prelate of Canterbury since the Reformation and I presume before ever uttered Divinity say I yea Divinity Diabolicall and monstrous Impiety and Antichristian Tyranny to be hissed out by all that beare but the bare name of Christians And this Answereth also to the Fourth which is as full of ridiculous absurdity as of impious folly You hope forsooth that a Councels errors will not be so great as all men shall discerne them That may well be when many thousands take no notice at all of any such Councel Decrees And how many men have not the eyes to discern even the grossest errors How many in the Church of England doe discerne the grossenes and danger of your seting up of your Altars in all the Churches of England as namely that it is a denying of Christ the onely Altar And the bringing in of the Popish Priesthood and sacrifice But what if you could in a Provinciall Councel of Canterbury make a Decree for seting up and worshiping of Altars as you doe and that all men did see the grossnes of it Would the sight of it exempt them from at least externall obedience being once defined in that your Synod And so of a Generall Councel for universall obedience No the knowledge of the grossnes of the error will not serve their turnes to excuse them from obedience For you tell us We must notwithstanding yeild obedience If so surely it were the safest way then for men to close their eyes that they may not see at all and so yeeld blind obedience to your Decrees pinning their soules as I said to the Prelates Innocent white sleeve to be led blindfold to hell then seeing and knowing to sin against their Conscience in yeelding obedience But how ever seeing or not seeing hang or be damned the Decree of a Generall Councel even in point of error in the Truth yea though men know it to be against Gods word must be universally obeyed till evidence of Scripture or a Demonstration to the contrary made the error appeare and untill thereupon another Generall Councel equall to that did reverse it Which may be long enough before all these things concurre What Must the Decree of the seventh Generall Councel the second of Nice for the worship of Images bind all men to Obedience till another Generall Councell equall to that upon Demonstration to the contrary shall reverse it Or must the Decree of the Councel of Lateran under Pope Innocent 3. for Transubstantiation be beleeved and obeyed by all men at least in externall obedience to worship the Altar and Hoast till another Councell equall unto that shall reverse it Or must the Decree of the Generall Councel of Constance for the taking away of the Cup in the Sacrament from the People bind all to obedience till another Councel equall unto that shall reverse it Or lastly shall the Decrees of the Councel of Trent which calls it selfe a Generall Councel ratifying the worship of Images Transubstantiation and the taking away of the Cup wiâ—ing the Peoples nose of it besides all those other damnable and damning errors against the cleare Truth and Faith of Christ bind all to obedience till another Councell equall to that shall reverse it Then certainly all Papists by your sentence are bound to be damned Nay are not you and your Church of England bound to obey all those Decrees of Former Generall Councels as that of the second of Nice for worship of Images not yet reversed by a Generall Councel equall to that though by a Councel at Frankford called by Carolus Magnus Emperour of the West that wicked Decree was condemned But the Decrees of this Councel are smothered and kept in hugger mugger as being outfaced by such a prevailing generallity of unblishing Images and so have lost their place among the Records of the Councels And besides that Councel at Frankford was not for generallty equall to that of Nice under that wicked Empresse Irene Which being so and so that Decree of Nice not yet reversed why say I doe not you obserue your own Rule in obeying that Decree in worshiping of Images Or why at least though you here write somthing against them to some small purpose as coming neare to Idolatry doe you not yeeld externall obedience in doing corporall Reverence to those Images you have set up onely reserving your internall worship and keeping your Faith to your selfe But to satisfie us for that you have over or upon your Altar in your own Chappel at Lambeth
to the Testimony if they speake not according to this word it is because there is no light in them Art thou not Christs Spouse Then heare Christs voyce the Scripture Say with the Spouse in the Canticles Tell me O thou whom my soule loveth where thou feedest where thou causest thy flocks to rest at noone For why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions To whom Christ her beloved Spouse answereth If thou know not O thou fairest among women goe thy way to the footsteps of the Flocke and feed thy Kiddes besides the shepheards Tents Here the true Church Christs Spouse in her perplexities and doubts wherein she is like to loose her selfe goes to Christ to her shepheard and asks of him where he feedeth where he causeth his Flocks to rest at Noon where his Congregations may find a shady layre rest and refreshing from the meridian heat of Persecutions or her Faith find rest in doubtfull cases of Faith or Conscience For why saies she should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions Why should I be uncertain and unsettled in depending upon the guidanâ—â— and conduct of false shepheards such as pretend to be as thy fellow-shepheards that sit as God in the Temple of God shewing themselves to be God equall to thee in power and Regall Authority over thy Kingdome and Church making what Laws they please in binding our Consciences and that even to their erronious Decrees To whom Christ Answereth If thou know not O thou fairest among women although despised by men goe thy way forth by the footsteps of the Flocke to the green Pastures and the waters of comfort the Scriptures where my flocke doth ordinarily find pasture For man liveth not by bread onely but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God there thou shalt find the true Pasture by the footsteps of the flocke by the continuall treading of my sheep which know no other pasture but this For here my sheep heare my voyce even here by the shepheards Tents my Ministers whom I have set over the flocks to feed them with understanding and knowledge Here be those waters for every one that thirsteth here is the milke and wine that 's to be had without money Hearken diligently unto me incline thine Eare and come unto me and thy soule shall live search the Scriptures for in them is eternall life and they are they that testifie of me These are the onely light which I have left to be a lampe for thy feet and a light for thy steps These are the onely Oracles of God which shall clearly resolve thee in all thy perplexed doubts These are my onely faithfull witnesses which I have left to witnesse the truth and to establish thy heart in the faith in me if any man teach otherwise and consenteth not to the wholsome words of Scripture which are mine own lâ—vely voyce and which containe all things pertaining to faith and godlinesse he is puft up and knoweth nothing he is a false Prophet a false shepheard a blind Guide a seducer an Antichrist Thus Christ speaketh to his Spouse in the Scripture his owne voyce the onely true living and infallible Iudge And to this Judge Christs voyce in the Scripture the true Spouse of Christ in all Ages hath still resorted and therein been resolved in her doubts and comforted in her distresse For here is that wisdome which is justified of all her Children And whatsoever is therein written is written for our learning that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope Nothing can comfort us in our calamities nothing can confirm and establish our faith and hope in all our perplexed doubtings but this Before we shewed how all the Fathers with one voyce took this sanctuary came to this Iudge made this the onely Rule to determine all doubts and disputes by so Augustine so Tertullian so the incertain Author upon Mat. 24. in Chrysostome saith that in the times of Antichrist even in these our Times one cannot know the true Church but by the Scripture because Antichrist with his wicked Clergy make such a faire shew and pretence that they are the Catholicke Church just as your Lordship doth Therfore let all true Christians in these perillous times of Antichrist and Antichristian Prelates which cry down the Scriptures as an insufficient Iudge in Controversies of faith and cry up their own usurped Authority as the supreme Iudge of the Scripture at least in all doubtfull cases though they confesse their Judgement not to be of Infallible Credit fly to the Mountaines and to the Fountaines the Scriptures the lively voyce of Christ they they onely will resolve us and settle our faith in all doubts and difficulties and will discover unto us the true Church of Christ from all false pretended counterfeit Antichristian Prelaticall Hierarchicall Churches and Synagogues Now seeing though you arrogate but are not able to prove that Christ hath left your Catholicke Church an Infallible certainty which yet you confesse to be uncertaine give us leave though we touched this before now againe upon a fresh occasion to vindicate the Truth of Christ that he not onely intended but indeed hath left unto his true Church an infallible certainty of his Spirit which by the rule of his word doth guide his Elect into all truth in all ages successively unto the end of the world When he took his long Farewell of his Apostles and Disciples as concerning his bodily presence with them upon earth he left them this Promise yet to comfort them concerning his perpetuall spirituall presence with them saying Lo I am with you alwayes unto the end of the world To the end of the world Ergo with all those that are his true Disciples unto the end of the world So as wheresoever Christs Churches and Congregations be there his Spirt is This Spirit leads his into all Truth into all necessary and saving Truth infallibly and most certainly This is that Anoynting of which before He that hath not this Spirit of Christ this Spirit of truth is none of his And he that hath it is preserved from the seducements of false Prophets which come in Christs Name and shall deceive many but not the Elect for that 's not possible Every true beleever cannot will not willingly erre in any point of faith and truth necessary to Salvation I say not wittingly For many of Gods deare Children doe that ignorantly whereby Christ is denyed as in yeelding obedience to mans devices in Gods worship and that through custome wheras if they were rowsed and put to it and asked if they beleeved not that Christ is the onely King of his Church and Lord over the Conscience oh they beleeve and acknowledge none other King Aske them againe whether they beleeve that any man may exercise this Authority over them oh
And Virgil also a heathen Roman Poet did afterwards take and borrow this from Plato expressing it in his Aeneads And so from these two might Origen borrow his Purgatory and the Church of Rome from them all three might out of this lake of Plato or Pluto if you will borrow so much Bitumen or Pitchy matter and so casting into it the stone Asbestos which being once kindled is not quenched againe it became the hot-burning lake of Purgatory as namely for the purging of Indifferent men such as are neither hot nor cold neither Beleevers nor Infidels neither Christians nor Heathen neither good fish nor flesh Indifferent between Papists and Protestants halfe for Christ and halfe or rather All for Belial Reconcilers of light and darknesse of Truth and Errour or as the Papists say such as had onely veniall sinnes not throughly purged with holy-water in this life and therfore must be purged with fire what water could not doe untill after a Venal Masse chanted for their soules they should be delivered and so passe the Pikes into the Elâ—sian Fields And this is both Authority and Antiquity sufficient for your Purgatory though you bestow much sweat in this hot Stove and in pursuing this Ignis fatuus yet haply it may purge youâ— Reputation of that venial opinion which men have of you L. p. 375. Rome but with all other particular Churches and no more then other Patriarchall Churches was and is radix existentiae the root of the Churches existence And The uniâ—ersall Nature and Beeing of the Church hath no actuall â—xistence in all her particulars And this I say for her existence onely not the purity or forme of her existence which is not here considered P. These words confirm what you have said before of your Catholicke Church consisting of particular Patriarchall Prelaticall or Hierarchicall Churches throughout the world all of them visible and conspicuous in these it existeth as in the root this existence may be without the consideration of purity as a Church may be a true Church of Christ and yet not be holy Having then answered these things before it is sufficient for this And this still confirmes what I have said of Christs true and onely holy Catholick Church which is a matter of faith in the Creed This true and onely holy Catholick Militant Church of Christ hath for its prime Radix or Root Christ in whom it existetth subsisteth and hath its beeing Then it is diffused into all the members of Christs mysticall body all the Elect over the world or in any corner thereof to the end of the world and hath no existence at all in the Hierarchy or Prelacie or in any one visible Church or particular place or Countrey but it lyes hid as the sappe in the root in all the Persons of the Elect onely and the substance and life thereof is hid with Christ in God the Prime root And the existence of this Catholicke Church cannot be considered possibly without Purity and Holinesse for it exists no where but in purity and holynesse so as every person is holy in whom it existeth And so much for this L. p. 370 371. But if she be not the Catholicke nor the root of the Catholicke Church yet Apostolick I hope she is Indeed Apostolicke she is as being the sea of one and he a Prime Apostle But then not Apostolicke as the Church is called in the Creed from the Apostles no nor the onely Apostolicke Visible I may not deny God hath hitherto preserved her but for a better end doubtlesse then they turne it to The Church of Rome indeed Apostolicke Why so As being the sea of one and he a prime Apostle That was Peter you mean sure He was a Prime Apostle though not the Prime 〈◊〉 somtimes Iames is placed before him Gal. 2.9 And Paul was no whit inferiour to those 3. Iames Peter and Iohn who were Pillars and seemed to be somwhat And in this respect may you not possibly meane Paul rather then Peter for Paul we are sure was in Rome and there preached though in prison But we read no where in Scripture that Peter was at Rome much lesse that he sate there Bishop of Rome and so fixed his Chaire there If therfore you mean Peter and pitch upon him though the Popes are faine to use somtimes two strings to their bow and to challenge their succession both from Peter and Paul and some stories speake both of Peter and Paul as Bishops there I say if you pitch upon Peter how doe you prove that Peter was at Rome and if at Rome whether Bishop there and if a Bishop there why consequently must that Sea be still Apostolicke seeing non sedes sed fides not the seat but the Faith makes Apostolicke But there be many reasons and arguments from Scripture some that Peter was not at Rome others and those more demonstrative that he was never Bishop of Rome as Pontifex or Prelate such a Bishop as you meane I have seen a Booke Printed in English by Authority which proveth that Peter was never at Rome And this he doth by computing and comparing the times and other Circumstances in the Acts and Pauls Epistles with those Histories which say he was there and Bishop there which stories neither agree with the Scripture nor with themselves nor with other Histories profane And if Peter were at Rome how cometh it that Paul being there doth not in all his Epistles make mention of him Was Peter either so obscure as Paul should not know him to be at Rome Or so proud of his new Prelacie as not to acknowledge his fellow Apostle now a Prisoner Or what was it that Paul doth not so much as mention him Because Peter being for the Circumcision should a'llotrtoepiskopoin take Pauls Bishoprick over his head who was for the Uncircumcision whereof Rome was the Metopolis Or had Peter with Demas forsaken Paul imbracing this present world in a Lordly Bishopricke But let it be given you that Peter was at Rome and Lord Bishop of Rome what then Ergo is the Church of Rome indeed Apostolicke Did Peter leave his Apostolick Bishopricke by an Intayle â—o all his successors in Rome Are â—hey Apostolicke when they are become Apostates from the faith Alas alas your words utter your spirit but no truth Onely one thing you deliver as doubtlesse where you say Visible I may not deny God hath hitherto preserved her but for a better end doubtlesse then they turne it to Visible Ergo the Pope is Peters successor Ergo the sea of Rome is indeed Apostolicke Ergo a true Church of Christ. For visible it is It is indeed that visible and conspicuous City on its seven tops or hils whereon it stood in Iohns time and now that Woman that sits and rides mounted on her seven-headed ten-horned Beast Visible with a witnesse otherwise all her pompe would loose the Grace if it wanted spectators as her Scarlet and Purple and Pearle and
that coming as neare as you can to the Papists in their Ceremonies you shall thereby bring them to the Church And surely this is the ready way either to bring Papists to your Church or you to their Church But I say the Church was so pestered with Rites and Ceremonies even in Augustins dayes that he complained that Christians were now in a worse case and condition under the Gospel then the Iewes were under the Law for though their yoake was grievous yet those Leviticall rites were of Gods owne ordaining and commandement but Christians saith he are brought under an intolerable yoake of Ceremonies of mens devising and imposing But now on the other side if I should enter into a Comparison between the Reformed Churches since Luther and those Primitive and ancient Churches as aforesaid I know it would be very tedious to your Lordship and extremely move your Patience especially if I should by many degrees preferre Calvin Bezâ— Zanchius Iunius and many hundred more Worthies both for learning and piety and chiefly for Soundnesse in Doctrine in the Reformed Churches beyond the Seaes yea and not a few on this side as Cranmer Ridley Latimer Hooper all Martyrs Iewel Whitakers Reynolds Perkins with infinite more and all within one Century before such as those Centuries aforesayd produced whose Names for Envy-sake I forbeare to mention Lastly you say you are content to submit to them in all those points of Doctrine If you be then for Shame cleare away those Cloudes which the said Declaration hath over-cast your Articles withall and cast away your Arminian Pelagian sense and take off your Suspension of them and let them speak one single truth as they formerly did and as all understood them according to the Scriptures L. p. 62. The Catholicke Church we beleeve in our Creed to be the Society of all Christians P. What you beleeve is one thing But we beleeve the Catholicke Church of Christ in the Creed to be the number and Society of all the Elect as the next Article expounds it The Communion of Saints but not that Company of all Christians which you name and meane Christians in name and profession tag and ragge pell mell good and bad Papists and Protestants of which the greatest number are no true living members of the true Catholick Church the mysticall body whereof Christ is the Head and which by Faith onely we apprehend for we beleeve the Holy Catholicke Church but cannot discerne with our bodily eyes as we doe a visible Object This is that Church which Christ loved for which he gave himselfe that he might sanctifie and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word to present it to himselfe a glorious Church not having spot or wrinckle or any such thing but that it should be holy and without blemish This we beleeve to be the Holy Catholicke Church and no other But thus indeed as you tell us before you make wider the Gates of the Catholicke Church then ever Christ made them or rather indeed you exclude the Catholicke Church of Gods Elect and set up a new Catholicke Church which may be seen but ought not to be beleeved L. p. 66. Agreed on for me also it shal be that Gods word may be written and unwritten P. Agreed on with whom Even with no lesse then Bellarmine For in the very next words you give us the reason why it is agreed upon for you that Gods word may be written and unwritten For Say you Cardinall Bellarmine tells us truely that it is not the writing or Printing that makes Scripture the word of God but it is the Prime unerring Essentiall Truth God himselfe uttering and revealing it to his Church that makes it Verbum Dei the word of God Doth Bellarmine say so And that truely And to what end I pray you doth the Cardinall say so Is it not to overthrow the Scripture for being the Sole word of God and to bring in another word of God which he calls verbum non Scriptum an unwritten word that is a word besides the Scriptures and equall to the Scriptures which is Romes unwritten Traditions And to this end and purpose Bellarmine using these words doth he tell you truely and is this the reason for which it is agreed on for you that Gods word may be written and unwritten Now though it be true that that which is spoken by God is his word though it be not written yet to us there is now no other word of God but that which is written that which is contained in the Scriptures And this word written is that alone which our Faith is grounded and settled upon According to that of Iohn Many other Signes truely did Iesus in the presence of his Disciples which are not written in this Booke But these things are written that ye might beleeve that Iesus is the Christ the Son of God and that beleeving ye might have life through his Name So as we are not to inquire further what Christ spake or did besides what we find written But your Lordship tells us before of certaine Traditions Apostolicall which it seems are that word of God which may be unwritten For you say If the Scripture be a Foundation to which we are to goe for witnesse if there â—e doubt about the Faith and in which we are to find the thing that is to be beleeved as necessary in the Faith we never did nor never will refuse any Tradition that is Vniversall and Apostolicke for the better exposition of the Scripture And to this place you referre that which you say pag. 58. As for Tradition I have said enough for that and as much as A. C. where 't is truely Apostolicall From which words first we observe that you make but an If of the Scripture as a Foundation If the Scripture be a Foundation and If in it we are to find the thing that is to be beleeved as If it were to be found in any thing else And Secondly how home you come to A C. the Jesuite in admitting Tradition Apostolicke to expound any doubt about the Faith and so with Bellarmine you are agreed for a word of God unwritten as well as written And you further adde here pag. 66. Speaking of the Scriptures their being written gave them no Authority at all in regard of themselves Written or unwritten the Word was the same But it was written that it might be the better preserved and continued with the more integrity to the use of the Church and the more faithfully in our memories So you Now 't is true that by the writing of the Scripturâ—s Gods word contained therein is preserved continued in integrity and the more faithfully kept in our mâ—mories But is thiâ— all Nay the very writing of them though it added no Authority to Gods word in regard of it selfe yet as the Scriptures are to us Gods word is of the greater Authority because written For we acknowledge no other word of God as