over or besides consider men are men But I say we cannot conceive that those words of Iohn Frith could have any other sense then that which was sound and good considering as I said before he dyed for that very difference in Faith touching Christs presence in the Sacrament Now for Dr Ridley saying we differed in Modo in the manner 'T is true And the manner is the whole matter of difference Papists say Christs naturall Body is present we that the merit and vertue of his Body broken upon the Crosse and the merit and vertue of his Blood shed upon the Crosse is present to the beleeving soule in the Sacrament I may expresse it by this similitude of the Sun and the beames The body of the Sun is in heaven in its spheare locally and circumscriptively but the Beames are on the earth And when the Sun beames shine into our house we say here 's the Sun though it be the beames not the body of the Sun And so the Scripture saith of the Sacrament This is my Body because with the bread the faithfull Communicant receives the beames of Christs Body crucified into his soule his merits but not the Body it selfe But the Papists say as much as The very body of the Sun is in their house when it shineth But enough of this here having spoken sufficiently of it before Yet for a conclusion If your Lordship hold it to be a matter so indifferent about the manner of Christs naturall-bodyes presence in the Sacrament which you put upon the Martyrs if you were put to it as they were would you be of their mind and resolution rather to loose Canterbury life and 〈◊〉 then beleeve as the Church of Rome beleeves of the reall presence But I leave you to the Resolution L. p. 297. Transubstantiation Purgatory Forbearance of the Cup in the Sacrament are disputed and improbable Opinions yet so imposed as this may be enough for us to leave Rome though the Old Prophet forsooke not Israel 3 Reg. 13. And a little after And therfore in this present case ther 's perill and great perill of damnable both Schisme and Heresie and other sin by living and dying in the Roman faith tainted with so many superstitions as at this day it is and their Tyranny to boot P. I told you I feared some such thing when you commended last unto us the indifferencie of admitting of Termes of Reall Presence For now I perceive your Reall presence even in Transubstantiation it selfe is but an improbable and disputed opinion as also Purgatory and the Forbearance of the Cup. And by Disputed I suppose you meane Disputable such as either hath been disputed or may be disputed againe so as these things are matters of dispute and improbable And somtimes a thing that is improbable may prove true For Improbabile is not alwayes falsum It may seem improbable to us and yet be true in it selfe But for Transubstantiation is that which is clearly against Faith against Reason against the nature of Christs Body naturall against the nature of the Sacrament but an improbable opinion And for Purgatory Is that which is against Faith and overthrows the infinit vertue merit and efficacie of the blood of Christ but an improbable opinion And is that which you confesse to be against the expresse institution of our Saviour Christ as the taking away of the Cup in the Sacrament but an improbable opinion And doe you so favourably call that but a Forbearance which is a most notorious and shamelesse Sacriledge And then secondly All this say you may be enough for us to leave Rome May be Much may be but Is not I hope And so long well enough And though Actu it be yet not affectu But you might have said All this and much more besides if not onely disputable and improbable things but abominable and damnable But this is enough were there no more Yet say you the old Prophet forsook not Israel What then Ergo the Protestants though they might have had cause enough to leave Rome yet should have done rather as the old Prophet did not to have made a separation from Rome Ergo they were not so kind as the old Prophet But the old Prophet might continue in Israel upon better terms then the Protestants could have done in Rome For Israel had no Inquisition as Rome hath And you confesse that men might live in Israel and injoy the liberty of their Conscience seeing there was no Law made to restrain them from going to the one Altar at Ierusalem or to constrain them to sacrifice in the high places And yet that 's more then I beleeve can well be proved For those 7000. that had not bowed to Baal did hide themselves as not daring to professe and avow their Religion and Faith towards God as before So as it seems there was no open toleration in Israel for any to goe up to Ierusalem And it can hardly be thought that Ieroboam being a great Politician should give toleration to his subjects to goe up to Ierusalem to worship least they should fall back to Iuda againe for prevention whereof the two Calves were set up to keep the people at home The like policie used the High Priests Scribes and Pharisees to suppresse those that should confesse Christ in making a Decree to excommunicate them and so in puting Christ to death least his Kingdome should put down theirs And I hope your Hierarchy wants not the like policie for the rooting out of Puritans the true Professors and People of Christs Kingdome being Christs Kingdome and yours cannot consist together But you conclude somwhat dangerously when you say Therfore in the present case ther 's perill great perill of damnable both Schisme and Heresie and other sins by living and dying in the Roman faith tainted with so many superstitions as at this day it is and their Tyranny to boot This conclusion you apply not to the silly ignorant Papists for you leave them secure and out of danger as afore but to the knowing men of Rome having shewed them that though the silly ignorants may perhaps through the thick fogge and Aegyptian Myst of their palpable ignorance steale or stumble into heaven yet for the learned as A.C. and his fellowes 't is danger yea great danger to live and dye and that knowingly in the Roman faith But me thinks neither here do you buckle your selfe to such a serious businesse as this is so as to pull these wilfull men out of their puddle wherein they wittingly stick so fast You doe not with the spirit of zeale which Iude requires in good Ministers saying some save with feare aâ—prázontes snatching or plucking them out of the fire hating even the garment spotted with the flesh Nor doe you with Peters zeale tell these men save your selves from this crooked and wicked Generation such as the Scribes and Pharisees and High-Priests were But you onely tell them Ther 's danger great danger Of
Do I not mistake Foundations of Faith instead of Superstition and Profanenesse For Them here may have for Antecedent aswell Superstition and Profanenesse as Foundations of Faith And so the sense runnes thus He that puts not to his hand as firmly as he can to surport them that is Superstition and Profanesse is too wary c. And now that I consider it better this must be your meaning if your words and deeds agree And for proofe let us come to particulars You give us two generall instances whereby the Foundations of Faith are shaken The one Superstition the other Profanesse Answerable to these two I will help you out with two particular instances the one of Superstion the other of Profanesse by both which the Foundations of Faith are shaken which we shall see how firmely you Support First For Superstition I instance in Altars These you erect these you bow unto Now to set up and bow unto or before or pray towards an Altar of wood or stone overthowes Christ the Prime and maine Foundation of Faith and that by your owne Confession For Altars in the Old Testament were ordained of GOD to be Types and Figures of Christ as also were the Sacrifices and the Priests But now Christ being come our onely Sacrifice our onely High Priest and our onely Altar those Types doe all cease And in the New Testament as Christ is called our Sacrifice and High Priest So also our Altar We have an Altar saith the Apostle whereof they have no right to eate which serve the Tabernacle Why so For the Levites or Priests which still served the Tabernacle rested still in the Typicall Altar denying Christ to be come and so they have no right to Christ the true Altar he being come and having abolished all Types And the Apostle there doth clearely prove this our Altar to be Christ. For saith he in the very next words as a reason annexed The bodies of those Beasts whose blood is brought into the Sanctuary by the High Priest for sinne are burnt without the Campe Wherefore Iesus also that he might Sanctifie the people with his own blood suffered without the Gate Let us goe forth therefore unto him without the Campe bearing his reproach For here we have no continuing City but we seeke one to come By him therefore let us offer the Sacrifice of praise to God continually that is the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name In which words taken together Christ is set forth unto us both as our onely Altar and as our onely High Priest and as our onely Sacifice First as our onely Altar vers 10. Secondly as our onely High Priest For so he stands in relation to the Leviticall Priesthood as the Truth to the Type v. 11 12. Thirdly as our onely Sacrifice in offering his owne blood v. 11. And thus he is said to Sanctifie us And this sanctifying hath speciall relation to Christ as the onely Altar For in the Law no Sacrifice or Offering was sanctified but by the Altar being offered up upon it As Christ saith to the Scribes and Pharisees those blind guides Ye Fooles and blind whether is greater the gift or the Altar that sanctifieth the gift Thus every gift every Sacrifice is sanctified by the Altar on which it was offered up This Altar is onely Christ whose blood being offered up upon the Altar of his Divinity Person or Nature was thereby sanctified and accepted of GOD for an All-sufficient Sacrifice for our sinnes And thus both the persons of all true beleevers and their Spirituall Sacrifices are Sanctified being offered up and presented to GOD on the Altar Christ. Our Persons as Heb. 13.12 and our gifts or Sacrifices v. 15. By him therefore let us offer the Sacrifice of praise continually that is the fruit of our lippes giving thanks to his Name Thus through Faith in Christs Name all our Sacrifices of Prayer of Praise of Almes and of a Contrite heart are Sanctified and accepted of GOD as Testimonies of our Faith Charity Repentance Thankfullnesse and Obedience as being offered up upon our onely Altar Christ. This onely Altar it is that Sanctifieth the gift Thus we see how these three Altar Priest Sacrifice are equally and inseparably resident in Christ. So as he is as well our onely Altar as our onely High Priest and our onely Sacrifice of expiation And Bellarmine himselfe confesseth that these three Altar Priest Sacrifice are Relatives and alwayes goe together Hee therefore that sets up another Altar besides Christ may as well set up another High Priest and another propitiatory Sacrifice as Antichrist doth in the Masse And to set up any one of these not onely shakes but quite overthrowes the maine Foundation Christ. And for the Altar the Sanctification of all Sacrifices and offerings is so proper and peculiar unto it that one of your Divines going about to maintaine your Christian Altars as he calls them but indeed Antichristian saith expresly that of necessity there must be an Altar in every Church as of wood or stone to Sanctifie the Sacrifice otherwise it should be altogether unsanctified And how comes this Altar of his and yours to have such a treasure and overplus of holinesse in it as to communicate such holinesse to the Sacrifice yea to the Sacrifice of Christs body upon it as he puts it but by the Bishops Consecration of it as the same Author saith whose Book is by your Chapleins license published in Print So as it seems your Episcopall consecration of the Altar infuseth a holinesse into it and the Altar communicates and imparts its holinesse to the Sanctifying even of the Sacrifice of Christs body it selfe which you would not have to be farre off from the Altar But now it being most evident hereby that your Altars doe quite overthrow the Foundation Christ who is our onely Altar how firmely you put to your hand to support this Foundation I call heaven and earth to witnesse against you who being on the contrary a Supporter of Altars and so a Supplanter of the onely true Altar Iesus Christ you give sentence against your selfe as one that is too wary and hath more care of himselfe then of the Cause of Christ. And forasmuch as you are so zealous in promoting your Altars in every Church I do here in the Name of Iesus Christ protest against you as a most notorious Adversary of Christ and so an Antichrist a setter up of Judaisme or Heathenisme in your Altars and I doe utterly renounce all communion with you in your services the principall part whereof you place in your Altars which are so many damnable Idols which you adoring are damnable Idolaters and which are set up and upholden to the intolerable reproach of Christ and whereby he is altogether denyed and renounced And thus you give just cause to all true Christians to seperate themselves from your communion in your worship of a false Christ as your false Altar if they will hold
you a reason of my Faith Can you give one reason of yours concerning this Article as you take and beleeve it with your Church of England Show but one reason or shadow of a reason out of Scripture Nay except you bring every Article of the Creed to the examen or tryall of Scripture for the staying and establishing of your Faith you may run into many monstrous errours What doe you beleeve concerning Christs death You beleeve that hee dyed But for whom Whether for the Elect onely in Gods Purpose Account Appointment Acceptance or universally for all men Elect and Reprobate I tell you my Lord if you beleeve that Christ dyed for all men universally as well for the Reprobate as the Elect you destroy both Gods Grace in giving Christ for his people onely the Elect and also the merit and effâ—icacy of Christs death The Scripture shewes these things aboundantly But I mention this onely by the way Againe What doe you beleeve concerning the holy Catholicke Church You beleeve I dare say and you doe say it that the Catholicke Church on earth consists visibly of all Prelates and those that are subject unto them as one intire Body This is your Faith But if you examine this by the Scripture you will find it to be an Errour no lesse soule then false as hath been shewed So doe you not beleeve the Article of the Communion of Saints You doe But who are your Saints on earth You will hardly allow any Saints on earth till after their death they be Canonized by his Holinesse at Rome Nay in plaine termes you persecute both the Saints themselves and their Communion Can you indure such as but professe holinesse And for their Communion doe you not hunt out and persecute Private Fasting and Prayer among the poore soules of Christ when publick they can have none and no other remedy or weapons are left them to defend themselves withall against your bloody Cruelty So as the truth is you neither rightly beleeve the Holy Catholicke Church nor the Communion of Saints but are a notorious both denyeâ— and persecuter of both And therefore we see what a necessity there is that we should bring the Articles of the Creed to the Standard Rule the Scripture both as the surest and safest way yea and the onely way to preserve our Faith from Errour But you object the Fathers for the Sense of this Article of Christs Descent into hell as you beleeve it What if they beleeved so Is their example a sufficient Rule for us We must examine their sense they held of it by the Scripture If it be not according to the Scripture we reject it The Fathers might for a time hold an erronious generally received opinion before it came to be controverted and well sifted and examined by Scripture But they were ever ready to have their faith and opinions tryed by the Scriptures All the ancient Fathers were of this mind and spirit As before Pelagius his time the Fathers spake too liberally of Mans Free-will which after upon his Heresie they reformed and by Scripture abundantly confuted the Pelagians and especially Augustine Ierome Prosper Fulgentius Hilarius and others And Augustine inticing a Donatist to dispute about that Heresie Saith unto him Ratione agamus divinarum Scripturarum authoritate agamus Let us dispute the matter by Argument let us be guided by the Authority of the Divine Scriptures Not what I and thou Say but what Christ Saith And this was the Spirit I say and practise of all the Fathers in such cases So as if this Article of of Christs descent into hell had been by occasion of controversie about it well searched into and examined by the Scripture no doubt but the Fathers would therein have regulated their Faith according to the truth of Scripture But the Church of England say you holds and beleeves that Article as you doe No marvaile when you doe And should you hold otherwise must it not doe so too And yet we have but your bare word for it But you will alledge your Article That Christ went downe into hell But we must examine your Article by the Scripture And it is not the sound of your Article but the sense and that it agreeth with Scripture But we have shewed that no such thing is in Scripture And you tell us withall what Mr. Rogers upon the Articles saith of this That then Then I say in diebus illis the Church of England was not resolved of this Article and he was then the Arch-bishop of Canterbury his Chaplein your Predecessor Richard Bancroft But now your Lordships bare word is enough to Sway the Ballance which before stood but in aequilibrio in an even peize not resolved but now resolved But this I can tell you what ever your Church of England now beleeves there is and I hope a good sound Church of Christ yet in England that beleeves the Creed and all the Articles thereof and this in particular no otherwise then they find them agreeable to the Scripture and the Analogy of Faith And this is agreeable to that which once a Prelâ—te of England said By the generall confâ—ssion of all Antiquity Traditions must he warranted by the Scriptures or els we must reject them And Isidore saith A Prelate if he teach or command any thing besides that which is evidently cammanded in the holy Scriptures let him be taken for a false witnâ—ssie to God and a committer of Sacriledge But looking a little further I find you confessing That the Church of England hath not determined as yet either way by open Declaration upon this Article No hath she not How then doe you affirme and would perswade us that you beleeve with the Church of England that Christ descended into hell without any further Dispute We hope therefore it will not be long before your Declaration come forth with a Definitive Sentence determining the sense of this Article one way or other And the rather because in the late Declaration before the Articles wherein this Article of Christs going down into hell is particularly set downe for one they are declared to be of ambiguous sense and yet men must hold to the letter of the Article So as by that Declaration we are lesse resolved of the Articles then before A new Declaration therefore we would faine see which is cleare Declarative and Determinative and therein tell us whether Christs Soule descended into Hell the place of the damned or into Purgatory the Suburbs of hell and whether Locally and for what end and purpose because the Scripture is altogether silent in this whole mystery and whether you find hell to be in the Center of the Earth or no because your Article saith He went down into hell c. But in the mean time I have for my part ingenuously given you a reason of my Faith touching this Article which I am so resolved on by the Scripture that whatsoever Declaration you or your Church of England
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
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
before him in the view of all the Councel And the maine point of their Contentions was about Precedency which Bishoprick should be before another Oh devout and humble Prelates O holy successors of the Apostles Are these men like to remedy Schisme in the Church that are the Authors of them themselvs How came the great Schisme of Arius but by the Prelates when but one chiefly stood up against him How got Antichrist to be Caput Vniversale Universall Head or Bishop but by the dessent of the Bishops which causing their Appeales to Rome brought the Roman Bishop to that height so as the Prelates being worse divided among themselves then the Presbyters had been before them for remedy of whose Schisme they were by mans prescription erected gave occasion to the two Bishops of the two Imperiall Cities Rome and Constantinople to stickle for one Headship over all to reconcile all And so the Popedome it selfe the Throne of the Beast was erected in Schismatis remedium for the onely Remedy of all Schisme And it is to be noted how these two Prelates strove for this supremacy and both under the veile of humility Iohn of Constantinople becomes a great Faster whereupon he was styled Iohannes Iejunator Iohn the Faster Gregory then of Rome though he thundred against Iohns Ambition calling him that had or affected that Title the forerunner of Antichrist yet seeing Iohn like to prevaile with pretence of holinesse and humility Gregory stiles himselfe servus servorum Dei He thought he would not come behind for humility but indeed therein bewraying his pride when his humility was but in emulation And we see in Gregories Registrum in sundry of his Epistles how low he descends in most base flattery to that Parricide Phocas and his Empres to visit the thresholds of Peter and Paul c. But what will not Episcopall zeale doe for the Hierarchy But thus he kept Iohn off and so made way for his own Prophecy which was Filius superbiae prope est The son of pride that is Antichrist is neere at hand And neerer surely then he was aware For Gregory deceasing and Sabianus succeeding and siting but one yeare Boniface 3. the next successor obtaind this Title of Phocas and so each confirmed other the Emperour the Pope in the Throne of Antichrist which is a Tyranny over mens Soules and the Pope the Emperours Cruelty in a Tyranny over mens Bodyes And thus came that Prophecy of the Angel Revel 17.18 to be fulfilled The Woman which thou sawest is that great City which reigned over the Kings of the Earth As Rome then did in S. Iohns time So as according to Gods word not Constantinople which was not the Imperiall Câ—ty till Constantine so made it but Rome must be the feat of the Beast and of the Whore thus described Thus from Bishops emulation ambition contention one against another for honour precedency and greatnesse in the world came Antichrist to mount upon that Beast which had 7 heads and ten hornes And your selfe confesseth The difficulty was to accommodate the Places and Precedencies of Bishops among themselves And for this you say The most equall and impartiall way was that the Honours of the Church should follow the Honours of the State So that the greater City the greater Bishop And thus Romes Primacy in Order brought him to his supremacy in Authority Againe you say The Calling of Bishops Whence this Calling Not from God And of Aarons Priesthood it was said No man takes this honour upon him but he that is called of God as was Aaron Heb. 5.4 So all the Apostles had a speciall Calling and Commission from Christ to preach c. Paul Called to be an Aposâ—le of Iesus Christ. He stood upon his Calling he had a lawfull Calling wheron his Apostolicke Authority was founded Now you would be accounted Apostolick and the Apostles successors but where 's your Calling We find no such Calling as of Lord-bishops in the Scripture Therfore you have no Authority over the inferiour Clergy not over Gods Ministers I meane Either therfore prove your Calling from God or give us leave to deny your Authority as being an usurped Tyranny If you aledge those Bishops so called Act. 20.28 Phil. 1.1 1 Tim. 3.1 Tit. 1.7 c. Prove they were Diocesan Bishops We prove them by the plain Text to be but Presbyters over the severall Congregations over which the Holy Ghost made them Episkópous Bishops or Overseers as more fully at after If you aledge Timothy and Titus for Bishops that 's soon answered they were onely Euangelists no Bishops Those Epigraphees in the end of that to 2 Tim. and Tit. they are no part of the Text but were added long after at the leasâ— 400. years It behoves you therfore to prove your Calling better before you so presse and oppresse us with your Authority But you adde L. p. 177. Among these to wit Patriarchs Metropolitans Bishops there was effectuall subjection respectively grounded upon Canon and positive Law in their severall quarters P. Here you confesse that all subjection of Metropolitans to the Patriarchs and of Bishops to the Metropolitans was but grounded upon Canon and Positive Law Ergo not upon the Canon of Scripture nor the Law of God As you confessed openly in High Commission that no one Apostle had Authority or Iurisdiction over the Rest or any of their fellows so as though you call your calling Apostolicke yet your Arch-Bishoprick is not Apostolicke in exercising Authority and Iurisdiction over all the Bishops in your Province This you have not from the Scripture I know not from what Papall Canon For as for Positive if you meane the Politick Laws of Princes you will not take your Authority from them And the Judges have declared their judgement in the Kings Edict that your exercising your Authority and keeping Courts in your own Names is now no more a trenching upon the Kings Prerogative then formerly it hath been Where the Judges are to be commended for their Discretion But it is very well Thus you are loose off from the Positive Law of the Prince and we deny you any title either of Authority or Calling over the Ministry and so you may prove to sit between two stooles or as he that hath not one string to his bow But whereas you confesse before that Bishops have no Jurisdiction one over another because the Apostles had not hence it is evident that those who are true Bishops to wit Presbyters have no jurisdiction over one another and so there is no such Order or Calling of Lord Bishops whereby they have Authority over the true Bishops and Pastors of the flocks of Christ. These things are noted sufficiently before but as Augustine writing against the Pelagians saith By these things so often repeated though the importunity of the Adversary will not be repressed yet the Truth shal be the more confirmed and the Faith of Beleevers the more firmly established L. p. 183. The