shall we say He more willeth our punishment then our salvation 16. But if any will hereafter thus abuse the Word of God let him know he must likewise abuse the Prayers of his Church that so the sight of the one may bring him to the greater detestation of the other Wherefore let him say Domine non secundum peccata nostra facias nobis 1. non secundum mortalia sed facias nobis secundum venialia peccata O Lord deal not with us after our sins that is deal not with us after our mortal sins but deal with us after our venial sins Neque secundum iniquitates nostras retribuas nobis 1. non in inferno sed in Purgatorio Neither reward us after our iniquites That is reward us not after our iniquities in Hell by eternal torments but reward as after our iniquities in Purgatory by temporal punishment And if he think these too direful deprecations for his Hope let him think those other too direful interpretations for his Faith which would make repentance so take away his mortal as to leave behind his venial sins or would so take out Hell as to leâ—… in Purgatory for his bounden satisfaction For our parts we will do Gods Woâ—… and Gods Church more right then to fiâ—… such Doctrines upon his Word or such Prayers upon his Church And since thâ—… thoughts of our hearts are reputeâ—… among our venial sins we will say Thaâ—… both God and his Church have taught uâ—… how to get those thoughts purged froâ—… our souls whiles we live and not expectâ—… their purgation after our death even by heartily praying in this manner Cleansâ—… the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiratioâ—… of thy holy Spirit not by the operation of an imaginary or unholy fire which if it come not from Hell is but imaginary if it come from Hell is but unholy that wâ—… may perfectly love thee and worthily magnâ—…fie thy holy name This we can pray in faith for our heavenly Father will give his holy Spirit to them that ask him Luk. 11. 13. And that holy Spirit will purifie our heart by faith Acts 15. 8 9. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Fide purgans corda eorum Purging their hearts by Faith This is aâ—… the Purging of sin mentioned in the Scriptures even a Purgatory by Faith not by Fire And this is all the soul needs for if we may by vertue of this Purging Spirit or Purifying Faith either in our life or at our death perfectly love God we may doubtless after our death presently enjoy him since then as our faith is to be turned into Vision and our hope into Comprehension so our Charity is to be turned into Fruition our love of Christ into the enjoyment of him we cannot enjoy him where he is not but where he is that is not in a place far from Heaven if at least it be a place at all but in Heaven sitting at the right hand of God making intercession for us 17. And we had rather trust to his intercession to keep us from Purgatory then to others intercessions to deliver us from it For we are sure their intercessions are nothing worth but by vertue of his intercession and we are not sure that he doth intercede for souls in Purgatory for we cannot believe that he doth pray to God that a fire we know not whence should purge those souls which himself that came down from heaven could not purge For whatsoever fond Christians may fancy yet sure Christ himself will not so undervalue his own most precious blood and his own most holy Spirit as to pray that fire may cleanse those souls which his Spirit and blood have not cleansed And were it possible that such prayers could be made for souls in Purgatory as Christ would please to intercede withal yet since it cannot be known how long it is fit for souls to be in Purgatory no living man can use such prayers in faith of Christs intercession to go along with him to the throne of Grace But as he may pray for them without Christs intercession if they be there so he must pray for them without it when they shall be gone from thence For God hath not let us men on earth know the time of their deliverance no more then he hath taught us the belief of their captivity And now by this time I hope you understand what is my aim in making this answer though you say you did not in making that objection and will not perswade men hereafter to go to Purgatory that you may pray for them when it is so undenyable a Truth that if they be there they can have no benefit by your Prayers CAP. IV. Of the second Commandment and against Images 1. PApists not to be called Catholicks but false Catholicks saith their own Cassander 2. Confession and Absolution in the Church of Rome both faulty 3. The Church of England not defective in the practice of Penance neither for Confession nor for Contrition 4. The Church of Rome defective in her Confessional Interrogatories and consequently in her Penance for the sins against the second Commandement 5. No Catholick Divinity either in making the second no Commandment or in making no sin of Ignorance against it for All the Decalogue is as necessary to salvation as all the Creed 6. An errour in fact against a Commandement in the Decalogue infers an errour in faith against its corresponding Article in the Creed 7. Saint Augustine made bold with the place and order but not with the power or substance of the second Commandement He writ much against Images especially those of the blessed Trinity which you now maintain and worship to the great danger of making the scoffers of this age Antitrinitarians as by denying or concealing the second Commandement you have made them Antinomians 8. All Catholick Divines after Saint Augustine have not reckoned the first and second Commandements but as One indeed very few or none at all till Peter Lombard and might not so reckon them because it is against essential and accidential Catholicism 9. Good Church-men did neither joyn the first and second Commandements together as did the School nor divide the Tenth into two Commandements the absurdities of that division 10. T is easie for Christians well instructed in the first to sin out of ignorance against the second Commandement 11. Christ is not to be worshipped by A Picture because he is the true God 12. The Religious worshipping of Saints and Angels gross Idolatry For all the elicite Acts of Religion belong only to God who alone is the object of the first as Neighbour is the object of the second Table And t is against the order of Justice to confound the offices of God and Neighbour and consequentlâ—… the greatest breach of Christian Communion which is founded upon Justice 13. The Honour of Religion due by the first Table is unproportionable to any creature and cannot be given to any but against true Faith Hope and Charity
nor all-sufficient Do not you think he may be worshipped through a picture which himself hath so expresly forbidden for that is in effect to deny him to be your Soveraign Lord. For if he be the Lord ascribe unto him that worship and honour which himself hath commanded not that which himself hath forbidden because you cannot ascribe unto the Lord the honour due unto his Name whiles you do not ascribe unto him the honour due unto his Nature that is the honour of being the Lord For this is to say unto him Lord Lord according to the letter of the first Commandement whiles by your breaches of the second you force him to say unto you I know you not depart from me ye workers of iniquity so far is it from Truth That Christians well instructed in the first cannot through ignotance offend against the second Commandement yet I will strive to make it true for truths sake by annexing to it this supposition if they exactly follow the instructions given them in the first Commandement for then clearly they will know God too well either to worship him by an image or to worship any image instead of him But now this your own assertion like a rebellious subject will take up arms against you for by the Rule of Logick which proceeds from the eversion of the Consequent to the eversion of the Antecedent it may be proved that notwithstanding all your great boasts of being so well instructed in the first Commandement you have not well received or not well followed those instructions because you have not rightly received and followed the prohibition of the second For if the first Commandement were in truth rightly understood and obeyed amongst you according to your own negative Thou shalt not have strange Gods before me and according to your own affirmative Thou shalt have me only for thy true God you would not be so zealous as you are to bestow religious worship upon your petty Deities for that is to have strange Gods not him only for your God nor would you be so ready to represent or worship the eternal Deitie through a picture for that is not to have him for the true God since undenyable is that of the Apostle God that made the world and all things therein seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth dwelleth not in Temples made with hands Acts 17. 24. And if not in Temples then sure not in Images made with hands yet take away this crude and carnal thought that the Creator is like the creature to be confined or comprehended in his dwelling which is against the very light of nature and much more against the light of grace and you will not easily be Idolators either in worshipping him by an Image or in worshipping an image instead of him So that from your not honoring God rightly according to the Prohibition of the second we have reason to fear you do not honour him rightly according to the instruction of the first Commandement For even Damascene himself though a great admirer of other Images yet allows not any to make the Image of God but saith lib. 4. de Orthod fide c. 16. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Who can make a representation of the invisible incorporeal God which can neither be described nor defined it is then the height of madness and of wickedness to make any form or picture of the Deity Therefore Christ as God is not to be represented much less worshipped by a picture and consequently your application of divine worship through his pictures unto him may easily be convinced of Idolatry 12. I next come to your third position which concerns the worshipping of Saints and Angels for they are to be Religiously worshipped before their pictures and if not they then not their pictures since therefore all moral duties that are performed without us are reduced by our blessed Saviour to these two Heads Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy self Saint Mat. 22. I ask To which of these two you will reduce your Religious worshipping of Saints and Angels If to the first say there is more then one God and you can love more then one God with all your heart If to the second do not talk of a Religious worship for no man yet ever worshipped himself with a Religious worship and you are to love your neighbour but as your self not as your God For since God hath called All but himself your neighbour how can you call Any but himself your God whiles you worship him as your God by a Religious worship Can you think that Job did not intend that of every other creature whatsoever which he spake of the Sun Moon because the Heathen bestowed their Religious worship on them as not knowing any creature more glorious then them for they knew nothing of the Angels or glorified Saints If mine heart hath been secretly enticed or my mouth hath kissed my hand This also were an iniquity to be punished by the Judge Hebr. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Iniquitas judicans vel judicialis digna quae à Judice puniatur an iniquity to be punished by the Judge of quick and dead since it is a Judged Case in his own Court since he himself hath judged it to be an iniquity For I should have denyed the God that is above Here is the Religious worship which calleth the creature the Creator for so saith Jarchi 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 If I have worshipped the Sun or Moon saying they are Gods And here is the iniquity that cannot escape Judgement for this calling the creature the Creator is to deny the God that is above so saith 〈◊〉 I should have denyed the 〈◊〉 â—…at is above The meaning is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The God that is above these two great lights The Hebrew words will yet bear another interpretation 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 For I should have lyed against the God above Hence Idolatry is called mendacium perniciosum a pernicious lye by your own Reginaldus Scandalous to men injurious to God directly against the honour due unto him which is not communicable to any but to himself Regin lib. 16. cap. 14. sec. 3. Idolatry is therefore called a Lye in Job a pernicious lye in Reginaldus because it communicates that honour to the creature which is due only to the Creator And according to this Principle The Religious worship of Saints and Angels must be called Idolatry For to worship them Religiously is to Communicate to them the honour of God it is to say they are Gods And to say they are Gods is to lye both to God and man for it is to deny the God that is above them and to deceive the men that are amongst us For it is vam here to talk of inferiour degrees of worship since Magis minus non variat speciâ—… if it be Religious worship properly so called the least degree of it is Religious
overthrows the analogie of Faith in the Apostles Creed concerning Christs natural body for that was conceived by the holy Ghost born of the Virgin Mary suffered under Pontius Pilate was crucified dead and buried ascended into heaven and now sitteth on the right hand of God which cannot be truly said of Christs Sacramental Body in the blessed Eucharist So this Proposition The Angel which redeemed me from all evil bless the lads must be taken Theologically that is in the sense of the speaker because taken Grammatically that is in the bare sense of the words it overthrows the analogy of righteousness in Mâ—…ses his Decalogue ascribing that to an Angel which is proper and peculiar to God alone by vertue of the first Commandement as to be the God before whom Abraham and Isaac did walk the God which had fed Jacob all his life and had redeemed him from all evil and could bless the lads by his own authority both with temporal and with spiritual blessings â—…or he that saith Thou shalt have no other Gods but me saith Thou shalt not have an Angel instead of me as if thy Fathers had walked before him thou wert to be fed from him to be redeemed by him to 〈◊〉 blessed through him The analogie o Righteousness or of Religion in the first Commandement admits not this interpretation therefore though it be Grammatically true in the sense of the words yet 't is Theologically false in the sense of the speaker for Gods Spirit speaketh not contradictorily to himself And being proved to be Theologically false because it is against the analogy of righteousness or of Religion it is easie to prove it Logically false because it is against the analogy of reason And truly so it is in three respects 1. In respect of the Proposition The Predicate not agreeing with the Subject and therefore though an Angel be named yet he is not intended because he is named with such a property or attribute as belongs only to God viz Redeeeming from all evil and Blessing with all good 2. This interpretation is Logically false in respect of the connexion the Proposition not agreeing with the Antecedents and Consequents For an Angel cannot be the God before whom Iacobs Fathers walked by whom Iacob himself was fed and redeemed from whom Iacobs children could be blessed 3. This interpretation is Logically false in respect of the deduction because if an Angel be here meant as he is named it will follow that an Angel hath the Kingdome and Power may have the Glory and worship of God And now pray Sir consider how distant are your proceedings from that love of truth that candor of Ingenuity that care of conscience which should be among Christian Divines both in rejecting those interpretations of the holy Scriptures against praying to Saints whether Angels or Men which are undoubtedly true not only Grammatically but also Theologically and Logically and in embracing those interpretations for praying to Saints which are undoubtily false if not Grammatically yet at least both Thelogically and Logically in all these respects And such will be found all the interpretations of the Text alledged by your late Divines in this argument if they be diligently examined either according to the analogy of Religion or according to the analogy of Reason But I return to this which cannot be made true in the judgement of the most eminent Divines both of Greek and Latine Church I will name you two St. Chrysostome for the Greek and St. Thomas of Aquine for the Latine Church 1. St. Chryst. for the Greek Church who upon these words The Angel which redeemed me from all evils bless the lads gives us this gloss 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 66. in Genesin 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 O thankful resolution O Soul loving of God how doth the remembrance of his benefit dwell and lodge in his heart That God saith he whom my Fathers pleased who sed me from my youth until now who from the beginning delivered me from all evil He who hath shewed such signal providence towards me He bless these Children See here in St. Chrysostomes gloss Jacob prayed to God not to the Angel to bless his grand Children And He was the mouth of the Greek Church 2. St. Thomas of Aquine saith the same but much more perspicuously as to the Confutation of Bellarmines errour though not as to the confirmation of Gods truth For whereas Bellarmine saith Jacob invocated an Angel The Angelical Dr. saith he did not but that he called the God of his Fathers His Angel for these are his words upon the place Videtur quod Deum Patrum suorum suum vocat Angelum sui protectorem salvatorem unde postea in singulari dicit Benedicat pueris istis It seems that he calleth the God of his Fathers his Angel and his Protector and saviour whence it is that afterward he saith in the singular number though he had named two sc. God and the Angel He bless the lads nisi forte Angelicam benedictionem divinae benedictioni tanquam comministram sive subministraÌ„ adjungat sed modus loquendi quem tenet si benè advertatur magis sapit primum modum Unless you will say that He annexeth the Angelical benediction as ministerial to the Divine But the manner of his speech if it be well observed rather calleth for the first interpretation This was Aquinas his judgement after his most serious deliberation upon the words and we may well look upon it as the judgement of the Latine Church the rather because He was the chief Captain of the Schoolemen and though he laboured to prove the same conclusion with Bellarmine yet not by the same praemisses but he leaves out this as not thinking it a fit proof and is contented only with that of Job 5. 1. Voca si est qui tibi respondeat ad aliquem sanctorum convertere which is another of your Cardinals allegations out of the Text to prove the Invocation of Saints 9. And He is so over zealous for this proof lib. 2. de Verbo Dei cap. 12. That when Chemnitius had said the Text was corruptly interpreted in the Vulgar translation His answer is Fortè fuisse ebrium quum hoc scripsit Chemnitium Perchance Chemnitius was drunk when he writ this Bad words are seldom signs of a good cause but often more then signs they are proofs of a bad temper And we know that there is a sort of men which are drunken but not with wine that stagger but not with strong drink Isa. 29. 9. Those upon whom the Lord hath poured out the spirit of deep sleep and hath closed their eyes v. 10. and that this judgement is chiefly denounced against them who teach the fear of God by the precept of men v. 13. or who teach for Doctrines the Commandements of men as our blessed Saviour hath explained those words Mat. 15. 9. for concerning those it is said The wisedome of their wise men shall perish and the understanding of
opinion St. Peter St. John St. James and St. Jude did write their several Epistles That St. Peter speaketh concerning this same opinion of being saved by Faith without works when he saith that some unearned and unstable men did wrest St. Pauls Epistles to their own destruction and therefore exhorteth Christians to all holy conversation and godliness upon this account that such men did at last most miserably perish in their sins Sic itaque Petrus his ergo iâ—…quit hominibus pereuntibus quales oportet vos esse in sanctis conversationibus et pietatibus so saith S. Peter therefore since these men perish for that application St. Aug. makes of his words though not that Lection what manner of persons ought ye to be in all conversation and godliness ye therefore beloved seeing ye know these things before beware least ye also being led away with the errour of the wicked sc. this errour of being saved by Faith without works fall from your own stedfastness but grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ 2 Pet. 3. 11 17. But St. James saith he is yet much more offended with such men Jacobus autem tam vehementer infestus est eis qui sapiunt fidem sine operibus valere ad salutem ut illos etiam Daemonibus comparet c. St. James is so displeased with those men who supposed Faith could save them without works that he down-right compares them to devils saying the devils also believe and tremble and tells them plainly their Faith was dead and that they were strangely besotted who thought that such a faith which had not life in it selfe could be a means of procuring them everlasting life quousquâ—… igitur falluntur qui fide mortuâ sibi vitam aeternam pollicentur And St. Aug. further assures us that S. Paul himself had exactly taught the very same Doctrine before Sicut etiam ipse Paulus non quamlibet fidem quae in Deum credat sed eam salubrem planéque Evangelicam definivit cujus opera ex dilectione procedunt fides inquit quae per dilectionem operatur Unde illam fidem quae sufficere ad salutem quibusdam videtur ita nihil prodesse asseverat ut dicat si habeam omnem fidem ita ut montes transferam charitatem autem non habeam nihil sum Ubi autem haec fidelis charitas operatur sine dubio benè vivitur Aug. lib. de fide et oâ—…er cap. 14. Even as also St. Paul himself speaking of Justificaâ—…ion and Salvation by Faith did not mean every Faith which believed in God but a saving and a â—…rue Evangelical Faith whose works proceeded from love a Faith saith he which worketh by love whence that Faith without works which some thought sufficient to Salvation he so flatly avoweth to be nothing worth that he plainly saith though he had all Faith so as to remove mountains and had not charity he should be nothing But wheresoever is this Faith working by love there without doubt the whole life is fraight with good works All his businesse is to distinguish a true and false Faith by requiring works to the Faith that justifieth not to confound Faith with works in the act of Justification Againe in the fifteenth Chapter Illud quoque non video cur Dominus dixerit Si vis venire ad vitam serva mandata commemoravit ea quae ad bonos more 's pertinent si etiam his non servatis ad vitam veniri potest per solam fidem quae sine operibus mortua est Illud deinde quomodo verum erit quod eis quos ad sinistram positurus est dicat Ite in ignem aeternum qui paratus est Diabolo Angelis ejus nec increpat quia in eum non crediderint sed quia bona opera non fecerint cap. 15. Nor do I see why our Lord said If thou wilt enter into life keep the Commandements reckoning up those moral duties whereby they were to be kept if without keeping them more might go to Heaven by a dead Faith nor how he will say to them on his left hand go into everlasting fire condemning them not because they had not believed but because they had not done good works answerable to their belief He tells the false believer he should be condemned for want of works he tells not the true believer he should be acquitted for his works where by the way our Solifidians may take notice that heâ—… is not like to be so full of moral honest men who want Faith for how could their hearts sanctifie their hands if Faith did not first sanctifie their hearts as of believing men who want moral honesty having only such a Faith as to sanctifie their mouths for holy professions but not their hearts by holy affections nor their lives by holy conversation For so the same St. Aug. in the next Chapter Si autem Christus fundamentum proculdubio fides Christi per fidem quippe habitat Christus in cordibus nostris Porro fides Christi illa est utique quam definivit Apostolus quae per dilectionem operatur Non enim fides illa Daemonum quum ipsi credant contremiscant filâ—…um Dei confiteantur Jesum potest 〈◊〉 in fundamentum Quare nisi quia non est fides quae operatur per dilectionem sed quae exprimitur per timorem fides itaque Christi fides gratiae Christianae i. e. ea fides quae per dilectionem operatur posita in fundamento neminem perire permittit cap. 16. If Christ be the foundation of our righteousnesse then without doubt the Faith of Christ is so too for Christ dwelleth in our hearts by Faith but 't is that Faith which the Apostle defineth to be a Faith working by love for it is not possible that the Faith of devils who do beleeve and tremble and confesse Jesus to be the Son of God should be taken into this foundation because it is not a Faith which worketh by love but which is extorted by fear whereas the true Faith of Christ which proceedeth from the grace of Christ that is a Faith which worketh by love being put in the foundation will not let any man perish everlastingly What can be said more of a justifying Faith but that it maketh Christ to dwell in the heart for the foundation of righteousnesse and that it passeth from the heart to the hand for the operation of righteousnesse In that this Faith giveth us Christ it delivereth us from the condemnation of sin for where Christ is there can be no condemnation Rom. 8. II. In that it giveth us good works it delivereth us from the conversation of sinners that we may live as becometh Christians This Faith cannot let us perish because it will not let us depart from Christ who is the Way the Truth and the Life the Way that we should walk in the Truth to direct us in our journey and the Life to reward us at our journeys