him the throne of his father David And he shall reigne over the house of Iacob for ever by having still the Kingdome of his Church consisting of those true Israëlits of whom S. Paul spoak and of his Kingdom or Church there shall be no end 5. Isaias every where is very full to this purpose Chap. 49. v. 14. And Sion sayd our Lord hath forsaken me and our Lord hath forgotten me Why can a woeman forget her infant that she will not have pitty on the Sonne of her wombe And if she should forgett yet I will not forgett thee Behold I have written thee in my handes And again Ch 54. v. 9. As in the day 's of Noë is this thing to me to whome I swore I would bring in no more the waters of Noë upon the earth so have I sworne not to be angry with thee nor to rebuke thee For the mountaines shall sooner be moved and hills tremble But my mercy shall not depart from thee and the covenant of my peace shall not be moved sayd our Lord thy Miserator Poore litle one shaken with tempest with out all comfort behold I wil lay thy stones in order and will found thee in Saphires and I will put the Iaspar stone for thy munitions Again Ch. 60. v. 15. I will make thee the pride of worlds a Ioy unto generation and generation v. 18. Iniquity shall be no more heard in thy land wast and destruction in thy borders and saluation shall occupy thy walls and prayse thy gates Thow shalt have no more the Sunne by Day neither shall the brightness of the Moon illighten thee these are to meane lightes for thee but the Lord shall be to thee an Everlasting light and thy Lord God for thy glory Thy Sunne shall go down no more and thy Moone shall not be diminished because the Lord shall be unto thee an euerlasting light and the dayes of thy mourning shall be ended Again Ch. 61.6 You shall eate the strength of Gentils and in theyr glory You shall be proude Everlasting Ioy shall be to theÌ„ I will give theyr worke in truth and make a Perpetuall Covenant with them And they shall know theyr seed in the Gentills Al that shall see them shall know that these are the seed which the Lord hath blessed Again 62.3 Thou shallt be a crowne of glorie in the hand of our Lord and the Diademe of a Kingdome in the hand of thy God Thou shalt no more be called forsaken and thy land shall be called no more Desolate But thou shalt be called my will in her aÌ„d thy laÌ„d inhabited because it hath well pleased our lord in thee and thy land shall be inhabited Thy God shall rejoyce upoÌ„ thee upoÌ„ thy walls IerusaleÌ„ I have placed watchmeÌ„ all the day and all the night for euer they shall not hold theyr peace See here the continuall visibility of the church in her watchmeÌ„ and Pastours of which consequently there must be a perpetuall successioÌ„ And v. 8. Our lord hath sworne by his right hand and by the arme of his strenght if I shall give thy wheate any more to be meate to thy enimies and if the straÌ„ge ChildreÌ„ shall drinke thy wine And he concludeâ—h v. 12. Thou shalt be called a citty sought for and not forsaken That the true Church allso shall have a perpetuall successioÌ„ of Priests and Levites is cleerly expressed in the last chapter of Isaias in wich after the Prophet had named Africa Lidia Italy Greece and the Ilands a farr of he addeth v. 21. And I will take of them to be Priests and Levites sayth our lord for as the new heaveÌ„s and the new earth which I make to stand before me so shall staÌ„d the seed of your name Note that these Levites be now not by birth but by electioÌ„ ordeyned to be such out of severall couÌ„tries Italy Greece and other IlaÌ„ds which names your bible avoids to traÌ„slate 6 S Ieremy is no lesse copious C 30. v. 11. Though I make a full end of al natioÌ„s yet I will not make a full eÌ„d of thee but I will correct thee in measure The church indeed may be chastised for a while but never be brought to consuÌ„matioÌ„ For C. 31.35 Thus sayth our lord that giveth the Sunn for the light of the day the order of the moone and the starrs for the light of the night c. If these laws shall faile before me sayth our lord theÌ„ also the seed of Israël shall faile froÌ„ beeing a natioÌ„ before me for ever If the heaveÌ„s aboue shall be able to be measured and the fuÌ„datioÌ„s of the earth to be searcht out I also will cast a way al the seed of Israël Again C. 32.38 And they shall be my people and I will be theyr God and I will give theÌ„ one heart and one way that they may feare me all days and it may be well with theÌ„ and with theyr childreÌ„ after theÌ„ And I will not cease to doe theÌ„ good And I will make an Everlasting covenaÌ„t with theÌ„ And I will giue my feare in theyr heart that they may not reuolt froÌ„ me Again C. 33.14 Behold the days will come sayth our lord and I will rayse up the good word that I haue spoakeÌ„ to the house of Israël in that time I will make the spring of Iustice to budd forth unto Dauid and he shall doe IudgmeÌ„t and Iustice on the earth This sayth our Lord there shall not fayle of Dauid a man to sitt upon the throne of the house of Israël Christ must successively have his vicar or vicegereÌ„t in al ages aÌ„d of the priests aÌ„d leuites theyr shall not fayle before my face a maÌ„ to offer holocaustes and to burne sacrifices and to kill victimes all days Behold a successioÌ„ of lawful Priests still offering sacrifices expressed by the Priests and sacrifices as were then only known Again it followeth and the word was made to Ierimy saying if my covenaÌ„t with the day caÌ„ be made voide allso my covenant may be made voide with Dauid my seruaÌ„t that there may be not of him a sonne a vicar or vicegereÌ„t to reigne in his throne aÌ„d the leuites aÌ„d priests my ministers yea v. 22. eueÌ„ as the stars in heaueÌ„ caÌ„ not be nuÌ„bred aÌ„d the saÌ„d of the sea be meÌ„sured so will I multiplie the seed of David my servant and the Levites my Ministers Whence it is evident that the number of lawfull Priests by lawfull mission and ordination shall not only never fayle but allso never fayle to be a great number There followeth again in the same Chapter the formeâ— Covenant repeated once more 7. Ezechiel allso speakes very home Ch. 34.22 I will save my flock and it shall be no more into spoyle and will rayse up over them one Pastour who shall Leade them my servent David he shall feed them and he shall be theyr Pastour And I the Lord will be theyr God and my servant David the Prince of them
better not to vow then after a vow not to performe the thing promised For this is a sin as hath been proved by the former unanswerable Text. 3. As for the particular vow of Chastity we have our Saviours owne words Matth. 19.12 And there be Eunuchs who have made themselves Eunuchs for the Kingdome of heaven Those geld themselves for the Kingdome of heaven who vow Chastity sayth S. Aug. de Virg. c. 27. For by vow they make themselves as it were impotent for marriage And the doing this for the Kingdome of heaven is a cleare proofe that this state doth much further towards obteyning heaven Again both voluntary Poverty and Chastity are particularly rewarded by our Lord. Luc. 18.29 There is no man who hath left either house parents or wyfe for the Kingdome of God Note still how Chastity furthers towards the Kingdome of God who shall not receave manifold more at this present time and in the world to come lyfe everlasting Here I find a reward for leaving a wyfe shew me a reward for marrying one 4. S. Paul is most cleare 1. Cor. 7.25 As concerning Virgins a command of our Lord I have not yet I give my judgement or counsel can you give better counsel or judgement which is Art thou loosed from a wyfe seeke not a wyfe Why so It follows v. 32. He that is without a wyfe is carefull of the things that pertaine to our Lord how he may please God Note still how Chastity conduces to the gaining heaven But he thas is with a wyfe is carefull of the things that pertaine to the world The Virgin thinketh of things that pertaine to our Lord that she may be Holy both in body and spirit But she that is married thinketh of things that pertaine to the world And v. 38. He that joyneth not his Virgin in Matrimony doth better And v. 40. But she is happier if she so abide after my judgment 5. Againe 1. Tim. 5.9 Lett a widdow be chosen which hath beene the wyfe of one husband Here he speaks of the choise of such widdows as then were deputed to the service of the Church in assisting to prepare weomen Cathecumens to Baptisme as allso to serve the sick to administer to the poore especially of theyr owne sex And this they did living under the charge of the Deacons whence they were called Diaconissae S. Paul here sayth he would have none chosen or taken to this kind of state who had been marryed more then to one man Neither doth he permitt them after they have once undertaken this state to marry again That hence you may see evidently how farre he was from permitting Priests to marry again after the state of Priesthood undertaken Heare his discourse c. 5. n. 11. Younger widdows avoyde in this choyce for when they have begun to wax wanton again that is well fedd by Church goods offered to Christ as those widdows were they will marry having damnation because they have cast of theyr first saith Behold here theyr marriage and theyr damnation joyned together and the reason given why they have incurred Kryma damnation or judgment to theyr condemnation to witt because they have cast of theyr first faith This first faith is theyr vow of keeping perpetuall widdowhood according to all Fathers Greeke and Latin who ever did write upon this place sayth the Rhemish Testament here citing allso S. Aug. who together with two hundred and five-tenne Fathers in the fourth Councell of Carthage speaketh thus If any widdows have vowed themselves to God and left theyr laicall habit and under the testimony of the Bishop or Church have appeared in Religious weede and afterwards go any more to secular marriage according to the Apostles sentence they shall be damned because they were so bold as to make voide the faith or promise of Chastity which they vowed to our Lord. And as S. Augustin sayth Heresi 82. Iovinian the Heretike was the first who induced vowed Virgins to marry And l. 3. Retr c. 22. for this his new doctrine he calls him a monster 6. Lett vs go on with S. Paul v. 14.15 I will therefore the younger to marry such as be fraile t◠give no occasion to the adversaries to speake evell for some are allready turned aside after Satan Whence it is evident that breach of vows is damnable even in these yonger widdows who by reason of that breach are sayd to have turned aside or gone after Satan thus making theyr first faith voide 7. I end with that prayse given to Virgins Apoc. 14.4 These are they which follow the Lamb whethersoever he goeth THE XXII POINT Of works of Counsel and supererogation 1. PRotestants deny all works of supererogation that is works which we of our owne selves superadde to our boundē duty and consequently they will have no good worke to be only counseled unto vs but they say we are commanded to do all the good we can Against this errour be allmost all the texts in the former point and particularly the Text I there cited n. 1. out of the Booke of Numbers and what I cited n. 4. out of S. Paul flatly saying Concerning Virgins a commaund of our Lord I have not but Counsel I give And againe art thou loose from a wyfe seeke not a wyfe Is this a commaund Woe then to Ministers marrying when they were free men If it be no commaund what can it be but a Counsel And again He that ioyneth not his Virgin in Matrimony doth better to witt by doing something which you dare not say he is commaunded but which S. Paul once before tould you shee was only counseled And he tells you allso once more that it is only a Counsel More happy sayth he shall shee be if shee remaine so according to my judgment or Counsel Is thine better To the proofe of this point make all those manyfold Texts which in the next point we shall bring to prove how commendable voluntary austerityes be for none of those austerityes be by any precept commaunded but only commended to us and so they be not of precept but of Counsel superadded to what we are commaunded and therefore they be works of supererogation See all those Texts for they be most convincing 2. In the Law of nature I find Iacob freely without being commaunded vowing to build a Church Gen. 28. v. 20. And he vowed a vow saying if God shall keepe me in the way and I shall be returned prosperously to my Fathers house this stone which I have set for a pillar shall be Gods house Which he being safely returned did fullfill c. 35. v. 6. Iacob came to Luza surnamed Bethel and he built there an Altar and called that place the house of God 3. In the Law of Moyses God himselfe giveth a Rule Num. 6.2 To man and woeman who shall separate themselve to vow a vow to separate themselves to our Lord. For those I say who shall separate or consecrate themselves which manner of speach sheweth that
more outwardly when wee worship Saints or adore God Wherfore to prove what I have undertaken you see I need go no further then Genesis but I thought fitt to adde one very fitt passage of 1. Chron. 29. v. 20. All the assemble bowed themselves downe and worshiped the Lord and the King Exteriously the bowing was both alike to thc ground but the inward act made this bowing as done to the King to be civil honour only and the like bowing as done to God to be devine honour or worship and true adoratiō in the most rigorous sēse It is very strāge to observe how cunningly your Bibles still avoid the word Adore evē when it is applyed to God which seemes so often omitted by them because the same word signifying to adore is so often applyed to creatures you cannot then blame us if when wee reverence Saints or pray to them wee bow kneel or prostrate our selves to the ground even seaven times For if civil worship for this word the last Text hath may passe so farre without robbing God of his honour why may not an inferiour Religious worship do the like 5. But of this adoring for Religious worship wee have cleer Scripture Iosue c. 5. being told by an Angel that this Angel was but a Captain of the Hosts of our Lord Ioshua fell on his face to the earth and did worship v. 14. Behold before wee had worship given by the people to the King here wee have worship done to an Angel known to be an Angel By and by in the Apocalips wee shall see this very word of worship to signify the Reverence which is to be given to God Now I go on and I observe that the Angel was not only willing to admitt of this honour but commanded him allso to shew reverence to the very place made Holy by his presence Loose sayth he thy shoes from thy feet for the place wherin thou doest stand is Holy If any reply that wee may with Religious worship adore Angels as Iosue did but not Saints behold the Scripture sheweth this Religious worship or adoration due to spirituall excellency to be laudably given even to those who excell in sanctity even in this world So 1. Kings 18.7 Abdias governour of the house of Achab King of Israël meeting with poore Elias the Prophet when he knew him fell on his facë and sayd My Lord art not thou Elias And 2. Kings 2. v. 15. The Children of Prophets seing Elizeus sayd the spirit of Elias hath rested upon him and coming to meet him adored him flat to the ground or as you read They bowed themselves to the ground before him See you not here that it was not for any worldly excellency but meerly in regard of his spirituall excellency that they thus bowed thēselves to the groūd before him This spirituall excellency is incomparably more eminent in those who are now made Coheires to Christ himselfe in the partciipation of all heavenly gifts and glory To them therfore Religious bowing or worship is farre more due and wee are commāded by S. Paul Rom. 13.6.7 To render to all theyr due to whom honour honour Owe to no man any thing which you do not pay him This I staid upō because our Adversaries often aske for a precept commanding us to honour Saints Behold I have given you one which is a precept grounded in the very Law of nature and equity cammaunding us to render to teach one what is due to him 6. Again Apoc. 3.9 Behold I will make them come and worship hefore thy feet words spoaken to the Angel of Philadelphia If by this Angel you say the Bishop of Philadelphia is understood then we prove first that a fortiore wee may worship before the feet of the chiefe Bishop of the Church Secondly wee much more a fortiore inferre that wee may worship before the feet of those who have a farre greater excellency in vertue grace glory as Saints have above all men on earth For Matth. 11.11 Hee that is the least in the Kingdome of heaven is greater then he that is is greater then the great S. Iohn Baptist was upon earth though of him Christ himselfe sayd There had not risen a greater among the sons of weomen S. Iohn the Evangelist then knowing it to be true which he himselfe had written that Christ would make men come and worship before the feet of the Angel of Philadelphia thought it is duty to adore before the feet of any Angel and hence he sayth of himselfe Apoc. 19. v. 10. And I fell at this feet to worship him the Angel and again c. 22. v. 8. I fell down to worship before the feet of the Angel which shewed me those things 7. Our adversaries object that at each of these adorations the Angel checked S. Iohn for them saying at each time See thou do not I am thy fellow servant worship God Our answer is that if the first adoration used by S. Iohn had been of its own nature Idolatrous and sinfull which is incredible it proceeding from so great a Prophet and so sublime a Scripture writer yet at lest being told so and instructed by the Angel to the contrary as you say he was he would never the second time have done that Idolatrous and damnable sinfull act both wittingly and willingly and this so very soō after he had beē warned not to do it It was not thē by reason of any unlawfulnes in this action that the Angel willed him not to adore or worship But the Angel refused at both times this honour upon some other consideration to witt out of singular respect unto him whom he knew to have been at the last supper admitted to ly on Christs breast and so he would not permitt him to ly now prostrate at his feete whom he allso knew to be so highly favored by God with so many admirable heavenly visions Moreover to be a Virgin to be a Priest an Apostle and to be that very Disciple whom Iesus so singularly loved to be allso a Prophet and an Evangelist Therefore he would not admitt of such profound respect at his hands but humbly saying unto him I pray do it not for I am thy fellow servant and thou either now art greater in Gods sight then I am or soon mayest come to be farre greater Worship and adore God who hath so magnifyed thee Yet S. Iohns humility working still upon him more by seeing an Angel so humble and producing in him a mean conceipt of himselfe by still reflecting on what he was as of himselfe and knowing what his maister sayd that even the lesser in the Kingdome of heaven was greater then the great S. Iohn Baptist to witt according to the present state he therefore did the second time shew the Angel the honour he knew due to him See above how Iosue worshiped an Angel which honour notwithstanding was allso refused by the Angel in this place both for the former reasons and for that he knew full