of Idoll and Image p. 386. Papists worship the Image it selfe p. 386. No religious vse of any Image to be allowed p. 360. Ignorance the strength of Poperie p. 4. 70. All ignorance is not heresie p. 50. How it shuts men out from saluation p. 40. 44 49. 50. 274. Ignorance can excuse no man the Gospell being preached euerie where p. 113. Ieconiah childlesse p. 39. K 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 283. The keyes and power to bind and loose common to all the Apostles p. 325. 326. Why kings are called humane creatures p. 274. He refuseth not to be subiect to the king that doth not absolutely obey him in all things p. 275. L The Lawe cannot be kept perfectly p. 363. How it is not gricuous p. 363. One learned mans iudgement oftentimes drawes many to it p. 250. The Leuen of the Pharisies what it is p. 37. 141. No life but in the bodie of Christ p. 273 The light must shine to them that are in the house p. 182. The loue of God whence it ariseth p. 20 Is not alike to all p. 257. M Gregory Martins eauils were answered long since p. 69. Markes of the Church p. 221. 222. 226. 259. Must be proper to it always p. 222. 280. Easier to be knowne then the Church it selfe p. 222. 223. True doctrine in the fundameÌ„tal points is a sure marke of the Church p. 228. 229. 301. 374. 375. The Masse was brought in by peece meale p. 384. Ouergreat zeale of Martyrdome p. 189 Messiah not Salomons sonne p. 39. The ministery not the authority of men is vsed to beget faith p. 6. 19. 234. 243 244. Needful for the instruction of the ignorant p. 98. No charge practise or warrant for any vniuersal ministery since the Apostles time p. 179. Luthers preuailing in his ministery and his preseruation wanted litle of a miracle p. 355. Ministers to be heard so farre as they speake according to the Scriptures p. 36. 112. 137. 142. 146. Yet lesse danger not to heare them so speaking then not to heare the Apostles p. 43 112. Origen preached before he was a Minister p. 35. Antichrists miracles p. 114. 352. Miracles are often counterfetted p. 352. 358. Preferred before the authoritie of the Church p. 114. The vse of miracles is to confirme doctrine not to testifie of holinesse pa. 172. 351. There neuer was any true miracle wrought for confirmation of false doctrine p. 115. Miracles are not to be beleeued for any doctrine against Scripture p. 115. False miracles cannot alwayes be discerned by men p. 115. 352. 353. Luther and Caluin did not attempt the working of miracles p. 355. N A naturall man what he is p. 61. 236. Absurdly called sensuall pa. 60. 61. 236. 237. May vnderstand the Scripture though not beleeue it to saluation p. 236. Necessitie not constraint taught by Protestants p. 344 345. P Papists treason Nouemb. 5. 1605. pa. 8. 346. 347. 379. The wickednesse of Papists testified by their owne writers p. 340. 346. Papists rest vpon the Pope and Councels p. 51. 312. Are Pharisaicall boasters p. 338. 363. No Papist holding the authoritie of the Church and the impossibilitie of the Popes erring can be a good Christian or a faithfull subiect p. 72. Papists not sonnes of God but seruants of the law p. 343. 364. Papists count murdering of Princes a meritorious worke p. 361. Outward peace is not so tâ—â—ch worth as that for it the Church should be corrupted with errors p. 312. Must be prouided for by the ciuill magistrate p. 312. Saint Peter the Popes Lord. p. 388. Why our Sauiour prayed especially for him p. 326. Why hee asked him thrice if hee loued him p. 327. Peters accepting of the soueraigntie a poore proofe of his loue to Christ p. 327. His superioritie was in respect of age p. 315. It is vncertaine whether euer he were at Rome or no. p. 328. 393. The Pope the Papists Lord God p. 112. How he came to his height p. 382. Head of the Church though he beleeue not in heart p. 23. He that is no Christian may be Pope of Rome 23. 111. The Pope cannot erre p. 71. Can shew no charter for his not erring p. 37. 71. 72. May erre by the iudgement of Papists p. 323. Euen with a generall Councell p. 330. 331. It is not determined that the Pope alone cannot erre p. 320. Pope Iohn 22. doubted of the immortalitie of the soule p. 111. Pope Leo 10. counted the historie of Christ a fable p. 111. Many Popes haue bene found to be Apostataes from the faith p. 323 324. Many decrees of Popes are contrarie one to another p. 324. Pius 5. and Clement 8. â—â—â—olue concerning the words of consecration contrary to the Councell of Trent pag. 324. Popish religion cannot hold vp the head without the Popes authoritie p. 108. The Pope appoints the holy Ghost an office of his owne deuising p. 388. Our Sauiour and his Apostles hid themselues from persecutors p. 186. No necessitie to worship God publikly in time of persecution p. 190. 191. The Pharises were blind guides p. 249. To what purpose our Sauiors perpetual presence serueth p. 132. Predestination doth not take away free will p. 361. Without true beleefe of predestination and iustification there can hardly be any true religion p. 290. Prayer for the dead p. 96. How euery one that prayeth receiueth p. 116 117. Preaching the ordinarie means of faith p. 113. 409. No man might haue preached the Gospell without warrant from God pag. 113. How Luther may bee said to haue first preached Christ p. 392. Pride in opposition against a matter of doctrine is sometimes in a sanctified man p. 274. What outward profession of religion is how farre necessarie p 188 189 192. What it is to confesse with the mouth p. 191. False Prophets to be knowne by their doctrine p. 36. How all prophesies in the scripture are alwayes true p. 206. Purgatorie ends with the world p. 365 Q Questions of religion how to be decided pag. 61 R Reason how farre it may be required in points of diuinitie p. 16. 17. 18. Light of reason caÌ„not find out all things necessarie to saluation p. 25. The reason of Gods counsel and doings is oftentimes hid from men p 204. Nothing against reason is to be beleeued without warrant froÌ„ God p. 244. The religion of the Popish Church at this day is fetched from the Councell of Trent p. 358. 377. Our Sauiour did not pray that the reprobate might be one with his father and him p. 264. Reuelation of the spirit required by the Papists to beleeue that the Scriptures are the word of God p. 245. The Church of Rome sometimes a true Church p. 338. Rome was not built in a day p 382. S What is absolutely necessary to saluatioÌ„ p. 46. 55. 59. 65. 77. 188. 243. 319. Assurance of saluation p. 150. 354. Sufficient meanes of saluation prouided for euery man p. 53. 55. 58. Euery man hath not the meanes p. 57.
is not ordained to be such a light rule and meanes To your proofe touching the light I answer with diuers of the auncient that our Sauior speaketh to and of the Apostles not of the Church in succession from time to time All the Apostles saith Chrysostome are the light to whō he said Ye are the light of the world These were the light of the eyes of the two testaments the Law and the Gospel For they by the light of our Lord enlightened for vs the old and new testaments He that reproueth those things that are done secretly is the light quoth Theophylact. For all that maketh any thing manifest is light But they the Apostles enlightned not one nation but the world So doth Austin somtimes expound it So Ierom Hilary Remigius Lucas Brugensis a learned Papist not onely applieth this text to the Apostles but also affoords vs a second answer You are that is saith he you must be or ought to be the light of the world that you may carry the light of the Gospel into the world he set round about with darknesse And thus in a manner do Austin and Hilary expound it But let vs vnderstand it of all teachers that they are the light of the world as indeed they are in a certaine proportion What then Will it follow hereupon that therefore the Church is at all times visible to al men The Apostles themselues whom this doth especially concerne were not so For many thousands in the world died after the generall commission giuen to the Apostles before it was any way possible for them to take any knowledge of such Preachers or of the Gospell Your great Cardinall Bellarmine will needs haue the place expounded not of the Apostles doctrine but of their conuersation which is not so easie and readie to be knowne as their preaching was Tertullian applieth it to the behauiour of all Christians Why hath our Lord saith he compared vs to a light and a hill if we shine not in the midst of the darknes if we hold not vp our heads in the middle of them that lie drowned But out of question this holinesse of true Christians is not alwayes visible to all men neither can it belong to your Church the members whereof may be vtterly void of true faith and loue saue onely in the outward profession Take it how you will for doctrine or manners or both you are neuer a whit the nearer If I would presse the words I could say that our Sauiour requires no more in this place of the light but that it giue light to all them that are in the house that is to all in the Church or at the most to them that are neare neighbours thereunto For what candle is there so bright that the light of it can be seene ouer all the world What though our Sauiour call his Apostles the light of the world doth he meaue that they all ioyntly together considered as a companie are so or that euery one of them seuerally is the light of the world If you will haue it spoken of them as the Church and else it cannot serue your turne to proue the perpetuall visiblenesse of the Church I doubt how you will be able to shew that they were the light of the world For they did not enlighten the world by any ioynt act of them all together but by their seuerall preaching in seuerall places Neither did they perswade men to beleeue because they were such or such a company but euery one of them taught the doctrine of the Gospell and was of himselfe without relation to all or any of the rest the light of the world in that part where it pleased God to blesse his labours to the begetting of faith If you say that euery one of them was the light of the world as doubtlesse euery one was then will it not follow that because the Church is the light of the world therefore it must be at all times visible to all men For neuer any one of the Apostles was so no nor all of them as I said before many thousands being taken out of the world after the Apostles began to preach ere they could possibly haue any glimpse of such a light To conclude the Apostles were and the Ministers in some sort now are the light of the world because by their preaching it pleaseth Almightie God to open the eyes of worldly men that they may turne from darknes to light and from the power of Satan to God that they may receiue forgiuenesse of sinnes and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith in Christ not as if any or all these must at all times be visible to all men but that there may be meanes for the saluation of those whom the Lord of his infinite loue hath chosen out of the world to be heires of his endlesse glory By all men we may vnderstand either euery particular man or all sorts of mē If you wold proue that which you vndertake you must meane euery particular man as I haue shewed in answering the fifth Chapter and as it is apparent in this afterward where you repeate that which before you had deliuered concerning Gods will to haue euery man saued one and other But I know not how in the proofe of your proposition you seeme to expound all men by all sorts of men How can it be a meanes say you by which at all times the infallible truth may be made knowne to all sorts of men if it selfe at any time could not be knowne of men In this sense if I should grant your whole fyllogisme yet would the point in question remaine still vnproued For the Church may be ordained for the light of the world and for a rule or means whereby all sorts of men may come to faith and saluation and yet at no time be visible to euery particular man To speake more plaine your proposition may be vnderstood two seueral ways first thus that all men shall be taken in the one part of it namely in the antecedent or former part for euery particular man in the other for all sorts of men If it be thus vnderstood I say the consequence is naught Secondly those words All men may haue the same signification in both parts of the proposition yet in two diuers senses For they may be taken either for Al sorts of men and then as I haue shewed the syllogisme proueth not that which is in question or for euery particular man in which sense onely I allow of the proposition as true and to the purpose It had bin better therefore that you had spared the proofe of it especially vnlesse you could haue done it better The light which is not put vnder a bushel is not the church but the apostles He teacheth them saith Theophylact to endure the trial and to haue great care of their conuersation as they
yet saith Thomas they had not perfect faith because some of them were by false Apostles seduced so that they thought the cermonies of the law were to be ioyned with the Gospell He doth not saith your interlinear Glosse commend their faith as perfect but their readinesse and desire to embrace Christ All which notwithstanding we willingly graunt that the Romane Church was at that time and long after a true Church what gather you of this graunt I hope you will not say that therefore it must needs be a true church still But we shal better vnderstand your meaning by that which followeth There is nothing you Papists are more afraid of then to be drawne to iustifie your doctrine by Scripture Therefore you alwayes keepe aloofe and tell vs of the Church the Church as the Iewes did Ieremie of the Temple The Romane Church say you was once a true Church Who denieth it Therefore is it so still I say you that it is vnlesse you can shew at what time it departed from the true faith Did you neuer know any man who in his youth had blacke haire and now being old is all white headed Put case I would stand verie stifly vpon your argument and say that his head is blacke still and vrge you to tell me when the first haire changed white Would you answer me or laugh at me for my folly But such changes in faith say you would haue bene resisted or at least recorded by some and you prooue it thus If no heresie as contrarie to truth as blacke is to white was euer heard of to haue arisen without noting or resisting nor any such could now possibly so arise then no such thing is to be beleeued of the Romane Church But no such heresie was euer heard of to haue arisen nor can so arise without noting or resisting Therefore no such thing is to be beleeued of the Romane Church That I may answer directly to your Syllogisme remember which I also noted before that you take it as granted that there was neuer any noting or resisting of errours but there is yet record remaining of it Whereas we gessing reasonably of that which is past by that we see euerie day perswade our selues that your Popish inquisitors and censurers haue raced and destroyed many records wherein the arising of your errors and the resistance made against them haue bene noted I would speake more of this matter but that almost euerie childe knoweth how shamefully and lewdly you deale euerie day with your owne mens writings who forced by the euidence of truth here and there giue witnesse to our doctrine in their bookes We see not then why we may not yeeld this conclusion for ought that it can aduantage you or hurt vs. All such errours doubtlesse haue bene noted and resisted though the records thereof be perished defaced or destroyed by your Antichristian Prelates Secondly though it were granted to be true that No heresie as contrarie to the truth as blacke is to white euer could arise without being noted or recorded yet might your Popish errours haue stollen in for the most part vnperceiued Because they were not apparently contrary to the knowne truth as the absurd examples you bring of sacrificing an Oxe or worshipping a Cow are Poperie as the Apostle saith of it vnder the title of Antichristianisme is a mysterie of iniquitie which began to worke in his daies and by little and little with colourable pretences wrought it selfe into the Church till it came to that height in which all the world now seeth it I might exemplifie this matter in that great point of your Popes licentious and vnlimited authority how it began by reason of the place Rome being the chiefe seat of the Empire how it grew by the fauour of the Emperours and the worthinesse of some Bishops of that sea and so crept on till it had gotten strength to trample the Emperours themselues vnder foote It is said by way of prouerbe that Rome was not built in one day The speach is as true of your Popes Romish gouernment as of Romulus first founding the Citie The occasions and pretences of your Popes greatnesse were reasonable faire to shew and seemed to promise I know not what securitie to religion and peace to Christendome but the euenthath shewed that the one by it was for a time quite ouerthrowne the other partlie destroyed and altogether brought into great hazard But I may not enlarge my answer to farre Our Historiographer whom you finde fault with no doubt spake in that iust indignation he conceiued against the intollerable pride of the Romish Monke Austin in pittie of that bloodshed which insued vpon his finding fauour with the Saxon kings whom he caused to imbrew their hands in the bloud of many thousand poore Christians because forsooth they would not submit themselues to his insolencie If his speech sound vnpleasantly in your eares how would you haue liked that of our Sauiour in the Gospell VVo be to you Scribes and Pharisies Hypocrites For ye compasse sea and land to make one of your profession and when he is made you make him two fold the childe of hell more then your selues For saith Ierome he that before did but simply erre in his ignorance by your lewd conuersation is driuen from his profession backe againe to Gentilisme Surely they that before were heathen and might by Gods blessing haue bene wonne to the truth of the Gospell through the preaching of the Britans and their humble conuersation by this Austin lost the opportunitie and became persecutors of true Christians for your pride and superstition with which afterward the whole nation was miserably ouerwhelmed and at last almost perished vnder the Normans But to giue you some better satisfaction touching this point heare I pray you in a few words what one of your owne writers saith It is a thing full of horror saith Bucchingerus either to reade or remember that the Popes of Rome practised such tyranny one against another O how are they degenerated from their Ancestors It could not be that in the time of such cruelty there should be any regard had of Christian pietie Let no man then maruaile if some abuses and peruerse opinions crept into the Church There was great ignorance of the Scripture and loue of superstition The Lord sending men strong delusions that they should beleeue lies because they had not receiued the loue of the truth You presse vs here as you thinke with some probabilitie that if there had bene any alteration of religion it would certainly haue bene recorded But how should it haue bene recorded when it was not seene You dreame of a sodain change where as the alteration grew from good to bad yet with shew of some goodnesse and from bad to worse so nicely that few or none could discerne it Your probabilities are two The former in this manner If there could not a little
if it were the wages of seruants and not the inheritance of children The vniuersal Church as you speake of it is a meere name without any thing answerable to it in nature That which was generally held while the Churches of Christ were not subiect to Antichrist concerning the substance of Religion by which true and false Churches are to be iudged we gladly and constantly maintaine The errors which some men defended and corrupted the Churches withall we refute and reiect But it is no marke of the true Church to hold all that hath bene generally maintained in true Churches but the dutie of it to acknowledge for true whatsoeuer was taught by the Apostles and is recorded in Scripture How far our Church is spread it passeth your skill truly to affirme and we may with good reason perswade our selues that it is in all places where the Gospell is preached and the Scriptures knowne because dayly experience sheweth that it hath some members in those countries where your bloudie and tyrannous butchery of Inquisition doth most rule and vnder the nose of your grand Antichrist in the citie of Rome But it is enough to make it Catholicke that it acknowledgeth it selfe to be common both to Iew and Gentile not tied to any country people or person whatsoeuer as yours is to the Pope and Rome We are not ashamed of Martin Luther whom it pleased God to vse admirably if not miraculously to rake from vnder the ashes the light of the Gospell couered and choked with your errors and superstitions Not as if it had bin al that while out of the world but as one of your owne fellowes speakes of it as being in the eclipse ouershadowed and darkned with the thicke mist of your Popish decrees decretals and schoolmens trickes and other such leud trumpery Our Church that is the true Church of Christ was all that time in the world but not to be seene of euery man though from time to time there were still found some who durst maintaine the truth of Christ against your Antichristian heresies Luthers writings words deeds and manner of death were such as might manifest to all men both his true zeale of the glory of God and Gods especiall fauour to him whatsoeuer such lying sycophants as Prateolus faine If we would stand vpon Apostolicknesse in succession what haue you that we want saue onely that you continue in succession of error longer then we do But it is an idle plea to auouch personall succeeding where there is manifest contrarietie in doctrine by which as we heard out of Tertullian howsoeuer you brag of Apostolicknesse you may be proued not to be Apostolicall We differ not in doctrine touching the fundamentall points of Religion from any true holy Catholicke and Apostolicke Church neither doth your synagogue agree with any such Therfore wheras you demand how we can brag that we haue true faith which is not to be found out of the true Church we answer you as oft we haue done that we are sure the faith we hold is true because it is agreeable to the Scriptures and being so we cannot be out of the true Church as long as we are in the true faith True faith cannot be had by any light or discourse of nature but onely by reuelation from God For neither eye hath seene nor eare hath heard nor the heart of man can imagine what the meanes are whereby God decreed in himselfe to saue those whom he hath chosen to glory Now it was not the purpose of God in these latter times as in the first before the law to reueale his will immediatly from heauen but he sent his Son in the nature of man and that Sonne his Apostles to giue knowledge of those means of saluation both by preaching for that present age wherein they liued and also by writing for that age and all that were to succeed till the end of the world This is all that the Apostle teacheth in the place alledged by you Yet we denie not that the principall ordinary means to bring men to faith is the ministery of man by word of mouth expounding the word wil of God according to the Scriptures First then all men to whom the Scriptures are vouchsafed haue meanes of hearing For in them they may if they will heare men appointed by God speake to their instruction and saluation Secondly the same God hath ordained that besides the former teaching there should be certaine men set apart and deputed for the ministery whose dutie it is to preach in their seuerall charges the word of truth This setting apart deputing is that sending which is now required and is to be performed by such as are shall be authorized to that purpose Thirdly for our particular case we are to vnderstand that Luther and these other worthies by whose ministery it pleased God to reuiue the knowledge of the Gospell decayed were authorized to preach by your congregation which was at that time in apparence the true Church of God Therefore were they sent if your church haue any sending and according to their calling they labored in opening the truth of God as it is reuealed in the Scriptures Thus by the gracious mercie of God it came to passe that they teaching the word of truth found diuers both men and women whose hearts the Lord by his spirit opened so that they embraced the loue of the truth deliuered by them and accepted them for their pastors and submitted themselues to become their flockes By this meanes they had both a generall authoritie to preach from that companie which by profession was the Church and also a particular charge of those who were now become indeed in regard of their professed faith a true Church of God We haue then in our Churches for the late reforming of them first your calling such as it was and secondly the approbation of true Christians of which true Churches consist Therefore by your owne rule since we haue some amongst vs that are sent we may also haue faith and true faith though we abhor your Antichristian heresies To what purpose is this idle discourse but to shew your owne errors We neither looke for nor allow any opinion of extraordinary sending from God because we haue no warrant for any such in the Scriptures But wee say the restorers of the Gospell in this last age had ordinary allowance of that Church which bare the shew of the true Church and professed the beleeuing of the Gospell which is the foundation of the Church But you require peculiar consecration because it pleased God to appoint such a course for the Priesthood of the Law Do you not know that the consecrating and annointing of Aaron was a part of the ceremoniall law signifying the annointing of the spirit which our Sauiour was to receiue to whom according to those shewes the Lord gaue the spirit without measure The consecration that now remaines is nothing but the setting a part
man should beleeue them but he that is giuen vp by God to strong delusions that he may beleeue lies Bethinke your selues and returne ere it be too late The Lord will be mercifull to your former ignorance if at the last you embrace the loue of the truth Leauing those euident proofes you speake of proofes indeed of your manifold errours you assay to draw vs by reason because it is more likelie that the vniuersall companie of Catholickes deserueth credit then any particular man or his followers First you beg that which is in question No true Catholicke euer held all the errours that your Antichristian Church maintaineth nor any one of those whereby you cast downe the foundation of religion Secondly the comparison is not betwixt the authoritie of a multitude or a few wherein number may either helpe or hinder but the reasons of each side are to be weighed all other respects whatsoeuer set apart And yet if we looke to reason are not the greatest number for the most part the worst Christs true flocke is a little one Feare not little flocke Not many wise men after the flesh not many mightie not many noble Was not the voice of the people euen of Gods people Make vs Gods to go before vs The voice of God is to be heard in the Scriptures One man that speaketh according thereunto is to be preferred before the whole world speaking otherwise Those obiections made to Luther in his priuate meditations proceeded from the same spirit by which the Pharisies spake to Nicodemus in their Councell Doth any of the Rulers or of the Pharisies beleeue in him This was that communicating with flesh and blood which the Apostle would not once hearken to Luther in his weaknesse was drawne into it and had perished in it if the Lord of his infinite mercy had not drawne him out of it with a worthie and admirable resolution VVith the like that it may appeare whose schollers you are you Iesuits and Priests set vpon simple people ticing them on in their ignorance your owne though the broad way that leadeth to destruction But let vs consider this your fleshly eloquence and answer to it You aske if we onelie be wise and all the rest in former ages were fooles As if we did not acknowledge that it is the mercie of God and not our wisedome that hath giuen vs the abilitie and will to vnderstand his truth We are not wiser then any other but haue found more mercy then many haue done at the hands of God for our saluation Many in former times haue bene partakers of the like mercie and bene made wise to saluation by the same truth we now professe yea it was generally held many hundred yeares til your master Antichrist draue it into holes and deserts After the reuealing of his pride and tyrannie the true way to heauen ceased not to be found though not so commonly till it pleased God to scatter those clowdie mists of ignorance and idolatrie by which you had hidden it that it could very hardly be knowne Diuers heretofore and more now adaies finde fauour with God to discerne and walke through it to the certaine and euerlasting saluation of their soules and bodies So iudge we as it becommeth vs in charitie of our forefathers that he which hath looked in compassion vpon vs their seed did not faile to shew mercy vnto them who neuer vnderstood the mysterie of your iniquitie but in the singlenesse of their hearts embraced the generall doctrine of the Gospell concerning saluation by faith in Christ This is the onely way by which all men haue gone that euer came to heauen and in this way we trauell with danger of the liues of our bodies as you speake because we are continually in hazard by reason of your conspiracies treasons massacres vnderminings and fier-works but with assurance of the saluation of our soules if we hold fast the shoot-Anchor of our hope and renouncing our owne righteousnesse repose our selues by faith vpon the gracious mercy of God our Father in Iesus Christ This doing we haue better certificate both for the securitie of our way and the end of our iourney out of the Scriptures and by the witnesse of the Spirit of God in our hearts then that lying Carier the diuel can bring by any shew of your counterfeit miracles whatsoeuer I must needs perswade my selfe sith that Apostolicall Romish Synagogue is as I haue shewed the seducer of the world by shew of authority without reason the ouerthrow and destruction of truth by denying the sufficiency of the Scripture and taking the vse of it from the people of God that all you which cleaue to it plunge your selues in hellish darknesse by refusing to see the light of Gods word and by drinking of the cup of abhomination presented to you by that strumpet of Rome loose the taste of truth and runne forward in wilfull ignorance to most certaine damnation The Lord is my witnesse whom I serue weakly as I can in the Gospell of his Son Iesus Christ that if it were possible and lawfull for me I could be content to procure your saluation by pouring out my heart bloud for euerie one of you that Iesus Christ my master might haue the glory of your true conuersion To that purpose and for the establishing of them which alreadie beleeue I first vndertooke and haue now at the last by the mercifull assistance of God finished my answer to this subtill Treatise Let me now earnestly intreat you by the care of your owne saluation by the zeale you haue in ignorance to glorifie God by the infinite loue of Iesus Christ by the vndeserued mercy of God the Father by the continuall gracious motions of the holy Ghost and by whatsoeuer is or ought to be deare vnto you that you would vouchsafe seriously in the sinceritie of your hearts without preiudice to consider whether it be not more ageeable both to the Scriptures and the light of reason to giue the whole glorie of our saluation to the mercie of God in Iesus Christ then to ascribe the enabling of vs to saue our soules to God and the vse or imploying of this abilitie to the choise of our owne free-will If your opinion be true euerie man that is saued is more beholding to himselfe then to God for his saluation For though he haue power from God to be saued if he will yet neither hath he this power but vpon preparation depending on his free-will and when he hath it the vsing of it well is from himselfe and not from God You will say he could not vse it well vnlesse he were assisted continually by the grace of God I answer that for all this assistance by that grace to vse it well the well or ill vsing of it when God hath done all he will do ariseth from the choise of a mans owne will That it was possible for me to be saued it was Gods doing that