For then in heaven this sentence would never be ratified And tell me not that this texts speakes of private differēces betweene brother ād brother though I denie not but this is also true in such differences as belong to the Court or Tribunall of the Church yet hence evidently follows that this Text doth much more concerne those differences in point of Religion between brother and brother Both because these doe more properly belong to the Court of the Church and to her Tribunall as also because when scandal and offence is giuen to our brother in point of heresie tending to the seduction of his soule our brother seeing this soule-murthering sinne broached to his owne ruine ād to the eternall ruine of his brother hath farre greater reasō in this case thē in any other to tell the Church his mother to whome in this difference aboue all other differences it properly belongeth to looke to the safety of her childred For this is an offēce ād scandal to the whole brotherhood of all Christianity Therefore in these points of highest concernement we are most bound to heare the Church vnder paine of being accounted Publicans and Heathens and of haueing this heauie sentence ratified in heauen 5. Sixtly Matt. 23.1 Then Iesus spake to the multitudes and to his Disciples saying Vpon the chaire of Moyses haue sitten the Scribes and Pharises by which sitting with lawfull succession they as wicked as they were are knowne to be lawfully authorized Prelats all therefore whatsoever they shall say unto you observe and do Behold here a precept of obeying in all whatsoever And therefore behold a precept which could not be givē if that which is delivered by publicke authority of the Church were not secured from error in all whatsoever 6. Sevently The first and best Christians did practically acknowledge theyr beleefe of the infallibility of the Church For to have a decision of the most important Controversies Act. 15.2 they appointed Paul and Barnabas to go up and certaine others of the rest to the Apostles and Priests unto Hierusalem upon this question And the Church assembled the first Councill in which though this Councill were assisted with the Holy Ghost yet there was made a great disputation v. 7. And then the definition of the Church came forth in these words It seemeth good to the Holy Ghost and us v. 28. Other lawfull Councills knowing the Holy Ghost allso promised to them do vse to set forth theyr definitions with the same words and this most agreable to Scripture For Iohn 15. v. 26. When the Paraclete cometh whom I shall send from my father the spirit of truth he shall give testimonie of me and you shall give testimonie Marke this conjunction of he and you He the the spirit of truth and you Governers of my Church so that you in giveing testimony may freely say It seemeth good to the Holy Ghost and us 7. Eightly It is cleere out of Scripture that the first Christians were so fully possessed with the beleefe of the infallibility of the Church that they would beleeve nothing but what thy knew conformable to her doctrine S. Paul was a Scripture-writer and so great an Apostle and yet he sayeth of himselfe Gal. 2.1 Then after fourteene yeares I went to Hierusalem again not meerly to satisfie a vaine fancie of some particular men but I went up according to revelation and conferred with them the Ghospel which I preach among the Gentills But I conferred severally or a part with them that seemed to be something least perhaps I should runn or had runn in vain So that he thought all his fourteen yeares preaching and allso his future preaching might come to be in vaine vnlesse even his doctrine were made known to be approved by the Church as wholy conformable to the Church So much in these goulden dayes were the first Christians taught to relye vpon the Church which had been imprudence if she had been fallible Yet we must not thinke that then they did apprehend that the approbation of the Church did adde any degree of truth to his doctrine as it doth not add any degree of truth to the Scripture or pretend to have power to change or correct true Scripture And so S. Paul sayth v. 6. For to me they that seemed to be some thing added nothing For as the toutchstone adds no value to the gold but onely evidently manifesteth which is true gold which not so the Church as then did only manifest infallibly the truth of what he had preached So allso the Church as now doth only manifest to vs that such and such Bookes be the true word of God such and such be not such be true copies such not c. But the word of God hath its true worth from it selfe and not frō the Church as the gold hath its being true gold from it selfe and not from the toutchstone So when Catholiques say with S. Aug. Cont. Epist fundam c. 5. I would not beleeve the Ghospell unlesse the authoritie of the Church moved me they doe not meane that the Church can adde or take away from the truth of any true Scripture but they meane that by her definition as by a Sure touchstone it is now manifestly assured vnto them that such a booke is true Scripture and such not And as the orall preaching even of such an Apostle as had been a Scripture writer might have been in vain without this approbation so allso might his writings have been in vaine Whence we see that his Epistle vnto the Hebrews was not known or acknowledged as Gods word vntill the Church approved it If the Scripture writer himselfe teacheth in vaine without this approbation much more will his writings teach in vaine 8 Ninthly The Church is to be followed by vs as an assured approver or reprover of spirits and consequently as infallible Iohn 1.4 My dearest beleeve not every spirit but prove the spirits if they be of God then v. 6. We are of God he that knows God heares us Pastours of Church he that is not of God heares us not In this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of errour Here S. Iohn expresly meanes to give to posterity a standing Rule to know a true spirit from a false one To witt By the hearing of us or not hearing of us This could not be a Rule to vs who live after the Apostles if by hearing us he onely meant the Apostles and not theyr successours Yea he could not meane onely the Apostles For the other Apostles were all dead when he wrote this Wherefore the true sence of S. Iohn is In this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of errour if they heare us Pastours and Governours of the Church Not that each one of these Pastours and Governours a part can say to any one heare me vnlesse he teach that which all the rest are sufficiently knowne to teach but they in a Generall Councill may most truely say Heare us He
THE CATHOLIKE SCRIPTVRIST OR THE PLEA OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIKES SHEWING The Scriptures to hold forth the Roman Faith in above forty of the cheife Controversies now under debate Now I beseech you Bretheren marke them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned and avoid them Rom. 16.17 By I. M. Printed in Gant by Maximilian Graet M.DC.LXII THE PREFACE 1. NOw I beseech you Bretheren mark those which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the Doctrine which ye have learned and avoid them Rom. 16.17 These words were the words of God and of truth as well in the yeare 1517. as at this present yeare Had any good Christian spoaken these words in that foresaid yeare 1517. all who had heard thē could have made no other sense of thē but that they were forewarned by them both to marke and to avoid all Authors of divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which they had learned yet as then there was not any good Christian unles you will account them for such whome you yourselves acknowledg to have maintained grosse Heresies who did not beleeve and professe the Roman Faith This was the Faith and Doctrine which they had learned Wherefore when in that yeare Luther first appeared causing divisions and offenses contrary to the Doctrine which they had learned all were bound by the advise of the Apostle to mark and avoid the sayd Luther and all his adherents and followers 2. But the world then no lesse addicted to old vices then to new doctrines did shutt they reares to this advise of the Apostle and did opē theyr armes to imbrace that which was in so very many Points contrary to the Doctrine which they had learned And the misery is that all those new Teachers which ensued in whole swarmes though they all taught contrary to what they had learned yea and the one contrary to the other yet all pretended to teach nothing but Scripture rightly understood which they all affirmed not to have been rightly understood for the foregoeing thousand yeares in such points as then they began to question yet with the same breath they sayd that in all those severall Points in which they contradicted the former doctrine and by doing so caused so great divisions and offenses they did affirme only that to which they were enforced by evident manifest and most cleer Texts of Scripture Which was to say that for the precedent thousand yeares no body had rightly understood or at least every body had by word and practise contradicted evident manifest and most cleere Texts of Scripture 3. The good Christians of those ages and we who adhere unto thē being in the quiet and peaceable possession of what we had learned were bound according to the advice of the Apostle to avoid those new teachers and it was sufficient for us to shew they taught contrary to what we had learned which they themselves confessed to be true and was too evident to require proofe But because we stood constantly to maintain what we had learned upon this ground as the Apostle did bid us our Adversaries desirous to bring us from beleeving to disputing would be still importunely pressing us to prove Point by Point every Point which we held by evidēt manifest and most cleere Scripture We vvell understood that it was theyr parts who affirmed all former ages for some thousand yeares at least to have thus grosly erred against cleere Scripture to make good so great and so scandalous an accusation by producing Texts in the Points under question of so manifest undeniable evidence against us that theyr Texts compared to ours alleadged in defence of the same Points should make the Truth so cleer on theyr side that all might be forced to confesse they had reason to revolt as they did from all theyr Ecclesiasticall and Civill Magistrates and to frame allso a new body by themselves wholy and entirely both in doctrine and discipline quite different yea and contrary to all Congregatiōs as then upō the face of the earth 4. The exorbitancy of this theyr proceeding will be unjustifyable when I shall here produce so many and so loud-speaking texts for above forty of those Points which they most misliked in our Religion yea it was our holding those Points for which they sayd they were enforced to this so unfortunate a Division But how weakly they were enforced upon this account to cause such divisions and offenses will easily be seen by any impartiall eye which shall attentively peruse on the one side al the texts which I shall here alleadg for forty five of those Points for which chiefly they have caused this division and on the other the few and inconsiderable and a thousand-times-answered Texts which they bring to the contrary 5. This then is the Plea of us Roman Catholicks that we ever since our Ancestors in England were Christians have held the doctrine which we have learned still avoiding those who taught the contrary For that we have done this in no fewer then fifty Points in which we are most accused of Novelty hath been demonstrated in a late booke entitled Englands old Religion out of Bedes owne words And though Bede had not been as he was the most grave and famed Authour which ever England had but had been only a lack straw living and writing before the yeare 731. that is above 900. yeares agoe yet to see in his words then writtē those fifty Points all held and all practised in our England when Englands Religion was at the purest cannot but abundantly convince that we Roman Catholiks did thē hold and practice what we hold and practise now What is this but to hold the doctrine we have learned avoiding those who teach the contrary 6. Yet this is not our whole Plea for wee know it will be objected that what we then learnt was contrary to Scripture and they must meane cleer and manifest Scripture or else why did they go against the doctrine and practise which they found agreeing so exactly with the doctrine and practice of old England as is unanswerably demonstrated in that book But we further more plead that in those very Points in which contradiction yea and manifest contradiction to Scripture is objected against us we have Scripture speaking so fully for us that no one of those many Religions now tolerated in England can with any colour of probability challenge greater evidence of Scripture for theyr opposit Tenets then we here produce for our undoubtedly ancient doctrine and therefore this our doctrine evē in this respect ought in all reason to be at least as much tolerated as any of those Religions lately sprōg up in England The proof of what I say must rely upon what shall appeare to be made good by me in each point of those forty five here ensuing 7. It only remaines that I advertise the reader how impossible it is that I or any one else should cite all Texts just in those very words in
in another a greate way of And so to goe seeking from the beginning of Genesis to the end of the Apocalipse And this though the number of Pointes necessary to saluation be but smale as Protestants all agree I can not therefore thinke is was Gods intention te leave us to the Bible only as to the sole Rule of Faith THE SECOND POINT Tradition besides Scripture must direct us in many necessary Controversies 1. FIrst the word of God may be notified either by Tradition with out writing or by Scripture or writing It is undoubted that the word of God written or unwritten is the Rule of Faith wherefore seeing it hath been proved in the former Point that the writteÌ„ word of God is not our only Rule of Faith it evidently followeth that Gods unwritten word notified by Tradition must be taken as part of this Rule 2. Secondly Moyses was the first Scripture writer and he according to his own story did not write till the world had continued above two thousand and four hundred yeares so long then all the faithfull in the world were truly faithfull without any Scripture All this long time then the unwritten word of God that is Tradition was the only Rule of Faith For even then many had that faith which is defined by S. Paul 11. Hebr. 1. which I prove because in that very place he numbers Abel Enoch Noë Abraham and Sara all having the faith he there described and yet Sara cannot be shewed to have had her faith grounded on any other word of God but that which was delivered by the Tradition of the Church in her times And generally then the faith of all true beleivers was grounded upon Tradition only By this Tradition they knew that God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it Gen. 2.3 And so all held themselves obliged to keep the Saboth By this Tradition they knew the distinction of Beastes cleane and uncleane Gen. 7.2 By this Tradition they knew themselves obliged not to eate the flesh with the blood Gen. 9.4 so likewise that the Tithes were to be pâ—yd to the Priest Gen. 14.20 By only Tradition they knew the fall of Adam theyr future saluation by the Messias to come theyr remedy from sinne by Pennance and repentance theyr reward of Good punishment of evell Againe from Abraham untill the written law that is for some foure hundred yeares they knew by Tradition only that this is the Covenant which ye shall keep between me and you All man kind shall be circumcised an infant of eight dayes Gen. 17.10 Now give me one Text if you can which bide us not to take Tradition for a Rule of Faith after the writing of Scripture 3. Thirdly even after the writing of Scripture the Gentils had not the Scripture yet by Tradition only many of them as apeares by the booke of Iob retained true faith And even among the Iews after they had the Scripture several necessary Pointes where left to be knowne by Tradition only as the remedy for Original sinne before the eight day and for woemen children both before and after As also by only Tradition they knew that all the vertue there sacrifices had to take away sinne was from the blood of theyr Redeemer to come The observing of al these traditions was not any unlawfull Addition to the written word of God whence you may understand the clere meaning of those words so often objected against us Deut. 4.2 You shall not adde to the word I command you neither shall you diminish ought from it For here is only forbidden to add contrary to the law So that other place Ch 12.32 Whatsoever I command you observe thou shall not adde thereunto nor diminish from it For this place is meant only of offerings not any other sacrifices besides those which were in the law prescribed But it was ever lawfull for lawfull Superiors to add more preceps agreable to the law So 2. Ch. 30.21 after the Children of Israël according to the law had kept the solemnity of Azymes seven dayes v. 23. The whole assembly took good counsel to keep other seven dayes And v. 27. Theyr prayer came to the Holy habitation of heaven This addition then did not displease God Again Esther 9.27 The Iews ordained and tooke upon them and theyr seede and upon all that would be ioyned with them so as it should not faile that they keep these two dayes and that these dayes should be kept through out every Generation every family Behold here an other addition and behold also an other again of the Dedication of the Altar made for eight dayes from yeare to yeare 1. Mach. 4.56.59 And that you may know that this booke is Scripture or at least that a feast is to be kept not appointed in Scripture our Saviour himselfe did keep this Feast Iohn 10.22 as I shall shew Point 38. Again the change of the Sabboth into the Sunday is only clearly known by Tradition Yea the manner of keeping it is contrary to all Scripture we have for Scripture sayth Levit. 23.32 From Even unto Even shall ye celebrate Your Sabboth Yet we do not begin the Sunday the even before neither dare wee worke after the even upon Sunday Who taught us this Tradition only 4. Fourthly Tradition is and therfore is truly to be held the word of God making us fully assured of what is not written For example for some yeares after the Death of our Saviour his glorification after death was not written so as to expresse that Iesus was that Christ whom God had glotified and yet before this was written S. Peter sayd truly Acts 2.36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly marke the word assuredly that God hath made the same Iesus whome you have crucified both Lord and Christ We may then have an infallible faith of what is not written yea we are forbidden to believe otherwise then was delivered by Tradition 2. Thess 2.14 Therefore Bretheren stand and hold the Traditions you have bin taught whether by word or by our Epistle For what he taught by his tongue only was as truly the word of God as what he did also write with his penne Yea this which I call Tradition is the Epistle of Christ 2. Cor. 33. you are the Epistle of Christ not written with inke but with the spiritt of the living God This Epistle written with the spiritt of the living God is no lesse true nor of lesse credit then what is writteÌ„ with inke in papers Whereforemost of the Apostles did give their Convertites no other forme of beliefe but what by their preaching they had written in theyr heartes not with inke but with the spiritt of the living God For the proper subject to receive and râ—â—ayne the word of God is not paper but the heartes of the faythfull Whence S. Irenaeus lib. 3. cap. 4. What if the Apostles had also left no Scripture Ought not we to follow the order of Tradition which they delivered to them to
whom they committed the Churches To which ordinance many Nations of those barbarous people who have believed in Christ do consent with out letter or inke having salvation that is soul-saving doctrine written in their heartes For a world of the first believers did never so much as see all scripture It was the yeare 99. before S. Iohn writt his Gospell And when the Canon of Scripture was fully ended there is no meÌ„tion made euen of the lâ—â—st care taken by the Apostles to divulge the Scripture in barbarous languages no nor to divulge it in latin it selfe as you must needes say who deny primitive Antiquity to all Latine Editions All this cleerly proves that Tradition was relyed upon as upon the word of God it selfe Whence S. Paul did not only counsel but also commaÌ„ded the Thessalonians to with draw them selves from all who walked not after the Tradition they had received of their Pâ—stors 2. Thâ—s 3.6 Now sayd heâ— wee comaund you Bretheren in the name of our Lord that ye with draw your selves from every brother that walketh discorderly and not after the Tradition which he receaved of us 5. It was for the keeping this Tradition and forme of Faith why he praysed the Romans Ch. 6.17 You have obeyed from your heart the forme of doctrine what was delivered you This forme could not be a forme conteyned in the whole Canon of Scripture for the whole Canon was not finished when S. Paul did write this It was therefore the forme of uniforme TraditioÌ„ delivered in each church which taught by word of mouth all th nges necessary For this he praysed the Corinthians 1 Cor. 11.2 Now I prayse to Bretheren that you keepe the Traditions so you put in the margenâ— but in the Text you read Ordinances as I eliverded them to you This Forme these Traditions these Ordounances are inculcated again and again 1. Tim. 6.20 O Thimothie keep that which is committed to thy trust And v. 3. If any one teached otherwise he is proud knowing nothing Again 2. Tim. 1.13 Hold fast the good forme of good words which thou hast heard of me That good thing which was committed to thee keep by the H. Ghost Again Ch. 3.14 But thou continue in those things which thou hast learned and been assured of knowing of whom thou hast learned them learned I say by word of mouth for by writing he had received but title So also when as yet by writing he had taught the Romans nothing he in his first and only Epistle to them wrote thus Rom. 16.17 Now I beseeeh you Bretheren mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned Likwise when as yet he had written nothing to the Galatians for where is any such writing he begines thus Gal. 1.6 I maruel that so soon you are removed from him who called you into the grace of Christ unto an other Ghospell I say removed that is changed from the forme of Faith which I delivered which was a true though not a written Ghospel into an other Ghospel taught by these new otherwise teathers yet sayth he with all earnestness Although wee or an Angel from heaven preach any other Ghospel unto you then that ye have receaved let them be accursed v. 8. S. Paul as yet had preached nothing to them in writing but they had received all by Orall Tradition and yet not with standing once again more vehemently v. 9. As wee have sayd before so I say now again if any man preach any other Ghospel unto you theÌ„ that you have received be he accursed Note the word Received intimating that they had all by Tradition For what as then had they received from him in writing And he sayth no more then other Apostles Who did write nothing but delivered all by Orall Tradition might truly have sayed of the Ghospel so delivered by them Neither did S. Paul speake of what they should receive many yeares after but of what they had as theÌ„ received For that was as true as any thing they should receive by writing And therefore for theyr forsaking of what they had received thus he most deservedly sayth unto them O Foolish Galatians who hath bewitched you c. 3. v. 1. For indeed they seeme bewitched out of theyr senses who to follow the private judgment of some otherwise teachers reject what they had received by the full and still-continued report of all Christianity from the first teachers of the faith 6. They object Tradition to be the word of men but all these arguments shew this Apostolicall Tradition for which only wee now contend to be the word of God A forme of sound words And 1. Thes 2.13 Ye received the word of God which ye heard of us ye received it not as the word of men but as it is in truth the word of God Behold what was heard by them by only word of mouth was in truth the word of God Therefore a fitt Rule of Faith even before it was written 7. They aske how wee know a true Apostolicall Tradition from a false one which is the tradition of men I answer that a true Apostolicall Tradition cometh downe handed by a full unanimous report of all Catholike Nations in all ages attested by thyr universall practise and uniforme doctrine what is thus delivered is the Doctrine of the Church diffused and therefore infallible upoÌ„ this ground for other infallible groundes you have none you receive only such and such Scripture for Canonicall and such and such copies of the Scripture for Authenticall We can therefore to the full as well distinguish true Traditions from false ones or Apostolicall Traditions from Traditions of Ordinary men as you can distinguish the Authenticall copie of theyr writings from such as are forged or corrupted for you must first distinguish the truth of the Tradition which recommend such bookes unto you from all false Traditions THE THIRD POINT Of the never fayling of the Church which beeing perpetuall can preserve perpetuall Traditions Also of succession of true Pastors and Professors 1. IF the Church of Christ could fayle or cease to be it is evident Tradition might fayle and not be preserved in its purity The true Church is both infallible as long as she lasts of which see Point 5 and is allso sure to last to the end of the world Yea she is assured all this time to have a lawful succession of true Pastors and under them true Professors of the faith in a vast number find any such Church besides the Roman if you can and I give you leave to call that the true Church And lest perhaps the great number of powerfull Texts which we are to cite should worke smale effect with minds prepossest with one or two objections to the contrary we will first cleare them and then passe to the manifold cleere Texts which demonstrate the true Church at no time to be in a lurking Invisibility 2. The prime objection is from the wordes of Elias
people Iosue in that dignity did succeed him But he had but part of his glory so Num. 27. v. 18. Take Iosue the sone of Nun a man in whome it the spirit and put thy hand upon him who shall stand before Eliazar Priest and thou ô Moyses shalt put some of thine honour upon him Now the one part of Moyses his honour was to be a secular Prince and commander in chiefe In this dignity Iosue did succeed him But in Levit. Ch. 8. God commanded Moyses to inuest Aaron with the other part of his dignity which was to be High Priest But when Aaron now came to dye God sayd to Moyses Num. 20.26 Take Aaron and his sonne with him and when thou hast unvested the father of his vestiture thou shalt revest therewith Eleazar his sonne Moyses did as our Lord commanded him And thus successively God provided his Church of high Priests Neither for the wikedness of any of them did he cease to governe his Church by them even by heavenly and supernaturall assistance As bad as Cayphas was yet because he was the high Priest he did prophesy Io. 11.51 He sayd not this of himselfe but beeing the high Priest of that yeare he prophesyed that Iesus should dye for the Nation 5. The old law beeing now transferred to the new it was necessary that the Priesthood allso should be transferred these two going togather Hebr. 7.12 wherefore the new law beeing the Lady the old the hand maide as S. Paul speakes the new law allso according to him beeing established upon better promisses Hebr. 8.6 we may with all ground in Scripture expect to see Christs church ever provided of such high Priests as shall by his bounty have many advantages above the high Priests of the old law Christ then intending to build his new church he called to him even amongst the first of his Apostles Simon and presently changed his name into Cephas which is interpreted Peter a Rock Io. 1.42 To this Simon Matth. 16.18 he sayth Thou art Peter which in that language which Christ spoke is as much as to say Thou art a Rock and vpon this Rock I will build my Church The wisest of men designes a sure Rock for the everstanding building of his church in the midst of all windes and waves if any one say that Christ himselfe is a Rock so as not to communicate this Rock-like firmity of his allso to S. Peter he flatly contradicts Christs saying Thou art a Rock and upon this Rock I will build my Church If any man should take a fayre stone in his hand and say Thou art a fayre goodly solid stone and upon this stone I intend to rayse a Chappel Who would conceive this man in the last part of his speach to point at any other stone thē that which he had in his hand True it is that Christ is the fundation yet with out any dishonour to him nay to the increase of his honour he communicateth that very title of fundation to others So Eph. 2.20 we are sayd Built upon the fundation of the Apostles and Prophets Iesus Christ beeing the thiefe corner stone Christ then is the chiefe Rock of an everlasting perpetuity and this by his owne vertue S. Peter is a Rock standing firme everlastingly not by his owne vertue but by the vertue of Christ and made thus not for his owne sake but for Christs churches sake Christ intending that this his church should stand for ever as I proved Point 3. Whence Christ adds upon this Rock I will build my Church We willingly grāt that the church was to be built not upon the shoulders of S. Peter but vpon his faith yet his faith must not be taken as separated from his person but it must be taken as the thing chiefly regarded in his person for which to him personally this dignity was given yet given chiefly for the perpetuall good of the church to be built upon him Wherefore lest the building should be shattered at his death this firme perpetuity of a Rock that is this saith of his which Christ prayed should never fayle Luc. 22.32 was to be derived to his lawfull successors as the chaire of Moyses ever had the successors of Moyses sitting in it for no well ordered common wealth is destitute of sufficient meanes still to provide her of her lawfull Heads and Governours appointed her successively And as it is not enough to say Christ is King of Kings and Lord of Lords therefore the civil commō wealth needs no other King or Lord. So it seems farr greater non-sense to say that because Christ is the chiefe head and Priest of the church therefore we vpon earth need no other head to governe such a common wealth as the Church is conteining so many severall people of so many nations natures customes and dispositions as be foūd frō the rising of the sūne to the going downe of the same though this so farr spread common-wealth were intended from the beginning to last as long as the Sunne and Moone It was then for this his churches sake that some one was ever to be first and Chiefe in it 6. Now sayth S. Matthew numbring the Apostles Princes of the Church The names of the twelve Apostles be these The first Simon who is called Peter Matth. 10.2 And so in all places where the Apostles are counted as Iudas is allwaise the last so S. Peter is counted first and as it was sayd of Eliazar that he was the Prince of Princes of the Levites Num. 3.32 So amongst the spirituall Princes of Christs Church S. Matthew doth not only count him first but plainly says he was the first The first Simon who is called Peter He was neither the first in order of calling to the Apostle shipe nor in age For his Brother Andrew was before him in both these Io. 1. Again to signifie that he was the head and chiefe in ordinary Christ sayd to him Matth. 16.19 And to thee will I give the Keyes of the Kingdome of heavē For though the power of loosing and binding was afterward given to the other Apostles Iohn 20.23 yet the Keyes of the Kingdome of heaven are never in Scripture sayd to be given to any but to S. Peter The giving of the Keyes is wel knowne to signifie naturally the supreme Rule in a citty or familie Hēce the Keyes of the citty are offered to the chiefe Governours at theyr entrance So allso the Keye of the house of David is given to Christ being to reigne in the house of David for ever Here Christ giveth the Keyes to S. Peter as to his successor in the house of God which is the Church of the living God 1. Tim. 3.15 By these Keyes is signified the plenitude of highest power 7. Again Iohn 21.15 Simon of Iohn lovest thou me more then these Feed my lambes And yet again v. 17. Feed my sheepe Note that he would not have required greater love in Peter rather then in any of the rest nor
heaven ever did as those who are skilled in antiquity know Yea Christ himself was pleased to sett forth some more mysticall cures which he did with such ceremonies as you would scoff at thē if our Church in farr more mysticall actions had made use of them So Mark 7. v. 32. in the Cure of a deaf and dumb man First he took him from the multitude a part Secondly he putt his fingars into his eares Thirdly spitting he touched his tongue Fourthly he looked up to heaven Fiftly he groaned Sixtly he used a word deserving speciall interpretation saying Epheta that is be opened So allso Iohn 8. v. 6. In pardoning the adulteresse he twice bowing himself wrot in the earth God knows what And in the nynth Ch. curing a man blind from his nativity v. 6. He spitt on the ground and made a claye of his spittle then he spread the clay upon his eyes Lastly he sayd unto him goe wash in the Poole Siloe which is interpreted sent Thus teaching his Church to use Ceremonies in such mysterious actions as are ordeined to cure our spirituall deafnes spirituall dumbnes spirituall blindnes So we shall see it to be Scripture that sprinkling of water must be used in Baptisme Imposition of hands in Confirmation and Ordination anoynting with oyle in Extreme-vnction Before our Lord gave the Eucharist to his Disciples he Mark 14. made choyse of a roome very spacious and adorned He first washed his disciples feete then setting down he tooke bread gave thanks blessed it brake it c. When he gave his disciples power to absolve and to administer the Sacrament of Confession Io. 20.22 He first sayd to them As my father sent me so I send you when he had sayd this he breathed upon them and he sayd to them Receive the Holy Ghost whose sins yo shall forgive are forgiven c. When the Pastors of our Church use the insufflation or Breathing upon any for the lyke mysticall signification you cry a lowd superstition superstition an apish mimicall action c. 7. There is allso one very great commoditie in the Churches perscribing such and such particular ceremonies in such and such actions that hence it ensues that all her priests performe all these sacred Rites in administring Sacraments offering sacrifice c. after just one and the self-same manner all the world over which is a most comely and orderly thing and could not have happened had not such and such peculiar Rites been prescribed to all 8. But now if after that we have proved Ceremonies to be reasonable you aske why the Church did prescribe just these particular Ceremonies and no other First I answer that eyther these particular Ceremonies are more proper and seemly and as it were more connaturall to such an actiō or secondly they are fittest for some mysticall signification Lastly I say that our unsatisfied adversaryes would have asked the self same question of any other particular ceremonies if the Church had peculiarly appointed them Even as some men will curiously be asking Why did God make the world just at such a particular time and not sooner or later For as S. Augustin wittily answers Had God made choise of any other time to make the world you would still have been asking the very selfsame wyse question Why just now and not sooner or later Even so you would as wisely haue been saying Why just such a Ceremonie and not as well such or such an one Lett this suffice for the Iustification of our Ceremonies THE TENTH POINT Of Baptisme which is the first Sacrament 1. I Will first shew Baptisme to be a Holy signe or ceremony signifying and causing grace in those who duly receave it Ezech. 36.25 And I will power uppon you cleane water and you shall be cleansed from all your contaminations Behold an outward powring of water cleansing inwardly from all contaminations The Baptisme of S. Iohn was an outward powring of water with a solemne profession of doing pennance towards the cleansing of the soul but no grace was given by it to cleanse the soul So Matth. 3.11 sayth S. Iohn Baptist I have Baptized you with water but he Christ shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost His baptisme shall give this soul-cleansing grace Again Act. 2.38 Be every one of you baptized for Remission of your sins and you shall receave the Holy Ghost Again Act. 22.16 Rise up ad be baptized and wash away thy sinns Nothing can cleanse from contamination give Remission of sins wash away sins but that which gives grace Again Gala. 3.27 As many of you as are baptized in Christ have put on Christ Hence Baptisme is called Tit. 3.5 The washing of Regeneration and by it man is borne of the spirit Whence Io. 3.5 Vnlesse a man be borne again of water and the Holy Ghost he can not enter into the Kingdome of God That is to say Baptisme so breeds our spirituall birth in God as our carnall birth causeth our life into the world 2. Wherefore evē the Childrē of the Iust need baptisme For Rom. 5.12 Vnto all men death did passe in whom all sinned Whence David Ps 51.5 And in sin did my mother conceave me And therefore unlesse such an one be born againe of water and the Holy Ghost he shall not enter into the Kingdome of God For of every one it is sayd Eph. 2.3 We were by nature Children of wrath as allso the rest THE ELEVENTH POINT Of Confirmation 1. COnfirmation is approved such a Sacrament Act. 8. v. 14. And when the Apostles that were in Ierusalem had heard that Samaria had receaved the word of God they sent unto them Peter and Iohn wo when they were come prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Ghost For he was not come upon any of them but they were only baptized in the name of our Lord Iesus Then did they impose theyr hands upon them behold the outward signe and they received the Holy Ghost Behold the inward grace given to those who though they had been baptized yet they had not received this particular strength and Confirmation of speciall grace which the coming of the Holy Ghost in this Sacrament did bring unto them It is allso most agreable to Scripture that this Sacrament be given not by inferiour Priests but by Bishops Whence Bede excellently noteth that it was not Philip the Apostle who is here sayd to have converted Samaria but Philip one of the seaven Decons And so though he could baptize them yet he could not give thē this Sacrament and therefore the Apostles sent Peter and Iohn to Samaria Not to baptize them again but to confirme them And though here be no mention of oyle yet it followeth not that no oyle is to be used in this Sacrament For so in the Scripture there is no mention of water in that very Text which mentions the institution of Baptisme as Matthew the last Teach all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father the Sonne and Holy
read every Sabboth Act. c. 15. v. 21. Read I say but not as then understood by the vulgar This practice was practized before the eyes of Christ and his Apostles and they never did the lest reprehend it or give order to have the Bible turned into the Syriak language that the vulgar might understand it Why thē must we be blamed for using either Scriptures or divine Service in a language not understood by the people 3. Secondly I ask what you say to that place of Leviticus c. 16. v. 17. Lett no man be in the Tabernacle when the high Priest goeth into the Sanctuary to pray for himself and his house and for the whole assembly of Israël untill he come forth See you not here publik prayer made expresly for the whole assembly and yet no one of the assembly permitted to heare or see what there was done by the Priest to God for them even then when the Priest made an attonement for himself for his household and for all the congregation of Israël Again Luk. 1.10 All the multitude of the people was praying without at the Houre of incense The Priest was doing his duty with in where he could neither be seen nor heard by the people without yet they assisting at the Priests function done for them were not lesse partakers of the benefit thereof though they could neither see him nor heare him so prayer made and offered up for the people in a low voyce or in an unknown language is available to them who know not the particular meaning of the words sayd for them It is sufficient then they know they conteyne a particular prayse of God and a speciall worship of him and a peculiar recommending of our necessities unto him And that they be as most pious prayers approved by the Church and recommended by all the learned men hereof who very well understand them Now a petition well made even when it s presented by a Petitioner who understands not the language in which the petition is made obteynes of the King or Emperour who understand it as much as if the Petitioner had perfectly understood every word of it When the Children Mat. 21.16 cryed in the Temple Osanna to the Sonne of David though they knew not what they sayd yet Christ called it a perfect prayse saying that out of the mouth of Infants and sucklings thou hast perfected prayse A rich Iewell in the hands of an Infant or Clowne who knows not to penetrate the valew of it doth not for that cause cease to be truly of as great valew as when it is in the hands of a Ieweller So Latin prayers in the mouthes of the vulgar be as pretious in the sight of God When they be sayd with equall devotion as when they are in the mouthes of great schollers You who scorned to use Latin service soone came to see your English service with all scornfull contempt bānished out of almost all your Church And your people did soone grow to lyke no service at all since they mislyked the Latin service 4. I will now examine our adversaries chief ground in Scripture which is out of the first of the Corinthians Ch. 14. Where I would have the Reader to note that untill 14. verse S. Paul only speaks of using an unknown language in preaching exhorting interpreting and teaching in all which exercises we still use the vulgar tongue so that hetherto he hath nothing against us From the 14. verse he begins indeed to speak of praying but not of publike divine service but of such extemporall prayer as is made before all that all may joyn with it and he speaks there not of the use of any sett forme of prayer practiced by the Church as the Liturgie is but he manifestly speaks only against the use of an unknown and Barbarous tongue in the making of such Hymnes and Canticles and Prayers as many then did use to make by divine inspiration in the presence of the whole Congregation to edify the Bretheren assembled and to excite them to love to honour and prayse God not intending chiefly to pray to God for the people as we do in our Liturgie of which kind of sett forme of prayer S. Paul can not be sayd to speak For it is apparent that among the Corinthians to whom he writ there was no use at all of an unknown or Barbarous language in the Liturgie or divine service wherefore of this S. Paul could not complaine for theyr Liturgie was undoubtedly in Greek which was the known language among them and in which he did write this very Epistle to them Allso in which they had theyr set formes of prayer Now then S. Paul speaketh not at all against the use of an unknown tongue in eyther the Liturgie or in any other usuall sett forme of publik prayer for there was no abuse at all in that kind but he only speaks against that use practiced by some in those extemporall Canticles Prayers and Hymnes which then divers used yet of such kind of prayers allso though made in unknown and Barbarous tongues he sayth v. 14. If I pray in an unknown tongue my spirit prayeth and this great good I have by my prayer but my understanding is without fruict that is without the fruict of instruction or edifying others A fruict which ought to be sought for by those to whom God had so particularly given that miraculous guift of speaking in severall tongues purposely that they might excyte and styrre up the people of severall tongues and nations to the knowledge prayse honour and love of God and therefore he addeth I will pray in spiritt I will pray allso in understanding that in those prayers I may not deprive the standers by of that fruict But you must know that neither the Masse nor the sett formes of prayer in our Liturgie be ordeyned for this end of instructing others Because for this we have other exercises of Catechising expounding exhorting preaching c. But chiefly those prayers be appointed to the Priest who well understands them to offer them up to God for the people The Epistles and Ghospels which conteyne instructions be interpreted and largely declared unto the people in our Churches upon those dayes on which they are bound to be assembled and to resort to Masse The other chiefe parts of the masse be in all Masses the selfsame And beeing so often used and therefore upon occasions so often declared to the people they must indeed be very Idiots if they know not when so say Amen when to kneele to adore to knock theyr breasts when to ryse when to stand or to do any thing else that concerns them or is proper for them to do Therefore it can not be sayd against our Masse which you use to object out of v. 16. Else when thou shalt blesse with the spiritt how shall he that occupieth the roome of the unlearned say Amen at thy giving of thanks seeing he understands not what thou sayst This as I sayd
6.9 Be not weary in well doing why so For in due season wee shall reap if wee faint not Sixthly Eph. 6.8 Knowing that every one what good so ever he shall do that shall he receive of our Lord. Seaventhly he seeks in his Convertites the doing of good works by reason of the reward they shall receive for them So Philip 4.16 Ye sent once and againe to my necessity not because I desire the gift But I desire the fruit that may abound to your account Behold S. Paul desired the encrease of theyr merit Eightly 1. Tim. 6.17 Charge them that are rich that they do good that they be rich in good works ready to distribute Laying up store for themselves a good fundation against the time to come that they may lay hold of an eternall life Ninthly Tim. 2.4.8 There is layed up for me a Crowne of righteousnes which our Lord will render to me in that day a just Iudge and not only to me but c. It is his mercy to promise heaven to our good works it is his mercy to give us that grace which confers all the meritorious value upon these works it is his mercy to excite us by actuall grace to performe such works and to accompany and assist us whilst wee work But it is his Iustice and righteousnes to give that reward which his mercy made these works able to deserve So that now as a just Iudge he rewards our merits though they be his gifts Tenthly Heb. 11.24 Moyses refused to be called the Sonne of Pharao his daughter choosing to be afflicted with the people of God esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches then the treasures in Aegypt For he had respect unto the recompence of the reward Behold how much Moyses valued the recompence of the reward due to so meritorious an act as that was And Eleventhly Hebr. 10.35 Cast not away your confidence which hath recompense of great reward I might end all these Texts with that of the Apocal. 22.12 My reward is with me to give every one according as his works shall be 5. But I thought fitt to adde that wee Roman Catholicks do so extoll the dignity of good works in regard of that value given them by the grace of Christ merited for us by his Passion that wee say these works thus dignifyed make us worthy of heavenly blisse And this wee prove by Scripture S. Paul Col. 1.12 Who hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of Saints And Apoc. 3.4 But thou hast a few names in Sardis which have not defiled theyr garments and the shall walke with me in whites because they are worthy Hence Psal 18.21 The Lord shall reward me after my righteous doings According to the cleanes of my hands shall he recompense me See Point 28. n. 2. 3. 6. Against so many and so cleare Texts our Adversaries chiefly object First that the Scripture Isa 64.6 Wee are all as an uncleane thing and all our righteousnes are as filthy raggs I answer this is sayd of us and our works done meerly by us as wee are left to our selves borne and growen up in sin and not aided nor clensed and dignified by Gods grace And it is a strange inference of our Adversaries to draw from hence that our best works done in grace and by the helpe of Gods grace be all deadly sinns For so in the Texts cited David could not be rewarded after his righteousnes and according to the cleanes of his hands Neither should there be any of so unfiled garments as to walke in whites because they are worthy again how sayth S Iames c. 2.21 Abraham was he not justifyed by works offering Isaac Seest thou not how faith wrought with his works and byworks was made perfect How so if both his faith and his works were deadly sinns What doth God thus reward deadly sin or could such a sin be a worke justifying Abraham In the Texts n. 6. It is sayd that God will repay us for fasting praying giving almes in secret How is this true if all these works be deadly sins in us Tell me how it is possible by heaping up deadly sinns to do what Christ bids us that is to heap up treasures in heavē The yong man of whom I spook was told that by selling all he should purchase a treasure in heaven How then was this selling all a deadly sin If selling all be a deadly sin then to say If thou will be perfect go and sell all is to say go and do a deadly sin if thou wilt be perfect Is that the one thing that was wanting unto him And thus I might argue out of most of the above cited Texts I am sure Christ sayth Matth. 3.10 Every tree that brings not forth good fruit his hewen down and cast into the fire If the fruit of no tree be good then every tree must be burned S. Iames 1.26 Of the doer of the work sayth This man shall be blessed in his deed And S. Paul Phil. 4.18 calls the almes sent to him an odour of a sweet smel a Sacrifice acceptable well pleasing to God These almesdeeds then were not filthy raggs 7. Secondly they object out of Luk 17.10 When you have done all that you are commanded say wee are unprofitable servants I answer this is true that by all wee do or can do even by Gods grace wee are servants unprofitable to God For all wee do or can do profits him nothing But wee are servants profitable to our selves For heaping up treasure in heaven and making friends of Mammon to receive us into the eternall Tabernacles are things very profitable unto us as allso to be good and faithfull servants and therfore to be placed over much and enter into the joy of our Lord. S Paul sayd 1. Cor. 13.3 If I should distribute all my goods to be meat to the poore and have not Charity it doth profit me nothing Ergò with Charity it profits me much Yea though faithfull servants be thus unprofitable to God yet in regard of the service they do him he sayth Io. 15. v. 14. Ye are my friends if ye do whatsoever I command you a thing of no small profit and honour Again is it not think you any profit to have a hundred fold here in this world and life everlasting in the next for leaving what they had for his like Is it no profit to us to say truly with S. Paul Col. 1 12. He hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the Saints and to walke with him in whites because wee are worthy Apoc 3.4 Had he no profit by overcoming to whome it was sayd He that shall overcome and keepe my works untill the end I will give him in heaven power over the nations and he shall rule them with a rod of Iron Apoc. 2.26 Hee that shall overcome I will give to sitt with me in my throne Apoc. 3.21 Do wee not then by overcoming profit our selves in a high
degree THE XXXV POINT It is laudable to doo good works for reward 1. AS Charity towards our neighbour is a most commendable vertue so charity towards our selves cannot be but most commendable Wherefore seeing these good works do profit us so very much as wee have seen in the last point and last number I cannot possibly vnderstand that Paradox of our Adversaries saying they do ill who do well out of a desire to gain heaven True it is a man may do well out of a more commendable motive that is to honour and please God But because something is better then doing good for hope of reward the doing good out of that hope doth not cease to be good You say faith alone is so good that it doth justify a man and yet Scripture tells you that of these three Faith Hope and Charity the greater and better of these is Charity 1. Cor. 13.13 Faith is very good and commendable Whence appeares that nothing ceases to be good because an other act is better 2. The Scriptures cited in the last point evidently exhort us in our sufferings to be glad and rejoyce because our reward is great in heaven and to do our good works in secret not to loose our reward but to heap up to our selves treasure in heaven and to sell all to purchase treasure there and in doing good works not to fail for in due time wee shall reap not failing May wee not sow in hope of harvest Did not S. Paul seek the fruit abounding on this account to those who had sent to his use Did he not bid us not to loose our confidence because it hath a great reward Hebr. 10.35 And not to sow sparingly that wee may reap plentifully 2. Cor. 9.6 Did not Christ himselfe say make friends of the Mammon of iniquity Luk 16.9 To what end this To the end that they may receive you into the eternal Tabernacles But what can be more cleer then that which I there cited out of Heb. 11.24 Moyses denyed himself to be the sō of Pharao his daughter chusing to be afflicted with the people of God esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches then the treasure of Aegyptians For he looked to the reward or according to your Bibles for the regard or respect he had to the reward No lesse cleer David Psalm 118. vers 112. I have inclined my hart to do thy Iustifications for ever for reward And for this reward he inclined his hart to do them sayth S. Augustin in this place reading it as wee do And so as wee tead it it is so faithfully translated by the Septuaginta out of the Hebrew and so your Translatours might have translated it if they had pleased but they willfully choose another sense though they so much professe to follow the Septuaginta THE XXXVI POINT VVee laudably worship Angels and Saints 1. FOr the ground of this question I lay this fundation out of Scripture that as the Angels are in heaven so the soules of the Saints go directly from hence to heaven without they have some few offēces to cleere in Purgatory Our soules sleep not untill Doomesday Christ sayd to the good theife This day thou shalt be with me in Paradise And therefore S. Paul desired to be dissolved that he might be with Christ And again 2. Cor. 5.8 Wee are willing rather to be absent from the body and to be present with our Lord Therefore wee may come to be present with our Lord even whilst our soules are absent from our body Neither do our English Protestants deny this 2. This supposed our doctrine is that great reverence and worship is due to the Angels and Saints with God Secondly that they can hear our prayers Thirdly that they can and will helpe us and therfore it is laudable to pray to them and that this doth not derogate from Christs honour Fourthly that among the Saints it is most laudable to pray to our Lady And here wee shall speak of the Beads sayd to her honour Fiftly wee laudably worship Images of Christ and his Saints Sixtly that wee laudably worship theyr Reliques and inshrine them richly and place them as honorably as wee can Sevently that some places are more holy then others sanctifyed by the presence of those Reliques or by speciall graces given there And for this reason wee laudably make processions and pilgrimages to these places with all devotion Eightly that wee laudably keep Feasts or Holy Dayes as allso fasts in the honour of Christ and his Saints Lastly in these our fasts wee laudably abstaine from certaine meates All and every one of these nine things shall have theyr particular proofes in so many severall Points next following in the order here designed 3. And first for the worship of Angels or Saints note that the very selfe same outward worship yea and Adoration it selfe may outwardly be given either as a civil reverence to persons of respect and great eminency or it may be given to them out of a religious respect in regard of the great Sanctity and heavenly dignity in such a person or lastly given in regard of Divine perfection and infinite worth When this respect is given thus outwardly there passeth inwardly an act in our understanding apprehending the exellcency which wee honour to be either human as in civil honour or to be an excellency of singular though limited heavenly eminency as in the worship of Saints which wee call Dulia or lastly wee judge that there is a devine and infinite excellency in that person as it happens in the worship of God only which wee call Latria An other act passeth in our will answerable to that which was in our understanding by which wee have a will to make this outward worship or adoration to be either a civil honour only such as is due to men of highest human dignity or to make it a Religious worship though farre from devine such as is given to persons of eminent Sanctity or endowed with great heavenly gifts or lastly wee intend to make it an act of devine worship as when wee do it to God Whence it is evident that by doing of the outward act it cannot be knowne whether the honour wee do be meerly civil or Religious or Devine 4. With only civil adoration Abraham rose up and adored the people of the land Gen. 23.7 Iacob coming into the presence of his elder Brother Esay Gen. 33. v. 4. Going forward adored prostrate to the ground seaven times And v. 7. Lia with her Children adored in like manner and last Ioseph and Rachel adored And Gen. 43 v. 27. Iosephs Brethren offered him presents holding them in theyr hands and they adored prostrate to the ground And again Gen. 50. v. 18 And Iosephs Brethren came to him and adoring prostrate on the ground All these Texts are thus read in the Rhemish Testament But the Protestant Bible refusing to put the word Adore put either bowing down or falling down on theyr face Wee do no
well how much this great humility of his had advanced him yet higher 8. Theyr second objection is that of S. Paul Col. 2.18 Let no man beguile you in worshiping of Angels To answer this objection note that the former passage of S Iohn happened to him when he was in banishment in the Iland called Patmos Apoc 1. Whence it is manifest that S. Iohn in his Apocalips now cited used both these two severall adorations twice worshiping the Angel long after S. Paul had written these words forbidding the worship of Angels which words S Iohn understood either much better or at lest full as well as our Protestants understand them And therefore he knew very well that in adoring or worshiping the Angel two severall times he in neither of these times was seduced in the worship of Angels Wee therefore may adore Angels a S Iohn did and yet not be beguiled in this worship of Angels as S. Iohn was not Those then are rather seduced by willfull mistake of what this worship of Angels is who to make us guilty of it define it to be such a worship as must make S. Iohn as guilty as they would make us Therefore this Text is fondly alledged against us for holding only and maintaining such worship of Angels as S Iohn used twice and that long after he knew what S. Paul had written This then serves our turne that in what sense soever S. Paul is to be understood he cannot be understood in a sense forbidding any thing contrary to that which S. Iohn did and which wee with him do practise The truth is S. Paul speaks only of such Religious worship of Angels as had been taught among the Iewes by Simon Magus who would have Sacrifice offered to all Angels as well evill as good Epiph. heresi 25. Chrysostom Hom. 7. in hunc locum And this is that which is condemned in the Councel of Loadicia c. 35. 9. There is another very pertinent exposition of this Text in Tertul. l. 5. contra Marcionem That is that the Apostle laboreth in that place to prove that the new Christiās should not keep the old Iudaicall Law and for this end he sayth let no man beguile you in the worship of Angels by saying that wee owe so much respect to the Angels that although Christ hath abolished the old Law yet because that old Law was given them by the Ministery of Angels Act. 7.53 it ought still to be kept out of respect to the Angels by whose Ministery it was given Again some then taught that this as a heavenly verity had been revealed by some of the Angels But the Angels revealers of such doctrine being Angels of darknes S. Paul calleth the Iudaicall observation of meats maintained by these Christians out of this principle the doctrine of devils 1. Tim. 4.1 Such allso is the worship of Angels given them by such observances And it is to be noted that immediately before these words he expresly spook against the Iudaicall observation of meats saying let no man judge you in meat v. 16. Of which Text see more Point 45 n. 5. 6. THE XXXVII POINT The Angels and Saints can hear our Prayers 1. PRotestants undertaking to reforme all our pretended errors out of Scripture can with no ground pretend to reforme our error in believing Saints to hear us unles they can shew some cleer Text to prove that Saints cannot hear us It is enough for us to go on still believing what wee ever believed unles they can shew us Scripture to the contrary They produce but one poor Text falling farre short of any cleer proofe It is Isa 63. v. 16. Thou art our father though Abraham be ignorant of us and Israël acknowledge us not Thou ô Lord art our father our Redeemer I answer that the Iewes considering how enormiously they had continually swarved from the life example and instruction of Abraham and Iacob did with great reason feare that they would not look upon them as theyr Children as that word acknowledge doth expresse Wherefore knowing Gods mercy to be infinitely greater then that of the greatest Saints they hoped that he still would looke upon them They did not say Abraham and Iacob knew not theyr state or condition but they conceived that they for theyr sinns well known to them had all reason not to owne them as Children and to say wee know you not as Christ shall say one day to the reprobate 2. Again though wee should graunt that Abraham and Iacob did not know the state of the Iewes then when Abraham and Iacob were still in Limbo Patrum it doth not follow that the Saints now present with God enlightned with the light of beatificall glory cannot by vertue of that light know all that passeth on earth as farre at lest as any thing maketh to theyr felicity For it is a part of hapines to know how things passe with our deerly beloved friends especially when wee are in a condition to helpe them easily as the Saints are Yet is allso false that Abraham even in Limbo knew not what passed among the Iewes after his death For he could tell Dives that his five Brethren had Moyses and the Prophets Luke 16. v. 28. though Moyses and the Prophets lived long after his death See n. 4. 3. As our adversaries have but this one poor proofe out of Scripture against us so wee have many for us Iacob calls upon an Angel to blesse his Children No man would call upon one who could not hear The Text is Gen. 48 v. 16. I shall speak largely of it in the next Point n. 2. Again 1. Sam. 28. The witch whom Saul consulted calling by her charmes upō the divel instantly was heard by him for presently she did that which without helpe of some ill spirit could not be done Shall devells hear witches presently and shall saints want power to hear their suppliants See what I here say n. 7. Raphel one of the seaven which assist before our Lord Tob. 12.15 Although he be there assisting yet he truly told Toby v. 12. When thou didst pray with tears and didst bury the dead by night I offered thy prayer to our Lord. If this be not Canonical Scripture yet at lest it is a most ancient Ecclesiasticall History and of such credit that SS Cyprian Ambr. Austin Hierom Gregory the 3. Councel of Carthage and many more held it Scripture ād consequently they thought it as true as Scripture that Saints could hear our prayers And you must bring something more then your owne imagination to discredit it on this account Eliphaz in Iob c. 5.1 spoak thus to him call now if there be any that will answer thee and to which of the Saints wilt thou turne This sheweth the common practise of invocating Angels in that time for as then no Saints but Angels were in heaven Whence the Septuagint whom you use to extoll do here interpret the Saints to be the Holy Angels David supposed the Angels to hear him
laudable to pray to them 1. FIrst Protestants often ask us where wee have a command to pray to Angels or Saints I answer that if there be many advantages accruing to us by the devout Invocation of Saints then it is apparent that Prudence and Charity to our selves ought to excite us thereunto as it doth to seek shelter when it raines without beeing called to go under shelter by the cryers voice as they say some simple people are it is as simple to exact a commād in a thing of greater benefit I say moreover that if there be a command to begg the prayers of Saints living on earth that command a fortiore urgeth us to begg the prayers of Saints living in heaven they being more willing and more able to help us If there be no such command and yet wee may without any command practise that laudably so allso may wee laudably practise this without a command seeing that they hear us as well as the Saints living with us Why then may wee not say to Saints in heaven that which S. Paul sayd to Saints on earth Brethren pray for us Iobs friends were commanded to go to Iob to pray for them as wee shall shew more fully n. 9. You all keep the Sunday Where is that commanded to you You answer it is sufficient to see examples of it among the first Christians So say I it is sufficient wee shew you exemples in Scripture of such as prayed to Angels For of praying to Saints the old Testament could not write no Saints being as then in heaven The four Ghospels writt no farther then the Ascension of Christ to heaven before which no Saint allso was in heavē Wherefore you need not wonder that in the 4. Ghospels you see no mention of praying to Saints in heaven In S. Pauls Epistles you find him begging prayers of Saints on earth So Hebr. 13. v. 18. Pray for us Seeing then that prayer to Saints in heaven is more beneficiall to us it is allso by manifest consequence more to be used by us And as often as the Scripture exhorts us to promote our saluation and spirituall good by all meanes wee can so often doth it exhort us to use this meanes as much or more then begging the prayers of others upon earth In fine when a thing hath many spirituall goods in it wee are sufficiently invited thereunto without a command So no body commanded Timothie still to drink water S. Iohn to drink no wine and to come neither eating nor drinking nor his Disciples to fast often See Point 22. It is sufficient that wee obtain much good thereby 2. That by praying to Saints wee obtain much good I prove by proving that Saints can and will help us which all they supposed who called upon them as Gen. 48.15 And Iacob blessed the sons of Ioseph and sayd God before whom my Fathers walked the Angels that delivered or redeemed me from all evill blesse the lads Hee calls first upon God and then upon his good Angel to helpe those Children And he tells you that this Angel delivered him from severall evils How Iacob prayed this Angel is expressed Osee 12.4 Iacob prevailed against the Angel and hee weept ande made supplication unto him So Iobs friend following the practise of those times did bidd him call upon some Saint or Angel as I shewed last point n. 3. How well the Angels wish us theyr joy for the conversion of sinners testifyeth And if the evill Angels are so restles in circling about to see whom they can devour and accuse our Bretheren night and day as I shewed in the former point n. 7. The good Angels are no lesse carefull to seek whome they can defend help and save 3. Hence that earnest prayer of that Angel Zach. 1. v. 12. And the Angel of our Lord sayd ô Lord of Hosts how long wilt thou not have mercy on Ierusalem and on the Citties of Iuda against which thou hast had indignation these three score and tenne yeares What call you praying if this be not Now hear with what effect this Angel prayed for them And our Lord answered the Angel good words confortable words Behold here this Angel would and could help our necessityes And of S. Michael in particular Daniel sayth c. 10. v. 21. There is none that holdeth with me in these things but Michael your Prince And c. 12. v. 1. At that time shall stand up Michael the great Prince who standeth for the Children of thy people In what doth S. Michael stand for Gods people if he doth not so much as pray for them 4. That by the merits of Saints wee may begg and obtain favours I prove allso thus 1. Kings 15.5 When wicked Abias reigned in Iuda for Davids sake our Lord his God gave him a lamp in Ierusalem that he might rayse up his sonne after him and establish Ierusalem because David had done right in the eyes of our Lord. When a hundred eighty five thousand Assyrians came to besiege Ierusalem God by his Prophet sayd to Ezechias I will protect this Citty that I may save it for my owne sake and for Davids sake my servant Isa 37. v. 25. That is say the Protestants for my promise made to David But wee say if they seeke over all Scripture they will find no such promise made to David of defending or protecting Ierusalem Yea wee prove there could be no such promise because Ierusalem in the captivity was not protected but ruinated 5. The power which the prayers of Saints have and that they use carefully to pray for us is often expressed in Scripture Ieremy 15.1 Though Moyses and Samuel stood before me yet my mind could not be toward the people By which manner of speeeh it appeares that Moyses and Samuel long sincc dead were after theyr death used to pray for the people and that theyr prayers were most powerfull So a King may say though my Mother shall come to me and pray I will not hear her You shall see Daniel of like merit and power with God in just such another Text. Ezech. 14. v. 14. I will kill out of the Land man and beast And if these three men shall be in the midst thereof Noë Daniel and Iob they by theyr Iustice shall deliver theyr own soules Yet though these three men were in it sayth our Lord they shall deliver neither Sons nor Daughters but themselves alone shall be delivered Which he repeates again v. 20. This joyning of Daniel a Saint then living with Noë and Iob dead so many hundred yeares before sheweth that these men by theyr prayers no lesse powerfully interposed themselves then Daniel living Of Elias his care to assist his people after his death wee gave you a memorable testimony in the former point n. 5. In the famous vision of Iudas Machabeus 2. Mach. c. 15. v. 12. First Onias who had been the high Priest but was now dead stretching forth his hands prayed for all the people of the Iewes
After this there appeared allso another man marvelous for age and glory and for the port of great dignity about him And Onias sayd this is the lover of his Brethren This is he who prayeth much for the people and the whole Cittie Ieremy the Prophet of God And he gave to Iudas a sword of gold saying Take the Holy sword a gift from God wherewith thou shall overthrow the adversaries of my people The event confirmed the truth of this vision Origen Tom. 18. in Ioan reflecting on this place sayth It appeareth that Saints departed from this life have care of the people as it is written sayth he in the acts of the Machabees many yeares after the death of Ieremy This is Ieremy the Prophet who prayeth much for the people So that though the Books of Macabees be admitted not as Scripture but only as a true Ecclesiasticall Hystory wee have from thence that the most Holy High Priest and cheif of Gods only people believed that Saints prayed for us and helped us and that all the people who were sayd incouraged by this vision were of the same belief How farre then is this from all novelty which can be proved to have been practiced before the dayes of the Apostles and this by an authority farre greater then that of Iosephus or any such Historian to whom you would scorne to give a place in your Bible as you do to the History of the Machabees 6. Let us now come to the New Testament What motive soever moved Dives Luke 16.27 to pray to Abraham saying I would beseech the◠that thou wouldest send to my Fathers house for I have five Brethren to testify to them least they allso come to this place of torments The very same motive will worke farre more upon the hart of departed Saints to help us theyr poor Brethren from that place of torments and promote us to those eternal Tabernacles of which Christ Luke 16.9 Mak◠unto your selves friends of Mammon of iniquity that when you faile they may receive you into everlasting habitations Again Apoc. 2.26 He that shall overcome and keep my words to the end I will give him power over the nations And he shall rule them with a rod◠of Iron The Saints having authority to rule nations so powerfully as is here expressed by a rodd or scepter of Iron they exercise this theyr power chiefly by making intercession so powerfully to God for us as to obtain for us such graces as wee stand most in need of this theyr power beeing given to a spirituall end 7. And as God who is goodnes and mercy it self in an infinite degree doth notwithstanding not so shew this his mercy and bounty towards those who never pray to him as he doth to those who are incessantly begging his help So Saints cheifly are moved to aid those who are still begging theyr assistance yet true it is that they are of theyr own accord helping us So Raphael offered the prayers made to God by Toby as wee have seen in the former Point n. 3. So Apocal. 5.8 The four beasts and four and twenty elders fell before the Lambe having every one harps and golden Vials full of odours which are the prayers of Saints which prayers made by Saints on earth these Saints in heaven did know and hear for they presented them in golden vials And c. 8. v. 3. An other Angel came and stood at the Altar having a golden Censer And there was given to him much incense that he should offer it with the prayers of all Saints upon the Altar of gold which is before the throne of God and the smook of the incense which came with the prayers of the Saints ascended up before God out of the Angels hand Note that the Angel being before the throne of God did there hear the prayers of Saints in earth Secondly he did not only hear theyr prayers but allso Offer them up before the throne of God in a golden Cēser which he could not do if he had not known thē Thirdly these prayers of the Saints on earth by being thus joyntly offered up by the more fervent prayers of the Saints in heaven or H. Angels did become more acceptable to God For hēce the smook of the incēse with these prayers ascēded more sweetly and pleasantly to God from the hand of the Angel God indeed knows our prayers before the Saints or Angels offer them but he knows that they mount up lesse powerfully when they be not seconded with theyr intercession So God knew before hand that all the people answered Moyses saying to him All things that our Lord hath spoaken wee will do Exod. 19. v. 8. And yet the very next words are and Moyses returned the words of the people to our Lord. Which words were well known to God before that Moyses did returne them yet by returning them he did make by his joynt Mediation this cheerfull offer of the people more pleasing to God 8. And because he did this to theyr greater advantage Moyses himselfe sayth Deutr. 5.5 I stood between the Lord and you at that time This I note to answer the objection of our adversaries saying it is injurious to Christ to take any other Mediatour For one is our Mediatour To be a Mediatour is nothing but to stand between God and us mediating for us In this proper sense Moyses was a Mediatour between God and his people The same in the same sense may be sayd of other Saints Yet in that sense that Christ is sayd to be our only Mediatour wee make no other Mediatour For he is called Mediatour because he is so by his own worth and by his merits offered for us fully satisfying Gods anger and capable of no repulse I did know that thou dost allwayes hear me sayd Christ to his eternall father Io. 11.42 Hee is heard for the Reverence due to him as S. Paul speaks In this sense wee make no Saint Mediatour for us Wee only begg of them to pray for us as wee begg of living Saints whom by theyr prayers wee desire to mediate for us S. Paul in this sense desired the Thessalonians to mediate for him to God Brethren pray for us 1. Thess 5.25 And to Hebrewes 13.18 Pray for us And God himselfe bidds Iobs friends use the mediation or intercession of Iob promising to hear the prayers of this theyr Midiatour made for them but no where promising to hear theyr prayers made without his Mediation Yea rather intimating that he would not hear theyr prayers unles Iob mediated for them as now I shall shew 9. If you say it derogates from Christs honour that any other should help to save us I answer that Saints yet living upon earth help to save us And so Iob 42. v. 7. God tells Iobs three friends My wrath is kindled against thee Take therefore unto you seaven oxen and seaven rammes and go to my fervant Iob and offer up for your selves a burnt offering And my servant Iob shall pray
to be yet at least according to our Adversaries they conteyne a faithfull Ecclesiasticall History in which in the place cited it is recorded That they keept the Dedication of theyr Altar eight dayes Moreover v. 59. Iudas then high Priest and his brethren with the whole congregation of Israël ordeyned that the dayes of the Dedication of the Altar should be keept in theyr season from year to year by the space of eight dayes from the five and twentith of the Month Casleu that is November This Feast was keept by the Iewish Church untill our Saviours time and that with out warrant of Scripture Yea our Saviour himself observed it For so wee read Io. 10.22 And the feast of the Dedication was in Ierusalem and it was winter I know the feast of the Dedication of the Temple restored 1. Esd 6. Was in February and therefore in winter But this beeing the winter before his death it could not be in that part of the winter which was spent as farre as February because our Saviour is there by S. Iohn and by the other Evangelists sayd to have done more then could be done between February and 25. of March upon which he suffered death So that Beza himself in his Annotations upon this place of S. Iohn confesseth this feast wich our Saviour keept to have been the feast wee speak of A great proof allso of using prayer for the dead For had the Institutor of this feast who in that book is recorded to have used prayer for the dead had he I say been superstitiously given Christ would never have keept a feast of his Institution Note here allso the warrant for feasts of Dedications so usuall in our Church yet so unheard of among Protestants THE XLIV POINT That wee laudably observe Fasts Saints Eves and other dayes 1. OVt of the former Point wee make this strong argument The Church hath power to oblige her subjects to keep such and such Feasts as hath been proved therefore she hath the power to oblige her subjects to keep such and such fasting dayes for the Scriptures speak universally of this obedience requiring of us carefully to hear the Church Matth. 18.17 and saying he that heareth you heareth me He that despiseth you despiseth me Luke 10. v. 16. As allso obey them that have the Rule over you for they watch for your soules Hebr. 13.17 Yea though Scribes and Pharisees should by lawfull succession sit upon the chayre of Moyses Christ himself will bid us Therefore to do all whatsoever they command All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe that observe and do Matth. 23. v. 2. And if you say that wee must obey only when they bring cleer Scripture you are refuted by the former point where you see so many feasts commanded with out cleer Scripture which did no where appoint those feasts she then may command fastes not commanded by Scripture 2. And now I will shew you fasts to have been commanded by the Church upon a day not appointed in Scripture but only by the appointment of the High Priest or Church So Iosaphat proclaimed a fast to all Iuda 2. Chron. 20.3 So Ioel 1.14 exhortes the Church to command an extraordinary fast sanctify ye a fast Allso upon a day not commanded by Scripture Esdras the High Priest commanded a fast And I proclaimed a fast that wee might be afflicted before Lord our God 1. Esd 8.21 And we fasted and besought our God for this and he was entreated of us v. 23. And Ester 4.16 To gather together all the Iewes and fast ye for mee and neither eat nor drink three dayes night or day And it was done according as it was commanded And Hest 9.27 The Iewes ordeyned and took upon them and upon theyr seed so as it should not fail that they would keep these two dayes of feast every yeare And v. 31. They decreed for theyr selves and for theyr seed the fastings and theyr cry For fasting and crying to our Lord were fitly then appointed to be observed in the Vigil or Eave of this feast as we usually fast in the Vigils of our feasts for devout fasting best disposeth our mind to devotion the next day Moreover you Protestants teach there be no Counsels given us by God but only precepts If this be so God himself commands you to fast when he sayeth Ioel 2 12. Turn ye to me with all your hearts ād with fasting ād weeping ād mourning 3. Wee fast on Ember dayes because those dayes be deputed by the Church to ordaine and Consecrate new Priests and other Ministers of the Church And it is Christs command Matth. 9.38 Pray the Lord of the Harvest that he send forth workmen into his harvest To obey this command the more perfectly and to make our Prayer powred forth for so important a blessing the more effectuall the Church with this prayer ioyneth three dayes fast So of the most primitive Church wee read Acts 13.3 When they had fasted and prayed and layd theyr hands on them they sent them away to witt Barnabas and Saul se they beeing sent by the Holy Ghost departed And Chap. 14.23 When they had ordeyned thē Elders Priestes in every Church and prayed with fastings they commended them to the Lord. 4. Moreover by our fastings in each one of the four seasons of the year we consecrate those seasons and our life 's to God and more effectually petition for his blessings in and at all seasons We fast on Frydayes because our Saviour dyed upon a Fryday And because he remained dead all Saturday wee abstaine from flesh upon Saturdayes Christ sayed expressely Matth. 9.14 That after the bridegrome should be taken from his Disciples as he was at his Passion then they should allso fast as much as the disciples of S. Iohn and the Pharisees did And there the Seripture sayth they fasted often And you know the proud Pharisee braggs that he fasted twice a week No wonder then that the Church thought this measure at least expedient for us Shee allso knew by Scripture that it was expedient to keep under our Body and bring it into subjection 1. Cor. 9.27 And to approve our selves in watchings and fastings 2. Cor. 6.5 And to give our selves to fasting 1. Cor. 7.5 For this reason it was that S. Iohn the greatest of Prophets taught his disciples to fast often Matth. 9.14 Our new Prophets teach theyr disciples to scoff at fasters often Moreover wee who sinne dayly have but to much need to fast weekly so to satisfy for our sins to which effect how much fasting availeth I declared P. 24. n. 6. Now there beeing so great good in fasting and all Gods greatest Saints having practised it so much upon this account as I shewed out of Scripture Point 23. it is a wonder that among our ungodly Saints even good Friday it self on which we receaved a greater benefitt then ever man kind received should have no more notice commanded to be taken thereof then if Christ his