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<NAME>John Latta</NAME>
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<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>AN
ANSWER
To the Marques of
WORCESTER'S
La&s;t Paper; to the Late
KING.
Repre&s;enting in their true po&s;ture, and
di&s;cu&s;sing briefly, the main Controver&s;ies between the
<HI>Engli&s;h</HI> and the <HI>Romi&s;h</HI> Church.</P>
<P>Together with &s;ome Con&s;iderations, upon
D^r <HI>Bayly</HI>'s Parenthetical Interlocution; rela|ting
to the Churches Power in deciding
Controver&s;ies.</P>
<P>To the&s;e is annext,
SMECTYMNUO-MASTIX:
OR,
Short Animadver&s;ions upon <HI>Smectymnuus</HI>
in the Point of <HI>LYT&V;RGIE.</HI></P>
<P>By HAMON L'ESTRANGE, E&s;q^r.</P>
<Q><P>Magis amabo in&s;pici a Rectis, quam timebo morderi a Perver&s;is.</P>
<BIBL>Augu&s;tin.</BIBL></Q>
<P><HI>London,</HI> Printed by <HI>Robert Wood,</HI> for <HI>Henry Seile;</HI> and
are to be &s;old at his Shop, over again&s;t S^t
<HI>Dun&s;tan's</HI> Church in <HI>Fleet-street.</HI>
1651.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="dedication">
<PB REF="2">
<PB REF="2">
<HEAD>To the truly Noble, Religious, and
my dearly honoured <GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="blotted" EXTENT="1 word">, the Lady
ANNE L'ESTRAN<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="blotted" EXTENT="2 letters"> <GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="blotted" EXTENT="1 word"> Hun&s;tan|ton
in Norfolk</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>Madam,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>_I Have entituled this Treati&s;e,
An An&s;wer to the Marques of
<HI>Worce&s;ter.</HI> If it really
proves &s;o, I &s;hall be mo&s;t glad;
for then, I know it will prove
an An&s;wer to you, I mean to
your De&s;ires, &amp; tho&s;e De&s;ires I &s;hould extreme|ly
rejoyce to an&s;wer, in this, or any other kinde
what&s;oever. But prove that as it may, this is
my comfort, that it will be in &s;ome &s;ort an An|&s;wer
to God for the time it &s;tood me in, which
might have been wor&s;e imploy'd. It humbly re|&s;orts
in this Dedication, Lady, to you, why
&s;hould it not? It is the Revenue the product of
your commands. To tho&s;e commands next
God, I totally re&s;ign the glory may re&s;ult from
the little I have done well, the many Imper|fections
I &s;hall file upon mine own account;
And as I have ever found in my&s;elf a Di&s;abi|lity
<PB REF="3">
to re&s;i&s;t your commands, &s;o your com|mands
never found my will in readier mode
and po&s;ture of compliance than in this Subject;
for had not they pre&s;t me into this &s;ervice of
Truth, and this Church, my peculiar inclina|tion
had li&s;ted me a Voluntier. For no little
impatience hath po&s;&s;e&s;t me, to hear Error &s;o long
and &s;o uncontroul'd, crow and triumph over
Truth in that his Lord&s;hips Paper, the great
pretenders to the Prote&s;tant belief (to their
&s;hame be it &s;poken) or not willing, or not able,
or not daring to oppo&s;e her. Tho&s;e whom it
more concern'd making thus default of their
devoir, re&s;olved I was (though the weakest of
many hundreds) of this Churches Votary, to
become her Champion, and put my &s;elf into
the Forlorn; being most a&s;&s;ured I &s;hould
thereby not onely in &s;ome mea&s;ure, pay a tri|butary
Vote to the Cau&s;e of God, but al&s;o in part
vindicate the Reputation of that &s;ide to which
I &s;o constantly adhered, and to demonstrate
to the face of calumny, that among&s;t tho&s;e &s;o
decry'd and reproached as popi&s;hly affected,
&s;ome there are of that animo&s;ity and courage,
who dare tell <HI>Rome</HI> to her teeth, that that
thing which &s;he calls her Religion is but meer
Policy, not founded upon <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> or his Apo|&s;tles,
but new modell'd in mo&s;t, and tho&s;e the
weightie&s;t Points, within the&s;e la&s;t five hun|dred
years. How my atchivement and perfor|mance
<PB REF="3">
hath an&s;wered my daring, it becomes
not me to judge. Suppo&s;e the wor&s;t, and that I
have made too publique my many failings, yet
have I not failed to publi&s;h a zeal firm and
cordial to the Prote&s;tant Profe&s;&s;ion. And that
zeal will, I tru&s;t, bid the&s;e unworthy Labours,
in &s;ome degree, welcome to God and his Church.
It is one and the &s;ame &s;pirit, to defend the
Ma&s;ters Intere&s;t, which animateth the &s;mal|le&s;t
lap-dog, and which rou&s;eth the &s;toute&s;t
Ma&s;tiff. I have in this Work done what I
could, had it al&s;o been what I would, then
&s;hould this Tract, without the auxiliary al|lowance
of favour and indulgence, have coun|terpoi&s;ed
the merit of this great Cau&s;e, and va|lue
of your commands. As it is, it mu&s;t be&s;eech
your acceptance, as one Act of grace &s;uper|added
to tho&s;e millions of Obligations, which
con&s;ign me</P>
<CLOSER><SALUTE>Madam,</SALUTE>
<SIGNED>Your mo&s;t honouring Brother, and
&s;incerely addicted Servant,
<HI>Hamon L'e&s;trange.</HI></SIGNED>
<DATELINE>Ring&s;ted,
<DATE>June 1. 1650.</DATE></DATELINE></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="to the reader">
<PB REF="4">
<HEAD>TO
THE READER.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>Gentle Reader,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>I Pre&s;ent thee here with an An&s;wer, &s;uch as
it is, to a Reply to the Late Kings la&s;t Paper
to the Marq. of <HI>Worcester;</HI> Who&s;e Reply
that is, is difficult to determine: D^r <HI>Bayly</HI> tells
us, 'tis the M. of <HI>Worcesters,</HI> but &s;ure it may as
well be &s;tiled the Cardinal of <HI>Per<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="blotted" EXTENT="1 letter">ons,</HI> it &s;uting
&s;o exactly with that Cardinable Reply made
long &s;ince to the Apology of King <HI>James,</HI> Fa|ther
to the late King; but call it what you
plea&s;e, the Marque&s;&s;es, or the Cardinals, or the
Cardinal of <HI>Worcesters</HI> (like <HI>Chry&s;ippus</HI> his <HI>Medea</HI>
in a &s;imilary ca&s;e) thou ha&s;t here an An&s;wer to
it;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Laaet. in vit. Chry|&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="faint" EXTENT="1 letter">p.</NOTE> yea, to that Reply, <HI>wherein the main Differen|ces
between the Papists and the Protestants are acu|rately
di&s;cust,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Title page.</NOTE> if the Doctor be not mi&s;taken, as I
much fear he is: 'twas well and advi&s;edly done
he &s;aid not All the main Differences, for Pray|ers
in an unknown Tongue, and the Popes Su|premacy
are Differences, and in the main too,
yet not &s;o much as &s;aluted in pa&s;&s;age, nor any
the lea&s;t notice taken of them; and Adoration
of Images, no petty Difference, hath but a very
perfunctory, a &s;light glance, and is far from be|ing
di&s;cu&s;t. And for tho&s;e Differences treated
of, few will, I think, of the Prote&s;tant per&s;wa|&s;ion,
&s;ay with the Doctor, they are acurately
di&s;cu&s;t; for wherein doth that acuratene&s;&s;e con|&s;i&s;t?
View the order and array of the Points,
<PB REF="4">
and Tenets there &s;et down, never was there
&s;uch a confu&s;ed Rhap&s;ody, &s;uch an independent
medly &s;huffled pe&s;le-me&s;le together, without co|herence,
without care. In the Scheme and frame
of his Po&s;itions, there is I grant a great, an emi|nent
care; but not a commendable, not an ho|norable
care, not a care to &s;tate the Que&s;tions
ingenuou&s;ly right, but rather to render them
more dubious and dark, but a care to di&s;&s;emble
the Errors of his own Church, the Truths of
ours; a care to di&s;-gui&s;e the Prote&s;tant Opini|ons
under his own imaginary Fictions, and to
repre&s;ent <HI>Romes</HI> putrid and ulcerous Body with
a &s;pecious and glorious out-&s;ide; in &s;hort, a
care to contrive that Paper with &s;uch artifice as
might render it unan&s;werable. And therefore I
have qualified my An&s;wer with the&s;e additional
words, <HI>Such as it is,</HI> implying &s;uch an An&s;wer as
that Paper will admit of, a full and compleat
one being not onely difficult, but almo&s;t im|po&s;&s;ible:
for it being farced and &s;tuffed thick
with Quotations, the words of the Authors are
rarely recited, very often the Chapters and Se|ctions
omitted, and &s;ometimes the whole
Books; &s;o that be&s;ides an infinite wa&s;te of Time,
it requires a kinde of Divination to decypher
and &s;et forth what the Marques his minde was
fixt upon. This notwith&s;tanding, I have with
mo&s;t diligent impartiality collected what
might in any degree favour his Lord&s;hips opi|nion,
or abet his Cau&s;e, and to every Proof fit|ted
a &s;uitable An&s;wer, where Conjecture could
not attain, I there freely acknowledge it, being
&s;ecure under the candor of thy Charity, which
<PB REF="5">
will con&s;ider&punc; that to finde an Indictment, it is
not enough that the Witne&s;&s;es be produced and
appear, but they mu&s;t al&s;o give in Evidence;
and till that Evidence in all particulars be gi|ven
in, an An&s;wer to all particulars cannot be
required.</P>
<P>But this An&s;wer to that Reply cannot com|prehend
the whole Arre&s;t and content of this
Tract: there are &s;ome Animadver&s;ions relating
to D^r^. <HI>Bayly,</HI> which I have &s;titcht, as an Appendix
and <HI>Lean-to</HI> to that An&s;wer&punc; the word is (I think)
concinn and apt enough, it relating to that
Doctor whom his Maje&s;ty &s;u&s;pected<NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">page <GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="faint" EXTENT="1 letter">0.</NOTE> a <HI>Lean-to</HI>
to the Marques. And truly that Di&s;cour&s;e of
his which I have undertaken, &s;peaks him little
le&s;&s;e; wherein his Maje&s;ty, not the Marques, &s;teps
in as Opponent; he that pretended &s;o much
<NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">Epi&s;t. to the Reader.</NOTE> <HI>warine&s;s of &s;eeming to pre&s;ent the late King worsted,</HI>
was not wary at all of &s;eeming to pre&s;ent him|&s;elf
(according to the idiome of &s;peech) <HI>Wor|&s;ter'd.</HI>
Chri&s;tian Charity bids me repute him
under a notion more modified than Papi&s;t, but
Truth it &s;elf enforceth me to &s;ay he erreth in
&s;ome particulars with the Church of <HI>Rome;</HI>
yet were he more than popi&s;h Papi&s;t profe&s;t&punc;
<HI>my witne&s;s is in Heaven,</HI><NOTE N="c" PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">. Chry&s;. in S. Phoc.</NOTE> ill will to the man I
bear none, a Member of the Church he is, and
<NOTE N="d" PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">. Chry&s;. in 1 Cor. c. 1. <GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="faint" EXTENT="1 letter">om. 1.</NOTE> as <HI>the Church is a name of &V;nity not of Separation,</HI>
&s;o I heartily be&s;eech God, that all tho&s;e who
are Members of that Church, and con&s;igned
<HI>Christians, may be of one minde in the Lord; and
keep the &V;nity of the &s;pirit in the bond of peace:
which peace the Lord of peace him&s;elf give us always,
by all means.</HI> Vale.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="prefatory document">
<PB REF="5">
<HEAD>The (late) Kings Paper, in an&s;wer to the
Marques of Worce&s;ter; Introductorily
di&s;cu&s;&s;ing &s;ome Controver&s;ies between
the Engli&s;h and the Romi&s;h Church.</HEAD>
<P><HI>MY Lord, I have peru&s;ed your Paper; whereby I
finde, that it is no &s;trange thing to &s;ee Error,
triumph in Antiquity, and flouri&s;h all tho&s;e
En&s;ignes of &V;niver&s;ality, Succe&s;&s;ion, &V;nity, Conver&s;i|on
of Nations,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>in the face of Truth, and nothing
was &s;o familiar, either with the</HI> Jews <HI>or Gentiles, as to
be&s;mear the face of Truth with &s;pots of Novelty; for
this was</HI> Jeremiahs <HI>ca&s;e,</HI> Jer. 44. 16. <HI>viz.</HI> As for
the word which thou ha&s;t &s;poken unto us in
the Name of the Lord, we will not hearken unto
thee, but we will certainly do what&s;oever thing
hath gone forth of our own mouths: to burn
incen&s;e unto the Queen of Heaven, and to powre
out drink-offering unto her as we have done, we,
and our fathers, our Kings, and our Princes in
the Cities of <HI>Judah,</HI> and in the &s;treets of <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI>
as we have done: <HI>there is Antiquity,</HI> we and our
fathers: <HI>tbere is Succe&s;&s;ion,</HI> In the Cities of <HI>Judah</HI>
and <HI>Jeru&s;alem: there is &V;niver&s;ality: &s;o</HI> Demetrius&punc;</P>
<P><PB REF="6">
<HI>urged Antiquity and &V;niver&s;ality for the godde&s;s</HI> Dia|na:
<HI>viz.</HI> That her Temple &s;hould not be de&s;pi|&s;ed,
nor her Magnificence de&s;troyed, whom all
<HI>A&s;ia</HI> and the World Wor&s;hipped. <HI>So</HI> Symmachus
<HI>that wi&s;e Senator, though a bitter Enemy to the Chri&s;ti|ans:</HI>
Servanda e&s;t inquit tot &s;eculis fides &amp; &s;e|quendi
&s;unt nobis parentes qui feliciter &s;equuti
&s;unt &s;uos: we mu&s;t defend that Religion which
hath worn out &s;o many Ages and follow our Fa|thers
&s;teps, who have &s;o happily followed theirs&punc;
<HI>So</HI> Prudentius <HI>would have put back Christianity it
&s;elf,</HI> viz. Nunc dogma nobis Chri&s;tianum na&s;citur
po&s;t evolutos mille demum Con&s;ules: Now the
Chri&s;tian Doctrine begins to &s;pring up after the
revolution of a thou&s;and Con&s;ul-&s;hips: <HI>But</HI>
Ezekiel <HI>reades us another Lecture.</HI> Ne obdurate cer|vices
ve&s;tras ut patres ve&s;tri cedite manum Jeho|vae
ingredimini &s;anctuarium ejus, quod &s;anctifi|cavit
in &s;aeculum &amp; colite Jehovam Deum ve|&s;trum:
<HI>Be not &s;tiff-necked as your fore-fathers were,
re&s;ist not the mighty God, enter into his Sanctuary
which he hath con&s;ecrated for ever, and wor&s;hip ye the
Lord your God.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Radbodus,</HI> King of <HI>Phrygia,</HI> (being about to be
baptized) asked the Bi&s;hop, what was become of all his
Ancestors, who were dead without being baptized?
The Bi&s;hop an&s;wered; that they were all in Hell;
whereupon the King &s;uddenly withdrew him&s;elf from
the Font, (&s;aying) <HI>Ibi profecto me illis Comitem
adjungam: Thither will I go unto them:</HI> no le&s;s
<PB REF="6">
wi&s;e are they, who had rather err with Fathers and
Councels, than rectifie their understanding by the Word
of God, and &s;quare their Faith according to its Rules.</P>
<P>Our Saviour <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> &s;aith, we must not &s;o much
<HI>hearken to what hath been &s;aid by them of old
time,</HI> Matth. 21. 12. as to that which <HI>he</HI> &s;hall <HI>tell
you,</HI> where <HI>Auditis dictum e&s;&s;e antiquitis</HI> is explo|ded:
and <HI>Ego dico vobis</HI> is come in its place; which
of them all can attribute that credit to be given unto
him, as is to be given to Saint <HI>Paul?</HI> Yet he would not
have us to be followers of him more, than he is a fol|lower
of <HI>Chri&s;t, 1 Cor.</HI> 11. 1. Wherefore if you cry
never &s;o loud, <HI>Sancta mater Eccle&s;ia, &s;ancta mater
Eccle&s;ia,</HI> the holy mother Church, holy mother Church,
as of old, they had nothing to &s;ay for them&s;elves, but
<HI>Templum Domini, Templum Domini,</HI> the Tem|ple
of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord, we will cry as
loud again with the Prophet; <HI>quomodo facta e&s;t me|retrix
Urbs fidelis?</HI> How is the faithfull City become
an Harlot? If you vaunt never &s;o much of your <HI>Roman</HI>
Catholick Church, we can tell you out of Saint <HI>John,</HI>
that &s;he is become the Synagogue of Sathan: neither is
it impo&s;&s;ible, but that the hou&s;e of prayers may be made
a Den of Thieves: you call us Hereticks; we an&s;wer
you with Saint <HI>Paul, Acts 24. 14. After the way
which you call Here&s;ie, &s;o wor&s;hip we the God
of our fathers, believing all things which were
written in the Law and the Prophets.</HI></P>
<P>I will grant you that all tho&s;e marks which you have
&s;et down, are marks of the true Church; and I will
<PB REF="7">
grant you more, that they were belonging to the Church
of <HI>Rome:</HI> but then, you must grant me thus much,
that they are as well belonging to any other Church, who
hold and maintain that Doctrine which the Church of
<HI>Rome</HI> then maintained, when &s;he wrought tho&s;e Con|ver&s;ions;
and not at all to her, if &s;he have changed her
first Love, and fallen from her old Principles; for it
will do her no good to keep po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of the Keys, when
the Lock is changed: now to try whether &s;he hath done
&s;o or no, there can be no better way, than by &s;earching
the Scriptures; for though I grant you that the Catho|lick
Church is the white in that Butt of Earth at which
we all must aim; yet the Scripture is the heart centre,
or peg in the midst of that white that holds it up, from
whence we must mea&s;ure, e&s;pecially when we are all in
the white. We are all of us in <HI>gremio Eccle&s;iae;</HI> &s;o
that Controver&s;ies cannot be decided by the <HI>Catholick
Church,</HI> but by the Scriptures, which is the thing by
which the nearne&s;s nnto Truth must be decided; for
that which must determine Truth must not be fallible:
but whether you mean the con&s;ent of Fathers, or the De|crees
of General Councels, they both have erred; I di&s;|cover
no Fathers nakedne&s;s, but deplore their infirmi|ties,
that we &s;hould not trust in arms of fle&s;h: <HI>Tertul|lian</HI>
was a Montanist; <HI>Cyprian</HI> a Rebaptist; <HI>Ori|gin</HI>
an Anthropomorphi&s;t; <HI>Hierom</HI> a Monogani&s;t;
<HI>Nazianzen</HI> an Angeli&s;t; <HI>Eu&s;ebius</HI> an Arrian; Saint
<HI>Augu&s;tine</HI> had written &s;o many Errors, as occa&s;ioned
the writing of a whole Book of Retractions: they have
oftentimes contradicted one another, and &s;ome times
them&s;elves.</P>
<P><PB REF="7">
Now, for General Councels; Did not that <HI>Concili|um
Ariminen&s;e,</HI> conclude for the Arrian Here&s;ie?
Did not that <HI>Concilium Ephi&s;inum,</HI> conclude for the
Eutichian Here&s;ie? Did not that <HI>Concilium Cartha|ginen&s;e,</HI>
conclude it not lawfull for Prie&s;ts to marry?
Was not <HI>Athana&s;ius</HI> condemned, <HI>In Concilio Ty|rio?</HI>
Was not <HI>Eiconolatria</HI> e&s;tabli&s;hed, <HI>In Concilio
Nicaeno &s;ecundo.</HI></P>
<P>What &s;hould I &s;ay more? when the Apo&s;tles them|&s;elves,
le&s;s obnoxious to Error, either in Life or Do|ctrine,
more to be preferred than any, or all the world
be&s;ides; one of them betrays his Saviour, another de|nies
him; all for&s;ake him. They thought <HI>Chri&s;t's
Kingdom to be of this world;</HI> and a promi&s;e onely
unto the <HI>Jews,</HI> and not unto the Gentiles; and this
after the Re&s;urrection.</P>
<P><HI>They wondred that</HI> the holy Gho&s;t &s;hould fall
upon the Gentiles. <HI>Saint</HI> John <HI>twice</HI> wor&s;hipped
the Angel, <HI>and was rebuked for it;</HI> Apoc. 22. 8.
<HI>Saint</HI> Paul <HI>&s;aw how</HI> Peter walked not uprightly,
according to the truth of the Go&s;pel, Gal. 2. 14.
<HI>Not onely</HI> Peter, <HI>but other of the Apostles, were igno|rant,
how the Word of God was to be preached unto the
Gentiles.</HI></P>
<P>But who then &s;hall rowl away the &s;tone from the
mouth of the Monument? Who &s;hall expound the Scri|ptures
to us? One puls one way, and another another:
by whom &s;hall we be directed?</P>
<P>Scinditur incertum &s;tudia in contraria vulgus.</P>
<P><PB REF="8">
You that cry up the Fathers, the Fathers &s;o much;
&s;hall hear how the Fathers do tell us, that the Scriptures
are their own Interpreters.</P>
<P>Irenaeus, <HI>who was Scholar to</HI> Policarpus, <HI>that was
Scholar to Saint</HI> John, l. 3. c. 12. <HI>thus &s;aith;</HI> O&s;ten|tiones
quae &s;unt in Scripturis non po&s;&s;unt o&s;tendi
ni&s;i ex ip&s;is Scripturis: <HI>the Evidences which are in
Scripture cannot be manife&s;ted but out of the &s;ame
Scripture.</HI></P>
<P>Clemens Alexandrinus, <HI>Nos ex ip&s;is deip&s;is Scri|pturis,
perfecte demon&s;trantes ex fide per&s;uade|mus
demon&s;trative, Strom. lib.</HI> 7. Out of the Scri|ptures
them&s;elves, from the &s;ame Scriptures perfectly
demon&s;trating, do we draw demon&s;trative Per&s;ua&s;ions
from Faith.</P>
<P><HI>Cry&s;o&s;t.</HI> Sacra Scriptura &s;eip&s;am exponit &amp; au|ditorem
errare non &s;init.</P>
<P>Ba&s;ilius Magnus, <HI>Quae ambigue &amp; quae ob&s;cure,
videntur dici in quibu&s;dam locis &s;acrae Scripturae,
ab iis quae in aliis locis aperta &amp; per&s;picua &s;unt
explicantur, Hom. 13. in Gen.</HI> Tho&s;e things which
may &s;eem to be ambiguous and ob&s;cure in certain places
of the holy Scripture, mu&s;t be explicated from tho&s;e
places which el&s;e-where are plain and manife&s;t.</P>
<P>Augu&s;tinus,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Que&s;tiorum a&s;ceti|carum &s;ecundum eptt. regula tre|cente&s;sima &s;exage&s;|&s;ima.</NOTE> <HI>Ille qui cor habet
quod preci&s;um e&s;t jungat Scri|pturae,
&amp; legat &s;uperiora vel infe|riora
&amp; inveniet &s;en&s;um.</HI> Let him
who hath a preci&s;e heart joyn it unto
the Scriptures; and let him ob&s;erve what goes before,
<PB REF="8">
and that which follows after, and he &s;hall finde out the
&s;en&s;e.</P>
<P>Gregorius <HI>&s;aith,</HI> (Ser. 49. De verbis Domini.)
Per Scripturam loquitur deus omne quod vult;
&amp; voluntas Dei &s;icut in Te&s;tamento, &s;ic in Evan|gelio
inquiratur. <HI>By Scripture God &s;peaks his whole
minde; and the will of God, as in the old Te&s;tament &s;o
in the new, is to be found out.</HI></P>
<P>Optatus contra parmenonem, lib. 5.</P>
<P><HI>Num quis aequior arbiter veritatis divinae
quam Deus aut ubi Deus manife&s;tius loquitur
quam in verbo &s;uo:</HI> Is there a better Judge of the di|vine
Verity than God him&s;elf? or where doth God
more manife&s;tly declare him&s;elf than in his own
Word?</P>
<P><HI>What breath &s;hall we believe then but that which is
the breath of God; the holy Scriptures? for it &s;eems
all one to Saint</HI> Paul <HI>to &s;ay,</HI> Dicit Scriptura, <HI>the
Scripture &s;aith;</HI> Rom. 4. 3. <HI>and</HI> Dicit Deus, <HI>the Lord
&s;aith;</HI> Rom. 9. 17. The Scripture hath concluded
all under &s;in, Gal. 3. 22. For that which Rom. 11. 32
<HI>he &s;aith,</HI> God hath concluded all, &amp;c. <HI>How &s;hall we
otherwi&s;e conclude than but with the Apo&s;tle,</HI> 1 Cor.
2. 12. We have received not the &s;pirit of the
world, but the &s;pirit which is of God, that we
might know the things that are freely given un|to
us of God.</P>
<P>They who know not this &s;pirit, do deride it: but
this &s;pirit is <HI>the hidden Manna, Apoc.</HI> 2. 17. which
God giveth them to eat who &s;hall overcome; it is the
<PB REF="9">
white &s;tone wherein the white name is written, which
no man knoweth but he that received it. Wherefore we
&s;ee the Scripture is the Rule by which all difference may
be compo&s;ed; it is the Light wherein we mu&s;t walk;
the Food of our Souls; an Antidote that expels any In|fection;
the onely Sword that kils the Enemy; the onely
Plai&s;ter that can cure our Wounds; and the onely Docu|ments
that can be given towards the attainment of
everla&s;ting Salvation.</P>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="treatise">
<PB N="1" REF="9">
<HEAD>AN
ANSWER
TO THE
Marqu. of WORCESTERS
Late Paper to the
KING.</HEAD>
<P><HI>M.</HI> _YOur Maje&s;ty is plea&s;ed to wave
all the marks of a true
Church, and to make re|cour&s;e
to Scripture.</P>
<P>His Maje&s;ty waves not the
marks of the true Church,
but waves the frequent <HI>Roman</HI> Church as not
true, becau&s;e &s;he wants tho&s;e marks. That he
hath recour&s;e to Scripture, why &s;hould the
Marques blame him? it is <HI>the witne&s;s of God,
greater than that of men, 1 John</HI> 5. 9.</P>
<P><HI>M.</HI> I humbly take leave to aske your Maje&s;ty,
<PB N="2" REF="10">
what Heretique that ever was did not &s;o?</P>
<P>Here the Marques calls his Maje&s;ty Heretique
by craft, but fir&s;t is at King, King by your
leave, that he might do it with the more civility.</P>
<P><HI>M.</HI> How &s;hall the greate&s;t Heretique in the
world be confuted or cen&s;ured, if any man may
be permitted to appeal to Scriptures, margin'd
with his own Notes, &s;en&s;ed with his own mean|ing,
and enlivened with his own private &s;pirit;
to what end were tho&s;e marks &s;o fully both by
the Prophets, the Apo&s;tles, and our Saviour
him&s;elf &s;et down, if we make no u&s;e of them?</P>
<P>We deny utterly any &s;uch Appeal, we &s;ay, <HI>The
Scripture must be margin'd with its own Notes, for
what is doubtfull and dark in one place, is el&s;ewhere
clearly and evidently explained:</HI><NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">Quae ambigue &amp; ob&s;cure viden<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="faint" EXTENT="1 letter">ur dici in qui|bu&s;dam lo|cis &s;acrae Scripturae ab a<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="faint" EXTENT="2 letters">is quae in allis locis aperta &amp; per&s;pi|cua &s;unt explican|tur. Ba&s;il. qu. <GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="faint" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;cet. Reg. 367.</NOTE> Sen&s;ed with its
own meaning, <HI>from the Scriptures them&s;elves must
we receive the &s;en&s;e of Truth.</HI><NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">Ex ip&s;is Scripturis &s;en&s;um ca|pere veri|tatis opor|tet non &s;en|&s;um ex|trin&s;ic&ugrave;s alienum extraneum deberes quaerere. Cl. Ep. 7.</NOTE> So <HI>Clemens</HI> the &s;e|cond
Bi&s;hop of <HI>Rome;</HI> nay, and more than &s;o,
<HI>we must not go out</HI> of it to a forreign Interpreter:
and enlivened with its own Spirit, <HI>For the things
of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God: 1 Cor.</HI>
2. 11. And therefore cur&s;ed, &s;ay I, be he that re|moveth
the Lords Land-marks.</P>
<P>The <HI>M.</HI> findes the <HI>K.</HI> firm and clo&s;e to Scrip|ture,
and &s;eeing him &s;o re&s;olved pretends, in
compliance with his Maje&s;ty, recour&s;e to that
too; yea, and promi&s;eth to lead the <HI>K.</HI> to his
Church through the full body of the Scrip|tures;
and it is indeed the be&s;t, the neare&s;t way
to the Church; yea, and to the <HI>M.</HI> his Church
too, but then he mu&s;t &s;et on fire all that &s;uper|&s;tructure
of Wood, Hay, and Stubble, which is
built, I fear, not upon the true Foundation nei|ther.
<PB N="3" REF="10">
But before he enters into that way, &s;ome
Ob&s;tacles, &s;ome Rubs are to be removed; 'tis fit
the Kings way &s;hould be made &s;mooth.</P>
<P><HI>M.</HI> The fir&s;t Rub is, <HI>[Your Majesty was plea&s;ed
to urge the Errors of certain Fathers to the prejudice
of their Authority]</HI> Not &s;o plea&s;ed as the Marques
was to urge the &s;uppo&s;ed Blemi&s;hes of <HI>Luther</HI>
and <HI>Calvin</HI> to the prejudice of our Church. No,
not plea&s;ed at all, for he &s;aid, <HI>I deplore their In|firmities.</HI>
114. But to the prejudice of their Au|thority
they are urged, nor could the M. ex|cu&s;e
them, but argueth from his Maje&s;ties own
words [So did the Apo&s;tles, but when all were
gathered together in Councel, and could &s;end
about their <HI>Edicts,</HI> with the&s;e Capital Letters,
in the Front, <HI>Vi&s;um est Spiritui &s;ancto &amp; nobis,</HI>
then I hope, your Maje&s;ty cannot &s;ay, that it
was po&s;&s;ible for them to err. So though the Fa|thers
migh err in particulars, yet tho&s;e particu|lar
Errors would be &s;wallowed up in a General
Councel.] By the Marques his comparing Gene|ral
Councels with that in <HI>Acts</HI> 15. we may in|fer,
that in his &s;en&s;e, The&s;e may &s;ay, as well as
That, <HI>Vi&s;um est Spiritui &s;ancto &amp; nobis, It &s;eem|ed
good to the Holy Ghost and to us.</HI> And in|deed
it is no more than what <HI>Bellarmine</HI> and
<HI>Stapleton</HI> &s;aid before him,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Bellar. l. 2. de Concil. c. 2.</NOTE> and the Doctrine of
Infallibility infallibly implies as much. But let
the Marques and his party &s;ay what they plea&s;e,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Stapleton Relect. contr. 6. q. 3. art. <GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="faint" EXTENT="1 letter">.</NOTE>
&s;ure I am, Antiquity never dur&s;t think &s;o, much
le&s;s &s;ay it: take one in&s;tance for all; That Great
and General Councel of <HI>Nice,</HI> ob&s;erve what a
prudent and wary cour&s;e &s;he took in &s;etting
down her Determinations; in &s;tatlng the bu&s;i|ne&s;s
<PB N="4" REF="11">
concerning the Celebration of <HI>Easter,</HI> it
being a matter of indifferency, <HI>Placuit ut addere|tur
vi&s;um est,</HI> (barely &s;o, not <HI>Spiritui &s;ancto &amp; no|bis)
ut omnes obtemperarent, We think fit that all
obey our Decree:</HI> but when &s;he came to that great
Confe&s;&s;ion of Faith,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Athana&s;.</NOTE> now call'd the <HI>Nicene</HI>
Creed,<NOTE PLACE="marg">de Synodo Arimin. &amp; S<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="faint" EXTENT="1 letter">leuc. Ep.</NOTE> you hear no more of <HI>Placuit</HI> then, but
delivereth her &s;elf, <HI>Credit Catholica Eccle&s;ia, The
Catholique Church beleeves.</HI> And this was done on
purpo&s;e, <HI>ut ostenderent quae ip&s;i &s;crip&s;i&s;&s;ent, non &s;ua
e&s;&s;e inventa, &s;ed Apostolorum Documenta;</HI> to de|clare,
<HI>That what they had written was not their
own Fiction, but the doctrine of the Apo&s;tles.</HI>
This was the wi&s;dom of that eminent Coun|cel.
As to the Marques his &s;uppo&s;ition, that
the Fathers particular Errors would be &s;wal|lowed
up in a General Councel, I grant it,
but certainly the Councel would be little the
better for them: it is not the reducing and in|corporating
many &s;everal Poy&s;ons into one
Bowl, can alter the venomous quality, or hinder
their operation; but it may be &s;aid, tho&s;e Poy|&s;ons
may meet with &s;o many benign Correcti|ons,
as will in all probability render them in|offen&s;ive:
true, I grant that too, but then it is
not their number will do it, for all that are <HI>in|nocent
as Doves are not as wi&s;e as Serpents,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> an ho|ne&s;t
meaning (&s;aith <HI>Nazianzen</HI>) keeps no Court
of Guard; and Here&s;ies if they cannot predo|minate
in power, they will undermine with
craft. At that General Councel of <HI>Ariminum,</HI>
branded by his Maje&s;ty for heretical, the farr
greater number were pious and orthodox men;
the <HI>Arrian</HI> party perceiving they could not out-vote
<PB N="5" REF="11">
them, re&s;olved (if po&s;&s;ible) to out-wit
them, and therefore moved in Councel, that,
<HI>whereas the</HI> Nicene <HI>Creed had brought in are word</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">
<HI>&s;ignifying, the &s;econd Per&s;on in the Trinity, to be
of the &s;ame &s;ubstance with his Father; which word
gave much offence to many, becau&s;e it was not to be
found in the Scriptures, and was very dark and intri|cate
in it &s;elf; that therefore it &s;hould thence forward be
forborn, and in&s;tead thereof &s;hould be in&s;erted, that the
Son is like unto his Father in all things, according to
the Scriptures.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Sozomen&punc; Hi&s;t. L. 4. c. 18.</NOTE> This &s;ly practice pa&s;&s;ed not undi&s;|cerned
to &s;o me of the quicker &s;ented Bi&s;hops,
who tooth and nail oppo&s;ed it; but others (yet
well-meaning men too) being per&s;waded by
&s;ome (whom the Heretiques had &s;uborned) that
the difference was not &s;o con&s;iderable, as wor|thy
to make an ab&s;olute breach in the point,
and that in effect there was as much implied in
what was added in&s;tead of that word; and
finding that the Emperour would tire them
out, if they did not yield at length, con&s;ented
to have that word omitted. Thus this Councel
erred by Circumvention, and that it erred is
enough for us, and again&s;t the Marques; for if
one erreth, another may, yea all may; and that
others have done &s;o too, his Maje&s;ty hath in&s;tan|ced,
which is to the Marqhes his &s;econd Rub.</P>
<P><HI>M.</HI> Nor is it enough that the Marques replies,
<HI>Tho&s;e Councels were called when the Church was un|der
Per&s;ecution;</HI> &s;eeing General Councels they
were &s;till (for all that) the five Patriarchs with
their &s;ubordinate Bi&s;hops being pre&s;ent, either
in Per&s;on or by Proxy.</P>
<P>M. And if we &s;hould &s;uppo&s;e them to be General
<PB N="6" REF="12">
and free Councels,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Anno 451</NOTE> yet they could not be erroneous in
any particular man's judgement, untill a like General
Councel &s;hould have concluded the former to be erro|neous.]
<HI>So that by his Lord&s;hips Rule, had not
the Councel of</HI> Calcedon, <HI>nor any other &s;ince,
condemned</HI> Eutyches <HI>for an Heretick, we mu&s;t all
have held to this day but one Nature in</HI> Christ.</P>
<P>[Wherefore if it &s;hould be granted that the
Church at any time had determined ami&s;s, yet
the Church cannot be &s;aid to have erred, be|cau&s;e
you mu&s;t not take the particular time for
the Catholique Church.] Sure if at that time
the Catholique Church did err, no after-act or
rectification can make it otherwi&s;e; and admit
&s;he once erred, it will follow, &s;he may err again,
and again; and that her &s;eeming rectification
may, what&s;oever is pretended, &s;werve as much
from the Truth, as her fir&s;t Error. [For as in
Civil affairs,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Regula fi|dei una omnino e&s;t &s;ola immo|bilis &amp; ir|reformabi|lis. Hac lege Fidei manente caetera di|&s;c plinae &amp; conver&s;a|tionis ad|mittunt novitatem correctio|nis&punc; Tert. de veland. Virg.</NOTE> the Parlaments alter their Laws
upon experience of pre&s;ent inconveniences, &s;o
the Councels change their Decrees according to
that further knowledge which the holy Writ
a&s;&s;ures us &s;hall increa&s;e in the latter end.] This
&s;imilitude mu&s;t infer a power in General Coun|cels
to change their Decrees and Canons, as
well as Parlaments their former Statutes; and I
yield that Power re&s;ident in them in matters of
outward Polity, and Government in the
Church; but that they have a power to decree
matters of Faith, which &s;hall binde the Church,
needs no other Confutation, than the allowing
them a power to change their Decrees. <HI>For the
Rule of Faith</HI> (as <HI>Tertullian</HI> &s;aith excellently) <HI>is
one onely, immoveable, and unreformable. This Law
<PB N="7" REF="12">
of Faith continuing firm, other matters of Di&s;cipline
and conver&s;ation admit the novelty of reformation.</HI></P>
<P>[If I recall mine own words, it is no Error,
but the avoidance of an Error.]</P>
<P>The recalling mine own words may be an
Error, as well as the avoidance of one; for a
man may err in retractation of what he hath
&s;aid, (as <HI>Bellarmine</HI> hath done more than once)
as well as in &s;aying what he retracts; but in one
place there mu&s;t of nece&s;&s;ity be an Error, &amp; light
that Error where it may, that Church which &s;o
erreth, I &s;hall be loath to tru&s;t with matters of
Faith. The la&s;t Rub in his Lord&s;hips way is &s;o
incon&s;iderable, as I &s;hall &s;tride over it, and ac|company
him to his Church.</P>
<P><HI>M.</HI> Fir&s;t, we hold the Real Pre&s;ence, you de|ny
it; we &s;ay, his Body is there; you &s;ay, there
is nothing but Bread.</P>
<P>Before I come to direct An&s;wer, I &s;hall briefly,
and I hope not impertinently, premi&s;e. Fir&s;t, it
is fit tho&s;e Oppo&s;ite Terms of We and You be|ing
&s;o con&s;iderable, &s;hould be further explain'd.
What is meant by We is little que&s;tion'd, the M.
certainly intends the <HI>Romi&s;h</HI> Church; what by
You he does not clearly re&s;olve us, till <HI>p.</HI> 159.
and there he tells us, in capital letters, 'tis
<HI>The Church of England;</HI> and indeed, writing <HI>En|gli&s;h</HI>
to an <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> King, (not Head, but) a Mem|ber,
(though the noble&s;t) of the <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> Church,
it cannot in rea&s;on be &s;uppo&s;ed he &s;hould under
that word You, point at any other than the
Church of <HI>England.</HI> So then the Church of
<HI>England</HI> is his Lord&s;hips You<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="faint" EXTENT="1 letter"> and being &s;o, it
is in my opinion a great blemi&s;h to his Honours
<PB N="8" REF="13">
Cau&s;e, to charge and accriminate a Church
with no le&s;s than Here&s;ie, and not with one
onely, but many, very many, and not produce
any one Book, or one Article, where tho&s;e He|re&s;ies
are to be found; but to accu&s;e a Church of
Here&s;ies which are no where to be found, (and
this he hath done very often) is a blemi&s;h to his
Honour, as well as to his Cau&s;e. What the Mar|ques
hath omitted in &s;etting down the Doctrine
of our Church, &s;hall be by me &s;upplied, and I
will do it with that ingenuous integrity,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Art. 28.</NOTE> that I
will not &s;uppre&s;s any one &s;yllable, which may
advantage her Adver&s;aries in the lea&s;t. And fir&s;t,
to the point of <HI>Christ's</HI> pre&s;ence. Thus <HI>[The Bo|dy
of</HI> Chri&s;t <HI>is given,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Art. 94.</NOTE> <HI>taken, and eaten in the Supper
onely after an heavenly and &s;piritual manner.]</HI> Ob|&s;erve,
here's the <HI>Body</HI> of <HI>Christ,</HI> &s;o &s;omething
more than bare bread;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Aug. con.</NOTE> then, it is <HI>given, taken,</HI>
and <HI>eaten;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Max. l. 3.</NOTE> if &s;o, 'tis there &s;ure; and <HI>verily</HI> and
<HI>indeed</HI> (as the Catechi&s;me hath it, and the Church
of <HI>Ireland) &s;ubstantially,</HI> wee'll grant that too; &s;o
that it had been much more for his Lord&s;hips
credit,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ser. 13.</NOTE> to have forborn the urging of this Real
Pre&s;ence again&s;t us.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Cant 2.</NOTE> <HI>Non opus erat ut ea contra nos
diceret, quae dicimus &s;ecum;</HI> why &s;hould he urge
that again&s;t us, which we a&s;&s;ert with him?
Well, but is there no difference between us?
Yes, a very great one <HI>Rome</HI> holds, <HI>a Tran&s;ubstan|tiation,
a Conver&s;ion of the whole &s;ubstance of the
Elements in the Sacrament into the very body and
bloud of</HI> Chri&s;t, as the Councel of <HI>Trent</HI> hath it;
why did the Marques &s;uppre&s;s this Tenet? Dur&s;t
he not own it? He is then no Papi&s;t, for what
that Councel hath determined, the Papi&s;ts do,
<PB N="9" REF="13">
and mu&s;t hold. On the other &s;ide, our Church
&s;aith, <HI>Christs body is there given, taken and eaten,
onely after an heavenly and &s;piritual manner.</HI> Now
you have heard what both &s;ides hold, wee'll
give the Marques his Scriptures leave to &s;peak
next. <HI>[Matth. 20. 26. Take, eat, this is my body.
Luke 22. 19. This is my body which is given for you.]</HI>
I can &s;ee <HI>Christ's</HI> body here indeed, but where's
the Conver&s;ion, the Tran&s;ub&s;tantiation the Pa|pi&s;ts
hold? I cannot &s;ee that: and though I can
&s;ee <HI>Christ's</HI> body there, yet there is &s;omething
el&s;e which &s;hould be there, I cannot &s;ee; and
that is, <HI>Do this in remembrance of me,</HI> which we
conceive is an evident Explanation of the My|&s;tery;
this his Lord&s;hip thought too hot for
him, &s;o that if we &s;tand to his carving, we &s;hall
be &s;ure to have that we have lea&s;t minde to.
Now let his Fathers be produced; <HI>Ignatius</HI> &s;aith,
<HI>The Eucharist is the fle&s;h of</HI> Chri&s;t;<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Ep. ad Smyrn.</NOTE> &s;o &s;ay we too,
and <HI>Ignatius</HI> tells you for all that,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ep. ad Philad.</NOTE> it is Bread
&s;till, and after Con&s;ecration too, both are in|deed
mo&s;t &s;ure, as Saint <HI>Hillary</HI> &s;aith exceeding
well, <HI>Figura est dum Panis &amp; Vinum extra videtur,
veritas autem dum corpus &amp; &s;anguis Christi in verita|te
interius creditur; It is the figure, whilest the
Bread and Wine are beheld outwardly; but the truth
it &s;elf, when the Body and Bloud are inwardly in
truth beleeved. Justin Martyr</HI> &s;aith, <HI>That after
Con&s;ecration, the Elements become the body and bloud
of</HI> Chri&s;t, <HI>who doubts of it?</HI> but &s;peaks not of
any Conver&s;ion of the &s;ub&s;tance, nay, &s;aith ex|pre&s;ly
in the &s;ame place, that <HI>the Deacons distri|bute
after con&s;ecration the bread and wine,</HI> clearly
implying, he thought not of any Tran&s;ub&s;tan|tiation,
<PB N="10" REF="14">
but that the Elements kept their &s;ub|&s;tance
&s;till. <HI>Cyprian</HI> and <HI>Ambro&s;e</HI> I confe&s;s &s;pake
the fir&s;t of a Change, the other of a Conver&s;i|on
of the Elements; but 'tis not of their &s;ub|&s;tance
neither, but onely of their u&s;e, <HI>Sunt quae
erant &amp; in aliud commutantur; They are &s;till what they
were before, but are changed in quality.</HI> Such a Con|ver&s;ion
we grant too; we hold the Elements af|ter
Con&s;ecration differ in u&s;e and virtue from
common Bread and Wine. <HI>Rhemigius</HI> &s;peaks not
of Conver&s;ion, if <HI>Christ's</HI> body be there, &s;ure his
fle&s;h is, and I never read of any other fle&s;h he
had, than what he took in the Virgins womb.
The difference is not whether <HI>Christ's</HI> body be
here, but how? And if I did not think it time
mi&s;-&s;pent, I could de&s;troy this carnal Doctrine
by the te&s;timony of twenty &s;everal Fathers,
who all under&s;tand the Pre&s;ence to be no other,
than as a Symbole, Type, figure, repre&s;entation,
&s;igne, image, likene&s;s, and memory of <HI>Christ's</HI>
body crucified upon the Cro&s;s; and as for
Tran&s;ub&s;tantiation, they never dreamt of &s;uch
a word, nor thought of &s;uch a thing. I will
onely in&s;tance in one, and I hope his word may
be taken,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gela&s;ius cont. Eutic. de duabus natur. Chr.</NOTE> becau&s;e a Pope: <HI>Non de&s;init &s;ubstantia vel
natura Panis &amp; Vini;</HI> The &s;ub&s;tance of Bread
and Wine is not changed or de&s;troyed. So <HI>Ge|la&s;ius.</HI></P>
<P><HI>M.</HI> We hold that there is in the Church an
infallible Rule for under&s;tanding of Scripture,
be&s;ides the Scripture it &s;elf; this you deny.</P>
<P>Our Church hath no where delivered her &s;elf
expre&s;ly in this point, yet I take it to be the Ge|neral
Doctrine of Prote&s;tants, that there is no
<PB N="11" REF="14">
other Rule be&s;ides Scripture, to under&s;tand
Scripture, that is infallible. For if Scripture be
an infallible Rule, why &s;hould we cumber our
&s;elves with more than one, unle&s;s this one were
hard to come by, or ea&s;ie to be lo&s;t. And it
&s;eems his Lord&s;hip thought Scripture was <HI>one</HI>
infallible Rule, when he &s;aid, there is <HI>another</HI>
be&s;ides it: and <HI>Bellarmine</HI> comes in with his <HI>Con|venit
inter nos &amp; omnes omnino haereticos.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Bellarm. l. 1. in prae&s;.</NOTE> <HI>In this
point we are all generally agreed, Heretiques and all;
that the Word of God is the Rule of Faith:</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">l. 1. c. 2. &s;ect. 5.</NOTE> and after
he tells you, why it mu&s;t be &s;o, becau&s;e <HI>a Rule
must be certain and known; for if it be not certain, it
is no Rule; and if not known, it is no Rule to us:
now there is nothing more certain or more known than
the Scriptures.</HI> Compare the Marques his infalli|ble
Rule of Traditions, with this &s;aying of <HI>Bel|larmine,</HI>
and it will appear they have little of a
Rule in them. For certainly, what is more un|certain?
When the Primitive Church it &s;elf,
within a hundred years after the Apo&s;tolical
Times, was &s;plit into that great Schi&s;m about
the Celebration of <HI>Easter,</HI> which was but a
meer Tradition, and was not reconciled till the
Councel of <HI>Nice.</HI> And for being known, no|thing
is le&s;s, &s;eeing in the very Church of <HI>Rome</HI>
they are not yet agreed which are Apo&s;tolical
Traditions.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Vide Suar. in part.</NOTE> The Scriptures he urgeth, are <HI>Rom.</HI>
12. 6. And there is a Rule of Faith I grant, and
an infallible one too,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Thom.</NOTE> but it is not <HI>praeter, be|&s;ides;</HI>
nor <HI>extra, without</HI> the Scripture, but that
mentioned in the Scriptures, <HI>Gal.</HI> 6. 16. there is a
Rule, but a Rule of Doctrine concerning Chri|&s;tian
Liberty in the point of Circumci&s;ion, no
<PB N="12" REF="15">
Rule of Faith, <HI>Rom.</HI> 6. 17. there is neither Rule,
nor Faith, but a form of Doctrine delivered to
them by the preaching of the Go&s;pel: what he
urged out of 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 10. 12, 16. is &s;o extremely
and gro&s;ly impertinent, as &s;ure when he ca&s;t his
eye upon that place, his Lord&s;hip was either
entring into, or newly rai&s;ed from &s;uch a nap
wherein the Doctor found him.</P>
<P><HI>M.</HI> But le&s;t we &s;hould mi&s;-under&s;tand what
this Rule of Faith is, the Marques tells us, [By
it, is not meant the holy Scriptures, for that
cannot do it, and he gives the Rea&s;on, while&s;t
there are un&s;table men who wre&s;t this way, and
that way to their own de&s;truction.] So that
Scripture is now with the Marques no infalli|ble
Rule at all, Traditions have outed her
clear; and the Rea&s;on inferreth plainly, that
we mu&s;t not walk abroad at high noon-day
without a Torch, becau&s;e &s;ome men notwith|&s;tanding
the Sun &s;hined clear, have fallen into a
Ditch. Of farr more weight I mu&s;t needs con|fe&s;s
are his Humane, than Divine Authorities,
which yet &s;hall not pa&s;s without my Animad|ver&s;ions.
<HI>Irenaeus lib. 4. c.</HI> 45. &s;peaking of tho&s;e
who &s;ucceeded the Apo&s;tles, &s;aith, <HI>Hi fidem no|&s;tram
custodiunt &amp; Scripturas &s;ine periculo expo|nunt;
The&s;e pre&s;erve our Faith, and expound the Scrip|tures,
without peril of error.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Quemad|modum audivi &agrave; quodam Presb. &amp;c.</NOTE> Ob&s;erve fir&s;t, 'tis <HI>hi,</HI> the&s;e
men, who were &s;o near the Apo&s;tles, as they
were in&s;tructed by tho&s;e who were contempo|raries
with them, as him&s;elf &s;ays. Then again 'tis
<HI>exponunt,</HI> they do expound, not that they are in|fallible,
or cannot expound otherwi&s;e; what is
this to the infallibility of the Church 1600
<PB N="13" REF="15">
years after <HI>Christ? Irenaeus</HI> is full enough in
this point, and point-blank again&s;t the Mar|ques,
<NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">Secund. Scripturas expo&s;itio legitima et minime periculo&s;a. ib. c. 63.</NOTE> <HI>To expound Scripture decording to Scripture, is
the truest way, and least perilous.</HI> As for <HI>Tertullian,</HI>
his meaning is thus made out,<NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">I&s;ta haere|&s;is non re|cipit qua&s;|dam Scri|pturas, et &s;i recipit non recipit integras, et &s;i integras diver&s;as Expo. &amp;c. Tert de Prae&s;cript. Tantum veritati ob&s;trepit adult. &s;en|&s;us quan|tum cor|rupt. eflyl. id. ib.</NOTE> The Heretiques
with whom the Church was to di&s;pute, <HI>did not
receive all Scriptures for Canonical; and tho&s;e they
did receive, intire they did not; or if intire, they
feigned &s;trange Interpretations of their own fancies;
and a corrupt &s;en&s;e prejudiceth Truth as much as a cor|rupt
Text: were they accu&s;ed for vitiating and fal&s;i|fying
the Text, or for introducing ab&s;ured Expo&s;itions,
They retorted the &s;ame Charge upon their Adver&s;a|ries.</HI>
In this ca&s;e of malicious ob&s;tinacy, the
Church had onely this remedy to provoke them
to declare who founded their Churches, for if
it appeared they were the Apo&s;tles, there was
no more to be &s;aid, it being in tho&s;e days<NOTE N="c" PLACE="marg">Con&s;tat omnem do|ctrinam quae cum illis eccle&s;i|is apo&s;toli|cis matri|cibus fides con&s;piret, veritati deputandam. ib.</NOTE> <HI>con|&s;tat,</HI>
and evidence enough of Truth, that their
Churches were of Apo&s;tolical foundation. As
for <HI>Vincentius</HI> having &s;poke before of the per|fection
of Scripture, with a <HI>&s;atis &s;uperque, that it
is all-&s;ufficient and to &s;pare;</HI> he &s;uppo&s;eth <HI>it may be
demanded, what need is there then of the Churches
&s;en&s;e?</HI> to which he an&s;wereth, <HI>becau&s;e all men un|derstand
it not in one &s;en&s;e and alike, therefore it is
nece&s;&s;ary</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>that the line of interpretation be
directed according to the rule of the Catholique and Ec|cle&s;iastical
&s;en&s;e.</HI> Now what is intended by a Ca|tholique
&s;en&s;e is the Que&s;tion, the Papi&s;ts will
have it to be Tradition unwritten; but we &s;ay,
it is that which the Univer&s;al Church hath al|ways
<PB N="14" REF="16">
held; for <HI>Vincentius</HI> explains his Catho|lique
to be that,<NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">Quod u|bi&abque;. quod &s;emper, quod ab omnibus creditum: c. 3.</NOTE> which always, every where,
and of all men hath been believed; and this Rule
we willingly admit in points e&s;&s;ential, where
variety and different &s;en&s;es are incon&s;i&s;tent;
but in other points of le&s;s concernment, we &s;ay
with Saint <HI>Augustin,</HI><NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">Quod ab exercondas mentes fi|delium in Scripturis &s;anctis ob&s;cure ponitur, gratulan|dum e&s;t &s;i|multis mo|dis non ta|men in&s;ipi|enter expo|natur.</NOTE> If any thing be &s;et down
in &s;acred Scriptures more ob&s;curely, as an exer|ci&s;e
for the mindes of Believers, it is commend|able
if it be interpreted many ways, provided
no way ab&s;urdly.</P>
<P><HI>M.</HI> In matters of Faith, <HI>Christ</HI> bids us do and
ob&s;erve what&s;oever they bid us, who &s;it in <HI>Mo&s;es</HI>
&s;eat, <HI>Matth.</HI> 23. 2. therefore there is &s;omething
more to be ob&s;erved than Scripture.</P>
<P>True, it is to be ob&s;erved, that his Lord&s;hip
here takes ob&s;erving and doing to be matters of
Faith, which I never read in Scripture, nor any
where el&s;e.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Aug. cont. Max. l. 3. c. 22.</NOTE> But are we to do what&s;oever they bid
us who &s;it in <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> &s;eat? Surely no; if they
have any Commi&s;&s;ion it is not greater than that
of <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> was,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">, Chry&s;. T. 5. de Leg. Nat.</NOTE> and his was after the tenour of
the words delivered him in the Mount, <HI>Exod.</HI>
34. 27. And therefore Chri&s;t &s;aith, <HI>In vain ye wor|&s;hip
me, teaching for Doctrines the Commandments of
men. Mat.</HI> 15. 9. [Wil you not as wel believe what
you hear <HI>Christ</HI> &s;ay, as what ye hear his Mini|&s;ters
write?] Yes &s;ure, and much more; for what
<HI>Christ</HI> &s;ays is truth it &s;elf, believe it I mu&s;t; but
what his Mini&s;ters write is many times erro|neous,
and then <HI>credat Judaeus Apella, non ego,</HI> be|lieve
it who will for me. Their Commi&s;&s;ion is
<HI>All things which I have commanded you.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Hom. 1. part. 2. Hom.</NOTE></P>
<P><HI>M.</HI> We &s;ay, the Scriptures are not ea&s;ie to be
<PB N="15" REF="16">
under&s;tood, you &s;ay they are.</P>
<P>Our Church &s;aith, it is full as well of low val|leys,
plain ways, and ea&s;ie for every man to
walk in, as al&s;o of high hills and mountains,
which few men can climb unto. And this the
Marques in a manner grants, <HI>p.</HI> 129. &s;aying, 'tis
ea&s;ie <HI>in aliquibus,</HI> but not <HI>in omnibus locis,</HI> in &s;ome
places, not every where.</P>
<P><HI>M.</HI> We &s;ay, this Church cannot err, you &s;ay,
it can.</P>
<P>What his Lord&s;hip means by this Church,
we might demand,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Page 79.</NOTE> had he not told us at fir&s;t to
what Church he would lead his Maje&s;ty, and
that was the <HI>Romi&s;h</HI> Church, of which our
Church makes no bones to &s;ay, <HI>It hath erred not
onely in living,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Art. 19.</NOTE> <HI>and matters of ceremonies, but al&s;o in
matters of faith.</HI> Here &s;he is I confe&s;s &s;omewhat
bolder with the Church of <HI>Rome</HI> than the Mar|ques
was with his Maje&s;ty. But perhaps the
Church of <HI>England</HI> (for &s;he is not infallible)
may err in her cen&s;ure of the <HI>Romi&s;h</HI> Church,
and his Lord&s;hip hopes to prove it out of Scri|pture;
<HI>If you neglect to hear this Church, you &s;hall be
a Heathen and a Publican, Matth.</HI> 18. 17. This
Church in the Marques his &s;en&s;e is the Church
of <HI>Rome;</HI> and I grant it is, but not the Church
of <HI>Rome</HI> onely, for it is as well the <HI>Engli&s;h,</HI> the
<HI>French,</HI> the <HI>Geneva,</HI> or any other particular
Church: and admit it were onely the Church
of <HI>Rome,</HI> yet the matters wherein that Church is
to be obeyed, are not Articles of Faith neither;
the very Text tells us, it is onely in points of
&s;candal and breach of unity, in civil matters.
His next Scripture is, <HI>Ephe&s;.</HI> 5. 27. where the
<PB N="16" REF="17">
<HI>Church &s;hall be pre&s;ented unto</HI> Chri&s;t <HI>a glorious
Church, not having &s;pot or wrinkle.</HI> Here is a Church
I yield, that cannot err; but it is not the <HI>Romi&s;h</HI>
Catholique Church;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Salmer. in ep. ad Rom. Part. 2. di&s;p. 1.</NOTE> no, neither <HI>Romi&s;h,</HI> nor
Catholique: if his Lord&s;hip means the Catho|lique
militant Church, for it is a Church that
can neither err, nor &s;in, <HI>without &s;pot;</HI> and there|fore
their own <HI>Salmeron</HI> &s;ays, <HI>It must be under|&s;tood
of the Triumphant Church;</HI> and if his Lord|&s;hip
thought otherwi&s;e,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Aug. de Haere&s;.</NOTE> <HI>Augustine</HI> would have
told him he was a <HI>Pelagian.</HI></P>
<P><HI>M.</HI> We &s;ay the Church hath been always vi&s;i|ble,
you deny it.</P>
<P>Our Church &s;aith nothing of this Point;
and therefore if I &s;ay any thing, it mu&s;t be <HI>ex
abundanti dictum,</HI> more than Covenants; yet
&s;omething I will &s;ay, and &s;omething &s;hall <HI>Libe|rius</HI>
&s;ay too, as<NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">Salmeron in Luc. Tract. 23.</NOTE> <HI>Salmeron</HI> quoteth him, replying
to <HI>Constantius</HI> his boa&s;t of the multitude of
<HI>Arrians, Non refert numerum e&s;&s;e magnum, aut par|vum,
nam Judaeorum Eccle&s;ia in Babylone constituta ad
tres pueros redacta fuit; No matter whether the number
be &s;mall or great, for the Jewi&s;h Church in Babylon
was reduced to three.</HI> And at this time <HI>Liberius</HI>
was Pope of <HI>Rome;</HI> and becau&s;e I am faln upon
this time, I would gladly have an an&s;wer where
the Vi&s;ibility of the <HI>Romi&s;h</HI> Church was (unle&s;s
they mean a Vi&s;ibility of Here&s;ie) when <HI>Liberius</HI>
him&s;elf excommunicated <HI>Athana&s;ius,</HI> and turn'd
<HI>Arrian?</HI> Nay more, and to the very point, where
was the Vi&s;ibility of the Catholique and true
Church it &s;elf at that time, but onely in that
Pillar of Faith<NOTE N="c" PLACE="marg">Atha. ad &s;olit. vitam agent. <GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="faint" EXTENT="1 letter">p.</NOTE> <HI>Athana&s;ius?</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Orat. 12.</NOTE> I confe&s;s <HI>Nazianzen</HI>
&s;ays his Church had it <GAP DESC="foreign"> <HI>most &s;ingular to it
<PB N="17" REF="17">
&s;elf,</HI> to be pre&s;erved from drowning in the <HI>Arrian</HI>
Deluge, but the vi&s;ible &s;hock and &s;torm of Per|&s;ecution,
no man &s;toutly with&s;tood and over|came,
but <HI>Athana&s;ius</HI> onely. His Fathers, <HI>Origen</HI>
in <HI>Matth. hom.</HI> 30. &s;aith, <HI>The Church is full of light,</HI>
but that light is <HI>fulgor veritatis,</HI> he him&s;elf tells
us &s;o, <HI>the brightne&s;s of Truth,</HI> no external &s;plen|dor:
what's this to a vi&s;ible Church? <HI>Cyprian,</HI>
the Church of God encompa&s;&s;ed with light,
&s;heds her beams through all the World <HI>Cyprian's</HI>
light is like <HI>Origen's,</HI> an inward light too, and
were it (as the Sun) an outward Light, it would
not &s;hine always in every Horizon, and where
it doth &s;hine it may &s;ometimes be eclip&s;ed.
<HI>Chry&s;ost. Hom. 4. in E&s;ay.</HI> 6. &s;peaketh of the dura|tion
and perpetuity, not of the Vi&s;ibility of the
Church, and &s;aith, It is ea&s;ier for the Sun's light
to be extingui&s;hed, than for the Church utterly
to be de&s;troy'd; or if you will <GAP DESC="foreign">, to di&s;|appear,
&s;o &s;aith <HI>Chry&s;ostome,</HI> and &s;o &s;ay we too:
the Church wil be always vi&s;ible, for an Invi&s;ibi|lity
we hold not ab&s;olutly, but comparatively, it
may be reduced to &s;o incon&s;iderable a number as
in regard of the paucity and fewne&s;s of the
Profe&s;&s;ors the World will not own it under the
notion of a Church. Again, Per&s;ecution may
&s;o controul the outward Profe&s;&s;ion of the Go|&s;pel,
that nothing belonging to external Go|vernment,
Di&s;cipline, and Exerci&s;e of the Mi|ni&s;tery
&s;hall be performed otherwi&s;e than by
&s;tealth, and in a clande&s;tine way. <HI>Augustine</HI>
&s;peakes of the Vi&s;ibility of the Church in his
time, that it was then vi&s;ible not that it had
been before, or &s;hould be after him always &s;o vi|&s;ible.</P>
<P><PB N="18" REF="18">
<HI>M.</HI> We hold the perpetual univer&s;ality of the
Church, and that the Church of <HI>Rome</HI> is &s;uch a
Church; you deny it.</P>
<P>Our Church denieth not the Catholique or
univer&s;al Church,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Artic. 8.</NOTE> 'tis an Article of the three
Creeds, &s;he holds; That the <HI>Romi&s;h</HI> is &s;uch a
Church, &s;he doth deny, becau&s;e 'tis in none of
their Creeds; and yet if it be in the Scripture,
I dare promi&s;e for her, &s;he &s;hall and will believe
it. As to that place of <HI>P&s;alm. 2. 8. I will give thee
the Heathen for thine Inheritance, and the uttermost
parts of the Earth for thy Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion.</HI> It is a mo&s;t
clear Prediction of the calling of the Gentiles,
and that all the World &s;hall be &s;ubdued by the
power of the Go&s;pel; &s;o here's an Univer&s;ality
of <HI>Christ's</HI> Kingdom, but not of the <HI>Romi&s;h</HI>
Church. But I confe&s;s the mi&s;chief is, here is a
<HI>Tibi dabo, I will give thee,</HI> and where&s;oever the
Church of <HI>Rome</HI> findes that, &s;he takes all for
her own that follows. Let us ob&s;erve now, <HI>Rom.</HI>
1. 8. <HI>I thank my God, that your Faith is &s;poken of
throughout the whole World.</HI> That is, to all the
World it is publi&s;hed, that <HI>Rome</HI> hath embraced
the Chri&s;tian Faith. Is &s;he the Catholique
Church becau&s;e of that? &s;ure, this Text no
way enforceth any &s;uch Illation; for we are
told as much of the Church of <HI>The&s;&s;alonica,</HI>
1 <HI>The&s;&s;.</HI> 1. 8. that <HI>their Faith to God-ward is &s;pread
abroad in every place;</HI> and then we mu&s;t mend our
Creed, and &s;ay, I believe the two Catholique
Churches, that of <HI>The&s;&s;alonica,</HI> and that of <HI>Rome.</HI>
For his human Authorities, take this note by
the way, and they are &s;oon cleared; The Pri|mitive
Church held, that con&s;ent and unity in
<PB N="19" REF="18">
Doctrine made all Churches in truth to be One,
however di&s;tingui&s;hed by names;<NOTE PLACE="marg">L. 4. c. 2.</NOTE> <HI>The Church of</HI>
Chri&s;t <HI>is One,</HI> &s;aith <HI>Cyprian, divided into &s;everal
Members through the whole World:</HI> and this Unity
made them al not only One, but Apo&s;tolical and
Primitive al&s;o;<NOTE PLACE="marg">De prae&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="faint" EXTENT="1 letter">r.</NOTE> for <HI>Omnes primae, omnes Apostoli|cae,
dum unam omnes probant unitatem,</HI> &s;aith <HI>Tertulli|an,</HI>
All were Primitive, all Apo&s;tolical, while&s;t
all &s;hewed the &s;ame Unity: yea, and it made all
Churches (though otherwi&s;e particular) Catho|lique
too.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Athana&s;.</NOTE> Therefore the Church of <HI>Alexandria</HI>
was called the Catholique Church by <HI>Ar&s;enius;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Apol 2.</NOTE>
&s;o <HI>Augustine</HI> was <HI>Catholicae Eccle&s;iae Epi&s;copus,</HI> Bi|&s;hop
of that Church which held the Catholique
Faith; and in this &s;en&s;e <HI>Rome</HI> was anciently
&s;tiled the Catholique Church. So it was truly
&s;aid by <HI>Hierome, It is all one to &s;ay, the</HI> Roman
<HI>Faith, and the Catholique Faith:</HI> but though it
was true then, it is not true now; for the Then
and Now <HI>Roman</HI> Church, are two.</P>
<P><HI>M.</HI> We hold the Unity of the Church to be
nece&s;&s;ary in all points of Faith, you deny it.</P>
<P>Our Church is here &s;ilent, yet an Unity the
Prote&s;tants hold too in e&s;&s;ential matters of
Faith, and hold it &s;o, that if this Unity be a
Note of the true Church, they have there much
the odds of <HI>Rome.</HI></P>
<P><HI>M.</HI> We hold that every Mini&s;ter of the Church
(e&s;pecially the &s;upreme Mini&s;ter, or Head there|of)
&s;hould be in a capacity of fungifying his
Office in preaching the Go&s;pel, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> you de|ny
it.</P>
<P>How his Lord&s;hip makes the Church do Pe|nance,
and puts her, head and heels together;
<PB N="20" REF="19">
for how the &s;upreme Head can properly be a Mi|ni&s;ter
of that Church whereof it is Head, pa&s;&s;eth
my under&s;tanding: what our Church denieth,
is this.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Art. 23</NOTE> <HI>It is not lawfull for any man to take upon him
the Office of publique Preaching or ministring the Sa|craments
in the Congregation, before he be lawfully cal|led,
and &s;ent to execute the &s;ame.</HI> And this is all his
Lord&s;hip's Text urgeth.</P>
<P><HI>M.</HI> Nor we onely deny it, &s;aith the Marques,
but &s;o as that our Church hath maintained and
practi&s;ed it a long time; for a Woman to be
Head, or &s;upreme <HI>Moderatrix</HI> in the Church, and
many have been hanged, drawn, and quartered
for not acknowledging of it.</P>
<P>I have read indeed of &s;ome &s;uch Women as
his Lord&s;hip &s;peaks of, one in <HI>Revel.</HI> 17. 1. and
by her fine cloaths, <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 4. &s;he &s;hould be a Queen,
and as a Queen I am told &s;he &s;its, <HI>chap. 18. ver&s;.</HI> 7.
I will not &s;ay what that Queen is, for fear I
procure my &s;elf ill will.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Martinus Polonus, Marianus Scotus, &amp;c.</NOTE> Another who fir&s;t
made <HI>Rome</HI> the Mother-church. And another
in <HI>England</HI> called Qu. <HI>Mary,</HI> who u&s;ed that Ti|tle
of Head of the Church,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Statutes of Queen <HI>Mary.</HI></NOTE> and no offence ta|ken
at it, having been conferr'd upon her Fa|ther
by Act of Parlament in the time of Pope|ry;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Cambdeni Apparatus ad Hi&s;t.</NOTE>
but her Si&s;ter <HI>Eli&s;abeth</HI> thought it enough to
be called &s;upreme Governe&s;s; who were mar|tyr'd
for not acknowledging her &s;o,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eliz. idem Hi&s;t.</NOTE> neither
can I, nor doth his Lord&s;hip tell.</P>
<P>I &s;hall &s;ay little to his Lord&s;hip's points of
Ab&s;olution and Confe&s;&s;ion, their practi&s;e is ve|ry
antient and commendable, and as in other
ca&s;es, our Church leaves them arbitrary, &s;o in
&s;ome &s;he injoyns them. For Ab&s;olution you
<PB N="21" REF="19">
may &s;ee her form pre&s;cribed in the Liturgy in
the Vi&s;itation of the Sick, for Confe&s;&s;ion the
Rubrick Paragraph 2. before the Commu|nion.</P>
<P><HI>M.</HI> We hold men may do Works of Super|erogation,
this you deny.</P>
<P>Had not Supererogation (or Superarrogancy
rather) been a &s;aucy and malepert Tenet, it
might have given, in good manners, the Po&s;&s;i|bility
of keeping the Commandments to have
been before it; for &s;ure we &s;hould in rea&s;on be
out of Gods debt before we bring him into
ours. But we mu&s;t take it as we finde it, nor am
I a&s;hamed to own what our Church holds, <HI>viz.
Voluntary Works be&s;ides,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Art. 14.</NOTE> <HI>over and above God's
Commandments, which they call Works of Superero|gation,
cannot be taught without arrogancy and impie|ty;</HI>
and &s;he rea&s;ons from <HI>Christ,</HI> &s;aying plain|ly,
<HI>When ye have done all that are commanded to you,
&s;ay, We are unprofitable Servants.</HI> His Lord&s;hip
voucheth onely one &s;ingle Text, and that of the
Vow (as he takes it) of &s;ingle life. But I ob|&s;erve,
<HI>All hear not that &s;aying, but they to whom it is
given;</HI> &s;o then it is a gift, &amp; if we return no more
than was given, where's the Supererogation?
and whereas the Marques tells us it is no Com|mandment,
had he con&s;ulted with the Greek
Grammar, he would have found <GAP DESC="foreign"> let
him receive it, in the Imperative Mood; and
therefore <HI>Athana&s;ius</HI> calleth it,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Apol. ed Con&s;tant.</NOTE> <HI>Caeleste aeternae
virginitatis mandatum,</HI> the heavenly command|ment
of perpetual virginity. The Fathers were,
I grant, much enamored with the vow of con|tinency,
as a condition of life more agreeable
<PB N="22" REF="20">
to the &s;ervice of God, than the coupled &s;tate
u&s;ually is; but they never thought it a work
meritorious, much le&s;s able to &s;upererogate at
God's hand. If they held any &s;uch opinion, the
Marques &s;hould have told us their words, for
the places urged and quoted, demon&s;trate no
&s;uch thing.</P>
<P><HI>M.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Art. 10.</NOTE> We &s;ay, we have free will, you deny it.</P>
<P>Our Church &s;aith, <HI>We have no power to do
goodworks, plea&s;ant, and acceptable to God, without
the Grace of God by</HI> Chri&s;t, <HI>preventing us that we
may have a good will, and working with us when we
have that good will.</HI> So then, we deny not all free
will, not a free will to evil, but to good: for
the Apo&s;tle &s;peaking of us in an unregenerate
&s;tate,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ephe&s;. 2. v. 5.</NOTE> &s;aith, <HI>When we were dead in &s;in, God hath
quickened us together with</HI> Chri&s;t; &s;o that there is
death fir&s;t, a total di&s;ability in us to good;
then there is the new birth, quickned with <HI>Christ;</HI>
without this we live, neither the life of faith,
nor of works; not of faith, for <HI>Who&s;oever be|lieves
is born of God, 1 John</HI> 5. 1. not of works,
for <HI>Who&s;oever loveth is born of God</HI> al&s;o, 1 <HI>John</HI> 4.
7. His Lord&s;hip's three Texts oppo&s;e not what
we &s;ay,<NOTE PLACE="marg">b Deus ideo iubet ali|qua quae non po&s;&s;u|mus, ut no|verimus quid ab ip&s;o petere d<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="faint" EXTENT="1 letter">beamus.</NOTE> 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 7. 37. The Apo&s;tle &s;peaks of a
thing in its own nature indifferent, and in &s;uch
things free will we deny not. <HI>Deut.</HI> 30. 11.
Though Life and Death be there propounded
to our choice, yet doth it not follow that the
power of chu&s;ing Life and Death is our own;
and if any &s;ay with <HI>Pelagius,</HI><NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">Non iube|ret Deus quod &s;oiret ab homi|ne non po&s;&s;e fieri.</NOTE> God would not
command what he knew we could not per|form;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Aug. d. Grat. &amp; l. Arb c. 16.</NOTE>
my An&s;wer is, with <HI>Augustine,</HI> q God com|mands
&s;ome things more than we can do; to
<PB N="23" REF="20">
teach us what we are to crave at his hands,
<HI>Matth.</HI> 23. 37. We reade, that the children of <HI>Je|ru&s;alem</HI>
would not be gathered together, which
argueth a perver&s;ity and freene&s;s of will to di&s;|obey
<HI>Christ,</HI> to obey him no power at all of our
&s;elves. [But there might (&s;aith his Lord&s;hip)
<HI>have been a willingne&s;s as well as an unwillingne&s;s, el&s;e</HI>
Chri&s;t <HI>had wept in vain.]</HI> True, and there had
been a willingne&s;s, no doubt, had God will'd
their gathering by his &s;ecret, and efficacious, as
well as by his revealed wil. To his Fathers. A fol|ly
it is to deny, they, many of them, expre&s;t
them&s;elves &s;omewhat loo&s;ly in this point, &amp; ha|ving
to deal with tho&s;e Philo&s;ophers who held
the fatal nece&s;&s;ity of all things, went &s;o far on
the other &s;ide, in advancing free will, as they
were in the ditch of error before they minded
it; yea, <HI>Austin</HI> him&s;elf was a while in it, till
<HI>Pelagius</HI> with his Here&s;ie rou&s;ed him to look up,
and di&s;cover where he was: <HI>Austin</HI> being awake,
fir&s;t cals up the Church, who upon &s;erious con&s;i|deration,
finding her Doctrine in this particular
warped &s;omewhat from the Truth, by the heat
of Di&s;putation, &s;ets all tho&s;e right in two emi|nent
Councels; fir&s;t, of <HI>Milevis,</HI> where &s;he &s;aith,
<NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">Dominus non ait sine me diffici|lius pote|&s;iis facere, &s;ed fine me nihil pote|&s;tis facere. Conc. Mi|levit. ca. 3.</NOTE> <HI>God &s;aith not, it is harder for you to do without me,
John 15. 5. but without me ye can do nothing at all.</HI>
Then, that of <HI>Orange,</HI><NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">Divini muneris e&s;t quum pe|dis no&s;tres ab iniqui|tate decli|nemus. Conc. A|rau&s;icanum 2d. Anno 444.</NOTE> <HI>It is the gift of God, when
we turn away our &s;teps from wickedne&s;s.</HI></P>
<P><HI>[We hold it po&s;&s;ible to keep the Commandments, you
hold it impo&s;&s;ible]</HI> We do not hold it impo&s;&s;ible to
keep the Commandments, we have kept them
all; we hold it is po&s;&s;ible, for &s;ome of them by
&s;ome to be lo&s;t; for we mi&s;s the &s;econd out of
<PB N="24" REF="21">
the fir&s;t Table, in the Popi&s;h Bibles: but as
touching ob&s;erving the Commandments, we
hold it impo&s;&s;ible, for any man in what &s;tate &s;o|ever,
to ob&s;erve any one, much le&s;s all, &s;hould
God be extreme to mark what is done ami&s;s:
yet we hold too, that in &s;ome &s;ort the whole
Law may be fulfilled; and that is, in Saint <HI>Au|gustines</HI>
&s;en&s;e,<NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">Omnia mandatae Dei facta e&s;&s;e depu|tantur quando quicquid non fit ig|no&s;citar. Retract. l. 1. c. 19.</NOTE> All <HI>the Commandments are then ac|counted
ob&s;erved, when what is defective in our obedi|ence,
is forgiven.</HI> The Scripture <HI>Luke</HI> 1. 6. urged
by his Lord&s;hip, was produced long &s;ince by <HI>Pe|lagius,</HI>
and <HI>Augustines</HI> An&s;wer &s;hall be mine,
<NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">Eminenti Ju&s;titiae &s;uit Za|charias, qui tamen ne|ce&s;&s;itatem habebat &s;acrificium primitus pro &s;uis peccatis offerre.</NOTE> Zachary <HI>was a man of &s;ingular &s;anctity, yet was it
nece&s;&s;ary for him to offer &s;acrifice, first for his own
&s;ins, Hebr.</HI> 7. 28. So then, if <HI>Zachary</HI> had &s;ins, he
kept not all the Commandments, for &s;in is but
the tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion of the Law. But it is &s;aid,
1 <HI>John 5. 3. His Commandments are not grievous:</HI>
nor are they; but are his Commandments there
&s;poken of the Moral Law? a&s;&s;uredly No. Saint
<HI>John</HI> will tell you clearly what they are, <HI>chap 3.
v. 23. That we &s;hould believe on the Name of his Son</HI>
Je&s;us Chri&s;t, <HI>And love one another.</HI> Nor can we
fulfill the&s;e Commandments, but we mu&s;t fir&s;t
be born of God, <HI>v. 1. &amp; chap.</HI> 4. 7. So that an un|regenerat
per&s;on will not be able to &s;et a &s;tep
forward to that performance; nor can our new
birth render us &s;o perfect, as to &s;ay, we have not
&s;inned; for that were <HI>to make God a Lyar. 1 John</HI>
1. 10. The Marques &s;aith, the Fathers are for us.
But if they be, why then did he not cite their
words, as well as vouch the places; but I fear 'tis
otherwi&s;e, for I cannot make out, no not by con|jecture,
what either <HI>Origen,</HI> or <HI>Cyril,</HI> or <HI>Hillary</HI>
<PB N="25" REF="21">
hath to his advantage. <HI>Hierome</HI> indeed &s;aith,<NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">In no&s;tra pote&s;tate po&s;itum e&s;e vel peccare vel non peccare. l. 3. con. Pclag.</NOTE> <HI>It is
in our power either to &s;in or not to &s;in,</HI> but it is with
this caution, and <HI>Salvo pro conditione fragilitatis
humanae, as far as human frailty will admit.</HI> And
how little <HI>Hierome</HI> is for them, his Commentary
upon the <HI>Galatians, ch.</HI> 3. will inform us, where
he &s;aith,<NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">Neminem po&s;&s;e exple|re legem &amp; facere cun|cta quae ju&s;&s;a &s;unt,</NOTE> <HI>No man can fulfill the Law, and perform all
things which are commanded.</HI></P>
<P><HI>M.</HI> We &s;ay, Faith cannot ju&s;tifie without
Works; you &s;ay, good Works are not ab&s;olute|ly
nece&s;&s;ary to &s;alvation.</P>
<P>Here the Marques &s;lides from the point, and
wilfully leaves his old wont of challenging our
oppo&s;ition; for whereas he &s;hould have &s;aid,
<HI>You &s;ay, Faith alone can justifie;</HI> he tells us here,
we &s;ay, good Works are not ab&s;olutely nece&s;&s;a|ry
to &s;alvation. Nece&s;&s;ary to &s;alvation is one
thing, nece&s;&s;ary to ju&s;tification another: &s;al|vation
and ju&s;tification are different things, one
is the cau&s;e, the other the effect. We hold good
Works are nece&s;&s;ary to &s;alvation, but not ab&s;o|lutely.
The Thief upon the Cro&s;s was &s;aved
without them; thou&s;ands who believe and are
prevented by Death before their Faith can &s;hew
it &s;elf in Works, are &s;aved without them; In|fants
dying are &s;aved without them; &s;o they are
not ab&s;olutely nece&s;&s;ary, no not to &s;alvation;
but to ju&s;tification they are not &s;o much as ne|ce&s;&s;ary:
for as our Church &s;aith, <HI>We are justified
by faith onely;</HI> this will appear, fir&s;t by con&s;ider|ing
what things are required to ju&s;tification,
and tho&s;e are three;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Art. 11.</NOTE> <HI>fir&s;t, God's great mercy and
grace;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Hom. of Ju&s;tif. 1.</NOTE> <HI>&s;econdly,</HI> Chri&s;t's <HI>Justice in &s;atisfying and
paying our ran&s;ome, and fulfilling the Law for us;
<PB N="26" REF="22">
lastly, by a true and lively faith in Gods free grace, and</HI>
Chri&s;t's <HI>merits.</HI> So that good works are clearly
outed. Secondly, faith alone ju&s;tifieth without
works, becau&s;e we are ju&s;tified by faith before
we can do good works,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sequuntur iu&s;tifica|tum non precedunt iu&s;tifican|dum. Aug. de fid. &amp; op. c. 14.</NOTE> and works are not good
till ju&s;tifying faith makes them &s;o. But though
faith alone ju&s;tifieth without works, yet it can|not
be alone and without them, for impo&s;&s;ible
it is for any man to believe God will be grati|ous
to him, and that <HI>Christ's</HI> righteou&s;ne&s;s and
merits &s;hall be ever imputed to him, who at
that in&s;tant of believing, doth not &s;eriou&s;ly
and unfainedly re&s;olve to obey, and ob&s;erve to
his uttermo&s;t all God's Commandments. The
places of Scripture alleadged by the Marques
again&s;t our <HI>Faith alone without Works,</HI> are; fir&s;t,
1 <HI>Cor. 13. 2. Though I have all Faith, and have no
Charity, I am nothing.</HI> There is faith indeed, but
no ju&s;tifying faith, <HI>'tis the faith of miracles,</HI> Saint
<HI>Paul</HI> tells us &s;o, <HI>chap. 12. v.</HI> 9. The faith mention|ed,
<HI>Luke 17. 8. of removing mountains,</HI> and &s;o the
Apo&s;tle would have told us in this very Text,
had not his Lord&s;hip, by what faith I know
not, removed tho&s;e mountains, tho&s;e words
out of his way. Secondly, <HI>James 2. v. 24. By works
a man is justified, and not by faith onely.</HI> This I con|fe&s;&s;e
is an eminent place, and hath exerci&s;ed the
wits of all Expo&s;itors how to reconcile it to
that of Saint <HI>Paul, Rom. 3. 28. A man is justified
by faith without the deeds of the Law.</HI> Many have
gone &s;everal ways, and &s;ome not the right. <HI>Lu|ther</HI>
having beaten his brains about it a good
while, at la&s;t threw the whole Epi&s;tle of Saint
<HI>James</HI> out of the Volume of Canonical Scrip|ture.
<PB N="27" REF="22">
<HI>Hugo Grotius,</HI> that great Scholar of the
latter Age, hath taken it to task by it &s;elf, and
hath indeed &s;hewn great Reading, but I confe&s;&s;e
as to the elucidation and clearing of the diffi|culty,
he makes me no wi&s;er than I was before:
and indeed, after all hath been &s;aid <HI>Aquinas</HI> his
&s;en&s;e will I think have mo&s;t voices, that good
works ju&s;tifie, <HI>declarative, by declaring our faith be|fore
men,</HI> not, <HI>offective,</HI> by <HI>making us just before God.</HI></P>
<P><HI>M.</HI> This opinion of yours Saint <HI>Augustine</HI>
&s;aith, <HI>l. de fid. &amp; op. c.</HI> 14. was an old Here&s;ie.</P>
<P><HI>Augustine</HI> mentions it not as an Here&s;ie, but
onely &s;aith, that in the Apo&s;tles time &s;ome mi&s;|under&s;tanding
that place of <HI>Paul, Rom. 5. Where
&s;in abounded, there grace &s;uperaboundeth,</HI> thought
faith onely nece&s;&s;ary to &s;alvation, and therefore
neglected moral duties, and &s;anctity of life;
and this we call the high way to Hell, as well as
<HI>Augustine, Hillary</HI> in his 7. chapter or canon up|on
<HI>Matth.</HI> hath nothing tending to ju&s;tification,
either &s;olitary without, or a&s;&s;ociated with
works, but <HI>can.</HI> 8. he is expre&s;ly at, <HI>Fides &s;ola justi|ficat,
Faith alone justifieth. Ambro&s;e</HI> &s;aith, Eternal
re&s;t belongeth to tho&s;e who have that faith <HI>Quae
per dilectionem operatur, which worketh together by
charity.</HI> So <HI>Ambro&s;e,</HI> and &s;o &s;ay we.</P>
<P><HI>M.</HI> We hold good works to be meritorious,
you deny it; we have Scripture for it.</P>
<P>Our Church &s;aith,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Hom. 1. part of &s;alvat. 1.</NOTE> <HI>All the good works that we
can do be imperfect, and therefore not able to de&s;erve
our justification.</HI> His Lord&s;hip produceth out of
Scripture, <HI>Matth. 16. 27. He &s;hall reward every man
according to his works.</HI> An&s;wer, I confe&s;&s;e our
Tran&s;lation gives it &s;o, but the word in the ori|ginal
<PB N="28" REF="23">
is not He will reward, but <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>He
will render.</HI> But though reward be not there, yet
<HI>Matth.</HI> 5. 12. 'tis &s;aid, <HI>Great is your reward in Hea|ven,</HI>
and there is <HI>reward,</HI> and <HI>great reward</HI> too;
and the Marques inferreth that Reward in the
end, pre&s;uppo&s;eth merit in the work: but &s;ure
it is no general Rule; for when the Laborers
were called, <HI>Matth.</HI> 20. 8. to receive their <GAP DESC="foreign">,
or Wages, (for it is the &s;ame word both there
and here) The Steward gave to him that
wrought but one hour a penny, which was <GAP DESC="foreign">,
the wages for the whole day, was this
work of an hour adequate to, or did it earn that
wages?<NOTE PLACE="marg">Deut coro|nat dona &s;ua non opera no|&s;tra.</NOTE> Again, this Reward is not &s;uch to
which the Lord is tyed by any precontract, but
it proceedeth from his meer grace. La&s;tly, could
the Work merit the Reward? it is but &s;till <HI>God
crowns his own gifts,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">T. 3. de Sa|cram. Bapt. l. 1. c. 6.</NOTE> <HI>not our works,</HI> as <HI>Augustine</HI>
&s;aith. But if it be true what the Apo&s;tle &s;aith,
That <HI>the &s;ufferings of this life</HI> (even Martyrdom it
&s;elf) <HI>which remitteth all &s;ins both original and actual,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Sic opera|tur iu&s;tifi|cationem in Sanctis &s;uis in hu|jus vitae tentatione laboranti|bus, ut ta|men &s;it quod peten|tibus lar|giter adji|ciat &amp; confitenti|bus cle|menter igno&s;cat.</NOTE>
<HI>and which justifieth</HI> ex opere operato, <HI>by the very
act of &s;uffering</HI> (if <HI>Bellarmine</HI> may be believed) are
not worthy of the joys which &s;hall be revealed
hereafter, what will become of his Lord&s;hips
merits? He &s;aith, The Fathers were of his opi|nion.
But the fir&s;t <HI>Tract. de Apolog. David.</HI> wants
a Father, it being clearly &s;purious, <HI>Hierome</HI> hath
nothing to the purpo&s;e, and <HI>Augustine</HI> is &s;o clear
of another minde, that the whole chapter is lit|tle
el&s;e but a confutation of the Doctrine of Me|rits,
<HI>God</HI> &s;aith he, <HI>&s;o worketh justification in his
Saints, whilest they are cumbered with the temptati|ons
of this life, as he hath &s;till &s;omewhat to add to
<PB N="29" REF="23">
them who ask, and &s;omewhat to remit to tho&s;e who are
penitent.</HI></P>
<P>We hold that faith once had may be lo&s;t, if
we have not a care to pre&s;erve it, you &s;ay it can,
it cannot.</P>
<P>Our Church hath determined nothing in this
point,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Art. 34.</NOTE> yet becau&s;e their &s;i&s;ter of <HI>Ireland</HI> affirm|eth,
<HI>That a true lively ju&s;tifying faith is not extin|gui&s;hed,
nor vani&s;heth away in the regenerate, either
finally, or totally.</HI> I &s;hall for this time own her
Tenet, and con&s;ider the validity of his Lord|&s;hips
Texts: and fir&s;t for <HI>Luke 8. 13. They on the
Rock, are they which when they hear receive the
Word with joy, which for a while believe, and in time
of temptation fall away.</HI> An&s;wer, the faith menti|oned
there was but a fal&s;e conception, no li|ving,
no ju&s;tifying faith. But I &s;ee the Marques
hath left part of the Text behinde him, and
left that be lo&s;t, as well as faith, I will for this
time bring it after him; the words are, <HI>And
the&s;e have no root,</HI> evidently implying, the rea&s;on
why that &s;eed took no better, but was &s;corched
with the heat of per&s;ecution, was that it took
no root. Now for 1 <HI>Tim. 1. 18, 19. Which &s;ome
having put away, have made &s;hipwrack of their faith.]</HI>
An&s;wer, the faith there &s;poken of is not ju&s;ti|fying
faith, nay, &s;o far from it, as it is not &s;o
much as the faith of a&s;&s;ent, to the general pro|mi&s;es
of God revealed in his Word; but it is
the faith which denoteth the Doctrine of Chri|&s;tianity,
in which &s;en&s;e it is frequently u&s;ed in
Scripture, <HI>Acts 6. v. 7. Gal. 1. 23. 1 Tim. 3. 8. &amp;
4. v. 1. Jude</HI> 3. Such a faith we grant may be lo&s;t.
The authority his Lord&s;hip alleadgeth is <HI>Augu|&s;tine,</HI>
<PB N="30" REF="24">
&amp; I mu&s;t ingenuou&s;ly confe&s;&s;e,<NOTE PLACE="marg">T. 3. de fide l. 13. c. 21. &s;ect. ult. De praede&s;t. &amp; Grat.</NOTE> neither <HI>Cha|mier,
Perkins,</HI> nor any other do, to my &s;eeming
come clearly off with him: it is not enough to
&s;ay as they do, that <HI>Augu&s;tine</HI> &s;peaketh not of
&s;olid and perfect Faith and Love, but of imper|fect;
this is no An&s;wer but a meer &s;hift; for
Saint <HI>Augu&s;tine</HI> &s;aith, that &s;ome &s;ons of perditi|on
<HI>begin to live, yea, and a while do</HI> live, <HI>and that
faithfully, and ju&s;tly in faith which worketh by love,
and afterwards fall away.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Huius (Cy|priani) au|thoritati non ten<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="faint" EXTENT="1 letter">or. Aug. contr. Cre&s;c c. 32.</NOTE> So that here is not onely
<HI>a beginning to live,</HI> but <HI>here is a living,</HI> and a living
faithfully and righteou&s;ly, and where the&s;e are,
there is and mu&s;t be a living and ju&s;tifying faith.
My an&s;wer &s;hall be, what he once &s;aid of <HI>Cypri|an,</HI>
I am not bound to his authority,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Nobis qui vere Chr. in&s;iti &s;u|mus, talis data e&s;t gratia, non &s;olum ut po&s;&s;imus &s;i velimus, &s;ed ut ve|limus in Chr. per&s;e|verare. de Corrept. &amp; grat. c. 11.</NOTE> &amp; I am the
le&s;&s;e bound, becau&s;e I finde <HI>Augu&s;tine</HI> at odds
with him&s;elf, for he el&s;ewhere &s;aith, They who
are once ingrafted in <HI>Christ,</HI> are indued with
grace, not onely to per&s;evere, if they will, but
al&s;o to will per&s;everance.</P>
<P>We hold, that God did never inevitably damn
any man from all eternity, you &s;ay he did.</P>
<P>Was our Church &s;o weak? Is it po&s;&s;ible a
Church (con&s;i&s;ting of as many gallant and emi|nent
Divines, as ever any Age afforded) &s;hould
fall &s;o foully, to a&s;&s;ert what never yet to my
reading dropt from any private pen? To &s;ave
and damn are proper to God, as he is &s;upreme
Judge of all the World, who is &s;o far from
damning any man, from all Eternity, or before
he is born, as he actually doth it not when born,
till he is dead. Decree, I grant, he did from all E|ternity,
to leave a certain number of the comon
ma&s;&s;e of all mankinde in the &s;tate of Damnati|on,
<PB N="31" REF="24">
being plunged therein by the default of
their own free will, and as &s;ole Lord and Ma&s;ter
of his own, not to be&s;tow upon them &s;uch
grace as would infallibly rai&s;e them out, and
without which they would, in time, unavoid|ably
incur, by their own corrupt, and rebelli|ous
will, eternal Damnation. The Texts cited
are and mu&s;t be under&s;tood of God's revealed,
not of his &s;ecret will, and without allowing
that di&s;tinction he mu&s;t be accounted as weak as
we (according to the <HI>Romi&s;h</HI> cen&s;ure of us) ar|gue
him cruel.</P>
<P>We hold that no man ought infallibly to a&s;|&s;ure
him&s;elf of his &s;alvation, you &s;ay he ought.</P>
<P>Our Church is &s;ilent in this point too.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Zanch.</NOTE> Some,
I confe&s;&s;e,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Tom. 7. de certa &s;alu|te Eccle&s;. Perk. de praede&s;t. &amp; Gr.</NOTE> there are of prime note among&s;t the
Prote&s;tants, hold, that every man is bound to
believe him&s;elf prede&s;tinated; and their main
Rea&s;on is, becau&s;e every man in the Church is
bound to believe the Go&s;pel; which I take to
be very &s;trong again&s;t their own opinion, un|le&s;&s;e
the Go&s;pel did tell every man that he is of
the number of the prede&s;tinated. But it will be
&s;aid, though this Propo&s;ition, <HI>Such and &s;uch a
man is prede&s;tinated,</HI> is not expre&s;ly found in
Scripture, yet it may be inferred from thence by
unavoidable con&s;equence; as, &s;uch, and &s;uch a
man hath Faith, and Charity, and therefore he
a&s;&s;uredly belongeth to God. Mo&s;t true, but
then he cannot be a&s;&s;ured that he is prede&s;tina|ted,
till he hath Faith, and that the true ju&s;tify|ing
faith too; for he may believe there is a God,
he may believe the Scriptures to be the Word of
God, he may believe all things conteined in
<PB N="32" REF="25">
them to be true, and yet come &s;hort of a ju&s;tify|ing
faith &s;till: nor mu&s;t he onely have faith, but
he mu&s;t al&s;o know that he hath it, or el&s;e he
mu&s;t not a&s;&s;ure him&s;elf of &s;alvation; and cer|tain
it is, Faith he may have and not know it,
yea, and a living ju&s;tifying faith too; it may be
&s;o weak he cannot feel the Pul&s;e, them motion,
the operation of it, and yet the faith may be
alive for all that; and though we are command|ded
<HI>to examine our &s;elves whether we be in the faith
or not,</HI> yet a&s;&s;uredly many a dear childe of God,
notwith&s;tanding all po&s;&s;ible &s;earch, &s;obs, and
&s;ighs, and howls, and laments, becau&s;e he find|eth
not that faith in him&s;elf, which yet in the
effects and fruits there, as &s;elf-denial, unfained
contrition, an hungring and thir&s;ting after the
righteou&s;ne&s;s of his ble&s;&s;ed Redeemer, is mo&s;t
evidently vi&s;ible to all beholders. In this very
&s;ad agony, and bleeding di&s;tre&s;s, Satan is ready
enough to &s;ugge&s;t to him, that faith he cannot
have, but he mu&s;t be &s;en&s;ible of it, that the chil|dren
of God are always a&s;&s;ured of their &s;alvati|on;
and that the faith which ju&s;tifieth, is and mu&s;t
be without the lea&s;t doubting. This is the wo|full
con&s;equence of being taught, that all the
&s;ons of God ought to be and are a&s;&s;ured of their
&s;alvation. A far wi&s;er and warier cour&s;e take
they, who with the Church of <HI>Ireland</HI> hold one|ly
thus,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Art. 38.</NOTE> that a true believer may be certain by
the a&s;&s;urance of faith of his everla&s;ting &s;alvati|on
by <HI>Christ;</HI> implying, fir&s;t, that every faith|full
per&s;on hath all-&s;ufficient and enough with|in
him in his heart to give him that a&s;&s;urance:
and &s;econdly, though in &s;ome, the beams of
<PB N="33" REF="25">
that glad&s;om light are much darkned, with the
fumes of predominant melancholly, and Sa|tan's
&s;ugge&s;tions co-operating with it, yet in
other &s;ome, <HI>The Spirit of God beareth witne&s;s with
their own &s;pirit that they are the &s;ons of God, Rom.</HI>
8. 15, 16. and giveth them infallible a&s;&s;urance of
being heirs of the promi&s;e. But to return to the
Marques; his Lord&s;hip urgeth for Scripture,
1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 9. 27. and &s;aith, S^t <HI>Paul</HI> was not a&s;&s;ured but
that while&s;t he preached unto others he him&s;elf
might become a ca&s;t-away] An&s;wer, Saint <HI>Paul</HI>
is his own be&s;t Expo&s;itor, and certainly if we
may believe him, he was not &s;o diffident as the
Marques makes him; nay, it appears clearly, he
was mo&s;t a&s;&s;ured of obteining the Crown, when
he &s;aid, I run, but not as uncertainly, there's
<HI>Paul's</HI> a&s;&s;urance. As for his &s;cleragogy, and
&s;trictne&s;s of life, that he exerci&s;ed, to declare to
the world his conver&s;ation was conformable to
his doctrine; lea&s;t otherwi&s;e, while&s;t he preach|ed
to others, he might be deemed <GAP DESC="foreign">, not a
ca&s;t-away (as our Tran&s;lation hath it, very cor|ruptly,
I mu&s;t needs &s;ay,) but a counterfeit, not
the man he &s;eemed, for that is the true and pro|per
&s;ignification of the word, and the mo&s;t na|tural
to this place, as all Expo&s;itors agree. Next
is <HI>Rom.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">, Plutarch. Marius.</NOTE> 11. 20. <HI>Thou &s;tandest in the faith, be not high
minded, but fear, least thou al&s;o mayst be cut off.]</HI> The
Apo&s;tle here gives the Gentiles a <HI>memento</HI> of the
vici&s;&s;itude of humane affairs, &s;uch an one as <HI>Ma|rius</HI>
gave the L. General <HI>Sextilius</HI> by his Me&s;&s;en|ger,
<HI>Go tell thy Master,</HI> &s;aid he, <HI>that thou didst &s;ee</HI> Ma|rius,
(that <HI>Marius</HI> who had been &s;ix times <HI>Con&s;ul</HI>
of <HI>Rome) &s;itting in Exile, upon the ruines of</HI> Car|chedon,</P>
<P><PB N="34" REF="26">
<HI>that once famous City.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Seneca.</NOTE> <HI>Exemplifying thereby</HI>
(&s;aith my Author) <HI>the misfortune of that City, and
his own change.</HI> So the Apo&s;tle would have the
Gentiles take God's ca&s;ting off the Jews to be a
document again&s;t their over-much pre&s;umpti|on,
<HI>Stas eo loco unde Troja cecidit,</HI> &s;aid the Trage|dian,
thou &s;tand'&s;t in the very place from whence
<HI>Troy</HI> fell. So the Gentiles were they to whom
&s;alvation came, through the fall of the Jews, <HI>v.</HI>
11. This is an argument again&s;t a&s;&s;urance of our
temporal, not of our eternal &s;tate. La&s;tly, <HI>Phil.</HI>
2. 12. <HI>Work out your &s;alvation with fear and trem|bling.]</HI>
Here we are taught to di&s;tru&s;t our own
worthine&s;&s;e, and to &s;tand in aw of offending
God: nor are we the le&s;&s;e a&s;&s;ured of our &s;alva|tion
through this diffidence of our &s;elves, but
rather much more. As to the Fathers cited, I
cannot di&s;cover any thing in them following
&s;ute with this Tenet, onely <HI>Bernard</HI> (who comes
very tardy a thou&s;and years after <HI>Christ;</HI>) and he
only upon <HI>Septuage&s;ima</HI> (for in that upon the <HI>Ad|vent,</HI>
there's not a &s;yllable pertinent to this que|&s;tion)
hath indeed the&s;e words; <HI>Who can &s;ay, I
am elected? I am predestinated? I am the childe of
God?</HI> But <HI>Bernard</HI> &s;peaks of &s;uch a certitude
and a&s;&s;urance as Rea&s;on &s;hould demon&s;trate,
and deriveth his inference, from <HI>Eccle&s;iast.</HI>
9. 1. <HI>Who can know whether he be worthy of
love or hate?</HI> True it is, know it we cannot,
but though we cannot know it, yet we may be|lieve
it, and undoubtedly believe it too, and &s;o
&s;aith <HI>Bernard</HI> him&s;elf; <HI>Propter hoc data &s;unt &s;igna
quaedam &amp; indicia manifesta &s;alutis, ut indubitabile
&s;it eum e&s;&s;e de numero electorum in quo ea &s;igna perman|&s;erint,
<PB N="35" REF="26">
For this very cau&s;e God exhibiteth manifest to|kens
of our &s;alvation, that he who hath the&s;e &s;ignes in
him &s;hould not doubt of his Election.</HI> And again,
<HI>Quibus certitudinem negat cau&s;a &s;olicitudinis, fiduciam
praestat gratia con&s;olationis.</HI> To make us the more
&s;olicitous and carefull, he re&s;traineth the cer|tainty
of our &s;alvation; yet to comfort and &s;up|port
us, he affords us confidence.</P>
<P><HI>M.</HI> We &s;ay that every man hath an Angel
Guardian, you &s;ay he hath not.</P>
<P>This is a matter &s;o indifferent, as we leave
every man to think what he plea&s;e; the Fathers,
<HI>Origen</HI> e&s;pecially, held many of them as the
Marques holds; whether we are guarded by one
peculiar, or many Angels, is not worth the di&s;|pute,
&s;ince on all &s;ides we are agreed, that guard|ed
we are by them.</P>
<P><HI>M.</HI> We &s;ay the Angels pray for us, knowing
our thoughts and deeds, you deny it.</P>
<P>I deny that Deny; we hold that the Angels
pray for the Church in general, and that they
know our Deeds, but not our thoughts, and be|cau&s;e
they do not, we hold it unlawfull to in|vocate
or pray to them; nor do the places al|ledged,
import any thing to the contrary.</P>
<P><HI>M.</HI> We hold it lawfull to pray to them, you
not: we have Scripture for it, <HI>Gen.</HI> 48. 16. The
Angel which redeemed Me from all evil, ble&s;&s;e
the&s;e Lads, <HI>&amp;c. Ho&s;ea</HI> 12. 4. He had power over
the Angel, and prevailed, he wept, and made
&s;upplication unto them.</P>
<P>In both the&s;e places, one and the &s;ame Angel
is under&s;tood, yet no created Angel, but the &s;e|cond
Per&s;on in the Trinity, &s;o <HI>Athana&s;ius;</HI> and
<PB N="36" REF="27">
&s;omething more than &s;o too; his Lord&s;hip
would be loth to hear of:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Athan.</NOTE> <HI>Nec enim qui&s;piam pre|caretur
accipere ab Angelis,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Serm. 4. contr. Ari|anos.</NOTE> <HI>aut ab ullis rebus creatis;
For no man would &s;upplicate the Angels, or any other
created nature to receive any thing from them.</HI> But
<HI>Job</HI> &s;aith, Have pity on me, O my Friends, <HI>Job</HI>
19. 21. And Saint <HI>Augustine</HI> &s;aith, expounding
the&s;e words, <HI>that holy Job addrest him&s;elf to the
Angels:</HI> But under his Lord&s;hips favour, <HI>Au|gustine</HI>
goeth no further than <HI>videtur, It &s;eemeth he
did apply him&s;elf to the Angels;</HI> &s;o he was not cer|tain,
not po&s;itive in it. And his Lord&s;hip knows
<HI>videtur,</HI> in others many times, but in <HI>Aquinas</HI> al|ways
goes by the wor&s;t.</P>
<P><HI>M.</HI> We hold, that the Saints decea&s;ed know
what pa&s;&s;eth here on Earth, you &s;ay, they know
not.</P>
<P>His Lord&s;hip might have omitted this, it be|ing
to receive the &s;ame an&s;wer which we gave to
his Interce&s;&s;ion of Angels. And of <HI>Abraham</HI> we
&s;hall have occa&s;ion to &s;peak anon: nor &s;hall I
in&s;i&s;t upon his Interce&s;&s;ion of Saints, it differing
nothing from that of Angels.</P>
<P><HI>M.</HI> We hold, that we may pray to them, you not,
we have Scripture for it, <HI>Luk. 16. 24. Father</HI> Abra|ham
<HI>have mercy on me, and &s;end</HI> Lazarus, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>Ladies, this proof is for you, far fetcht and
dear bought; dead and damned in Hell: who
would have thought to have taken <HI>Dives</HI> at his
Beads? Nor are the place and per&s;on more odd,
than the prayer, for it is no <HI>Ora pro me, Pray for
me,</HI> but <HI>Mi&s;erere mei, Have mercy on me;</HI> &s;o Saint
<HI>Abraham</HI> was no ordinary Saint: the Marques
would prevent us in what we &s;hould &s;ay, that
<PB N="37" REF="27">
this is a Parable, and we &s;ay &s;o indeed; but no
matter what we &s;ay, his Lord&s;hip hath ready a
grand Inque&s;t of ten Fathers, <HI>Theophylact, Ter|tullian,
Clemens Alexandrinus, Chry&s;ostome, Hie|rome,
Ambro&s;e, Augustine, Gregory, Euthymius,</HI> and
venerable <HI>Bede,</HI> who give their Verdict, that it
was a true Hi&s;tory; the&s;e are all good men and
true; but were they all agreed upon that Ver|dict?
Certainly no;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Theoph. in loc.</NOTE> nay the very Fore-man (&s;o
ill luck had the Marques) hath it not onely <GAP DESC="foreign">,
<HI>this is a Parable, but al&s;o not as
&s;ome,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Chry&s;. de Laz.</NOTE> <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>ridiculou&s;ly, and &s;en&s;le&s;ly have thought
an History of a thing done.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Euthym. in loc.</NOTE> <HI>Chry&s;ostome</HI> calls it <GAP DESC="foreign">.
So doth <HI>Euthymius,</HI> and <HI>Ambro&s;e</HI> is but at
his <HI>videtur,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Tert. adv. Marc. l. 4.</NOTE> <HI>It &s;eemeth to be an History. Tertullian</HI>
&s;tands mute,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Bellar. de Sanct. Be|at. l. 1. c. 4.</NOTE> and onely tells us, <HI>He thinks</HI> Abra|ham's
<HI>bo&s;ome was not Hell,</HI> whether an Hi&s;tory, or
Parable. But what need we more, when <HI>Bellar|mine</HI>
maintains the hi&s;torical part onely till
Death, and that <HI>Theophilact</HI> was in the right,
when he called it a Parable.</P>
<P><HI>M.</HI> But, &s;uppo&s;e it a Parable, every Parable is
either true in the Per&s;ons named, or may be
true in &s;ome others.</P>
<P>Not every Parable, not this, for <HI>Bellarmine</HI>
tells us that <HI>Christ</HI> when he de&s;cended into Hell
went into the Conclave of the Fathers, (where
then <HI>Abraham</HI> was) and preached to the &s;ouls
there,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Et tempore &s;uo corpora etiam rece|pturas.</NOTE> that he now had fini&s;hed the work of Re|demption,
and they mu&s;t go along with him to
Heaven, and that afterward in the proper time
they &s;hould receive their bodies.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Bell. de Chr. Anim. l. 4. c. 13.</NOTE> So that clear it
is by him, that <HI>Abraham</HI> had not now his body,
and how he could di&s;cour&s;e thus to <HI>Dives</HI> with|out
<PB N="38" REF="28">
his Tongue, a member of that body, is to
me a miracle. <HI>[Job 5. 1. Call now if there be any
that will an&s;wer thee, and to which of the Saints will
thou turn.] Eliphaz</HI> bids <HI>Job</HI> expo&s;tulate with,
not pray to the Saints, nor are they dead Saints,
but living; &s;uch as from whom <HI>Job</HI> might ex|pect
an an&s;wer. His Lord&s;hip's Authorities are,
fir&s;t, <HI>Diony&s;ius Areopag. c.</HI> 7. but the prayer there
is for the dead, not to them. <HI>Athana&s;ius</HI> is &s;uch a
piece of forgery, as Cardinal <HI>Baronius</HI> him&s;elf
&s;aith,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Baron. ad an. 408. S. 19. &amp; 20.</NOTE> <HI>It is a great blemi&s;h to the Catholique cau&s;e to
urge &s;uch counterfeits. Ba&s;il</HI> &s;peaketh of devout
per&s;ons who re&s;orted u&s;ually to make their &s;up|plications
to God at the Monuments of Martyrs;
not one &s;yllable of praying to the dead. <HI>Chry|&s;ostome
Hom.</HI> 66. is a Ba&s;tard. Saint <HI>Hieromes</HI> Epi|taph
upon Saint <HI>Paul</HI> is no better Saint <HI>Maximus,</HI>
we know not any &s;uch Saint, nor Father. <HI>Ber|nard</HI>
is a thou&s;and years after <HI>Christ,</HI> and we
grant Invocation of Saints had got footing in
the Church by that time.</P>
<P><HI>M.</HI> We hold confirmation nece&s;&s;ary, you not.</P>
<P>We hold confirmation as an invocation of
grace, to confirm and &s;trengthen us in the per|formance
of what we promi&s;ed in Bapti&s;m. But
not as nece&s;&s;ary by divine Ordinance, nor as a
Sacrament, nor that the holy Gho&s;t with the
gift of miracles is conferred thereby. His Lord|&s;hips
Scriptures are onely Evidences of Fact,
what was done; they contein no precept, nor is
there any one word of Chry&s;me, or anointing
with oyl,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>See after</HI> Titulo con|firmation.</NOTE> which is the (<HI>&s;ine qua non,</HI>) the main in|gredient
into Popi&s;h confirmation, and though
ancient, yet it is not Apo&s;tolical by their own
confe&s;&s;ions.</P>
<P><PB N="39" REF="28">
<HI>M.</HI> We hold it &s;ufficient to communicate in
one kinde, you not.</P>
<P>Our Church &s;aith,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Art. 30.</NOTE> <HI>The cup of the Lord is not to
be deny'd to Lay People.</HI> And certainly, if any one
of the Elements may be deny'd, it mu&s;t be the
Bread, the cup cannot; for of the Bread it is
onely &s;aid, <HI>Take, eat, this is my body,</HI> but of the
Cup it is &s;aid expre&s;ly, <HI>Drink ye all of this;</HI> im|plying
plainly, all are to communicate of it.
But if the Marques hath Scripture, by that we
will and mu&s;t be governed. Fir&s;t then, <HI>Joh. 6. 15.
If any man eat of this bread, he &s;hall live for ever.]</HI>
True,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>And ther|fore</HI> Biel <HI>&s;aith,</HI> In toto illo &s;exto capite Johannis loquitur, Dominus de mandu|catione &amp; bibitione &s;pirituali non carna|li. in can. mi&s;&s;a lect. 84.</NOTE> in the &s;en&s;e our Saviour &s;pake it, who
told us, <HI>v.</HI> 63. the words he &s;pake <HI>are Spirit and
Life,</HI> implying they are to be &s;piritually inter|preted,
and how that is, he explain'd him&s;elf
before, <HI>v. 35. He that cometh to me &s;hall never hun|ger,
and he that believeth in me &s;hall never thirst.</HI>
Nor did he &s;peak here of the &s;acrametal bread,
and if he did, the Church of <HI>Rome</HI> is clearly
ca&s;t; for, <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 53. he is expre&s;s enough, <HI>Except ye
eat the fle&s;h of the Son of Man, and drink his Bloud;</HI>
(&s;o there the Cup comes in, it cannot be exclu|ded)
<HI>you have no life in you.</HI> What can the Papi&s;ts
here &s;ay, that judgement &s;hould not be given
again&s;t them? Next, the Marques alleadgeth,
<HI>Acts 2. 42. And they continued in breaking of Bread,
and prayer;</HI> and tells us, here is no mention of
the Cup. I an&s;wer, granted; but what if we &s;ay,
there is no ab&s;olute nece&s;&s;ity enforceth us to un|der&s;tand
the&s;e words of the Euchari&s;t, how
could the Marques prove it? But if the Papi&s;ts
will take it for a courte&s;ie, we will not &s;tand
with them about it. And though the Cup was
<PB N="40" REF="29">
not there mentioned, yet for ought the Mar|ques
could tell, it might be there; for breaking
of bread are words large enough to hold it, el&s;e
<HI>Eutychus</HI> had but a dry and choking repa&s;t. And
why may not breaking of bread include the
cup, as well as eating comprehendeth drinking?
Chri&s;t &s;ate down with the Di&s;ciples to eat the
Pa&s;&s;eover, <HI>Luke</HI> 22. 15. 16. and yet we find a cup
there, ver&s;. 17. and the fruit of the vine in it too,
ver&s;. 18. and no Communion chalice neither.
His la&s;t Text is <HI>Luke</HI> 24, 30, 35. where Chri&s;t
communicated with his Di&s;ciples under one
kind, where he tells us that <HI>Augu&s;tine, Theophylact</HI>
and <HI>Chry&s;o&s;tom</HI> expound this place of the ble&s;&s;ed
Sacrament: well wee'l not quarrel about that
neither; but this triumvirate of Fathers had not
it &s;eems kond their le&s;&s;on right, for they &s;hould
have told us that Chri&s;t communicated under
one kind onely: Nay, had they told us of any
&s;uch practi&s;e in the Primitive Church, it had
been &s;omewhat, but nor they, nor any other,
for the fir&s;t 500 years, I might &s;ay 1000 have left
us any &s;uch thing upon record, and therefore
here his Lord&s;hip for&s;akes his old wont of &s;ay|ing
the Fathers are of this opinion, and &s;tands
ingenuou&s;ly &s;ilent; no more then what <HI>Bellar|mine</HI>
did before him, who in this very point,
leaveth his old <HI>Idem probatur ex Patribus, The &s;ame
is proved by the Fathers,</HI> and fairly giveth them the
&s;lip.</P>
<P><HI>M.</HI> We hold that Chri&s;t offered up unto his
Father in the &s;acrifice of the Ma&s;&s;e, is a true and
lively &s;acrifice; this you deny.</P>
<P><PB N="41" REF="29">
Our Church &s;aith,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Art. 31.</NOTE> the &s;acrifices of the Ma&s;&s;e
are bla&s;phemous fables and dangerous deceits.
His Lord&s;hip urgeth <HI>Malachy</HI> 1. 11. In every
place incen&s;e &s;hall be offered to my name and a
pure offering. This could not be meant of the
Jewi&s;h &s;acrifices, nor of that real &s;acrifice of
Chri&s;t upon the Cro&s;&s;e, but of the dayly &s;acri|fice
of the Ma&s;&s;e.</P>
<P>Of the 2 former I grant with the Marques it
could not be meant, and fear the &s;acrifice of
the Ma&s;&s;e cometh in &s;o late, and &s;o many to be
&s;erved before it, that it will &s;peed as ill as
they.</P>
<P>For fir&s;t there is a <HI>&s;acrifice of Prayer.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Irenaeus l. 4. c. 33.</NOTE> P&s;alm 50.
It might be meant of that,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Hieronim. in Zach. l. 2. c. 8.</NOTE> and &s;o <HI>Irenaeus</HI> and
<HI>Hierome</HI> under&s;tood it. There is a &s;acrifice of
<HI>Prai&s;e, the fruit of our lips. Heb.</HI> 13. 15. It might be
that &s;o <HI>Augu&s;tine</HI> and <HI>Cyprian</HI> under&s;tood it.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Aug. c. Pe|til. l. 6. c. 86 Cypr. ad Quir. l. 1. c. 16.</NOTE>
There is a &s;acrifice Eleemo&s;ynary, of almes, with
<HI>which is God well plea&s;ed. Heb.</HI> 13. 16. It might be
that; there is the &s;acrifice mentioned. <HI>Rom. 12. 1.
a living &s;acrifice.</HI> It might be that; any of the&s;e, or
all the&s;e it might be. And therefore that great
Commemorative &s;acrifice, of the ble&s;&s;ed <HI>Eucha|ri&s;t,</HI>
comprehendeth them all in our Church
Leiturgy, the 2 and la&s;t in the Prayer after the
celebration of the Sacrament, <HI>Our &s;acrifice of
Prai&s;e and Thanksgiving, we offer our &s;elves, our Souls
and bodies to be a living &s;acrifice, &amp;c.</HI> The fir&s;t
and third in the Prayer for Chri&s;ts Church,
<HI>we be&s;eech thee to accept our Almes and receive
the&s;e our Prayers which we offer unto thy Divine
Maje&s;ty.</HI> His other Text is, <HI>Luke</HI> 22. 19. This
<PB N="42" REF="30">
is my Body which is given <HI>for you;</HI> (but <GAP DESC="foreign">,
what have we here?) not <HI>to you,</HI>
&s;aid the Marques; then it &s;eems <HI>Christ</HI> mocked
his Di&s;ciples, as the <HI>Bi&s;cains</HI> do the King of <HI>Spain,</HI>
with their bag of <HI>Maravides,</HI> when he &s;aid, <HI>Take,
Eat,</HI> and when they were about to take what
they thought they &s;hould eat, he &s;aid, Soft
there, 'tis given <HI>for you,</HI> not <HI>to you.</HI> Now to his
humane Authorities; and he beginneth from the
Apo&s;tolical Times, if tho&s;e Con&s;titutions were
of <HI>Clemens,</HI> which &s;ure his Lord&s;hip thought we
had more wit than to grant, but be the Author
who he will,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Omnia omnin&ograve; &s;a|crificia de|&s;truenda erant, &s;i viventia per ecci&s;io|nem &s;i in|anima &s;o|lida per combu&s;tio|nem, &s;i li|quid a per effu&s;io|nem. Bell. de mi&s;&s;a. l. 1. c. 2.</NOTE> what &s;aith he? he calleth it <HI>a rea|&s;onable,
unbloudy, and mystical Sacrament.</HI> True,
but then it is no proper Sacrifice: for it is <HI>Bel|larmine's</HI>
Rule, that all Sacrifices what&s;oever
mu&s;t be de&s;troi'd; if they be living, they mu&s;t be
kill'd; if dead, they mu&s;t be con&s;umed; &s;olid
things, as meat, &s;alt, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> by fire, liquid by powr|ing
out, as wine, water, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> &s;o the Sacrifice of
<HI>Crist's</HI> body, if proper mu&s;t not be unbloudy.
But this &s;uppo&s;ed <HI>Clemens</HI> was going on, why
did the Marques interrupt him? ('tis too hard
to put upon us counterfeit, and clipt money
too) for his next words are, <HI>which is celebrated by
the &s;ymboles of the body and bloud in commemoration of
his death.</HI> We hold with <HI>Augustine,</HI> the Commu|nion
of the Body and Bloud of <HI>Christ</HI> is a &s;ingu|lar
and mo&s;t excellent &s;acrifice;<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">, Chry&s;. in Act. c. 5.</NOTE> and with <HI>Chry&s;o|&s;tome,</HI>
it is a heavenly, and mo&s;t reverend &s;acri|fice;
but &s;till it is no true and proper &s;acrifice.</P>
<P>We &s;ay, the Sacrament of Orders confers
grace, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>The Ordination of Mini&s;ters we deny to be a
<PB N="43" REF="30">
Sacrament, and if it were, we deny al&s;o that the
<HI>opus operatum,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Tho. Aqu. c. 2. q. 88. art. 11. &amp; alii quod ego veri&s;&s;i|mum puto, <HI>&s;aith</HI> Bell. de c<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="faint" EXTENT="2 letters">ricis <HI>L.</HI> 1. c. 18.</NOTE> or impo&s;ition of hands, confers
grace; <HI>Man's hand is impo&s;ed, but it is God that does
the deed;</HI> nor doth the Texts urged prove any
&s;uch thing; for the word is 1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 4. 14. not <GAP DESC="foreign">,
<HI>Grace,</HI> but <GAP DESC="foreign">, the gift peculiar to that
Function.</P>
<P>We hold, that Prie&s;ts and other religious
per&s;ons who have vow'd cha&s;tity to God, may
not marry afterwards, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>This the Papi&s;ts hold indeed, and <GAP DESC="foreign">,
&s;omewhat more, <HI>viz. That the vow of continence is
indi&s;pen&s;ably annext to &s;acred Orders.</HI> The Marques
&s;hould not thus niggardly di&s;pen&s;e to us the
Oracles of his Church. Let any <HI>Romi&s;h</HI> Catho|lique
prove this by Canonical Scripture, and
then he &s;hall &s;peak to purpo&s;e, to better purpo&s;e
than the Marques; for his fir&s;t place out of
<HI>Deut.</HI> is meant of a lawfull Vow, and all
Vows are not lawfull, not that of <HI>Michah, Judg.</HI>
17. 3. not that of the 40, in the <HI>Acts</HI> 23. 12. not
this of cha&s;tity, it being not in any man's po|wer.
Nor is that of 1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 5. 11, 12. more perti|nent,
though his Lord&s;hip takes it to be mo&s;t
clear, &s;aying, <HI>What can be meant hereby but the vow
of obastity?</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Bell. de Monach. l. 2. c. 24.</NOTE> Yet <HI>Bellarmine</HI> could have told him,
that Faith neither <HI>here, nor any where el&s;e, nu&s;|quam,
&s;ignifieth a Vow;</HI> a promi&s;e it &s;ometimes
doth, he confe&s;&s;eth, and &s;o do I, and &s;o is it
meant here. For there were in tho&s;e Times &s;ome
Women cho&s;en, who might wait upon the ne|ce&s;&s;ities
of the Poor, and were called <HI>Diaconi&s;&s;es;</HI>
and in order to that &s;ervice, requi&s;it it was they
&s;hould be Widows, free from dome&s;tique cares
<PB N="44" REF="31">
and di&s;tractions; nor were they onely cho|&s;en
&s;uch, but when cho&s;en the Church exact|ed
of them, to continue con&s;tant in that &s;tate,
as well they might, if of 60 years before that
choice.</P>
<P>We &s;ay Chri&s;t de&s;cended into hell and de|livered
thence the Souls of the Fathers,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Artic. 3.</NOTE> you de|ny
it.</P>
<P>Our Church &s;aith, <HI>As Chri&s;t died for us and was
buried, &s;o al&s;o is it to be believed, that he went down
into hell,</HI> But that there was a goal delivery of
the Fathers upon his going thither, or that
they were in any Limb of it, &s;he doth not be|lieve,
but leaveth every man at liberty to think
what he plea&s;e. And truly I mu&s;t crave pardon
here of the Marques, for my heart will not &s;erve
me to go along with him in this particular,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Arch Bi&s;h. <HI>of</HI> Cant. <HI>again&s;t</HI> Fi&s;her p. 46</NOTE> and
of that very reverend Prelates mind I am, that
it is a kinde of de&s;cent into hell to be conver&s;ant
in the controver&s;ies about it. For indeed he that
is once in, will not &s;o &s;oon out, for about the
manner and place of his de&s;cent,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Aug. Ep. Hilario. Ep. 89. de Jejunio Sabbati.</NOTE> it is <HI>intermina|bilis
contentio, generans lites, non finiens quae&s;tiones,</HI>
an endle&s;&s;e contention, begetting new &s;trifes, not
deciding old que&s;tions. For my part, I believe
he was buried and de&s;cended into hell, nor will
I enquire further, <HI>ne curio&s;us in inquirendo, cur, &amp;
quomodo, excidam e bonis nobis propo&s;itis, as Athana|&s;ius</HI>
in a not unlike ca&s;e,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Athana&s;. Orat. unum e&s;&s;e Chri|&s;tum.</NOTE> le&s;t inquiring too nar|rowly
into the Why and How, I loo&s;e trea&s;ures
of higher concernment.</P>
<P><HI>M.</HI> We hold Purgatory fire, where &s;atisfa|ction
&s;hall be made for &s;ins, after death; you de|ny
it.</P>
<P><PB N="45" REF="31">
<HI>Our Church &s;aith,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Artic. 22.</NOTE> The Romi&s;h Doctrine con|cerning
Purgatory is a fond thing vainly invented and
grounded upon no warranty of Scripture, but rather
repugnant to the word of God. <HI>But his Lord&s;hip
hath Scripture for it.</HI> 1 Cor. 3. 13. <HI>and</HI> 15. The
fire &s;hall trie every mans work of what &s;ort it is, if any
mans work &s;hall be burnt he &s;hall &s;uffer lo&s;s, but he
him&s;elf &s;hall be &s;aved, yet &s;o as by fire.</P>
<P>I cannot &s;ee Purgatory by this fire-light,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Nu&s;quam in Scriptu|ra fit men|tio ignis ubi aperte agi|tur de Pur|gatorio.</NOTE> and
<HI>Bellarmine</HI> is at his <HI>nu&s;quam</HI> again. <HI>There is no
where mention of fire in the Scripture</HI> &s;aith he, <HI>where
it is plainly meant of Purgatory.</HI> And tells us that
<HI>Augu&s;tine</HI> and <HI>Gregory</HI> under&s;tood this place
of tribulations, and <HI>Chry&s;o&s;tome</HI> and <HI>Theo|phylact,</HI>
of Hell.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Bell. de Purg. <GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="faint" EXTENT="1 letter">. 1. c. 5.</NOTE> But his Lord&s;hip &s;aith <HI>Augu|&s;tine</HI>
and <HI>Ambro&s;e, Hierome, Gregory,</HI> and <HI>Ori|gen</HI>
under&s;tood it of Purgatory. For <HI>Augu&s;tine</HI>
I confe&s;&s;e he is in many &s;everal tales, one of his
la&s;t tracts, that <HI>de Civitate Dei,</HI> and one book
of that Tract repre&s;ents him thrice differing
from him&s;elf,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Purgato|rias poenas nullas fu|turas opin<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="blotted" EXTENT="1 letter">|tur ni&s;i <GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="blotted" EXTENT="1 word"> Judicis di<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="blotted" EXTENT="2 letters">.</NOTE> <HI>lib. 21. cap. 16. Let not any man
think of Purgatory pains to come before the day of
Judgement.</HI> Go 8 chapters further <HI>cap.</HI> 24. there
he comes in with a <HI>con&s;tat, it is manife&s;t &s;ome are
purged before the day of Judgement by temporal pains.</HI>
But 2 chapters beyond, <HI>there be &s;ome who think
the fire in this place to be meant of a purging fire after
this life;</HI> I do not contradict it, perhaps it is
true. Who can tell what to make of S. <HI>Augu&s;tine</HI>
now? yet this we may infallibly conclude, had
Purgatory been then an Article of Faith, as the
Councel of <HI>Trent</HI> hath now made it,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Se&s;&s;. 6. c. 30</NOTE> <HI>Augu&s;tine</HI>
would not have come off &s;o &s;taggering, with a
<HI>for&s;itan, perhaps it is true.</HI></P>
<P><PB N="46" REF="32">
<HI>Ambro&s;e</HI> doth not interpret this place at all, for
'tis no Interpretation, that leaves the Text as
dubious as before;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Poenas ignis pa&s;|&s;urum ut per ignem pu<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="faint" EXTENT="1 letter">gatus fiat. Amb. in locum, in P&s;alm 118.</NOTE> all he &s;aith, <HI>that he who &s;hall
be &s;aved &s;hall endure the puni&s;hment of Fire, that he
may be purged by it.</HI> But whither in this life, or
that to come, not a word. But in another Trea|ti&s;e,
he applieth it clearly to the day of Judge|ment.
<HI>Hierome</HI> &s;peaks of a purging fire, but nei|ther
&s;aith where, nor when. All this time Pur|gatory
fire was not heard of, and though, I con|fe&s;&s;e
about five hundred years after <HI>Christ,</HI> it be|gan
to be kindled, &s;o as one might di&s;cern the
&s;moak of it, yet it did not burn out till Saint
<HI>Gregories</HI> time, which was <HI>Anno Christi</HI> &s;ix hun|dred,
and ever &s;ince then, the Popes have had a
&s;pecial care to keep it from going out, &s;eeing
their cake would be very dough without it. But
I mu&s;t retract here; for <HI>Origen,</HI> who lived about
two hundred and thirty, was clear for Purgato|ry,
&s;o clear, that he took away Hell it &s;elf, and
thought the very Devils them&s;elves &s;hould be &s;a|ved
at the la&s;t day.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, we hold extreme Unction, to be a Sa|crament,
you neither hold it to be a Sacrament,
nor practice it as a duty.] The M. did extremely
proper, to re&s;erve Extreme Unction for the la&s;t,
w^c^h 'tis true we hold not to be a Sacrament, for
there's to us no precept for it; the Text in <HI>James</HI>
only relateth to tho&s;e times, while&s;t that miracu|lous
gift of healing la&s;ted; had we the &s;ame gift,
we &s;hould continue the &s;ame practice. As to the
Fathers, who he &s;aid are on his &s;ide, they &s;peak
clear be&s;ide the point. <HI>Origen</HI> onely of Remi&s;&s;i|on
of &s;ins by Repentance, <HI>Chry&s;ostome</HI> of &s;aving
<PB N="47" REF="32">
the &s;ouls of dying per&s;ons by the help not one|ly
of doctrinal Admonitions, but of prayers
al&s;o. The two pieces of <HI>Augustine</HI> alleadged, are
confe&s;&s;ed to be Impo&s;tures. <HI>Beda</HI> is &s;hort of the
Marques his thou&s;and years, it being but nine
hundred &s;ince his time.</P>
<P><HI>M.</HI> Thus mo&s;t &s;acred Sir, we have no rea&s;on
to wave the Scriptures Umpirage, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>The Marques here triumphs over-early, <HI>the
bitterne&s;s of Death is past, &s;aid one;</HI> yet lived few
hours after it. And what ever his Lord&s;hip was
per&s;waded of his Scripture proofs, &s;ure I am,
his Maje&s;ty concludes with an <HI>Otherwi&s;e</HI> to his
<HI>Thus.</HI> After this prepo&s;terous boa&s;t, his Lord&s;hip
with much ado, &s;crueth him&s;elf into the di&s;|cour&s;e
of the Authority of the Church, and in|validity
of Scripture light,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Con&s;ide|ration up|on Dr. B.</NOTE> which becau&s;e I
have already in part, and &s;hall more largely el&s;e|where
in&s;i&s;t upon; for this time I &s;hall preter|mit.
But the <HI>M.</HI> is not yet empty, a vent he hath
found, and we &s;hall have him now, dregs and
all. And perceiving he could not in &s;olidity of
Arguments overtake our Church, he now
throweth &s;tones at her,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Epi&s;t.</NOTE> which <HI>Bal&s;ack</HI> &s;aith is but
boys play. The two Objections again&s;t her are;
fir&s;t, the maintaing a Woman to be Head in the
Church,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Virg. Aen&punc; 11.</NOTE> but this is already an&s;wered, with, <HI>a ca|pite
cane talia,</HI> (I will not make up the Ver&s;e) let
him chant that to his own Church. The other,
again&s;t our Lay Chancellors excommunicating;
To which I an&s;wer, Lay Chancellors do not ex|communicate,
but &s;ome Mini&s;ters a&s;&s;i&s;tant to
them; but the Truth is, as their Authority was
too much, &s;o their practi&s;e exceeding their Au|thority
<PB N="48" REF="33">
made our Church obnoxious to &s;uch
reproach, as his Lord&s;hip is plea&s;ed to ca&s;t upon
it, and though this one be a blemi&s;h to our
Church, yet may &s;he glory that &s;he hath but one.</P>
<P>Now for the Church of <HI>Saxony,</HI> you &s;hall finde
<HI>Luther, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>The Marques his next Task is to di&s;cover
and rip up what <HI>Luther, Melanchthon Mu&s;culus,
Calvin, &amp;c.</HI> being under the notion of Prote&s;t|ants,
have been guilty of either in Doctrine, and
manners. 'Tis well known, his Authors are not
very credible Witne&s;&s;es, nor are all the points
urged, matters of Faith, or Morality, nor are
they all &s;o to be under&s;tood as repre&s;ented, nor
all repre&s;ented &s;o faithfully as they ought; but
admit them all for &s;uch, and in that &s;en&s;e his
Lord&s;h&punc; would have them meant, yet what are <HI>Lu|ther,
Calvin, &amp;c.</HI> to us, being not of our Church,
or were they of our Church, they are not our
Church, which is not to be mea&s;ured by parti|cular
men.<NOTE PLACE="marg">De prae&s;er.</NOTE> 'Twas well &s;aid by <HI>Tertullian, Ex per|&s;onis
probamus fidem an ex fide per&s;onas? Doth our
faith contract esteem by the per&s;ons who profe&s;s it:</HI>
or are not they rather the better thought on for
the faith they profe&s;&s;e? But then perhaps they
will demand after all his Lord&s;hip's 45. pages,
of elaborate pains of rendring the&s;e men thus
odious, <HI>Quor&s;um haec?</HI> To what purpo&s;e did he
&s;weat &s;o much in the matter? An&s;wer, to very
good purpo&s;e, both again&s;t our Church, and a|gain&s;t
his Maje&s;ty. Again&s;t our Church, who
had been bold with the Popes of <HI>Rome.</HI> Again&s;t
his Maje&s;ty, who&s;e Father &s;pake his minde of
them al&s;o, as freely as our Church. Well, and
<PB N="49" REF="33">
what hath he gained by it? very little certainly.
For what if <HI>Luther</HI> denied &s;ome parts of the Ca|nonical
Scripture?<NOTE PLACE="marg">Leo. 10.</NOTE> It was but &s;ome part, it was
not all, as <HI>Luthers</HI> great and fir&s;t adver&s;ary Pope
<HI>Leo</HI> did, by con&s;equence, though not expre&s;ly,
to the Cardinal <HI>Bembus,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Bale Oth<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="faint" EXTENT="1 letter"> Meland<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="faint" EXTENT="1 letter">r Jo. Ser. 140.</NOTE> &s;aying, (concerning the
trea&s;ure of indulgences) in a mockery, <HI>what a
mighty revenue make we of the fable of Chri&s;t?</HI> Make
a fable of Chri&s;t, and what becomes of either
Te&s;tament? What if he, or <HI>Calvin,</HI> erred concern|ing
the Trinity, did not <HI>Liberius</HI> as I &s;hewed
before &s;ub&s;cribe to the <HI>Arrian Here&s;y?</HI> What if
<HI>Calvin</HI> held with <HI>Ne&s;torius</HI> two Per&s;ons in Chri&s;t,
did not Pope <HI>Honorius</HI> hold but one will in him?
an here&s;y full as gro&s;&s;e, and for which he was
condemned by the 6 General Councel of <HI>Con|&s;tantinople.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 11.</NOTE>
What need we run into exact paral|leels
with them? it is enough we can produce,
a <HI>Caele&s;tine</HI> the 3.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Alphon, de Ca&s;tro de Here&s;. l. 1. c. 4.</NOTE> teaching that here&s;y is a &s;uffi|cient
cau&s;e of Divorce in Matrimony: A <HI>John</HI> 22.
who taught that the Souls of the ju&s;t did not
&s;ee:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ockham. l. dierum 23. Adrian. de confirmat. Concil. Con&s;tanc. Se&s;&s;. 11.</NOTE> God before the Re&s;urrection. Another
<HI>John</HI> 23. that denied the Re&s;urrection of the
body. And how I pray do the great Clerks of
the <HI>Romi&s;h</HI> Intere&s;t come off here? very poorly
mo&s;t certain, even ju&s;t as S. <HI>Augu&s;tine</HI> &s;aid, <HI>qua&s;i
hoc &s;it re&s;pondere po&s;&s;e, quod e&s;t tacere non po&s;&s;e, as if
to an&s;wer and not to &s;ay nothing, were all one.</HI> For if
the evidence be given in &s;o full again&s;t their
Popes, that find them guilty, they mu&s;t, and all
other &s;hifts fail, then &s;uch a Pope <HI>did not define
e Cathedra,</HI> fitting in his in-erring-chair, but <HI>ut
Doctor peculiaris expo&s;uit obiter opinionem &s;uam,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="faint" EXTENT="1 span"></NOTE> <HI>onely
delivered his opinion as a private Doctor;</HI> which is a
<PB N="50" REF="34">
plain confe&s;&s;ion that this rare knack of Infalli|bility,
is not by his Holine&s;&s;e carried alwayes
about him. Again, &s;ometimes 't is no here&s;ie
what &s;uch a Pope thought, becau&s;e <HI>nulla adhuc
praece&s;&s;erat Eccle&s;iae Definitio,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Bell. ibid. c. 14.</NOTE> <HI>the Church never de|&s;ired
any thing in the Point,</HI> &s;o that, be the opinion
never &s;o gro&s;&s;e and ab&s;urd, never &s;o de&s;tructive
to the many principles of Faith, never &s;o re|pugnant
to the expre&s;&s;e Text of &s;acred Scri|pture,
yet here&s;ie it is not with them till the
Church define it. La&s;tly, &s;ome have held erro|neous
oppinions, but upon their death-beds
have been of another minde, and would have
defin'd the Truth, but (&s;ee the ill luck of it) the
good men have been prevented by death; this is
<HI>Bellarmines</HI> excu&s;e for <HI>John</HI> 22.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Bell. ibid.</NOTE> And yet the Car|dinal's
relation out of <HI>Villarius</HI> of this <HI>John's</HI> re|tractation,
repre&s;ents his holine&s;&s;e in no Defini|tive
po&s;ture, and as far from the thought that
he was, as Pope, <HI>Summus judex controver&s;iarum in
Eccle&s;ia, Supreme Judg of controver&s;ies in the Church,</HI>
which is the main Subject of the <HI>Je&s;uites</HI> fourth
book <HI>de Romano Pontifice.</HI> For fir&s;t, the Pope &s;aith,
<HI>Exi&s;timare &s;e jam probabiliorem e&s;&s;e &s;ententiam eam.
He is now of the minde that it is the more probable</HI>
(mark that,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Bell. l. 4. c. 14. de Rom. Pon|tif.</NOTE> he goes no further than probability
in his Retractation and Palinody, and probabi|lity
is no good foundation for a <HI>Decernimus,</HI> for
a definition) opinion that the Souls of the
Saints enjoy the beatifical vi&s;ion before the day
of judgement. And that he did now adhere to
that opinion, unle&s;&s;e the Church (mark that
too) to who&s;e definition he would &s;ubject mo&s;t
willingly his own judgement, &s;hould other|wi&s;e
<PB N="51" REF="34">
determine: &s;ure the Pope was brought as
low in minde as body, who did thus pu&s;illani|mou&s;ly,
<HI>&s;ubmittere fa&s;ces,</HI> and vail to the judge|ment
of the Church, or el&s;e was certainly per|&s;waded,
that, whatever their Para&s;ites give out,
Popes in truth differ little from meaner per&s;ons
in the point of deciding Theological que&s;tions.</P>
<P>The M. his next remove, is from the Prote&s;tants
Doctrine, to their divi&s;ions in Doctrine, &amp; denied
it cannot, it mu&s;t not be. But divi&s;ions there are:
this &s;ad, bleeding Church of <HI>England</HI> is a mo&s;t la|mentable,
a mo&s;t deplorable demon&s;tration of it.
And what if there be divi&s;ions among&s;t us, are
they alwayes the marks of the fal&s;e Church, and
unity the note of the True? His Lord&s;hip will
&s;carce be able to prove that.<NOTE PLACE="marg">De prae&s;cr. Haer.</NOTE> <HI>Tertullian</HI> did I am
certain think otherwi&s;e, <HI>Schi&s;mata apud haereti|cos
fere non &s;unt,</HI> Hereticks &s;aith he &s;eldom differ,
they agree too well. But why &s;hould his Lord&s;hip
urge our differences &s;o again&s;t us? Are the Pro|te&s;tants
only guilty of the&s;e di&s;&s;entions? Did not
<HI>Paul</HI> and <HI>Barnabas</HI> grow into &s;uch a paroxi&s;me
and cholerique fit as they parted upon it? <HI>Acts</HI>
15. 39. Did not <HI>Paul</HI> and <HI>Peter</HI> &s;trive about a
thing indifferent? <HI>Gal.</HI> 2. 11. Were not <HI>Polycrates,</HI>
Bi&s;hop of <HI>Ephe&s;us,</HI> and Pope <HI>Victor</HI> at defiance?
Did not <HI>Chry&s;o&s;tome</HI> and <HI>Epipharius</HI> proclaim <GAP DESC="foreign">,
<HI>implacable War</HI> each again&s;t nother?
And is the Church of <HI>Rome</HI> &s;o uni&s;on, &s;o all of a
piece, as to afford no jarres? The happier &s;he
&s;ure, and happier now than of old, when &s;he had
as good, as prudent Governours as now, and I
think a little better.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 16. 17.</NOTE> And though S^t. <HI>Paul</HI> had
charge of her as a Gentile Church, yet could he
<PB N="48" REF="35">
not look &s;o narrowly into her, but &s;ome there
were who cau&s;ed di&s;&s;entions in her contrary to
the Doctrine he had delivered. But if &s;uch har|mony
there be at <HI>Rome,</HI> how cometh it then to
pa&s;&s;e that in that great Article of the <HI>Romi&s;h-Ca|tholique</HI>
Faith, about the Popes-Infallibility, <HI>Bel|larmine</HI>
him&s;elf undertaketh <HI>Durandus</HI> and <HI>Adrian,</HI>
for accriminating <HI>Gregory</HI> the Fir&s;t of errour?
How cometh it then to pa&s;&s;e that he taketh <HI>Pa|normitan</HI>
and <HI>Ger&s;on</HI> to task, for &s;aying that a
private man furni&s;hed with better Authority of
Scripture is to be preferred for his opinion be|fore
the Pope? How cometh it then to pa&s;&s;e,
that he cen&s;ureth <HI>Nilus, Ger&s;on, Almain, Alphon|&s;us
de Ca&s;tro,</HI> and Pope <HI>Adrian</HI> the &s;ixth, for teach|ing
that a Pope may be an heritique? And to be
&s;hort, how cometh it then to pa&s;&s;e that in his
va&s;t volume of controver&s;ies, there is very rare|ly
any one, wherein the Cardinal hath not to
do with &s;ome one or other of his own party; as
di&s;&s;enting from his own <HI>The&s;is</HI> and Po&s;ition;<NOTE PLACE="marg">B. Halls <HI>peace of</HI> Rome.</NOTE> &s;o
that a grave Author hath cull'd out no le&s;&s;e
then 303 oppo&s;itions among&s;t the Marquis his
un-jarring Catholiques? And he that knoweth
nothing of the quarrel between the <HI>Je&s;uits</HI> and
Seminary Prie&s;ts may &s;ee enough in <HI>Wat&s;on</HI> the
Seminary, who is &s;o liberal a libeller, &s;o full
of gall and bitterne&s;&s;e, as me thinks I hear the
<HI>Je&s;uit</HI> expo&s;tulating with him, as <HI>Ab&s;alon</HI> did
with <HI>Hu&s;hai;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Sam. 16. 17.</NOTE> <HI>Is this thy kindne&s;&s;e to thy Friend?</HI>
Nor are they onely the &s;maller Bells in the <HI>Ro|mi&s;h</HI>
Church that ring thus awake; the great ones,
the Popes them&s;elves interfere; witne&s;&s;e the dif|ference
about the Tran&s;lation of the Bible, be|tween
<PB N="53" REF="35">
<HI>Sixtus</HI> the fifth, and <HI>Clement</HI> the eighth;
and that &s;o great an one, as all the Wits of
<HI>Rome</HI> will never be able to make them Friends
again.<NOTE PLACE="marg">James <HI>his</HI> Bellum Papale.</NOTE> So that if his Lord&s;hip takes the&s;e to be
no jarrs, his ear is not (I think) very mu&s;ical.
And becau&s;e the Marques voucheth for the Ca|tholiques
no jarrs;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Relations <HI>p.</HI> 189</NOTE> Sir <HI>Edwin Sands:</HI> True it is,
he &s;aith, the Catholiques have a readier way to
reconcile their Enmities, and to decide their
Differences, having the Pope as a common Fa|ther,
Advi&s;er, and Conductor to them all;
whereas the Prote&s;tants, being not united un|der
one Prince, nor Patriarch, are as &s;evered
and &s;cattered Troops,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Page 179</NOTE> <HI>&amp;c.</HI> His Lord&s;hip might
have remembred, that but ten pages before,
Sir <HI>Edwin</HI> &s;aith, &s;peaking of <HI>France,</HI> The Ca|tholiques
are here divided into as different Opi|nions,
and in as principal matters of their Re|ligion,
(as they e&s;teem them) as the Prote&s;tants,
in any place that ever I heard of. By which it is
evident both that the Catholiques have jarrs,
and no &s;mall jarrs neither.</P>
<P>From Divi&s;ions the Marques di&s;lodgeth, and
proceeds next to the bad Lives of Prote&s;tants.
I confe&s;&s;e by the little I have &s;earched, I &s;ee a
great deal of fal&s;e play in his Lord&s;hips In&s;tan|ces,
to lay all open were time mi&s;-&s;pent: I will
neither admit all his Accu&s;ations for true, nor
affirm them all fal&s;e; enough I conceive, it is
for us in this particular to &s;ay, The be&s;t is, the
Triple Crown it &s;elf is able to match them, and
over-match them too, chu&s;e what vice, what &s;in
you plea&s;e: for it hath afforded conjurating
Popes, who have made private Contracts with
<GAP DESC="duplicate" EXTENT="1 page"><PB N="48" REF="36">
<GAP DESC="duplicate" EXTENT="1 page"><PB N="53" REF="36">
<PB N="54" REF="37">
the Devil; <HI>Alexander</HI> the &s;ixth, <HI>Paul</HI> the third,
<HI>Sylvester</HI> the &s;econd, <HI>Benedict</HI> the ninth, <HI>John</HI> the
thirteenth, <HI>Gregory</HI> the &s;eventh; for it hath af|forded
an idolatrous Pope, as <HI>Macellinus;</HI> for it
hath afforded ince&s;tuous Popes, as <HI>Paul</HI> the third,
<HI>Alexander</HI> the &s;ixth, and <HI>John</HI> the thirteenth; for
it hath afforded bloudy and truculent Popes, as
<HI>Boniface</HI> the &s;eventh, <HI>Pa&s;chal</HI> the &s;econd, <HI>&V;rban</HI>
the &s;ixth; And la&s;tly, it hath afforded Whore|ma&s;ters
an innumerable Crue&punc; &s;o that <HI>Bellarmine</HI>
him&s;elf is &s;o hard put to it, to &s;alve the matter,
of the di&s;&s;olutene&s;&s;e of Popes, as he hath nothing
el&s;e to &s;ay,<NOTE PLACE="marg">De Rom.</NOTE> but <HI>Quot numerari po&s;&s;unt qui recti&s;&s;ime
credunt,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Pont. l. 4. c. 14.</NOTE> <HI>&amp; tamen perditi&s;&s;ime vivunt; How many may
be reckoned up who are of &s;ound belief, yet of wretched
lives.</HI></P>
<P>His Lord&s;hip having as he conceives given
&s;ufficient <HI>caveat</HI> what it is to rely upon &s;uch
mens judgements, as <HI>Luther, Calvin, Beza, &amp;c.</HI>
Next takes notice of an Objection his Maje&s;ty
made, That the Church of <HI>Rome</HI> hath fallen
from her fir&s;t Love, and old Principles, and un|dertakes
to prove an Identity, and &s;amene&s;&s;e of
Doctrine in the now Church of <HI>Rome,</HI> and in
the Primitive Church during Saint <HI>Augustine's</HI>
time; for which Father's worth, he produceth
the great e&s;teem he hath among&s;t Prote&s;tants
them&s;elves: and indeed he de&s;erves all the good
can be &s;aid of him, being of all the Fathers the
chiefe&s;t Flori&s;t, fulle&s;t of Elegancy, and there|fore
mo&s;t delightfull;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Aug. de Haere&s;. ad Quod vult Deum.</NOTE> and al&s;o the mo&s;t judici|ous
and &s;olid, and therefore mo&s;t edifying: but
yet for all that, Saint <HI>Augustine</HI> him&s;elf had his
Re<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="faint" EXTENT="2 letters">ctations, and he calls it him&s;elf a <HI>nece&s;&s;ary
<PB N="55" REF="37">
work.</HI> In this Parallel and comparing both
Churches together, the Marques &s;pends many
pages, which I &s;hall an&s;wer in as few lines. And
fir&s;t, I might demand, were his Lord&s;hip living,
as <HI>David</HI> did of the Widow of <HI>Tekoah,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Sam. 14. 19.</NOTE> <HI>Is not the
hand of</HI> Joab (or Cardinal <HI>Peron) with thee in all
this?</HI> Could he, or dur&s;t he deny it? Undoubt|edly
no, there being no other difference than be|tween
<HI>French</HI> and <HI>Engli&s;h,</HI> and the Reply of a
Cardinal, to the Father; of a Marques, to the
Son. But as the Cardinal &s;aved the Marques a
great deal of labor in penning his eighteenth
Chapter of his Reply to King <HI>James;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Andrews Opu&s;c. po&s;t|huma.</NOTE> &s;o a very
reverend and learned Bi&s;hop hath &s;aved me as
much, in already an&s;wering that eighteenth
Chapter of the Cardinal's Reply; and he hath
done it &s;o full, &s;o home, that never as yet dur&s;t
any Je&s;uit, or other of the <HI>Romi&s;h</HI> per&s;wa&s;ion,
take him to task for it: to that excellent Piece
I &s;hall tran&s;mit the Reader, with this onely
cautionary hint, that what the Bi&s;hop <HI>page</HI> 7.
citeth out of Saint <HI>Augustine de Civit. Dei l. 17.
c.</HI> 20. is no where to be found in that Tome or
Tract, but is in his &s;ixth Tome <HI>contra Fau&s;t. Ma|nich.
l. 20. c.</HI> 21. and in&s;tead of <HI>Post Adventum</HI> in
the Bi&s;hops, reade <HI>Post A&s;cen&s;um,</HI> for &s;o it is, and
&s;o it mu&s;t be, I wonder much that his own Ma|nu&s;cript
(he being &s;o diligently preci&s;e)
&s;hould have it &s;o, and that the Error &s;hould
e&s;cape al&s;o tho&s;e judicious and exact Supervi|&s;ors,
who publi&s;hed tho&s;e po&s;thume Works.</P>
<P>After all the&s;e borrowed, or rather &s;tollen
Compari&s;ons, the Marques makes no doubt but
his Maje&s;ties judgement will tell him, that <HI>[the
<PB N="56" REF="38">
Church of</HI> Rome <HI>hath not changed her countenance,
nor the Papi&s;ts fled from their Colours, but that they do
antiquum obtinere.]</HI> True indeed, the <HI>Romi&s;h</HI> Ca|tholiques
do &s;till <HI>antiquum obtinere,</HI> keep their old
wont, the old wont of the ancient Hereticks, and
what that was <HI>Tertullian</HI> can inform us; <HI>Adjectio|nibus,
by foisting in</HI> (as,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Tertul. de prae&s;cript.</NOTE> <HI>This is my body which is given</HI>
for you, <HI>not</HI> to you) <HI>&amp; detractionibus, by lopping and
laming</HI> (as leaving out, <HI>Do this in remembrance of
me) Scripturas ad di&s;po&s;itionem instituti intervertere,
wresting the Scriptures to &s;erve their own turns.</HI> This
is all the Antiquity his Maje&s;ties judgement
could tell him of in the <HI>Romi&s;h</HI> Church, where
differing from ours. Nor is it enough his Lord|&s;hip
proves (as he would per&s;wade us) the <HI>Ro|mi&s;h</HI>
Antiquity, but he will al&s;o &s;hew the Pro|te&s;tants
theirs <HI>in the condemned here&s;ies of the anci|ent
Church;</HI> as for Example, <HI>the Prote&s;tants hold
that the Church may err, this they had from the Dona|tists.]</HI>
But I would gladly know from whence
the Marques had his Information concerning
this opinion of the <HI>Donati&s;ts?</HI> he quoteth <HI>Augu|&s;tine</HI>
for it, I confe&s;&s;e, and with a <HI>pa&s;&s;ion</HI> as if eve|ry
where you might finde it in him, where he
undertaketh <HI>Donatus;</HI> but &s;ure it is, his Lord&s;hips
every where will come to no where; for the opini|on
of <HI>Donatus</HI> was clearly this; that all Church|es
but his own were erroneous, his own onely
infallible, and out of which hold he did, that
none could be &s;aved; which I conceive is the very
Tenet of the <HI>Romi&s;h</HI> Catholiques, and &s;o the <HI>Do|nati&s;ts</HI>
and they are neare&s;t ally'd.</P>
<P>Prote&s;tants deny unwritten Tradit ions this
they had from the <HI>Arrians.</HI></P>
<P><PB N="57" REF="38">
I deny that Deny, Traditions we hold, and
grant in Ceremonies and matters not funda|mental,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Baldwin. in Optatum l. 5.</NOTE>
and we oppo&s;e to the <HI>Romi&s;h</HI> party their
own compari&s;on of Traditions to a nuncupa|tive
will, which cannot, by the Rule of our
Law, convey a free-hold and E&s;tate in Fee. So it
is with Traditions in Divinity, they cannot
con&s;titute any Articles of Faith, or impo&s;e any
thing of the nece&s;&s;ity of &s;alvation, for which re|cour&s;e
mu&s;t be had to the written Word, and to
that only. Though <HI>Arrius</HI> is branded for an Here|tick,
yet neither <HI>Augu&s;tine</HI> nor <HI>Epiphanius,</HI> &s;o far as
I am able to under&s;tand them, have di&s;covered
any &s;uch Here&s;ie in him as a Recu&s;ant to un|written
Traditions.</P>
<P>Prote&s;tants teach that Prie&s;ts may marry, this
they had from <HI>Vigilantius.</HI></P>
<P>This is Here&s;ie now adays, but <HI>ab initio non fu|it
&s;ic,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Tim. 3. 2.</NOTE> 'twas not &s;o in Saint <HI>Paul's</HI> opinion, who
appointed a Bi&s;hop &s;hould be <HI>the Husband of one
Wife;</HI> 'twas not &s;o in <HI>Tertullian's</HI> opinion, who
was a married Presbyter; 'twas not &s;o in the
opinion of tho&s;e Bi&s;hops <HI>Athana&s;ius</HI><NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">Epi&s;t. ad Dracent. Epi&s;c. fu|gient.</NOTE> &s;peaks of,
who were married; nor &s;o in our I&s;land<NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">Gild. Epi&s;t.</NOTE> for
near &s;ix hundred years.</P>
<P>Prote&s;tants deny Prayer for the Dead, this
they had from <HI>Aerius.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Aerius</HI> was not condemned for an Heretique,
by Saint <HI>Augu&s;tine,</HI> for denying Prayer for the
Dead;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Aug. de Haer. 53.</NOTE> he onely &s;aith, that <HI>Aerius</HI> fell into <HI>Arrius</HI>
his Here&s;ie, <HI>Propria quoque dogmata addidi&s;&s;e nonnul|la,
dicens orare pro mortuis non oportere;</HI> and <HI>added
&s;ome private opinions of his own, &s;aying, that we ought
not to pray for the Dead.</HI> So <HI>Augu&s;tine;</HI> and <HI>Dogmata,
opinions</HI> are not Here&s;ies.</P>
<P><PB N="58" REF="39">
Prote&s;tants deny Invocation of Saints, this
they had from <HI>Vigilantius,</HI> for which he is con|demned
by Saint <HI>Hierome.</HI></P>
<P><HI>To deny Invocation of Saints was no Here|&s;ie
in</HI> Hieromes <HI>time,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">De Civit.</NOTE> <HI>for</HI> Augu&s;tine <HI>his Contem|porary,
&s;aith,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Dei l. 22. c. 10.</NOTE> <HI>that</HI> the Martyrs who&s;e names are ce|lebrated
at the Altar, non tamen a &s;acerdote invocan|tur,
are not yet invocated by the Prie&s;t.</P>
<P>Prote&s;tants deny Reverence to Images, this
they had from <HI>Xenias.</HI></P>
<P>'Tis well known, Wor&s;hiping of Images
came fir&s;t into the Church by the &s;econd Coun|cel
of <HI>Nice;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Irenaeus l. 1. c. 24.</NOTE> and as well known, that that
Councel was condemned by the Councel of
<HI>Frankford.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Augu&s;t.</NOTE> And the Fathers ancienter far than
both,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Haere&s;. 7.</NOTE> enroll the <HI>Gno&s;ticks</HI> and <HI>Garpocratians</HI> a|among&s;t
Heretiques,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Epiph. in Haer. 27.</NOTE> for adoring of Images; and
if it be Here&s;ie to adore them, it is certainly
none to deny them Adoration.</P>
<P>Prote&s;tants deny the Real pre&s;ence, this they
had from the <HI>Capernaites.</HI></P>
<P>The <HI>Capernaites</HI> were no more Heretiques
than the Di&s;ciples them&s;elves of <HI>Christ;</HI> for as
one &s;aid, <HI>How can this man give us his fle&s;h to eat?
John</HI> 6. 52. So the other, <HI>This is an hard &s;aying,
who can hear it? v.</HI> 60.</P>
<P>Prote&s;tants deny Confe&s;&s;ion of &s;ins to a
Prie&s;t, &s;o did the <HI>Novatian</HI> Heretiques, and the
<HI>Montanists.</HI></P>
<P>Prote&s;tants deny not Confe&s;&s;ion Auricular;
<HI>Luther,</HI> who &s;aith, it is not nece&s;&s;ary, nor to be
exacted,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luther de Com. pop.</NOTE> yet withall &s;aith, it is <HI>utilis &amp; non con|temnenda,
Profitable and not to be &s;lighted.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Opu&s;c.</NOTE> <HI>Bucer</HI>
commends it,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Anglican.</NOTE> and &s;aith, <HI>It is the duty of Ministers
<PB N="59" REF="39">
to exhort rich per&s;ons to it.</HI> Our Church in &s;ome
ca&s;es injoyns it. Nor did <HI>Novatus</HI> deny it; his
Error was, that they who in Times of per&s;ecu|tion
fell away to Idolatry, and delivered up the
&s;acred Scriptures to be burnt; &s;hould never be
admitted to communicate with the faithfull in
the Congregation,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Cypr. de Lap&s;is.</NOTE> not excluding them from all
hope of mercy with God, but from Communi|on
with the Church, that the &s;trictne&s;&s;e of this
Di&s;cipline, might &s;trike into men the terror of
Apo&s;tatizing. And the Catholique Church her
&s;elf went but one degree, but one &s;tep further in
her Indulgence beyond <HI>Novatus;</HI> for whereas he
in Reconciliation, thought once was too much,
&s;he her &s;elf thought but once enough, and this
was done as <HI>Augustine</HI> &s;aid, <HI>Ne medicina vilis minus
utilis e&s;&s;et aegrotis. Lest the cheapne&s;s of the medicine
&s;hould hinder the cure.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Epi&s;t. 54.</NOTE> Nor did <HI>Montanus</HI> (though
too rigid in this particular) deny it wholly, for
his Excommunication was but <HI>ad omne pene de|lictum,</HI>
for <HI>almost every offence,</HI> and <HI>almost</HI> is a
word of qualification, of abatement.</P>
<P>Prote&s;tants &s;ay, we are ju&s;tified by faith one|ly,
this they had from the P&s;eudo-Apo&s;tles.</P>
<P>Our Ju&s;tification by faith onely we had from
Saint <HI>Paul, Rom.</HI> 3. 28. and we hope he was no
Counterfeit, no fal&s;e Apo&s;tle. The fal&s;e Apo&s;tles
Saint <HI>Augustine</HI> &s;peaks of, were they who held,
that ju&s;tifying Faith might be &s;evered from, and
without works; &s;uch an Opinion the Church of
<HI>Rome</HI> maintains to this day, and Prote&s;tants un|dertake
the Papi&s;ts for it.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, as I have &s;hewed your Maje&s;ty, that
your Church as it &s;tands in oppo&s;ition to ours,
<PB N="60" REF="40">
is but a <HI>Congeries</HI> of &s;o many Here&s;ies; &s;o you &s;hall
finde our Doctrine among&s;t your own Doctors.</P>
<P>At la&s;t the Marques is come to his La&s;tly;
and if his So here, proves no better than his for|mer
As, his Lord&s;hips &s;hews will be but So So;
And fir&s;t, he begins with the <HI>Greek</HI> Church,
who he &s;aith holds Invocation of Saints, Adora|tion
of Images, Tran&s;ub&s;tantiation, Communi|on
in one kinde; but his Lord&s;hip is clearly out
in the la&s;t, for they communicat under both
kindes, though received at once <GAP DESC="foreign">,
<HI>The Bread &s;opt in the Wine,</HI> as <HI>Christophorus
Angelus,</HI> a Native of that place, a&s;&s;ures us. And for
Wor&s;hiping of Images, he is half out there too,
for though they wor&s;hip Images yet in their
Churches they will not endure them, as the Pa|pi&s;ts
do. In many points it cannot be deny'd, they
have confederacy with the Church of <HI>Rome,</HI> they
have their Errors,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Cap. de In|colis terrae &s;ancta.</NOTE> and are cen&s;ured for them by
us, and &s;o they are by <HI>Bocardus</HI> a Monk, with a
<HI>Faxit Deus, &amp;c. God grant there be no Fopperies
crept into our Church</HI> (meaning the <HI>Romi&s;h) al&s;o.</HI>
His Lord&s;hip did <HI>toto coelo errare, was Heaven wide</HI>
when he reckon'd the <HI>Greek</HI> Church among&s;t
our Doctors, though true it is, they hold indeed
with us in the weightie&s;t, with the Papi&s;ts in
the mo&s;t points. And to little better purpo&s;e
was it, that he urgeth again&s;t us <HI>Luther,</HI> the <HI>Hu&s;|&s;ites,
Wickliff,</HI> and the <HI>Walden&s;es;</HI> we own them
not for our predece&s;&s;ors, they had their Errors,
the Rancidity of <HI>Rome</HI> was not wholly out of
them, nor could it be expected otherwi&s;e. For
Illumination is not in Divinity, as in Philo&s;o|phy,
an in&s;tantaneous action; we ble&s;&s;e God for
<PB N="61" REF="40">
the light they had, though umbrageous and
clouded, yet was it &s;uch as di&s;covered the na|kedne&s;&s;e
and &s;hame of the Church of Rome.
And &s;ince the Marques hath begun to us, we will
requite him, with &s;hewing the Romani&s;ts our
Tenets among&s;t their own Doctors; whom they
do, and always account undoubted Catho|liques;
and becau&s;e he begins with <HI>Tran&s;ub|&s;tantiation,</HI>
we will follow him in his own Or|der.</P>
<P>And fir&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Tran&s;ub|&s;tantia|tion.</NOTE> take notice when this opinion be|gan
to be an Article of Faith, and for that hear
<HI>Scotus: Tran&s;ub&s;tantiation</HI> was not a point of
Faith,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Scot. in 4.</NOTE> till the Lateran Councel. And <HI>Ton&s;tal:</HI> Of
the manner how Chri&s;ts body is in the Bread,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sent. d. 11.</NOTE> it
were better to leave every man to his own opi|nion,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ton&s;tal. de Euch. l. 1.</NOTE>
as it was free before the Lateran Councel.
This Councel was celebrated,<NOTE PLACE="marg">De Euch. l. 3. c. 20.</NOTE> as <HI>Bellarmine</HI> holds,
Anno 1215. And yet her deci&s;ion hath not pa&s;|&s;ed
very currant neither. For <HI>Scotus</HI> &s;aith, it doth
not &s;eem to be deduced out of Scripture, that
the &s;ub&s;tance of the Bread is not in the <HI>Euchari&s;t.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Scot. ib. in 4. q. 6. art. 2. in Sent. 4. d. 11. q. 1.</NOTE>
<HI>Petrus de Alliaco:</HI> That the &s;ub&s;tance of the Bread
cea&s;eth to be, there is not evidently imply'd out
of Scripture. <HI>Durandus:</HI> Tis ra&s;hne&s;&s;e to affirm
the body of Chri&s;t cannot be in the Sacrament,
but by conver&s;ion of the Bread into it. <HI>Cajetan:</HI>
There appeareth not in the Go&s;pel any coercive
Argument that the&s;e words,<NOTE PLACE="marg">in Them. 3. q. 75. art. 1.</NOTE> This is my Body,
are to be under&s;tood properly. <HI>Walfridus Strabo:</HI>
After the celebration of the pa&s;&s;e-over,<NOTE PLACE="marg">c. 16.</NOTE> Chri&s;t
delivered the Sacrament of his body and bloud,
in the <HI>Sub&s;tance</HI> of bread and wine.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ferus in Matth. 26.</NOTE> <HI>Ferus:</HI> Since
certain it is the body of Chri&s;t is there, what
<PB N="62" REF="41">
need we di&s;pute whether the Bread remaineth in
Sub&s;tance or not.</P>
<P>The Glo&s;&s;e of the Canon Law:<NOTE PLACE="marg">De Con|&s;ecr. di&s;t. 2</NOTE> The Bread is
called Chri&s;ts body improperly, meaning that
it &s;ignifieth Chri&s;ts body.</P>
<P>Again&s;t the Infallibility of the Church,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Infalli|bility.</NOTE> that
is, (as the Marques confe&s;t to his Maje&s;ty, p. 79.)
of the Church of <HI>Rome,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Di&s;put. theolog. tom. 3. di&s;p. 1. pag. 24. cont. Haer. l. 1. c 4.</NOTE> that is, (as <HI>Valentia</HI> &s;aith)
the Bi&s;hop of <HI>Rome, Alphon&s;us de Castro.</HI> Every man
may err in Faith, yea, though he be the Pope
him&s;elf. <HI>Ger&s;on,</HI> The Pope as well as an infe|riour
Bi&s;hop is obnoxious to erre in Faith. <HI>Ca|tharinus,</HI>
Nothing hindereth, but the Pope may
err in Faith,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Tract. An liceat ap|pellare a Papa in cau&s;is fi|dei.</NOTE> though &s;ome Novelli&s;ts are &s;o im|pudent
to hold the contrary again&s;t the com|mon
&s;ence of all antiquity. <HI>Adrian</HI> the &s;ixth,
a Pope him&s;elf affirmeth it for certain, That a
Pope may erre in a&s;&s;erting here&s;y by his Decree,
and that many Popes have been heretiques.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Catharin. Comment. in Gal. 2.</NOTE>
<HI>Bannes,</HI> It was the general opinion of all the
ancient, both Popes and School-men, till <HI>Pighius;</HI>
and &s;ince him of the more &s;ober Doctors,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Adr. de Confirm. art. 3. ad finem. Banne&s;. in 2. 2. q. 1. art. 10. lib. 57.</NOTE> as <HI>Ca|jetan,
Turrecremata, Victoria, Soto, Canus,</HI> and others;
that the Pope of <HI>Rome</HI> may become an heretique.</P>
<P>Again&s;t Merits and Supererogation.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Merits. Sacra|ment. tit. 7. ch. 7.</NOTE> <HI>Wal|den&s;is,</HI>
He is the be&s;t Catholique, who confe&s;&s;eth,
that &s;imply no man meriteth the Kingdom of
heaven;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Comment. in Math. c. 20.</NOTE> but obtaineth it of Gods free grave. <HI>Fe|rus,</HI>
If thou de&s;ire&s;t to keep in Gods favour,
make no mention of thine own Merits. <HI>Duran|dus,</HI>
If God give any reward to our good deeds,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Di&s;t 27. q 2.</NOTE>
it is not becau&s;e he is a debter to our works, but
<PB N="63" REF="41">
out of his own bounty.<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Di&s;t. 17. q. 1. art. 2.</NOTE> <HI>Ariminen&s;is,</HI> No work
performed by man is condignely meritorious of
eternal life,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Pigh. con|trov. 2. L. 1. d.</NOTE> no nor of any temporal reward.
<HI>Pighius,</HI> We are made righteous not by our own
righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, but by the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of God
in Chri&s;t.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gratia &amp; lib. Arb. c. 3.</NOTE> This is that <HI>Pighius</HI> who <HI>Bellarmine</HI>
&s;aith was mi&s;erably &s;educed by reading <HI>Calvins</HI>
works.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Bell. Te|&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="faint" EXTENT="1 letter">am. ult.</NOTE> But who was it &s;educed the Cardinal
him&s;elf to pray that God would admit of him
among&s;t the Elect, not a pri&s;er of his Merit, but
a di&s;pen&s;er of pardon and forgivene&s;&s;e?</P>
<P>Again&s;t Invocation of Saints,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Invoca|tion of <HI>Saints.</HI></NOTE> <HI>Halen&s;is</HI> our
Country-man, God alone is &s;imply to be prayed
to, the Saints are rather a&s;&s;i&s;tants in the behalf of
tho&s;e who pray,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Di&s;t. 4. q. 26.</NOTE> then fit to be prayed to. <HI>Bannes,</HI>
That Saints are to be prayed to,<NOTE PLACE="marg">art. 3: 2. 2. q. 1. art. 50. in 3. Thom. q. 52. di&s;t. 42. in 2. Ti|moth. 2. di&s;t. 8.</NOTE> and images to
be wor&s;hipped, is neither expre&s;ly nor by impli|cation
taught in Scripture. <HI>Suarez,</HI> That in the
Old Te&s;tament any one did directly pray to the
Saints departed, either to help them, or pray
for them, we no where read. <HI>Salmeron</HI> Invoca|tion
of Saints is not mentioned in the New Te|&s;tament,
and it may admini&s;ter occa&s;ion to the
Gentiles of wor&s;hipping many Gods.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rational. l. 4. c. 39.</NOTE> <HI>Durandus,</HI>
Adoration mu&s;t be be&s;towed onely upon God,
not upon the Angels, le&s;t we fall into the &s;in of
Idolatry.</P>
<P>Again&s;t Communion halfed.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Com|munion, halfed.</NOTE> <HI>Halen&s;is,</HI> whole
<HI>Chri&s;t</HI> is not conteined in either kind Sacramen|tally,
but his fle&s;h under the &s;pecies of bread,
and his bloud under the &s;pecies of wine.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Di&s;t. 4. q. 4.</NOTE> <HI>Lori|chius,</HI>
'Tis here&s;y and execrable bla&s;phemy of
Ba&s;tard-Catholiques,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Memb. <GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="faint" EXTENT="1 letter">. De Mi&s;&s;a.</NOTE> who &s;ay, that <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> &s;pake
onely to the Apo&s;tles, &s;aying, Drink ye all of
<PB N="64" REF="42">
this,<NOTE PLACE="marg">De legit. u&s;u Euch. c. 10.</NOTE> when both the&s;e words, Eat and Drink
were &s;poken to the whole Church. <HI>Valentia:</HI>
Communion under one kind began to be gene|rally
received a little before the Councel of con|&s;tance.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Apud Gratian. de Con&s;e|crat.</NOTE>
<HI>Pope Gela&s;ius:</HI> We find that one part of
the Sacrament cannot be received without
the other,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Di&s;t. 2.</NOTE> without committing great Sacri|ledge.</P>
<P>Again&s;t the Sacrifice of the Ma&s;&s;e.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sacrifice of the Ma&s;&s;e.</NOTE> The Ma|&s;ter
of the &s;entences: It is demanded, if what the
Prie&s;t con&s;ecrateth be properly a Sacrifice? to
this it may be briefly replied that what is of|fered
by the Prie&s;t is called a Sacrifice,<NOTE PLACE="marg">L. 4. di&s;t. 12.</NOTE> becau&s;e it
is a Memorial and repre&s;entation of the ture Sa|crifice
made once upon the Cro&s;&s;e.</P>
<P>Again&s;t the &s;even Sacraments.<NOTE PLACE="marg">7. Sacra|ments.</NOTE> Cardinal <HI>Be&s;|&s;arion:</HI>
Bapti&s;me and the Lords Supper are the
onely Sacrament delivered evidently in the Go|&s;pels.<NOTE PLACE="marg">De Sacr. Euch. in 4. Sent. d<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="faint" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;t. 23. q 1. art. 4. Matri|mony.</NOTE>
<HI>Thomas Aquinas,</HI> The form of Bapti&s;me
and the Euchari&s;t are extant in the Scriptures,
but not the form of other Sacraments.</P>
<P><HI>Matrimony</HI> is not to &s;peak properly a Sacra|ment.
<HI>Durandus:</HI> There want not &s;ome Catho|liques,
who grant that <HI>Matrimony</HI> is no Sacra|ment
of the new Law,<NOTE PLACE="marg">L 4. di&s;t. 26. q. 3. de &s;acr. Matrim. l. 1. c. 5.</NOTE> <HI>Bellarmine.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Penance,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Penance.</NOTE> is divided among&s;t the Papi&s;ts, into
Confe&s;&s;ion, ab&s;olution and &s;atisfaction. But
Confe&s;&s;ion is denied to be any part of this Sa|crament
by <HI>Scotus,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">in 4. di&s;t. 14.</NOTE> <HI>Major &amp; Gabriel,</HI> and ab&s;olu|tion
is denied by <HI>Dominicus a Soto,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">in 4. di&s;t. 14.</NOTE> and <HI>Bellarmine</HI>
him&s;elf &s;aith, that inward contrition is &s;uffi|cient
to &s;ave us without either ab&s;olution or
Confe&s;&s;ion.<NOTE PLACE="marg">de Poen. l. 1. c. 19.</NOTE></P>
<P><PB N="65" REF="42">
The Sacrament of confirmation,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Confir|mation.</NOTE> as it is a Sa|crament,
was neither in&s;tituted by Chri&s;t nor
his Apo&s;tles, <HI>Halen&s;is.</HI> The Apo&s;tles delivered
neither the matter nor form of this Sacrament,<NOTE PLACE="marg">p. 4. q. 24. Art. 2.</NOTE>
but onely confirm'd &s;ome without the Mini&s;te|ry
of a Sacrament,<NOTE PLACE="marg">4. di&s;t. 7.</NOTE> <HI>Bonaventute.</HI> Of the form of
this Sacrament we read nothing in Scripture:
if we re&s;ort to tradition,<NOTE PLACE="marg">in 3 Thom.</NOTE> we &s;hall find a great
deal of variety among&s;t the Fathers <HI>Sudre&s;.</HI></P>
<P>There are but two places urged from Scri|pture
for extream unction,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Extream &V;nition.</NOTE> <HI>Marc. 6. ver&s;.</HI> 13. is
the fir&s;t, where it is &s;aid, that the Apo&s;tles
anointed with oyl, many that were &s;ick and
healed them.<NOTE PLACE="marg">de Extrem. &V;unct. l. 1. c. 2.</NOTE> But <HI>Bellarmine</HI> denieth that uncti|on
to be Sacramental, becau&s;e &s;aith he the Apo|&s;tles
were not yet made Prie&s;ts. The other is
<HI>James</HI> 5. 14. cited by the Marques, and <HI>Cajetan</HI>
&s;aith,<NOTE PLACE="marg">in locum.</NOTE> neither from the words nor from the ef|fect
can it be gathered, that the Apo&s;tle &s;peaks
thereof the Sacramental union.</P>
<P>Again&s;t Purgatory.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Purgat<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="faint" EXTENT="1 letter">+ry <GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="faint" EXTENT="1 span"> ther.</NOTE> <HI>Roffen&s;is,</HI> Purgatory can|not
be proved by Scripture: and among&s;t the
antients there is none at all, or very rawly any
mention of Purgatory, and the Greek Church
denieth it to this day. <HI>Otho Fri&s;.</HI> That there is any
&s;uch place of Purgatory in hell, wherein they,
who are to be &s;aved mu&s;t be purified by an ex|piatory
fire, &s;ome (but not all) a&s;&s;ert.</P>
<P>By this time, I hope, I have made good my
promi&s;e; for, I think, the Romi&s;h Catholiques
nor can, nor will deny, but all the&s;e are their
own Doctors, and all this our Doctrine.</P>
<P><HI>Finally:</HI> If neither pre&s;cription of 1600 years
po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion, and continuance of our Churches
<PB N="66" REF="43">
Doctrine, nor our evidence out of the Word of
God, nor the Fathers witne&s;&s;ing to that evi|dence,
nor the decrees of Councels, nor your
own acknowledgements, be &s;ufficient to mollify
and turn your Royal heart, there is no more
means left for truth or me, but I mu&s;t leave it to
God, in who&s;e hand are the hearts of Kings.</P>
<P>This Finally contradicts his Lord&s;hips late
la&s;tly, and it is a formidable, a terrible conclu|&s;ion,
a conclu&s;ion able to make the &s;toute&s;t Pro|te&s;tant
reel; did we not know that the&s;e are but
words of cour&s;e, and meer &s;et forms of O&s;ten|tation:
what is indeed more fea&s;able then to be
foyl'd when he who is our enemy, <GAP DESC="foreign">,
is become all he
can de&s;ire,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> accu&s;er, witne&s;&s;e, Judge? But &s;hall
his Lord&s;hip carry away this conclu&s;ion <GAP DESC="foreign">
without controul? No &s;ure, admit they could
pre&s;cribe for 1600 years, mu&s;t pre&s;cription
pre&s;cribe and out Truth? But can they pre|&s;cribe
for 1600 years in any one point where
in they differ from us? Can they in many for
1000? can they in &s;ome for 600? their grand
Novelty of Tran&s;ub&s;tantiation will tell them
no; and it is well known, the &s;lender po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion
their errours have had, hath not been &s;o quiet,
&s;o peaceable, &s;o undi&s;turbed, but that Truth
hath made her con&s;tant and continual claim.
As for their evidence out of the word of God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Oration<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="faint" EXTENT="2 letters"> e&s;&s;e ad &s;an|ctos facien|das, venerandas e&s;&s;e eorum imagines, memoria&s;que eorundem in Eccle&s;ia ce|lebrandas &s;olemniter, &s;acramenta ordinis &amp; confirmationis non e&s;&s;e iteran|da, neque expre&s;&s;e neque implicate, &s;acrae literae docent, Bannes in 2. 2. q. 1. art. 10. p. 170. can. loc. com. l. 3. c. 3. &s;undam. 3.</NOTE>
out of the word of God it is, I confe&s;&s;e, but it
<PB N="67" REF="43">
would do much better in it; And in it they have
&s;o little as their greate&s;t Clerks acknowledge,
that <HI>prayer to the Saints, wor&s;hipping of their Images,
celebrating their festivals, the not iterating of the Sa|craments
of Orders and confirmation, are taught in
Scripture, neither expre&s;ly, nor by implication.</HI> So
<HI>Bannes,</HI> from whom <HI>Canus</HI> differeth onely in &s;u|peradding
the Sacrifice of the Enchari&s;t. As for
the Fathers and Councels witne&s;&s;ing to that evi|dence,
&s;uch as the Scripture evidence is for the
Papi&s;ts, &s;uch is their witne&s;&s;ing to that evidence,
ju&s;t &s;o and no more, which more explicitely is,
ju&s;t none at all. For I challange them to pro|duce
any one Father of the fir&s;t 500 years, who
held and maintained any one point of Doctrine
as the Councel of <HI>Trent</HI> now holds, where dif|fering
from us; of Doctrine I &s;ay, for in cere|monies
they may I grant find many pre&s;idents
in antiquity conformable to theirs. As for our
own acknowledgements, &s;ure his Lord&s;hip did
not in good earne&s;t and &s;eriou&s;ly think we Re|puted
and own'd <HI>Luther,</HI> the <HI>Hu&s;&s;ites,</HI> the <HI>Wal|den&s;es</HI>
for Ours; no, we always con&s;tantly urge
them as Romi&s;h Catholiques, though in &s;ome
particulars they oppugned her Doctrine. Thus
his Lord&s;hips &s;pecious and fla&s;hy conclu&s;ion is
reduced to a meer nothing. And his Maje&s;ty was
at this brunt in no great danger of becoming the
Marques his convert.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="treatise">
<PB N="68" REF="44">
<HEAD>Certain Con&s;iderations upon
D^r BAYLY'S Interlocu|tion,
concerning the True
Church its being Judge of
Scripture.</HEAD>
<P>THe Doctor's Invective again&s;t Sacri|ledge
&s;hall create him no trouble from
me, I de&s;ire not to meddle with Imper|tinencies.
[Since your Maje&s;ty was plea&s;ed to
di&s;charge the Watch which I had &s;et before the
Door of my Lips] The Watch before the Door
of your Lips was, it &s;eems, of your own &s;et|ting,
and becau&s;e &s;o, 'tis like his Maje&s;ty
thought fit to di&s;charge it; not de&s;iring to leave
them without a Guard, but hoping they might
be relieved with that which the Prophet <HI>David</HI>
call'd to God for, <HI>P&s;alm 141. v.</HI> 3.</P>
<P>I &s;hall make bold to put your Maje&s;ty in
minde of holding my Lord to the Demand,
which your Maje&s;ty once made unto his Lord|&s;hip,
concerning the true Church; for if once that
Que&s;tion were throughly determined, all Con|trover&s;ies,
not onely between your Maje&s;ty and
his Lord&s;hip, but al&s;o all Controver&s;ies that
<PB N="69" REF="44">
ever were, would &s;oon be decided, at a &s;hort
race end] And is there no way, no means to end
Controver&s;ies, but by that which this fifteen
hundred years and upward, hath been di&s;puted
what it is, and where to finde it? Did God pro|vide
&s;o ill for us, as to leave us in &s;u&s;pen&s;e con|cerning
the main points of Faith, untill that
Church, which is yet in the clouds, &s;hall define
what is the true &s;en&s;e of that Scripture, which
mu&s;t guide us to eternal happine&s;&s;e. And if after
15 hundred years debate this Church were but
in view, &s;ome comfort it were to us; but clear
it is (and a mi&s;erable ca&s;e) &s;he is as far off, for
ought we know, as ever; for we are not agreed
upon tho&s;e marks and tokens by which &s;he mu&s;t
be known. Our Church (the Church of <HI>Eng|land</HI>)
holds the purity of Doctrine preached
agreeable to God's Word,<NOTE PLACE="marg">De not is Eccle&s;. l. 4. c. 3.</NOTE> and Sacraments ad|mini&s;tred
according to <HI>Christ's</HI> Ordinance, to be
the notes of it. The papi&s;ts hold they know not
how many; <HI>Bellarmine</HI> reckons fifteen, but at la&s;t
reduceth them to four, (according to the mo&s;t
u&s;ual and received Opinion among&s;t them)
Unity, Holine&s;&s;e, Univer&s;ality, Succe&s;&s;ion; as
they are in the <HI>Nicene</HI> Creed; but yet he comes
reeling off too, giving them no more than an
Evidence of Credibility; &s;o that if a man will
believe them he may,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Evidenti|am credi|bilitatis ib.</NOTE> and may not if he will: and
if we were agreed upon the true marks, yet
&s;hould we not be agreed upon the true Church;
for &s;uppo&s;e the four mentioned before and ur|ged
by the Church of <HI>Rome</HI> be they, yet we &s;ay,
they are more vi&s;ible in our Church, than in
that of <HI>Rome.</HI> There are not among&s;t us, three
<PB N="70" REF="45">
hundred and three differences in points of Re|ligion,<NOTE PLACE="marg">B. <HI>Halls</HI> peace of <HI>Rome.</HI></NOTE>
as hath been demon&s;trated in the Church
of <HI>Rome,</HI> and therefore ours the greater Unity.
For Holine&s;&s;e, that is a grace keeps home, and
&s;tirs little abroad, yet if we may judge of it by
its fruits, the papi&s;ts cannot &s;hew us more wic|ked
members of our Church, than we can them
Heads of theirs; &s;o the thing Holine&s;&s;e is ours,
let the Title be theirs. For Univer&s;ality, <HI>Rome</HI>
(wherein &s;he differeth from us) cannot prove her
A&s;&s;ertions from the te&s;timony of the primitive
Church, in &s;ome points for a thou&s;and years,
not in any for five hundred after <HI>Christ;</HI> &s;o we
are the more Catholique. La&s;tly, for Succe&s;&s;ion
of Doctrine (which is the be&s;t Succe&s;&s;ion) we
derive ours from all the Apo&s;tles; <HI>Rome</HI> onely
from <HI>Peter,</HI> derives onely a Succe&s;&s;ion of Chairs;
and yet it is not infallibly certain that ever <HI>Pe|ter</HI>
was at <HI>Rome,</HI> much le&s;&s;e Bi&s;hop there; and
therefore our Succe&s;&s;ion the be&s;t too; &s;o that as
the ca&s;e now &s;tands between us, we are not like
to agree in ha&s;te.</P>
<P>Doctor, I wi&s;h you could &s;et us through; and
truly I mu&s;t needs &s;ay, in my opinion you have
made a fair offer at deciding this Controver&s;ie,
when you &s;aid,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Page 79</NOTE> The true Church mu&s;t be a So|ciety
of Men, though I can go no further with
you, for that, That Society of Men are to be &s;u|preme
Judge of Scripture, and Controver&s;ies
Theological will not down with me, nor I be|lieve
with many more. For let that Society of
Men be a General Councel, which is a &s;uppo&s;i|tion
of as much advantage to you as you can
de&s;ire, becau&s;e it repre&s;ents the Catholique
<PB N="71" REF="45">
Church; and it is but a &s;uppo&s;ition too, for
though there have been before the Empire was
&s;plit, General Councels in former times; yet as
the ca&s;e &s;tands now, it &s;eemeth to wi&s;e men an
incredible thing, that ever &s;uch a Councel &s;hall
be again: and Religion would be in a mo&s;t &s;ad
condition, were all controver&s;ies to &s;tay for de|ci&s;ion
till then.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Conc. Eph.</NOTE> Be&s;ides Doctor, it hath befallen
&s;ome General Councels, that there hath been
&s;hamefull packing and fore-&s;talling of Suffrages
and Voices before they met; and when met,
many have been frighted and minaced to vote
clean contrary to their own &s;en&s;e; and &s;uch
Councels are but ill to be tru&s;ted with Que&s;ti|ons
of Faith, in my poor opinion. But &s;uppo&s;e
your Councel met, and a&s;&s;embled, and with all
the faire&s;t carriage and freedom you can de&s;ire,
they are but weak, finite, and erring men &s;till,
their Canons are no Articles of Faith, their De|crees
no infallible Rules. Not &s;o in the primi|tive
Church, I am a&s;&s;ured, by the confe&s;&s;ion of
both &s;ides. <HI>Augustine</HI> being to di&s;pute with <HI>Ma|ximinus,</HI>
his fir&s;t demand was, <HI>Dic mihi fidem, Re|hear&s;e
to me thy faith,</HI> the &s;ubtle Heretique (&s;up|po&s;ing
<HI>Augustine</HI> would urge the <HI>Nicene</HI> Creed
again&s;t him) reply'd, I believe as the Councel of
<HI>Ariminum</HI> believes; but finding after that <HI>Augu|&s;tine</HI>
would not take this for an An&s;wer, &s;ays
further, <HI>I did not plead the Councel of</HI> Ariminum
<HI>to excu&s;e my opinion, but to &s;hew the Authority of the
Fathers; who, according to Scripture, delivered to us
a Confe&s;&s;ion of Faith, which they had out of the Scri|pture.
Augustine</HI> perceiving <HI>Maximinus</HI> let go the
Councel of <HI>Ariminum,</HI> was re&s;olved to &s;tand as
<PB N="72" REF="46">
little upon the Councel of <HI>Nice,</HI> but clo&s;ed with
him thus, <HI>Neither ought I to produce the Councel of</HI>
Nice <HI>again&s;t thee, nor thou that of</HI> Ariminum <HI>again&s;t
me; I am not bound to the authority of this, nor thou of
that; let us in our conflict urge the authority of &s;cripture
witne&s;s indifferent to both, and not peculiar to either.</HI>
See here the Orthodox and Heretique, both
compromi&s;e to abide the order of Scripture,
and both wave the Authority and Judgement of
two General Councels; which certainly they
would not have done, had they reputed them in|fallible,
and a Judge not infallible &s;hall rule no
Faith of mine. But the Doctor tells us <HI>page</HI> 79.
[His Society of Men mu&s;t be &s;uch as can &s;ay,
[It &s;eemed good unto us and to the holy Gho&s;t]
Now Doctor, you &s;peak to the point indeed,
that Society of Men, that Church would I fain
&s;ee; but are you well advi&s;ed what you &s;ay?
If yea, then it mu&s;t &s;eem good to the holy
Gho&s;t becau&s;e &s;o to us, whereas the fir&s;t form
if he ever promi&s;ed to be there with infalli|ble
a&s;&s;i&s;tance, I dare take his word for it; but
had it to the holy Gho&s;t fir&s;t, and then to
us. But a&s;&s;ign the holy Gho&s;t what place ye
plea&s;e, if he be there, 't is all I look for, and
I will not take yours, unle&s;s you &s;hew me that
promi&s;e, which hitherto you have not done.
But we will not part &s;o neither, admit for once
you finde the Church you &s;o hunt for, and a
&s;pirit of infallibility directing her in that
Councel, mu&s;t and will all Controver&s;ies pre|&s;ently
cea&s;e? Certainly no &s;uch matter; for may
not perver&s;e &s;pirits wre&s;t to their own de&s;tructi|on,
what the holy Gho&s;t &s;hall declare in a Ge|neral
Councel, as well as what he hath deliver|ed
<PB N="73" REF="46">
in the &s;acred Scripture? Did not the <HI>Nestorians</HI>
vouch for their Here&s;ie the Authority of the
Councel of <HI>Nice,</HI> as General a Councel, and as
much endowed with the holy Gho&s;t, as ever
any (&s;ince that of <HI>Hieru&s;alem</HI>) was, or I believe
&s;hall be. Nor do I &s;peak onely of what the ma|lice
of Satan &s;owing Tares, and man's crooked
&amp; untoward will (a &s;oil proper for them) may
produce; for the holy Gho&s;t &s;peaks in a man|ner,
<HI>&s;ignanter,</HI> and expre&s;ly, there mu&s;t be, not|with&s;tanding
&s;uch a&s;&s;i&s;tance, Controver&s;ies &s;till.
For if there mu&s;t be Here&s;ies, there will be
without controver&s;ie, Controver&s;ies &s;till; and
that Here&s;ies mu&s;t be, the holy Gho&s;t tells us,
1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 11. 19. So that the revenue and product of
all I have &s;aid is this, That the true Church hath
not the &s;upreme Judicature over Que&s;tions of
Faith; and if &s;he had, yet Controver&s;ies would
and mu&s;t &s;till continue; and all this I hope I
have not onely &s;aid but proved.</P>
<P>I confe&s;&s;e ingeniou&s;ly (&s;ure he meant inge|nuou&s;ly,
for there was no great wit in his confe&s;|&s;ion)
that there is not a thing that I ever under|&s;tood
le&s;&s;e, than that A&s;&s;ertion of the Scriptures
being Judge of Controver&s;ies, though in &s;ome
&s;ort I mu&s;t and will acknowledge it.</P>
<P>The Doctor was here going a &s;tep beyond
the Papi&s;ts them&s;elves, who all hold the Scri|ptures
to be an infallible Rule; but re&s;um'd
him&s;elf, and modifieth his &s;peech with an ac|knowledgement
of it to be &s;o in &s;ome &s;en&s;e; but
in what, he thought us not worthy to know.
Nor, &s;ince he is &s;o re&s;erved, will we much in|quire;
becau&s;e, when known, it can extend
little to our &s;atisfaction. But though we mu&s;t
<PB N="74" REF="47">
not know in what &s;en&s;e it is &s;ole Judge, yet in
what it is not he tells us; and that is,</P>
<P>Not as it is a Book con&s;i&s;ting of papers,
words and letters; for as we commonly &s;ay in
matters of civil Differences, The Law &s;hall be
Judge between us, we do not meane that every
man &s;hall run unto the Law-books, or that any
Lawyer him&s;elf &s;hall &s;earch his Law-ca&s;es, and
thereupon po&s;&s;e&s;&s;e him&s;elf of the thing in que|&s;tion,
without a legal Triall by lawfull Judges
con&s;tituted to that &s;ame purpo&s;e.</P>
<P>How the Doctor thinks he hath nickt it, and
yet I fear he is &s;o far from hitting the White,
as he hath mi&s;t the But. For fir&s;t, the Compari|&s;on
is extremely wide. Things <HI>ad extra,</HI> and what
are without us, may be &s;tated and determined
by civil Judicatories; but Faith is a thing mixt
of the under&s;tanding and the will, over which
none can claim Juri&s;diction. Man may adjudge
away my Land, my Faith he cannot, and there|fore
I mu&s;t &s;ay with the Poet,</P>
<P>Hane animam concede mihi,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Virg. Aen. 11.</NOTE> tua eaetera &s;unto.</P>
<P>Secondly, in civil Differences, will the Doctor
&s;ay that the Judges decide the Que&s;tion, or the
Law? For if the Judgement be given according
to the Law, then the Law is the Judge I take it;
and if contrary to Law, or not according to it,
he who &s;o determineth, is not a Judge, but an Ar|bitrator.
<HI>Our Law judgeth no man,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Joh. 7. 51.</NOTE> <HI>&amp;c. &s;aith Nico|demus:</HI>
there the Law was the Judge. And
though with us in <HI>England,</HI> the Law is a kinde of
Craft or My&s;tery, full of Quirks and Intrica|cies;
yet in other places, as in <HI>Denmark, Onely
the Parties at variance plead their own Cau&s;e, and
<PB N="75" REF="47">
then a Man &s;tands up and reades the Law, and there's
an end; for the very Law-book is the onely Judge;</HI>
&s;aith my royal Author,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ki. <HI>James</HI> his Speech in <HI>Star|chamber,</HI> 1616.</NOTE> and adds, <HI>Happy were all
Kingdoms if they could be &s;o.</HI> La&s;tly, where the Do|ctor
&s;aith, [It is not our meaning that every
man &s;hall run unto the Law-books] We will,
though not yield it, yet &s;uppo&s;e it &s;o in other
Differences, but in Divinity it is clearly other|wi&s;e,
for there is an expre&s;&s;e Command given by
<HI>Christ</HI> him&s;elf, not to the Phari&s;ees onely, but ge|nerally
to all, <HI>Search the Scriptures;</HI> and it were
a meer mockery in our Saviour, to bid us Reade
the Scriptures,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Suet. in Caligula.</NOTE> if they were like <HI>Caligula's</HI> Laws,
written in &s;o &s;mal an hand that we cannot reade
them, or in &s;o ob&s;cure words as we cannot
without the help of the Church, in matters of
Salvation, under&s;tand them.</P>
<P>In like manner &s;aving knowledge and divine
Truths are the Portion that all God's Children
lay fa&s;t claim to, yet they mu&s;t not be their own
Carvers, though it be their own meat that is
before them, while&s;t they have a Mother at the
Table.</P>
<P>It is no Argument of ill nurture for Chil|dren,
who are adult and grown to full &s;tature,
and pa&s;t the danger of cutting their own fin|gers,
&s;ometimes to be their own Carvers,
though their Mother be at the Table. But how
commeth it to pa&s;&s;e, that the Doctor here pla|ceth
our Mother the Church, in no ob&s;cure
place neither, but in the Carvers place, at the
Tables end, where &s;he &s;hould be vi&s;ible enough;
and yet &s;ay afterward, <HI>he would fain finde out this
Church?</HI> And if at the Table &s;he be, the more
<PB N="76" REF="48">
hard-hearted is &s;he &s;ure,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Fratees a Beyo. Ame|ric. part. 6. <HI>or</HI> Attali|ba, <HI>as</HI> Ben|za de Nov. Orb. l. 3. c. 3.</NOTE> for truly Doctor, I
mu&s;t &s;ay, (as <HI>Powhaton</HI> did to the Je&s;uit, or <HI>Attali|ba</HI>
an <HI>Indian</HI> Prince too, to Frier <HI>Vincent</HI>) &s;he hath
carved me nothing, no, nor any man el&s;e for
the&s;e fifteen hundred years; and 'tis an hard
ca&s;e, that Children &s;hould cry, and pine, and
&s;terve, and die eternally, for want of this Food
everla&s;ting, which is before them, and all be|cau&s;e
their Mother will not carve them, and
them&s;elves they mu&s;t not. 'Tis time then for
God to take away, and I heartily pray he may
not take away, and deprive this Church of that
ble&s;&s;ed Food, for &s;uch wicked Tenets as this.</P>
<P>They mu&s;t not &s;light all Orders, Con&s;tituti|ons,
Appeals, and Rules of Faith.</P>
<P>Mo&s;t true, the Churches Orders are not to be
&s;lighted, nor yet to be obeyed without further
di&s;qui&s;ition and &s;crutiny: the Apo&s;tle <HI>&s;pake as to
wi&s;e men,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 10. 15.</NOTE> yet left them to judge what he &s;aid, &s;o
may the Church determine what &s;he plea&s;e, and
if not agreeable to my &s;en&s;e, endeavour I will
to inform my &s;elf better; and if after after all
my &s;tudy, I cannot &s;ubdue my Rea&s;on to hers,
yet to her Orders my outward conformity I
will, provided &s;he makes no Rules of Faith,
and obtrudeth nothing de&s;tructive to &s;aving
principles, things above her &s;phere.</P>
<P>Saving knowledge and divine Truths mu&s;t
not be wre&s;ted from the Scripture by private
hands.</P>
<P>This is that we de&s;ire, let them there remain,
fit it is, that in what every man hath equal pro|priety,
he al&s;o &s;hould to it have equal acce&s;&s;e;
and mo&s;t unfit, that the means of eternal liveli|hood
&s;hould be monopolized.</P>
<P><PB N="77" REF="48">
<HI>Doct.</HI> There is nothing more ab&s;urd to my
under&s;tanding, than that the thing conte&s;ted
(which is the true meaning of the Scriptures)
&s;hould be Judge of the Conte&s;tation.</P>
<P>Nor to mine,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Cum de rebus Dei erit &s;ermo, conceda|mus cogni|tionem &s;ui, <HI>Deo</HI> dicti&s;|que eius pia vene|ratione fa|mulemur.</NOTE> that any one &s;hould tell us
what God meaneth better than he doth him&s;elf;
or that the Church, a thing &s;ubordinate to Scri|pture,
and not to be known, or di&s;covered but
by Scripture, &s;hould tell us the minde of the
Scripture, better than it doth it &s;elf.</P>
<P><HI>Doct.</HI> No way inferior to that ab&s;urdity which
would follow would be this, if we &s;hould leave
the deciding of the &s;en&s;e of the words of the
Law to the pre-occupated under&s;tanding of one
of the Advocates.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Idoneus enim &s;ibi te&s;tis e&s;t, qui ni&s;i per &s;e cognitus non e&s;t. Hi|lar. de Tri|nit. li. 1.</NOTE> Neither is this all the Ab&s;ur|dity
that doth ari&s;e upon this &s;uppo&s;ition; for if
you grant this to one, you mu&s;t grant it to any
one, and to every one; if there were but two,
how will you reconcile them both? If you
grant that this Judicature mu&s;t be in many;
there are many manies, which of tho&s;e manies
will you have? Decide but this, and you &s;ati&s;|fie
all.</P>
<P>Decide you it Doctor, whence it concerns,
for your Church mu&s;t be one of tho&s;e manies,
and yet I believe you will not &s;atisfie all, not
tho&s;e I am per&s;waded, who&s;e &s;uffrage is for the
Scripture again&s;t all manies what&s;oever.</P>
<P>If you make the Scripture the Judge of Con|trover&s;ies,
you make the Reader Judge of the
Scripture.</P>
<P>Not &s;o Doctor, no Judge; yet a more com|petent
Judge, to him&s;elf, than any other, or all
the World can be; &s;eeing Knowledge and Un|der&s;tanding
<PB N="78" REF="49">
cannot be produced and perfected
in any man, any other way, than by his own
Rea&s;on.</P>
<P>If I make the dead Letter my Judge, I am the
greate&s;t Idolater in the World.</P>
<P>A great Idolater you &s;hould then be I grant,
but not the greate&s;t in the World; for you wor|&s;hip
then but what you &s;ee, and &s;omething real|ly
exi&s;ting; but to wor&s;hip &s;uch a thing as hath
not yet been, nor can be divin'd when it &s;hall
be, as your Church is, certainly mu&s;t be the
greater Idolatry of the two.</P>
<P><HI>Doct.</HI> It will tell me no more than it told the
Indian Emperor <HI>Powhaton,</HI> who asking the Je|&s;uit
how he knew all that to be true which he
had told him, and the Je&s;uit an&s;wering him,
that God's Word did tell him &s;o; the Emperor
asked him where it was? He &s;hewed him his Bi|ble;
the Emperor after he had held it in his
hands a pretty while, an&s;wered, it tells me no|thing.
But you will &s;ay, you can reade, and &s;o
you will finde the meaning out of the &s;ignifi|cant
Character, and when you have done, as
you apprehend it, &s;o it mu&s;t be, and &s;o the Scri|pture
is nothing el&s;e but your meaning.</P>
<P>Not &s;o Doctor, but &s;o it mu&s;t be to me, be it
to the Doctor what he plea&s;e; nor perhaps &s;hall
it be always &s;o to me, as I now apprehend it;
for I am no infallible Judge to my &s;elf; rectifie
I may, and will, upon better rea&s;on, what I
formerly mi&s;-apprehended upon wor&s;e.</P>
<P>Wherefore nece&s;&s;ity requireth an external
Judge for Determination of Differences be&s;ides
the Scriptures.</P>
<P><PB N="79" REF="49">
If an external Judge be&s;ides Scriptures be ne|ce&s;&s;ary,
then nece&s;&s;ary al&s;o it is, that that Judge
be fir&s;t infallible; for el&s;e better it were the Di&s;|&s;entions
continued, than the Error be &s;tated,
and put into po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion, as may well be feared in
an erring Judge. Secondly, that that Judges au|thority
be allow'd of for infallible by general
con&s;ent; for el&s;e all will not abide her arre&s;t
and doom. La&s;tly, that that Judge be always
ready and forth coming upon all emergent Dif|ferences
to &s;till them; never out of the way, ne|ver
to &s;eek; for el&s;e the Differences will the
more increa&s;e and fructifie, by &s;taying the lon|ger
for judicial &s;entence and deci&s;ion. Now be|cau&s;e
for the&s;e fifteen hundred years, controver|&s;ies
have been, and no &s;uch Judge as yet di&s;co|vered
<HI>in rerum natura</HI> to quiet them, we may
&s;afely conclude from the no Judge, a no nece&s;&s;i|ty,
or accu&s;e God for improvidence and neglect
in leaving us de&s;titute all this time of &s;o nece&s;&s;a|ry
a Requi&s;ite.</P>
<P><HI>Doct.</HI> And we can have no better recour&s;es to
any than to &s;uch as the Scripture it &s;elf calls up|on
us to hear, which is the Church, which
Church would be found out.</P>
<P>The Scripture calls upon us <HI>to hear the Church,</HI>
but is this <HI>to hear, to obey</HI> her Glo&s;&s;e and Interpre|tation
of the Scripture, to give up, and re&s;ign
our judgements to her &s;en&s;e? <HI>Calvin, Beza, Gro|tius,</HI>
all Expo&s;itors, the Context it &s;elf will tell
you no; it is to &s;ubmit to her cen&s;ure in point
of &s;atisfaction for mutual offence, whereby &s;he
is &s;candalized: &s;o that, Doctor, you mu&s;t before
you finde the Church you &s;o look for, finde
<PB N="80" REF="50">
&s;ome other Text to warrant her Authority, or
&s;he is like to be no external Judge, whom all
mu&s;t obey in matters of Faith.</P>
<P>Here the Doctor takes breath, and gives his
mo&s;t Excellent Maje&s;ty leave to &s;peak; who,
like him&s;elf, mo&s;t judiciou&s;ly catechi&s;eth the
Doctor in the all-&s;ufficiency of Scripture, after
which the Doctor rejoyns.</P>
<P>All that your Maje&s;ty hath &s;aid concerning the
&s;criptures &s;ufficiency is true, provided that tho&s;e
Scriptures be duly handled, for as the Law is
&s;ufficient to determine right, and keep all in
peace and quietne&s;&s;e, yet the execution of that
&s;ufficienciency cannot be performed without
Courts and Judges.</P>
<P>The Doctor holds his own Compari&s;on &s;till:
Well Doctor, we have a Court too, <HI>Forum con|&s;cientiae,</HI>
the Court of every mans con&s;cience,
and a Judge al&s;o of that Court; if you demand
Who? 'Tis every mans &s;elf, and therefore they
who controul that Court, are by the voice of
truth it &s;elf <GAP DESC="foreign"> <HI>condemned of them|&s;elves.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Titus 3. 11</NOTE></P>
<P>For as <HI>Hierome</HI> tells us, who was no great
Friend to Popes or Bi&s;hops. If there be not ad|mitted
in the Church the Authority of one emi|nent
and peerle&s;&s;e Power above others, there
will be as many Schi&s;mes in the Church as
Prie&s;ts.</P>
<P>Doctor, you are out, let me put you in; the
Que&s;tions we &s;peak of, are of Here&s;ie, not of
Schi&s;me, that relates to dogmatical points of
Faith, this to outward Rites. Ceremonies are
the Garments of Religion, not the Body; and
<PB N="81" REF="50">
Cloath are for Ornament, yet not for that only,
they are al&s;o to keep the Body warm; a Religi|on
naked without Ceremonies will have but
little outward warmth, but a frozen zeal (if I
may &s;o &s;ay) and too many Cloaths are as bad
and cumber&s;ome on the other &s;ide. Fit it is the
Church &s;hould appoint her &s;elf, what and how
many &s;he will wear; for leave it at liberty, there
will indeed be Schi&s;mes as many as <HI>Hierome</HI>
&s;peaks of.</P>
<P>Wherefore I would fain finde out that which
the Scripture bids me hear, <HI>Audi Eccle&s;iam, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>The Doctor is again at his <HI>Hear the Church,
Matth.</HI> 18. and I again mu&s;t tell him that place is
onely applyable to Eccle&s;ia&s;tical di&s;cipline. But
that the Church may the better be heard, the
Doctor tells us from Saint <HI>Paul, that &s;he is the
Pillar and Foundation of Truth:</HI> from <HI>Ezekiel,</HI> that
<HI>God will place his &s;anctification in the midst of her for
ever:</HI> from <HI>E&s;ay,</HI> that <HI>the Lord will never for&s;ake
her:</HI> from our Saviour, that <HI>the Gates of Hell
&s;hall not prevail against her,</HI> and that he <HI>will be al|ways
with her unto the end of the world.</HI> All this
we grant, and yet deny all that the Doctor
would from the&s;e Texts infer; for fir&s;t, it is e|vident,
not any one of all the&s;e is to be un|der&s;tood,
or hath any reference to a Repre&s;en|tative
Church, or General Councel, but to the
Univer&s;al Catholique Church. Secondly, if a
General Councel were intended by them, yet
there is not any grant of an infallible &s;pirit to
direct that Councel, and without the &s;pirit of
infallibility, men will be (and no more than
need) very cautelous of yielding plenary obe|dience
to her Decrees.</P>
<P><PB N="82" REF="51">
<HI>Doct.</HI> For although the P&s;almi&s;t tells us that
the word of the Lord is clear, enlightening the
eyes, yet the &s;ame Prophet &s;aid to God, en|lighten
mine eyes that I may &s;ee the marvels of
thy Law, &amp;c. The Doctor labours here to prove
the ob&s;curity of the Scriptures; and that they
are &s;o in &s;ome places I never heard and man yet
deny,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sp. San|ctus ita Scripturas Sanctas modifica|vit, ut locis apertiori|bus fami occurreret, ob&s;curiori|bus fa&s;ti|dia deter|geret. de Doct.</NOTE> but that they are &s;o in all, the <HI>Doct.</HI> him|&s;elf
dares not, cannot deny. The truth is as <HI>Au|gustine</HI>
&s;aid Excellently, <HI>The holy Ghost hath &s;o
modified and tempered the Scriptures, that there are
clear places to &s;atisfie the hunger, and darker to procure
the appetite of the Soul, and if <GAP DESC="foreign">,
what&s;oever is nece&s;&s;ary for us to believe is there clear</HI>
and manife&s;t, we are well enough. [But the
<HI>Doct.</HI> &s;aith, no man hath ever yet defin'd what are
nece&s;&s;ary and what not, what points are funda|mental
and what not.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Chri&s;t. l. 2. c. 6.</NOTE>] Hath no man defin'd
what is nece&s;&s;ary, what is fundamental? Yes
Doctor,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Chry&s;o&s;t. in 2. The&s;. Hom. 3.</NOTE> <HI>Learned Hooker</HI> tells you it is the Do|ctrine
which the Prophets and Apo&s;tles profe&s;&s;e;
the late Reverend <HI>Arch-Bi&s;hop</HI> tells you,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Di&s;cour&s;e of <HI>Ju&s;t. p.</HI> 503.</NOTE> the Ar|ticles
of the Creed which is but the &s;ummary of
that Doctrine are &s;uch, and &s;o is the belief of the
Scriptures to be the word of God and infallible.<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Again&s;t</HI> Fi&s;her. p. 42. <GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="faint" EXTENT="1 letter">. 10.</NOTE>
[Nece&s;&s;ary to &s;alvation is one thing, and nece&s;|&s;ary
to knowledge as an improvement of our
Faith is another thing.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ne&s;cire velle quae magi&s;ter maximus docere non vult erudi|ta e&s;t in|&s;citia, Sca|lig. Gnom.</NOTE>] True <HI>Doctor,</HI> there are
different things; but <HI>quid refert,</HI> what matter is
it what is nece&s;&s;ary to that knowledge, which is
not nece&s;&s;ary to &s;alvation. <HI>Tis a learned ignorance
not to know, that which our great Ma&s;ter will not teach
us. Tis fides tua,</HI> &s;aid <HI>Tertullian, thy Faith, not the
curio&s;ity of being skilfull in the Scriptures hath &s;aved
<PB N="83" REF="51">
thee: cedat curio&s;itas Fidei, cedat gloria &s;aluti,</HI> Let
curio&s;ity give place to Faith, vanity and o&s;ten|tation
to Salvation. [For the fir&s;t, if a man
keeps the Commandments and believes all the
Articles of the Creed, he may be &s;aved though he
never read a word of Scripture.] May he be
&s;aved <HI>Doctor?</HI> I hope it is more then po&s;&s;i|ble,
then may be; he &s;hall undoubtedly be
&s;aved: and &s;o he &s;hall if he believes all the Scri|pture,
though he never read a word of it. But
why <HI>Doctor</HI> do you di&s;tingui&s;h between the Ar|ticles
of the Creed and the Scriptures? are not
tho&s;e Articles the word of God, as well as the
Scripture? I take it they are. Fir&s;t, as framed by
the Apo&s;tles them&s;elves, men Divinely in&s;pired
as all the Fathers agree. Secondly, becau&s;e they
containe the pith and marrow of the Scri|ptures,
all the Doctrine nece&s;&s;ary to &s;alvation
being there abbreviated. [He who means to
walk by the rules of Gods word mu&s;t lay hold
upon the means that God hath ordained, where|by
he may attain to the true under&s;tanding of
them; for as S^t. <HI>Paul</HI> &s;aith, God hath placed in
the Church Apo&s;tles, Prophets, Evangeli&s;ts,
Pa&s;tors, and Doctors, to the end we &s;hould be
no more little children, blown about with every
wind of Doctrine.] Were I di&s;po&s;ed to quarrel,
I could tell you <HI>Doctor Bayly,</HI> or <HI>Doctor Stapleton,</HI>
(chu&s;e you which) that your Text is out of date,
and that the Prophets and Evangeli&s;ts there
mentioned were extraordinary, and proper one|ly
to tho&s;e times; and the Presbyterian party
will tell you as much of the Apo&s;tles; &s;o that
there will be onely left Pa&s;tors and Doctors,
<PB N="84" REF="52">
(which with S^t. <HI>Augu&s;tine.</HI> I conceive to be both
one) of perpetual u&s;e in the Church,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Aug. Ep. 59. Pau|lino.</NOTE> for the
work of the Mini&s;tery, part of which work, I
freely grant, is the interpretation of the Scri|ptures.
Again, I might expo&s;tulate as the Apo|&s;tle
doth 1. <HI>Cor. 12. 30. do all interpret?</HI> have all
Pa&s;tors that gift? And admit they have, have
they all that a&s;&s;i&s;tance of the Holy Gho&s;t in an
infallible guidance, which tho&s;e Pa&s;tors of the
Apo&s;tolical times had? Nay, is that infallible
a&s;&s;i&s;tance now afforded to any one of all the
Pa&s;tors in the world? If yea, let us know the
man, &s;o qualified: if not, then what remedy but
we may be &s;till blown about with every puff of
Doctrine, and what will then become of your
external Judge, be&s;ides Scripture. [Though it be
true, the Scripture is a river through which a
Lamb may wade and an Elephant may &s;wim,
yet the meaning of that place is not that the
child of God may wade through the Scripture
without directions, help or Judges, but that the
meane&s;t capacity may find &s;o much of comfort
and heavenly knowledge there ea&s;ily to be ob|tained,
that he may ea&s;ily wade through to his e|ternal
Salvation.] If the meane&s;t capacity, may
wade through the Scriptures to his eternal Sal|vation,
they are mad men will &s;eek to go there|in
beyond their depth: what can God give us,
or we de&s;ire more, than the Salvation of our
Souls?<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luke 12. 31.</NOTE> <HI>Seek the Kingdom of God, and all the&s;e things
&s;hall be added to you;</HI> the mo&s;t ab&s;tru&s;e my&s;teries of
Art and Nature &s;hall there become obvious to
us, the mo&s;t tran&s;cendent &s;peculations of all
&s;ciences &s;hall there be revealed, the mo&s;t intri|cate
<PB N="85" REF="52">
and perplexed &s;ubtilities of School Divi|nity
&s;hall there be re&s;olved;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Quid e&s;t, quod ibi ne&s;ciant ubi &s;cien|tem omniae &s;ciunt? Greg. Dia|log. l. 4. c. 33.</NOTE> 'tis therefore a pre|po&s;terous
curio&s;ity, to hunt with &s;o laborious
di&s;qui&s;ition for that here, which will come &s;o
cheap and ea&s;ie to us there. [Wherefore with
pardon craved for my pre&s;umption in holding
your Maje&s;ty in &s;o tedious a di&s;cour&s;e, as al&s;o
for my boldne&s;&s;e in obtruding my opinion,
which is except (as incomparable <HI>Hooker</HI> in his
Eccle&s;ia&s;tical polity hath well ob&s;erved) the
Churches Authority be required therein, as ne|ce&s;&s;ary
hereunto, we &s;hall be &s;o far from agree|ing
upon the true meaning of the Scripture, that
the outward letter &s;ealed with the inward wit|ne&s;&s;e
of the Spirit, (being all Hereticks have
quoted Scripture, and pretended &s;pirit will not
be a warrant &s;ufficient for any private man to
judge &s;o much as the Scripture to be Scripture,
or the Go&s;pel to be the Go&s;pel of Chri&s;t.) The
Doctor is now entered into a weighty point,
and not more weighty then intricate, <HI>viz.</HI> how
we are a&s;certained that the Scriptures are the
word of God. The Doctor with the Church of
<HI>Rome,</HI> derives that a&s;&s;urance from the Te&s;timo|ny
and tradition of the Church, and her Te&s;ti|mony
is indeed of all, &s;ufficient to render us &s;o
a&s;&s;ured, if &s;he be &s;o infallible and in-erring as
they pretend; for our Faith, in this particular,
cannot be guided by any thing beneath infal|lible.
This que&s;tion being &s;o con&s;iderable, and
of &s;uch concernment, it will not I hope be
thought ami&s;&s;e, if I &s;pend a little the more time
about it. Therefore for elucidation, and illu|&s;tration
therof, I &s;ay, That the Scriptures are the
<PB N="86" REF="53">
word of God is a propo&s;ition, which mu&s;t de|pend
upon the evidence either of knowledge,
or Faith. If of knowledge then it mu&s;t be eli|cited,
and extracted from the principles of na|tural
rea&s;on. But all the rea&s;on in the world
will never be able to demon&s;trate, either that
the Scriptures are the word of God, or that they
are not. Mi&s;take me not, I do not exclude rea|&s;on,
as a guide, nor place it &s;o in the line of in|cidence,
as if it &s;tood neuter, or indifferently
inclined to both the affirmative and negative;
no, I hold va&s;tly otherwayes; Arguments &s;he
hath many, and ponderous to per&s;wade that the
Scriptures are of Divine in&s;piration; that they
are not &s;o, to di&s;wade &s;he hath and can frame
none. But yet tho&s;e Arguments are but &s;olu|ble,
no Demon&s;trations; for in Demon&s;trations
the under&s;tanding is &s;o clearly convinced by
rea&s;on, that it can po&s;&s;ibly incline no other way
then one,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Scalig. de Emend. Temp.</NOTE> <HI>Ea e&s;t vera Demon&s;tratio quae cogit, non
quae per&s;uadet:</HI> and if rea&s;on were able to demon|&s;trate
the Scriptures to be the word of God,
then all men who have rea&s;on, would a&s;&s;ent
pre&s;ently without more ado, to her dictates, and
con&s;equently the whole world would become
Chri&s;tian, &s;o that impo&s;&s;ible it is for us to <HI>know</HI>
that the Scriptures are the word of God, and if
know it we cannot,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Articuli Fidei &s;unt indemon|&s;trabiles. Po&s;namen|&s;es in Sco|tum. l 1. di&s;t 1. q 1. art. 5.</NOTE> it re&s;teth onely that we
mu&s;t thereof be a&s;&s;ured by Faith, and Faith will
a&s;&s;ure us of it as infallibly to the full, though
not &s;o evidently (in regard the principles there|of
are indemon&s;trable) as rea&s;on can; well then,
Faith it is which teacheth us infallibly that the
Scriptures are Divine and &s;acred, but how that
<PB N="87" REF="53">
Faith is produced and wrought in us, is next in|quirable.
The Doctor tels us out of <HI>Hooker,</HI>
(that the Authority of the Church produceth it,
and unle&s;&s;e that be required, the inward witne&s;&s;e
of the &s;pirit will not be a warrant &s;ufficient for
any private man to Judge &s;o much as the Scri|pture
to be Scripture, or the Go&s;pel to be the
Go&s;pel of Chri&s;t.) But the Doctor hath here
mo&s;t &s;hamefully abu&s;ed that judicious worthy,
who hath in his whole 5. books of Eccle&s;ia&s;ti|cal
Polity no &s;uch words, and which is more,
no &s;uch thing. If I bely the Doctor, let the &s;hame
lie upon me, <HI>Hooker</HI> hath thrice, and no oftener
occa&s;ion in tho&s;e books to declare him&s;elf in
this point,<NOTE PLACE="marg">l. 2. &s;ect. 4.</NOTE> who&s;e very words are the&s;e. [1. <HI>&V;n|le&s;&s;e
be&s;ides Scripture there were &s;omething which
might a&s;&s;ure us that we do well, we could not think we
do well, no not in being a&s;&s;ured that Scripture is a &s;a|cred
and holy rule of well doing.]</HI></P>
<P>What that &s;omething is be&s;ides Scripture,
<HI>Hooker</HI> mentions not, and if the <HI>Doctor</HI> &s;ay he
means the Church, I demand of him to prove
it, for &s;ure I am <HI>Hooker</HI> doth not &s;o much as
name the word Church in all that Section.
[2.<NOTE PLACE="marg">ibid &s;ect. 7.</NOTE> <HI>The Scripture is the ground of our belief, yet the
Authority of man is the key which opens the door of
enterance into the knowledge of the Scripture.]
Hooker</HI> &s;aith not here that the Authority of man
createth in us the belief that the Scriptures
are Divine, but onely that it is <HI>the key</HI> to the in|terpretation
of the Scriptures: and you may
note withall, that it is the Authority of but
<HI>man,</HI> not of God &s;peaking infallibly by man.
La&s;tly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">l. 3. &s;ect. 8.</NOTE> (<HI>The fir&s;t outward motive leading men &s;o to
<PB N="88" REF="54">
e&s;teem of the Scriptures is, the Authority of Gods
Church. For when we know the whole Church of God
hath that opinion of Scripture, we Judge it even an
impudent thing, for any man bred and brought up in the
Church, to be of a contrary mind without cau&s;e.]</HI> Ob|&s;erve
here that the Authority of Gods Church is
with <HI>Hooker,</HI> the <HI>first outward</HI> (&s;o no inward,
nor the onely outward) motive. 2. That it is
an outward motive too, but onely to us who
are <HI>born and bred up in the Church,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Sola e&s;t Authoritas quae com|movet &s;tul|tos ut ad &s;apientiam fe&s;tinent.</NOTE> and to &s;uch I
grant the Authority of the Church is a very
great motive, for nothing brings fools and
ignorant per&s;ons to knowledge and wi&s;dom a
&s;ooner and gainer way then the Authority of
wi&s;e-men; but mu&s;t Faith acquie&s;s, and &s;et up
its re&s;t in the Authority of the Church?<NOTE PLACE="marg">Augu&s;tin de util.</NOTE> a&s;&s;ured|ly
no.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Cred. c. 16.</NOTE> The Church may, it is po&s;&s;ible, <HI>ten thou|&s;and
General Councels may,</HI> (&s;aith <HI>Hooker) be de|ceived,</HI>
and <HI>Authoritate decipi mi&s;erum e&s;t,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Hooker. l. 2 c 7.</NOTE> <HI>'tis a la|mentable
thing to erre with Authority,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Augu&s;t. ubi &s;upra.</NOTE> <HI>&s;ed certe mi&s;e|rius
non moveri, but to be obstinate against it, and of
a contrary mind,</HI> as <HI>Hooker</HI> &s;aith, <HI>without cau&s;e, is
more lamentable.</HI> But though to the members of
the Church, the Authority of the Church be a
vehement and &s;trong motive, yet to Pagans and
Infidels who will own no &s;uch thing as a
Church, it is no motive at all; if they que&s;tion
the Scriptures Divinity &s;tudious either of cavil,
or to be converted they mu&s;t be refuted, or in|vited
by arguments drawn from rea&s;on, where|in
they intercommune with us; and to &s;peak
truth, rea&s;on will carry them a very great way
on towards, even to the very brink of Faith;
rea&s;on will tell them that the Soul is immortal,
<PB N="89" REF="54">
that it is not onely capable, but de&s;irous of hap|pine&s;&s;e,
that that felicity of the Soul cannot
con&s;i&s;t in either riches, honour Beauty, &s;trength,
learning or any earthly thing, they being all
too narrow for it and too &s;hort-lived, but in the
beatifical vi&s;ion and contemplation of its Crea|tor,
who is onely able to fill it, and in <HI>who&s;e pre|&s;ence
is the fulne&s;s of joy for evermore.</HI> It will tell
them,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Aug. in Joh. Tra 2. Animae cau&s;a om|nis relig.</NOTE> that though God is their la&s;t home, <HI>vide|ant
quo eant they may &s;ee whither they &s;hould go, non
habent qua eant, yet how to come there is beyond the
ken of Rea&s;on;</HI> and that though Religion be the
way to him,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Aug. d. &V;t. Cred. c. 7.</NOTE> yet dim-&s;ighted rea&s;on will never
be able to find that way, till God him&s;elf re|veals
it;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eu&s;eb. l. 9. c. 7.</NOTE> for <HI>Author de Deo e&s;t ip&s;e Deus,</HI> God
him&s;elf is, and mu&s;t be the Authour of that
which brings us to him: and it were incon&s;i|&s;tent
with the Providence of the All-wi&s;e God,
to withhold from man that means, without
which impo&s;&s;ible it is for man to attain that
end for which he was created. Therefore <HI>Augu|&s;tine</HI>
chargeth it hence upon the Pagan Gods as
a gro&s;&s;e neglect, in not in&s;tructing of their wor|&s;hippers
in the way and means to happine&s;&s;e.
<HI>To the care of the &s;olicitous Gods,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Pertinebat ad con&s;ul|tores Deos, vitae bonae preceptae non occul|tare populis cultoribus &s;uis, &s;ed clara prae|dicatione praebere per Vates etiam convenire atque arguere peccantes palam, minari poenas male agentibus, premia recte agentibus polliceri. Augu&s;tin. d. Civit. Dei l. 2. c. 4.</NOTE> <HI>&s;aith he, it did be|long
not to conceal from their wor&s;hippers the rudi|ments
of living well, but to teach them by clear pu|blication,
al&s;o to convent and reprove offenders; by
their Prophets to threaten open puni&s;hment to tho&s;e
who do ill, and to promi&s;e reward to tho&s;e who live
well.</HI> Rea&s;on therefore will thus teach them the
nece&s;&s;ity of &s;ome conveyance from God of his
<PB N="90" REF="55">
revealed will, and that nece&s;&s;ity will al&s;o infer
the actual being of &s;uch a Revelation, con&s;i|dering
that <HI>Deus non deficit in nece&s;&s;ariis, God is
not wanting in affording what is nece&s;&s;ary.</HI> This ne|ce&s;&s;ity
and being of Divine revelation once al|lowed,
rea&s;on will make it further credible that
the Scriptures now received and entertained a|mong&s;t
us Chri&s;tians as the word of God, are
indeed and in truth, that revealed will of God.</P>
<P>For fir&s;t they have no rival, there is none
other &s;tands in competition with them, the
Gods of the Ethnicks gave their wor&s;hippers
none.</P>
<P>Secondly, if there were any other, yet none
mu&s;t compare with them, they having many
Prerogatives above all other. The&s;e Preroga|tives
are.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t Antiquity,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Primam In&s;trumen|tis i&s;tis au|thoritatem &s;umma an|tiquitas vendieat.</NOTE> the Doctrine of them being
far ancienter then all other Religions in the
world, and almo&s;t as ancient as time it &s;elf,
had it but begun with Mo&s;es, it had carried
the priority and antecedency of time from all
other,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Tertull.</NOTE> by the confe&s;&s;ion of the heathens them|&s;elves,
as <HI>Jo&s;ephus</HI> proveth: but it was before him.
<HI>Nam unde Noe,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Apoleget. cap 19.</NOTE> <HI>&amp;c. For how was Noah found righte|ous,
but by the preceding Ju&s;tice of the Law of na|ture?
How was Abraham reputed the friend of God,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Contra Appionem <HI>So al&s;o</HI> Tacitus &amp; <HI>others</HI> vide An|not. Hug. Grotii in de veritat. Chri&s;t. Felig. l. 1. unde Noe Ju&s;tus in|ventus &s;i non illum naturalis legis Ju&s;titia precedehat? unde Abraham amicus Dei deputatus? &s;i non de aquitate legis naturalis, unde Melchi&s;edech &s;acerdos Dei &s;ummi nuncupatus, &s;i non ante Leviticae legis &s;acerdotium Le|vit. fuerunt, qui facrificia deo offerebunt? Tertul. adver&s;. Judaeo<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="faint" EXTENT="1 letter">.</NOTE>
<HI>but by the equity of the &s;ame Law? How was Mel|chi&s;edeck
called the Prie&s;t of the mo&s;t high God, if be|fore
the Prie&s;t-hood &s;ettled by the Levetical Law, there
<PB N="91" REF="55">
were not Prie&s;ts to offer Sacrifice?</HI> Nay, it was be|fore
the Floud, even in Paradi&s;e it &s;elf, there
was the doctrine of &s;aving Truth fir&s;t in&s;titu|ted;
which afterward was not renewed, but en|larged;
was not changed, but perfected.</P>
<P>Secondly, the Spirituality of the doctrine, as
God is a Spirit, and <HI>must be wor&s;hipped in &s;pirit and
truth,</HI> &s;o is the fabrique, frame, and contrivance
of the Scriptures conformable to him; 'tis not a
doctrine of &s;en&s;uality and di&s;&s;olutene&s;&s;e, not a
doctrine of &s;elf-ends and by-re&s;pects, not a do|ctrine
of worldly pomp and &s;tate, not a do|ctrine
of wicked principles and di&s;cipline, but
a doctrine of &s;obriety, and of &s;elf-denial, and
of humility, and of virtue; a doctrine tend|ing
onely to God, and what is in order to him,
which &s;eque&s;treth the &s;oul from all earthly ima|ginations
and cogitations, and fixeth them one|ly
upon God.</P>
<P>Thirdly,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">. Chry&s;o&s;t. Hom. in Gen. 18.</NOTE> the perfection of them, the excel|lent
&s;ymmetry of parts, there is nothing lame,
nothing idle, nothing impertinent in them,
they were not written by chance, and at all ad|venture;
there's not a &s;yllable, not a tittle, but
hath a ma&s;&s;e of trea&s;ure comprehended and
contrived in them.</P>
<P>Fourthly, the excellency of the mode, &s;tile,
and form of expre&s;&s;ion de&s;cending to the mean|e&s;t,
tran&s;cending the highe&s;t capacities; where
God one whiles in&s;inuates him&s;elf into the con|&s;cience
in the language of a familiar Friend,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Qua&s;i a|micus fa|miliaris ad cor loquitur. Aug. Ep. Volutiano. 3.</NOTE>
<PB N="92" REF="56">
another while reclaims it with the indignation
of an incen&s;ed Judge, where Elegancy is with|out
levity and affectation, plainne&s;&s;e without
irk&s;one&s;&s;e, and &s;atiety, wherein the mo&s;t curi|ous
&s;pirits may be exerci&s;ed, the mo&s;t ignorant
in&s;tructed.</P>
<P>Fifthly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ne dubites credere quod vi|deamus fi|eri. Tert. adv. Jud.</NOTE> the truth of them, in the accompli&s;h|ment
of what was there prophe&s;ied (and <HI>we may
confidently believe what we &s;ee performed</HI>) as <HI>Cyrus</HI>
his very Name &amp; principal atchievements, fore|told
by <HI>E&s;ay;</HI> the end of the Siege of <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> by
<HI>Jeremiah;</HI> the tran&s;lation of the <HI>A&s;&s;yrian</HI> Empire
to the <HI>Medes</HI> and <HI>Per&s;ians,</HI> by <HI>Daniel;</HI> but mo&s;t
e&s;pecially the coming of our Saviour <HI>Christ</HI> the
true <HI>Me&s;&s;ias</HI> at the very time de&s;igned of &s;eventy
Weeks, by <HI>Daniel</HI> 9. 24. The calling of the <HI>Gen|tiles</HI>
by <HI>E&s;ay, c.</HI> 60. The rejection and di&s;per&s;ion
of the <HI>Jews</HI> by <HI>Zechariah,</HI> 12. 13. La&s;tly, the de|&s;truction
of the &s;econd Temple by <HI>Daniel, c.</HI> 9.
And our Saviour <HI>Christ, Luke</HI> 19. 43.</P>
<P>Sixthly, the miraculous pre&s;ervation of the
Books them&s;elves; fir&s;t, again&s;t the injuries of
neglect, as the Law found in the rubbi&s;h of the
Temple, 2 <HI>Kings</HI> 22. after the wretched neg|lect
thereof in the time of <HI>Mana&s;&s;eth.</HI> Secondly,
again&s;t the injuries of alteration,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Jo&s;ephus contra Ap|pi<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="faint" EXTENT="2 letters">. D. 1.</NOTE> <GAP DESC="foreign">,
<HI>&amp;c.</HI> For in the Flux of &s;o
many Ages no man dur&s;t either add, dimini&s;h or
change any part of them; for which end <HI>E&s;dras,
Gamaliel, Eleazar,</HI> and others contrived that ex|cellent
Trea&s;ure of the <HI>Ma&s;oreth,</HI> to denote the
diver&s;ity of Readings in the <HI>Hebrew</HI> Text.
La&s;tly, again&s;t the injuries of per&s;ecution, as in
the time of <HI>Diocle&s;ian,</HI> who commanded all the
<PB N="93" REF="56">
Bibles he could di&s;cover to be burnt, They who
delivered them up being call'd <HI>Traditores,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Tom. 7.</NOTE> Trai|tors,
a word frequent in Saint <HI>Augustine</HI> again&s;t
the <HI>Donatists,</HI> the main quarrell being between
the Church and them, about the <HI>non</HI>-reception
of tho&s;e Apo&s;tates into the Congregation.</P>
<P>Seventhly,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> the thrift and propagation of the
Go&s;pel, in &s;pite of all oppo&s;ition and per&s;ecu|tion:
<HI>By how many Tyrants was the Church afflicted,
yet never conquered and destroyed? The Romans often
pruned and lopt its Profe&s;&s;ors off, and &s;till the more they
increa&s;ed,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Chry&s;o&s;t.</NOTE> &s;aith <HI>Dion,</HI> him&s;elf an Heathen. It may
be here objected,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Hom. 4. in E&s;ay 6.</NOTE> that <HI>Dion</HI> &s;peaketh of the
<HI>Jews;</HI> true, I grant it, and as true it mu&s;t be
granted,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> that <HI>Dion</HI> tells us, al&s;o <GAP DESC="foreign">.
<HI>This appellation is given to
others al&s;o, though of different Nations, who adhere to
the &s;ame principles of institution;</HI> and what tho&s;e
are he tells us, <HI>viz.</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">,
They zealou&s;ly wor&s;hip a certain one God,
will not endure Images in their Temples,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Dion. Hi&s;t. L.</NOTE>
ob&s;erve the Sabbath: and &s;uch were the <HI>Christi|ans</HI>
as well as the <HI>Jews:</HI> nor mu&s;t <HI>Dion</HI> be under|&s;tood
in this place to imply any &s;o properly as
the <HI>Christians,</HI> who like the Hou&s;e of <HI>David,</HI> at
that time <HI>waxed &s;trenger and &s;tronger,</HI> whereas the
not <HI>Christianizing Jews</HI> like that of <HI>Saul,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Sam. 3. 1</NOTE> <HI>waxed
weaker and weaker.</HI> And that by &s;o incon&s;idera|ble,
&s;o de&s;picable means, again&s;t &s;o implacable,
&s;o powerfull Oppo&s;ites,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Victi vi|ctoribus leges dede|runt, teneo. Senec. &amp; Mart.</NOTE> <HI>Christianity</HI> &s;hould &s;o
triumph, &s;o mightily prevail, as that the con|quered
&s;hould command, &s;ubdue, and at length
give Laws to the Conquerors, till almo&s;t the
<PB N="94" REF="57">
whole World became her Convert, Rea&s;on can|not
conclude le&s;&s;e than <HI>non haec &s;ine numine&mdash;
This must be the Lord's doing,</HI> that <HI>by the fooli&s;hne&s;s of
this Word preached,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Tim. 3. 15.</NOTE> &s;o many millions have been
converted,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 12. 22.</NOTE> and <HI>made wi&s;e unto &s;alvation. The voice,</HI>
the Word <HI>of God</HI> it mu&s;t be, <HI>and not of man.</HI></P>
<P>La&s;tly, the failing and defection of other Re|ligions
about the time of our Saviours Incarna|tion,
the Heathen gods dur&s;t not abide his com|ing,
but for&s;ook their &s;tations, abandon'd their
Temples, and left their Oracles &s;peechle&s;&s;e, as
<HI>Tully,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Tull. de Divin. l. 2. Juv Sat. 3</NOTE> <HI>Juvenal,</HI> and others a&s;&s;ure us: and <HI>Porphy|ry,</HI>
that &s;worn Enemy to Chri&s;tianity confe&s;&s;eth,
that &s;ince <HI>Je&s;us</HI> came to be wor&s;hipped, their
gods have &s;tood them in little &s;tead. The <HI>Jewi&s;h</HI>
Religion, which gloried &s;o much in formality
and external &s;plendor, was deplum'd and &s;tript
of all in a few years. The <HI>&V;rim</HI> and <HI>Thummim,</HI>
tho&s;e pretious &s;tones of the high Prie&s;ts pecto|ral
or brea&s;t-plate, who&s;e &s;parkling lu&s;tre (an
<HI>index</HI> of God's atonement, and &s;ure pre&s;age of
Victory) even dazled the eys of all Beholders,
about a hundred years before <HI>Christ's</HI> Birth,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Jo&s;eph.</NOTE> lo&s;t
their wonted radiancy and brightne&s;&s;e,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Antiq. Jud. l 3. c. 9.</NOTE> and be|came
ever after totally dusky and ob&s;cure; evi|dently
pre&s;ignifying that the glory of the cere|monial
Law was bidding the World good
night. To the fail of the&s;e Oracles &s;ucceeded
the fail of the &s;acred Prie&s;thood, &s;oon after by
<HI>Herod</HI> alien'd and conferr'd in an arbitrary way
on whom he plea&s;ed, without regard had either
to Law or Line. The Prie&s;thood thus pro|phan'd,
what remain'd but the complement and
la&s;t act of de&s;olation, the de&s;truction of the
<PB N="95" REF="57">
Temple, which delay'd not after <HI>Christ's</HI> Pa&s;&s;i|on,
above fourty years, ever &s;ince which time the
<HI>Jews</HI> have had neither true Prie&s;ts, nor true Sa|crifices,
nor true places of Wor&s;hip, nor a true
home.</P>
<P>All the&s;e are motives and inductions from
Rea&s;on to make it credible that the Scriptures
are the Word of God, but not all the&s;e, nor the
Te&s;timony of the <HI>Christian</HI> Church it &s;elf, is
able to create faith in us,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Aug. contr. Manich. c. 14.</NOTE> which mu&s;t be <HI>ip&s;o Deo
intrin&s;ecus mentem nostram firmante &amp; illuminante;
God him&s;elf inlightning and &s;trengthning our inward
mind,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 2. 9.</NOTE> for <HI>Faith is the gift of God,</HI> and be the ob|ject
never &s;o credible, believe we cannot, till
God's Spirit worketh Faith in us. For the final
re&s;olution, termination, and re&s;t of our Faith
mu&s;t be upon God alone, and by him alone
wrought in us. That the Authority of the
Church &s;hould be the <HI>&s;ine qua non,</HI> &s;o ab&s;olutely
nece&s;&s;ary, as that the inward witne&s;&s;e of God's
Spirit cannot warrant us that the Scriptures are
divine without her te&s;timony, needs no further
confutation than the Hi&s;tory of the Evangeli&s;ts
and Acts, where we reade of thou&s;ands con|verted
to <HI>Christianity,</HI> who never entred at that
door. In &s;hort, to contract my di&s;cour&s;e within
a &s;traighter compa&s;&s;e, Faith being an Habit in|fu&s;ed,
and every Habit requiring &s;ome prece|ding
di&s;po&s;itions and degrees to it, Faith mu&s;t
have hers al&s;o to make the thing credible, be|fore
it be actually believed: of the&s;e motives
and preparatory di&s;po&s;itions the Tradition of
the Church is I grant to us <HI>Christians</HI> the fir&s;t
and mo&s;t prevalent: but the Church is not here|in
<PB N="96" REF="58">
in un&s;ociable, it is not her te&s;timony alone will
make it credible that the Scriptures are divine;
other deductions and inferences framed by light
of Rea&s;on, mu&s;t, and u&s;ually do co-operate in
working the minde to that per&s;wa&s;ion.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Contra Ep. Fund. c. 5.</NOTE> And by
this time that famous place in S. <HI>Augustin</HI> is ea&s;i|ly
re&s;olved, which the Marques urged again&s;t
his Maj.<NOTE PLACE="marg">pag. 157.</NOTE> and Engli&s;hed with more advantage to
his cau&s;e, than conformity to the minde of that
Father.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Evangelio non crede|rem, ni&s;i me Eccle&s;iae authoritas commove|ret.</NOTE> <HI>I &s;hould not believe the Go&s;pel it &s;elf unle&s;s I
were moved by the Authority of the Church,</HI> &s;o the
Marques. But Saint <HI>Augustine, Ni&s;i commoverit,</HI>
unle&s;&s;e the Churches Authority together with
other inducements did move me to it, clearly
implying &s;he could not move alone.</P>
<P>Having dwelt thus long and unavoidably up|on
this point, le&s;t the Doctor &s;hould think he
hath quite lo&s;t me, 'tis high time to apply my
&s;elf to him again.</P>
<P>This Church being found out, and her Au|thority
allowed of, all controver&s;ies would
&s;oon be decided.</P>
<P>You &s;ay true indeed Doctor, her Authority
being allowed of, but then it mu&s;t be allowed of
for divine, and who will &s;o allow it among&s;t
us Prote&s;tants? And how can it be proved &s;he
hath any &s;uch Authority, you will &s;end us back,
I know, to <HI>Audi Eccle&s;iam.</HI> But there will be a
controver&s;ie what is the genuine interpretation
of that place, whether hearing implieth an ab|&s;olute
or limited &s;ubmi&s;&s;ion; and who &s;hall de|cide
that controver&s;ie? You'll &s;ay, the Church,
I &s;ay, no, &s;he mu&s;t not, for 'tis her own ca&s;e,
and &s;he mu&s;t not be <GAP DESC="foreign">, witne&s;&s;e in
<PB N="97" REF="58">
her own cau&s;e, that our Saviour held incompo|tent
in him&s;elf,<NOTE PLACE="marg">John 5. 31.</NOTE> <HI>If I bear witne&s;s of my &s;elf my witne&s;s
is not true.</HI> But the Doct. tells us ['Tis one Article
of our Creed, I believe the holy Catholique
Church] That's true too, but 'tis <HI>Credo &s;anctam
Eccle&s;iam Catholicam, I believe there is an holy Ca|tholique
Church,</HI> not I believe in the holy Catho|lique
Church.</P>
<P>As the Lion wants neither &s;trength, nor cou|rage,
nor power, nor weapons to &s;ei&s;e upon his
prey, yet he wants a no&s;e to finde it out, where|fore
by natural in&s;tinct he takes to his a&s;&s;i&s;tance
the little Jack-call, a quick-&s;ented bea&s;t, who
runs before the Lion, and having found out the
prey, in his Language gives the Lion notice of
it: now to apply this to our purpo&s;e, <HI>Christ</HI>
crucified is the main &s;ub&s;tance of the Go|&s;pel,
<HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>The Doctor is here fallen upon a compari&s;on
wherewith he is much taken, I confe&s;&s;e I am not
&s;o well read to tell whence he had it, nor of &s;o
ea&s;ie belief to credit the Fable; nor is it e&s;&s;ential
or to the purpo&s;e, whether a Fable or a Story,
&s;ince rhe main de&s;ign lies in the Moral and Ap|plication;
wherein the Doctor hath rendred
him&s;elf &s;o impertinently tedious, and &s;o intri|cately
perplexed, that (to u&s;e his own words)
<HI>I must confe&s;s ingenuou&s;ly (yet under his highest cor|rection)
there is not a thing that I ever understood le&s;s
than the Doctor in this particular;</HI> of whom I may
&s;ay in part, as <HI>Socrates</HI> did of <HI>Heraclitus,</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">,
<HI>He requires Delian Diver, and
no le&s;s than</HI> Apollo <HI>to wade him through.</HI> I
wi&s;h I could &s;ay al&s;o the other part, <GAP DESC="foreign">,
<PB N="98" REF="59">
<HI>What I understand is ex|cellent,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Diogenes Laert. So|crat.</NOTE>
<HI>and &s;o is, I am per&s;waded, what I understand
not:</HI> his &s;cope and meaning being &s;o darkly di|&s;pen&s;ed,
I &s;hall adventure to bolt out by con|jecture,
and make his application in what I can
follow &s;ute with his Compari&s;on. The Lion is,
as I apprehend him, Man's Soul; the Prey,
<HI>Christ</HI> crucified; the place where this Prey is to
be found, the holy Scriptures; the quick-&s;ented
bea&s;t, the <HI>Jack-call,</HI> the Church; the&s;e put into
frame, &amp; &s;et together, &s;eem to exhibit and repre|&s;ent,
that though the Scriptures contain <HI>Christ</HI>
the food of our &s;ouls; yet cannot our &s;ouls finde
out that Food, till the Church (like a Setter)
makes her paint, &amp; directs us where it is. But Do|ctor,
we &s;ay &amp; you &s;hall never be able by Rea&s;on
and Scripture evidence (though by words you
may) to gain-&s;ay it, that our Souls are not &s;o
dull &s;ented, nor <HI>Christ</HI> &s;o ob&s;curely tendred to
us in the Scriptures, as that the &s;imple&s;t and
mo&s;t ignorant &s;oul which humbly and devoutly
&s;eeketh him, can po&s;&s;ibly mi&s;&s;e him; and if found,
he cannot be till the Church cry So ho, and
&s;hew him to us, we are but in an ill plight, &s;eeing
we have need of a quick-&s;ented <HI>Jack-call</HI> to di|rect
us to that Church, which you Doctor
would &s;o fain finde out. But will you &s;ee the
artifice of this devi&s;ed Plot, the cunning of this
contrived &s;imilitude? Behold it here.</P>
<P>There is a quick &s;ented A&s;&s;i&s;tant called <HI>Eccle|&s;ia,</HI>
or Church, which is derived from a Verb
which &s;ignifies to call, which mu&s;t be the <HI>Jack-call,</HI>
to which this powerfull Seeker after this
Prey mu&s;t joyn it &s;elf, or el&s;e it will never be
able to finde it out.</P>
<P><PB N="99" REF="59">
Here's the depth of the de&s;ign laid open, the
Doctor, hapning by chance upon the Fable of
the Lion and Jack-call, thought it would &s;erve
his purpo&s;e mo&s;t happily, becau&s;e the Jack-call
was to be re&s;embled by the word Church, which
he conceived was derived from a Verb &s;ignifying
to call; but here the Doctor is mi&s;erably,
&s;hamefully, even to ridiculou&s;ne&s;&s;e gro&s;ly out;
for <HI>Eccle&s;ia</HI> is derived from <GAP DESC="foreign">, which doth
not &s;ignifie to call, but to cull, &s;eparate, chu&s;e,
appropriate, and &s;et apart, to elect. And where|as
he &s;aith, Saint <HI>Paul</HI> confirms the u&s;e of this
Etymology, writing to the <HI>Corinthians,</HI> and el&s;e|where,
he mu&s;t be hinted, that the word is con|&s;tantly
there one and the &s;ame <GAP DESC="foreign">, called, not
<GAP DESC="foreign">, elected, or called forth; calling is one
thing, Election another; calling is in time,
Election from all Eternity; all that are called,
are not elected; nor are all that are elected, cal|led;
for children dying infants are many elect|ed,
but not any called. But perhaps the Doctor
will &s;ay the word Church or <HI>Eccle&s;ia</HI> compre|hendeth,
in a large notion, not onely the Elect,
but all that are called to the external profe&s;&s;ion
of <HI>Christianity.</HI> I an&s;wer, true, but 'tis &s;till de|rived
from <GAP DESC="foreign">, and that Church is a cho&s;en,
a peculiar people &s;elected from the ma&s;&s;e of all
mankinde.</P>
<P>When di&s;&s;ention aro&s;e between <HI>Paul</HI> and <HI>Bar|nabas</HI>
concerning Circumci&s;ion, their di&s;puta|tions
could effect nothing but heat, till the Apo|&s;tles
and Elders met together, and determined
the matter.</P>
<P>Good Doctor, if it be not too much trouble
<PB N="100" REF="60">
to you, I pray revi&s;e the Text again, for I fear
you are much out of the &s;tory, and wide in two
points; Fir&s;t, in affirming <HI>Paul</HI> and <HI>Barnabas</HI> to
differ in the doctrine of Circumci&s;ion, who
were <GAP DESC="foreign">, thought taught, and defended
one and the &s;ame Truth, as is evident, <HI>Acts</HI> 15. 2.
Secondly, in affirming their di&s;&s;ention to be be|fore
the Councel of <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> whereas 'tis
clearly directly &s;aid to be after it, <HI>Acts</HI> 15. 39.
A Que&s;tion there was I grant about Circumci&s;i|on,
before that Councel, but not between <HI>Paul</HI>
and <HI>Barnabas,</HI> but between them and <HI>&s;ome who
came from Judea:</HI> again, a di&s;&s;ention there was,
a Paroxi&s;me <HI>between</HI> Paul <HI>and</HI> Barnabas, but it
was after that Councel.</P>
<P>There mu&s;t be a &s;ociety of men who can &s;ay,
<HI>Bene vi&s;um fuit nobis &amp; Spiritui &s;ancto;</HI> or el&s;e
matters of that nature will never be determined,
which &s;ociety is there called the Church, which
Church we are to finde.</P>
<P>That your external Judge is a &s;ociety of men,
you tell us here; but there are many &s;ocieties of
men; there is a &s;ociety of men after the <HI>Geneva</HI>
Model, there is a &s;ociety of men according to
the <HI>Romi&s;h</HI> per&s;wa&s;ion, there is a &s;ociety of men
a&s;&s;embled in a General Council, not &s;ubordi|nate
to the Pope, which of the&s;e &s;ocieties is it
you mean? If none of all the&s;e, explain your
&s;elf; why &s;hould you be thus re&s;erved, like a
&s;ullen Cow that will not give down her Milk?
Come, impart, communicate your notion free|ly
to us; if you &s;ay it is a &s;ociety that can &s;ay,
<HI>Bene vi&s;um fuit nobis &amp; Spiritui &s;ancto,</HI> you are not
explicite, not yet clear enough; for the Holy
<PB N="101" REF="60">
Gho&s;t may be &s;o a&s;&s;i&s;tant to a &s;ociety, as that
form mentioned (<HI>Acts</HI> 15.) may be a&s;&s;umed by it
(though none hath as yet pre&s;umed &s;o far) &amp; yet
notwith&s;tanding, the definitions of that &s;ociety
may be not ab&s;olutely infallible. But Doct. I ob|&s;erve
an Elegancy in your form, &s;ingularly, and
peculiarly, your own, you have reform'd the
<HI>vi&s;iun est</HI> or <HI>placuit,</HI> u&s;ed by other Interpreters, in|to
<HI>bene vi&s;um,</HI> the my&s;tery of which diver&s;ity, I
would gladly learn I nor is this all, but by what
warrant I know not; I finde <HI>nobis</HI> take place of
<HI>Spiritui &s;ancto,</HI> whereas the Apo&s;tles rendred them
counter-changed, and put the holy Gho&s;t in the
upper hand. But it is time to make an end; no
more but this; you &s;ay &s;till, this Church you are
to finde; and becau&s;e if findable, your good for|tune
may be to finde it, in ca&s;e you do, let me
advi&s;e you to proclaim your <GAP DESC="foreign">; for a&s;&s;ure
your &s;elf, it will be <HI>trea&s;ure trouve,</HI> and then it
belongs either to the King or State, and then
Concealment may create your Trouble.</P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
