| Title: | Copy Letter In Dury'S Hand, ? To ?, On "Mercy And Truth" By I.H. |
|---|---|
| Dating: | 4 November 1637 |
| Ref: | 26/19/3A-5B |
| Notes: | See also 26/19/1 & 26/19/6. |
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Sir, The second Letter.
I wrote unto you heeretofore some thing concerning your homebredde & forraine controversies, shewing the daungers which I did conceiue in both, but chiefly in the confused method of disputing with the Romanists. I did propose a Remedie, & hauing laid open the Difficulties opposit to that Remedie, I shewed a way how those difficulties might bee ouercome, in a course which could bee taken to free mens Spirits from prejudicat opinions. I know not how you did relish those conceits of mine: for I suppose you expected no such Discourse from mee, but rather my judgement concerning the Booke it selfe, which is called Mercy & Trueth. Heereof I purpose now to speake; & that, (as I told you) [deletion] without partialitie. For I haue ingeniously made the case mine owne; euen as a case of Conscience. I haue taken his matter as hee deliuereth it: & hauing suffered my selfe to bee ledde along by his perswasions, till I had seene all that hee hadde to say. At last I haue examined him & found out his fallacies, which I will endeavour to discouer unto you. But first I must tell you that if I hadde seene Charitie Mistaken, to which all this hath a Reference, & If Dr. Potters Want of Charitie, hadde also beene sent unto me, I suppose I should haue beene able to deliuer my opinion of the whole matter with more light then now I doe. And truely because I haue not Dr. Potters Want of Charitie therefore I haue not as yet sett my selfe to reade ouer your authours second Part, which is a Refutation thereof. For I cannot savour a refutation except I bee able to examine it throughly in confronting it with the authour, to whom it is opposed. So then I consider onely his owne Positiue Doctrine in the first part: Which I find to bee an enlargement of the matter of Charitie mistaken. Therefore to conceiue of all aright I will represent unto you the Summe of the matter as hee deliuereth it: First in the Meaning of Charitie Mistaken: & then from his owne Discourse. The meaning of Charitie mistaken (as hee sayth) was to shewe unto Protestants that of two disagreeing in points of Faith one onely without repentance of the other can be saued. If this bee soe, then it is inferred that both Protestants & Romanists cannot bee saued in their seuerall Professions: because it is manifest that they disagree in points of Faith. Now that it is so, Charitie mistaken laboureth to prooue in making good these following Positions, viz: 1. That there is but one true Church: 2. That to this one Church all Christians are oblidged to harken. 3. That this one Church must bee acknowledged to bee alwayes visible & infallible. 4. That to seperat in Communion from this Church is Schisme, & to dissent in the least point of Doctrine from her is Heresie: both which destroy Salvation without repentance. From these assertions the maine Scope seemeth to bee inferred, that of two different Religions one alone doeth bring soules to Salvation: from which seemeth to bee concluded, that seeing the Romane Religion & Church is the onely true one (this seemeth not to bee prooued but taken as graunted) that therefore Protestancy destroyeth saluation. And least Protestants might make distinction, & limitate the maine Position thus, that the two Professions that Differ in fundamentalls cannot <both> bring soules to saluation; but that men of Conscience may bee saued in both if the difference bee not fundamentall; Charitie mistaken intendeth to shewe that this Limitation can haue no place because it maintaineth that any least point of Difference in Faith cannot stand with Salvation on both sides of different Professions, & therefore doeth finally conclude, that it is a betraying of soules to make men beleeue, that Salvation may bee attained in Religions different in the least point of Faith. This was the meaning of Charitie mistaken, So farre as I can gather from your authour whose purpose is to make all this good: & to this effect hee wrote the first part of his Booke; Whereof if I should giue you as it were in one word the substance, take this assertion for it all: Because men in Different Religions cannot both bee saued. Chap: 1. And the Scriptures cannot bee a judge of matters of Faith, but there must alwayes bee a visible & infallible Church to determine such matters by divine authoritie Chap. 2. The beleeuing of which Church as infallible in all things is the onely foundation of Faith, & the disbeleeuing of which in any one thing is to ouerthrow all fundamentalls. Chap. 3. Which fundamentalls cannot bee receiued from the Creede but from the word of the Church. Chap. 4. Which Church being onely the Church of Rome that now is; therefore Protestants being fallen from her Communion are Schismatiques. Chap. 5. And from her Doctrine are Heretiques. Chap. 6. And so cannot bee saued except they repent, & returne againe unto her Communion & faith Chap. 7. These are the heads of your authours Doctrine, as they lye in the order wherein hee hath sett them. But when I was willing to see more distinctly the whole matter & conceiue more clearly how euery thing did belong to the maine Scope (which is to shewe, that Protestancy unrepented destroyeth Salvation) I saw that his whole method was to bee inverted. For if you will giue mee leaue to cast his matter with subordination to his Scope into a forme of Dialogue, all will bee expressed more familiarly & euidently thus.
I suppose then that a Charitable Romanist doeth Remonstrat unto an unpartiall Protestant, that hee cannot bee saued except hee returne unto the Church of Rome. [left margin: a. Ch. 7.] (a) The Protestant asketh whye? The Romanist saith, because so longe as you stay from her, you are under the guilt of Heresie & Schisme. The Protestant sayth, Whye <am> I under the guilt of Heresie? The Romanist answereth because [left margin: b. Ch. 6] (b) you haue opposed the trueth propounded by the visible true Church (which is the Church of Rome) as reuealed by God, & because in your beleefe all the conditions requisite to Christian Catholique faith are wanting. For your faith wanteth certaintye, because you deny the Vniversall infallibilitie of the Church visible; it wanteth obscuritye, because you ground it not upon the obscure authoritie of God & the word of the visible Church but upon the cleere word of Sacred Scripture: it wanteth Prudencie; because you foresake the Faith of a Church confessedly very auncient, which was then the onely visible Church, & hadde all the markes of a true Church: & you want supernaturality, because in foresaking the infallible diuine authoritie of the Church visible your faith is become a humane perswasion: & thus you are guiltie of Heresie. The Protestant asketh next, but why am I guiltie of Schisme? The other answereth because [left margin: c. ch.5] (c) you did depart from the externall communion of Christs visible Church which hee hath alwayes had upon the Earth, neither haue you any lawfull excuse for departing from her: now the Church from which you departed was the Roman Church, for then none other Church was exstant: & because shee onely was exstant, shee onely could yeeld to your Church (if yee will challenge it) succession of Doctrine & of other matters, from the Apostles times. For the Waldenses, Wickleff & Husse are but of late & doe not also agree with you in Doctrine. And thus you are both Heretiques & Schismatiques. If then to all this the Protestant should say: Nay, Sir, you cannot so easily dischurch us, onely for leauing the externall visibilitie of the Roman Synagogue, because neuerthelesse wee haue remained in the communion of the true visibilitie of the Catholique Church, & professe the true catholique faith, keeping the Apostolicall creed, in the true catholicke sense, as it hath beene explained by the generall counsells; which containeth all fundamentalls of beleefe necessarie to Salvation. And although wee might perhaps erre in some points not fundamentall (as wee suppose no Church in particular can bee without some errour) yet so long as the foundation remaineth the Apostle sayth 1. Cor. 3. 11. till 15. that wee shall bee saued: And as for the rectifying of our faith, in other matters of lesser importance to bee knowen wee have recourse to the word of God in the Scriptures: for this wee are commanded to doe by the Prophet Esayas: 19. 20. & by the Apostle Peter 2. Epl.1. 19. Therefore your imputation of Heresie & Schisme falleth to the ground. For wee know that wee are still in the Communion of the faith & visibilitie of the true Catholicke Church, which with us together hath allwayes bene grounded upon Gods word. To this Apologie of the Protestant the Romanist answereth againe thus. No, good Sir, but you are mistaken in all this. For first you must understand that the Creeds doe not containe all fundamentalls [left margin: d. Ch. 4.] (d) necessarie to bee beleeued unto Salvation; neither Theoreticall nor Practicall: & although they did containe all fundamentalls, yet except you receiue both the Creed it selfe & the sense thereof from the present visible Church [catchword: of Rome]
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of Rome, your faith cannot bee grounded upon it to saluation. Neither it is enough to beleeue the creeds of the ancient Church, but you must also know this that if you disbeleeue any Doctrine of the Church of Rome you are lyable to eternall Damnation. And as for your Distinction of errours fundamentall & not fundamentall which you say destroy not salvation it is not pertinent in this matter, [left margin: e. ch.3.] (e) because the Church cannot erre at all in any least point of faith & bee a true Church, neither can any man disbeleeue the least point of trueth deliuered by the Church as a divine trueth & bee in the state of Salvation. Neither will your recourse which you take to the Scriptures helpe you to salvation [left margin: f. ch 2.] (f) because the Scripture is not to bee taken as a judge & directour of our way to salvation, but the Church visible is onely made to bee such a judge & infallible directour of our understandings, to beleeue supernaturall truethes. For if any man disbeleeue the Church, it is all one as if hee did disbeleeue God himselfe: & therefore men in different Churches & Religions [left margin: g.ch.1.] (g) as Protestants & Romanists, that disbeleeue one another cannot both bee saued.
Thus when I will see the strength of his perswasion, which consisteth in the coherence of his matter with his Scope I must in this manner turne his method upside downe. For I find that it is his Policie not to proceede directly in this plaine downeright way, but hee fetcheth a compasse, that hee may couer his fallacies, & insinuat the same more subtilely into weake understandings. For the fundamentall matter of his whole Discourse, wherein a man shall find himselfe deceiued, is wrapped up in the Generall notion of a Church & of the visibilitie thereof, which hee doeth no where distinctly define, lest perhaps in giuing the Definition of a true Church, hee should bee obliged to enter into a dispute, about the nature & being of the same, which to decline is his advantage. For to undermine the Principles of Protestants (concerning Scripture & fundamentall Truethes) to weake judgements the generall notion & name of a Church is sufficient, for the notion of a Church & of her infallibilitie hath some trueth, therefore his reasoning hath some force so long as hee remaineth in that generalitie. For by the respect & reuerence due to the name of a Church (which is supposed commonly when wee speake in generall to bee a true Church) hee gaineth upon modest & pious Spirits this much aduantage that they become disposed & willing to giue credit & yeeld unto the authoritie of the Church indefinitly taken, & of this aduantage taken from the bare name of a Church hee maketh use to beate downe the thoughts & right use of the Principles which Protestants haue laid (concerning Scriptures & the fundamentall Symboles of the undoubted Catholique Church) as infallible grounds, whereby to discerne & find out the trueth of a visible particular Church. For as touching the generall Church shee cannot bee otherwise seene then in the intellectuall notion & in the obseruable collection of all particular congregations answerable to that notion. Now when once the thoughts of the infallibilitie & evidence of Scriptures & of the catholique Symboles (to which a Church, in particular must visiblely agree to make her visiblely haue the being of a true Church) are beaten downe & dasht out of the mindes of men with the generalitie of that other indefinit thought of a true Church & her authoritie, then mens affections are prepared to looke onely after a certaine [word deleted] Church which is not yet knowen but neuerthelesse is supposed to bee existent, & because existent, therefore also visible: not considering now any more, whither that existence & visibilitie bee true or false, because the rule by which the true visibilitie is to bee tryed, is alreadie put out of their thoughts, & when the intention & rule, whereby the trueth & falshood of the visibilitie of the Church should bee examined is put out of mens mind, then they are easily ledde a steppe further to conceiue, that because a Church hath a perpetuall existence that therefore shee hath also a perpetuall visibilitie; & because shee hath a perpetuall visibilitie that therefore shee is to bee thought true; as if these two assertions were convertible & all one, namely this, There is a true Church allwayes existent in the world which may bee seene: & this other, The Church that may bee seene & is existent in the world is alwayes true. For in the mixture of these two assertions lyeth the Sophistrie which euery man is not able to discouer, because hee leadeth mens thoughts with a faire eloquent & Scholasticall Discourse upon generalities that cannot bee directly disprooued. And because in some sense they are true therefore they serue his turne to crye up the credit & the notion of a Church which is all that hee first aimes at; which hauing attained unto, in his 1. 2. 3. & 4. Chapters, hee proceedeth in his 5.& 6. Chapters, to giue a further impression of the same thing which hee worketh more deeply upon the mind of his reader, from the nature & odiousness of Schisme & Heresie; which hee maketh to bee a breach of Charitie & trueth from the visible Church, which neuer till now hee taketh upon him to prooue that shee [word deleted] must bee visible & that the visible Church is none but the Romane, that passing immediatly from the apprehension of the visibilitie of a Church to charge Protestants with schisme, the accusation may bee more coulourable against them; to make men beleeue that because they left the externall communion of that visibilitie wherein the Church of Rome then stood, that therefore they fell also from the externall Communion of visibilitie & faith with the true Catholique Church. For it being now taken as graunted that there must bee a perpetuall visible Church, & knowen that the Roman was visible at Luthers tyme, it is tacitly (but not truely) insinuated, that there was no other visibilitie of the true Catholique Church but that visibilitie wherein the Church of Rome as Romane at that time did appeare. Thus all this time whiles the true Definition of a Christian & truely catholicke Church hath not beene deliuered to know how shee may bee distingvished in her notion from a false Church. And whiles the thought of a rule to discerne true & false visibilitie is not in a mans mind, but all is wrapped up in the generall name of a visible Church. The accusation doeth carry a faire shewe chiefly when it is artificially backed with some circumstances of fact, which are odiously misinterpreted & misapplyed against the meaning & purpose of the first authours of Reformation, such as those allegations are, wherein Chap.5 Sect.43. hee laboureth from Luthers owne words (whereof some are mutilat in the citation as that of Missa privata fol. 244. & some are, no doubt, detorted against the authours scope) to prooue that hee hadde an euill Conscience in undertaking that Reformation which made Protestants to become a Church.
Hauing thus undermined the Protestant Principles, or at least putt them off that they should not bee usefull, & then hauing made the imputation of schisme probable against them: hee commeth last of all to that which in a direct demonstratiue course & in pleaine dealing should haue been first insisted upon namely, namely to the imputation of Heresie. Of this matter hee would not speake in the first place although it did most nearly reach to his Scope; lest either the consideration of faith should haue gone before the notion of a Church which would haue bredde a great inconvenience to all his following Discourses; or lest hee should haue beene engaged to make Protestants guiltie of Heresie before hee had diminished their credit with the coulourable imputation of schisme, which was not also very convenient. Therefore hee doeth not meddle with this subject, till hee hath sufficiently forestaled the mind, with the probable apprehension of those other matters. Which being perfourmed hee dare make bold to meddle with this tickelish matter of Heresie; & to lay a ground to this accusation, hee giueth us a superficiall description of faith in some generall properties, which haue some kind of trueth but containe not the true form & nature of the thing itselfe. And this is done that the notion of faith may bee answerable & subordinat to the former notion of the Church. For seeing in the former part of his Discourse hee would by no meanes subject his Church to the true rule of divine faith, but made her a Mestrisse & ruler ouer it, therefore now it cannot bee otherwise, but that his faith must bee framed according to his Church, which is done in the Scholasticall way artificially & learnedly, that is, (as I take it) very sophistically. For hee maketh the maine ground & onely motiue of true faith (which in his schoole-language is called the formall object thereof) to bee obscure, least by any meanes the hearts of men should depend upon God & his trueth for certainty of faith & salvation, & not upon the bare word of his Church. For hee is not ashamed to say that it was expedient that our beleefe or Assent to diuine truthes, should not onely be unknowen or inevident by any humane discourse, but that absolutly also it should bee obscure in itselfe, & bee uoid euen of supernaturall euidence, & so consequently that the motiue thereof (which motiue hee sayeth well is none other but Gods divine authoritie) should be obscure to us; & why, good Sir, was this obscuritie necessarye & expedient for us? what aduantage haue our soules by it? you say to make our obedience appeare unto God? How this? Can I bee said to obey God, when I cannot know his word & judge, whither hee or a deceitfull man speaketh unto me? no, no: here is a deceit: it is onely to make obedience to bee done to your Church instead of God. For you pretend Gods authoritie belonging to her; but because you can shew no evidence thereof to make your pretence good, lest your deceit bee discouered, you teach your Disciples that the authoritie of God, for which they must beleeue you, is obscure, & so not to bee sought after & yet that you must bee beleeued & obeyed in all things as God himselfe & trusted instead of him, that although you speake not his but your owne, nay although you contradict his word, yet you may not bee reprooued. Thus then your author will not haue it evident to any that God reuealeth this or that trueth; & yet the things proposed by his Church must certainly bee beleeued to bee of God. Whence then shall this certainty come? can it come from Gods authoritie & the knowledge of his word? no these things must bee hidden from us & must bee obscured to us. From whence then? From the authoritie & word of the Church. What meanes this, but that the Doctours of that Church would put God out of mind & draw his authoritie upon themselues. For I must not presume to seeke after God to know him, & yet my faith must bee said to bee in God. This is the Roman faith that knoweth nothing of God, but of that Church, which exalteth herselfe aboue all that is called God 2.Thess. 2. 4. Now this was not the faith of Christs Disciples. For the motiue of their faith was not obscure: for when Christ enquired of them Ioh. 6. 67. whither they would not also goe away & leaue him as others had done being scandalized at his Doctrine, Peter answereth in the name of all v. 68. 69. & saith, Lord, to whom shall wee goe? Thou hast the words of eternall life, & wee haue beleeued, & wee haue knowen that thou art the Christ, the Sonne of the liuing God. Heere are the motives of true faith. First the words of eternall life proceede from Christ, these words are heard & receiued in the heart; from the perception of these words commeth faith, when in the understanding thereof resulteth unto the mind an evident acknowledgement of the authoritie of the speaker, that hee is Iesus Christ the sonne of the liuing God. For because they [left margin: knew] from the words of Eternall life that hee was the Sonne of God that spoke them, therefore they did beleeue him. This Roman faith is not the faith that Christ gaue unto his Disciples: for Christ gaue unto his Disciples a faith which made eternall life to redound unto their soule; & this eternall life was a knowledge of the onely true God & of Iesus Christ whom hee hadd sent Ioh. 17. 3. And how came this knowledge unto them. Christ himselfe telleth us v. 8. because the words that the father gaue unto him hee gaue unto them; & they receiued those words & knew verily that hee was come out from the father, & for that cause beleeued that the father had sent him. This is the testimony that Christ doeth giue unto the father of their faith & of the motiue thereof: to shew that it was no ignorant & obscure faith, as this man would haue it to bee, but a knowing & euident beleefe. And if you will heare themselues beare witnesse of their faith. Ioh. 16. 30. you shall see that the onely motiue why they did beleeue, is, the evidence of their knowledge in perceiuing Christ his divine authoritie: For they say thus, Now wee know that thou knowest all things, & that thou needest not that any should enquire of thee: for this wee beleeue that thou art come out of God; as if they had said, now wee evidently perceiue the propertye of thy divine nature in this, that thou doest know all things, & for this cause wee beleeue that thou art come out of the bosome of the father: for wee see his vertue & power which is his divine authoritie existent in thee; which authoritie appearing thus unto us maketh us beleeue that thou art come [catchword: from the]
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from the father. What then shall wee still beleeue this man who will haue the authoritie of God in producing faith to bee obscure? true indeed it is obscure to a Romanist because his faith is not of God. But here in comparing the words of Christ with the words of his Disciples, wherein both giue testimonie of the same faith, to witt Christ of his Disciples to the father, & the Disciples of themselues unto Christ; it is to bee obserued, that both intending to deliuer the same thing (:for Christ hauing before his prayer heard the confession of his Disciples faith, beareth witnesse thereof unto his father) they use different expressions. For chap 16. 30. the Disciples say that they beleeued that hee was come out of God: but Christ himselfe chap. 17. 8. sayth that they knew that hee was come out of God: so then the thing which they say they beleeued, hee sayth they knewe: to lett us see, that faith is no faith but so farre as it standeth with the euidence of supernaturall knowledge & to let us also see, that this Romanist is a scholasticall sophist when hee telleth us that faith must bee absolutly obscure in itselfe & void of supernaturall euidence. Lett any man read the first words of the first Epistle of St. Iohn, where hee declareth the ground of his Doctrine & of his faith & then tell mee whither faith must bee grounded, yea or no, upon obscuritie? Hee saith that which was from the beginning, that which wee haue heard, that which wee haue seene with our eyes, that which wee haue contemplated, that which our hands haue felt, concerning the word of life. For the life appeared & wee saw it; & beare witnesse of it, & denounce unto you that life eternall, which was by the father & which appeared unto us. Was St. Iohn his faith concerning life eternall without evidence, when it was grounded upon all these testimonies? But hee will say perhaps Moses faith was obscure; for it is said, Hebr.11. 23. that hee was steadfast, as seeing him that was invisible. What is this seeing of Moses obscuritie? is it not the euident apprehension of Gods power & authoritie that made him bee stedfast & despise the wrath of the Tyrant? Doeth not the seeing of him that was invisible make him not care for the sight of him that was visible? yet you see still (saith hee) that God was invisible. Yet you see also (say I) that Moses saw him neuerthelesse: & because hee saw him it is manifest, that his faith wanted not supernaturall evidence & was not obscure. God is indeed invisible, to all humane sense, but not to spirituall sense of faith. Therefore I say that the deceit of this mans doctrine lyeth in this, that indeed there is a certaine obscuritie in faith, but not there where hee doeth place it. For the obscuritie (to speake to him in his owne barbarous language) is not in the formall but in the materiall object of faith, that is to say, it is not obscure to us (if our faith bee truely in God) that the thing which wee should beleeue is reuealed by God, thus Gods authoritie is not obscure unto us in reuealing a thing to bee beleeved as from himselfe: but the thing itselfe which is to bee beleeued is obscure, not with such an obscuritie, as if wee knew not in our spirituall understanding, what the thing in itselfe were (for then also wee could not at all beleeue it) but with such an obscuritie which ariseth from sense, & from humane reason: the obscuritie ariseth from sense in respect wee see not & possesse not as yet, the spirituall things by God promised unto us, but onely embrace them by hope in faith as things absent & to come 2.Cor. 5. 7. Rom. 8. 24. 25. Heb. 11. 1. And the obscuritie ariseth from reason, in respect that wee through faith in God lead our thoughts captiue within ourselues, that they should not limitate the almightie power of God, for the fulfilling of his promise to certaine possibilities of means answerable to our capacitie. And this obscuritie was in Abraham his faith: Rom. 4. 19. 20. 21. Heb.11. 17. 18. 19. Thus there is as twofold obscuritie in respect of the materiall object of faith, but in the formall object namely in Gods authoritie, & in a part of the materiall object namely in the substance of the thing promised there is an euident light. For the Apostle Hebr. 11. 1. defineth faith to bee the [Greek: uposaois?], that is the subsistence of things hoped for: And the [Greek: elegchos], that is the argument or euidence of things not seene. What is the meaning of this. Is it not a description of faith from the naturall properties & effects thereof which are to make things promised by God to haue a reall being & subsistence in our spirit before the promise bee fulfilled, & to make our understanding haue an evident demonstration of their futur being before they are apprehended either by reason or sense. Now the motiue & ground by which faith is able to worke this in the Spirit of men is well said by him to bee Gods authoritie: But concerning this authoritie wee say that it is reuealed unto all beleeuers so farre as their faith is true: & hee saith that this authoritie must needs be obscure unto them. now the cause why wee say it is manifest, is the testimoye of Gods word, the Analogie which all other Spirituall matters haue with faith & the evident experience of true beleeuers: but the cause, why hee is driven to maintaine this absurditie, that it is obscure, is because in very deed the authoritie of God hath no being in the Church of Rome; & yet seeing it is pretended to bee in it, therefore they are forced to say it is obscure, lest if they should confesse it to bee evident they should bee obliged to shew it forth, in the evidence & demonstration of Gods spirit, which they cannot doe. Thus then I find here the lurking hole of this foxe, who doeth hide himselfe in darknesse, & putteth farre from his faith the evidence of Gods authoritie: lest the true nature & evidence of faith towards God should ouerthrow the Doctrine & the false credit which hee callengeth to his Church. For hee is forced thus <to> obscure the authoritie of God, & put out the eye of faith, that the light of <the> one, & the other should not discouer the false & base condition of his Church. I do not judge thus by passion or prejudice, but with a single heart, after a serious tryall of the matter in mine owne case: for I doe not call this man in his person a foxe as if hee wittingly & willingly did intend to deceiue us, but I speake of the Spirit of Sophistrie, whereby he is deceiued & which is in the propertie of the Doctrine which hee hath beene taught, & which he without malice (thinking no doubt to speake trueth,) doeth deliuer. Therefore doe not mistake, when I use such expressions, I rail not at any person, but I expresse the nature of the thing. For when I doe look without prejudice, in Christian simplicitie as in the presence of almightie God, on the one side to the true Church, & on the other side to the false Church, as they are manifestly sett forth in the Reuelation, I see euidently this difference <betwixt the> Spiritual & outward estate of the one & of the other, that the true Church is wholly clothed with the sunne: the moone is under her feete, & upon her head are twelue starres: so that shee is all ouer, under, aboue & round about nothing but beames of supernaturall evidence & light, whereas in the false Church there is no light at all but a smoake of spiritual darknesse & obscuritie of faith. For the true Church Reu: 13 is clothed with the brightnesse of the Sunne of Righteousnesse Iesus Christ, whom shee hath apprehended in the evident infallibilitie of true faith whereby hee liueth in her & in euery one of her members & they liue in him. Her crowne of twelue starres are nothing else but the bright evidences of Apostolicall truethes shining in the open profession of her faith, by which shee is knowen to such as can see her face in this world, that shee is a queene of a heauenly race. And her very feete are not without light & brightenesse: for the Moone is under these, to shew that her estate in regard of this lower Region, is neuer constantly the same, but yet evident & apparent enough in the obscuritie of this world, by the brightnesse of a constant changing of light, which befalleth unto her lower parts, in that shee appeareth alwayes more or lesse, in Different seasons according as her aspect is turned towards the sunne from whence her brightnesse doeth proceede. This is on the one side, the appearance of the true Church in this World. But on the other side what is the appearance of the false Church? Shee indeed is visible enough in this world & of this shee maketh her boast, but her appearance is in the visibilitie of darkenesse & confusion: for what belongeth to the Spirituall light of Faith, she doeth professedly reject it. For she will not accept of the clothing of faith, that by it the sunne of Righteousenesse Iesus Christ should be imputed & applyed subsistent, & shining in her: no she doeth reject this garment & instead of it she hath chosen to herselfe her owne workes of selfe conceited merit & superarogation, whereof shee maketh marchandize to cover [word deleted] sinnes before almightie God for money: as if his grace could be bought & sold for gold & silver. [left margin: Reu. 17. 3. 4.] Therefore also shee will bee seene in garments of gold & silver & all manner of outward ornaments, which may please the eyes of sensuall men, to make them in loue with her buildings & gaye Ceremonies, in which shee will appeare. Shee will not haue a crowne of twelue starres as twelue Apostles in an equall circle round about her head, but in the outward pretended chaire of Peter, shee hath one great starre, [left margin: Reu. 9. 1. 2. etc.] which shee hath chosen to herselfe, which is the starre that is fallen from heauen upon the earth, which hath opened the bottomlesse pitt & caused all the generations of locusts (that are fitt for nothing but to consume the fruits of the earth, to vexe & to sting the consciences of men, & stirre up warre & sedition amongst nations) to swarme upon the face of the earth, after that the smoake of the bottomlesse pitt hath darkened the aire & the sunne. This starre is placed upon her head; & as for her feet shee doeth not stand but sitteth, shee rideth upon the beast, & she doth professe that shee hath sitten & shall sitte ouer many nations & Churches as a Queene for euer. For she beareth rule ouer the Kings of the earth, & shee saith in her heart that she shall never be moued. This is the difference of the true & false church discouered by [deletion] the euidence & obscuritie of true faith towards God. Lett now any man judge which of these conditions is most answerable to the Protestant, & which is most proper to the present Church of Rome. Surely wee must confesse that the present Church of Rome doeth not challenge supernaturall evidence of divine faith; & therefore it must needs bee the other condition (which agreeth with the obscuritie of the same by reason of the smoake which ariseth out of the bottomlesse pitt) which is proper to her. For when I haue considered things in themselues me thinkes it could bee demonstratiuely[altered] made apparent that this smoke of the bottomlesse pitt is nothing else but the sophistrie of their school Divinitie (which your authour calleth that most subtile, solide, profitable & succinct method in his Direction to N.N. pag. 20) & of their other sensuall conceits & imaginations about spirituall matters. For I find that the heart & conceptions of a naturall sensuall man is a bottomlesse pitt of deceitfulnesse Ier. 17. 9. out of this pitt from beneath cometh the earthly sensuall & deuilish wisedome, whereof St. Iames speaketh ch.3. 15. This wisedome broke forth upon the world immediatly after the fall of the starre, which I mentioned heretofore: & in breaking forth it corrupted the pure aire of the spirituall state of the [catchword: church]
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Church & darkened the sunne of Righteousnesse shining in the evidence of faith; & then by little & little it bredde all the swarmes of locusts in the different orders of fryers and monckes & other Ecclesiasticall instruments depending differently upon the Papall seas[altered] till at last this one papall sea preuealed, for the Pope as hee is in the pretended sea of Peter is the King of those locusts, because they are all sworne to his service with blind obedience & implicit obscure faith onely for this respect. So then wee may take speciall notice that the evidence of faith is a most intolerable businesse unto the Church of Rome. it is euen unto her Doctours as the shadow of death & as the dawning of the day is to theeues & robbers that lay in wait in the nigh season. For wee say & they cannot deny it in their hearts but that all particular Churches must bee judged by the trueth of their faith & not the trueth of divine faith by particular Churches, For not onely wee but all Christians & Churches that euer were or shall bee must stand by faith & not faith by us or them. For as no Christian is any longer a true Christian but so long as he standeth in Christ by faith: so no Church is any longer a true church but so long as shee remaineth in the trueth of Christian faith. Now the being & substance of true faith standeth onely in the good will of God & in the trueth of his word reuealed. For the Apostle St. Iames ch.1. 18 saith, that God doeth begett us of his owne will by the word of trueth: so then it is the word of trueth that doeth begette Christians, to become the first fruits of Gods heauenly creatures. And whensoeuer a certaine number of such creatures is thus begotten, they make up a true Church, when they are gathered together to make open profession of the word of trueth by which they are begotten. So then they haue their standing & the church in them from the word of trueth, & the word of trueth standeth & is begotten in the good will of God. Now this good will of God & those that are conformable to it by faith & obedience abide for euer more 1.Ioh. 2. 17. Therefore wee say that the Church is perpetually, & hath a neuer interrupted being, because of his perpetuall good will towards mankind & because the word of trueth (which was the confession made by Peter Matt. 16. 16. which is the summe of the whole Scriptures) can neuer bee abolished out of the world: but alwayes begetteth faithfull Children unto God according to his good will. For faith is his gift & hee giueth it by the word, & therefore it hath no other being or standing but in the word, & it onely giueth a true being to the church by the word. This wee say: but this mans Doctrine will haue the Church to giue a being to faith, in making faith stand by the Church: that hee <may> putt the evidence of Gods authoritie in the apprehension of his good will & of the word of trueth out of our mind: that so hee may bee able to driue us away after the sensuall notion of his visible Church. For hee hauing all this while framed a church such as hee would haue her to bee, for his owne endes: hee now commeth, & maketh also to himselfe a faith fitte for her, & then according to this faith wholly depending upon his Church, hee maketh a Heresie any thing that is not agreeable in the least point to her Doctrine. For indeed his faith by his owne confession: is nothing but what his church will haue it to bee: & shee will haue it to bee obscure in respect of God. For in very deed shee is (as the Psalmist saith v: 10. 4.) so proud, that shee seeketh not for God, shee thinketh alwayes there is no God; for shee herselfe will bee alone God. Shee will haue it certaine in respect of herselfe, because that serueth her turne to make men depend upon her alone: shee will have it prudent in respect of naturall reasonings, & this outward state: because shee hath a speciall respect to this worldly state, & the politique reasonings of men, for that is the beast that shee rideth upon. And yet lest shee should seeme professedly to bee onely in this world, shee will haue her faith to be called Supernaturall, although it bee in effect nothing but as her wisdome is animall[altered], sensuall, & Demonicall. Now because Protestants in the light of their faith haue discouered this whole mysterie of iniquitie & cannot now in conscience relish any more such abominations as are in her faith, but doe protest against the same, therefore they must forsooth bee guiltie of Heresie: & as schismatickes & ennemies of all state bee persecuted & put to death. But yet lett me come somewhat nearer unto him, to let him see, (if perhaps God may open his eyes), that hee hath altered the whole foundation of faith in his booke, from that onely ground which the Apostles of Christ haue laid unto the Church of all ages. For the Apostle St. Paul, speaking 1.Cor. 3. of the Church & of the Doctours thereof compareth the Church to a husbandry & to a building, & the Doctours thereof to labouring husband men, that are busie in planting & watering Gods garding: & to builders that should edifie a house in laying fitly good matterialls upon the true foundation thereof. Hee saith then v. 10 that hee, according to the grace of God which was given unto him, as a skillful Master builder, had laid the foundation, but that another was to build thereon: now euery one that was to build, hee doeth warne him that hee should take heede how hee buildeth upon it. And to make him able to looke the better to himselfe, hee telleth him v. 11. what the foundation is which hee was to build upon, & then v. 12. what difference of materialls there was, which might bee built upon it, & v. 13. how the materialls of euery mans worke should <once> bee put to a tryall: & lastly v. 14. 15. what the reward should bee to euery man according to his worke. Concerning the foundation hee sayth that no man can lay any other foundation than that which was alreadie laid by him. And what was that foundation? Hee saith it was Iesus Christ this is the onely foundation of the faith of all beleeuers: because the father in whose good will & word faith doeth stand, hath borne witnesse unto Iesus Christ, testifying from heauen when hee was baptized that hee was his onely begotten sonne, in whom hee was well pleased: & againe upon the mount hauing testified the same hee referreth us to none but unto him to receiue his diuine word, when in the presence of Moses & Elias (that is the Law & the Prophets) wee are commanded to harken chiefly unto him Matt. 17. For this cause the Apostle himselfe Chap. 11. of this same Epistle, when hee was to giue some ordinances unto the Corinthians: hee obligeth not their faith to stand upon his person, as the Church of Rome would haue it to stand upon the person of her Pope: But hee useth this preface: Bee yee followers of mee euen as I am of Christ. To let them know that no Christian, who knoweth Christ to be the foundation of faith is bound to beleeue or follow any man in the world (although hee were euen an Apostle) further then hee perceiueth him to follow Christ Iesus. For euen the Apostles themselues they haue no Dominion ouer the faith of the beleeuers; but they professe themselues to be seruants & no more then helpers of their joy. And the reason is because the beleeuer doeth stand upon the foundation by faith 2.Cor. 1. 24. & because they are not sent to preach themselues but Christ; & to bee no more in themselues, but servants of the saints; to bring them unto the foundation 2 Cor. 4. 5. Now that whereby the soule standeth upon the foundation can bee dependent upon none immediatly but upon the foundation itselfe. For if the soule bee a liuing stone standing upon the foundation of the everlasting Rocke; then faith is the morter or ciment whereby it is joyned to it therefore nothing can come betwixt Christ & true faith. The builders therefore they may subministrat & adde to the building up of mens soules such materialls as they thinke fittest; but they must not lett their owne authoritie betwixt Christ & the faith of a beleeuer. for if they doe this the beleeuer standeth not any more on Christ but upon their authoritie, & so his soule is made void of true faith, because it is transported from the true & onely foundation of faith to another author of beleefe whom the father hath not recommended to us. This your author in this booke, & all the Roman Doctours doe, when they exalt aboue measure, the authoritie & infallibilitie of the Church; telling us plainly, that our faith must not bee established immediatly upon Christ but upon the word of the Church. And to this your English (whom hee calleth more moderat, in diuers places) should take heed, lest they betray our faith, in yeelding too much unaduisedly to the authoritie of a visible outward representatiue Church. I will goe further this way then many men, euen as farre as any of them in practise of things indifferent: but I will say to your author that since I haue known Christ & tasted the sincere milke of his divine word, & found how good the Lord is; that whiles the world standeth, no church on earth, no not all the visible Churches on earth, shall euer by their authoritie come betwixt my faith & Christ his word & spirit, by which he hath adopted me to bee a liuely member of his mysticall bodye. I speake not this by presumtion, & in the selfe conceited motion of a priuat spirit, (no man is more readie to yeeld to others thoughts then I am, both in a naturall & habituall disposition) but I speake it in true faith through the demonstration of Gods spirit: because I know that no visible Church was euer created by God to bee a foundation of faith, of any soule that is to bee saued. For I beleeue the words which St. Peter spake once unto the Iewes, which this day his Spirit speaketh still in the Scriptures unto euery one that understandeth the litterall sense thereof, namely that Christ Iesus (euen that same man Christ Iesus whom formerly the Iewes in his person did reject, & now againe the Romanists in his word sett at naught, in making him as Peter sayth 1.Ep. ch. 2. 8. through their stumbling at the word, & their disobedience to which they were appointed a stone of stumbling & a rocke of offence.) I say that this Christ Iesus, is now againe in this latter age of the world become the head of the corner: & that [catchword: there is no]
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there is no saluation in any other; because amongst men the father hath giuen none other name under heauen, whereby wee must bee saued. Now if this bee so, I must needes say that your authour deceiueth mee & leadeth mee away from the onely foundation of my salvation, when hee hideth the name of Christ, & instead of it, proposeth unto me the name of a Church to settle my faith upon. I say that God hath not giuen the name of any particular church, nor of the Catholique church in generall, to bee the head of the corner. For I say that God doeth not referre me from himselfe to the Catholique Church of all ages, to find & seeke out the foundation of my faith. For I am called by God to Christ & his word immediatly. And the Apostle whom hee pretendeth falsly to bee the authour of their representatiue uisible Catholicisme, doeth giue him the lye in this matter and faith, that there is none other name giuen under heauen but the name of Christ to rest our faith upon: & therefore it is not the name of a church (nay although it be a true Church) that will serue either his or my turne: yet if that bee a true Church, let it shewe me Christ, & not its pretended succession & antiquitie. For I must haue Christ, euen Christ himselfe evidently & immediatly in my faith, for the head of my corner, & not a Pope: for otherwise (if St. Peter saith true) I can not bee saued. But now (I speake to your authour) Sir, looke you to your owne building, consider your owne worke I beseech you. The Apostle saith in plaine words; If any man build upon this foundation good materialls hee shall receive a reward. And if perhaps the materialls which hee buildeth upon the foundation bee not good but burne away, hee shall suffer the losse of his worke, but yet hee himselfe shall bee saued: yet with this reseruation still that hee bee able to stand out in the firie tryall (which St. Peter calleth the tryall of our faith, more pure then golde that is tried with fire) in cleauing close unto the true foundation. For what is not answerable to this foundation, must bee totally consumed as the prophet Esai. sayth Ch. 28. 14-23. read that whole Chapter, yee that weare the crowne of pride, & are the drunkards of Ephraim: you shall see that your glorious beautie is a fading flowre v 1. you shall see that the strength of the Lord his mightie judgement shall caste downe the crowne of your pride & treade it underfeet when hee shall become a crowne of glory & a diademe of beauty unto the residue of his people: & for a spirit of judgement to him that sitteth in judgement, & for strength to them that turne the battaile to the gate, v 2.-7. There you shall see by what meanes hee will execute & bring to passe this judgement, which will make a totall consumption upon the whole earth. For after that the mystery of iniquitie shall haue preuailed so farre against her that once was the true Church, that shee shall not onely erre in judgement, & go out of the way v.7. & fill all the tables with vomits & the filthinesse of their contentions Philosophicall, & Metaphysicall, Schoole Disputations v. 8. but also shall bee so farre gone in the ignorance of Gods word that her priests & Prophets shall wholly become incapable of instruction from the word v. 9-14. And in their prid being scornefull & deriders of the simplicitie of godly mens faith flatter themselues in their owne Policie, thinking themselues onely safe & secure v. 14. 15. Euen then (I say) when they shall say peace, peace, & being confident in themselues shall haue the power of death & the graue in their owne hands; at that very tyme the judgement shall come, which will bring a determined consumption upon you all that adhere unto the beast, & that deride the simplicitie of our faith, for the meanes which God will use to bring this judgement to passe upon you is alreadie sett a worke. For hee hath laid a foundation in Sion, euen a stone, a tryed stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation, & hee that beleeueth shall not bee impatient, but will stay Gods leisure, till the time comes that hee shall lay judgement to the line & righteousnesse to the plummet, to trye the worke of euery man his building, & the materialls which <hee> hath laid upon this foundation v.16. 17. Then the haile of diuine precepts beating strongly upon the Conscience, & the waters of pure knowledge shall sweepe away the refuge of lying sophistrie, & the hiding places of deceit. Then all the power of human policie & state will bee broken & not stand, by reason of an ouerflowing scourge that shall passe thourow the earth (which is in the morning of this day begunne alreadie) & know it is alreadie by day, & by night a vexation to you onely to understand the report of it, v 18. 19. And the reason why this ouerflowing scourge, is alreadie come, & will yet come a great deale more, is twofold. First because the bedde is shorter, then that either the man of sinne or the spirituall man can stretch himselfe on it: for the Spirits of both are growne bigge & strong, therefore both must rise upon their feet: & the courting is narrower, then that either the man of sinne can hide his deceits & Hypocrisie in it, or that the Spirituall man can any longer bee couered with a cloude by it, but both must appeare, one to the face of the other, v 20. Secondly because opposits cannot possibly stand quietly together without a Fight; therefore it will fall out as it was in the dayes when Dauid was made King ouer Israel, that the Philistines, when hee is yet weake & not settled in his kingdome will come & seeke him out, but hee will seeke counsell of the Lord of hoasts against his enemies: & the Lord will rise up for him, as hee did for Dauid in the battaile of Baal perazim where hee burnt the Philistines jdolls with fire & as hee did for him & for Ioshua also in the valley of Gideon, when the Lord went before the one on the toppes of the mulberie trees, to disconfite his enemies; & caused the sunne stand a whole day, for the others sake, & helped to kill his enemies, with haile stones from heauen in his wrath. For the Lord in this spirituall fight will doe his great worke, his strange worke, & hee will bring to passe his act, his strange act v 21. Now therefore take you notice of this, that in the perfourming of this strange act, judgement will bee putt to the line, righteousnesse to the plummet, & all flesh shall bee examined according to the foundation whereon it standeth, & all the workes of the builders of Gods house shall bee tryed by the fire of his judgement. Therefore take heed to yourselfe, & bee not you a mocker, lest your bands bee made strong: humble yourselfe under the mightie hand of God, that you may bee found worthye to escape euills of these last dayes. For certainly wee haue heard & now beginne to see a consumption euen determined upon the whole earth v 22. Now when this consumption shall come if you bee not found (as you are not) upon the foundation which God hath laid in Sion, what shall become of all your pride & glory? Looke therefore betimes unto your worke, & see what you haue built in all your former Chapters & what foundation you intend to lay in this wherein you speake of Heresie. By the meanes of St. Peters chaire, which you would subtilely insinuat unto us Sect. 29. but looke you well to your chaire that it stand fast. For I can tell you, that all your preambles in the former Discourses, will not keepe it from not being shaken to pieces, when it shall bee judged according to the foundation. For I pray you what foundation haue you laid? Haue you once kissed the sonne of God, lest hee bee angry [with?] you & yee perish from the way of salvation, when his wrath is kindled but a little? Doe you not know that all they & they onely, are & shall bee blessed that put their trust in him, & in him onely? But now looke to it againe, haue you euer mentioned Christ in your Booke & his word, otherwise then to reject both it & him from being a foundation of faith towards us. & Chap. 2. instead of him & his word haue you not sett up yourselfe, & your Church as a foundation? Doe not you say, that because the litterall text is deafe, dumbe & inanimat, & <you> perceiue not the Holy Ghost speaking in scripture, that therefore it cannot bee made a judge of Controversies betwixt you & mee? And that therefore I must referre myselfe to your Church, as to a visible judge? But if I & you were closely joyned in a single combate upon this subject, I haue confidence in God, that the liuely word of God, which is quicke & powerfull, & sharper than any two edged sword, would shewe itselfe not dead nor deafe nor dumbe & inanimate in the very letter, but would peirce into the deuiding of your soule & spirit, & unto the joynts & marrow thereof: & the spirit that now you cannot understand speaking in it (because your eares are for the present stopped with metaphysicall notions & schoole distinctions, & alas your eyes are blinded with the crowne of your pride & imaginary beautie of your Church) would become a [discaruer?] of the thoughts & intents of your heart: So that you should bee forced with the infidels (of whom the Apostle speaketh 1 Cor. 14. 25.) [left margin: Esai. 45. 15, 16,] to fall upon your face to worship God & say that of trueth God doeth speake plainly & intelligiblely enough in the Scriptures to such as will open their eares to heare him, & turne their eyes to looke after him. For hee is a God that is not to be found in the glorious appearances of this world; hee is the God of Israel & the saviour onely of those that seeke him in spirit & trueth. Verily hee is a God that hideth himselfe from the world; & therefore all the makers of grauen images shall be confounded. For Christ saith that the Kingdome of God shall not come with [left margin: Luc. 17. 20, 21.] worldly appearance & observation, but hee biddeth us enter within ourselues; for behold saith hee the Kingdome of God is within you, that is to say, it must be found & made manifest, First within your owne Conscience, before you can bee able to obserue it & perceiue it in the world. Therefore beware lest you mocke & deride the lawfull use of the word of God that hath power ouer mens conscience with the nicke name of a privat spirit of interpretation: bee ware, I say of doing this, lest your bands bee made strong, & chaines of eternall darkenesse bee laid upon your understandings: Wee say that it is no privat Spirit, but that it is an universall & catholique Spirit whereby Protestants labour (although as yet in the pangs of their Childbirth & weakenesse somewhat imperfectly) to make the literall sense of the scriptures a judge of Controversies. Laugh us not to scorne, wee will not call your Schoole Deuines any more deuises, but subtile deceiuers: & wee will lett you see that there is no subtilitie nor Metaphysicall distinction that can hold water against the simplicitie of Gods counsell. For wee can shew unto you that the Lord doeth destroy the wisdome of the wise & will cast away the understanding of the prudent of this world: all this (as in former times by the foolishnesse of preaching so now) by a simple, plaine & (in the conceit of great rabbies) foolish way of reading scriptures. Bee not therefore proud in your owne conceit: lest your heart be hardened [catchword: against]
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against the day of the great judgement, & learne to kisse Christ in his word, & not to slight him any more as hitherto you haue done. For when you cannot passe by his name, but must needes once mention it in the gradation of your reasons. Chap. 1. Sect. 7. Telling us, that the father hauing purposed to bring our soules to eternall life, did send his sonne to purchase it for us: you instantly breake of there with him, as if you were afraid to haue his companye any longer, & leaue him as if hee did no more at all for us; that you may foist in & substitute unto him the name of a visible Church: by which meanes you thinke counningly to deriue all the rest of the worke from his name upon your imaginarie Church, that so you may lay another foundation of faith, which should come betwixt him & my soule. What? doe you meane that you can passe with such a deceit? Our loue must bee uery cold to Christ, if wee should suffer him to bee robbed of his honnour. Doe not you know that hee is the liuing word of God, & that hee walketh with a two eadged Sword in his mouth, in the midds of the Seuen Candlestickes? Hath not hee the seuen starres in his owne hand? How say yee then that hee hath giuen them or the power of them, to the Pope? Bee there not seuen Churches? How say yee then that there is but one visible Catholique Church? what meane you, I pray you, that a Church is? Is it anything else but a bodily systeme or collection of Christs true members? Is not hee the center in the middst, liuing & walking, that is the heart & life of them all? And what are you, Master Doctour, I pray you, in the Church, when you are euen at your best a true & faithfull Doctour in it, & not such a one as now you are: I say, one that ouerthroweth the foundation thereof? what are you, I say, & what are all those of your ranke? are you any thing else than either a mouth, or an eye, or a hand, or a foot to serue the other members in the unitye of the same Spirit; that you may with them grow up together upon the same foundation? If then you bee no more but a fellow member & seruant of the head with one of the rest: why will you presume to exalt yourselfe under the pretext of your newe (& if you will too too old) head the Pope, to bee by his power a part of the foundation of the life of the members? doeth not the head send forth vitall Spirits to all the members? Doeth Christ walke in his owne person in the middst of the seuen Candlestickes? Doeth not one & the same Spirit giue life immediatly by it selfe to all the parts of the bodye, to which it can penetrat? And if it cannot giue life to some part, is it not by reason of some dead palsie that hath possessed it? Can one & the same <worldly> sunne giue immediatly life to all the hearbes of the field? And shall not one supernaturall sunne bee able to infuse itselfe to all the consciences of those that hunger & thirst after righteousnesse? What meane you then by your newe foundation of
Your Friend, &c.
Written the 4. of Novemb.
Anno 1637.