JACOBS' VOW, OPPOSED TO THE VOWS OF MONKS AND FRIARS. The first Volume in two Books; Of the Holy Sripture, And evangelical Counsels. WRITTEN IN FRENCH BY Mr. GILBERT PRIMROSE, MINISTER of the Word of God in the Reformed Church of Bordeaux. And TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH by JOHN BULTEEL Minister of the Gospel of jesus Christ. August. de Trinit. lib. 4. c. 6. Contra Rationem, Scripturas, Ecclesiam, Nemo Sobrius, Christianus, Pacificus, Senserit. 2. COR. 13.8. We can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth. LONDON, Printed by Felix Kyngston for Nathaniel Newberry, and are to be sold at his shop under Saint Peter's Church in Cornhill, and in Popes-head Alley. 1617. TO HIS DEAR AND LOVING BRETHREN, Mr. JAMES BULTEEL AND Mr. PETER BULTEEL, Merchants; I. B. wisheth increase of external prosperity, and internal peace, and comfort in this life, and eternal felicity in the life to come, through our Lord jesus Christ. ALL Scripture is given by inspiration of God (dear and loving Brethren) and is profitable for doctrine, a 2. Tim. 3.16.17 for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. And therefore the same Scripture is called, b Heb 6.5. the good Word of God, c Psal. 119.103. the sweet Word, d Heb. 4.12. the quick and powerful Word, e Colos. 1.5. the Word of truth, f Heb. 5.13. the Word of righteousness, g Act. 14.3. the Word of grace, h Act. 13.26. the Word of salvation, i Psal. 19.7. making wise the simple, yea, k 2. Tim. 3.15. wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ jesus; l Psal. 19 ●. converting the soul, rejoicing the heart, enlightening the eyes, m Rom. 15.4. instructing us, and n Deut. 31.13. making us to fear God, ●●endring in us o job. 20.31. faith, p Rom. 15.4. consolation, hope, patience, q Joh. 5.39. having 〈◊〉 eternal life, r Joh. 20.31. Gregor. 1. Origen. Isider. Fulgent. Athanas. Greenam. Tilen. Molin. for by it we believe in Christ jesus, and believing we have life through his name. Hence it cometh to pass, that the holy Scripture is for divers considerations diversly termed of the Fathers, both ancient and modern; A long Epistle which the Creator sends to the creature. The Testament of God the Son. The Library of God the holy Ghost. The book of true love, wherein God unfoldeth his love unto man. The mirror of Divine grace and man's misery. The rich Treasury of the King of glory, wherein is the spiritual Manna, the Bread of life common to the perfect ones, and to the young ones; where is jacobs' Well, out of the which the learned and the simple may drink; where are meats for all ages, the sincere and wholesome milk of the Word (the two Testaments being the two breasts of the Church of God) for the new borne babes, and strong meats for them that are of full age; where are remedies for all evils, preservatives to keep us from diseases, plasters to heal our wounds, weapons against temptations, & heresies, a sword to kill heretics, a touchstone of truth to display error, an exact rule of all things, the Mistress of faith and of virtue, a lantern to direct our steps, an anchor in time of tempest. Yea, the Scripture is called Paradise, God sometimes s Ambros. ep. 41, Deambulabat Deus in Paradiso, & nunc deambulat in Paradise Deus quando scripturas lego. Paradisus Genesis, in quo virtut●s pullulant Patriarcharum: Paradisus Deuteronomium, in qu● germinant legis praecepta; Paradisus evangelium, in qu● arbour vitae b●nos fructus facit. walked in Paradise (saith Saint Ambrose) and now God walketh in Paradise when I read the Scripture. Genesis is a Paradise, wherein the virtues of the patriarchs do branch forth: Deuteronomie is a Paradise, wherein the Law doth spront forth. The Gospel is a Paradise, wherein the tree of life doth bring forth good fruits. And truly well may it be called a Paradise: for the godly person can in no place find a sweeter and pleasanter refreshing then in the Paradise of the holy Scriptures; where the tree of knowledge is, not of that that was forbidden, but of that which is appointed of God for the elect; where standeth in the mids the tree of life which is Chris; t. The door whereunto is not kept close by Cherubins, and the fiery sword, but it is opened by the instinct of the holy Spirit, and the light of the Gospel to all that be hungry; where the rivers be of lively waters, whereof the Church of the faithful is overflown and cherished, and where the minds of the godly are enriched with most fine gold and precious stones, that is with the riches of heavenly graces; t Muscul. loc. Com. cap. 20. the S Script. where be trees of all sorts fair to the eye and sweet to the taste, trees planted by God, handsome and fruitful, that is the patriarchs Prophets and Apostles; where the air passeth very smooth and calm, I mean the breathing of the holy Spirit, most sweetly, cherishing the hearts of the dwellers in this Garden: where the voice of God is walking and seeking the salvation of the seduced man, not crying this only, Adam, where art thou? but calling all men also unto him, instructing and teaching the ignorant, correcting and provoking to amendment them that do sin, showing unto them that be deceived the tree of true knowledge, leading them that be subject unto death and destruction unto the tree of life, raising up them that are fallen, comforting the careful, and refreshing them that be weary. The Garden of Eden, out of the which Adam was thrust for his disobedience, had scarcely the shadow of the true pleasure, which the Elect do enjoy in this garden of holy Scripture; wherein they hear the voice of God, they see the appearings of Angels, they be conversant with the holy patriarchs and Prophets, with Christ himself, and the Apostles, and do feed on the tree of life, not only taking no hurt, but exceeding profit, being made partakers of it for ever. But as the old Serpent endeavoured to banish our first parents out of the corporal and terrestrial Paradise, so hath he laboured to banish his posterity out of the spiritual and heavenly Paradise of the holy Scripture, depriving them of the use, profit, and consolation thereof. Witness the u August. contra Petil. lib. 1. c. 27. Circumcellians, who seduced by this old Serpent, and brought into a distaste & dislike thereof, contemptuously refused, and contumeliously rejected, yea, defaced and burnt the Scripture. If x joseph. Antiq. lib. 20. cap. 4. a wicked Soldier and an Heathen was beheaded by the Commandment of Cumanus, an Heathen governor of judaea, for tearing a copy of the book of the Law of Moses, at the sack of a Town? What were these wicked heretics (not heathen but Christians, though under that name worse than Heathens in their Antichristian proceed) worthy of, for not only refusing to enter into this spiritual Paradise of holy Scripture, but also for defacing and burning it? Surely they deserved to be shut out of the heavenly Paradise, their names to be defaced out of the book of Life, and they to be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, and there to burn for ever and ever. For if any y Revel. 22.19. man take away from the words of the book of this prophesy (which is not so much as to deface or burn the whole book) God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy City. Neither were these alone, for others rejected the book of God either in whole, or in part, though not with such contempt and contumely. z Epiph. lib. 1. tom. 2. haeres. 21. Omnem vero qui veteri Testamento credit mortem subire. Simon Magus with the Simonians his disciples; Cerdon, Carpocrates, Basilides, a August. de bono pierce. lib. 2. c. 11. Manichees and Martion with their Sectatores, rejected all the Canonical books of the old Testament. b Epiphan. lib. 1. tom. 2. haeres. 33. The Prolemaits refused the five books of Moses. The Sadduc●s received only the five books of c Caluin. in harm. evang. joseph. Antiquit. lib. 18. c. 2. Paulus Eber. de Relig & Repub. judaeor. Moses; so did the d Epiph lib. 1. tom. 1. haeres. 9 Samarits, though e Cyril. catech. 18 some hold they received the Prophets also; whereas the e Cyril. catech. 18 Apelleans rejected both the Law and the Prophets. The Nicolaitaus rejected the book of Psalms, some of the Rabbins denied the book of job. Porphiry despised Daniel; the Anabaptists refuse Ecclesiastes, and the book of Canticles. f Tertul. adverse. judaes'. Again, the jews condemned the whole new Testament. The g Irenae. lib 1. c. 26. Solo eo quod est secundum Mathaeum Euangeli● utuntur. Ebionites, of the Evangelists embraced only the Gospel of Saint Matthew. C●rinth●● received none but Mark. h Tertul lib. de praescrip. haeres. c. 51. Irenae. lib. 3. c. 11 Cerdon and Martion only Luke. The i Ibidem. Valentini●●s the Gospel of Saint john only. k Epiphan. lib. 2. tom. 1. haeres. 51. The Allogians of all other hated Saint john's Gospel. The Tatians accepted only the Acts of the Apostles; which book of all others, the l Eusebius. Se●eri●● heretics rejected, and the m August. lib. de utilit. credendi. Manichees refused; so did n Tertul. de prescript. hares. Cerdon. The Ebionits' o Irenae. lib. 1. c. 26. Apostolum P●ulum recusant, Apostatam eum legi● dicentes. could not away with any of S. Paul's works. p Epiph. lib. 2. tom. 3. h●●res. 42. The Marcionits received but ten of Saint Paul's Epistles, rejecting those unto Timothy, Titus, and the Hebrews, q Irenae. lib. 1. c. 29. defacing also those places both in Saint Luke and the Epistles which they embraced, that concerned either the Divinity or Humanity of our Saviour jesus Christ, which r Tertul. adverse. haeret. c. 51. Solum evangelium Lucae, nec tamen ●●tum recipit, Aposto●● Parli●●que ●●●●es, neque totas Epistolas sumit. Cerdon his Master practised before, neither embracing all Saint Paul's Epistles, nor wholly those he embraced. Others rejected S. james Epistle and S. Jude; others the two last Epistles of S. john; yea, some all Saint john's Epistles, with his book of Revelations, as s Epiphan. ●●m. 1. lib. ●. haeres. ●1. the A●●ogians, which book t Tertul. 〈…〉. Cerdon also rejected. On the otherside, others have added unto the book of God other books, as necessary unto salvation. The Gospels of james, Peter, Andrew, Barnabas, Nicodiums, the Canons of the Apostles, the Acts of Paul, Peter, Philip, Andreas, Thomas, * Epiphan. haeres. 61. which two last books the heretics called Apostolici, did use very much, and did take from thence their heresies. The Revelations of Peter, Paul, Philip, Thomas, Steven; the Revelations, Doctrines, Manifestations, Mysteries, Traditions of Montanus, Martion, Manichees, Valentinian, Ebion, Ap●lles, and such like heretics; and so divers have added diversely unto the Word of God their own words and traditions; whereas the Lord saith, u Deut. 4.2. Ye shall not add unto the Word which I command you; x Revel. 22. 1●. for if any man adds unto these things, God shall add un-him the plagues that are written in this book. Notwithstanding as the ancient heretics have dealt impiously with the Scripture by their additions & traditions, as also by their substration and detraction; so do the modern heretics, namely, the Papists, deal with the Scripture, detracting from it, and adding to it; for as Saint y Hyeron. apolog. contra Ruff. c. 11. Istae machinae haereticorum. i. magistrorem tuorum sunt ut convicti de prefidia ad maledictase conferunt. Jerome saith, this is the practice of heretics, that when they are convinced of trachery, they betake themselves to railing; so these wranglers perceiving themselves convinced by the Scripture, do as they of whom z Jrenae. lib. 3. c. 2. Irenaeus speaks. set upon the Scripture itself, taxing it of ambiguity, and as having no authority, intending, as Saint a August. lib. 2. de nuptijs & concupisc. c. 33. Turrianus lib. 1. cont. sadeel pag. 99 Ekcius in Enchir. loco. commun. Pighius lib. 1. Eccles. histor. c. 2. Mortuum atramentum, evangelium nigrum, theologia atrameniraria. Res navimis & muta, nasus cereus, regula lesbia, Delphicus gladius. O Quantum n●bis profuit fabula ista de Christo? Austin saith no other thing, then to bring the authority of the Scripture to nought; therefore they called the Scripture dead ink, a certain bare letter, a dead letter that killeth, the black Gospel, and inky Divintie, a dead and dumb thing, an uncertain mutable mute and dumb judge, a nose of wax, a leaden ruler, Sphinxes' riddle, a sword in a madman's hand, the apple of discord, yea, a Fable by Pope Leo the 10, O what advantage hath this Fable of Christ brought us? being of no more credit and authority than the Fables of Aesop, without the approbation of the Pope and of the Church. And these reproaches and blasphemies are not maintained by the vulgar ●ort only, but also yea especially by their Divines, Popes, Bishops, Cardinals; for Cardinal Bellarmine, and Cardinal du Perron have written against the sufficiency and perfection of the Scripture, the one spending a whole Chapter, the other a small Treatise to prove the insufficiency and imperfection thereof; whereas it is the All sufficient word of God, the true and perfect rule of our understanding, the pillar of our faith, the firm and sure anchor of our hope and salvation, sufficient both for our salvation (which some Papists do confess) and for our instruction, which they deny; witness B●●●●, who examining that glorious Martyr Master hawks, F●x pag. 1440. pag. 1441. said, that he was a right Scripture man, and would have nothing but Scripture, and his Chaplain said, he would have nothing but his little pretty God's Book; and is it not sufficient, saith Master Hawks for my salvation? Yes, saith he, it is sufficient for our salvation, but not for our instruction. Master hawks answered, God send me the salvation, and you the instruction. And surely it is sufficient not only for our salvation, but also for our instruction, for if it sufficeth for salvation, how can it be insufficient for our instruction? therefore the Apostle Saint Paul teacheth us both the one and the other, salvation and instruction by the Scriptures; for first he saith, d 2. Tim. 3.15. the holy Scriptures are able to make us wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ jesus. Behold here, the Scriptures are sufficient for our salvation; and not only for our salvation, but also for our instruction, for he saith, able to make us wise unto salvation, that is, to instruct us to salvation, yea, in the next verse he saith, that the e vers. 16.17. Scripture is profitable for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect. Behold, the Scriptures sufficient and profitable for our instruction; and not only profitable to the man of God, to the Doctor, the Minister, and the learned; but also profitable to the ignorant, simple, and vulgar sort; for f Psal. ●9. 7. it maketh wise the simple; and therefore the reading thereof appertaineth as well unto the ignorant and unlearned, as unto the learned: for if it appertain but unto the learned to read the Scriptures, it appertaineth then unto none to read them; for no body is learned before he have read them; we read not the word of God because we are learned, but to become so. And therefore the Papists do wrong the people of God, depriving them of the reading of the Scripture, lest, say g Hosius in loc. Com. they, the Porters, Cobblers, Bakers should be Prophets, far unlike to Moses, h Numb. 11.29. who wished, that all the Lords people were Prophets, and that the Lord would put his Spirit upon them: but very like the B●silidians, whose steps they follow, who (as i Jrenae. lib. 1. cap. 23. Ephiph. haeres. 24 Irenaeus and Epiphanius write) did hide their doctrines; We are men, said Basilides, all the rest are hogs and dogs; * Matth. 7.6. Cast not therefore (said he) your pearls before swine, nor give that which is holy unto dogs: which was to confess openly, * Bernard. in Cant. serm. 65. At istud apertè fa●eri est se non esse de ecclesia, qui onmes qui de ecclesia sunt canes censet & porcos. that he himself was not of the Church, calling all those that are of the Church swine and dogs. Yea, in hindering the people of God to enter into this sweet Paradise of holy Scripture; they are like the Scribes and Pharisees their forefathers, against whom our Saviour Christ pronounceth this woe, k Matth. 23.13 Woe unto you Scribes and pharisees hypocrites, for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. Besides, as they have detracted from the Scripture by their blasphemous reproaches, accusing it of insufficiency and imperfection, so have they also added unto it. l Cicero orat. 44. in Anton. Philip. secunda. Is Caesaris leges easque praeclares evertie. For as Marcus Antonius did abolish the excellent Laws of Caesar, m Testamentum irritum fecit. Ibid. and made void his Testament, n Ibid. Acta Caesaris pacis causa confirmata 〈◊〉 à senatu, qu●● quidem Caesar egisset, non e● quae Caesarem egisse dixisset Antonius, etc. yea, when the Senate had ratified the Acts of Caesar, he added to Caesar's Acts what he listed, and would have it to stand as sure, as if Caesar himself had enacted it. So these have endeavoured to abolish the Law of God, to make void the Testament of our only Caesar and Saviour Christ, and have added to his Testament what they listed, and will have them to stand as sure, as if Christ had enacted them (yet they would make us believe, that they do o Ibid. Et tu in Caesaris memoria diligens, tu illum amas mortuum. much in remembrance and honour of Christ, and that they love him): for first, they add unto the Canonical books of the Scripture, other books that are not Canonical, but Apocrypha, because they find in those books many things to serve their turns, for the maintaining of their heresies, which they cannot shide at all in the Canon of the Scripture. Secondly, because this is not sufficient, they add their traditions and determinations; yea, their gospels, whereas all addition of Gospels to the only true Gospel is execrable. Some, as the begging Friars, disciples of Saint Dominick and Saint Francis, invented and published forth a book full of horrible blasphemies, which they named, the Gospel's of the holy Ghost, or, the everlasting Gospel, full of their own ●ables and abominable errors, teaching that Christ's Gospel was not to be compared unto it, and that the Gospel of Christ should be preached but ●●●●ie years; so they opposed the Gospel of their holy Ghost, to the true Gospel of the holy Ghost; their eternal gospel 〈◊〉 that Gospel, which is called p 〈◊〉. 14.6. the everlasting Gospel, to be preached unto them that dwell●● the earth and to every N●●ion, and kindred, and tongu●, and ●●ple, and that even unto the end of the world; wh●●●● their gospel was of the Devil that impure spirit, & was not an everlasting Gospel, but was soon refuted by Guili●●●●● de ●●●ct● Am●re, condemned by the Pope, & secretly burnt. Others call the Determination of the Church the Gospel, some ●●●●taining, that the Pope's Decretal Episties are to be counted among the Canonical books, and made equal with the Scripture. Some making their human ordinances equal with the Scripture in authority. Others p●●●e●●ing them before it, and maintaining, that the authority of Eccles●●sticall tradition hath more force and efficacy to assure ●ur faith in all c●●●trouersies than the Scripture. Thus the hereti●●es in q Irenae. lib. 3. cap. 2. Non p●ssi● ex hijs i●●euiri verit●● qui ●esci●●● traditianen. N●●●●im per literas tra. 〈◊〉 sed per 〈◊〉 vocem. Ire●●●●s time maintained, that the truth could not be found in the Scripture, by such as were ignorant of tradition, and the great mysteries of faith were no● by the Apostles committed to his Disciples, but by word of mouth, and not by writing. r Epiph. heres. 48 August haeres. 26 Moutan●● confessed, that he admitted all the Scripture, yet he seined over and beside, that the Comforter was come, to perfect, that which was but begun; and so did add unto the doctrine of the old and new Testament certain other observations of his pretended Paracler, which might be such an holy Ghost as s Ep●ph. heres 2● that of Simon Mag●● was, or such a one as was, carried in post in a cloak-bag from Rome to Trent. The Heretics t Ter●●●. de ●●ret●. 50. N●●●● herself Alphab●●● Gr●●●rum comp●s●●runt. etc. Marcus and C●l●barsu●, did 〈…〉 new heresy out of the Greek Alphabet, maintaining that the truth could not be found out without these characters; and that the fullness & perfection of 〈◊〉 w●● contained in these letters; for which cause Christ said, I am 〈◊〉, and 〈◊〉. The Heretics, 〈…〉, Apelles, Mare●●●, ●●thsuch like, did boast, that they had received many doctrines and 〈◊〉 without scripture. u Euseb. bist. lib. 5. c. 28. Eusebius ●els us, that the Heretic A●●●m●● did beast, that his doctrine was 〈◊〉 from the Apostolic 〈◊〉. x Clem. Alex. 〈◊〉. lib. 7. 〈…〉 did glory in that he had a certain Glaucus for his teacher, who had served as an interpreter to S. Peter; that Valentine did vaunt to have been Saint Paul's auditor; that the Marcionites did brag that they were the disciples of them that had seen and heard the Apostle Mathias, of whom they held, observed, and teached their doctrine. In a word, as the Scribes and pharisees esteemed the traditions of the Elders, the Rabbins their Cabala, the Moutanists the new Comforter; these Heretics their revelations and traditions to be necessary to salvation, without the which the truth could not be learned out of the Scripture. So the Papists do maintain, that the sacred and Canonical Scripture is not sufficient to prove matters of faith and charity, and therefore have recourse unto traditions and the unwritten word, which are necessary to salvation. But as the holy Fathers did accuse, & that justly, Samosate●us, y Euseb. hist. lib. 7. cap. 30. because that departing from the Canonical books, he had been author of an heretical doctrine, and had not followed the Apostolic doctrine. Even so may we accuse the Papists, who have corrupted the word of God by their traditions and fables, and straying from the Scripture, have strayed from the truth. And surely it is no marvel if they err, so long as they forsake the seaman's compass, without the which all things are to us uncertain: yea rather it were a wonder, yea more than a wonder, if without that compass they could hold their course, and not suffer ship wrack against the rocks, the sands, and the unknown shores of human traditions. For as z Plutar. in vita Thesei, in princip. Plutarch saith, The Historiographers which do set ●oo●th the description of the earth in figure, are wont to place in the lowermost part of their maps the far distant region● unknown unto them, and to mark in the margin such like notes and reasons as these; beyond these countries are nothing but deep dry sands without water, full of soul ill favoured venomous beasts, or much mud unnavigable; or Scythia forsaken for cold. Even so say we; The Scripture is a map, containing a description of the place of our sojourning here in this vale of misery, of our journey to our heavenly jerusalem, containing all thing necessary for us in this our pilgrimage, both for our instruction and salvation. Beyond the Scripture, and without the map there of, as in the lowermost parts and borders of maps, there is nothing but ●●rra incognita, unknown land, and dry de●●res, full of bars sands of human traditions; nothing but stinking pools, full of venomous and cruel beasts: that is to say, of false opinions, and detestable heresies; nothing but unknown and doubtful ways, the mother of all kind of errors. Beyond this Scripture, there is nothing but scriptura incognita, the unknown and unwritten word and traditions, dangerous gulfs and whirlpools, where the anchor of our faith can have no hold, where all our sounding plummets are found too short, and where we must of necessity make shipwreck of our faith; and therefore we keep ourselves within the m●ppe and comp●sse of the Scripture, the seaman's compass the rule of our sobriety, the bridle of our discourse, the limit of our faith for our safety, lest we should be tossed and cast upon some unknown coasts, & so perish, a August. Hypognost. articul. 6. Sede in portu fidei catholicae, ubi te nu●●a possit fluctuosae curi●sitatis tempestas turbare vel mergere. we rest ourselves in the haven of the Catholic faith, where no tempest of troublesome ●●●●sity, 〈◊〉 either trouble or drown us. If then they ask us, why we retain not their doctrine, their determinations, decrees, Counsels, and traditions; we answer, that we receive them not, because they are not described nor contained in the map of the holy Scripture: if they accuse us b Matth. 15.2.3 Mark 7.5.7. as the pharisees and Scribes did the Disciples of Christ, because we walk not according to the traditions, of the Elders, but transgress them; we will answer them with Christ; Why do you also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? In vain do ye worship God, teaching for doctrine the commandments of men. If they reprove us because we c Fox. pag. 1441 Boner. will have no more than Scripture teacheth; but even as Christ hath left it bore we will answer: d Thomas hawks. He that teacheth us otherwise, we will not believe him. If they call us Hertickes, we will confess with Saint Paul, that e Act. 24.14. after the way which they call here●ie, so worship we the God of our fathers, believing all things which are written in the Law and the Prophets, Nay, they themselves are Heretics, because they do not believe all the things that are written in the Law and the Prophets, f Fulke against the Rhemists. Tit. 3.10. but do obstinately defend grievous errors, against the manifest authority of the holy Scriptures, and detract from them, and add unto them, teaching another doctrine, another Gospel, and therefore are accursed: for it g Gal. 1.8. any man preach another Gospel unto you then ●hat which you have received, let him be accursed. And, h Revel. 22.18.19. if any man add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book. If any man shall take away from the words of this book, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy City, and from the things which are written in this book. But the Romanists do not only detract from Scripture and add unto it, but they pervert it also by their false gloss, and irregular expositions, which they i 2. Pet. 3.16. wrist unto their own destruction, as S. Peter saith; witness the point of evangelical Counsels, which they display, to set forth their works of supererogation, the supererogation of their works, placing them above the perfection of the Law, the Law of perfection; though some of them deny any perfection in them, and maintain that they do avail but instrumentally, accidentally and secondarily to perfection, whereas k Thom. Aquin. 22. ae. Articul. 5. perfection doth consist esentially in precepts, and that precepts do avail primarily and essentially to perfection. And although the beginning, the author, the counsellor, the name, & the definition of evangelical Counsels are not to be found in the Scripture, yet they would make us believe, that these things are there to be found, though they vary in regard of the Author thereof. For Antoninus' Archbishop of Florence makes Saint Dominick a Spaniard the first inventor of evangelical Counsels, and describes not only Saint Dominicks conformity with Christ, in his birth, in his miracles, in his authority and power (therefore was he called Dominicus) and his visions which he saw stuffed full with fond lies, and impious fables of horrible blasphemies: but he tells us also over and beside, strange things of him before he was borne; for l Antoninus' histor. part. 3●. titul. 23. c. 1. § 1. Sed apertius pronunciatus fuit & declaratus particularius in pictura quadam, quae reperta est in ecclesia Sancti Marci Venetiae; ubi antequam Dominicus nasceretur in mundo, imagines duorum dopictae cernebantur à cunctis, quarum una erat admodum religiosi in habitu ordinis praedicatorum cum lilio in manu, altar a similitude nem habebat Apostoli Pauli, pro●● pingi consnevit, super quam scriptum erat agios Paulus, id est sanctus, sub figura vero ad pedes sic, per istum itur ad Christum. Super figuram alteram scriptum erat, Agios Dominicus, sub istovero Facilius itur per istum nec mireris de scriptura huiusmodi; quia doctrina Pauli, sicut & caelerorum Apostolorum erat doctrina inducens ad fi●●em & obseruantiam praeceptorum. Doctrina Dominici ad obseruantiam consiliorum, & ideo facilius per ipsam itur ad Christum. he was more manifestly declared, and particularly described by a certain picture which was ●ound in the Church of S. Mark as Voni●●, where before Saint Dominicke was borue the images of two men were seen of all men, whereof the one did represent a man very religious in the habit of the order of the Preaching bretheen, with a Lily in his hand; the other had the resemblance of the Apostle Paul, as he is usually portrayed, on the which was written, Sai●● Paul, and this underneath, By this man may ye come to Christ; upon the other image was written S. Dominick, and underneath, But by this you may come ●●sier; neither must you marvel at this, saith Antonius; for Saint Paul's doctrine, as of all the other Apostles, led but to faith, and the keeping of the Commandments: but Sain● Dominicks doctrine should lead men to the observing of evangelical Counsels, and therefore the easier way to come to Christ by him. O intolerable blasphemy! But some go higher, and make the Apostles inventors, professors, observers, yea, and Counsellors of evangelical Counsels, and so reject the former opinion, which makes the Apostles to be leaders but to faith, and the keeping of the Commandments, and not of Counsels. Surely the Apostles were no obseruan●ins of evangelical Counsels, they never begged, but laboured with their hands, and the greatest part of them were married. Indeed there was an error of those, that called themselves m Epiphanius haeres. 61. August. haeres. 40 Apostolici, as imitators of the Apostles, and termed themselves Aporactici, because they renounced their wives and goods, dwelling only in Cilicia and Phrygia, being the offspring of the Tatian and Eucratian heretics, who made the observation of these things necessary, affirming that none could be saved, that lived not single and in poverue as the Apostles did, and rejecting those that did it not. Such Apostolici there were, but no such Apostles. But some go a strain higher, and make our Lord and Saviour jesus Christ, not only a Commander, or rather Counsellor, but also a chief observer of evangelical Counsels. But n Isa. 40.13. who hath been his Counsellor? who hath taught and instructed him? o Isa. 9.6. who is the Wouderfull, Counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father? To what end should he have practised Counsels? what, either to show any imperfection of the Law by any new edition, or addition to that Law which is most perfect, or else to ●●●it an higher degree of glory in heaven? surely neither; and therefore Christ's example is unfitly alle●ged for the practice of evangelical Counsels, which he never practised. Secondly, they err in the baptizing of heir Counsels, naming them evangelical: for they say, these Counsels are of the Law, which they divide into precepts and Counsels, and so parts thereof, and secondly, they say the eunuchs, Isa. 56. were observers of evangelical Counsels under the Law. Thirdly, they recommend nothing but works; now all works are of the Law, and if of the Law, they then are precepts, not Counsels. If then they are of the Law, they should be called Law-Counsels; and if Legal, than not evangelical, because of the main difference of the Law and the Gospel. But as they are not evangelical, nor of the Gospel, so are they not Legal, nor of the Law, according to their own position and rule, because they say, they are evangelical; and therefore cannot be of the Law, by reason of the difference above mentioned. Secondly, the Law, first, commands always, and never counsels. Secondly, it binds men to the observation thereof. And thirdly all men. Fourthly, it threateneth punishment. Now Counsels, say they, first, command not, but counsel only. Secondly, they are arbitrary. Thirdly, they are not for all men, but only for some men. Fourthly, they threaten no punishment; and therefore Counsels cann●● be of the Law by their own rule. Thirdly, they err in the difference which they put between Precepts and Counsels, first, that a Counsel is kept with greater difficulty than a precept, which is false; for it is harder to love his enemy, which is a Precept of perfection, then to give all his goods to the poor, which is a Counsel of perfection. Secondly, Counsels are arbitrary, which is also false, for p junius in Bellarm. 1172. Consilium divinum infert necessitatem, humanum minimè. human Counsels are arbitrary, Di●ine necessary, as those Counsels are; nay, human Counsels are not arbitrary, but necessary; if they be the Counsels of a superior to an in●●●iour, as of a father to his son, of a Master to his servant, of a King to his subject, they are as much as a comm●ond; how much more are the Counsels of the ●re●●or to his creature, the King of Kings to his servants, of God to man? whose Counsels are his will his will is his Law and Commandments, and therefore necessary. Thirdly, a Counsel not observed, hath no punishment; yes it hath. q Pr●u. 1.26.27 28.30. Because ye have set at nought all my Counsel, I will laugh at your calamity, etc. wh●●● your destruction cometh, then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer. They would none of my Counsel; therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way. r Psal. 107.11. Because they contemned the Counsel of the most High, therefore he brought down their hairs with labour, they fell down, * Bernard. super Cant. serm. 65. evangelium appellasti? ad evangelium ibis. and there was none to help. Counsels therefore not observed have punishment. Lastly, they appeal unto the Scripture for their pretended evangelical Counsels: unto the Scripture they shall go, which is not for them, but against them: for that of Saint Paul, 1. Cor 7. is not Counsel, but his advice and judgement, and his judgement is a Commandment; yea, admit it were a Counsel, it is a Counsel of the holy Ghost, and therefore a Commandment; and it is marvel that they allege Saint Paul as a Counsellor of evangelical Counsels, seeing that Antonius makes him but a Teacher of Faith, and of the Law, as we have seen. And Christ's Counsels to the young man, Matth. 19 and to the Church of Laodicea, Revel. 3. were no evangelical Counsels: for be●ides that, that of Saint Matthew is called a Precept by s August. in epist. 89. quaest. 4. Saint Austin and many more, yea, a general precept by Guiliel●●s de S. Amore, and that a man may observe that Counsel of giving all to the poor, and yet have no reward, and so no Counsel: for t 1. Cor. 13.3. if a ●●●gine all to the poor, and 〈◊〉 no lour, i● pro●ireth him nothing: both of them are the Counsels of Christ, God and Man, and therefore Commandments, both of them necessary, and not arbitiary, both of them not observed threaten punishment; for the one was excluded out of the King doom of heaven, the others were spewed out of Christ's mouth, for not observing his Counsel, even by the Papists confession. We say therefore, that these places will not serve their tu●●e for their pretended Counsels, and the distinction between the Precept of God, and the Counsel of God is frivolous and improper according to their sense and meaning. Indeed there may be a verbal and nominal distinction of the Counsels and precepts of God, but there can be no real distinction of them: Precepts are Counsels, and Counsels are Precepts, at least particular precepts, given to some in particular for some time, and some circumstance, for so Saint Austin, with some of the Fathers, yea, and Schoolmen and Papists too, call Counsels particular Precepts; and therefore Pope Nicolas the sixth confesseth, u Decret. lib. 5. tit. 12. cap. 3. Nonnulla Consilia evangelica sub verbo & prohibition praecepti. that there are some evangelical Counsels expressed under the term and prohibition of Precepts. But this point of evangelical Counsels with that of the Scripture, is more largely handled in this first Volume of jacobs' Vow, the basis and ground of the ensuing volumes (the second beginning with the Treatise of Vows, which shall come forth God willing, as soon as time and leisure will permit) which first Volume I have translated, because I found the matter and subject thereof learnedly handled, and very necessary, not only for those that are without, but also for those that are among us, who may see in this Treatise as in a glass, the errors of the Church of Rome in the points of the Scripture and evangelical Counsels, with the refutation thereof. I always liked that sentence of an ancient Father; It is, saith he, an act of modesty, not to advance your own inventions, but to declare that which you have received of those that have gone before you; therefore I never made vow, that I would not put my hand to any Translation or Paraphrase, as Du Bartas did, which he did not long observe, for he translated that royal and divine x The Lepanto. Po●m of our dread Sovereign, as he himself confesseth in the Preface thereof: but have had a desire to translate this book, following therein the precedent and example of great men, Divines, Knights, Lords, Ladies, yea, and Princes too that have done the like. The reason which hath moved me (dear Brethren) to shroud this translation of mine under your names, is, because ye are both unto me, brethren of race, of place, and of grace, which contains more than can be expressed, and is enough, yea, more than enough, to move me to dedicate this book unto you; and therefore as God hath joined you both together in one of the nearest societies that can be, so have I joined you both together in this Dedication. For, as y Hieron. ad Chromat. Non debet charta dividere, quos amor mutuns copulavit. Hierome saith, this paper must not separate you, whom mutual love, yea, brotherhood hath combined together, whose life, love, and affection, as Saint Ambrose speaks, z Ambros. in obit. Fratris sui satyri individuus spiritus individuus affectus. are unseparated, and unseparable; so that as you enjoy a certain communion among yourselves, so here you shall not have a division. Accept then this small present (which though it be but small, proceeds from no small affection) as a pledge of my unfeigned and brotherly love, and give to this stranger thus homely appareled in this English habit, and speaking his English tongue, yet somewhat fearful to set foot in foreign ground, give him your hand at his first entrance in token of welcome; entertain him courteously, and converse with him familiarly, so shall you find in him both profit and pleasure. Thus commending and recommending him to your kind acceptance, and you in my prayers to God, I beseech him to perform and finish that good work which he hath begun in you, that so you may proceed on in faith and godliness, making not your gain godliness, but godliness your gain, and laying up for yourselves treasures in heaven, and that as you are here combined together in brotherhood by consanguinity, and in grace, in faith, and in love, unfeigned one to another by one spirit, & so heirs together of one promise here on earth; so ye may at last as heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ, possess that spiritual and everlasting inheritance in the Kingdom of heaven, whose King is the Trinity, whose Law is charity, whose Measure is eternity. Amen. London. April. 30. 1617. Your brother in all Christian duties to be commanded, JOHN BULTEEL. THE AUTHOR TO THE READER. WHen I first intended this work, I had no other purpose then to refute a certain small Treatise of Cardinal Sourdis, Archbishop of Bourdeaux, which he entitled, THE PASTORAL LETTER, and directed it to all those of his Diocese of Bourdeaux; pretending to show, that parents have no authority to hinder their children from following evangelical Counsels; and children are not bound to ask their parents leave therein: that is to say, that children may steal themselves away from their parents, and may become Monks, not only without their parent's consent and will, but also against it. Whereof there was a notable example in this City of Bourdeaux: Two Virgins, daughters of an honourable Citizen of the Romish religion, withdrew themselves from the obedience of their father and mother, to follow a Religion of a new stamp and edition, called, Of the Vrselines. This fact being found strange of many learned men, and others of the said Religion; Cardinal Sourdis took upon him to defend it by writing; and I was requested to undertake the refutation thereof; which I not being able to refuse, to those that requested of me this piece of service, I took in hand this work some fourteen months ago. But I perceived by the prosecution and sequel of this work, that I should labour in vain, if I refuted not in order all the principal arguments which the Church of Rome doth allege in favour and defence of the Monkish life; which I have done according to the method, I have here summarily and briefly set down, beginning first with the holy Scriptures, because the author of the Pastoral letter gins with that point. My discourse shall be truth, the fountain thereof shall be charity, the end thereof shall be the glory of God, the edification of his Church, the conversion of those that walk in darkness, and in the shadow of death, to the true light; and the discharge of my conscience, before God and my Church, to the which I would give an account of my studies; if she receive any edification thereby, I shall remain fully satisfied. THE SUM OF THIS FIRST VOLUME. THE FIRST BOOK. Of th● holy Scripture. Chap. 1. Of the necessity and sufficiency of the Scriptures. Chap. 2. All men ought to read the Scriptures. Chap. 3. The Scriptures are perspicuous and plain to be read of all men. Chap. 4. They are to be read with the same spirit, wherewith they were written. Chap. 5. 6. 7. What is the authority of the Fathers in the interpreting of the Scriptures. Chap. 8. Of the judge of the sense and meaning of the Scriptures. THE SECOND BOOK. Of evangelical Counsels. Chap. 1. The holy Scripture makes no mention of Counsels, which they term evangelical. Chap. 2. They are neither of the Law, nor of the Gospel. The difference between the Law and the Gospel. Chap. 3. They are falsely termed Counsels of Perfection. There is no other perfection than charity, which is commanded to all men. Chap. 4. The Monks and Friars do speak in vain of keeping Counsels, seeing there is no man living can keep the Commandments: Not the unregenerate man, that wants all the conditions required to the doing of a good work. Chap. 5. Nor the regenerate man, who is imperfect and defective in his most holy actions. Chap. 6. Which is proved by the examples of the holy men of the old Testament. Chap. 7. And by them of the new Testament. Chap. 8. Whence all their sins are mortal in their nature, though venial by grace. Chap. 9 An answer to the two first objections, concerning that God doth promise to circumcise our hearts, that we should love him with all our heart, and the testimony given to many, that they have kept the Law, and loved God with all their heart. Chap. 10. An answer to the third objection, touching those that are called perfect. Chap. 11. An answer to the fourth objection, accusing God of cruelty, if he have given an impossible Law. How, and to whom the Law is possible, and impossible. Chap. 12. Answer to the fifth objection, that God's commandments are not grievous. Answer to the sixth objection, whosoever is borne of God, sinneth not. Chap. 13. An answer to the 7. objection, that all God's works are perfect. An answer to the 8. objection, that we must not do good works if they be sins: we must do good works, and for what cause. Chap. 14. Four reasons why God doth not perfect our regeneration in this life. Chap. 15. An answer to the 56. chapter of Isaias, and to the 3. chapter of the book of Wisdom, where mention is made of eunuchs. Chap. 16. An answer to an objection drawn from the parable of the sour, and the seed, bringing forth an hundredth, threescore, thirty fold; and to that which the Lord saith of those which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heavens sake. Chap. 17. An exposition of Christ's words, Go, and sell all that thou hast. Chap. 18. An answer to the objection, taken out of 1. Cor. 7. Chap. 19 An answer to that which the Apostle saith, He hath preached freely, 1. Cor. 9 Also to that which is in the Revelation, chap. 14. concerning the 144000 Virgins. Chap. 20. Answer to the example of those that have lived in the state of Virginity. The end of the Contents. AD MONACHOS Admonitio. HIc discipatis nubibus Sol enitet, Non iste, lucem corpori qui sufficit, Sed qui tenebras mentis, illico fugat: Hic scena fraudum tota, hic mysteria Reclusa fictae sanctimoniae patent. Devota turba belluae teterrimae Quae vaticani montis incubat iugo, Exosa coelo, orbigranis, grata inferis, Procul hinc facesse: Nam tibi certissima Mors hic paratur: Ista si perlegeris, D●l●re victa non potes non emori. JACOBS' VOW, OPPOSED TO THE VOWS OF MONKS AND FRIARS. THE FIRST BOOK. CHAP. I. Of the holy Scriptures. I. We cannot learn what service is acceptable unto God, but of God himself. II. God teacheth it us within by his holy Spirit, and without by his holy Word. III. The whole Word of God necessary and sufficient unto salvation, is comprehended in the holy Scriptures. WHat a job 36.22. teacher is like God (said Elihu in his conference with job)? the same say we here, where the question is between us of God's service, of that service which he approves, and to the which he hath annexed a gracious promise of ample remuneration; who then can better tell us what he is, than he himself? Both we and they seek for eternal life, and desire to find the way that leads us unto it; it is God that hath given it us, who then shall show us the way of life, but God? Our b Col. 3.3.4. life is hid with Christ in God; yea, Christ is our life, and c John 14.6. & 10 7. as he is our life, so is he the way of life, the door by the which the sheep do enter; and there is none other than he, d Heb. 10.20. that hath consecrated for us a new and living way through the vail, that is to say, his flesh. As he hath consecrated it, so hath he showed it unto us by his truth: e john 17.17. His word is his truth, and he himself is that truth; f john 14.6. I am (saith he) the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by me. * August. in Joan. tract. 22. Ambulare vis? ego sum via: falli non vis? ego sum veritas: mori non vis? ego sum vita; hoc dicit salvator tuus, non est quò cas nisi ad me, non est qu● eas nisi per me. Saint Austin to this purpose brings in Christ speaking after this manner, Wilt thou walk, I am the Way? Wilt thou not be deceived, I am the Truth? Wilt thou not die, I am the Life? thy Saviour tells thee this, thou hast no other where to go, then unto me; nor by no other, then by me. II. Now that we may the better go unto him, who is the Life, and by him who is the way, and that going by him unto him, we stray not from him; he himself takes us by the hand, and leads us with his two hands, by the hand of his Spirit within, and the hand of his holy Word without. For even as we must have light without, for the chase away and dispelling of darkness, and also light in our eyes, and a clear sight, if we mean to travel and sojourn in this valley of misery, and manage the ●hings of this life, (it being impossible that the most quick eyed, yea though he had the eyes of an Eagle, can see in the dark, unless he be outwardly enlightened; or that he that is blind, and bereaved of his sight, can see the fairest Sunshine day): even so, if we undergo the way of life, and manage holy and celestial things holily, and to our salvation, we must be enlightened without, with the Lamp of God's words, as David saith, g Psal. 119.105. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path; and enlightened within by the illumination of the holy Spirit, of the which Saint Paul saith; h Rom. 8.9. If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his, that is to say, he is not a Christian. For to be a Christian, is to be anointed of the holy Ghost in some measure; as to be Christ, is to be anointed of the holy Ghost without measure, as it is written, i Psalm. 45.7. O, God thy God hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. And so the Apostle prays for the Ephesians, and in their persons for us all, that k Eph. 1.17.18. The God of our Lord jesus Christ, the Father of glory, would give us the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him, to wit, The eyes of our understanding being enlightened, that we may know what is the hope of his calling, and what are the riches of the glory of his Inheritance in his Saints. III. Now as touching the word, which teacheth us how God will be served of us, and how he will reward, save, and glorify us, we hold, that that word of God is comprehended in the holy writings of the Prophets, Apostles, and Evangelists. For even as God in the beginning created the light, which gave light to the world some certain days without Sun, Moon, or Stars l Gen. 1.3.14. ; and afterwards created the lights in the Firmament of heaven, into the which he did infuse and shut up that light, which hath not since been imparted unto the world but by those two great Lights: Even so God in the beginning governed the celestial world (which is his Church), and did enlighten it by his holy word, one and simple, without any Scripture: but since he hath clothed and adorned her with the Scriptures, & hath lodged and harboured her, as it were in a fair Pavilion and Tabernacle, in the divine & holy books, which he himself hath composed by the hands of Moses, the Prophets, and Apostles, m August. de consens. Evangelist. li. 2. cap. vlt. who when they have written the things that God hath showed them & related, we must not say that he himself hath not written them, for he hath commanded them to write as it were with his own hands, all that he would have us to read, both in his words and works, which they have so faithfully and perfectly performed, that we may confidently affirm, n Idem de doctrina Christi li. 2. ca 9 In ijs quae apertè in scriptures posita sunt, inveniuntur illa omnia quae continent fidem morésque vivendi. that all things appertaining to faith, and the rule of life, are plainly expressed in the Scriptures. Art thou an idiot and simple? let not the depth and height of them affright thee, o Psalm. 19.7. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple? Art thou wise? do not despise them: for p Prou. 1.5. A wise man will hear, and will increase learning, and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels. Art thou pensive and grieved with the feeling of thy sins, and by the apprehension of God's anger? q Psal. 19.8.9. The Law of God is perfect, converting the soul; the Statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: r Rom. 15.4. For whatsoever things were written aforetime, were written for our learning, that we through patience, and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. Art thou blind in God's matters? s Psal. 19.8. The Commandment of the Lord is pure enlightening the eyes. Art thou young, and desirest thou to know the direct and ready way to virtue and godliness? Dost thou ask the Lord with David, t Psal. 119 9 Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? David will answer thee in the name of thy God, t Psal. 119 9 by taking heed thereto according to thy word; and will prove unto thee his answer by his own example, saying, u Psalm. 119.99.100. I have more understanding than all my Teachers, for thy Testimonies are my meditation, I understand more than the Ancients, because I keep thy precepts. Art thou desirous of the true wisdom, which is to salvation, and of the true profession, which makes the Man of God, the Evangelist, the Preacher of God's word, and so with good reason every Christian to abound in all spiritual gifts, necessary for thee in thy vocation, in thy conversation, to lead and bring thee unto faith in Christ, and to instruct thee to live according to Christ? x 2. Tim. 3.15.16.17. The holy Scriptures are able to make thee wise unto salvation, through faith which is in Christ jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works y 2. Cor. 5.2. . Dost thou sigh and groan earnestly, desiring to be clothed upon with thy house which is from heaven, according to the example of the Saints? z john 5.39. Search the Scriptures (saith he that is the Prince of life), for in them ye think ye have eternal life. It is not an estimation of an human opinion, but a firm persuasion of divine certainty and true knowledge, if the Spirit of truth that cannot lie do not deceive us, when he saith, that a john 20.31. These things are written that ye might believe, that jesus is the Christ, the son of God, & that believing, ye might have life through his name. In a word, art thou desirous & willing to to know all the Counsel of God touching thy salvation; b Acts 20.27. I have not shunned to declare unto you all the Counsel of God (saith Saint Paul to the Pastors of Ephesus, and of Miletus): but we have not heard Saint Paul (wilt thou say) as they have heard him? but a little patience, and hear him making this solemn protestation, c Acts 26.22. witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things, than those which the Prophets and Moses did say should come, and confessing himself to have been d Rom. 1.1.2. put apart to preach the Gospel of God, which he had promised afore by his Prophets in the holy Scriptures. Think now with thyself, and upon these two true reasons and arguments of Saint Paul infer and make this true conclusion: All that which Saint Paul hath preached touching salvation, hath been written by Moses and the Prophets; Now that which Saint Paul hath preached is the Gospel, yea, all the Counsel of God; therefore all the Gospel, all the Counsel of God hath been written by Moses, and by the Prophets: and if by them, how much more by the Evangelists, and by the Apostles, who have written down the accomplishment, and fulfilling of all those things that the Prophets had foretold and prophesied of, and that with more perspicuity and plainness. Let us therefore conclude, that the holy Scripture is all true, all necessary, all perfect in all her parts both essential and integral, all sufficient for him that lives in this world, concerning those things that he must believe, that he must hope for, and that he must do; and in a word, in, and for all things that are requisite to attain to salvation. And therefore in all matters of faith and of manners, we must always ask counsel at the mouth of the Lord, speaking to us at this time in the holy Scriptures by his Son; which Scripture (saith c Athan. de interpr. Psal. Divina scriptura est magistra vitae & verae fidei. Athanasius) is the Schoole-mistres of virtue, and of true faith, f Idem cont. Idol. Sufficiunt per se sacrae & divinitùs inspiratae scripturae ad veritatis indicationem. and so sufficient of itself for the demonstration of the truth, it being holy and divinely inspired, g Idem ad Seraph. solum ex sacris literis condiscas. that we need study no other thing then that. The Author of the Pastoral letter hath seen it, and being convicted in his soul and conscience, is constrained to underprop and sustain his pretended counsels on certain places of the holy Scripture; in the producing and alleging whereof, is happened unto him that, which wrongfully he chargeth those withal, who grounded on the Law of God and of Nature, do cancel and annul the vows made by their children without their knowledge and approbation; and that which Saint Peter condemns in those that deprave the Epistles of Saint Paul, saying, h 2. Pet. 3.16. that the unlearned and unstable wrist them, as they do also the other Scriptures unto their own destruction. CHAP. II. I. The Preface of the Pastoral letter forbids the Vulgar the reading of the Scriptures. II. By the words of the Preface, it is proved, that all aught to read the Scriptures. III. The same is verified and justified by the Scriptures. FOUR A refutation of the blasphemy of those, that maintain the reading of the Scriptures to be damageable and dangerous. But before he comes to the point, he makes a preface, in the which he handleth three points; first, to whom it appertains to read the Scriptures. Secondly, with what spirit they must be read. Thirdly, unto whom the expounding and interpreting of the Scriptures appertain. And all to this end, that (having given them to understand & believe, that it is not for all men to read the Scriptures, and that they must receive the interpretation and sense of the Scriptures of those, whom he calls Our spiritual Fathers, Pastors and Doctors); we beware to imitate the courageous men of Berea, who having heard the preaching of Saint Paul, a Acts 17.11. received the Word with all readiness of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so: and that so we may live on the faith of our Curates (as the proverb is), and ground all our belief on the speculations of men, whereas Saint Paul writes, that b Hab. 2.4. Rom. 1.17. Gal. 3.12. Heb. 10.38. the just shall live by his faith; and the same is said to be grounded, and c 1. Cor. 2.5. to stand not in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. Notwithstanding, let us examine his words, and if they are accompanied with reason, let us follow them, if not, let us shun them, and follow reason. II. Concerning the first point, Pag 4. he writes, that the Scriptures may be compared to a wedding banquet, they that will come unto it and enter in, must be called, and those that have not the wedding garment, who throng and thrust in themselves too impudently, are to be thrust out and rejected. That which he saith touching the wedding garment, showeth that he makes allusion to the banquet of the marriage of the Lamb, whereof S. d Matth. 22.2. Luke 14.16. Matthew and Saint Luke make mention: but all were invited and bidden to this feast, the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind, good and bad. Now if we apply this similitude and comparison, it will follow, that even as all were invited to that feast, jews and Gentiles, poor and rich, the learned and the ignorant, men and women, great and small; in a word, all are invited and bidden to the reading of the Scripture, without any exception of quality, condition, name, calling, sex or age. And again, even as the great King published, that they that would not come unto his supper were not worthy, pronounced, that none of those men should taste of his supper, and destroyed those murderers of his Servants; even so they that refuse to read the Scriptures, and use spitefully those that do invite them to the reading of them, shall never taste of the conlations contained in them, but shall miserably perish: he that was cast into utter darkness, was not rejected and thrust out for his entering and coming in, for he was invited and called with the rest; but he was rejected, because he brought not with him a wedding garment, according to the King's words, c Mat. 22.12.13 Friend how camest thou in hither, not having a wedding garment? bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into utter darkness. Lo, how that which Eliphas said to job, is happened and befallen unto Cardinal Sourdis, Archbishop of Bourdeaux; f job 15.6. Thine own mouth condemneth thee, and not I, yea, thine own lips testify against thee. He did not think so, his intention was to maintain their common opinion, that it is not expedient that all read the Scriptures; Innocentius 3. did forbid the reading of the Scriptures unto Lay, or Secular men, saying; g Extra, de Haereticis, cap. Cum ex coniuncto ex Antonij Contij restitutione, Rectè fuit in lege divina statutum ut bestia quae montem tetigerit lapidetur, ut videlicet simplex aliquis & indoctus praesumat ad subtilitatem sacrae Scripturae pertingere. It hath been well enacted and decreed in the Divine Law, that the beast which touched the Mount Sinai should be stoned to death, to the end the simple and unlearned presume not to attain unto the subtlety of the holy Scripture. So he compares ignorant Christians to beasts, and although he was not ignorant, h Thomas in Beet. de Trinit. that arguments may not be drawn from allegories he transforms beasts into men, and the i Exod. 19.24. mountain of Sinai into the holy Scriptures, which were not then, and considers not that there the Priests also were forbidden to approach or touch the mount; which were notwithstanding the guarders and keepers of the Scriptures: and that joshua himself durst not approach the mount, l Joshua 1.8. unto whom notwithstanding, the reading and meditation of the holy Scriptures was expressly commanded. But why is it not expedient to read the Scriptures? III. m Bellar. de verbo dei, lib. 2. cap. 15. §. 5. They were never read (say they) indifferently of all persons: but we find faithful witness & evidence, yea, of as qualified and great men, who conformably to the holy Scriptures say the contrary, and do show evidently, that the jews did apply & put their children n Claud. Espensaeus in 2. ad Tim. cap. 3. in illa verba & quia ab infantia sacras literas nosti. to the Bible at the age of five years, and in the teaching of their children, they gave the first place to the sacred letters, beginning with that, the which the jews did observe (ex prisca consuetudine) according to their ancient custom (saith Eusebius) until his time. If we do read the history of the jews, we shall find there that God commanding them to write his Law, commanded them also to read the same unto all, without exception of sex, of age, of condition, saying by Moses to the Priests, o Deut. 31.11.12.13. Thou shalt read this Law before all Israel in their hearing; gather the people together, men & women, and children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, & that they may learn, and fear the Lord your God, and observe to do all the words of this Law; and that their children which have not known any thing, may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God. And lest they should reply, that this commandment is given to the Priests and levites to read, and to the people to hear only and to learn it, we find there over and beside, that the same commandment is given to all: for thus saith the Lord by his servant Moses; p Deut. 6.6.7.8.9. These words which I command thee this day shall be in thy heart, and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou fittest in thine house, and when thou walkest abroad by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up; and thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes, and thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates. q Deut. 4.6. Keep therefore and do them, for this is your wisdom and understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these Statutes. The like may we see in Deut. 15.18.19.20. He that said, r Numb. 11.29. Would God, that all the Lords people were Prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit upon them, did not envy nor grudge at the people's reading and understanding of the Scripture, which is the rule of prophesy, and the powerful instrument by the which God gives his Spirit to his people. In Christ's time they read the Scriptures indifferently, for Christ saith to them, s john 5.39. Search the Scriptures. In Saint Paul's time they read the Scriptures, for the jews of Berea t Act. 17.11. searched the Scriptures daily; and are commended, for that they did examine the Apostles doctrine by the Scriptures. And Timothy even from u 2. Tim. 3.15. a child knew the holy Scriptures: Aquila and his wife Priscilla (though by their occupation poor tentmakers) were so skilful in the Scriptures, that x Act. 18.24.26. Apollo's, an eloquent man, and mighty in the Scriptures, did not disdain to go to their school, and to learn of them, who expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly. What, is the condition of Christians impaired, and made worse by Christ? that he hath forbidden that, which was not only permitted but also commanded to the jews; God forbidden! for the promises of the new Covenant appertains to us; y Jer. 31.34. They shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord. All of us than must read the Scriptures, without which Scripture were cannot attain unto any knowledge of God, neither can we believe in Christ: z john 20.31. For these things are written, that ye might believe, that jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; nor resist the devil, for to resist him, we must take a Ephes. 6.17. the sword of the Spirit, which is the word God: neither can we be comforted in our afflictions; b Rom. 15.4. for whatsoever things were written aforetime, were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope: nor saved, c john 5.39. for in them and by them we have eternal life. In as much as the end of the Scriptures is to bring and lead us to faith in Christ, that d john 20.31. by believing, we may have life through his name: for this cause Saint Paul directs and sends his Epistles to the Churches, composed of persons of all sexes, ages, and conditions, that they might be read of all of them; even as all read those letters that are directed and addressed unto them, as having interest to know the contents of them. This is that, that Saint Gregory did advise the Physician Theoderus, who did neglect & contemn the daily reading of the words of his Redeemer; e Greg. 1. Theodorice medico indict. 13. lib. 4. cap. 84. Quid est autem scriptura sacra nisi quadam 〈◊〉 omnipotentis Dei ad creaturam suam, etc. What is the holy Scripture, but a certain letter and epistle of the Almight is God to his creature? surely (saith he) if you were any where, and received the writings of an earthly Prince, you would not cease, you would not rest, you would not steep, before that you knew, what this earthly Emperor writes unto you. The Emperor of heaven, the Lord of Men and of Angels hath sent his Patent to save thy life, and notwithstanding (honoured son) thou makest no account to read it with diligence; study therefore, I pray thee, and meditate daily the words of thy Creator; learn to know God's heart by God's words, that you may the more earnestly sigh after heavenly and eternal things, & that your understanding may be inflamed with a greater desire of the heavenly Kingdom, etc. This is according to that, that the Apostle exhorts the Colossians unto; f Col. 3.16. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; and that said he g Espencaeus comment. in Tit. ca 2. to all the faithful, unto whom he wrote, exhorting them to ' have h Hieron. in Col. 3.16. not only sufficiently, but also plentifully the knowledge of the Scriptures; and to this end i Chrysost. in Col. 3.16. Occum. ibidem. to read them, not slightly and negligently, but with great diligence. Hence we conclude, that the Scriptures were indifferently read of all before Christ's time, in Christ's time, and in the days of the Apostles; we could prove the same in the time of the ancient and Primitive Church (many ages after the Apostles) by the proofs and evidences of the sentences of the Fathers, who did exhort the Secular, the Lay-people (as they call them), all men and women to buy the Bible, to read the holy Scriptures; and complain of them, and blame them, for that they did not read them. And surely with good reason, for it is not of holy writers, as of a Plato, or an Aristotle, these have written but to a few persons, those have k Espencaeus commint in 2. Tim. cap. 3. Non scripser unt pane is said vniners● popule. written to the whole multitude, to all ages, l 1. john 2.1, 12, 13, 14. to young babes, to little children, to young men, to fathers, unto all whom Saint john writes. What, are we not men, like them? Christians, like them? God's children, like them? guided and governed by the holy Ghost, that is to say, true Christians as well as they? why therefore may not we read the Scriptures, as well as they? FOUR For fear (say they) m Bellar. deverbo Dei lib. 2. cap. 15. § 28. Quid. lest in stead of profiting, we receive hurt and damage; for we should easily take occasion of erring, both in regard of the doctrine of faith, as also in regard of the rule of life and manners; all heresies being sprung up from the Scripture not well understood: for if the rude & ignorant people should read, or hear read in the vulgar tongue of David's adultery, Thamar's incest, judiths' lie, either he would contemn and despise the holy Patriarches, or else he would imitate their vices O blasphemy! God hath said, that n john 20.31. faith is conceived and engendered by the Scriptures; and men say, that heresies are engendered by them: God hath said, that o john 5.39. in them and by them, we have life eternal; and men say, that by them we have eternal death: God saith, that p Rom. 15.4. they have been given us to teach us and to comfort us; and men say, that they serve to pervert and destroy us: God saith, that q Deut. 31.13. by them we may learn to fear him; and men say, that by them we learn to offend him: God saith, r Psalm. 119.9. a young man shall cleanse his way, by taking heed thereto, according to God's word; and men say, that if he take heed to the Scriptures, they will mislead and pervert him, and make him to become incestuous, an adulterer, a drunkard, yea, that he is danger to believe nothing, and to become an Atheist: God saith, that s 1. Cor. 15.33. evil communications and speeches corrupt good manners; and men say, that good words, (the words of God, the words of the everlasting God, t Psalm. 12.6. that are pure words as silver, tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times) withdraws men from godliness, and draws them to vice. And that is the reason, why they instruct their children in the knowledge of evil discourses of men; read unto them a Martial, a Catullus, the incests, fornications, contentions, and all the fables of the false Gods, of whom God hath said, u Exod. 23.13. You shall make no mention of the names of other Gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth. And David accordingly to that, x Psal. 16.4. I will not take up their names into my lips. On the other side, they forbidden them to read the words of God, unto the which God himself hath given this testimony and witness, declaring, that y Psal. 1.2. Blessed is that man, whose delight is in the Law of the Lord, and meditates in his Law day and night. And concerning that part of the Scripture, which is the most obscurest, he saith, z Revel. 1.3. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy and keep those things that are written therein. It is not the Scripture, but the ignorance of the Scripture that breeds heresies, a Hieron in Mat. 22.29. as Christ saith to the Sadd●ces (great heretics) ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God. And Saint Chrysostome b Chrysost. in praesat. ad epist. ad Rom. conformably to this truth of God, saith; Innumerable mischiefs are sprung up from the ignorance of Scriptures: thence cometh the great plague of heresies; thence the dissolute life; thence unprofitable toil and labour: for even as those that are deprived of this light, cannot go aright; so they that have no regard unto the reasons of divine Scriptures, are compelled to fall immediately many ways, like them that walk in palpable darkness. There the ignorant shall find what to learn; the man of little faith, wherewith to stir up himself to virtue; the sinner, wherewith to call him to repentance; the thieves shall find there the examples of God's judgements executed against Achan; the fornicators affrighted by the example of the Israelites; they which cover bad things will learn there to mortify their flesh; they see there the sins of holy men, that they may know that all have sinned, and that they have been saved by the mercies of God in Christ jesus; and therefore do not trust in, and to their own merits by pride, but humbly seek their whole salvation, through the all perfect merit of Christ jesus. In a word, the greatest sinners shall see there David a murderer, and an adulterer, repenting of his sin, and entreating pardon of the same; the sinful woman weeping, and obtaining mercy; the thief on the cross, crying to Christ for grace, & Christ answering him, c ●●ke 23.43. Verily I say unto thee, today shalt thou be with me in Paradise: that so they being instructed and taught by these examples, that the d Eze●h. 33. 1●. Lord takes no pleasure in the death of a sinner; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: they turn from their evil ways, and return to God by a true amendment of life, and so be saved. I should want time, if I would make a catalogue of all the benefits that Christians obtain by the reading of the holy Scriptures. If some have thence taken occasion to sow and disperse their heresies? If others have made a rampire, or fortress, a retreat and place of refuge for their sins? it hath been their fault, the fickleness and inconstancy of their brain, their ambition and the malice of their hearts, & not the fault of the Scripture. And yet they for the most part, yea, almost all have been of the learned sort, and not ignorant and simple, e Alphons. de Castro. lib. 1. ●eraetic. cap. 13. Pauci fuerunt idiotae heraesiu● authores. of whom few have been authors of heresies: but how many thousand millions have been instructed in the true faith, reform and saved by the reading of the Scripture? By them f Matth. 4.4. Christ refuted the devil and made him fire: thence the Church hath always tooken stones, with the which she hath stoned the heretics, that endeavoured to defend themselves by the same Scriptures; the abuse of the wicked not having the power, to hinder the universality of the Church from using them aright: for if that we ought to abstain from good things, for the scandal of the wicked; Christ ought not to have preached, because the people said, g john 8.48. he had the devil, and were often scandalized and offended at his words; and the Gospel should not be preached, because h 2. Cor. 2.16. it is the savour of death unto death, to them that perish; and to speak of human things, we should forbid men the use of wine, because it is the drink of many drunkards. CHAP. III. I. The Scripture is perspicuous and plain to be read of all. II. How we ought to understand, that there are obscure and difficult things in the Scripture. III. The perspicuity and plainness of the Scripture, proo●ed by the Fathers. FOUR An answer to the first allegorical objection, taken from the Scriptures, V Answer to the second allegorical objection taken out of the same Scriptures. VI Answer to the words of Saint Hierom, alleged against the reading of the Scriptures. VII. All aught to read the Scriptures, according to Saint Hierome. VIII. Which is proved by reason. But the a Bell, de verbo Dei lib. 2 cap. 15. & 16. lib. 3. cap. 1. Scriptures are so obscure, that the unlearned laymen cannot ●●●erstand them; O impiety! that Christ, who is the b Malacb. 4.2. Sun of justice, and c john 8.12. the light of the world, should be accused either of ignorance, for that he could not speak plainly; or of malice, in that he would not speak so; and that the witness, which he hath given to his word, calling that of the old Testament d Psal. 119.105. a lamp unto our feet, and a light unto our paths, e 2. Pet. 1.19. and a light that shiveth in a dark place: and that of the new Testament, the light of the Church, f 2 Cor. 4.3.4. which is not hid, but to them that are lost, in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ should shine unto them, that so the Son of God should be made so weak and unable, and be so belied by the calumnies of men. O intolerable blasphemy! II. Notwithstanding it is true, that there are some very difficult things, and deep points in the Scripture to understand, as the mystery of the Trinity, Christ's Incarnation, the Resurrection of the flesh, the last judgement to come: but the words by which these points are described in the holy Scripture, are as plain and perspicuous as the Sun; all the obscurity and darkness is in men, of whom they that are g Ephes. 5.8. without Christ, are nothing but darkness; h 1. Cor. 2.14. receive not, and perceive not the things of the Spirit of God, neither can they know them, because they are spiritually discerned. They that are in Christ, i Ephes. 5.8. are light in the Lord, and therefore do comprehend and apprehend them according to the measure of the enlightening, some more, some less, all but in part; witness the Apostle writing of himself, and of all like him, k 1. Cor. 13.9. We know in part, and we prophecy in part, and notwithstanding all sufficiently to salvation. III. l In Mat. cap. 4. & contra Celsum. The Scriptures (saith Origen) are the fountain of jacob: The learned drink, as jacob and his children; and the simple and ignorant also as the cattle of jacob. m Gegor. 1. They are (saith another) a river, wherein an Elephant may swim, and a Lamb may wade over. A third saith, n Isidorus lib. 1. de summo bono. cap. 〈…〉. That the Scripture is like Manna, common to the perfect ones, and to the young ones, and doth accommodat herself to every one, according to the capacity of every one's understanding and judgement. o F●●●gent. Serm. de confess. A fourth compares it unto a rich banquet, wherein are meats for all ages: milk for the sustenance of babes, and strong meat for them that are of full age; and so speak all the Fathers. Seeing therefore that all are called to the reading of the Scriptures, as to a great feast, where the rich man hath prepared meats for all ages; surely they that would exclude them, and deprive them thereof, are mortal enemies of God's glory, and of man's salvation: unto whom will sort well the sentence of execration pronounced by David and Paul, but badly applied by the Author of the Pastoral letter, p Psal. 69.23.24 Rom. 11.9.10. Let their Table become a snare before them and that which should have been for their welfare, let it become a trap, let their eyes be darkened that they see not, and make their loins continually to shake, Or rather we may apply that vow unto them (that is to say the curse) denounced by our Saviour jesus Christ against their Grandfathers for the like matter: q Mat. 23.13. Woe unto you Scribes and Pharisees hypocrites, for ye shut up the Kingdom of heaven against men; for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering, to go in. FOUR The Pastoral letter produces, Pag. 4. and brings forth allegories against all this, not having learned of r Thomas in sum. part. 1. quaest. 1. artic. 10 Omnes sensus fundantur super unum scilicet, literalem, ex quo solo potest tra●i argumentum non autem ex his quae secundum allegoriam dicuntur. Thomas, who learned of S. Austin, that arguments are only drawn from the literal sense, and not from that which is said by allegory. It presupposeth that which is true, That we must read the Scriptures with the same spirit they have been written with all, which is the spirit of charity, a pure spirit, a clean spirit: but it supposeth that which is false, that this spirit is in none but in those that preach the Gospel, that is, Pastors and Ministers. But let us see his proofs, It is written in the Scripture, Ascend in montem in qui Euangelizas, that is to say, Get thee up into the mountain of virtue, thou that preachest Scripture. The Text s Esai. 40.9. in Isaiah is thus word for word; O Zion that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the holy mountain; O jerusalem that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength, lift it up, be not afraid, say unto the Cities of judah, behold your God. The Apostles were to receive power from above in the City of jerusalem; and from thence were to publish and spread the Gospel in all judea and Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth. And this is that, which the Prophet hath prophesied of and foretold by this Apostrophe, not to the preachers of the Gospel, but to Zion and jerusalem; who was to be honoured with this privilege, according as the same Prophet had more plainly and perspicuously described, saying; t Esay. 2.2.3. It shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lords house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills, and all nations shall flow unto it: for out of Zion shall go forth the Law, and the word of the Lord from jerusalem. The question is not here then of any mountain of virtue, but of the City of jerusalem builded on mountains, and of the mountain of Zion, which God should lift up on high, and exalt it above the hills, on that day. The Author of the Pastoral Letter saw this, and therefore left at the tip of his pen the word Zion, and left it out, the Text bearing Ascend in montem in qui Euangelizas Zion. But suppose the Allegory were good, and that the mountain of Zion were the mountain of virtue. What? shall it not be permitted to any, to get up into the mountain of virtue, but to those that preach the Gospel? shall all the rest remain in the valleys of vices? But the Prophet saith of all Christians, x Esay 2.3. Many people shall go and say, come ye and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord; and David demands, y Psal. 15.1.2 Lord who shall dwell in thy holy Hill? he is answered, He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, etc. And there is no exception, all are called to it. It was said unto all the jews by the Prophet Haggai, z Haggai. 1.8. Go up to the mountain, and bring wood and build the house. This mountain (if we receive the allegory of Saint Hierome) is that of the Scripture; all of us therefore must go up to it, according to the exhortation, saying, a Hier. in Agg. cap. 1. Let us go up to this reasonable mountain, and to every problem, seeking fit wood in the testimonies of the Scriptures; let us cut it, and build therewith the house of God within us. V The second Allegory is taken from the Mount Sinai, Pag. 5. unto the which (saith he) no beast may approach, that is to say, no carnal sense and meaning, the people also was not permitted to approach the mountain, only Moses. Behold their fair and well pregnant speculations: the mountain that Isaiah speaks of, is that of Zion; that on the which Moses mounted, is that of Sinai: this in Arabia, that in Canaan; distant the one from the other in situation, and different in spiritual signification; b Heb. 12.18.22 Ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness and darkness, etc. but ye are come unto mount Zion. And our Author of the Pastoral Letter makes one of these two, and speaks of these two, as if they were but one; that is his first slip and error, he makes the one and the other the mountain of virtues, and both together the mountain of Scriptures, as if virtues and Scriptures were one and the self same thing. The Scriptures do give precepts of virtue, and one must bring the virtues of a pure spirit and of charity in the reading of the Scriptures. The Scriptures are in the divine books, the virtues are in our hearts; therefore the mountain of virtues is not the mountain of Scriptures, that is his second slip. His third error is, in that he considers not, that the Scripture was given in the mountain, and brought by Moses to all the people, who did command him to read it; and therefore the mountain was not the Scripture: for the people was forbid to come near the mountain, and was commanded to approach the Scripture, and to read it. He did not consider, that the mountain of Sinai, was at that present time the throne of the justice of God, terrifying the consciences of men by his Law; and therefore forbidding the people to approach it, under pain of death. And that the Christians freed and delivered from the terrors of the mountain of Sinai, are come unto the mountain of Zion, which is the throne of God's mercy, comforting the consciences of men by his Gospel. Then speaks he but little to the purpose, yea, nothing at all of the mountain Sinai, seeing now we Christians know no other than that of Zion; that is his fourth error, followed with a fifth gross fault, that he did not mark, that Moses alone went up to the mountain, when God did dictate his Law, because God had ordained him c Gal. 3.19. a Mediator between him and the people; and would give authority unto his Ministry, in admitting him by a special privilege to come to the mountain, which the people might not look at afar off, without great ●eare and trembling. The words of God are manifest to this purpose; L●●, (saith he) d Exod. 19.9. I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak to thee, and believe thee for ever. Finally, all his slips and errors are full of absurdities and inconveniences: for if they only and alone, aught to read the Scriptures which do approach the mountain, Moses alone should read them, because he went up alone. The e Exod. 19.24. Priests ought not then to have read them, for they went not up to the mountain: and none might read them now adays, because Moses had not an ordinary Priesthood, to the which any can succeed, f Bella. de verb● Dei. lib. 3. cap. 4. §. 2. as Cardinal Bellarmine confesseth; but an extraordinary, ordained specially by God for the constitution of a new Commonweal and Church of Israel. Why doth Moses therefore g Deut. 31.9, 10, 11. command the Priests to keep the Scripture, and to read it? And why do the Popes, the Cardinals and Bishops with the rest of the Roman Clergy, meddle with the reading of the Scriptures? What, have they gone up to the mountain with Moses? Have they succeeded Moses? Are they yet scere Sinai? Do they not think, that they are as yet come unto the mountain of Zion, to the heavenly jerusalem? VI men's Allegories are uncertain, so are their opinions, when they are not conformable to the truth and certainty of the Scriptures. For man's reason cannot be a principle of that faith that I must have in God: and notwithstanding this man destitute of places of Scripture, hath imagined and presumed to dissuade us, and withdraw us from the reading of that Epistle, that God hath sent & directed to us, by (I know not what) most impertinent allegories out of the fabric of Pope Innocent; and being uncertain of the good success of them, he strengthens them with a sentence of Saint Hiero●●, a man, I hope, and not an Angel, not an Apostle, not such a one, in whose writings there may, or cannot be nothing omitted or desired; and therefore not such a one, as whose writings ought to give law to the Church, concerning what she ought to do and eschew. This we say, to testify, that the holy Scripture doth only bind the consciences of the faithful, who are the servants, members, brethren of Christ; & redeemed of him, and not of men, not by men. Besides, we fear not S. Hieroms words, that are contrary to the intention of the Author that cities the place: h Hieron. in epist. ad Paulinum. No men (saith he) presume in any occupation to teach that, which they never learned; the Artificer meddleth with his own Trade; the Physician with his own Science: only the art of Scripture is that which every man challengeth; this, the chatting old wife, this the doting old man, this the brabbling Sophister, this on every hand men presume to teach, before they learn it. A complaint surely that serves for us; for by it we learn, that in Saint Hieroms time, all did handle and read the Scriptures, the which he condemns not; but reproves only the sauciness and boldness of those, which presumed to teach, before they had learned them, Docent (saith he) antequam discant: for we have heretofore seen, l Hieron. in Coloss. 3. that he approves Lay-men should have the knowledge and understanding of the Scriptures not only sufficiently, but also plenteously. And we may see by one sentence amongst an hundred, which we will here set down in counterchange of his sentence, that he recommends the study of holy Scriptures to women also. VII. For thus he exhorts Laeta, a holy woman, to bring up and instruct her daughter in the reading of the holy Scripture, k Idem ad Laetam. That first of all she enough and approve of the Psalter, and withdraw herself by those Canticles; that she be instructed to live in the Proverbs of Solomon; that in the Ecclesiastes she enures herself to defy the world, and trample it under her feet; That she follow the examples of virtue and patience in job, that from thence she pass and go to the Evangelists, and never let them part from her hands; that with all her heart and desire she drink of the Acts of the Apostles, and the Epistles; and when she hath enriched the collar of her soul with these ornaments, & decked it with these riches, let her coune the Prophets, and learn without book the five books of Moses, the books of the Kings and the Chronicles, the volumes of Esaras and of Ester; and at last she may learn without danger the Canticle of Canticles; and let her abstain from all Apocryphal books. He that gave this counsel to a maid, did not contradict himself, in making a complaint against those that follow it; he blames only the ignorant, that made a trade to teach that which they did not know. The like complaint would he make if he lived in these days, in the which the ignorance of Cardinals, Bishops, and Curates, that make profession to teach the holy Scriptures, the which they never learned; their ignorance, I say, is so great, that the jesuits have been absolutely necessary to supply this want and defection, even by the proper confession of the Author of the Pastoral Letter. VIII. Unjustly therefore doth he complain, l Pag. 39 Pag. 6. that there is none, but that speaks freely of the points of Religion, of Precepts and evangelical Counsels, etc. For if every Artificer speaks without blame of his Trade (as Saint Hierome hath said heretofore) who can blame the Christian speaking of his? The Trade of a Christian, is a Religion pure and sporlesse; his vocation is to obey the precepts of his God, to follow the counsels of his Saviour: What ill doth the religious, to speak of his Religion? to make inquiry of it? to learn it, to the end he may the better practise it? doth the servant offend, that ponders diligently his Master's commandments, to put them in execution? and the Christian, can he exercise himself better, then in a diligent search, and serious inquisition of the Counsels of Christ jesus, his Head and Lord, to conform himself to them? And is it not said in the Pastoral letter, Pag. 6. that all the Scripture is given of God for our instruction? and what is that to say, I pray you, but that we must read it, meditate it, turn over and over the leaves of that book, speak of it day and night, at all times, in all places, amongst all sort of persons? All, what is given of God for our instruction, aught to be read of us, and we ought to speak of it uncessantly; all the Scripture hath been given us by God for our instruction (saith the Author of the Pastoral letter after Saint Paul); all the Scripture therefore aught to be read of every one of us. This is a very peremptory reason, and therefore we may well change the complaint, and grieve and moan with anguish of mind, that they have taken the use and reading of the Scripture from the people; that amongst them, of whom they complain, there are few or none that read the Scripture, that know, why the Son of God became Man, what is the virtue of his death, and the efficacy of his resurrection: contrariwise, there are an infinite number of those that believe ●ables, forged and devised artificially, to be Gospel; and that go out of this world, ere they have learned why God did place them in it. IX. Good Chrysostome exhorted in his days all Christians to read the Scriptures, and did blame those that did not read them, and did exclaim against them; m Chrysost. hom. 16. in joan. Turpe est si quilibet artifex artissuae rationem reddere posset; Christianus autem suae professionis non posset. O what a shame is it! that every Artificer can render a reason of his Trade; and that the Christian can give no reason of his profession? and now the Romish Bishops exhorts them to leave the Scriptures, and complains of those that read and speak of them. Let them defend them, and forbidden them with threatenings, I will not fear what man can do to me; but knowing that the word of God is of such virtue, n Psal. 119.130 that the entrance of his words giveth light, and giveth understanding unto the simple, I will love it, I will put it close to my heart, I will take in it all my delight and pastime; his words shall be folks of my counsel, I will always adhere and stick fast unto them, that I may say in good conscience unto my God with David, o Psal. 119.97. O how love I thy Law, it is my meditation all the day! CHAP. FOUR I. The Scripture is to be read with the same Spirit, wherewith it was written. II. The proofs, which the Pastoral Letter allegeth, are nothing to the purpose. III. The Philosophers justly blamed by Saint Hierome, for that they did frame and apply the places of Scripture unto their sense and opinions. FOUR This blame pertains and belongs unto the Author of the Pastoral Letter. V Two true reasons, why the Scriptures cannot be understood, but by the same Spirit they have been indicted with. VI The Spirit of God is in the Church in general, and in every member of the same, according to the measure of the gift and grace of Christ. SAint Peter speaking of the writings of the Prophets, saith, that the a 2. Pet. 1.21. prophesy came not in old time by the will of man, but holy 〈◊〉 of God spoke, as they were moved by the holy Ghost. Out of these words of Saint Peter, the Author of the Pastoral Letter infers, that we must read the Scriptures with the same spirit, that they were written by, which is the Spirit of charity, a pure Spirit, a clean Spirit; we add to this, that b john 15.16. he is the Spirit of truth, and so we say Amen to this doctrine. II. But not to the proofs thereof that are allegorical, or false, or corrupted and perverted. That which is said of the commandment given unto him that preacheth the Gospel, that he should g●● up to the mountain of virtue, is allegorical and repugning to the sense of the Scriptures. In like manner that which is added, that no beast way approach unto this mountain, that is to say, no carnal sense or meaning, and that have we seen in the Chapter going before. The second proof taken from c Genes. 6.3. that of Genesis is false; God saith there, My Spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he is also flesh: and the meaning is, that God will no longer bear with the malice of men, because they are nothing but flesh, that is to say, fin and corruption, but he will destroy them from the face of the earth, if they repent not in the space of an hundred and twenty years. Here is therefore no question of the abode of God's Spirit in men, but of the strife that God hath with men, obstinately hardened, and not hearkening unto his admonitions, but taking occasion by his blessings to live according to the flesh. The third proof is maimed and defective, Saint Paul saith, that d Rom. 15.4. Whatsoever things were written aforetime, were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. In the Pastoral Letter, these words are thus changed, Pag. 6. cut off, and falsified; The whole Scripture is given of God for our instruction, that so by the example that we embrace, in seeing the recompense of the ver●●ous, and the punishment of the wicked, we comfort ourselves in hope to attain unto the inestimable goods that are promised there. So that whole comfort of the Scriptures is falsely referred and applied to the example, that we take of the recompense of the good, and the punishment of the wicked; whereas it doth altogether consist in the death and passion of Christ jesus, in whose blood all those good men e Revel. 7.14. have washed their long robes, having all of them been justified, and graciously saved by the blood of him on the cross, and not by the merit of any virtue that was in them. Whence the Lord is called, f Luke 25. the Consolation of Israel, namely, of all the Saints; the peace, comfort, and joy of whom is wholly limited and stinted in him, and to the witness that God's Spirit beareth to their spirit and consciences by the holy Scriptures, that God hath reconciled them to himself in him, not imputing to them their sins, where with joy they cry out with the Prophet David, a man according to God's heart; g Psalm. 32.1.2. Blessed is he, whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered; Blessed is the man, unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity. But not being of a subject and matter to examine this place any more, I do approve the conclusion that is drawn from hence: for seeing the Scripture hath been given us for our instruction and consolation, we ought not alter it, or divert it to our destruction. III. Neither ought we to imitate those, of whom Saint Jerome complains, h Hieron. that coming to the holy Scriptures after the study of the Sciences of this world, do imagine that all that they say, is the Word and Law of God; and take not the pains to search and examine diligently, what the Prophets and Apostles have said, but do frame unto their sense the places of Scriptures, which have no resemblance, agreement, or relation unto it: being like the Israelites in this, who made a golden Calf of the treasures they brought out of Egypt; whereas they that use holily human Sciences, making them serve and attend on Divinity, are like those that did employ the jewels and riches of the Egyptians towards the building of the Tabernacle, and entertainment of God's service. FOUR But when they say, Pag. 7. that parents which bind their children to the obedience of the commandment they give them, to stay with them, to serve them, and not to enter into such, or such a cloister, are like those first, that they do subvert all order, imagine they ought to prefer their commandment before God's commandment, their wills before the evangelical Counsels, against the express Texts of the Gospel, the example of Saints, the interpretations of all the Fathers, and the decisions of the holy Canons. They charge them with a false blasphemy, wherewith the Author of the Pastoral Letter shall find himself touched and tainted; who takes violently by the hairs (as we say) the places of Scripture, and the interpretations of the Fathers, and frames them after his own imagination, wherewith they have no resemblance or relation, as we shall see in the Chapters following. V Notwithstanding, this remains as true, that the same Spirit which hath indicted the Scriptures, and given it to be written, aught and doth unfold, and give us the sense and meaning thereof. The reason is in them, or in us: In them their majesty; i 1. Cor. 2.6, 7, 8, 9 They contain the wisdom not of this world, nor of the Princes of this world that come to nought, but the wisdom of God, which none of the Princes of this world knew: but, as it is written, eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. They being of God, k Matth. 11.27. none can know them but God; and unto whom God will reveal them. For as amongst men, none knows the things of man, save the spirit of man which is in him: l 1. Cor. 2.11. Even so the things of God knows no man, but the Spirit of God. For this first reason, God must reveal them unto us by his Spirit; m 1. Cor. 2.10. For the Spirit teacheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. The second reason is, our incapacity and insufficiency: for not only have we our eyes obscured and darkened with some certain clouds of ignorance; but we have them also so blind, that the Scripture calls us n Ephes. 5.8. darkness, and plainly saith of us, and of the fairest and best things we have by nature, that o 1. Cor. 2.14. The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. Where the Spirit of God chargeth us with two things; o 1. Cor. 2.14. the privation and want of all faculty, aptness, and ability to understand and comprehend the things that are of God: Secondly, an evil and perverse disposition and inclination; for we cannot only not comprehend the things of God, but also we esteem them foolishness, according to that which the Apostle saith, p Rom. 8.7. The carnal mind is enmity against God; and therefore he adds, that q 1. Cor. 2.14, 15 these things are spiritually discerned, and that he which is spiritual judgeth all things. David wrote, that it was so, when he prayed unto God, saying, r Psal. 119.18. Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold the wondrous things out of thy Law; when Saint Peter confessed the Lord to s Matth. 16.16. be Christ, the son of the living God. The Lord presently taught him that it was so, saying, t Matth. 16.17. Blessed art thou Simon Bar-Iona, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. The Apostle hath confirmed the same, where he prays God in his Epistles to give his Spirit unto them, unto whom he writes, that they may comprehend these things; and assuring us, that u 1. Cor. 12.3. no man can say, that jesus is the Lord, but by the holy Ghost. VI But here is the question, for they demand, Where is the Spirit? In whom is the Spirit? A question easy to be resolved: for as if one ask, where the soul and life of man is? a child would answer, that it is in man's body, and in every part of the body, though more sensibly, and with more efficacy in one part of the body, then in the other; even so, when they demand, Where is the Spirit of Christ? The child of God will presently answer, that it is in the body of Christ, which is the Church, united to Christ his head, and in every member of this body. x john 3.34. In Christ, who is the head, without measure; in the other members, with measure; in some extraordinarily, as in the Prophets; and now ordinary in all those that are come since; in these a greater measure, in those a lesser measure; in some more, in some less, y Rom. 12.3. according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. To doubt therefore, if any one hath the Spirit of Christ in him, is to doubt, if he be a member of the body of Christ, that is to say, if he be a Christian: for no man is a Christian, but by the holy Spirit uniting him to Christ, and inspiring him, and quickening him that he live to Christ. CHAP. V. I. The words of Micah unfitly, and to no purpose alleged, cannot be understood by allegory, but of the Church in general, whose children are directed by the holy Spirit in the understanding of the Scriptures. II. He is an Heretic, who obstinately defends a sense contrary to the Scriptures. III. The argument whereby the Letter binds us to depend and rely on the interpretation of the Fathers, because Christ hath said nothing, but that he hath heard of God his Father, is impertinent and ridiculous. FOUR In what consisteth our conformity with Christ. V The argument retorted against the Author thereof. VI It is proved by the Scriptures and Fathers, that we are not to rely on the exposition of the Fathers. WHen as therefore the Author saith in his Pastoral Letter, that we must not stand to our own sense, to know the sense of the Scripture; Pag. 7. but follow the counsel of the Prophet Micah, saying, a Mica. 4.2. Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of jacob, and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths. Although that these words of Micah are to be understood literally of Zion, and of the City of jerusalem, as it appears by the words following, For the Law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from jerusalem: If by the mountain of the Lord, and the house of the God of jacob, he understands the Church of Christ jesus; it is most certain, that we ought to go and retire there, to have the sense & meaning of the Scripture. For there is the Scripture, and there is the Spirit inspiring the whole Church in general, and every true member of the same in particular, according to the gift and will of every one. When therefore the Scripture is read by a true member of Christ, or is preached unto him, he hath the holy Spirit on his right hand, and in his heart, inspiring the true sense and meaning thereof: and this inspiration is no other thing, but that which S. Paul names, b Ephes. 1.18. the eyes of our understanding enlightened, to see & comprehend the mysteries propounded in the Scriptures, as it happened unto Lydia, c Acts 16.14. whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul. And it happens unto all the Saints, according to that which the Apostle saith; d 1 Cor. 2.12. We have received not the spirit of the world but the Spirit which is of God, that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. And S. john writing to young babes, young children, young men, and fathers; e 1. John 2.20. Ye have an unction from the holy One, and ye know all things. The one and the other, after their Ma●●er, who hath decided this controversy with this notable sentence; No f joh. 6.44.45. man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: It is written in the Prophets, And they shall be all taught of God; every one therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me. They that thus hear and learn thus of the Father, do not stand to their own sense, nor are not wedded to their own humours, but are directed by the holy Spirit to the sense and meaning of the Scripture, as much as is necessary for them, that they suffer themselves not to be distracted, and withdrawn from the salvation which is in our Lord jesus, by the deceit of men. II. The Pastoral Letter understands not so the words of Micah, and acknowledgeth none to be the mountain of Zion, Pag. 7. but the ancient Fathers, and those of these times, Pastors and Doctors, there is difference (saith he) between one heretic and another, which interprets the Scripture according to his sense, the one with more, the other with less obstinacy and wilfulness, but both of them are alike in error. To be like an heretic, is to make himself like the devil, and to bear his image. This is his argument, they are heretics which do interpret the Scripture according to their own sense, we ought not to resemble heretics; we ought not therefore, and must not interpret the Scripture according to our senses. The Canon Law defineth an heretic thus; g 24. q. 3. Can. 27. Haeresis; quicunque aliter scripturam intelligit quàm sensus spiritu● sancti fl●gitat quo scripta est, licet de ecclesia non recesserit tamen haereticus appellari potest. Whosoever understandeth the Scripture otherwise then the sense of the holy Spirit, by the which it hath been written, requireth, although he hath not withdrawn himself from the Church, he may be called an heretic, is to be understood, if he be obstinate, and being convicted of error by the truth, will not leave his error to embrace the truth. h 24 q. 3. can. dixit. For they which maintain and defend their false and perverse opinion without any stubbornness and obstinacy, being ready & willing to be corrected, are not to be reckoned amongst heretics: but i 24. q. 3. can 31. Qui in ecclesia. they which being in the Church of Christ, have any contagious and perverse opinion, if being reproved of it, that they may kn●w and acknowledge that which is sound and right, they resist with stubbornness and contumacy, and will not reform and correct their pestilent and mortal opinions and doctrines, but persist to defend and maintain them, they become heretics. And if we will know, who are they which have a bad and perverse opinion and doctrine, Leo the first will tell us, that k 〈◊〉. epist. 10. ad Flavianun & est. 24. q. 3. can. 30. quid autem. those fall into this fury and madness, who being hindered by some obscureness and darkness to know the truth, have not their recourse to the voice of the Prophets, to the Epistles of the Apostles, and to the authorities of the Gospel, but to themselves; and therefore are masters of errors, not having been disciples of truth. All these conditions being put and laid together, he is an heretic, who despising all admonitions, doth maintain obstinately an error, contrary to the doctrine of the Prophets and Apostles contained in the holy Scriptures. Of such a one the Apostle faith; l Tit. 3.10.11. A man that it an herericke (after the first and second admonition) reject knowing that he that is such, is subverted and sinneth, being condemned of himself. I desire the Reader to mark and remember this definition, to the end he may judge by the same, of the truth and falsehood of the matters debated in our writings, and find and hold for an heretic the one of us; who being an Idolater of his own sense and opinion, defends with obstinacy a sense contrary to the holy Scripture. For, as Tertullian saith, m Tert. de praes adverse. haeret. cap. 38. Ind & scripturarum & expositionum ad●lteratio deputanda est, ubi diversitas invenitur doctrinae. There is the corruption of the Scriptures, and of Expositions, where the diversity of doctrine is found; and else where, The n Ibidem ca ●2. Hereticorum doctrina cum Apostolica comparant, ex diversitate & contrarietate sua pronunciabit neque Apostoli alicuius authoris esse neque Apostolici. doctrine of heretics compared with that of the Apostles, will pronounce by her difference and contrariety, that she hath not for her author any Apostle, or any Apostolic person. The Pastoral Letter will not have, nor permit us to make this comparison of the writings of men with those of the Apostles: but binds us to depend altogether on that, which the holy Fathers, and our spiritual Fathers, which have lawful succession will tell us and reach us. III. Pag. 7. The Christian (saith the Letter) ought per omnia assimilari Christo, in all things be made like unto Christ, who for our example said in Saint john, o john 7.16. Mea doctrina non est mea, sed eius qui misit me, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. In another place; p john 15.15. Omnia quaecunque audivi à patre, nota feci vobis: All things that I have heard of my Father, I have made known unto you; even so you ought not to speak of the Scriptures, but sicut audivi à patre, as the holy Fathers do expound. This reason may be reduced to this form, The Christians ought to be like unto Christ in all things: but Christ hath said nothing, but that which he hath heard of his Father; & therefore we ought not to say any thing of the Scripture, but that we have heard of our fathers, or as they expound it. Who seethe not, that here are four terms (as Schoolmen speak), and that the conclusion says more, than the premise do afford? let us make a new this Syllogism; All Christians ought to be like unto Christ in all things: but Christ hath said nothing, hath done nothing, but that which his Father hath told him, and commanded him: the maiden daughters therefore, of whom the question is, aught to say nothing, to do nothing, but that which their father hath told them and commanded; and consequently they ought not, nor may not enter into the new religion, and religious House or Cloister of Saint Ursula the Virgin, because their father hath told them, and commanded them not to do it. Let us make it of another fashion; All Christians must be like unto Christ in all things: but Christ hath spoken of all those things, which he hath heard of his Father, who is God, the true One, and holy One; Therefore we must hold all that we have heard of our Fathers, of whom he most holy is but man and not God, is a sinner, q 1. King. 8.46. for there is no man that sinneth not; and a liar, as it is written, r Rom. 3.4. Let God be true, but every man a liar. We see therefore, that the word father is taken ambiguously by the Author of the Pastoral Letter; and that from this ambiguity, a thousand impertinent, false, blasphemous conclusions might be inferred. Moreover, the proposition is false, if it be not limited: for can we be God like Christ? Can we be Prophets, Priests, and Kings of the Church, as Christ is? In a word, can we be mediator between God and man as Christ is? what? are not these things proper to Christ, and uncommunicable to all creatures? FOUR The resemblance & likeness, which we must have with Christ, is in the holiness of his life, in that which concerns his godliness towards god, and his charity towards men, according to the Law. s Ephes. 4.24. Col. 3.10. The new man which is renewed in knowledge, righteousness and true holiness, after the image of him that created him. The argument than will be good in this sort, if we say, that even as Christ hath been so conscientious, so scrupulous and holy in his vocation, that he hath not taught any thing, but that which he hath heard of God his Father: so our Pastors and Doctors ought not to teach any thing, but that which they have heard of God their Father, that is to say, that which is contained in the holy Scriptures. And again, as Christ, although authorised in his doctrine by that heavenly voice, t Matth. 17.5. Hear him, submits his doctrine to the touchstone of the Scriptures, and exhorts the people to examine it by the Scripture, saying; u john 5.39. Search the Scriptures, they are they which testify of me. Our Teachers and Doctors, which have not such an authority, and should resemble Christ in humility and reverence towards the Scripture, aught and must submit their doctrine to the like examination, and exhort the people to search the Scriptures, to see and examine if it be so. And if the people ought not to hear any other doctrine, then that of their Father contained in Scripture, remembering that notable sentence of Saint Augustine; x August. contra lit. Petilia. lib. 3. c. 6. Si angelus de caelo vobis annunciaverit, prete●qu●● quoth in S●xipturi● legalibus & Euangelicis accepisti anathema sit. If an Angel from heaven preach unto you otherwise, then that which you have received in the Scriptures, Legal, or evangelical, let him be accursed. V Let us now retort and return the argument against the Author of the same, and say; We may not speak of the Scripture otherwise then we have heard of our Fathers, we have no other Father then God; therefore we may not speak of the Scripture, then as we have heard it of God: the Mayor is his, as we have seen; the Minor is his also: For by this argument he proves, that children desirous to dwell in a cloister, ought not to obey their carnal parents, which thwart their desires, saying to the fathers, Know ye not, Pag. 20. that God forbids in Saint Matthew, y Matth. 23 9 Nolite vobis vocare patrem super terram, unus enim pater est vester qui est in caelis; Call no man your Father upon the earth, for one is your father which is in heaven. The conclusion therefore is good, according to his arguing, and according to truth; and therefore we will hear none but God, speaking to us in the Scripture, and will not hear the Fathers, be they never so holy, if they preach not to us the word of God contained in the Scriptures. VI For so hath God expressly commanded us in his word, saying, z Ezech. 20.18.19. Walk ye not in the statutes of your fathers, neither observe their judgements, nor defile yourselves with their Idols; I am the Lord your God, walk in my Statutes, and keep my judgements, and do them. Conformably to this an ancient Father saith: a Hier. in jer. cap. 7. nec parentum nec mai●rum error sequendus est, sed authoritas scripturarum, etc. We must not follow the errors of our fathers, nor of our ancestors, but we must follow the authority of the Scriptures. And another, b Bernard. ad Abbat.. epist. 91. avant, and far from me and you, let them be, which say, we will not be better than our forefathers. The former saith again of himself, c Hier. contra jovini. As often as I do not interpret the Scriptures, but that I speak freely of mine own sense and reason, let who will reprehend and reprove me. Saint Austin said as much of Saint Hierome, of all Catholic authors, and particularly of himself, as we have seen in the Preface, he tells us over and beside of himself; d August. de Trinit. lib. 3. in proaem. Do not thou subject and submit thyself to my letters, as to the Canonical Scripture. Of Saint Cyprian, e Idem contra Crescou. lib. 2. cap. 32. I account not the letters of Cyprian as Canonical, but I examine them by the Canonical Scripture. That which in them is conformable to the authority of the holy Scripture, I receive it with his praise and commendation, that which is not conformable to it, I reject it with his good liking. Of S. Ambrose and of the rest of the Doctors that were before him; f Idem Epi. 112 Do not think, that we must follow the sense and opinion of any man, as the truth of the Canonical Scripture. Of all them which have written from the Apostles time to his time: g Idem contra. Faustum Mani. lib. 11. c. 5. In the small books or short Treatises of them which are come since, the Hearer or Reader hath his free judgement to approve that which is pleasing and good, or to reprove that which is unpleasant and offensive. Cardinal Caietan, the most learned of all the Cardinals and Bishops of his time, hath the like speech in his preface on Genesis: for having said, h Caiet. praefat. in 5. lib. Mos. That this authority is reserved only to the sole authors of the holy Scripture, that we believe the thing to be so, because they have so written it; lays down this principle and maxim, i Deus non alligavit expositionem scripturarum sacrarum priscorum doctorum sensibus. that God hath not tied the exposition of the holy Scripture to the sense of the ancient Doctors. k Si quando occurrerit nows sensus textui conformis, quanquam à torrent doctorum alienus, aequos se praebeant censores. And therefore he entreats them, which shall find in his Commentaries a new sense or meaning, conformable and agreeable to the text, to judge justly and uprightly, although it be against the torrent and stream of the Fathers. l Andrad. defence. Synod. Trident. lib. 2. Andradius maintains the self same principle, and improves the allegorical expositions of the Fathers, reprehends many expositions that they give of the literal sense, pronounces that they spoke not oracles in the expounding of the Scriptures; that for not having the use of a good Translation, they have often strayed and swerved from the true meaning of the holy Ghost; that many things in Moses and the Prophets are better, and more exactly expounded in our age, than they had ever been before. Others have said and written as much. CHAP. VI I. There is none of the Fathers that hath not erred, none of them therefore that can alone be judge of the sense of the Scripture. II. No more can the consent of the greater number of them, because all have erred together in the same points of doctrine, either in men's opinion, or in truth. III. All the Fathers have divided the first Table of the Law in four Commandments, and are rejected; two only have reduced it to three, and are received of the Roman Church. FOUR The opinion of Saint Austin alone to be preferred before that of Saint Hierome, and of the number and multitude of the Father's touching Saint Peter reprehended by Saint Paul. V The ancient Fathers (for the most part) were Millenaries, or Chiliastae, and thought that the souls saw not not God, before the resurrection. VI All the Fathers have believed for the space of 1500 years, that the Virgin Marie was conceived in sin; their consent and agreement in the same is condemned by the Church of Rome. VII. The whole ancient and Primitive Church for 1400 years, did celebrate the Eucharist under two Elements; that is now adays heresy, in the opinion of the Romish Church. VIII. To make a show of, to rely on, or shroud himself under the exposition of the Fathers, and yet to refuse and forsake them, is to make a mock of the Fathers. THe a Bellar. de council. writings of the Fathers are no rules, and have no authority to bind us, by the proper confession of them, which binds the consciences of the children of God, of the coheirs of Christ unto their authority; take every one of them apart, take the greatest number of them, consider them altogether, and you will find that it is so. He on whose judgement my conscience ought to rest, must be endued with such a perfection, that he cannot be alured nor induced to any error, and cannot seduce nor mislead me by any error; it behoves that God give him this testimony in the holy scriptures, which give this prerogative to none, but to the Prophets and Apostles. Let us take the others one by one, b Bellar. de verbo Dei lib. 3. c. 10. §. 21. Dices. although they have had the gift of interpreting in an high degree, and have been spiritual; yet is it certain, that the chiefest amongst them, yea all of them have erred, and have fallen into gross faults and grievous errors, c Canus lib. 7. de locis Theolog. cap. 3. yea, and sometimes do engender monsters. II. If all together, or the greater number against the l●sse, as ordinarily they hold and maintain, yet thus do they not receive them. d Maldon in Matth. 19.20. Maldonat expounding the history of the rich man, that said to our Saviour, that he had kept all the Commandments from his youth up, saith; Some Fathers, Hilary, Jerome, Ambrose, Austin, Theophilact, Beda, and others say, that this young man lied; notwithstanding, I rather like and approve (saith he) the opinion of Basil, Euthymi●s, Chrysostome, and so prefers the lesser number before the greater. III. All the Fathers have divided the ten Commandments, placing four of them in the first Table, and six in the second, except e Clemens stromat. lib. 6. Clement Alexandrinus, who hath acknowledged but nine. And Saint f August. qu. 71 in Exod. Austin joining the second with the first, hath reduced the four of the first Table to three, seeking in it the mystery of the Trinity, and hath made two of the last of the second Table. Notwithstanding, the common division of g Phil. de Dialogo. Philo, h joseph. antiq. lib. 3. c 4. joseph, and of i Aben Ezra in Exod. 20. all the jews, of k Greg. Nazianz. in vers. de decalogo. Gregory Nazianzen, l Origen. in Exo. hom. 8. Origen, m Athanas. in Synopsi sacrae scripturae. Athanasius, n Chrysost operis imperfect. in Mat. hom. 49. Chrysostome amongst the Greeks', of o Hieron. in epist. ad Ephes. cap. 6. Saint Hieromie, p Ambros in epist. ad Ephes. cap. 6. Saint Ambrose, and of q Aug. qu. vet. & novi Test. cap. 7. Saint Austin himself, if 〈…〉 Author of the questions of the old and new Testament, is rejected of the whole Romish Church; and that opinion of Saint Austin contradicting himself is received, and that not without cause. FOUR There was a great contention between Saint Ier●●●, and Saint Austin, concerning the rebuke that Saint Paul made to Saint Peter before the whole Church of Antioch. Saint Jerome held, that Saint Paul did dissemble with Saint Peter, that he did use an officious lie, and an honest dispensation, and did quote and allege for himself many Fathers, of whom he made so much, that he feared not to say, r Hyeron. Aug. If thou dost blame and 〈…〉 as one that errs, 〈◊〉 me 〈…〉 them that are such. Saint Austin held, that Saint Paul rebuked Saint Peter in earnest, and saith, that if he had read much, he might have found as many Fathers on his side. s August. epi. 19 But (faith he) I have for them all and above them all, the Apostle Paul; I have my refuge to him; I appeal from all them, which have expounded his writings and think otherwise, to him, I ask and dem●●●● himself, etc. and I hear him crying with a religious voice in the exordium and beginning of this narration, Concerning the things I writ unto you, Behold, I say before God, that I lie not; let those that think otherwise, pardon me, I had rather believe so great an Apostle taking his oath in his writings, and for his writings, than any man, be he never so learned, disputing of other men's writings. Do not we hold now adays, that Saint Austin's opinion was sounder and truer than that of Saint Hierome and of his adherents? Medina t Medina de sacror. hom. orig. lib. 1 c. 5. hath not doubted to affirm, that Jerome, Sedulius, Primasius, Theodoret, Austin, Chrysostome, Theophylact have held, that the order of Bishops and of Priests is one and the self same order. They that believe that now adays, are held for heretics of the Roman Bishops, and of their clients and followers. V The u Greg. Valent. Jes. lib. 8. anclies. c. 8. Senens bibl. lib. 3. annot. 237. ancient Fathers for the most part were Millenaries; Papius, an Auditor of the Apostle Saint john, Apollinaris, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Victorin, Lactantius, Severus Sulpicius, and a great number of Catholics, justin Martyr; all of them deceived, for not understanding well that which is written in the Revelation, x Revel. 20.3. Till the thousand years should be fulfilled. Who would now suffer himself to be swayed and carried away with this error, should with good reason be held and condemned for an heretic. Doth not Stapleton tell us, y Staplet. lib. ●. de authorit. Scripturae c. 2. §. 5. that Clement the Roman, Tertullian, Origen, Irenaeus, Chrysostome, Theodoret, Oecumenius, Theophylact, Ambrose, Bernard, were of opinion, that the souls do not enjoy the vision of God before the day of judgement. Another adds to these, z Senens. lib. 6. annot. 345. justine Martyr, Lactance, Victorinus, Prudentius, Arethas, john Pope of Rome. Is not this an horrible error? VI a Canus locorum Theolog. lib. 7. c. 1. num. 1. §. Sancti namque. Canus expounding S. Paul's words, b Rom. 5.12. In whom all have sinned, saith, that from these words, All the Saints do affirm with one consent, that the Virgin Marie was conceived in sin. Chrysostome, Eusebius Remigius, Ambrose, Austin, Bernard, Bede, Anselme, Erardus Martyr, Saint Antony, Doctor Bona●enture, Thomas of Aquin, Vincentius, Hugo de Sancto Victor: why then doth not he himself follow this consent and opinion? Let he himself say, why, Although no author hath contradicted it, Infirmumest tamen ex omnium patrum consersu argumentum; The argument notwithstanding taken from the consent of all the Fathers is weak; and the contrary opinion is more probably and holily held and maintained. Of late then and newly have they left and forsaken the universal belief of all the Saints the space of 1400 years: and c Salmeron jesuit. in Rom. c. 5. disp. si §. Deinde. Salmeron the jesuite tells us, that we must answer to this whole multitude: that which one alleages and objects, that which is written of God's word, d Exod. 23.2. Exod. 23. Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil, neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgement. Let this suffice for an answer to those that say, we may not speak of the Scripture, but only as the holy Fathers expound it: for if it were so, we ought and should be Millinaries with many of the holy Fathers; we should believe against all Scripture, that the souls of the faithful departed, see not God until the universal resurrection; with the Fathers we should raze out of the catalogue of festival days, that of the conception of the Virgin Marie, the mother of Christ; and hold with the Scripture, that she was conceived in sin, for so all the holy Fathers have held. VII. The Romish Church should give unto the people the Eucharist under both kinds: for so have they been instituted and given by the Master, received and recommended by the Apostles, celebrated by all the Fathers, and of the whole Christian Church the space of 1400 years; we ought to detest the new Fathers of Constance, who have presumed against Christ's institution, the doctrine of the Apostles, the practice of the whole Church for so many ages, to take away the cup, to bereave and deprive the Christians of the Sacrament of the blood, which the Son of God hath shed for them in the remission of their sins. VIII. To cry out always, the Fathers, the Fathers, to make great show of the Fathers, to rely on them, to shelter themselves under the exposition of the Fathers, and yet not follow the Fathers, is to do like e Matth. 26.49. judas, which betrayed Christ in speaking to him with great reverence and kissing him; or like the soldiers, f Mat. 27.18.30 who having clothed our King and Saviour Christ with a scarlet rob, and given him in his hand a Reed in stead of a Sceptre, they bowed their knees before him, made a show to adore him, but forthwith did spit upon him, took the Reed, and smote him on the head with it. CHAP. VII. I. What opinion we are to have, and what judgement to make of the Fathers, in what and how far they are to be believed. II. The Author of the Pastoral Letter ties and binds the exposition of the Scriptures unto the Pastors and Doctors, having lawful succession. III. What is their authority, charge and duty. FOUR They are not to be heard, unless they speak according to the Scriptures. V Many under the Law, and under the Gospel, High-Priests, Bishops, and Popes, having succession, have been Idolaters, Heretics, Sorcerers. VI The objection taken from the words of Malachi, is contrary to the opponent. I Do not pretend to abate or diminish in any wise the authority of the Fathers, I say, that they have been great men of God; that they have served God, and his Church in their time with great profit; that their writings are of great use, and that by the reading of them, a man may become wiser and holier. And I hold for certain, that they are bound in the bundle of life, and do reign in heaven with Christ jesus their King, for whose sake God hath been merciful unto them. But when men make a buckler of their errors; and when men say, that we may not speak of the Scripture, but as they are interpreted by them; we are enforced to say the truth, that, first, they all were men, and not God: secondly, they were all disciples of the truth, and not Author of the same; all Interpreters of the law, not lawgivers; all our fellow-brethrens, and fellow-servants, and not our Masters. Thirdly, that we ought to believe them in matters of fact, or of things done in their time, and that which they assuredly know, when they speak of things not by hearsay, but which themselves have seen and known these certain things. Fourthly, that in matters of faith they are not to be believed, if they prove not their doctrine by the books of faith, because as a Canus cent. 3. & sequent. c. 4. Canus saith, All the Saints (those only excepted, who have digested and committed unto writing the Canonical books) have spoken by human spirit, and have sometimes erred in things which appertain to faith. The reason is, b 1. Cor. 13.9. They knew only in part, and prophesied in part. c Gal. 5.17. The flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh in in them, as well as in us. The Apostles only were privileged with an extraordinary measure of the holy Ghost, to lead them without any imperfection, d john 16.13. in all truth. Fifthly, that the Spirit of Christ jesus is not dead with them, but is as yet in his Church, enlightening it in the truth, and sanctifying her by the truth; in so much, as although there were no writings of the Fathers, the people of God for all that, should not leave to know & understand the Scriptures, to know the voice of Christ, and follow it. Sixthly, that the writings of the Fathers are as much, or more obscure, than the holy Scriptures, if it might be said without blasphemy, that there were obscureness in those books which were dictated by him, e john 1.9. Who is the light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. Seventhly, that the fathers are so many in number, & their writings in like manner, that though a man had an iron body, he could not take the pains to read them all; and though he had a memory of steel, he could not remember the expositions of all of them; that there is no man living which hath them all, no man living which hath read all those we have; yea, I suppose and presume that I may say truly, that all the living together have not read them all: whereas all can, and may read the Scripture over and over, every one oftentimes, & learn by it with prayer and labour, all that is necessary for their salvation. Eightly & lastly, that the Scriptures are snatched out of the people's hands, detained in such a brutish ignorance, that they cannot know if the things written by the Fathers are of the Scripture or no; & the means to read the Fathers is taken away from them, so that they cannot know how they expound the Scriptures; and therefore it is a mere mockery to send the ignorant to the Fathers, which they have never read, which they cannot read though they would, and dare not read them though they could, and whom they cannot understand, though they should read them; and therefore are taught to refer themselves in all these things to that, which their Pastors and Doctors will make them believe. II. This is the sense of that which followeth in the Pastoral letter, where, to that which hath been said, that we ought not to speak of the Scriptures otherwise, than the fathers expound them, is added, And beside, your spiritual Fathers, Pastors and Doctors, that are instituted of God, grounded on the lawful succession of the Apostles to expound and interpret it to you; f Malach. 27. Labia Sacerdotis custodient scientiam, & ex ore eius legem requirent; The Priest's lips shall keep knowledge, and they shall seek and ask the Law at his mouth. III. We ought not to take away from the true Pastors and Doctors any thing of that which God gives them, Saint Paul saith of himself and of all, g 1. Cor. 4.1. Let a man so account of us, as of the Ministers of Christ, and Stewards of the mysteries of God: and elsewhere, h 2. Co. 5.19.20. God hath committed unto us the Word of reconciliation; We therefore are Ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us. We ought then to account and esteem of them, and to put them in another rank then private persons are; we are to hear them with attention and reverence in the declaration of their commission. And if we honour the Ministers and Ambassadors of a Prince for the Prince's sake who sends them, how much more shall we honour and reverence the Ministers of Christ jesus, who is the i Acts 3.15. Prince of life, and hath written on his thigh, k Revel. 19.16. The King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, for Christ jesus sake? But they ought also to know, that they are but Ministers of Christ, & therefore are not Lords and Masters over the Church, which is the body and spouse of Christ; that they are the Ministers of Christ, & therefore are called administerium non ad magisterium, to serve, and that with labour and pains; like those which row in ships, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, as the Greek word beareth, and not to govern and play the Regent according to their own fancy and affection; that they are stewards of the great mysteries of God, of the great mysteries of the Gospel, the which they must distribute, that is to say, preach and apply it to the use and salvation of the Saints. That they are the Ambassadors for Christ, and therefore they ought to produce their letters and patent of their commission, and declare faithfully the substance of the same without any addition, diminution, or changing thereof. They are no more privileged than Saint Paul was, who l 1. Cor. 11.23. received of the Lord that which he delivered unto them, and m Acts 26.22. Rom. 1.22. hath given nothing, but that which was written touching the substance of the doctrine. And of that whereof every one had the copy in hand to examine, if he kept himself in the precincts and compass of his charge and commission, as n Acts 17.11. they of Berea did with praise and commendation. FOUR Therefore the Apostle having declared what is their charge and function, and the dignity or excellency thereof, gives them this admonition, o 1. Cor. 4.2. Moreover, it is required in Stewards, that a man be found faithful, faithful in care, in labour, and especially in the preaching of the will of God in pureness and simplicity, without any mixture of human traditions, his will (say we) wholly comprehended in the Scriptures, of the which God will that all should have copy, as being all his children, and having right and reason to know the contents of his Testament; to the end that if they, which are but his Teachmen and Heralds, do interpret other language than his, relate and deliver otherwise then that, which he hath given in writing, and having sent the copies throughout all the world, they be not heard, what succession soever they pretend. Aaron from and by whom the Levitical succession began, p Exod. 32.4. made a golden calf, and notwithstanding the levites who were inferior unto him, would not be partakers of his sin, q but observed the words of God and kept them. If a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams did arise amongst the people, and made signs and miracles, and he say, let us go after other Gods, and let us serve them; God commanded to put such a one to death, and saith to the people, r Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or dreamer of dreams, etc. Ye shall walk after the Lord your God and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and you shall serve him, and cleave unto him. In like manner the Prophet Isaiah sends them to s Isai. ●. 20. the Law, and to the testimony, saying, If they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. Saint Peter also to the Pastors and Ministers, t 1. Pet. 4.11. If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God. And Saint john writing to a woman, and in her person to all, u 2. john 10. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him, God speed. V Neither is there any succession that is free, or can privilege them. Vriah the high Priest descended by succession from Aaron, builds contrary to God's commandment, an Altar according to the pattern of that of Damascus, and sets it in the Temple, x 2. King. 16.11. according to all that the King Ahaz had sent from Damascus. Caiphas having the succession, with the Scribes and the Elders of the people assemble together against jesus Christ, and caused him to die by the hand of the wicked, Saint Paul admonisheth the Pastors of Milet and of Ephesus, y Acts 20.30. that from among themselves shall men arise speaking perverse things to draw disciples after them. Photinus, Samosatenus, Arrius, Macedonius, Nestorius, Eutyches, Marcelin the Pope, who sacrificed to Idols; john 22. Pope, who denied that the souls see God before the resurrection; Pope Zepherinus a Montanist; Pope Liberius an Arrian; Pope Anastasius a Nestorian; Pope Honorius a Monothelite; Pope Silvester, who gave himself to the devil to be made Pope; Gregory the seventh a great Necromancer; john the 23, who denied life eternal, and the resurrection. All these had a vocation and succession as lawful, as any Pope or Bishop of that time; and notwithstanding they were not to be heard of any, because they all were heretics. VI Yea but God hath said in Malachi; z Malach. 2.7. The Priest's lips shall keep knowledge, and they shall seek the Law at his mouth. He hath said it indeed, and hath said it either by promise to the Priests of the Law, that it shall be always so, or by commandment to the Priests to observe and keep it so always: not by promise, for he hath not always determined nor done so, 〈◊〉 that the same God and Lord adds, vers. 8. But ye are departed out of the way, ye have caused many to stumble at 〈◊〉 Law, ye have corrupted the 〈◊〉 of Levi, saith the Lord of Hosts, therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people. And elsewhere God complains of them, a Esay 28.7. They 〈◊〉 in vision, they stumble in judgement, b Ezech. 22.26. S●ph●. 3.4 they have violated my Law, and have profaned mine holy things, they have put no difference between the holy and prophant: and because they did then as they do now adays, crying to every purpose, c jerem. 18.18. The Law shall not perish from the Priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the Word from the Prophet; God threatens them, d Ezech. 7.26. that the Law shall perish from the Priests, and Counsel from the Ancients. It was therefore a commandment of that which the Priests should do, and did not, as nowadays, when and where God may say, as anciently he said of the People and Priests of Israel; e Ose 4.6, 9 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because thou hast 〈◊〉 knowledge, I will also reject thou; thou shalt be 〈◊〉 Priest to me, seeing thou hast forgotten the Law of thy God, I will also forgot thy children, etc. There shall be like People, like Priest. CHAP. VIII. I. The judge of the sense and meaning of the Scripture, is public, or private. II. The public and sovereign judge is God alone. III. His judgement is perfectly given in the holy Scriptures. FOUR It is not necessary, that the judge be present and visible. V The public ministerial judges are the Pastors. VI The private judges are all Christians. VII. They that forbidden Christians to judge of their writings, are nor led by the Spirit of Christ. TO conclude this point, and to 〈◊〉 no scruple concerning this whole matter in the conscience of the Reader. We say, that the judge of the sense and meaning of the Scripture, is either public or private. The public judge is he, who judgeth publicly with a public authority, and declares, what is true, what is false, good or bad; what one ought to follow or eschew, do, or not do in matter of religion. The public judge is either Sovereign or Ministerial. II. The Sovereign judge is he, whose authority is in himself, and towards us sufficient; irrefragable, and so absolute, that necessity is laid upon us to yield and agree unto, without any doubting, contradiction or appeal. There is no such judge in heaven or in earth but one, to wit, God speaking to his Church in Christ jesus by his holy Spirit. There is but he alone, which hath public and absolute authority; who governs, sways and commands over the consciences; who can persuade, bind, and convince them. He hath given his judgement and sentence, and hath enregistered it in the sacred Scripture, according to which he governs the consciences, bowing & bending them to the obedience of the same by his holy Spirit. And indeed what other could be the Sovereign judge of the sense of the Scripture, but he, who is the author of the scripture? who can better interpret a man's words & meaning, than he which hath spoken them? And who can better interpret the sense and meaning of the Law, than the Lawgiver which hath made it? who is so fit and apt for it as he, who being all wise and all holy, cannot; and being all good, will not deceive or beguile us? III. There is nothing more apparent, then that his judgement is contained in the holy Scriptures. a 2. Tim. 3.16. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, it contains then the judgement of the holy Ghost. b 2. Tim. 3.15. They are able to make us wise unto salvation, through faith which is in Christ jesus. And for this cause are we commanded to hear them; c Luke 16.29. They have (saith Abraham touching the brethren of the rich man) Moses and the Prophets, let them hear them. As they e Acts 17.29. of Berea are commended, for that they sought in the same the judgement of the holy Spirit concerning Saint Paul's doctrine; the cause of all errors being, that men do not stick fast to it, as jesus Christ reproacheth and chargeth the Sadduces with, telling them, f Mark. 12.24. Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the Scriptures, nor the power of God? And it being impossible that any can learn, and be persuaded or moved elsewhere to believe in Christ, and amend his life, Abraham hath so testified & borne record to the naughty rich man, who required that Lazarus should be sent to his brethren: g Luke 16.31. If (saith he) they hear not Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead. jesus Christ hath more evidently testified it unto the jews, speaking of the Scriptures, and of himself, If h job. 5.46.47. ye had believed Moses, ye would have believed me, for he wrote of me: but if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words? This hath been acknowledged and granted of all the Fathers, i Ignat. epist. ad Philadelph. who refused to accept and admit of any records or evidences, than those of Christ, k Cyp. epist. 63. who will hear none other but Christ, l Ambr. de fide lib. 1. c. 4. Hieron. in Psal. 86. Optat. August. Chrysost. etc. who in all their disputations against heretics, do appeal unto the judgement of Christ, speaking in the Scriptures; except they had to do with such as denied the Scriptures. FOUR But if they object, that the judge must be present and visible: we answer, that that is not necessary. How often do Emperors decide controversies new sprung in their Provinces, by the authority and jurisdiction of the Sovereign Court, without budging from their place? How often have the Pope's remaining in Rome, or in avignon, ended the differences of Christians a great distance from them, by their Decretal Epistles; and do as yet make known their will unto all the world by their Bulls, without stirring from their seat? The King (whom God preserve and bless with all temporal and spiritual blessings, for his glory) is the supreme and Sovereign judge of all this Kingdom, although he be visibly and corporally but in one place of the same at one time; from the place where he is, he signifies by his Proclamation what his pleasure is, unto the which all his subjects must yield and agree. A King, who is but a man hath such a power, and shall not the King of Kings have it? a mortal man, absent in body, shall be acknowledged of all his good subjects for supreme judge; and his will declared in writing, shall be a Law unto them: and shall not the Lord jesus, God-Man, and Man-God, be accepted of for Sovereign judge, nor his writings for laws, unless he make and show himself visible and present? What impiety? But God be thanked, our judge contained indeed in heaven in regard of his body, Acts 3.21. is always every where with his Church in regard of his Deity and Godhead; always present in the same in common and general, and in every member of the same in particular, by his holy Spirit, by his grace, by his virtue, by his counsel, by his help and assistance, by his conduct and guiding, and by his holy and wholesome word, so far forth that he saith, m Matth. 28.20 L●e, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world: for, * Matth. 18.20. faith he, where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. It is he then that judgeth us by his word, which is his voice, which all they that are his sheep hear, which they know and follow: n john 10.27. My sheep hear my voice (saith Christ), and I know them, and they follow me. And do not think, that he speaks there only of his sheep of then, or that time, when he fed them with the food and refection of his mouth; he speaks of all those that shall be gathered together under his Sheephook until the end of the world, according to that he said before, vers. 16: Other sheep have I, which are not of this fold, them also I must bring; and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. They that are not contented with this voice, and hear it not, they would not only not hear our Lord jesus, although he should return here in the flesh; but also they would crucify him again, as the Priests, Scribes, Pharisees, and the Elders of the people did: for if that so he should return here on earth, he would say no other thing, then that which he hath said already, and would not speak more plainly and perspicuously, than he hath spoken in the holy Scriptures. Therefore according as he hath commanded us to call none our Doctor: o Matth. 23.10. For one is our Doctor and Master, even Christ: we will adhere and stick fast unto him alone, and will say unto him with Saint Peter, and the other disciples, john 6.68. Lord, to whom shall we go●, thou hast the words of eternal life, and we believe and are sure, that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God? V The public ministerial judge is he, which hath a public and lawful calling and authority from God, to judge not of the Scripture, nor of the sense thereof (for being immediately from God, the Law of the supreme judge, and the most perfect rule of all godliness, whereby all men are judged and ruled, it cannot be judged of men by any means) but of the doctrines of men, the which he examines by the touchstone of the Scriptures, and by them marks and considers, if they are of God or no; such are Pastors and Doctors considered apart in their Schools and Churches, and together in the Presbytery, Synods, Counsels Nationall, and Occumenicall, whose whole authority is limited by the holy Scriptures, against and beside which they may not ordain any thing, Gal. 1.8; being to speak properly and fitly, Clerks, Truchmen, Heralds, Messengers and Ambassadors of God towards their brethren, and not judges; their judgement being of service, not of sovereignty; of direction, not of authority compelling: p Ephes. 2.20. For we are built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets; and not upon the hand of human opinions. Wherefore if Christ jesus himself hath confirmed his doctrine by the Scriptures, q Luk. 24.27. beginning at Moses and all the Prophets: r Act. 15.16.17 If the Apostles assembled together in jerusalem, refuted by the Scripture the heresy of those, which mingled the Law with the Gospel: If Saint Paul s Act. 17.2.3. Act. 26.22. Act. 28.23. proved his Gospel by the writings of Moses and of the Prophets; surely they that are not furnished with such authority, are bound to justify their doctrine by the Scriptures; without the which, t Orig. in Hierem. ●om. 1. our sense, meanings, and interpretation are not faith, In regard of which the Apostle saith, that the Spirit of Prophets are subject to the Prophets, 1. Cor. 14.32. And u Gerson de exam. doctri. Consid. 5. num. 17. Gers●● saith, That we must give more credit, and believe soever a simple man not authorized, excellently skilled in the Scriptures, than the declaration of the Pope: for it is certain, that we must so●●er believe, and rather give credit unto the Gospel, then unto the Pope. x Panerm. in cap. significat. extra de electic. Pan●rmus saith, In matters which concern our faith, the saying of a pr●●ate man is to be preferred before the Pope's saying, if it be confirmed with the best reasons of the old and new Testament. Another most excellently and evidently; y Picus Mirand. de fide & ●rd. cred. The●re. 6. A simple peasant or swain, a child, an old woman are more credible and 〈◊〉 to her believed, thou the grand Prelate or Pope and a thousand Bishops; of these speak contrary and against the Gospel, those for and according to the Gospel. The reason is very good; the Gospel is of the Master, and aught to be received with all obedience of faith, by whomsoever it is preached: the Pope and the Bishops are but servants in the Master's house, where they have no other charge, then to serve the children of the house, according to the will of the heavenly Father, comprehended in the Scriptures; otherwise they are no Pastors but Impostors. VI As the public ministerial judgement is (without proportion and measure) inferior to that of God revealed in the Scripture; so the private judgement is inferior to the ministerial: for it comes not out in public with a public calling and authority; but keeps and contains itself in the conscience for her rest and peace, and doth not extend or spread herself further than the calling of him, which hath received this gift of God. This is common to all true Christians, who being all spiritual man, have received and had of God, the eyes, ears, taste, heart, and judgement of the spiritual man; to see, hear, taste, know, judge, love and affect the things of God. z 1. Cor. 2.15. The spiritual man (faith the Apostle) discerneth and judgeth all things; every Christian is spiritual, he which is not spiritual, is no Christian; for to be a Christian, is nothing else then to be spiritual: every Christian therefore knoweth and discerneth the things of his salvation. Christians are the sheep of our Lord jesus; As therefore a natural sheep can by the principle of nature make choice of that herb, which is the most wholesome to her; and in feeding pass by that, which is contrary to her nature: so the spiritual sheep, by the principle of grace, can judge between the true passages and places, unto the which she is brought and led by her true shepherd; and the bad pasture, wherewith the stronger would infect and poison her. This doctrine is of Christ jesus, and of his Apostles: Christ hath said, that a john 10.4.5. the good shepherd putteth forth his own sheep, and goeth before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice, and a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him, for they know not the voice of strangers. The Apostle requires of all men, that b Heb. 5.14. they have their senses exercised, to discern both good and evil, he exhorts them, saying, c 1. Cor. 14.20. Brethren, be not children in understanding, howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men. d 1. Thess. 5.20. Prove all things, hold fast that which is good. Saint john tells them, that it is their duty; e 1. john 4.1. Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets are gone out into the world. They will not place the particulars in the pulpit to preach, but they place them at the chairs foot, to hear with judgement, and discern between the true Doctor and the false seducer; to follow that man, and to take heed of this man, according to Christ's admonition: f Matth. 7.15. Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheeps clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves, ye shall know them by their fruits. He presupposeth therefore, that they shall have judgement to know them: but this judgement being a gift of God, a gift grace, not of nature; a gift proper unto the spiritual man, unknown to the natural, the Apostle prays to God to give it us, g Phil. 1.9.10. I pray, that your lo●● may abound yet more and more in knowledge, and in all judgement, that ye may approve things that are excellent, that ye may be sincere, and without offence till the day of Christ. VII. judge we then of what spirit are they, which of spiritual sheep would deform us, and transform us into brutish sheep, and destituted of reason; do prohibit us to speak of the things of our God, Creator, Father, and Saviour, but as they list. Let us compare their spirit with that of Christ and of the Apostles; Christ would, that we should judge of him by the Scriptures, and not simply by his saying, said unto the people: h john 5.39. Search the Scriptures: And these would have us to judge of them by their bare saying, and not by the Scriptures, do blame and condemn us for the diligent search of the Scriptures. The Apostle said to the Corinthians, i 1. Cor. 10.15. I speak as to wise men, judge ye what I say. These fear nothing so much as understanding men; to keep and detain the world in ignorance, they cry out, it is not for you to judge of what we say. If the spirit wherewith Christ and the Apostles were guided ●●d led, was the holy Ghost; what manner of spirit can this be, which leader these men? A spirit which would make us like to painted clouds in a Church, or like unto those little court-cupbord gods, of whom it is written, k Ps. ●15. 5. & ●. They have months, but speak not; eyes have they, but they see not; they have ears, but they hear not; noses have they, but they smell not; they have hands, but they handle not; feet have they, but they walk not; neither speak th●y through their throat; they that make them are like unto them, so is every one that trusteth in them. And therefore the spirit of darkness, who detains the Christians in darkness, to the end he may draw and bring them to the gulf of outward darkness with himself, as it is written, l Io. 3.19. 20. 21 This is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil: for every one that doth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved: but he that doth truth, cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. Let him therefore (that will) walk in darkness: As for us that m Ephes. 5.8.11 were sometimes darkness, but now we are light in the Lord, we will walk as children of light, and will have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them; rejoicing and taking pleasure in the light of the Scriptures without, and in the direction and conduct of the holy Spirit within us, until n james 1.17. the father of lights, who by his grace o Col. 1.13. hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear son, p Phil. 1.6. finishing that good work which he hath begun in us, q Col. 1.12. make us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the Saints in light, r 1. john 3.2. where we shall be like to him, and shall see him as he is. Amen. The end of the first Book. OF evangelical COUNSELS. The second Book. CHAP. I. I. The jewish Church hath been of old, troubled by false prophets, who pretended the name of the word of God, and laid claim to it in their false lies. II. Saint Peter prophesied, that the like should happen unto the Christian Church, by false doctors. III. Of this number are they, which exalt (with puffing words) the Monastical life. FOUR Making the people believe, that it is grounded upon evangelical Counsels, whereas there is no such Counsel in the whole Scripture. THe Church of the jews was very much troubled, abused, and seduced in her time by the false prophets; They (saith God) a ● jer. 23.30.31. steal my word every one from his neighbour, that use their tongues, and say, He saith. They borrowed of the true Prophets the words of God, which they abused, to give lustre and sway unto their impostures: b jer. 2.3. 17. They say still unto them that despise me, The Lord hath said, ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one, that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, no evil shall come upon you. To them that hearkened unto them, they cried; c Ezech. 13.10. Peace, peace, and there was no peace: but prophesied disasters, curses, and death against those that would not give ear unto their lies; d Ezech 13.18.19. Will ye hunt the souls of my people, saith the Lord unto them; and will ye save the soul's alive, that comes unto you, and will ye pollute me among my people for handfuls of Barley, and for pieces of Bread, to slay the souls that should not die, and to save the soul's alive, that should not live, by your lying to my people that hear your lies? Who would have believed them? (now the greatest part of the people believed them) they saw the Visions of God, they were God's Messengers, they prophesied the words of God, the beginning and conclusion of all their lies, was, The Lord hath said, who believes God (and but few believed him) e Jer. 23.21. He hath not sent these prophets, yet they came; he spoke not to them, yet they prophesied. f Ezech. 13.2. They were prophets, that prophesied out of their own hearts, foolish prophets that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing: They have seen vanity and lying divination, saying, The Lord saith, and the Lord hath not sent them; and they have made others to hope, that they would confirm the Word: They have spoken vanities, and seen lies, and have seduced God's people, hunting their souls, (and all for filthy lukers sake) for handfuls of Barley, and for pieces of Bread; all of them being like foxes in the deserts, which being hunger-starved, hunt on all sides after their prey, and do cast themselves on it hastily and ravenously. II. Saint Peter prophesied, g 2. Pet. 2.1.3. that as there were false prophets among the people; so there shall be false teachers amongst us: who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, and through covetousness shall with feigned words make merchandise of us. And notwithstanding the world shall become so brutish, h Vers. 2. that many shall follow their pernicious ways, by reason of whom the way of Truth shall be evil spoken of. Saint Jude saith of them, i Jude 16. that their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men's persons in admiration, because of advantage: he saw in his days the fulfilling of Saint Peter's prophecy. We see the like also in our days, abounding as much in this kind of people, as any other that hath been since the beginning of the world: we need no other witnesses then the Patrons and fautors of the Monastical life in these our days, who with great swelling words do display, lay open, and expose unto the view of the whole world this Monkish life. k Bellar. praefat. in lib. de monach. §. 1. That it is a kind of life more strict more sublime and eminent than the divine or human Law prescribes, which the infirmity also and weakness of many men cannot bear; l Ibid. §. unto the which God hath promised a hundred for one in this world, an honourable seat in the day of judgement, a place and name in the kingdom of heaven, greater and more noble than is that of sons and daughters: yea, a mark whereby they shall be known amongst all the rest of the blessed; a mark which our good Doctors term aureola, which is, say they, m In lexico Theologico. quaedam decentia, & pulchritudo singulari● repraesentativa aureolae, praedicatorim over, virginibus in ill● part, martyribus in cicatricibus, vel alijs partibu● corporis secundum geni● martyrij, ut statim ex aspect● corporis sciatur, qualis quisque fuit, virgo, martyr, aut Doctor, words that I am ashamed to expound and express, what more? The rule and order of Cordeliers, or Gray-Friers of Saint Francis order, n Libr● confor. is the book of life, the hope of salvation, the marrow of the Gospel, the key of Paradise, the state of perfection, the contract of the everlasting Covenant. All they, which being of this Rule and Order die, are saved. In a word; o Bernardin in Rosario. Thomas in lib. 4. sentent. distinct. 4. the same grace descends on him that takes an Habit or Garment of Religion, which descends on him that is baptized: the taking and wearing of a Monks cowl, confers a full remission of sins, both in regard of the fault, as also of the punishment. That is good for him: but that is a small matter, he is borne for others, he merits for others, he doth more than the Law of God or man doth prescribe. And by his overplus, by his Masses, Orisons, Preach, Fast, Contemplations, by his Watching and Waking, Abstinency, Cloisterlie and Monastical Discipline, Devotion, Songs, lessons, Labour, and other good-deeds, he redeems the lives of those that desire to be made partakers of the merits of his order and society. That is that, which they term, Works of Supererogation; properly, seeing it is more than the divine or human Law prescribes, and God approves and allows of, saying, p Deut. 4.2. Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish aught from it; and notwithstanding prudently according to the world: for these good Fathers that are not of this world, barter and exchange their superstitions for the goods of this world, and make good traffic and trade of them; according to Saint Peter's prophecy, giving their spiritual goods for corporal, eternal for temporal, the fruit of their contemplations and monastical occupations, for the fruit and profit, that the poor abused and gulled worldling hath got with the sweat of his brow, and labour of his hands; the fruit of their merits, which these goodly men know in their consciences, are nothing but chymeracs and idle conceits, for gold, silver, houses, rents, possessions, and other real, substantial and perdurable things. And that we may know, how wise and provident they are in their generation; they never give any thing, but of what they superabound and exceed, in purveying and providing first for themselves, their brethren and companions of their Order and Society, of so great and good store of merits, as they have need of for to carry l' Aureola in illa part, when they shall be in the Kingdom of heaven, if this be the means to attain unto it: and then making largesse of that, which should be to them every way superfluous and unprofitable both here and there; wise in comparison of Lucullus, who offered all his tapistry to him that had need of it. — q Horat. epis. 6. Scribit, sibi millia quinque Esse domi Chlamydum: parten● vel tolleret omnes. Exilis domus est, ubi non & plura supersunt, Et Dominum fallunt, & prosunt furibus.— But in am and recompense of that, they take all the booty, skin and all, of the poor misused and gulled fool, who is desirous of their Merchandise; he shall and must give all his goods to the Cloister; will leave by his testament hunger to his children, poverty to his parents, and bequeath to the Monks and Friars, and to their paunches and bellies all his goods, his body to the Monastery, his soul to their devotions: they refuse nothing, they take all, like the horseleech that hath two daughters, which cry, r Pro. 30.15, 16. Give, give; and like unto the grave, the barren womb, and the earth, that is not filled with water, and the fire that saith not, It is enough. Their saying is, Hic datur expovi paradifus venditioni. Let them also hear that, which Saint Peter saith to Simon the Magician, s Act. 8.20. Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought, that the gift of God may be purchased with money. And that of an Ancient, registered in the Canon Law, t 1. quaes. 1. cause. 12. Quicunque anathema danti, anathema accipienti, etc. Accursed be the giver, Accursed be the receiver. This is the Simoniac all heresy. How then if they be accursed and are not holy, can they sanctify others? How can he that is accursed, bless? FOUR Notwithstanding all this brokage, and all this traffic (if we will accept and admit of the saying of those that admire it) is an evangelical life, grounded upon that which they term, u Bellar. prafat. in lib. de monachis. Counsels of perfection, evangelical Counsels, which are the baste, ground, and foundation of the whole monastical building. Counsels, which the Author of the Pastoral Letter exhorts every one to follow, with great promises of superabundance of glory to the superabundance and supererogation of their works; and with threatenings of excommunication, and cutting off from the Church in this world, and of eternal death in the other world, to all them which shall dissuade and divert their children, their parents, or any others from so holy a purpose; or they that oppose themselves to it, or that hinder it. Thus did the false Prophets in old time, promise, and threaten; they did fill and stuff with vain and deceitful hopes those, whom they could seduce; and with frighting and terror those, which would not hear them. Wherefore if we show as plainly and clearly, as the Sun is at noontide, that Christ hath never counseled these things, the Apostles never heard a word of them; that there is no mention of them, neither in the Law, nor in the Gospel: and that falsely they cry, the Lord hath said it, when as the Lord hath never spoken it; may we not lawfully apply old things to new, and cry and say unto these fair promisers, and terrible threatners, x Ezech. 13.22. With lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and strength ●●d the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, that I should save his life. A Father bringing up his children in that religion, which is approved by the parties, is threatened with excommunication, and eternal damnation, for this only cause, that believing himself to be a Christian, by consequent not believing the Christian religion to be tied to any order, he requires of his children the honour and obedience, that they own him according to God; and the children, who either by seducing, or vicious inclination do steal and go away from their fathers and mothers, forsakes them, and rebels against them, are encouraged and emboldened in their impiety and rebellion, by the promises of a Paradise in picture, and of I know not what greater perfection of glory, then ever had Adam and Eve, the parents of all the living; Abraham and Sarah, the parents of the faithful; the patriarchs; then David, jehosaphat, josias; then all the Prophets, all the Apostles and Evangelists, and a thousand million of Saints that were never Monks or Friars, ever had, y job 13.12.13 Your remembrances are like unto ashes, and your bodies to bodies of clay; hold your peace, let me alone, that I may speak, and let come on me what will. CHAP. II. I. The Author of the Pastoral Letter saith, that the evangelical Counsels are of the Law. II. That is refuted by the declaration of the difference there is, between the Law and the Gospel. III. The Law always commands, and never counsels. FOUR If the Counsels were of the Law, all should be bound to observe them. V As they are not of the Law, so are they not of the Gospel. THe Lord said of the Prophets of juda, which prophesied out of their own hearts, a jer. 23.22. If they had stood in my counsel, they had caused my people to hear my words: If then the Author of the Pastoral Letter, who preacheth to us nothing but evangelical Counsels, hath stood in the Gospel of God, he will prove his Counsels by God's words. All the words of God are in the holy Scriptures, he will then prove them to us by the holy Scriptures. The holy Scriptures are wholly comprehended in the Law and in the Gospel, he will then find them and light on them, either in this or in that; in the one, or in the other; he makes them parts of the Law, let us here his words; Now dear souls, Pag. 8. The Law of God consists in two points; to departed from evil, and to embrace and do good. The first comprehends all that is forbidden, which we term negative precepts. The second, that which is commanded to be done, and that again is divided into Precepts and Counsels, etc. II. job said to his friends, whom he called b job 13.4, 5. forgers of lies, Physicians of no value: O that you would altogether hold your peace, c Prou. 17.28. and it should be your wisdom: even a fool, when he holdeth his peace is counted wise, and he that shutteeh his lips, is esteemed a man of understanding. That should have been practised here, for there is no truth, no wisdom in all his words; these Counsels are termed by the Author of this Letter, evangelical Counsels: How then doth he say, that they are of the Law? I think that he knows not, that the Law and the Gospel differ, not in circumstance only, but in substance: first, the Law proposeth and sets forth the justice of God, wholly naked, simple, absolute, without any mention of mercy: the Gospel propounds and sets before our eyes the justice of God, joined with his Mercy; the justice of God on jesus Christ our pledge, d 2. Cor. 5.21. who hath been made sin for us; the Mercy of God towards us, that are made the righteousness of God in him. So Saint e Acts 13.39. Paul, By him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the Law of Moses. Secondly, the Law sends us to ourselves, to seek there her back-righteousnesse; and requires of us perfect holiness in our nature, and perfect holiness in our thoughts, words, and deeds, but shows us not the way to come and attain unto it. The Gospel sends us back to the righteousness of Christ, who hath paid for us that, which he did not owe, and is f jerem. 23.6. The Lord our righteousness. Thirdly, the Law doth promise eternal life, with condition of works in all points holy and perfect, saying, g Levit. 18.5. Ezech. 20.11. Rom. 10.5. Gal. 3.12. The man that doth them shall live in them, h Mat. 19.17. if thou wilt enter into life, keep the Commandments. The Gospel promiseth eternal life freely, without any condition of works, and requireth of us only faith to embrace Christ, who is our life, i Phil. 1.19. faith which God himself giveth us, k Rom. 4.5. To him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness, saith the Apostle, having said afore, l Rom. 3.21.22. that now the righteousness of God without the Law is manifested, even the righteousness of God, which is by faith of jesus Christ unto all, and upon all them that believe. Fourthly, the Law was in man, or man's nature before the fall, and some relics thereof remains as yet in the hearts of all men, m Rom. 2.14.15 which do by nature the things contained in the Law, and show the work of the Law written in their heart. The Gospel is n Ro. 16.25.26. Ephes. 3.5.9. a mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, but now is made manifest and by the Scripture of the Prophets made known to all Nations. Fifthly, o 1. Tim. 1.9. 1. Cor. 2.7. 8. 9 We know, that the Law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, etc. To the end, that having convinced them of sin, she condemn them, and kill them. The Gospel is not preached, but to them p Mat. 11.28. that are heavy laden and labour, by the feeling of their sins, q Esay 61.1. Luke 4.21. and are broken hearted. Sixthly, r Rom. 3.20. The Law gives the knowledge of sin, s Rom. 4.15. and worketh wrath, that is her effect; wherefore it is called t 2. Cor. 3.7. the ministration of death. The Gospel u Rom. 1.16. is the power of God unto salvation, to every one that believeth. Seventhly, the Law was written x 2. Cor. 3.3. in Tables of stone. The Gospel is written in fleshy Tables of the heart. Eighthly, y john 1.17. The Law was given by Moses; grace and truth by jesus Christ, who hath brought the Gospel himself, and hath been in person, z Heb. 8.6. Mediator of the new Testament. Ninthly and Lastly, a Exod. 24.7. 8. The Law hath been dedicated by the blood of beasts: The Gospel b Heb. 9.12. hath been consecrated by the own blood of the Son of God. And therefore the Law and the Gospel not being one, and the same doctrine in substance; c Gal. 4.24. but being as different, as the mountain of Sina, and that of Zion; and as Agar the bondwoman which engendereth to bondage, according to the flesh; and Sarah the freewoman, engendering free children by virtue of the promise: certainly if these pretended counsels are of the Law, they have been ill, yea, absurdly termed evangelical; and if they are evangelical, they are no part of faith, and can have no communion at all with 〈…〉 III. The Author of the Pastoral Letter saith, that the Law is divided into Precepts and Counsels. What could be said more absurd? The Law commands, or forbids always, it never counsels. The Law hinds by authority of the Sovereign and Master, and never lets go, or gives over her right to give counsel or advice, which is arbitrable, and left to the will of others. The word of the Law is one, Do these things. If it speaks not so, it is no more Law. So Christ jesus reduceth the whole law to these two Commandments, d Mat. 22.27. 39 40. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy minds. Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself; and saith, On these two Commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets. Mark, All the Law reduced to two Commandments: Counsels are no Commandments, they are not therefore of the Law. In like manner the Apostle speaking of the righteousness of the Law, and of the righteousness of faith, opposeth the one to the other in this manner; Moses e Rom. 10.5. 6. 7. describeth the righteousness which is of the Law, that the man which doth those things, shall line by them that the righteousness which is of faith, speaketh on this wise; Say not in thine heart who shall ascend into heaven? That is to being Christ down from above, etc. The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy, heart, that is, the word of faith which may each. The whole Law than consists in doing, as the whole Gospel unbelieving; the one and the other to obtain eternal life. Now the Counsels are not for to obtain life; therefore they are not of the Law, and appertain not to the righteousness of the Law. g Bellas pr●fat. de Monach. § 1. Qui evangelica consilia Christisecuti vita genus arctioris ac sublimieris instituunt, quàm aut lex divina aut humana praescribit. Pag. 10. And indeed Bellarmine saith, that they which follow the Counsels of Christ, d●● lead ●●stricter and 〈…〉 thou the Divine or 〈◊〉 Law prescribes. If therefore be say true, it is easy ●o conclude, that such Counsels are not of any Law, either cli●●ne or human. FOUR The very words of the Pastocall Book doth furnish and minister to 〈◊〉 this argument, where this difference in set down between Counsel and Precept; Her that doth the works of Counsel, shall have a greater glory; and he that fulfils not the Precept, shall not be able to avoid the punishment. All the world is bound to the 〈◊〉, under p●●● of everlasting torments. The whole world is stirred up and drawn to the other, both by the authority, and by the love of the Saviour that gives the Counsel. Is not that to say, that the Counsels are not of the Law? for the Law is given to all, and all are bound to keep it under pain of incurring the Lords curse: for it is from thence that the Apostle proves, h Gal. 3.10. Deut. 27.26. that as many as are of the works of the Law, are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things, which are written in the book of the Law to do them. Mark, that he says All the words, and pronounces the curse against those that keep them not: for as Saint james saith, i james 2.10. Whosoever shall keep the whole Law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. Now he that observes not Counsels, is not guilty of the transgression of the Law, is not under the curse, according to that which Bellarmine tells us, that, k Bellar. de monach. c. 7. §. 6. Consilium si non servetur, nullam habet poenam. the Counsel, if it be not kept, hath no penalty. Whereupon it followeth necessarily, that the Counsels are not of the Law, and have nothing in common with it. V As little are they of the Gospel; it might suffice me to produce the confession even of our adversaries, reducing them to the Law: for if they are of the Law, they appertain not to the Gospel, for the reasons heretofore alleged. We may add, that they cannot be of the Gospel: for they recommend no other thing but works, and all works are of the Law, which commands us to do them; as faith is of the Gospel, which exhorts us to believe. Christ jesus being demanded of a Scribe, which is the first Commandment of all, answered, that it is to love God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind, with all our strength; and that the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself; that said, he pronounceth, l Mark. 12.31. that there is no other Commandment greater than these. And the Scribe agreeth unto, and consenteth with him, saying, that m Mark. 12.33. It is more than all offerings and sacrifices. What, can the Counsels command or recommend any work, which hath no relation to the love of God, or of our neighbour? Can they recommend any work greater, more excellent, more difficult, then to love God with all his heart, with all his mind, with all his strength? If the most excellent and exquisite of these pretended counsels, cannot mount and ascend higher, and cannot counsel any other thing; either the Counsels are of the Law, (Now if they were of the Law, they should be Precepts, not Counsels); or they are neither of the Law, nor of the Gospel, which is true, for works appertain not to the Gospel. It is true, that there is frequent mention of works in the Gospel, as there is often mention of jesus Christ, and of faith in Christ in the Law. That which is said in the Law touching faith in Christ, is of the Gospel: A●d reciprocally, that which is said concerning the works of sanctification in the Gospel, is of the Law; the Law speaketh of Christ, and of faith in Christ, because Christ alone hath fulfilled the righteousness of the Law, and alone doth give to his own (that is to the Elect) virtue and strength by his Spirit to keep it; here on earth (in our way, and in our journey) but in part; above in our heavenly Country perfectly. The Gospel speaks of the works of the Law, because the Spirit of Christ brings forth in us no other works, than those which the Law commands, according to the promise of the new Covenant, n I●rent. 31.31. 33. 34. Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new Covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of judah, etc. For this shall be the Covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my Law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts, and will be their God, and they shall be my people; they shall all know me from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. A promise which hath two heads: the first, that God viewing and looking on us in the face of his Christ (who hath satisfied his justice for us) will forgive us our sins without any reservation of the fault, or of the punishment; because he will remember our sins no more. The second, that he will put his Spirit within us, that he will take away our stony heart, and will give us a heart of flesh, and will cause us to walk in his statutes, to keep his judgements and do them, o Ezech. 36.26. 27. as the Prophet Ezechiel saith. Now that this promise appertaineth unto the new Testament, it is manifest by the exposition, which is given us in the p Heb. 8.8. & cap. 10.16. Epistle to the Hebrews; wherefore seeing that the holy Spirit, which is given us by the Gospel, worketh in us no other works, but those which are commanded in the law. The Counsels, which they propound to us under the title of works of perfection, being in no part commanded in the Law, cannot be recommended in the Gospel: then if they be not, neither of the Law, nor of the Gospel, they are but the inventions and fantasies of superstitious men; whom the sword of God hath strucken with and by this sentence, q Esay 1.12. Who hath required this at your hand? r Esay 29.13. Their fear towards me is taught by the precepts of men. CHAP. III. I. The Scriptures makes no mention of Counsels of perfection. II. How they are defined. III. There is no greater perfection than that, which makes us like unto God, commanded to all men. FOUR The whole perfection of man consists in charity, which is of the Commandment. V Charity consists in that we should love God with all our heart, and with all our strength, etc. and leaves no part of us free for the practising of Counsels. VI The reason, by the which Bellarmine would delude this reason, is refuted. VII. If the Counsels of perfection (as they term them) were of God, all should be bound to follow them; which is absurd. VIII. If they lead and bring one to perfection, all should aspire unto it, and aim at it by the duty of necessity. IX. Counsels are not works, are no good works. X. The first distinction between Counsel and precept, refuted. XI. The second refuted. XII. The third and fourth refuted. IF a 1. Pet. 4.11. any was speak, let him speak as the Oracles of God. This Precept and lesson of the Apostle Saint Peter, either is not well learned, or not well practised of those, which speak of Counsels; and do trick and adorn them with the title and name of b Bellar. de Monach. ●. 7. §. 1.2. Perfection, to cast a mist before the eyes of those, th●● swallow without chowing all that is set before them for there is no place, either in the old or new Testament, that terms and names the Counsels of Perfection. It is a new name invented of late, to advance and give credit unto a doctrine, as new as the name, and as imaginary or chimerical, as falsehood and untruth hath published it, and set it forth for real, true, and emphatical. II. c Ibid. 11. Consilium perfectionis vocamus, opus bonum à Christ● nobis non imperatum, sed demonstratum; non mandatum, sed commend●tum, etc. Bellarmine tells us, that The Counsel of perfection is a good work not enjoined, but demonstrated and showed; not commanded, but recommended by Christ; different from a Precept, in respect of the matter or subject, in the form, and in the end. In the matter two ways, first, because the matter of a Precept is easier, that of a Counsel more difficult. Secondly, because the matter of the Precept is good, that of Counsels better and perfecter. In the subject, because the precept is common to all, the Counsel is not. In the form, The precept binds by his own virtue and power, but the Counsels depend on the free judgement and free will of man. In the end, because the precept promiseth reward to the observer of it, threateneth penalty and punishment against the transgressor: but the Counsels not observed hath no penalty; and observed, have a greater reward. The like in substance is written, and set down by the Author of the Pastoral Letter, though more obscurely and confusedly. III. They forge and invent lies, and afterwards they define, distinguish, and amplify them as truth. They define them Counsels of perfection; and not only the name, but the thing also is unknown in the Scripture. That is certain, this may be easily proved by concluding arguments, necessary and indissoluble. The greatest perfection that men, yea, the elect Angels can attain unto, is that, whereby man is made like unto God, and that is commanded to all by our Lord jesus, saying, d Matth. 5.48. Be perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. Let them remaund, and send packing their Sophistry to them, which seek by their disputations the glory of the world in their victory; not the glory of God in the victory of the truth; let them not abuse the world, with the distinction e Bellar. de Monach. c. 13 §. 5. of a necessary perfection, which Christ commands to all; and of a profitable perfection, which he recommended unto the rich man, counseling him to sell all that he had, to give it to the poor, and to follow him: for there is no such beneficial and profitable perfection as that, which make us perfect, as God is perfect; & there is no perfection so great, & so to be followed, as that which is commanded. Christ (say they) counseled the rich man to sell all that he had, and give it to the poor; that was something: but Christ commands all, f Matth. 5.44. to love their enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you. This is a great deal more: for a man may bestow all his goods to feed the poor, and not have charity, g 1. Cor. 13.3. according to the testimony of Saint Paul: but none can love their enemy, and not have charity. FOUR Now charity h Col. 3.14. is the bond of perfectness; a bond which doth keep us perfectly to God, as it is written, i 1. john 4.16. God i● love, and he that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God, and God in him. A bond, which in God, unites us one with another, makes us one and the same body in Christ, imparts and communicate to every one that, which is in all; and makes common to all, that which is in every one. It makes thy gift mine, and my gift thine; and so by the communication of gifts, and of all the graves which God hath imparted to every one, it perfecteth the body of the Church. This is the intention of the Apostle, saying, k 1. Cor. 3.22. Whether Paul, or Apollo, or Cophas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come, all are yours, and yet are Christ's, and Christ is Gods. This is so manifest a truth, that Bellarmine himself confesseth it, saying, l Bellar. de Monach. c. 2. §. 2. that the true perfection consisteth in charity: we know that it hath many degrees, but her highest degree is no other thing, then that which she is, namely, charity. There is also none but knoweth, that without any exception of degrees: charity is commanded and recommended commended to all men, as being m Rom. 13.10. 1. Tim. 1.5. the end● and fulfilling of the Law, to the fulfilling of the which we are bound. Therefore charity being the best perfection, and charity being the excellentest and greatest perfection; and no work being acceptable unto God, but that which springeth from faith, which worketh by charity: he that seeks for a better and greater perfection by (I know not what) Counsels, is but ill counseled and advised; and he that persuades himself that he may attain unto it, is ignorant of two things; of the excellent perfection of charity, and of the great imperfection of his own nature, an enemy to charity: for n Rom. 8.7. the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the Law of God, neither indeed can be. V The whole Law is comprised in charity, and this charity consists in two points; o Mark. 12.30. 31. The first and the greatest is, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind. The second like unto this, is, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. This is that which every man must do; this is all which the holiest and perfectest man can do, p Eccles. 12.13. Fear God, and keep his Commandments, for this is the whole duty of man, saith Solomon. Wherefore there remains nothing else to be done: God having commanded that all the parts of man, and all his strength, powers and faculties be incessantly and for ever exercised in charity towards him, and in charity towards his neighbour, according to him. To what purpose then is this cavilling so much? To what end (O Bellarmine) so great a cloud of expositions, divisions, corollaries to darken the Sun? Tell me, if man can do more, than love God with all his heart, with all his soul, with all his mind, with all his strength? The Angels, the Saints that are with God, can they do more than that? If no creature, heavenly nor earthly; If jesus Christ Man, in as much as man, though holy without measure, could do no more; to what purpose then these Counsels? After that the whole soul, the whole boast, the whole mind, all the powers and faculties have been, and are employed and occupied in the love due to God; doth there remain in us any part, any faculty that may be spared to be employed and busied in Counsels, not commanded, not due? VI He thinks to shift off this, and saith, q Bell. de Monach. c. 13. §. 11. that to love God with all his heart, and with all his soul, is nothing else but to love him truly, sincerely, without feigning, without dissimulation; and that to love him with all his strength, is to love him pro viribus according to his strength. He saith somewhat, but he says not all: for God looks not to that which the sinner, apostate, bankrupt of his graces can now do. He asks and exacts that which man, whom he hath created according to his image, enriched with all his blessings, made a guardian of all his goods doth owe him. That man hath received of God his body, his soul, all his faculties, all the powers of his soul; he owes then himself wholly unto God; and there is nothing in him, which ought not to be incessantly bandied and bend to his service, and to the service of his neighbour for his sake, without reservation and exception of degree, without restriction of condition, without limitation of time. All that which man thinks, says, doth, aught to be thought, said, done for God's glory; and there r 1 Cor. 10.31. is no place, time, action, in the which he ought not, but procure and advance his glory. He is bound and obliged to him in a threefold manner. First, by right of Creation, for he is bound to do all that Adam did in his state of innocency: Adam by bond of nature did love God with all his heart, with all his soul, with all the faculties of his soul, with all the powers of all his faculties. Every man ought to do as much; we have wasted and consumed Gods goods, and by our own fault are brought to that extremity, that we have not wherewith to pay. But poverty, and specially that which proceeds from bad husbandry, and unthriftiness is no acquittance; and binds not the creditor to cancel and blot out our bill and obligation, and cannot hinder the creditor to ask justly that which is his due. Secondly, by right of redemption, we are the redeemed of our Lord jesus, he hath purchased us with his own precious blood. And there is nothing in us, for the which he hath not spilled his blood; nothing therefore but aught to be for him, but we are bound to dedicate and consecrate to his glory in the highest degree, and with the greatest intention that can be possible to the creature. This is the argument of the Apostle Saint s 1. Cor. 6.19. 20 Paul, Ye are not (saith he) your own, far ye are bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are Gods. We ought therefore to glorify God in all that with belongs unto him, we ought to give him all that which he hath purchased and bought: he hath purchased and bought whole man; all that is in man is his, therefore he ought to dedicate himself to him in heart, with his mouth, and in effect, saying with David, t Psal. 103.1. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me bless his holy name; This is not arbitrable, and at the will and pleasure of man, but necessary. Thirdly, by express commandment, & every commandment is of necessity. The Commandment is, u Luk. 10.27. Thou shalt lone the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind. A Commandment, which comprehends all the degrees, and all the perfection of the love of the creature towards his Creator. For if there be any degree of love which God hath not commanded, surely the Law of God is not perfect; and David shall have deceived us, in saying x Psal. 19●. The Law of the Lord is perfect, and naming it y Ps. 119.105. a 〈◊〉 unto his feets, and alight unto his path: for there should be certain degrees of charity, the which he could not see by the light of the same law: God himself should have deceived us, z Deut. 12.32. forbidding us to add to his Law, or diminish from it; and propounding it to us in his Law, as a perfect rule of all perfection convenient and suitable to the creature in the highest degree and place. It should also follow, that it is not the image of holiness, which was in Adam, before he did cast himself headlong from the height of himself; that chartie is not a Rom. 13.10. that fulfilling of the Law, against that which we have learned of Saint Paul; there being some charity which the Law doth not command or some perfection which surpasseth the bounds and limits of charity and climes higher than the love of God, and of our neighbour can do. That God could not exact of man a perfect charity, God not being able to demand justly, that which man might justly refuse him, as not being bound to do it. These are the absurdities, in the which they implicate and entangle themselves, which do expound the word of God according to their fancies and humour, and restrain them only to the quality of our charity, God having extended them to the quantity by the word, All. For he which hath made all, will have all, or will not have at all; he will have no parther: he which hath given us all our strength, demands all; being more than reasonable and just, that we should employ them all, in, and to his service, as well as to our own. Let us now retort upon Bellarmine his own exposition; All are commanded to love God with all their strength, that is to say, omni virtute, proviribus, with all their power, according to their strength, saith he. Now the Monks and Friars can do nothing, but that which is according to their force and strength; therefore they can do nothing but that, which they are commanded to do, and so the Counsels vanish away. Again, we must love God according to our strength and force; but our heart hath his strength, our soul hath her force our minds have their powers; we must therefore unite and knit all this strength and might, and put them together in working, to do the Lords business: we must not do like b Acts 5.1. 2. Ananias and Saphira, who having vowed and dedicated all their possession to God, kept back part of the price of the same, and reserved it for themselves. We have made a vow to him of all that we are, and that have we done in our Baptism; we will then pay our vow, all of us ought to do it: he that keeps back from him a part of himself, or the least parcel of any part, goes not roundly to work with him, and is accursed by the holy Ghost, crying, c jerem. 48.10. Cursed be he, that doth the work of the Lord deceitfully, that is to say, He that is slack and remiss to do the work of the Lord; and slack indeed is he, that goeth not to work with all his strength, powers, and faculties, that divides and shares them out between the heaven and the earth, between sin and piety, between man and God: d Rom. 1.36. For of him, and through him, and to him are all things, to whom be glory for ever. Amen. VII. Let us prosecute the refutation, and go on with it; There are, say they, Counsels of perfection. If there be any, they are of God, or of men: If from God, all men must follow the: for if the requests and desires of Kings are commandments, as an Heathen man saith; how much more than are the Counsels of the King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords, who looketh unto none, but such e Esay 66.7. as tremble at his word. Christ jesus said to the Church of Laodicea, f Revel. 3.18. I counsel thee to buy of me gold●●ied in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white ●●●ent, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy unkednesse do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. This is the only place of the whole Scripture in the old and new Testament, where God giveth counsel unto man, the Creator to his creature, the Lord to his servant, the King of heaven to his subjects dwelling on earth. And this Counsel is such an express commandment, that the Lord hath spewed that Church out of his mouth for not following of the same: for he that gives counsel to another, desires and wishes, that he would conform himself to it; and is sorry, yea, angry and much offended, when it is rejected, when especially it is a good and wholesome counsel, given by the superior to his inferior, by the father to the son, the King to his subject: to hasten to end, and to urge this, we say, all men are bound g Rom. 12.2. Ephes. 5.17. to know and prone what is that good, that acceptable and perfect will of God, to do the fame, according to the prayer, which every one makes unto God, Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. All the Counsels of God, are the will of God, wherefore all men are bound to understand them, to prove and do them. All that which we are bound unto to do, is a commandment, the Counsels of God are things that we are bound to do; therefore the Counsels of God are commandments. Again, God wills and requires, that all men practise his Counsels; God wills not, and requires not, that all men should shut up and mew themselves in a cloister, abstain from marriage, carry a wallet or scrip, and go like vagabonds from door to door, from town to town, to beg and crave alms: for such a life would be the ruin and destruction of the Commonweal, and of the Church. Therefore to abstain from marriage, live in poverty, nourish and sustain himself with the labour and sweat of other men, to mew himself up in a Monastery separated from the company of men, is not a Counsel of God. VIII. There are Counsels of perfection: If there be, all must aspire unto them; every man is inclined to it by nature, every one tends and inclines unto perfection by a natural principle and instinct; every Christian tends and makes towards the Christian perfection by a spiritual instinct, by a principle of grace; every Christian is bound to it by commandment, is drawn to it by promise, is incited and encouraged by the example of all the Saints: h Phil. 4.8. 9 Brethren (saith the Apostle) whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report: of there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things which ye have both learned and received and heard, and seen in me do, and the God of peace shall be with you. If the Counsels are of this rank and number, the Apostle commands all men and women to do them, to them that doth them he makes a promise from God, that the God of peace shall be with them. If they are not of this number, they are neither true, nor venerable, nor just, nor pure, nor lovely, nor of good report, there is no virtue nor praise in them. And therefore they are not to be done, but to be eschewed and avoided. This is the express commandment of our Master, Doctor, and Saviour jesus Christ, i Matth. 5.48. Be perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven, is perfect; this is also the express commandment of Saint Paul, k 2. Cor. 13.11. Be perfect: l Heb. 6.1. Let us go on unto perfection. To this end the Scripture hath been given us, m 2. Tim. 3.17. That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. For this end the Lord hath given us Pastors and Doctors, n Ephes. 4.13. till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of God. S. Paul made towards this perfection, and laboured to come to it, by o Phil. 3.13. 14. forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, he pressed towards the mark, for the price of the high calling of God in Christ jesus. Noah, job, Abraham, all the Saints of the old and the new Testament have done the like, for which cause the Scripture terms them perfect; God who accepts in his children the will and willingness, the proneness of their minds and forwardness, for the deed, honouring their holy endeavour and affection with the name of perfection, which they did aspire unto, and now enjoy and possess. We ●ake now, if the perfection of Counsels bring to the Monks and Friars any greater perfection, than the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, unto which all Christians shall attain and come unto a perfect man? If that cannot be, what use have Counsels? If it can be, there will be some perfection out of Christ, and without Christ; and some greater perfection, than the perfect stature of Christ, which is impossible. We ask again, if a man in this life can attain unto a greater perfection, then that which was in Noah, job, Abraham, Moses, in the patriarchs, the Prophets and Apostles? If any man shall be advanced and exalted in glory above them in the life to come? If this be absurd and false, to what end and purpose is this warbling and prattling of Counsels; which brings to no man any greater excellency & advantage, then that which infinite Saints have attained unto, which have never been Monks, never made vow of continency, never carried the bag and wallet, never followed the Monastical devotions? Abraham, Isaac, jacob, Noah, Moses, etc. were great men, and rich, and lived in the state of matrimony. The holy Apostles have never followed any other rule, then that which is common to all Christians. poverty and the forsaking of their goods was never imposed to them by Christ; and they never bond themselves to it by vow, as the whole history of the Gospel teacheth us; and p Extr●●. job. 22. Tit. 14. c. 5. Quia quorundam neque Christum exprepriationem praedictam ●mnis juris cuin●cunque rei proprietatem, & eius usum in se sernasse, no eam imposuisse Apostolis, noque sub voto ab ipsis fuisse inceptam Eu●●gelica seu Apostolica docet historia, sed contrarium evidentius Manifestat. Pope john the 22, who (according to the opinion that they have conceived of Popes) could not err, q Ibid. c. 4. Cum ●●ter assertio●●● huiusm●di pertinacem, cum scripturae sacrae contradicant expressè, deinceps erroneam fore censendam, & baereticam de fratrum nostrorum consilio, hoc perpetuo decla●amus edicto. affirms the same so far forth, that he pronounceth, that the contrary opinion is contrary to the Scriptures, erroneous, and heretical, and makes a perpetual Edict and Decree for it. IX. These Counsels (saith Be●armine) are works: but a Counsel is not a work. It is that which persuades, or dissuades the work; the one goeth and marches before as the cause, the other cometh after as the effect. jethro gave good counsel to Moses concerning the government of the people; his cousel was one thing, that which Moses did according to his counsel was another thing: sometime the counsel is given, and there follows no work; Christ gave a good counfell to the Church of Laodicea, who made no account of it, Revel. 3.18. r 2 Sam. 17.23. Achitopel hanged himself, seeing that the counsel of Chusai was preferred before his own. These examples do show plainly enough, that Counsel is not a work. He adds, that the Counsel of perfection is a good work. If that were so, the Law of God, which is the perfect rule of every good work, would make mention thereof. X. He distinguisheth between Counsel and Precept, saying, that Counsels are better, and more difficult to be kept then Precepts are. Falsely and fond: for there is no one Counsel, but is easy to be observed. And there is no Precept, the perfect keeping whereof is not impossible. There are now adays some Monks and Friars which eat no flesh. s Hieron. adverse. Jovian. lib. 2. The Pyth●goreans did not eat any thing that did move or live. The Priests of Egypt serving their false gods, did abstain from flesh and wine, did eat bread rarely, did not eat eggs and millie, saying, that eggs were liquid flesh, and milk was blood of another colour. The Gymnosophists did nourish and sustain themself with apples and rice. In Crete the prophets of jupiter did abstain from flesh and all sodden meats. t Philo judaeus. The Essens amongst the jews did taste of nothing before Sunset; some of them fasted three days, other some six days, without taking of any refection; when they did eat, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. bread and salt was their only meat, and clear water their only drink. Their table was pure of all beasts having blood. What order amongst all the Monks leads so austere a life? The Monks and Friars of these days do abstain from marriage. The Priests of Egypt never had to do with women. The Essens also did abstain from them. Many Fires live poorly, beg their bread, and possess nothing. What do they, which the Cynic Philosophers have not done before them? u Hieron adverse. jovian. lib. 2. Antisthenes' sold all that he had, & distributed it unto the poor, reserving nothing for himself but his cloak to cover him. His Disciple Diogenes did we are two cloaks against the cold, had his bag and wallet for his granary, his bottomless tub for his house, his bread for his trencher, the palm of his hand for his cup, he had nothing but that which he got by begging, and did reserve nothing till the morrow; whence he was called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, A careless man, who is only for the present day, that cares not for the morrow. We have found among the Heathen, not in Cloisters, men keeping and observing Counsels exactly. Let them but name us one man living in Monasteries, which hath exactly kept the Commandments. It is a Counsel to enter into a Monastery, and become Monk. The great number of them which become Monks, and the multitude of Priests which live without lawful wives, is an apparent demonstration, that there is nothing more easy to be done then that. It is a Commandment, x Matth. 5.48. to love our enemies. Now experience shows, that there is nothing more hard than this, it being the highest degree of the love of Christ, y Rom. 5.8. 10. which died for his enemies. Therefore we may easily see, that the Commandments of God are better, and more difficult, than all ●●eir Counsels. XI. The second difference between Precepts and Counsels is, that a Precept is general, prescribed and given unto all, a Counsel is particular, given and belonging only to some. Thomas Aquinas in his small Treatise of this subject, and set down in the end of the Pastoral Letter, is of a contrary opinion and judgement, and strives with might and main to prove by the Scriptures and Fathers, Pag. 10. ve 11.12 that it is a general doctrine propounded to the whole world, and therefore we must take the Counsel given unto the young man, as if God himself had propounded to all, according to that which our Saviour saith unto his disciples, z Mark. 13.37. What I say unto you, I say unto all, etc. What, saith Thomas Aquinas? Is it not the doctrine of the Church of Rome, that single life is a Counsel, as the Apostle saith, I give Counsel concerning virgins, 1. Cor. 7.25: but the Apostle giveth this Counsel unto all, if it be a Counsel, a 1. Cor. 7.7. I would that all men were even as I myself. To marry to avoid fornication, say they is an indulgence or Counsel, and to this end do they apply the Apostles words; b 1. Cor. 7.6. I speak this by permission or Counsel, not of commandment. This Counsel also is general, for he ordains, e 1. Cor. 7.2. that to avoid fornication, let every ●●n have hit own wife, and let every woman have her own husband. Therefore this second difference is vain and of no moment. XII. In like manner the third and fourth differences are of no moment. For though the Counsels of men are arbitrable, and put to the choice and free-will of him to whom they are given, to do them, defer them, or leave them; The Counsels of God are not left to man's discretion and will, but carry with them a necessity; and bind unto punishment those which reject them, as much as Precepts do. For when God speaks, the servant must hearken; if he do it, he shall receive a reward of free grace; if he do it not, he shall be justly punished: being a thing most just, that the creature (which hath not vouchsafed to follow the Counsel of his Creator; the child that, of his father; the servant that, of his master; man, who is but a worm, the Counsel of his God, all mighty, all wise, wholly good) should be disdained and contemned of him, driven and thrust out of his house, and cast into utter darkness, where shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. CHAP. FOUR I. A Christian ought not to propose and prescribe to himself a greater perfection, then that of the Law, until he hath kept the Law. II. It is in vain for men to aspire unto a greater perfection, then is that of the Law, seeing that no man living can keep and observe the Law. III. The unregenerate man can in no manner of ways keep the Law, being unfurnished and destitute of all those things requisite to the doing of a good work. FOUR The first condition is, that he be good, just, and a true member of Christ; but he is a wicked one, and without Christ. V The second, that his work be conformable to the word of God. VI And be done in faith and charity, which he hath not. VII. The third, that he do them to the glory of God, whereat he aims not at all. VIII. His best works are nothing but sins. Our Lord Christ jesus asked those of his time, a Luk. 14.28. 29. 30. Which of you intending to build a Tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it; lest happily after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all thut behold him, begin to mock him, saying, This man began to build and was not able to finish. And that question did he propound unto them, after that he had said, b Luk. 14.20. If any man come unto me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he ca●● at he my disciple. Setting before their eyes, that he which hath determined in himself to be his disciple, and confess his name, aught before all things to enter into himself, search into his affections, weigh and ponder exactly what he doth, ask his conscience whether he feel himself disposed and ready to be harried and vexed, and less of his 〈…〉 friends, and to leave them, to be bared and persecuted by strangers, to pass by and pass over all manner of reproaches, to suffer and endure the ravishing of all his goods, to die and lose his life for the truth of the Gospel, for the glory of his Saviour: lest that having rashly undertaken a work and task accompanied with so many difficulties, he faint in his business, shrink and give over, and withdraw himself from it to his exceeding shame. For it is better not to begin, then after ha●ing ●●id the foundation of godliness, not to will o● 〈◊〉, or not be able to build thereon, until that the building be reared and raised up, to be a holy Temple to the Lord: c Eccles. 7.8. Better is the end of a thing, than the beginning thereof, d Mat. 24.13. for he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. As for others, which (like dogs) return to their own vomit again: e 2. Pet. 2.21. It had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, then after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. Because that by the just judgement of God, f Luk. 11. 2●. the last state of those man is worse than the first. It is (saith a Friar) a wise and good device most necessary for them which travel, g Stella in Lu●. cap. 14. that they undertake not things hard and difficult about their reach, but measure themselves in themselves according to their power and ability. Whence he takes occasion to blame those, which choose with small discretion and weariness an austere and rigorous life; and afterwards are at a stand, and faint by the way, not having strength enough to bear and endure it. In Thomas Aquinas time, there were certain men, who seeing the world abused with an opinion of the monastical perfection, propounded, that no men entering into religion, aught to embrace the observation of Counsels, before they be exercised in the observation and keeping of the Commandments. h Thomas in his Treatise added to the Pastoral Letter. pag. 4. Thomas reproves and rejects this proposition; but jesus Christ commadning us to count the cost before one build, approves it, and reason confirms it: for i Bellar. de Monach. c. 2. §. 2. Bellarmine grants us, that true perfection consists in charity. Now charity is the fulfilling of the Law, we must then begin by that. k Thomas 2. vers. 2. q. 184. art. 3. Thomas himself tells us, likewise l Extrava. joan. 22. tit. 14. c. 3. ad conditorem. Perfectio vitae Christianae principaliter & essentialiter in charitate consistit. a Pope, that perfection consists principally and essentially in precepts and charity, but * Secundariò & dispesitiuè in consilijies. secondarily and dispositively in Counsels: It is therefore more than just and reasonable, that all be exercised in that which is the most principal and essential, before they trouble themselves about things, which are but accidental and accessary, as our Saviour Christ said unto Mariha, who left the principal for the accessaries; m Luk. 13.41.42 Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things, but one thing is needful; and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her. That good part of Mary was, that she did attend and apply herself first of all unto the hearing of the word of God, and did learn from the mouth of Christ jesus the things, which appertain unto the Kingdom of God: n Mat. 6.33. Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness. The same saith Thomas, that o 2.2. q. 146. art. 5. the perfection of religion consists principally in the imitation of Christ. Therefore the Religious Monks and Friars ought first and principally to be exercised and busied in this, before they go further and proceed on; If they do it, there shall not remain unto them a poor minute of life (though it were of nine hundred thereescore and nine years, as that of Methusela) to be at leisure, and apply themselves to the imitation of the Authors of Cloisters; we learn of Bellarmine, p Bellar. de Monach. c. 7. § 3. that Counsels include Precepts, and comprehends them, and dye add something over and above the precept. And we have heard of him, q Ibidem § 2. & 3. that the matter of a precept is good, and easier; that of a Counsel better, and more difficult. A man ought therefore afore all things, to exercise himself in that which is good and more easy, and so mount by degrees to that which is added, and by reason of this addition is better, perfecter, and more difficult; it being impossble to attain unto the highest step or degree of a thing, without passing by the inferior degrees thereof. Lastly, r Jbid. § 6. A Precept being observed hath a reward; not being observed, a punishment: but a Counsel not observed hath no punishment, and being observed, hath a greater reward. These are Bellarmine's words, whence it followeth, that we ought first to exercise ourselves in the observation of the Commandments, to obtain the reward and avoid the punishment; and that done, and not sooner to proceed on to the keeping of Counsels: seeing that the not keeping of them is not damageable and hurtful to us, by the inflicting and imposing of any punishment; and the observing of them is not profitable to us, but by the impression of that which they term, Aureola in illa part. II. Now if we make all them see (that have eyes in their heads) that there is no man living in this world (never was any but jesus Christ the just) never shall be any, without some would of conscience, having a pure heart and without spot, thoughts without vice, affections without passion, and a life in all points innocent; none by consequent, that ever hath kept, or that ever can, during his sojourning in this flesh of sin, keep the Commandments of God. We will sufficiently prove against Thomas, and him which hath translated his little book, that men do toil and labour in vain, after a diligent seeking and inquisition of a greater glory in the observation of Counsels, not being able to attain unto the first degree of glory by the keeping of precepts; that most vainly they seek perfection in that which is arbitrary, not being able to perform and perfect that which is necessary for them. In a word, they abuse themselves in the expectation & hope of an uncertain reward, for having done more than they ought; not being able to avoid the certain punishment, for not having done that which they ought to have done. And that will we prove, not to make men careless and negligent, but to make them humble; not to provoke them to evil, but to make them see and know their disease and misery, to the end they may seek their cure in Christ jesus, who s Isa. 61.1. came to bind up the . III. Man is to be considered in this life two ways; out of Christ, and altogether such a one, as he is by nature, not called effectually, not justified in the blood of Christ, not sanctified by by the Spirit of God: In Christ, called, justified, sanctified, living in Christ, and having Christ living in him. We need not bring in here the ancient Heathen, we need not take the pains to go to the Turks; or search and ransack the Synagogue of the jews, or transport ourselves over to those other Nations, which have never heard of Christ, or which hate Christ, and scoff at his Gospel, to find there men of the first kind. Christendom is full of them, the Monasteries are filled with them, the private houses do swarm with them. As our Saviour Christ speaking of his Church, said, t Mat. 20.16. Many be called, but few chosen. Even so it is. There is an infinite number of Christians, u 2. Tim. 3.5. having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof, x Tit. 1.16. they profess that they know God, but in works they defy him, being abominable and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate. They that are such, not having the Spirit of Christ jesus, are not his, although they are called by his name; for such doth he hold them, and as to such will he say to them in the last day, y Luke 13.27. Matth. 7.23. I tell you I know not whence you are, I never knew you. All they which are of this kind and stamp in the Church of God, as all they also which are out of the Church, and know not Christ, we say they cannot do nor make any good work, yea, though they were in the Church, Pastors, Doctors, Bishops, Monks; and out of the Church had all the virtues of Solo●, Plat●, Aristides, Epamin●ndas, Phoci●n, Fabrici●●, Camilla, and if there were any other among the Heather commendable and praiseworthy for his prudence, continency, justice, temperance, modesty, and other virtues, which make men to be admirable among their fellow-companions, and to be admired of them. In a good work three things are necessarily required, of which the man not regenerate, be he Christian or Heathen, is unfurnished and destitute. A good Author, a good course manner and form, a good end. If any of these conditions be wanting, he which worketh, makes not a good work, he transgresseth the Law, he taints himself with prevarication, he binds himself to the curse, and makes himself the child of hell. FOUR The first condition is, that he, which doth a good work, be good himself, Christ our Master hath taught it so, when he said, z Mat. 12.33. Either make the tree good and his fruit good, or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt, for the tree is known by his fruit: a Mat. 7.18. for a good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, nor a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. He compares men unto trees, and saith, that they must be first good trees, before they can bring any good fruit. To be a good tree, is to be pleasing and acceptable unto God; that man which thinks and desires to do a thing that God accepts of, and is pleasing unto him, must be first assured, that he himself is pleasing and acceptable unto God: for it is not the work that makes the person acceptable unto God; but it is the person, which obtains of God mercy and favour towards his work, as we read of Abel and Cain, b Gen. 4.4.5. that the Lord had respect unto Abel, and to his offering, but unto Cain, and to his offering he had no respect; he had respect first unto his person, and in the second place to the work of his person. Now man is not a good tree by nature, he is by nature c Rom. 11.24. a wild olive tree: God said of all men considered in their own nature, d Deu. 32.32.33 Their vine is of the vine of Sodom, & of the fields of Gomorrah, their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter, their wine is the poison of Dragons, and the cruel venom of Asps. He describes them as being nothing worth, as stark nought, and willing no good thing, being able to do nothing; as being not only insufficient and uncapable of good, but also (most capable of evil) unable and uncapable to think, say, do the things according unto God; inclined and addicted to things, which are displeasing and offensive to him. It is (saith he) e Isai. 9.2. a people malking in darkness, f Ephes. 4.18. having the understanding darkened, yea a people that is nothing else but darkness; g Ephes. 5.8. ye were sometimes darkness, saith the Apostle; Is there any light in darkness, which is a ‡ rivation of the light? nothing less: h 1. Cor. 2.14. The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. This is to describe it both privatively, or by way of exclusion, by that which he comprehends not; and positively, by that which he comprehends: he retains not the things of the Spirit of God, the mystery of the Cross of Christ, the great things which God hath done to us, the things which God will have us to do; i Mat. 16.17. Flesh and blood reveal not these things, but the Father which is in heaven. k 2. Cor. 3.5. And we are not sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God. He comprehends the things of God, as things which are not of God, l 1. Cor. 1.23. We preach (saith the Apostle, Christ crucified unto the jews, a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks' foolishness. Behold the distribution and division of a man that hath no excellency in himself, but his soul! either he is a jew, and Christ is a stumbling block unto him; or elsen Greek, and Christ is foolishness unto him. He understands the things which are displeasing unto God, & understands not those things which are pleasing unto him. God said of his people, m jerem. 4.22. My people is foolish, they have not known me, they are sottish children, and they have none understanding, they are wise to do evil; but to do good they have no knowledge. What would he then say, or what would not he say of them, which are not his people? Before the Flood, n Gen. 6.5. God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. After the Flood, he said, * Gen. 8.21. The imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth. Hear is no place for cavilling, he saith not, some imagination of the thoughts, but every imagination of the thoughts: he says not, that this imagination of the thoughts is for the most part evil, but that it is altogether evil; yea more plainly, that it is only evil, and that not by respites and pauses, but continually. The reason is, the natural man is only flesh, the Scripture says, that he is flesh, that he is in the flesh, that is to say, that he is corrupted, yea, drowned in corruption; even unto the very highest part of his soul, which is his understanding, as the Apostle speaketh of Infidels, that o Tit. 1.15. their mind and conscience is defiled, p Col. 2.18. and vainly puffed up by their fleshly minds. This is all that their good wit and spirit serves unto, to make them swell and puff up with presumption, as Toads do with venom: for, as for God, q Rom. 8.7. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉: The carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the Law of God, neither indeed can be. Christ jesus speaking of these things, saith, r Mat. 6.22.23. The light of the body is the eye, if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light: but if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness? The Lord teaching us by these words, that if the mind and understanding, which is the light of the soul, be darkness; man cannot think, will, say, do any thing which is good and just: for the will to will well, must be ruled by the mind, understanding well; and the body to do well, must be governed by the will, willing well that which is good. Now the Scripture saith of the unregenerated man, that s Esay 48.4. his neck is as an iron sinew, and his brow, brass; What is harder than iron or brass? such is the will of man; but the iron is tractable and pliant to the hammer, the fire can mollify it and make it pliant, it can be framed and fashioned in divers forms by the hammer: It is not so with man's will, it cannot be softened; wherefore the Scripture compares it unto a stone; and by such a comparison declares, that it is inflexible unto good, as a stone that breaks, but never bows. t Ezech. 36.26. A new heart will I give you, and a new Spirit will I put within you and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. Our heart is naturally so inflexible to godliness, that God promiseth not to correct it or strengthen it; but to take it away, and to give us in stead of that, an heart of flesh, a pliable heart, a heart framed and fashioned to the obedience of his commandments. He promises to change the whole nature, not in regard of the substance of it, but in respec of the evil qualities thereof, which are ours, and make us sapless and without life, when question is of the things of God: in stead of which, he will put in us holy qualities, by the which he will fashion us and transform us to his will. After this sort our will is described privatively and exclusively. God hath described it also positively, saying, u jer. 17.9. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. In a word, all they that are out of Christ jesus, are termed by the holy Ghost, x Ephes. 2.1. dead in trespasses and sins; and by consequent, destitute of all principle of moving, and of spiritual life, what knowledge soever they have of this life, and what dexterity, industry and address soever they show in the things of this world; and therefore we must not think it strange, if the Apostle calls all of us y Ephes. 2.3. children of wrath. Let a man judge now, if those that are such, naturally unapt unto all good, inclined naturally unto all evil, they that are the object of God's anger, can be called good to begin, nay, to think any good thing. To be good trees, we must be taken away from our stock and stem, plucked out from the old Adam, transported and transplanted in a new soil, grafted into the free Olive tree, in corporated in Christ jesus; who hath pronounced this sentence, z John 15.5. I am the Vine, ye are the branches, he that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit, for without me ye can do nothing. They that are not regenerated, are not grafted into Christ; the means of the union of the Elect with Christ is his Spirit; and these are a Jude 19 sensual, having not the Spirit. Some of them may have, and have the Spirit bridling and restraining them, staying and repressing the boiling and surging of their flesh; as it is happened unto many Heathen, which have been esteemed virtuous men, because God willing to preserve the states and families of this world by good order and civil government, gave them the gift to hide their vices: but none of them ever had the sanctifying spirit to mortify their flesh. It is the privilege of the members of Christ jesus, of those that in him are made by grace the children of God, b Rom. 8.14. for as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God; but c Rom. 8. ●. if any man have not the Spirit of God, he is none of his. Therefore the infidels, the hypocrites, and all unregenerated Christians, of what religion soever they be, being destitute of the first quality and condition required in a good work, we may say of them that, which our Saviour Christ said of the Pharisees their companions; d Mat. 12.34. O generation of Vipers, how can ye being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. V The second condition of a good work is, that it be well done; whereunto is required; first, that it be conformable unto the word of God in all things, so that he which hath done it, may protest with David, e Psal. 119.105. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. If it declines or swerves never so little, the workman of the same is accursed by this sentence and decree, f Deut. 27.26. Gal. ●. 10. Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this Law to do them. Now as God is a Spirit, g Rom. 7.14. so the Law is spiritual, and is given first and principally to the Spirit; and is the rule not only of outward actions, but also of the most hidden and secret thoughts of the heart. It is not enough, that a man lay not violent and bloody hands on his brother; h Mat. 5.22. If he be angr●e with his brother without a cause; i 1. joh. 3.15. if he hate his brother, the Scripture says, he is a murderer. He that hath not actually committed adultery with his brother's wife; if he looks on her to lust after her, Christ jesus saith, k Mat. 5.28. he hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. Which of the Heathen knows, that the Law hath been written in his heart, to the end it might rule his thoughts? which of them hath thought, that hidden lust was a vice? which of them hath emptied and purged his heart of it? what do we speak of Infidels? How great is the number of our Christians, that know not the ten Commandments, although there are but ten? how few are there of them that know them, which think on them to conform their lives according to them? To tell them of lust or concupiscence, and to condemn it as a sin, is so strange a paradox unto them, that if God himself should come down from heaven to tell them of it, they would not believe it; so ignorant are they in the knowledge of the true and lawful uses of the Law; how then can they order and square their actions by the same. This is also the privilege of the regenerate; to make a benefit of the Law for the direction of his life; because God hath engraven it in his heart by his holy Spirit, which the unregenerate man knoweth not: l jer. 31.33. I will, saith the Lord, put my Law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts. m Ezech. 36.27. I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my Statutes, and ye shall keep my Judgements and do them. This hath made Lombard to write after Saint Austin, Prosper, and other Fathers, that n Lombard. lib. 2. dist. 41. ●t. A. where the knowledge of the eternal truth is wanting, there virtue is false, although the manners and fashions are very good. VI In the next place, A work to be a good work well done, must be done in faith: o Rom. 14.23. for whatsoever is not of faith is sin. They which are not renewed in the spirit of their mind, may be enlightened so far, that they may know the truth, and make profession of it, and take pleasure in it for a time; as Simon Magus and judas, who believed by a temporary faith; but they have not the justifying faith, p Ephes. 3.17. by the which Christ dwelleth in their hearts, q Joh. 1.12. john 3.16. which receive the Lord jesus, r Gal. 3.14. and all the blossing of Abraham through Christ, and the promise of the Spirit through faith, applying and appropriating it unto themselves, as Thomas, which said unto him, s joh. 20.28.29. My Lord and my God. That this is the true faith without equivocation, it appeareth, for that the Lord answereth him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed; blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. And by the words of the Apostle, t Gal. 2.20. I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who LOVED ME, and gave himself for ME. A man shall know by her effects, if he have this faith: u Acts 15.9. Faith purifies the heart, x Gal. 5.20. works by love; y 1. Tim. 1.5. for charity proceeds out of a pure heart, and from a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned. They that are not renewed, can seel that they have not this faith, for they feel, z Tit. 1.15. that their mind and conscience is defiled; and therefore they may resolve and conclude with themselves, that God detests and abhors them, and all that they do, because a Heb. 11.6. it is impossible to please him without faith. Witness (among others) Cain, who offered sacrifice unto God, and was rejected; not because the sacrifice was nought, but because he offered it without faith, as it is written; b Heb. 11.4. By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain. The Fathers have acknowledged the same, when they said, that c Prosper in lib. Epigram. epigrammate 81. Lombard. lib. 2. dist. 41. lit. A. The whole life of Infidels is sin. For that also, though a man d 1. Co. 13.1.2.3. could speak with the tongues of Angels, and had the gift of prophecy, and understood all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though he had all faith, so that he could remove mountains, and though he bestowed all his goods to feed the poor, and though he gave his body to be burned, and hath not charity, he is as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal, he is nothing and all that profiteth him nothing. VII. The last condition of a good work is, that it be done for a good end. e Aug count julian. lib. 2. c. 3. The virtues are discerned from the vices, non officijs sed finibus, not by the outward duties, but by their ends, saith Saint Austin. The end of every work must be the glory of God, who hath given us virtue, wifedome and direction for to do it. It ought to be the end of natural works also, f 1. Cor. 10.31. Whether (saith the Apostle) ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. How much more ought it to be the end of our moral and spiritual works? g Mat. 5.16. Let your light sosh ●e before men, saith jesus Christ, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. It is a thing out of all doubt, that the Infidels have never done any thing for this end; what could they have done for the glory of God, which was unknown to them? What have they ever done but for themselves? but h Chrys. in opere imperfecto in Mat. hom. 33. to advance themselves in honour, reputation and credit? It was ambition to lad himself with thick clay, as the Prophet saith; that is, great store of riches, to join house to house, and lay field to field, till there be no place: It was brokage and covetousness: To what other end do now adays the best and honestest of our politicians aim at? They have no other end of their prudence and other virtues, or rather images of virtues, than themselves. If we consider the religious, as they term them, they give alms, they pray in public, they use many repetitions, they march with a sad countenance, they disfigure their faces, and destroy the body with much fasting; some of them, that they may appear unto men, that they are charitable, devout, mortified; so did the Pharisees and other hypocrites in Christ's time, i Mat. 6.2. Verily (saith Christ) I say unto you, they have their reward. The world hath them in great estimation, they have that which they sought for. It is their reward: they serve God with hope of reward condign, as they say, and well worthy of their merries: were it not for this hope, they would not be so fervent and zealous towards God, that they would be blotted out of his book, k Exod. 32.32. as Moses; or l Rom. 9.3. separated and accursed from Christ for his glory, as Saint Paul. To be short, we are in a time, whereof we may justly and truly say, as Saint Paul said of his time, m Phil. 2.21. All seek their own, not the things which are jesus Christ's. We are in the last days; and the perilous and trouble some times are come, whereof the same Apostle hath prophesied, n 2. Tim. 3.1, 2, 3, 4, 5. that men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God, having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof. Of which kind of men, God in his great mercy deliver quickly the world. VIII. All these keep not the Law, and cannot do any good work. Some of them will have many fair and goodly parts, as we say, the which being examined, will be found to be nothing else then o Ambros. de vo. cat. gentium. lib. 2. c. 3. splendida peccata, glistering and beautiful sins, by the which they have barrenly adorned the life of this age, saith Saint Ambrose. We do not condemn them, for that they are civilly sober, just, moderate, and do lead an outward life without reproach. But the Scripture condemns them, for that they live without faith, without charity, and propound unto themselves no other scope of their actions then themselves, and so do ill, and do good things to a bad end. Christ jesus condemns them; p john 5.44. How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only? We do not condemn them, in that they fast austerely, pray fervently, give alms largely, and do as they say many pious works: but, because doing nothing but that which a Turk and a jew doth, we bewail them; because they run so fast out of the way, seeing they run not by Christ, who is the way to God, who is the end of the race; and so they labour and toil much, yet advance and go forward but little. As he that makes haste, and runneth a stray out of the King's high way, takes more pains and toils more, then if he were in the right way, and notwithstanding he never comes where he would. I exhort them to turn back, and return the same way they came, towards the Commandments of God; to do according unto God, and for God, that, which they do under him for themselves: and to the end they may do it, to pray unto God with David, q Psal. 143.10. Teach me to do thy will, for thou art my God, thy Spirit is good, lead me into the land of uprightness: For as Saint Austin saith, It is better to go softly, or to halt in the right way, then to march straightly, and run out of the way. CHAP. V. I. The unregenerate man is altogether wicked. II. The regenerate man is imperfect and defective in his most holy actions, and cannot keep the Law; which is proved by four arguments. III. The first argument, He hath in him the flesh lusting against the Spirit. FOUR The second argument, Our imperfect knowledge brings forth imperfect works. V Bellarmine's opinion concerning a double perfection commanded in the Law, confuted. VI That perfection, which Bellarmine saith is possible to man in this life, hath never been found in any man. VII. The third argument: If the regenerate man could keep the Law, he should not need a Mediator. THe a Psal. 14.2. 3. Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any, that did understand and seek God: They are all gone aside, they are altogether become filthy, there is none that doth good, no not one. b Ro. 3.13. etc. Their throat is an open sepulchre, with their tongues they have used deceit, the poison of Asps is under their lips; whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness, their feet are swift to shed blood; destruction and misery are in their ways, and the way of peace have they not known. The reason of all this is, There is no fear of God before their eyes. He that fears God, fears to do that which displeaseth God; as joseph that would not defile his master's bed, with held and kept-in with the fear of God: c Genes. 39.9. How can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God? In like manner comforting and assuring his brethren, that he would do them no hurt, he tells them, d Genes. 42.18. I fear God. On the other side, he which fears not God, gives himself liberty unto all wickedness, whensoever any occasion is offered. That made Abraham say of Gerar, e Genes. 20.11. Surely the fear of God is not in this place, and they will slay me for my wine's sake. They which have not the fear of God in their hearts, are ordinary adulterers, liars, f Ephes. 4.17.18.19. walking in the vanity of their mind, having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their hearts; who being past feeling, have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. This is the description of a man not regenerated and renewed, of the jew as well as of the Gentle; of him that is under the Law, as well as of him which is without the Law; of the Christian, who is in the Church, as of the Infidel, which is out of the Church. II. g Isai. 64.6. New we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are as filthy rags. This is the description of the regenerate and renewed; the confession of the greatest Saints, which say, h Dan. 9.5. etc. we have sinned, and committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled 〈◊〉 by departing from thy precepts and front thy judgements; neither have we harkened unto thy servants the Prophets, which spoke in thy name. O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of facet, to our Kings our Princet and our Fathers, because we have trespassed against thee: As the prayer of every one is, Forgive w●●●● trespasse●. Those can do no good, they have neither the will nor the power. These say with Saint Paul, i Rom. 7.18. To will is present with me: but how to perform that which is good, I find●●●t. Therefore these also cannot keep the Law in that perfection, which it requires of men in this life; they aim and make towards the perfection, and do advance and draw near unto it more and more: but they shall not attain unot it, until that being unclothed of this body of sin, which doth beset them, they be clothed upon with their house which is from heaven; and that will we prove by five arguments. III. First, the most regenerate and holy, are not more renewed, more holy, than the holy Apostle, who said of himself, and of all the Saints, k Rom. 8.23. We have the first fruits of the Spirit. The first fruits are as it were an handful taken from the whole heap; our sanctification therefore in this life is little, in comparison of the full harvest, which we shall rape in the life to come: for we are regenerated and renewed but in part, successively and by degrees; much of the old infirmity remaining in us, and drawing us to sin with such vigour and force, that the Apostle himself complains, saying, l Rom. 7.21. I find a law, that when I would do good, evil is with me. He had that from the original malice, which remained as yet in him; and m August. in joan. trac. 41. Minuitur in vita proficientium, quod in vita consumitur perfectorum. which diminisheth only in the life of those, which profit and go on: as it is fully consumed in the life of those, which have attained unto perfection; whence elsewhere he saith of himself, n 2. Cor. 4.16. Though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. Which words Saint Austin hath well peised and pondered, and from whence he bathe drawn this doctrine; o Aug. de peccat. merit. lib. 2. c. 7. Prefect● qui de die in diem ●dbuc renovatur, nondum totus est renovatus: & in quantum nondum est renovatus, in tantum adhuc in ve tustate est. He which is renewed day by day, is not as yet wholly renewed; and in as much as he is not altogether renewed, so much is he in his old nature. And by consequent a child of this world, even as in so much as he is renewed, he is the child of God; and such are all the regenerate, of whom the Apostle saith, that in them p Gal. 5.17. The flesh Insteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary the one to the other, so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. The flesh is that, which is not as yet renewed in the mind, in the will, in the affections, as it appears by this that the Apostle attributes to the flesh, a certain q Rom. 8.7. wisdom, r Col. 2.18. reason, and understanding, and placeth among the works of the flesh, s Gal. 5.20.21. Idolatry, and the heresies that are conceived and borne in the mind, and exhorts us t Ephes. 4.23. to be renewed in the Spirit of our mind. In which respect he says of himself, * Rom. 7.18. I know that in me, (that is in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing, understanding by his flesh, not his body; for if he said unto the Corinthians, u 1. Cor. 6.19. Know ye not that your body is the Temple of the holy Ghost, did he not know, that his was? but this infirmity, or rather perversity, which did as yet dwell in all the parts of his soul, although it did not rule there, was indeed mortified, but not as yet dead. The Spirit therefore is that, which is renewed in the mind, in the will, in the affections, and in all the parts of the soul and of the body. The flesh is the old man, the Spirit is the new man: these two men are in every true Christian, they are both together at one time in one and the same subject of the mind, of the will, of the affections, in the mind and understanding, knowledge and ignorance of the same thing, faith and unbelief; in the will, confidence and distrust; in the affections, love and hate; ᶜ witness the father of the lunatic, who confessed, saying, x Mark. 9.24. I believe, and thereupon presently prayed to Christ, saying, help thou mine unbelief. It is with the regenerate man, Similitude. 1 who is flesh and spirit, as with a man raised up from a long and grievous malady, who makes a few turns in his chamber, but trailing his legs after him; and will stand upright, but it will be in leaning on his staff, having in him as yet by reason of the relics of his sickness, an universal indisposition in all the parts of his body. Or else it fareth with such a man, Similitude. 2 as with the air in the dawning or break of day, which is not altogether clear and light, as it is at noon; it is not partly light, partly dark, as the Moon is in the increase and wain, but is in all her parts clear and black, obscure and enlightened. We may also compare it unto lukewarm water, Similitude. 3 which in all her parts is mixed with heat and cold; Similitude. 4 or unto a liquor mingled with water and wine, wherein is neither pure wine, nor pure water, but the whole is wine and water together, even unto her most insensible parts; although such a liquor will savour sometimes more of water, then of the wine, and again, sometimes more of wine then of water: as the regenerate man in the beginning of his regeneration is more carnal than spiritual, and in the progress of the same, is more spiritual than carnal. These two men therefore do fight in us, in lusting the one against the other: the flesh lusteth two ways; First, it engenders and begets in us all manner of evil thoughts and desires, of which Saint james faith; x 〈◊〉 1.14. Every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed. Secondly, withdraws us from good, and doth what he can, to smother the good and holy motions of the Spirit in us, as Saint Paul saith, y Rom. 7.22.23. I delight in the Law of God, after the inward man: but I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity of the law of sin, which is in my members. The Spirit also ●usteth against the flesh two manner of ways: First, he creates in us all sorts of good thoughts, motions and desires: David felt it thus, when he said, z Psal. 16.7. I will bless the Lord, who hath given me counfell; my reins also instruct me in the night-season. a Psal. 27.8. When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, O Lord, will I seek. Secondly, he stops and stays the bad motions of the flesh, to the end they take not effect; or at the least, blunts their point, that they do not sin excessively; in which fence Saint john saith, b 1. joh. 3.9. Whosoever is borne of God, doth not commit sin, for his seed remaineth in him. To commit sin, is to make a trade and occupation of sinning, and to give himself over to evil, with an entire and whole consent of the will, the which a man renewed cannot do; because with the feed of sin (which is his natural corruption) he hath in him the feed of God, which is the gift of sanctification, and is mixed in all the qualities of his soul, and in all the works that flow thence. The supernatural knowledge, wherein the mind is enlightened, is mingled with ignorance and natural blindness which remains in him; so that he hath need to ask every day, new enlightening of God, as David did, who said, c Psal. 119.18. Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold the wondrous things out of thy Law. His faith is mingled with unbelief, his confidence with diffidence, his hope with despair; witness the lunatics father, as we have seen before; witness job, who complaining of God, said unto him, d job 13.24. Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and holdest me for thine enemy? And at the same time he cried our, e job 13.15. Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him. His will purified and corrected, is incessantly crossed by a contrary will, which hinders him to do the good he would do. For as our Saviour said, f Mat. 26.41. The Spirit is willing, but the fleshes weak. The will in as much as it is sanctified, hath a marvelous affection and desire to obey God; but the flesh, with the which she is chained weakens it, and makes her slack and remiss to do that she would do. The affections are never so well squared and ordered, but there is disorder; they can never shake off so well this dust and dirt, but (as g 1. King. 18.21. the Israelites did halt on both sides, following at one time God and Baal; so do) they halt between heaven and earth, betwixt the heavenly goods, which cannot be defiled nor whither, and the perishing goods of this world, whhose figure passeth away as swift as a weavers shuttle. I writ nothing, but that which all the children of God feel in themselves; otherwise they should not appertain unto the Church Militant. Which hath no enemies so cruel, vigilant, pressing, hard and difficult to overcome, as those which every member of the same nourisheth within himself, and carrieth continually in his bosom; as namely lust, which, saith Saint james, h jam. 1.14.15. draweth, enticeth, conceiveth and bringeth forth sin; and therefore is a sin like a Serpent, that engenders, conceives and brings forth a Viper; is a Viper, as all that which is conceived, is of the nature of that whereof it is conceived; as the tree that bringeth forth bad and rotten fruit, is corrupt and rotten, according to Christ's saying, k Matth. 7.18. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. This natural contagion doth infect all the good works of the regenerate with so great a blemish, that the Church itself confesseth, l Isai. 64.6. All our righteousness are as filthy rags: what can we then say, yea, what ought we to say, we I say who as Bernard saith, m Bernard. de verb. Esaiae. serm. 5. are not better than our forefathers, which have no less truly them humbly spoken so? This is the first argument grounded on the great and general depravation of our nature, whereby the works of the most holiest are so blemished and distained, that they can in no wise answer unto the righteousness, holiness and perfection of the Law. FOUR The second argument is taken from our knowledge: for such as is our knowledge, such is our obedience, such are all our works that proceed from it. Now our knowledge is very imperfect, n 1. Cor. 13.9.12 For (as the Apostle saith of himself, and of all) we know in part, and we prophesy in part, we see now through a glass darkly; the perfect knowledge being reserved for the Kingdom of heaven, which our Lord hath represented by giving to the blind man his sight; o Mark. 8.22. of whom Saint Mark saith, that Christ jesus having put his hands upon him the first time, he saw men walking, but not as men, but as trees: but having put his hands upon his eyes the second time, he saw every man clearly: even so fareth it with us, we receive here but the first imposition of hands, we often take one thing for another, and see the things of God but by halves; whence we must not find it strange, if we do them but by half, and do remain and stand a far off from the perfection and righteousness of the Law, whose first and last Commandment cannot be fulfilled by any man living here on earth: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, & with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. It will have the soul, and the whole soul; the heart, and the whole heart; the thoughts, and all the thoughts; the strength of the heart, of the soul, of the thoughts, and the whole strength of the same. p Aug. lib. 1. de doct. Christ. c. 22. It leaves no part of our life that may be void of charity. It commands all the degrees of charity: for he that saith, All, excepts nothing. If thou canst add any thing thereunto, there is not all? If thou takest away any thing, there will not be all. More charity can be added day by day unto our charity; otherwise Saint Jude would not have prayed, q Jude 2. Mercy unto you, and peace, and love be multiplied. Let Saint Austin speak for us, r Aug. epist. 29. Charity is a virtue wherewith we love that which is to be loved; in some greater, in others less, in others none: but the perfect charity which cannot be augmented, is in no man so long as he lives here. * Quamdiu ●●tem augeri potest, profecto illud quod minus est quàm debet, ex viti● est. Now so long as it can increase, surely that less that it hath than it should have, is of vice. This vice makes that there is none just upon earth, that doth good and sinneth not. This fault causeth, that no man living shall be justified before God. This sin effects so much, that if we say, we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. By reason of this vice, how much forward and advanced soever we be, it is needful for us to say, forgive us our trespasses, although all our words, deeds, thoughts have been already forgiven us in our Baptism. Again, the Law saith, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Thy neighbour, thy very enemy, the stranger whom thou shalt meet in the way; as thyself, with as great an affection, readiness and courage, as thou lovest thyself. In whom shall we find this perfection? Who loves God as he should? Who loves him for himself, and loves nothing but for him, and according unto him? Who loves his neighbour with that fervency of charity, wherewith he is inflamed towards himself? Who looks upon his enemy with a simple, sincere, and unfeigned eye? reconciles himself unto him, without a reservation? Who lives with his entirely affected friend, without wronging and misusing him in some sort or other, without envying him, or at leastwise without thinking ill and hardly of him, without coveting something that appertains unto him? Who therefore fulfilleth this Commandment, Thou shalt not covet? The Apostle could not attain unto it, and by that he acknowledged himself to be a sinner: s Rom. 7.7. I had not (saith he) known sin, but by the Law, for I had not known lust, except the Law had said, Thou shalt not covet. Who then shall attain unto it? V t Bellar. de monach. c. 2. §. 6.7. 8. & c. 13. §. 20.21. They who puffed up with pride and presumption, will not acknowledge themselves to be sinners, that God may be acknowledged the alone Saviour, who saves without our merits, who saves not but in pardoning our trespasses, and forgiving our demerits, have forged in their giddy brains a double perfection; the one convenient and meet for the condition and state of this present life, consisting in that, we must love God more than any creature; the other, proper and peculiar to the life to come, where the blessed have not any motion contrary to God, think always on God, and love God with that vehemency and servency of love that can be in a creature. u job 11.2.3. Should not the multitude of words be answered? and shall a man full of talk be justified? Thy lies, O man, shall they make men hold their peace, and when thou mockest, shall no man make thee ashamed? The Law speaks but of one charity, and that so perfect and accomplished, that it possesseth all the heart, all the soul, all the thoughts, and all the strength of man; and you forge us an inferior and an underling charity, which a man may perfectly keep and observe, and which God accepts, and is pleased with. Where is this charity commanded? What, in the Decalogue, or ten Commandments? Doth it appertain unto the first, or unto the second Table of the Law? The first commands, that thou love God with all thy strength; and you tell us of a Law that is not so rigorous and strict, and that contents itself, that thou love God with thy strength, without requiring all thy strength. Where is this Law? hath it been given of God upon the Mount Horeb? Hath the people heard it from God's mouth? Hath God written it in two Tables? Hath Moses enregistered it in his books? Have the Prophets ever heard word or speech of it? Read the whole Scripture, ye shall not find it there; you shall find there but one rule of an unchangeable and perfect righteousness; and the fame given to the living, not to the dead, to them that (are viatores) are yet in the way, and do aim at perfection, not to them that are comprehensores, who having already apprehended it, do rest from their labours, and have no need of the Law; given with this terrible sentence pronounced not against the Inhabitants of Heaven, where there is no sorrow nor fear of mourning; but against the Inhabitants and dwellers on earth: x Deut. 27.26. Gal. 3.10. Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things, which are written in the book of the Law, to dee them. A sentence which Saint Paul applies unto the living, and proves by the same, that y Gal. 3.10. as many as are of the works of the Law, are under the curse. Badly, yea, unaptly, yea falsely, if a man can continue in all the words of the Law; yea, contradictorily to that which he adds, that it was necessary that Christ came, to redeem us from the curse of the Law, z Gal. 3.13. Christ (saith he) hath redeemed us from the curse of the Law, being made a curse for us: For what need was there of him, if God requires not of men a perfect observation of his Law? Or if he command them no other perfection, then that which they may keep and observe perfectly in this life? He which hath enough, wherewith to pay and satisfy his Creditor, hath no need that another should satisfy for him. These men do err, because they know nor, that man, although a sinner (yea, though an apostate, yea, though destitute altogether of the glory of God) is bound by the Law, to do all that which Adam was bound to do by his Creation, and all that which he could do, and did, during the short time of his innocency: for we have been all of us created in him, in him the Law hath been given to us all; that Law which we have written in parchment, being no other thing then the image of the Law, which he had written in his heart, and the traces whereof (after his sin) remain in our hearts. Now by right of Creation he was bound to love him, and in effect did love God with all his heart, with all his soul, with all his thought, with all his strength; and therefore we are bound to the same perfect, whole, and absolute obedience and charity. VI Notwithstanding, put case and suppose, that the matter goeth, as Bellarmine hath propounded it; and that God requires of man in this flesh but a perfection of a mean and reasonable charity, whereby man loves God more than the creatures. And we will argue upon that which he saith, a Bellar. de monach. c. 13. §. 21. This Commandment may be perfectly kept. For if that be true which he saith, either he can produce us some just man, which hath kept it perfectly, or else he accuseth the most Just of great malice. That cannot he do: for he which keeps perfectly that which God commands him in this life, is without sin; sin being no other thing then the transgression of God's commandments, all which do meet at one end and about upon charity. b Hieron. ad Rusticum epist. 44. c. 4. Now there is none that is pure from sin, though his life had been but for a day, saith Saint Jerome, The Apostle himself doth openly confess, that he and all the Saints are tied to this unavoidable necessity of c Aug. de tempore serm. 47. sin, saith Saint Austin; and that doth he confess in the seventh Chapter of the Epistle to the Romans, as we shall see in the fourth argument. There is none then that keeps perfectly that, which God commands him, yea, that can keep himself; all being tied to this necessity of sinning, by the flesh lusting against the Spirit, and by the Law of their members warring incessantly against the Law of their mind, and bringing them into captivity to the Law of sin, which is in their members, d Rom. 7.23. Gal. 5.17. as the Apostle speaks. This is more perspicuously set before our eyes by death, which is (saith the Scriptures) e joshua. 23.14. the way of all the earth, f Heb. 9.27. it being appointed unto men once to die. It is therefore a manifest conclusion, that all are sinners, and by consequent all transgressors of the Commandments of God: g Rom. 6.23. for the wages of sin is death; and the effect of death in the faithful, is the death of sin; h Rom. 6.7. for he that is dead, is freed from sin, which made the holy Apostle to sigh, and call after death, i Rom. 7.24. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? Now Bellarmine not being able to name any one Saint, who hath been in his life pure from sin, and saying notwithstanding, that they can perfectly keep God's Commandments, he accuseth and chargeth them with a notorious malice: for what is the cause that they have not kept the Commandments? was it ignorance that was in them? No, for they knew the Commandments; was it impotency that was in them? No, for Bellarmine saith, that they could keep the Commandments. The salt was then only in their will: for three things concur together in the reasonable creature, to the producing and bringing forth of a good work; knowledge, will, power. Now to know, and to be able to do good, and not to will the doing of it, is the property of a malicious and perverse spirit; it is a malice altogether condemned, as it is written, k james 4.17. To him that knoweth to do good, and doth it not, to him it is sin. Let this be far from Saints. And therefore we will correct the saying of Bellarmine, and say, that the Saints and faithful have the will to keep perfectly the Commandments of God, but they have not the power and strength to do them; and that will we verify by Saint Paul, saying of himself, l Rom. 7.18. To will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good, I find not. And of us all, m Gal. 5.17. The flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh, and these are contrary the one to the other, so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. Lastly, because that all which Bellarmine writes touching the divers degrees of perfection commanded in the Law, is maintained by him for the cause and defence of the Monkish state and life, which he terms n Bellar. de monach. c. 2. the state of perfection. I would willingly ask Bellarmine himself, or the most holiest Monk or Friar; if, seeing he thinks he can keep the Commandments of God, he hath ever kept them? If he says, that he hath kept them, he is a liar. For he that keeps the Commandments, hath no sin: o 1. john 1. ●. Now if we say, that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If he confesseth, that he hath not kept them, he confesseth himself to be a wicked and malicious man, in that he would not do that which he could; and by his own confession is doubly the child of hell, p Luk. 12.47. For that servant which knew his Lords will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. VII. The third argument is this, If a man could keep the Law, he should have no need of a Mediator; q Gal. 2.21. For if righteousness come by the Law, than Christ is dead in vain. They answer, that Christ indeed should have died in vain, if man could keep the Law by his natural strength and power: but it is by grace that Christians keep it, and this grace hath been given them through the merit of the obedience and death of Christ, which for this cause is not frustrate, nor in vain. An answer injurious to Christ, and altogether false. For if it were so, our righteousness and salvation should be immediately of the Law, and not of Christ; and Christ should not be our Saviour, but only an instrument, by the which we are aided and enabled to keep the Law, and by the observation of the same made our own saviours. What blasphemy against the Son of God? r 1. Cor. 1.30. Who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption; In as much as s 2. Cor. 5.21. God hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. We are then righteousness, as he is sin: he is sin, t August. Encherid. cap. 41. not his own, but ours, not in himself, but in us: even so are we righteousness, not our own, but that of God, not in ourselves, but in him. And mark, he hath been made unto us righteousness by God; it is not written, that we are made righteousness by him. Again, we are the righteousness of God in him, it is not said, that we are the righteousness of God by him as by an instrument. So doth the same Apostle write, that u Col. 2.10. we are complete in him, and not complete in ourselves by him: he felt it so, when being as then renewed, having been already, yea, a long time an Apostle, and near unto death; when having fought a good fight, kept the faith, and finished his course, he writes from prison unto his Philippians, that x Phil. 3.8.9. he counted all things but less and dung, that he might win Christ, and be found in him, not having his own righteousness, which is of the Law but that which is through the faith of Christ, to wit, the righteousness which is of God by faith. He would have us to think and feel it so, when he wrote to us in the person of the Ephesians, y Ephes. 2.8.9. By grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast, referring not our justification only, but also our salvation itself unto the grace of God, which we embrace by faith, and excluding from the causes of our salvation our works without exception, yea, them which the faithful do: otherwise he would not say, lest any man should boast; although he intends not to esteem them, or make them unprofitable, and of no use: For (saith he) z Ephes. 2.10. we are his workmanship created in Christ jesus unto good works, which God hath before or deined, that we should walk in them. A sentence that Saint Bernard understood well, when he termed the works of Saints, a Bernard. de gratta & libéro ar●itrio, sub finem. viam regni, non causam regnandi: The way to the Kingdom, not the cause of the Kingdom. avant then, and far from us, let all those be, that will divide and share out the salvation between the grace of God and our good works, that say unto him with the Pharisee, b Luk. 18.11. God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers: we will be humble, and refer unto him all the glory of our salvation, in his beginning, in his middle, in his end, and sing unto him with David, c Psal. 115.1. Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy Truth's sake. CHAP. VI I. The fourth Argument: None of the Saints hath ever kept perfectly the Law. II. Because they are renewed but in part: as it appears. III. By the example of those which were before the Law, as of Abel, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, jacob, FOUR And by the example of job: V By the examples also of them, that were under the Law, as of Moses, Aaron, their Sister Marie, and of all the Priests. VI Item, by the example of David, VII. Of Solomon, Ezechias, josias, Daniel, and of Esdras. VIII. And by the Confession of the whole ancient Church. BE a 1. Cor. 11.1. ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ. He will have us to imitate him, but with an Even as; not absolutely, but conditionally, even as he imitated Christ, and not otherwise: for in him there was; in the most holiest that have been from the beginning of the world, there hath been; in those that are, there is; in those that shall come hereafter, there will be things that are not to be imitated, but to be abhorred; not to do, but to eschew and avoid their sins; b Rom. 11.32. Hieron. ad Ch●esiphontem. for God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all. Wherefore to show that in him alone there is no darkness, and that in the most holiest there are many clouds of error, which darken their understanding; that he is the alone holy, only just, only good, and that all the holy and just men have their noblest parts altered by the corruption of sin; he hath permitted the most approved amongst them, the most cherished and beloved of him, to slip and fall into the pit of sin; and would that they themselves were his Heralds, his Clerks, to publish, to write down their own sins, and the sins of their forefathers: c Rom. 3.19. That every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God; and that God alone d Rom. 3.26. might be found just and the justifier of him which believeth in Christ jesus; who alone, e Isai. 53.9.1. Pet. 2.22. did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth; who alone hath been able to protest in truth, that f john 14 30. The Prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me, being g Basil. in Psal. 5. much for a man, if he can say, he hath but little, and but few things in me. This is our fourth argument, whereby we will clearly prove, that there hath never been any Saint, in whom all his old infirmity hath been in such wise consumed; but that during the days of this his perishing life, he hath fought an intestine and inward battle with the same, in the which he hath sometimes fainted and fallen down, and hath never prevailed in such sort, that he hath been able to free and exempt himself wholly from sin; h Basil. in homil. de penitent. I accuse not therefore the righteous, but I glorify God, who alone hath been able to provoke his enemies with this defiance, i john 8.46. which of you convinceth me of sin. We reprehend the error, we beat and throw down the tower and turrers of pride, which our Monks have built and reared up, thinking to scale Paradise by their works not commanded, not due; it being evident and well known by the examples of the Saints of old, in comparison of whom the most holiest of these times, the most retired of our Monks and Friars are but dung, that they are far from that perfection of those works that are due. II. If Adam had not violated the commandment of his Lord and God, and had remained obedient unto the heavenly mandate, he had reserved unto his own heirs the prerogative of a natural innocency, saith Saint k Ambrosaed Iren. epist. 71. Ambrose: but affecting to attribute unto himself that, which he had not received, to be like him that had created him, he was stripped and deprived of that which he had received; he lost his drachm, or piece of silver, and departing from his Father's table to eat husks (the bread of swine) he fell under, and came within the power of the Prince of darkness, from being able not to sin, to not being able, but to sin; having lost altogether the liberty of his counsel, after he had sold, delivered and enthralled himself to him that had gulled and cozened him. In this state hath he begotten men in his own likeness after his image, all which are borne tainted with his pollution, and stained with the bands of his death-bringing slavery and bondage; from which servitude the elect children of God are released and delivered by him, which hath said, l john 8.36. If the Son shall make you free, yet shall be free indeed. In this life, not to consent unto sin, and not to walk after their lusts; in the life to come, not to sin, not to covet at all: It is the glory of Heaven, of the heavenly jerusalem, m Revel. 21.27. that there shall in no wise enter any thing that defileth. It is the vanity and shame of the earth, that she cannot bear in her bosom any Saint, that is not harried and troubled with the fierce and savage law of sin, that he may say, n Prou. 20.9. I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin. For o Gregor. Nyss. de beatitudin. Orat. 6. sin is conceived, borne, increaseth, and endeth with the life of man. p Idem de oratione. Abel. And the Scriptures do teach us, that there cannot be found any man whatsoever, that lives a day without spot. III. Witness Abel, q Heb. 11.4. who by faith offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Kaine, by which he obtained witness, that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts. If by faith, surely not by his works, not by the merit of his sacrifice, but by the merit of the Lamb without blemish and spot, the only and perfect object of faith, represented and exhibited by and in the first sacrifice; in the offering of the which the holy man did affirm earnestly, and avouch openly and solemnly his death-worthy demerits; did sigh and groan after the merits of his Saviour; did embrace his sacrifice by saith to have life by it. If as yet man doubts, let him consider that he is dead, that by his death we judge and deem of his sin, as of the cause by the effect. r Rom. 5.12. Noah. For by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. Witness Noah, who hath testimony, s Genes. 6.9. that he was a just man, and perfect in his generation, and walked with God: but not that he was without sin; for after he had found grace in the eyes of the Lord, in the ruin of the world by the Flood, the Scripture discovers his infirmity, and accuseth him, t Genes. 9.21. for that he drank of the wine of his vineyard, was drunken and was uncovered within his tent. He was then just according to that righteousness, whereof it is said, u Prou. 24.16. The just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again. According to the which it is also said, x Ezech. 18.22. & 33.19. that the transgressions of the wicked shall not be mentioned unto him, shall not hurt him, at what hour soever he returns from his ways unto the Lord, y Hieron. ad Rusticum epist. 44. saith Saint Hierome. Just therefore and righteous, in and by acknowledging himself to be unjust and unrighteous, prosecuting this acknowledgement, addicting and applying himself to righteousness, and not as having attained unto the perfection thereof; witness z Abraham. Abraham, of whom already justified by faith, renewed already, abounding as then in good works. The Apostle writeth; a Rom. 4.2. If Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory, but not before God. He justified himself, that is to say, he approved and showed himself just by his works towards men, when he offered his son Isaac, as Saint b jam. 2.21. james observes. And that thirty years after that, the Scripture witnesseth of him, that he had been justified by faith before God: For this sentence of holy David, wholly given to the observation of the Law, repeated and confirmed by Saint Paul, shall for ever remain firm; c Psal. 143.2. Rom. 3.20. Faith justifies man before God, Works justify man before men. By the deeds of the Law there shall no flesh be justified in the sight of God. Faith embracing Christ's righteousness for the remission of sins, justifies the person before God: good works which proceed always from man, which is justified, and which did never precede, or go before to justify him, justifies the person before men. The proofs are manifest: for Abraham after he was d Chrys. de penitent. hom. 6. tom. 5. infidelitate Sancti peccavit Abraham. justified by faith, sinned through unbelief; and therefore did not escape God's punishment, so that his seed did serve four hundred years, saith Saint Chrysostome; e Genes. 16.2.3. and that also when he took Agar to wife, to give by hereffect to the promise of God touching the blessed seed; not persuading himself as then, that God would raise and give him it by his barren and old wife of fourscore years. Then also, when distrusting of God's providence and protection, he concealed a part of the truth, calling her only his sister, and causing her to say so, for the which he was justly reproved by Alimelech. Furthermore, after that he was justified, God gave circumcision, g Rom. 4.11. to be a seal of the righteousness of the faith unto him, which he had yet being uncircumcised; a seal, I say, on God's part, for the remission of his sins in the blood of jesus Christ, the which he did apprehend by faith, in the effusion of his own, and of all his; wherefore Christ saith of him, h John 8.56. Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it, and was glad. A Sacrament also to be to him on his side, a sign of his dutte towards his God, to circumcise daily the foreskin of his heart, i Col. 2.11. in putting off the body of ●he sins of the flesh by the Circumcision of Christ. If Abraham the Father of all those which believe, being in uncircumcision, and Father of the Circumcision, was a finner before and after his justification, and had need of the grace and mercy of his God to be saved: shall we believe, that his children have been more holy, more righteous, and just, and less sinners than he? witness his son Isaac, Isaac. who by a like distrust told a lie concerning his wife, to the inhabitants of Gerar, saying, k Gen. 26.7. she is my sister, fearing that the inhabitants and men of the place should kill him for her sake, because she was fair to look upon. Which diffidence and lie was so much the greater, because God commanded him to remain and stay there, with promise of his protection, telling him, l Gen. 26.3. jacob. Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee. Witness jacob, who upon his deathbed renounced all his works, ask and craving mercy and grace, cried unto his God, m Gen. 49.18. I have waited for thy salvation O Lord; to wit, the Lord jesus, who was to come, n Mat. 18 11. to save that which was lost; and by reason of this charge and office, is named o Luke 3.6. the salvation of God. Witness all the patriarchs, all whom the Scripture encloseth and concludeth under sin, that their children presume not to be without sin: but that feeling themselves attainted with the corruption dwelling in them, of necessity they must confess and say, we are no better than our forefathers, and that so p Chrysost. de poenit. hom. 6. tom. 5. Quò solus ipse in hominis corpore sine peccato inveniatur. job. Christ be found alone in the body of man without sin. FOUR Witness (among an infinite number of others) the holy man job, whom God himself commends, to have been perfect beyond comparison, and without his like in the world. * job 2.8. There is none like him in the earth, saith God, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil. A great commendation, and incident to few persons. Now if any not understanding the language of Canaan, strives against the sound doctrine, imagining in himself, that job for being better than other men, was without sin before God, he will be convinced of error by jobs own book, there shall he find Eliphas preaching; q job 4.17. Hier. adverse. Pelag. lib. 2. Shall mort all man be more just than God? shall a man be more pure than his Maker? Behold, be put no trust in his servants, and his Angels he charged with fally. How much less on them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, which are crushed before the moth? A Sermon, whence Saint Jerome infers, r Hier. adverse. Jovian. lib. 2. Angelos quoque & omnum creaturam peccare posse, that the Angels themselves, and all creatures may sin. There also shall he find the same Eliphas preaching again; s job 15.14.15.16. What is man, that he should be should be clean? and he which is borne of a woman, that he should be righteous? Behold, be putteth no trust in his Saints, yea, the Heavens are not clean in his sight. How much more abominable and filthy is man, which drinketh iniquity like water? A sentence, from the which Saint Hierome implies, that every man is a sinner; t Hieron. ad Rusticum epist. 44. circa sin. There is none, saith he, pure from sin, though his life were but a day: Now the years of his life are many. The stars themselves are not clean and pure in his presence, and he hath found some perversity in his Angels. Si in caelo peccatum, quanto magis in terra: If there be sin in heaven, how much more on earth; if there be trespass or omission of duty in those, which are without corporal tentation, how much more in us that are compassed about with this weak flesh, and may say with the Apostle, u Rom. 7.24. O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? There shall he find job agreeing and consenting unto this holy doctrine, and sighing forth these true words from the bottom of his heart; x Hieron. adverse. Pelag. lib. 1. Job 9.2. I know it is so of a truth: but how should man be just with God? If he will contend with him, he cannot answer him one of a thousand? How much less shall I answer him, and choose out my words to reason with him? whom though I were righteous, yet would not I answer, but I would make supplication to my judge. If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me. If I say I am perfect, it shall also prove me perverse. If I wash myself with snow water, and make my hands never so clean, yet shalt thou plunge me in the ditch, and mine own clothes shall abhor me. There shall he find God himself rebuking job, and reproving him of his sin, for that a job 38.2. he darkened counsel by words without knowledge; and job confessing his sin, and saying to him, b job 40.4.5. Behold, I am vile, what shall I answer thee? I will lay my band upon my mouth, once have I spoken, but I will not answer; yea twice, but I will proceed no further; c job 4●. 6. wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes. V Such was the condition of all those, that have lived from Abel until the Law; which being come, hath not diminished sin, but hath augmented it; hath not quickened, nor given life to them that followed it, but hath killed them, and put them to death; hath not made any one just, but hath condemned the most just and righteous among them, in discovering their unrighteousness. When the Moral Law was given, after a manner fitting the Majesty of the Lawgiver, and suitable unto the justice and rigour of the same. d Heb. 12.19.21 They that heard it, entreated that the Word should not be spoken to them any more. And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, Moses. I exceedingly fear and quake; even that Moses notwithstanding, who c Numb. 12.3. was very meek above all the men, which were upon the face of the earth; with whom the Lord spoke f Numb. 12.8. mouth to mouth, and not in dark speeches, and by whose hand the Lord gave the Law; when God published his Law, he must needs have trembled, because he saw in the same the justice of God, and his own unrighteousness. Surely, if any could have been conformable to the justice and uprightness of the same, it was he, that was the mediator; and it is of him that we have the confession of his sin, and of the people; g Psal. 90.8. Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance. It is he himself which hath written the history of his unbelief, and of that of Aaron his brother, Aaron. when they glorified not God at the waters of strife, for which cause the Lord spoke unto them, saying, h Numb. 20.12. Chrysost. de p●niten. homil. 6. to. 5. Because ye believe me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this Congregation into the Land, which I have given them. Moses, who gave the Law, Aaron who kept the Law, the one a Prophet and Leader of the people, the other the Highpriest and Teacher of the people; who should have been pure from sin, so holy, without spot, without vice, as these? especially that carried written on his forehead, i Exo. 28.36.38 HOLINESS TO THE LORD; that in his Priesthood did represent jesus Christ, the Highpriest of his Church, who is the holy of holy ones; k Exod. 30.10. Levit. 16.2. Heb. 9.7. who alone went into the holy place; who only bore upon his breast the urim and Thummim, alone saw the Ark of the Testimony; who only asked at the mouth of the Lord, who answered him from between the Cherubins covering the Ark. It is he notwithstanding that made l Exod. 32 4. a molten calf, and said to the people, These be thy Gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. He with his sister Miriam (a Prophetess) m Numb. 12.1. All the Priests. spoke against Moses. It is he, who with all the Priests, that should succeed him, was expressly commanded to offer sacrifice once every year, and to n Levit. 16.17. Heb. 9.7. m●ke an atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all the Congregation of Israel. VI They which are come after them, have not been better; for sin doth propagate itself always from the fathers to the children, and passeth from the one to the other, without sparing of any one; the whole world is his nurse-child. Excellent things are said of David by him, David. which saith always true, o 1. King. 14.8. He hath kept (saith he) my Commandments, and hath followed me with all h●s heart, to do that only which was right in mine eyes. Understand that only with that exception and reservation, which is added in the next Chapter; p 1. King. 15.5. Save only in the matter of Vriah the Hittite. A vile and villainous matter, an inhuman and barbarous act, a cruel deed; he put his feet in the bed of his entire friend, he took away the only lamb of his poor neighbour, he imbrued his bloody hands in the blood of the just, who watched, who fought for him: and in this sin he committed so many sins, and all of them so great, that to blot them out and wipe them away, he craves for not one compassion, but many; not one washing and cleansing, but a washing, and a washing again over and over, crying unto his God with a broken heart and contrite spirit, q Psal. 51.1.2 Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy loving kindness, according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies, blot out my transgressions, wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. He desires that a great sin be blotted out by a great mercy, r Hier. adverse. julian. lib. 2. Magnum peccatum magnâ deleri vult misericordiâ. Furthermore, that only must be understood in regard of crimes, whereof David (that act of his in the matter of Vriah only excepted) hath been clear; not in regard of his sins of infirmities, of his faults committed by error: for after that crime committed and perpetrated in the person of Vriah, s 2. Sam. 24.1.2. Chron. 21.1 Sata●. kindling in his heart the fire of pride, which was not as yet altogether extinguished, provoked David to number Israel, so that the anger of the Lord was kindled against him, and against his people: and it is of him, of whom we have these prayers and confessions, t Psal. 19.12. Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults. u Psal. 25.7. Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy merci remember thou me, for thy goodness sake, O Lord: x Psal. 40.11.12 Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me, O Lord, let thy loving kindness, and thy truth continually preserve me; for innumerable evils have compassed me about, mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of mine head, therefore my heart faileth me. y Psal. 130.3.4. If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared. z Psal. 143.1.2. Hear my prayer, O Lord, give ear to my supplications, in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness. And enter not into judgement with thy sernant, for in thy sight shall no man living be justified. He which so often recommended the righteousness of high cause to God, when his enemies did pursue him, and persecute him wrongfully, and then cried, * Psal. 7.8. judge me, O Lord, according to thy righteousness, & according to mine integrity that is in ME. When he presents himself before God, as a creature before his Creator, the servant before his Lord, the child before his father, to give him an account of his demeanour and service towards him, he renounces his own righteousness, and flies to that of his God; distinguishing as he ought, between the justice and righteousness of his cause, and his actions towards men, and between the justice and righteousness of his person before God. For touching that, he doth protest, that he is just and innocent, and takes God to witness as his defender and a revenger of wrongs. Touching this, he yields and confesseth his unrighteousness, he declines by all manner of deprecation the ange, fury, & just vengeance of his judge, crying, a Psal. 6.1. O lord, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure. Implores by all manner of supplication the mercy, peace and grace of his God, and having obtained it, he preacheth and publisheth it to all, b Rom. 4.6. describeth and declareth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, saying, yea, crying with a loud voice, to the end all men may hear, all may in●ouour to feel it: c Psal. 32.1.2. Blessed is he, whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man, unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity. This is that text, on the which the ancient Fathers have spoke very excellent things. d Hieron. in Psal. 32. Quod ●egitur non videtur, quod non videtur non imputatur, quod non imputatur nec punietur. Saint Jerome, That which is hid, is not seen, and that which is not seen is not imputed, and that which is not imputed is no● punished. If you object, that David adds, and in whose mouth (or according to the Hebrew, in whose spirit) there is no guile, he expounds that, of the mouth of him which confesseth himself a sinner. e Aug pr●●fat. in Psal. 31. Saint Austin: Who are the blessed? Not th●se in whom God finds no sin; for he finds it in all men: f Rom. 3.23. for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. If then sins are found in all, it remains, that there are none blessed, but those, whose sins are remitted. Thou hast done no good thing, and the remission of thy sins is given thee; man looks vp●n thy works, Et omnia inveniuntur mal●. and all of them are found bad and evil. If God should give to those works that which is their due, without doubs he would condemn them; g Rom. 6.23. Non tibi deus reddit debitam poenam, sed donat indebitam gratiam. For the wages of sin is death: what is due to bad works but damnation? what is due to good works? the Kingdom of Heaven. Now art thou found with bad works of thou shouldest have what thou ●ast deserved, thou shouldest be punished. But how goeth the matter? God gives theriot the punishment due to thee, but he gives thee grace not due to th●●. Debebat vindinctam, dat indulgentiam; He owed vengeance, he gives indulgence and mercy. Item: h Ibid. Conc. 2. Noluit advertere noluit animadnertere: noluit agnoscere: maluit ignoscere. Blessed are not they, in wh●m no sins are found, but they whose sins are covered. Are they covered? they are abolished and blotted out. If God hath covered sins, he hath not had the will to mark or note them: if he hath not had the desire to mark them, he would not take any knowledge of them; he hath not had the desire to punish them, he hath not minded to ordain of them, he had rather pardon them. Saint Bernard, i Bernard. in Cantica, ser. 23. O he alone truly happy, unto whom the Lord hath not imputed his sin! for there is no man but hath bad s●●● sin; for all have ●inned, and all have need of the glory of God. Notwithstanding, who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's Elect? Non peccare, Dei justitia est: beminis justitia, iudulgentia Dei. I● sufficeth me in li●● of all righteousness, that I have him alone propitious, against whom alone I have sinned. All that which he hath ordained not to impute unto ●●e, is as if it had never ●e●ne. Not to sin 〈◊〉 the righteousness of God, the righteousness of 〈◊〉 i● the 〈◊〉 and gentleness of God. In a word, Saint Ambrose writes, that k Ambros. de bono mortis c. 2. vita aeterna, pe● catorum remissio est. life eternal is the remission of sins. They are, as many blows of a battle-axe upon all the satisfactions, righteousness and merits of men: for if he whose sin is pardoned, is not punished with the penalty of sin, which is eternal death, consisting in a total and everlasting privation of the favour, grace and blessing of God; he must of necessity for ever enjoy the presence of God, wherein life eternal consists. To be delivered from God's curse, is to be saved; because to be damned, is to be hated, rejected, and for ever forsaken of God; wherefore who is not damned, is not hated of God; and he which is not hated of God, is beloved of him. Now he whom God loves, hath always God on his right hand, enjoys always his presence, and therein eternal happiness, as it is written, l Psal. 16.11. In thy presence is fullness of joy, at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. And therefore is it that David declares, that the happiness, the whole felicity of man, life eternal depends upon the remission of sins; so much say the Fathers also, to this end, that all they may be ashamed, who confessing that jesus Christ hath delivered them from eternal death by his death, devise, that we must do good works to merit life eternal. For as S. Bernard saith, m Bernard. ad milites Templi c. 11. Sic namque mortua morte revertitur vita, quemadmodum ablato peccato redit justitia. Solomon. So death being dead, life returns again; as sin being taken away, righteousness returneth again, that none say that he is happy, because he is no sinner; but that they only esteem themselves happy, which have obtained the remission of their sins. VII. I should be too long, if I should make a catalogue of all the other Saints of the old Testament; I will not speak of o 1. King. 11.4.5.6. Hieron. adverse. jovian. lib. 2. Ezechias. Solomon the beloved of the Lord, who for that he loved many strange women, he turned his heart from the love of the Lord; his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, but went after Ashtareth, the goddess of the Sidonia●s; and after Milcom, the abomination of the Am●rites, and did evil in the sight of the Lord. I will not speak of Ezechias, who being sick, prayed unto God and said, p Jsai. 38 3. Remember now, O Lord, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth, and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight: when he gives God thanks for the recovery of his health, he confesseth himself a sinner, and saith, q Isai. 38.17. Thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption, for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back. I will omit also, that the Spirit of God blames him, r 2. Chron. 32.25 that he rendered not again according to the benefit done unto him, for his heart was lifted up, therefore there was wrath upon him. Josias. I will not recite, that josias, who in the whole course of his life, s 2. Chron. 34.2. did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, toward the end thereof puffed up with his prosperity, t 2. Chron. 35.22 Hieron. ad Stesiphont. in s●●e. Daniel. hearkened not unto the words of Neco proceeding from the mouth of God. I see Daniel, to whom God revealed all that which should happen to his Church, until the last destruction of jerusalem, of whom God himself testifieth and witnesseth of his singular u Ezech. 14.14. righteousness and x Ezech. 28.3. wisdom; I see him condemning himself and the whole people of sin, and justifying God in his just vengeance which he had taken of them, y Dan. 9.10.11. We have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God to walk in his Laws; and all Israel have transgressed thy Law even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice. Esdras. I see Esdras the Priest and Scribe making a semblable and like confession to his God, and saying, z Esdr. 9.6.7. O my God, I am ashamed, and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God; for our iniquities are increased over our ●eads, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens, The whole ancient Church. since the days of our fathers have we been in a great trespass unto this day. VIII. Lastly, I see the whole ancient Church, presenting herself before God like a poor malefactor, and guilty offendor with this confession; a Isai. 64.6. But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are as filthy rags, and we all do fade as a leaf, and our iniquities like the wind. A Confession, which the ancient Doctors do judge appertains also to the Christian Church. Origen, Austin, Macarius, etc. b Bernard. in festivit. Omnium Sanctor. Serm. 1. Iniustitia invenietur omnis justitia nostea, & minus habens. and after them Saint Bernard, What might be all our righteousness before God? shall it not be reputed as filthy rags, according to the Prophet● and if we judge according to rigour, all our righteousness will be found to be unjust, and not currant; what then will it be of sins, seeing that righteousness cannot answer for herself? and therefore crying aloud with the Prophet, Enter not into judgement with thy servant good Lord, let us have recourse in all humbleness unto that mercy, which alone can save our souls. c Adrian de Traiecto, de Eucharistia fol. 20. jugiter super pannu● vitae quem justitiae operibus teximus, stictamus saniem diversorum criminum. Adrian of Vtrecht saith, That our merits are a staff of reed, which breaks and pierces the hand of him that leans on it; they are at an unclean thing, as filthy rags: on this cloth of good life, that we think to weave and work upon by our works of righteousness, we distill continually the corrupt, filthy, and putrefied matter of divers crimes. What confidence then can man have before God, who loves none, that is not converted to him with all his heart? Thus spoke he, who since hath been Pope, named Adrian the VI CHAP. VII. I. Although that the Spirit hath been more plentifully given under the Gospel, then under the Law, yet none hath perfectly kept the Law, under the Gospel. II. Not Zacharie, and Elizabeth. III. Not john Baptist. FOUR Nor the Virgin Marie. V The Fathers have taught, that the Virgin Marie was conceived in sin. VI What honour is due to the Virgin Marie, and other Saints. VII. Saint Paul hath not fully and perfectly kept the Law, as he witnesseth, Rom. 7. VIII. He speaks of himself in the state of a regenerate man. IX. Saint james, Saint Peter, Saint john have not kept the Law. X. The whole Church prays for the remission of sins, which are the transgressions of the Law. Received a Gal. 3.2. ye the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by the hearing of faith? It is the demand which the Apostle makes to the Galathians, which had received the holy Ghost by the preaching of the Gospel, and not by the preaching of the Law: for the Spirit is not of the Law, but of the Gospel. The Spirit was under the Law, but it was not of the Law. They that were clothed with the Spirit, and had put on the Spirit under the rule and government of the Law, had this benefit from the Gospel, which was as then promised unto them, as it is now exhibited and set forth to us; whence the Gospel is termed, b 2. Cor. 3.8. the ministration of the Spirit, the Law, c 2. Cor. 3.7 9 the ministration of death, and the ministration of condemnation. We have then now to see, if the Spirit, which is given by the Gospel, and which is given more sensibly, effectually, and abundantly under grace, then under the law, according to joels' d joel 2.3.8. prophecy, hath given strength to any under the Gospel to keep the Law, so that he hath not failed and offended therein. Zachari● and Elizabeth. II. We will begin with the first Saint named in the Gospel, who although he was not of the Gospel, notwithstanding having been the father of him, that was the forerunner of the Gospel, is brought in in the beginning of the history of Christ jesus, adorned and graced with his wife with this great commendation, e Luke 1.6. Hieron. adverse. Pelag. lib. 1. Hoc testimonio quasi impenetrabil● uteris clypeo. that they were both righteous before God, walking in all the Commandments and ordinances of the Lord, blameless. And this is the place whereof the Pelagians made use, as of an impenetrable buckler; thinking they might very pertinently conclude by it, that a man may be without sin, and easily keep the Commandments of God, if he will; unto the which some added, that that may be with the help of grace; having left in writing, f August 95. Etiam in hac vita posse esse hominem sine peccato, non ab initio nativitatis suae, sed conuersione à peccatis ad justitiam. Hinc quod dictum est, sine querela, sine peccato dictum acceperunt, non quidem negantes, imò etiam con●itentes adiutorium gratiae Domini nostri, non per naturalem spiritum hominis, sed per spiritum principalem Dei. that also in this life there might be men without sin, not from the beginning of their birth, but by the conversion from sin to righteousness, and from a bad to a good life; and interpreting the word blameless, as if it were to say, without sin, not denying but confessing according to godliness, the help of the grace of our Lord; not by the natural spirit of man, but by the principal Spirit of God. These are the very words of those of that time, who being enemies of the grace of God, and of the merit of Christ, do part and share out man's salvation between the grace of God and man's nature; betwixt Christ's merits and man's merits: let them therefore hear Saint Austin refuting their heresy in the person of them, and reproving them, that they have not enough considered, that Zacharie was a Priest, and that all Priests were then bound by the Law of God, to offer sacrifice, first for their own sins, and then for the people. That was his first argument; He that was bound to offer sacrifice for his sin, was a sinner; Zacharie was bound to offer for his sin, therefore he was a sinner: in like manner all the Priests, and all the people; for they offered sacrifice for their sins, and the sins of the people. And therefore there were none at that time without sin: neither hath there been any since; for he adds, It sufficeth us, that in the Church of God, there is not one faithful found in what progress, excellency, or righteousness soever he be, that dare say, that this request of the Lords prayer appertains not to him [forgive us our debts] and tha● (saith he) hath not sinned, lest he abuse himself, and truth be not in him, although he line blameless. And concerning Zacharie, Saint jerom observes, that g Luke 1.18.20. Hieron. adverse. Pelag lib. 1. Idem epistol. 44. ad Rusticum. Denique & Zacharias pa●er joannis, qui scribitur justus, peccavit in eo, quod non credidit, & statim silentio condemnatur. he sinned, in that he believed not, and was incontinently adjudged to be dumb, and not able to speak. What is it then to be blameless? h Aug. in Joan. tractatu 41. It is, saith Saint Austin to be without crime, it is to live i Idem de gratia Christi lib. 1. c. 48. according to some approved and laudable conversation among men, whom none can justly accuse. And it is said, that Zacharie and his wife have had that righteousness before God, because they deceived not men by any dissembling, but as they appeared to men, so were they known to God; and this is not said according to that perfection of righteousness, in the which we shall live, and which is wholly unspotted and perfect: for the Apostle Paul himself hath said, k Phil. 3.6. that according to the righteousness which is in the Law, he was blameless, in which law Zacharie hath lived blameless. But the Apostle counted that righteousness but dung and l●sse, in comparison of the righteousness which we hope after, and whereof we ought to be a hungry and adry, to the end we may be one day filled and satiated with the sight thereof, which is now in faith, so long as the just live by faith. III. The son follows the father, namely, john Baptist; john Baptist. of whom it was said before his conception, l Luke 1.15. He shall be filled with the holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb. Certainly not to purge and cleanse him wholly of all spot of sin, but to make his ministery the more commendable and praiseworthy, by the extraordinary and particular marks of the virtue, efficacy, and power of God dwelling in hi● from his first infancy. For he himself confesseth himself a sinner, saying to jesus Christ, m Mat. 3.14. I have need to be baptised of thee, that is to say, according to the interlineare Gloss, n Gloss. ordinar. To be washed of original sin, because thou art the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world. And according to Saint Chrysostome, or whosoever is author of the imperfect work on Saint Matthew, o Chrysost. in Matth. c. 3. hom. 4. To be made righteous and worthy of heaven: and therefore to be washed in his blood, to be renewed and sanctified by his spirit, which are the two significations of Baptism. FOUR If any among the living should have been clean and pure from sin, The Virgin Marie. the holy Virgin, the mother of our Lord jesus Christ ought to have been; of whom the holy Ghost witnesseth, that p Luke 1.42. she is blessed among women, and whom until the world's end, q Luke 1 48. all generations shall call blessed. Blessed certain, for having received that grace to be the mother of our Saviour; and not for being without sin, and exempted from the number of those which have need of a Saviour; for she was conceived in sin, according to the Lords sentence, r John 3.6. That which is borne of flesh is flesh. To be borne of flesh, is to be borne by generation according to the ordinary course of nature, whosoever is so borne, is flesh; s August. de fide ad Pet. Di●conum. c. 26. Account surely saith Saint Austin, that he is borne in original sin, subject to impiety, subject unto death, and therefore the child of wrath. The reason is rendered by Saint Paul, t Rom. 5.12. where he saith, By one 〈◊〉 sin entered into the world, and death by sin, so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. And there is none exempted from this number, but jesus Christ, u Chrysost. de quinta feri● passionis hom. 6. who alone knoweth not what is sin, alone doth not participate with our fault, and did one nothing to sin and death, saith S. Chrysostome, following Saint Paul the Apostle, who attributes unto Christ alone the prerogative, to have been x Heb. 7.26. holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, because indeed he alone y Pet. diaconus ad Fulgentium. is borne after a new manner of generation: borne, I say, of man, of the substance of a chosen virgin; but not by man, not by natural generation, but by the supernatural operation of the Holy Ghost; who of the substance of the virgin formerly sanctified by him, did appropriate and fit a body to our Saviour, and inspired in the same a most pure and a most holy soul. This new manner of generation and conception without spot, hath caused that our Lord hath not felt the contagion of earthly corruption, being he alone, a Dan. 2.45. who hath been cut out of the mountain without hands; being the immediate work of the hand of God, which not appertaining to the holy Virgin, conceived and borne after the manner and common order of other men, she hath had need of God's grace and mercy, as other men have; she hath prayed, forgive us our debts, as well as other men, and as a member of the Church, she hath believed for herself all the Articles of the belief, and this Article among the rest, I believe the remission of sins. To be short, seeing that she died as other men do, she was a sinner as other men are; b 1. Cor. 15.56. for the sting of death (that which giveth life and strength to death) is sin; take away the sting from death, and it is dead; whosoever is without sin (as all of us shall be in the Kingdom of heaven) may boldly defy death, and upbraid it with the Apostle, c 1. Cor. 15.55. O death where is thy sting? O grave where is thy victory? That is the reason why Christ could not have died, if God d 2. Cor. 5.21. had not made him to be sin for us; that is to say, if he had not imputed unto him our sin, as to him who had constituted himself the pledge and surety for sinners, and their prayer unto the very last farthing or mite. I believe religiously, that the Virgin hath been a less sinner than other men, but I also believe that a woman-sinner she hath been as well as other men, because she herself hath taught me to believe it so. I read her Song, and I see her publishing with a loud voice, e Luke 1.47. that her spirit hath rejoiced in God her Saviour. In God therefore, who hath forgiven her her sins: for Christ is not otherwise a Saviour; f Mat. 1.21. Thou shalt call his name jesus, (saith the Angel to joseph) for he shall save his people from their sins, and shall not save them otherwise, as he himself protesteth, saying, g Mat. 9.13. I am not come to call the righteous, but the sinners to repentance. h Mat. 15.24. I am not sent, but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. i Mat. 18.11. The Son of man is come to save that which was lost: for them alone hath he been sent, k Isai. 61.1.2.3. Luke 4.18.19. to preach good tidings unto the meek, and unto the poor; to bind up the , to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to comfort all that mourn, etc. To them only came he, and them alone he calls unto him, l Mat. 11.28. Come unto me all ye that labour, and are heavy laden, m john 7.37. If any man thirst, let him come unto me; n Mat. 9.12. & that are sick, declaring that they that are whole, and holy, have no need of him: wherefore, either the Mother of our Saviour was a sinner, or our Lord and Saviour was not her Saviour and Redeemer; and she should have sung for others, and not for herself, that the Lord o Luke 1.53.54. hath filled the hungry with good things, and hath remembered his mercy: which mercy she should never have felt, she should never have thirsted after, seeing she should never have felt the misery of sin, nor the wrath of God, the just wages of sin. This is so clear and apparent, that it needeth not any longer and ampler proof. V Notwithstanding, if the consent of the Church can be of some weight, to make it the more credible, it is the common and ordinary voice of the Church, that p August. count julianum. All human flesh (Christ's flesh only excepted) is fl●sh of sin; because that q Idem contra Pelagium lib. 2. c. 40. ex Ambrosio. of man and of the woman, that is to say, of the conjunction of their bodies, none is without sin; and he that is without sin, is engendered and borne without this conception. And so all the rest, Origen, Chrysostome, Anselme, Fulgentius, Bernard, and Peter Lombard, the Master of the Schoolmen, all which writ, that the holy Virgin was conceived in sin, and borne in iniquity as all other men are. And from thence Saint Bernard draws an argument to condemn the feast of the conception of the Virgin Marie, then newly instituted and ordained, saying, that r Bernard. ad Canonicos Lugdun. epist. 174. Quum ritus ecclesiae nescit, non probat ratio, non commendat antiqu● traditio. the custom of the Church is ignorant of it, reason approves it not, neither doth ancient Tradition recommend it. s Origen. in Luc. homil. 17. Origen goes further, even to her actual sins, and saith, that she was scandalizd in the death and passion of our Lord; that if she had not suffered scandal, Christ should not be dead for her sins. Saint Chrysostome accuseth her of ambition, of ostentation and of vain glory, in that when our Saviour taught the people, she with his brethren stood without, and interrupted him, t Mat. 12.46. desiring to speak with him. u Chrys. in Mat. homil. 45. Consider (saith he) the importunity both of the mother, and of the brethren, for in stead that they should have entered within, and heard with the people; or stayed without until the end of the Sermon, and then should have resorted unto him; stirred up with ambition and ostentation, they call him forth in the presence of all the people, to the end they might seem to command Christ easily, and with great power and authority: whence it appeareth, that they were moved by some vain glory, not making as then any great reckoning or estimation of him. x Chrysost. in Joan. homil. 20. As much saith he, expounding the miracle done by our Saviour at the marriage in Cana of Galilee; and surely when she addressed herself to Christ, saying unto him, y john 2.3, 4. They have no wine: If she had not done amiss, nor had failed, either in that she would prescribe unto him a time to work miracles, or in desiring (by human affection and infirmity) to be in more esteem for his sake, Christ had never answered her so, Woman, what have I to do with thee. z Tertul. de Carne Christi. c. 7. Tertullian saith no less, and a Salmer. comment. in epist. ad Rom. c. 5. disput. 51. Salmeron the jesuit tells us, that some have proved and verified by two hundred Fathers, some by three hundred; Ca●etan by fifteen, and they (saith he) irrefragable, that the holy Virgin hath not been preserved from all sin. VI I writ not these things to dishonour or disgrace the holy Virgin, nor to match or equal any man with her in holiness; I render her all the honour can be given to a creature, without transporting to her the honour due to the Creator; I honour her remembrande, I esteem her, I believe, I say that b Luke 1.48. she is blessed, according as she herself hath foretold. I give God thanks for the grace he hath done to her, for the grace he hath done to the Church by her, in making her the Mother of him, who is the head, the Spouse and Saviour. I strive and endeavour to imitate her humility; her faith, her meekness, and other Christian virtues, wherewith God had adorned and graced her, and pray to God to give me grace to do it. This is all the honour which is due unto Saints; he which gives them more, is an idolater; he honours them not, but dishonours them. I reserve unto Christ jesus my only Saviour, my only Head, my only Redeemer, my only All, the honour which the Scripture gives him, and gives to none but him; c Tertul. de pr●s●r. c. 3. Soli enim Dei filio seruabatur sine delicto permanere. For it was reserved to the only Son of God, to live, to be, and abide without sin. Of all others it is written, d Rom. 3.22. That all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God, that is to say, of the honour which God had given them, creating them after his image in knowledge, righteousness and holiness, that e Rom. 11.32. God hath concluded all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all. VII. In the second rank after the Virgin, I place the Apostles, and I behold them acknowledging, confessing, bewailing their sins. Saint Paul. Saint Paul some twenty years after his conversion, already an Apostle, and so far, yea, so much advanced in sanctification, that he is not afraid to protest, f Gal. 2.20. I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: g Rom. 7. describes unto us an horrible war that he felt in himself, a perpetual warfare of the flesh and the spirit, by the which he was so divided and distracted between evil and good, that he cries out, h Vers. 14. I am carnal sold under sin. He had his mind enlightened, and knowing the good, he had also his will inclined to follow the direction of the mind and understanding, and to obey the Law; and that had he as touching the inward man, and as touching that that was renewed in him; but he complains, that he had also in himself, his flesh impugning and thwarting his good will, and repugning his understanding and the Law of God, and haling him (will he, ●ill he) to commit the sin he hates: i Vers. 15. for (saith he) that which I do, I allow not; behold, the mind and understanding enlightened condemning the evil, for what I would, that do I not: but what I hate, that do I. Lo, the sanctified will abhorring the evil; and notwithstanding he feels in himself so great a peruer●itie, that he doth the evil which he hates and condemns: and this perverseness is sin, the corruption of his nature withdrawing him from good, and drawing him to evil: k Vers. 16. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the Law that it is good; l Vers. 17. now than it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. And this sin is his flesh, his natural corruption spread over all the parts of the soul and body, which hinders him to do the good he would, and forceth him to do the evil he hates, as he adds; m Vers. 18.19. For I know that in me (that is) in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing; for to will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good, I find not; for the good that I would I do not, but the evil which I would not, that I do, etc. And so continues his complaint, and declares, that not only he knows, approves, wills the good, but also loves it, and taketh delight in it. n Vers. 22. For, saith he, I delight in the Law of God after the inward man: what was the cause then that he did it not, or rather that he found not the means to perfect it? The outward man, his flesh, which he terms o Vers. 23. the Law of his members; as he terms the inward man the Law of his mind, as it followeth: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin, which is in my members. And surely those members are all the parts of the soul and body infected with sin, and this combat is so sharp and harsh, and the event thereof so heavy and doleful in this life, that nothing is left to him, but to bemoan his misery, and call after death to be delivered of it, p Vers. 24. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? Who? Surely God by jesus Christ, who by the corporal death will deliver and free the members of his body from the necessity of sinning, and will make them fully victorious over the flesh; whence he concludes with this solemn action of thanksgiving, q Vers. 25. I thank God through jesus Christ our Lord: and comforts all those that are exercised with the like combat, assuring them, that r Rom. 8.1. Now there is no condemnation to them which are in Christ jesus. VIII. The Pelagians s Hieron. adverse. Pelagian. lib. 2. in principio. in Saint jeroms time did expound all these words of the unregenerate man; affirming, that the Apostle speaks in the name and person of a man not as yet called, justified, sanctified, and not in his own person. There are some now adays which maintain the same opinion. t August. lib. 1. Retract. c. 13. Saint Austin was (at the beginning) of this opinion; but afterwards overcome by the truth, he retracts and recants, acknowledging, that in the words of the Apostle, u Idem contra julian. li. 6. c. 11. is the groaning and heavy lamentation of the Saints, warring against the concupiscence of the flesh. After him x Prosper contra Collatorem, c. 8. Vox vocati est sub grati● constituti. Prosper writing against Cassian S●mipelagian, and Father of many of our time, saith, that this sentence, For to will is present with me: but how to perform that which is good, I find not, is the voice of a man called, and that is under grace. All the circumstances of the Text do show and express as much. The Apostle speaks always of himself, and in the present tense, I am carnal sold under sin. The things whereof he complains, cannot belong to any other, then to the regenerate man: for he allows the good, he wills the good, he consents unto the Law that it is good, he delights in the same. That is proper & peculiar to a regenerate man, y Psal. 1.2. whose delight is in the Law of God, he wills not the evil, when he doth it, he hates it; when he doth it, it is perforce as a poor gally-slue tied to his chain, is forced to go where he would not; shall we say that these words are of an infidel, of a carnal man, which drinketh iniquity like water? Surely the language of a carnal man is, I do that which is evil, and I will do it; I do not that which is good, and I will not do it. It is his free will to will to do evil, to will not to do good. On the other side, the speech of a spiritual man in this life is, Alas, I do the evil which I would not do; for I hate it: I do not, and cannot perfect the good I would do, I desire to perfect it, for it is my delight: As the language of man glorified in heaven is, I do not that which is evil, and I will not do it; I do that which is good, and I will do it. Moreover, the Apostle writes, that he delights in the Law of God after the inward man: there is no inward man in a carnal man, he is all outward; he thinks, meditates, wills, desires, pursues and follows eagerly after outward and worldly things. The Apostle feels after such a sort his sin, and esteems, yea, finds it so heavy a burden, that he publisheth himself as it were by proclamation miserable and wretched for the same, and desires death with great affection, to be delivered and freed of it. The man not renewed, esteems himself wretched when he sins not, he will not live but to sin; and would not die, but when he can sin no more. The Apostle comforts himself in the grace and mercy of Christ jesus his Saviour, and gives him thanks for it. The man not regenerate, who is such a one as we have described in the fifth and sixth Chapter, knoweth he Christ? Or if he knows him, doth he love him, or call upon him? Christ may be z jer. 12.2. near in their mouth, but far from their reins. The mark wherewith God designs them is, a Psal. 14.4. They call not upon the Lord. This doctrine hath excellent uses. The regenerate man is compounded of the outward and inward man, of the old and new man, of the flesh and spirit; he hath as yet in him the infirmities of the flesh, it is a remedy against pride. He hath in him the Spirit of jesus Christ, his sins are pardoned and forgiven him, and he shall not come into condemnation. This is a remedy against despair. But of this we will hereafter speak. IX. If Saint Paul, b 2. Cor. 12.4. who was caught up into Paradise, and heard unspeakable words which it is not lawful for a man to utter, found and felt himself faint and weak, and often carried away captive by his most secret and dear infirmities; if he confess, that c 2. Cor. 12.7.9. he hath had a thorn in his flesh, for remedy against the which, he had need of the grace of God; none of the other Apostles could boast or glory to have lived without sin. Not Saint james, for he ranks himself with sinners, Saint james. saying; d james 3.2. In many things WE offend all. e Hierom. adversus Pelagian. lib. 2. Non pauca peccata sed multa, nec quorundam sed omnium posuit. Saint Peter. He hath not (saith Saint Jerome) put down a few sins, but many; not of some few persons, but of all. Not Saint Peter; for he hath also said, that f 1. Pet. 2.24. jesus Christ bore OUR sins in his own body on the tree. g Hier. adverse. Pelag. lib. 1. J●reprehensibilis aut nullus aut rarus. qui● enim est, qui non quasi in pulchro corpore aut nae●um aut ve●rucam habeat? There is none that is faultless, or they are very rare; saith Saint Jerome: for who is he that hath not, as in a fair body a mole, a wart, or some natural mark: for if the Apostle saith of Saint Peter, h Gal. 2.14. Saint john. that he walked not uprightly according to the truth of the Gospel, and was to be blamed; in so much that Barnabas also was carried away with the like dissimulation: who would chafe and be angry, if that which the Prince of the Apostles hath not had, be denied to him? Not Saint john, who being the well beloved Disciple, leaned on jesus bosom; for he also placeth himself amidst the number of sinners, and saith; i 1. john 1.8. If WE say that WE have no sin, WE deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in US. And this is the voice of Saints, k Aug. de peccat. merit. lib. 2. c. 7. Austin. A voice from whence Saint Cyprian infers, l Cypri. de ●pere & El●emosia. The Martyrs. that none can be without sin; that there remains as yet to those which are healed some wounds; that whosoever saith, he is without sin, is either proud or senseless. Not the Martyrs, for it is written of all of them, m Revel. 7.14. That they washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Then had they them soiled and distained, and have not found any thing in themselves, wherewith to make them white. n Revel. 14.5. These are such in whose mouth was found no guile. Surely, saith Saint Austin, o August. de peccat. merit. lib. 2. c. 7. because they have reproved themselves sincerely, and therefore no guile was found in their mouth. For if they said, that they had had no sin, they should deceive themselves, and truth should not be in them, and where truth is not, there is untruth. X. Not the whole Church, The whole Church. which so long as it wars in this vale of misery, believes by an article of faith the remission of sins; not (surely) the sins of others, but her own sins: for sins are pardoned to none but to the Church. This is her voice; p Canticles 1.5. I am black, but comely. She is not (saith Saint q Bernar. in Cant Serm. 25. Bernard) without some spot of blackness: but surely here in the place of her pilgrimage; for the time will 〈◊〉, when the Spouse of glory will make her glorious without spot, without wrinkle, and such like things. But if she should now say, that she hath no blackness at all, she should deceive herself, and truth should not be in her. Neither saith she so, but contrariwise she cries incessantly upon God in all her members, r Mat. 6.12. Forgive us our trespasses, in her most holy members. For as Saint Austin saith, s August. in Psal. 142. The excellent Rams amongst Christ sheep have received commandment to pray so. Then how much more the rest, whereof none can say, that he is without the contagion of ●●●ne, that he need not pray even so. Not Moses, not Samuel, not Elias, not john Baptist, not Saint Peter, not Saint Paul, not Saint john; not any one of those, that have obtained good witness and testimony from God in the Scripture. This voice, this language, ●aith t Gregor. Nysse. de orati. domin. Serm. 5. Gregory of Nyssen, appertains unto them all. If they were now in the world living on earth in this human frailty, the necessity of sinning would impose upon them a necessity of praying, in regard of their sins past, Forgive us our sins; and in respect of their sins to come, Lead us not into tentation; and that not only for others, but also for themselves; not only in humility, as the Pelagians said, but also in truth: for, saying they were sinners by humility, and not being sinners truly, they should lie through humility; and in lying, they should be sinners: as it h●th been decided of old by u Concil. Milevit. can. 6.7.8. the Council held at Mileui●um in Numidia, with denunciation of Anathe●● and curse against those, that made the Apostles and other Saints confessors of their sins, for humbleness sake; in 〈◊〉, not in truth. x Canon 8. Quis enim ferat ●rantem, & non hominibus, sed ipsi D●min● menti●n●em? It were (saith the Council) to lie unto God, and not unto men. Let us therefore conclude this argument with Saint Ierom●, and say, y Hieron. ad Rusticum. epist. 44. If Abraham, Isaac, jacob, the Prophets also and Apostles have not been without sin. If the purest wheat hath had his straw and chaff; what can be said of us, of whom it is written, z Jerem. 23.28. What is the chaff to the wheat, saith the Lord? CHAP. VIII. I. The places above mentioned, are expounded and understood of venial sins, by Bellarmine. II. Every sin is mortal in his nature, which appears, III. If it be measured to God, FOUR To the Law, V And to the death of jesus Christ. VI All sins are venial by grace to him, that is in Christ jesus. VII. Are notwithstanding some greater than othersome. VIII. The last Argument; Never any Monk kept, never could have kept the Law. BEllarmine a Bellar. de monach. c. 13. §. 32.36. expounds all these places of venial sins, without the which we are not, or are very rarely in this life; notwithstanding, for all this we may be just, and do works of supererogation. II. This man, when he writ thus, was doubtless cauterized and seated in his conscience, in regard of the feeling of sin. And thus it is, that now adays they sew cushions under the elbow of the poor abused world; and cry Peace, peace to them, for whom there is no peace: they make many souls live, that should not live, flattering them in their sins by a wretched distinction of sins into mortal and venial; a distinction contrary unto the Scripture, which speaking of sin in general, without distinction, without limitation, saith, b Rom. 6.23. that the wages of sin is death; and denounceth plainly, that c Ezech. 18.4. the soul that sinneth, it shall die. Let sin be measured to God, to the Law, to Christ jesus, and they will find that it is so. III. To God. d Psal. 51.4. Against thee, thee only have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight, saith David unto God; and the most holy men must say the like with him: for can a man sin without transgressing the Law of God, and therefore without offending God? And who will say, that a trespass against God is a venial sin? Among us men, the sin and offence multiplies according to the proportion of the person which is offended, and of the place where it is committed. The wrong done to a private person either in word or deed, may be repaired and satisfied by an honourable amends, or by a pecuniary fine and amercement: but to think ill of his Prince, is a crime of high treason; to speak ill of him, deserves not the gallows, not the sword, but the pincers, the wheel, the fire, the extremest torments. If a son rebel against his father, if the servant disobeyeth his Master, if the subject despiseth the commandments of his Sovereign; the father thinks he hath just occasion to disinherit his son, the Master to use hardly his servant, the Lord to reject his subject, to pursue him, to pr●scribe him, to put him to death. And the Creator of all, the King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords, the Father, the Redeemer, the Saviour of us all, shall be wronged and injured in words, in thoughts, in bad and wicked deeds, and actions, by his creatures, by his servants, by his children, by his subjects, and shall be wronged and offended in his own house, and in his presence; and some one or many of evil servants shall call and cry unto their fellow-mates and companions, that it is no great matter, it is but a venial sin, God will not regard it. By sin the great God, the infinite, immortal, immense God is offended, and men dare say, that it is a small sin. O sin not venial, but mortal! not small but great, but worthy of an infinite and immortal punishment, of all those which dare teach, that man can sin against the infinite Majesty of the Almighty, and yet not sin infinitely, nor be guilty of an infinite punishment. FOUR Let sin be measured by the Law: e 1. john 3.4. for sin is the transgression of the Law. Now the Law-spares not him, which transgresseth the least i●t or tittle of the same, but pronounceth this sentence and decree; f Gal. 3.10. Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things, which are written in the book of the Law to do them. What? is there any sin so small, which is not committed against some word or other of the Law of God, which by consequent draws not the curse upon the head of him which transgresseth it? This cannot be denied me, that he which is guilty of the transgression of all the Commandments of the Law, is worthy of death: g james 2.10. But whosoever shall keep the whole Law, and yet offend in one point, is guilty of all, saith S. james: for as much as the Law generally understood, requires nothing but obedience, which is not rendered by him, which transgresseth the least word thereof. Wherefore such a one is worthy of death, although he had spoken but an idle word; seeing that Christ declares, that h Mat. 12.36. Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgement; or had uttered i Ephes. 5.4.6. but foolish talking or jesting, seeing that the Apostle saith, because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. The Saints, which have prayed with such fervency for the remission of sins; which have confessed, that they could not subsist before God, if he would proceed against them in rigour and extremity; who renouncing unto their own justice and righteousness, have called upon him for grace and mercy to their unrighteousness, have known this, have ●elt it thus, have acknowledged and confessed it. V All they that will compass and measure their sins by the satisfaction, which our pledge hath made unto the justice of God, will know and find it so, will confess this, and feel it so. What? termest thou that a sin venial, not to be punished by death, for the which the God of glory died? Wilt thou say that, to be venial and pardonable for a little asperges, a little Holy-water sprinkle, for the which the only and best beloved Son of God hath spilled his blood? Wilt thou bless thyself in thine heart in committing a fault, a sin for the which k 2. Cor. 5.21. God hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; yea, l Gal. 3.13. a curse for us, to redeem us from the curse of the Law. Of that Law which accurseth all them, which keep not every word thereof. Now such are the sins which they term venial, m 1. john 1.7. for the blood of jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin. And as Saint john saith, speaking as well of himself as of others; n 1. john 2.1.2. If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, jesus Christ the righteous, and he is the propitiation for our sins. Sin thus examined and measured to God, against whom it is committed; to the Law of God, by the which it is condemned, to jesus Christ, who hath spilled his blood to blot it out, cannot seem venial to none but to him, who insensible of his own corruption, mocks at God, despiseth the Law, and sets nought by it, and counts the blood of the Covenant, the death of our Immanuel God-Man, and Man-God, an unholy thing. All sins therefore are mortal in their nature, and are always mortal to them, which live not by the Spirit of Christ. VI o Rom. 8.1. But there is no condemnation to them which are in Christ jesus, to them which have Christ living in their hearts by faith, and are true members of his body: To these all sins are venial, and in effect are pardoned and forgiven them by the merit and indulgence of God. VII. All this hinders not, that some sins are greater than othersome, and more or less rigorously punishable with death eternal, as our Saviour Christ himself declareth, when he saith, that p Ma. 10.14.15. & 11.24. it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gom●rra in the day of judgement, then for them which hear not, nor receive his word. Even so among men, capital crimes are unequal and different, and punished with a more sharp and cruel death in some, then in othersome. VIII. I have sufficiently proved, that not one of those which are recommended in the Scripture for their holiness, hath kept the Law. I have brought in a great number of Fathers, Bishops, Priests, Monks, which subscribe unto this whelsome and holy doctrine, have yielded unto it, condemned themselves, and confessed themselves to be sinners as other men. I would feign see now, if these righteous men, these bo●sters, these sellers of merits, could make any one come forth out of their Monasteries, whom the cowl, the Sackcloth, and Monastical discipline have so sanctified and renewed, that he hath observed and kept all the Commandments, hath no need to say, Forgive us our trespasses, nor to confess himself a sinner to his brethren in life and death. Let them not juggle and dodge with the truth, as the Pelagians did: for when Saint q Hieron. ad C●esiphontem. Egregij Doctores, dicunt esse posse, quod nunquam fuisse demonstrant. Jerome asked them, who those were, whom they esteemed to be without sin; they shifted of his demand by a new trick, affirming, that they spoke not of those that are so, or have been so, but that may be so. They that would avoid it with such a ●est and wile, I will oppose to them (as a wall of iron) S. Ierom● answer; Goodly Doctors, which say, that that may be, which they cannot show that it hath ever been; seeing the Scripture saith, r Eccles. 1.9. The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be, and that which shall be done, is that which hath been done. Let then these holy Fathers, these mortified men display and lay open their righteousness before God, and give God thanks with the Pharisee, s Luk. 18.11.12. God I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this Publican; I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. As for me, acknowledging myself with Saint Paul t 1. Tim. 1.15. the chiefest sinner. I will go unto the throne of grace to obtain mercy; and will cry and call upon my judge with the Publican, u Luke 18.13. God be merciful to me a sinner; and I am assured, that I shall return to my house justified, because x Psal. 145.18. the Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. CHAP. IX. I. The Righteousness of the Saints in this life consists rather in the remission of sins, then in the perfection of virtues. II. The first objection. God hath promised to circumcise our hearts, to the end, we love him with all our heart. III. An Answer to this objection. FOUR Second objection; Many have this testimony, that they have kept the Law, and have loved God with all their heart. V An Answer to this objection, VI According to David's words in the 119 Psalm. VII. And the consent of the Ancient Fathers. THe a Psal. 19.7.8.9. Law of the Lord is perfect; The Testimony of the Lord is sure, the Statutes of the Lord are right, the Commandment of the Lord is pure, the judgements of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. In this word therefore there is nothing imperfect, nothing doubtful, nothing crooked, nothing impure, nothing false, nothing that bends to one side, there is no opposition, no contradiction. By it have we proved that there is no thought, word, or action of the holiest men, which being ruled and leveled by the Law of God, is not found crooked and obliqne. For S. Austin said, b August. in Psal. 42. How straight and upright soever I seem to myself, thou drawest a rule from thy treasury, thou measurest and squarest me by the same, and I am found crooked and awry. Whence I concluded, and do conclude again, c August. de Civit. Dei lib. 19 cap. 27. that our righteousness itself, although it be true, having respect unto the end of true good, whereunto it is referred and applied, is notwithstanding such, & of that nature in this life, that it consists rather in the remission of sins, then in the perfection of virtues. Witness (saith S. Austin) the prayer and supplication of the City of God, which is a Pilgri●esse on earth, which cries to God in all her members, Forgive us our debts. By this word notwithstanding, they, that are ashamed to be too much bound unto God, and presume to have obtained plenteously grace of Christ, to have no more need of Christ, endeavour to improve and impugn this truth; and opposing the Scripture to itself, do seek in it men that have perfectly kept the Law, and arguments concluding, that the Law may be kept by him, that is here living on earth assisted with the grace of God. II. God (say they) hath promised so to work in men, 1 Objection. that in the time of the new Testament, he may be loved with all the heart, with all the soul; and Moses said unto the people, d Deut. 30.6. Bellar. de monach. c. 13. §. 24. The Lord thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul●, that thou mayest live. And there are many such like promises in the Prophets; wherefore either God hath lied, which cannot be; or this Commandment is simply fulfilled in this life. III. e Rom. 3.4. Let God be true, but every man a liar, as it is written, that thou mightest f Psal. 51.4. be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged. That which he promiseth he performeth; but he hath not promised, that we shall love him in this life with a perfect love, wherein nothing is omitted, nothing can be desired; but only that he will circumcise our hearts, that we may love him with all our hearts, which he doth by order and successively, giving us here the beginnings and proceed, and so prosecuting that which concerns us, until he folly consummate it, and finish it in the Kingdom of heaven; unto which is reserved the prerogative to be inhabited by the Saints, which have neither wrinkle, nor spot, nor any such like thing. FOUR 2 Objection. Bell. ibid. §. 2●. But there have been some found that have kept the Law. God saith of David, * 1. King. 14 8. He hath kept my Commandments, and hath followed me with all his heart, to do that only which was right in mine eyes. And of josiah, g 2. King. 23.25. like unto him was there no King before him, that turned to the Lord with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him. David witnesseth also of himself before God, and saith, h Psal. 119.10. With my whole heart have I sought thee. * Bellar. de justificat. lib. 4. c. 11. §. 11 12. 13. Saint Luke writeth of Zacharie and Elizabeth his wife, i Luk. 1.6. They were both righteous before God, walking in all the Commandments and ordinances of the Lord, blameless. And jesus Christ saith of his Apostles, k john 17.6. They have kept thy Word; these therefore have kept the Law. V Surely, if they speak of a sovereign and singular perfection, and such a one as the Law requireth under pain of eternal damnation, condemning concupiscence, and all the first bad motions of the Spirit; we have heretofore proved and convinced, that no man living hath so kept the Law, jesus Christ only excepted. l Thom. 2.2. q. 184. art. 3. Est autem infimus divinae dilectionis gradus, ut nihil supra eum, aut contra eum, aut aequaliter ei diligatur. A quo gradu persectionis qui deficit, nullo modo implet praeceptum. The lowest degree of the dilection or love of God is, that nothing be beloved above him, or against him, or alike to him; whosoever fails of this degree of perfection, accomplisheth in no wise the precept, saith Thomas. None therefore hath ever kept the precept: for since the fall, there never was found any, which hath attained unto this lowest degree of divine charity, yea, that hath not been exceeding far from it. For seeing that m Eccles. 7.20. there is not a just man upon earth, that doth good and sinneth not, as Solomon saith: and that David, josiah, Zacharie, the Apostles have sinned, as we have seen; it cannot be but that they have loved (in regard of the flesh) sin above God and against God; seeing that sin is against the will of God, and displeaseth infinitely the Majesty, goodness, holiness, and justice of God. The Saints therefore are said to love God with all their heart, because they love him sincerely and truly, without fraud and hypocrisy. For sometimes the Scripture opposeth all the heart unto a double heart; witness that which is said of those of Zebulun to establish David King over Israel, n 1. Chro. 12.33. they kept their rank without a heart and a heart; that is expounded by these words, these men of war that could keep their rank, came with o Vers. 38. a perfect heart to Hebron, to make David King over all Israel. Even so, whosoever warring against his infirmities, addicts himself to seek the Lord with a simple and sincere heart, and endeavours the best he can, according to the measure of the grace of jesus Christ in him, to love God with all his heart; God accepting of so holy an endeavour for the effect, and pardoning him all that is wanting for jesus Christ's sake, whose member he is, he holds him, reputes him, names him, as if he had done whatsoever the Law requires; and it is in this regard that he is called Righteous. For even as he which meditates, projects, designs the evil, takes pleasure in it, is called p Mat. 9.11. a sinner in the highest degree, and is said q 5. job. 3.8.9. to commit sin; although God either foreslows, or hinders, or dissipates his most wicked and wretched plots and projects, because it is not long of himself, that he puts not in execution the pernicious designs of his heart: God, who r job 10.4. hath not the eyes of flesh, nor seethe as man seethe; s 1. Sam. 16.7. For man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart, holdeth and accounteth for done, that which he would have done; terms him a sinner, and committing sin, as if he did always sin in effect, as well as he sins in affection. According to this the Lord saith to judas, who had resolved in himself to betray him, t john 13.27. That thou dost, do quickly. In like manner, he which according to the ordinary course of his life, walks in the fear of the Lord, in his Law doth meditate day and night, and all his delight is in the same, is called u 1. john 3.7. righteous, and doing righteousness, although the Devil, the World, and his Flesh do hinder him often to do the good he would, and do always hinder him to perfect it, and to do it so holily as he would; God, x Psal. 7.9. who trieth the hearts and reins, accepteth his good affection, and as his Father in Christ jesus, and now no more his judge, gives the title and name of righteousness to his sanctified, his holy and religious will; holding and reputing as done, the good which he would have done. VI So David protests often, that he hath kept the Law, as we may read in the 119. y Psal. 119. Psalm, because he had determined in himself to keep it; because he endeavoured and strove with might and main to keep it, and applied himself unto it with great zeal and devotion, as he declares it in the same Psalm, z Vers. 8. etc. I will keep thy statutes, vers. 8. I have chosen the way of truth, thy judgements have I laid before me: vers. 30. I have said, O Lord, that I would keep thy words, vers. 57 I have sworn and I will perform it, that I will keep thy righteous judgements, vers. 106. This is his resolution grounded upon the love of the Law, I have rejoiced in the way of thy Testimonies as much as in all riches: vers. 14. I will delight myself in thy Statutes, I delight in thy word. Vers. 16. My soul breaketh, for the longing that it hath unto thy judgements at all times. Vers. 20. O how love I thy Law, it is my meditation all the day! vers. 97. etc. This affection bred this resolution to keep it, and this resolution was followed with the effect, he saith, Thy testimonies are my delight, and my counsellors, vers. 24. I remembered thy judgements of old, O Lord, and have comforted myself, vers. 52. I made haste, and delayed not to keep thy Commandments, vers. 60. The Law of thy mouth is better unto me, than thousands of gold and silver, vers. 72. It is my meditation all the day, vers. 97. I have not departed from thy judgements, for thou hast taught me, vers. 102. Thy Word is a Lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path, 105. Thy Testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever, for they are the rejoicing of my heart, vers. 111. My soul hath kept thy Testimonies, vers. 169. etc. But this effect and work is not perfect: for there was as yet darkness in his understanding, and therefore he prays, Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold the wondrous things of thy Law, vers. 18. Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy Law, yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart, vers. 34. Teach me good judgement and knowledge, vers. 66. Deal with thy servant according unto thy mercy, and teach me thy statutes, vers. 124. There was some opposition in his heart, therefore he prays to God, to incline his heart unto his Testimonies, and not to covetousness, vers. 36. He that prayeth so, hath not attained unto perfection, & notwithstanding he saith, that he hath kept the Law, that he hath done the Commandments, as he himself expounds it saying, I have inclined mine heart to perform thy Statutes always, even unto the end, vers. 112. VII. The ancient Fathers have thus expounded these places of Scripture, as indeed they cannot be otherwise expounded then so; considering the sins of the holiest, which have often tripped and stumbled in the Law. Saint Bernard shows in what sense the Scripture termeth Christian's Saints; a Bernar. serm. 3. Ad fratres. in quo verbo non te terreat sanctitatis nomen, quando non secundum meritum sed propositum, non secundum affectionem sed secundum intentionem sanctos vocat. Let not the name of holiness amaze thee: for God calls not his Saints according to their merit, but according to his purpose; not according to their affection, but according to his intention. Which he proves by the examples of David, and of Saint Paul, who had not as yet apprehended that holiness, which men judge it to be; he adds afterwards, And thou also, if thou hast resolved in thyself to decline from evil, and do that which is good, hold fast that which thou hast received, and continually profit better and better; and than if thou dost something less uprightly (according to human frailty) not to persist in it, but to repent and amend thyself according to thy power, b Ibid. Eris sine dubio sanctus & t●. doubtless thou shalt also be holy. Prosper Aquitanus rendering a reason, why the righteous which have always in them things, from the which they desire to be freed and released, are not called sinners, but righteous, but Saints, says, c Prosper in Psal. 105. Scriptura peccatores non levium culparum homines, sed multorum facinorum, & profunde iniquitatis hoc nomine appellare consuevit. That although the righteous, and they which live praiseworthy, are not without sin; the Scripture termeth commonly sinners, not those which commit slight faults; but those which commit many crimes and heinous sins, and are profoundly wicked. S. Austin declaring why being sinners, they are named Saints, saith; d August. de Ecclesiast. dogmat. c. 85. nullus sanctus & justus caret peccato: Nec ●amen ex ●o● desi●it esse justus vel sanctus, cum ●ffectu tenent sanct●tatem. There is no holy nor righteous, man without sin, who notwithstanding cease not for all that to be holy & righteous, because they retain holiness in affection. In another place he says, that e Jdem in joan. tract, 41. many have been called righteous, because they were (sine querela) blameless, that is to say, without reproof: for there is no just complaint among men against them, which are without crime. Now a crime is a great sin worthy of accusation and condemnation. But if you think, that to be righteous, is to be without sin, read a few lines before, and he will tell you, Discuss and sift me out any, how righteous soever he be in this life, although he be well-nigh worthy of the name of righteousness, he is not for all that without sin. And that proves he by the confession of job, and of Saint john, and excepts none but jesus Christ. In like manner expounding in what manner the Scripture termeth good those that are bad, he says, f Idem. epist. 54. Ad Macedomum Sed enim ●icimus bonum, cuius praevalent: eumque optimum, qui peccat minimùm. Idcirco ipse Dominus quos dicit bonos propter participationem gratiae divinae, eosaem etiam malos dicit propter vitia infirmitatis humanae, etc. that how much a man doth well, that is to say, wittingly, charitably, and religiously, so much is he good: but so much as he sins, that is to say, strays from the truth, from charity, and from godliness, so much is he evil; and who is in this world without some sin? but we call him good, whose goodness overcomes; and him best, who sins least. And therefore they whom the Lord calls good by participation of his divine grace, even those he calls evil, because of the vices of human frailty; until that all, whereof we consist, healed of all vice and corruption, pass into that life wherein we shall not sin at all. For surely they were good and not evil, whom he taught to pray, Our Father which art in heaven: For they are good, in as much as they are the children of God, not begotten by nature, but made by grace. Afterwards he adds, that Christ himself calls his Apostles evil, when he saith to them; g Mat. 7.11. If ye then being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, Quid simus Dei dono, quid human● vitio; ho● commendans, illud eme●dans. declaring unto us the truth of the one, and of the other: What we are by God's grace, and what we are by human corruption, recommending the one, and amending the other. Lastly, he saith, that men are named righteous, because their unrighteousness is forgiven them, and the righteousness of Christ is imputed unto them. i Idem in Job. traci. verse. Omnes qu● per Christum justificati sunt, ●usti ●on in se sed in illo sunt. All they (saith he) that are justified by Christ, are righteous, not surely in themselves, but in him. As we have heard of him in the beginning of this Chapter, that all our righteousness in this li●e consists rather in the remission of sins, then in the perfection of virtues. So then Christian● according to the Fathers are said to be righteous in this life, because God esteems them as righteous and upright in jesus Christ, because they apply themselves unto righteousness and holiness; and because they live uprightly and righteously, that is to say, blameless, and without imputation of crime among men. CHAP. X. I. The third Objection; Noah, Asa, and many others are named perfect in the Scripture. II. The Answer. Those notwithstanding were sinners, and are said to be perfect. III. In regard of the perfection of parts. FOUR By the which a man may assuredly know, if he be the child of God. V But they were not perfect of the perfection of degrees. VI They have also been called perfect, in comparison of others less perfect. VII. And in regard of their affection, whereby they made towards their perfection. VIII. As also by reason of the perfection of Christ jesus, in whom they are complete. IX. Which is proved by the Fathers. THe third objection is, 3. Objection. Bellar. de justif. lib. 4. c. 11. concerning perfect men: for it is written, that a Genes. 6.9. Noah was a just man and perfect in his generation, walking with God. b 2. Chro. 15.17. The heart of Asa was perfect all his days. c 1. Cor. 2.6. We speak (saith S. Paul) wisdom among them that ar● perfect. And elsewhere; d Philip. 3.15. Let us, as many as be perfect, be thus minded. By these examples and many others it appears, as it seems unto them, that many have perfectly kept the Commandments of God; for otherwise they should not be said to be perfect. II. It hath been proved, that even these men have transgressed the Law, and have never attained in this life unto the perfection of the righteousness of the Law: in whose balance if the most perfect works of the most perfect were weighed, they should be found all too light, all too imperfect. Surely Asa who obtained witness, that e 2. Chro. 15.17. his heart was perfect all his days, is in the same place accused, that he took not away out of Israel the high places; and in the Chapter following, f 2. Chro. 16.7. reproved by Hanani the Seer, to have relied on the King of Syria, and not on the Lord his God; g Vers. 10. and to have put in prison the Prophet Hanani, for reproving of him in the name of the Lord, and to have oppressed some of the people the same time. And h Vers. 12. being sick and diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceeding great; yet in his disease he sought not to the Lord, but to the Physicians. He notwithstanding with the rest above mentioned, have not (for all that) left to be called perfect, for divers considerations. III. First, there is a double perfection, The perfection of parts. the one is of this mortal life, the other of life eternal; in this life, that man whom the Spirit of Christ reneweth, is sanctified in all the parts of his soul and of his body; his understanding is enlightened, his heart softened and made pliant; of a stony one it is made fleshy, or rather of a stone it is made flesh: his affections are freed from the bondage of sin, and ranged under the conduct of the understanding and of the will; all the members of his body, all his parts and limbs, his eyes, his ears, his tongue, his feet his hands, etc. are sanctified to serve unto righteousness in holiness. But it is so, that in every part there is always some imperfection in this life: for the light of the understanding is mingled with darkness, the doctrine of the will is infected by the natural perversity remaining yet in it; the holiness of the affections is soiled and troubled with evil, villainous and disordered motions; and the limbs of the body are often applied unto filthiness and wickedness. In like manner in regard of the Law, he which is led and guided by the Spirit of jesus, is sanctified in regard of all the Commandments of the Law. He finds them equally just, he affects them all, he applies himself to the observation of all of them, without omitting any one; and notwithstanding by reason of his frailty he cannot keep so much as one perfectly (namely, with all his heart, with all his soul, with all his thought, with all his strength) for God only, without mingling therein the consideration of his own interest, which is the perfection which the Law commands, and demands under pain of damnation. iv Because this imperfect perfection resides and remains in all the parts of the soul, and of the body, as in his subject; and extendeth itself unto all the parts of the Law, as to his object; it is termed, The perfection of parts, and is a sure mark, whereby a man shall know, whether he be renewed or no, and whether he have a heart without hypocrisy. For the whole religion of an hypocrite is upon the tip of his tongue, and at his finger's ends; it consists wholly in words and outward show, his heart is far from God, as it is written, i Mat. 15.8. This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth and honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. His understanding may be enlightened to know God, but his heart is never sanctified to know God; he will strive to keep some Commandments of the Law, but there will be always some one or other of them that will go against his stomach: as k Mark. 6.20. Herod feared john, knowing that he was a just man, and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly: but he could not forego his brother's wife for all Saint john's warning and admonition, telling him, * Vers. 18. that it was not lawful for him to have his brother's wife; showing in this one thing, that he hated in his heart God's Commandments, and that he was destitute of the sanctifying Spirit, which crucifies the whole man, and makes him affected to all the commandments. Of this perfection speaks Saint Paul, when he speaks of himself, as also of others, l 1. Cor. 13.9. We know in part, and 〈◊〉 prophesy in part. And in this sort were Noah, Abraham, Aza, job, etc. perfect. V But the other perfection, whereof the Apostle speaketh in the next verse, The Perfection of degrees. * Vers. 10. that when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away, is the privilege of the Kingdom of heaven, and is named the Perfection of degrees; because then the Image of God shall be restored in man in the highest degree, he shall have perfection of holiness, according unto his capacity in every part of his soul and body; and shall perfectly keep all the Commandments, and every one thereof. In this sense m August. in joan. tract. vers. Ex part libertas, ex part servitus; nondum tota, nondum pura, nondum plena, quia nondum plena aeternitas; habemus enim ex part infirmitatem, ex part accepimus libertatem. Saint Austin saith, that There is not yet a perfect liberty, because the flesh lusts against the Spirit, etc. but liberty in part, in part bondage, not as yet an entire and whole liberty, not yet a pure freedom, nor yet full, because not as yet a full eternity. For partly we have infirmity and feebleness, and we have partly received liberty. And he proves this by those places of Scriptures, which we have in the Episile to the Romans, particularly because the Apostle saith, n Rom. 7.18. To will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good, I find not. When then shall be the perfect liberty and freedom? When (saith he) there shall be no more enmity and hostility; o 1. Co. 15.26.53 54 55 when the last enemy shall be destroyed, which is death, for this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality; then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory; O Death where is thy sting? O Grave where, is thy victory? What is that to say, O Death where is thy sting? the flesh lusteth against the spirit, etc. that is to say, The s●ing of death is sin, as the Apostle speaks; and sin is always in us until death, and we consequently are always imperfectly perfect. Saint Jerome saith to this purpose, that p Hieron. ad ●tesiph. Haec hominibus sola perfectio, si se imperfectos esse noverint. this is the only perfection of men, if they know themselves to be imperfect. VI Secondly, there are two sorts of faithful in the Church, the one less, the other more advanced in knowledge; q Heb. 5.13.14. some are babes and have need of milk, others are of full age, perfect men, and have need of strong meat, even those, who by reason of use, have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. These in comparison of those are called perfect. And it is in this sense that Saint Paul saith, r 1. Cor. 2.6. We speak wisdom among them that are perfect. And in another place; Let us therefore s Phil. 3.15. as many as be perfect, be thus minded. He means US that are more forwards and advanced, let us be thus minded, let us have this feeling; And what feeling? Surely that we are not as yet perfect, as it is manifest by the words going before, for he had said; Not as though I had already attained, t Vers. 12.13.14 either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that, for which also I am apprehended of Christ jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended; but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those which are before; I press towards the mark for the price of the high calling of God in Christ jesus. Then he adds, Let us therefore as many as be perfect be thus minded, to wit, saith Saint Jerome, u Hieron. adverse. Pelag. lib. 1. Imperfectos nos esse con●iteri, & nec dum comprehendisse, nec dum accepisse; haec est hominis vera sapientia, imperfectum esse se nosse: atque ut ita loquar, cunctorum in carne justorum imperfecta perfectio est. to confess that we are imperfect, that we have not as yet apprehended, not yet received. This is the true wisdom of 〈◊〉, to know and acknowledge himself to be imperfect; and that I may so say, The perfection of all the righteous which are in this flesh is imperfect. VII. Thirdly, the Saints are termed perfect, as they are termed righteous, ab affectu non ex effectu, because they tend unto perfection, and without any stop or stay gain always way, and go on forwards, until God hath filled their cup with the full measure of his blessings. Saint Jerome expounding the words of Moses to the people of Israel, x Deut. 18.13. Thou shalt be perfect with the Lord thy God, whereby the Pelagians would prove, that man can be perfect in this life if he will; shows unto them, y Hieron. adverse. Pelag. lib. 1. that he is said to be perfect, not who hath all the virtues, but which followeth God, the only perfect. And he proves this by all the circumstances of the Text. VIII. Lastly, being members of Christ jesus, who hath fulfilled all righteousness for us, God imputeth unto them the righteousness and perfection of Christ their Head and Pledge; and in him accounts them, and holds them for righteous and perfect, as it is written, z Col. 2 10. Ye are complete in him. Saint Jerome writes, a Hier. adverse. Pelag. lib. 1. that we are righteous, when we confess ourselves sinners, and our righteousness consists not in our own merit, but in the mercy of God. Saint Austin speaking of the perfection that was in the Apostles, saith, that all the b August. Retract. lib. 1. c. 19 Omnia mandata facta deputantur, quando quic quid non fit ignoscitur. Commandments are judged and said to be accomplished and fulfilled, when that which is not done is pardoned. We will end our answer to this Pelagian objection with the answer of Fulgentius. c Fulgentius ad Monimum lib. 1. c. 15. Now the perfection of divine gifts is not yet perfect, it being so, that all the perfect have need of perfection. For he that said, let us, as many as be perfect, be thus minded, saith also, not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect. He was then perfect in the hope and expectation of the glory to come; he was imperfect by the burden of corruption and mortality, etc. He was perfect in the expectation of the gift, imperfect in the trouble and tediousness of the combat. He was perfect, in that he obeyed the Law of God with the mind; imperfect, in that with the flesh he obeyed the Law of sin. He was perfect, having a desire to departed, and be with Christ: Imperfect, because so long as he was in this body, he was absent from God. Perfect, in that he knew fully, that God is able to do that which he promiseth to his children: Imperfect, in that God hath not as yet done in his Saints all that, which he hath promised them. All this comes to this point, that none keeps perfectly the Law, d Aug. de peccat. merit. lib. 2. c. 13. & 15. and that this man or that man may be said to be perfect in one thing, who is imperfect in another: A perfect Auditor of wisdom, which is not ac yet a perfect Doctor and Teacher; perfectus justitiae cognitor, knowing perfectly righteousness, nondum perfectus effector, not as yet a perfect doer of it; perfect to love his enemies, not yet perfect to suffer and forbear them, not yet perfect in this love; perfectus viator, a perfect traveler, that is to say, tending unto perfection, nondum ipsius itineris perfectione perventor, but not at yet having attained unto the perfection and end of the voyage. As these places are expounded by Saint Austin, who shows, that we must not think that a man is without sin, because he is said to be perfect in some things. Now he that is not without sin, keeps not the Law according to the unchangeable rule thereof. CHAP. XI. I. The fourth Objection. If God hath given a Law impossible to be kept, he should be more unwise, and more cruel than a Tyrant. II. The adversary hath borrowed this sottish and cruel objection of the Pelagians (ancient Heretics). III. Saint Ieromes answer to this objection. FOUR The Law weak through the flesh, is fulfilled in us by jesus Christ, and the manner how. V The Law was possible unto man in the state of innocency. VI The Law is made impossible unto man in the state of sin through his own fault, and not by the default of the Law, which requires nothing of him, but that which he oweth. VII. Four uses of the Law concerning the unregenerate man. VIII. The Law is possible to the regenerate man, in regard of the perfection of parts. IX. The Law is in all manner of ways possible to man glorified. THe Flesh gainsays this doctrine, Objection. 4 and opens her mouth against Heaven, saying; a Bellar. de Moc. 13 §. 30. Idem de Justific. lib. 4. c. 13. §. 6. Si le● domini esset impossibilis, requireretur, Deum omni tyranno crudeliorem, & stultiorem, etc. If the Law of God were impossible, God should be more cruel, and more foolish than any tyrant. For he should require, yea, exact, and that of his friends a tribute, that none could pay; and should make Laws, which he knows cannot be kept and observed. II. This is sottishly and cruelly spoken; and he showeth, that he was inspired with the same spirit of error and blasphemy, wherewith the Pelagians were possessed, whom S. Jerome chargeth, b Hieron. ad ●tesiph. Soletis & hoc dicere, aut possibilia esse mandata, & rectè à Deo data; aut impossibilia, & none in his esse culpam, qui accepere mandata, sed in 〈◊〉 qui dedit impossibilia. Idem adverse. Pelag. lib. 1. that they were went to say, Either the Commandments are possible and rightly given of God; or else they are impossible, and then the fault is not in them that received them, but in him that gave them. Again, If they are possible, we can do them if we will? If they are impossible, we are not blame worthy, nor guilty, if we do not that, which we cannot perform. And again, Either we can eschew bad thoughts, and consequently we can be without sin: or if we cannot avoid and shun them, that which cannot be avoided, is not accounted a sin. III. Let them therefore patiently hear S. jeroms answer. First, he returns the argument upon the adversary in this manner: c Hieron. ad Ctesiphontem. The Commandments of God are either easy, or hard. If easy, show me any one that hath fulfilled them, etc. If difficult, how dare you say, that the Commandments of God, which none hath kept and observed, be ease? For either they be easy, and there is an infinite number of men which have kept them; or else they are hard, and thou hast rashly said, that that is easy which is difficult. Secondly, answering unto that which they did produce and allege concerning the possibility and impossibility of the Commandments, he saith, Hath God commanded, that I should be that which God is? that there should be no difference between me and the Creator? that I should be advanced higher than the Angels? and that I should have that which the Angels have not? Of him (namely, of Christ) it is written, as a thing proper to himself; he did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. If this be common to me and Christ what had he proper to himself? And so he makes the Law possible to none, but to Christ alone; and attributes unto Christ, as a thing proper to him, the perfect keeping of the Law. But these answers satisfy and pacify not the conscience, and therefore he adds a third answer. Thou sayest, the Commandments of God are possible; (he speaks to the Pelagian, and answers him, saying) and who denieth it! but how this is to be understood, the chosen vessel showeth plainly: for (saith he) d Rom. 8.3. What the Law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin condemned sin, in the flesh. FOUR The sense and meaning is, that the impossibility of the Law proceeds not from the Law; for if a man could keep the whole Law, it would justify him: but it comes from the flesh, that is to say, from the corruption of the human nature, which makes man uncapable to fulfil the Law, and consequently makes the Law unable to justify man. But God in his mercy hath provided, and hath sent his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, that is to say, in the human nature altogether like unto ours, sin excepted, and in this flesh of the Son, in our human nature which he hath put on, God hath condemned sin, surely in that he hath punished it in the humanity of the Son, being made a curse for us. And that the e Rom. 8.4. Righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us; questionless in as much as that in our nature, and in our name Christ hath satisfied the curse thereof, by the curse of his cross, which is allowed of God, as if we had satisfied in our own persons; as also in as much as we being justified by faith in Christ, we are sanctified by the Spirit of Christ, and by the same guided and fashioned to the willing obedience of the Law; which gins here in the place of our pilgrimage, and proceeds on daily from good to better, and shall be consummated & perfected in our country, the place of our rest. For that none hath ever fulfilled, and cannot fulfil the Law during the days of this life, f Hieron. ad Ctesiphontem. Saint Jerome proves it by the Apostles example, lamenting g Ro. 7.14.24, 25 that he was carnal, sold under sin; so that he cries out, O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? and than he comforts himself with his answer; The grace of God through jesus Christ our Lord? What say I? the example of the Apostle alone? when he proves h Hieron. adverse. Pelagia. lib. 1. & lib. 2. by a great number of places of the old and new testament, and by the example of all the Saints, that none ever hath fulfilled the Law but jesus Christ alone, who said, i Mat. 5.17. I am not come to destroy the Law or the Prophets, I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. V. But to answer plainly to this objection, we will consider man in a fourfold differing state and condition, in the state of his innocency, in the state of his rebellion, and of his fall, in the state of his regeneration, and in the state of his glorification. In the state of innocency man was upright, perfectly holy, perfectly righteous; God gave to this upright, holy, and righteous man, his just and righteous Law, possible in itself, and possible to him which had received grace to be able to keep it, to be able not to transgress it, remaining in this state, it did direct him unto all perfection, and he kept it in all perfection. VI But having allied himself with Satan, the Prince of darkness, and alienated himself from God, who dwelleth in the light which no man can approach unto, he fell into darkness, and having withdrawn himself from the obedience of his Creator, k Psal. 36.10. with whom is the fountain of life, and enthralled himself to his enemy, l Heb. 2.14. to him that had the power of death, that is the devil, he became m Ephes 2.2. Impossible to the corrupt nature. dead in trespasses and sins, and in such wise the slave of sin, that he cannot but sin. In this state God gives him his Law, which he cannot keep, not through the default of the Law, but through the fault n Rom. 8.7. of the wisdom of the flesh, which is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the Law of God, neither indeed can be; yea, it will not be subject to it, and will not observe it, but applies herself with all her power to the transgression thereof. Now it is not cruelty nor tyranny to require of this man, the slave of sin, the bondman of the devil, that which he cannot pay: as it is not cruelty to ask of a bankrupt, payment of his debts. A Tyrant exacts of his subjects that which they own him not. God exacts nothing of man, but that which man had received of him; all the heart, all the soul, all the thoughts, the whole body, and all the strength of that all. What is the cause, that man clears not this debt? 'tis not long of God, who o Eccles. 7.29. hath made man upright, enriching him with all spiritual blessings; but it is long of man, who being an unthrift, a prodigal spendall, hath wasted and consumed the goods which he had received, and by his own fault is become unable and unapt to pay. VII. Furthermore, a Tyrant demands unjustly of his subject, that which is not his due, nor in the power of his subject, & hath no other end then the ruin of his subject. In respect whereof notwithstanding it hath some uses. 1. The Law accuseth him of sin. But God demanding justly of man, that which man owes him justly, and whereof he cannot acquit himself, by reason of his voluntary unrighteousness, seeks but man's salvation: for he gives him his Law, to make him see his own debt, as it is written, p Rom. 3.20. 2. It condemns him of sin. By the Law is the knowledge of sin. And to make him shun and avoid God's anger and wrath, which is revealed from heaven against him, because of his debt, as again it is written, q Rom. 4.15. 3. In condemning him, it leads him unto Christ. The Law worketh wrath; that he knowing and acknowledging his infinite debt, and feeling himself bound by the same unto an infinite punishment, he may seek out him, who would and could answer for him as a pledge and surety, and who hath paid for him that which he owed not, as a principal debtor. Thus Saint Paul writes; r Gal. 3.24. The law was our Schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. The ancient Fathers have acknowledged these uses of the Law, saying, that the Law doth profit us, in as much as it makes us confess that which we deny, acknowledge our sin, and cover no more our unrighteousness; in as much also, that it shows to us s Ambros. de jacob. & vita beata, lib. 1. c. 6. August. de spiritu & titera c. 5. & seq. our infirmity, that having our recourse and refuge by faith to the mercy of God in jesus Christ, we may be healed. These be the reasons, why God gives his Law to the unregenerate man which cannot fulfil it. By it he accuseth and convinceth him of sin, he condemns him for his sin, to this intent that from being proud, he may wax humble; that seeing, that feeling thereby his malady, he may cry to the throne of grace, and ask for the Physician; that finding himself the slave of sin, he may implore the help of the Redeemer. In a word; acknowledging that he cannot do that which the Law commands, he may have his recourse and retreat to the grace of God in jesus Christ, in whom as in our Head, Pledge, and Surety, God hath punished in his most rigorous and severe justice all our sins committed against the Law, and forgiven us all of them in his greatest mercy. When man is thus of great made little; when from whole and sound that he thought he was, he finds himself mortally sick; from being alive, he feels himself dead; when he sees hell open to swallow him up, without hope of recovery, and so is as it were reduced, and brought to despair, then is he disposed and prepared to receive his Patent of pardon, to hear the good news of the preaching of faith: for the Law leads him to the Gospel, Moses to Christ, the preaching of the righteousness by works, to the preaching of the righteousness by faith. But if the natural man makes not this use nor benefit of the Law, and is not moved and stirred up to seek Christ: 4. It will restrain and bridle the outward man. yet it will in him profit and avail another, in as much as it will curb the outward man, and will mussel him with bridle and bit, keeping him by the threatenings of punishment and damnation in his duty, and constraining him to do in the Church and Commonwealth the good he hates, and which he would not do with out this compulsion. The Apostle had respect to all these uses of the Law, when he said, t 1. Tim. 1.9. That the Law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, etc. For it accuseth, condemneth, astonisheth the wicked, and will they, nill they, in spite of their hearts, rangeth them outwardly to their duty. VIII. But as for the righteous, Ho● the Law is possible to nature renewed. which are justified in the blood of our Lord jesus, and sanctified by the Spirit of our God; the Law can neither accuse them, nor condemn them, as it is written, u Rom. 8.33.34. Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's Elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died. There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ jesus. It cannot also compel them as they are regenerate, for they have the Law written in their hearts, and they x Psal. 110.3. are a willing people; and as David saith of himself, y Psal. 119. they set before their eyes all the Commandments, love them, rejoice and take their delight in them, z Psal. 1.2. they meditate day and night in his law, being renewed (as we have seen) in all the parts of their souls, and in regard of all the parts of the Law. In this state the Law is possible, in regard of the perfection of the parts thereof. For the observation of every Commandment thereof is begun in those, that are renewed in this life after the Image of Christ, which proceed daily forwards, go on and purchase day by day a greater perfection. But by reason of the rebellion of the flesh lusting against the Spirit, they cannot attain unto the sovereign perfection of the Law (during their sojourning in this mortal body), which will be kept perfectly, both in regard of the matter, and of the manner. IX. The perfect state of the Church, being the right, prerogative, and privilege of the heavenly Country: For as Solomon desiring to build the house of the Lord, caused the stones, and wood, and other stuff to be prepared in their own place, and then caused all that, that was ready, prepared, and made, to be brought to the place of building; a 1. King. 6.7. for the house when it was in building, was built of stone, made ready before it was brought thither, so that there was neither hammer, nor axe, nor any tool of iron heard in the house while it was in building. In like manner, the even and smooth stones, whereof our King of peace builds a holy house unto God, are carved and engraven here, here prepared, the wood is hewed and wrought here, withened, planed, and leveled; these stuffs are casted, and casted anew; melted and melted again here. The last Founder and melter is death, which freeing the soul from the body which oppresseth it, and from the temptations of this world, and from him who is the prince thereof, gives her free passage and access unto his heavenly habitation and mansion, where there is neither b Revel. 21.4. sorrow, nor crying, nor pain. Here c john 13.10. he that is washed, needeth not save to wash his feet. Here the heavenly husbandman d john 15.2. purgeth every branch that beareth fruit. Here the Church is in fier●, she is in making. In her native country only, she is in factum esse, she is made, she is perfect. Here she is militant, e Ephes. 6.12. wrestling not against flesh and blood, but against Principalities; against Powers, against the Rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. There she is victorious and triumphing over Satan, over the flesh, and over the world. There she shall celebrate and solemnize an eternal Sabbath unto God. There the Saints f Revel. 7.15. are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his Temple, and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. It is there, and no other where then there, where they have perfected that which they did here; where they keep perfectly, and fulfil the Law, which they kept here; where their righteousness is without spot, which was here as an unclean thing, and as filthy rags. And therefore we say, that God hath not given man an impossible Law: the Law was possible to man in the integrity of his nature, and is possible in some measure to the regenerate man by grace; by the increasing of grace it is possible to man glorified in all sorts and manners, and is not impossible, but to the carnal man by his own fault, and not by any fault of the Law. CHAP. XII. I. The fifth Objection. The Commandments are not grievous to the regenerate man, according to the Scriptures. II. Saint Ieromes Answers to this Pelagian objection. III. The Commandments are not grievous, for divers considerations. FOUR The sixth Objection. Whosoever is borne of God, doth not commit sin; now if he commit not sin, he keeps perfectly the Law. V Saint Ieromes and Saint Augustine's Answer to this Pelagian objection; He commits not sin, as he is a regenerate man. VI An other Answer: He sins not with a full and entire consent of the will. But they again a Bellar. de monach. cap. 13. vers. 28. reply malapertly, Objection. 5 and will make the Law in such perfection possible to the regenerate man, that he may keep it without transgressing it; because Christ saith, b Ma. 11.29.30 Take my yoke upon you, for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. And Saint john saith, c 1. john 5.3. that his Commandments are not grievous. II. This objection is also of the Pelagians, to the which d Hieron. adverse. Pelag. lib. 2. Saint Jerome answers, that that is said in comparison of the superstition of the jews, who had divers sorts of ceremonies, which none could fulfil literally nor precisely; and in comparison of that sentence of Saint Peter, e Act. 15.10. Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the Disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? And this yoke is extended by Saint Jerome even unto the Moral Law, as it appears by infinite instances which he draws from thence, showing that in them all man is made a transgressor; whence he pronounceth these sentences; So long as we live, we are in the combat; and so long as we fight and war, there is no certain and sure victory. The Apostle and all the faithful cannot do that which they would. Observe, The Apostle, then how much less the other faithful? Again, f 1. john 1.5. Ostendit omnium aliorum lumina aliquâ sorde maculari. God (saith he) is called light, and in him is no darkness at all; when he saith, there is no darkness at all in the light of God, he declares, that all other men's lights are tainted with some filth and pollution. Lastly, the Apostles are called the light of the world, but it is not written, that there is no darkness at all in the Apostles light. III. We answer therefore, that the yoke of Christ is not the Moral Law, considered in her strictness and rigour; for the Apostle saith, g Rom. 6.14. Ye are not under the Law, but under Grace. The yoke of Christ is the doctrine of the Gospel, wherein we find a remedy against the yoke of the Law, which commands to do that which surpasseth the strength of the whole man living, gives him no strength to do it, and notwithstanding accuseth him, curseth him, racks and torments him, if he doth it not; as h Exod. 5.6.7.8. Pharaoh, who did impose a great task on the Israelites, Ye shall give (saith he to the Taskmasters of the people) the people no more straw to make brick as heretofore; let them go and gather straw for themselves; & the tale of the bricks which they did make heretofore, you shall lay upon them, you shall not diminish aught thereof, let there more work be laid upon the men; and so increasing the Israelites task, did beat the Officers, demanding of them, Wherefore have ye not fulfilled your task, in making brick both yesterday and to day as heretofore? True it is, that Pharaoh exacted tyrannously that which was not due to him: but the Law exacts justly that, whereunto we are bound by right of Creation and Redemption. And God had given us straw, which we having burned and consumed, the Law is by our fault become to us yoke of iron; whereof we are freed by the Gospel, wherein Christ is propounded unto us, easing us, yea delivering us from this hard bondage two manner of ways: First, he disburdens us of all that which is troublesome and intolerable in the Law, as namely, from the curse of the Law, i Gal. 3.13. For Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the Law, being made a curse for us. Secondly, he creates in us a clean heart, and renews a right spirit within us; suggesting and ministering in us new force and strength, to wrestle with our flesh, an enemy to the Law. In this manner the yoke of Christ, the Gospel of jesus Christ (as the ordinary Gloss also expounds it) is easy, his burden is light. Thus God's Commandments are not grievous, to wit, to him which is in Christ, for they can neither accuse him, not condemn him, but they are to him pleasant, delightful, easy, and acceptable. For as Saint john adds, k 1. John 5.4. what soever is borne of God, overcometh the world, and this is the victory that overcometh the world, namely, even our faith. They are therefore easy to faith, but hard, yea, impossible to the flesh. And because the flesh is mingled with faith, and that our spiritual strength is weakened by our natural infirmity, they are to us jointly both easy and hard, possible and impossible, grievous and pleasant, heavy and light; and shall be so, until that our old man be wholly destroyed, and our new man be perfectly re-established after the Image of him that created him. FOUR He which hath not a feeling of these things, Objection. 6 Bellar. de justif. lib. 4. c. 13. para. ultimo. hath a leprous, cauterized, and putrefied soul: but such a one feels them, that makes as if he did not feel them, and against his feeling and conscience seeks yet, even in the Scripture, whereupon to ground falsehood and untruth. He that sins not, transgresseth not the Law, but fulfilleth it; say they: * 1. john 3.9. But whosoever is borne of God, doth not commit sin, for his seed remaineth in him, and he cannot sin, because he is borne of God, saith Saint john. therefore, whosoever is borne of God, transgresseth not the Law, but keepeth it. V Too much of one thing is death to the Reader, they do nothing but set before us the unsavoury coleworts of the Pelagians, for this objection is also of the Pelagians; S. l Hieron. adverse. Pelag. lib. 1. Jerome resolves it, opposing unto it another sentence of S. john; m 1. john 1.8. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. How then do these things agree together? is there any contradiction in the Apostle? God forbidden. But there are tars with this seed of God, saith Saint Jerome, that shall not be separated from the wheat, until the end of the world. In as much then as the seed of God remains in him that is borne of God, he commits not sin: but in as much as there are tars and darnel in him, he sinneth. In like manner Saint Austin, We are, saith he, the children of God, and the children of this world, n August. de Peccator. merit. lib. 2. c. 8. Per quod filii dei sumus, per hoc peccare omnino non possumus; per quod adhuc filii saeculi sumus, per hoc & peccare adhuc possumus. By that whereby we are the children of God, we cannot sin after a sort, etc. By what we are the children of the world, we can yet sin. In another place he expounds this sentence by another, where the same Apostle saith, o 1. john 4.7. Love is of God, and every one that loveth, is borne of God, and knoweth God. p August. de gratia Christi contra pro lib, 1. Cor. 2.1. According to this love (saith he) this sentence may be better understood, He that is borne of God, doth not commit sin, and thinks not on evil. Therefore when a man sins, he sins not according to charity and love, but according to lust, according to which he is not borne of God. Their resolution and answer is, that man as he is regenerate cannot sin, and sins not; as he is not regenerate, he sins. VI We add a second answer: He sins not maliciously, and with a full and whole consent of the will, he makes not a trade of sin, q Psal. 1.1. He walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. The Scripture terms such as spend their days in wickedness, r Mat. 7.23. workers of iniquity. s Prou. 4.16.17. They sleep not except they have done mischief, and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall, for they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence. The man that is borne of God is no such man: for the seed of God (the gift of regeneration that is in him) preserveth him from sins committed by insolency and arrogancy, that he never withdraws himself from God's love, and from faith. His sins are sins of infirmity, and he commits them unwillingly, overcome by some sudden passion of the flesh; as it happened to David and Saint Peter, when the one committed adultery and murder, the other denied his Master and Saviour: for the spiritual man warring against the flesh, it oftentimes borne down; but the blows he receives, makes his courage to swell, so that he riseth up incontinently, and returns to the combat armed with flame and fire; he buckleth and grapleth with his enemy, and angry with himself to have been thus foiled, he beats his breast, and cries, Have mercy upon me miserable sinner, as David did; he goes speedily out of Caiphas house, and weeps bitterly, and returns with the Saints, as Saint Peter did; he is like unto that brave Roman Captain Marcellus, who though often beaten, did always return to the combat, could not endure to be overcome, never gave over, never left his enemy in rest, till he had overcome him. The seed of God that is in him, gives him always courage and strength. After this manner, saith Saint john, t 1. john 5.18. We know, that whosoever is borne of God, sinneth not: but he that is begotten of God, keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not. CHAP. XIII. I. The seventh Objection: All God works are perfect. II. The first Answer: That which God doth perfectly, man comprehends it imperfectly. III. The second Answer: God perfectth not our regeration, but successively and by degrees. FOUR The third Answer: All the works which God makes, alone are perfect, but he makes good works in us and by us. V The last Objection: If good works are sins, we must not do good works. VI We must do good works, and for what cause. VII. Good works are not sins. VIII. Notwithstanding are not perfectly good, because they are tainted and soiled by the flesh. XI. God forgiving the regenerate man the imperfection of them, accepts of them for jesus Christ his sake. X. According to his mercy, and not for our merit. THis should content the most contentious; but because they seek themselves; and not the truth of God in their disputations, nothing can content and satisfy them. Objection. 7 And therefore they object again, that all God's works are perfect, as it is written; a Deut. 32.4. He is the rock, his work is perfect. Regeneration, and the good works that flow from thence, are works of God; they are therefore perfect; and if perfect, than they which do them, keep perfectly the Law. II. I answer to this objection three manner of ways. First, that which God doth perfectly, is imperfectly comprehended of us; we are always children, always disciples, and do learn imperfectly and with great difficulty the perfect lesson of our Master. The documents and precepts of jesus Christ were perfect. b john 15.15. All things (saith he) that I have heard of my Father, I have made known unto you: but the Apostles could not conceive and understand them, but successively by little and little, one after another, and had need after their regeneration, that the c Luk. 24.45. Lord should open their understanding a new, that they might understand the Scriptures; and that yet after all, he should send the comforter, which, saith he, is the holy Ghost, d john 14.26. he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you, e john 16.13. and will guide you into all truth. III. Secondly, although that which God doth, is perfect in his degree & rank, and that our regeneration is perfect, in regard of the perfection of parts: he works but successively & by degrees in us, because that being a free agent, he doth all things in all men, according unto the counsel of his good will. To be borne deformed, blind crump-shouldred, a cripple, etc. is a defect, an imperfection, in comparison of Moses, that was f Acts 7.20. borne exceeding fair, yet notwithstanding, he which is so borne, is the work of God's hands, and a perfect work in that perfection, which the eternal wisdom of God hath intended to confer and give him. God, who created our first father, created him a perfect man in the full measure of age and stature; but he hath determined, that all they which descend from him, should be borne babes, and should grow from age to age, until they came to man's estate; the first age being imperfect, in comparison of the second, and so consequently unto the declining age, g Eccles. 12.3. When the evil days come, and the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them: Notwithstanding every age is perfect in his degree. Even so it fareth with us in regard of our spiritual new birth. h 1. Pet. 2.2. First, we are as new borne babes, having need of the milk of the word, that we may grow thereby, and then we grow i Rom. 1.17. from faith to faith, we advance and go on from age to age: k Ephes. 4.13. Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. FOUR Thirdly, all the works that God makes alone, and without the coworking of the creature, are perfect in their kind: but in our regeneration our will works together with God, & the flesh that is in us by nature, resists the Spirit, which he puts in us by grace; whence it is impossible, but that the good works which we do, have a smack of the corruption that is in us. An expert Scrivener handling alone his pen, will write neatly and perfectly: but if he holds his young scholars hand, and guides his pen in his hand, the writing will not be so neat, and will manifest itself by her imperfection, that it is not the Master's hand alone; as it will appear also by reason of the straightness, measure, and neatness, that it is not the scholars hand alone. Even so is it with us, all the good works we do, do issue and proceed from two contrary principles in us, from God's Spirit, and from our flesh. God doth them in us and by us, as by young ignorant prentices and novices, which cannot follow the perfect direction of the Spirit, by reason of our flesh unprofitable and unserviceable to good, and strong unto evil; whence it followeth, that as they are defective and vicious, they belong to us as our own; so as they are good and holy, God claims and challenges them himself as his own. V Now followeth the answer to the last objection: Objection. 8 Bellar. de justif. lib. 4. §. 5. & seq. If our good works are thus vicious and corrupt, then are they sins; and if sins, then worthy of death; and therefore are not to be done, but are to be left undone, yea, avoided. It would also follow, that God should be the author of sin, for he is the author of every good work in us, l Phil. 2.13. working in us both to will, and to do, of his good pleasure. VI This is a subtle cavil to shift of the truth, and to cast a mist before: the eyes of the ignorant; we ought, we ought and must do good works, m 1. Sam. 15.22. to obey God, n Mat. 6.33. to seek and aeduance the Kingdom of God; o Mat. 5.16. 1. Pet. 3.1. to win by our holy conversation those, which obey not the Word; p 1. Pet. 2.12. & 3.16. to stop the mouths of the enemies of the Gospel, when they speak against us as evil doors; q Ephes. 4.1. to walk worthy of the vocation wherewith we are called, and r Phil. 1 27. Col. 1.10. as it becometh the Gospel of Christ, s 1. Thes. 2.12. who hath called us unto his Kingdom and glory by grace, who gave t Tit. 2.14. himself for us, that he might be our head, to whom the Father hath given us to be members of his body, and a peculiar people, zealous of good works; u james 2.18. 1. Pet. 3.15. to testify of our life, and the truth of our faith before the Church, to testify it to ourselves, and to x 2. Pet. 1.10. make our calling and election sure, that we may y Rom. 8.5. Gal. 5. 16.22.2● learn and know by the works of the Spirit, if we walk after the Spirit, and that we may z Mat. 6.16. know the tree by his fruit. VII. He which doth good works to these ends, sins not; and though works which he doth in this manner, are not sins. They are good in their principle, for they proceed from God; they are good in their manner of doing them, for they are done in faith, in obedience, in charity; they are good in their matter and substance, for they are conformable to the Law; they are good also in their end, for they tend and extend to the glory of God, to our neighbours good, to our strengthening and setting in the fear of God, in the assurance of the grace of God towards us. Sin is no such matter, it proceeds from the stinking sink of the flesh, it is contrary to the Law, contrary to faith and charity; sin is committed in unbelieve and disobedience, and hath for his faith and belief the world; and the things that are in the world; so that it is as unpleasant and displeasing unto God, as the good works are pleasing and acceptable unto him. VIII. But man being composed of flesh and spirit, it falleth out, that when the spirit makes his good works, the flesh steps in unlooked for, and taints them with the stench of his corruption, to the great grief and displeasure of the spirit of the new man, who ●urceaseth not to proceed and go on to do the best he can; being assured, that God, who hath already accepted of his person in jesus Christ, will also accept, approve, and receive in good part, the little good he doth; forgiving him for Christ jesus sake the evil that the flesh hath foisted in, and accepting for the love of Christ that good which remains, as being the work of his Spirit. IX. Even so hath he promised it, saying, a Mal. 3.17. I will spare them at a man spareth his own son that serveth him: so doth God, b Psal. 103.13.14. like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him, for he knoweth our frame, he remembreth that we are dust. He accepts first our persons, he adopts us to himself, and makes us his children in jesus Christ, and afterwards he accepts our works, because of our persons. If once we are his children and heirs in Christ, he handles and entertains us as father, and no more as a judge; he accepts the holy endeavour, which our new man brings and yields to his service, and supports the opposition, and impugning of our old man against him. In a word, when he views and beholds in our good works the evil, which is ours, he forgives us it for Christ his sake, c Jsai. 53.5. who was wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities: and when he beholds and considers the good which is his, he crowns it for the same Christ jesus sake, d Ephes. 1.6. in whom he hath made us accepted. X. Not therefore for our merits, but according to his mercy, whereof he saith, e Exod. 20.6. I will show mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my Commandments; that his sentence remain for ever, f Tit. 3.4. Vers. 5. After that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared; not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the holy Ghost; Vers. 6. Vers. 7. which he shed on us abundantly, through jesus Christ our Saviour. That being justified by his grace we should be made heirs, according to the hope of eternal life. And that we acknowledging for ever with Saint Peter, that g Act. 4.12. there is no salvation in any other, there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved; we may refer and attribute to him the whole glory of our salvation, in her beginning, in her middle, and in her end, as to him h Berna●. de byrat. & libero arbitrio. Domini est salus imo ipse salus, ipse & via ad salutem. of whom, and from whom is the salvation, who is the way to salvation, yea, who is the salvation itself, i. john 14.6. the way, the truth, and the life. CHAP. XIIII. I. A curious question: Why doth not God perfect our regeneration here on earth? II. The first answer: He doth not perfect it, that we acknowledging our infirmity, may be humble. III. The second answer: He doth it not, that we may feel, that we have always need of Christ, to whom we may have our recourse and refuge. FOUR The third answer: He doth it not, that having sought the good fight in this world, we may triumph in the other. V The fourth answer: He doth it not for the manifestation of his glory. VI According as these things are handled and declared by Saint Bernard. THere remains yet a question, to the which we will answer, and so will we shut up and finish this Treatise of the Law. They that feel not God in themselves, do always seek some exception, some accusation against God, and do ask in manner of expostulation and complaint; wherefore doth not God perfect our regeneration in this life? Whereunto I could answer with the Apostle, a Rom. 9.20. O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing form say to him that firmed it, Why hast thou made me thus? But that it may serve both for our instruction and consolation, I say, that God hath willed it so for our good and salvation, and for his glory. II. For our good surely, as experience teacheth us, that it is expedient for us to be thus exercised and enured in the combat of the spirit and the flesh. Adam crowned by God with glory and honour, took occasion from the excellency and dignity wherein he was created, to wax proud; so that mounting and raising himself higher than he should, he was cast down lower than he would. We read Saint Paul's words writing of himself, b 2. Cor. 12.7. Lest I should be exalted above measure, through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure? What? Is that happened unto Adam? Hath Saint Paul also been in danger; that the like had happened to him? What should we be, I pray you, that are not so much privileged as the Apostle? In what danger should we be to puff up, to cast away ourselves by presumption, if we were perfect, considering our inclination to magnify out selves too much, in this so small and so imperfect a measure of God's gifts in us. Wherefore as c Exod. 23.29. Deut. 7.22. God drove not out the Canaanites from before his people in one year, nor in two, but by little and little, lost the Land become desolate, and the beasts of the field multip●●e against thee: as also, d Judg. 2.22. & 3.4. that through them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of the Lord to walk therein. In like manner God takes not from us the remainders of sin, that we being incessantly exercised and troubled by them, we may acknowledge our infirmity, and become humble, we may exercise ourselves in this combat against our enemies; and that we may blow and till the good seed that is in us, with so much the more care, hindering it from being choked and smothered by ill weeds, seeing we cannot hinder them from growing up with them. This is our first benefit, a perfect state in this life, would make us proud, careless and negligent; this carelessness would make the vices increase and grow up anew in us, and pride would make the virtues to decrease in us. III. Furthermore, God will have us feel the need and want we have of his grace and mercy in all, and every part of our life, that we can do nothing, we can begin, continue and end nothing without him; we cannot be saved, but by him; we cannot ascend up to heaven, but by jacobs' Ladder, we cannot go to the Father, but by Christ. And therefore that we go to Christ, to discharge and unload our burdens on him, as he himself invites us all to come unto him with so sweet, so gentle and kind a voice, e Mat. 11.28. Come unto me all ye, that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest; that being disburdened, eased, and comforted by him, we may confess, f Rom. 6.23. that the gift of God is eternal life, through jesus Christ our Lord. FOUR Moreover, God hath appointed this world to be the camp place of battle, where his Church is exercised in a continual fight; as hath appointed heaven to be the place, where it shall triumph eternally over all her enemies. If that part of the Church, which is now glorious and without wrinkle in heaven, had not been thus Militant in this world, it should not be now triumphant in heaven. For if there be no enemy, there is no victory, no triumph, and consequently no crown, no price: g 1. Cor. 9.24. Revel. 2.10. for the price, the garland, the crown of life, is not given but unto conquerors. V And as for God, his power and efficacy is better and more known, when man feels himself supported and upholden therewith, against the assaults which are given him by his flesh; and the glory of his grace is so much the greater and more sensible, that he saves us, notwithstanding our infirmities and great imperfections. 'tis that which he said unto S. Paul, h 2. Cor. 12.9. My grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness. And therefore saith the Apostle, Most gladly will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. So much say I, so much say all the Saints after him. VI Saint Bernard hath observed these reasons, and hath written them down. i Bernard. de scala claustrali, si●e de modo orandi. c. 7. Fear not, O Spouse (saith he) despair not, think not that thou art despised, if thy Spouse hides his face from thee for a while; all these things work together for thy good, and k De accessu, & recessu lucrum acquiris, tibi venit, tibi & recedit, venit ad consolationem, recedit ad cautelam, ne magnitudo consolitionis extollat te, etc. whether he comes near thee, or goes from thee, it is thy gain. It is for thee that he comes, it is for thy sake that he withdraweth himself; he approacheth for thy comfort, he withdraweth himself of purpose, for fear lest the greatness of consolation puff thee up; lest if the Bridegroom should be always with thee, thou wouldst begin to despise thy companions, and attribute this continual visiting no more unto grace, but unto nature. Now the Spouse giveth this grace, doth this favour to whom he will, and when he will, it is not possessed by right of inheritance. It is a common proverb, Too much familiarity breeds contempt. He withdraws himself therefore, lest being too frequent & familiar, he should be contemned and neglected; and that being absent, he may be the more desired and longed for; and being longed for, he may be more earnestly and diligently sought after; & being a long time sought for, he may be found out with greater delight and contentment. l Praeterea si nunquam hic deesset consolati●, etc. putaremus fortè hic habere civitatem manentem & minus inquireremus futuram. Moreover, If we were never here without consolation (which is in part, as it were a riddle, a dark, obscure, and mystical thing, in comparison of the glory, that shall be revealed in us), we should perhaps think, that we have here a permanent and continuing City, and we would inquire less of that City, which is to come. m Ne ergo exilium deputemus pro patria, Arrham propretij summa, venit sponsus & recedit vicissim, etc. To the end therefore that we should not esteem, nor deem, nor take our exile for our native country, our earnest penny for our sum and principal; the Spouse comes and goes interchangeably, one while bringing comfort, another while changing all our estate in infirmity; he● makes us taste for a small time how sweet and good he is, and before we have fully felt him, he withdraws himself, and so as it were flying and fluttering with his wings stretched over us, he provokes us to fly; as if he should say, Behold, yea have tasted a little ●●w gracious and sweet I am; but if you will be fully filled, and satiated with this sweetness, run after me, following the sent of my perfumes, lifting your hearts on high, where I am at the right hand of God my Father; there shall ye see me, not through a glass darkly, but face to face, and your hearts shall fully rejoice, and no man shall take from you your joy. The soul must bestow much care and diligence that it be not totally and utterly forsaken of God. But, O Spouse, look unto thyself: when thy Spouse absents himself, he will not go far off, and if thou seest him not, he sees thee notwithstanding always, full of eyes before and behind, thou canst not be hid from him, etc. CHAP. XV. I. The Counsels of God are his Commandments, and there are no other. II. The Heretics do filch the words of the Scriptures, to display their errors, as Bellarmine, and the Author of the Pastoral Letter have done, to set forth their Counsels. III. The first objection taken out of the 56. of Isaiah, where promise is made to eunuchs. FOUR This place is not to be understood of voluntary eunuchs, but of those only that are such of necessity. V And cannot be applied in any wise unto Counsels. VI Bellarmine refuted, in that he writes, that the Commandments are framed unto man's human infirmity, and that to choose that wherein God takes delight, is to keep the Counsels. VII. He is also refuted, in that he says, that there is in heaven a better name, then that of the sons, and of the daughters of God. VIII. The true meaning of the Text. IX. Confirmed by the Fathers. X. Bellarmine's second objection taken from the Book of Wisdom, which is an Apocryphal Book. XI. Howbeit, that which he allegeth, serves nothing to his purpose. I a Psal. 16.7. Will bless the Lord (saith David) who hath given me counsel, my reins also instruct me in the night-season. The Lord gave him counsel by his Commandments, of the which this holy man faith, b Psal. 119.24. Thy Testimonies are my delight, and my counsellors. Of these counsels it is written, c Psal. 19.11. that in the keeping of them there is great reward; and therefore great punishment in the transgression of them, as it is also written, d Ps. 107.11.12. Because they rebelled against the words of God, and contemned the counsel of the most high; therefore he brought down their heart with labour, they fell down, and there was none to help. Again, e Prou. 1 25.26.30.31. Because ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof, I also will laugh at your calamity, I will mock when your fear cometh, etc. They would none of my counsel; they despised all my reproof; therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices. Such than are the Counsels of God, Counsels given unto all without any exception of persons; Counsels, in the observation of which is eternal life: And what desire we? What can we require more? Counsels, in the transgression of the which is eternal death. And what abhor we? What shun we more? What fear we worse? In a word, such Counsels in the perfect observation of the which, all men ought to employ and busy themselves, the most holy cannot attain unto, whilom his sojourning in his house of clay, as I have proved it. To what end then shall we seek any others? Wherefore shall we take pains, and torment ourselves to keep other Counsels, seeing that we may be saved without keeping them, and we are not damned for not keeping them; neither surely are there any others, either in the old or new Testament. II. Notwithstanding, seeing that our Author of the Pastoral Letter endeavours to prove by the Scripture, that there are other Counsels, and that better and perfecter in themselves, and of greater reward to the observers of them. It will be fit, and to the purpose, that we see and consider his reasons. Saint f Hieron. in cap. 23. Hieremiae. Jerome writing upon the Prophet jeremy, saith, that Falsehood counterfeits and imitates always the truth: for if it have no appearance and show of right and reason, it cannot delude nor deceive the innocent and ignorant. And therefore as the Prophets told lies to the first people, and said unto them. The Lord hath said, and I have seen the Lord, and the word of the Lord came to such a one, or to such a one; so the Heretics take the testimonies of the Scriptures out of the old and new Testament, and do steal the words of the Lord, every one of his neighbour, of the Prophets, Apostles and Evangelists. That is happened to Bellarmine, and to our Author of the Pastoral Letter: for they do steal and pick out the words of the Lord, and apply them unto those things, which the Lord never spoke. Let us see wherein, and wherewithal. III. The Lord saith concerning eunuchs; g Isa. 56.3.4.5. Let not the Eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree: for thus saith the Lord unto the eunuchs that keep my Sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my Covenant; Even unto them will I give in mine house, and within my walls, a place and a name better than of sons and of daughtes: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off. h Bellar. de Monach. c. 9 §. 3. & seqq. Bellarmine maintains, that this place is to be understood of voluntary continent, or chaste men; and he proves it, first, by the authority of Saint Jerome, Cyrill, Austin, Basil, Gregory; Secondly, by the words, which choose the things that please me: for they are said to choose, which are not compelled by any precept. Thirdly, because the Lord saith unto them, I will give unto them a name better than of sons and of daughters: for they that are not eunuchs, are not excluded from the Kingdom of heaven, yea, they are also called sons and daughters. Now that continency and chastity is truly meritorious, and worthy of a singular and peerless glory, he proves it by these words; I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off. FOUR I may with right and reason employ and apply in this place Elihu's words, which he spoke to jobs friends; I said, i job 32.7.8.9.10. Days should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom: but there is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding. Great men are not always wise, neither do the aged understand judgement; therefore I said, Hearken to me, I also will show mine opinion. The Ancients have seen much, but they have not seen all; they were wise, but wisdom died not with them. The spirit which bloweth where it listeth, was not only in them; but yet inspires them whom he will, and manifesteth unto many that, whereof they were ignorant. They have reaped, but they have left somewhat to glean after them; they have finished their vintage, but not without leaving us some grape-gleaning. The exposition of this place amongst many others confirms this. Some of them, but not all of them have expounded this allegorically; and we have learned and seen heretofore k Thomas summa 1. q. ●. art. 10. ex Augustino. by one of them, that we may draw an argument from the literal sense alone, and not from things that are spoken by allegory. The allegory can have here no place: for the eunuchs which lamented, because they were dry trees, are comforted there; the voluntary chaste men are not dry trees, they are (if we believe them) trees planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth their fruit in their season, whose leaves shall not whither, yea, which bring forth fruit in such superabundance, that they have them plentifully both for themselves and for others; and a reward is promised to them, not because they are eunuchs, but because they keep the Sabbath, choose the things that please God, and take hold of his Covenant. That which was taken literally, is of the Law, and not of Counsels, Our eunuchs hope to receive a reward, because they are continent and chaste in keeping the Counsels, and not for keeping the Sabbath, and taking hold of the Covenant, according to the Commandment. The reward which is promised to them, is, that God will give them a place in his house, a reward not necessary to the voluntary continent, which were not excluded from God's house, but had their place as other men. As for the reward which God promiseth to give them, it is not said, that they have merited it, unless that they will falsely say, men merit, that l Act. 14.17. God gives them rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons: When they beg their bread of God, and cry, Give us this day our daily bread, they merit that God give them this bread; and Saint Paul saith not well, that it is not m Rom. 9.16. of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy; and therefore it is not God that gives to man, and man ought to ask no more with David, n Psal. 116.12. What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits towards me? that we ought no more to believe, that o Rom. 6.23. the gift of God is eternal life through jesus Christ our Lord; and p Ephes. 2.8.9. that we are saved, (mark the word, Saved) by grace through faith, and that not of ourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast: but it is man that gives to God, that merits of God, and it is God's part to ask; What shall I render unto man? And again, the Scripture is faulty, when it demands, q Rom. 11.35. Who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompe said unto him again? And proves, that man can give nothing to God, merit nothing of God, because r Rom. 11.36. that for him, and through him, and to him are all things, to whom be glory for ever, Amen. V In this Text therefore, no mention is made of any keeping the pretended Counsels: for being such, they should be such, either of the Law, which lasted and continued then; or else of the Gospel, which came since. They could not be of the Law, because Counsels are not of the Law, but of the Gospel. I speak now according to the hypothesis and position of those, which call them evangelical Counsels, and place them in the highest degree of the perfection of the new Testament. No more are they of the Gospel; for the reward is not promised unto them, but under this condition, that they shall keep the Sabbaths; and the Sabbaths understood literally, are not of the Gospel, but of the Law: for it is expressly said to us, that are of the new Testament, s Col. 2.16. Let no man judge you in meat or in drink, or in respect of an Holy day, or of the new Moon, or of the Sabbath days. VI Notwithstanding Bellarmine urgeth the words, t Bellar. de monach. lib. 2. c. 9 §. 5. that choose the things that please me. And expounds them, as if God had said, which transcending and surpassing the things which I have commanded, framing myself unto man's frailty, shall willingly choose the most perfect things that I desire and would have. A false and wretched exposition; First, because he makes God say, that in giving the Commandments, he hath framed himself unto human frailty, as if the Commandments were possible and easy to man in his infirmity; whereas we have proved, that God regards not in his Law, what man can do now in his infirmity, but to that which man, who hath heretofore been ●ound and whole, owes him. u Bernar. in Cantic. ser. 50. Nec latuit praeceptorem, praecepti pondus hominum excedere vires: sed iudicavit utile ex hoc ipso suo illes insufficie●tiae admoneri, & ut scirent sanè ad quem justitiae finem niti pro viribus oporteret. Ergo mandando impossibilia, non praevaricatores homines fecit, sed humiles, etc. The Master was not ignorant (saith Saint Bernard), that the burden of the Commandment did surpass the strength of man: but he thought it good and necessary, that by the very same they should be warned of their insufficiency, that they might know to what end and mark of righteousness they ought to make towards, with all their strength and power; commanding therefore things impossible, he hath not made men prevaricators, but humble; that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become subject to the judgement of God, because that by the works of the Law, there shall be no flesh justified in his sight; for receiving the Commandments, and feeling our defect and want, we will cry up to heaven, and God will have mercy upon us, and we shall know in that day, that he hath saved us, not by the works of righteousness that we have done, but according to his mercy. Secondly, because he understands not the language of the Scripture, he restrains the choice to voluntary and free things, to the observation of the which, man is not bound and compelled by any Law. He might have read the words of the Prophet Moses, saying to the people of Israel touching the Law, x Deut. 30.19. I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both then and thy seed may live. As also joshuahs' words to the same people; y joshua 24.15. If it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve. Conformably to this David saith, z Psal. 119.30. I have chosen the way of truth, thy judgements have I laid before me. And Saint Cyrill expounds the Prophet's words, of them which choose and retain Christ's Testament; as Lyrinensis of those that live righteously and uprightly with their neighbour. VII. He expounds as falsely these words; I will give unto them a name better than of sons and of daughters: a Bellar. de monach. c. 9 parag. 3. & 9 maintaining, that by sons and daughters, God means those good and godly persons that are married, which are Gods sons and daughters; and that God promiseth to those which are virgins a greater good, and a greater glory than to these. What could he say more impertinently than this? For to be a son and a daughter of God, is the common name of all the faithful, and their highest and most excellent title and degree of honour, from whence depends all their prerogative, glory, joy, and consolation both in life and death; and it is not a name of an inferior quality appertaining only to some less privilege. Witness our Saviour Christ, when he saith, To as many as received him, to them b john 1.12. gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe in his name. Witness God himself, saying by his Prophets and by his Apostle, c Isa. 52.11. jerem. 31.1.9. 2. Cor. 6.17.18. Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you; and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. d Rom. 8.17. And if children, than heirs, heirs of God, and joint-heires with Christ, saith the Apostle. What may we? What can we hope, desire, wish more? It is that which is given to honest and good men, married persons by Bellarmine's confession, what remains then to the Monks? what have the Friars else? a name (saith he) more excellent then of sons of God; why? then they are not sons of God. And to maiden Virgins? a name better than of daughters of God: why, then they are not Gods daughters? what other name shall we give them? for he which is not the child and son of God, is the son of rebellion, the child of wrath, whose father is the Devil: a name (saith he) better then of sons. What greater or better name, I pray you, can we have on earth, then to be sons and heirs of a King, except we were Kings? And what better or greater name in heaven, then to be God's son and heir, without being God? The Angels are called e job 1.6. & 2.1. the sons of God. The Saints are called the sons of God, he which is the Son of God by nature, was manifest in the flesh, that we might be made the sons of God by grace. The holy Ghost is sent into our hearts, to assure us, that we are the sons of God: f Rom. 8.15.16 Ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God. And there is no name in the Scripture so express, so significative, and of so large extent; for it comprehends in it all the good, that God bestows on his elect and chosen people, unto whom he gives all his blessings, in the name, title, and state of children; and out of this state and condition he give them no spiritual, wholesome, and saving blessing. VIII. Now we shall find the true sense and meaning of this place, if we add thereunto that which goes before, and that which follows after, which hath been industriously and wittingly omitted by Bellarmine, lest it should have hindered hi● bad cause. The words going before are, Let not the son of the stranger that hath joined himself to the Lord speak, saying, The Lord hath utterly separated me from his people, neither let the Eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree. Here then the stranger, and the Eunuch fearing God, are joined together, both of them bewailing their misery. The one, because he was separated from God's people. The other, because he was a dry tree. The Eunuch is first comforted by the words of this place, whereupon Bellarmine grounds his Counsels. The stranger is comforted in the verses following, in these words; Also the sons of the stranger that join themselves to the Lord, to serve him, and to love the name of the Lord, etc. even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer, etc. The Gentiles, called by the Prophet the sons of the stranger, g Ephes. 2.12. were at that time without Christ, being aliens from the Commonweal of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world. As for the jews, God made a promise to Abraham their father, saying; h Gens. 22.17. In blessing, I will bless thee, and in multiplying, I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the seashore. Afterwards a particular promise is made unto every one of them; i Deut. 7.12.13.14. Wherefore it shall come to pass, if ye hearken to these judgements, and keep and do them, that the Lord thy God shall keep unto thee the Covenant, and the mercy which he swore unto thy Fathers. And he will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee. He will also bless the fruit of thy womb, etc. Thous● al●●● blessed above all people, there shall not be male or female barren among you. Wherefore it was a great reproach among them to be barren and without children; as we may gather from the words of E●izabeth, who having conceived in her old age after so long a barrenness, saith, k Luke 1.25. Thus hath the Lord dealt with me, in the day's wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men. But especially the Eunuch, who is impotent and unable to engender and beget children, was marked and branded with a special and peculiar infamy and reproach by the Law of Moses: l Deut. 23.1. He that is wounded in the stones, or hath his privy member cut off, shall not enter into the Congregation of the Lord. It is this Eunuch, who is such a one by defect, whether of nature, or by necessity, who complains, that he is dry tree, and therefore altogether unfit to be planted in God's house. God comforts him with the Gentile by this promise, that when the Messiah shall come, it shall be no more so, because that in Christ there is no difference and distinction of father or Eunuch, jew or Gentile; the Gentile and the Eunuch that keeps his Covenant, is as well and as much accepted as the jew, and he which is the father of many children. Therefore God saith concerning the Eunuches, unto them that keep my Sabbaths, etc. I will give a place in mine house; applying the things appertaining to the divine service at that time, to the things of these times; and promising to those that by faith shall stick fast unto Christ, keep judgements, and do that which is just and lawful, to receive them in his house, and to give them in the same, a name better than of sons and of daughters, an everlasting name that shall not be cut off. That name whereof he saith in the Revelation, m Revel. 2.17. To him that overcometh, will I give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth, saving he that receiveth it. The name of the ●onne of God, of the member of jesus Christ, of the child of the Church; the witness of the Spirit of Christ sealing his election, vocation, justification, and sanctification in his heart, whereby he cries, Abba Father, by the assurance which he gives him that he is the child of God. A name a great deal better than to be called the father of sons and daughters; yea, a name and fame far surpassing that, which comes from the multitude of children: for such a one is a father of many children, who is the son of wrath and execration: but he whom the Lord receives in his house in the number of his children, and avows him as his own, willing that his name be named on him, that he be in effect, and be called his son, that man cannot perish; but it shall be said unto him in the last day, as also to all others, whom God hath adopted in Christ jesus by their eldest brother, in whom they have been adopted, n Mat. 25.34. Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. And the ●eason is rendered by the Apostle, saying, o Rom. 8.17. And if children, than heirs, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ. For the Inheritance is for the children, an inheritance that cannot fail them, because they cannot fall away from God, nor lose their adoption, which is not grounded on them, but upon jesus Christ, in whom and by whom the Father hath adopted us to himself, and who keeps so well those, whom the Father hath given him, that not only p john 6.37. he never casts them out, but also q Phil. 1.6. performs and finisheth the good work begun in them, r john 17.15. keeping them from the evil, s Ephes. 4.30. and sealing them by his Spirit unto the day of redemption, in the which he will give them the crown of righteousness; t john 10 27.28.29.30. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand; My Father which gave them me, is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand: I and my Father are one. Thus have they an everlasting name, which shall not be cut off and taken away; and therefore a better name than that of sons and daughters, because that the name and reputation that a man hath by having children, being grounded upon the children's lives, if they come to fail and die, faileth and dieth with them, as we often see, that u 1. Sam. 2.5. she that hath had many children, is waxed feeble; as it happened unto Naomi, ruth's mother in Law, who having lost her husband, and all her children, said unto her neighbours, x Ruth. 1.20.21. Call me not Naomi (that is, pleasant), call me Mara, for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me; I went out full, and the Lord hath brought me home again empty, Why then call ye me Naomi? seeing the Lord hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me. There are some which read, A name better than to sons and daughters, which ought to be referred to the jews, who are called by our Lord jesus, y Mat. 8. 1●. & 15.26. The children of the Kingdom, because that before the time of the Law, the privilege and title of the children of God appertained unto them. So then the meaning should be, that God will more abundantly bless the eunuchs under the new Testament, than he hath blessed the jews under the old Testament: but the first exposition is the true and natural one, grounded upon the right construction of the Text. The self-same promise is made to the Gentiles, adjoining themselves unto Christ, that they shall not be separated from the people of God, but shall be received in God's house, and that their prayers made unto God, shall be heard and accepted of God. And these promises made both in general to the Gentiles, and particularly to the eunuchs, do tend to testify that which the Apostle declares hath been effected, when he saith, that Christ z Ephes. 2.14. hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; and that now a Gal 3.28. there is neither jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female, and consequently neither perfect sound man nor Eunuch, but they are all one in Christ jesus; b Act. 10.35. And that in every Nation, he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him, as Saint Peter saith. IX. As this is the only true, and sole exposition conformable to the Text, so is it of the ancient Doctors. c Clemens Alexand. stromat. lib. 3. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Clement Alexandrinus saith, that the Eunuch is not he that is gelded, nor he that is not married, but he which engenders not the truth. Such a one was heretofore dry wood: but if he obey the word, and keep the Sabbaths by abstinence from sin, and doth the Commandments, he shall be more honourable, than those which without an upright conversation are instructed by the Word alone, etc. and therefore the Eunuch shall not enter in God's Church, namely, he which is barren and bears no fruit, neither in conversation nor in word. But they that geld themselves from all sin for the kingdom of heaven, they are those happy ones, which fast and do abstain from the world, that is to say, from worldly desires. This exposition is allegorical, and comes near the true one; d Cyrill. in Isai. lib. 5. tom. 3. Bellarmine belies Saint Cyrill, who having showed, that the jews did glorify in their children, and boasted of them, thus expounds the Prophet's words; Id est, carens liberis & sobole. Id est, ne molest è ferat orbitatem. Although a man be an Eunuch, that is to say, destituted of children and offspring, let him not say in himself, I am a dry tree; that is to say, let him not bear impatiently the want of children; for that is nothing towards God, and God will not cast him off for that; for what virtue is it? what great exploit, the lustre ●nd glistering, whereof is to have a lineage and succession of children? For these things are the work of the flesh, and deserve neither reproof nor commendation. For although that hath been given to some in am of blessing; God calling them unto it, it shall be no discommodity to them that have none at all. At nibil erit non habentibus incommodi. He adds, that these words of God may be appropriated to them, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heavens sake. And in that he gives us to understand, that the natural sense and meaning of the Text, agrees & consents with the true eunuchs only; and cannot be referred to those, which make themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of God, but by application. Now to make himself an Eunuch for the Kingdom of heaven, is not to enter into a cloister, as it shall be showed in his place. He goes on, and expounds the words of comfort given unto the stranger: These words (saith he) are to be annexed unto the words going before, that the meaning of that which hath been said, be; The Lord saith these things unto the eunuchs, and unto strangers: which is worthy to be observed; for in that the Eunuch is placed in the same rank the Gentile is, and is comforted alike, it follows, that as it was a vice and defect to be a Gentile, in like manner it was a defect to be an Eunuch, a defect of the one and of the other, which had need of comfort; whereas to be a voluntary Eunuch, and to abstain from marriage for the Kingdom of heavens sake, is not a vice but a virtue; not a defect that wants consolation, but the highest degree of perfection, yea, a work of supererogation worthy of recompense, stipend and reward, say our Monks and Friars. Saint jerom expounding the same place, e Hieronim. in Esai. c. 56. Qai ●u●mli●er hunc 〈◊〉 intelligunt, ad proselyto● ex gentibus & verè Eunuchos referunt quae dicuntu●, etc. They which expound this Text humbly, do refer the things which are said unto the Proselytes among the Gentiles, and unto right eunuchs; that the strangers if they keep the Law, and are circumcised, and the eunuchs, such as was the Aethiopian Eunuch of Candace, are not strangers from the salvation of God. Therefore he shows, that in his time some understood this place as we expound it, although he prefer before it his allegorical exposition contrary to the Text; wherein God under the name of the persons and service of that time, did declare what grace and favour he would do unto all persons without exception under the Gospel. Now in that time there was no Counsel of chastity, but it was the glory of the jews to have wives and children. Saint f Chrysost. in Mat. homil. 56. in fine. Prophetae quidem omnes & uxores & domos habebant, ●icut Esa●as & Ezec●iel & eximius ille Moses, & nihil hinc virtuti illorum fuit impedimento. Chrysostome tell us, that all the Prophets had wives and children, as Isaiah, Ezechiel, and that great man Moses, and that it hath not been any hindrance to their virtues. If all the Prophets (which were the holiest and perfectest) were married, surely the rest of the people have not sought perfection in abstaining from marriage. g Lyrienesin Esai. c. 6. Jd est impotens ad generandum, non faciens prolis fructum. Lyriensis expounds word for word as we do. The Eunuch, that is to say, he which is impotent to engender, let him not say, I am a dry tree, and have not lineage. For thus saith the Lord, etc. Here the contrary truth is affirmed, namely, that the Eunuch and the Gentile having faith, shall obtain as much good, grace in this life, and glory in the world to come (the other things being alike) as the jew by nation, and he which is enriched and endowed with many children shall receive; and it appears, that this hath been fulfilled in the new Law. Act. 10.44. Where it is said, that the holy Ghost fell on Cornelius, and the other Gentiles which heard the Word with him, as it fell on the Apostles and other Saints which were jews; wherefore the Apostle Paul saith, Rom. 10.12. There is no difference between the jew and the Greek, for the same Lord over all, is rich unto all that call upon him, etc. The second objection. Bellar. de Monach. c 9 § 11. X. The second Argument of Bellarmine is taken out of the book of Wisdom, which book was never in Hebrew; and therefore hath never been in the Canon of the Hebrews; a book which h Athanas. in Synops. Cypr. in symbol, Hieron. in prologo galeato, & in praefatione in libros Sal●monis. Epiphan. lib. de mensur & ponderib. Hugo de S. victore sacram. lib. 1. c 7. Lyran. in Esai. c. 1. & in praefat. in Tobiam. Caietan. in lib. Hest. c. 10. Athanasius, Cyprian, or Ruffinus in the exposition of the Creed, Jerome, Epiphanius, Hugo de S. Victore, Lyrinensis, Caietan, etc. do acknowledge is not Canonical, and hath never been put in Aaron, neither in the Ark of the Covenant; and therefore an Apocryphal book, which may be read for the instruction of our life, as being full of holy instructions and documents touching manners, but not for confirmation of Ecclesiastical doctrine and of faith: a book, which Bellarmine confesseth, hath been compiled and made by a certain Philon before Christ's time, of whom no Historiographer makes mention: but which jerom, Lyrinensis, Sixt●s Senensis, B●●auentura, Briton, etc. do witness to be the work of Philon, the most learned among the jews, who lived in the time of the Apostles, but did not adhere nor stick fast unto the Apostles, and could not make any Canonical book appertaining unto the old Testament, i Bellar. de verbo D●i li. 1. c. 13. which hath been finished and perfected in the death of our Saviour, to give place to the New. It is then unfitly and little to the purpose that Bellarmine allegeth and urgeth it, to strengthen his opinion. XI. Notwithstanding that which he allegeth, serves nothing to his purpose. We read there; k Wisdom 3.13.14.15. Blessed is the barren that is undefiled, which hath not known the sinful bed, she shall have fruit in the visitation of souls. And blessed is the Eunuch, which with his h●nds hath wrought no iniquity, nor imagined wicked things against God: for unto him shall be given the special gift of faith, and an inheritance in the Temple of the Lord more acceptable to his mind: for glorious is the fruit of good labours, and the root of wisdom shall never fall away. This exquisite grace and gift of faith given unto the Eunuch is, saith Bellarmine, a certain singular gift, answering to his faithfulness. But let us see what he speaks of; he had said, that grace and mercy is to his Saints, and he hath care for his elect. Vers. 9 But the ungodly shall be punished according to their own imaginations, etc. He proves the one and the other part of his saying, by a comparison of a woman having children, which fears not God, with a barren woman that fears him; and by another comparison of an Eunuch with an adulterer; Who so despiseth wisdom and nurture, is miserable, etc. their wives are foolish and their children wicked, their offspring is cursed. He opposeth to these women the barren woman, namely, that woman, who being married hath no children, because she is barren, and saith, Blessed is the barren, because (saith Lyrinensis) l Lyrinens. in sapient. c. 3. Quia licêt sit in matrimonio, non tamen habet filios in eius ignominiam cedentes. she hath no children, although she be married, which may make her a shame and dishonour her. And what barren woman? She that is undefiled: for (saith he) if she were barren and an adulteress, she should not be happy, but miserable. It is she which hath not known the sinful bed. She hath known the bed, because she is married: but not in sin, because m Heb. 13.4. that marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: she shall have fruit in the visitation of souls, she shall receive it from God for her conjugal chastity, better than if she had sons and daughters. This barren woman therefore is not she which lives in the state of Virginity, which cannot be called barren, yea, cannot know whether she be barren. The same Lyrinensis saith of the Eunuch; That it is he which is unable to engender, and that the exquisite gift of faith which shall be given him, is not any singular gift answering his fidelity: but the gift of glory given for his faith, Donum gloriae quod pro fide formata charitate. working by love, a gift common to all the elect, a condition in the Temple of the Lord acceptable to his mind, surely acceptable and worthy to be wished for, above any other condition; a thing to be desired and asked of all men above all things. n Psal. 27.4. One thing have I desired of the Lord (saith David) that I will seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his Temple. This is that which is promised to the Eunuch deprived, by reason of his impotency of all hope of offspring. This is his comfort, whereunto is opposed the desolation and misery of the adulterer. As for the children of adulterers (saith Philo) they shall not come to their perfection, and the seed of an unrighteous bed shall be rooted out, etc. Therefore he saith, that the condition of eunuchs is better than that of adulterers; and who doubts of that? But he saith not, that the eunuchs are more happy and blessed, than they which are married; except they say, that all married folks are adulterers, and that marriage is more o Heb. 13.4. the bed undefiled. Lastly, Bellarmine confesseth, that this place is like to that of Isaiah alleged heretofore; wherefore if he hath in vain, and with no effect built his Counsels upon Isaiahs' words which are canonical; these than which are Apocrypha, will serve him to no purpose, no more than a staff which is nought but a broken reed. CHAP. XVI. I. As the pretended Counsels are not to be found in the old Testament, no more are they to be found in the New. II. Bellarmine's third objection taken from the parable of the ground, bringing forth an hundred, sixty, thirty ●old. III. The true meaning of the Parable is expounded, and Bellarmine's exposition refuted. FOUR The fourth objection, concerning the eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heavens sake. V The true sense of the words of our Saviour Christ. VI In those words the Lord giveth a precept to them, which have the gift of continency and chastity. VII. To make himself an Eunuch for the Kingdom of Heaven, is not to abstain from matrimony to merit eternal life, as Bellarmine saith. VIII. But to advance the Kingdom of God, according unto the testimony of Lyrinensis, and of Ferus. IX. Another interpretation of this place. X. The Argument retorted and returned upon the Adversary. Origin writes, a Origen. ●n● Mat. Homil. 25. that for the testimony of our words which we produce and allege in doctrine, we ought to propound and set forth the sense of the Scripture, confirming the sense and meaning which we expound. For even as all the gold which shall be without the Temple, shall not be sanctified; even so all sense which shall be without the holy Scripture, although it seems admirable to some, is not holy, because it is not contained in the sense of the Scripture, which hath accustomed to sanctify it. Bellarmine and the Author of the Pastoral Letter do allege Scripture for confirmation of their pretended Counsels; but against the sense, yea, even against the very words of the Scriptures, which make no mention at all of Counsels, neither in word, nor in sense. The Scriptures are contained in the oracles of ancient Prophets, in the books of the Evangelists and Apostles. Bellarmine hath found nothing for his Counsels in the Prophets, let us see if he can find any thing to serve his turn in the writings of the Evangelists and Apostles. For seeing that they properly appertain unto the Gospel, and to the Christian Church, and do bring so excellent and great a reward to the observers of them. They ought to be evidently and plainly recommended in the new Testament. II. The Lord jesus propounding the Parable of the Sour, 3 Objection. compares the Church to good ground, which having received seed, b Mat. 13.8. brings forth fruit, some an hundred fold, some sixty fold, some thirty fold. By this Parable (saith Bellarmine) the merit of chaste matrimony, of virginity, and of widowhood is distinguished; and that proves he by Saint Cyprian, Saint jerom, and Saint Austin. Whence (saith he) it appears, that the virginlike continency is a greater good, and more meritorious towards God, then matrimonial chastity is, because that it is a divine Counsel; for that which God commands not, and notwithstanding recommends, and prefers before all other things, without doubt he counsels it. III. But this cannot be shown in any wise by our saviours words, who speaks neither of virginity, nor of marriage, nor of widowhood, but of those only which hear his word, of what condition and state soever they be, according to the exposition which he himself gives; c Mat. 13.23. He that received the seed into the good ground, is he that heareth the Word, and understandeth it, which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundred fold, some sixty, some thirty fold. It is he therefore which hears the Word of God and keeps it; living holily, and doing good works, according to that measure of grace which he hath received; who seeks here any other sense or meaning, forgeth to himself chimeras, and fruitless imaginations, builds castles in the air, and deceives himself with those which hear him. And therefore we object against Saint Jerome that which he himself saith in his Commentary upon this Parable. d Hieron. in Mat. 13. Canendum est ubicunque dominus exponit sermones suos, ne velaliud nec plus quid velimus intelligere quam ab co expositum est. Observe (saith he) that this is the first parable, which is set down with his interpretation, and we must beware in what place soever our Lord expounds his words that we understand no other thing, nor more than that, which hath been expounded by him. If he had kept this rule which he prescribed to others, he would have taken heed, and not allowed an hundred fold to virgins, sixty to widows, and but thirty only to married folks. Falsely by his leave and favour, seeing that Abraham who was married and remarried, is propounded in the Scripture, as e Rom. 4.11. the Father of all them that believe, f Luke 16.23. in whose bosom Lazarus lies; and of whom Christ jesus saith, g Mat. 8.11. that many shall come from the East and West, and shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac and jacob in the Kingdom of heaven. He is then advanced on high, & living in a glory so eminent and so excellent, that all the happiness of all the faithful, of all nations, is described by the part and portion they shall have therein; because the Apostle saith, that h Gal. 3.9. they are blessed with faithful Abraham. The Virgin Marie herself, a daughter of Abraham, not only according to the flesh by birth, but also by faith in believing, hath no greater glory in heaven, than Abraham hath, neither doth she attribute to herself any thing above him, but contents herself to have part in the promises that have been made to him, as we find it i Luke 1.55. in her Canticle. It is not for me to play the harbinger in heaven, or the Steward, to set at table the friends of the Spouse, every one according to his degree: but all that which we say and can say, is grounded upon conjecture. I say that I guess & conjecture, that Abraham, who hath been twice married, hath the highest degree and rank of glory in heaven, seeing that none enters into heaven, but in as much as he hath followed the trace of Abraham's faith. Saint Ignatius (a single & unmarried man) was of this opinion, when he said, k Ignati. ad Philadelp. I desire that God find me worthy to be in the Kingdom of heaven at the feet of them which have been married, as of Abraham, Isaac, and of jacob, of joseph, Isaiah, and of the other Prophets, as also of Peter, and of Paul, and of the other Apostles, which have been married. The Fathers which have attributed an hundred fold unto virgins, and thirty unto the married; yea, an hundred unto the Martyrs, sixty to the Virgins, and thirty unto Widows, and nothing to the married folks, according to that we read in Saint Jerome, if the Martyrs have an hundred fold, l Hieron. in Mat. c. 13. Quod si ita est, sancta consortia nuptiarum excluduntur à fructu bono. The holy conversation in marriage is excluded from the good fruit. All these Fathers (were they an hundred) have intruded themselves into matters which they have not seen, they have spoken of the things of God without the Word of God, they have spoken by the spirit of man, and not by God's Spirit: and therefore I will answer to all that they say, and to all that can be said until the end of the world, that which Saint Jerome answered to those which did broach and propound their opinions without Scripture; m Jdem in Mat. c. 23. Hoc quia de scripturis non habet authoritatem, eadem facilitate contemnitur quâ probatur. Because this hath not his authority from the Scripture, it is rejected with the same facility wherewith it is proved; being able notwithstanding to name for my part, both ancient and modern Doctors, Chrysostome, Theophylact, etc. which have seen no such great and deep mystery in this Text: let Friar Ferus be heard at this time for them all, giving us the right understanding thereof. This (saith he) is diversly expounded, etc. but it seemeth that Christ saith and meaneth in this place, that the Word of God doth altogether convert more men in one place, then in another; as it hath done more good, and borne more fruit among the Gentiles, then among the jews. Again, that the same Word of God fructifies more in one man, then in another; in this man, then in that man, according as the ground is the more fit and apt. FOUR It followeth, that we see in the second place, 4 Objection. that which is written in the self same Gospel, chap. 19 where the Apostles having said unto Christ: n Mat. 19.10.11.12. If the case of man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry. Christ saith unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, saving they to whom it is given: For there are some eunuchs which were so borne from their mother's womb; and there are some eunuchs which were made eunuchs of men; and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heavens sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it. Bellarmine saith, that Christ gives not here a Precept, but a Counsel: and he proves that, because Christ forbids not marriage, and therefore commands not chastity, because that Christ also hath said, He that is able to receive it, let him receive it. Whereupon he allegeth Saint o August. de Tempore. ser. 61. Pag. 9 Augustine's words, which are also alleged in the Pastoral Letter to the same purpose in these words; A Counsel is one thing, and a Precept is another thing. A Counsel is given, to the end that Virginity be preserved, that men abstain from wine and flesh, that all things be sold and given unto the poor: but this precept is given, to the end that justice be observed and maintained. At least it is said of virginity, He that is able to receive it, let him receive it: but it is not said of justice, He that is able to do it, let him do it; but every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit, is hewn down, and cast into the sire. He that doth and keepeth a Counsel, shall have a greater glory: but he which keepeth not the Precept cannot avoid the punishment. The Author of the Pastoral Letter adds to this: The whole world is bound to the one under pain of everlasting torments; the whole world is stirred up, and drawn to the other, both by the authority, as also by the love of the Saviour, who gives this Counsel; as when he commends in Saint Matthew the continent under the name of an Eunuch, he stirs up and encourageth all the world to it; Qui potest capere, capiat; He that is able to receive it, let him receive it. Thus they prove, that these words contain a Counsel, and not a Commandment. Now that chastity doth not only confer a corporal benefit, but also hath a reward in heaven, it appears by these words, saith Bellarmine, there be Eunuches, which have made themselves eunuchs for the Kingdom of heavens sake. We are to see therefore, if there be a Counsel or a Precept in these words of Christ; and if by the Kingdom of Heaven, Christ understands a certain reward reserved in heaven, for those that abstain from marriage. V jesus Christ having declared, that whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery. The Apostles said, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry, and so condemned marriage, as hurtful unto man: whereupon our Saviour Christ takes occasion to show the necessity of marriage, and who those are that can and aught to abstain from it; All men (saith he) cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given; That is to say, p Maldon. in Mat. 19 vers. 16. I lest, non omnes praestare possunt, ut siat sine uxore, q●ia carent dono continentiae. Sic ferè omnes exponunt, quibus equidem non ●ssentior. All cannot take upon them to be without wives, because they have not the gift of continency, (as almost all expound it) whereunto (saith Maldonat) I cannot consent nor agree. And wherefore my friend? is it not a Maxim of some of your side, that q Salmeron jesuit. in proem. epist 3. d. Pauli disput. 6. in fine & in 1. joan. 3. disput. 25. §. 3. Est incuitabile argumentum veritatis, est infallibilis regula judicandi. What is taught of all, or almost of all, is an unavoideable argument of truth, an infallible rule of judging. But whether Maldonat consents to it or no, it is the true sense of Christ's words, who continuing his discourse, teacheth who they are to whom it is behoveful and expedient not to marry, saying, that there are but three sorts of them; first, the Eunuches, which were so borne from their mother's womb, that is to say, which are naturally weak, and unable. Secondly, eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men, where of there was anciently a great number among the Pagans and Gentiles. Thirdly, eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heavens sake; That is to say, who having received of God the gift of continency, and being called thereunto, do abstain willingly from matrimony; not for their particular commodity, but for the kingdom of heavens sake, for the advancement of the Kingdom of Christ jesus; or as Saint Paul expounds it, r 1. Cor. 7.34.35 to have care for the things that belong to the Lord, and to attend upon the Lord without distraction. The Apostles seeing the liberty of divorcement restrained and limited, judged, that if a man might not put away his wife for every cause, it were better not to marry. jesus Christ corrects this error, and declares unto them, that none but three sorts of men can live without a a wife; eunuchs so borne, eunuchs so made of men; and such men as being capable of marriage, have received of God the gift of continency. They (saith the Apostle) s 1. Cor. 7.9. that can contain and burn not. Moreover, he enacts, that those abstain from marriage, not because of tribulations that do accompany it, neither for the ease of the flesh, nor for particular commodity; but for the kingdom of heaven, for the edification of the Church, called commonly in the Gospel, t Mat. 13.24. the kingdom of heaven, for the u 1. Cor. 10.31. glory of God, which ought to be the end of all our actions; to whom we must add a third condition, that he be called thereunto, according to the doctrine of the Apostle, x 1. Cor. 7.24. Let every man wherein he is called, therein abide with God. Adam had the gist of continency in his state of innocency; and notwithstanding if he had not sinned, be should have rendered unto his wife due benevolence, whom God had given him in his innocency, and he should have begot of her children in Paradise, because that by God's calling he was ordained to be the Father of mankind. Wherefore Christ concludes this speech with a Commandment, and not with a Counsel; He that is able to receive it, let him receive it. For they that can abstain from marriage by the gift of continency, by their calling unto continency, & by the heavenly end of their gift and calling; those (I say) are bound by God's Commandment to abstain from it. It is no more an arbitrable thing left to their choice, but necessary. We must say of all the rest, whatsoever they be, He which is not able to receive this saying, let him not receive it. He that hath not the gift of continency, let him marry, for it is not expedient for him to salvation, to live without a wife. Let us reduce our saviour's words into a syllogism, and the sense thereof will be plain. Saint Peter said, that it was not good for a man to marry; Christ refutes his saying by this syllogism; whosoever is such a one, as that he is no Eunuch, neither by nature, nor by necessity, nor by the gift of God that he be able to abstain from marriage with quietunes, and with peace of conscience, it is not good for such a one for the salvation of his soul to be without a wise, but contrariwise it is expedient for him to marry; for there are but these three sorts of men that can commodiously live out of the state of marriage: but it is not given to all to be wifeless. Now if it be not expedient for them not to marry, it is expedient for them to marry, and they ought and must marry, if they desire to be saved. Saint Paul, who had in him God's Spirit, expounds the Lord● words after this manner, y 1. Cor. 7.8. I say to the unmarried and widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I. This is that which our Saviour saith, He that is able to receive it, let him receive it; and that which our Apostle said in the verse going before, z 1. Cor. 7.7.9. Every man hath his proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that. He adds, But if they cannot contain, let them marry, for it is better to marry, then to burn. This is that which our Saviour saith, All men cannot receive this saying. It is expedient and good for them that are such, to marry. VI This therefore is a precept and no counsel; but because there are two sorts of precepts, the one common to all, as to love God, practise righteousness, etc. the other particular to some only, according to the gift and particular calling of God, as to sell all that we have, and to give it to the poor, to follow Christ. The ancient Doctors do call a precept, a commandment given to all; and a Counsel, a particular Commandment made particularly unto some according to God's gift and calling, which also they call sometimes, Precept. So the ordinary gloss calls this our Lords exhortation, a Glossa in Mat. 19 vers. 10. Non omnes capiunt, id est, non omnes implere possunt praeceptum continentiae. A precept of continency. So Saint Austin calls a Commandment, the words of our Lord to the rich man, Go and sell that thou hast, etc. b August. epist. 89. quaest. 4 cui dominus haec praecepit. to whom (saith he) hath the Lord commanded these things? and he repeats the same thing often in 89. Epistle, the fourth question. In like manner Saint Jerome, c Hieron. adverse. Pelag. lib. 1. In qua praecipitur. we must seek the evangelical perfection, wherein this is commanded, If thou wilt be perfect, go, & sell that thou hast, etc. It is an easy matter then to understand Saint Augustine's words: He distinguisheth between a precept and a counsel; that is to say, between precepts given to all, and precepts given to some: all they which will not keep those shall be punished, because they are directed and given unto all; but all they that do not these, shall not be punished, because they are not given to all: but as concerning those to whom they are given, how can they escape the judgement of God, if they do not that which he commands, which he counsels and requires them to do, and whereunto he exhorts them? Let them call it what they will, that man which doth not the counsel of his God, cannot be innocent nor guiltless, as we have seen heretofore. Moreover Saint Austin puts among Counsels, the abstinence from flesh and wine; Chap. 11. §. 12. and how few are there among the orders of Friars, that do abstain from flesh? the jesuits that are the most exact sect of them all, do they abstain from it? and is there any of them all that value so much that greater glory, that aureola in illâ part, that for it they would forego their wine, d Psal. 104.15. that maketh glad the heart of man? let them tell me therefore, if Christ having given this counsel with many others, according to Saint Austin; a counsel easier to be observed then the rest, they shall obtain the greatest reward in doing the others, and not intending to do this. Lastly, it appears by this place, that S. Augustine held, that a Counsel is of things indifferent, that is to say, which are neither good nor bad, but in as much as they are used well or ill; to eat flesh, and drink wine, being a thing in itself wholly indifferent. But Counsels (saith c Bellar. de monach. c. 8. §. vlt. Bellarmine) are not things indifferent, but acceptable to God, and recommended by him; which abstinence from flesh and wine is not, because f Rom. 14.17. that the Kingdom of God, is not meat and drink, but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the holy Ghost. It is therefore little to the purpose, that they produce and allege this place of Saint Austin, which is not to the purpose. VII. But it is worse to the purpose that they tell us, that for a man to make himself an Eunuch, for the kingdom of heavens sake, is to abstain from marriage, thereby to merit a reward in heaven. These good men would not be debtors to God; for God must needs remain their debtor, and must give them always some return, as having paid to God more than was due, for the which he is beholding to them. Hirelings, that would do no service to God, if they did not hope for a reward; that keep not the Commandments, but to merit the reward of eternal life; that keep not the Counsels, but to merit a greater glory in the life to come: hirelings indeed, who in doing service to God, have no other aim then themselves; and if God give them not the reward, which they believe is due to them, they will repent that they have served him, and will blaspheme him before his face, as unjust. Not children, who in serving God, have no other scope nor end, than the glory of God; who would be contented to be blotted out of his book of life, to be accursed and separated from Christ their dear Saviour (if it could be possible), if that could advance his glory. Hirelings worthy to be expelled out of the house of God, as enemies of his grace, who will reckon with God, and bind him to give them, as a reward justly due to them, that which he declares to be a free gift of his grace: unworthy that Christ should advow and take them for his own, seeing that they deprive him of his glory, and attribute to themselves the reward which is not due, which is not given but to his merit. Let them not cry out, The ancient Fathers, The ancient Fathers. The Ancient of days hath told me by Saint Paul, more ancient than them all, g Rom. 6.23. that the gift of God, is eternal life through jesus Christ our Lord. The same ancient Fathers do teach me, that the merits of the faithful, are the mercies of God, the merits of Christ, to whom eternal life is given for a reward, to the end he give us it of pure grace. But let us consider a little nearer the words, To make himself an Eunuch for the Kingdom of heavens sake, say they, is to merit heaven by single life. Falsely, for if it were so, the vestal virgins among the Romans, the Priests of Cybele, grand niece to the false gods, the Monks among the Turks should merit eternal life. Falsely again, seeing that heaven is replenished and filled with those which have lived and died in the state of marriage. Falsely, again, & again, seeing God promiseth nothing unto Eunuches, but on condition, h Isai. 56.4. that they choose the things that please him, and take hold of his Covenant. It is not therefore for their single life, which makes them, nor more nor less acceptable unto God, i Act. 10.34. 1. Tim. 4.8. who is no respecter of persons; but for their godliness, whereof the Apostle speaketh, that bodily exercise profiteth little, (such is single life), but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. VIII. What is then to make himself an Eunuch for the Kingdom of heavens sake? I have already told it: but because they will not believe me, let others say what it is. k Lyra in Mat. 19 ut liberiùs continentes vacent contemplationi divinae. Lyrinensis, That the continent and chaste may apply and give their mind more freely to divine contemplation. A man must not believe him, unless he prove it by Scripture, and therefore he adds, as it is written, l 1. Cor. 7.32.33. He that is unmarried, careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord: but he that is married, careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife, and he is divided. Ferus a Friar, whose authority ought not to be small among the Friars and Monks; m Ferus in Mat. 19 vers. 11. Do not prefer thyself before another for thy continency; for it may be, that the marriage of another is more acceptable unto God, than thy chastity: for here thou hast expressly set down before thee, that all continency is not acceptable unto God. For thou hast here three sorts of chaste men; of them that are eunuchs by nature; Item, of them that are made eunuchs of men, whereunto it seemeth, that we must add those that li●e continently by constraint, and against their will; or which refrain themselves from it to be praised of men. Neutri autem Deo placent, sed tantum by, qui propter regnum coelorum continent, ut scilicet liberiùs Deo vacent, ac curare possint quae Domini sunt. None of these please God, but they only that abstain an refrain for the Kingdom of heavens sake, to the end they may more freely serve God, and have more care of the things that belong to the Lord. This is that we say, Continency to him that hath that gift is more commodious for the service of God, than marriage. But he that hath not that gift, will serve God better being married, then being unmarried, and burning. But we will speak more largely of this matter hereafter. IX. Such hath been the exposition of this place until now, all having understood it, as if jesus Christ spoke there of eunuchs, that should make themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heavens sake in the Church of Christ: But I intre●● the Reader to consider two things; first, that Christ speaks of that which is past, not of that which is to come; of that which happened among the jews, not of that which should happen, among Christians; for he saith, There be eunuchs 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heavens sake, and saith not, that shall make themselves eunuchs. Secondly, that Saint Paul saith evidently, n 1. Cor. 7.25. Concerning virgins, I have no commandment of the Lord. With what truth? If God hath spoken thereof in Isaiah, and the Lord jesus in Saint Matthew, It is (will they say) a Counsel: but every Counsel of God is a Commandment; and if God had given this Counsel, the Apostle would have said, I have no Commandment, but I have a Counsel of the Lord; according unto that which he protests elsewhere, saying, o Act. 20.27. I have not shanned to declare unto you all the Counsel of God. Now he saith manifestly, p Ephiphan. baeres. 16. Quidam eorum cumse exercebant, praescribebant sibi decennium aut octennium, aut quadriennium virginitatis, & continentiae. that it is his advice an judgement, whereof the Lord had imparted nothing unto men before him. Wherefore it seemeth, that these words concerning eunuchs, contain neither a precept nor a Counsel of the Lord; but that the Lord rehearseth there simply that which certain jews did then, and had done since the corruption of the state and of the religion among them. For we read, that the Pharisees which had introduced many superstitions in the Church, and particularly the doctrine of merit, when they did exercise themselves, they prescribed unto themselves ten, or eight, or four years of virginity and continency. And then q Idom heres. 15 they did carry their phylacteries, that is to say, the fringes and borders of purple upon their garments; to the end that they which saw them, should take heed to touch them, as being for the time, sanctified, and separated from the world, and that did they, imitating therein the Essenes', r joseph. de bell jud. lib. 2. c. 7. that despised marriage. The one and the other for the Kingdom of heavens sake, that is to say, thinking to merit by it eternal life; whom our Lord reproves of rashness, in that they sought the Kingdom of God by continency, which surpasseth the strength of man, and is a gift of God, which is given but to few. All men (saith Christ) cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it. That is to say, No man can comprehend that, which those men strive to do, save they to whom it is given of God; as when he saith, t Mat. 13.9. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. Which is, as if he should have said, No man hath ears to hear and understand the holy mysteries, save he to whom it is given: for so he expounds it in the eleventh verse; It is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. X. Let us now retort the Argument against our adversaries. They tell us, that he which shall keep the Counsels, shall have a greater glory, and do prove it by this Text. Let us grant unto them this for this time, and put the case that this untruth be true. Saint Paul saith, t 1. Cor. 7.2. That to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband. This is an express Commandment, as it shall be shown and seen in his place, notwithstanding u Bellar. de clericis c. 21. §. 6. add non esse praeceptum Apestoli, sed consilium. pag. 10. Bellarmine cries out, This is not a precept of the Apostle, but a Counsel. Let us suppose also, that this second falsehood be truth, and let us argue in this manner. He which doth the works of a Counsel, shall have a greater glory, saith our Cardinal; He that hath his own wife to a●oide fornication, doth a work of Counsel, according to Bellarmine. Wherefore our Cardinal and Bellarmine must conclude, will they, nill they, that he, who to avoid fornication hath his own wife, shall have a greater glory. If Bellarmine says true, the Vrseline virgins, which they feed with vain hope of a greater glory in show only, should marry to avoid fornication, and not give men occasion to speak ill of them. CHAP. XVII. I. The first objection, taken from the words of Christ, Mat. 19 Go, and sell that thou hast. II. The Author of the Pasterall Letter gives us to understand, that these words are no Counsel, but a Precept. III. It is a shame for their Bishops to speak of this Counsel, and not to follow it. FOUR These words do nothing avail the Vrseline virgins, nor any order of Monks; because they sell nothing, and give nothing to the poor. V The young man ask our Lord Christ, what good thing he should do to have eternal life; our Saviour sends him to the Commandments, and the reason why? VI The young man saying, that he had kept all the Commandments from his youth up, lied. VII. Thinking that the Law was not given, but to the outward man. VIII. Why he asked, what he lacked yet. IX. In what sense it is said, that Christ loved him. X. A refutation of Bellarmine's exposition of these words, If thou wilt be perfect, etc. XI. The true meaning of these words. XII. The words, Go, and sell that thou hast, etc. are a particular Commandment of Charity. XIII. Bellarmine's reply refuted by three reasons. XIIII. The words, Come and follow me, are a Commandment of faith, and not a Counsel. Christ is followed two manner of ways. XV. The promise, And thou shalt have treasure in Heaven, imports not any merit of a singular reward, as Bellarmine saith. XVI. In what sense the Apostles said unto Christ, that they had forsaken all, and followed him. XVII. All Christians are commanded to forsake all, to follow Christ, and in what manner. THe a Hieren. adverse. Pelag. lib. 1. truth may be assaulted, but cannot be overcome, saith Saint Jerome: men take pains to hide it, to cast a mist over it, to supplant it, and to oppress it, but all in vain. For as the proverb is, She is the strongest, and makes herself known & found such of all, yea, of her enemies, having the skill to make use of their own weapons to their ruin; as David did, who took up Goliahs' sword, slew him, and cut off his head therewith; we need no other proof for this time, than our Cardinal's words, alleging an argument for the pretended Counsels, and overthrowing them by the same argument. The first objection. Pag. 8. Having made a distinction between Precepts and Counsels, he proves his distinction, saying, that our Saviour Christ himself shows it us in b Mat. 19.16. Saint Matthew 19 and Saint Mark 10. where one asked him what good thing he should do, that he might have eternal life. He said unto him, Thou shalt do no murder, Vers. 18. Vers. 19 Vers. 20. Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother, And thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. The young man saith unto him, Vers. 21. All these things have I kept from my youth up, what lack I yet? This answer is no sooner made, but see the Counsel of our Saviour. If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven, and come and follow me. This is Bellarmine's first objection. II. Here, say you, is the Counsel of our Lord. How shall I believe that which you say? for you say so indeed, but by your words you show, that it is a Precept; for you add, Pag. 9 Whereupon our Saviour pronounceth this fearful sentence against rich men, Amen dico vobis, dives difficile intrabit in regnum caelorum. c Mat. 19.23. Verily I say unto you, that a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. d Luk. 18.24. Quam difficile, qui pecunias habent, in regnum Dei introibunt: How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God? Let us add for the explanation of this matter, the sequel of Christ's words. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a Camel to go through the eye of a needle, then for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of heaven. Whereupon Saint Jerome: e Hieron. adverse. Pelag. lib. 1. In this, that which can be done is not said; but that which is impossible, is compared with the impossible: for as a Camel cannot go through the eye of a needle; so a rich man shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. It is a terrible sentence pronounced against this rich man, who went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. Sorrowful (saith Saint f Hieron. in Mat. 19 vers. 22 Haec est tristitia quae ducit ad mortem, etc. Chap. 11. Jerome) of that sorrow which worketh death; and the reason of this sorrow is rendered, because he had great possessions, that is to say, thorns, briars, and bushes, that choked the seed of the Lord. Let us now remember the difference heretofore specified between a Counsel and a Precept. A Precept not observed, hath punishment; but a Counsel not observed, hath us punishment. This is the first difference; whence I argue in this manner, that which not being observed, threateneth punishment, is no Counsel, but a Precept; Christ's words not kept by this young man, threatened punishment against him. For Christ declares him excluded not of the Kingdom of heaven, for the not observing of them; therefore Christ's words to this young man were no Counsel, but a Precept. The mayor of this is Bellarmine's and the Authors of the Pastoral Letter. The minor thereof, is also taken out of the same Letter. For wherefore should this sentence have been terrible and dreadful to this rich man, if he might have left the observation of the words of our Lord without danger of punishment. The second difference between a Counsel and a Precept is, that A Precept observed, hath a reward; a Counsel observed, hath a greater reward. There were certain heretics in Saint Augustine's time, g August. e●●st. 89. quast. 4. which taught, that a rich man remaining in his possessions and riches, cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, although he hath done the Commandments of God with his riches. Saint Austin answers and refutes them by the examples of Abraham, Isaac, and jacob. Our Fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and jacob, that are departed out of this world so long before, have escaped the disputations of these men: for all these had n● small riches, as the most faithful Scripture witnesseth it; and notwithstanding even he, who being truly rich, became poor for us, hath foretold by a most true promise, h Mat. 8.11. Non supra ipsos, vel extra ipsos, sed cum ipsis. that many shall come from the East and West, and shall sit down in the Kingdom of Heaven, not above them, nor beyond them but with them. These words do minister unto me a second argument; That which being observed, brings not a greater glory, then if it were not observed, is no Counsel: but to sell all that we have, and give to the poor, procures not a greater glory, then is that of Abraham, Isaac and jacob, which have not sold that which they had. Therefore to sell what we have, and give to the poor, is not a Counsel. The Mayor is grounded upon the definition of a Counsel, such a one as is in the Pastoral Letter. The minor is of the Scripture, witnessing that none shall have a greater glory, than Abraham, Isaac, and jacob, who have lived and died, abounding in great wealth and substance; because as Saint Austin hath observed, They which shall come from the East and West, of what quality and condition soever they be, shall be in heaven with them; and not beyond them, nor before them. Therefore the conclusion is necessary. III. Nay furthermore, although it were a Counsel, all the world may see, that the Author of the Pastoral Letter allegeth it against himself, and overthroweth that which he pretends to build by it: for if to sell all that we have is a Counsel of perfection, meritorious, and worthy of a greater reward and glory, why doth he not it himself? why gives he not over his Cardinal's Hat? why desires he to be called any longer the Prince of the Church? with what conscience doth he possess and enjoy the revenue of two thousand pounds yearly? why sells he not all? gives not all? takes not the scrip, and so follow Christ? The Pope abounding more in gold and silver, than any King in Christendom; the Cardinals, whereof some of them are richer than any Prince or Lord in Christendom; the Bishops and other Ecclesiastical persons, that are overwhelmed in riches and pleasures, why do they not as much? Saint Peter (of whose succession the Pope boasts) i Act. 3.6. had neither silver nor gold. Saint Paul was so poor, that k Act. 18.3. & 20.34. 1. Cor. 4.12. 1. Thes. 2.9. 2. Thes. 3.8. he got his living by making tents. The other Apostles were no better at ease. l Mat. 19.27. Behold, say they unto Christ, we have forsaken all and followed thee. Where shall we find any of their Bishops (which maintain, that they are their successors) any one of them, that forsaketh his riches to follow Christ? who amongst them would be Bishop, but to have riches? who amongst them would burden and charge himself with that office, if that office were not charged with many fat and great benefices? These are notwithstanding they, who living in the world, and in pleasure as much as any of the world, do preach poverty, and extreme misery unto others; like the Pharisees in this point, of whom Christ jesus our Master said, m Math. 23.4. They bind heavy burdent, and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders, but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. FOUR As he condemns himself in alleging this pretended Counsel, as a greater lover of the perishable riches of this world, then of the greatest glory of heaven, n Mat. 6.20. Where neither moth, nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break thorough nor steal: Even so he overthrows his cause, which he would recommend. He threatens with excommunication ● father and a mother that have opposed themselves, that their daughters should not resort, nor give themselves to the Vrselines. It must be a matter of very great importance, for the which a man is excommunicated, that is to say, cut off from the Communion of Saints, and delivered unto Satan. What have they done? They have laboured to hinder their daughters entering into the Covent of the Vrseline Nuns. Is that a sin worthy of excommunication? He that opposeth himself against the observation of the Counsels of Christ, is worthy of execration; I will say with Saint Paul, o 1 Cor. 16.22. Let him be Anathema maranatha. I will say unto him, as Saint Paul did to Elymas, p Act. 13.10. O full of all subtlety and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all right cousnesse, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right wa●●s of the Lord? But where are these Counsels? Behold here one, Go and sell that thou hast, etc. Is this Counsel given to the Vrselines? is it followed and done by the Vrselines? Do they sell all that they have to give to the poor? Do they not take away and convey their wealth with them into the Cloister of the Vrselines? Do they not rob their fathers and mothers, and parents, by an impious, barbarous, and cruel devotion, to enrich the Vrselines? Are the Vrselines those poor, of whom Christ saith, and give it to the poor? Here I appeal unto the conscience of Monks; Is there any of them all, that sells all that he hath, an gives it to the poor? They which beg among them (and others) become Monks, or are often compelled by their fathers and mothers to become Monks, that their goods and patrimony remain in the house, to entertain the greatness and honour thereof, and enrich their eldest brother. Others transport their patrimony with them into the corporation of the Cloister, and make good cheer therewith. Is that a selling of all that they have, & giving it to the poor? Therefore it is a pure mockery, yea, they gull the world by preaching so much the Counsel of Christ, and covering with so fair a name the hypocrisy of those, which do not Christ's words, which sell nothing, give nothing to the poor, which seek all means to enrich themselves, by making many families poor. Such are the jesuits, and such would the Vrselines be shortly, if men would let them do it. V I have sufficiently proved, that Christ's words to the rich man are no Counsel, in the sense, wherein this word is taken in this disputation; I will make you now see by the true exposition thereof, that they are a particular precept given unto this young Lord. The Evangelists do declare, that a certain man, called by Saint Luke, q Luk. 18.18. a Ruler, coming unto our Lord, said, r Mat. 19.16. Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? He desires to obtain eternal life, and persuades himself, that the only meritorious cause thereof, is to do a good thing: he asketh not what he must believe, but what he must do to be saved. This was the arrogant and overweening persuasion of all the jews, of whom the Apostle writeth, s Rom. 9. 3●.32. that Israel which followed after the Law of righteousness, hath not attained to the Law of righteousness, wherefore? because they sought it not by faith, but at it were by the works of the Law; for they stumbled at that stumbling stone. And therefore answering his demand, and according to the hypothesis & position thereof, saith unto him, If thou wilt enter into life, keep the Commandments. For when the question is made of works, the Moral Law is the rule of good works. He commands him therefore to keep the Commandments, t Ferus in Mat. ut sciret se nunquam implêsse. Quis enim de hoc gloriabitur, etc. to the end (saith Ferus) he might know, that he had never kept them; for who ca● beast of that? If we say (saith Saint u 1. John 1.8. john) that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves. If none can beast that he is free from sin, none also can glory nor vaunt that Bee hath kept the Law, seeing that sin it no other thing, than the transgression of the Law. He goes on, and asketh again, Which? Not that he was ignorant of the Commandments, but because he expected, that the Lord should have prescribed to him others more perfect. Notwithstanding, the Lord to instruct him, that the Moral Law is the unchangeable rule of the will of God, to him that seeks salvation by his works; and to show, x Ferus ibid. that he is not come to destroy the Law, but to fulfil, rehearseth some of the Commandments; Thou shalt do no murder, etc. Then shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. And that to the end, saith the same Ferus, y Ibid. arr●gans ille juvenis vitam suam ad illa conferens discat, quàm ne micam quidem verae pietatis haberet, etc. that the arrogant young man comparing his life with the Commandments, might learn, that he had not so much as 〈◊〉 crumb of true godliness. For there is nothing that stops 〈◊〉 w●ll the mouth of the arrogant and proud men, then when they art warned of God's Commandments; and thou seest not so clearly in a looking glass the blemishes of thy body, as thou seest thy sin● in the Law. Furthermore, he rehearseth specially the Commandments of the second Table. For he which is convicted, that he hath not kept the things that concern his neighbour, is a great deals more convinced, that he bath not kept the things that are of God. For if a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar, saith Saint z 1. john. 4.20. john. VI Therefore our Saviour answering this young man according to his demand, remaunds him to the Law, that (being convicted in his conscience, how he was very far from the perfection of the righteousness required in the same) he might he humbled, disposed, and prepared to hear and receive by faith the Gospel of the remission of sins, whereby to be saved: but the wretched young man, young in years, but younger in the knowledge of himself, and of the spiritual use of the Law, puffed up with a presumptuous opinion of his uprightness, dared to open his mouth, and say, All these things have I kept from my youth up. It was (saith Saint Ambrose) a Ambros. in Luc. c. 18. inani● iactantia. a vain boasting. Saint Jerome saith plainly, b Hieron. in Mat. c. 19 mentitur adolescens, etc. the young man lied; for if he had fulfilled in word and deed that which is contained in the Law, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself; how comes it afterwards, that he having heard say, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions? Saint Hilary writes, c Hilar. in Mat. c. 19 Neque superiora illa egerat, ad quae remittitur. that he hath not kept the things he is sent back unto. And Saint Austin arguing upon that he went away sorrowful: d August. Epist. 89. quaest. 4. Qui. viderit, quemadmodum illa legis mandata seruaverat, puto enim quòd se arrogantiùs quàm veriùs seruâsse responderit. Let him consider, how he hath kept those Commandments; for I think that he answered more arrogantly, then truly, that he had kept them. Ferus among the Moderns, a great Preacher in his time, and of great reputation among his own, proves that he lied, e Ferus in Mat. c. 19 I will not say (saith he) that be hath perfectly fulfilled the Commandments of God, unless I should say, that he was pure from sin, whereunto the Scripture gaine-saies evidently. For who can boast, that he hath no sin, seeing Solomon saith, f 1. King. 8.46. that there is no man that sinneth not; and Saint john; g 1. john 1.8. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. And the Psalmist, h Psal. 130.3. If thou shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? and Saint james, i jam. 3.2. In many things we offend all; and the Wise man; k Prou. 24.16. A just man falleth seven times the day. For which cause Christ commands all to pray and say, l Mat. 6.12. Forgive us our trespasses; Who is he then, that seethe not that this young man spoke very presumptuously, All these things have I kept, and that with this addition, even from my youth up? seeing that Christ upbraids evidently and manifestly reproacheth the jews, m John 7.19. Did not Moses give you the Law, and yet none of you keepeth the Law. These reasons are irrefragable, and without any reply. VII. How then, saith this young man that he hath kept the Law? Surely because he understood not the true use of the Law. He had laid no violent and bloody hands upon any to kill him. He had not defiled his neighbour's bed. He had not stolen another man's goods. He had not borne false witness against his neighbour before the Magistrate. He had done no wrong to his neighbour. He was taught, that to live blameless before men, was to fulfil the righteousness of the Law. For the false Doctors had restrained the use of the Law to the outward observation thereof, even to say, n Mat. 5.43. Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy; as if an enemy were not a man's neighbour, and this false doctrine was propounded by them, as derived from the Elders. So Saint Paul saith, that o Phil. 3.7.8. being a Pharisee, touching the righteousness which is in the Law blameless, which things he esteemed gain as then to him, judging that he was well provided of all the righteousness of the Law, necessary to salvation. Even so the Pharisee, p Luk. 18.11.12 God I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this Publican; I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. It might be that he spoke truly, but he deceived himself, in that he thought that God was as man to content himself with an outward righteousness; whereas if he had come to the School of Christ, q Mat. 5.21. or else had well considered and pondered the sum of the Law; he had learned, that God, who is a Spirit, and that above all asketh the heart, as he saith, r Prou. 23.26. My Son give me thine heart, hath given a spiritual Law to the spirit of man, that he may be served s John 4.23. in spirit and in truth. Thus Saint Paul learned it after his conversion; and instructed, that the last Commandment, t Rom. 7.7. Thou shalt not covet, did condemn the first bad motions of the heart, did acknowledge and confess himself a sinner; and declared, that then he began to count all his pretended righteousness, and all his other prerogatives u Phil. 3.8.9. but loss and dung, that he might win Christ, and be found in him not having his own righteousness, which is of the Law; but that which is through the faith of Christ, namely, the righteousness which is of God by faith. Ferus gives this reason, saying, x Ferus in Mat. 19 Adolescens judaeorum more praecepta tantum externè aspiciebat, ideò in hanc praesumptionem inciderat. The young man according to the custom and manner of the jews, did only consider the Commandments outwardly, therefore he fell into this presumption, etc. VIII. Lastly, he asked, What lack I yet? y Ibidem. looking (saith Ferus) that Christ would have told him, that he lacked nothing. They stumble at this stone, which do refer and restrain the Commandment to outward things only. For these do easily rush headlong into presumption, and that is fulfilled in them, which is written in the Revelation; z Revel. 3.17. Thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing, and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. Finally, these are more dangerously sick and more difficultly healed, then if they were openly wicked. To these therefore this sentence appertaineth, a Revel. 3.15. I would thou wert cold, or hot. What can we say more smoothly, and conformably to the words of Christ, unto the Priests and Elders of the Church, as righteous as this young Ruler? b Mat. 21.31. Verily I say unto you, that the Publicans and the Harlots go into the Kingdom of God before you. IX. But this seems to disagree with that, which we read in Saint Mark, namely, that the rich man having said, that he had kept all the Commandments from his youth; c Mark. 10.21. jesus beholding him, loved him. Now the Lord loveth no liars, and therefore it is credible, that he said the truth, saith d Bellar. de mon. c. 9 §. 24. Bellarmine: but truly it is in no wise credible, that he was never angry with his brother without a cause, that he never coveted in his heart any thing appertaining unto his neighbour. To be short, that he loved his neighbour, his enemy, yea, the stranger, an unknown man; yea, his very friend as himself, that is to say with such an affection, sincerity, fervency, earnestness, readiness of courage, and with such loyalty as himself. If he had loved only the poor of his Country, of his town, of his neighbourhood as himself, he had not reserved to himself so much wealth. Wherefore it is certain, that he lied in respect of the true understanding of the Law; but he lied not, in regard of the interpretation and meaning that the Pharisees gave, leading a blameless life from his youth up among men; for the which cause our Lord loved him, that is to say according to Lyras exposiposition, he showed him an amiable countenance. e Lyra in Marc. c. 10. Ostendit sib● vultum am●cabilem. For the Greek word, f Eustath. in Odyss. Origen. in hunc locum. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, which is here turned, to love, among other things signifies to receive one courteously and friendly. Saint Marks words do bear plainly this sense, for he saith not simply, that jesus loved him, but that he beheld him and loved him, that is to say, did behold him with a meek and lovely look; testifying to him, that he did make much esteem and account of this affection, wherewith he was carried to the outward observation of the Law. For it was prophesied of Christ, that g Isai. 42.3. Mat. 12.20. a bruised reed shall be not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench; that is to say, he would approve the least appearance of good that he should find in men, entertaining it, and not quenching it; as it is also written in Zacharie, h Zach. 4.10. who hath despised the day of small things. And truly it was a good beginning, and worthy of praise and commendation, to see a young man, shunning from his tender years the desires of youth, and following after all honest and laudable things among men. O that our Christians, young and old, could represent every where in their lives, the innocent life of this young Ruler, that they did not use their tongues to deceit, that they had not their feet so swift to do evil, that their hands were not so full of blood! the widow should not be so trodden under foot, the weak should not be so harried and oppressed, the simple circumvented, the poor despised, and Achab should not take away quo iure quâ iniuriâ, poor Naboths' vineyard. Were they but good only in equal comparison with certain Heathens, that would be profitable to them; for they should thereby have more glory among men, and less torment in hell. But alas our life justifieth and excuseth the lives of the Pharisees and Heathen men, which have not sinned half so much as we have done. If God bless some with prosperity, (and how many do we see, i Psal. 113.7.8. whom he raiseth out of the dust, and lifteth out of the dunghill, making them to sit with Princes, yea, with the Princes of his people, as David saith. Suddenly, k Psal. 73.6.7.8.9. pride compasseth them about as a chain, violence covereth them as a garment. Their eyes stand out with fatness, they have more than heart could wish; they are corrupt, and speak wickedly concerning oppression; they speak loftily; they set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walketh through the earth; l Genes. 6.11. which is now as much, nay, more corrupt before God, and filled with violence, then when m Genes. 6.2. the sons of God saw the daughters of men, and took them wives of all which they chose. To prove this, we need but enter into great Cities, and may justly cry against them, as in old time the Prophet cried against jerusalem, n 〈◊〉. 3.1. We to her that is gluttonous, filled his, and polluted, to the oppressing City. The strong are within her roaring Lions, they are night-wolues, which leave no bones to gnaw upon in the morning; of whom the Prophet Micah prophesied; o Mica. 2.1.2. We to them that devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds; when the morning is light they practise it, because it is in the power of their hand; and they covet fields, and take them by vilence, and houses, and take them away; so they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage. The women and maids do paint their faces, and tyre their heads like p 2. King. 9.30. jezabel. They dance as the daughter q Mat. 14.6. of Herodias did. They go abroad with a Mercer's shop on their shoulders, of whom it is written, as otherwhiles of the daughters of Zion; r Isai. 3.16.17. Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks, and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet; The Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the Lord will discover their secret parts. There are but few that can say with this young Lord, that they have not committed adultery, that they have kept the Commandment, in regard of the outward righteousness of the Law; yea, few that know the Commandments, yea, that will hear speak of them; few therefore whom our Lord jesus Christ loveth, as he loved this young man, although he loved him not with that special love, whereof S. john witnesseth, that having s John 13.1. loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. He loved him, because he saw in him a desire to profit, but he loved him not, as having profited much. He loved him to convince him of sin, but he loved him not to convert him from his sin. He loved him, to warn and admonish him of that which he should do, but he loved him not, to make him to do it. He loved him to instruct him, he loved him not to save him. He loved him with that measure of love, wherewith he loved the Doctor of Law; who, although he asked him, which is the great Commandment in the Law in tempting him, t Mat. 22.35. he omitted not to approve the good he found in him, and to say unto him, u Mark. 12.34. Thou art not far from the kingdom of heaven. But he loved him not with that love, wherewith he loved his disciples; x john 15.9.13. As my Father hath loved me, so have I loved you; greater love hath no man then this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. In a word, he loved him with a common love of a Doctor, teaching with mildness those which came to him, but he loved him not with that special love of a Saviour, wherewith he hath loved none but his Church, as it is written, y Ephes. 5.25.26.27. He loved the Church, and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing, but that it should be holy, and without blemish. Loving him therefore with that common love of a Doctor and Teacher, he proceeds to instruct him, and saith unto him; X. a Mat. 19.21. If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven, and come and follow me. What is that to say; If thou wilt be perfect? It is as much as to say, saith Bellarmine, b Bellar. de monach. c. 9 §. 18. Si nonce contentus vita aeterna, sed aspiras ad excellentem gradum in ipsa vita aeterna. as if thou art not content with eternal life, but dost aspire unto an excellent degree in eternal life. O man, wherewith can he content himself, that is not contented with eternal life? which is the gain of the death of the Son of God, and of all that which God promiseth, which God giveth unto those he loves; all that the Saints sigh after, the Abstract and epitome of all that which they believe, all which they desire and endeavour to apprehend, all that which they obtain & apprehended. Where hath Christ jesus taught any not to content himself with eternal life? Where is it written, that to be perfect, is as much as not to be content with eternal life, as much as to aspire unto a more excellent degree in eternal life? How can such a gloss agree with the Text? For let them tell me, if this young man had already merited eternal life, or no? If he had merited it, than it would follow, that he that is no Christian, that is not justified in the blood of Christ, that is not sanctified by the Spirit of Christ, that hath not acknowledged Christ but a good Master and Doctor, and not for his good Saviour, that never followed Christ, that refused to follow Christ, can merit eternal life. Now if eternal life can be gotten without Christ, Christ came into the world in vain, in vain is he dead, and hath fully finished the work of our redemption in vain. If he had merited it, how went he away sorrowful, when Christ counseled him to sell all that he● had, and to follow him? How came it to pass, that he went not rather away altogether joyful and content? For he inquired only of eternal life, and Christ gave him this testimony (if we believe Bellarmine) that he had already merited eternal life, there was then great occasion of great joy. And as touching the words, Go and sell that thou hast; it was (saith Bellarmine) but a Counsel which Christ left to his choice, either to do it, or to leave it undone without danger. There was then no subject, no cause of sorrow, except they will affirm, that the Saints which never wore a Monks cowl, nor ever haunted a Cloister, shall have wherewith to be sorrowful in heaven; seeing themselves deprived of that more excellent degree of glory, which is nothing else but the Aureola in that part there, to the end the holy Ghost may be condemned of falsehood in the description of the eternal happiness, which he setteth down, saying, that there shall be no more sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain. And if he hath not fulfilled the Law, he hath not deserved eternal life, as his own conscience witnessed against him, when he went away sorrowful, as our Saviour Christ declared after he was gone, saying, d Mark. 10.24. Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches, to enter into the Kingdom of heaven. If he trusted in his riches he was covetous, and if covetous, an idolater, for e Col. 3.5. covetousness is idolatry, and f Ephes. 5.5. the covetous is an idolater; and if an idolater, he hath not kept the Law; if he hath not kept the Law, he hath not merited eternal life. Contrariwise he hath been excluded and debarred from it by the transgression of the Law, and namely by his covetousness, that made him g job 31.24. make gold his hope, and say to the fine gold, Thou art my confidence. Whereupon the Lord pronounced, that he shall enter into the Kingdom of heaven, when a carnel can go through the eye of a needle. And if he hath not kept the Law, he hath not merited eternal life; but for his covetousness is punished with everlasting torment; surely the perfection whereof the Lord speaketh, is not a more excellent degree of eternal life in heaven, but hath another sense and meaning, which offereth itself evidently in the Text. XI. After the young man had said, that he had kept the Commandments, to the which the Lord sent him back, he asketh again, h Mat. 19.20. What lack I yet? He had made his first demand touching the means of attaining unto eternal life. He asketh again, if he lacked yet something? Of what? Surely of the means whereby he might have eternal life. For he was not as yet taught, that there were in heaven Aureolae; and therefore he made no such demand. He would have been content to have lain in Abraham's bosom, and to have sat at table with him in the kingdom of heaven. Therefore the Lord answereth to his demand, If thou wilt be perfect, that is to say, if thou desirest that there be nothing wanting in thee to the obtaining of eternal life, Go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, etc. Either this is the sense of the answer, or else the Lord answered not to his question; let the other Evangelists be heard, and you shall find, that this is the true sense and meaning. Saint Mark setteth down Christ's answer in this manner, i Mark. 10.21. One thing thou lackest. Saint Luke in these words, k Luk. 18.22. Yet lackest thou one thing, sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, etc. Certainly he lacked this one thing to have eternal life, whereof only he made the demand; and therefore the sense of our saviours words is, Thou hast not yet all that is necessary to eternal life; wherefore if thou wilt be perfect, and desirest to lack nothing whereby to be saved, go and sell all that thou hast, etc. The Lord therefore speaketh not of a greater perfection, then that which is commanded in the Law, much less of a more excellent degree of glory in heaven. For to what purpose should he have counseled such a perfection to a man that was a jew by profession, and, that was not his disciple? For reason would have required, that he should make him first of a jew a Christian, and so by degrees of a Christian a Monk; seeing that to be a Monk or Friar is the highest degree of Christian perfection in this life, and hath the highest degree of glory in the life to come, as the Monks do say. XII. Now follow the words, l Mat. 19.20. Go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven, and come and follow me. In these words is a twofold commandment and promise; the first is a commandment of charity, the second a commandment of faith. Of the first, Clement Alexandrinus writeth thus; m Clemens Alexand. stromat. 3. lib. 3. Refellit eum qui gloriatur, quod omnia à iwentute praecepta seruaverit. non enim impleverat illud, Diliges proximum tuum sicut teipsum; Tunc autem ut qui à Domino perficeretur, docebatur communicare & impertire per charitatem. Pulchrè ergo non prohibuerat esse divitem, sed esse divitem iniustè & inexplebiliter. That when the Lord saith, go and sell all that thou hast, and give to the poor, he refutes him which boasteth, that he had kept all the Commandments from his youth up: for he had not fulfilled the Commandment, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. But then that he might be made perfect by the Lord, he was taught to impart, and give by charity; and therefore he prohibits him not to be rich, but to be unjustly and unsatiably rich. n Origen. in hunc locum. Origen saith plainly, that if he had kept the Commandment, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, the Lord had not spoken to him of a greater perfection; and he allegeth to this purpose a certain Gospel according to the Hebrews, non ad authoritatem sed ad manifestationem propositae quaestionis, not for the authorizing, but for the clearing of the question propounded; where our Lords words are thus set down, o Jbid. Quomodo dicis legem feci & prophetas? quoniam scriptum est in lege, Diliges proximum, etc. & ecce multi fratres tui filii Abrahae amicti sunt stercore, morientes prae fame, & domus tua plena est multis bonis, & non egreditur omnin● aliquid ex ea ad cos. How sayest thou, I have kept the Law and the Prophets? seeing that it is written in the Law, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself; and behold, many of thy brethren, the sons of Abraham are covered with dung, and die for hunger, and thy house is stuffed with store of goods, and there goeth nothing out of it to them. And then declaring his opinion; p Ibidem. Verum est ergo, quia non implevit dives mandatum, etc. It is true (saith he) that the rich man hath not fulfilled the Commandment, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself; for he despiseth many of the poor, and hath given none of his riches to them. And a little after expounding the meaning of the words, q Ibid. Volens arguere divitem illum dominus noster, quasi non vera dicentem, etc. dixit ad eum si vis, etc. Sic enim apparebis dicere verum, si dilixisti aut diligis proximum tuum sicut teipsum. The Lord (saith he) intending to convince this rich man, as one not telling the truth, etc. saith unto him, If thou will be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor; for so it will appear that thou sayest true, if thou hast loved, or if thou lovest thy neighbour as thyself; It is therefore a Commandment, and a Commandment of charity. XIII. Bellarmine gainsaieth this, saying, that this is not a Commandment of charity, because that r Bellar. de monach. c. 9 §. 19 Charity requires only that we love our neighbour as ourselves, and therefore requires not that we give all that we have to our neighbour, and keep nothing for ourselves: but we keep this Commandment if we give partly, and retain in part. But Bellarmine dissembleth to say, that in the Commandment, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, the word As doth not signify the quantity, measure, and rule of our charity, but only the quality thereof: for we love ourselves without measure and limit, and God will not have us to love our neighbour in this manner. Furthermore, if the love we bear to ourselves, were the rule of our charity towards our neighbour, the common proverb would be true, that charity gins at herself. But reason and experience showeth, that to be false; for we are bound to love Father, Mother, our King, our Country, the Church of God more than ourselves. The Scripture saith, that s 1. Cor. 13.5. Charity seeketh not her own, and according to that gives us this express Commandment, t Phil. 2.4. look not every man on his own things, but every man on the things of others; wherefore this As is not a mark of equality, but of similitude, and signifies the truth and sincerity that ought to be in our charity: for as we love ourselves in truth, and without dissimulation or reservation; so ought we to love our neighbour, u 1. john 3.18. not in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth, saith Saint john. The rule and measure of our love towards our neighbour, is the love of Christ towards us; x John 13.34. A new Commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another, as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. Now his love consists in this, that he died for us; therefore ours also towards our neighbours ought to consist in this, if God call us thereunto, y 1. john 3.16. Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. If our lives, how much more all our goods, that are not so much as our life is? Secondly, jesus Christ commanding this rich man to sell all that he had, did not bid him give all to the poor, to become a beggar, a vagabond, and a wallet bearer; for in the Text there is but, and give to the poor. Now he could have give of his all, without giving all. But because Christ would have made him a Disciple, and one of his attendants and followers during the days of his flesh; and afterwards a Preacher of his Gospel in those places where it would have pleased him to have sent him; he commands him to rid himself speedily of his possessions, that they might not withhold, nor hinder him to follow God's calling, and to give liberally to the poor; but he commands him not to give them to the poor, without reserving any thing for his need; and there is nothing in the Text, from whence they can gather any such, either Commandment or Counsel. Thirdly, it is true in general, that charity requires not of us, that we give all we have to the poor, without any reservation for ourselves, neither also that we sell all that we have, for ordinarily this sentence of the Apostle takes place, a 2. Cor. 8.13. I mean not that other men be eased, and you burdened, but by an equality. But such a time may happen, that a man shall be called of God, to lay down not all his goods only, but his life also for his brethren; then such a one receiveth of God a true Commandment to do so; if he doth not so, he transgresseth the Commandment of God, and becomes guilty before God. It is not a general Commandment to every man, to go out of his Country to serve God, and to offer up to God his children to obey God. Notwithstanding, this was a particular Commandment given to b Genes. 12.1.4. Genes 22.2.3 Abraham,... which Abraham could not have refused to do, without showing himself an hypocrite; without offending God. Thus although it be not a general Commandment of charity, to sell all that we have, and to give it all to the poor; yet was it a Commandment of charity particularly given, and in express terms from Christ's own mouth to this young Ruler; who for not obeying thereunto, is by the Lord declared to be excluded out of the Kingdom of heaven. This I say, presupposing with the most part, that it was enjoined him as well to give all, as to sell all. XIIII. The other Commandment is, And come and follow me, expressly added to the first, c August. epist. 89. quaes●. 4 Deinde addidit, veni & sequere me, ne cuiquam quando haec fe●●rit, aliquid prodesse, existimetur, si non sequitur Christum. to the end (saith S. Austin) we think not, that it can profit any body, when he shall have done these things; when he shall have sold all that he hath, and shall have given it to the poor, if he follow not Christ. This commandment is termed by Bellarmine, d Bellar. de Monach. c. 9 §. 41.6 Objection. A Counsel of obedience: A Counsel (saith he) and no Commandment, because it is given but to him to whom it hath been said, Go and sell all that thou hast. And this is his sixth objection, whereby he pretends to prove the obedience, which the Monks yield and give to their Abbot, Prior, General, or other Superior; Nothing can be more ridiculous, as if an Abbot were jesus Christ, and to follow an Abbot, were to follow Christ; jesus said, And follow me, and did not command this young man to become a Monk, and to rank himself under the obedience of an Abbot in a Monastery. Friars, Abbots, Cloisters, and Monasteries were things unknown in those times, and a long time after. To follow Christ is taken diversly in Scripture; Sometimes it is referred to the time only wherein our Saviour Christ was in the flesh, and to the attendance of his person, in which sense he said unto one of his Disciples, that asked him leave e Mat. 8.22. to go and buri● his father, Fellow me, and let the dead bury their dead; and unto Matthew sitting at the receipt of custom, f Mat. 9.9. Fellow me, and he arose and followed him; As much said g john 1.43. he unto Philip. To follow him, was to accompany Christ from place to place, & to become his disciple, for to be after employed by him in the ministery of the holy Gospel; Thus all the Apostles, except Paul, have followed Christ, not by counsel, but by express commandment; Thus would Christ have had this young man to have followed him corporally, and accompany him wheresoever he went; And in this manner he commanded him to follow him, not by a commandment common to all men, but by a personal commandment directed and given but to a few persons. For our Saviour Christ refused to take to his corporal attendance some men that would have ranked themselves thereunto, h Mat. 8.19. A certain Scribe came and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee whither soever thou goest, and he refused him. He that had been possessed with the Devil, and was delivered by Christ, i Mark. 5.18.19 prayed him that he might be with him, but jesus suffered him not. But most commonly to follow Christ, is to deny himself, to take up the cross of Christ, to rest in him with a true and lively faith, and depend on him in life and death. This following is common to all, commanded to all men: k Mat. 16.24. Whosoever saith he will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me. The Lord would have this young man to follow him, specially in this manner; and therefore we have said, that these words were a commandment of faith, for it is with the feet of faith that we follow the Lord, go to the Lord, and obey the Lord. There being therefore no other following of Christ, then that which was corporal and of few persons, which hath ceased; and that which is spiritual, common to all the faithful, which is perpetual; there is nothing in this text for the Monks and Friars. For to follow Christ, is not to frame and apply himself unto the judgement and will of another, as Bellarmine falsely saith, but to frame himself unto the will of Christ alone, l Mat. 23.10. who is our only Doctor and teacher, whom we must hear; and our only pattern, whom we must imitate; and our Lord, whom we must obey. There is no more due unto the others, how holy soever they have been, then to S. Paul, that saith, m 1. Cor. 11.1. Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ. XV. The promise annexed to this commandment is, And thou shalt have treasure in heaven; whence Bellarmine infers, that to give all, deserveth a singular and special reward. This man turns all the promises, that God makes to them which obey him, into salaries and wages due, and justly given to the merits of men; as if the creature could merit of his Creator, man (which is but a little worm) could make God beholding to him, and could purchase to himself for a little money that glory, which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath entered into the thought of man. How much better n Ferus in Mat. c. 19 Ferus expounding this promise, Admirable (saith he) is the goodness of God, he might exact without any remuneration, and damn the disobedient: but behold, he allures by promises, and makes himself a debtor, he, who is debtor to none, but unto whom all creatures are indebted: what other thing than can I say, then that which David saith, o Psal. 106.1. Praise ye the Lord, O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever, let Israel say he is good? God then promiseth unto men eternal life to draw them to their duty, and he doth that as a Father, whereas he might compel them as a judge: He promiseth them that which he owes them not, to the end they give and render that which they own; he gives them that which he promised them, not for their merit, but for his mercy sake. He gives them, I say, a treasure in heaven, & this treasure is nothing else but eternal life, which only the rich man asked for, which only the Lord promised; and was it not enough, and more then enough? an exchange without proportion, of earth for heaven, of a treasure of dirt and mud for a treasure of an unspeakable price, of the vanity of riches for the eternal weight of a glory exceedingly excellent? This treasure signifies no other thing in the holy Scripture. I will say unto him that believeth otherwise, and that seeketh eternal life in his oil, in his gold, in his silver and other corruptible things, as S. Peter said unto Simon Magus, p Acts 8.20. Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. XVI. The rich man hearing that Christ's words did import a condition, without the which he could not obtain life everlasting, discovers his hypocrisy; and showing that his money was dearer and more precious to him then his God, and the treasure he possessed here on earth was better to him and more esteemed, then that which was promised him in heaven, goes away sorrowful, and gives Christ occasion to pronounces dreadful sentence against him, and against all rich men that set their hearts on riches, and put their trust and confidence in them, that they shall never enter into the kingdom of heaven. q Mat. 19.27.28 Then answered Peter, and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all and followed thee, what shall we have therefore? And jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, that ye which have followed me in the regeneration, when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye shall also sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. r Bellar. de monach. c. 9 §. 32. This is as much (saith Bellarmine) as if Peter had said, Behold, we have done that which this young man will not do, what wilt thou give us therefore? Whereunto our Saviour said not, I will give you nothing, for I spoke but to this young man, and that not in earnest, but only that he might not know that he lied; He answered not so, but said, Verily I say unto you, etc. This gloss spoils the text, and is contrary to the truth. For the Apostles sold not all they had, and gave not all to the poor; for although they had left their ordinary vocation whereby they might have got their living, and had left the care of their domestical business to follow Christ's calling, they renounced not for all that the possession, the right and prerogative, nor left the use thereof, when they were in those places. The history showeth plainly, that after s Mat. 9.10. Luk. 5.29. Matthew had followed Christ, he made him a great feast in his own house. Yea, Peter that said these things, had yet his house, as it is written, t Mat. 8.14. When jesus was come into Peter's house, he saw his wives mother laid, and sick of a fever. Christ telling his disciples what should befall them at his death, saith he not, u john 16.32. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, in propria. The hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be all scattered every man to his own? And being upon the Cross said unto john touching the Virgin, x john 19.27. Behold thy mother, is it not said, that from that hour that Disciple took her 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, unto his own home. They had therefore yet their houses; and therefore Bellarmine imputes unto them a lie in making them say, Behold we have done that, which this young man will not do. For they had not sold all, nor given all; but it appears by the last Chapter of Saint y john 21.3. john, that they had yet their ships and nets. Now although they had left all without reserving to themselves any right and propriety, they had done it by commandment and special calling; as being particularly called to follow Christ every where, and after his ascension to preach the Gospel throughout the world. And therefore the fact of the Apostles serves nothing to the purpose of Monks and Friars, unless they show that they have received a commandment from Christ, as the Apostles have; that they forsake all, and give alto the poor, as they pretend to have been done by the Apostles; that they follow Christ, as the Apostles have done. This is the chiefest point; z Hieron. in Mat. 19 Sequitur dominum qui imitator eius est, & per vestigia eius graditur. For it sufficeth not unto perfection (saith Saint Jerome) to sell all a man hath, if after the contempt of riches he followeth not Christ, that is to say, if in departing from evil he doth not the good, etc. Many leaving their riches, follow not the Lord. Now he followeth the Lord, who followeth his steps; a 1. john 2.6. for he that saith, he believeth in Christ, aught to walk even as he walked. Again, expounding Christ's answer to the Apostles, He hath not said, ye that have left all; for Socrates the Philosopher hath done that, and many more have left their riches: but he saith, Ye which have followed me, which is proper to the Apostles, and all the faithful, etc. Therefore the true perfection is to follow Christ, and this perfection is of all the believers, saith Saint Jerome: but to sell all that we have is not a state of perfection, but only a help to perfection; a remedy against all that could hinder us from following Christ; notwithstanding not to all, for Abraham, Isaac, jacob, David, Ezechias, josias, Zacheus, Nicedemus, joseph of Arimathea, many rich persons have followed Christ, and can follow him without renouncing actually their riches; but to them only which resemble this young Ruler, in whom the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches choke the good seed which the Lord soweth in their hearts. Therefore they say nothing to the purpose, unless they can prove that to wear a Friars cowl, to thrust himself into a Monastery, is to follow Christ; that Christ commanded o● counseled this young man to wear a Monks cowl, and to enter into a Cloister; that the Apostles have not followed Christ but by a Monkish life; or that the Monks do follow Christ, as the Apostles have done. XVII. b Hieron. in Mat. c. 19 Quod pr●priè Apostolorum est, atque credentium. Saint Jerome saith, that to follow Christ is peculiar to the Apostles and all believers. It is not therefore a particular perfection of Monks and Friars, but a duty whereunto all are bound, and which is now offered and given to Christ, not with the feet but with the affection; not by changing place, but by changing the heart and will; as it is the duty of us all to purify our souls from all carnal concupiscence, and to be always disposed, ready, resolved to sell all, to give all to the poor, to forsake all for God, for Christ, for the Church's sake, if need be. For Christ saith, c Luke 14.26. If any man come to me, and halt not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my Disciple, etc. d Luke 14.33. So likewise whosoever he be of you, that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my Disciple. And thus it is, that e Antonius' tit. 23. c. 8. §. 1. Mandatam esse ibi paupertatem habitualem non actualem; id est flagitare Christum à nobis, non ut iam omnia abijciamus quae habemus, sed ut cum confessio divini nominis, & gloria Christi postulaverit, tum propter eum omnia deserere parati simus, sicut & cum odium patris & matris, & propriae anima à sectatoribus suis Christus requirit, non jubet simpliciter ut non honorent parents, multo minus ut eos odio habeant; sed ut re ita postulante omnia propter Christum negligere parati sint. Guilielmus de Sancto Amore, Doctor of the Sorbon faculty, about the year 1250, expounding the words of Christ, Go and sell that thou hast, etc. saith, that an habitual poverty, and not actual is there commanded, that is to say, that Christ requireth of us, not that we should incontinently cast away all that we have; but when the confession of the name of God, and the glory of Christ requireth, we be ready to leave and forsake all things for his sake; as also when Christ requireth of his followers, that they hate father and mother, yea their own lives; he commands them not simply that they honour not their parents, much less that they hate them, but that when the case shall require, they be ready to leave all for Christ. Thus in what manner soever we take the words, either literally, they are a particular commandment given to the young rich man, who sinned grievously, in that he obeyed not Christ, and was punished therefore; or by application to others, they are a general Commandment given to all, whereto all are bound to obey, men, women, great, little, poor, rich, all orders of what condition and quality, state or degree soever they be; with threatening against the wilful & refractories, that they shall not be accounted the Disciples of Christ, and with promise to the willing and free, f Mat. 19.29. Every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands for my name's sake, shall receive an hundred fold, and shall inherit everlasting life. Mark, he saith, shall inherit, and not, shall merit, that we may know that eternal life is an inheritance of children, and not a stipend of hirelings; an inheritance given, not due; promised to them that work, not merited by their works. CHAP. XVIII. I. The false Conclusion of the Author of the Pastoral Letter, saying, that he joineth his Counsels unto the Counsels of God. II. The seventh Objection taken from the 1. Cor. 7. yet give I Counsel, grounded upon a false interpretation. III. The Apostle gives no Counsel, but gives his judgement, and his judgement is a Commandment. FOUR Retaining the name of Counsel, the Counsel of the Apostle proceeding from the holy Ghost is a Commandment. V It is proved by the very words of the Text, that the Apostle gives a Commandment, and not a Counsel. VI The Apostles words partly falsely translated in the Pastoral Letter, partly alleged against the intention thereof. VII. The Apostle commands those that have the gift of continency, and are thereto called, to use it; and those which have it not, to marry. VIII. In what sense it is said, He that giveth his virgin in marriage doth well, but he that giveth her not in marriage doth better; Item, the widow is happier if she so abide. IF therefore these Counsels are given by God, 7 7. Objection. Pag. 10. who will make difficulty to join his Counsel with that of the eternal wisdom, saith the Pastoral Letter, grounding a false conclusion upon a false exposition of Christ's words, a Mat. 19.12. There he eunuchs which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heavens sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it. b Mat. 19.21. Go and sell all that thou hast, and give to the poor. We will therefore correct this conclusion and say, If these Counsels are not given by God, as it appears sufficiently by the exposition of the foresaid places. A Bishop, one that esteems himself God's Ambassador, who therefore should counsel nothing, say nothing but that which he hath heard of God, should have made difficulty, yea, should have abstained from giving Counsel in a matter that is not of his Commission. Moses being asked touching things that God had not revealed unto him, c Levit. 24.11. as the punishment of the blasphemer, d Numb. 27.5. the succession of daughters in their father's goods and possession, where no male children are, and such like things, would never give his judgement and advice, much less give any Counsel, yea, and much less ordain any thing before he had asked Counsel of the Lord. The Prophet's lesson is, e Ezech. 3.17. Hear the Word at my mouth, f jerem. 1.7. whatsoever I command that thou shalt speak, and their prophesying was nothing else, but a repetition of the lesson of their God, word by word to the people. The Apostles lesson was, g Mat. 28.19.20 Go and teach all Nations, teaching them to observe all things, whatsoever I have commanded you. Their practice was, h 1. Cor. 11.23. I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you. Their instruction to others was, i 1. Pet. 4.11. If any man speak, let him speak as the Oracles of God; and these words, say we, are wholly contained in the holy Scripture, wherein there is no mention at all of Monkish Counsels; and notwithstanding, they that are not Prophets, nor Apostles, usurping more than hath been permitted, even to the Prophets, Apostles, and Evangelists, do counsel us to follow their Counsels, do exhort us, yea, urge us to the observation thereof, without God, without Christ, without Scripture, pretending therein notwithstanding the Scripture, and the name of eternal wisdom; surely not without enfolding themselves in impiety, in cloaking with the name and title of eternal wisdom, a doctrine, which is altogether sensual and earthly; and calling the Counsel of God, an intolerable yoke, wherewith men have charged the consciences of Saints, set at liberty by our Lord jesus Christ. A Counsel notwithstanding that our Cardinal joineth with that of God, and that (if we believe him) after the imitation of Saint Paul, who speaking of virginity, saith, II. 1 1. Cor. 7.25. Consilium autem do, Pag. 10. tanquam misericordiam consecutus. Yet give I counsel as one that hath obtained mercy of the Lord. But Saint Paul confesseth, that he hath not joined his Counsel unto any counsel coming from the Lord, writing these words which go immediately before. Now concerning virgins, I have no commandment of the Lord. Wherefore he joineth not his Counsel to God's Counsel, according to Saint Paul's imitation. He will say, that it sufficeth that he imitates Saint Paul, and that Saint Paul saith, I give Counsel, etc. But I answer him, that Saint Paul hath written in Greek, and saith, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, that is to say, I give my judgement, and not I give Counsel. His judgement which he authorizeth by his fidelity in the service of God, by the mercy he hath obtained of the Lord to be faithful, by the Majesty of the holy Ghost, by whose inspiration he gives it, l 1. Cor. 7.25. I give my judgement, saith he, as one that hath obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful. III. An advice therefore that he gives, not as a private man, neither also as one of the troop of Pastors, but as he that hath obtained mercy of God to be an Apostle, and very faithful in his charge, as he who was according to the Lords promise guided by the holy Ghost into all truth, to be not able to err in his advice and judgement. m 1. Cor. 7.40. Now (saith he) I think also that I have the Spirit of God. n Arist. ethic. ad Nicomach. lib. 6. c. 11. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Aristotle saith, that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, advice, is a right judgement of that which is seemly, and right is that which is of a true man. Among men, who more true and upright, than an Apostle guided and inspired by the holy Ghost, which is the Spirit of truth, yea, the truth itself? Let them now show me, if a good and upright advice and judgement, given by an Apostle, faithful in his charge and office, having authority of the Lord jesus to be heard without replying, as guided by the holy Ghost into all truth, can be rejected without punishment? I argue therefore after this manner. That which can not be rejected with impunity, is no evangelical Counsel, according to that we have heard heretofore, that A Counsel not observed, hath no punishment. Now the judgement of the holy Ghost given by the mouth of a faithful Apostle, is such a one, as that it cannot be refused without punishment; therefore such a judgement is no evangelical Counsel. But let it be a Counsel, it is a good Counsel given by the good Spirit of God to man, to his creature, to the work of his hands, by the heavenly Father to his child that is earthly. FOUR A Counsel properly is of the inferior to his superior, or of a man to his equal; the superior armed with power and authority counseleth not, but commandeth that which he judgeth to be right and good, and if he useth words of Counsel, his meaning is, that they take and keep them as Commandments; yea, all the world knoweth, that the prayers and entreaties of great men, are commandments to all them that are under their power and authority. Now God is the great of great ones, the Lord of Lords, and the King of Kings, o Isa. 40.22.23. It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers, that bringeth the Princes to nothing, and maketh the judges of the earth as vanity. It is he that is our Father, and we are his children, p Jsa. 64.8. we are the clay, and thou our potter (saith the Church unto him) and we all are the work of thine hand. He is our Lord, and we his servants; our Shepherd, and we his sheep; our Redeemer, and we are q 1. Pe. 1.18.19. those whom he hath redeemed from our vain conversation, received by tradition from our fathers, not with corruptible things, as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot. As many titles and names of God, so many arguments for God against us. r Isai. 66.2. To whom will I look? to him that trembleth at my word. His Counsel is his word. He is our Lord and Father, s Mal. 1.6. A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master; If then I be a Father, where is mine honour, and if I be a Master, where is my fear? This honour and fear consists principally in that we obey his voice, that we say unto him with Samuel, t 1. Sam. 3.10. Speak Lord, for thy servant heareth. He is our shepherd, and we are his sheep, and this is the mark of his sheep, u John 10.27. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. He that heareth him not, is none of his, x john 8.47. He that is of God, heareth Gods words; ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God, said Christ unto the jews. y 1. Pet. 2.9. We are a chosen generation, a peculiar people, saith Saint Peter, and Saint Paul, z 1. Cor. 6.19.20 Ye are not your own, for ye are bought with a price. And therefore we ought not to have any will but his whose we are, to follow it in all things. If these Counsels depended on our will, we should be our own, against the Apostle, and against the right whereby the slave is subject in all things to him that hath purchased him, and is despoiled of all liberty and disposing of his own will. I appeal now unto the conscience of the Author of the Pastoral Letter, that he tell me upon his soul, if he think that God can Counsel a thing unto man, whereunto man is not bound to yield and render quick and speedy obedience, which he may reject, without putting his soul in danger? The clause of his conclusion showeth evidently that he thinketh so. For if he esteems not his pretended Counsels to be Commandments; If he believes that they may be rejected without offending God; with what equity & conscience hath he stormed and thundered against those, yea, made a seizure of the possessions of those that have rejected them? V But whatsoever he thinks, the truth shall be always one and the same, and if he will deny it, she will defend herself, and will get herself credit against his credit. He saith, that Saint Paul's advice and judgement is a Counsel. She saith even by the mouth of Saint Paul, that it is a Commandment; for the Apostle having said both touching marriage and single life, a 1. Cor. 7.17. As God hath distributed to every man, as the Lord hath called every one, so let him walk. Which is an express Commandment, and altogether necessary in a Commonwealth, and in the Church; b 1. Cor. 7.25. he adds, and so ordain I in all Churches; where he useth a Greek word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, signifying to ordain, and command precisely, as it appears by the 25 verse, where he saith, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Concerning virgins I have no Commandment of the Lord. This will more evidently appear by a like manner of speech, which the Apostle useth in this very same Chapter, vers. 12. where being asked, if the party that believeth, aught to remain with the party that believeth not, who is joined to him by marriage, he saith, but to the rest speak I, not the Lord. For God had set down nothing thereof in the old Testament, and the Lord had not given any Commandment thereof to his Disciples, because the religion was yet limited within the borders of judea; there was not then any diversity nor difference of religion between the husband and the wife. But the Gospel having been carried unto the Gentiles, it happened that one while the husband did embrace it, another while the wife, the one or the other remaining an Infidel. Now the advice that the Apostle gives them, is a formal and flat Commandment. * 1. Cor. 7.12. If (saith he) any brother hath a wife that believeth not, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away, etc. They are words of command, the reasons which he adds to his advice do witness it: First, The unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, Vers. 14. and the unbeleeleeving wife is sanctified by the husband. So that their mutual conjunction and conversation cannot defile the party which believeth. Vers. 15. Secondly, But if the unbelieving depart, let him departed; a brother or a sister is not under bondage in such a case. And then if the unbelieving remain and consents to dwell with the believing, the believing is bound in such a case. Thirdly, God hath called us to peace, wherefore he that believeth, ought not to disturb the peace of the house. Fourthly, For what knowest thou, Vers. 16. O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? Or how knowest thou, O man, whether thou shalt save thy wife? Now all are bound by God's Commandment, to do all that which can save a soul from death. Vers. 17. But as God hath distributed to every man, as the Lord hath called every one, so let him walk. And who can deny, but that every one is bound to follow the gift and calling of God? Behold how impertinent it is to conclude, that the Apostles judgement is a Counsel left to a man's devotion and will, and not a Commandment, because it is he that hath given it first, and that the Lord had said nothing thereof before him. VI Notwithstanding, let us see what this pretended Counsel is. The Apostle saith, d 1. Cor. 7.39.40 Cui vult nubat; Beatior autem si sic permanserit secundum meum consilium, puto autem quod & ego spiritum Deihabeam. The virgin is a● liberty to be married to whom she will: but she is happier if she so abide after my counsel, & I think also that I have the Spirit of God. This translation is the Authors of the Pastoral Letters translation, wherein there is a notable falsehood: for the Apostle speaketh here of a widow, The wife is bound by the Law as long as her husband liveth; but if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will, etc. And the Author of the pastoral letter expounds these words of a virgin, that hath not the right and power to marry herself to whom she will, being under the father's authority and power, unto whom alone the liberty of giving her in marriage appertaineth, as the Apostle declareth, e 1. Cor. 7.38. Qui iungit virginem suam, benè facit; & qui non iungit, melius facit. He that giveth her in marriage (namely, his virgin) doth well: but he that giveth her not in marriage doth better. A Text alleged by the Author of the Pastoral Letter against himself: for if it belongs to the father to give his virgin in marriage, or not to give her in marriage, he hath played the tyrant to have handled so rigorously a father and mother that practised on their daughters, virgins, that lawful power and authority, which nature hath given unto them, the Scripture hath authorized, and the right of Nations hath confirmed unto them. But we will speak of this here below, as also of the intention of the Apostle in this Chapter. VII. The which I will but touch cursarily in this place; the Corinthians asked the Apostle, if it was expedient for a Christian to marry. He answers: f 1. Cor. 7.1. Now concerning the things where of ye wrote unto me, it is good for a man not to touch a woman, calling good that which is commodious, profitable, and as he himself expounds it, vers. 35. expedient or comely; he gives the reason, saying, that they that marry, shall have trouble in the flesh, vers. 28. It is therefore good to be unmarried by reason of the charges and troubles of marriage, and of the disturbance that it bringeth to the free confession of the Gospel in time of persecution: as he saith, vers. 26. I suppose that this is good for the present distress and necessity. For then the persecutions were so hot and violent, that they which were without wife and children, were freed from a great burden, having nothing to care for but God's service and themselves. Those during that present necessity, did well not to marry. This is the Apostles advice; yet not absolutely, but with a restriction of the gift and vocation of God, saying, that marriage is necessary for them that have not received the gift of continency; g 1. Cor. 7.2. Nevertheless to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband. Bellarm. saith, that it is a Counsel; which is against himself, for if it be a Counsel to marry to avoid fornication, he that marrieth to this end, shall have a greater merit, and consequently a greater glory, than he that marrieth not. But the words are of the imperative mood, and bind all those which have not the gift of continency to marry. He repeats them again, and saith, If they cannot contain, let them marry, for it is better to marry then to burn. Concerning those that have the gift of continency, he saith, h Vers. 8. It is good for them, if they abide even as I; yea, he commands them so to remain, if they feel in themselves that they are called to it of God; i Vers. 17. As God hath distributed to every man, there is the gift, yea, as the Lord hath called every one, there is God's calling; so let him walk. Now where there is the gift and calling of God to a thing, there is a necessity to do it, and a punishment for him that doth it not. k 1. Cor. 7.24. Brethren, saith he, let every man wherein he is called, therein abide with God. If then a man hath received the gift of continency, and is called thereto by God, he ought to follow his calling. But if he burns, and feels that the gift is taken away, God calls him to marriage. It is a Commandment on the one and the other side, and not a Counsel. VIII. The conclusion is added to the one and to the other, l 1. Cor. 7.38. So then he that giveth her in marriage doth well; but he that giveth her not in marriage doth better. To wit, because that this man looks better to his virgin, in not giving her in marriage in so dangerous and troublesome a time (it being presupposed that she have the gift of continency) then doth that man. In like manner, the widow m Vers. 40. is happier if she so abide, happier indeed not towards God, who is not moved with these outward things wherein godliness consisteth not; but in respect of men, and of the domestical life, in so much as being a widow, she hath not such care, nor so many distractions in the time of persecution, as the married woman hath. But what serves all this to the cause of the Vrselines, and the Counsels of the Monkish life? for the father that gave not his virgin in marriage, kept her at home. And the widow remaining so, did serve God in her house. This aught to be observed every where. For there is not to be found any place of Scripture, what sense soever they coin and make thereof, that concludes any thing for the Monkish life, and therefore that can be alleged by them to the purpose in this controversy. CHAP. XIX. I. The eight objection, Saint Paul, by a work of supererogation hath preached the Gospel freely and frankly 1. Cor. 9 II. This objection is nothing to the purpose, is false and contrary to all Saint Paul's doctrine. III. The true meaning of the Apostles words. FOUR In preaching for nothing, he aimed not at any greater perfection and reward in heaven; and did nothing but that which he ought to have done. V The ninth objection taken out of the Revelation, Chap. 14. touching the hundred four and forty thousand virgins. VI This is a fond and vain objection, and which draweth with it many falsehoods and inconveniences. VII. The true exposition of this place according to Origen, Ambrose, Austin. BEllarmine setteth down his eight objection, The 8 objection. saying, a Bellar. de Monach. c. 19 §. 61. that Saint Paul in the whole ninth Chapter of his first Epistle to the Corinthians, doth endeavour to show that he hath done more than he was commanded to do, and therefore hath merited a singular and special glory of God: for the Lord having ordained, that they which preach the Gospel, should live of the Gospel, Paul had rather preach the Gospel without charge, and so do a work of supererogation. b 1. Cor. 9.15.16.18. It were better for me to die, then that any should make my glorying void; for, saith he, though I preach the Gospel, I have nothing to glory of; for necessity is laid upon me, and woe unto me, if I preach not the Gospel. What is my reward then? verily that when I preach the Gospel, I may make the Gospel of Christ without charge. II. c job 15.2.3. Should a wise man utter vain knowledge, and fill his belly with the eastwind, should he reason with unprofitable talk? or with speeches wherewith he can do no good? Yes, for in all his discourse and purpose there is nothing that serves to the purpose, whereof the question is. For Saint Paul was no Monk nor Friar; he preached not the Gospel gratis and without cost by any counsel he received of the Lord, who contrariwise declared, that d Mat. 10.10. the workman is worthy of his meat. He preached not for nought by any vow. For he should have broken his vow, having e Phi. 4.15. etc. received maintenance abundantly of the Philippians, f 2. Cor. 11.8. and of other Churches. And never thought to merit of God everlasting life, much less an excellent degree of glory therein; for he challengeth nothing to himself, but attributes all to the grace of God, g 1. Cor. 15.10. By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain: but I laboured more abundantly than they all; yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. And although he protests, saying, I know nothing by myself; namely, in the exercise of his ministery, concerning his affection, fidelity and zeal, yet (saith he) am I not hereby justified. He was then far from thinking on works of supererogation, and obtaining a greater glory; he that knew that he was not justified, no not by his works, esteemed himself h 1. Cor. 15.9. not meet to be called an Apostle, because he persecuted the Church of God; felt, yea acknowledged himself i 2. Cor. 12.11. to be nothing; preached his demerits, his misdeeds towards God; the merits of Christ his Saviour; the mercies of God towards himself. k 1. Tim. 1.15. Christ jesus (saith he) came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief; howbeit I obtained mercy, etc. He that in the combat of the law of his members warring against the law of his mind, and bringing him into captivity to the Law of sin, which is in his members, hath no other refuge, then to the mercy of God in Christ, l Rom. 7.25. I thank God through jesus Christ our Lord; no other comfort then in the assurance he hath, that m Rom. 8.1. there is now no condemnation to them which are in jesus Christ; that saith of Abraham his father, and the father of all the faithful, n Rom. 4.2. if he were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory, but not before God; declareth, that not the righteousness only, but o Rom. 4.6. the blessedness of the man, also consisteth, in that God imputeth unto him righteousness without works; affirmeth, that all they that are saved, are saved freely, p Ephes. 2.8.9. ye are saved by grace through faith; and thereby draweth an argument to exclude works, saying, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. Because he saith elsewhere, q Rom. 11.6. If by grace, than it is no more of works, otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, than it is no more grace, otherwise work is no more work. And that saith he of free election, and therefore of vocation, justification, sanctification, and glorification also which proceed from it, according to the Schoole-mens rule, Quod est causa cause est causa causati; That which is the cause of a thing, is the cause of all the effects that proceed from thence. Such an Apostle, who in all his Epistles abaseth man, yea, makes him as a thing of nought, that God may be his all, who will know nothing, r 1. Cor. 2.2. save jesus Christ and him crucified, who cries out, s Gal. 6.14. God forbidden that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world; who feeling t 2. Cor. 12.7.9. a thorn in his flesh the messenger of Satan to buffet him, protests that he will glory, not in his virtues, not in merits of supererogation, but in his infirmities, that the power of God may rest upon him. Such a man so sensible of his infirmities, so humble by reason of them, so great a Preacher of the mercies of God, such an enemy of man's merits, such an Herald and Trumpeter of their sins and demerits; should he have boasted of so small a matter before God? should he have made of so easy a thing a work of supererogation? a merit of a greater glory, because he preached the Gospel to the Corinthians without charge, whilst he lived at the cost of other Churches? as he tells them, u 2. Cor. 11.8. I rob other Churches, taking wages of them to do you service. If it be merit to preach the Gospel without wages, wherefore took he relief of other Churches? How suffered he that this his glory should be made void? But although he preached the Gospel unto all without wages. Do the Monks preach the Gospel for nothing, freely? The preaching without wages freely is it an evangelical Counsel? if it be, where, to whom, by whom given, kept by whom? not by the Apostles, not by the ancient Bishops, not by the modern Bishops, not by Friars and Monks. How few Bishops, Priests, Monks can preach? How great is the number of those perfect ones, that cannot so much as read well? And how few are they which in preaching recommend not their wallet & bag? that would preach if it were not for the scrip? that would do the office, if it were not for the benefice? III. Let us leave this trifling, and let us seek in the Apostle the meaning of his words. The Corinthians were a covetous people, and given to lucre. The Apostle had converted them to the Gospel without charges to them, for the reason he renders, vers. 12. We have not used this power, but suffer all things, lest we should hinder the Gospel of Christ. This people would not have bought the Gospel with money, his enemies would have accused him of covetousness, would have upbraided him, that he preached the Gospel for his belly-sake, would have slandered him, and called him an hireling. The covetousness of those, and the malicious calumnies of these would have hindered the course of the Gospel. The Apostle knowing this, did labour with his hands; and when his work could not suffice, he lived by the liberality and maintenance of other Churches: x 2. Cor. 11.9. When I was present with you and wanted, I was chargeable to no man; for that which was lacking to me, the brethren which came from Macedonia supplied, and in all things I have kept myself from being burdensome to you, and so will I keep myself. Surely in regard of his place and office, they owed him his entertainment, and he might have justly demanded and taken it: but by reason of the circumstances, and of the end of his function, he might not have asked it, nor taken it. The end of his calling was the edification of the people, the advancement of the Gospel. Now he confesseth, if he had been at charges with them, he had hindered the Gospel, therefore he might not do it. y 1. Cor. 10.23. All things (saith he) are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient; all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not. This was one of those things; If he had taken wages of the Corinthians, he had not edified, he had brought hindrance to the Gospel, for the which it was expedient, yea, necessary that he should spare them: for in things indifferent, as this was one, that which is lawful in itself, becometh unlawful, by reason of the circumstances of times, places, persons, etc. The other Apostles did live of the Gospel without scandal given or taken, because they preached the Gospel to a free and willing people. S. Paul also refused not the liberality of other Churches, but he could not have lived of the Gospel at Corinth among a sordid, base, ●n● nigardlie people, without scandal given by him, taken by them; for he saith, that in so doing, he should have hindered the Gospel of Christ. To this he adds, that it were better for him to die, then that any man should make his glorying void. What glory? nor the merit of any excellent glory before God, as Bellarmine saith: for man that is but dust and ashes, hath nothing whereof to glory before him, which hath created him. Neither also because he preached the Gospel; z 1. Cor. 9.16. For (saith he) though I preach the Gospel, I have nothing to glory of; for necessity is laid upon me, yea, w●e is unto me, if I preach not the Gospel. What glory then? Surely even the very same that is his stipend, his reward. For (saith he) if I do this thing willingly, I have my reward. What reward have I then? A special glory before God (saith Bellarmine:) but he himself saith not so; but his glory, his reward is, that when I preach the Gospel, I may make the Gospel of Christ without charge. This glory, this reward, that he hath preached the Gospel, and advanced the Kingdom of Christ without charges to them, is more to him then all the riches; a glory then which he had among men, and not before God. And thus he hath himself expounded it, telling them elsewhere, a 2. Cor. 11.10. As the truth of Christ is in me, no man shall stop me of this boasting in the regions of Achaia. A glory, in that he had not been burdensome to them, as he saith in the line going before, and glory in the regions of Achaia, and not in heaven; and that to the end that I abuse not my power in the Gospel. Which he expounds, when he saith in the eleventh Chapter of his second Epistle, which may serve as a commentary upon this place, What I do, that I will do, that I may cut off occasion from them which desire occasion: for he sins grievously that gives (in the use of things indifferent) occasion to any, to refuse or forsake the Gospel. FOUR Therefore we see here; first, that the Apostle abstained not to take wages of the Corinthians for any hope of a greater reward before God, but he abstained, that he should not abuse his power in the ministery of the Gospel, and in so doing, to hinder the advancement of the Gospel of Christ. Secondly, that his glory and his reward is not a greater perfection and merit, but the contentment he had to have preached to them the Gospel without taking any thing, and that they had heard him, without giving him any thing; for if to preach without wages, deserveth an Aureola, and a certain higher degree in heaven, the good Saint Peter shall not be the Prince of the Apostles in heaven; but because he hath lived here of the Gospel, shall be seated, and shall remain in a place and degree inferior to the Apostle Saint Paul. Thirdly, that in all this he hath done nought, but that he should have done. For when the Law permits the use of things indifferent, it is always with the exception of scandal of the weak. And so doth the Apostle expound it; b Rom. 14.21. It is good to do nothing, whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak: c Rom. 15.1. We then that are strong, aught to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. We ought, saith he; it is not therefore a thing undue. And by what Law? Surely by the Law of charity, which binds us d Mat. 22.39. to love our neighbour as ourselves, and not to seek our own profit, which he doth that abuseth his power he hath in things indifferent, to the offence of the weak. Whereupon the Apostle gives these rules, e 1. Cor. 8.9. Take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to them that are weak; f 1. Cor. 10.24. let no man seek his own, but every man another's wealth. He hath so commanded it, he hath so practised it; g 1. Cor. 9. 19.2●. For though I be free (saith he) from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more. To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak; I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. He that seeketh here any other mystery, is either without knowledge, or without conscience, or without both of them. V The last place which they allege, The 9 objection. is taken out of the Revelation, where it is written; h Revel. 14.3.4. No man could learn that Song, but the hundredth and forty and four thousand which were redeemed from the earth. These are they which were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whither soever he goeth; i Bellar. de Monach. c. 9 §. 79. By which place it appears, (saith Bellarmine) that the virgins have a singular reward, seeing they sing a Song that none of the rest of the blessed can sing. He adds, that the ancient Fathers have expounded this place of true virgins, and the Author of the Pastoral Letter, All the Saints do well to follow our Lord, that is to say, Pag. 33. & 34. do imitate him; the Martyrs in his Cross, the Confessors in his sufferance and patience: but the Virgins do follow him in all, and everywhere; Virgins enim sunt & sequuntur agnum quocumque ierit: They are virgins which follow the Lamb whither soever he goeth. VI This is as little to the purpose as the rest, they should prove to us, that there are evangelical Counsels, that the vow of virginity is recommended in the Gospel, and that such a vow merits a greater glory. And they tell us, that there are virgins in heaven, etc. Who doubts but that there are many? but they must prove, that they were such by vow, and by the observation of evangelical Counsels, and that in Saint john's time there were Cloisters of men and Nunneries of maids. That was their task, from the which they lose themselves, and do toil in vain to prove that, which no man denies them, that there are many virgins in heaven. That is their first fault, which is followed by another greater: for to exalt virginity or chastity, they allege a place, which being understood literally and strictly of virgins that never lived in matrimony, enfolds untruths, absurdities, and no small inconveniences: first, that in heaven there is a defect and imperfection in all the other Saints, which had endeavoured and laboured to have learn this new Song, and could not learn it. What, was it too deep for their small capacity? or too long for their short memory? either they ought to have learned it, or else they ought not to have learned it; if they ought not to have learned it, than they have outgone their commission, and overpassed their duty, and in so doing have sinned; and if they sin, or can sin, they are not happy. If they ought and would have learned it, but could not compass it, they are yet defective and imperfect; and therefore they are not happy. Secondly, that the other Saints were not redeemed from among men. For this is the privilege of those hundred and four and forty thousand. Thirdly, if these words (these are they which were not defiled with women) signifies, that they have not been married; it would follow, that God hath instituted a pollution, that Adam, Seth, Abraham, David, all the patriarchs, Prophets, Apostles, and particularly S. Peter the head (say they) of the whole Church, and consequently of these virgins, have been all defiled, and follow these virgins a far off; which by this reckoning are perfect●r than Adam, the Father of the living; then Abraham, the Father of the faithful; then Saint Peter, the Head of Christians, and are exalted in a higher degree, than their Father and Head; yea, we should also confess, that God contradicts himself, for he saith, l Heb. 13.4. Marriage is honourable in all, and the bad undefiled; and elsewhere he should have called it a pollution, and the Church of Rome that boasts, she is pure from all spot of error, doth grossly err, and sin daily, in sanctifying and blessing the marriages that defile men; yea, that she contradicts herself, in that she call them defiled that are married, and calls the marriage a holy Sacrament of the holy Church, conferring grace to the married folks, ex opere operato. Fourthly, that the other Saints see not always the face of the Lamb, and therefore are not always happy; for the blessedness of Saints consists, in that m 1. john 3.2. they see Christ as he is, as Christ himself declareth in that excellent prayer, which he hath made for all those that shall believe in him, saying; n john 17.24. Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. For if the virgins have alone this privilege to follow him every where, he absents himself from the others, and sometimes hides his face from them; then that must needs befall them which David saith, o Psal. 30.7. Thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled, which is contrary to the Scripture, which describe everlasting life by the contemplation of God's face; p Psal. 16.11. In thy presence is fullness of joy, at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore; this was his greatest comfort in his life; q Psal. 17.15. I will behold thy face in righteousness, I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness. This is that comfort which Christ jesus himself gives us, saying, r john 14.3. I will come again, and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there you may be also. He said that to the Apostles being married; he saith as much to all, s John 12.26. If any man serve me, let him follow me, and where I am, there shall also my servant be; if any man serve me, him will my Father honour. The Apostle speaking by the same Spirit, telleth us, that then t 1. Cor. 13.12. we shall see him face to face, and u 1. Thes. 4.17. we shall ever be with the Lord. So Saint john describing the holy City, and the blessedness of the Inhabitants thereof, saith, x Revel. 21.22.23. The Lamb is the Temple, and the light thereof, y Revel. 22.3.4. there his servants shall serve him, and they shall see his face, and his name shall be in their foreheads. They therefore shall be always with him, and he always with them. z Revel. 21.3. Behold, (saith the same Apostle) the Tabernacle of God is with men, and be will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And there are none of the Fathers, whose authority can authorize, and make good those vntrust●● and absurdities which accompany their exposition, whereby they turn an allegory into a literal sense, as they do also but too often turn the literal sense into allegories. Although all the Fathers are not of one: opinion in this point. VII. Origen writes, that these hundred and four and forty thousand are they, of whom mention is made in the seventh Chapter a Revel. 7.3.4. etc. of the Revelation, where it is said, that of every Tribe of Israel, twelve thousand were marked with God's seal in their fore heads. b Origen. in Exod. homil. 1. Quos simul omnes dicit esse creatum quadraginta, quatuor millia, etc. john (saith he) writes in the Revelation, of the jews which have believed in Christ, there were twelve thousand sealed of every Tribe, which being put together, are an hundred and four and forty thousand, which were not defiled with women, and have remained virgins. The number agree, for twelve times twelve thousand make an hundred forty and four thousand. Their marks agree, for the twelve thousand of every Tribe were marked c Revel. 7.2.3. with the seal of the living God; and it is said, that these hundred forty and four thousands d Revel. 14.1. had the name of the lambs Father written in their foreheads. It is manifest, that those were of the Tribes of Israel. It is also written, that these were with the Lamb on the Mount Zion, that is to say (according to Origen) they were jews. Now there was never among the jews any profession of virginity by Counsel from God, and by vow according to God. Wherefore it being improbable, that there were so great a number of virgins among the jews, we must not think that they were corporal virgins. They are the elect of God, whether from among the jews then gathered together in heaven, as Origen thinketh, o● from whole Christendom which are here described; first, by their mark, they had the name of the Father written in their foreheads. Secondly, by their present actions, They sung as it were a new Song, which none but they could 〈◊〉. For 〈◊〉 the elect, they alone which have been red●●●●●● from the 〈…〉 made capable to hear● and comprehend the mysteries of God, which flesh and blo●d cannot comprehend 〈◊〉 are unto the natural man foolishness. Thirdly, by their actions past, they have not been 〈◊〉 with women, for they are virgins. That is to say; They have abstained from all spiritual and corporal whoredom, and as chaste virgins have kept themselves from all impiety and unrighteousness. Let us hear f Ambres. in 2. Cor. 11.2. Virgins vult eos esse in fide. In mulieribus errorem significavit. Saint Ambrose expounding the words of the Apostle to the Corinthians that were married; I am jealous over you with godly jealousy, for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. He writes, that the Apostle requires, that they be virgins in the faith. He allegeth to this purpose these words of Saint john, and saith, He signified the error in women, because that error began by a woman, as also he names the woman jezabel, because of Achabs' wife, who by a zeal she bore towards Baal, killed the Prophets of God, understanding the idolatry, whereby the manners and the truth of faith are corrupted and tainted. Excludis ab hac gloria sanctos, quia omnes Apostoli (exceptis Io●●ne & Paul●) ixodes habuerunt. For if you understand by the women light women indeed, and thinkest that they are called virgins, because they have kept their bodies untouched, thou excludest the Saints from this glory, because all the Apostles, except john and Paul, have had wives, and see if it be f●●●t to accuse the Apostle Saint Peter, who is the first among the Apostles, how much more among the rest? Let us hear Saint Austin, or whosoever is Author of the Homilies upon the Revelation, g In Apocal. homil. 11. Virgins hoc l●co non solum corpore castos intelligimus, sed maximè omnem ecclesiam quae fidem puram tenet nulla adulterina haereticorum mixtione pollutam, etc. We understand (saith he) by virgins, not only those that are chaste of body, but principally the whole Church that holds a pure faith. As the Apostle saith, I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ, not polluted and defiled by the adulterous company of heretics, nor tied by a wretched perseverance to her lives end unto the dangerous alluring and deadly pleasures of this world without the remedy of repentance. They are then virgins, not corporal but spiritual, not that have kept their body from the lawful touching of women, but that have preserved their souls from the unlawful touching of heresies, compared to whores in the Scripture, which being stored with cunning pranks, assurements and flatter, and which a thousand enticements do make the ill advised to serve from their right way. So the Antichristian heresy is called h Revel. 17.1.2. the great whore, with whom the Kings of the earth have committed fornication. According to that which Moses and the Prophets say so often of the Idolaters, that go a whoring after the false gods. l Origen in Leuit. hom. 12. Simplicitas fide● virginitas appellata est, etc. And contrariwise Origen saith, that the simplicity of faith is called virginity, etc. and that the soul by the singleness of faith, and purity of her actions is held to be a virgin. We oppose therefore these Fathers to the others, and do affirm, that these hundred and forty and four thousand, are either the elect among the jews, or all the elect of the jews and of the Gentiles, few in number in comparison of the reprobates; which have not defiled themselves by whoredom with dumb idols, but have followed in all their actions the conduct and leading of the Lamb of God, adhering unto him by faith, as now they walk with him by sight, enjoying continually his glorious presence, according as he had redeemed them by his blood, and sanctified and separated them from the rest of the world for this end, as the first fruits were separated from the whole heap that remained common. The spouse speaks of these virgins, when she saith unto her Spouse, k Cant. 1.3. Because of the savour of thy good ointments, thy name is as ointment powered forth, therefore do the virgins love thee. Virgins surely not by vow of virginity and chastity, whereof there was no mention in salomon's time, the parents thinking in that time that they did injury and wrong to their Virgins, to their Families, to their Tribe, if they gave not their daughters in marriage: but virgins by spiritual chastity and purity, as it hath been said. CHAP. XX. I. The tenth objection taken from examples. II. The first example of the vestal virgins. III. Impertinent, and nothing to the purpose. FOUR Saint Ambrose judgement touching marriage. V And touching the vestal virgins. VI The second example of jesus Christ, who was never married. VII. Why Christ abstained from carnal matrimony. VIII. Virginity makes not virgins like unto Christ. IX. The third example of the four virgins, daughters to Philip the Evangelist. X. This example is false and impertinent. XI. The fourth example of virgins in justines and Cyprians time. XII. As much impertinent as the rest. THere is no good work in all the Scripture, The tenth objection. but hath a commandment to do it, a promise to them that do it, and examples of Saints which have done it. Vows are good works, say our adversaries; and Bellarmine and the Author of the Pastoral Letter have laboured much to authorize them, both by the Counsels of Christ, as also by large promises made unto the observers thereof. But they have turmoiled themselves in vain, and have alleged nothing that serves to their purpose. They have seen vanity, and have written lies. Let us see, if they speak better to the purpose in the allegation of the examples of Saints, that have kept their Counsels. II. The first example is that of the Vestal virgins or Nuns of the Heathenish Romans. Pag. 34. For so read we in the Pastoral Letter; The only light of nature had taught the Heathens the price and value of this virtue; and although few followed it, yet all bad it in admiration, witness Augustus the Emperor, who gave great rewards and prizes to virginity. Tit. Livi. 1. decad. lib. 5. And Albinus seeing the Vestal virgins go afoot, commanded his wife and children to come down from their chariot, and made the virgins get up in their place. To this purpose the Author allegeth a long sentence of Saint Ambrose, taking an argument from the honour that men gave in time passed unto the Vestal virgins, to the honour due to Christian virgins. III. And in all that how many faults? To say, that the Heathen have acknowledged by the light of Nature, that virginity was a virtue of great price, and therewith to call it an evangelical Counsel. For if it be of the Gospel, it is unknown by Nature; the Gospel a Ephes. 3.4.5. Rom. 16.25.26. being a mystery, which in other places was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy Apostles, and Prophets by the Spirit. Flesh and blood revealeth nothing of the things of the Gospel; how then could the Heathens, that were nought but flesh & blood, have known the value of this virginity? the price and merit thereof? the Aureolas that are reserved to it in heaven in illa part, things whereof there was never any mention made but under the Gospel? Here then the Author of the Pastoral Letter contradicts himself, and to his contradiction adds an untruth. The Heathen (saith he) have known the excellency and price of virginity by the light of Nature. What Heathen? the ●●ings that are natural, are indifferently observed by all Nations. All Nations know by the light of Nature that there is a God, and therefore there was never any Nation found to be without a God, and without some kind and smack of Religion. But all the world hath continued until the time of Monks without esteeming so much virginity, except some few bewitched by the devil. For nature teacheth, that maids have been made for marriage, being a thing natural to desire marriage and use it, as to be an hungry and dry, as to eat and drink. During the Law of Nature God said, b Genes. 2.18. It is not good that the man should be alone, I will make him a help meet for him. This help is the woman, expressly created of God to be a meet help for him in the state of marriage. The Law of nature hath been renewed by Moses, and there is no mention of any price of virginity, of any promise made to it: but contrariwise there is often mention of marriage, and great are the promises that God hath made to that state, which cannot be but most holy, and of great value to the Church of Rome, seeing that she hath made a Sacrament thereof; although in effect marriage and virginity are things indifferent, wherein there is neither vice nor virtue nor any part of the service of God. For that which the Apostle saith of meat and drink, is true of all outward things; The kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but right 〈◊〉 and peace, and joy in the holy Ghost. Chas●●y whether in virginity, or in marriage is a virtue, but corporal virginity is no virtue; c Clemens Alexand. stir. lib. 3. Quemadmodum autem humilitas est mansuetudo, non afflictio corporis; ita etiam continentia est animae virtus, quae non est in manifesto sed in occulto. For as humility is the meekness, and not the affliction of the body; so continency is a virtue of the soul, which is not manifest but secret, faith Clement; affirming, d Jbidem Paulo ante. Quid enim a● non ●iset etiam continenter uti matrimonio. that a man may use marriage 〈◊〉 continency. And to show that the Romans did abuse themselves in that opinion which they had conceived of virginity; commanding that the continual fire should be kept by these Vestal virgins, as if they had been holier than the married women; God on the other side ordained, that the Priests (which were all married) e Levit. 1.7. should put fire upon the Altar, and lay the wood in order upon the fire, f Levit. 6.12. and should keep the fire burning continually upon the Altar. Whence I could also conclude in like manner, that matrimony is a great virtue, and the price thereof is great. The honour that Augustus and Albinus yielded, and gave unto the Vestals, had reference to their office, and not to their virginity. Now their office was the service of Devils. And if this be a good argument, Augustus and Albinus did much honour to the Vestal virgins, therefore they did much honour virginity. This will be a better one, God advanced in great dignity the high Priests, which were all married; he would have them to bear on their forehead a plate of pure gold with this inscription, g Exod. 28.36. Holiness to the Lord, and expressly ordained, that all should have them in singular estimation and reverence; therefore he hath th●● honoured marriage. Let us now judge of the worth of this proof: We seek the examples of those that have kept evangelical Counsels, and they allege the superstition and idolatry of the Vestal virgins, the price of their virginity, the esteem that was made thereof by two idolaters that knew not God. After this manner they find out purgatory in Plato and Virgil, and so might they reduce and bring back all the Paganism of the Heathens. Then should their Priests among them geld themselves, to observe so much the better a single life, and clear the world of their bastards: for in this sort did the Priests of Cybele, the grand mother of the gods, geld themselves. Thus many Friars do whip themselves, till they fetch blood; for so did the Priests of h 1. King. 18.28. Baal cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancers, 〈◊〉 the blood gushed out upon them. i Lucia de Dea Syria. Apule●us lib. 8. de Asino. Thus the Priests of the Syrian goddess did flash and mangle themselves, begging from door to door, and gathering into their waller, cor●e, pease, cheese, bread, all forts of meats, the best wine in their great leather bottles, in their purses all manner of coin, of brass, silver or gold. Thus 〈◊〉 the Papists celebrate Candlemas day, in honour of the Virgin Marie, the Queen of Heaven; for thus did the Heathen celebrate it, in honour of Proserpina the Queen of Hell: the service remains, but the name is changed. So are the Churches full of images of men and women, representing the Saints of either sex, because the Heathen had their Temples adorned with the like images, representing their gods and goddesses: so we need not to inquire any more what God commands, and what the Saints have done according to his Commandment, but the examples of the Heathens shall be the rules of our actions. O Christians! how long will ye love, believe, and follow them, which seduce you by their lies? FOUR Saint Ambrose Rhetoric is better than his Divinity in his books of virgins; he was accused by those of his time, that he preached and exalted too much virginity. He glories in it, saying, k Ambros. de virginit. lib. 3. utinam possem revocare nupturas, utinam possem flammeum nuptiale pro integritatis mutare velamine. Would to God I could repeal and cal● back those that will marry, that I could change their nuptial vail into a holy vail of integrity. This is to tax obliquely marriage of vice and pollution, contrary to the Apostle that saith, l Heb. 13.4. Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled. This is to desire that which the Apostle forbids, m 1. Tim. 5.14. I will (faith he) that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully. This is to contradict himself, and to make way for false dealing and perjury. For some lines after, he sets down with his approbation the sentence of our Lord, prohibiting to dissolve n Mat. 19.9. marriage, except it be for fornication; and that of Saint Paul, Art thou bound unto a wife, seek not to be loosed. For they which marry, do promise one another firmly to live together so long as life doth last, and do contract a covenant between them, called in the Scripture p Prou. 2.17. The Covenant of God; which they cannot violate without disloyalty and perjury against God, and against men. With what conscience then hath Saint Ambrose desired, that he could have persuaded the married folks to forsake their nuptial vail; was he more than a man? and he saith unto man, q Mat. 19.6. What God hath joined together, let no man put asunder. And notwithstanding this his sentence, whereby he complains, that none did dissuade nor divert the Vestal virgins from their profane ceremonies, and that some undertook to banish virginity out of the Church, though this sentence could well conclude, yet it concludes nothing to the purpose and intention of the Author of the Pastoral Letter. The question was not, if a father might compel his daughter's virgins to marry, but if he may oppose himself for good considerations that they leave him not, nor affect and give their persons, their goods, and their service to the College of the Vrselines. Now seeing that they have alleged the Vestal virgins with a sentence of Saint Ambrose; I will also set down in counterchange the commendation which Saint Ambrose gives them, that the Monks and Friars may view themselves in their single life. V r Ambros. de virgin. lib. 1. Itaque nec casta est quae metu cogitur, nec honesta quae mercede conducitur, etc. Conferuntur immunitates, offeruntur pretia, quasi non hoc maximum petulantiae sit indicium, castitatem vendere; quod precio promittitur, precio soluitur, precio addicitur, precio adnumeratur, nescit castitatem redimere, quae vendere solet. Pag. 35. She is not chaste who is compelled by fear, nor honest which doth it for reward, etc. freedom and privileges are given to them, some offer them wages, as if it were not a very great sign of impudency and uncleanness to sell chastity. That which is promised for a price is paid with a price, is sold with a price, is reckoned by a price. She that is wont to sell her chastity cannot redeem it. If this accusation be true as it is, to whom belongs it better than to the Popes, Cardinals, Bishops, Priests, Abbots, priors, Commanders, monks, Nuns, etc. whereof some are compelled by a fatherly fear, others are alured by fair promises, and rich rewards to abstain from marriage; that live not in the state of single life, but for to live idly, richly, luxuriously, and in honour; for otherwise they would not abstain from honourable marriage, seeing they abstain not from fornication, filthy and prejudicial. VI The second example is that of jesus Christ, that was a virgin, and the son of a virgin. Therefore Saint Jerome against ●ou●an, saith that though he had not given us any Counsel of virginity, his birth, his life, his affections during the time he lived and conversed in this world, teacheth us it enough. For this cause Saint Cyprian calls virginity the image and resemblance of jesus Christ. These are the words of the Author of the Pastoral Letter. VII. Derived originally from heretics, more ancient than Saint Cyprian, Basil, or Jerome. s Clemens Alexand. storm. lib. 3. Dicunt autem gloriosi isti iactatores se imitari dominum, qui neque uxorem duxit, neque in mundo aliquid possedit. There are that say openly (saith Clemens Alexandrinus) that marriage is fornication, and maintain, that it hath been instituted by the devil. Now these glorious boasters say, that they imitate our Lord, who never was married, nor possessed any thing in this world, boasting that they understand a great deal better the Gospel, than others do. This is the language even of our Monks, saving that they dare not openly condemn marriage, although they are compelled to condemn it in effect, if they think that Christ hath taught us single life by his example. For Christ is to be imitated of us all, in all that wherein he hath proposed himself for an example. If then he hath given an example of single life in his person, all aught to abstain from marriage. For the life of Christ is the rule of ours. But (saith Clement) t Jbid. Deinde causam nesciunt cur dominus uxorem non duxerit; primum quidem propriam sponsam habuit ecclesiam: Deinde ver● nec home erat communis, ut opus haberet etiam adiut●re aliquo secundum carnem. Neque erat ei necesse procreare filios qui manet in aeternum, & natus est solus Dei filius. these fellows know not the cause, why our Saviour Christ did not marry: for first he had the Church for his Spouse. Secondly, he was not a common man, as having need of a help according to the flesh, neither was it necessary that he should beget children who dureth for ever, and is borne the only Son of God. He will say in substance, that the Son of God became man by a special dispensation of God, and came into the world by a particular calling to make children, not by engendering after the flesh those that were not, but by renewing after the Spirit those that were. The generation is of the first Adam, the regeneration is of the second Adam. They that are borne of the first, are borne of flesh and and blood, and are called the sons of men. They that are renewed by this second, are borne again of his Spirit, and of his word, u 1. Pet. 1.23. Being borne again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, namely, by the word of God which liveth and abideth for ever, and are called the Sons of God. The first begat in his life, and being dead ceased to beget. The second begat in his death, and since his death ceaseth not to engender, as Isaiah prophesied, saying; x Isai. 53.10. When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed. Therefore carnal marriage was not so consonant to his calling. If he had begot children after the flesh like the first Adam, he could not have been our second Adam, engendering children to God after the Spirit. As he was not borne of carnal marriage, so hath he not willed that any should be borne of him by carnal marriage. It is Adam's right to be the Father of the natural man, it is his right to be the Father of the spiritual man, and notwithstanding to show that he gave no example to any to abstain from marriage, he chose married men for his Apostles, he honoured y john 2.2. the marriage feast with his presence, and by his first miracle; he declared, that marriage is an institution z Mat. 19.4. of God, and that the bond thereof is indissoluble and inseparable. VIII. The ancient Father have exceeded and have spoken (be it spoken by their leave, and with their favour) against all truth: for as marriage makes not the faithful which useth it holily, unlike to God, so doth not virginity make a Basil. lib. de vera virginitat●. man even like God, though Saint Basil saith so. Virginity also is not the image and resemblance of Christ, as Saint Cyprian affirmeth. Holiness alone makes man like God, and this holiness may be in as great a measure in them which are married, in Abraham, in Saint Peter, in the Brethren of our Lord, as in the eleven thousand Virgins. It is unto the married folks, and not unto any virgins by Counsel and by Vow, that God saith in his Law; Ye shall be holy, for I am holy. b Levit. 11.44. It is unto all, both married and unmarried, that Peter speaks; c 1. Pet. 1.15. As he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; and the image of Christ consisteth in d Colos. 3.10. knowledge, e Ephes. 4.24. righteousness, and true holiness, saith Saint Paul; and this knowledge, righteousness and true holiness hath been as great in Adam and Eve, in Noah, in Abraham and Sarah, in Isaac and Rebecca, in jacob and Rachel, in Moses, with whom God spoke face to face, and who hath had testimony Numb. 12.3. to have been very meek above all the men which were upon the face of the earth, in joshue, g judg. 4.4. in Deborah the wife of Lapidoth, and notwithstanding a Prophetess; in Samuel, in David, in josias, in h 2. Chro. 34.22. Huldah the Prophetess, the wife of Shallum; in Isaiah and his wife, who also was i Jsai. 8.3. a Prophetess; in the k 1. Cor. 9.5. Brethren of our Lord, in Cephas, and the other Apostles which did lead with them their wives; and it may be yet as great as it hath ever been, as it can be ever in any virgin or unmarried person; l Deut. 10.17. Act. 10.34. God is no respecter of persons; m job 34.19. for they all (great and little, married and unmarried) are the work of his hands. If it were otherwise, if virginity were the image of Christ, the Vestal virgins should have been like unto Christ. n Clement Alexand storm .. lib. 3. Q●●● et 〈…〉 à cibis & ve●ere abstinent. Certe Magis quoque curae est, qui angelos & daemons colunt, simul à vino & animatis & rebus abstinere venereis. They which adore idols, (saith Clement) do abstain from meats and carnal lust, now the Apostle saith, that the Kingdom of God is not meat and drink, surely the Sorcerers which adore the Angels and the Devils, do abstain altogether from wine, from living things, and from women. Where shall we find any in the most austere Cloister which do as much? The Fathers than have mistaken, when they have established the image and resemblance of God, in that which was to be found in the Heathen, and is to be found in these days among the Turks, with a great deal more excess of severity, then among all the Monks of Christendom. IX. The third example is of the beginning of the Primitive Church: Pag. 11. for our Author of the Pastoral Letter saith, This Counsel had so penetrated and passed through in the beginning of Christianity, as Saint I●rome observes it eloquently upon the Acts of the Apostles: Post crucem Christi statim una domus Philippi quadrigam producit virginum filiarum; That after the Cross of Christ, presently the house of Philip yields four daughters virgins. X. What could the Author of the Pastoral Letter have alleged worse against his cause and intention? he hath heretofore spoken of an evangelical Counsel, recommending single life and voluntary poverty, and now he speaks of o Act. 21.8.9. Philip the Evangelist keeping house in Caesarea, married, and having his daughters with him in his house. Philip then hath not kept the evangelical Counsels, and hath not been less perfect for all that I hope, than the perfectest Monk or Friar. Secondly, he will prove, that the daughters ought to leave father and mother, and withdraw themselves into a Monastery to keep there their virginity, and that the fathers and mothers ought to consent thereunto; and he sets us down the example of four daughter's virgins dwelling in their father's house, and living there as Christianly as any cloisterly Nun. Thirdly, he presupposeth against the truth of the history, that these maids have persevered in their virginity all their life time. For the Scripture saith it not, and Clemens Alexandrinus saith the contrary, writing against the heretics heretofore mentioned, and ask them; p Clemens Alexand. storm. lib. 3. An etiam reprobant Apostolos? Petrus enim & Philippus filios procrearunt; Philippus autem filias quoque suas viris tradidit. Euseb. lib. 3. Eccles. hist. cap. 27. Do they reprove the Apostles also, for Peter and Philip have begot children, and Philip hath given his daughters in marriage. They were then virgins when Saint Paul passed by that way, but they ceased to be virgins when they were married. Bellarmine answereth, q Bellar. de monach. c. 10. §. 2. that we ought to believe, that they have beeve perpetually virgins, and by election, because that Saint Luke relates that as a great matter, to wit, that one man had four daughters virgins. Now what great matter is it to have four daughters virgins, which being marriageable, did marry? But Saint Luke recites not as a great matter that Philip had four daughters virgins, but that he had four daughters virgins r Act. 21.9. which did prophesy. A thing recommendable and worthy to be registered to posterity, that one man hath had in his house four daughters virgins, which being Prophetesses, the prophesy of the Prophet joel hath been fulfilled, s Joel 2.28. your sons and your daughters shall prophesy. XI. The last example is of the Church, in the time of Cyprian and justine Martyr. Cyprian saith of his time, t Cypri. de habitu virg. The world is filled with those which can comprehend continency, which live like eunuchs for the Kingdom of God. u justin. Apolog. 2. justin elder than he faith; Surely many of the one and of the other sex of sixty and seventy years of age remain eunuchs and Virgins, and in this state have kept the discipline of jesus Christ, even from their youth up; and I glory that I can show such among all the sexes of those of our religion. Behold the first fruits of the Gospel, saith our Author of the Pastoral Letter. Pag. 11. XII. The fruit of the Gospel is the fruit of the Spirit, x Gal. 5.22.23. love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance, etc. Of these fruits are not virginity nor marriage, but chastity in the one and in the other state, is a true fruit of the Spirit, and is comprehended under the virtue Temperance. justin and Cyprian say not that virginity is a fruit of the Gospel: for that which is common to Christians and Heathens is not of the Gospel; but they recommend those, which in so woeful a time wherein the fires were lighted, the sword drawn, the public power and strength armed with fury, with threatenings, and with vengeance against the faithful, did abstain from marriage for the Kingdom of heavens sake. For he who in time of persecution is charged with wife, and children, and sees himself brought to this hard necessity, either to bow the knee before Baal, or to be deprived of that wherewith he should sustain his family; to be separated by banishment or death from those that are the half of himself, his flesh, his bones, and his blood; or else to trail and lead them all after him with great fear, toil, and continual danger, hath no small temptations; he that faints not, nor yields unto them, may well say, that he hath in him a greater strength, then that of the world. But he which is alone, whether he must fly, or must die for the Gospel, is far from these temptations, and is rid from all that which might stay him, which might divert, or quench the zeal, whereby he is carried to a free and constant profession of the Gospel. For which cause the ancient Fathers seeing the Church of God pressed and oppressed with this necessity, did by long and vehement orations, exhort men and maids to virginity; and many of them did follow their exhortations, not by vow, but by God's gift and calling, not by superstition and opinion of any merit and greater perfection, but to apply themselves the better to the service of God with less disturbance, without shutting themselves into a Monastery, without forsaking their houses, without selling their goods, or leaving them, and without tying themselves to a continual continency. For the daughters went abroad in public as the others, clothed like others, and sometimes too sumptuously, which Saint Cyprian reprehends, saying, Quid ornata, quid compta pr●cedit, quasi maritum aut habeat, aut quarat? Why goeth she forth decked and tricked up, as if she had a husband, or else sought one? Some of them were very rich, and did debate (to maintain their vanity) that they ought to use their riches. The holy man commands them not to sell them, but take the use of thy riches, O virgin, y Cyprian. de habit. virg. utere, sed ad res salutares; utere, sed ad bonas arts; utere, sed ad illa quae Deus praece pit, quae dominus ostendit. Diviten tesentiant pauperes, locupletem sentiant indigentes; Patrimonium tuum Deo foenera Christum ciba, etc. (saith he) use them, but unto wholesome things, use them but to good arts, use them but in such things as God hath commanded, as the Lord hath showed; let the poor feel that thou art rich, the needy that thou hast means; give thy patrimony to usury unto God, feed Christ, etc. justin Martyrs words are ill translated and altered from their sense. For he speaks not there of virgins, but of those only which 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, remain chaste, or without defiling themselves with fornication, as the Gentiles did among whom it was a hard matter to find one that had lived without defiling themselves with that sin, whereas justin boasteth, that he could show, not those which have kept Christ's discipline (as if single life were the discipline of our Lord jesus Christ) but those which have learned the doctrine of Christ from their infancy, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, many of all orders, men and women, of threescore and of seventy years of age, which have never defiled themselves. But that he spoke of virgins closely shut up in a monastery separated from the world, veiled, and clothed with a particular habit affected by their order, bound by the vow of perpetual continence; that they sold all, forsake all, transported their patrimony over to the Cloisters, that they were holier, perfecter, better than the married women, that they did more than they were commanded, that they merited Aureolas by their works of supererogation? This is that which they should prove against us, and this is that wherein all they that undertake this task shall come short, unto whom I will say that which job said unto his friends; z Ioh 6.29. Turn, I pray you, let there be none iniquity: return, I say, and ye shall see yet my righteousness in that behalf. Come Lord jesus, even so come. FINIS. Errata. Pag. 2. line. 9 the introgation is to be put after these words, walk. deceived, die. Pag 7. l. 18. r. consolations. p. 8. l. 4. r. gardiens. p. 14. 30, r. their enlightening. p. 20. l. 11. put out that. p. 21. l. 13. put out defend them and. p. 27. l. 36. r. defining. p. 30. l. 27. r. and the people. p. 33. l. 15. put out of. p 37. l. 28. r. Authors. p. 40. l. 24. r. Truchmen. l. 26. put out and. p. 46. l. 17. r. sand. p. 55. l. 31. r. in the Counsel, p. 56. l. 28. put out back. Courteous Reader, in reading over this Book, thou mayst chance to meet with some other faults, the which I entreat thee to mend with thy pe●.