A Reply to an Answer Made by Doctor Whitgift, Reply · Part 8
Anſwere till the Admonition / from the beginning of the 30. page.
VNtoUnto the places of Deuteronomic / whych proue that nothyng oughte to be done in the churche / but that whych God commaundeth / and that nothyng ſhould be added nor diminiſhed. Firſt you anſwere / that that was a precept geuen to the Iewes for that time / whych had all things euen the leaſt preſcribed vntounto them. I ſee it is true whych is ſayd / that one abſurditie graūted / a hundred follow. For to make good / that things ought to be done beſides the ſcripture and worde of God / you are driuen to runne into parte of the error of the Manichees / whych ſay / that the olde Teſtament pertaineth not vntounto vsus / nor bindeth not vsus. For what is it elſe / then to ſay that theſe two places ſerued for the Iewes time / and vnderunder the lawe? For ſurely / if theſe two places agree not vntounto vsus in time of the goſpell / I knowe none in all the olde Teſtament / whych doe agree / and I praye you what is heere ſayde / whych S. Iohn in the * Apocalipſe ſaythe not / where he ſhutteth vp the newe Teſtament in thys ſorte. I proteſt vntounto eueryevery Apoca. 22. 18.mā whych heareth the prophecie of thys boke / that whoſoeuer addeth any thing to it / the Lorde ſhall adde vntounto him the plagues whych are wrytten in it: and whoſoeuer taketh away any thing from it / the Lord ſhall take away his portion out of the boke of life / and out of the things that are wrytten in it? which admonition if you ſay pertaineth to that boke of the Apocalipſe only / yet you muſt remember / that the ſame may be as truely ſayd of any other boke of the ſcripture.
Then you are driuen to ſaye / that the Iewes vnderunder the lawe / had a more certaine direction / and conſequently a readyer waye / then we hauehave in the time of the goſpell / of the whych time the Prophet ſayeth / that then a man ſhoulde not Ier. 31. 34.teache his neighbor / they ſhalbe ſo taught of God: as if he ſhould ſay / that they that liue vnderunder the goſpel / ſhould be all in compariſon of that whych were vnderunder the lawe Doctors. And Eſay ſayth / that in the dayes of the goſpell / the people ſhall not ſtande in the outward courtes but he will bring them into the ſanctuarie Eſay. 56. 5.that is to ſay / that they ſhoulde be all / for their knowledge as learned as the Leuites and Prieſtes / whych only had entraunce into it.
Now if the Iewes had precepts of eueryevery the leaſt action / whych told them preciſely how they ſhould walke: how is not their caſe in that poynt better then oures / whych becauſe we hauehave in many things but generall rules / are to ſeeke oftentimes / what is the will of God whych we ſhould follow? But let vsus examine their lawes / and compare them with oures in the matters pertaining to the church: for whereas ye queſtion is of the gouernment of the church it is very impertinent / that you ſpeake of the iudicialies / as though you had not yet learned / to diſtinguiſhe betweene the Church and common wealth.
To the ordering and gouerning of the church / they had only the moral and ceremoniall law: we hauehave the ſame morall that they had: what ſpeciall direction therfore they enioy by the benefite of that / we hauehave. We hauehave no ceremonies but two / the ceremonies or ſacraments of Baptiſme and of the Lords ſupper / & we hauehave as certaine a direction to celebrate them / as they had / to celebrate their ceremonies / and fewer and les difficulties can riſe of oures / then of theirs: and we hauehave more plaine and expres doctrine to decide our cōtrouerſies then they had for theirs. What houre had they for their ordinarie and daily ſacrifices: was it not left to the order of the church? what places were apointed in their ſeuerall dwellings to heare the woorde of God preached continually / when they came not to Ieruſalem? the word was commaunded to be preached / but no mention made / what manner of place they ſhould hauehave: where was pulpittes commaunded / or chaires? and yet they had both. Where any forme of buriall in the law? and yet it is a thing pertaining to the church / that the deade be after a comely ſorte buried. Where / any order or forme of mariage? and yet it is knowne they had. It was (whych is more) in the diſcretion of that churche / vppon occaſion of dearthe / or warre / plagues / or any other common calamitie / to proclaime a faſte.
I wil not be long / where as you ſay / that they had nothing but was determined by the law: and we hauehave many things vndetermined and left to the order of the churche / I will offer for one that you ſhall bring / that we hauehave left to the order of the church / to ſhew you that they had twentie whych were vndecided of by the expres word of God. For as their ceremonies and ſacraments are multiplied aboue oures / ſo grewe the nomber of thoſe caſes whych were not determined by any expres worde / and therefore▪ I will conclude / that for ſo muche as we hauehave the ſame lawes to directe vsus in the ſeruice of God / whych they had / beſide that / a noble addition of the newe Teſtament to make things more manifeſt / and to bring greater light vntounto the olde Teſtament / we hauehave alſo preciſe direction of our religion as they had / and therfore thoſe places of Deuter. ſtand in as greate force nowe touching the gouernment of the church / as they did then.
And as for the iudiciall lawe / for as muche as there are ſome of them made in regarde of the region where they were geuen / and of the people to whom they were giuen / the Prince and Magiſtrate keping the ſubſtance & equitie of them (as it were the marrow) may chaunge the circumſtances of them / as the times / and places / and manners of the people ſhall require. But to ſay that any magiſtrate can ſaue the life of blaſphemers / contemptuous and ſtubborne Idolaters / murderers / adulterers / inceſtuous perſons / and ſuche like / whych God by hys iudiciall lawe hath commaunded to be put to death / I doe vtterly denye / and am ready to proue / if that pertained to thys queſtion. And therfore althoughe the iudiciall lawes are permitted to the diſcretion of the prince and magiſtrate / yet not ſo generally as you ſeeme to affirme / and as I hauehave oftentimes ſayde / that not only it muſt not be done againſt the word / but according to the worde and by it.
After you define what is it to take from / & put to the word of God / wherin not to ſpeake of your wonderfull dexteritie in defining / whych can define two things / and thoſe contrary (putting to and taking fro) with one differēce (which zeno him ſelfe could neuer do) you leaue out that whych Moſes eſpecially meant to comprehend / whych is / not to do more / nor to do les / thē he hath cōmaunded. And as for your deuiſion / it hath as euil ſucces here / as in other places / for when it is a great fault in deuiding / to hauehave eyther too muche or too little / you faulte in bothe / for whereas you ſay / they adde / whych teache or decree. &c. beſides that you leaue out whych Moſes ment / you forget alſo that whych your ſelfe hadde ſayd / which had placed adding to / not only in teaching and decreeing / but in thinking or beleeuing. And wheras you make foure partes of your deuiſion / ye three laſt are found to be all vnderunder the firſt member / whych is to make things of fayth and ceremonies / contrary to the worde / and ſo your deuiſion is not only faultye / but no diuiſion at all. The whych thing I could hauehave eaſely forgeuen you / and paſſed by as a thing not very commendable to trauaile to ſhewe the pouertye of thoſe things / whych doe ſufficiently of them ſelues (as it were) proclaime their owne ſhame: but that it greeued me to ſee a boke lengthened wyth firſt / ſecond / thirde / laſt / as thoughe eueryevery one of them contained ſome notable newe matter / whych needed an Oyes before it / to ſtirre vp the attention of the reader / when there is nothing but a many of words wythout matter / as it were a ſort of faire emptie Apothecaries boxes / wythout any ſtuffe in them. And for that you are ſo hard wyth other men for their Logike / I will deſire the reader to pardone me / if I purſue theſe things more narowlyer then ſome peraduenture will lyke of / or I my ſelfe delight in. And ſo for any definition or diuiſion that I cā perceiue / it ſtandeth faſt / that nothing is to be done in the church of God / but by hys commaundement and worde directing the ſame. It is true in deede / if they be not againſt the word of God / and be profitable for the church / they are to be receiued / as thoſe thyngs / whych God by the church dothe commaunde / and as grounded of the word of God: but there is the queſtion / and therefore you taking this as a thyng graunted alwayes / do alwayes fal into that whych you charge other with of the fallation of petitio principii.