The Novelty of Popery Discovered, Chapter 14 – Chapter 15
CHAPT. XIV.
The Noveltie of the doctrine of Merite.
HEEREIN the Romanistes are so grosse,Bell. l. 5. de justif. c. 17. Rhemon 2. Tim. 4 8. Heb 6. 10. and 2 Thess. 1. 5. Vasq. c…men in l. 2… q. 114. Disp. 222. num. 30 31 that BELLARMINE sayeth not onlie, That good workes merite a rewarde, for their owne worthinesse and condignitie: but the Rhemistes adde also, that they are so fullie worthy of eternall lyfe, which GOD of His j…stice oweth to the workers of the same, that GOD should bee v…just, if Hee rendred not Heaven for them.
Yea, the Iesuit Vasquez. goeth so farre in prowde and open blasphemie, that hee sayeth, Seeing the workes of the righteous, by their owne worthinesse, merite eternall lyfe, as an equall recompence and reward, there is no neede of the interveaning of anie other merite of condignitie, such as the merite of CHRIST, that eternall lyfe should bee rendered vntounto them.
To come to the confessed Noveltie of which prowde errour, beside Scripture cleare in this poynt, their owne Cassander telleth vsus,Cassand. cōsult art. 6. what was the constant and vniforme doctrine, of the primitiue Church, and ancient fathers therein, saying, Wherefore this doctrine is not to bee passed by, which with a full consent all the ancient Fathers delyvere: to wit, that our whole confidence of the remission of our sinnes, and the hope, both of pardon, and of lyfe eternall, is to bee placed in the onelie merciemercy of GOD, and merite of CHRIST.
Whence it is, that their Waldensis sayeth,Wild. tom. 3 de…sacramenta lib. tit. 1. c. 7. who wrot… anno 1430. I esteeme him a sounder divyn…, and more faythfull Catholicke, (sayeth hee) and more agreeable to the Scriptures, who simplie deny…th anie such merite; and who granteth according to the Apo…tles, and Scriptures manner of speach, that simplie a man meriteth not the kingdome of Heaven: but onelie that it is given him of the meere favour of GOD, and will of the giver, a… all the ann…ient holie Fathers, vntounto the latter Schoole-men hauehave held, and as the whole Church did professe, accounting it an Heresie to profe…se the contrarie.
The trueth of which speach,… the first part of this Trea…ise. of these two fore-named, may bee seene at length, in the cleare testimonies of the Fathers themselues, who showe how the godlie get eternall lyfe from GOD, ratione pacti, non facti, or by reason not of our wo…kes m…riting, but his merciemercy promising. Therefore,A…g. in Psal. 109. (sayde Augustine) whatso-ever GOD hath promised, Hee promised the same to these who were vnworthie, that the reward might bee seene to bee promised, not for the merite o… the worke, but of free…grace, (as the word it selfe importeth.)
Which doctrine of trueth overthrowing▪ merite was also professed of olde in the Churches of BRITANE, as may bee seene in the order appoynted in the …uncient Liturgie of E…GLAND, for visitat on of the sicke, chiefelie in Ansel…es time Arch-bishop of Canterburie, Ordo baptizandi et vi…tand… …grotos edit. V…n… anno 1575. …t Col…ni… 1576.Anno 1080, wherein the Priest sayeth to the sick… person, Doest thou belieue to come to Glorie, not by thy owne merites, but by the vertue and merite of the Passion of the LORD IESVS CHRIST, and that none can bee saved by his owne merits, or by anie other meanes, but by the merite of His Passion. To which the sicke partie was taught to answere, All this I belieue.
The contrarie of which doctrine, mayntayned now by Rom… nist…s, was also long agoe condemned, by the whole Facultie of Divinitie at PARIS,Guido re…oc▪ erro…um fa…t. Anno 1354, as most Hereticall, and Blasphemous, in their sentence agaynst one Guid…, an Augustine Friar, by way of recantation prescrybed vntounto him,Parisiis anno 1354 Tom. 14. bibli… the…. patr… edit. Colon p. 347 Bell. l. 5. de justif. c. 7. saying, I saide against a Batchelour of the preaching Friars, in my conference with him, that a man meriteth eternall lyfe, for the worthinesse of the worke; that is, so, as if the same were not given vntounto him, there were wrong done vntounto him: which opinion I recant, as False, Hereticall, and Blasphemous.
Therefore their owne Cardin…ll Bellarmine, was forced to conclude, saying, Because of the vncertayntie of our owne vnrighteousnesse, and the danger of vaine glorie, it is most safe, (sayth hee) to put our whole confidence, in the onelie merciemercy of GOD, and His onlie goodnesse.
An advertisement to the Reader.
THE Noveltie of this prowde errour beeing d…scovered, yet, lest with the vaile of the Word, MERITE oft vsed in Antiquitie, they should craf…ilie palliate the Noveltie of their doctrine of merite, their owne Vega, Vega l. 8. de justif. c. 8 p. 189.in his booke written in defence, and for the vnderstanding of the Councell of Tren…, and wherein hee was a chiefe Disputer, plainlie confesseth, saying, I am not ignorant that the word, (mer…te) is vsed ost-tymes, (sayeth hee) where there is no meaning of deserving, eyther by condignitie, or congruitie.
And therefore wee finde, that sometimes improperlie, i…simplie signifieth to o…tayne favour, without doing eyther good or evill: as where Ambrose sayeth.Am… ▪ Serm▪ 53. That Iohn the Baptist in his birth, obtayned so great a favour, as to bee the fore-runner of CHRIST, the wordes beeing, tantam gratiam nascendo meruit.
Sometimes also it is put for obtayning favour,Greg. l. 9. moral in Iob c. 17. quyte contra…ie to deserving, as where Pope Gregorie speaking of PAVL'S conversion, sayeth. When hee was labouring to extinguish the Name of our Redeemer on earth, hee obtayned that favour to heare His wordes from Heaven, where the wordes are, Verba de coelo meruit audire.
And sometimes it signifieth generallie, workes, whether good or evill, as Aug. Epist, 46, and sometimes speciallie good workes, yet excluding all worthinesse in them to merite eternall lyfe;Bern. Serm. 1. in annū … B. Mariae. as where Bernard sayeth, Neyther are mens good workes of such worth, that for their merite eternall lyfe should bee due vntounto them, or that GOD should doe wrong except Hee gaue the same for them: where the wordes are, Neque eni… sunt talia hominum merita, &c. and which speach of Bernand's, is diametralie opposit in ipsis termin…, to that prowde assertion of the Rhemistes, who say,Rhem in Heb. 6. 10. that GOD should bee vnjust, and doe wrong, if Hee rendred not Heaven for them.
CHAPTER XV.
The Noveltie of Pv… ▪ GATORIE.
FIrst, then, if wee aske their owne Bishop of Rochester, and great Champion against Luther, whether this new Article, which avarice hath hatched, ignorance doeth foster, and fire and …aggo… maintaine…h,Rosse… cont. Luther art. 18 was knowne of olde, or believed by the primitiue Church, hee will tell vsus, saying, It was not so necessarie to belieue Purgatorie, in the primitiue Church.
And if wee aske him farder, to wit, how long it was before eyther Purgatorie, or indulgences, (which depende vponupon it) was knowne or receaved by the Catholicke Church, hee will tell vsus, That it was knowne but of late, (sayeth hee) and that after manie ages, the beliefe of Purgatorie and indulgences, was receaved by Orthodoxe Christians; and therefore hee granteth, that thereof little or no mention was at all in the auncient Fathers. But on the contrarie,Iustin Martyr 7. 75. Iustin Martyr doeth teach vsus, That after the soules departure from the bodie, sta…sm, or instantly, the soules of the godlie are carried to Paradise,Prosper. l. 1. de Vita contempl. c. 1. Aug. medit. c. 22. where the sight of Angels and Archangels, and the sight of CHRIST is. And so lyke-wyse sayeth Prosper, that Christians having ended their Pilgrimage, presentlie thencefoorth reygne happie in their natiue countrey. In lyke-manner Augustine, that the soule beeing set at libertie out of the bodie, presentlie goeth to Heaven.…l. 20 de c…. vit. De… c. 15. Bell. l. 1. d… sanct. c. 3.
Yea, Bellarmine himselfe, vponupon these wordes of S. PAVLL, 2. COR. 5. 1. confe…eth no lesse, saying. The reasoning of the Apostle, then, is excellent, to wit, this (sayeth hee) if this mortall lyfe perish, wee hauehave presentlie the enjoying of another, sarre better in the Heavens.
Last of all, if moreover to proue the Noveltie of this errour, wee consider the vniversalitie or Catholicisme, both of place and persons, wee shall finde that as it hath not beene semper, or ever in the Church, so neyther, hath it beene helde or believed; Vbique nec ab omnibus, or, in all places, and by all: which beside the irrefragable not orietie thereof, their owne Bishop of Rochester clearlie confesseth,Roffe… cont. Luther art. 18 saying, As for the Grecians, even vntounto this day, they did never belieue Purgatorie: and yet of the Grectan Church their owne Bishop of Bit…nto, in his Oration before the Councell of Trent, Eia igitur Graci…a mater nostra cui to tum id debet quod ha…et Ecclesia Lati….professeth her to bee the mother Chruch, from whome the Romane Church hath whatsoever shee hath, (sayeth hee) to wit, of sound and Orthodox doctrine.
And if beside the Grecians, wee consider and joyne the Musco…ites, and Abys…in Christians, the Gorgians, and Armenians, as also the Syrians and Chaldeans, that are subject to the Patriarch of Antioch and Babylon, from Cypr… and Palestina, to the East Indies, besides the reformed Churches in Europe, wee shall finde these who belieue Purgatori…, to bee but a few.