The Ancient Doctrine of the Church of England, Part 1 · Section 1
CONCERNING IVSTIFICATION BY FAITH ONLY.
Spectacles Chap. 9. Sect. 1.
THE Knight faileth in the proofe of his firſt point of Iuſtification, producing but one only place out of a booke intituled, Ordo baptizandi & viſitandi, and that of no ſpeciall good anthoritie, as hee alledgeth it out of Caſſander and Author placed in the firſt Claſsis in the firſt index librorum prohibitorum; and even in that which he alledgeth, there is nothing that doth not very well ſtand being rightly under ſtood with the Catholique faith which wee now profeſſe,L. 1. de Iuſtific. c. 7. prop 3. for there is nothing but that which was ſhewed before out of Bellarmine, to wit, that in regard of the uncertaintie of our owne juſtice that is, whether wee bee juſt or no, and for the perill of vaine-glory it is moſt ſafe to put our whole confidence in the ſole mercy and benignitie of God; Which word ſole, doth import confidence in that, and in nothing elſe with which it may ſtand very well, that men in the favour and grace of God may doe workes meritorious of encreaſe of grace and glory, which is the controverſie betweene us and heretiques.
The Hammer.
AS David cut off Goliahs head with his owne Sword,a Eraſ. Apoph. Laconum. and Braſidas ranne through his Antagoniſt with his owne Speare, and Iuſtine Martyr refuteth the Philoſophers out of the principles of Nature; and Conſtantine the ancient Romans out of the Oracles of Sibylla, and Euſebius the Gentiles out of their owne Hiſtorians,b Credis te non poſſe niſi per mortem Chriſti ſervari? reſpondet inſirmus; etiam, tum illi dicitur age ergo dum ſuper eſt in te anima in hac ſola morte fiduciam tuam conſtitue, in nulla alia re fiduciam habe, huic morti te totum cōmitte, hac ſolâ te totum contege: ſi dixerit tibi quod meruiſti damnationem, dic, Domine, mortem, D. noſtri Ieſu Chriſti obtendo inter me, & mala merita mea ipſiuſ que meritum, offero pro merito quod ego debuiſſem habere, nec habeo: credis quod Dom: noſter Ieſus Chriſtus pro noſtrâ ſalute mortuus ſit? & quod exproprijs meritis vel alio modo nullus poſſet ſalvari niſi merito paſſionis eju…? Impreſ. Venet, 1575. and S. Paul the Athenians out of their owne Poets: ſo doth the Knight here in a litigious caſe, of greateſt moment, convince the Ieſuite out of his owne evidence a booke intituled, The forme and order of baptizing and viſiting the ſicke; printed and reprinted, and practiſed for many hundred yeares without any check, or controle. In this booke the Prieſt is directed to put this queſtion to the ſick; Doſt thou beleeve that thou canſt not be ſaved but by the death of Chriſt? the ſicke perſon anſwereth; I beleeve; then the Prieſt goeth on ſaying, Goe too therefore as long as thy ſoule remaines in thee, place thy whole confidence in this death only, have confidence in no other thing, commit thy ſelfe wholly to this death, with this alone cover thy ſelfe wholly, if hee ſay unto thee, thou haſt deſerved damnation, ſay Lord, I ſet the death of our Lord leſus Chriſt betwixt mee and my bad merits, and I offer his merit in ſtead of the merits which I ought to have and yet have not. What could Luther or Calvin, or Zuinglius, or Peter Martyr, or any Proteſtant in the world ſpeake more expreſſely for the renouncing all merit, and relying upon Chriſt wholly and ſolely for juſtification and ſalvation? Yet our Spectacle-maker by a falſe gloſſe, as it were, a falſe glaſſe, would make us beleeve, that the author of the Liturgie caſt his eyes another way, and that this allegation maketh nothing for us.
Firſt, he excepteth againſt this Authour as a ſingle witneſſe, you produce, ſaith he, but one only place out of one authour, &c. I anſwer as the Lioneſſe doth in the fable to the aemulous beaſt twitting her,c Aeſop. Fab. that whereas other females had many young ones at once, ſhee had but one, ac pol leonem in quit; but, ſaith ſhee, that one is a Lion of more worth then twenty whelpes: ſo I grant, that in this place hee inſiſteth but upon one allegation, but it is a moſt remarkable one; It is very likely that this ordo viſitandi, as other parts of the Liturgie and Catechiſmes, and confeſſions might bee penned by one man: yet atfer they are generally received, and approved, and paſſe currant for many ages, they carry the authoritie of many, yea the whole Church; and howſoever the Ieſuite would intimate that the Authour was an anonymus, yet hee might have learned from their greatdHoſius Conf. Petricon. c. 73 Sed & Anſelmus Cantuar. Interrogat quaſdam praeſcripſiſſe dicitur infirmis in extremis conſtitutis. Cardinall Hoſius that hee was the famous Archbiſhop of Canterburie. Neither is ther any reaſon to make ſcruple thereof, for it hath beene anciently printed with his Workes, and paſſed under his name, and both the ſtyle and the doctrine in it is very conformable to that wee find in his unqueſtionable writings, as namely in his Comment upon Romans chapter the eight (v. 18.) I reckon that the ſufferings of this preſent time are not worthie to bee compared with the glorie which ſhall bee revealed in us, if a man, ſaith he,eSi homo mille annis ſerviret Deo etiam ferventiſſimè, non mereretur ex condigno dimidium diem eſſe in regno caelorum. ſhould ſerve God a thouſand yeares, and that moſt fervently, he ſhould not deſerve of condignity to bee halfe a day in the kingdome of heaven. Neither is Caſſanders teſtimonie of this booke (at which the Ieſuite gives ſo many a flert) to be ſleighted, for he was a man of eminent note, and in high eſteeme among the learned of his age, hee was a favourite of two great Emperours, and lived and died in good reputation, as appeareth by the ſundrie encomiums before his Workes; as alſo the Epitaph on his Tombe. As for the ſetting him in the firſt Claſſis of prohibited bookes, no whit ecclipſeth the glorie, but rather enobleth him, for that Index is a kind of Eccleſiaſticall ostraciſme, by which the Romaniſts baniſh as farre as their power ſtretcheth, the moſt eminent Authours, and moſt free and ingenuous profeſſors of the truth. AsfTertul in Apologet. c. 5. conſulite commentarios veſtros illic reperietis primum Neronem in hanc Sectam Romae orientē Caeſariano gladio ferociſſe. Sed tali dedicatore damnationis noſtrae etiam gloriamu… qui enim ſcit illum intelligere poteſt non niſi grande aliquod bonum à Nerone damnatum. Tertullian draweth an argument to prove the ſincerity and holineſſe of the Chriſtian Religion from the barbarous decree of wicked Nero againſt the profeſſours thereof; it muſt needs, ſaith hee, bee ſingular good which that damned monſter condemnes: ſo if any man peruſe the Authours cenſured, and the paſſages expunged in the Index expurgatorious, he ſhall find them to be of ſpeciall note, and ſingular uſe. Albeit the Inquiſitors pretend that they change not, nor blot out any thing, but onelyonly where manifeſt errour is crept in, and that ſince the yeare 1515. Yet the Knight hath demonſtrated before by undeniable inſtances in all ages, that they blot out of the Index of the Bible, the writings of the ancient Fathers; and ſince 800. yeares out of the Doctours of their owne Church, what maketh moſt againſt their errours and ſuperſtitions. Yea, but ſaith the Ieſuite, this ſuppoſed booke of Anſelme hath beene printed, and reprinted by heretiques, and therefore may well fall under the Inquiſitions cenſure; ſo hath Ignatius, Cyprian, Theodoret, and Ambroſe, and Auſtine; yea and the originalls of the old and new Teſtament, and muſt they therefore come under their file, and bee ſubject to their Index correction? AsgIohn 18.23. Chriſt ſpake to the high Prieſts ſervant; If I have ſpoken ill, beare witneſſe of the ill, if well, why ſmiteſt thou mee? So ſay wee of theſe bookes printed and reprinted by thoſe whom hee tearmes heretiques, becauſe they impugne his errours and hereſies, if they have printed ought amiſſe declare it: if not, why doe you prohibit or correct their impreſſions?
Well (ſaith he) for all this, if the worſt come to the worſt, if this Authour prove to be S. Anſelme and his words Goſpell, the Knight gaines nothing by it, or we loſe, for though it bee the ſafeſt way to caſt anchour at the laſt in the bottome of Gods merciemercy, and put our whole confidence in Chriſts merits, it doth not from hence follow, but that men may doe workes meritorious of increaſe of grace and glory. Firſt, why doth he liſpe here, and not ſpeake plaine out the Romiſh tenet which is that our Workes doe merit not only increaſe of grace and glorie, but remiſsion of ſinnes, and hConcil. Trid. Seſs. 6. c. 32. Si quis dixerit hominis juſtificati opera non verè mereri augmentū gratiae & vitam aeternam, & ipfius vitae aeternae, ſi tamen in gratià deceſſerit, conſecutionem, Anathema ſit.eternall life? Next, I would faine know how mercy and merit, nay ſole mercy and merit can ſtand together? Certainly as mercy excludeth merit, ſo ſole mercy all merit. Can thoſe workes which is S. Anſelmes judgement will not beare ſcale in Gods ballance, weigh downe ſuper-excellens pondus gloriae, a ſuper-excellent weight of glorie? Certainly the Spectacle-maker put in a burning glaſſe into his Spectacles which hath much impaired his eye-ſight, or elſe hee could not but reade S. Anſelmes words in this place, in which he renounceth all merit, and that in moſt direct and expreſſe tearmes, I beleeve that none can bee ſaved by his owne merits, Vid loc. ſup. cit. p. 4.or by any other meanes, but by the merit of Chriſts paſsion. I ſet the death of Chriſt betwixt 'mee and my bad merits, and I offer his merits in ſtead of the merits which I ought to have, and have not.