it so, for I desire to make them rather better, then worse then they are.
I will therefore lay nothing to them but that they owne, nor bring any
other evidence against them, then this their confession. In which I
except,
First, against those words in the thirty one Article, Whatsoever the
Saints any of them doe possesse or enjoy of God in this life, is by Faith.
This passage savours ranke of that errour or heresie (call it which you
please) imputed to Armacanus, who is said to have taught that the
right of all possessions and goods or temporall blessings is founded in
grace, not in nature; and that we hold them by no legall tenure, but
Evangelicall promises: and true it is that none but the faithfull hold in
capite, nor have any but true beleevers, a comfortable and sanctified use
of the creatures, and a spirituall title to them; but yet it cannot be denied
that they may have, and many have actually a legall title to them, and
civill interest in them even before they are in Christ, or adopted into his
family by actuall Faith: for if it were otherwise, Esau should have had
no right to mount Seir, nor Nebuchadnezzar to Tyre, which yet
the text saith God bestowed upon them: nay if this position may take
place, no childe shall have any right to his fathers inheritance, nor
Prince newly borne to his Crowne: which is not only an absurd, but
a very dangerous and seditious assertion. None of the foure great
Monarchs of the world represented in Daniels vision, for ought can be
proved, were true beleevers, though some of them did some outward
acts of pietie, and afforded some reall courtesies to the people of God:
yet of these Kingdomes the Prophet speaking, saith, that the most High
ruleth in them, and giveth them to whomsoever he will, and Saint Aug∣stine
is bold to say, that the same God who set the Crowne upon Con∣stantine
the Christians head, gave the Empire of the world to Iulian
the Apostata: Nay Christ himselfe paid tribute to Caesar, and acknow∣ledged
that he had a right to the tribute money, saying, Render unto Cae∣sar
the things that are Caesars: Yet that Caesar he spake of was Tiberius,
an enemy to all godlinesse, and a kind of monster among men.
Secondly, I except against those words in the 38. Article that the
due maintenance of the officers aforesaid should be the free, and vo∣luntary
communication of the Church, and not by constraint to be compel∣led
from the people by aforced Law.
These words may carry a double sense: if their meaning be that all Re∣ligious
Christians ought freely to contribute to the maintenance of the
ministery, & should not need any law to inforce them: we embrace their