Scripture mistaken the ground of Protestants and common plea of all new reformers against the ancient Catholicke religion of England : many texts quite mistaken by Nouelists are lay'd open and redressed in this treatis[e] by Iohn Spenser.

The text of Mat. 11. v. 28. mistaken. Come vnro me all yee that labour,* 1.1 and are heauie loaden, and I will giue you rest.

THis text is in the mouth of euery igno∣rant Protestant, to proue that wee are neither to pray to saint nor Angell, but to Christ alone. Come vnto mee, saith our Sauiour: he bids vs not come vnto Saints, ot Angells, say some illiterate Scripturistes: therefore wee must neither come to Saints nor Angells ac∣cording to our Sauiours command. But how far this discourse is from common sense, euery vnderstanding person will easily discouer: for, to say that our Sauiour bids vs not here come to Saints or Angells expressly, is most true: but that shewes only that coming to Saints or Angells is not here commanded, which no man makes question of: for though the coming by prayer to them be not com∣manded here, yet that hinders not but eyther in some other place of Scripture, or by other lawfull authority commended in Scripture, it may be either commanded, or allowed: as if one should argue against Protestants euen out of this place in this manner: our Sauiour sayes Matth 11. v. 28. Come vnto mee all yee that labour &c. Hee sayes not here addresse your prayers expresly, and by name to God

the Father, or the oly Ghost, by saying our Father which art in heauen &c. or come holy Ghost eternall God &c. but come vnto mee, therefore it is vnlawfull to vtter such perticular prayers to God the Father or the holy Ghost, ex∣pressing them by name, but all must be made to our Sauiour only. who sees not how false and senslesse this reasoning is? for though our expresse coming to God the Father and the holy Ghost be not commanded here, yet neyther is it forbidden, and is commanded in other places, and practized by the whole church of God, yea and by the Protestants themselues.

Others vrge the Same text in this manner, Come vnto me, sayth our Sauiour, Therefore to mee alone and to no other, and so neyther to Saint nor Angell; which hath as much force as this; Come vnto mee, sayth our Sauiour: therefore goe not by name to any other diuine person but to me, and so neyther to God the Father, nor to God the holy Ghost expressly, who are two distinct Persons from him: or as for∣cible as this, come vnto me all yee that are pore and needy, and I will releeue you, saith some rich charitable person, to the pore of the citty where he dwells▪ therefore he com∣mands them to come to no other but to him, and forbids them the asking almes of any ••aue himselfe. Or very like to this. Come vnto

me &c. sayth our Sauiour: therefore to no other but to him; and so forbids children to pray to their Parents, or to beseech other Christians yet liuing to pray for them &c. which notwithstanding Protestants dayly practise: for if our Sauiours meaning be to exclude all saue himselfe, when he said, come vnto me &c. then the liuing must be excluded noe lesse, then the Saints and Angels of heauen: and if the Saints yet liuing be not excluded, then our Sauiour did not intend by those words to exclude all, and if not all, then it can neuer be prouued from this text alone, that the coming, as wee doe, to Saints and An∣gels is forbidden in this text.

I answere therefore, that though our Sa∣uiour in these words command all sinners to come vnto him; yet he commands them not to come vnto him only; and so forbids not the comming vnto others, and this answer will, I hope satisfy any considerate person standing precisely in the force of the wotds, and in what by true discourse may be deduced from them.

Yet for a more full satisfaction, all Protestants are to understand, that when Catholikes come by prayr vnto any Saint or Angell, they still performe, what our Sauiour here com∣mands of comming to him: for wee come by their intercession mediately vnto him, when

wee beg of them to pray to him for vs, no lesse then Protestants children come mediat∣ly vnto him by the intercession of their pa∣rents when they desire them to pray to God to blesse them: and as the Centurian who by one Euangelist is sayd to haue gone to our Sauiour; and yet by an other,* 1.2 he only went to some of his friends to speake to our Sauiour for him; which was to come mediately, or by their meanes to him: especially seeing that when wee pray to any Saint, or Angell,* 1.3 wee desire that all theyr praires for vs may be heard through the merits of Christ.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Matth. 11. v. 28.
• * 1.2

  Matth. 8. v. 5.6, Luk. 7. v. 2.3.4.5.
• * 1.3

  Concil. Trid. sess. 14.