Rhemes against Rome: or, The remoouing of the gagg of the new Gospell, and rightly placing it in the mouthes of the Romists, by the Rhemists in their English translation of the Scriptures. Which counter-gagg is heere fitted by the industrious hand of Richard Bernard ...

IV. Proposition. That the Scriptures doe not interpret themselues, and that the true sense may not bee fetched out of themselues:

Confuted by their owne Bible.

1. THeir Bble teacheth vs, that the Scriptures are of God, 2. Tim. 3. 16. that he himselfe wrote some, Exod. 24. 4. Deut. 9. 10. Hos. 8. 12. othersome his Prophets, Exod. 24. 4. Deut. 31. 9, 24. Esay, 8. 1. and 30. 8. Ier. 29. 1. his Euange∣lists, Luk. 1. 3. his Apostles, 2. Cor. 10. 11. And these the Lords Scribes were so commanded to write, Exod. 17. 14. and 34. 27. Deut. 27. 8. and 31. 9. Ier. 30. 2. Heb. 2. 2. Reu. 1. 11, 19. The Scriptures therefore are called the Oracles of God, Rom. 3. 3.

Now thus then I reason, All wise mens writings carry such a coherence and dependancie in them, whether they bee Wills, Letters, Histories, or other learned speeches, either of humane or diuine matters, as the iudicious Readers may, and doe col∣lect the Authors true meaning out of them, though the Authors themselues be not there, to giue their owne meaning. And shall wee thinke, that the Writings and Scriptures of our God, wherein is his Will, his Lawes, his Histories, and other holy Instructions giuen of purpose to teach all, in all ages, to the worlds end, will not afford vs the sense of them out of them∣selues? especially if we doe consider him euer liuing, and ay∣ding

his humble and godly Readers with his holy Spirit to vn∣derstand his minde? To deny this to Gods Word, were to make it herein inferiour to mens writings.

2. Their owne Bible sheweth vs, that the Scriptures do plainely interpret themselues, expounding words, Iud. 15. 17. Ramach lechi, which is interpreted, the lifting vp of the Iaw-bone, Iud. 12. 6. Schibboleth, which is interpreted, an eare of corne. So in Mat. 1. 23. Mark. 5 4. Ioh. 1. 38, 41, 42. and 9. 7. Act. 4. 36. and 13. 8. Heb. 5. 4. Thus it expounds its owne words.

3. Short sentences, as Mark. 15. 34. Eloi, Eloi, Lamasa∣bachtani: which is, being interpreted; My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? So in Dan. 5. 25, 26, 27.

4. Whole Speeches and Parables, as Mat. 13. the Parable in vers. 3. to the 9. is expounded in vers. 18. to 23. so the Parable in vers. 24. to 30. is expounded in vers. 37. to 42.

5. Visions, and Dreames & Prophesies of things to come, as in Gen. 40. 9 12, 13. & 16. 19. & 41. 2, 8. & 25. 32. Ier. 24. 1, 3. & 5. 8. Dan. 4. 16. 27. so in the 8. Chapter, and in other Pro∣phets; yea in the Reuelation, the words and things in it are in many places interpreted verie plainely, as in Chap. 1. 12, 20. & 17. 1, 15. verse, 3, 9 10, 18. and 4. 5. and 5. 6. and 19. 8.

6. Whole bookes. For what is Deuteronomie, but an explana∣tion of Exodus, and other places of Moses? What are the Pro∣phets, but interpreters and appliers of Moses to the times, pla∣ces, and persons? What is the new Testament, but a large and cleare Commentarie vpon the old? In which was the Gospell, Rom. 1. 2. and the mysterie kept secret in a manner, but now made manifest by the Scriptures, Rom. 16. 25, 26.

Lastly, the Scripture euery where expounds it selfe, either the* 1.1 place considered by it selfe in the full circumstances thereof, or by some other being conferred with it.

The places which might be produced for proofe, are infinit;* 1.2 concerning any necessarie point of controuersies in Christian Religion.

The Answers of our learned men to their obiected Scrip∣tures against our Tenents, may be instance for euidence of these things, euen out of their owne Bible. See these answers before,

and the rest following, and consider thereof without partia∣litie.

Contraried by the Ancients.

Irenaeus lib. 4. aduers. Haeres. cap. 63. The most lawfull expo∣sition of the Scriptures, and without danger, is that which is ac∣cording to the Scriptures themselues. In lib. 2. cap. 46. the Scripture expounds it selfe, and suffereth none to erre.

Hillar. lib. 1. de Trinit. saith, God is a sufficient witnesse for himselfe, and who is not to be knowne, but by himselfe; and further he saith: It is vnlawfull to impose a meaning, but wee must rather receiue a meaning from holy Scriptures.

S. August. de doct. lib. 2. cap. 6. There is almost nothing in these obscurities, but in other places one may find it most plainly deliuered. And in Ser. 2. de Verb. Dom. he saith, that the words of the Gospell carrie their exposition with them.

Basil. Regul. contract. qu. 267. The things which are doubt∣full, and seeme to be spoken obscurely, are made plaine by those things, which are euident in other places.

Chrysost. Hom. 13. in Gen. The holy Scripture expounds it selfe. And in Hom. 9. 2. Cor. The Scripture euery where, when it speaketh any thing obscurely, interpreteth it selfe againe in an∣other place.

Hieron. Com. in Esa. cap. 19. It is the manner of Scripture, after things obscure, to set downe things manifest.

Ambros. in Psal. 118. Ser. 8. If thou knocke at the gate of the Scriptures with the hand of thy mind, thou shalt gather the reason of the sayings, and the gate shall be opened vnto thee; and that by none other, but by the Word of God. And the self∣same saith Aug. lib. 2. contra Donatist. cap. 6.

What can be more fully spoken against this their false Te∣nent, then here is vttered by these Fathers?

Gainesaid by the learned on their owne side.

Gerson, tract. contra assertiones Mag. Ioan. parui. The sacred Scripture doth expound her rules by themselues, accor∣ding

to the diuers passages of the Scripture.

Steuchius in Gen. 2. God was neuer so inhumane, as to suf∣fer the world in all ages to be tormented with the ignorance of the sense of the Scripture; but if we consider it well, we may in∣terpret it: and for this he citeth Theodoret, who saith, that the Scripture vseth, when it teacheth any high matter, to expound it selfe, and not to suffer vs to runne into error.

Iansenius, Episc. Gandau. on Mat. pag. 413. part 2. Christ hath taught to conferre Scripture with Scripture, if we will not erre in reading of the Scriptures.

Acosta the Iesuite, lib. 3. de Chro, Reuel. cap. 21. pag. 479. There is nothing seemeth to me so to open the Scripture, as the Scripture it selfe.

Canus loc. Theol. lib. 7. cap. 3. num. 13. citeth out of Pope Clement, Epist. 5. ad discipulos Hier. these words: You must not from without seeke a foraine and strange sense, but out of the Scriptures themselues receiue the meaning of the truth.

What Scriptures our Aduersaries haue to obiect against vs, and to defend this their falsitie by, I find not in the Gagger.

1. I know, they babble much against a mans priuate spirit, and a mans priuate interpretation, which we also disallow: but Gods Spirit is not any priuate spirit, but the publike spirit; and the same also in euery member of the Church, 1. Cor. 12. nei∣ther is the Scriptures interpretation, any priuate interpretation, though shewed out of a priuate mans mouth, according to that of Panormitan, in cap. signif. Extra. de electis In things concer∣ning faith, the saying of one priuate man, is to be preferred before the words of the Lord Pope, if he bring better reasons out of the new and old Testament. To which agreeth that of Gerson part 1. de examin. doct. More credit is to be giuen to a priuate simple man al∣ledging the Gospell, then either to the Pope, or Councill.

2 Also that they alledge, how Moses did iudge causes, the Priests also and the Leuites, and that the people ought to learne of them. But this is to be vnderstood, as Moses spake from God, and as the Priests and Leuites iudged and taught ac∣cording to the Law, as in the place of Deuteronomie is before answered.

Notes

• * 1.1

  See S. Austin. de Verbo Dei, ser. 49.
• * 1.2

  Origin, on Mat. chap. 13.