257、④纯属世人或严格的唯物主义者因以下事实而确认反对圣治：在接受基督教的许多国家中，有些人为自己索取神性权柄，想被拜为神，召唤死人。事实上，他们说，他们没有为自己僭取神性权柄，不想被拜为神；然而，他们却又声称，他们能打开或关闭天堂，赦罪或留罪，因而能拯救人或定人的罪；而这一切都是神性的作为。因为圣治的唯一目的就是重生和随之而来的拯救；这就是它在每个人身上的不断运作；拯救只能通过承认主的神性，并相信当我们照主的诫命生活时，主就会拯救我们而实现。
谁看不出，这就是启示录中所描述的巴比伦，以及先知书中处处提到的巴比伦？它还是以赛亚书14章所提到的路西弗，这一点从该章的几节经文明显看出来，其中有这些话：
你必题这诗歌论巴比伦王。（以赛亚书14:4）
我必将巴比伦的名号和所余剩的人剪除。（以赛亚书14:22）
由此可推知，那里的巴比伦就是路西弗，经上论到路西弗说：
明亮之星，早晨之子啊！你何竟从天坠落？你心里曾说，我要升到天上；我要高举我的宝座在神众星以上；我要坐在聚会的山上，在北方的极处；我要升到高云之上；我要像那至高者。（以赛亚书14:12-14）
人们知道，他们召唤死人，祈求死人的帮助。之所以说他们召唤死人，是因为召唤死人是由批准特兰托会议法令的教皇诏书确立的，其中明确声称，死人是可以召唤的。然而，众所周知，当唯独向神祈求，不可向任何死人祈求。
我需要解释一下为何主会允许这样的事发生。不可否认，主允许是为了拯救的目的。因为众所周知，没有主，就没有拯救；正因如此，至关重要的是，要从圣言宣讲主，基督教会要通过这种方式得以建立。然而，成就这一切只能靠那些充满热情如此行的领袖，除了那些以出于自我之爱的那种燃烧激情讲道的人外，没有人会这么做。起初，这火唤起了他们传讲主并教导圣言的热情。正因他们的初级阶段是这样，所以路西弗被称为“早晨之子”（以赛亚书14:12）。然而，一旦他们意识到，他们能利用圣言和教会的圣物获得统治权，起初唤起他们传讲主的热情的自我之爱，就从里面爆发出来，最终把自己举得如此之高，以致他们将主的整个神性权柄都转到自己身上，一点也不给祂留下。
主的圣治无法阻止这一切，因为若真的阻止了，他们就会公开教导主不是神，圣言并不神圣，使自己成为苏西尼派或阿里乌派，从而摧毁整个教会。无论领袖的品性如何，教会都会继续存在于顺服的人中间。因为该宗教中凡靠近主，并避恶如罪的人都会得救；因此，灵界有许多天堂社群是由他们组成的。此外，主还规定，他们中间当有一个民族不会屈服于这种统治的枷锁之下，并视圣言为神圣；这就是伟大、高贵的法兰西民族。但发生了什么事呢？
当自我之爱高举它的统治权，甚至直达主的宝座，把祂赶下去，把自己置于其上时，那爱，就是路西弗，不能不亵渎圣言和教会的一切事物。为防止这一切，主通过祂的圣治规定：他们可以远离对主的敬拜；可以召唤死人，向他们的雕像祈祷，亲吻他们的骸骨，在他们的坟前跪拜；可以禁止阅读圣言；将神圣归给普通百姓搞不懂的弥撒；贩卖赎罪券。他们之以被允许如此行，是因为他们若不做这些事，就会亵渎圣言和教会的圣物。因为唯有那些知道圣物的人才能亵渎它们，如前所示。
所以为防止他们亵渎最神圣的圣餐，按照主的圣治，他们被允许把圣餐分开，把饼给百姓，自己喝酒，因为圣餐中的酒表示神圣真理，饼表示神圣良善。但当它们分开时，酒表示遭亵渎的真理，饼表示遭玷污的良善。特别是，他们被允许将圣餐变得肉体化和物质化，把它当作宗教的首要特征。凡仔细观察这些事，以心智的某种光照权衡它们的人，都能看出，圣治在保护教会的圣物，拯救所有能得救的人，把那些愿意被营救的人可以说从火中抢出来时所进行的奇妙活动。
257. (4) That the merely natural person confirms himself against Divine providence for the reason that in many kingdoms where the Christian religion has been adopted there are some who claim Divine power for themselves and wish to be worshiped as gods, and who invoke people now deceased: They say, indeed, that they have not arrogated Divine power to themselves and that they do not wish to be worshiped as gods. But still they say they are able to open and close heaven, to forgive sins and keep them from being forgiven, and consequently to save people and condemn them; and this is the essence of Divinity. For Divine providence has for its end nothing else than reformation and thus salvation. This is its continual operation in each individual. And salvation cannot be achieved except by acknowledgment of the Lord's Divinity and confidence that the Lord accomplishes that salvation when a person lives according to His precepts.
[2] Who does not see that to do as described is the Babylon depicted in the book of Revelation? And that it is the Babylon mentioned here and there in the Prophets? It is also Lucifer in Isaiah 14 1as is apparent from verses 4 and 22 in that chapter, where we find these words:
... you will take up this parable concerning the king of Babylon... (Isaiah 14:4)
Later,
... I will cut off from Babylon the name and remnant... (Isaiah 14:22)
It is clear from this that Babylon there is Lucifer, of whom it is said,
How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! ... But you have said in your heart: "I will ascend to the heavens; I will exalt my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on the mount of meeting, on the sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High." (Isaiah 14:12-14)
That they invoke people now deceased and pray to them for aid is common knowledge. We say that they invoke them, because invoking them was established by a papal bull confirming the decree of the Council of Trent, in which it is openly said that they are to be invoked. 2Yet who does not know that God alone is to be invoked, and not any person deceased?
[3] But we shall now say why the Lord has permitted such a state of affairs. That He has permitted it for the sake of the end, which is salvation, no one can deny. For people know that apart from the Lord there is no salvation; and this being the case, it was necessary that the Lord be preached from the Word and that the Christian Church be thereby established. This could not have been achieved, however, except by leaders driven by zeal to accomplish it. Nor were any to be found but people who were caught up in a heat resembling zeal from the fire of self-love. This fire stirred them at first to preach the Lord and teach the Word. It is because of this initial state of theirs that Lucifer is called "son of the dawn" (Isaiah 14:12). Yet as they began to see that they could use the sanctities of the Word and the church to rule, their love of self, which had stirred them at first to preach the Lord, broke out from within, and eventually exalted itself to such a peak that they transferred all of the Lord's Divine power to themselves, leaving nothing of it unclaimed.
[4] This the Lord's Divine providence could not prevent, for if it had prevented it, they would have proclaimed the Lord not to be God, and the Word not to be holy, and they would have made themselves Socinians 3or Arians, 4and so would have destroyed the whole church. Yet whatever the character of its leaders, the church still remains with the people subject to them. For all people of that religion who go to the Lord and refrain from evils as sins are saved. Consequently there are many heavenly societies of them in the spiritual world. Moreover, it has been provided, too, that a nation exist among them which has not submitted to the yoke of such domination and which holds the Word sacred. The French nation is this noble nation.
[5] But what has happened? When the love of self elevated its rule even to the Lord's throne, removed Him, and placed itself upon it, that love - which is Lucifer - could not but have profaned everything having to do with the Word and the church. To keep this from happening, the Lord through His Divine providence took care that they turned away from worship of Him and began to invoke persons deceased, to pray to carved images of them, to kiss their bones and kneel at their tombs, to prohibit the Word's being read, to place sacred worship in masses not understood by the common people, 5and to sell salvation for money, since, if they had not done these things, they would have profaned the sanctities of the Word and the church. For as we showed in the preceding chapter, sacred things are profaned only by people who are acquainted with them.
[6] To keep them from profaning the most holy Holy Supper, therefore, of the Lord's Divine providence they were led to separate the elements, and to give the bread to the people while drinking the wine themselves. For the wine in the Holy Supper symbolizes holy truth, and the bread holy good; but when they are separated, the wine symbolizes truth profaned, and the bread good adulterated. Moreover, they were also led to make the Holy Supper physical and material, and to adopt it as the primary focus of religion.
Anyone who pays attention to each of these points and weighs them in a state of some mental enlightenment can see the wondrous workings of Divine providence to protect the sanctities of the church and to save all people whatsoever who can be saved, and in snatching from the fire, so to speak, those who wish to be snatched from it.
Footnotes:
1. Isaiah 14:12.
2. The Council of Trent in Austria was convened over three separate periods of time from 1545 to 1563. The invocation of saints was a subject dealt with briefly during the last session in early December, 1563, which asked bishops to remind the faithful to call on the saints to obtain their aid in gaining the favor of God and Christ.
3. Disciples of Laelius Socinus (born Lelio Francesco Maria Sozini), 1525-1562, and his nephew Faustus Socinus (Fausto Paolo Sozzini), 1539-1604, who rejected a number of traditional Christian doctrines, such as the Trinity, the Divinity of Christ, and original sin, and who held that Christ was miraculously begotten, and that salvation is granted to those who adopt Christ's virtues.
4. Adherents of Arianism, a theological view based on the teachings of Arius (c. 250-336), who taught that Christ the Son was a created being, not consubstantial with God the Father, and thus not Divine.
5. Latin became the official language of Roman Catholicism from the 6th century on and remain essentially unchanged even as in the common use it evolved into what we today call the Romance languages, or was displaced by Germanic tongues. The result was to make the Word and the Church's masses unintelligible to the laity until the time of the Second Vatical Council (1962-65), which decreed that masses be said in the vernacular.
257. 4. Strict materialists justify their rejection of divine providence by observing that in many nations where Christianity is accepted, there are people who claim divine power for themselves and want to be worshiped as gods and who call upon the dead. They do actually say that they are not claiming divine power and wanting to be worshiped as gods, but they still say that they can open and close heaven, forgive or bind sins, and essentially save or damn people, and this is strictly divine doing. The only goal of divine providence is our reformation and salvation. This is what it is constantly working for with each one of us. Salvation comes only through belief in the divine nature of the Lord and a trust that he saves us when we live by his commandments.
[2] Can anyone fail to see that this is the Babylon described in the Book of Revelation and the Babel that we find throughout the prophets? We can see that it is the Lucifer of Isaiah 14 if we read verses 4 and 22 of that chapter. It says in verse 4, "You will proclaim this parable about the king of Babel," and goes on to say, "I will cut down the name and remainder of Babel" in verse 22. This makes it very clear that "Babel" there is "Lucifer" when it says, "How have you fallen from heaven, Lucifer, child of the dawn. And you said in your heart, 'I will scale the heavens, I will raise my throne above the stars of God and sit on the mountain of the meeting in the northern regions; I will rise above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High'" (verses 12, 13, 14).
It is widely recognized that they call upon the dead and pray for their help. We refer to this as invocation because the practice was established by the Papal Bull that confirmed the decisions of the Council of Trent, where it states explicitly that they are to be invoked. Is anyone unaware that we should pray only to God and not to any dead mortal?
[3] Now, though, I need to explain why the Lord let things like this happen. There is no denying that it was for the sake of the goal, our salvation. We know that there is no salvation apart from the Lord; and because this is true, it was vital that the Lord be preached from the Word and that the Christian church be established by this means. This called for leaders who would do this with passion, and the only ones available were people who would preach with the kind of flaming passion that comes from self-love. It was primarily this fire that roused them to proclaim the Lord and preach the Word. It is because their initial state was like this that Lucifer is called "the child of the dawn" in verse 12.
However, once they realized that they could use the holy nature of the Word and the church to gain power, the self-love that had at first roused them to proclaim the Lord broke loose from within and eventually rose to such a height that they transferred all of the Lord's divine power to themselves, leaving nothing unclaimed.
[4] This could not be prevented by the Lord's divine providence, because if it had been, they would have preached that the Lord was not God and that the Word was not holy, and would have become Socinians or Arians, thereby destroying the whole church. The church, though, despite the quality of its leadership, did survive among its subject people. All the people of that religion who turn to the Lord and abstain from evils as sins are saved; so they make up many heavenly communities in the spiritual world. It has also been provided that one of these nations should not accept the yoke of this kind of control, because they regarded the Word as holy. These noble people are the French.
But what has happened?
[5] When self-love has promoted its power all the way to the Lord's throne, has removed him from it and set itself there, then the only thing that can happen is that the other love, the Lucifer, will profane everything that has to do with the Word and the church. To prevent this, the Lord in his divine providence made sure that they would distance themselves from worship of him; invoke the dead by praying to their statues, kissing their bones, and kneeling at their tombs; prohibit the reading of the Word; ascribe holiness to a Mass that ordinary people do not understand; and sell salvation for cash. They were allowed to do this because otherwise they would have profaned the holy nature of the Word and the church. As explained in the preceding section, we cannot profane what is holy unless we know about it.
[6] To prevent the profanation of the Most Holy Supper, it has happened under the Lord's divine providence that they have divided it. They give the bread to the congregation and drink the wine themselves. The wine in the Holy Supper means what is holy and true, while the bread means what is holy and good. When they are separated, the wine means truth profaned and the bread means what is good adulterated. Particularly, they have made the Supper physical and material and focused on it as the primary feature of religion.
Anyone who looks closely at these individual items and weighs them in some mental enlightenment can see the marvelous workings of divine providence in protecting what is holy in the church and in saving everyone who can be saved, virtually snatching from the flames everyone who is willing to be rescued.
257. 4. The merely natural man confirms himself against the Divine Providence because in many kingdoms where the Christian religion is received there are some who claim for themselves Divine power, and desire to be worshipped as gods, and because they invoke the dead. They say, indeed, that they have not arrogated to themselves Divine power, and do not wish 1to be worshipped as gods. Yet they say that they can open and close heaven, remit and retain sins, and therefore can save and condemn men: and this is Divinity itself (Ipsum Divinum); for the Divine Providence has for its end nothing else than reformation and consequently salvation. This is its unceasing operation with everyone; and salvation can only be effected by the acknowledgment of the Divinity of the Lord, and by confidence that it is effected by Him when man lives according to His commandments.
[2] Everyone may see that this is the Babylon described in the Revelation, and that it is the Babel spoken of in various places in the Prophets. It is also the Lucifer referred to in Isaiah 14, as is clear from the verses of that chapter in which are these words:
Thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, Isaiah 14:4; Then: I will cut off from Babylon the name, and remnant, Isaiah 14:22.
From this it is evident that Babel there is Lucifer of whom it is said:
How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!
For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High. Isaiah 14:12-14.
It is well known that they invoke the dead and pray to them for help. It is affirmed that they invoke the dead because such invocation was established by a papal bull confirming the decree of the Council of Trent, in which it is openly said that the dead should be invoked. Yet everyone knows that God alone should be invoked and not any dead person.
[3] It will now be stated why the Lord has permitted such things. It cannot be denied that He has permitted them for the sake of the end, which is salvation. For it is known that without the Lord there is no salvation; and since this is so it was necessary that the Lord should be preached from the Word and that the Christian Church by that means should be established. This, however, could only be done by leaders who would act with zeal; nor were others found but those who from the fire of self-love burned with a zealous ardour. At first this fire roused them to preach the Lord and to teach the Word; and it is from this their first state that
Lucifer is called the son of the morning, Isaiah 14:12.
But as they saw that they could obtain dominion by means of the holy things of the Word and of the Church, the love of self, by which they were first roused to preach the Lord, burst forth from within and finally exalted itself to such a height that they transferred to themselves all the Divine power of the Lord, not leaving Him any.
[4] This could not be prevented by the Divine Providence of the Lord; for if it were prevented they would have declared that the Lord is not God, and that the Word is not holy, and would have made themselves Socinians and Arians, and thus would have totally destroyed the Church; but it, whatever may be the character of its rulers, still continues among the people who are submissive to them. For all those of this religion who approach the Lord and shun evils as sins are saved; and therefore there are many heavenly societies formed from them in the spiritual world. Moreover, it has also been provided that there should be among them a nation which has not submitted to the yoke of such domination and which regards the Word as sacred. This is the great French nation.
[5] But what has happened? When the love of self exalted its dominion even to the Lord's throne, removed Him and set itself upon it, that love, which is Lucifer, could not but profane all things of the Word and of the Church. To prevent this the Lord by His Divine Providence so ordered it that they should depart from His worship and should invoke the dead, pray to graven images of the dead, kiss their bones and bow down at their tombs, should forbid the reading of the Word, appoint holy worship in masses not understood by the common people, and sell salvation for money; because if they had not done these things they would have profaned the holy things of the Word and of the Church. For as was shown in the preceding section only those profane holy things who have a knowledge of them.
[6] Therefore, lest they should profane the most Holy Supper it is of the Divine Providence of the Lord that they should divide it, giving the bread to the people and drinking the wine themselves; for the wine in the Holy Supper signifies holy truth and the bread holy good; but when they are divided the wine signifies profaned truth and the bread adulterated good; and further that they should make the Holy Supper corporeal and material, and adopt this as the primary principle of religion. Anyone who turns his attention to these particulars and considers them with a somewhat enlightened mind may observe the wonderful operations of the Divine Providence for guarding the holy things of the Church, and for saving all who can be saved, and who are willing to be saved, but who must be snatched as it were from the fire.
Footnotes:
1. Original Edition omits "non," inserted by Tafel Latin edition (1855) and Worcester Latin edition (1899).
257. (4) The merely natural man confirms himself against the Divine providence by the fact that in many of the kingdoms where the Christian religion is accepted there are some who claim for themselves Divine power, and wish to be worshiped as gods, and that the dead are invoked. They say, indeed, that they have not arrogated to themselves Divine power, and do not wish to be worshiped as gods; and yet they declare that they can open and close heaven, remit and retain sins, and therefore save and condemn men; and this is Divinity itself. For the Divine providence has for its end nothing else than reformation and consequent salvation; this is its unceasing operation with everyone; and salvation can be accomplished only through an acknowledgment of the Divinity of the Lord, and a confidence that the Lord effects salvation when man lives according to His commandments.
[2] Who cannot see that this is the Babylon described in the Apocalypse; also that it is the Babylon spoken of here and there in the prophets? It is also the "Lucifer" spoken of in Isaiah 14, as is evident from the verses of that chapter in which are these words:-
Thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon (Isaiah 14:4);
And then I will cut off from Babylon name and remnant (Isaiah 14:22);
from which it follows that Babylon there is Lucifer, of whom it is said:-
How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! And thou saidst in thy heart, I will ascend into the heavens; I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; and I will sit upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will become like the Most High (Isaiah 14:12-14).
That they invoke the dead and pray to the dead for help is known. They may be said to invoke the dead, inasmuch as invocation of the dead was established by a papal bull confirming the decree of the Council of Trent, in which it is plainly declared that the dead are to be invoked. Yet every one knows that God alone should be invoked, and not any dead person.
[3] It shall now be told, however, why the Lord has permitted such things. It cannot be denied that He has permitted them for the sake of the end, which is salvation. For it is known that apart from the Lord there is no salvation; and it was for this reason necessary that the Lord should be preached from the Word, and that the Christian church should by that means be established. But this could be done only by an advance guard who would do this with zeal; and none would do this except those who were in an ardor resembling zeal that was from the fire of self-love. By such a fire they were at first stirred up to preach the Lord and to teach the Word; and it was because of this their primeval state that Lucifer was called the son of the morning (Isaiah 14:12).
But as they saw that they could gain dominion by means of the holy things of the Word and the church, the love of self, by which they were first stirred up to preach the Lord, broke forth from within, and finally exalted itself to such a height that they transferred to themselves the whole of the Lord's Divine power, leaving nothing.
[4] This could not have been prevented by the Lord's Divine providence; for if it had been prevented they would have publicly taught that the Lord is not God, and that the Word is not holy, and would have made themselves Socinians or Arians, and thus would have destroyed the whole church, which, whatever may be the character of its rulers, continues to exist with the submissive people; for all those of this religion who approach the Lord and shun evils as sins are saved, consequently there are many heavenly societies of such in the spiritual world. It has also been provided that among them there should be a nation that has not passed under the yoke of such domination, and that holds the Word to be holy; this is the noble French nation. But what has been done?
[5] When the love of self exalted its dominion even to the Lord's throne, set Him aside, and placed itself thereon, that love, which is Lucifer, could not but profane all things of the Word and the church. That this might be prevented, the Lord by His Divine providence took care that they should withdraw from the worship of Himself, and should invoke the dead, should pray to images of the dead, should kiss their bones, and bow down at their tombs, should forbid the reading of the Word, should place holy worship in masses not understood by the common people, and sell salvation for money; because if they had not done these things they would have profaned the holy things of the Word and of the church. For only those who have a knowledge of holy things can profane them, as has been shown in a preceding paragraph.
[6] So to prevent their profaning the most Holy Supper they were permitted, under the Lord's Divine providence, to divide it, and to give the bread to the people and drink the wine themselves, for the wine in the Holy Supper signifies holy truth and the bread holy good; but when these are separated the wine signifies profaned truth and the bread adulterated good; and still further, they were permitted to make it corporeal and material, and to adopt this as the primary principle of religion. Any one who turns his mind to these several things and considers them with some enlightenment of mind can see the wonderful activities of the Divine providence in guarding the holy things of the church, in saving all that can be saved, and in snatching from the fire, as it were, those who are willing to be rescued.
257. IV. Quod mere naturalis homo contra Divinam Providentiam 1se confirmet ex eo, quod in pluribus Regnis, ubi Religio Christiana recepta est, sint qui Divinam potestatem sibi vindicant, et volunt coli sicut dii; et quod invocent homines mortuos. Dicunt quidem quod Divinam potestatem sibi non arrogaverint, et quod [non] velint coli ut dii; sed usque dicunt quod aperire et claudere possint Coelum, remittere et retinere peccata, proinde salvare et condemnare homines, et hoc est Ipsum Divinum; Divina enim Providentia non aliud pro fine habet, quam reformationem et inde salvationem; haec est ejus operatio continua apud unumquemvis; ac salvatio non potest fieri nisi quam per agnitionem Divini Domini, et per confidentiam quod Ipse faciat, dum homo secundum praecepta Ipsius vivit:
[2] quis non videre potest, quod hoc sit Babylonia in Apocalypsi descripta; et quod hoc sit Babel, de qua passim apud Prophetas; quod etiam hoc sit Lucifer apud Esajam 14, patet a Versibus 4 et 22 illius Capitis, in quibus haec verba sunt, "Enunties hanc parabolam de Rege Babelis," Vers. 4, dein 2"Exscindam Babeli nomen et residuum," Vers. 22, ex quo liquet, quod Babel ibi sit Lucifer, de quo dicitur, "Quomodo cecidisti de Coelo Lucifer, filius aurorae: atqui tu dixisti in corde tuo, Coelos ascendam; supra stellas Dei exaltabo thronum meum, et sedebo in monte conventus, in lateribus septentrionis; ascendam supra excelsa nubis, similis fiam Altissimo," Vers. 12-14. Quod invocent homines mortuos, ac orent ut opem ferant, notum est: dicitur quod invocent, quia Invocatio illorum stabilita est per Bullam Papalem confirmantem decretum Concilii Tridentini, in qua aperte dicitur quod invocandi sint; quis tamen non novit, quod Solus Deus invocandus, et quod non aliquis homo mortuus.
[3] Sed nunc dicetur, cur Dominus talia permiserit; quod permiserit propter finem, qui est salvatio, non negari potest; scitur enim quod absque Domino nulla salus sit, et quia ita est, necessum fuit, ut praedicaretur Dominus ex Verbo, et per id Ecclesia Christiana instauraretur; sed hoc non potuit fieri nisi ab antesignanis, qui id ex zelo facerent; nec dati sunt alii, quam qui in aestu, sicut zelo, ex igne amoris sui fuerunt; hic ignis primum excitavit illos ad praedicandum Dominum et ad docendum Verbum; ex primaevo hoc illorum statu est quod Lucifer dicatur filius aurorae, Vers. 12. Sed sicut viderunt, quod per sancta Verbi et Ecclesiae dominari possent, amor sui, a quo primum excitati fuerunt ad praedicandum Dominum, ab interiori erupit, et tandem usque ad illud fastigium se extulit, ut omnem Divinam potestatem Domini in se transtulerint, non relinquendo aliquid.
[4] Hoc per Divinam Domini Providentiam non inhiberi potuit, nam si inhiberetur, proclamavissent 3Dominum non Deum, ac Verbum non sanctum, ac fecissent se Socinianos vel Arrianos, et sic destruxissent totam Ecclesiam; quae, qualescunque sint praesules, usque 4apud subditam Gentem permanet; omnes enim illi ex ea religione, qui etiam Dominum adeunt, ac mala fugiunt ut peccata, salvantur; quapropter ex illis etiam plures societates coelestes sunt in mundo spirituali: et quoque provisum est, ut sit gens inter illos quae non subivit jugum talis dominationis, et quae sanctum habet Verbum; haec Gens nobilis est Gens Gallica. 5
[5] Sed quid factum est; quando Amor sui evexit dominium usque ad thronum Domini, removit Ipsum, et se super imposuit, non potuit aliter ille Amor, qui est Lucifer, quam prophanare omnia Verbi et Ecclesiae; quod ne fieret, Dominus per Divinam suam Providentiam consuluit, ut a cultu Ipsius recederent, ac invocarent homines mortuos, orarent ad sculptilia illorum, oscularentur 6ossa illorum, et procumberent ad sepulchra illorum, prohiberent Verbum legi, et sanctum cultum ponere in missis a vulgo non intellectis, et pro argento vendere salutem; quoniam si haec non fecissent, sancta Verbi et Ecclesiae prophanavissent: nam, ut in praecedente Paragrapho ostensum est, 7non alii prophanant sancta, quam qui sciunt illa.
[6] Ne itaque prophanarent sanctissimam Coenam, ex Divina Domini Providentia est, ut dividerent illam, ac panem darent populo, ac ipsi vinum biberent; vinum enim in sancta Coena significat sanctum verum, ac panis sanctum bonum, at cum divisa sunt, significat vinum prophanatum verum, ac panis adulteratum bonum; ac insuper quod illam corpoream et materialem facerent, et hoc pro primario religionis assumerent. 8Qui ad singula illa animum advertit, et illa in quadam illustratione mentis expendit, potest videre Divinae Providentiae mirabilia, ad tutandum sancta Ecclesiae, et ad salvandum omnes quotcunque salvari possunt, et quasi ex incendio eripiendi, qui volunt eripi.
Footnotes:
1 Prima editio: Porvidentiam
2 Prima editio: dein
3 Prima editio: poclamavissent
4 Prima editio: usqpe
5 Prima editio: Gallica,
6 Prima editio: obscularentur
7 Prima editio: efi, (ut videtur)
8 Prima editio: assumerent,