I the God of my Fathers believing all things which are written in the Law and the Prophets Wherein we have these three things considerable 1. The Imputation which Christianity suffered under in its first appearance After the way which they call heresie 2. The Way taken by St. Paul to remove this false Imputation viz. by appeal to Scripture and Antiquity So worship I the God of my Fathers believing all things that are written in the Law and the Prophets 3. The Courage of St. Paul in so freely owning his Religion in the presence of his greatest enemies and when they were in hopes to destroy him for it This I confess unto thee that after the way c. 1. I begin with the false Imputation which Christianity suffered under at its first appearance After the way which is called heresie the same Word which is translated Sect v. 5. and although the Word be indifferent in it self yet where it is taken for a combination of men together against an established Religion and lawful Authority as it was by the Jews when they charged the Christians under this name then it implies in it a twofold accusation 1. Of Novelty and Singularity 2. Of Faction and Sedition 1 Of Novelty A Sect of Heresie in this sense implies in it mens setting up with a new Doctrine which was not heard of before and making that theFoundation of a new Society separate and distinct from the established Church and consequently they must charge the Church they are divided from with errors and corruptions or they make themselves guilty of Schism i. e. unnecessary separation Now upon these two grounds the Jews laid the imputation of a New Sect upon the Nazarenes or Christians 1. Because they could not shew a visible succession in all Ages 2. Because they could not prove the Jewish Church to be guilty of such errors and corruptions as to need a Reformation 1. They could not shew a Succession in all Ages of such persons who agreed in all things with them For where say they were the men to be found in former Ages that taxed the Jewish Church with such errors and corruptions as Jesus of Nazareth did that bid men beware of the leaven of the Scribes and Pharisees i. e. of the most learned and holy men Had not God alwayes a Visible Church among them they could produce the names of their High Priests in every Age and shew them all the marks of a Visible Church For in Judah was God known and his Name was great in Israel Hath not God said that in his House at Hierusalem he would put his Name for ever and his eyes and his heart should be there perpetually How is it then possible but there must be a constant and visible Succession in all Ages since God would alwayes have a people to dwell among and that might be known to be his people by the outward marks and signs of a true Church But if the Christians pretences held good God must for several Ages have wanted a Church amongst them For none of those things which they charged the Jews with were newly crept in among them but had been delivered down to them by the Tradition of their Fore-fathers in an uninterrupted manner as they thought from the very time of Moses This was their Rule whereby they guided themselves in their actions of Religion and in the sense of obscure places of the Law and the Prophets and in that time after the cessation of Prophecy when the Christians supposed these corruptions to have come in among them they could draw down a constant Succession from the men of the great Synagogue of persons eminent for Learning and Piety that never charged them with any such corruptions as Jesus of Nazareth and his Disciples did Would God ever suffer such dangerous errors hypocrisie and superstitions to prevail in his own Church and raise up no Persons to discover these things till these new Teachers and Reformers arose Were not Hillel and Shammai that so accurately discussed all the niceties of the Law able to find out such gross and open corruptions if any such had been among us Might not we say that not only the Teachers but God himself had slept all that time if he raised up no one Person to discover the coming in of such errors and corruptions Where had God then any true Church in the world if not among his people of the Jews And would he suffer that to be overspread with such a Leprosie and send none of his Priests to discover it And even by the confession of the Christians themselves they were once the beloved and chosen people of God how or when was it that they ceased to be so Do not themselves acknowledge that they receive the Law and the Prophets from our hands And that to us were committed the Oracles of God and that to us pertained the adoption and the glory and the Covenants and the giving of the Law and the service of God and the promises and that ours are the Fathers How is it then possible after all these priviledges to suppose this Church to fall into such a degeneracy as at last to be cast off by God and a new Church to arise out of the ashes of it Thus we may reasonably suppose the Jews to have argued for themselves and on the other side they trampled upon and despised this new Sect of the Nazarenes That had nothing of the Pomp and Splendour of their Church they had only a company of mean and illiterate persons at first to joyn with them the Disciples of their Master were a sort of poor Fishermen and inconsiderable persons men of no Authority or reputation for extraordinary Sanctity or Learning even their Master himself was one of no great severity of life that did not retire from the world and lead an abstracted life but conversed with Publicans and Sinners and put not his Disciples upon Fasting and long Prayers whereas the Pharisees were men of great austerity and mortification much exercised in devotion making frequent and long prayers at certain hours and in whatever place those hours took them Now how is it possible to believe that such devout persons as these are mistaken and the Sect of the Nazarenes only in the right But besides all this Where was their Church before Jesus of Nazareth We offer to produce a personal succession on our side that joyned in constant communion with us at the Temple at Hierusalem let the Christians shew any number of men before themselves that joyned with them in believing what they do and rejecting the abuses which they tax among us if they cannot do this let them then suffer under the just imputation of Novelty 2. But supposing they do not think it necessary to assign a number of men distinct from our Society but say it is enough that though they joyned with them in the worship of God yet they did not in their corruptions yet to
vindicate themselves they must shew how it was possible for such corruptions to come in and no more notice be taken of them Such things could not be introduced without some notable alteration and in such a one the author the time the place the manner may be assigned We can tell say they all these circumstances in the Idolatries of Jeroboam Ahab and Manasseh if so great alterations have hapned in the state of our Church that there is a necessity of reforming it name us the persons the time the place the manner how all these corruptions came in When came men first to forsake the letter of the Scripture and adhere to Tradition Who first brought in the Pharisaical Superstitions What was his name where was his abode who first opposed and condemned him Were all men asleep then to suffer such alterations and to say nothing at all against them What could one Generation conspire to deceive the next and if not how could such changes happen in matters of Religion and no one take care to discover it and prevent the infecting of posterity by it Had no persons any regard to God and the purity of Religion then If they had would they suffer strange fire to come upon Gods Altar and take no notice at all of it Why did not Jesus of Nazareth when he so frequently and vehemently declaimed against the Pharisaical hypocrisie and superstitions and false Doctrines shew to the people when and where and how these things came into the Church of God He only condemns them and speaks sharply against them but he saith not one word to satisfie the Scientifical men among them how it was possible for corruptions to come in and prevail to such a degree and yet no circumstances of time or place be assignable of it Thus the Jews still believed themselves to be the only true antient visible Catholick and infallible Church of God and despised the poor Christians as a novel and upstart Sect of Nazarens which is the first imputation the Christians suffered under 2. They suffered under the imputation of Faction and Sedition which is the second thing implyed in the name of Sect or Heresie here mentioned and that they charged upon them two wayes 1. For not submitting to the Churches Authority 2. For disturbing the peace and quiet of the People 1. For not submitting to the Churches Authority not that the Disciples of our Lord did out of humour or fancy or only to make a party break with the Jews in matters meerly of order and indifferency no on the contrary we find them extreamly cautious of giving any offence in such matters which temper they learnt of their Lord and Master who complyed with many things that others might not take advantage by his omission of them to slight and contemn them thus when others were baptized of John he would be so too not that he had any need of washing away of sin but he would not make use of a particular priviledge to bring any discountenance upon a general duty Thus we see he went up at the solemn Feasts to Hierusalem as others did and not only was present in the Temple but vindicated by a Miracle the order and decency of it by driving out the buyers and sellers from the outward parts of it although they had a fair pretence of being ready at hand to serve the necessities of such as were to sacrifice to God in the Temple nay St. Mark tells us that he would not suffer any vessell to be carried through the Temple and this he did not upon any reason peculiar to the Levitical Law but because it was a House of Prayer And this example his Apostles followed who after they had the Holy Ghost poured upon them yet they attended the Temple at the hours of prayer But most remarkable to this purpose is the instance of St. Paul at that very time when he was seized upon and like to be destroyed by the fury of the Jews For understanding at Hierusalem from St. James that there were many thousands of believing Jews that were still zealous of the Law and were informed that St. Paul among the Gentiles slighted circumcision and the Levitical Customs he to give them all reasonable satisfaction that he intended to make no unnecessary breach among them about indifferent matters submits himself to a legal purification in the Temple for seven dayes together before the end of which the Jews made a tumult and seized upon him and so he was brought to answer the accusations against him in this Chapter Thus careful St. Paul was to give no ground for suspicion that he delighted in disorders and separations this example he did leave to all prudent Christians rather to submit to things which they have no great value for as no doubt at this time St. Paul had very little for the Levitical Customs than to hazard the breaking the peace of the Church for such matters But notwithstanding all this care of the first Christians they could not avoid the imputation of Faction because they would not entirely submit their judgements to the Authority of the Jewish Church For this was the great pretence they stood upon that they were the Governours of the Church by Gods own institution that they were to explain and interpret the Law and the Prophets and this was expressed in the beginning of their Law That in all cases of difficulty they were to go up to the place which the Lord their God should chuse and to go to the Priests and the Levites and to the Judge and they shall shew thee the sentence of judgement And thou shalt do according to the sentence which they of that place which the Lord shall chuse shall shew thee and thou shalt observe to do according to all that they inform thee and the man that will do presumptuously and will not bearken to the Priest that standeth to minister there before the Lord thy God or unto the Judge even that man shall dye and thou shalt put away the evil from Israel Upon this place they might certainly much better establish the infallibility of their own Church than others draw an argument for Infallibility in the Christian Church from it However absolute obedience would serve their turn to charge the Christians with Faction in not submitting to their Authority For was not this a matter of difficulty whether the Messias were to be a temporal Prince or not concerning what time and place and person the Prophecies were to be understood Who were the competent Judges in this case but those whom God had established by his Law If the Scribes and Pharisees were charged with false glosses and corrupting the Law by their Traditions the Christians were not to take upon themselves to judge of them but to appeal to the High Priest and the Sanhedrin who were the only lawful Judges in these matters Their duty was submission and patience but by no means ought they
he did against St. Paul they charge us with bringing in new Sects under the pretence of Reformation or with rejecting the Authority of the present Church which we were bound to obey and thereby laying the Foundation of Faction â—nd Schism These are heavy charges but they are no other than those the High Priest and the Elders made against St. Paul and thanks be to God his Defence and Vindication is ours too for we appeal to Scripture and the best and purest Antiquity and desire to be judged according to these These three things therefore I shall speak to before I conclude 1. That the same reasons which they produce against the Reformation would have held against the spreading of Christianity at first 2. That the same Defence which St. Paul made for Christianity will justifie the Reformation 3. That we have all reason to follow the courage of St. Paul in owning and defending our Religion not with standing the imputations which are cast upon it 1. That the same reasons which they produce against the Reformation would have held against Christianity at first What have all the clamours of our Adversaries for above a hundred years come to but the very same which I have already mentioned as the Jews Objections against Christianity viz. Novelty and Faction Where was your Church before the Reformation produce your succession in all Ages of persons who agreed in all things with you Where were those distinct bodies of men who found fault with those corruptions that you pretend to reform Our Church hath had a constant and glorious succession of Bishops and Martyrs and Consessors and Religious Orders of Men Virgins and Widows But supposing such a distinct succession were not necessary yet shew how it was possible for so many errors and corruptions to come into the Church and no one take notice of them and discover them Where was the watchfull eye of Providence over the Church all this while What all the Pastors asleep at once or all conspiring together to deceive their posterity Besides how can the Protestants ever answer their rejecting the Authority of the present Church which they lived under and to whom God had promised his infallible Spirit how can they clear themselves from faction and disturbing the peace of the Christian world which lived in so great unity and peace before This is the summ of their Objections against the Reformation which are the very same we have mention'd before as produced by the Jews against Christianity If the arguments are good now they were so then if they were good then for all that I can see the High Priest and Elders were in the right and St. Paul in the wrong if they were not good then but are now some remarkable disparity must be shewed between their case and ours and that must lye in shewing these three things 1. That the Christian Church hath greater infallibility promised than the Jewish had 2. That the first Christians had greater reason to reject the Authority of that Church than the Reformers had as to the Church of Rome 3 That the Causes of corruptions in the Jewish Church could not hold in the Christian But if none of these can be made good then the case will appear to be the very same 1. It cannot be proved that the Christian Church hath greater infallibility promised than the Jewish had Of which we have this plain evidence that one of the strongest arguments produced for the infallibility of the Christian Church is taken from the Promises made to the Jewish How often hath Deut. 17. 8 9 10. been made Use of to prove infallibility in the Christian Church If they had any better arguments in the New Testament would they ever run so far back to a Command that most evidently relates to the Jewish constitution Where hath ever God promised that he would dwell in St. Peters at Rome as he did that he would dwell in his Temple at Hierusalem What boastings and triumphs would there have been if any such words had been in the Gospel concerning Rome as there were of old concerning Hierusalem viz. that God had sanctified it that his Name might be there for ever and his eyes and his heart should be there perpetually What pittiful proofs in comparison of this are all those brought out of the New Testament for the Authority and Infallibility of the Roman Church What are all the promises of the Spirit made to the Apostles and remarkably accomplished in them to this plain promise of Gods particular presence in that place for ever Suppose St. Peter had priviledges above the rest of the Apostles how comes the entail to be made to all his successors and only at Rome and no where else Where are the Deeds kept that contain this gift Why are they not produced during all this contest And yet we see in the Jewish Church where such a promise was made to a particular place no such thing as Infallibility was implyed in it 2. It cannot be shewed that the first Christians had greater reason to reject the Authority of the Jewish Church than our Reformers had to reject that of the Church of Rome I know here it will be presently said That the Apostles saw the Miracles of Christ and wrought many themselves and received an immediate Commission from Jesus Christ in whom the Churches Infallibility was then seated All which I grant to be true in it self but cannot be pleaded by them who contend for absolute obedience to the present Churches Authority as infallible My reason is because upon this principle they could not believe Christ to be the true Messias for his being the true Messias depended upon two things viz. the fulfilling of Prophecies and the truth of his Miracles now according to their principles no man could be certain of either of these without the Authority of the Church for the fulfilling of Prophecies depended upon the sense of many obscure places of Scripture about which they say there is a necessity of an infallible Judge and for Miracles they tell us that there is no certain way of judging true and false but by the Authority of the Church Now if these things be so what ground could the first Christians have to believe Christ to be the true Messias when in both these they must oppose the Authority of the present Church 3. They can never prove that the same causes of corruptions do not hold as to the Christian which did as to the Jewish Church For the Christian Church in those Ages which we charge with introducing the corruptions was degenerated into greater Ignorance Barbarism Luxury and Superstition than the Jewish Church in the time of its darkness from the cessation of Prophecy till the coming of Christ. Our Adversaries themselves confess that for a long time there was nothing either of Learning or Humanity among them nothing but ease and luxury and ambition and all manner of Wickedness among the Chief Rulers among them nay
or suffered for their Religion in this 2. Submission and Obedience to their Spiritual Governours the greatest strength of that prevailing Faction lyes in the close union and cohesion of all the parts together by a settled subordination of one to another which though not alwayes effectual yet the contrivance is so laid as if there were as much Truth and Reason as Policy in it cannot be denyed to be fit for upholding the interest of a Church But we plead not for their blind and absolute obedience but sure the Apostles had some meaning when they bid the Christians obey them that had the rule over them and submit themselves for they watched for their souls and esteem them very highly in love for their Works sake not be ready on all occasions to reproach and contemn them and be glad of any idle stories wherewith to bespatter them If men would once understand and practise the duties of humility modesty and submission to the Government which God hath set over us we might have greater hopes to secure the interest of our Church and Religion than without it we can ever have For spiritual pride conceitedness in Religion and a Spirit of contradiction to Superiours are to be reckoned among some of the worst Symptoms of a declining Church 3. Lessening of differences among themselves for although with all their care they cannot prevent them yet they still endeavour to extenuate them as much as possible and boast of their Unity among strangers to their Churches affairs The great wisdom of the Court of Rome lyes in this that as long as persons are true to them in the main points wherein the difference lyes they can let them alone in smaller differences among themselves and not provoke either of the dissenting parties unless they are sure to suppress them lest they give them occasion to withdraw from their communion They can allow different Rites and Ceremonies in the several Orders of Religion among them and grant exemptions and priviledges in particular cases as long as they make them serviceable to their common interest by upholding and strengthning them Would to God we could at last learn this Wisdom from our enemies not to widen our own differences by inveterate heats bitterness and animosities among our selves but to find out wayes whereby even the dissenters in smaller things may be made useful for the maintaining the common interest of our Church and Religion And it is a vain thing in any to go about to separate these or ever to hope that the Protestant Religion can be preserved among us without upholding the Church of England For if once that Bullwark be demolished our Adversaries will despise all the lesser Sconces and Pallisado's they will be but like Romulus his Walls which they will easily leap over at their pleasure I pray God then and I hope you will all joyn with me in it that he would vouchsafe to our Governours the Spirit of Wisdom and Peace to find out the most proper means for the establishment of our Church and Religion and I pray God give us all a Spirit of knowledge to understand the things which belong to our peace and of Love and Unity to endeavour after them FINIS Act. 18. 15. Ver. 1. Ver. 2 3. Ver. 5 6. Mal. 2. 7. Heb. 9. 10. Ver. 10. Psal. 76. 1. Deut. 12. 11. 2 Kings 21. 7. 2 Chron. 7. 16. V. Bell. de not Eccles. l. 4. c. 5. §. praeterea Rom. 3. 2. 9. 4 5. Mat. 3. 15. Mat. 21. 12. Mar. 11. 16. Acts 3. 1. Acts 21. 20 21. Ver. 7. Deut. 17. 8 9 10 11 12. Joh. 7. 46 47 48 49. Acts 4. 7. Ver. 5. Acts 17. 6. Mat. 15. 6. 16. 6. Mat. 23. 3. Mà t 16. 12. Lev. 4. 13. John 7. 52. Acts 3. 13. 5. 30. 22. 14. Acts 7. 37. Acts 26. 6 7. Ver. 16. 2 Cor. 1. 12. 2 Chron. 7. 16. Advocat of Conscience-Liberty p. 236. 247. Lindwood Provinc l. 5. tit de haeret p. 162. 2. Vertum. Rom. p. 104 105. Advoc. for Lib. p. 24. V. Append. ad Nicol. Eyneric Director Inquisit Ven. 1607. Heb. 13. 17. 2 Thess. 5. 13.