so cheap a rate great Fools are they that will put themselves to the trouble and expence of travelling to Rome for it Those other Scriptures produc'd to this purpose As Tell it to the Church and if he neglect to hear the Church let him be to thee aâ— Matt. 18. 17 Heb. 13. 17. an Heathen and a Publican Obey them that have the rule over you and submit your selves c. are even to a prodigy impertinent For whosoever from these and such like Texts shall infer that any person or society of persons is infallible he must also by the same rules of arguing conclude that every Prince and subordinate Magistrate yea that every Parent and Master is so since the Commands of God to Hear and Obey these are as express and peremptory as to hear and obey the other Secondly And as the Scriptures alleg'd do not prove any Church now in being to be infallible so much less that the Church of Rome is For what proof is this Christ promis'd his Apostles that his Spirit should lead them into all Truth therefore the Church of Rome is infallible Is not the consequence altogether as good therefore the Church of England is infallible Christ hath promis'd that the gates of Hell shall not prevail against his Church And is not this Promise as applicable to the Church of England as to the Church of Rome The Church is the Pillar and Ground of Truth So was the Church of Ephesus when these words were directed to Timothy and so was every one of the Asian Churches as long as they continu'd Churches and so is the Church of England now and other reformed Churches in a higher Sense than the Church of Rome which together with the Truth she still upholds does also maintain so many Errors that the pillar and ground of Error is a Title better becoming her and so will the universal Church be in all succeeding ages Christ hath promis'd to be with his Church to the end of the World But is this Promise limited to the Church of Rome May not the Church of England put in as good a claim to it And may not Christ be in the midst of two or three that are gathered together in his name in England as well as in Italy But as more especially relating to the Church of Rome they tell us that Christ pray'd for St. Peter that his Faith might not fail 'T is true Luke 22. 32. but is every man infallible whose Faith fails not Yea suppose Christ had pray'd that St. Peter might be infallible does it thence follow that the Church of Rome is so Christ promis'd St. Paul that no man should set on him to hurt him And it seems as fairly to follow from this Promise made to St. Paul that the Church of Rome is infallible as from the Prayer made for St. Peter But St. Peter was that Rock Christ meant when he said Vpon Mattt 16. 1â— this Rock will I build my Church That 's a question For St. Chrysostom understood by the Rock not the Person but the Confession of St. Peter a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 In cap. 16. Matt. Hom. 55. and so did St. Cyril of Alexandria and many more of the Fathers And if the Pope be infallible 't is certain that by the Rock is meant the Faith or Confession of St. Peter for so Pope Felix III. hath expounded it b Super ista confessione adificabo ecclesâ—am meam Epiâ—t 5. apud Binium tom 3. p. 603. Edit Paris 1636. But suppose that by this Rock is meant the person of St. Peter does it follow that the Church of Rome is infallible Yes say they because the Church of Rome was built upon him Whether it was or no is much disputed but 't is out of question that the Church of Antioch was and that some years before there was a Church at Rome if therefore any privilege accrue from thence the precedency must be given to Antioch But was not St. Paul a Rock and all the rest of the Apostles in the same Sense that St. Peter was If then a Church becomes infallible by being founded upon a Rock how comes it to pass that all the other Churches of Apostolical Foundation have err'd In brief when they shall produce one Text of Scripture that but so much as fairly intimates that his Holiness of Rome is not as subject to err as His Grace of Canterbury that a Lateran Council is more infallible than a Convocation at Westminster they will produce something that is not altogether impertinent II. Let us now consider whether their Arguments from Reason are more concluding 'T will I think be sufficient to examine that alone which they most frequently insist upon and make the greatest noise with for if that shall be found to be of no weight we may warrantably conclude that all the rest are lighter than nothing and Vanity Now that is taken from the supposed necessity of an infallible living Judge in order to the Peace of the Church For though the Scripture they grant is a Rule infallible yet since Controversies notwithstanding frequently arise about the Sense of it by what means shall these be determin'd and Sects and Heresies either prevented or suppressed if there be no infallible Interpreter of it Which Argument supposes these three things 1. That it is necessary in order to Peace that all Controversies which arise in the Church should be determined 2. That Controversies cannot be determined without an infallible Judge 3. That such a Judge would certainly give a final Determination to them Neither of which Suppositions may be granted For neither is it necessary to the Peace of the Church that all manner of Controversies should be decided and if it were there may be other means by which they may be as well decided as by an infallible Judge and in case there were not yet this Judge would not be so effectual to this purpose as is supposed 1. There is no necessity in order to this end that all sorts of Controversies should be determin'd because every difference in opinion does not necessarily infer the breach of Peace How frequently do we meet with those who live in Peace together and yet are in many things different in their Judgments one from another This the Romanists themselves must of necessity grant for they boast much of their own Peace and Unity and yet all the World knows that there are many Controversies among themselves that are yet undetermin'd and are likely so to remain Nor is this true only of particular Persons but the same is also verified of particular Churches many of which maintain Peace between themselves notwithstanding their different Judgments in many matters of smaller moment 2. When Controversies arise which really distrub the Peace of the Church is there no way to decide them without recourse to an infallible Judge If not then 't is not enough that there be such a Judge but 't is also necessary
Doctrine of S. Paul 't is more for the edification of the Church that the publick Prayers should be said in a Tongue common to the Clergy and People than in Latin k Ex hac Pauli doctrina habetur quod melius est ad edisicationem Ecclesiae orationes publicas quae audiente populo dicuntur dici lingua communi Clericis Populo quam dici latine Comment in c. 14. Ep. 1. ad Corintle And Mr. Harding says I grant they viz. the People cannot say Amen to the Blessing or Thanksgiving of the Priest so well as if they understood the Latin Tongue perfectly l Artic. 3. Divis 29. And Father Paul thought the Latin Service a great Corruption and Abuse as we may see in his History of the Council of Trent m l. 6. In which he also tells us That in the Roman Pontifical there remaineth yet a Form of the Ordination of Readers in the Church in which it is said that they must study to read distinctly and plainly that the People may understand n Ibid. To conclude this upon these and such like Considerations The Emperor at the Council of Trent requir'd That Divine Service might be so said that it might be understood both by him that said it and by him that heard it †History of the Council of Trent p. 513. 2. Another Corruption is the propitiatory Sacrifice of the Mass The Church of England doth not quarrel at the name of Sacrifice she not only grants but asserts that the Eucharist is a commemorative and representative Sacrifice And this was the meaning of the ancient Fathers who frequently call it a Remembrance or Commemoration a Resemblance or Representation of the Sacrifice which Christ once offer'd upon the Cross o Euseb Demonst Evang. l. r. c. 10. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chrysost Hom. 17. in Epist ad Heb. And this is as much as Cassander seems to mean by it p Cassand Consult Art â— 24. de Sacrificio Corp. sang Christi But this will not satisfie the present Church of Rome but Christ as they will have it is truly and properly sacrificed that is according to their own notion of a Sacrifice Christ is truly and properly put to death as oft as the Priest says Mass For in a true Sacrifice as Bellarmine tells us q De Missa l. 1. c. 2. c. 27. the thing sacrificed must be destroy'd and if it be a thing that hath Life it must be kill'd And so indeâ—d many of the Romanists roundly assert that Christ every day is by the Mass-Priest Which besides that it is contrary to the Doctrine of the ancient Church and to the words of the Apostle who tells us That Jesus Christ offer'd not himself often as the High Priest enter'd into the Holy place every year with the Blood of others for then must he often have suffer'd from the Foundation of the World But now once in the end of the World hath he appear'd to put away sin by the Sacrifice of himself And as it is appointed to men once to dye but after this the Judgment so Christ was once offer'd to bear the sins of many r Heb. 9. 25 26 27 28. And again That after Christ had offer'd one Sacrifice for ever he sate down on the right hand of God And that by one Offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified s Heb. 10. 10 12 14. And whereas the Apostle argues the perfection of Christ's Sacrifice above those of the Law because those were offer'd year by year but the Sacrifice of Christ's Body was offer'd once for all If Christ be dayly sacrific'd in the Mass the Sacrifice of Christ must be much more defective than those of the Law for one Sacrifice of Expiation for the whole Congregation of Israel was thought sufficient for the whole year Whereas the Sacrifice of Christ's Body is repeated every day Yea for one single Person he may be sacrificed a thousand times over and this Sacrifice so often repeated and a thousand times more may perhaps be of so little Virtue as not to procure the release of that one poor Soul out of Purgatory Consider further that this is inconsistent with the end they assign of Sacrifice which is to testifie our subjection to God which cannot be done by offering up God himself in Sacrifice for what we offer in Sacrifice we are not subject to but have the disposal of and dominion over it Besides all this 't is a piece of Worship more absurd and impious than was ever practis'd by the most barbarous Heathen they indeed sometimes offer'd their Sons and Daughters in Sacrifice but we never read that they were so sottish as to make a Sacrifice of their God And therefore our Church hath deservedly condemn'd the Sacrifices of Masses as blasphemous Fables and dangerous Deceits (a) Articles of Religion anno 1562. Aâ—t 31. 3. The solitary Mass in which the Priest alone who Consecrates Communicates can no way be reconciled either with the Doctrine and Institution of Christ who when he had broken the Bread gave it to his Disciples and said take ye eat ye and commanded his Disciples to do as he had done Or with the words of S. Paul to the Corinthians who supposes them to meet together to eat the Lord's Body and commands them to stay one for another (b) 1 Cor. 11. 31. And from this meeting the Sacrament was call'd by the Ancients Synaxis the Collection or gathering together of the Faithful as it is by us still call'd the Communion Furthermore 't is inconsistent with the nature and intendment of the Sacrament which is a Feast of Love and design'd to unite us more closely together in brotherly Love one to another by representing to us by our eating together at the same Table and partaking of one and the same Loaf that we all belong to one Family and are Children of one Father 'T is contrary to the Practice of the Apostles and first Christians who were wont to assemble on the first day of the week to break Bread (c) Act. 20. 7. And that it was unknown to the Christian Church for many Ages is freely confess'd by the Romanists themselves Even Bellarmine grants that we no where expresly read that the Sacrifice was offered by the Ancients without some one or more communicating besides the Priest (d) Bell. de Missa l. 2. c. 9. tho 't is true he says we may by many conjectures collect that it was but how weak his Conjectures are will be evident to any man who will be at the pains to read them Harding confesses that in the Primitive Church the People receiv'd every day with the Priest and that private Mass came in afterward by the negligence and indevotion of the People (e) Article 1. Divis 7. Cassander questions whether solitary Mass came not first into use after the days of Gregory the Great that is more than
further evident from the very nature of the thing because Prayer is an acknowledgment of those Excellencies in the Person pray'd to and a payment of those Duties to him which are the sole Prerogative of God For what are the incommunicable Perfections of God himself If not to be present in all places to know the Secrets of our Hearts and to be able to supply the wants of all those that call upon him And all these must be supposed to be in him to whom Prayers are addressed by all Persons from all distant places of the World And what Homage can be more proper to him who is infinite Power Wisdom and Goodness than to submit our selves to him To hope and trust in him and to cast all our care upon him And all these Duties we pay to that Being to whom we make our Prayers And therefore the Church of England had great reason to charge them with Idolatry who put up their Prayers to Saints because in so doing they give that Worship to the Creature which is due to God alone (d) Homily against peril of Idolatry 9. I might largely insist upon the Worship which the Church of Rome gives to the Reliques of Saints which is more absurd than that which they give to the Saints themselves By their Reliques they understand not only their dead Bodies and all the parts of them their Nails and Hair not excepted but all those things that any way appertained to them Yea whatsoever they touched and whatsoever touched them by virtue of that Touch it becomes Sacred Upon which account no things are had in greater Honor with them than those by which our Blessed Lord was put to shame The Thorns that gored him the Nails that pierced him the Cross he was nailed to because they touched his Sacred Body divine Honour must be given to them as the great Oracle of their Church hath determined and by consequence to the Judas that betray'd him Tho with this difference that not only to the true Cross on which our Saviour hung but to the Image of it Divine Worship is to be paid but not to the Images of the Nails and Spear but only to those very Nails and that very Spear that pierced him (a) Crux Christi in qua Christus crucifixus est tum propter repraesentationem tum etiam propter membrorum Christi contactum Latria adoranda est Crucis vero effigies in alia quavis materia priori tantum ratione Latria adoranda est Quantum ad rationem contactus membrorum Christi adoramus non solum Crucem sed omnia quae sunt Christi Aquin. pars 3. quaest 25. Art 4. And which is yet more monstrous tho 't is certain that these pretended Reliques if not all yet are most of them counterfeit unless that which is but one can be a multitude because the same is pretended to be shewed in many places yet the same worship is given to the false that is given to the true Reliques and so the Body of a Malefactor is sometimes worshipped for that of a Saint and the Bones of a Beast for those of a Martyr But suppose they are true are they not goodly objects of Worship Garlick and Onions the Egyptians Deities may justly be accounted Gods right worshipful when compared with Thorns and Nails and Chips and many other of the Romish Gods So ridiculous are the Follies and Impieties that are often practised in this Relique-worship that nothing equal was ever found among the most sottish Heathen I shall therefore spare the pains of shewing that it is condemn'd by Scripture by Reason and that nothing like it was practised by the Primitive Christians for more than three hundred years and shall only tell you what censure a learned and famous man of their own Church hath passed upon this sort of worship It is manifest saith he that in later times too much hath been attributed to the Memories and Reliques of Saints so that even by such good men as have a pious Zeal the Summ as it were of Religion is thought to consist in getting of Reliques and adorning them with Gold and Jewels and in building sumptuous Temples and Memories for the Martyrs and also by wicked men a false trust is placed in the needless worship of Reliques And out of covetousness saith he false Reliques are forg'd and feigned Miracles are published by which Miracles the Superstition of the People is nourished that they are rather transported into admiration of the Miracles than provoked to the imitation of the Saints or the amendment of Life But sometimes by the Craft and Illusion of the Devil abusing mans superstitious Conceits by Dreams and Visions new Reliques were revealed and by his operation Miracles seemed to be wrought Also very many are found who make merchandize of the Reliques of Saints whether true or false so that almost every where they are carried about by Pedlers and the vilest of men and with many Lyes are recommended to the ignorant Vulgar But since at this day when every where all places seem to be full of the Reliques of Saints it is to be feared that if Bishops and Princes would take that pains which they ought in searching out and judging of true Reliques great and detestable Cheats would be discovered And after some other things of the like import he concludes Since therefore the true and known Reliques of the Saints especially in these Provinces are very few and many of those which are shown may be justly suspected and since the frequenting and Veneration of them does not serve Piety much but very much serves Superstition and Gain it seems much more adviseable that no Reliques should be shewn and that the People should be provoked to worship the true Reliques of the Saints that is to imitate the Examples of their Piety and Virtues which are extant either in their own Writings or in the Writings of others concerning them (a) Consult Cassand Art 20. p. 973. To conclude this Head we reverence the Memories of the Saints especially of the ancient Martyrs and should we meet with any unquestionable Remains of their Bodies we should pay more than ordinary respect to them We bless God for their exemplary Lives and triumphant Deaths but we dare not worship them and make them our Gods I proceed now to the next general Head of Corruptions 3. Corruption of Manners which at the time of the Reformation and long before was grown to that excess that the great men of the Church of Rome before cited who called for a Reformation thought it especially necessary in regard of Manners And some of them did not stick to publish to the World that either the ruin of the Church or some dismal Plagues were near approaching unless prevented by a speedy Reformation in their Morals This was the main design of Gerson's Treatise concerning the Signs of the Ruin of the Church And I am bold to say says the Cardinal of Cambray in the Preface to