of them Secondly As to the reason of the Command That in them we have Eternal Life the Romists add that you must take along with you the explication of the Church and such other additions as the Church shall propose for the Church say they is guided by the same Holy Ghost as did guide the Apostles and Evangelists to dictate and write the Scriptures and therefore the Doctrines of the Church are equally to be held and as necessary to Eternal Life But Beloved these are meer juggling mists cast before the eyes of men to lead them blindfold into their superstitious gainful practices And God willing I shall prove unto you that both these their assertions are groundless and false First I shall prove that this command of our Saviour Search the Scriptures belongs to all that are capable to understand matters of Salvation whether Clergy or Laity Men or Women or even Children and that 't is not only lawful but pious to search into the Scriptures Secondly I shall prove that the belief of the Scriptures alone is sufficient to Eternal Life without any addition and that we are not bound to believe any Doctrine the Church shall teach but what is fully contained in Scripture or so clearly deduced from thence that any man of common understanding may plainly see the evidence of that deduction And farther I shall prove that 't is a damnable thing for any man or Church to teach any Doctrine as necessary to Salvation but what is so fully contained in or so clearly deduced from Scripture as I now mentioned And seeing both these points are matters of Salvation wherein all mankind learned or unlearned high and low are concerned I think it necessary to handle these matters in so plain a way as may sute with the capacity of all even the unlearned who are most easily seduced into error I begin with the first part the command of our Saviour Search the Scriptures and to prove that this belongs to all And for the more methodical proceeding in this business I shall divide all sorts of men into three ranks and shew that to search the Scriptures belongs to all three Priests Princes and People And first for Priests there can be no doubt The only doubt in this point is whether they do search the Scriptures so diligently and studiously as they ought that St Pauls objection be not laid to their charge Thou that teachest others teachest thou not thy self Wherefore I beseech you of the Clergy that are present to consider what a shameful and scandalous thing it is that a poor mechanick tradesman should be more ready in quoting Scripture for his error than you for the truth and you that should be able as the Apostle saith with sound Doctrine to stop the mouths of all gainsayers such weak silly gainsayers should stop your mouths with corrupted Doctrine and mistaken Texts and you not able to shew their gross mistakes and so with the noise of Scripture-proofs they go away triumphant confirmed in their errors by reason of your neglect of reading the Scriptures or not understanding what you do read I beseech you consider it well and let this brief admonition suffice without any farther enlargement on this matter And now I may proceed to the second sort of men that are to search the Scriptures that is Princes and all Magistrates for Deut. xvii 18 19 20. we find a command for them And it shall be when he sitteth upon the throne of his Kingdom that he shall write him a copy of this Law in a book out of that which is before the Priests the Levites And it shall be with him and he shall read therein all the days of his life that he may learn to fear the Lord his God to keep all the words of this Law and these statutes to do them That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren and that he turn not aside from the Commandment to the right hand or to the left This command was given hundreds of years before the Iews had any Kings which shews great providential care and earnestness in God that Kings should be studious in his Holy Laws And 't is a very pertinent note that learned Grotius hath on this place That the King is to write himself a Copy of Gods Laws which is the best way to imprint a thing in a mans memory for when a man Copies out any thing he insists upon every word the time of writing and so makes the deeper impression in his mind to remember it Whereby you see that Kings are required as well as Priests to be very conversant in the Scriptures to read them all the days of their life And the reason of this is given by the Prophet Isa. xlix where speaking of the Church of Christ which was to be set up among the Gentiles he tells the Church that Kings should be her nursing-fathers and Queens her nursing-mothers And sure Fathers and Mothers should be able to teach their Children and not their Children teach them From whence I might infer that Kings should be more knowing in Scripture than Church-men Kings being as it were their Fathers And so it was with King David he did so meditate on the Laws of God both day and night that he thereby became wiser than his teachers I suppose he means the Priests who taught him in his minority But let this pass and let us take nursing-fathers here as Protectors only and Governours yet as such they ought to be very knowing in Scripture that they may distinguish between sound and corrupted Doctrine for sure they are not to protect and nurse up Heresie which they may chance to do if they have not a right understanding of Scripture but are led away by false and deluding teachers as the Arrian Emperours were and so proved oppressing Tyrants over the Orthodox Church Thus you see 't is necessary for the Spiritual Government of the Church that Kings should observe this command of God and have the Bible before them and read therein all the days of their life And 't is very necessary also for the Civil Government of the State as 't is there in Deut. exprest that their hearts be not lifted up above their brethren and that they do not multiply to themselves wives nor silver nor gold What is here said of Kings or great Persons concerns all you that are in Authority under the King at present or are like to be hereafter For seeing that Kings cannot be personally present in all parts of their Dominion they are constrained to appoint others under them to perform that which they cannot do themselves From whence it necessarily follows that this command of God to Kings belongs to all those who act by their Authority And as it is in the business of Godfathers and Godmothers that inferior persons are often substituted to perform the parts of great ones so is it in Church-fathers and Church-mothers and their Substitutes are to be Nursing-fathers to
of God to confirm their Doctrine for we have no other assurance of the Doctrine delivered by the Apostles but the miracles which they wrought in confirmation of it Excuse me for herein you are foully mistaken we have our Saviours command given them to preach the Gospel to all the world and we have his promise made to them that he would send the Holy Ghost unto them to lead them into all truth which we are assured did descend upon them working miraculously in divers and sundry manners Wherefore to speak properly we say That we do not believe in the Apostles but we believe in God the Holy Ghost speaking to us by the Apostles And which is yet more our Saviour himself which was both God and man yet he doth not require us to believe in him as man but as God assuring us so Ioh. viii 28. I do nothing of my self but as my father hath taught me I speak these things And again xii 49. I have not spoken of my self but the father which sent me he gave me a commandment what I should say and what I should speak By which we are fully instructed that we are not to believe in any man living but only in God speaking to us by man and therefore we are not to give Divine Faith to the Doctrine of any man the greatest Saint that ever was unless we are as fully assured that he hath God the Holy Ghost speaking in him as we are that he spake to us by the Apostles And certainly we have no such assurance of any man since the Apostles no special command given by Christ to preach any new Gospel no promise of the Holy Ghost to lead them into all truth no visible descension of the Holy Ghost in after Ages no gift of tongues nor prophesie But it may be you think that at the end of St. Matthews Gospel where Christ sends the Apostles to preach and says Lo I am with you always even unto the end of the world this promise must be intended to the Apostles Successors also the Fathers of the Church that Christ would be with them unto the end of the world for the Apostles themselves were not to continue unto the end of the world but their Successors All this I grant that Christ will be with the Fathers of the Church the Successors of the Apostles to the end of the world who succeed the Apostles in their Doctrine as well as in Office Christ will bless them and prosper that Doctrine unto the end of the world Wherefore I pray you consider the whole context of that place Vers. 19 20. Go ye therefore and teach all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father of the Son and of the Holy Ghost teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you and lo I am with you always even unto the end of the world So long as you teach the things I have commanded you so long I am with you even to the end of the world The promise then of being with them to the end of the world is conditional viz. If they teach the things that Christ hath commanded either by himself or by his Apostles who were guided by his Spirit all which commands of Christ and his Apostles are delivered unto us in the Scriptures On this condition the promise was made in teaching the things commanded and not otherwise What is this to teaching of new Doctrine not commanded by Christ not contained in Scripture Not one tittle of promise made for that nor any commission given to teach new Doctrines but rather a curse for the person teaching any other Gospel than what was already preached be he man on earth or Angel from Heaven Gal. i. 8. Why because the Doctrine preacht by Christ and his Apostles was compleat for our Salvation And therefore we do not find that any one of the antient Holy Fathers doth pretend to any such infallible guidance of the Holy Ghost and thereby require submission and obedience to his Doctrine but rather declares quite contrary as I have newly mentioned unto you out of St. Austine one of the four principal Doctors of the Church who gives us a general rule Not to give any assured belief to any the most learned and most Holy Fathers farther than they can prove their Doctrine by Scriptures that is our compleat rule of faith Is it not then a strange disobedient wilful blind submission to their Doctrine expresly contrary to the rule of faith given by themselves And great reason had St. Austin to give us this rule when he had found as he expresses in another place that St. Cyprian a preceding Father of the Church most eminent for learning and sanctity who laid down his life for the faith this great Doctor Saint and Martyr taught and maintained an error even unto death which error of his was condemned afterwards by the whole Christian Church And not only St. Cyprian but all the great Bishops of Affrica joyned with him in this error And long before St. Cyprian Papias Bishop of Hierapolis whom that famous Bishop of Lyons Irenaeus affirms to have been a Disciple of St. Iohn the Evangelist and very probably he might be so for St. Iohn dyed in the hundred and second year of our Lord and Papias was then a Pastor of the Church He taught if not began as most antient Writers conceive the error of the Chiliasts That Christ should come again to reign here on earth a thousand years Irenaeus Bishop of Lyons mentioned before learnt this error of him and did propagate it farther till at length it infected most Writers of that Age. And this Irenaeus himself was the Disciple of St. Polycarpus and Polycarpus the Disciple of St. Iohn and therefore 't was no wonder that this error was taken up by many Doctors of the Church having two such famous men the Authors of it Yet this error was not long after rejected by the whole Christian Church Good reason then had St. Austin to give us that rule not to subscribe to any Doctrine of the Fathers but such as they proved by Holy Scriptures And it was a seasonable caution to future Ages against his own Doctrine for he himself taught the error that it was necessary to administer the Sacrament of the Lords Supper to Infants and this was an opinion generally believed in the Christian Church for many years though afterwards and to this day concluded a gross error And I beg leave to say this as true as free That whoever reads the Doctors and Fathers of the Church writings of the erroneous customs generally practised in their times but afterwards rejected by the whole Christian Church as well by the Papists as others shall find these Fathers as zealously maintaining by forced arguments and wrested Scriptures those their erroneous customs as the soundest truths God is my record I say not this out of any reproach to them whereof many have been great Champions for the fundamental truths and
as the Iews people and Priests also erred and so grosly erred as to become Idolaters yet the Oracles they bare never erred so we may too truly say to the proud boasting Papists their whole Church Pope Princes People have and do all err and so grosly err as to be guilty of great Idolatry worshipping and praying and thereby giving Gods glory to Saints and Angels to Pictures and Images This is most rationally and learnedly proved by Dr. Stillingfleet now the Reverend Dean of St. Pauls and most practically and palpably shewed in a small Book Intitled A Letter to a Friend concerning Popish Idolatry which in one hours reading fully declares it Of which Letter I will say only this That I am sure all there set down is truth for with my own eyes I have seen all having lived many years abroad amongst them But I grant they are not all practised here in England for two reasons First They would be ashamed to set up Pictures and Images here publickly to worship in the face of the Gospel-Sunshine where very Children would deride them And Secondly the Laws and Government would not suffer them Wherefore to conclude this point whoever reads the Gospel and by that examines the Doctrines of the Romish Church shall see that she is not the infallible Church she is pretended to be as plainly as you see the Moon is not the Sun you will discover such foul black spots in her face as may assure you she is not that beautiful beloved Spouse set forth in the Canticles for she hath so foully erred against the truth of the Gospel in several things which I have formerly laid before you as makes it most evident that she is neither truth nor so much as the pillar of truth but the pillar of error stifly mainteining several errors and doth not so much as hold forth the Gospel of truth to teach the people the way to Heaven but shuts it up from the people that she may lead them blindfold into error And so much be spoken concerning this Text The Church is the pillar and ground of the truth If any man can give a better exposition of this Text I shall be glad to learn it of him but I am sure the Papists have not yet by all that ever I saw or heard of They bring us another Text much like this Matth. the last Chapter where Christ sends forth his Disciples to teach all Nations promising to be with them in teaching unto the end of the world This Text I fully answered in my last Sermon Moreover these words being spoken by our Saviour to all the Apostles in general and their Successors of necessity gives equal Commission to them all and therefore makes more against the superiority of the Romish Church than for it for by this all Churches planted by other Apostles have the same promise The Papists therefore have one Scripture more which they urge particularly for their Church but it hath been so oft disputed and so fully confuted by whole Volumes of our Writers as a man would wonder to see them like Cats knockt down and quite dead in all appearance yet rise up again with this Text in their mouths It is this Thou art Peter and upon this rock will I build my Church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it Matt. xvi 18. As to this I shall give you the heads only of several answers as plainly and briefly as may be for your more easie remembrance But I pray you still remember what we are searching Scripture for and that is a plain easie rule to determine all doubts that may arise in matters of faith And certainly this Text is not such but as far or farther from that than the former for 't is a figurative speech all along it speaks of building on a rock and the gates of Hell of binding and loosing almost every word a figure and the greatest Doctors and Fathers of the Church have disputed very variously about it the Papists cannot deny it and therefore this cannot be a plain easie rule to clear doubtful matters it being so doubtful in it self Let us now hear what the Text it self saith Thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it Is here any one word that the Church shall be infallible and cannot err The gates of Hell shall not prevail against the Church therefore say they she cannot err The veriest dunce in the University would be ashamed to make such ridiculous consequences Put the case God had promised the King of England that the French King should not prevail against him must it therefore follow that 't is impossible the French King should set foot upon English ground or kill any one of our Kings Subjects or take any of his Ships Rare nonsence Many Princes after several battels lost much of their Country invaded yet have prevailed and driven out the Enemy many a man after several wounds received hath prevailed and killed his Adversary Let then the Papists go and learn what that means The seed of the woman shall bruise thy head and thou shalt bruise his heel Gen. iii. 15. The seed of the Woman crushed the Head of Satan and prevailed against the gates of Hell though the Prince thereof bruised and wounded him in the heel Many errors and Heresies have bruised and wounded the Church yet have not prevailed to destroy it the vitals the fundamentals have still been preserved That profession of Peter whereon Christ built his Church was Thou art Christ the Son of the living God This saith hath still been preserved in the Church the gates of Hell never could prevail against it This is all our Saviour here promised and this he hath ever to this day made good and will assuredly make good to the end of the world But put the case these words The gates of Hell shall not prevail against the Church did imply some infallibility promised to the Church in general yet how come the Papists to challenge this insallibility to the Church of Rome and deprive all other Churches of it Why say they Christ here promises to build his Church on St. Peter 'T is false the Text doth not say Thou art Peter and upon thee will I build my Church but Upon this rock will I build my Church and that rock was Christ 1 Cor. x. 4. Christ the Son of the Living God whom Peter professed on this rock was the Church built But suppose yet farther that our Saviour had promised he would build his Church on Peter what then Yet not on him alone for St. Paul tells us Eph. ii 19 20. That the House of God which is the Church of God is built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets Christ Iesus himself being the chief corner stone built upon other Apostles and Prophets also as well as on Peter but chiefly on Christ himself And then for those words Binding and
beseech you tell me from whence sprang this mighty Headship of the Pope to be Lord of the whole World Successors as Successors can challenge no more Authority than their Predecessors had If the present Bishop of Salisbury hath no Authority over the Bishop of Lincoln certainly Salisburies Successor can have none over Lincolns Successor And so Saint Peter having no Lordship over S. Iohn nor any other Apostle Peter's Successor can have none over their Successors this is clear How then Did Christ ever come again upon Earth to establish this Headship or Did an Angel come from Heaven to do it Though I must tell you should an Angel come from Heaven and preach any other Doctrine than what is in Scripture we are fully warranted not to receive it But if neither Christ nor Angel nor any one Scripture declare this Headship is it not a most unreasonable thing to require us to believe this as a matter absolutely necessary to Salvation and to believe it with as full assurance as we believe Christ was born of the Virgin or that Christ was Crucified and that he rose from the dead Let them shew us then in such plain Scripture words that the Pope is to be Head of the Church that the Church of Rome shall be Infallible unto the worlds end that we are to receive all her Doctrines as the Oracles of God or that in the Church of Rome we have Eternal Life Let them but shew us some promise some command plain like this and we shall readily submit really we should be heartily glad to see it it would save us much trouble But beloved you all know there is nothing like this in all the Scripture How then dare any man venture the eternal salvation of his Soul and in obedience to the Church of Rome practise things so apparently contrary to Gods Commands as to worship Images pray unto Saints receive the Sacrament of the Lords Supper in one kind and such like as I mentioned formerly I know there are in the writings of several Fathers many expressions which highly magnifie the Authority of the Church in general and some for the Church of Rome in particular all which signifie very little if you consider the circumstances and motives for their so speaking When the Church was infested with Heresies the Orthodox Fathers disputing with them used all the Arguments they could to reduce them to the Truth but perverse men not hearkening to their reasons their last and pressing Argument was the Authority of the Church which they set forth with great lustre to make the Argument more powerful and force their submission unto it And because the generality of the Church in those days by Gods blessing was not yet infected with errors they urged the Authority and true belief of the Universal Church to reclaim the particular Heretical Churches from their Error and the most general Language being then Greek they used the word Catholick which in that Language signifies Universal and hence arose the phrase of the Catholick Church Moreover it pleased God to preserve the Roman Church in the true Faith with great Zeal and Piety for many years their Bishops being successively Martyr'd by the Heathen Emperors and their Officers at Rome And their true Faith being celebrated also in Scripture by S. Paul it was magnified by the true believing Fathers of other Churches as Antioch Ephesus Constantinople Alexandria c. that it might the more move the Heretical Members of their Churches to conform unto it telling them how S. Peter and S. Paul the two great Pillars of the Church were Martyr'd there and therefore they ought to believe no Error could enter that Church which was so sanctified with the blood of those two great Apostles and divers other famous Martyrs All which they uttered with great zeal that they might make the unbelievers to reverence it the more and submit unto it As when two of our Lawyers differ in opinion he that hath the Lord Chief Justice Coke on his side will magnifie him as such an Oracle of the Law that could not err and say all that his wit can invent to set it forth it doth not therefore follow that he seriously thinks Coke to have been infallible no more do these sayings of the Fathers conclude the Roman Church to be infallible as I shall now shew you by one Example sufficient to satisfie any man without farther trouble S. Cyprian was a Bishop and Martyr of the true Catholick Church as famous for Learning and Sanctity as for his Faith and Martyrdom he wrote a zealous Tract for the unity of the Church wherein he uttered those sayings which the Papists have so frequently in their mouths Habere non potest Deum Patrem qui Ecclesiam non habet Matrem he cannot have God for his Father who will not have the Church for his Mother And As no man was saved out of Noah ' s Ark so no man can be saved out of the Church Which being spoken by so great a man seem to carry great Authority with them But if I might freely speak my mind I would say of them that they are fine flourishing sentences sounding handsomely to the ear but cannot much satisfie a mans reason unless he had clearly exprest what he means by the word Ecclesia Church I know full well what the Papists mean by it they mean the Bishop of Rome and his Clergy and all those that are of his Faith and Communion and believe that no man can be saved that is not in that Communion And this is with them the Mother Church and Noah's Ark. But I shall now plainly shew that S. Cyprian meant no such thing for in the beginning of this Tract he declares that St. Peter whom the Papists would needs have to be the Founder of their Church had no Authority over the rest of the Apostles and Churches founded by them but that all the Apostles were of equal honour and authority Pari consortio praediti honoris potestatis Which saying he fully confirmed by his practice which is the clearest exposition of a mans meaning for a great dispute arising between him and Stephen the Bishop of Rome about Rebaptizing those which were Christned in Heretical Churches S. Cyprian declared his Judgment was for Rebaptizing Stephen declares the contrary and both parties adhering stifly to their own opinions the dispute grew so high that Cyprian held a Council of all the African Bishops and there Decreed that they ought to be Rebaptized for there being but one Baptism which was to be had only in the true Church the Heretical Baptism being done out of the true Church was no Baptism Here 't is plain S. Cyprian meant by the word Church his Church and all that were in Communion with him Stephen on the other side calls a Council at Rome and there Decrees that the Heretical Baptism being performed in due manner though the Priest Baptizing were an Heretick out of the Church yet the Baptism
passages which otherwise we could not well understand Thirdly Where a passage of Scripture may have several significations and thereby make it doubtful what is the more proper meaning of it there those Primitive Fathers can best tell us in what sence it was received in the Primitive Church And surely in doubtful places every modest man will think it fit to incline to those Primitive Godly men whose nearness to the Apostles gave them great opportunities of knowing the true sence and whose godly lives give us great assurance of their fidelity in delivering unto us what they received from their godly Fore-fathers some the very Disciples of the Apostles Several other reasons might be added for our regard and reverence to these Primitive Fathers in their Expositions of the dark or doubtful places of Scripture Yet I humbly conceive nothing of all this is necessary to understand those matters of faith which are necessary to Salvation as that God created and governs the world or the incarnation death and resurrection of Christ. These and such necessary things are so plainly set down in Scripture as that men of ordinary capacity may understand them without any Comment of the Fathers But what if any one or more very learned and very godly Fathers even such as laid down their lives for the faith what if they teach me a Doctrine in which the Scripture is wholly silent Ought I not to believe in them To this I small give you an answer from Tertullian one of the first Christian Writers who lived in the second Century about a hundred and fifty years after Christs Ascension He tells us in his Prescriptions against Heresies that this was the rule among Christians That they were not to believe any thing but that which Christ and his Apostles had delivered unto them in the Scripture Hoc priùs credimus non ess◠quod ultra credere debemus And a little after sets down a Creed which very little varies from that which we have amongst us called the Apostles Creed This saith he is our rule of faith and we believe Nihil esse ultra quod credere debemus That there is nothing more for us to believe for this rule here set down is a compendium of all I do not cite this out of Tertullian as if I would prescribe unto you from him what you are to believe by his Authority for he doth not tell us this as his own opinion but only relates what was the belief and practice of the Church in his Primitive days who was so near after Christ. And this Tertullian is generally believed by the Learned to be as faithful a relater as any antient Writer whatsoever And he was of so great a credit with that learned and godly Father and Martyr of the Church St. Cyprian who lived not many years after Tertullian that he always called him Master and daily read his Works calling to his Servant Da Magistrum Give me my Masters Book to read Which shews he was of great credit But Tertullian after the discourse I now mentioned out of him confirms what he had said by Scripture Authority which is of far more weight than Tertullian and St. Cyprian both citing that place of St. Paul to the Galatians Chap. i. vers 8. Though we or an Angel from Heaven preach any other Gospel unto you than that which we have preached let him be accursed Now you must know that the Original Greek from whence our Gospel is translated hath this more effectual to our purpose 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which more exactly in English is rendred thus If any man preach unto you any thing besides what we have preached he doth not say contrary to what we have preached but besides which is the same in effect as to say any thing more And Arius Montanus a learned Papist in the University of Sevil in Spain who translated the Greek new Testament word for word sets it down just as I have done unto you Praeter quod evangelizavimus Besides what we have preached St. Paul means If they shall preach any more as necessary to Salvation for this is to make the Word of God of no effect he having in his Holy Word given us a rule of Faith for our Salvation and then for any one to say you must believe more is in effect to say Gods Word is not sufficient This is an accursed saying according to St. Paul Now if neither St. Paul nor an Angel from Heaven had any Commission to preach any thing besides what is already set down in the Scripture certainly we may shut up our ears to any one or to all the Doctors of the Church preaching unto us any thing more than what is there contained As for Example If they shall preach 't is necessary to obey the Pope to believe Purgatory or the like things which are not expressed in Scriptures let them be accursed as St. Paul saith A second Question may be what you are to do when any Father or Fathers expound a place of Scripture contrary to what you believe is the plain meaning of that place Must you quit your own judgment and believe in them This is just like the Prophet whom God sent to Bethel with an express command not to eat bread there he hearkened afterward to the old lying Prophet who pretending to have received a contrary message from God dissuaded him from what God had commanded for which he was slain by a Lion in his return And surely all men have great reason to expect the like recompence for their disobedience who forsake that which they verily believe is Gods Command and hearken to the Doctrins of men To this my Answer I shall give you another from a person of great Authority St. Austin a most eminent Doctor of the Church In one of his Epistles to St. Ierome he gives a clear judgment in this case First He tells us that when he reads the Holy Scriptures he entirely submits his own judgment to them and absolutely believes every thing there to be true meerly because it is contained there Gods Word is truth it cannot be otherwise therefore whether he understands it or no yet still he believes it truth But as for all other Writers he saith Alios autem ita lego ut quantalibet sanctitate doctrináque praepolleant non ideo verum putem quia ita ipsi senserint sed quia mihi vel per illos autores canonicos vel probabili ratione quod à vero non abhorreant persuadere potuerint Other Writers I so read as that be they ever so Holy ever so Learned I do not therefore believe their opinion to be true because they thought so but so far only as they prove it true by Canonical Scripture or by such reasons as seem not to be contrary to the truth And then tells St. Ierome that he doubts not but he is of the same mind And as for my part I am fully of Saint Austins mind and farther think it
to be great impiety to be of another mind which I shall shew you by a familiar example Put the case an authentic Book of the Laws of England confirmed by Act of Parliament tells us There is one King of England namely Charles the Second and that we must all obey him who would not from hence undoubtedly conclude there is but one King Charles the Second whom we ought to obey But now come two or three esteemed great Doctors of the Law and tells us we are quite mistaken in the meaning of the Law which though it tells us there is one King yet from hence it doth not follow but that there may be more than one and we assure you there are a hundred Kings whom we ought to obey Were not this very absurd and contrary to all reason that the Law should formally declare unto us there is one King if there were a hundred or twenty or two yet forsooth we must quit our reason and believe these Lawyers there are a hundred Were not this directly to believe these Lawyers rather than the Law Just so the Scripture the Word of God tells us There is one Mediator between God and man the man Christ Iesus and that we ought to present our supplications to God by him from whence we undoubtedly conclude according to reason that there is but one Mediator But we meet with some great Doctors of the Church who tell us we are quite mistaken for though the Scripture name one yet notwithstanding there are a thousand Mediators Saints and Angels by whom we ought to present our supplications but shew us no other Scripture to make this good yet require us to believe it meerly because they tell us so were not this to forsake Gods Word and believe in man rather than in God which I say is downright Idolatry For the better understanding this my assertion I must shew you what Faith is Divine and Human. Divine faith is the gift of God saith St. Paul Eph. ii 8. a grace infused into our minds by God whereby we believe his holy Word to be so true as that 't is impossible it should be otherwise and though it seem contrary to our reason yet it captivates our understanding in obedience to the faith and makes us believe it meerly because God said it Human faith is when we believe upon the Authority of another man who tells us such a thing because we believe him an understanding and honest man he will not easily be mistaken or deluded nor will he tell a lie Yet we know the wisest may be deceived and the truest may tell a lie So that all Human belief still supposes a possibility at least that it may not be true Herein then lies the difference between Divine faith and Humane That there is no possibility of untruth in Divine faith Therefore we say that we believe in God we entirely submit and captivate our understanding to Gods Word he is truth it self But when we speak of man we say that we believe man not that we believe in man for this implies an impossibility of untruth in that man and we undoubtedly believe the thing meerly because he spake it Such a belief is due only unto God and is called Divine Faith and is a supernatural gift of God unto us There is no such thing in nature the natural man receiveth not the things of God neither can be know them because they are spiritually discerned 1 Cor. ii 14. Having thus informed you what Divine and Humane Faith is I come now to the business of Idolatry I say then To believe in man that is to believe any thing to be infallibly true meerly because such a man said it and to venture your Salvation on it is directly Idolatry yea though an Angel said it For in so believing in man or Angel you make him God I mean you worship him as God Yea it is the greatest Idolatry you can perform for you give him the principal and greatest worship of God To offer incense to sacrifice Rams and Bulls is nothing to this Idolatry nay to sacrifice your own body to man is much inferior to it for 't is but sacrificing so much dirt One Soul is worth a hundred bodies of beasts or men and therefore to sacrifice your Soul and your reason the principal highest faculty of your Soul to captivate your understanding in obedience to faith in man is the highest act of Divine Worship and consequently to give this to man is most abominable Idolatry And contrariwise to worship God with our Soul and captivate our understanding in obedience to faith in him is the most acceptable service we can possibly perform this is the justifying act the saving grace this alone acquires Heaven and without this the whole world cannot purchase it Without this faith 't is impossible to please God Heb. xi 6. and with this Abraham so pleased God as that God thereupon promised to multiply his seed as the stars of Heaven and as the sand which is upon the sea shore and that all the nations of the world should be blessed in him Gen. xxii 17 18. I hope you are now fully satisfied that to believe in any man ever so learned ever so holy is great Idolatry for therein you make him God God hath three peculiar Attributes Unus Verus Bonus God is one God is true God is good Our Saviour questioned that man that called him good Why callest thou me good there is none good but one that is God Mark x. 17 18. As if he had said Why callest thou me good dost thou believe me to be God otherwise thou oughtest not to call me good So we may say Why call you this man true Do you believe him God for there is none true but God no man perfectly true so true but he may be deceived or false And therefore the Psalmist saith All men are liars that is all men have by nature the vice of falshood in them as well as other vices and so 't is not only possible but probable also that any man may tell a lie if God give him not the grace of truth Much more is it possible and probable for any man to be deceived and speak a falshood though he intend it not God only is perfectly true he can neither deceive nor be deceived But now perchance you think to wave this Idolatry which I have laid to your charge by answering that you do not believe in the Fathers of the Church as you believe in God you do not worship them with Divine faith Say you so what then with Humane faith only Why then I am sure your Humane faith shall never save you you were as good lay it by we are saved only by Divine faith not of our selves it is the gift of God But what if your Saints in whom you believe work miracles then you will say you believe in them with a Divine and saving faith their miracles being wrought by the power