you that ye love one another Have a sincere and hearty Affection for all Christian People and imitate not the Romanists who are out of Charity with the far greatest part of the Christian World. This Love of God and of our Brethren which are inseparable is the fruit of Faith and of Prayer without which they are nothing worth We must not only lift up our Hands to God which is a description of Prayer but lift up our Hands also unto his Commandments which we have loved Psal cxix 48. which is to do God's Will with a sincere Affection to it Without such fruits of Faith we shall not be able to stand fast in time of Temptation as Men built upon a Rock No our Lord hath told us that they who hear his Word and do it not are like to a Man that built his House upon the Sand which is soon overturned If we profess then this Faith which St. Peter confessed that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the Living God which is the Foundation of Christianity let us be faithful and obedient unto him in all things For what he hath bidden us do as well as what he hath bidden us believe comes with the very same Authority and ought to be look'd upon as the words of the ever living God by his only begotten Son whom he hath sent to reclaim the World both from their Infidelity and from their Impiety This is part of the Foundation of our Religion that we renounce all Wickedness as well as that we believe our Lord Jesus to be the eternal Son of God. So St. Paul teaches us as we translate his words 2 Tim. ii 19. The Foundation of God standeth sure having this Seal The Lord knoweth them that are his And let every one that nameth the Name of Christ depart from Iniquity As much as to say this a setled Truth in the Christian Religion that they are Christ's they alone are known or approved by him who so profess Belief in him as to depart from Iniquity A profession of his Faith we ought to make but not content our selves with that alone We must add something to it and St. Peter tell us what 2 Pet. i. 5 6 7. Add to your Faith Vertue and to Vertue Knowledg and to Knowledg Temperance and to Temperance Patience and to Patience Godliness and to Godliness brotherly Kindness and to brotherly Kindness Charity For if these things be in you and abound they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the Knowledg of our Lord Jesus Christ And so as St. Jude teaches you in the last place Fourthly You may look for the Mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto Eternal Life That is have a good hope to be saved in the day of the Lord by the great Grace and Mercy of God in Christ Jesus Stedfastly expect this and wait for it with a patient hope whatsoever any Man can say to discourage you Let it not shake you nor make you doubt of the Mercy of God in this way unto which the Holy Ghost directs us all the Power to which the Pope pretends from St. Peter shall never be able to shut you out of Heaven He may shut out himself by his unjust Usurpations and by his Uncharitableness and by his unwarrantable Additions to the Christian Doctrine and Religion but none of those who trust in God after this manner which I have declared shall ever be confounded Let him thunder and lighten as much as he pleases it shall never hurt and therefore should not fright any of those pious Souls nor shall their hope ever make them ashamed The sound of Damnation perpetually in their Ears they ought to hear as an empty noise and vain words which should not so much as startle much less terrify them or turn them out of the way wherein they are All the Conceit which others may have of their own Merits and of the Merits of the Saints and of the Treasures of their Church and the Indulgences of the Pope shall never avail them so much as the Mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ towards those who look for his appearing unto Eternal Life by an holy Faith and by ardent Devotion and by unfeigned Love to God and to all Christian People Which cannot fail to commend us sufficiently unto him who is able as it follows in St. Jude to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before the presence of his Glory with exceeding Joy. You ought not to question it nor suffer others to raise doubts in your Minds about it but in assured hope of it continually bless and praise the Father of Mercies who hath called you into his Church chosen you to be his People wrought Faith and Love and hope of Eternal Life in you saying as he concludes his Epistle To the only Wise God our Saviour be Glory and Majesty Dominion and Power both now and ever Amen FINIS ERRATA PAge 6. line 14. for would not read could not P. 24. l. 14. Marg. r. Faelix iii. P. 30. l. antepen r. the greatest P. 33. l. 19. r. that they make P. 41. l. 21. f. prevent r. pervert P. 45. l. 18. r. next Chapter but one P. 51. l. 17. r. next Chapter but one P. 56. l. 23. r. next Chapter but one An Advertisment Of Books printed for Richard Chiswell THE History of the Reformation of the Church of England By GILBERT BVRNET D. D. in two Volumes Folio The Moderation of the Church of England in her Reformation in avoiding all undue Compliances with Popery and other sorts of Phanaticisms c. By TIMOTHY PVLLER D. D. Octavo A Dissertation concerning the Government of the Ancient Church more particularly of the Encroachments of the Bishops of Rome upon other Sees By WILLIAM CAVE D. D. Octavo An Answer to Mr. Serjeants Sure Footing in Christianity concerning the Rule of Faith With some other Discouses By WILLIAM FALKNER D. D. Quarto A Vindication of the Ordinations of the Church of England in Answer to a Paper written by one of the Church of Rome to prove the Nullity of our Orders By GILBERT BVRNET D. D. Octavo The History of the Gunpowder Treason collected from Approved Authors as well Popish as Protestant With a Vindication of the said History and of the Proceedings and Matters relating thereunto from the Exceptions which have been made against it and more especially of late Years by the Author of the Catholick Apology and others Quarto A Relation of the barbarous and bloody Massacre of about an hundred thousand Protestants begun at Paris and carried on over all France in the Year 1572. Collected out of Mezeray Thuanus and other Approved Authors Quarto The Apology of the Church of England and an Epistle to one Signior Scipio a Venetian Gentleman concerning the Council of Trent Written both in Latin by the Right Reverend Father in God JOHN JEWEL Lord Bishop of Sarisbury Made English by a Person of Quality To which is added The Life of the said Bishop Collected and written by the same Hand Octavo A Letter writ by the last Assembly General of the Clergy of France to the Protestants inviting them to return to their Communion Together with the Methods proposed by them for their Conviction Translated into English and examined By GILB BVRNET D. D. Octavo The Life of WILLIAM BEDLE D. D. Bishop of Kilmore in Ireland Together with certain Letters which passed betwixt him and James Waddesworth a late Pensioner of the Holy Inquisition in Sevil in matter of Religion concerning the General Motives to the Roman Obedience Quarto The Decree made at Rome the second of March 1679. condemning some Opinions of the Jesuits and other Casuists Quarto A Discourse concerning the Necessity of Reformation with respect to the Errors and Corruptions of the Church of Rome Quarto First and Second Parts A Discourse concerning the Celebration of Divine Service in an unknown Tongue Quarto A Papist not misrepresented by Protestants Being a Reply to the Reflections upon the Answer to A Papist Misrepresented and Represented Quarto An Exposition of the Doctrine of the Church of England in the several Articles proposed by the late Bishop of Condom in his Exposition of the Doctrine of the Catholick Church Quarto A Defence of the Exposition of the Doctrine of the Church of England against the Exceptions of Monsieur de Meaux late Bishop of Condom and his Vindicator 4º A CATECHISM explaining the Doctrine and Practices of the Church of Rome With an Answer thereunto By a Protestant of the Church of England Octavo The Second Edition corrected with a Vindication of a Passage in the said Catechism from the Exceptions made against it in A Reply to the Answer of the Amicable Accommodation
Imprimatur JO. BATTELY Oct. 14. 1686. A SERMON PREACHED UPON St. Peter's Day Printed at the Desire of Some that heard it WITH SOME ENLARGEMENTS By a Divine of the Church of ENGLAND LONDON Printed for Ric. Chiswell at the Rose and Crown in St. Pauls Church-Yard MDCLXXXVII A SERMON PREACHED UPON Saint PETER 's Day c. MATTH XVI 18. beginning And I say also unto thee that thou art Peter and upon this Rock I will build my Church THE Text as we call it is part of the Gospel for this Day and according to the Interpretation which some give of it it is the whole Gospel of Christ These two Words PETER and CHURCH being so comprehensive that if they be well learnt there needs no further pains to come acquainted with all the rest of the Christian Religion For in PETER who they say is the Rock here spoken of all the Bishops of Rome in all succeding Ages are included who inherit the very same Prerogative which St. Peter had of being the Foundation of the Church Which CHURCH say they is nothing else but that Body of Men and Women who are united unto the Roman Bishop as their Head From whom all Ecclesiastical Power is derived unto all other Pastors of the Church Over whom and consequently over all Christians he hath a Soveraign Authority to declare the Rule of Faith to determine the Canonical Books of Scripture and the Traditionary Word In brief To be as infallible a Guide in the way to Heaven as Saint Peter was So that if any Man would know infallibly what the Christian Religion is he need be at no more trouble but only to enquire of that Church which adheres to him as the Foundation and resign up himself to the belief of whatsoever it teaches him because it cannot possibly teach him amiss These are wonderful things and we are highly concerned to examine whether there be ground enough in this Speech of our Saviour for the Church of Rome to raise upon it so large so high so glorious a Structure to it self as this is Because if it appear that our Lord did give not only to Saint Peter but to all the Roman Bishops and to them alone this Universal Pastorship and Power to Teach to Rule and Govern all Christians of whatsoever sort they be we must without any Contradiction obediently submit unto it and have not so much as this liberty left us To enquire whether the Roman Bishops do not extend their Power too far in commanding us to do those things which are directly contrary to the Commands of Him from whom all Power comes Because tho we think we see clearly that they do yet we must not believe our own eyes but them who tell us they do not On the contrary if it can be demonstrated that our Saviour in these Words to St. Peter did not confer any such power upon him much less upon all that succeed in the Roman See we shall discern how little reason we have to commit our selves to the Guidance of that Church which builds upon such a sandy Foundation And that it is our certain duty to adhere to the Constitutions of this Church of England whereof we are Members which not only teaches That no manner of Obedience and Subjection is due to any such Forreign Power but commands us who are Ministers in it To use the utmost of our Wit Knowledg and Learning purely and sincerely without any Colour or Dissimulation to teach manifest open and declare four times every Year at least that all such Power is for just Causes taken away and abolished In obedience to which Injunction which is the An. 1603. very first Canon of our Church I shall in this Discourse endeavour according to the best of my Understanding and most diligent Enquiry to give you the Genuine and Sincere Meaning of those Words which are the prime Foundation of that high Claim now mentioned and that as they were expounded in the first and best Times of the Church when the Doctors of it were not engaged in those unhappy Controversies which now disturb or rather distract the Christian World. And if I prove That neither the Apostles after they heard these Words from Christ no not St. Peter himself who is said to be most nay only concerned in them nor the Ancient Bishops that succeeded them no not the Bishops of Rome themselves when they on purpose treat of these Words did think of any such Monarchy it may be truly called as is now built upon them you will conclude that this is a new Doctrine and that the Asserters and Maintainers of it not we who oppose it deserve the Name of Innovators in Religion And for the clearer Exposition of them I think it will be necessary First To observe the Occasion upon which they were spoken and from thence proceed Secondly To show in what sense they were anciently understood And Lastly What Inferences and Deductions are necessarily to be made from their Interpretations PART I. The Occasion of the Words THE meaning of these Words of Christ will be better understood when we have well weighed the occasion on which they were spoken which was this The Opinion and Discourse of the Country concerning our blessed Saviour which was thus reported to him by his Disciples when he askt them about it vers 14. Some say that thou art John the Baptist some Elias and others Jeremias or one of the Prophets That is there were very various and uncertain Opinions conceived of him for tho they all agreed in general he was a great Man nay a Man of God as they called the Prophets yet they were not resolved much less setled in any particular determinate notion of him To try therefore the Proficiency of those who were constantly bred in his School he asks what their Opinion was vers 15. But whom say ye that I am Unto which Simon Peter makes this reply vers 16. Thou art Christ the Son of the Living God. The Question ye may observe is propounded to them all not to Peter alone He doth not say Peter whom dost thou say that I am But he saith unto them that is to his Disciples before mentioned Whom say ye that I am Unto the same Persons of whom he enquired Whom do men say that I am v. 13. He now saith But whom say ye that I am And yet the Answer to this Question is not returned by them all or by several of them as before but by one only Simon Peter answered and said c. What should be the reason of this The plainest and most undoubted answer is That there was no difference of Opinion among them as there was among the common People but they were all of one mind in this matter and therefore no more offered to speak but one because they had all but one thing to say That he was Christ the Son of the Living God. To the first Question one of them alone would not return an Answer
else but this that the Church is built upon Christ by Faith in him which was professed and preached by Peter and by the rest of the Apostles Christ is in proper speaking the Rock and the Foundation upon which the whole Church relies Peter was an eminent Minister of his and so were the other Apostles to lay this Foundation that is to Preach and declare him to the World and perswade Men to believe on him upon whom they themselves were built as their Foundation They first believed on him and then were co-workers with him to bring others to the Faith and lastly after they were dead that Faith which they confessed and taught still remained to be preached by their Successors in all Ages as the Doctrine on which we must stand and to which we must hold if we intend to be owned by Christ as Members of his Church So all these Expositions agree very well and do not cross one another for when the Fathers use sometimes one word sometimes another they still mean the same thing If they say S. Peter is the Rock they mean only as a Minister that laid the Foundation-stone and then so was S. Paul too who calls himself a chief Master-builder If they say Faith is the Rock they mean a belief of this Doctrine that Jesus is the Son of the living God which is the first Principle of the Christian Religion And if they say the faithful are the Rock for so some of them have spoken they mean that being built upon this Faith in Christ they also profess maintain and support it For in effect as I said all these Interpretations meet in one Christ being the Principal cause of all Peter a Ministerial or Instrumental cause by preaching Christ while he lived and perswading Men to joyn themselves to him and become a Church and their belief of that which he and the rest of the Apostles preached concerning Christ Jesus was both then and after they were dead the means whereby they were joyned to Christ He and the Doctrine concerning him was the Foundation upon which all were built by the Ministry of Peter and his fellow Apostles who squared and fastened Men unto this living Stone upon whom being setled by Faith in him they became themselves living Stones as S. Peter speaks in the place before-mentioned and were built up a Spiritual House or Temple an Holy Priesthood to offer up Spiritual Sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ I will conclude this with an excellent saying of S. Chrysostom * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. who speaking of S. Paul and what he had preach'd and done says When I mention Paul it is as if I had said Christ himself For Christ moved and inspired that blessed Soul Christ spake by him and his Voice was the Voice of Christ Which I may fitly apply to the present matter and say as truly of S. Peter when he is named Christ is named and nothing else is meant but that upon him that is upon Christ should by him or speaking in him the Church should be built Thus it is certain Tertullian understood these words which he thus interprets the Church is built on him that is by him †In ipso Ecclesia exstructa est id est per ipsum L. de pudicitia C. XXI But not on him that is by him alone III. For that is a farther piece of injustice to make these words spoken only to Peter who I have shown was the mouth of the Apostles in the confession he made and spake the sense of them all and therefore in all reason this reply of our Saviour's is to be thought intended to them all who were as much Rocks or foundations of the Church as he For did not our Lord propound the question to them all in those words whom do you say that I am v. 15. And if he askt them the question did he not expect their Answer Where then shall we find that Answer unless the Foreman delivered in the sense of the whole Body and in the name of the rest of his Brethren made this declaration Thou art Christ the Son of the living God Which is affirmed I have told you by S. Austin and others who say Peter answers one for all Now if they all made this confession then they were all concerned in our Saviours reply who tells him and in him tells them that upon this Rock that is himself which they confessed he would build his Church by their Ministry that is by their constant preaching what they had now confessed And thus Venerable Bede our Countryman understood this matter in his Homily upon S. Peter where he hath these very words Nam sicut interrogatis generaliter omnibus c. For as when all were askt in general who he was Peter answered one for all So what our Lord answered to Peter in Petro omnibus respondit in Peter he answered to all the Apostles Thus even common reason taught Men to expound words when it was not swayed by prejudice interest or any private affection Which when we suffer to intermeddle they prevent our judgment and make strange glosses upon Gods word casting a mist before our eyes when the light of divine truth clearly shines into them An instance of which we have in the Rhemists Annotations on these words who could not but see that the Fathers do some time say if they could have spoke out they would have siad do very often or rather most commonly say the Church is bult on Peter 's Faith But immediately as if darkness had come on a sudden upon them they add the Fathers meant not that it should be built upon Faith either separate from the Man or in any other Man as we they say unlearnedly take them but upon Faith as in him who here confessed that Faith. Which is as much as to say the Church is built upon Peter's Faith alone and not upon the same Faith in any other Apostle If this be Christian learning it is very new never thought of till of late as will more fully appear in the following Considerations IV. If we should grant that thèse words of Christ were spoken only to him yet it is very unjust to understand them exclusively of all the rest For we may as well argue that Christ intended S. Peter only should draw Men to him by preaching the Gospel and so the rest of the Apostles have nothing to do because he said to him alone and not to James and John who were his Partners Simon fear not from henceforth thou shalt catch men Luke V. 10. as that he intended him alone to be the Rock because he said only to him Thou art Peter c. without any mention of the rest of the Apostles Who ought not to be thought excluded unless there had been some such word of restriction as limited the sense to S. Peter only and barred their claim to a joynt share in this grant for the Church may be built on