A SERMON PREACHED before the KING AT White-Hall MAY the Seventh MDCLXXVI BY JOHN SVDBVRY D.D. And DEAN of Durham Chaplain in Ordinary to His MAJESTY Published by His Majesties special Command In the SAVOY Printed by T. Newcomb and are to be sold by John Herringman next to the Fountain-Tavern in the Strand 1676. 1 TIM 3.15 The Pillar and Ground of the Truth THE care of all the Churches which lay upon St. Paul would neither suffer him to keep a constant residence upon any one of them nor to leave them as Sheep without a Shepherd to have that care of them in his absence which he himself had when he was present with them And therefore having spent some time at Ephesus he departed from thence into Macedonia leaving the care of that Church to Timothy and wrote this Epistle to him to let him know how he ought to behave himself in so excellent and worthy a Province as that was which he had committed to him as he tells him in this and the former Verse These things write I unto thee hoping to come unto thee shortly But if I tarry long that thou mayst know how thou oughtest to behave thy self in the House of God which is the Church of the living God the Pillar and Ground of the Truth In which words he sets before him the Dignity of that Church which he had committed to his care in three excellent Titles The House of God The Church of the living God The Pillar and Ground of the Truth Every one of which is very worthy of a distinct and particular Consideration but this last hath the most need of it because it hath been very much perplex'd with a great deal of work about it to make it serve the pride and ambition of a Church of which there is not so much as any mention throughout the whole Epistle All the Greatness of the Church of Rome the Soveraignty of Power and Jurisdiction which it claims over all other Churches the Infallibility of all her Doctrines and an Immoveable Station in the Truth from which it can never fall are charged upon this Text but how unreasonably we shall see in the Examination of these three Particulars I. The Church which is here called The Pillar and Ground of the Truth II. The Truth of which this Church is The Pillar and Ground III. The importance of these words The Pillar and Ground of the Truth Where it will not be hard to make it clear and evident that this pretended infallible Oracle of Truth is very much mistaken in every one of these Particulars The Church The Truth and The Pillar and Ground For the Church of which St. Paul speaks in these words was not the Church of Rome The Truth of which he speaks was not the Truth of which the Church of Rome takes upon it to be the Pillar and Ground The Pillar and Ground in their sense is not the sense of St. Paul and in the sense of St. Paul there was not any Church in the World to which this Honour of being the Pillar and Ground of the Truth was not more due than it is to the present Church of Rome And first for the Church nothing can be more clear and evident than that the Church of which St. Paul speaks in these words was not the Church of Rome but the Church of Ephesus for Timothy to whom he wrote this Epistle was not the Bishop of Rome but of Ephesus There St. Paul left him when he departed from thence into Macedonia and he left him to abide there and to do the Office of a Bishop there as he tells him at the beginning of this Epistle I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus when I went into Macedonia that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other Doctrine This Church of Ephesus is called the Pillar and Ground of the Truth not as it was the Local Church of Ephesus divided from all other Churches as the City of Ephesus was divided from all other Cities Nor as the Visible Head of them all But as it was one with them all in the Communion of that one Catholick and Apostolick Church of which that and all particular Churches were so many Parts and Members Which one Catholick and Apostolick Church was One not by a corporal assembling together in one place but by an unanimous profession of one and the same Catholick and Apostolick Faith and Doctrine and Discipline which was of more Power and Vertue to make them all one than any distance of place or difference of Laws Languages Customs Manners or any other difference among them could be to make them two Secondly Catholick because it was not limited to any Nation as the Church of the Israelites was confin'd to one Family which was the House of Jacob and all their Sacrifices to one place which was the Temple at Jerusalem but extended to all men every where without any distinction of Jews and Gentiles Barbarians Scythians bond and free male and female Thirdly Apostolick because that one Catholick Faith and Doctrine in which they were all join'd together in one was that which they all had received from the Apostles whose sound was gone out into all the Earth Rom. 10.18 and their words unto the ends of the World Now as that one Catholick and Apostolick Church was the Pillar and Ground of the Truth by their visible profession of that Truth as we shall see afterwards So particular Churches which made a visible profession of the same Catholick and Apostolick Truth were one with it and every one of them might be call'd a Pillar and Ground of the Truth especially such of them as were the most eminent and conspicuous and such was the Church of Ephesus For as the Churches of the East were more numerous and conspicuous when St. Paul wrote this Epistle than the Churches of the West so the Church of Ephesus was of great note and eminence among the Churches of the East It was as eminent a Church for the profession of the Truth of Christian Religion as the City of Ephesus was for Heathenish Idolatry and Superstition when it was a Worshipper of the great Goddess Diana and of the Image which fell down from Jupiter The Preaching of the Gospel had such an influence from that City Act. 19.10 which was the Metropolis of the lesser Asia that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus both Jews and Greeks The Men of Learning who had busied their Wits and spent much of their time in the study of Curious Arts were so taken with it as not only to renounce all further study of those Curious Arts but to shew their resolution never to return to that Study again they brought their Books together and burned them before all men Act. 19.19 20. and they counted the price of them and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver so mightily grew the Word of God and prevailed And the Crafts-men of
beside those many Pillars upon which Houses and Churches were built there were single Pillars erected by the Heathen to such purposes as do serve very well to express the sense of this Metaphor which the Apostle here useth by way of allusion to them As first There were Pillars which they rear'd up on high with Images of their Gods and Goddesses upon them sitting or standing or in some other posture to attract the eyes of men to look up to them with that Respect and Veneration which is due to Divine things Of such Pillars we read Lev. 26.1 Ye shall make you no Idols nor Graven Image neither rear you up a standing Image or Pillar as it is in the Margin Now as St. Paul saith of the Heathen Rom. 1.25 that they changed the Truth of God into a Lye and the Prophet Habakkuk calleth an Idol a Teacher of Lyes Hab. 2.18 So we may say of those Pillars of Idols they were Pillars of Lyes And in allusion to them the Church which sets up the true Worship of the true God above all the false Worship of all false gods to draw the eyes of all men to look up to it with that Veneration which is due to it may be called the Pillar and Ground of Truth Excelsa Columna according to that which the Prophet Isaiah foretold of it in another Metaphor Isai 2.2 It shall come to pass in the last days that the Mountain of the Lords House shall be established in the top of the Mountains and shall be exalted above the Hills and all Nations shall flow unto it But in this sense the Church of Rome is more like to those Pillars of the Heathen than any other Christian Church For though it doth not set up those Idols and Images of the Heathen to be worshipped it sets up Images and Creatures to be worshipped which are either made Idols or are in so much danger to be made Idols that by the Confession of Bellarmine they that worship God in an Image or in a Creature expose themselves to great peril and are forced to use the most subtil distinctions which learned men do not understand much less the ignorant and unlearned Secondly We read of many Pillars erected by the Heathen with Inscriptions upon them Inscriptions of Historical Narrations of which it may be some were true and some were fabulous and many other Inscriptions of Laws Leagues Covenants Precepts Decrees Mysteries c. in which sense the Metaphor of a Pillar is used Revel 3.12 Him that overcometh will I make a Pillar in the Temple of my God and I will write upon him the Name of my God and the Name of the City of my God which is the New Jerusalem which cometh down out of Heaven from my God and I will write upon him my new Name In this sense the Catholick and Apostolick Church which exposeth the Scriptures which Ireneus calleth the Pillar and Ground of the Faith of the Church and in which are written the Oracles of God his Laws Covenants Decrees Mysteries of his Will Histories of his Providence and many other Divine Truths to be as legible as Inscriptions upon a Pillar and every particular Church which makes a visible profession of all that Truth which it hath receiv'd from the Apostles and the whole Catholick and Apostolick Church so far forth as it is one with that Catholick and Apostolick Church is a Pillar and Ground of the Truth Inscripta Columna a Pillar bearing those Inscriptions upon it in such Characters as make them legible to all men But in this sense the Church of Rome cannot so well be called a Pillar and Ground of the Truth as other Churches 1. Because other Churches Hebrew Greek Persian Syrian Arabian Ethiopian have expos'd the Scriptures to be read in their Vulgar Tongue But the Church of Rome doth not expose the Scriptures to be read but in a Language which the greatest part of them that are concern'd to know the Truths which are reveal'd in them do not understand by which means they have kept the people in so great ignorance of the Scriptures that at the beginning of the Reformation many of them knew so little of the New Testament as-to believe that it was a Book which had been written by Luther 2. Because they set up unwritten Traditions of which it may be some are true and some are fabulous and make them all of equal Authority with the Scriptures 3. Because they make the Authority of the Scriptures so dependant upon their own Authority that without it they are of no more Authority than Esops Fables as some of them have said and others of them commend the saying 4. Because though they hold the Foundation they have built upon that Foundation such things as St. 1 Cor. 3.12 Paul calleth Wood Hay and Stubble and would make the World believe that they are Gold Silver Precious Stones which is not the part of a Pillar and Ground of Truth But Thirdly The Pillar and Ground of Truth as it is in the Text that is a Pillar set upon a Basis or Foundation which keeps it firm and stedfast is a very good expression of such a profession of the Truth as is without wavering In which sense St. Basil calleth Abraham a Pillar of Faith because when he was tempted with a great temptation He staggered not through Vnbelief Rom. 4.20 but was strong in the Faith And in an Epistle written by the Churches of Vienna and Lyons mentioned by Eusebius the Martyrs who suffer'd a great Persecution for their Faith and were not shaken in it are called Pillars and Atalus one of great note among them is called a Pillar and Ground of the Church And in this sense the Catholick and Apostolick Church may well be called the Pillar and Ground of the Truth Immota Columna a Pillar that stood unmoved upon that Ground on which it was set For though some Local Churches which were but as so many Candlesticks though they were of Gold have been removed the Catholick and Apostolick Church was so well setled upon a sure and strong Foundation that all the means which have been used to overthrow it have served to establish it Great Endeavours were us'd at first to prevent the setting up of this Pillar upon the Ground of it by them whom the Scripture calleth the Builders but the Destruction which they thought to bring upon the Pillar and the Ground fell upon themselves and the Destruction which fell upon themselves serv'd very much to the Edification of that Pillar and Ground of Truth which they sought to destroy No sooner was the Pillar set up upon the Ground but great Force and Violence was used to throw it down The Kings of the Earth were assembled and the Princes took counsel together against it as the Children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem Down with it down with it even to the ground But all the Force and Violence which they used to overthrow it
understood the less necessary they are to be known God who hath made the Fruits of the Earth which are necessary for the food and sustenance of men to grow upon the face of it where every eye may see them and every hand may gather them but hid the Mines of Gold and Silver which serve for Riches and Ornament in the Bowels of the Earth where they cannot be found but with much seeking nor be wrought out and purged from that Dross with which they are mixt but with great labour hath likewise made all that Truth which is necessary to feed the Souls of men to Eternal Life so easie to be found that we may say of that as the Wise-man saith of Wisdom Wisd 6.12 Wisdom is easily seen of them that love her and found of such as seek her But there be many other Truths which serve to inrich and adorn the Soul which he hath reserv'd to exercise and reward the labour and study of them that seek for them as for Silver and as for hidden Treasures If there were an Infallible Oracle to determine all Truths the easiness of coming to the knowledge of them would much abate and lessen the value and esteem of them but when the difficulty of finding them excites desire and desire stirs up labour and study and labour and study find that Truth which could not be found without it it is the more joyfully embrac'd and more stedfastly retain'd But Thirdly The Truth of which the Church is the Pillar and Ground is that Truth which is no where to be found but in the Church but is so manifest in the profession of the Church that they who cannot find it any where else may find it there For as in all Sciences there are some Truths which are proper and peculiar to them as Truths in Logick Truths in Natural and Moral Philosophy Truths in all Mathematical Sciences so there are some Truths in Divinity which are proper and peculiar to it which as they could never have been known but by Divine Revelation so they have been made known to the Apostles by the Spirit of Truth which was given to them to guide them into all Truth and by the Apostles to the Church Such is that which St. Paul calleth The Truth of the Gospel Col. 1.5 The Truth of Christ 2 Cor. 11.10 The Truth of God Rom. 15.8 And many times it is called Truth and the Truth without any note of difference from all other Truth Truth in opposition to the Religion of the Heathen as Truth is oppos'd to Falshood and Lyes Truth in opposition to the Religion of the Jews as Truth is oppos'd to Figures and Shadows Truth in opposition to all other Truth not as contrary to it for one Truth cannot be contrary to another but in a superlative sense the most excellent and most incomparable Truth For though all Truth is Truth yet as St. Paul saith of the Law and the Gospel compar'd together 2 Cor. 3.10 Even that which was made glorious had no glory by reason of the glory that excelleth So we may say of Truths in Philosophy and all Sciences compar'd with the Truth of the Gospel That which is Truth is not Truth in comparison of the Truth that excelleth Such is the Truth of which the Apostle speaks in the next words to these of the Text which some have joyn'd together expounding these words by them Without controversie great is the Mystery of Godliness God was manifest in the Flesh justified in the Spirit seen of Angels preached unto the Gentiles believed on in the World received in Glory The Truth which he calleth the Truth which is after Godliness in hope of Eternal Life which God that cannot lye promised before the World began but hath in due time manifested his Word through Preaching The Truth by which we are begotten again Jam. 1.18 Of his own Will begat he us again by the Word of Truth The Truth that maketh us Free-men Joh. 8.32 Ye shall know the Truth and the Truth shall make you free The sanctifying Truth Joh. 17.17 Sanctifie them with thy Truth thy Word is Truth The saving Truth 1 Tim. 2.4 God would have all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the Truth And this is the Truth of which the Church is the Pillar and Ground in the sense of St. Paul Now what sense that is follows in my third and last Particular which is the importance of these words The Pillar and Ground of the Truth Here are two words the Pillar and Ground but they are very well joyn'd together for they signifie two things which are joyn'd together in a Pillar that standeth firm and stedfast The former word signifieth that which we call the Body of the Pillar the latter word signifieth the Basis or Foundation or Foot of the Pillar both together fignifie a Pillar standing upon a Basis or Foundation But the Pillar and Ground of Truth is a Metaphorical Expression and Metaphors are apt to beget Mistakes for in every Metaphor there is something which is like and something which is not like and as when the Metaphor is taken from something wherein there is a likeness the Metaphorical Expression makes the sense more elegant and clear but when it is stretched to something wherein there is no likeness in stead of making the sense more clear it makes non-sense As in this Metaphor of the Pillar and Ground of Truth A Pillar or rather many Pillars upon which a House or Church is built as the Temple of Jerusalem was built upon many Pillars and so was the Temple of Diana at Ephesus the Pillars are as the Foundation upon which the House or Church is built as the Foot of the Pillar is to the Pillar which stands upon it But in this sense neither the Church of Ephesus nor the Church of Rome nor any National Church nor the whole Catholick and Apostolick Church could be well and truly called The Pillar and Ground of Truth because the Truth is not built upon the Church but the Church upon the Truth And as there could never have been a True Church if the Truth of the Church had not been before the Church so if the Truth be removed from the Church it is no longer a True Church There is no Power or Authority in any Church to make any thing a Truth which was not a Truth before The Apostles delivered the whole Faith to the Church and if all the Churches in the World should joyn together they cannot make one new Article of Faith All that they can do is to deliver what they have receiv'd from them who have delivered what they also received till we come at last to the Apostles who delivered what they also receiv'd from the Spirit of Truth by which they were led into all that Truth which could not otherwise be made known to them and assisted in delivering those Truths which were by other infallible proofs made known to them But