Almighty against every such refractory opposer of the Truth which he should obey There is no exception from this Rule for as it there follows v. 11. there is no respect of persons with God. Would to God they would seriously lay this to heart who now seem to be possessed with a mighty Zeal for Truth and for a right Faith that they be not so deceived by this warm Zeal as to miss the end of Faith the Salvation of their Souls which can by no means be obtained no not by Faith it self without an Holy Life PART II. What it is to be a Pillar and Ground of Truth and to whom this Office belongs HAving shown with some care what the Truth is of which S. Paul speaks which was the first thing I propounded the two next may be explained together with less pains viz. what and who is the Pillar and Ground of these great Truths which are necessary to be believed by all that will be saved I. And as for the first of these they of the Church of Rome would have us by a Pillar and Ground to understand that which is the very Foundation of our Faith that upon whose Credit and Authority all Christian Truth and the certainty of our Religion depends For taking it for granted that the Church is this Pillar and presuming also that they only are the Church they thence infer that we can be sure of no Truth but from them and that they give authority and certainty to the very Word of God it self and likewise whatsoever the Church i. e. they declare to be Truth is therefore to be received insomuch that if they make any new Articles or Faith we are to give a full assent to them because all Truth depends upon the credit of their Church This sounds strangely in the Ears of those that are not accustomed to such Language and may be thought perhaps a misrepresentation of their Doctrine But â—â—â—larmine to name no more vouches this to be the Catholique sense of this place and from the words Pillar and Ground of Truth proves that the Church cannot err either in Believing or in Teaching (y) L. II. de Concil 〈◊〉 c. 2. and again that whatsoever the Church approves is true and whatsoever it disapproves is false (z) L. III. de 〈◊〉 Milit. c. 14. But this only shows that they are hard put to it to find proofs for their high pretences For it will appear in the process of this Discourse first that it can never be proved the words Pillar and Ground have respect to the Church and not rather to Timothy for which there is good Authority as well as Reason I shall let the Authority alone till its proper place and only note Secondly That there is good reason not to refer this to the Church for having called the Church a House it doth not seem a congruous speech immediately to call the same Church a Pillar as on the other side it is very agreeable to call Timothy a Pillar in that House and to wish him to behave himself therein like other great Persons to whom in other places he gives the name of Pillars But Thirdly if it do relate to the Church it no more concerns the Church of Rome than any other Church and immediately relates to the Church of Ephesus in which Timothy presided Which Church of Ephesus (a) Concil Floreat 〈◊〉 ult with other Churches of the East condemned this Headship of the Bishop of Rome upon which they build a Soveraignty over our Faith. And further if we should suppose Fourthly That the Apostle respects the Church Universal and likewise that it is not only bound in duty to be but also actually is the Pillar and Ground of Truth yet Lastly it can never be proved that he speaks of any other Truth but those grand Fundamental Articles of Faith those Catholique Doctrines which were once delivered to the Saints and which blessed be God are maintained in every Church to this day not of all truth whatsoever much less of an absolute freedom from all manner of error For letting these things alone at present I shall shew that this is all that can be meant by the Pillar and Ground of Truth if it refer to the Church as I am content to admit not that the Church as they absurdly affirm is the very foundation of our Faith upon which it relyes but that it firmly retains upholds and professes the Christian Truth against all the force violence and opposition of Earth and Hell of Men and Devils that indeavour to overthrow it That this is the natural import of the phrase I will manifest First from the propriety of the words Secondly from clear reason and the Holy Scripture I. First from the propriety of the words in the Greek Language In which 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 frequently signifies such a Pillar as stood before their common Halls and Courts of Judicature upon which the Decrees and Orders of the Court were wont to hang or be fixed Unto which Tertullian alludes when speaking of an Article of the Creed in the place above named * L. de Resurrect Carnis C. 18. he saith Vnum opinor apud omnes EDICTVM DEI PENDET I suppose one Edict of God hangs up among all viz. to be read by them having just askt before quonam titulo Spes ista proscripta est by what TITLE this hope viz. of the resurrection is proposed and held forth to all And the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ground signifies not the foundation but the Seat where any thing is placed so as to be settled and laid up to remain and abide there And at the most can mean no more than the stay or establishment the seat or settlement of Truth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Oecumenius renders it the confirmation of truth or if we will have these words allude to a building because the Church is here called the House of the living God as elsewhere the Temple of God which is the same they signifie no more but supporters and upholders without which the edifice would fall to the ground And the most we can make of them when they are applied to the Church with respect to the truth is this that the Church sustains and keeps it from sinking or falling as a Pillar firmly setled upon a Basis sustains and upholds the fabrick laid upon it This consists in these three things which I shall distinctly though but briefly mention for the Reader 's clear information in this matter First The Church is that Body of Men which preserves and keeps which maintains and holds up the Christian Faith which God hath committed to its care as he did to the Jews the Divine Oracles delivered in old times And as the Church will answer it to God and not be guilty of betraying its trust it must constantly preserve the truth committed to it that it be not lost and do not perish This might be divided into two that the Church
is the keeper and Conservator of all the Holy Scriptures and the Divine Truths contained therein and that by faithful keeping them it upholds and supports the Truth as a Pillar doth the building which rests upon it But this is sufficiently included in what follows Secondly the Church is not only to preserve the Truth but to profess it and to give attestation to it that is to bear witness that this is the Truth of God and this alone which he hath revealed for the Salvation of Mankind By which means it doth not only hold up the Truth but hold it out to others as the Sacred Edict or Decree of God which all are to take notice of and observe And so Thirdly It is by this means to promote and propagate the Truth and not let it fall to the ground as a building doth when the Pillars that supported it are removed In brief As Heretical Churches were the Pillars and Stays of falshood they maintained and defended it they testified to it and indeavour'd to continue it and leave it to Posterity just so is the Church of Christ the Pillar and Ground of Truth it professes the Christian Faith it maintains it as the Truth of God and notwithstanding all the persecutions troubles losses torments whereby its Enemies would shake the constancy of those who maintain the Truth they testifie to it and declare to future Generations that this as S. Peter speaks is the true grace of God wherein we stand This is the first consideration to assure us of the true meaning of these words II. The Second is as strong for plain reason makes it evident that this not the other is the sense of them The Church that is cannot be the very foundation upon which the Truth is built not that which gives it authority and makes it to be Truth for the quite contrary is declared by Truth it self that the Truth is the foundation upon which the Church is built and which makes it to be a Church So S. Paul instructs this very Church of Ephesus who were built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner Stone in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth into an holy Temple in the Lord In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit II. Ephes 18 19 20. It was therefore a Church of Christ because it held the Truth which He and his Apostles taught And so a great number of the Ancient Fathers expound those words of Christ to S. Peter Thou art Peter and upon this Rock i. e. upon the confession of Faith which thou hast made upon that Truth thou hast confest I will build my Church Matth. XVI We can own no Society of Men to be a Church of Christ unless they profess the true Faith of Christ And therefore the true Faith must be known before we can know whether they be a true Church or no who call themselves by that Name and consequently they do not give authority to the Truth but the Truth to them because the Truth must be supposed before they can have any authority Observe the above recited words I beseech you which say the Church is built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets c. i. e. upon the Truth revealed by them in the Gospel It is a Church by holding and believing this for if this be not the thing which makes a company of Men to be a Church of the living God tell me why the Mahometans are not his Church They are a society of Men professing some belief and having some truth and devotion and being governed by Laws as well as we There is no reason why they belong not to the Church of Christ but because they have not the Truth as it is in Christ Therefore the Church doth not make the Truth but the Truth makes the Church the Truth doth not rely upon the Church because it is before the Church which relies upon it Which was the Doctrine of the Church it self in after Ages as it were easie to shew if I intended to write a great Book I will content my self with two Testimonies in ancient times the one is of S. Chrysostome who thus expounds these very words the Church of the living God the Pillar and Ground of Truth Not like that Judaical Temple saith he for this is it which keeps together and contains the Faith and the preaching or Doctrine 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 For the Truth is both the Pillar and the Ground or foundation of the Church The other is S. Austin in his third Book upon the Creed to the Catechumens (c) Tom. IX which begins thus You know this viz. the Creed to be the foundation of the Cathlique Faith upon which the edifice of the Church arose being built by the hands of the Apostles and Prophets And with this of Gabriel Biel in latter Ages (d) L. 3 in sentent Dist 25. Dub. 3. Catholique truths without any approbation of the Church are in the nature of the thing immutable and immutably true and so are to be accounted unchangeably Catholique Which brings to mind another remarkable saying of S. Austin who after he had produced in his first and second Books against Julian the Pelagian the testimonies of XI great Doctors viz. Irenaeus Cyprian Reticius Olympius Hilarius Ambrosius Innocentius where by the way it is observable he mentions the Bishop of Rome only as one of the eminent Bishops not as Head of them all Gregory Nyssen Basil of Caesarea John Chrysostom Hierom makes this reflection upon their consent which he lookt upon as the voyce of the Catholique Church Qui tamen veritati auctoritatem non suo tribuêre consensu c. who notwithstanding did not give authority to the Truth by their consent but received testimony and glory by partaking of the Truth They endeavour indeed to put by such evident conviction as this by a little distinction that though in it self the Church is built upon the Truth yet in respect to us the Truth is built upon the Church Which appears already to be a vain conceit unto those who consider that the Church cannot be the foundation of Truth to us unless we first know it to be the true Church of Christ and indued with this priviledge from God to be the Ground of Truth in this sense which I am now confuting But whence should we know this If it be said from the Truth which it professes then the Church is not the Foundation of the Truth to us for we must know the Truth before we can know that to be the true Church which calls it self the Foundation If we say from the Church then the Church is the Pillar and Ground of it self and we believe it to be the true Church because it says it is Which is so absurd and dangerous that the Mahometans as I said will be as true a Church as any else they may boldly put
in for their share of this priviledge Nay if confidence and power can carry it ingross it wholly to themselves It remains therefore that this is the true sense of the words which I have given The Church keeps the Truth and keeps it up It is the Conservator of it and preserves it from falling to the ground it proclaims it and holds it forth to others it continues the truth in the World and settles it in mens minds but it self is built upon this Truth not the Truth upon it Which derives its authority from God who sent Jesus Christ into the World to teach us his will and gave him power to send his Apostles as he had sent him God bearing them witness with signs and wonders and with divers miracles and gifts of the Holy Ghost according to his own will. This will be the more plainly laid open if I spend a little time in showing what is here meant by the Church which is commonly thought to be the Pillar and Ground of Truth and was the third thing propounded in the beginning to be explained III. The Church or House of God signifies every where a company of Christians united under their Pastors unto Christ their Head by a sincere Faith and joyned one to another by Brotherly love and communion Where ever we find such a Society of Men and Women there is a Church and all the Societies of this kind throughout the World make up that which we call the Catholique or Vniversal Church the whole body of Christ or Christian Church Of which the Church of Ephesus here spoken of was a part one eminent company of Christians professing the truly Catholique Faith and joyned to Timothy as their chief Pastor for the worship and service of Christ and for to be the Pillar and Ground of Truth as these words must be interpreted if they relate unto the Church They indeed who are now of the Roman Communion understand by the Church only the Pastors of the Church And some of them this Church representative as it may be called that is the whole assembly of Christian Bishops as many as can meet together representing all the Churches under their care But others understand only one Bishop alone the Pope of Rome who is then the Church Virtual in whom all the power of all the Bishops in the World is united But as there are no such notions of the Word Church in Scripture so if they be applied to this place they will appear very wild fancies unto any Man who will soberly consider the scope of it For it is very evident that the Church is here mentioned as distinct from Timothy who was the prime Pastor of it and who is directed how to behave himself in it Therefore if this Church was the Pillar of Truth the whole multitude of Believers at Ephesus united under him and the rest of their Pastors must be lookt upon as having an interest in this great priviledge and honour as well as duty to be the Conservators and Supporters of the Christian Faith which they had received For S. Paul as I said is instructing Timothy how to demean himself in this Society which he calls the House or family of God that is among true Believers in Christ formed into a Society under the Government of their Guides who were to take the greater care that every one in the Church was well taught instructed and ordered because they were the Pillar and Ground of Truth This made S. Paul very solicitous that Timothy should carry himself well and be a good Pastor in that Church of which the Holy Ghost had made him chief Overseer And not knowing when he might have opportunity to see him and give him personal instruction by word of mouth he wrote this Letter to him for his direction that he might fully understand how to discharge this Office. And therefore these words it appears by the verse foregoing v. 14. relate partly to what went before and partly to what follows These things write I unto thee hoping to come unto thee shortly but if I tarry long that thou mayest 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 Truth And without controversie great is the mystery of godliness c. Which whole Paragraph is to be understood as if he had said in more words Though I hope shortly to discourse with thee face to face yet not knowing what may hinder and retard my hopes I have sent the above written instructions to thee not to trouble the Church with vain disputations about the rites of the Law and such idle questions as the Jews are apt to raise but to remember as I have said in the beginning of this Letter v. 4 5. of the first Chapter that the end of the Commandment is charity the love of God and of our neighbour This therefore teach them and instruct them also to make prayers supplications and intercession with giving of thanks for all Men for Kings and all that are in authority Chap. II. 1 2 3 4. teach them all likewise how to pray v. 8. and instruct the Bishops and the Deacons and all the rest in their Office and Duty for it is of great concernment that they be well informed because this Church over which thou art set is the very Seat of Truth which is not to be found in any other place but in such a company of Believers Who ought to uphold and defend it when thou art dead and gone and therefore had need be well setled and established in it especially in the great mystery of godliness wherein all Christians agree and about which there is no Controversie That so the Church may never let it go and this Truth may not dye and fall to the Ground when we are laid in our Graves but be delivered to those that come after as the very Oracles of God. Who now is there so blind as not to be able to see that by the Church is meant not merely the supream Governour of the Church which was Timothy but all that company of Christian people under their several Bishops and Teachers who belonged to Ephesus All of which S. Paul left Timothy when he himself went into Macedonia to take care of and to charge that they taught no other Doctrine as you read 1.3 and in this House or Family he was when S. Paul wrote this Epistle to him not in a General Council for there was none in three hundred Year after this time Therefore he doth not speak of the Church Representative as it is called much less of the Church Virtual as they term it that is the Pope For then mark what sence the words will make I have wrote to thee not knowing when I shall see thee how to behave thy self in the Bishop of Rome as if he would have us fancy Timothy in the Popes Belly and himself gravely instructing him how to carry himself with
great circumspection and discretion there I do not love to use such words but there are no other I can find so apt to represent the gross absurdity of their Doctrines who take upon them to give infallible interpretations of Holy Scripture from the Universal Bishop the grand and only Oracle of Christendom as they would have him esteemed or from such Councils as they are pleased to call General and can obtain their approbation You see what godly ones we are like to have if we give up our Faith to them how they will pervert the plain words of God to serve their own interest and wrest them from their natural and easie sence to another which is so forced that there is no Man so rude but would readily discern the absurdness of it if he were permitted to read and did consider the Holy Scripture For their great Cardinal Bellarmine alledges these very words to prove that General Councils confirmed by the Pope cannot err (e) Lib. 2. de Contil. Auctoritate C. 2. Class 2da nay that particular Councils approved by the Pope have the same priviledge (f) Ib. cap. 6. Denique where it is evident to the weakest understanding that the whole company of Christians that were at Ephesus united to their Pastors without which they could not be a Society or Company are the Church here spoken of and therefore are the Pillar and Ground of Truth if this relate to the Church and not merely some particular person in that Church much less a General Council of all the Bishops in the World and least of all one Bishop in whom Timothy could not be said in any sense to be as he is here said to be in that Church which is the Pillar and Ground of Truth viz. in that Church whereof he was the chief Governour which was the Pillar and Ground of Truth in that part of the World. For this is not an Office appropriated to any particular Church but belonging to the Catholique Church and to every single Church as it is a Member of the Whole And here it will be very profitable I think to note these six things for the full explication of this place of Scripture I. The first of them is that which I now mentioned that every particular Church one as well and as much as another is a Pillar and Ground of Truth in that sense which I have declared This is not a prerogative which belongs to some one Church but a priviledge appertaining to the Universal and to every particular as a part of it For if the Church at Ephesus was a Pillar of Truth as S. Paul here affirms then by the same reason the Church of Antioch the Church of Corinth the Church of Rome and the Church of Jerusalem had the same authority For that which made any one of them a Church made the other so viz. the true Faith of Christ there professed and union with their Pastors for the Divine service and therefore that honour or Office which belong'd to one of them must of necessity belong to another because they were but so many members of one and the same Body That is every one of them in their several Countries wherein they were planted had the truth of God committed to them which they were to maintain and support unto the very death and endeavour that every one who was a Stranger to the words of eternal life might by their means know and believe them And accordingly every Church hath contributed unto this and no one Church could ever with any reason pretend to be the sole supporter or defender of the Christian Truth Of which there is this plain demonstration that then the Church is most of all the Pillar and Ground or Buttress as some translate it of Truth when it is assaulted by Heresies and not only beats them off but beats them down and suppresses them Now all Heresies were not quasht and confounded by S. Peter and his Successors in the Church of Rome but by other Apostles and Evangelists and their Successors in other Churches This is demonstrated by a learned Man of the Roman Communion * Joh. Launoii Epist pars Quinta Antonio Varillao p. 35. c. by XII famous instances out of a far greater number S. John for example not Peter or any of his Successors struck down the Nicolaitans S. Paul the Nazarens and Cerinthians S. Luke the Ebionites as he proves out of good Authors particularly Hyginus who relates how the Bishops of other Sees not the Bishops of Rome quasht the Ptolemaites the Noetians and divers other Hereticks as the Synod of Antioch did Paulus Samosatenus (g) Enseb L. VII Eccles Hist c. 22. and the first General Council of Constantinople where Damasus Bishop of Rome was not present either by himself or his Legates did Eunomius and other Hereticks Which leads to the second thing I would have observed II. That every eminent Pastor in the Church who laboured in the word and Doctrine as S. Paul speaks in this Epistle V. 17. had these very titles anciently bestowed upon him of the Pillar and Ground of Truth because the Bishops were the principal Trustees with whom the Faith was deposited as may be observed in the words of Irenaeus before mentioned and many other ancient Writers and in S. Paul's words to Timothy when he bids him to keep the depositum he had committed to him and commit the same to other faithful or trusty persons who should be able to teach it to others 2 Tim. I. 14. II. 2. and because they were principal Instruments in defending the Truth against opposers in propagating the Christian Faith to those who were ignorant of it and in preserving the rest of the Church in the belief of the Truth which they had entertained by their constant instructions and zealous exhortation to hold fast what they had received Nay we shall rarely if at all find any Bishop of Rome called the Pillar and Ground of Truth but several other Bishops are frequently called by this name S. Basil for instance (h) Epist LXII Tom. II. writing of the Bishop of Neocaesarea newly dead bewails his loss very much because he was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Ornament of the Churches 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the very words of the Apostle here in this place the Pillar and Ground of Truth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a strong and firm establishment of Faith in Christ c. And upon the same occasion writing to the Church of Ancyra (i) Epist LXVII whose Bishop was called Athanasius it appears by some of the foregoing Epistles he saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Man is faln who was indeed a Pillar and Ground of the Church And complaining in another Epistle (k) Epist LXX of the miserable estate of their Churches he says among other things 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Pillars and Ground of the Truth are dispersed the Bishops he means were banished from their Flocks Which
he bewails in another place in the very same Language only putting both the foregoing parts of their Character together 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 * Epist CCCXLIX c. whom I account the Pillars and Ground both of the Truth and of the Church and honour them so much the more the further off they are banished from their Churches and account that separation the greatest punishment In the very same Language S. Gregory Nazianzen addresses himself to S. Basil (m) Orat. XIX beginning whom he calls 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Pillar and Ground of the Church the prop of Faith the habitation of the Spirit And so he calls Athanasius 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 (n) Orat. XXI the Pillar of the Church and in another place (o) Orat. XXIII 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the prop or stay of the Faith. And writing to Eusebius Bishop of Samosat (p) Epist XXIX Tom◠he thus begins What shall I call thee 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Shall I call thee the Pillar and Ground of the Church or a Light in the World c. or the Stay of thy Country or the Rule of Faith or Embassador of the Truth or all these together and more than all these But that which is most worthy to be noted under this head is that S. Gregory Nyssen (q) De vita Mosis Tom. I. p. 226. expounds this very Text of Timothy and makes him not the Church the Pillar and Ground of Truth For discoursing concerning the Ministers of the Divine Mysteries as Pillars of the House of God he saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. S. Paul wrought and fashioned Timothy to be a goodly Pillar making him as he speaks with his own voice 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Pillar and Ground of the Church and of Truth As if he took the sense of these words to be this But if I tarry long that thou who art the Pillar and Ground of Truth maist know how to behave thy self in the Church c. And indeed the Apostles are called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Pillars in the II. Gal. 9. not only S. Peter but James and John also And here we are taught as he truly observes that not only Peter James and John were Pillars not only John the Baptist was a burning Lamp 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but all that by themselves support the Church all that by their work are shining lights are called both Pillars and Lamps Which names were afterward applied to Christian Bishops by the most eminent Persons in the Church who hereby plainly declared what they understood by these words of S. Paul and that they lookt not upon this as a priviledge peculiar to any one Bishop or any one Church but common to all Churches and especially to the principal Persons in the Church who were the Leaders and Guides of the rest and so more peculiarly intrusted with the preservation of Divine Truth and the chief Pillars and Supporters of the Faith. And thus Origen or whosoever he was that wrote the Homilies upon the Song of Songs * Hom. III. Basil p. 598. seems to have understood this place for having observed from hence that the Church is God's House and applied these words to the explication of the last Verse of the first Chapter of the Canticles where it is said the beams of our house are Cedar he concludes that hereby are meant those who are validiores of greatest strength in the Church Et puto quod convenienter hi qui episcopatum bene ministrant in Ecclesia c. And I think that they who well discharge the Office of a Bishop in the Church may conveniently be called Beams by which the whole Building is born up c. viz. by supporting and defending the Christian Faith upon which the Church is built And thus the Abyssine Christians at this day call not only S. Mark but their great Doctor S. Cyril by the name of Columnae Ecclesiae Alexandrinae (s) Ludolphi Histor Aethiop L. III. c. 12. n. 51. the Pillars of the Church of Alexandria because Cypril was a mighty assertor and defender of the Truth against the assaults of Hereticks Upon which account Rupertus Tuitiensis (t) L. VII oper de Sp. Sancto cap. 19. calls S. Austin by the same name that S. Paul here calls Timothy columna firmamentum veritatis the Pillar and Ground or strong stay of Truth Which Language is common among the Jews who call Abraham for instance the Pillar of the World (u) Maimon de cultu stell c. 1. n. 5. More Nevohim Pars III. c. 29. with respect to the true Religion which he maintained which is the very Language of Ignatius concerning the Apostles of whom he thus speaks 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 (y) Epist ad Philadelph the Pillars of the World the Apostles mentioning together with them the Spouse of Christ viz. the Church I have been the more copious in this because it shows that the ancient Doctors thought all Bishops to be equally concerned in this Office and Honour it never entering into their minds that any one had an interest in it more than the rest much less that one the Bishop of Rome had it solely to himself III. But further I observe that the Martyrs though not Bishops are frequently called by this name So the Churches of Vienne and Lyons in their Letter to the Churches of Asia and Phrygia concerning the blessed Martyrs who had suffered among them say that God delivered the weaker sort and opposed to the fury of the Enemy 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 those who were firm and steady Pillars able by their Patience to draw all the violent assaults of the Devil upon them (x) Apud Euseb L. V. Histor Eccles cap. 1. p. 155. edit Vales Among whom they mention Sanchis a Deacon and Maturus a meer Novice and Attalus born at Pergamus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 (z) Ib. p. 157. Who had always been the Pillar and Ground or stay and strength of Christians in this place that is settled and sustained others in the Christian belief And so Eusebius speaks of other Martyrs at Alexandria in the time of Decius 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 * L. VI. Eccles Hist cap. 41. c. firm and blessed Pillars of the Lord who strengthned by him and having might and power answerable to the strength of their Faith became admirable witnesses of his Kingdom For they could not be shaken with the fear of death and torment and so by their stedfastness confirmed and established others in the Christian Faith and were eminent Instruments likewise of converting strangers to our Religion who saw their pious and meek constancy under the greatest sufferings joyned with the greatest charity bowels of mercy and compassion towards their bloody persecutors For whom they beg'd pardon and forgiveness of God desiring nothing more than they might come to that heavenly Kingdom which they testified to them by parting with life
it self for the sake of it Neither is this meerly the Ecclesiastical Language but the Holy Scripture it self gives those this honourable title who constantly indured tribulation for the Gospel sake though it did not cost them their lives Thus our blessed Lord speaks to the Church of Philadelphia III. Revel 12. Him that overcometh will I make a Pillar in the temple of my God. Which signifies partly that he should be an eminent Instrument of upholding the Church and preserving many in the profession of Christianity by his constancy and firmness in it and partly that he should be so established himself by the grace and power of God that he should never fall according to that of S. Peter 1 V. 10. But the God of all grace who hath called us unto his eternal glory after that ye have suffered a while make you perfect establish strengthen settle you and partly that he should be made in the highest sense a PILLAR that is an Apostolical Man who should be advanced to the most eminent imployment in the Church of teaching and instructing of Governing and Ruling as a principal Pastor in the Temple of God. In one word be an Angel of the Church as he speaks in the beginning of this Letter v. 7. and in all the rest an illustrious Minister and Messenger of God to publish the glad tidings of Salvation to the World. Such the Apostles were whom Theodoret calls the Pillars of the Truth with peculiar respect to their sufferings Behold saith he †Orat. de providentia Tom. IV. p. 441. Peter and John 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. the Towers or Bulwarks of Godliness the Pillars of Truth supporting the Structure of the Church being scourged by the Jews but rejoycing and glorying V. Act. 41. that they were counted worthy to suffer shame or to be disgraced for his Name And such like were these victorious Souls as Arethas * Comment in III. Rev. 12. expounds our Saviour's words to this Church For he that conquers saith he the adverse powers 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is constituted a Pillar and Ground of the Truth rejoycing himself immutably so he interprets in the temple of my God and establishing others in goodness that they may not fall from their stedfastness IV. Any eminent person also in the Church though not a Martyr is sometime called by this name in Ecclesiastical Writers For instance Jo. Damascen thus addresses himself to Jordanes the Archimandrite 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 (b) Epist ad euâ—n de Triâ—agio O most Divine Father the Pillar and Ground or stay of Truth Nay thus zealous persons in the Laity especially if they were of great quality contributed to the support of the Faith by supporting these Pillars of it So S. Basil in one of the forenamed Epistles having bewailed the banishment of their Bishops whom he calls the Pillars and Ground of Truth prays Terentius a Count of the Empire to preserve himself safe that they might have some to rest upon God having graciously made him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 (c) Epist 345. a support and a prop in all things to us But they of the Clergy more particularly though of the Order below Bishops were lookt upon as having no small share in this Office. For S. Cyril of Alexandria (d) Lib. V. in Esaiam Tom. 2. p. 768. having mentioned Christ as the foundation and believers in him as pretious Stones built upon him unto a holy Temple compares their instructors in the Mysteries of Religion to the most pretious Stones such as those mentioned LIV. Isa 11 12. which God uses some in laying the foundation others as buttresses some for the Gates others for the Walls of the holy City that is the Church that all her Children may be taught of God. V. Nay one of the forenamed great Doctors of the Church warrants me to add that every pious member of the Church in his place and calling hath his share in this great trust For whosoever saith S. Gregory Nyssen (e) Hom. XIV in Cant. Canticorum p 684. is perfected in these two great Commandments to love God and to love his Neighbour he is framed to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Pillar and Ground of Truth according to the language of the Apostle By both these we may become such Pillars as Peter and James and John or if there be any other since them that hath been or shall be worthy of this name And he doth in effect say the same in the place before named (f) De vita Mosis where he observes the Apostle requires others to be Pillars as well as himself when he saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Cor. XV. 58. be ye stedfast or stable unmoveable abounding always in the work of the Lord. For he that is thus firmly fixed and setled as the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies and diligent in well doing whatsoever trials he hath to shake him he supports Religion he maintains the credit of it in the World he doth great service to the Truth by shewing how good how useful how laborious it makes those that embrace it And I am sure it lies upon every one of us as an indispensable duty to hold fast the Truth and to profess it and practise it and notwithstanding any danger or trouble unto which it may expose us to testifie unto it if need be by constant patient peaceable suffering for Christs sake And he that doth thus is according to his measure though never so mean a person in the Church a Pillar and Ground of Truth And thus Theodoret expounds these words he calls 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the assembly or congregation of those that believe the House of God and the Church and these he saith are the Pillar and support of Truth For being founded upon the Rook they both remain unshaken and preach by their deeds the truth of their Doctrine And Theophylast also 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Church is a constitution or an assembly of truth For all things that are done in it are true nothing shadowy as under the Law c. VI. I have but one thing further to add That the more and the better they are who joyn in this work the greater support they give to the Truth First I say the more the greater number there are of those who maintain the truth by preaching writing suffering or well doing and the greater credit they have in the World the stronger Pillars they are and the surer doth the truth seem to be in the eyes of those to whom they represent it Upon which account the Doctrine of S. Paul and Barnabas which he had received by revelation as well as other Apostles yet being communicated to James and Cephas and John who were eminent Pillars and been approved by them received the more strength by their concurrent testimony II. Gal. 2 5 9. And it was still more confirmed by the whole Council of Apostles and Elders at Jerusalem
defects of the Scripture and make things unwritten to become matters of Faith. Which is such an unbounded Prerogative that we may have a new Faith as often as they please to pretend a Tradition for it though they cannot prove it For we must rest in the authority of the present Church which affirms it and that against the very Scripture it self which tells us it is able to make a Man of God perfect and against the testimony of the Universal Church which I have shown forbids the producing of any other Faith but that which was evidently delivered by the Apostles there 3. We cannot allow the Church an Infallible authority that is such an assistance in her Doctrines and proposals that she cannot err in any thing she defines In Controversies indeed arising about matters of Faith we own and reverence the authority of the Church (t) Artic. XX. so as not to contest the publique judgement but to prefer it before our own private conceits in doubtful things But as it ought to proceed in its determinations by the Rule of Gods word So we think it possible it may mistake in the application of this Rule and therefore we do not blindly resign our selves to its authority without all regard to the Holy Scriptures unto which the Church ought to have a respect in all its determinations No that 's another proud pretence of the present Roman Church that they cannot mistake in their definitions and therefore we must submit unto them without examination From whence this intollerable mischief hath insued that it hath made them both insensible of their errors and careless to seek any cure of them nay utterly incapable of a remedy For as one of our own Divines excellently speaks (u) Dr. Petter's Answer to Charity mistaken Sect. 5. whose words those are this conceit of their Infallibility is to them both a sufficient reason for that which is most unreasonable and a sufficient answer to that which is most unanswerable To this they retreat upon all occasions when they are not able to maintain their ground they have no other way to defend their errors when they are plainly set before their eyes but to tell us confidently they cannot err Which is a very strange boldness for we demonstrate in manay instances that they have erred erred most grosly particularly in this that they have added new Articles to the old Creed to be believed under pain of Damnation and added a new Canon of Scripture to the Old Testament against the clearest evidence in the Records of the Universal Church that the Books they have newly received were never acknowledged for Canonical Scripture If by the Church indeed they would understand the Church truly Catholique the whole Body of Christ in all times places and ages and if by matters of Faith they would understand those grand Articles which I have mentioned in the first part of this Discourse and if by being Infallible they would understand not an absolute impossibility of erring which humane nature is not capable of but not actual error there are none of us make any question but the Church is Infallible That is the whole Church hath not erred nor shall not err in the whole Faith or in any necessary part thereof for such error would cut Men off from Christ the head and so leave him no Church at all which is impossible It hath been the very scope of first my Discourse to show that the Church hath always kept the great fundamental truths of our Religion and not erred in them but transmitted them down to us whole and undefiled till the Church of Rome in the Council of Trent corrupted the Faith by their errors which they have mixed with it For to a particular Church such as that of Rome is we cannot allow this priviledge of not erring because we know they have erred even in fundamental Truths and thereby ceased to be Churches Witness those glorious Churches to which Christ himself sent his Letters by S. John the Apostle These Prerogatives therefore not belonging to any Church every one must be content with those two Offices before mentioned which are sufficient First The Office of a Witness testifying the authority of the Holy Scriptures unto its members Secondly of Gods instrument by whose Ministry in opening expounding and urging the Holy Scriptures the Holy Ghost begets a divine Faith in us And by performing these Offices it supports and continues and propagates the Truth and so may be called the Pillar and Ground thereof The meaning of which I shall now distinctly set before the Readers eyes that I may give a short account of the fourth and last thing propounded in the beginning IV. How the Church may appropriate to it self this Title 1. First Every Church and every person in it especially the Bishops and Pastors are the Pillar and Ground of Truth officio by Duty and Office whereby they are obliged to keep maintain and uphold the Truth This always was and always will be incumbent on them which is sufficient to fill up the sense of such attributes as these which do not always note performance of Duty but only obligation to it As when our Saviour saith to his Disciples Ye are the salt of the Earth it doth not signifie that they were necessarily so for he supposes immediately the salt might lose its savour but that they ought to be so and if they were not so would be good for nothing but to be cast out and trodden under foot Matth. V. 13. 2. But Secondly The first Churches of Christ in the Apostles times were actu effectu actually and effectually the Pillar of Truth that is they faithfully discharg'd this Office and perform'd their Duty constantly maintaining the Truth as it is in Christ in its purity and simplicity For the Apostles were a part of those Churches whom God led into all Truth which they taught sincerely and intirely while they lived and do at this day instruct us in the Holy Scriptures in the whole Truth necessary to our Salvation 3. But we cannot say the same of all succeeding Churches that they did faithfully perform this office though in duty they also were bound so to do No some of them were so far from being Pillars of the Truth that they let it fall to the ground We have strange instances of it with which I shall not fill these Papers in the History of the Church which show us that if we take not heed to our selves and the Doctrine that is delivered to us we have no security that we or any other particular Church shall continue firm and stedfast supporters of the Truth For Pillars themselves may decay and if they be not well lookt after will go to ruin and fall to the Earth 4. Even this very Church of Ephesus which was a Pillar and Ground of Truth while Timothy presided in it afterward began before all the Apostles were dead to remit its first love and zeal for
the Truth II. Rev. 4. and now is utterly subverted and not to be found Which is a demonstration the Apostle did not in these words intend to teach that the Church cannot err but that as I said it is in duty bound by its calling and Office to preserve the Truth pure and intire For he himself foresaw this Church would be haunted with grievous Wolves after his departure Act. XX. 29 30. who no doubt came in Sheeps clothing as they also among themselves did who he foretold would arise speaking perverse things to draw Disciples after them And immediately after he had here called the Church or Timothy the Pillar of Truth he admonishes him in the beginning of the next Chapter IV. 1 2. that there would be an apostasie from the Faith as the Spirit expresly declared For according to what our Saviour predicted there was scarce any Church but the Enemy sowed Tares among the Wheat which very much hindred the growth thereof So we are informed by Hegisippus a very ancient Christian Historian who †Fuâ—b L. III. Eccles Hist c. 32. saith that as soon as the sacred Quire of Apostles were dead and that Generation was gone who had heard the inspired Wisdom with their own ears then begun 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Conspiracy or Combination of impious or atheistical error by the deceit of false teachers who make a bare-sac't opposition to the Truth of the Gospel And yet for all this the speech of the Apostle is proper enough For a Church or its Pastor may be the Pillar of Truth in regard of their duty as I have often said though they prove negligent in their Office. Just as the Priest among the Jews was called the messenger of the Lord of Hosts whose lips should so preserve knowledge that the people should seek the Law at his mouth because this was the end of his Office for which he was ordained though at the same time the Prophet complains that they were departed out of the way and caused many to stumble at the Law and had corrupted the Covenant of Levi Mal. II. 7 8. The like we read in other places of the holy Book that the Prophets were not true to their trust but declared the visions of their own heart not the Word of the Lord and lead the people into error and falshood feeding them with lies instead of Truth 5. Further I must observe that there is no promise made to any particular Church that it shall always be a Pillar of Truth no not to the Church of Rome which now so boldly lays claim and that solely to this priviledge But quite contrary there is a terrible threatning to this very Church included in that admonition which this very Apostle gives them Which is sufficient to show that Christ gave no such priviledge to this Church as that it should never err but directly contrary supposed it might err and err even to Apostasie when he bids them take heed lest they were cut off by unbelief as the Jews were from the fellowship of the Saints Read XI Rom. 20 21 22. They speaking of the Jews were broken off by unbelief and thou speaking to the Roman Christians standest by faith Be not high minded but fear hearken to this O ye of the present Roman Church For if God spared not the natural branches take heed lest he also spare not thee Behold the goodness and severity of God on them which fell severity but towards thee goodness if thou continue in his goodness OTHERWISE THOV ALSO SHALT BE CVT OF From whence we may thus argue if God had granted to the Roman Church the priviledge of being a Pillar of Truth infallibly and immutably unto all Generations all these suppositions were vain and these exhortations utterly needless and frivolous for it would have been absolutely impossible it should be cut off and absolutely necessary it should continue And yet the Apostle plainly supposes otherwise and took it for granted it might fail For these two are directly opposite to stand and to fall to continue and to be cut off to be an Everlasting Pillar and to be broken off For it is proper to a Pillar to stand and support but to be cut off as he supposes they might be is to fall to the Ground and not to be able to support ones self much less others Now that they of that Church have gone far towards this condition according to the Apostles supposition by falsifying the Truth of Christ even part of the Apostolical Faith and so have not continued a firm and stedfast Pillar of Truth but maintained and supported dangerous Errors and Heresies is apparent from this alone if there were no more that they limit and confine the Catholique Church to themselves alone and exclude all other Christians from it who will not submit to their Bishop and Decrees The Impiety of which is so great that it is not easie to be expressed for it is in Truth to make the Church not Catholique but Particular How new false sacrilegious scandalous schismatical and heretical this one Article of the Roman Creed is one of our own (x) Bishop Morto .. Bishops hath demonstrated evidently in a Book on purpose to which I refer the Reader which he had reason to call the GRAND IMPOSTURE It would inlarge this Treatise too much beyond my intention or else it would be easie to show both when they began to let Truth fall to the Ground and how they proceeded to fail in their duty and to betray their trust till they quite altered the ancient Catholique Faith in the Council of Trent Which now they cry up as the great Pillar of Truth when it did nothing but lend a lame support to the most notorious falshoods which it established as Doctrines of Faith when they were before but erroneous Opinions in that Church I call it lame because of the numerous flaws that there were both in the constitution and in the proceedings of that Council which make it of no Authority For in the very beginning of it (y) Sess IV. they decreed that no Man should wrest the Scripture to a sense contrary to that which the holy mother-Church i. e. themselves hath held and holds And so established all the Tenents of that Church before they examined them by the Scripture and engaged themselves to contradict their own Decree by wresting the Scriptures to their own sense for the maintenance of what their Church then held All the Bishops likewise there assembled were sworn to support the Papacy of the Roman Church and the Rules of the holy Fathers whereby they were obliged to maintain the Usurpations of that See upon all the Bishops in the World whose Authority was thrown down and thereby the Pillars of the Truth as I have shewn them to be trampled under foot when Boniface was declared Universal Bishop and upon Kings and Princes whom Hildebrand trod under foot yea upon the whole Church over which Pope Leo
The Pillar and Ground of Truth A TREATISE SHEWING That the ROMAN CHVRCH falsly claims to be That CHURCH and the PILLAR of That TRUTH mentioned by S. Paul in his First Epistle to Timothy Chap. III. Vers 15. Which is explained in THREE PARTS Imprimatur JO. BATTELY May 9. 1687. LONDON Printed for Richard Chiswell at the Rose and Crown in S. Paul's Church-Yard MDCLXXXVII TO THE READER AMONG all the places of Scripture which they of the Church of Rome are wont to alledge for a proof of their pretended Infallibility I find none whereon they more rely than that of S. Paul to Timothy 1 III. 15. That thou may'st 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 Which place say the Rhemists pincheth the Hereticks wonderfully and so it ever did and therefore they oppose themselves directly against the very letter and confessed sense of the same I have thought it therefore worth my pains to show how unjust this accusation is by opening the plain and evident meaning the literal and confessed sense of those words whereby it will appear that we are far from being Hereticks and that they not we are pinched by this place and that there is no ground at all in it for their Infallibility nor for their vain flourishes that the very Name of CHURCH terrifies us and makes us pale with fear as Campian insolently vapoured (a) Ratio III. and that we not only fear but altogether abhor the word CATHOLIQUE so as to leave it clean out of our Bibles as the fore-named Rhemists (b) Preface to Epistle of S. James most senslesly misrepresent us For as I have proved in the following Book that we not they are the true CATHOLIQVES so there is nothing further from truth I have likewise shown than that the Apostle here speaks with any particular respect to the Church of Rome Which is so far from striking any terror into us when it appropriates to it self the name of CHVRCH that we look upon the pretence to be as ridiculous as the proof is they give us of it Which is the sole Authority of a false S. Ambrose his Commentaries upon this place who thus glosses All the World being God's yet the Church only is his House the Rector or Ruler whereof at this time is DAMASUS Where the Rhemists (c) Annot. in 1 Tim. III. 15. desire us to note How clear a case it was then that the Pope of Rome was not the Governor only of one particular See but of Christ's whole House which is the Universal Church c. And further improve this conceit in these words The Church which is the House of God whose Rector saith S. Ambrose in his time was Damasus and now Gregory the thirteenth and in the Apostles time S. Peter is the Pillar of Truth the establishment of Verity and therefore it cannot err And truly it is worth our noting how clear a Case it is that they were sorely pinched to use their own word again for want of proofs when they betook themselves to such as this For it is hard to think that Men of their education whom we will not despise as they do the Hereticks a little before (d) Annot. in 1 Tim. I. 7. as most ignorant of the Word of God not knowing the very Principles of Divinity should not know that S. Ambrose was not the Author of those Commentaries they being acknowledged by the greatest Men in their Church to be spurious Brats of some other Writer Baronius (e) Annal. Tom. V. ad an 397. n. 38. for instance saith The Exposition of Ambrose upon all Paul 's Epistles began to be wanting in the time of Cassiodorus but being plainly lost it is apparent the work of another Author was foisted in its room And their other great Cardinal Bellarmine confesses as much in several places but in one more fully (f) L. I. de Mitrimonio cap. 17. where he assoils an Objection of Chemnitius who following the rule of the Civil Law (g) Tistem quem quis inducit prose tenetar recipere contra se the witness which any Man produces for himself he is bound to receive against himself quotes this Book as Bellarmine oft had done in a Case of Marriage by this Answer That the Author of these Commentaries is not S. Ambrose as learned Men know and more than that whosoever was the Author he was none ex celebratis patribus of the famous or eminent Fathers And indeed there is great reason for what these and many others of that Church say as I might show out of the Commentaries themselves which contradict the very words of the true S. Ambrose But suppose he had been the Author or these the Work of some celebrated Writer it is a clear case and I desire it may be noted that these Rhemist Annotators were not so knowing as they would be esteemed or not so conscientious as they ought to have been when they gather from these words that Damasus was Ruler over more than his own See even over the Universal Church as S. Peter they say was in the Apostles times For S. Ambrose himself saith in his Book of the Priestly Dignity (h) Tom. IV. de Sacerdotali dignitate cap. 2. which Priests one would think should read that when Christ said Feed my Sheep those Sheep and that Flock not only blessed Peter then received but both he received them with us and with him we all have received them And it is an unusual thing in Ancient Writers to say the same of other Bishops that this Writer doth of Damasus when they mean no more but that they were Rulers of that part of the Catholique Church which was committed to their charge Thus Arsenius for instance writes to Athanasius as he himself hath set down his Letter which begins thus We loving Peace and Unity with the Catholique Church over which thou by the Grace of God dost preside or rule (i) Athan. Tom. 1. Apolog 2. p. 786. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. And more than this such great Clerks as they should not have been ignorant being also such lofty Censurers of the Hereticks that Gregory Nazianzene called the Divine whom they read it is to be supposed to learn the principles of Divinity saith S. Cyprian was made not only a Pastor but a Pastor that had the largest dominion (k) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Orat. XVIII p. 281. being set over not the Church of Carthage only or Africa but all the West and almost all the East it self and the North and South unto whom his fame reached But if these things escaped their observation or they studiously concealed them they must have been most ignorant of the word of God as they say the Hereticks are if they did not know that S. Paul saith the same of the Elders of Ephesus that this Writer doth of Damasus
a contrary mind hoping though they do not convince them of their errors yet they will help to establish the People of our Church in the present Truth Which I doubt not they will see to be the truly Catholique Apostolique Faith which they ought not to part withal but preserve as carefully as they do their life And so the cannot fail to do if they add to Faith Vertue In order to which I have endeavoured to make this Treatise as practical as I could that we may not fall into that grand error of thinking it enough to hold the Truth though we hold it in unrighteousness God of his infinite mercy deliver us all from that damnable delusion and establish our hearts unblameable in Holiness before God even our Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his Saints 1 Thess III. 13. PART I. INTRODUCTION IT is a pious reflection which Clemens Alexandrinus makes upon a saying of Plato that if truth could never have been learnt L. VI. Stromat p. 675. but either from God himself or from his dependents then we who have the testimonies of the Divine Oracles do justly boast that we are taught the truth by the very Son of God. Which he hath revealed unto us so plainly in all things necessary to our Salvation and transmitted unto us so intirely in the Holy Scriptures that it cannot but be a great trouble to all those who love him and his Religion to see such wranglings about it in his Church as if there were no more certainty among us what is truth than there was among the Philosophers The contention about this is so sharp and fierce that while Men seek after Truth they are in danger to lose the very aim and scope of it which is Charity the love of God and of one another This S. Paul determines to be the very drift of the Gospel when he tells Timothy the end of the commandment is charity 1 I. 5. Nay they have raised so many doubts about this matter that poor People are many times to seek for Truth it self even in the clearest light thereof It being some Mens business so to confound their thoughts that they know it not when they see it but are still in great trouble about it even when they have it And where to seek for it is now grown a great question also It is to be found no doubt in the Church but about that there are so many disputes that Men are to seek as much as before if they go to find it there In short there are no words more abused than these two Truth and Church and therefore I hope it will do some service to Souls if for their plain and safe direction in these matters I rescue those words of S. Paul to Timothy 1 III. 15. the Church of the living God the pillar and ground of truth from those false glosses that are put upon them to the great dishonour of our blessed Lord and of his Holy Truth And for that end I shall distinctly treat of these four things First What that truth is of which either the Church or Timothy or both were the Pillar and Ground Secondly What it is to be a Pillar and Ground of the Truth Thirdly Who it is to whom this Office and Honour belongs of being the Pillar and Ground of the Truth or what we mean when we say the Church is intrusted therewith Lastly How it discharges this Office. I. What is the Truth Here we must begin because we must first know what the Truth is before we can know a Society of Men to be the Church which is constituted and made by believing and professing the Truth And this in effect is a resolution of that question which Pilate askt our Saviour but would not stay for an answer What is Truth Which though it be made a great difficulty by those whose interest it is to make things intricate and perplexed yet in my opinion it is very easie to give satisfaction to it and we need not go far neither to seek it For the Apostle himself immediately explains what he means by Truth in the words following and without Controversie great is the mystery of godliness God was manifested in the Flesh justified in the Spirit seen of Angels preached unto the Gentiles believed on in the World received up into Glory Where we learn two things in general concerning this matter First that the truth here spoken of is that which was formerly a Mystery or Secret which lay hidden for many Ages and Generations in the unknown purpose of God but now is revealed and manifested by the Son of God and his holy Spirit to make Men godly Which is the other thing we learn from thence that the truth which the Apostle intends is the Mystery of Godliness or as he he speaks in the VI. Chapter v. 3. the Doctrine which is according to Godliness And therefore whatsoever doth not tend to better Mens lives by making them do their duties faithfully both towards God and towards Men to some of which the duties that are owing are in this very Epistle called shewing Piety or Godliness v. 4. we are not to reckon it among the truths which were deposited with Timothy to be preferred and upheld in the Church For God did not design by the discovery he made of his Mind and Will in the Gospel merely to enlarge our knowledge but to rectifie our wills and affections by the right information of our minds and by acquainting us with such weighty truths especially such wonderful revelations of his love as cannot but irresistably sway us if we lay them to heart unto his Obedience But that we may not be left to guess at this truth or mystery of Godliness without any certainty he sets down a particular of it and reduces the whole mystery of Godliness to these Six heads I. The principal is this that the eternal Son of God came down from Heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary and was made Man that he might suffer for us and make himself an offering for our sins All this I take to be included in these words God was manifested in the flesh Which cannot be meant of God the Father for it is expressly said in other places that it was Jesus Christ who came in the flesh 1 Joh. IV. 2. and is here declared to be God that is the eternal Son of God the Word made flesh 1 Joh. 14. Which doth not denote merely his being made Man but likewise his suffering for us he taking our flesh on purpose for this very end that therein he might by his Death make an atonement for Sin. And so the very phrase flesh and blood signifies in Scripture as it doth commonly in the Hebrew Writers this weak frail mortal suffering State wherein we are at present into which our blessed Lord put himself when he manifested himself in our flesh So we read expressly II. Hebr. 14. where to
with this Wisdom you ought to think your selves wise unto Salvation And not be in the least moved with the bugbear name of Hereticks or the empty noise of Damnation which they of the Church of Rome thunder out against you For they signifie nothing but the wrath-of those who would drive you into the belief of that by frights and terrors into which they cannot draw you by solid proofs and arguments Turn away your Ears both from the one and the other for as the former is an insignificant sound so the latter all their Arguments are but confident Sophistry Which hath been and is at this day so evidently demonstrated by our Writers that they can have no excuse who are deceived by them III. And thus every one is bound to teach his Children diligently instructing and confirming them in these main Points of Christianity that so the Truth may live when we are gone Consider I beseech you what a necessary duty this is How should the Truth be preserved and supported but by those that believe it And how should they believe it who do not understand it And how should they understand it unless they be taught and instructed in it And who so much concerned to instruct their Children as they that brought them into the World Their God-fathers and God-mothers indeed are engaged to see this done but their Parents have a further even a natural obligation to it And therefore ought first of all diligently to inform themselves and by attending to all the means of instruction which they have in this Church to increase in true Christian knowledge that they may be able to teach those who are committed to their care and prepare them to be catechised and further instructed by those whom God hath set over them We are not Pillars and supporters of the Truth but the betrayers of it if we take no care about this Which is one great reason why some have easily forsaken the true Religion here taught and professed and condemned this Church an horrid crime if you seriously weigh the consequents of it by renouncing Communion with it as no part of the Body of Christ Men may be soon perswaded by confident talkers to part with that which they do not understand especially if they apprehend any danger in keeping it or hope to gain by letting it go Why should they hazzard the least hair of their Head for they know not what Nay why should they be at all concerned for it any more than a Man is for the seed that is scattered in the High-way from which he expects no Crop To that you know our blessed Lord compared him that heareth the word of the Kingdom and understandeth it not for then cometh the wicked one and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart Matth. XIII 19. IV. You must endeavour therefore to profit by all such instructions as these and to grow in the knowledge of the Holy Scriptures where God hath revealed his whole mind and will to you and plainly published all those Truths which belong to the great mystery of godliness You ought for instance to take heed how you wantonly and loosely interpret or apply them according to your own sudden or careless fancies that 's a great profanation of the Sacred Books and yet you must not for fear of this be perswaded to throw them out of your hands but rather with the more solemn humble and reverend awe of God upon your Souls ponder and weigh what you read therein especially those things which are plain and evident to every understanding that by the help of them and of those whom God hath set over you to guide and direct your minds you may either inform your understanding in what appears to have difficulty in it or satisfie your selves that it is not necessary you should understand it For they that would drive you from this hold of the Holy Scriptures intend to deceive you and would have you depend on that which is far more uncertain than the meaning of any place of Scripture can be There is no firm ground for us to stand upon but only this which all acknowledge is the very word of God and delivers that which hath been ever accounted the substance of Christian Doctrines in such words as every one may understand them And therefore this is as I have said the very foundation upon which the Church is built Which is the Pillar of Truth as it defends the Truth out of the Scriptures and by the Scriptures against all Hereticks and other opposers and as it establishes and supports it in the hearts of Men by this means that it may be continued to Posterity This must be added for the explication of all that hath been said that the Church and every person in it great or small are Pillars not by themselves but by the Holy Scriptures For we know those things that belong to our Salvation as Irenaeus (g) Adv. Hereses L. III. C. 1. begins his Third Book by no other persons than those by whom the Gospel came to us which then truly they preached but afterwards by the will of God deliverd to us in the Scriptures fundamentum Columnam fidei nostrae futurum to be the FOVNDATION and PILLAR of our Faith. Upon these our Faith rests and relys so that they who take the Scriptures from you take away the Foundation and Pillar of that Truth which is or ought to be taught in the Church and that alone They contain the mind and will of our Lord Christ who himself being the first Foundation and chief Pillar of all Epiphanius (h) Heres LXIX Nâ—m 35. applies these words to him When he saith our Lord is called the door because by him we enter in and the way because by him we walk and the Pillar because 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the very words of S. Paul in this place the ground or settlement and stay of Truth And in like manner S. Cyril (i) L. III. de Adoral in Sp. Veritate of Alexandria saith the Pillar of a Cloud and the Pillar of Fire each of them represented Christ because first of all 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he is the Pillar and Ground of Truth and then because he cannot be shaken or disturbed c. which he repeats again upon another occasion speaking of the pillars which supported the Curtains of the Tabernacle Christ is to be understood saith he (k) Ib. Lib. IX in each Pillar 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. the prop of the Church the Ground of Truth according to the words of Paul. And in the next Book (l) L. X. speaking of the four pillars which supported the Vail before the holy place he saith that Vail was a figure of Christ who was lifted up on high by the preaching of the Evangelists and therefore he saith the four Evangelists were typified by those four pillars being equally eminent and pretious more valuable than Gold and Silver Which
of them to nurse Men up securely in their sins such as the Doctrines of Purgatory of Indulgences of Penances and to name to more of Infallibility which being presumed as an unquestionable Principle is apt to lead Men in the most dangerous errors and the foulest sins without any remedy or possibility of recovery whensoever the Infallible Guide shall propound them This pernicious Doctrine I may add seems also to be deeply rooted in all their minds that an Orthodox Belief will save them For this they make the great business of Christianity to bring Men as they think to such a Faith as appears by this that let Men be never so bad their labour is not bestowed to make them quit their Sins but to bring them to their Belief where for any thing I can see or hear they may quietly enjoy them Nay there are a number of little devices to put them in hope of Heaven without reforming their lives provided they Believe as the Church Believes And in this let me beseech all that read these Papers to take a special care that they do not imitate them Let us be watchful that we do not put a greater Cheat upon our selves than they would do by imagining our selves good Christians meerly because we Zealously oppose the Errors of Popery That we ought to do but not leave the great Thing the amending of our Lives undone For may we not destroy and pull down by a wicked life as much as we build up by contending for the Faith How can others think that we are so much concerned as we seem to be for Truth when we make no use of it but let it lie dead in our minds What pitty is it that their hearts should not love that which is good whose minds are inlightned to discern that which is true That their understandings being convinced their wills should not also be converted It is a lamentable thing to profess that we know God but in our Works deny him This makes us look as if we were of a Faction rather than of the Faithful who oppose others rather as our Enemies than as Christ's as those that differ from us rather than as those that differ from the Truth For if it be the Truth that we Reverence why do we not let it Rule and Govern us Why do we not love to have it nearer to us than in our Brains even in our Hearts and Affections For there is no greater Truth than this that Vngodliness is the worst of Heresies a wicked life the most opposite of all other things to the Christian Faith. Let us never forget therefore that Admonition of the Apostle in the First Chapter of this Epistle to Timothy v. 19. Hold faith and a good conscience which he repeats again in the Third Chapter to the Deacons whom he exhorts to hold the mystery of saith in a pure conscience v. 9. For if we put away a good conscience we may easily make Shipwrack even of our faith Which we have just cause to think is the reason why some have fallen from this truly Apostolick Church of ours Concerning which and concerning whom I may say as Epiphanius (t) Haeres XI 〈◊〉 8. putting this place I have been expounding and some others together makes the Apostle speak to Timothy It is the Church of the living God the pillar and ground of truth which many forsaking are turned 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to fables and foolish bablings neither understanding what they say nor whereof they affirm FINIS Books lately 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 Phanaticism 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 Sers By WILLIAM CAVE D. D. Octavo An Answer to Mr. Serjeant's Sure Footing in Christianity concerning the Rule of Faith With some other Discourses By WILLIAM FALKNER D. D. 4o. 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 An Abridgment of the History of the Reformation of the Church of England By GILB BVRNET D. D. Octavo 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 Salisbury 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 BEDEL 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 of Sevil in Matter of Religion concerning the General Motives to the Roman Obedience Octavo 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 Desence of the Exposition of the Doctrine of the CHVRCH of ENGLAND against the EXCEPTIONS of Monsieur de MEAVK late Bishop of Condom and his VINDICATOR Quarto An Answer to THREE PAPERS lately printed concerning the Authority of the Catholick Church in Matters of Faith and the Reformation of the Church of England Quarto A Vindication of the Answer to SOME LATE PAPERS concerning the Unity and Authority of the Catholick Church and Reformation of the Church of England Quarto An Historical Treatise written by an AUTHOR of the Communion of the CHVRCH of ROME touching TRANSVBSTANTIATION Wherein is made appear That according to the Principles of THAT CHVRCH This Doctrine cannot be an Article of Faith. Quarto 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 A Papist Represented and not Misrepresented Being an Answer to the First Second Firth and Sixth Sheets of the Second Part of the Popish Representer and for a further Vindication of the CATECHISM truly reprsenting the Doctrine and Practices of the Church of Rome Quarto In 3. Discourses The Lay-Christian's Obligations to read the Holy Scriptures Quarto The Plain Man's Reply to the Catholick Missionaries 24o. The Protestant's Companion Or an Impartial Survey and Comparison of the Protestant Religion as by Law established with the main Doctrines of Popery Wherein is shewn that Popery is contrary to Scripture Primitive Fathers and Councils and that Proved from Holy Writ the Writings of the Ancient Fathers for several hundred Years and the Confession of the most Learned Papists themselves Quarto A Discourse of the Holy Eucharist in the two great points of the Real Presence and the Adoration of the Host In Answer to the two Discourses lately printed at Oxford on this Subject To which is prefixed a large Historical Preface relating to the same Argument Quarto The Pillar and Ground of Truth A Treatise shewing that the Roman Church falsly claims to be That Church and the Pillar of That Truth mentioned by S. Paul in his First Epistle to Timothy Chap. III. Vers 15. Quarto A Brief Discourse concerning the Notes of the Church with some reflections on Cardinal Bellarmin's Fifteen Notes Quarto An Examination of the Cardinal's First Note concerning The Name of Catholick His Second Note Antiquity His Third Note Duration His Fourth Note Amplitude or Multitude and variety of Believers His Fifth Note The Succession of Bishops His Sixth Note Agreement in Doctrine with the Primitive Church His Seventh Note Vnion of the Members among themselves and with the Head The rest will be published Weekly in their Order A Defence of the Confuter of Bellarmin's Second Note of the Church Antiquity against the Cavills of the Adviser Quarto In the Press THE Peoples Right to read the Holy Scriptures asserted In Answer to the 6th 7th 8th 9th and 10th Chapters of the Popish Representer Two Discourses Of Purgatory and Prayers for the Dead Quarto A Short Summary of the Principal Controversies between the Church of England and the Church of Rome Being a Vindication or several Prâ—testant Doctrines in Answer to a late Pamphlet intituled Protestancy destitute of Scripture Proofs FINIS