such quantity and colour and in such a place but if he conceive him in his mind then it is an universal notion agreeing to all Horses Now then as the thing conceived in the mind or understanding is not visible because it hath no colours it is not audible because it hath no sound nor is big or little because it hath no quantity so the Soul it self must needs be of this nature namely without all quantity quality time and place And therefore according to the Light of Reason the Soul cannot be Corruptible but must be Immortal Secondly If we further consider the manner of the Souls Operation she must needs be an immortal spiritual substance There are two undoubted Axioms and Maxims in Philosophy which cannot be gainsayed namely That every thing is received according to the quality of the receiver and That every thing hath the same manner of Essence as it hath of Operation Now the Soul of Man can easily receive impressions and thoughts of Immortality and discourse thereupon and therefore it is in its own nature and essence Immortal Aristotle observes That the Soul in understanding is made as it were the Object that is understood because as the Wax after it is stamp'd is in some sort the very Seal it self that stamp'd it namely representativè so the Soul in receiving the species of any Object is made the Picture or Image of the thing it self Now then the Understanding of a man being able to apprehend Immortality yea indeed apprehending every Corporeal substance as if it were Immortal I mean by refining and purging it from all gross material and corruptible qualities must be much more it self of an immaterial and immortal nature The Soul depends not as do other Forms either in her Being or Operation upon the Body For as to the Act of Understanding she works without the concurrence of any Bodily Organ and therefore can subsist by her own nature when separated from the Body without the concurrence of any matter to sustain her The Independence of the Soul in her Being and Operation upon the Body is manifest because she hath in some measure the knowledge of Truth of God of Angels and of her Self She can assent discourse abstract invent contrive and do the like none of which Acts depend upon any material faculty And then further this Independence of hers appears in those Raptures and Extasies wherein the Soul is rais'd above and from the Body and bodily Organs though not from informing the Body yet certainly from borrowing any assistance or help there from for the producing of its Operation The truth is the Soul of Man is such a spiritual substance that it receiveth perfection from all things for Intellectus omnia intelligit yea wherein all Contraries are reconciled and lay aside their Opposition For as a Noble Writer truly observes (i) Morney de verit Relig. Christian cap. 14. Those things which destroy one another in the World maintain and perfect one another in the Mind one thing being a means for the clearer apprehension of another Thirdly This is also evident to Reason That if the Soul were a mortal perishing thing then it would undeniably follow That those natural desires which are planted in every man's Soul should be frustrate and in vain But such desires being not sinful cannot be frustrate for Natura nil facit frustra Nature doth nothing in vain Now these natural desires of the Soul should be in vain if there were not something to content and satisfie them which being not found upon Earth must be sought for in Heaven yea in God himself And this plainly shews that the Soul is divine and immortal Indeed a sinful desire should not be fulfilled as if a Man should vainly desire to be transformed into an Angel But as for meer natural desires in Man as the desire to live happy and to be free of misery these are not sinful and forasmuch as they cannot be fulfill'd in this life therefore they must be fulfill'd in the life to come Naturally every man desires to have a being after his Body is dissolved Hence is that desire which men have to leave a good Name behind them and that it may go well with their Posterity and the like And from this Natural instinct come those ambitious desires in vain men to erect costly Sepulchres and Monuments after their death and to call their Houses and Lands after their own Names yea the poorest Tradesmen hath this desire when he can reach no higher he will have a Stone laid upon his Grave with his Name upon it Now this very ambitious desire that is in man is a testimony in his mind of the immortality of his Soul that it subsisteth after this life and dieth not with the Body Fourthly Another reason of the Souls Immortality which is also obvious to the Light of Nature may be drawn from the dignity and preheminence of Man above other Creatures which were appointed to be subject and serviceable to him Now this dignity cannot possibly stand with the Souls mortality For would not many other Creatures far excel Man in health strength swiftness and in the duration of their being if Man's Soul were not Immortal Alas how subject is the nature of Man to weakness faintness cares fears jealousies discontents and all other miseries of Mind and Body which other Creatures are not so obnoxious unto Is there not disturbance in our very peace and have not our contentments and comfort here their vexation and interruption And must not their miseseries be exceeding miserable whose very happiness in this Life is unhappy if there were not a Life to come Mortality and corruption make the want of Reason a priviledge to other Creatures And in this case the Beasts would be so much the more happy than Man by how much the less they know their own misery And therefore there must be some other thing wherein Man far excels the other Creatures and that is in the Spiritualness and Immortality of his Soul Fifthly Every corruptible mortal thing is subject to time and motion but the Soul of Man is neither subject to time nor motion and consequently she is not corruptible and mortal That the Soul is not subject to motion is cleared thus Motion hindereth the Soul from attaining its own perfection when the Soul is free from motion and perturbation then it is most perfect and most fit to understand spiritual things sutable to its own nature As Water when it is clear and not muddy receives the similitude of the Face with most clearness Again Reason it self will tell us That the things that are true need not a lie to further them But now to make use of the Souls Immortality as a means to further and incite us to the Duties which we are bound to do were to use a lie if the Soul were not Immortal For many Religious Duties which we are bound to perform require the contempt of this Life as the abstaining from
Authority of the sacred Scriptures proved by Reason Page 97 1. Because no other or better Revelation of Gods Will can be produced 2. The Old Testament hath been throughout all Ages witnessed to and wonderfully preserved by the Jews 3. The whole universal Church of Christ have all along witnessed the Divine Authority of the Old and New Testament even to the death 4. God hath confirmed the Authority thereof by great and strange Miracles from Heaven 5. The Scriptures are the most antient and authentical of any writing 6. The stile order contexture and frame of the Scripture shew the Divine Authority thereof 7. Another Reason is taken from the wonderful powerful effects of the Doctrine of the Scriptures 8. From the admirable harmony and consent thereof 9. The matter treated of therein is divine and wonderful Here are mentioned five notes of a Divine Power 10. The end which the Scriptures aim at is divine and heavenly CHAP. XIII Of the use of Reason in the interpreting of Scripture and judging of Controversies Page 110 1. Here is a discovery of the unreasonableness of the Popish implicite Faith and blind Obedience 2. Their Doctrine of Transubstantiation is made apppear 1. To be against Sense 2. Against Reason 3. Against Faith 3. 'T is also shewed that there is a twofold Judgment in matters of Religion one in foro publico another in foro privato 4. That every private Christian ought to make use of his Reason and to exercise a Judgment of discretion in trying Spirits and Doctrines This is proved by six cogent Arguments Objections against this tenet and practise answered CHAP. XIV Of the Internal testimony of the Holy Ghost proving the Divine Authority of the Scriptures Page 123 1. It is here shewed that this Testimony is more satisfactory to the Conscience then all other proofs 2. That a Christians Faith should be ultimately and finally resolved into the Testimony of the Holy Ghost and not into the Testimony of the Church which is but humane 3. The Popish Circle is described and the Protestant Doctrine herein vindicated 4. Some Rules and Cautions concerning the Testimony of the Spirit are here propounded to prevent mistakes CHAP. XV. Shewing when Reason is rightly used and when abused to the prejudice of the Spirits Testimony in the Scriptures Page 133 1. Reason is the Organ which lets into the Soul the Light of Faith 2. It being overpowered by the Spirit of God sees the greatest reasonableness in the Truths and Wayes of Christ 3. Reason is exceeding useful in maintaining the Doctrine of Christ 4. Nevertheless we should not make Reason the Judge in Divine matters nor subject the Authority of the Scriptures to our Reason as Socinians do Three Arguments against it CHAP. XVI Of the difference betwixt the meer rational and spiritual man and their Acts about spiritual things Here is shewed Page 142 1. That the Spiritual man hath Christ formed in him and lives the life of Christ which the meer rational man doth not 2. That the divine Principle which acts the Spiritual man is more then the improvement of the most excellent natural and rational abilities 3. That man is passive in the new spiritual Birth and cannot by all his Reason discern how this spiritual life is wrought 4. How and wherein the spiritual Mans Acts and Operations do far transcend the meer rational Mans. 5. They differ in the nature and effects of their Faith in reference to Christ and the Promises in five Particulars CHAP. XVII Proving that none can be saved by the meer improvement of the Light of Reason Page 152 1. Divers of the Fathers and some modern Writers have err'd in this Point 2. Four things are laid down for the better opening of it God might reveal his Son if he so pleased in an extraordinary way to some Heathens 3. It is proved by nine Arguments that no rational moral Heathen can be saved without faith in Christ as Mediator One or two material Objections answered CHAP. XVIII Of rational and intellectual delights Here is shewed Page 16â— 1. That every being chuseth to it self some kind of pleasure As 1. God who is the chiefest Being 2. The Angels 3. Men that have rational Souls 4. The sensitive Creatures 2. In what particulars the delights of Reason and of the Mind do far excel the pleasures of the Body CHAP. XIX Shewing that Reason and much more Faith doth fortifie a man against the excessive fear of death Page 172 1. Here are eight Considerations drawn from Reason against the slavish fear of death 2. Seven Arguments are also drawn from Faith in the Word of God against the fear of death 3. The famous sayings of some dying Christians are mentioned CHAP. XX. That humane Reason and the due exercise thereof is a great mercy Page 187 1. This is opened in some particulars 2. It is here shewed that man who hath a reasonable Soul is wonderfully made like a curious piece of Embroydery 1. In respect of his Body and the members thereof 2. In respect of his rational Soul wherein Man far excels other Creatures Five things mentioned relating to the excellency of the reasonable Soul 3. In respect of his new spiritual Birth and participation of the Divine nature CHAP. XXI A Recapitulation of particulars touching the use of humane Reason and Knowledge in reference to the Christian Religion Page 195 1. Here are five Considerations premised 2. The excellency and use of humane Reason and Knowledge is particularly held forth As 1. Some that have been famous Instruments in the Church of God have abounded therein 2. The Penmen of the holy Scriptures make use of it 3. It helps us to understand the Grammatical literal sense and the Chronology and Prophesies of Scripture 4. It 's useful for convincing Heathens and Infidels 5. In trying Spirits and Doctrines comparing Scripture with Scripture 6. As a passive qualification of the subject for Faith and Repentance in which case there must be a Principle of Reason CHAP. XXII How and in what respects Reason comes short and is abused in Divine things Page 206 1. Reason cannot discover the mystery of the Trinity Incarnation of Christ c. 2. Nor the sinfulness and corruption of mans heart and nature 3. It cannot prescribe the true worship of God 4. Nor enable us perfectly to perform natural and civil Actions without the general assistance of God 5. Our assent to the Gospel should be the assent of Faith and not of meer Reason 6. The Scripture and not Reason is the Rule for a Christian to walk by in spiritual matters he must be crucified to his Reason Here is also shewed in six particulars when and wherein humane Reason and Knowledge is abused and so becomes dangerous to the Christian Religion
animosities supplantings disorders and inconsistencies amongst us if the soft and sober voice of reason were more attended to Reason would make some differences kiss and be friends it would quench many a flame and bind up many a wound it would end many petty personal quarrels for the good of the whole and the welfare of the community The Soul is toss'd up and down with passion and groundless suspition but anchors upon judgment and reason This calmness and quietness of reason doth never commend it self more than in complying with Faith in not opposing those high and transcendent mysteries which are above its own reach and capacity such a modesty and humility our reason should always have and practise namely to submit and subordinate it self to all such Divine Revelations as are above its own sphere though it cannot grasp them or pierce into them yet it should ever resolve with all humility and gratitude to admire them to bow its head and adore them One light should not oppose another lumen fidei and lumen rationis may shine both together though in several Orbs and with far different brightness This Candle of the Lord should not be impatient of a superiour light of a brighter Sun The light of reason should no more prejudice the light of Faith than the light of a Candle doth prejudice the light of a Star or the light of the Sun why should there be any strife between Faith and Reason seeing they are brethren both springing from the same Father of Lights though the one be much superiour to the other Indeed there are such infinite Treasures of Grace and Glory displayed in the Gospel as do far transcend Mans Reason and therefore must be apprehended by Faith which is the evidence of things not seen the substance of things hoped for Nature and Reason are not sufficiently proportioned to such high and transcendent Objects here are such depths such pleonasms such weights of glory as do opprimere ingenium humanum If the Sons of Men could have extracted all the Spirits of Reason and made them meet in one head nay if Angels and Men could have united and concentricated all their Reason and Knowledge yet they would never have been able to find out and discover such profound and mysterious Excellencies as the Eye of true Evangelical Faith beholdeth in an instant Revealed Truths shine with their own beams and brightness and do not borrow their lustre from the dim Candle of our Reason whatsoever God who is Truth it self reveals must needs be true Reason is so modest that it will not contradict this for it doth acknowledge a Deity and the unquestionable Truth of a Deity In all believing there is an assent a yielding to him that speaks by virtue of his own authority though he doth not prove and evince it any other way than by meer testimony Reason it self dictates thus much to us that we are to believe such a one whom we have no reason to distrust for without some faith there would be no commerce in the world there 's no trading without some trusting a general and total incredulity would threaten a present and fatal dissolution to human society Men may deceive us for none of them are infallible but God being Truth it self an Eternal Immutable Truth and all Revelations flowing from Him being certain and infallible like Himself hence it is that His naked Word is a sufficient demonstration and he that will not believe a God who is Truth it self is no better than an Atheist yea in some respect he is worse than a Devil for the Devils believe and tremble Though there be many things in the Sacred Scriptures which are beyond the comprehension of Reason yet coming to us in the Name of the God of Truth and bearing the stamp and signature of Divine Authority it is not contrary but agreeable to Reason that we should believe them and assent to them Some there are that endeavour to maintain this Opinion That revealed Truths though they could not be found out by Reason yet when they are once revealed Reason can evince and demonstrate them but I rather incline to the Judgment of Aquinas That humane Reason when it has stretch'd it self to the uttermost is not at all proportioned to them but at the best only can give some weak adumbrations of them 'T will be honour enough for Reason to submit unto Divine Revelation and to captivate it self to the Authority of God in His Word and withall to make it appear to the Adversaries of the Gospel that Faith does not oppose Reason indeed the way of Faith is a far more compendious way longum iter per rationem breve per fidem That which Reason would have been sweating for these many years Faith sups up the very quintessence of it in a moment God hath chosen this way of Faith that he may stain the pride and glory of Man that he may confound the wisdom of the flesh and maintain in Man great apprehensions of Himself of His Divine Revelations Truth and Goodness and keep the Creature in a continual posture of dependency upon Himself and humble submission to His own Testimony and Authority Fourthly The Light of Reason is lumen Ascendens an Ascendant light Reason is soon weary with fluttering up and down among the Creatures and perishing things of this life this Candle doth but waste it self to no purpose in searching for true happiness here below after a diligent search your own Reason will tell you that the summum bonum the chiefest good lies not in the riches honours pleasures of this world no nor in moral virtues and excellencies though some Men far above others have snuffed their Candles with more care and exactness by improving their intellectuals and refining their morals yet at length they sadly perceiv'd that when their Candles were at the brightest they burnt but dimly and blewly and that for all their snuffing they would relapse again into their former dimness and obscurity The Improvements of Nature and Reason will never make a Man perfectly happy This Candle of the Lord would flame and ascend upward towards Heaven but is much weakened and darkned by lusts and passions so that it cannot mount up to God and attain that glorious end and reward which is the happiness of Man Natures eye cannot see it Natures hand cannot reach it nor is there any natural power or operation proportioned to such a high transcendent Object as the Blessed Face of God in Glory And therefore the Nature and Reason of Man must be advanc'd above it self by a supernaturale Auxilium before it can be bless'd with so great a perfection as to arrive to the full end of its being nay God Himself O wonderful Mystery was pleased to assume the Nature of Man that He might make it more capable of this perfection and by a strict Love-knot and union make it partaker of the Divine Nature CHAP. IV. Shewing that the best Heathen Philosophers were
any appearance of the face of Religion and may it not be feared that even the Turks and Heathens many of which do exceedingly reverence and honour those that administer their religious Rites and Service will rise up in judgment against many forward Professors of the Gospel who do on the other side as much contemn and despise their Ministers affording them neither countenance nor maintenance which is quite contrary to the Light of Nature and Reason whilst they pretend to the Light of the Gospel and supernatural Revelation The Apostle plainly shews even by Arguments taken from the Light of Nature 1 Cor. 9.7 that the Ministers of the Gospel who labour in the Lord's Vineyard should have due maintenance and encouragement As Tyranny in Church Officers is dangerous and destructive on the one hand swallowing up the liberties of Christian Societies so a Contemptible mendicant Ministry such a Ministry as is enslaved to the dictates and humours of the People is as dangerous and destructive if not more dangerous and destructive to Religion on the other hand as our own reason and daily experience will tell us Fourthly Societies for the solemn Worship of God being agreeable to the Light of Nature and Reason as well as to the Holy Scriptures we may hence gather that every Christian is under an Obligation to joyn himself to one Church-society or other where he may solemnly worship God according to his Judgment and Conscience and not walk at random without rule and order for as he should worship God in secret so being a member or part of the Church of God which is a Body politick he ought to manifest it by being visibly united to other parts of the Body And although Churches are much divided and corrupted at this day yet seeing there are many true Churches of Christ and some of them purer and more agreeable to his own Judgment than others he is bound by the Ordinance of God and this the very light of Nature and Reason will also suggest unto him to joyn and adhere to that Society which he judgeth to be most pure and most agreeable to the Rule of Scripture and his own professed Principles All Nations throughout the World that acknowledge a Deity are convinc'd even by the light of Nature that it is their duty to associate themselves with others for the participation of those Religious Rites and Ordinances that belong to the Worship of that Deity which they acknowledge Fifthly It is an irrational absurd thing and argues an Imposing spirit as any rational impartial man may easily judge to make that to be a ground and condition of Church Communion which the most holy wise God hath not required in His Word What will men be wiser than God will they lay Burthens on the Consciences of their Fellow-Christians where God hath left them free As this practice of theirs opposeth the Word of God and the Christian moderation of the purest Primitive Church so it riseth up with a high hand against the Light of Reason which would have us do no more to others in things of this nature than we would have them do unto us What reason can be given why Christians now should not stand upon the same terms and grounds of Church Communion which they did in the times of Christ and His Apostles Or that they should be bound up to more than Christ hath obliged them unto Or that any should be excluded from Church Communion who have Communion with Christ and shall be admitted into His heavenly Kingdom Surely this is unreasonable The question is not whether the things commanded and required be lawful or no nor whether Indifferencies may be determin'd by the Church or the Magistrate But Whether those persons do in a rational way consult the Advancement of the Protestant Cause the Churches Peace and Unity and the benefit of Brotherly Communion who suspend it upon such things as God hath not made the Ground of Church-Communion and is contrary to the Example and Practice of Christ and His Apostles for they would lay no other Burthen upon the Churches besides the things that were necessary Acts 15.29 Doubtless the main Inlet of those Divisions and Confusions that have been and are yet in the Christian World was and is by adding other Conditions of Christian Communion than Christ hath appointed Hereof none are more guilty though none more apt to accuse and condem others than the Schismatical Church of Rome who by adding to the Rule of Faith and to the true Grounds of Church Communion hath caused no small Trouble to the Churches of Christ which come to be establish'd in Peace not by rigorous Impositions but by mutual forbearance and condescention in such Indifferencies as are not determined in Scripture And this our own reason will tell us that the Unity and Peace of the Church lies not so much in a bare Uniformity in Opinion and Practice touching these things as in an unity of Love and Affection and a prudent forbearance and moderation for which Christian moderation the Primitive Church is much commended and herein we should imitate her She judged it saith the Ecclesiastical Historian (g) Sozom. Hist Eccles l. 7. cap. 19. and that very justly a foolish and frivolous thing for those that agree in the weighty matters of Religion to separate from one anothers Communion for the sake of some petty Customs and Observations For Churches agreeing in the same Faith often differ in their Rites and Customs And withall he tells us of many Cities and Villages in Egypt not only differing from the Customs of the famous Church of Alexandria but from all other Churches besides in their publick Assemblies on the Evenings of the Sabbath and receiving the Eucharist after Dinner And thus they freely allowed liberty unto and did not rigorously Impose upon dissenters in matters of this nature carrying themselves towards them with much moderation and sweetness of deportment without making such observances in Worship as were disputable and not clearly determined in Scripture the Indispensable Conditions of Communion with a particular Church And what reason can be alledged for such Injunctions Is not the Rule of Church Communion plainly laid down and fix'd by Christ himself to the things which he hath Commanded Matth. 28.19 20. After this when some persons would have impos'd the Mosaical Rites and Ceremonies for which there was yet more Ground than for our Impositions the Apostle bids the Churches stand fast in their liberty so as not to be the servants of men in these things yea and after the Apostles days when Victor Bishop of Rome would have imposed on other Churches in the point of observing Easter he was worthily condemned by Irenaeus and others If it be lawful for any persons or Churches to assign unscriptural conditions of their Communion will it not hence follow That Christ hath fixed no certain Rule of Communion among Christians which doubtless he hath done as appears plainly in the Scriptures And if
such persons or Churches may devise and assign new Rules and Conditions of Church Communion where shall the bounds and limits be set Reason it self will tell us that there will be no end no bottom of it some men especially being witty to devise a multitude of Ceremonies and outward Observances whereof Augustine himself complained in his days and which sufficiently appears in the Church of Rome in our days Sixthly The Light of Nature and Reason will also inform us that such as are admitted into a Church Society should freely consent to be governed by the Laws and Rules of it Nor can those be look'd upon rationally as stated members of a Society that will not submit to the Rules of the Society as they were constituted at the time of their entrance into it if they will partake of the Priviledges of a Society 't is but reasonable that they should submit to the Laws of it and perform those Duties that are incumbent upon them as members of it otherwise they do but weaken and not strengthen the Society whereof they are members Yea it is highly rational that in a well ordered Society every offendor should give an account of his Actions to the Governors of it and submit to the Censures inflicted upon him by them that so the Society may be preserved in peace and order and the Laws and Ordinances of it administred with authority and success And when a Christian is actually joyned in Church Society with others he should not upon slight grounds break off Communion but should continue still with them till his Communion become sinful for there is nothing in Scripture or Reason that can justifie a total separation from such a Society but the unlawfulness and sinfulness of continuing any longer in it Though there be many defects in that Society as there are in all the visible Churches of Christ yet if there be nothing Imposed upon him that is sinful but he may partake of the Ordinances of Christ without Sin he ought not to withdraw from such a Society A Christian may easily discern by the light of reason That if Church-members will withdraw upon every slight occasion and make themselves Judges of the Grounds of their withdrawing there will be no end of separation and withal this practice which is so common will at length be ruinous and destructive to the peace and order of every Church Society Indeed the Case is otherwise where a Church is guilty of great Corruptions both in Doctrine and Practice which it awoweth and professeth and also requireth the owning them as necessary conditions of Communion with her in such a case there ought to be a withdrawing from the Communion of that Church in which we cannot continue without Sin this is no Schism but rather the Duty of every Christian who ought to abstain from that Communion by which he will contract guilt upon his own Soul The departure therefore of a Christian from a Church is either lawful or schismatical according to the reasons and grounds of it which ought to be wisely and diligently inquired into before it be undertaken So long as we may communicate with a true Church of Christ of which we are stated members without Sin though there be some Corruptions tolerated but not imposed by her we should not utterly forsake her Communion but endeavour to preserve the Society and in a sober rational way to reform those Corruptions and Abuses according to our Places and Callings Seventhly The Law of Nature and Reason dictates to us That all things in a Religious Society should be administred with much seriousness and gravity and not in a slight superficial manner which causeth much lightness and vanity of Spirit in the members of it whereas the Governors and Ministers of such Societies should so manage the Affairs thereof that the Ordinances and ways of God may be rendered awful and majestical and not vile and contemptible in the Eyes of the People by their means God will be reverenced in Church Assemblies where nothing should be done or practised but what becomes the Majesty of God and his Holy Worship If there be much disorder and confusion neither Ministers nor People duly keeping their places in a Church Society this must needs be displeasing unto God as being very unsutable to the nature of his Church and Worship which requires the greatest order and seriousness Here certainly if if in any Assembly all things should be done decently and in order nor should scandalous vicious persons be admitted to the participation of the Sacred Mysteries of Christ in his Churches for if these things be promiscuously used and made common to good and bad they will in a rational way lose their lustre and become contemptible and so they are at this day in those Church Societies where no Discipline at all is exercised What 's the reason that Religion flourished so much and that there was so great a veneration of the Mysteries of Christ in the Primitive times but because they used much strictness and Christian prudence in their admission of Church-members as is fully described by Origen and others who tell us that they inquired into the Conversations of the People to discover their seriousness in the profession of Christianity and requir'd of them true repentance and reformation of life before they were admitted to the participation of the Sacred Mysteries And Justin Martyr in his Apology speaking of the Celebration of the Lords Supper tells us That there was required of those persons that were admitted to the Lords Supper a profession of Faith in the Truths of the Gospel and a Life answerable thereunto without which it was not lawful for them to participate at the Lord's Table This causeth the Mysteries of God to be reverenced but where there is a promiscuous Admission and Administration and none excluded that will offer themselves this will in a short time take away that Majesty and Authority that should accompany such Holy Administrations in Church-Assemblies Eighthly The Light of Nature and Reason will tell us that there must be a way or means to determine and decide Controversies and differences arising in such a Society which immediately tend to the breaking the Peace and Unity thereof otherwise there would not be sufficient provision made for the maintenance and preservation of the Society Now this must in reason be supposed in all Societies That when they are first entred into it must be upon such terms as may be sufficient to maintain and keep up those Societies in peace and order The Body of Man is furnish'd by Nature not only with a receptive and concoctive faculty of what tends to its nourishment but with an expulsive faculty of what would tend to the ruine of it Thus it is also with Civil Societies they have not only ways to strengthen them but likewise a power to expel those noxious humours and qualities which tend to their dissolution and doubtless the Church of Christ which is a Religious
of the Christian Religion Why I believe the Incarnation Death and Resurrection of Christ I answer Because Gods Word testifieth of them as things most certain and true If he ask me further How know you that God hath revealed these things I answer By infallible signs and testimonies from Heaven beyond all humane power as hath been shewed Chap. 12. of this Treatise by which mans reason may be convinced that those writings are of God and so I can prove that a Christian hath more reason for his Religion then any other whether Jew or Turk or Heathen Fourthly Though in these respects that have been mentioned our Reason may be of very good use in reference to spiritual and divine things yet we must not make our Reason the rule and measure of our Faith in matters that are beyond our Reason As for example there is a Trinity of Persons in the Godhead as the Scripture assures us Matth. 28.19 1 John 5.7 Shall I now reject this great Mystery because it corresponds not with the dictates of my Reason and Understanding and say with those self-will'd Socinians that because it is impossible to Reason that three should be one God therefore I will not believe this great Truth But only interpret it thus that these three agree in one and are one by consent of minds and wills for so a thousand men may be one And again If because I cannot conceive or comprehend by my Reason how Christ and his Father can be one in substance and essence therefore I will find out another interpretation which may agree with my Reason though it be contrary to the mind of God in the Scriptures and to the Articles of the Christian Faith Truly this is to set Reason in the Chair or Throne above the Spirit of God in the Scriptures and so the sacred Scripture or Divine testimony shall vail Bonnet to our Sense and Reason and not we to the Authority of God in his Word Now this is the practice of curious proud Wits who will not believe any thing be it never so sublime and mysterious unless forsooth it be made evident to their shallow understandings Hence it is that they consult with the dictates of Reason about the chiefest Articles of Faith and accordingly expound them or rather pervert them denying and rejecting the Person and Offices of Christ the Doctrine of satisfaction and propitiation by Christ the Resurrection of the same Individual body the absolute Decrees of God and other Mysteries of the like nature and so at length God leaving them to their own vain reasonings and the wicked imaginations of their own hearts they become meer Atheists Indeed every Christian as hath been said ought to give a Reason of the Faith and Hope that is in him but we must put a difference between giving a reason of our believing and a reason of the thing believed I believe the Doctrine of the Trinity That Christ is consubstantial and coessential with the Father that he was incarnate and born of a Virgin that Jacob was loved and Esau rejected before they had done either good or evil and the reason and ground of my belief is because the same is written in the infallible Word of God But now to demonstrate and evidence these high Truths and Mysteries to humane Reason from the nature of things or otherwise to disbelieve them this is a course destructive to the Christian Faith and Religion There are some things that are evident in themselves as the Principles of Geometry that every whole and entire thing is bigger then a part of it and the like But then there are other things that are not evident in themselves but are revealed and made known to us both that they are and what they are by a forreign medium without the compass of the things themselves Of this sort are all those things which we are perswaded of by the report of others and this is that certainty of knowledge which we have of things that are believed the truth of which in themselves appeareth not to us nor is seen of us And in this respect Faith is truly said to be an assent without evidence upon the credit of the Revealer In these things our Reason reacheth but the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that such things are the Truth of God but the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is hid from us we cannot shew a reason how such things should be Thus to tye our Faith to Reason and form our belief by the dictates of reason so as to refuse to believe any thing without evidence from the nature of the thing it self demonstrated and made known to our Reason argues much pride and self-confidence setting up our Reason above the Will of God * Against subjecting the Scripture to Reason revealed and arraigning the sacred Scriptures at the Bar of our Reason Now this is not to be admitted but to be rejected by all Christians and that upon these Grounds and Considerations First Because our Reason and Understandings are but weak and shallow in the knowledge of the Mysteries of Nature and we are much more ignorant and blind in the mysteries of Grace and in things that are divine and supernatural John 1.5 1 Cor. 1.19 20. 1 Cor. 2.11.14 1 Cor. 13.12 When the world by all its wisdom and reason knew not God in Christ It pleased God saith the Apostle 1 Cor. 1.21 by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe Yea not only in the men of the world but in the most eminent Saints there is still much blindness in their understandings and much perverseness in their wills and in the reasonings of their hearts against the Truths of God Now these vain and carnal and foolish reasonings of ours should be regulated and corrected by the Word of God Mans Reason should not presume to regulate the Word but the Word of God should regulate and correct mans Reason The Word is the rule and not our Reason for that which is to be regulated cannot be the rule to regulate Secondly To bring Scripture to the Bar of our Reason and so make Reason the Judge in divine mysteries is exceeding preposterous for this were to subordinate and make subject that which is much superiour to that which is far inferiour that which is perfect and without error to that which is imperfect and erroneous Now certainly that which is weak and corrupt is not fit to judge that which is holy and perfect nor is that which is subject to errors and mistakes as mans Reason is fit to regulate and judge the Word of God which is all light and all truth and is profitable for doctrine for reproof for correction for instruction in righteousness that the man of God may be perfect throughly furnished unto all good works 2 Tim. 3.16 17. As John the Baptist said to Christ (n) Mr. Lyford on Heb. 5.13 14. cap. 1. pag. 28. I have need to be baptized of thee and comest thou to me that am
applied to the Heathens before the coming of Christ you may read of in his Apology The Church of Rome represented in the Council of Trent hath not yet determined nor doth she think fit to determine this Question Whether the moral Heathens might be saved by the improvement of the Light of Nature Amongst those of the Reformed Religion Zuinglius was of this opinion that the best of the Heathens were actually saved and that Christ did communicate himself to them in an extraordinary way But this is more then can be proved by him or any other And herein not only Gualter and Bullinger but all our Divines generally do dissent from him Aquinas mentions an inscription found in the Sepulchre of a Heathen in the time of Constantine the Greek Emperor and Irene his Mother with these words Christus nascitur ex Virgine ego credo in eum O sol sub Irenae Constantini temporibus iterum me videbit whence he infers that some of the Heathens were not altogether without the knowledge of Christ the Mediator That saying of Erasmus whether in jest or in earnest I know not Vix possum me continere quin dicam sancte Socrates ora pro nobis may be seen and read in his Preface to one of Cicero's Books Nego hanc Propositionem saith a fierce Arminian nemo potest salvus fieri qui Christo per veram fidem non sit insitus I deny this Proposition that none can be saved but such as are ingraffed into Christ by true faith And there are some that have coined a vain and groundless distinction of a threefold Piety Judaica Christiana Ethnica boldly affirming that what Moses was to the Jews Christ to the Christians the same is Philosophy or the knowledge of God by Nature to the Heathens But this is to frustrate the Grace of God in Christ the Mediator 'T is not denyed but granted by us First That some persons have a more clear explicite distinct knowledge of Christ the Mediator (r) Vid. Dr. Prid. Lect. 8. de Salute Ethnicorum then others according to the means of Grace which they are under and yet both may be saved Secondly That there were some of all sorts amongst the Gentiles noble and ignoble learned and unlearned for whom Christ died and who did reap some benefit by his death Thirdly God may and sometimes doth in an extraordinary manner unknown to us reveal his Grace to and work Faith in the hearts of some persons This he may do in those that are born deaf and dumb among Christians and this he may also do in some Heathens If God will work whether in an ordinary or extraordinary way whether by means or without means who can hinder him Yea. Fourthly God may if he please reveal his saving Grace in Christ to a poor Heathen even at the last gasp by the secret inspiration of his Spirit as he shewed mercy to the Thief upon the Cross But that any Heathen though never so rational and moral can be eternally saved by the improvement of his natural abilities or moral vertues without being implanted into Christ and united to him as the Head and Mediator of the Church which is his body this we utterly deny and that upon these following Grounds and considerations First In regard of that corruption and wickedness which is in every mans heart and nature God saw that the whole imagination of the thoughts of mans heart was only evil and that continually the Hebrew word signifieth not only the imagination but also the purposes and desires of mans heart Gen. 6.5 The heart of every natural man is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked Jer. 17.9 It is not only an enemy but enmity against God Rom. 8.7 By nature men are dead in trespasses and sins and under the power of Satan Ephes 2.1 2 3. and taken captive by Satan at his will and pleasure 2 Tim. 2.26 and therefore they cannot be saved by the light and power of nature without true faith in Christ as Mediator Secondly The best works and highest attainments of the unregenerate who still remain in the state of nature and are not implanted into Christ are sinful and unprofitable the very prayers and ploughing of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord. No man saith our Saviour speaking of the unregenerate Matth. 7.16 17 18. can gather Grapes of Thorns or Figs of Thistles nor can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit The Church her self confesseth Isai 64.6 that all her righteousnesses even her best works and righteousness are as filthy rags And the Apostle Paul who if any man might have confidence in the flesh he much more yet counts all his own righteousness and best works but loss and dung for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Phil. 3.4 8. And if it was thus with Paul and with the Church of God in respect of their righteousness and works then what shall we think of the works and performances of the most rational and moral Heathens Surely they must needs be much more vain and unprofitable Hence it is that Augustine saith of the greatest vertues of the moral Heathens that they were but splendida peccata Thirdly Faith in Christ true Gospel faith is indispensably required at least in all adult persons as necessary to salvation Without Faith it is impossible to please God Heb. 11.6 Neither Circumcision availeth any thing nor uncircumcision but Faith which worketh by love Gal. 5.6 He that believeth on Christ shall be saved but he that believeth not shall be damned The Believer hath everlasting life but the wrath of God abideth on the unbeliever John 3.18 36. He that hath the Son hath life and he that hath not the Son hath not life 1 John 5.12 Nor is it a general Faith in God as a Creator or Rewarder thrt will save a man but there must be Faith in Christ as Redeemer and Mediator for no man cometh to the Father but by him John 14.6 And this is life eternal to know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent John 17.3 Fourthly God will have his dearly beloved Son honoured and exalted in the salvation of sinners whether they be moral or profane they need a Saviour a Sacrifice to appease the wrath and satisfie the Justice of God for them He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him John 5.23 There is no salvation in any other besides Christ neither is there any other Name under Heaven given among men whereby we can be saved Acts 4.12 Other foundation can no man lay then what is laid which is Jesus Christ 1 Cor. 3.11 Unless the Moralist with all his vertues and endowments be built upon this Rock and Foundation he must needs perish everlastingly Christ is the way 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that way by which only man can enter into eternal blessedness He is the life the Author and Giver of eternal life John 14.6 John 11.25
Fifthly God hath in his infinite Wisdom concatenated and knit together the means and the end in the links of that Golden chain of salvation Rom. 8.30 so that none shall be saved and glorified but such as are predestinated to be conformable to the Image of Christ such as are effectually called justified and sanctified through Christ And again whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard And how shall they hear without a Preacher And how shall men preach except they be sent Rom. 10.13 14. So then those moral Heathens to whom the Gospel is not sent who are not effectually called and converted by the Spirit of Christ so as to be made conformable to his Image cannot be saved by all their moral vertues and improvements Sixthly The Lord is a holy and righteous God of purer eyes then to behold the least iniquity with approbation he loveth righteousness and hateth sin nor will he justifie any person at his Tribunal but such an one as either hath a perfect righteousness of his own which no man hath or is found in Christ cloathed with his righteousness who was made sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in him 2 Cor. 5.21 Now this way of Justification is divine and supernatural far transcending the capacity of the most moral Heathens Adam himself in the state of Innocency looked for Justification by works and by his own personal righteousness and not by the righteousness of another so that indeed this Gospel-way of Justification is not only opposite to man fallen but to man before the fall It was never in mans Nature or Reason to seek for Justification by a righteousness without him and therefore if God had not revealed this way of Justification in and by his Gospel we nor the wisest men in the world should never have thought of it That the most virtuous men that are if ever they be truly justified and accepted as well as the most vitious persons must be justified before God not by working but by believing not by the improvement of their moral vertues but by faith in a cruc fied Christ resting wholly upon him in the sense of their sin and misery for pardon and salvation The true Gospel righteousness as it is wholly of Gods procuring so it is also of his revealing And as other mysteries of the Christian Religion are far above the reason and capacity of a natural or moral man so is this also All the Aristotles and Plato's all the learned rational Philosophers in the world could never have thought of such a way as this for the justification of sinners And therefore this righteousness of God is said to look down from Heaven and to be revealed from faith to faith Rom. 1.17 Seventhly No meer rational or moral man can be saved unless he be reconciled and reunited to God from whom he is seperated by sin Now this reconciliation and reunion must be by and through Christ or not at all for he is the only Mediator between God and man who took on him the nature of man and so joyn'd it to God by the indissolvable tye of the Hypostatical union And whoever will be saved must be united to God through him by the mystical bond of his Spirit which Christ received for and communicates to all the Elect that shall be saved so that unless a man be he Jew or Gentile have the Spirit of Christ dwelling in him and be quickened by the same Spirit that raised Christ from the grave he is none of his Rom. 8.9 11. unless he be transplanted out of the old stock the first Adam and made one spirit with the Lord Jesus the second Adam it is not all his moral vertues and endowments if he were a thousand times more vertuous then he is that will bring him to Heaven Eighthly To hold that a Heathen may be saved by the improvement of his moral vertues without faith in Christ the Mediator is such an opinion as is attended with many absurdities for if this were so then should the true Church of God partly consist of such Members as have no faith nor knowledge of Christ at all or else such shall be saved as do not belong to the Catholick Church of Christ but are strangers to it whereas the Scripture assures us that the Lord adds unto his Church such as shall be saved Acts 2.47 It will also follow from this absurd opinion that Christ dyed in vain and that the preaching of the Gospel or Doctrine of Reconciliation by Christ is in vain as to a number of persons that shall be saved if they may attain salvation by the improvement of the light of Nature and Reason without the knowledge of Christ as Mediator which certainly is not revealed in and by the moral vertues and writings of the Heathen Philosophers much less by the Sun Moon and Stars but by the preaching of the Gospel According to this Opinion another way and much easier and more agreeable to flesh and blood then true faith in Christ self-denyal and resignation of the Soul to him would be found out for mans salvation and then we need no longer admire the riches of Gods Grace and Wisdom in the Redemption and Salvation of Sinners by Faith in Christ which yet is the great mystery of the Gospel Hence it is that some vain men in our dayes are so affected and transported with the moral vertues of the Heathen Philosophers that they make little or no difference in their Books and Sermons between these and the Graces of Gods Spirit which are wrought in the Saints as if to preach the Gospel of Christ and exhort Christians to the exercise of Evangelical Faith Repentance Love and other Graces were only to read unto them a Lecture of moral Philosophy Morality is one thing and Christianity is another whoever they be that go about by their moral vertues and works to appease the just and holy God or to comprehend him out of Christ the Mediator will be dazled with the brightness of his Glory and overwhelmed with the greatness of his Power For no man hath seen God at any time the only begotten Son which is in the Bosom of the Father he hath revealed him John 1.18 But perhaps it will be said (*) Objections answered That the Gentiles which had not the Law did by Nature the things contained in the Law it being written in their hearts Rom. 2.14 And therefore they might be saved If we apply these words of the Apostle to the unconverted Gentiles for there are those that expound the Text of the converted Gentiles then we answer That there is a natural and a supernatural inscription or writing in the hearts of men the one is ratione luminis naturalis by means of that natural light and Reason that is in man which
the Galatians hath many notable sayings touching Faith and Reason In this case of believing the Gospel saith he we must silence Reason which is an enemy to Faith which also in temptations of sin and death leaneth not to the righteousness of Faith for thereof it is utterly ignorant but to her own righteousness Now as soon as the Law and Reason joyn together Faith loseth her Virginity for nothing fighteth more strongly against Faith then the Law and Reason The Gospel leadeth us beyond and above the light of the Law and Reason into the deep secrets of Faith where the Law and Reason have nothing to do Again If ye will believe Reason Reason will tell you that such things as God hath promised are impossible foolish weak absurd things What more absurd foolish and impossible then that Abraham should have a Son in his old age of the barren and dead Body of Sarah But now Faith killeth Reason and slayeth that Beast which the whole World and all Creatures cannot kill Thus Abraham killed it by Faith in the Word of God which promised him a Son To this word Reason yielded not straitway but fought against Faith in him judging it to be an absurd impossible thing but Faith wrestled with Reason and at length got the victory Abraham killed and sacrificed Reason that most pestilent enemy of God and so must all the godly do There are many things in Scripture that are quite cross and contrary to the apprehensions of corrupt Reason and 't is the great work of the Spirit of God to subdue and captivate our Reason to the authority of the Word of God and the obedience of Faith The weapons of our warfare saith the Apostle 2 Cor. 10.4 5. are mighty through God for the pulling down of strong holds casting down reasonings and every high thing that exalteth it self against the knowledge of God and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ Those strong holds that stand out against the Gospel are especially two namely the greatness and power of worldly Princes and Rulers and also the reasonings and argumentations of the learned Orators and Philosophers both these must be subdued and captivated to the obedience of Faith Men must be led away like Captives saith Judicious Calvin on the Text from their own Reason and Will The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 reasonings is very emphatical Quo vocabulo (z) Estius in 2 Cor. 10.4 5. significantur non qualescunque cogitationes sed quae fiunt ratiocinando disceptando dum adhibito judicio rationis animus examinat aliquid de eo pronuntiat sit ne verum an falsum bonum an malum Here we may see plainly that our Reason must be conquered and captivated to the obedience of the Gospel or else there can be no true Faith Indeed Reason and Faith may well walk together provided that Reason give Faith the upper-hand We must not say they are the words of a noble Writer who makes great use of Reason to prove the truth of the Christian Religion (a) Morney de veritat Christi Religio That because Reason doth not comprehend this or that point of Religion therefore we we should not believe it for this were a measuring of Faith by Reason whereas we ought to believe the Mysteries of God that are beyond our Reason To believe on God through Christ what is it else but to submit our reason and understanding to God And thus our Reason must be a servant to Faith and must stoop to the power of Faith Faith must not be abased and stoop to the measure of Reason Now when and wherein humane Reason and Knowledge is perverted and abused and so comes to be prejudicial and dangerous shall be here briefly represented in a ew particulars and so we will shut up this discourse of the right use and abuse of Reason * How and wherein humane Reason is abused and perverted First It is then dangerous and destructive to the divine Purity of the Christian Religion when the Opinions and Sentiments of some Learned Philosophers and Rationalists that are contrary to the Doctrine of the Gospel are imposed upon us as true as namely the Worlds Eternity the Stoical Fate Purgatory after this life the denial of the Resurrection of the Body worshipping of Angels and the like having a shew of Reason Wisdom and Humility Col. 2 18 23. Secondly When those Principles of Nature and Philosophy which are true in an ordinary way are perverted and abused to the rejecting of those Gospel-truths that are above Nature These Maxims and Positions of Philosophers That of nothing nothing can be made That of privation to a habit there is no regression That a Virgin cannot conceive though they are naturally and Physically true yet in Divinity and Christianity they ought not to be admitted God created the World of nothing our blessed Saviour without the help of Man was born of a Virgin as the Scripture assures us God calleth the things that are not as if they were Rom. 4.17 These bodies of ours after they are resolved into dust shall be raised up again and made like to the glorious Body of Christ according to the working of God whereby he is able even to subdue all things to himself Phil. 3.21 Here Faith in Gods Omnipotency must be exercised and Reason must give way to Faith Indeed mans Reason as now it stands is so far from taking the just measure of Faith which transcendeth natural Strength and Reason that it cannot so much as take the just and full measure of Nature nor of the least of Gods Creatures in regard of that ignorance and darkness that is in every one of us and therefore it is a great error to believe no further then Reason can measure and comprehend For what a great way doth the truth of spiritual and divine things extend beyond our Reason And even Reason it self will lead us to this Point namely That we should believe beyond Reason I mean those things which no meer natural understanding or capacity can reach or attain to and that when these things are revealed by God to men which Reason could never have comprehended no not even when it was at the best the same Reason which could never have found them out makes us to allow of them it being reasonable and fit for us to believe whatsoever God hath revealed to be true And herein Reason teacheth us that which she her self neither knew nor believed namely by leading us to the most infallible Teacher whom we ought to hear and believe Thirdly It is then dangerous when a Christian boasts of his humane Reason and Knowledge and is elated and puffed up therewith undervaluing and slighting all others as if their Reason and Knowledge were not comparable to his and so it becomes a vain windy thing Knowledge saith the Apostle 1 Cor. 8.1 puffeth up but love edifieth Vain man would be wise as it is in Job 11.12 though he