Papists agree to the first Part of this Article But as to the latter Part whereas the Church of England and Presbyterians do declare the Passion of Christ to have been a sufficient Sacrifice both for Original and Actual Sins They on the Contrary First by their Doctrine of the Sacrifice of the Mass Prayers unto Saints Popes Pardons and Purgatory do make void the Passion of our Blessed Saviour or that it puts away but Original Sin only See for this Article 31. Secondly They Teach Although our Saviour have Suffered for all Men in general yet both each man must suffer for himself in particular Rhem. Annotations on Rom. 8. 17. and that the Works of one Man may satisfie the Wrath of God for another Same Annotations on Coloss 2. 24. The third Article of the Church of England Of the going down of Christ into Hell AS Christ dyed for us and was Buried So also is it to be believed That he went down into Hell The Presbyterians Although by the Writings of the Ancients it appears That this Clause in the Creed was not so usual of Old Time in the Churches yet in delivering a Summary of Doctrine it is necessary As that which contains an useful and not to be slighted Mystery And so he proceeds to explain it of the Anguish and Internal Sufferings of Christ under a Sense of the Wrath of God for the Sins of Mankind when the Chastisement of our Peace as the Prophet speaks was upon him And Doctor Fulk on the Rhem. Testament Matth. 27. Sect. 3. expresly clears Calvin in this point The Assembly in their larger Catechism thus express their Sense Christs Humiliation after his Death consisted in his being Buried and continuing in the State of the Dead and under the power of Death till the Third Day which hath been otherwise expressed in these Words He descended into Hell So that the Article is agreed both by them and Calvin nor hath the Church of England thought fit particularly to explain it but left it free to be understood in any such sound Sense as is not contrary to Scripture or the Analogy of Faith Indeed there hath been great Diversity of Opinions between Men both Good and Learned about it Many there are that by Hell here understand the Grave and I think none will deny but the Word is capable of such a Sense but then the Sense must run thus He was Crucified Dead and Buried and Descended into the Grave which is a vain Repetition for if he were Buried he must be in a Grave And such a Tautology is not to be supposed in so brief a Summary of Faith But in my private Thoughts I have happen'd upon a Notion which avoids that Absurdity and that is this When our Blessed Lord was Crucified and Dead and his Body Buried his Humane Soul return'd to God in which Sense he saith to the Thief This day shalt thou be with me in Paradise and afterwards when it came to re-enliven and be united to the Body in the Grave at his Resurrection why may not that be the Descent here intended And so the Sense be thus He was Crucified Dead and Buried He that is his Humane Soul at the time appointed descended into Hell that is the Grave and then the Third day he rose again c. Nor do I perceive that this Interpretation how new soever it may seem does in any kind Contradict the Analogy of Faith However I submit it to the Censure of the Learned Pious Reader But The Papists Teach a quite contrary Doctrine to all this viz. That the Souls of the Patriarchs and Holy Men that departed this Life before our Saviours Crucifixion were kept as in Prison but without pain in a certain Apartment of Hell which they call Limbus Patrum And that Christ that is the Soul of Christ did really go down into the Local Hell and deliver'd the said Captive Souls out of this Confinement and at his Ascension they accompanied him to Heaven Bellarm. de Christo li. 4. cap. 11 12 and 13. The Bosom of Abraham is the resting place of all them that died in perfect State of Grace before Christs time Heaven before being shut from Men. It is called in Zachary a Lake without Water and sometimes a Prison but most commonly of Divines Limbus Patrum for that it is thought to have been the Higher part or Brim of Hell the places of Punishment being far lower than the same which therefore be called Infernum Inferius the lower Hell Where this Mansion of the Fathers stood or whether it be any part of Hell St. Augustin doubteth but that there was such a place he nor no Catholick man ever doubted And the Fathers make it most certain That our Saviour descending into Hell went thither specially and deliver'd the said Fathers out of that Mansion which Truth though of all the Ancient Writers Confessed and Proved by Scripture yet the Adversaries they mean Protestants deny it as they doe Purgatory most Impudently The fourth Article of the Church of England Of the Resurrection of Christ CHRIST did truly Rise again from Death and took again his Body with Flesh Bones and all things appertaining to the perfection of Mans Nature wherewith he Ascended into Heaven and there sitteth until he Return to Judge all Men at the last Day The Presbyterians On the Third Day he Arose from the Dead with the same Body in which he Suffered with which also he Ascended into Heaven and there sitteth at the Right Hand of his Father making Intercession and shall return to Judge Men and Angels at the end of the World The Papists Seem in Words to own this Article but really deny it or Contradict themselves for they hold That the true Carnal Body of Christ is every day wherein Masses are said on Earth and at a thousand places at once Now if it be thus daily here how does it remain in Heaven and sit there till he return to Judge all Men at the last Day And if it be thus at so many places at an Instant must it not be a Fantastick Body And consequently do they not deny the Truth of Christs Resurrection or that he hath the same Body now which was Crucified Dead and Buried The fifth Article of the Church of England THE Holy Ghost proceeding from the Father and the Son is of one Substance Majesty and Glory with the Father and the Son Very and Eternal God Touching this Article there is no Dispute on either side The sixth Article of the Church of England Of the sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures for Salvation HOLY Scripture containeth all things necessary to Salvation so that whatsoever is not read therein or may be proved thereby is not to be required of any Man That it should be Believed as an Article of the Faith or be thought requisite or necessary to Salvation In the name of the Holy Scripture we understand those Canonical Books of the Old and New Testament
Edification of the Christian Doctrine wresting the Scripture to his own Senses dare to interpret the Holy Scripture contrary to the Sense which Holy Mother Church whose Right it is to Judge of the true Sense of Sacred Scriptures hath held or doth hold or against the unanimous Consent of the Fathers though even such Interpretations be never intended to be Publisht Thus the very Words of that pretended Council wherewith agrees Bellarmine de Verbo Dei lib. 1. cap. 7 8 and 9. whereby it plainly appears That the Church of Rome not only Adds to Gods Word Six whole Books besides several parts of Books As the Epistle of Jeremiah the 13 and 14 Chapters of Daniel The Song of the three Children added to the 3d. of Daniel and an Appendix to the Third Chapter of Hester beginning v. 10. all which are in the Vulgar Latin more than the Church of England receives and holds her Accursed for not receiving them but also prefers the Vulgar Latin Edition the most Corrupt and Imperfect Edition extant before the original Texts in Hebrew and Greek And binds up all Christians to interpret Scripture in her own Sense and according to her Pleasure Nor is it any wonder That they should thus treat these Sacred Oracles if we Consider what Esteem they have of them This very Council you see accounts them Imperfect and not a sufficient Rule of Faith and Manners without Traditions and equals Traditions with them declaring They are to be received pari pietatis affectu reverentiâ with the very same Reverence and Pious Affection But the Council was subtlely modest For their Doctors cannot forbear to load the Word of God with Reproaches Scripturae sunt muti judices sunt veluti nasus quidam Cereus The Scriptures are dumb Judges and but like a Nose of Wax says Pighius de Ecclesia pag. 89 90. And Eccius calls them a Black Gospel and Inky Divinity Nor is Cardinal Bellarmine less hold For he maintains Scripturas sine Traditionibus nec simpliciter necessarias nec sufficienter Finem proprium praecipuum non fuisse ut esset Regula Fidei De Verbo Dei l. 4. cap. 4. and 12. That the Scriptures are not simply necessary nor sufficient without Traditions and that their proper and chief end was not That they should be a Rule of Faith And Eccius in his Enchiridion is very positive That the Scripture is not Authentick but by the Authority of the Church wherewith agrees Azorius Instit Mor. Part 2. l. 5. cap. 24. Scriptura Canonica non Agnoscitur aut habetur nisi Ecclesiae Authoritate probetur The Scripture is not own'd or esteem'd Canonical unless it be approved by the Authority of the Church In a Word nothing is more Common in the Works of Popish Authors than such Titles as these Of the Insufficiency of the Obscurity and of the Vncertainty of the Scripture c. Nor have their Practices been unsuitable For in the Bohemian Persecutions between the Years 1620 and 1630 the Papists were wont to say The Scriptures were the Fountain of Heresy and thereupon Nick-nam'd the Bible Wiblia which in the Bohemian Language signifies Vomit A thousand Bibles they burnt and destroyed some at the Market place as was done at Fulneck others brought them in Carts without the Walls as was done at Zalicum and Frutnovia others brought them in heaps to the Gallows as at Hadritium and so in great heaps burnt them The like was done in the Irish Massacre in 41. A plague on 't that damn'd Book has done all the Mischief said some of those Bloody Tories Nor do our English Papists want any thing but an Opportunity to Act the like Villanies For their Principle and Malice is the same as appears by one of their English Pamphlets Intituled The Reconciler of Religions Printed Anno 1663 and Dedicated to one Mr. Lawrence Dibusty Merchant of London in p. 26. we have these Words The Protestants and Sectaries saith he you see he makes no differencen the Case between the Church of England and Dissenters dash out for Apocrypha whole Books as Tobias Judith Ecclesiasticus Wisdom Maccabees Baruch c. whole Chapters as the 13 and 14 of Daniel from the 10 to the 16 of Esther Whole Histories as that of Susanna and the Elders of Bell and the Dragon c. All which the Vniversal Church of God receiveth for Authentical Holy and Canonical And thereupon p. 41. he concludes thus As the Protestant Bible is 't is no more the Word of God than is the Alchoran or Aesops Fables yea it is worse than Aesops Fables it 's a Diabolical Invention and an Heretical Labour and a Sacrilegious Instrument to Deceive and Damn all such poor Souls as Believe it and therefore worthy to be burnt with Fire in the middle of the Market at Noon and let all the People say Amen So be it I give you exactly his Words wherein you have the true Spirit of Popery others may politickly mince the Matter but this is their general Sentiment and accordingly they practice beyond the Seas where to have a Bible in the Vulgar Tongue is Capital And where is now the Man that hath the least Spark of Grace or Modesty that would rather be a Papist than a Presbyterian The seventh Article of the Church of England Of the Old Testament THE Old Testament is not contrary to the New For both in the Old and New Testament Everlasting Life is offered to Mankind by Christ who is the only Mediatour between God and Man being both God and Man wherefore they are not to be heard which feign that the Old Fathers did look only for Transitory Promises Although the Law given from God by Moses as touching Ceremonies and Kites do not bind Christian Men nor the Civil precepts thereof ought for necessity to be received in any Common-Wealth yet notwithstanding no Christian Man whatsoever is free from the Obedience of the Commandments which are called Moral The Presbyterians The Substance of this Article is Asserted and at large Explained and Proved by Calvin in the Second Book of his Institutions cap. 7. 9 10 and 11. too tedious here to Recite The Papists Two Clauses of this Article are Contradicted by the Papists First That of Christs being the only Mediatour between God and Man For they Assign Angels and Saints to be also Mediators and especially the Virgin Mary and pray to them accordingly But of this see more Article the 18 and 31. Secondly Whereas 't is said no Christian Man is free from the Obedience of the Commandements which are called Moral we know the Pope pretends he can dispense with the Moral-Law c. For we find in his Canon-Law Caus 15. q. 6. cap. 2. Auctoritatum in the Glosse are these Words Contra jus Naturale potest dispensare contra Apostolum The Pope can dispense against the Law of Nature and against the Apostles The eighth Article of the Church of England Of the three Creeds THE three Creeds
no longer they may remain in an Implicite Faith but read Consider and with understanding embrace what they before out of Compliance or Custom rather than Judgment seem'd to own and adhere to 2. There are many too That in words detest Popery yet not being throughly grounded in the Doctrines of the Church of England nor acquainted with those of the Church of Rome may be in danger of mistaking the one for the other and by Jacob's voice be deluded into Esau's hands and imbibe Poison unawares unless fortified against it by some such discriminating Antithesis 3. Hereby will appear the malice and falshood of these suggestions That the Dissenters stand at as great a distance from and are as much opposite to the legally Established Church of England as the Papists a mischievous conceit promoted by the Jesuites and other Factors for the See of Rome on purpose to divide and weaken us and consequently thereby to accomplish at last their own ends which are utterly to subvert and destroy all the Professors of the Reformed Religion whether Episcopal Presbyterial or under what ever other Denomination 4. I know not what could better tend to uniting us at least in affection amongst our selves than this demonstration That in the main and all essential Doctrinal points we are already agreed and since the other matters in Controversie are acknowledged to be indifferent what occasion is there for all this heat and violence unless the lesser our differences are the greater still must be our Animosities and Contentions about them 5. I do not despair but this small Treatise may be profitable to weak Capacities for instructing them in Fundamentals of Christian Religion since it contains a general Systeme of Faith rendered the more intelligible by the variety of Expressions though concurrent Sense of the Church-men and Protestant-Dissenters on the one side and the apparent Contradictions of the Papists on the other For Contraria juxta se posita magis Elucescunt contraries aptly compared illustrate each other Thus much for the End and general Intention of this Work As to the manner how it is perform'd I could indeed have wisht it might have come from some abler Hand whose Skill might have rendered it more useful and his Name more acceptable to the publick But rather a Mite than no Offering at all for the Churches Peace I have done what my small Reading and interrupted Leisure would permit and need only Advertise the Reader that here he shall find 1. The Nine and Thirty Articles of the Church of England agreed upon and Establisht Anno 1562. and never since altered but required by Law to be subscribed unto by all Ministers of our Church faithfully recited Verbatim and Printed in a different Letter 2. The Doctrines of those commonly called Presbyterians comprehending the Body of our Dissenters produc'd from the Confession of Faith agreed upon by the Assembly of Divines in the late Times and their Catechism and the Institutions of Mr. John Calvin 3. The Tenets of the Church of Rome delivered either in the Words of the Council of Trent or those of their great Champion Cardinal Bellarmine and the Annotations of their Colledge of Rhemes on the New Testament Other of their Authors sometimes but sparingly are Cited and never any but what are allowed by them and known to speak according to the common Dictates of that Church I knew not where to seek more Authentick Testimonies of each Parties Sentiments and can without Injury to Truth aver That I have not wilfully baulk'd added to detracted from or in any kind perverted the Sense of either side but fairly stated their Doctrines in their own words And generally without Reflections or Animadversions unless only where the matter is such that it could not justly be omitted Some may expect to have had added in a Fourth Comparison certain Notions advanc'd of late years by some Divines amongst us that seem to thwart these Articles of their Mother-Church which at their Ordination they solemnly subscribed But as the same have in part been already noted by others so my desire is rather to bring Balm than Vinegar to the too gaping wounds of the Church and without giving any such Exasperation shall hope That those Gentlemen will see and repent of such their Mistakes At least since Rectum est Index sui Obliqui A streight Line is the measure both of it self and of that too which is crooked I cannot despair but when once People are brought throughly to understand the Doctrines of the Church of England grounded on the Holy Scriptures without or contrary to which no Church in the World has any power to impose any Articles of Faith They will easily be able to discover such Aberrations and refuse them with a just Abhorrence though never so speciously obtruded But because there is such a noise raised and such heaps of Durt continually thrown on the memory of poor Mr. Calvin and those called Presbyterians whereby they would inflame us both to hardships towards dissenting Protestants at home and set us at odds with most of the Reformed Churches abroad I shall for the Information of the Vulgar Reader give a brief account here what esteem our Ancestors of the Church of England heretofore had both of John Calvin and those Neighbouring Churches and the Testimonies I shall avouch shall be of undoubted Authority both for Dignity and Learning The Reverend and Pious Dr. George Carleton Bishop of Chichester in a Book Intituled An Examination of those things wherein the Author of the late APPEAL holdeth the Doctrines of the Pelagians and Arminians to be the Doctrines of the Church of England Printed anno 1626 and Dedicated to King Charles the First p. 217 hath these Words Though the Church of England be the best Reformed Church yet it is not the only Reformed Church and it might seem no good Providence in us to stand so by our selves as to reject and disdain the Consent of other Churches though they do not agree with us in Discipline It is observed by Eusebius That Polycrates and Irenaeus did both reprove Victor because for matters of Ceremonies he was too much offended with other Churches which otherwise agreed with him in Doctrine Irenaeus doth admonish him That the ancient Bishops of Rome before Victor did keep Unity and Consent with the Eastern Bishops though in Ceremonies there was difference between them Omnes isti cum in Observantia vararierent inter semetipsos nobiscum semper pacifici fuerant Euseb l. 5. cap. 24. All those that varied in Observances yet were always peaceable both amongst themselves and with us He saith there also That the Dissonance in Ceremonies need not break the Consonance in Faith with those Churches which do not agree with us in Ceremonies if we seek the peace of the Churches that profess the same Doctrine or strugling as more like one sleeping than dying leaving with that noble Roman Aemilius Poverty with Honour to his Friends his Library and
Word of God The Presbyterians By the Decree of God for the manifestation of his own Glory some Men and Angels were predestinated unto everlasting Life and others fore-ordained to everlasting Death These Angels and Men predestinated and fore-ordain'd are particularly and unchangeably designed and their number so certain and definite that it cannot be either increased or diminished Those of Mankind that are predestinated unto Life God before the Foundation of the World was laid according to his Eternal and Immutable purpose and the secret Counsel and good pleasure of his Will hath chosen in Christ unto everlasting Glory out of his meer free Grace and Love without any foresight of Faith or Good Works or perseverance in either of them or any other thing in the Creature as Conditions and Causes moving him thereunto and all to the praise of his Glorious Grace As God hath appointed the Elect unto Glory so hath he by the Eternal and most free purpose of his Will fore-ordain'd all the means thereunto Wherefore they who are Elected being fallen in Adam are redeemed by Christ are effectually called unto Faith in Christ by his Spirit working in due season are Justified Adopted Sanctified and kept by his Power through Faith unto Salvation Neither are any other Redeemed by Christ effectually Called Justified Adopted Sanctified and Saved but the Elect only The Doctrine of this high Mystery of Predestination is to be handled with special Prudence and Care that Men attending the Will of God revealed in his Word and yielding Obedience thereunto may from the certainty of their effectual Vocation be assured of their Eternal Election so shall this Doctrine afford matter of Praise Reverence and Admiration of God and of Humility Diligence and abundant Consolation to all that sincerely obey the Gospel The Papists Though they own the Word Predestination sometimes yet they teach That the Cause thereof is not the meer good pleasure of God but that a Man doth make himself Eligible by his own good Works and Merits Thus they say The Kingdom of Heaven is prepared for them that are worthy of it and deserve it by their well doing Although from Gods Eternal Predestination Glory floweth to the Elect yet for all that it springeth not but from their own good Works Stella on Luke cap. 10. fol. 35. True Faith and Righteousness may be lost and the Faithful utterly fall from the Faith Bellarm. de Just l. 3. cap. 4. which is the same thing as if we should say That the Elect may become Reprobates and Election not to be immutable If any shall say That the Grace of Justification happens not to any but such as are Predestinate but that all the rest who are call'd are indeed call'd but receive not Grace as being by Divine Power Predestinated to Evil Let him be Accursed If any one shall say a Man Regenerated and Justified is bound to believe that he is certainly of the number of the Elect Let him be Anathema The eighteenth Article of the Church of England Of obtaining Eternal Salvation only by the Name of Christ THEY also are to be had Accursed that presume to say That every Man shall be saved by the Law or Sect which he professeth so that he be diligent to frame his Life according to that Law and the Light of Nature For Holy Scripture doth set out unto us only the Name of Jesus Christ whereby Men must be saved The Presbyterians Persons not Elected although they may be call'd by the Ministry of the Word and may have some common Operations of the Spirit yet they never truly come unto Christ and therefore cannot be saved Much less can men not professing the Christian Religion be saved in any other way whatsoever be they never so diligent to frame their Lives according to the Light of Nature and the Law of that Religion they profess And to assert that they may is very pernicious and detestable The Papists Own the Words of this Article but in effect deny the latter part thereof by trusting in the Mediation and Intercession of the Virgin Mary and other Saints and Angels and praying unto and worshipping them c. The nineteenth Article of the Church of England Of the Church THE Visible Church of Christ is a Congregation of Faithful Men in the which the pure Word of God is Preached and the Sacraments be duly ministred according to Christs Ordinance in all those things that of necessity are requisite to the same As the Church of Hierusalem Alexandria and Antioch have erred so also the Church of Rome hath erred not only in their Living and manner of Ceremonies but also in matters of Faith The Presbyterians Wherever we see the Word of God sincerely Preach'd and Heard and the Sacraments administred according to Christs Institution there is a Church of God For these two we assign as Marks whereby the Church may be known The Visible Church which is also Catholick or Vniversal under the Gospel not confin'd to one Nation as before under the Law consists of all those throughout the World that profess the true Religion and particular Churches which are Members thereof are more or less pure according as the Doctrine of the Gospel is taught and embrac'd Ordinances administred and publick Worship perform'd more or less pure in them The purest Churches under Heaven are subject both to mixture and error and some have so degenerated as to become no Churches of Christ but Synagogues of Satan Nevertheless there shall always be a Church on Earth to worship God according to his Will The Pope of Rome cannot in any sense be Head of the Church but is that Antichrist that Man of Sin and Son of Perdition that exalts himself in the Church against Christ and all that is called God The Papists As to the first part of the Article they deny the Preaching the Word and due Administration of the Sacraments to be the marks of Christs Visible Church See Bellarm. de notis Ecclesiae cap. 1. And instead thereof assign others which by the same Cardinal are there reckoned to be the fifteen following 1. The Name of the Catholick Church and Christians 2. Antiquity 3. Duration 4. Multitude 5. Succession of Bishops and Ordination 6. Agreement with the ancient Church 7. Vnion of the Members together amongst themselves and with their Head 8. Holiness of Doctrine 9. Efficacy of Doctrine 10. Holiness of Life 11. Miracles 12. Prophesies 13. Confession of Adversaries 14. The unhappy ends of those that have oppos'd it 15. The Temporal felicity of those that have desended it And as to the latter part of the Artiticle they with all Confidence assert the clean contrary other Churches have erred but the Church of Rome cannot Id Constanter Negamus we constantly deny saith Costerus the Jesuit that Christs Vicar Peters Successors the Bishops of Rome have either taught Heresies or propounded Errors God preserveth the Truth of Christian Religion in the Apostolick See of Rome
so full of Terror The four and thirtieth Article of the Church of England Of the Traditions of the Church IT is not necessary that Traditions and Ceremonies be in all places one or utterly like for at all times they have been diverse and may be changed according to the Diversity of Countries times and Mens manners so that nothing be ordained against Gods Word Whosoever through his private Judgment willingly and purposely doth openly break the Traditions and Ceremonies of the Church which be not repugnant to the Word of God and be ordained and approved by common Authority ought to be Rebuked openly that others may fear to do the like as he that offendeth against the common order of the Church and hurteth the Authority of the Magistrate and woundeth the Consciences of the weak Brethren Every particular and National Church hath Authority to Ordain Change and Abolish Ceremonies or Rites of the Church ordained only by Mans Authority so that all things be done to edifying The sense of this Article is explain'd by the Learned and Painful Mr. Rogers in his Comment on his 39 Articles Publisht in King James time and Attested in the Title-page to have been perused and by the Lawful Authority of the Church of England allowed to be Publick pag. 198. in the Words following Of Ceremonies and Traditions repugnant to the Word of God there be two sorts whereof some are of things meerly Impious and Wicked such was the Israelites Calf and Nebuchadnezzars Idol and be the Papistical Images Reliques Agnus Dei's and Crosses to which they give Divine Adoration These and such like be all flatly forbidden Others are of things by God in his Word neicommanded nor forbidden as of eating and not eating Flesh of wearing and not wearing some Apparel of keeping and not keeping some days Holy by abstinence from Bodily labour c. The which are not to be observed of any Christian when for sound Doctrine it is delivered that such Works do either merit Remission of Sins or be the acceptable Service of God or do more please than the observation of the Laws prescribed by God himself or necessarily to be done insomuch as they are damn'd who do them not We must therefore have always in mind that we are bought with a price and therefore may not be the Servants of Men and that no humane Constitution in the Church doth bind any Man to break the least Commandement of God The Presbyterians Use has obtain'd that those things be call'd Humane Traditions which are Establisht by Men for the Worship of God not grounded on any Warrant from his Word against these it is that we contend and not against Holy and Useful Constitutions of the Church which tend to preserve either Discipline or Honesty or Peace Our Lord has so faithfully comprehended and so plainly told the whole sum of true Righteousness and all the parts of his Worship that in those things he alone is to be heard but because he would not particularly prescribe every thing that we are to observe in external Discipline and Ceremonies since he foresaw the same would depend upon the condition of times nor did judge that one form would agree with all Ages we therefore ought to have recourse to the General Rules by him laid down that by the same all things which the necessity of the Church should require be exacted and therefore herein he did not expresly deliver any thing both because neither are those things necessary to Salvation and that they may variously be accommodated according to the manner of Nation and Age for the edification of the Church and as the profit of the Church requires We may as well change and abrogate those that have been used and institute new ones though we ought not frequently and on slight Causes recur to Innovation but what is prejudicial what is tending to Edification Charity will best judge which if in such Cases we suffer to be Moderatrix all will be safe And whatsoever things shall be instituted according to this Rule it is the Duty of Christian people with a Conscience still free and without superstition but yet with a pious and ready inclination to Obedience and Peace to observe not to contemn or with supine negligence omit much less ought they with Pride and Obstinacy openly to violate them Thus Calvin whose whole 10 Chapters on this Subject in the 4th Book of his Institutes whence these few sentences are briefly drawn is well worthy perusual and I conceive enough to satisfie any unprejudiced Reader That he intirely agrees with the true sense of the Church of England in this Article God alone is Lord of the Conscience and hath left it free from the Doctrines and Commandements of Men which are in any thing contrary to his Word or beside it in matters of Faith and Worship so that to believe such Doctrines or to obey such Commands out of Conscience is to betray true liberty of Conscience and the requiring of an implicite Faith and an absolute and blind obedience is to destroy Liberty of Conscience and Reason also They who upon pretence of Christian Liberty do practice any Sin or cherish any Lust do thereby destroy the end of Christian Liberty which is that being delivered out of the hands of our Enemies we may serve the Lord without Fear in Holiness and Righteousness before him all the days of our Life And because the Power which God hath Ordained and the Liberty which Christ hath purchased are not intended by God to destroy but mutually to uphold and preserve one another They who upon pretence of Christian Liberty shall oppose any Lawful Power or the Lawful exercise of it whether it be Civil or Ecclesiastical resist the Ordinance of God and for their publishing such practices as are contrary to the light of Nature or to the known Principles of Christianity whether concerning Faith Worship or Conversation or to the power of Godliness or such erroneous Opinions or Practices as either in their own Nature or in the manner of publishing or maintaining them are destructive to the external Peace and Order which Christ hath Established in the Church they may lawfully be called to account and proceeded against by the Censures of the Church and by the Power of the Civil Magistrate The Papists If any one shall say That the received and approved Rites of the Church Catholick may be contemned or at pleasure omitted by the Ministers without Sin or that they may by any Pastour of Churches be chang'd into any new ones Let him be Accursed Now that the Church of Rome prescribes and observes a vast multitude of Rites and Ceremonies too tedious here to be specified not only besides but contrary to Gods Word and without any real profit to the Church of Christ is notorious yet Durandus Rationale Liber Ceremoniarum and such like Popish Authors expresly obtrude their Trumpery as both necessary and unalterable The five and thirtieth Article of
of whose Authority was never any doubt in the Church viz. Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy Joshua Judges Ruth 1 Samuel 2 Samuel 1 Kings 2 Kings 1 Chronicles 2 Chronicles Ezra Nehemiah Esther Job Psalmes Proverbs Ecclesiastes Solomons Song Isaiah Jeremiah Lamentations Ezekiel Daniel Hosea Joel Amos Obadiah Jonah Micah Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Zechariah Malachi And the other Books as Hierom saith the Church doth Read for Example of Life and Instruction of Manners All the Books of the New Testament as they are commonly Received we do Receive and Account them Canonical The Presbyterians Under the Name of Holy Scripture or the Word of God Written are now Contain'd all the Books of the Old and New Testament which are these Genesis c. just as the Church of England reckons them All which are given by Inspiration to be the Rule of Faith and Life The Books commonly called Apocrypha not being of Divine Inspiration are no part of the Canon of the Scripture and therefore are of no Authority in the Church of God nor to be any otherwise approved or made use of than other Humane Writings The Authority of the Holy Scripture for which it ought to be Believ'd and Obey'd dependeth not upon the Testimony of any Man or Church but wholly upon God who is Truth it self the Author thereof and therefore it is to be Receiv'd because it is the Word of God We may be mov'd and induc'd by the Testimony of the Church to an High and Reverend esteem of the Holy Scriptures And the Heavenliness of the Matter the Efficacy of the Doctrine the Majesty of the Stile the Consent of all the Parts the Scope of the whole which is to give all Glory to God the full Discovery it makes of the only way of Mans Salvation the many other incomparable Excellencies and the entire Perfection thereof are Arguments whereby it doth abundantly Evidence it to be the Word of God yet notwithstanding our full Perswasion and Assurance of the Infallible Truth and Divine Authority thereof is from the Inward Work of the Holy Spirit bearing Witness by and with the Word in our Hearts The whole Council of God concerning all things necessary for his own Glory Mans Salvation Faith and Life is either expresly set down in Scripture or by good and necessary Consequence may be deduc'd from Scripture unto which nothing at any time is to be added whether by New Revelations of the Spirit or Tradition of Men nevertheless we do acknowledge the Inward Illumination of the Spirit of God to be necessary for the saving understanding of such things as are Revealed in the Word and that there are some Circumstances concerning the Worship of God and Government of the Church Common to Humane Actions and Societies which are to be ordered by the Light of Nature and Christian prudence according to the general Rules of the Word which are always to be observed The Old Testament in Hebrew which was the Native Language of the People of God of old and the New Testament in Greek which at the time of the Writing of it was most generally known to the Nations being immediately inspir'd by God and by his singular Care and Providence kept pure in all Ages are therefore Authentical so as in all Controversies of Religion the Church is finally to Appeal to Them But because these Original Tongues are not known to all the People of God who have Right unto and Interest in the Scriptures and are Commanded in the Fear of God to Read and Search them Therefore they are to be Translated into the Vulgar Language of every Nation unto which they come that the Word of God dwelling plentifully in all they may Worship him in an acceptable manner and through Patience and Comfort of the Scriptures may have hope The Infallible Rule of the Interpretation of Scripture is the Scripture it self and therefore when there is a question about the true and full Sense of any Scripture which is manifold but one it must be searched and known by other places that speak more clearly The Supream Judge by which all Controversies of Religion are to be Determined and all Decrees of Councils Opinions of Ancient Writers Doctrines of Men and Private Spirits are to be examined and in whose Sentence we are to rest can be no other but the Holy Spirit speaking in the Scripture The Papists The Decree of the Council of Trent touching the Canonical Scriptures Session the Fourth The Holy Oecumenical and General Tridentine Council lawfully Congregated in the Holy Spirit the three Legats of the Apostolick See presiding therein considering That the Purity of the Gospel as to Truth and Discipline is contained in Books Written and in Traditions not Written which received by the Apostles from the Mouth of Christ himself or by the Apostles by the Dictates of the Holy Ghost delivered as from Hand to Hand have come down even unto us following the Example of the Fathers does with an equal Affection of Piety and like Reverence receive and regard as well all the Books of the Old and New Testament since one God is Author of both as such Traditions pertaining either to Faith or Manners the same being dictated either Orally by Christ or by the Holy Spirit and Conserv'd by a continual Succession in the Catholick Church and as touching the Books of Holy Scripture that none may doubt which they are which by this Sacred Synod are received an Index of them is annexed and they are as follows Of the Old Testament five Books of Moses that is Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers and Deuteronomy Joshua Judges Ruth Four Books of Kings under that name they include the two Books of Samuel two of Chronicles the first of Esdras and the Second which is called Nehemias Tobias Judith Esther Job David's Psalter of 150 Psalms Proverbs Ecclesiastes the Canticles Wisdom Ecclesiasticus Isaiah Jeremiah with Baruch Ezekiel Daniel Twelve lesser Prophets viz. Hosea Joel Amos Obadiah Jonas Micah Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Zechary and Malachi and the First and Second of the Maccabees Of the New Testament the Four Evangelists Matthew Mark c. as we reckon them And if any Person shall not receive all the said whole Books with all their Parts as they have wont to be read in the Catholick Church and as they are in the old Vulgar Latin Edition for Sacred and Canonical or knowingly shall contemn the aforesaid Traditions Let him be Anathema or Accursed And the said Sacred Council does also Appoint and Declare That the said old Vulgar Latin Edition which hath by the long use of so many Ages been approved of in the Church shall in all publick Readings Disputations Preachings and Expositions be esteemed Authentick And that none on any pretence whatsoever shall dare or presume to Reject the same And for the restraining of wanton Wits does likewise Decree That no one Person leaning on his own Prudence shall in matters of Faith and Manners pertaining to