Virgins Womb and that He might become a Sacrifice for Sin was content to be dis-array'd of His own Eternal Glory to take upon Him the Form of a Servant and to humble Himself to the Death the shameful Death of the Cross so likewise when He took upon Him the Office of a Teacher by a wonderful Condescent He accomodated His Doctrines to the reason humane Affections of His Auditors His Laws obtain'd as much by their suitableness to our natures as the Authority of the Speaker When He preach'd His Divine Sermon to the Multitude He did not Amuse them with Mystical Theology or torture their Understandings with profound Subtilties but as He was the Brightness of His Fathers Glory and the express Image of His Person so He declar'd the Law of God in a most Plain and Perspicuous manner Mahomet indeed that grand Impostor was well Advis'd to Pen his Alcoran in swelling Words and mystical Phrases and as in some things to Restrain so in others to Indulge the sensual Appetite For by this Stratagem that sottish People with whom he had to do were content to part with their natural Right to gain an Unlawful Freedom and to Admire what they were never like to Understand But our new and perfect Law giver Christ Jesus having no other design but the Salvation of Souls and being every way Adorn'd for so noble a Purpose though He made the Gate Narrow and the Path Strait yet He hath Promised it shall be Open'd to all that Knock and none unless Wilfully need Mistake the VVay which leads to Eternal Life But then because He knew there was no Rule so plain but it might be Mistaken no Precept so clear but it might be Perverted no Doctrine so pure but it might be Corrupted Because He foresaw there would arise false Prophets and false Teachers whose business it would be to Seduce the Ignorant and Debauch the Credulous Because He foresaw a perpetual Succession of Gnosticks who in all Ages would set up the Dagon of their own lascivious Fancies in opposition to the Ark of His Covenant and be so audacious as even to confront Divine Revelations with carnal reasoning therefore to obviate and prevent the mischiefs of such grievous Wolves before He took His Journey into his far Country out of a tender care of that Flock which He had purchas'd with his Blood He appointed Overseers and Pastors of His Flock committed to them and them only the care of Feeding his Flock amplified their Commission with the like Authority which he had receiv'd from his Father promis'd to be with them unto the End of the World and to assist them with that Spirit which should guide them into all Truth If then the Scriptures be so Clear as to be understood even by the Multitude then much more by the Disciples in general If by the Disciples in general much more by the College of the Apostles who were His special Favourites and of his Cabinet-Council If the Nations to whom these Ministers in Chief and Plenepotentiaries for Christ made known the Will of God were throughly instructed for the Kingdom of Heaven then much more both They and Their Successors upon whom they in obedience to their Masters Command conferr'd the same Pastoral power which they had receiv'd from Him The Clearness then of Scripture cannot reasonably be urg'd in Prejudice of Christs Ministers for whatsoever is from hence alledg'd in favour of the People the advantage will be still greater on their side Thus hath God promis'd the Assistance of his Spirit to all private men who sincerely endeavour to find out the Truth then much less will He be wanting to the Governors of his Church to whom He hath committed the care of the Souls of those private men and given power even to confer the Holy Ghost Are the Scriptures clear to them much more to those whom the Son of God hath signaliz'd and set apart for the Lights of the World Two Things are usually brought to hinder this Procedure Either that those Promises of Assistance were made only to the Apostles or else that they depend on the conditioned Righteousness of Men. Where by the way it may be Observ'd that by the First of these the Claim of the People is utterly cut off and by the Second they have as small Advantage But they who argue thus might do well to consider that this Objection may strike at the very Foundation of the Faith For if those promises of Assistance which Christ made to His Church be Hypothecal if they depend on the Performance of Men then may the Foundation Totter the Gates of Hell prevail Christianity decay and the Gospel it self be lost out of the World before the End thereof notwithstanding all Christs fair Promises to the Contrary If they had been confin'd only to the Apostles its Christian Religion had not long surviv'd the Author every Martyrdom of an Apostle had pull'd down a Pillar of the Church and by consequence the whole Fabrick must have fallen to the ground in the very first Century of our Lord. Happy indeed had it been for Christendom that the Imperiousness of some Modern Bishops of Rome had not brought an Odium though unjustly upon Episcopacy in general that their too much Lording it over the Flock had not given Advantage to the Enemies of Church-Authority and their Challenging to themselves at least an indirect Power in Temporals had not Alarm'd the Kings of the Earth to stand up and take Counsel how they might Destroy so dangerous an Vsurpation of the pretended Vicegerent of the Lords Anointed Happy had it been if for the Support of their Secular Greatness they had not Wrested the Scriptures to countenance such Doctrines as have no clear and solid foundation therein and that under pretence of making the Church all Glorious Within Her Governours all Triumphant Without they had not defac'd Her Innocent Beauty and made Her Militant in the worst of Senses However they can no way be Excused who think they can never be Secure from Papal Supremacy but by Demolishing the Evangelical Hierarchy and introducing a Presbyterial Parity into the Catholick Church and to avoid the Necessity of having an Infallible Judge leaving every private prepossessed Fancy to the Perspicuity of Scripture whereby men are often bewildred in a Labyrinth of Errors seduc'd into those by-paths which lead to the Pit of Destruction For notwithstanding that Beam of Divine Light which shines so Bright in the Scriptures it seems some men have Eyes either so weak as to be dazled at the sight of it or else so blind with Pride or Malice as not to perceive it For St. Peter tells us there are in the Scriptures some things hard to be Understood which unlearned and unstable men Wrest unto their own Destruction And therefore the Unlearned should do well to consult their Teachers the Unstable those that are sound in the Faith which brings me to my second general Consideration That though the Scriptures be
much greater is to be given to those Doctrines which are contain'd in the Writings of the Evangelists and Apostles who were Taught of God and spake as they were inspired by the Holy Ghost II. Secondly I urge the Authority of my Lord Bacon whose if any me thinks should be admitted by these Virtuosi in Religion The Divine Prerogative saith he extends it self to the Whole Man and requires not only Obedience from our Wills but Submission from our Understandings And therefore as we are bound to Obey the Divine Law though our Wills reluct never so much against it so are we obliged to believe whatsoever God hath Reveal'd though never so improbable to our understandings For if we believe no more than what we can demonstrate to be true we do not believe the Truth deliver'd for the Authors sake but the Author for the Truths sake and so we pay no more Respect to the Oracles of God than we do to the Writings of Men though never so much Suspected by us The Faith which Justified Abraham was conversant in a matter incredible to Reason And therefore the higher the Mysteries of Religion are above our Reason the greater is the exercise and tryumph of our Faith the Honour done unto God in Believing To conclude this Point Great is the use of Reason in Religion both as to the manner of interpreting the Scriptures the deducing true consequences and wholesome conclusions from thence and if it be wholly suppress'd our Religion will degenerate into Superstition we shall be so far from paying God a Reasonable Service that we shall offer Him the Sacrifice of Fools But then it must be kept to a due temper for if be not managed by prudent Guides 't is apt to grow Wild and Extravagant to hurry us on to a Belief of the Fowlest Impostures to a Practise of the Grossest Impieties which either the prevalency of the World the domineering enmity of the Flesh or the implacable malice of Satan can propound to be Believed or Practis'd II. The second Reason of Private Mens falling into Error is their Instability in not adhering to their Guides but forsaking them to go astray in the intricate paths of Error and Deceit Heresie being nothing else but an Excision from and Disobedience to the Church in points of Faith And therefore the Apostle pronounceth an Heretick Self-Condemned one who hath Wantonly chosen to himself those Opinions for an Obstinate Defence whereof after full and plain means of Conviction he justly falls under the Censures of the Church is Excommunicated the Assembly of the Saints so without Repentance Reconciliation continues in a very dangerous estate if that of Heathens and Publicans be acknowledg'd such Not in Vain then are those frequent Cautions against Falling Away those repeated Admonitions to Perseverance those earnest Exhortations to hold fast the Profession and contend for the Faith which was once Deliver'd those so much inculcated Commands of Obeying those who are set Over us in the Lord Heb. 13. v. 7. Remember them which have the Rule over you who have spoken unto you the Word of God whose Faith follow Ver. 17. Obey them that have the Rule over you and submit your selves for they Watch for your Souls For in Vain may those men commit themselves to the immediate Assistance of God who neglect to hear his Guides and violate His Commandments in hopes to procure His help favour For from that very moment of time they cease to be Members of the Holy Catholick Church they are become Out-lawries in a Gospel-sense they have lost the Protection of the Heavenly King and they lay under the Deprivation of the benefits belonging to the Subjects of that Jerusalem which is Above And what wonder if being in this forlorn condition the Tempter take his advantage lead them into the Wilderness and there present to their disturb'd fancies false schemes of Religion suggest unworthy apprehensions of God and whatsoever is by him thus suggested is by them mistaken for new light and holy inspirations And because this spirit of delusion dares put forth among Christians no Doctrines but such as pretend to be founded on the Scriptures to this purpose they are wrested and tortur'd their scope is mistaken their sense abused their Periods miserably mangled their whole design perverted to countenance every Wild Opinion which either a capricious fancy can imagine or a Malicious Wit invent And from hence it comes to pass that we have as many several sorts of Christians as there are different humours or Interests of men the Gospel with St. Paul though in a quite contrary sense is become all things unto all men And having made thus bold with the Scriptures it cannot be expected that they should deal more modestly with any authority inferior to that the most ancient Traditions must now give place to new discoveries The Consent of the Catholick Apostolick Church be borne down by the Dictates of a private I might say familiar spirit Whereas there is all the reason in the World to believe that the Apostles best knew the mind of their Master that they faithfully fully communicated their knowledge to their successors so by certain steps and degrees we may arrive at this fundamental truth That as the Church is the most faithfull Keeper so the most authentick Expositor of Scripture Which fairly ushers in my third and last Consideration That for the preventing Mistakes from Rising and suppressing Errors when Risen 'T is the duty of Private Men to submit their Judgements in matters of Religion to the Determinations of those whom God hath Constituted to be their Spiritual Guides and Governours Vnless it manifestly Appear that such Determinations are contrary to Gods Word And this I shall assert very briefly both from the qualifications of the Persons who are appointed to Rule in the Church and the Reason of the thing I. And that which first entitles the Governors of the Church to a superiority over their Subjects is that special Ordination and Comission which they have receiv'd from Christ to instruct the World in all necessary Truths and that Charge which he hath laid upon others to obey them If any one listeth to see their Commission He may find it recorded in any of the four Evangelists I shall exhibit it as 't is exemplified 28 Mat. 18 19 20. Verses And Jesus came and spake unto them saying All power is given to me in Heaven and Earth Go ye therefore and Teach all Nations Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have Commanded you And lo I am with You alwayes unto to the end of the World In the which words there are these Three Things considerable 1. That Christ commission'd His Disciples immediately after He had proclaim'd Himself Omnipotent 2. That this Commission implies it to be Christs Will that all Nations of the World should Obey them 3. That He promised to be with Them and their Successors unto the end of the World And
there cannot be a fuller instance of the Perversness of some Men who to evacuate and overthrow the Authority of the present Church will needs confine 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to some period of time short of the final dissolution of all things when time shall be swallow'd up of Eternity if not contrary to the Grammatical sense of the Word yet at least to the design of the Promise and the nature of the Thing Which of the Embassadors of earthly Potentates ever received so ample a commission the Person commissioning was Omnipotent The Commission was universal in respect of Persons time and place 't was directed to all the Nations and to continue throughout all the Ages of the World and for the Execution of it they were empowr'd from Above wheresoever they came they constituted a Spiritual Government and they had full power to Enact such Laws as they thought tended to the Advancement of their Masters Kingdom and they did with Authority and not by way of Counsel only as some would have determine such Controversies as arose It seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to Vs All along their Spiritual progress if any City refus'd to receive Them or their Doctrine they shook off the Dust of their Feet against it as a dire Presage of some ensuing Judgment as the next words manifestly declare Verily I say unto you it shall be more tollerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of Judgement than for that City Wretched City how has thy Disobedience ascertain'd and aggrandiz'd thy Ruine The Lewd Inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah shall find more Favour in the day of Judgement than thy Citizens Most true it is their Power was purely Spiritual Christ the Prince of Peace did not Commission Generals to destroy but sent forth Apostles to Convert the Nations by declaring His Laws denouncing His Judgments But then they had no coercive power of the Sword which God hath given to Magistrates to inflict the Judgments which they denounc'd But as they because living under Heathen Powers left the Event of their Spiritual Censures solely to Divine Vengeance which they who escap'd in this world were sure to meet with in the next so is it still unless Kings are graciously pleased to shew themselves Nursing Fathers to the Church to enforce Spiritual Censures by Corporal Penalties and adjudge those Unworthy the Protection of the Laws of the Realm who are justly depriv'd of the Benefits of the Church By all which it appears that the Church is something else than a Christian Common-wealth since there was a Church before the Common-wealth became Christian and neither the Leviathan nor any of his Disciples hath yet been able to shew how or when the Church forfeited Her antecedent Right And that though the Governours thereof may challenge to themselves a Power distinct yet no wayes Opposite to the Civil The Shield of Faith doth not Clash with the Sword of Justice And maugre the designes of those who have Evil will at Sion this is not to erect Imperium in imperio much less to set the Mitre above the Crown Since whatsoever Power is here challeng'd as of Divine Right is purely Spiritual exercis'd to Spiritual ends and purposes so far from interfering with the Civil from Absolving men from that Obedience which is indispensably due thereunto that wheresoever it takes place it abates nothing of that natural Right which the Magistrate had in the Affairs of Religion Yet herein it will appear that the Wisdom of the despised King of the Jews did far surmount all the Policies of the world in that he hath so interwoven the concerns of His Church with the interest of the State that at the same time any man shall dare to become an Enemy to his Kingdom he must cease to be a Friend to Caesars II. The reasonableness of this Submission will appear from those promises of Assistance which Christ hath made to them but not to others without them much less to others against them And those are Illumination Direction and Power Illumination in things Obscure Direction in things Difficult Power to Encounter and overcome all Opposition And this may be one Reason why Christ did not Arm his Disciples with a Temporal Sword for certainly He who had all Power given Him in Heaven and on Earth might have done it if He had pleas'd because He furnish'd them with such Extraordinary Virtues as did abundantly supply the Defect of that Thus they who could Raise the Dead from the Grave needed no other Argument to gain the Living They who could convince the Consciences captivate the Understandings beat down the Imaginations and conquer the Affections of their Adversaries needed no Sword nor Spear nor any of the Bloody Engines of War to make themselves Masters of the Field Now the same Spirit though not in the same Measure doth still reside in the Governors of the Church though they do not equalize the Apostles in Working of Miracles diversities of Languages extent of Jurisdiction though they have not as they had the whole World for their Diocess yet are they still Bishops of Souls Pastors and Doctors for the Consummation of the Saints for the Edifying of the Body of Christ till we all come in the Vnity of the Faith unto a perfect man in Christ Jesus Either then let Private men submit to their Spiritual Governours exercising their Commission according to Gods Word or else let them warrant their Dissent with greater at least equal Attestations of the Divine Favour and then there will be no great fear of any danger arising from Dissenting Brethren III. The reasonableness of this Submission will appear from their study and learning in Divine Matters and from the far less knowledge and ordinary capacity in others The Apostles they had their Knowledge of Divine things either from a constant and familiar converse with their Master or else from that plentiful effusion of the Holy Ghost which He vouchsav'd them immediately upon His Restauration to His Heavenly Kingdom That which was thus Wonderfully bestowed upon them their Successors are forc'd to acquire by hard Study great Industry frequent and fervent Address to the Fountain of Wisdom For not only the Knowledge of Languages a calmness of Mind neither ruffled with the storms of Passion nor distracted with the Cares of the World but likewise a peircing Judgment to distinguish between the Literal and Figurative sense to weigh the scope and coherence of things to compare one place with another to Illustrate obscure Texts by those which are more plain to consult and find out the sense of Antiquity is required to a right understanding of the Scriptures For they do not only contain things of themselves hard to be understood but moreover those very things are rendred more difficult by the Malice of Satan the Cunning of his Agents The Enemy hath sown such a prodigious quantity of Tares that 't is very hard sometimes to find out the Wheat What wonder then if