as implied in the godly practice of this Eunuch the Doctrinal truth to be insisted upon as more express is this Doct. That we ought not to content our selves with the bare reading of the holy Scriptures but should labour to understand what we read of them And here you have 1. The proof of this Doctrine 2. Some Rules for the better understanding the holy Scriptures 3. The Application 1. This Doctrine is proved 1. By the practice of the Church of God in all Ages Read Neh. 8. 8. and this practice was not abrogated by Christ or his Apostles but ratified and confirmed Christ expounded to the two Disciples that went to Emaus in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself And you find Christ reading the Book of Esaias the Prophet and expounding that Scripture of himself as that day fulfilled in their ears by his Preaching to them You find the Apostle Iames alledges this why they should not require or force them to be Circumcised who from Gentiles turned Christians for Acts 15. 21. saith he Moses of old hath in every City them that Preach him being read in the Synagogues every Sabbath day As if he had said Nor need we Jews to fear that this will bring a contempt upon Moses or our Law For the contrary appears by the Christian practice even where these Proselytes of the Gentiles are there the Books of Moses as hath been customary from of old are still continued among them to be read aloud in the Synagogue every Saturday to which the Council of Laodicâ—a did after add the reading of a Chapter in the New Testament to signifie their respect to the Mosaical Law and their not offering it contempt among the Proselytes though they did not require them to be Circumcised And Acts 13. 15 c. you may read Paul's approbation continuation and recommendation of this laudable custom to us by his own practice And that all Nations may be taught our of the holy Scriptures the things that are commanded them of Christ he hath promised his special presence with Ministers unto the end of the world Now to him that shall Question this in our daies I shall give him the two Disciples answer to Christ art thou only a stranger in Ierusalem and hast not known the things which have been and are of ordinary practice with us every Lords day 2. By the command of God Ioh. 5. 39. with Prov 2. 4 5. Till I come give attendance to reading to Exhortation to Doctrine i. e. Betwixt this and the time of my coming to thee see thou be diligent in performing thy office in the several parts of it expounding the Scriptures confirming Believers and admonishing them of any fault or danger and instructing the ignorant or unbelievers Some few Rules for the better understanding and our more profitable reading the holy Scriptures And these are either Antecedent Concomitant or Subsequent 1. Antecedent Rules 1. We must pray and beg of God wisdom to understand the Scriptures We must pray with David that God would open our eyes that we may behold wondrous things out of his Law We must pray that God would acquaint us with the mysterie of the Gospel For if the Gospel be hid it is hid to those that are lost 2. We must lay aside all vain conceit of our own wisdom be humble and hearken to God alone speaking in the Scripturâ—s God hath so disposed the way to Heaven that the most ignorant and most humble not the most illuminate and most proud shall be most ready to receive and embrace the Gospel And we must account our own wisdom foolishness that we may know the holy Scriptures which are able to make us wise unto Salvation We must lie low in the fight and sense of our own ignorance arguing thus with our selves Have we lived so long and read the Scriptures so often and know so little of them Let us thus be wail our ignorance for the humble God will teach The rain falls upon the Rock but rests not there that it may make the Valleys fruitful Divine heavenly wisdom will not rest upon a proud heart but will enrich the lowly with its treasures We must hearken to God alone speaking in the Scriptures Humanum est errare there is no infallible Judge upon Earth If any man Preach any other Doctrine unto us than that we have received from the Canonical Scriptures let him be accursed If Pope or Council or Pope and General Council agreeing together decree or determine any thing against or besides the holy Scriptures Let God be True and every man a Lyar in this case we are not to attend to a Thus faith a Father or a Pope or Council c. but to a Thus saith the Lord. 3. We must go to the Scriptures without prejudice Non reâ—erendus est sensus sed auferendus We must not bring but take our sense from the Scriptures lest we wrest them to our own destruction Take care no body plunder you rob you of all that you have your principles of Christian knowledge through Philosophy or by such vain empty frothy pretended knowledge and wisdom which the Gnosticks of old talked so much of taken out of Pythagoras together with the observances of the Mosaical Law and very distant and contrary to Christian Divinity 4. We must go to the Scriptures with a mind purified by Faith and Repentance and in which is the study of Piety We must lay aside all filthiness and superfluity or naughtiness when we go to the waters of life 5. We must go with reverence and love of the truth We must go with reverence to the holy Scriptures because of their Author and matter We must go to the Scriptures as to the Oracles of God and the Laws of Heaven the which we must stand in awe of and be subject to for Conscience sake We must go with the love of the truth although it be against flesh and blood and thwart and contradict self and carnal interest in the world The want of this love of the truth is given as the reason of that fatal miscarriage of the Gnosticks those carnal Christians 6. We must go to the Scriptures with full purpose of heart to do the Will of God Ioh. 7. 17. 2 Tit. 11. 12. Luk. 11. 28. The fear of the Lord is a step to wisdom Psal. 111. 10. Prov. 1. 7. Quia finis Scripturae non est nuda scientia sed praxis 2. Concomitant Rules 1. Non est recedendum à litera legis absque summa necessitate When the words of Scripture may without any incommodity or incongruiâ—y be taken properly and as they sound and lie in the Text they ought to be so taken neither are they to be inflâ—cted to metaphors or other Tropes or improper senses unless when out of the words taken properly some absurd interpretations should from thence be elicited Aug. Hence it follows that they are the best Interpreters who
larger i. e. the place that speaks but briefly of a thing with some other that speaks of it more at large common observation tells us that 't is not the right method to read abstracts first because though they be fuller of matter they are fuller likewise of obscurity And sometimes that of the learned Bacon proves true That Epitomes are the corruptions and moths of Histories Epitomes give us the substance of a matter but full Narratives must clear it up to us with all its due circumstances A compendium gives us the Quintessence Vertue Force and Spirit of a thing but the History at large is necessary to the right understanding of it 3. Let the clearer Scripture clear the obscurer We must compare the obscurer with the clearer i. e. if any place occur which is more obscure but elsewhere propounded to us in words that are more clear we must have recourse to it to clucidâ—te the â—ormer We must compare Moses with the Prophets Of all the Prophets Esaias speaks most clearly who is therefore stiled the Evangelical Prophet and seems rather to write the History than the Prophecie of Christ. We must compare the Old Testament with the New In the Nâ—w Testament the Book of the Revelations is deemed by those Interpreters that are wise unto sobriety and not above what is written to stand in most need of interpretation by the other written Revelations The Sacred Scriptures are written very much historically the Doctrines being interspersed with the History Some Eyangelists speak more clearly than others some most clearly of one part of the History of Christ some of another that all of them collated without conspiring together by a contrived design might give us the compleat History of Christ. That you may see the usefulness of this Rule consult Ioh. 16. 16 17 18. with 28 29 verses compared together 4. Let that Scripture determine the point that intends it You must compare Scripture with Scripture and you must compare them aright compare the place that speaks ex casu occasionally of a matter with some other where it is the main design of the place This Rule is to be attended unto in the Exposition of Parables For if we be strict observers of all by-passages in them instead of Milk we shall wring till blood cometh We must remember that Allegories must not be strained too much and that similitudes aâ—swer not in all Lines but in the chiefest Read for this purpose Luke 16. 5. Out of the scope and intention of the writer is often collected the sense of his words And the scope of the writer may be guessed at by the following circumstances viz. Quorsum quibus contra quos quae ex cujus personâ Why to whom against whom or what of whose pâ—rson he writes which last circumstance clears most passages relating to the Eunuchs Qâ—estion 6. Compare Antecedents and consequents in the place whose sense is dubious and it will much conduce to the right understanding of it Where there is not light enough in the Text there may be a light shining round about it in the Context to enlighten it 7. Negatives are more extensive than affirmatives Affirmativa non valent ubique ad semper negativa ubique or thus Affiâ—mativa valent semper negativa ad semper When God saith Pray it is alwaies true while in this probâ—tionstaâ—e that we must pray but it is not true that we must pray alwaies i. â— do nothing but pray But when 't is said Thou shalt not Kill c. This is our duty at all times there is no time wherein 't is lawful to Kill commit Adultery c. 8. Let an exception straiten and narrow a general Rule Exceptio firmat Regulam in non exceptis terminum praescribit in exceptis An exception confirms the Rule in things not excepted and bounds it against the rest 9. Non est distinguendum ubi Lex non distinguiâ— We must not distinguish where the Law doth not warrant it In Christ Iesus neither Circumcision availeth any thing nor uncircumcision but a new Creature If this Rule be attended unto we shall easily understand how nice the distinctions of Conformity and non-conformity are and how unavailable either of them will be in attaining Salvation for us without a reformed life 10. We must carefully distinguish of the Scripture which speaks of the growth of the Church from that which speaks of the infancy of it And thus as for the Discipline of the Church of England our English Reformers considered what it was in the purest times of the first good Christ an Emperours when the Church was in its growth For the times of Persecution in the infancy of the Church before temporal Princes embraced the Christian Faith as they were most excellent times for doctrine and manners so very unproper and unfit for a Pattern or example of outward Government and Policy And doubtless that Government is most excellent both in the community as Christian and in the special notion as reformed that keepeth the middle way between the Pomp of superstitious Tyranny and the meanness of Phanatick Anarchy And this can be nothing else but a wâ—â—l regulated moderate Episcopacy according to this Rule 11. That which the Scripture holds forth at all times must not be prejudiced by what may take in one particular case although Necessitas est jus temporis Necessity be a Law in its time This is a Rule at all times Borrow and pay again This must not be prejudiced by that of the Israelites borrowing of the Egyptians This must not determine Ehud destroyed Eglon therefore thou shalt kill because 't is not safe arguing from particulars to general duties 12. Out of the Tradition and Interpretation of the truly Catholick Church out of the consent of the Fathers and of these either of many or of few of them when eminent for sanctity or learning out of the unanimous conspiration of Doctors and Interpreters the true and literal sense of Holy Writ may be often cleared up unto us By universal Tradition is meant Quod ab omnibus quod ubique quod semper receptum fuit What all the Churches of Christ in all places have ever successively received that is universal Tradition and he is no true Catholick that doth not receive it Where there is a Catholick consent and harmony to bear witness to any Interpretation and that sense is universally and solemnly accepted as it will seem a wilful errour to dâ—pâ—rt from it and to choose solitary and dangerous by-paths where the open road is so free and safe so what can be expected in such singularity but many absurdities and implications and violences offered to the word and truth 13. We must interpret according to the Analogy of Faith We must hold fast the form of sound words Examine the Interpretations of the holy Scriptures by those three Forms the Creed the ten Commandments and the Lords Prayer Mistake not you are not to examine the Scriptures by any
received up into Heaven A. 'T is impossible that the sufferings of finite and mutable Creatures which are but of yesterday should satisfie the offended Justice of the infinite eternal and unchangeable God And that their temporary torments though never so exquisite should merit for them that far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory which all shall be partakers of that are received up into Heaven Q. How may it be proved that we are delivered from the whole punishment of sin temporal and Eternal by the death of Christ So that we shall not need to fear their fear who through fear of Purgatory-fire are all their life-time subject to bondage or be affrighted with their big words who are so hot for this invented fire as to say Whosoever believeth not Purgatory shall be tormented in Hell A. 1. Punishment is inflicted because of sin Iob 4. 8. Prov. 22. 8. and 28. 18. Hos. 10. 13. and 14. 1. Being freed from sin we are not liable to Judgement 2 Sam. 12. 13. Ier. 4. 14. Ezek. 18. 32. 2. It stands not with the Justice of God being once fully satisfied to require a second payment at our hand Gen. 18. 25. Isa. 53. 10 11. Mat. 3. 17. 3. Neither will it stand with his glorious Mercy Luke 1. 77 78. 2 Cor. 1. 3. Rom. 9. 23. Ephes. 2. 4 5 6. 1 Pet. 1. 3. Iude 21. 2 Tim. 1. 18. 4. Nor with the honour of Christ who is a perfect Redeemer Tit. 2. 14. Heb. 1. 3. 1 Ioh. 1. 7 9. and 2. 1 2. 5. Nor with the price of his Blood 1. Cor. 6. 20. 1 Pet. 1. 18 19. Mat. 20. 28. 1 Tim. 2. 6. 6. Nor with our Faith in praying for full pardon of all our debts Matth. 6. 12. 7. Nor with our peace with God Rom. 5. 1. 8. Nor yet with right reason that the guilt of sin should be removed and yet punishment for sin inflâ—cted Q. And is not this new invented doctrine of Purgatory contrary to the intendment and design of the Gospel A. Yes for the design of the Gospel is to comfort Believers against all their sufferings in this life with the hope of heavenly glory and happiness to be enjoyed immediately after their death see Rom. 15. 4. Ioâ— 5. 24. 2 Cor. 5. 1 2. 1 Thes. 4. 17. Rom. 8. 17. Phil. 1. 23. Rev. 14. 13. Luke 23. 43. and 16. 22 23. with Mat. 8. 11 12. Heb. 11. 13 16. But this new invented Doctrine speaks terrour to all Believers as being so far from making God full satisfaction for their sins in this life as some of them are supposed to do by the Papists that they were never able to make God any satisfaction for them And therefore must we certainly be all doomed alike to go to Purgatory that place of so great pain that the most torturing wheels and the most ardent fires are nothing in comparison of it if it be true which those of that party say that it is ten times hotter than our fire and that it differs from Hell-fire in respect of duration only Q. And will not such Doctrine as this be a great scandal and a Rock of offence to weak Believers for whom Christ died A. Yes Q. But is it not the duty of every one that nameth the name of Christ to comfort the feeble-minded and to support the weak A. Yes Q. And do not they blaspheme that worâ—hy nâ—me by the which they are called that break a bruised Reed and quench the smoaking Flax A. Yes Q. And whoever shall offend one of these little ones which believe in Christ were it not better for him that a Millstone were hanged about his neck and that he were drowned in the depth of the Sea A. Yes Q Now therefore seeing we know these things before should we not beware lest we also being led away with the error of the wicked fall from our own stedfastness A. Yes Q. But that we may not as Children be tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the sleight of men and cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive 'T will highly concern us to be much in reading the Scriptures and to use all possible means to help us to understand the reading because there are some things in them hard to be understood which our Adversaries the learned of them especially do wrest for their confirmation of the doctrine of Purgatory as of their other inventions Object 1. The Papists glory much in 1 Cor. 3. 11 12 13 14 15. Read it Doth this place rightly understood confirm their Doctrine of Purgatory fire A. No for if the design of the Apostle be attended unto in this place we may with more reason call the unlevened bread eaten in the Land of Promise by the Israelites the very identical bread of affliction really eaten by their Fathers in Egypt as it was a sign of it than the fire here mentioned by the Apostle their material Purgatory fire which is no sign of any such fond invention Q. What therefore is the true sense and meaning of this place A. If the scope of the place be observed we shall easily see the meaning of the place to be nothing but this viz. That the Faith of Christ being the Foundation which our Apostle had laid and indeed the only one which could possibly be laid That that which was regularly to be built thereon was constant confession of Christ in despire of afflâ—ctions which like Gold and Silver c. would be refined and purified not consumed in the 〈◊〉 but for any doctrine of worldly wisdom vers 18. of prudential compliancâ—s with the Persecutors Jews or Gentiles If any such earthly material were brought in the stead of the formentioned constancy it should be brought suddenly to the trial And proving combustible matter it will not bear that trial such are the Doctrines of denying Christ when persecuted and it shall be so far from helping this Gnostick complier to any advantage as the hopes it will that it shall bring the greatest danger upon him and if upon timely Repentance or by his not having actually denyed Christ for all his superstructing of some erroneous doctrines he be more mercifully dealt with by Christ and freed from having his portion with Unbelievers yet it shall go hard with him as with one that is involved in a common fire and hardly escapes out of it Object 2. They urge also 1 Pet. 3. 19. By which also he went and Preached unto the Spirits in Prison Do you think when this Scripture is rightly considered it will justifie their Opinion of Purgatory fire A. No 1. Because the Apostle saith that these Spirits that be in Prison were disobedient in the daies of Noah vers 20. And the Papists themselves hold that disobedient and impenitent persons go to Hell but the Souls of Believers only to Purgatory so that this place is nothing at all for Purgatory 2. Because Christ is not said to Preach