That the Rule of Faith is fixed and terminated in the Books of the Prophets and Apostles It was the constant Opinion of this great Doctor of the Gentiles That the Scriptures were of themselves able to make Men Wise unto Salvation Neither is he alone for St. James assures us That they are able to save our Souls Jam. 1. 21. And therefore St. Peter calls 'em a more sure word of Prophecy than a Voice from Heaven and says That all Men would do well that they take good heed to 'em as unto a Light that shineth in a dark place 2 Pet. 1. 19. And our Lord himself in the Parable brings in Abraham telling the Rich Man in Hell That his Brethren had Moses and the Prophets whom let 'em hear says he for if they will not hear them neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the Dead Luk. 16. 29. 31. Upon which words St. Chrysostom's Inference was That we should believe the Scriptures Though the Dead should rise and though Angels should descend from Heaven we must prefer the Testimony of Scriptures before them According to the Apostle Gal. 1. 8. Though we or an Angel from Heaven preach any other Gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you let him be accursed All which I take to be Indications plain enough of the sufficiency of the Scriptures as to all things pertaining to Salvation But besides this I said they were also in themselves sufficient to determin Points of Controversie The Psalmist says of the Word of God That it is a Lamp to his Feet and a Light to his Path Psal 119. 105. And therefore it was that he so often speaks of ordering himself according to this Word and prays so earnestly to God to enable him to do it And thus the Prophet expostulates with the Jews Isa 8. 19 20. When they shall say unto you Seek unto them which have familiar spirits and unto wizards that peep and mutter Should not a people seek unto their God for the living to the dead To the law and to the testimony if they speak not according to this word it is because there is no light in them It was the way of the Apostles on all occasions to have recourse to the Scriptures Thus St. Peter in his Sermon to Cornelius to confirm his Doctrin of the Messias says To him give all the Prophets witness that through his Name whosoever believeth on him shall receive remission of sins Act. 10. 43. And that it was the constant practice of St. Paul no Man can deny that has had the least converse with his Writings especially that great Axiom of his which has never been contradicted That the Scriptures are given by Inspiration of God and are profitable for Doctrin for Reproof for Correction for Instruction in Righteousness is a more than ordinary instance of his Opinion in this particular And as it is written was the only refuge of those Primitive Builders of the Church And it was the very same method that our Lord himself took to reprove the Tempter Matth. 4. 4. It is written Man shall not live by bread alone c. And Vers 7. It is written Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. And Vers 10. It is written Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God. And thus he us'd always to bring the Testimonies of Moses and the Prophets against the impious Objections of the Jews very often telling them That he did not speak his own Words but the Word of him that sent him that is the Word of God. And now would it not be a thing to be wonder'd at if the Holy Fathers of the Church should be ignorant of this way of arguing Or if they did know it that they would not chuse to follow his Example whom they pretended to worship and obey But we have no cause to wonder at this but rather at their ignorance or wilful stubbornness who pretend to be acquainted with them and yet seemingly at least assert their Sentiments and Practice in this matter to be contrary to their Predecessors It was usual with Basil thus to express himsel 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Epist ad Eustath 80 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Let the Scriptures which are divinely inspir'd be Judge between us For says he Whatsoever Idem Etb. Defin. 80. c. 22. 6. is contrary to them is not of Faith and therefore sinful Every Word or Cause ought to be tried and confirm'd by the Holy Scriptures Neither does St. Cyprian come behind him in this Cypr. ad Pomp. cont Steph. Pap. particular If says he the Pipes through which Water is conveyed into the City should be suddenly deficient should we not go presently to the Spring that thence we may know the cause of the defect whether the Spring it self is dry or whether the Pipes are stopt by any thing which may hinder the course of the Water And so the Pipes being clear'd the City may be supplied with Water as before So ought the Ministers of the Gospel to do In matters of Doubt they should go to our Lord and his Apostles that they may model their Actions by their Doctrin as the Fountain and Original of Divine Truth Tertullian likewise would accept of no Argument that was not drawn from the Scriptures And by this Tertul. de carne Christ Idem de Resur mort he confuted the Hereticks of his time For says he take away the Sophistry of the Heathen Philosophers which the Hereticks make use of and when they come to argue from the Scriptures they will not be able to stand St. Chrysostom says That if any thing is asserted without the authority of the Scriptures to back it on it leaves Chrys in Psalm 95. the Hearers in doubt 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 says Clemens Alexandrinus We say nothing against the Scriptures Cl. Al. de Pet. Strom. lib. 6. Theod. dial 1. cap. 6. Id. Hist lib. 1. cap. 3. And Theodoret 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I confide in the Scriptures only To which we may add his Testimony of the Saying of Constantine the Great That the Books of the Evangelists and Apostles and the Oracles of the the ancient Prophets do evidently teach us what we are to think of the Divine Power Therefore in every seditious Controversie let us discuss the Point in question by the Testimony of those divinely inspir'd Writings Whence we may see that all the Fathers are not against us in this matter I think Origen may come in for one on our side For in his Comment upon the Sixteenth Chapter of the Epistle to the Romans having explained those Admonitions of the Apostle vers 17 18. and coming to vers 19. where the Apostle tells the Romans That their Obedience is come abroad unto all Men And that he is therefore glad on their behalf The Apostle says he therefore rejoyces over those that were obedient being sure that as he had taught them not to use that general Obedience which
know the true God blasphemously imagin or assert against their Consciences which I think the worse of the two That help to come from the Creature which can only come from the Creator May not we on better Grounds deisy our Physicians But these things they 'll venture to deny tho' they are easily prov'd that which they chiefly acknowledge in this Point is their praying to Saints and Angels to pray for them or as some say to pray to Christ to interceed for them it being arrogant Presumption for Mortals to go to Christ immediately But this is downright Gnosticism and we of the Church of England have our Saviour's own words for our Encouragement if they of the Church of Rome have not Joh. 14. 6 I am the way the truth and the life no man cometh to the Father but by me And we know of no other Intercessor in Heaven but Christ Therefore I think it a privation of our Christian Liberty to debar us from Praying to him immediately on Pretence of too much Presumption in so doing for he himself invites all that labour and are heavy laden to come to him and he will give 'em rest Matth. 11. 28. He does not say Come to me by my Mother or by St. Michael or St. Bennet c. But Come to me directly 5. The Fifth Enquiry must be Whether there is any such Place as Purgatory The Doctrines of the Church of Rome as they have been manag'd are most of 'em so order'd as to be as suitable and conformable to the temper of Humane Nature as they well may be as might be made appear if we had time in these already spoken to But above all the Doctrine of Purgatory is as obliging and complaisant to Flesh and Blood as any thing can be For this takes off all necessity of a strict and restrain'd life here needs no mortifying our Members which are upon the Earth as the Apostle's advice was Men need not be so fearful of pleasing their Appetites as they should be if they were to follow the rigid Precepts of our Saviour or St. Paul. But the Epicuroean Principle will make a Man happy here in gratifying the Lusts of the Flesh and hereafter he shall be happy in Heaven too if he has but been so frugal as to save a little Money to pay for a Catholick Burial only undergoing a little Frixation or Roasting by the way That this is the genuine Explication of the Doctrine of Purgatory as it is receiv'd and propagated in the Roman Church might be made appear by many good Consequences if I had time and it was worth the Pains to consider every Particular But 't is done at large already by an Excellent Hand and the Business of the present Undertaking Dr. Stil Idol of the Church of Rome is not so much to that as to Enquire whether there is any such Place as Purgatory or no There are but two Texts in the New Testament that can with any colour be urg'd to this purpose One is 1 Pet. 3. 19. where 't is said that Christ went and Preach'd to the Spirits in Prison And the other 1 Cor. 3. 15 If any mans works shall be burnt he shall suffer loss but he himself shall be saved yet so as by fire On these two Texts this Doctrine is built If therefore I can make it plain that neither of these Texts are to the purpose I think I shall have little more to do than to deny the Doctrine to be true forasmuch as in any Matter of Dispute the Affirmative ought to be prov'd before the Negative I begin then with the first 1 Pet. 3. 19. In the foregoing Verse the Apostle tells us that Christ hath once suffer'd for sins the just for the unjust that he might bring us to God being put to death in the flesh but quicken'd by the spirit And then adds By which also he went and preach'd to the spirits in Prison From whence most Expositors gather that what our Saviour is said to do here he did after his Resurrection As if the Apostle had said He was put to Death in the Flesh but was quicken'd or rais'd again by the Spirit and after that he went by the same Spirit or Power that quicken'd him and Preach'd to the Spirits in Prison And that the word Prison here can't mean Purgatory will more plainly appear if we follow the Apostle as he goes on By which also he went and Preach'd to the Spirits in Prison which sometime were Disobedient when once the long suffering of God waited in the Days of Noah while the Ark was preparing wherein few that is Eight Persons were saved by Water The like Figure whereunto even Baptism doth also now save us by the Resurrection of Jesus Christ c. We read Gen. 6. 3. that God said My Spirit shall not always strive with Man for that he also is Flesh yet his Days shall be an Hundred and Twenty Years The Deluge was determin'd for the Sins of the Old World yet God of his Mercy wou'd give 'em so long time as One Hundred and Twenty Years to Repent in and sent Noah to Preach Repentance and Threaten Destruction to all that wou'd not amend their Lives Whence this of the Apostle has been interpreted of Christ's Preaching the Gospel to the Gentiles by his Apostles after his Resurrection when he had sent his Spirit among ' em And so those that wou'd not repent at the Preaching of the Gospel shou'd one Day perish by Fire as they of the Old World did by Water for not Repenting at the Preaching of Noah For as Christ was then reveal'd in a flood of Water so he will again be revealed in flaming Fire to take Vengeance on them that obey not his Gospel But they that wou'd repent and be obedient to his Gospel shou'd be saved by Baptism as Noah was in the Ark yet not merely from a Temporal Punishment but from Everlasting Destruction Now to make the Prison here spoken of Purgatory is to say in effect that those that were destroy'd by the Deluge of the Old World have remain'd ever since in this Purgatory 'till our Saviour's Crucifixion and that in one of the Three Days in which he lay in the Grave he went and Preach'd the Gospel of Repentance to them But this can't be made deducble from the words of the Apostle but rather the contrary For the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which we render Prison signifies any kind of Receptacle whatever a Sheath for a Sword as well as a Gaol for Prisoners and as properly the Body of a Man wherein the Soul is kept as any thing else any thing containing is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Prison in reference to the thing contain'd So that Christ's Preaching to the Spirits in Prison here is nothing else but either the Preaching of Noah to those of the Old World or of his Apostles to the Gentiles of the New whose Souls were penn'd up in their Bodies which were
Belial Thirdly This is that Bread which came down from Heaven not as our Fathers did eat Manna and are dead he that eateth of this Bread shall live for ever Whence observe If one thing is to be understood according to the Letter another is also And then if the Letter intends Transubstantiation according to the Letter likewise they who eat the Flesh of Christ presently become Immortal And thus the Jews understood our Saviour when they cried out Lord evermore give us of this Bread Verse 34. But 't is appointed for all Men once to die Therefore eating the Flesh of Christ and drinking his Blood can mean nothing but our feeding on him by Faith unto Salvation And if by eating the Flesh of Christ and drinking his Blood we shall live for ever and yet no Man can be saved unless he believes in him either our Saviour must be thought to contradict himself or else this overthrows the Doctrine of Transubstantiation and proves that we only eat and drink the Flesh and Blood of Christ by Faith. And I appeal to your self Madam to judge which of the two 't is most reasonable to believe But that what our Saviour says here is not to be understood according to the Letter will appear if we pursue it a little farther Verse 60. Many therefore of his Disciples when they heard this said This is a hard Saying who can hear it When Jesus knew in himself that his Disciples murmured at it he said unto them Doth this offend you What and if ye shall see the Son of Man ascend up where he was before It is the Spirit that quickeneth the Flesh profiteth nothing the words that I speak unto you they are Spirit and they are Life But there are some of you that believe not From all which I cou'd tell you Madam and upon good ground too that there is nothing in this Chapter or very little at most touching the Eucharist but all that our Saviour says concerning his Flesh and Blood is to be understood of his exemplary Life and wholsome Doctrine which is Meat and Drink indeed But supposing the whole discourse to be upon that subject yet there can be nothing of Transubstantiation contain'd in it Which will yet more fully appear by considering how often he urges the necessity of believing on him in order to Salvation Verse 29. This says he is the work of God that ye believe on him whom he hath sent So Verse 35. He that believeth on me shall never thirst But I said unto you that ye also have seen me and believe not Again Verse 40. And this is the will of him that sent me that every one which seeth the Son and believeth on him may have Everlasting Life and I will raise him up at the last Day So likewise Verse 47. He that believeth on me hath Everlasting Life And this believing on him in other places of the Chapter he calls coming to him as Verse 35 37 44 45. And in other places again it is call'd eating his Flesh and drinking his Blood. Whence 't is evident they are all Synonymous terms used to express one and the same thing But to proceed The Apostle 1 Cor. 10. 1. tells us that all our Fathers were under the Cloud and all passed through the Sea and were all baptized unto Moses in the Cloud and in the Sea and did all eat the same spiritual Meat and did all drink the same spiritual Drink for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them and that Rock was Christ Now the Paschal Lamb was as lively a representation of Christ the Lamb slain from the Foundation of the World as our Bread and Wine are of the breaking his Body and shedding his Blood upon the Cross yet 't was never thought that they in the Passover did eat and drink Christ's real Flesh and Blood but only in that Feast they fed on him by Faith. And so when we come duly prepar'd to the Lord's Table we are Partakers of his Body and Blood by Faith by which also Christ dwelleth in our hearts Ephes 3. 17. Our Saviour Joh. 15. 5. says I am the Vine ye are the Branches he that abideth in me and I in him the same bringeth forth much fruit for without me ye can do nothing Now if all our Saviour's words must be taken according to the letter which must we rather believe that his Flesh is Bread to be eaten by us as we do our ordinary Food or that he is a great Tree and we Christians are so many Branches growing from him or that we are mere Sheep feeding on a Common and he the Shepherd to look after us or lastly that he is a Door hung upon Hinges thro' which we Sheep must enter into our Pasture I wou'd fain know if all these were to be taken literally what we shou'd do to know which was true and which not Such Expressions as these must be taken Metaphorically and so As we usually enter into a House by the Door so we go to Heaven by Christ As a Shepherd takes care that none of his Sheep go astray so Christ the good Shepherd of our Souls will lose none of all them that are his As a Vine gives Nourishment to its Branches so is Christ a Vine to us by whom we live and grow ripe for a joyful Harvest or Vintage And lastly as Bread is eaten to sustain this Temporal Life so Christ is that Spiritual Food on which we feed by Faith unto life Everlasting To what has been said on this Subject we may add many Texts of Scripture which assert the Elements which are the Matter of this Feast to be the same after Consecration as they were before Thus the Apostle 1 Cor. 10. 16 The cup of Blessing which we bless is it not the Communion of the Blood of Christ The Bread which we break is it not the Communion of the Body of Christ So again Chap. 11. v. 26 As often as ye eat this Bread and drink this Cup ye do shew the Lord's death till he come But that which is chiefly insisted on is what our Lord himself said at the Institution of his Supper Matth. 26. 26. And as they were eating Jesus took Bread and blessed it and brake it and gave it to the Disciples and said Take eat this is my Body And he took the Cup and gave thanks and gave it to them saying drink ye all of it For this is my Blood of the New Testament which is shed for many for the Remission of Sins If here is not plain Transubstantiation I know not where to find it Our Saviour himself in the presence of his Disciples takes a piece of Bread and plainly affirms that 't is his Body and shall not we believe him yes surely But what follows Vers 29 But I say unto you I will not drink henceforth of this Fruit of the Vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's Kingdom I think he tells
they indifferently pay to all Men for that which is due to God only whereby they obey God rather than Man so this Obedience was embraced by them before the other For 't is indeed an argument of no little discretion but of a quick and most piercing Judgment if we can discern what Opinion is to be followed and what is rather to be rejected In a word our Lord himself in the Gospel says Beware of them which come to you in sheeps cloathing but inwardly are devouring wolves Therefore a watchful Soul and setled Mind are required in order to our discovering the plain simplicity of Sheep or the more hidden malice and greediness of Wolves Whence we may learn what great danger they are in who neglect the study of the Holy Scriptures from which only they can be furnished with such a knowledge and discretion St. Austin has an Expression which makes a great bluster in the World I would not believe the Gospel says he if the Authority of the Catholick Church did not move me to it Upon this the Authority of the Church is magnified above the Authority of the Scriptures But if St. Austin did not intend any such thing where are we then He express'd himself once to this purpose Thou O God hast assur'd me that not they who Aug. Conf. l. 6. c. 5. believ'd thy Books which with so great Authority thou hast establish'd in almost all the World but they who did not were culpable Neither are they to be heard who shall ask me how I know that those Books are given to Men by the Spirit of One most true God. Which shews that he did not altogether rely on the Testimony of the Church which was only outward but chiefly the inward Witness of the Holy Ghost in his Conscience But we may know more of his Mind by more of his Words We says he do not bring a false Ballance that we may make things Idem cont Donat. l. 2. c. 6. weigh what we please and how we please and so give judgment what is light and what heavy But we give you the divine Ballance of the Holy Scriptures the Treasures of the Lord and by that we tell you what is heavy yet not we but the Lord himself who having weighed all things already we tell you from him what is heavy c. And can we think that Great Father ever intended to set up the Authority of the Church above the Scriptures He does not say We tell you from the Church what is light and what heavy but we tell you from the Scriptures And thus again There are says he certain Books of the Id. de unit Eccl. c. 3. Lord to whose Authority we wholly assent which we firmly believe and in all things obey In them let us seek the Church by them let us discuss our Cause Now if St. Austin did really believe the Scriptures on no other account than barely the Churches Testimony why does he say He must find the Church in the Scriptures This would be to run round in an indeterminate circle first to look for the Church in the Scriptures and then to search for the Scriptures in the Church I don't see how these can stand together But let it be as it will we may with more safety give credit to what a Man is constant in than to what he says but once or it may be never at all and so we may assure our selves of the concession of this Holy Father to what we assert That the Scriptures are the supreme Decider of Controversies The only thing needful to be added to what has been already produc'd is That nothing ought to be put to or taken from the Word of God. Bellarmin acknowledges the Scriptures to be a Rule but says 't is only partly so for the Scriptures joyn'd with Traditions make one perfect Rule But we have seen that the Scriptures alone are a perfect Rule and An Infallible Rule says St. Basil ought to be so without addition or diminution And Basil cont Eunom l. 1. Id. Conf. Fid. further That it is a manifest departing from the Faith and an evidence of Pride either to take away any thing from what is written or to add any thing that is not written for our Lord has said My sheep hear my voice And says St. Jerom Whatever does not come from the Jerom. in Matth. 23. Holy Scriptures is as easily condemn'd as approv'd Eusebius tells us That after the Death of the Euseb Hist l. 3. c. 32. Apostles though the Scriptures were extant yet the Church did not long continue an unspotted Virgin but Heresies and Corruptions of the Gospel encreased apace And then I would fain know what method the Orthodox Doctors took to purge and refine the Church again I suppose it may be answer'd that A General Council was to represent the whole Church and to determine the Points in Controversie Granting this the next Question will be which way the Doctors assembled in Council proceeded in this great Affair Did they appeal to the Church The most impious Hereticks would confidently affirm That only they were of the True Church Wou'd they appeal to the Fathers There were many Learned Men who in their Writings maintain'd the worst of Heresies Wou'd they appeal to Apostolical Traditions The Founders of many of the greatest Heresies lived in the Times of the Apostles and on that score had as good a plea for their knowing their Sentiments as any of the Orthodox Fathers could have I am certain the first Nicene Council took no such way but on all occasions urg'd the Scriptures against the Opinions of those Hereticks they were to deal with as might be shewn at large if it was absolutely necessary to our purpose At present let us content our selves with a few Testimonies of the Fathers against such proceedings And first against Appealing to the Churches Custome St Cyprian says a Custome which some have taken up Cypr. ad Pomp. cont Steph. Pap. ought not to prevail against the Truth for Custome without the Truth is but the Ornament of an Error For which Reason let us forsake the Error of such a Custome and follow the Truth And when S. Austin bids us seek the Church in the Scriptures he cannot intend in my Opinion That we should follow the Church in any thing repugnant to the Scriptures But besides A Rule of Faith ought to be Perfect But Origen tells us That as Orig. in Ezech. hom 1. on every Floor there is Chaff as well as Wheat so is the Church on Earth some part Wheat and the rest Chaff And upon Matth. 21. 14. where it is said Id. in Matth. hom 15. That the blind and the lame came into the Temple to Christ and he healed them The Moral Construction of this says he is That in the Church all cannot see neither can all walk Upright but some are Blind and others Lame To which he immediately applies this Remedy as
the most effectual They says he who are sensible of their own Blindness since there is no other way to be rid of it but by the Word of God they should apply themselves to that and they cannot miss of a Cure. Which is enough to prove the Insufficiency of the Churches Customes or Authority as to Matters of Faith at least Secondly Neither will the Testimonies of the Fathers be of any Force in this Particular For a Rule of Faith must be full of Knowledge and sufficiently able to instruct us But what says S. Austin of himself I am Aug. ep 119. not only ignorant says he in many other Things but even in the Holy Scriptures themselves I am yet to learn more than I know already And thus he elsewhere Ep. ad Hiâ—â— expresses himself To the Books of the Scriptures only which are called Canonical do I owe this Honour that I firmly believe That none of their Pen-Men have err'd in any thing they have written But I esteem other Writers according to their Sanctity and Learning I do not think any thing true meerly because it was their Opinion Which very well agrees with that Axiom of Tertullian If says he a Bishop Tertul. de praescr haeret or Deacon if a Widow or Maid if a Doctor or even a Martyr should err from the Rule would the Error be e'r the Truer or Better for their Sakes We do not prove the Faith by the Persons but the Persons by the Faith. And the Acknowledgment of Biel is to the Bieâ— sup Can. Miss l. 41. same purpose That the Authority of the Fathers compells no Man to assent to their Sayings unless they build on the Holy Scriptures or Divine Revelation On this account therefore S. Austin might well cry out Aug. in Psal 57. Let our Writings be withdrawn that the Book of God may be introduced And as for Apostolical Traditions let the Testimony Iren. l. 3. c. 1. of Irenaeus serve for all By the Apostles says he the Gospel came down to us which they then preached and afterward by the Will of God they delivered to us in the Scriptures what was to be the future Foundation and Pillar of our Faith. Now if neither the Customes of the Church nor the Judgment of the Fathers nor Tradition can be a perfect Rule of Faith no more can all these united in a General Council be so For a Rule must be in every respect perfect But we have seen That the Church is in many respects Defective and the Fathers subject to Ignorance and Error And if Irenaeus may be credited The Apostles preached nothing contrary to what they have left us in Writing and therefore there can be no Place for Apostolical Traditions So that a Rule which is Imperfect and Defective in every Part must needs be so in the whole And Bellarmin himself has proved Bellarm. de Concil l. 2. c. 12. That the Decrees of General Councils cannot be a perfect Rule because they cannot pretend to immediate Divine Revelation That they may Err in some things and in many of their Definitions they conclude only Probably But a Rule of Faith ought to be every way Perfect and to conclude necessarily And such an absolute Perfect Rule the Scriptures appear to be not only from their own Testimony but from Testimonies of the greatest Pillars of the Church in the Second Third Fourth and Fifth Centuries And therefore if any Man's Interest has led him to a contrary Judgment in the later Ages of the Church his Opinions ought not to be set up as a Standard against Antiquity joyn'd with Truth From hence then we may infer what has been already asserted That the Scriptures being of themselves a perfect and Un-erring Rule nothing must be put to or taken from them To which purpose besides what has been produced already the Reader may give himself the trouble of Perusing the following Texts Deut. 12. 32. Josh 1. 7. Prov. 30. 6. Gal. 1. 8. and 3. 15. Rev. 22. 18 19. And let him learn the Danger of Adding or Taking away that is Doing any thing contrary to the Scriptures From these Lev. 10. 2. Isai 1. 12 13 14 and 66. 3. Hos 9. 15. Matth. 15. 6 9. Mark 7. 9. Gal. 4. 10. From all which Texts will evidently appear the Invalidity of any thing that is not built upon the true Foundation and the danger of being led away by such Vanities And so I hope I have sufficiently vindicated my Relyance on the Testimony of the Scriptures in the Business of the following Undertaking I shall only trouble the Reader with two or three necessary Cautions concerning the right Use and Understanding of those Sacred Writings and then give him his Liberty to proceed I. If any Man will make choice of the Scriptures for his Guide in matters that concern his Well-being here and hereafter he must have a care of believing every Spirit We must not take things of such Moment on Trust meerly because they are asserted by one that Pretends to great Learning or Inspiration for we are to look on the Gentlemen of these Times as such as will make the best they can of every Word when they meet with one of an ordinary Capacity Therefore II. It behoveth every Man that hath any regard to his own Safety to search into these things himself to read the Holy Scriptures diligently that so he may learn from them whether such things are true or no. But as I am now Writing to those of the meanest Rank in Learning lat east It is necessary that I caution such Readers of the Scriptures against laying too much stress on the literal Interpretation of a Text For the Holy Ghost very often makes use of Metaphors and other Obscurities wherein the Sense is not obvious to every Eye And tho' as S. Austin says There is nothing so obscure in one Place which in another is not made plain Yet it is not supposed that an ordinary Reader knows how to find that Place out or if he does that he has Judgment enough to satisfie himself For the Scriptures consist of a Soul and a Body The Body is the Letter and the Soul is the true Interpretation Every Man therefore says Origen that De princip lib. 4. desires to come to the Knowledge of the Truth must have his Eye on every Word for every Nation has a different way of speaking let him therefore mind rather what is signified than with what Words it is expressed For there are some things which no Human Words can explain but they are only conceivable in an honest Vnderstanding By which Rule also we come to the Knowledge and Vnderstanding of the Holy Scriptures that what we read is not to be understood according to the Letter but according to the Divinity of that Holy Spirit which inspired it Wherefore the Honest Reader will do well to take care That he is not drawn by the Letter out of the right
was to read the Books of the Kings for their Information how to Rule well so that all Men would read the Holy Scriptures in general would be good Counsel because they afford the best Instructions for living well 2. Ignorance in the Scriptures is dangerous because it is the greatest Reason of Mens running into all sorts of Errors When the Sadducees proposed to our Saviour the Business of the Woman that had had seven Husbands asking him whose wife she should be at the resurrection falsly supposing If there ever would be a Resurrection there would also be Marrying and giving in Marriage at the Resurrection Jesus answered and said unto them Ye do err not knowing the Scriptures And here Madam I might take notice of the Subtlety of the Church of Rome in denying the Scriptures to the Laity because maintaining so many Errors so directly contrary to Scriptures that any discerning Eye must needs discover them Such are Purgatory Pope's Pardons Adoration of Images praying to Saints and Angels and the like But our Lord said of the Pharisees Matth. 15. 14. Let them alone they are blind leaders of the blind And if the blind lead the blind both shall fall into the ditch I shall say nothing therefore to these at present but proceed 3. To shew That Ignorance in the Scriptures is very Dangerous because as it is the cause of Sin and Error so by Sin and Error it must consequently be the cause of Destruction Isay 5. 13. Therefore my people are gone into captivity because they have no knowledge and their honourable Men are famished and their multitude dryed up with thirst Therefore hell hath enlarged her self and opened her mouth without measure and their glory and their multitude and their pomp and he that rejoyceth shall descend into it Psalm 95. 10. Forty years long was I grieved with this generation and said It is a people that do err in their hearts and they have not known my ways Vnto whom therefore I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest Prov. 1. 24. Because I have called and ye refused I have stretched out my hand and no man regarded but ye have set at nought all my counsel and would none of my reproof I also will laugh at your calamity I will mock when your fear cometh when your fear cometh as desolation and your destruction cometh as a whirl-wind when distress and anguish come upon you Then shall ye call upon me but I will not answer ye shall seek me but ye shall not find me for that ye hated knowledge and did not chuse the fear of the Lord. But to come a little nearer home Christ Jesus has brought Life and Immortality to Light by the Gospel But this says he is the condemnation by way of Eminence That light is come into the world and men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil For every one that doth evil hateth the light neither cometh he to the light lest his deeds should be reproved but he that does truth cometh to the light that his deeds may be made manifest that they are wrought in God Joh. 3. 19. And surely Madam If they that deny us the Scriptures had not something to be ashamed of they would not shew themselves so much concerned to keep People in Darkness It must needs be a Device of the Devil to keep Men in Ignorance that they might be damned according to the Apostle 2 Cor. 4. 3. If our Gospel be hid it is hid to them that are lost In whom the God of this world has blinded the minds of them which believe not lest the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ who is the image of God should shine upon them But we know that Christ will one day be revealed in flaming fire to take vengeance on them that know not God and obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ 2 Thessal 1. 8. If it is objected That this Text speaks of Heathen Persecutors we may answer That those Christians who are not acquainted with and consequently not obedient to the Gospel of Christ are worse than Heathens I beseech you Madam to consider If it was through Ignorance of the Scriptures the Jews crucified the Lord of Glory as the Apostle says it was 1 Cor. 2. 8. We that are Christians had best take heed That we do not through Ignorance crucifie him again And if it was a Shame for the Corinthians not to know the Scriptures in the very dawning and twilight of Christianity 1 Cor. 15. 34 what an abominable shame must it needs be for us after almost seventeen hundred Years to know no more or it may be not so much To conclude this Point The Apostle dedicates his First Epistle to the Corinthians To All that in Every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. And what he should do so for unless he intended it should be read by All I can't imagin If he intended it only for the Fathers of that Church he might in fewer words and consequently with less trouble have said To the Elders of the Church at Corinth or else directed it to the Bishop of that Church only But he knew the Scriptures were able to make Men wise unto salvation and therefore would have all Men read them And our blessed Saviour knew that the Jews thought they had Eternal Life in the Scriptures therefore he bids 'em Search them Joh. 5. 39. The Injunction is the same upon Christians also And then certainly if the Captain and Author of our Salvation bids us Search we may notwithstanding the Insinuations of some bold Men to the contrary By what Rule else should we try the Spirits whether they be of God as St. John adviseth us 1 Ep. 4. 1. if not by the Rule of God's Word Upon this account therefore among others we are bound to read search and be well acquainted with the Scriptures I presume then after all that has been produc'd to prove this first Position what the Evangelist says of the Revelations Chap. 1. 3. may on good grounds be attributed to the rest of the Sacred Writings Blessed is he that readeth and they that hear the words of this prophecy and keep those things that are written therein And now Madam having made good from Scripture Testimonies the Necessity of being acquainted with the Scriptures though I have already gone beyond the ordinary bounds of an Epistle yet I crave leave to trespass a little farther on your Patience in giving you a cursory view of some of the Principal Doctrins of the Church of Rome and demonstrating how contrary they are to the Word of Truth In order to which I shall with all possible brevity enquire I. Whether any Man can do more than he ought to do II. Whether any Man by his own Works can merit Heaven III. To whom it belongeth to Forgive Sins IV. Whether the Scriptures warrant Worshiping of Images or Praying to Saints and Angels V.
Whether there is any such Place as Purgatory VI. Whether the Mass is a Sacrifice for Quick and Dead VII Whether the Doctrin of Transubstantiation can be maintain'd by Scripture The first Enquiry must be whether any Man can do more than he ought to do Where we are to consider That though a Man as a Christian is in the state of Grace yet he is not in the state of Innocence nor can be till he arrives at the state of Glory where all Infirmities will be done away For as he is Flesh and Blood liable to be tempted to evil and apt to commit it he must expect to meet with Afflictions and Crosses from the World without and the Suggestions and Temptations of the Devil from within And being naturally more prone to Evil than Good I think it a hard thing to say That 't is in his power to do more Good than is requir'd he should do and a harder to prove it Under the Law Men were not able to keep the Law perfectly nor to walk in the Commandments of God as they ought For Moses himself who took them from God's mouth and gave them to the Israelites err'd in so much that he must not enter the promised Land. That Text Josh 11. 15. has been objected by some Gentlemen of the Church of Rome but plainly to no purpose For any one may see that Joshua's keeping the Commandments was only his doing those things he was commanded to do in order to establish the Israelites in the Inheritance of the Land of Canaan And we find the same Joshua in another place asserting the impossibility of serving God Josh 24. 19. at least he did not believe Men could do more It may be objected That the light of the Gospel is much clearer than that of the Law and the burthen easier to be born c. But for all that 't is certain the Gospel requires as full and perfect Obedience as ever the Law did Nay it proceeds farther for under the Law Men thought it no great Crime to murther their Neighbour in his good Name so they let his Body alone They also thought it no Sin to Lust after a Woman provided they did not come to Action But under the Gospel our Saviour tells us the contrary Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time Thou shalt not kill and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the Judgment But I say unto you That whosoever is angry with his Brother without a cause shall be in danger of the Judgment and whosoever shall say unto his Brother Racha shall be in danger of the Council but whosoever shall say Thou Fool shall be in danger of Hell Fire Again Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time Thou shalt not commit Adultery But I say unto you That whosoever looketh on a Woman to lust after her hath committed Adultery with her already in his heart Matth. 5. 21 22 27 28. So that we may see though the Law was such a yoke as neither we nor our Fore-fathers were able to bear Act. 15. 10. yet the Yoke of the Gospel is not so light as to be run away with As easie as it is 't is very irksom to Flesh and Blood yet 't is what we must bear so long as we live and then it is God's mere Mercy if the heavier yoke of Everlasting Misery is not laid on us instead of it If Man has Free-will to do good as well as evil yet I know that in me that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing for to will is present with me but how to perform that which is good I find not For the good that I would I do not but the evil which I would not that I do Now if I do that I would not it is no more I that do it but sin that dwelleth in me And on the contrary if I do that good I would it is no more I that do it but the grace of God that is in me 1 Cor. 15. 18. I find then a Law that when I would do good evil is present with me For I delight in the Law of God after the inward man. But I see another law in my members warring against the law of my mind and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members says the Apostle Rom. 7. 18. And he at last concludes So then with the mind I my self serve the Law of God but with the flesh the law of sin To which we may add what the same Apostle says 1 Cor. 2. 14. But the natural man that is flesh and blood receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God for they are foolishness unto him neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned And then certainly our Free-will can do us little good towards making us do more than we should when by reason of the stubborness of our Flesh we can't do what we would But the Apostle tells us That we are not able to do any thing of our selves but 't is God that worketh in us both to will and do after his good pleasure Phil. 2. 13. And our Saviour himself says That no man can come unto him unless the Father draw him Joh. 6. 44. Therefore I think it strange that a Man should be able to do more than he can 'T is a Contradiction Certainly he that made us can tell best what we can do And he says That the heart of man is only evil continually Gen. 6. 5. 8. 21. If then we are naturally more prone to do evil than good how is it possible for us to be better than we should be And if under the Gospel we must observe every Punctilio so strictly as not to be angry with our Neighbour not to look on a Woman to lust after her c. how are we able to do all that 's required of us The Apostle St. James goes a step farther If ye fulfil the Royal Law according to the Scripture Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy self ye do well But if ye have respect to persons ye commit sin and are convinced of the Law as Transgressors Jam. 2. 9. To have respect to Persons in civil Conversation one would think a small matter to make one guilty of the breach of the Law but so it is And our Saviour goes farther yet Matth. 5. 43. Ye have heard that it hath been said Thou shalt love thy Neighbour and hate thine Enemy But I say unto you Love your Enemies bless them that curse you do good to them that hate you and pray for them which despightfully use you and persecute you This is a hard lesson and not agreeable to Flesh and Blood yet 't is made the condition of becoming the Children of our Father which is in Heaven From what has been said we may gather That if any Man can do what he is required to do he cannot do more And if as we are told Jam.
exercis'd in Filthy Lusts as useless as a Sword is while it remains in the Sheath And this is the sence that the best Expositors put upon the place Beza especially is very copious and fully discusses the point proving that this Prison can in no wise be taken for Purgatory But the Reverend Dr. Hammond has most ingenuously and accurately express'd the Apostles meaning and therefore with his words I shall conclude Christ says he is an Example of suffering for well-doing in his Dying for Sins not his own but ours he being righteous died for us who were unrighteous that when we were Aliens and Enemies to God he might reconcile us to him and give us Authority to approach him wherein yet for our example and comfort it must be observ'd that tho' as a Man cloath'd in our Flesh he was put to Death and that innocently to purchase Redemption for us yet by the power of God in him he was most gloriously rais'd from the Dead and shall consequently by raising and rescuing us out of the present Sufferings and destroying all obdurate Sinners shew forth wonderful Evidences of Power and Life The very same in effect that of old he did at the time in which beyond all others he shew'd himself in Power and Majesty against his Enemies but withal in great Mercy and Deliverance to his Obedient Servants that adher'd to him I mean in the Days of the Old World when by Noah that Preacher of Righteousness he gave those treatable warnings to those that made no use of the Light of Nature in their Hearts to the Spirits or Souls of those that were then alive before the Flood which God had given them with impressions of Good and Evil but through their customs of Sin were as a Sword put up in a Sheath laid up in their Bodies unprofitably So then upon the whole matter whether the sence of the Apostle be referr'd to our Saviours Preaching by Noah to them of the Old World or by his Apostles to the Gentiles of the New is not much to the purpose this is the plain resolution of the present Quere That the word Prison here made use of is only a Metaphorical Epithet given to the Body in reference to the Soul a Comparison made of the Soul confin'd in the Body of a sinful Man with a Man lock'd up in a Prison And thus when our Saviour by his Ministers Preaches the Gospel especially to Unbelievers or Wicked Men he may be said to Preach to Spirits in Prison From what has been said then I think Purgatory can't be asserted from the words of St. Peter Whence we come to consider those of St. Paul If any Man's Work shall be burnt he shall suffer loss but he himself shall be saved yet so as by Fire The Apostle Verse 10 says According to the Grace of God which was given to me as a wise Master-Builder I have laid the Foundation and another buildeth thereon And Verse 12. he speaks of Two sorts of Men that build on this Foundation First those that build thereon Gold Silver and Precious-Stones and Secondly those that build thereon Wood Hay and Stubble Now says he Verse 13 Every Man's Work shall be made manifest For the Day shall declare it because it shall be reveal'd by Fire and the Fire shall try every Man's Work of what sort it is And as he goes on If any Man's Work shall abide which he hath built thereon he shall receive a Reward But if any Man's Work shall be burnt he shall suffer loss c. Which may be thus explain'd There were among the Corinthians when the Apostle writ this Epistle to 'em two sorts of Preachers some who endeavour'd nothing more than to Preach the pure simplicity of the Gospel and to feed the Flock of Christ with sound and wholsome Doctrine And others who pretended to greater parts and knowledge than other Men and these with superfluous flourishes and empty glosses endeavour'd to win the Hearts of their Hearers by their worldly wisdom as the Apostle calls it As the other studied for the preservation of a Good Conscience in the faithful discharge of their Duty so these made it their chief care to become the Peoples Favourites by being as complaisant and obliging as they cou'd and by Indulging 'em in some petty matters as they call'd 'em that the Gospel might not seem too heavy a burden to ' em They wou'd tell the People of Works of Supererogation some things they might do more than they were commanded to do and so brought in worshipping of Angels under a pretence of voluntary Humility intruding into those things which they had not seen being vainly puffed up with their fleshly minds as the Apostle testifies Col. 2. 18. And by such little tricks as these they gain'd more and more upon the giddy Affections of the multitude 'till at last they broke out into that Division which call'd for this Epistle Things being at this pass the Apostle thought it high time to think of a way if possible to put a stop to those Enormities which were so fast breaking into the Church And to this end he first mildly reproves the Corinthians for their overmuch curiosity and affection of Speculation rather than wholsome Doctrine And then heproceeds to shew 'em the vanity of such Speculative Preachers by telling 'em that he had laid the Foundation and that no Man cou'd lay another than what was laid already which was Jesus Christ Now says he If any Man builds upon this Foundation Gold Silver Precious-Stones Wood Hay or Stubble Every Man's Work shall be made manifest For the Day shall declare it because it shall be reveal'd by Fire and the Fire shall try every Man's Work of what sort it is And if any Man's Work shall abide which he hath built upon that Foundation which he had laid he shall receive a Reward That is He that shall approve himself a sincere Preacher of the Gospel that he has fed the Flock of Christ with sound and profitable Doctrine he shall in the Day of Trial have this to comfort him against all Temporal Calamities That he has Acted as a faithful Pastor ought to do and therefore though Tribulations beset him on all sides yet he is certain he whom he has serv'd is faithful and will undoubtedly perform his promise to his faithful Servants so that in the midst of the greatest Afflictions he 's sure to become more than a Conqueror and as such shall not miss of a most glorious Reward But If any Man's Work shall be burnt he shall suffer loss That is He shall in the Day of Trial be convinc'd of the invalidity and unprofitableness of his Preaching which will cause in him the pains of a guilty Conscience which commonly attend on those that have been unprofitable in their Stations and the loss of his former credit will cause him shame and a detestation of those vain and empty Opinions which before he so earnestly defended and all these