which our holy Religion requires must be made in Faith Faith must be grounded upon a Divine Testimony There is no Testimony of this nature to assure us that our Prayers made upon the Earth are known to glorified Spirits in Heaven If there be any way whereby they come to be acquainted with them yet God has hid it from us as he did the body of Moses from the Israelites to prevent the occasion of an abuse 2. It is the prerogative of Jesus Christ to be the only Mediator for us in Heaven to whom we are to make our applications He is entered into the Holy of Holiest and there alone offers to God our Incense as the High Priest did here upon the Earth Upon this account it is said There is one God and one Mediator betwixt God and man the man Jesus Christ 1 Tim. 2.5 The Mediator is here represented to be one as the Deity is one As there is but one God so there is but one Mediator for us to address unto in the state of Glory When he was about to leave the World and enter into this Blessed State he gave his Disciples instructions to pray in his name only Joh. 14.13.16.23 He does not mention the name of any of the Saints As he was alone in the Work of his Meritorious Satisfaction So He is alone in the application of it by his Gracious Intercession Therefore the Apostle says Among the Gentiles there be Gods many and Lords many They had their Sovereign Deities and likewise their Baalims or Lords which they accounted as Mediators betwixt them and those Supreme Powers but to us who embrace the Christian Faith There is but one God and one Lord Jesus Christ is the only Mediator for us in Heaven This dignity he has purchased with the inestimable price of his blood He humbled himself and became obedient to the death of the Cross Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him Phil. 2.8 He sits at his right hand appears in his presence for us and lives for ever to make intercession As the price which he gave for this dignity could not be paid by any but himself so the office procured by it must be incommunicable and peculiar to him And therefore for any to set up other Mediators whether of Redemption or Intercession without a command from Heaven is an inexcusable injury to his prerogative The Romanists do not only Invocate Saints that they may make a charitable Interecession for them but that by their Merits they would procure the favours they are Petitioners for This Truth concerning one Mediator is so evident that the primitive Christians were unanimous in the reception of it For three Hundred years no instance can be produced out of any Authentick Record that the Mediation of any in Heaven beside our blessed Lord was made use of Two are chiefly pretended to the contrary and in both the Virgin Mary is concerned In the first She is represented as the Advocate of Eve in the second as invocated by Justina the Martyr Irenaeus mentions the first lib. 5. c. 19. Where he compares the obedience of Eve to the word of the Evil Angel with the obedience of Mary to the word of the Good He asserts that Eve was seduced that she might fall from God Mary obedient that she might be the mother of our Lord. And adds this moreover as a further design of her obedience Vt Virginis Evae virgo Maria steret Advocata All this comes very short of what is designed to be proved by it Advocata here is no more than Consolatrix Because 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Greek in which language it is believed Irenaeus wrote signifies both an Advocate and Comforter therefore advocare in the Latin Version is used for consolari as appears L. 5. c. 15. Ego vos advocabo in Hierusalem advocabimini I will comfort you and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem So that his meaning will amount to no more than this As Eve by being seduced by the Evil Angel fell from God and brought sorrow dishonour and death upon her Sex So the Virgin Mary by being obedient to the word which was spoken by the Good Angel did make a full compensation and restore the Honour that Eve and all her Sex were impaired in This is the Consolation which she is said to receive from the Virgin Mary If this had been considered by Feuardentius he would not have drawn so peremptory a conclusion as he has done Ann. in Iren. Hinc evidentissimum est c. From hence it is most evident That the antient Fathers and Martyrs from the very times of the Apostles did Invocate the Virgin Mary The other instance concerning Justina is in Gregory Nazianzen The story is this S. Cyprian before his conversion was inamoured with the beauty of Justina In order to the obtaining his unchast desires he made use of Magick She having a deep resentment of her danger prayed to the Virgin Mary 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 To which I answer Pontius the Deacon of S. Cyprian who wrote his Life at large speaks no such matter but on the contrary That Cyprian before his Conversion was studied in all good Arts which tend to the utility of the Age amongst which Infernal Magick can have no place Indeed there was a Book extant in Nazianzen's time stiled Poenitentia Cypriani and now to be seen in the Oxford Edition of Cyprian in which Justina is mentioned but it is accounted a fabulous relation and was condemned under that notion by Gelasius Nazianzen from thence probably did borrow the sum of what he has expressed He using the freedom of an Orator and not the exactness of an Historian might be induced to make use of that which he found made ready to his hand without any strict examination and set it off with some Rhetorical Flourishes amongst which we may reckon the application of the Virgin Justina to the Virgin Mary In this he did accommodate himself to the inclination of the Age in which he lived which by frequent Apostrophe's made to Martyr's by some great Men in their Panegyricks was disposed to think favourably of such Addresses It is usual for Writers when they relate what was done in former Ages to dress it up in language and circumstances suitable to their own times Of this we have an evident instance in Nazianzen himself in his 22. Orat. Where he describes the Martyrdom of the seven Brethren and the deportment of their mother 2 Macc. 7. He says She snatched the drops of blood took the fragments of their members worshipped the remains If we consult the Author of the Maccabees and the History of Josephus where their sufferings are described at large no such thing is recorded It cannot reasonably be believed That a Woman who incouraged her children to die rather than to violate the Law of God should at the same time openly break it by touching the Dead contrary to the Masaical Institution So that the words
Jesus is said to return in the power of the Spirit Luk. 14. S. Paul prays that the Romans may abound in hope thro' the power of the Holy Ghost Rom. 15 14. Mighty signs and wonders are said to be done by the power of the Spirit of God If the Spirit in these places did signifie no more than a divine power the meaning would be that Christ returned the Romans abounded miracles were wrought thro' the power of a Power The Spirit is likewise evidently distinguished from effects or gifts The Apostle saies that There are diversity of gifts but the same Spirit 1 Cor. 12.4 To one is given by the Spirit the word of Wisdom to another the word of Knowledge by the same Spirit v. 8. And that all these worketh this one and the same Spirit So that there can be nothing left in these Texts for the Spirit to signifie but a Person He being manifestly distinguished from the Divine Power and the gifts and products of that Power Now I have finished the second Proposition In the Godhead there are Three Persons 3. These Three are One God Unity is essential to the Deity Plurality proceeds from the fecundity and fruitfulness of Causes but God is of himself without dependence upon any Cause If there be more Gods there must be more Infinites in the same kind which implies a contradiction for one infinite Being contains all perfection not only as considered in the general notion but actually and therefore there is none for any other Deity to be invested with and possessed of in the same manner If there be more Gods they must be distinct one from another This distinction must arise from some diversity in Nature to attribute such diversity to the Divine Nature is to make a dishonourable reflection upon the simplicity of it The Father Son and Holy Ghost are this One God 1. The Scripture plainly asserts that they are one 1 John 5.7 Tho' these words are not found in some Copies yet they are extant in more than they are wanting in and in that which is dubious the decision is according to the suffrage of the major part If such an addition has been made to the Text it must be done before or after the two first General Councils If before it was either accidental or intentional Not Accidental thro' the inadvertency of the Scribe For tho' a Scribe may mistake and leave out letters and words yet it cannot be imagined that he should casually without any design add a whole sentence and not presently upon a review which may be justly presumed in a Writing of such importance discover and correct his errour Not Intentional no good reason can be given why any should industriously make such a spurious insertion before the controversie concerning the Deity of Christ and the Holy Ghost did commence Neither was the addition which is pretended made after the two first General Councils Because the words we speak of are found in those Copies which the Fathers who lived before those Councils made use of S. Cyprian asserts de Patre Filio c. Of the Father Son and Holy Ghost it is written and these Three are One. This gives us just reason to believe that the Copies in which these words are wanting fell into the hands of the Arrians and that a rasure was made by them 2. As the words of S. John assure us that The Father the Son and the Spirit are One so we are assured by other texts of Sacred Writ that this Unity is in the Divine Essence They have all one and the same infinite Nature This is evident by the attribution of the Name Properties and peculiar Operations of the most High God to them None doubt of this relation to the Father The matter is likewise clear concerning the Son and the Spirit Christ is called the mighty God Isa 9.6 God blessed for evermore Rom. 9.5 The true God 1 Joh. 5.20 The most high God Psal 58.17 56. The most High which the Israelites tempted and provoked in the wilderness is expresly called Christ 1 Cor. 10.9 The name of God is never attributed in the sacred Oracles with such emphatical Epithets to any finite Being They are intentionally inserted to signifie that Jesus is stiled God not upon the account of his Embassy from his Father or a deification in the state of Glory but his infinite Nature He who is made God and is not so essentially cannot be said to be the true mighty most High God blessed for evermore As the Name of God so the Properties of the Divine Nature are attributed to him Omniscience Joh. 21.17 Immutability Heb. 1.11 Omnipotence Rev. 1.8 Eternity He is said to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is which was which is to come v. 4. Eternity comprehends all differences of time Was he but a meer Creature such perfections could not reside in him A finite Being under the greatest Elevation has not a capacity large enough to entertain and receive such boundless excellencies The peculiar Operations of God are likewise attributed to him as Creation Joh. 1.2 Coloss 1.16 God is said to create all things by Jesus Christ Eph. 3.9 The Son did concur with the Father and the Spirit in this great Work as a co-ordinate cause The Nature of Creation will not admit the interposals of an instrument There being no matter to prepare a physical instrument has nothing to do in the case And Christ is represented as more than a Moral The infinite power whereby all things are made is often ascribed to him which is never done to a meer moral instrument such as the Apostles were in the production of Miracles Conservation is likewise ascribed to him He is said to uphold all things with the word of his power Heb. 1.3 It was usual for the Jews to express the Deity by the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 power and therefore 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is here inserted to assure them that Christ sustains the World and prevents its relapse into its primitive Abyss by virtue of his Deity Lastly He is said to work Miracles He made the blind to see the lame to walk the dead to revive This he did not bring to pass by any mutuatitious power When he healed the multitude it is said Virtue went out of him Luk. 6.19 The power whereby he did it was not adventitious but innate When S. Peter wrought a miracle that Christ by whose power it was effected might not be deprived of the glory of it he names him as the principal cause His name thro' faith in his name hath made this man whole Act. 3.16 As the name properties and operations of the Divine Nature are attributed to the Son of God So likewise to the Holy Ghost The Spirit of the Lord 2 Sam. 23.2 is stiled the God of Israel Ananias who lied unto the Spirit Act. 5.3 is said to lie unto God v. 4. The body which is the Temple of the holy Ghost 1 Cor. 6.19 is stiled
call the Bread and Wine in the Sacrament the Body and Blood of Christ 2. They say that they are not so essentially but figuratively and therefore stile them signs Symbols Figures Antitypes Memorials It is usual to call the sign and the thing signified by the same name 3. They affirm that after Consecration the substance of the Bread and Wine remains and the change made is only in respect of Use Office and Dignity 4. They say That they nourish our flesh and blood and have the same effect that other food has and therefore they use to give the remains of the Euchariscical Bread to boyes and to abstain from the Communion upon Fasting days 5. They assert that wicked men do not eat and drink the Body and Blood of Christ but interpret the eating of his flesh Jo. 6. the receiving of him in a spiritual manner namely by Faith 6. When they deny the Eucharist to be a figure or sign they mean a bare sign The Sacrament is more than so It feals and exhibits It is a means whereby we receive the Body and Blood of Christ not only the benefits of them but Christ himself in a spiritual manner as crucified for us and is a real pledge to assure us thereof Tho' the crucified body of Christ is in Heaven yet that spirit which dwells in it being communicated to a worthy Receiver in the Sacramental action we are made to drink into one Spirit it produceth such a union betwixt us and Christ Jesus as laies a clear foundation of Communion with and participation of him 7. When they say there is a mutation in the nature of the Bread they mean by nature the use and property only as is manifest by their own explications Before Consecration it was appropriated to the nourishment of the body but now by Consecration it is exalted to a higher purpose A new dignity is put upon it It becomes a means whereby a worthy Communicant gains Communion with our blessed Lord. 8. When it 's said That the Senses are deceived and no competent judges of the mutation this may be very true altho' the change be Sacramental only The change is not the proper object of sense but of faith The knowledge of it with its effects is conveyed to us by a Divine Testimony extant in the holy Scriptures 9. When it is affirmed That under the species of Bread is given the Body and under the species of Wine the Blood by Species we must not understand the Accidents without their proper subjects This apprehension never entred into the thoughts of the antient Fathers They were perfect strangers to this kind of Philosophy S. Aust l. 4. cal â—â— Tâ—in Serm. de Temp. 38. S. Ambr. l. 4. de Init. By species they understand the specifical nature of a thing and by the species of Bread and Wine True Bread and True Wine as is manifest to any who consult their discourses 10. Where it is said That the Lord who changed Water into Wine could change in the Eucharist Wine into Blood the intention of Cyril is not to make these two conversions in every thing parallel Jerus as is manifest by the words that follow he presently asserts That the eating of Christ's flesh must be understood spiritually and calls the Table mystical and intellectual And therefore all that his words can import is this He who 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 changed Water into Wine by a corporal mutation changed at his mystical Table Wine into Blood not corporally but spiritually and mystically Lastly It must be acknowledged that there are many Hyperbolical expressions in the Fathers Hom 23. in Mat Par. 〈◊〉 as S. Chrysostome and others in relation to the Sacrament The design of them is to secure it from contempt and to elevate and raise the devotion of Communicants They being improper Speeches must not be expounded in such a sence as is inconsistent with what is elsewhere expressed by the same Authors in plain words without any figure They all agree in this in as clear expressions as can be desired That the substance of the Bread and Wine remain in the Eucharist Their Rhetorical flourishes cannot be interpreted to the prejudice of that which is plain and manifest When S. Chrysostome says That Christ mingles himself with us and not by Faith only but indeed makes us to be his Body His meaning is not That there is any corporal mixture or immediate contact betwixt us and his body but that when we receive the figure of his body which is in Heaven the Spirit which dwells in it is communicated to the worthy Receiver and produceth a union betwixt them and therefore what we receive â— 870. he presently calls the Grace of the Spirit Damascen who lived in the eighth Century was one of the first who deserted the Orthodox doctrin of the Fathers He being concerned in the controversie concerning Images and the opposers of them asserting that the Bread and Wine in the Sacrament were the only Image and representation which Christ allowed of himself he was transported with an intemperate zeal and affirmed they were no image or figure at all L. 4. c. sid Oâ—t ◠〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Tho' in these words he did not design any real conversion of the Elements but rather a corporal presence or consubstantiation yet he gave occasion to some in the ninth Age to dispute for a substantial mutation Paschasius Ratbertus was the first who writ seriously and copiously about it as Bellarmine asserts His sentiments about this argument were received with a warm opposition Rabanus Maurus Bertram Joannes Scotus Erigena did strongly assert the contrary doctrin In the tenth Age which was a night of ignorance all things fell asleep controversies were laid aside Darkness did reconcile them as the want of light does various colours In the eleventh Age Berengarius was awakened and did with great perspicuity assert the Truth Tho' the violence of his enemies and infirmity of his nature induced him to submit to a recantation The controversie all this while was managed with so much ambiguity that Joannes Duns Scotus asserts That it was not necessary for any to believe a substantial conversion or Transubstantiation till the Lateran Council held under Innocent the Third in the year 1215. and therefore the master of the Sentences who flourished in the Century before about the year 1145. useth these words What kind of conversion it is 〈…〉 illa 〈…〉 whether formal or substantial I am not able to determine The truth is that Transubstantiation was brought forth by Paschasius confirmed by Innocent the Third and at last so firmly married to the See of Rome by the Council of Trent that there was no possibility of a divorce tho' there is just reason to believe that the most Learned of that Community could heartily desire it The issue produced by this unhappy conjunction is the mutilation of the Sacrament the Adoration of the Host the Sacrince of
perswade them that no such thing was done Not only Bellarmine as I have before intimated but likewise Sirmondus acknowledge That Transubstantiation was not exposed to a clear light before the Ninth Century In the following Ages the profound ignorance of the people and the ambition of the Priests gave a great advance to it The Priests being desirous of deference and respect from the people knew no method more expedient to promote their purpose than to adhere to that doctrin which has a direct aspect upon it What could more readily commend them to the first place in the thoughts and opinion of the Vulgar than to perswade them that they were so highly favoured in Heaven as from thence to be invested with a power to turn Bread into the body of Christ This if sincerely believed must inevitably be as efficacious to secure to themselves an eternal veneration as the doing the greatest miracle recorded in the Sacred Oracles After all the commotions about this doctrin and the definition of Innocent the Third in the Fourth Lateran Council the greatest men for learning were at a loss what to six upon Joannes Parisiensis did afterwards publickly maintain That the Bread after Consecration really remains as the humane nature of Christ does after its being advanced to the dignity of the Hypostatical Union At the Council of Trent This business was brought to its perfection yet when the definition was to be made the Dominicans and Franciscans could not agree but fell into warm contests insomuch that at the last the General Congregation did prudently resolve to use as few words as possible and to make an expression so Universal as might be accommodated to the meaning of both parties All this to which much more might be added is sufficient to assure us of the novity of Transubstantiation and to give us some light into the steps which it took before it could arrive at the dignity of being an Article of Faith in the Church of Rome Now if we will give our selves leisure to sum up what has been spoken we shall find too much reason to suspect that the error of the Romanists about the Annihilation of the Bread and Wine in the Sacrament doth not arise from the nature of the Object but a voluntary distemper in the Subject and therefore can contribute little to an excuse from the Charge they lie under of alienating the Divine Honour when they give supreme Worship to the Sacrament And now I have done with the first particular the terminating 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 upon the Eucharist 2. Invocation of Saints The Romanists in this do that which is highly injurious to the peculiar Honour of God When they direct Mental Prayer to the Saints the action in its own nature imports an acknowledgment That they understand the Heart which is a priviledge appropriated to the Supreme Being in the Holy Scripture Thou only knowest the hearts of the children of men 2 Chro. 6.30 There is not a tittle in any part of Divine Revelation whereby it appears that God makes known our Hearts to them but on the contrary many clear intimations That he reserves this knowledge entirely to himself When Vocal Prayer is made to them for Grace and Glory it involves a confession of a power residing in them to confer that which is the gift of God alone thro' Jesus Christ If it be said That they are invocated not as Authors but Intercessors for these things they contradict the stile of their Devotion O Maria gratiosa dulcis mitis formosa applica nobis gratiam O Maria gloriosa in deliciis deliciosa praepara nobis gloriam In the Psalter of the Virgin all the Addresses made to God of whatsoever nature are directed to Her It is said That God the Father has done for Her what Assuerus promised to Esther given one moiety of his Kingdom namely That of Mercy to Her reserving the other of Justice to himself But let it be so That one thing is spoken and another meant which is not decent at any time much less in the Worship of God and the Saints are prayed unto as Intercessors yet this action cannot be excused from the blame of usurping the Honour of the second Person in the Sacred Trinity who is appointed to be the only Mediator betwixt God and Man We know of no other in the Scripture and it is not for mortal Man to appoint new Advocates in the Kingdom of Heaven and make them Rivals with the great Master of Requests who is of God's designation An Earthly Prince looks upon it as an insufferable insolence for Subjects to appoint who shall be his great Officers without his Order and Command If it be said That the Saints are invocated not as co-ordinate Intercessors but subordinate to Christ this will not much mend the matter For whether they be the first or last yet it is plain that when one particular Saint is Invocated the same hour and instant in diverse places for things of a different nature a capacity is supposed in that Saint to hear all their Petitions at once and by consequence to have an infinite Understanding A Finite Intellect tho' in the fruition of the greatest advantages either from the Revelation of God or Relation of Angels can understand but one object at a time To have an actual apprehension of more than one at the same moment is a peculiarity belonging to an unlimited and infinite capacity If it be added that the Sense of the Church is That we must have recourse to the Prayers of the Saints departed as we have to them while they are living here this will not amount to any reasonable satisfaction There is not the same reason for praying to Saints in Heaven as there is for our desiring our Brethren here to pray for us 1. They are at a distance These are present If a man residing in England should fall upon his knees and supplicate his friend in the Indies to assist him with his Prayers the very Action in its own nature would import an attribution of an immensity to him which is peculiar to God If he should daily use his picture to excite his devotion and kneeling before it make such religious applications as are usually made to the glorified Saints before their Images every one would look upon him as a person doing that which is highly prejudicial to the Divine Honour There is as much reason to believe that the Saints on Earth may hear our Prayers at a distance as the Saints in Heaven There is not one Syllable in the Bible to assure us to the contrary Abraham is ignorant of us Isa 36. And if Abraham the Father of the Faithful is a stranger to our concerns much more his Children who are in his Bosom God and Angels may reveal our necessities to our friends in any place yet no man looks upon this possibility as a sufficient ground to pray unto them when they are at a distance from us The Prayer
Titulars and Pensioners sent from that Court with many other devices P. 18 19 20. insomuch that a Romish Priest in his Letter to the Bishop of Ferns saies That the Council was neither Oecumenical nor Occidental nor free He who considers all this will be under no inclination to believe That the Council of Trent was inspired with any thing besides the infallible Spirit of Worldly Policy As for the People They can make no just plea to infallibility If the Head cannot justifie his plea much less the feet which are guided by and take their measures from him If the Head and Members together are the recipients of it for it is not agreed whether the Decrees of the Pope without a Council or the Decrees of a Council without the Pope or the Decrees of the Pope and Council without the acceptance of the whole body of the People be authentick Some say one thing some another Their Language is confounded that they may be hindred from building the aspiring tower of Infallibility it ought to be examined how this comes to be known Two things are alledged 1. There is a peremptory necessity for such a guide 2. The Church of Rome has all the evidence that can be reasonably desired that she is such a one 1. The necessity is not apparent It was necessary that the doctrin concerning Religion should be revealed by God the first Proponents of it infallibly guided by the influence of the Divine Spirit but there is no just reason why such persons should be continued in the Church to the end of the World The certainty of Religion may be secured without them We have an infallible rule to steer our course by The Books in which it is contained are conveyed to our hand with all the desirable assurance That they are not forged but really such as they pretend to be We have as much evidence for this as the nature of the thing is capable of The Tradition whereby they are delivered to us is so universal That could the like be produced for those points which are in controversie betwixt us and the Church of Rome we should not be backward in the entertainment of them We have far less evidence for many Writings as Plato's Tully's Caesar's which without any hesitancy we believe to be genuine These are conveyed unto us but by a very few hands in comparison but the Books of the Scripture being of general concernment were perused by all sorts and by this means have gain'd the most universal attestation Porphyry and Julian with other implacable enemies to the Christian Faith did acknowledge those books to be composed by those whose names they bear The Books being thus delivered when we come to consult the doctrine contained in them we find ingraven upon it peculiar characters of Divinity agreeable to the impressions of the Deity made upon the Souls of all men together with the broad Seal of Heaven annexed unto it many Miracles which God never gives to any a power to do for the confirming an errour In order to the gaining the true Sence and meaning of this doctrine we have great advantage from the clearness of the stile in all points of absolute necessity to Salvation Truths of this importance are set in a very clear light What is more manifest than the following particulars There is a God a peculiar Worship is due to him in the Deity are Three Persons The Second cloathed himself with our Nature that he might be in a capacity to transact the work of our Redemption Those that would have a title to the benefits of his Redemption must Believe Repent lead a holy Life An eternal reward will be given to those that do these things and an everlasting punishment inflicted upon those who neglect them A day is appointed when all must stand before the judgment seat of Jesus Christ These particulars with many others of a-like nature are written with the greatest perspicuity If any complain of obscurity it is in themselves and not in the object If men will devest themselves of their prejudices dissipate those mists which are cast before them they cannot remain long unacquainted with these Truths If any controversie arise we have visible Guides to advise with who are devoted to the study of the Sacred Oracles and solemnly set apart by a Divine appointment to this purpose even as in secular concerns there is not only a Law to walk by but Men wholly devoted to the search of the meaning of it who are able in difficult cases to assist us Tho' these Persons whether alone or congregated in a Synod are not infallible yet when they are duly improved sincerely Religious free from the Bias of an irrelative interest they give us a high degree of assurance That their thoughts are agreeable to Truth and just Reason if we cannot internally assent to keep our Faith to our selves and not to disturb the Peace of the Church by an imprudent publication We attribute to the Divine Spirit speaking in the holy Scripture supreme and infallible Conduct To the Governours of the Church Subordinate and Ministerial To private Men who are under their Government we dare not deny the judgment of discretion God requires of them a reasonable Service 〈…〉 a compliance as is in brute creatures who are entirely subject to the discretion of those who use them and can give no account of the action they are directed to He expects the concurrence of the Heart He has endued us with a freedom to determine our selves and requires that our election be made upon such evidence that in case our Rulers command us to do otherwise than we apprehend to be right we may be able to give a sober account of our dissatisfaction an answer to every one that asketh us a reason of the hope which is in us with meekness and fear We are obliged to prove all things try the Spirits whether they be of God This Exhortation is not directed only to Fathers and Governours in the Church but such as are stiled young men and children who are under their conduct This liberty in point of discretion doth not lessen and impair the certainty of Religion Those who use it have a rational power conferred upon them by the Supreme Being for the searching and finding out of Truth They have visible Guides to make their application to in order to the removing their scruples They have the enjoyment of the publick Ministry which by Heaven is designed as the ordinary means to convey information to them the promise of the divine Spirit which doth accompany it and will be assistant to them if they do not resist it but expose themselves to its operations a power to suspend their assent till the matter be clear and evident When the object is so and the faculty duly prepared by the use of such means as have been specified it will be unreasonable to assert That we may in such circumstances be imposed upon He to whom veracity
is essential made the faculty He formed it with a design to find out Truth He requires no other condition in any object to qualifie it for assent but clearness We have as much clearness in all points necessary to Salvation as the nature of the thing will bear So that in this case we have a security from the divine Veracity and Goodness with which it is no reconcileable That our faculty should be so formed as to be deceived when the Proposition we assent unto is manifest and perspicuous So that the ultimate resolution of our Faith is not made into the fallible testimony of a private Spirit but a testimony given by an infallible attribute of the immutable nature of the Deity which assures us not only That what God has revealed is true but that those things are revealed by him in the Bible which are plain and manifest to a duely qualified mind Errour proceeds from the giving too hasty an assent to propositions upon such grounds as are irrelative to their Nature as Education Interest c. He who will devest himself of his prejudices which way soever contracted and sincerely apply himself to the use of such means as are of Divine designation as Praying Reading Hearing Meditating consulting the living Guides which God has set up in his Church will certainly arrive at the perception of that which is necessary to his Salvation He has the highest degree of assurance that this sublunary 〈…〉 â—â—pable of Nothing can be thought 〈…〉 an addition to it but a new revelation and if this was granted as many difficulties would emerge about the meaning of it as there are about the true importance of the old No acquiescence in it could be obtained but upon such considerations as now induce us to believe the Bible and the clear sence of it to be the Word and mind of God All this will evidence That there is not a peremptory necessity for such a Guide as the Church of Rome contends for 2. It is not true That the Church of Rome has all the evidence that can be reasonably desired that she is such a one Three Topicks are commonly made use of in this case Scripture-promises Universal Tradition Motives of Credibility As for the first Let the Text be cited where any such promise is made to the Church of Rome S. Paul in his Epistle to the Romans is so far from insinuating any thing of this nature that he gives them advice which evidently imports the possibility of their fall He acquaints them if they boast against the branches as it is manifest they have done and grow insolent that they shall be cut off To mention those promises which respect the Universal Church is wholly irrelative The Church of Rome is so far from being the Universal that she is but a part exceedingly degenerated Pessimum acetum ex optimo Vino She hath obtained the title Catholick by the same method which Abimelech used to make himself King and Phocas Emperour She attempts to murder the right Heirs and true Sons of the Church with the unjust imputation of Heresie that she may enjoy the inheritance alone Her deportment has been as if one member of the body which has a distemper in it should value if self upon that account and pronounce all the other parts to have no interest in the whole because they are not infected with it Indeed it is said That the Catholick Church is One and always visible which can be applied to none but the Church of Rome But this may as easily be denied as affirmed She has not been in any age the One only Church The Eastern Churches have had always an existence as well as the Western in which from the first age there has been the Baptism of Christ the Creed of the Apostles an uninterrupted succession of Bishops In the Western when abuses began to insinuate themselves there was always a number not only of private but publick persons which gave their testimony against them as will be manifest to any who have leisure to peruse the History of the Ages betwixt Boniface the third and Luther These persons we have more reason to account the Church which God has promised always to preserve than those who were willing without any reluctancy to submit to the grossest innovations Tho' they were not equal in number yet there were enough of them to make the little flock to which a Kingdom is promised The Church of Rome as it is now has not been always visible There was no such thing in the three first Centuries Where was then the doctrin of Supremacy Infallibility Transubstantiation worshipping of Images Invocation of Saints Praying in an unknown Language keeping the Scripture from the People mutilating the Sacrament making the Apocryphal Books equal to the Bible These are some of the Characteristical notes of the present Church whereby she stands distinguish'd from others Those Ages were utterly unacquainted with these Tenents We dare appeal from the Church of Rome as it is now to the Church of Rome as it was then and stand to her arbitration In the following Ages errours began more to shew themselves yet they did not grow to such a height as to be received for the Faith of the Church The infernal Spirit has been always busie to sow his tares yet those Ages were not so blind as to take them for wheat Insomuch that we lawfully say That there was not a man in those days which may be properly called a Papist As for the Promises which respect the Universal Church the utmost that can be made of them is That there shall always be upon the Earth a people owning the fundamentals of Religion together with Teachers which shall have a sufficient assistance in order to the directing and inabling them to discharge their duty But there is no assurance given that this aid shall be so efficacious as to furnish them with such an universal Infallibility as the Church of Rome pretends to Such help is promised as is sutable to the exigencies of every Age. In the Primitive it was necessary That it should be so powerful as to secure the first Proponents of our Religion from errour But in after ages this necessity did not continue Greater skill is required to make an exact rule than when it is made to draw a line exactly conformable to it The foundation of Religion being completely laid and the rule of Faith and Worship given out by an unerring hand such aid only is ordinarily to be expected as if we be not wanting to our selves and prevent the effects of it by a voluntary neglect will lead us into the sence of what is revealed God has endued us with a faculty whereby we are in a capacity to make a free choice of that which is propounded unto us He helps us to do it by such means as are agreeable to an intellectual nature He does always enough to enable us to make an advantagious election and therefore
him and his Successours 2. Such a Guide as the Romanists would have who must be followed blindfold and his dictates received with an implicit faith without examination is not consistent with the nature of an Intellectual Being Our understanding is appointed to be our immediate Guide insomuch That if we act contrary to it we pervert the order of Nature and vitiate the action It is designed by a divine institution to make scrutiny and search into that which is propounded to us Therefore when there were infallible guides upon the Earth the people were commanded to look into the facred Oracles and make tryal by them of what was tendered to them They were not to rely only upon the words of them who spake but examine their Authority by a standing rule and inquire into the sence of what was spoken by them Joh. 5. Act. 17.11 Our blessed Lord directed the Jews to take this course and the Beraeans are commended for the using of it To suffer our understandings to be lapped up in an implicite belief is to keep our talent in a napkin Our Intellect was given to us to be exerted to the uttermost that all the Acts of our Religion might become a reasonable Service 3. Such a Guide is destructive of true Virtue in the Acts of Religion 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is defined by the Philosopher 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an elective habit It disposeth us when good and evil are set before us to make a free election to chuse the good and reject the evil Now the Guide supposed who must be followed without scrutiny deprives us of this liberty He must be believed whatsoever he propounds whether right or wrong If he commands us to believe that to be black which appears white to our sence we must not dispute his dictate Amongst the Eighteen rules of the prevailing Order in the Church of Rome the Thirteenth runs in these words Vt ipsi Catholicae Ecclesiae omnino unanimes conformesque simus Si quod oculis nostris albus apparet nigrum illa definierit debemus itidem quòd nigrum est pronunciare Bellarmine is very agreeable to this rule as is manifest by the following expression Si autem Papa erraret praecipiendo vitia vel prohibendo virtutes teneretur Ecclesia credere vitia esse bona virtutes malas c. If the Pope should err in commanding Vices or prohibiting Virtues the Church would be obliged to believe Vices to be good and Virtues evil 4. Such a Guide can be of no advantage to us in our present circumstances We have already an infallible Rule to walk by the true sence of which if we receive and comply with we cannot err Now this sence may as easily be obtained as the sence of an infallible Guide If there was such a one as is supposed he could not be spoken with by one of a Thousand of those who are concerned in the meaning of his determination And therefore they must receive it from the relation of others or by some Writing under his hand The Relators being fallible and obnoxious to the like infirmities with other men can give us no infallible assurance They may be byassed with partiality and irrelative respects A Writing from him is liable to the same exceptions which are usually formed against the Scripture We see that all parties among the Romanists pretend favour from the determinations of the Church They are like Pictures which seem to look upon every one in the room where they hang. When interest is concerned it will find out as many evasions as the most subtle Adversary can devise to elude any text of Scripture There are many divisions among the Romanists yet all assert the sence of the infallible Judge is on their side Why may not we as well understand the sence of the Bible immediately as the meaning of a Decree in Writing of such a Judge The Scripture was written by an unerring hand with a sincere purpose that it might be understood Clearness of stile is a necessary condition in order to this end and therefore must be designed by the Composer God undoubtedly is able to write with as much perspicuity and with as manifest accommodations to the meanest capacity as men are Thousands have had so firm a Faith grounded upon the sence which they immediately derived from his Word That rather than they would depart from it they have with alacrity endured the loss of their sublunary comforts and chearfully resigned up their lives to the inhumanity of their Persecutors The Divine Spirit is ready to assist those who are sincerely desirous of true knowledge Peculiar persons are devoted to the study of the Scripture in order to the dissipating of Clouds and the clearing of what is obscure Why a Writing composed by an infinitely Wife Being and attended with these advantages in order to the gaining the true meaning of it may not be as easily understood as the decrees of a Pope or the Canons of a Council I could never discern any good reason 5. Such a Guide is not reconcileable to the Divine Intention in giving us the sacred Oracles These are evidently designed as a rule which every one is obliged to consult Blessed is he which readeth Rev. 1.4 Reading is enjoyned in order to the gaining understanding Let the word dwell richly in you in all wisdom The supreme Head of the Church commands us to search the Scriptures S. Peter whom the Romanists assert to have been his Vicegerent upon the earth requires us to attend unto them as unto a light without suggesting the necessity of having recourse to himself or his Successors for interpretation All this assures us That we are to take our measures from the Bible and judge for our selves what is to be done or not done with a judgment of discretion that our conformity to the Divine Will may be an act of our Understanding Now a Guide whose Dictates we are to swallow down without examination is not consistent with the practice here enjoyned us To be bound to examine the rule with all diligence and yet to resign up our selves to the decrees of a Guide about the sence of it without any scrutiny are two contrary obligations If the first be intended as it is plain it is the last cannot God never wills that we should be engaged to those things which are contradictory one to another In a civil Community where there is a Law and a Judge If it be commanded That every Subject read this Law search it diligently use his best endeavours to understand it That his conformity to it may be an act of his own Reason this would plainly signifie That the Judge is not to be followed blindfold whether right or wrong but his Decree is to be compared and fully considered Tho' the Judge has the power of decision which the subject is so far to acquiesce in as not to disturb the publick order by any inutinous demeanour yet the judgment of discretion