Virgins Womb and that He might become a Sacrifice for Sin was content to be dis-array'd of His own Eternal Glory to take upon Him the Form of a Servant and to humble Himself to the Death the shameful Death of the Cross so likewise when He took upon Him the Office of a Teacher by a wonderful Condescent He accomodated His Doctrines to the reason humane Affections of His Auditors His Laws obtain'd as much by their suitableness to our natures as the Authority of the Speaker When He preach'd His Divine Sermon to the Multitude He did not Amuse them with Mystical Theology or torture their Understandings with profound Subtilties but as He was the Brightness of His Fathers Glory and the express Image of His Person so He declar'd the Law of God in a most Plain and Perspicuous manner Mahomet indeed that grand Impostor was well Advis'd to Pen his Alcoran in swelling Words and mystical Phrases and as in some things to Restrain so in others to Indulge the sensual Appetite For by this Stratagem that sottish People with whom he had to do were content to part with their natural Right to gain an Unlawful Freedom and to Admire what they were never like to Understand But our new and perfect Law giver Christ Jesus having no other design but the Salvation of Souls and being every way Adorn'd for so noble a Purpose though He made the Gate Narrow and the Path Strait yet He hath Promised it shall be Open'd to all that Knock and none unless Wilfully need Mistake the VVay which leads to Eternal Life But then because He knew there was no Rule so plain but it might be Mistaken no Precept so clear but it might be Perverted no Doctrine so pure but it might be Corrupted Because He foresaw there would arise false Prophets and false Teachers whose business it would be to Seduce the Ignorant and Debauch the Credulous Because He foresaw a perpetual Succession of Gnosticks who in all Ages would set up the Dagon of their own lascivious Fancies in opposition to the Ark of His Covenant and be so audacious as even to confront Divine Revelations with carnal reasoning therefore to obviate and prevent the mischiefs of such grievous Wolves before He took His Journey into his far Country out of a tender care of that Flock which He had purchas'd with his Blood He appointed Overseers and Pastors of His Flock committed to them and them only the care of Feeding his Flock amplified their Commission with the like Authority which he had receiv'd from his Father promis'd to be with them unto the End of the World and to assist them with that Spirit which should guide them into all Truth If then the Scriptures be so Clear as to be understood even by the Multitude then much more by the Disciples in general If by the Disciples in general much more by the College of the Apostles who were His special Favourites and of his Cabinet-Council If the Nations to whom these Ministers in Chief and Plenepotentiaries for Christ made known the Will of God were throughly instructed for the Kingdom of Heaven then much more both They and Their Successors upon whom they in obedience to their Masters Command conferr'd the same Pastoral power which they had receiv'd from Him The Clearness then of Scripture cannot reasonably be urg'd in Prejudice of Christs Ministers for whatsoever is from hence alledg'd in favour of the People the advantage will be still greater on their side Thus hath God promis'd the Assistance of his Spirit to all private men who sincerely endeavour to find out the Truth then much less will He be wanting to the Governors of his Church to whom He hath committed the care of the Souls of those private men and given power even to confer the Holy Ghost Are the Scriptures clear to them much more to those whom the Son of God hath signaliz'd and set apart for the Lights of the World Two Things are usually brought to hinder this Procedure Either that those Promises of Assistance were made only to the Apostles or else that they depend on the conditioned Righteousness of Men. Where by the way it may be Observ'd that by the First of these the Claim of the People is utterly cut off and by the Second they have as small Advantage But they who argue thus might do well to consider that this Objection may strike at the very Foundation of the Faith For if those promises of Assistance which Christ made to His Church be Hypothecal if they depend on the Performance of Men then may the Foundation Totter the Gates of Hell prevail Christianity decay and the Gospel it self be lost out of the World before the End thereof notwithstanding all Christs fair Promises to the Contrary If they had been confin'd only to the Apostles its Christian Religion had not long surviv'd the Author every Martyrdom of an Apostle had pull'd down a Pillar of the Church and by consequence the whole Fabrick must have fallen to the ground in the very first Century of our Lord. Happy indeed had it been for Christendom that the Imperiousness of some Modern Bishops of Rome had not brought an Odium though unjustly upon Episcopacy in general that their too much Lording it over the Flock had not given Advantage to the Enemies of Church-Authority and their Challenging to themselves at least an indirect Power in Temporals had not Alarm'd the Kings of the Earth to stand up and take Counsel how they might Destroy so dangerous an Vsurpation of the pretended Vicegerent of the Lords Anointed Happy had it been if for the Support of their Secular Greatness they had not Wrested the Scriptures to countenance such Doctrines as have no clear and solid foundation therein and that under pretence of making the Church all Glorious Within Her Governours all Triumphant Without they had not defac'd Her Innocent Beauty and made Her Militant in the worst of Senses However they can no way be Excused who think they can never be Secure from Papal Supremacy but by Demolishing the Evangelical Hierarchy and introducing a Presbyterial Parity into the Catholick Church and to avoid the Necessity of having an Infallible Judge leaving every private prepossessed Fancy to the Perspicuity of Scripture whereby men are often bewildred in a Labyrinth of Errors seduc'd into those by-paths which lead to the Pit of Destruction For notwithstanding that Beam of Divine Light which shines so Bright in the Scriptures it seems some men have Eyes either so weak as to be dazled at the sight of it or else so blind with Pride or Malice as not to perceive it For St. Peter tells us there are in the Scriptures some things hard to be Understood which unlearned and unstable men Wrest unto their own Destruction And therefore the Unlearned should do well to consult their Teachers the Unstable those that are sound in the Faith which brings me to my second general Consideration That though the Scriptures be
A SERMON Preached before the KING AT White-Hall October 17. 1675. By MILES BARNE Fellow of St. Peter's College in Cambridge and Chaplain in Ordinary to His MAJESTY Printed by His Majesties special Command London Printed by T. Milbeurn for W. Cademan at the Popes-Head in the New-Exchange in the Strand 1675. 2 Pet. chap. 3. ver 16. In which are some things hard to be Vnderstood which they that are unlearned and unstable Wrest as they do also the other Scriptures unto their own Destruction THe clearness of Scripture in all points necessary to Salvation to all such as sincerely endeavour to believe and find out the True Sense thereof as it is a principle which suits very well with the nature and designe of a Rule with the justice and goodness of God in propounding it as such and hath been urged with some success against those who plead a necessity of having One Supream infallible Judge to decide and determine all Controversies which shall happen to arise concerning that Faith which was once deliver'd to the Saints Whose Decisions and Determinations say they ought to be Receiv'd by all the Sons of the Church for as much as the Church is the same in all Ages with equal Assent and Veneration with those of the Apostles And this to be the only sure way to keep the Vnity of the Faith in the Bond of Peace Whereby on the other hand 't is said New Articles of Faith may be dayly imposed the Doctrines of men pass for the Commandments of God and humane Inventions receive the stamp of Divine Authority whereby men seem precluded the genuine methods of coming to the Knowledge of the Truth and those Precepts of of searching the Scriptures seeking the Kingdom of Heaven trying the Spirits are rendred Ineffectual whereby men are so far from being able to give an account of their Faith that their Vnderstandings are enslav'd by a principle of blind Obedience so far from being led into the wayes of Religion by the cords of men that they seem rather to be driven like Beasts and acted like Puppets as 't is phras'd by a late Author As this Doctrine of the clearness of Scripture hath prov'd successful to the beating down the pretences to an absolute Infallibility and uncontroulable soveraignty over the Consciences of men so on the other hand hath it mightily embolden'd the Patrons of Liberty not only to despise their Ecclesiastical Superiors to throw off all obedience to Christs Ministers Whom He notwithstanding a little before his Return to his Fathers Court for the further negotiating and advancing the affairs of His Church Anointed and Ordain'd to perform the Apostolical Offices of Preaching the Gospel Remitting Sins Inflicting Censures Ministerially conferring the Holy Ghost Deciding Controversies and Administring the Sacraments in his stead here on earth till his second coming but likewise to invade their Function usurp their Sacred Calling especially that part of it which consists in Preaching and Expounding the Word For say they since 't is confess'd the Scriptures are sufficiently clear to all unprejudiced minds such as are free from the clogs of Passion and Interest Why should these pretended Ministers of Christ take so much upon them Are not all the Congregation Holy and Learned as well as they Are they the only Temples of the Holy Ghost And doth the Spirit of Prophesie reside solely in their Breasts During the Dispensation of Moses 't is confess'd there was a necessity of an Aaron all along under the legal oeconomy the Priests Lips did preserve Knowledge and likewise during the raign of the Prophets there was an appropriate Ministry But the case is quite different under the Gospel God having made clearer discoveries of himself and poured out more liberally of his Spirit upon all Flesh The sense of the Law that was Doubtful Typical and Mysterious the Prophecies were industriously couch'd under dark Parables and deliver'd in obscure sayings But then the light the glorious light of the Gospel as 't was universal 't was likewise so clear that any one who runs may read Why then should we not assert that Liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free and since we have a Command to work out our own Salvation Why should we pin our Faith upon other mens sleeves Thus these men under the goodly Pretences of Christian Liberty become enslav'd to spiritual pride and conceitedness plead the Prerogative of the Gospel in prejudice of Christs own Embassadors urge for their own private Conceptions clearness of Scripture to their own Confusion and pry so long into the Doctrines of Theology till at length they light on those hidden Mysteries which they being Vnlearned and Vnstable Wrest unto their own Destruction The way thus prepar'd my Text yet leads me into these following Considerations 1. That the clearness of Scripture doth no wayes lessen the Authority or take away the Necessity of Spiritual Guides 2. That though the Scriptures be clear in themselves yet private men abandoning their Lawful Guides and following their own Corrupt Fancies may deprave and distort them to their own Destruction 3. That for preventing Mistakes from rising and suppressing Errors when risen 't is the duty of Private men to submit their Judgements in matters of Religion to the Determinations of those whom God hath constituted to be their Spiritual Guides and Governours unless it manifestly appear that such Determinations are contrary to Gods Word I. I begin with the First That the Clearness of Scripture c. For if the Scriptures be so Clear and Self-evident as is pretended then may men with greater security rely on the Directions of their Guides and they have the less Reason to suspect their Conduct in those things wherein they themselves being Judges they cannot be mistaken if they sincerely attend them the clearness of the Law is so far from lessening the Authority that it rather conciliates reverence to the Judge The Profession of Physick doth not therefore become useless because the Aphorisms of Hippocrates contain the necessary Rules for Health and may be understood by those who are capacitated and will take the pains to do it The Scriptures they do clearly contain the Doctrines of Salvation And one way whereby Christ prov'd himself the true Messias was by answering that Character the Prophets had given of Him that the Poor should have the Gospel Preached unto them i. e. Men as of small Capacities and less Estates so of humble and teachable Dispositions men who were Poor in Spirit as well as in Fortune And the perfection of the Christian Law consists in this that therein God hath prescribed a reasonable service The Rules of Life which are therein laid down are not so much the product of absolute power and soveraignty as the Result of infinite Mercy and Goodness And these His Attributes led Him to consult the wants and commiserate the Necessities of the meanest of Mankind And therefore as when He took upon Him to deliver Man He did not abhor the
much greater is to be given to those Doctrines which are contain'd in the Writings of the Evangelists and Apostles who were Taught of God and spake as they were inspired by the Holy Ghost II. Secondly I urge the Authority of my Lord Bacon whose if any me thinks should be admitted by these Virtuosi in Religion The Divine Prerogative saith he extends it self to the Whole Man and requires not only Obedience from our Wills but Submission from our Understandings And therefore as we are bound to Obey the Divine Law though our Wills reluct never so much against it so are we obliged to believe whatsoever God hath Reveal'd though never so improbable to our understandings For if we believe no more than what we can demonstrate to be true we do not believe the Truth deliver'd for the Authors sake but the Author for the Truths sake and so we pay no more Respect to the Oracles of God than we do to the Writings of Men though never so much Suspected by us The Faith which Justified Abraham was conversant in a matter incredible to Reason And therefore the higher the Mysteries of Religion are above our Reason the greater is the exercise and tryumph of our Faith the Honour done unto God in Believing To conclude this Point Great is the use of Reason in Religion both as to the manner of interpreting the Scriptures the deducing true consequences and wholesome conclusions from thence and if it be wholly suppress'd our Religion will degenerate into Superstition we shall be so far from paying God a Reasonable Service that we shall offer Him the Sacrifice of Fools But then it must be kept to a due temper for if be not managed by prudent Guides 't is apt to grow Wild and Extravagant to hurry us on to a Belief of the Fowlest Impostures to a Practise of the Grossest Impieties which either the prevalency of the World the domineering enmity of the Flesh or the implacable malice of Satan can propound to be Believed or Practis'd II. The second Reason of Private Mens falling into Error is their Instability in not adhering to their Guides but forsaking them to go astray in the intricate paths of Error and Deceit Heresie being nothing else but an Excision from and Disobedience to the Church in points of Faith And therefore the Apostle pronounceth an Heretick Self-Condemned one who hath Wantonly chosen to himself those Opinions for an Obstinate Defence whereof after full and plain means of Conviction he justly falls under the Censures of the Church is Excommunicated the Assembly of the Saints so without Repentance Reconciliation continues in a very dangerous estate if that of Heathens and Publicans be acknowledg'd such Not in Vain then are those frequent Cautions against Falling Away those repeated Admonitions to Perseverance those earnest Exhortations to hold fast the Profession and contend for the Faith which was once Deliver'd those so much inculcated Commands of Obeying those who are set Over us in the Lord Heb. 13. v. 7. Remember them which have the Rule over you who have spoken unto you the Word of God whose Faith follow Ver. 17. Obey them that have the Rule over you and submit your selves for they Watch for your Souls For in Vain may those men commit themselves to the immediate Assistance of God who neglect to hear his Guides and violate His Commandments in hopes to procure His help favour For from that very moment of time they cease to be Members of the Holy Catholick Church they are become Out-lawries in a Gospel-sense they have lost the Protection of the Heavenly King and they lay under the Deprivation of the benefits belonging to the Subjects of that Jerusalem which is Above And what wonder if being in this forlorn condition the Tempter take his advantage lead them into the Wilderness and there present to their disturb'd fancies false schemes of Religion suggest unworthy apprehensions of God and whatsoever is by him thus suggested is by them mistaken for new light and holy inspirations And because this spirit of delusion dares put forth among Christians no Doctrines but such as pretend to be founded on the Scriptures to this purpose they are wrested and tortur'd their scope is mistaken their sense abused their Periods miserably mangled their whole design perverted to countenance every Wild Opinion which either a capricious fancy can imagine or a Malicious Wit invent And from hence it comes to pass that we have as many several sorts of Christians as there are different humours or Interests of men the Gospel with St. Paul though in a quite contrary sense is become all things unto all men And having made thus bold with the Scriptures it cannot be expected that they should deal more modestly with any authority inferior to that the most ancient Traditions must now give place to new discoveries The Consent of the Catholick Apostolick Church be borne down by the Dictates of a private I might say familiar spirit Whereas there is all the reason in the World to believe that the Apostles best knew the mind of their Master that they faithfully fully communicated their knowledge to their successors so by certain steps and degrees we may arrive at this fundamental truth That as the Church is the most faithfull Keeper so the most authentick Expositor of Scripture Which fairly ushers in my third and last Consideration That for the preventing Mistakes from Rising and suppressing Errors when Risen 'T is the duty of Private Men to submit their Judgements in matters of Religion to the Determinations of those whom God hath Constituted to be their Spiritual Guides and Governours Vnless it manifestly Appear that such Determinations are contrary to Gods Word And this I shall assert very briefly both from the qualifications of the Persons who are appointed to Rule in the Church and the Reason of the thing I. And that which first entitles the Governors of the Church to a superiority over their Subjects is that special Ordination and Comission which they have receiv'd from Christ to instruct the World in all necessary Truths and that Charge which he hath laid upon others to obey them If any one listeth to see their Commission He may find it recorded in any of the four Evangelists I shall exhibit it as 't is exemplified 28 Mat. 18 19 20. Verses And Jesus came and spake unto them saying All power is given to me in Heaven and Earth Go ye therefore and Teach all Nations Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have Commanded you And lo I am with You alwayes unto to the end of the World In the which words there are these Three Things considerable 1. That Christ commission'd His Disciples immediately after He had proclaim'd Himself Omnipotent 2. That this Commission implies it to be Christs Will that all Nations of the World should Obey them 3. That He promised to be with Them and their Successors unto the end of the World And