Confusions and therefore there is such an one This is to argue from our own Fancies what God should do and not what he has done And they might as well conclude the Being of an Universal Infallible Judg over all the World in Temporal Matters for the Peace of the World which yet we see is not appointed as such an one over the Church for the Peace of the Church But it is not to be expected that all Differences in Religion should cease in this World for there must be Heresies 1 Cor. 11. 19. As there were Heresies even in the Apostles Times though they were Infallible which is an Argument that Infallibility in any if it were is no certain means to prevent Heresies or Divisions If Men be modest and humble and teachable God hath provided sufficient means for their direction in the plainness of the Rule which he has given in all things necessary and appointing Guides for their direction in doubtful things if they will follow their instruction But if Men be governed with Prejudice and Passion they would not hearken to an Infallible Judg if there were one And Christ the Judg of all will take an account of such Men in due time when the Great Judgment-Day shall come Then the Tares shall be gathered together and bound in bundles to be burnt and the Wheaâ— shall be gathered into the Barn Mat. 13. But this Judgment in the mean time is to be suspended till that Day shall come But that Men may judg for themselves in some things without an Infallible Judg our Adverâ—aries themselves are fain to allow For how else 〈◊〉 they judg in the Controversy about the Infallible Judg himself whether there be such an onâ— or 〈◊〉 and who it is and of the Scriptures and Reasons that are brought to prove it And if they may judg of this Controversy and of these Scriptures and Reasons without an Infallible Judg then why may they not also of others which are as necessary and of other Scriptures and Reasons in other Points which are as plain as they And then there is no need of an Infallible Judg at all As for the pretended Infallibility of the Church of Rome for the qualifying it to be such a Judg If the Church of Rome be infallible then it must be so either as it is a Christian Church and because it is so And then all Christian Churches would be Infallible likewise and not that only Or as it is an Apostolical Church planted by the Apostles if it were so and then all the Churches that were planted by the Apostles would be so likewise and this would give no particular priviledg to the Church of Rome Or as it hath continued down a succession of Pastors from the Apostles by whom there is a safe conveyance of Apostolical Doctrine and Tradition to the present Age But if this be so then all the Churches that have had such a Succession will be Infallible likewise as well as the Church of Rome as the Grecian Church which hath had the like Succession and upon this Principle the Church of England may come in for a share too But indeed this proves the Infallibility of no particular Church at all because of the uncertainty of Tradition therein notwithstanding such Succession which may arise from many Causes No more then it did the Infallibility of the Jewish Church notwithstanding that it had a continual Succession of the Priests and Pastors as much as the Church of Rome or any other Church whatsoever can pretend unto And therefore we are not to have respect to any Church Pastor or Pastors as Infallible nor to bind up our Judgments to them as such upon the account of any such Succession Aaron was called to the High Priesthood immediatly by God himself but was he therefore infallible or were the People bound to follow him when he made an Idol Exod. 32. Vriah was a Priest by an uninterrupted Succession from Aaron was he therefore Infallible or to be followed when he overturn'd the Service of God and Introduc'd Idolatry into the Temple Caiaphas the Chief Priest was so by an uninterrupted Succession for 1500 Years ought he therefore to be followed when he condemened Jesus Christ for a Blasphemer or were the Resolutions of the Council where he was President Infallible when Jesus Christ was declared worthy of Death The Pharisees sat in Moses Chair and the Disciples are bid observe and do whatso 〈◊〉 they said unto them ought one therefore with them to have rejected Jesus Christ By that word therefore whatsoever he doth not mean every thing without limitation but whatsoever was agreeable to the Law of Moses So that they were to judg for themselves what was or what was not so agreeable Mat. 16. 6. It is foretold that ravening Wolves should arise from among the Bishops of the Churches Doth their Succession of Orthodox Bishops oblige the Sheep of our Lord therefore to follow them as Infallible The Son of Perdition was to sit in the Temple of God but was he therefore Infallible or to be followed in his Revolt If the Church of Rome be then Infallible and yet not so upon the former Accounts Is it then by reason of its Relation to its first pretended Bishop St. Peter who was Infallible and by reason of his dying there and his leaving his Priviledges to his Successors of that See But though St. Peter was Infallible how doth it appear that this was more than a personal Priviledg and in which therefore he was to have no Successor As the Infallibility of the rest of the Apostles was a personal Priviledg and in which they were to have no Successors As for St. Peter's Headship over the Church and that of the Bishops of Rome as his Successors it is refuted in the foregoing Chapters But if the Church of Rome be Infallible none of these ways and yet is so then must it not be by virtue of some particular Promise by which Infallibility is annexed to the Church But where is that Promise As for the Apostles calling the Church The Pillar and Ground of Truth 1 Tim. 3. 15. If it proves any thing it proves the Infallibility of the Church of Ephesus and not that of Rome For the Apostle speaks of that Church in which Timothy was Bishop which was the Church of Ephesus But indeed it signifies the Churches Duty and not her Performance and may be likewise applied rather to Timothy himself than to the Church As for that saying Mat. 18. 17. Tell it unto the Church If that proves the Infallibility of a Church it proves the Infallibility of every Church And so the Church of Rome will get nothing particularly by it for the Direction is given to every particular Member in case of Scandal offered by him to his Brother And whither is such an one to make his Complaints but to the Church of which he is a Member And indeed it is only an Institution of Church-Discipline in every Church
A COLLECTION OF Texts of Scripture WITH Short Notes upon them And some other Observations against the Principal Popish Errors IMPRIMATUR Julii 9. 1688. Guil. Needham LONDON Printed for W. Booker over against the King's-Head Inn in Old-change 1688. The Epistle to the Reader IT is agreed on all hands that the Mind and Will of God revealed to us howsoever the Revelation be made is the proper and adequate Rule of Conscience by which we are to direct both our Faith and Practice And that the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament contain at least a part of this Divine Revelation is granted by the Church of Rome it self From whence it will clearly follow that whatsoever is contrary to that Revelation which we have in the Holy Scriptures ought not to be received for Divine Doctrine and Truth unless we will suppose an inconsistence in Divine Revelation or that God doth contradict himself which none will have the folly to assert We must remember therefore how we have received and heard in the Holy Scriptures and hold that fast And if there be any Doctrine or Tradition which contradicts the Doctrine of God delivered in the Holy Scriptures or makes his Commandment therein contain'd of none effect we are taught by our Saviour to reject it So that if an Apostle or an Angel from Heaven and much more if a Father or if a Church preach to us any other Gospel than what is therein delivered to us we should do the same Whether the Doctrines that are contested between us and the Church of Rome are of this Nature is the Question in dispute To make a right Judgment of which we need but consider the several Doctrines and then compare them with the Holy Scriptures and observe their agreeableness and disagreeableness thereunto To assist the Reader in which is the Design of this small Treatise wherein you have a Collection of the chief Points in Controversy between us and in the head of the several Chapters is first set down the Romish Doctrine as it is defined and received or generally taught in the Church and then the Texts of Scripture are subjoined with short and easy Notes and Observations deduced from them to apply them to the present purpose whereby it is easy to make a Comparison between the several Doctrines and the Scripture and the Contrariety between them will be manifest to the meanest Capacity But yet that it might be made more useful to prevent all misunderstanding and to make the Matters in Difference the more clear where it was thought needful the Controversies also are briefly stated and some farther Considerations added and the principal Objections are briefly obviated So that it is hoped it may be of good use to all that desire to be guarded against the Errors of Rome especially to those that have not Mony to buy or Time or Capacity to read and understand larger or more learned Discourses for whose service it was principally intended And some such Thing in so plain and easy a Method seemed to be desired The Gentlemen of the Church of Rome we may be sure will not be pleased with this Method because we do not take the Scriptures in their Sense and with their Interpretations But those we think are Comments which destroy the Text and therefore we have no mind to them And we should not have the Text neither by their good will for they do not love that that dangerous Book should come into the hands of the Common People for fear lest they should think that the Text is against them But however they endeavour to make themselves Masters of the Sense and Interpretation that that may be for them Thus if the Text be ready to strike them they put out its Eyes by the Exposition that it shall not know how to direct its Blow and then they are safe enough But we cannot think our selves obliged to take every thing upon trust that they say But they refer us also to Tradition and the Consent of the Fathers for the understanding of the Scripture-Doctrine which we are not against But unless we will take this Tradition and this Consent of the Fathers from their Mouth likewise they will not be pleased So that as they would have it our Faith must be ultimately resolved only into the present Voice of their Church And we must not condemn any of her Doctrines because they say they shall not be condemned that is they will be Judges in their own Case for fear of the worst It is well known that we make use of Tradition and the Judgment of the Fathers as well as they And we do not fear to refer our selves to them in the Matters contested between us but then they must give us leave to make use of Tradition a little more Catholickly than they do and not to seek it only from the Voice of their Church For we hope as long as we have Eyes we may read the Fathers as well as they and we do not know why we may not as well understand their Sense as also the Sense of the Holy Scriptures having the same means for it only the worst is we want Infallible Parts which we do not know but they may want as well as we But what is it but a great derogation from the Holy Scripture and the Holy Ghost the Author of it to think that of it self it is equally apt to deceive as to instruct to induce into Error as to lead into Truth What is this but to level it with the Heathen Oracle that spake always with that ambiguity that no Body knew what to make of it and therefore they were as soon deceived by it as not But yet is not this in effect the very Sense of the Church of Rome Or why else doth she so studiously with-hold the Bible from her Members for fear lest they should have more hurt by it than good if they take it by it self What is this but under pretence of taking care of her Children to call her Father and Husband whom she pretends so great respect to all to naught and to commend her self that she hath more tenderness and love to her Children than they But is it not rather her own Grandeur and Height which she takes care of which these Doctrines do subserve to And therefore she is resolved to maintain them and must use the means for it which iâ— by with-holding the Light that would discover them For it is to be truly feared that if the Bible were in every one's Hand and read with any attention it would soon scatter this Darkness which the Church of Rome well perceives And if that be to deceive the Scripture will deceive And if Instruction consists only in learning their Errors the Scripture will never instruct us to the World's End So that in this the Church of Rome is in the Right and is a very wise Mother for her self but let others judg how kind she is to her Children or
faithful to her Bridegroom As for our parts we are fully perswaded that the Holy Ghost may speak as good Sense and as intelligibly in the Scriptures as any of them in their Writings or as the Church can in hers and that it was his Design to do so And therefore we doubt not but it is done plainly and fully in all Points necessary to Salvation and also as to the Controversies between the Church of Rome and us that enough may be plainly gathered from them And where there is any obscurity either it is in lesser Matters or in prophetick Visions or only ariseth by accident by reason of the distance of time wherein the Holy Scriptures were written the variety and change of Customs the difference of Dialects or Forms of Speech or some such other Causes which are incident to all ancient Writings and especially of the Eastern Countries And either it may be cleared up by the same means which we may use as well as they or else it must for what I know remain so yet to us both for the exercise of our farther industry It is the Scripture then that we build our Faith upon and guide our selves by though we do not refuse any help to the understanding of it And we are not afraid that our common People should read it but do exhort them to it For we do not desire to retain any Doctrines or Works of Darkness and therefore we are very willing that all should be brought to the Light. It is the Scripture that we love and whilst we love the Scripture we do declare it that we cannot be very fond of Rome A plain simple view of Scripture is sufficient to keep us out of the ways of Romish Delusion And such a view is presented to the Reader in this little Treatise in a Method fitted to the most vulgar Capacity Let us but stick to the Scripture or written Word which the Church of Rome is really most dreadfully afraid of and then we are out of danger The Scripture we know from whence it is but as for their Traditions many of them we know not whence they are They pretend they come from the Apostles but we have nothing else but only their own word for it For we cannot perceive the Apostolical Image and Superscription upon them Nor would they then ever contradict the Apostolical Writings as we are well assured they do many of them Tradition indeed alone doth but open a Gap to whatsoever bold and confident Men may obtrude that have subtilty enough to set off a Thing a little plausibly But let us hold fast the written Word and we shall not fear to be intangled with those new Doctrines which are the obtrusions of crafty and ambitious Men to make an advantage by which the face of Christianity comes to be quite marred and all Religion comes to be indangered And read but this little Treatise then and compare Doctrine and Text and then see who is in the right the Church of Rome or We For see if their Doctrine and the Holy Text be not at variance the one with the other And if so the Church of Rome must excuse us if we leave their Doctrine and follow the Text. Beware of false Prophets which come to you in Sheeps Cloathing but inwardly they are ravening Wolves ye shall know them by their Fruits Do not believe every Spirit but try the Spirits whether they are of God. If the Blind lead the Blind they will both fall into the Ditch Heresies will arise in the Church and the Devil will sometimes transform himself into an Angel of Light to deceive whom he can deceive Therefore see with your own Eyes and beg the holy Anointing to teach you A Table of the Popish Errors refuted in this Treatise Of the Holy Scripture and Traditions Chap. I. THat all saving Truth is not contained in the Holy Scriptures but partly in them and partly in unwritten Traditions pag. 1 II. That the Scripture is obscure 12 III. That it is not for the Common People to read the Scripture 15 Of the Church IV. That the State of the Church is always visible 20 V. That Multitude is a Mark of the Church 25 VI. That temporal Happiness is a Mark of the Church 29 VII That Miracles are a Mark of the Church 32 VIII That St. Peter was Head of the Church under Christ and the Pope is so as his Successor 36 IX That the Pope hath power over Kings and can absolve Subjects from their Allegiance and that Ecclesiastical Persons are exempted from the Secular Jurisdiction 44 X. That the Church of Rome is Infallible and the Judg of Controversies to whose Judgment all are bound up 49 Of Prayer and Worship XI That Prayers and Divine Service is to be celebrated every where in Latin in a Language unknown to the People 61 XII That it is good and Profitable to pray to Saints and Angels 65 XIII That Images and Relicks are to be venerated or worshipped 81 XIV That the Clergy may not Marry 91 XV. That the Vow of Poverty is laudable and that Mendicant Friars are in a State of Perfection 94 XVI That the Vow of Blind Obedience is laudable 98 Of Satisfactions Indulgences Purgatory and Praying for the Dead XVII That Persons are obliged partly to satisfy the Justice of God for their Sins themselves Christ having not satisfied for all the Punishment due to them 100 XVIII That some Persons may satisfy over and above what is needful for themselves and that their satisfactions may serve for others being put into the Treasury of the Church to be dispenc'd by Indulgences 108 XIX That there is a Purgatory after this Life for the expiation of the Sins of those that are not sufficiently purged here and that the Souls there detained may be help'd by the Masses and good Works and Prayers of the Living 115 Of Justification and Pardon of Sin. XX. That Justification consists in the infusion of Grace 123 XXI That for the obtaining of Pardon of Sin Auricular Confession to the Priest is necessary 128 Of the Merit of Good Works and Works of Supererrogation XXII That good Works are truely and properly meritorious of Eternal Life 123 XXIII That Men may do Works of Supererrogation above what the Law requires and may have superabounding Merits more than themselves need which may be profitable to others 139 Of Baptism XXIV That Baptism is absolutely necessary to Salvation so that those who die without it are liable to condemnation 143 Of the Lord's Supper XXV That after Consecration there remains no more of Bread and Wine in the Sacrament but that it is transubstantiated into the very Body and Blood of Christ 149 XXVI That in the Sacrifice performed in the Mass the self-same Christ is contained and offered that offered himself in the Cross and that this Sacrifice is truely propitiatory for the Sins of Quick and Dead 159 XXVII That the Host is to be worshipped with Divine Worship 166
XXVIII That those Masses are to be approved and commended where the Priest communicates alone 172 XXIX That the Sacrament is to be administred in one kind only and the use of the Cup kept from the People 175 Some Prejudices of the Church of Rome answered Sect. 1. They accuse our Doctrine of Novelty 181 2. They say we had no Call 184 3. They Object to us the Divisions that are amongst the Reformed 188 That there are some Places more Holy than others and that it is a Work of Piety to go in Pilgrimage to them 192 That the Sacraments do confer Grace by the Work done 196 Of the Holy Scripture and Traditions CHAP. I. That all saving-Truth is not contained in the Holy Scripture but partly in the Scripture and partly in unwritten Traditions which whosoever doth not receive with the like Piety and Reverence as he does the Scriptures is accursed Concil Trident. Sess 4. Decret de Can. Script COntrary to that which is written in the second Epistle to Timothy Chap. 3. vers 15. The holy Scriptures are able to make thee wise unto Salvation through Faith which is in Christ Jesus That which is able to make us wise unto Salvation contains in it all saving Truth that is all that is necessary to be known in order to Salvation For how else can it make us wise to Salvation How can the Holy Scripture make us wise unto Salvation if it doth not contain all saving Truth or all that is necessary to be known in order to Salvation Vers 16 17. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for Doctrine for Reproof for Correction for instruction in Righteousness that the Man of God may be perfect throughly furnished unto all good Works Mow if the Man of God who is to instruct others and to declare to them the whole Counsel of God so far as is necessary for their attainment of Salvation be perfectly instructed for the discharge of his Duty from the Scripture then the Scripture must needs contain all saving Truth or all that is necessary to be known both by him and every particular Christian in order to Salvation And note that it is not our part to show what those Scriptures then were which the Apostle here intends they being confessedly the same which are still contained in the Canon of it But whatever they were it is plain from the Apostle that there is no saving Truth but what is contained in them which yet doth not derogate from the usefulness of those Books which were added to the Canon afterwards whatever they were they being useful however as Comments upon the former to clear up what was before less clearly delivered or to declare some Truths of less necessary importance though all that was necessary to Salvation was delivered before So that we must needs apprehend the Scripture as it is now to be a compleat Rule of Faith without taking in any thing of unwritten Tradition to piece it up or compleat it Before Divine Doctrine was committed to writing Men had no other Rule but natural Light or immediate Revelation or Tradition of what was before made known And when the Lives of Men were long Divine Doctrine might better be conveighed this way than it can be now And in our Saviour's the Apostles Time this might serve the turn for the present Age in which there was a continuation of extraordinary Gifts and especially to the immediate Auditors of these inspired Persons But in the shorter Age of Men this was not thought a safe or sufficient means to conveigh down Divine Doctrine to the following Ages And therefore it was thought more expedient to put down in writing what was to be made known to after-Ages for the more sure preservation of all such Truths from Corruption and to be a standing Rule to which they might have recourse upon all occasions Thus God himself wrote the Ten Commandments in Tables of Stone And Moses by God's direction wrote the Law as the Prophets afterwards did their several Prophecies or a brief Summary of them For it is said 2 Tim. 3. 16. All Scripture is given b◠inspiration of God. And sometimes we find express direction for the writing of some things which were to be transmitted to future Ages As Exod. 17. 14. Write this for a Memorial in a Book And Isa 30. 8. Now go write it before them in a Table and note it in a Book that it may be for the Time to come for ever and ever And Psal 102. 18. This shall be written for the Generation to come Whereby is intimated the great need of writing then to conveigh a certain notice of things to future Ages and which implies the Incompetency and Insufficiency of Tradition for that purpose And when once it had pleased God to commit the Holy Rule to writing we find the Scripture commended for a perfect Direction Psal 19. 7. The Law of the Lord is perfect converting the Soul. And Tradition is no where commended or any order given to have recourse to it in any case but to the Holy Scripture alone Thus Isa 8. 20. To the Law and to the Testimony if they speak not according to this Word it is because there is no Light in them Thus Joshua was directed to govern himself in all his Actions by the same Holy Rule and therein should prosper and do wisely Josh 1. 7. That thou mayst observe to do according to all the Law which Moses my Servant commanded thee Turn not from it to the right hand or to the left And vers 8. This Book of the Law shall not depart out of thy mouth but thou shalt meditate therein day and night that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein The same also did Joshua prescribe to his Successors Chap. 23. 6. And the King when he sat upon the Throns of his Kingdom was to write him a Copy of this Law in a Book and read therein all the days of his life Deut. 17. 18 19. And this was the way to have him prosperous and to prolong his days Here is nothing at all left to Tradition nor any recourse to be had to it but to the written Law alone intimated as perfect to all the intents and purposes of a good and holy Life There were no other Ordinances to be observed but what were contained in the Law which forbad all Additions Deut. 4. 2. Ye shall not add unto the Word which I command you neither shall you diminish from it So again Chap. 12. 32. so Prov. 30. 6. Add thou not unto his Words lest he reprove thee and thou be found a 〈◊〉 For this the Children of Israel were condemned Jer. 32. 35. that they built the high Places of Baal to consecrate their Sons and their Daughters unto Molech which I commanded them not The Reformation of the Church therefore under Jehoshaphat that good King was made by the Scripture That was their Rule alone 2 Chron.
17. 9. The same practice was observed under the Reign of King Hezekiah 2 Chron. 31. 3 4. Accordingly our Saviour and his Apostles refer to the Scripture as the only Rule and confirm their Doctrines by it but no where have recourse to Tradition for any thing Thus for the obtaining amendment of Life and the avoiding of Condemnation Luke 16. 29. They have Moses and the Prophets let them hear them And this he commends for as great efficacy to that end as if one should come and arise from the Dead to speak to them So Joh. 5. 39. For the attainment of the knowledg of himself and Life everlasting Search the Scriptures says he for in theâ— ye think ye have eternal Life and they are they which testify of me He doth not reprove but allow encourage this thought in them Luk. 24. 27. Beginning at Moses and all the Prophets he expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself But makes not the least use of Tradition So also he refutes the Pharisees by the Scripture Mat. 22. 31. Thus the Apostle St. Paul Act. 26. 22. witnâ—ssing both to small and great and saying none other things that these which the Prophets and Moses did say should come to pass He teacheth at Rome that Jesus was the Christ by the Scripture Act. 28. 23. He combateth all sorts of Errors by the Scripture see his Epistles to the Romans to the Corinthians to the Galatians c. To end the Difference that was agitated at the Council of Jerusalem St. James alledges the Scripture Acts 15. 15. So that the Scripture is that which is every were referr'd to as the Rule of Faith and Manners but not one word said of Tradition to that end It having pleased God when once the Scripture was Indited to leave nothing to Tradition though sometimes he was pleased to reveal himself farther by immediate Revelation till all the Books of the Holy Canon were perfected On the other side Tradition is so far from being commended that the use of it is decried as the foundation of many Errors and Wickednesses and Superstitions and their adhering to the Traditions of the Fathers is censured Thus Mark. 7. 1 c. When the Pharisees saw some of his Disciples eat Bread with defiled that is to say with unwashen Hands they found fault For the Pharisees and all the Jews except they wash their Hands oft eat not holding the Tradition of the Elders And when they come from the Market except they wash they eat not And many other things there are which they have received to hold as the washing of Cups and Pots and brazen Vessels and Tables Which they observed as a part of religious Worship received by Tradition from their Fathers though not commanded in the Law of Moses Like the Holy Water of the Church of Rome the Incensings and Garments the Salt and Spittle and Exorcisms and Wax-candles used in Baptism the Priests shaving the Head after the manner of a Crown which they profess to have received from Christ and his Apostles conveyed to them by the Tradition of the Church through all Ages though there be not one word of any of it in the Holy Scriptures See Council of Trent Sess 22. cap. 2 c. Cathechism Roman par 2. cap. 2. § 59 c. But our Saviour condemn'd all the Traditions of the Fathers so received by them for vain Worship because not written in the Law Ver. 7 8. So I doubt not but we shall have reason 〈◊〉 do the like with those of the Church of Rome by the same Warrant The Apostle reckons it his great Fault before his Conversion Gal. 1. 14. That he was exceeding zealous 〈◊〉 the Traditions of his Fathers which were superadded to the Law which was the very foundation of Pharisaism and a ground of very great Superstition among them Therefore 1 Pet. 1. 18 19. Ye know that ye are not redeemed by corruptible things from your vain Conversation received by Tradition from your Fathers but with the precious Blood of Christ Here also we have an intimation from St. Peter of many vain Observations which the Jews took up by Tradition from their Fathers So that the Tradition of their Fathers was so far from being a sure Rule to them that it was a means of very great Corruption which the Christians are redeemed from Therefore there was that Exhortation Ezek. 20. 18 19. Walk ye not in the Statutes of your Fathers neither observe their Judgments nor defile your selves with their Idols I am the Lord your God walk in my Statutes and keep my Judgments and do them The vanity and uncertainty of Tradition for a Rule of Faith sufficiently appears by these things And how much the use of it is decried as mischievous and hurtful And if it was so in the Church and State of the Jews which was but of a very narrow compass and thereupon it might be supposed then to be a more certain means of conveyance of Truth how much more reasonably may we think it to be so in the Christian Church diffused through all Nations where by reason of the multitude and distance of Christian Teachers and Professors it must needs be much more easy for superstitious and conceited Men to obtrude their Innovations and to back them with the pretence of Tradition of which there hath been many Instances And hence such Difference hath arisen between Traditions themselves as is plain in the Controversy in the Primitive Church about Easter and many others And can we think that our Saviour should leave his Church to such an uncertain Rule now when there is so much need rather to have it more exact and setled Should that be a Rule of Faith in the Christian Church which was wholly disallowed and decried in the Jewish Or is Tradition now become so much altered that it is become so sure and harmless above what it was If Tradition be taken for a natural Means there is nothing more uncertain in a long tract of Time. And sure our Saviour would not leave his Church to such uncertainty when he might do better If it be pretended to be assisted with Infallibility that shall be examined afterwards It is plain that the Christian-Inspired Writers also saw it needful to write down the Doctrine of our Saviour to transmit it to After-ages they did not think Tradition was a sure means of conveyance then no more than it was before Therefore St. Luke wrote his Gospel to the most excellent Theophilus that he might know the certainty of those things wherein he had been instructed Luke 1. 4. implying that the other way of conveyance by Tradition is not so certain And St. Peter I will not be negligent says he to put you always in remembrance 2 Pet. 1. 12. And vers 13. I think it meet to stir you up by putting you in remembrance Mens memories are not so very good to retain Divine Things unless they are excited and quickned
Doctrine that was delivered in the Promises of the Old Testament concerning the Messiah And for the same reason there was no necessity that Miracles should be wrought by our Reformers it being their Business not to teach any new Doctrine but to restore what was already taught and formerly confirmed by Miracles And it is moreover to be observed that neither our Saviour nor his Apostles did insist upon Miracles alone as the only Test of the Truth of their Doctrine but in conjunction with the Predictions and Prophecies of the Old Testament which were fulfilled in our Saviour's Person and in his Works and Doctrine as may appear by our Saviour's own method which he took for the conviction of others Luke 24. 25 26. where he appeals to all that the Prophets have spoken concerning himself And by his referring them to the Scriptures for their information John 5. 39. And so St. Peter corroborates the Testimony of the Resurrection of Christ with David's prediction of it Acts 2. 22 24. And refers likewise to the Prophecies of the Old Testament as the most sure Rule 2 Pet. 1. 16 17. And St. Paul in his preaching said none other things than those which the Prophets and Moses did say should come Act. 26. 22. So that the Jews were to receive our Saviour and his Doctrine not barely upon the account of his Miracles but as in conjunction with the Doctrine and Prophecies of the Old Testament and so as having all the concurrent Characters of a Divine Revelation And we have much less reason now to receive any Doctrine from any Persons or Church upon the account of any Miracles wrought or pretended to be wrought by them unless it be likewise conformed to the Doctrine of the Scriptures already delivered and confirmed by which it is to be tried We are also forewarn'd in the Scriptures that it may please God sometimes to permit Signs and Wonders to be wrought for the trial of Men whether they will adhere to the True Doctrine already delivered and sufficiently confirm'd And the false Prophets and Teachers shall make use of such Methods to propagate their false Doctrines Therefore this can be no proper Mark or Character of a true Prophet true Doctrine or a true Church Thus Deut. 13. 1 2 3. If there arise among you a Prophet or a Dreamer of Dreams and giveth thee a Sign or a Wonder And the Sign or Wonder come to pass of which he spake unto thee saying Let us go after other Gods which thou hast not known and let us serve them Thou shalt not hearken to the words of that Prophet or that Dreamer of Dreams â—or the Lord your God proveth you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your Heart and with all your Soul. Mat. 24. 24 25. False Christs and false Prophets shall arise and shall shew great Signs and Wonders that if it were possible they shall deceive the very Elect. Behold I have told you before Is not this a fair warning 2 Thess 2. 9. That wicked One viz. the Son of Perdition his coming shall be after the working of Satan with all Power and Signs and lying Wonders This is the very Mark and Livery of the Son of Perdition Rev. 13. 13 14. And he doth great Wonders viz. the Beast that had Horns like a Lamb so that he maketh Fire come down from Heaven on the Earth in the sight of Men and deceiveth them that dwell on the Earth by the means of those Miracles that he had power to do in the sight of the Beast And some it seems shall be deceived thereby For the Spirit speaketh expresly that in the latter Times some shall depart from the Faith giving heed to seducing Spirits 1 Tim. 4. 1. The so many pretended Miracles of the Romish Church then give us cause of suspicion that all is not right It is for them to pretend to Miracles that want other confirmation of their Doctrine but when we preach only the Doctrine already confirm'd we do not need them Gal. 1. 8. But though we or an Angel from Heaven preach any other Gospel unto you than that which we have preach'd unto you let him be accursed It is in vain to alleadg Miracles to confirm a false Doctrine for it is not the preaching or apparition of an Angel is enough to recommend it and if not so then not any other Miracle So that we are to try the Doctrines now not by Miracles but by its consonancy to and correspondency with the Doctrine of the Scriptures already establish'd And we must judg of the Miracles themselves by the Doctrine and not the Doctrine by them And as we are to judg of the Doctrine so we are to judg of the Church that teacheth it And have cause to suspect Miracles now as the Marks of Deceivers who we are foretold shall pretend to them than to take them as Tests of true Doctrine or Marks of the true Church It is the Character of the Pharisees never to be contented with the Miracles that have been sufficiently wrought but still to expect more Mat. 16. 1. But we are contented with the Miracles already wrought by our Saviour and his Apostles And since we teach no other Doctrine than what was taught by them we may say of good right that their Miracles are our Miracles and that they authorize our belief So that we shall think not one jot the worse of our selves now for want of this Mark nor one jot the better of the Church of Rome for its pretending to it CHAP. VIII That St. Peter was supreme Pastor and Governour under Christ and had a primÌ„acy of Dominion over the Church and that the Pope is so as his Successor Catechism Roman par 1. de 9. Artic. Symbol §. 11. THis is the main Foundation of all the glorious Pretences of the Bishop and Church of Rome Upon this it is that they arrogate so great Authority to themselves over all the Churches of Christ throughout the World and over all their Members The Roman Church is defined to be the Mother and Mistress of all Churches Fourth General Council of Lateran Can. 2. Council of Trent Sess 7. Can. 3 c. And the Roman Bishop defined to be the Vicar of God and Christ and the Successor of St. Peter and to have the supreme Pastorship over the Vniversal Church Council of Trent Sess 6. de reformat cap. 1. Sess 15. cap. 7. But the very Foundation of all that St. Peter had such an Headship and Rule over the whole Church above the rest of the Apostles is overthrown by many Texts of Scripture Mark 10. 42 43 c. Jesus called unto them and said Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise Lordship over them and their great Ones exercise Authority upon them But so shall it not be among you but whosoever will be Great among you shall be your Minister and whosoever of you will be Chiefest shall be
there any thing here that does not exactly agree to them And how unlikely is all this to give Men much Instruction Habak 2. 18. What profiteth the graven Image that the Maker thereof hath graven it The molten Image and a teacher of Lies What Instruction or Teaching can it give to set out God and the Holy Trinity by the Resemblances before-mentioned or to dress out God like a Pope with a Miter and a Triple Crown which yet they often do and make Ale-house Signs with such Pictures Is not this to expose the Divine Nature to contempt and scorn instead of giving any good Instruction But as the making of the Images of God is cried down and condemned in the Scripture so of any other likewise in order to their being worshipp'd or bowed down to and the bowing down to any Image is condemned which equally respects Popish Images as any others To the Law above-mentioned Exod. 24. add Levit. 26. 1. Ye shall make no Idols nor graven Images neither rear you up a standing Image neither shall you set up any Image of Stone in your Land to bow down to it for I am the Lord your God. Deut. 27. 15. Cursed be the Man that maketh any graven or molten Image an abomination to the Lord the Work of the hands of the Crafts-man Isa 2. 8 9. The Jews are severely reproved for this Their Land is full of Idols they worship the Work of their own Hands that which their own Fingers have made And the mean Man boweth down and the great Man humbleth himself therefore forgive them not It is not the worshipping of Images as they are the Images of false Gods that the Prophet condemns them for but in general of all Images And he censures them for just such Worship as is practised in the Church of Rome for humbling themselves and bowing down to them This is that they do in the Church of Rome they fall down before their Images and pray before them and moreover they kiss them they offer Incense to them they light Candles to them they dress them and adorn them they crown them with Flowers they carry them upon their Shoulders they go in Pilgrimages to them in a word they do every thing and more they render them the same Service and the very same outward expressions of Honours which the Jews or Pagans did to their Images So Isa 44. 13 c. The Carpenter stretcheth out his Rule he marketh it out with a Line he fitteth it with Planes and he marketh it out with a Compass and maketh it after the Figure of a Man according to the Beauty of a Man that it may remain in the House He â—eweth him down Cedars and taketh the Cypress and the Oak which he strengthneth for himself among the Trees of the Forrest he planteth an Ash and the Rain doth nourish it Then shall it be for a Man to burn for he will take thereof and warm himself yea he kindleth it and baketh Bread yea he maketh a God and worshippeth it he maketh it a graven Image and falleth down thereto He burneth part thereof in the Fire with part thereof he eateth Flesh he rosteth Rost and is satisfied yea he warmeth himself and saith Aha I am warm I have seen the Fire And the residue thereof-he maketh a God even his graven Image He falleth down to it and worshippeth it and prayeth unto it and saith Deliver me for thou art my God. See also Jer. 10. 3. Again Chap. 46. 6 7. They lavish Gold out of the Bag and weigh Silver in a Ballance and â—hire a Goldsmith and he maketh it a God they fall down yea they worship They bear him upon their Shoulders they carry him and set him in his place and he standeth and from his place he shall not remove yea one shall cry unto him yet can he not answer nor save him out of his trouble And why are not these and all other things wherein the Popish and Jewish Concerns about Images alike equally to be condemned For note that it is not to be imagined that either the Jews or Heathen were so stupid as to worship the Images before-mentioned as Gods themselves but as the Symbols of him whom they thought therâ—â—â— God and whom by consecration they thought to be in them or present with them and so worshipp'd them in relation to him For the Apostle says of the Heathens Rom. 1. 25. That they changed the Truth of God whom they knew vers 21. into a Lie and worshipped and served the Creature more than the Creator 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or besides the Creator who is blessed for ever Which implies that they worshipped the Creator but making these Images of him they worshipp'd them besides him or with him Which shows that Idolatry is consistent with the Worship of one Supreme God. And that worshipping the Images of this one Supreme God together with him was the Sin of the Heathen And therefore though the Papists likewise own and worship one Supreme God the Creator yet by worshipping his Images in relation to him or with him they may be guilty of Idolatry As the Men of Ephesus worshipp'd the Image which came down from Jupiter Acts 19. 35. So that they did not take the Image for Jupiter himself but as the Image of him whom they thought the Supreme God and as the Symbol of his Presence and so they accordingly worshipp'd it do not the Papists the same And it is evident that the Jews in worshipping the molten Calf intended their Worship to it not as being either a God really it self nor yet as an Image of an Egyptian or false God but as an Image of Jehova the True God and as the Symbol of his Presence with them Moses being as they thought quite gone from them and there being a Promise made just before his departure to send an Angel before them For they intended to worship that God in it that brought them out of Egypt And could they think that this Image did it before it was made or that an Egyptian God would work such a deliverance for them Besides Aaron proclaimed a Feast to Jehova upon the Day of its Consecration Exod. 32. And their Sacrifices to it were Sheep and Oxen which was an abomination to the Egyptians to offer Neither is this any where laid to their Charge that they fell to the Idolatry of worshipping false Gods as afterwards to Baal Peer Moâ—och Remphan c. Such also was the Worship given to the two Calves at Dan and Bethel set up by Jeroboam It was given to them as the Symbols of the true God. Jeroboam not intending thereby to forsake him but only to take Men off from going to Jerusalem to worship him which was contrary to his Interest He gives this as the only Reason 1 Kings 12. 27. If this People go up to do Sacrifice in the House of the Lord at Jerusalem then shall the Heart of this People turn again unto their Lord even unto