of God the Powers that be are ordained of God whosoever therefore Resisteth the Power Resisteth the Ordinance of God c. So that all we assert is this that we are bound to obey our lawful Governours for God's sake who hath invested them with the Authority they have over us and commanded us to obey those Laws of theirs which are not contradictory to any of His. Nor do we say that Humane Authority can make more Duties or Sins than God hath made or to speak properly and strictly can make any thing to be a Duty or Sin for it can only Command or Forbid and what it Commands if lawful the Divine Authority makes it a Duty and what it Forbids if not a Duty the Divine Authority makes it a Sin Or to speak in the words of the Learned Bishop Taylor Humane Authority doth not make the action of disobedience to be a Sin It makes that the not compliance of the Subject is Disobedience but it is the Authority of God which makes Disobedience to be a Sin And what immediately follows deserves also to be transcribed in this place viz. And though no Humane Power can give or take Grace away yet we may remember that we our selves throw away God's Grace or abuse it or neglect it when we will not make use of it to the purposes of Humility Charity and Obedience all which are concerned in our Subordination to the Laws There is also this difference between the Obligations of Divine and Humane Laws viz. The Divine Laws bind our Thoughts and the Sense of our Minds they bind us not onely to obey them but to think them also Wise and Good Laws But so do not Humane Laws they oblige onely to Obedience but not to the thinking them such as ought or are fit to be imposed A man may think a Humane Law imprudent or unreasonable and be guilty of no Transgression if notwithstanding he complies with it I mean provided he keeps his thoughts to himself or does not make them publick The forementioned Worthy Prelate layeth down no sewer than Ten or Eleven differences of Divine and Humane Laws in their obligation in his Ductor Dubitantium Whether they will all hold or no or may not be reduced to a smaller number I will not take upon me to say but thither I refer the Reader And thus much may serve to be spoken to the First thing premised viz. That Conscience is not so Sacred a thing as to be uncapable of being bound by Humane Laws Secondly I premise also that no man can be deprived properly of the true Liberty of his Conscience by any Power on Earth I mean without his own consent no Mortal nor any Creature is able to invade it This will appear by considering what that is which is called Conscience Conscience is The Mind of a man considered as possessed with certain practical principles and comparing his own actions with those principles doth according as he finds them agreeing or disagreeing with them judge of himself either absolve or condemn himself So that there are three Offices of Conscience The first is That of assenting to and embracing certain practical principles as Laws for the governing a man's self The second is That of comparing ones self or actions with those Rules or Principles The third That of passing judgment of ones self accordingly Now that is properly Liberty of Conscience and that onely which relates to the execution of these three Offices But the Acts of Conscience in executing these Offices being all Internal and within a mans Soul how can its Liberty in exerting those Acts be infringed by any Humane Power What Earthly Power can make me Assent to or believe what it pleaseth Can so give Laws to my Conscience as to necessitate me to receive them for such and to think them good Laws and safe to steer my Actions by Again how can any such Power deprive me of my Liberty to compare my Actions with such Rules as I think I am obliged to be governed by And having reflected upon my self and actions and made this comparison how can any such Power abridge me of Liberty to Absolve my self if I find my actions agreeing with those Rules or to Condemn my self if I find the contrary Can make me Condemn when I ought to Acquit my self or Acquit when I see reason to Condemn my self So that the Liberty which is with so much heat contended for by some and inveighed against by others under the name of Liberty of Conscience is truly and properly Liberty of Practice not of Conscience And the great thing in contest is Whether a Liberty of doing what a man's Conscience tells him he ought to do and of forbearing what it tells him he ought to forbear be an inviolable Right and not to be invaded by Humane Authority This being the true state of the Question I shall endeavour an Answer thereunto in these following Propositions Prop. 1. That there are two Extremes about this matter to be carefully avoided First That of Asserting an unlimited Liberty of practising according to a mans Conscience Secondly That of over-great severity in Restraining this Liberty First As to the Extreme of Asserting an unlimited Liberty of practising according to a man's Conscience This will appear to be an Extreme indeed and a very wild and mad one if we consider that there is scarcely any thing so extravagant or wicked but the Consciences of some or other may urge them to it Nay it is certain that men have pretended Conscience for some of the most impious and most villanous actions in the World So the Papists have done among our selves we all know And another sort of People too whose principles though very bad were better than theirs And it is not possible for us to know that their pretences of Conscience were mâ—re pretences Nor is it hard for us to perswade our selves that through the just judgment of God for past provocations the Spirit of delusion may be permitted to have such power over some mens Consciences as that they shall call evil good and good evil put darkness for light and light for darkness and bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter for we find a Woe pronounced against such as do so Esay 5. 20. which there would not have been if there were no such men nor could be And it is said of some 2 Thess. 2. 10 11 12. that Because they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved God shall send them or permit to be sent them strong delusions 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 strength of delusion that they should believe a lie That they all might be damned who believed not the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness Our Saviour foretold his Disciples Iohn 16. 2. that The time cometh that whosoever killeth you will think that he doth God service That is the time is coming when men shall kill you out of Conscience As no doubt the Papists have done
violent hands upon himself rather than that Usurper should be his Master The Jewish Nation being besieged in Ierusalem thought it more Eligible to suffer the most direful Calamities such as are not to be parallel'd in any other History than yield themselves Captives to Titus and put their Necks under the Roman Yoke Both single persons and Communities esteem all their other Enjoyments but little worth whilest Liberty is wanting nor hath any one thing occasioned so much Bloudshed in the world as the Defence or Recovery of Liberty Though Tacitus tells us that 't was greatly deliberated among the Gallican Cities whether Liberty or Peace was to be preferred yet ordinarily without the least consultation when these two stand in competition the former is chosen and Peace is forced to give way to and sold for Liberty There is no Suffering so impatiently born as the loss or but Infringment of Liberty nor are any looked upon as such Enemies to Mankind or have so hateful a character as the Invaders of it But yet as inamoured with Liberty as we all are the generality are lamentably ignorant of its true nature and wherein it mainly and principally consisteth A Spartan being asked Quid sciret replied Scio quid est liberum esse I know what Liberty and Freedom meaneth But I fear there are very few Comparatively that can truly return this answer nay that most are so strangely mistaken in this matter as to account the worst of Slaveries the most desirable Liberty and the chiefest of Liberties the most intolerable Slavery But if we will believe our Blessed Saviour who being the Wisdom of the Father can best inform us we shall be satisfied that there is no Liberty like that which is of his bestowing He hath said Iohn 8. 36. If the Son shall make you free ye shall be free indeed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ye shall be really free and not only in shew in outward appearance and opinion you shall be in the truest and most excellent sence free Which words do plainly tell us that all other Liberties are unworthy of that name in comparison of that which is conferred by himself And what I now said of Liberty in the general may as truly be affirmed of Christian Liberty viz. First That there is nothing hath raised more dust or occasioned more sad feuds in the Christian World than this hath done The great Ball of Contention hath been Christian Liberty among the professed Disciples of Christ. Such an opinion is conceived of it that 't is never thought too dearly bought This is the Good Old Cause for which multitudes have been very liberal of both their Fortunes and Lives and no one thing hath been esteemed better if so well deserving the price of bloud The pretence of Christian Liberty is of all other the most Plausible and Popular and nothing hath been more unhappily successful in raising Tumults and exciting the People to take the Field Nay this hath been held so Sacred a thing if it be lawful to judge of mens opinions by their practices as to be able to hallow the unholiest actions and to sanctifie the most apparently wicked when designed for the preserving or regaining thereof And therefore Secondly Too many that are called Christians as I should not need to add must needs very grosly mistake the nature of that they are so fond of And as great zeal as they shew for Christian Liberty do as little desire that which really is so and is the chiefest instance of it Upon which account I presume 't will be thought no needless labour to endeavour to rectifie mens apprehensions about the nature of this Liberty And in order hereunto I design with Gods assistance to shew in the following Discourse First That the most excellent and most highly to be valued Liberty doth consist in an intire compliance with the Laws of Righteousness and Goodness or in freedom from the dominion of corrupt and sinful Affections Secondly That herein that Liberty principally or rather wholly consisteth which our Blessed Saviour hath purchased for us and in his Gospel proclaimed to us Which two Propositions being demonstrated we shall Thirdly Draw distinctly from each several useful inferences where particularly the false notions which too many have conceived of Christian Liberty shall be effectually confuted SECT I. That the most excellent and most highly to be valued Liberty doth consist in an intire Compliance with the Laws of Righteousness and Goodness Or in Freedom from the dominion of corrupt and sinful Affections CHAP. I. This shewed in the General from Texts of Scripture and further confirmed by those who were strangers to Divine Revelation NOW in the General that this is so those forecited words of our Saviour Iohn 8. 36. do give us assurance For the Freedom which Christ there commends as the true Freedom by way of Eminence is this from the dominion of sin and corrupt affections This will appear by considering the Context Our Saviour having said verse 31 32. to those Iews that believed on him If you continue inmy words then are ye my disciples indeed and ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free It follows ver 33. They answered him we be Abrahams seed and were never in bondage to any man how sayest thou ye shall be made free They answered not the Believers but some of the Company that came with no good design We be Abrahams seed we are not descended from the Canaanites or other servile people but from Abraham and from him not by Hagar the Bond-woman but by Sarah the Free-woman We are of a Generous and Illustrious extract And were never in bondage to any man as we were not born slaves so neither have at any time been made slaves But how could they say this whenas they were formerly in bondage both to the Egyptians and Babylonians with divers others and even now subjected to the power of the Romans The truth is if they spake this concerning their Nation the saying was an impudent and loud Falshood as it is usual for men when they are vaunting and boasting to make bold with truth but if they understood it of their own particulars and they meant that they were not in Personal servitude had not lost their natural Liberty as Men though they were in a Political servitude as a Nation their saying that they were Abrahams seed came in impertinently It follows ver 34. Iesus answered them Verily verily I say unto you whosoever committeth sin is the Servant of sin He that is a worker of iniquity is inslaved and brought into a servile state thereby Ver. 35. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever but the Son abideth for ever Or those who are in this servile state under sin though they may for a time be members of Gods houshold they shall at length be for ever Cast out but the Son hath a right to continue there and to the enjoyment of his Fathers Inheritance Then
and grave Whatsoever things are just or exactly agreeable to the Rule of doing as we would be done unto Whatsoever things are pure or far from all shew and appearance of unchastity Whatsoever things are lovely or which tend to secure to us love among men such as all works of benignity mercy and Charity Whatsoever things are of good report or which are apt to procure a good name and therefore to prevent all the causes of shame and to give us the greatest freedom and confidence as before God so before Men too If there be any virtue if there be any thing that is by Good men reckoned in the number of Virtues And if there be any praise or any thing laudable and praise-worthy All these things as the Apostle in the general here enjoyneth us to think upon them so they are very particularly and as clearly and perspicuously recommended to us to be carefully observed by us in the New Testament There is nothing which it becometh us to Do or Forbear whether in reference to God our Great Creator Governour and Benefactor or to our Fellow-creatures or to our own Souls and Bodies but here we find it Again we may observe all these in our Saviour's Life also wherein He set us an Example that we should follow his steps And it is a most admirable Example of Piety towards God of Love to him Trust in him and Submission to his Will of Charity to all men even his greatest Enemies and of Humility Meekness Temperance Purity Contempt of the World and Heavenly-mindedness He that shall observe how our Blessed Saviour Lived cannot be ignorant of any of those Laws of Righteousness and Goodness which before his coming the World was so lamentably in not a few instances to seek in the knowledge of through that blindness which by the customary gratifying their vile Affections men had generally contracted I say he that is acquainted with the Life of our Saviour cannot easily be ignorant of any of those Laws although he never understood what particular Commands or Prohibitions his Precepts consist of So that this is the First thing Christ Iesus hath done for us in order to our being made Free He hath given us fully to understand what it is to be Free what are those several Rules of Righteousness and Goodness in compliance with which consists our Liberty Secondly Our Saviour hath also prescribed most Effectual Means by making use of which we shall most certainly obtain and maintain this Liberty that is obey those Laws of Liberty which he hath given us These Means are especially Believing himself to be the Son of God and consequently the Truth and Divinity of his Doctrine Hearing his Word and Receiving it into honest hearts or Pondering it in our minds and Meditating upon it with the Design of conforming our selves to it Prayer to God in his Name together with Faith in his Bloud for the Remission of our Sins and in his Power and Goodness for the Subduing our Lusts and the making us Obedient to his Precepts That is for the blessing our Endeavours to that End Setting his Example before our Eyes which is an Excellent Means to beget in us a likeness to him and to our partaking of his Spirit and Temper Watching over our own Hearts and against Temptations Denying our selves and not indulging our Sensitive Part. Advising in all Cases of doubt and difficulty with our Pastors and Spiritual Guides whom Christ hath given to his Church For the perfecting of the Saints for the work of the Ministery for the Edifying of the Body of Christ Ephes. 4. 12. And obeying them which have the Rule over us in the Lord they watching for our Souls as those that must give an Account Heb. 13. 17. Which Duties were never more neglected than in this Age to the great scandal of our Reformed Religion Keeping in the Communion of the Church And not forsaking the Assembling our selves together or our publick Assemblies as the manner of some is Heb. 10. 25. And now is the manner of vast numbers of us though no Terms of Communion are required that contradict any one Text of Scripture which Separation we are too like ere long to pay dear for The Religious observation of the Lords Day both in Publick and Private is another singular Help and Advantage Though few Professors of Christianity seem now to have any great sense of it to the great prejudice of their own Souls and the Souls of those who are under their charge And to these add in the last place because 't is most convenient to place them here The Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper By Baptism we are admitted into the Church of Christ and brought into a New State We are baptized into the name of the Father Son and Holy Ghost or devoted to their service And the Father in this Sacrament takes us into his special care and into the Relation of his Children whereas before we were only the Children of Adam The Son receives us as members of his Body the Church We are baptized into one Body as the Apostle speaks 1 Cor. 12. 13. that Body whereof Christ is the Head And the Holy Ghost who is the Author of Grace and Spiritual Life taketh us for his Temples We are said to Receive the Holy Ghost in Baptism to receive that power and strength from him which will enable us to Mortifie the deeds of the Body and to acquire the Divine Graces and Virtues which we shall certainly do if we refuse not to Exert and Improve it when we come to years of Discretion and our Faculties are ripe enough for that purpose In Baptism the Holy Spirit communicates to us the Beginnings of a new life which may afterwards be improved to large measures of Virtue and Goodness if we be not wilfully wanting to our selves in the other Means And in the Lords Supper as we renew the Covenant we made in Baptism to renounce the Devil and all his works c. So all worthy Receivers of that Sacrament receive great additions of Grace and Spiritual Strength are fed with the spiritual food of the most Precious Body and Bloud of Christ. And of all the Means prescribed for the Subduing our Lusts and Growing in Grace the Frequent Receiving the Lord's Supper is very deservedly accounted the Principal Certainly there is not any Ordinance wherein sincere Souls do so experiment the Communications of the Holy Spirit by which they are so Strengthened with strength in their Souls Nor are there any such Strong and Spriteful Christians any so confirmed and rooted in Goodness in the love of God and their Neighbour and all the Christian Virtues as those who take all occasions to attend upon it with a thankful sense of the infinite love of God and Christ to them and sincerely design in so doing a fuller participation of the Divine nature But this intimation that these two Sacraments are conveyances of Grace and Strength leads me to shew that
contradict them Secondly As our Saviour and his Apostles do so express the Persons for whom he died as that they must necessarily be the Universality of Mankind so we learn from S. Paul that the Remedy by Christ is of equal extent with the mischief occasioned by Adam That the Sore is not so broad but the Plaister is every whit as broad Rom. 5. 18. Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation even so by the Righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men to justification of life Can anything be said plainer than this is in these words viz. That as many as fell by the Transgression of Adam were designed to be recovered by the Righteousness of Christ But it is Objected that it follows in the 19. ver that By the obedience of one shall Many he made Righteous As our Saviour himself saith This is the New Testament in my bloud which was shed for Many for the Remission of Sins But that this is a Strange objection will appear by comparing the latter part of that 19. ver with the former For as by one mans disobedience Many were made sinners So that as many were put into a possibility of being justified by the Righteousness of Christ and we do not desire that more should as were made Sinners or made liable to condemnation by the Disobedience of Adam And by this means the Reign of Grace to Eternal life was designed to be no more limited than was the Reign of Sin to death As it follows in the 21. ver That as Sin hath reigned unto death even so might Grace reign through Righteousness unto Eternal life by Iesus Christ our Lord. And it is not to be wondered at that the word Many should signifie All for it is well known that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Many or the Many is used in other Greek Authors to signifie all as well as in the New Testament So that these Texts do most necessarily and plainly speak thus much That none that hear the Gospel shall fall short of Salvation but through their Unbelief and Disobedience their wilful rejecting the Remedy offered them Nor any neither that never heard the Gospel merely for the Transgression of their first Parents but only for their own Sins I mean their wilful disobedience to that light they have And that none to whom the Gospel is preached are excluded from Salvation by Christ is manifestly implied in those words of our Saviour Iohn 3. 14. As Moses lifted up the Serpent in the Wilderness even so must the Son of man be lifted up that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life As the Brazen Serpent was erected for the Cure of all that were stung by the Fiery Serpent none excepted but such as would not look up to it for that end So none shall be shut out from the benefit designed by the Son of man's being lifted up upon the Cross but such as will not believe that is apply themselves to him in that way which he hath appointed for the obtaining of it And though our Saviour saith ver 19. of that Chapter that This is the condemnation that a light is come into the World Yet he immediately explains himself in the following words and men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil Or Mens being condemned by the occasion of his coming is to be imputed to their Rejecting him and so refusing to comply with the most reasonable terms of his New Gracious Covenant not to his or his Father's design in his Coming For he saith Iohn 12. 47. I came not to judge the World but to save the World Thirdly We are assured that Christ died even for those that perish The Apostle saith 1 Cor. 8. 11. If any man see thee which hast knowledge sit at meat in the Idols Temple shall not the Conscience of him that is weak be imboldened to eat those things which are offered to Idols and through thy knowledge shall the weak Brother perish for whom Christ died Here it is supposed that a man may perish for whom Christ died And consequently that he died for Reprobates themselves that is those that have made themselves so for if Christ died for all there can be no other Reprobates Again Rom. 14. 15. Destroy not him with thy meat for whom Christ died And the Author to the Hebrews expresly preacheth this Doctrine Chap. 10. 29. Of how much sorer punishment suppose ye shall he be thought worthy who hath trodden under foot the Son of God and hath counted the bloud of the Covenant wherewith he was Sanctified or Consecrated an unholy thing S. Peter likewise asserts the same 2 Epist. 2. 1. But there were false Prophets also among the People even as there will be false Teachers among you who privily will bring in damnable Heresies even denying the Lord that bought them and bring upon themselves swift destruction So that these vile wretches were not destroyed because Christ did not redeem them for they are said to be bought or redeemed by him as well as others but they brought upon themselves swift destruction Lastly If this Doctrine be false that Christ died for all then none are or can be condemned for not Believing in him notwithstanding that the condemnation of men is so continually ascribed thereunto For 't is a plain case that those for whom Christ did not die can be no more obliged to believe in him than the Devils are And to say that any are condemned for not doing that which it was not their duty to do will I hope be acknowledged the grossest absurdity This little in comparison of what might be said to demonstrate the truth of this Great Article of our Faith is much more than barely sufficient to give us an undoubted assurance of it The truth is the Sun doth not shine more bright in the Firmament than doth this Doctrine in the New Testament And I know nothing we can be assured of upon Scripture Authority if this be False or Uncertain I verily believe that there are few of the Greatest Points of our Christian Faith but may as plausibly be objected against as this Doctrine from Scripture 'T is said indeed by our Saviour Iohn 10. 5. I lay down my life for my sheep But did he ever say I lay down my life for none but my sheep If he had we must have concluded either that the whole World are his Sheep or that which is far worse that he said and unsaid and contradicted himself and so destroyed the Foundation of our Faith and Hope But in saying He laid down his life for his sheep his meaning was that those who obeyed his voice should receive the benefit of his death and such Sheep he would have all to be For as we have seen in 1 Tim. 2. 4. He would have all men to be saved and to come to the acknowledgment of the truth Again our Saviour saith that He
besides her Authority She will have your Assent to their being of Divine Authority to depend wholly upon her Testimony Notwithstanding that God Almighty hath vouchsafed to the World marvellously full and plentiful Evidence thereof and such as is adapted to the capacities of all those who have the use of Reason but never once mentioned this as a part of that Evidence and therefore much less can it be thought the Whole How infinitely ill hath this Corrupt Church deserved at the hands of all Christians although this were the onely Abuse she had put upon them For to say nothing of her Horrible Pride and Uncharitableness in making the truth of the Scriptures dependent on her Testimony that her Pretence supposing her making her self the onely true Church this is the greatest injury imaginable to Christianity nor can she take a surer course than this to make all men Infidels And that upon these two Accounts First This Pretence of hers is immediately founded upon a Precarious and most Evidently false Principle viz. That of her Infallibility I dare appeal to those of her own Sons who have studied the Controversie whether there was ever a more shamefully baffled Cause in the World than this is Whether by their Infallible Church they mean with the Iesuits the Pope alone or with others the Pope with his General Council that is a pack of Bishops and Priests of his own Faction As the Psalmist saith If the Foundations be destroyed what shall the Righteous do So if this be the Foundation of our Christian Faith and that be proved to be a Rotten Foundation as nothing was ever proved if this be not then what shall we Christians do We must then acknowledge our selves a Generation of most Credulous Fools and that our Faith is vain If the Foundation be tottering the whole Superstructure must fall to the Ground But so fond is this Unsatiably Covetous and Ambitious Church of her Great Diana Infallibility by the Pretence whereof she hath raised her self to such a Height and Grandeur that she is well content if that must fall that our Saviour and his Apostles both the Old and New Testament should fall with it And she hath done all that lies in her to make it necessary that those who shall have the wisdom to reject her Ridiculous Doctrine of Infallibility should at the self-same time renounce Christianity If Popery were Chargeable with no other Crime as it is with innumerable others and many of them intolerable I say were it Chargeable with no other Crime but the making our Belief of the Authority of the Books of Scripture to be founded on the Infallibility of the Romish Faction we ought to be as zealous for the Preventing its Reestablishment in this Nation from whence it hath happily been twice Expelled as we are desirous to Preserve the Christian Religion Secondly The Romish Churche's making her Authority the sole Foundation of our Belief of the Scriptures makes the Testimony of the Spirit to the Truth of Christianity in our Saviour when on â—arth and in the Apostles and others in the Primitive Ages to be now perfectly Insignificant I think it makes them to be so as to the Church Representative for she pretends to her Infallibility and consequently to her Infallible Assurance of the Truth of Christianity as an immediâ—te Gift of the Holy Ghost therefore what need hath she of the Testimony of Miracles But as to Private Christians I can by no means understand in what stead they stand them for if the Churches Authority be necessary to their believing the truth of the Scriptures and therefore to their believing that there were those Miracles really wrought which the Writings of the Apostles tell us of then why may they not without any more ado make her Authority the immediate ground of their Assent to the truth of Christianity It is said that the truth of the Matters of Fact are not knowable at this distance such as whether there were such Persons as our Saviour and his Apostles whether they performed such Miracles and the Apostles wrote such Books c. but by the Tradition of the Church because no such Matters are to be known at any considerable distance but by Tradition To this it is Answered that it is one thing to believe the Matters of Fact upon the Churche's Tradition and another to believe them upon her Authority founded upon her Infallibility Now this latter we reject but adhere to the former as a Ground of our belief of those things But then by the Tradition of the Church we are far from meaning that of Rome onely We mean the Catholick Church or the whole Collective Body of Christians throughout the World from the Apostles times down to this present Age of which the Roman Church is but a Part and therefore does Impudently in appropriating Catholicism to her self and that a very Vitiated Part too and that Church Representative an exceedingly small Part. And we receive the Tradition of the Catholick Church as a Ground as I said of believing these Matters not as tâ—e Ground because we take in another Tradition viz. that of those who are out of the Church and Enemies to Christianity the Iews especially In short we believe those and the like matters of Fact upon the same ground that we believe all other wherein Religion is not concerned but there are Circumstances which give the Tradition of Christian matters of Fact a mighty Advantage above other Traditions as unquestionable Assurance as these give men when they are General and Uninterrupted But 't is well known to all who are not strangers to the Popish Writers what lamentable work they make in proving the Testimony of the Church to be the foundation of our Faith concerning the Authority of the Scriptures This Proof they fetch out of the Scriptures themselves and their main Text for this purpose and for the Infallibility of their Church is those words of S. Paul 1 Tim. 3. 15. where he calls the Church the Pillar and Ground of Truth But what a manifest Circle is this We ask them how it appears that the Scriptures are the Word of God They answer it appears from the Testimony of the Church We ask again how it appears that the Testimony of the Church is true They reply it appears from the Scriptures And so they prove the Authority of the Scriptures by the Testimony of the Church and then wheel about again and prove the Authority of the Church by the Testimony of the Scriptures But again We can either be certain of the truth of these words of S. Paul setting aside the Authority of the Church or we cannot be Certain If we can be Certain why then not of the truth of the whole Scripture as well as of this single Text If we cannot be certain of the truth of this Text without the consideration of the Churche's Authority what Folly or rather Knavery is it to make this Text an Argument to prove the thing