clear in themselves yet Private men abandoning their Guides and following their own corrupt Fancies may deprave and distort them to their own destruction Who those Wresters were or what those 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are wherewith St. Peter chargeth the Epistles of His beloved Brother Paul I shall not strictly enquire the Apostle having pass'd them over in a profound silence it will be difficult at this distance of time exactly to define yet 't is not improbable that either the Gnostick or Cerinthian Hereticks were here chiefly aim'd at who upon a mistake of some Predictions became the Founders of a Temporal Dominion of Christ after His Resurrection wherein His Followers in their New Jerusalem should wallow in sensual Lusts and Pleasures spend the space of a Thousand Years as in a Nuptial Festivity and enjoy the all that is in the World the Lusts of the Flesh the Lusts of the Eye and the Pride of Life in as ample and exquisite a manner as the most Epicurean soul could effect or covet A fancy in its first original meerly Jewish afterwards entertain'd by some Judaizing Christians and finally rather rectified than abandon'd by some of the Fathers in the Primitive times And if those sublime Wits who had all the Learning which either Jerusalem Athens or Rome could Boast were never less Mistaken in their Expositions of some abstruse Texts of Scripture whilst they deliver'd their Opinions but as private Doctors what wonder if the unlearned and unstable Wrest them to their own Destruction That they have de facto done this is manifest since 't will be hard to instance in any one Century which is not either chargeable with new Heresies or the reviving and improving of Old And the most extravagant Opinions which ever yet saw the light have still shrouded themselves under the Patronage of Holy Writ What shall we say then shall we condemn the Scriptures of Sin Shall we say That the Scriptures are of themselves either productive of Error or not a sufficient store-house of Truth God forbid The Scriptures are Holy Just and Good but private men Wrest them to their own Destruction And this they do first By their Ignorance Secondly By their Instability I. First by their Ignorance where it will be presently Objected that Ignorance is so far from being a cause of Error or impiety that in a sober sence 't is truly the Mother of Devotion The Wisdom of this World is given in by Tertullian as the prime Cause of Heresie None were greater Tormentors of the Scriptures than the Phylosophers for which Reason they are Branded by the same Author with the Title of Arch-Hereticks Particularly the Valentinian Heresie concerning the portentous production of the Gods comes from the Platonists Marcious Vnconcern'd and Lazy God was first set up by the Stoicks the mortality of the Soul was the Doctrine of the Epicureans the Impossibility of the Resurrection of the Flesh of the whole stream of Phylosophers The Apostles tells us Not many Mighty not many Wise not many Noble were Chosen Cautions his Proselytes against Philosophy and vain Deceit and concludes the Wisdom of this World Foolishness with God Wherefore by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Vnlearned in this place we are not to understand Ideots and those who never knew Letters but we must understand those who will not be Instructed by the Masters of Divine Wisdom the Nolentes discere those who refuse to hear the Church of the Living God which alone is the Pillar and Foundation of Truth And so their Learning like Julians only qualifies them to deride the Doctrines of a Crucified God and by their Wisdom they become the more formidable Enemies of Christ's Kingdom Thus if Lucifer the Son of the Morning fall from his Allegiance whole Legions of the Heavenly Host are involv'd in the Rebellion That Heresie spreads like the Contagion of a Leprosy which hath an Arrius for its Founder and a Constantius for its Promoter And the Mahumetan Religion owes as well its monstrous Birth as its fatal Encrease to the Malice and Munning of an Apostate Jew and a Renegado Christian And to give but one instance more but of a far more Modern Daâ—â— and therefore of more Dangerous consequence That unhappy man Socinus a person otherwise of singular Wit and Learning but being in this sense unlearned i. e. Having entertain'd so slender a Notion of the Church as to date a general Defection from the very Deaths of the Apostles upon this Perswasion thought it not Robbery to make himself equal to the most Oecumenical Councils to contradict the most receiv'd Doctrines of the Church and from this Contempt of his Mother to proceed to that daring pitch of Impiety as to deny even the Lord that Bought him so dangerous is it for private men to rely solely upon the perspicuity of Scripture or to measure the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of the Incarnation of the Godhead his Consubstantiality with the Father by the scantling of Humane Reason Cedat curiosit as fidei gloria saluti was the Advice of as great a Wit as any Age hath bred Our Curiosity must give place to our Faith the thirst of Temporal Glory to the benefits of Eternal Salvation 'T is true by our Reason we are first dispos'd to be Christians for no Creature beneath the Rational is capable of Divine Revelation but when once we have given up our Names to Christ 't is by our Faith we are Saved but if we Assent to no Doctrines but such as our Reason fully Comprehends this is no longer Faith but Science and so we may continue Infidells whilst we go under the Notion of Christians And since We live in such a Knowing Age wherein all captivating the Vnderstanding though it be to the Obedience of Faith is made the subject of Grievance and Complaint And that we have to deal with men of such a sceptical Genius as that they do not only enquire into the Grounds and Reasons of our Faith but moreover deny our very Creed with whom a Treatise of Humane Reason is of more Force than the Revelation of St. John the Divine To the Consideration of these Men I offer Two Things which I judge most proper I. First the Answer which Origen made to Celsus when 't was objected by that Calumniator against the Christians that their Religion was built on a very sandy Foundation which durst not undergo the Test of Reason but commanded its Converts not to Examine but Believe and their Faith should Save them In part he owns the Objection but wisely Retorts it upon his Adversary by telling him that the Philosophers were the greatest Dictators in the World Witness the Ipse dixit of Phythagoras that their Systems contain'd some such secret Dogmata which their Disciples swallowed solely upon the Credit of their Masters And if the Masters of the Wisdom of this World which is either Foolishness or at best but Science fasly so called required so great submission from their Scholars how
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
such a spawn of Monstrous Opinions flow from the Scriptures falling either into Prophane hands or being interpreted by a private self conceited and unruly Spirit If St. Paul who was caught up into the third Heavens and was even oppress'd with Revelations nevertheless cryes out as well for the Difficulty as the Dignity of his Function Who is sufficient for these things Then certainly it can be no Disparagement to the Laity however quick-sighted they may be in other Affairs to suppose them not such competent Judges here as those of the Clergy are And indeed we hear of very few though never such Despisers of the dull Clergy in their life-time but are very willing to admit of their advise and assistance when they come to Dye IV. Fourthly and lastly the necessity of this Submission appears as 't is the only means to restore Peace and Unity to the Church Happiness and Tranquility to the State how ineffectual the several Projects of Comprehension Toleration unwarrantable Complyance have prov'd to effect the Work of Coalition I mean to Compose those Differences and unite those Divisions which so furiously Rage among us we either are or 't is to be fear'd by sad Experience may be Taught These Projects can only lay claim to an Imaginary Happiness and how-ever Plausible they may seem in the Notion yet may they prove Dangerous in the Practise at least not attain the ends for which they were design'd For in truth as well may we expect To gather Grapes from Thorns or Figs from Thistles as that a Toleration of Disagreements should produce the Blessed Fruits of Peace and Concord These are Contraries and destroy each other Now what other Expedient have we left but the Restoring and Asserting the Discipline of the Church That so they who will neither Hold the Faith nor keep a good Conscience by being deliver'd up to Satan may Learn at least not to Blaspheme Many and grievous are the Guilts which are charg'd upon the Church of Rome yet such is the Exactness of Her Discipline and the Obedience of Her Sons and Daughters Consequent upon it as hath hitherto preserv'd Her from Ruine Now if our Fears of the Increase of Popery be as real as they are pretended me-thinks it should be no ill Policy to learn Wisdom from our Adversaries for that which preserves a Corrupted Church from Falling in all likely-hood will make a Pure One to Flourish However We are little the better for being deliver'd from the Slaveries of an Implicit Faith and Foreign Superstition if we run into Licenciousness Infidelity and Irreligion at Home For who is so Blind as not to see that Irreverence and Disrespect for the Lord's Clergy hath been accompanyed with a Manifest Decay of Piety and a Notorious Contempt of the most Essential Parts of Religion That want of Submission to the Just and Pious Determinations of the Church no less Justly and Piously ratifyed and established by the King and State hath given Birth to such a Monstrous Variety of Opinions as hath scarce left any Fundamental of the Faith unquestion'd if not denyed Atheism creeping in by Insensible Degrees from indulging too great a Latitude in Matters of Religion And now in the Close of All Let every Man seriously consider with himself the Hainousness and Danger of Schism and the Blessed Effects of Obedience The Danger of Schism in that it breaks the Precious Vnity of the Church alienates the Affections of the Members thereof Who as they have but one Faith so they should have but one Soul And so instead of Love Joy Peace Long-Suffering Forbearance Meekness Temperance those lovely Fruits of the Spirit which adorn Privat Men and secure the Publick Peace There arise Hatred Variance Emulation Wrath Strife Evil Surmising Sedition Heresies Murders those ugly Works of the Flesh which dissolve the Bonds of Society and exclude Men from the Kingdom of God How that the Schismatick is arrested with Fears and Jealousies from without when he considers his Sin of Disobedience against those whom the Lord hath set over him and the Dreadfulness of the Churches Censures when justly incur'd for his Disobedience How that he is tormented with Sad and Uncomfortable Reflections from within being Vnstable in all his Ways ever Learning but never coming to the Knowledge of the Truth but being abandon'd to the Delusions of a Private Spirit He is miserably tost'd to and fro with every Wind of Doctrine till at length He makes an Eternal Shipwrack of the Faith On the contrary the Blessed Effects of Obedience how the Humble Christian by an happy Resignation of his Judgment there where our Lord seems to demand it enjoys a perpetual Peace and Freedom from Dispute together with all his Fellow-Members of the same Mystical Body As for those great Mysteries of Godliness which concern his Salvation though they are above his Reason yet not above his Faith he had rather Rely on the Churches Decisions of them when he finds no place of Scripture plainly contrary to such Decisions than either give way to his own Curiosity or heed to the Disputers of this World lest He should thereby wrest them to his own Destruction And this He thinks he may do with less Trouble to himself and greater Assurance of the Truth and so He continues Sound in the Faith without being skill'd in those unhappy Controversies in which the Disputers of this World have involv'd it And this Harmony of Faith and Doctrine is always accompanied with an entire League and Union of Charity that common Badge by which Christians were once distinguish'd from the rest of the World and a Blessed Vniformity of God's Publick Worship and Service whereby the Members of the Church Militant in some sort Resemble the Saints of the Church Triumphant In a Word in this Obedience the Humble Christian goes on Securely and Chearfully in the Ways of God's Commandments And instead of troubling His Head with the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of Religion practiseth those Plain but most Important Duties of Godliness Righteousness Sobriety which will render his Life happy here and Crown him with Eternal Felicity hereafter FINIS ERRATA PAge 13. line 2. for Hypothecal read Hypothetical l. 10. f. it s r. the. l. 11. f. the r. it s