Many more promises might be collected out of the Old Testament but I come to shew Fourthly that Christ by his own mouth and by the mouthes of his Apostles hath promised to us likewise such a Church Mat. 16. 19. Upon this Rock I will build my Church which he had foretold by his Prophets should be of so vast extent And the Gates of Hell shall not prevail against it Mat. 18. 17. He that will not hear the Church let him be unto thee as a Heathen or a Publican but if Christ by his spirit doth not preserve this Church from all possibility of teaching me error instead of a truth I may from this Church which Christ obligeth me to hear and unto which obligeth me to submit receive such errors as may damn me Mat. 28. 20. And Loe I am with you alwaies even unto the end of the World this must be meant of the visible Church which was to be in every Age for the Apostles were not to live and to Baptise and teach alway unto the end of the world And therefore if the same assistance and presence of Christ was promised to the Church after the Apostles I think we shall not doubt but that it is the same that is infallible But that it may clearely appear that the Assistance promised by Christ to his Church extended to an infallible security from all errors consider Iohn 14. 16. I will pray the Father and he shall give you another Comforter that he may abide with you for ever even the spirit of Truth whom the world cannot receive and v. 26. The Comforter which is the Holy Ghost whom the Father will send in my Name he shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I shall say unto you and ch 16. 12. I have many things yet to say unto you but you cannot hear them now howbeit when the Spirit of Truth is come he will guide you into all truth But all Truth excludeth all Errors and this for ever which was longer then the Apostles were to live If we therefore enquire by what means this teaching shall be by whom the people shall be taught all Truths and how preserved from all errors St. Paul will tell us Eph. 4. 11. He gave some Apostles succeeding in full Apostolical Authority some Prophets expounders of the Prophets some Evangelists Preachers of the Gospel some Pastors and Teachers to what end For the perfecting of the Saints for the work of the Ministry for the edifying of the body of Christ For what time Till we all come in the Union of the faith But will these secure us the next verse will tell you That we henceforth be no more children tossed to and fro and carryed about with every wind of Doctrine by the sleight of men and cunning craftiness whereby they lye in waite to deceive Gods intent then was to provide such means for mankinde as might secure them in their beleif in every Age that they might not be deceived by the cunning craft of false Teachers such as now think themselves able by pretending inward Lights Private Spirits and evidence of Scripture by themselves Interpreted to teach us a doctrine contrary to all those who for almost fifteen Ages before them have been and none others teaching a contrary Faith can be named who have been the Apostles Prophets Evangelists Pastours and Teachers in the Visible Church of Christ In the last place I shall urge that Text of St. Paul to Timothy 1. Tim. 3. 15. The Church of the Living God the Pillar and ground of Truth And may we not securely rely upon that Pillar which God hath erected for us and found our Faith upon that Ground of truth which the God of all truth hath given us for that end To elude their plain and evident Texts I know you are wont to say in the first place that they may have other Interpretations and therefore this is not the truth But will not the same reason hold the Apostles cited many Texts of Scriptures and interpreted them so as to prove Christ the Messias and his Doctrines to be true whereas those Texts might have had other interpretations therefore the Interpretation put on them by the Apostles were not true Who sees not the weakness of this Argument Can you shew with any assurance that these Texts are not capable of these interpretations If not then according to your own principles these interpretations may be true for you who say the contrary are not infallible but may be mistaken Another answer which you use to give is that you are willing to agree that so long as the Church of Christ teacheth conformable to Scripture she is infallible and so long as she doth her Duty she may and ought to be beleived But this is as weak as the former for who sees not that it gives the Church no more priviledge nor allowes it to have any more benefit from these promises then the Divel hath for so long as he teacheth conformable to Scripture he may be beleived A straw may be a Pillar until it bends and Quick-sands sure ground until they yield What assurance can we have that the Holy Apostles did their duty in writing what the Holy Ghost did dictate unto them For if they did not their writings are not to be beleived consequently we are not nor can we be infallibly secure that the Scriptures which we have were dictated by and are by Inspiration from God If you can answer this so as to be secure that the Apostles did their duty the same will be our answer that the present Visible Catholick Church of Christ at all times doth her Duty The fift Argument is that the Church of God was this Rule and Judge this only means to convey Faith and this infallible Guide and Authority when our Blessed Saviour was alive and before the New Testament was written and also in the Apostles times both before and after the whole New Testament was written If not I obliege you to shew some evident Text which proves certainly that after the New Testament was written the Church in the Apostles time was deprived of this priveledge and Authority and that it had been no sinne then to oppose or not submit to the guidance direction government and authority of the Apostles But if notwithstanding this you shall without giving any other Reason insist that the Apostles were this infallible Rule and Judge in their times only until the Canon of Scriptures was finished and then lost their Authority when they had compleated the Canon I pray consider what will be the consequence in case it stands proved that the Canon of Scripture which they finished is now uncompleated by the loss of those Epistles and parcels of the Apostles writings which I have proved to be lost Will it not follow that for the same Reason that an infallible living rule and Judge was necessary before the Canon was compleat the same is now necessary some part
deceived therfore this not the Rule Nor hath this any effect amongst those who pretend it for by this none of them ever as yet reconciled any differences but each pretender grows perverse and obstinate and seperates from all who pretend to have the spirit as well as himself and so endless Heresies and Schisms arise without any possibility to allay them or for either the Learned or the Ignorant to judge which of these bold pretenders hath a true spirit In the mean time it will not possibly be hard for a sober man to find that they are all of them governed by the Spirit of Error who pretend thus audaciously if he considers well the Rule which St. Iohn gives for discerning the spirit of truth from the spirit of error 1 Ioh. 4. 6. v. We are of God he that knoweth God heareth us he that is not of God heareth not us Hereby know we the Spirit of Truth from the Spirit of Error As if he should have said Christ hath placed Apostles and Teachers and Doctors to govern and teach his Church we are those and therefore of God therefore whoever pretends to know the Will of God must hear and obey and submit unto us or it is evident what he saith is but a pretence and he doth not indeed know God nor is he of God for if he did know God or were of God he would certainly hear us Here therefore is your Rule to know true from false spirits The spirit of truth is alwaies remaining with that Authority which God hath placed in the World to teach truth to the world and bring them to the Faith and all that are actuated and lead by this spirit are taught by it to submit to this Authority and to hear those whom God hath sent and doth send by this Authority since Faith only comes by hearing those who are truly sent but the spirit of error is a spirit of Pride which refuseth to submit to that Authority which God hath set up and heaping to themselves Teachers having itching eares turn away their ears from the Truth 1 Tim. 4. v. 3. 4. By this I saw that although the Rule and the Judge which I looked for must have the assistance and influence of the Holy Ghost the Spirit of Truth yet it could not be every private man or woman who laid claim to such influences and who could no more satisfie another that they are guided by the Spirit of Truth then many who are cast into Bedlam for affirming themselves to be God can evince themselves to be so and whose affirmations for ought I know are as concluding as the other In this therefore I was satisfied The next thing which I considered was Reason which I found could not possibly be this Rule and Judge that I sought for because first it was to submit as a Subject and Vassall to that Rule and Judge therefore it could not be it Secondly it was fallible and strangely apt to mistake which is against the Nature of this Rule and Judge to be For if God should obliege us upon pain of damnation to submit unto and to be governed ruled by an Authority that might deceive us and might teach us that for a truth which is not we should be bound to beleive that for true which is not so and yet be damned for not beleiving the truth Thirdly if Reason were to be this Rule and Judge then it would follow contrary to the Scripture that it is not impossible to please God without Faith for Reason would teach us sufficiently how to please God yea it would be a breach of this rule to beleive what we do not understand and then every Religion would be the truth consequently contradictions would be true consequently there would be many Religions and not only not one faith but no faith at all for there is scarce a man living but his reason differs from anothers understandings and judgements differing as much as Faces and Reason excludes faith Therefore no one that followes his own Reason could in justice be condemned by God consequently all men would be saved unless peradventure you will say that in a business of such consequence as the salvation of our souls our private Reason perswades us to prefer the Authority of such as are wiser then our selves before our own judgements which is most true But then I inferr that Roman Catholicks are the most rational people in the world and consequently have the best Religion as acting most conformably to Reason for they rely upon the Authority of General Councels consisting of the ablest and most Learned men of all Nations which is the greatest Authority to be found on earth especially if they have the assistance of the Holy Ghost as it appears they have both by the testimony of Scripture and the constant tradition of all Ages Lastly that would probably be the truth and the true faith to one man this year which seven years hence would be an error and a false faith to the same person for in such a compass of time a mans reason hath such an alteration Upon these grounds I concluded that certainly God in his good Providence had appointed a more sure Guide Rule and Judge to bring me to the infallible faith of Christianity then my own Reason The next thing in order to be considered was the Scriptures whether these were solely sufficient to teach us the true Faith and from time to time to direct Rule and Govern us and to be this Rule and Jude to whose sentence and determination to whose directions and Authority all were to submit and which was to supply unto us the place of Christ and the Apostles And indeed I found this highly contended for and several Reasons urged for it First the words of our Saviour Joh. 5. 39. Search the Scriptures for in them ye think ye have Eternal Life and they are they which testify of me But to this I found several answers given which to me were a satisfaction For first it doth not appear whether this in the Original be the Imparative or Indicative Mood St. Ciril with whom Beza agrees takes it in the Indicative Mood and then the sence runs thus You do search the Scriptures because in them you have an Opinion that you have Eternal Life and yet even those Scriptures are so far from being against me that they testify of me so that I shall be no waies prejudiced if I should joyne issue with you and try my cause by your own Rule And in this sence they are so far from proving what they are produced for that they prove directly the contrary they are so far from being a command to all to read or search or make Scripture the sole Rule and Judge that they rather seem a reprehension to all who shall frame that conceit of the Scriptures Secondly these words cannot extend to prove this conclusion if they were in the Imparative Mood which can never be proved infallibly because they
to their best understandings and Consciences to be the sole and only rule of Faith and judge of controversies is not he that professeth to follow this principle allowed by all to be a perfect good Protestant though never so much differing in faith from others who make the same profession Good God hast thou told us that Heresies must be and yet left us without all possibility of convincing or condemning them or knowing who are and who are not Hereticks But those who pretend this Rule and Judge to be Scripture do in truth as little intend it as any who oppose them for if they will please but to speak their consciences clearly it would soon appear that it is not the Holy Scriptures which byass them but their own private reasons puting private sences and glosses upon those Scriptures which were easily quitted if they would once give themselves the liberty to see how easy it is for their reason to erre in divine things which are as far above the reach of reason as Heaven is above the Earth as it is for the same reason to mistake so much in humane affairs as we see it to do The second reason was that the Letter of Scriptures was to be construed and applyed by men wherefore as mens Judgements and interests differ so will their Expositions of written words from hence differing sences will be raysed and from thence different faiths For Example If I were to dispute against an Arrian and to prove that God the Father and God the Son are of the same substance I should urge that Text Joh. 10. 30. I and my Father are one thing And by this according to my judgement I should think I had proved the question But then my Arrian comparing this with Joh 17. 22. Where Christ prayeth to his Father that his Disciples might all be one thing as thou Father in me and I in thee concludes that this One or One thing in both these Texts are to be intended One in Affection not in substance for saith he it can never be understood that Christ intended to pray that his Disciples might be One in substance If I should urge the Arrian farther and say that the Council of Nice gave the same interpretation which I do to the Text which I urge he would answer as Protestants generally do that he hath a Worthy esteem of Councils and Fathers so far as they agree with Scriptures but he doth not think them infallible he beleives they may mistake and therefore where he finds them disagreeing with the Word of God he must contradict them all The third Reason which I thought forcible was that those who are thus far from for the sole Scriptures do not say that One or any perticular number of the Books of Scriptures but All the works of Scripture which were written by Inspiration of God do being joyned together make up this Rule and Judge to be a compleat Rule and Judge I concluded therefore if any of these Books be now lost this Rule is not perfect and then Man is left by God without means to beleive consequently must be damned for that which is not his fault Now that many of these books are lost I found clear from those which remain there is mentioned Num. 21. v. 14. The Book of the Warrs of the Lord. This is lost It is said of Solamon 1 Kings 4. 3. 2. That he spoke three thousand Proverbs and his Songs were a thousand and five I conceive some of these upon a just reckoning will be observed to be wanting We find named 2 Chron. 9. 29. The book of Nathan the Prophet the Prophecy of Ahijah and the Visions of Iddo These are lost as also those named 1 Chro. 29. 29. The book of Samuel the book of Nathan the book of God It is clear from Mat. 27. 9. That part of Ieremy is lost for that Evangelist cites a Text of Ieremy not to be found in any of Ieremies books which we have So also are the Books of that Prophet mentioned Matt. 2. 23. who foretold that Christ should be called a Nazarene We shall find by 1 Cor. 5. 9. That the Epistle which our Canon calls St. Paul's first Epistle to the Corinthians was not truly his first to them for there he saith I wrote to you in an Epistle not to company with Fornicators wherefore if he hid the written an Epistle to them this was not his first to them St. Paul wrote also an Epistle from Laodicea which he mentions thus Col. 4. 16. Read the Epistle from Laodice It seems there was something in it which was material yet we do not find that Epistle the conclusion I think falls out very naturally The fourth Reason was this nothing can be a sole sufficient Rule to all or the only way and means to convey Divine and infallible Faith to all or a Judge to whose Sentence all are to submit on pain of Damnation which cannot be certainly and truly understood by all But the Scriptures cannot be certainly understood by all Nay they are very subject to be desperately misunderstood if you beleive the second Epistle of St. Peter and beleive it we must for it is Gods word 2 Pet. 3. 16. where speaking of all St. Pauls Epistles in general he saith In which are some things hard to be understood which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest as they do also the other Scriptures unto their own destruction It is in vain to say that the Scriptures are easy in Fundamentals and in what concerns our salvation for we have here a testimony that they are hard and wrested by the unlearned and unstable to their destruction that is to their Damnation Now if they were only hard in things not appertaining to Salvation the wresting of such things could not bring men to Destruction It followes that they cannot be a safe and infallible secure Rule nor indeed any Rule at all the ignorant who are infinitely the greater part of those for whom Christ dyed The fift Reason is this if the Scriptures that is the writings of the Prophets Evangelists and Apostles c. be this Rule and Judge it can only be meant of their true Authentical and Original writings not of corrupted copies Therefore if we have not their true Originals our Rule is imperfect Observe what the most learned Protest Chamier saith in this perticular of Scripture Translations We acknowledge them to be made but by a private Spirit as far as every mans judgement skilfulness in Languages dilligence and sincerity were able to reach Therefore there is none either in our own tongue or in any other unto which we think meet to subiect either our selves or other men As for Translations the sence of Protestants is this that all of them of what standing name or credit soever they be and with what diligence sincerity or Learning soeuer they were made are only so far certain as they agree with the first Context I mean as far as they express