Body Here then was the Tradition and Practice of the Church falsified which is no small Prejudice against those that support the Doctrine as well as against the Credit of that Council About thirty Years after that Council Paschase Radbert Abbot of Corby in France did very plainly assert the corporal Presence in the Eucharist He is acknowledged both by Bellarmin and Sirmondus to be the first Writer that did on purpose advance and explain that Doctrine He himself values his Pains in that Matter and as he laments the slowness of some in believing it so he pretends that he had moved many to assent to it But he confesses that some blamed him for ascribing a Sense to the Words of Christ that was not consonant to Truth There was but one Book writ in that Age to second him the Name of the Author was lost till Mabillon discovered that it was writ by one Herigerus Abbot of Cob. But all the Eminent Men and the great Writers of that time wrote plainly against this Doctrine and affiâ—med that the Bread and Wine remained in the Sacrament and did nourish our Bodies as other Meats do Those were Rabanus Maurus Archbishop of Mentz Amalarius Archbishop of Triers Heribald Bishop of Auxerre Bertram or Ratramne Iohn Scot Erigena Walafridus Strabus Florus and Christian Druthmar Three of these set themselves on purpose to refute Paschase Rabanus Maurus in an Epistle to Abbot Egilon wrote against Paschase for saying that it was that Body that was born of the Virgin that was crucified and raised up again which was daily offered up And though that Book is lost yet as he himself refers his Reader to it in his Penitential so we have an Account given of it by the Anonymous defender of Paschase Ratramne was commanded by Charles the Bald then Emperour to write upon that Subject which he in the beginning of his Book promises to do not trusting to his own Sense but following the Steps of the Holy Fathers He tells us that there were different Opinions about it Some believing that the Body of Christ was there without a Figure Others saying that it was there in a Figure or Mystery Upon which he apprehended that a great Schism must follow His Book is very short and very plain He asserts our Doctrine as expresly as we our selves can do He delivers it in the same Words and proves it by many of the same Arguments and Authorities that we bring Raban and Ratramne were without dispute reckoned among the first Men of that Age. Iohn Scot was also commanded by the same Emperour to write on the same Subject He was one of the most Learned and the most Ingenious Men of the age and was in great Esteem both with the Emperour and with our King Alfred He was reckoned both a Saint and a Martyr He did formally refute Paschase's Doctrine and assert ours His Book is indeed lost but a full Account of it is given us by other Writers of that Time And it is a great Evidence that his Opinion in this Matter was not then thought to be contrary to the general Sense of the Church in that Age For he having writ against St. Augustin's Doctrine concerning Predestination there was a very severe Censure of him and of his Writings published under the Name of the Church of Lions In which they do not once reflect on him for his Opinions touching the Eucharist It appears from this that their Doctrine concerning the Sacrament was then generally received Since both Ratramne and he though they differ'd extreamly in that Point of Predestination yet both agreed in this It is probable that the Saxon Homily that was read in England on Easter-day was taken from Scot's Book which does fully reject the corporal Presence This is enough to shew that Paschase's Opinion was an Innovation broached in the Ninth Century and was opposed by all the Great Men of that Age. The Tenth Century was the blackest and most ignorant of all the Ages of the Church There is not one Writer in that Age that gives us any clear Account of the Doctrine of the Church Such remote Hints as occur do still savour of Ratramne's Doctrine All Men were then asleep and so it was a fit time for the Tares that Paschase had sown to grow up in it The Popes of that Age were such a Succession of Monsters that Baronius cannot forbear to make the saddest Exclamations possible against their Debaucheries their Cruelties and their other Vices About the middle of the Eleventh Century after this Dispute had slept almost two hundred Years it was again revived Bruno Bishop of Angiers and Berengarius his Archdeacon maintained the Doctrine of Ratramne Little mention is made of the Bishop but the Archdeacon is spoken of as a Man of great Piety So that he past for a Saint and was a Man of such Learning that when he was brought before Pope Nicolaus no Man could resist him He writ against Paschase and had many followers The Historians of that Age tell us that his Doctrine had overspread all France The Books writ against him by Lanfranc and others are filled with an impudent corrupting of all Antiquity Many Councils were held upon this Matter and these together with the Terrours of Burning which was then beginning to be the common Punishment of Heresy made him renounce his Opinion But he returned to it again yet he afterwards renounced it Though Lanfranc reproaches him that it was not the Love of Truth but the Fear of Death that brought him to it And his final Retracting of that renouncing of his Opinion is lately found in France as I have been credibly informed Thus this Opinion that in the Ninth Century was generally received and was condemned by neither Pope nor Council was become so odious in the Eleventh Century that none durst own it And he who had the Courage to own it yet was not resolute enough to stand to it For about this Time the Doctrine of extirpating Hereticks and of deposing such Princes as were Defective in that Matter was universally put in Practice Great Bodies of Men began to separate from the Roman Communion in the Southern Parts of France and one of the chief Points of their Doctrine was their believing that Christ was not corporally Present in the Eucharist and that he was there only in a Figure or Mystery But now that the contrary Doctrine was established and that those who denied it were adjudged to be burnt it is no wonder if it quickly gained Ground when on the one hand the Priests saw their Interest in promoting it and all People felt the Danger of denying it The Anathema's of the Church and the Terrours of Burning were infallible Things to silence Contradiction at least if not to gain Assent Soon after this Doctrine was received the Schoolmen began to refine upon it Lib. 4. Dist. 11. as they did upon every thing else The Master of the Sentences would not determine how Christ was Present
an Oral Tradition which they themselves had not put in writing They do sometimes refer themselves to such things as they had delivered to particular Churches but by Tradition in the Apostles days and for some Ages after it is very clear that they meant only the conveyance of the Faith and not any unwritten Doctrines They reckoned the Faith was a sacred depositum which was committed to them and that was to be preserved pure among them But it were very easy to shew in the continued Succession of all the first Christian Writers That they still Appealed to the Scriptures That they Argued from them That they Condemned all Doctrines that were not contained in them and when at any time they brought human Authorities to justify their Opinions or Expressions they contented themselves with a very few and those very late Authorities So that their design in vouching them seems to be rather to clear themselves from the Imputation of having innovated any thing in the Doctrine or in the ways of expressing it than that they thought those Authorities were necessary to prove them by For in that case they must have taken a great deal more pains than they did to have followed up and proved the Tradition much higher than they went We do also plainly see that such Traditions as were not founded on Scripture were easily corrupted and on that account were laid aside by the succeeding Ages Such were the Opinion of Christ's Reign on Earth for a Thousand years The Saints not seeing God till the Resurrection The necessity of giving Infants the Eucharist The Divine Inspiration of the 70 Interpreters besides some more important Matters which in respect to those Times are not to be too much descanted upon It is also plain That the Gnosticks the Valentinians and other Hereticks began very early to set up a Pretension to a Tradition delivered by the Apostles to some particular persons as a Key for understanding the secret meanings that might be in Scripture in opposition to which both Irenaeus Tertullian and others Iren. I. 3. c. 1 2 3 4 5. Tertul. de presc Cap. 20 21 25 27 28. make use of Two sorts of Arguments The one is the Authority of the Scripture it self by which they confuted their Errors The other is a Point of Fact That there was no such Tradition In asserting this they appeal to those Churches which had been founded by the Apostles and in which a Succession of Bishops had been continued down They say in these we must search for Apostolical Tradition This was not said by them as if they had designed to establish Tradition as an Authority distinct from or equal to the Scriptures But only to shew the falshood of that pretence of the Hereticks and that there was no such Tradition for their Heresies as they gave out When this whole Matter is considered in all its parts such as 1 st That nothing is to be believed as an Article of Faith unless it appears to have been Revealed by God 2 dly That Oral Tradition appâ—ars both from the Nature of Man and the Experience of former Times to be an incompetent conveâ—er of Truth 3 dly That some Books were written for the conveyance of those Matters which have been in all Ages carefully preserved and esteemed sacred 4 thly That the Writers of the First Ages do always Argue from and Appeal to these Books And 5 thly That what they have said without Authority from them has been rejected in succeeding Ages the Truth of this Branch of our Article is fully made out If what is contain'd in theScripture in express words is theObject of our Faith then it will follow That whatsoever may be proved from thence by a just and lawful consequence is also to be believed Men may indeed Err in framing these Consequences and Deductions they may mistake or stretch them too far but though there is much Sophistry in the World yet there is also true Logick and a certain Thread of Reasoning And the sense of every Proposition being the same whether expressed always in the same or in different words then whatsoever appears to be clearly the sense of any place of Scripture is an Object of Faith tho it should be otherwise expressed than as it is in Scripture and every just Inference from it must be as true as the Proposition it self is Therefore it is a vain cavil to ask express words of Scripture for every Article That was the Method of all the Anciâ—nt Hereticks Christ and his Apostles Argued from the words and passages in the Old Testament to prove such things as agreed with the true sense of them and so did all the Fathers and therefore so may we do The great Objection to this is That the Scriptures are dark That the same place is capable of different Senses the Literal and the Mystical And therefore since we cannot understand the true Sense of the Scripture we must not Arguefrom it but seek for an Interpreterofit on whom we may depend All Sects Argue from thence and fancy that they find their Tenets in it And therefore this can be no sure way of finding out sacred Truth since so many do err that follow it In Answer to this it is to be considered That the Old Testament was delivered to the whole Nation of the Iews that Moses was read in the Synagogue in the hearing of the Women and Children that whole Nation was to take their Doctrine and Rules from it All Appeals wâ—re made to the Law and to the Prophets among them And though the Propâ—â—cies of the Old Testament were in their Stile and whole Contexture dark and hard to be understood yet when so great a Question as this Who was the true Messias came to be examined the proofs urged for it were Passages in the Old Testament Now the Question was How these were to be understood No Appeal was here made to Tradition or to Church-Authority but only by the Enemies of our Saviour Whereas he and his Disciples urge these passages in their true sense and in the consequences that arose out of them They did in that Appeal to the rational Faculties of those to whom they spoke The Christian Religion was at first delivered to poor and simple Multitudes who were both illiterate and weak the Epistles which are by much the hardest to be understood of the whole New Testament were Addressed to the whole Churches to all the Faithful or Saints that is to all the Christians in those Churches These were afterwards read in all thâ—ir Assemblies Upon this it may reasonably be asked Were these Writings clear in that Age or were they not If they were not it is unaccountable why they were addressed to the whole Body and how they came to be received and entertained as they were It is the End of Speech and Writing to make things to be understood and it is not supposable That Men Inspired by the Holy Ghost either could not or would
we do yet a great deal is done both towards that and towards the healing those Wounds in which the Church lies a bleeding when they come to join in the same Communion and in such Acts of Worship as do agree with their different Persuasions For as in the Sacrament of the Eucharist both Lutherans and Calvinists agreeing in the same Devotions and Acts of Worship a mere Point of Speculation concerning the manner in which Christ is present ought not to divide those who agree in every thing else that relates to the Sacrament every one may in that be left to the Freedom of his own Thoughts since neither Opinion has any Influence on Practice or on any part either of Publick Worship or of Secret Devotion Upon the same account it may be also suggested That when all Parties acknowledge that God is the Sovereign Lord of the Universe That he governs it by a Providence from which nothing is hid and to which nothing can resist and that he is likewise Holy and Just True and Faithful Merciful and Gracious in all his ways those who agree about all this should not differ though they cannot fall into the same Methods of reconciling these together And if they do all agree to bless God for all the good that they either do or receive and to accuse themselves for all the ill that they either do or suffer If they agree that they ought to be humble and to mistrust their own strength to pray earnestly to God for assistance and to depend on him to trust to him and likewise to employ their own Faculties with all possible care and diligence in the cleansing their Hearts and governing their Words and Actions here the great Truths of both Sides are safe every thing that has an Influence on Practice is agreed on though neither Side can meet in the same ways of joining all these together In the Church of Rome the difference is really the same between St. Austin's Disciples and the Followers of Molina And yet how much soever they may differ and dispute in the Schools their Worship being the same they do all join in it We of this Church are very happy in this respect we have all along been much divided and once almost broken to pieces while we disputed concerning these matters but now we are much happier for tho we know one anothers Opinions we live not only united in the same Worship but in great Friendship and Love with those of other Persuasions And the Boldness of some among us who have reflected in Sermons or otherwise on those who hold Calvin's System has been much blamed and often censured by those who though they hold the same Opinions with them yet are both more charitable in their Thoughts and more discreet in their Expressions But till the Lutherans abate of their Rigidity in censuring the Opinions of the Calvinists as charging God with all those blasphemous Consequences that they think follow the Doctrine of Absolute Decrees and till the Calvinists in Holland Switzerland and Geneva abate also of theirs in charging the others as Enemies to the Grace of God and as guilty of those Consequences that they think follow the Doctrine of Conditionate Decrees it is not possible to see that much-wish'd-for Agreement come to any good Effect He who believes that an ill Consequence is justly drawn from any Opinion is in the right when he is by that determined against it But because he thinks he sees that the Consequence is clear and cannot be avoided he ought not for that to judge so ill of those who hold the Opinion but declare at the same time that they abhor the Consequence that they prevaricate in that declaration and that they both see the Consequence and own it though for decencies sake they disclaim it He ought rather to think that either they do not see the Consequence but satisfy themselves with some of those distinctions with which it is avoided or that though they do see it yet they look on that only as an Objection which indeed they cannot well answer They may think that a Point of Doctrine may be proved by such convincing Arguments that they may be bound to believe it though there lye Objections against it which they cannot avoid and Consequences seem to follow on it which they abhor and are sure cannot be true though they cannot clear the matter so well as they wish they could do In that case when a man is inclined by strong Arguments to an Opinion against which he sees difficulties which he cannot resolve he ought either to suspend his Assent or if he sees a Superitory of Argument of one side he may be determined by that though he cannot satisfy even himself in the Objections that are against it In that case he ought to reflect on the Weakness and Defects of his Faculties which cannot rise up to full and comprehensive Ideas of things especially in that which relates to the Attributes of God and to his Counsels or Acts. If men can be brought once to apprehend this rightly it may make Propositions for Peace and Union hopeful and practicable and till they are brought to this all such Propositions may well be laid aside for mens minds are not yet prepared for that which can only reconcile this Difference and heal this Breach I shall conclude this Preface with a Reply that a very Eminent Divine among the Lutherans in Germany made to me when I was pressing this matter of Union with the Calvinists upon him with all the Topicks with which I could urge it as necessary upon many accounts and more particularly with relation to the present State of Affairs He said He wonder'd much to see a Divine of the Church of England press that so much on him when We notwithstanding the Dangers we were then in it was in the Year 1686. could not agree our Differences They differed about Important Matters concerning the Attributes of God and his Providence concerning the Guilt of Sin whether it was to be charged on God or on the Sinner and whether men ought to make good use of their Faculties or if they ought to trust entirely to an Irresistible Grace These were matters of great Moment But he said We in England differed only about Forms of Government and Worship and about things that were of their own nature indifferent and yet we had been quarrelling about these for above an Hundred Years and we were not yet grown wiser by all the Mischief that this had done us and by the Imminent Danger we were then in He concluded Let the Church of England heal her own Breaches and then all the rest of the Reformed Churches will with great Respect admit of her Mediation to heal theirs I will not presume to tell how I answered this But I pray God to enlighten and direct all men that they may consider well how it ought to be answered THE Articles of our Church were at the same time
an Argument for it from our Saviour's Example He begins with the dignity of his Person expressed thus That he was in the form of God and that he thought it no robbery to be equal with God Then his Humiliation comes That he made himself of no reputation but took on him the form of a servant the same Word with that used in the former Verse after which follows his Exaltation and a Name or Authority above every Name or Authority is said to be given him so that all in Heaven Earth and under the Earth which seems to Import Angels Men and Devils should bow at his Name and confess that he is the Lord. Now in this Progress that is made in these words it is plain That the Dignity of Christ's Person is represented as Antecedent both to his Humiliation and to his Exaltation It was that which put the value on his Humiliation as his Humiliation was rewarded by his Exaltation This Dignity is expressed first That he was in the Form of God before he humbled himself He was certainly in the form of a Servant that is really a Servant as other Servants are He was obedient to his Parents he was under the Authority both of the Romans of Herod and of the Sanhedrim Therefore since his being really a Servant is expressed by his being in the form of a Servant his being in the form of God must also import That he was truly God But the â—ollowing words That he thought it not robbery to be equal or be held equal for so the word may be rendred with God carry such a natural Signification of his being neither a Made nor Subordinate God and that his Divinity is neither precarious nor by concession that fuller words cannot be devised for expressing an entire Equality Those who deny this are aware of it and therefore they have put another sense on the words in the form of God They think That they signify his appearing in the World as one sent in the Name of God representing him Working Miracles and delivering a Law in his Name and the words rendred he thought it no robbery they render he did not catch at or vehemently desire to be held in equal honour with God And some Authorities are found in Eloquent Greek Authors who use the words rendred he thought it not robbery in a figurative sense for the earnestness of desire or the pursuing after a thing greedily as Robbers do for their Prey This rendring represents St. Paul as Treating so sacred a Point in the Figures of a high and seldom-used Rhetorick which one would think ought to have been expressed more exactly But if even this sense is allowed it will make a strange Period and a very odd sort of an Argument to enforce Humility upon us because Christ though Working Miracles did not desire or snatch at Divine Adorations in an Equality with God The Sin of Lucifer and the cause of his Fall is commonly believed to be his desire to be equal to God and yet this seems to be such an extravagant piece of pride that it is scarce possible to think That even the Sublimest of Created Beings should be capable of it To be next to God seems to be the utmost heigth to which even the Diabolical Pride could aspire So that here by the Sense which the Socinians put on those words they will import That we are persuaded to be humble from the Example of Christ who did not affect an Equality with God The bare repeating of this seems so fully to expose and overthrow it that I think it is not necessary to say more upon this place Acts 20.28 1 Joh. 3.16 1 Joh. 5.20 Tit. 2.13 Jam. 2.1 The next head of Proof is made up of more particulars All the Names the Operations and even the Attributes of God are in full and plain words given to Christ. He is called God his Blood is said to be the Blood of God God is said to have laid down his life for us Christ is called the true God the great God the Lord of Glory the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords and more particularly the Name Iehovah is ascribed to him in the same word in which the LXX Interpreters had Translated it throughout the whole Old Testament Rev. 1.8 Rev. 19.16 So that this constant Uniformity of Stile between the Greek of the New and that Translation of the Old Testament which was then received and was of great Authority among the Iews and was yet of more Authority among the first Christians is an Argument that carries such a weight with it that this alone may serve to determine the Matter The Creating the Preserving and the Governing of all things is also ascribed to Christ in a variety of placâ—s but most remarkably when it is said That by him were all things created that are in heaven and that are in earth Visible and Invisible Whether they be Thrones Col. 1.16.17 â—ohn 2.25 Mat. â—1 27. Mat. 9.6 Joh. 15.26 Joh. 14.13 Joh. 5 25 26. Joh. 6.39 40. or Dominions or Principalities or Powers all things were created by him and for him And he is before all things and by him all things consist He is said to have known what was in man to have known mens secret thoughts and to have known all things That as the Father was known of none but of the Son so none know the Son but the Father He pardons Sin sends the Spirit gives Grace and Eternal Life and he shall raise the dead at the last day When all these things are laid together in that variety of Expressions in which they lie scattered in the New Testament it is not possible to retain any reverence for those Books if we imagine that they are writ in a Stile so full of approaches to the Deifying of a mere Man that without a very Critical studying of Languages and Phrases it is not possible to understand them otherwise Idolatry and a Plurality of Gods seem to be the main things that the Scriptures warn us against and yet here is a pursued Thread of Passages and Discourses that do naturally lead a man to think that Christ is the True God who yet according to these men only acted in his Name and has now a high Honour put on him by him This carries me to another Argument to prove that the Word that was made Flesh was truly God Nothing but the True God can be the proper Object of Adoration This is one of those Truths that seems almost so evident that it needs not to be proved Adoration is the humble Prostration of our selves before God in Acts that own our dependance upon him both for our Being and for all the Blessings that we do either enjoy or hope for and also in earnest Prayers to him for the continuance of these to us This is testified by such outward Gestures and Actions as are most proper to express our Humility and Submission to God All this has
a piece of the Fiction of the Parable which cannot enter into any part of the Application of it Col. 1.24 What St. Paul says of his filling up that which was behind of the afflictions of Christ in his flesh for his body's sake which is the Church is as appears by the words that follow whereof I am made a Minister only applicable to the Edification that the Church received from the Sufferings of the Apostles It being a great confirmation to them of the Truth of the Gospel when those who preached it suffered so constantly and so patiently for it by which they both confirmed what they had preached and set an Example to others of adhering firmly to it And since Christ is related to his Church as a Head to the Members it is in some sort his suffering himself when his Members suffer and that Conformity which they ought to express to him as their Head was necessary to make up the due Proportion that ought to be between the Head and the Members So St. Paul rejoyced in his being made conformable to him And this as it is a Sense that the words will well bear so it is certain they are capable of no other sense for if the sufferings of the Apostles were meritorious in behalf of the other Christians some plain account must have been given of this in the New Testament at least to do honour to the Memory of such Apostles as had then died for the Faith If it is suggested that the living Apostles were too modest to claim it to themselves that will not satisfy all runs quite in a contrary Stile The Mercies of God and the blood of Christ being always repeated whereas these are never once named Now to imagine that there can be any thing of such great use to us in which the Scripture should be not only silent but should run in a strain totally different from it is not conceivable For if in any thing the Gospel ought to be full and explicite in all that which concerns our Peace and Reconciliation with God and the means of our escaping his Wrath and obtaining his Favour There is another Doctrine that does also belong to this Head which is Purgatory that is not to be entred on here but is referred to its proper place Thus it appears how ill this Doctrine of Works of Supererogation is founded and upon how many accounts it is evidently false and yet upon it has been built not only a Theory of a Communication of those Merits and a Treasure in the Church but a Practice of so foul a nature that in it the words of our Saviour spoken to the Iews My house is a house of Prayer Mark 11.17 but ye have made it a den of Thieves are accomplished in a high and most scandalous manner It has been pretended that this was of the nature of a Bank of which the Pope was the Keeper and that he could grant such Bills and Assignments upon it as he pleased This was done in so base and so crying a manner that all who had any sense of Probity in their own Church were ashamed of it In the Primitive Church there were very severe Rules made obliging all that had sinned publickly and they were afterwards applied to such as had sinned secretly to continue for many Years in a state of Separation from the Sacrament and of Penance and Discipline But because all such general Rules admit of a great variety of Circumstances taken from Mens Sins their Persons and their Repentance there was a Power given to all Bishops by the Council of Nice to shorten the time and to relax the severity of those Canons and such Favour as they saw cause to grant was called Indulgence This was just and necessary and was a Provision without which no Constitution or Society can be well governed But after the Tenth Century as the Popes came to take this Power in the whole extent of it into their own hands so they found it too feeble to carry on the great Designs that they grafted upon it They gave it high Names and called it a plenary Remission and the pardon of all Sins which the World was taught to look on as a thing of a much higher nature than the bare excusing of Men from Discipline and Penance Purgatory was then got to be firmly believed and all Men were strangely possessed with the terror of it So a deliverance from Purgatory and by consequence an immediate admission into Heaven was believed to be the certain effect of it And to support all this the Doctrine of Counsels of Perfection of Works of Supererogation and of the Communication of those Merits was set up and to that this was added That a Treasure made up of these was at the Pope's disposal and in his keeping The use that this was put to was as bad as the Forgery it self Multitudes were by these means engaged to go to the Holy Land to recover it out of the hands of the Saracens Afterwards they armed vast Numbers against Hereticks to extirpate them They fought also all those Quarrels which their ambitious Pretensions engaged them in with Emperors and other Princes by the same Pay and at last they set it to Sale with the same Impudence and almost with the same Methods that Mountebanks use in the venting of their Secrets This was so gross even in an Ignorant Age and among the ruder sort that it gave the first Rise to the Reformation and as the progress of it was a very signal Work of God so it was in a great measure owing to the Scandals that this shameless Practice had given the World And upon this single reason it is that this matter has been more fully examined than was necessary for the thing is so plain that it has no sort of difficulty in it ARTICLE XV. Of Christ alone without Sin Christ in the truth of our nature was made like unto us in all things sin only except from which he was clearly void both in his flesh and in spirit He came to be a Lamb without spot who by sacrifice of himself once made should take away the sins of the World and sin as St. John saith was not in him But all we the rest although baptized and born again in Christ yet offend in many things and if we say we have no sin we deceive our selves and the truth is not in us THis Article relates to the former and is put here as another Foundation against all Works of Supererogation for that Doctrine with the Consequences of it having given the first Occasion to the Reformation it was thought necessary to overthrow it entirely and because the Perfection of the Saints must be supposed before their Supererogation can be thought on that was therefore here opposed That Christ was holy without spot and blemish harmless undefiled and separate from sinners Heb. 7.26 that there was no guile in his mouth that he never did amiss but
particular for themselves is That the Scripture has not declared any thing concerning the Fall of Adam in such formal terms that they can affirm any thing concerning it A Liberty of another kind seems to have been then in Man when he was made after the Image of God and before he was corrupted by Sin And therefore though it is not easy to clear all difficulties in so Intricate a matter yet it seems reasonable to think that Man in a state of Innocency was a purer and a freer Creature to good than now he is But after all this seems to be only a fleeing from the difficulty to a less offensive way of talking of it for if the Prescience of future Contingents cannot be certain unless they are decreed then God could not certainly foreknow Adam's Sin without he had made an Absolute Decree about it and that as was just now said is the same thing with the Supralapsarians Hypothesis of which shall say no more having now laid together in a small compass the full Strength of this Argument I go next to set out with the same Fidelity and Exactness the Remonstrants Arguments They begin with this That God is Just Holy and Merciful That in speaking of himself in the Scripture with relation to those Attributes he is pleased to make Appeals to Men to call them to reason with him Thus his Prophets did often bespeak the Iewish Nation the meaning of which is That God Acts so that Men according to the Notions that they have of those Attributes may examine them and will be forced to justify and approve them Nay in these God proposes himself to us as our Pattern we ought to imitate him in them and by consequence we may frame just Notions of them We are required to be holy and merciful as he is merciful What then can we think of a Justice that shall condemn us for a Fact that we never committed and that was done many Years before we were born As also that designs first of all to be glorified by our being eternally miserable and that decrees that we shall commit sins to justify the previous Decree of our Reprobation If those Decrees are thus originally designed by God and are certainly effectuated then it is unconceivable how there should be a Justice in punishing that which God himself appointed by an Antecedent and Irreversible Decree should be done So this seems to lye hard upon Justice It is no less hard upon Infinite Holiness to imagine that a Being of purer eyes than that it can behold iniquity Heb. 1.13 should by an Antecedent Decree fix our committing so many Sins in such a manner that it is not possible for us to avoid them This is to make us to be born indeed under a Necessity of Sin and yet this necessity is said to flow from the Act and Decrees of God God represents himself always 〈◊〉 the Scriptures as gracious merciful slow to anger and abundant in goodness and truth Exod. 34.6 2 Pet. 3.9 Ezek. 18.12.33.11 It is often said That he desires that no man should perish but that all should come to the knowledge of the truth And this is said sometimes with the Solemnity of an Oath As I live saith the Lord I take no pleasure in the death of sinners They ask What sense can such words bear if we can believe that God did by an Absolute Decree reprobate so many of them If all things that happen do arise out of the Decree of God as its First Cause then we must believe that God takes pleasure both in his own Decrees and in the execution of them and by consequence that he takes pleasure in the death of sinners and that in contradiction to the most express and most solemn words of Scripture Besides what can we think of the Truth of God and of the Sincerity of those Offers of Grace and Mercy with the Obtestations the Exhortations and Expostulations upon them that occur so often in Scripture if we can think that by Antecedent Acts of God he determined that all these should be ineffectual so that they are only so many solemn words that do indeed signify nothing if God intended that all things should fall out as they do and if they do so fall out only because he intended it The chief Foundation of this Opinion lies in this Argument as its Basis That nothing can be believed that contradicts the Justice Holiness the Truth and Purity of God that these Attributes are in God according to our Notions concerning them only they are in him infinitely more perfect since we are required to imitate them Whereas the Doctrine of Absolute Decrees does manifestly contradict the clearest Ideas that we can form of Justice Holiness Truth and Goodness From the Nature of God they go to the Nature of Man and they think that such an inward Freedom by which a Man is the Master of his own Actions and can do or not do what he pleases is so necessary to the Morality of our Actions that without it our Actions are neither good nor evil neither capable of Rewards or Punishments Mad Men or Men asleep are not to be charged with the good or evil of what they do therefore at least some degrees of Liberty must be left with us otherwise why are we praised or blamed for any thing that we do If a Man thinks that he is under an Inevitable Decree as he will have little remorse for all the Evil he does while he imputes it to that inevitable Force that constrains him so he will naturally conclude that it is to no purpose for him to struggle with Impossibilities And Men being inclined both to throw all blame off from themselves and to indulge themselves in Laziness and Sloth these Practices are too natural to Mankind to be encouraged by Opinions that favour them All Virtue and Religion all Discipline and Industry must arise from this as their first Principle That there is a Power in us to govern our own Thoughts and Actions and to raise and improve our Faculties If this is denied all Endeavours all Education all pains either on our selves or others are vain and fruitless things Nor is it possible to make a Man believe other than this for he does so plainly perceive that he is a free Agent he feels himself balance matters in his Thoughts and deliberate about them so evidently that he certainly knows he is a free Being This is the Image of God that is stampt upon his Nature and tho' he feels himself often hurried on so impetuously that he may seem to have lost his Freâ—dom in some Turns and upon some Occasions yet he feels that he might have restrained that Heat in its first beginning he feels he can divert his Thoughts and master himself in most things when he sets himself to it He finds that Knowledge and Reflection that good Company and good Exercises do tame and soften him and that bad ones makes him
These words in themselves and separated from all that went before seem to speak out this matter very fully But when the occasion of them and the matter that is treated of in them are considered nothing can be plainer than that our Saviour is speaking of such private Differences as may arise among Men and of the Practice of forgiving Injuries and composing their Differences If thy Brother sin against thee first private Endeavours were to be used then the Interposition of Friends was to be tried And finally the matter was to be referred to the Body or Assembly to which they belonged And those who could not be gained by such Methods were no more to be esteemed Brethren but were to be looked on as very bad Men like Heathens They might upon such refractoriness be Excommunicated and Prosecuted afterwards in Temporal Courts since they had by their Perversness forfeited all sort of right to that Tenderness and Charity that is due to true Christians This Exposition does so fully agree to the Occasion and Scope of these words that there is no colour of Reason to carry them further The Character given to the Church of Ephesus in St. Paul's Epistle to Timothy 1 Tim. 3. That it was the pillar and ground of Truth is a Figurative Expression And it is never safe to build upon Metaphors much less to lay much weight upon them The Iews described their Synagogues by such honourable Characters in which it is known how profuse all the Eastern Nations are These are by St. Paul applied to the Church of Ephesus For he there speaks of the Church where Timothy was then in which he instructs him to behave himself well It has visibly a relation to those Inscriptions that were made on Pillars which rested upon firm Pedestals But whatsoever the strict Importance of the Metaphor may be it is a Metaphor and therefore it can be no Argument Christ's promise of the Spirit to his Apostles Jâ—h 16.13 that should lead them into all truth relates visibly to that extraordinary Inspiration by which they were to be acted and that was to shew them things to come so that a Succession of Prophecy may be inferred from these words as well as of Infallibility Those words of our Saviour with which St. Matthew concludes his Gospel Matth. 28.20 Lo I am with you always even to the end of the World infer no Infallibility but only a promise of Assistance and Protection Which was a necessary encouragement to the Apostles when they were sent upon so laborious a Commission that was to involve them into so much danger God's being with any his walking with them his being in the midst of them his never leaving nor forsaking them are Expressions often used in the Scripture 2 Cor. 6.16 Heb. 13.5 which signifie no more but God's watchful Providence Guiding Supporting and Protecting his People All this is far from Infallibility The Last Objection to be proposed is that which seems to relate most to the Point in hand taken from the Decree made by a Council at Ierusalem Act 15.28 which begins It seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to us From which they infer That the Holy Ghost is present with Councils and that what seems good to them is also approved by the Holy Ghost But it will not be easie to prove that this was such a Council as to be a pattern to succeeding ones to copy after it We find Brethren are here joined with the Apostles themselves Now since these were no other than the Laity here an Inference will be made that will not go easily down If they fate and voted with the Apostles it will seem strange to deny them the same privilege among Bishops By Elders here it seems Presbyters are meant and this will give them an Entrance into a General Council out of which they cannot be well excluded if the Laity are admitted But here was no citation no time given to all Churches to send their Bishops or Proxies It was an Occasional Meeting of such of the Apostles as happened to be then at Ierusalem who called to them the Elders or Presbyters and other Christians at Ierusalem For the Holy Ghost was then poured out so plentifully on so many that no wonder if there was then about that truly Mother Church a great many of both sorts who were of such Eminence that the Apostles might desire them to meet and to joyn with them The Apostles were Divinely Assisted in the delivering that Commission which our Saviour gave them in charge To preach to every creature and so were Infallibly Assisted in the Executing of it Mark 16.15 yet when other Matters fell in which were no Parts of that Commission they no doubt did as St. Paul who sometimes writ by Permission 1 Cor. 7.6 12. as well as at other times by Commandment Of which he gives notice by saying It is I and not the Lord He suggested Advices which to him according to his Prudence and Experience seemed to be well founded and he offered them with great Sincerity for though he had some reason to think that what he proposed flowed from the Spirit of the Lord ver 40. from that Inspiration that was Acting him yet because that did not appear distinctly to him he speaks with Reserves and says ver 25. he gives his judgment as one that had obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful So the Apostles here receiving no Inspiration to Direct them in this Case but observing well what St. Peter put them in mind of concerning God's sending him by a Special Vision to Preach to the Gentiles and that God had poured out the Holy Ghost on them even as he had done upon the Apostles who were Iews by Nature and that he did put no difference in that between Iews and Gentiles Acts 15.9 purifying the hearts of the Gentiles by Faith They upon this did by their Judgment conclude from thence That what God had done in the particular Instance of Cornelius was now to be extended to all the Gentiles So by this we see that those Words seemed good to the Holy Ghost relate to the Case of Cornelius and those Words seemed good to us import that they resolved to extend that to be a general Rule to all the Gentiles This gives the Words a clear and a distinct Sense which agrees with all that had gone before whereas it will otherwise look very strange to see them add their Authority to that of the Holy Ghost which is too Absurd to suppose Nor will it be easy to give any other consisting Sense to these Words Here is no Precedent of a Council much less of a General one but a Decision is made by Men that were in other things Divinely Inspired which can have no relation to the Judgment of other Councils And thus it appears that none of those Places which are brought to prove the Infallibility of Councils come up to the Point
scandalous Parts Such as the Worship of subordinate Gods and of Images These are the chief Grounds upon which we separate from the Roman Communion Since we cannot have fellowship with them unless we will join in those Acts which we look on as direct violations of the First and Second Commandment God is a jealous God and therefore we must rather venture on their Wrath how burning soever it may be than on his who is a consuming Fire ARTICLE XXIII Of Ministring in the Congregation It is not lawful for any Man to take upon him the Office of publick Preaching or Ministring the Sacraments in the Congregation before he be lawfully called and sent to execute the same And those we ought to judge lawfully called and sent which be chosen and called to this work by Men who have publick Authority given unto them in the Congregation to call and send Ministers into the Lord's Uineyard WE have two particulars fixed in this Article The First is against any that shall assume to themselves without a lawful Vocation the authority of dispencing the things of God The Second is the defining in very general Words what it is that makes a lawful Call As to the First it will bear no great difficulty We see in the old Dispensation that the Family the Age and the Qualifications of those that might serve in the Priesthood are very particularly set forth In the New Testament our Lord called the Twelve Apostles and sent them out He also sent out upon another occasion Seventy Disciples And before he left his Apostles He told them that as his Father had sent him so he sent them John â—â— 2â— Which seems to Import that as he was sent into the World with this among other Powers that he might send others in his Name so he likewise empowered them to do the same And when they went planting Churches as they took some to be Companions of Labour with themselves so they appointed others over the particular Churches in which they fixed them Such were Epaphras or Epaphroditus at Colosse Timothy at Ephesus and Titus in Crete To them the Apostles gave Authority Otherwise it was a needless thing to write so many directions to them in order to their conduct They had the Depositum of the Faith 2 Tim. 1.13 with which they were chiefly entrusted Concerning the succession in which that was to be continued we have these Words of St. Paul The things which thou hast heard of me among many witnesses the same commit thou to faithful Men 2 Tim. 2.2 1 Tim. 2.1 2 3. 1 Tim. 2.12 1 Tim. â— c. who shall be able to teach others also To them directions are given concerning all the different Parts of their Worship Supplications Prayers Intercessions and giving of thanks and also the keeping up the decency of the Worship and the not suffering of Women to Teach like the Women Priests among the Heathen who were believed to be filled with a Bacchick Fury To them are directed all the Qualifications of such as might be made either Bishops or Deacons They were to examine them according to these and either to receive or reject them All this was directed to Timothy that he might know how he ought to behave himself in the house of God 1 Tim. 3.15 1 Tim. â— 1 3 17 19 22. He had Authority given him to Rebuke and Entreat to Honour and to Censure He was to Order what Widows might be received into the Number and who should be refused He was to receive Accusations against Elders or Presbyters according to directed Methods and was either to Censure some or to lay Hands on others as should agree with the Rules that were set him And in conclusion he is very solemnly charged 1 Tim. 6.20 2 Tim. 2.15 2 Tim. 4.2 5. to keep that which was committed to his Trust. He is required rightly to divide the word of truth to preach the word to be instant in season and out of season to reprove rebuke and exhort and to do the work of an Evangelist and to make full proof of his ministry Some of the same things are charged upon Titus whom St. Paul had left in Crete to set in order the things that were wanting Tit. 1.5 9 13. and to ordain Elders in every City Several of the Characters by which he was to try them are also set down He is charged to rebuke the people sharply and to speak the things that became sound doctrine He is instructed concerning the Doctrines which he was to Teach and those which he was to Avoid and also how to Censure an Heretick He was to admonish him twice Tit. 3.10 and if that did not prevail he was to reject him by some publick Censure These Rules given to Timothy and Titus do plâ—inly Import that there was to be an Authority in the Church and that no Man was to assume this Authority to himself according to that Maxim that seems to be founded on the Light of Nature as well as it is set down in Scripture as a standing Rule agreed to in all Times and Places No Man taketh this honour to himself Heb. 5.4 but he that is called of God as was Aaron St. Paul in his Epistles to the Romans and Corinthians did reckon up the several Orders and Functions Rom. 12.6 7 8. 1 Cor. 12.28 Eph. 4.11 12 13 16. that God had set in his Church and in his Epistle to the Ephesians he shews that these were not transient but lasting Constitutions For there as he reckons the Apostles Prophets Evangelists Pastors and Teachers as the Gifts which Christ at his Ascension had given to Men so he tells the Ends for which they were given For the perfecting the Saints by Perfecting seems to be meant the initiating them by Holy Mysteries rather than the compacting or putting them in joint For as that is the proper Signification of the Word so it being set first the other things that come after it make that the strict Sense of Perfecting that is Compleating does not so well agree with the Period for the work of the Ministry the whole Ecclesiastical or Sacred Services for the edifying the Body of Christ to which instructing exhorting comforting and all the other Parts of Preaching may well be reduced and then the duration of these Gifts is defined 'Till we all come in the Vnity of the Faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect Man This seems to Import the whole State of this Life We cannot think that all this belonged only to the Infancy of the Church and that it was to be laid aside by her when she was farthâ—r advanced For when we consider that in the Beginnings of Christianity there was so liberal an Effusion of the Holy Spirit poured out upon such great Numbers who had very extraordinary Credentials Miracles and the Gift of Tongues to prove their Mission it does not seem so necessary in such a
treats of Marriage to the mutual relation that is between Christ and his Church from that state of Life and says There is a great Mystery here the Vulgar has Translated the word Mystery by Sacrament So though the words immediately following seem to turn the matter another way but I speak concerning Christ and the Church yet from the promiscuous use of those two words and because Sacraments were called the Mysteries of the Christian Religion the Translator it seems thought that all Mysteries might be called Sacraments But it is so very hard here to find Matter Form a Minister and a Sacramental Effect that though Pope Eugenius in that famous Decree of his is very punctual in assigning these when he explains the other Sacraments yet he wisely passed them all over when he came to this and only makes a true consent necessary to the making the Sacrament We do not deny Marriage to be an Ordinance of God but we think that as it was at first made in the state of Innocence so it is still founded on the Law of Nature and though the Gospel gives Rules concerning the Duties belonging to this state of Life as it does concerning the Duties of Parents and Children which is another Relation founded on the same Law of Nature yet we cannot call it a Sacrament for we find neither Matter Form Institution nor Federal Acts nor Effects assigned to it in the Gospel to make us esteem it a Sacrament The Matter assigned by the Roman Doctors is the inward Consent by which both Parties do mutually give themselves to one another the Form they make to be the Words or Signs by which this is expressed Now it seems a strange thing to make the secret Thoughts of Men the Matter Upon the whole Doctrine of the Church of Rome concerning the Sacraments as it is explained by the Schoolmen I have followed the Account given by Honoratus Fabri in his Summula Theologica who is dead within these Ten Years I knew him at Rome Anno 1685. He was a true Philosopher beyond the Liberties allowed by his Order and studied to reduce their School-Divinity to as clear Ideas as it was capable of So that in following him I have given the best and not the worst Face of their Doctrine His Book was Printed at Lions Anno 1669. and their Words the Form of a Sacrament all Mutual Compacts being as much Sacraments as this there being no visible material things applied to the Parties who receive them which is necessary to the being of a Sacrament It is also a very absurd Opinion which may have very fatal Consequences and raise very afflicting Scruples if any should imagine that the Inward Consent is the Matter of this Sacrament here is a Foundation laid down for voiding every Marriage The Parties may and often do Marry against their Wills and though they profess an outward Consent they do inwardly Repine against what they are doing If after this they grow to like their Marriage Scruples must arise since they know they have not the Sacrament because it is a Doctrine in that Church that as Intention is necessary in every Sacrament so here that goes further the Intention being the only Matter of this Sacrament so that without it there is no Marriage and yet since they cannot be married again to compleat or rather to make the Marriage such Persons does live only in a State of Concubinate On the other hand here is a Foundation laid down for breaking Marriages as often as the Parties or either of them will solemnly Swear that they gave no Inward Consent which is often practised at Rome All Contracts are sacred things but of them all Marriage is the most Sacred since so much depends upon it Mens Words confirmed by Oaths and other solemn Acts must either be binding according to the plain and acknowledged Sense of them or all the Security and Confidence of Mankind is destroyed No Man can be safe if this principle is once admitted that a Man is not bound by his Promises and Oaths unless his Inward Consent went along with them and if such a fraudulent thing may be applied to Marriages in which so many Persons are concerned and upon which the Order of the World does so much depend it may be very justly applied to all other Contracts whatsoever so that they may be voided at pleasure A Man's Words and Oaths bind him by the Eternal Laws of Fidelity and Truth and it is a just prejudice against any Religion whatsoever if it should teach a Doctrine in which by the secret reserves of not giving an Inward Consent the Faith which is solemnly given may be broken Here such a Door is opened to Perfidy and Treachery that the World can be no longer safe while it is allowed hereby lewd and vitious Persons may intangle others and in the mean while order their own Thoughts so that they shall be all the while free Next to Matter and Form we must see for the Institution of this Sacrament The Church of Rome think that is strong here though they feel it to be hardly defensible in the other Points that relate to it They think that though Marriage as it is a Mutual Contract subsists upon the Law of Nature yet a Divine Virtue is put in it by the Gospel expressed in these Words This is a great Mystery or Sacrament so the explaining these Words determines this Controversy The chief Point in dispute at that time was Whether the Gentiles were to be received to equal Priviledges with the Iews in the dispensation of the Messias The Iews do not to this day deny but that the Gentiles may be admitted to it but still they think that they are to be considered as a distinct Body and in a lower Order the chief Dignity being to be reserved to the Seed of Abraham Now St. Paul had in that Epistle as well as in his other Epistles asserted that all were equal in Christ That he had taken away the middle wall of partition that he had abolished the Ground of the Enmity Eph. 2.15 16 20 21. which was the Mosaical Law called the Law of Commandments contained in Ordinances that he might make both Jew and Gentile one new Man one entire Body of a Church He being the chief corner Stone in whom the whole building was fitly framed together And so became a holy habitation to God Thus he made use of the Figure of a Body and of a Temple to illustrate this Matter and to shew how all Christians were to make up but one Body and one Church So when he came to speak of the Rules belonging to the several States of Human Life he takes occasion to explain the Duties of the married State by comparing that to the Relation that the Church has to Christ And when he had said that the married Couple make but one Body and one Flesh which declares that according to the first Institution every Man was to have but
among themselves one to another but rather it is a Sacrament of our Redemption by Christ's Death Insomuch that to such as rightly worthily and with faith receive the same the Bread which we break is a partaking of the Body of Christ and likewise the Cup of Blessing is a partaking of the Blood of Christ. Transubstantiation or the change of the Substance of Bread and Wine in the Supper of the Lord cannot be Proved by Holy Writ but it is repugnant to the plain words of Scripture overthroweth the nature of a Sacrament and hath given occasion to many Superstitions The Body of Christ is given taken and eaten in the Supper only after a Heavenly and Spiritual manner and the mean whereby the Body of Christ is received and eaten in the Supper is Faith The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was not by Christ's Ordinance reserved carried about lifted up and Worshipped In the Edition of these Articles in Edward the VIth's Reign there was another long Paragraph against Transubstantiation added in these words Forasmuch as the Truth of Man's Nature requireth that the Body of one and the self-same Man cannot be at one time in divers places but must needs be in one certain place therefore the Body of Christ cannot be present at one time in many and divers places And because as Holy Scripture doth teach Christ was taken up into Heaven and there shall continue unto the end of the World a Faithful Man ought not either to Believe or openly Confess the Real and Bodily Presence as they term it of Christ's Flesh and Blood in the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper WHEN these Articles were at first prepared by the Convocation in Queen Elizabeth's Reign this Paragraph was made a part of them for the Original Subscription by both Houses of Convocation yet extant shews this But the design of the Government was at that time much turned to the drawing over the Body of the Nation to the Reformation in whom the old Leven had gone deep and no part of it deeper than the belief of the Corporeal Presence of Christ in the Sacrament therefore it was thought not expedient to offend them by so particular a Definition in this matter in which the very word Real Presence was rejected It might perhaps be also suggested that here a Definition was made that went too much upon the Principles of Natural Philosophy which how true soever they might not be the proper subject of an Article of Religion Therefore it was thought fit to suppress this Paragraph though it was a part of the Article that was Subscribed yet it was not published but the Paragraph that follows The Body of Christ c. was put in its stead and was received and published by the next Convocation which upon the matter was a full Explanation of the way of Christ's Presence in this Sacrament that he is present in a heavenly and spiritual Manner and that Faith is the mean by which he is received This seemed to be more Theological and it does indeed amount to the same thing But howsoever we see what was the Sense of the first Convocation in Queen Elizabeth's Reign it differed in nothing from that in King Edward's Time And therefore though this Paragraph is now no Part of our Articles yet we are certain that the Clergy at that time did not at all doubt of the Truth of it we are sure it was their Opinion Since they subscribed it though they did not think fit to publish it at first and though it was afterwards changed for another that was the same in Sense In the treating of this Article I shall first lay down the Doctrine of this Church with the Grounds of it and then I shall examine the Doctrine of the Church of Rome which must be done copiously For next to the Doctrine of Infallibility this is the most valued of all their other Tenets this is the most Important in it self since it is the main Part of their Worship and the chief Subject of all their Devotions There is not any one thing in which both Clergy and Laity are more concerned which is more generally studied and for which they pretend they have more plausible Colours both from Scripture and the Fathers and if Sense and Reason seem to press hard upon it they reckon that as they understand the Words of St. Paul every thought must be captivated into the obedience of Faith 2 Cor. 10.5 In order to the expounding our Doctrine we must consider the Occasion and the Institution of this Sacrament The Iews were required once a Year to meet at Ierusalem in remembrance of the deliverance of their Fathers out of Egypt Exod. 12.11 Moses appointed that every Family should kill a Lamb whose Blood was to be sprinkled on their Door-posts and Lintels and whose Flesh they were to eat at the sight of which Blood thus sprinkled the destroying Angel that was to be sent out to kill the First-born of every Family in Egypt was to pass over all the Houses that were so marked And from that passing by or over the Israelites the Lamb was called the Lord's passover as being then the Sacrifice and afterwards the Memorial of that Passover The People of Israel were required to keep up the Memorial of that Transaction by slaying a Lamb before the Place where God should set his Name and by eating it up that Night They were also to eat with it a Sallet of bitter Herbs and unleavened Bread and when they went to eat of the Lamb they repeated these Words of Moses That it was the Lord's Passover Now tho' the first Lamb that was killed in Egypt was indeed the Sacrifice upon which God promised to pass over their Houses yet the Lambs that were afterwards offered were only the Memorials of it though they still carried that Name which was given to the First And were called the Lord's Passover So that the Iews were in the Paschal-Supper accustomed to call the Memorial of a thing by the Name of that of which it was the Memorial And as the Deliverance out of Egypt was a Type and Representation of that greater Deliverance that we were to have by the Messias the first Lamb being the Sacrifice of that Deliverance 1 Cor. 5.7 John 1.29 Compare Matt. 26.26 Mark 14.22 and the succeeding Lambs the Memorials of it so in order to this new and greater Deliverance Christ himself was our Passover that was sacrificed for us He was the Lamb of God that was both to take away the Sins of the World and was to lead Captivity Captive To bring us out of the Bondage of Sin and Satan into the Obedience of his Gospel He therefore chose the time of the Passover that he might be then offered up for us And did Institute this Memorial of it while he was celebrating the Iewish Pascha with his Disciples who were so much accustomed to the Forms and Phrases of that Supper in which every Master of a
Testament answered 84 Concerning the various Readings 85 The nature and degrees of Inspiration 86 Concerning the Historical parts of Scripture 87 Concerning the Reasonings in Scripture 88 Of the Apocryphal Books 89 ARTICLE VII 91 NO difference between the Old and New Testament Ibid. Proofs in the Old Testament of the Messias 92 In the Prophets chiefly in Daniel 94 The Proofs all summed up 95 Objections of the Jews answered 96 The hopes of anotheâ— Life in the Old Testament 97 Our Saviour proved the Resurrection from the words to Moses 98 Expiation of Sin in the Old Dispensation 99 Sins then expiated by the Blood of Christ Ibid. Of the Rites and Ceremonies among the Jews 100 Of their Iudiciary Laws 101 Of the Moral Law Ibid. The Principles of Morality 102 Of Idolatry 103 Concerning the Sabbath Ibid. Of the Second Table 104 Of not coveting what is our Neighbours 105 ARTICLE VIII 106 COncerning the Creed of Athanasius Ibid. And the condemning Clauses in it Ibid. Of the Apostles Creed 107 ARTICLE IX 108 DIfferent Opinions concerning Original Sin Ibid. All men liable to Death by it 109 A Corruption spread through the whole Race of Adam Ibid. Of the state of Innocence 110 Of the effects of Adam's Fall 111 God's Iustice vindicated 112 Of the Imputation of Adam's Sin 113 St. Austin's Doctrine in this Point 114 This is opposed by many others Ibid. Both sides pretend their Doctrines agree with the Article 116 ARTICLE X. 117 THE true Notion of Liberty Ibid. The Feebleness of our present state 118 Inward Assistances promised in the New Covenant 119 The effect that these have on men 120 Concerning Preventing-Grace Ibid. Of its being efficacious or universal 121 ARTICLE XI 122 COncerning Iustification Ibid. Concerning Faith 123 The differences between the Church of England and the Church of Rome in this Point 124 The conditions upon which men are justified 126 The use to be made of this Doctrine 127 ARTICLE XII 128 THE necessity of Holiness Ibid. Concerning Merit 129 Of the defects of Good Works Ibid. ARTICLE XIII 131 ACTIONS in themselves good yet may be sins in him who does them Ibid. Of the Seventh Chapter to the Romans 132 This is not a total Incapacity Ibid. ARTICLE XIV 133 Oâ— the great extent of our Duty Ibid. No Counsels of Perfection 134 Many Duties which do not bind at all times Ibid. It is not possible for man to supererogate 135 Objections against this answered 136 The steps by which that Doctrine prevailed 137 ARTICLE XV. 138 CHrist's spotless Holiness Ibid. Of the Imperfections of the best men 139 ARTICLE XVI 140 COncerning Mortal and Venial Sin Ibid. Of the Sin against the Holy Ghost Ibid. Of the Pardon of Sin after Baptism 141 That as God forgives the Church ought also to forgive 142 Concerning Apostacy and sin unto Death 143 ARTICLE XVII 145 THE state of the Question 146 The Doctrine of the Supralapsarians and Sublapsarians Ibid. The Doctrine of the Remonstrants and the Socinians 147 This is a Controversy that arises out of Natural Religion Ibid. The History of this Controversy both in ancient and modern times 148 The Arguments of the Supralapsarians 152 The Arguments of the Sublapsarians 158 The Arguments of the Remonstrants 159 They affirm a certain Prescience 161 The Socinians Plea 164 General Reflections on the whole matter 165 The advantages and disadvantages of both sides and the faults of both 166 In what both do agree 167 The sense of the Article 168 The Cautions added to it Ibid. Passages in the Liturgy explained 169 ARTICLE XVIII 171 PHilosophers thought men might be saved in all Religions Ibid. So do the Mahometans Ibid. None are saved but by Christ 172 Whether some may not be saved by him who never heard of him Ibid. None are in Covenant with God but through the knowledge of Christ 173 But for others we cannot judge of the extent of the Mercies of God Ibid. Curiosity is to be restrained 174 ARTICLE XIX 175 WE ought not to believe that any are Infallible without good Authority Ibid. Iust prejudices against some who pretend to it 176 No Miracles brought to prove this Ibid. Proofs brought from Scripture 177 Things to be supposed previous to these Ibid. A Circle is not to be admitted Ibid. The Notes given of the true Church 178 These are examined Ibid. And whether they do agree to the Church of Rome 179 The Truth of Doctrine must be first settled Ibid. A Society that has a true Baptism is a true Church 180 Sacraments are not annulled by every Corruption Ibid. We own the Baptism and Orders given in the Church of Rome 181 And yet justify our separating from them Ibid. Objections against private judging 182 Our Reasons are given us for that end Ibid. Our Minds are free as our Wills are 183 The Church is still Visible but not Infallible Ibid. Of the Popes Infallibility 184 That was not pretended to in the first Ages Ibid. The Dignity of Sees rose from the Cities 185 Popes have fallen into Heresy Ibid. Their Ambition and Forgeries Ibid. Their Cruelty 186 The Power of deposing Princes claimed by them as given them by God Ibid. This was not a Corruption only of Discipline but of Doctrine 187 Arguments for the Popes Infallibility 188 No Foundation for it in the New Testament Ibid. St. Peter never clâ—imed it 189 Christ's words to him explained Ibid. Of the Kâ—ys of the Kingdâ—m of Hâ—â—vâ—n 190 Of binding and loosing Ibid. ARTICLE XX. 192 OF Church Power in Rituals Ibid. The Practice of the Jewish Church 193 Changes in these sometimes necâ—ssary Ibid. The Practice of the Ap stles 194 Sâ—bjâ—cts must obey in lawful things Ibid. But Superiâ—rs must not impose too much 195 The Church has Authority though not Infallible Ibid. Great Respâ—ct due to her Decisions 196 But no absâ—lute Submâ—ssion Ibid. The Church is the Depâ—sitary of the Scriptures 197 The Church of Rome run in a Circle Ibid. ARTICLE XXI 199 COuncils cannot be called but by the Consent of Princes Ibid. Tâ—e first were called by the Roman Emperors Ibid. Afterwards the Popes called them 200 Then some Councils thought on methods to fix their meeting Ibid. What makâ—s a Council to be General Ibid. What numbers are necessary 201 Hâ—w thâ—y must he cited Ibid. Nâ— Rules given in Scripture concerning their Constitution Ibid. Nazianzen's Complaints of Councils 202 Councils have been câ—ntrary to one another Ibid. Disâ—rders and Intriguâ—s in Councils Ibid. They judgâ— not by Inspiration Ibid. The Churches may examine their proceedings and judge of them 203 Concerning the Popes Bull confirming them Ibid. Thâ—y have an Authority but not absolute Ibid. Nâ—r do they need the Popes Bulls 204 The several Churches know their Traditions best Ibid. The Fathers do argue for the truth of the decisions but not from their authority Ibid. No prospect of another General Council 205 Popes are jealous of them Ibid. And the World expects little from them Ibid. Concerning the words
Tell the Church Ibid. Hâ—w the Church is the Pillar and Ground of Truth 206 Christ's Promise I am with you alway even to the end of the world Ibid. Of that It seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to us Ibid. Some Generâ—l Councils have ereed 207 ARTICLE XXII 217 THE Dâ—ctrine of Purgatory Ibid. Sins once pardâ—ned are not punished 218 Vnlâ—ss with chastisements in this life 219 No state of satisfaction aftâ—r death Ibid. No mention made of that in Scripture 220 But it is plain to the contrary 221 Different Opinions among the Ancients Ibid. The Original of Purgatory 222 A pâ—ssâ—ge in Maccabees considered Ibid. A pâ—ssâ—ge in the Epistle to the Corinthians câ—nsidered 223 The prâ—gress â—f the â—elief of Purgatory 2â—4 Prayers for the dead among the Ancients 225 Endâ—wments for redeeming out of Purgâ—toâ—y 226 Whether these ought to be sacred or nâ—t 227 The Doctrine of Pardons and Indulgences 228 It is only the excusing from Penance 229 Nâ— Foundation for it in Scripâ—ure Ibid. General Rules concerning Idolatry 230 Of the Iâ—olatry of Hâ—athens 231 Laws given to the Jews against it Ibid. The Expostulâ—â—ions of the Prophets 232 Concerning the Golden Calf Ibid. And The Calves at Dan and Bethel 233 The Ap stles opposed all Idolatry Ibid. St. Paul at Athens and to the Romans 334 The sense of the Primitive upon it 235 The first use of Images among Christians Ibid. Pictures in Churches for Instruction 236 Were afterwards worshipped Ibid. Contests abâ—ut that Ibid. Images of the Deity and Trinity 237 On what theWorship of Images terminates 238 The due Worship settled by the Council at Trent Ibid. Images consecrated and how 239 Arguments for worshipping them answered Ibid. Arguments against the use or worship of Images 240 The worship of Relicks 241 A due regard to the Bodies of Martyrs Ibid. The progress of Superstition Ibid. No warrant for this in Scripture 242 Hezekiah broke the Brazen Serpent Ibid. The memorable passage concerning the Body of St. Polycarp 243 Fables and Forgeries prevailed Ibid. The Souls of the Martyrs believed to hover about their Tombâ— 244 Nothing of this kind objected to the first Christians Ibid. Disputes between Vigilantius and St. Jerom 245 No Invocation of Saints in the Old Testament 246 The Invocating Angels condemned in the New Tâ—stament 247 No Saints invocated Christ only Ibid. No mention of this in the three first Ages 248 In the Fourth Martyrs invocated Ibid. The progrâ—ss that this made 249 Scandalous Offices in the Church of Rome Ib. Arguments against this Invocation 2â—0 An Apology for those who begun it Ibid. The Scandal given by it 251 Arguments for it ansâ—ered 252 Whethâ—r the Saints see all things in God Ib. This no part of the Communion of Saints 253 Prayers ought to be directed only to God Ib. Revealed Religion designed to deliver the World from Idolatry 254 ARTICLE XXIII 255 A Succâ—ssiâ—n of Pastors ought to be in the Church Ibid. 〈◊〉 was settlâ—d by the Apostles 256 And must continue to the end of the World Ibid. It was settlâ—d in the first Age of the Church 257 The danger of mâ—ns taking to themselves this Authority without a due Vocation Ibid. The difference between means of Salvation and precâ—pts for orders sake 258 What is lawful Authority Ibid. What may be done upon extraordinary occasions 259 Necessity is above Rules of Order Ibid. The High Priests in â—ur Saviour's time 260 Baptism by Women 261 ARTICLE XXIV 262 THE chief end of worshipping God Ib. The Practice of the Jews 263 Rules given by the Apostles Ibid. The Prâ—ctice â—f the Church 264 Arguments for Worship in an unknown Tongue answered Ibid. ARTICLE XXV 266 DIfference between Sacraments and Rites Ibid. Sacraments do not imprint a Character 267 But are not mere Ceremâ—nies 268 What is necessary to constitute a Sacrament 269 That applied to Baptism Ib. And to the Eucharist 270 No meâ—tion of seven Sacraments before Peter Lombard Ibid. Confirmation no Sacrament Ibid. How practised among us Ibid. The use of Chrism in it is new 271 Oyl early used in Christian Rituals Ibid. Bishops only consecrated the Chrism 272 In the Greek Church Presbyters appliâ—d it Ibid. This used in the Western Church but condemned by the Popes Ibid. Disputes concerning Confirmation 273 Concerning Penance Ibid. The true Notion of Repentance Ibid. Confâ—ssion not the matter of a Sacrament 274 The use of Confession Ibid. The Priâ—st's Pardon Ministerial 275 And restrained within bounds Ibid. Auricular Confâ—ssion not necessary 276 Not commanded in the New Testament Ibid. The beginnings of it in the Church 277 Many Canons about Penance Ibid. Confession forbid at Constantinople 278 The ancient Dâ—scipline slâ—ckâ—n'd Ibid. Confâ—ssion may be advised but not commanded 279 The good and bad effâ—cts it may have Ibid. Of Contrition and Attrition 280 The ill effects of the Doctrine of Attrition Ibid. Of doing the Penance or Satisfaction 281 Concerning sorrow for sin Ibid. Of the ill effects of hasty Absolutions 282 Of Fasting and Prayer Ibid. Of the Form I absolve thee 283 Of Hâ—ly Orders 284 Of the ancient Form of Ordinations Ibid. Of delivering the Vessels 285 Orders no Sacrament Ibid. Whether Bishops and Priests are of the same Order 286 Of Marriage Ibid. It can be no Sacrament 287 Intention not necessary Ibid. How Marriage is called a Mystery or Sacrament 288 Marriage dissolved by Adultery Ibid. The Practice of the Church in this matter 289 Of Extreme Vnction Ibid. St. James's words explained 290 Oyl much used in ancient Rituals 291 Pope Innocent's Epistle considered Ibid. Anointing used in order to Recovery 292 Afterwards as the Sacrament of the dying 293 The Sacraments are to be used Ibid. And to be received worthily 294 ARTICLE XXVI 295 SAcraments are not effectual as Prayers are Ibid. Of the Doctrine of Intention 296 The ill consâ—quences of it 297 Of a just Severity in Discipline Ibâ—d Particularly towards the Clergy 298 ARTICLE XXVII 299 COncerning St. John's Baptism Ibid. The Jews used Baptism Ibid. The Christian Baptism 300 The difference between it and St. John's Ib. The necessity of Baptism 301 It is a Precept but not a Mean of Salvation Ibid. Baptism unites us to the Church 302 It also saves us Ibid. St. Peter's words explained 303 St Austin's Doctrine of Baptism Ibid. Baptism is a Foederal Stipulation 304 In what sense it was of more value to preach than to baptize Ibid. Of Infant-Baptism 305 It is grounded on the Law of Nature Ibid. And the Law of Moses and warranted in the New Testament Ibid. In what sense Children can be holy 306 It is also very expedient Ibid. ARTICLE XXVIII 308 THE change made in this Article in Queen Elizabeth's time Ibid. The Explanation of our Doctrine 309 Of the Rituals in the Passover Ibid. Of the words This is my Body 310 And This Cup is the New Testament in my Blood Ibid. Of the horror the Jews had at Blood 311 In what sense only the Disciples could understand our