at least to make it more passable in the World and therefore would have introduced into it some Rites of the Jews some Austerities of the Gentiles some ways of Worship which would recommend them to their Adversaries and upon this occasion he writes this Epistle to them to convince them that Christianity alone was far beyond any Mixtures of the Fancies or Traditions of Men and therefore he could give them no better Advice than as they had first received the Doctrine of Christ to continue in it or in the words of the Text As they had received Christ Jesus the Lord so to walk in him The design of what I have said is that although the Gospels and Epistles were written upon particular occasions yet those occasions were so great and considerable and the Assistance of the Holy Ghost did so direct the Hands and Pens of the Evangelists and Apostles in writing them that what they have therein delivered contains a compleat Rule of the true and genuine Faith as it was at first delivered to the Church But against this it is objected that St. Paul himself charged the Thessalonians to stand fast and hold the Traditions which they have been taught either by Word or by his Epistles From whence it appears that there were other Traditions to be held that were not written The force of all this will be taken away if we consider when that Epistle was written viz. one of the first which St. Paul wrote and soon after the former Epistle to the Thessalonians which was some time before St. Luke's Gospel which was first received in the Churches of Greece planted by St. Paul Therefore all the proper Doctrine of Christ himself and all that relates to his Life and Actions were then but Traditions among them and therefore St. Paul had great Reason then to require them to stand fast to the Traditions they had been taught i. e. to the Doctrine of Christ they had received in that manner But it is urged that he mentions before something he had said about Antichrist's coming when he was with them v. 5. If this be allow'd it will be more against than for Tradition For what is become of that Tradition If it be lost then it follows that Tradition is no infallible Way of conveyance and therefore we have more Reason to adhere to a written Word 2. Which leads us to the second Reason from which I designed to prove that there ought to be a written Rule for discerning true primitive Christianity and that is from the notorious unâ—ertainty of meer Tradition I say notorious because there never was any Trial made of it but it failed even when it had the greatest Advantages I might insist upon the Tradition of the first Ages of the World when Men's lives were so long and the Principles of the Natural Religion so few and yet both before and after the Flood Mankind was strangely degenerated from them I might insist on many Instances in the first Ages of the Christian Church so many that scarce one can be produced wherein they pleaded meer Tradition but they were mistaken in it As about the Millennium the Age of Christ the time of Easter on one side or other the communicating Infants For St. Augustin quotes Apostolical Tradition for it But I shall wave all these and only mention a very necessary and important thing which was a long time trusted to Tradition and yet they differ'd so much about it as evidently proved that meer Tradition was no infallible Means of conveyance And that is about the Apostle's Creed which was to be repeated by all that were to be baptized We have many plain Testimonies to prove that this was not to be written but to be conveyed from one to another by an Oral Tradition St. Hierom St. Augustin Ruffinus all affirm it And the Creed was commonly then called the Rule of Faith which shewed that they looked on all the Articles therein contained as the Standard of necessary Points And yet there is a plain and considerable difference in the Ancient Creeds some Articles being in some which were not in others Although we have Reason to believe the necessary Points were at first the same in all Or else the several Churches must have different Rules of Faith The Church of Jerusalem was called the Mother of all Churches by the General Council of Constantinople and in the Creed there delivered to the Catechumens St. Cyril mentions the Eternal Generation of the Son before all Worlds and so doth Eusebius at Coesarea in the Creed which he saith he learnt at his Baptism which was long before the Nicene Creed Cassian makes it a part of that Creed which the Apostles delivered to the Church and was particularly received in the Church of Antioch But no such thing was delivered in the Western Creeds as far as now appears by what St. Augustin Russinus and others say in their Expositions of it St. Jerom writing against the Bishop of Jerusalem urges him with the Creed no doubt that which was received in his own Church and he saith it consisteth of three main Points the Confession of the Trinity the Unity of the Church and the Resurrection of the Flesh. And the Creed of the Church of Aquileia went no farther saith Ruffinus nor some old Copies of the Roman Creed But Marcellus of Ancyra had Eternal Life in his Creed and so had Cyril of Jerusalem so had the African Church in St. Augustin's time so had the Church of Ravenna but not the Church of Turin nor the Gallican Churches if Maximus Taurinensis and Venantius Fortunatus explained all the Articles of their Creeds Ruffinus confesses the Article of Descent into Hell was not in the Roman nor in any of the Eastern Creeds The Creeds of Jerusalem and Aquileia had not the Communion of Saints nor those of Marcellus and Epiphanius The Title of Catholick was not added to the Church in the Creed in St. Augustin's time for the makes it a Periphrasis utique Catholicam from whence probably it came to be added afterwards Ruffinus takes no notice of it and it was not extant in the old Copies of the Roman Creed nor in that of Marcellus Ancyranus These things I mention not in the least to shake the Faith of the Articles of the Apostle's Creed which St. Augustin saith was gathered out of Scriptures and is agreeable to them but to shew what an uncertain way of conveyance meer Oral Tradition is when a thing so easily remembred so constantly used of so much weight and consequence fell into such varieties in the greatest Churches while they were so scrupulous about the writing of it What cause have we then to be thankfull to God that hath taken so much care of his Church as to provide us an infallible written Rule in the Holy Scriptures whereby we certainly know what the true Primitive Christianity was which was
first heard him were amazed after this he took a course by himself and did not go up to Jerusalem to the College of Apostles there resident but went into Arabia so that if any one might be thought to set up another Doctrine it was he but he was so far from it that he established and confirmed the Truth of what they delivered and was very successfull in his Apostleship in all Places And when there had been some Whispers concerning him as though he proceeded not in the same way with the rest he went up to Jerusalem and there upon full examination James and Cephas and John who were the leading Apostles gave him the Right-hand of Fellowship in token of their full consent in the same Faith 2. The truth of the Gospel was the more plainly discovered All this while the Apostles only preached and delivered their Doctrine to the several Churches by verbal Instructions but after these had been received in the hearts of such Multitudes that there could be no suspicion that a false Representation of Christ's Doctrine or Actions could be received by those Churches then the wise Providence of God took care for Posterity and imploy'd several Persons in distant Places and Times to write the History of our Saviour And there was this advantage to the Church that the Gospels were written no sooner For all the Churches planted by the Apostles were then made Judges whether the Gospels written were agreeable to the Doctrine which the Apostles had taught and if not there would have been just reason to have question'd either the Truth of what had been taught them or what was delivered in the Gospels But when they found the main to be fully consonant to what they had been taught the Testimony of every one of these Churches did shew the concurrence of all the Apostles as to the Doctrine contained in the several Gospels And that which adds to the strength of this Proof is that when the true Gospels were written there were several false and counterfeit Gospels dispersed abroad under the Names of the Apostles themselves As of St. Peter St. Thomas St. Matthias and others as Eusebius informs us and as we have the genuine Acts of the Apostles so there were the pretended Acts of Paul of Andrew and John and the other Apostles How came these to be rejected and the other to be carefully received Here lies the true Advantage of Original Tradition before the written Gospels that by it the several Churches were enabled to pass a true Judgment concerning them when they came to be dispersed among them For they could presently tell whether what they read wer agreeable to what they had heard and received from the Apostles As suppose the Gospel of St. Matthew being published in Judoea were carried into Mesopotamia or Persia where many Christian Churches were very early planted these being throughly instructed by the Apostles in all things relating to the Life Death Resurrection and Doctrine of Christ could presently judge whether St. Matthew's Gospel agreed with what they had heard or not and the like holds as to all the Churches in the Roman Empire So that the consent of the Churches so soon while the Memory of the Apostles Doctrine was so fresh in their minds is in effect the consent of all the Apostles who taught them And this is very different from the case of particular Persons in some Churches who might mistake or forget what was taught for this is a concurrent Testimony of all the Apostolical Churches who could not agree to approve an Errour in the Gospels contrary to the Faith delivered to them And that while some of the Apostles were still living For the other Gospels were received and approved before St. John wrote his The case had been far otherwise if no Gospels had been written in that Age for then it might have been suspected that either the Impressions of the first Teachers were worn out or they had been by degrees alter'd from their first Apprehensions by the cunning craftiness of those who lay in wait to deceive them After the decease of the Apostles the common Tradition of the Apostolical Churches was usefull in these cases 1. To convey down the Authentick Writings of the Apostles or Evangelists which were delivered to any of them 2. To bear Testimony against any pretended Writings which were not first received by the Apostolical Churches to which they were said to be written For there can be no Negative Testimony of more force than that it being improbable to the utmost degree that such a Church should not know or not make known any true Apostolical Writings 3. To overthrow any pretence to a secret Tradition from the Apostles different from what was seen in the Apostolical Writings And to this purpose Irenoeus and Tertullian make very good use of the Tradition of the Apostolical Churches against the pretenders to such a Tradition which those Churches were not acquainted with But they agree that the Apostles committed the same Doctrine to writing which they preached and that it might be a Foundation and Pillar of Faith that this Doctrine was contained in the four Gospels and that the Apostolical Churches did receive them from those who first wrote them and that within the compass of the Apostolical Age. It was therefore most agreeable to the infinite Wisdom of God in providing for a constant Establishment of the Faith of his Church in all Ages neither to permit the Gospels to be written till the Churches were planted nor to be put off to another Generation For then it would have been plausibly objected if these things are true why were they not recorded when there were Persons living who were best able to have either proved or confuted them Then we might have been satisfied one way or other but now the Jews are dead and the Apostles are dead and although there are many left who believe their Doctrine yet this can never reach to the Testimony of those who saw and heard the things themselves or whose Doctrine was attested by those who did so And this is now the mighty Advantage of the Church ever since that the things concerning Christ were written by such Persons With what another kind of Authority do those words command our Assent That which was from the beginning which we have heard which we have seen with our eyes which we have looked upon and our hands have handled of the Word of Life For the life was manifested and we have seen it and bear witness and shew unto you that Eternal Life which was with the Father and was manifest unto us that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you then if all the Testimony concerning Christ were to be resolved into those who heard some say that others told them they had it from such who saw those who conversed with them who saw Christ in the Flesh At such a distance the Authority of a Testimony is extremely lessen'd
delivered by Christ and his Apostles But here is a great difficulty to be removed as to the written Word How can we be certain we have it if not by Tradition and if Tradition be so uncertain how can we be made certain by it that we have that written Word which the Apostles delivered For might not that fail in this as well as the Creed And then what security can we have for our Faith In Answer to this I shall shew 1. What Advantage things that are written have as to the certainty of conveyance above things meerly committed to Memory and Tradition 2. What Advantage the Scriptures have above any other things committed to Writing as to the certainty of their conveyance 1. As to the Advantage things written have above those committed to Memory and Tradition only Which will appear by these things 1. It was the way God himself made choice of where the Reason for Tradition was stronger I mean as to the Ten Commandments which were short and plain and easie to be remembred and very agreeable to the Sense and General Interest of Mankind yet the Wise God who perfectly understood the Nature of Man would not leave the Ten Commandments to an Oral Tradition but God delivered to Moses Two Tables of Stone written with the Finger of God and on them he wrote the Ten Commandments What a vain and superfluous thing were this if Oral and Practical Tradition were infallible But God 's own pitching upon this way after so long a Trial of Mankind in the other is a Demonstration of the greater certainty of it if we suppose that God aimed at the benefit of Mankind by it 2. When Religion was corrupted among the Jews the only way of restoring it was by a written Book of the Law As we find in the case of Josiah's Reformation which was made by the Book of the Law which was found in the House of the Lord. This was the Rule by which Hilkiah the High-Priest thought it necessary for Josiah to go by and not by any Tradition left among them concerning the Law which God had given by Moses 3. This was that which our Saviour appealed to in all his Disputes search the Scriptures saith he to the Jews not run to your Traditions for those were then very corrupt especially about the Messias as that he was to be a Temporal Prince c. which was then a dangerous and fundamental Mistake and therefore Christ apâ—eals from them to the Scriptures And they are they which testifie of me Had ye believed Moses ye would have believed me for he wrote of me but if ye believe not his Writings how shall ye believe my Words And our Saviour severely checks the Pharisees for regarding their own Traditions more than the written Law And yet they pretended to an Oral Tradition down from Moses as the Jews do to this day and none are more grosly deceived than they 4. The general Sense and Experience of Mankind agrees herein that all matters of consequence are more certainly preserved by Writings than by meer Words There is no Invention hath been more valued by the wiser Part of Mankind than that of Letters because it is of such excellent use for conveying the sense of our Minds at a distance to others All men have so great a Mistrust either of the capacity or memory or fidelity of others that what they would have done with security they commit to Writing And whatever we truly understand of the Ages before us we are beholden to Writing for it all those memorable Actions and Institutions either of Philosophy or Religion which were not written are long since buried in Oblivion without possibility of a Resurrection But where they have been committed to Writing they are preserved after so many Ages and by it we certainly know the History of the Patriarchs and the strange Revolutions that happened from the beginning of the World By it we converse with the wisest Persons of former times and are able to justifie the Scriptures by the concurrent Testimonies of other Writers By it we are enabled to interpret Prophecies and to make plain their Accomplishments which without it we could never make out Yea by it the Wisdom of those is preserved for the benefit of Mankind who thought fit to write nothing themselves as Socrates and Pythagoras but their Disciples took care in time to write their Doctrines So that we have the general Consent of the wisest Part of Mankind that Writing is a far more certain way of conveyance than meer Tradition 2. And especially in our case where there are so many particular Advantages as to the Holy Scriptures above any other Writings 1. From the special Providence of God with respect to them for since it is agreed by all Christians that these were written by Divine Inspiration it is most reasonable to believe that a more than ordinary care would be taken to preserve them And therefore to suppose any Books of Scripture to be lost which contained any necessary Points of Faith is a great Reflexion on Divine Providence For if God watches over his Church he cannot be supposed to let such Books be lost which were designed for the universal and lasting Benefit of his Church 2. From the mighty Esteem which the Church of God had always for them for they built their Hopes of Heaven upon the Promises contained in them The Book of Scripture was their Evidence for their future Inheritance the Foundation of their Hope and Rule of their Faith their Defence against Assaults and Temptations their Counseller in cases of Difficulty their Support under Troubles and their surest Guide to a happy Eternity and therefore the Primitive Christians chose rather to endure any Torments than basely to betray it and give it up to their Enemies 3. From the early disputes that were about them Which shews that they were no Invention of After-times nor were brought into the World by Stealth and Art for they endured the greatest shock of opposition at first while the Matters of Fact concerning them were the most easily proved And having passed the severe Scrutiny of the first Ages when so many counterfeit Writings were sent abroad the following Ages could have no Reason to call their Authority in question 4. From the general Consent of divided Churches about them It might have pleased God to have kept his Church from those unhappy Breaches which have been in all Parts of the Christian World but the East and the West the North and the South can all bear Testimony to the sad Divisions of Christendom and those of many Ages standing But yet we have this considerable Advantage by them that we can have no Reason to mistrust a conspiracy where the several Bodies are so much divided 5. From the great internal Satisfaction which the Minds of good Men have concerning them and which no other Writing can pretend to give For here we read of the Promise of Divine
and when a Client sought to humour him in every thing he was at last angry with him because he did not provoke him There are some Tempers so easily provoked and yet so hard to be reconciled as if their Original Sin did not lie in Concupiscence but in Ill-nature And yet even that is a kind of Concupiscence for the Stoicks defined Anger by Libido and said it was a Lust of Revenge and so far seem'd more unreasonable than that of Intemperance because this aims only at Pleasure in things which are apt to produce it however mean and unreasonable but the other is an extravagant and unnatural Pleasure which arises from anothers Pain and dissers from the other as the Pleasures of evil Spirits do from those of Brutes But if we happen to converse among such who take Pleasure in doing us Injuries upon every slight Occasion by some personal Affronts or litigious Suits or unjust Exactions in ordinary Cases what are we to do May we not right our selves by retaliating the Injury upon them Since the Law of Moses did allow of Retaliation in case of real Injuries an Eye for an Eye a Tooth for a Tooth and so by an equitable Construction of the Law it may extend to personal Affronts Thus the Jews indeed understood it but if our Saviour had allow'd their Interpretation he would never have said But I say unto you that ye resist not evil There was a Spirit of Revenge in them so as they would pass by no kind of Injuries although they were such which the Law had made no provision for and this our Saviour condemns But here comes a hard Case to be resolv'd not so in it self but the Custom of the World hath made it so for when a mistaken Notion of Honour and Conscience come in Competition it is not an easie thing to forgo Honour for Conscience sake The Case is concerning Contumelious Words and Personal Affronts which are given to Men of Honour Is it unlawfull for them to right themselves according to the receivâ—d Customs among them when the Law takes no notice of such Injuries and so seems to leave it to them This is the Case and I have put it as fair as the thing will bear I might say in general that our Saviour makes no distinction of Mens Honour and Quality in his Commands and that for all that I can see such must be saved on the same Terms with others That Honour is but an imaginary thing when it slands in Competition with the Rule of Conscience and that no Custom is to be observed against Reason and Religion But here lies the insuperable Difficulty how the exposing one anothers Lives for the sake of Reproachfull Words or Personal Affronts can be reconciled to this Command of Christ For my part I cannot see how it is possible to do it since in this Case there is a studied and premeditated Design of Revenge in the Case of such Injuries which are here mention'd and that of the highest Nature and beyond any Proportion between the Offence and the Punishment which all men out of Passion think in common Justice ought to be consider'd I know some Casuists in the Church of Rome allow it to be lawfull to take away the Lives of any who give them Contumeâ—ious Words but these have been condemned as very loose Casuists and they have found out a subtle way of directing the Intention whereby to keep from breaking the Laws of Christ but this is too subtle to be reconciled with the Plainness of his Laws and they all deny it to be lawfull by way of Revenge Others say much better that although Nature may seem to give an injured Person a Right to vindicate himself by the best means he can yet that Right is so restrained and limited by Christ's Commands in this case that it is by no means lawful for Christians to use it and to pretend to do it for a Reparation of Honour à ratione pietate valdè alienam videtur is repugnant both to Reason and Religion saith one who very well understood the Rules of both But all the pretended Right of Nature is taken away by Laws and where those declare it to be Wilfull Murder to take away the Life of another on such Accounts as these there is no colour left for natural Right which supposes no determination by Laws I consess it requires a more than ordinary Degree of Christian Fortitude as well as Patience to be able to despise such a prevailing Custom But if Men hope to be saved by Christ they must observe his Commands and if they ence declare that they are resolved to do so in this particular if they do the same in all others it will be then thought to be Conscience and not Cowardice for them to decline a Challenge and that upon good Grounds they decline such a Custom which no good man could ever approve nor any wise man defend 3. Love of Enemies This seems to be harder yet Is it not enough to bear them but must we love them too Yes Christ hath strictly required it But I say unto you Love your Enemies and again in this very Chapter But love your Enemies If he had bid Men love their Friends and take heed of their Enemies there are some Ages of the World wherein this had been no impertinent Advice But how can those be supposed to love their Enemies who hardly love any thing but themselves Self-Opinion Self-Will Self-Interest prevail over the far-greatest part of Mankind I wish I could not say even among those who call Christ Lord Lord. But Self-Love as natural as it is must be artificially disguised for if it appears too openly it meets with so much Self-Love in others that it will not be easily born Therefore the most crafty Lovers of themselves if they design to have the Love of others must conceal their inward Passion For he that appears to set up himself is certain to make the rest of Mankind his Enemies for even those who would do the same will be the most displeased with those who do it Therefore the most certain way to Honour and universal Esteem is to mind the Good of others more than our own to be Just and Charitable and Kind to all and to oblige as many as we can without Partiality or Prejudice And this I say is that Love of Enemies which our Saviour requires which doth not suppose the same kind of Affection to them which we have to our Friends for that is grounded an mutual Love and Good-will to each other which if we suppose in Enemies we suppose a Contradiction for that is to suppose them not to be Enemies but Friends What then is it which our Saviour means It is certainly an Universal Charity or a Readiness of Mind to do good to all although they have personally provoked or injured us And so Christ himself explains it by doing good to our Enemies praying for them and