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<DATE>2013-11-19</DATE>
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<NAME>Anne Simpson</NAME>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>THE PRODIGAL Return'd HOME; OR THE MOTIVES OF THE CONVERSION TO THE Catholick Faith OF <HI>E. L.</HI> Ma&s;ter of ARTS In the Univer&s;ity of <HI>Cambridge.</HI></P>
<Q>Et tu conver&s;us, confirma fratres tuos,
<BIBL>Luc. 22. 32.</BIBL></Q>
<P>Printed <HI>Anno Domini</HI> 1684.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="preface">
<PB REF="2" MS="y">
<PB REF="2">
<HEAD>THE PREFACE TO THE Prote&s;tant Reader.</HEAD>
<P>WHen&s;oever it plea&s;es the Almighty Goodne&s;s to enlighten with the glorious beams of Divine Truth tho&s;e who &s;it in darkne&s;s and the &s;hadow of death in &s;o powerful a manner, as that for&s;aking the perplexed labyrinth of Errors, they betake them&s;elves for repo&s;e and &s;afety into the bo|&s;ome of the <HI>Catholick Church;</HI> 'tis Satan's policy by his Agents to make the World believe that the motives of their Conver&s;ion were but weak and carnal, lea&s;t others &s;hould follow their example.</P>
<PB REF="3">
<P>Herein I have been as deeply cen&s;ur'd as others, to whom God has vouch&s;afed the like extraor|dinary mercy: Yet truly, what|ever calumnies have hereupon been ca&s;t upon me by &s;ome who have im|bitter'd Spirits, and Hearts &s;woln with rancour again&s;t the <HI>Catho|lick Church,</HI> as much as con|cerns my &s;elf, I &s;hould for many rea&s;ons bave contentedly &s;at down in &s;ilence, rejoycing in the te&s;ti|mony of a good Con&s;cience, if the good of tho&s;e, upon whom my con|ver&s;ion may have mo&s;t influence, had not in charity oblig'd me to refu&s;e no pains that might afford them help or &s;atisfaction in a bu|&s;ine&s;s of the highe&s;t nature and concernment.</P>
<P>This was the pre&s;&s;ing con&s;ide|ration, which at la&s;t prevailed
<PB REF="3"> with me to give the&s;e Motives of my Conver&s;ion a publick beeing, and common air to breath in; that their own eyes might be Judges, what ju&s;t cau&s;e I had to change my Religion, and how much rea|&s;on there is for them to follow me.</P>
<P>Of which I conceive great hopes, when to me it &s;eems impo&s;|&s;ible for any prudential man, who &s;eriou&s;ly enters into the con&s;idera|tion of the grounds of Chri&s;tian belief, with a Soul wholly dive&s;ted of all prejudices and &s;elf-intere&s;ts what&s;oever, earne&s;tly imploring the Divine a&s;&s;i&s;tance and direction; I &s;ay, it &s;eems to me impo&s;&s;ible for any prudential man in the&s;e cir|cum&s;tances, not at la&s;t to di&s;cover the truth of the <HI>Catholick</HI> Reli|gion, and acknowledge the Church of <HI>Rome</HI> to be the only high-road
<PB REF="4"> to Heaven and Happine&s;s, he will hear a Divine voice whi|&s;pering<NOTE PLACE="marg">Jerim. 16. 16.</NOTE> to him, <HI>This is the old path, walk in it, and thou &s;halt find re&s;t unto thy Soul.</HI></P>
<P>Thus by Gods ble&s;&s;ing I &s;ought, and this re&s;t at last I found; and never found it, 'till after much pains and &s;tudy, after many Pray|ers and Tears, after many Fast|ings and Watchings, after many to&s;&s;ings and turnings, after many &s;ad delays and expo&s;tulations, after many conflicts and agonies in Spi|rit, my re&s;olutions by the power|ful workings of Grace on my Soul breaking through all difficulties, did effectually bring me into the arms of the <HI>Roman Church.</HI></P>
<P>In which I &s;aw no rea&s;on to &s;u|&s;pect any delu&s;ion, when my mo&s;t &s;erious reflections pa&s;s d judgment
<PB REF="4"> on it; &s;eeing this happy change was not wrought in me by any hu|mane per&s;ua&s;ion, but the God of Truth, did by his immediate in|&s;pirations begin this work of mer|cy on my Soul, when, having no thoughts at all of becoming a <HI>Roman Catholick,</HI> and finding much bitterne&s;s in the ways of &s;in and worldly vanities, I was ear|ne&s;tly &s;eeking of God, what cour&s;e I might be&s;t take how to plea&s;e him, and &s;ave my precious and immortal Soul.</P>
<P>But to prevent all fear of En|thu&s;ia&s;m, pretended illuminations and fal&s;e lights, (wherewith many poor Souls in our Nation are &s;o mi&s;erably mi&s;led) God who is as well e&s;&s;ential Rea&s;on as Goodne&s;s, did not only move my Will, but al|&s;o rationally convince my Under|&s;tanding,
<PB REF="5"> that all Communions pro|fe&s;&s;ing Christ be&s;ide the <HI>Roman,</HI> were more or le&s;s erroneous, and &s;he only the true <HI>Catholick Church,</HI> according to the con&s;tant notion of Antiquity, out of which ordinarily Salvation was not to be expected. And therefore I mu&s;t flie to her, as to the &s;aving Ark, that I might not peri&s;h in the de|luge of my &s;ins.</P>
<P>So then this change in me was not a pa&s;&s;ionate di&s;tortion of an intere&s;&s;ed will, pu&s;hing forward the blind under&s;tanding to fix &s;ud|denly, and adhere pertinaciou&s;ly to more then the light of rea&s;on did clear up to the eye of the Soul, but undoubtedly <HI>mutatio dexterae Excel&s;i,</HI> the work of God wrought in my heart by convincing arguments, as the following Mo|tives
<PB REF="5"> do &s;ufficiently evidence.</P>
<P>Nor could it be to &s;atisfy the inclinations of &s;en&s;ual nature, when I was to for&s;ake my Rela|tions, my Friends, my Temporal Revenues and Preferments, and all worldly contentments; to take up my Cro&s;s and follow Je&s;us by contempt of the world, in the per|petual practice of &s;elf-denyal and mortification. And happy is he, who had rather have a Cro&s;s with Chri&s;t, than a Crown without him.</P>
<P>Thus the Father of Mercies was graciou&s;ly pleas'd by an efficacious call to bring his Prodigal Son Home; For his Church is his Hou&s;e, where he dwells among his Saints on earth with his &s;peci|al pre&s;ence, to govern and pro|vide for them all things condu|cing to their happine&s;s. From
<PB REF="6"> which hou&s;hold of Faith I was an Alien, while I was a Member of the <HI>Prote&s;tant Church,</HI> which &s;tands dis joynted from <HI>Catholick</HI> Unity by a <HI>Schi&s;m</HI> too notorious to be justified. And until we (like true Penitents) return unto our Mo|ther Church which made us Chri|&s;tians, we like Prodigals feeding on ratling Husks of formal De|votion, without any &s;ub&s;tantial nouri&s;hment to our Souls, mi&s;e|rably mi&s;pend our precious time, on which inevitably depends E|ternity,</P>
<P>And this &s;hall &s;uffice by way of Preface for an Introduction. The door is open, enter, and view well the Motives, and the eternal Sun of righteou&s;ne&s;s, who is the true Light of the World, open thine eyes to &s;ee, and guide thy feet into the way of Peace.</P>
<PB REF="6">
<P>Yet before the Lecture, I thought good to advi&s;e who&s;oever &s;hall per|u&s;e the&s;e Papers, that bere is not to be expected that variety of Ar|guments which may be found in more Judicious Controverti&s;ts; but a true Narrative of what principal Motives prevail'd with me to for&s;ake <HI>Prote&s;tani&s;m,</HI> and yield my &s;elf into the Arms of our Mother Church. And yet me|thinks they are &s;ufficient to con|vince the able&s;t Heads, if they have but hearts re&s;olved to yield to Truth.</P>
<P>I mu&s;t likewi&s;e tell thee good Reader, that the&s;e Motives had long &s;ince &s;een the light, if &s;ome accidental occa&s;ions had not retar|ded their birth into the World. However, though they lo&s;t their choice&s;t &s;ea&s;on of publication, which
<PB REF="7"> is, when &s;uch Conver&s;ions are mo&s;t fre&s;h in memory, yet 'twas thought fit by per&s;ons as well ju|dicious as zealous, that they &s;hould by no means live any longer in ob&s;curity, but be &s;et upon a Candle&s;tick in the Hou&s;e of God, to give light to others; and I did acquie&s;ae in their judgment, and was content to have them pub|li&s;h'd for the common good. Read them Impartially, con&s;ider them Seriou&s;ly, and practice Faithfully what God &s;hall in&s;pire into thy Soul. And remember in thy De|votions,</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Thine in Je&s;us Chri&s;t, E. L.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="table of contents">
<PB REF="7">
<DIV2 TYPE="list">
<HEAD>The fir&s;t <HI>Motive,</HI> containing the grounds of the <HI>Catholick</HI> Faith.</HEAD>
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>Sect. 1.</HI> AN Introduction. <HI>pag. 1.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Sect. 2.</HI> A prepatory di&s;cour&s;e to <HI>Church-Tradition,</HI> and what it is. <HI>pag. 6.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Sect. 3.</HI> &V;niver&s;al <HI>Tradition</HI> demon|&s;trated Infallible. <HI>pag. 12.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Sect. 4.</HI> &V;niver&s;al <HI>Tradition</HI> the Churches Rule of Faith in all Ages. <HI>pag. 22.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Sect. 5. Tradition</HI> a&s;&s;erted again&s;t <HI>Pro|te&s;tants</HI> by Scripture; and the notable ad|vantages thereof above writing. <HI>pag. 32.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Sect. 6.</HI> An introductive di&s;cour&s;e con|cerning the judiciary power of the Church. <HI>pag. 49.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Sect. 7.</HI> That there is a &s;upream Vi&s;ible Judge to decide Controver&s;ies in matters of Religion in&s;tituted by Chri&s;t, Infallible in all points of Faith, with an obliging power to belief and obedience under pain of dam|nation, made apparent from Scripture. Some Rea&s;ons thereof. <HI>pag. 51.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Sect. 8.</HI> The Churches Authority or In|fallibility taught, and a&s;&s;erted by the Anci|ent Fathers. <HI>pag. 63.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Sect. 9.</HI> The &s;aid Authority of the Church
<PB REF="8"> clear'd and demon&s;trated by the con&s;tant practice of all Ages. <HI>pag. 63.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Sect. 10.</HI> A further declaration of the Churches Authority or Infallibility in Ge|neral Councils from Antiquity. <HI>pag. 84.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="list">
<HEAD>The &s;econd <HI>Motive</HI> &s;hewing the <HI>Pro|te&s;tant</HI> Faith without foundation.</HEAD>
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>Sect. 1.</HI> An Introduction to the follow|ing Di&s;cour&s;e. <HI>pag. 97.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Sect. 2. Hereticks</HI> from the beginning were accu&s;tomed to appeal to Scripture as the &s;ole Rule of Faith whereby they would be judged, the <HI>Catholick</HI> Church always believing and practi&s;ing the contrary. <HI>pag. 101.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Sect. 3.</HI> A declaration of the <HI>Engli&s;h Prote&s;tants</HI> Doctrine; how, and why they make Scripture the only Rule and Judge of Faith.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Sect. 4.</HI> That the Holy Scriptures are not the &s;ole and perfect Rule of Faith. <HI>pag. 125.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Sect. 5.</HI> That Divine Scripture is not, nor can be a Judge to determine Contro|ver&s;ies in Religion. <HI>pag. 132.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Sect. 6.</HI> That private Rea&s;on in Contro|ver&s;ies of Faith, is not the Interpreter and
<PB REF="8"> Judge of the true &s;en&s;e of Scripture, to rely upon for our Salvation. <HI>pag. 148.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Sect. 7.</HI> An an&s;wer to &s;ome of the prin|cipal places of the Scripture upon which <HI>Pro|te&s;tants</HI> rely for their Rule and Judge of Faith. <HI>pag. 188.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="list">
<HEAD>The third <HI>Motive</HI> &s;hewing the <HI>He|retical Schi&s;m</HI> of the <HI>Engli&s;h Pro|te&s;tant Church.</HI></HEAD>
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>Sect. 1.</HI> The nature of <HI>Schi&s;m</HI> and <HI>He|re&s;ie</HI> declared from Scripture, and the An|cient Fathers. <HI>pag. 188.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>2. The <HI>Prote&s;tant</HI> Church of <HI>England</HI> is notoriou&s;ly guilty of <HI>Schi&s;m</HI> and <HI>Here&s;ie</HI> by their &s;eparation from the <HI>Roman. pag. 203.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Sect. 3.</HI> Wherein the <HI>Prote&s;tants</HI> plea, that they did not &s;eparate from the Church, but were forcibly ca&s;t out from her Commu|nion, and therefore the <HI>Schi&s;m</HI> not impu|table to them, <HI>&amp;c. pag. 212.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Sect. 4.</HI> Wherein is &s;how'd the emptine&s;s of the Plea, that they did not &s;eparate from the &V;niver&s;al, but the particular Church of <HI>Rome. pag. 217.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Sect. 5.</HI> The Vindication of the word <HI>Ca|tholick</HI>
<PB REF="9"> to its notion as us'd by the Church. <HI>pag. 224.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Sect. 6.</HI> Wherein the <HI>Prote&s;tants</HI> Plea of pretended errors to ju&s;tify their &s;eparati|on from the <HI>Roman</HI> Church, is confuted. <HI>pag. 252.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Sect. 7.</HI> Wherein the <HI>Prote&s;tants</HI> Plea, that the <HI>Popes</HI> &V;univer&s;al Pa&s;tor&s;hip is an u&s;urp'd Power, crept into the Church, and therefore without <HI>Schi&s;m</HI> might be for&s;aken, is refuted. <HI>pag. 273.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Sect. 8.</HI> Wherein the <HI>Popes</HI> univer&s;al Juri&s;diction in Gods Church, is further ma|nife&s;ted and made good from Councils, and the Ancient Fathers, grounded on Scripture. <HI>pag. 282.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="list">
<HEAD>The fourth <HI>Motive,</HI> &s;hewing <HI>Mira|cles</HI> wrought in the <HI>True Church.</HI></HEAD>
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>Sect. 1.</HI> A preliminary Di&s;cour&s;e. <HI>pag. 209.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Sect. 2.</HI> That Miracles were always vouch&s;afed to the true Church. <HI>pag. 316.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Sect. 3.</HI> Wherein the nature of true Mi|racles is declared. <HI>pag. 322.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Sect. 4.</HI> Some rea&s;ons of Gods proceed|ing in this manner. <HI>pag. 331.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Sect. 5.</HI> Some undoubted and mo&s;t fa|mous
<PB REF="9"> Miracles relating to the pre&s;ent Con|trover&s;ies between us and <HI>Prote&s;tants. pag. 340.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="list">
<HEAD>The fifth <HI>Motive,</HI> &s;hewing the emi|nent <HI>Sanctity</HI> taught and practis'd in the <HI>Roman</HI> Church.</HEAD>
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>Sect. 1.</HI> An Introduction. <HI>pag. 367.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Sect. 2.</HI> A further Declaration of the Sanctity taught and practis'd in the <HI>Ro|man</HI> Church. <HI>pag. 371.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>3. A further pro&s;ecution of this Motive from the new Doctrines and profane practice of <HI>Heretical</HI> Communions. <HI>pag. 379.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>The Conclu&s;ion. <HI>pag. 393.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="errata">
<PB REF="10">
<HEAD>ERRATA.</HEAD>
<P>PAge 38. l. 27. r. <HI>fallible,</HI> p. 44. l. 12. r. <HI>other,</HI> p. 63. l. 3. r. <HI>Catho|lick Church,</HI> p. 73. l. 3. r. <HI>Pari&s;h,</HI> p. 75. l. 10 dele <HI>in Councils</HI> p. 78. l. 26. r. <HI>lowd,</HI> p. 82. l. 15. r. <HI>meane&s;t,</HI> p. 86. l. 2. dele <HI>of,</HI> l. 3 dele <HI>that,</HI> p. 89 l. 10. r. <HI>nonnunquam,</HI> p. 90. l. 14. r. <HI>by general,</HI> p. 112. l. 13. dele <HI>or,</HI> p. 119. l. 20. r. <HI>a too notorious impo&s;ition,</HI> p. 122. l. 2. dele <HI>of,</HI> p. 127. l. 24. r. <HI>be.</HI> p. 148. l. 3. r. <HI>ab&s;urdne&s;s.</HI> p. 149. l. 21. dele <HI>the,</HI> p. 151. l. 1. r. <HI>authoritatively,</HI> p. 165. l. 22. dele <HI>the,</HI> p. 176. l. 14. r. <HI>deceiving,</HI> l. 15. r. <HI>ob&s;cure,</HI> p. 178. l. 20 r <HI>whom,</HI> p. 182. l. 6. r. <HI>puts him in mind,</HI> p. 188. l. 3 r. <HI>ver&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">,</HI> p. 192. l. 11. r. <HI>but,</HI> p. 216. l. 15. r. <HI>from Chri&s;t,</HI> p. 218. l. 3 dele <HI>a,</HI> p, 223. l. 10. r. <HI>their,</HI> p. 230. l. 4. r. <HI>rea&s;on thus &s;atisfy,</HI> p. 241. l. 23. r. <HI>danger,</HI> p. 267. l. 14. r. <HI>mazes,</HI> p. 277. l. 21. r. <HI>the lea&s;t,</HI> p. 294. l. 25. del<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"> <HI>it;</HI> p. 303. l. 18. r. <HI>by the divine,</HI> p. 329. l. 15, r. <HI>po&s;sible not only to,</HI> p. 333 l 22. r. <HI>if incredu|lous,</HI> p. 342. l. 21. r. <HI>on Bereng<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">riu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">,</HI> p. 352. l 3. r. <HI>&s;ay,</HI> p. 354. l. 23. r. <HI>appo&s;ite,</HI> p. 357. l. 13. r. <HI>purified,</HI> p. 303. l 15. r. <HI>Ca&s;e,</HI> p. 379. l. 3. r. <HI>declaime,</HI> p. 386. l. 1. r. <HI>of a <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="4 letters">&s;matick,</HI> p. 395. l. 1. r. <HI>pro&s;perity</HI> p. 398. l. 8. r. <HI>unwilling;</HI></P>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="motive">
<PB N="1" REF="10">
<HEAD>The Fir&s;t Motive.</HEAD>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<DIV3 N="1" TYPE="section">
<HEAD>SECT. I.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P>That the two chief externe Grounds or Motives of Credibility leading to the Truth of what Chri&s;t and his Apo&s;tles taught the World, are <HI>Univer&s;al Tradition,</HI> and <HI>Church Authority.</HI></P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>GOD who at &s;undry times, and in divers manners &s;poke unto the Fathers by his Prophets; la&s;t of all in the fulne&s;s of Time reveal'd his Will unto us by his Son: So that the Word was made Fle&s;h, not only as a Saviour to lay down his own Life for our Redemption, and Suffer for us, but al&s;o as a Law-giver to in&s;truct us what we mu&s;t believe, and do for his &s;ake and our own good, if we will be &s;av'd. Before this la&s;t and
<PB N="4" REF="11"> perfect revelation of all &s;upernatural means to attain to Life, deliver'd to the World by Chri&s;t; the <HI>Jews</HI> were the peculiar people of God, their Sy|nagogue the true Church, and their Ceremonial Rights the True Wor&s;hip, in&s;tituted by God him&s;elf, to continue in force during that Pedagogie. But the eternal Sun of Righteou&s;ne&s;s ap|pearing, tho&s;e Shadows were in him fulfill'd, and &s;o vani&s;h'd to give place unto the Go&s;pel, who&s;e glorious Beams were to Enlighten tho&s;e that &s;at in Darkne&s;s, and the &s;hadow of Death, to the uttermo&s;t Corners of the Earth.</P>
<P>Hereupon there being a change of the Law, it was nece&s;&s;ary there &s;hould be a Tran&s;lation of the Prie&s;thood al&s;o, (the time being now come foretold by <HI>Malachy, That from the ri&s;ing of the Sun to the going down thereof, Gods Name &s;hould be great among the</HI> Gentiles, <HI>and they &s;hould Sacrifice in every place, and</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap. 1. 11.</NOTE> <HI>a Pure Offering &s;hould be offer'd to his Name.</HI>) a new form of Wor&s;hip, pre|&s;crib'd a new form of Government erected, new Sacraments in&s;tituted, new Precepts deliver'd, Councels &s;u|per-added, agreeable to the Evangeli|cal Law; And in a word, a <HI>Catholick
<PB N="3" REF="11"> Church</HI> founded to continue for ever.</P>
<P>This Church of Chri&s;t, as it is one body, &s;o likewi&s;e it was of one heart and of one mind, while Apo&s;to|lical purity remain'd un&s;potted. The Profe&s;&s;ors were all united in the &s;ame Faith, Wor&s;hip and Government; holding clo&s;e to Church-Tradition, the Pillar and ground of Truth, with|out any rent or Schi&s;m; <HI>Till among</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 20. 29. 30.</NOTE> <HI>them&s;elves aro&s;e Wolves in Sheeps-cloa|thing, not &s;paring the Flock; teaching perver&s;e things to draw away Di&s;|ciples after them;</HI> That is, who &s;et up a Congregation of Chri&s;tians &s;epara|ted from the Communion of that Church which was founded by Chri&s;t and his Apo&s;tles. And &s;o by this means unity being de&s;troy'd, and Faith perverted, Here&s;ie &s;hut up the gate of Heaven, again&s;t fal&s;e Chri&s;tians, as In|fidelity did again&s;t Unbelievers.</P>
<P>A &s;ad ca&s;e this; yet not &s;o much to be wondred at, &s;eing the Apo&s;tle tells us, <HI>Opportet e&s;&s;e Haere&s;es, There mu&s;t</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 11. 19.</NOTE> <HI>be Here&s;ies for the Tryal of others, and greater glory of the Truth.</HI> And there|fore the true Church hath in all Ages been more or le&s;s vex'd with them.
<PB N="4" REF="12"> But never more then in the&s;e la&s;t and perillous days, which &s;ince <HI>Luther</HI>'s Apo&s;tacy from the Church of <HI>Rome</HI> have produc'd &s;uch an innumerable brood of New Go&s;pels and Sects; all pretending to believe and practice tho&s;e Doctrines and that Wor&s;hip, which were taught by Chri&s;t and his Apo&s;tles; and to be the only true Church of God, or at lea&s;t the pure&s;t Members of it.</P>
<P>Now it being acknowledg'd on all hands, that they only are the true Church, who believe and ob&s;erve all points taught by Chri&s;t and his Apo&s;tles nece&s;&s;ary to Salvation, and 'tis im|po&s;&s;ible, contrary Beliefs and Wor&s;hips &s;hould be all true, and come from the Fountain of Truth, Chri&s;t Je&s;us, tho&s;e whom a more &s;erious de&s;ire and care of their Eternal Good may excite to &s;eek for &s;atisfaction in &s;o important a bu&s;ine&s;s, &s;hall upon diligent inqui&s;ition, by the ble&s;&s;ing of God, find, that the chief externe grounds or evidence or|dain'd by Chri&s;t for the guiding us in the knowledge of what was taught and left by him, to be believ'd and practis'd to the Worlds end; and con&s;e|quently al&s;o for di&s;cerning which is the
<PB N="5" REF="12"> true Church among &s;o many Preten|ders, are tho&s;e, according to which the Church of <HI>Rome</HI> regulates her Faith and Wor&s;hip; namely, Univer&s;al Tra|dition, and the Authority of the pre|&s;ent Church, as &s;hall hereafter be made manife&s;t: And the farther they &s;earch into the Rule of the <HI>Protestant Reli|gion,</HI> that is, &s;ole Scripture interpre|ted by private Rea&s;on or Spirit, ex|clu&s;ively to Tradition and Church Au|thority; the more they will &s;ee &s;uch un|&s;teady Maxims are de&s;tructive to Faith, and manife&s;tly leading to endle&s;s Divi|&s;ions and Errors in matters of Religion. This Conviction I had in examining the Fundamentals of the <HI>Roman</HI> and <HI>Prote&s;tant</HI> Religion, and therefore am not to be blam'd for the Change I made; and to my under&s;tanding, who|&s;oever &s;earches as I did, will ea&s;ily re|ceive the &s;ame &s;atisfaction.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="2" TYPE="section">
<PB N="6" REF="13">
<HEAD>SECT. II.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P>A Preparatory Di&s;cour&s;e to <HI>Church-Tradition.,</HI> and what it is.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>THo' who&s;oever examines aright the Motives of Chri&s;tian belief, cannot rationally but become a <HI>Catho|lick;</HI> that is, find evidence how he may come to the certain knowledge of what Chri&s;t and his Apo&s;tles taught the World; yet Faith is not grounded on Rea&s;on, but Authority; and that no le&s;s then Divine, which excludes all po&s;&s;ibility of Errour. Whatever it is that brings men to know what they mu&s;t believe, Faith hath for its formal Object Divine Revelation, into which it finally is re&s;olv'd. So that we believe nothing as of Faith, but what is revea|led; and becau&s;e it is revealed by E&s;&s;ential Verity, who can neither de|ceive, nor be deceived. <HI>Catholicks</HI> then believe by Divine Faith, Truths only revealed by Almighty God, where|in <HI>Prote&s;tants</HI> agree with us. But <HI>Ca|tholicks</HI> believe the &s;ame Truths as they are a&s;certained, declar'd and handled
<PB N="7" REF="13"> down to us by the Te&s;timony of the Church, wherein <HI>Protestants</HI> are de|fective; the difference thefore be|tween us in Faith, ari&s;es chiefly from hence, in that we u&s;e not the &s;ame ex|terne <HI>Medium</HI> to convey unto our un|der&s;tandings the knowledge of what Truths are revealed, and what not. For could we once agree about this latter, we &s;hould &s;oon be of one Heart, and of one mind in all points of Faith, e&s;pecially when once this <HI>Medium</HI> is proved to be infallible.</P>
<P>As to this <HI>Medium</HI> therefore <HI>Catholicks</HI> regulate their Faith by the Rule or Standard of <HI>Tradition</HI> and Church-Authority as the externe Proponent of Faith, a Proponent al&s;o evidenced to them by the &s;ame Rule to be Infallible, and thus they &s;afely rely on the Te&s;ti|mony of Tradition and Church. Au|thority in Declaring and Expounding both the Sen&s;e of Scripture, and all other Chri&s;tian Mi&s;teries nece&s;&s;ary to Salvation. Whil&s;t on the contrary, <HI>Protestants</HI> relying on the &s;ole expre&s;s Texts of Scripture, interpreted by private Rea&s;on or Spirit, as their only Rule and Guide in matters of Faith, become un&s;teady in their Belief, ob|noxious
<PB N="8" REF="14"> to dangerous Errors, and di|vided among&s;t them&s;elves into endle&s;s Sects and Factions. But becau&s;e a more clear under&s;tanding of this matter in &s;ome &s;ort depends on a right notion of Tradition, we &s;hall here define it in the &s;en&s;e it is u&s;ually under&s;tood by <HI>Catholick</HI> Divines.</P>
<P><HI>Tradition</HI> then is the delivery of that Doctrine which was taught by Chri&s;t and his Apo&s;tles, from hand to hand, de&s;cending as &s;uch from Fathers to their Children, making up the body of the Faithful. This is the true no|tion of Tradition among us <HI>Catholicks,</HI> and it matters not whether it be call'd Divine, Apo&s;tolical, or Univer&s;al, be|ing only the &s;ame thing expre&s;t by di|vers adjuncts: For it is call'd Divine, becau&s;e Chri&s;t our Lord, as well true God as true man, is the Spring-head of it. It is call'd Apo&s;tolical, becau&s;e the Apo&s;tles immediately receiv'd from him things &s;o deliver'd, and Preach'd them to all Nations. And Univer&s;al, becau&s;e Atte&s;ted by the <HI>Catholick</HI> Church of all Ages to have been han|ded to her as originally proceeding from Chri&s;t and his Apo&s;tles.</P>
<P>And to prevent all mi&s;takes, let <HI>Pro|te&s;tants</HI>
<PB N="9" REF="14"> take notice that the Church of <HI>Rome,</HI> &s;ends not her Children on|ly to &s;earch for what is Divine or Apo|&s;tolical Tradition in matters of Faith and Di&s;cipline out of the Writings of the Fathers, or other Libraries of Books fill'd with dead Words, which are &s;ubject to various Interpretations by Critical heads, without any hope of Agreement; and can have no Autho|rity dependent on Tradition; (though upon this account &s;he has infinite ad|vantage again&s;t all other Communions in the World, to ju&s;tify her Faith and practice, in any unbya&s;s'd Judgments.) But &s;ends them to a vi&s;ible, living Oracle, Oral Tradition, that is, the voice of the pre&s;ent Church, atte&s;ting that what &s;he teaches as of Faith, &s;he &s;o received from the Age immediately foregoing, and &s;o from Age to Age, from Millions of Sons to their Fathers, up to the Apo&s;tles, and the Sacred Mouth of Chri&s;t him&s;elf.</P>
<P>From Church-Tradition thus ex|plain'd, briefly may be drawn tho&s;e Po&s;itions.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, that the Doctrine taught by Chri&s;t and his Apo&s;tles, compri&s;es all points nece&s;&s;ary to &s;alvation.</P>
<PB N="10" REF="15">
<P>Secondly, That all &s;uch points taught by Chri&s;t and his Apo&s;tles have been continued in the Church from believing Fathers to their Children, by an un-interrupted &s;ucce&s;&s;ion, without Diminution or Addition, and &s;hall &s;o continue for ever. Which involves the&s;e two Propo&s;itions; that nothing comes to us upon the tenure of Faith but what is of Tradition. (Yea, though contain'd in Scripture, &s;eing we only are a&s;certain'd what Books the Apo&s;tles wrote, and what is the true &s;en&s;e of them, by Tradition.) And that there are no new points of Faith in the Chri|&s;tian Church, <HI>quoad Substantiam,</HI> as to the &s;ub&s;tance of what is reveal'd; the pre&s;ent Church only believing what it received from precedent Ages. Which a&s;&s;ertion who&s;oever oppo&s;es, contra|dicts not me, but the Sublime Angeli|cal Doctor St. <HI>Thomas,</HI> expre&s;ly teach|ing that in <HI>Doctrina Chri&s;ti &amp; Aposto|lorum</HI> &amp;c. <HI>22ae. 1 q. ar. 10. ad 1am. &amp; 2am. Et in 1a. par. q. 32. ar. 4. corp.</HI> In the Doctrin of Chri&s;t and his Apo&s;tles, the Truth of Faith is &s;uffici|ently unfolded; but becau&s;e perver&s;e men pervert the Doctrin of the Apo&s;tles and other Doctrines and Scriptures, to
<PB N="11" REF="15"> their own De&s;truction, as is &s;aid in the 2 <HI>Ep.</HI> of St. <HI>Peter,</HI> and the la&s;t Chap. Therefore the explication of Faith was nece&s;&s;ary again&s;t ari&s;ing Errors in after|times, not containing another Faith, but the &s;ame more clear'd.</P>
<P>Thirdly, That this univer&s;al Tradi|tion, or handing of Chri&s;tian Doctrin by oral Teaching, and vi&s;ible practice of the Chri&s;tian World, is, and was the con&s;tant Rule of Faith, as well after as before the Scriptures were written, and received by the Church.</P>
<P>The fir&s;t <HI>The&s;is</HI> or Po&s;ition, though it hath been deny'd by &s;ome Hereticks, as namely the <HI>Montani&s;ts;</HI> yet is not controverted between us and <HI>Pro|te&s;tants.</HI> The proof lies upon the &s;e|cond; which being demon&s;trated, the third will follow of it &s;elf, and cannot be deny'd with &s;how of Rea&s;on.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="3" TYPE="section">
<PB N="12" REF="16">
<HEAD>SECT. III.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P>The clearne&s;s and certainty of <HI>Tra|dition</HI> in delivering Matters of Faith.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>NO other externe prudential evi|dence or a&s;&s;urance in matters of Divine Faith, (who&s;e efficient Cau&s;e is Divine Grace,) is nece&s;&s;arily requir'd, then a Moral certainty, that what is propos'd to be believ'd as of Faith, is the very &s;ame Doctrin which was taught by Chri&s;t, and his Apo&s;tles. Which a&s;&s;urance neither is, nor can be had among <HI>Prote&s;tants,</HI> who build their new Church upon their own con|fu&s;ed and un&s;teady Interpretations of Scripture: But is manife&s;tly to be found in that Communion of Chri&s;tians, <HI>viz.</HI> the Church of <HI>Rome,</HI> which grounds its Faith as to &s;uch evidence, upon Uni|ver&s;al Tradition; a Principle not well lyable to Error, and therefore cannot rationally be expected to fail tho&s;e who relie upon it. As I &s;hall endea|vour to demon&s;trate thus.</P>
<PB N="13" REF="16">
<P>Chri&s;tian Religion is &s;upernatural, de&s;cending from Heaven to us by Re|velation; that is, &s;uch a one, as is not to be learn'd but from Almighty God and his Mi&s;&s;ioners; namely from Chri&s;t and his Apo&s;tles; and &s;o &s;ucce&s;&s;ively from them brought down to us by Church-Profe&s;&s;ion. Wherefore the Apo&s;tles being Commi&s;&s;ionated by him to whom was given all Power in Hea|ven and Earth, to this end and pur|po&s;e, deliver'd to the World wholly and entirely the Law of Je&s;us Chri&s;t; making &s;o long &s;tay in tho&s;e places prin|cipally in which by mutual con&s;ent they had cho&s;en to plant the Go&s;pel, 'till by often inculcation it was written in their hearts, and by practice &s;o con|firm'd and clear'd to their Judgments, that rationally they could not mi&s;take or doubt concerning any points &s;o de|liver'd; all things being by this means &s;ufficiently provided for the con&s;titu|ting and governing of the Church. Now though the Apo&s;tles were many, yet being all taught by the &s;ame Ma|&s;ter, impowered by the &s;ame Commi&s;|&s;ion, and guided by the &s;ame Spirit, in all parts of the World did bring up their Di&s;ciples in the belief and practice of
<PB N="14" REF="17"> the &s;ame Doctrin and Di&s;cipline to continue for ever, &s;o that all particula<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"> Churches, though of different Nation<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"> and Languages, founded by &s;everal In&s;tructers, and &s;o far di&s;tant from one another, yet did harmoniou&s;ly meet in the unity of Faith in all points Tra|ditionary what&s;oever. Neither could it be otherwi&s;e, they only believing what was taught them by the Apo&s;tles: and the&s;e only teaching them what they receiv'd from Chri&s;t, and were Infallibly directed in by the extraordi|nary a&s;&s;i&s;tance of the Holy Gho&s;t. A|mong&s;t which Apo&s;tolical Doctrines, one main Article was, <HI>That there &s;hould be in all Ages to the Worlds end, an &V;niver&s;al Vi&s;ible Body of Pa&s;tors and People, term'd a</HI> Catholick <HI>Church, Di|vinely a&s;&s;i&s;ted and authoriz'd to pre&s;erve, teach and hand down to Posterity, with|out Error, all Truths nece&s;&s;ary to Sal|vation.</HI></P>
<P>This <HI>Catholick</HI> Church thus founded, practis'd and taught their Children what they received from the Apo&s;tles; condemning by her Authorative Rule of Tradition all &s;uch for Hereticks and Shi&s;maticks who taught any contrary Doctrines, and divided from them.
<PB N="15" REF="17"> By this ea&s;ie method all Critical Di&s;pu|tations about points of Faith were cut off, having only to inquire what had been taught and practis'd from the beginning, and to receive all Doctrines witne&s;&s;ed for &s;uch by the voice of the<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Tim. 3. 15.</NOTE> pre&s;ent Church, <HI>The Pillar and ground of Truth,</HI> and con&s;equently Infallible in her Atte&s;tation. Who leave this Rule, mu&s;t needs be obnoxious to Error; but how tho&s;e who &s;tick clo&s;e to &s;o &s;afe a Principle &s;hould fail, is morally inconceivable. For &s;uch Traditionary Doctrines (ab&s;tracting from Authority) cannot loo&s;e, but gather &s;trength by time, becau&s;e the multitude of Be|lievers increafing, and delivering to their Children all points of Faith as they received them, the Tradition be|comes more famous and univer&s;al, car|rying along with it a greater evidence of Truth, and moral Impo&s;&s;ibility to be deceiv'd. Unle&s;s we will &s;ay that the My&s;tical Body of Chri&s;t &s;o diffus'd and numerous, can forget to day what they believ'd and acted ye&s;terday, and &s;o ignorantly mi&s;take; or knowingly con&s;pire together to teach their Chil|dren to receive any Doctrines as origi|nally proceeding from Chri&s;t and his
<PB N="16" REF="18"> Apo&s;tles, which yet they never had from their immediate Fore-fathers up|on that tenure. Que&s;tionle&s;s that &s;uch a Body of Chri&s;tians &s;hould be wrought upon wilfully to damn their own and others Souls, by attempting to gull the World to their faces in a bu&s;ine&s;s of no le&s;s then Eternal Intere&s;t; or that in things of &s;o high a nature, &s;o vi&s;ible, &s;o ea&s;ily contradicted, they &s;hould pre|vail to introduce the belief of a noon|day Lye, is &s;urely to be rank'd in a high degree of Impo&s;&s;ibility. And who&s;o&s;ever &s;ees it not as &s;uch, I know not whether all the <HI>Hellibore</HI> in <HI>Anti|cyra</HI> will cure him.</P>
<P>For where can one pick a hole in the everla&s;ting coat of univer&s;al Tradi|tion, to make a way for Error or He|re&s;y to creep in at? Does it not &s;hine bright in the vi&s;ible Practice and Pro|fe&s;&s;ion of the Church &s;catter'd over the whole World, &s;o continually expos'd to all mens Eyes and Ears, that it can|not be conceiv'd, how Doctrines &s;o deliver'd, &s;hould be innovated with|out di&s;covery and oppo&s;ition, or pe|ri&s;h unle&s;s with the ruin of Chri&s;tianity? If <HI>Protestants</HI> con&s;idered this aright,
<PB N="17" REF="18"> they could not deny the pre|&s;ence of the Body and Blood of Chri&s;t in the Ble&s;&s;ed <HI>Eucharist</HI> by a real change of the Con&s;ecrated Elements; &s;ubjection to the Bi&s;hop of <HI>Rome</HI> as Supreme Head of the Church under Chri&s;t; Invocation of Saints and An|gels, the Sacred u&s;e of Images, Vene|ration of Reliques, private Confe&s;&s;ion to a Prie&s;t, Indulgences, Extream Uncti|on, Purgatory, Prayer for the Dead, to be Apo&s;tolical Doctrines; being handed Traditionally to us from Age to Age, by an Univer&s;al and more Vi|&s;ible Practice than the Scriptures them|&s;elves; which yet they receive, as the Word of God, upon the &s;ame Autho|rity: Neither could they demand of us a farther proof of what carryes along with it in its very face, an Evi|dence of Credibility beyond all Ex|ception. Nor ask of us in what &s;e|cret Repo&s;itaries of the Church the&s;e Traditions of the Church are pre&s;er|ved; when they might in a manner as rationally demand whether it be day, when the <HI>Sun</HI> is in the <HI>Meridian</HI> of our <HI>Horizon.</HI></P>
<P>In vain therefore do <HI>Protestants</HI> pre|tend Innovation in Faith, to ju&s;tify
<PB N="18" REF="19"> their Separation from the <HI>Catholick</HI> Church; for let them chu&s;e what Age they will, this Principle is equally &s;ure rationally evident alike in all: And as firmly e&s;tabli&s;h'd now in the atte&s;tati|on of the pre&s;ent Church, or in the days of King <HI>Henry</HI> the Eighth, when the Fatal Defection from the Church of <HI>Rome</HI> in <HI>England</HI> fir&s;t began, or in the Sixth, or Fifth, or Fourth <HI>Century,</HI> (for they cannot agree about the time) a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"> in the very next Age &s;ucceeding the Apo&s;tles; and con&s;equently all Tradi+tionary Doctrines of Faith Taught and Atte&s;ted by the voice of the pre&s;en<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"> Church of any Age, the &s;elf &s;ame fo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;ub&s;tance which were at fir&s;t deliver'<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"> to the Saints without Encrea&s;e or Di<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">+minution: Univer&s;al Tradition, and Innovation in Faith being in a manne<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"> <GAP DESC="foreign">, and Incompatible. And wha<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"> Arguments &s;oever the <HI>Prote&s;tants</HI> pro+duce to the contrary in their Contro+ver&s;al Skirmi&s;hes, is meerly the play+ing of Wit again&s;t Pure Evidence.</P>
<P>If any one &s;hould &s;eriou&s;ly endea+vour by Elaborate Arguments to per+&s;wade us really, that there was neve<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;uch a man as King <HI>Henry</HI> the 8th. King of <HI>England,</HI> would we not think him
<PB N="19" REF="19"> Fool or mad-man for his pains. Seing that if it were not true, millions of per&s;ons, not only in our own three Kingdoms, but in other Nations, of Credit and Reputation, without any cau&s;es &s;ufficient to produce &s;uch an effect, mu&s;t con&s;pire to be notorious Lyers: And natural rea&s;on tells us, if the fir&s;t Reporters had not related it of their own knowledge with undeniable evidence, it would never have obtain'd to pa&s;s &s;o con&s;tantly and uncontroul|ably as it doth without the lea&s;t doubt or que&s;tion. And yet thus have <HI>Pro|testants</HI> lo&s;t the immemorial Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of their Ancient Faith, and mi&s;led with meer Sophi&s;ms, will not believe tho&s;e points to have been handed to us by Tradition from the Apo&s;tles, which are atte&s;ted for &s;uch by infinite multi|tudes of People of &s;everal Nations in their re&s;pective Ages to this pre&s;ent; with a far more tran&s;cendent evidence of Credibility than the former in&s;tances. Notwith&s;tanding, &s;uch is the blindne&s;s of &s;ome mens under&s;tanding, or rather the hardne&s;s of their hearts, that as the Scripture &s;aith, <HI>Matth. 13. v. 14. See|ing they will not perceive, and hearing they will not understand, that they may
<PB N="20" REF="20"> be healed;</HI> Though it be a Rule, plain, certain, and expos'd to all mens view in &s;uch vi&s;ible Characters of publick practice, that who runs, may read, as well the Unlearned as the greate&s;t Schollar; and upon which the <HI>Pope</HI> and Pea&s;ant depend alike for their Sal|vation.</P>
<P>Wherefore to contract this Argu|ment; &s;eeing &s;uch va&s;t multitudes of &s;everal Nations cannot mi&s;take in what hath been a thou&s;and times over and over inculcated unto them, clear'd to their Judgments, and rooted in their Hearts by continual practice; &s;eeing that a World of Believers cannot con|&s;pire together to Damn them&s;elves, and Co&s;en their Po&s;terity in matters of the highe&s;t moment, whereof men are mo&s;t tender and tenacious; &s;eeing mankind cannot give credit and entertainment to any Doctrine to which their daily Religious Wor&s;hip gives the Lye, and cannot be accepted without the de&s;truction of &s;ome evident Principle, of which they are in pre&s;ent Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion as Divine and Apo&s;tolical: (unle&s;s &s;uch a Doctrine bring with it a manife&s;t de|mon&s;tration of Truth, which is im|po&s;&s;ible to be done in any point of
<PB N="21" REF="20"> Faith controverted between <HI>Pro|te&s;tants</HI> and <HI>Catholicks:</HI>) Seing the&s;e are the &s;afe and &s;ure Grounds of Uni|ver&s;al Tradition, truly methinks, who|&s;oever will not acknowledge it for a Rule or Evidence &s;ufficient in points of Faith, but de&s;ires a more certain or manife&s;t conduct, to bring him to the knowledge of what Doctrines Chri&s;t and his Apo&s;tles taught the World: Or who is &s;atisfi'd with le&s;s, that is, with a Rule which may ea&s;ily deceive him in a bu&s;ine&s;s of Eternal Intere&s;t; &s;eriou&s;ly &s;uch per&s;ons &s;eem to me not Impartial Searchers; and if ever it plea&s;e God to clear up their under|&s;tanding in Divine matters, they will confe&s;s it.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="4" TYPE="section">
<PB N="22" REF="21">
<HEAD>SECT. IV.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P><HI>Univer&s;al Tradition,</HI> the Churches Rule of <HI>Faith</HI> in all Ages.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>DId not <HI>Protestants</HI> of the Church of <HI>England</HI> pretend to Anti|quity as on their &s;ide again&s;t the <HI>Catho|licks</HI> in this Controver&s;y about the Rule of Faith; any farther Di&s;cour&s;e of this Subject for the pre&s;ent had not been nece&s;&s;ary, but becau&s;e &s;uch is their claim, I &s;hall take &s;ome pains to &s;hew the Inju&s;tice of it; and let the Reader &s;ee, that as well in this as other points they who are our Enemies, have no Friends of the Fathers to maintain them in their oppo&s;ition, but are equally Contradictors of Them, and Us, Yet be|fore I &s;hall urge Authority, I &s;hall pre&s;s them with Rea&s;on.</P>
<P>The Apo&s;tles, having among other nece&s;&s;ary points of Chri&s;tian Faith, rooted this Doctrine in their Di&s;ciples hearts. To believe only what was deli|vered to them; and al&s;o guarded it with
<PB N="23" REF="21"> the thunder and Lightning of Excom|munication,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gal. 1. 8, 9.</NOTE> even again&s;t an Angel from Heaven, that &s;hould pre&s;ume to teach otherwi&s;e; (becau&s;e of points nece&s;&s;ary what was to be the Rule and ground of all the re&s;t, was mo&s;t careful|ly to be pre&s;erv'd,) one would think, under&s;tanding heads could not doubt that the Fathful were to receive and hold their Faith upon the &s;ame tenure of Tradition to the Worlds end, as at|t&egrave;&s;ted to them by the publick voice of the pre&s;ent Church. Yet que&s;tion'd it is, and contradicted al&s;o by <HI>Engli&s;h Prote&s;tants;</HI> but doubtle&s;s they do not con&s;ider as they ought.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, That the Church being in the po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of this Belief upon the te|nure of Univer&s;al Tradition, (unle&s;s they can demon&s;trate &s;uch a tenure actually to have fail'd in this particular) mu&s;t needs acknowledge this point concerning the Rule of Faith to be Apo&s;tolical.</P>
<P>Secondly, They do not con&s;ider, that &s;eing it cannot be deny'd, but Tradition was at fir&s;t the u&s;ual means of Planting and Con&s;erving the Law of Chri&s;t, the greater part of the World being converted before the Scriptures
<PB N="24" REF="22"> were written and receiv'd by the Church, &s;o that when any fal&s;e Teachers did ari&s;e, they of nece&s;&s;ity had recour&s;e to Tradition, whether they had been &s;o Taught; and not to Scripture, whether it was &s;o written, being impo&s;&s;ible to Rule before it had a Beeing: I &s;ay, this being undeny|ably evident, they will never be able to give a rational account to Intelligent per&s;ons, why an immutable Faith &s;hould have a mutable Rule, and a &s;tanding Edifice &s;hould have a moving Foundation. If they think to &s;alve this &s;oar, by &s;aying Tradition was ne|ce&s;&s;ary 'till the written word took place, they will never be able to prove that all things at fir&s;t delivered nece&s;&s;a|ry for the Salvation of the World, were afterwards committed to writing by the Apo&s;tles. And yet 'till this be done &s;atisfactorily, who &s;ees not the in&s;ufficiency of this a&s;&s;ertion?</P>
<P>But then Thirdly, if they could prove, that the whole Law of Chri&s;t nece&s;&s;ary to Salvation, at fir&s;t Tradi|tionarily convey'd, was afterwards en|tirely committed to writting by Infal|lible In&s;piration, and depo&s;ited in the Church; They do not con&s;ider, that
<PB N="25" REF="22"> were it &s;o, (as mo&s;t certainly they will be never able to prove) yet it is ne|ce&s;&s;ary, Tradition &s;hould be the Rule of Faith, as well after as before the reception of &s;uch a Canon, it being impo&s;&s;ible for Scripture by its &s;elf to perform, what Tradition did without it in the beginning. For dead words being capable of endle&s;s controver&s;y, becau&s;e lyable to various Interpreta|tions; Hereticks will either &s;hrowd them&s;elves under the Umbrage of ob|&s;cure Pa&s;&s;ages in Sacred Writ, or darken plain places with Metaphors or Clouds of witty Critici&s;ms, &s;o that no evident Conviction can be had, or po&s;|&s;ibility to hold up Church-unity in Faith and Government; except the controverted Doctrines be brought for their tryal to the Touch-&s;tone of Oral Tradition, which, with the &s;ame uner|ring voice delivers Scripture and the true &s;en&s;e of it to the Hou&s;hold of Faith in all Ages. And therefore it is,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Lih de Prae&s;cript, c 19. S. Irenae. cont. haere&s;. St. Aug. eont. Ep. Fund. Vinc. Lyri. in Com.</NOTE> that we find <HI>Tertullian,</HI> and other An|cients affirming, <HI>That no good can be done with</HI> Hereticks <HI>by di&s;puting out Scripture to reduce them to Truth.</HI> And if we will not take their word, our own experience is an evidence beyond all exception.</P>
<PB N="26" REF="23">
<P>La&s;tly, they do not con&s;ider, that as in Natural Sciences there are &s;ome <HI>Prima Principia,</HI> fundamental Axioms, which need no proof, into which all Conclu&s;ions rightly from them dedu|ced are reducible: So in &s;upernatural Revelations there mu&s;t be &s;ome &s;elf|evident Principle a Rule of Faith, in|to which, points of Faith are re&s;ol|vable having it &s;elf no need of further probation as to &s;uch evidence. Or el&s;e we run in a circle, not having any &s;atisfactory ground, upon which we may without any more ado, rely for the Truth of what we believe. Now Scripture is not, nor can be &s;uch a Principle; it depending manife&s;tly, as <HI>Prote&s;tants</HI> them&s;elves acknowledge, on Tradition, by which we only come certainly to know and accept it for the Word of God; and &s;o is the Rule of Scripture as well as of other nece&s;&s;ary points, and con&s;equently the ground or evidence of what we believe upon Scripture-Authority. Which yet is not to be under&s;tood, as if Tradition made the Word of God Infallible, but that thereby we are rationally a&s;&s;ured what is Scripture, and the true &s;en&s;e of it; which otherwi&s;e is &s;ubject to
<PB N="27" REF="23"> perpetual quarrells, of Di&s;&s;enting minds.</P>
<P>For my part, I &s;ee not how <HI>Prote|&s;tants</HI> can an&s;wer this Argument; for they acknowledging Tradition to be the Rule of Scripture, and contending for Scripture to be the Rule of Faith, Tradition mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily be the prime Rule, that is, the Rule of their Rule, and antecedent ground of their foundation. And &s;o by unavoidable con&s;equence, all their Faith is built upon the credit of Tradition. See it clear by a parallel. We <HI>Catholicks</HI> rely upon the Church for points of Faith; will <HI>Prote&s;tants</HI> therefore &s;ay that we rely not upon Tradition? For in relying upon the Church, we rely al&s;o upon what the Church relyes, which in all points of Faith is Tradi|tion. We rely upon the Church im|mediately as an Infallible Guide, we rely upon Tradition as an extern Evi|dence. 'Tis ea&s;ily applicable to <HI>Pro|te&s;tants</HI> receiving the Scriptures upon the credit of Tradition. Who, while they &s;hun it as a &s;tone of Offence, fall upon it as a Rock of Foundation. And truly 'till they &s;how us &s;ome other &s;elf|evident Principle, which can a&s;&s;ure us
<PB N="28" REF="24"> what Doctrines Chri&s;t and his Apo&s;tles taught the World, we mu&s;t believe and maintain Univer&s;al Tradition to be the Fundamental Rule of Faith to the Chri&s;tian Church in the &s;en&s;e hither|to explain'd.</P>
<P>Thus they might be &s;atisfied with rea&s;on in this controver&s;y; but becau&s;e they pretend to be mov'd more with the Authority of the Fathers, than our Arguments, they &s;hall hear them &s;peak; and truly, (one would think,) plain enough, to their condemnation.</P>
<P>Witne&s;s St. <HI>Iraeneus,</HI> an <HI>Anti-Pro|te&s;tant</HI> certainly while he teaches; <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Lib. 3. cont. Haer. c. 4.</NOTE> <HI>What if the Apo&s;tles had not left us Scriptures, ought we not to have followed the Rule of Tradition, which they deli|vered to tho&s;e to whom they committed the Churches.</HI> Which is not to be un|der&s;tood, as if becau&s;e they have left Scriptures, the order of Tradition is by them evacuated; but that revealed Truths depending on Tradition only, are as Divine and certain, as if no Scriptures had been left unto the Church by the Apo&s;tles. Or el&s;e we make the Saint; while he is &s;howing the excellent u&s;e and nece&s;&s;ity of Church-Tradition, &s;o Incongruous as
<PB N="29" REF="24"> to &s;ay there is no need of it at all. But Arguments might be &s;par'd, when the following in&s;tance of Nations be|lieving by Tradition only, without Scripture, makes his meaning evident.</P>
<P>Before him in the front of the &s;econd Age B. <HI>Ignatius</HI> St. <HI>Johns</HI> Di&s;ciple; <HI>Exhorted the Churches to hold them|&s;elves in&s;eparably to the Tradition of the</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">* <HI>Hi&s;t. Eccl. l. 3. c. 35.</HI></NOTE> <HI>Apostles;</HI> as <HI>Eu&s;ebius</HI> te&s;tifies. Had the Rule of Faith been only Scripture, as <HI>Protestants</HI> contend, could he have given &s;uch advice? Yea, it inevitably implyes, Tradition to be the &s;ure ground to rely upon for Chri&s;tian Doctrines.</P>
<P>Doth <HI>Origen</HI> a&s;&s;ert Scripture or Tra|dition for a Rule while he teaches, <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">In Tract. 27. in c 23. S. Matt&punc;</NOTE> <HI>That in our understanding Scripture, we must not depart from the first Eccle|&s;iastical Tradition, nor believe otherwi&s;e then as the Church of God hath by Suc|ce&s;&s;ion deliver'd to us?</HI> And el&s;ewhere he tells us, <HI>That only is to be believed</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">* <HI>In Praef. lib.</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> <HI>for Truth, which in nothing di&s;agrees from the Tradition of the Church.</HI> What more full for <HI>Catholicks?</HI></P>
<P>Did not <HI>Tertullian</HI> depend upon Tradition for his Faith, when he pro|fe&s;&s;eth, <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Lib. de Prae&s;c. c. 21</NOTE> <HI>What I believe I received from
<PB N="30" REF="25"> the pre&s;ent Church, the pre&s;ent Church from the Primitive, That from the A|postles, the Apostles from Christ.</HI></P>
<P>The <HI>Arrians</HI> indeed (as the <HI>Pro|testants</HI> now) appeal'd to Scripture for a &s;ole Rule and Judge of their Faith, &s;eeing their condemnation (as <HI>Pro|testants</HI> do likewi&s;e) inevitably and evident by the practice and Tradition of the pre&s;ent Church. But what did St. <HI>Athana&s;ius,</HI> that great Bullwark of <HI>Catholick</HI> belief, reply to this? Even the very &s;ame which, the Church of <HI>Rome</HI> now takes up again&s;t her Adver|&s;aries:<NOTE PLACE="marg">* <HI>Lib. de Decr. Sym. Nic. cont. Arianos.</HI></NOTE> <HI>Behold, we have prov'd the Suc|ce&s;&s;ion of our Doctrine deliver'd from hand to hand, by Fathers to Sons; but as for you new</HI> Jews, <HI>and Children of</HI> Cai|phas, (<HI>but as for you</HI> Prote&s;tants) <HI>what Progenitors can you &s;how of your Speeches?</HI> Had he not held Tradition for the Rule of Chri&s;tian belief, could he have produced this as a &s;atisfactory an&s;wer to their appeal to a Scripture-Tryal, and a &s;ufficient demon&s;tration of <HI>Ca|tholick</HI> Faith?</P>
<P>They who hear St <HI>Austin</HI> &s;aying, <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Cont. Ep. Fund. c. 5.</NOTE> <HI>I would not believe the Go&s;pel, were it not that the Authority of the Church mov'd me to it.</HI> What think they? Was he
<PB N="31" REF="25"> for <HI>Prote&s;tants</HI> or us; for &s;ole Scrip|ture, or for Tradition too in his Con|trover&s;y?</P>
<P>More ample &s;atisfaction may be had, if de&s;ired, from <HI>Vincentius Lyrinen&s;is,</HI> in who&s;e words we may tell a <HI>Pro|te&s;tant, * Faith is that which thou ha&s;t</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Cont. haer. ca. 27.</NOTE> <HI>received, not that which thou ha&s;t de|vis'd, a thing not of private u&s;urpation,</HI> (as their Expo&s;ition of Scripture are) <HI>but of publick Tradition.</HI></P>
<P>Quotations might be infinite, but the&s;e may &s;uffice to let the World &s;ee, that Antiquity was of the &s;ame belief with the pre&s;ent Church of <HI>Rome</HI> in this point; And <HI>Prote&s;tants</HI> by contra|dicting Her, contradict the Fathers al&s;o.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="5" TYPE="section">
<PB N="32" REF="26">
<HEAD>SECT. V.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P><HI>Tradition</HI> a&s;&s;erted again&s;t <HI>Prote|&s;tants</HI> by <HI>Scripture;</HI> and the notable Advantages that way of delivery hath above Writing.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>IF the Te&s;timony of the Fathers will not &s;uffice, we &s;hall bring Scrip|ture it &s;elf in defence of <HI>Tradition.</HI> And truly to me it &s;eems wonderful, that <HI>Prote&s;tants</HI> profe&s;&s;ing to believe all things contained in the Scriptures, &s;hould deny <HI>Tradition</HI> to have any thing to do with their Faith, to which tho&s;e Sacred Oracles bear &s;o great witne&s;s. The places are not few, and full; &s;ome of them I &s;hall produce as tran&s;lated in their own Bibles.</P>
<P>The fir&s;t is that famous <HI>Anathema</HI> of St. <HI>Paul</HI>'s upon the occa&s;ion of &s;ome fal&s;e Teachers troubling the Church of <HI>Galatia,</HI> with Doctrines contrary to<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Ch. ver. 3, 9.</NOTE> <HI>Tradition. * If we, or an Angel from Heaven, Preach any other Go&s;pel unto you then what ye have received, let him be accur&s;ed.</HI> Would they have one
<PB N="33" REF="26"> more expre&s;s? Let them mind well his exhortation to the <HI>The&s;&s;alonians, * Therefore Brethren, &s;tand fast, and</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. <HI>cap. 2. v. 15.</HI></NOTE> <HI>hold the Traditions ye have been taught, whether by word, or our Epi&s;tle.</HI></P>
<P>The &s;ame point he pre&s;&s;es home to the fir&s;t Bi&s;hop of <HI>Ephe&s;us,</HI> wri|ting in his fir&s;t Epi&s;tle to him, * <HI>O</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap. 6. v. 20, 21.</NOTE> Timothy, <HI>keep that which is com|mitted to thy tru&s;t, avoiding prophane and vain bablings, and oppo&s;itions of Science, fal&s;ely &s;o called; which &s;ome profe&s;&s;ing, have erred concerning the Faith.</HI> Which <HI>Depo&s;ition</HI> of Faith he calls <GAP DESC="foreign">, in his &s;econd <HI>Epi&s;tle</HI> renewing the &s;ame charge, <HI>Hold fa&s;t the form of &s;ound words which thou ha&s;t heard of me,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap. 1. v. 13.</NOTE> <HI>in Faith, and Love, which is in Chri&s;t Je&s;us:</HI> Inculcated al&s;o in the Ver&s;e following, <HI>That good thing</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 14.</NOTE> <HI>which was committed unto thee, keep by the Holy Gho&s;t which dwelleth in us.</HI> And again, in the <HI>3d.</HI> Chapter he pre&s;&s;es it as the only Antidote again&s;t the Infection of new-poi&s;o|nous Doctrines &s;catter'd by Sedu|cers,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap 3. v. 13, 14.</NOTE> <HI>Continue in the things that thou
<PB N="34" REF="27"> ha&s;t learned, and ha&s;t been a&s;&s;ured of, knowing of whom thou ha&s;t learned them.</HI> And with no le&s;s care and charge recommendeth it to Po&s;teri|ty, in the <HI>2d.</HI> Chapter of the &s;ame <HI>Epi&s;tle; The things that thou ha&s;t heard of me among many Witne&s;&s;es, commit thou to Faithful men, who &s;hall be able to teach others al&s;o.</HI></P>
<P>From which Texts, and &s;uch like, the Fathers collect three things. Fir&s;t, <HI>That there are</HI> Traditions <HI>un|written,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 16. Phillip. 4. 12. Judes <HI>Ep. 3d. ver.</HI> 1 Tim. 3. 15.</NOTE> <HI>as well as the written Word, depo&s;ited in the Church, which is the Pillar and ground of Truth.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, <HI>That &s;uch</HI> Traditions <HI>belong equally to Chri&s;tian Doctrine, and alike to be credited aad ob&s;erved. Written and unwritten being but ac|cidental differences of the word of God, &s;ub&s;tracting or adding nothing e&s;&s;ential to the formal Object of Faith, which is Divine Revelation.</HI></P>
<P>Thirdly, <HI>That</HI> Traditionary <HI>Do|ctrines being termed a</HI> Depo&s;itum <HI>by</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>St.</HI> Ba&s;il. ut habetur Hi&s;t. Trip <HI>l. 7. c.</HI> 39. Vinc. Ler. <HI>c. 26. &amp;c.</HI></NOTE> <HI>the Apo&s;tle, and &s;o from him frequent|ly call'd</HI> Depo&s;itum Fidei; <HI>and the Governours of the Church,</HI> in Timothy,
<PB N="35" REF="27"> <HI>con&s;tituted the &s;acred</HI> Depo&s;itarii <HI>and Keepers of it, makes it uncapable of any adition or diminution, (and con|&s;equently excluding the expectation of any other points nece&s;&s;ary to be re|vealed) the nature of a</HI> Depo&s;itum <HI>re|quiring it &s;hould be kept unalterable in the hands of tho&s;e to whom it is com|mitted. And therefore <GAP DESC="foreign"> applyed to fal&s;e Teachers by the &s;ame Apo&s;tle, is directly oppo&s;ed to this</HI> Depo&s;itum. <HI>And the Church col|lected in General Councils, when truth and peace requires it, makes no new Articles of Faith; but all her endea|vours are, that revealed Truths, whe|ther written or unwritten, deliver'd from the beginning, may be defended, con&s;erved, illu&s;trated, and explicated again&s;t ari&s;ing Here&s;ies that would per|vert them.</HI></P>
<P>To which a fourth may be added, <HI>That the Apo&s;tle writing to Churches fully con&s;tituted, &s;till refers them in his Epi&s;tles to</HI> Tradition <HI>for the trial of all</HI> Doctrines; <HI>tho&s;e &s;acred lines delivering no new point of Faith, but only in as much as Doctrinal, in things
<PB N="36" REF="28"> nece&s;&s;ary, explicating according t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"> pre&s;ent circum&s;tances, and confirming what had been taught by word and practice.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Prote&s;tants</HI> indeed will owne no &s;uch things from the&s;e Texts; but<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>In 2 Epi&s;t. ad</HI> The&s;&s;. <HI>c. 2. 15.</HI></NOTE> St. <HI>Chry&s;o&s;tom</HI> tells us, * <HI>Hinc per|&s;picuum e&s;t,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>From hence it is apparent, that the Apo&s;tles have not deliver'd all things by Epistle, but al&s;o many things without writing: Now both tho&s;e, and the&s;e de&s;erve equally to be believ'd. 'Tis a</HI> Tradi|tion, <HI>what would you more?</HI> Thus he, and <HI>Theophilact</HI> comments there|upon almo&s;t in the &s;ame words: And from the <HI>2d. ver.</HI> of the <HI>11th. chap.</HI> of the <HI>1st. Epist.</HI> to the <HI>Corin|thians, * Now I prai&s;e you Brethren, that you remember me in all things, and keep the Ordinances,</HI> ficut tradi|di vobis, <HI>as I delivered them unto you:</HI> Not only inferrs the &s;ame Doctrine, but likewi&s;e u&s;es the &s;elf|&s;ame phra&s;e, <HI>Ex hoc loco per&s;picuum est,</HI> &amp;c. 'Tis apparent from this place, that he&punc; (St. <HI>Paul</HI>) and the other Apo&s;tles, delivered many things
<PB N="37" REF="28"> not committed to writing. Which <HI>Epiphanius</HI> al&s;o applyes to the &s;ame<NOTE PLACE="marg">Haere, 61.</NOTE> purpo&s;e, teaching us, <HI>Oportet autem &amp; Traditione uti,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>That we mu&s;t make u&s;e of</HI> Tradition, <HI>&s;eing all things cannot be taken out of &s;acred Writ. The Apo&s;tles have delivered &s;ome things in Writing, and others by</HI> Tradition; Even as St. <HI>Paul</HI> &s;ays, <HI>Sicut tradidi vobis, As I have delivered to you.</HI> And no le&s;s St.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Lib. de &s;pir<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"> S.</NOTE> Ba&s;il, <HI>It is an Apo&s;tolique thing to per&s;i&s;t con&s;tantly in</HI> Tradition <HI>not written;</HI> for &s;aith the Apo&s;tle, <HI>I prai&s;e you in that you are mindful of what&s;o|ever thing came from me, and ob&s;erve the</HI> Traditions <HI>which I have given you.</HI> And affirms them to be &s;o many, that the day would fail him &s;hould he enumerate them. More|over, That no man will contradict<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ibid.</NOTE> it who hath the lea&s;t experience in<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ibid.</NOTE> Church Laws. And as potent Pa|trons of the &s;ame Doctrine are St. <HI>Iraeneus l. 3 cont. Haer. ca. 3, &amp; 4. Tertullian de corona militis cap. 3. &amp; lib. de Prae&s;crip.</HI> S. <HI>Aug. Ep. 118. ad Januarium; &amp; lib. 5. de bapt. cap.</HI> 23.
<PB N="38" REF="29" MS="y"> The &s;econd famous <HI>Nicene Council</HI> in the <HI>7th.</HI> Act, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> by whom <HI>Traditionary</HI> points are invincibly vindicated.</P>
<P>And teach otherwi&s;e they could not, except their words &s;hould con|tradict their Faith and practice; though <HI>Prote&s;tants,</HI> who are of a contrary belief, are al&s;o of a contra|ry Doctrine; and have invented &s;everal eva&s;ions to darken the evi|dent light of the&s;e Texts, whereby they (alas) deceive poor Souls. To the native lu&s;tre of Scripture, if we add the unanimous con&s;ent of the Fathers expounding them for us, they more manife&s;tly make good again&s;t the <HI>Prote&s;tants,</HI> that the &s;ame Scriptures cannot be an un-errable and compleat Rule of Faith to Chri&s;tians without <HI>Tradition.</HI> And indeed <HI>Catholicks</HI> do not deny Scrip|tures to be a Rule, but that they are not the compleat Rule of Faith; nor can be a Rule of Faith at all, as interpreted by private rea&s;on, or particular fallibility. Congregations, (which is their new way, and
<PB N="39" REF="29"> practice) but as expounded autho|ritatively by the <HI>Catholick</HI> Church according to the line of <HI>Eccle&s;ia&s;ti|cal Tradition;</HI> the con&s;tant cu&s;tom of all Ages.</P>
<P>Now why Religion was &s;etled in the Chri&s;tian Church by Univer&s;al Tradition, as a perpetual Rule of Faith, rather then written Precepts, will pre&s;ently appear to any one, well con&s;idering how that way of delivery is far more &s;ecure from mi&s;takes and errours than Writings, this being notoriou&s;ly vi&s;ible in actions common to all mankind, in which all &s;orts of conditions do agree, and can read the inward be|lief of their hearts in tho&s;e outward well-under&s;tood expre&s;&s;ions: where|as written words are different, and if under&s;tood by &s;ome few eminent|ly Learned, yet lyable to a thou|&s;and ca&s;ualties, and mi&s;apprehen&s;i|ons, conveying erroneous Thoughts &s;ometimes, even where exacte&s;t diligence is ob&s;erv'd. And withall, that it is more la&s;ting then written Books, which may peri&s;h totally by
<PB N="40" REF="30"> the fury of Per&s;ecution, or be lo&s;t by &s;ome accident or other, as mo&s;t certainly &s;ome Scriptures are; Whereas Chri&s;tian Doctrine thus conveyed, cannot peri&s;h but with the total ruine of all Believers. But principally, that &s;acred Scriptures them&s;elves, both for Canon, Incor|ruptne&s;s, and true &s;en&s;e of the Text, are nece&s;&s;arily depending on <HI>Tra|dition;</HI> not <HI>It</HI> on them, being a &s;elf-evident Principle that needs no proof.</P>
<P>Which great and notable advan|tage will be more evident, if we con&s;ider that the main end and principal errand of the Apo&s;tles be|ing to deliver entirely to the World the Go&s;pel, or Law of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, what they Preach'd throughout the whole World, with their common and united endeavours, inculcating it in &s;ea&s;on, out of &s;ea&s;on, and in|grafting it by daily and vi&s;ible practice in the hearts of Believers, mu&s;t needs de&s;cend to us with more certainty and evidence of Truth, becau&s;e accompanied with a higher
<PB N="41" REF="30"> degree of <HI>Tradition</HI> than the Books of Scripture; which were not any part of their Commi&s;&s;ion, or by any joynt con&s;ent intended to comprize the whole Law of Chri&s;t; but meer|ly an occa&s;ional work of their Apo|&s;tle&s;hip, according as the pre&s;ent cir|cum&s;tances did require, writt by &s;ome &s;ingle Apo&s;tle or Evangeli&s;t, &s;ent to &s;ome particular Church or Per&s;on, (as all the Apo&s;tolical E|pi&s;tles) upon who&s;e Authority and Credit the whole Church originally mu&s;t rely, to believe it to be the true Writing of &s;uch an Evangeli&s;t or Apo&s;tle, that is, to be the un|doubted Word of God.</P>
<P>And this is the genuine rea&s;on, that while Traditionary Doctrines being on all hands acknowledg'd, becau&s;e founded in Univer&s;als which cannot ea&s;ily fail: The true Books of Scripture, becau&s;e at fir&s;t of par|ticular and unknown Authority, (agreeing therein with all errorus) were cauceou&s;ly rejected by &s;ome particular Churches, and could not obtain due veneration and accep|tance
<PB N="42" REF="31"> but by degrees, as they were communicated to other Chri&s;tians by tho&s;e to whom they were at fir&s;t de|livered, and &s;o at la&s;t upon diligent inqui&s;ition received by the whole body of Believers for Canonical. In which examination, the <HI>Traditio|nal</HI> Doctrine being univer&s;ally Fa|mous, and fir&s;t planted in their hearts, and that of Scripture originally ob|&s;cure, and of an after Birth; They neither did, nor could rationally argue thus: The Doctrine we have been taught, is the Doctrine of Chri&s;t and his Apo&s;tles, becau&s;e agreeable to this Book: But thus, this Book atte&s;ted to us for Scrip|ture, may &s;afely be received for the Writing of &s;uch an Apo&s;tle or Apo|&s;tolical man, as they witne&s;s who have already accepted it for &s;uch, becau&s;e we have no rea&s;on to think they are herein deceived, or lye again&s;t their Con&s;cience, in that we find it conformable to the Doctrine we have been taught and have re|ceived by Tradition. For to have proceeded <HI>&egrave; conver&s;o,</HI> had been to
<PB N="43" REF="31"> prove, I &s;ay not <HI>ob&s;curum per ob&s;cu|rius;</HI> but <HI>clarum per ob&s;curum,</HI> and contrary to all Rules of Logick and Rea&s;on.</P>
<P>Hence it is that we find the Anci|ent Fathers expounding &s;ome Texts of Scripture for Traditionary Do|ctrines of the Church, which afford &s;ometimes perhaps &s;carce probable Topicks for tho&s;e points to which they are applyed. Now this they do, not as if they founded their be|lief of &s;uch Articles upon the Scrip|tures<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>St</HI> Aug. <HI>de Civ. Dei l. 20. c. 24. lib. de fide &amp; Oper. c. 15. S.</HI> Am&punc; <HI>in ca. 3. ad</HI> Cor. <HI>St.</HI> Jer. <HI>in ca.</HI> 5 Matt. Origen <HI>in eandem lo|cum,</HI> &amp;c.</NOTE> (as might be &s;pecified in the <HI>1&s;t. Corin.</HI> 3. from the 12 <HI>ver.</HI> to the 16. and <HI>Matth.</HI> the <HI>5th. ver.</HI> 25, 26. for <HI>Purgatory.</HI> The 15 of the fore&s;aid <HI>Epi&s;t. ver. 29. For a &s;tate wherein the dead may be help'd by the living. Luke</HI> the <HI>1&s;t. ver. 34. For the perpetual Vir|ginity of the Mother of God,</HI> &amp;c.) But being in po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of the belief of &s;uch points with the pre&s;ent Church of their Age upon the tenure of <HI>Tradition,</HI> they only bring &s;uch places for the further confirmation and explanation of their Faith, that very probably &s;uch Traditionary
<PB N="44" REF="32" MS="y"> points may be involved in tho&s;e Texts. So that we may &s;afely argue thus far from &s;uch expo&s;itions; they held &s;uch Tenets, or el&s;e they would not have applyed tho&s;e places for the confirmation of &s;uch Doctrines, though &s;uch Doctrines cannot mani|fe&s;tly be concluded from tho&s;e places. And therefore when <HI>Pro|te&s;tants</HI> rationally &s;how, that &s;ome Texts &s;o applyed by the Fathers may admit their Interpretations; yea &s;ometimes perhaps with greater pro|bability, they mu&s;t not think they then carry the cau&s;e again&s;t Them and Us in tho&s;e points. This indeed is enough for <HI>Catholicks</HI> to do in all Controver&s;ies of Faith again&s;t <HI>Pro|te&s;tants,</HI> who depend wholly upon Scripture, as explicated&punc; by Wit and private Rea&s;on or Spirit for their Religion; But it is no concluding argument again&s;t &s;ome Ancients for their over-credulity, as I may &s;ay, in relying on &s;uch Texts for &s;ome points now denyed by <HI>Prote&s;tants;</HI> or again&s;t the pre&s;ent Church of <HI>Rome</HI> as relying upon them, when
<PB N="45" REF="32"> that the Fathers neither did, nor doth the Church of <HI>Rome</HI> now on|ly rely upon &s;uch Texts for tho&s;e particular points; nor yet upon Scripture for any point of Faith at all, but as handed and fen&s;ed to us by <HI>Tradition.</HI></P>
<P>But to conclude this point, &s;eing Scripture thus manife&s;tly de&s;cends to us by a lower degree of <HI>Tradition</HI> than Chri&s;tian Doctrine; and being received for the Word of God up|on the credit of <HI>Tradition</HI> by <HI>Pro|te&s;tants</HI> them&s;elves; we cannot e|nough wonder at their unrea&s;on|able prevarication, in taking the Churches word for the whole Rule of their Belief, and yet refu&s;ing to rely upon her credit for any one Article of Faith; in acknowledging her Authority Infallible in the deli|very of the Letter, and yet denying to believe her <HI>Tradition</HI> for the S&s;en&s;e; nor will be per&s;waded to conform to her in tho&s;e points and practices which are handed to us by her atte&s;tation with far greater evi|dence of credibility. And this be|ing
<PB N="46" REF="33"> clear to me, could I any longer continue a <HI>Prote&s;tant?</HI> Had I not all the rea&s;on in the world to be|come a <HI>Catholick?</HI></P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<PB N="47" REF="33">
<HEAD>The &s;econd ground of the fir&s;t Motive, <HI>viz.</HI> The Autho|rity or Infallibility of the Church in determining all Controver&s;ies concerning Faith; and defining what is of Faith, and what not, when call'd in que&s;tion.</HEAD>
<DIV3 N="6" TYPE="section">
<HEAD>SECT. VI.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P>An Introductive Di&s;cour&s;e concer|ning the Judiciary Power of the Church.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>YEt notwith&s;tanding this cer|tainty of <HI>Tradition,</HI> handing from Age to Age the Evangelical Law with &s;o much evidence, unrea|&s;onable men have aro&s;e of perver&s;e
<PB N="48" REF="34"> minds que&s;tioning and contradicting the Truths of Je&s;us Chri&s;t; In&s;o|much, that hardly, yea, perhaps not any one fundamental point of Chri|&s;tianity, but hath been controver|ted in &s;ome Age or other. Where|fore as <HI>Tradition</HI> is a con&s;tant Rule, &s;o the Wi&s;dom and Goodne&s;s of Almighty God hath provided in his Church an Authoritative Judge, to give Sentence by the guidance of the &s;aid Rule, if there happen to be contentions about matters of Faith among Believers. For unle&s;s in &s;uch ca&s;es an Authoritative Judge be allowed to give a definitive Sen|tence from which there is no appeal by the contending Parties, for the deci&s;ion of &s;uch Controver&s;ies, Au|thoritatively a&s;&s;uring us what Do|ctrines were taught by Chri&s;t and his Apo&s;tles, if denyed, and what not; when fal&s;ly pretended, <HI>Actum e&s;t de fide &amp; unitate,</HI> Faith and Church|unity mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily be de&s;troyed and all Religion lo&s;t in a Chaos of di&s;agreeing judgments, without any probability of reconcilement.</P>
<PB N="49" REF="34">
<P>A &s;upreme and unerring Judicature being then ab&s;olutely nece&s;&s;ary for the ordering and pre&s;erving of the Church in all things e&s;&s;ential to Sal|vation; how little &s;atisfaction (and that not without ju&s;t cau&s;e) I re|ceived in this point from the <HI>En|gli&s;h Prote&s;tants,</HI> who indeed grant a Judge, but one wholly Ineffica|cious to this purpo&s;e; yea impo&s;|&s;ible to reconcile Di&s;&s;enting Liti|gants; as the &s;uper-abundant expe|rience of above &s;ixteen hundred years (for all <HI>Hereticks</HI> fly to the dead Letter of Scripture for their refuge,) hath &s;ufficiently evidenc'd, I &s;hall make hereafter appear in the examination of their Rule and Judge; and for the pre&s;ent endea|vour to demon&s;trate how all Chri|&s;tians ought to be contented and acquie&s;s, as I did, in what the Church of <HI>Rome</HI> teaches, and the <HI>Catholick</HI> Church always hath, and doth practice on &s;uch occa&s;ions.</P>
<P>Now what the <HI>Catholick</HI> Church teacheth, and always hath delivered in this point, is briefly this. <HI>That all
<PB N="50" REF="35"> Divine Truths taught by Chri&s;t and his Apo&s;tles nece&s;&s;ary to Salvation, whether Traditionary only, or al&s;o Written, are depo&s;ited in the Church as a Witne&s;s to atte&s;t them, and as a Judge Divinely a&s;&s;i&s;ted to Interpret, and give an Authorative Sentence, if their be any Controver&s;y about them, which all Chri&s;tians are obliged to be|lieve and follow under pain of Dam|nation</HI> A Doctrine brought down to us from the Apo&s;tolical Times by a more vi&s;ible practice and unque|&s;tionable Tradition than the Scrip|tures them&s;elves, which yet the <HI>Prote&s;tants</HI> receive for the Word of God upon the &s;ame Authority.</P>
<P>What concerns the Church as a Sacred Depo&s;itory of all Revealed Truths, written and unwritten, hath already been manife&s;ted in the pre|cedent Di&s;cour&s;e: And that the Spou&s;e of Chri&s;t is an Authoritative Judge, or Infallible Guide to deter|mine all Controver&s;ies of Faith a|mong her Children, that they may know with &s;ecurity what to believe and follow according to their Du|ty,
<PB N="51" REF="35"> I hope &s;hall be made no le&s;s evi|dent in the following Sections.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="7" TYPE="section">
<HEAD>SECT. VII.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P>That there is a Supreme Vi&s;ible <HI>Judge</HI> to decide Controver&s;ies in matters of Religion In&s;titu|ted by Chri&s;t, Infallible in all points of Faith; to which as &s;uch all Chri&s;tians are obliged to a &s;ubmi&s;&s;ion of Judgment under pain of Damnation, is here made apparent from Scrip|ture, And &s;ome further Rea|&s;ons al&s;o given.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>TO acknowledge a vi&s;ible Judge to interpret and apply Laws in Controver&s;ial matters, is &s;o conform to common Sen&s;e and Rea|&s;on, and &s;o confirmed by the expe|rience and practice of the whole
<PB N="52" REF="36"> World in all kinds of Govern|ments, that to deny &s;uch a Power from God in his Church, is in effect to &s;ay; <HI>That Je&s;us Chri&s;t, the Wi&s;|dom of the Father, hath not &s;o well provided for the regulating and pre|&s;ervation of his Kingdom and pecu|liar People, purcha&s;ed with his own mo&s;t precious Blood, in order to their eternal Good and Happine&s;s; as meer men, &s;ubject to manifold weakne&s;&s;es and Pa&s;&s;ions, do by the common Light of Nature and ordinary Principles of Prudence and Di&s;cretion provide for the well-being of Families and Com|monwealths in Temporal matters.</HI> A Po&s;ition unavoidably drawing after it &s;o many &s;trange and (to &s;ay no wor&s;e) dangerous con&s;equences, that they will be here better lamented than infi&s;ted upon.</P>
<P>But becau&s;e <HI>Prote&s;tants,</HI> whom I have for&s;aken, fly to Scripture as the only Infallible Judge in all Con|trover&s;ial matters of Faith; thither I &s;hall bring them fir&s;t to be tryed, and &s;how them out of tho&s;e Sacred Oracles of Divine Truth, which
<PB N="53" REF="36"> they acknowledge, what ample and mo&s;t abundantly &s;atisfactory pro|vi&s;ion the Wi&s;dom and Goodne&s;s of Almighty God hath made and left in his Church to bring us &s;e|curely to the certain knowledge of his revealed will; nothing being wanting on his part, if we neglect not &s;o great Salvation.</P>
<P>The chief Texts for the Churches &s;upreme Teaching, and con&s;equent|ly Judging and determining Power, when any controver&s;ies of Faith ari&s;e, by Commi&s;&s;ion from Chri&s;t the Head-&s;pring of all Spiritual Ju|ri&s;diction, are the&s;e, and &s;uch like:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 28. 18, 19.</NOTE> <HI>Go ye, make Di&s;ciples of all Nati|ons, teaching them io ob&s;erve all things what&s;oever I have commanded you.</HI> And that this Authoritative Teaching is performed by the Pa&s;tors of the Church as his Dele|gates and Repre&s;enting his Per&s;on, is plain from that of St. <HI>Luke, He that heareth you, heareth me, and he</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap. 10. 16. Mat. 14. 18.</NOTE> <HI>that de&s;pi&s;eth you, de&s;pi&s;eth me.</HI> Again, <HI>What&s;oever ye &s;hall bind on Earth, &s;hall be bound in Heaven; and what|&s;oever
<PB N="54" REF="37"> ye &s;hall loo&s;e on Earth, &s;hall be loo&s;ed in Heaven.</HI> And again, <HI>He</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ephe&s;. 4. 11, 12, 13, &amp;c.</NOTE> <HI>gave &s;ome Apo&s;tles, and &s;ome Pro|phets, and &s;ome Evangeli&s;ts, and &s;ome Pa&s;tors and Teachers; for the perfecting of the Saints, for the work of the Mini&s;try, for the edifying of the body of Chri&s;t; 'till we all come to the unity of the Faith, and be not to&s;&s;ed too and fro with wind of every Doctrine.</HI> What more expre&s;s.</P>
<P>And yet, if it may be, the Churches Infallibility in the delive|ry of the Law of Chri&s;t is taught us in plainer terms; as namely in<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ch. 14. 26.</NOTE> tho&s;e Promi&s;es in St. <HI>John, The Holy Gho&s;t whom the Father will &s;end in my Name, he &s;hall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, what&s;oever I have &s;aid unto you. When the Spirit of Truth</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Joh. 16. 13. S. Matt. ch 28. 19.</NOTE> <HI>is come, he will guide you in to all Truth.</HI> And tho&s;e in St. <HI>Matthew, Teach them to ob&s;erve all things what|&s;oever I commanded you, and behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the World.</HI> And that in the 16<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Tim. 3. 15.</NOTE> Chap. <HI>&V;pon this rock will I build my
<PB N="55" REF="37"> Church, and the gates of Hell &s;hall not prevail again&s;t it.</HI> Such a Church as this, thus founded, thus a&s;&s;i&s;ted, thus guided, cannot po&s;|&s;ibly teach damnable Haere&s;ies or dangerous Errors, but mu&s;t needs be the Pillar and ground of Truth, as that glorious Ve&s;&s;el of Election the great Apo&s;tle of the Gentiles doth a&s;&s;ure us.</P>
<P>And therefore we may &s;ecurely rely upon her word; to do it al&s;o &s;o much concerns us, that not to hear and obey is no le&s;s then un|der pain of damnation, and that too from no ob&s;cure Texts. <HI>He that</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Epi&s;t. 4. 6.</NOTE> <HI>knoweth God, heareth us,</HI> &s;aith St. <HI>John, and he that heareth us not, is not of God; and by this we know the Spi|rit of Truth, and the Spirit of Errour.</HI> And that famous place, <HI>Dic Ec|cle&s;iae,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Matt. 18. 17.</NOTE> <HI>Tell it to the Church, and if he neglect to hear the Church, let him be to thee as an Heathen and a Publican.</HI> Per&s;ons doubtle&s;s in no fit ca&s;e for Heaven. I'll name but one more out of St. <HI>Mark, Go ye into all the World,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mark. 16. 16.</NOTE> <HI>and Preach the Go&s;pel unto every
<PB N="56" REF="38"> Creature.</HI> And what then, <HI>He that believeth not &s;hall be damned.</HI> Plain and &s;ad places the&s;e are to all Unbe|lievers and Incorrigible Hereticks: But e&s;pecially to the&s;e la&s;t, who re|ceiving the&s;e Scriptures for the Word of God, do notwith&s;tanding not only not hear the Church Obe|diently in her delivery of the Go|&s;pel, but with ob&s;tinacy and pride of heart, pre&s;ume to teach the Church, and will needs force upon her a new Creed, which was never taught by Chri&s;t, nor handed to us from the Apo&s;tles. How can &s;uch as the&s;e e&s;cape the puni&s;hment threatned in the above-mentioned Sentences. Their account mu&s;t needs be heavy; and the light they had will only &s;erve to augment their guilt.</P>
<P>And I cannot omit for a Te&s;timo|ny of the&s;e and &s;uch like Texts a|gain&s;t <HI>Prote&s;tants,</HI> that being &s;o expre&s;s and unavoidable for the Churches Authority and Obe|dience to her; in their fir&s;t Editi|ons of their <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> Bibles after their
<PB N="57" REF="38"> defection from the Church of <HI>Rome,</HI> for <HI>Church</HI> they tran&s;lated <HI>Congrega|tion,</HI> lea&s;t common under&s;tandings &s;hould di&s;cover how they were with|drawn from their Ancient Faith by new Doctrines, and Expo&s;itions &s;o expre&s;ly contrary to the Word of God. 'Till afterwards, when by divers Artifices the&s;e Teachers per|ceived they had bred in their Fol|lowers a &s;trong aver&s;ion from the Church of <HI>Rome,</HI> and that they were &s;ufficiently confirmed in their Errours, the word <HI>Congregation</HI> in the later Tran&s;lation was turn'd into <HI>Church,</HI> that from the evidence of &s;uch Texts they might gain &s;ome credit to their u&s;urp'd power, &s;et up again&s;t the pre-exi&s;tent Autho|rity of the whole Chri&s;tian World.</P>
<P>Neither is it without rea&s;on, that Chri&s;t hath &s;et up in his Church &s;uch a &s;upreme Judicature; when to de|ny this Power to tho&s;e whom he hath appointed for ever to be Go|vernours of his Kingdom on Earth, is doubtle&s;s to advance the <HI>Jewi&s;h</HI> Synagogue, above the <HI>Chri&s;tian</HI>
<PB N="58" REF="39"> Church, their <HI>Sanedrim</HI> or <HI>Great Council,</HI> whesein the High-Prie&s;t was &s;upreme Judge in all doubts<NOTE PLACE="marg">Deut. 17.</NOTE> and que&s;tions about the Law, ha|ving &s;uch ab&s;olute Authority in gi|ving Sentence, that no man could appeal, but was bound to obey un|der pain of death. And yet that was but a temporary Pedagogy de|livered by <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> a faithful Servant of the Hou&s;e of God, in Types and Shadows prefiguring and leading to Evangelical Perfection, who&s;e Mini&s;tration is far more glorious, endowed with more tran&s;cendent and admirable Priviledges, fore|told by the Prophets, and in pleni|tude of time fulfill'd, revealed and e&s;tabli&s;hed in Per&s;on by the Eternal Son of God, Lord of all things, up|on better Promi&s;es to continue for ever.</P>
<P>Secondly, Chri&s;t our Lord ha|ving &s;o dearly purchas'd a peculiar People, and furni&s;h'd his Church with all means nece&s;&s;ary to the Sal|vation of mankind; if we deny &s;uch Authority in her, namely Infallibility
<PB N="59" REF="39"> to witne&s;s, and when circum&s;tances require, to determine by a finally deci&s;ive unerring Sentence what the&s;e means are, they cannot be effectual to the end for which they were with &s;o much Sweat and Blood In&s;tituted to continue for ever; being otherwi&s;e, according to the ordinary method of Divine Providence, impo&s;&s;ible to be known with an a&s;&s;ured certainty, and by con&s;equence al&s;o to be put in practice. Neither indeed could it be truly &s;aid that Chri&s;t hath provided in his Church all things nece&s;&s;ary for our Salvation without this Au|thority; when among&s;t things ne|ce&s;&s;ary that que&s;tionle&s;s &s;eems to be mo&s;t &s;o, by which&punc; we can only come to a certain knowledge of all the re&s;t.</P>
<P>Thirdly, &s;eeing God hath made his Church a Proponent and Wit|ne&s;s of his Truth in all Ages, (for<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 ch. 8.</NOTE> that of the <HI>Acts, Ye &s;hall be witne&s;&s;es to me, both in</HI> Jeru&s;alem <HI>and all</HI> Ju|daea, <HI>and in</HI> Samaria, <HI>and unto the uttermo&s;t parts of the Earth:</HI> As to
<PB N="60" REF="40"> the &s;ub&s;tance of it; belongs not only to the Apo&s;tles, but to their Succe&s;&s;ors in the Office of making Je&s;us Chri&s;t and his Law known to the Worlds end,) the unanimous con&s;ent of the <HI>Catholick</HI> Church mu&s;t needs be an undoubted te&s;ti|mony of revealed Verities, &s;eeing it contradicts the Ju&s;tice, Goodne&s;s, and Veracity of God to authorize any to be a witne&s;s of his Truth, that might lye and deceive the World in their atte&s;tation. And me|thinks it concerns as well <HI>Engli&s;h Prote&s;tants</HI> as Us, to maintain the <HI>Catholick</HI> Church for an Infallible Witne&s;s, &s;eeing at this di&s;tance from the Preaching of Chri&s;t and his Apo&s;tles; they, as well as we, have no other Infallible a&s;&s;urance then her Te&s;timony whereby to know ei|ther, which are the undoubtd Books of Scripture, or what the true meaning of them. And thus that Religion (which <HI>Prote&s;tants</HI> pretend to be contain'd in only Scripture, mu&s;t rejecting Church Authority nece&s;&s;arily float in an
<PB N="61" REF="40"> Ocean of incertainties, and we mi|&s;erably be left in the my&s;ts of con|jectures among dead Letters, with the twi-light of natural rea&s;on, to &s;earch out Faith, and the Eternal Salvation of our Souls.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, the fore-quoted Texts be|ing &s;o expre&s;s for the Church to have a Power from Chri&s;t to oblige all men under pain of Damnation to believe and &s;ubmit to her Propo&s;als as to Faith. God hath al&s;o en|dowed her with Infallibility in bringing to our knowledge re|vealed Verities, &s;eeing otherwi&s;e &s;uch a Power in the Church, and a corre&s;pondent obligation in her Children would not bear an equal proportion. And therefore the&s;e two are in&s;eparably link'd together, a Power to bind to Believe, and In|fallibility in the Obliger; Chri&s;t a&s;&s;i&s;ting his Church with his Holy Spirit to guide her Infallibly into all Truth, becau&s;e he hath inve&s;ted her with a Power to bind to believe; and giving her a Power of obliging to believe, becau&s;e he hath made
<PB N="62" REF="41"> her Infallible in &s;uch Propo&s;als. It &s;eeming mo&s;t conformable to the Divine Goodne&s;s and Providence, that &s;uch an externe proponant of Faith &s;hould be e&s;tabli&s;hed, as might afford no ju&s;t cau&s;e to &s;u&s;pect whi|ther it be true or no, which is pro|po&s;ed; and in all rea&s;on no greater a&s;&s;urance can be de&s;ired then to have an ab&s;olute certainty that that Authority cannot err in points of Faith, to whom we mu&s;t in &s;uch Propo&s;als captivate our Wills and Under&s;tandings. For this is but to a&s;&s;ent upon undoubted evidence; then which nothing is more agree|able to mans nature&punc; Neither is it rational to believe that God, who is e&s;&s;ential, Rea&s;on and Wi&s;dom, ruling all his Creatures according to the &s;everal Di&s;po&s;itions Imprinted in them, would impo&s;e &s;uch a Duty on Di&s;cour&s;ive Entities upon other terms.</P>
<P>Ble&s;&s;ed be God who hath &s;o care|fully provided for us, in giving us a Law which is the only means to Salvation, and al&s;o an authorized
<PB N="63" REF="41" MS="y"> guide to direct us in the certain knowledge of it; namely the <HI>Ca|tholick,</HI> which cannot po&s;&s;ibly lead us into errour, as hath been former|ly &s;hewn.</P>
<P>Thus certainly the&s;e Scriptures witne&s;&s;ing the Churches Authori|ty are agreeable to rea&s;on; now let us &s;ee what further light can be added to them from the Writings and univer&s;al practice of Anti|quity.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="8" TYPE="section">
<HEAD>SECT. VIII.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P>The Churches Authority or Infal|libility taught and a&s;&s;erted by the Ancient <HI>Fathers&punc;</HI></P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>IF I &s;hould produce what Antiqui|ty affords us on this Subject, I &s;hould rather tran&s;cribe Books than Pa&s;&s;ages, &s;o Copious and Indu&s;tri|ous have the Fathers been on all oc|ca&s;ions
<PB N="64" REF="42"> to pre&s;s a point &s;o nece&s;&s;a|ry;<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>S.</HI> Athana. <HI>coni.</HI> Aria. <HI>S.</HI> Hier. <HI>S.</HI> Aug. Pole. <HI>St.</HI> Cyp. <HI>de vnit. Ecc. Tert.</HI> &amp;c.</NOTE> e&s;pecially in their <HI>Polemical</HI> Di&s;cour&s;es again&s;t <HI>Hereticks,</HI> to vin|dicate their dear Mother the Church in her Ju&s;t Rights and Priviledges again&s;t all Rebellious contradictors of her Authority. And thither I re|fer &s;uch as de&s;ire more ample &s;atis|faction; for the pre&s;ent I &s;hall con|tent my &s;elf with &s;ome few choice places, and they are the&s;e.</P>
<P><HI>We mu&s;t believe</HI> (&s;aith <HI>Irenaeus</HI>)<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"> <HI>l. cont. hae. ca. 49.</HI></NOTE> <HI>tho&s;e Prie&s;ts that are in the Church, tho&s;e that have a Succe&s;&s;ion from the Apo&s;tles, who together with the</HI> Epi&s;|copal <HI>Power, according to the good plea&s;ure of the Father, have received the certain gift of Truth.</HI></P>
<P><HI>We mu&s;t not believe,</HI> (&s;aith the <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> Prote&s;tant Church,) <HI>tho&s;e who in their</HI> Epi&s;copal <HI>Chaires have had an un-interrupted Succe&s;&s;ion from the</HI> Apo&s;tles; <HI>&s;eek not for the Law of God from their Lips, for they are fallen from the Truth; yea,</HI> General Councils <HI>can err, and have erred in</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Art. 21. <HI>of the 39.</HI></NOTE> <HI>their Definitions, having no certain gi&s;t of Truth by Divine a&s;&s;i&s;tance.</HI>
<PB N="65" REF="42"> Thus they, flatly contradicting good <HI>Irenaeus</HI> and Ancient Doctrine. Now, whom &s;hall we believe? The old <HI>Saint,</HI> or the new <HI>Prote&s;tant?</HI></P>
<P>Give him a little more Audience, for he proceeds thus, <HI>The Church</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Cap. 62. l. praed.</NOTE> <HI>&s;hall be under no mans judgement, for to the Church all things are known, in which is the perfect Faith of the Father, and of all the Di&s;pen&s;ations of Chri&s;t; and firm knowledge of the Holy Gho&s;t, who teacheth all Truth.</HI> But &s;ay he what he will, <HI>Prote&s;tants</HI> will a&s;&s;ume a Power to judge, and condemn her of no le&s;s gro&s;s and damnable Errours then Idolatry and Super&s;tition, to ju&s;tify that thing they call the <HI>Reformed Church&punc;</HI> Though it were no difficult matter for them to perceive the Inju&s;tice of &s;uch Proceedings, when the &s;ame Saint goes on and tells them, and us, <HI>That it is ea&s;ie to receive the Truth from Gods Church, &s;eeing the Apo&s;tles have most fully depo&s;ited in her as in a rich &s;tore-hou&s;e all things belonging to Truth. For what if there &s;hould ari&s;e any contention of &s;ome &s;mall
<PB N="66" REF="43"> que&s;tions, ought we not to have re|cour&s;e to the mo&s;t Ancient Churches, and from them receive what is certain and clear concerning the pre&s;ent que|&s;tion.</HI> Thus far he. And if this cour&s;e is to be taken, in &s;mall que|&s;tions, doubtle&s;s much more in matters of high concern, as many points are now controverted be|tween Us and <HI>Prote&s;tants.</HI> In &s;uch to be left to our own private con|jectures and Interpretations, would be mo&s;t un&s;afe and unrea&s;onable. And had <HI>Prote&s;tants</HI> taken the cour&s;e here pre&s;cribed by the Saint for the inqui&s;ition of Truth, when they fir&s;t rai&s;ed que&s;tions about Re|ligion, (as in &s;uch ca&s;es all Chri|&s;tians ought to do) could ever &s;uch a thing as the <HI>Prote&s;tant</HI> Church have had a beeing or exi&s;tence? For 'tis as vi&s;ible as the Sun, that there was no pre-exi&s;tent form of Faith in the whole Chri&s;tian World, according to which they mode|liz'd their Religion in <HI>England,</HI> and with whom they communica|ted, when they divided from the
<PB N="67" REF="43"> Church of <HI>Rome,</HI> their <HI>Catholick</HI> Mother.</P>
<P>If great St. <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> was not little in e&s;teem with our modern <HI>Here|ticks,</HI> they might receive full &s;atis|faction from him in this point, if they would Impartially peru&s;e his Writings again&s;t the <HI>Donati&s;ts,</HI> and other Enemies of the Churches Faith and Unity. That of his is very remarkable again&s;t <HI>Cre&s;contius; Though</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>there cannot be pro|duced</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Lib. 1. cap. 33.</NOTE> <HI>from Scriptures any examples of &s;uch a thing, yet the Truth of the &s;ame Scriptures is held of us in this matter, when we do that which plea|&s;eth the whole Church, which the Au|thority of the &s;ame Scriptures commen|deth; that becau&s;e the Holy Scrip|tures cannot deceive us, who&s;oever feareth to be deceived with the ob&s;cu|rity of this que&s;tion, let him require the judgment of the Church, which the Holy Scriptures without any am|biguity do demon&s;trate: To the end that becau&s;e the Scripture cannot de|ceive us, who&s;oever is afraid to be de|ceived by the ob&s;curity of any que&s;tion,
<PB N="68" REF="44"> may have recour&s;e to the Churches judgment concerning it, which Church the Holy Scriptures demon&s;trate with|out any ambiguity.</HI></P>
<P>Two things are &s;uitable to our pre&s;ent purpo&s;e which are clear from hence. Fir&s;t, that though we may &s;ometimes doubt what is Truth, yet we can never doubt which is the true Church, demon&s;trated to us by the Scriptures; upon who&s;e judg|ment while we rely, we are &s;ecure from holding any thing contrary to the written Word commending to us her Authority.</P>
<P>Secondly, That though the Scrip|tures are Infallible and cannot de|ceive us, yet if we will not deceive our &s;elves and kill our Souls by the dead Letter without the quickning &s;en&s;e, we mu&s;t believe what the Church believes, &s;ubmitting our private rea&s;on to her publick Inter|pretation. For el&s;e let <HI>Hereticks</HI> never &s;o much boa&s;t of Scripture for them, we may tell them in the words of the &s;ame Saint; <HI>This ye</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Cont.</HI> Fau&s;t. <HI>l. 32. c. 19.</HI></NOTE> <HI>&s;eem to do, that Scriptures may loo&s;e
<PB N="69" REF="44"> all Authority, while every one may allow or di&s;allow what his own mind &s;ugge&s;ts to him out of them.</HI> That is, may not &s;ubject his Faith to the Authority of Scripture, but &s;ubject Scripture to his Faith. It being indeed the property of all <HI>Hereticks</HI> not to take &s;en&s;e from, but to bring &s;en&s;e to tho&s;e Sacred Oracles, for|cing them by manife&s;t di&s;tortions or dark conjectures to &s;peak in de|fence of their prejudicated Tenets; and &s;o make nothing of Scripture, while they &s;eem to value nothing el&s;e.</P>
<P>Now what remedy again&s;t this intolerable abu&s;e of the Word of God, and everla&s;tingly-quarrel|producing evil but that of <HI>Origen. Quoties,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>As often as they</HI> (He|reticks)<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Ho. in Mat. &amp; Praef. l.</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> <HI>bring forth</HI> Canonical Scrip|tures, <HI>which no Chri&s;tian but believes and a&s;&s;ents to, they &s;eem to &s;ay; Be|hold the word of Truth is in our Hou&s;es; but we mu&s;t not believe them, nor depart from the Primitive Eccle|&s;ia&s;tical Tradition; nor believe other|wi&s;e then as the Churches of God by</HI>
<PB N="70" REF="45"> <HI>&s;ucce&s;&s;ion have deliver'd to us.</HI> And to put them to &s;ilence with that of<NOTE PLACE="marg">L. de Prae&s;. p. 19.</NOTE> <HI>Tertullian. We mu&s;t not appeal to Scriptures, neither is the controver&s;y to be &s;etled upon them, in which either there will be no victory at all, or very uncertain. Yea, there is no good got by di&s;puting out of Texts of Scripture,</HI> (that is, as interpretable by private rea&s;on, and play'd upon by wit,) <HI>but either to make a man &s;ick or mad. But that is only to be believed for for Truth, which in nothing di&s;agrees from the</HI> Tradition <HI>of the Church.</HI> Thus he, fully agreeing with <HI>Ori|gen</HI> in the fore-quoted place. And I cannot omit here what the glori|ous Bi&s;hop of <HI>Hippo</HI> hath, &s;o appo|&s;ite for our pre&s;ent purpo&s;e to his Catechumens; <HI>The Holy Church, the Church which is one, the true</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>S.</HI> Au&s;t. <HI>de Symb. lib. 1. v. 6.</HI></NOTE> <HI>Church, the</HI> Catholick Church <HI>fights again&s;t all Here&s;ies. She may be re|&s;i&s;ted, but cannot be conquer'd: All Here&s;ies have gone out of her, as unpro|fitable branches cut off from the Vine;</HI> (&s;ee <HI>Prote&s;tants</HI> your Original) <HI>but &s;he remains in her Root, in her Chari|ty:
<PB N="71" REF="45"> The gates of Hell &s;hall not pre|vail again&s;t her.</HI> Nor that to <HI>Ho|noratus; when therefore we &s;ee God &s;tanding for us, and &s;o much fruit and proficiency, doubt we to repo&s;e our</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">L. de util. Cred. c. 17.</NOTE> <HI>&s;elves in the bo&s;om of that Church, which from the Apo&s;tolical Chair by Succe&s;&s;ions of Bi&s;hops,</HI> Hereticks <HI>on all &s;ides barking in vain again&s;t her, hath obtain'd Supremacy of Power? To whom not to give the chief, is tru|ly either the highe&s;t Impiety, or hare|brain Arrogance.</HI></P>
<P>Thus the Fathers always brought Believers to the Church for a firm foundation in tottering times; there they ca&s;t Anchor, and fix'd them|&s;elves amid&s;t the &s;torms of Contro|ver&s;ies and Contentions rais'd by unrea&s;onable men with the wind of &s;trange Doctrines, le&s;t they &s;hould make Shipwrack of their Holy Faith; this &s;till they pre&s;t upon all Chri|&s;tians in doubts of Di&s;putations, the Church, the Church, believe the Church, the Pillar and ground of Truth, the Sacred <HI>Depo&s;itory</HI> of re|vealed Verities, the rich Store-hou&s;e
<PB N="72" REF="46"> of all things belonging to Salvati|on, protected by Chri&s;t to the Worlds end, endowed with the certain gift of Truth by the &s;peci|al guidance of the Holy Gho&s;t, foun|ded upon a Rock that the gates of Hell &s;hall not prevail again&s;t her. Which is nothing el&s;e but what they had learn'd and received from Scrip|ture and Tradition.</P>
<P>A Truth &s;o convincing, that it extorted from Dr. <HI>Field,</HI> a great Patron of the <HI>Engli&s;h Prote&s;tants,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">In his Book of the Church.</NOTE> words to this effect: <HI>Controver&s;ies are now a days grown to that height, and &s;o numerous and intricate, that few have time to di&s;cu&s;s and &s;earch in|to them thoroughly for &s;atisfaction; fewer wit and abilities to do it as &s;uch a bu&s;ine&s;s of concernment require, that no &s;ecurity remains but to fly into the arms of the Church, and acquie&s;s in her judgments and definitions.</HI> But from words let us proceed to deeds, from the Doctrine to the practice of Antiquity.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="9" TYPE="section">
<PB N="73" REF="46" MS="y">
<HEAD>SECT. IX.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P>The afore&s;aid Authority of the Church cleared and demon&s;tra|ted by the con&s;tant practice of all Ages.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>IF we ca&s;t our eyes through the whole Chri&s;tian World, not a <HI>Popi&s;h Prie&s;t</HI> in the exerci&s;e of his Spiritual Juri&s;diction, but is in &s;ome &s;ort a practical proof of this Autho|ritative Power, wherewith the Church is inve&s;ted by Je&s;us Chri&s;t: Yet re&s;iding more eminently and with larger extent in <HI>Bi&s;hops,</HI> the &s;upreme Order of the Clergy, made Over&s;eers of their re&s;pective Flocks by the Holy Gho&s;t; it appears more gloriou&s;ly vi&s;ible in the Decrees and Acts of General Councils, the highe&s;t Eccle&s;ia&s;tical Tribunal, de|termining
<PB N="74" REF="47"> all emergent Controver|&s;ies in Spiritual matters, with <HI>Ana|themae</HI>'s again&s;t all Contradictors what&s;oever. And <HI>Catholicks</HI> in all Ages acknowledging their Sacred and obliging Authority, paid mo&s;t inviolably the ju&s;t Tribute of Obe|dience to their Deci&s;ions, with &s;ub|mi&s;&s;ion of their private Judgments and Opinions, however rational before they &s;eem'd unto them. So that what points &s;oever were once declared to be of Faith by lawful and approved Councils, tho&s;e who per&s;i&s;ted in the contrary Doctrines where accounted <HI>Hereticks;</HI> and be|ing ju&s;tly Excommunicated for &s;uch incorrigible ob&s;tinacy, &s;hunn'd by all the Faithful, as no better than <HI>Heathens</HI> and <HI>Publicans.</HI></P>
<P>Now I cannot think that <HI>Engli&s;h Prote&s;tants</HI> will &s;ay, though &s;uch Decrees i&s;&s;ued out from General Councils, yet it was by an u&s;urped Power not of Right; and &s;o though &s;uch exact obedience was paid by Chri&s;tians to them, yet it was in their own prejudice, and not of duty
<PB N="75" REF="47"> or obligation; (though truely in deeds they a&s;&s;ert it) becau&s;e they pretend much veneration to the fir&s;t four General Councils; and Bi&s;hop <HI>Montague,</HI> one of the Learnede&s;t<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>In his</HI> Ap|pello ad Ca&s;a.</NOTE> men they ever had, proceeds &s;o far, as to defend again&s;t his more zea|lous Brethren of <HI>Romes</HI> ruine the Infallibility of all &s;uch Councils in Councils in Decrees of Faith. And indeed (ab&s;tracting from the In&s;ti|tution of Chri&s;t and Apo&s;tolical practice) it is &s;o notoriou&s;ly unrea|&s;onable a thing, and de&s;tructive of all Government to deny Occumeni|cal Synods to be the fi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="2 letters">e&s;t Judges in &s;uch matters, that few or no <HI>Here|ticks</HI> ever had the confidence ab&s;o|lutely to di&s;claim again&s;t the Au|thority of &s;uch A&s;&s;emblies as Tyran|nically a&s;&s;uming a Power over o|ther mens Con&s;ciences in things not appertaining to them; but acknow|ledging their Authority, &s;till cau&s;e|le&s;ly pick'd quarrells, either about their Calling, or Convening, or Proceeding, or Confirming, or Re|ceiving; pretending them to be
<PB N="76" REF="48"> Defective &s;ome way or other, to ju&s;tify their Di&s;obedience to their Decrees.</P>
<P>And doubtle&s;s, as <HI>fitte&s;t,</HI> &s;o if they were not <HI>lawful</HI> Judges in all &s;piritu|al matters by Commi&s;&s;ion from Chri&s;t, the <HI>Supreme Head</HI> of his my|&s;tical Body, and <HI>nece&s;sary,</HI> when made &s;o by pre&s;ent circum&s;tances: the Apo&s;tles them&s;elves (when Con|trover&s;ies aro&s;e in the Infant-Church among Believers about &s;ome legal Ob&s;ervances) would not have taken this cour&s;e to define tho&s;e matters; Neither would they have prefix'd to their Decrees a <HI>Vi&s;um e&s;t Spiritui</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 15.</NOTE> <HI>&s;ancto &amp; nobis,</HI> and &s;o ju&s;tly father tho&s;e determinations upon the Holy Gho&s;t, had they not been Divine Sanctions, though made by men, yet according to the appointment and will of God, infallibly a&s;&s;i&s;ting their endeavours; Neither would the Univer&s;al Church in after-Ages have on the &s;ame occa&s;ions in&s;i&s;ted in their &s;teps, or pre&s;umed in the &s;ame authoritative &s;tile to attribute their Meetings and Deci&s;ions to
<PB N="77" REF="48"> the Holy Spirit. A Power, as Divine, withal &s;o nece&s;&s;ary, that no other way could with &s;o much efficacy and &s;atisfaction pre&s;erve, declare, or explicate the Faith once delivered to the Saints, extirpate Here&s;ies, maintain Peace and Unity in the Church, &s;trengthen the Nerves of Eccle&s;ia&s;tical Authority, reform Cler|gy and Laity, and depre&s;s the Ene|mies of the name of Chri&s;t our Lord and Saviour: In&s;omuch that <HI>Hooker</HI> (a very learned Prote&s;tant) pleads &s;trongly for Submi&s;&s;ion and Obedi|ence to Decrees of General Coun|cels; telling tho&s;e that are otherwi&s;e<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>In the Pre&s;. to his</HI> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">ccl. Politic.</NOTE> minded, <HI>That the way of Peace they have not known, going again&s;t the di|ctates of Nature, Rea&s;on, and Holy Writ;</HI> And, as I remember, gives in|&s;tance in the fir&s;t Councel celebrated by the Apo&s;tles, the pattern of what were to follow; who&s;e Decrees put to &s;ilence all former doubts and di&s;|putations, every Chri&s;tian obeying without the lea&s;t &s;cruple to be mi&s;|led by them, and with all readine&s;s, as if God him&s;elf had &s;poken to them.
<PB N="78" REF="49" MS="y"> And que&s;tionle&s;s the Divine Provi|dence thus order'd, that this main point of the Authority of Councels &s;hould as well be delivered to the World by Apo&s;tolical Practice as Precept, that with greater evidence they might know <HI>whom</HI> and <HI>what</HI> to follow, when que&s;tions about Chri|&s;tian Doctrine did ari&s;e; and that after the definitive Sentence of that &s;upreme Judicature, all wranglings were to cea&s;e, and they had then nothing to do but to obey.</P>
<P>In the <HI>Centuries</HI> immediately &s;uc|ceeding, though <HI>Satans</HI> Mi&s;&s;ioners were &s;preading fal&s;e Doctrines to corrupt the Faith, and Perturb the Peace of the Church, yet no Oecu|menical Synods could be celebrated, by rea&s;on of tho&s;e General Per&s;ecu|tions which hal'd the Chri&s;tians to their Martyrdom as far and wide as the va&s;t <HI>Roman Empire</HI> had Arms to do it. And indeed all that while the Blood of tho&s;e Noble Armies of Glorious Martyrs &s;poke as lov'd and as Powerfully for the Faith of Chri&s;t, as the Decrees of living Confe&s;&s;ors
<PB N="79" REF="49"> could have done; &s;upplying as it were in that extraordinary manner what the&s;e had a con&s;tant Power and will al&s;o to perform, but no convenience to put in execution. However they met as well as they could, and took the be&s;t cour&s;e tho&s;e &s;ad times would permit to kill Soul|de&s;troying <HI>Here&s;ies,</HI> and keep true Faith and unity alive in the Chri|&s;tian Church.</P>
<P>Afterwards in the time of <HI>Con|&s;tantine</HI> that Great and Glorious Emperour, the fir&s;t publick Nur|&s;ing Father of his <HI>Catholick</HI> Mother, when <HI>Ariani&s;m</HI> had In&s;till'd its Poi|&s;on into the Veins of many Chri|&s;tian Bi&s;hop, or Antichri&s;tian rather, and &s;o diffus'd its Contagion into a great part of the Body of the Church, by denying the Divinity of the Son of God; the fir&s;t Oecu|menical and mo&s;t Famous Synod was Celebrated at <HI>Nicaea</HI> in <HI>Bythinia,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ann. Ch. 327.</NOTE> to provide an Antidote again&s;t his Venemous Infection; where after mo&s;t mature deliberation and de|bate, the <HI>Con&s;ub&s;tantiality</HI> of the
<PB N="80" REF="50"> Son of God with the Eternal Fa|ther was defin'd and declar'd by the Council to be of Faith, again&s;t the Arch-Heretick <HI>Arius</HI> and all his fol|lowers.</P>
<P>And the prime end for which Ge|neral Councils were in&s;tituted and endowed with this &s;upreme Judicia|ry power, being for the pre&s;erva|tion of the <HI>Catholick</HI> Faith, by the Authoritative condemnation of in|croaching Here&s;ies, the next Oecu|menical Synod celebrated at <HI>Con|&s;tantinople,</HI> again&s;t <HI>Macedonius</HI> and<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ann. Ch. 381.</NOTE> whom he had taught, contrary to the Doctrine of the Church, to deny the Divinity of the Holy Gho&s;t, the third Per&s;on in the Sacred Trinity.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ann. Ch. 431.</NOTE> The next at <HI>Ephe&s;us,</HI> where <HI>Ne&s;to|rius</HI> the Patriarch of <HI>Con&s;tantinople</HI> with his Adherents were Condem|ned for di&s;tracting Chri&s;t into two Per&s;ons. And the fourth at <HI>Chalce|don,</HI> again&s;t the <HI>Eutychians</HI> for con|tracting Chri&s;t into one Nature.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ann. Ch. 451.</NOTE> And &s;o others in following Ages to our pre&s;ent times were called on emergent occa&s;ions to determine
<PB N="81" REF="50"> and declaring to all Chri&s;tians what was to be believed as &s;ufficiently re|veal'd by Almighty God; and the like practice will be to the Worlds end, when the nece&s;&s;ities of the Church require it.</P>
<P>Yet not as making new Sub&s;tan|tial Creeds, or preci&s;e Articles of Faith not before in beeing, (for that would require new Revelations of God's Will, which <HI>Catholicks</HI> pre|tend not to, acknowledging Chri&s;t to be a perfect Law-giver by him&s;elf and his Apo&s;tles) but only declaring and explicating what already is re|vealed when call'd in que&s;tion. For the definitive Sentence of a General Council in a matter of Faith, in|cludes and pre&s;uppo&s;es an univer&s;al Tradition of that Doctrine, and is but a publick Authoratative and more explicite declaration of what hath been taught by Chri&s;t and his Apo|&s;tles, and what the Church holds upon that tenure, when any Con|tradictors endeavour to rob us of our Holy Faith.</P>
<PB N="82" REF="51">
<P>For <HI>Catholick</HI> Faith always is the &s;ame, although the Evidence and verbal Notions of that Faith are not always alike; nor is it material, &s;o they be but &s;ound and agreeable to <HI>Tradition;</HI> yea, &s;ometimes words never before in Eccle&s;ia&s;tical u&s;e, are accepted by General Councils into the Churches language to ex|pre&s;s her immutable Faith, as cir|cum&s;tances then require, for the more efficacious redre&s;s of pre&s;ent evils; and preventing all mi&s;takes of that nature for the future, even in the earne&s;t under&s;tandings. For by this means <HI>Catholicks</HI> knowing a&s;&s;uredly what to hold and &s;tick clo&s;e to in points controverted, could not be circumvented by the &s;ubtile in&s;inuations and wily expre&s;|&s;ions of <HI>Hereticks,</HI> whereby they lie in wait to deceive the unwary, and in&s;en&s;ibly in&s;till into well-mea|ning Souls their Pernitious Doctrines for &s;aving Truths.</P>
<P>And this is the true rea&s;on why the <HI>Arians</HI> did &s;o &s;torm at the word <GAP DESC="foreign">, (<HI>Con&s;ub&s;tantial,</HI>) and in
<PB N="83" REF="51"> furious rage cry again&s;t it as an in|novation, when fir&s;t in&s;erted into the <HI>Creed</HI> by the <HI>Nicene</HI> Fathers as a mo&s;t proper and powerful An|tidote again&s;t their poi&s;on. And why tho&s;e Sons of &s;ubtilty did take &s;uch indefatigable pains, and put in practice &s;uch curious Artifices to counter-check, or wholly extir|pate that term out of <HI>Chri&s;tian Con|fe&s;&s;ions,</HI> as well knowing if that word liv'd and pro&s;per'd in the Church, all their Arts and Elo|quence could not ea&s;ily gain more Pro&s;elytes, but their Anti-Doctrine mu&s;t die and peri&s;h. And as upon the &s;ame account the General Coun|cils of <HI>Lateran</HI> and <HI>Trent</HI> after the unhappy birth and growth of the <HI>Sacramentarian</HI> Here&s;y, did make u&s;e of a new word (<HI>viz.) Trau&s;ub|&s;tantiation,</HI> to expre&s;s more aptly the Ancient Faith; &s;o for the &s;ame rea&s;on our modern Reformers ex|claim again&s;t that term as a novelty in Religion, becau&s;e it manife&s;tly contains their condemnation, and enervates their main Plea of Refor|mation.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="10" TYPE="section">
<PB N="84" REF="52">
<HEAD>SECT. X.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P>A farther Declaration of the Churches Authority or Infal|libility in General Councils from Autiquity.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>THe Church of God in all Ages by General Councils giving an deci&s;ive Sentence in controver&s;ies about Faith, as hath been &s;hown in the precedent <HI>Section,</HI> each De|cree and <HI>Anathema</HI> &s;peaks in deed and reality her Infallibility in &s;uch Deci&s;ions. Notwith&s;tanding le&s;t perver&s;e minds or weak apprehen|&s;ions &s;hould mi&s;con&s;true her Actions, and not judge aright of the grounds of &s;uch proceedings; the Ancient Fathers, who be&s;t under&s;tood the belief and meaning of their <HI>Catho|lick</HI> Mother, have in their Writings left undoubted Te&s;timonies to the
<PB N="85" REF="52"> World that they cannot erre who follow her voice, declaring by tho&s;e A&s;&s;emblies what ought to be be|lieved for revealed Truths.</P>
<P>S. <HI>Athana&s;ius</HI> &s;o famous for his <HI>Confe&s;&s;ion of Faith</HI> and Sufferings for it, in his Epi&s;tle to the <HI>Affrican</HI> Bi&s;hops, tells them, that <HI>Verbum Do|mini per Oecumenicam</HI> Niceae <HI>Syno|dum manet in aeternum;</HI> Not doubt|ing to affirm the Doctrine of the <HI>Nicene</HI> Fathers to be the Word of God, and of Eternal Verity. From whom and other Fathers the Glo|rious Emperour <HI>Con&s;tantine</HI> had Learn'd to write to the Churches. <HI>That what&s;oever is Decreed in the</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>In Epi&s;t. ad Ecc. apud Sacta.</HI> l. 1. c. 6.</NOTE> <HI>Holy Council of Bi&s;hops is altogether to be a&s;cribed to the Divine Will.</HI> S. <HI>Ambro&s;e,</HI> that great maintainer of Eccle&s;ia&s;tical Authority and Di&s;ci|pline, profe&s;&s;ed re&s;olutely that he would rather part with his Life then the <HI>Nicene</HI> Faith. <HI>Sequor tractatum</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Epi&s;t. 12.</NOTE> Niceni <HI>Concilii a quo nec mors, nec gladius me poterit &s;eparare: The Council of</HI> Nice <HI>is my guide, from which neither Death nor the Sword of
<PB N="86" REF="53"> Per&s;ecution &s;hall divide me.</HI> And what of St. <HI>Hilary</HI> and other <HI>Catho|lick Bi&s;hops</HI> and <HI>Confe&s;&s;ors</HI> that &s;uffe|red from the power and malice of the <HI>Arians,</HI> before they would part with one Syllable or Letter of the <HI>Nicene</HI> Faith, by changing <GAP DESC="foreign"> or <GAP DESC="foreign"> (of the <HI>&s;ame Sub&s;tance</HI>) into <GAP DESC="foreign">, (of the <HI>like Sub&s;tance</HI>) is well known from the Faithful Re|cords of tho&s;e times.</P>
<P>When above &s;ix hundred Fathers were gathered at <HI>Chalcedon</HI> in a Ge|neral<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Victor Afri. de Per&s;ec.</HI> Wand. <HI>ca.</HI> 61. Barro|nius, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></NOTE> Council there celebrated, and &s;ome, perhaps &s;ecret <HI>Arians,</HI> pro|pos'd the re-examination of the <HI>Nicene</HI> Decrees, it in no &s;ort would be permitted, the Holy Synod cry|ing out, <HI>Si quis retractat,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>If any one retract, let him be Accur&s;ed. If any one inquires anew about them, let him be accur&s;ed. Cur&s;ed be he that adds, Cur&s;ed be he that Innovates.</HI> For in &s;uch definitions in points of Faith, being rather the Decrees of God than men, &s;hould they have been &s;ubjected to a fre&s;h Inqui&s;ition, had not been &s;o much to que&s;tion
<PB N="87" REF="53"> the Fathers A&s;&s;embled in the name of Chri&s;t; as the Infallibity of the Holy Gho&s;t a&s;&s;i&s;ting their endeavours in &s;uch Deci&s;ions. Which is not my collection, but the a&s;&s;ertion of St. <HI>Leo</HI> the Great, both for his Sanctity and Supreme Pa&s;tor&s;hip in the Church of God, in his Epi&s;tle to the Empe|rour <HI>Martian</HI> in the&s;e words. <HI>Prae|no&s;cat Pietas no&s;tra Venerabilis Im|perator,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>Venerable Emperour, let</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ep. 78.</NOTE> <HI>your Piety fir&s;t know, that whom we &s;end from the Apo&s;tolical Chair, are not directed to combat with the ene|mies of Faith, we daring not to go about to handle tho&s;e things which have been defin'd by the good plea&s;ure of God, both at</HI> Nice <HI>and</HI> Chalcedon, <HI>as if they were weak and doubtful, which &s;o great an Authority hath ra|tified by the Holy Spirit.</HI> And there|fore the Emperour, that the &s;aid Decrees might be more vigorou&s;ly<NOTE PLACE="marg">Habetur in Codice Ju|&s;tini.</NOTE> executed, publi&s;h'd an Edict, <HI>Strict|ly commanding humane contentions and Inqui&s;itions to cea&s;e about tho&s;e matters, and all Chri&s;tians under the</HI> Roman <HI>Juri&s;diction to &s;ubmit their
<PB N="88" REF="54"> Judgments to the Decrees of the mo&s;t Holy Synods:</HI> Becau&s;e (be&s;ides the penalties of the Laws) they would by &s;uch quarrells incurre the ju&s;t cen&s;ure of joyning with <HI>Jews</HI> and <HI>Pagans</HI> again&s;t the Church. Yet alas <HI>Prote&s;tants</HI> do &s;o, and will needs be the only or true&s;t Chri&s;tians.</P>
<P>St. <HI>Au&s;tin,</HI> the Oracle of Anti|quity,<NOTE PLACE="marg">De Bapt. cont. Donat: l 1.</NOTE> tells us, <HI>That though concer|ning Rebaptization of</HI> Hereticks, <HI>per&s;ons of eminent Learning and Piety did di&s;pute among them&s;elves peaceably the que&s;tion, in&s;omuch that there were contrary deci&s;ions of particular Coun|cils in the bu&s;ine&s;s, 'till in a plenary Synod of the whole World that which was &s;oundly believ'd was without all doubt confirmed.</HI> And el&s;ewhere, <HI>That concerning the validity of Bap|ti&s;m</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Cont. Parm. lib. 2.</NOTE> <HI>given by any one not a Chri&s;tian, nothing ought determinately to be con|cluded without the definition of &s;ome General Council.</HI> And that concer|ning the validity of Bapti&s;m given by <HI>Hereticks</HI> there was no que&s;tion to be made, being already agitated, perfected, and defined in the unity
<PB N="89" REF="54"> of the whole World. Which had it been done before St. <HI>Cyprians</HI> Glorious Martyrdom, he makes no doubt but the Holy Martyr would have &s;ubmitted his Judgment to the<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>L. 7. cont.</HI> Donat. <HI>ca&punc; 53.</HI></NOTE> Authority of an Oecumenical Sy|nod.</P>
<P>And therefore that &s;aying of<NOTE PLACE="marg">Lib. 2. de bapt. cap. 3.</NOTE> the &s;ame Father, <HI>Priora Concilia nunquam a po&s;terioribus emendari; That former Councils are &s;ometimes corrected by the later,</HI> is not po&s;&s;ibly applicable to deci&s;ions in points of Faith, as if &s;omething ami&s;s in &s;uch Decrees might be amended; for then the Saint mu&s;t needs contra|dict him&s;elf in his well-known a&s;&s;er|tions. And therefore is to be un|der&s;tood either of further explica|tions of &s;uch points, and then 'tis &s;ound and <HI>Catholick</HI> Doctrine; or Cu&s;tomes and Rights appertaining to Church-Di&s;cipline, which are alterable by the Authority of Coun|cils for the better, as pre&s;ent cir|cum&s;tances &s;hall require. And doubt|le&s;s many oppo&s;ite Canons of Law|ful Councils may be found in &s;uch
<PB N="90" REF="55"> matters, and makes nothing again&s;t the Doctrine of the Church concer|ning her Infallibility. But in mat|ters of Faith no General approved Synods did ever make contrary De|crees; &s;o that when any are &s;hown oppo&s;ite in words, they may with &s;ufficient &s;atisfaction be reconciled, and manife&s;ted to agree in the <HI>Ca|tholick</HI> &s;en&s;e of Doctrine therein con|tain'd.</P>
<P>For could there be really contra|ry Decrees in points of <HI>Catholick</HI> Faith determin'd, General Councils confirm'd by the <HI>Pope,</HI> and re|ceived by the Church, that would be eternally fal&s;e, and mo&s;t unrea&s;o|nable, which is ratified for a mo&s;t manife&s;t Truth, and mo&s;t agreeable to right rea&s;on by univer&s;al Church|practice; namely, <HI>That all tho&s;e who will not he accounted</HI> Hereticks, <HI>mu&s;t conform them&s;elves to the De|erees of Oecumenical Synods.</HI> And are the words of <HI>Vincentius Lyry|nen&s;is</HI> in his <HI>Admonitory again&s;t Pro|phane Novelties,</HI> a Di&s;cour&s;e as ex|pre&s;s for us, as if it were now <HI>ex
<PB N="91" REF="55"> profe&s;&s;o</HI> writ again&s;t <HI>Prote&s;tants</HI> in this controver&s;y.</P>
<P>But not to be tedious, I will clo&s;e up the&s;e Te&s;timonies (&s;o pregnant for the Infallibility of the Church declaring her Faith by <HI>Oecumenical Synods</HI>) with the mo&s;t famous Speech of St. <HI>Gregory</HI> the Great, <HI>Sicut Sancti</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Lib. 1. Ep. 24 ad Pat.</HI> Con&s;tan. &amp; Alexan.</NOTE> <HI>Evangelii,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>I confe&s;s my &s;elf to re|ceive and venerate the four Councils as the four Books of the Holy Go&s;pel.</HI> And then names them, yet not with any intention to exclude the like e&s;teem of the fifth, being the &s;econd<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ann. Ch. 553.</NOTE> General Council at <HI>Con&s;tantinople,</HI> which afterwards he &s;pecifies; and were all the General Councils cele|brated before his happy Government of the univer&s;al Church. Neither will the <HI>Prote&s;tants</HI> be ever able to give any &s;atisfactory rea&s;on why they do not give the &s;ame veneration and acceptance to all approv'd <HI>Oecume|nical Synods,</HI> and in particular to that of <HI>Trent,</HI> being confirmed by the &s;ame vi&s;ible Head, and received by the Body of the &s;ame <HI>Catholick</HI> Church.</P>
<PB N="92" REF="56">
<P>And to make this more evident; I will make a brief parallel of the <HI>Prote&s;tants</HI> Ca&s;e with the <HI>Arians,</HI> (by them confe&s;s'd to be <HI>Here|ticks</HI>) by which I think will ea&s;i|ly be di&s;cover'd that they can &s;ay nothing to ju&s;tify them&s;elves a|gain&s;t that Council, but will be as good and &s;trong for the <HI>Ari|ans</HI> again&s;t the <HI>Nicene</HI> Fathers; their tryals being alike upon their di&s;tur|bance of the Peace of the Church with new Doctrines, and their con|demnation alike by the &s;ame Autho|rity. If they &s;ay the Council of <HI>Trent</HI> was not a lawful General Council; did not the <HI>Arians</HI> pretend the &s;ame again&s;t the <HI>Nicene</HI> Synod, and all <HI>Hereticks</HI> take up the &s;ame Plea again&s;t the Councils by whom they were condemned? If they &s;ay, true, they did &s;o; but They without cau&s;e, We ju&s;tly. Let them give us a demon&s;tration of this, and we are &s;atisfied; and nothing el&s;e can carry it in this controver&s;y.</P>
<P>Did not the <HI>Arians</HI> repute the <HI>Novatians Hereticks,</HI> being con|demned
<PB N="93" REF="56"> by a Council, though not General? And yet refus'd them&s;elves to &s;tand to the <HI>Nicene</HI> Synod though <HI>Oecumenical.</HI> Why? The <HI>Novatians,</HI> &s;ay the <HI>Arians, complain without cau&s;e; We ju&s;tly.</HI> Did not the <HI>Ne|&s;torians</HI> and <HI>Eutychians</HI> abhor the the <HI>Arians</HI> as ju&s;tly anathematiz'd by the <HI>Nicene</HI> Fathers, and yet the&s;e refu&s;e to obey the Decrees of the <HI>Chalcedon</HI> Council, tho&s;e of the <HI>Con&s;tantinopolitan?</HI> Why? The <HI>Ari|ans</HI> contradicted without cau&s;e, &s;ay the <HI>Ne&s;torians</HI> and <HI>Eutychians,</HI> but we ju&s;tly. In a word, 'tis a plea common to all condemned <HI>Hereticks,</HI> with <HI>Prote&s;tants;</HI> and if they would &s;peak fully, amounts to thus much: <HI>We will receive no Councils farther then they agree with us, and will never acknowledge or &s;ubmit to any as lawful that condemn our Doctine.</HI> For when they they have a long time hunted up and down for excu&s;es, this in reality is the only and ju&s;te&s;t cau&s;e they have of their di&s;obedience.</P>
<PB N="49" REF="57">
<P>If they appeal from the Council to the Scriptures, as in their Opini|on &s;tanding for them; did not the <HI>Arians</HI> do the &s;ame? And I dare be bold to &s;ay with far more probabili|ty then <HI>Prote&s;tants</HI> can pretend to in many points controverted between Them and Us. If they &s;ay they never had a fair hearing before Sen|tence was pa&s;s'd again&s;t them, and that they were condemn'd by their Enemies, being Judges in their own cau&s;e. Did not, or might not the <HI>Arians,</HI> and any other <HI>Hereticks,</HI> pretend the &s;ame again&s;t the re|&s;pective Councils by which they were condemned? And 'tis all one, as if &s;ome Rebels &s;tubbornly refu&s;ing to an&s;wer for them&s;elves in a ju&s;t Tryal according to the e&s;tabli&s;h'd Laws of the Kingdom which they have tran&s;gre&s;&s;ed, &s;hould after Sen|tence pronounc'd complain of Ille|gal proceedings as not being heard for them&s;elves, and having no rea|&s;on to plead, where the Party offen|ded was their Judge by his Com|mi&s;&s;ioners.</P>
<PB N="95" REF="57">
<P>This is the parallel; And &s;eri|ou&s;ly for my own part in the mo&s;t Impartial examination of it, I can|not &s;ee any po&s;&s;ible eva&s;ion for the <HI>Prote&s;tants,</HI> but that in all Doctrines of Faith wherein they contradict the pre&s;ent Church of <HI>Rome,</HI> they are as notorious <HI>Hereticks</HI> by the deci&s;ions of the Council of <HI>Trent,</HI> as the <HI>Arians</HI> for denying the Divi|nity of Chri&s;t by the Authoratative Sentence of the <HI>Nicene</HI> Fathers.</P>
<P>And to conclude this <HI>Section</HI> and <HI>Motive;</HI> after all the&s;e expre&s;s Texts of Scripture for the Churches Au|thority and Obedience unto her un|der pain of damnation; with the &s;en&s;e of them &s;o brought down to us by the Writings of Antiquity and Church-practice of her juri&s;diction; (which is an evidence that all con|trary Interpretations are fal&s;e and &s;purious) for any blinded with In|tere&s;t or Pa&s;&s;ion to venture his eter|nal Salvation upon a <HI>May be other|wi&s;e,</HI> or a probable argument dedu|ced from Scripture, leaning on the weak crutches of private rea&s;on, or
<PB N="96" REF="58"> a particular Fallible Congregation, is a &s;trange and dangerous pre&s;um|ption. For in Fine, the Authority of the <HI>Catholick</HI> Church in &s;uch matters, is of more weight than ten thou&s;and Arguments of private Rea&s;on. It being a thing manife&s;t to judicious men, that there is no place for <HI>Ifs</HI> and <HI>Ands,</HI> where there can be no evidence brought again&s;t a point of Doctrine, which the highe&s;t Tribunal upon earth had already Decreed, and propos'd to be believ'd by all Chri&s;tians, as &s;uf|ficiently revealed by Almighty God.</P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="motive">
<PB N="97" REF="58">
<HEAD>The &s;econd Motive:</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P>That the <HI>Engli&s;h Prote&s;tant Church</HI> making Scripture the only &s;ufficient Rule of <HI>Faith,</HI> without any Vi&s;ible Judge to Interpret and give the Sen&s;e of it Authoritatively to <HI>Chri&s;tians,</HI> &s;tands on a mo&s;t uncertain and groundle&s;s Foundation.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<DIV2 N="1" TYPE="section">
<HEAD>SECT. I.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P>An Introduction to the following Di&s;cour&s;e.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>THus having by the Grace and Ble&s;&s;ing of God on my en|deavours in the inqui&s;ition of Truth found &s;ure Principles whereon to
<PB N="98" REF="59"> build Faith and Religion, in the <HI>Roman</HI> Church, and no where el&s;e; nothing remained; but notwith|&s;tanding all interpo&s;ed difficulties, to betake my &s;elf to that Commu|nion, wherein rationally, that is, upon Infallible grounds I was per|&s;waded Truth only was to be found, and Salvation, ordinarily to be ex|pected. However, that I might give the Religion I had profe&s;s'd &s;o long a full hearing to the be&s;t of my abilities and under&s;tanding, be|fore I &s;hak'd hands with it, I dili|gently examin'd the grounds of the <HI>Prote&s;tant</HI> Church and Doctrine, (which too few do,) and after much enquiry, it was evident to me, they could not afford to Impartial Judg|ments any &s;olid and real &s;atisfaction. For the main Pillar of the <HI>Prote&s;tant</HI> Religion, being to make the Scrip|ture the &s;ole Rule of Faith, I finding by clear conviction this foundation to be without Solidity, how could I in Rea&s;on or Con&s;cience &s;tand firm to that Church which I &s;aw built on &s;o un&s;table a bottom. And
<PB N="99" REF="59"> indeed were <HI>Protestants</HI> able to per|form what they promi&s;e, that is, to re&s;olve all Controver&s;ies of Faith by Sacred Scripture, we &s;hould be &s;o far from being true <HI>Chri&s;tians,</HI> the be&s;t of men, that we were wor&s;e than Bea&s;ts if we &s;hould refu&s;e to be judg'd thereby.</P>
<P>Wherefore it is a wrongful Im|putation in them to bear the World in hand, that we have not a due veneration of tho&s;e Sacred Oracles of Divine Truth; when our reve|rence and re&s;pect to them is in rea|lity more than theirs, our Canon more general, our Expo&s;itions more elaborate, humble and &s;ubmi&s;&s;ive, and our A&s;&s;ent unchangeable to what&s;oever the Church declares to be revealed by them, or is contain'd in them evidently by nece&s;&s;ary con|&s;equence: They in the <HI>interim</HI> only believing by a Spirit with a &s;trange pre&s;umption, what they plea&s;e, &s;ay|ing and un&s;aying, (in Civil Wars among them&s;elves, as well as again&s;t us, whom they call the common enemy,) what they think is for their
<PB N="100" REF="60"> pre&s;ent advantage, to &s;erve their turn on all occa&s;ions.</P>
<P>And while we nece&s;&s;arily urge to all <HI>Chri&s;tians</HI> the Authority of the Church, as the Pillar and ground of Truth, we are &s;o far from inten|ding any diminution of their ju&s;t e&s;teem, that if they can produce but one &s;ingle place of Scripture evi|dently containing the contrary to what we believe, <HI>Conclamatum e&s;t,</HI> The controver&s;y is at an end, we will confe&s;s we are in the wrong; and for this Miracle (for 'twill be no le&s;s when ever it is done) yield the whole cau&s;e unto them. But 'till then let th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">m cea&s;e to traduce us as <HI>Non-Venera<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">ers</HI> of Sacred Writ, becau&s;e we will not receive it for what God did never intend it; and leave it to his Church: And again&s;t the evidence of our own Eyes and long experience, acknowledge it to have conditions fit and requi&s;ite for the plain and Infallible in&s;truction of all <HI>Chri&s;tians</HI> of the whole Law of Chri&s;t, and final deci&s;ion of all Controver&s;ies. For that Scripture
<PB N="101" REF="60"> by it &s;elf cannot perform tho&s;e ne|ce&s;&s;ary Offices in the Church, will manife&s;tly be made to appear in the following <HI>Sections.</HI></P>
<P>But fir&s;t I &s;hall &s;hew that herein they agree with other <HI>Hereticks,</HI> and Di&s;&s;ent from the Antient Church as well as from Us in this main fundamental of their Religion.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="2" TYPE="section">
<HEAD>SECT. II.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P><HI>Hereticks</HI> from the beginning were accu&s;tomed to Appeal to <HI>Scripture</HI> as the &s;ole Rule of. <HI>Faith</HI> whereby they would be judg'd; in oppo&s;ition to the <HI>Traditionary Doctrine</HI> and Sen&s;e of the <HI>Catholick Church.</HI></P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>THat what&s;oever is purely of Divine Faith, depends nece&s;&s;ary on the Word of God, is
<PB N="102" REF="61"> &s;ound Doctrine; but that all Super|natural Verities revealed to the Church are &s;o written in the re|ceived Canon, as none can mi&s;un|der&s;tand them, is a mo&s;t dangerous po&s;ition; yet the <HI>Anchora Sacra</HI> and chief refuge of old condemned <HI>Hereticks,</HI> as well as of our modern Adver&s;aries; who groundiug their novel Opinions upon Texts of Scrip|ture as interpreted by their own private Rea&s;on, do at la&s;t make them <HI>Heretical</HI> by choo&s;ing pertina|ciou&s;ly to adhere to them, again&s;t the Sen&s;e and Judgement of the Church. A &s;ad Ca&s;e this, that with the Waters of Life they &s;hould &s;uck in Eternal Death into their Souls. But alas! Thus they turn Remedies into Di&s;ea&s;es, and blind their Eyes with the Heavenly Light of the Word; becoming &s;o much the more incorrigible, becau&s;e they per&s;wade them&s;elves (even again&s;t evidence, (if &s;eeing they would &s;ee) that they have Divine Authority for their Doctrines.</P>
<PB N="103" REF="61">
<P>The <HI>Arians</HI> in the Controver&s;y between them and <HI>Catholicks</HI> about the Divinity of Chri&s;t, would ad|mit nothing but Scripture, as St. <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> te&s;tifies, bringing in <HI>Maxi|mus</HI> an <HI>Arian</HI> Bi&s;hop thus di&s;puting with him. <HI>If you produce any thing</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Cont</HI> Max. <HI>l. 1. Init.</HI></NOTE> <HI>out of the Divine Scriptures, which are cemmon to all, of nece&s;&s;ity we mu&s;t give ear unto it: But the&s;e words which are without Scripture in no Ca&s;e are received by us.</HI> The direct Language of <HI>Prote&s;tants,</HI> who in this however are perfect <HI>Arians.</HI></P>
<P>The <HI>Macedonians</HI> impugning the Divinity of the Holy Gho&s;t; reject|ed the <HI>Gloria Patri &amp; Filio &amp; Spi|ritui Sancto,</HI> whereby the Church profe&s;&s;es her belief of a Trinity of Per&s;ons in the Unity of the Divine E&s;&s;ence, becau&s;e not contained in Holy Writ. Witne&s;s St. <HI>Ba&s;il; They</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Li. de Sp. S. c. 25, &amp; 26.</NOTE> (the <HI>Macedonians) cea&s;e not to brag up and down that the Glorification of God with the Holy Gho&s;t wants Te&s;ti|mony, wants Scripture.</HI> Thus they then, and thus <HI>Prote&s;tants</HI> now in points controverted between
<PB N="104" REF="62"> them and us. But hear the &s;ame Holy Fathers an&s;wer, <HI>Verily again&s;t</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>The Church then in <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">r Doxology us'd</HI> Cum Spiritu Sancto, <HI>as</HI> El Spiri+tui Sancto</NOTE> <HI>that they &s;ay the Prepo&s;ition,</HI> cum (Spiritu Sancto) <HI>to want Te&s;timony, nor to be extant in Scripture, we re|ply thus: If nothing el&s;e be received without the Scripture, neither truly let this be received by us without Scrip|ture, let us al&s;o receive this among many other. For I think it Apo&s;toli|cal to adhere to the unwritten</HI> Traditi|ons. You &s;ee we need not new words to condemn the <HI>Prote&s;tants,</HI> who will never be able to give any rational &s;atisfaction why they re|ceive &s;ome things not in Scripture only upon the &s;core of Church-Tra|dition, and yet refu&s;e other alike commended to them by the &s;ame Authority. In all rea&s;on they de|&s;erve an equal reception, and &s;o they mu&s;t become <HI>Catholicks.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Euryches</HI> the <HI>Arch-Heretick</HI> de|nyed Chri&s;t to be perfect man as well as perfect God, and for his defence appealed to Scripture, <HI>Ergo a S. Scriptur<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">s, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 span"></HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>have vet learned from the Sacred Scr<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">p|tures
<PB N="105" REF="62"> of two Natures.</HI> To whom it was replyed, <HI>Neither have we been</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Concit.</HI> Chalced. <HI>Act. 1.</HI></NOTE> <HI>taught (the word) <GAP DESC="foreign"> from Sa|cred Writ.</HI> Which mu&s;t needs put him to a ba&s;hful &s;ilence; the verity of Chri&s;t's Humane Nature being as fully deliver'd in Scripture as his Divine, though not in &s;uch expre&s;s terms as they required: And there|fore both either to be nece&s;&s;arily receiv'd or rejected by them. But <HI>Prote&s;tants</HI> certainly have far le&s;s to &s;ay for them&s;elves, who with the <HI>Eutychians</HI> receiving the term <GAP DESC="foreign"> not found in Scripture, yet deny the Corporal pre&s;ence of Chri&s;t in the <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed Euchari&s;t</HI> by a real, though Invi&s;ible Change of the Vi|&s;ible Elements, when, <HI>My Fle&s;h is Meat indeed, and my Blood is Drink</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Joh. 6. 51. 55.</NOTE> <HI>indeed:</HI> And again, <HI>The Bread that I will give is my Fle&s;h, which I will give for the Life of the World:</HI> And the mo&s;t Sacred words of In&s;tituti|on, <HI>This is my Body, This is my Plood,</HI> are plain and expre&s;s terms, as any Doctrine can be delivered unto our capacity.</P>
<PB N="106" REF="63">
<P>The <HI>Pelagians</HI> (to name no more, and only &s;uch as <HI>Prote&s;tants</HI> them|&s;elves repute <HI>Hereticks</HI>) tho&s;e Arch-Enemies of the Doctrine of Grace &s;o abundantly delivered in Sacred Writ, yet fly thither al&s;o to &s;et up Nature again&s;t it; as St. <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> who be&s;t knew, relates of them in the&s;e words, <HI>Let us,</HI> &s;ay they (<HI>the</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">L. de Nat. &amp; Grat. 39.</NOTE> Pelagians) <HI>believe what we read, what we read not, let us believe unlawful to maintain.</HI></P>
<P>Thus Scripture, was their Sword and Buckler again&s;t the definitions of the Church whereby they were condemned; neither could they &s;o e&s;cape the brand of <HI>Here&s;ie:</HI> And <HI>Prote&s;tants</HI> taking up the &s;ame Weapons, in the &s;ame manner, to uphold them&s;elves again&s;t the Faith and practice of all Ages, by trea|ding in the &s;teps of &s;uch Prede|ce&s;&s;ors, &s;hew &s;ufficiently of what Generation and Spirit they are, and &s;eem ju&s;tly involv'd in the &s;ame con|demnation.</P>
<P>Thus having made good the fir&s;t thing I promis'd in this <HI>Section,</HI>
<PB N="107" REF="63"> namely, that the common cour&s;e of <HI>Hereticks</HI> is to have recour&s;e to &s;ole Scripture, and to urge it as In|terpreted by them&s;elves, again&s;t the Churches &s;en&s;e and judgment; to &s;peak any thing of the &s;econd, to wit, the different Faith and Practice of the Chri&s;tian World, would be but <HI>actum agere,</HI> a &s;uperfluous la|bour, being &s;o largely before decla|red<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Sect. 5. of</HI> Trad. <HI>and the two la&s;t Sections of the Churches Authority.</HI></NOTE> in the handing of <HI>Tradition,</HI> and the Infallibility or Authority of the Church, and thither I refer the Courteous Reader.</P>
<P>Only for the pre&s;ent give me leave to &s;ay, that I carefully comparing both the&s;e together found manife&s;t different Rules of Faith without any po&s;&s;ibility of reconcilement; old and new <HI>Hereticks</HI> appealing to Scripture, and re&s;olute to be tryed by nothing el&s;e, without any vi&s;ible Judge to interpret them: The An|cient Fathers and pre&s;ent <HI>Catholicks</HI> a&s;&s;erting the word of God, whether written or unwritten, as delivered to us by the univer&s;al <HI>Tradition</HI> of the Church, and declared by her
<PB N="108" REF="64"> voice in approved General Councils, to be the only &s;ufficient and &s;ure foundation of Chri&s;tian belief. I found that if the&s;e built their Faith on &s;olid and &s;afe Principles, (as it appeared to me they did) the other mu&s;t needs rely on an uncertain and groundle&s;s foundation for their Re|ligion; and having a de&s;ire to be numbred with the Saints, not <HI>Here|ticks</HI> of old, I found I could not be &s;o, except I did relinqui&s;h <HI>Prote|&s;tancy,</HI> and unite my &s;elf to the <HI>Ro|man Church,</HI> of the &s;ame belief and practice with Primitive Chri&s;tians.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="3" TYPE="section">
<PB N="109" REF="64">
<HEAD>SECT. III.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P>A declaration of the <HI>Engli&s;h Pro|te&s;tants</HI> Doctrine; how, and why they make Scripture the only Rule of <HI>Faith.</HI></P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>FOr the clearer handling of this point, and prevention of all mi&s;takes, I &s;hall faithfully deliver what the <HI>Prote&s;tant</HI> Church of <HI>Eng|land</HI> teaches Principally in this main fundamental of her Religion; and not injure it, or her, to the be&s;t of my judgment, by any Ob&s;ervations made thereon.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, &s;he teaches, <HI>That Holy Scrip|ture doth (explicitly) contain all things nece&s;&s;ary to Salvation, &s;o that what&s;oever is not read therein is not to be required of any man, that it &s;hould be believed as an Article of Faith, or be thought requi&s;ite and ne|ce&s;&s;ary to Salvation.</HI> This the Com|po&s;ers of her Articles do teach, and
<PB N="110" REF="65"> this they mu&s;t teach who will make the written Word an entire Rule of Faith; that is, comprehending all points nece&s;&s;ary to Salvation.</P>
<P>Now in all rea&s;on to &s;atisfy tho&s;e whom they would per&s;wade to be of this belief, it ought to be made evident, that the Apo&s;tles in their Writings did intend plainly and per|fectly to comprize what&s;oever is ne|ce&s;&s;ary to be believ'd and practis'd by all Chri&s;tians, and depo&s;ited them in the Church as a complete Rule of Faith for the tryal of all Doctrines, &s;he al&s;o receiving it for &s;uch, and practi&s;ing accordingly in all Ages. Which once done, their po&s;ition is then a mo&s;t clear and ra|tional inference. But this being impo&s;&s;ible for them to prove, be|cau&s;e contradicted by the Faith and practice of the Primitive Church, which could not be ignorant of all Apo&s;tolical Doctrines and Con&s;titu|tions, and al&s;o of pre&s;ent <HI>Catholicks</HI> receiving them from her by an un|interrupted vi&s;ible Tradition, mu&s;t needs be a fal&s;e and mo&s;t dange|rous
<PB N="111" REF="65"> Principle, though laid for the foundation of their Religion.</P>
<P>Secondly, for a further ground|work &s;he teaches, <HI>That General Councils may, and have erred, even in things appertaining to God.</HI> That is, in matters of Faith, as well as of Fact, as her own Expo&s;itions more freely expre&s;s her meaning. A Doctrine, the fir&s;t Reformers would never have given place in the foun|dation of their Spiritural building, even for their own &s;akes, but that it was not po&s;&s;ible their new Fabrick of Faith could &s;tand for any con&s;ide|rable time without fall of the Churches Authority. Were not they then &s;it men to be credited, if General Councils may err?</P>
<P>But that which follows, <HI>Wherefore things ordained by them as nece&s;&s;ary unto Salvation have neither &s;trength nor Authority, unle&s;s it may be de|clared that they be taken (explicitely) out of Holy Scriptures,</HI> Is the very quinte&s;&s;ence of <HI>Anarchy</HI> and <HI>Rebel|lion,</HI> &s;o de&s;tructive of all Govern|ment, (though an Engine made on|ly
<PB N="112" REF="66"> to batter down the Church) that were it put in practice as here taught, confu&s;ion would cover the face of the earth, and the World would run quickly back into its fir&s;t <HI>Chaos.</HI> For if things ordained by General Councils, have neither &s;trength nor Authority, unle&s;s it may be declared that it is made out to every private Judgment that they are taken out of the Holy Scriptures; I demand by whom this may be, or mu&s;t be declared. Now let it be con&s;idered that Church Governours are in&s;tituted by Je&s;us Chri&s;t, ha|ving the Keys of &s;o wonderful and tran&s;cendent power committed to their hands. <HI>That what&s;oever they</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 18. 18.</NOTE> <HI>&s;hall bind on Earth, &s;hall be bound in Heaven, and what&s;oever they &s;hall loo&s;e on Earth, &s;hall be loo&s;ed in Hea|ven:</HI> With a promi&s;e from Chri&s;t, <HI>That where they meet in his Name, he will be in the mid&s;t of them; and</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">ver. 19.</NOTE> <HI>that he will be always with them to the</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 28. 20.</NOTE> <HI>Worlds end: And that the Holy Spi|rit &s;hall guide them into all Truth.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Joh. 16. 13.</NOTE> I &s;ay, let this be con&s;ider'd, and if
<PB N="113" REF="66"> the Decrees of &s;uch a Tribunal or|daining concerning points of Faith, and propo&s;ing them to all Chri&s;tians to be believ'd, as the revealed will of God by his word from Heaven, and nece&s;&s;ary to Salvation, have no &s;trength nor Authority 'till it may be further declared that they are taken out of Holy Scriptures; tho&s;e that require this condition to make them obligatory, cannot po&s;&s;ibly give any rea&s;onable &s;atisfaction to this demand, unle&s;s they find out &s;uch a Judge, who is fitter, and in all probability more likely not to err or deceive us in teaching what are revealed Truths. But how impo&s;|&s;ible this is to be done, any one of an ordinary under&s;tanding may without much &s;tudy determine. Yet while they are in vain attempting it, if men &s;hould take their word, as too many have already in denying &s;ubmi&s;&s;ion to the Churches Decrees in things nece&s;&s;ary to Salvation, and likewi&s;e in vertue of the &s;ame Prin|ciple (as in all equity they extend it) withdraw their obedience from
<PB N="114" REF="67"> the Secular Magi&s;trate in his ne|ce&s;&s;ary commands, as he Judges, for the publick good, 'till it be made out to them, that they are in the pre&s;ent matter, though not taken out of the Holy Scriptures, yet agreeable unto them; doubtle&s;s all Government and Order is brought to nothing, and their Edicts and Laws will be evacuated, as often as the pride, or prejudice, or pa&s;&s;ion, or Intere&s;t of Subjects &s;hall think them not warrantable from Holy Writ. Neither could &s;uch &s;ad effects be hindred from daily breaking out to the Worlds di&s;quiet, were they not curb'd in with fear of pre&s;ent puni&s;hment: For when they, who are thus taught, think them&s;elves &s;ecure from the la&s;h, their deeds &s;uf|ficiently evidence what Temporal Magi&s;trates are to expect from their hands.</P>
<P>But to &s;tick clo&s;e to the Church which they have for&s;aken. If they think they have kept firm ground enough for Church Authority to &s;tand upon by in&s;erting the&s;e words,
<PB N="115" REF="67"> <HI>In things nece&s;&s;ary to Salvation;</HI> thereby implying, that though her Decrees in things nece&s;&s;ary to Sal|vation, have no &s;trength or Autho|rity 'till it may be declared (not by her &s;elf, for &s;he hath already made her declaration) that they are taken out of the Holy Scriptures, yet in things not nece&s;&s;ary and indifferent, her Authority is ab&s;olute and inde|pendent on &s;uch a declaration, with an obligation of obedience f<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">om Be|lievers: If this, I &s;ay, be their mea|ning to keep up Church-Authority, it will not do the bu&s;ine&s;s, but is only to put a Reed in Chri&s;ts hand in&s;tead of a Royal-Scepter, and to allow his Church a Mock-power onely in Spiritual matters; as will ea&s;ily appear to any one con&s;idering the end for which our Lord and Sa|viour &s;et up a Government in his Church. For having founded and furni&s;h'd his Church with plentiful means for the Salvation of mankind, and in&s;tituted a Government there|in to con&s;erve and apply tho&s;e means, that they might be effectual
<PB N="116" REF="68"> for the fore&s;aid end and purpo&s;e, Church-Governours cannot po&s;&s;ibly make a &s;ufficient application, as Co|workers with God by his appoint|ment in the great work of our Sal|vation, if their Power extended it &s;elf ab&s;olutely to things indifferent without which we may be &s;aved, and in tho&s;e things nece&s;&s;ary to Sal|vation can ordain things, 'till a De|claration from God knows whom and when, makes it good and valid. For they tell us not by whom, or when, this Declaration mu&s;t be made in &s;uch Ca&s;es, but inveloping their conceit in general words, only de|liver that what <HI>Oecumenical</HI> Synods ordain in things nece&s;&s;ary to Salva|tion have no &s;trength nor Authori|ty, 'till it may be declared that they are taken out of the Holy Scriptures. Is this Doctrine con&s;i&s;tent with the end of Church-Government? Would not tho&s;e Superiours be inve&s;ted with a goodly power, who can without di&s;pute bind their Subjects hands from &s;cratching their own Faces, but have no obliging Autho|rity
<PB N="117" REF="68"> to hinder them from thru&s;ting a Sword into their Bowels, or &s;trik|ing a Dagger to their Heart? Hath Chri&s;t given &s;ome Apo&s;tles, Pro|phets, and &s;ome Evangeli&s;ts, and<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ephe&s;. 4.</NOTE> &s;ome Pa&s;tors to feed and govern his Church, for the perfecting of the Saints, for the work of the Mi|ni&s;try, for the edifying of the body of Chri&s;t, 'till we all come into the unity of the Faith, and yet what points they teach as nece&s;&s;ary to Salvation, have no &s;trength nor Au|thoriry, 'till their Di&s;ciples and Learners of them &s;hall declare that they are taken out of Holy Scrip|tures? Would God exact of Church-Governours an account of their Subjects Souls committed to their Charge, threatning to require their Blood at their Hands if any peri&s;h<NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 20. 26, 27.</NOTE> through their negligence, and yet not inve&s;t them with an Authority e&s;&s;entially requi&s;ite for the &s;ufficient di&s;charge of &s;o dreadful a duty? What &s;ays St. <HI>Paul</HI> to this point?<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 13. 17.</NOTE> <HI>Obey them that have the Rule over you, and &s;ubmit your &s;elves; for they
<PB N="118" REF="69"> watch for your Souls, as they that mu&s;t give an account for them.</HI> Now comes the <HI>Engli&s;h Prote&s;tant</HI> Church with a Paraphra&s;e, and teaches, <HI>Obey them that have the rule over you, who watch for your Souls becau&s;e they mu&s;t give an account of them, and &s;ub|mit your &s;elves to their commands and order in things indifferent, and not nece&s;&s;ary not in what they teach and ordain, as, without which, Salvation cannot be had; for &s;uch Decrees have no &s;trength nor Authority 'till it may be declared that they are taken out of the Holy Scriptures.</HI> Can any Con|&s;cientious or Rational man po&s;&s;ibly per&s;wade him&s;elf that this is the Apo&s;tles meaning?</P>
<P>Thirdly, the <HI>Engli&s;h Prote&s;tants</HI> teach, <HI>That the Church hath power to Decree Rites and Ceremonies, and Authority in Controver&s;ies of Faith.</HI> Had they &s;topt here, and &s;tood to it, they had &s;oon return'd to their <HI>Ca|tholick</HI> Mother. But for&s;ooth it is with this Provi&s;oe, <HI>That &s;he ordain not any thing that is contrary to Gods
<PB N="119" REF="69"> word; nor expound one place of Scrip|ture that it be repugnant to another.</HI> But never tells us who &s;hall be this Judge to determine when her De|crees and Orders are contrary to the Word of God, or not; or when &s;he gives the true &s;en&s;e of Scripture according to the Analogy of Faith, &s;o that one place be not repugnant to another: And &s;o leaves us in a maze for our Salva|tion.</P>
<P>They had denyed the <HI>Catholick</HI> Church Repre&s;entative to be an In|fallible Witne&s;s of the Truths of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and Authoritative In|terpreter of Scripture, to guide Be|lievers in the true &s;en&s;e of it; and &s;o it would have been too a notori|ous Inqui&s;ition to have a&s;&s;um'd it to their Conventicles; wherefore ha|ving taken away the Pillar and ground of Truth, the Churches Au|thority or Infallibility, they laid no other &s;ure foundation, nor &s;et up any other determinate Column to uphold Religion, but leaves it in uncertainties to certain ruine.</P>
<PB N="120" REF="70">
<P>Well fare the Churches under St. <HI>Paul</HI>'s care and governance, who had receiv'd a Power not for de|&s;truction, but edification, and could do nothing again&s;t the Truth, but<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 word"> 10. 8.</NOTE> for it: The <HI>Engli&s;h Prote&s;tant</HI> Church can do nothing for the Truth, but again&s;t it; has no Power at all for edification, but only for de&s;truction. Neither indeed might &s;he exerci&s;e her new a&s;&s;um'd Juri&s;|diction without de&s;troying her &s;elf, when &s;he could not be builded up but by pulling down to patch up a Fabrick out of the ruines. For the Compo&s;ers of her Articles did very well perceive if they admitted the Church to be the <HI>Authoriz'd Vi&s;ible Judge of the Sen&s;e of Sripture by the Rule of Tradition,</HI> &s;hining bright in the practice of the whole Chri&s;tian World, and immemorial po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of &s;uch points they contradicted, it was not po&s;&s;ible to e&s;cape the Sentence of condemnation; but in the Controver&s;y giving a deci&s;ive power only to the dead Letter of Scripture, (the refuge of old con|demned
<PB N="121" REF="70"> <HI>Hereticks</HI>) they feared no <HI>Anathema</HI> while them&s;elves were In|terpreters. And having the &s;upreme Magi&s;trate on their &s;ide to prohibite <HI>Catholicks</HI> to &s;peak for them&s;elves in any publick defence, it was ea&s;ie to delude vulgar apprehen&s;ions with this plau&s;ible Sophi&s;m, <HI>The</HI> Papi&s;ts <HI>refu&s;e to be try'd by the Word of God.</HI></P>
<P>Which things who&s;oever layes together, and &s;eriou&s;ly ponders, as I did, cannot but di&s;cover that the <HI>Engli&s;h Prote&s;tant</HI> Reformers did not receive a Rule of Faith from the <HI>Catholick</HI> Church, which had been the Square of Chri&s;tian belief in all Ages, and is to continue &s;o for ever, but invented (or rather a&s;|&s;umed from their Predece&s;&s;ors the Ancient <HI>Hereticks</HI>) a Rule of Faith for the Church they were &s;etting up, whereby they thought their new Doctrines might with mo&s;t likelihood be maintain'd, and found no better expedient then by deny|ing an authoriz'd Vi&s;ible Judge to pronounce a definitive Sentence in
<PB N="122" REF="71"> Controver&s;ies of Faith, that &s;o they might keep in po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of what they had u&s;urped by eternally wran|gling about the right.</P>
<P>But that we may come to &s;ome i&s;&s;ue by bringing them out of a my|&s;terious <HI>may be declared,</HI> to &s;tand to &s;omething in this main Principle of Religion; admit that the writ|ten word were the &s;ole and perfect Rule of Faith, it being impo&s;&s;ible for dead Letters of them&s;elves to rectify things applicable to them for that end and purpo&s;e, they mu&s;t needs acknowledge &s;ome animated Judge to perform this Office among Chri&s;tians by applying the Rule to all particulars. Now they having denyed the Church this right, and &s;o ca&s;t off her living voice and Autho|rity in plain terms, though in&s;i&s;ting in generals, they a&s;&s;ign no other determinate Interpreter, yet mu&s;t have recour&s;e to Rea&s;on, or Reve|lation; for be&s;ides the&s;e three I know not any. I &s;ay, they mu&s;t either let private Rea&s;on make this declaration, and Judge of the true
<PB N="123" REF="71"> &s;en&s;e of Scripture, by her innate Light; or flie to Revelation, and Pretend that the Holy Gho&s;t Infal|libly declares by a Divine Light his meaning to them.</P>
<P>This later way of Divine In&s;pira|tion is laid claim to by the <HI>Calvi|ni&s;tical</HI> party, and tho&s;e &s;trange broods of other <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> Sectaries. who have nothing but Scripture and the Spirit of God in their mouths, upon whom in a mo&s;t Prodigious manner they Father all their Bla&s;phe|mies, to the &s;hame of Chri&s;tians. But it is rejected by all <HI>Prote&s;tants</HI> in any degree rational as meerly <HI>Fanatical,</HI> and invincibly convicted of Impo&s;ture by the manife&s;t con|tradictions of &s;everal pretenders to the Spirit of God. For can the Ho|ly Gho&s;t reveal to the <HI>Calvini&s;ts</HI> that the Government of the Church by <HI>Presbytery</HI> hath a Divine right from Scripture, and by the &s;ame Divine Unction teach the <HI>Independents</HI> that it is again&s;t the written Word, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>Private rea&s;on therefore is only left them to re&s;olve their Faith into,
<PB N="124" REF="72"> and rely upon in their inquiring after and belief of Supernatural Truths, and tho&s;e &s;ublime My&s;teries, to the knowledge of which nature hath not &s;ufficient Light to advance her &s;elf, by her &s;ole native powers; be&s;ide tho&s;e mi&s;ts of pa&s;&s;ion, or pre|judice, or Education or Intere&s;t, to which we are daily lyable, and which mu&s;t needs make this way more dark and difficult in order to eternal Happine&s;s. However they mu&s;t take to it, unle&s;s they will openly recant what they have pub|lickly approved. For though at fir&s;t they kept &s;ecret this grand my|&s;tery of their State-Religion, yet at la&s;t great Patrons of the <HI>Engli&s;h Prote&s;tant</HI> Church have with Au|thority and much applau&s;e inthron'd<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Mr.</HI> Chil|ling worth <HI>&amp;c.</HI></NOTE> private Rea&s;on as a &s;ole Queen and Mi&s;tre&s;s in the Churches Chair, to direct and interpret the Holy Scrip|tures, and from them to give a final Sentence what are the Truths of God revealed to us. Without which Sentence or Declaration the Churches Decrees in things nece&s;&s;ary to Sal|vation
<PB N="125" REF="72"> have no &s;trength at all, or obligation. Nor then neither, as the&s;e <HI>Rationali&s;ts</HI> explain it, upon the &s;core of Authority, but Rea&s;on only. But how unrea&s;onably and without ground, I doubt not to make appear in the following <HI>Sections.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="4" TYPE="section">
<HEAD>SECT. IV.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P>That the Holy Scriptures are not the &s;ole and perfect Rule of <HI>Faith.</HI></P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>TO evidence the groundle&s;s|ne&s;s of this main foundation of the <HI>Engli&s;h Prote&s;tant</HI> Church, as declar'd and explicated in the pre|cedent <HI>Section,</HI> with full &s;atisfaction, I conceive it lyes upon me princi|pally to make three things good a|gain&s;t them.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, That Scripture is not the &s;ole and perfect Rule of Faith.</P>
<PB N="126" REF="73">
<P>Secondly, That it is not, nor can be the Judge of Controver&s;ies in Religion. Which is the common Tenet of modern <HI>Hereticks.</HI></P>
<P>And thirdly, That admitting it for a Rule of Faith (as in part it is) private Rea&s;on is not the Interpreter and Judge of the true &s;en&s;e there|of, for every Chri&s;tian to rely up|on for his Salvation.</P>
<P>In clearing the fir&s;t point I need not labour much, having already by convincing arguments e&s;tabli&s;h'd in the <HI>4th.</HI> and <HI>5th. Sections</HI> of the fir&s;t Motive, the <HI>Catholick</HI> Rule of Faith, Univer&s;al <HI>Tradition;</HI> whi|ther I de&s;ire my Reader to return for &s;atisfaction. And which &s;tan|ding firm, the <HI>Prote&s;tants</HI> Rule of Scripture only mu&s;t needs be as well a ruin'd as ruinous Principle, and fall to nothing. Yet that di&s;cour&s;e being more general, I &s;hall here de|&s;cend to &s;ome particulars, to make it vi&s;ible to very ordinary Capacities that Scripture doth not contain fully all things nece&s;&s;ary to Salvation, nor is clearly evident without di&s;pute
<PB N="127" REF="73"> in all points nece&s;&s;ary therein con|tain'd; and con&s;equently cannot be the &s;ole and compleat Rule of Faith, wanting tho&s;e two mo&s;t nece&s;&s;ary conditions belonging to it.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, I &s;ay, not full and com|prehending all points nece&s;&s;ary to Salvation of mankind. For I de|mand of them whether it be not a fundamental point of Faith to be|lieve the Holy Scriptures to be the Word of God; and yet Mr. <HI>Hooker,</HI> one of the mo&s;t Judicious Writers of the <HI>Engli&s;h Prote&s;tants,</HI> acknow|ledges this cannot be grounded up|on Scripture. <HI>Of all points</HI> (&s;aith<NOTE PLACE="marg">Hooker's <HI>Ecc. Polit, l. 2. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="2 letters"> I remember&punc;</HI></NOTE> he) <HI>the mo&s;t nece&s;&s;ary to be believ'd, is that the Scriptures are the Word of God, which is confe&s;t impo&s;&s;ible for them to prove.</HI> And proceeding, makes a demon&s;tration of it again&s;t the <HI>Puritans.</HI> How then, them|&s;elves being Judges, can the Holy Scriptures being a compleat Rule of Faith, not comprehending what is mo&s;t nece&s;&s;ary to be believ'd by every Chri&s;tian?</P>
<PB N="128" REF="74">
<P>If they &s;ay this Objection is not pertinent, becau&s;e who&s;oever makes the written word of God the &s;ole and &s;ufficient Rule of Faith, mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily pre-&s;uppo&s;e the belief of Scripture founded upon &s;ome other Principle. I reply, 'tis impertinent to &s;ay &s;o, becau&s;e the nece&s;&s;ity of a pre-&s;uppo&s;ition of &s;ome fundamen|tal point is a &s;ufficient conviction that the Rule they have cho&s;en can|not be compleat and perfect, as they would have it: E&s;pecially if it be confider'd, that the fundamental point pre-&s;uppos'd independent on Scripture, but Scripture depending on it, mu&s;t needs be the ground <HI>quoad nos</HI> (to us) of all things be|liev'd in it. Which ground or ante|cedent Principle upon which they, as well as we, build their belief of &s;uch Scriptures to be the undoubted Word of God being the univer&s;al <HI>Tradition</HI> and Authority of the Church; not they, but this can only truly and rationally be a&s;&s;erted for a compleat and perfect Rule, comprehending all things nece&s;&s;ary
<PB N="129" REF="74"> to Salvation; handing them down from the Apo&s;tles them&s;elves to us now living, as the revealed Truths of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and believed as &s;uch by all re&s;pective Ages upon that tenure. Among which Truths &s;o atte&s;ted, <HI>That &s;uch Writings are the undoubted Word o&s; God,</HI> is a Princi|pal one, and believed, becau&s;e &s;o atte&s;ted. But all other Traditio|nary Doctrines of Faith having the &s;ame convincing proof that they came from Heaven, whatever of them were occa&s;ionally committed to Writing afterwards by the Apo|&s;tles, are &s;till to be believ'd upon the &s;ame account, (<HI>viz.) Tradition</HI> and <HI>Church Authority;</HI> the certain|ty of Scripture as well for the Sen&s;e as Letter depending thereon.</P>
<P>Again, I demand of <HI>Engli&s;h Pro|te&s;tants</HI> by what Authority they condemn the <HI>Anabapti&s;ts</HI> to be <HI>He|reticks,</HI> whether by <HI>Scripture,</HI> or <HI>Tradition?</HI> If they &s;ay by Scripture, they mu&s;t give me leave to tell, that St. <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> with the primitive Chri|&s;tians were of another mind, who
<PB N="130" REF="75"> tells them very plainly, <HI>That</HI> Con|&s;uetudo Matris Eccle&s;iae, <HI>&amp;c. The</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>L. 4. cont.</HI> Donat.</NOTE> <HI>cu&s;tom of the Church our Mother in Baprizing&punc; Children is in no &s;ort to be de&s;pis'd, nor by any means thought &s;uperfluous, nor at all to be believ'd, except it was an Apo&s;tolical Traditi|on.</HI> But if they value not Antiqui|ty, and pre&s;ume the Fathers were but School-Boys to them in the un|der&s;tanding of Sacred Writ; let them produce any one Text for <HI>Infant-Bapti&s;m</HI> &s;o clearly proving it, that the Contradictors mu&s;t be un|avoidably convinc'd, and left con|founded without any &s;hadow of re|ply, before thoroughly knowing and expert Judges in &s;uch Contro|ver&s;ies, and will confe&s;s the Fathers were but dull and heavy men com|par'd to their quicker and more deep-&s;ighted judgements in diving into the &s;en&s;e of Scripture, and re&s;t &s;atisfy'd that upon the &s;core of only Scripture, <HI>Anabapti&s;ts</HI> may be con|demned<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>In his Re+ply</HI> Fi&s;her.</NOTE> for <HI>Hereticks.</HI> I remember Bi&s;hop <HI>Land</HI> much pre&s;&s;es that place in the <HI>Acts</HI> to be convincing for
<PB N="131" REF="75"> Infant&punc; Bapti&s;m, <HI>Repent, and be Bap|tiz'd</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 2. 38, 39.</NOTE> <HI>every one of you in the Name of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, for the promi&s;e is unto you, and to your Children;</HI> Yet not without the help of <HI>Tradition</HI> en|lightning and exalting it to that force and efficacy. But Dr. <HI>Ham|mond</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>In his An&s;&punc; to</HI> 6. Quae|res.</NOTE> a great <HI>Scripturi&s;t</HI> and Defen|der of the <HI>Prote&s;tant</HI> Church, con|fe&s;&s;es it is not at all concluding for it. Without more ado, the Truth is, did not <HI>Church-Tradition</HI> &s;hining bright in univer&s;al practice decide the controver&s;y, they could not &s;a|tisfactorily an&s;wer tho&s;e Texts of Scripture wherewith the <HI>Anabap|ti&s;ts</HI> confront tho&s;e other produced by them, nor ju&s;tly enroll them in the black Book of <HI>Hereticks&punc;</HI> Does not this manife&s;tly de&s;troy their main foundation of Scripture to be the only and &s;ufficient Rule of Faith?</P>
<P>Be&s;ides, it is not an <HI>Heretical</HI> practice to Re-baptize tho&s;e who have been Baptiz'd by <HI>Hereticks,</HI> ob&s;erving the true form of Bapti&s;m? Can they evince it for &s;uch by any
<PB N="132" REF="76"> Scripture? St. <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> tells them, <HI>That cu&s;tom which was oppo&s;ed to</HI> Cy|prian,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>L. 2. de</HI> Bap. <HI>cont.</HI> Donat. <HI>ca. 7 &amp; l. 5. c. 23.</HI></NOTE> <HI>is to be believ'd to have taken its ri&s;e from the</HI> Tradition <HI>of the Apo&s;tles, and that he believ'd it for &s;uch.</HI> Moreover, the form of Bap|ti&s;m is not expre&s;ly deliver'd in Holy Writ; nor the number of the Sacraments, nor yet the word Sacra|ment in the Scripture apply'd at all to tho&s;e they acknowledge for &s;uch, at lea&s;t generally nece&s;&s;ary to Salva|tion. But for all the&s;e we are be|holding to the practice and <HI>Tra|dition</HI> of the Church.</P>
<P>This is not all, for farther yet; let them &s;how any precept in Scrip|ture for the Aboli&s;hing of the <HI>Jewi&s;h Sabbath,</HI> and ob&s;ervation of the <HI>Lords day</HI> in its &s;tead. A point doubtle&s;s nece&s;&s;ary for <HI>Chri&s;tians,</HI> however as applyed to multitudes in Church-Communion. Here al&s;o they are forc'd to leave Scripture, and betake them&s;elves to <HI>Tradition</HI> for the condemnation of the <HI>Sabbate|rians.</HI></P>
<PB N="133" REF="76">
<P>Moreover, would they willingly part with the <HI>Apo&s;tles Creed,</HI> the Ob|&s;ervation of <HI>Lent;</HI> which their<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>In his Ser|mon upon</HI> Lent.</NOTE> Bi&s;hop <HI>Andrews</HI> contends to be <HI>Apo|&s;tolical,</HI> and &s;ee all <HI>Chri&s;tian Fe&s;ti|vals</HI> trampled under the prophane Feet of furious <HI>Fanaticks</HI> with mo&s;t<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ep. 118. ad Janua.</NOTE> in&s;olent madne&s;s, as St. <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> calls it? Yet they are all gone, if Scrip|ture mu&s;t hold them up without <HI>Tradition.</HI> In a word, the greate&s;t Champions of the <HI>Engli&s;h Prote|&s;tant</HI> Church, in the&s;e later years e&s;pecially, perceiving by &s;ad expe|rience the <HI>&V;nder&punc; Sectaries,</HI> who were Spawn'd from them, to en|danger, and at la&s;t for a time whol|ly to de&s;troy their new form of Be|lief and Wor&s;hip by vertue of this Principle of <HI>Only-Scripture,</HI> do now betake them&s;elves to the Sword and Buckler of <HI>Tradition,</HI> to defend and ju&s;tify them&s;elves again&s;t their Treacherous Brethren. And thus, although they fly to our Rule of Faith, <HI>&V;niver&s;al Tradition,</HI> for con|viction of their Adver&s;aries in &s;ome points by them&s;elves accounted ne|ce&s;&s;ary,
<PB N="134" REF="77"> yet they will needs have the Holy Scriptures to be the only and perfect Rule of Faith. Doubt|le&s;s it had been more &s;afe and inge|nuous to have acknowledg'd with the Ancient Fathers <HI>Traditionary</HI> Doctrines, as well as the Holy Scrip|tures, to compleat the Rule of Chri|&s;tian belief; but contradicting An|tiquity by contracting the Rule of Faith into Scripture alone, they have likewi&s;e contradicted them&s;elves, the inevitable Fate of all Truth|oppo&s;ers.</P>
<P>Secondly, The Holy Scriptures are not clearly evident without di|&s;pute in all points nece&s;&s;ary con|tain'd in them; and con&s;equently no compleat nor certain Rule of them&s;elves, as the common experi|ence of all Ages makes good. Can any &s;ay the <HI>Con&s;ub&s;tantiality</HI> of the Son of God with the Father is in evident or expre&s;s terms in Sacred Scripture? Yea, or &s;o contained in it by inevitable con&s;equence, as to de&s;troy all probability in the Texts brought for the contrary by Con|tradictors?
<PB N="135" REF="77"> Then certainly the <HI>Ari|ans,</HI> who had as &s;ubtil Heads and able Brains as any <HI>Prote&s;tants,</HI> to under&s;tand the <HI>Logick</HI> of their Ad|ver&s;aries, were mad men to appeal from <HI>Councils</HI> and <HI>Tradition</HI> to the written Word. They knew very well, that without the <HI>Tradition</HI> and practice of the Church delivering the &s;en&s;e of Scripture, they could hand&s;omly enough evade the force of all Arguments, might be rais'd from the bare and dead words of Scripture, though &s;tretch'd upon the Tenters of mo&s;t rigorous Cri|tici&s;m. Yea, they doubted not but there were Texts for them more evidently a&s;&s;erting the Inferiority of the Son, and appropriating the Di|vine nature to the Father only; which was the ground of their con|fidence in appealing to the written Word, to be tryed thereby with|out <HI>Tradition.</HI> And yet the <HI>Pro|te&s;tants</HI> condemn the <HI>Arians</HI> for <HI>Hereticks,</HI> and ju&s;tly too; But how they can do it rationally upon their own Principles, I confe&s;s &s;urpa&s;&s;es
<PB N="136" REF="78"> my under&s;tanding, True it is, add to Scripture, the <HI>Tradition</HI> of the Church, and the Authoritative Sentence of an approved General Council &s;o interpreting it, and the ca&s;e is clear; but the&s;e are <HI>Catho|lick</HI> foundations which they contra|dict, and therefore no lawful wea|pons in their hands again&s;t the <HI>Ari|ans.</HI></P>
<P>Again, it is no doubt but a Tri|nity of Per&s;ons in the Unity of the Godhead, is &s;ub&s;tantially or materi|ally contain'd in the Holy Scrip|tures, but in formal expre&s;s terms Trinity, and Per&s;onality or Per&s;on, are not to be found; nor yet &s;o evi|dently in any Texts, as from them &s;atisfactorily to convince the <HI>Anti|trinitarians</HI> that the &s;ame indivi&s;ible E&s;&s;ence, is equally and perfectly in three di&s;tinct Per&s;ons, unle&s;s we call in Church-Authority and <HI>Tradition</HI> con&s;tantly &s;o explicating tho&s;e places to our a&s;&s;i&s;tance. For 'tis well known by expert Controverti&s;ts, that &s;uch Texts are confronted by o|thers which &s;eem to contradict them;
<PB N="137" REF="78"> with an appearance plau&s;ible enough to vulgar under&s;tandings; yea, and which are &s;ometimes &s;o perplex'd and intricate as to vex the mo&s;t Learned for a &s;atisfactory Solution. And even might &s;hake the Faith of many good Chri&s;tians, had they not <HI>&V;niver&s;al Tradition,</HI> and the Infal|libility of the Church for a more &s;ure retreat to retire to, and &s;ecure|ly relie upon after the di&s;quieting &s;torms of Di&s;putation. And this is a manife&s;t and undenyable Argu|ment, that tho&s;e who for&s;ake the&s;e Principles to ground them&s;elves on Scripture only for all points ne|ce&s;&s;ary to Salvation, have always made Shipwrack of Faith, and run into <HI>Here&s;ies.</HI> A thing as manife&s;t in <HI>Prote&s;tants</HI> as in any <HI>Separati&s;ts</HI> from the Church in former Ages. And this Gangreen, bred out of this corrupt Principle, hath eat &s;o far into the very heart and bowels of Religion, that in proce&s;s of time &s;carce any Article of our <HI>Creed</HI> but hath been called in que&s;tion by &s;uch <HI>Scripturi&s;ts;</HI> and now by too many
<PB N="138" REF="79"> are contradicted. And &s;o will con|tinue till the Church be re&s;tored to her right, and Authoritative Power to interpret the written Word, and determine all Controver&s;ies in mat|ters of Religion. For while Scrip|ture is the only Rule left to every ones Fancy there's no redre&s;s, and therefore doubtle&s;s when writ, ne|ver intended for &s;uch by the A|po&s;tles.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="5" TYPE="section">
<HEAD>SECT. V.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P>That the <HI>Scripture</HI> is not, nor can be a Judge to determine Controver&s;ies in <HI>Religion.</HI></P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>IT being clear, that the Sacred Scriptures are not the &s;ole and &s;ufficient Rule of Faith; much le&s;s can they be a Judge to pa&s;s a defi|nitive Sentence for the final deci|&s;ion of points controverted among
<PB N="139" REF="79"> <HI>Chri&s;tians.</HI> For the proper Office of a Supreme Judge being to end Con|trover&s;ies ari&s;ing among Members of the &s;ame Community, by a per&s;pi|cuous and evident Sentence, which cannot be mi&s;taken by the Parties litigant &s;o as yet to proceed in their former contention; 'tis as manife&s;t as the Sun, that Scripture cannot perform this efficaciou&s;ly, when there are irreconcilable differences, eternal jarrs, and mo&s;t inveterate enmities about fundamental points, among tho&s;e who appeal to only Scripture for their tryal. Neither is it po&s;&s;ible there &s;hould be any better agree|ment about &s;upernatural Truths, &s;o &s;ublime and my&s;terious as to tran&s;|cend our comprehen&s;ion and capa|city, where contending Parties left to their own liberty with prejudi|cate Opinions pa&s;&s;ionately favou|ring their oppo&s;ite Intere&s;ts, make nothing but dead words a judging law according to their own Interpre|tations.</P>
<P>But in what concerns our pre|&s;ent debate this impo&s;&s;ibility will
<PB N="140" REF="80"> be much augmented, if it be con|&s;idered that the Holy Scriptures &s;peak nothing at all of &s;ome nece&s;&s;a|ry things, nor po&s;&s;itively and clear|ly of many other, about which Con|trover&s;ies are ri&s;en &s;ince their wri|ting, and reception by the Church&punc; Neither are there ca&s;es wanting in which they are in no &s;ort capable to give a definitive Sentence for their deci&s;ion. For &s;eeing there is a Controver&s;y between <HI>Prote&s;tants</HI> and us in a main fundamental point about what Books are to be receiv'd for Canonical, and believ'd for the undoubted Word of God; can Scripture it &s;elf judge this? It is confe&s;s'd impo&s;&s;ible, and they ap|peal to <HI>Canon</HI> and <HI>Tradition,</HI> of the <HI>Jews</HI> to judge and give Sentence in this quarrel. Wonderful! A <HI>Jewi&s;h Tradition</HI> founded on the agree|ment of one particular People, &s;hall be of &s;ufficient Authority to ju&s;tify them again&s;t us; but the voice of the <HI>Catholick</HI> Church grounded on the con&s;ent of all Tongues and Na|tions di&s;pers'd over the whole
<PB N="141" REF="80"> World, or repre&s;ented in a lawful General Council, is nothing for us again&s;t them in any Controver&s;y. Is not this &s;trange? However let them &s;ay what they will, we re&s;t &s;atisfied with the Authority of the <HI>Catholick</HI> Church, believing for <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Inno|centius primus Ep. ad Exuperi|um. <HI>cap.</HI> 7. Conci. Carthag. 3. <HI>S. Augu&s;t</HI> de Doctr. Chri&s;tia|na, <HI>l. c. 8.</HI></NOTE> <HI>Canonical</HI> what &s;he receives, and accounting for <HI>Apocryphal</HI> what &s;he rejects; which is built upon better promi|&s;es than the <HI>Jewi&s;h Synagogue;</HI> and &s;o guided by the Spirit of Truth in all matters of Faith, that the Gates of Hell &s;hall ne'r prevail again&s;t her.</P>
<NOTE PLACE="foot"><HI>In Decretis Gela&s;ii</HI> Papa <HI>prope finem Concil.</HI> Flo|rentinum. <HI>Conc.</HI> Trident. <HI>Se&s;&s;.</HI> 4. Machabaeorum <HI>libros, non</HI> Judaei, <HI>&s;ed</HI> Eccle&s;ia <HI>pro Canonicis habet, S.</HI> Aug. <HI>l 18. de Civ. Dei ca.</HI> 36. Hebraei <HI>non recipi|unt libros</HI> Tob<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">ae, Judith &amp; Machabaeorum, <HI>Ec|cle&s;ia tamen, eo&s;dem inter Canonicas Scripturas enu|merat. Sapientia &amp;</HI> Eccle&s;ia&s;ticus <HI>parem cum re|liquis Canonicis libris tenere no&s;cuntur Authorita|tem.</HI> I&s;idor. <HI>in proemio de Libris</HI> Vet. Te&s;tamenti &amp; Novi.</NOTE>
<PB N="142" REF="81">
<P>And having mention'd the <HI>Jews,</HI> we &s;hall from Gods in&s;titution for the deci&s;ion of all Controver&s;ies a|bout matters of Religious Wor&s;hip during that <HI>Pedagogy,</HI> borrow an Argument again&s;t <HI>Prote&s;tants,</HI> in my poor judgment altogether unan&s;we|rable. For though all Ceremonial Rites and Ob&s;ervances about Religi|on were expre&s;ly ordain'd by God him&s;elf, and &s;o particularly and mi|nutely committed to writing by his Servant <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> for the in&s;truction and<NOTE PLACE="marg">Deut. 17. 8, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> Paralip. 19. 8, 9, 10, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></NOTE> direction of that people in all things relating to God and his Wor&s;hip: Neverthele&s;s when any difficulty or doubt aro&s;e, the written Word was not to decide the que&s;tion as a Judge, but the Sentence to be gi|ven by the High-prie&s;t; and obe|dience thereunto required under pain of death: How comes it to pa&s;s, that under the Law of <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t</HI> not committed in that exact manner to writing, yet in things re|lating to God and his Wor&s;hip, Scripture it &s;elf &s;hould be the only Judge of Controver&s;ies, and tho&s;e
<PB N="143" REF="81"> to whom Chri&s;t hath committed the Government of his Church, &s;hould not have one Authoritative word to &s;ay for their final deci&s;ion? Is this rational? Alas, poor Chri&s;tian Church who&s;e Glory is out-&s;hin'd by legal &s;hadows! For with them <HI>Sarah</HI> the Mi&s;tre&s;s hath le&s;s power then her Hand-maid <HI>Agar.</HI></P>
<P>Again, when the contention is concerning the &s;en&s;e of Scripture in any fundamental point deliver'd, but ob&s;curely, it is po&s;&s;ible for the written Word to give a clear Sen|tence and determine the Contro|ver&s;y about it &s;elf: For then it would be both ob&s;cure and clear in the &s;ame matter, and in the &s;elf &s;ame re&s;pect, at the &s;ame time, flat contradiction.</P>
<P>If they &s;ay there's no fundamen|tal point but is evidently contain'd in Sacred Writ, the contrary hath been manife&s;ted in the precedent <HI>Section.</HI> And for further confirma|tion; I here ask, whether, <HI>Hoc e&s;t Copus meum, Hic e&s;t Sanguis meus;</HI> be not plain words without any
<PB N="144" REF="82"> Ambiguity in their <HI>Grammatical</HI> con&s;truction? We <HI>Catholicks</HI> in|deed taught by the univer&s;al <HI>Tradi|tion</HI> and practice of the Church, doubt not of the Sen&s;e of them: But can <HI>Lutherans, Calvini&s;ts,</HI> and <HI>Engli&s;h Prote&s;tants</HI> maintain their meaning to be clear and per&s;picuous, among whom above fourty &s;everal Interpretations, &s;ome flatly repug|nant to each other are found about them? Can &s;uch variety and con|trariety proceed but from ob&s;curity? Either from that, or el&s;e &s;ome of them mu&s;t wilfully contradict Scrip|ture, and re&s;i&s;t the Holy Gho&s;t by maintaining a dangerous Doctrine again&s;t their own knowledge and Con&s;cience. But who tho&s;e are, I leave them to wrangle, upon their own grounds eternally, among them&s;elves. In the interim, I'm &s;ure upon <HI>Catholick</HI> Principles, they all &s;tand unan&s;werably convicted of wilfull <HI>Here&s;ie.</HI></P>
<P>Be&s;ides, <HI>Chri&s;t's real de&s;cent into Hell,</HI> is an Article of Faith, yet the <HI>Calvini&s;ts</HI> deny it, again&s;t Scrip|ture,
<PB N="145" REF="82"> <HI>Acts 2. v.</HI> 27, and 31. as plain<NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 2. 27, 31.</NOTE> in our judgment (and &s;o think the <HI>Engli&s;h Prote&s;tants</HI> al&s;o,) as the <HI>Apo&s;tles Creed.</HI> They bring no o|ther Scripture for their Negative, but flatly deny this place to be evi|dent and concluding. Now what mu&s;t be done to end this Contro|ver&s;y in a fundamental point? The cleare&s;t Text Scripture affords is al|ready produced to give them &s;atis|faction; 'tis un&s;ucce&s;sful, and they rai&s;e clouds of new invented Inter|pretations to hide it from their own and others eyes. Can Scripture now judge, and conclude this Contro|ver&s;y?</P>
<P>Moreover, the <HI>Lutherans</HI> and <HI>En|gli&s;h Prote&s;tants</HI> agree with <HI>Catho|licks</HI> in a&s;&s;erting the nece&s;&s;ity of Bapti&s;m to Salvation, grounding them&s;elves on that of St. <HI>John, Ex|cept</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Joh. 3. 5.</NOTE> <HI>a man be born of water and the Spirit; he cannot enter into the King|dom of God.</HI> The <HI>Calvini&s;ts</HI> hold the contrary, and by no means will allow <HI>Water</HI> there mention'd to be taken literally for natural <HI>Water,</HI> but
<PB N="146" REF="83"> drink it all up with a dry <HI>Metaphor.</HI> How can they convince them if Scripture alone be judge? If with us they urge them with the con&s;ent of Fathers, Univer&s;al <HI>Tradition,</HI> and practice of the Church &s;o interpre|ting the&s;e words of our Ble&s;&s;ed Sa|viour, the Controver&s;y is at an end. Or if <HI>Calvini&s;ts</HI> will be yet conten|ding, they can &s;peak nothing Solid or Rational in their own defence.</P>
<P>To all which may be added that judicious and accute Ob&s;ervation of an able Controverti&s;t, <HI>That though</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Apology for</HI> Tradit. <HI>p. 137.</HI></NOTE> <HI>one intent and end of writing St.</HI> John'<HI>s Go&s;pel, was to &s;how the God|head of Chri&s;t, which the</HI> Arians <HI>af|terwards denyed, yet the de&s;ign prov'd &s;o un&s;ucce&s;sful, that never any</HI> Here&s;ie <HI>was more powerful and &s;preading than that which oppos'd the Truth intend|ed by his Book.</HI> So he; yea, and it is mo&s;t certain the <HI>Arians</HI> at this day do make more u&s;e of that Go|&s;pel than any other part of Scripture to beat down the Divinity of the Son of God. A manife&s;t argument that Scripture was never intended
<PB N="147" REF="83"> by the Author of tho&s;e Sacred Ora|cles for the final deci&s;ion of contro|verted points, but for &s;omething el&s;e proper and agreeable to the na|ture of dead writings. However, we make no que&s;tion but all <HI>Catho|lick</HI> Doctrines are contain'd in the <HI>Bible</HI> by Rational deductions, with infinite advantage above what our Adver&s;aries can produce for their defence upon the &s;ame grounds, as hath been made to appear by able Controverti&s;ts before any Impartial and under&s;tanding Judges. More need not be &s;aid in a matter con|demned by the common &s;en&s;e and experience of the whole World.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="6" TYPE="section">
<PB N="148" REF="84">
<HEAD>SECT. VI.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P>That private Rea&s;on in Contro|ver&s;ies of <HI>Faith</HI> is not the In|terpreter and Judge of the true Sen&s;e of <HI>Scripture,</HI> for every Chri&s;tian to rely upon for his Salvation,</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>SOme <HI>Engli&s;h Prote&s;tants</HI> of Cri|tical Heads, to qualifie the ab|&s;urdance of the former. <HI>The&s;is,</HI> &s;till holding clo&s;e to the written Word for a compleatly &s;ufficient Rule of Faith, make private Rea&s;on the In|terpreter and Judge for every Chri|&s;tian. A Principle, which though it may &s;eem plau&s;ible and gain fol|lowers, becau&s;e it makes every one <HI>Sui juris,</HI> independent and his own Ma&s;ter, a thing &s;o de&s;irable and &s;weet to fle&s;h and blood; yet no le&s;s than the other, doth it contradict the whole Chri&s;tian World, always
<PB N="149" REF="84"> teaching, <HI>&V;t Scripturas ip&s;as, &s;ic Scripturarum &s;en&s;um, pure &amp; imper|turbate &s;olum ad nos Traditionis alneo deferri,</HI> That the pure and uncor|rupted &s;en&s;e of the Scripture doth depend upon <HI>Tradition</HI> as well as the Scriptures them&s;elves: And ac|counting it a giddy Spirit of <HI>Here|tical</HI> ra&s;hne&s;s. <HI>Scripturae interpreta|tionem ex proprio ingenio petere;</HI> To refu&s;e to give ear to the voice of the Church, and give ear to the Whi&s;perings of private Rea&s;on; which is &s;o exterminating a Prin|ciple, and de&s;tructive of Religion, that it doth not ruine this, or that, or &s;ome few <HI>Catholick</HI> Truths, but like a general deluge with an irre|&s;i&s;table torrent &s;weeps away the Church it &s;elf, by overthrowing the unity in Faith, the Life, and Soul, and E&s;&s;ence of it.</P>
<P>'Tis a &s;ubject would afford a large field of Di&s;cour&s;e, but I &s;hall con|tent my &s;elf with brevity, and I hope others al&s;o. Who&s;oever &s;hall de&s;ire more ample &s;atisfaction, I re|fer him to the <HI>Exomologe&s;is</HI> of Mr.
<PB N="150" REF="85"> <HI>Cre&s;&s;y,</HI> where 'tis &s;olidly confuted in an&s;wer to Mr. <HI>Chillingworth,</HI> the great Patron and fir&s;t publick A&s;&s;er|tor of it with approbation.</P>
<P>The principal Arguments which convinc'd me, (for I was one of tho&s;e very unrea&s;onable <HI>Rationali&s;ts</HI> when I was a <HI>Prote&s;tant</HI>) and with which I re&s;t fully &s;atisfied, are the&s;e following.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, if private rea&s;on be the only Interpreter and Judge of Scrip|ture for every Chri&s;tian, I de&s;ire tho&s;e who are minded, to give a &s;a|tisfactory An&s;wer to tho&s;e places of Sacred Writ; which in my poor judgement cannot &s;tand with their po&s;ition. St. <HI>Peter</HI> teacheth us,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Pet. 1. 19, 20, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></NOTE> <HI>That no Prophecy of the Scripture is of private Interpretation, but Holy men of God &s;pake as they were moved by the Holy-Gho&s;t</HI> That is, as the Sacred Pen-men of Gods Word writ by In&s;piration of the Holy-Gho&s;t, being his publick In&s;truments to reveal the Divine Verities to the World; &s;o tho&s;e Sacred Oracles are not to be interpreted Authora|tive
<PB N="151" REF="85"> by the private Rea&s;on and Will of men; but their true &s;en&s;e and meaning, (if call'd in que&s;tion,) is to be received from the Governours<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Concilium Trid.</HI> Se&s; 4.</NOTE> of the Church, whom God has au|thoriz'd to declare his will unto his People. Of which he gives a con|vincing rea&s;on in his <HI>3d. Chap.</HI> telling<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Pet. 3. 15, 16, 17.</NOTE> us, <HI>That in his dear Brother</HI> Paul's <HI>Epi&s;tles, are &s;ome things hard to be under&s;tood, which they that are un|learned and un&s;table, wre&s;t, as they do al&s;o the other Scriptures, unto their own de&s;truction.</HI> This is not compa|tible to the definitive Sentence of a Judge in any Controver&s;y, which mu&s;t be &s;o clear and per&s;picuous, that the mo&s;t unlearned or refracto|ry cannot doubt or mi&s;take after pronunciation. Neither is this diffi|culty in matters of no moment; but in points nece&s;&s;ary, where Souls do peri&s;h through misbelief.</P>
<P>We find in the Acts of the Apo|&s;tles, that <HI>Philip</HI> the Deacon draw|ing near to the Chariot of the de|vout <HI>Eunuch,</HI> and hearing him read<NOTE PLACE="marg">Act 8. 30, 31, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></NOTE> the Prophet <HI>I&s;aias,</HI> &s;aid, <HI>&V;nder|&s;tande&s;t
<PB N="152" REF="86"> thou what thou reade&s;t? And he &s;aid, how can I except &s;ome man guide me?</HI> He had not learn'd the Principle of their <HI>Rationali&s;ts</HI> to bid the Holy man &s;pare his pains of Expo&s;ition; or if he would be doing, that he was not bound to believe one word he &s;poke for Truth 'till his own rea&s;on made it Authentick. For this wild Doctrine frees every man in matters of Eternity from all Authority of humane Teachers though of Divine In&s;titution; &s;o that be we <HI>Jews,</HI> or <HI>Heathens,</HI> or in what Church &s;oever we have been Baptiz'd, we mu&s;t &s;tand to no <HI>Creed,</HI> believe no <HI>Catechi&s;m</HI> or abridge|ment of points nece&s;&s;ary, though confirm'd by the practice of the whole <HI>Christian</HI> World, rely on no <HI>In&s;tructors,</HI> but believe and practice the quite contrary, if our private rea&s;on judges it to be contain'd in Sacred Scripture. Doubtle&s;s if his judgment had been prepo&s;e&s;s'd with this proud, arrogant Principle, <HI>Philip</HI> had preach'd in vain, nor had he believ'd unto Salvation, but
<PB N="153" REF="86"> would have di&s;mi&s;s'd the <HI>Evangeli&s;t</HI> with &s;ome &s;uch words as the&s;e: I have a de&s;ire to &s;ave my Soul, and therefore have given you a hearing; but all this is nothing yet to me, I will &s;earch the Scriptures farther to &s;ee what I mu&s;t believe; and when I have made my <HI>Creed,</HI> I will &s;end for You to Baptize me. Which plainly contradicts the method of &s;aving in&s;truction deliver'd by the great Doctor of the <HI>Gentiles</HI> in that famous <HI>Climax; How &s;hall they call</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 10. 14, 15.</NOTE> <HI>on him in whom they have not believ'd? And how &s;hall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how &s;hall they hear without a Preacher?</HI> A Preacher with Mi&s;&s;ion and Com|mi&s;&s;ion from Je&s;us Chri&s;t: But no place is more convincing than that<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Tim. 3. 15.</NOTE> to <HI>Timothy, The Church is the Pillar and ground of Truth.</HI> And if the Church, how then mu&s;t every one build upon his private Rea&s;on, for the true &s;en&s;e of Scripture in all things nece&s;&s;ary to Salvation? St. <HI>Paul</HI> was an Apo&s;tle of Je&s;us Chri&s;t; who&s;e Mi&s;&s;ioners then are tho&s;e who teach the contrary?</P>
<PB N="154" REF="87">
<P>La&s;tly, I de&s;ire them to reconcile this Article of our Ancient <HI>Creed, I believe the Holy Catholick Church,</HI> with their novel Doctrine, <HI>The Cae|tholick Church hath nothing to do with my Faith, I believe my own Rea|&s;on, and nothing el&s;e; in giving the true &s;en&s;e of Scripture to me.</HI> For my part, it being clear to me from the written Word, that the Church hath a promi&s;e of Infallibility in matters of Faith, That there is a command from Chri&s;t laid upon every one to hear her voice under pain of damnation, and that other|wi&s;e the above named Article would not have been in&s;erted into the <HI>Apostles Creed</HI> as a fundamental point, I could &s;ee no &s;afety or cer|tainty in matters of eternal Intere&s;t, but by wholly renouncing my mo&s;t weak, deceitful &s;elf, and delivering up my &s;elf entirely into the hands of the <HI>Catholick</HI> Church, to be taught by her what I mu&s;t Believe and Do to be &s;aved: Nor found I any thing more rea&s;onable then to captivate my under&s;tanding to the obedience
<PB N="155" REF="87"> of Faith, when the God of rea&s;on doth require it at our hands.</P>
<P>Secondly, to make every one an Interpreter and Judge of the true &s;en&s;e of Holy Scripture for him&s;elf unappealably by Rea&s;on, &s;eems e|vidently to me to deprive us of the only rational and &s;olid means which is required to produce a well grounded Faith of Supernatural Verities in the Soul of man. Which thus I manife&s;t.</P>
<P>Supernatural Faith being an a&s;|&s;ent of the under&s;tanding to things revealed, meerly for the Authority of the Relator, without any far|ther di&s;pute when once we have an a&s;&s;urance that God hath revealed them; two things mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily concurre in all mediate productions to beget this act firmly and ratio|nally in any Soul; namely, <HI>I&s;t.</HI> Di|vine Revelation of things to be be|liev'd, which is the formal Object of Faith, into which it is ultimate|ly re&s;olv'd; And <HI>2dly.</HI> A certain knowledge or moral evidence that &s;uch are revealed, by the mediation
<PB N="156" REF="88"> or intervention of which the under|&s;tanding elevated by Grace pro|ceeds to the fore&s;aid a&s;&s;ent. Now &s;uppo&s;e there were no Objects of Supernatural and Divine Faith but what are contain'd in the written Word, 'tis not the bare and naked Letter, but Scripture rightly under|&s;tood, that is the Word of God and of Infallible verity; except therefore we have &s;ome <HI>Medium,</HI> or means to convey a&s;&s;uredly to our under&s;tand|ing the true &s;en&s;e of Scripture, our Faith cannot but halt and totter, when we cannot rationally afford a firm a&s;&s;ent to &s;uch a thing as reveal|ed, and have ju&s;t cau&s;e to &s;u&s;pect whither we rightly under&s;tand that Scripture which contains the Reve|lation. And certainly this cau&s;e of &s;u&s;pition will be ever ju&s;t while pri|vate rea&s;on is the Interpreter and Judge of Holy Writ, when abundant experience tells us nothing is more Fallible, nothing more deceitful, no|thing &s;ooner bribed with pride, or pa&s;&s;ion, or prejudice, or education, or intere&s;t; to make words &s;peak what
<PB N="157" REF="88"> never the Author intended by them. In&s;omuch that hardly any funda|mental point delivered in Scripture, but hath been called in que&s;tion, and &s;till is by too many, prote&s;ting withall their &s;incerity and endea|vours to attain to the true &s;en&s;e of Scripture by the light of their own Rea&s;on, to which they appeal as their Judge and Protector in tho&s;e wilful and irrational proceedings. Neither indeed have <HI>Here&s;ies</HI> aro&s;e in the Church but from Scripture mi&s;interpreted by private rea&s;on, as the <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Non ali|unde natae &s;unt haere|des, ni&s;i quod Scripturae bene in|telligun|tur non ben&egrave; St. <HI>Aug.</HI> Tract 18 in <HI>Jeab.</HI> Er de Gen. ad Lit. l. 7 ca. 9. Non ob aliud &s;iunt haeretici ni&s;i quod Scripturas non recte intel|ligentes &s;uas Fal&s;as opiniones contra earum veritatem per|tinaciter a&s;&s;erunt &amp; alii pa&s;&s;iom, S. <HI>Ambr.</HI> in Titi. <HI>Vincentius Lyrin.</HI> ca. 36. S. <HI>Irenaeus</HI> l. 1. c. 1. S. <HI>Hier.</HI> ad ca. 23. <HI>I&s;aiae.</HI> S. <HI>Hilar.</HI> in lib. ad <HI>Con&s;tantinum</HI> Origenes <HI>Hom.</HI> 31. in <HI>Exodum,</HI> &amp;c.</NOTE> Fathers and Church-hi&s;tory &s;ufficiently te&s;tify. <HI>Alas poor Souls that have &s;uch a guide to carry the Light which mu&s;t direct them to eter|nal Happine&s;s. If they make their Light Darkne&s;s, how great is that Darkne&s;s? When their guide mi&s;leads them, what remedy is there left to re|call them into the path which leads to Heaven?</HI></P>
<PB N="158" REF="89">
<P>The <HI>Catholick</HI> Church indeed is inriched with &s;o great a priviledge by Chri&s;t our Saviour, that &s;he can|not err in things nece&s;&s;ary to Sal|vation (as hath been manife&s;ted in the precedent <HI>Motive</HI> by <HI>Rea&s;on, Fathers, Councils, Scripture, Tradi|tion</HI> and practice of the <HI>Christian</HI> World.) Whom we may as un|doubtedly believe in delivering to us the true &s;en&s;e of Scripture as the Letter; and upon whom relying we have only a firm and rational belief of revealed Verities, con&s;tant and immoveable among all the changes of <HI>Sects</HI> and <HI>Hereticks.</HI></P>
<P>True it is, in every act of Faith there is u&s;e of Rea&s;on, whether it be referred to the Authority of God revealing, or the Church pro|po&s;ing. For we captivate our un|der&s;tanding to the obedience of Faith, becau&s;e we judge nothing more rea&s;onable than to believe God; and we &s;ecurely rely upon his Church whom he hath promis'd to a&s;&s;i&s;t with Infallibility in &s;uch propo&s;als. But &s;hall we &s;ay there|fore
<PB N="159" REF="89"> that Rea&s;on is the prime intrin&s;ical Motive of Faith, and into which it finally is re&s;olv'd; Nothing le&s;s. For this di&s;cour&s;e and approbation of Rea&s;on are but nece&s;&s;arily previous and antecedent to our deliberate and rational acts of Faith; the acts them&s;elves are acts of the under&s;tanding not di&s;|cour&s;ing, but purely a&s;&s;enting. Which a&s;&s;ent is not for Rea&s;ons &s;ake, but for Authority. Were the la&s;t re&s;olution into the judgment of private Rea&s;on, Faith could not be Divine or Supernatural. Rea&s;on indeed produces an act of Faith as well in <HI>Catholicks</HI> as <HI>Prote&s;tants,</HI> but with a va&s;t difference. For a <HI>Pro|te&s;tant</HI> believes &s;uch a Truth to be from God, relying upon his Rea&s;on only that it is revealed; and this a&s;&s;ent is not rational, becau&s;e his ground is deceitful. But in a <HI>Ca|tholick</HI> Rea&s;on acts only &s;o far in points of belief as to bring him to Authority, declaring &s;uch Truths to be &s;ufficiently revealed by Al|mighty God, which he cannot with
<PB N="160" REF="90"> any rea&s;on &s;u&s;pect to be Fallible in &s;uch declarations. <HI>I believe this,</HI> &s;ays a <HI>Prote&s;tant, becau&s;e my Rea&s;on tells me it is revealed, and will allow no other judge of this Revelation. I be|lieve this,</HI> &s;ays a <HI>Catholick, becau&s;e an Infallible Authority a&s;&s;ures me i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"> is revealed; and my Rea&s;on tells me there is no other &s;ufficient ground or evidence for Divine Faith, and there|fore give up my private judgment to the Church.</HI> And which of the&s;e Principles is more &s;afe and rational let Rea&s;on judge.</P>
<P>Thirdly, I demand of the&s;e <HI>Ra|tionali&s;ts,</HI> whether there be any &s;uch thing as <HI>Here&s;y</HI> in the World, and what it is? <HI>Oportet e&s;se Haere&s;es,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 11. 19.</NOTE> &amp;c. <HI>There mu&s;t be Here&s;ies;</HI> St. <HI>Paul</HI> hath &s;aid it, and that's &s;ufficient. And as for what it is, 'tis well known the Church hath always, taught, <HI>That</HI> Here&s;ie <HI>is the voluntary Election of &s;ome private opinion, con|tradicting the Doctrine of the Church. And that he is to be accounted an</HI> He|retick <HI>who neglecting the Churches Au|thority with a &s;tubborn mind defends
<PB N="161" REF="90"> wicked opinions.</HI> But if we &s;hould admit their new definition, <HI>That</HI> Here&s;ie <HI>is to contradict any fundamen|tal point expre&s;ly contain'd in Scrip|ture;</HI> In my poor judgment accor|ding to &s;uch a definition, there's no &s;uch thing as <HI>Here&s;ie,</HI> or <HI>Hereticks;</HI> but both <HI>Arians, Anabapti&s;ts, Fa|naticks,</HI> &amp;c. are as good <HI>Catholicks</HI> as any Chri&s;tians of the World. For if private Rea&s;on be the only judge of the true Sen&s;e of Scripture for every one to rely upon, the&s;e, and all other condemned <HI>Hereticks</HI> (the <HI>Montani&s;ts</HI> excepted) relying upon the written Word, as inter|preted by Rea&s;on, with &s;ober en|quiry and real endeavours to find out Truth, cannot ju&s;tly be &s;o re|puted. The <HI>Arians</HI> have &s;o much Rea&s;on and Scripture too in the bare Letter on their &s;ide, that take away the Churches Infallibility and uni|ver&s;al <HI>Tradition</HI> interpreting and delivering to us the true &s;en&s;e of it, the Controver&s;y would never be de|cided. All places would &s;warm with <HI>Ne&s;torians, Eutychians, Anti-trini|tarians,
<PB N="162" REF="91"> Barengarians, Anabaptists,</HI> &amp;c. neither could we condemn them, if this Principle be good, for doing their duty in following Scrip|ture as the Light of their own private Rea&s;on or Spirit dictates to them.</P>
<P>Let them not &s;ay, that the&s;e, and &s;uch like are ju&s;tly condemn'd for contradicting expre&s;s Scripture, a|gain&s;t their knowledge, and the judgment of their own Rea&s;on. For they mu&s;t remember; fir&s;t, that them&s;elves do not condemn the <HI>Ana|bapti&s;ts</HI> upon only Scripture grounds, Secondly, that it hath been demon|&s;trated that all fundamental points are not &s;o expre&s;s in Scripture as they imagine. And thirdly, that 'tis mo&s;t uncharitable to &s;ay, <HI>That all tho&s;e whom they condemn for</HI> He|reticks <HI>do again&s;t their own knowledge and Con&s;cience contradict the expre&s;s Word of God, and run headlong to hell with their eyes open.</HI> Can we po&s;&s;ibly imagine, that among &s;o many Millions of <HI>Arians</HI> there was not one &s;ingle per&s;on had any Con|&s;cience?
<PB N="163" REF="91"> It cannot be denyed but that many <HI>Hereticks</HI> have, and do live Vertuou&s;ly in the Eyes of the World: For who knows not, <HI>That Satan &s;ometimes transforms him&s;elf into an Angel of Light?</HI> And while they profe&s;s, and prote&s;t, that if it was once made apparent to them that their Tenets are again&s;t the Word of God, they would not one minute per&s;i&s;t in them; we judge it uncharitable to affirm, that not|with&s;tanding the prote&s;tations of their &s;incerity and real (though mi&s;|guided) zeal, they all wilfully &s;in again&s;t the Light and knowledge of their Con&s;ciences. We <HI>Catholicks</HI> indeed a&s;&s;ert, <HI>That &s;ufficient eviden|ces of credibility are produced by us to convince them of their Heretical opi|nions and dangerous &s;tate without Re|pentance:</HI> But withall we &s;ay, <HI>That God in his ju&s;t Judgments, which are in&s;crutable, &s;uffers them through &s;trong delu&s;ions to believe Lyes, in that the Light of Truth is veiled from their Eyes by pa&s;&s;ion, or prejudice, or world|ly Intere&s;t, while they &s;o continue;
<PB N="164" REF="92"> and we pray for them, in hope that the Father of infinite Mercies will in his good time di&s;cover Truth unto them, and bring them home unto his Church.</HI> But for the&s;e <HI>Rationali&s;ts</HI> to damn all tho&s;e whom they e&s;teem <HI>Here|ticks,</HI> as contradictors of the Word of God again&s;t their Con&s;cience and knowledge, is a cen&s;ure mo&s;t unrea&s;onable, and little be&s;eeming &s;uch who&s;e lives are not &s;o Go&s;pel-like, but that many <HI>Sectaries</HI> who differ from them in fundamentals may ju&s;tly be reputed at lea&s;t as con&s;cientious, and in charity cannot be thought otherwi&s;e. All which duely con&s;ider'd, plainly proves, that they mu&s;t either change their Judge of Controver&s;y in points of Faith, or give us &s;ome new Rule, to di&s;cover <HI>Here&s;y.</HI> And withall, that if they will &s;tick clo&s;e to this Principle, they mu&s;t maintain that all the General Councils of the Church, even that celebrated by the Apo&s;tles them&s;elves, were meer ty|rannical U&s;urpations, in obliging all Chri&s;tians to believe and practice
<PB N="165" REF="92"> according to their Decrees, what|ever their private Rea&s;on could &s;ay to the contrary.</P>
<P>Fourthly, in vain and to no pur|po&s;e hath Je&s;us Chri&s;t in&s;tituted Au|thoritative Over&s;eers and Gover|nours in his Church, <HI>For the per|fecting</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 4. 11, 12, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></NOTE> <HI>the Saints, for the work of the Mini&s;try, for the Edification of the Body of Chri&s;t, till we all come in the unity of Faith,</HI> &amp;c. If every one mu&s;t acknowledge no vi&s;ible Autho|rity upon Earth, to have any ob|liging power over him in Doctrines appertaining to God, but be his own Teacher in all points of Faith according to the Dictates of private Rea&s;on.</P>
<P>Fifthly, If every one be &s;ent to Scripture to compo&s;e a <HI>Creed</HI> for him&s;elf, 'tis impo&s;&s;ible there &s;hould be any unity among the Chri&s;tians in Faith and Wor&s;hip. That is, 'tis impo&s;&s;ible there &s;hould be any &s;uch thing upon earth as one only <HI>Catho|lick</HI> Church. Of the breach of which unity, endle&s;s divi&s;ions a|mong&s;t tho&s;e who adhere to this
<PB N="166" REF="93"> Principle are apparent and mo&s;t vi|&s;ible demon&s;trations.</P>
<P>La&s;tly who&s;oever &s;eriou&s;ly con|&s;iders the difficulties of Languages, the multiplicity of the occa&s;ions and intentions of the Writers, the various lections in Copies of the Original, the infinite and con&s;ide|rable differences in Tran&s;lations, the equivocation and ambiguity of Words, the variety and ob&s;curity of Circum&s;tances, together with the weakne&s;s of all, and ignorance of mo&s;t men, endeavouring by them&s;elves from dead Letters to at|tain to the knowledge of the &s;u|blime my&s;teries of our Holy Faith, tran&s;cending all humane under|&s;tanding and comprehen&s;ion, can|not but conclude that 'tis altogether impo&s;&s;ible, that private Rea&s;on &s;hould be the only Interpreter and Judge of the true Sen&s;e of Scrip|ture, for every one to rely upon for his Salvation; &s;eeing nothing can be certainly gather'd and con|cluded out of naked words con&s;ide|red barely in them&s;elves, involving
<PB N="167" REF="93"> &s;o many difficulties and uncertain|ties, in regard to incomparably the greater part of mankind. And if a <HI>Prote&s;tant</HI> Preacher will &s;peak out ingeniou&s;ly in this point, he mu&s;t tell his Auditors in the&s;e, or &s;uch like words: <HI>Beloved, we ex|hort you to &s;earch the Scriptures; and what&s;oever we &s;ay is nece&s;sary to Sal|vation, to believe us only &s;o far as your own Rea&s;on doth tell you we teach according to the Word of God; for that is the Rule, and private Rea&s;on the &s;ole Judge to give an unappealable Sentence in &s;uch Ca&s;es. This is our Doctrine, and this is al&s;o your practice; but truely Beloved, all things rightly con&s;idered, we mu&s;t needs confe&s;s that 'tis an un&s;teady foundation, to build your Faith and Salvation upon; for after this way of proceeding, you are infinitely obnoxious to dangerous er|rours, and cannot but deceive your &s;elves in matters that concern your everla&s;ting Happine&s;s.</HI> So he preach|ing ingenuou&s;ly: Neither indeed can rational &s;ecurity be had in things of eternal Intere&s;t; 'till repo|&s;ing
<PB N="168" REF="94"> our &s;elves in the bo&s;ome of the <HI>Catholick</HI> Church, we take her word as well for the Sen&s;e of Scrip|ture as the Letter. A ground doubt|le&s;s &s;ufficient for me to ju&s;tify the change of my Religion, and for o|thers to follow me.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="7" TYPE="section">
<HEAD>SECT. VII.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P>An an&s;wer to &s;ome of the principal places of <HI>Scripture</HI> upon which <HI>Prote&s;tants</HI> rely for their Rule and Judge of Faith.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>IT being a main fundamental point of Faith to know what is the Rule and Judge of all the re&s;t, they who hold the written Word for a compleatly &s;ufficient Rule and Inter|preter of its &s;elf, or give private Rea&s;on the Authority of a Judge in expounding it as &s;uch a Rule; mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily ground them&s;elves upon
<PB N="169" REF="94"> Scripture for this Article. And &s;ome, if not mo&s;t, of the principal places are the&s;e. <HI>To the Law, and to the Testimony; if they &s;peak not accor|ding to this Word, it is becau&s;e there's no light in them,</HI> I&s;aiah 8. 20. <HI>Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal Life, and they are they which te&s;tify of me,</HI> Joh. 5. 39. <HI>The&s;e are written that ye might believe that Je&s;us is the Chri&s;t the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life thorough his Name,</HI> Joh. 26. 31. <HI>And</HI> Paul <HI>rea&s;on'd with them out of the Scriptures. And they &s;earch'd the Scripture daily, whether tho&s;e things were &s;o,</HI> Act. 2. 11. <HI>All Scripture di|vinely in&s;pir'd is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for in&s;tructi|on in righteou&s;ne&s;s, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly in|&s;tructed to every good work,</HI> 2 Tim. 3. 16, 17. <HI>If any man &s;hall add unto the&s;e things, God &s;hall add unto him the Plagues that are written in this Book: And if any man &s;hall take a|way from the words of the Book of this Prophecy, God &s;hall take away his
<PB N="170" REF="95"> part out of the Book of Life,</HI> Apocal. 22. ver. 18, 19.</P>
<P>To all which, and whatever other Scripture-proofs <HI>Protestants</HI> pro|duce for them&s;elves again&s;t us; I fir&s;t by way of general reply de|mand of them, whether they bring &s;uch Texts as demon&s;trative argu|ments evidencing their po&s;ition, or only as probable? If only as pro|bable, they conclude nothing a|gain&s;t us <HI>Catholicks,</HI> who have the judgement and practice of the Uni|ver&s;al Church, the be&s;t Interpreter of Holy Scriptures and conveyer of true Sen&s;e, &s;tanding on our &s;ide, with infinite advantage again&s;t their Novel Expo&s;itions. But if they pro|duce them as demon&s;trations, how comes it about that any doubt of them, &s;eeing every demon&s;tration is &s;uch, as that granting the Pre|mi&s;&s;es, the conclu&s;ion cannot be de|nyed.</P>
<P>From that of <HI>I&s;aias</HI> they urge us thus. <HI>Behold O</HI> Papi&s;ts, <HI>the Pro|phet of the Lord &s;ends the</HI> Jews <HI>to the written Word of God as the Rule and Judge of what is taught them.</HI></P>
<PB N="171" REF="95">
<P>I an&s;wer, <HI>Doubtle&s;s they who af|firm this, have quite forgot that the High-Priest in all doubts of any mo|ment about Divine Wor&s;hip, was con|&s;tituted</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Deut. 17. 8, 9, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></NOTE> <HI>by God the &s;upreme Judge, to give a definitive Sentence under pain of death to the di&s;obeyers.</HI> And &s;o they &s;et up the Holy Prophet again&s;t <HI>Mo|&s;es,</HI> and make one Scripture, as they Interpret it, contradict another.</P>
<P>This plainly &s;hews they abu&s;e the Text, who&s;e genuine Sen&s;e will ea&s;ily appear by light borrowed from the Context. <HI>I&s;aias</HI> prophe|&s;ied in trouble&s;ome times; and the <HI>Jews</HI> were very &s;ollicitous what the event would be; and neglecting to enquire of God, had no recour&s;e to the Law and the Prophets, but<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Sam. 28. 6.</NOTE> &s;ought unto them who had familiar Spirits, and unto Wizards. The Prophet grieved at this Vengeance provoking &s;in, &s;ends them to the Law and to the Te&s;timony, where this grand impiety was forbidden; and withall puts them in mind of<NOTE PLACE="marg">Levit. 20. 6 27. Deut. 18. 9, 10, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></NOTE> their great folly in &s;eeking to &s;uch who had no Divine Light for the
<PB N="172" REF="96"> Revelation of future contingences, which could not po&s;&s;ibly be in them who undertook it again&s;t Gods Word&punc; Now in the name of wonder what is this to a Judge of Controver&s;ies in points of Faith? It is not lawful to con&s;ult the Devil to know future events, becau&s;e he is a Lyar, and it is a thing forbidden in the written Word; therefore the Scripture is the only Rule and Judge of Controver&s;ies in points of Faith and Wor&s;hip among Chri&s;tians. 'Twere well &s;uch Di&s;putants would learn to be <HI>Logicians,</HI> before they turn'd Controver&s;ial Divines.</P>
<P>To the &s;econd, <HI>Search the Scrip|tures,</HI> &amp;c. I find &s;o &s;atisfactory an<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Summa</HI> Theolo. <HI>par. c. 7.</HI></NOTE> An&s;wer in <HI>Becanus,</HI> that I &s;hall do little more than tran&s;late his words. <HI>Our Ble&s;&s;ed Saviour in this Chapter</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Joh. 5. 39.</NOTE> <HI>is di&s;puting with the unbelieving</HI> Jews <HI>who denyed him to be the Son of God, or &s;ent from him;</HI> To convince them he makes u&s;e of four Topicks. Fir&s;t, <HI>The witne&s;s of</HI> John <HI>the Bapti&s;t, whom they accounted a Prophet, and had formerly told them pointing to
<PB N="173" REF="96"> our Ble&s;sed Saviour,</HI> Behold the<NOTE PLACE="marg">Joh. 1. 29. 34.</NOTE> Lamb of God who taketh away the &s;ins of the World. I bear record that this is the Son of God. Se|condly, <HI>The Te&s;timony of his Di|vine works, and &s;tupendious mira|cles in the&s;e words,</HI> I have a greater<NOTE PLACE="marg">Joh. 5. 36.</NOTE> witne&s;s than that of <HI>John,</HI> for the works which the Father hath &s;ent me to fini&s;h, the &s;ame works that I do, bear witne&s;s of me that the Fa|ther hath &s;ent me. Thirdly, <HI>The Te&s;timony of God the Father in the Ver&s;e following:</HI> And the Father<NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 37.</NOTE> him&s;elf who hath &s;ent me hath born witne&s;s of me. <HI>And that by an au|dible voice from Heaven at his Bap|ti&s;m in the&s;e words,</HI> This is my be|loved<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 3. 17.</NOTE> Son, in whom I am well plea|&s;ed: <HI>As al&s;o at his Transfiguration, where the &s;ame words were &s;poken with this addition,</HI> Hear ye Him. <HI>Which</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat: 17. 5.</NOTE> <HI>fir&s;t voice, if none of the</HI> Jews <HI>there pre&s;ent heard, (as certainly they did not, unle&s;s in the words following,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Joh. 5. 37.</NOTE> Neither have ye heard his voice; <HI>hearing is to be taken for obeying) yet to them the Te&s;timony was Au|thentick,
<PB N="174" REF="97"> who &s;eeing his mo&s;t Holy Life and many Miracles to atte&s;t his Mi&s;&s;ion could not rationally think he would deceive them with a Lye.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Now more they could not de&s;ire, when the force of the&s;e invincible argu|ments or nothing could dint and mol|lify their rocky hearts to receive the impre&s;&s;ion of &s;aving Faith. However, our Ble&s;&s;ed Saviour to give them all po&s;&s;ible &s;atisfaction, makes u&s;e of a fourth Topick from the Holy Scriptures,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">ver. 39.</NOTE> <HI>which he bids them &s;earch,</HI> For in them, <HI>&s;aith he,</HI> ye think ye have eternal Life, and they are they which te&s;tify of me. <HI>Which Para|phras'd is thus much. If ye will not receive the three former Te&s;timonies, which are mo&s;t proper and efficacious to work Faith in your hearts, but &s;hut your eyes again&s;t Light &s;ufficient to turn the darkne&s;s of</HI> Sodom <HI>and</HI> Go|morrah <HI>into day; yet the Scriptures, which ye receive and acknowledge, bear &s;uch witne&s;s of me, that if ye did &s;earch into them with humble hearts, ye could not but be convinc'd of the Truth I preach unto you. In them indeed ye
<PB N="175" REF="97"> think ye have eternal Life, but while malice and pride thus blind your eyes, ye deceive your &s;elves, and make them a killing Letter to your Souls.</HI></P>
<P>Now let who will apply it, the Argument runs thus, Our Ble&s;&s;ed Saviour having made u&s;e of the mo&s;t powerful means to convince the <HI>Jews</HI> of their Infidelity, and they yet per&s;i&s;ting in their Bla&s;phemies, at la&s;t for their greater confu&s;ion made u&s;e of an argument from Scrip|ture which they received, <HI>Therefore Scripture is the &s;ole Judge of Contro|ver&s;ies about Religion.</HI> How this follows I under&s;tand not, when our Ble&s;&s;ed Saviour in the pre&s;ent con|te&s;t, &s;ends them not only to the written Word, but u&s;es it as the la&s;t, and perhaps lea&s;t evidence of his Di|vinity and Mi&s;&s;ion.</P>
<P>It clearly makes indeed for us <HI>Catholicks,</HI> who as our Ble&s;&s;ed Sa|viour brought St. <HI>Johns</HI> Te&s;timony again&s;t his Advet&s;aries, &s;o do we likewi&s;e again&s;t the <HI>Prote&s;tants</HI> pro|duce the Ancient Fathers, Martyrs and Confe&s;&s;ors of all Ages to wit|ne&s;s
<PB N="176" REF="98"> for us in the pre&s;ent Contro|ver&s;ies; as al&s;o the voice of God from Heaven by many Miracles &s;peaking in defence of the Truths which we profe&s;s. They in this like to obdurate <HI>Jews</HI> de&s;pi&s;e the&s;e unan&s;werable evidences, which are Motives &s;ufficient to work on Infi|dels, and will admit no Rule nor Judge but the Holy Scriptures to decide the quarrel. Thinking, as the <HI>Jews</HI> did, to have Eternal Life in them, but with that incredulous people likewi&s;e deceive them&s;elves, do ob&s;erve the Light of Divine Truth, by drawing as it were a vail of private and perver&s;e Interpreta|tions over their Eyes, to their eter|nal Perdition.</P>
<P>I add moreover, that had our Ble&s;&s;ed Saviour only appealed to the Prophe&s;ies of the <HI>Old Testament</HI> concerning him&s;elf, as &s;ufficient to convince the <HI>Jews</HI> that he was the true <HI>Me&s;&s;ias,</HI> &s;o that nothing el&s;e was nece&s;&s;ary or requi&s;ite for the clea<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">ing of that point; yet I &s;ee not how this conclu&s;ion will follow,
<PB N="177" REF="98"> therefore all nece&s;&s;ary points of Faith are &s;o fully and plainly deli|ver'd to writing in the <HI>New Te&s;ta|ment</HI> under the Law of Grace, that there's no other Rule nor Judge to know and determine how many, and what they are, when contro|verted among Chri&s;tians. Yet this mu&s;t follow, or this Text doth them no good for the end they u&s;e it, as mo&s;t certainly it does not.</P>
<P>Which an&s;wer likewi&s;e takes a|way all &s;trength from that place in the <HI>Asts</HI> of the Apo&s;tles, where the <HI>Bereans</HI> are commended for &s;earch|ing the Scriptures, whether tho&s;e things were &s;o as St. <HI>Paul</HI> taught, and they believed before they con|&s;ulted the written Word, upon the Authority of their Teacher, confir|ming his Doctrine to be the Word of God by frequent Miracles. Upon inquiry indeed it could not but be much &s;atisfaction to them to find &s;o much of the Light of the Go&s;pels in|volv'd in the Shadows of the Law; and the Predictions of the Prophets to be &s;o exactly fulfill'd in the per|&s;on
<PB N="178" REF="99"> of Chri&s;t; and about the&s;e it was that St. <HI>Paul</HI> di&s;puted out of Scripture, and for which they &s;earch'd after their believing, and and &s;o comes not home to the que|&s;tion. For that the whole Law of Chri&s;t or all <HI>Catholick</HI> Doctrines ne|ce&s;&s;ary to Salvation are plainly con|tain'd, and may &s;atisfactorily be prov'd from <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> and the Prophets I pre&s;ume our Adver&s;aries will not maintain, and &s;o their Argument from hence is at an end.</P>
<P>To that in the <HI>20th.</HI> of St. <HI>John</HI> I an&s;wer, that the true &s;en&s;e and meaning of tho&s;e words is this: That St. <HI>John</HI> te&s;tifies to the World he hath written a Book of the Life and Death of our Ble&s;&s;ed Saviour, when the Miracles wrought by him, and therein deliver'd, did &s;ufficiently evidence him to be the Son of God and the true <HI>Me&s;&s;ias</HI> according to his Doctrine, without belief in who&s;e Name they could not be &s;aved. And not that all nece&s;&s;ary points of Faith were &s;o deliver'd in this Go&s;pel, as to be intended by him for a com|pleat
<PB N="179" REF="99"> Rule of Belief, and Judge of all Controver&s;ies in Fundamentalls to the Chri&s;tian World. Neither can any rational man, except blind|ed with Pa&s;&s;ion, or bribed with Inte|re&s;t, but perceive this latter Expo|&s;ition to be forced, and the other natural. To believe in Chri&s;t as the Son of God, and Saviour of the World, is a fundamental of funda|mentals, without which Salvation is not to be had; But to believe this only is not &s;ufficient, nor can be the &s;cope of this Text; when 'tis cer|tain many nece&s;&s;ary points of Chri|&s;tian belief are not contain'd in this <HI>Evangelist.</HI> Who, as 'tis u&s;ual with other Sacred Pen-men of Gods Word, a&s;cribes the vertue of that effect to &s;ome principal or &s;pecial cau&s;es, though but partial, which proceeds al&s;o from other by a ne|ce&s;&s;ary concatenation or connexion, to make up the whole and adequate cau&s;e of &s;uch a product: We are &s;aid in Scripture <HI>to be &s;aved by Hope;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8&punc; 24:</NOTE> is it therefore of it &s;elf &s;ufficient for Salvation? Is therefore Faith ex|cluded?
<PB N="180" REF="100"> No doubtle&s;s, <HI>For without</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 11. 6,</NOTE> <HI>Faith 'tis impo&s;&s;ible to plea&s;e God.</HI> Or becau&s;e, <HI>The Ju&s;t &s;hall live by</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 1. 17.</NOTE> <HI>Faith,</HI> are not good works nece&s;&s;a|ry? What means then St. <HI>Paul</HI> to tell us, <HI>That though we have all Faith</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor 13. 1, 2, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></NOTE> <HI>without Charity tt profiteth us nothing?</HI> He al&s;o teaches us, <HI>That who&s;oever</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 10. 9 <HI>&amp;c.</HI></NOTE> <HI>calls on the Name of the Lord &s;hall be &s;aved;</HI> Is it therefore enough of it &s;elf to bring a man to Heaven? The Truth is, Prayer &s;aves us, good Works &s;ave us, Faith &s;aves us, Hope &s;aves us; and therefore properly enough they are &s;aid to do it &s;eve|rally, though only conjointly they are &s;ufficient: And when St. <HI>John</HI> tells us, <HI>He writ the Life and Death of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, that thorough Faith in his Name we might be &s;aved;</HI> He little dream'd that in after Ages a Generation of men would ari&s;e that &s;hould affirm he taught; <HI>That his Go&s;pel did compri&s;e in particular all fundamental points of Faith &s;ufficient for the Salvation of mankind.</HI></P>
<P>To that in <HI>Timothy</HI> I an&s;wer, Fir&s;t, 'tis evident by the Gontext
<PB N="181" REF="100"> that the Holy Scriptures of the <HI>Old Te&s;tament,</HI> being &s;uch as <HI>Timothy</HI> had learn'd from his Childhood, (when little, if any, of the <HI>New</HI> could be written and divulg'd) out of which I am confident our Adver&s;a|ries will not pretend to determine all points of <HI>Catholick</HI> Doctrine acknow|ledg'd by them&s;elves nece&s;&s;ary to Salvation; which quite overthrows their Argument from this place.</P>
<P>Secondly, &s;uppo&s;e we &s;hould grant it to be under&s;tood of the Scriptures of the <HI>New Covenant;</HI> yet it will not follow from hence that therefore they are a compleat and perfect Rule of Faith, where|by to judge all Doctrines whether they be revealed verities, or not; when from the <HI>4th. Ver&s;e</HI> 'tis clear to any under&s;tanding eye, that St. <HI>Paul</HI> exhorts <HI>Timothy to hold con|&s;tant to the Faith,</HI> received princi|pally upon the tenure of <HI>Tradition:</HI> Which is our <HI>Catholick</HI> Rule, and to which we mu&s;t &s;tick clo&s;e, as he el&s;e|where teaches us, <HI>Though an Angel</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Gal. 1.</NOTE> <HI>from Heaven &s;hould preach the contra|ry.</HI>
<PB N="182" REF="101"> This <HI>Timothy</HI> was to do, this <HI>Traditionary Depo&s;itum</HI> he was to keep, whether ne had been ver'd or no in the <HI>Old Scriptures,</HI> or any <HI>New</HI> written and depo&s;ited in the Church. Yet withall, he puts in mind of a peculiar advantage to confirm his Faith received by <HI>Oral Tradition, And make him a perfect man of God or Bi&s;hop throughly fur|ni&s;h'd unto all good works proper to his Pa&s;toral Office, in that from his Infancy he had been brought up in the knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make men wi&s;e unto Salvation through Faith in Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and are profitable for Teaching, for Arguing, for Reproving, for In|&s;tructing in Righteou&s;ne&s;s the Flock committed to his Charge.</HI> And thus indeed it makes again&s;t them&s;elves, and for us highly, who makes u&s;e of Scripture for a Rule of Faith as regulated and expounded by <HI>Tra|dition.</HI> But to force the words to &s;peak what they would prove from hence, cannot be without manife&s;t ab&s;urdity and contradiction. As if
<PB N="183" REF="101"> the Apo&s;tle &s;hould &s;ay; Timothy, <HI>continue thou in the things which thou ha&s;t learned and ha&s;t been a&s;&s;ured of, knowing of whom thou ha&s;t learned them: And yet do not tru&s;t</HI> Oral Tra|dition, <HI>though from the mouth of an Apo&s;tle, but the</HI> Scriptures <HI>only for your</HI> Religion.</P>
<P>Thirdly, weigh well the words them&s;elves in the ballance of right Rea&s;on, and they will ea&s;ily be found too light to carry the cau&s;e on their &s;ide. <HI>All Scripture divine|ly in&s;pired, is profitable for teaching, for arguing, for reproving, for in|&s;tructing in Righteou&s;ne&s;s,</HI> &amp;c. True, 'tis &s;o, taken collectively; yea, di&s;tributively every ver&s;e of Scrip|ture is profitable for &s;ome &s;uch end and purpo&s;e as is here &s;pecified. And what then? Therefore it is &s;uf|ficient to regulate our Faith in all points nece&s;&s;ary to Salvation, and to determine all Controver&s;ies in Religion. Good God! As if what is profitable for our Salvation mu&s;t pre&s;ently be &s;ufficient for all things required to it. Speak ingenuou&s;ly,
<PB N="184" REF="102"> is there &s;uch a word as &s;ufficient, or compleat Rule of Faith, or &s;ole Judge of Controver&s;ies, or words equivalent contained in this Text? Or doth St. <HI>Paul</HI> &s;ay that Scripture is all-&s;ufficient of it &s;elf to perform the&s;e Offices without the Churches Interpretation? Becau&s;e 'tis profi|table in the hand of a Learned Bi&s;hop to Teach, to Di&s;pute, to Correct, to In&s;truct the Souls for whom he mu&s;t give an account to God; Is it therefore a &s;ufficient Rule for every learner and ignorant Chri&s;tian to &s;quare and cut out his own Faith by, to interpret and judge of according to his own pri|vate Rea&s;on, and to compo&s;e him|&s;elf a <HI>Creed,</HI> though contrary to Fa|thers, Councils, and the whole Chri&s;tian World? Does St. <HI>Paul</HI> &s;ay this? Will this Text ju&s;tify &s;uch an inference? Yet this he mu&s;t &s;ay, or this place concludes nothing a|gain&s;t <HI>Catholicks.</HI></P>
<P>To the la&s;t out of the <HI>Apocalyp&s;e,</HI> and not the lea&s;t they rely upon in this Controver&s;y; I &s;hall give a
<PB N="185" REF="102"> brief an&s;wer, as &s;eeming to me of all other mo&s;t impertinent and non|concluding. For the true meaning thereof is plainly this: <HI>Who&s;oever &s;hall pre&s;ume to add to the&s;e Divine Revelations any other than what I have already de&s;cribed in this Book, and endeavour to obtrude them up|on the Church with the &s;tamp of my Authority to gain credit to them; or &s;hall deny any Prophe&s;ies herein con|tain'd to be written by me; let &s;uch a wretch expect the Vials of Gods Ven|geance to be pour'd on his accur&s;ed head, for &s;o wicked an Impo&s;ture and Infidelity.</HI> Which being evident, thus mu&s;t run their Argument: <HI>God will &s;everely puni&s;h tho&s;e who &s;hall add deceitfully, or &s;ub&s;tract maliciou&s;ly from St.</HI> John'<HI>s Prophe&s;ies; therefore the</HI> Bible'<HI>s a compleat Rule of Faith, and the &s;ole Judge of Controver&s;ies about Religion.</HI> An inference too gro&s;s to be confuted. Yet from par|ticular premi&s;es they draw an uni|ver&s;al conclu&s;ion; and on &s;uch weak and ab&s;urd rea&s;onings from Scripture build their Church.</P>
<PB N="186" REF="103">
<P>But how <HI>Engli&s;h Proto&s;tants</HI> will defend their Brethren the <HI>Lutherans</HI> from the wrath of God, I &s;ay not for dimini&s;hing, but even taking a|way this whole Book of St. <HI>John's Revelations</HI> from Sacred Canon, I know not. Thus therefore it ap|pears, there is nothing here pro|duced by our Adver&s;aries that proves evidently the all-&s;ufficiency of Scripture for a Rule and Judge to decide all Controver&s;ies in Religi|on; that the above-cited Texts but being throughly examin'd, either conclude not for them, or for us. So much we are beholding to our Antagoni&s;ts.</P>
<P>To conclude, after an impartial and full examination to the be&s;t of my Abilities, I finding the founda|tion of <HI>Prote&s;tani&s;m</HI> to be really groundle&s;s, and built upon meer uncertainties, I for&s;ook it, and my own &s;elf, to rely on the <HI>Catholick</HI> Church for my Salvation. I re|nounced my own deceitful and weak rea&s;onings upon Scripture, to believe what the Fathers have
<PB N="187" REF="103"> plainly and unanimou&s;ly taught, what hath been declared in ap|proved Oeneral Councils, and what hath been delivered by <HI>&V;niver&s;al Tradition</HI> from the Apo&s;tles to us for the Infallible and undoubted Word of God.</P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="motive">
<PB N="188" REF="104">
<HEAD>The third Motive.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P>That the Prote&s;tant Church of <HI>England</HI> is involv'd in the guilt of <HI>Schi&s;m</HI> and <HI>Here&s;ie,</HI> which crimes are incon&s;i&s;tent with Salvation&punc;</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<DIV2 N="1" TYPE="section">
<HEAD>SECT. I.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P>The nature of <HI>Schi&s;m</HI> and <HI>He|re&s;ie</HI> declared from <HI>Scripture</HI> and the ancient <HI>Fathers.</HI></P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>TO make good this Motive of my Conver&s;ion, my fir&s;t task &s;hall be to lay open the nature of <HI>Here&s;ie</HI> and <HI>Schi&s;m</HI> from Sacred Scripture, and the ancient Fathers of the Church.</P>
<PB N="189" REF="104">
<P>Secondly, I &s;hall make it appear, that the <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> Church is highly guilty of tho&s;e &s;ins, by its &s;eperati|on from the Doctrine and Di&s;ci|pline of the <HI>Roman</HI> Church its <HI>Ca|tholick</HI> Mother.</P>
<P>Thirdly, I &s;hall di&s;cover the weakne&s;s and in&s;ufficiency of tho&s;e Allegations which are commonly produced to maintain the <HI>Prote|&s;tants</HI> Separation to be lawful.</P>
<P>The Church of Chri&s;t is the high|e&s;t Tribunal on earth, a Judicature of Eternal life and death, from who&s;e living voice we receive our Faith, and the grounds of it, as is &s;aid and proved before. Whom who&s;oever will not hear in her de|finitive Sentence in Spiritual mat|ters, <HI>Is to be accounted as a Heathen</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 18. 18.</NOTE> <HI>or a Publican,</HI> by the judgment and determination of our Ble&s;&s;ed Savi|our. Hence ari&s;es an indi&s;pen&s;able nece&s;&s;ity to Believe as the Church Believes, Explicitly or Implicitly; &s;o that the Faith of the <HI>Cardinal</HI> and <HI>Collier</HI> (there being no diffe|rence in men as Believers, but all
<PB N="190" REF="105"> equally ignorant as &s;uch) mu&s;t be the &s;ame, as to the &s;ub&s;tance, un|der pain of damnation. And as to &s;eperate from her life-giving Com|munion is formal <HI>Schi&s;m,</HI> &s;o to re|cede from her Doctrine in points of Faith with ob&s;tinacy, is flat <HI>Here&s;ie.</HI></P>
<P>Let therefore <HI>Schi&s;maticks</HI> never &s;o much pretend Sanctity, or <HI>Here|ticks</HI> Truth, from hence they may ea&s;ily be di&s;cover'd to be tho&s;e fal&s;e Prophets whom our Ble&s;&s;ed Saviour forewarns us of, <HI>coming to us in</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 7. 15.</NOTE> <HI>&s;heeps-clothing, but inwardly are ra|venous Wolves:</HI> To be tho&s;e whom St. <HI>Paul</HI> de&s;cribes to his Auditors, telling them, <HI>Among your &s;elves &s;hall be men &s;peaking perver&s;e things to draw</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 20. 29, 30.</NOTE> <HI>away Di&s;ciples after them, not &s;paring the flock:</HI> To be tho&s;e whom St. <HI>Pe|ter</HI> deciphers, <HI>There &s;hall be lying</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Pet. 2. 1.</NOTE> <HI>Ma&s;ters, who &s;hall bring in Sects of perdition, and denying the Lord that bought them, pulling upon them&s;elves &s;peedy de&s;truction:</HI> To be tho&s;e An|tichri&s;ts St. <HI>John</HI> &s;peaks of, <HI>They</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Joh. 2. 18, 19.</NOTE> <HI>went out from us, becau&s;e they were not of us; for if they had been of us,
<PB N="191" REF="105"> they had remained with us; but by this they are manife&s;t not to be of us:</HI> To be tho&s;e whom St. <HI>Jude</HI> calls, <HI>Raging waves of the Sea, foaming</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>ver.</HI> 13, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="2 letters"> 19.</NOTE> <HI>out their own &s;hame, wandring Stars for whom the &s;torm of darkne&s;s is re|&s;erved for ever. The&s;e are they who &s;eperate them&s;elves, &s;en&s;ual, not ha|ving the Spirit.</HI> Or as el&s;ewhere,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Tim. 3. 5.</NOTE> <HI>Having indeed a form of godline&s;s, t denying the power thereof.</HI></P>
<P>And therefore St. <HI>Paul</HI> earne&s;tly de&s;ires the Faithful to be of one heart, and of one mind, and that in mo&s;t moving and &s;oul-melting ex|pre&s;&s;ions; <HI>I be&s;eech you Brethren,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 1. 10.</NOTE> &s;ays he, <HI>by the name of our Lord Je|&s;us Chri&s;t, that ye all &s;peak the &s;ame things, that there be no Schi&s;ms among&s;t you, but ye be perfectly of the &s;ame mind, and of the &s;ame judgment.</HI> Neither is he le&s;s pathetical in this point to the <HI>Ephe&s;ians; I the pri|&s;oner</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ephe&s;. 4. 2, 3, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></NOTE> <HI>of the Lord be&s;eech you to be careful to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. One Body one Spirit, one Hope, one Lord, one Faith, one Bapti&s;m.</HI> And that this unity
<PB N="192" REF="106"> might be pre&s;erved in the Church, <HI>He gave &s;ome Apo&s;tles, &s;ome Pro|phets,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">er. 11, 12.</NOTE> <HI>others to be Evangeli&s;ts, others Pa&s;tors and Doctors, for the perfect|ing the Saints, for the work of the Mini&s;try, for the edification of the body of Chri&s;t, 'till we all meet in the unity of Faith, and be not to&s;s'd and carried about with the wind of every Doctrine.</HI> And no le&s;s earne&s;tly does he de&s;ire the <HI>Romans</HI> to &s;tand upon their guard again&s;t all Separa|ti&s;ts and fal&s;e Chri&s;tians. <HI>I be&s;eech</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 16.</NOTE> <HI>you Brethren,</HI> &s;ays he, <HI>ob&s;erve them who make di&s;sentions and &s;candals a|mong&s;t you, contrary to the Doctrine which you have received, and void them; for &s;uch men &s;erve not our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, but their own lu&s;ts; and by kind Speeches and fair words &s;e|duce the hearts of the &s;imple.</HI> And being an important point, tells al&s;o the <HI>The&s;salonians, If any one obey not our word, accompany not with &s;uch a one, that he may be confounded.</HI> And in his In&s;tructions to <HI>Titus</HI> Bi&s;hop of<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 The&s;&s;. 3. 14,</NOTE> <HI>Crete, A man that is an</HI> Heretick <HI>after the fir&s;t and &s;econd admonition
<PB N="193" REF="106"> avoid, knowing that &s;uch a one is &s;ub|verted and finneth, being condemned by his own judgment.</HI> Yea, St. <HI>Paul</HI> thunders out excommunication a|gain&s;t the very Angels them&s;elves, if they &s;hould offer to pervert the Tradition of Faith, by that famous place &s;o much urged again&s;t <HI>Here|ticks, If we, or an Angel from Hea|ven</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Gallat. 1. 8, 9.</NOTE> <HI>preach unto you any other Go&s;pel then what ye have received, let him be accur&s;ed.</HI> Upon which words <HI>Vincentius Lyrinen&s;is</HI> thus de&s;cants, <HI>Ne for&s;itan perfunctorie,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>Le&s;t it &s;hould &s;eem to be the &s;uperficial effu|&s;ion</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Commo. <HI>ca. 12, 13.</HI></NOTE> <HI>of humane pa&s;&s;ion, and not the decree of Divine rea&s;on, he doth in|culcate and &s;trike it home with the pondrous force of a reiterated in&s;inua|tion, as we have pronounced; &s;o I &s;ay again, If any preach unto you but what ye have received, let him be accur&s;ed.</HI> This indeed is a &s;ure Rule of Faith among&s;t <HI>Catholicks,</HI> (viz.) Oral Tra|dition of the Church, upon which grounding our &s;elves for what is re|vealed, our Faith is one and the &s;ame throughout the whole World,
<PB N="194" REF="107"> without any change or alteration: which <HI>Hereticks</HI> for&s;aking, <HI>are to&s;t about</HI> (as the Apo&s;tle &s;aith) <HI>with the wind of every Doctrine,</HI> deceiving and being deceived, ever learning, and never coming to the knowledge of the Truth.</P>
<P>From all which appears. Fir&s;t; That Church-Communion con&s;i&s;ts in unity of Faith and Wor&s;hip, under the &s;ame Rule and Govern|ment of Divine In&s;titution; there being no other way to bring many into the Integrity of a my&s;tical Body.</P>
<P>Secondly, That when <HI>Schi&s;ms</HI> ari&s;e in this body by men of perver&s;e minds, to break Church-unity; or <HI>Here&s;ies,</HI> to pervert Church. doctrine; the Apo&s;tles, to prevent &s;uch contagious evils, have in&s;truct|ed true Believers to know <HI>Schi&s;|maticks,</HI> who become &s;uch by &s;epa|rating them&s;elves from the Commu|nion of the Church, whereof for|merly they were Members, and erecting new Churches or Congre|gations; and to di&s;cern <HI>Hereticks</HI>
<PB N="195" REF="107"> who become &s;uch in teaching Doctrines contrary to the Faith de|livered to the Saints by Apo&s;tolical Tradition; of which that Church being the only Pre&s;erver, of ne|ce&s;&s;ity mu&s;t be the &s;ole Judge of the other.</P>
<P>And thirdly, when &s;uch were ob|&s;tinately contumaceous in breaking unity, and corrupting Faith, they did ca&s;t them out of the Church by Excommunication, <HI>That in delive|ring &s;uch to Satan, others might learn not to Bla&s;pheme.</HI> And after that dire|ful Sentence, though they did pro|fe&s;s the Name of Chri&s;t, they were never e&s;teemed as Members of the <HI>Catholick</HI> Church, but as <HI>Heathens</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 18.</NOTE> <HI>and Publicans,</HI> 'till they were re|&s;tored upon repentance.</P>
<P>An&s;werable to which is the con|&s;tant Doctrine of Antiquity, con|tain'd in the Fathers, as a cloud of Witne&s;&s;es, not to darken, but clear up Truth, if it be not yet bright enough to di&s;cover <HI>Here&s;ie</HI> and <HI>Schi&s;me</HI> to us. St. <HI>Irenaeus</HI> notably de&s;cribes Church-unity in the&s;e
<PB N="196" REF="108"> words. <HI>Hanc fidem,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>This Faith,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">L. 1. adv. haec. c. 3.</NOTE> <HI>as afore&s;aid, the Church &s;catter'd over the face of the Earth doth carefully keep, as dwelling in one Hou&s;e, Be|lieves alike, as having one &s;oul and one heart; Preaches and delivers to her Children alike, as having one mouth. For though in the World are different Languages, yet the vertue of Tradition is one and the &s;ame. And neither the Churches which are foun|ded in</HI> Germany <HI>do believe otherwi&s;e; and teach otherwi&s;e by Tradition; nor tho&s;e who are in</HI> Iberia, <HI>nor tho&s;e in the</HI> Ea&s;t, <HI>nor tho&s;e in</HI> Egypt; <HI>but as the Sun is one and the &s;ame in the whole World, &s;o the Light of the Go|&s;pel &s;hines every where, and enlightens all men with the &s;ame beams, who will come to the knowledge of the Truth. And neither he who among Church Governours is powerful in Speech preaches otherwi&s;e then the&s;e, for none's above his Ma&s;ter; nor he who is le&s;s Floquent will dimini&s;h Tradition. For Faith being one and the &s;ame, nei|ther he who is large in his explications, adds; nor he who is brief takes away.</HI>
<PB N="197" REF="108"> What can be more expre&s;s for the unity of Faith, and the ground of of it, <HI>Tradition?</HI></P>
<P>And St. <HI>Cyprian</HI> is no le&s;s clear for unity of Government, <HI>Eccle&s;iae</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">L. de vni. Eecl.</NOTE> <HI>unitatem,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>Who&s;oever keeps not the unity of the Church, doth he think he holds the Faith? who di&s;obeys the Church, who for&s;akes the Chair of</HI> Pe|ter, <HI>upon which the Church is founded, doth he believe that he's in the Church?</HI> Can a <HI>Prote&s;tant</HI> read this, and not &s;ee his own Condemnation? This hath been the Original, not only of theirs, but of the <HI>Here&s;ies</HI> and <HI>Schi&s;ms</HI> in all Ages. <HI>Neque enim</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>S.</HI> Cypri. <HI>Epi&s;t. 55. ad Corne.</HI></NOTE> <HI>aliundo Haere&s;es obortae &s;unt, neque nata &s;unt</HI> Schi&s;mata, <HI>&amp;c. For</HI> Here|&s;ies <HI>and</HI> Schi&s;ms, &s;ays the &s;ame glo|rious Saint and Martyr, <HI>have &s;prung from no other head, but that the Prie&s;t of God is not obeyed; nor one Prie&s;t for the pre&s;ent in the Church, and Chri&s;ts Vicar is not thought on: Whom if all Chri&s;tians obeyed according to the command of God, no man would rend the unity of the Church by</HI> Schi&s;m; <HI>nor plea&s;ing his own fancy, and &s;wel|ling
<PB N="198" REF="109"> with full &s;ails of pride by him&s;elf, out of the communion of the Church, would &s;hipwrack his Faith on the rock of</HI> Here&s;ie.</P>
<P><HI>What is</HI> Schi&s;m, &s;aith St. <HI>Au&s;tin, but a Separate communon of &s;uch, who</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Cont. Gre&s;co Gram.</NOTE> <HI>are united in the &s;ame Faith and Wor|&s;hip with the Catholick Church? But</HI> Here&s;ie <HI>is a diver&s;e belief from the Faith of the Church.</HI> So that <HI>Schi&s;m</HI> properly is oppos'd to Charity, be|cau&s;e 'tis a breach of Unity: <HI>Here|&s;ie</HI> properly is oppos'd to Verity, be|cau&s;e 'tis a corruption of Faith. To which <HI>Schi&s;m</HI> does &s;o fatally di&s;po&s;e, that that of St. <HI>Hierom</HI> is no le&s;s than an Oracle, <HI>Nullum Schi&s;mae e&s;t, quod</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Super illud Titi 3. Hae|reticum ho|minem,</HI> &amp;c.</NOTE> <HI>non &s;ibi aliquam Haere&s;ins confingat; ut recte ab Eccle&s;i&acirc; re&s;ce&s;&s;i&s;se videcatur. There's no</HI> Schi&s;m, <HI>which doth not in|vent &s;ome</HI> Here&s;ie, <HI>to ju&s;tify its &s;epara|tion from the Church.</HI></P>
<P>Which is not to be taken &s;o ri|gorou&s;ly, that every one who errs in a point of Faith is pre&s;ently to be cen&s;ur'd for an <HI>Heretick.</HI> For one may hold what is <HI>Here&s;y,</HI> and yet not be an <HI>Heretick;</HI> (as St. <HI>Cyprian</HI>
<PB N="199" REF="109"> holding the invalidity of Bapti&s;m given by <HI>Hereticks</HI>) pertinacy be|ing e&s;&s;ential to make an <HI>Heretick,</HI> after the Churches declaration in the point. Which is manife&s;t by that of St. <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> again&s;t the <HI>Donae|ti&s;ts, Haere&s;is &s;emper pertinaciam ad|junctam</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>L. 4. cont.</HI> Donat. <HI>ca. 16.</HI></NOTE> <HI>habet,</HI> &amp;c. Here&s;ie <HI>is al|ways joyned with pertinacy, which con&s;i&s;ts in this; that any one knowing|ly and witingly holds any point a|gain&s;t the</HI> Catholick Faith, <HI>and ne|glecting the Authority of the Church, makes choice of his own Opinion, and per&s;i&s;ts in it: Grant &s;ome body be|lieves of Chri&s;t what</HI> Photinus <HI>believ'd, being per&s;waded 'tis the</HI> Catholick Faith, <HI>I do not pronounce him yet an</HI> Heretick, <HI>except the</HI> Catholick Doctrine <HI>being manife&s;ted to him, he had rather re&s;i&s;t Faith, and choo&s;e to adhere to his own Tenet.</HI> And there|fore the &s;ame Holy Father &s;ays of him&s;elf, <HI>Errare po&s;sum, Haereticus e&s;se non volo, Though I may err, I will be no</HI> Heretick. Becau&s;e in all points of Faith he had a mind prepared to &s;ubmit his private judgment to the
<PB N="200" REF="110"> publick Sentence of the Church&punc; By which means it came to pa&s;s, that St. <HI>Cyprian</HI> holding a material <HI>He|re&s;ie</HI> was ab&s;olved, and tho&s;e who adhered to his judgment, after the Churches determination to the con|trary, were condemn'd for <HI>Here|ticks.</HI> Whereupon <HI>Vincentius Ly|rinen&s;is</HI> breaks forth into exclama|tion, <HI>O rerum mira conver&s;io,</HI> &amp;c.<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Cont.</HI> Haer. <HI>ca. 11.</HI></NOTE> <HI>O wonderful change of things! the Authors of the &s;ame Opinion are</HI> Ca|tholicks, <HI>but the Followers are adjudg|ed</HI> Hereticks: <HI>The Ma&s;ters are ab|&s;olved, the Di&s;ciples are condemned; Writers of &s;uch Books &s;hall be Sons of the Kingdom, but Hell &s;hall re|ceive the Maintainers of them. For who doubts but mo&s;t B.</HI> Cyprian, <HI>that Light of all Saints, and Bi&s;hops, and Martyrs, to reign with Chri&s;t in everla&s;ting glory? Or who on the con|trary is &s;o Sacrilegious as to deny but that the</HI> Donati&s;ts, <HI>and &s;uch like Di&s;ea&s;es of Religion, who by the Au|thority of that Council boa&s;t that Re|baptization is lawful, &s;hall burn for ever with the Devil in Hell fire?</HI></P>
<PB N="201" REF="110">
<P>Thus the Holy Fathers believ'd and taught. And therefore we find St. <HI>Hierom</HI> in his Expo&s;ition of the <HI>Creed</HI> &s;ubmitting him&s;elf and Wri|tings to <HI>Dama&s;us,</HI> the then Bi&s;hop of <HI>Rome,</HI> as &s;upreme Pa&s;tor of the Univer&s;al Church, <HI>Haec e&s;t Fides,</HI> Papa <HI>Beapti&s;&s;ime,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>This is the</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ad Dame. Papam in fine.</NOTE> <HI>Faith, most Ble&s;&s;ed</HI> Pope, <HI>which we have learn'd in the</HI> Catholick Church; <HI>in which if any thing be deliver'd not with &s;ufficient skill and circum&s;pection, we de&s;ire you to correct it, who profe&s;&s;es the Faith and Chair of</HI> Peter. <HI>But if this our Confe&s;&s;ion be approved by your Apo&s;tolical Sentence, who&s;oever will find fault with me, will prove him&s;elf ignorant or malevolent, or al&s;o no</HI> Catholick, <HI>not me an</HI> Heretick. And <HI>Optatus</HI> concludes the <HI>Dona|ti&s;ts</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Contra Par|meno. l. 3.</NOTE> not to be Members of the true Church, becau&s;e they were not in communion with <HI>Syricius,</HI> who was then <HI>Pope</HI> of <HI>Rome.</HI> Neither is St. <HI>Austin</HI> le&s;s po&s;itive in determi|ning who are <HI>Schi&s;maticks, Ille e&s;t</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Epi&s;t. 171.</NOTE> <HI>in vera Eccle&s;ia,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>He is in the true Church, who knows him&s;elf by
<PB N="202" REF="111"> communicatory Letters,</HI> (which an|ciently were in u&s;e) <HI>to be a Member of the</HI> Roman <HI>Church, in which the Pri|macy of the Apo&s;tolical Chair always flouri&s;h'd.</HI></P>
<P>More need not be &s;aid at pre&s;ent to &s;hew that to be true Members of the <HI>Catholick</HI> Church is to live in the &s;ame communion with the &s;u|preme Pa&s;tor thereof, under the &s;ame Government, in the acknow|ledgment of the &s;ame Articles of Faith, in the participation of the &s;ame Sacraments, in the &s;ame manner of wor&s;hip, brought down to us by <HI>Tradition</HI> from Chri&s;t and his Apo|&s;tles: And to be &s;eparated from this One and <HI>Catholick</HI> Communion, after once we have been Incorpo|rated by Bapti&s;m, is formal <HI>Schi&s;m;</HI> pertinaciou&s;ly to contradict her Doctrines of Faith, is formal <HI>Here&s;ie.</HI></P>
<P>Thus the Scripture and Ancient Fathers concerning the nature of <HI>Here&s;ie</HI> and <HI>Schi&s;m.</HI> Now let us &s;ee whether the <HI>Prote&s;tant</HI> Church of <HI>England,</HI> by &s;eparating from her <HI>Ca|tholick</HI> Mother in Doctrine and Go|vernment,
<PB N="203" REF="111"> be not both <HI>Schi&s;matical</HI> and <HI>Heretical,</HI> whatever is preten|ded to the contrary.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="2" TYPE="section">
<HEAD>SECT. II.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P>Wherein is &s;hew'd that the <HI>Pro|te&s;tant</HI> Church of <HI>England</HI> is guilty of <HI>Schi&s;m</HI> and <HI>Here&s;ie,</HI> by their Separation from the <HI>Roman.</HI></P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>THe Separation of the <HI>Engli&s;h Prote&s;tants</HI> from the whole body of Chri&s;tians, into a Church by them&s;elves, is a matter of Fact not &s;o Ancient, that it cannot be ea&s;ily traced.</P>
<P>The Ca&s;e in &s;hort was this, King <HI>Henry</HI> the Eighth was of the &s;ame Faith and Communion with his Pious Predece&s;&s;ors, from the very fir&s;t Conver&s;ion of our I&s;land, and the whole Church in all Ages, 'till
<PB N="204" REF="112"> the <HI>Popes</HI> Spiritual Power did cro&s;s his Amorous de&s;ires. And then (alas) the unruly pa&s;&s;ion of Love &s;o blinded his Rea&s;on, that he could not &s;ee, or would not longer ac|knowledge the Primacy of the Church of <HI>Rome,</HI> which not long be|fore he had &s;o famou&s;ly maintain'd again&s;t <HI>Luther</HI> the Apo&s;tate, that de&s;ervedly he was rewarded with the glorious Title of <HI>Defender of the Faith.</HI> For giving way to his In|temperate plea&s;ure, he fell pa&s;&s;io|nately enamour'd on <HI>Anne Bullen;</HI> who being of a &s;ubtil wit, and per|ceiving the King charmed with her Beauty, was re&s;olv'd not to yeild to his Will, unle&s;s he would fir&s;t marry her.</P>
<P>This her re&s;olute denyal did blow up the fire of his Love to a greater height, and he being to&s;s'd up and down with the billows of &s;everal pa&s;&s;ions, determin'd at la&s;t with him&s;elf to quench tho&s;e raging flames with her embraces, according to her own terms, though the impendiments &s;eem'd almo&s;t in&s;uperable, and the
<PB N="205" REF="112"> con&s;equences might prove very &s;ad. Hereupon he pretends &s;cruples of Con&s;cience about his Marriage with Queen <HI>Catharine,</HI> no le&s;s then 22 years after their &s;olemn E&s;pou&s;als, &s;ealed with the endearing pledge of I&s;&s;ue to &s;ucceed him in the Royal Throne. And upon his hot Devo|tion to his new Saint, he grew &s;ud|denly &s;o tender-hearted in the point, that by all means his former Mar|riage mu&s;t be di&s;annull'd, that the &s;torm and inquietude in his brea&s;t might be appea&s;ed. And forthwith Addre&s;&s;es are made to the <HI>Pope,</HI> to Commi&s;&s;ionate <HI>Legates</HI> in <HI>England</HI> to hear and determine the bu&s;ine&s;s with all po&s;&s;ible &s;peed. But the Queen appealing from them to <HI>Rome,</HI> by the advice of her mo&s;t Learned and Coun&s;cientious Councel; and the <HI>Pope</HI> under&s;tanding the equity of her Ca&s;e, and how much it might be endanger'd where the King had &s;o much power, accepting of her Appeal, recals the hearing of it to Him&s;elf; and after mature delibe|ration, notwith&s;tanding all attempts
<PB N="206" REF="113"> and political motives to the con|trary, gave it, as he was bound in Con&s;cience, on the Queens &s;ide, a|gain&s;t the King. Which indeed was no more then to ratify what before had been adjudg'd lawful both by the Apo&s;tolical Chair, with the ap|probation of the Chri&s;tian World.</P>
<P>His Maje&s;ty now perceiving that all hopes were pa&s;s'd to procure from <HI>Rome</HI> a Divoce from his Law|ful Wife, and Vertuous Queen, (whom he could not but Honour, even while he per&s;ecuted) and a Di&s;pen&s;ation to Marry his Beloved, he grew highly enraged; and pa&s;&s;ion &s;o far prevail'd, that abandoning <HI>Ca|tholick</HI> Chri&s;tian Peace and Unity, he renounces all obedience to the Church, ca&s;ts the <HI>Popes</HI> Autho|rity out of <HI>England</HI> under pain of death to the Acknowledger, makes him&s;elf &s;ole Head of the Church in his own Dominions, and con&s;equently Judge in his own Cau&s;e, and then no que&s;tion all things mu&s;t pa&s;s for him, and an u&s;urped power would effect what
<PB N="207" REF="113"> Ju&s;tice could not: In a word, he Divorces him&s;elf from his mo&s;t Re|ligious and Vertuous Queen, &s;hakes hands (as I may &s;ay) with Religi|on, and joyns him&s;elf to <HI>Anne Bullen.</HI></P>
<P>This was the original of this fatal <HI>Schi&s;m;</HI> from this impure fountain &s;tream'd a deluge of mi&s;eries upon our ('till then) mo&s;t happy I&s;land. For no &s;ooner had he, to &s;atisfy his lu&s;ts, remov'd the rampire of Church Go|vernment, (the &s;ole pre&s;ervative of Faith and Unity) but an inundati|on of Evils broke in violently up|on us; and with <HI>Schi&s;m,</HI> likewi&s;e <HI>Here&s;ie, Sacriledge, Oppre&s;&s;ion,</HI> ruine of <HI>Churches</HI> and <HI>Mona&s;teries,</HI> extir|pation of <HI>Holy Orders,</HI> contempt of <HI>Religion,</HI> by making it lyable to per|petual changes, uncertainties and and confu&s;ions, as &s;ad experience hath but too clearly manife&s;ted.</P>
<P>Thus was the <HI>Prote&s;tant Reforma|tion</HI> (as they call it) in <HI>England</HI> fir&s;t brought forth into the World, and the&s;e are the Mi&s;eries which at|tended it.</P>
<PB N="208" REF="114">
<P>I wi&s;h this point might be &s;eri|on&s;ly and impartially weighed, and I doubt not but by God's Grace it would prove to others, as it did to me, a &s;trong motive to return to <HI>Catholick</HI> Unity.</P>
<P>And here it will not be ami&s;s to take notice what mark the Holy Scriptures have &s;tamp'd upon <HI>Schi&s;m,</HI> and <HI>Schi&s;maticks</HI> to be known by. <HI>Among your &s;elves,</HI> &s;aith<NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 20.</NOTE> St. <HI>Paul, &s;hall ari&s;e men teaching perver&s;e things, to draw Di&s;ciples after them.</HI> So did their fir&s;t Refor|mers, being Members of the <HI>Catho|lick</HI> Church, till they contradicted the Doctrine which they before be|liev'd, with the whole Body of <HI>Chri&s;tianity,</HI> to come from Chri&s;t him&s;elf and his Apo&s;tles, teaching new Doctrines to draw Di&s;ciples after them, <HI>They went out from us,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1 John 2.</NOTE> &s;aith St. <HI>John:</HI> And &s;o did they, erecting a new communion di&s;tinct from the univer&s;ality of <HI>Chri&s;tians,</HI> under a new Church Government; it being never heard of before, that a Secular per&s;on &s;hould be Head of a
<PB N="209" REF="114"> Spiritual Body, or that Chri&s;t had left &s;uch an Oeconomy in his Church. Scripture then condemns them, for it condemns &s;uch, <HI>Who will not hear</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 18.</NOTE> <HI>the Church;</HI> it condemns &s;uch, <HI>who</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">2 The&s;&s;. 3.</NOTE> <HI>will not obey the word of her Gover|nours;</HI> it condemns &s;uch, <HI>who &s;epe|perate</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>St.</HI> Jude Rom. 16, 17.</NOTE> <HI>them&s;elves, who cau&s;e Di&s;&s;en|tion and Scandals, contrary to the Doctrine delivered to the Saints.</HI> And &s;uch were they as evidently in matter of fact, as any thing that's left upon Record in the World. If therefore, who&s;oever before them in the like &s;ort &s;eparated them|&s;elves from the Church, were ac|counted <HI>Schi&s;maticks</HI> by all <HI>Catho|lick</HI> Chri&s;tians, how came they to be no <HI>Schi&s;maticks</HI> by their Separa|tion?</P>
<P>Never let them pretend any cau&s;e given on the Church's &s;ide to ju&s;tify them; for the Church can give no ju&s;t cau&s;e to her Children to &s;eparate from her communion; ex|cept they will &s;ay Chri&s;t hath not left his Church &s;ufficient means to maintain Unity. Be&s;ides, the Fa|thers
<PB N="210" REF="115"> tell them that 'tis impo&s;&s;ible there &s;hould be ju&s;t cau&s;e for any to &s;eparate from the Communion of the <HI>Catholick</HI> Church, St. <HI>Iraeneus</HI> is very plain, <HI>It is impo&s;&s;ible to receive &s;uch an injury or provocation from the</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">L. adver. haere.</NOTE> <HI>Governours of the Church, as to make a &s;eparation excu&s;eable.</HI> And St. <HI>Au|&s;tin</HI> is as po&s;itive, <HI>It is impo&s;&s;ible there &s;hould be any ju&s;t cau&s;e to make a &s;eparation from the Communion of all Nations.</HI> And therefore Antiqui|ty<NOTE PLACE="marg">Epi&s;t. 48.</NOTE> judg'd a &s;eparation from the body of the Church, how &s;pecious &s;oever were the pretences of the dividers, to be a &s;ufficient evidence to prove &s;uch, formal <HI>Schi&s;maticks</HI> by the very matter of fact, without any other argument. <HI>I object to you the crime of</HI> Schi&s;m, <HI>&s;ays the &s;ame Holy Father to the</HI> Donati&s;ts, <HI>which</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>St</HI> Au&s;t. <HI>cont. Peti+lian.</HI></NOTE> <HI>you will deny, and I will pre&s;ently prove, becau&s;e you do not communicate with all Nations.</HI> Upon which grounds, if the Ancient Fathers were now living, they mu&s;t of nece&s;&s;ity condemn <HI>Prote&s;tants,</HI> as well as <HI>Arrians</HI> or <HI>Donati&s;ts</HI> in their days.
<PB N="211" REF="115"> And thus being condemn'd both by Scripture and Antiquity for <HI>Schi&s;|maticks,</HI> I know not what, or who can ju&s;tify their Separation, or the continuers and maintainers of it.</P>
<P>It is not the Votes of a Parliament, whom Chri&s;t never made Church Governours, nor Judges in Contro|ver&s;ies in points of Faith; 'tis not the Acts of a National Synod held by a few <HI>Schi&s;matical</HI> Bi&s;hops, when &s;uch Councils even of <HI>Catholick</HI> Bi&s;hops may, and have erred; 'Tis not the con&s;ent of two <HI>&V;niver&s;ities,</HI> either for fear, or flattery, or &s;elf|intere&s;t renouncing the <HI>Papal</HI> Au|thority in <HI>England,</HI> and acknow|ledging the King Supreme Head of the Church in his Dominions; 'tis not any or all of the&s;e can bear them out, and make them innocent. Yea, the&s;e con&s;equent Acts make their <HI>Schi&s;m</HI> far more inexcu&s;able: For what in the beginning the height of pa&s;&s;ion might &s;omewhat extenuate, by this &s;olemn deliberation became more voluntary, and &s;o aggravated the former malignity.</P>
<PB N="212" REF="116">
<P>However, notwith&s;tanding this undeniable prevarication, they have patch'd up &s;ome Fig-leaves together to cover the nakedne&s;s of their <HI>Schi&s;m;</HI> and that they are no better, I &s;hall endeavour to make appear in the following <HI>Sections.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="3" TYPE="section">
<HEAD>SECT. III.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P>Wherein the <HI>Prote&s;tants</HI> plea, that they did not &s;eparate from the Church, but were forcibly ca&s;t out from her Communion, and therefore the <HI>Schi&s;m,</HI> which is a voluntary rece&s;&s;ion from the Church, not imputable to them, is an&s;wered.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>SEeing it cannot be denyed, but that the fir&s;t Reformers were bred in the bowels of the <HI>Roman</HI>
<PB N="213" REF="116"> Church, communicating with her before this unhappy rupture, to wipe off from them the odious crime of <HI>Schi&s;m,</HI> they lay the fault upon the <HI>Catholick</HI> Church for ca&s;ting them out by force from the Com|munion; whereas <HI>Schi&s;m</HI> is a vo|luntary rece&s;&s;ion from the Church, and theirs was not, they not &s;epara|ting them&s;elves, but being &s;epara|ted.</P>
<P>In an&s;wer to which I &s;ay fir&s;t, that never were any <HI>Hereticks</HI> or <HI>Schi&s;maticks,</HI> even whom they ac|knowledge for &s;uch, in any Age ca&s;t out from among the Faithful, by Sentence of Excommunication for their contumacy, but they might with as much &s;how of rea&s;on u&s;e the &s;ame plea for their ju&s;tification.</P>
<P>Secondly, how can they impute their &s;eparation to the Church, when after her utmo&s;t endeavours to main|tain unity, they would by no means be per&s;waded that it was lawful to communicate with her in Doctrine and Wor&s;hip; herein preferring their own private opinions before
<PB N="214" REF="117"> the judgment of the whole Chri|&s;tian world.</P>
<P>But thirdly, how frivolous this plea is, will mo&s;t manife&s;tly appear, if they will but con&s;ider what was acted by them&s;elves wholly antece|dent to the cen&s;ure of the Church.</P>
<P>That the Church hath ju&s;t Power and Authority to Excommunicate &s;uch of her Subjects who de&s;erve it, is confe&s;s'd on all &s;ides. Yea, that &s;he's obliged to cut off corrupted and incorrigible Members from the body of Chri&s;tianity, (le&s;t others be infected with their errours,) is plain to common &s;en&s;e. And that it was the practice of the Church in all Ages to injoyn the Faithful to ab|&s;tain from Communion with tho&s;e who pertinaciou&s;ly maintain'd a different Faith from her, no man can doubt, who knows any thing in Church-hi&s;tory.</P>
<P>Now, when they had voluntari|ly receded from the Doctrine and Government of their <HI>Catholick</HI> Mo|ther, (or if any compul&s;ion appear'd in the bu&s;ine&s;s, it was not on the
<PB N="215" REF="117"> Churches part, but from their new Spiritual Head the King:) when they had demoli&s;h'd Mona&s;teries, ceiz'd on their Revenues, Per&s;ecu|ted the mo&s;t Con&s;cientious of the Clergy, Confi&s;cated the E&s;tates of contradictors, and put to death &s;ome, mo&s;t eminent for Learning and Piety, becau&s;e they would not pro|&s;titute their Faith and Con&s;cience to the Kings a&s;&s;umed Authority in Church Affairs: When they had aboli&s;h'd the publick Wor&s;hip of the Church as Super&s;titious and Ido|latrous, and ca&s;t out mo&s;t of the Sacraments as prophane and unholy things. when they had moulded a Religion according to the policy of State, and Intere&s;ts of the great ones, who had added to them&s;elves by taking from the Church: When they had for&s;aken the only certain Rule of Faith, and made way for innumerable Sects and Subdivi&s;ions, which they have found too true by &s;ad experience: (God la&s;hing them with their own rod, that they may &s;ee their &s;in in the gla&s;s of their
<PB N="216" REF="118"> puni&s;hment.) And la&s;tly, when to fill up the mea&s;ure of their &s;ins they remained unrelenting and ob&s;tinate in their manifold di&s;orders, and mi&s;s-called Reformations in the Churches Faith and Di&s;cipline when they had done and acted this in a mo&s;t violent and head-&s;trong man|ner, to the wonder and pity of the under&s;tanding World; and all po&s;&s;ible means being us'd to reduce them to the <HI>Catholick</HI> Unity, from which they were fallen, but all in vain: The Church then, and not<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Anno</HI> 10. Eliz. <HI>Reg.</HI></NOTE> 'till then, by Authority Chri&s;t pro|ceeding according to her duty and con&s;tant practice in like ca&s;es, to the ju&s;t Sentence of Excommunica|tion: They cry out not guilty, they are innocent and have done no|thing ami&s;s, the <HI>Schi&s;m</HI> is not to be laid to their charge, who made no voluntary rece&s;&s;ion from the Church; But to the Church, who again&s;t their wills did ca&s;t them out. Ju&s;t as if a Malefactor, who hath made him&s;elf incapable of Mercy by his unpardonable offences, &s;hould
<PB N="217" REF="118"> accu&s;e the Judge as guilty of his death, becau&s;e he pronounces on him the Sentence of Condemnation. Is not this a pretty plea to excu&s;e them&s;elves from <HI>Schi&s;m?</HI> So bad a cau&s;e &s;tands in need of better Argu|ments to maintain it &s;elf.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="4" TYPE="section">
<HEAD>SECT. IV.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P>Wherein is &s;hew'd the emptine&s;s of their Plea, that they did not &s;eparate from the Univer&s;al, but only from the particular Church of <HI>Rome.</HI></P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>BUt &s;eeing there is a palpable <HI>Schi&s;m</HI> in the Church by their new erected Eccle&s;ia&s;tical Govern|ment, and they cannot make the World believe that the Church of <HI>Rome,</HI> not They, was the dividing party and Actors in this &s;eparation; being &s;o contrary to the nature and
<PB N="218" REF="119"> notion of <HI>Schi&s;m</HI> from Scripture and Antiquity, yea, and a common &s;en&s;e; (for how could a Church po&s;&s;ibly &s;eparate from a Communion where|of they never were Members?) though it &s;hould be granted that they made the &s;eparation, yet they &s;ay, that <HI>Schi&s;m</HI> being a voluntary departure from the Communion of the <HI>Catholick</HI> Church, they cannot be condemn'd for <HI>Schi&s;maticks</HI> who only &s;eparated them&s;elves from the particular Church of <HI>Rome.</HI></P>
<P>But alas! this is no better then a Cob-web Plea to keep <HI>Prote&s;tants</HI> from falling into the Gulph of <HI>Schi&s;m.</HI></P>
<P>For fir&s;t, grant that the Church of <HI>Rome</HI> be but a particular Church, yet as &s;uch 'tis a true Member of the <HI>Catholick</HI> Church; as the mo&s;t Learned <HI>Prote&s;tants</HI> of the Church of <HI>England</HI> not only grant, but contend for again&s;t other <HI>Di&s;&s;enters,</HI> and &s;o they could not &s;eparate from the Church of <HI>Rome</HI> as &s;uch, but of nece&s;&s;ity they mu&s;t &s;eparate from the whole, with whom &s;he, as part thereof communicated.</P>
<PB N="219" REF="119">
<P>Secondly, if the &s;eparation was on|ly made from the particular Church of <HI>Rome,</HI> and not from the Univer|&s;al, let them &s;hew us any Body of <HI>Chri&s;tians</HI> agreeing with their <HI>Pro|te&s;tant</HI> Church in all Material points of Faith and practice, to whom the fir&s;t <HI>Reformers</HI> united them&s;elves when they made a &s;eparation from their <HI>Catholick</HI> Mother. If Com|munion with the <HI>Greek</HI> Church be pretended, 'tis mo&s;t irrational, when condemned by them&s;elves in their Belief concerning the Proce&s;&s;ion of the <HI>Holy Gho&s;t, Ma&s;s, Tran&s;ub&s;tan|tiation,</HI> &amp;c. And indeed if they will be of their Communion, they mu&s;t agree with us almo&s;t in all points wherein they now differ from us, and alledge as ju&s;t cau&s;es of their &s;eparation. But how ju&s;tly, &s;hall be &s;cann'd hereafter. If with the <HI>Lutherans,</HI> 'tis as vainly pre|tended, for by the Confe&s;&s;ion of tho&s;e who made a full &s;earch into the <HI>Lutheran</HI> Tenets, they agree in more points with the Church of <HI>Rome</HI> again&s;t the <HI>Engli&s;h Prote|te&s;tants,</HI>
<PB N="220" REF="120"> then on the contrary. And 'tis well known that when the Con|trover&s;ies were hot between the <HI>Remon&s;trants</HI> and <HI>Contra-Remon|&s;trants,</HI> as <HI>Hereticks</HI> are always as well fighting among them&s;elves, as again&s;t the Church) the <HI>Remon|&s;trants</HI> plainly a&s;&s;erted, they would &s;ooner return into the Bo&s;ome of their <HI>Catholick</HI> Mother, then joyn in tho&s;e points with the <HI>Calvini&s;ts;</HI> with whom of all other Sects the <HI>Engli&s;h Prote&s;tants</HI> may mo&s;t pre|tend to have Communion. Which neverthele&s;s hath as airy a founda|tion as either of the other, when the greate&s;t <HI>Patrons</HI> and <HI>Goliahs</HI> of the <HI>Engli&s;h Reformation</HI> condemn the <HI>Calvini&s;ts</HI> of fundamental Errors, in denying <HI>Epi&s;copacy</HI> to be <HI>jure divino,</HI> and the Kings <HI>Supremacy</HI> in <HI>Eccle&s;ia&s;tical matters;</HI> and for dif|fering from them in other points contain'd in their 39 <HI>Articles</HI> and <HI>Book of Common-Prayer,</HI> their pub|lick <HI>Liturgy,</HI> and way of <HI>Wor&s;hip.</HI> And &s;o while they &s;eparate from the particular Church of <HI>Rome,</HI> as they
<PB N="221" REF="120"> pretend, and not from the <HI>Catholick,</HI> from which they grant no man ought to &s;eparate; they notwith|&s;tanding are found to be left by them&s;elves, a Church of their own con&s;tituting, finding no part of Chri&s;ts <HI>Catholick</HI> Church, or any other, with whom, when they &s;epa|rated from the <HI>Roman Communion,</HI> they actually joyn'd them&s;elves, or do yet, in the belief of the &s;ame <HI>Articles of Faith,</HI> in the acknowledg|ment and &s;ubmi&s;&s;ion to the &s;ame <HI>Church Government,</HI> in the partici|pation of the &s;ame <HI>Sacraments</HI> and way of <HI>Wor&s;hip,</HI> which are e&s;&s;entially requi&s;ite to Church|union.</P>
<P>But thirdly, though no <HI>Catholick</HI> denyes the Church of <HI>Rome,</HI> as taken for the peculiar <HI>Dioce&s;s</HI> belonging to the Bi&s;hop of <HI>Rome,</HI> is a particu|lar Church, as well as the Church of <HI>Ephe&s;us,</HI> or Church of <HI>Corinth;</HI> and the <HI>Pope</HI> as Bi&s;hop of this <HI>Ro|man</HI> Congregation belonging to no other Juri&s;diction, is a particular Bi&s;hop: Yet &s;eeing al&s;o, that all
<PB N="222" REF="121"> <HI>Catholick</HI> Chri&s;tians do, and the fir&s;t <HI>Prote&s;tant Reformers</HI> did believe before their &s;eparation, that the <HI>Ro|man</HI> Church as taken for the whole collection of the Faithful (as holding Communion with the See of <HI>Rome,</HI> is the <HI>Catholick</HI> Church;) and that the <HI>Pope</HI> of <HI>Rome,</HI> as &s;ucceeding St. <HI>Peter</HI> in his <HI>Primacy</HI> by divine Right add In&s;titution, hath a Uni|ver&s;al Head&s;hip and Juri&s;diction in Spiritual matters over all particular Churches: I &s;ay, the whole <HI>Catho|lick</HI> World, and fir&s;t <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> Refor|mers thus believing before their &s;e|paration, they &s;tand condemn'd for <HI>Schi&s;maticks</HI> by the mo&s;t Sacred and highe&s;t Tribunal on Earth; not for &s;eparating from the particular Church and Bi&s;hop of <HI>Rome,</HI> but from the Communion of the <HI>Roman</HI> Church as <HI>Catholick</HI> in re&s;pect of the extent of her Power and Juri&s;dicti|on, and the <HI>Pope</HI> as St. <HI>Peters</HI> Suc|ce&s;&s;or, &s;upream Pa&s;tor and Head thereof. And this guilt will never be wip'd off, 'till it be evidenced that the Chri&s;tian World is in an
<PB N="223" REF="121"> error, and believes a lye; and that the Supream and Univer&s;al Juri&s;|diction of the <HI>Pope</HI> of <HI>Rome</HI> is but a meer u&s;urpation and innovation in the Church. But this the <HI>Prote|&s;tants</HI> neither have done, nor ever will be able to do, and yet ought to have been done by the fir&s;t <HI>Refor|mers</HI> before they &s;eparated; or by the continuers of it, for the ju&s;tifi|cation. Which is an attempt no le&s;s de&s;perate, then to endeavour to per&s;wade the World that the judgment of a few intere&s;&s;ed, pa&s;&s;io|nate per&s;ons, may not only ballance, but al&s;o ought to out-weigh and be preferred before the greate&s;t Au|thority and certainty we have on earth.</P>
<P>This is enough to manife&s;t the unity of this Plea to any unbya&s;&s;ed and indifferent judgments. But be|cau&s;e <HI>Prote&s;tants</HI> do &s;adly deceive them&s;elves in being per&s;waded they are true Members of the <HI>Catholick</HI> Church, by impo&s;ing upon the word <HI>Catholick</HI> a notion different from the mo&s;t u&s;ual and common
<PB N="224" REF="122"> &s;en&s;e of the Church in all Ages; and thereby &s;atisfy them&s;elves that their &s;eparation is neither damnable nor dangerous, that is, not <HI>Schi&s;mati|cal;</HI> this being a proper place for it, I &s;hall endeavour to undeceive them by applying the word to its genuine acceptation, in which &s;en&s;e it had much influence on my Conver&s;ion.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="5" TYPE="section">
<HEAD>SECT. V.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P>The &s;en&s;e and meaning of the word <HI>Catholick,</HI> as it is us'd by the <HI>Church.</HI></P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>THe Church is &s;aid to be <HI>Catho|lick</HI> in three re&s;pects. Fir&s;t <HI>ratione loci,</HI> according to univer&s;a|lity<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 28. 19. Mar. 16. 15. Jo. 4. 21. Act. 1. 8. Ro. 1. 17. Ro. 10. 12. Eph. 2. 14.</NOTE> of place, whereby 'tis di&s;tin|gui&s;h'd from the <HI>Jewi&s;h</HI> Synagogue. For the partition-wall being broken down by Chri&s;t the chief corner &s;tone of this Spiritual building, both <HI>Jew</HI> and <HI>Gentile</HI> were united into
<PB N="225" REF="122"> one and the &s;ame body of Chri&s;tia|nity, extending it &s;elf into all cor|ners of the World. Hence it is that of St. <HI>Cyril, The Church is called</HI> Ca|tholick, <HI>becau&s;e 'tis &s;pread over all the World from one end to the other.</HI> Whereas before, the true Wor&s;hip was confin'd to <HI>Judaea</HI> and the <HI>Jewi&s;h</HI> Nation.</P>
<P>Secondly, the Church of Chri&s;t is <HI>Catholick, ratione temporis,</HI> accor|ding to univer&s;ality of time from its fir&s;t exi&s;tence; becau&s;e being once founded by our Ble&s;&s;ed Savi|our<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 15. 14. Dan. 3. 44. <HI>Eccle&s;ia ve|ra neminem latere po|te&s;t S.</HI> Aug <HI>de vnit. Eccl. cap. 14.</HI></NOTE> our and his Apo&s;tles, 'tis to continue by a non-interrupted vi&s;ible &s;uc|ce&s;&s;ion of Pa&s;tors and People to the Worlds end. Which is no le&s;s ex|pre&s;s in Scripture than the former. Take it from the mouth of an An|gel, <HI>And of his Kingdom there &s;hall</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Luke 1. 18</NOTE> <HI>be no end.</HI> Or if that be not &s;uffi|cient, from the Sacred Lips of <HI>Truth</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 16. 18.</NOTE> it &s;elf, <HI>&V;pon this rock will I build my Church, and the gates of Hell &s;hall not prevail again&s;t it.</HI> What? but for a time? No, not &s;o; But <HI>behold</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 28. 20.</NOTE> <HI>I am with you always, even to the Worlds end.</HI></P>
<PB N="226" REF="123">
<P>This univer&s;ality is as e&s;&s;ential to make the Church <HI>Catholick</HI> as the former, and hereby 'tis not only di&s;tingui&s;h'd from the <HI>Jewi&s;h</HI> Wor|&s;hip, which being Ceremonial and Typical, was but to continue for a time, and to vani&s;h when the <HI>Sun</HI> of Righteou&s;ne&s;s appeared: But al&s;o from all <HI>Shi&s;matical</HI> and <HI>Heretical</HI> Communions of fal&s;e Chri&s;tians, who &s;eparating them&s;elves from this <HI>Catholick</HI> Church thus founded to continue for ever, do erect new Congregations di&s;tinct from it. Which new-born Communions, whatever were their pretences to &s;eparate from the old, though pro|fe&s;&s;ing the name of Chri&s;t, <HI>Catho|licks</HI> did never account any more true Members of Chri&s;ts My&s;tical Body, or part of the Univer&s;al Church, as now <HI>Prote&s;tants</HI> pre|tend to be &s;ince their &s;eparation, then either <HI>Jews</HI> or <HI>Heathens,</HI> who never acknowledged Chri&s;t to their Saviour.</P>
<P>Witne&s;s St. <HI>Irenaeus, We mu&s;t obey</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>I. 4 contr.</HI> Haer. <HI>ca. 13</HI></NOTE> <HI>tho&s;e Prie&s;ts that are in the Church,
<PB N="227" REF="123"> tho&s;e that have a &s;ucce&s;&s;ion from the Apo&s;tles,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>And all the re&s;t who have departed from the original &s;ucce&s;&s;ion (where ever they be a&s;sembled) are to be look'd upon as</HI> Hereticks <HI>or</HI> Schi&s;|maticks, <HI>and all the&s;e fall from the Truth.</HI></P>
<P>Witne&s;s St. <HI>Au&s;tin,</HI> whom &s;ome<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Epi&s;t. 48. contr.</HI> Dom.</NOTE> call the Tongue of the Church, and certainly he &s;peaks her Doctrine, when he tells the <HI>Donati&s;ts, You are with us in</HI> Bapti&s;m, <HI>in the</HI> Creed, <HI>and in the other Sacraments of our Lord, but in the Spirit of &V;nity, and finally in the</HI> Catholick <HI>Church you are not with us.</HI> And therefore he &s;ays confidently with us el&s;ewhere, <HI>Let him adore Idols, &s;aith the Devil, he's mine; let him remain in the &s;u|per&s;tition of the</HI> Jews, <HI>he's mine; let him quit &V;nity, and pa&s;s over to This, or That, or any</HI> Here&s;ie, <HI>he's mine.</HI> And no wonder, &s;eeing that <HI>cor|ruptio, optimi e&s;t pe&s;&s;ima, Nothing is &s;o bad as the greatest good corrupted;</HI> For though exten&s;ive <HI>Judai&s;m</HI> and <HI>Pagani&s;m</HI> involve a far greater num|ber of damnable errors; yet in|ten&s;ive
<PB N="228" REF="124"> more malignity is often couch'd in <HI>Schi&s;m</HI> and <HI>Here&s;y,</HI> by rea&s;on of their exceeding perver&s;e|ne&s;s and ob&s;tinacy, being &s;ins a|gain&s;t the greater light and means of grace to come to the acknow|ledgement of truth.</P>
<P>Now the <HI>Prote&s;tants</HI> finding them&s;elves wholly at a lo&s;s in this particular, it being impo&s;&s;ible for them to &s;hew a vi&s;ible &s;ucce&s;&s;ion of their Doctrine and Government in Pa&s;tors and People from Chri&s;t and his Apo&s;tles to this pre&s;ent Age, (which is a &s;ufficient evidence they neither are the true Church, nor any part of it) they will by no means allow the word <HI>Catholick</HI> in the <HI>Creed</HI> to be under&s;tood of a un-in|terrupted vi&s;ible &s;ucce&s;&s;ion of Chri|&s;tian Belief and Wor&s;hip in external Communion, as Antiquity inter|prets it; but referring it to Doctrine<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>S.</HI> Aug. <HI>Ep. 48.</HI></NOTE> only, will needs have it &s;ufficient to be true Members of the <HI>Catho|lick</HI> Church, to profe&s;s the name of Chri&s;t, and believe &s;ome Articles al|ways taught and acknowledged,
<PB N="229" REF="124"> though of a di&s;tinct Communion wholly, and in many points of a different belief from the perpetu|ally vi&s;ible Church. And think they have done enough to prove their Church Univer&s;al in re&s;pect of time, becau&s;e the Church of <HI>Rome,</HI> from whom they &s;eparated, did never fail nor cea&s;e to be a true Church, though, as the&s;e men pretend, much corrupted. Which to my appre|hen&s;ion is as much as to &s;ay, that they who are of different Faiths in a different Communion, are not|with&s;tanding, of the &s;ame Faith, in the &s;ame Communion; and parts &s;eparated from the Body yet actu|ally continue Members of it. And that a Commonwealth of ten years old may ju&s;tly maintain them&s;elves to be of a thou&s;and years &s;tanding, becau&s;e Monarchy, which they ca&s;t out to &s;et up their new Common|wealth, was of &s;uch continuance by a vi&s;ible &s;ucce&s;&s;ion, and agrees with them in &s;ome common Principles of Rea&s;on and Government. Who can re&s;olve the&s;e riddles? Are not
<PB N="230" REF="125"> the&s;e pretty props to uphold the new <HI>Protestant</HI> Church to be of the Ancient <HI>Catholick</HI> Faith:</P>
<P>Strange! Can men of Rea&s;on &s;a|tisfy their Con&s;ciences in what con|cerns eternal Salvation? What is the <HI>Catholick</HI> Church but a Congre|gation of Believers united in Faith, and Wor&s;hip? And yet to hem the&s;e men in, <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI> mu&s;t not be as a City at unity with it &s;elf, but a body compo&s;ed of Antipathies and Contradictions. Let them &s;peak in|genuou&s;ly, will not this way of ar|guing make <HI>Arrians,</HI> and <HI>Donati&s;ts,</HI> or any old condemned <HI>Hereticks</HI> to be Members of the <HI>Catholick</HI> Church as well as <HI>Prote&s;tants?</HI> The <HI>Arrians</HI> did deny but one point of <HI>Catholick</HI> belief, and were ca&s;t out; And &s;hall the <HI>Prote&s;tants,</HI> who deny many, be kept in, and reputed Members? Shall that ab&s;olve the <HI>Prote&s;tants,</HI> which condemns the <HI>Arrians?</HI> For 'tis not denying this, or that, but any point of the <HI>Ca|tholick</HI> Faith with pertinacy what|ever it be, (though <HI>Here&s;ies</HI> may be
<PB N="231" REF="125"> more or le&s;s malignant and dange|rous) that ca&s;ts us out of the true Church, and makes us cea&s;e to be actual Members of it.</P>
<P>Be&s;ides, can they as a <HI>Prote&s;tant</HI> Communion have a perpetual vi|&s;ible &s;ucce&s;&s;ion from the Apo&s;tles, and yet begin to appear fir&s;t in the World in the days of King <HI>Henry</HI> the viii. 100 years &s;ince, and &s;ome|what more? Is it any thing to their purpo&s;e, to produce a vi&s;ible Con|gregation of <HI>Believers</HI> in a never-in|terrupted &s;ucce&s;&s;ion of the &s;ame Faith with them in &s;ueh point wherein they agree with the <HI>Catho|lick</HI> Church, when &s;uch points are not tho&s;e which con&s;titute them a <HI>Prote&s;tant</HI> Church, but tho&s;e where|in they differ from us? If they will with any &s;hew of rea&s;on defend their <HI>Prote&s;tant</HI> Faith, as &s;uch, to have univer&s;ality of time from the Apo&s;tles, they mu&s;t produce a vi|&s;ible Body of Chri&s;tians in Church-Communion, profe&s;&s;ing tho&s;e points wherein they differ from the <HI>Ro|man</HI> Church, and for which they
<PB N="232" REF="126"> &s;eparated from her, and condem|ning tho&s;e points and practices in her, which they now do. Other|wi&s;e to talk of a perpetual &s;ucce&s;&s;ion of the <HI>Protestant</HI> Religion in a Com|munion from the Apo&s;tles to their pre&s;ent Pa&s;tors, is no better then a &s;ick mans dream, or any airy <HI>&V;topia</HI> without any real beeing or exi&s;tence.</P>
<P>Now the <HI>Puritan-Prote&s;tants</HI> and many other <HI>Sects,</HI> either not well con&s;idering the grounds why the mo&s;t Learned of the Reformation defend the Church, of <HI>Rome</HI> to be a true Church and perpetually vi|&s;ible; or el&s;e plainly &s;eeing the im|po&s;&s;ibility of rationally maintaining their deductions thereon depending; in the &s;torm of a blind zeal again&s;t the Church of <HI>Rome,</HI> &s;plit them|&s;elves again&s;t another rock, (never caring for perpetual &s;ucce&s;&s;ion and vi&s;ibility to make them <HI>Catholick,</HI> confidently a&s;&s;ert) that the Church of Chri&s;t was over-&s;pread with the infernal darkne&s;s of Super&s;tition and Idolatry, that it wholly ceas'd to be a true Church for a thou&s;and
<PB N="233" REF="126"> years and upwards, more or le&s;s, (for they cannot agree among them|&s;elves about the determinate time which gave this fatal period to Chri&s;tianity) 'till by their ble&s;&s;ed Reformation the glorious light of the Go&s;pel did dawn a-new unto the World; and with the ruines of the Whore of <HI>Babylon,</HI> (hopeful Children to ca&s;t &s;uch durt in their Mothers face) they did beautify the revived Spou&s;e of Je&s;us Chri&s;t. Wherein they wholly agree with the <HI>Donatists</HI> of old, who after their &s;eparation from the <HI>Catholick</HI> Church, thought they could not defend them&s;elves from <HI>Schi&s;m</HI> and <HI>Here&s;ie,</HI> unle&s;s they would maintain that the Univer&s;al Church was to|tally peri&s;h'd, and &s;hrunk into their new-born Conventicle; which hath in it the the mixture of thus much Truth, that no &s;eparation from an acknowledged true Church can be ju&s;tifyable. But this is won|derful, that tho&s;e very men who pretend &s;o much veneration of Sa|cred Scripture, as to make it the
<PB N="234" REF="127"> &s;ole and adequate Rule of Chri&s;tian belief, &s;hould (notwith&s;tanding to free their own Religion from <HI>Schi&s;m</HI> and <HI>Here&s;ie</HI>) affirm the Church of Chri&s;t to have peri&s;h'd totally for &s;o many Ages; the contrary to which is &s;o plainly contain'd in tho&s;e Sa|cred Oracles.</P>
<P>Our Ble&s;&s;ed Saviour &s;ays, <HI>That he</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Met. 16. 18.</NOTE> <HI>will build his Church upon a rock, &s;o that the gates of hell &s;hall not prevail against it:</HI> The Angel &s;ays, <HI>Of his</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Luke 1.</NOTE> <HI>Kingdom there &s;hall be no end.</HI> Can po&s;&s;ibly Je&s;us Chri&s;t be with the<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 28. 20.</NOTE> Governours of his Church to the Worlds end, to direct them by his &s;pecial a&s;&s;i&s;tance, to pretect them by his irre&s;i&s;table Power, and yet the Devil &s;o far prevail over his beloved Heritage as to ruine it? Can he make good his promi&s;e of <HI>leading</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Joh. 14. 26. 16. v. 13.</NOTE> <HI>them into all Truth,</HI> and yet &s;uffer his Church to be corrupted with damnable errors and practices, as totally to peri&s;h? St. <HI>Paul</HI> &s;ays, <HI>God hath placed in his Church &s;ome Apo|&s;tles,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ephe&s;. 4. 11, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></NOTE> <HI>&s;ome Prophets, others Evange|lists and Doctors, for the perfecting
<PB N="235" REF="127"> of the Saints, that we might be one and the &s;ame faith, and not to&s;s'd and carried about with the wind of every Doctrine. And that the Church is the Pillar and ground of Truth.</HI> The&s;e<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Tim 3. 15.</NOTE> are plain expre&s;s Texts for the Churches Indefectibility, needing no Interpreter; as St. <HI>Austin</HI> &s;aith<NOTE PLACE="marg">De &V;nit. Eccl. c 16.</NOTE> in the like ca&s;e of evident places out of Scripture for the univer|&s;ality of the Church again&s;t ob&s;cure Texts objected by the <HI>Donatists. And yet this generation of men will palpably pervert plain Texts of Scrip|ture, rather then confe&s;s a guilt in &s;e|parating them&s;elves from their</HI> Ca|tholick <HI>Mother.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Perkins</HI> a great Champion of the Reformed Religion, &s;aith expre&s;&s;y,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Expo&s;it. of the</HI> Creed, <HI>pa. 226.</HI></NOTE> <HI>That during the &s;pace of 900. years the</HI> Popi&s;h Here&s;ie <HI>had &s;pread it &s;elf over the whole Wold.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Calvin</HI> affirms, <HI>That the Church of</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">In&s;tit. l. 4. c. 18.</NOTE> Rome <HI>made all the Kings and People of the Earth drunk with the cup of her abomination, from the fir&s;t to the last.</HI></P>
<PB N="236" REF="128">
<P><HI>Bennet Norton</HI> &s;ays, <HI>The whole Chri&s;tian World knows that before</HI> Lu|ther,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Treat. of the Church, p. 145.</NOTE> <HI>all Churches were overwhelm'd with more then</HI> Cymerian <HI>darkne&s;s.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Bibliander</HI> a <HI>Lutheran</HI> is very po|&s;itive, <HI>That without all question, from</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">In Orat. ad Princ <HI>Germa.</HI></NOTE> <HI>the time of</HI> Gregory <HI>the Great, the</HI> Pope <HI>is</HI> Antichri&s;t, <HI>who with his abominations hath made drunk all Kings and People, from the highest to the lowest.</HI></P>
<P>Yet <HI>Simon Voyon</HI> affirms no le&s;s<NOTE PLACE="marg">Catal. Doct. Ep. ad Lect.</NOTE> confidently, <HI>That when</HI> Boniface <HI>was in&s;talled, then was that univer&s;al Apostacy from the Faith, foretold by St.</HI> Paul.</P>
<P>And to name no more, <HI>Chamierus</HI> &s;aith, <HI>That Apo&s;tacy averted the whole body from Chri&s;t.</HI></P>
<P>Con&s;ider well the&s;e expre&s;&s;ions, and then tell me if any thing can be more contrary to Sacred Scripture. Lay them clo&s;e together that the op|po&s;ition may more vi&s;ibly appear. <HI>The Church is builded upon a rock, and the gates of Hell &s;hall never pre|vail against it. Of his Kingdom there &s;hall be no end. I will &s;end you
<PB N="237" REF="128"> the Spirit of Truth, who &s;hall lead you into all Truth. The Church is the Pillar and ground of Truth.</HI> Thus teaches Scripture.</P>
<P>Now the&s;e new Pa&s;tors tell us, <HI>That</HI> Here&s;ie (which is the &s;tronge&s;t bar of Hell gates) <HI>over&s;pread the whole Christian World. That all Churches were overwhelmed with more than</HI> Cymerian <HI>darkne&s;s. That there was an univer&s;al Apo&s;tacy from the Faith. That Apo&s;tacy averted the whole body from Chri&s;t.</HI> Are not the&s;e Doctrines directly contrary to each other? Now which &s;hall we believe? For both we cannot, 'till contradictions be both true: Are not the&s;e rare men to make Apo&s;tles?</P>
<P>Yet before I part with them, I will ask them one que&s;tion in St. <HI>Au&s;tin</HI>'s words, wherewith he ex|po&s;tulates the &s;ame ca&s;e with the <HI>Donati&s;ts: In Scripturis didicimus</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ep. 166. ad <HI>Donat.</HI></NOTE> <HI>Chri&s;tum</HI> &amp;c. <HI>In the Scriptures we have learned Chri&s;t; in the Scrip|tures we have come to the knowledge of the Church. The&s;e Scriptures are com|mon to us both; why do we not from
<PB N="238" REF="129"> them keep as well the &s;ame Church, as the &s;ame Chri&s;t?</HI> And afterwards, <HI>If for the verity of the Scriptures ye believe in Christ, whom ye read of, and &s;ee not; wherefere do ye deny the Church, which ye both read and &s;ee?</HI> A Church, which the &s;ame Father a&s;&s;ures you, <HI>The Prophets have</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>In</HI> P&s;al. 30. <HI>L. de vti. cred. c.</HI> 7, 8, &amp;c.</NOTE> <HI>more plainly &s;poken of then Chri&s;t him&s;elf, to prevent mi&s;takes in a mat|ter of &s;o great moment.</HI> A Church, which the Scriptures a&s;&s;ure you, &s;hall (as militant) continue in a vi&s;ible &s;ucce&s;&s;ion to the end of the World, as triumphant, world without end.</P>
<P>After this one <HI>Catholick</HI> and <HI>Apo|&s;tolick</HI> Church was founded in the World, and began to &s;pread it &s;elf into all corners, the Members of it were called Chri&s;tians, to di&s;tingui&s;h them from all not profe&s;&s;ing Chri&s;t. But when &s;ome of them&s;elves aro&s;e teaching perver&s;e things to draw away Di&s;ciples after them; and &s;o &s;eparating from the Church, where|of once they were Members, erected new Communions; then tho&s;e Chri|&s;tians who &s;tood firm, adhering fa&s;t to
<PB N="239" REF="129"> the Church and Doctrine e&s;tabli&s;h'd by Chri&s;t and his Apo&s;tles, were called <HI>Catholicks,</HI> to di&s;tingui&s;h them from &s;uch fal&s;e <HI>Chri&s;tians,</HI> who had &s;eparated them&s;elves into <HI>Schi&s;ma|tical</HI> or <HI>Heretical</HI> Congregations. Which if the <HI>Protestants</HI> would con|&s;ider aright, they would never ar|gue thus incongruou&s;ly. The <HI>Ro|man</HI> Church is not the <HI>Catholick</HI> Church, becau&s;e it comprehends not Us and others in her Communi|on, who are Chri&s;tians: when <HI>Ca|tholici&s;m</HI> in its genuine notion de|notes an Univer&s;al Communion of true Believers, continuing in the Faith and Wor&s;hip fir&s;t deliver'd to the Saints, in oppo&s;ition to all <HI>Sects</HI> of Chri&s;tians divided from it, though never &s;o many or &s;o numerous. Which &s;eparation from a Mother-Church is as manife&s;t in the <HI>Pro|te&s;tants</HI> as in the <HI>Arrians,</HI> or any o|ther <HI>Schi&s;matical Hereticks,</HI> who might as well have objected to the true Church, from which they &s;epa|rated, that &s;he was not <HI>Catholick,</HI> becau&s;e they profe&s;&s;ing the Name
<PB N="240" REF="130"> of Chri&s;t, and holding mo&s;t points of the Chri&s;tian Faith, were not Members of her Communion.</P>
<P>So then, a <HI>Catholick</HI> is a Chri&s;tian communicating with that Church in Faith and Practice, which was foun|ded by Chri&s;t and his Apo&s;tles. Which Church, doth evidence it &s;elf for &s;uch, by a perpetual vi&s;ibility and &s;ucce&s;&s;ion from that time to this pre&s;ent Age: By con&s;equence he is no Member of any new Communi|on of Chri&s;tians, gather'd together by &s;ome Doctor teaching contrary to the afore&s;aid Church and Faith received.</P>
<P>Neither would there have been any need of adding <HI>Roman</HI> to the word <HI>Catholick</HI> had not <HI>Hereticks</HI> aro&s;e, denying the Church of <HI>Rome</HI> to be Mother and Mi&s;tre&s;s of all Churches, and St. <HI>Peter</HI>'s Succe&s;&s;or to be the &s;upreme vi&s;ible Head and Pa&s;tor of the Faithful; and yet in their divided Communions preten|ding either to be the only true Church, or a part of it. But then true Believers did, and do common|ly
<PB N="241" REF="130"> call them&s;elves <HI>Roman-Catholicks</HI> to di&s;tingui&s;h them&s;elves from all &s;uch fal&s;e Churches: And a <HI>Roman-Catholick,</HI> is in plain <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> a Mem|ber of the Church of Chri&s;t found|ed by the Apo&s;tles, &s;catter'd over the face of the whole Earth, in Communion with the Bi&s;hop of <HI>Rome</HI> as &s;upreme Head and Pa&s;tor of it. Which the word <HI>Catholick</HI> by it &s;elf &s;ignifies as vertually, this only more expre&s;ly. The Church always being very careful upon emergent occa&s;ions to expre&s;s her &s;elf by di&s;tinctive marks or terms, &s;ufficient to point out the only &s;afe and high-road to the haven of Hap|pine&s;s; that tho&s;e belonging to her charge might not &s;hipwrack their Faith on the rock of <HI>Here&s;ie,</HI> or be &s;wallowed up in the gulph of <HI>Schi&s;m.</HI> And tho&s;e who are without might know their dadger, and fly to the &s;aving Ark, to pre&s;erve them&s;elves from peri&s;hing in the deluge of their &s;ins.</P>
<P>Hereupon with the Ancient Fa|thers, to be a Member of the <HI>Ca|tholick</HI>
<PB N="242" REF="131"> Church, or of the <HI>Roman</HI> Church, &s;ignifies the &s;ame thing; and to be a <HI>Catholick,</HI> is to be in Communion with the <HI>Roman</HI> Bi&s;hop. <HI>Qui Cathedram Petri,</HI> &amp;c <HI>Who hath for&s;aken the Chair of</HI> Peter, <HI>upon which the Church is founded, doth he per&s;wade him&s;elf that he's in the Church?</HI> So that St. <HI>Cyprian,</HI> St. <HI>Hie|rom</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">De vnit. Eccl. ca.</NOTE> finding divi&s;ions in <HI>Syria,</HI> and every one being greedy to gain &s;uch a per&s;on to their Communion, gave them this An&s;wer; <HI>I communicate</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ep. 58. ad Dam. Pa|pam.</NOTE> <HI>with him, who communicates with the Chair of</HI> Peter. Which they all pretending to, and it being not po&s;|&s;ible for them to be all <HI>Catholicks</HI> in divided Churches, he earne&s;tly de|&s;ises of <HI>Dama&s;us</HI> then pre&s;ent <HI>Pope, Even by the Cro&s;s and Sufferings of Chri&s;t to write unto him with whom he might communicate in &s;uch di|&s;tractions.</HI> As is manife&s;t at large in his 58 <HI>Ep.</HI> to the &s;aid Bi&s;hop. And in his 57 <HI>Ep.</HI> to the &s;ame <HI>Pope</HI> a|mong much more, he hath the&s;e words; <HI>Ego Beatudini tuae, id e&s;t, Cathedrae</HI> Petri <HI>communione con&s;oci|or,</HI>
<PB N="243" REF="131"> &amp;c. <HI>I communicate with your Beatitude, that is, the Chair of</HI> Pe|ter, <HI>I know the Church is built on that rock, Whoever eats the Lamb out of this Hou&s;e, is a prophane per&s;on.</HI> So then in St. <HI>Hierom</HI>'s judgment, <HI>He was no</HI> Catholick <HI>who did not communicate with the Bi&s;hop of</HI> Rome; <HI>and whoever in Church-di|vi&s;ions adher'd to him, could not be otherwi&s;e: The</HI> Catholick <HI>Church be|ing founded on the Chair of St.</HI> Peter, <HI>as a rock to remain for ever, maugre all the malice of her enemies.</HI></P>
<P>The words related by St. <HI>Ambro&s;e</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>De Obit.</HI> Satyri.</NOTE> of his Brother <HI>Satyrus,</HI> are home to this purpo&s;e. <HI>Rogavit,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>He de|manded</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>whether he was of the &s;ame judgment with the</HI> Catho|lick <HI>Bi&s;hops, that is, the</HI> Roman <HI>Church. Optatus Milevitanus</HI> proves<NOTE PLACE="marg">L. 3. cont. Parme.</NOTE> the <HI>Donati&s;ts</HI> not to be Members of the <HI>Catholick</HI> Church, <HI>Becau&s;e they were not in communion with</HI> Syricius, the then Bi&s;hop of <HI>Rome.</HI> And St. <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> tells every Chri&s;tian, <HI>He may</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Epi&s;t. 162. &amp; 163.</NOTE> <HI>know him&s;elf to be in the True Church, if he be a Member of the</HI> Roman
<PB N="244" REF="132"> <HI>Church by Communicatory Letters</HI> (in u&s;e Anciently) <HI>in which the Pri|macy of the Apo&s;tolical Chair always flouri&s;h'd.</HI> Of which this al&s;o is a manife&s;t argument, in that the Fa|thers to convince <HI>Separati&s;ts</HI> that they were no Members of the <HI>Ca|tholick</HI> Church, by &s;hewing the true Church to have a perpetual vi&s;ible &s;ucce&s;&s;ion of Pa&s;tors by Divine in|&s;titution, always made u&s;e of the &s;ucce&s;&s;ion of the <HI>Roman</HI> Bi&s;hops, reckoning from St. <HI>Peter</HI> to the pre&s;ent Bi&s;hop then in po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of the Apo&s;tolical Chair. So St. <HI>Irenae|us adver. haer. l. 3. ca.</HI> 3, 4. St. <HI>Aug. l. cont. Epi&s;t. Manich. quam vocant Fundamenti, ca.</HI> 4. St. <HI>Athana. Orat: 2. cont. Arianos. Epiph. haer.</HI> 27. St. <HI>Cypri. l. 1. Epi&s;t.</HI> 6. &amp;c. And at pre&s;ent in the common u&s;e of the word (the be&s;t key of language) in the mouth of our Adver&s;aries, all Chri&s;tians in Communion with the <HI>Roman</HI> Bi&s;hop are called <HI>Catholicks.</HI> St. <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> ob&s;erves the &s;ame in his time. <HI>Velint, nolint,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>Will they, nill they not,</HI> (&s;ays he) Hereticks
<PB N="245" REF="132"> <HI>and</HI> Schi&s;maticks <HI>them&s;elves cannot but call a</HI> Catholick, <HI>a</HI> Catholick. And therefore advi&s;es to hold the Chri&s;tian Religion in the Commu|nion of that Church which is <HI>Catho|lick,</HI> and &s;o call'd even by her Ad|ver&s;aries.</P>
<P>In vain therefore do <HI>Prote&s;tants</HI> pretend to be Members of the <HI>Ca|tholick</HI> Church, if the Fathers be Judges, not communicating with the Church of <HI>Rome,</HI> acknow|ledged by them to be true: And as vainly will the <HI>Puritans</HI> have the Church of <HI>Rome</HI> cea&s;e wholly to be a Church, to make them&s;elves a true one; being both alike condemned by Antiquity. Neither can they po&s;&s;ibly e&s;cape the force of St. <HI>Au|&s;tin</HI>'s dilemma, wherewith he &s;et upon the <HI>Donati&s;ts. Did the Church</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Lib. 1. cont. Gaud. c. 7.</NOTE> <HI>peri&s;h, or did &s;he not? If &s;he did, what Church then brought forth the</HI> Donati&s;ts? (We &s;ay, what Church then brought forth the <HI>Puritans?</HI> Where received their fir&s;t Founders their Faith and Bapti&s;m? From whom had they deliver'd to them
<PB N="246" REF="133"> the Sacred Oracles?) This argu|ment &s;trikes them dead. S. <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> proceeds, <HI>If &s;he did not peri&s;h, what madne&s;s mov'd you to &s;eparate your &s;elves from her, on the pretence of avoiding the communion of bad men?</HI> This argument confounds the <HI>Pro|te&s;tants</HI> who acknowledge &s;he did not peri&s;h, and yet will not confe&s;s the madne&s;s of their &s;eparation; but endeavour to ju&s;tify it, though the &s;ame Father affirms po&s;itively, <HI>We</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Epi&s;t. 48.</NOTE> <HI>are certain, no man can ju&s;tly &s;epa|rate him&s;elf from the communion of all Nations.</HI> And again, <HI>All &s;epa|ration</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">L. 2. cont. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"> p. Parme.</NOTE> <HI>made before the drawing of the net on &s;hore (alluding to the Parabo|lical expre&s;&s;ion of the day of judge|ment,</HI> Mat 13. 47, <HI>&amp;c) is damnable, and the &s;in of</HI> Schi&s;m, <HI>which &s;ur|pa&s;&s;eth all other crimes.</HI> This is &s;o home and punctual, that to quote any more will be &s;uperfluous; nei|do I &s;ee, admitting the Holy Fa|thers Authority, what can rational|ly or &s;atisfactorily be reply'd by our Adver&s;aries.</P>
<PB N="247" REF="133">
<P>But thirdly, the Church is <HI>Ca|tholique, re&s;pectu hominum &s;aluando|rum;</HI> in re&s;pect that as many as are &s;aved are called to be Members of it: Therefore 'tis &s;aid <HI>Acts</HI> the 2. v. 47. <HI>That there were added to the Church dayly &s;uch as &s;hould be &s;aved.</HI> And St. <HI>Paul</HI> tells us, <HI>Quos praede|&s;tinavit,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8. 30.</NOTE> <HI>hos e&s;t vocavit,</HI> &amp;c. Whom God has prede&s;tinated to Grace and Glory from all eternity, tho&s;e he in time calls out of the World into the Congregation of the Faith|ful, (which is the proper notion of <GAP DESC="foreign"> in the Original, from whence comes the word <HI>Eccle&s;ia</HI>) that in the Communion of his <HI>Catholick</HI> Church they may make their calling and election &s;ure, by working out their election with fear and trem|bling. Te&s;timonies of the Fathers in all Ages are very copious to this purpo&s;e. View a few of many.</P>
<P><HI>The Holy</HI> Catholick <HI>Church</HI> (&s;ays<NOTE PLACE="marg">L. 14. Mo|ral. ca. 2.</NOTE> St. <HI>Gregory</HI> the great) <HI>teaches, that none can be &s;aved except within her; af+firming that none can be &s;aved in any|wi&s;e who are without her. Who&s;oever</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Ep. 152. ad</HI> Donat.</NOTE>
<PB N="248" REF="134"> (&s;ays St. <HI>Au&s;tin) &s;hall be &s;eparated from this</HI> Catholick <HI>Church, how lau|dibly &s;oever he thinks he lives, by this only wickedne&s;s in that he's divided from the unity of Chri&s;t, he &s;hall not have life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.</HI> And again, <HI>Being</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Do vnit. Eccl. c. 19.</NOTE> <HI>out of the Church, and divided from the collection of unity, and bond of charity, thou &s;hould&s;t be puni&s;h'd with eternal fire, though burn'd alive for the Name of Chri&s;t.</HI> St. <HI>Fulgentius</HI> his Schollar hath the fame, <HI>l. de fide ad</HI> Petrum, <HI>ca. 37, 38.</HI> St. <HI>Cyprian</HI>'s words are little different. <HI>Do they</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">De vn c. Eccl.</NOTE> <HI>think</HI> (&s;ays he) <HI>Chri&s;t is among&s;t them when they are a&s;&s;embled out of the Church of Chri&s;t? No, though they were drawn to torments and execution for the confe&s;&s;ion of the Name of Chri&s;t, yet this pollution is not wa&s;h'd away, no not with blood; this inexpiable and inexcu&s;able crime of</HI> Schi&s;m <HI>is not purged away, even by death it &s;elf.</HI> Which is no more then what they have learn'd from the great Doctor of the <HI>Gentiles,</HI> when he &s;ays, <HI>Though</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor 13. 1, 2 3.</NOTE> <HI>I give all my &s;ub&s;tance to maintain
<PB N="249" REF="134"> the poor, and though I give my body to be burn'd, and have not charity, it will profit me nothing.</HI> And the rea&s;on is, becau&s;e 'tis a &s;acrifice without charity, which <HI>Schi&s;m</HI> de|&s;troyeth. <HI>For charity</HI> (&s;aith St. <HI>Au|&s;tin) no man tran&s;ports out of the Church.</HI></P>
<P>Are not the&s;e loud Alarms in the ears of <HI>Prote&s;tants,</HI> and all other <HI>Separati&s;ts,</HI> to awaken them from their pre&s;ent <HI>Lethargy,</HI> and make them &s;en&s;ible of their &s;ad condition? Can they hear the&s;e terrible accents, and yet continue to deceive them|&s;elves with the &s;pecious Name of <HI>Reformed Chri&s;tians?</HI> While they are divided from the Communion of the <HI>Catholick</HI> Church, can their mo|rally good Lives, their civil Conver|&s;ation, their formal Piety without the power thereof, their Saint-like zeal, which in the preci&s;er &s;ort dazels the eyes of common People, who think all is gold that gli&s;ters; Can any, or all of the&s;e &s;ave their precious and immortal Souls? No, they cannot; <HI>For out of the</HI> Catholick
<PB N="250" REF="135"> <HI>Church</HI> (&s;aith the &s;ame St. <HI>Au&s;tin)</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Epi&s;t. 48. cont.</HI> Do|nat. <HI>&amp;c.</HI></NOTE> <HI>they may have Faith, they may have Sacraments, they may have Scrip|tures, they may live laudably, they may do good works, they may &s;uffer death it &s;elf for the Name of Chri&s;t, all this they may do, and have, but out of the Church Salvation they cannot have.</HI></P>
<P>Thus the Ancient Church always taught, and we with them. And this all <HI>Hereticks</HI> and <HI>Schi&s;maticks</HI> will &s;adly find true without repen|tance. But God of his mercy make it work effectually on them, as it did on me, to bring them into the bo&s;om of the <HI>Catholick</HI> Church. I will clo&s;e up this di&s;cour&s;e with that famous place of St. <HI>Au&s;tin, Mul|ta</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">L. cont. Ep Fund. ca. 4.</NOTE> <HI>&s;unt quae in Eccle&s;iae Catholicae gre|mio me justi&s;&s;im&egrave; teneant. Tenet con&s;en&s;io populorum &amp; gentium; te|net auctoritas miraculis inchoata, &s;pe nutrita, charitate aucta, Vetustate fir|mata; tenet ab ip&s;a &s;ede</HI> Petri <HI>Apo|&s;toli, cui pa&s;cendas oves &s;uas po&s;t re|&s;urrectionem, Dominus commenda|vit, u&s;&abque; ad prae&s;entem Epi&s;copatum
<PB N="251" REF="135"> &s;ucce&s;&s;io &s;acerdotum; tenet po&s;tremo ip&s;um Catholicae nomen, quod non fine cau&s;a inter t&agrave;m multas haere&s;es &s;ic i&s;ta Eccle&s;ia &s;ola obtinuit, ut cum omnes haeretici &s;e Catholicos dici ve|lint, quaerenti tamen peregrino alicui, ubi ad Catholicam conveniatur, nul|lus haereticorum vel ba&s;ilicam &s;uam vel domum audeat o&s;tendere. Ista ergo tot tanta&abque; Christiani nominis chari&s;&s;ima vincula recte hominem te|nent credentem in Eccle&s;ia Catholica, etiam &s;i propter nostrae intelligentiae tarditatem, vel vitae meritum, veri|tas nondum &s;e aperti&s;&s;ime o&s;tendat. Apud vos autem, ubi nihil horum e&s;t quod me invitet ac teneat, &s;ola per&s;o|nat veritatis pollicitatio.</HI> Which is to this effect, <HI>That the con&s;ent of Na|tions, an Authority &s;et up with Mi|racles, nouri&s;h'd with Hope, increas'd by Charity, establi&s;h'd by Antiquity, the uninterrupted &s;ucce&s;&s;ion of Prie&s;ts in the Chair of</HI> Peter <HI>the Apo&s;tle to the pre&s;ent Bi&s;hop; and la&s;tly, the very name of</HI> Catholick <HI>mo&s;t justly kept him in the</HI> Catholick <HI>Church, while only the empty name of Truth did keep
<PB N="252" REF="136"> a noi&s;e and ratling among</HI> Schi&s;ma|ticks, <HI>wholly de&s;titute of all the&s;e ar|guments to work upon a rational un|derstanding.</HI></P>
<P>And let any man, who de&s;ires &s;incerely to follow Truth and &s;ave his Soul, judge, whether the&s;e mo|tives which kept St. <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> in the bo&s;ome of the <HI>Catholick</HI> Church after his Conver&s;ion, ought not to convert him to become a Member of the &s;ame Church, and keep him in it.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="6" TYPE="section">
<HEAD>SECT. VI.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P>Wherein the <HI>Prote&s;tants</HI> Plea of pretended Errors in the Church of <HI>Rome,</HI> to ju&s;tify their Se|paration, is refuted.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>BUt they object further, that the Church not only may, but did err in points of Faith and Wor|&s;hip;
<PB N="253" REF="136"> and that they &s;eparated not from the Church of <HI>Rome,</HI> but from her Errors and Corruptions, that they might not communicate with her in her &s;ins.</P>
<P>But certainly, whoever impar|tially con&s;iders what has been &s;aid in the precedent, and &s;ome other <HI>Secti|ons</HI> concerning the Churches Inde|fectibility can never think it po&s;&s;ible that &s;uch gro&s;s errors and corrup|tions could invade the Church to her utter ruine.</P>
<P>The Church of Chri&s;t, which is the pillar and ground of Truth, (and could not be &s;o, was &s;he her &s;elf lyable to error in points of Faith) hath always been more Faithful in keeping the <HI>Depo&s;itum</HI> of the Go|&s;pel intru&s;ted to her inviolate, and un&s;potted from all blemi&s;hes of cor|ruption, which unrea&s;onable men, that is, <HI>Schi&s;maticks</HI> and <HI>Hereticks</HI> have endeavoured by all means po&s;|&s;ible to introduce, thereby to de|file the Virgin-purity of Chri&s;t's Spou&s;e; contending &s;o earne&s;tly for the Faith once deliver'd to the
<PB N="254" REF="137"> Saints, that in this Holy quarrel &s;he was ever very liberal of her deare&s;t blood, willing rather to undergo the greate&s;t tortures, then it &s;hould &s;uffer in the lea&s;t manner. Yea, &s;o vigilant and eagle-ey'd hath &s;he been hitherto in the di&s;charge of this important duty, that no Autho|rity, Learning, or Sanctity of any per&s;on what&s;oever could introduce the lea&s;t innovotion in Religion, without vigorous oppo&s;ition and condemnation. As is evident in <HI>Origen</HI> and <HI>Tertullian,</HI> tho&s;e won|ders of their times; to name no more, being a thing &s;o obvious in Church Hi&s;tory. See <HI>Vincentius Ly|rin. ca.</HI> 23, 24.</P>
<P>Moreover, all points of Chri&s;tian belief being taught and e&s;tabli&s;h'd in the Church by Chri&s;t and his Apo&s;tles, and as &s;uch conveyed down to us ever &s;ince that time, by Univer&s;al Tradition, and for the mo&s;t part mo&s;t vi&s;ible practice, as the <HI>Sacrifice of the Ma&s;s, Prayer for the Dead, Invocation of Saints,</HI> &amp;c. 'Tis altogether impo&s;&s;ible the
<PB N="255" REF="137"> Church &s;hould fall into &s;uch dam|nable errors as are imputed to her by our Adver&s;aries, except &s;o many millions of Chri&s;tians, of different Nations and Languages, &s;catter'd over the face of the whole earth, &s;hould to no purpo&s;e in &s;ome Age con&s;pire together to teach the World a palpable lye, in direct oppo&s;ition to what they had received, and in matters whereon depend no le&s;s then the eternal Salvation of them&s;elves and Po&s;terity; a thing inconceiv|able to humane rea&s;on. But impo&s;|&s;ibilities clouded in plau&s;ible terms &s;hall be a&s;&s;erted for truths, before &s;ome men will confe&s;s them&s;elves <HI>Schi&s;maticks</HI> in &s;eparating from the <HI>Roman</HI> Church; and Infallibility mu&s;t err, before they be condemn'd as erroneus, who yet confe&s;s them|&s;elves Fallible.</P>
<P>But let us &s;uppo&s;e (though it be not true) that the Church was ly|able to errors in matters of Faith; can the&s;e men, who accu&s;e her to be erroneous, a&s;&s;ure us that they err not in the accu&s;ation? For being
<PB N="256" REF="138"> by their own confe&s;&s;ions Fallible, that is, not certain whether what they affirm be true or no, unle&s;s they can evidence that tho&s;e are errors indeed which they lay to the Churches charge, no man can ra|tionally believe them, &s;eeing the publick judgment and atte&s;tation of the Church to the contrary is incom|parably of far greater Authority, and will overpoi&s;e whatever amounts to le&s;s then demon&s;tration. And in all Ju&s;tice, the right ought to be thought on the Governouts &s;ide, 'til the revolters from them, by pro|ducing cau&s;es &s;ufficient to ju&s;tify the withdrawing of their obedience, make the contrary undeniably clear to every eye.</P>
<P>They are the accu&s;ing Party, the Church defends her right; without a definitive Sentence can be no de|ci&s;ion. What Judge will they there|fore &s;tand to in this Controver&s;y? We know they ought to &s;ubmit to the judgment and determination of the pre&s;ent Church, her voice being as it were the voice of God in de|claring
<PB N="257" REF="138"> what is of Faith, or not; and cannot but wonder that they will not al&s;o acknowledge it, when our Ble&s;&s;ed Saviour &s;ays plainly of<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luke 10. 16.</NOTE> Church Governours, <HI>He that heareth you, heareth me, and he that de&s;pi&s;eth you, de&s;pi&s;eth me, and who de&s;pi&s;eth me, de&s;pi&s;eth him that &s;ent me.</HI> And<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 The&s;&s;. 4. 8.</NOTE> St. <HI>Paul, He that de&s;pi&s;eth the&s;e things, de&s;pi&s;eth not man, but God, who hath al&s;o given to us of his Holy Spirit.</HI> But becau&s;e by her they already are convicted and condemned, and therefore refu&s;e to &s;tand to her de|termination, (as <HI>Hereticks</HI> and <HI>Schi&s;|maticks</HI> have done in all Ages) will they refer it to Antiquity, and let the Ancient Fathers give the Sen|tence? This they cannot rationally refu&s;e; neither in word (to make a flouri&s;h,) do &s;ome of the mo&s;t Learned of the <HI>Prote&s;tants,</HI> but on|ly pretend to reform the pre&s;ent Church, that they may conform to Antiquity, and undertake to rectify the Church of <HI>Rome</HI> in points where|in &s;he hath for&s;aken her primitive purity.</P>
<PB N="258" REF="139">
<P>But they are at great variance and in di&s;order among&s;t one ano|ther, in that they cannot agree when Religion began to be adulte|rated, and when the&s;e errors crept into the Church. For being no le&s;s then damnable errors, as they pre|tend, in things practical and daily in u&s;e by &s;o great a Body, and therefore notoriou&s;ly vi&s;ible, and &s;peaking aloud their original, &s;eeing they can a&s;&s;ign no certain time (a task impo&s;&s;ible, as we have before &s;hewn) when fir&s;t they were brought into the Church, 'tis an undeniable argument that they are not innova|tions, but of Apo&s;tolical practice and in&s;titution: According to that famous Rule of St. <HI>Au&s;tin, Quod ubi&abque; ab Eccle&s;ia Catholica ob&s;erva|tum e&s;t,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>Whatever the</HI> Catholick <HI>Church ob&s;erves in all places, if we find it to have been in&s;tituted by no General ouncil, we mu&s;t believe it to have come from the Apo&s;tles them|&s;elves to us by Tradition.</HI></P>
<P>Some of them allow the Spou&s;e of Chri&s;t to continue in her Virgin
<PB N="259" REF="139"> purity for the fir&s;t five or &s;ix hun|dred years, 'till the time of <HI>Gregory</HI> the great, that glorious Saint and <HI>Pope,</HI> &s;o affectionate to our Coun|trey, and ju&s;tly called our Apo&s;tle. Others think this confe&s;&s;ion too li|beral, and will have the My&s;tery of Iniquity to begin &s;ooner, (which is true if under&s;tood of <HI>Apo&s;tates</HI> from the Church, not of the Church <HI>Apo|&s;tatizing,</HI>) and &s;o with them this defection from the Faith, by the mixture of <HI>Antichri&s;tian</HI> Doctrines and practices, mu&s;t invade the Church immediately upon the fir&s;t 300 years after Chri&s;t, or there|abouts, &s;ome maintaining this, o|thers that <HI>Pope</HI> to be the <HI>Antichri&s;t;</HI> every one fancying a time, which they conceited mo&s;t advantageous for their purpo&s;e. For after tryal finding that the Fathers of the fir&s;t 600 years could not be admitted Judges in the Controver&s;y without a manife&s;t condemnation of them|&s;elves, they warily retreated within the fir&s;t 300 years of Chri&s;t, which being times of hot and bloody per|&s;ecution
<PB N="260" REF="140"> more or le&s;s, and little then written by the Fathers of the Church, they thought nothing con&s;iderable could be produced again&s;t them, within tho&s;e Ages for their condem|nation in the pre&s;ent Controver&s;ies not then &s;tarted; or what was upon record, might ea&s;ily &s;ome way or other be evaded. So that they will have the light of their new Go&s;pel to be tryed only by dark times, as to the deci&s;ion of the pre&s;ent points; like <HI>Litigants,</HI> who will admit only of &s;uch Witne&s;&s;es who can &s;ay little, or nothing to the cau&s;e in hand; and by all means will have tho&s;e de|barr'd to &s;peak who can give &s;uffici|ent evidence again&s;t them. For no rational cau&s;e po&s;&s;ibly can be given why they &s;hould a&s;&s;ign 6, or 5, or 300 years after Chri&s;t for the begin|ning of the <HI>Apostacy</HI> from the Faith, (as if Chri&s;t &s;hould ju&s;t then forget his promi&s;e of p<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">rp<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">tual a&s;&s;i&s;tance and guidance of his Church into all Truth, or el&s;e not be able to per|form it) more then any other time; but only they were re&s;olv'd, wh<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="2 letters">
<PB N="261" REF="140"> they found tho&s;e Doctrines and practices to be evidently a&s;&s;erted by the ancient Fathers which they con|demn as Erroneous and Idolatrous, they would determine That to be the time when the Church grew rot|ten and corrupted. And &s;o, after all their &s;eeming veneration of Anti|quity, the Ancient Fathers &s;hall not be any Rule whereby to judge of their Faith and Wor&s;hip; but their Faith and Wor&s;hip &s;hall be a Rule whereby to judge when the Fathers are, or are not erroneous, A &s;ure way, I confe&s;s, for a new Religion.</P>
<P>But they cannot e&s;cape &s;o neither without condemnation, &amp; that even by their own confe&s;&s;ions, &s;o impo&s;|&s;ible it is for tho&s;e who contradict Truth, not to contradict them&s;elves al&s;o; and to confute them&s;elves while they oppo&s;e her. For take the fir&s;t 5, or 600 years after Chri&s;t to be the limi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">s of primitive Purity, and 'tis manife&s;t from their own Cham|pions, that what they call errors, as ju&s;t cau&s;es of their &s;eparation from the Church of <HI>Rome,</HI> are <HI>Catholick</HI> Verities.</P>
<PB N="262" REF="141">
<P><HI>'Tis true</HI> (&s;aith <HI>Whitaker,) what</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Cont. 2. q. 5. c. 7.</NOTE> Calvin <HI>and the</HI> Centuri&s;ts <HI>have writ|ten, that the Ancient Church did err in many things, as touching</HI> Limbo, Free-will, Merit of Works, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P><HI>I confe&s;s</HI> (&s;aith <HI>Tulk</HI>) Hierom,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Riot Bri&s;t. pag. 36.</NOTE> Au&s;tin, Ambro&s;e, <HI>&amp;c. hold the</HI> In|vocation of Saints.</P>
<P><HI>Mo&s;t of the Fathers</HI> (&s;aith <HI>Kemni|tius</HI>)<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exam. Con. Trid. p. 3. p. 2000</NOTE> <HI>did not di&s;pute, but avouch that the Souls of Martyrs heard the Peti|tions of tho&s;e who Prayed to them; they went to the Monuments of Mar|tyrs, and invocated Martyrs by Name.</HI></P>
<P><HI>As long as we &s;tand to Councils and</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">De Noto. Col&punc; 1559.</NOTE> <HI>Fathers, we &s;hall remain always in the &s;ame Errors.</HI> So <HI>Peter Martyr,</HI> Which words being indefinite, may as well involve the Councils and Fa|thers of the fir&s;t 300 years, their ut|mo&s;t refuge in Antiquity, as after&punc; Ages.</P>
<P>But <HI>Whitguift</HI> an <HI>Engli&s;h Prote|&s;tant</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Defen. p. 473.</NOTE> Bi&s;hop, put it out of all doub<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">; for he affirms, <HI>That all the Bi&s;hops and Learned Writers of the</HI> Greek <HI>and</HI> Latin <HI>Church too, for the mo&s;t part</HI>
<PB N="263" REF="141"> <HI>wrre &s;potted with the Doctrines of</HI> Free-will, Merit, Invocation of Saints.</P>
<P><HI>It was a cu&s;tom</HI> (&s;aith <HI>Calvin) 1300 years ago to Pray for the Dead.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">In&s;t. l. 3. c. 5. para. 10.</NOTE> <HI>But all of that time, I confe&s;s, were carried away into Error.</HI> Which computed from the time he writ, mu&s;t of nece&s;&s;ity adulterate the Church in the days of her pre-ac|knowledg'd Purity. And <HI>Dudi|dius</HI> plainly acknowledges to his Brother <HI>Beza, That if it be true</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Apud</HI> Be|zam <HI>Ep. 1</HI></NOTE> <HI>which the Fathers have profe&s;s'd with mutual con&s;ent, 'tis altogether on the</HI> Papi&s;ts <HI>&s;ide.</HI> What can we de&s;ire more, as to the judgment of Anti|quity, for our ju&s;tification?</P>
<P>Thus the&s;e men while they pre|tend only to for&s;ake errors, and re|form Religion, by cloathing the the Church, a new with the &s;nowy garments of primitive purity, con|fe&s;s unawares, enough to condemn them&s;elves out of their own mouths, and flatly give the lye to what they produce for their ju&s;tification. They flee to Antiquity to ab&s;olve them
<PB N="264" REF="142"> from error, and yet accu&s;e the &s;ame Antiquity as erroneous. But while they thus condemn the whole Church, Councils, and Ancient Fa|thers of errors, certainly they could not intend that their own &s;ingle words &s;hould be of any Authority, or de&s;erve to be credited by ra|tional men. Who de&s;ires more &s;a|tisfaction in this particular, I refer him to that mo&s;t excellent Treati&s;e call'd, <HI>The Prote&s;tants Apology for the Catholick Faith;</HI> which in an ar|gument <HI>ad hominem</HI> is unan&s;wer|able, and plainly demon&s;trates that <HI>Prote&s;tants</HI> mu&s;t upon their own grounds either become <HI>Catholicks;</HI> or el&s;e confe&s;s that their Faith and practice is not the Faith and Practice of the Ancient Church. With whom to con&s;ent, is, notwith&s;tanding the Plea of the&s;e men, to defend their &s;eparation from the Church of <HI>Rome</HI> their <HI>Catholick</HI> Mother not to be <HI>Schi&s;matical.</HI></P>
<P>Some therefore &s;eeing their Church not only to totter, but whol|ly to fall, while it pretends to &s;tand
<PB N="265" REF="142"> on the legs of Antiquity, have with greater zeal, though with le&s;s rea|&s;on, invented another way to ju&s;ti|fy their <HI>Schi&s;m;</HI> and will have no Authority at all attributed to the Fathers and Councils, the con&s;tant practice and Tradition of the Church, for deci&s;ion of the pre&s;ent Controver&s;ies; but affirm all things to be uncertain upon that &s;core, though never &s;o plainly and unani|mou&s;ly a&s;&s;erted; and the Sacred Scripture independent on them, mu&s;t be &s;ole judge, and give the deci&s;ive Sentence by it &s;elf. Which po&s;ition (if made &s;peak out,) &s;ays thus much, that &s;ince the Apo&s;tles days there's not one &s;ufficient witne&s;s of what they taught the World to believe and practice as Chri&s;t in&s;tructed them; but that the Doctrine of the Church is to be brought to the touch&s;tone of Scripture by every one in particular, and after exami|nation to be accounted counterfeit or true, accepted or refu&s;ed, as fancy and private rea&s;on &s;hall de|termine. For after the&s;e magnifi|cent
<PB N="266" REF="143"> pretences of their great vene|ration of Sacred Scripture, and de|ferring all to it, this is the up-&s;hot, and their Faith is finally re&s;olv'd in|to no &s;afer Principle. A Po&s;ition &s;o wholly de&s;tructive of the certain|ty of Chri&s;tian belief, &s;o incon&s;i&s;tent with the maje&s;tick gravity of Reli|gion, &s;uch a never&punc; dying <HI>Hydra</HI> of <HI>Schi&s;ms</HI> and <HI>Here&s;ies,</HI> that I know not what can make a &s;urer way for <HI>Athei&s;m</HI> to triumph over the ruines of <HI>Christianity.</HI> And had our Fore-Fathers been of this judgment and practice, doubtle&s;s before this time the Cro&s;s of Chri&s;t had not been the glory, but contempt of Nations.</P>
<P>Be&s;ides, methinks, they cannot but &s;ee, that while they flee to to Scripture as &s;ole Judge in the&s;e Controver&s;ies, and deny all Church Tradition and Atte&s;tation, they thereby take away tho&s;e Sacred Oracles of Divine Truth al&s;o; when 'tis confe&s;s'd by all who can pretend any right to rea&s;on, that there's no po&s;&s;ible way for us to know un|doubtedly what is the Word of God,
<PB N="267" REF="143"> or not, but by the Tradition of the Church.</P>
<P>Moreover, if the written Word mu&s;t be &s;ole Judge, &s;eeing the Scrip|tures them&s;elves &s;end them to the Church, obliging them to &s;tand to her determination in &s;uch Ca&s;es (as is manife&s;t by what hath been &s;aid) are they not confounded upon their own grounds, and mu&s;t obey the Churches deci&s;ive Sentence in all Controver&s;ies of Faith, or el&s;e deny to &s;tand to Scripture? In &s;uch in|extricable waves do they mi&s;erably loo&s;e them&s;elves who ob&s;tinately de|fend &s;o bad a cau&s;e.</P>
<P>But if notwith&s;tanding the&s;e Pa|ralogi&s;ms and &s;elf-contradictions, the Scriptures mu&s;t &s;till be &s;ole Judge in the pre&s;ent controverted points, and they will have them to &s;peak for them again&s;t us; except it be &s;o convincingly, that the Propo&s;itions by the very connexion of terms can|not be denyed without &s;ome impli|cancy, they are in as bad a ca&s;e as they were before. For if the places produced are ju&s;tly lyable to vari|ous
<PB N="268" REF="144"> interpretations, can they think it rea&s;onable that their private glo&s;|&s;es &s;hould be preferred before the publick judgment of the Church, to whom we owe the Scriptures them|&s;elves, and from whom we ought to receive as well the &s;en&s;e of Scrip|ture, when 'tis controverted as we do the Letter? I know in their po|pular di&s;cour&s;es they make fine flou|ri&s;hes, and after a long combat with pretended mon&s;truous errors of the Church of <HI>Rome,</HI> they clap their wings, and crow triumphantly upon their own dunghill, demanding of their deluded Auditory, whether the Church of <HI>Rome</HI> or Scripture is to be believ'd? This is their cu&s;tom, but 'tis not the que&s;tion. For let them produce but one &s;entence out of tho&s;e Sacred Oracles of Truth, that in expre&s;s terms contradicts the Doctrine of the Church of <HI>Rome</HI> in any one controverted point, for which they pretend ju&s;t cau&s;e of &s;e|paration, and it would be &s;omething to the purpo&s;e; but who can ima|gine that <HI>Catholicks</HI> who have taught
<PB N="269" REF="144"> the <HI>Prote&s;tants</HI> that the Scripture is God's word, &s;hould them&s;elves in expre&s;s and po&s;itive terms deny the Doctrine of it.</P>
<P>And therefore &s;eeing the que&s;ti|on is (if Scripture alone was to de|&s;ide the Controver&s;ies) whether the &s;en&s;e and meaning of the <HI>Holy Gho&s;t</HI> in tho&s;e Sacred Writings, is to be taken upon the credit of Eccle&s;ia&s;ti|cal Tradition, or new-born inter|pretations of &s;ome few private men; certainly none, except much over|&s;way'd by pa&s;&s;ion or intere&s;t, can prefer the bare conjectures and pro|babilities of tho&s;e Interpreters be|fore the evidence of &s;uch Authori|ty. E&s;pecially the Scriptures them|&s;elves witne&s;&s;ing, <HI>That things in them</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Pet. 3. 15, 16, 17.</NOTE> <HI>difficult to be under&s;tood, are wre&s;ted by the unlearned and un&s;table to their own de&s;truction.</HI> And the experience of all Ages making it evident, that the Interpretation of Scriptures by private Spirits in a &s;en&s;e contrary to the atte&s;tation and practice of the Church, hath been the very &s;ource and fountain of all <HI>Here&s;ies.</HI> And
<PB N="270" REF="145"> in &s;uch ca&s;es there's no po&s;&s;ible way to be &s;ecured from &s;eduction and fal|ling into errors, but by firmly ad|hering to the Doctrine and Tradi|tion of the Church. <HI>Sine ego, &s;ive quis alius,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>If I, or any other</HI> (&s;aith <HI>Vincentius Lyrinen&s;is) will di&s;|cover the frauds of new-born</HI> Here|ticks, <HI>and &s;hunning their &s;nares abide &s;ound and firm in the right belief, he mu&s;t by the help of God fortify his Faith with a double bullwark; first the Authority of Divine Law, and then the Tradition of the</HI> Catholick <HI>Church. For Sacred Scriptures being lyable to &s;uch variety of Interpretions, that almo&s;t &s;o many men, &s;o many minds;</HI> Novatian, Photinus, Sabel|lius, Donatus, Arius, Apollinaris, Belagius, Ne&s;torius (Lutherans, Cal|vini&s;ts, Prote&s;tants, Anabapti&s;ts, In|dependents, Fanaticks, <HI>&amp;c.) every one pretending the Scriptures to &s;tand for them according to their &s;everal glo&s;&s;es and expo&s;itions, of nece&s;&s;ity to &s;hun the Labyrinths of &s;o many errors, we mu&s;t follow the line of Apo&s;tolical Writings, as handed to us by the
<PB N="271" REF="145"> &s;en&s;e and Tradition of the</HI> Catholick <HI>Church.</HI></P>
<P>And yet if we &s;hould exclude the univer&s;al Tradition of the Church, with the undoubted Te&s;timonies of Councils and Fathers of all Ages (by which <HI>Prote&s;tants</HI> &s;tand con|victed of <HI>Schi&s;m</HI> and <HI>Here&s;ie</HI> beyond all rational contradiction) from ha|ving any thing to do in the deci&s;ion of the&s;e Controver&s;ies, granting all that they de&s;ire, let bare words of Scripture be taken according to the exacte&s;t Critici&s;ms of private rea|&s;on, in the judgement of Learned and Un-intere&s;&s;ed men, and even upon that &s;core tho&s;e Sacred Oracles of Divine Truth will ca&s;t it clearly on the <HI>Catholicks</HI> &s;ide again&s;t our Adver&s;aries. And if they cannot be convinced from them to be <HI>Heretical</HI> in all material points of Faith where|in they differ from us, yet as much as concerns the formal part of <HI>Schi&s;m</HI> and <HI>Here&s;ie,</HI> they &s;tand there|by as manife&s;tly guilty of tho&s;e hai|nous &s;ins as ever any one who &s;epa|rated from the Churches Doctrine
<PB N="272" REF="146"> and Communion; yea, and by <HI>Prote&s;tants</HI> them&s;elves condemn'd for <HI>Hereticks.</HI> But never any place hath been produced by them from the Scriptures again&s;t the Church in the pre&s;ent Controver&s;ies, as to evi|dence her in any one point erro|neous; But <HI>Catholicks</HI> have &s;uffici|ently &s;hown, that by &s;uch endea|vours they have troubled tho&s;e wa|ters of Life with the mud of their corrupted fancies, and by injurious di&s;tortions forced them to &s;peak what never the Holy Gho&s;t in|tended.</P>
<P>What remains therefore, but that <HI>Prote&s;tants</HI> acknowledging them|&s;elves to be a Congregation Fallible and &s;ubject to error in points of Faith, confe&s;s al&s;o that they never afforded a more pregnant demon|&s;tration of their Fallibility, than in a&s;&s;ering the <HI>Catholick</HI> Church to have erred, whereby their &s;epara|tion from her Doctrine and Com|munion might be ju&s;tified.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="4" TYPE="section">
<PB N="273" REF="146">
<HEAD>SECT. IV.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P>Wherein the <HI>Prote&s;tants</HI> Plea, that the <HI>Popes</HI> Univer&s;al Pa|&s;tor&s;hip in an U&s;urpation crept into the Church, and there|fore might, and ought to be for&s;aken, without <HI>Schi&s;m,</HI> is refuted.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>YEt another Plea they have, that the <HI>Popes</HI> Univer&s;al Authority and Primacy over the Church is a meer U&s;urpation and Tyrannical, and con&s;equently to oppo&s;e and ex|pel the exerci&s;e of &s;uch a Power out of <HI>England,</HI> or where ever el&s;e 'tis introduced, cannot be a <HI>Schi&s;m,</HI> but a Godly Reformntion, by re|ducing the Government of the Church to its primitive in&s;titution, as founded by Chri&s;t and his Apo|&s;tles. The&s;e are fine &s;pecious words,
<PB N="274" REF="147"> and will be found nothing el&s;e in their due examination.</P>
<P>For it being of Faith in the <HI>Ca|tholick</HI> Church, that a Primacy or Supreme Jurifdiction in Eccle&s;ia&s;ti|cal matters over the Univer&s;al Body of Chri&s;tianity in St. <HI>Peter</HI> and his Succe&s;&s;ors, (the Bi&s;hops of <HI>Rome</HI>) is of Divine In&s;titution, and main|tain'd by her, as &s;o taught, and practic'd in all Ages; yea, and the <HI>Popes</HI> being in peaceable po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of &s;uch an Authority in <HI>England</HI> for about 1000 years by confe&s;&s;ion of <HI>Protestants</HI> them&s;elves, (being a thing not to be denyed, as notori|ou&s;ly evident from unque&s;tionable Records in Church affairs) to deny &s;uch an Authority to be lawful, and thereupon to withdraw their obe|dience from &s;uch a Government, without any more adoe, declares them <HI>Schi&s;maticks,</HI> unle&s;s fir&s;t by rigorous demon&s;tration they prove it to be a meer u&s;urpation. For 'tis not abus'd Scripture, much le&s;s other Te&s;timonies either ju&s;tly &s;u&s;pected or wre&s;ted to their purpo&s;e, that
<PB N="275" REF="147"> can weigh any thing again&s;t the &s;elf|proof of &s;o long a continued po&s;&s;e&s;|&s;ion; the like to which cannot be &s;hown by any Authority upon Earth, to fortify their right again&s;t oppo&s;ers. I &s;ay, nothing but rigo|rous demon&s;tration will &s;erve their turn in this ca&s;e, which no pre|&s;cription can evacuate.</P>
<P>But when the <HI>Papal</HI> Authority was fir&s;t ca&s;t out of <HI>England,</HI> God knows, they were thinking on other matters; Lu&s;t and Self-intere&s;t had quite blinded the eye of rea&s;on in King <HI>Henry</HI> the <HI>8th.</HI> and his flatte|rers, re&s;olving fir&s;t upon the fact, and then endeavouring to maintain it ju&s;t and lawful. But with &s;uch weak Arguments as may be &s;trong proofs to induce all un-intere&s;ted Souls to believe the contrary; though indeed the &s;trength of our evidence again&s;t them needs no help from the feeblene&s;s of their defences. How|ever thus liberal they are to us a|gain&s;t their wills.</P>
<P>No cau&s;e actually working, can but produce effects corre&s;pondent
<PB N="276" REF="148"> to the nature of its activity&punc; No man can deny this, but he mu&s;t de|ny his rea&s;on. If therefore the <HI>Pope</HI>'s Supremacy over the Univer|&s;al Church was introduced by Ty|ranny and Corruption, 'tis morally impo&s;&s;ible that &s;uch novelty as an univer&s;al U&s;urpation in matters of the highe&s;t concern &s;hould in&s;en&s;ibly creep into the Church without di&s;|covery, and invade the whole Chri|&s;tian World without oppo&s;ition, and this too in producing notori|ou&s;ly vi&s;ible effects, which nece&s;&s;a|rily mu&s;t accompany &s;uch an innova|tion. Doubtle&s;s &s;uch a change in a matter of pretended Divine In&s;ti|tution, would have made a &s;trange clamour and confu&s;ion in the Chri|&s;tian World. One may as well main|tain, that the bloody alterations of Government in our I&s;land, have crept into the Nation, and after the &s;ad mi&s;eries of &s;o long a war leaving behind it evidences to every eye, no man can tell how, or be &s;en&s;ible when, and in what manner tho&s;e grand mutations hap'ned. Yea,
<PB N="277" REF="148"> this might be defended with more &s;how of rea&s;on, tho&s;e alterations being in Temporal matters, acted in a corner of the World, and there|fore more ea&s;ily brought about with le&s;&s;er noi&s;e and better &s;tifled in their birth, that they might not be tran&s;|mitted to po&s;terity, then this u&s;ur|pation in a Spiritual Government, founded by Chri&s;t him&s;elf to conti|nue for ever, over all the Nations of the Earth, in tho&s;e things which concern the eternal Salvation of their Souls.</P>
<P>Tho&s;e reverend Witne&s;&s;es of our Ancient Faith the Holy Fathers, who were &s;o tenacious and careful of Chri&s;tian Cu&s;toms, and the Doctrine once deliver'd to the Saints, that they have exactly ob|&s;erv'd and regi&s;ter'd in the lea&s;t in|novations of Faith or practice which new Teachers would have brought into the Church, and were always more ready to part with their lives than any one point of their Religi|on, would they have quietly &s;uffe|red the Government of the Church
<PB N="278" REF="149"> (the &s;ole Con&s;erver of its Doctrine) in&s;tituted by Chri&s;t him&s;elf to be changed, and not generally com|plain, contradict, oppo&s;e, regi&s;ter and publi&s;h it to the whole World, that they might know it to be a u&s;|urpation, a &s;purious i&s;&s;ue, no plant of our Heavenly Fathers planting, and therefore to be abominated and rooted out? It is incredible, that they who were &s;o eagle-ey'd to ob|&s;erve, and eager to contradict mat|ters of far le&s;s moment; &s;hould in a bu&s;ine&s;s of &s;uch concernment be wholly &s;ilent and betray the Truth. For if they have declar'd the Bi&s;hop of <HI>Rome</HI>'s &s;upreme Power and Juri&s;|diction in Gods Church, as Suc|ce&s;&s;or to St. <HI>Peter</HI> in his Primacy, to be an u&s;urp'd Authority and of humane invention, and as &s;uch op|pos'd it; let them &s;how it out of their Writings, that we may know when, by whom, and by what means 'twas introduced into the Church, &s;o as to invade the whole Body of Chri&s;tianity. And if they cannot, as mo&s;t certainly they can|not,
<PB N="279" REF="149"> (having labour'd in vain to do't for above the&s;e 100 years, and their own differences about the time, when 'twas fir&s;t brought in, being a manife&s;t proof, it can never be a&s;&s;igned, and confe&s;s'd &s;o by the mo&s;t ingenuous among them) &s;eeing 'tis a Government that hath been in quiet po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of the Chri&s;tian World time out of mind, with a belief of its divine in&s;titution, handed as &s;uch to us by Univer&s;al Traditi|on, unle&s;s they will dive&s;t them|&s;elves of rea&s;on, they cannot but acknowledge, that, <HI>ab initio fuit &s;ic,</HI> 'tis as old as Chri&s;tian Religion; and all tho&s;e <HI>Schi&s;maticks</HI> who di&s;|obey &s;o Sacred a Power under the pretence of u&s;urpation.</P>
<P>The Divine Right of the <HI>Pope</HI>'s Supremacy in Spiritual matters be|ing thus vindicated, tho&s;e pretences of a Godly Reformation, and re|ducing Church Government to its Primitive In&s;titution, fall to nothing of them&s;elves; what they call Re|formation being a violent u&s;urpa|tion of anothers right, and upon
<PB N="280" REF="150"> what Motives, is too notorious to be ju&s;tified.</P>
<P>'Twere much to be wi&s;h'd, they would lay to heart how in the late Revolutions by Gods mo&s;t remark|able judgments on them, tho&s;e very weapons which they us'd again&s;t <HI>Papal</HI> Power have been taken up by the <HI>Presbyterians,</HI> to the ruine and extirpation of <HI>Epo&s;copacy</HI> for &s;ome time: And tho&s;e Zealots in the &s;ame &s;ort as hand&s;omely cudgell'd by the <HI>Independants,</HI> all equally pre|tending a Godly Reformation, and reducing Religion to its primitive Purity.</P>
<P>Here I might conclude this Mo|tive of my Conver&s;ion (wherein I have been very large, becau&s;e <HI>Schi&s;m</HI> being a matter of fact is more di&s;cernable by ordinary capacities, than di&s;putes of things more ab|&s;tracted from &s;en&s;e, and con&s;equent|ly it is more ea&s;ie to di&s;cover to all <HI>Seperati&s;ts</HI> the danger of their con|dition, that they may return to <HI>Ca|tholick</HI> unity) e&s;pecially con&s;idering the proof wholly lyes on our Adver|&s;aries
<PB N="281" REF="150"> &s;ide, to demon&s;trate &s;o long a continued Government as the <HI>Pope</HI>'s Primacy over the <HI>Catholick</HI> Church to be a meer Tyrannical U|&s;urpation; or el&s;e to &s;tand unan&s;we|rably convicted of <HI>Schi&s;m</HI> for re|nouncing &s;uch an Authority, evi|denced unto us by Univer&s;al Tra|dition, which is our tenure in points of Faith. However, in that many poor Souls not knowing or not con|&s;idering the &s;trength of univer&s;al practice and immemorial po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion on the <HI>Catholicks</HI> &s;ide, are &s;till &s;e|duced and kept in error by &s;ome places gleaned here and there from Sacred Scripture, and the Writings of Antiquity wre&s;t'd to their purpo&s;e, that they may evidently &s;ee that all &s;uch verbal proofs from dead Letters are made to &s;peak what the Au|thors never intended; I &s;hall, <HI>ex abundante,</HI> to give them all po&s;&s;ible &s;atisfaction in a matter of &s;o great con&s;equence, produce &s;uch clear Te&s;timonies from undoubted Re|cords of Antiquity, &s;peaking the Faith and practice of the primitive
<PB N="282" REF="151"> Church in the point of the <HI>Pope's</HI> Supremacy, to be the &s;ame with the new pre&s;ent Church of <HI>Rome,</HI> that more cannot be required by men of Rea&s;on.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="8" TYPE="section">
<HEAD>SECT. VIII.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P>Wherein the <HI>Pope</HI>'s Univer&s;al Power and Supreme Juri&s;dicti|diction in Gods Church is far|ther manife&s;ted, and made good from <HI>Councils</HI> and the verdict of Ancient Fathers, grounded on Sacred Scriptures.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>WE holding St. <HI>Peter</HI> to be con&s;tituted by Chri&s;t him|&s;elf the Head and Prince of the Apo&s;tles, that is, to have a Supreme Power and Juri&s;diction in Gods Church peculiarly entru&s;ted to him, and the <HI>Pope</HI>'s univer&s;al Pa&s;tor&s;hip
<PB N="283" REF="151"> to be founded on the Primacy of St. <HI>Peter</HI> as his Succe&s;&s;ors; the Te|&s;timonies we are producing, mu&s;t make good too things.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, that the Ancient Church be|lieved St. <HI>Peter</HI> to be Prince of the Apo&s;tles, and Head of the Univer|&s;al Church.</P>
<P>Secondly, the Bi&s;hops of <HI>Rome</HI> &s;ucceed him in that Authority and Juri&s;diction.</P>
<P>Here the Fathers fir&s;t declare their belief in the&s;e particulars. I begin with <HI>Anacletus</HI> Pope and Mar|tyr immediately after the fir&s;t Cen|tury, &s;peaking the very words of the pre&s;ent Church, <HI>Haec Sacro|&s;ancta</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ann. 101. Epi&s;t. 3. ad omnes Epi&s;t.</NOTE> <HI>Romana,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>This Holy, and</HI> Roman, <HI>and Apo&s;tolical Chair hath obtained the Primacy, and eminen|cy of Power over all Churches and the whole Congregation of Chri&s;tian Peo|ple, not from the Apo&s;tles, but from our Lord and Saviour, as he &s;aid to Ble&s;&s;ed</HI> Peter <HI>the Apo&s;tle,</HI> Thou art <HI>Peter,</HI> and upon this rock will I build my Church.</P>
<PB N="284" REF="152">
<P><HI>Julius</HI> the fir&s;t of that Name in the <HI>Roman</HI> Chair, writing to the Bi&s;hops of the <HI>Ea&s;t</HI> in behalf of St. <HI>Athana&s;ius,</HI> that invincible Bull|wark for the <HI>Catholick</HI> Faith again&s;t<NOTE PLACE="marg">Cent. 4. Ep. ad ori. Epi&s;c.</NOTE> the <HI>Arrians,</HI> is no le&s;s expre&s;s and punctual to our purpo&s;e, <HI>Sicut B.</HI> Petrus <HI>Apo&s;tles,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>As Ble&s;sed</HI> Pe|ter <HI>was chief of the Apostles, &s;o the</HI> Roman <HI>Church con&s;ecrated in his Name, by our Lords in&s;titution was fir&s;t and Head of the re&s;t; and all great Churches and A&s;&s;emblies of Bi&s;hops &s;hould have recour&s;e to her as to the Mother Church and Supreme.</HI> I have put the&s;e too together, be|cau&s;e <HI>Popes,</HI> which cannot dero|gate from their Authority, our Ad|ver&s;aries having nothing ju&s;tly to &s;ay again&s;t them.</P>
<P>St. <HI>Irenaeus</HI> &s;urely was no <HI>Prote|&s;tant</HI> in this point; affirming, <HI>The mo&s;t ancient known Church to all men,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">L. 3. cont. haer. c. 13.</NOTE> <HI>founded and e&s;tabli&s;h'd at</HI> Rome <HI>by the two mo&s;t famous Apo&s;tles</HI> Peter <HI>and</HI> Paul, <HI>brought down by &s;ucce&s;&s;ion of Bi&s;hops to his time, to be that Church to which by rea&s;on of its more
<PB N="285" REF="152"> powerful principality, every Church, that is, all the Faithful over the World ought to re&s;ort.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Tertullian</HI> calls St. <HI>Peter, The Rock of the Church, and the Bi&s;hop</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">In prae&s;er. c. 22, 36.</NOTE> <HI>of</HI> Rome <HI>the High Prie&s;t, and Bi&s;hop of Bi&s;hops.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Origen</HI> is clear, <HI>When</HI> (&s;ays he) <HI>the chief charge of feeding Chri&s;ts &s;heep was given to</HI> Peter, <HI>and the</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">In ca. 6. Ep. ad Roma.</NOTE> <HI>Church founded upon him,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>There was required of him the confe&s;&s;ion of no Virtue, but Charity.</HI> Relating to that place in the 21 of St. <HI>John</HI>'s Go&s;pel, where is de&s;cribed, when and how our Ble&s;&s;ed Saviour in|ve&s;ted him with this Supreme Pa&s;tor|&s;hip and Juri&s;diction.</P>
<P><HI>We,</HI> (&s;aith St. <HI>Cyprian,</HI> as the<NOTE PLACE="marg">Epi&s;t. ad Ju</NOTE> mouth of the Church,) <HI>hold</HI> Peter <HI>the Head and Root of the Church,</HI> But that famous place el&s;ewhere is more full and convincing. <HI>The enemy per|ceiving</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">De vnit, Eccle&s;.</NOTE> <HI>his Idols to be for&s;aken, and his Temples to be de&s;erted by the mul|titude of Believers, invented a new deceit to gull the unwary by the name of Chri&s;tian, rai&s;ing</HI> Here&s;ies <HI>and</HI>
<PB N="286" REF="153"> Schi&s;mes <HI>to corrupt Verity and &s;ubvert Faith. This is, O Brethren, becau&s;e we have not recour&s;e to the Origen, nor &s;eek to the Head. Which if we would con&s;ider and examine, there would need no long Treati&s;e, nor many arguments to find out the Truth. Our Lord &s;aid to</HI> Peter, Thou art <HI>Peter,</HI> and upon this rock will I build my Church, and the gates of Hell &s;hall not prevail again&s;t it. <HI>And again, af|ter re&s;urrection, &s;aying,</HI> As my Father &s;ent me, &s;o &s;end I you, <HI>&amp;c. Yet to</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">John 20. 21, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></NOTE> <HI>manife&s;t unity, he con&s;tituted one Chair, and by his Authority he di&s;pos'd the Origen of that &V;nity to begin from one<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">. The re&s;t of the Apo&s;tles were that which</HI> Peter <HI>was, the Primacy was given to</HI> Peter, <HI>that the Church of Christ might appear to be one, and one Chair.</HI></P>
<P>Here are couch'd many things re|markable. Fir&s;t, That all <HI>Hereticks</HI> and <HI>Schi&s;maticks</HI> are not true Mem|bers of the <HI>Catholick</HI> Church, but meer nominal Chri&s;tians.</P>
<P>Secondly, that <HI>Here&s;ie</HI> and <HI>Schi&s;m</HI> in their own nature are as damning
<PB N="287" REF="153"> &s;ins as flat Idolatry, being Satan's new-invented &s;nare<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"> to catch poor Souls, and his utmo&s;t endeavours to keep up his tottering Kingdom after the promulgation of the Go&s;pel to all Nations.</P>
<P>Thirdly, That unwary Souls are only taken by the&s;e ginns of the Enemy, who have not recour&s;e to the Vi&s;ible Head of the Church, in communion with whom Truth is on|ly to be found.</P>
<P>Fourthly, That St. <HI>Peter</HI> is this vi&s;ible Head of the Church, con&s;ti|tuted by Chri&s;t him&s;elf; fir&s;t by Promi&s;e, afterwards by Commi&s;&s;ion. The Promi&s;e, <HI>Thou art</HI> Peter, <HI>and</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. a6.</NOTE> <HI>upon this rock will I build my Church, unto thee will I give the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven.</HI> The Com|mi&s;&s;ion, <HI>Feed my Lambs, feed my</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Joh. 21.</NOTE> <HI>Sheep;</HI> Being words &s;poken to St. <HI>Peter,</HI> and no other Apo&s;tle.</P>
<P>Fifthly, To prevent an Objecti|on, that they were all Apo&s;tles as well as <HI>Peter,</HI> and therefore equal in Authority, he grants they were equal in the Apo&s;tle&s;hip as much as
<PB N="288" REF="154"> concerns an illimited Power and Commi&s;&s;ion to Preach the Go&s;pel to all Nations, and &s;o they were all foundations of the Church. But St. <HI>Peter</HI> in a more peculiar and emi|nent manner was a rock on which the Church was founded, in as much as he was made their Head, and &s;u|preme Pa&s;tor of the Faithful.</P>
<P>To whom St. <HI>Hierom</HI> wholly ac|cords, affirming, <HI>That although all the Apo&s;tles were alike in Apostle&s;hip, yet Chri&s;t for the better keeping of &V;ni|ty</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">L. 1. adv. Jouin. c. 14.</NOTE> <HI>and Truth would have one to be Head of them all; that a Head being once con&s;tituted, occa&s;ion of</HI> Schi&s;m <HI>might be taken away.</HI> Neither is he le&s;s punctual in a&s;&s;erting the Bi&s;hop of <HI>Rome</HI> to &s;ucceed <HI>Peter</HI> in this Primacy, writing thus to Pope <HI>Da|ma&s;us, Ego Beatudini tuae, id e&s;t, Cathedrae</HI> Petri <HI>communione con&s;o|cior,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ep. 57, &amp; 58.</NOTE> &amp;c. <HI>I am joyn'd in Communion with your Holine&s;s, that is, the Chair of</HI> Peter; <HI>I know the Church is built upon that rock; who&s;oever eates the Lamb out of his Family, is a Prophane per&s;on. Who&s;oever is not in</HI> Noah'<HI>s Ark, peri&s;hes in the flood.</HI></P>
<PB N="289" REF="154">
<P>Ask St. <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> his Faith in this<NOTE PLACE="marg">Tract. 56. in Joha.</NOTE> point, and he tells us, <HI>The Primacy among the Apostles by &s;pecial grace is pre-eminent in St.</HI> Peter. And el&s;e|where he calls St. <HI>Peter, The Head</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ep. 86.</NOTE> <HI>of the Apostles, the Gate-keeper of Heaven, and the foundation of the Church.</HI> And what he believ'd con|cerning the Power of his Succe&s;&s;ors is evident by the&s;e words, <HI>Sedenti</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ep. 162.</NOTE> <HI>in Cathedra Romanae Eccle&s;iae,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>The whole Christian World in the tran&s;marine and remote&s;t parts of the Earth, is &s;ubject to him who &s;its in the Chair of the</HI> Roman <HI>Church.</HI></P>
<P>St. <HI>Gregory</HI> al&s;o a&s;&s;ures us, that he knows no Bi&s;hop but is &s;ubject to the See Apo&s;tolick. <HI>And that the care and Principality of the Church</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">L. 4. Epi&s;t 32. Ep. ad Maurit.</NOTE> <HI>hath been committed to St.</HI> Peter <HI>the Prince of the Apo&s;tles, and yet he is not called &V;niver&s;al Apostle.</HI> That is, as if there was no other Apo&s;tle but He. Thus vindicating the &s;u|preme juri&s;diction and Primacy of the <HI>Roman</HI> Bi&s;hop as St: <HI>Peter</HI>'s Suc|ce&s;&s;or again&s;t <HI>John</HI> the proud Patri|arch of <HI>Con&s;tantinople,</HI> arrogating to
<PB N="290" REF="155"> him&s;elf the Title of Univer&s;al Bi&s;hop in a &s;en&s;e contrary to the Doctrine and practice of the <HI>Catholick</HI> Church.</P>
<P>To cite more at large would be tedious; but to the&s;e might be ad|ded the Epi&s;tle of St. <HI>Marcellus</HI> Pope and Martyr to the Bi&s;hops of the Province of <HI>Antioch,</HI> concer|ning the Primacy of the Chair of <HI>Rome. Leo</HI> the great <HI>Ser. 3. Anniu. A&s;&s;ump. &amp; Ser. 2. in Nat. S.</HI> Petri. <HI>&amp; Epi&s;t.</HI> 89. <HI>S.</HI> Athana. <HI>Ep. ad Fae|licem. S.</HI> Ambr. <HI>in ca. 2. ad Galatas. &amp; l. 6. ad</HI> Lucam <HI>c: 2. S.</HI> Epipha. <HI>haer. 51. S.</HI> Chry&s;o&s;t. <HI>Hom. 55. in Matt. Optatus Milevit. l. 2. cont. Parm.</HI> Fulgentius <HI>de Incar. &amp; gratia c. 11. Pro&s;p. l. 2. de Voca. Gentium ca.</HI> 6. Eu&s;eb. <HI>Ep. 3. Campaniae,</HI> &amp;c. And many others, but the&s;e may &s;uffice.</P>
<P>This harmony we find among the Ancient Fathers concerning the &s;u|preme Pa&s;tor&s;hip and Juri&s;diction of St. <HI>Peter</HI> and his Succe&s;&s;ors the Bi&s;hops of <HI>Rome,</HI> while they &s;peak &s;everally in their Writings. Let us now hear them &s;peak united in Ge|neral Councils, the mo&s;t Sacred and
<PB N="291" REF="155"> Supreme Judicature that is on Earth in things that concern our Eternal Happinefs.</P>
<P>The General Council at <HI>Florence</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ann. Ch. 1234.</NOTE> declares the Faith of the <HI>Catholick</HI> Church in the&s;e words, <HI>Definimus S. Apostolicam Sedem,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>We de|fine that the Holy Apo&s;tolick Chair and</HI> Pope <HI>of</HI> Rome, <HI>hath Primacy over the whole World; and that the &s;aid</HI> Pope <HI>of</HI> Rome <HI>is Succe&s;&s;or to S.</HI> Peter <HI>Prince of the Apostles, and true Vicar of Christ, and Head of the &V;niver&s;al Church, and Father and Pastor of all Christians; and that full Power was given to B.</HI> Peter <HI>by our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t to feed, rule and govern the &V;niver&s;al Church, as is contain'd in the Sacred Canons of Oecumenical Councils.</HI> Which though celebrated but 400 years &s;ince and upwards, yet I fir&s;t produced it, becau&s;e not only &s;ub&s;cribed by the <HI>Latine</HI> Fathers, but by the <HI>Greek</HI> Church al&s;o, and taken out of more Ancient Councils, as the words ex|pre&s;s, and former Acts make good.</P>
<PB N="292" REF="156">
<P>For in the fir&s;t General Council<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ann. Ch. 325.</NOTE> at <HI>Nicaea,</HI> &s;o famous for Anathema|tizing the <HI>Arrian Here&s;ie,</HI> it was de|fined, <HI>That who holds the See of</HI> Rome <HI>is the Head and Chief of the Patriarchs, &s;eeing he's the first, as</HI> Peter <HI>to whom Power is given over all Christian Princes, and all their People, as he who is Vicar of Chri&s;t our Lord over all People and the &V;ni|ver&s;al Church of Chri&s;t.</HI></P>
<P>The General Council of <HI>Chalceden</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ann. Ch. 451. Acti. 16.</NOTE> con&s;i&s;ting of above 600 Fathers, after mature deliberation, declare, <HI>That all Primacy and Chief Honour, according to the Canons, is to be kept for the Archbi&s;hop of old</HI> Rome. Which is not &s;o to be under&s;tood, as if the Sacred Con&s;titutions of Gene|ral Councils fir&s;t gave this Supreme Authority to the <HI>Roman</HI> Bi&s;hop, but upon &s;everal occa&s;ions the Councils defin'd this Supremacy of Juri&s;dicti|on to belong of right to the Bi&s;hop of <HI>Rome</HI> by Divine In&s;titution. El&s;e how could the &s;ixth Canon of the fir&s;t General <HI>Nicene</HI> Council &s;ay, <HI>Eccle&s;ia Romana &s;emper habuit pri|matum,
<PB N="293" REF="156"> The Church of</HI> Rome <HI>always had the Primacy.</HI> And by what te|nure &s;he held it in their judgments, is manife&s;ted in the Preface of the &s;aid Council in the&s;e words, <HI>Eccle|&s;ia Romana,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>The Church of</HI> Rome <HI>by no Synodical Decrees was &s;et over the re&s;t, but by the Evangelical voice of our Lord and Saviour obtain'd the Primacy.</HI> And in the &s;econd Se&s;|&s;ion of this Council of <HI>Chalcedon,</HI> after the Epi&s;tle of <HI>Leo</HI> the great then <HI>Pope</HI> to the Fathers was pub|lickly read, confirming the <HI>Nicene Creed</HI> again&s;t the <HI>Arrians,</HI> there aro&s;e an unanimous acclamation, <HI>Haec Patrum fides Apo&s;tolorum fi|des,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>This Faith of the Fathers is the Faith of the Apo&s;tles, we all be|lieve &s;o, all Orthodoxal believe &s;o; let him be accur&s;ed who believes not &s;o.</HI> Peter <HI>hath &s;poke by</HI> Leo, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> Which la&s;t words &s;ignify nothing, if they had not believ'd <HI>Leo</HI> then Bi&s;hop of the <HI>Roman</HI> and Apo&s;tolical Chair to &s;ucceed St. <HI>Peter</HI> in his Faith and Juri&s;diction. I am &s;ure the &s;ame <HI>Leo</HI> believed &s;o, when he tells us,
<PB N="294" REF="157"> <HI>That our Ble&s;sed Saviour &s;aid only to</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ser. 3. An|niu. A&s;&s;ump.</NOTE> <HI>St.</HI> Peter, <HI>I have prayed for thee that thy Faith fail not. And cho&s;e him alone of all the World to be &s;et over the vocation of all Nations, and all the Apo&s;tles, and all the Fathers of the Church, by a peculiar Commi&s;&s;ion to feed and govern his whole flock.</HI></P>
<P>Be&s;ides, in the third Se&s;&s;ion they &s;tile him, <HI>&V;niver&s;al Archbi&s;hop and Patriarch of old</HI> Rome; and after|wards give &s;entence again&s;t <HI>Dio&s;o|rus</HI> in the name of <HI>Leo</HI> and St. <HI>Peter,</HI> to acknowledge and te&s;tify thereby that they believ'd him to &s;ucceed St. <HI>Peter</HI> in his Univer&s;al Pa&s;tor&s;hip. Which Title of Univer&s;al Bi&s;hop, though St. <HI>Gregory</HI> the great out of Humility refu&s;es, as not u&s;ed by his Predece&s;&s;ors, and bitterly inveighs again&s;t it in that &s;en&s;e, the then Pa|triarch of <HI>Con&s;tantinople</HI> did proudly arrogate it to him&s;elf: Yet 'tis mo&s;t certain and evident from the &s;ame Epi&s;tles, he did maintain it to belong by Divine right to the Bi&s;hops of<NOTE PLACE="marg">L 4. Ep. Ep. 31, 34. L. 7. Epi&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">. 30.</NOTE> <HI>Rome</HI> as St. <HI>Peter</HI>'s Succe&s;&s;ors, that very Supremacy and Juri&s;diction in
<PB N="295" REF="157"> Gods Church, which all <HI>Catholicks</HI> now attribute to the Apo&s;tolical Chair. And whoever confe&s;&s;es the thing, we will not quarrel with him about the Name. If our Adver&s;a|ries will a&s;&s;ert with St. <HI>Gregory, That the care of the whole Church is</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">L. 4. Ep. Ep. 32. L. 11. ca. 54. L. 7. Ep. Ep. 63.</NOTE> <HI>committed by our Lord him&s;elf to</HI> Pe|ter <HI>the Prince of the Apo&s;tles. That the</HI> Roman <HI>and Apo&s;tolical See is Head of all Churches. That all Bi&s;hops found in fault are &s;ubject to it:</HI> We &s;hall not much pre&s;s him to call the <HI>Pope</HI> of <HI>Rome</HI> Univer&s;al Bi&s;hop; neither ought he in that &s;en&s;e which St. <HI>Gregory</HI> condemned. And in|deed the u&s;ual &s;tile of the Church is not to call the <HI>Pope</HI> Univer&s;al Bi&s;hop, but Bi&s;hop of the Univer&s;al Church.</P>
<P>More may be &s;een to this point in the Letters of the &s;aid Council to the &s;ame Glorious Pope <HI>Leo.</HI> And in the fir&s;t Act of the Council of <HI>Con&s;tantinople</HI> under <HI>Menas,</HI> they addre&s;s them&s;elves to <HI>Pope Agapetus</HI> in the&s;e words, <HI>To our mo&s;t Holy and mo&s;t Ble&s;&s;ed Lord Archbi&s;hop of old</HI> Rome&punc; <HI>and Oecumenical Bi&s;hop.</HI> To
<PB N="296" REF="158"> which may be added <HI>Conc.</HI> Sardi|cen&s;e <HI>Gener. ca. 3. Synod.</HI> Rom. <HI>&s;ub</HI> Sylve&s;tro <HI>ca. 20. Conc.</HI> Tolet. 1 <HI>&s;ub finem a&s;sertionis fidei. Conc.</HI> Milet. <HI>ad</HI> Innocent. <HI>Papam, eju&s;&abque; re&s;pon|&s;um, Conc.</HI> Turon. <HI>ca. 21. Conc.</HI> Afric. <HI>ca. 15. ad Papam,</HI> Cele&s;tinum, <HI>Syno.</HI> Rom. 4. <HI>ca. 3. Conc.</HI> Bracan&s;e <HI>primum ca. 23. Conc.</HI> Aurelian 4. <HI>ca. 1. &amp;c.</HI> with many more, which none ver'&s;t in the Acts of <HI>Eccle&s;ia&s;tical</HI> Synods can be ignorant of; and the&s;e may &s;uffice being &s;o full and punctual to the purpo&s;e.</P>
<P>If to the&s;e Te&s;timonies &s;o unde|niably a&s;&s;erting the <HI>Popes</HI> Suprema|cy over the whole Church we &s;hould add univer&s;al practice, which from undoubted Records would appear by the <HI>Popes</HI> calling of General Councils, pre&s;iding in them per&s;o|nally, or by their Legates, confir|ming their Acts; by Appeals to the Apo&s;tolical Chair from all parts of the Chri&s;tian World in Eccle&s;ia&s;tical Cau&s;es, by determining Contro|ver&s;ies, reforming Abu&s;es, by inve|&s;titure of Bi&s;hops, Depo&s;itions, Cen|&s;ures,
<PB N="297" REF="158"> erecting new Sees, Conver|&s;ion of Nations by Apo&s;tolical<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ann. Ch. 596.</NOTE> men, and in particular of our Na|tion by St. <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> and his Fellow Monks &s;ent hither by St. <HI>Gregory</HI> the Great, and in a word, by their Au|thoritative ordering and care over all the Churches of the Chri&s;tian world; the pro&s;ecution of the&s;e par|ticulars would &s;well whole Volumes, and therefore not here to be under|taken. But by what has been &s;aid 'tis apparently manife&s;t that our Ad|ver&s;aries herein cannot be of a diffe|rent Faith from us, but they mu&s;t al&s;o for&s;ake the Ancient Church.</P>
<P>Now the places a Sacred Writ by which the Ancient Fathers u&s;ual|ly prove their Belief in this point, are principally two; our Saviours<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 16. 18.</NOTE> words to St. <HI>Peter, I &s;ay unto thee, thou art</HI> Peter, <HI>and upon this Rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hell &s;hall not prevail again&s;t it: And I will give unto thee the Keyes of the Kingdom of Heaven,</HI> &amp;c. The other <HI>John</HI> the 21. 15, 16, 17. ver&s;es, <HI>Je&s;us &s;aid to</HI> Simon Peter, Simon
<PB N="298" REF="159"> <HI>Son of</HI> Jona, <HI>love&s;t thou me more then the&s;e? He &s;aid unto him, yea Lord, thou knowe&s;t that I love thee. He &s;aid unto him, feed my Lambs. He &s;aid to him the &s;econd time,</HI> Simon <HI>Son of</HI> Jona <HI>lovest thou me? He &s;aid to him, yea Lord, thou knowe&s;t that I love thee. He &s;aid to him again, feed my Lambs. Hee &s;aith to him the third time,</HI> Simon <HI>Son of</HI> Jonas, <HI>love&s;t thou me?</HI> Peter <HI>was &s;orry that he &s;aid un|to him the third time, love&s;t thou me? and &s;aid unto him, Lord thou know|e&s;t all things, thou knowe&s;t that I love thee. Je&s;us &s;aid unto him, feed my Sheep.</HI> The&s;e I &s;ay, are the principal Scriptures which the Ancient Fa|thers make u&s;e of to prove St. <HI>Pe|ters</HI> &s;upreme Juri&s;diction in Gods Church, and his Succe&s;&s;ors the Bi&s;hops of <HI>Rome;</HI> as may be &s;een by mo&s;t of the Te&s;timonies before alleadged, and might be &s;hown by many more. I &s;hall produce but two or three.</P>
<P><HI>Ecce clavis regni caelestis,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>Be|hold,</HI> Peter <HI>received the Keyes of the Kingdom of Heaven, power of bind|ing
<PB N="299" REF="159"> and loo&s;ing is given to him: The care and government of the whole Church is committed to him;</HI> Are<NOTE PLACE="marg">L. 4. Ep. Ep. 32.</NOTE> St. <HI>Gregory</HI>'s words relating to the&s;e Texts, and vindicating the Primacy of St. <HI>Peter</HI> and his Succe&s;&s;ors the Popes of <HI>Rome;</HI> as may be &s;een at large in his Epi&s;tle to the Emperor <HI>Maritius.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Petra dicitur Petrus,</HI> &amp;c. Peter<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ser. 47.</NOTE> <HI>is called a rock,</HI> &s;aith St. <HI>Ambro&s;e, becau&s;e as a stone immoveable he bears up the compacted body of the whole Chri&s;tian Fabrick.</HI> Though 'tis not denyed but the Ancient Fathers &s;ometimes take this rock to be St. <HI>Peter</HI>'s Faith, whereof he had then newly made confe&s;&s;ion; however more unanimou&s;ly they expound this Rock to be St. <HI>Peter</HI>'s Per&s;on as Head and Pa&s;tor of all the Faithful. But never under&s;tood it of St. <HI>Pe|ter</HI>'s Faith as &s;eparated from his per|&s;on. So the <HI>Rhemi&s;h Te&s;tament, Ma|donate,</HI> &amp;c. upon the place do a&s;&s;ure us.</P>
<P>As for the Text in St. <HI>John</HI> hear<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Dr <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 word">. S.</HI> J<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="4 letters"></NOTE> <HI>Eu&s;ebius Emi&s;senus</HI> expound it, <HI>Our
<PB N="300" REF="160"> Lord first committed his Lambs, and then his Sheep to</HI> Peter, <HI>becau&s;e he made him not only a Pa&s;tor, but the Pa&s;tor of Pa&s;tors. He's therefore the Pa&s;tor of all, for be&s;ides Lambs and Sheep there's nothing in the Church.</HI> And though <HI>Prote&s;tants</HI> will not &s;ee it, yet St. <HI>Gregory</HI> &s;ays, <HI>'Tis plain to all that read the Go&s;pel, that from our Lords own mouth the charge of the whole Church was deliver'd to</HI> Pe|ter <HI>Prince of the Apo&s;tles.</HI> In&s;omuch that as <HI>Maldonate</HI> hath ob&s;erv'd up|on the place, there was never any Father, <HI>Greek</HI> or <HI>Latine,</HI> who ever under&s;tood or expounded it in a contrary &s;en&s;e.</P>
<P>So then Scripture-grounds the Ancient Fathers had for their belief in this point. Upon which Scrip|tures notwith&s;tanding they did not rely as barely con&s;ider'd in them|&s;elves, but as &s;o expounded by the univer&s;al Practice and Tradition of the Church, the only Infallible In|terpreter of the written Word, and unerring Rule of <HI>Catholick</HI> Faith. Which being apply'd to the&s;e Sa|cred
<PB N="301" REF="160"> Texts, make them &s;peak clear|ly our belief to any Impartial under|&s;tanding; and therefore con&s;idering the Fathers Faith and practice, they could not be lyable from them to other Interpretations. Of which this is a manife&s;t Argument, in that they fir&s;t of all began to expound them otherwi&s;e, who deny St. <HI>Peter</HI>'s and the <HI>Pope</HI>'s Supremacy.</P>
<P>Which yet they cannot do with|out much injury to the Sacred Texts upon their own grounds. For if, ab&s;tracted from Church-tradition and practice, they be with all their circum&s;tances impartially weighed in the ballance of rea&s;on, they very much declare a peculiar power in|tru&s;ted to St. <HI>Peter</HI> in the Oecono|my of the Church, not at all im|parted to the re&s;t of the Apo&s;tles.</P>
<P>For here's a promi&s;e of the Keyes of the Kingdom of Heaven made to St. <HI>Peter</HI> alone, though the re&s;t were pre&s;ent; <HI>I will give unto thee the Keyes of the Kingdom of Heaven; and what&s;oever thou &s;halt bind,</HI> &amp;c. And this &s;ingular promi&s;e is u&s;her'd
<PB N="302" REF="161"> in with &s;ingular circum&s;tances, all relating &s;olely to St. <HI>Peter.</HI> For up|on our Saviours interrogation, <HI>Pe|ter</HI> making an expre&s;s Confe&s;&s;ion of his Faith in the&s;e words, <HI>Thou art Chri&s;t the Son of the living God;</HI> our Lord gives him in particular a &s;o|lemn Benediction, &s;aying, <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed art thou</HI> Simon Bar-Jona, <HI>and I &s;ay unto thee, thou art</HI> Peter, Et &s;upra hanc <HI>Petram,</HI> alluding to his name (the very name our Ble&s;&s;ed Saviour gave him when he cho&s;e him to be an Apo&s;tle; and 'tis remarkable, that<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Joh. 42.</NOTE> having immediately before called him <HI>Simon,</HI> he now calls him <HI>Peter,</HI> which &s;ignifies a <HI>Rock,</HI> of which no rea&s;on can well be given, but that the allu&s;ion to this name of his by the next words might let him and the re&s;t under&s;tand, that he was the per|&s;on de&s;ign'd, upon whom, as upon a Rock, the Church &s;hould be foun|ded in a peculiar manner) <HI>and upon this Rock will I build my Church.</HI> And then follows, <HI>I will give unto thee the Keyes of the Kingdom of Hea|ven,</HI> &amp;c. Now put them together,
<PB N="303" REF="161"> and &s;um them up, <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed art thou</HI> Simon; <HI>I &s;ay unto thee thou art</HI> Peter, Et &s;uper hanc <HI>Petram, I will build my Church, I will give unto thee the Keyes,</HI> &amp;c. Doubtle&s;s all the&s;e par|ticularities concerning <HI>Peter,</HI> and none el&s;e of the Apo&s;tles, though all were pre&s;ent, mu&s;t in all rea&s;on a|mount to thus much, <HI>That St:</HI> Peter <HI>was to be inve&s;ted with &s;ome eminent Authority over all the re&s;t.</HI></P>
<P>And as St. <HI>Peter</HI> had good grounds from the&s;e particularizing circum&s;tances &s;olely, relating to him&s;elf, upon &s;o &s;olemn a promi&s;e, to believe and expect that it would be fullfill'd, when the time de&s;ign'd for it by Divine Wi&s;dom was fully come, by the collation of &s;ome ex|traordinary power peculiar to him|&s;elf:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Joh. 21.</NOTE> So we find in the other fore|quoted Texts, that Truth it &s;elf was as good as his word, expre&s;ly and by name intru&s;ting to St. <HI>Peter</HI> the Charge and Government of the Univer&s;al Church, by a Commi&s;&s;ion repeated thrice, for the greater cer|tainty that the promi&s;e before made,
<PB N="304" REF="162"> was hereby fullfill'd; and withall to leave a greater impre&s;&s;ion in his mind of the dignity and difficulty of the Supreme Office and Pa&s;tor|&s;hip, wherewith he only now actu|ally was inve&s;ted.</P>
<P>'Tis frivolous to &s;ay they are but admonitory expre&s;&s;ions to mind St. <HI>Peter</HI> of his duty in doing the work of an Apo&s;tle, when the words car|ry as much in their face, an Autho|ritative Commi&s;&s;ion, as; <HI>Go teach all Nations,</HI> &s;poken el&s;ewhere to all the Apo&s;tles. Let them give any con|vincing rea&s;on why, <HI>Feed my Lambs, Feed my Sheep,</HI> &s;poken by the foun|tain of all Juri&s;diction to an Apo&s;tle, &s;hould not be an Authoritative Com|mi&s;&s;ion, as well as, <HI>Go teach all Na|tions?</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Matt. 28:</NOTE> Be&s;ides, had they only been admonitory words to excite St. <HI>Pe|ter</HI> to the work of his Apo&s;tle&s;hip, they would have been as nece&s;&s;ary to have been &s;poken to all the re&s;t as to him, who were equally Apo|&s;tles with him; and therefore not now minded of their duty, becau&s;e afterwards they were all to receive
<PB N="305" REF="162"> power from above by the de&s;cent of the Holy Gho&s;t upon them, for the performance of that great and glo|rious work.</P>
<P>So then being a Commi&s;&s;ion, and only given to St. <HI>Peter,</HI> it mu&s;t ne|ce&s;&s;arily follow, that he was thereby inve&s;ted with &s;ome Spiritual Autho|rity which the other Apo&s;tles had not, though all Apo&s;tles. And the que&s;tion put to St. <HI>Peter</HI> by our Ble&s;&s;ed Saviour immediately before the words of his Commi&s;&s;ion, have no &s;mall influence to prove a Supe|riority of Power to be in&s;tated up|on Him above the re&s;t. For being asked, Simon <HI>Son of</HI> Jonas <HI>love&s;t thou me more than the&s;e?</HI> Tho&s;e words of command <HI>Feed my Lambs, Feed my Sheep,</HI> do not corre&s;pond, nor are at all emphatical, as what follows relates to them, if thereby no Au|thority more, or above the re&s;t, was not imparted to him as a re|ward of his extraordinary affection, in that he loved our Lord and Savi|our more then the re&s;t of the Apo|&s;tles. Moreover, in &s;hort, as St. <HI>Pe|ter</HI>
<PB N="306" REF="163"> did profe&s;s his Faith before the re&s;t, when this &s;upreme Authority was promi&s;s'd to him, &s;o now our Saviour would have him profe&s;s his love e&s;pecially above the re&s;t, when he conferr'd upon him this Juri&s;|diction.</P>
<P>Thus if the&s;e places be expoun|ded according to the light of pre|&s;ent circum&s;tances, in all rea&s;on Scripture makes for a Supremacy in <HI>Peter</HI> above the re&s;t of the Apo&s;tles. And (as hath been &s;hown) the An|cient Fathers from the&s;e Texts una|nimou&s;ly a&s;&s;ert, <HI>That the Church was in a &s;pecial manner founded on</HI> St. <HI>Peter, in being con&s;tituted &V;ni|ver&s;al Head and Pa&s;tor of it.</HI> To which if we add the voice of the pre&s;ent Church atte&s;ting it to be a Univer&s;al Tradition, handed to her as &s;uch from Age to Age, the uner|ring Rule of <HI>Catholick</HI> Faith, it a|mounts to an Infallible certainty, and puts the que&s;tion out of all que&s;tion and further di&s;pute. And how un|&s;afe it is, and dangerous, to for&s;ake the direct Texts of Scripture, the
<PB N="307" REF="163"> the con&s;tant interpretations of the Ancient Fathers, and the con&s;ent of the whole Chri&s;tian World, in matters of the highe&s;t concernment, and to rely upon the bare Autho|rity of private and new&punc; invented glo&s;&s;es of a few intere&s;&s;ed and con|fe&s;&s;edly Fallible Doctors, or our own more vain pre&s;umptions, let any &s;ober-minded man be judge.</P>
<P>And whether the <HI>Prote&s;tant</HI> Church of <HI>England</HI> in &s;eparating from her <HI>Catholick</HI> Mother, the Church of <HI>Rome,</HI> can po&s;&s;ibly be upheld from falling into formal and notorious <HI>Schi&s;m,</HI> leaning only on &s;uch un&s;table grounds.</P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="motive">
<PB N="308" REF="164">
<HEAD>The fourth Motive.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P>That the many <HI>Miracles</HI> God hath ben plea&s;ed to work in the <HI>Roman Catholick</HI> Church, and &s;till continues to do more or le&s;s; and in no other Communion divided from her, are manife&s;t proofs that &s;he's the true Church: And tho&s;e <HI>Miracles</HI> which in a &s;pe|cial manner regard &s;ome Doctrines denyed by <HI>Prote|&s;tants</HI> to come from God, are Divine Te&s;timonies that the &s;aid Doctrines are as well Heavenly Truths as others, taught by the Church, are confe&s;s'd to be &s;o.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<DIV2 N="1" TYPE="section">
<PB N="309" REF="164">
<HEAD>SECT. I.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P>A Preliminary Di&s;cour&s;e.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>IT being manife&s;t by what hath been di&s;cu&s;s'd in the precedent <HI>Motive,</HI> that the <HI>Prote&s;tant</HI> Church of <HI>England</HI> is undeniably guilty of <HI>Here&s;ie</HI> and <HI>Schi&s;m</HI> in a high manner, by their wilful &s;eparation from the Church of <HI>Rome</HI> in Faith and Go|vernment; and thereupon the univer|&s;ality and perpetual vi&s;ibility of the true Church by a never interrupted Succe&s;&s;ion of Believers, teaching and practi&s;ing the &s;ame Faith and Wor|&s;hip from the Apo&s;tles to the&s;e pre|&s;ent days, have been in &s;ome &s;ort handled as points co-incident and con-natural; I &s;hall not make any large di&s;cour&s;e of them &s;everally, though they did not a little contri|bute to my Conver&s;ion, but contract their &s;trength into one Syllogi&s;m; and &s;o proceed to &s;how what effica|cy
<PB N="310" REF="165"> Miracles wrought in the <HI>Catho|lick</HI> Church, for vi&s;ible confirmation of her Faith and Wor&s;hip to come from Heaven, ought to have up|on our Adver&s;aries, to reduce them to the bo&s;om of that Chuch they have for&s;aken. The Argu|ment runs thus.</P>
<P>The true Church of Chri&s;t hath Univer&s;ality, perpetual vi&s;ibility, and Succe&s;&s;ion of Pa&s;tors and People, from Chri&s;t and his Apo&s;tles to this time, and &s;o to continue to the Worlds end, in&s;eparably annexed to it.</P>
<P>But no <HI>Schi&s;matical</HI> or <HI>Heretical</HI> Communion of Chri&s;tians can po&s;|&s;ibly be univer&s;al, or have a perpe|tual vi&s;ibility and Succe&s;&s;ion of Be|lievers in tho&s;e points which con&s;ti|tute them a di&s;tinct Communion from the <HI>Catholick</HI> Church, of which they were Members before their &s;e|paration.</P>
<P>Therefore no <HI>Schi&s;matical</HI> or <HI>He|retical</HI> Communion of Chri&s;tians can be the true Church of Chri&s;t.</P>
<PB N="311" REF="165">
<P>That the Minor, or &s;econd pro|po&s;ition belongs to the <HI>Prote&s;tant</HI> Church of <HI>England,</HI> is manife&s;t from the former <HI>Motive,</HI> where 'twas evidenced to be <HI>Schi&s;matical</HI> and <HI>Heretical;</HI> which once prov'd con|cerning any Communion of Chri|&s;tians, 'tis implicatory in <HI>ip&s;is terminis</HI> to &s;ay, that 'tis, or can be univer&s;al vi&s;ibly Succe&s;&s;ive from Chri&s;t and his Apo&s;tles to this time; being all one as to a&s;&s;ert, <HI>That it was founded by Chri&s;t and his Apo&s;tles, and yet began afterwards by a voluntary &s;epa|ration from the true Church &s;o founded;</HI> (which is the E&s;&s;ence of <HI>Schi&s;m) and that they were a Congregation Believing, Ordaining, Preaching and Admini&s;tring Sacraments, before they had a Beeing in the World: That is, they were, and were not at the &s;ame time.</HI></P>
<P>The Major, or fir&s;t Propo&s;ition, is manife&s;ted from Scriptures and Fa|thers briefly thus.</P>
<P>From St. <HI>Matthew, Behold, I am</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 28. 20.</NOTE> <HI>with you always, even to the end of Word.</HI> From St. <HI>Luke, He &s;hall reign</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 1. 33&punc;</NOTE>
<PB N="312" REF="166"> <HI>in the hou&s;e of</HI> Jacob <HI>for ever, and of his Kingdom there &s;hall be no end.</HI> From St. <HI>John, The Comforter, the</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>St.</HI> John 14. 16, 17.</NOTE> <HI>Spirit of Truth &s;hall abide with you forever.</HI> From the promi&s;e of God, <HI>All Nations &s;hall flow unto it.</HI> From<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 2. 2.</NOTE> the Commi&s;&s;ion of Chri&s;t, <HI>Go teach</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 28.</NOTE> <HI>all Nations.</HI> Which clearly demon|&s;trate the Church of Chri&s;t, from its fir&s;t foundation to be <HI>Catholick,</HI> both in re&s;pect of Time and Place,</P>
<P>This al&s;o is the Doctrine of the Fathers. <HI>'Tis only the</HI> Catholick<NOTE PLACE="marg">L. 1. ca. ult.</NOTE> <HI>Church hath the true Wor&s;hip and Ser|vice of God,</HI> &s;aith <HI>Lactantius. Let</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Praefa. in l. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="4 letters">ar.</NOTE> <HI>the Doctrine of the Church be kept</HI> (&s;aith <HI>Origen) which is deliver'd from the Apo&s;tles by order of &s;ucce&s;&s;ion, and remains in the Church to this very day.</HI> See more in <HI>Iren.</HI> l. 1 c. 3. St. <HI>Aug. Ser. 131. &amp; 181. de Temp. de &V;nit. Eccl. c. 2. Tert. contra</HI> Judaeos.</P>
<P>For the perpetual vi&s;ibility of the true Church in an un-interrupted Succe&s;&s;ion of lawful Pa&s;tors and true Doctrine, Scripture is very co|pious. I &s;hall name a few. <HI>A City
<PB N="313" REF="166"> &s;eated on a Hill cannot be hid. The</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 5. 14. I&s;. 2. 2. P&s;al. 18.</NOTE> <HI>mountain of the hou&s;e of our Lord &s;hall be prepared on the top of mountains.</HI> In &s;ole po&s;uit tabernaculum &s;uum;<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a 59. 21.</NOTE> <HI>My Spirit which is thee, and my words which I have put into thy mouth, &s;hall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy Seed for ever. All</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Dan. 7. 13, 14.</NOTE> <HI>Nations, Tribes, and Tongues &s;hall &s;erve him, his power is an eternal power that &s;hall not be taken away, and his kingdom &s;hall not be corrup|ted. Thou art</HI> Peter, <HI>and upon this</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 16.</NOTE> <HI>Rock will I build my Church, and the gates of Hell &s;hall not prevail again&s;t it. Chri&s;t gave &s;ome Apo&s;tles, &s;ome</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 4. 11 <HI>&amp;c.</HI></NOTE> <HI>Prophets, &s;ome Evangelists, &s;ome Pa&s;tors, &s;ome Doctors, for the per|fecting of the Saints, for the work of the Mini&s;try, for the edification of the Body of Christ,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>'Till we all meet in the unity of Faith, and be not as Children to&s;s'd about with the wind of every Doctrine.</HI> See more in <HI>E&s;a. 62: Ezek. 37. Matt.</HI> 5. 15. &amp;c.</P>
<P>From which, and &s;uch like places, this Major Propo&s;ition is evident. As al&s;o from Antiquity, <HI>We must
<PB N="314" REF="167"> &s;eek for Truth among whom the Suc|ce&s;&s;ion</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">L. 4. de hae: c. 45.</NOTE> <HI>of the Church from the Apo&s;tles, and the Purity of Doctrine is main|tain'd in its Integrity,</HI> So St. <HI>Iraeneus. What I believe</HI> (&s;ays <HI>Tertullian) I re|ceived</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">L. de prae&s;c. c. 37.</NOTE> <HI>from the pre&s;ent Church, the pre&s;ent Church from the Primitive, that from the Apo&s;tles, the Apostles from Christ.</HI> And St. <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> tells us, <HI>That the &s;ucce&s;&s;ion of Prie&s;ts from the</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Contr. Ep. Fund. c. 4.</NOTE> <HI>very &s;eat of</HI> Peter <HI>to the pre&s;ent Bi&s;hop held him in the Church.</HI> Which if it &s;hall not continue here on earth to the end of the World, to whom did our Lord &s;ay, <HI>Behold I am with you alwayes to the Worlds end? It is ea&s;ier</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">L. 3. de Bapt. cont. Donat.</NOTE> (&s;aith St. <HI>Chry&s;ost.) that the Sun &s;hould be extingu&s;h'd then the Church &s;hould be ob&s;cured.</HI> Concerning which, St.<NOTE PLACE="marg">De utilit. cred. c. 7.</NOTE> <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> a&s;&s;ures us, <HI>The Prophets have &s;poken more plainly and manife&s;tly then of Chri&s;t him&s;elf. And there|fore 'tis no wonder</HI> (the &s;ame Saint affirms) <HI>That the Church hath this mo&s;t certain mark that it cannot be hid.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Cont. Petil.</HI> c. 104.</NOTE> And certainly it is not hid except to tho&s;e that are lo&s;t, the Children of perdition; who &s;eeing will not &s;ee,
<PB N="315" REF="167"> and hearing will not under&s;tand. Who &s;hut their eyes again&s;t a light &s;et upon a Candle&s;tick, and are &s;o blind as not to &s;ee &s;o great a moun|tani as the <HI>Catholick</HI> Church. As the &s;ame Father complains of the <HI>Here|ticks</HI> of his days.</P>
<P>From which premi&s;&s;es thus prov'd, it invincibly follows, that the <HI>Pro|te&s;tant,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>L. 3. cont.</HI> Parm.</NOTE> and all other <HI>Heretical</HI> and <HI>Schi&s;matical</HI> Churches, being wholly de&s;titute of the&s;e in&s;eparable badges or marks of the true Church, <HI>viz.</HI> Univer&s;ality, perpetual vi&s;ibility by an uninterrupted Succe&s;&s;ion of Pa|&s;tors and People from Chri&s;t and his Apo&s;tles to this time, cannot po&s;|&s;ibly be the true Church, <HI>Who&s;e buil|der and pre&s;erver is God.</HI> All which manife&s;tly belonging to the Church of <HI>Rome,</HI> and tho&s;e in Communion with her, by mo&s;t undoubted Re|cords of all Ages; it likewi&s;e, as inevitably follows, that this Church of <HI>Rome</HI> only is the true <HI>Catholick</HI> Church, and all other Communions but fal&s;e Wor&s;hippers.</P>
<PB N="316" REF="168">
<P>Thus briefly of the&s;e indubitable marks of the true Church from Sa|cred Scripture, &s;o much made u&s;e of by the Ancient Fathers to reduce the <HI>Hereticks</HI> and <HI>Schi&s;maticks</HI> of their times to the <HI>Catholick</HI> unity, that I may not too long detain you from beholding Miracles wrought by God in his Holy Church for the confirmation of our Faith.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="2" TYPE="section">
<HEAD>SECT. II.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P>That <HI>Miracles</HI> were vouch&s;afed always to the True Church.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>SUch is the Sublimity and Purity of Chri&s;tian Doctrine, &s;o &s;u|blime in re&s;pect of knowledge, &s;o pure in re&s;pect of practice, that if there was nothing el&s;e to witne&s;s that it came from Heaven, they of them&s;elves are &s;ufficient evidences, that the Author of it can be no le&s;s then of incomprehen&s;ible Wi&s;dom
<PB N="317" REF="168"> and infinite Holine&s;s. Notwith|&s;tanding as God was pleas'd by won|derful Signs and frequent Miracles to &s;et his Sea<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"> to atte&s;t the truth of it, that it might find entertainment from contradictors; &s;o in after Ages (in oppo&s;ition not only to all fal&s;e Religions, who deny Chri&s;t, and maintain their Wor&s;hip to be right, but al&s;o to many &s;educed Chri&s;tians, who pretend to have among them the Purity of this Doctrine) the &s;ame infinite Goodne&s;s hath more or le&s;s continued Miracles in his Church, that we may &s;ee with our eyes, what we ought to believe with our hearts, and not be deceived by fal&s;e Teachers.</P>
<P>This Heavenly Te&s;timony God vouch&s;afed to the <HI>Jewi&s;h</HI> Wor&s;hip whil&s;t it was in force; and there|fore cannot in rea&s;on be denyed to the Chri&s;tian Church, being in every re&s;pect a Mini&s;tration much more Divine and Glorious, and no le&s;s &s;tanding in need of &s;uch a Priviledge. <HI>Mo&s;es brought forth the Children of</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod.</NOTE> I&s;rael <HI>from the hou&s;e of bondage in
<PB N="318" REF="169"> &s;igns, and wonders, and mighty deeds. The Sun &s;tood &s;till at the Prayer of</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Jo&s;. 10.</NOTE> Jo&s;hua; <HI>and went back 15 degrees</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 38.</NOTE> <HI>at the earne&s;t request of</HI> Hezekiah. <HI>The bones of</HI> Elizeus <HI>the Prophet rais'd a dead man to life. The constant cure</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Joh. 5. 3, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></NOTE> <HI>of Lame and Di&s;ea&s;ed per&s;ons in the Pool of</HI> Bethe&s;da <HI>immediately after the motion of the water by an Angel, was a &s;tanding Miracle,</HI> &amp;c. All which, with many more, were evi|dent Te&s;timonies of the Divine pre|&s;ence among them; that the Crea|tor and Governour of Heaven and Earth was their God in a &s;pecial manner, and they his peculiar Church and People. To which might be added, their many Prophets of ex|traordinary Power and Sanctity, not only miraculous in their pre|dictions, but &s;ometimes mighty in &s;igns and deeds. Though 'tis ob|&s;ervable that St. <HI>John</HI> the Bapti&s;t, though more then a Prophet, then whom none greater was born of women, yet did no Miracle to atte&s;t his Mi&s;&s;ion. Doubtle&s;s not without &s;ome &s;ingular cau&s;e; perhaps becau&s;e
<PB N="319" REF="169"> the <HI>Jewi&s;h</HI> Synagogue was then ex|piring and giving place to the Chri|&s;tian Church, as a Handmaid to her Mi&s;tre&s;s, or glimmering twi-light to the <HI>Sun</HI> ari&s;ing in beams of Glory.</P>
<P>The mo&s;t remarkable Miracles of our Lord and Saviour Je&s;us Chri&s;t, are left unto his Church by the <HI>Evangeli&s;ts,</HI> in the Hi&s;tory of his Life and Death, <HI>That we might be|lieve, and believing have Life Eter|nal by him.</HI> After the Holy Apo&s;tles had received Power from above by de&s;cent of the Holy Gho&s;t upon them, to fit them for the great work of converting all Nations to Chri|&s;tianity, what wonders and &s;igns were frequently wrought by them in the fir&s;t planting of the Go&s;pel, are made famous, and wellknown to us<NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts.</NOTE> in their <HI>Acts,</HI> related by St. <HI>Luke</HI> of Divine Authority. And how in after Ages, to this pre&s;ent, the Truth of Chri&s;tian Belief was atte&s;ted to all men by &s;igns from Heaven, more or le&s;s wrought in the <HI>Catholick</HI> Church by her Profe&s;&s;ors, is manife&s;t by the undoubted Records and Hi&s;tories of
<PB N="320" REF="170"> the whole Chri&s;tian World. Yea our Adver&s;aries them&s;elves, who are<NOTE PLACE="marg">Magdebu. <HI>Centuria.</HI></NOTE> no friends to Miracles, have di&s;tinct|ly &s;et down and a&s;&s;erted manifold wonders wrought &s;ucce&s;&s;ively in the Church for 1300 Ages after Chri&s;t; and why they &s;hould not as well be|lieve the Miracles of the <HI>14th. Cen|tury</HI> and upwards wrought in the &s;ame Church, related by as credible Authors as the former, with as much evidence of certainty, no man can imagine; but that they were re&s;ol|ved Miracles &s;hould cea&s;e before their Church had a Beeing in the World, le&s;t they &s;hould ju&s;tly be thought to introduce a fal&s;e Religi|en, having not the voice of Divine Miracles to atte&s;t it. Wonderful! The frequent u&s;e of Miracles was afforded to the the fir&s;t Promulga|tors of the Go&s;pel to give give it rooting, and afterwards for increa&s;e; and no &s;ooner comes their Religion up, but down goes Miracles to gain credit to It. As the Fathers mu&s;t loo&s;e their Authority, and begin to be erroneous, when they manife&s;tly
<PB N="321" REF="170"> a&s;&s;ert what condemns their Doctrine: So Miracles al&s;o mu&s;t be put to &s;i|lence, and witne&s;s no longer to the Truth, becau&s;e they will not &s;peak for their Religion. And indeed them&s;elves being wholly de&s;titute of Miracles to confirm their new Faith, and confe&s;&s;ing they had been &s;o long continued in the <HI>Roman Ca|tholick</HI> Church, they were nece&s;&s;ita|ted (if they would be ob&s;tinate in their way) though again&s;t all evi|dence of Authority, to deny any &s;uch to be now wrought in her, lea&s;t thereby they &s;hould confe&s;s that &s;he only is the true Church of Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>But that the &s;trength of this <HI>Mo|tive</HI> may the better appear, I &s;hall in the further pro&s;ecution of it; fir&s;t, declare wherein con&s;i&s;ts the nature of true Miracles. Secondly, I &s;hall &s;et down the cau&s;es why God is pleas'd to work &s;uch &s;igns and wonders in, and by his Church. And thirdly, I &s;hall cull out, among infinite, &s;ome &s;pecial Miracles which relate to our pre&s;ent Controver&s;ies;
<PB N="322" REF="171"> being no le&s;s then &s;o many Seals from Heaven &s;tamp'd upon them in Divine Characters, as vi&s;ible evi|dences of Truth on the <HI>Catholicks</HI> &s;ide: And tho&s;e who a&s;&s;ert the con|trary, do, as it were deny God's at|te&s;tation, who can neither deceive, nor be deceived.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="3" TYPE="section">
<HEAD>SECT. III.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P>Wherein the nature of true <HI>Mira|cles</HI> con&s;i&s;ts, is declared.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>A True Miracle is an effect be&s;ide the ordinary cour&s;e of the whole Creation; and &s;o above the Power of any Created entity, vi|&s;ible or invi&s;ible Man or Angel. <HI>De|us &s;olus qui &s;acit mirabilia magna;</HI> 'tis God alone who worketh &s;uch wonders, being the products of no le&s;s then Omnipotency it &s;elf. For the order of the Univer&s;e in the concatenation of Cau&s;es and Effects
<PB N="323" REF="171"> being &s;et a going by the Infinite Wi&s;dom and Goodne&s;s of our great Creator, the fir&s;t mover, not by nece&s;&s;ity of nature, but as a mo&s;t free Agent according to the good plea&s;ure of his will&punc; when it &s;eems good unto him, he can act be&s;ides this appointed cour&s;e of nature; either by producing the effects of &s;econdary cau&s;es without their con|currence, as by re&s;toring &s;ick and maimed per&s;ons to their perfect health and &s;oundne&s;s in a moment, by a word; or (as we read in the <HI>Acts</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 3. 7. <HI>ca. 4. 30. ca. 5. 3. ca. 19 11, 12, &amp;c.</HI></NOTE> <HI>of the Apostles</HI>) by Aprons and Hand|kerchiefs, and &s;uch like things, which having fir&s;t touch'd the Bodies of his Saints, are applyed to the parties ill-affected for their recovery. Yea,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 5. 15, 16.</NOTE> the very &s;hadow of St. <HI>Peter</HI> did cure many &s;ick and infirm per&s;ons, who were expos'd in the Streets, lying in their Beds as he pa&s;s'd by. Or el&s;e by re&s;training and curbing in the innate vertue of &s;econdary cau&s;es from producing &s;uch effects, to which by nature they are deter|min'd nece&s;&s;arily in the pre&s;ent cir|cum&s;tances;
<PB N="324" REF="172"> as when the furious flames did not con&s;ume the three<NOTE PLACE="marg">Dan. 3. 22, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></NOTE> Children in the fiery furnace; yea, not &s;o much as the &s;mell of fire took hold on their Garments: And as when the <HI>Sun</HI> was darkn'd at our Ble&s;&s;ed Saviours pa&s;&s;ion, the <HI>Moon</HI> being in oppo&s;ition to it in its natu|ral cour&s;e. Or el&s;e by producing &s;ome effects beyond the activity of created Agents, to which &s;econd cau&s;es, though &s;train'd to the utmo&s;t with their united forces, cannot extend them&s;elves; as cau&s;ing two bodies at the &s;ame time to be in the &s;ame place, as when our Ble&s;&s;ed Sa|viour came into his Di&s;ciples through the doors &s;hut; or rai&s;ing the dead to life again, as <HI>Lazarus</HI> was by our Ble&s;&s;ed Saviour.</P>
<P>Notwith&s;tanding our Souls being clouded with ignorance, &s;o that we apprehend not the utmo&s;t energe|tical vertue of created cau&s;es, many things which are effected by a power &s;ecret and unknown to us, are ac|counted by us, (though fal&s;ly,) true|ly Miraculous; which indeed are
<PB N="325" REF="172"> either but Phanta<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">mes and meer de+ceptions;<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Vide S.</HI> Tho. 22 ae. <HI>q. 178. a. 2 in corp.</HI></NOTE> that is, things not really done, but only &s;eem &s;o. Or if real|ly produced, and not in appearance only, they are done by the applica|tion of natural cau&s;es, though indi&s;|cernable to dim-eyed rea&s;on. <HI>Vera mira,</HI> truly wonderful to us, becau&s;e effected by a &s;ecret vertue: But not <HI>Vere Miracula,</HI> not true Miracles in their nature, created cau&s;es produ|cing them in the hand of quick|&s;ighted, &s;trenuous and nimble Agents. Of which &s;ort are all tho&s;e wonder|ful things which <HI>Magicians</HI> and <HI>Wit|ches</HI> bring to pa&s;s by the Power and a&s;&s;i&s;tance of the Devil. Such as the <HI>Aegyptian Magi</HI> wrought to harden <HI>Pharaoh</HI>'s heart, that he might not think <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> was &s;ent from God, or did by a Divine Power work true<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 The&s;&s;. 2. 9 <HI>&amp;c.</HI></NOTE> Miracles to confirm his Mi&s;&s;ion. And Antichri&s;t will come in great Power, and &s;igns, and lying wonders, accor|ding to the operation of Satan; not true Miracles the only and peculiar work of Omnipotency. <HI>Antichri&s;ti</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">De Civ. Dei l. 20. c. 19.</NOTE> <HI>opera po&s;&s;unt dici e&s;&s;e &s;igna menda|cii,</HI>
<PB N="326" REF="173"> &amp;c. <HI>The works of Antichri&s;t</HI> (&s;ays St. <HI>Au&s;tin) may be c<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">ll'd lying won|ders, either becau&s;e he &s;hall deceive mens &s;en&s;es by Phanta&s;ms &s;eeming to do what indeed he does not; or if they be true Prodigies, yet they &s;hall draw men to believe a lye.</HI> For they &s;hall give credit to that man of &s;in, as if he brought them to pa&s;s by a Divine<NOTE PLACE="marg">Joh. 14 12.</NOTE> Power, though only are effected by natural cau&s;es unknown to them.</P>
<P>Now though all things are alike ea&s;ie to Omnipotency, and &s;o no Miracle properly greater then ano|ther,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 p q. cv. a. 8. corp</NOTE> as having eye to the Power pro|ducing &s;uch effects: Yet as more or le&s;s exceeding the faculty of created cau&s;es, and looking that way, they are truely &s;aid to be more or le&s;s Mi|raculous according to that of our Ble&s;&s;ed Saviour <HI>Who believes in me, the works that I do he &s;hall do al&s;o, and greater than the&s;e &s;hall he do.</HI> And therefore Miracles by St. <HI>Thomas</HI> are mar&s;hall'd into three Heads or Cla&s;&s;es.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, tho&s;e which wholly exceed the power of created Cau&s;es in the
<PB N="327" REF="173"> very &s;ub&s;tance of the effect. <HI>As the Sun &s;tanding &s;till at the Prayer of</HI> Jo&s;hua; <HI>going back at the reque&s;t of</HI> Hezekiah. <HI>A mortal body to be glo|rified, as in the transfiguration of our Ble&s;&s;ed Saviour. Tran&s;ub&s;tantiation in the mo&s;t holy and dreadful Sacri|fice of the Ma&s;s.</HI> Which are the greate&s;t of Miracles, and in no &s;ort produceable by the utmo&s;t Powers of created nature.</P>
<P>Secondly, &s;uch which tran&s;cend the faculty of nature, yet not if we have an eye to the thing it &s;elf that's done, but the qualification of the &s;ubject, in whom 'tis done or effected. That is, natural cau&s;es can produce the &s;ub&s;tance of the Miracle, but never in the pre&s;ent circum&s;tances. <HI>As to give &s;ight to the blind, or rai&s;e the dead to life;</HI> And does in daily vital productions, but not to one dead, <HI>As</HI> Lazarus <HI>and</HI> Tabitha <HI>were:</HI> And can give &s;ight, but not to one blind, <HI>As he who was born &s;o, cured</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Joh. 9.</NOTE> <HI>by our Lord and Saviour.</HI> However the&s;e being Miraculous only in re|&s;pect of the &s;ubject wherein &s;uch
<PB N="328" REF="174"> effects are brought to pa&s;s, yet are altogether above the vertue of &s;e|condary cau&s;es, and &s;o as true Mi|racles as tho&s;e of the fir&s;t Cla&s;&s;is.</P>
<P>The third and lowe&s;t &s;ort are tho&s;e which exceed the faculty of Nature; neither according to the &s;ub&s;tance of the effect, or &s;ubject wherein they are produced, but only accor|ding to the manner and order of their production. <HI>As when per&s;ons, not incurably &s;ick or lame in the hands of Arti&s;ts with an ordinary concur|rence of the &s;upreme&s;t cau&s;e, are &s;ud|denly re&s;tor'd to health and &s;oundne&s;s without the help of Phy&s;ick, Chyrurgery, or the u&s;ual proceedings in &s;uch ca&s;es. And &s;o the Apo&s;tles &s;peaking with divers tongues, which are attainable by time and indu&s;try in &s;ubjects capable of &s;uch perfections, yet in them was miraculous, in that they being igno|rant, were &s;uddenly endowed with &s;uch extraordinary knowledge and elo|quence, to the amazement and confu|&s;ion of their enemies. Of which &s;ort are al&s;o &s;udden Thunders and Light|nings, Winds and Storms, when &s;e|cond
<PB N="329" REF="174"> and immediate cau&s;es are not &s;o big with &s;uch effects as to be deliver'd of them; but rather in all probability promi&s;ing the contrary to the be&s;t &s;ighted under&s;tandings in &s;uch matters.</HI></P>
<P>Now &s;uch miracles as the&s;e, though always produced by a divine power when Holy per&s;ons are the In&s;truments, yet may, and &s;ome|times are (when God permits) wrought by <HI>Magick</HI> and compact with the Devil, who can &s;o improve natural cau&s;es, as on a &s;uddain to bring forth &s;uch effects. Which be|ing po&s;&s;ible to Omnipoteny, and con&s;equently not true Miracles in a &s;trict and proper acceptation, but in a large &s;en&s;e &s;o call'd from the won|derful manner of their production; if the <HI>Catholick</HI> Church had no other but &s;uch to atte&s;t her Doctrine to come from Heaven, they could not &s;imply of them&s;elves be &s;ufficient evi|dences of the Truth of Chri&s;tian Religion, and that the Workers of them are &s;ent by God. However &s;uch wonderful effects, when they Manife&s;tly tend to de&s;troy the king|dom
<PB N="330" REF="175"> of Satan, invincibly prove their origen to be from the Author of Holine&s;s. And therefore 'tis not difficult to di&s;cover when the&s;e won|ders are effected by a Divine Power and a&s;&s;i&s;tance, and when by the help of the Devil. Namely, when either the Sanctity of the per&s;on is &s;uch as is no way lyable to be &s;u&s;pected to have any dealing with the Powers of Darkne&s;s: Or if this be wanting, when the Purity of the Doctrine, as a glorious ray beaming from the Sun of righteou&s;ne&s;s, is &s;uch, that a confirmation thereof in &s;uch a man|ner cannot rationally be thought but to come from Heaven: Or when God is pleas'd, be&s;ides the&s;e inferior won|ders, to work al&s;o &s;uch Miracles by the &s;ame per&s;on, or others profe&s;&s;ing the &s;ame Faith, which cannot really be produced by any but him&s;elf. Of which his true Church was never de&s;titute, and no other Communion could ever boa&s;t, or ju&s;tly challenge.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="4" TYPE="section">
<PB N="331" REF="175">
<HEAD>SECT. IV.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P>Some rea&s;ons of Gods proceeding in this manner.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>WHen the infinite Power, Wi&s;dom and Goodne&s;s of God is pleas'd to work Miracles in his Church, ordinarily the In&s;tru|ments he makes u&s;e of to produce &s;uch effects, are per&s;ons eminent for Sanctity. Yet not &s;o, as that we ought to make the number or great|ne&s;s of their Miracles the rule to judge of the degrees of their Holi|ne&s;s. Yea, 'tis not an Infallible ar|gument to conclude &s;uch an one to be a Saint; for the grace of work|ing Miracles being conferr'd upon the true Church, principally for the edification of others; a per&s;on not ju&s;tified, and &s;o not righteous in the &s;ight of God, may be a wonder|working In&s;trument to &s;ave his Brethren, and yet him&s;elf become
<PB N="332" REF="176"> a Reprobate. Of which we need no more evident te&s;timony then from the mouth of tho&s;e Pleaders in St. <HI>Matthew; Lord have not we Prophe|&s;ied in thy Name, and in thy Name</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ch 7 22, &amp;c.</NOTE> <HI>ca&s;t out Devils&punc; and in thy Name wrought many Miracles?</HI> And yet they receive this dreadful An&s;wer, <HI>I know ye not, depart from me ye workers of Iniquity.</HI> The cau&s;e where|of St. <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> gives us, <HI>Admonet nos</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Lib. 83. Quae&s;ti. 79. qu.</NOTE> <HI>Dominos,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>Our Lord puts us in mind that we may under&s;tand wicked men al&s;o to do &s;ome Miracles, which Saints cannot do. Therefore they are not granted to all Saints, lea&s;t the weak &s;hould be deceived with a mo&s;t pernicious errour, &s;uppo&s;ing greater gifts to be in &s;uch deeds than in works of righteou&s;ne&s;s, by which we purcha&s;e eternal life.</HI></P>
<P>Now God confers this grace and wonderful power on his Church: Fir&s;t, for the confirmation of the Chri&s;tian Faith, as his vi&s;ible Seal &s;et to it, that 'tis true and came from Heaven, as the only means to bring us thither; and ought to be enter|tain'd
<PB N="333" REF="176"> as &s;uch, by all who de&s;ire to &s;ave their precious Souls. This is manife&s;t from the Promi&s;e of our Ble&s;&s;ed Saviour to his Church, <HI>Mark 16. 17. The&s;e &s;ings &s;hall follow tho&s;e that believe, in my Name they &s;hall ca&s;t out Devils&punc; they &s;hall &s;peak with new Tongues, they &s;hall take up Ser|pents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it &s;hall not hurt them; they &s;hall lay their hands upon the Sick, and they &s;hall Recover.</HI> This is the Promi&s;e.</P>
<P>See the performance in the 20 <HI>ver. And they went and Preached every where, our Lord co-operating and confirming the Word with &s;igns follow|ing.</HI> For &s;o the Eyes of their Au|ditors might tell them the Doctrine they heard was from God, and no humane invention, and therefore inexcu&s;able incredulous. As in the 16 <HI>ver&s;e, Who&s;oever Believes and is Baptiz'd, &s;hall be &s;aved, but who be|lieves not &s;hall be damned.</HI> Hence it is, that Signs are &s;aid to be for Un|believers, that by &s;uch evidences of Truth they may be Converted,
<PB N="334" REF="177"> and all the ends of the Earth &s;ee the Salvation of our God.</P>
<P>And this way of Divine atte&s;ta|tion, the wi&s;dom of God hath thought good to u&s;e, as mo&s;t pro|portionably to our pre&s;ent capaci|ty, and con&s;equently mo&s;t likely to produce the effect for which 'tis in|tended. For Truth entring into the the clo&s;et of our Soul through he port of our Sen&s;es; as by the in|nate light of the under&s;tanding, with an ordinary concurrence of the prime cau&s;e, man can attain to &s;ome degree of the knowledge of God by natural effects, and is utterly inex|cu&s;able if he does not: So to induce us to the belief of things wholly &s;u|pernatural and unattainable but by Divine Revelation, he's pleas'd &s;ome|times by extraordinary and &s;uper|natural effects, namely Miracles, to work upon our Sen&s;es, that we might believe and be &s;aved; or we rendred inexcu&s;able, when unbelief &s;hall be laid to our charge. And therefore 'tis &s;aid, <HI><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 word"> believes not</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mar. 16. 16.</NOTE> <HI>are condemned already.</HI> As having
<PB N="335" REF="177"> nothing to &s;ay for them&s;elves, in that they &s;o wilfully &s;hut their eyes in Sun-&s;hine. that they might not &s;ee and be converted. And our Ble&s;&s;ed<NOTE PLACE="marg">Joh. 15. 22, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></NOTE> Saviour &s;ays el&s;ewhere, <HI>If I had not done tho&s;e works among them which none other hath done, they had not &s;inn'd, but now they have no excu&s;e for their &s;in.</HI></P>
<P>But as Miracles are to beget Faith where 'tis not, &s;o the next u&s;e of them is to give &s;trength and growth to it, where 'tis already planted, lea&s;t at any time we &s;hould have a heart of Infidelity to depart from the Truth received; either by flat <HI>Apo|&s;tacy,</HI> which more rarely happens; or by <HI>Schi&s;m</HI> and <HI>Here&s;ie,</HI> which are Satan's commone&s;t &s;nares wherein he catches unwary Souls to their de|&s;truction. What can they &s;ay for them&s;elves, to whom in &s;o much Heavenly Light the <HI>Cro&s;s</HI> becomes a &s;tumbling-block, &s;o as to fall away from their &s;tability; or once fallen, if they will not ri&s;e again, and be re|call'd into the bo&s;om of the <HI>Catho|lick</HI> Church by the voice of &s;uch
<PB N="336" REF="178"> wonderful works crying aloud after them; even &s;ufficient to engrave Faith in a rocky-hearted <HI>Jew,</HI> and introduce belief into very Infidels?</P>
<P>From whence appears the ab&s;urd|ne&s;s of that <HI>Protestant</HI> The&s;is, <HI>That all Miracles are now cea&s;ed in the Church.</HI> For be&s;ides indubitable te&s;timonies from clouds of Witne&s;&s;es enough to &s;atisfy any rational man, the&s;e cau&s;es yet continuing, <HI>viz. Infidelity, Here&s;ie</HI> and <HI>Schi&s;m,</HI> God will al&s;o &s;till continue the &s;ame &s;uper|natural effects to beget or confirm &s;upernatural Faith in the Souls of men. But why they are not &s;o fre|quent as in the fir&s;t planting of the Go&s;pel, this may be one rea&s;on, in that the true Church being mani|fe&s;ted to the World by tho&s;e Mira|cles, which more or le&s;s in every Age are wrought in her Communi|on, and her's only, entitle her ju&s;tly to all the re&s;t confirming the &s;ame Faith, which others cannot claim by the like evidence. For the prin|cipal end of Miracles being for the confirmation of true Faith, taught
<PB N="337" REF="178"> by Chri&s;t and his Apo&s;tles to the World, either to give it birth or growth, if God did vouch&s;afe to work in the &s;ame manner &s;uch won|derful Signs and Prodigies by any per&s;ons in other Communions than his <HI>Catholick</HI> Church, they could not be &s;ufficient Te&s;timonies from Heaven of Divine Truth, but be in&s;trumental likewi&s;e to &s;et a lu&s;tre on deeds of Darkne&s;s, and harden poor &s;educed Souls in erroneous Wor&s;hip. Neither had the Ancient Apologi&s;ts for the Chri&s;tian Faith rationally made u&s;e of Miracles as a convincing argument of the Truth thereof, if <HI>Infidels,</HI> or others, could have produced ju&s;tly the like evi|dences to give Te&s;timony to their fal&s;e Religion. See <HI>Heb. 2. ver.</HI> 3, 4. St. <HI>Joh. 5. 36. ch. 7. 31. ch. 9. 30. ch. 10. 28. ch.</HI> 15. 22, 24. Hence St. <HI>Gregory, Quia carnales adhuc,</HI> &amp;c.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Hom. 2. in Evan.</NOTE> <HI>Becau&s;e the Di&s;ciples being yet carnal could not under&s;tand his my&s;terious words, he proceeds to a Miracle, a blind man receives his &s;ight before their eyes, that who under&s;tood not the
<PB N="338" REF="179"> words of Divine My&s;tery, Heavenly deeds might work Faith in them.</HI></P>
<P>Thirdly, God works Miracles in his Church to manife&s;t the extraordi|nary Sanctity of &s;ome per&s;ons to whom he's pleas'd to vouch&s;afe a &s;pecial Honour, and thereby pro|po&s;es as &s;ingular examples for others to imitate in their glorious walk|ings. And this is done either while they are living, or after death by their Sacred Relicks and Interce&s;|&s;ion; and &s;ometimes in both they are alike glorified by him who only works Miracles, whom&s;oever he makes choice of for the In&s;truments. Which no fal&s;e Wor&s;hipers in the World can challenge to their Pro|fe&s;&s;ion. Yet that &s;uch have been, and are &s;till wrought by Saints in the Communion of the <HI>Roman Ca|tholick</HI> Church, there are as good proofs to evidence it to the World, as that there was &s;uch a man as <HI>Hen|ry</HI> the <HI>8th.</HI> once King of <HI>England.</HI> Which certainty none pretend to deny.</P>
<PB N="339" REF="179">
<P>And though <HI>Prote&s;tants</HI> cannot lay claim to any true Miracles for the confirmation of their Faith and practice, yet how fain they would have their new Religion &s;o atte&s;ted, is manife&s;t in that they greedily catch at &s;haddows, and interpret any thing that's &s;omewhat &s;trange and not ordinary, as the &s;ingular actings of God in their behalf. Or if any among them ob&s;erve &s;ome au|&s;terities in the contempt of worldly Plea&s;ures and Contentments, (which is &s;o frequent among <HI>Catholicks,</HI>) pre&s;ently this is a Sanctity without parallel, and by the wind of vain|glory is puffed up to the Prodigious greatne&s;s of a wonder. And I con|fe&s;s, if all rare things are Miraculous, this among them may ju&s;tly be &s;o accounted.</P>
<P>To the&s;e I might add the mani|fe&s;tation of the power of his God|head, and the riches of his Good|ne&s;s towards his Church, by &s;uch extraordinary workings, be&s;ide the cour&s;e of univer&s;al nature, to make up the number of his Elect and con|&s;ummate
<PB N="340" REF="180"> them in Glory But the&s;e la&s;t are not proper to my pre&s;ent purpo&s;e, and the former related rea|&s;ons are tho&s;e for which God is plea&s;ed principally to work Mira|cles in the true Church; and ought to be operative upon rational Souls, to bring them to the knowledge, and the embracing of the Truth.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="5" TYPE="section">
<HEAD>SECT. V.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P>Some undoubted and mo&s;t famous <HI>Miracles</HI> relating to the pre|&s;ent Controver&s;ies between Us and <HI>Prote&s;tants.</HI></P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>ST. <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> having related &s;ome<NOTE PLACE="marg">De Civi. Dei l. 22. c. 8.</NOTE> Miracles wrought upon <HI>De|votes</HI> at St. <HI>Stephens Shrine</HI> by his &s;pe|cial interce&s;&s;ion, whereof him&s;elf was an eye-witne&s;s, affirms, <HI>That if he &s;hould record all that he knew to have been done in tho&s;e Territories, he
<PB N="341" REF="180"> mu&s;t fill Books.</HI> And &s;o might I too, with much more rea&s;on, if I &s;hould &s;et down but the tenth of tho&s;e which concern the pre&s;ent Contro|ver&s;ies between <HI>Prote&s;tants</HI> and Us, having confin'd my &s;elf to no le&s;s li|mits then the Chri&s;tian World, affor|ding innumerable Miracles, the truth of which cannot ju&s;tly be que&s;ti|on'd, becau&s;e deliver'd to our know|ledge with as much certainty as mat|ters of fact are capable of. How|ever I &s;hall be brief, and only &s;elect out &s;ome few which I conceiv'd mo&s;t convincing to Souls yet hardned with unbelief. And had wholly &s;par'd this labour, but that I know particulars are pr<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;&s;ing and power|ful, being fallen unhappily among Go&s;pellers, who be&s;ides other evi|dences of Truth, will not believe except they &s;ee &s;igns and wonders to atte&s;t our Faith. And which is far wor&s;e, as the <HI>Scribes</HI> and <HI>Phari|&s;ees</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 12. 38.</NOTE> demanded of our Ble&s;&s;ed Sa|viour, <HI>A &s;ign from Heaven to witne&s;s he was &s;ent from God,</HI> when a Mira|cle ju&s;t now wrought before their
<PB N="342" REF="181"> eyes was yet warm: So this evil ge|neration, while they are &s;urroun|ded with the Heavenly light of Mi|racles wrought in the Church, yet &s;eeing will not &s;ee, and ask of us a &s;ign from Heaven to confirm our Doctrine. Which that we are not de&s;titute of, I hope what follows will give them &s;atisfaction.</P>
<P>I begin with the Ble&s;&s;ed Sacra|ment of the <HI>Altar,</HI> which our Ad|ver&s;aries call our <HI>Idol,</HI> being it &s;elf the greate&s;t of Miracles, or rather a concour&s;e of many in a mo&s;t won|derful and my&s;terious manner, and therefore hath been atte&s;ted often|times by others to confirm our Faith in a point &s;o far tran&s;cending the comprehen&s;ion of our intellectual powers. And were &s;o operative,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Circa an. 1050.</NOTE> among other Arguments; one <HI>Be|rengarius,</HI> the fir&s;t that ever denyed the real pre&s;ence of Chri&s;t in the ble&s;&s;ed <HI>Euchari&s;t,</HI> that he recanted and abjured his <HI>Here&s;ie,</HI> to believe as formerly he had done the un|doubted Doctrine of all Ages.</P>
<PB N="343" REF="181">
<P>St. <HI>Bernard</HI> &s;aying <HI>Ma&s;s</HI> in the<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>In vita</HI> Ber. <HI>c. 2. ca. 3.</HI></NOTE> Cathedrall at <HI>Millain</HI> in a great A&s;&s;embly, they pre&s;ented to him a Woman who had been a long time vexed with a Devil, earne&s;tly re|que&s;ting his help, with a &s;trong be|lief that God would free her by his Interce&s;&s;ion. Being overcome with their intreaties, and the mi&s;erable Object, proceeding in the Sacrifice, as oft as the Sacred <HI>Ho&s;t</HI> was to be &s;igned, he turning towards the wo|man, made al&s;o as often the &s;ign of the Holy <HI>Cro&s;s</HI> upon her. Which how ill the unclean Spirit could en|dure, he quickly di&s;cover'd by more lamentably tormenting the poor wretch. The Holy man having now fini&s;h'd the <HI>Lords Prayer</HI> i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"> the <HI>Ca|non,</HI> makes a fiercer on-&s;e upon the Enemy; for putting the mo&s;t Sacred Body of our Lord and Saviour up|on the <HI>Paten,</HI> and holding it over the womans head, &s;aid, <HI>&V;nclean Spirit, thy judge is pre&s;ent, a Power above thee is pre&s;ent, re&s;i&s;t now if thou can&s;t; he's pre&s;ent who being ready to &s;uffer for our Salvation, &s;aid, now &s;hall
<PB N="344" REF="182"> the Prince of this World be ca&s;t forth. This is that Sacred Body which was a&s;&s;umed of the Ble&s;&s;ed Virgn, that Body which was nail'd unto the Cro&s;s, which was laid in the Grave, which ro&s;e from Death, which in the &s;ight of his Di&s;ciples a&s;cended into Heaven. Wherefore in the dreadful Name of this Maje&s;ty I command thee, thou Malicious Spirit, to depart out of this hand-maid of God, and pre&s;ume not hereafter to touch her.</HI> Whereupon the unclean Spirit playing the Devil indeed, by exceedingly tormenting her, becau&s;e his time was &s;hort, in rage and fury left his habitation, as &s;oon as the <HI>Pax</HI> was given, after the Saints return unto the <HI>Altar.</HI> And &s;he being &s;o miraculou&s;ly re|cover'd, gave thanks to the Almigh|ty goodne&s;s, and beholding the happy In&s;trument of her deliverance, ca&s;t her &s;elf humbly at his feet.</P>
<P>Thus our mo&s;t merciful and powerful God was plea&s;ed to re|ward the Faith of his People, to magnify his Servant in their &s;ight, and manife&s;t his invi&s;ible Deity un|der
<PB N="345" REF="182"> the vi&s;ible &s;pecies by this won|derful effect. And truly methinks, tho&s;e very words &s;poken by &s;o great a Saint, and confirm'd by &s;o evi|dent a Miracle, if well con&s;ider'd and laid to heart, could not but as well di&s;po&s;&s;e&s;s the <HI>Sacramentarian Hereticks</HI> of their Devil of Unbelief concerning this dreadful my&s;tery of our Holy Faith, as they did that Woman of the unclean Spirit, wherewith &s;he had been &s;o long vexed. A Miracle no le&s;s famous then evident, for it follows in the Author, <HI>Fugato diabolo ingens per Eccle&s;iam tollitur murmur,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>The</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Vita S.</HI> Ber</NOTE> <HI>woman being di&s;po&s;&s;e&s;s'd, the Church ecchoed with &s;ounds of joy, old and young ble&s;s God &s;or't, and what was done at</HI> Millian <HI>is noi&s;ed abroad through all</HI> Italy.</P>
<P>At <HI>Bru&s;&s;els</HI> in <HI>Flanders</HI> &s;ome <HI>Jews</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ann. Ch. 1442.</NOTE> having &s;tollen the Con&s;ecrated <HI>Ho&s;ts</HI> out of the Tabernacle of St. <HI>Catha|rine</HI>'s Chappel, on <HI>Good-Friday</HI> fol|lowing with intention in de&s;pite of our Ble&s;&s;ed Saviour, to put to death again, as much as lay in their Power,
<PB N="346" REF="183"> the Lord of Life, &s;tabbed the Sacred <HI>Ho&s;ts</HI> with Pen-knives and Bodkins; from which wounds miraculou&s;ly i&s;&s;ued out drops of Blood to their great a&s;toni&s;hment and confu&s;ion. At which being horribly amazed and terrifyed with the apprehen&s;ion of &s;ome pre&s;ent judgment to fall upon them, not daring to touch the Sa|cred <HI>Ho&s;ts,</HI> they &s;ent for one <HI>Catha|rine,</HI> formerly a <HI>Jew,</HI> now a <HI>Chri|&s;tian,</HI> and confe&s;&s;ing to her what they had done, and what had hap|ned, de&s;ired her to take away the Con&s;ecrated <HI>Hosts,</HI> and keep the whole bu&s;ine&s;s &s;ecret from the <HI>Chri|&s;tians.</HI> She promi&s;ed; but trou|bled in Con&s;cience at the horror of the Fact, carrying with her the Ble&s;&s;ed <HI>Ho&s;ts,</HI> revealed it to the <HI>Clergy</HI> of the City. Whereupon af|ter a full tryal and examination, the &s;aid <HI>Jews</HI> were condemned to be Burnt for this mo&s;t execrable Im|piety, and Executed accordingly. Part of which miraculous <HI>Ho&s;ts</HI> being kept in the afore&s;aid Chappel, and part in the great Church of St. <HI>Gu|dile</HI>
<PB N="347" REF="183"> in the &s;aid City, God was plea|&s;ed to work many Miracles upon &s;uch per&s;ons who re&s;orted thither out of &s;pecial Devotion to the &s;aid wonderful <HI>Ho&s;ts;</HI> the blind recove|ring their &s;ight, the &s;ick their health; the lame their Limbs, leaving their Crutches behind them as monuments of Gods extraordinary mercy by Gods means vouch&s;afed unto them. Of all which there's no rea&s;on to doubt, being atte&s;ted by Witne&s;&s;es beyond all exception, and thereup|on approv'd by authoriz'd per&s;ons, were committed to the publick Re|cords of tho&s;e places, for the confir|mation of the Churches belief in the my&s;teries of that mo&s;t wonderful Sa|crament, &s;o much Bla&s;phemed by <HI>Jews</HI> and <HI>Hereticks.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Pontianus</HI> relates, <HI>That one</HI> Paul<NOTE PLACE="marg">L. 5 de Mirahil.</NOTE> Form <HI>having &s;tollen two Con&s;ecrated Ho&s;ts, &s;old one of them to the</HI> Jews, <HI>who out of malice and contempt &s;tab|bed it, &s;aying,</HI> If thou be the God of the Chri&s;tians, manife&s;t thy &s;elf. <HI>Whereupon to their confu&s;ion, and con|firmation of our holy Faith, Blood mi|raculou&s;ly
<PB N="348" REF="184"> i&s;&s;ued out of the dreadful Host. Which being di&s;cover'd, thirty eight of them were Burnt at</HI> Knob|lock <HI>in</HI> Brandenburg, <HI>and all the re&s;t bani&s;h'd out of that</HI> Marque&s;ate<NOTE PLACE="marg">L. de locis Com. p. 87. Epi&s;t. 116.</NOTE> <HI>for this horrible Fact.</HI> As 'tis record|ed al&s;o by <HI>John Mandevil</HI> a <HI>Prote|&s;tant,</HI> and <HI>O&s;iander</HI> a <HI>Lutheran.</HI></P>
<P>I cannot but relate what <HI>Thomas Walden&s;is</HI> our Country man relates he was an eye-witne&s;s of in St. <HI>Paul</HI>'s<NOTE PLACE="marg">Tom. 2. de Sacr. ca. 63.</NOTE> Church in <HI>London, Where one of</HI> Wickliff'<HI>s Di&s;ciples, who renewed the</HI> Here&s;ie <HI>of</HI> Berengarius <HI>in the&s;e parts, being commanded by the Arch|bi&s;hop of</HI> Canterbury, <HI>to acknowledge the real Pre&s;ence of Chri&s;t in the Ble&s;&s;ed Sacrament, and adore him; he refu&s;ing, &s;aid,</HI> A Spider de&s;erv'd more veneration than the <HI>Euchari&s;t. And forthwith from the roof de&s;cended a mon&s;truous Spider to his Bla&s;pemous Lips, which the &s;tanders by could hardly keep from running into his mouth, which had &s;pit wor&s;e Venom again&s;t our Saviour.</HI></P>
<P>Who de&s;ire further &s;atisfaction in this particular, let them con&s;ult <HI>Pa&s;|cha&s;ius
<PB N="349" REF="184"> de corp. &amp; Sang. Chri&s;ti. Al|gerus de Sacramentis.</HI> Among the more Ancient St. <HI>Cyprian de lap&s;is, Pro&s;per. de praedict. part. 4. cap. 6. S. Greg. l. 2. Dialog. &amp; Petrus Dia|conus in vita S. Gregorii.</HI></P>
<P>As for the <HI>Catholick</HI> practice in having recour&s;e to the interce&s;&s;ion of Saints glorified, and veneration of their Sacred Reliques, Antiquity and all Ages abound with unque&s;tio|nable Miracles, as &s;o many Seals &s;et upon them by the hand of God for their approbation. St. <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> re|lates<NOTE PLACE="marg">De Civit. dei l. 22. c. 8. Epi&s;t. 103. Ser. 31, 32, 33.</NOTE> many; the certain knowledge of &s;ome of them being conveyed to his Soul through the windows of his own eyes, the re&s;t famous and of undoubted verity. See al&s;o <HI>Greg. Turon. l. 1. de gloria Martyr. Baro|tom. 5. an 416. Niceph. l. 4. Hi&s;t. Eccl. ca. 9. Theod. Ser. de donis col|latis interce&s;&s;ione Martyrum.</HI> One or two will not tire the Reader:</P>
<P><HI>There was one</HI> Martial <HI>a chief man his rank, Aged, and much abomina|ting</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>S.</HI> Aug. <HI>l. 22. de Civ. c. 8.</HI></NOTE> <HI>the Chri&s;tian Faith: Who being dangerou&s;ly &s;ick, and much importun'd
<PB N="350" REF="185"> with the Prayers and Tears of his Daughter and Son in Law, who were Christians, to be Baptiz'd; refus'd, and in &s;ullen indignation thrust them from him. His Son in Law thought good to go to St.</HI> Stephen'<HI>s Memory or Shrine, and Pray there earne&s;tly for his Conver&s;ion. Which performing with great devotion in &s;ighs and tears, and &s;o departing from the</HI> Altar <HI>took &s;ome Flowers, and at night laid them at his Fathers Head. He took his re&s;t, and behold before morning cryes out to &s;end for the Bi&s;hop, (who then by chance was with me at</HI> Hippo) <HI>and under&s;tanding he was ab&s;ent, de&s;ired his Priests to come to him. They came, he confe&s;ses his Faith in Chri&s;t, and was Baptiz'd among the wonders and joy of them all. And afterwards as long as he liv'd, for he liv'd not long after, he &s;till had in his mouth,</HI> Chri&s;t receive my Spirit; <HI>which were the last words of Ble&s;&s;ed</HI> Stephen <HI>when Martyr'd by the</HI> Jews.</P>
<P><HI>God was plea&s;ed to reveal by a Vi|&s;ion to St.</HI> Ambro&s;e <HI>where the Bodies of the Holy Martyrs</HI> Gerva&s;ius <HI>and</HI>
<PB N="351" REF="185"> Prota&s;ius <HI>lay buried, and 'till then uncorrupted, in a place not well be|fitting tho&s;e Sacred Reliques. Their Graves are open'd, their Bodies taken up, and while they are carried in &s;o|lemn Proce&s;&s;ion to be honourably In|ter'd in the Cathedral of that City, many po&s;&s;e&s;s'd with unclean Spirits were perfectly cured; and a certain Citizen well known to all the Inhabi|tants, who had been blind many years, hearing the noi&s;e ask'd the cau&s;e of their pre&s;ent Jubilee: Being told it, he leap'd for joy, and de&s;ired to be led to the Bodies, whither being come, he begg'd to be admitted to touch with his Handkerchief the Bier made Holy with tho&s;e Sacred Reliques: He did &s;o, and applyed it to his Eyes, and forthwith recover'd his &s;ight, to his ex|ceeding great joy, and admiration of them all, giving glory to God for vouch|&s;afing &s;uch Honour to his Saints.</HI> St. <HI>Austin</HI> mentions this al&s;o in his <HI>9th.</HI> Book of <HI>Confe&s;s. chap.</HI> 7. and <HI>de &V;nit. Eccl. c. 10. St.</HI> Ambr. <HI>Epist. 85. ad Sororem. &amp; Ser.</HI> 91. Whole Volumes might be writ of undou|bted
<PB N="352" REF="186"> Relations of this nature, and yet <HI>Prote&s;tants</HI> will not believe, but follow prophane <HI>Vigilantius,</HI> &s;ays St. <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> and the <HI>Catholick</HI> Church what they can to the contrary.</P>
<P>For the confirmation of <HI>Purga|tory,</HI> I &s;hall in&s;ert one or two Mira|culous Relations out of Venerable <HI>Bede;</HI> whom I have made choice of becau&s;e our Countryman, and as of great Learning, &s;o of &s;ingular Inte|grity, which other circum&s;tances concurring in him, render his <HI>Hi&s;to|ry</HI> mo&s;t unque&s;tinable. I give you not all, nor always his words, but am Faithful to his &s;en&s;e and mea|ning.</P>
<P><HI>A noble young man by name</HI> Imma,<NOTE PLACE="marg">L. 4. Hi&s;t: ca. 22.</NOTE> <HI>in a battel between</HI> Ecgfrid <HI>King of</HI> North-humber <HI>and</HI> Edilred <HI>King of</HI> Mercia, <HI>being left for dead among the &s;l&agrave;in, at la&s;t reviv'd, and &s;eeking help was taken by the Enemy, and carried to their Governour; before whom counterfeiting him&s;elf a Countrey Fel|low that brought Provi&s;ion to the Ar|my, care was taken for him; and be|ginning to gather &s;trength, command
<PB N="353" REF="186"> was given to fetter him with Chains, that he might not e&s;cape by night; but by no means could he be bound, &s;eeing no &s;ooner were they gone who bound him, but the Chains loo&s;ed of them|&s;elves. For he had a Brother by Name</HI> Tunna, <HI>a Prie&s;t and Abbot, who hearing he was &s;lain in the battel, came to &s;eek his Body, and finding one very like it, carryed that away for the Body of his Brother to his Mona&s;tery, where he honourably interr'd it; and took care that many</HI> Ma&s;&s;es <HI>&s;hould be &s;aid for the Ab&s;olution of his Soul. By rea&s;on whereof none could bind him, but forthwith he was loo&s;ed. The noble man, who&s;e Pri&s;oner he was, began to wonder, and &s;u&s;pecting</HI> Magick, <HI>de|manded of him the cau&s;e thereof: Who an&s;wered, I have a Brother who is a Prie&s;t, and I know, he &s;uppo&s;ing me to be dead, &s;ays</HI> Ma&s;s <HI>often for me, as if I was in another life, where my Soul might be loo&s;ed from pains by his in|terce&s;&s;ions. This pa&s;s'd on, and be|ing perfectly recover'd, he &s;old him to another; but what kind of bonds &s;o|ever were put upon him they were all
<PB N="354" REF="187"> loo&s;ed; but mo&s;t commonly after the third hour, when</HI> Ma&s;&s;es <HI>are u&s;ually celebrated, All which he relating to his Brother after his Redemption, his conjectures were found to be real Truths. And many hearing the&s;e things from the fore&s;aid man, were inflamed with Faith and De|votion to Pray, to give Alms, or offer to our Lord Sacrifices of the Ob|lation for the deliverauce of their de|cea&s;ed Friends. For they under&s;tood that the &s;aving Sacrifice was prevalent for the everla&s;ting redemption of Soul and Body. This Hi&s;tory I had from &s;ome who heard it from the per&s;on him|&s;elf on whom this Miracle was wrought, and therefore have in&s;erted it for an undoubted Truth.</HI></P>
<P>The other is in the <HI>13th chap.</HI> of his <HI>5th. Book</HI> of the fore&s;aid Hi&s;to|ry, whereof I &s;hall only take &s;o much as I conceive oppo&s;ite to our pre&s;ent purpo&s;e.</P>
<P><HI>In the&s;e days a notable Miracle to be equall'd to tho&s;e of old happ'ned. For to &s;tir up the living from a Spiri|tual death, a certain man, by name</HI>
<PB N="355" REF="191"> Drithelm, <HI>dead for &s;ome time, was rai&s;ed again to his Natural life, and related many things which he had &s;een worthy to be remembred. An Hou&s;holder he was in the County of</HI> North-humber, <HI>living Religiou&s;ly with his Family. Whom &s;ickne&s;s &s;ei|&s;ing on, and encrea&s;ing dayly, at la&s;t agonizing, died in the beginning of the night. But reviving about break of day, and &s;itting up &s;uddenly, the weep|ing Watchers fled away for fear, his Wife only, whom love had fixed, (though trembling and quaking) &s;tay'd behind, Whom he comforting, &s;aid,</HI> Fear not, for I am truly ri&s;en from Death, and permitted to live again among Mor|tals: But from henceforth in a far other manner then I have been ac|cu&s;tomed. <HI>And pre&s;ently ri&s;ing, went to the Chapel of the Village, and con|tinuing in Prayer 'till day, then di|vided his E&s;tate into three Portions; one for his Wife, another for his Chil|dren, and the third, which he re&s;er|ved for him&s;elf, he without delay di|&s;tributed to the Poor, that he might have Trea&s;ure in Heaven. And not
<PB N="356" REF="192"> long after, being now freed from the cares of the World, he came to the Mo|na&s;tery of</HI> Mailros, <HI>which is almo&s;t &s;urrounded with the River</HI> Tweed. <HI>And taking the Ton&s;ure, liv'd in a private Cell which the Abbot had pro|vided, and there continued to the day of his death in &s;uch Contrition and Au&s;terity, that though his Tongue were &s;ilent, his Life did &s;peak what won|ders he had &s;een above others. Now the Vi&s;ion was this.</HI></P>
<P><HI>My guide,</HI> &s;aid he, <HI>had a &s;hining countenance and bright apparel, we walk'd in &s;ilence, and (as I thought) towards the Sol&s;titial ri&s;ing of the Sun&punc; At la&s;t we came into a Valley of va&s;t breadth and deepne&s;s, but of infinite length, which being &s;cituate on our left hand, did pre&s;ent unto us one &s;ide very terrible with enraged flames, the other not le&s;s intolerable with &s;torms of Snow and Hail overturning all things. Both were filled with Souls of men, which &s;eem'd now and again to be to&s;s'd hither and thither as with the horrible violence of an impetuous tempest. For not being able to en|dure
<PB N="357" REF="187"> the fury of the exce&s;&s;ive heat, (poor Souls!) they threw them&s;elves into the midst of the in&s;ufferable cold. And when they could find no re&s;t nei|ther in tho&s;e Winter quarters, again betook them&s;elves to the torrid Zone,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P><HI>Knowe&s;t thou, &s;aid my Guide, all the&s;e things which thou ha&s;t &s;een? I an&s;wered, no, he replyed; that Valley, which you behold &s;o terrible with into|lerable heat and cold, is that place wherein the Souls of tho&s;e are to be pa|cified and chastis'd, who deferring to confe&s;s and amend their wickedne&s;&s;es, fly at la&s;t to repentance on their death|beds, and &s;o leave their Bodies; who yet, becau&s;e they confe&s;sed and repen|ted, though but before their departure, &s;hall at the day of Judgment be all re|ceived into Heaven. But the Prayers of the Living, and Alms, and Fa&s;ts, and e&s;pecially the &s;aying</HI> Ma&s;&s;es <HI>do help many, that they may be freed be|fore the day of judgment,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P><HI>And this I had,</HI> &s;ays S. <HI>Bede, from one</HI> Genegils <HI>a Monk and Priest, of a very holy and rigid life, who often
<PB N="358" REF="188"> convers'd about the&s;e things with this miraculous Liver, &s;o famous for his wonderful Au&s;terities and Vi&s;ions, that both by word and deed he wrought powerfully on many to repent and &s;pend their time well, on which depends ever|la&s;ting bli&s;s, or eternal mi&s;ery.</HI></P>
<P>And yet <HI>Prote&s;tants</HI> are never the better, refu&s;ing to believe that there is never a <HI>Purgatory</HI> for peni|tent Souls thoroughly purg'd at their departure from their Bodies, though this man and others have been &s;ent from the dead to te&s;tify to the World the truth thereof. Which I confe&s;s I cea&s;e to wonder at, when I con&s;ider, that they are deaf to the living voice of the <HI>Ca|tholick</HI> Church.</P>
<P>If I &s;hould proceed in relating what wonderful Miracles God hath been plea&s;ed to work for the Appro|bation of a <HI>Monastical</HI> Life from Heavenly, by men famous in that Angelical Profe&s;&s;ion, both in for|mer and later Ages; as St. <HI>Benedict,</HI> St. <HI>Bernard,</HI> St. <HI>Dominick,</HI> St. <HI>Fran|cis,</HI> St. <HI>Tere&s;ia,</HI> St. <HI>Ignatius,</HI> I &s;hould
<PB N="359" REF="188"> utterly de&s;troy my intended brevi|ty; and therefore refer you to their Lives faithfully tran&s;mitted to Po|&s;terity. But e&s;pecially to the won|derful Life of that great Saint and Patriarch of Mona&s;tical Profe&s;&s;ion in the <HI>West,</HI> S. <HI>Benedict,</HI> which the Church owes to that famous Light and Doctor St. <HI>Gregory,</HI> de&s;erved|called <HI>Englands</HI> Apo&s;tle.</P>
<P>For he was embarqued, and on his way to bring the glad tydings of the Go&s;pel to our Nation, though recall'd to <HI>Rome</HI> again&s;t his will and inclination. And afterwards when advanc'd to the Popedom, he &s;ent St. <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> and his fellow Monks to perform what he intended. Who<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ann. Ch. 596.</NOTE> &s;ucceeding in the Holy attempt, and converting <HI>Edilbert</HI> King of <HI>Kent</HI> with his People, and from thence diffu&s;ing the Chri&s;tian Faith by de|grees into other parts, did Preach and e&s;tabli&s;h all tho&s;e doctrines, rites and Ceremonies practis'd at this day by the Church of <HI>Rome,</HI> as <HI>Prote|&s;tants</HI> confe&s;s, being fore'd to it by the evidence of unque&s;tionable Re|cords.
<PB N="360" REF="189"> And yet now e&s;teem'd by them but as Super&s;titious Innovati|ons, though God has been plea&s;ed to own them for his, and confirm the word and practice of the &s;aid Teachers with following Miracles, which were wrought &s;o frequently by the Holy Monk St. <HI>Au&s;tin,</HI> that B. <HI>Gregory</HI> exhorts him him to Humi|lity in the&s;e words, <HI>I know mo&s;t dear</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>L. 1. Hi&s;t. S.</HI> Bedae <HI>c. 31.</HI></NOTE> <HI>Brother, that Omnipotent God hath &s;hown great Miracles by you to the Na|tion whom he would have elect. Where|fore 'tis nece&s;&s;ary that concerning this Heavenly gift you rejoyce with trem|bling, and tremble with joy. You may rejoyce in that the</HI> Engli&s;h <HI>Nati|on is brought to inward Grace by the&s;e outward Miracles. But fear, lea&s;t by rea&s;on thereof the infirm mind &s;hould exalt it &s;elf in pre&s;umption; and while 'tis extoll'd with honour abroad, be depre&s;sed at home with the levity of vain Glory,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>And why the&s;e Miracles wrought by the &s;aid Saint in his Apo&s;tle&s;hip &s;hould not be evidences, as well of his Mi&s;&s;ion and Doctrine, as tho&s;e
<PB N="361" REF="189"> accompanying the fir&s;t Promulga|tors of the Go&s;pel to the World, no rea&s;on &s;ufficient can be given. This I am &s;ure of, as they converted <HI>In|fidels,</HI> &s;o they &s;top'd the mouths al|&s;o of the <HI>Britains</HI> who long before had received the <HI>Chri&s;tian</HI> Faith, and in &s;ome few external Ob&s;ervance differ'd from him. About which the <HI>Briti&s;h</HI> Bi&s;hops and the &s;aid Apo&s;tle meeting to make up a per|&s;ect unity between them, when nei|ther Arguments, nor advice, nor entreaty, nor reproof could pre|vail to per&s;wade them to the <HI>Catho|lick</HI> cu&s;toms in the ob&s;ervation of <HI>Easter, Ton&s;ure,</HI> and &s;ome other Ce|remonial Rites in Bapti&s;m; A blind man was brought in, and they up|on tryal not obtaining of God a Mi|racle for the confirmation of their practice; <HI>Tandem</HI> Augu&s;tinus <HI>ju&s;t a nece&s;&s;itate compul&s;us,</HI> &amp;c. (they are St. <HI>Bedes</HI> words) <HI>At length</HI> Au&s;tin<NOTE PLACE="marg">Hi&s;t. l. 2. ca. 2.</NOTE> <HI>forced with ju&s;t nece&s;&s;ity, bowed his knees to the Father of our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, be&s;eeching him, that he would re&s;tore to the blind man his lost &s;ight,
<PB N="362" REF="190"> and by the corporal illumination of one. Spiritual Grace might enlighten many Faithful hearts. Hereupon im|mediately the blind man receives his &s;ight, and</HI> Au&s;tin <HI>is extolled by all for a true Preacher of the Supreme Light. Then the</HI> Britains <HI>confe&s;s indeed that they perceived it was the true way of righteou&s;ne&s;s which</HI> Au&s;tin <HI>Preached.</HI></P>
<P>This I had not &s;pecifyed, but that I know &s;ome <HI>Engli&s;h Prote&s;tants,</HI> again&s;t all Hi&s;tory and common &s;en&s;e, derive their Religion from the An|cient <HI>Britains:</HI> Who differ'd only from the Apo&s;tle of the <HI>Saxons</HI> and his Converts in &s;ome few External Rites, which afterward in tract of time they generally receiv'd, and in the <HI>interim</HI> acknowledg'd to be wor|thy of acceptation, while the fre&s;h wounds of deeply-re&s;ented injuries were the greate&s;t cau&s;e of non-con|formity.</P>
<P>One more I cannot pa&s;s over in &s;ilence, becau&s;e I conceive it &s;uch as may much conduce to the convicti|on and conver&s;ion of our Adver|&s;aries. 'Tis to be found in the Life of St. <HI>Bernard</HI> to this effect.</P>
<PB N="363" REF="190">
<P>In the part of <HI>France</HI> about <HI>Thou|louze,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">L. 3. c. 5.</NOTE> one <HI>Henry</HI> an Apo&s;tate Monk by deceitful words perverting the Souls of many with Heretical Doctrines, prevail'd &s;o far that every where thereabouts the Grace of Bapti&s;m was denyed, Prayers and Oblations for the dead were mock'd at, Invocation of Saints derided, Excommunications of Prie&s;ts, Pil|grimages of the Faithful, building of Churches, Con&s;ecration of Oyl and Chri&s;me, and all Eccle&s;ia&s;tical Con&s;titutions, were de&s;pis'd. Our cau&s;e in <HI>England.</HI></P>
<P>St. <HI>Bernard</HI> being intreated by the <HI>Catholicks</HI> &s;adly lamenting to &s;ee &s;o many poor Souls &s;educed to follow an Apo&s;tate, as if he had been an Apo&s;tle, was conquer'd by their Prayers, and came thither to hinder the further &s;preading of &s;o contagi|ous an evil, and to try his skill on the infected. Where Preaching with wonderful demon&s;tration of Spirit, as well as admirable Eloquence, he in a &s;hort time in&s;tructed the Ig|norant, &s;trengthned the Weak, re|call'd
<PB N="364" REF="191"> the Wanderers, re&s;tored the Subverted, put to &s;il nce the Per|verters, God confirming his Doctrine with &s;igns following. I &s;hall relate but one &s;o home and evident, that<NOTE PLACE="marg">Cap. 6. l. 3. praed.</NOTE> 'tis enough to convert and confound all Contradictors.</P>
<P>During the&s;e his travails in the work of an Evangeli&s;t, being come to the City of <HI>Sarlet,</HI> the Sermon ended, they brought to the Servant of God Bread to be ble&s;t and di&s;tri|buted among the Faithful, as is the cu&s;tom in <HI>Catholick</HI> Churches. Which he ble&s;&s;ing in the Name of God, with his hand elevated making the &s;ign of the Cro&s;s, &s;aid, <HI>By this ye &s;hall know that the Doctrine which we Preach is true, and the things which</HI> Hereticks <HI>would per&s;wade you to, are fal&s;e, if your Sick tasting this Bread, &s;hall be recover'd.</HI></P>
<P>A venerable Bi&s;hop pre&s;ent, fea|ring the tryal, &s;aid, <HI>They &s;hall be healed if they take it believing&punc;</HI> To whom the Holy man replyed in a full belief of the event, <HI>I &s;ay not &s;o, but &s;uch as ta&s;t it &s;hall be healed, and
<PB N="365" REF="192"> thereby know us to be truly &s;ent of God.</HI> Whereupon a great company of Di|&s;ea&s;ed per&s;ons ta&s;ting of the &s;aid Bread, forthwith recover'd, Praying God for &s;uch &s;ingular manife&s;tations of his Truth and Goodne&s;s. And the Fame thereof &s;pread round about.</P>
<P>Now what more expre&s;s Te&s;ti|mony by Deeds can be given from Heaven for <HI>Prayer for the Dead,</HI> and <HI>Mo&s;&s;es for them, Invocation of Saints, Con&s;ecration of Chri&s;me,</HI> &amp;c. which were then oppo&s;ed by tho&s;e <HI>Hereticks,</HI> and now denyed by the <HI>Protestants,</HI> their Succe&s;&s;ors in fal&s;e Doctrine, again&s;t the conviction of Miracles from Heaven.</P>
<P>And now I have done with this <HI>Motive,</HI> only give me leave to &s;ay, that if <HI>Prote&s;tants</HI> could produce the like Miracles to atte&s;t their Faith and practice, they would make the World ring with the noi&s;e of them in every place, and crying Victory, &s;et up their triumphant Banners with this, or &s;ome &s;uch like In&s;crip|tion or Motto, <HI>God with us again&s;t
<PB N="366" REF="193"> the</HI> Roman <HI>Church.</HI> And then add &s;ome &s;uch Invective as this in their Popular Sermons, <HI>See what hard|hearted Wretches the</HI> Papi&s;ts <HI>are, who wholly given over to a reprobate &s;en&s;e, will not acknowledge our Doctrines to be glorious and revealed Truths of Je|&s;us Christ, which he hath witne&s;&s;ed for &s;uch to the whole World by the thundring voice of Divine Miracles.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="motive">
<PB N="367" REF="193">
<HEAD>The fifth Motive.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P>That the eminent Sanctity taught and practis'd in the <HI>Roman Catholick</HI> Church, not to be found in any <HI>Heretical</HI> Communions divided from her, is a manife&s;t mark that &s;he only is the true Church of Chri&s;t.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<DIV2 N="1" TYPE="section">
<HEAD>SECT. I.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P>An Introduction.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>FRom works of Wonder, we pa&s;s to works of Piety, to point out to us the true Church of God; which, though le&s;s admired, yet are far more precious, as being that Di|vine Seed, the Fruit whereof is e|ternal Glory. For we Spiritual Tra|vellers,
<PB N="368" REF="194"> cannot come to re&s;t our &s;elves in the Heavenly <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> but by walking per&s;everantly in the path of Holine&s;s.</P>
<P>Now, this Holine&s;s is not to be had but in the true Church, who&s;e attribute is not only <HI>Catholick,</HI> but al&s;o <HI>Holy,</HI> as we profe&s;s in the Creed, and di&s;tingui&s;hable by it in the Ef|fects from all different Communions what&s;oever; who, though they may cloak their deformity with Angeli|cal appearances, yet in reality are Synagogues of Satan, having a form of Godline&s;s, and denying the power thereof. And the truth is, though by &s;ad experience I found that the <HI>Pro|te&s;tant Church,</HI> (e&s;pecially that part of it which I judg'd more pure in Doctrine,) could not lay claim to much Sanctity, &s;till crying down the <HI>Puritans</HI> for meer Hypocrites, who&s;e zeal in their way did &s;hine far brighter to dazle vulgar eyes&punc; yet &s;uch prejudice I had conceiv'd a|gain&s;t the Church of <HI>Rome</HI> by my education in a contrary Religion, that I thought her really Antichri&s;ti|an,
<PB N="369" REF="194"> and Holine&s;s to have no more agreement with Her, then light with darkne&s;s, or Chri&s;t with Belial. So that after the Divine Goodne&s;s, by &s;trowing Thorns in my indirect ways, had made me &s;en&s;ible what a bitter thing it is to for&s;ake Him, the Fountain of living Waters, for bro|ken Ci&s;terns; and had put me upon a &s;erious Inqui&s;ition to find out Truth and Holine&s;s, to follow Them: it was no le&s;s wonder then &s;atisfaction to me, to meet with &s;uch heavenly Doctrine, and &s;uch holine&s;s of Life in the <HI>Roman Catholick</HI> Church, and no other Communion divided from Her: And I plainly di&s;cover'd, that <HI>Protestant</HI> Leaders could not detain their followers in <HI>Schi&s;m</HI> and <HI>Here&s;ie,</HI> but by keeping them in ignorance of the right Faith and Wor&s;hip of the <HI>Roman</HI> Church, and laying to her charge &s;uch Doctrines and Pra|ctices which are not ju&s;tly imputable unto Her. Yet this <HI>Motive</HI> was &s;et more home to my heart, when my eyes were made happy &s;pectators of &s;ome of that innumerable Company
<PB N="370" REF="195"> of her Members, who in the continu|al exerci&s;e of mo&s;t &s;ublime Spiritua|lity, live more like Angels then men, though in mortal Bodies. But mo&s;t of all, when our Lord was plea&s;ed &s;o to &s;hine upon me with the extra|ordinary light of his countenance, as to ble&s;s my weak endeavours, in following (though afar off) tho&s;e <HI>Stars of the fir&s;t Magnitude,</HI> beauti|&s;ying his Heaven on Earth in their glorious cour&s;es. And truly I have from hence &s;uch a &s;trong per&s;ua&s;ion of Truth to be in the Church of <HI>Rome,</HI> wrought in my Soul, that, was there no other <HI>Motive</HI> to con|firm me in the <HI>Catholick Religion,</HI> my heart very much deceives me, if I &s;hould not upon this &s;core rather forgo my life, then for&s;ake my pre|&s;ent Faith to become a <HI>Prote&s;tant.</HI> Thus, by the grace of God, this wrought on me; and that it may work on others, I thus proceed.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="2" TYPE="section">
<PB N="371" REF="195">
<HEAD>SECT. II.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P>A further Declaration of the <HI>Sanctity</HI> taught and practis'd in the <HI>Roman</HI> Church.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>OUr <HI>Creed</HI> a&s;&s;ures us, that Holi|ne&s;s is a badge of the true Church, that being one Article of the twelve, <HI>I believe the Holy</HI> Catho|lick <HI>Church.</HI> The <HI>P&s;almi&s;t</HI> tells us, <HI>That Holine&s;s Beautifies the Hou&s;e of</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;. l. 92.</NOTE> <HI>God for ever.</HI> We learn from our Ble&s;&s;ed Saviour, <HI>That a tree is known</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 7. 16, 17, 18.</NOTE> <HI>by its fruit; and therefore as a good tree cannot bring forth bad fruit; &s;o a bad tree cannot bring forth good fruit.</HI> The great Apo&s;tle of the <HI>Gentiles</HI> informs us, <HI>That Chri&s;t gave him&s;elf</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph 5. 26, 27.</NOTE> <HI>for his Church, clean&s;ing her by the laver of Bapti&s;m in his word, that he might pre&s;ent her to him&s;elf a glorious Church, not having &s;pot or wrinkle, but that &s;he might be holy and un&s;pot|ted.</HI> And be&s;ide Precepts, the Evan|gelical
<PB N="372" REF="196"> Law doth councel us to walk in a way of &s;ublime perfection, by following Chri&s;t our Ma&s;ter with no ordinary Cro&s;s on our &s;houlders; which <HI>Prote&s;tants</HI> think in&s;uppor|table, yea impo&s;&s;ible, and 'tis &s;o in|deed to fle&s;h and blood. But he who invites us to it, hath born the burden of it him&s;elf, that it might become not only tolerable, but ea&s;ie and delightful to willing Souls. El&s;e we had never heard from his Sacred Lips. <HI>Qui pote&s;t capere, capiat, He</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 19. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">2.</NOTE> <HI>that can receive it, let him receive it.</HI> After he had told us of tho&s;e who make them&s;elves <HI>Eunuchs</HI> for the Kingdom of Heaven. And after|wards, <HI>If thou wilt be perfect, go and</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">ver. 21.</NOTE> <HI>&s;ell all that thou ha&s;t, and give to the poor, and thou &s;halt have trea&s;ure in Heaven, and come and follow me.</HI> And to make this Heavenly Coun|&s;el more operative, a&s;&s;ures us, <HI>That who&s;oever for&s;akes Hou&s;e, or Brethren,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">ver. 29.</NOTE> <HI>or Si&s;ters, or Father, or Mother, or Wife, or Children, or Lands, for his Name &s;ake, &s;hall receive a hundred fold, and al&s;o inherit everla&s;ting life.</HI></P>
<PB N="373" REF="196">
<P>Now the rayes of this &s;ublime Ho|line&s;s do not only &s;hine forth glori|ou&s;ly in the Lives of <HI>Catholicks;</HI> a|mong whom multitudes of Souls en|flamed with the fire of Divine Love, by for&s;aking what&s;oever is near and dear to fle&s;h and blood, by a gene|rous and wonderful contempt of the World, the Honours, Riches, and Glory of it, by Crucifying even the Lawful Plea&s;ures of the Fle&s;h, by a perfect abnegation of their Wills in exact obedience to Spiritual Di|rectors, by wholly devoting them|&s;elves to a Life of Spirituality, in the continual exerci&s;es of Prayer and Mortification, <HI>Do perfect Holine&s;s in the fear of God.</HI> The&s;e are tho&s;e Angels on earth who make them|&s;elves <HI>Eunuchs</HI> for the Kingdom of Heaven; who breathing after per|fection, and panting after Glory, make God their only Trea&s;ure; who with <HI>Mary,</HI> chu&s;ing the better part which &s;hall never be taken from them, do for&s;ake all things what&s;o|ever to follow Chri&s;t. The&s;e are tho&s;e Virgin-Souls, <HI>Who clean&s;ing</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Cor. 7. 1.</NOTE>
<PB N="374" REF="197"> <HI>them&s;elves from all defilements of Fle&s;h and Spirit;</HI> or as St. <HI>Paul</HI> el&s;e|where Phra&s;es it, <HI>Sollicitous to be holy in Body and Spirit,</HI> are altoge|ther<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 7. 32, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></NOTE> bu&s;ied about the things of our Lord, how they may plea&s;e him. Who &s;pend their lives in voluntary Afflictions, in wonderful Au&s;terities, in much Patience, in admired Cha|&s;tity, in Love unfeigned, in pro|found Humility, in Watchings and Fa&s;tings, in Solitude and Silence, in Prayer and Contemplation, in ab|&s;traction from Temporal Affairs, that no ordinary pollutions of &s;in contracted by conver&s;ing with the World may &s;ully the purity of their hearts, which only makes them pre|cious in the Eyes of their Spiritual Bridegroom, and in a mo&s;t inexpre&s;|&s;ible manner united to him. And indeed by the&s;e means vigorou&s;ly pro&s;ecuted with per&s;everance, they at length arrive to &s;uch a tran&s;cen|dency and forgetfulne&s;s of all crea|ted things, to &s;uch a contempt and annihilation of them&s;elves, to &s;uch a Heavenly-mindedne&s;s and atten|tion
<PB N="375" REF="197"> to God only, to &s;uch glorious manife&s;tations of him, to &s;uch a gu&s;t|ful knowledge of his infinite per|fections, to &s;uch an experimental apprehen&s;ion of the Divine pre|&s;ence within them, to &s;uch an un|&s;peakable fruition and repo&s;e in him with the full extent of their wills, that in a manner they become deify'd, and enjoy as much of Hea|ven as Souls are capable of in mortal Bodies. Which mo&s;t intime union and communion with God, &s;o &s;ublime and ravi&s;hing, none either are, not can be partakers of, who walk not in the u&s;e of the &s;ame means, where|by it only is attainable.</P>
<P>For purity of heart is a nece&s;&s;ary and the immediate di&s;po&s;ition to di|vine union, and according to the degrees of Holine&s;s in the Soul, this glorious union is more or le&s;s parti|cipated. Now the nature of Sancti|ty con&s;i&s;ting in a &s;eparation, as well of per&s;ons as things and places from profane and common u&s;es, with a &s;pecial reference to God; or as &s;ome explain it, importing principally two things:
<PB N="376" REF="198"> Fir&s;t, Purity in being wa&s;h'd from the filth of &s;in, and drain'd from the pol|luting commixture of terene dregs; (which the <HI>Greeks</HI> had an eye to in expre&s;&s;ing a Saint by the word <GAP DESC="foreign">, that is, <HI>one without Earth.</HI>) Second|ly, Firmne&s;s and Stability in the wayes of God; it nece&s;&s;arily fol|lows, that tho&s;e Happy Souls more e&s;pecially attain to this tran&s;cen|dent union with God, who become perfect <HI>Nazarites</HI> in &s;eparating them|&s;elves from the World and the things of it, that they may the better love, and plea&s;e, and &s;erve God with all their Heart, with all their Mind, and with all their Strength: And to con|firm their Wills in the&s;e endeavours after the perfecting of Holine&s;s, do by Religious vows offer them&s;elves to God, that he may be wholly theirs, and they wholly his for Time, and for Eternity.</P>
<P>Now I appeal to <HI>Prote&s;tants</HI> them|&s;elves, whether the&s;e means of Sanctity are to be found among them, who not only practice not, but deride and Scoff at this &s;ublime
<PB N="377" REF="198"> way to perfection in the Church of <HI>Rome,</HI> making them&s;elves merry with our Devotions. But as Wi&s;|dom, &s;o Holine&s;s is manife&s;ted by effects in her Children. And there needs no more to te&s;tify who is their Father.</P>
<P>And if any doubt whether &s;uch earne&s;t endeavours after Holine&s;s, and this &s;ublime way of walking with God, by having <HI>our Conver&s;ation in a manner continually in Heaven</HI> while we are on earth be the con|&s;tant Doctrine of the <HI>Roman</HI> Church, if they will be plea&s;ed to con&s;ult <HI>Catholick</HI> Authors, they may receive abundant &s;atisfaction from that in|comparable Book of the imitation of Chri&s;t, the Heavenly Writings of St. <HI>Francis de Sales</HI> Bi&s;hop of <HI>Ge|neva,</HI> the excellent Works of <HI>Ludo|vicus Granaten&s;is,</HI> &s;o famous for practical Divinity, that &s;ublime Piece of <HI>Spirituality the Scale of Perfection;</HI> and to name no more, <HI>Sancta Sophia;</HI> for Books of this nature are infinite.</P>
<PB N="378" REF="199">
<P>And if they de&s;ire to &s;ee the be&s;t <HI>Commentaries</HI> of &s;uch Heavenly Doctrines; in tho&s;e happy Countries where <HI>Catholick</HI> Religion is publick|ly profe&s;s'd, they may (waving the failures of &s;ome, who like as in the Colledge of the Apo&s;tles, &s;uch is humane weakne&s;s, deviate from what they are taught, and what they profe&s;s,) be eye-witne&s;&s;es of the Angelical Lives of thou&s;ands of Ho|ly per&s;ons, to their admiration, and confu&s;ion al&s;o, if they will not be moved to repentance by &s;uch exam|ples. And methinks, the mo&s;t un|der&s;tanding <HI>Prote&s;tatents,</HI> who ac|knowledge for glorious Saints many who live and die in the <HI>Roman</HI> Arms, when a <HI>Prote&s;tant</HI> Saint was never heard of, and notwith&s;tanding will not tread in their Holy Steps, do &s;ufficiently condemn their own practice, and in effect &s;ay, <HI>We know the way to Heaven, but will not take it.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="3" TYPE="section">
<PB N="379" REF="199">
<HEAD>SECT. III.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P>A further pro&s;ecution of this <HI>Mo|tive</HI> from the new Doctrines and profane Practices of <HI>Here|tical</HI> Communions.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>NO man can be ignorant that the Religion of <HI>Protestants</HI> doth di&s;claim again&s;t the practice of this &s;uper-eminent Sanctity, and con|demns it in <HI>Catholicks</HI> as meer Su|per&s;tition and Will-wor&s;hip. For|getting, or not regarding that 'twas fir&s;t councel'd by our Ble&s;&s;ed Savi|our, Preach'd unto the World by his Apo&s;tles, and practis'd in all Ages of the Church. Indeed for <HI>Prote&s;tants</HI> to have commended it, and yet not to follow it; was too gro&s;s an ab&s;urdity to gull the World withall, and would have given too palpable a lye to the godly name of Reformation. They were re&s;olv'd therefore to enlarge the narrow way
<PB N="380" REF="200"> to Heaven, thus &s;traitned for more &s;ecurity in a bu&s;ine&s;s of highe&s;t con|cern, by aboli&s;hing the glory of Chri&s;tianity under the pretence of Chri&s;tian liberty: And they ea&s;ily per&s;waded them&s;elves that a &s;en&s;e|plea&s;ing Religion back'd by the Se|cular Power, (as it was in <HI>England</HI> by King <HI>Henry</HI> in its fir&s;t Introducti|on,) and advanced by Temporal Intere&s;t in impoveri&s;hing the Church to enrich greedy Courtiers, would over-ballance in Carnal minds the &s;trict Au&s;terities of <HI>Catholick</HI> Purity: Or, to make the be&s;t con&s;truction of this &s;trange piece of <HI>Reformation</HI> on the Clergy's part, who had a hand in the bu&s;ine&s;s, when they &s;aw no|thing would quench the Avarice of the &s;en&s;ual King, but the Revenues devoted for ever to the maintenance of extraordinary Devotion, they thought it policy not to with&s;tand his will, but to flatter him by pal|liating the matter with &s;pecious colours. E&s;pecially when they con|&s;idered that the Rich Bi&s;hopricks, and Cathedral Preferments might be
<PB N="381" REF="200"> the better pre&s;erved, when this <HI>auri &s;acrae fames</HI> in the Great ones who were &s;harers with his Maje&s;ty in the&s;e Spoils of the Church, could not but be appea&s;ed by engro&s;&s;ing to them&s;elves &s;o many Rich and Sumptuous Mona&s;teries and Reli|gious Hou&s;es, the Glory and Envy of our Nation. For I am per&s;waded the Clergy in this change were not all well plea&s;ed in this particular. And I remember a remarkable &s;ay|ing of Doctor <HI>Jack&s;on,</HI> a <HI>Prote&s;tant</HI> of no mean note, &s;adly complaining in the&s;e words, or to this effect, <HI>If three per&s;ons in the Sacred Trinity had been as great an eye-&s;oar to us as three Mona&s;teries in every Shire, we &s;hould have been as well reformed</HI> Athei&s;ts, <HI>as reformed</HI> Chri&s;tians.</P>
<P>But whatever were the Motives of &s;everal Intere&s;ts in erecting a Re|ligion founded on State-policy, this is mo&s;t certain, that the Sub&s;tantial practice of eminent Sanctity was ba|ni&s;h'd out of <HI>England</HI> at the &s;ame time with the <HI>Catholick</HI> Faith.</P>
<PB N="382" REF="201">
<P>Neither was the birth of the <HI>Pro|te&s;tant</HI> Church in <HI>England</HI> the death only of &s;uper-eminent Holine&s;s, but its malevolent influence did cool the fire of true Devotion in all &s;orts of Chri&s;tians who gave it any enter|tainment. For no &s;ooner had this tree of Reformation took rooting in our Land, but it &s;pread it &s;elf into arms and boughs on every &s;ide, plentifully yielding the bitter Fruits of Di&s;&s;olutene&s;s, Uncharitablene&s;s, Oppre&s;&s;ion, Envyings, Back-bitings, Strifes, Ignorance of nece&s;&s;ary Truths, Curio&s;ity in knowledge, vain and frothy di&s;putes, &s;taggrings in Faith, Spiritual Pride, contempt of Eccle|&s;ia&s;tical Authority. Irreligion, Pro|fanene&s;s, Sacriledge, Abu&s;e of Holy things, ca&s;ting off the Sacraments, Bla&s;phemies, Athei&s;m; and in &s;hort, what&s;oever is contrary to true God|line&s;s, and Evangelical Precepts of Je&s;us Chri&s;t. So bad a tree could not bring forth better Fruits where|&s;oever once it took &s;ure rooting, &s;o notorious and vi&s;ible to the World, that the Arch-reformers them&s;elves
<PB N="383" REF="201"> could not but confe&s;s it, and to their &s;hame and conviction have left it upon record to Po&s;terity.</P>
<P>'Tis fit <HI>Luther</HI> the fir&s;t Founder of this new Faith &s;hould have the precedency in delivering his Ver|dict. Give him Audience while he tells us, that, <HI>Mundus ex hac Doctri|na,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>The World by this Doctrine</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Con<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">. 2. Daw. 1. Adventus.</NOTE> <HI>daily becomes wor&s;e. Now &s;even de|vils are entred into every one, who for|merly were only po&s;&s;e&s;s'd with one. Whole troops of Devils now get into mens hearts, that in this &s;o glorious light of the Go&s;pel they are more co|vetous, more crafty, more unju&s;t, more inhumane, more &s;tubborn then formerly they were in</HI> Popery. And ob&s;erve it, that he confe&s;&s;es tho&s;e evils did proceed from his new Doctrine, not occa&s;ionally, but as the natural fruit of it. And if ever he &s;poke Truth after his <HI>Apo&s;tacy,</HI> here we have't. For they that con|&s;ider what an innundation of evils broke in upon a great part of the Chri&s;tian World, upon his breaking from the <HI>Catholick</HI> Church, and
<PB N="384" REF="202"> Preaching a new Go&s;pel fir&s;t in <HI>Ger|many,</HI> may very well think that now<NOTE PLACE="marg">Apoc. 20. 1, 2.</NOTE> was the time come, <HI>For unchaining Satan, and Hell was broke loo&s;e to torment us mortals here on earth.</HI></P>
<P>Witne&s;s <HI>Calvin, In exiguo illorum numero,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>Among&s;t the &s;mall num|ber of them who have for&s;aken</HI> Popi&s;h<NOTE PLACE="marg">In c. 11. Dani. v. 34</NOTE> Idolatry, <HI>the greate&s;t part of them are full of Perfidiou&s;ne&s;s and Treacheries. They outwardly profe&s;s a notable Zeal, but if examined inwardly, you will find them abounding in deceits.</HI> Nei|ther indeed could a fal&s;e Faith bring forth any other but a counterfeit Holine&s;s. For the&s;e are tho&s;e Hy|pocrites whom our Ble&s;&s;ed Saviour &s;peaks of, <HI>That are ravenous Wolves</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 7.</NOTE> <HI>in Sheaps. cloathing; that clean&s;e</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 23. 25.</NOTE> <HI>the out&s;ide of the cup and platter, lea|ving the in&s;ide full of rapine and un|cleanne&s;s.</HI> Or, <HI>Like whited Sepul|chers,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">ver. 27.</NOTE> <HI>which appear beautiful to men, but within are &s;tuff'd with dead mens bones, and putrefaction.</HI> The&s;e are tho&s;e Reprobates concerning the Faith fore-told by the Apo&s;tle, <HI>Ha|ving</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Tim. 3. 5, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></NOTE> <HI>a form of godline&s;s, denying the
<PB N="385" REF="202"> Power thereof.</HI> Tho&s;e Saints of the highe&s;t elevation in their own con|ceits, whom St. <HI>Jude</HI> calls, <HI>Clouds</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">ver. 12.</NOTE> <HI>without water,</HI> darkening only the &s;plendor of the Go&s;pel, not making it fruitful in good works by any re|fre&s;hing influences of real Piety: Which the &s;ame <HI>Calvin</HI> di&s;cern'd &s;o clearly through the&s;e clouds, that<NOTE PLACE="marg">Comm. in 2. Pet. 2. 1.</NOTE> he confe&s;&s;es, <HI>Vix eorum decimus,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>Hardly the tythe of tho&s;e who gave their name to the Go&s;pel, (that is, who left the Church of</HI> Rome <HI>to be of their Religion) did it for any other end then to wallow in wantonne&s;s more free|ly without re&s;traint.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Andreas Mu&s;culus</HI> affords us like|wi&s;e as ample a te&s;timony, extracted from him by evidence, of Truth again&s;t his will. <HI>Quod &s;i verita|tem,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">L. de no|vi&s;&s;. die.</NOTE> &amp;c. <HI>If we will confe&s;s the Truth, we cannot but te&s;tify this concerning us</HI> Go&s;pellers, <HI>that no men in the whole World are more given to Whoredoms, &V;&s;ury, Circumventions and Deceits, then our &s;elves.</HI></P>
<P>Bi&s;hop <HI>Andrews,</HI> perhaps the greate&s;t Scholar that ever <HI>England</HI>
<PB N="386" REF="203"> bred of <HI>Sehi&s;matick,</HI> and in whom was &s;ome reli&s;h of <HI>Catholick</HI> Piety, in his Sermon upon, <HI>Bring forth</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 3. 8.</NOTE> <HI>fruits worthy of repentance,</HI> hath words to this effect, <HI>We have taken away Auricular Confe&s;&s;ion, and in|&s;tead thereof brought in Auricular Pro|fe&s;&s;ion. Our Religion is good at In and In, we are all for hearing Ser|mons, for taking in, but we bring forth nothing, no fruits I am &s;ure wor|thy of repentance.</HI> And in his Ser|mon upon, (<HI>um jejunatis,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>When</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 6. 16.</NOTE> <HI>ye fa&s;t, be not as the Hypocrites,</HI> &amp;c. he &s;peaks after this manner, <HI>The</HI> Ro|mani&s;ts <HI>will needs have us to be tho&s;e locu&s;ts St.</HI> John <HI>&s;aw coming out of the</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Apoc. 9. 2.</NOTE> <HI>bottomle&s;s pit to plague the earth. Now the locu&s;ts are devouring Creatures, all belly; and truely while we are &s;uch enemies to religious fa&s;ting, I know not how to an&s;wer their accu&s;ation.</HI> So that the words made u&s;e of by our Ble&s;&s;ed Saviour again&s;t the wicked Servant in the Parable (<HI>Luke</HI> the 19, 22.) <HI>Ex ore tuo te judico, Out of thy own mouth I will judge thee,</HI> may fuly be applyed to the <HI>Prote&s;tant</HI> Church
<PB N="387" REF="203"> accu&s;ed to be fal&s;e at the bar of Ju&s;tice, <HI>Ex ore tuorum judicaberis,</HI> What need we further proof or witne&s;s, when thy deare&s;t Sons and greate&s;t Patrons do give in evidence for thy condemnation?</P>
<P>Neither could it po&s;&s;ibly be other|wi&s;e, where ever their new Faith took po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion. For the affecti|ons of the will, which are the feet of the Soul, walking after the light of the under&s;tanding, the eye there|of, their practice of nece&s;&s;ity mu&s;t be an&s;werable to their Doctrines: The fir&s;t wheel of a Clock gives mo|tion to all the re&s;t. The effect can|not but follow the nature of its cau&s;e. <HI>Do men gather grapes of</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>S</HI> Mat. 7. 16 <HI>S.</HI> James 3. 11.</NOTE> <HI>thorns, or figs of thi&s;tles? Can a poi|&s;onous fountain &s;end forth whole&s;ome &s;treams?</HI> When the <HI>Prote&s;tant</HI> Re|form condemns it for Super&s;tition to for&s;ake all &s;en&s;ual contentments to follow Chri&s;t, and account it abomi|nable Will-wor&s;hip to live in per|petual Virginity, that we may in a holy vacancy from all earthly en|eumbrances, mind only the things
<PB N="388" REF="204"> of God: could it be, but the Love of the World, Luxury, and Carna|lity would take deeper rooting in the hearts of men &s;o poi&s;oned, and bring forth fruit of that nature more abundantly, while manur'd with &s;uch Dung-hill Doctrines? When they with much vehemency preach down <HI>Merit of good works</HI> (which they con|demn, becau&s;e either they do not, or will not under&s;tand in what &s;en&s;e the Church holds it) as derogatory to Chri&s;ts &s;ufferings; was it po&s;&s;ible but a general decay of Piety &s;hould follow among them, and good works in a maner be confin'd among <HI>Catholicks,</HI> who believe that a cup<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 10. 41, 42.</NOTE> of cold water given to the meane&s;t of the hou&s;hold of Faith for Chri&s;ts<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Tim. 4. 7.</NOTE> &s;ake, &s;hall not loo&s;e its reward; and a Crown of Ju&s;tice &s;hall be ren|dred by the ju&s;t Judge to all who fight the good fight of Faith with per&s;everance? And well had it been for poor <HI>England,</HI> if the current of the <HI>Prote&s;tant</HI> Go&s;pel had &s;topt in the omi&s;&s;ion only of good works, for then the &s;treams which make
<PB N="389" REF="204"> glad the City of our God, might more ea&s;ily have return'd into their won|ted channel; but their &s;elf-intere&s;ted Religion hath &s;wallowed plentifully what the Piety of <HI>Catholick</HI> Ages had devoted to the perpetual Ser|vice of the mo&s;t high God.</P>
<P>When they &s;o labour to di&s;grace Church-Tradition, and bring it in contempt, that in the Interpretation of Sacred Scripture private rea&s;on may be admitted for the Judge of Faith; do they not inevitably open a pa&s;&s;age to an everla&s;ting deluge of <HI>Here&s;ie</HI> and <HI>Schi&s;m</HI> in the Church? Can this be denyed after the mi&s;eries of &s;o much experience? In vertue of &s;uch a Principle, mu&s;t not men ne|ce&s;&s;arily <HI>become lovers of them&s;elves, high-minded, proud, bla&s;phemous, di&s;|obedient</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Tim. 3. 1, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></NOTE> <HI>to Spiritual Superiors, re|&s;i&s;ting the Truth, reprobate concerning the Faith, ever learning, and never coming to the knowledge of the Truth?</HI> The very <HI>Hereticks</HI> St. <HI>Paul</HI> fore|warns us of, that we may &s;hun them. For &s;ays he, <HI>From &s;uch turn away.</HI> I would not here willingly be too tedious.</P>
<PB N="390" REF="205">
<P>Only good <HI>Reader,</HI> give me leave to tell thee, that there are other deadly fruits naturally &s;pringing from this fatal tree of <HI>Reformation;</HI> as di&s;obedience to Magi&s;trates, Tu|mults, Seditions, Rebellions, Blood|&s;hed, Murders, A&s;&s;a&s;&s;inations, Ra|pins, over-turnings of Kingdoms, changings of Governments, and all tho&s;e mi&s;eries which accompany the wor&s;t of evils, a Civil War; (the dregs of which cup of Gods di&s;|plea&s;ure our poor I&s;land hath &s;o deeply drank of, that reeling and &s;taggering up and down &s;he knew not where to &s;tand or fix, 'till at length &s;he happily pitch'd upon her true and right <HI>Ba&s;is</HI> for Temporal Power, <HI>Charles</HI> the II. our Dread Soveraign) all nece&s;&s;arily flowing from Principles of the <HI>Prote&s;tant</HI> Religion. A certain Argument that it cannot come from God, who is the God of Order, and not of Con|fu&s;ion. For their new Faith being brought into the World and propa|gated by di&s;obedience to the Church of <HI>Rome,</HI> and ca&s;ting off her Eccle|&s;ia&s;tical
<PB N="391" REF="205"> Authority: when they had thus &s;hrunk up the &s;inews, or ra|ther quite broke in pieces the reins of &s;piritual Government e&s;tabli&s;h'd by Je&s;us Chri&s;t to continue for ever, it was not po&s;&s;ible the &s;ecular Magi|&s;trate could long &s;tand firm though, guarded with the Sword: But if he would not &s;uffer his &s;ubjects, &s;o minded, to do what ever &s;eems good in their own eyes, and ca&s;t Religi|on into a mould they fancy mo&s;t agreeable to Scripture, and the pu|rity of the Go&s;pel of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, they would (this gap once made in the hedge of Government,) gather head, and when ever they found it fea&s;ible take up arms again&s;t him as a de&s;troyer of Chri&s;tian Liberty, a violator of their Con&s;ciences, an Antichri&s;tian and Bloody Tyrant, a Per&s;ecutor of Gods Saints; and if they thrive in the attempt, take all Power into their own hands, and make them&s;elves Lords and Ma&s;ters as well of their Soveraign as of their Brethren. For it could not be ra|tionally thought that men would
<PB N="392" REF="206"> long &s;uffer a Religion to be impos'd upon them by a Secular Prince and his Councellors, who them&s;elves had contradicted in points of Faith the Authority of the Church, and con&s;ent and practice of the whole Chri&s;tian World: And whether the tran&s;actions and &s;trange revolutions in our Native Country, during the Civil War and &s;ub&s;equent u&s;urpati|on, do not make this Truth a Hi&s;to|ry, let the World judge. And that the &s;ame hath been attempted, or really effected, in what ever places the <HI>Prote&s;tant</HI> zeal took any con|&s;iderable footing, the Chronicles of other Nations are &s;ad Witne&s;&s;es.</P>
<P>Thus fal&s;e Prophets, and fal&s;e Doctrines, whatever the pretences be, may be known by their Fruits;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 7. 16, 17.</NOTE> the <GAP DESC="foreign">, or mark our Ble&s;&s;ed Sa|viour refers us to in &s;uch Ca&s;es. From all which it appears, <HI>That the general Piety and &s;ingular Sanctity taught and practis'd in the Church of</HI> Rome, <HI>proceeds from the Author of all Holine&s;s; and that their tree of Reformation could never take rooting
<PB N="393" REF="206"> or influence from Heaven, which brings forth &s;uch evil fruits upon the earth.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="conclusion">
<HEAD>The Conclu&s;ion.</HEAD>
<P>ANd now 'tis high time to in|dulge my Pen, which I little thought, when fir&s;t &s;et to Paper, would have laboured &s;o long in this employment: However, I &s;hall not repent of my pains, though &s;o much exceeding the limits of my inten|tions in the E&s;&s;ay, if any poor wan+dring Soul receive hereby the lea&s;t light to guide her towards the Man|&s;ions of Ble&s;&s;ed Eternity, and &s;o prove in&s;trumental for her Salvation. This is my aim and hopes al&s;o; and yet though they &s;hould become wholly un&s;ucce&s;sful, I &s;hall re&s;t &s;a|tisfied, in that I have u&s;ed the be&s;t of my endeavours towards my Coun|tries good, in matters of the highe&s;t importance; and e&s;pecially the Spi|ritual profit of my dear <HI>Prote&s;tant</HI>
<PB N="394" REF="207"> Friends and Relations, whom the more I love &s;ince this happy change wrought in me, the le&s;s perhaps am I beloved of them. Among&s;t whom, &s;ome I know for certain, who have &s;o alienated their hearts meerly for Religions &s;ake, as to return me ha|tred for my good will. But I do, and &s;hall, betake my &s;elf unto Prayer for &s;uch Objects of pity and com|pa&s;&s;ion, with a hopeful per&s;wa&s;ion that they will be Converted as well as more moderate tempers, &s;eeing all things are alike equal to an Om|nipotent goodne&s;s; and experience tells us, that the mo&s;t violent <HI>Pro|te&s;tants</HI> have &s;ometimes become the mo&s;t zealous <HI>Catholicks, By the mighty working of him who is able to</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">21</NOTE> <HI>&s;ubdue all things unto him&s;elf.</HI></P>
<P>'Tis true, the Ca&s;e with <HI>Catho|licks</HI> in <HI>England</HI> is &s;ad, by rea&s;on of tho&s;e oppre&s;&s;ive Laws which are in force again&s;t them: and doubtle&s;s is the cau&s;e why &s;ome for&s;ake us for the love of the World, and do not actually unite them&s;elves to the true Church. In a word, Temporal Ad|vantages,
<PB N="395" REF="207"> Worldly Intere&s;ts and Pro&s;terity &s;tanding on the <HI>Prote|&s;tants</HI> &s;ide, Per&s;ecution and pre&s;ent Sufferings on ours; renders the Conver&s;ion, or at lea&s;t the Profe&s;|&s;ion of the Faith to many ineffectu|al. Let one be convinc'd, and he replyes, <HI>What &s;hall I do with my Wife and Children? Would you have me ruine my E&s;tate and Fortune?</HI> O mi|&s;erable <HI>England!</HI> where Truth is oppre&s;&s;ed. And O unhappy tho&s;e who yeild &s;o cowardly in the time of Tryal and Temptation! Had the primitive Chri&s;tians been thus mind|ed, the <HI>Catholick</HI> Faith long &s;ince had been buried in oblivion, and &s;uch glorious Saints as Martyrs had never been known.</P>
<P>What is Time to Eternity? What are Friends and Relations, to the everla&s;ting Society of Saints and An|gels? What are Worldly Advan|tages, to Heavenly Riches? Shall we not endure a momentary Cro&s;s, for an Eternal Crown? Is it not the high commendation of <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> the Faithful Servant of God, <HI>That he
<PB N="396" REF="208"> cho&s;e rather Affliction with the Peo|ple</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 11. 25.</NOTE> <HI>of God, than to enjoy the plea|&s;ures of &s;in for a &s;ea&s;on?</HI> Know we not, <HI>That he who loveth Father, or</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 10. 37.</NOTE> <HI>Mother, or Son, or Daughter, better than Chri&s;t, is not worthy of him?</HI> Alas! <HI>What will it profit a man, to</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 16. 26.</NOTE> <HI>gain the whole World, and lo&s;e his own Soul? Or what &s;hall a man give in exchange for his Soul?</HI> Certainly whoever lays this &s;adly to heart, can|not but cry out with that devout Saint, <HI>Deus meus, &amp; omnia. Ma|lem Crucem cum Chri&s;to, quam Coro|nam cum mundo. What&s;oever I lo&s;e, I'll not not part with my Saviour; he's all in all. I had rather have him with a Cro&s;s, than a Crown without him.</HI></P>
<P>This is indeed an Heroick re&s;olu|tion becoming a Chri&s;tian, and an|&s;werable to the noblene&s;s of our Religion, which appears in nothing more then the contempt of this World; and this re&s;olution is agree|able to the Purity of our Holy Faith: This is the Promi&s;e we &s;o|lemnly made to God at our Bap|ti&s;m
<PB N="379" REF="208"> in the pre&s;ence of the Church Militant and Triumphant, why will we become Renegadoes from our Colours? Why will we not coura|giou&s;ly fight the good fight of Faith, under, the glorious Standard of Chri&s;t, again&s;t all the enemies of our Salvation? What&s;oever we part withall for God's fake, we &s;hall not be loo&s;ers by it. He will &s;upera|bundantly reward us, who hath pro|mi&s;ed,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat, 19. 29.</NOTE> <HI>That who&s;oever leaveth Hou&s;es, Brethren, or Si&s;ters, or Father, or Mother, or Wife, or Child<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">en, or Lands, for his Names &s;ake, &s;hall re|ceive a hundred fold here, and here|after inherit everla&s;ting Life.</HI> Be|lieve me, dear Country men, 'tis very true; I know the fir&s;t by happy experience, <HI>If &s;piritual riches,</HI> (as St.<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>L. 3. in</HI> Mat. <HI>ca, 19.</HI></NOTE> <HI>Hierom</HI> expounds it) <HI>and comforts pa&s;s for payment; and wait for the latter in Gods good time.</HI></P>
<P>But, alas! things Spirital are little operative, 'till we have a gu&s;t and feeling of them, which cannot be without &s;ome progre&s;s in Spirituali|ty; and things eternal are further
<PB N="398" REF="209"> off, and &s;eldom apprehended with fixed thoughts, while Worldly con|tents and advantages being pre&s;ent and vi&s;ible, work &s;trongly on us, to win and fetter our affections to them. And therefore many of us living more by &s;en&s;e, then faith or rea&s;on, are willing <HI>to po&s;&s;e&s;s our Souls with patience in &s;ufferings for Chri&s;t, and expectation of that far more ex|ceeding weight of glory which they work for us.</HI> We think it intolerable to part with any Temporal Po&s;&s;e&s;|&s;ions for an Heavenly Inheritance; And &s;o procra&s;tinating our recepti|tion into the <HI>Catholick</HI> Church from time to time, refer all to Gods Mer|cy and a Death-bed repentance. A &s;ad ca&s;e this, yet too common a|mong us.</P>
<P>A ca&s;e, wherein I might have pe|ri&s;h'd eternally, had not the infinite goodne&s;s and extraordinary favour of God vouch&s;afed unto me with pa|tience and long &s;ufferance, at la&s;t loo&s;ed my bonds and fetters, and brought me into the bo&s;om of his <HI>Catholick</HI> Church, &s;etting my feet at
<PB N="399" REF="209"> liberty to walk in the path of Holi|ne&s;s to ever-ble&s;&s;ed Eternity. <HI>The</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 113.</NOTE> <HI>&s;nare is broken, and my Soul is de|livered. And ble&s;&s;ed be the God of</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 107.</NOTE> <HI>my Salvation. My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed, I will &s;ing and</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 115.</NOTE> <HI>give prai&s;e. I will now pay my vows in the pre&s;ence of his Saints, and call upon the name of the Lord. I will offer to God the &s;acrifice of Thanks|giving, and prai&s;e his Name while I have my Beeing. All creatures in Heaven and Earth ble&s;s God for me,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 102.</NOTE> <HI>and ble&s;s God with me.</HI> Prai&s;e thou the Lord, O my Soul. <HI>Amen, Amen.</HI></P>
<CLOSER>Soli Deo Gloria.</CLOSER>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
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